SGN July 26, 2013 - Section 1

Issue 30 Volume 41

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Celebrating 40 Years!

Candidate Ratings Sec 1, Page 5

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Remembering Janet Trinkaus Rise n’ Shine founder was a true LGBT community pillar

COURTESY INSPIRE YOUTH PROJECT

Janet Trinkaus (l) was an inspiration to youth throughout her career

Kiss it, Christie!

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer Janet Trinkaus, founder of Rise n’ Shine (now Inspire Youth Project), passed away Friday, July 12, dying in her son’s embrace at age 76 after a three-year battle with cancer. During her inspiring and accomplished life, Janet was a proud, empowered woman and a

in the nation and has since served hundreds of kids who either have the disease, have lost a parent to the disease, or are living with a parent who has HIV/AIDS. She received multiple honors for her work, including the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the AIDS Service Award, the Rudy Award, the Washington State Mentors’ Champion of Mentoring

“She was so many things. We’re a small office, so we all do a little bit of everything. Janet loved brainstorming.

She loved thinking of better ways we could serve the kids.” lover of the arts who “laughed with abandon” and was characterized by dedication and a rebellious spirit. She is survived by her son, Stephen Trinkaus, and his wife, Jillian; her grandson, Cody Trinkaus; and her sister, Nancy Stratford.

Janet founded Rise n’ Shine, a nonprofit agency that supports children and families who are affected by HIV/AIDS, in 1988. It was the first program of its kind

Award, and many others.

RISE N’ SHINE In 1988, Janet was feeling unfulfilled while working for at a realestate firm in Bellevue and decided to take a week-long, solo retreat in the mountains to take stock of her life. A person of foresight with social justice always on her mind, see TRINKAUS page 5

Lesbian couple marries in Pennsylvania

NJ marriage advocates launch veto override campaign County officials issue licenses

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

in defiance of state law

KYW / CBS

KENA BETANCUR / GETTY IMAGES

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

New Jersey United for Marriage has announced a new campaign to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of the state’s marriage equality law.

“With federal protections now available thanks to the removal of DOMA’s ‘Gay exception,’ Governor Christie’s veto is costing New Jersey families very real protections that only marriage provides,” Richard Carlbom, director of state campaigns at Freedom to Marry, said in a statement this week.

“This new, broad-based campaign brings the best of the movement to the important task of ensuring that loving and committed New Jersey couples, who deserve to be treated just like all other Americans, no longer have to Alicia Terrizzi (l) and Loreen Bloodgood with their marriage license cross the river [to New York] to get married and have their marriages by Mike Andrew not setting out to be pioneers. We respected.”

SGN Staff Writer don’t think our family is any different than anybody else.”

SIX MONTHS Alicia Terrizzi and Loreen Terrizzi and Bloodgood were TO GET IT DONE Bloodgood were married July 24 one of two Lesbian couples who The New Jersey legislature in Norristown, Pennsylvania, after got licenses on July 24, and they passed marriage equality in Feb- Montgomery County officials de- married in a religious ceremony ruary 2012, but Republican Gov. fied state law to issue them a mar- immediately afterward.

Chris Christie vetoed the bill. Un- riage license.

The Rev. Craig Andrussier, a “We’ve been waiting a long time see NEW JERSEY page 20 for this,” Terrizzi said. “We’re see PENNSYLVANIA page 9

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op-ed

FRC: Married straights have more fun

Understanding the religious right’s latest pitch to millennials

by Candace Chellew-Hodge religiondispatches.org Editor’s note: The following is reprinted with permission from Religion Dispatches.

Read more at www.religiondispatches.org.

Faced with a growing acceptance of Gay and Lesbian people in both society and the church, the religious right is rolling out its new sales pitch for heterosexuality: “Married heterosexuals have the best sex!”

After failing to sell the younger generation on the intrinsic value of marriage as the best way to raise children, they’ve decided to back up a few steps and instead pitch the great baby-making sex that straight married couples apparently have.

“Those who worship God weekly have the best sex,” asserted Patrick F. Fagan, senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute (MARRI) at the Family Research Council, according to a recent article in the Christian Post.

Interestingly, however, the article fails to mention that the National Health and Social Life Survey, from which FRC pulled its data, says that it’s actually devout Catholics who have the best sex – not evangelical Protestant Christians. (As my good Southern Baptist momma will tell you straight up: “Catholics are not Christians.”) But let’s not dwell on such unimportant details. Instead, let’s look at perhaps why the typically sex-averse FRC is now using sex to sell the straight lifestyle.

everything – from God to the Bible to the role of government in the economy – to create a new scale of religiosity that divides Americans into four groups: religious conservatives (28 percent), religious moderates (38 percent), religious progressives (19 percent), and nonreligious (15 percent.)

Moderate and progressive religious people make up a strong 57% of the population.

This is something you would never guess if you listened to the base of the Republican Party or the religious-right talking heads like FRC leader Tony Perkins that the media insists on inviting to give the “Christian”

the issue of welfare.

In this presentation, they point out that welfare recipients are the most productive workers, the “heavy lifters of the economy.”

FRC praises these families that have more mouths to feed, for their Protestant work ethic. Which begs the question about why FRC, and other conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundation, enthusiastically advocate for welfare reforms that would shrink the rolls of the working poor.

You would think they’d want to increase social safety nets so these sacred “intact” families could continue to be “the core strength of the country.”

Perhaps they’re hoping that the great sex will make up for the lack of food and shelter these heroes of family values will experience when conservative policymakers get their way.

In the end, though, the FRC prefers to turn its sex-fevered brain from public policy to debauchery as they make the case for hotsex-based heterosexual marriage: “Abortion, homosexuality, infidelity, pornography, euthanasia, infanticide, all of these things were just the common sexual practice of Pagan Rome, and Christians were noted for being very, very different – monogamous, faithful, struggling for chastity,” said Fagan.

The anti-Gay brain seems to have a habit of feverishly imagining the hot, sweaty, and ... oh, yeah ... terrible, awful, and sinful sex that their Gay and Lesbian (and anyone else not straight, white, and “naturally” married) counterparts must be having. Sadly, the facts of Gay and Lesbian life – as well as straight married life – may prove too much of a challenge for their sales pitch.

As writer and Soulforce founder Mel White once told talk-show host Larry King when King asked what he and his husband did in bed, Mel replied, “We do what every couple who’s been married for over 20 years does. We sleep.”

Interestingly the article fails to mention that the National Health and Social Life Survey ... says that it’s actually devout Catholics who have the best sex – not evangelical Protestant Christians.

perspective on the day’s events – especially if they include Gays and Lesbians.

Although, if you think about it, it’s not really a shock that the popular idea of a “Christian” these days is someone like Perkins, since so many have dedicated themselves to being both vocal and visible, while moderate-to-progressive Christians tend to view faith as a personal issue. Certainly more centrist and left-leaning religious organizations like Sojourners are pushing for more moderate and liberal voices to be heard from the media stage, but Perkins and his ilk often make for far more controversial sound bites and viral videos being circulated through social media. Nuanced arguments from the left don’t translate well in SOUND AND FURY our ADHD-afflicted media, social or otherCandace Chellew-Hodge is the founder/ Could the urgency be linked to a new re- wise. editor of Whosoever: An Online Magazine port by the Public Religion Research Instifor GLBT Christians and currently serves tute and the Brookings Institution, which PROTESTANT PARADOX as the pastor of Jubilee! Circle in Columreveals that the white evangelical conservaWhat the more liberal Christians need to bia, S.C. She is also the author of Bullettive base is shrinking with each successive pay attention to here, and challenge through proof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for generation? that media megaphone (if you can stop Gay and Lesbian Christians (Jossey-Bass, The report, dubbed the “Economic Val- thinking about sex for just one minute) is 2008). ues Survey,” uses respondents’ views on the FRC’s absolute and total hypocrisy on

July 26, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

Michael Dunlop and Janet Trinkaus

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NATE GOWDY / SEATTLE GAY NEWS

Local news

TRINKAUS

continued from cover Janet recognized that despite what the media was saying about HIV/AIDS and Gay men, women and children would inevitably become infected or affected by the disease, and she wanted to be ready to help them.

She drafted the program that would become Rise n’ Shine that very week.

“She had a lot of doors slammed in her face,” recalled Michael Dunlop, assistant director for program services at Inspire Youth Project (IYP), who worked by Janet’s side at Rise n’ Shine for 17 years. “People didn’t want money being taken away from the Gay men who needed it.”

Operating from her Snohomish County farm, which she later sold to raise money for the organization, Janet began with five children, two of whom now volunteer for IYP. The programs she designed were modeled after her own experiences at camp on the shores of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

“I remember from when I was 11-15, she sent to me to a pretty exclusive summer camp. She had some fond experiences in summer camp as a kid,” said her son, Stephen. “It was her favorite thing to go to camp every year to be with the kids.”

Getting the initial support for Rise n’ Shine was no easy task, as fear of being associated with the disease was rampant. Janet had studied business in college and by 1988 had a rich varied career background, having worked for PepsiCo in New York City as well as in the restaurant, furniture, and real-estate businesses. She also worked as a business consultant.

evolved, Janet always seemed two steps ahead.

“She was a businesswoman,” said Dunlop. “She ran Rise n’ Shine like a business.

We wouldn’t have made it without that direction. Look at all the HIV/AIDS service organizations that have closed or merged – we didn’t.”

“She was so many things,” said Dunlop smiling. “We’re a small office, so we all do a little bit of everything. Janet loved brainstorming. She loved thinking of better ways we could serve the kids.”

Dunlop said that aside from her business mindset, one of the most important things she did was that she made those around her feel like family and she kept people laughing. This resonated throughout the agency to the kids, parent, and donors.

“In doing the work that we do, laughing is important. Humor is important,” Dunlop said.

REBEL GIRL “I feel like most people know about the last 25 years,” Stephen told SGN. One of his most recent memories of his mother was watching the TV series Mad Men together. She enjoyed the show because she herself was a strong and proud woman in the ’60s. One of three daughters of a mother who was one of seven daughters, she was a big-city single mother working in corporate America, exactly when and where the show is set.

Janet married Stephen’s father, George Trinkaus, in 1959, while attending Syracuse University. After graduating with a B.A. in business administration in 1961, the couple relocated to the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. She divorced George in 1965, shortly after Stephen was AHEAD OF THE CURVE born.

Janet hired her staff by intuition, creating Stephen called Janet’s life in NYC after a feeling of family, and she always seemed George her true “watershed years.” to find a way when donations slipped dur“Those were important years, not just in ing financial downturns. As the years passed and public perception of the disease see TRINKAUS page 20

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national news

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal district judge in Ohio has ordered the state to recognize the marriage of two Cincinnati men, one of whom is terminally ill.

John Arthur and James Obergefell were married in Maryland on July 11. The couple “have been living together in a committed and intimate relationship for more than 20 years,” Judge Timothy Black noted in his July 22 order.

Arthur is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” which prompted the couple to fly to Maryland to get married.

According to Judge Black’s account, the pair “traveled to Maryland in a special jet equipped with medical equipment and a medical staff necessary to serve Mr. Arthur’s needs, whereupon Plaintiffs were married in the jet as it sat on the tarmac in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. They returned to Cincinnati that same day.”

SURVIVOR STATUS SOUGHT In view of Arthur’s impending death, the couple sued the state of Ohio demanding that Obergefell be recognized as his surviving spouse.

“The end result here and now is that the local Ohio Registrar of death certificates is hereby ordered not to accept for recording a death certificate for John Arthur that does not record Mr. Arthur’s status at death as ‘married’ and James Obergefell as his ‘surviving spouse,’” Black wrote. The order is

in effect until 5 p.m. August 5, unless the court extends it at a later date.

“By treating lawful same-sex marriages differently than it treats lawful opposite-sex marriages,” the judge concluded, Ohio’s 2004 constitutional amendment banning recognition of same-sex marriages and Ohio’s statute addressing the same issue “likely violate the United States Constitution.”

In his ruling, Black explained, “Although the law has long recognized that marriage and domestic relations are matters generally left to the states, the restrictions imposed on marriage by states, however, must nonetheless comply with the [U.S.] Constitution.”

Black then examined the Supreme Court’s decision striking down Section 3 of DOMA in United States v. Windsor, its 1996 decision in Romer v. Evans invalidating state “sodomy” laws, and other decisions finding differential treatment to be unconstitutional under the Constitution’s equal protection clause.

“The purpose served by treating same-sex married couples differently than oppositesex married couples is the same improper purpose that failed in Windsor and in Romer: ‘to impose inequality’ and to make Gay citizens unequal under the law,” Black concluded.

‘A MAJOR STEP’ Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office defended Ohio state law in filings with the court, but lawyers representing the City of Cincinnati and Dr. Camille Jones, the City’s vital statistics registrar, declined

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER / GLENN HARTONG

Ohio ordered to recognize couple’s same-sex marriage

John Arthur (l) and James Obergefell

to defend the law.

“The City will not defend Ohio’s discriminatory ban on same-sex marriages, but the City’s vital statistics registrar is bound to follow Ohio law until that law is changed or overturned,” the Cincinnati attorneys told Judge Black.

Al Gerhardstein, the attorney who represented Hanna and Hudson, said in a statement, “This order is a major step on the march toward marriage equality in Ohio.”

Gay activist and blogger John Aravosis credited Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Windsor with setting the stage for Judge Black’s order in Ohio.

“I really think the [Supreme Court] granted us nationwide Gay marriage in all but

name,” Aravosis wrote. “Yes, the way they did it requires us to go state-by-state and strike down individual state-DOMA laws, but that was the genius of the court’s decision. They paid homage to the notion that the court shouldn’t upend the ‘democratic experiment’ taking place in the states, while at the same time coming up with a decision that basically leaves the states no wiggle room to say ‘no’ to marriage equality for Gays once the state DOMAs are challenged.

“So yes, it will take longer for us to get marriage in 50 states – thus a nod to the notion that the court shouldn’t change everything nationwide immediately – but at the same time, they pretty much guaranteed that we’ll win. And this Ohio ruling is quite possibly the first evidence of that fact.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Love in the ‘Land of Enchantment’

New Mexico’s AG will not oppose same-sex couple’s marriage suit

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer New Mexico Attorney General Gary King says he will not oppose a lawsuit filed by a Gay couple asking to be allowed to marry.

The Santa Fe couple, Alex Hanna and Yon Hudson, said they had applied for a marriage license and were turned down by Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar, although New Mexico state law neither authorizes nor forbids same-sex marriage.

INVOKES EQUAL PROTECTION The New Mexico Supreme Court, which is hearing the case, asked King for his response to the suit as the state’s chief legal officer, and on July 22 he replied that he would not oppose the couple’s claim.

“New Mexico’s guarantee of equal protection to its citizens demands that same-sex couples be permitted to enjoy the benefits of marriage in the same way and to the same extent as other New Mexico citizens,” King wrote in his filing.

He added, however, that he believes the Supreme Court should reject the couple’s suit because they had improperly bypassed

lower courts.

Last month King’s office issued a nonbinding legal analysis claiming that New Mexico law does not allow same-sex marriages, but adding that the law was vulnerable to a constitutional challenge. The state’s constitutional definition of marriage does not refer to gender at all, but marriage license applications used by county clerks have spaces to list “bride” and “groom.”

LEGAL MARRIAGE THIS YEAR? Plaintiffs Hanna and Hudson are being represented for free by State Rep. Brian Egolf (D–Santa Fe), characterized by the Las Cruces Sun-News as “perhaps the most outspoken New Mexico legislator for Gay marriage.”

“I think this lawsuit is going to result in marriage equality coming to New Mexico this year,” Egolf told the Sun-News.

The ACLU has filed a separate suit on behalf of six same-sex couples, asking the New Mexico Attorney General Gary King New Mexico Supreme Court to rule that the couples have a right to marry and that the that case. who replaced Democratic Gov. Bill Richstate must recognize same-sex marriages King, a Democrat, plans to challenge the ardson in 2011, opposes marriage equality performed legally in other states. Attorney incumbent Republican governor, Susana and has repeatedly blocked efforts to extend General King has not yet filed a response in Martinez, in the 2014 election. Martinez, rights to same-sex domestic partners.

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Camping it up

Photographer shows us that not all boys’ camps are the same LINDSAY MORRIS

well-prepared.

“Some practice for the talent show all year, and others create their own gowns with their mothers or friends of the family,” Morris said. “The focus and enthusiasm is really pretty incredible. Also, it can be very emotional for the parents, especially the families who are new to camp and are experiencing this kind of group acceptance for the very first time.”

It is important to note that it is unknown if the kids at the camp will eventually identify as Transgender – or even if the way gender and sexuality are defined throughout society will evolve. Still, the camp allows the kids to look at themselves in a completely different way.

“They get enough questioning in their daily lives, so it’s a great place for them to express themselves as they feel. … I feel we hear so many of the sad stories and how LGBT kids are disproportionately affected by bullying, depression, and suicide, and it hangs a heavy cloud over them and kind of dooms them from the beginning. I’m saying this is a new story. This is not a tragedy.”

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES Morris hopes she can eventually publish a book of her work and also launch a large multimedia show that travels the country and the world to show a new face of LGBT youth. All of the children featured in MorLINDSAY MORRIS

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The summer months, for many American boys, are filled with adventure – climbing trees, building forts, and playing sports. It is a time when boys start to discover themselves and what makes them tick, and this is an education that cannot be taught within the confines of a traditional classroom.

“[The kids] don’t have to look over their shoulders, and they can let down their guard. Those are four days when none of that matters, and they are surrounded by family members who support them.”

However, just as everything changes, so too has the idea of what a summer boys’ camp is supposed to look like.

Over the past three years, photographer Lindsay Morris has been documenting a four-day camp for gender-nonconforming boys and their parents.

The camp, “You Are You” (the name has been changed to protect the privacy of the participants) is for “parents who don’t have

a gender-confirming three-year-old who wants to wear high heels and prefers to go down the pink aisle in K mart and not that nasty dark boys’ aisle,” Morris jokingly told

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SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT It is also a place for both parents and children to feel protected in an environment that encourages free expression. “[The kids] don’t have to look over their shoulders, and they can let down their guard. Those are four days when none of that matters, and they are surrounded by family members who support them,” Morris said.

Morris says her photographic goal for the project is “to represent the spirit of these boys as they shine.” Some of the ways in which the kids shine is through the talent and fashion shows at camp, which are highly popular and for which the campers come

ris’s project were photographed with the permission of the their parents. Her ultimate goal is to start a foundation that raises money to help underwrite the cost of camp for kids unable to attend. She also hopes to add even more dimension to the project, concentrating on producing more portraiture and documenting the transition the kids experience upon arrival to the camp.

“I would really love to follow the kids into adulthood and see what kind of relationships they develop,” Morris said. “I want to witness the evolution, knowing from where they started and see how life is going to play out for them – hopefully happily – and I think they’re going to have a better transition into adulthood than the generation proceeding them.”

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NCAVP condemns murder of PA Trans woman WCAU

gender women is incredibly concerning to us,” said Nurit Shein, executive director of the Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia’s LGBT health care and wellness center. “Supporting the dignity and safety of each individual is fundamental to our mission as a health and wellness organization. Mazzoni Center is working with partner organizations to educate the wider community about the issues of violence and transphobia, and to reach out to Trans women in our area with as many resources as we can provide to ensure their health, safety, and quality of life.”

VICTIM FALSELY LABELED NCAVP is also concerned about inaccu-

PENNSYLVANIA continued from cover

nondenominational minister licensed to perform weddings in Pennsylvania, said he married the pair in a brief ceremony in a park. Only the women and their sons were present, but they have a larger ceremony planned next week with family and friends, he said.

“I feel great. I feel honored,” Andrussier said. He called the wedding ceremony something “they can tell their grandchildren about.”

The other license went to Sasha Esther Ballen and Diana Lynn Spagnuolo of Wynnewood.

Diamond Williams

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has condemned the hate violence-motivated homicide of Diamond Williams, a Transgender woman of color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to news reports, Charles Sargent, 43, has confessed to killing and dismembering Williams in his home on July 17, after discovering that Williams, whom he had hired for sex, was a Transgender

Transgender women.

“We are seeing a multi-year trend where Transgender women of color and sex workers are targeted for deadly violence,” said Chai Jindasurat, co-director of community organizing and public advocacy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. “We also know there are many more homicides of LGBTQ people, especially Transgender people and people of color, which go unreported, and these already disturbing numbers might actually be higher.”

‘RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY’ Montgomery County registrar D. Bruce Hanes said on July 23 that he would issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after being contacted by yet another Lesbian couple.

He wanted to come down “on the right side of history and the law,” Hanes said.

The couple who originally contacted Hanes ultimately decided not to pursue

rate media accounts of the homicide that refer to the victim as a “male prostitute.” The group has been working with GLAAD and commends GLAAD for its media advocacy to ensure respectful reporting of Williams’ identity.

NCAVP is a resource for anyone who experiences violence. For more information, or to locate an anti-violence program in your area, contact the group at info@ ncavp.org or go to www.ncavp.org. If you see a news article or broadcast concerning anti-LGBTQ violence that is problematic or defamatory in any way, please report it to GLAAD at www.glaad.org. a marriage license after talking with the ACLU, which has filed a separate lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s law against same-sex marriage. ACLU warned the couple that their marriage could be overturned if it happened before a court decision striking down state law.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has stated she will not defend her state’s anti-equality law in court.

The chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners predicted that marriage equality will come to Pennsylvania. “It’s a question of how long it will take, and what will be the legal process to achieve it. But we know we will be a part of that,” Josh Shapiro said.

Kane, Hanes, and Shapiro are all Democrats. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Ferman, a Republican, did not return phone calls from reporters asking for comment on same-sex marriage licenses.

Montgomery County includes suburbs of Philadelphia as well as more rural areas to the northwest. It is the state’s third most populous county and one of the wealthiest.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast that does not allow either same-sex marriages or civil unions.

“We are sad and outraged – saddened at the loss of yet another Transwoman in Philadelphia, and outraged by the insensitive, inaccurate, and transphobic reporting by local police and media.” woman.

All too often sex workers, including LGBTQ sex workers, face severe violence and stigma in seeking services and support for the violence they experience in the course of their work.

AN EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE In the most recent report on anti-LGBTQ hate violence in 2012, NCAVP documented 25 anti-LGBTQ homicides in the United States, six of whom were known sex workers – the fourth highest yearly total ever recorded by the coalition. The 2012 report found that 73.1% of all anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2012 were people of color.

The report also found that 53.8% of the anti-LGBTQ homicide victims in 2012 were Transgender women. This is a considerable increase from 2011 when 40% of homicide victims were Transgender women, and continues a three-year trend toward disproportionate and severe violence experienced by

VIGIL HELD IN PARK NCAVP has reached out to GALAEI (the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative) and the Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia to offer assistance and support the community during this critical time. GALAEI and Mazzoni Center organized a vigil and speakout for Williams on July 23 in Philadelphia’s LOVE Park.

“We are sad and outraged – saddened at the loss of yet another Transwoman in Philadelphia, and outraged by the insensitive, inaccurate, and transphobic reporting by local police and media,” said Elicia Gonzales, executive director of GALAEI, a social justice agency that provides peer-led support to Trans communities through its Trans Health Information Project. “Last night we united to honor the life of Diamond and to demand justice and respect for all members of our brave and resilient community.”

“We feel it is important to speak out, because the issue of violence against Trans-

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northwest news

GAY CITY ARTS – “IDOL TIME” JULY 11-AUGUST 5 From July 11-August 5, Gay City Arts (517 E. Pike St.) presents “Idol Time,” an exhibition of work by Flynn Bickley.

Flynn Bickley started making dolls in childhood, as a girl who looked and acted like a boy. Today, as a grown-up Transman, “Idol Time” is a collection of handcrafted dolls Bickley made over the last four years that embody stories about gender identity, fantasy, human folly and hunting. Also on display will be paintings from his series “Plots,” a series of architectural mixed media paintings on tar paper inspired by homeownership and dreams.

Flynn Bickley earned a BFA in sculture from Central Washington University in 2001 and currently resides in South Park.

He is a 2012 Artist Trust EDGE program graduate and has recently exhibited around Seattle, including CoCA Ballard, as well as Simon Mace Gallery in Port Townsend.

Bickley is a co-founder of the Art Lending Library, a Seattle program that checks out original artwork to the public for free.

“Idol Time” is presented in conjunction with Gay City Arts, through which Gay City collaborates with local LGBT artists to galvanize an audience for Queer arts, foster the development of LGBT artists, and facilitate artistic excellence across a wide range of disciplines, including theater, music, dance, film, spoken word, literary and visual arts. www.gaycity.org; www.flynnbickleyart.com SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – THE STORY OF THE NIGHT 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.) On July 31 the club will be having its first discussion of The Story of the Night by Colm Toibin.

All GLBTQ folks are welcome to participate in this FREE book club. For more information, visit http://faculty.washington. edu/swittet/SGLBookClub/.

SEATTLE JAPANESE GARDEN ADVISORY COUNCIL – 4TH ANNUAL JAPANESE GARDEN PARTY On Friday, July 26, from 5:30-8 p.m., at the Washington Park Arboretum’s Japanese Garden located near the south entrance

to the Washington Park Arboretum (Lake Washington Blvd E. & E. Madison St.), the Seattle Japanese Garden Advisory Council hosts their 4th Annual Japanese Garden Party.

Enjoy drinks and a light dinner catered by Hiroshi’s. Enjoy traditional Japanese musical performances, including a vocal performance and a short concert by a master biwa player; a kimono presentation by a specialist from Kobe, Japan; sake tasting; Dick Foley as MC and auctioneer for the evening; and a live and silent auction.

The Seattle Japanese Garden is a cherished cultural treasure in Seattle and one of the most highly regarded gardens of its style outside of Japan. With the completion of the entry gatehouse four year ago, the garden has experienced an increase in the number of visitors each year. The garden is three and a half acres of artfully placed trees, shrubs, flowers, moss, stones, lanterns, streams, ponds, paths and bridges that create a harmonious balance of Northwest and Japanese plants and Japanese garden design.

Tickets for this evening’s event are $75 and may be purchased online at www. brownpapertickets.com/event/379633

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

drag show featuring Dragular Glamour, Alexandria Ruiz, Fribola Benebolla, plus others.

For more information, call 209-576-0276 ir email 1st-Friday@gayakima.com SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES & CLAN GATHERING JULY 27 & 28 www.sshga.org; 206-522-2541.

SEATTLE PEACE CONCERTS On Sunday, July 28, from noon-6 p.m., at Volunteer Park (14th Ave & E. Prospect St.) enjoy the music of Jade Alexis, Thornton Creek, Steve Kelly’s Little Big Band, TwoSided Trio, and Rivertalk at this FREE citywide outdoor concert.

Seattle Peace Concerts will be held from June through September at Woodland Park, Gas Works Park, Magnuson Park Beach Area and Volunteer Park. All ages welcome.

Cash and non-perishable food bank donations welcome. For a complete schedule, visit www.seapeace.org.

SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE CO. & WOODEN O PRODUCTIONS – HENRY V & THE TEMPEST BELLEVUE ARTS MUSEUM AT SEATTLE CENTER ART FAIR & On Sunday, July 28, Seattle Shakespeare BELLEVUE FESTIVAL and Wooden O Productions present ShakeOF THE ARTS speare’s The Tempest at 2 p.m. and Henry V JULY 26-28 at 6 p.m., at Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion Art Fair at Bellevue Square (575 Bellevue lawn. FREE, donations accepted. www.seWay NE, between NE 4th & NE 8th, Bellev- attleshakespeare.org. ue) & Bellevue Art Museum (510 Bellevue Wy NE, Bellevue) (bellevuearts.org); FestiSEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL val of the Arts north across the street from AUGUST 2-4 Bellevue Square (bellevuefest.org). Friday/ www.seattleerotic.org Saturday 9:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Sunday 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

SUMMER PAINT OUT – PAINT OUT GRAFFITI YAKIMA PRIDE – IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PRIDE FEST 2013 Summer is here and Seattleites are gearOn Saturday, July 27, from 10 a.m.- ing up to tackle graffiti in their neighbor6 p.m., at Franklin Park (2301 Fruitvale hoods with Summer Paint Out. Boulevard, Yakima), 1st Friday/Gayakima Summer Paint Out, now in its third year, presents Pride in the Park, featuring enter- runs from July through August. tainment, retail vendors, non-profit booths, Whether you are a group or an individual, information and statement from Yakima you can fight graffiti in your neighborhood.

Health District, with fun and games for all. The City of Seattle supports volunteers with On Saturday, July 27, from 9:30 p.m.- FREE paint (white-brown-gray), rollers, 1:30 a.m., at Unitarian Universalist Church brushes, and gloves.

(225 N. 2nd St., Yakima) (please use alley Get signed up today. Go to www.seattle. entrance), 1st Friday/Gayakima presents gov./util/SummerPaintOut. You can also their all-ages Pride Dance and “You Make email daniel.sims@seattle.gov or call 206the Difference Awards.” $8 at the door 684-7790. (prizes of all who pay). Music by local DJs, Learn more about Seattle Public Utilities

at www.seattle.gov/util. In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.

Q-SQUARED/ BOYZ IN THE WOODS – C.A.M.P. 2013 AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 2 Today, we live in a very connected world.

Our society has seen the deep entrenchment of technology in our lives. This year our theme is UNPLUG & CONNECT. Unplug from the daily grind. Connect with friends old and new. Join us this Labor Day Weekend and Come And Meet People – a place where you can relax, stay active, play games, relax, laugh, eat, sleep, hike, dance (or not), learn and, above all, relax!

Registration fee of $195 includes lodging, meals, workshops, activities, and personal growth. For more information and to register, visit www.qsquared.org or email camp@qsquared.org.

SEATTLE SHAKESPEARE CO. & WOODEN O PRODUCTIONS – HENRY V & THE TEMPEST AT SEATTLE CENTER On Sunday, July 28, Seattle Shakespeare and Wooden O Productions present Shakespeare’s The Tempest at 2 p.m. and Henry V at 6 p.m., at Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion lawn. FREE, donations accepted. www.seattleshakespeare.org.

SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL AUGUST 2-4 www.seattleerotic.org SUMMER PAINT OUT – PAINT OUT GRAFFITI IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD Summer is here and Seattleites are gearing up to tackle graffiti in their neighborhoods with Summer Paint Out. Summer Paint Out, now in its third year, runs from July through August.

Whether you are a group or an individual, you can fight graffiti in your neighborhood.

The City of Seattle supports volunteers with FREE paint (white-brown-gray), rollers, brushes, and gloves.

Get signed up today. Go to www.seattle. gov./util/SummerPaintOut. You can also email daniel.sims@seattle.gov or call 206684-7790.

Learn more about Seattle Public Utilities at www.seattle.gov/util. In addition to providing a reliable water supply to more than 1.3 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area, SPU provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.

Q-SQUARED/ BOYZ IN THE WOODS – C.A.M.P. 2013 AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER 2 Today, we live in a very connected world.

Our society has seen the deep entrenchment of technology in our lives. This year our theme is UNPLUG & CONNECT. Unplug from the daily grind. Connect with friends old and new. Join us this Labor Day Weekend and Come And Meet People – a place where you can relax, stay active, play games, relax, laugh, eat, sleep, hike, dance (or not), learn and, above all, relax!

Registration fee of $195 includes lodging, meals, workshops, activities, and personal growth. For more information and to register, visit www.qsquared.org or email camp@qsquared.org.

Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches 16 Seattle Gay News

July 26, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

international news

Lithuanian court OKs Baltic Pride march

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A court in Vilnius, Lithuania, has given final approval for the 2013 Baltic Pride March, scheduled for July 27.

In a ruling on July 23, the court gave the City of Vilnius until 11 a.m. on July 25 to make arrangements for the march to proceed. The ruling cannot be appealed.

The mayor of the city had tried to block the march on the grounds that it would be a “threat to public peace,” but the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court ruled earlier this month that the march should be allowed.

In its July 23 order, the court said the Pride March will take place on Gediminas Avenue, the city’s main street.

“Democracy does not simply mean the reign of the majority attitude,” the court said in its ruling.

HUMAN RIGHTS VICTORY “It has taken us seven months to prove that human rights do exist in Lithuania, and Gediminas Avenue belongs to everyone,” Lithuania Gay League (LGL) head Vladimir Simonko said after the ruling.

Evelyne Paradis, executive director for the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe), released a statement welcoming the court’s decision.

“We warmly welcome today’s ruling, which is not only just but the only possible verdict in any country committed to human rights,” she said. “We regret that the mayor of Vilnius has continuously denied permission for this event to take place on the main city’s avenue and that he chose to challenge all court judgments issued in favor of the organizers of the Baltic Pride.”

Paradis also insisted that “the marchers must be protected and their safety ensured,” especially because Lithuania is the current host of the E.U. presidency and “a public face of the European Union.”

2012 MARCH PEACEFUL Baltic Pride 2012 took place in Riga, Latvia, and the 2011 event was held in Tallinn, Estonia. Both events were peaceful, but the 2010 event – also in Vilnius – was marred by clashes between riot police and anti-Gay demonstrators.

The anti-Gay hate group Watchmen on the Walls has its international headquarters in Riga, although it was founded by U.S. evangelist Scott Lively.

According to ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Europe Index for 2013, Lithuania ranks 31st among 49 European countries in terms of laws and policies affecting the human rights of LGBTI people. As an E.U. member, Lithuania is under legal obligation to protect the rights of its LGBT citizens.

Montenegro Pride march attacked by rioters Police arrest 20 amid shouts of ‘Kill the Gays!’

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The first-ever Montenegro Pride was attacked by hundreds of anti-Gay rioters on July 23 in the coastal resort town of Budva.

“Kill the Gays!” the attackers chanted, as they pelted the Pride marchers with stones and bottles. “Kiss the Gays!” Pride marchers replied.

In spite of the attacks, the Pride marchers reached their destination – the beach area in front of Budva’s medieval walls – and held a brief rally before dispersing.

Riot police clashed with anti-Gay rioters all day throughout the city. Twenty people were reportedly arrested.

RISTO BOZOVIC / AP

NO SERIOUS INJURIES Prior to the Pride event, fake obituaries for well-known LGBT activists were posted in several locations around Budva, but there were no reports of anyone being seriously injured.

“Unfortunately, in 20 years of transition Montenegro has not matured enough to tolerate differences,” said Aleksandar Zekovic, one of the organizers of the rally.

Zdravko Cimbaljevic, who in 2010 became the first person in Montenegrin history to publicly declare that he is Gay, added, “I expected opposition but this attack is actually the real image of Montenegro.”

A small Balkan country with only 600,000 people, Montenegro was part of the former Yugoslavia until it split away from Serbia in 2006. Within the old Yugoslavia, Montenegrins had the reputation of being hotheaded, clannish, and intensely proud of their 500year history of resistance to assimilation by Ottoman Turkey.

A protester throws an object during the first Gay pride event in staunchly conservative Montenegro

Modern Montenegro, however, wants to be assimilated by the European Union, and its government has taken steps to safeguard LGBT rights. In May, Montenegro’s AntiDiscrimination Council adopted a draft strategy aimed at improving life for LGBT Montenegrins over the next five years.

HUMAN RIGHTS AFFIRMED After the clashes on July 23, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic stated in Parliament that his government “supports protection of human rights for all people without difference.”

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Montenegro’s human rights minister, Suad Numanovic, publicly supported the Pride March and promised that the government would send a representative to attend the rally. It is not clear whether that, in fact, happened.

Police Assistant Director Nikola Janjusevic said before the march that police were undertaking all measures to ensure the safety of the participants. Hundreds of new police officers reportedly were hired in anticipation of the Pride event.

TWO-YEAR DELAY Montenegro’s first Gay Pride parade, organized by Cimbaljevic, was to have taken place on May 31, 2011. However, the march was cancelled following two attacks on Gays in the capital, Podgorica, before the start of the event.

Ferhat Dinosa, then minister for human and minority rights, was subsequently accused of making homophobic remarks and fired in late 2011.

A second Pride march is scheduled for October, in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital.

July 26, 2013

Seattle Gay News 17

MINORITY-INSIGHT

Murder in Jamaica Gender-nonconforming teen’s body found chopped, stabbed

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Jamaica has once again earned the title given it by Time magazine – “the most homophobic place on earth.”

At 5 a.m. on July 22, police discovered the body of 17-year-old Dwayne Jones in bushes along Orange Main Road in St. James, Jamaica.

According to Kingston radio station Irie FM, Jones attended what was described as a

rum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays) to express dissatisfaction with the impotent response.

“We send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the teenager who was slain,” the group said in a statement. “We call for a thorough investigation into the murder of the teenager in Montego Bay and hope that the family and loved ones of the slain teen will find the justice they deserve.”

Maurice Tomlinson, an LGBT and HIV activist who fled Jamaica in 2012, told the

“The Jamaican religious right keeps claiming all attacks are Gay-on-Gay violence. They even have the police say this is foolishness, the Jamaican government refuses to show leadership on the issue of human rights of LGBT people.”

Washington Blade that anti-Gay hate crimes have resulted in nine deaths this year alone.

This is a “400 percent increase in the number of reported attacks against LGBT Jamaicans since 2009,” Tomlinson said.

“The Jamaican religious right keeps claiming all attacks are Gay-on-Gay violence. They even have the police say this is foolishness,” Tomlinson said. “The Jamaican government refuses to show leadership on the issue of human rights of LGBT people.”

The U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have all criticized the Jamaican government for OFFICIAL INDIFFERENCE Jamaican police promised only to increase not doing enough to curb anti-LGBT viopatrols in the neighborhood where Jones lence in the country. was murdered, leading the Jamaican LGBT advocacy group J-FLAG (the Jamaica Fo“river party” the night before. The teen was presenting as female and was dancing with a man.

Jones reportedly was recognized by another partygoer, who revealed Jones’ assigned male gender.

“It’s understood that one of the men at the party held on to the teen, searched him, and discovered that he was, in fact, male,” the station reported on its website.

“Some of the patrons reportedly set upon the teen, and chopped and stabbed him to death.”

Dwayne Jones

STIFF PENALTIES Currently, sex acts between people of the same sex are illegal in Jamaica, and carry up to a 10-year prison sentence.

When Portia Simpson-Miller became Jamaican prime minister in 2012, she promised to repeal the anti-Gay law, but under pressure from religious groups she later backed down.

On February 7, Gay rights activist Javed Jaghai and the AIDS advocacy organization AIDS Free World filed suit in Jamaica’s Su-

preme Court to overturn the law. In his filing, Jaghai charged that his landlord evicted him because of his sexual orientation. The suit is still pending.

“It is a reminder that there is much more work to be done to achieve equality for gay Jamaicans,” Jaghai said about his case.

“We can sit patiently while our humanity is denied and wait for the paradigm to shift in a generation or two, or we can aggressively agitate for change now. I choose to do the latter.”

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July 26, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

Stoli CEO: We’re on your side

Vodka maker addresses open letter to LGBT community BEN GABBE / GETTY IMAGES

sold in Gay clubs and bars across the world.

“In the U.S., the brand’s commitment to the LGBT community has been ongoing for years. Among the best examples, I can cite the series produced by Stoli in 2006 called Be Real: Stories From Queer America, which featured short documentaries on reallife stories depicting the challenges and accomplishments of the LGBT community in the United States,” continued Mendeleev.

“Stoli is very proud of its current exclusive national partnership with Gaycities. com and Queerty.com in search of the Most Original Stoli Guy,” he said. “This is a fan-

government. Russia’s current rulers have no ownership interest or control over the Stoli brand, which is privately owned by SPI Group, headquartered in Luxembourg in the heart of Western Europe.

“Stoli’s production process involves both Russia and Latvia,” he said. “Stoli is made from Russian ingredients (wheat, rye, and raw alcohol) blended with pure artesian well water at our historic distillery and bottling facility Latvijas Balzams in Riga, Latvia (formerly part of the Russian Empire and then of the Soviet Union). Latvijas Balzams did not recently become part

“In the U.S., the brand’s commitment to the LGBT community has been ongoing for years.” tastic program that started as a local initiative in Colorado and became a national platform. Previous national initiatives included serving as the official vodka of the Miami Gay Pride Week as well as ongoing events with focus on Pride month.

“Some great examples from other parts of the world are the support to the Durban Gay Pride in South Africa, the Pride Parade in Vienna […] and the Tel Aviv Pride Parade.”

NO RUSSIAN CONTROL Mendeleev said the letter also gives him the opportunity to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the Stolichnaya brand, based on facts found online that often inaccurately link the company to the Russian

of the Stoli heritage, but has been one of its main production and bottling facilities since 1948. This has allowed the brand to deliver the outstanding quality it is recognized for consistently across the years. What changed in the last years is politics, with Latvia becoming an independent state [and] part of the E.U.” Mendeleev ended the letter by saying, “We fully support and endorse your objectives to fight against prejudice in Russia. In the past decade, SPI has been actively advocating in favor of freedom, tolerance, and openness in society, standing very passionately on the side of the LGBT community, and will continue to support any effective initiative in that direction.”

SPI Group CEO Val Mendeleev

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The wave of anti-LGBT violence that has engulfed Russia is approaching a fever pitch. In response, many advocate groups are calling for boycotts of the companies that call Russia home, and some are also asking the U.S. Government to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in the Russian city of Sochi.

Among the companies caught in the crossfire is the one that makes Stolichnaya (“Stoli”), a well-known vodka that many people reflexively identify with Russia. But the company, SPI Group, actually is based in Luxembourg, and the Stoli distillery’s roots are in Latvia. In an effort to clear up any confusion, company CEO Val Men-

deleev issued an open letter to the world’s LGBT community on July 25.

“The recent dreadful actions taken by the Russian Government limiting the rights of the LGBT community and the passionate reaction of the community have prompted me to write this letter to you,” Mendeleev began.

‘A FERVENT SUPPORTER’ “I want to stress that Stoli firmly opposes such attitude and actions. Indeed, as a company that encourages transparency and fairness, we are upset and angry. Stolichnaya Vodka has always been, and continues to be, a fervent supporter and friend to the LGBT community. We also thank the community for having adopted Stoli as their vodka of preference,” said the CEO, whose brand is

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July 26, 2013

Seattle Gay News 19

NEW JERSEY continued from cover

der New Jersey law, legislators have until the end of their current session, in January 2014, to override Christie’s veto.

For the two-thirds majority necessary to override the veto, pro-equality forces need to pick up an additional 12 votes in the New Jersey Assembly, the lower house of the legislature, and three more in the Senate.

Freedom to Marry’s president Evan Wolfson is optimistic.

“We see a pathway to getting the needed votes,” he told SGN on July 25. “It’s the same thing we’ve done in every other state.

We want the voice of New Jersey families to be heard loud and clear by New Jersey officials.”

“A whopping majority of New Jersey’s people support equality,” Wolfson added, “and the governor should get out of the way.”

While New Jersey offers Gay and Lesbian couples civil unions, with many of the rights and privileges of marriage, these couples are being deprived of federal economic and social benefits now open to legally married same sex-couples since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA in United States v. Windsor.

“New Jersey’s failure to end marriage discrimination is costing these families real money and real benefits,” Wolfson explained.

Freedom to Marry’s New Jersey campaign was kicked off with a July 24 rally of more than 100 supporters on the Asbury Park Boardwalk.

It is “quite possibly going to be the largest advocacy campaign New Jersey’s seen in years,” said Troy Stevenson, executive director of Garden State Equality, who spoke at the event. Stevenson said that in the coming months the campaign will “engage legislators, business leaders, corporations – all of you, and everyone in New Jersey we can reach.”

plan envisions returning to the U.S. Supreme Court with a case demanding nationwide marriage equality by 2016. Freedom to Marry hopes to set the stage for a successful court case by ensuring that a majority of Americans live in equal-rights states by then.

The new plan calls for raising and investing at least $2 million more this year, with the full campaign expected to cost over $100 million.

Through the Win More States Fund, which was launched last year to raise, channel, and invest resources into key battleground states, Freedom to Marry has invested nearly $6 million directly into states to date, more than $1 million of it into priority states this year alone.

“None of us can stop now,” Wolfson told SGN. “We’re always looking for the next points of opportunity to advance.”

TRINKHAUS

continued from page 5 TWO-TO-ONE SUPPORT A Quinnipiac poll done this month shows FULL EQUALITY BY 2016?

60% of New Jersey voters favoring equal Freedom to Marry released its national her life but in the history of social change marriage rights for Gay and Lesbian cou- strategic plan, “Roadmap to Victory – Fin- in our country. Her neighbors were Black, ples, with only 31% opposed. ishing the Job,” earlier this month. The new Latin, and Gay in a time when generally people were more segregated and not out,” Stephen told SGN. “Whatever [people] did was groovy and I think it just really fueled her drive, and kind of her rebellion.”

What impacted Janet was certainly passed on to Stephen, who owns his own business, Terra Organica, a health food store in Bellingham, where he lives with his family.

“Early on, my mom helped with the books and gave advice. She leant me money when I was broke and she really believed in what I

was doing as business based on values more than profit,” Stephen told SGN. Stephen’s attitude toward business, as well as his active support of Rise n’ Shine over the years, likely brought a strong sense of fulfillment to Janet, but what seems to have brought her the most joy was something else he gave her – the 10 years she spent with her grandson, Cody.

“He was her life. She just did anything and everything; was the best grandma in the world,” Dunlop told SGN. “It was wonderful to watch her with him and I think that was one of the hardest pieces for her, knowing that she was leaving Cody.”

Janet “retired” three years ago after the diagnosis and relocated to Bellingham. For a woman like Janet, “retired” simply meant switching from full-time to part-time and working from home.

“Honestly, she worked up until the last month of her life,” Dunlop said. “Her last two weeks were hard to watch … to see this remarkable woman’s mind not remember things and stop tracking as it always did.”

HER DREAM LIVES ON Janet announced Rise n’ Shine’s new name and broader direction on May 9 of this year, her 76th birthday. As IYP, the organization is expanding services to include all at-risk youth ages 5 to 18. In addition to its advocacy work, its support programs include peer support groups, mentoring, and retreat programs like Camp Rise n’ Shine, which still exists unchanged.

One Camp Rise n’ Shine tradition is the annual memorial, held near the end of the weeklong retreat. There, the IYP family remembers the people they’ve lost during the course of the year. While IYP’s staff com-

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July 26, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

prises only six paid professionals and two interns, the family is much, much larger – it extends to past campers, their families, and donors.

“The memorial at the camp is one of the most powerful things that Rise n’ Shine does,” said Dunlop. “It’ll be really heavy this year.”

In addition to the loss of Janet, one of IYP’s program managers, Terry Marsh, who’d been with the organization for 12 years, died in April, just a month after his wife passed away. Two other members of

the IYP family, a teen and a mother, also died this year.

“We’ve had a long spring,” Dunlop told SGN. “It’s going to be tough.”

MEMORIAL PLANNED A public memorial for Janet will be held at Seattle’s Town Hall (1119 8th Ave.) on Thursday, August 15, at 6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, Janet’s family requests donations be made to Inspire Youth Project. This can be done on their website, www.inspireyouthproject.org.

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Seattle Gay News 21

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July 26, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 23