SGN June 7, 2013 - Section 1

Page 1

Issue 23 Volume 41

FRIDAY June 7, 2013 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

Celebrating 40 Years! Page 8

Pride flag raised at Seattle City Hall Page 15

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Illinois marriage equality bill fails

House adjourns without voting on measure that passed Senate Ted Schurter

Illinois Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, pauses to regain his composure as the gallery erupts in protest after he announced he wouldn’t call the Gay marriage bill on the House floor at the Illinois State Capitol

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer On May 31 the Illinois House of Representatives adjourned without taking action on a pending marriage equality bill. The state Senate had already passed the measure, and Gov. Pat Quinn had promised to sign it into law if the House passed it. House Speaker Michael Madigan told the Chicago Tribune on March 13 that he was 12 votes short of the number needed to pass the bill, but since then equality supporters repeatedly said the votes were there – and Madigan invited LGBT activists to attend the final May 31 session in expectation that the measure would pass before the legislature adjourned. However, at the last minute the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, withdrew it, saying he had to put off the vote until November. ACCUSATIONS FLY Activists promptly denounced Harris’s action. Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive of Equality Illinois, called the turn of events

“disgraceful.” “After an overwhelming victory in the Senate, today’s failure by the Illinois House is a disgrace,” Freedom to Marry said in a statement, “especially for the thousands of committed same-sex couples who want and deserve to make the ultimate vow before their friends and family and spend the rest of their lives with the person they love, protected and supported by their marriage.” “This is a stunning failure in the Illinois House,” Lambda Legal declared. “This is too important to families across Illinois, and Lambda Legal’s lawsuit, Darby v. Orr, which was filed a year ago yesterday, will move forward … however, it’s unacceptable that our community did not at least get the vote Rep. Harris promised on the House floor. We have a right to know where our elected officials stand on the fundamental right to marry the person you love. We will continue to work with them to push toward passing this critical see illinois page 16

Rally ’round the flag! Let’s beat

file photo

this thing!

Activists urge Space Needle to fly Pride banner every year

35 groups commit to ‘re-engage’ the fight against HIV/AIDS by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor As the nation marks the opening of LGBT Pride Month, executive directors from 35 LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations from the United States released a joint letter on June 3, committing themselves and their organizations to re-engaging the broader LGBT community in the fight against HIV. “While issues like marriage equality and employment protections for LGBT workers have taken center stage, HIV continues to ravage the LGBT community,” Gay City officials said in a media release. “Despite making up just two percent of the population, Gay and Bisexual men accounted for more than 63 percent of new HIV infections in 2010. In

fact, Gay men are the only group in which HIV infections are increasing.” “For the first time in history, we have the tools that can put an end to new HIV infections in our lifetime,” said Fred Swanson, executive director of Gay City Health Project. “We must all engage both locally and nationally, and Gay City is grateful for the many men and women standing with us in the fight against HIV.” ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’ “We are at an important crossroad in our fight against HIV,” said National Minority AIDS Council Executive Director Paul Kawata. “The evidence behind treatment as prevention, and expansions in health care coverage that will accompany implementation of the Affordable Care Act, have provided a unique opportunity to end this epidemic, which has ravaged our community for more than three

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Nearly two dozen LGBT, immigrant rights, and labor organizations have announced a “30 Days Till Pride” campaign to get the Space Needle to fly the Rainbow Flag this year and every year – and see HIV/AIDS page 18 to settle its ongoing dispute with

its workers. COME OUT TUESDAY The groups say they will launch weekly direct actions at the Needle, the first of which will be at noon on Tuesday, June 11. They have also launched an online petisee flag page 19


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