SGN Oct 16, 2009 - Section 1

Celebrating 36 Years!

Issue 42 Volume 37

FRIDAY October 16, 2009 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

VOTING BEGINS - FINAL PUSH TO APPROVE REFERENDUM 71 - P. 11

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

250,000 march on Washington, Seattle marches in demanding full equality show of solidarity file photo

James Whitely

The equality march on Capitol Hill

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer March for Equality in Washington, DC

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer The Stonewall 2.0 generation descended on the nation’s capital October 11 to demand “equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.”

National Equality March lead organizer Cleve Jones estimated the turnout at 200,000 to 250,000.

Towleroad.com’s Andy Towle said police gave him the same figure.

Mainstream media reports pegged the turnout at “tens of thousands.”

But, as Towle noted, “There were 10 times as many people still on Pennsylvania Avenue when the area in front of the stage had filled,” an assertion that is backed up by video Towle posted on his site.

In Seattle, the call for equality across the board was the same as at the D.C. event. Of special local importance, however, was the message to approve Referendum 71.

During the pre-march rally, State Representative Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat from the 43rd District, asked the crowd to “remember to vote, and remember to tell your friends and family to vote to approve Referendum 71.” Pedersen

On October 11, over 200,000 people marched on Washington D.C. in the National Equality March to demand equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. In a show of solidarity, over 2,000 people marched in the Seattle OUTprotest Equality March from Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, down Broadway, and ended see d.c. march page 9 up at the Federal Courthouse. see seattle march page 24

The 2.3-mile march ended at the Capitol with hours of speeches, including by pop-music sensation Lady Gaga.

“I have seen and witnessed so many things over the past two years and I can say with such certainty that this is the single most

President Obama addressing crowd at HRC dinner

by Chuck Colbert and Lisa Keen Keen News Service The content of President Barack Obama’s speech to an audience of LGBT supporters on the eve of the 2009 March on Washington offered nothing new. He reiterated

Gay leaders at the White House.

The 3,000 people gathered for the Human Rights Campaign’s annual $250-a-plate National Dinner interrupted the president’s speech 35 times with loud and sustained applause, including several standing ovations. But comments from attendees following the speech, as well as from many people who watched the speech live on CSPAN Saturday night, suggest the community likes what it hears but still longs to see some action.

From his opening quip – saying, “It is a privilege to be here tonight, to open for Lady Gaga” – to his campaign-like rousing finish, President Obama delivered a message that was warmly received.

That message, said Obama, was “simple: I’m here with you in that fight” for equality.

“I WILL END his promises to the community, ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’” said he was “with” the community The president seemed gener“in the fight” for equality, and offered no timetable. And the roar of ally comfortable in front of the approval from the standing-room- enormous LGBT audience, even only audience at the Washington though many news reports ahead Convention Center Saturday night was, at times, deafening – just as it was in June, when Obama greeted see hrc dinner page 24

courtesy q syndicate

courtesy q syndicate

President Obama, speaker at GLBT veterans lay HRC gala in Washington, DC wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Presentation of wreath

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer A significant number of LGBT veterans joined Army Lieutenant Dan Choi at the National Equality March on October 11 after President Obama issued his strongest statement yet on ending the mili-

tary’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The policy, enacted into law by Congress is 1993, prevents LGBT service members from serving openly. Nearly 14,000 service see gay vets page 20

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.

An Investment in your smile increases your face value

Smile Proudly Mark A. Caggiano, DDS 4000 East Madison Suite 201 Seattle, WA 98112

www.seattlesbestsmiles.com Conveniently located in the Madison Park neighborhood.

(206) 323-5677 It's time for a smile that gets noticed.

We're here to make it happen.

HOT MEN, COOL DRINKS

HOT MEN, CHEAP DRINKS CHEAP MEN, HOT DRINKS, WHATEVER

HAPPY HOUR ALL DAY EVERYDAY! SMALL PLATES 5

DRINKS

jalapeno polenta fries well drinks 2.50 crispy calamari boozy double wells 4 misti isle beef sliders house teas 5 shortribs dag daddy shots 2 tuscan style hummus select wines 4 gorgonzola fries bud light 2 sweet potato fries stella artois 3 southern deep fried pickles

314 Broadway East ˷ Seattle WA 98102 ˷ 206-328-7000 2

Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

Tim Eyman is back!

In 2006 he tried to repeal a law that would prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Now Tim Eyman’s I-1033 will prolong the recession, cut health care and human services, and slash education spending.

Join more than 220 organizations including the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), GLBT leaders across Washington, and Vote NO on I-1033.

AARP Washington AFSCME Alliance of People with Disabilities Alzheimer’s Association, Western and Central Washington Chapter American Federation of Teachers Washington, AFL-CIO Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation Children’s Alliance Climate Solutions Community Health Network of Washington Conservation Northwest El Centro de la Raza Fuse Washington Futurewise Greater Seattle Business Association Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce Group Health Cooperative Health Work Force Institute Healthy Washington Coalition Heart of America Northwest King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence King County Corrections Guild King County Democrats Latino Political Action Committee of

Washington League of Education Voters League of Women Voters of Washington Lutheran Public Policy Office Microsoft NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters People for Puget Sound Pierce County Democrats Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington Providence Health & Services Public School Employees of Washington Resident Councils of Washington Seattle Human Services Coalition SEIU Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter Statewide Poverty Action Network Surfrider Foundation Tacoma Professional Firefighters IAFF #31 The Lands Council The Nature Conservancy of Washington Transportation Choices Coalition Vulcan, Inc Washington Association of Community and Migrant Health Centers Washington Association of Churches

Washington Conservation Voters Washington Education Association Washington Environmental Council Washington Federation of State Employees Washington Home Care Coalition Washington Low Income Housing Association Washington Stand for Children Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO Washington State Council of Firefighters Washington State Elder Care Alliance Washington State Hospital Association Washington State Labor Council Washington State Nurses Association Washington State PTA Washington State Senior Citizens’ Lobby Washington Toxics Coalition Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition

Learn more at www.no1033.org

Paid for by No on I-1033 Committee • 603 Stewart St., #819 • Seattle, WA 98101

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News

3

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

2009

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 Tom Flint (retired) 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, Rajket Dirzhud-Rashid, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, 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, Rajket Dirzhud-Rashid National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by JT&A, Inc. © 2009, JT&A, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission.

Publication of names, photographs or likenesses of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.

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

4

Seattle Gay News

Tour de Life: The highway

by Beau Burriola SGN European Correspondent Chase pulled the sliding back door of the rented truck down by the rope handle and locked it. The sound of the lock clicking into place sent an excited chill through him.

There was something final in the sound of that click. There’s no turning back now. In just a couple of short days, he’d be starting his new life.

“Where will you go?” Rui asked him two weeks earlier when he told him he was leaving. They were having breakfast at Guadalajara, the same bright pink Mexican restaurant they’d been going to breakfast at since Chase moved to Tampa four years ago. In between bites of spicy eggs and chorizo washed down with syrupy coffee, Chase described to his roommate how he’d found an apartment in San Diego apartment just one block over from the beach.

“I need a change,” Chase said in that same way he’d been saying for months. He’s 22, he would say, and he wants to try something else. Rui understood well enough; he’d thought about leaving for years, but never did. Work, school, and people kept him around more than the need to go. Chase’s excitement made him wonder again if it was time.

Now, climbing into his rented truck for the journey, there was no big fanfare to the sendoff. Rui waved from their balcony and Chase honked as he pulled away, full of excited anticipation. When he hit the highway with the last signs of Tampa in the passenger side mirror, he felt like he was leaving so much of the crap behind: the bad decisions, the mistakes, the awkward encounters, the embarrassments, the people who hurt him – all of it fell away and was replaced with the calming feeling of starting over with a shiny new beginning. He turned the volume up

He began to say how hard it was to make new friends and how he felt like guys in Seattle were only interested in themselves and sex. Marla listened, but she couldn’t understand. She liked Seattle just fine, but whether it was because he couldn’t find the right people or right places, or because his mind was at breakfast at Guadalajara or on the beach with his Navy boy, Chase never quite set down roots in his three years in Seattle.

When Chase pulled the rope on the sliding door down again and the latch clicked into place in front of his apartment, windy rain blew in his ears. He was on the highway in five minutes, headed down to the Biggest Gay City of all, San Francisco. If any place in this country had something to offer a Gay guy, Gay Mecca had to be it. There’s no turning back now.

“It’s okay, I guess,” Chase said to his brother when asked how he was doing six months later, “but it almost feels like too much.”

“Too much what?” was the second question. Chase didn’t know what to say. That Gay life felt too legitimate here? That it all seemed too impersonal? That the constant game of seduction and competition was exhausting and stale? His brother wouldn’t understand.

“I don’t know,” Chase finally replied, wondering where to go next.

The feeling of starting over is one that a lot of folks wonder about and a few folks know too well. The clean slate, the chance to strengthen the soft spots of our character before we present them to an entirely new audience, or simply shaking up the staleness life acquires with settling; there are a million reasons to pack it all up and take the first highway out, but as folks who have driven that road have found out – some only after many years of different lives in different places strung loosely together – there really is no turning back, especially from years of false starts.

on the song he had planned for the occasion and sang loudly as he drove, glancing into the mirror to congratulate himself.

Even in the blur of his new life in San Diego, he never forgot that day; not when he started working at the pet store near the beach in La Jolla, not when he started dating a Navy boy, not when he started classes up again. He didn’t forget when he was dumped by the Navy boy, when his hours at the pet store were cut, or when he took some time off of school because he couldn’t afford it.

Before he realized two years had gone by, he was done with the endless peeling sunburns, blindingly sunny days, sitting down onto scalding car seats, and muggy, sleepless, sticky nights.

When Chase pulled the rope on the sliding door down again in front of his apartment, the sound of the latch clicking into place sent that old chill through him. There’s no turning back now. When he hit the highway heading north to Seattle, he felt like he was leaving all the crap behind, replacing it with the familiar feeling of starting over with a shiny new beginning. He hadn’t remembered to pick out a song for this trip, so he put in the first CD he could find and listened to Radiohead over and over for the first four hours of his trip.

In the foggy newness of Seattle, Chase’s new life was plenty exciting. The sea of new faces against the canvas of new places provided the change he wanted. Like the fireworks bursting from Lake Union each Independence Day, Seattle’s newness enchanted a wide-eyed Chase, blinding him with promise before fading gently into barely-visible smoke.

“People here seem mean,” Chase complained to Marla, his roommate and closest “O public road, I say back I am not friend, on just one of many rainy and depressing days. As phrases like this do with afraid to leave you, yet I love you, you exrepetition, soon it was fact in Chase’s mind. press me better than I can express myself.”

–Walt Whitman

seeking f-bud s! give until it h u r t s!

F

w an n a b e m y

und

Bud?

October 16, 2009

You can get a FREE VIP ticket to BUMP, Seattle’s Hottest Halloween Party!! Ask your friends to support Gay City, and for every $200 you raise, you get a ticket!

Join Fund Buddies, help your community, and win prizes!

To learn more or join, visit www.gaycity.org and click FUND BUDDIES!

Versatile Painting Company

Interiors Exteriors

Faux finishes Murals

Over 22 years experience 206-755-5723 Visit our website at web.mac.com/tedobey Celebrating 36 Years!

ing regularly.

POZSeattle TRICKING THE RIGHT ON REF. 71 THANKS, MCC SEATTLE! The volunteers and members of POZSeattle would like to thank the Metropolitan Community Church of Seattle for hosting our monthly social on October 14 at the Cuff. They provided that evening, along with a slew of volunteers from their congregation, to help set up the and transform the bar into a bistro/cafe setting, a full-course dinner that included ham, chicken, baked beans, rolls, and various cakes and pies for dessert. Rev. Ray Neal has been a huge supporter of POZSeattle since he arrived in Seattle and became pastor of the Seattle chapter of MCC, and has been looking for the right time and event to have his congre-

gation participate and sponsor an event for POZSeattle. This was it! We had, over the time of the two-hour event, over 65 hungry and satisfied folks come through and partake in the generously prepared dinner. So again, we want to thank Rev. Ray and Mark, Dale, Tom, Bruce, Michelle, Gil, a different Ray and Mark, and all the volunteers from MCC that prepared and set up for this event.

We look forward to future collaborations with them.

One last thank-you to James Whitely, writer from the SGN. Your article in the October 9 edition really gave a great boost to the POZSeattle and MCC. We had folks that came up to us that had not heard of the group and are now interested in participat-

When I first saw the ad asking people to vote yes on Referendum 71, my immediate reaction was that they made the same mistakes that happened a year ago in California when ads were run to encourage people to vote no on Proposition 8. Like the ads that were created for voting no on Prop. 8, the ones for Ref. 71 don’t reach the undecided voters by asking the question, “What’s in it for me?”

What the creator of the ads for Ref. 71 should have done is to show a couple in a park with a toddler. The man turns towards the camera and explains that he and his wife are voting yes on Ref. 71 because they want to have a say on the kind of family they have since those who are opposed to Ref.

71 don’t even want married couples to use birth control.

Anyone who knows about the right wing knows that conservatives as a rule are against any form of family planning. To these people, sex is only good for perpetuating a man’s patriarchal lineage. ... We can turn tables on them and in a tongue in cheek manner tell how those who are against Ref. 71 might want to extend their restrictions on marriage to a restriction on homosexuals owning guns.

If you know the right wing, you know that they tend to be adamantly against any form of gun control even if it would prevent criminals from purchasing guns. By implying that those who are against Ref. 71 would restrict homosexuals from owning guns, it would be one more thing that would sway some of those who are leaning towards the right’s point of view to vote yes on Ref. 71.

Dennis Meurer

Michael Bartholomew 9th Circuit Court OKs release of R-71 names 1960-2009 Michael Bartholomew, 49, of Seattle passed away on September 10, 2009 after a brief illness at Swedish Medical Center, Cherry Hill. Mike was born on August 19, 1960 in Wooster, Ohio, but had lived in Seattle since 1989. Mike was a selfemployed general contractor specializing in remodeling and upgrades of private homes. He was preceded in death by his parents Richard and Kathy Bartholomew, and is survived by his five brothers and sisters. Although he had no close relatives in the Northwest, he was always surrounded by his adopted family, including John and Linda Green and Jeff VanSickle as well as many friends, acquaintances and loved ones in the city he had adopted as his home.

A celebration of Mike’s life will be held on October 24, 2009 at Seattle Unity Church (200 Eighth Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109) at 1 p.m. All are welcome to attend. For details, please contact Jeff VanSickle at deilfin@comcast.net.

Gregory M. Ploub Greg was a one-of-a kind person with friends ranging from the homeless to music’s superstars. He grew up in Eugene, Oregon, where his sister Geri Edwards and niece Laura and nephew Paul still live.

Greg was a generous and passionate advocate for the weak or vulnerable. During the last years of his life, he was a tireless volunteer for the Seattle AIDS Support Group at Dunshee House. He never failed to offer support to people newly diagnosed with HIV. He was creative and bursting with energy.

He usually had dozens of projects underway at a time. Some he actually finished!

Our friend Greg died on Tuesday evening, October 13, at Swedish Hospital with his sister and friends by his side. If he knew that we were there, he must have been very comforted. More than anything else, Greg loved his friends and family, and they were with him

to the end.

There will be a gathering to remember Greg at Dunshee House (303 17th Ave. E.) at 6:00 p.m. Monday, October 19. Donations in his name may be made to Dunshee House in his memory by going to www.dunsheehouse.org.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

[Editor’s note: At press time Protect Marriage Washington announced an appeal to the full Circuit Court of Appeals.]

A 3-member panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday, October 15, that Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed may release the names of voters who signed the petitions to put Referendum 71 on the ballot.

US District Court Judge Benjamin Settle had issued a preliminary injunction on September 10, preventing the release of the names.

While Settle ruled that releasing the names would violate the 1st Amendment rights of the signers, the 9th Circuit panel held that his decision “relies on an incorrect legal standard and, therefore, must be reversed.”

Protect Marriage Washington, the conservative group that sponsored the R-71 petition drive, sued Reed and his Public Records Officer Brenda Galarza to prevent them from releasing the names to Gay blogger Brian Murphy. Murphy had planned to post them on his site whosigned.org.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is charged with representing Reed in the case.

“We believe the names of those who sign referenda and initiatives are public record and the state has a history of releasing this information,” McKenna said. “We intend to vigorously defend our public records law in this matter as well.”

Washington Families Standing Together, the Approve Referendum 71 Campaign organization, was not a party to the suit.

Although the names of petition signers may now be released, they will not be released immediately, however.

In a case brought by I-1033 sponsor Tim Eyman, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks issued a temporary restraining order on October 14 preventing the release of any petitions for 11 state initiatives until the 9th Circuit panel could rule.

Janelle Guthrie, spokesperson for Attorney General Rob McKenna, told SGN that an emergency motion to lift Hicks’ order for the R-71 petitions would be filed before 5:00 p.m. Thursday.

October 16, 2009

“There could be a chance that the judge will not make a decision today,” she cautioned. “Their attorney is out of town, and the judge may delay until he gets back.”

In a statement released soon after getting the news from Deputy Solicitor General Bill Collins, who argued the case before the 9th Circuit panel, Reed announced that he was “delighted” with the ruling.

“The emphasis is that Washington state government is open, transparent, and the people of this state have adopted this strong Public Records Act,” he said. “I’m glad the 9th Circuit has upheld what we have been saying. These petitions are not like a secret ballot, but amount to taking part in our legislative process, which is required to be open and accountable.”

State Elections Director Nick Handy added, “The winner here is open government.”

Guthrie said the Attorney General’s office was “pleased that the 9th Circuit agreed with our arguments with respect to the state’s public records law.”

Washington Families Standing Together Campaign Manager Josh Friedes told SGN that “we believe the court’s decision is correct. It’s important to protect the integrity of the initiative and referendum process and the only way to protect against fraud and forgery is to make the names public.”

“It would be a mistake to post the names,” Friedes warned. “I think it would lead to negative conversations, and the public would view it as mean-spirited.”

Attorney Stephen Pidgeon, who represented Protect Marriage Washington in the hearings, did not return SGN’s call for comment by press time.

Whosigned.org’s Murphy was also unavailable for comment.

The three 9th Circuit judges who heard the case promised that “an opinion setting forth the reasons for the court’s reversal of the Preliminary Injunction Order shall be issued expeditiously and in due course.”

The 13 US Circuit Courts are the intermediate appellate courts in the federal judiciary system. Appeals of Circuit Court decisions would be heard by the US Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit Court covers nine states containing about 20% of the US population, and has the largest caseload of all the Circuit Courts.

Seattle Gay News

5

INTERNATIONAL

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer GayRussia.ru

Russian Lesbians, Irina Shipitko (l) and Irina Fedotova-Fet, denied marriage license

Euro court moves on Russian Gay-pride cases The European Court of Human Rights has combined cases stemming from Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s bans on Gay-pride events in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and instructed Russian authorities to file a response by January 20.

“Our actions and pressure finally made them move,” said plaintiff Nikolai Alekseev. “It means that in one year we should have a decision.”

In February, Alekseev and others picketed the court demanding that the cases be prioritized.

“This case is about a systematic denial of freedom of assembly for LGBT people

in Russia since 2006,” Alekseev said. “But it goes beyond the LGBT borders and will help all human rights defenders and political groups as it will force Russia to change its law on demonstrations and public events.”

“We hope to have a decision before the fifth Moscow Pride scheduled for May 29, 2010,” he said. “Justice always comes, it’s only a matter of time.”

Luzhkov has banned pride for four years and has sent riot police to violently arrest small groups of activists who ignored the bans.

The mayor has said the bans are for Gays’ own good so that “radical Christians” don’t “kill them.” Russian society, he has said, “does not accept all these homos.”

Fora the BibleTellsMeSo documentary film by Daniel Karslake 7:00 pm - October 23*, 24, & 25

Oct 23rd 23rd Guest Guest Speaker: Speaker: **Oct Rev. Monica Monica Corsaro Corsaro Rev. Church Council Council ofof Greater Greater Seattle Seattle Church

For information: 206-322-0487

All Pilgrims Christian Church 500 Broadway East, Seattle, WA 98102

6

Seattle Gay News

But Luzhkov also has called Gay pride man rights groups and organizations have parades “satanic” and, reportedly, “weapons made plans for future collaboration and the of mass destruction.” queer community of St. Petersburg has been empowered to continue full participation in Court says Russian Lesbians the social and cultural life of their city,” orcan’t marry ganizers said.

Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court ruled The local group Coming Out was the main October 6 that city officials were right to force behind the festival, with assistance deny a marriage license to Lesbian couple from the Russian LGBT Network, Lesbi Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko.

Partiya, Gender-L, Ksenofobii-Net and othThe court said that under Russian law, er organizations. marriage is a “union between a woman and The Dutch and Swedish consulates helped a man.” fund the festival.

The couple now plan to go get married in Canada, then return and demand that Russia IGLYO to hold general recognize that marriage. assembly in Edinburgh The women’s lawyer, Gay activist NikoThe International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, lai Alekseev, said: “During the hearing, the Transgender and Queer Youth and Student judge asked Irina Shipitko, ‘Are you hus- Organisation will hold its biennial general band or wife?’ But perhaps the most surpris- assembly in Edinburgh, Scotland, Deceming [thing] came later when we were wait- ber 10-12. ing for the decision and an employee of the Hosted by LGBT Youth Scotland, the court came to us saying that he does not un- gathering is being funded by the European derstand why the girls cannot be allowed to Commission’s Youth in Action program, register their marriage.”

Scotland’s Equality and Human Rights “Overall, the media coverage was positive Commission, the Edinburgh City Council with several Russian agencies quoting this and the Edinburgh University Student Ascampaign as an effort to raise awareness,” sociation.

For more information, see iglyo.com.

Alekseev said. “Here we show a couple that is ready to go overseas to get married at any U.S. speaks up for Gays cost – and not a one-day PR action.” at Euro conference The U.S. government has defended Gay Obama names people at an important European humanGay ambassador The White House said October 7 that rights conference, the Council for Global openly Gay David Huebner will be named Equality reported October 8. The move was U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Sa- believed to be the first such action by the U.S. in a European context. moa.

Huebner, who must be confirmed by the At the annual Human Dimension ImpleSenate, is general counsel for the Gay and mentation Meeting of the Organization for Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Security and Cooperation in Europe, held though he is based in Shanghai, China, in Warsaw, the U.S. delegation spoke out where he works for a U.S. law firm. “against violations of the rights to freedom “This is great news,” said Jon Davidson, of association, especially those targeting Lambda Legal’s legal director. “David and Gay pride marches in Eastern Europe, while I worked together at my old law firm years also noting patterns of extreme violence tarago, [he] was on the board of GLAAD, and geting LGBT citizens in the United States did a great job ensuring inclusion of anti- and Europe,” said CGE Chair Mark BroGay discrimination issues in the Christopher mley.

“This is the first time that the United States Commission’s report on the LAPD.” has used its position within the OSCE to address these alarming human rights trends,” Turkish Gay websites he said. blocked The head of the U.S. delegation, Dr. MiTwo big Turkish Gay websites, hadigayri. com and gabile.com, have been blocked by chael Haltzel, said that anti-GLBT violence the Telecommunication Directorate, accord- discourages Gay people from coming out ing to the English-language newspaper Hür- and fighting for their rights. riyet Daily News and Economic Review.

“Acts of violence and human rights abuses No reason was given for the move. The toward individuals because of their sexual sites’ owners said the sites do not contain il- orientation or gender identity are ... a worrying – and increasing – trend that often goes legal or pornographic material.

The report said the sites – which offer unnoticed,” he said. “The extreme nature of news, commentary, reviews and forums violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or – have a combined membership of about Transgender individuals has a chilling effect 225,000 Turks. on these individuals’ speaking openly and advocating for their rights.”

Haltzel also called on Turkmenistan and Queer Culture Festival Uzbekistan “to decriminalize homosexualsucceeds in Russia The first International Festival of Queer ity.”

U.S. delegate Erika Schlager told the Culture held in St. Petersburg September 17-27 was “the first successful openly gathering that the U.S. is “concerned over Queer event of this scale in Russia,” orga- the denial of permission for pride events in [various] countries and the violence that has nizers said.

The festival included concerts, plays, been directed at participants in marches that photo exhibits, poetry events, seminars and do occur.” workshops at multiple locations.

“As a result of the festival, different huWith assistance from Bill Kelley

A representative of Washington Families Standing Together will be accepting donations.

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

IN PERSON VOTER REGISTRATION STILL POSSIBLE UNTIL OCTOBER 26 FOR NOVEMBER 3 GENERAL ELECTION

IF YOU HAVE MOVED BUT HAVE NOT SUBMITTED A CHANGE OF ADDRESS YOU CAN STILL GET A BALLOT SENT TO YOU If you are not currently registered to vote in Washington State and you want to vote in the November 3 General Election, you can still register to vote, but YOU MUST REGISTER TO VOTE IN PERSON, no later than Monday, October 26.

If you live in King County, drop by the King County Elections Office at 9010 E. Marginal Way S., Tukwila (a couple blocks north of the Museum of Flight). The office is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and is located on the Metro bus line 124 which travels between downtown Seattle and Federal Way. For more information, call the King County Elections Office, 206-2968683 or visit their website at www.kingcounty.gov/elections for more information.

If you live outside of King County, call the Secretary of State’s Elections Division at 360-902-4180 or visit their website at www.secstate.wa.gov and scroll down to the “Register to Vote” link in the home page’s “Most Requested Info” category for the location of your county elections office.

If you are registered to vote in Washington State but have moved since you registered and haven’t submitted a formal voter registration change of address, contact the King County Elections Office or the Secretary of State’s Elections Division to obtain a ballot for the November 3, General Election.

OCTOBER IS GLBT HISTORY MONTH Equality Forum has launched the GLBT History Month 2009 website, www.glbtHistoryMonth.com. Through October, a GLBT icon will be posted daily, with a video, biography, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources – all provided for FREE. The icons with resources for 2006, 2007 and 2008 are archived on the site. www.equalityforum.com.

SEATTLE MAYORAL CANDIDATE FORUM AT SEATTLE UNIVERSITY On Saturday, October 17, the Capitol Hill Community Council presents a Seattle Mayoral Candidate Forum, with Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan, from 4-6 p.m., at Seattle University, Pigott Auditorium – enter campus on 12th Ave. & E. Marion St. SEATTLE QUAKE RUGBY 2010 CALENDAR KICK OFF PARTY AT THE CUFF On Saturday, October 17, from 7:3011 p.m., the Seattle Quake Rugby hosts a “Night of Mayhem” at The Cuff Complex, 1533 13th Ave. at E. Pine St., to kick off the release of the 2010 Quake Rugby calendar. www.quakerugby.org.

CABLE CHANNELS 77/23 WITH SIMULTANEOUS ONLINE STREAM PRESENT A LOOK BACK AT SEATTLE’S 2009 PRIDE CELEBRATION On Saturday, October 17, at 9 p.m., and again on Tuesday, October 20, at 1 p.m., footage from the Pride Parade Part 3 (about 22 minutes, showing the last third of Seattle’s Pride Parade – the Gay Fathers contingent and thereafter), footage from PrideFest at Seattle Center (about 26 minutes), and footage of the Dyke March (about 8 minutes) will be shown on Seattle/King County Comcast cable channel 77 (if on Broadstripe, channel 23). The program will stream simultaneously on the internet and the link (word “streams”) can be found near the top of TJ’s website: http://adventuretv.bravehost.com.

A CONNECTION WAS MADE – GAY MEN NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE On Tuesday, October 20, at 6 p.m., Gay City Health Project and Three Dollar Bill Cinema present a FREE screening and discussion of A Connection Was Made, a film

by Joe Randazza, at the Seattle Public Library, Downtown Branch, 1000 4th Ave. Gay men are navigating the digital landscape. Whether for love, hook-ups, health information or political organizing, it’s clear that the internet is an important part of our community. A Connection Was Made addresses online culture and its impact on us.

The film uses, and is inspired by, the stories shared by local men during interviews with Gay City TV. Gay City TV uses the internet to bring ideas and people together. “We interview guys, asking their opinions on a wide range of topics about Gay life. The result ... video clips you can watch online. You can even provide feedback! Every few months we also work with local filmmakers to create short films using the stories of local Gay men.”

What do YOU have to say? Tell your story in an interview with GCTV! Contact chris@ gaycity.org. Want to watch GCTV online?

Check out www.gaycitytv.org.

NEW CITY THEATER PRESENTS CLIT NOTES

BY HOLLY HUGHES New City Theater, 1404 18th Ave. at E. Union St., presents Clit Notes by Holly Hughes, performed by Jessica Robinson.

Writes Hughes, “The first time I was in love with another woman? Actually, she was a woman; I was just thirteen. In fact, this little anecdote might have a happier ending if there’d been some sort of Gay youth organization in my hometown. Some sort of North American Woman-Girl Love Association. But, nooooo! The men, they get everything good. The Lesbian chicken, who worries about them, huh?” The play will APPROVE REF. 71 be performed Fridays, October 16, 23 and WINE & APPETIZER RECEPTION 30 (with an extended run possible), at 9:30 AT GREG KUCERA GALLERY p.m. Tickets: $10 at brownpapertickets.com, On Thursday, October 22, from 5:301-800-838-3006, and at the door.

7p.m., the Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 3rd Ave. S., hosts a wine reception with appetizQ-SQUARED BOOK GROUP ers provided by Chefs for 71 – Tom DougHOSTS AUTHOR OF BASHED las, Dahlia Lounge and Palace Kitchen; AT NEXT MEETING Chris Keff, Flying Fish; Thierry Rautureau, On Saturday, October 17, from 1-2 p.m., Rover’s – to benefit the Approve Ref. 71 Rick R. Reed, author of Bashed, will meet Campaign. Suggested donation: $250 and with members of the Q-Squared Book up. For more information, to RSVP, or to Group at the Capitol Hill Branch Library, contribute online, go to www.approve71.

425 Harvard Ave. E. Bashed is the story of a org/chefsfor71 or contact Ansley Lacitis at Gay hate crime and its aftermath. Q-Squared Ansley@wafst.org or call 206-300-5169.

Book Group is open to anyone who is interested in Gay literature and is always seeking NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST new members. www.qsquared.org.

TO STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, REPRESSION & THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION

Visit us online www.sgn.org

NORDIC LIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL On Thursday, October 22, rally and march OCTOBER 23-OCTOBER 25 to protest police brutality, repression and the Contemporary, award-winning films from criminalization of a generation. Gather at 5 p.m. at Occidental Park, Occidental Ave. S. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Swe& S. Washington St. (one block east of 1st den. www.nordicmuseum.org.

Ave. S.). The rally will begin at 5:30 p.m., SEATTLE QUAKE RUGBY followed by a march at 6:15 p.m. through NEW PLAYER ORIENTATION downtown to major sites of police brutality.

The Seattle Quake Rugby New Player 206-264-5527; www.october22.org.

Orientation will be held on Saturday, October 24, from noon - 2 p.m., at Magnuson JET CITY HOOPS Park, Field #5, 7400 Sand Point Way NE. SEEKING PLAYERS FOR Wear clothes to work out in, preferably a tUPCOMING 2009/2010 SEASON Jet City Hoops is Puget Sound’s co-ed shirt and shorts or track pants. If you have Gay basketball league. The league is open to soccer cleats or a mouthguard, bring those, people of all skill levels and their goal is to too.

“We here at Quake Rugby are looking for provide a fun environment for players who enjoy or want to learn more about basket- a few good men, and the New Player Orienball. For more information and to register, tation is the perfect place to start! We’ll be visit www.jetcityhoops.org. Deadline for doing some of our normal drills and fitness geared towards beginners, so if you’re curiregistration is Friday, October 23. ous about learning rugby, you’re in the right place. Remember – this isn’t tryouts, just a FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: chance to see if rugby is the sport for you.”

TROTSKY’S THEORY OF For more information, visit www.

PERMANENT REVOLUTION On Friday, October 23, at 7:30 p.m., An- quakerugby.org. drea Bauer, managing editor of the FreeDYKE COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS dom Socialist newspaper, will speak at New TURNS 21 - HOSTS FREE Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. S., on the COMMUNITY CELEBRATION concept of Permanent Revolution develOn Saturday, October 24, from 5-9:30 oped by Leon Trotsky, co-leader with Lenin of the 1917 Russian Revolution. The theory p.m., enjoy an evening of fine food and explains the relationship between social- entertainment – with Anzanga, Chrystos, ism and the forward march of democratic Katrina Pestano, Sankofa, Sistah Drum, rights and sheds light on current upheavals and Sheila Fox – at the Central Area Senior from Honduras to Iran. Door donation $3. Center, 500 30th Ave. S. - followed by dancSnack plates available at 6:30 p.m. for a $6 ing. There will be networking opportunidonation. For more information, call 206- ties, an activism timeline, literature tables, 722-2453, FSPseattle@mindspring.com and video interviews. This FREE event is or www.socialism.com/seattle. To arrange wheelchair accessible with ASL interprechildcare, please call in advance. Wheel- tation. For more information, contact 206722-0729 or google Dyke Community Acchair accessible. tivists Seattle. Sponsoredby DCA and Crow Legacy.

WICKED WOMYN CONFERENCE Wicked Womyn 2009, a bi-annual leathGLAAD SEATTLE BENEFIT er women’s conference in Seattle, will be WITH ART WOLFE held on the weekend of October 23-25 in SHOWCASES the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The event is “ABSTRACTION: open to all past, present and future women THE HUMAN FORM” who can respect and honor a woman’s SM/ The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against DefBDSM play space, education and fun. The event will include a meet and greet and auc- amation (GLAAD) is pleased to invite you tion, vendors, 16 workshops, and evening to an exclusive showing of “Abstraction: play parties with 250+ sexy attendees ex- The Human Form,” a new series of limited pected. For more information and to regis- edition prints by photographer Art Wolfe, at the West Seattle home of Art Wolfe, on Sunter, please visit www.wickedwomyn.com. day, October 25, from 5-7 p.m.

Join us as Art leads us through works rangDOCUMENTARY FILM ing from traditional tribal body paints to the FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO modern form in motion. When you RSVP, AT ALL PILGRIMS CHURCH a special website code will be emailed to TO BENEFIT APPROVE REF. 71 On Friday, October 23, Saturday, October you, so that you can preview these stunning, 24, and Sunday, October 25, at 7 p.m., All large format prints on-line. Art has generPilgrims Church, 500 Broadway E. (at E. ously agreed to donate a portion of all print Republican St.), presents Daniel Karslake’s sales from this event to GLAAD. Jarrett Barrios, GLAAD’s new national controversial documentary film For the Bipresident, will join us to describe GLAAD’s ble Tells Me So. The film tells the story of five religious culture changing work. Fair, accurate and families in America who struggle to recon- inclusive media images shatter stereotypes. cile their Christian faith with their under- GLAAD’s work proves that we are connectstanding of the Bible’s teachings about ho- ed through common, human experiences.

Suggested donation of $250 will give mosexuality. Two of the family stories focus on famous people: The Rev. Gene Robinson, you a sneak peak at Art Wolfe’s collection who became the first openly Gay Bishop in and support GLAAD’s work in Washingthe Episcopal Church, and former House of ton State and across the country to end hoRepresentatives minority leader Richard mophobia and eliminate LGBT discriminaGephardt, whose daughter Crissy came out tion. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be as a Lesbian about the time her father made served. www.glaad.org/seattle09. a run for the Presidency.

PUT THIS ON THE {MAP} – Interwoven with the stories of the five A GENERATION OF families are comments by Biblical experts.

YOUNG PEOPLE RETEACHING Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard theoGENDER & SEXUALITY logian Peter Gomes, American Baptist pasOn Sunday, October 25, Revelry Media in tor Susan Sparks, and others argue that Biblical language must be understood in terms partnership with Youth Eastside Services’ of its temporal social context, and should BGLAD program present PUT THIS ON not be read literally today. As the Rev. Dr. THE {MAP}, a compelling documentary Laurence Keene of the Christian Church, about a generation of young people redefinDisciples of Christ, puts it, “There’s nothing ing gender and sexuality on their own terms. wrong with a fifth-grade understanding of Twenty-six individuals weave together a groundbreaking narrative in an open and God as long as you’re in the fifth grade.”

For the Bible Tells Me So has received honest exploration of identity, education, numerous awards, including the audience family, and community. With strategies and prize for best documentary film at the 2007 recommendations for change, PUT THIS Seattle International Film Festival. Free-will ON THE {MAP} moves an audience from donations will go the Washington Families self-reflection to action. The documentary Standing Together to Approve Referendum will be shown at Broadway Performance 71. www.forthebibletellsmeso.org. www. Hall, 1625 Broadway and E. Pine St., doors at 6:30 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Tickets by allpilgrims.org. donation at the door, $5-$10 sliding scale.

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News

7

8

Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

California Governor honors Gay Activist Danny Nicoletta

governor.

Last year, Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill, saying he believed Milk should be recognized at the local level.

The legislation passed the state Senate in May and the California Assembly last month. The legislation has been divisive; according to the governor’s office, Schwarzenegger received more than 100,000 phone calls and e-mails from citizens opposing the legislation.

Milk, one of the country’s most celebrated Gay advocates, served briefly as San Francisco’s supervisor before he and the city’s mayor, George Moscone, were assassinated in 1978.

Earlier this year, Milk received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was posthumously inducted into the California Hall of Fame.

Slain San Francisco political leader Harvey Milk Milk was a “unique”

by Shaun Knittel historical figure who led a civil rights movement and then was “assassinated in his pubSGN Staff Writer lic office for being who he was,” said State California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneg- Sen. Mark Leno, the Democrat who introger signed a bill on October 13 commemo- duced the bill.

“The reality is Harvey Milk is a hero to so rating Harvey Milk, the first openly Gay politician elected to public office in the many people and a great role model,” said state. Under the measure, the governor pro- Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality claims May 22 – Milk’s birthday – as a day California, the group that backed the bill inof significance across the state. The day of troduced by Leno. “It’s very appropriate that significance would not close schools or state the state he worked in and [which] passed the first Gay rights bill in the country should offices.

“He really saw this signing as a way to honor him.”

The bill marks the first time any state has honor the Gay community in California,” said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the officially honored an openly Gay person.

d.c. march continued from cover

important moment of my career,” Gaga said.

“The younger generation, my generation, we are the ones coming up in the world, and we must continue to push this movement forward and close the gap. We must demand full equality for all. They say that this country is free and they say that this country is equal, but it is not equal if it’s [only] sometimes [equal].”

“Obama, I know that you’re listening. Are you listening?! We will continue to push you and your administration to bring your words of promise to a reality. We need change now.

We demand action now.”

The night before the march, President Barack Obama addressed 3,000 people at the Human Rights Campaign’s national dinner.

He promised to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, but gave no timeline for doing so.

“I’m working with the Pentagon, its leadership and the members of the House and the Senate on ending this policy,” he said. “I will end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. That’s my commitment to you.”

The Gay blogosphere reacted very negatively, complaining that the speech added little or nothing to what Obama had said on Gay issues during the presidential campaign.

But the speech was nonetheless remarkable for its comprehensive embrace of the Gay activist agenda and its sometimes moving rhetoric, the likes of which has never been uttered by a U.S. president.

“While progress may be taking longer than you’d like as a result of all that we face – and that’s the truth – do not doubt the direction we are headed and the destination we will reach,” the president said. “My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time in which we put a stop to discrimination against Gays and Lesbians, whether in the office or on the battlefield.

You will see a time in which we as a nation

finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman.”

But many activists wanted more. They wanted Obama to speak against the November 3 referendum in Maine that would repeal the state’s law legalizing same-sex marriage, and against a similar initiative in Washington state that would repeal the “all but marriage” domestic-partnership law.

They wanted to know when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will be repealed, when the Defense of Marriage Act will be repealed, and when the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will be passed.

Obama offered no “whens.”

“I could not discern anything new,” Cleve Jones said in an interview. “It felt like a reiteration of the pledges he made during the campaign, it felt like a campaign speech. It was well-written, it was beautifully delivered – the man has the gift – but, you know, I hope this is not true, but we need to keep reminding ourselves and the young people who were not present during the Clinton administration that this is very similar. This is déjà vu all over again. The beautiful speeches, the flowery proclamations, the willingness to attend our parties, and the list of well-connected people who get great jobs.

I’m sorry, but appointing a Gay man ambassador to New Zealand is not a very bold step. ... We’ve got to keep doing the work to push him to do the right thing.”

March Co-Director Robin McGehee was even less impressed.

“I was totally disappointed,” McGehee said in an interview. “Our community let him off and we did not force him by coming to that dinner to [announce] substantial change. All we got was another ‘Please wait.’ He got an A-plus on the Cliff Notes version of our rights that we’re denied, but a C-minus on what he’s actually doing to take care of it.”

Inside the HRC dinner, however, Obama was treated to repeated outbursts of raucous cheering, and Human Rights Campaign

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Study finds more Gay characters on network TV

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer On September 30, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) released their 14th Annual Diversity report, previewing the 2009-2010 television season. The number of LGBT characters on primetime network TV is up slightly this season to 18 out of a total of 600 roles.

The GLAAD study breaks down television into broadcast, cable, reality and animation.

Then, the 600 characters on primetime are broken down further into six primary groups: Drama Lead/Supporting, Drama Recurring, Comedy Lead/Supporting, Comedy Recurring, Animated, and Reality.

The “Where We Are on TV” report found that 3% of actors appearing regularly on network drama and comedy series in 2009-10 season will portray LGBT characters. The newest numbers are an increase from 2.6% in the 2008-09 season, and 1.1% in the 2007-08 season.

On mainstream cable channels, however, the number of LGBT characters continued to drop, slipping from a total of 32 in 2008 to 25 this year.

According to the report, two channels

that program for LGBT viewers – here! and Logo – add 27 Gay characters to the cable total this year.

The report notes that all of the representation is overwhelmingly white, with only four LGBT people of color appearing on broadcast shows and 13 on cable.

ABC led the networks in Gay representation, with eight Gay characters out of 160, followed by Fox with four out of 104.

CBS lacked a single LGBT part, the report said.

“It’s promising to see not only an increase in the quantity of LGBT characters, but that storylines about the LGBT community are becoming more reflective of current issues impacting our lives,” said Jarrett Barrios, GLAAD president.

“Americans now have the opportunity to see LGBT couples marrying on shows like Brothers & Sisters, raising children on Modern Family, and LGBT youth coming out on Glee.”

As more Americans see fair, accurate images of our community and the issues impacting our lives reflected on the small screen, Barrios said, the more they will come to accept and better understand their LGBT family members and neighbors.

“It’s promising to see not only an increase in the quantity of LGBT characters, but that storylines about the LGBT community are becoming more reflective of current issues impacting our lives.”

President Joe Solmonese called it “a historic night when we felt the full embrace and commitment of the president of the United States.”

“It’s simply unprecedented,” Solmonese said. “President Obama told LGBT Americans that his commitment to ending discrimination in the military, in the workplace and for loving couples and their families is ‘unwavering.’ He made it crystal clear that he is our strongest ally in this fight, that he understands and, in fact, encourages our activism and our voice even when we’re impatient with the pace of change. But these remarks weren’t just for us, they were directed to all Americans who share his dream and ours of a country where ‘no one is denied their basic rights, in which all of us are free to live and love as we see fit.’”

The praise for Obama inside HRC’s fancy dinner and the denunciations of Obama

October 16, 2009

in the streets of D.C. seemed to unequivocally confirm the split that’s emerged in the Gay community in the aftermath of the passage of Proposition 8 in California: On one side are the grassroots, the netroots, many younger GLBT people and the Stonewall 2.0 folks, who are pissed off, mad as hell and aren’t gonna take it anymore.

On the other side is the Gay activist establishment, which seems to believe that business-as-usual “slow and steady” is still the way to go.

About halfway through the National Equality March, when it became clear that the turnout was big enough for the march to be deemed a huge success, a reporter said to Cleve Jones, “You realize you just split the Gay movement in two.”

Jones nodded and grinned.

Seattle Gay News

9

10 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

VOTING BEGINS - final push to Approve Ref. 71

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

This week, Washingtonians began to receive their General Election ballots – ballots that contain Referendum 71 – asking them to approve or reject the state’s domestic partnership law. After months of signature gathering, declining to sign petitions, signature verification, and litigation – the time to vote is now.

VOTE TO APPROVE REF. 71 The following is the ballot language printed on the General Election ballot: The legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5688 concerning rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill.

This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded stateregistered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage.

Should this bill be: Approved ___ Rejected ____ APPROVE REF. 71 CAMPAIGN The Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST) campaign to approve Referendum 71 continues, despite ballots arriving in the mail. This week, the campaign to approve the referendum reached a milestone of $1 million dollars raised for the campaign

advocating to keep the same-sex domestic partnership law on the books.

On October 17, WAFST has planned to mobilize a door-to-door outreach campaign.

WAFST officials say volunteers will distribute literature, answer questions, and urge people to vote to approve Referendum 71.

The campaign sent out an e-mail this week to WAFST supporters reminding them that the best way to make an impressions is “to speak with someone face to face.” WAFST said they plan to knock on doors for approximately three hours.

For more information about WAFST, the Approve Referendum 71 Campaign, or to volunteer, visit the organization online at www.approvereferendum71.org.

COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ENDORSE REF. 71 Thirty-one organizations that represent and serve communities of color have endorsed Referendum 71 this week, and are urging voters to approve Referendum 71.

“There isn’t just one type of family in our communities. We are a diverse community with diverse families. They all deserve legal protections and to be treated fairly under the law, especially during these times of economic uncertainty,” said Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza.

In a joint statement released by the organizations, the coalition of communities of color say they support the Approve Referendum 71 Campaign because Gay and Lesbian couples need domestic partnership laws to provide essential protections for their families.

Anti-Prop 8 lawsuit OK, federal judge says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer US District Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled on Wednesday, October 14, that a federal lawsuit to overturn California’s Prop 8 may go to trial.

After hearing two hours of oral argument, Walker rejected a motion to dismiss Perry v. Schwarzenegger – which argues that Prop 8 violates the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Speaking from the bench, Walker said that two key issues in the case – whether or not Prop 8 “discriminates on the basis of gender,” and whether or not the state has a compelling interest in defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman so as to foster procreation – are compelling legal questions that can only be answered at trial.

“The presentation of evidence is crucial to answering the questions” raised by the case, he said, adding that he sees the need for a “fuller record” in order to issue a ruling.

Trial has been set for January 2010, but may be delayed pending appeal of one Walker’s pre-trial rulings.

Walker ruled on October 1 that the Prop 8 campaign must release internal campaign communications that may demonstrate animus – or discriminatory intent – towards same-sex couples.

Perry v. Schwarzenegger was filed in federal District Court on May 26, the same day the California Supreme Court ruled in Strauss v. Horton that Prop 8 was valid under the state constitution. Since the Strauss v. Horton ruling effectively ended hopes that California courts would strike Prop 8, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) turned to federal courts with the Perry case.

AFER’s lead attorneys are Theodore Olson and David Boies, who argued on opposite sides in the 2000 Bush v. Gore lawsuit before the US Supreme Court. The lead attorney for the Prop 8 campaign is Charles Cooper.

Walker was skeptical of Cooper’s argument that the state may restrict marriage to opposite sex couples in order to foster procreation. He noted that he recently presided over a wedding where the groom was in his 90s and the bride in her 80s.

“I didn’t ask if they intended to procreate,” the judge asked. “Should I have?”

Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights – who won marriage equality through a California Supreme Court ruling in In re Marriages Cases, and tried to restore it in Strauss v. Horton – initially opposed the suit because they feared that a loss in federal court would set a negative precedent that could prove difficult to reverse.

The three organizations subsequently filed unsuccessful motions to intervene in the case, as did the conservative group Campaign for California Families. Walker turned down their motions in August, however.

Walker also denied a motion by AFER for a preliminary injunction that would allow legal marriages to continue until Perry is settled.

Judge Walker did, however, grant the City of San Francisco’s motion to intervene as a plaintiff, but only to assess the financial impact that withholding same-sex marriage rights has on local governments.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown has declined to defend Prop 8, telling Judge Walker in June that it violates the US Constitution and should be struck down.

Olson and Boies are basing their case on the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. Originally adopted in 1868 to prohibit southern states from depriving newly freed slaves of citizenship rights, the 14th Amendment has since been interpreted to mean that state law may not restrict civil rights recognized by federal courts. It was the basis for the 1954 Brown v. Board school desegregation case, for example.

Olson argued that the California Supreme Court ruling in Strauss v. Horton created

Visit us online www.sgn.org

“Committed couples who want to take care of each other should be allowed to visit each other in the hospital, take family and medical leave when a loved one is seriously ill, and have insurance coverage,” the statement said. “Families with children need the protections provided by domestic partnership laws, especially when a parent dies.

There are Gay and Lesbian couples in our community whose relationships are not recognized by their employers, leaving them uninsured or ineligible to receive survivor’s benefits if one of them passes away.”

“This new law also protects elders in our community who are in monogamous opposite-sex relationships but choose not to marry. Our elders are the rock of our community. We must do all that we can to protect them,” said James Kelly, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle.

Often seniors who are widowed or divorced will suffer serious economic hardship if they remarry. Under Social Security, there is a “marriage penalty” which puts seniors’ benefits in peril if they remarry.

“The domestic partnership law allows unmarried senior couples to have the legal protections they need to take care of each other, to be able to provide insurance or take family medical leave if a partner is gravely ill, and to make critical decisions for one another in times of crisis – without losing benefits that for many may be their only source of income,” reads the statement. “They should not have to live in poverty in order to be together with the person they love.”

The 31 organizations join the coalition of over 180 businesses, organizations, churches, and individuals who’ve endorsed the Approve Referendum 71 Campaign so far.

an anomalous legal situation for same-sex couples.

The California court ruled that Prop 8 should stand, and that the 18,000 same-sex marriages that were legally performed in the state before Prop 8 passed should also stand. Same-sex domestic partnerships – which have been legal in California since 1999 – were not challenged by Prop 8.

Consequently, “we have a crazy quilt of relationships in California” that discriminates against some same-sex couples, Olson concluded.

Questioned by Walker about how denying marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the equal protection clause, Olson insisted that any difference in treatment implies inequality.

“To say you will be identified a little bit different violates the equal protection

clause. That is one of the things we could prove at trial,” said Olson. “[Marriage] means so much to so many people. The federal government does make a distinction, and that has an effect.”

Walker has a reputation for judicial eccentricity. He has required law firms to bid for the status of lead counsel in securities class-action suits, and has publicly called for legalization of drugs.

Walker was first nominated to the federal bench by Pres. Ronald Reagan but ran into opposition because of his membership in the all-male Olympic Club and his representation of the US Olympic Committee in a suit that prevented a Bay Area group from calling its athletic competition the “Gay Olympics.”

He was subsequently appointed successfully by President George H. W. Bush.

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

I strongly APProVE r-71 Equality is good for all people – gay and straight. Washington’s domestic partnership law is good news for everybody.

Please join me and vote to approve R-71.

Robert & Terry

Paid for by Rosencrantz for City Council, Harriet Bakken, Treasurer, 2316 - 18th Ave. East, Seattle, WA 98112-2113

Visit us online www.sgn.org

www.RobertRosencrantz.com

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 13

SERVICE DEPARTMENT OPEN MONDAY THRU SATURDAY Sales contact David Yama davidyama@carpros.com 206-817-4459

Can Your Cause Use $5000?

Enter your group or non-profit to win one of 4 prestigious Cooperative Spirit Awards.

www.opcoop.coop 14 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

®

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 15

Exotic Penthouse on Alki It’s time to get the home you deserve. Incredible views, plenty of space, with artistic detailing throughout this newly remodeled dream home on Alki.

Two bedrooms, plus an office loft, private garden balcony, a view deck & two parking spaces. Priced right at $720,000.

Contact your friendly Realtor® Raymond Hill at (206) 940 3978 or Raymond@Windermere.com for a private showing today.

Finders Keepers Upcoming Events October 17, 2009 to Memorial Day 2010, over 2000 hand blown glass floats will be hidden on the beach for you to find and keep!

Oct 16-Nov 7: Murder Room Theatre West Oct 17: Glass Float Gala Oct 31-Nov 1: Glass Galore Art Fair & Sale Nov 14: Seafood & Chowder Cook-off Nov 14: Restoration Pow Wow Nov 19-22: Native American Arts Festival Nov 27-28: Comedy On the Coast Dec 26-Jan 1: Whale Watch Week

16 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 17

Dyke Community Activists turns 21

by Tina Gianoulis Special to the SGN Dyke Community Activists 21st Anniversary Party October 24, 5 PM Central Area Community Center The rush of optimism over electing a president that many call our “community organizer in chief” gave local activism a brief moment on the national stage, but most community activists have long looked only to each other for recognition and appreciation of their efforts. It is in this spirit that local group Dyke Community Activists has chosen to throw itself – and the community – a big party upon coming of age.

On October 24, 2009, Dyke Community Activists invites Lesbians, activists, friends, and supporters to gather at the Central Area Community Center, 500 30th Ave. S., from 5 to 9:30 p.m. The event is billed as a chance for members of the progressive community to relax and recharge while making new connections and building cooperation and support. A catered buffet and entertainment by a number of dynamic local performers will contribute to the spirit of revitalization, while an interactive timeline will allow

guests to place themselves and their organizations within a framework of local, national, and international activism. Other activities will include a tabling area for group and individual networking and the option of video interviews to create an oral history of Seattle social justice work and the Queer community’s central role in it.

In the spirit of building community, DCA is presenting an evening of local entertainment featuring spoken-word performances

by Chrystos and Katrina Pestano, the African rhythms of Sistah Drum, and the vibrant women’s a capella group Sankofa. The evening will finish with danceable klezmer tunes and Yiddish erotica by Sheila Fox and her band, followed by the Anzanga Marimba Ensemble. Lengthy breaks between performances will offer opportunities to socialize with other local activists and enjoy a sumptuous buffet provided by community caterer Golda Simon. Marla Nonken, a longtime Seattle activist and member of DCA, will perform on the piano as guests enjoy the displays and refreshments.

DCA is a Lesbian group that has been doing political work in Seattle since 1988. That year, the attention of the world was focused on the Middle East as a grassroots resistance movement arose among Palestinian people

Registration open for Jet City Hoops

A variety of socials are held throughout the season and there is a season-ending tournament to crown the new Jet City Hoops champions in each division.

The season starts on November 7 and 8 with the Co-ed Rec league playing on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-noon and the Competitive League on Sundays from 5-7 p.m. All games are played in Capitol Hill at Miller Rec Center and Seattle Central Community College.

For more information and to sign up for the league, go to www.jetcityhoops.org.

coalition with a wide variety of peace and justice groups.

After concentrating their efforts on ending the Israeli Occupation for 10 years, the group decided in 1998 to broaden its focus to include other local and national issues, while still keeping its international connection. They changed their name to Dyke Community Activists and continued to organize educationals and benefits to spotlight relevant issues from gentrification to globalization while raising funds for other grassroots organizations. In 2000, DCA members traveled to Washington D.C. and New York to participate in national and international demonstrations organized by anti-poverty and anti-violence group World March of Women 2000. Looking forward, the group hopes to gather a city-wide coalition to organize a Seattle response to World March of Women 2010, an international effort to end poverty and violence against women and children.

DCA is an open group that welcomes new members. Membership of the group has fluctuated, with many past members remaining in a sort of auxiliary status, helping and supporting DCA events. Indeed, as the name implies, DCA feels kinship with all dyke, Queer, and progressive activists, which inspired them to celebrate their own 21st anniversary, by giving the entire community the gift of a party celebrating the activism of us all.

For more information about the October 24 DCA anniversary celebration, or about Dyke Community Activists and their work, call 206-722-0729.

Community college hosted stirring HIV/AIDS vigil james whitely

Jet City Hoops, the largest GLBT basketball league on the West Coast, is now registering for the upcoming season. Registration must be received by October 23. This season, Jet City Hoops has expanded and is now offering a Co-ed Recreational League and a new Competitive League. The Recreational league is primarily for players who are newer to basketball up to mid-level players and the Competitive League is for players who are mid-level to advanced players.

Jet City Hoops is open to people of all backgrounds and skill levels, and is a fun way to meet others who are interested in playing or learning more about basketball.

living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, areas occupied by Israeli government forces since 1967. This movement, called the Intifada, illuminated many repressive policies of the Israeli government, and progressives everywhere began to echo the Palestinian call for an end to the Occupation.

In Seattle, a group of Lesbians gathered to plan an ongoing action in support of the Palestinian Intifada. Feeling that a large part of the problem was an American tendency to feel that the situation is too complicated to comprehend, they created a set of educational panels with simple but detailed explanations of such issues as U.S. involvement in the Occupation, conditions of Palestinian women and children in the Occupied Territories, and Israeli resistance to the Occupation. As their first action, they displayed the panels at the Pike Place Market on a busy Saturday and passed out informational leaflets asking for an end to U.S. support for the Occupation and an egalitarian peace process.

The group called itself the Palestine Panel Project, adding the name Lesbian Work Group when they felt it was important to underscore their Lesbian identity. They continued to display the panels, show videos, and host women speakers to educate and raise consciousness about the Palestinian struggle, Israeli resistance to their government’s actions, and anti-Semitism against both Jews and Arabs. Palestine Panel Project fundraisers sent money to aid women’s groups working for peace. Though the group’s work was mainly focused within the Lesbian community, they also worked in

A Jet City Hoops press release

Seattle OUTprotest’s Generation Q Mega Mixer

by James Whitely SGN Contributing Writer On October 11, just a few hours after the Seattle solidarity march coinciding with the National Equality March on Washington, local youth and experienced leaders in the community gathered for the Generation Q Mega Mixer at the Sole Repair Shop, a small venue on Capitol Hill.

The mixer was put on by Seattle OUTprotest, the same organization that sponsored and put together the Equality Weekend’s Thinking Queerly workshops, the Saturdaynight HIV/AIDS vigil, and Sunday’s march.

The mixer served as a way to get the younger generation acquainted with the activists largely responsible for the Seattle LGBT Equality weekend, and to get them

18 Seattle Gay News

thinking critically about their role and potential as young activists Early in the evening, everyone introduced themselves and a few games were played to loosen everyone up. Freedom Socialist Party member and longtime LGBT activist Tamara Turner overwhelmingly won the dance competition.

Youth and leaders then broke up into small groups to discuss topics as diverse as activism, sexuality, and the Referendum 71 campaign.

Some of the seasoned activists present Two participants in the HIV/AIDS candlelight vigil were Sam Bernstein, a member of the International Socialist Organization and Seattle’s by James Whitely The whole affair was rich in local history.

Queer Ally Coalition, Reverend Ray Neal, SGN Contributing Writer One of the organizers, Lisa Berendts, said to Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Community What can be said about the power of a the crowd, “We’re here tonight not only to Church Seattle, and Seattle Gay News Edivigil in remembrance of those we have lost reach out, but as a call to action, together on tor and longtime activist George Bakan. to HIV/AIDS? Words can’t do it justice. On a local level within our community.”

October 10, about 100 people gathered in A handful of sisters from the Sisters of Seattle Central Community College’s South Perpetual Indulgence, Abbey of St. Joan Plaza for a memorable and emotional can- gave a history of their organization, which dlelight vigil. has been a leader in HIV/AIDS education, Opening with musical performances from awareness, and prevention since its inceplocal artists, the vigil featured a variety of tion. speakers, all with very unique talking points The final speaker was the editor of Sethat were entirely relevant to the event. Lo- attle Gay News, George Bakan, who gave cal activist Claudine Fisher spoke on health an emotionally charged speech also rich in care and a video presentation on HIV/AIDS local history. “There aren’t that many greyvaccinations was played as the local chapter haired Gay men,” said Bakan, as he detailed of Hope Takes Action, an HIV vaccine trials the fact that many in his generation have organization, manned a table. been lost to AIDS.

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer Andrés Duque

“Marriage equality has nothing to do with Gay marriage ... and everything to do with a lot of people in America thinking that being –Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank on Sep- Gay is bad, abnormal, sinful and not worthy tember 21 when asked by Jay Leno, “If you of equal rights.” could kick one politician out of office, who –Gay blogger Perez Hilton to the Oregon would it be?”

Gay newspaper Just Out, September 18.

“I was in Palm Springs in a very private pool. My boyfriend and I were out there doing a fundraiser and it was a very secluded spot and we didn’t see any helicopters, so we went into the pool.”

–Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank on September 21 when asked by Jay Leno, “[When is] the last time you went skinny-dipping?”

rex wockner

“Some of my favorite studies to blip across the news wires are always the ones that talk about adding years to your life, about how modifying this or that aspect of your diet or health regimen will either add or subtract a year, two years, a decade to/ from your time on this pale blue dot. I don’t quite get it. Are we really enthralled by such information? Is anyone thrilled at the rather obvious idea that if you stop snarfing a family-sized bag of neon-orange nuclear Doritos every damn day, you will die at a ripe old age of 92 instead of a sickly and pallid 89? Should we not be discussing the only thing that really matters: how you live and feel in this very moment, the one right here and now?”

–San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford, September 30.

Ann Rostow

“Obama is a Nazi. Feminism is destroying marriage and the military. Obama is Kenyan. Obama is Islamic. There are Russianstyle czars in the U.S. government. There is a secret plan to unify North America into one nation. ... These people are certifiable.”

–Writer Ann Rostow in the Gay newspaper San Francisco Bay Times, October 1.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

HRC HQ allegedly vandalized by radical Queer group dbking

“We must remember that we do not have the freedom to marry, to inherit, to adopt, to share our health insurance, to learn about our history in our schools. To learn that our two greatest presidents, Washington and Lincoln, were Gay. We do not have the freedom to live as straight people have the freedom to live. We do not have the freedom to have our bars not raided by police and officers beating us up with such fury that we land in hospitals.”

Former President Bill Clinton –Veteran activist Larry Kramer speaking “I realized that I was, you know, over 60 at Dallas Gay pride, September 20. years old, I grew up at a different time, and I was hung up about the word [marriage]. I had all these Gay friends, I had all these Gay couple friends, and I was hung up about it.

And I decided I was wrong. That our society has an interest in coherence and strength and commitment and mutually reinforcing loyalties, then if Gay couples want to call their union marriage and a state agrees, and several have now, or a religious body will sanction it – and I don’t think the state should be able to stop the religious bodies from saying it – I don’t think the rest of us should get in the way of that. I think it’s a good thing, not a bad thing. ... I just realized that I was, probably for, maybe just because of my age and the way I’ve grown up, I was wrong about that. I just had too many Gay friends. I saw their relationships. I just decided I couldn’t, I had an untenable position.”

–Bill Clinton to interviewer Anderson Cooper, September 25.

“I would take Rush Limbaugh, because it would be very painful, and he would come with the painkillers which he always has.”

–Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank on September 21 when asked by Jay Leno, “If you had to have dinner with one of the following political conservatives, which one would you choose: Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter?”

rex wockner

prepared for the public talking about their private life.”

–Gay blogger Perez Hilton to the Oregon Gay newspaper Just Out, September 18.

Larry Kramer

rex wockner

“I love being Gay. I love Gay people. How can I say this without offending everyone else, I think we’re better than other people. I think we are smarter. I think we are more talented. I think we are more aware. I think we make better friends. I think we make better lovers. I think we’re more tuned into what’s happening, tuned into the moment, tuned into our emotions, and other people’s emotions. Yes, I think that Gay people are better than other people. I think the only thing we are not so good at is fighting back.”

–Veteran activist Larry Kramer speaking at Dallas Gay pride, September 20.

“If you have been Gay your whole life and feel that that’s the way God made you, God bless you. But I would still say that that doesn’t mean you should act on that. I would happen to say, for instance, that God made me with a pretty short temper. Now, I still think God loves me, but I can’t act on that. I would think that God made me with a particular soft spot in my heart for a martini.

Now, I’d better be careful about that.”

–New York Roman Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan to New York magazine, September 20.

“Yeah, it [being Gay] would be [a character flaw]. And we are all born with certain Barney Frank character flaws, aren’t we?”

–New York Roman Catholic Archbishop “Oh, easy: The ability to eat as much as I Timothy Dolan to New York magazine, Sepwant and not gain weight.” tember 20.

–Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank on September 21 when asked by Jay Leno, “If you “I don’t call what I do outing, I call it recould have a superpower, any power, what porting – and I’d never report on the private would it be, and why?” life of a private person. Celebrities, politicians and professional athletes, on the other “The guy who’s now the governor of Alas- hand, made a choice to live their lives in the ka, because I miss Sarah Palin.” public eye for their careers. They need to be

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Clean up at HRC national headquarters in Washington, DC

by James Whitely SGN Contributing Writer On October 11 at approximately 4 a.m., the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) headquarters building in Washington, D.C. was vandalized with graffiti expressing criticism of HRC’s operating methods. Later in the day, after the national march, a group claimed responsibility for the graffiti, which read “Quit leaving Queers behind.”

The vandalism occurred just after President Barack Obama spoke at HRC’s Annual National Fundraising Dinner.

The annual gala, a $250-a-plate dinner, was sponsored largely by major corporations such as Nike, Lockheed Martin, and Bank of America, to name a few. According to the group that took responsibility, Queers Against Assimilation, this was but one of the reasons for their actions, as corporate sponsorship fuels the distaste they have for the HRC. In a statement released by Queers Against Assimilation, they said, “The HRC is not

a democratic or inclusive institution, especially for the people who they claim to represent. Just like society today, the HRC is run by a few wealthy elites who are in bed with corporate sponsors who proliferate militarism, heteronormativity, and capitalist exploitation.”

Queers Against Assimilation are, in their own words, “a crew of radical Queer and allied folks armed with pink and black paint and glitter grenades.” Pink and black are commonly known as the colors of the Anarcha-Feminism movement. Some radical Queer groups see the two movements as going hand-in-hand, and patriarchy being enforcing of heteronormative ideals.

HRC Deputy Communications Director Trevor Thomas told SGN, “The vandalism on the front of the building was rather minimal, we’ve filed a report with the D.C. police department and we are hopeful they will catch whoever perpetrated this crime.”

The HRC declined to comment on the motivation of this crime.

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 19

SGN exclusive interview

GLAAD’s new board president Jarrett Barrios glaad

You might have a job where you won’t be discriminated against,” Barrios said. “But sometimes, those of us who live in the bubble lose touch with the people who are still at risk every day. We need to remind ourselves that life still isn’t equal for many people in our LGBT community.”

Barrios said that even though he lives in Massachusetts, where state laws protect same-sex marriage, employment and housing rights, his two sons have encountered anti-Gay slurs because they have two dads.

The key to battling the social problem, Barrio says, is acceptance and respect.

“We need more than just legal equality, we need fully equality for LGBT Americans,” he said. “[The Gay movement] is not just about rights; it’s about acceptance, respect, and being valued for the contributions we make. At GLAAD, we work with and through the media to promote non-stereotypical views in order to achieve exactly that.”

CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS According to Barrios, GLAAD views changing hearts and minds as the organizations mission. Which is why, he says, GLAAD has become involved with the Approve Referendum 71 Campaign to keep Washington State’s domestic partnership law. The law, signed by Governor Christine Gregoire in May, will appear on voter ballots this week as Referendum 71.

“In this case, it’s the issue of basic protections,” Barrios told SGN. “We need to win public support to approve the referendum.

People need to take care of each other.”

GLAAD works closely with state equality organization Barrios said, it was “natural for Washington Families Standing Together (WAFST) to reach out to us.” He said GLAAD has helped WAFST, the Gay advocacy group leading the campaign to approve Referendum 71, develop messages and train people on how to talk about the issue of domestic partnerships. GLAAD has done trainings for couples, allies, law enforcement officials, people of faith, and senior citizens in Washington State. The organization sent a media field strategist to work with WAFST, Barrios said.

Jarrett Barrios, GLAAD’s new board president

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) recently elected Jarrett Barrios as president of the nation’s LGBT media advocacy and anti-defamation organization.

Barrios, a Cuban American immigrant who first made a name for himself as a lawyer, became both the first openly Gay man and first Latino elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. While serving in the Senate, Barrios successfully advocated to keep marriage equality in Massachusetts, the first state in the U.S. to legalize Gay marriage.

Still, Barrios maintains, he felt he could

do more with his life. “After nine years in the legislature I started to feel diminishing returns,” Barrios told SGN. “I left politics to run a large non-profit organization, and although I was happy in my job of philanthropy, I began reflecting on my ability to have a real impact.”

Barrios, who’s married to his partner Doug, with whom he parents two teenage sons together, said being a parent changed him. He said, “You begin to see the world through your children’s eyes, and you begin to see the world you want them raised in.”

He told SGN he began to realize the danger of living in a bubble. “In Boston, much like Seattle, you might live in a neighborhood where your neighbors accept you.

hot

gay vets

continued from cover members have been discharged from active duty since the law took effect.

President Obama spoke at the annual dinner for the Human Rights Campaign on October 10, bringing the crowd to their feet by declaring, “I will end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’”

“I’m an infantry officer, and when I heard those words, I didn’t hear a political promise; I heard the commander in chief give an order,” Choi told SGN in a statement. “I heard a call to action for the Department of Defense to prepare for this change now.”

On October 11, a spirited group of LGBT veterans, including many West Point and Annapolis graduates, marched with a color guard and placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“We’ve served our country – some of us here are still serving, in silence – and allowing us to be truthful will strengthen, not weaken, our armed forces,” said Becky Kanis, Chair of Knights Out, West Point graduate and former company commander in the Army.

Kanis marched alongside her friend, An-

“Adam Bass has been in Washington State since August,” he said. “He’s there to protect the domestic partnership law by working with the media. He’s working to make sure the media is accurately covering the issue. It is important to get the language right – it is important to approve Referendum 71.”

According to WAFST officials, GLAAD’s participation in the campaign is making an impact.

“GLAAD has been an important partner in WAFSTs media and communications efforts,” said Josh Friedes, campaign manager for WAFST. “They have also been instrumental in preparing a broad range of LGBT Washington residents and our allies to share stories with fellow citizens. The passage of this law is truly a community effort, and we are so grateful to GLAAD and to everyone who so tirelessly support that work.”

On October 24, following the screening on Training Rules at the Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, GLAAD will host a panel, which will include Barrios and the CEO of the Seattle Storm. For more information about the Training Rules panel, visit www. glaad.org/seattlescreening.

“We are going to discuss homophobia in sports,” Barrios said. “Sports entertainment is an important part of the media, and we need to identify the homophobia that exists within that community so that we may end it.”

Additionally, GLAAD will hold a fundraiser on October 25. Photographer Art Wolfe will open his home for a cocktail reception and exclusive showing and auction for some of his limited prints. For more information about the cocktail reception, visit www.glaad.org/seattle09.

Although Barrios said he hopes to see a lot of people at the upcoming Seattle GLAAD events, it’s the fight for equality that has his full attention.

“There’s nothing more difficult than having your rights voted on. It’s as if you, yourself, are being put on the ballot,” Barrios told SGN. “No one wants to wake up on November 4 and realize you’ve lost the vote.

Vote, and make sure your friends, families, and coworkers vote. Referendum 71 must be approved!”

napolis graduate Jeff Petrie of USNA Out, the LGBT Naval Academy organization fighting to repeal DADT. “Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has secured commitment for Senate hearings,” Petrie said. “Those hearings need to happen now – we need all hands on deck to win the war in Afghanistan, and that includes people like Lieutenant Choi. The sooner the law changes, the sooner our service members will be able to free themselves from the distraction of legislated discrimination and focus on their jobs.”

Choi spoke at the National Equality March rally on October 11, saying, “The time for asking is over. Because in the face of injustice, patience is not a plan; silence is not a strategy. My plan today, my plan tomorrow, and my plan forever, is to tell, and to tell, and to tell.”

Choi’s National Guard board met in June and recommended he be discharged. A final decision has not been rendered.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) appealed to President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates for their support, writing, “As Congress considers future legislative action, we believe it would be helpful to hear your views on the policy.

Your leadership in this matter is greatly appreciated and needed at this time.”

Use this coupon for

MAMA’S $2.00 off any size pizza PIZZA

700 East Pine St. Seattle

The Best Piece In Town!

HOMEMADE HAND

FREE DELIVERY • 206-322-6444 20 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

US Justice Dept will act on anti-Gay bias, official says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Assistant US Attorney General Tom Perez said on Wednesday, October 14, that the US Justice Department would act against antiGay discrimination.

Perez heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the agency charged with investigating and prosecuting discrimination and hate crimes cases.

In his first speech to division employees, Perez said the division must be transformed “so that we are capable of tackling the civil rights challenges of the 21st century,” including issues not historically addressed by the department.

“We must fight for fairness and basic equality for our LGBT brothers and sisters who so frequently are being left in the shadows,” he said.

Perez pledged the division would “ensure that there’s a level playing field in which our LGBT brothers and sisters are judged by the content of their character.”

Congressional action is still required to give Perez legal jurisdiction to act against anti-Gay bias, however.

Perez spoke six days after the US House of Representatives passed historic legislation adding protections for sexual orientation

and gender identity to federal hate crimes laws. Final passage by the US Senate of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act is expected.

Perez’s boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, has repeatedly urged Congress to pass the new hate crimes law, saying the expansion of federal prosecutions for such attacks is long overdue. President Obama has pledged to sign the bill into law.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) – when passed – would also allow Perez to investigate and prosecute workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

ENDA is considered likely to pass the US House, but its future in the Senate remains in doubt. A version of ENDA which excluded Transgender workers passed the House in 2007 by a comfortable margin, but it was never introduced in the Senate because then-President Bush had vowed to veto it should it pass.

Under the Clinton administration, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division had an internal group that examined Gay rights issues, but the effort ended during the Bush administration.

HRC Legislative Director Allison Herwitt called Perez’s speech “fantastic.”

“What’s so different between this administration and the last is that we have people who want to have these protections in place and to enforce these protections, and you have the top of the Civil Rights Division willing to openly talk about these protections,” she said.

Perez was confirmed in his position by the US Senate on October 6. He had previously worked in the Civil Rights Division from 1988 to 1999.

Beginning as a prosecutor in the Division’s Criminal Section, Perez rose to become Deputy Assistant Attorney General.

He served on detail from the department as special counsel to US Senator Ted Kennedy from 1995 to 1998.

Perez was Director of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights from 1999 to 2001. From 2001 to 2007 he was a professor at the University of Maryland Law School.

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 21

Legal Services practice FOCUSING ON THE UNIQUE LEGAL NEEDS OF the LGBT community

ElizabEth M. DronkErt attornEy at law, llc

edronkert@ladylibertylaw.com

206.780.4455

Visit us online www.sgn.org

cause.

Another kind of harm is caused to a group of people when misinformation and distortions are continually used to vilify them.

First and foremost, I’d like to know what criteria the Vatican used to come up with such statistics. Is it sound research or opinion?

I can only speak to the general population. I cannot speak to what goes on in the Catholic Church. I can say this, however: If there is any phenomena that occurs in a statistically significant way in higher/lower numbers in the Catholic Church than it does in the general population, it is worth looking culture and within the GLBTQ community. at, and the public should have access to all It is important because of the impact these records. Researchers should be able to set statements have on individuals and fami- up studies. lies who have, or know, LGBTQ children What are the facts? The vast majority of or parents. The Archbishop’s statements pedophiles are “straight.” Even many men perpetuate the myth that, by nature, homo- who have sexual contact with boys are sexuals sexually prey upon young children straight. This is because child molestation is (particularly boys). Stating as fact that “80 not simply an act of sex with a young child. to 90 percent” of molestations were per- It is about power, control, obsession, secrepetrated by homosexuals – not pedophiles cy, threats, and violence. It is about forcing – suggests strongly that a high number of someone who has little or no power to do homosexuals molest children. You know far things they cannot possibly consent to doing too many weak-minded people will believe or understand the implications of. Straight this and use this to deny all kinds of rights to pedophiles prey upon both young boys and GLBTQ men and women. young girls. Pedophiles are not attracted to Of the utmost importance is the safety of adults sexually or emotionally. My hypothchildren. There is no question about this. esis is that many victims of sexually abuse The issue of pedophiles anywhere is of by clergy (not just Catholic clergy) felt conconcern because of the very real harm they trolled, that they had no power, and secrecy and threats were lauded over them – all definitions of being molested by a pedophile.

Yes, of course there are pedophiles that are Gay. Yet reliable research continues to support that the occurrence of Gay pedophiles

Hurtful assumptions about homosexuality and pedophilia

by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer At the end of September, I read an article posted on the website of the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger where it reported that the Vatican’s representative to the UN, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, had stated that child molestation in the Catholic Church was due to the problem of “homosexuals preying on adolescent boys, not one of pedophilia, [and it is called] ephebophilia [which is] a homosexual attraction to adolescent males.” The report went on to say that the Archbishop reported that “80 to 90 percent” of the molestations within the church were caused by homosexuals and not pedophiles.

Upon reading this, it occurred to me that this is an important therapeutic issue in our

in the Gay community is not any larger than straight pedophiles in the straight community. For example – and these numbers are not concrete – if it is estimated that 1% of straight men are pedophiles, you will not find a higher percentage of Gay men as pedophiles.

This is important for two major reasons.

First, the vast majority of us GLBTQ men and women are not pedophiles, nor do we engage in, “ephebophilia,” which is a sexual attraction to mid-to-late adolescent partners.

We are emotionally and sexually attracted to our peers – other adults!

Many uncles and aunts have been denied the privilege of knowing their nieces or nephews because family members inaccurately believe that these men and women might molest their child. In years past, peoples’ lives have been destroyed because they’ve lost their careers when this kind of misinformation fueled hysteria and reactivity.

Even more reprehensible is that certain religious and political groups have used these distortions to keep parental rights away from very qualified GLBTQ men and women. The general population hates pedophiles and would like to do physical harm to them. Distortions lead unstable people towards hurting and/or killing others. These are the reactions of others inflamed by their fears and misperceptions of LGBTQ friends and family.

There are reactions that are instilled within GLBTQ men and women which propel them to respond in certain ways and which result in negative consequences. The horrible distortion of the truth has resulted in

Health Services www.sgn.org

der + i v o r P y a G t = n e i t a P y Ga Healthy ip Relationsh

Que Areste, N.D. Naturopathic Family Physician

206.328.2926 drque@speakeasy.net 1605 12th Avenue, Suite 16 • Seattle, WA 98122

www.capitolhillmedical.com 22 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

Pub:HERALD RETAIL Tag Line: Color Info: and foremost by all measures. Gay or straight, if you are a pedophile, you need to be in jail. Currently, there are no treatments for you. The horrible consequences of your selfish, violent acts takes years of hard work for victims to overcome.

Leaders and lay-folk have to understand that their words and distortions cause others harm. When you lead the general population to infer that the majority of GLBTQ men and women are pedophiles, you are causing untold harm to us. You are destroying relationships, and worse, you are escalating the level of threat of physical violence towards a group of loving men and women.

Let’s get the facts correct and work toward keeping children safe by providing them with loving, nurturing immediate

and extended families and community. For those families where it is important, let’s give children and families the foundation of a good, healthy religious/spiritual experience – not one where individuals secretly feel shame and disgust because they are told they are something they are not by someone they are supposed to trust and who is supposed to speak the “truth.”

Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a therapist and a contributing writer to the SGN. He writes a bimonthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at askingmichael@comcast. net.

0001659526-01

good GLBTQ men and women avoiding parenthood because of the reactions of others. Even though GLBTQ men and women know themselves and know they are not pedophiles, they remove themselves from their families because of fear of baseless accusations. They know they would never molest a child, but many report receiving uncomfortable suspicion and stares from parents. Too many men and women have left their religious/spiritual lives because of the conflict created by what they are told about who they are versus who they really know themselves to be. This generates distrust, self-esteem issues in GLBTQ men and women, familial and community isolation, and depression.

Of course, the safety of children is first

Counseling Services www.sgn.org Artemis Counseling Services

SPECIALTIES LGBT Issues Couples Counseling Depression Anger Management Domestic Violence Grief and Loss HIV/AIDS

∙ overcoming abuse ∙ addiction recovery ∙ building healthy relationships ∙ sexual orientation ∙ gender identity

Gary Sarozek, MA, LMHC

affirming alternative spiritual paths

1370 Stewart Street 206-619-4187 (Across from REI)

Seattle WA, 98109

Deb Dettman LICSW (206)276-5335

gsarozek@comcast.net www.garysarozek.com

Capitol Hill location with free parking.

Sliding fee available.

Religion & Spirituality “OPEN & AFFIRMING”

Rev. David Strong Pastor

www.PlymouthChurchSeattle.org

SOJOURNER TRUTH MINISTRIES

Walk the labyrinth: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Sunday Worship 12:00pm

1st Friday & saturday of each month Jazz Worship service: at noon on Wednesdays sunday services: 8:45 am & 11:00 am Plymouth congregational church, Ucc downtown at 6th & University 206-622-4865

P.O. Box 19734 Seattle, WA 98109 Phone: 206.621.8960

Come worship with us!

2524 16th Ave. South A209 Seattle, Washington 98144 Phone 206-478-6718 www.sojournertruthministries.org

A Church for All God’s People – since 1972 www.mccseattle.org Sunday Worship 12:30 pm 1441-16th Ave on Capitol Hill (206) 325-2421

Trinity Episcopal Church An Open and Affirming Congregation - Come join us!

Sundays 8:00 and 10:30 - Wednesdays & Thursdays 5:30

Eighth Avenue & James Street, Seattle www.trinityseattle.org

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 23

seattle march continued from cover

reminded everyone that ballots would be out this week.

The march, which stretched nearly four blocks, acted as one giant plea to approve Referendum 71. Nearly half of those marching held signs asking voters to “APPROVE REFERENDUM 71.” Likewise, many times during the march, participants began to chant, “Approve 71! Approve 71! Approve 71!” Along the route, people came out of Capitol Hill businesses to wave their own “Approve Ref. 71” signs and show support.

Many joined the march to the federal courthouse from the sidewalk.

The local equality march was the main event of a weekend filled with LGBT equal-

ity workshops, an AIDS vigil, and community advocacy.

Throughout the day, Seattle OUTprotest officials scheduled guest speakers to educate the crowd on topics such as immigration, health care, HIV/AIDS, bullying, repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” approving Ref. 71, hate crimes legislation, hate crimes, labor, and racism and sexism within the community.

The Seattle Equality March was a success in that coalitions were built from within the LGBT community. People from all ages, races, ethnicities, gender, and sexual orientation showed up to march for equality.

The Seattle LGBT Equality Weekend, the Equality March and rally were endorsed by nearly 50 organizations, including PFLAG, Entre Hermanos, 5th District Democrats, Pride at Work, and Seattle Gay News.

do you Wa n t F r e e V I P t i c k et s to b ump ??

F t h e n b e o ur

Join Fund Buddies! Ask your friends to support Gay City, and for every $200 you raise, you get a FREE VIP ticket to BUMP, Seattle’s Hottest Halloween Party!

Help your community and win fabulous prizes!

und

Bud!

To learn more or join, visit www.gaycity.org and click FUND BUDDIES!

Off and Running: An American Coming of Age Story

Join us at the SLGFF screening of this award winning movie which follows the adopted daughter of two Jewish lesbian moms as she goes on a journey to uncover her roots. Dessert reception immediately follows the movie.

Sunday, October 25 • Noon • Admiral Theater, Seattle

Buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets For information, contact Emily Harris-Shears at (206) 861-8784, or familylife@jfsseattle.org or visit www.jfsseattle.org.

Home Services

hrc dinner continued from cover

of time suggested he might be facing a community that is impatient with the speed at which the administration has addressed its concerns.

But HRC President Joe Solmonese introduced the president with the declaration, “We’ve never had a stronger ally in the White House – never.” And the audience followed with a welcoming standing ovation that lasted well over a minute.

When a male audience member shouted out at the top of the speech, “I love you, Barack!” the president responded, saying, “I love you back” and the audience cheered wildly.

As he did in June, when he hosted a reception at the White House to mark the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the president acknowledged again Saturday night that, “Many of you don’t believe progress has come fast enough.” But, he reiterated, “My commitment to you is unwavering.”

“It may be taking longer than you like,” said the president, “but do not doubt the direction we are headed and will reach.”

And then he repeated another point made in June: He expects that, by the end of his time in the White House, the LGBT community will have seen an administration that “put a stop to discrimination against Gays and Lesbians.”

The president offered blunt reiterations of his promises to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” ban on Gays in the military and to seek passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

“I will end ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ – that is my commitment to you,” said the president.

But he parsed his words carefully on equal rights in marriage, saying that he supports ensuring that “committed Gay couples” have the “same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country.”

“I believe strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away and passing laws that extend equal rights to Gay couples,”

said Obama, adding that he has “called on Congress to repeal” the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevents the federal government from treating any samesex couple – in a marriage, civil union, or domestic partnership – from receiving the same rights as straight married couples.

The president made no comment on the Maine ballot initiative, which seeks to overturn a marriage equality law in that state.

“IT’S NICE TO KNOW HE IS ON MY SIDE” Given the raucously positive response the HRC gathering delivered to the president during the speech, the reaction of individual attendees and observers was decidedly guarded.

David Wilson, a plaintiff in the landmark Goodridge marriage decision in Massachusetts and a member of HRC’s steering committee in New England, said he was impressed that Obama repeated his campaign promises at an event which was broadcast live nationwide on CSPAN. But he said he believes the community should “hold his feet to the fire” on those promises.

Adam Ellis, a Gay man who was there with his parents from Atlanta, said the president’s speech was “just fluff … and he’s reading off a teleprompter, but that it is [the president’s] word and that means a lot.”

“It’s nice to know he is on my side and his intentions are in the right place,” added Ellis. “I know no one is perfect. I believe he sincerely has in mind and heart my best interests.”

People who viewed the speech on CSPAN weighed in on personal blogs and on blogs of various newspapers.

Joe Mirabella told the Seattle Post Intelligencer blog that he had hoped the president would put in a word against the Maine ballot measure.

“I want to be in love with Obama the way I was the night he was declared the winner,” wrote Mirabella. “Unfortunately, the president regurgitated the same flowery placating language filled with false hopes and promises.”

In the Chicago Sun Times, reader Ben Hecht blogged, “He talked to Gays in June and said give him time; last night all he did

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

Done Rite Carpet Cleaning le Whose Hou

“Special”

$100 - 1 story (up to 1,000 sq. ft.) $200 - 2 story (up to 2,000 sq. ft.)

206-715-4685

ww.doneritecarpetcleaning.com

GARy D. TORGERSON CO.

Professional Customized Home Cleaning!

Building Restoration Specialists expert residential painting and carpentry

Diversity Cleaners Jonathan Bell-Owner Phone: 206-330-8528

www.diversitycleaners.com Bonded 24 Seattle Gay News

D#602 244 664

October 16, 2009

SCRUBBOY CLEANERS

Professional Housecleaning

• Licensed & Insured • Reasonable Rates • Weekly Service, Move-Outs, or One-Time Only

Call now!

(206) 354-4187

www.scrubboycleaners.com

Comprehensive professional services essential to long term home preservation and renovation.

Visit our web site for extensive displays of our services and expertise, including correction of peeling and blistering problems.

Phone: 206-781-0999 / www.TorgersonCompany.com #GARYDTC134CJ

Celebrating 36 Years!

was make a campaign speech and again say he needs time. But wait,” wrote Hecht, “he’s got majorities in the Senate and the House.

What’s he afraid of?”

If there was anything new in the speech itself, it was the prominence President Obama gave to the fact that many in the LGBT community are parents. He said the community has been “leading by the force of the arguments you make, and by the power of the example that you set in your own lives – as parents and friends, as PTA members and church members, as advocates and leaders in your communities.” He mentioned or referred to parents at least six times, and ended his speech with a story about Jeanne Manford, the founder of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Manford chastised a police officer who called her following her son’s arrest during a Gay rights protest in the early 1970s to tell her that her son is a “homosexual.” Manford told the officer that she knew that and shot back, “Why are you bothering him?”

apparent reference to Education Department nominee Kevin Jennings and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission nominee Chai Feldblum, who have recently been subject to opposition in the right-wing press. “If any of my nominees are attacked, not for what they believe but for who they are,” said Obama, “I will not waver in my support, because I will not waver in my commitment to ending discrimination in all its forms.”

If there was one awkward moment, it came at the end of the speech. Although HRC President Solmonese took considerable time to introduce the president, neither he nor anyone else from the organization joined the president on stage after the speech to shake his hand and enable a polite departure from the podium. Instead, the president stood alone, quickly began looking solemn, and soon found his own way out, behind a screen.

Meanwhile, a number of people in the media have begun blogging about the failure of the White House, thus far, to release a tranOBAMA PLEDGES script of the text of the speech. The White TO STAND BY GAY NOMINEES House usually releases such transcripts Obama also made clear he would stand by within a few hours of their presentation. any of his openly Gay nominees who might be opposed simply for being Gay. It was an © 2009 Keen News Service

Real Estate Affordable Bainbridge Island

Paul Holzman and Jerry Carlin

High Point Realty Group 206-856-2691 paul@paulholzman.com

Specialized Services

Kennedy Painting and Design interiors/exteriors/color consultations

Richard Kennedy

206-683-9666 rkennedypainting@yahoo.com

Major Credit Cards Accepted

(206) 784-0313 www.happyhauler.com

licensed bonded insured lic #kennedpd924bw

www.sgn.org Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 25

DENTIST SEEKING PATIENT TALENTED DENTIST IN SEARCH OF . . .

Highly skilled, very sensitive dentist located in the Madison Park neighborhood of Seattle is looking for patients who would appreciate being pampered and respected. If you are looking for a dentist who will listen to you, never judge or put you down and will always be there for you then please respond. I love all aspects of general dentistry including cosmetic dentistry, periodontal teeth cleanings, implants (dental implants, of course) and SEDATION dentistry. I am one of only 1% of dentists qualified to administer "Sedation Dentistry" in the entire country. I am open to having you come in for a complete examination or we could just meet for a short chat to get to know each other a little better first if you prefer. Just give me a call at (206) 323-7877 or visit me on-line at seattlesbestsmiles.com.

Who knows, it might just be the perfect fit.

26 Seattle Gay News

October 16, 2009

Celebrating 36 Years!

Endorsed By SEAMEC!

Vote David Bloom For Seattle City Council!

Position 4

David Bloom Is The ONLY Candidate In This Race Who:

A Lifelong Champion For The LGBT Community!

Will say NO to the Mayor’s $300 million South Lake Union beautification project; NO to the $4.2 Billion Waterfront Tunnel, and NO to other big-ticket downtown giveaways!

Is endorsed by the King County Democrats and Every Democratic district in Seattle.

Will invest in living wage jobs, affordable housing, and the backlog of bridge, sidewalk and street repairs

Endorsed By Seattle Gay News!

Will call for "impact fees" to require developers to pay their fair share of the costs of growth on our neighborhoods Paid for by Citizens for David Bloom, 3822 42nd Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105 - www.bloomforcouncil.org

Visit us online www.sgn.org

October 16, 2009

Seattle Gay News 27