SGN December 21, 2012 - Section 1

Celebrating 39 Years!

Issue 51 Volume 40

Wedding Section INSIDE!

Seattle Gay News

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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

sage of Referendum 74. According to SGN’s source, Tabor said at the meeting that he would “not be Thurston County Superior Court comfortable” marrying same-sex Judge Gary Tabor has notified couples. court personnel that he will not ‘UNAVAILABLE’ TO GAYS marry same-sex couples. Tabor’s Called for clarification, Supejudicial assistant, Kristal Rowby Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

courtesy thurston county superior court

Thurston County judge refuses to marry same-sex couples

Asked if a judge’s refusal to marry an entire class of people was really just “an availability issue,” Maxwell replied, “I can’t speak to that.”

The county employee who spoke with SGN was reminded of the notorious 2009 incident in which

Judge Tabor might well have religious objections to same-sex marriage, but judges and other civil officials do not enjoy the same exemptions from the law as religious officials do. land, confirmed this to SGN on December 20.

According to a Thurston County employee who asked not to be identified by name, the judge made his position known at a December 5 meeting of judges and administrative staff.

At the meeting, senior staff indicated that the next day would likely be very busy, because it would be the first day that Gay and Lesbian couples could apply for marriage licenses after the pas-

rior Court administrator Marti Maxwell told SGN that Presiding Judge H. Christopher Wickham had instructed her that “this is just an availability issue, nothing more than that.”

“Judges take weddings as available,” Maxwell said. “Some only do evenings, some only do weekends, some will even take out-ofcounty weddings. My boss [Wickham] says it’s not county business, it’s not court business – it’s up to the judge.”

Louisiana justice of the peace Keith Bardwell refused to marry a mixed-race couple. According to Tara Bennett, the reporter who broke the story, Bardwell was also advised by his attorney to say that he simply was “not available” to marry interracial couples.

NO JUDICIAL EXEMPTION The state’s Marriage Equality Act, which became law after RefJudge Gary Tabor

see judge page 6

Don’t kill Gays, The race is on!

Ed Murray kick-starts his 2013 mayoral Uganda’s president says campaign with massive fundraising UK Department for International Development

Weddings By the Sea Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni

daniel hanks / social outreach seattle

Notorious ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ faces uncertain future

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, has said Gay people “should not be killed or persecuted,” as the country continues to debate the highly controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

While recently swearing in a new head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, the BBC quoted the president as saying, “If there are some homosexuals, we shall not kill or persecute them but there should be no promotion of homosexuality. … We cannot accept promotion of homosexuality as if it is a good thing.”

This was the first time in quite a while that Museveni commented on the bill.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda and the under the original 2009 version of the bill, Gay sex acts could warrant the death penalty. Press reports last month, however, stated that the death penalty stipulation had been dropped from the bill.

Senator Ed Murray at the press conference to announce his candidacy for Seattle Mayor

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

State Senator Ed Murray, who announced his intention to run for mayor of Seattle on December 5, has jumped out to an early lead in fundraising.

As a sitting senator, Murray may not raise money while the state see uganda page 8 legislature is in session, but he

www.oceanshoresweddings.com 206-403-8170 Let us make your wedding day as fun as a day at the beach.

managed to bring in a whopping $122,776 in the nine days before the prescribed deadline to suspend his fundraising efforts.

“The overwhelming surge of support over the last few days from across Seattle has exceeded even my wildest expectations, and proves that the people of this city see murray page 6

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Seattle Gay News

December 21, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

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op-ed

A holiday wish for ENDA progress

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News Usually just before Christmas, columnists wax poetic about the holidays or what religion means to humanity, but let’s talk ENDA and the possibility of an executive order on nondiscrimination by President

After 28 straight defeats for marriage equality since 1998, we won four marriage referenda in one shot, three of which were ballot measures legalizing same-sex marriage.

Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers

Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2012, 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.

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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

aligned with his Tea Party constituents.

And who can make them move? Well, the natural thought would be an LGBT Republican organization that has influence with the Republican leadership, but sadly, neither Log Cabin nor GOProud seem to have that. So, thanks to Republicans, we are stalled in Congress.

Obama until Congress passes such legislation. Oh, and for good measure, let’s add in OBAMA MUST ACT the fiscal cliff and Republicans. All of this Therefore, until we get to a point where is related in passing nondiscrimination for Congress will act, our only hope is an exthe more than half of all U.S. LGBT citizens ecutive order from the president. That orwho live in places where LGBT discrimina- der will do little for most Americans – it’s tion is still legal. And this little gem, which I hope will give you conversation as you go from one holiday event or family gathering to another, will serve as my gift to you.

First, the governance drill. The Employment Nondiscrimination Act must pass both houses of Congress and then be signed into law by the president. While ENDA is overwhelmingly supported by Democrats, it will need Republican votes in Congress as well.

It is generally believed that it can pass the Senate, but the House is a different story.

First, you need the Republican votes, and then you need the Republican leadership of the House to agree to bring the legislation up for possible hearings, a vote out of committee, and then a full vote. And this is where that problem lies.

Have you watched Republican Majority Leader John Boehner attempt to deal with his caucus over the fiscal cliff? Well, imagine him on ENDA. He’d have to be a very strong supporter of equality to use his political capital on ENDA. Another leader is Rep. Eric Cantor from Virginia, but he’s more

Visit us online www.sgn.org

December 21, 2012

mainly symbolic. But it’s something rather than nothing. The president, like Congressional leaders, will have to use some of his good will (political capital) to do this. So the timing needs to be correct, though activists don’t like waiting. But hey, activists need something to complain about, so why not go after the president rather than the real culprits?

There are a few points here that should be clear. It’s the Republicans who have stalled immigration reform, but unlike the Latino community, our activists (and specifically our Republican activists) don’t have the clout that the Latino lobby seems to have.

But part of the reason for that is the Hispanic community has focused on that one issue – immigration reform – and won over public support. Our community activists have focused on marriage equality, and therefore most elected officials and the public think of that as our legislative priority.

With marriage equality now before the U.S. Supreme Court, maybe our friends in what is sometimes referred to as “Gay, Inc.” – and I mean no disrespect by that term – could employ a focus similar to that of the Hispanic community and concentrate on this one issue, an injustice that literally leaves at least one million LGBT Americans facing the possible loss of their homes and livelihoods.

Merry ENDA holiday to all.

Mark Segal is publisher of Philadelphia Gay News. He can be reached at mark@ epgn.com.

Seattle Gay News

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Local news

nate gowdy / seattle gay news

After marriage equality, what?

To sustain momentum, our community must decide its next steps

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor We are not a single-issue movement. That has been a fact (and mantra) of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement. However, with the historic November 6 win for marriage equality at the ballot box this year, we are now faced with answering the question of “What’s next?”

Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea), the social justice nonprofit working to address and ultimately fix social injustice issues in Seattle and beyond, has decided that one of our main concerns is the dissipation of volunteer energy. During the Washington United for Marriage campaign the community was engaged directly, indirectly, and socially by the cause – marriage equality was all the rage and nobody wanted to sit on the bench while the rest of the team played.

People came out of the woodwork to volunteer, knock on doors, phone-bank, raise money, and more.

It would be a shame for all that to go away.

Social Outreach Seattle saw a natural partnership with Pride at Work, the LGBTQ labor group that organizes mutual support between the organized labor movement and the LGBT community for social and eco-

nomic justice.

Pride at Work organizes in the spirit of the union movement’s historic motto, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” They oppose all forms of discrimination on the job and in our unions based on sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, race, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, religion, or political views.

SAVE THE DATE: JAN. 24 Mike Andrew, who writes for SGN, is a founding committee member of SOSea, and works with Pride at Work Seattle, proposed and developed What’s Next After Marriage? – a conference that will bring together LGBT, labor, and allied organizations, and will feature presentations, lit tables and displays, and opportunities to discuss our future.

The conference is open to the public, is all ages, and is free. There will be an opportunity for attendees to donate to SOSea at the event, scheduled for January 24, 2013, at the Labor Temple (2800 1st Ave., Hall 1), from 6 to 9 p.m.

“The purpose of this conference is to offer LGBT activists a menu of new areas of activism, now that marriage equality is the law,” said Andrew.

SOSea is currently inviting local nonprof-

Same-sex marriages became legal in Washington on December 9.

its, community leaders, and union officials them. to speak on a panel, table at the event, and Seattle Gay News will continue to update engage attendees so they can decide which its readers on the event as more details beorganization(s) would be the best fit for come available.

jen deleo

Singing for SOSea Community celebrates with local talent singing songs of the holiday

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor On December 19, singers from the local LGBTQ and Allied communities came together to raise money for Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea), a social justice nonprofit.

The event, held at Neighbours Seattle, was the organization’s first annual holiday concert, raising over $300 for the SOSea operating fund.

Local drag legend Gaysha Starr, SOSea’s events coordinator, hosted the evening.

The show’s lineup included Chase Silva,

Jon Noble, Adam Quillian, Dante Martin Jr., Victor Cruz, Jack Mozie, Daniel Hanks, Victor Loo, Michael Allen, Janson Holloway, and Sarah McKenzie-Duckworth (aka Kitty Kitty Bang Bang).

SOSea, a relatively new nonprofit, came to prominence during the R-74 marriage equality battle, producing 25 video ads asking Washingtonians to approve the referendum on Election Day 2012.

The group is currently raising money for the Rainbow Crosswalk program. For more information on SOSea, visit www.socialoutreachseattle.com.

SOSea’s holiday celebration at Neighbours

The meaning of our victory The passage of pro-marriage equality referenda in four states during this just-past election, and the election to office of Gay, pro-Gay, and pro-choice candidates, represents an enormous victory and step forward for all Americans.

These laws, and lawmakers, were vigorously opposed at every step of the way by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and various members of the Catholic priesthood, who strongly implied that politicians

who took stands opposed to Catholic dogma, and those who dared to vote for such politicians, were going to burn in Hellfire for all eternity.

The fact that the overwhelming number of U.S. Catholics totally ignored such medieval nonsense just shows how irrelevant those bishops and priests, and the church hierarchy, are to the modern and rational world.

Barbara Tomlinson Seattle

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 4

Seattle Gay News

December 21, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

national news

Overwhelming support for LGBT rights, Gallup poll shows

rights and employee benefits, and making it legal for Gays and Lesbians to adopt children,” Gallup said in its analysis of the reMore results from a November Gallup sults. poll on LGBT rights show a large majorMOST BACK LEGAL RIGHTS ity of Americans favor equal rights for their Seventy-eight percent of respondents said LGBT neighbors.

Numbers released by Gallup on Decem- they support equal inheritance rights for

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

“While 53% of Americans support legalizing same-sex marriage, significantly higher percentages support the idea of equal rights for partners or spouses of Gays or Lesbians.” ber 6 showed that nearly two-thirds of respondents believed that anti-Gay bias was a “serious” problem in their communities.

The latest results released on December 17 show that an even greater majority are prepared to do something about that problem.

“While 53% of Americans support legalizing same-sex marriage, significantly higher percentages support the idea of equal rights for partners or spouses of Gays or Lesbians when it comes to inheritance

same-sex partners or spouses, up five points from a similar poll done in 2009. Seventyseven percent favor equal health insurance and other employee benefits for same-sex partners, up 10 points from 2009.

On the more controversial issue of adoption by same-sex couples, 61% said they supported it, up seven points from 2009.

These results seem to confirm the impression of Gallup’s LGBT respondents – 91% said their communities had become more accepting in recent years.

Not surprisingly, party affiliation correlates closely with support for LGBT rights, but on most issues even Republicans favor equality.

Sixty-eight percent of Republicans favor equal inheritance rights, for example, compared to 77% of independents and 88% of Democrats. Sixty-one percent of Republicans favored equal employee benefits compared with 77% of independents and 94% of Democrats – perhaps reflecting the Democratic Party’s political base among union workers for whom employee benefits are a key issue.

Only 41% of Republicans though samesex couples should be allowed to adopt children, compared with 61% of independents

and 75% of Democrats.

SCOUT POLICY SUPPORTED When asked whether openly Gay adults should be allowed to serve as Boy Scout leaders, a majority said no. Fifty-two percent of Gallup’s respondents said Gay people should not serve while only 42% said they should be allowed to do so.

“Given the lack of a trend on this question,” Gallup observed, “it is not clear whether support is higher than in the past, or the degree to which the lack of support may reflect respondents’ reluctance to say how a private organization should decide who holds its positions of leadership.”

Manhunt in Times Square ‘All women

should be protected’

Hookup site brings Gay erotica to the world’s most famous intersection

courtesy newnownext

Manhunt has made its presence known in Times Square.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Gay hookup site Manhunt is making another splash this week, with three sexy billboard ads in New York City’s Times Square.

The Gay social media giant is advertising its new mobile campaign.

The new billboards are located near the southeast corner of Broadway and West 47th Street, where hundreds of thousands of tourists pass every day through “the crossroads of the world.” Although the ads do not display blatant nudity, they do feature shirtless hunky males that some tourists have complained are too X-rated.

The ads are scheduled to remain through New Year’s Day. This isn’t the first time Manhunt has been deemed not “family-friendly.” In November 2011, some parents were upset with Manhunt’s risqué ad in Los Angeles, which was

similar to the ones that recently appeared in New York.

Manhunt’s Jason Harvey says that the site and the advertising agency, Lamar Advertising, received a number of complaints regarding the billboard soon after it went up. A representative for the agency said the company took measures to ensure the ad would “not be within 500 feet of schools, churches, playgrounds, etc.”

Last year, Manhunt put up a similar billboard in the same exact spot that reportedly was seen by more than one million people who attended New York City’s iconic New Years Eve celebration (not to mention the tens of millions who watch the ball drop on TV).

In an ironic twist, one of this year’s Manhunt ads happens to be right next to a billboard for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Murray, Cantwell challenge Republican women on VAWA

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Washington’s Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were among 12 female U.S. senators, all Democrats, who sent a letter this week to Republican women in the House of Representatives, urging them to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

finally pass the Senate’s bipartisan Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. With your leadership on this issue we will resolve this matter in a way that puts the safety of all women ahead of partisan politics.”

Republican House leaders have proposed their own version of the bill, which removes protections for undocumented immigrant women, Lesbians, and Trans women.

“We should not pick and choose which victims of abuse to help and which to ignore.”

VAWA, drafted by then-Sen. Joe Biden in 1994, sets aside federal money to assist in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women and provides for restitution and civil redress for victims. Because it provides federal funds, it must be reauthorized periodically.

In April, the Senate passed the reauthorization bill 68-11, but the Republican-controlled House has yet to take up the measure.

BIPARTISAN HISTORY “As mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and women intent on protecting the inclusive and bipartisan history of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), we are reaching out to you to ask for your help,” the Senate women said in their letter.

“With only a matter of days remaining in the 112th Congress, we are asking that you work with your leadership to take action and

December 21, 2012

“All women should be protected and introducing into this legislation the notion that some women subject to violence deserve to be protected while others do not is something we believe we can all agree is unacceptable,” the Senate women said. “We should not pick and choose which victims of abuse to help and which to ignore.”

In addition to Murray and Cantwell, senators signing the letter include Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Kay Hagan (DNC), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Their letter was released December 18, just days after a similar letter from House members, including 10 Republicans, asking Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor to take up VAWA before the 112th Congress adjourns.

Seattle Gay News

5

God’s word: Gay is good!

New ‘Queen James’ Bible makes holy writ LGBT-friendly

from the original that address homosexuality, but otherwise faithfully follows the KJV. Its website explains that “homosexuality was first overtly mentioned in the Bible in 1946 in the Revised Standard Version.

There is no mention of or reference to homosexuality in any Bible prior to this – only interpretations have been made.” The new edits, the publisher says, are only “for interpretive clarity” and they “all confirm that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality, and therefore renders such interpretations impossible.

“You can’t choose your sexuality, but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too.”

“You can’t choose your sexuality, but you can choose Jesus. Now you can choose a Bible, too.”

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor In an effort to resolve “longstanding interpretive ambiguity in key Bible passages regarding homosexuality,” a new version of the classic King James Bible, dubbed The Queen James Bible, is laying claim to be the first ever Gay-friendly version of the Holy Scriptures.

murray

continued from cover want a mayor who has a track record of experienced leadership and who knows how to unite this diverse city behind a common vision,” Murray said in a statement.

“I want to thank the hundreds of people who have already stepped forward to back this campaign with their generous contributions. I am both grateful and humbled by the vote of confidence they have placed in me.”

A CROWDED FIELD According to a December 17 announcement from Murray’s campaign, more than $107,000 of the total is new money donated by more than 480 supporters.

An additional $15,643 came from previous contributions to Murray’s legislative campaign account, which has been transferred to his mayoral campaign with the permission of the donors.

“After the transfers,” his campaign notes, “Murray’s legislative account still contains more than $30,000 that could potentially be

6

Seattle Gay News

Available at Amazon.com, the new Bible – emblazoned with a large rainbow cross on the front cover – is described as a “big, fabulous Bible” that draws its name from King James I of England, who was behind the venerable 1611 translation (substantially revised in 1769) that is still widely used throughout the English-speaking world.

‘A WELL-KNOWN BISEXUAL’ According to the new Bible’s publisher, the King was “a well-known Bisexual – though he did marry a woman, his many Gay relationships were so well-known that amongst some of his friends and court, he was known as ‘Queen James.’”

The new version updates several passages

transferred after the fundraising freeze is lifted at the close of the upcoming legislative session, which is slated to run through late April.”

Murray now leads in fundraising in what is shaping up to be a crowded field of mayoral candidates.

Incumbent Mike McGinn reported raising roughly $95,000 at the end of November, real-estate broker Charlie Staadecker reported $58,000, and City Council member Tim Burgess reported $26,000. Newly declared candidates Kate Martin and Peter Steinbrueck have not yet reported fundraising figures.

judge

BROAD-BASED SUPPORT Murray campaign consultant Sandeep Kaushik told SGN that contributions came in from “all over the greater Seattle area,” and not just from Murray’s base in the 43rd Legislative District and the LGBT community.

“Folks know the work Ed has done fighting for civil rights for all these years,” Kaushik said.

“It’s a crowded field. All [the candidates] have their specific areas of appeal, but Ed cuts across the fault lines in Seattle politics.”

At least while the legislature is in session and Murray can’t raise additional money, the campaign will be “lean,” Kaushik says, and then will ramp back up in the spring.

“It was our intention to raise seed money to get the campaign off the ground,” he said, a goal which has now been accomplished.

“Now the infrastructure is there. We’re confident we can run a really strong grassroots campaign, one that can win votes one vote at a time. One thing Ed has learned – and Cal [Anderson] used to say this, too – you have to go out and ask people for their support.”

December 21, 2012

continued from cover erendum 74 was approved by voters, has a blanket exemption for religious officials who object to same-sex marriages.

“No regularly licensed ordained minister or any priest, imam, rabbi, or similar official of any church or religious denomination is required to solemnize any marriage,” the law says.

Tabor was educated at the conservative Oklahoma Christian College (now University), according to his official biography on the Thurston County Superior Court website, and he might well have religious objections to same-sex marriage, but judges and other civil officials do not enjoy the same exemptions from the law as religious officials do.

In fact, Article 4, Section 28 of the Washington State Constitution requires every judge to discharge all his or her duties “impartially” and “to the best of his ability.”

While judges are required to swear in writing to perform their duties and to file a copy of their oath with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State’s office has “no oversight” over judges, says attorney and Co-Director of Elections Katie Blinn.

“It’s meant as a record-keeping provision,” she explained, “so if anyone wants a copy of the oath they have somewhere to go.”

JUDGES ‘HARD TO COMPEL’ Blinn added that if a couple wished to force Tabor to marry them, they could sue for a writ of mandamus – essentially a court order for Tabor to perform his legal duty – but that it would be easier just to find another judge.

GIVING GOD THE GLORY The author is listed on Amazon as “God,” and “Jesus Christ” is listed as a contributor.

Not surprisingly, the arrival of The Queen James Bible has ruffled some feathers in the conservative Christian community.

“Few, if any, English translations use the actual words ‘homosexuality’ or ‘homosexual.’ But the history of English translation shows that versions have consistently used other language to refer to what we would call homosexual relationships,” Douglas J. Moo, Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College and a professional Bible translator, told The Christian Post.

The Huffington Post reports that Catholic Online also slammed the QJV as seeking to “legitimize the homosexual equivalency movement” by changing the Bible’s language so that it reads “in a fashion different from [the] original intent.”

Information about the new Bible can be found online at www.queenjamesbible. com.

Dave Ammons, communications director for Secretary of State Sam Reed, noted that county auditors are required to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples “or to provide another auditor who will issue the license, so that all couples are served,” but that judges are “in a different category.”

“It’s hard to compel a judge to do much of anything,” Reiko Callner of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct told SGN, and the Judicial Code of Conduct does not require judges to marry anyone.

Nevertheless, she said, “there is a prohibition against discrimination in the code. Section 2.3 prohibits bias and prejudice, Section 2.3A requires judges to act without bias or prejudice, and 2.3B prohibits them from manifesting bias or prejudice.”

BIAS COMPLAINT POSSIBLE Callner added that “sexual orientation is a protected class in state law,” and that might give a same-sex couple the basis for a bias complaint against a judge who refused to marry them. “Public accommodations laws have also been enforced against courts,” she noted.

Couples who believe they have been discriminated against by a judge may file a complaint with the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Callner said, but the process is complicated and “designed to be deliberative and to protect both judges and complainants.”

“The issue has not come up yet in this state, but it did come up in New York, because they’ve had marriage longer than we have,” Callner told SGN. “There was a case before their Commission on Judicial Ethics in January 2012. Essentially, they punted. They noted that the question ‘raises unsettled and controversial issues.’ That’s not very helpful.”

Celebrating 39 Years!

katherineforhelena.com

Split decision in Montana Court rejects domestic partner benefits; Helena bans anti-Gay discrimination

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Montana’s highest court rejected a suit on December 17 to guarantee domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples, but the next day Helena’s City Council unanimously passed a measure banning discrimination against LGBT residents.

In a 4-3 decision, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that only opposite-sex couples are entitled to spousal benefits under the state’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman.

In 2010 six same-sex couples sued for equal rights and benefits, including: • Inheritance rights, and the ability to make burial decisions and receive workers compensation death benefits, • The right to file joint tax returns, claim spousal tax exemptions, or take property tax benefits, • The right to make health care decisions for a spouse when that person cannot, and • Legal protection in cases of separation and divorce, including child custody and support.

DISCRIMINATION CHARGED James Goetz, the attorney for the couples, said in April arguments before the high court that his clients were not asking to for the right to marry, but they were en-

titled to make the same decisions about their families’ health care and finances as married couples under the Montana Constitution, and that the state’s refusal to expressly provide those rights was discriminatory.

A Helena district court judge dismissed the suit last year after state attorneys argued that spousal benefits are constitutionally limited to opposite-sex couples.

The state’s Supreme Court ruled that the suit was “overly broad” since it asked the courts to intervene “without identifying a specific statute or statutes that impose the discrimination they allege.” The justices added that plaintiffs could modify their suit and resubmit it at a later date.

The day after the Supreme Court issued its decision, the Helena City Council unanimously passed an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, and many areas of public accommodation.

“I believe, and I felt the commissioners believe, that being LGBT is part of the human condition,” said Commissioner Katherine Haque-Hausrath, the sponsor of the measure. “It’s something that people cannot change, and we believe that people should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientations.”

Helena City Commissioner Katherine Haque-Hausrath

Transgender people, spoke in their allotted hour. Fourteen people spoke against the measure in their hour, with both sides leaving many people still in line when their hour elapsed.

Eight of the 14 people speaking against TRANSGENDERS TESTIFY the measure mentioned what some called According to the Billings Gazette, some the “bathroom” or “locker room” objection 30 supporters of the measure, including – that some people might use the protec-

tions for Trans people to gain entry to such facilities for sinister purposes.

An amendment by Commissioner Dick Thweatt was added to the measure on December 4, providing that in any place where people “ordinarily appear in the nude,” users may be required to use the facilities designated for their anatomical sex, regardless of their gender identity. ap

LGBT community loses key ally Sen. Daniel Inouye opposed DOMA, co-sponsored ENDA Senate Watergate Committee and chaired the special committee investigating the IranContra scandal during the Reagan adminisSenator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, one of tration. the longest-serving U.S. lawmakers in hisWITNESSED PEARL HARBOR tory, died on December 17. He was 88.

The son of a Japanese immigrant father Inouye had continuously represented Hawaii in Congress since it became a state in and a native born Japanese-American moth1959 – first in the House and then, starting er, Inouye was serving at Pearl Harbor as a in 1963, in the Senate. He had been presi- medical volunteer and planning to become a dent pro tem of the Senate – the third in line surgeon when the U.S. base was attacked by of presidential succession – since 2010, and Japanese forces. He later recalled that Japawas the second-longest-serving U.S. sena- nese planes flew directly over his house on tor after the late Robert Byrd (D-WV). His their bombing runs.

Unlike many other Japanese Americans, senatorial career lasted 49 years, 11 months, Inouye’s family was not interned at the and 15 days. outbreak of World War II, but he was not allowed to enlist in the army, as he wanted ALWAYS ON OUR SIDE Inouye was an unwavering ally of the to, until 1943. Like other young JapaneseAmerican men, he was sent to Europe to LGBT community.

In 1996, he was one of only 14 senators to fight, because the U.S. War Department had vote against the Defense of Marriage Act, doubts about their loyalty.

On April 21, 1945, a platoon under his the others being his Hawaiian colleague Daniel Akaka (D), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), command encountered a German machine Russ Feingold (D-WI), Diane Feinstein gun nest in Italy’s Po Valley. Although se(D-CA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Bob Ker- verely wounded, Inouye continued to direct rey (D-NE), John Kerry (D-MA), Carole the assault on the German position and ultiMoseley-Braun (D-IL), Daniel Moynihan mately disabled the machine gun with two (D-NY), Claiborne Pell (D-RI), Charles well-placed grenades.

Later, his right arm was amputated as a reRobb (D-VA), Paul Simon (D-IL), and Ron sult of his wounds. Ironically, he met anothWyden (D-OR).

Inouye also co-sponsored ENDA (the er wounded soldier and future U.S. Senator Employment Non-Discrimination Act), the while in the hospital – Bob Dole – and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate two became good friends.

For his action in combat, Inouye was Crimes Prevention Act, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and the Respect for Mar- awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. riage Act to repeal DOMA. In 2000 his DSC was upgraded to a Medal As chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Inouye was also a champion of of Honor when the Clinton administration Native American rights. In recognition of determined that 22 Japanese-American his service, the Navajo Nation made him an World War II veterans had been denied the country’s top military honor because of rahonorary member.

Inouye also served as a member of the cial bias.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Senator Daniel Inouye

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international news

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

they are the same who were against the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1981.”

Huge crowds marched in most French cities on December 15, demanding that President Francois Hollande make good on his campaign promise to legalize Gay and Lesbian marriages.

The demonstrations were a response to concerns that Hollande’s Socialist government might back down in the face of antiequality marches organized by right-wing parties and the Catholic Church in November.

OPPONENTS PROVOKED DEMOS LGBT activists said they had not planned to hold nationwide demonstrations until last month, when equality opponents staged their march.

The French parliament is set to debate the proposed marriage equality law on January 29, two days after a second pro-equality demonstration planned for 27 January.

Although the bill has faced fierce opposition from right-wing traditionalists and Catholic groups, Hollande’s Socialists currently hold a large majority in parliament, and the UMP, the main conservative party, is in disarray after a bitterly contested leadership election.

A nationwide poll by firm IFOP on December 15 shows marriage equality is backed by 60% of respondents, with 46% supporting the right of same-sex couples to adopt.

CONFLICTING REPORTS The British newspaper The Guardian reported that the pro-equality crowds were smaller than the 100,000 anti-Gay marchers who turned out last month, but Gay Star News estimated some 150,000 pro-equality demonstrators in Paris alone.

According to France 24 News, marchers in Paris gathered in the Place de la Bastille in the center of the city, carrying banners saying “The Right for All to Choose,” “Love Has No Barriers,” and “Talk About Love.” Rallies were also held in several other French cities including Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, and Nantes.

French Families Minister Dominique Bertinotti said the marches were “a very good thing.”

She claimed that many of the law’s opponents are “the same people who were against divorce, against contraception, against abortion, against [civil unions], and

DUELING EDITORIALS Even the Catholic weekly Témoignage Chrétien recently endorsed marriage equality, earning a rebuke by the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

“It is upsetting because in taking this position, the most banal politically correct arguments were used,” the Vatican paper said, adding: “Being Catholic is about much more than embracing fashionable cultural standpoints.”

Marriage equality got extra publicity

contrepoints.org

Huge crowds march in France to demand marriage equality

French President Francois Hollande and Valerie Trierweiler

when Hollande’s partner, Valerie Trierweiler, announced on December 4 that she had accepted an invitation from Gay friends to be a witness at their wedding when the law passes.

She said she would be delighted to have a role at one of the very first Gay marriages

in France.

Hollande has been partnered with Trierweiler since separating from his previous partner, Ségolène Royal, in 2007, just after Royal lost her bid to be elected president of France. Trierweiler is a reporter for Paris Match magazine.

uganda

fear of reprisal.

According to studies conducted by various human rights organizations, an estimated 500,000 Lesbian and Gay people live in Uganda out of a total estimated population of 35 million.

Correspondents say many Ugandans are deeply conservative, and homosexuality is against both their religious and cultural beliefs. Some African opponents of homosexuality have claimed it was introduced to the continent by European colonizers.

continued from cover A ‘CHRISTMAS GIFT’?

The bill’s official status is still somewhat obfuscated.

Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, recently said the bill would be passed as a “Christmas gift” to its conservative Christian supporters. However, Parliament has already adjourned until January

Correspondents say many Ugandans are deeply conservative, and homosexuality is against both their religious and cultural beliefs. without voting on it. Even if lawmakers approve the bill after January, President Museveni would have to sign it before it takes effect.

In the original text of the bill, the death penalty was warranted for those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as when one of the participants is a minor, disabled, HIV-positive or a “serial offender.” It is now believed, but has not been confirmed, that this charge carries a penalty of life imprisonment.

The original bill also prohibited the “promotion” of Gay rights and called for the punishment of anyone who “funds or sponsors homosexuality” or “abets homosexuality.” As of yet, no changes to this policy have been reported and Gay rights activists in Uganda say they are living in constant

NO SEX, PLEASE …

Sex in general, and topics related to it, are traditionally kept out of mainstream discourse in Uganda.

President Museveni said he recently told the U.S. ambassador to his country that all forms of sex were kept private in Africa, unlike in Western societies.

“I told him that I have been married to my wife for 39 years, but I have never kissed her in public or in my house [in front of] the children. If I did it, I would lose elections and you know I am not about to accept the idea of losing elections.”

It is not known if the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will advance when Uganda’s parliament resumes in January.

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December 21, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

SPORTS

Chasing Sandy

Transgender athlete circles Manhattan for LGBT teen center q syndicate

wear Spandex. I’m in very body-conscious sports. Being an athlete was an important part of my identity, and I had a lot of questions.”

Those worries proved groundless. Chris was quickly accepted both during and after his transition. He’s spent the last five years competing in road races and triathlons, and serves as a coach and ambassador for the Empire Triathlon Club and Team Aquaphor.

Like many members of New York’s LGBT community, Chris had heard of the Ali Forney Center. As he learned of its devastation during the hurricane, and saw other destruction while running in local parks, he vowed to help.

As vital as its work is, Ali Forney is only a drop in the bucket. There are about 3,800 homeless youth in New York, Chris says, and 40% of them are LGBT. The center provides only 250 beds. Still, it’s something.

RAISING AWARENESS “I don’t have the money to get Ali Forney back on its feet myself. But I could raise a little bit,” Chris says. “And if I raised awareness, too, that might lead to something.”

He chose a date, December 1, and spent three weeks spreading the word via social media. Donors could contribute any amount – suggestions included $32 (a dollar for every mile he figured he’d run), $50 (a dollar for every kilometer), or whatever they chose to give. He also gathered prizes to raffle off to contributors.

Chris started and finished at the United Nations. And he started and finished alone.

“A lot of teammates and friends offered to

join,” he notes. “But it was important for me to do this by myself.”

He wore no headphones – he just ran and reflected. At one point he stopped at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to warm his hands. “I realized that if I were homeless I couldn’t just do that,” he says. “I’d have to really think about things like where I could use the bathroom.” He carried a bit of food, but dropped some along the way. “If I were homeless, losing that food would have meant a lot more.”

Chris’ run took 5 hours and 18 minutes.

He felt pretty good until Mile 25. At Mile 30, he really started to hit the wall. But like homeless youth with no other options, he kept going.

When he finished, there was no time for a big celebration. He had an hour to shower and get to his job.

‘THIS ISN’T ABOUT ME’ The Ali Forney Center staff had no idea who Chris was, and some of them still might not. That’s not the point, he says. “This isn’t about me. It’s about getting the word out, and helping an organization that helps kids who need help.”

Chris is still getting the word out about the center, and donations are still needed. Go to www.aliforneycenter.org and give what you can.

Dan Woog is a journalist, educator, soccer coach, and Gay activist. His latest book is We Kick Balls: True Stories from the Youth Soccer Wars. He can be reached at OutField@qsyndicate.com.

Chris Mosier

by Dan Woog SGN Contributing Writer These days, if you can run, you can raise funds. Every weekend, it seems, there are marathons to cure breast cancer, build schools in impoverished African villages, and do just about every other good deed imaginable. Fundraising races are often impressive affairs, with corporate sponsors, water stations, prizes, and gushing publicity.

When Chris Mosier decided to run to raise money, though, he did it alone. The decision seemed apt. He was running to support homeless LGBT teenagers, and few populations are as lonely as that.

Chris’s run earlier this month – 35.6 miles, a loop around the entire perimeter of Manhattan – benefited the Ali Forney Center. A shelter and drop-in facility offering food, showers, clothing, medical care, and mental health and substance abuse services to thousands of youngsters annually, it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Floodwaters from the Hudson River demolished computers, office equipment, refrigerators, and food.

played team sports. She always knew on some level she did not fit society’s expectations of gender, but she did not have the vocabulary to express what she felt.

Even in college, Chris says, “I didn’t know about the LGBT community. I was oblivious to it, and to any kind of selfawareness.”

About 10 years ago though, Chris finally met some Transgender people. Gradually, that self-awareness grew.

Chris moved to New York City and began a career in higher education. Identifying as “Queer,” he played on men’s softball teams.

CONCERNS PERSISTED But Chris also ran and bicycled on teams and in events as a female. “I delayed my transition because of sports,” Chris says.

“I did well as a woman, and wondered how competing as a man would affect things. I

A HEART FOR LGBT TEENS Chris was never homeless himself. But the plight of teenagers cast out of their families and left to battle for survival, while trying to figure out who they are and where they fit into the world, resonated deeply.

As a girl growing up near Chicago, she

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December 21, 2012

Seattle Gay News 13

Holiday Calendar

FAMILY FUN

the SkyCity restaurant and on the Needle’s journey with festive songs from south of the observation deck. Details at www.space- border, Hawaii, and other tropical locales.

7:30 p.m. Dec. 16, 20; 8 p.m. Dec. 21; 2 and Argosy Christmas Ship Festival, a needle.com.

8 p.m. Dec. 22. Also performing in Everett Northwest tradition since 1949, through LGBT/CABARET at Civic Auditorium, 8 p.m. Dec. 15. Details Dec. 23. The Argosy Christmas Ship (acat www.flyinghouse.org. companied by festive Parade Boats) sails Ham for the Holidays: Ham-ageddon! to various Puget Sound waterfront commuThe Seattle Symphony celebrates the nities for choir performances broadcast by featuring Dos Fallopia, through Dec. 30, a state-of-the-art speaker system. Various 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. (plus holidays with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphooptions are available for those who wish to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23). The apocalypse is just ny, Dec. 28-31. Benaroya Hall, 200 Universail and/or dine onboard. Visit www.argosy- around the corner, so Dos Fallopia (Lisa sity St., Seattle. Details at www.seattlesymKoch and Peggy Platt) celebrate with some phony.org. cruises.com for information. classic moments from past years’ shows, THEATER AND DANCE Gingerbread Village, the 20th annual with some new tunes and sketches. Thebenefit for the Northwest Chapter of the atre Off Jackson, 409 7th Ave. S. Details at Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, www.heylisa.com. Tickets at www.brownpresented by Book-It Repertory Theatre, through Jan. 1. Seattle’s top architectural papertickets.com/event/277489. through Dec. 23. John Irving’s quirky and firms team up with Sheraton Seattle’s culiDina Martina Christmas Show, a Se- memorable boy returns to wreak havoc on nary staff to design, bake, and build elaborate gingerbread displays and other holiday attle tradition featuring the First Lady of the annual Christ Church Christmas Pagcreations reflecting this year’s theme. The Entertainment, through Dec. 31. Famed eant in this poignant, rambunctious, and hidisplay is free and open to the public (do- N.Y. critic Michael Musto called Dina “the larious play. Center Theatre at the Armory, nation suggested). Sheraton Seattle Hotel, most original drag performer working in Seattle Center. Details at www.book-it.org.

1400 6th Ave., Seattle. More information at America today.” Martina comes armed with Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris and http://gingerbreadvillage.myevent.com/3/ truly legendary songs, stories, costumes, and audience gifts, giving you one of the The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barevents.htm. most festive, invigorating, and ingeniously bara Robinson presented by Seattle Public Seattle Center WinterFest, Six weeks funny evenings you’ve ever had. Bloody Theater, through Dec. 24. For those who of free entertainment running through Jan. Mary/Mimosa Weekend Matinees 2 p.m. like a little spice with their Christmas sugar, 6, including the timeless Winter Train and Dec. 22 and 23; 8 p.m. nightly Dec. 21-24, Santaland Diaries chronicles one man’s exVillage, WinterFest Ice Rink, Ice Sculpt- 26-31. Re-Bar, 1114 Howell St., Seattle. perience working as an Elf in Macy’s Saning (Saturdays through Dec. 29, noon-2 Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com/ taland. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever depicts what happens when the infamous p.m., outside Fisher Pavilion), WinterFest event/271829.

Herdman clan takes over the annual church Student Showcase (through Jan. 6, various Homo for the Holidays, an annual all-star pageant and challenges everyone’s traditimes, Armory), Garfield H.S. Jazz Band (Dec. 23, 1 p.m., Armory), The Dickens holiday cabaret featuring BenDeLaCreme, tional notions of Christmas. Details at www.

Carolers (Dec. 29, 12:30 p.m., Armory), Kitten LaRue, the Cherdonna and Lou show, seattlepublictheater.org.

Eastside Modern Jazz Orchestra (Dec. 30, Jinkx Monsoon, Major Scales, Fuchsia Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the 12:30 p.m., Armory), and a New Year’s Eve FoXXX, Faggedy Randy, and many more, celebration with the Rhythm Nation (Dec. Dec. 21-24, 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. nightly. The Christmas Carol by John Longenbaugh, 31, 8:15-11:45 p.m., Armory). Details on Stranger calls Homo for the Holidays “the presented by Taproot Theatre, through Dec. these and other events at www.seattlecenter. premier event of the true Gay yuletide sea- 29. It’s Christmas Eve, 1894, and Sherlock son!” West Hall, Oddfellows Building, 915 Holmes resurfaces after being presumed com/winterfest/.

E. Pine St., Seattle. Tickets at www.brown- dead for three years. Only he’s changed, and not for the better. Three unexpected New Year’s Eve Celebration at the Space papertickets.com/event/290222. callers arrive, uncovering clues from the Needle, Dec. 31, 11:59 p.m. Start 2013 off detective’s past, present, and future. Can with a bang as the Space Needle displays MUSIC they save Holmes and his world from a dire the world’s tallest structure-launched fireend? A mystery full of Christmas spirits the works show with more than 2,000 pyrotechSeattle Men’s Chorus presents “Baby, whole family will enjoy. 204 N. 85th St., nic events. The base of the Needle will host the West Coast version of Times Square, It’s Cold Outside,” through Dec. 22. “Seat- Seattle. Details at http://taproottheatre.org. where more than 50,000 people gather each tle’s Other Holiday Tradition” heats things A(n Improvised) Christmas Carol year to watch the fireworks shoot across the up with their unique blend of song, dance, midnight sky. Special events are planned at and campy comedy, taking you on an exotic presented by Unexpected Productions, through Dec. 30. An improvised take on

northwest news

SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – CHANGES (IN A LITTLE GAY BAR) The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6-7:15 p.m., at Seattle Area Support Groups Community Center (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.).

In December, the club will discuss Changes (In a Little Gay Bar), a new novel by book club organizer Nick DiMartino – 24 linked stories taking place in Seattle’s historic Wallingford neighborhood Gay bar.

It’s about a middle-aged Gay guy with zero self-confidence who is badgered by his best friend and shrink into making a habit out of walking to his little neighborhood Gay bar. It has dozens of non-sterotypical, realistic Gay characters. It’s funny, sad, scary, honest, and hopefully surprising.

In January, the club will read Paul Monette’s National Book Award-winning memoir, Becoming A Man. 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 206-322-2437; www.sasgcc.org. For discount on cost of books, email Nick.

MUSEUM OF HISTORY & INDUSTRY (MOHAI) – GRAND OPENING AT LAKE UNION PARK On Saturday, December 29, from 10 a.m.8 p.m., be among the first to step inside the dazzling new MOHAI at Lake Union Park (860 Terry Ave. N., Terry Ave. N. & Valley St., take the South Lake Union Streetcar from 5th & Stewart St. to MOHAI) at this community-wide celebration!

The beautifully restored new facility will provide MOHAI with 50,000 square feet of exhibit space. Come explore, participate in special programming, and see amazing live performances in this exciting new space.

To ensure that all visitors have a fun and worthwhile experience, MOHAI has set up a timed-ticketing reservation system for Grand Opening weekend. Tickets are FREE on Saturday and regularly priced on Sunday.

Reserved tickets are recommended, but not required. Visitors can choose to arrive anytime during the Grand Opening and will be let in pending building capacity. The museum estimates it will take about 90 minutes to see most of the exhibits. For more information and advance ticket reservations for the Grand Opening, visit www.mohai.org or call 206-324-1126.

14 Seattle Gay News

December 21, 2012

Charles Dickens’ classic, shaped by audience input. Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, Seattle. Details at www.unexpectedproductions.org.

A Christmas Carol presented by ACT Theatre, through Dec. 30. Charles Dickens’ classic tale of hope and redemption, adapted by Gregory A. Falls. Allen Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle. Details at www.acttheatre.org.

The Winter Wonderettes, a “new ’60s Christmas musical,” presented by ArtsWest, through Dec. 30. Take a nostalgic trip through the late ’50s-early ’60s musical style when the Marvelous Wonderettes are asked to entertain at the holiday party for Harper’s Hardware. Curtain 7:30 p.m. nightly (5 p.m. Dec. 24), plus weekend matinees at 3 p.m. Dec. 22, 23, 29, and 30, ArtsWest Playhouse, 4711 California Ave. S.W., Seattle. Details at www.artswest.org.

ELF –­ The Musical, the story of Buddy, a boy raised by elves at the North Pole who sets off to the big city in search of his father and finds an alarming lack of Christmas spirit. Through Dec. 31, 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave., Seattle. Details at www.5thavenue.org.

A Child’s Christmas in Wales presented

by Stone Soup Theatre, Dec. 21-24. Celebrate the magic of Dylan Thomas’ childhood Christmas in a play adapted from his poem and featuring both youth and adult performers. 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sat.Sun.; special matinees at 12:30 and 4 p.m.

Dec. 23 and 24. Details at www.stonesouptheatre.org.

Nutcracker presented by Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dec. 21-29, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus weekend matinees. Praised by the New York Times as “original and exciting,” this marvelously imagined production created

by PNB founding artistic director Kent Stowell and author/illustrator Maurice Sendak, features more than 200 dancers, gigantic moving sets, a snowfall, and Tchaikovsky’s beloved score performed by the PNB Orchestra. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center. Details at www.pnb.org.

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

The museum also offers Free First Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., each month. On Thursday, January 3, MOHAI, along with Pabst Brewing Company, will host a celebration for the iconic, 12-foot tall Rainier “R” sign, which has been restored and placed at the top of the Wall of Icons in the museum’s Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium. All are welcome to join for photo ops with the oneof-a-kind Rainier Harley Davidson Fatboy, and to witness the Wild Rainiers grazing throughout Lake Union Park. The event will culminate at 7 p.m. with a short ceremony and presentation of the icon’s place in Seattle’s heritage.

The museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The museum will be closed on Christmas.

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PUDDLETOWN SQUARES – BEGINNING (MAINSTREAM) SQUARE DANCE CLASS On Thursday, January 3, from 7-9 p.m., at St. Andrews’s Episcopal Church (N. 80th St. & 1st Ave. NE), Puddletown Squares kicks off their next Beginners Lesson Series (Mainstream), a 20 week lesson series to be held on Thursdays from January through May. Cost is $150 for 40 hours of instruction and practice and includes additional perks valed at over $100. Come try the first RADICAL WOMEN & two weeks before making a financial comFREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY – mitment for the entire series. Come as you NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY are. Singles and couples welcome. For more On Monday, December 31, at 8:30 p.m., information email puddletownsqmc@yaat New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. hoo.com; www.puddletownsquares.org.

S.), join Radical Women at their New Year’s Eve Party to “Sweep the Globe Clean in 2013!” Festivities include a Northern Italian Feast, dancing, a Riotous Year-in-Review, and a no-host bar. Door donation $5. Buffet donation $15. Sliding scale and work

Celebrating 39 Years!

Promiscuous Travelers rex features

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer In 1999 the Gay politics and lifestyle magazine The Guide published an article titled “Postcards From Around the World,” which celebrated Gay men as the world’s sexual adventurers. “More than serially coupled heterosexuals or long-mating Lesbians, Gay males are the free radicals of social life. Rare is even the ‘monogamous’ Gay relationship not peppered by extramural flings. And if homophilic desire is defined by attraction to the same, on another level it’s characterized by the pursuit of the exotic. All the great pioneers of homosexual identity – Oscar Wilde, Wilhelm Van Gloeden, André Gide – were sex tourists.”

The article goes on to say that while heterosexuals “are weighed down by the practical imperatives of ‘proper’ match-making,” Gay men, “with relationships founded on nothing more than personal magnetics and pleasure, support a richer internal heterogeneity. Take that Queer male lust for variety and throw in the democratization

ceptable around the world, more and more people are openly taking part in Gay sex tourism and it is expected to become a much larger and open industry with new, specifically Gay sex tour companies opening up all the time.”

The Australian historian Robert Aldrich discussed Gay sex tourism of the 19th and 20th centuries in his books The Seduction of the Mediterranean: Writing, Art, and Homosexual Fantasy (1993) and Colonialism and Homosexuality (2003). Michael T. Luongo collected accounts from more recent Gay sex tourists in Between the Palms: A Collection of Gay Travel Erotica (2004), Looking for Love in Faraway Places: Tales of Gay Men’s Romance Overseas (2007), and Gay Travels In the Muslim World (2007).

Berlin publisher Bruno Gmünder Verlag, which knows a thing or two about Gay sex and Gay tourism, has done its part for Gay travel literature with the recent publication of The Promiscuous Traveler ($17.99), a collection of tales by a well-traveled Gay sex tourist known to us as Sebastian V. “These pages are a diary, a confessional, a record of what happened, to somehow make it all real and permanent. The tales are fantastical and masturbatory, but the facts are as solid and honest and unforgiving as the earth,” Mr. V tells us. ”I am a promis-

cuous traveler. And the title is that on two accounts. The first reason is a little more oblique: I never like to go back to the same place twice. The second is more traditional: I’ve tasted so many different types of men.

Young, old, big, small, brown, black, white, straight, Gay, or simply just men. I appreciate all the tastes of all the cuisines of the world.”

SEX IN ANTARCTICA? According to Mr. V, his travels have taken him to more than 70 countries – “Even Greenland, even Antarctica” – and he enjoyed sex in most of them. “I’ve had sex on trains, on boats, in speeding cars, [even] in a horse carriage,” he writes. This very promiscuous traveler’s sexual adventures are catholic – that is, universal. They include trysts in such places as Puerto Rico, Estonia, Senegal, Russia, Australia, Ghana, Hawaii, Tahiti, Morocco, Hong Kong, Egypt, and even the Magic Kingdom in Orlando.

The stories are well-written, and they are as interesting as they are stimulating. But are they true? Sure, he may have exaggerated some details – like most men – but in the main there is no reason to doubt him.

So let us enjoy The Promiscuous Traveler for what it is – a joyous celebration of Gay sexual adventure.

of travel and communications in the late 20th century, and the result is a Gay worldwide web of friendship, affection, and sex.”

Though The Guide’s author exaggerated the extent of straight (and Lesbian) monogamy, his depiction of Gay male travel habits was spot-on.

A GROWING PHENOMENON Though The Guide is sadly gone, Gay sex tourism remains vital in the 21st century.

“What is Gay sex tourism?” asks the website www.sextourism.net/gay, which proceeds to answer its own question: “Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to a domestic or foreign city with the purpose of taking part in sexual activities. Gay sex tourism is simply sex tourism for Gays! The types of activities that Gay sex tourists participate in vary – some go with the sole intention of having sex with others whereas others only partially go with that intention.” The Gay sex tourism industry, we are told, “is a niche tourism market that is starting to catch on more predominantly around the world. As homosexuality is becoming much more ac-

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Seattle Gay News 15

health and medicine

The cost of complacency HIV still increasing among young Gay and Bi men, CDC says

ages, the number increased by 12%, and new HIV infections for this population represents 63% of all new HIV cases.

The rate of new infections across all deNew HIV infections continue to increase at an alarming rate among young Gay and mographic categories remained stable, at Bi men, the Centers for Disease Control and about 50,000 per year over the past decade.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

“We will never successfully realize an AIDSfree generation while our young people face such high rates of infection, especially young Gay and Bisexual men.”

Prevention (CDC) said in a report released December 19. The report on HIV incidence includes numbers through 2010.

According to the CDC, new infections among Gay and Bi teens and young men (ages 13-24) rose by 22% between 2008 and 2010. Among Gay and Bi males of all

“While the overall number of new infections continues to be relatively stable, a closer examination of infection rates by population makes clear the persistent and disproportionate toll the epidemic continues to have on minority communities, especially Gay and Bisexual men,” the CDC said.

RACIAL DISPARITY PERSISTS Young Gay and Bi men of color are the hardest-hit by HIV. African-American young males now account for more new HIV infections – a total of 4,800 in 2010 – than any other demographic. Although African Americans represent 14% of the total U.S. population, they account for 44% of new HIV infections. The only good news is that this figure remained stable between 2008 and 2010.

The numbers also remained stable for Latino men. Latinos represent 16% of the U.S. population but 21% of new HIV infections, the CDC found.

The one bright spot in the CDC report is the finding that new infections among African-American women declined significantly – by 21% – between 2008 and 2010. Nevertheless, African-American women still account for 64% of the new infections among women as a group.

“It is clear that our nation’s prevention efforts are not reaching those that most desperately need them. We will never successfully realize an AIDS-free generation while our young people face such high rates of infection, especially young Gay and Bisexual men,” National Minority AIDS Council Director of Legislative and Public Affairs Kali Lindsey said in a statement.

“We must do more to ensure that everyone has access to culturally sensitive comprehensive sexual health services and education, especially our Gay and Transgender youth,” continued Lindsey. “While the Affordable Care Act will greatly expand coverage for millions of Americans, including those living with and vulnerable to HIV, we must also ensure that funding is available to provide confidential testing and care services, free from stigma. Today’s incidence numbers make it all too clear what is at stake.”

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December 21, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

Closing in on a cure Seattle-based researcher among four new Krim Fellows

fred hutchinson cancer Reasearch center

Dr. Lucie Etienne

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer On December 13, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) announced its sixth round of Mathilde Krim Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research.

Each of the four $125,000 grants is designed to support the work of young HIV/ AIDS researchers working on projects ranging from cure research to vaccine development.

“The research being done by these new Krim Fellows is exciting, innovative, and potentially groundbreaking,” said Dr. Rowena Johnston, amfAR’s vice president and director of research. “Each of the Krim Fellows is doing work that could produce major contributions in four separate areas of HIV/AIDS research: cure research, epidemiological research, vaccine development, and treatment development. Each is at the forefront of the current demands for addressing the pandemic.”

investigate the impact of cancer and transplant therapy on HIV-1 reservoirs, specifically in the case of the “Berlin Patient” – the first person known to have been cured of HIV – to determine which of the several interventions was responsible for curing him. She will study each of the three major possibilities separately: chemotherapy, immune-suppressive drugs, and stem-cell transplantation. Working with Durand will

will attempt to develop a vaccine on the basis of the protective coating of sugar-like molecules that surround the virus. The coating is thought to hamper the development of antibodies that might form the basis of a vaccine. Dr. Kong will try to determine whether this protective coating can instead be turned against the virus to render it vulnerable to destruction by the body’s immune system.

“Each of the Krim Fellows is doing work that could produce major contributions in ... HIV/ AIDS research. Each is at the forefront of the current demands for addressing the pandemic.” be her mentor, Dr. Robert Siliciano, a longtime amfAR grantee.

Dr. Herschhorn plans to research the mechanism of HIV-1 entry inhibition by novel small molecules in an effort to design drugs that could more effectively prevent the entry of HIV into cells. He plans to identify leads that might prevent HIV entry at any stage of the multi-step process that begins with the first contact between the virus and the cell, until the virus is absorbed into the cell. The compounds might serve as the basis of new drugs for further development, but in the meantime they may help researchers understand more about the complex chain of events that allows HIV to enter cells.

ruses making similar “species jumps.”

The other three new Krim Fellows are TRYING SOMETHING NEW Christine Durand, M.D., of Johns Hopkins Dr. Kong will approach HIV vaccine reUniversity School of Medicine; Alon Herschhorn, Ph.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer search in an entirely new way. By conductInstitute; and Leopold Kong, Ph.D., of the ing structural studies of glycan-specific Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Durand will sites of vulnerability of HIV-1 gp120, he

“What’s particularly gratifying is that several of our current or former grantees are mentoring these Krim Fellows, reinforcing how important amfAR funding is to several generations of scientists,” Johnston said.

“Together, they’re making important discoveries that contribute to our understanding of the virus and how to overcome it.”

AmfAR is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $340 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. Since 2008, the organization has awarded more than $3 million in Krim Fellowships, named in honor of its founding chair, Dr. Mathilde Krim.

STUDYING HIV MUTATIONS Lucie Etienne, Ph.D., at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, will use her $125,000 grant to study transmission of the disease, specifically the genetic changes that occurred in the non-human primate versions of the HIV/AIDS virus and the mutations that originally made the virus viable in humans. She hopes this information will help quantify the risk of other vi-

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December 21, 2012

Seattle Gay News 17

Illustration by Sean McCabe

’Tis the season for the ‘War on Christmas’

Fox News celebrates its own holiday tradition

by D’Anne Witkowski SGN Contributing Writer December is upon us, dear readers. Halls are being decked, Gay apparel is being donned, people are striking harps and joining choruses, and a certain jolly bear of a man is making a list and checking it twice.

The weather outside is getting frightful, but not to worry – the fire is getting delightful.

That’s right, folks. It’s beginning to look a lot like the War on Christmas, everywhere you go. That is, if the only place you go is Fox News.

Now, it’s totally possible that you didn’t even know there is a War on Christmas, much like how it’s easy to forget that there’s a War in Afghanistan – because we don’t have to sacrifice a damn thing other than tax money. But if you watch Fox then you know that the War on Christmas is the more important of the two wars, because it’s happening on our own soil and is being waged

by Americans.

At least, they claim to be Americans. Except they apparently hate Christmas, specifically the baby Jesus. Can you believe that?

He’s a baby, for God’s sake! What kind of monsters are these people?

THE ‘REAL’ AGENDA EXPOSED It’s a good question, and one Bernard McGuirk, executive producer of Imus in the Morning, answered on a recent episode of Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor. According to McGuirk, “The war on Christmas is very, very real, and if you ask me, in addition to some grouchy misanthropic heathen atheists it has to do – at the root of it – with two things: abortion and the Gay rights agenda, because Christianity is against those things.

It’s subtle, but that’s why it’s so pronounced in recent years.”

To this nonsense, O’Reilly enthusiastically responded, “Hundred percent agree.

I absolutely agree 100 percent that the diminishment of Christianity is the target and Christmas is the vehicle because the secularists know the opposition to their agenda ... comes primarily from the Judeo-Christian traditionalist people.”

Now, blaming the War on Christmas(TM) on atheists is nothing new. After all, atheists are known for being very outspoken about what they don’t believe – unlike Christians, who are known for being very timid about what they do believe. Christians in the United States are a persecuted majority, after all.

They never know when they’ll walk into a Home Depot and see a seven-foot artificial Dunhill fir maliciously labeled a “holiday tree” or hear some Jesus-hating store clerk

wish them “happy holidays,” which is essentially the same thing as saying, “I wish Jesus had never been born.”

But while “grouchy misanthropic heathen atheists” are foot soldiers on the frontlines, it’s the homosexuals and abortionists who are the masterminds, sitting in a control center somewhere having Gay sex and aborting babies.

And definitely hatin’ on Christmas.

According to one FoxNews.com opinion writer, “Atheists are combing every schoolhouse, statehouse, and house of worship to

destroy the spirit of Christmas.” And do you know why they’re doing this? They’re just following orders from their homosexual abortionist commanders who use nativity figures confiscated from City Hall lawns across the country to build life-size abortion clinic scenes and Gay dance party mangers across this great land.

Oh, and in case you’re thinking, “But wait, I’m Gay and I celebrate Christmas ...”

I have two words for you: undercover operative. Now hush, and remember: Loose lips sink sleighs.

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December 21, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

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December 21, 2012

Seattle Gay News 19