Issue 35 Volume 37
Celebrating 36 Years!
FRIDAY August 28, 2009 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
gay bashing p. 6
gay history p. 18
bEATLEMANIA p. 32
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
SGN exclusive interview Lawsuit filed to prevent certification, Lt. Dan Choi speaks out on donor names subject to disclosure “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Referendum 71
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer On August 27, Washington Families Standing Together WAFST filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court requesting a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the Secretary of State from certifying Referendum 71 to the ballot. If R-71 is placed on the ballot, voters will be asked to approve or disapprove of Senate Bill 5688, which grants registered same-sex domestic partners the same rights and responsibilities as married couples
in Washington State. “We respect the referendum process and the public’s right to vote, but we have been increasingly concerned that, along with other issues our observers have noted with signatures being accepted that, in the view of observers, should have been rejected, the Secretary of State has accepted thousands of signatures that were not in compliance with State laws related to fraud in the signature-gathering see ref. 71 page 16
On August 18, Army Lieutenant Dan Choi added his voice to those calling for Gays and Lesbians to march on Washington this October. Choi, a founding member of Knights Out, the group of LGBT alumni of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and an active duty Infantry officer, Iraq veteran, and Arabic speaker, has been notified that he will be discharged under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy” (DADT) for coming out as Gay on the Rachel Maddow Show. With the debate raging over the repeal of DADT, the U.S. military’s policy prohibiting Gays and Lesbians from serving openly, and the October 11 National Equality March less than 60 days away, SGN spoke with the soldierturned-activist about his views on former President Bill Clinton, repealing DADT, and the state of the Gay movement.
courtesy Dan Choi
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer
Lt. Dan Choi
our nation’s capitol [at the National Equality March] and claim our place as a part of this magnificent national movement,” Choi told SGN during an August 24 phone interview from New York. The march is sponsored by a new grassroots organization called Equality Across America and is scheduled for October 11, the 30th A CALL TO DUTY “We need to stand together in anniversary of the first national
march on Washington for LGBT Rights. “I took former President Bill Clinton’s words as an insult,” Choi said, referring to Clinton’s August 13 comments that the Gay community did not deliver the political support needed in 1993 to prevent see choi page 19
Senator Ted Kennedy Ed Murray – Seattle’s next dead at 77 mayor? Possible write-in?
by Lisa Keen Keen News Service The man whom many in the LGBT community consider their greatest friend in the U.S. Senate has died. Senator Edward Kennedy (DMass.), who fought for equal rights for Gays on many fronts and was an early defender of people with HIV, died Tuesday night, August 25. He had been suffering from brain cancer. “Our community has had no greater champion in Congress,”
said David Smith, who worked as the senator’s Director of Communication from late 2003 to early 2005. Smith, vice president for programs at the Human Rights Campaign, credited Kennedy with taking on some of the community’s worst adversaries, including the late Senator Jesse Helms, during its toughest battles. “From early days of AIDS crisis, he was there for us,” recalled Smith. “He was battling for us, see kennedy page 17
Will Senator Ed Murray be the next mayor of Seattle? Rumors began to circulate this week that Murray – a veteran state legislator representing the 43rd District – was interested in running for the job. In an exclusive interview with SGN on Wednesday, Murray insisted that he was not the source of the rumors. “I’m surprised and flattered that people who know me started all this on their own,” he said. “It didn’t come from me.” Murray did not file for the primary election, so his name will not appear on the November 3 general election ballot. If he intends to run, he will have to wage a write-in campaign, a much harder way to win an election. “I need some time to figure out if a write-in campaign is doable,” he said. “I will have a decision by Labor Day.” Write-in campaigns present several challenges. First, write-ins require the voter to take an extra step: to actually write down a candidate’s name rather than just fill-
Official Photo
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Sen. Ed Murray
ing in the appropriate circle on the ty Elections, if Murray formally files as a write-in candidate, any ballot. The rules for write-ins are not as spelling of his name that can be stringent as some might assume, see murray page 16 however. According to King Coun-
Volunteers needed we need your help. Washington Families Standing Together is hosting phone banks out of the Equal Rights Washington Office in Seattle, every Monday thru Thursday. Many shifts are available, so please consider donating your time to make a difference in the lives of thousands of families across the state. Log on to: www.approve71.org for more details.