Issue 20 Volume 40
FRIDAY May 18, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Celebrating 39 Years!
DESMOND TUTU p. 6
HOME HIV TEST p. 18
DONNA SUMMER p. 31
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Conservative Clyburn endorses marriage pollster urges GOP equality, wants federal law shift on marriage Former Bush operative says attitudes changing fast courtesy business insider
former President George W. Bush’s successful 2004 re-election campaign. In a May 11 memo to party operatives, Jan van Lohuizen noted that there’s been an increase in public support for marriage equality “at an accelerated rate with no sign of slowing down.” “The increase in support is taking place among all partisan groups,” wrote van Lohuizen. “While more Democrats support Gay marriage than Republicans, support levJan van Lohuizen els among Republicans are by Shaun Knittel increasing over time. The same is true of age: younger people supSGN Associate Editor port same-sex marriage more often The Republican Party should than older people, but the trends change the way it discusses samesex marriage, says the pollster for see pollster page 17
royal photography
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House endorsed marriage equality in an MSNBC interview on May 14. “I, like the president, have evolved to a point of marriage equality,” Rep. James Clyburn (DSouth Carolina) told network anchor Chuck Todd. “I have not always been there. I grew up in a parsonage, a fundamentalist Christian parsonage, and I grew up with that indoctrination. And I have grown to the point that I believe that we have evolved to marriage equality.” Clyburn added that he disagreed with President Obama on the correct approach to take in establishing equal marriage rights for Lesbian and Gay couples. “If we consider this to be a civil right, and I do, I don’t think civil rights ought to be left up to a stateby-state approach. I think we should have a national policy on this,” Clyburn said. see clyburn page 20
Representative James Clyburn (D-South Carolina)
FDA panel approves Capitol Hill Alano Club to Truvada as PrEP drug
dissolve later this year
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
courtesy google maps
CHAC’s Madison Street headquarters
Decision sparks debate
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Earlier this week, officials of the Capitol Hill Alano Club (CHAC) notified SGN that, as of December 31, the organization will dissolve. The decision, which may come as a shock to the many members who attend weekly CHAC meetings, was made because the Board of Directors feels that the mission of CHAC is being fulfilled. The lack of a permanent physical space to meet in was also a factor. The news is, as one board member described it, “bittersweet.” On one hand, the organization has existed for nearly 30 years and was born in a time when a safe space for members of the LGBT recovery community was needed. On the other hand, times have changed and, according to some board members, “several safe places exist within the heart of Capitol Hill” to meet the needs of the recovery community. In 1974, the Puget Sound area’s first all-Gay Alcoholics Anonymous group met once a week in
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
A panel of medical experts recommended on May 10 that the FDA approve Truvada as a PrEP drug – one that can be taken by HIV-negative patients to prevent HIV infection. The FDA’s Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee voted 19-3 in favor of prescribing Truvada for the highest risk group – HIV-negative men who have sex with multiple male partners. see chac page 20 The FDA is expected to make a
proud to Be Different
We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.
final decision by June 15. Truvada, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, is currently approved as an antiretroviral medication, to control HIV in patients who are HIV-positive. Because Truvada is already on the market as an antiretroviral, some doctors have prescribed it as a preventive measure. But FDA approval would allow Gilead to market the drug explicitly for that purpose. see truvada page 20
Call us at 206.568.2486