SGN May 11, 2012 - Section 1

Issue 19 Volume 40

Celebrating 39 Years!

pelz’s fiasco p. 5

NORTH CAROLINA p. 7

PRIDE IDOL p. 25

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY May 11, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to announce support for same-sex marriage, in an interview May 9 with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, reversing his long-held position that civil unions are good enough.

The president said his support for marriage equality had evolved through conversations with his staff members, with openly Gay and Lesbian service members, and with his wife and daughters.

“I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, samesex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or ma-

rines or sailors who are out there Roberts in the interview, which fighting on my behalf and yet feel was broadcast May 10 on ABC’s constrained, even now that ‘Don’t Good Morning America.

Ask, Don’t Tell’ is gone, because The president did, however, stress that this is a personal position, and said he still supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own. But his decision to publicly support marriage equality could have a lasting impression on the slow, state-by-state crawl toward equality.

In Washington State, where a battle over samesex marriage is currently raging, Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage, told Seattle Gay News, “This is an important and historic moment for our country they are not able to commit them- and our state. To have the presiselves in a marriage, at a certain dent lend his strong support for point I’ve just concluded that for marriage equality, and speak about me personally it is important for his own journey there, resonates me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama told see obama page 5

nate gowdy / seattle gay news

Obama endorses marriage equality

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important ... to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”

SGN photo of President Obama in Seattle, May 10, 2012

Pride ASIA to celebrate U.S. House votes, same-sex couples: Pacific LGBT heritage Advocates, entertainers, and organizers from the Seattle-area Asian and Pacific Islander (API) communities and their allies have scheduled the first-ever Pride ASIA event at Hing Hay Park in the heart of the Chinatown/International District of Seattle, on Saturday, June 23, from noon to 6 p.m.

“It is our hope to celebrate the diversity and culture of our LGBT communities with this event,” said Seattle API officials in a statement.

Aleksa Manila, host and co-organizer of this first annual event, Pride ASIA, moved to the U.S. in 1995 from Manila, Philippines, with her family to continue with college. Now 36 years old and one of Seattle’s most recognizable entertainers, Manila told Seattle Gay News that the group of individuals working on this project are “a very important collective” working to “create safe space for all LGBT Asians and Asian Americans in the

drop dead!

courtesy nbc news

nate gowdy / Seattle gay news

Aleksa Manila (l) and Daniel Hanks

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Representative Tim Huelskamp

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

In a response to President Obama’s historic announcement supporting marriage equality, the U.S. House of Representatives “reaffirmed” its support for DOMA on May 9.

In a 245-171 vote, the Repubsee asia page 8 lican-controlled House tacked

an anti-equality amendment onto an appropriations bill to fund the Commerce and Justice departments and scientific research.

“None of the funds made available under this Act, may be used in contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act,” the amendment see house page 21

2

Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News

3

Seattle Gay News FOUNDED 1973

1605 12th Ave., Ste. 31 Seattle, WA 98122

Phone: (206) 324-4297 Fax: (206) 322-7188

MEMBER

e-mail: sgn2@sgn.org internet: www.sgn.org

2012

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 Production William Creswell Calendar Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers Mike Andrew, Miryam Gordon, Anthony Greer, Shaun Knittel, Albert Rodriguez, James Whitely Contributing Writers

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

Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers

Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863

Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2012, 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.

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

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Within hours of President Obama’s historic May 9 statement on marriage equality, the heads of a number of major labor unions announced their backing for his position.

AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka said his union federation was “proud” to support equality.

“Working people believe in equality and fairness and that’s why we are happy to stand with millions of Americans and with President Obama in supporting marriage equality,” Trumka said.

“LGBT working people face numerous inequities in the workplace and in society as they struggle to care for their families. Civil unions do not guarantee the 1,138 rights, benefits, and responsibilities that are triggered by the word ‘marriage’ under federal law.

“Most important, we should respect and honor our friends, neighbors, and family members who want to take care of their families and their loved ones – whatever their sexual orientation. We are proud to come together for a more just America.”

At the 2009 AFL-CIO convention, the newly elected Trumka delivered a stirring speech calling for the “full inclusion” of LGBT workers “at every level of the labor movement, including leadership.”

In 2010, Trumka produced a video for the “It Gets Better” project, recalling discrimination against his immigrant family.

Mary Kay Henry, an out Lesbian and president of SEIU – the largest union not affiliated with the AFL-CIO – also celebrated Obama’s announcement.

“Earlier today, President Obama joined a host of faith, civil rights, business, and political leaders who have publicly voiced their support of marriage equality,” she said.

The president’s support comes at a critical moment as the rights of LGBT people are under legislative attack in Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, and elsewhere. The president understands what we do – marriage equality is about family, community, love, and justice.”

Noting the flurry of attacks on LGBT rights in North Carolina and other states, Henry added that “we cannot live up to our promise as a nation until we extend equal rights to all.”

“To those who have chosen to stand on the wrong side of history,” she continued,

May 11, 2012

“we say this: There is growing momentum for equality in this country. And with each American who believes in equality, we are reminded that the continued dream of equality is our birthright, our heritage, and our promise.

“For anyone who counts equality among the basic tenets of a free and just America, President Obama’s announcement today is a victory.”

SEIU represents some 1.8 million workers in health care, janitorial services, and the public sector.

UFCW president Joe Hansen, CWA president Larry Cohen, and AFSCME president Gerald McEntee also issued statements of support.

Hansen, whose union represents 1.3 million workers primarily in the food processing and retail industries, is a longtime supporter of LGBT rights.

“Marriage equality is an economic justice issue and a social justice issue – and that makes it a union issue,” he said.

“In the UFCW, we have a long, proud history of standing up for fair and equal treatment for all workers – regardless of what they look like, where they come from, what

getty images

Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works

Major unions back Obama on marriage equality

language they speak, or who they love.

These values are heartfelt. We work every day to fight discrimination and unfair treatment against LGBT people on the job.”

Cohen also noted that his union has supported marriage equality for almost a decade.

“Nearly ten years ago, CWA convention delegates called for full and equal rights including civil marriage, pointing out that far too many benefits and protections of civil marriage are denied to people on the basis of sexual orientation,” he said.

“These often include health care and survivor benefits as well as other legal rights for partners. It’s time to move forward.”

CWA represents more than half a million workers in the telephone, newspaper, and broadcasting industries.

AFSCME president McEntee, whose union represents 1.4 million public-sector workers, promised to help overturn existing bans on marriage equality.

“We have an obligation to work to overturn unjust laws and amendments to state constitutions that codify prejudice and promote discrimination against fellow citizens,” he said.

“The president deserves praise for recognizing that this issue is about equality under the law and the right of all Americans to live their lives free from discrimination.”

The Washington State Labor Council, which includes most unions in the state, endorsed the Marriage Equality Act and the Approve Referendum 74 campaign.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will receive the World LGBT Award at WorldPride London this summer. She will be honored at a star-studded black-tie banquet preceding WorldPride 2012 on July 5. The gala fundraiser will benefit Pride London’s new Solidarity Fund, which supports organizations within the British Commonwealth that work with and for LGBT people to tackle homophobia and Transphobia. ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, will also be honored with the International Community Award. Founded in 1978, ILGA brings together more than 750 LGBTI groups from around the world.

Celebrating 39 Years!

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer One of the unintended consequences of President Obama’s marriage announcement is that it caught state Democratic Party chair Dwight Pelz flatfooted.

Pelz has been known as a loyal supporter of both the president and the LGBT community, but he has also been known for impulsive comments that get him into trouble.

On May 3, Freedom to Marry announced that Pelz was one of 11 state Democratic Party chairs who had signed on to their “Democrats Say I Do” letter asking the DNC to include a pro-marriage equality plank in its 2012 national platform. Washington Sen. Patty Murray also signed the letter.

The next day, Pelz demanded that his name be removed.

“I was unhappy to see them throw up some press release out there making it like this insurrection within the party,” Pelz told the now-defunct Publicola blog.

“I wasn’t happy with them using my name,” he added. “I didn’t realize it was part of a strategy to start a fight within the party and embarrass the president.”

Freedom to Marry, Pelz said, had tricked him into signing. He thought he was being contacted by them as “one of 500 Demo-

cratic National Committee members,” not as a state party chair, he said.

“Frankly, I felt sandbagged.”

Obama’s statement on May 9 erased any possibility that he would be “embarrassed” by a marriage equality plank in the party platform. Now it seemed to be Pelz’s turn to be embarrassed, by the fact that he pulled his name from a letter that – as it turned out – reflected exactly what the president wanted.

While Pelz did not reply to SGN’s request for comment on this turn of events, state Democratic Party Communications Director Benton Strong did speak with SGN by phone on May 9.

“The reality is, today changed everything,” Strong said. “The president is the leader of the Democratic Party.”

Asked if Pelz would have kept his name on the letter if he had known that Obama’s announcement was forthcoming, Strong said, “I don’t know the answer to that question.”

“Look, Dwight was never against marriage equality,” Strong added. “I think what Dwight was saying was he’s not trying to create a wedge – to pit the [state party] chairs against the DNC.” Asked to comment on the controversy, Sen. Murray only reaffirmed her support for the marriage plank, without speaking to the nate gowdy / seattle gay news

obama

continued from cover with millions of Americans.”

“President Obama’s path rings true for many in our state who have realized that marriage between loving, committed Gay and Lesbian couples is a simple matter of fairness and common sense,” Silk said.

“We hope the president’s remarks today will encourage more people to thoughtfully consider their own position and join their family, friends, and neighbors in supporting Washington’s marriage equality law, and approving Referendum 74 if it qualifies for the ballot next November.”

Citing his daughters’ comfort with the concept, Obama said, “It’s interesting, some of this is also generational. You know, when I go to college campuses, sometimes I talk to college Republicans who think that I have terrible policies on the economy, on foreign policy, but are very clear that when it comes to same-sex equality or, you know, sexual orientation, that they believe in equality.”

“They are much more comfortable with it,” he said, adding, “You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking

about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.”

When asked if first lady Michelle Obama was involved in this decision, Obama said she was, and then talked specifically about his own faith. “This is something that, you know, we’ve talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do. And that is that, in the end, the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people … we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids and that’s what motivates me as president, and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I’ll be as a dad and a husband, and hopefully the better I’ll be as president.”

The May 9 announcement was somewhat of a surprise because although Obama has

courtesy news tribune

Obama marriage support statement puts Democrat party head on the spot

Washington state Democratic Party chair Dwight Pelz

Pelz issue.

“Senator Murray has endorsed marriage equality in Washington state, is pushing to repeal DOMA, and supports including proequality language in the Democratic platform,” her spokesperson Eli Zupnick told SGN in an email.

Former Washington Stonewall Democrats

president Anita Latch defended Pelz, saying, “Dwight has been a strong ally.”

“This is a larger issue at the national level about getting [marriage equality] in the platform. We have our own battle in this state and we need to focus on Referendum 74.

Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good,” she added.

said his views on marriage equality were evolving, he continually stopped short of outright backing it.

Mitt Romney, Obama’s likely Republican opponent, opposes same-sex marriage.

“My view is that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman,” Romney said Monday, while on the campaign trail.

“That’s the position I’ve had for some time, and I don’t intend to make any adjustments at this point. … Or ever, by the way.”

Romney wasn’t the only one who disagreed with Obama’s show of support. After Obama’s historic endorsement of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, Gay Republican groups launched vicious attacks on the president’s embrace of equality, calling it “cold comfort” and comparing the President to former Vice President Dick Cheney. One group described the announcement as “offensive and callous,” while another said it was “hardly a profile in courage.”

National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jerame Davis replied, “These groups are truly shameless in their desperate attempt to provide cover for the atrociously regressive positions held by the GOP and Mitt Romney. Just today, Mitt Romney came out singing the party line expressing his complete opposition to marriage equality and civil unions. And just to drive home the point, the RNC provided Chairman Reince Priebus as a backup singer warbling the same broken tune.”

“But to invoke the name of Dick Cheney

in their attacks is just surreal,” he continued.

“Cheney was, by most accounts, the most powerful vice president in history. He had the power to order torture, wire-tapping, and got us into two wars – yet he did absolutely nothing to advance LGBT equality with that power in the entire eight years he was in office. When George Bush and Ken Mehlman – himself a closeted Gay man at the time – concocted their scheme to advance a federal marriage amendment for political gain, Cheney sat idly by and did nothing to stop it.”

“President Obama has done real work to advance LGBT equality and today’s statement only adds to that sterling resume,” said Davis.

President Obama has a good track record of actions that have made a real difference in the lives of LGBT people and our families. Since 2009, Obama has improved hospital visitation and decision making rights for Gay and Lesbian couples, repealed DADT, expanded access to health care by enacting the Affordable Care Act, signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, ensured Transgender Americans can get their true passport regardless of surgery status, and ended discrimination against LGBT people in federal housing.

And now, Obama can add “supported marriage equality in 2012” to that list of accolades. Thank you, Mr. President. The staff of Seattle Gay News applauds you for your leadership and support on this issue.

Hot

Use this coupon for

MAMA’S $2.00 off any size pizza PIZZA

700 East Pine St., Seattle

HOMEMADE

The Best Piece In Town! HAND TOSSED Not valid for delivery.

FREE DELIVERY • 206-322-6444

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

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

206-838-6027 or 206-898-4306

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News

5

Labor says approve R-74, reject I-1192

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) endorsed the Approve Referendum 74 and No on I-1192 campaigns at its May 5 COPE convention.

The decision came on a voice vote, with no one opposed.

Referendum 74 would ask voters to approve the Marriage Equality Act, giving equal marriage rights to Gay and Lesbian couples. I-1192 would redefine marriage to

exclude same-sex couples.

“Referendum 74, advocating marriage equality, was resoundingly endorsed by the labor body,” the WSLC said in a statement.

“This issue has become important to labor as it is seen as imperative to extending rights to workers who previously have faced discrimination.”

The WSLC represents some 600 local unions and 400,000 workers. COPE is the council’s Committee on Political Education, which makes political endorsements on its

Sisters offer 2012 community grants

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan, are beginning their 2012 grant cycle. For the past several years, the Abbey has given grants annually to nonprofit, 501(c)(3), LGBT-focused organizations in Washington State.

“We’re excited to do it,” said Sister Glo Euro N’Wei. “Throughout the year we raise money for our granting fund so that we can annually fund groups and programs that may not otherwise receive funding.”

The Abbey is currently accepting applications for grants. Organizations that have

qualified for grants in the past have typically been supportive of Washington’s LGBT community in some way, including but not limited to HIV/AIDS services, STD prevention, LGBT veterans’ groups and services, LGBT youth support services, and groups advocating marriage equality.

To apply for a grant, visit the Sisters’ website (www.theabbey.org) and click on “The Sisters’ Charity Grant Fund” for a downloadable application and instructions. The application deadline is June 22.

Since the grant program was started, the Sisters say they have given away “several tens of thousands of dollars” to help support the community. The grant money is distributed at the Abbey’s anniversary party in July. This year marks the Seattle house’s 16th anniversary.

“We’re tremendously excited to have been able to serve the community for the last 16 years, and we’re eager to continue serving the community by promulgating universal joy, expiating stigmatic guilt, and fundraising!” Sister Glo told SGN. “The Sisters will always be here for the community.”

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan, are an order of 21st century nuns dedicated to the promulgation of universal joy and the expiation of stigmatic guilt. They work to raise money for HIV/ AIDS charities, fight for Queer rights and visibility, promote safe sex, and strive diligently never to take themselves so seriously that they forget to have fun. Learn more about Seattle’s Sisters at www.theabbey.org.

behalf.

The Martin Luther King County Labor Council recommended the endorsement to the statewide body at the request of Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO’s LGBT constituency group.

The Pierce County Labor Council, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 (the state’s largest private-sector union), and the Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council had also decided to support marriage equality prior to the convention.

The Service Employees International Union, which is not affiliated with the WSLC, is also supporting the Approve Referendum 74 campaign.

The WSLC’s endorsement implies a commitment of volunteers to the endorsed campaigns, including volunteers for doorbelling, flyering at workplaces, and phonebanking.

It also includes direct mail and other forms of political outreach explaining why endorsed candidates and ballot measures have earned labor’s support, In a related action, the WSLC denied its endorsement to Mark Miloscia, a Democratic state representative opposed to marriage equality and reproductive choice. Miloscia, who represents the 30th district, is running for state auditor.

In an angry speech to the convention, Miloscia pleaded with delegates to not be distracted by what he called “wedge issues,” but he did not receive the necessary votes

for endorsement.

The WSLC also endorsed I-502, the proposal to legalize personal possession of marijuana.

The convention began with a speech by WSLC President Jeff Johnson. “The political stakes could not be higher in this election year,” Johnson told the delegates. “We are fighting to defend the values of our democracy.”

Johnson then introduced Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee, who received a special early endorsement from the council in February. Inslee is a vocal supporter of equal marriage rights.

Inslee promised the cheering delegates that as governor he would work to “rebuild the middle class.”

“We need fewer offshore bank accounts,” Inslee said, referring to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Swiss and Cayman Islands accounts, “and more onshore jobs!”

In a dramatic moment, members of the Washington Federation of State Employees turned their backs on State Sen. Jim Kastama (D-25) when he addressed the convention.

Kastama, who is now running for secretary of state, was one of three Democratic senators who voted with Republicans to pass a budget that cut retirement benefits for state workers by as much as 50%. The other defectors were Rodney Tom (D-48) and Tim Sheldon (D-35).

Leonard R. “Sonny” Stickman 1961-2012

rope, to rescue a baby hawk. He raised this bird until it was able to fend for itself.

Sonny was a fluent speaker of his ancestral Athabascan language. One of his most amazing, incredible, and unexplainable gifts was his ability to disappear at will. It was as if he could step into a bush and vanish – even our dog was unable to find him when he was hiding.

While living the last 25 years in the greater Seattle area, he was known for his great gifts as an artist. His fine dreamcatchers showed extreme elegance and design. He created them in many different sizes. Some of them could be found in galleries for as much as $1,000.

Sonny graduated with a B.A. in Native American Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with the help of a scholarship from the Pride Foundation of Seattle. He was well known on many Native reservations in Washington state as a very kind-hearted caregiver to elders and children. Sonny was never asked to give care, but he was always the first to volunteer his time and energy.

You could easily recognize Sonny walking down the street with his hair piled up in the air, often in multiple colors. His Uncle Bill referred to Sonny’s hair as getting ready to take off and fly. He carried a big voice that was often packed with laughter. He tended to move around a bit like a gypsy, but we always knew he was coming back. He loved to socialize, play the slot machines in casinos, and go dancing. He was a deeply loved joy to all of us who knew him, and although he will be deeply missed, we will feel him come visit us when gazing at a full moon or listening to the wind blow through the trees. When we hear the beautiful sound of a bird in the forest singing its mating call, we will know that was Sonny paying a visit.

To those of us who knew him he added to our lives. Sonny is now on a journey with the wolves. He is the Alpha wolf.

Our dear beloved friend Sonny left us on Sunday, May 6, while attending a social party.

Sonny expressed to his group of friends that he felt a bit tired. He put his forearm on the table and leaned forward to take a short rest. After some time had passed his friends noticed that he had been resting for quite some time. They attempted to wake him but received no response from Sonny.

After 911 was called and paramedics had arrived, Sonny’s friends were informed that he had passed. At this time we have no knowledge of any other details regarding our dear friend Sonny. It appears that he passed away in his sleep.

Sonny lived a very colorful life. He was born in a helicopter in Alaska and grew up in a small Native American village named Nulato. He was an enrolled member of his native corporation.

Sonny was valedictorian of his graduating class in Nulato. He also was a champion cross-country skier. Everyone loved to listen to Sonny’s memories of growing up in his village. He would share stories of the wolves singing to the moonlight over the Yukon River.

Sonny raised a bear cub for one full Written by his mate of 16 years, Paul summer. In his childhood his father lowered him over a bluff, securely tied to a D.G. Eubanks. “I love you, Sonny”

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

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

206-838-6027 or 206-898-4306 6

Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said on May 9 that he would call a special session of his state’s legislature to debate the civil unions bill that died without a vote on May 8.

Hickenlooper spokesperson Eric Brown made the announcement moments after President Obama finished his historic ABC News interview supporting marriage equality.

The Colorado bill died when Republicans, who control the state House, refused to allow debate on the measure.

Republican Speaker Frank McNulty called a news conference on the House floor to announce that he could not reach a compromise with Democrats and would not bring SB-2, the civil unions bill, to the floor.

Spectators in the visitors’ gallery broke out into a chant of “Shame on you! Shame on you!” Police cleared the gallery after one of the spectators yelled, “I hope you fucking die!”

The civil unions bill was voted out to the full House on May 3, when one Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee sided with Democrats to approve the measure.

Enraged Republicans then lobbied Mc-

associated press

Special session to debate Colorado civil unions bill Nulty and House Majority Leader Amy Stephens to use a parliamentary maneuver to kill the bill. According to the rules of the Colorado House, the bill would have to be debated on May 8 in order to qualify for a vote on the last day of the session, May 9.

At least five Republicans have said publicly that they support civil unions, meaning that if the bill had been debated and come to a vote, it likely would have passed.

McNulty refused to allow debate on the bill, thereby killing it, but also preventing the House from passing a number of other bills, including a $20 million water project, a measure to define the standard for DUIs, and a bill on school nutrition.

Throughout the evening of May 8, Hickenlooper, a Democrat and a supporter of LGBT rights, worked with legislative leaders to try to break the impasse, briefly meeting with McNulty outside the speaker’s office.

At another point, Republican Assistant Majority Leader Mark Waller and Democratic Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino held dueling news conferences on the House floor.

Predictably, Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for the impasse.

“They have done this to themselves,” Democratic state Sen. Pat Steadman said.

Defeat in North Carolina: Amendment One passes AP Photo / The Star-News, Ken Blevins

Devon Park United Methodist Church in Wilmington, North Carolina

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer North Carolina’s Amendment One, which bans same-sex marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships, passed by an overwhelming margin on May 8.

Although opponents of the measure outspent supporters by two to one, the amendment passed 61% to 39%.

President Obama publicly opposed the

amendment, even before his interview supporting equal marriage rights for Gay and Lesbian couples, and he said he was “disappointed” in the result. “[The president] believes the North Carolina measure singles out and discriminates against committed Gay and Lesbian couples, which is why he did not support it,” Obama spokesperson Cameron French said in a post-election statement.

“President Obama has long believed that

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Civil unions supporters rallied outside the Colorado Capitol on Tuesday, May 8, 2012.

“They have brought dishonor and ill repute to the House. They ought to be ashamed.”

Waller said Democrats did not give the House enough time to study the legislation.

“The Democrats in the state House are playing procedural games to have one [bill] heard over every other bill,” he said. “We need to carefully consider what’s before us right now. Careful consideration means taking time.”

Waller refused to respond to questions about why Republicans were filibustering the civil unions bill.

Supporters of the legislation rallied out-

side the Capitol as the drama was unfolding inside, and predicted eventual victory for equality.

“No matter what happens today or tomorrow, the unspoken truth in this whole debate is we will win,” said Jace Woodrum, deputy director for One Colorado, the state’s largest LGBT group.

“Whether it is today or tomorrow or next year or the next, we will win. Gay and Lesbian couples in this state will have full protection under the law. We all know it, and everybody in this building knows it,” he said.

Gay and Lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples and is disappointed in the passage of this amendment.”

Pre-election polling showed the measure would pass easily, although opponents were somewhat encouraged that the margin seemed to narrow as election day approached.

The final poll before the election showed 55% in favor, 39% opposed, and 6% undecided. Evidently the undecided voters broke heavily in favor of the amendment.

Support for the anti-Gay amendment was not uniform across the state. Seven North Carolina counties voted no, with the largest margin in Orange County, home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

There the amendment lost by an even bigger margin than it won in the state as a whole – 79% of Orange County voters rejected the measure. In Durham County, home of Duke University, the vote was 70% against Amendment One. On the other hand, in Robeson County, on the South Carolina border, 86% voted in favor of the amendment. In Carteret County, on the coast, 81% were in favor.

Support for Amendment One came from the usual suspects. Roman Catholic groups gave nearly $400,000 – a third of the total funding for the campaign. Most of the rest came from assorted Evangelical groups and individuals.

Many local activists said the LGBT community itself was not united around the campaign to beat the amendment back.

“I think the movement is fragmented,” said Pam Spaulding, of Pam’s House Blend blog, a North Carolina native.

Spaulding devoted space on her site to point out prominent LGBT donors who failed to contribute money to fight the amendment, and she is just one of many activists who have expressed disappointment in what they are calling the lackluster show of support by traditional allies of LGBT rights.

Even Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson, one of the country’s leading marriage equality advocates, came in for criti-

cism.

Freedom to Marry initially tried to pressure state legislators to keep the amendment off the ballot, but when that approach failed, they backed off from the election campaign.

“There are many battles underway this year,” Wolfson said, adding that his organization was investing resources in states like Maine, Minnesota, and Washington, where marriage equality is either on the ballot or up for a possible referendum.

Disagreements over how to message the anti-amendment campaign also caused some potential allies to sit out the election.

Mitchell Gold, a Gay North Carolina businessman who has given substantial sums to other campaigns, said he could not support the way the anti-amendment coalition was framing the issues.

The Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families wanted to “de-Gay” the campaign, Gold charged, noting that their ads warned that Amendment One could harm women, children, and domestic violence victims, but made no explicit reference to Gay rights at all.

“They didn’t want to talk about the fact that this is hurting Gay people,” he said.

“Part of their whole thing was, ‘We’re going to do this campaign and even if we lose we’re going to educate people,’” Gold added.

“So what did you teach people in the state? What you taught people in the state is that this law might hurt heterosexuals in a domestic relationship. What did this campaign teach the North Carolina community about Gay people?”

Gold thinks that groups should teach people about “religious bigotry” against the LGBT community, and said he plans to donate money to that effort.

Jeremy Kennedy, campaign manager for the Coalition to Protect North Carolina Families, replied that it would be a bad strategy to focus on Gay marriage and religion.

“We’re not asking you to make a religious or moral decision about marriage,” Kennedy said. “We’re asking you to make a decision about whether this amendment will hurt people, and it will.”

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News

7

nate gowdy / Seattle gay news

community network.”

Loo says he has the “deepest gratitude to the openly out and proud API LGBTs who paved the way for many of us to feel comfortable in our own skin, who took bold steps forward by coming out and being role models of courage.”

As individuals, Loo says it is important for us to “create safe and nurturing spaces to fight for LGBT equality – it is never about a Gay agenda, it is a social justice issue for all.”

Benjamin Haong, 29, otherwise known as Sister Yuriko Lomein with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence – is a second generation Asian American. His family immigrated to Seattle from Cambodia during the Vietnam War era.

Haong told SGN, “This event is important to me because I feel that this is the first Pride event where I will be able to celebrate all parts of my life and culture at the same time, rather than celebrating segments of who I am at different times of the year.”

Haong is an active member of the organate gowdy / Seattle gay news

Tanya Rachinee

asia

continued from cover

courtesy victor loo

Northwest to raise awareness of the LGBT cause among API individuals, families, and communities.”

“As with most cultures, and although it varies from country to country,” she said, “family culture is a very important aspect of API identity. Couple that with LGBT issues like coming out, faith/spirituality/religion, and self-esteem – the issues for Queer APIs can be overwhelming, and sometimes devastating.”

Manila says this event is a significant reminder that the Seattle/Northwest region has a beautiful and rich history of Queer API stories, “not only of festivals and pageants, but of social change, health/wellness, and political/civic impact.”

Victor Loo, director of recovery services at Asian Counseling and Referral Service, agreed, saying, “Pride ASIA is an event Sister Yuriko Lomein where we can show that API LGBT individuals are creative and resilient people who Loo came to the U.S. in 2000 after receivare out and proud, just like you.” ing the chance to further his education in social and human services. “I immigrated from Singapore to the U.S. to find a place where I can feel liberated to be who I am and be truthful to myself, since being Gay is not only a taboo in my home country, but it is also illegal.”

“To my understanding,” he told SGN, “there isn’t an organized entity that unites API LGBTs and allies in Washington State, and hopefully this event will not only generate more awareness to the public through an interactive and fun way, but will also become a venue where API LGBTs and allies can gather to enhance and strengthen our

nizing committee behind Pride ASIA – along with Loo and Manila and a team of others working to make this inaugural event a success.

Tanya Rachinee, the current reigning Miss United Territories of Pacific Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA), 30, moved to the U.S. from Thailand in 1999 with her family to seek out a better life. Rachinee is a Transgender woman. “I am proud to be Asian and I’m glad that this year will be the start of the Pride ASIA event,” she said. “We are a minority group and sometimes we still see and feel discrimination toward us so it’s time for us to come out and shine and show the world that we are here among you.”

At this event, Rachinee says, “It doesn’t matter if you are LGBT or a straight person.”

“Pride events are designed to be about who you are and feeling pride in who you are,” she continued. “This event is important not just for this generation but also for the older generation, the pioneers who have suffered and who were hated by society but fought so we can be here today and call ourselves ‘Asian’ without fear.”

“This is also a good opportunity for Asian youth to educate themselves about their heritage and to be proud of it,” she concluded.

Aleksa Manila told SGN, “Some have asked, ‘How many Pride events do we need?’ I say as many as it takes so that our voice and vision do not evaporate!”

“Pride ASIA is not to create division nor is it to discredit Stonewall, but to recognize that LGBT issues and concerns continue to grow and surface,” she said. “Let us not forget that until [1973] homosexuality was deemed a pathology in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and it was illegal to be Gay. To date, our communities have made efforts to enforce ENDA, repeal DADT, and now marriage equality in our state. Pride ASIA is to assist in celebrating the larger LGBT continuum.”

“I am confident and excited that Pride ASIA will bring together the region’s Queer API forces,” concluded Manila. “Over the years, Seattle has been home to amazing organizations like Queer & Asian, Long Yang Club, Night FantASIA, Miss Gay Filipino (FCS), and Young Asian Men’s Study (YAMS), to the Queer International API Council and United Territories of Polynesian Islanders Alliance (UTOPIA). We are at the peak of the intersection of race and gender/orientation. Please join us in celebrating the colorful diversity of Queer API culture. This historic event will be a feast for all the senses honoring the past, present, and future of Queer APIs.”

Victor Loo

Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches 8

Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

RE-ACT THEATRE – “A LANGUAGE OF THEIR OWN” On Fridays and Saturdays, April 20-May 12, at 8 p.m., at Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave.), ReAct Theatre, Seattle’s only Multi-ethnic Philanthropic Theatre Company, proudly presents a new staging of the newly revised edition of “A Language of Their Own,” the award-winning 1995 play about the lives and relationships of four Gay men written by Chay Yew. In every relationship, a new language is forged and this early AIDS play explores the nature of desire, sexuality, race and self-definition.

Wonderfully simple yet beautifully complex, “A Language of Their Own,” looks at the universal aspects of love, particularly how the past can affect the present in matters of the heart. Tickets: $15-general admission; $12-students/seniors/military/ disabled – with a $3 discount for advance purchase through www.brownpapertickets. com/event/239555, 800-836-3006 or Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Ave.), 206624-6600.

CAPITOL HILL SPRING CLEAN SWEEP On Saturday, May 12, at 10 a.m., meet at Cal Anderson Park Shelter House (11th Ave. & E. Olive St.) to organize teams for the Capitol Hill Spring Clean Sweep. Breakfast snacks (provided by Starbucks) and cleaning supplies (provided by Seattle Public Utilities) will be provided. Help pick up litter throughout Capitol Hill. At noon, return to the shelter house for lunch (provided by Pagliacci Pizza).

SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – SPIRIT OF WEST AFRICA On Saturday, May 12, from noon-8 p.m., Seattle Center Festal presents “Spirit of West Africa” at Center House. Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of West Africa through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games, and a tempting marketplace. This lively and colorful festival features traditional dance and music by world-class artists from Senegal, Guinea, Benin, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Congo, Uganda and Afro-Peruvian. www.thionediop.com.

“REVOLUTION IN SEATTLE: VOICES FROM THE 1919 SEATTLE GENERAL STRIKE” On Saturday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m., at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), hear the story of the first time in U.S. history that Labor ruled an American city. Narrative, dramatic readings and song bring this episode to life. $3 door donation. Strike kitchen dinner served at 6 p.m. for an $8.50 donation. Sponsored by the Freedom Socialist Party. 206-722-2453.

RIGHTEOUS MOTHERS AT THE TRIPLE DOOR On Saturday, May 12, at 8 p.m., at The Triple Door (216 Union St.), bring your mother and friends and celebrate Mother’s Day Eve at the Righteous Mothers’ 30th Anniversary Bash and watch all seven of the talented Righteous Mothers kids join their moms on stage. There will be other guest artists, a trip down memory lane, and some great new material, too, including a song to celebrate passage of Washington state’s same-sex marriage bill. Tickets: $22-advance, $25 at the door. www.righteousmothers.com; www.thetripledoor.net.

SEATTLE’S ANNUAL LGBTQ YOUTH PINK PROM FOR YOUTH, AGES 13-22 On Saturday, May 12, at 8 p.m., at All Pilgrims Christian Church (500 Broadway E.), Lambert House hosts Seattle’s 2012 LGBTQ Pink Prom for youth, ages 13-22. You do not have to come with a date. Creative dress is encouraged, but you do not have to buy fancy clothes. This is a drug, alcohol

and hate free event. Suggested donation is $15. Advance tickets include a 10-minute touch-up session with a make-up artist. For more information and to purchase advance tickets, visit www.seattlepinkprom.com.

EMERALD CITY SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION www.seattlegaysoftball.com PRIDE IDOL 2012 On Sundays through June 10 (no Pride Idol May 20), doors at 6 p.m. (with open community karaoke), contest at 8 p.m., at Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway), join Seattle Out & Proud and your hostess Gaysha Starr for Pride Idol 2012, Seattle’s annual LGBT Pride karaoke contest – weekly $100 cash prize; $1000 grand prize. For complete details and to register for the contest, visit www.seattlepride.org/pride-idol.

No cover charge to watch.

IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE – CLOSET BALL 2012 On Sunday, May 13, door at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m., at R Place (619 E. Pine St.), the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle presents the Closet Ball. Contestants who have never dressed in drag before (except perhaps at Halloween) and their drag mothers are introduced to the audience at the beginning of the evening and then have one hour to transform from male to drag queen or female to drag king, during which time an entertaining drag show will be presented.

After an hour, contestants return to the stage to be judged and greet their public. A contestant is selected to be winner of the Closet Ball. Often the previous year’s winner of the Closet Ball returns for a final walk. Cost: $7 donation at the door. www.imperialcourtofseattle.com.

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE SPRING CONCERT – “ANOTHER SUNRISE” On Monday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m., at Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall (3rd Ave. & Union St.), Music of Remembrance presents “Another Sunrise,” a world premier MOR commission.

Soprano Caitlin Lynch sings in a new musical drama by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, telling the incredible true story of Krystyna Zywulska, a Polish Resistance member, poet, and hidden Jew who escaped a ghetto, forged identity papers, faced down Gestapo interrogators, and became the author of concentration camp anthems. The evening also features work by Holocaust-era composers Ullmann, Haas, and Laks, with special guests The Northwest Boychoir. Tickets: $36. 206-365-7770; www.musicofremembrance.org. At 6 p.m., there will be an opportunity to meet Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer.

Lesbians and Gay Survivors of Abuse presents a “Mini Relationships Skills Class on Social Networking.”

Online social networking sites are here to stay, and new ones are popping up everyday.

How can you use these sites to build, maintain, and strengthen relationships in your life, be they with intimate partners, friends, or flings? And what kind of strategies can you keep in mind to stay safe and sane in this ever more interconnected world? Join us to hear our ideas and to share your own!

Suggested donation is $20, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships and trades are also available. For more information, accessibility questions, and to register, contact DeAnn at 206-568-7777.

MEETING FOR ALL SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TO DISCUSS LGBTQI DIVERSITY ISSUES FOR ADULTS WORKING IN THE K-12 SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT On Thursday, May 17, from 4-6 p.m., at Roy Street Coffee (700 Broadway E.), a social and discussion group for all K-12 school employees will be meeting to share coffee, tea, and resources concerning LGBTQI diversity issues related to adults working in the K-12 school environment.

You are invited to lend your spirit and hand to this venture. RSVP not required. For more information, contact Doug at 206329-5676 or Jill at jilldavidson53@gmail. com The group will meet again the third Thursday in June, with no meetings over the summer.

“SYTTENDE GAY” On Thursday, May 17, from 5-8 p.m., at The BalMar (5449 Ballard Ave. NW, at NW Market St.), you are cordially invited to attend “Syttende Gay” a celebration of Syttende Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day, with a Gay twist. View Ballard’s Norwegian Constitution Day parade and celebrate six years of the Nordic GLBT Community This year’s “Syttende Gay” theme is “Russefeiring.” Russ is an annual graduation tradition in Norway from May 1 to May 17, a Mardi Gras-like celebration with a youthful vibe, Russ-wear is red or blue bib overalls with pinned flags and zany accessories worn in addition. You are invited to come in this optional dress theme. Cost is $7 for a VIP pass, which includes a panoramic view of the parade, 10% off Nordic inspired food and cocktails, including the customary drink Aquavit. There will be fundraising raffle drawings, etc. This year’s beneficiary will be the Approve Referendum 74 for Marriage Equality campaign.

RADICAL WOMEN – “FEMINISTS OUT LOUD: OPEN MIC NIGHT” On Thursday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m., at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), bring your raps, rants, spoken word, music, and performances in celebration of women’s courage and tenacity in the fight for liberation. Come to share or be inspired – everyone will get their five minutes of fame! Dinner served at 6:30 p.m. for $8.50 donation. Hosted by Radical Women. For SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN more information, rides or childcare, call BOOK CLUB – 206-722-6057 or email RWSeattle@mindARE YOU MY MOTHER? The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club spring.com. Everyone welcome. Wheelmeets every Wednesday, at 6 p.m., at Seattle chair accessible. www.RadicalWomen.org.

Area Support Groups Community Center “STANDOUT/STAND TOGETHER” (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.).

– THE 2012 GSBA May selection will be Are You My MothSCHOLARSHIP AWARDS DINNER er? by Alison Bechdel (author of Fun On Friday, May 18, at 5:30 p.m., at the Home).

All GLBTQ folks are welcome to partici- Seattle Marriott Waterfront (2100 Alaskan pate in this free book club. For more infor- Way), join GSBA members and friends for mation email nickdimartin@earthlink.net, the 2012 GSBA Scholarship Awards Dinvisit http://faculty.washington.edu/swittet/ ner. Celebrate this year’s award recipients SGLBookClub/ or contact SASG at 206- and enjoy special remarks by guest speaker 322-2437; www.sasgcc.org. For discount on Gautam Raghaven from the Office of Public Engagement, The White House. Tickets: cost of books, email Nick. $120 GSBA members; $140 non-members; $100-students. For more information and to NORTHWEST NETWORK register: 206-366-9188; www.thegsba.org.

MINI RELATIONSHIPS The Greater Seattle Business Association SKILLS CLASS On Wednesdays, May 16 and May 23, (GSBA) is Seattle’s LGBT and allies Chamfrom 6-8 p.m., at Seattle Central Communi- ber of Commerce. ty College (1701 Broadway), exact room to SEATTLE PRIME TIMERS – be determined (the building is accessible), COFFEE REUNION the Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans,

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

On Friday, May 18, at 7 p.m., Seattle Prime Timers meets at Starbucks (1600 E. Olive Way) for their monthly Coffee Reunion, a great time to informally meet and greet, socialize, chat, swap lies, find what your friends have been doing, let others know your latest theatre recommendations, etc., etc. www.seattleprimetimers.org.

BORDER RIDERS MOTORCYCLE CLUB SUMMER RIDES MAY 18-21 and monthly through October www.borderriders.com SEATTLE CHEESE FESTIVAL PIKE PLACE MARKET MAY 19-20 www.seattlecheesefestival.com UNIVERSITY DISTRICT STREET FAIR MAY 19-20 www.udistrictstreetfair.org “PURPLE PROM” On Saturday, May 19, from 8-11 p.m., at Miller Community Center (330 19th Ave. E.), Seattle Parks & Recreation and Born This Way Kafe host the Purple Prom. The Purple Prom is an event for Queer youth of color, all Queer youth, friends, and allies, ages up to 20 years old. The evening features live DJs, a great dancing opportunity, food and fun. The event is FREE and advance tickets are required. The event capacity is 100 people. www.brownpapertickets. com/event/243179.

BITE ON BROADWAY & MUSIC WALK On Sunday, May 20, sample food bites (up to $3 per bite) from over twenty participating restaurants on Broadway between E. Roy St. and E. Pike St. and enjoy music by local artists. Punchcards listing participating restaurants and businesses are available at participating businesses. Sponsored by the Broadway Business Owners Association. www.facebook.com/BBOAEvents RAINBOW WEDDING NETWORK’S GAY & LESBIAN WEDDING EXPO On Sunday, May 20, from 1-4 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (1113 Sixth Ave.), the Rainbow Wedding Network’s 4th Annual Seattle Gay & Lesbian Wedding Expo will feature over 30 local wedding professionals, as well as professionals representing travel, gift, legal, real estate and family-related industries. The event will include music, ceremonies, tips, samples and giveaways.

A representative from Equal Rights Washington will discuss the upcoming campaign to Approve Referendum 74. The event is free to attend; a $5 donation is requested. To RSVP, visit www.samelovesamerights.com.

SEATTLE RAINBOW CONTRA DANCE On Sunday, May 20, free lesson at 3 p.m., dance from 3:30-6 p.m., at Dance Underground (340 15th Ave. E.), join Seattle Rainbow Contra Dance for an afternoon of live music and gender-free dancing for LGBTQ folks and friends and all who want to dance. May 20 features the music of Jesse Partridge & Jay Finkelstein from Olympia.

Mariah Pepper calls. $10 general admission.

LA FEMME MAGNIFIQUE WASHINGTON PAGEANT – “HATS, HATS, HATS” On Sunday, May 20, door at 6 p.m., pageant at 7 p.m., at Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway Ave., entrance in alley between Broadway and Harvard Ave. off E. Pike St.), Darcelle XV and Gaysha Starr present the 2012 La Femme Magnifique Washington Pageant, “Hats, Hats, Hats!”

Tickets: $15. Partial proceeds to benefit the campaign to Approve Referendum 74 Marriage Equality in Washington state. For contest information and advance tickets, email gaysha@gayshastarr.com.

TRIANGLE RECREATION CAMP AT BENDER CREEK – THE MILITARY PARTY WEEKEND MAY 25-28 www.camptrc.org

Seattle Gay News

9

nate gowdy / seattle gay news

President Obama in Seattle May 10, 2012

10 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

 Broadway 

Farmers Market Visit us online www.sgn.org

Broadway & E. Pine at Seattle Central Community College Sundays, 11am - 3pm, April 22 - Dec 23.

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 11

Visit SGN.org for all things pride this summer.

12 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

SGN Seattle Gay News

Celebrating 39 Years!

e t o v o t RegisteR

www.myvote.wa.gov

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 13

14 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 15

INTERNATIONAL courtesy BK magazine

NEWS

by Scott Wittet SGN Contributing Writer

President of the TransFemale Association of Thailand, Yollada Suanyot

ganda” among minors. Activists believe it is a means of cracking down on Gay rights.

In late April, Russia’s third largest city, Nizhny Novgorod, adopted a similar law.

Politicians have proposed passing it at a federal level.

Activists have decried the law as a throwback to Soviet times, when homosexuality was banned. It is being promoted by the ultra-conservative Russian Orthodox Church, whose influence has grown since Vladimir Putin began facing challenges to his rule last December.

Gay rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev was arrested for holding a banner reading “Homosexuality is not perversion.” When he was later convicted, and fined 5,000 rubles ($186), Alexeyev said he was satisfied with judge’s decision because now he can challenge the law and press for its cancellation.

Alexeyev has been arrested on numerous occasions for holding Pride marches and Gay rights demonstrations, and he has initiated lawsuits against Moscow authorities for banning the events.

Madonna, who will perform in St. Petersburg in August, has vowed to speak up for Gay rights during her visit. Some Russian officials have threatened to arrest her as well.

RUSSIAN POLICE ARREST ACTIVISTS UNDER “HOMOSEXUAL PROPAGANDA” LAW Russian police arrested 17 Gay rights activists at a May Day rally in St. Petersburg, according to the AP. Members of the group were detained while trying to unfurl rainbow flags, activists said. Police said the detainees would be charged with failing to cooperate with officers.

In March, St. Petersburg became the fourth city in Russia to adopt a vaguely phrased law banning “homosexual propa-

INDIA’S LARGEST TRANSGENDER FESTIVAL BEGINS Koovagam, the largest Transgender festival in India (and, for that matter, in all of Asia), is a centuries-old tradition that has become more well-known in recent years thanks to the internet and to increasing visibility of LGBTs in the country.

The festival commemorates the myth of Lord Krishna taking female form to marry Aravan, a warrior who fought on Krishna’s side against their rivals, as described in the ancient epic poem “The Mahabharata.”

During the battle, Aravan offers himself as a sacrifice if the gods will grant his allies victory – but he wants to marry and spend a night with a woman before he dies. Krishna, who is a god himself although the others don’t know it, transforms into a woman to oblige.

Koovagam is the site of the largest temple in India in honor of Aravan.

To mark this event, tens of thousands of

16 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

MAY 17 – INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA & TRANSPHOBIA May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), with events planned worldwide: “Wipe Out Homophobia on Facebook” will mobilize 400,000 fans and one million members.

Haiti will celebrate its first IDAHO with LGBT movie screenings and a conference in Port-au-Prince.

Philippine LGBT Hate Crime Watch will confront that country’s Commission on Human Rights with an updated list of murdered LGBT Filipinos.

Sri Lankan EQUAL GROUND is sponsoring a poster competition, with a cash prize for the most innovative and creative entries.

GayMaroc will launch a national campaign to repeal Moroccan Article 489, which criminalizes same-sex relationships.

In Australia, families across the state of New South Wales have been invited to a special Family Day celebration hosted by PFLAG. The “One-Minute Noise” in Sheffield, U.K., will declare loud and clear that homophobia and Transphobia just won’t do.

Thailand, last week.

She is running against two male candidates. The election will be held May 27.

Yollada, 30, is a former beauty queen who has in the past campaigned for free sexchange operations, leading to widespread debate across the country. She reportedly receives support primarily from people in the entertainment industry.

GAMBIA: NO ROOM FOR GAYS, LESBIANS - PRESIDENT JAMMEH As gleefully reported in The Daily Observer, a newspaper in Gambia, West Africa, the nation’s president, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh, recently denounced what he called “ungodly Gay marriages,” saying his country has no “room for Gays and Lesbians.”

The President was reacting to pressure from the U.S., U.K., and other governments to improve human rights for LGBTs. Speaking to the National Assembly, Jammeh said: “If you want us to be ungodly for you to give us aid, take your aid away, we will survive. We will rather eat grass than accept this ungodly evil attitude that is antiGod, anti-human, and anti-creation. What is interesting is that Muslim veils have been banned [in some Western countries], and they want us to accept Gays and Lesbians in Africa. Hell, no! It will not happen in this country.”

“If you are caught and sent to jail, we will make sure that you are separated and put you in one jail where you will not see a man.

We will not lock homosexuals in one jail.”

“We will preserve our Africanness and our religious belief to the letter, and laws will be made to make sure that our cultural values are upheld to the letter.”

“We lost our traditional head scarf for a necktie, but we will not lose our humanity for the so-called human rights,” he said. file photo

HILLARY CLINTON AND ILGA TO RECEIVE WORLDPRIDE AWARDS London will be hot this summer! There are the Olympics, Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, and in July Londoners and their guests celebrate WorldPride 2012. As part of the annual Gay party, the Pride London organizing committee will give U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton the World LGBT Award and will give the International Community Award to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, or ILGA. The awards will be presented on July 5 at the World Pride Gala Dinner, a blacktie fundraiser. Tickets are still available if you’re planning a trip to the U.K. In December 2011, following the U.S. declaration that its agencies would challenge the criminalization of Gay acts and LGBT identity overseas, Mrs. Clinton spoke to the U.N. urging world leaders to be “on the right side of history.”

She said, “Some seem to believe it [being Gay] is a Western phenomenon and therefore people outside the West have grounds to reject it.

“Well, in reality Gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world.

“Whether we know it, whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

“Being Gay is not a Western invention, it is a human reality.”

The State Department subsequently set excerpts from the speech to music, with a montage of images of Gay couples and proGay demonstrations around the world.

Trans women, cross-dressers, and hijras converge on the town of Koovagam (near Chennai, previously known as Madras) from all parts of India and abroad. They reenact the myth over three days – symbolically marrying Aravan and on the final day becoming “widows” – wailing, moaning, and generally carrying on.

The festival will also include a beauty pageant to crown Miss Koovagam.

In other Chennai Transgender news, author and activist Priya Babu launched her new book, History of Transgenders in Tamil Nadu [an Indian state] late last month.

Founder and executive director of India’s Naz Foundation Anjali Gopalan

The international Rainbow Flash Mob INDIAN AIDS ACTIVIST will rise again, with mobs already planned NAMED ONE OF TIME’S in Germany and Russia.

MOST INFLUENTIAL For news about U.S. events, visit www.

In April, Time magazine named Anjali dayagainsthomophobia.org.

Gopalan as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for her work on HIV/ TRANS WOMAN RUNNING AIDS and LGBT rights. As founder and FOR OFFICE IN THAILAND executive director of the Naz Foundation in For the first time, a Transgender woman India, Gopalan has been at the forefront of is running for provincial office in Thailand, efforts to decriminalize homosexuality in according to The Bangkok Post. her country. Since 1991 she has been work“I want to represent Trans women and all ing to prevent HIV infection and to increase groups of homosexuals across the country support for people living with AIDS. in Parliament and press the government to Gopalan shares the 2012 Time list with pay more attention to women and Trans Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Hillary women,” said Yollada “Nok” Suanyot, Clinton, and Warren Buffet, among others. president of the TransFemale Association of

Celebrating 39 Years!

THOUSANDS SCREAM FOR HATE AT ANTI-LGBT RALLY IN MALAYSIA Gay Star News reports that thousands of anti-Gay protesters, including hundreds of students, rallied April 21 outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event featured speeches demanding repression of sexual minorities.

Recently there have been murmurings of possible improvements in rights for LGBT Malaysians. In response, protesters met at a university campus after being denied permission to gather in Kuala Lumpur’s central square.

Media estimates of the crowd ranged from 1,000 to 3,000. Much of their anger was directed at politicians accused of supporting Gay rights.

Some banners at the rally read: “Reject Free Sex, Reject Bisexual Leader,” “Gay and Bisex, Mad Dog Disease,” and “Reject LGBT.” The organizers also distributed anti-LGBT flyers and posters.

KENYAN WATCHDOG GROUP BACKS REPEAL OF LAWS AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY AND PROSTITUTION The Kenya National Human Rights Commission has published a report calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality and prostitution in the east African state, reports PinkNews.

The KNHRC is a government watchdog that investigates human rights violations in Kenya. The similarly named Kenya Human Rights Commission, a non-governmental organization, published a report in 2011 also calling for decriminalization.

The new report says Gay and Transgender people have been “routinely harassed by the police, held in remand houses beyond the constitutional period without charges being preferred against them, and presented in court on trumped-up charges.”

It also charged that LGBTI sex workers, mostly men who have sex with men, are often asked for bribes and sexual favors by male police officers in exchange for freedom or security.

Argentina passes “cuttingedge” Trans rights law

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer On the morning of May 9, as U.S. President Barack Obama voiced his support for same-sex marriage in America, news broke that the Argentine Senate approved a gender-rights law granting Transgender adults the right to receive sex-reassignment surgery or hormone therapy as part of their private or public health care plans. The bill also gives Transgender Argentines the right to specify their own gender identity in civil and legal affairs – regardless of their physical characteristics, or where they are in their transition.

Cesar Cigliutti, president of Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA) called the bill “vanguardia,” or “cutting-edge,” because of the benefits it guarantees.

Senators approved the Gender Identity Law by a vote of 55-0 (out of 72 Senate seats) with the other 17 absent, “declared absent,” or abstaining. The president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez, has supported the bill and is expected to sign it into law.

Many Argentines saw Transgender rights as the next step when same-sex marriage was legalized in the country two years ago.

“It is an act of justice and reparation, a cry for freedom and dignity in the face of years of complicit silence, of exclusion and discrimination against people based on perceived gender identity,” said Pedro Paradiso Sottile, counsel for the CHA.

India court affirms right to sex reassignment The High Court of Mumbai, India, ruled on May 7 that there is no law preventing an adult from having sex reassignment surgery.

Bidhan Baruah, a 21-year-old student from Guwahati, Assam state, who prefers the name Swati, told the court she realized early in life that she was born in the wrong sex and preferred to dress like girls. This angered her parents, who beat her, she alleged.

In her filing, Swati asked the court to restrain her parents from preventing the surgery. She said they had threatened her and were blocking access to her bank account.

Swati also alleged that his parents had threatened her doctors to prevent the operation.

“There is no law which prohibits the [surgery]. The petitioner is 21 years old and hence a major, and can take decisions for himself,” the court ruled.

Lawyers for the Indian government and Assam state told the court that they had no objection to the surgery.

Swati said in her application that she wants to undergo the operation to marry her partner, a flight lieutenant in the Indian Air Force.

Swati said she found out about sex reassignment surgery through the Internet and

decided to go for it. She did odd jobs after school hours to earn money for the operation, she added.

On March 2, Swati underwent a psychiatric test in Guwahati to check whether she was qualified for sex reassignment.

The test confirmed that she was, so she ran away from home on March 31 and went to Mumbai, where she stayed with a sympathetic cousin.

However, Swati’s father traced her to Mumbai and intervened to prevent her surgery.

The High Court declined to issue a protection order against Swati’s parents, but told Swati that she may apply for police protection.

“The court need not order a person not to cause harm to another individual. It is the job of the police to see to it that no harm is caused,” the court said.

The court directed Swati to file an application with local police giving details of the threat she faced.

“Police shall consider the application and if any threat is perceived to the petitioner then they shall provide necessary protection,” the court said.

Swati’s father told the NDTV news channel that he wanted his child to be happy but could not bear the humiliation if she became a woman.

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 17

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

The bill grants any adult Argentine the right to rectify their sex and name in public records, including on their birth certificate, if it doesn’t match their gender identity.

Upon request of a change of identity, the registrar must issue a new birth certificate with the changes desired by the Transgender individual –­ without requiring judicial or administrative permission.

Additionally, the bill requires public and private health systems to grant all Argentines access to surgical and/or hormonal treatments under the Compulsory Health Plan, meaning that health providers, unions, and private companies cannot charge extra for the procedures.

“It’s saying you can change your gender legally without having to change your body at all. That’s unheard of,” Katrina Karkazis, a Stanford University medical anthropologist and bioethicist, told the AP. “There’s a whole set of medical criteria that people have to meet to change their gender in the U.S., and meanwhile this gives the individual an extraordinary amount of authority for how they want to live. It’s really incredible.”

The law also gives minors (those under 18) access to the same benefits, provided they have the consent of their legal guardians.

“This law is going to enable many of us to have light, to come out of the darkness, to appear,” said Sen. Osvaldo Lopez of Tierra del Fuego, the only openly Gay national lawmaker in Argentina.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Dr. J HIV … Hep C … déjà vu?

by Dr. Joanne Stekler Special to the SGN This is one of a series of articles focusing on HIV and other STD prevention and care topics for Gay/Bisexual men and Transgender individuals in Seattle and King County.

Recently I’ve been hearing a buzz about hepatitis C that reminds me of HIV. For those of you who don’t know, hepatitis C is a virus, just like HIV. It infects the liver, the organ that helps you break down medicines and cleans your blood of toxins like alcohol. When people first get infected with hep C, they may get a flu-like illness or their eyes may turn yellow, but most people have no symptoms at all. If the infection stays active, which it usually does, hep C causes chronic inflammation of the liver.

Over time, this inflammation can lead to liver failure (called cirrhosis) or liver cancer.

It’s estimated there are about 3 million to 4 million people living with hep C in the United States – two to three times the number living with HIV. Hep C is the number

one reason someone will need a liver transplant in the United States. Like HIV, hep C can be spread from a mother to her baby, by sharing needles or works when injecting drugs, or by getting a tattoo with equipment that’s not sterile. We used to think that hep C wasn’t easily spread by sex. But we now know that people do get hep C through sex, especially HIV-positive Gay and Bi men who don’t use condoms.

Right now, we don’t know a lot about sexual transmission of hep C. We still think that oral and vaginal sex have low risk of transmitting hep C. Rimming puts you at risk for hepatitis A (another virus that infects the liver), but it isn’t a risk for hep C. Fisting, on the other hand, may be, as is sex with trauma and bleeding. And HIV-positive Gay and Bi guys have a greater risk of getting hep C from anal sex compared to HIV-negative guys, especially if condoms aren’t used.

What can you do about hep C? You can get tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends testing for people at risk for hepatitis. This includes

“Clean sheets” pill could help end HIV transmission

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer Male birth control. Aside from condoms and vasectomies, you’re probably asking yourself why you never hear of this. Next, you might ask, why is it relevant to the LGBT community?

Still in the early stages of research, nonhormonal birth-control methods designed for men could make birth control for straight couples a lot simpler. Men could pick up the slack and women could finally stop taking

the pill, with its plethora of hormonal effects that can cause nausea, dizziness, depression, and even decreased sex drive.

So why does this matter to us?

While it’s true that Gay men and Lesbians would typically support straight women in this endeavor and advocate for something like this, one new method of male birth control, now dubbed the “clean sheets” pill, could theoretically halt HIV transmission. However, it is important to note that as promising as this looks, it’s all hypothetical right now.

people who ever injected drugs or got stuck by a needle (even a long time ago), who are on dialysis for kidney disease, who have abnormal liver tests, or who are HIV-positive.

And recently the CDC has been thinking about recommending tests for all people born between 1945 and 1965. If you meet any of these criteria, you should get tested.

If hepatitis infection can last for years without causing problems, why get tested now? Because treating the inflammation now can prevent future complications. And because there are new hep C medicines, called protease inhibitors, that are like meds for HIV. The good news is that when people take a hepatitis C protease inhibitor plus standard treatment (interferon plus ribavirin), the combo works better than standard treatment. The bad news is that hep C protease inhibitors interact with other medicines, particularly HIV meds. This can decrease the level of HIV meds in the blood and may lessen their effectiveness.

If you are already infected with hep C, here are some things you can do to manage your health and avoid passing it to others.

Talk with your primary care doctor to see if hep C treatment is right for you. Avoid alcohol, and be careful about taking overthe-counter medicines, particularly acetaminophen, the medicine in Tylenol. Make sure you get the hepatitis A and B vaccines.

Don’t share needles, crack or meth pipes, razors, or your toothbrush with anyone. And use condoms for anal sex, because they’ll protect you and your partners against many STDs.

If you are not infected with hep C, you can protect yourself from hepatitis infections. Avoid sharing pipes if you smoke, or sharing needles or works if you inject drugs.

If you need injection equipment, visit the needle exchange or check with your local pharmacy. Get vaccinated against hep A and B. And if you’re HIV-positive, using condoms for anal sex can probably reduce your chance of getting hep C. Saturday, May 19, is the first-ever National Hepatitis Testing Day. If you’re a guy who has sex with other guys, you can get tested for HIV, hepatitis viruses, and other STDs at Public Health’s STD Clinic, Gay City, the baths, and at your doctor’s office.

For hours and locations, call (206) 2964649 or go to www.kingcounty.gov/health/ hiv. Fees are based on income and risk criteria.

For more information about hepatitis infections in Seattle, check out the Hepatitis Education Project at www.hepeducation. org. They’re having a testing event on May 19 at Victor Steinbrueck Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you can’t make that, you can schedule an appointment with them for hepatitis virus testing at (206) 732-0311.

The scientific minds behind RISUG, another male birth control method already patented in the United States but not yet FDAapproved, are working on the clean sheets pill.

The new pill totally inhibits the release of semen by relaxing the longitudinal muscles of the Wolffian duct system while permitting the circular muscles to contract. Thus, the circular muscles clamp down on the lax longitudinal muscles carrying sperm. All fluids are stopped before emission, and are recycled by the body normally.

It doesn’t stop the orgasm; it just stops the release of fluid.

This obviously is going to turn off a lot of Gay men as a potential way to halt HIV transmission, but if the clean sheets pill is found after trials to work, not only could it serve as a temporary way to deal with HIV transmission, but it could lead to a permanent and more likeable solution.

Right now, Dr. Nnaemeka Amobi and Dr. Christopher Smith, the inventors of the pill, are looking into two different ways the drug could be delivered. The pill would be taken two to three hours before intercourse and would last 16 to 24 hours. Or 24-hour protection could be offered with a time-release implant, which wouldn’t hormonally affect the user.

At its current stage, according to Amobi, he and his colleagues have “modified the prototypes and expect greater than 95% ef-

ficacy.” After the next round of trials, they expect to reach 100%, but because of funding problems, they can’t move forward at this time.

Money set aside for contraceptive research is very limited and most of it goes to female contraceptives. Big Pharma certainly has an interest in keeping it this way and the male alternatives, which appear to be much simpler, are having trouble finding funding.

Elaine Lissner, director of medical research at the Parsemus Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing “innovative and neglected medical research,” thinks the funding money could come from HIV research dollars.

“To contraceptive funders, this seems like just another male pill lead in a crowded field, but for HIV transmission prevention, there’s nothing like it,” said Lissner. “The yearly funding for HIV prevention absolutely dwarfs the funding for contraceptives.”

Lissner may be asking a lot by calling on HIV prevention groups to donate, but she thinks the research is promising.

If the research pans out, those looking for a solution to HIV would be getting a lot back, while giving a lot to the millions of straight women struggling with birth control. But unless male BC methods begin to attract more research funds, we’ll never know.

Joanne Stekler, M.D., M.P.H., is deputy director of community services for the HIV/ STD Program at Public Health − Seattle & King County. She is also an internal medicine and infectious disease physician at Harborview Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington.

Religion & Spirituality Sojourner Truth Ministries

www.sgn.org www.sgn.org 18 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Sunday Service 11:15 am Rainier City Bldg 1265 South Main St #106 (14th & Main) Seattle, WA 98144 Phone: Rev. Walden @ 206 380-1710

A Church for All God’s People – since 1972 www.mccseattle.org Sunday Worship 11:00 am 1415 NE 43rd St. on U-District (206) 325-2421

Celebrating 39 Years!

Syttende Mai? Syttende Gay!

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer On Thursday, May 17, Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood will celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day, Syttende Mai (“17th of May”). For the past six years, LGBT Seattleites of Scandinavian descent – or ScandiGayvians, if you will – have gathered for

how our numbers just grew; it [last year’s Syttende Gay] was one of the best events we’ve ever had,” Witzøe told SGN. “We’re going off the momentum of last year.”

This year, Witzøe has come up with a theme to get the growing number of participants even more excited.

The theme is Russefeiring, a yearly Norwegian graduation tradition similar to Mardi Gras. Participants typically wear colored overalls and celebrate nonstop from graduation day to the 17th – about two weeks.

Although diverse, Ballard has a rich history of Scandinavian immigration and pride, and the region’s cultural influences can still be found in the western Seattle neighborhood.

Ballard is home to the Nordic Heritage Museum, which celebrates both the community of Ballard and local Scandinavian history. The Syttende Mai celebration and parade in Seattle is one of the largest outside of Norway. Syttende Gay offers LGBT members of the Scandinavian community a chance to gather together at the BalMar Lounge in Ballard to view the parade.

“BalMar is kind of the closest thing to a Gay venue for Ballard,” said Witzøe.

In addition to providing an excellent view of the procession, BalMar’s chef prepares Nordic-inspired appetizers and the bar serves “Akvavit” or Aquavit, Scandinavia’s signature spirit, which gets its unique taste from caraway or dill.

Witzøe said he created the event and

chose Syttende Mai as the date for celebration because “there was no real post-parade party for the Gay crowd, and secondly, it’s a day that recognizes freedom.” As it happens, May 17 is also the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).

Proceeds from Syttende Gay will be donated to the Approve Referendum 74 campaign to defend marriage equality here in Washington. A pre-party of sorts, featuring the music of ABBA, will take place at Changes in Wallingford on Saturday, May 12. This event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Approve 74 campaign.

Syttende Gay begins at 5 p.m. at the BalMar Lounge in Ballard. The Syttende Mai parade begins at 6 p.m.

“Syttende Gay” to view the annual Syttende Mai parade, celebrate their heritage, and share it with other members of the LGBT community.

“The event has gotten bigger,” said Erik Witzøe, its creator. Last year’s Syttende Gay was double the size of the 2010 event.

“I think it’s great. We just talked about

Health and Counseling Services SPECIALTIES LGBT Issues Couples Counseling Depression Anger Management Domestic Violence Grief and Loss HIV/AIDS

Gary Sarozek, MA, LMHC 1370 Stewart Street (Across from REI) Seattle WA, 98109

206-619-4187 gsarozek@comcast.net www.garysarozek.com

Que Areste, N.D. Naturopathic Family Physician

206.328.2926 drque@speakeasy.net 1605 12th Avenue, Suite 16 • Seattle, WA 98122

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Insight Behavioral Care, PLLC Travis Damico, MN, ARNP Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

7813-12th Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98115-4320

www.insightbehavioralcare.com •Psychiatric medication management •Sex Therapy •LGBT issues •Healing shame •Addictive behaviors •Depression/Anxiety •Abuse survivors Phone 206-496-5370 worldoftravis@gmail.com

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 19

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gay writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak died May 8 from complications of a stroke, his editor Michael di Capua announced.

Sendak was 83.

Perhaps the most influential children’s book author of the 20th century, Sendak was known for a dark, terrifying, and yet enchanting view of childhood that challenged the sugar-sweet sentimental children’s literature that prevailed in the 1950s.

Best known for his trilogy Where the Wild Things Are (1963), In the Night Kitchen (1970), and Outside Over There (1981), Sendak also designed costumes and sets for

ballets and operas, including Pacific Northwest Ballet’s version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.

Although he lived with his partner, Dr. Eugene Glynn, for 50 years until Glynn’s death in 2007, Sendak was very private about his sexuality. When he finally talked about it in public, it was almost a throwaway line in a newspaper story.

In a 2008 New York Times interview, Sendak was asked if there was any question he had never been asked.

“Well, that I’m Gay,” he answered. “I just didn’t think it was anybody’s business.”

He also revealed that, like many Gays and Lesbians of his generation, he had never told his parents.

file photo

Gay writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak dies

Maurice Sendak in 2011

“All I wanted was to be straight,” he said, “so that my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew.”

“Finding out that I was Gay when I was older was a shock and a disappointment,” he said in another interview.

“I did not want to be Gay. It meant a whole different thing to me – which is really hard to recover now because that’s many years ago. I always objected to it because there is a part of me that is solid Brooklyn and solid conventional and I know that. I can’t escape that. It’s my genetic makeup. It’s who I am.”

Frail and sickly as a child, Sendak was reared, he recalled long afterward, in a world of looming terror – the Depression, World War II, the Holocaust – in which many of his European relatives died. He experienced the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932 as a personal torment, he said.

Nevertheless, Sendak found his earliest literary influences among his family members. His Jewish immigrant father would tell him Bible stories, Sendak said, but he would embellish them with racy details.

Not understanding his father’s humor, little Maurice would frequently be sent home after retelling his father’s “softcore Bible tales” at school.

As he grew up, Sendak said, he was deeply influenced by Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), and by Melville, Dickinson, and Mozart.

“My gods are Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Mozart,” he once said. “I believe in them with all my heart.

“And I have a little tiny Emily Dickinson, so big [indicating a tiny pocket-sized edition], that I carry in my pocket everywhere.

And you just read three poems of Emily.

She is so brave. She is so strong. She is such a sexy, passionate little woman. I feel better.”

“When Mozart is playing in my room,” he added, “I am in conjunction with something I can’t explain. [...] I don’t need to. I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.”

Although he held a deeply modern sense of childhood and lived well into the 21st century, Sendak was not a fan of all modern appliances. E-books, in particular, outraged him.

“Fuck them is what I say, I hate those ebooks. They cannot be the future … they may well be … [But] I will be dead, I won’t give a shit!”

Sendak wrote or illustrated more than 100 books during his career. He received a National Book Award, a Caldecott Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s book illustration, and the National Medal of Arts.

His last picture book, Bumble-Ardy, was published in 2011. It tells the story of an orphaned pig who gives himself a riotous birthday party.

A posthumous picture book, My Brother’s Book – a poem written and illustrated by Sendak and inspired by his late brother Jack – is scheduled to be published next February.

Legal Services MARTIN SJOLIE Attorney at Law

Last Will, Power of Attorney & Health Care Directive (Living Will)

$300.00/Person or $500.00/Couple for complete, personalized services.

(206) 841–1373 sjolielaw@clearwire.net

Also providing prenuptial assistance.

www.sgn.org 20 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

house

continued from cover read.

It was introduced by freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) who was elected in the Republican landslide of 2010 with support from Concerned Women for America, the Club for Growth, the Conservative Leadership PAC, and Mike Huckabee.

According to Roll Call newspaper, Huelskamp claimed he introduced the amendment not only because the Justice Department stopped defending DOMA in court, but also because Vice President Joe Biden endorsed same-sex marriage on NBC’s Meet the Press May 6.

Although the amendment passed on a largely party-line vote, seven Republicans voted against it, while 16 Democrats voted yes.

According to ACLU legislative representative Ian Thompson, the amendment does nothing practical, because the Obama administration is still enforcing DOMA restrictions even though the Justice Department is no longer defending DOMA in court.

“The Huelskamp Amendment is a solution in search of a problem,” Thompson said.

“While there are multiple legal challenges to DOMA working their way through the federal courts, it is still binding. This amendment serves absolutely no purpose other than to score political points at the expense of Gay and Lesbian couples.”

Huelskamp had reportedly planned an amendment to prevent government lawyers from arguing against DOMA in court – which, if passed into law, would have had real consequences. Huelskamp did not move forward with that amendment, however.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office accused Republicans of voting “to tie the hands of the Obama administration with respect to their efforts to end discrimination against America’s families.

“House Republicans continue to plant their feet firmly on the wrong side of history,” Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill told the Washington Blade.

“Republican leaders refuse to bring up a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act that includes critical domestic violence protections for the LGBT

community, and Speaker [John] Boehner continues his legal boondoggle to use taxpayer funds to defend the indefensible Defense of Marriage Act in court, including cases involving the families of our men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces.

“These discriminatory actions only serve to advance fundamental unfairness in our society and are against the principles of liberty and equality that our country is built upon.”

Real Estate & Home Services

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

Professional Customized Home Cleaning!

Gary D. TorGerson Co. Expert Painting and Repairs

Choice is Good.

The Right Choice Is Important.

Call Diversity Cleaners.

Diversity Cleaners Jonathan Bell-Owner Phone: 206-330-8528

Rot Repair: siding, doors, windows, porches and decks.

Lead-Safe Certified

www.sgn.org

www.diversitycleaners.com

Bonded

D#602 244 664

See photographs of our work at www.TorgersonCompany.com Email: info@torgersoncompany.com Contractor Registration #: GARYDTC134CJ Phone: 206-781-0999

Specialized Services

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

Committed couples should make end-of-life decisions together.

For free consultation and pre-planning guide, call Cynthia, (206) 330-2132.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 21

22 Seattle Gay News

May 11, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru

932 12th ave.

Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 11, 2012

Seattle Gay News 23