Issue 22 Volume 39
Celebrating 38 Years!
PRIDE EVENTS p. 5
BEN COHEN p. 7
OBAMA PROCLAMATION p. 12
Seattle Gay News Rainbows in the rough 2011 PRIDE FRIDAY June 3, 2011
FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY shaun knittel
Centralia launches Gay Pride in WA
Katrina Duall
BANNERS UP ON BROADWAY!!
Centralia/Lewis County Pride
by Katrina Duall Special to the SGN On May 26, 2011, in the small hub city of Centralia, Washington, a group of 50 gathered to celebrate the Fifth Annual Lewis County Pride Event, hosted by the Centralia College Gay Straight Alliance, in the Campus Clock Tower Square. Although it was a Thursday and grey clouds lingered above, there was no stopping this
party, as the GSA was prepared with heavy-duty tents and chairs for everyone to lounge in. A small affair with lots of variety, empowering speeches from local community leaders, and a couple of testimonies of personal struggles and accomplishments set the tone for the day: Together, we can do anything!
For SGN’s comprehensive 2011 Pride calendar, turn to page 5.
see lewis county page 27
Gay City and PrideFest stand McDermott introduces firm on event tobacco policy Tax Equity Bill for DP When Jeffrey King, president of OutVentures, an outdoor organization for the LGBT community, began the process of procuring booth space at PrideFest, the annual Gay Pride celebration at Seattle Center, he was faced with a policy that he just couldn’t stomach: all organizations and businesses wishing to set up shop at PrideFest are required to submit to a policy stating that they offer or could refer people to smoking-cessation services. The plan this year is simple: If you do not comply, you cannot rent a booth. King was outraged. OutVentures has been a part of PrideFest for years. “Why the new requirement?” he wondered. “Our board does not believe that any outside body has the right to dictate any policies we should or should not have. The particular policy they are asking us to add or change is completely irrelevant,” King told Seattle Gay News. “What is relevant is that Gay City – and PrideFest, for that matter – are resee tobacco page 28
benefits in USA
The bill also offers some tax benefits for employers who offer health care coverage to employees’ domestic partners. “As things stand,” McDermott explained in a statement, “companies are forced to pay higher federal taxes when they extend health care benefits to domestic partners – that’s wrong and it must be corrected. “My legislation would be especially important to Seattle, where a number of American companies are located – like Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, and others – who offer these health benefits to their employees.” Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott “Seattle is also home to a by Mike Andrew large LGBT population,” McDerSGN Staff Writer mott continued, “many of whom are impacted by this inequity and Seattle Congressman Jim Mc- would benefit from changing the Dermott (D-Wash.) introduced law, as my bill would do.” legislation on June 2 to establish Health care benefits for sameequal treatment under the tax code sex domestic partners are currently for employees who cover their considered extra income, and are domestic partners under their employer-provided health care plans. see tax equity page 27 file photo
shaun knittel
PrideFest at Seattle Center
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor