SGN Dec 17, 2010 - Section 1

Issue 51 Volume 38

Celebrating 37 Years!

FRIDAY December 17, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

last week in africa p. 8

best of music p. 25

ARNALDO! p. 25

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Human embryonic stem cells

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

patient,” the individual is Tony Ray Brown, a U.S. citizen now living in Germany. His identity was reDoctors who performed a 2007 vealed in a December interview in stem cell transplant hoping to cure the German news magazine Stern. a patient’s leukemia now say the Stern also spoke with Brown’s procedure also cured his HIV infection.

Once known only as the “Berlin see transplant page 20

PFLAG pioneer Adele Starr dies at 90

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The House voted 250-175 on December 15 to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy, sending the issue to the Senate for what could be the last chance (for now) to end the 1993 law that forbids Gays from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces.

Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled a vote on the DADT repeal bill for Saturday, December 18.

On December 16, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) announced servicemembers will sit in the Senate Gallery until DADT is defeated. “Servicemembers are making it absolutely clear that senators need to stay in town until repeal is passed. We simply cannot let the clock run out and lose this historic opportunity. We need 60 votes to complete the bill and send it directly to the see DADT page 20

Senator Joe Lieberman

Human Rights Watch reports on LGBT Iran

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Adele Starr, founder and first national president of PFLAG, died December 10 at the age of 90.

“Adele Starr was one of the pioneers of PFLAG. It is because of her commitment to organizing the many people who were working for the common goal of equality for all into the organization that we now know as PFLAG that we have gained the strength, prominence, and ability to become the voice of parents and allies united for equality,” said Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National’s executive director.

Starr’s Gay rights activism began in 1974, when her second son, Philip, told his parents he was Gay. Although the Gay rights movement was well underway by then, “being Gay was still seen as a mental illness,” Philip Starr recalled.

“And parenting was often blamed as the cause,” he said. “So parents really felt bad – they felt like they were bad parents.”

Adele was upset, so Philip directed her to a local support group.

isna photo

Brian van der Brug, Los Angeles Times

Adele Starr founded the L.A. chapter of what is now known as PFLAG and served as the organization’s first national president.

Repeal heads back to the Senate as servicemembers plan sit-in courtesy rocky mountain news

Nissim Benvenisty

Stem cell transplant Progress as House votes cured HIV, doctors say 250-175 to repeal DADT

Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, two Iranian teenage Gay lovers are prepared for execution. The photograph was released by the Iranian Student News Agency on July 20, 2005.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

violence because their perpetrators feel they can target them with impunity.”

“Members of sexual minorities So says Sarah Leah Whitson, in Iran are hounded on all sides. Middle East director at Human The laws are stacked against them; Rights Watch. the state openly discriminates against them; and they are vulsee pflag page 20 nerable to harassment, abuse, and see IRAQ page 16

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Seattle Gay News

December 17, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Swedish, deep tissue, hot stones, salt scrubs, shirodhara (hot oil) Visit us online www.sgn.org

We’ve Moved!

619 Broadway E. 206-568-3771 www.dreamscapemassage.com December 17, 2010

Seattle Gay News

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Seattle Gay News FOUNDED 1973

1605 12th Ave., Ste. 31 Seattle, WA 98122

Phone: (206) 324-4297 Fax: (206) 322-7188

MEMBER

e-mail: sgn2@sgn.org internet: www.sgn.org

2010

Deadlines Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the Sgn office All others - Tuesday 5pm

Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel

Tim Peter

Contributing Writers

Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner

Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers Nick Ardizzone, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works

The Lobby celebrates first year anniversary

to the owners share a few words of thanks.

“It was a great evening to celebrate this milestone with our beloved patrons, family, and friends,” said Paul Villa, co-owner of The Lobby. “It’s been an amazing first year and we can’t believe how fast it went.

We are ecstatic that we’ve made it past the one-year mark and that the Seattle LGBT community has yet another option as they barhop each evening.”

“The Lobby has a very mixed crowd. There are so many different groups that Lobby owners Curtis Bigelow (l) and Paul Villa fill the space and feel comby James Whitely fortable here,” Villa told SGN. “This last year, we’ve hosted a ton of diSGN Staff Writer verse events and fundraisers. We also do a On Sunday, December 12, The Lobby lot of donating and sponsorships. In fact, (916 E. Pike St.), a Gay cocktail lounge on the name ‘The Lobby’ has a double meanCapitol Hill, celebrated its first anniversary. ing. The first has to do with our design; we The party drew out 400-plus patrons who wanted to create a metropolitan boutique sampled free hors ‘d oeuvres, took advan- hotel lobby feel. The second has to do with tage of awesome drink specials, and listened our intention to lobby for LGBT issues and james whitely

Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, James Whitely,

Maxcy Moon 1952-2005

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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

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Fairy tales sometimes come true Use fairy dust and pixie glue Then all the love will stick to you My little lovely.

Always believe and never doubt That wizards cast their spells about There’s such a lot you won’t lose count If you look closely.

Ripples are like dreams Searching for the shore Poured together make oceans roar Night visions make spirits soar So choose one wisely.

December 17, 2010

Not all angels can grow wings They seem to soar by other means You can fly although it seems A little slowly.

Fairy tales sometimes come true Use fairy dust and pixie glue Then all the love will stick to you My little lovely.

Ripples are like dreams Searching for the shore Poured together make oceans roar Night visions make spirits soar My little lovely

Ray Thomas Moody Blues Universal Records

causes,” said Villa.

The Lobby has donated a total of $8,700 to various community organizations and Gay sports teams such as Jet City Hoops, Pridefest, and Lambda Legal; raised $20,000 for various community organization and Gay sports teams such as the ORCA Swim Team and Gay City Health Project; sent one of their bartenders to Palm Springs for a national cocktail competition (he won crowd favorite); offered their space free of charge to mainstream Gay film producers as well as independent filmmakers; and much, much more – all in their first year.

In addition to boasting one of the most diverse bar staff on the hill, the Lobby strives to make all patrons feel welcome with events such as their weekly lady’s night (Fridays) and “Lobby Bear” (Sundays).

Opening the bar during the economic downturn was a concern for Villa and Curtis Bigelow, the owners of the lobby.

“However, if it wasn’t for the economic downturn, we would have never opened the bar. Because of the economy, Curtis was an unemployed architect and he had tons of time on his hands to dedicate toward a new venture,” Villa told SGN. “With no prior restaurant or bar experience, we started reading about opening a bar, coming up with bar concepts, and putting together a rough business/financial plan. At the same time, we started looking at spaces to rent and transform. Then one thing led to another and the whole thing just snowballed to the point where we didn’t think about what we were doing ... we just had a laser focus on opening,” the two recently told the Greater Seattle Business Association when they were awarded the title of GSBA’s New Business of the Year.

“Then, the day we opened, we finally looked at each other with a smile and said, ‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’”

“We’d like to thank everyone who has patronized and supported The Lobby over this last year. … We’d have to thank Curtis’ parents for all their help, and our friends who donated so much time getting us open a year ago – Joey Donato, Jason Kilpatrick, Ryan Spady, Michael Hudson, and Justin Cranford – and of course our amazing employees, who continue to provide great service and really care about our patrons,” said Villa.

In addition to the GSBA award, the Lobby was also named Seattle Magazine’s Best New Bar of 2010.

The Lobby is hosting a no-cover New Year’s Eve celebration with champagne specials and a balloon and confetti drop at midnight. They will also host Seattle’s official viewing party for RuPaul’s Drag Race season 3, which begins Monday, January 24. GLAMAZONIA and Lily Armani will be hosting.

Celebrating 37 Years!

Stop the anti-Gay genocide in Uganda

by Wayne Besen SGN Contributing Writer The American fundamentalist group The Family has to make an important strategic choice. It can have its influential National Prayer Breakfast each February in Washington, or it can have its Anti-Homosexuality Bill become law in Uganda. It likely cannot have both.

It would be naïve for this secretive and powerful organization to believe that it can turn Uganda into a concentration camp for Gay and Lesbian people without transforming its signature affair into a symbol of such oppression. It would be madness for The Family to think it can sell the loving Higher Path Jesus at their breakfast, while unleashing its anti-Gay Psychopath Jesus in Kampala.

If The Family does not kill the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before it becomes law, the cruel piece of legislation will end up killing The Family, by stripping it of its moral authority and tying its members to genocide.

What respectable politician would want to attend an event marred by protests and hosted by human rights abusers?

Last year, a prominent member of The Family, David Bahati, wrote and introduced The Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda ‘s Parliament. In Jeff Sharlet’s latest book, C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy, the bill’s author said he believes that homosexuality is worse than murder and calls it “a threat to our existence.”

Aside from persecuting LGBT people and snuffing out their right to exist, the bill punishes anyone who offers support or friendship. Some of its provisions: • Three years in prison for failure to report a Gay person to authorities within 24 hours of disclosure • Seven years in prison for “promotion,” which includes activism or simply acknowledging that homosexuality exists • Life imprisonment for one homosexual

act • The death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” (which includes sex while HIV-positive, sex with a disabled person, or sex more than once, marking the person as a “serial offender”) The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was put on the backburner last year after the National Prayer Breakfast was protested. The efforts to shine a light on The Family’s activities led to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the bill at the event.

Unfortunately, Bahati has revived the bill, claiming it will pass and “close the door to homosex.” Last week, he made a trip to the United States to furtively rally support for his efforts. The Ugandan legislator says that he has strong support in America, but his prominent evangelical friends are afraid to publicly back him because they fear reprisals.

Indeed, Bahati believes he is vindicating his American friends who have lost the cul-

Visit us online www.sgn.org

ture war against LGBT equality. The grand plan is for Uganda to be used as a proxy in a global war against homosexuality. Once the bill passes in Uganda, the hope is to spread copycat bills throughout Africa. These conservative African nations can then be used as vivid examples to Western countries of how to re-stigmatize homosexuality. Of course, the larger utopian fantasy is to use homosexuality as a wedge issue to establish theocracies across the planet.

We should take this effort very seriously and make it clear to The Family that there will be consequences for such bloodlust. A few of the options include: • Working to have Congress cut off all foreign aid to Uganda • Large demonstrations at The National Prayer Breakfast • Denying Ugandan officials visas to America • Denying prominent members of The Family visas to Uganda • Stripping David Bahati of his degrees at the University of Cardiff and the University of Pennsylvania • Exploring efforts to prosecute Bahati, and others affiliated with this bill, for crimes against humanity • A media campaign exposing The Family Bahati justifies his planned purge by disguising it as a morality campaign to protect

December 17, 2010

Ugandan children from predatory Western Gay men. However, he has put forth no credible evidence to back his bizarre assertions, and all available information points to an eliminationist witch-hunt against innocent people.

Bahati also rationalizes his cruelty by saying that Ugandans support his bill. Of course, the bill’s popularity and the demonization of LGBT people are only maintained through artificial means. To tar homosexuals as despised villains, Bahati and his goons have to create a repressive culture where free speech is stifled, LGBT people can’t come out, pro-Gay allies are punished for “promoting” homosexuality, the media is cowed, and a robust smear campaign is relentlessly waged with no opposition.

Incredibly, Bahati plays the imperialist card, arguing Americans should stay out of his nation’s business, even as he hypocritically does the bidding for American evangelicals that made his career.

In the name of God, these thugs and theocrats are playing God with the lives of LGBT people across the globe. The only Family these tyrants remind me of is The Sopranos – except they are more sadistic. It is time civilized people stand up to such Bible-based barbarism before it is too late. A good place to start is at The National Prayer Breakfast.

Seattle Gay News

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INTERNATIONAL Brett Lock

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

Stephanie Munro (l) and Andrew O’Neill are suing the government of the United Kingdom because they want to enter into a civil partnership

Straight couple denied civil partnership in London A heterosexual couple was refused a civil partnership at London’s Camden Register Office on December 8.

The registrar cited the legal ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships as the reason for the refusal.

Stephanie Munro and Andrew O’Neill plan to sue the government, along with three other straight couples who want to enter into civil partnerships and four Gay couples who want to get married.

It’s part of a new activist campaign dubbed Equal Love, coordinated by veteran Gay activist Peter Tatchell.

“We feel a sense of injustice,” said Munro. “It doesn’t seem fair that in a democracy we can be denied a civil partnership just because we happen to be heterosexual.

Andrew and I love each other very much.

We don’t like marriage because of its patriarchal history. I don’t want to be called a wife and Andrew doesn’t husband me. We

are equal partners and the language of civil partnerships better reflects the character of our relationship.”

Said O’Neill: “Being turned away was sad. It makes us understand what Gay couples go through when they are denied the right to marry. It’s really quite insulting and offensive. We don’t feel comfortable with the institution of marriage. But even if we were happy with it, we would not want to get married while Gay couples are denied the right to marry.”

According to Tatchell: “Just as the ban on Gay civil marriages is wrong, so too is the ban on heterosexual civil partnerships. ... Everyone should be equal before the law.

Denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership is obnoxious and discriminatory.”

An attorney for the activists, Robert Wintemute, said the marriage and civil-partnership laws violate three sections of the United Kingdom’s Human Rights Act concerned

with protection against discrimination, the right to respect for family life and the right to marry.

“The rights attached to civil marriage and civil partnership are identical, especially with regard to adoption of children, donor insemination, and surrogacy,” Wintemute said. “There is no longer any justification for excluding same-sex couples from civil marriage and different-sex couples from civil partnership. It’s like having separate drinking fountains or beaches for different racial groups, even though the water is the same. The only function of the twin bans is to mark Lesbian and Gay people as inferior to heterosexual people.”

Study finds that Gay men can’t find condoms and lube A new international survey of more than 5,000 men who have sex with men (MSM) found that the majority find it difficult or impossible to access HIV testing and counseling or free condoms and lubricant.

The research – conducted by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) and professor Patrick Wilson of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – suggests that fewer than half of MSM worldwide have access to basic HIV prevention and services.

Only 39 percent reported easy access to free condoms and just one in four reported easy access to free lubricant. One quarter said free lubricant was completely unavailable.

Large percentages of men reported that it was difficult or impossible to access HIV testing (57 percent), HIV education material (66 percent), and HIV treatment (70 percent).

The survey was carried out online in Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish and circulated through the MSMGF’s global networks and those of Fridae.com.

“Since the beginning of the epidemic, it has been widely recognized that condoms, lubricant, testing and treatment, when combined with community-led behavior change and support programs, are the most reliable tools available in the fight against HIV among MSM,” said MSMGF Executive Officer George Ayala. “More than 25 years in, it is inexcusable that MSM around the world continue to have such restricted access to these basic lifesaving resources.”

The study also found that men in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Latin America report higher levels and harsher forms of homophobic stigma and discrimination than men in North

America, Western Europe, and Australia.

“Stigma and discrimination undermine access to prevention and treatment programs by forcing MSM underground and away from services they may need,” said MSMGF Co-Chair Othman Mellouk. “Without addressing the bigger issue of homophobia, we will have no hope of ending AIDS.” Same-sex couples marry on SAS flight A German Gay couple and a Lesbian Polish couple were married on an SAS flight over Sweden on December 6.

Germans Aleksander Mijatovic and Shantu Bhattacharjee, and Poles Ewa Tomaszewicz and Gosia Rawinska were married by European Parliament Member Christofer Fjellner on the flight to Newark, N.J. The couples had won an SAS social-media contest called “Love Is in the Air” by out-promoting other entrants in the online competition. They also received flights to and within the U.S., rings and honeymoons in New York and Los Angeles.

Lesbian couple honored at State Department A U.S. lesbian diplomat and her partner who helped found Albania’s Gay movement while stationed there were honored at the State Department on December 2 with the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Overseas.

The award, handed out by the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, was given to Melissa Schraibman, who worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana as a resident legal adviser, and her partner, Mindy Michels.

It was presented by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg in a ceremony that was attended by former U.S. ambassadors to Albania John Withers and Marcie Ries.

It was the first time the Secretary of State Award recognized efforts to promote LGBT rights.

“This was, of course, extremely personally meaningful for Melissa and me, as the work on the Albanian LGBT movement was our primary focus over the last nearly two years,” Michels said. “But it is also something that has larger meaning, as I think it was the first time that this sort of volunteerism and diplomacy on LGBT human rights has been recognized in a formal and high-level way as an important part of the work done by government employees serving abroad.”

Michels said the announcement of the winners goes to every U.S. embassy worldwide.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

Graphic PSA warns of HIV dangers

Gay servicemembers suing for reenlistment

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

In a new campaign launched December 7, a New York City department of health public service announcement graphically warns Gay and Bisexual men that contracting HIV could lead to other health problems like bone loss, dementia, and anal cancer.

The “Never Just HIV” campaign is an effort to thwart people from feeling that HIV is not as severe a disease as it once was simply because treatments are more available and effective. The PSA – which briefly features a Gay man with anal cancer – will air on broadcast television for two weeks and

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Seattle Gay News

then reappear in January for an additional two weeks.

“I hope all New Yorkers will heed the stark message of this campaign and take personal responsibility for their health and that of their partners,” Thomas Farley, New York City health commissioner, said in a December 7 statement. “We have made tremendous progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but this is no time for complacency.”

HIV continues to take a toll on men who have sex with men, regardless of whether they identify as Gay, and the virus is spreading more each year in those under 30, he said.

“This spot should serve as a wake-up call,” said Farley. “Unprotected sex is still dangerous, and more partners means more risk.”

According to the New York City department of health, the PSA targets men who have sex with men – a group that accounts for about 44% of new HIV diagnoses annually in New York City.

Along with the PSA campaign, the department makes these recommendations: Use condoms and lubricant when having sex, and avoid alcohol and drugs when a sexual situation may occur because people are less likely to use protection when under the influence.

December 17, 2010

A federal lawsuit was filed December 13 on behalf of three servicemembers discharged from the U.S. military under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy asking for their reinstatement, according to attorneys representing the three.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. All three servicemembers are represented by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and by the firm Morrison and Foerster.

“This filing is a shot across the bow as we prepare to pursue and sustain an aggressive, far-reaching litigation strategy if the Senate fails to act this month to repeal the law,” Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said in a statement. “This dispute can be resolved

by Congress or by the courts. With this filing we put Congress on notice that a cadre of servicemembers and our national legal team stand ready to litigate strategically around

the country.”

The three plaintiffs are Michael D. Almy (U.S. Air Force, 13 years), Anthony J. Loverde (U.S. Air Force, seven years), and Jason D. Knight (U.S. Navy, five years).

All three received numerous military awards during their service.

“Today we are asking the court to allow these three brave Americans to fulfill the commitment they made years ago when they joined the military,” M. Andrew Woodmansee of Morrison and Foerster said in a statement. “They simply want to serve their country, and it is fundamentally un-American to refuse their service merely because they are Gay.” “Throughout our nation’s history, citizens have turned to the courts to remedy injustices when Congress would not act,” Woodmansee said. “If the Senate will not meet its obligations by ending this unconstitutional law, we will ask the court to step in to protect the rights of my clients as well as all the men and women who wish to serve this country in the military.”

“Throughout our nation’s history, citizens have turned to the courts to remedy injustices when Congress would not act.”

Celebrating 37 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

AN EVENING IN DECEMBER WITH ARNALDO! On Friday, December 17 and Saturday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Julia’s on Broadway (300 Broadway Ave. E.), join Arnaldo! drag chanteuse, Victor Janusz on piano and Troy Kendrick on bass for a An Evening in December, a holiday cabaret.

Tickets $15 advance, $20 at the door (two drink minimum).

For dinner reservations, call (206) 3340513. For tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com.

Perry in Los Angeles in 1968, prior to Stonewall. Currently there are over 220 MCC churches located in 22 countries worldwide with more than 43,000 members. Rev. Ray Neal is pastor of Emerald City MCC. Rev. Michelle Carmody is the associate pastor.

Parking is free in the UW Bookstore Parking lot across the street until 1:00 p.m. A time of friendly fellowship and snacks follows every worship service.

THE ELITE HOSTS FREE ASL LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS SEATTLE YOUNG Have you ever wanted to learn basic PEOPLE’S PROJECT American Sign Language? If so, you can get BOWL-A-THON FUNDRAISER some beginning ASL instruction at the Elite On Saturday, December 18 from noon- (1520 E. Olive Way). The FREE lessons will 6 p.m. at Imperial Lanes (2101 22nd Ave. be held every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the loft.

S.), join the annual fundraising Bowl-AThon for SYPP. Bowl-A-Thon is a youthSEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN organized grassroots fundraising event BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE that brings together hundreds of youth, alThe Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club lies, and community members dedicated to meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dunsupporting youth activism in Seattle. This shee House (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas year’s Bowl-A-Thon theme is Town-Folk St.). All GLBTQ folks in the community are Tales, Beyond the Lanes, a celebration of welcome to participate in this FREE book fairy tales, myths, and legends from across club. The book for December is My Father all times and cultures. There will be food, and Myself by J.R. Ackerley, the British prizes, free T-shirts, and a rich parade of author who worked with Graham Greene, costumes and stories brought to life. Each E.M. Forster, W.H. Auden, and others. The team will dress up in fun and creative cos- memoir is about Ackerley as a Gay adult tumes. Sign up as a team captain today. trying to understand the mystery of his sexuFor more info, call 206-860-9606. ally secretive father. And that’s not the only family mystery the book penetrates, with MACCT HOLIDAY harrowing scenes in the trenches of World POTLUCK SOCIAL War One as well as a glimpse of the world On Saturday, December 18 at 6 p.m. in that came before the Great War. Ackerley is Seattle, Men of All Colors & Cultures To- fascinated by the trickiness of memory, as gether (MACCT) will be hosting their De- he tries to solve the riddles of his own past. cember Holiday Potluck Social. Please con- The book is a mystery with all that entails of tact us at 206-923-8313 or macctseattle@ clues and surprises, but it’s also a true family yahoo.com for additional location informa- memoir, a tribute to a fascinating and comtion/directions. plex man, the Banana King. Through the MACCT is a Gay/Bisexual, multi-racial, fog of remembering, Ackerley struggles to multi-cultural organization committed to put together answers for the mysteries that fostering supportive environments wherein have haunted his life. His honest, elegant, racial and cultural barriers can be overcome educated literary voice is a joy to savor. For and the goal of human equality realized. more information, e-mail nickdimartin@ earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at MISFITS’ BRUNCH 206-322-2437.

TOY DRIVE AND BENEFIT FOR RISE N’ SHINE PRIDE FOUNDATION/ On Sunday, December 19, from 10 a.m.

GSBA SCHOLARSHIP to 2 p.m., join the Sisters of Perpetual InAPPLICATIONS dulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan, at Purr Pride Foundation/GSBA Scholarship ApCocktail Lounge, 1518 11th Ave. for a toy plications are now available at www.Pridedrive and benefit for Rise n’ Shine. Bring a FoundationScholar.org. This year, $500,000 new toy or childrens clothing and enter into is available in scholarships to support edudrawings for valuable prizes. www.theab- cation and leadership development for Lesbey.org; www.risenshine.org. bian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer students of any age; students who have an EMERALD CITY METROPOLITAN LGBT parent; and students who are straight COMMUNITY CHURCH’S allies and are committed to civil rights for GAY OL’ CHRISTMAS the LGBTQ community. Since 1990, more On Sunday, December 19 at 11 a.m. at than $3 million in scholarships have been Temple United Methodist Church (1415 NE awarded. Pride Foundation and the GSBA 43rd St.), Emerald City Metropolitan Com- Scholarship Fund would like to encourage munity Church Seattle invites you to have you to share this excellent opportunity for a Gay ol’ Christmas! The church welcomed students of any age or sexual orientation Dr. Gary Ballou, a Seattle educator and mu- from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and sician, and a long-time member of the Se- Washington who are pursuing any postattle Gay Men’s Chorus, as its new musical secondary education (including community director this fall. Dr. Ballou has announced college, public or private colleges and unithe premier of the Emerald City MCC Choir versities, trade apprenticeships, or certifiin this Sunday’s worship service. The choir cate programs)! There are 50 different types will be singing “I Find It in the Love of God” of scholarships with awards up to $10,000, (traditional gospel), “Sunshine in My Soul” but only one web-based application to com(traditional gospel), and “Silent Night” (by plete!

Franz Gruber, arranged by Don Wyrtzen).

Applications can be completed online at Rev. Gloria Root, a local hospital chaplain, www.PrideFoundationScholar.org and are will be featured on the flute during the pre- due by 5:00 p.m. PST on Friday, January sentation of “Silent Night.” The choir will 31, 2011. use conceptualized sign language for the For information on other LGBT scholarhearing impaired as they sing the text. Ac- ship programs, visit the Safe Schools Coalicompanying the choir on piano will be Mark tion’s scholarship resource list at www.safeCooley, the organist and pianist of Emerald schoolscoalition.org/youth.

City MCC Seattle.

Emerald City MCC Seattle is the first conSEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL gregation founded for and by LGBT perCALL FOR ART SUBMISSIONS sons in the Pacific Northwest in 1972 and The Seattle Erotic Art Festival announces is a member congregation of the Universal the Call for Art for its ninth annual event Fellowship of Metropolitan Community to be held May 20-22, 2011. Submissions Churches, founded by the Rev. Elder Troy will be accepted from January 1-31, 2011.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

All artists age 18 and older are encouraged to submit up to five works of erotic art of any medium. Sculptors, multimedia artists and painters are particularly encouraged to apply. Submissions can be made online at SeattleErotic.org throughout January.

The Festival stands by its mission to support a vibrant creative community, supporting living artists with low submission fees and commission rates. Selected art will be showcased throughout the three-day event to thousands of patrons. Most importantly, the Festival sells far more art than any other erotic art festival. Artists may also choose to submit to the Festival Store, which has a later submission deadline (to be determined).

Artists do not need to attend the Festival in order to participate.

behind Kaladi Brothers Coffee (just follow the signs). Library hours are Mon-Fri, 2-8 p.m., and Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Items may be borrowed free of charge; however, ID is required. For your convenience, a drop box for returning borrowed items is available next to the front door when the library is closed.

LGBT RESOURCE & REFERRAL LINE The Resource & Referral Line can connect you to LGBT-friendly resources throughout Puget Sound and beyond. Coming out and just learning what is out there? Visiting and want to know about nightlife options? Interested in drug or alcohol counseling? For these or any other LGBT issues, call 206323-LGBT. Phone line hours are Mon-Fri, 2-8 p.m., and Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Leave a CARING AND AGING voice message at all other times and your WITH PRIDE call will be returned. Alternatively, you can Are you a LGBT adult 50 years of age or view our resource lists at www.gaycity.org older? Or can you pass this information on under the resources menu. to someone who is? We need your help with a groundbreaking project: Caring and Ag“COMMUNITY STORIES” ing with Pride, a partnership between Senior DOCUMENTS Services and The Institute for MultigeneraTHE CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES tional Health at the University of Washing& HEALTH CARE STRUGGLE ton. Our goal is to understand the aging and AROUND THE AIDS CRISIS health needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and IN SEATTLE IN THE 1980S Transgender adults 50 years of age and older The onset of AIDS “was a health crisis, in our community for generations to come. but it was also a civil rights crisis,” recalls You are eligible for a raffle drawing award- Carol Sterling, former director of the Chicking a $500 Visa gift certificate to three ran- en Soup Brigade. Produced by the Seattle domly selected individuals. Visit http://bit. Channel (Cable Channel 21), “Community ly/SnrSvcs to enter the raffle and request a Stories” looks back to the 1980s and the start questionnaire. You are eligible for the raffle of the AIDS epidemic in Seattle. This hisregardless of whether you complete a ques- tory is told through the words of people – intionnaire or not. Please keep in mind your cluding Sterling, City Councilmember Tom participation in the project is completely Rasmussen, Seattle Gay News editor George voluntary.

Bakan and King County AIDS Program DiIf you have any questions about the proj- rector Bob Wood – who lived and worked ect, please contact us at 1-800-558-8703 or on the front lines in the community. Learn visit our website at CaringAndAging.org. about this important history by following Voice your needs! this link now: http://www.seattlechannel. org/videos/video.asp?ID=3170902.

GAY CITY SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR LGBT LIBRARY AND SEATTLE GAY PRIDE DAY VIDEOS RESOURCE & REFERRAL LINE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE Gay City Health Project’s newest program Pride Day took place on June 27, 2010. needs your help! They have taken charge of The parade and festival included all finanthe 323-LGBT community resource line and cial and social segments of society, all reneed your help to make it successful! Some ligions, races, and gender expressions. The duties include answering phones, connect- parade had an estimated 450,000 people in ing people to resources, updating material attendance. After the Parade, some 70,000 for their records, checking out books and attendees flowed into the Seattle Center for reshelving. If you are interested, please con- the PrideFest. This combined cross-section tact Susan at 206-388-1707 or email her at of humanity is most noted for its astonishing susan@gaycity.org. diversity.

The following videos were shot over a LGBT LIBRARY NOW OPEN four-hour period: The LGBT Library houses a wide range Gay Pride Day Seattle 2010 Part 1 – http:// of fiction and non-fiction works of interest youtube.com/watch?v=ITmRcnX0VFs to those in the LGBT community and its Gay Pride Day Seattle 2010 Part 2 – http:// allies. The Library is located at Gay City’s youtube.com/watch?v=M69Q_z3E74I offices, 511 E. Pike St., on the ground floor

December 17, 2010

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courtesy barry thorsness

Cape Town, South Africa from the top of Table Mountain

Our final week in Africa

by Barry Thorsness SGN African Correspondent Cape Town is famous for its beauty. Nestled under Table Mountain at a place where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic, Cape Town is so clean, so modern … and so Gay! Cape Town feels as if you took San Francisco and Vancouver, added them to the pot, added a cup of Big Sur coastline, a dash of New Orleans, and a sprinkling of Rio. It is truly amazing and – like all of Africa – complex. One must be very careful not to generalize about this city, as its history and people don’t easily fit into a nice, neat description.

The easy part: LGBT life in Cape Town.

Gay life here is so easy to be part of. The Gay part of town is focused around a couple of blocks in Cape Town’s Green Point area.

It’s a joy to be able to walk from Big Blue Backpackers (where we are staying) about six blocks to where most of the bars are.

Just two blocks up the hill are a myriad of very Gay-friendly restaurants and lounges.

These are not the types of places you would find in the Castro, but designer chic, with menus that equal anywhere I have been in the world. Cape Town seems like the opposite of the homophobic Africa many people expect.

The Gay village is not large, but covers everything from Gay bars to the cuttingedge boy bars, leather action, underwearonly, college, Lesbian, and drag bars – and the baths are just up the hill.

Here are some of my favorites: Amsterdam Action Bar – Old-school Gay bar Barcode – Men’s leather bar with underwear parties Beefcakes – Campiest burger bar ever, with live entertainment ranging from drag divas to bitchy bingo Bronx – Action bar, Cape Town’s oldest Beaulah – For the young student crowd and baby dykes Cafe Manhattan – Best burgers and a great Gay bar Crew Bar – Stylish dance bar with hot topless bar men and go-go dancers Hot House – Stylish upmarket Europeanstyle steam bath Lazari – Great cocktails and coffee Rosie’s – Black African bar with popular Sunday-night drag shows Uncle Jack’s Pub – Draught and traditional pub food with a great terrace The Venue – Lounge and cocktail bar 8

Seattle Gay News

As with our experience with the rest of South Africa, the bars are generally composed of either a black or white clientele. It seems (although after six months in Africa, I often doubt anything I believe) this is not really a racial divide, but more heavily related to income (what one can afford) and taste in music.

Going out in Cape Town is much like going out in Vancouver and Seattle – except to be a bartender, you must work with only your underwear on, and you must look like you just stepped out of a centerfold. There are also lots of young, young blonde go-go boys standing on the bar tops. Unfortunately, they seem to be more like a fixture. At first glance, they look very nice, but they could hardly be referred to as dancers as they stand and just chat with each other.

The government in Cape Town, like that in Vancouver, is clamping down on hours of operation (on the 2nd of January, bars must have last call at 2 a.m.). There are also strict drunk driving laws, where you can easily lose your car if you are drunk.

More about the people Most people, myself included, fall into a trap in South Africa. We usually see the country generally described as white/English, white/blonde-haired/Afrikaaner (most often associated with apartheid), and black/ generally speaking their own tribal African language. Then there are the coloreds who are often an unknown to the tourist. Add all the immigrants/refugees from countries like Zimbabwe (both black and white) and the many others in Cape Town who have fled from the troubles of the Congo, and you have an incredible mix of different people.

In Cape Town, it is suddenly surprising to see all the people who South Africans call “colored.” Equally surprising is the fact that such a great number use Afrikaans as their first language. The apartheid era has only been over for about 17 years. It seems if one needed to be able to live and communicate during those years, you really needed to learn and use Afrikaans. There was a big move to use Afrikaans as the language for instruction in schools and universities. The similarities in looks between the coloreds and the “beautiful people” of Rio is uncanny. But most everyone speaks English, too, with their own type of Capetonian accent.

Cape Town must-sees The first is probably Table Mountain,

December 17, 2010

which is always the predominate background feature in any picture of Cape Town.

It is as impressive from the city and the base of the revolving cable car as it is from the intriguing “table top” of large stones and walkways on its plateau. For those of you who love to hike, taking the path up and/or down it is a challenging hike with awesome scenery (and it will give you some pretty rubbery legs and sore muscles for your next day in Cape Town). You must be aware that, like San Francisco, the fog can come in quickly and hide the view, and often the cable car can be shut down because of high winds.

A trip down to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point is a trip of unsurpassed beauty and incredible scenery. I probably took more pictures in one day than I took in the whole time we were in Malawi. We rented a car with some friends we met from Kenya and headed down the Cape. We first went through Clifton and its well-known beaches (Clifton 3 is the Gay beach), down through Camps Bay and on to Sandy Bay. Sandy Bay has a famous Gay nude beach, but takes a little hike to get down to it.

These beaches are all on the Atlantic Coast, and the water is like the Bay Area – kinda chilly, but oh-so-aqua green and beautiful.

Then many people drive across the peninsula to Simon’s Town, a tourist place reminiscent of Santa Cruz, California. Just south of Simon’s town at The Boulders is a large penguin colony worth a good two hours or more of entertainment and amazement. You are now on the beaches of False Bay, which is part of the Indian Ocean system, and the water temperature sure reflects the change.

At the end of the peninsula, you arrive at the Cape of Good Hope, with Cape Point on the other side. There is a funicular to take you to the top of the point to get a view of the ocean, bay, and the incredible mountains across False Bay. The drive to the Cape made for a long day, as we stopped every few miles to gawk at the scenery and explore the beaches. We got back to Cape Town just in time to drive to the top of Signal Hill and watch the sunset. So romantic and so classy! Couples sitting at tables, enjoying great South African wine and often getting somewhat overzealous in their enjoyment of each other. Sunset rating 8.5, people-watching 10.5 out of 10!

To top off the day, we headed to Long Street, probably Cape Town’s best-known street for bars and restaurants. The look is so New Orleans. Cape Town is also famous for its jazz life and carnival (see capetowncarnival.com). We stopped in for Indian food at the well-known Masala Dosa restaurant and

then returned back to Big Blue exhausted and nursing our oh-so sore muscles from the last two days spent hiking.

Louis and I spent quite a bit of time just wandering downtown and ending up at places like the Castle of Good Hope (a fort started by the Dutch in the 1600s) and a visit to the Company Gardens, an amazing botanical garden running near the parliament buildings. We also saw the exhibit from Joburg for the World Cup at the National Gallery. So much of the exhibit was dark and retrospective – something that the people of South Africa must be commended for.

This country has gone through a history that is as heart-wrenching as that of Nazi Germany, and come out of it willing to show the world what has happened. I commend them so much for this.

We went for a tour at the District Six Museum. It brought me to tears as the former resident described the government displacing all the people and tearing down their homes. Blacks sent to black areas, whites to white areas, coloreds to colored areas, families split apart because husband and wife were of different skin color and their only contact would be for two hours every three months if you could get a police permit. Before apartheid, District Six was so integrated that the Muslim community had their services in a Jewish Temple. The area was razed. Now the land stands partly used by a university, and parts of it are empty. Relocation of the original residents back to the areas of their homes has been promised, but is happening at a very slow pace.

We took the train to Stellenbosch in the wine country. The town is a combination of Napa and Monterey, with the college student population of Santa Cruz, CA. Art galleries, restaurants, bars, great wine and food, all with a backdrop of vineyards and incredible mountains. Louis found a part of Africa he could live in!

LGBT and Human Rights I set up a time to visit my friend Monica at IGLHRC – the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (www. iglhrc.org). She had been so wonderful by providing me the contact information of LGBT activists in all the countries we had visited. Again, like so many of my experiences in Cape Town, the conversation was emotionally moving. IGLHRC is so involved with rights for LGBT people all around Africa, and many of the stories Monica told me about their work were so tragic and sad. Coming out in the U.S. or Canada seems so simple and easy compared to the consequences many African LGBT people

Celebrating 37 Years!

must often endure (though South Africa is a general exception).

One other side of Cape Town I spent some time with the immigrant/locals who I met while I was walking around the city or coming home at night. The majority are boys or young men between the ages of 16 and 35. (You don’t find girls parking cars or doing other menial jobs on the street, so it is very one-sided.) Most are from the Congo and have fled the wars and hard economic times their countries are enduring.

They work such long hours for next to nothing. Many do not have passports, but the South African government allows them into the country with refugee status – but most of them are still being “processed.” Well, we know how that works in the US and Canada. To me, it feels like a nightmare for these guys. They can’t get a real job, their refugee status is often limited to “student,” and they are exploited. They sometimes only make R20 (about $6) for an entire shift. Often when they finish work late, they must find a place to sleep or hang out until the train starts running again at 5 a.m. and they can go home where they share a room with others in the same situation. My heart went out to them. The ones I chatted with (often two or three or more times) were so inspirational; so willing to smile and chat, never complaining, and yes, rarely asking for a handout. I guess there is some of “Africa” in Cape Town. That “African” quality of the heart: having so little, doing with so little, very little light at the end of the tunnel, and always a big smile and a happy meeting, even if it’s only to talk about where we are going from here.

HEADING BACK Louis and I are on our way back to Seattle.

I read that there was record rainfall and everything was flooding. My car is parked in a high flood area near the Snoqualmie River in North Bend. I wonder if it’s sitting in water. Somehow I feel different than when I left Seattle. I will see if six months in Africa has changed me and the way I see things.

My biggest thanks ever to our friend Sharon Versfeld in Johannesburg! She took us in way back on the 30th of June when our original plans collapsed. For six months, she has looked after us as we came and went, feeding us, entertaining us, and taking us innumerable times to the bus station and airport. Without her, all of our travels surely would not have happened.

Unlike other trips I have taken, I am already planning my next trip to Africa – probably in July. I am working with three schools in Malawi to raise money for the basics like desks, lights, some paint and some lab equipment, and as many computers as I can find. I am also focused on having people adopt a student so they can go to school. It’s only about $150 for tuition, room, and board for three months. You can make a huge difference in somebody’s life, and so easily!

Want to come with me, see Africa, meet the people, have the trip of a lifetime, and truly make a difference? Come with me in July! E-mail me at bthorsness@gmail.com and I will be ever so happy to talk to you about it.

Thanks for all your interest over the last six months!

–Louis and Barry

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U.N. secretary general calls for end to discrimination

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer On December 10, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and United States Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice appeared on the Human Rights Day panel, vocally condemning violence against LGBT people and the continued criminalization of Gay people in more than 70 countries worldwide.

The Human Rights Day panel was hosted by several U.N. member states and was organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Human Rights Watch, and various other human rights organizations.

U.N. Secretary General Ban cited the importance of speaking out against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“Violence will end only when we confront prejudice. Stigma and discrimination will end only when we agree to speak out. That requires all of us to do our part; to speak out at home, at work, in our schools and communities,” said the secretary general.

The main point of the secretary general’s statements was that commitment to universal human rights must trump cultural attitudes when there is a tension between the two.

“It has been a challenging year for LGBT rights at the United Nations,” said Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of IGLHRC

December 17, 2010

speaking after the panel. “We have seen conservative forces try to keep organizations like IGLHRC out of the U.N. and we’ve suffered some painful setbacks as these same governments work to eliminate or prevent human rights protections for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people.”

“The importance of this event and the support of figures like the U.N. secretary general and U.S. ambassador cannot be underestimated,” said Johnson.

Ambassador Rice, with the support of several other U.N. member states, vowed that the United States would work in the full U.N. General Assembly to reinsert a longstanding reference to sexual orientation that was recently deleted during committee-level voting from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions.

“We are going to fight to restore the reference to sexual orientation,” said the ambassador. “We’re going to stand firm on this basic principle, and we intend to win.”

The vote on this resolution is expected at the next U.N. General Assembly on December 20.

“We look forward to governments in the General Assembly speaking and acting against discrimination when it really counts, when the support of governments is needed to ensure LGBT people are explicitly included in this resolution is one of those times,” said Johnson.

Seattle Gay News

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The Seattle Gay News would like to gratefully acknowledge all of our generous partners for their help in raising funds this holiday season for the Youth Suicide Prevention Program

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December 17, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Tree of Life During the month of December, many of your favorite Capitol hill bars and restaurants will join together to help prevent teen suicide.

Please take a moment and join the Seattle Gay News and this establishment to donate to the Youth Suicide Prevention Program of Washington state in our efforts to stop these tragic events.

Take action and become part of the “Tree of Life” today.

Take Action Tree of Life / Stop Teen Suicide Program is proudly sponsored by:

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December 17, 2010

Seattle Gay News 11

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Seattle Gay News 15

“Iran is not only one of the rare countries that imposes the death penalty for consensual same-sex relations, it also has people sitting on death row who allegedly committed sodomy as minors,” Whitson continues.

“Every time the Iranian judiciary issues a death sentence for consensual sex, or against a juvenile offender, it is violating its international legal obligations.”

On December 15, Human Rights Watch issued a new report titled We are a Buried Generation: Discrimination and Violence Against Sexual Minorities in Iran.

Based on testimony from more than 100 Iranians, the 102-page report documents abuses “against LGBT people and others whose sexual practices and gender expression do not conform to government-endorsed socio-religious norms.”

Human Rights Watch analyzed these abuses against the backdrop of the Iranian government’s general human rights violations against its whole population – Gay and straight – including arbitrary arrests and detentions, invasions of privacy, mistreatment and torture of detainees, and lack of due-process and fair-trial guarantees.

“Iran’s security forces, including police and forces of the hard-line paramilitary basij [militia], rely upon discriminatory laws to harass, arrest, and detain individuals whom they suspect of being Gay,” Human Rights Watch found.

Anti-LGBT incidents often occur in public spaces like parks and cafés, but Human

Rights Watch also documented cases in which security forces raided private homes and monitored internet sites to catch people they suspected of engaging in non-conforming sexual conduct or gender expression.

The report also documents instances in which police and basij abused – and in some cases tortured – real or perceived LGBT people, both in public spaces and detention facilities.

Several individuals told Human Rights Watch that members of the Iranian security forces had sexually assaulted or raped them.

For example, a man identified only as “Navid,” a Gay café-owner, told Human Rights Watch that he was attacked on the street by two basij agents.

The men stopped him as he was leaving work, Navid said, handcuffed him, and drove him to his home. There they pushed him out of the car, beat him, and forced him inside, where they sexually assaulted him. “[One of them] forced his penis inside my mouth,” he said. “I threw up and dirtied myself. They dragged me into the bathroom and washed me down with cold water. The whole time they continued to beat me all over.”

The agents then took him to another location where “[One of the agents] took my clothes off. He then raped me with a flashlight and a baton. He just pushed me down to the ground and raped me. The other two joined in.”

The report also documents serious dueprocess violations that occurred during the prosecution of LGBT persons charged with crimes.

Iranians charged with engaging in consensual same-sex offenses stand little chance of receiving a fair trial, Human Rights Watch found.

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December 17, 2010

iraq

continued from cover

Judges ignore penal code evidentiary guidelines in sodomy cases and often rely instead on confessions extracted through physical torture and extreme psychological pressure.

Both Iranian and international law consider such evidence inadmissible.

In other cases, courts have convicted defendants of sodomy charges solely on the basis of “the knowledge of the judge” as “derived through customary methods.” This provision of Iran’s penal code enables judges to rely on circumstantial evidence to determine whether a crime has occurred even if other evidence is lacking.

Iran is one of only seven countries with laws allowing executions for consensual same-sex conduct. The others are Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Iranian newspapers and media outlets have published many accounts of executions for same-sex conduct since the 1979 Iranian revolution.

According to Human Rights Watch, the overwhelming majority of Iranians who have been executed or are now on death row are men charged with sodomy, including juvenile offenders who were under 18 when they allegedly committed the act.

The Iranian government maintains that most of these prisoners have been charged for forcible sodomy or rape.

Because trials on morals charges in Iran are usually held in private, it was difficult for Human Rights Watch to determine what proportion of those charged and executed for same-sex conduct are LGBT and in what proportion the alleged offense was consensual.

Because of this lack of transparency, Human Rights Watch said, it cannot be ruled

out that Iran is executing LGBT persons who engage in consensual same-sex relations under the pretext that they committed forcible sodomy or rape.

Human Rights Watch found “a very noticeable disconnect between Iran’s official stance against sexual minorities and the realities on the ground, especially in Iran’s larger urban areas.”

“Despite President Ahmadinejad’s 2007 declaration that Iran has no Gay people, thousands of Iranians identify themselves as LGBT, socialize in public and private, and contribute to vibrant and defiant LGBT communities in the Persian-language blogosphere,” Human Rights Watch said.

Since 1979, the Iranian government has implemented several policies designed to deal with the complex realities of sexual orientation and gender identity in Iran today.

For example, the state legally recognizes Transgender Iranians – even paying for sex reassignment surgery.

It also allows Gays, Transgender males, or men who have sex with men to apply for a “behavioral disorder” exemption from military service if they can prove they are Gay or Transgender.

“But while these policies may accommodate, or even benefit some, they aim ultimately to control and enforce conformity,” Human Rights Watch said.

At times they may expose sexual minorities to further harassment, abuse, blackmail, extortion, and torture.

“Abolishing Iran’s discriminatory laws and policies is critical to ensuring protection of its vulnerable sexual minorities,” Whitson said. “Those who perpetrate violence against Iran’s sexual minorities do so because they know that their victims have nowhere to turn for protection or justice.”

Celebrating 37 Years!

World Cup controversy LGBTQ youth key focus of over LGBT rights in Qatar Pride Foundation’s fall grants

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

“Many LGBT people live in countries where they would face execution or imprisonment if discovered, these people deserve FIFA’s choice of the Persian Gulf coun- our help, our respect and our support,” said try of Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup GFSN chair Chris Basiurski.

“They, like the rest of us, do not deserve to immediately sparked protests from LGBT be laughed at. Mr. Blatter should retract his rights activists.

Like most Arab countries, Qatar has laws remarks and apologize immediately. Otheragainst same-sex relations and is not con- wise, he should reconsider his position and sidered to be a hospitable venue for Gay resign.

“Mr. Blatter is naive to think that by taksoccer fans.

Qatar was the surprise winner of the bid ing the beautiful game to Qatar, it will bring to host the 2022 World Cup, beating Aus- an end to discrimination in the Middle East.

“He says that football is ‘everything for tralia, Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. FIFA – world soccer’s governing body – everyone’ but he has not yet explained just how FIFA is going to ensure that LGBT made the announcement on December 2.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter made the football players and supporters will be welmood of Gay fans even more morose at a come in Qatar.”

British basketball star John Amaechi, one December 13 press conference.

Blatter was asked if he foresaw any cul- of the world’s highest-profile Gay athletes, tural problems for Gay soccer fans in a con- was highly critical of Blatter’s comments.

“It’s absurd,” he told BBC News. “It’s not servative Muslim country.

Hoping that humor might defuse con- about people having sex in public and being cerns over Qatar’s legal restrictions, Blatter sanctioned for it, it’s the fact that Qatar was quipped, “I’d say they should refrain from one of 79 countries to sanction executing Gays at the United Nations.” any sexual activities.”

Last month Qatar was one of several U.N. Almost as if regretting the remark, Blatter immediately launched into a rambling de- members voting to strike language protecting sexual orientation from a resolution fense of his organization’s 2022 host pick.

“We are definitely living in a world of condemning extrajudicial, summary, or arfreedom and I’m sure when the World Cup bitrary executions.

According to BBC News, FIFA has dewill be in Qatar in 2022, there will be no clined to comment about Blatter’s statement problems,” he said.

“You see in the Middle East the opening or LGBT rights in Qatar. of this culture, it’s another culture because it’s another religion, but in football we have no boundaries.

“We open everything to everybody and I think there shall not be any discrimination against any human beings be it on this side or that side, be it left, right, or whatever.

“If they want to watch a match somewhere in Qatar 2022, I’m sure they will be admitted to such matches.”

Blatter’s remarks didn’t help.

The Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN) immediately protested.

“While we’re working with [FIFA] to get people to understand there is an issue with homophobia around football – Sepp Blatter is simply not getting the issue,” GFSN campaigns officer Ed Connell said.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Pride Foundation has awarded more than $200,000 in grants to 48 projects that support the LGBTQ community in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Youth-related grants were the largest recipients of funds.

In 2010, LGBTQ youth issues came to the forefront with mainstream media reporting on a rash of LGBTQ youth suicides related to bullying.

“Supporting youth has always been a focus of our grants because LGBTQ youth are most vulnerable to harassment and bullying,” says Jeff Hedgepeth, grants program director at Pride Foundation. “I’m glad to see that more people are getting exposed to LGBTQ youth issues but my hope is that people will also make the connection to take action and support the dozens of Northwest projects and organizations that are working with LGBTQ youth.”

This year’s youth-related grantees include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound in Washington, Idaho Safe Schools Coalition, and Identity Inc’s Alaska Bush Youth at Pride Conference 2011, a project aimed at connecting LGBTQ youth in remote parts of Alaska to community services and networks of support to address the disproportionately high rates of LGBTQ youth suicide in remote Alaska.

A year-end giving appeal to the public allows donors to specifically give to LGBTQ youth-related projects. To donate, visit www.pridefoundation.org/giving/give-online.

These grants are just one way Pride Foundation works to empower and support the

next generation of LGBTQ people. Pride Foundation grants focus on more than just youth. Dozens of grants were also awarded in the areas of Arts & Recreation, Education, Advocacy & Outreach, Health & Community Services, HIV/AIDS Service Delivery & Prevention, and Lesbian Health. The diverse range of grants included support for groups like the ACLU of Idaho, Oregon’s Human Dignity Coalition, and Washington’s Puget Sound Old Lesbians Organizing for Change.

One of the programs receiving a $2,500 Pride Foundation grant, the Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP), says they will put the money to good use.

“The Youth Suicide Prevention Program and the OUTLoud Project would like to thank the Pride Foundation for their generous grant,” said Heather Carter, OUTLoud project manager. “These funds will support the creation and distribution of a brochure that will highlight bullying and bias-based harassment and spell out the long-term negative mental health outcomes – including suicidal thoughts and depression – connected to these experiences. We’re very excited about this new project and know the brochure will be a useful supplement to our curriculum but can also be a stand-alone resource. Thank you, Pride, for your support!”

Pride Foundation supports the LGBTQ community in the U.S. Northwest by providing grants and scholarships to LGBTQrelated projects and individuals. Donorsupported Pride Foundation is the largest LGBTQ community foundation of its kind, having granted more than $18 million in grants and scholarships since 1985.

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Seattle Gay News 17

Michael Bloomberg hedges his bets, stalls marriage

Apple in iPhone war with NOM

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer file photo

Apple finds itself embroiled in a new battle of the old culture wars after removing an anti-Gay iPhone app from its iTunes store.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Apple removed the “Manhattan Declaration” app without fanfare or even a public announcement.

The Manhattan Declaration is a 4,700word document released by anti-Gay evangelicals last year.

It calls Gay and Lesbian couples “immoral,” calls the recognition of their relationships “false and destructive,” and claims that allowing same-sex marriage will lead to “genuine social harms.”

The iPhone app also contained a quiz in which the “correct” answers were those that opposed equal rights for LGBT people.

Apple introduced the Manhattan Declaration app on October 14.

It was immediately met with protests from LGBT rights activists who charged it helped create a climate which put LGBT people at risk of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes.

The removal of the app less than six

months later provoked howls of protest from the religious right.

NOM (National Organization for Marriage) sponsored an ad attacking Apple’s decision, and called on right-wing bloggers to stir up protests against Apple’s decision.

“We are urging Apple to restore the app, and have written to Steve Jobs,” NOM says on its website.

The designers of the app have resubmitted it to Apple, in hopes that pressure from the right will cause the company to take it back.

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), on the other hand, has called on its supporters to contact Apple and express support for their decision.

“We need to let Apple know that no matter how strong the pressure they’re hearing from anti-Gay activists and no matter how many ads NOM puts out, they made the right decision,” GLAAD said in a statement.

Apple has not commented on either its original decision to offer the anti-Gay app or its subsequent decision to pull it.

The Apple Store can be contacted at 1-800-MY APPLE (692-7753) or through its website www.apple.com.

The Manhattan Declaration ... calls Gay and Lesbian couples “immoral,” calls the recognition of their relationships “false and destructive,” and claims that allowing same-sex marriage will lead to “genuine social harms.”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The New York Daily News reports that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hedged his bets in the November election, contributing publicly to a Democratic state senator but privately to a Republican fund helping his opponent.

By doing so, he may have effectively stalled marriage equality in New York for at least the next two years.

According to the Daily News, Bloomberg gave Democrat Craig Johnson $9,500 to help him keep his seat in a Long Island swing district.

Bloomberg also gave nearly 10 times that amount – $900,000 – to a secret Republican “housekeeping” account that was used to help Johnson’s opponent, Jack Martins.

Martins beat Johnson by 451 votes in a contested election that was ultimately settled by a New York state court more than a month after Election Day. His victory means that Republicans now control New York’s state senate by a 32-30 margin. The state’s Assembly remains in Democratic control.

On December 2, 2009, New York’s senate killed a marriage equality bill by a vote of 38-24. Equality advocates looked forward to

the 2010 elections, hoping that more sympathetic senators would be elected.

Now it seems that will not be the case. Republican control of the state senate means that same-sex marriage legislation may not even get to the senate floor for debate.

Like Assembly members, New York’s senators serve two-year terms, so it may be 2013 before the balance of power in the senate shifts back to Democratic control.

As mayor of the country’s largest city, Bloomberg has become a national political figure and has been mentioned as a possible opponent for President Obama in the 2012 election.

Sources told the Daily News that his support for both Johnson and Martins was part of Bloomberg’s complex political calculations.

Bloomberg supported Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, assuming he would easily beat Tea Party lunatic Carl Paladino.

Bloomberg then calculated that a Republican-controlled senate would check Cuomo’s power, so he secretly backed Martins.

“We had endorsed Cuomo, assumed he was going to win, and wanted to have some partisan balance in Albany,” a Bloomberg insider told the Daily News. “It was a big bet, and it paid off.”

Gay social networking site Fabulis now Fab.com

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Gay social-networking site Fabulis has been renamed Fab.com, and picked up The Washington Post Company as a new major investor.

“Fab.com is more than just a rebranding of Fabulis,” Jason Goldberg, founder and CEO of Fab.com, said on the company’s blog.

“It’s an entirely new site with 350+ new features and more than 100,000 new pages. Our fab vision is to be the definitive resource for Gay men, helping us discover the world and enjoy our lives.”

Goldberg says the site and its mobile app

provide the largest global index to Gaycentric places, events, unique interactive profiles that assist in making new friends, and other features that “quickly connect our members to the best of Gay life.”

The site has attracted more than 110,000 members since going live and is said to be welcoming 20,000 new users per month.

Executives also announced completion of a new round of investment.

“Just closed a $1.75 million Series A financing with investors including First Round Capital, The Washington Post Company, Baroda Ventures, and Zelkova Ventures, adding to an earlier $1.25 million in angel financing,” Goldberg added.

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December 17, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Landmark global initiative seeks to reduce HIV among Gay men

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) announced on December 10 the launch of an ambitious international initiative to address rising rates of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) by working to reduce stigma, discrimination, and violence against this marginalized population. Supported by a consortium of funders, including ViiV Healthcare’s Positive Action Program, the Levi Strauss Foundation, and Hivos, the landmark project signals a growing recognition of the connection between homophobia and the spread of HIV. “We are thrilled to announce this exciting new initiative on International Human Rights Day,” said MSMGF Executive Officer Dr. George Ayala. “Every person deserves the right to fair treatment and freedom from persecution. The more we learn about HIV, the more we see that working to eradicate stigma, discrimination, and violence is essential to securing the right to health for MSM. Until recently, stigma and discrimination were not seen as serious drivers of the epidemic. This represents a major turning point, and we are proud to stand with our partners as we tackle this crucial issue head-on.”

According to MSMGF officials, the technical assistance (TA) program will support grassroots activists in Central America, North Africa, and Southeast Asia with trainings and funding to develop and implement innovative rights-based advocacy projects.

By building the advocacy capacity of local activists to reduce stigma, discrimination, and violence against MSM, the initiative

aims to reduce rates of HIV among this hard-hit group.

“Beginning with an in-depth assessment of local advocacy capacity, the program involves multiple levels of trainings tailored to the specific conditions in each target country,” said Krista Lauer, MSMGF policy associate. “Ultimately, the idea is to prepare a substantial number of local activists with the tools and resources they need to create locally relevant homegrown initiatives.

While stigma and discrimination seem to be nearly universal, we believe a diverse set of locally-developed solutions presents the best hope to make a real impact.”

A body of literature indicates a strong connection between human rights violations and negative health outcomes among sexual minorities. Past research among MSM has linked experiences of social discrimination and violence with poor mental health, increased substance abuse, and higher levels of sexual risk-taking.

A recent qualitative study conducted by the MSMGF among 39 MSM and Transgender people from 27 countries has added to mounting evidence that even the most basic HIV prevention and treatment interventions have been severely undermined by stigma and discrimination.

“Stigma and discrimination keep large numbers of Gay men around the world from accessing essential health resources,” explained Michael Joyner, director of positive action at ViiV Healthcare. “They just don’t feel welcome at healthcare facilities.”

MSM experience higher rates of HIV than the general population in nearly every country that reports reliable epidemiological data. In many cases, these differences are

extreme. In Central America, for example, Honduras recently reported HIV prevalence rates of 12.4% among MSM, as opposed to 0.8% in the general population. On average, MSM in low- and middle-income countries are 19 times more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population.

“It is our hope that, through this initiative, we can address both the insidious problems of social discrimination and the skyrocketing rates of HIV in our communities,” said Dr. Ayala. “After all, without addressing one, we cannot address the other.”

The new technical assistance program will begin early next year.

The Global Forum on MSM and HIV

(MSMGF) is an expanding network of AIDS organizations, MSM networks, and advocates committed to ensuring robust coverage of and equitable access to effective HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support services tailored to the needs of Gay men and other MSM. Guided by a Steering Committee of 20 members from 17 countries situated mainly in the Global South, and with administrative and fiscal support from AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), the MSMGF works to promote MSM health and human rights worldwide through advocacy, information exchange, knowledge production, networking, and capacity building.

“Until recently, stigma and discrimination were not seen as serious drivers of the epidemic. This represents a major turning point, and we are proud to stand with our partners as we tackle this crucial issue head-on.”

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dadt

continued from cover president’s desk. We need to fight back on any amendments, as a change to the language will cause further delay,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for SLDN. Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is planning to joined SLDN as they announce their sit-in on December 17.

Lieberman believes there are at least 61 votes to repeal the ban. Lieberman (who has been leading negotiations with Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine on the legislation) called further delay unacceptable.

“We’ve got not 60, but now 61 members of the U.S. Senate publicly committed to the repeal of DADT,” said Lieberman. “So all that will stop the repeal is a totally unacceptable refusal to bring our measure up in a timely way. We’ve got to get this done. We can get it done. It’s an injustice. It’s time for it to go.”

With 61 senators supporting the repeal of DADT, the bill is cleared for passage if Democrats can bring it to a vote before the holidays. Failure to overturn the policy this year could relegate the issue to the back burner next year, when Republicans – who are far less supportive of allowing openly Gay individuals to serve in the military – take over the House and expand their power in the Senate.

The timing of a potential vote on the legislation remains uncertain as lawmakers race

to dispose of other major items in the days left before Christmas.

If repealed, The White House, in issuing a statement in support of the repeal, stressed that the change would go into effect only after the president, the secretary of defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that implementation is consistent with military readiness, retention, and unit cohesion.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs declared December 16 that “I believe we have the votes” to allow Gay troops to serve openly in the military.

The comments came after several Republican senators announced they were ready to vote in favor of the stand-alone bill. Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both said December 16 they would support it. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine said December 15 that she would back it.

In recent weeks, the issue has split the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other senior military leaders support lifting the restrictions on Gay service, citing a recent Pentagon study which shows that most people in uniform don’t object to serving with Gays and Lesbians. But the head of the Marine Corps, Commandant General James Amos, says that lifting the ban during wartime could cost lives.

“I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction,” he said this week.

Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign president, said the December 15 vote means the House has confirmed – for the second

time – what military leaders, most troops, and the American public have been saying: that “the only thing that matters on the battlefield is the ability to do the job.”

“It is up to the Senate to consign this failed and discriminatory law to the dustbin of history,” he added.

Since the law was implemented in 1993, more than 13,500 servicemembers have been dismissed under DADT. The Obama administration, while supporting the repeal, is appealing the ruling of a California federal judge that the ban on Gays serving openly in the military is unconstitutional. The administration says Congress should overturn the policy, but Gay rights groups say they will shift their focus back to the courts if Congress fails to act.

pflag

continued from cover Later that year, Adele and her husband Larry had dinner with PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford and her husband Jules.

After a year of working to encourage attendance, Starr hosted an initial meeting of 35 people in her Los Angeles home.

In 1976, Starr founded the Los Angeles PFLAG chapter.

At first, the group continued to meet at her home, but it expanded quickly and soon began meeting at a Methodist church in Westwood, where families still meet today.

“Initially the impulse was that the group was really important to her because she wanted parents not to suffer like she had – not to be isolated, to have a place to go,” said Philip.

Over the years, hundreds of families came and went. In the early days, the meetings were “almost like an AA format,” Philip said. Some members even declined to reveal their true names.

“As she got more involved, she realized how oppressive the environment was. She really became an activist,” Philip recalled.

In 1979, Adele spoke on the steps of the US Capitol at the first national march for Gay rights – a seminal event often credited with uniting a then-nascent movement.

In 1981, 31 representatives from PFLAG-like groups again came together in the Starr’s home for a two-day meeting resulting in the official founding of national PFLAG. Adele Starr was elected PFLAG’s first national president.

She served in that capacity until 1986, but until her death she remained a forceful advocate for civil rights and, in later years, for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Starr served at the helm of PFLAG during the onset of the AIDS crisis, said her longtime friend and collaborator Terry DeCrescenzo, founder of GLASS (Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services).

“In that time, a lot of us lost hope,” DeCrescenzo said. “Not Adele. And PFLAG became enormously important because it

was rock solid. … She was a good woman.

She’ll be missed.”

In 1995, Adele publicly denounced a slate of conservative candidates trying to wrest control of an Antelope Valley school board. The group had declared Gay relationships invalid.

Three years later, in a letter to The L.A. Times, the Starrs wrote that Philip was a devoted father, a successful businessman, and a taxpayer and deserved the “same rights and freedoms as others,” including the right to “legally marry the one he loves.”

“We cannot understand those arrogant people who have decided that a heterosexual lifestyle must be imposed on everyone and that they have a monopoly on morality,” Adele wrote. “The American way is respect for diversity with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Adele was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 10, 1920.

She was originally named Ida Seltzer, but she never liked her first name and changed it to Adele as a teenager.

In 1941 she married Lawrence Starr, an accountant. She lived in the New York area through the end of World War II, in which her brother, an Air Force bombardier, was killed in action.

In 1951, the Starrs visited a relative in the Los Angeles area and took to the region immediately, drawn largely by the weather.

They soon settled in Brentwood, California, where Adele Starr helped her husband establish a private accounting practice.

She was primarily a stay-at-home mother. The Starrs had four sons and a daughter.

Only Philip Starr turned out to be Gay. He is now married to Michael Simengal.

They have been together since 1974 and have a 19-year-old son.

PFLAG now has some 200,000 members and 500 affiliates around the world.

The group has since added Transgender people to its mission, and its acronym now stands for Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.

transplant continued from cover

doctor, Dr. Gero Hutter, who told the magazine he was glad he was “in the right place, at the right time.” “[F]or me, it is important to have overthrown the dogma that HIV can never be cured. Something like this is the greatest thing one can achieve in medical research,” Hutter said.

Brown developed acute myeloid leukemia and received successful initial treatment, but subsequently suffered a relapse that required a transplant of stem cells in 2007.

Post-transplant follow-ups included regular testing for HIV infection.

To the surprise of his doctors, Brown’s HIV remained undetectable by both viral load testing (RNA) and tests for viral DNA within cells.

Legal Services www.sgn.org www.sgn.org 20 Seattle Gay News

December 17, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Brown’s HIV antibody levels declined to the point that he showed no antibody reactivity to HIV core antibodies, and only very low levels of antibodies to HIV envelope proteins.

The case was first reported at the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston. Berlin doctors subsequently published a detailed case history in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2009.

They have now published a follow-up report in the journal Blood, saying that based on the results of extensive tests, “It is reasonable to conclude that cure of HIV infection has been achieved in this patient.”

Brown received stem cells from a donor who had natural resistance to HIV infection due to a genetic mutation in which the CCR5 co-receptor was absent from his cells.

People with this mutation are almost completely protected against HIV infection because the most common variety of HIV uses

CCR5 as its “docking station,” attaching to it in order to enter and infect CD4 cells.

According to a USC study published in July, this particular mutation is present in perhaps 10% of Caucasians.

Researchers said this case may suggest ways to develop a cure for HIV infection through genetically engineered stem cells.

The German researchers and San Francisco-based immunologist Professor Jay Levy said that the findings in Brown’s case point to the importance of suppressing production of CCR5-bearing cells, either through transplants or gene therapy.

Scientists were sufficiently intrigued by Brown’s case that they met in Berlin in 2009 to discuss how to identify stem cell donors with the CCR5-deficient mutation and expand the supply of stem cells from these donors.

Others have suggested that gene therapy procedures which transform stem cells – and all their descendents – into cells resistant to

HIV infection may be a more practical option than looking for matching donors.

Several US research groups announced in October 2009 that they had secured funding to explore techniques for engineering and introducing CCR5-deficient stem cells.

Even if these approaches are successful, they may not result in a universally applicable cure, however.

For one thing, they will be expensive, so they very likely will be reserved for people with no remaining treatment options or with a cancer – like leukemia – requiring bone marrow or stem cell transplants.

As Tony Brown’s case shows, the course of treatment is also long and harrowing. It is too extreme and too dangerous to be used as a routine treatment, Levy said in 2009.

Brown suffered two relapses and underwent two stem cell transplants. He experienced temporary liver problems and kidney failure.

He also suffered a serious neurological

disorder that led to temporary blindness and memory problems.

Brown is still undergoing physiotherapy to help restore his coordination and gait, as well as speech therapy.

When Stern asked if it would have been better to live with HIV than to have beaten it in this way, Brown replied, “Perhaps. Perhaps it would have been better, but I don’t ask those sorts of questions anymore.”

According to Levy, less invasive options to alter CCR5 could be on the horizon within the next five years.

“It’s definitely the wave of the future,” he said. “As we continue to follow this one patient, we will learn a lot.”

One drug currently on the market – maraviroc, or Selzentry – blocks CCR5 co-receptors. It was first approved in 2007 and is used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs.

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