May - First City Network
Transcription
May - First City Network
NETWORK NEWS V O L U M E 2 7 I S S U E 8 - M A Y 2 0 13 THE C O A S T A L E M P I R E LGBT C O M M U N I T Y N E W S A F I R S T CI T Y N E T W OR K P U B L I C AT I O N Transgender Woman & Jail - p.4 Boy Scouts Lifting Gay Ban - p.8 Aids Patient “0” - p.10 DOMA and Immigrants - p13 Atlanta Federal Hate Crime - p.15 French Protest Against Gay Marriage - p.16 History of Gay Marriage - p.18 T: fcnsavannah F: firstcitynetwork THE DON CALLAHAN Real Estate Group 912-441-4416 | [email protected] First City Network invites and welcomes everyone without regard to ability, age, ancestry, beliefs, class, gender, race, sexual orientation or identity. NETWORK NEWS THE FINE PRINT First City Network, Inc. is a local, private, non-profit community service organization charted in 1985 by concerned citizens seeking a gay and lesbian positive community. First City Network serves as a forum to share strengths and ideas, stimulate personal growth and provide so cial activities. 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[email protected] NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 3 Transgender Woman Raises Jail Concerns Transgender woman’s fury after she’s thrown in men’s prison By JoAnn Merrigan Courtesy of The Sun - UK - Picked up from Savannah, GA referring to Del Valle’s anatomical parts. “However, we do have policies for that. We are a nationally accredited jail which requires us to have policies for almost every situation.” Harris says on Day four, Del Valle was moved to an isolation cell. He says initially, she had been placed in the holding cell because no isolation cells were available. He also told us that he has received no formal complaint from Del Valle but that if he does, her complaint will be investigated. SAVANNAH, GA A transgender woman is calling attention to her experience in the Chatham County Jail after being confined there for four nights. She says at times she was scared to death. Del Valle told us that even on the last day, the isolation cell was in an area where men were also housed in cells. She said much of her time at the facility she was frightened and nervous. She also believes the charges against her are wrong and “should have never happened in the first place.” Del Valle told us she may be seeking legal action. A TRANSGENDER woman accused of indecent exposure is furious after she was forced to serve time in a MALE prison. Ashley Del Valle was arrested by police during a holiday in Savannah, Georgia for allegedly flashing her boobs. The 38-year-old, from New York, denied the claim - insisting she was wearing a sheer top. But she was taken to a police station, and then thrown behind bars at a male-only jail. Del Valle has lived as a woman for two decades, but she was classified a man because she still has male genitalia. Courtesy of Huffington Post - Picked up from Savannah, GA Del Valle said: “They didn’t know where to put me. The young men there were out of control. They kept beating on my cell. It was pure torture.” Del Valle has been living as a woman for 20 years and legally changed her name in 2002. She is from Queens but came to Savannah with her cousin recently for a vacation. Early Sunday morning she was arrested by Savannah Chatham Metro Police for indecent exposure. A police report says her breasts were exposed. Del Valle disputes the claim. She says she was just wearing a sheer top and was having a great time one second and the next thing she knew she was being arrested. The police report also charges her with disorderly conduct for reportedly fighting with a police officer. A New York-based transgender woman is crying foul after being jailed alongside male inmates when she was arrested in Georgia for allegedly exposing her breasts. She also accused prison officers of humiliating her, adding: “They were referring to me as a thing; they were not referring to me as a human being.” Ashley Del Valle tells local NBC affilate WSAV that she felt like she was “being punished for who I was” when she was arrested by Savannah Chatham Metro Police for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct with a police officer. The 38-year-old Queens, N.Y. resident was visiting Savannah with her cousin on vacation. Roy Harris, Deputy Chief of Chatham County Jail, has defended the decision to lock her up with male inmates. She says after being taken to the jail, the nurse examined her and after realizing she still has male genitalia, she was put in a holding cell. She spent two days there. She told us some jail personnel were rude and referred to her as “a thing”. Although Del Valle is identified on the police report as a woman, her booking photo lists her as a man. Once Del Valle arrived at the jail, officers determined they could “not have put her in a female dorm,” according to Chief Deputy Roy Harris, and hence moved to a “unique general population area” surrounded by male inmates. And he insisted staff were sensitive to her situation, adding: “We do have a policy in place. Typically we put them in isolation. We do take particular caution with inmates such as this.” It was at that time that she went to Cell Block 5, which Harris described as a “unique general population area.” Del Valle says she was in a cell surrounded by men in cells. “They were banging on walls, calling me names and I was afraid, I was afraid for my life,” she told us. However, Harris said the cell was locked at all times and there was no chance that Del Valle could have been harmed. He believes all procedures were followed. “Unfortunately, when you classify somebody into the jail, that’s what you have to go by,” said Harris, 4 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net Upon the arrest FCN was contacted and channeled Ashley’s friends and legal council to the right direction for justice no only for Ashley but others like her. She was given a private cell but was surrounded by other inmates, who taunted and insulted her. Ashley Del Valle, Transgender Woman, Was Jailed As A Man After Allegedly Exposing Breasts Chief Deputy Roy Harris says the jail has procedures on dealing with transgender individuals and by law could “not have put her in the women’s dorm.” Harris says Del Valle was confined in the holding area for two days alone in a cell with restroom facilities. He says she was supervised. He says by Day three, she had to be moved from the holding area because other inmates were being booked. This story was picked up and published in The Huffington Post, The Sun - UK, Think Progress, Transgender Blog and more. She spent four nights at Chatham County Jail - until family members paid to bail her out - and insists she was scared to death during her spell inside. While the county’s chief deputy says all procedures in dealing with transgender individuals were followed, 38 year old Ashley Del Valle offers her own perspective. “I felt like I was being punished for who I was,” she told us. “I felt like I just wasn’t being treated like a human being,” she told us. Additional Information: He said: “First off, Ashley is still a man. I think he’s had some surgery, breast implants. But technically he is still a male.” “They were referring to me as a thing; they were not referring to me as a human being,” she said of jail personnel. The male inmates, she added, taunted her with insults. Among those to decry Del Valle’s treatment was Think Progress blogger Zack Ford. “Whatever transgender policy the jail supposedly has, misgendering her and endangering her in such ways did not prioritize her safety nor convey even the most basic respect for her identity,” Ford wrote. Del Valle’s case is similar to that of Andrea Jones, a Tennessee-based transgender woman who reportedly went topless in the parking lot of a local DMV after officials refused to change her sex from male to female on her driver’s license. “If I was a male, I had the right to, when I stepped out the door, take off my shirt,” Jones explained at the time. “It’s not right for the state to ask me to be both male and female. A choice needs to be made. They cannot hold me to both standards.” NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 5 Carla Hale, Gay Teacher, Fired From Catholic High School After Being ‘Outed’ By Mother’s Obituary By Meredith Bennett-Smith- Courtesy of The Huffington Post Students and supporters are rallying around a gay teacher recently fired from her job at a Catholic school, reportedly after local Catholic officials learned about her sexual orientation. This week students found out about the firing of Carla Hale, a longtime teacher at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio, according to local news outlet Outlook Columbus. Two people familiar with the incident told Outlook that Hale was fired after her partner’s name, Julie, was listed among the survivors in a public obituary for Hale’s mother. The obituary ran in the Columbus Dispatch on Feb. 25. Hale told the Dispatch an anonymous parent had seen the obituary and outed her to diocese officials. “Within weeks, Hale said, she was fired because she is in a gay relationship,” the Dispatch wrote. As news of the firing spread on Monday, a petition was posted on Change.org calling for the Diocese of Columbus to reinstate Hale. Signed by over 8,000 people already, the petition reads, in part: Wayne Chambers Gallery Join Wayne for his Grand Opening May 5th, from 5pm-9pm 912.234.6899 or 912.663.5544 Carla Hale, a beloved teacher at Bishop Watterson High School, was fired because of her sexuality. She was a teacher who cared for her students and treated each one with respect. The school, however, did not reciprocate that respect in its treatment of her. Discrimination and injustice is something that we all have a duty to fight in today’s society. It’s unfair that someone who cared so much about her students and her job should lose them on the basis of something she cannot even control. The petition was started by Jackson Garrity, a former student of Hale’s. “Well Ms. Hale was my cross country coach sophomore year and she was my physical education teacher this (my senior) year,” Garrity told The Huffington Post in an email. “I started the petition because Ms. Hale was one of the favorite teachers at Watterson, not only one of my favorites, but also many other students. When news of her dismissal got out, many students were upset, especially because of the reason for her dismissal. We all wanted to let our opinions get out and tell the diocese that we were upset with the decision.” Garrity went on to say he had never witnessed this type of discrimination at Watterson before, despite the school taking Catholic stances on social issues. “That is why I was shocked when Ms. Hale was fired,” he said. New location in City Market - Franklin Ward North at the top of stairs turn right Hale’s lawyer is exploring her legal options. 305 W Bryan St Suite 104 | Savannah, Georgia | 31401 Columbus is one of 29 cities in Ohio that has an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The official position of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in America is that marriage is the union between a man Monday through Saturday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday - hours vary and a woman only. The Columbus Dispatch notes that teachers at Catholic schools in Columbus can be fired for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct,” according to a contract between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators. A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Columbus told HuffPost that “personnel matters are, however, by diocesan policy, confidential.” This is not the first time a teacher at an Ohio Catholic school has been let go over sexual orientation or support of gay rights. In February, Purcell Marian High School Assistant Principal Mike Moroski was fired by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati after endorsing gay marriage in a personal blog post. That same month, music teacher Al Fischer was fired from his job at St. Ann Catholic School in north St. Louis County, Mo., after archdiocese officials learned he was planning on marrying his longtime partner. Tweet or Facebook Us Tell FCN what YOU think about this and other articles Will you buy Girlscout Cookies? NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 7 Boy Scouts To Consider Lifting Ban On Openly Gay Youths How sincere is Democrats’ new commitment to gay rights? By Linda - Courtesy BIG GAY NEWS.com The Boy Scouts of America would no longer deny membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation but would maintain its ban on openly gay adult leaders under a proposal it is considering, the group said Friday. The organization’s executive committee made the proposal, which is expected to be presented to the Boy Scouts’ voting members at its May meeting in Dallas. If the policy is approved, it will take effect January 1. By Kerry Eleveld - Courtesy Salon.com Former Eagle Scout John Stemberger, founder of OnMyHonor. Net, a group opposing the policy change, said the Boy Scouts currently allow anyone to participate, disallowing only “the open and aggressive promotion of homosexuality and political agendas,” according to a statement. When President Barack Obama first introduced his principles for immigration reform a little over two months ago, one notable point of differentiation from the Senate’s framework was that he chose to include same-sex couples and their kids in his plan. As Stephen Colbert noted on “The Colbert Report,” the president’s plan said it would treat “same-sex families as families.” “If approved, the resolution would mean that ‘no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone.’ The BSA will maintain the current membership policy for all adults,” Boy Scouts public relations director Deron Smith said. “When it comes to young boys, parents should still have the final say on the issues of sexuality and politics,” he said. “Allowing open homosexuality in the BSA injects both those topics right into the program. We urge the national council to vote against this resolution and uphold the time-tested membership policy of the Boy Scouts.” There’s no guarantee the approximately 1,400 voting members will follow the national board’s lead in its May vote. The local representatives who are voting members of the national council are supposed to represent their local councils’ viewpoints. The Boy Scouts have been considering a change in the longstanding policy against allowing openly gay members. In February, the Boy Scouts’ national executive board postponed a vote on lifting its outright ban on openly gay Scouts and troop leaders and ordered a survey of its members on the issue. “It is up to each (local) council and each voting member of the National Council to determine how to fulfill these obligations in a manner that fulfills their responsibility to both the Boy Scouts of America and to their local council,” Scouts spokesman Smith wrote in an e-mail. When asked last week whether the president was willing to “let that provision go” at a White House briefing, press secretary Jay Carney responded, “It is certainly the case, as the president said in his statement, that not everything in the bill reflects how he would write it, but it broadly is consistent with his principles.” The survey showed a generational split between adults and youth in the scouting community. While most adults support the Boy Scouts’ current policy of “excluding open and avowed homosexuals, young parents and teens tend to oppose the policy,” according to the survey, which was also released Friday. The Family Research Council hopes to convince the voting members to vote “No.” The group is presenting a Stand with the Scouts simulcast on May 5, asking people to watch together in their churches and homes. Pressed further about whether President Obama would sign the bill in its current form, Carney countered, “Have you ever seen a bill of this size go from inception to a president’s desk unaltered? So we’ll see where this goes.” The change doesn’t go far enough for James Dale, an Eagle Scout and former assistant troop leader who sued the scouts under New Jersey state law after he was kicked out of the Boy Scouts in 1990 because he is gay. “The outcome of this decision will affect the very future of Scouting, as a shift in the policy would undermine the very principles held by the BSA for over a century,” said the council, on its website. “This decision is too important for those who value the Boy Scouts and its value to American communities to stand idly by.” “This proposal continues to send a destructive message, offering the veneer of acceptance while still communicating that being gay is immoral,” Dale said. “Fair-minded Americans will not again welcome the Scouts until they stop discriminating.” Provo, Utah, Scout leader Paul Barker sees the glass as half-full. “I am forever an optimist, and I see it as a very big step forward in the right direction to which I will applaud,” said Barker, an Eagle Scout and married father of four, ages 4 months to 7 years. Hmm … We’ll see? For those of us who have been closely tracking the issue (and I’m not a passive observer here — I consult for Immigration Equality on the matter of equalizing treatment for samesex binational couples), it looked like a softening of the incredibly strong and consistent positioning the White House presented a couple of months ago. Dale’s lawsuit, filed in 1992, said his expulsion violated the state’s anti-discrimination law. When his case made it to the Supreme Court in 2000, the court ruled that it would violate the Boy Scouts’ First Amendment protection of freedom of association to require that it accept gay members. Saddened by recent stories of Eagle Scouts turning in their badges, Barker launched Ally Patches to support gay Scouts and their allies and create an atmosphere that’s more welcoming. Lawyer Evan Wolfson, who represented Dale in that case, applauded the move to include gay youth in scouting but agreed that banning them once they’re adults is wrong. “Barring discrimination against gay youth is an important step forward that is in the best interest of young people and scouting in America,” Wolfson said. “But leaving in place a discriminatory policy once those kids grow up still sends a damaging message to gay and non-gay young people that is inconsistent with the other values that scouting claims to teach.” 8 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net Barker’s website is selling patches similar to those Scouts earn to signal support for gay members. (The price tag is $3.50 per patch, and $1 goes to the Family Acceptance Project.) “I had great, great leaders (in the Scouts); they were like second parents to me,” he said. “I took their example of love and compassion and wanted to do something.” “We’ve been very clear that we think that it makes sense for samesex couples to be treated the same when it comes to immigration laws and every other law,” he said in mid-February, responding to a question about whether he was committed to including same-sex couples in immigration reform. “What’s next, Mr. President,” Colbert jested, “treating gay people as people?” But the president also noted: “What I’m trying to do right now is to give Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and in the House, the opportunity to work through some of these issues to see where their compromises are.” But now that the Senate’s Gang of Eight has introduced its immigration bill and it notably excludes the provision that would allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their same-sex partners for residency, the White House appears to be wavering. Those compromises are now apparent. The question is whether President Obama and his Democratic counterparts in the Senate will fight to see that same-sex couples are treated equitably in any bill that reaches the president’s desk. Now that the Gang of Eight has weighed in, the next stop for making changes to the bill will likely be the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy who is also holding an informational hearing on the bill Monday. Leahy, a chief co-sponsor of legislation that would allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their samesex partners for residency (the Uniting American Families Act), is widely expected to offer the provision as an amendment to the immigration bill once it reaches his committee. Here’s Carney in January: “The president believes that [the provision for same-sex couples] should be included and that should come as no surprise … the president has long believed that Americans with same-sex partners from other countries should not be faced with the painful choice between staying with the person they love or staying in the country they love.” And White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer said several days later: “The president in his plan said that you should treat same-sex families the same way we treat heterosexual families. It’s wrong to discriminate.” Naturally, Washington enthusiasts smell trouble. As the Washington Post noted: “The standoff may force Obama to choose between two key interest groups — Hispanics and gays — that helped power his reelection last fall.” But at the outset, President Obama rejected that choice, instead positioning the legislation, above all, as something that should promote fairness throughout the immigration system. If the other nine Democrats on the committee follow his lead, the amendment should pass with ease. But all eyes will be on Sens. Dick Durbin, Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer. Feinstein is the only Democratic committee member who’s never signed on as a co-sponsor of UAFA, though she has co-sponsored a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act — one way, among others, to alleviate this immigration inequity for LGBT citizens. Durbin and Schumer, meanwhile, represent two key members of the Gang of Eight that excluded same-sex couples from the original immigration bill. When Leahy reintroduced UAFA this year with Republican cosponsor Sen. Susan Collins, he noted that any immigration bill that comes through his committee “should recognize the rights of all Americans, who have just as much right to spousal immigration benefits as anybody else, straight or gay.” Mr. Leahy, apparently, wants to treat gay Americans as Americans. FEEL FREE TO ADVERTISE OR WRITE ARTICLES Contribute to FCN about what YOU think and feel. NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 9 AIDS ‘Patient Zero’ was a publicity strategy, scholar writes By Don Sapatkin - Courtesy Philly.com The 1987 New York Post headline - THE MAN WHO GAVE US AIDS - was arguably one of the most influential of all time. “Patient Zero” - a promiscuous gay Canadian flight attendant - had spread AIDS from coast to coast. The story sparked sensational media coverage, drove a book onto the best-seller lists, pushed the “gay disease” onto mainstream America’s radar screen, and helped jump-start an activist movement, all of which eventually focused more money and scientific brainpower on an epidemic that had already killed tens of thousands. It was also wrong - intentionally creating a scapegoat to publicize And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts’ authoritative chronicle of the early years of AIDS. The book mentioned the case on just a dozen or so of its 630 pages. “We lowered ourselves to yellow journalism. My publicist told me, ‘Sex, death, glamour, and, best of all, he is a foreigner, that would be the icing on the cake,’ “ Michael Denneny, Shilts’ editor, said in an interview. “That was the only way we could get them to pay attention.” How the first serious examination of AIDS policy had to be sold as sordid tabloid fare is described in a new book by Philadelphia University historian Phil Tiemeyer, Plane Queer: Labor, Sexuality, and AIDS in the History of Male Flight Attendants. When he recently asked students about the media deception, “threequarters of the class were a bit repulsed,” Tiemeyer said. But they don’t remember a time when AIDS meant certain death, he said, and preventing it was not a priority for the news media, the Reagan administration, or most of the public. The 1970s and early 1980s - after New York’s Stonewall riots and before AIDS - were the heyday of gay male sexual liberation, with dance bars and steam baths overflowing as meeting places and hundreds of sexual partners a year not that unusual. A new disease surfaced in 1981, but its mode of transmission was then a mystery. “People were dropping dead left and right of the most horrible, opportunistic infections, no one knew what was happening, and everyone knew that if this was sexually transmitted,” they’d be dead, said Denneny, Shilts’ editor. Patient Zero was an actual early case. He just wasn’t the first case. And in the book, Denneny said, he “was representing all the people who refused to stop having unprotected sex even after they became ill.” Shilts describes the astonishment of scientists, who were trying to learn how the infection was spread, upon hearing again and again from patients that dying men in different cities had had sex with a gorgeous young flight attendant. Shilts discusses the 1984 study that demonstrated sexual transmission 10 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net by diagramming links among cases labeled by location, such as LA9 and NY4. Eight are directly connected to a patient labeled simply 0 - the Patient Zero who, according to a study author, originated as a letter O (for “Out of California”) in an earlier study of men around Los Angeles. And Shilts relays the attitude of that patient - calling him “the Quebecois version of Typhoid Mary” - as he continues to have sex with men in different cities, in chilling scenes like this: “Back in the bathhouse, when the moaning stopped, the young man rolled over on his back for a cigarette. Gaëtan Dugas reached up for the lights, turning up the rheostat slowly so his partner’s eyes would have time to adjust. He then made a point of eyeing the purple lesions on his chest. ‘Gay cancer,’ he said, almost as if he were talking to himself. ‘Maybe you’ll get it, too.’ “ Shilts, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle who died of AIDS in 1994, never actually wrote that Dugas brought the disease to the United States, saying it was “a question of debate.” And he resisted using that salacious angle to promote his weighty history, his editor said. “Randy hated the idea. It took me almost a week to argue him into it,” Denneny tells Tiemeyer in the new book. But there was “terrific animus in the media about covering AIDS at all,” Denneny said. The New York Times, Newsweek, and other publications “all told us they were not going to review a book that was an indictment of the Reagan administration and the medical establishment.” So St. Martin’s Press produced new publicity materials focusing on the hot flight attendant and fed them to the New York Post. The tabloid’s Oct. 6, 1987, headline sparked a media frenzy. Shilts appeared on 60 Minutes. The Times reviewed the book on a weekday and again on Sunday; it was a best seller the following week. “And then we put Randy on a huge publicity tour, and he spent time switching the attention to the Reagan administration,” Denneny said. Still, the focus on a promiscuous homosexual who knowingly infected others infuriated many in the gay community. They feared - rightly - that they would be blamed for spreading the disease even as they sought to rein in the laissez-faire sexual culture. Kenneth Mayer, an AIDS doctor and public policy expert now at Harvard University, was at a conference in New York when the Post hit newsstands. But if that was the only way to get the book to a mass audience, he said, “I guess in the long run they did a service to increase the conversation.” David R. Fair feels the same way. He had just been named head of Philadelphia’s new AIDS office and was trying to get the city to take the crisis seriously. “The first thing I did was buy 40 copies of the book and give it to the mayor and department heads,” said Fair, now a consultant to nonprofit organizations. “It’s really hard to remember how little attention was being paid to AIDS outside New York and San Francisco,” he said. “The book is what led to the creation of a national AIDS activism movement.” Tiemeyer had not planned to write a new book about Patient Zero. Indeed, that story takes up just two chapters (but is, ironically, his publicity pitch). A historian of gay and lesbian communities, he had decided to dig into the impact of gay male flight attendants. In this seemingly narrow demographic, Tiemeyer finds notable achievements in equal rights, from the first workplace health benefits for domestic partners, in 2001, to a 1984 legal decision forcing an airline to reinstate a flight attendant with AIDS, which he argues was a key step in the run-up to the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. For a time, Gaëtan Dugas was the best-known flight attendant in the world. “On the one hand, the minute that Randy released this story about Patient Zero, people knew it wasn’t true,” Tiemeyer said. “On the other hand, the fear was so intense,” and so-called “family issues” had become so divisive, that “they wanted a scapegoat, they wanted to believe that this thing that was out of control was caused by gay male sexual excess,” he said, “that there was someone who was to blame.” Bill Darrow, a coauthor of the original studies that cited Patient Zero as a link to show sexual transmission, is among Shilts’ biggest supporters, and he has few qualms about the selling of And the Band Played On. Darrow, now a professor at Florida International University, teaches a course called Ethical Issues in Public Health. “Most public health people think that the ends justify the means,” he said. He recalled the fights for money and recognition of growing danger during the Reagan administration. “We had to wait almost five years for anybody to pay attention to this terrible problem. By then it was too late,” Darrow said. If they had done so earlier, “we could have saved an awful lot of lives.” “I remember thinking, this is really unfortunate,” he said of the single-villain approach. “It is much more complicated. It is much more about people’s willingness to talk to people they have sex with and to change their own sexual practices.” NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 11 Montana Gov. Signs Bill Decriminalizing Gay Sex Federal Court in Class Action Case: Doma Unconstitutional As Applied To Immigrants An obsolete law deeming gay sex as deviant — akin to bestiality — was stricken from Montana code Thursday, prompting gay rights activists to say they hope that full legal equality may be close at hand. On Friday July 12, 2012, Jane DeLoen filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as applied to deny immigration family benefits. The DOMA was enacted and signed into law by President Clinton in 1996. For all federal benefits based on marriage, including immigration benefits, DOMA restricts the definition of marriage to unions between “one man and one woman.” By Kathryn Haake - Courtesy ABC News When Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed Senate Bill 107 decriminalizing gay sex, cheers erupted in the Capitol’s Rotunda. It had been 16 years after the state Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional and 24 years after gay rights activists began their fight to take government out of the bedroom. “I am not going to speak too long because, frankly, the longer I talk, the longer this embarrassing and unconstitutional law stays on the books,” Bullock said. The victory, though a powerful one for the gay community in Montana, is highly symbolic with no tangible benefits aside from striking the obsolete law condemning gay sex from Montana code. The outdated code has not been used to prosecute individuals for years. And previous efforts to offer gays and lesbians protection under the law, including a push to prohibit civil discrimination, have been thwarted by a GOP-controlled Legislature. Rep. Jerry Bennett, R-Libby, said he holds no ill will toward gay people, but he and other Republicans opposed the legislation and similar efforts along religious lines. He added that there is a bi-partisan movement to “protect the family,” defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and gay rights efforts could have “long-term ramifications.” “This isn’t over,” he said. “We will see a continual push for recognition of unions ... for health insurance. All kinds of things will come out of this.” TWO SUNDAY SERVICES 9:30 and 11:00 am Children’s Church & Nursery 11:00am Guided Meditation Service Thursdays 12:00noon - 12:30pm Courtyard Books & Gifts Open Sundays 10:00am - 1:00pm Thursdays 11:00am - 1:00pm 2320 Sunset Blvd, Savannah GA 31404 [email protected] unityofsavannah.com (912) 355-4704 12 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net The decriminalization bill passed the House on a 64-35 vote, and it cleared the Senate 38-11. In both cases, Republicans joined minority Democrats to advance the legislation, as gay rights activists hailed their success as a sea change within the GOP. “In the past we’ve seen members of the Republican caucus say, I can’t stand with you because it will cost me my re-election,” said activist Jamee Greer, a lobbyist with the Montana Human Rights Network. Gay rights activists are hopeful the bi-partisan effort is a catalyst for further change. They say that gay equality aligns itself with the fundamental libertarian values of privacy and a live-and-let live attitude pervasive in Montana — especially among Republicans who subscribe to a strong Libertarian undercurrent. This year an effort to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing and employment was tabled by a conservative House committee. That plan and another to legalize gay marriage remain priorities in future sessions, Greer said. “As more and more LGBT people come out to their friends and their neighbors,” Greer said, “it’s going to be harder to discriminate against them.” By Don Sapatkin - Courtesy Philly.com According to the lawsuit Jane DeLeon, an immigrant from the Philippines, has been residing with her US citizen partner in California for twenty years and they were married in 2008. The lawsuit claims that DeLeon has been approved for an immigrant visa based on her employment. However, she needs a “waiver” from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“CIS”) to qualify for a visa. Such waivers are commonly available to immigrants whose deportation would cause hardship to a US citizen spouse. In DeLeon’s case the waiver was denied by USCIS in September 2011 solely because she is married to another woman. Her lawsuit seeks equal treatment for immigrants seeking visas who are in lawful same sex marriages with U.S. citizens as the treatment afford heterosexual married couples. On Friday Federal Judge Consuelo Marshall in Los Angeles, CA., issued a long-awaited decision ruling that Jane DeLeon has standing to challenge DOMA in the courts and that DOMA violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection as applied to immigrants because it is irrational: “This Court finds that the broad distinction created by DOMA § 3 is not rationally related to Congress’ interest in a uniform federal definition of marriage.” The court decided that “State law traditionally governs marriage recognition,” and DOMA had disrupted the “long-standing practice of the federal government deferring to each state’s decisions as to the requirements for a valid marriage.” The court also found that a 1982 precedent case issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Ninth Circuit, Adams v. Howerton, which decided that barring same-sex couples from immigration benefits did not violate equal protection, has been superseded by “intervening statutory and policy changes,” and is therefore no longer binding precedent. Judge Marshall also ordered that the case proceed as nationwide class action for the benefit of a class of immigrants it defined as follows: “All members of lawful same-sex marriages who have been denied or will be denied lawful status or related benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101 et seq. by the Department of Homeland Security solely due to § 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, 1 U.S.C. § 7.” The court decided that the class is so numerous and its members’ legal claims so similar as to justifying certifying the case as a class action. Ms. DeLeon had also applied for a preliminary injunction giving her and class members immediate work permits before the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of DOMA, a decision expected in the Windsor case in June 2013. The Los Angeles court declined to issue a preliminary injunction at this time, believing that interim protection already provided by DHS of deferring the deportation of immigrants in same sex marriages with U.S. citizens will sufficiently protect the class until the Supreme Court issues its decision in the Windsor case. Statement by plaintiffs’ attorney Peter Schey, President of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law: “We welcome the court’s decision that DOMA violates the constitutional rights of immigrants in bi-national same sex marriages. This will afford maximum protection to class members, particularly those who are low-income and without the means to hire attorneys, and those whose visa applications have already been unconstitutionally denied. We suspect there will be no further denials of visa applications based on DOMA after this decision is reviewed by DHS headquarters. We will continue to dedicate our resources to insure that immigrants in same sex marriages with US citizens are not detained or deported and are treated humanely pending a final decision by the Supreme Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law 256 S. Occidental Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90057 www.centerforhumanrights.org NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 13 TWO ATLANTA MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO FEDERAL HATE CRIME Courtesy of Georgia Equality Courtesy of Huffington Post A Peruvian father faces allegations that he doused his son with gasoline and set him on fire after learning the 22-year-old was gay and HIV-positive. “Violence against another person because of his or her sexual orientation has no place in our civilized society,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The citizens of this district should know that we are committed to aggressively prosecuting hate crimes.” According to the Peruvian daily newspaper La Región, Hitler Baneo Núñez, 49, allegedly tried to burn the victim (identified in reports only by his initials R.B.P.) alive after becoming tired of neighbor’s jokes about his son’s sexuality. “Hate-fueled violence will not be condoned,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will use all the tools in our law enforcement arsenal to investigate and prosecute hate crimes.” Though neighbors helped save R.B.P., the young man ended up with his face, arms and parts of his legs burnt, according to the report. Not only is R.B.P. HIV positive, he also reportedly has tuberculosis. According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: On February 4, 2012, Cain, 19, Moragne, 21, and a juvenile, all associated with the Jack City street gang, targeted a 20-year-old gay man as he left a grocery store located in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood. Cain punched the victim in the head and pushed him to the ground. Cain, Moragne and the juvenile surrounded the victim and repeatedly punched and kicked him while the group yelled anti-gay epithets, including “No f****** in Jack City.” Moragne then picked up a tire and struck the victim with it. The group also stole the victim’s cell phone. A fourth person, also with the defendants, recorded the assault using a cell phone. The video footage was posted to the Internet. Cain and Moragne admitted to violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded federal jurisdiction to include certain assaults motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation. The federal hate crimes law criminalizes certain acts of violence motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity. This case is the first in Georgia to charge a violation of the sexual orientation section of the federal hate crimes law. Last year, Cain, Moragne and the juvenile, who was considered an adult under Georgia law, were prosecuted in Fulton County Superior Court for offenses that did not include a hate crime. In State court, Cain and Moragne were sentenced to a term of imprisonment of ten years suspended upon the service of five years. As part of their plea agreement, Federal prosecutors recommended that their Federal and State sentences run concurrently. This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Detectives with the Atlanta Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brent Alan Gray and Trial Attorney Nicole Lee Ndumele of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 14 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net Courtesy of Huffington Post Peruvian Father, Allegedly Set Fire To Gay, HIV-Positive Son Christopher Cain and Dorian Moragne both of Atlanta, Ga., pleaded guilty today in federal court before Senior United States District Judge J. Owen Forrester to beating a man because of his sexual orientation. “The FBI remains committed to ensuring the civil rights of all individuals, to include those singled out and attacked because of their perceived differences,” stated Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “These acts of violence should be reported and aggressively investigated to ensure that we send a clear message that these actions will not be tolerated.” 1102 Bull Street • Savannah, GA • 31401 (912) 236-4703 • Fax (912) 236-9026 Earvin Johnson III, Magic Johnson’s Gay Son, Goes Public With Boyfriend, Parents Very Proud Magic Johnson’s gay son is going public with his romance. “My dad wanted to kill me because of those illnesses, but my aunt took me out of my father’s house and took me to Iquitos to put me in the institution ‘Algo bello para Dios’ since March 1,” the victim is quoted in reports translated by The Huffington Post as saying. “Unfortunately, my father doesn’t accept me as I am.” Earvin Johnson III, one of Magic’s three children, stepped out handin-hand with his unidentified boyfriend on Los Angeles’s Sunset Strip on Monday night, TMZ reports. A statement provided by local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization Comunidad Homosexual de la Región Loreto (CHERL) and cited by BuzzFeed reads as follows: Although this is reportedly the first time Earvin, also known as EJ, and his boyfriend have been seen together publicly, there is nothing to suggest that he was not open about his sexuality prior to this. “We hope that this complaint ... will be treated seriously by the authorities and that it can generate a change and call attention of the public to the homophobia that lives inside the home and is growing in society towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans people in the Loreto region.” EJ is a 20-year-old student at New York University and Magic and his wife, Earlitha “Cookie” Kelly, couldn’t be prouder of him. “Cookie and I love EJ and support him in every way,” Magic told TMZ. “We’re very proud of him.” When Magic revealed he was HIV-positive in 1991, rumors about his sexuality arose. Instead of recoiling from the spotlight and the speculation, the former Los Angeles Lakers player used his celebrity to spread awareness and tolerance. Back in 2008, Magic opposed California’s Proposition 8 -- a clause that banned same-sex marriage in the state. “Prop 8 singles out one group of Californians to be treated differently -- including members of our family, our friends, and our coworkers,” he said in a recorded telephone message sent to California voters. “That is not what California is about. So this Tuesday, vote no on Proposition 8. It is unfair and wrong. Thanks.” Magic is not alone in his stance. More and more athletes are speaking out in support of equality as of late. Most recently, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe told athletes who are concerned about possibly sharing a locker room with gay peers to “grow the f**k up.” “It’s not right that we can’t just accept someone for who he is,” he writes, in part, in an editorial for CNN. “Why? Why do people care so much about someone else’s sexuality? Why do people give two s***s how someone else lives his life?” Earlier this year, a young British man was convicted of manslaughter after killing a local gay teen by setting him on fire. The BBC reports that 20-year-old Jordan Sheard has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for the death of Steven Simpson after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges. Simpson, 18, died one day after sustaining “significant burns” in June 2012, according to the report. SATURDAY LESBIAN SOCIAL EVENING Hosted By: Tybee Arts Association May 4th 7:00 - 10:00 7 Cedarwood Ave Tybee Island, GA 31328 Bring a Covered Dish, your lover, or a dear friend. Hosted By: TBA Are you interested in hosting a Lesbian Evening or Event. Please let us know. [email protected] NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 15 French Protest Against Gay Marriage Turns Violent brouillette & cowan Wealth Managers Tax Professionals By Lori Hinnant & Sylvie Corbet - Courtesy of The Associated Press including some who carried signs saying “Socialist dictatorship.” Claire Baron, 41, a mother of two, said that she “will oppose the bill until the end.” “I’ll keep going to the protests, I don’t give in. The bill is not effective yet, the president of the Republic must listen to our voices. We are here to defend family values. Children need a mom and a dad,” Baron said. PARIS - France legalized gay marriage on Tuesday after a wrenching national debate that exposed deep conservatism in the nation’s heartland and triggered huge demonstrations that tapped into intense discontent with the Socialist government. Within hours, fiery clashes broke out between protesters and riot police. Legions of officers stayed late into the night, and a protest against the measure turned violent near the Invalides complex of museums and monuments. Protesters threw glass bottles, cans and metal bars at police, who responded with tear gas. It was an issue that galvanized the country’s faltering right, which had been decimated by infighting and their election loss to President Francois Hollande. France is the 14th country to legalize gay marriage nationwide _and the most populous. The measure passed easily in the Socialist-majority Assembly, 331-225, just after the president of the legislative body expelled a disruptive protester in pink, the color adopted by French opponents of gay marriage. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told lawmakers that the first weddings could be as soon as June. “We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they’ll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families,” she said. Earlier in the day, there appeared to be more police than protesters outside the Parliament building on Paris’Left Bank, but that calculation soon shifted as night fell and thousands gathered to protest the bill. The protest dwindled to a few stalwarts shortly before midnight, when the violence began among a few hundred demonstrators 16 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net In recent weeks, violent attacks against gay couples have spiked and some legislators have received threats — including Claude Bartelone, the Assembly president, who got a gunpowderfilled envelope on Monday. One of the biggest protests against same-sex marriage drew together hundreds of thousands of people bused in from the French provinces — conservative activists, schoolchildren with their parents, retirees, priests and others. That demonstration ended in blasts of tear gas, as right-wing rabble-rousers, some in masks and hoods, led the charge against police, damaging cars along the Champs-Elysees avenue and making a break for the presidential palace. Following the vote members of the gay and lesbian community flocked to a square in central Paris, just behind City Hall, to celebrate the vote. “I feel immense joy, gigantic joy,” said 39-year old Sylvain Rouzel. “At last, everyone has the same rights. This is huge! France was lagging behind. We had to wait 14 years after the civil union to finally obtain the right to get married, with equal rights for everyone. I feel great!” Paris’ openly gay mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, was among the crowd of hundreds gathered for the street celebration in the Marais, the city’s historic gay neighborhood. When Hollande promised to legalize gay marriage, it was seen as relatively uncontroversial. The issue has become a touchstone as his FEEL FREE TO ADVERTISE OR WRITE ARTICLES Contribute to FCN about what YOU think and feel. popularity has sunk to unprecedented lows, largely over France’s ailing economy. “The opposition is in a weakened position, but they know which buttons to press in order to get a reaction in society, in a country as liberal as France, where nobody thought it was an issue,” said Hossein Alizadeh, a coordinator with the U.S.-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission who has followed the issue. At Brouillette & Cowan, we help provide clarity, confidence and personalized financial solutions to the clients we serve, with the goal of creating and preserving wealth while maximizing tax savings. Marianne K. Brouillette, EA C. Jason Cowan, CPA But the most visible face in the fight against gay marriage — a former comedienne who goes by the name of Frigide Barjot — said the movement named “A Protest for Everyone” will continue beyond the law’s passage and possibly field candidates in 2014 municipal elections. She said anyone involved in protest violence would be marginalized, but blamed the government for its failure to listen. “The violence comes from the way in which this was imposed,” Barjot told France Info radio. French conservatives, demoralized and divided by the election loss of standard-bearer Nicolas Sarkozy, found common cause in opposing same-sex marriage. Hoping to keep the issue alive, the conservative UMP party planned to challenge the law in the Constitutional Council. ® Financial Advisors Telephone 912.354.2262 Fax 912.354.3165 Securities www.BCSavannah.com “The controversy that we’ve seen has been a stoked and manipulated controversy that’s really kind of a last-ditch attempt to block the tide of history,” said Evan Wolfson, president of the American activist group Freedom to Marry, which he said worked with the French on the bill. “I don’t think it spoke to a deep or wide opposition among the French people.” French civil unions, allowed since 1999, are at least as popular among heterosexuals as among gay and lesbian couples. But that law has no provisions for adoption, and the strongest opposition in France as far as same-sex couples goes comes when children are involved. According to recent polls, just over half of French are opposed to adoption by same-sex couples — about the same number who said they favored same-sex marriage. Christophe Crepin, spokesman for the police union UNSA, says the extraordinary security Tuesday included a total of about 4,000 officers in the area near the National Assembly building and water cannon positioned nearby. On the cover of Tuesday’s Liberation newspaper, the famed gay photographers Pierre and Gilles took over the front page and several of the inside pages, splashing them with some of their most provocative photos, including one of three soccer players — nude but for the footwear — facing the camera. In New Zealand, where gay marriage enjoys popular support, people gathered outside Parliament and joined in singing a traditional Maori love ballad after a vote last week making it legal. Nine states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. also recognize such marriages, but the federal government does not. SATURDAY LESBIAN SOCIAL EVENING Hosted By: Tybee Arts Association May 4th 7:00 - 10:00 7 Cedarwood Ave Tybee Island, GA 31328 Bring a Covered Dish, your lover, or a dear friend. Hosted By: TBA Are you interested in hosting a Lesbian Evening or Event. Please let us know. [email protected] NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 17 The History of Gay Marriage Bill Clinton Says Chelsea Changed His View On Gay Marriage Courtesy of Lavender Magazine 1. On May 18, 1970 Jack Baker and James McConnell, two gay men, apply for the first marriage license in the United States, in Minneapolis, MN. Gerald Nelson, Clerk of Hennepin County District Court denies the request to marry. In 1971 Jack Baker becomes the first openly gay man elected as President of the University of Minnesota student body. The couple sues and the case is dismissed in District Court, followed by an appeal to the Minnesota State Supreme Court (dismissed), followed by an appeal to the US Supreme Court (dismissed “for want of a substantial federal question”). 2. In 1993 the Hawaii Supreme Court declared the states probation against gay marriage to be unconstitutional, in ‘Baehr v. Lewin’. On November 3, 1996 Hawaii voters enact an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between opposite sex couples. 3. In September 13 1996, Lavender Magazine President Stephen Rocheford debates Mitch Pearlstein, President of the Center of the American Experiment, on Public Television arguing against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and supporting gay marriage as historically inevitable. 4. September 21, 1996, President Bill Clinton signs the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage between opposite sex couples, rushed through the Senate and House of Representatives only two months before the 1996 election. All Minnesota Representatives (with one exception) and both Senators, including Paul Wellstone, vote for DOMA. Representative Martin Sabo, 5th District, is the sole “no” vote cast of Minnesota’s Congressional delegation. 5. In 1997, the Minnesota legislature passes a state version of the Federal Defense of Marriage act. 6. On February 19, 2009 a civil unions bill is introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives. On March 5, 2009 a gay marriage bill is introduced in the Minnesota Senate. Both fail. 7. On May 11, 2011 the Minnesota Senate passes a bill (already passed in the House of Representatives) to place a proposed amendment to the state constitution on the ballot that would ban same sex marriage but not civil unions. 8. On May 16, 2011 Senator John Marty introduces “The Marriage and Family Protection Act” which is for total marriage equality in Minnesota. The Republican control of the legislature at the time ensures that the bill fails. 9 On November 6, 2012, Minnesota voters reject the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between opposite sex couples 52.6% to 47.4%. 10. On November 6, 2012 ten of the DFL State Senators (out of a total of 39 DFL Senators), and seventeen of the DFL State Representatives (out of a total of 73) elected, are in districts 18 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net Courtesy of The New York Post where the majority of the people voted “yes” on the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. 11. Within 48 hours of the election victory over the proposed constitutional amendment, Governor Mark Dayton, with the incoming Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, and House Majority Leaders elect, all members of the Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL), announce that gay marriage is not on their agenda for this legislative session in 2013-14. 12. On November 29, 2012 Lavender Magazine begins a series of articles (thirteen to date) including interviews with Governor Dayton (who refuses to answer our questions) and the legislative leaders about their press conference immediately after the election. The Governor’s, Speaker’s, and the two Majority Leader’s names, phone numbers and email addresses are printed after each article. See the entire series of articles with contact information listed on page 56 and on the Lavender website at: www.lavendermagazine. com/author/brettstevens/. 13. On December 11, 2012 in an interview with Lavender Magazine, State Senator John Marty indicates that he will introduce another full marriage equality bill (as he did on May 16, 2011), including the legislative findings that were in his last bill. He believes that the bill can pass quickly, but doubts that the DFL leadership will allow a vote on it. Senator Marty says, “There is no excuse for not getting this done”. 14. On February 28, 2013 by State Senator Scott Dibble and State Representative Karen Clark, introduce a bill for marriage equality in the State Legislature. It is virtually the same bill introduced by Senator John Marty on May 16, 2011. 15. On March 12, 2013 committee hearings are held in both the State House and Senate and are quickly passed to go to their respective Houses of the legislature. 16. Speaker of the State House Thissen and State Senate Majority Leader Bakk both continue to indicate that there are not enough votes in the DFL caucus to pass the bill for marriage equality. The DFL controls both the House 73 (to 61 Republicans), and the Senate 39 (to 28 Republicans). Governor Dayton (DFL) indicates he will sign the bill “if” it reaches his desk for signature. 17. On April 3, 2013 a bipartisan bill for full equality (like in Colorado) civil unions is introduced in the Minnesota legislature. NOW: If the DFL majority in both houses of the legislature chooses not to pass a marriage equality bill this year, they have the opportunity to pass instead the bipartisan compromise civil union bill, joining moderate Democrats and Republicans, this session in 2013. The choices are: equality, civil unions, or nothing. Bill Clinton was honored at the GLAAD Media Awards for his gay rights advocacy as well as his endorsement for same-sex marriage on Saturday. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the former President credits his daughter for changing his mind. The former President said during his acceptance speech that his daughter “has had a profound impact on the way I see the world. It’s sort of humbling when you get to be my age when your child knows more than you do about everything.” “Chelsea and her gay friends have modeled to me how we should all treat each other regardless of our sexual orientation or any other artificial difference that divides us,” said the honoree. “Many of them come and join us every Thanksgiving for a meal. I have grown very attached to them.” “And over the years, I was forced to confront the fact that people who oppose equal rights for gays in the marriage sphere are basically acting out of concern for their own identity, not out of respect for anyone else.” Clinton’s view on marriage equality changed substantially over the years. During his presidency, he signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. Winnipeg Rabbis Split on Bill Favoring Gay-Straight Clubs Courtesy of The Jewish Press.com Two leading Orthodox rabbis in Winnipeg are split over part of a bill, proposed last December, which would require any school that receives provincial funding to allow students to create a gay-straight alliance club. Fearing that Christian schools will be forced to accept such clubs, many Christian leaders in Manitoba have opposed the bill. But in the case of the province’s Jewish community, the two leading Orthodox rabbis have landed on opposite sides of the debate. “The Torah rejects homosexuality,” Rabbi Avraham Altein, the longtime head of Chabad Lubavitch in Winnipeg, told the Canadian Jewish News. “Religious schools should not be forced to accept a gay rights group.” But while Altein has written a letter to Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger protesting the bill and taken to the airwaves to make his views heard, Winnipeg’s other prominent Orthodox rabbi has taken a much different approach. Rabbi Ari Ellis, who leads Winnipeg’s largest Orthodox congregation, told the news agency that he originally planned not to get involved in the debate on the bill until he heard Altein claiming that the bill stood in opposition to Orthodox Judaism. “As an Orthodox rabbi and a Jewish educator, it is my belief that a gay-straight alliance could be a welcome institution in our schools and communities,” Ellis told the newspaper. Gray Academy of Jewish Education, the only K-12 Jewish private school in Winnipeg, has had a gay-straight alliance for several years, according to head of school Rory Paul. “I want to keep working on this until not only is DOMA no longer the law of the land, but until all people — no matter where they live — can marry the people they love,” Clinton told the crowd. He has since called his approval of that law one of his biggest mistakes as President and has urged the Supreme Court to strike the law down. “You are the agents of change. I got this award tonight, because I was the object of your affection - or not, as the case may be,” he added. “My daughter led me to support the marriage equality law in New York when we were debating it, and to oppose North Carolina’s denial of marriage equality, and to do all these other things. So I want to thank her too. Thank you, GLAAD. Thank you, Chelsea.” “Whenever we turn away from treating someone with the dignity and honor and the respect that we would like accorded to ourselves, we have to face the fact it’s about us,” Clinton concluded. NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 19 Nevada Senator Comes Out as Gay Marriage Resolution Advances New Sci-Fi Comic Book Embraces Gay Romance CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Nevada Senate, after an hourlong, soul-searching debate about equality, love and marriage passed a resolution late Monday repealing the state’s heterosexual definition of marriage, the first step in a long process to recognize gay marriage. Comic fans who love sci-fi, action, and gay romance won’t want to miss Alex Woolfson and Winona Nelson’s new graphic novel Artifice. Not only because the story features gay protagonists, but because the comic portrays their relationship as completely normal. Courtesy of The Associated Press Jase Peeples In emotional comments, senators told of family members who are gay; their own conflicts between religion and social justice. For Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, it was a coming out of sorts when he announced to many, “I’m black. I’m gay.” Senate Joint Resolution 13 repeals a constitutional provision enacted by voters in 2002. It also declares that Nevada recognizes all marriages, regardless of gender. The resolution was approved on a 12-9 vote, with Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, voting with the Democratic majority. It now goes to the Assembly. If passed by lawmakers this year and in 2015, it would go to voters in 2016 for ratification. “This is a vote to let the people vote for equality,” said Sen. Pat Spearman, D-North Las Vegas. A black, lesbian minister, Spearman talked passionately of growing up in the 1960s in the deep south, being spit on because she was black. “I know what it feels like when people want to push separate but equal,” Spearman said. “Separate is not equal.” Sen. David Parks, a Las Vegas Democrat who was the first openly gay elected to the Nevada Legislature, urged his colleagues’ support. “There is no threat; no threat to one’s marriage or their own personal views,” Parks said. “Passage of SJR13 will begin the positive process toward fairness and equality. “ The measure, he said, will allow voters to decide “so that someday soon I may have the same rights you are entitled to.” For many Republicans, the vote came down to whether marriage should be in the constitution at all. The original version of the resolution called only for repealing the Protection of Marriage Act passed by voters in 2002 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. They objected to expanding the measure to sanction same-sex marriage. “It is regrettable that it has come to this,” said Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, adding he and others in the Republican caucus supported the original version of SJR13. Artifice is firmly planted in the yaoi — a.k.a. boys’ love or BL — comics genre. Yaoi, a Japanese manga genre focusing on gay men, is mostly written for and by women and is immensely popular in Japan, with a small,but avid fan base in the United States. Originally appearing as a comic on Woolfson’s website, Yaoi911, Artifice will be available in a collected print edition on May 1. An official synopsis of the action-romance reads: Deacon, a prototype android soldier, was ordered by his corporate masters to eliminate a team of scientists who knew too much and he has failed spectacularly. Not only did he let one of his targets live -- 19-year-old human outcast, Jeff Linnell -- he attacked the team sent to retrieve him. Now the Corporation demands answers and they have employed the brilliant and ruthless robopsychologist Clarice Maven to get them. Deacon seems desperate to conceal the shocking events that took place on Da Vinci 4, but what chance does he have fighting an adversary who can control his every move? Many LGBT comic fans will certainly find the romance between Deacon and Jeff refreshing, as their relationship is treated like any other conventional story element — as least as conventional as a love between a young man and an android assassin (think Blade Runner meets The Terminator) could be. As The Atlantic’s Noah Berlatsky points out, “The mainstream isn’t exactly interested in gay protagonists in its pulp genre product at the moment. But reading Artifice, you can almost see that future in which gayness in sci-fi is neither disavowed, nor avant-garde, but simply normal.” Artifice is available for preorder at Amazon.com. 20 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 21 A UNIQUE WAY TO FEEL MORE ENERGIZED... AND BE AS HEALTHY AS YOU CAN BE. Karen Voss, DC Clark Voss, DC Reiki certified (912) 356-5886 Chiropractic works with the subtle energies of the body flowing through the nervous system to stimulate the body’s own innate capacity to heal itself. Reiki works with the flow of Universal Life Force Energy channeled into the body to balance the energy centers and to facilitate the healing process. Skidaway Family Chiropractic Center 5704 Skidaway Road Savannah, GA 31406 ADOLESCENT AND ADULT PSYCHOTHERAPY INDIVIDUALS, COUPLES, GROUPS Specialties include: Addiction, Anxiety, Depression, GLBT/Gender Issues, Relationship Issues,Trauma Braswell Gamble, LPC 912-231-8429 Sarah W. Holmes, Ph.D. 912-233-7204 Duke Miles, LCSW 912-233-1312 Nancy Wallace, LCSW 912-447-0230 Martha B. Womack, Ph.D. 912-447-5660 23 E. 38TH STREET SAVANNAH, GA 31401 22 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net Brittney Griner acknowledges she’s gay, says ‘just be who you are’ Republicans Back Gay Marriage Ahead Of Vote In Rhode Island Ex-Baylor star Brittney Griner likes to remind all the girls and young women who idolize her to just be themselves and not worry what others think. The five Republicans in the Rhode Island Senate are backing gay marriage as a legislative committee prepares for a pivotal vote on the issue. Griner was doing just that this week while discussing her sexual orientation, apparently for the first time with the media. The new member of the Phoenix Mercury, chosen No. 1 overall in Monday’s WNBA, did not make a big deal about the fact that she is a lesbian, making no big coming-out announcement. The Senate Republican Caucus announced Tuesday that its members will support legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The senators cite their support for liberty and limited government and say same-sex couples deserve the same marriage rights as anyone. By Chuck Schilken - Courtesy of The LA Times But she did not hide from the topic either when it was pertinent to the issues being discussed. In a pre-draft interview with USA Today on Monday, Griner brought it up herself while crediting her parents for always encouraging her to be herself no matter what cruel things people were saying about her. “My parents didn’t know at the time,” she said. “I hadn’t come out completely. It was kind of like, YOU KNOW … I just hadn’t said it. My dad and my mom have always told me, ‘Be who you are.’ At the time, they probably weren’t sure what I was interpreting that as.” During an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, she discussed it in the context of being bullied as a child. By David Klepper While the GOP caucus only holds five of the Senate’s 38 seats, its support is another indication of the growing support for gay marriage in Rhode Island, now the only New England state that doesn’t allow gay marriage. The bill has already passed the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee will decide Tuesday whether to forward the measure to the full Senate for a debate. “It was hard, just being picked on for being different, just being bigger, my sexuality, everything,” she said. “I overcame it and got over it. Definitely something that I am very passionate about. I want to work with kids and bring recognition to the problem, especially with the LGBT community.” Also on Wednesday, Griner and fellow recent WNBA draftees Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins were interviewed by Sports Illustrated’s Maggie Gray, who asked why it’s more accepted to be a gay athlete in women’s sports than men’s. “I really couldn’t give an answer on why that’s so different. Being one that’s out, it’s just being who you are,” Griner said. “Again, like I said, just be who you are. Don’t worry about what other people are going to say, because they’re always going to say something, but, if you’re just true to yourself, let that shine through. Don’t hide who you really are.” Gray then asked Griner if her status as a famous athlete made it any more difficult to come out. “It really wasn’t too difficult, I wouldn’t say I was hiding or anything like that,” Griner said. “I’ve always been open about who I am and my sexuality. So, it wasn’t hard at all. If I can show that I’m out and I’m fine and everything’s OK, then hopefully the younger generation will definitely feel the same way.” Christopher’s Salon - Christopher Morrison and J.B. Hill - Two talented professionals providing complete personal hair care in a comfortable intimate salon. Located in Historic Downtown Savannah. 529 East Gordon Street For an appointment, call: 912.234.7070 Find us online at: christopherssalon.net the SAVANNAH GAY GUIDE SUPPORT GAY-FRIENDLY BUSINESS - TELL THEM YOU FOUND THEM IN THE FCN NETWORK NEWS ARTS AND ANTIQUES Motique Antiques 204 North Laurel Street Springfield Georgia 31329 912.433.2266 BOOKS & VIDEOS Home Run Video & News 4 East Liberty St (912) 236-5192 COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONS AASU Gay Straight Alliance Nip Miller PH 912-373-5424 [email protected] Georgia Southern University Gay Straight Alliance Contact Person: Laura Cahill 912-531-8326 [email protected] SCAD Queer & Allies (Q&A) (912) 525-6729 Chris St. Clair (President) [email protected] CLOTHING The Mens Wearhouse 7929 Abercorn St #205 (912) 925-5499 COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY Ellen Farrell LPC, EEMCP Holistic Psychotherapy 6203 Abercorn St. #108 (912) 247-4263, www.ellenfarrell.com Karen Abato ATR-BC, LCAT Art Pyschotherapist - 912-220-0071 Braswell Gamble, LPC 23 East 38th St. (912) 231-8429 Sarah Holmes, Ph.D. 23 East 38th St. (912) 233-7304 Duke Miles, LCSW Psychotherapy 23 E 38th St.. (912) 233-1312 Nancy Wallace, LCSW 23 East 38th St. (912) 447-0230 Martha Womack, PhD. Psychologist. 23 East 38th St. (912) 447-5660 / fax (912) 447-5661 FINANCIAL SERVICES Brouillette & Cowan 1 Oglethorpe Pro Bldg, Ste 102 (912) 354-2262 Glenn Gaylord CPA (912) 658-1346 FUNERAL SERVICES HOME REPAIR/CLEANING CONT. POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS GOURMET FOOD & MORE INSURANCE AGENCY PRIDE ORGANIZATIONS Adams Funeral Services 510 Stephenson Ave. (912) 354-6260 Brighter Day Natural Foods Organic foods, books and more. 1102 Bull St., (912) 236-4703 Thrive Carryout Cafe 4700 Highway 80 E Whitemarsh (912) 898-2131 HAIR SALONS Designs 804 Salon. 210 East Park Ave. (912) 201-0070 Christopher’s Hair Salon 529 E Gordon St. (912) 234-7070 HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES Assisted Recovery Center of Ga. 7722 Waters Ave (912) 352-2425 or (888) 570-6391 My Brothaz Home Inc. HIV/AIDS support services for Everyone 127 Abercorn Street Suite 302 (912) 349-2935 Stand Out Youth Every Friday at 7 pm 307 East Harris St. (912) 657-1966 HIV Services. Chatham CARE Center 107 B Fahm St. (912) 651-2253 Sparkling House Cleaning Asian Style (912) 257 6587 Bush Insurance Agency. 340 Eisenhower Dr. Bldg 300 Ste A (912) 356-0266. INTERIOR DESIGN Timothy Burkett Interiors (912) 236-6500 LEGAL SERVICES Robert W. Bush. P.O. Box 8432. (912) 651-2180 ~ (912) 231-9906. Georgia Legal Services Bill Broker 6602 Abercorn Street (912) 651-2180. LODGING Brunswick Manor 825 Egmont Street Brunswick, GA 31520 (912) 265-6889 NIGHTLIFE Free legal services to HIV+ who meet income guides. 10 Whitaker St. (912)651-2180 HOME REPAIR/CLEANING Summit Pest Control Once a year Pest Control (912)351-0979 Mitchell Bush 340 Eisenhower Dr. 300 Ste A (912) 356-0266 ext. 106 Savannah Pride Inc. savannahgapride.org PRINTING/DESIGN/PHOTO Creative Approach 408 MLK JR Blvd mycreativeapproach.com (912)233-8300 One Horse Photography Onehorsephotography.com REAL ESTATE & MORTGAGE RESTAURANTS Roys Hideaway (912)225-3900 royshideaway.com PHYSICAL THERAPY Phoenix Holistic Center 1138 B East 72nd St. (912) 660-3031 Skidaway Family Chiropractic Center. 5704 Skidaway Rd. (912) 356-5886. Small World Therapeutic Massage Brantley Moate NCTM, NMT, CMT, LMT Whitemarsh Island - next to Jalapenos (912) 897-7979 Joe’s Homemade 5515 B Waters Avenue 70th St (912) 349-0251 Southside Pizza Hut 11510 Abercorn Street (912)925-2380 LOCAL WEBSITES Gaysavannah.com [email protected] WORSHIP SERVICES Agape Empowerment Ministries 703D Louisville Road agapeempowerment.org Asbury Memorial UMC 1008 East Henry St. (912) 233-4351 St. Luke’s Lutheran Church 2716 Mechanics Ave. (912) 354-6815 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 34th and Abercorn - Savannah (912) 232-0274 Unitarian Universalist Church 313 E Harris St (912) 234-0980 Unity Church of Savannah 2320 Sunset Blvd. (912) 355-4704 Unitarian Universalist of Statesboro 609 East Grady Street (912) 489-8338 24 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net 7 PM, Second Tuesday of every month, Los Robles, 101 East 34th Street (Contact: Richard Gourley, Phone - 912-713-5546) TRANSENDANTS (FORMERLY TNET) Monthly Get-Together for Transgendered People and Their Loved Ones Third Sunday of Every Month 311 East Harris Street Free, Convivial, and Confidential Hosted By: Tybee Arts Association May 4th 7:00 - 10:00 7 Cedarwood Ave Tybee Island, GA 31328 Bring a Covered Dish, your lover, or a dear friend. TBA Are you interested in hosting a Lesbian Evening or Event. FIRST CITY NETWORK Board Meetings Open to the Public First Monday of Every Month 6:30pm 785 King George Blvd, Suite 102. PFLAG SAVANNAH Second Sunday of Every Month 2-5pm, 785 King George Blvd, Suite 102. Please let us know. [email protected] Donald Callahan Keller Williams Realty (912) 441-4416 Chuck’s Bar 301 West River St. (912) 232-1005. OUTDOORS SATURDAY LESBIAN SOCIAL EVENING Hosted By: GAY MEN’S HEART CIRCLE Coastal Real Estate Group 315 E Liberty St. (912) 233-5900 Ron Melander Keller Williams Realty (912) 441-7124 Club One Jefferson (Home of The Lady Chablis) 1 Jefferson St. (912) 232-0200 G A Y G U I D E C O N T I N U E D . . . FREE - EMAIL [email protected] FOR PLACEMENT BEFORE THE 20TH OF EACH MONTH Austin Hill / CBT Realty 7505 Waters Avenue, Suite B-7 912-354-2100 The Bay Cafe 301 W. Bay Street (912) 234-6953 Hospice Savannah Inc. Homecare and Hospice House; grief support services. 1352 Eisenhower Dr. PET SERVICES (912) 355-2289 Save-A-Life Julie - (912) 354-7357 Union Mission Phoenix Project. HIV housing and support. TailsSpin 120 Fahm St. 4501 Habersham St. (912) 231-0123 (912) 691-8788 TailsSpin.com HIV/AIDS LEGAL PROJECT Georgia Equality Savannah Chapter 106 W. 38th St. (912) 944-0996 CLASSIFIEDS and EVENTS Savannah GAY Guide is opening up! FCN is looking to open up the classifieds section to gay owned and gay friendly businesses in the savannah area. If you know of a business please have them contact us regarding placement into the Gay Services Guides. The Board wants to have a better reach with the community at large and open up this section to encompass more than just advertisers. We want to service the community as a whole. So please email [email protected] with questions or concerns if you wish to have your business or friends business listed with FCN. Also is there something FCN can do for your business. We want to encourage the members to visit your business and services. Is there a discount or special that you wish to extend the FCN Membership. Let us know and FCN will get the word out to the hundreds of members. Not a Member? Then - JOIN TODAY to be part of the Community Can do via Credit Card or Paypal via our website at firstcitynetwork.net add us on facebook too to learn more about up and coming events... FIRST CITY NETWORK MEMBERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTION Mail your completed form with payment to: First City Network PO Box 2442 Savannah, GA 31402-2442 $100 Corporate - $40 Family/Couple $25 Individual - $10 Student w/ ID You can also become a member online at: firstcitynetwork.net Join today and Find a Whole “Family” Waiting to meet you... Monthly Socials, Newsletter Delivered to your door and a way to meet people to form lasting bonds with. What are you waiting for? Name Address City, St, Zip E-mail Phone NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 25 MAY 2013 Horoscopes & Sudoku ARIES: A “Catch 22” situation arises and causes you frustration early in the month. Creative thinking could turn things around, however. Don’t be afraid to try the unusual. A Libra friend shows you the positive side. Cynicism slows you down. Financial problems may arise later in the month. LIBRA: Before searching far for something you need, take a look right in front of you. It may not seem so obvious at first, but it will be crystal clear in time. A show of independence will work wonders in a romance – especially with Scorpio. An unusual source tells you of an investment opportunity. Good news comes in threes. TAURUS: Absence makes the heart grow fonder, especially if you’re involved with Scorpio. A decision you made several months ago has an effect on you this month. A problem that arises will be a blessing in disguise. Expect delays. Leo causes you frustration this month. SCORPIO: Time spent alone gives you the opportunity to think through problems. You’ll be able to come to terms with a situation that has been troubling you for some time. If you’re in a management position, you may find that it’s lonely at the top. Change is imminent in a romance. GEMINI: A Taurus from your past resurfaces. You’ll find the bull a little deeper than you remember. A mid-month break from your busy schedule brightens your mood. Don’t be afraid to give in to relaxation. It’s really not so bad! Scorpio plays a role. Decisive action is key this month. SAGITTARIUS: A career opportunity could come your way when you least expect it. Before discounting it at face value, take a deeper look. There may be more than meets the eye. If a major purchase is in the works, be sure to shop around. Don’t write out any check unless you’re getting a good deal. CANCER: A great month! Something you worked hard for and wanted for some time is finally yours. Don’t be afraid to celebrate in a big way. More free time is on the way, so don’t be afraid to take advantage. An especially romantic weekend is in store. Taurus plays a role. Finances look good. CAPRICORN: Look back to the past to help fix a problem today. You’ll find that time has a way of repeating itself. Scorpio offers some words of wisdom. New romance should be avoided this month – especially if a Virgo is in the picture. An introspective mood leads you to answers. LEO: Keep a tight hold on valuables or something you love could be lost. This is especially true if you’re traveling this month. Try to make the best of a bad situation. Negative thinking makes matters worse. Staying focused helps you keep pace with a busy workload. AQUARIUS: A friend’s offer of help may not be totally selfless. There could be some motives you’re not totally aware of. If you’re looking for a new job, this could be a lucky time. Be sure to explore all options. Social invitations are more abundant now. Don’t be afraid to have some fun. PISCES: Finances will become an issue –especially if you have moved or taken on additional expenses recently. Careful budgeting will get you through. A “to-do” list helps keep you organized at work. Social activities may have to take a back seat to family obligations this month. NAH AU C T N A IO V A N S VIRGO: Speaking up is the only way to make others aware of your frustrations. Keeping it all bottled in won’t help one bit. A flirtation at work could be a recipe for disaster. Know what you’re getting into before flashing that smile. Leo is involved. A good time to get in touch with old friends. *Looking for Weekly Quality Consignments *Estates and Personal Property *Commercial Liquidations *Bankruptcy & Foreclosures *Sellers are paid in full same day of the Auction Michael Lee Wedincamp , Auctioneer Savannah Auction Exchange,Inc 122 Pipemakers Circle Ste 200 Pooler,GA 31322 Direct-912-657-8319 EX 26 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net GAL #AU-C002952 CHANGE www.SavannahAuctionExchange.com When you add to your homeowners, renters and condo insurance, we don’t just give you the partial value of things that have been stolen or destroyed, we help you replace them with the latest versions. We put our members first, because we don’t have shareholders . SM Join me in Savannah. Mitchell Bush The Bush Agency (912)356-0266 [email protected] www.thebushagency.com Optional feature. Exclusions and limits apply. Damaged items may be repaired in some cases. Details vary by state and policy language. Please consult your policy for the specifics of your selected coverages. Subject to underwriting guidelines, id li review, i andd approval.l Nationwide Insurance, the Nationwide framemark, Nationwide is On O Your Side, S Brand New Belongings and We put members first, because we don’t have shareholders are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2013 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. NPC-0599M1 (02/13)