SGN September 16, 2011 - Section 1

Issue 37 Volume 39

Celebrating 38 Years!

FRIDAY September 16, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

LIIAS ENDORSEd p. 8

Rainbow city band p. 30

POPE ACCUSED p. 18

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

DADT REPEALED: A great day in LGBT history

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

No longer will the nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic LGBT Americans because of their sexual orientation.

On September 20, the U.S. military’s ban on openly Gay service, known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), will end. The nation’s estimated 65,000 active duty and reserve LGB troops will no longer be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder, in order to serve the country they love. After 18 years and nearly 15,000 ruined military careers, it’s finally over.

On Tuesday, DADT dies.

In a monumental and historic moment for the LGBT community – and America – President Barack Obama signed the DADT Repeal Act of 2010 during a ceremony at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., on December 22, 2010.

“I have spoken to every one of the service chiefs and they are all

committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently,” Obama assured the hundreds of attendees at the ceremony. “We are not going to be dragging our feet to get this done.”

And they didn’t. From the moment the DADT Repeal Act was signed, only a handful of servicemembers were asked to leave the service under DADT (three of them, including one officer, asked to leave) and the Pentagon set about implementing the repeal under the direct orders of Obama, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the defense secretary.

Since the beginning of January, the new reality of an openly LGB military began to take shape. Anti-Gay discrimination within the ranks of the U.S. armed forces is no longer. Those who do not comply will be disciplined accordingly.

We won.

But the victory did not come without a cost. DADT will not be see dadt page 16

Orange Cab to discipline Green glow-in-thedriver for anti-Gay remarks dark cats used in courtesy Cantele Wines

AIDS research

Reuters

“They’ve only been together two months,” Hill told SGN, “and they’re really into it. Our friends get kind of tired of it, actually, but According to they were just kissing.” the journal article, “I gave Patrick – that’s my boywhat were ordifriend – a little kiss,” Victor Nevanary house cats rez, one of Hill’s roommates, told have been genetiSGN. “It wasn’t anything like Cab cally modified in Confessions – that [HBO] show – two important it was nothing like that, nothing ways. obscene.”

Researchers at “It was literally a kiss,” Patrick the Mayo Clinic McKenzie added. “We weren’t, introduced one like, mauling each other in the gene into each anbackseat.” imal that helps it “Then the driver said ‘Don’t do to resist the feline that,’” McKenzie continued. “I form of AIDS. said, ‘You mean kissing him?’ and They also inthe driver said ‘Yeah, you make me troduced a gene sick to my stomach. He said it like, – found naturally four times.” in jellyfish – that “He told us to get out of his cab. produces a fluoRight on the overpass – it wasn’t rescent protein even a safe place to get out,” Hill Scientists are hoping cats genetically modified to called GFP. That said. “If it had been a straight glow green could lead to a breakthrough gene is what couple, he wouldn’t have said anyin the fight against AIDS. causes the cats to thing.” glow green.

“I’ve never experienced any by Mike Andrew According to researchers, GFP discrimination like that,” Nevarez SGN Staff Writer is inserted into the lab cats to help said. “I understand people have Although it sounds like the plot monitor the activity of altered their own personal beliefs or whatever, but you’re at work – you’re of a bad sci-fi novel, the journal genes.

“We did it to mark cells easNature Methods reports that green glow-in-the-dark cats may mark a see cats page 21 see cab page 21 new frontier in AIDS research.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Seattle’s Orange Cab Company says it will discipline a driver who was involved in a verbal altercation with four Gay passengers on September 11.

Justin Hill, one of the men involved, told SGN that he, two

roommates, and the boyfriend of one of his roommates were traveling from Westlake Avenue North to C.C. Attle’s on Capitol Hill.

Hill says he sat in the front seat next to the driver, with the other three in the backseat.

As they were traveling up the Denny Street overpass, the two boyfriends kissed.

proud to Be Different

We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.

Call us at 206.568.2486

2

Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News

3

4

Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News

5

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

2011

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 Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, Anthony Greer Contributing Writers

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

Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers

Nick Ardizzone, Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works

Seattle City Council passes Paid Sick Days Ordinance

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

The Seattle City Council approved a new ordinance on September 12 requiring most employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers.

The vote was 8-1, with only Council President Richard Conlin voting No. Cheers and applause from the standing-roomonly crowd in the council chambers greeted the vote.

The Paid Sick Days Ordinance was introduced by veteran council member Nick Licata, modeled on similar laws in San Francisco and the District of Columbia.

“To ensure healthy working conditions is clearly a role that only government can

“Government has a duty to protect its citizens by promoting good, safe, and healthy work conditions.”

Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2011, 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.

New infections are spread by risky behavANTI-CONCURRENCY ADS BASED iors, not the number of sex partners a guy ON FALLACIOUS REASONING has at any one time. Yes, risky behaviors The ad you ran recently about “concur- with multiple partners are more likely to fuel the epidemic than risky behavior with one. rency” is based on fallacious reasoning.

As a person who has been heavily in- But safe behaviors with the whole football volved over the years in the fight against team are still safe and won’t spread HIV. As a civil libertarian, I defend the right of AIDS, I am happy to see new groups and new approaches coming into the battle. people to say anything, even if foolish. And But “concurrency” (defined on the group’s the right of a newspaper to publish foolish website as “sexual partnerships [that] are ads. But I wish this group would fight AIDS happening concurrently and [thus] create by putting its resources into fostering safe a greater risk of spreading HIV to others”) sex practices instead of pushing monogaby itself has no bearing whatsoever on HIV my. transmission.

Phil Bereano

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

6

Seattle Gay News

address,” Licata said at the September 12 Council hearing. “Government has a duty to protect its citizens by promoting good, safe, and healthy work conditions.”

“It’s wrong that someone has to choose between going to work sick or losing pay,” Licata added.

According to the Economic Opportunity Institute, some 200,000 workers in Seattle currently get no paid sick days.

Council member Jean Godden signed on to cosponsor the ordinance almost immediately, but other members were reluctant to commit themselves until Sally Clark and Tim Burgess stepped in to craft compromise language that attracted a majority of the nine votes on the Council.

In his opening remarks to the Council hearing, Licata credited Clark and Burgess with helping to address business concerns about the measure.

Burgess said he supported the bill because it protects the city’s most vulnerable.

“Workers without paid sick leave days are often the individuals living paycheck to paycheck; they simply cannot afford to take

a day off when they are sick,” Burgess said.

Among the amendments crafted by Clark and Burgess is an exemption for so-called “micro-businesses” with fewer than five employees. This might exempt as many as 39,000 workers.

Employers and unions who have collective bargaining agreements are also allowed to negotiate exemptions from the ordinance.

While the amendments ultimately convinced Sally Bagshaw and Tom Rasmussen to vote Yes, they induced Conlin to vote No. Conlin said he opposed exempting workers from the ordinance.

“I’m concerned there may be some unintended consequences in the implementation of this legislation,” said Conlin, who worried about the complexity of the new law.

“This legislation differentiates among workers, and that’s a problem.”

The ordinance was supported by a coalition of labor and community groups, including Pride At Work (the AFL-CIO’s LGBT constituency organization) and LGBTQ Allyship.

A poll released by sick-leave proponents showed that more than two-thirds of Seattleites favored the idea of requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave.

The opposition was led by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, which said that requiring paid sick leave would lead to cuts in health insurance and other benefits.

Another opponent, the Employment Policies Institute, said the ordinance would result in lay-offs or reduced hours, especially for the lowest-paid workers.

Council member Sally Clark noted in her statement at the September 12 hearing that a requirement for independent evaluation by the city auditor had been added, to assess the impact of the new law on employers and employees.

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Arthur Evans, activist and writer, dead at 69 Prepared by Arthur Evans

courtesy dallasvoice.com

Arthur Evans, long-time San Francisco community activist and writer, died quickly from a massive heart attack in his HaightAshbury home early in the morning on September 11.

Diagnosed with an extraordinarily large aortic aneurysm in October of 2010, and not expected to live more than a few months, Evans refused risky surgery, opting instead to live out his remaining time on his own terms. This was consistent with a lifetime of challenging convention and honoring his own intuition.

Though he became weaker over time, he successfully managed the occasional pain and to his delight, rarely saw a doctor.

He spent his last year pursuing his pleasures: translating ancient Greek, playing chess with his best friend, going to the Castro Theater, dining out, writing letters to the editor, and visiting with friends. He remained chipper to the end, often joking about his situation.

Evans lived in San Francisco since 1974. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he played a pivotal role in the newly emergent Gay liberation movement in New York City.

A few weeks after the famous Stonewall riot of June 1969 (which he missed), Evans and his lover, Arthur Bell, joined the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), a new group that proudly proclaimed itself to be Gay, countercultural, and revolutionary.

Within GLF, Evans and others created a cell called the Radical Study Group to examine the historical roots of sexism and homophobia. Many of the participants later became published authors, including Evans, Bell, John Lauritsen, Larry Mitchell, and Steve Dansky.

A number of GLF members, including Evans, soon became dissatisfied with the organization, complaining that it lacked a coherent, ongoing program of street activism. At the suggestion of GLF members Jim Owles and Marty Robinson, about twelve people met in Arthur Bell’s Manhattan apartment on December 21, 1969, and founded the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA). Evans wrote the group’s statement of purpose and much of its constitution.

Acting on the principle that the personal is the political, GAA held homophobes who were in positions of authority personally accountable for the consequences of their public policies. Accordingly, Robinson, Evans, and Owles developed the tactic of “zaps.”

These were militant (but non-violent) faceto-face confrontations with outspoken homophobes in government, business, and the media. Evans was often arrested in such actions, participating in disruptions of local business offices, political headquarters, local TV shows, and the Metropolitan Opera.

In effect, GAA created a new model of Gay activism, highly theatrical while also eminently practical and focused. It forced the media and the political establishment to take Gay concerns seriously as a struggle for justice. Previously the media treated Gay life as a peripheral freak show. The new Gay activism inspired Gay people to act unapologetically from a position of Gay pride.

This new model inspired other Gay groups across the country, eventually triggering revolutionary improvements in Gay life that continue to this day.

In November 1970, Robinson and Evans, along with Dick Leitsch of the Mattachine

Society, appeared on The Dick Cavett Show.

They were among the first openly Gay activists to be prominently featured as guests on a national TV program.

It was a big change from Evans’ earlier days in York, Pa., where he was born on October 12, 1942. His father worked most of his life on assembly lines, the last in a chain factory.

ed all his credits from Brown University.

He participated in his first sit-in on May 13, 1966, when a group of students occupied the administration building of City College in protest against the college’s involvement in the Selective Service System. A picture of the students, including Evans, appeared the next day on the front page of The New York Times.

In 1967, after graduating with a B.A. degree from City College, Evans was admitted into the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University, specializing in ancient Greek philosophy. His doctoral advisor was Paul Oskar Kristeller, then the world’s leading authority on Renaissance humanist philosophy. Kristeller had studied under Karl Jaspers and Martin Heidegger in Germany but fled to Columbia University after his parents were killed in the Holocaust.

Evans participated in many antiwar protests during these years, including the celebrated upheaval at Columbia in the spring of 1968. In the same year he also participated in the protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

During this time, the poetry of Allen Ginsberg had a powerful influence on the formation of his values. While at Columbia, Evans joined the Student Homophile League, founded by Nino Romano, although he was still closeted.

In 1971 Evans and Bell separated. Bell died from diabetic complications in 1984.

By the end of 1971, Evans had become alienated from urban life and the academic world. With a second lover, Jacob Schraeter, he left New York in April 1972 to seek a new, countercultural existence in the countryside.

Using Seattle as a base, Evans, Schraeter, and a third Gay man formed a group called the Weird Sisters Partnership. They bought a 40-acre spread of forest land on a remote mountain in northeastern Washington State, which they named New Sodom. Evans and Schraeter lived there in tents during summers.

During winter months in Seattle, Evans continued research that he had begun in New York on the underlying historical origins of the counterculture, particularly in regard to sex. In 1973 he began publishing some of his findings in the Gay journal Out and later in Fag Rag. He also wrote a column on the political strategy of zapping for The Advocate, the national Gay newspaper.

In 1974, Evans and Schraeter moved into an apartment at the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets in San Francisco, from which Evans never moved. Schraeter returned to New York in 1981 and died from AIDS in 1989.

In the fall of 1975, Evans formed a new pagan-inspired spiritual group in San Francisco, the Faery Circle. It combined countercultural consciousness, Gay sensibility, and ceremonial playfulness.

In 1976 he gave a series of public lectures at 32 Page St., an early San Francisco Gay community center, entitled “Faeries,” on his research on the historical origins of the Gay counterculture. In 1978 he published this material in his ground-breaking book Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture. It demonstrated that many of the people accused of “witchcraft” and “heresy” in the Middle Ages and Renaissance were actually persecuted because of their sexuality and adherence to ancient pagan practices.

At this time, Evans also was active in Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL) and the San Francisco Gay Democratic Club, which later became the vehicle through which Harvey Milk rose to political prominence. He and his best friend Hal Offen opened a small Volkswagen-repair business, which they named “The Buggery.”

In the late 1970s, Evans became upset at

Arthur Evans

His mother ran a small beauty shop out of a front room in the family house.

When Evans graduated from public high school in 1960, he received a four-year scholarship from the Glatfelter Paper Company in York County to study chemistry at Brown University in Providence, R.I. While at Brown, Evans and several friends founded the Brown Freethinkers Society, describing themselves as “militant atheists” seeking to combat the harmful effects of organized religion.

The group picketed the weekly chapel convocation at Brown, then required of all students (even though Brown is a secular institution) and urged students to stand in silent protest during the compulsory prayer.

National wire services picked up the story, which appeared in a local York newspaper.

As a result, the Glatfelter Paper Company informed Evans that his scholarship would be cancelled. Evans sought help from Joseph Lewis, the elderly millionaire who headed the national Freethinkers Society.

Lewis threatened the paper company with a highly publicized lawsuit if the scholarship were revoked. The company relented, the scholarship continued, and Evans changed his major from chemistry to political science.

Although obstreperous politically, Evans remained closeted sexually and very lonely, not knowing any other Gay person.

Throughout high school and college, he often thought of suicide. In 1963, after completing three years at Brown, he read an article in a national magazine reporting that many “homosexuals” lived in Greenwich Village in New York City.

He promptly withdrew from Brown and moved to the Village, a change that he later described as the best move he ever made in his life.

In 1963 Evans discovered Gay life in Greenwich Village and in 1964 became lovers with Arthur Bell (later a columnist for the Village Voice). In 1966 he was admitted to City College of New York, which accept-

the pattern of butch conformity that was then overtaking Gay men in the Castro. Adopting the nom de plume “The Red Queen,” he distributed a series of controversial satirical leaflets on the subject. In a 1978 leaflet entitled “Afraid You’re Not Butch Enough?” he facetiously referred to the new, butchconforming men of the Castro as clones, initiating use of the now widely used term “Castro clones.”

In 1984 Evans directed a production at the Valencia Rose Cabaret in San Francisco of his own new translation, from the ancient Greek, of Euripides’ play Bakkhai. The hero of Euripides’ play is the Greek god Dionysos, the patron of homosexuality. In 1988, this translation, together with Evans’ commentary on the historical significance of the play, was published by St. Martin’s Press in New York under the name of The God of Ecstasy.

As AIDS began to spread in the 1980s, Evans became active in several San Francisco groups that later morphed into ACT UP/ SF. Evans was HIV-negative. With his good friend, the late Hank Wilson, he was arrested twice while demonstrating against the drugmaker Burroughs-Wellcome, accusing them of price-gouging, and once against a local TV station, charging them with defamation of people with AIDS. In 1988, Evans began work on a nine-year project on philosophy. Thanks to a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission, it was published in 1997 as Critique of Patriarchal Reason and included artwork by San Francisco artist Frank Pietronigro.

The book is a monumental overview of Western philosophy from antiquity to the present. It shows how misogyny and homophobia have influenced the supposedly objective fields of formal logic, higher mathematics, and physical science. Evans’ former doctoral advisor at Columbia University, Paul Oskar Kristeller, called the work “a major contribution to the study of philosophy and its history.”

In recent years, Evans devoted much time to improving neighborhood safety in the Haight-Ashbury district. As part of that effort, he penned a series of scathing and funny first-hand reports entitled “What I Saw at the Supes Today,” which he distributed free on the Internet.

The reports recount many acts and comments of the city’s supervisors, often of an embarrassing nature, which the established media missed. The politicians were not amused, as when Evans caught Supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Chris Daly each snarling “Kiss my ass!” at each other in front of the press box in the board’s ornate chamber.

Altogether, the reports run to over a thousand pages in length and provide a provocative look at the inner workings of local politics at the time.

In 2010, Evans was instrumental in helping pass Proposition L, the “civil sidewalks” law, which restricts sitting or lying on city sidewalks. In addition to writing his own reports on the matter, he worked behind the scenes to get favorable coverage in various newspapers and on TV. His support for the measure provoked intense criticism from many progressives. To which, he replied: “Neighborhood safety is a progressive issue. How can we make the world a better place if we neglect improving our own neighborhoods?”

Offen said, “There may be others who were as instrumental as Arthur in launching the modern Gay liberation movement, but very few more so. He was a brilliant strategist, forcing the establishment to yield to our demands for justice by making it easier for them to give in than to refuse. He was also a compelling orator, inspiring that first generation of Gay activists after Stonewall.”

He is survived by his brother Joe Evans of Durand, Michigan, his best friend Hal Offen, and a host of long-time friends and admirers who are grateful to him for his pioneering vision and leadership, wit, delightful companionship and loving nature. A memorial service is being planned for mid-October.

Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News

7

Victory Fund endorses Marko Liias campaign

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer State Rep. Marko Liias has won a Victory Fund endorsement for his bid to succeed Jay Inslee as congressman for the 1st District.

Inslee is vacating his congressional seat and running for governor in 2012.

Liias, now a member of the state House of Representatives, announced on August 2 that he would run for the open seat.

The Victory Fund, the country’s largest LGBT political action committee, announced its endorsement of Liias on September 12. Liias is now one of six Victory Fund endorsed congressional candidates.

“We need more authentic voices who will fight for us in Washington. Allies are crucial, but nothing can replace the impact of having openly LGBT lawmakers representing the millions of Americans who still long for fairness, freedom and equality,” said Victory Fund President Chuck Wolfe.

“I’m thrilled,” Liias said about the Victory Fund endorsement. “I’m proud that the

Trinity Episcopal Church 8

Seattle Gay News

Victory Fund supported me as a candidate in both my legislative races. Of course I’m delighted they endorsed me for Congress.”

According to Liias, the Victory Fund has already provided assistance to his campaign based on their past endorsements.

“They provided really in-depth training this past summer as we were preparing to roll out the [congressional] campaign,” he told SGN. The Victory Fund enjoys an impressive success rate. In the 2010 elections, four out of six of their endorsed congressional candidates won election. In Washington, all five of their endorsed legislative candidates won.

The Victory Fund typically supports endorsed candidates with donations, as well as advice on running a successful campaign.

“We’ll get staff support and advice on messaging,” Liias explained. “We’ll have a [Victory Fund] staffer we will work with.

“For fundraising, we will work together as things develop. Right now they’re really committed to their 2011 candidates,” Liias said.

Liias told SGN that his election could be crucial to preserving LGBT representation in Congress.

“It’s really important to understand the political landscape going into 2012,” he said.

“Tammy [Baldwin] is leaving her House seat and running for the Senate. From what I understand – this is just what I’ve heard – [Rep. David] Cicilline has a tough race in Providence [Rhode Island]. There’s a real possibility we’d go from four openly Gay members of Congress to two.”

“I’m glad the Victory Fund is engaged, to assure we have good people to represent our community,” Liias added.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Charlene Strong, a human rights commissioner for the state of Washington and coeditor of The Seattle Lesbian, is scheduled to embark on a collegiate tour across the country on September 28, to discuss hospitalization and end-of-life decision rights, marriage equality, coming out, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and shining a light on inequalities in the LGBT community.

“I am deeply honored and thrilled to be sharing my unflappable belief in never giving up. I did not become an advocate for any other desire than my belief in being a voice of reason, compassion, and understanding,” Charlene said of the upcoming tour.

Charlene says she will share her own personal experiences of tragedy and triumph, many of which were chronicled in the 2008 documentary, for my wife..., a film that details her efforts to change Washington state laws after being denied access to her partner Kate Fleming’s hospital bedside when a flashflood accident caused her death in 2006.

Charlene and Kate had been together for 10 years prior to the tragedy. Charlene was also blocked from making funeral arrangements.

She then set out to change the way same-sex partners are treated in Washington state.

Charlene was also instrumental in helping to secure domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples in Washington, through

shaun knittel/seattle gay news

shaun knittel/seattle gay news

Washington State Representative Marko Liias

Seattle activist Charlene Strong to embark on national tour

Charlene Strong

Referendum 71.

In 2010, Charlene was featured on Tom Brokaw’s Bridging the Divide documentary on the USA channel. According to TV Guide, “Bridging the Divide puts the spotlight on individuals across the country making a difference in the fight against social injustices.”

As Americans contemplate same-sex marriage, Charlene’s ability to relay her personal story is considered influential in the fight for the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. For tour cities and dates, visit www.charlenestrong.com.

Charles Bigham 1927-2011

Sierra of Phoenix, and his friends in Seattle, including Fred and Wes, Sonny, Richard Webster, Don Caton, Ricardo Gallegos, Jim Butler, and Michael Raitt.

Sincere thanks to the staff at Bonney Watson Funeral Home. No service by request.

Charles Bigham (Chuck) passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, after a valiant fight with cancer. He was born on August 24, 1927, in Michigan. Chuck is predeceased by his sister, brother, parents, and his partner, Billy Webb.

Chuck moved to Seattle in 1967 from Michigan. Over the years, he touched many lives and worked primarily as an apartment manager on Capitol Hill. He is survived by one sister, Dee, and many nieces and nephews. As well, he leaves behind many friends, including Michael

I am standing upon the seashore.

A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze, and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength; and I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: ‘There, she is gone!’ Gone from my sight, that’s all. She is just as large in mast and spar and hull as ever she was when she left my side; and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of her destined port.

Her diminished size is in me, not her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says; ‘There, she is gone!’ there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: ‘Here she comes!’ And that is dying.

–Victor Hugo

Join us October 9 for the 12th annual Matthew Shepard Memorial Sermon with the Rev. Dr. Derek Penwell.

An Open and Affirming Congregation - Come join us! Sundays 8:00 and 10:30 - Wednesdays & Thursdays 5:30 Eighth Avenue & James Street, Seattle www.trinityseattle.org September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

SEATTLE LEATHER DADDY & DADDY’S BOY 2011 WINTER COAT SALE On Saturday and Sunday, September 17 and 18, from noon-4 p.m., at R Place (619 E. Pine St.) join Seattle Leather Daddy and Daddy’s boy 2011 for a winter coat sale of unclaimed coats collected from local bars’ coat checks. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Chicken Soup Brigade, Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s food program. Stop by for a great deal on a winter coat!

SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – SEATTLE FIESTAS PATRIAS On Saturday, September 17, from noon11 p.m., and Sunday, September 18, from noon-5 p.m., at Seattle Center’s Center House, Fisher Pavilion and Seattle Center Pavilion, be transported to a celebration of Mexican independence and independence in other Latin American countries. Seattle Fiestas Patrias showcases Latin American art, music and culture. In addition, enjoy the flavors of traditional and contemporary Latin American foods. For complete details, visit www.seattlefiestaspatrias.com.

GRACE GOSPEL CHAPEL REUNION, CONCERT & PASTOR APPRECIATION NIGHT On Saturday, September 17, join Grace Gospel Chapel (2052 NW 64th St.) as they welcome back former pastors who have served the church in the past 30 years to celebrate over 30 years of Grace in Seattle. Reunite with old friends, make new friends and tell your pastor what they mean to you! Hospitality hour with light fare, refreshments and dessert starts at 5 p.m. Concert with nationally touring contemporary Christian artist Shawn Aaron Thomas debuting his new album “Covered and Created” starts at 7 p.m. For more information, call 206-7848495 or visit www.gracegospelwa.org.

IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE – WHITE TOWEL PARTY On Saturday, September 17, from 9 p.m. to closing, at The Cuff Complex (1533 13th Ave. at E. Pine St.), join the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle and the Olympic and Rainier Empire for a fundraising party (undergarments required) to benefit the Youth Suicide Prevention Program. www.imperialcourtofseattle.com SEVEN DEADLY SINS – “WRATH” On Saturday, September 17, from 9 p.m.4 a.m., at Neumos (925 E. Pike St.), Seven Deadly Sins presents “Wrath” (“You Have a Date with the Devil”) with DJs George Roussos from Sydney and Ted Eiel from Chicago. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 at door, $30 limited VIP – advance and VIP tickets available at The Lobby Bar, Doghouse Leathers, TwoKnightsEvent.com, Etix.com and Moe Bar. SERVICEMEMBERS UNITED “COUNTDOWN TO REPEAL PARTY” TO CELEBRATE THE END OF “DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL” On Monday, September 19, from 9 p.m.1 a.m., at The Lobby Bar (916 E. Pike St.), join Servicemembers United and local servicemembers, vets and supporters for a New Year’s-style celebration of the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

THE ELITE HOSTS FREE ASL LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS Have you ever wanted to learn basic American Sign Language? If so, you can

get some beginning ASL instruction at the Elite (1520 E. Olive Way). The FREE lessons will be held every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the loft.

SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – MOFFIE The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Seattle Area Support Groups Community Center (formerly Dunshee House) (303 17th Ave. E. & E. Thomas St.). In September, the group will read the brand new South African novel, Moffie, by Andre Carl van der Merwe, about a frightened Gay white boy conscripted in the South African army. The story is set in South Africa about 20 years ago, and takes place during the Angola Bush War. The author will be getting in touch with the club toward the end of September for a conversation about the book and to answer any questions. Following is a summary of Moffie: Nicholas van der Swart is a skinny, white nineteen year old drafted into the South African army to serve his two years mandatory military service, conscripted to fight for a country that degrades Gay men as “moffies,” where a kiss between men is violently punished. Brutalized by his father for being too gentle and sensitive, he’s bullied by his baboon-killing uncles and cousins who respect only the harsh masculine code of aggression and dominance. Nicholas keeps his real identity buried deep inside and lives in terror of being exposed, knowing that the thing his parents most despise is what he is.

From the sadistic fury of vengeful officers and body-crippling exercise drills to the spirit-breaking final physical tests and the terrors of combat, Nicholas somehow manages to psychologically survive, with the help of his best friend, Malcolm, and Ethan, the boy he adores, and Dylan, the lovely young poet from a wealthy family who falls in love with Nicholas.

Andre Carl van der Merwe skillfully recreates the emotional gauntlet Nicholas has to endure in his passage to adulthood. In an insane military world, Nicholas is tested to his limits. His ordeal makes compelling, first-rate reading.

All GLBTQ folks are welcome to participate in this free book club. For more information, email nickdimartin@earthlink.net, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/swittet/ SGLBookClub/ or contact SASG at 206322-2437.

PANEL DISCUSSION: “ABORTION, MORALITY & THE HEROISM OF PROVIDERS” On Wednesday, September 21, at 7 p.m., at Revolution Books (89 S. Washington St. #215), attend a panel discussion with Dr. Deborah Oyer, Aurora Medical Services; Marcy Bloom, GIRE (El Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida in Mexico City); and Margo Heights, Seattle Revolution Books, on the topic of “Abortion, Morality & the Heroism of Providers.”

A wave of extremely dangerous, utterly heartless, and profoundly anti-woman legislation swept through state legislatures this spring and early summer. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 512 laws limiting abortion were proposed in 49 states in the first three months of 2011. The New York Times reported that, by late May, 64 antiabortion laws had been passed, 30 in April alone, in what the Times called “a campaign [that is] the largest in history.”

Two years ago, Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider in Wichita, Kansas, was assassinated while attending church. In the face of this devastating loss, Dr. Leroy Carhart stepped up. He expanded his practice,

Visit us online www.sgn.org

opened new clinics, and spoke boldly to the national media. He not only performs, but has taken responsibility for training others in performing, some of the most complex and life-saving abortion procedures for women late into troubled pregnancies.

For all this, he has been targeted as “Enemy #1” by the very forces responsible for Dr. Tiller’s death. From July 31 through August 7, Operation Rescur brought antiabortion fanatics from across the country to hound and endanger Dr. Carhart, his staff, and the women he serves. They were met by a mobilization of clinic defenders and abortion rights activists from across the country.

These attacks must be met with a much more urgent, determined, and broad political opposition. Even more basically, the entire framework in which the question of abortion is currently debated needs to be qualitatively transformed.

Join our panelists for a discussion that breaks out of the defensive and conciliatory confines of the present discourse to fight for a scientific understanding of abortion and a morality that values the liberation of women and the emancipation of humanity, and defends and upholds our courageous abortion providers.

2011 GSBA CANDIDATE FORUM On Friday, September 23, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at Sheraton Seattle Hotel (1400 6th Ave.), join GSBA (Greater Seattle Business Association) members and friends for GSBA’s Annual LGBT Candidate Forum and monthly luncheon. Candidates for King County Council, District 6 (Jane Hague and Richard Mitchell); Seattle City Council, Position 1 (Jean Godden and Bobby Forch); Seattle City Council, Position 3 (Bruce Harrell and Brad Meacham), and Initiative 1183 (concerning liquor sales in Washington state) will be the focus of the forum. Cost is $34 members, $39 non-members. Pre-registration is required. 206-363-9188 or www. thegsba.org.

LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE 25TH ANNIVERSARY SEATTLE AIDS WALK & 5K RUN On Saturday, September 24, join Lifelong AIDS Alliance and community members from all walks of life for the 25th Anniversary Seattle AIDS Walk & 5K Run. The event will be held at Volunteer Park (14th Ave. E. & E. Prospect St.) with day-of registration, donation drop-off and T-shirt pickup from 9-9:30 a.m. The stage program will take place from 9:30-10 a.m. The run begins promptly at 10 a.m., followed by walkers at 10:05 a.m. The after party at the park will be held from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. For complete information on how you can participate as a walker, runner, donor or volunteer, visit www.SeattleAIDSWalk.org or call 206328-8979.

SEATTLE PAINT OUT - 2011 TO CLEAN AND PAINT OUT GRAFFITI ON CAPITOL HILL On Saturday, September 24, join your Capitol Hill neighbors to clean and paint out graffiti on Capitol Hill. Your volunteer efforts will have a significant impact on removing tags, stickers and litter. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. at Fire Station #25 (1300 E. Pine St.). Light refreshments will be served. The orientation will begin shortly after to discuss areas of impact and map zones. Wear comfortable clothes so that paint splatters won’t matter. www.paintout. org.

MR. & MISS GAY ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER PAGEANT On Saturday, September 24, door at 5:30 p.m., pageant at 7 p.m., Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway) hosts the Mr. & Miss Gay Asian/Pacific Islander Pageant with competition categories in National Costume, Swimsuit, Talent, Formal Wear and Q&A with $250 cash prize to both Mr. & Miss API 2011. Tickets: $15-advance; $18

September 16, 2011

at the door. www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/196920. For contestant sign-up, program advertising or sponsorship information, email gaysha@gayshastarr.com or teriyakitemple@aol.com. Partial proceeds to benefit the Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

“RAISE THE ROOF” HOUSEPARTY On Saturday, September 24, at 7 p.m., join Freedom Socialist Party members and friends for a “Raise the Roof” house party at 900 Hiawatha Pl. S. to celebrate social justice. Take a night off from jobless times and austerity measures to celebrate the persistent and unshakeable efforts to keep the social justice movement alive. Enjoy music, amiable conversation and good food. A Mexican feast will be served for an $8.50 donation.

For more information, call 206-722-2453 or email FSPseattle@mindspring.com.

THE SEATTLE AIDS MEMORIAL: “30 YEARS OF SORROW, COMFORT & HOPE” – A MULTI-FAITH OBSERVANCE IN READINGS, SONG AND CANDLELIGHT On Saturday, September 24, at 7 p.m., at St. Mark’s Cathedral (1245 10th Ave. E.), join the Seattle Choral Company and Seattle area religious communities for this multifaith service observing 30 years of sorrow, comfort and hope in the face of AIDS. www. saintmarks.org.

MPOWERMENT IN TACOMA Mpowerment In Tacoma is a new HIV prevention program from the Pierce County AIDS Foundation for Gay and Bisexual men aged 25 and older. The MPowerment In Tacoma program is an adaptation of a Center for Disease Controls evidence based model which has effectively worked to reduce rates of unprotected sex among young Gay and Bi men. This model is being structured to focus on older Gay and Bi men in Pierce County with the support of the University of California San Francisco’s Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.

The mission of Mpowerment in Tacoma is to create a community of Gay and Bisexual men aged 25 and older who actively participate in the empowerment of themselves and each other. This is achieved through educating men in how to practice safer sex messaging, enabling them to become increasingly sex positive, and also encouraging them to diffuse awareness of the program to their friends, all while providing a fun and uplifting social focus. The success of the program requires volunteer participation by Gay and Bi men ages 25 and older to help establish a core group of members who will develop and implement ongoing educational and fun workshops, large events, outreach activities, and publicity campaigns.

Mpowerment in Tacoma will have it’s first workshop on Tuesday, September 27, at 6 p.m., at Pierce County AIDS Foundation (3520 S. Pine St., Tacoma, WA 98405).

For more information, contact Mpowerment in Tacoma Coordinator, Lorenzo, at 253-722-0706 or email lcervantes@piercecountyaids.org.

SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY SEEKS VOLUNTEER GARDENERS The Seattle Public Library is seeking volunteers to help maintain attractive grounds at 12 neighborhood branches this summer and fall. Volunteers will weed gardens, rake leaves and pick up litter. Work parties will be scheduled June through October – on Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 9 a.m. and noon. For more information, contact Anne Vedella, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at anne.vedella@spl.org or 206-3864614. Volunteer applications can be downloaded from www.spl.org – select “Support Your Library” and go to the “Volunteer Opportunities” page.

Seattle Gay News

9

o o t n n w w o o d d t t ! ! n n y y u u t o r r C Co a a P P l l a e e p p e e R R e e h h T T

presents

Don’t spenD this milestone at home alone! Come out anD join hunDreDs - maybe even thousanDs - of other serviCemembers, vets, anD supporters arounD the Country for a newyear’s eve-style Celebration of the enD of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.”

september 19, 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. the lobby bar 916 e. pike st., seattle

10 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Toyota of Bellevue Visit us online www.sgn.org

I want to be your car guy. Largest selection of pre-owned trucks, hybrids,, SUVs,, and new Toyotas in Washington state..

Credit A-Z Call Thomas M. direct 206-849-7728 or 425-455-9500 email: tmallory@toyotaofbellevue.com

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 13

14 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 15

Dadt

continued from cover

When Watkins was drafted to serve in the U.S. Army in 1968 he identified himself as a homosexual. In fact, Watkins served openly as a Gay man – even performing in drag under the stage name Simone in Army clubs throughout Europe in the late 1970s. He was permitted to re-enlist three times before the Army sought his discharge in 1984 after the military adopted a more stringent policy on homosexual servicemembers in 1981.

Watkins fought a very public battle against the U.S. Army to win back his career. In 1989, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, voting 7-4, ordered the Army to allow Watkins to re-enlist. The court did not tackle the broad question of whether homosexuals ought to be permitted to serve, but rather cited the fact that Watkins had been permitted to re-enlist.

Watkins died at age 48 of complications from AIDS in 1996.

In what is perhaps one of the most recognizable DADT battles to date, Army Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer became the highestranking officer to be discharged under the discriminatory policy in 1992. The Vietnam War vet, Army nurse, and mother of four fought back.

On June 11, 1992 – the same date as her official discharge – Cammermeyer filed a suit in federal district court in Seattle challenging the existing ban on open LGB service in

“Prior to my case gaining notoriety there were so many unrecognized heroes who took on the effort to overturn earlier bans against Gays and Lesbians serving in the military,” she said. “I am humbled that some would consider me a hero, though for me there was only the question of doing what was right, honorable, honest, and with integrity. We take on the challenges we believe are unjust, expecting fairness and justice in the end.”

Cammermeyer said the question now should be how lifting DADT will change the lives of Gay servicemembers, not how the military will change. “Now they can live their truth, not worry about losing their careers if it becomes known, not have to live with the burden of lying, and know that their loved ones can communicate with them during separation,” Cammermeyer told SGN. “We will be a better country for no longer discriminating against a group of people willing to serve and die for their country.”

“The repeal of DADT shows what effort it takes to change a society and that it can be done,” she concluded. “The military acts as a venue to demonstrate what remains unequal and unjust and allows us to continue the work toward equality and social justice, as must happen with repeal of DOMA.” On March 19, 2009, former Army Lieutenant Dan Choi joined the fight in a big way – on live television. The West Point graduate and Iraq war veteran announced he was Gay on The Rachel Maddow Show.

Because of three words – “I am Gay” – Choi’s life changed forever. He was informed of his discharge from military service and began a pointed media and activist war against DADT and any elected official who supported the archaic law.

Overnight, he became the poster boy for repeal. His battle has taken him across the globe, as he’s confronted politicians in public and chained himself (twice) to the fence in front of the White House. He continues to speak out against DADT’s detrimental affects on servicemembers and vets, and seeks his reenlistment into the Army.

While the aforementioned heroes aren’t the only players in a decades-long fight for equality, their ultimate sacrifice or legal and public battles have, without a doubt, moved millions of Americans to have a change of heart about DADT. Before its repeal, in poll after poll, Americans were in favor of ridding the DoD of the hateful policy against LGB service in the U.S. military.

No one can deny that former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, and President Obama set the repeal process in motion. After all, it was Obama who told Congress and the Pentagon to repeal the ban by year’s end, and in the remaining days of 2010, they did just that. But one cannot discount that the real unsung heroes in all of this were the active duty and reserve heterosexual troops who filled out the DoD’s survey – while at war or serving aboard Navy ships – and overwhelmingly said they were not only comfortable serving alongside LGB men and women, but most already knew of some in service.

Those surveys were the final nail in the coffin that will hold DADT’s legacy of hate for eternity. Standing together as brothers and sisters in arms, Gay and straight members from all four services said, “Let them serve.” And so they will. courtesy windy city media group

DADT BY THE NUMBERS The cost of DADT – in dollars and social impact – is staggering. In 1993, as a compromise among then-President Bill Clinton, the Pentagon, and Republicans in Congress, Clinton signed DADT into law, which mandated the discharge of openly LGB servicemembers.

The discriminatory law has ruined more than 14,500 careers since the law became official DoD policy, and that’s just the beginning. It is estimated that $1.3 billion has been spent by the U.S. government to ban Gay service since 1980.

In 2001, under then-President George W. Bush, the number of servicemembers fired under DADT reached 1,273 – the highest number of discharges in a single year to date. A 2003 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study identified almost $200 million in costs for the first 10 years of DADT while concluding that total costs could not be estimated.

A follow-up study by an expert commission put these costs at more than $363 million.

In addition, the case could be made that by not allowing open LGB service, the nation’s national security was made more vulnerable.

While the CIA, FBI, State Department, Defense Department (on the civilian side), and defense contractors didn’t always discriminate based on sexual orientation, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps did. The Pentagon reports that 75% of young Americans are ineligible to serve in the military because of inadequate education, criminal records, or weight problems. Conduct waivers have been given for recruits with records of bomb threats, sex crimes, and negligent or vehicular homicide, and yet qualified, smart, law-abiding, and fit youths who want to serve have been excluded merely because of their sexual orientation.

According to the GAO, as of 2003, the military had discharged more than 750 mission-critical servicemembers and more than 320 with skills in important languages such as Arabic, Korean, and Farsi.

file photo

looked at kindly by American history, and its bigotry and ignorance will leave a lasting imprint on the lives of thousands of Americans. Some fought and won, while others lost. Some paved the way as others fell to the wayside, casualties of a social justice war in which no Purple Heart medals were given – just discharge papers.

arm.

Pfc. Barry Winchell’s murder also made national headlines and paved the way for more open discussion surrounding openly Gay service in the U.S. military. Fellow soldier Calvin Glover struck Winchell, an infantry soldier in the U.S. Army, in the head with a baseball bat as he slept on a cot outside near the entry to the room he shared with another accomplice in the murder, Justin Fisher, in the early morning hours of July

Sgt. First Class Perry Watkins

5, 1999. Winchell died of massive head injuries the next day.

In both cases, the attackers were prosecuted. But the ultimate damage had been done. Giving new meaning to “friendly fire,” the soldier and sailor were both killed, not on the battlefield of war, but at the hands of their fellow servicemembers. Their stories sparked national outrage.

Indirectly, Schindler and Winchell’s tragic deaths contributed in no small way Ret. Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer

Patsy Lynch

the military and requested her reenlistment. Cammermeyer, like Watkins, won her case and was reinstated in the National Guard in June 1994, and resumed her previous position DADT PIONEERS as chief nurse of The road to repeal has the Washington been a treacherous one.

State National The journey to freedom’s Guard. mountain has claimed caHer autobiogreers, marriages, and, in raphy, Serving in some cases, lives.

Silence, became In a case that became a made-for-TV synonymous with the movie starring 1990s debate that culmiGlenn Close. nated in the DADT bill, Over the years, Radioman Petty Officer Cammermeyer Third Class Allen R. SchinLt. Dan Choi (l) handcuffs himself to the White House gate. has remained a dler, Jr., of the U.S. Navy, staunch oppowas killed in a public toilet in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan. Airman Ap- to Tuesday’s official repeal of DADT. The nent of DADT, calling for its repeal since it was established in 1993. prentice Terry M. Helvey, who served on the two are heroes of a different kind of war.

“Having spent 21 years working toward Other servicemembers paid the price for same ship as Schindler, stomped Schindler acceptance of Gays and Lesbians serving in to death and left him lying on the bathroom freedom with their careers.

Perry Watkins and DADT go hand-in- the military, the repeal of DADT feels like floor until the Shore Patrol and the key witness to the incident carried out Schindler’s hand. Although Watkins, a native of Taco- a huge vindication for the effort,” Cammerbody to a nearby bridge. Schindler had suf- ma, Washington, served pre-DADT, his bat- meyer told Seattle Gay News. “It was an unfered at least four fatal injuries to the head, tle against – and subsequent win – against conscionable burden for Gay servicememchest, and abdomen. The brutal murder left the DoD were precursors for what was yet bers to have to live with the constant threat behind a nearly unrecognizable corpse that to come for thousands of LGB servicemem- of exposure while being willing to die for freedom of others anywhere in the world.” was only identifiable by the tattoo on his bers.

LOCAL SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS SOUND OFF I’m a proud Navy veteran of 10 years. I am also a Gay man.

I was one of the lucky ones. I didn’t get booted out for violating DADT, although my mere existence violated the law on a daily basis for the better part of a decade.

Let me be clear (and I surmise that many of my fellow LGB veterans would agree): I have no ill will towards the U.S. military. I became a man while fighting a war on the

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 16 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

during my eight years of service. One time I had a boss say to me ‘Hey, you Gay?’ and my response was, ‘Why don’t you pull out your dick and we’ll see?’ He blushed and walked away.”

“After I got out of the Navy, I joined the Seattle chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan, and began my Gay rights activism,” said Domine Trix. “My novice project was a military-

“When I was 17 years old, I forced my parents to allow me the chance to visit my local Navy recruiter’s office so that I could learn about what life in the military could bring me,” Reyes Lozoya told SGN. “I fell in love with the thought of wearing a uniform and defending the rights and freedoms of all Americans. Inspired by the tragedy of 9/11, I joined immediately after high school and after having my parents sign a waiver to Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

high seas. I learned about different cultures and discovered myself while living in Asia and Europe. I saw the world, and for that, I thank the Navy.

Still, I would never try to sell you on the idea that during my years as a public affairs specialist for the military, DADT wasn’t on my mind. There were days that I felt suffocated by the possibility of someone “finding out,” or the anxiety that would shoot through my body when my shipmates spoke of their girlfriends.

I hated the pronoun game – having to respond to, “Hey, Knittel, what did you do this weekend?” with, “I’ve been seeing someone.” Of course, that someone was another man; a big no-no during the years of the George W. Bush war machine.

I look back on those years of military service with a smile. Did we, the Gay sailors, hook up on the ships when underway? Yes. A lot. Do Gay soldiers find each other “in the field” and fool around? Yes, just as LGB airmen steal away in a dark area of an airplane hangar or Marines get busy in a barracks rack. It happens, people. It is sex. It is primal. It is war.

We are, however, not different from our heterosexual counterparts, as male and female servicemembers often hook up in the same fashion, in greater numbers, and engage in swinging or on-base prostitution.

None of this has anything to do with how well you perform on the battlefield, aboard ship, or while storming a beach or flying a helicopter. The military is performancebased, and while a bad performance may mean you lose your life, the human factor (i.e., sex, social interaction) has absolutely nothing to do with combat or military readiness – the whole reason for existence of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

I am a proud Gay veteran. I’m proud of my service and of my LGB brothers and sisters whom I had the pleasure to serve with.

I’m thankful for all those that came before, the Perry Watkinses and Grethe Cammermeyers of our history. I think that, on and after September 20, we can all stand a little taller, walk a little smarter, and let our pride show. We did it. DADT is dead.

Seattle and the surrounding area are awash with veterans and active duty LGB servicemembers. Seattle Gay News was contacted by a number of these uniformed heroes as the days count down to hours before DADT no longer exists. Here are some of their stories.

“I joined the Navy in August of 1998, when I was 18 years old. DADT was in full swing, and homosexual discrimination was the only type not punishable under [military law],” Sister Domine Trix, mistress of novices and vice-president of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan, told SGN. “I was never quite able to blend in amongst straight society without being noticed, so I didn’t bother to try. My philosophy on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was to make sure no one had to ask. I didn’t hide my gestures or mannerisms. I was very lucky to not really deal with any major harassment

President Obama signs the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law on December 22, 2010.

themed strip auction called Nunya Business. The event raised $1,000 dollars for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to aid in the fight against DADT. Even though DADT never negatively impacted my life, I had many friends who were not so lucky.”

Andrea Padias joined the U.S. military in 2002 at the age of 21. “I have seen so much pain and heartache. Not only did my relationship suffer, but so many other sailors as well, for not being able to openly express our feelings for our partners,” she told SGN. “I started my career in the Navy to better myself and to better the lives of my loved ones. But rather than focusing fully on my job, I have spent years walking on eggshells, always looking over my shoulder and wondering if the rumors about me would trigger a career-ending investigation.”

“I am not yet a veteran and have proudly served my country in silence behind closed doors for 10 years,” said Padias. “But every day is a struggle. The years of difficulty only make it harder to perform my current job as a Navy recruiter, as I have had to turn away a dozen men and women because of the DADT policy.”

“With DADT coming to a swift end, I am relieved that I no longer have to hide behind the lies and turn away those who want to serve proudly and openly. I can try to right the wrong for those who were discharged under DADT,” she said.

allow me to serve.”

“What seemed like the beginning of an illustrious career quickly came tumbling down as the policy that is DADT came crashing face-first into my being,” he said.

“At that time, I met the man I will spend the rest of my life with, and as I was on deployment, keeping continuous contact with him via email, our very means of communication became my demise. I was discharged three years into my career because of who I was, rather than the caliber of my character.”

“Coming up on the sixth year of my separation, my husband and I have amazing careers that we have worked diligently to obtain, encouraging each other along the way,” said Lozoya. “We recently purchased our first house, and have made quite the impact on our local community through outreach programs, fundraising events, and just being there to show others anything is possible.”

Ra’Shay Williams, 27, joined the Navy on December 3, 2002. “I was stationed in Everett on the USS Abraham Lincoln and I’ve been out of the Navy for five years now,” he told SGN. “Being Gay and in the military was hard, I started dating my current husband and we always had to look over our shoulder to make sure no one knew, although many suspected.”

Williams told SGN that he and his husband decided to get married while they were both serving in the military. “We had to be

very secretive about this,” he said. “We went to Canada to get married a few days before we went on a six-month deployment.

It was hard after that. We slept across from each other every night, and we would look into each other’s eyes as we fell asleep.”

“When you’re out to sea and you see the one you love every day but can’t express your love to them, it feels devastating,” continued Williams. “It was also heart-aching to know that we had to live a secret life in order to serve our country. It just wasn’t fair.

If we could be ourselves without facing any repercussions, then we would have stayed in the military. But because of DADT, we decided, for our own well-being, that we would finish our four years, continue to live a double life to avoid getting caught, and then leave. So that’s exactly what we did.”

“We now have a great life here in Seattle and find ourselves happy that we can be who we are without trying to live a double life,” concluded Williams. “We both go to school, hang out with our friends, and basically enjoy our time together. I’m very happy that DADT is gone; it didn’t make any sense to me at all. I’m happy to know that no one will have to go through what me and my husband and many others went through during our military service. I believe that once DADT is gone there will be an improvement in military performance because no one will have to hide or be punished because of who they are.”

WHAT REPEAL DOES NOT CHANGE By repealing DADT, the country and the military have taken a significant step toward equality for all who want to serve their country in uniform. But there are other discriminatory policies in the military that the repeal of DADT does not change. These include: • Transgender service. DADT repeal does not change the medical regulatory ban in place for aspiring or current servicemembers who identify as Transgender.

• HIV regulations. The repeal of DADT does not change the regulatory scheme in place for aspiring or current servicemembers who are HIV-positive • The Uniform Code of Military Justice see dadt page 20

Specialized Services

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

www.sgn.org Visit us online www.sgn.org

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

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

www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 17

Pope accused of crimes against humanity

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

the ratzinger forum

Pope Benedict XVI was accused of crimes against humanity in a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on September 13.

The 80-page complaint was filed by two U.S. advocacy groups, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

It is “the most substantive effort yet” to hold Vatican officials accountable for sexual abuse by priests, The New York Times said.

The ICC is charged with prosecuting individual cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It came into being through an international treaty in 2002, and recently made headlines when it issued arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and his Interior Minister Abdullah Senussi.

In addition to the pope, the CCR complaint named Angelo Sodano, dean of the College

of Cardinals and former Vatican secretary of state; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, current secretary of state, and previous member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the organization charged with handling abuse cases led by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict; and Cardinal William Levada, current head of the CDF. The CCR submission accuses the four men of failing to prevent or punish rape and sexual violence committed by Catholic priests, and also of engaging in a “systematic and widespread” cover up of those crimes.

According to the CCR complaint, the pope, as head of the Catholic Church, is ultimately responsible for the sexual abuse of children by priests, and for the ensuring Pope Benedict XVI cover-ups of that abuse.

The group says that he and the other chain of command. we do with all such communications.” named church officials have “direct and suDocuments submitted by CCR reportedly The first step will be “to analyze whether perior responsibility” for the crimes of those include letters and documents exchanged the alleged crimes fall under the court’s juranked below them, similar to a military by Vatican officials and others which, the risdiction,” spokesperson Florence Olara complaint says, show a refusal to co-operate said. with law enforcement agencies seeking to According to Olara, complaints about pursue suspects. child abuse by Roman Catholic priests have “The high-level officials of the Catholic been received at the court before, but none church who failed to prevent and punish of the cases have gone forward. these criminal actions have, to date, enjoyed According to the Guardian, lawyers faabsolute impunity,” the complaint says. miliar with the ICC court said it was unlikePam Spees, human rights attorney with ly the complaint against the Vatican would CCR, told the Guardian newspaper that the fit the court’s mandate to prosecute crimes Vatican’s failure to cooperate with authori- against humanity. ties resulted in additional harm to victims of The CCR said that only an international sexual abuse by priests. court could successfully investigate and “The point of this is to look at it from a prosecute the reported abuses. higher altitude,” she said. “You zoom out Two of the victims whose cases are highand the practices are identical: whistleblow- lighted in the filing say the priests who ers are punished, the refusal of the Vatican sexually abused them simply moved to difto co-operate with law enforcement agen- ferent countries, and are still working with cies. You see the protection of priests and children, with the full knowledge of church leaving them in the ministry, and because of superiors. these decisions other children are raped and “National jurisdictions can’t really get sexually assaulted.” their arms around this,” Spees said. “Pros“It’s not only the facts of the abuse but the ecuting individual instances of child molesway that the church deepened the harm in tation or sexual assault has not gotten at the sometimes irreparable ways,” Spees added. larger systemic problem here. AccountabilAn ICC spokesperson said the prosecu- ity is the goal, and the ICC makes the most tor’s office would examine the papers, “as sense, given that it’s a global problem.”

Religion & Spirituality

P.O. Box 19734 Seattle, WA 98109 Phone: 206.621.8960

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

18 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Courage Campaign asks Californians to “rejoin the movement”

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act, a commonsense law that requires schools to integrate factual information about social movements, current events, and the history of people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBT people into existing social studies lessons, was signed into law in July of this year. The very next day, anti-equality extremists filed paperwork to place a referendum on the law, which also prevents schools from adopting instructional materials that discriminate, on the June 2012 ballot.

Opponents of FAIR have until October 12 to submit more than half a million valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Between now and then, Courage Campaign, one of LGBT California’s main advocacy organizations, has vowed to educate the public, do everything in their power to keep the measure from qualifying, and aggressively cam-

paign if they are forced to fight at the ballot.

The campaign message is simple: We lost once on Prop 8, but we aren’t going to lose again.

“The same crowd who passed Prop 8 are getting desperate. Now, they want to put a question on the ballot here in California that would overrule SB48, known as the FAIR Education Act,” Courage Campaign officials said. “The new law, passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, would require that schools include movements like the push to repeal DADT and the historical contributions of LGBT people in social science lessons. People like Bayard Rustin, Harvey Milk, Billie Jean King, and Walt Whitman.”

“We’ve already seen our opponents use the old ‘turn your kids Gay’ scare tactic to try and collect signatures. It’ll be like Prop 8 all over again if we don’t keep this measure from qualifying,” warns Courage Campaign, adding, “Californians are tired of wasting money on ballot fights that hurt people, and

we’re tired of the right-wing targeting our family, friends, and community.”

Protect FAIR officials are asking Californians to report anti-equality signature gatherers to their Decline-to-Sign Hotline at (877) 440-9585, sign the Protect FAIR Petition at www.faireducation.org, and all concerned citizens to make a monetary contribution.

A call-to-action YouTube video can be found at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=CIdqUszdZ0s.

Led by Equality California, the GayStraight Alliance Network, and the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, a broad coalition of advocates for equality have launched a coordinated effort to protect the FAIR Education Act and to educate the public about its impact.

The coalition includes people of faith, labor organizations, LGBT rights groups, disability rights advocates, racial justice organizations, and many other groups who care about equality.

“The movement for LGBT rights is among the most diverse social justice movements in the nation and we are proud to have that diversity represented in our coalition,” said Roland Palencia, executive director of Equality California. “Working together to protect the FAIR Education Act will ensure that students not only learn accurate information about our equality movement, but also about the roles LGBT people have played in movements and historic moments that have fundamentally shaped our na-

Health and Counseling Services

tion.”

The FAIR Education Act isn’t just about education – it connects to all of our battles for equality. The ongoing struggle by people with disabilities to gain full equality is an important part of our American heritage – one that should be shared in California classrooms. And the disability rights movement shares many similarities with other 20th-century civil rights struggles by those who have been denied equality, independence, autonomy, and full access to society said Protect FAIR officials.

“Opponents of the FAIR Education Act are pushing people of color and people with disabilities – who have too often and for too long been made invisible in our culture – further into the shadows by blatantly ignoring the law’s inclusion of those communities and using the law as an excuse to once again attack the LGBT community,” said the coalition.

“And for LGBT people and people of color these campaigns aren’t new. It’s a different campaign with the same dehumanizing message. No matter what the issue – antidiscrimination laws, marriage equality, or safe schools – these extremists have utilized cruel stereotypes about LGBT people being a harm to kids and families as a weapon against equality over and over again. Winning the debate on this core issue is one of the major barriers standing in the way of full equality,” continued Protect FAIR officials.

“When extremists wage these campaigns, they harm us all. That’s why our efforts to protect the FAIR Education Act transcend a single campaign, a single issue, a single group of people, or a single movement. It is, at its core, a fight about protecting our common humanity.”

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

www.sgn.org Que Areste, N.D.

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

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

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

Naturopathic Family Physician

Visit us online www.sgn.org

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

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 19

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The White House has strongly condemned an amendment to North Carolina’s state constitution banning same-sex marriage.

The measure passed the North Carolina House of Representatives on September 12, and passed the Senate the next day.

Less than 24 hours later, White House spokesman Shin Inouye issued an official response.

“The President has long believed that Gay and Lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples,” Inouye said. “That’s why he has called for repeal of the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act’ and determined that his administration would no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA in the courts.

“He has also said that the states should determine for themselves how best to uphold the rights of their own citizens,” Inouye continued.

“While the president does not weigh in

on every single action taken by legislative bodies in our country, the record is clear that the president has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples. The president believes strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away.”

The amendment was also condemned by the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP in a very strong “open letter to all North Carolinians” on September 12.

Speaking for the famed civil rights organization, the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II said that the issue was not same-sex marriage, but equal legal protections for all.

“A vote on the same-sex marriage amendment has nothing to do with your personal and religious opinion on same-sex marriage but everything to do with whether or not you believe discrimination should be codified and legalized constitutionally. We should never seek to codify discrimination into the very heart and framework of our Constitution.”

“The NAACP has always opposed any

file photo

White House, NAACP condemn N.C. anti-Gay marriage amendment

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II

custom, tradition, practice, law, or constitutional amendment that denies any right to any person,” Barber continued.

“The NAACP does not and has not taken a position endorsing or opposing same-sex marriage. However, the NAACP has a long history of opposing any proposal that would alter the federal or state Constitutions for the purpose of excluding any group or individuals from guarantees of equal protection under the law. Our opposition is based on our mission statement, which calls for the ‘equality of rights of all persons.’”

The NAACP statement also suggested that the North Carolina legislature would serve its constituents better by debating health care reform and jobs proposals than by taking up the constitutional definition of marriage.

The vote for the amendment was 75-42 in the North Carolina House, and 30-16 in the Senate.

The amendment now has to be approved

by North Carolina voters. It will go on the ballot in May 2012.

Democrats controlled the North Carolina legislature for most of the last decade, and they were able to keep the amendment from coming to the floor, but Republicans took control of the legislature in the 2010 elections.

Republican leaders rushed the measure to a vote, bringing it to the floor of the House after a Rules Committee hearing lasting just 45 minutes.

The floor debate in the House, during which Democrats castigated Republicans for their ruthless efficiency, lasted three and a half hours.

The process in the Senate was just as efficient, with the floor debate starting only an hour after the House vote.

It is already illegal for people of the same sex to marry in North Carolina. If the amendment passes, it will reinforce that ban by precluding court challenges to the “one man, one woman” definition of marriage.

It would also make it impossible for future legislatures to legalize same-sex marriage without re-amending the state constitution.

dadt

A STRONGER MILITARY, A SAFER NATION There is no evidence that repealing DADT (UCMJ), the criminal law of the U.S. mili- would harm the military. According to retary. The repeal of DADT does not change search at the University of California, Santa any part of that law. All servicemembers, Barbara, “No reputable or peer-reviewed regardless of sexual orientation, are respon- study has ever shown that allowing service sible for understanding and complying with by openly Gay personnel would comproall provisions of the UCMJ. There is a risk, mise military effectiveness.” however, that those who wish to target Gay Out of the 24 countries that allow Gay and Lesbian servicemembers may make men and Lesbians to serve openly in the false allegations or misuse sections of the military, none have reported “any detriment UCMJ to do so. to cohesion, readiness, recruiting, morale, • V.A. Benefits. The repeal of DADT does retention, or any other measure of effectivenot change whether or not someone is eligi- ness or quality,” according to the Palm Cenble for V.A. benefits. The V.A. will continue ter research institute. “In the more than three to determine a service member’s eligibility decades since an overseas force first allowed for benefits based on factors such as time Gay men and Lesbians to serve openly, no served, discharge characterization, and dis- study has ever documented any detriment ability rating. … in foreign armed services.” continued from page 17

Legal Services

20 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

With the repeal of DADT, servicemembers will no longer be discharged solely on the basis of their sexual orientation. In practice, this means that servicemembers who are complying with all sexual-orientationneutral policies and regulations cannot be kicked out for engaging in the three types of so-called “homosexual conduct” that existed under DADT. Servicemembers will no longer be forced out of the armed forces for making “statements” of homosexuality.

With the repeal of DADT, statements about a service member’s sexual orientation are no longer grounds for discharge, and servicemembers are free to come out to whomever they like, if they so choose.

With the repeal of DADT, lawful acts with a person of the same sex are no longer grounds for discharge. Servicemembers are free to engage in intimate conduct with a person of the same sex to the extent permissible under sexual-orientation-neutral regulations. However, there are other provisions that limit or prohibit certain acts, and those can have serious penalties.

On September 20 and beyond, servicemembers are free to marry, obtain a domestic partnership or civil union, or have a commitment ceremony with another person of the same sex without fear of separation.

But because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a same-sex marriage will not be recognized as a valid marriage by the military and other parts of the federal government, even if it is validly performed in a state that allows same-sex marriage. Spouses of servicemembers, therefore, will be limited in the benefits available to them.

At a time when we are fighting two wars, what matters most on the battlefield is a person’s ability to complete the mission. On September 20, our country’s laws and our military’s policies will reflect this basic, common-sense notion.

The repeal of DADT is a major step forward for Gay and Lesbian servicemembers, their families, the military, and the country as a whole.

transgenesis (genome modification) approach will not be used directly for treating continued from cover people with HIV or cats with FIV, but it will help medical and veterinary researchers understand how restriction factors can be used ily just by looking under the microscope or to advance gene therapy for AIDS caused shining a light on the animal,” said Dr. Eric by either virus.”

Poeschla, from the Mayo Clinic in RochesGFP was first used to mark genetic alterater, New York. tions in 1961. While teams of researchers The anti-AIDS gene comes from a rhesus have used GFP many times since then, this macaque, and produces a type of protein is reportedly the first time the technique has called a “restriction factor” that can resist been used in AIDS research. viruses affecting animals, including those Animal rights advocates were critical of causing AIDS and similar immunodeficien- the experiment. A veterinary advisor for the cy diseases.

British Union for the Abolition of VivisecThe researchers transferred this gene, tion (BUAV) said they had ethical concerns along with the one for GFP, into feline eggs, about the research. known as oocytes.

“This type of research on cats serves only They found that nearly all offspring from to continue our reliance on scientifically the genetically modified eggs carried the flawed animal-based research,” he said. “restriction factor” genes, and these pro“Science should instead be progressing teins were produced throughout the cats’ in the area of modern, non-animal alternabodies. tives.”

Researchers say they also found that there was reduced replication of FIV – or feline immunodeficiency virus, the feline equivalent of HIV, the virus causing AIDS in hucontinued from cover mans.

Just as HIV does in humans, FIV works by destroying T-cells, thus exposing cats to supposed to be professional! opportunistic infections and other diseases.

“I mean, you’re driving to Capitol Hill, FIV infects mostly feral cats, of which and you’re surprised you have Gay people there are estimated to be a half billion in the in your cab? Really?” world, Poeschla said.

Later, Hill phoned in a complaint to OrFIV is transmitted mainly by biting, large- ange Cab. The employee who took the call ly by males defending their territory, but was helpful and professional, Hill said. female cats who are bred by infected males “The lady was very nice about it, very can be affected as well. sympathetic,” he said. “She asked what So far, Poeschla’s team has only tested time it happened and where we were picked cells taken from the cats and found they up, and from that she said, ‘We know who were resistant to FIV. Eventually they plan the driver is and I’ll file the complaint.’ She to expose the cats to the virus and see if they handled the situation perfectly.” are protected.

Orange Cab General Manager Pat Binion “If you could show that you confer protec- confirmed to SGN that the incident did oction to these animals, it would give us a lot cur and was reported to his company. of information about protecting humans,” “The crux of the complaint was that there the Mayo Clinic researcher explained. were people kissing in the back of the cab, The Mayo clinic says that “this specific the driver took exception, and he dropped

cats

cab

them short of their destination,” he told SGN. “The driver has been written up for performing poor customer service,” Binion said, and will be required to appear before a company disciplinary board on September 27.

“This driver has been with us since 2005,” Binion told SGN, “and he has no disciplinary record at all. That said, it’s inappropriate for him to make remarks to passengers and to put them out short of their destination.

“Our policy is that we serve all customers on an equal footing. That’s not only the city code, but the Board of Directors is very committed to that. We try to be neutral in terms of [sexual] orientation.

“We appreciate all the business we get on Capitol Hill,” Binion concluded.

Binion added that Orange Cab has a formal procedure for handling customer complaints.

“When we receive a complaint,” Binion explained, “we do a ‘smart search’ on the cab to make sure we have the right cab and driver. Then we bring the driver into the office for a short interview. We want to see if what the driver tells us matches up with what the complaint is. We might also call the customer to get their version.”

If the company believes the complaint is valid, the driver is required to appear before a disciplinary board.

“If it’s appropriate there would be penalties against the driver,” Binion said. “Usually monetary – like a fine – and that might extend to suspension, or in very serious cases to separation.

“We’re an association of a number of cab owners,” Binion explained, “so we can’t fire someone. In the most serious cases we ‘deauthorize’ them. That’s the end, economic separation.”

“I’m glad they actually did something,” Nevarez said when he was told that Orange Cab was disciplining the driver. “People always say they’ll take care of a problem, but you don’t know if they’ll follow through.”

Real Estate & Home Services

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

Professional Customized Home Cleaning!

Choice is Good.

The Right Choice Is Important.

Call Diversity Cleaners.

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

www.diversitycleaners.com

Bonded

www.sgn.org

D#602 244 664

Visit us online www.sgn.org

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 21

PhotograPhers

Wanted The SGN is looking for photographers for a two-hour photo project on Saturday, September 24.

For more information, call George Bakan at 206-324-4297 or email mailsgn@aol.com 1605 12th Ave. Suite 31 Seattle, WA 98122

22 Seattle Gay News

September 16, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

LGBTQ Counseling

1812 E. Madison St #101 Seattle, WA 98122 www.seattleLGBTQcounseling.com Visit us online www.sgn.org

“As your therapist, it is my priority to work with you through your pain, and bring empathy, knowledge, respect and hope to our time together.”

Jarred Lathrop-Weber MA, LMHCA, MHP 253-906-8738

September 16, 2011

Seattle Gay News 23

Watch all the

haWKS GameS here