SGN November 2, 2012 - Section 1

Issue 44 Volume 40

Celebrating 39 Years!

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Record 87% turnout predicted for King County Good news for Approve R-74, Jay Inslee, and marijuana reform King County election officials are expecting a record turnout in the election ending Tuesday, November 6, which augurs well for marriage equality and the Democratic candidate for governor, Jay Inslee.

According to King County Elections Chief Communications Officer Kim van Ekstrom, the county is predicting 87% voter participation.

“That’s a record as far as I know,” van Ekstrom said. “Our electronic records go back to 2000, and it’s certainly the highest since then.”

King County’s turnout in 2008, the previous presidential election year, was 84%. In 2009, the year the state passed Referendum 71 approving domestic partnerships, the turnout was only 53%.

Van Ekstrom said 420,000 ballots had been received as of October 31, out of some 1.1 million registered King County voters.

Dave Ammons, spokesperson for the Washington Secretary of

State’s office, confirmed that King County is on track for an 87% turnout, “and Snohomish County is reporting 85%.”

While Ammons characterized statewide turnout as “vigorous,” he added that King and Snohomish counties are way ahead of expectations for the rest of the state.

“We’re expecting about 81%, a little better than average,” Ammons told SGN. “Since we started keeping records of this in 1952, the average has been 79%. Our record was 85% in 2008, so it won’t quite measure up to that.”

King County voters represent about 30% of the 3.9 million registered voters statewide.

nate gowdy / seattle gay news

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

R-74 A MOTIVATOR Van Ekstrom and Ammons agreed that voter interest in ballot measures like Referendum 74, and continuing support for President Obama, were driving voter turnout.

The Approve R-74 campaign for marriage equality would certainly see turnout page 6

Washington gubernatorial candidate Jay inslee (center) with supporters

Will Washington vote Stephen Durham, openly Gay presidential candidate for Marriage Equality?

SGN exclusive interview

votesocialist.com

Approve R-74 holds solid lead in late polls nate gowdy / seattle gay news

Supporters at the Walk For Marriage Equality on September 30

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Washington is poised to embrace marriage equality on November 6

by Approving Referendum 74, according to the latest poll numbers.

Polls released November 1, only five days before the election, showed very little change from the last batch, released in mid-October. The prestigious Washington Poll still shows Referendum 74 leading by six points after adjusting the raw data for “possible social bias,” the same margin as in the previous survey.

According to Washington Poll director Matt Barreto, respondents may be reluctant to tell pollsters their real feelings about LGBT rights if they believe their views might be perceived as socially undesirable. Consequently, Barreto adjusted the raw numbers on R-74 – which showed the measure winning among likely voters by 57.9% to 36.9% – to compensate for this

Freedom Socialist Party presidential candidate Stephen Durham

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Stephen Durham of the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP) says he’s the only openly Gay candidate in the 2012 presidential election. This is the first time FSP has run a presidential campaign, but the organization has been around since the see polls page 6 1960s and started right here in Se-

proud to Be Different

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

attle. SGN caught up with Durham on the campaign trail in Burlington, Vermont.

Barack Obama is the first sitting president to voice his support for same-sex marriage. So why, we asked Durham, should an LGBT voter support anyone else?

“I see it as a ploy to get him see durham page 7

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op-ed

Taxes and jobs are LGBT issues, too This election is about much more than marriage rights

by Mark Segal Special to the SGN Taxes. Can you imagine a Jew or Catholic voting for a candidate who is opposed to Catholics marrying Jews? Or interracial marriage? Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says marriage is for one man and one woman – not you – and goes on to say that if elected, he will use his office to keep the Defense of Marriage Act in force, denying you more than 1,000 basic rights, including tax benefits. Taxes are an LGBT issue. Romney will deny you your tax rights, and Obama will fight to get you the same tax relief heterosexual married couples already have.

Jobs. Can you imagine an African American voting for a man who refuses even to voice his opinion on the right not to face discrimination in employment? Well, Romney considers this a state issue and refuses to endorse the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would bar discrimination against the LGBT community. Jobs are an LGBT issue and Romney, by refusing to publicly speak up, is anti-LGBT rights.

Economy. When LGBT health, youth and senior organizations receive federal funding to supply needed services to our community, those groups spend those dollars locally to provide everything from medicine to shelters. That is millions of dollars’ worth of LGBT economic empowerment.

Romney has offered no economic program for the LGBT community. Economics is an LGBT issue.

Women’s health. Much of this campaign has been devoted to women’s health issues, and recent studies indicate that Lesbian women are at higher risk for breast cancer than heterosexual women. The best way to combat breast cancer is through early detection. Romney will cut funding to the largest provider of breast health screenings in the nation, Planned Parenthood. He has not spoken word one on LGBT health issues.

Women’s health is an LGBT issue. Romney, by his silence, is against your health.

Family and child care. Family values have been an issue in this race. As governor of Massachusetts, a state that legalized marriage equality during his term, Romney promised to treat LGBT families with dignity. However, Romney refused to allow birth

Visit us online www.sgn.org

certificates for children of LGBT couples to list both parents. Family and child care are LGBT issues. Romney’s action was heartless and insensitive to children.

Voting rights. While the Obama administration has championed a host of Trans issues, Romney hasn’t even uttered the word “Transgender.” But he does have a record.

He’s supported the new Republican-sponsored voting restrictions that have sprung up in 29 states, many of which would make

student who was perceived to be Gay. What did Romney do? While his friends held the boy down, Romney pulled out a pair of scissors and cut his hair. Was it a spur-of-themoment act, as he has since claimed? How many people walk around with scissors?

Bullying is an LGBT issue.

President Obama has done more for LGBT equality than any other president in our nation’s history – more, in fact, than all the other presidents combined. If you’re

it almost impossible for a Trans person to vote. The right to vote is an LGBT issue.

Public safety. The first job of any president is to secure the safety of all Americans.

Romney has opposed the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in hatecrimes laws. Romney does not care about your safety. Public safety is an LGBT issue.

Bullying. While Romney has rhetorically denounced bullying, he has not endorsed a single piece of legislation anywhere in the nation to combat the problem. And as a schoolboy he personally bullied a fellow

voting for jobs, vote for the man who will not discriminate against you or your community. If you are voting for tax equality, there is only one candidate. If you are voting for public security, there is only one candidate. If you want to vote with your head held high and with pride, there’s only one vote: President Barack Obama.

Romney has supported voting restrictions that would make it almost impossible for a Trans person to vote.

November 2, 2012

Mark Segal publishes the Philadelphia Gay News. He can be reached at mark@ epgn.

Seattle Gay News

3

Local news

Straight allies stand up In the fight to Approve R-74, everyone’s support matters courtesy daniel hanks

alone. Straight allies everywhere are speaking out and it is making a big and lasting impact.

But if you tell them they are heroes they won’t accept it. Instead, more often than not they respond, “It’s the right thing to do.”

UNIONS GET ON BOARD For straight ally Jasmine Marwaha, a community organizer with UNITE HERE Local 8, the union’s alliance with the LGBT community is “an extension of our core mission to advocate on behalf of hospitality workers in Washington state, many of whom identify as LGBT.” She told SGN, “We stand in solidarity with all communities who are fighting for equality. As part of the labor community, I know that voices have power, and we want to add as many voices calling for justice and equality for the LGBT community as possible.”

The local unions have done just that – and they have also backed up those voices with donations to the Approve Referendum 74 campaign.

Straight ally Jessica Gavre, legislative as-

my husband and have people understand what that means was really important.”

“We have many Gay and Lesbian friends who are in long-term committed relationships, and their relationships are no different from ours,” she said, adding, “They are based on the same values of love, commitment, and community.”

“I want every couple in Washington state to have the right to a relationship that is recognized and protected like mine is,” Gavre said.

INSPIRED BY D.C. TRIP For straight ally Daniel Hanks, it was a trip to the nation’s capital in July that changed his point of view. While looking at the monuments on the National Mall, he was overcome with the feeling that there was a lot of cleanup that still needed to be done in regard to social justice. When he returned to Seattle he told SGN, “I immediately got to work as a straight ally.”

“My life completely changed over the next four months because I finally understood what it meant to be accountable,” he said. “I began to take responsibility for my decisions while accepting my mistakes and learning from them. I quit making excuses, blaming others, and being a victim. I began questioning everything that was taught to me by someone else or the institutions in my life – family, school, religion, government. I started experiencing my life without hate, bias, and judgment. It was then that I courtesy dru dinero

Daniel Hanks

be friends. Make no mistake about it folks, the LGBT movement is gaining speed, propelled by the addition of millions of straight Remember when, not so long ago, it was allies into our ranks, effectively helping to Us vs. Them? Homos didn’t have breeders swell the minority to be equal to, or greater as friends. We were free to live our “life- than, the historically bigoted majority. style” any way we pleased just as long as we A NEW DYNAMIC didn’t “shove it in their faces.” And while State by state, city by city – and, one day I would like to say that I am talking about a time that was long ago and far away, I soon, neighborhood by Gayborhood – what couldn’t, could I? That’s because that little has taken place in progressive cities like Sewalk down hate’s memory lane was not so attle, where volunteers, activists, and prolong ago, and it was only as far away as marriage campaign staffers are straight, will take place all over this nation of ours. BeEastern Washington.

Something, somewhere along the line, cause as slow as the process might seem, it changed and we Gays decided we didn’t has begun and, accelerated in particular by want to “stay in our place” and started com- American youth – who on the whole seem ing out on TV, in politics, and as young as to have a much better understanding of the 13. We evolved and so, too, did America – LGBT community than their parents – does however begrudgingly. In fact, we evolved not show any signs of slowing down.

And while we all would like to breathe a so much that our state’s Catholic governor, Christine Gregoire, called on Washington collective sigh of relief and say, “Finally!” lawmakers to pass a marriage equality bill, – it is important that we all breathe a coland so they did. We evolved so much that lective sigh of relief and say, “Thank you!” for the first time ever, a sitting U.S. presi- instead. Because what our straight brothers dent – America’s first-ever Black president, and sisters have done is brave and they deto be exact – came out in support of mar- serve to be thanked for doing it. Young men riage equality and then, months later, asked who once kept their mouths shut when their the voters in four states facing marriage friends in the locker room pushed the Gay equality ballot initiatives to vote for the kid around, because they knew that otherfreedom to marry. The proverbial tide has wise they would be accused of the same heiturned. The hypothetical American People nous lifestyle and therefore suffer the same have embraced us. And all because Lady wrath, are now speaking up. Women who Gaga told them we were “Born This Way.” once stayed silent when the office Lesbian There are those words again: We, They, was sexually harassed or worse because, Us, Them. This time, however, “they” well, she should just feel lucky to have a turned out to be allies and “we” turned out to job, are now speaking out. And they are not

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Dru Dinero

sistant to State Rep. (and out Lesbian) Laurie Jinkins, it was her own marriage to her husband that solidified her support to samesex couples who want the freedom to marry.

“A little over a year ago my husband and I were married, and through the process of planning and celebrating our wedding it became very clear to me how important it is for our marriage to be recognized,” Gavre told SGN. “For me to be to call my partner

started to become free from all fear and discover who I really am.”

Hanks currently serves as the Outreach Director Allied Communities at Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea), a nonprofit that I founded and created earlier this year. “I take pride in finding fun creative ways to encourage my fellow straight allies to “come out” and be vocal in their support of marriage see allies page 22

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

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

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November 2, 2012

Seattle Gay News

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My name is Lee Newgent. I am an active union member and head of the King County Building and Construction Trades Council.

I believe in freedom, and that includes the freedom for everyone to love who they want to love. That is why I am voting to Approve Referendum 74 in November. Surprised?

You shouldn’t be. I believe everyone deserves the freedom to marry the person they love – it’s as simple as that. Listen to Sarah’s story and you will agree. She’s a union member like me.

My name is Sarah Cherin, and I am the Political Director of UFCW Local 21. I am in a committed, loving relationship with my partner, whose name is Jen. I want to be able to call Jen my wife, which she is in every way except legally. Approving Referendum 74 could change that.

We are just like a lot of union families in this state. We work hard every day, and we believe it’s important to be good neighbors and to participate fully in our community.

We believe that all workers should be treated fairly and have equal respect.

the stand

Referendum 74: Equality and justice for all families In these tough economic times, all families are fighting hard to ensure that we have what we need and that people in our community are taken care of.

That starts with ensuring that all union families have the same protections. Right now, we have union families who are not treated fairly and justly. Referendum 74 is about ensuring that all couples having the freedom to marry the person they love.

Together, we know some people might say that this isn’t a union issue, or something that labor should not be concerned with. For families like ours, there isn’t anything more fundamental than equality and justice. That is something we as a labor movement care a lot about. An injury to one is an injury to all – together we can make sure that all families are treated fairly.

Please join both of us in Approving Referendum 74.

Reprinted from The Stand: Your Internet Newsstand in Washington State (www.thestand.org), a project of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Lee Newgent, head of the King County Building and Construction Trades Council and Sarah Cherin, Political Director of UFCW 21

turnout

continued from cover

VOTING IS NOT ENOUGH As you know, Referendum 74 will be on the ballot this November. R-74 asks whether you approve enacting the marriage equality bill that state legislators – Republicans and Democrats – passed earlier this year. I know that most of you intend to vote to Approve R-74, but I am asking you to do a bit more before the election.

I will admit that it is hard, knowing that others get to vote on whether I have the right to marry the person I love. It is frustrating and stressful. So I’m choosing to use this as an opportunity to talk with family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues about why marriage equality is important.

We know that people’s views on marriage equality evolve through personal conversations with or about those for whom this law has a personal impact.

In my experience, most Washington voters do not believe that Lesbians and Gays should be denied equal rights. However, they are not aware that the current law that allows same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships isn’t sufficient. There are literally hundreds of rights, like inheritance rights and tax benefits, that are provided to married couples that are not provided to couples who are domestic partners. I firmly believe that all of us, regardless of whom we love, should be entitled to the same rights in this country. I hope you agree.

A misconception is that the new law would require churches to marry same-sex couples. Lawmakers made certain to ensure that the law does not impinge on any

church’s religious freedom. No church or religious institution would be required to marry any couple. This is about civil marriage, not religious marriage.

But in many ways, allowing couples to marry says something much more important. In our society, marriage is how we understand that people are committed – that they are a family, that they will be there and take care of each other throughout their lives. Remember back to when you married your spouse. You were likely overjoyed and wanted to tell your friends, family, and community that this is the person you love and want to spend your life with. You did that by getting married. People understood the importance and strength of your relationship just because you chose to marry. It said something universally understood by others.

All of us, regardless of whom we love, want our relationship understood and acknowledged in that same way. I want my friends, family, and community to know that my love and commitment to Marc is just as strong as yours is to your spouse.

Again, thank you for your support for marriage equality. Please remember to vote to Approve Referendum 74. But, given the profound impact that this election will have on my life, I am asking you to take the next three weeks to do more. Talk to others about marriage equality. Feel free to use my story as a way to initiate those conversations, if you want. Together, we can ensure equal rights for all in Washington.

Matthew Haggerty

be one of the beneficiaries of a high turnout in Gay-friendly King County. In 2009’s offyear election, R-71 passed largely on the strength of lopsided Approve votes in King and Snohomish counties. Turnout that year in King County was only 53%, but it still helped drive a victory for R-71.

In an October 31 New York Times story, NOM mastermind Frank Schubert, who is managing all four anti-equality ballot campaigns nationwide, all but conceded defeat in Washington and Maine.

Maine “would become one more state in a liberal corner of the country to permit samesex marriage,” Schubert told the Times.

Washington is also a liberal state, Schubert said, and “it would be unfortunate if we lose there, but not very surprising,” given the disparity in fundraising between his side and the Approve R-74 forces.

A BOOST FOR INSLEE Another beneficiary of a high King County turnout would be Inslee, who has polled well in King and Snohomish counties but has lagged behind his Republican challenger in other parts of the state.

Inslee spokesperson Jaime Smith told SGN she is “absolutely” happy with the high turnout numbers from Inslee’s base areas.

“Higher voter turnout typically benefits Democratic candidates,” she noted.

“It’s a very important election,” Smith added, “and we’re putting a lot into our turnout efforts. We have phone banks overflowing with volunteers, canvassers going out every evening. It’s been inspiring.”

Washington United for Marriage also reported extraordinary GOTV (get-outthe-vote) efforts, with some 82,000 calls to registered voters last weekend urging a vote to Approve R-74. The group said its volunteers would log some 1,500 person-hours canvassing voters in the weekend before Election Day. Smith said she thinks Approve R-74 and Inslee’s campaign will help each other at the polls.

“Jay has been very vocal supporter [of Approve R-74],” Smith said. “He’s very, very vocal why he’ll be supporting it. I think people will want to vote for the only candidate for governor who supports marriage equality.”

Election officials said that in spite of the

large number of ballots coming in, there have been remarkably few problems.

“We’ve been preparing since last year,” van Ekstrom said, “knowing we’d have a big turnout, and all systems are working well.”

Ammons said that statewide “there have been just some minor problems,” including sporadic efforts at voter suppression.

DON’T BE FOOLED “Some people reported getting phone calls telling them not to vote with replacement ballots if they didn’t get their ballot in the mail,” Ammons told SGN. In fact, just the opposite is true. If registered voters have not received their ballots in the mail, they can and should ask for replacement ballots and use them to vote.

Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, November 6 to be counted. For voters who run out of time or who prefer to deliver their ballots in person, there are numerous drop boxes in King County. To find the box nearest you, visit www.kingcounty. gov/elections/voting/ballotdropboxes.aspx.

polls

continued from cover potential bias.

A SurveyUSA poll released November 1 showed Approve R-74 ahead by nine points, 52% to 43%. This is also similar to previous SurveyUSA polling.

I-502 ALSO LEADING Initiative 502, which would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Washington, is ahead by about 18 points among likely voters in the Washington Poll and 19 points in the SurveyUSA poll.

The Washington Poll also shows Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee ahead of his Republican opponent by a narrow margin, 48.7% to 45.6% – almost exactly the same margin as in the October 18 poll. Inslee’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error, however.

SurveyUSA likewise shows the race for governor as a dead heat, with 47% for Inslee and 46% for Rob McKenna.

NO DRAMA FOR OBAMA The Washington Poll shows President Obama trouncing his Republican opponent by 20 points, and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell ahead of her challenger by an even more impressive 27.5 points.

Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches 6

Seattle Gay News

November 2, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

courtesy Jeaneane Hill

Finding her religion The Christian mother of a Gay son urges everyone to Approve R-74

because the building is often owned by the larger entity.

Since last June, Jeaneane Hill has spent several days per week standing on Northeast 45th Street, just outside the University of Washington entrance, spreading two clear messages: she is a Christian for marriage equality, and she is the proud mother of a Gay son.

“Our church has a statement about standing for justice: ‘Jesus did, so do we,’” said Hill.

Hill lives in a condo where she’s not allowed to post political signs in her windows.

To spread the Approve R-74 message to her neighbors, Hill began carrying her signs to and from her car.

“Then I started carrying my signs all over town,” said Hill. “All the time.”

Hill has been an active participant in the Gay rights movement since her son, Troy, who will be 37 on Election Day, came out in 1993. When that happened, Hill said, in a sense she jumped into the closet.

“It’s scary in there,” Hill told SGN. She feared the reaction from her fellow church members, but said she knew that Troy was the most important thing to her and saw forsaking her son as a “greater sin” than forsaking her religion.

“There were people in [my] church that were supportive, but were afraid to break the church up,” Hill recalled.

Hill explained that for many churches, whatever their personal politics may be, they’re often part of a larger entity with its own rules. If a congregation doesn’t follow those rules, they could lose not only a big part of their funding, but their church itself,

PFLAG TO THE RESCUE However, Troy was there for her during his coming-out process just as much as she was for him. He offered her a pamphlet from Bellevue’s chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

“I was looking for voices – they weren’t in my church,” said Hill.

With the encouragement of her new friends at PFLAG, she changed churches, joining the LGBT-friendly University Congregational United Church of Christ. The coming-out process and her subsequent involvement in the Gay rights movement helped expand her focus to other problems in the world as well.

“It opened our eyes to all the injustice in the world,” said Hill of herself and her husband, Robert, who has since passed away.

From health care to anti-war activism, the two became true activists.

In 1999, Hill was arrested at a protest for the first time. “I could stand up and be arrested because I knew that my family, some of my church members, and the Gay community would support me,” Hill told SGN. POSITIVE FEEDBACK Hill said the response to her own visibility campaign for Approve R-74 has been mostly positive. She’s also been active in her church, where she’s helped to set up forums and an information table.

“You just find ways of trying to get the word out,” Hill told SGN. “I’m not going to worry about my neighbor not liking me – it’s the right thing to do.”

Hill carries two signs: An official Approve R-74 campaign sign and her own sign that reads “Marriage equality for my Gay son” on one side and “Another Christian for marriage equality” on the other. She also sports an Approve R-74 T-shirt and many

campaign buttons.

“If we don’t win, I’m not going away – and I’m not going away if we do win,” Hill told SGN. “Even if I have to do this till I’m in the old folks’ home, I’m doing it.”

daily sun news

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

in my lifetime – it hasn’t worn me down.

It’s made me more passionate,” Durham told SGN. “An openly socialist, openly Gay voice is needed in the election.”

funded training and jobs program; repealing “union-busting” laws; reducing the workweek to 30 hours with no cut in pay; lowering the retirement age to 55; nationalizing banks and key industries under the management of workers’ committees; raising the minimum wage to $20 per hour; offering free universal health care (including abortion); and restoring the top marginal income tax rate to its pre-Reagan level of 70%.

The pair also advocate sweeping “liberation, not discrimination” social reforms such as full support for the sovereignty, human rights, and cultural inheritance of indigenous peoples and their nations; dismantling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and opening the borders; extending free, multilingual public education from kindergarten to grad school; and canceling all outstanding student debt.

The full platform can be found online at www.votesocialism.com.

Stephen Durham and running mate Christina Lopez

durham

continued from cover elected. It doesn’t cost him much politically. I don’t think it justifies everything else Obama has done,” Durham replied.

Ploy or no, there’s a lot of difference in the reasons the two support same-sex marriage.

“I support Gay marriage as an openly Gay man, as an activist since 1969. I came out after Stonewall,” Durham told SGN. A VETERAN ACTIVIST Radicalized in his college days at the University of California at Berkeley, Durham has been an activist for a long time – and not just for LGBT causes. While he was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, he decided to work with foster kids, coincidentally in Vermont. He attended the

first national Lesbian and Gay conference in 1969.

“I turned 65 in August. Got my first Social Security check. I’m very happy because through my activism in the last few decades, I am living true to my youth,” said Durham.

“The ’60s were a real upheaval. You got the sense of real change. In my lifetime many changes have happened, but not as many as I would like.”

Durham reminisced on his teen years, when he was still in the closet and living in Los Angeles. He vividly remembers the 1965 Watts riots. He was reading James Baldwin and came across his first Gay character in literature. He’s learned a lot since then, but the passion and values that he developed early on have been a constant driving force.

“When I see drones and I see the murder of a million Iraqis, when I see the horror of war that has gone on in the name of profit

Jeaneane Hill

THE LESSER EVIL? “Obama in office has really demobilized a huge number of people. People thought he could make change – he hasn’t. I think we should use our vote to protest,” said Durham. “By voting for us, I hope people will make a statement.”

Durham said that the “fundamental problem” in the country is that we don’t have a party that represents the majority. “Vote for the greater good instead of the lesser evil” is their signature campaign slogan.

“If Romney gets elected, it won’t be because people voted for me,” said Durham.

“It will be because Obama’s constituency didn’t turn out to vote for him.”

“In my candidacy I’m showing political leadership by Lesbians and Gays. I’m willing to take on the two-party system. Being Gay is what fuels my fight against injustice.

I know discrimination first-hand as a Gay activist since Stonewall.”

Durham thinks one of the things that separate him from other third-party candidates is that the issues of racism and sexism are at the center of his politics.

“Women of color stand at the bottom of the social hierarchy,” said Durham. “We live in a very sophisticated divide-and-conquer culture. We’ve got to talk about racism and sexism.”

AN AMBITIOUS PLATFORM Durham and his running mate, Christina López, a Chicana activist from Seattle, are running on a platform that includes “disarm[ing] the U.S. war machine” and using that money to create a massive, publicly

SAYS OBAMA NOT AN ALLY “Coming back here now and campaigning, many of the same things exist. There’s a lot of poverty in Vermont,” said Durham.

“It’s time to break with the Democrats and the Republicans. [Obama] said he supported Lesbian and Gay marriage, but he’s not supporting ending DOMA. It’s verbal support he’s given. He’s saying it’s a state issue. It’s very reactionary – it’s what maintained the Jim Crow south. In April of this year, he refused to come out against discrimination [by] federal contactors through not supporting ENDA.” Durham and López’s names won’t appear on most ballots, so they’re running a writein campaign. On their website, they also feature voting recommendations for Washington state and local elections.

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

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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national news

HRC files complaint over anti-Obama texts

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has filed a complaint with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) against a Virginia-based telecommunications company, charging it with sending a number of unsolicited anti-Obama text messages.

“Stop Obama from forcing Gay marriage on the states. Your vote is your voice,” one of the messages said. That and a series of other anti-Obama texts were sent to cellphone customers on the night of October 30.

The company that is charged with sending the messages, ccAdvertising, has not confirmed that they are responsible, but according to reporter Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed blog, the dummy websites used to send the texts are registered to ccAdvertising executives. “[O]ne of those executives – Gabe Joseph – is known for using questionable tactics, according to Republican operatives familiar with his past activities,” Geidner reports.

“It’s unsurprising that our opponents are employing such underhanded tactics and trying to attack equality from behind shrouds of secrecy,” HRC vice president of communications Fred Sainz said in a statement.

“HRC is filing a complaint with the FCC

so that these types of organizations know there are consequences for their actions. It’s unacceptable to launch these types of despicable attacks from dark corners, and it’s incredibly irresponsible to send out unsolicited messages to people who have no desire to receive this type of vitriol.”

TWO ALLEGATIONS In a letter to the FCC, HRC general counsel Robert Falk argues that ccAdvertising has committed two potential violations of federal law.

The first accusation – that the company sent unsolicited text messages – may not stick, however.

Apparently ccAdvertising used an “email-to-text” technology that allowed them to send e-mails to cell phones in the form of text messages. The messages might legally be considered e-mails, and therefore not covered under FCC regulations.

An FCC spokesperson told BuzzFeed that, for now, the “question is open in front of the Commission.”

The second potential violation is “knowingly transmit[ting] misleading caller-ID information with the intent to defraud [or] cause harm.”

“By disguising the sender of the text messages as ‘SMS@Aicett.Com,’ ccAdvertising knowingly and willfully caused the

caller-identification service to transmit misleading caller-identification information in an attempt to defraud and harm Gay-rights advocates,” HRC said in its complaint.

“Each violation of this provision is punishable by a penalty up to $10,000 per violation, up to a total of $1,000,000,” Falk noted in his letter to the FCC. Although ccAdvertising identifies corporate clients like McDonald’s and Starbucks

Andrew Cutraro, White House photographer

One more reason to love Joe Biden

Veep speaks out for Transgender rights

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer At an October 30 campaign event in Florida, Vice President Joe Biden made another unscripted statement on LGBT rights – this one in support of the Transgender community.

According to a pool reporter who was on the scene, Biden approached a woman in the crowd of supporters because he thought she “had beautiful eyes.” She said something inaudible to the vice president and he responded. The reporter heard only the words “civil rights issue of our time.”

Linda Carragher Bourne, a resident of Sarasota, Florida, later told the reporter that her daughter was Miss Trans New England and that she had asked Biden if he would do something to help Trans people.

“A lot of my friends are being killed, and they don’t have the civil rights yet. These guys are gonna make it happen,” Bourne told the reporter.

FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT Bourne later described her encounter with Biden in an exultant Facebook post: “THEN! As I was waving my arms like Kermit the Frog (WITH the Peace Sign, of course…smile…), he SAW ME!” she wrote.

“He said, TO ME (!!!) ‘Wow! Look at those EYES!!!’

“He immediately came over and gave me a HUGE BEAR HUG (pics to come, on the Late News…haha!). THEN! I got to TELL him what I had to SAY! Yup. Y’all guessed

10 Seattle Gay News

it! I spoke (babbled? I pray not…) about Civil Rights for Trans People, about the hatred, the murders, the UTTER NECESSITY to protect Our Trans Citizens!

“He actually had a conversation with me about ‘it all.’ He declared his Support, his DEVOTION to Civil Rights for ALL Peoples, and specifically Transgender Folks! It was a miraculous (to me) and Magical Moment In Time. I felt ZERO Bullshite coming from him. ZERO!!! He’s in our Corner, Friends!!! And. He has Obama’s ‘ear!’

“YAYYYYYYY!!!!”

“If nothing else, I feel as though, today, I was ‘gifted’ with the opportunity to SPEAK UP! For ALL OF US!!! *happy gettin’ the word out dancin’* :)” Bourne’s daughter, Lorelei Erisis, later left a comment on Politico’s account of the incident: “As the aforementioned Miss Trans New England, I would like to thank Vice President Biden for his words in support of Transgender Civil Rights! Also, for his apparently excellent taste in singling my Mom Linda Carragher Bourne out from the crowd! Slainte [to your health] Mr. Vice President! Trans Rights Now!” LOCAL REACTION Seattle activist Marsha Botzer, founder and co-chair of Ingersoll Gender Center, told SGN that Biden’s remarks showed progress towards full inclusion for the Trans community.

“Words can reflect history and make history,” Botzer said. “I believe the vice president’s words represent the change so many

November 2, 2012

on its website, it also claims the Alaska Republican Party, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, the Abstinence Clearinghouse, right-wing propaganda mill Eagle Publishing, and several Republican politicians.

It is not known if the company sent the anti-Obama texts on its own or on behalf of a client.

Vice President Joe Biden

have fought for – incomplete at the moment, but ever so much closer. Transgender is fully and wholly a part of the social justice struggle now. We will never go back.”

Ingersoll co-chair Breanna Anderson also welcomed Biden’s remarks. “Vice President Biden is notable for making populist and value-based statements from the gut in personal interactions,” she said.

“Vice President Biden’s comment was, I think, a personal and genuine statement of support and concern to a mother of a Transgender child, who expressed concern for her daughter and all Transgender people,” Anderson told SGN. “Over-parsing it as poli-

cy is not where we should be focusing.

“The simple fact that government officials at the top level demonstrate awareness of this misunderstood and frequently maligned community and their needs is welcome news indeed.

“In the last four years, this administration has made life easier for Trans people in so many ways, through policy and advocacy, so these words are not hollow rhetoric,” she added.

“We can only hope that we get four more years to solidify protections and do the basic work of education and awareness that will better the lives of hundreds of thousands of Trans and gender-variant citizens.”

WE MUST STAY UNITED Although some commentators have questioned whether Biden was specifically referring to Trans rights, or to LGBT rights more generally, Anderson cautioned against pitting communities against one another.

“Marriage equality has recently been referred to by many as ‘the civil rights issue of our time,’” she said. “I suppose it depends on what your historic horizon is. At any one time there are many civil rights issues at play and it is vital that we avoid building a hierarchy of disenfranchisement and rights.

We must move ahead together in alliance on many fronts at any given time.”

Celebrating 39 Years!

Catholics for Marriage Equality holds Seattle vigil Approve R-74 event at St. James Cathedral draws 150

by Leo N. Egashira Special to the SGN On Sunday morning, October 28, readers of The Seattle Times, The Everett Herald, and The Yakima Herald-Republic woke up to a full-page ad sponsored by Catholics for Marriage Equality Washington. (Spokane Spokesman-Review readers saw a similar ad on October 16.) The day ended with a gathering billed as a “Liturgy of Love,” which attracted 150 progressive Catholics and supportive allies outside Seattle’s St. James Cathedral. For one hour, the lively and energized crowd sang and prayed, echoing two common themes: (1) It is not in spite of our Catholic faith, but because of its strong tradition of social justice and treating each person with dignity, that we strongly support marriage equality. (2) A substantial majority of the Catholic laity, locally and nationwide,

support marriage equality, despite the Catholic bishops’ strident opposition to it.

State Sen. Ed Murray (along with his partner, Michael Shiosaki), a St. James parishioner and the major force behind all pro-LGBT legislation in Washington for the past 17 years, acknowledged the crowd’s enthusiastic applause after he was introduced. Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin praised the Catholic group for its strong and publicly visible grassroots effort to pass marriage equality. He urged attendees to make use of the few days left before the elections to persuade more of their relatives, neighbors, co-workers, and parishioners to vote to Approve Referendum 74 and make marriage equality the law of the land in Washington.

Leo Egashira is a DignityUSA board member.

all photos by nate gowdy / seattle gay news

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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Celebrating 39 Years!

Grassroots to lawsuits How an ‘army of lovers’ became a gaggle of lawyers

by Abby Dees SGN Contributing Writer

WHAT HAPPENED? It made me think about the great Lesbian activist Ivy Bottini (famously drummed out of NOW by the Lesbian-impaired Betty Friedan), who expressed a keen sense of loss to me recently: as we assimilate, we lose our passion, our sense of specialness, and in particular our anger – things that empower us, as a community, to fight for our very survival. Pride meant “we’re alive, dammit!” Or at least you could hook up.

I’m not sure what it means now. I don’t know anyone who went to Pride this year who wasn’t trying to promote something.

Same-sex marriage harms no one

by Sid Schwab Reprinted from The Everett Herald I’ve lived my whole life in the Pacific Northwest, except for a wartime diversion to Vietnam and when I went away to get what some would call an education. At my fancy East Coast college, over half my classmates had gone to prep school, wearing tweed jackets with leather elbow patch-

vote to deny rights to fellow human beings.

Choose. To deny rights. It feels like bullying, except they don’t have to face the ones they’re hurting. There’s no way same-sex marriage affects my 41-year marriage or anyone else’s. In Massachusetts, where it’s been legal for years, divorce rates have actually gone down. Not only that, but the scary things you’re hearing – like being forced to do this or that, being sued – aren’t happen-

Most people who oppose same-sex marriage do so on religious grounds, which is fair enough – if your religion doesn’t allow it, don’t do it. But on what basis does one tell other denominations they can’t, as a matter of secular law? es. When I arrived there, I couldn’t get my dorm room unlocked, and was pretty embarrassed when my neighbor-to-be opened his door, pipe in hand, and got my key to work in two seconds. Wearing my Pendleton shirt as I always did (they were affordable then, and lasted forever), and jeans, I felt like my finger ought to be in my nose – some dumb kid from out West.

I got over it. I think I was always regarded as a little bit foreign, but I remained proud of being a Northwesterner, and not just because we have the best weather and geography in the U.S. It’s the people. We’re friendlier out here, open to new ideas like software and four-dollar coffee. Welcoming. Maybe a little smug about it, but not much in the way of stuck up.

So it breaks my heart that there’s a ballot initiative on which some people will

courtesy out and about

Last weekend I was the emcee at my local Pride festivities. It had been a while since I’d done anything Pride-y, so I didn’t know what to expect. Historically, suburban Pride events have been more about strollers and soy Frappuccinos than leather chaps and fifteen-dollar beer.

But I didn’t anticipate a moribund party whose biggest draw was a mobile free clinic courtesy of the local health department. As I stood on stage looking out, about to announce a demonstration by an LGBT square-dancing club, I wanted to call out, “Is anyone here not a volunteer or a vendor?” But that would have been bitchy.

I thought even hinterlands Pride was supposed to be, well, an occasion.

It’s been a long time since Pride was an LGBT High Holy Day, or even just fun, at least in my neck of the woods.

Sure, there’s still plenty to be angry about, like Gay bashing, reparative therapy, and powerful groups pouring millions into campaigns to stop same-sex marriage – but something has quietly changed over the years. Ivy is right. We’re talking about marriage and partner benefits, not our simple right to exist in the daylight. If you’re on the same mailing lists I’m on, you’re getting solicitations for $250-a-plate awards dinners to celebrate some Gay celebrity who’s also the face of a cosmetics firm.

I’m not knocking any of this, but I miss the days when I truly believed the slogan, “An army of lovers cannot fail.” Hell, I miss the word “lover.” I mourn that rush of freedom that made Pride a profoundly meaningful counterpoint to daily life.

I know there are LGBT warriors nowadays with more passion for justice than I could ever muster, but they are one-offs compared to a generation ago. This is partly because they aren’t facing the cruelty of AIDS at a time when the president (Ronald Reagan, if you’re inclined to remember him fondly) refused even to say the word “AIDS” out loud. Mostly, though, it’s because many of us have become complacent about the gains we’ve made. We’re fine-tuning now, not overturning.

So that’s my lament about what we’ve lost. Now please follow me ...

widow Edie Windsor, age 83. When her partner of 42 years died in 2009, Windsor owed $363,000 in estate taxes, which she would not have been required to pay if her partner were a man. Despite a vigorous fight by House Republicans (who I thought were supposed to be against taxes), the court not only struck down a key part of DOMA, but announced that legal discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation should be subject to the same heightened legal scrutiny that discrimination based on race and gender gets.

This is the second time this year that a federal appeals court ruled DOMA unconstitutional, which tells me that Windsor’s win is no fluke. Several more LGBT rights cases have won in the lower federal courts, making their way, inevitably, to the Supreme Court, perhaps as soon as next year.

Our movement has officially entered a new phase. This is our battlefield today – the warriors are wearing suits. I’m thrilled, but I hope there will always be room in the movement for some pissed-off, gorgeous drag queen to march up the steps of … anything … for the sake of Pride.

Abby Dees

NEW VENUE, SAME FIGHT Things are happening this very moment that will take our community where we could only have imagined even 10 years ago. Nothing sexy – no fuchsia banners or megaphones. Actually, it has to do with tax law.

Last month, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in favor of Lesbian Sexual preference is not a choice. Science has confirmed this, many times, many ways.

My predilection for women isn’t something I voted on. It just happened, like my nearfatal attraction to chocolate. Which means you can’t catch Gay, and you can’t be “recruited.” By whatever creation or creator in which you believe, your sexual preference is how you were born. Make of that what you will. But it’s fact.

Most people who oppose same-sex marriage do so on religious grounds, which is fair enough – if your religion doesn’t allow it, don’t do it. But on what basis does one tell other denominations they can’t, as a matter of secular law? It’s the biblical definition, people say. But the Bible includes polygamy, doesn’t it? And killing your wife if she’s not a virgin. It also demands that men marry their brother’s widow and that women marry their rapist. Not to mention that it tells us not to eat pulled pork sandwiches, which I happen to like. We’re all a little selective. It’s not a persuasive argument.

NO HARM TO CHILDREN Of all the concerns raised, the effect on children of Gay couples deserves the most scrutiny. But there’s good news – plenty of studies, no harm.

During my years of surgical training, our landlords were a Gay couple – the best landlords ever. When my wife and I moved into our apartment, we found roses on the table and wine in the fridge. Three-piece suit guys, realtors, they stayed together for 50 years, till death did they part. They never had the chance to marry, but if they had, we’d have been there, beaming as big as they would be.

Think hard, Washingtonians, before you vote to hurt people like them. Ask yourself why you’d choose to harm folks you don’t know, who’ll never harm you, whose life choices don’t affect you or your kids, legally or otherwise. Love is love. Live and let live. Let’s remain the best part of this country. Please.

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Sid Schwab is a long-time, “mostly retired” general surgeon in Everett.

ing there. So why is it even subject to vote?

Aren’t civil rights civil rights?

NO RELIGIOUS COERCION Washington’s law will not force any church to perform same-sex marriage – if it did, I’d be voting no. Nor does it grant exceptional rights to homosexuals – if it did, I’d be voting no twice. And yet, whipped up by vulpine news sources, letters here repeat unfounded fears. Fact is, the mayor of Boston did not refuse to issue business licenses to Chick-fil-A. Laws don’t require teaching the “homosexual lifestyle.” Nor were Catholic adoption agencies made to close – they became ineligible for public funds because they discriminated. And it was on the basis of other laws, not marriage equality. (http://equalitymatters.org/factcheck/201109120012)

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northwest news

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – WASHINGTON UNITED FOR MARRIAGE CAMPAIGN TO APPROVE REFERENDUM 74 Washington United for Marriage is seeking volunteers to help with a myriad of tasks to ensure passage of Referendum 74. If approved, the referendum will uphold the decision made by the Washington state legislature and signed by Christine Gregoire to legalize Gay marriage, marriage equality, the freedom to marry for all couples.

To get involved, email volunteer@washingtonunited.org, phone 206-486-0359, or stop by the Capitol Hill Action Center (517 E. Pike St.).

There are volunteer opportunities around the state. To find out how you can get involved, visit www/washingtonunitedformarriage.org or call 425-954-3252.

EARSHOT JAZZ FESTIVAL OCTOBER 13-NOVEMBER 4 www.earshot.org

BURLYCON 2012 NOVEMBER 1-4 BurlyCon, the educational and social convention for the burlesque community, will hold a Guiness Book of World Records Attempt for the “World’s Largest Fan Dance” during the November 1-4, 2012 event at the Seattle DoubleTree Inn (18740 International Blvd.) near Sea-Tac Airport, featuring over 250 burlesque dancers executing fan dance choreography in “traditional” costumes. Now in its fifth year, BurlyCon is a fixture of the booming burlesque festival circuit attracting hundreds of burlesque performers, fans and aficionados from around the world for a full weekend of classes, panels, networking, shopping, and social events. www.BurlyCon.org.

SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – HMONG NEW YEAR CELEBRATION On Saturday, November 3, from 11 a.m.8 p.m., at Seattle Center’s Armory/Center House and Fisher Pavilion, explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of the people from the hilltops of China, Laos, and Thailand through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games, and a lively marketplace. Gain insights into the customary courtship ritual of ball tossing and participate in flower cloth sessions. Presented in partnership with the Hmong Association of Washington. http://hmongofwa.org.

“SING OUT FOR WOMEN” – SEATTLE PEACE CHORUS & CRIS WILLIAMSON On Saturday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall (8th Ave. & Seneca St.), enjoy an extraordinary evening celebrating women’s rights and social justice. After decades of progress, women around the world still lack freedom to vote, freedom from violence, freedom of choice over their own bodies, and freedom from repression. On the eve of our national election, as women’s rights are debated, it is vital we do not fall silent.

Pioneer of “Women’s Music” singer-songwriter Cris Williamson’s albums became the soundtrack for a movement and helped foster the birth of an entirely new genre of music. She will sing many of her most loved songs, with new arrangements premiering with the chorus. Also featured will be Grammy award-winning singer/musician Nancy Rumbel of Tingstad & Rumbel and original compositions by Seattle composersongwriter Carol Sams and other women composers. Tickets: $20-advance, $18-student/senior/disabled. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/280680, 800-838-3006, www.seattlepeacechorus.org. Tickets will also be available at the door.

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

PRE-ELECTION “VICTORY PARTY” TO RAISE MONEY TO APPROVE R-74 On Saturday, November 3, from 9 p.m.-4 a.m., at Neumos (10th Ave. & E. Pike St.), join DJs Tina T, Chris Cox, and Skiddle, with Tammie Brown (a RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Star), Kristine W (dance music diva), Gaysha Starr, Mama Tits, Chase Silva, Daniel Hanks, and more for a festive evening to raise money for Washington United for Marriage’s campaign to Approve R-74.

“Party like we’ve won; raise money because we haven’t.” Tickets: $22/$25 advance available at Moe Bar or at www.neumos. com, $30 at the door; VIP $45 available at www.pridefest.org/victory.

PEOPLE OF FAITH BALLOT WALK FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY On Sunday, November 4, at 12 noon, join Central Lutheran Church (1710 11th Ave.) and other faith communities for a walk to the King County Administration Building (500 4th Ave.) to show your support for Marriage Equality and to drop off your ballot to Approve Referendum 74. Bring signs and your completed and signed ballot for the walk.

ELECTION DAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6 – EVERY VOTE COUNTS! GET YOUR BALLOT IN ON TIME! Tuesday, November 6, is the final day that you can cast your ballot to Approve Referendum 74. You also have the opportunity to vote on Marijuana Reform and to elect our next U.S. President for the coming four years, Washington State Governor, Attorney General, etc. Be sure to get your ballot in the mail so it is postmarked on or before Tuesday, November 6, or hand delivered to an official ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6.

If you are confused about candidates or ballot issues, check out the SEAMEC ratings or review the voters guide you should have received in the mail. (SGN endorses Barack Obama, Jay Inslee, Bob Ferguson, Approve Referendum 74 and Yes on Initiative 502 for Marijuana Reform.) If you’re still uncertain how to vote on them, you can skip some or all of the candidates and other ballot issues – just be sure to vote to Approve Referendum 74, sign your ballot and drop it in the mail before the last pick up time at that mail box on Tuesday, November 6, or hand deliver it at a ballot drop box or ballot drop-off van (temporary collection point) no later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 6.

For location of drop boxes or if you have further questions or haven’t received your ballot in the mail yet, contact the Washington State Elections Office, 360-902-4180, or your local county elections office. King County Elections – 206-296-VOTE (8683); www.kingcounty.gov/elections; or Google “King County Elections.” Pierce County Elections (Auditor) – 253-798-7430; www. co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/aud/elections/main.htm; or Google “Pierce County Elections.” Snohomish County Elections (Auditor) - 425-388-3444; www1. co.snohomish.wa.us/departments/auditor; or Google “Snohomish County Elections.”

Every vote counts! Be sure to get your ballot in on time!

JOHN CAGE FESTIVAL On Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m., at Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., 4th Fl.), the Seattle Modern Orchestra presents a one-night only immersive event in the world of sounds and ideas of American composer John Cage. In celebration of Cage’s centennial, this evening will feature a multimedia presentation and documentary of the life of the composer, and a concert in collaboration with Seattle Percussion Collective. Also, pianist and Cage specialist Stephen Drury will join SMO in a unique performance of Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra. Tick-

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ets: $20-general admission; $10-seniors and students. www.seattlemodernorchestra.org.

“GENDER FIERCE” DRAG/GENDER VARIETY SHOW AND DANCE PARTY FOR YOUTH UNDER 24 On Friday, November 9, doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., dance at 9 p.m., at All Pilgrims Church (500 Broadway E.), Queer Youth Space, Health Education Youth Outreach, and API Chaya’s Queer Network Program present “Gender Fierce,” a drag/ gender variety show and dance party for the whole gender and sexuality spectrum for LGBTQ and allied youth under 24.

Enjoy drag performance, spoken word poetry, gender and safer sex activity booths, a two hour dance party, free drag make-up, free food and more! All inclusive, all gender fabulous! Come dressed in a look that bends/camps/crosses/celebrates/defies your gender or just come as you are!

Featuring performances by Jinkx Monsoon, The Luminous Pariah, Coranaya, Malaya Anja, Lovell L’Oreal, Donte Johnson, Theo Garcia, Nicole Masangkay, Phin Dauphe, and Raven Taylor. Free HIV testing available from Gay City. FREE admission.

Hosted by Aleksa Manila.

DOGHOUSE LEATHERS 3RD ANNIVERSARY SALE NOVEMBER 9-11 Enjoy 20% off their entire stock at Doghouse Leathers’ (1312 E. Pike St.) “Wicked Hot” 3rd Anniversary Sale. 206-257-0231.

LEATHER REIGN 2012 NOVEMBER 9-11 www.leatherreign.org IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE – “EMPEROR’S TURNABOUT” On Saturday, November 10, at 6 p.m., at R Place (Boylston Ave. & E. Pine St.), join Emperor XXXVIII Rick Peters-Lake and the Imperial Court of Seattle for “Emperor’s Turnabout” – when the men of the Imperial Court come out in drag. Hosted by Miss Asia Beaute, Tokyo Drift, and Ruby Desire Joshua D Shape. The Court promises an amazing night and an opening number to remember! $7 suggested donation at the door. www.imperialcourtofseattle.com.

LGBTQ ALLYSHIP’S SOCIAL JUSTICE CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF PARTY On Sunday, November 11, from 4-6 p.m., at the Beacon Hill Garden Club Headquarters (2336 15th Ave. S.), join keynote speaker State Rep. Laurie Jinkins, the only out Lesbian legislator in Washington State, who will address “What is at stake for the most vulnerable in the LGBTQ community in this economic recession.” Representative Bob Hasegawa, a champion of civil rights and economic justice in the legislature and running for the Senate in the 11th District, will also attend. Tickets: $30.

This is Allyship’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Your contribution will help Allyship fundraise to organize LGBTQ activists to have a voice in Olympia on social justice issues that matter.

Aleksa Manila will host the event. Singer/ songwriter/musician Jacque Larrainzar and Ronnda Cadle, an acoustic instrumentalist/String Poet and local Queer artist will share their talents. Allyship will also present their Social Justice Legislative Agenda and the results of their Community Survey outlining the ways the LGBTQ community has been affected locally by the economic recession. Lastly, Allyship will be recognizing some of their community partners and superstar activists by presenting Allyship’s LGBTQ Social Justice Awards to: Casa Latina, Washington Community Action Network, Lois Thetford, Mauricio Ayon, and Peter Toliver. This event is wheelchair accessible; all ages welcomed.

Celebrating 39 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

November 2, 2012

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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Two Gay ex-Communist politicians are leading the opposition to Italy’s right-wing government.

Nichi Vendola, currently governor of Apulia province, is considered one of the favorites to become prime minister of Italy in next year’s national elections. Rosario Crocetta stunned political insiders by becoming the first openly Gay governor of Sicily on October 29.

James Bone

Gay men lead the charge against Italy’s right wing

media2work.net

international news Vendola first made a name for himself as a writer for the Communist Party newspaper L’Unita (Unity). When the party collapsed in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, Vendola joined the Communist Refoundation Party.

In 1992 he was elected to Italy’s parliament, where he became a leading member of the Anti-Mafia Commission. In 2005 he was elected the first openly Gay governor of Apulia, and the first Communist in that position. He was reelected in 2009.

Vendola soon became the political nem-

Governor of Apulia province Nichi Vendola (l) and Governor of Sicily Rosario Crocetta

Legal Services

esis of then-Prime Minister Silvio BerluscoDOWNPLAYS SEXUALITY ni. He was widely believed to be the target In 2003, Crocetta tried to join the centerof Berlusconi’s infamous quip, “I like pretty left Democratic Party (Partito Democratico) girls. That’s better than liking Gay boys.” but that party was reluctant to have him because of his sexual orientation, he charged.

COMMUNISTS ‘HOMOPHOBIC’ The party accepted him in 2008, and he In 2009, Vendola formed a new political represented it in elections for the European party, now called the Left Ecology Freedom Parliament the next year.

Party, and began advocating for a complete Berlusconi is now out of power and has realignment of Italian politics. been sentenced to four years in prison for “We are in the delivery room,” Vendola tax fraud. He faces additional charges of said last year. “I see in the belly of Italy the hiring an under-age prostitute. But his rightalternative creature ready to be born. And as wing party is still in power nationally and in an obstetrician, I want to deliver it.” many provinces.

Although he jokes that he is “beloved” Sicily, long considered a conservative

by Italian voters, Vendola is also widely area, was one of the provinces under the mocked for his meandering, metaphori- control of Berlusconi’s party until Crocetta cal, and often inscrutable speaking style. swept to power, winning more than 30% of His more obtuse remarks are documented the vote in a nine-candidate election. in the conservative Il Foglio newspaper, Crocetta may not be able to do much for in a column whose title translates roughly LGBT rights when he takes office, howto “Nichi, what the hell are you talking ever. He won the election in coalition with about?” the Union of Christian Democrats, a centrist Crocetta, by contrast, is notably direct and party very close to the Catholic Church. straightforward. During the 1980s, he was During the electoral campaign, Crocetta a member of the Italian Communist Party, went out of his way to downplay his sexual but quit, he said, because “the Communists orientation. were homophobic.” Like Vendola, he then “In case of victory, I will say goodbye to joined the Communist Refoundation Party. sex and sexuality. I’ll be married only to Also like Vendola, he won a reputation as Sicily and to Sicilians,” he joked. an anti-Mafia crusader, and survived assasIn a more serious vein, he stated, “Chassination attempts in 2003, 2008, and 2010. tity is the best way of life for a politician.

When you are dealing with such a responsibility, you have to be quiet and considerate.”

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www.sgn.org 18 Seattle Gay News

November 2, 2012

www.sgn.org Celebrating 39 Years!

health and medicine

Brits announce new HIV test Nanotechnology helps detect the virus at very low levels

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer British researchers have announced a new HIV test that is reportedly cheaper and more effective than previous tests.

According to an article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the procedure can detect low levels of HIV as well as some cancers. Early testing showed that markers of HIV and prostate cancer could be detected.

However, trials on a much larger scale will be needed before it could be used clinically, researchers say.

generate a red color.

The researchers also used the test to pick up the biomarker for prostate cancer, called the prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

The researchers say their test allows the results to be detected with “the naked eye.”

“This method should be used when the presence of a target molecule at ultra-low concentration could improve the diagnosis of disease,” Stevens told BBC News.

“For example, it is important to detect some molecules at ultra-low concentrations to test cancer recurrence after tumor removal. It can also help with diagnosing HIV-in-

“(This test) could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world.”

Developed by scientists at Imperial College in London, the technique offers the promise of better diagnosis and treatment in the developing world.

“Our approach affords for improved sensitivity, does not require sophisticated instrumentation, and is 10 times cheaper” than current tests, lead researcher Molly Stevens told The Daily Mail newspaper.

COLOR CODED The new sensor works by testing serum, a clear watery fluid derived from blood samples, in a disposable container for the presence of an HIV biomarker called p24.

If p24 is present, even in minute concentrations, it causes the tiny gold nanoparticles to clump together in an irregular pattern that turns the solution blue. A negative result separates them into ball shapes that

fected patients whose viral load is too low to be detected with current methods.”

If an HIV biomarker is present in minute concentrations, it causes tiny gold nanoparticles to clump together in an irregular pattern that turns the solution blue.

AFRICA COULD BENEFIT Stevens’ fellow researcher, Dr. Roberto de la Rica, said the new test “could be significantly cheaper to administer, which could pave the way for more widespread use of HIV testing in poorer parts of the world.”

The researchers expect their design will cost 10 times less than current tests, which would make it particularly attractive to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 23 million people are reportedly living with HIV, out of a worldwide total of 34 million.

Stevens and de la Rica said they plan to approach nonprofit global health organizations to help them manufacture and distribute the new test in low-income countries.

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20 Seattle Gay News

November 2, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

SPORTS

Game-changer

How a fan’s Web site is helping make soccer LGBT-friendly STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

AN ACQUIRED TASTE Billig is a rabid soccer fan who loves both the international game and the American pro leagues. But like many Gay men, he did not grow up playing sports or hanging out with jocks.

In fact, he says, while growing up in Pennsylvania he was not even a spectator. He went to college intending to be a teacher, but got involved in political work. His current job is in information technology.

As a teenager, Billig says, he was a “soccer-phobe.” But during college, while student-teaching in England, his pupils taught

“Because soccer isn’t Gay … but once in a while it kinda is.” him a bit about the game. “These little 8-year-olds had me supporting West Ham,” he says, referring to the London club.

Two years ago, when he was living in Austin, Texas, a friend took him to a theater where World Cup matches were being shown on a large screen. “The spectacle, the hype, the anthems, the stories of the players” – it all, Billig says, drew him in.

Openly Gay soccer player David Testo (l) threw out the ceremonial first pitch to shortstop Yunel Escobar at a Toronto Blue Jays gamr on September 27.

by Dan Woog SGN Contributing Writer “Gay soccer” stories have been coming fast and furious.

• Major League Soccer sponsors Spirit Day, encouraging players and fans to wear something purple, drawing attention to bullying and LGBT youth.

• FC Edmonton goalkeeper Lance Parker, a staunch straight ally, is a finalist for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s 2012 “Bachelor of the Year” title.

• Openly Gay player David Testo throws out the first ball at a Toronto Blue Jays game. Not coincidentally, it’s the first home appearance for Yunel Escobar after being suspended for writing “Tu ere maricon” – an anti-Gay epithet – on his eyeblack. Escobar was also fined $82,000, which went to GLAAD and the You Can Play Project.

• A Lesbian couple from Colorado flies to England and has a civil partnership ceremony at Liverpool’s famed Anfield Stadium. The two longtime Liverpool FC fans are feted by the team, which recently hired a “social inclusion officer.”

• Former Arsenal FC and MLS star Freddie Ljungberg talks about being taunted as “Gay” after appearing in a Calvin Klein underwear ad.

• Out U.S. national women’s team coach Pia Sundhage retires and is honored at her final match with a video, songs, and a victory lap.

All those stories – and many more – are featured on the home page of Gay4Soccer (www.gay4soccer.com). The brainchild of Chris Billig, the site (along with its companion Twitter feed) is a proud example of the enormous impact social media is now having on Gay sports.

TAKE THE PLEDGE Billig created an ally list, which grew rapidly. He then added a “pledge.” Signers promised to help “make soccer a welcome, inviting, and inclusive place for everyone – for those participating in the sport, those attending matches, and those working or volunteering in it – while making a deliberate effort to reach out to GLBT people. We will work with all these groups to ensure they have a voice, and to challenge unacceptable behavior, including working to eliminate homophobic language from the game.”

The hundreds of signers include current

FILLING A VOID Yet as he scoured soccer websites and read discussion boards, Billig could not find much to relate to “from my perspective as a Gay man,” he says. The soccer coverage on Gay sites was limited to “pretty pictures.”

He was frustrated that the accompanying information did not even get important facts right.

When Billig and his Gay friends watch soccer, he says, “we balance the two parts of our lives. We admire the players, but we also admire the game.”

Billig started Gay4Soccer as a news site.

He recruited writers, who posted from a broad range of angles. There were news stories, analyses, light pieces, and – yes – photos of hot-looking athletes.

When former Montreal Impact midfielder David Testo came out, Billig wondered about other players. “What if someone else is thinking of coming out, but doesn’t know what the atmosphere would be like?” he thought. “How would they know who on their team would be supportive?”

and former players, front office executives, media personnel, and even entire teams and their fan clubs.

The reaction, Billig says, has been “really, really positive. I’m flabbergasted. I’ve gotten virtually nothing negative at all.”

Gay4Soccer added a popular Twitter feed.

Followers of the website and tweets include players and fans at all levels. Billig says he’s heard from some Development Academy (top-tier) youth players.

On a personal level, he’s used his site to connect with a Gay soccer team in the Austin area.

“Social media is a great connector of people,” he notes. Soccer, he says, is particularly suited to social media. “Soccer players are very accessible. They’re grounded.

You’re able to chat with them on a personal level.”

Gay4Soccer has carved out a nice niche.

It, too, is accessible. It connects Gay and straight players and fans, tying them together from youth to the pros.

Plus, it’s got a killer tag line: “Because soccer isn’t Gay … but once in a while it kinda is.”

Dan Woog is a journalist, educator, soccer coach, Gay activist, and author of the “Jocks” series of books on Gay male athletes. Visit his website at www.danwoog. com. He can be reached at OutField@qsyndicate.com.

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Seattle Gay News 21

courtesy daniel hanks

allies

continued from page 4 equality,” said Hanks.

Before his trip to D.C., the 25-year-old had never had much – if any at all – passion for politics and hadn’t even registered to vote.

“I don’t know that guy anymore and neither will you,” he said. “I’m a straight ally who has fully embraced the fact that I will do all that is within my power to fight for the equality of all people.

“Marriage equality will ultimately be achieved when all straight allies have come out to support the LGBT community,” reasons Hanks. “Most importantly, we must remember to love in all contexts. Love connects everyone because it exists in everyone. Love is – and always will be – the answer.”

Hanks said people just need to “love the fear out of hate.”

IT’S ONLY HUMAN Another straight ally to the LGBT community, local filmmaker Dru Dinero, says, “Quite frankly, I understand that there is a need for the term ‘straight ally.’”

“The need for a term to define those who are sympathetic towards a disadvantaged group of people is necessary for identifying purposes,” said Dinero, “but nothing else is truer than the term ‘human.’”

“I’ve been an active voice in the movement for LGBT equality for some time now,” said the 23-year-old Dinero. “While it is true that I have several friends who identify as LGBT, this issue is a matter that extends farther than friendship.”

Daniel Hanks

Dinero explains that, to him, it is not enough to say, “I am your friend, and I accept you for who you are.”

“Unfortunately the regressive people of our times and of history are very active in the world and politics,” he said. “The inequality is ghastly. As a person who has full rights as a citizen of the U.S., it is my obligation to come to the defense when my brothers and sisters are being harmed whether it is from an outside force, or their own country.”

SILENCE = COMPLICITY Dinero told SGN he could not sit idly while people have been beaten, assaulted, and worse because of who they are and without rights. “Inaction is the same as negative action at this point,” he said. “The world simply cannot afford it. Peace and love simply cannot afford it. Every day, I learn more and more that defending LGBT rights is the right thing to do because I am a citizen of this planet. And if one of us hurts, then we all hurt.”

“This issue isn’t about the individuals. It’s a humanity issue,” said Dinero. “And for me to sleep comfortably at night, I need to know that I’ve done all I can to ensure the happiness of my fellow man. Hopefully through our struggles, achievements, and milestones forward, one day we may reach that goal of unconditional peace and love.”

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Seattle Gay News 23