Celebrating 39 Years!
Issue 52 Volume 40
FRIDAY December 28, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Fiscal cliff-diving What the budget crisis means for the LGBT community by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Relax. But only a little. The country is not going to do a Thelma and Louise over the “fiscal cliff” even if Congress fails to reach a compromise solution
control of the House in the 2010 10-year period. In the fall of 2011 the congreselection. sional “super committee,” charged with devising a plan to reduce the A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL In the Budget Control Act of deficit by this amount, failed to 2011, the administration traded its produce a proposal that could get promise of future deficit negotia- majority agreement in Congress. tions for an immediate increase in The lame-duck session of Con-
Automatic cuts to the federal budget – known as sequestration – will be triggered and will go into effect beginning in January 2013. by January 1. Nevertheless, real people in the LGBT community will suffer real harm if the federal government does not resolve its budget crisis in a balanced and equitable way. In spite of the overly dramatic name, originally coined by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke, the “fiscal cliff” is really nothing more than a temporary compromise between the Obama administration and the Republicans who gained
the federal debt ceiling. As part of that deal, congressional Republicans held the country’s creditworthiness and economic recovery hostage to force painful and immediate spending cuts, totaling more than $1 trillion over the 10-year period from 2012 through 2021. In addition to these immediate cuts, the Budget Control Act also left Congress with the task of finding an additional $1.2 trillion to cut from the budget over the same
gress also failed to produce a deal. This means that automatic cuts to the federal budget – known as sequestration – will be triggered and will go into effect beginning in January 2013 so as to achieve the $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction as mandated by the Budget Control Act.
see fiscal page 15
has prevailed’ New funding announced ‘Love The day marriage equality became real to address poverty in LGBT community file photo
to being a little nervous, while some had waited for decades and could hardly wait another minute. Here’s a little background: I worked hard in support of R-74 because I believe to my bones that all adults should have the right to marry the person they love. Since the Andersen case in 2004, where many new friends were plaintiffs in that lawsuit demanding Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw the right to marry, I have been deeply invested. When by Sally Bagshaw R-74 was on the ballot this year, it was personal and I wanted to help. Seattle City Council I walked the 43rd District encourSunday, December 9, 2012, was aging voters to vote yes on R-74; an emotionally charged day for I talked with literally hundreds of people encouraging them to vote; me. Inside, City Hall was decked I helped people register. So, standwith flowers, platforms were ing shoulder to shoulder with my raised for individual ceremonies, friends at the Westin on Tuesday, and beautifully crafted backdrops November 6 – many of whom had hung from the ceiling, converting waited years for the right to marry the building into an almost-elegant – was exhilarating. We hugged, we wedding venue. Couples and their cried, we smiled until our faces entourages blew in from the east hurt. We won. side, surrounded by their family see bagshaw page 22 and supporters. Some confessed
reuters
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Pride Foundation has been awarded a grant of $400,000 over four years by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation will re-grant the funds through a special Request for Proposals (RFP) process to nonprofit organizations that propose innovative approaches to addressing poverty in the LGBTQ community in Washington state and Portland, Oregon, with particular emphasis on proposals and partnerships that focus on homeless LGBTQ youth, according to Philip Wong, communications director for Pride Foundation. “LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented among homeless youth, and may make up as much as 50 percent of the total homeless youth populations in Portland and Seattle on any given night,” said Kris Hermanns, Pride Foundation’s executive director. “These youth are more likely
Weddings By the Sea Bill and Melinda Gates
see poverty page 22
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