Quest Vol. 12 No. 12

*Quest News* Volume 12 No. 12 July 7, 2005 Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick Top Stories: Spain Legalizes Gay Marriage Madrid - The Spanish Parliament legalized gay marriage here June 30, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country to allow same-sex unions nationwide. Jubilant gay activists blew kisses to lawmakers after the vote. The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187 to 147. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists’ aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others’ property. The bill is now law. The Senate, where conservatives hold the largest number of seats, rejected the bill last week. But it is an advisory body and final say on legislation rests with the Congress of Deputies. After the final tally was announced, gay and lesbian activists watching from the spectator section of the ornate chamber cried, cheered, hugged, waved to lawmakers and blew them kisses. Several members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, which was vehemently opposed to the bill, shouted: “This is a disgrace.” Those in favor stood and clapped. The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two countries that allow gay marriage nationwide. Canada’s House of Commons passed legislation June 28 that would legalize gay marriage; its Senate is expected to pass the bill into law by the end of July. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero noted the Canadian decision in debate before the vote. “We were not the first, but I am sure we will not be the last. After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality,” he told the chamber. Zapatero said the reform of Spanish legal code simply adds one dry paragraph of legalese but means much more. He called it “a small change in wording that means an immense change in the lives of thousands of citizens. We are not legislating, ladies and gentlemen, for remote unknown people. We are expanding opportunities for the happiness of our neighbors, our work colleagues, our friends, our relatives.” Zapatero lacks a majority in the chamber but got help from small regional-based parties that tend to be his allies. Spanish gay couples can get married as soon as the law is published in the official government registry. This could occur as early as July 1, or within two weeks at the latest, parliament’s press office said. Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy said after the vote that Zapatero has deeply divided Spain and should have sought a consensus in parliament that recognized same-sex unions but didn’t call them marriage. Rajor said that if the vast majority of countries in the world don’t accept gay marriage, including some run by Socialists, there must be a reason. “I think the prime minister has committed a grave act of irresponsibility,” Rajor told reporters. Beatriz Gimeno, a longtime leader of the gay rights movement in Spain, held back tears as she hugged her partner Boti after the vote. “It is a historic day for the world’s homosexuals. We have been fighting for many years,” Gimeno said. “Now comes the hardest part, which is changing society’s mentality.” The gay marriage bill was the boldest and most divisive initiative of the liberal social agenda Zapatero has embarked on since taking office in April 2004. Parliament overhauled Spain’s 25-year-old divorce law on June 29, also irking the church, by letting couples end their marriage without a mandatory separation or having to state a reason for the split-up, as required under the old law. He has also pushed through legislation allowing stem-cell research and wants to loosen Spain’s restrictive abortion law. The Roman Catholic Church, which held much sway over the government just a generation ago when General Francisco Franco was in power, had adamantly opposed gay marriage. In its first display of anti-government activism in 20 years, it endorsed a June 18 rally in which hundreds of thousands marched through Madrid in opposition to the bill. Some 20 bishops took part in the June 18 rally. On the day before the historic vote, a Catholic lay group called the Spanish Family Forum presented lawmakers with a petition bearing 600,000 signatures as a last-minute protest. Late last year, the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops Conference, Antonio Martinez Camino said that allowing gay marriage was like “imposing a virus on society - something false that will have negative consequences for social life.” Despite the street protests in Madrid and elsewhere and the petition drive, polls suggest Spaniards supported gay marriage. A survey released in May by pollster Instituto Opina said 62% of Spaniards support the government’s action on this issue, and 30% oppose it. The poll had a margin of error of three percentage points. But surveys show Spaniards about evenly split over whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt children. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Retirement From The Supreme Court Impacts Gay Community Washington, DC - Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman ever appointed the the U. S. Supreme Court and a moderate voice on gay and women’s rights issues announced her retirement July 1. O’Connor will best be remembered by the LGBT community for her vote to overturn the Bowers vs. Hardwick decision of 1987. In the landmark 2003 Texas sodomy case O’Connor concurred with the majority in striking down the law. The ruling decriminalized all consensual same-sex behavior and laid the groundwork for full equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people under the Constitution. In opinions in First Amendment cases O’Connor also protected the constitutional wall between church and state. Justice O’Connor also voted to uphold the right to choose and to preserve universities’ right to promote diversity. President Bush praised O’Connor as “a discerning and conscientious judge and a public servant of complete integrity.” He said he would recommend a replacement who will “faithfully interpret” the laws. However, Bush’s remarks raised alarm bells for LGBT civil rights groups and Democrats. “Justice O’Connor’s retirement is a clarion call to every American that our rights are in grave danger,”Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said. “The loss of Justice O’Connor’s moderate voice is a serious threat to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, to women’s rights and to protections for racial, ethnic and religious minorities. We must all come together to fight for a replacement who follows in the Justice’s tradition. Widespread speculation that at least one Supreme Court justice would retire this year has kept the nation’s Capitol abuzz for months. Senate Democrats have been preparing for a battle over any nominee to the high court. Last May Democrats agreed not to filibuster the nominations of three anti-gay judicial nominations to federal courts in return for Republicans abandoning a threatened bill that would have ended filibusters on proposed judges. As a result of the agreement, former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, called the most homophobic judge in America by gay activists, two others with anti-gay records were confirmed. O’Connor’s announcement marked the first retirement in 11 years on an aging court. It came as somewhat of a surprise, particularly since Chief Justice William Rehnquist has been the subject of retirement rumors for months. Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer, has offered no hint as to his future plans. O’Connor’s decision capped a pioneer’s career. President Reagan broke nearly 200 years of tradition when he tapped her - a top-ranked graduate of Stanford law school - for the high court. Over time, she evolved into a moderate conservative, but more importantly, a majority maker. “This is a sad day for the Supreme Court and for America,” Matt Foreman, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said. “Justice O’Connor has frequently been an essential vote and voice of reason in crucial decisions involving basic constitutional rights. We call upon President Bush not to capitulate to the demands of extremists, and nominate a successor who will - like Justice O’Connor - be driven by the law, not reactionary ideology. We also call upon the president to honor the advice and consent role the Constitution gives the Senate in the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court nominees, including meaningful consultation with both parties and supporting a thoughtful, deliberate and thorough review of the nominee’s record.” Louisiana Pastor’s Lawsuit Against Action Wisconsin Dismissed Ruling Rejects Defamation Claims Over Press Release About Senator Reynolds’ Involvement At “Homo Fascism” Conference Where Pastor Allegedly Advocated Murder of Gays Milwaukee - Circuit Court Judge Patricia D. McMahon has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by a Louisiana evangelical pastor against the statewide gay and lesbian civil rights organization Action Wisconsin (AW). Pastor Grant Storms filed the suit in February 2004 alleging he was defamed by a December 2003 AW press release that grievously mischaracterized his comments claiming he “apparently advocated the murder of lesbian and gay people.” Grant made the speech at the October 10, 2003 ‘First International Conference on Homo Fascism,” sponsored by the now-defunct Wisconsin Christians United (WCU). McMahon ruled that “[Action Wisconsin’s] interpretation that Storms did appear to advocate the murder of gay people is not unreasonable... In response, [Storms] contends there is an alternative ‘common sense’ interpretation... [Storms’] interpretation is strained and inconsistent with the speech as a whole.” In conclusion, McMahon wrote that Action Wisconsin’s press release “presented a fair interpretation of [Storms’] speech.” “In no uncertain terms, the judge ruled that Action Wisconsin’s interpretation of the hateful, violent things that were said was entirely rational and that Action Wisconsin’s effort to inform the public about the conference is protected speech,” attorney Lester Pines said. Pines is a senior partner with Cullen Pines Weston & Bach, the firm that represented Action Wisconsin pro bono in the lawsuit. According to an AW press release on the decision, Tamara Packard, a senior associate with the same firm and Action Wisconsin’s vice president, was also on the legal team. Storms is a self-ordained minister who broadcasts weekly programs on a New Orleans radio station. He is best known for his highly visible protests of the annual gay Southern Decadence festival largely held in the French Quarter. Storms also founded an Louisiana-based organization calling itself Christian Conservatives for Reform. The genesis of the Storms lawsuit followed an ironic and, some might say, almost comic path. Following the lightly attended 2003 Homo Fascism conference, WCU reported on its website on October 14 that turnout at the event “included nine pastors, a state senator, a police officer, and a number of ministry leaders” and offered for sale an audio disc of the conference speeches. Two weeks later on October 22, the “Reality Check” column in the gay publication Wisconsin INStep reported that the state senator in question was “freshman Republican Tom Reynolds, not exactly a new convert to the extremist right.” The dual information led then AW board President Tim O’Brien to order a copy of the conference speeches, which O’Brien listened to in full, and AW Executive Director Christopher Ott listened to in part. Both men were named as co-defendants in the Storm suit. Ott later wrote a letter to then Senate Majority leader Mary Panzer requesting her to “to investigate, identify, and discipline the state senator “ who attended the conference. Ott included excerpts of the Storms speech and wrote “the attendance of a state senator at this conference is similar to a senator attending a Ku Klux Klan rally or neo-Nazi conference, and should receive tremendous scrutiny - especially at a time when legislators are advocating a constitutional amendment targeted at gay people.” The December 8 AW press release about the Panzer letter contained similar excerpts from Storms’ speech such as “They [gays] want to kill you;” “There is a philistine army out there. It’s called the homosexual movement, whether you can see it or not, understand it or not, they want to eliminate us;” and “God has delivered them into our hands, Hallelujah – Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom [like gun fire] – There’s twenty! Ca-ching, glory, glory to God, let’s go drive through the McDonalds and come back and get the rest.” On December 8 & 9, WCU responded to the AW press release claiming that “we had expectations that the homosexual propagandists would prove our point about homo-fascism by screaming bloody murder and making all sorts of wild accusations.” The InStep story along with dueling AW and WCU press releases drew the attention of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel political columnists Cary Spivak & Dan Bice, who followed up with Reynolds and confirmed his presence at the Homo Fascism conference. In their January 13, 2004 piece the columnists wrote: “ ‘It sounded interesting,’ said the West Allis senator who owns a small print shop. ‘I don’t know much about them. I do a little printing for them.’” The “little printing” included a number of WCU brochures. Some of WCU titles are “A Little Discrimination Can Be a Good Thing,” “Homosexuality: The Truth” and “Is Someone You Know A Bugger?” Action Wisconsin issued a press release on the day following the Spivak and Bice column noting the “revelation brings the Wisconsin Republican Party’s turn to the hard right into crystal clear focus. We have long maintained that initiatives like the soon-to-be introduced anti-gay state constitutional amendment are rooted in ugly prejudices and unfounded fears about lesbian and gay people. Reynolds’ affiliation with this conference raises serious questions about the real nature of this harsh agenda.” Storms then apparently contacted attorney James R. Donohoo, who had represented WCU founder Ralph Ovadal on several occasions including Ovadal’s unsuccessful defense of an August 2001 disorderly conduct charge for the self-identified pastor’s verbal assault and behavior toward a woman walking past A WCU picket on the road to the clothing optional Mazomanie Beach. Storms filed suit on February 23, 2004. A WCU press release issued the following day claimed “Action Wisconsin has trashed Pastor Grant Storms’s reputation and may have even put his safety in jeopardy. For instance, since the AW press release was issued, the false information in it has been used in an attempt to remove Grant from a radio program he hosts; and it has also shown up, along with his picture, on posters attached to light posts in New Orleans where he pastors a church. This situation once again shows the hypocrisy of the homosexual propagandists. They claim that Christians telling the truth from the Bible cause homosexuals to be put in danger. Meanwhile, with absolutely no concern for Pastor Storms’s safety or that of his family, a mainstream ‘LGBT’ organization publicizes the lie that a he is literally ‘advocating the murder’ of homosexuals!” In a subsequent lawsuit-related deposition Storms admitted under oath that no harm had come to him as a direct result from either his Homo Fascism speech or the AW press releases. Both sides in the lawsuit had been aware that the resolution might be resolved in Action Wisconsin’s favor. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Project, on April 4 McMahon’s clerk informed attorneys that “the 04-06-05 pre-trial conference date is canceled, the court will issue a written decision and a new pre-trial date, if needed, will be set by the court.” According to Ott, the Storms lawsuit was about the current attitude of the Wisconsin Republican Party to gay and lesbian citizens. “For us this was never about Grant Storms, it was about the fact that a state Senator attended this kind of conference,” he said. “It is outrageous that Senator Reynolds attended this conference and that the leadership of his party was apparently untroubled by this fact. In light of the Republican leadership’s ongoing crusade to ban any measure of equal protection for lesbian and gay Wisconsinites and to use gay families as political punching bags, the public deserves to know what truly lies behind their agenda.” Both sides in the lawsuit had been aware that the resolution might be resolved in Action Wisconsin’s favor. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Project, on April 4 McMahon’s clerk informed attorneys that “the 04-06-05 pre-trial conference date is canceled, the court will issue a written decision and a new pre-trial date, if needed, will be set by the court.” Disclosure: The author of the Wisconsin INStep “Reality Check” column cited above is also the News Editor of Quest and the author of this story. The original Reality Check column, “Julaine, Ralph & Sully - The DOMA Debate Drags On,” is available online. Also, the Wisconsin Christians United documents cited in this story were obtained from the website of the Pilgrims Covenant Church (PCC). According to the organization’s website the WCU ‘has been included as a ministry of Pilgrims Covenant Church since April 1, 2005.’ “ The documents are currently accessible only through cached versions found on Internet search engines. World & National News: Canada’s House Of Commons Approves Gay Marriage Ottawa - Canada is on the verge of becoming the fourth country in the world to approve gay marriages. MPs passed a historic bill granting same-sex couples equal rights to those in traditional marriages here June 29. The bill was passed by the Canadian House of Commons despite strong opposition from religious leaders and conservative MPs. Gay marriage is already legal in seven provinces in Canada, but the new legislation grants same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples nationwide. At the time of the vote, only the Netherlands and Belgium are the only other countries to allow gay marriages. Spain approved same sex unions two days on June 30. The bill - drafted by the minority Liberal party government of the Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin - has been hailed as a step forward for human rights. “We are a nation of minorities,” Martin said. “And in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don’t cherry-pick rights. A right is a right, and that is what this vote tonight is all about.” The legislation split the Liberal party, with 158 MPs voting to pass the bill and 133 against. The junior cabinet minister Joe Comuzzi, responsible for development in northern Ontario, resigned on Tuesday rather than voting on the issue. The Catholic church - the largest religion in Canada - is strongly opposed to the new legislation. Religious leaders claimed their clergy could be forced to perform gay marriages rather than risking being taken to human rights tribunals if they refused. However, the new bill only covers civil unions, rather than religious ones, meaning no clergy would have to perform same-sex ceremonies unless they wanted to. Government statistics estimate there are 34,000 gay and lesbian couples in Canada. “Lesbians and gay people are your brothers and sisters, neighbors, friends and co-workers,” Alex Munter, the national spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage, said. “At the end of the day, no argument in favor of exclusion can withstand what people see with their own eyes - that it is wrong to treat people they care about in a way that diminishes their personal choice.” Opponents of the bill have threatened to oust MPs who supported the legislation at Canada’s next general election. Charles McVety, a spokesman for Defend Marriage Canada and the president of Canada Christian College, called the vote an “onerous breach of trust and the deconstruction of so much that is dear to our hearts”. “This is the beginning of the formal fight against the redefinition of marriage,” he said. “We will, in the next election, be able to correct this incredible democratic deficit before us today.” The draft bill was expected to easily pass the Senate and become federal law by the end of July. California’s Domestic Partners Law Survives Legal Challenge Sacramento - California’s domestic partner law, which gave thousands of gay and lesbian couples most of the rights of spouses under state law, survived a legal challenge June 29 when the state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by conservative religious groups. Opponents of same-sex marriage argued that the domestic partner law, which took effect this year, was the equivalent of marriage and thus violated a 2000 ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California. But a Sacramento judge and a state appeals court ruled that the law was not equal to marriage. The courts noted that partners are ineligible for some state marital benefits and a wide range of federal benefits, and may be unable to get other states to recognize their relationships. The state’s high court denied review of the case without comment. Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who left the court June 30 to become a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., was absent from the vote, the court said. The court action ends the legal case, but may not resolve the issue. Three proposed ballot initiatives that would amend the state Constitution to prohibit both same-sex marriage and marital benefits for domestic partners have been submitted to state officials for review, said Geoff Kors, executive director of the gay-rights group Equality Now. The initiatives could be cleared for signature-gathering by August and qualify for the state ballot next year. Stonewall 35: Gay Pride Celebrated Nationwide San Francisco - Undeterred by recent setbacks in the push to legalize same-sex marriage, tens of thousands of festively dressed people marched in parades around the country Sunday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of gay pride. People celebrated in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and other cities, though the event comes during a tough period for gay rights advocates. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage died this year in the California Assembly, and many states have passed or are pursuing constitutional amendments outlawing gay marriage. “I’m here to let the rest of the world know that we’re here and we want to be seen,” Clarence Smelcer, 43, an AIDS activist watching the San Francisco parade, said. “We’re part of everyone’s lives and the parade is a wonderful way to show it.” Gay pride is a virtual holiday in San Francisco and thousands gathered early for the parade, including men in kilts sporting rainbow-colored wigs, cross-dressers in kimonos and heterosexual couples waving rainbow flags. The parade opened with a blocks-long contingent of “Dykes on Bikes” - lesbians dressed in leather driving loud motorcycles. Participants also included a bearded man in a wedding gown singing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” a gay and lesbian marching band and a group of parents and friends of lesbians and gays. The annual pride parades commemorate the Stonewall uprising of 1969, a series of fights between gays and police in New York widely considered the beginning of the gay rights movement. Some of the marchers in New York were veterans of the riots. There were also subtle reminders of the struggles ahead. Many in the San Francisco crowd wore stickers that read, “We All Deserve The Freedom to Marry.” “Anytime you have a big group of people screaming and hollering people will pay attention,” Jorge Vieto Jr. said. Vieto left Costa Rica because of discrimination against gays. “Marriage should be an equal opportunity, not a heterosexual right.” Ming Chan and Steve Ribisi watched the parade with their 18-month-old son, Joshua. Though they said some would view their relationship as a threat to the sanctity of marriage, they just wanted the chance to raise their son together. “People should see us and know we’re going through the same problems as other parents,” Chan said. Activists elsewhere also said they were energized by the political climate. “People are more fired up this year,” George Estelle said. Estelle attended the Atlanta march and organized a parade float by Human Rights Campaign. “They’re angry that they feel there’s been a lot of misrepresentation about them done this year during the elections.” In New York, men in button-down shirts outnumbered men in G-strings in a parade some said was less flamboyant than in past years - but still politically relevant. Both the state’s U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer were among the marchers. “It used to be all drag queens all the time,” parade participant Susan Yousem said.. “Now it’s been sort of mainstreamed - for good or bad. There are a lot of church groups, a lot of families.” Anthony Polito, marching in New York with the Stonewall Veterans’ Association, remembered “knocking a couple of cops down” during the 1969 rioting. In a sign of the changing times, Sunday’s parade featured contingents from the city police and fire departments, including recruitment vans. In Conway, Arkansas, about 300 people marched in the city’s second pride parade, easily outnumbering a small group of protesters. Last year, organizers reported receiving death threats and a farmer protesting the event dumped three tons of manure along the parade route. Organizer Robert Loyd hailed this year’s event as a success, though he accused the mayor of trying to sabotage it by changing the approved route a few days before. “Last year we had to deal with 6,000 pounds of manure. This year we had to deal with manure of a different source, and we can thank Mayor Tab Townsell for that,” Loyd said during a speech at the end of the parade. Townsell said last week the change was made to ensure public safety and that the city welcomed “the full expression of everyone’s American freedoms.” Tennessee Opens New Probe Of “Ex-Gay” Camp Memphis - The state of Tennessee has launched a second probe of Love in Action, the Memphis facility that has drawn protests since a 16-year-old known as “Zach” blogged that his parents were sending him there for treatment intended to change his sexual orientation. The Tennessee Department of Health sent a letter to Love in Action notifying the group that it is suspected of operating illegally, according to Andrea Turner, communications director for the department. Turner said that if the program is strictly faith-based it would not require licensing by the state, but that according to the group’s Web site, Love in Action has licensed counselors and provides services related to alcohol and drug addiction on site. “If this is the case, they are required to be licensed as a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Tennessee,” Turner said. If employees there are providing counseling on homosexuality, it is possible that they are operating outside their area of expertise, Turner added. Legislation giving the health department the authority to issue cease-and-desist orders to unlicensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities went into effect July 1. Turner said that the health department is considering whether the Love in Action facility is causing harm. Rachel Lassiter, of Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen’s communications office, said that the Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities has also begun research on Love in Action and is writing a letter of inquiry to the facility to determine whether an official investigation is warranted. Lassiter said that only licensed professionals should provide mental health care in Tennessee and that the state has an interest in making sure that whatever services are offered are beneficial. In mid-June the Department of Child Services investigated allegations of child abuse at the facility and determined that the allegations were unfounded. Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at faith-based Grove City College in Pennsylvania and a leading advocate for the view that sexual orientation can be changed, said that he believes that Love in Action is mixing ministry with treatment and that people can be damaged by sexual reorientation therapies offered by unprofessional practitioners. Throckmorton emphasized that while a parent might compel a teen to attend church, a professional counselor is bound to obtain informed consent from a client and should not treat a minor solely because his parents are upset about his sexual orientation. Love in Action advertises a therapeutic environment in which professional counselors help people overcome “addictive behaviors including homosexuality.” Although homosexuality is not an illness, Jack Dresher, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual issues Committee, said that he believes some counselors offer therapies intended to reorient gays and bill insurance companies with the diagnosis “sexual disorder not otherwise specified.” It is not clear how widespread this practice is. One insurance provider, when asked, could not provide statistics on how frequently people are diagnosed with “sexual disorder NOS.” Some providers, including Throckmorton, do not accept insurance, and therefore would not be subject to monitoring by managed health plans. There is no referral system that guides people to professionals that specialize in sexual reorientation counseling. No schools provide specialized training in this area and so it is outside the area of expertise for most professionals. The idea that sexual orientation is changeable is advanced by conservative groups like Exodus International and Focus on the Family. In “Calculated Compassion: How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right’s Attack on Democracy,” Surina Khan writes that the ex-gay movement provides political cover for anti-gay campaigns by repackaging them in kinder, gentler terms and attempting to ally itself with religious groups. “The ex-gay movement is an integral part of the Christian Right, which promotes Christian nationalism, an ideology that seeks to use government laws and regulations to impose fundamentalist Christian values on the entire nation.” Indeed, money from James Dobson’s Focus on the Family has funded both Exodus and the Alliance Defense Fund, the legal group currently attempting to insert the Wisconsin Assembly into the ACLU domestic partner benefit lawsuit launched in May. In her 1998 report Khan points out that Robert Knight of the Family Research Council has characterized the beginning of a major ex-gay publicity campaign as “the Normandy landing in the larger cultural wars.” But not even those who support making sexual reorientation available to adults believe that it is right to coerce a minor into undergoing such treatment. Dr. Mark Yarhouse is often cited by the ex-gay movement. Yarhouse runs the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity at the religious Regent University in Virginia Beach. Yarhouse said that it is unethical to treat a minor against his or her will. Arthur Goldberg is a board member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality and co-director of Jonah, a Jewish ministry that addresses unwanted same-sex attraction. Goldberg said, “We tell parents that unless someone is motivated to want to change, they are wasting their money.” Shannon Mintner, a lawyer with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has worked on hundreds of cases in which teens are forced into various types of treatment scenarios because their parents disapprove of their sexual orientation. Mintner first became aware of this phenomenon when he was contacted by a teenage girl who had escaped from a psychiatric facility where she was undergoing forced treatment for lesbianism. Mintner was able to help the girl find an adoptive home with a San Francisco lesbian couple. Mintner said that Love in Action’s attempt to reorient kids is unique only in that they are so open about what they are trying to do. In 1995, Mintner was involved in a case in Memphis in which the group Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays helped a 16-year-old gay male seek emancipation from his parents because they were forcing him to attend reorientation counseling with a Memphis psychologist, Dr. Duff Wright, and planned to send him to either Love in Action, or another similar program. Minter said that the Memphis Circuit Court judge agreed that the boy would be harmed by this treatment and indicated that he would sign the emancipation order. In a settlement agreement, the parents abandoned plans to send the boy to reorientation treatment. Last April, the Tennessee Department of Health permanently revoked Dr. Duff Wright’s license to practice as a psychologist, due to alleged ethics violations. Mintner said that while he has been able to help young people on a case-by-case level, “What we have not yet been able to find a way to do is to develop a systemic response that would get at the heart of the issue.” Discussion of Love in Action has permeated the Memphis media in recent weeks and Alex Polotsky of the Queer Action Coalition said that the group will continue its campaign of demonstrations against Love in Action. “We want every person in America to know about this. No reasonable sane person would support this program,” he said. Twenty-one-year-old J.M., who spoke to the Washington Blade on condition on anonymity, said that he was sent to Love in Action by his parents at the recommendation of a Christian counselor when he was 17. “The place was like a Nazi camp. I lost faith in God, friends, family.” J.M. said he is glad that Love in Action has come into the spotlight. “I am optimistic for some point in the future, I’ve lived for brief periods in New York, New Jersey, Philly. They are not as close-minded about this; it is not as cruel,” he said. State News: Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Coordinates Marriage Ban With Anti-Gay Group Madison - Assembly Speaker and Majority Leader John Gard (R-Peshtigo) apparently is coordinating the scheduling the second introduction of the proposed constitutional amendment banning any legal recognition of gay and other unmarried couples with Wisconsin’s leading anti-gay organization. Quest has obtained a copy of a June 2 letter written by Gard to Julaine Appling, the Executive Director of the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, detailing plans for a Spring 2006 reintroduction of the amendment proposal. Gard also wrote that he believes that “the best time to bring this issue before the voters is when we have the potential for high voter turnout,” noting the November, 2006 election would be the next such vote. Gard also praised Appling’s organization for the “grassroots efforts regarding the proposed constitutional amendment.” Gard also claimed that the bill is “one of the most important pieces of legislation will act upon this session.” Gard, who recently announced his candidacy for the 8th U. S. Congressional District to replace announced gubernatorial candidate Mark Green (R-Green Bay) likely would benefit from an increased voter turnout on the civil union ban referendum. Gard’s coordination letter comes as Action Wisconsin, the lead organization opposing the amendment announced its success in recruiting and training more than 250 speakers to explain how the proposed amendment’s broad language, in the group’s words, “goes too far and hurts real families.” The revelation of Gard’s letter also comes just weeks after three Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synods, representing over 250,000 members, voted to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment. 14th Annual Guernsey Gala Kicks Off Green Bay - The Guernsey Gala, the longest-running bar community fundraiser for HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin gay community history started off another round at the Napalese Lounge here Saturday, July 2. Four candidates - Tommy from Club XS, Joe from Cricket's Fox River Lounge, Earl from Napalese and Tippy from The Shelter - will spend the next three weeks raising dollar "votes" benefiting ARCW client services to earn the Dairy Queen title. Dinners, raffles, "cow eggs" sales and a softball tourney are all planned. The annual competition, which is now sponsored by Rainbow Over Wisconsin, has raised well over $110,000 over its history. One new twist this year is a concurrent personal care and cleaning supplies drive by the above named bars plus Appleton's Rascals Bar & Grill and Sheboygan's Blue Lite. The Guernsey finale will be held July 22 at the Fox River Lounge. Milwaukee Cable Might Offer Q Network Milwaukee - Time-Warner, the city’s cable provider, is considering offering the Q Network, according to a report published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The claim came in an Internet chat transcript between the paper’s TV critic Joanne Weintraub and an online participant who identified himself as “Lance Bass,” who wondered if the cable provider would be offering the recently-launched gay cable channel LOGO. “If you’re talking about Logo, the MTV gay channel,” Weintraub responded, “it actually launches today in New York, L.A. and eight other cities, Milwaukee not included. At the moment, local cable carriers have no plans to pick it up. But another gay-oriented channel, Q, may be available on digital cable later this season. These pick-ups are driven by consumer interest, so by all means write to your cable or satellite provider and say “I want my Logo and/or Q!” Weintraub also noted that “here!”, a third gay cable channel was running the “under the radar.” Changes Afoot For Cream City Chorus Milwaukee - Hot on the heels of it’s well-received cabaret show, “Up On The Roof” the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus gears up for several changes. Chief among them is the installment of its 2005-2006 Board of Directors, which takes office on July 1. Other changes include the search for a new Artistic Director and the departure of Emory Churness from his roles as President and Publicist. “After four years leading the group,” Churness said, “I decided it was time to step aside and let some of the newer, decidedly enthusiastic members take the lead, especially right now.” Churness, who plans to remain a singing member with the chorus, went on to explain that the next two-year term will culminate in the group’s 20th Anniversary, and hinted that some very exciting things are already in the works for the anniversary season. Assuming the office of President on July 1 is Hilary Giffen, who joined the group just over four years ago and has served on the board in one capacity or another ever since Her past experience with leading membership-driven organizations, coupled with a love of fun and a “get it done” attitude, make her the perfect fit for the organization’s next 2-year term. “The chorus has definite plans for the future and a good idea where we want to be by our 20th anniversary in 2007. As President, it’ll be my job to steer this fun, diverse group of people toward achieving those goals.” Giffen said. Joining the board as Vice President will be Kristen L. Weber. A long-time member of the chorus and past Artistic Director, Weber stepped into the office mid-term following a work-related departure. Weber’s credentials include an MBA and over 20 years experience, in various capacities, with the performing arts. Also elected to the board is Ellen Kozel, who will fill the one-year “At Large” position. A recent addition to the chorus, Kozel brings with her a great deal of enthusiasm and innovative ideas, as well as a certain business savvy earned through owning her own company. Filling out the board are Ebbie Duggins, who was elected for another term as Secretary, and Donna Plaski, whose current term as Treasurer will complete in 2006. When asked about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus’ plans for the upcoming year, members of the board admitted to having several goals in mind. Highest among them are increased membership, generating stronger media exposure, and finding a skilled Artistic Director. Applications for potential Artistic Directors are already being accepted. “Paula set the bar pretty high,” Churness said. “We’ve learned just how much a skilled, creative, and well-suited director can bring to the chorus. We’re definitely excited about what the future will bring. All in all, it’s a very exciting time.” The chorus also took the opportunity this spring to recognize that the group’s bright future is built upon a strong past. When Churness announced his intention not to run for a third term as President, the Executive Board set out to honor him with an ongoing tribute. At their April concert, the board surprised Churness not only by announcing the creation of the Emory Churness Leadership Award, but by making Churness himself its first recipient. In a statement read by Ebbie Duggins, one of the group’s founding members, the board stated that “There are times in the life of an organization that the contributions of a single individual are so significant that the group is forever changed.” When asked this week for a comment, Churness would only say, “I believed in this chorus when I first joined 12 years ago, I believe in it today, and most importantly, I believe in its future. I can’t wait to see where the new leadership will take us.” For more information about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus, contact 315 W. Court Street, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53212, call 414/276-8787 or visit www.creamcitychorus.org. Competing Wisconsin Pride Celebrations Set For July 9 Stevens Point - The recent July 8-10 gay camping weekend announcement by Club Night Out here has created a conflict some gay activists have predicted would happen sooner or later: conflicting pride-type celebrations. With its July 9 day-long picnic followed by its presentation of the nationally touring CC Rae Show & Talent Search, the Club Night Out event directly conflicts with the Northeast Wisconsin PrideFest being run by the Argonauts of Wisconsin in rural Hilbert. The Stevens Point picnic will run from Noon to 8 PM on the Club Night Out grounds, 2533 County Road M, about 5 miles northwest of downtown Stevens Point. The event will offer tap beer, food, soda and a charcoal chicken dinner for a flat $15 entry fee. Picnic goers will also be able to enjoy volleyball, horseshoes, croquet and other games. For $30 each, campers will be able to pitch their tents and recreational vehicles from July 8-10. The fee includes breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday evening the club will offer the CC Rae Show at 10:30 PM followed by a talent search contest at 12:30 AM. The Northeast Wisconsin PrideFest will be held on Saturday, July 9 from Noon to 9 PM at the Al Kamke farm in Hilbert, about 2 miles south of the Hwy 10 & 57 intersection in Forest Junction on Hwy 57. The location is about a half hour drive south of Green Bay and two hours north of Milwaukee. The Argonauts of Wisconsin-sponsored event will offer food, beer and soda a la carte and also feature vendors, raffles and few other activities. Live entertainment has been scheduled, but no performers have been announced to date. There will be a $2 per person admission fee to the event. Parking is free. After several changes, central Wisconsin’s “official” gay pride picnic has been scheduled for August 6, at Pfiffner Park just west of downtown Stevens Point. Quest will have a full preview in the next issue. Other pride events scheduled for the summer of 2005 include Madison Pride Weekend, July 15-17; LaCrosse’s “Pride Along The Mississippi,” July 29-31, and Superior-Duluth’s Twin Ports Pride, September 2-4. Madison Pride Weekend 2005 Set For July 15-17 By Dan Ross & Mike Fitzpatrick Madison - Carnivale is the theme of this year’s Madison Pride weekend, to be held here July 15-17. A bevy of official events will mix with a number of traditional collateral events held to capitalize on the festivities. Will the crowds and costumes rival those in Rio (de Janeiro, not Wisconsin) - only time will tell. July 15 will mark the annual OutReach Awards Dinner at the Monona Terrace starting with 6 PM cocktails dinner at 7. See the separate story in this issue of Quest for more details. Also scheduled on Friday is the Underwear Party featuring RuPaul, being held at the Orpheum Theatre from 9 PM to 2 AM. Tickets are $18 plus tax in advance or $22 plus tax at the door. Attendees must be 18 and older. A portion of proceeds will be donated to OutReach. For more information, contact the Orpheum Theater box office at 608-255-8755 or online at: www.rupaulinmadison.com Dance diva Pepper Mashay will be appearing at at Club 5 with show time at 11 PM. Doors will open at 8 and there will be a $9 cover charge. Pepper’s show will feature her newest hit song - the remake of Real Life’s “Send Me An Angel”- plus her classic club hits “Dive In The Pool,” “Signed Sealed Delivered” “I Got My Pride” and “Can’t Stop.” More information can be found at the Club 5 website: www.club-5.com. Saturday, July 15 brings the return of Madison’s annual Pride Picnic from Noon - 6 PM at Brittingham Park. There will be a $5 admission, though kids under 5 will be admitted free. Entertainment at the picnic will begin at 2 PM and include lesbian acapella group Tongue ‘N Groove, the Wade Otis Band and Niki Harris. That evening Club Inferno will Present “Switch/Chrome,”a multimedia event that will feature erotic male photography by Studio James, a midnight drag show by the Daughters of Darkness, an opportunity to meet the band “All the Pretty Horses,” all to the hard sexual dance beats by DJ Whiterabbit. The event starts at 9 PM at Club Inferno, with a $5 cover charge, a portion of which will be donated to AIDS Network. For more information, visit the club’s website at: www.clubinferno.com Sunday, July 17 will begin with the annual UW-Madison GLBT Alumni Brunch, starting at 10 AM at the Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus. The $16 tickets must be reserved prior to the event. To reserve tickets online, go to: www.uwalumni.com/glbtac/index.html. Coming Out, Coming Together will also sponsor a LGBT-welcoming Interfaith Service at a time to be announced in the late morning before parade. For updates, contact Ken Scott by phone at 608-437-7776 or via email at: info@idmadison.org Madison’s annual Pride Parade will step off following a Noon rally in the Capitol Square and will be followed by a second Pride Picnic from 1 - 6 PM, again in Brittingham Park. Admission to the will be $5 with kids under Sunday’s entertainment will begin at 1:30 PM with the Dairyland Cowboys & Cowgirls, followed by a drag show at 2 PM. Headliners All the Pretty Horses will perform at 3:30 PM. Songstress Simone Denny will close the weekend’s festivities with a 5 PM show. In addition to special weekend events listed above, other Madison LGBT venues will be holding special events. The Shamrock Bar is twenty years old this year and will have their Friday happy hour, Saturday and Sunday brunches. Ray’s Bar will debut their larger space and dance floor, in addition to their their new bar, “Jake’s.” Information about the picnics, the rally and parade can be found by visiting Madison Pride at: www.madisonpride.org. Schneider Introduces Bill To Grant Domestic Partner Insurance Benefits To UW Employees Madison - Assembly Representative Marlin D. Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) has introduced a bill to grant domestic partner insurance benefits to University of Wisconsin employees. Assembly Bill 503, if passed, would amend state statutes to include a definition of domestic partnership in addition to revising Wisconsin’s already extant definition of marriage as between “husband and wife” to “one man and one woman.” According to the legislative reference bureau’s review of the bill, would provide that “domestic partners of the University of Wisconsin System employees and annuitants are eligible to receive coverage under the health care coverage plans offered by the Group Insurance Board and that state employees and state annuitants are able to purchase policies for their domestic partners.” The bill also sets a registry process for domestic partnership “similar to the procedure for obtaining a marriage license. Domestic partners would apply for a declaration of their relationship with local county clerks where at least one of the partners had resided for the past 30 days. Both parties must sign and provide identification on the application, which will also contain statistical information not to be made public, similar to current marriage licenses. The bill was referred to the Committee on Insurance June 17. Wisconsin Methodists Stand Against Proposed Marriage Ban Madison - The Wisconsin United Methodist Conference has become the latest mainstream Christian denomination to oppose the the proposed constitutional amendment banning any legal recognition of gay and other unmarried couples. At its annual conference held here June 13-16, about 70-75% of the more than 500 registered representatives of the state’s nearly 100,000 Methodists passed Resolution 8, sponsored by Madison’s Bethany Methodist Church. The resolution, in part, read: “Whereas, the following two sentences are proposed to be added to the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin: ‘Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in his state,’ and “Whereas, the first sentence of the proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution is not necessary to define marriage as union of one man and one woman, as this is already established law in Wisconsin, and “Whereas, the second sentence of the proposed amendment would legally undermine certain basic human and civil rights of homosexual persons recognized by The United Methodist Social Principles [Paragraph 162(H)], and would become the first amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution to limit rather than expand and protect human rights and freedoms, “Therefore, be it resolved that the Wisconsin Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church urges its clergy and lay members to enter into informed and respectful dialogue with Wisconsin citizens on all sides of the Marriage Amendment issue and urge their state legislators not to pass the proposed Wisconsin Marriage Amendment.” The measure also affirmed the denomination supports “laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” However the denomination affirmed that “certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due all persons” and that the United Methodists “are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for homosexual persons.” The resolution reiterated that the denomination saw equal civil rights for the LGBT community as “a clear issue of simple justice.” Prior to the vote the conference heard speeches for and against the resolution. One of the pro-resolution speakers was by Brian Soper of Cambridge. Soper and his partner of more than twenty years, Dr. George Gay were married in Canada last year. In his presentation Soper contrasted Canadian and current Wisconsin law, and cited the considerable expense and effort the couple had gone to to legally secure their relationship. Soper then explained how the constitutional amendment could negate their years of work. The final tally for the amendment was an estimate by attendees reported to Christians For Equality in Wisconsin, a interdenominational coalition opposing the ban. The conference typically does not count votes individually unless the balloting appears close. The Methodist vote is just the latest vote by a mainstream religious organization to oppose the ban. The Wisconsin United Methodist Conference joins the La Crosse Area, South Central Wisconsin, and Greater Milwaukee ELCA Synods, the Milwaukee Presbytery, and many more local organizations, individual faith leaders, and congregations in opposition to the proposed constitutional ban. Collectively the religious organizations opposing the proposed ban represent about 400,000 Wisconsin members. Cream City Chorus’s Cabaret Show Marks Another Success Milwaukee - The Wisconsin Cream City Chorus performed their annual Cabaret Show “Up On The Roof’ to a full house at Village Church Arts here June 18. By tradition, the chorus’ June show is composed primarily of solos and ensembles, with only a few anchor songs performed by the full ensemble - a formula that allows the group to highlight both the talents of its members and a diverse array of music. By evening’s end, it was clear that the audience enjoyed the chorus’ offerings. “I say this every time, but I think this was the best show yet,” one attendee said. “It really shows how much you love what you’re doing,” added another. Under the musical direction of Paula Foley Tillen, the evening boasted several new arrangements and a few twists on old favorites. After setting the stage with a rousing rendition of “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” the show’s sub-theme was introduced with a performance of “Love Is in the Air.” What followed were an always-enjoyable variety of special pieces, ranging from the fun and irreverent “Chocolate is Love” to the heartfelt “Vem Kan Segla” (“Who Can Sail”) performed with guitar accompaniment in both Swedish and English. Other highlights included: A beautiful trio arrangement of “Maybe I Might” by Chicago musician Stolie; “Catch A Falling Star,” featuring 11-year old guest performer Anna Wolfe; a surprisingly funny performance of Lloyd-Webber’s of “All I Ask of You”, and a few numbers with parody lyrics including “A Blogger on the Roof”, plus a gay marriage version of Sondheim’s “Getting Married Today,” and a countrified “(I Was) A Good Old Boy” with a transsexual twist. But it was the mix of fun, rowdy and sometimes touching choral numbers that anchored the evening. Selections included “It’s De-Lovely,” “The Motown Song,” “Up On The Roof,” and “Think Summer.” The evening also boasted the WCCC’s annual silent auction. Items ranged from electronics to art, theatre tickets to sports memorabilia and brought in over $1400, which will help continue the chorus’ message of celebrating diversity in the community at large. Sponsorship donations from more than 30 area businesses, organizations and the chorus’ family of patrons also supported the event. The Wisconsin Cream City Chorus will be on summer break until mid-August. For information about the first fall rehearsal or other information about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus, contact 315 W. Court Street, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53212, call 414/276-8787 or visit creamcitychorus.org. OutReach Awards Banquet Tickets Now Available Madison - Tickets for the 13th Annual OutReach Awards Banquet are now available. The Banquet will be held July 15 in the Grand Ballroom of Monona Terrace. General Admission tickets cost $50. The event schedule will begin with a Reception and Cocktails at 6 PM, featuring musical entertainment by Tongue ‘N Groove. The dinner, program begin at 7 PM. Tickets for the event may be purchased through a variety of means. Credit Card orders may be placed by calling 608-255-8582. Those wishing to attend may also purchase tickets from over thirty table captains or by stopping by OutReach at 600 Williamson Street The Awards Banquet is an annual fundraising event held by OutReach, Madison ‘s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community center. Awards given at the event recognize outstanding achievement on behalf of the LGBT communities by individuals and organizations. For more information, contact OutReach at 608-255-8582 or by email at: commrel@outreachinc.com. Potawatomi Pridefest Food Drive Collects 9,000 Pounds of Food For ARCW Milwaukee – In only four hours, the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Food Drive at this year’s PrideFest June 11 & 12 collected 9,000 pounds of food for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin’s Food Pantry. The PrideFest donation is annually the largest donation of food to the ARCW Food Pantry from a single event. The food drive promotion allowed attendees to gain free entrance to the festival by donating four cans of non-perishable food during two-hour blocks of time on each day of the festival. More than 1,700 people made donations. “PrideFest is proud to have facilitated such a large donation to the ARCW Food Pantry,” PrideFest Task Force President Scott Gunkel said. “We thank Potawatomi Bingo Casino for sponsoring this great community effort. This is one important way that we can extend the positive impact of the festival beyond PrideFest weekend.” “ARCW has always enjoyed tremendous support from the gay community as well as PrideFest . We are so happy to partner with the organizers of PrideFest in a way that helps everybody,” ARCW President and CEO Doug Nelson added. “I know our staff was pleased not only with the quantity of food, but also the quality. By donating to the food drive, festival goers contributed in a real way to the fight against AIDS.”. ARCW’s top rated food pantries in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Green Bay provide people with HIV/AIDS healthy, nutritious food to meet the nutritional requirements of their medical regimens. Top of Page Quest Home QNU Home

Quest News Volume 12 No. 12 July 7, 2005
Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick

Top Stories:

Spain Legalizes Gay Marriage
Madrid - The Spanish Parliament legalized gay marriage here June 30, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making Spain Gay traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country to allow same-sex unions nationwide. Jubilant gay activists blew kisses to lawmakers after the vote.
The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187 to 147. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists’ aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others’ property.
The bill is now law. The Senate, where conservatives hold the largest number of seats, rejected the bill last week. But it is an advisory body and final say on legislation rests with the Congress of Deputies.
After the final tally was announced, gay and lesbian activists watching from the spectator section of the ornate chamber cried, cheered, hugged, waved to lawmakers and blew them kisses.
Several members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, which was vehemently opposed to the bill, shouted: “This is a disgrace.” Those in favor stood and clapped.
The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two countries that allow gay marriage nationwide. Canada’s House of Commons passed legislation June 28 that would legalize gay marriage; its Senate is expected to pass the bill into law by the end of July.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero noted the Canadian decision in debate before the vote. “We were not the first, but I Spain Gay 2 am sure we will not be the last. After us will come many other countries, driven, ladies and gentlemen, by two unstoppable forces: freedom and equality,” he told the chamber.
Zapatero said the reform of Spanish legal code simply adds one dry paragraph of legalese but means much more. He called it “a small change in wording that means an immense change in the lives of thousands of citizens. We are not legislating, ladies and gentlemen, for remote unknown people. We are expanding opportunities for the happiness of our neighbors, our work colleagues, our friends, our relatives.”
Zapatero lacks a majority in the chamber but got help from small regional-based parties that tend to be his allies.
Spanish gay couples can get married as soon as the law is published in the official government registry. This could occur as early as July 1, or within two weeks at the latest, parliament’s press office said.
Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy said after the vote that Zapatero has deeply divided Spain and should have sought a consensus in parliament that recognized same-sex unions but didn’t call them marriage. Rajor said that if the vast majority of countries in the world don’t accept gay marriage, including some run by Socialists, there must be a reason. “I think the prime minister has committed a grave act of irresponsibility,” Rajor told reporters.
Beatriz Gimeno, a longtime leader of the gay rights movement in Spain, held back tears as she hugged her partner Boti after the vote. “It is a historic day for the world’s homosexuals. We have been fighting for many years,” Gimeno said. “Now comes the hardest part, which is changing society’s mentality.”
The gay marriage bill was the boldest and most divisive initiative of the liberal social agenda Zapatero has embarked on since taking office in April 2004. Parliament overhauled Spain’s 25-year-old divorce law on June 29, also irking the church, by letting couples end their marriage without a mandatory separation or having to state a reason for the split-up, as required under the old law.
He has also pushed through legislation allowing stem-cell research and wants to loosen Spain’s restrictive abortion law.
The Roman Catholic Church, which held much sway over the government just a generation ago when General Francisco Franco was in power, had adamantly opposed gay marriage. In its first display of anti-government activism in 20 years, it endorsed a June 18 rally in which hundreds of thousands marched through Madrid in opposition to the bill. Some 20 bishops took part in the June 18 rally.
On the day before the historic vote, a Catholic lay group called the Spanish Family Forum presented lawmakers with a petition bearing 600,000 signatures as a last-minute protest.
Late last year, the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops Conference, Antonio Martinez Camino said that allowing gay marriage was like “imposing a virus on society - something false that will have negative consequences for social life.”
Despite the street protests in Madrid and elsewhere and the petition drive, polls suggest Spaniards supported gay marriage. A survey released in May by pollster Instituto Opina said 62% of Spaniards support the government’s action on this issue, and 30% oppose it. The poll had a margin of error of three percentage points. But surveys show Spaniards about evenly split over whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt children.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Retirement
From The Supreme Court Impacts Gay Community
Washington, DC - Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman ever appointed the the U. S. Supreme Court and a moderate voice on gay and women’s rights issues announced her retirement July 1.
O’Connor will best be remembered by the LGBT community for her vote to overturn the Bowers vs. Hardwick decision of 1987. In Justice O'Connor the landmark 2003 Texas sodomy case O’Connor concurred with the majority in striking down the law. The ruling decriminalized all consensual same-sex behavior and laid the groundwork for full equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people under the Constitution.
In opinions in First Amendment cases O’Connor also protected the constitutional wall between church and state. Justice O’Connor also voted to uphold the right to choose and to preserve universities’ right to promote diversity.
President Bush praised O’Connor as “a discerning and conscientious judge and a public servant of complete integrity.” He said he would recommend a replacement who will “faithfully interpret” the laws.
However, Bush’s remarks raised alarm bells for LGBT civil rights groups and Democrats. “Justice O’Connor’s retirement is a clarion call to every American that our rights are in grave danger,”Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said. “The loss of Justice O’Connor’s moderate voice is a serious threat to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, to women’s rights and to protections for racial, ethnic and religious minorities. We must all come together to fight for a replacement who follows in the Justice’s tradition.
Widespread speculation that at least one Supreme Court justice would retire this year has kept the nation’s Capitol abuzz for months. Senate Democrats have been preparing for a battle over any nominee to the high court. Last May Democrats agreed not to filibuster the nominations of three anti-gay judicial nominations to federal courts in return for Republicans abandoning a threatened bill that would have ended filibusters on proposed judges. As a result of the agreement, former Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, called the most homophobic judge in America by gay activists, two others with anti-gay records were confirmed.
O’Connor’s announcement marked the first retirement in 11 years on an aging court. It came as somewhat of a surprise, particularly since Chief Justice William Rehnquist has been the subject of retirement rumors for months. Rehnquist, 80 and ailing with thyroid cancer, has offered no hint as to his future plans.
O’Connor’s decision capped a pioneer’s career. President Reagan broke nearly 200 years of tradition when he tapped her - a top-ranked graduate of Stanford law school - for the high court. Over time, she evolved into a moderate conservative, but more importantly, a majority maker.
“This is a sad day for the Supreme Court and for America,” Matt Foreman, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said. “Justice O’Connor has frequently been an essential vote and voice of reason in crucial decisions involving basic constitutional rights. We call upon President Bush not to capitulate to the demands of extremists, and nominate a successor who will - like Justice O’Connor - be driven by the law, not reactionary ideology. We also call upon the president to honor the advice and consent role the Constitution gives the Senate in the nomination and confirmation of Supreme Court nominees, including meaningful consultation with both parties and supporting a thoughtful, deliberate and thorough review of the nominee’s record.”

Louisiana Pastor’s Lawsuit Against
Action Wisconsin Dismissed
Ruling Rejects Defamation Claims Over Press Release About Senator Reynolds’ Involvement
At “Homo Fascism” Conference Where Pastor Allegedly Advocated Murder of Gays
Milwaukee - Circuit Court Judge Patricia D. McMahon has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by a Louisiana evangelical pastor against the statewide gay and lesbian civil rights organization Action Wisconsin (AW). Pastor Grant Storms filed the suit in February "Pastor" Storms 2004 alleging he was defamed by a December 2003 AW press release that grievously mischaracterized his comments claiming he “apparently advocated the murder of lesbian and gay people.” Grant made the speech at the October 10, 2003 ‘First International Conference on Homo Fascism,” sponsored by the now-defunct Wisconsin Christians United (WCU).
McMahon ruled that “[Action Wisconsin’s] interpretation that Storms did appear to advocate the murder of gay people is not unreasonable... In response, [Storms] contends there is an alternative ‘common sense’ interpretation... [Storms’] interpretation is strained and inconsistent with the speech as a whole.” In conclusion, McMahon wrote that Action Wisconsin’s press release “presented a fair interpretation of [Storms’] speech.”
“In no uncertain terms, the judge ruled that Action Wisconsin’s interpretation of the hateful, violent things that were said was entirely rational and that Action Wisconsin’s effort to inform the public about the conference is protected speech,” attorney Lester Pines said. Pines is a senior partner with Cullen Pines Weston & Bach, the firm that represented Action Wisconsin pro bono in the lawsuit. According to an AW press release on the decision, Tamara Packard, a senior associate with the same firm and Action Wisconsin’s vice president, was also on the legal team.
Storms is a self-ordained minister who broadcasts weekly programs on a New Orleans radio station. He is best known for his highly visible protests of the annual gay Southern Decadence festival largely held in the French Quarter. Storms also founded an Louisiana-based organization calling itself Christian Conservatives for Reform.
The genesis of the Storms lawsuit followed an ironic and, some might say, almost comic path. Following the lightly attended 2003 Homo Fascism conference, WCU reported on its website on October 14 that turnout at the event “included nine pastors, a state senator, a police officer, and a number of ministry leaders” and offered for sale an audio disc of the conference speeches. Two weeks later on October 22, the “Reality Check” column in the gay publication Wisconsin INStep reported that the state senator in question was “freshman Republican Tom Reynolds, not exactly a new convert to the extremist right.”
The dual information led then AW board President Tim O’Brien to order a copy of the conference speeches, which O’Brien listened to in full, and AW Executive Director Christopher Ott listened to in part. Both men were named as co-defendants in the Storm suit.
Ott later wrote a letter to then Senate Majority leader Mary Panzer requesting her to “to investigate, identify, and discipline the state senator “ who attended the conference. Ott included excerpts of the Storms speech and wrote “the attendance of a state senator at this conference is similar to a senator attending a Ku Klux Klan rally or neo-Nazi conference, and should receive tremendous scrutiny - especially at a time when legislators are advocating a constitutional amendment targeted at gay people.”
The December 8 AW press release about the Panzer letter contained similar excerpts from Storms’ speech such as “They [gays] want to kill you;” “There is a philistine army out there. It’s called the homosexual movement, whether you can see it or not, understand it or not, they want to eliminate us;” and “God has delivered them into our hands, Hallelujah – Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom [like gun fire] – There’s twenty! Ca-ching, glory, glory to God, let’s go drive through the McDonalds and come back and get the rest.”
On December 8 & 9, WCU responded to the AW press release claiming that “we had expectations that the homosexual propagandists would prove our point about homo-fascism by screaming bloody murder and making all sorts of wild accusations.”
The InStep story along with dueling AW and WCU press releases drew the attention of Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel political columnists Cary Spivak & Dan Bice, who followed up with Reynolds and confirmed his presence at the Homo Fascism conference. In their January 13, 2004 piece the columnists wrote: “ ‘It sounded interesting,’ said the West Allis senator who owns a small print shop. ‘I don’t know much about them. I do a little printing for them.’” The “little printing” included a number of WCU brochures. Some of WCU titles are “A Little Discrimination Can Be a Good Thing,” “Homosexuality: The Truth” and “Is Someone You Know A Bugger?”
Action Wisconsin issued a press release on the day following the Spivak and Bice column noting the “revelation brings the Wisconsin Republican Party’s turn to the hard right into crystal clear focus. We have long maintained that initiatives like the soon-to-be introduced anti-gay state constitutional amendment are rooted in ugly prejudices and unfounded fears about lesbian and gay people. Reynolds’ affiliation with this conference raises serious questions about the real nature of this harsh agenda.”
Storms then apparently contacted attorney James R. Donohoo, who had represented WCU founder Ralph Ovadal on several occasions including Ovadal’s unsuccessful defense of an August 2001 disorderly conduct charge for the self-identified pastor’s verbal assault and behavior toward a woman walking past A WCU picket on the road to the clothing optional Mazomanie Beach.
Storms filed suit on February 23, 2004. A WCU press release issued the following day claimed “Action Wisconsin has trashed Pastor Grant Storms’s reputation and may have even put his safety in jeopardy. For instance, since the AW press release was issued, the false information in it has been used in an attempt to remove Grant from a radio program he hosts; and it has also shown up, along with his picture, on posters attached to light posts in New Orleans where he pastors a church. This situation once again shows the hypocrisy of the homosexual propagandists. They claim that Christians telling the truth from the Bible cause homosexuals to be put in danger. Meanwhile, with absolutely no concern for Pastor Storms’s safety or that of his family, a mainstream ‘LGBT’ organization publicizes the lie that a he is literally ‘advocating the murder’ of homosexuals!” In a subsequent lawsuit-related deposition Storms admitted under oath that no harm had come to him as a direct result from either his Homo Fascism speech or the AW press releases.
Both sides in the lawsuit had been aware that the resolution might be resolved in Action Wisconsin’s favor. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Project, on April 4 McMahon’s clerk informed attorneys that “the 04-06-05 pre-trial conference date is canceled, the court will issue a written decision and a new pre-trial date, if needed, will be set by the court.”
According to Ott, the Storms lawsuit was about the current attitude of the Wisconsin Republican Party to gay and lesbian citizens. “For us this was never about Grant Storms, it was about the fact that a state Senator attended this kind of conference,” he said. “It is outrageous that Senator Reynolds attended this conference and that the leadership of his party was apparently untroubled by this fact. In light of the Republican leadership’s ongoing crusade to ban any measure of equal protection for lesbian and gay Wisconsinites and to use gay families as political punching bags, the public deserves to know what truly lies behind their agenda.”
Both sides in the lawsuit had been aware that the resolution might be resolved in Action Wisconsin’s favor. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Project, on April 4 McMahon’s clerk informed attorneys that “the 04-06-05 pre-trial conference date is canceled, the court will issue a written decision and a new pre-trial date, if needed, will be set by the court.”
Disclosure: The author of the Wisconsin INStep “Reality Check” column cited above is also the News Editor of Quest and the author of this story. The original Reality Check column, “Julaine, Ralph & Sully - The DOMA Debate Drags On,” is available online. Also, the Wisconsin Christians United documents cited in this story were obtained from the website of the Pilgrims Covenant Church (PCC). According to the organization’s website the WCU ‘has been included as a ministry of Pilgrims Covenant Church since April 1, 2005.’ “ The documents are currently accessible only through cached versions found on Internet search engines.

World & National News:
Canada’s House Of Commons Approves Gay Marriage
Ottawa - Canada is on the verge of becoming the fourth country in the world to approve gay marriages. MPs passed a historic bill granting same-sex couples equal rights to those in traditional marriages here June 29. The bill was passed by the Canadian House of Commons despite strong opposition from religious leaders and conservative MPs.
Gay marriage is already legal in seven provinces in Canada, but the new legislation grants same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples nationwide. At the time of the vote, only the Netherlands and Belgium are the only other countries to allow gay marriages. Spain approved same sex unions two days on June 30.
The bill - drafted by the minority Liberal party government of the Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin - has been hailed as a step forward for human rights. “We are a nation of minorities,” Martin said. “And in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don’t cherry-pick rights. A right is a right, and that is what this vote tonight is all about.”
The legislation split the Liberal party, with 158 MPs voting to pass the bill and 133 against. The junior cabinet minister Joe Comuzzi, responsible for development in northern Ontario, resigned on Tuesday rather than voting on the issue.
The Catholic church - the largest religion in Canada - is strongly opposed to the new legislation. Religious leaders claimed their clergy could be forced to perform gay marriages rather than risking being taken to human rights tribunals if they refused. However, the new bill only covers civil unions, rather than religious ones, meaning no clergy would have to perform same-sex ceremonies unless they wanted to.
Government statistics estimate there are 34,000 gay and lesbian couples in Canada. “Lesbians and gay people are your brothers and sisters, neighbors, friends and co-workers,” Alex Munter, the national spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage, said. “At the end of the day, no argument in favor of exclusion can withstand what people see with their own eyes - that it is wrong to treat people they care about in a way that diminishes their personal choice.”
Opponents of the bill have threatened to oust MPs who supported the legislation at Canada’s next general election. Charles McVety, a spokesman for Defend Marriage Canada and the president of Canada Christian College, called the vote an “onerous breach of trust and the deconstruction of so much that is dear to our hearts”.
“This is the beginning of the formal fight against the redefinition of marriage,” he said. “We will, in the next election, be able to correct this incredible democratic deficit before us today.”
The draft bill was expected to easily pass the Senate and become federal law by the end of July.

California’s Domestic Partners Law Survives Legal Challenge
Sacramento - California’s domestic partner law, which gave thousands of gay and lesbian couples most of the rights of spouses under state law, survived a legal challenge June 29 when the state Supreme Court rejected an appeal by conservative religious groups. Opponents of same-sex marriage argued that the domestic partner law, which took effect this year, was the equivalent of marriage and thus violated a 2000 ballot measure that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.
But a Sacramento judge and a state appeals court ruled that the law was not equal to marriage. The courts noted that partners are ineligible for some state marital benefits and a wide range of federal benefits, and may be unable to get other states to recognize their relationships.
The state’s high court denied review of the case without comment. Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who left the court June 30 to become a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., was absent from the vote, the court said.
The court action ends the legal case, but may not resolve the issue. Three proposed ballot initiatives that would amend the state Constitution to prohibit both same-sex marriage and marital benefits for domestic partners have been submitted to state officials for review, said Geoff Kors, executive director of the gay-rights group Equality Now. The initiatives could be cleared for signature-gathering by August and qualify for the state ballot next year.

Stonewall 35: Gay Pride Celebrated Nationwide
San Francisco - Undeterred by recent setbacks in the push to legalize same-sex marriage, tens of thousands of festively dressed Pride Chicago people marched in parades around the country Sunday to celebrate the 35th anniversary of gay pride. People celebrated in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta and other cities, though the event comes during a tough period for gay rights advocates. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage died this year in the California Assembly, and many states have passed or are pursuing constitutional amendments outlawing gay marriage.
“I’m here to let the rest of the world know that we’re here and we want to be seen,” Clarence Smelcer, 43, an AIDS activist watching the San Francisco parade, said. “We’re part of everyone’s lives and the parade is a wonderful way to show it.”
Gay pride is a virtual holiday in San Francisco and thousands gathered early for the parade, including men in kilts sporting rainbow-colored wigs, cross-dressers in kimonos and heterosexual couples waving rainbow flags.
Pride NYC The parade opened with a blocks-long contingent of “Dykes on Bikes” - lesbians dressed in leather driving loud motorcycles. Participants also included a bearded man in a wedding gown singing Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” a gay and lesbian marching band and a group of parents and friends of lesbians and gays.
The annual pride parades commemorate the Stonewall uprising of 1969, a series of fights between gays and police in New York widely considered the beginning of the gay rights movement. Some of the marchers in New York were veterans of the riots.
There were also subtle reminders of the struggles ahead. Many in the San Francisco crowd wore stickers that read, “We All Deserve The Freedom to Marry.” “Anytime you have a big group of people screaming and hollering people will pay attention,” Jorge Vieto Jr. said. Vieto left Costa Rica because of discrimination against gays. “Marriage should be an equal opportunity, not a heterosexual right.”
Ming Chan and Steve Ribisi watched the parade with their 18-month-old son, Joshua. Though they said some would view their Pride SFO relationship as a threat to the sanctity of marriage, they just wanted the chance to raise their son together. “People should see us and know we’re going through the same problems as other parents,” Chan said.
Activists elsewhere also said they were energized by the political climate.
“People are more fired up this year,” George Estelle said. Estelle attended the Atlanta march and organized a parade float by Human Rights Campaign. “They’re angry that they feel there’s been a lot of misrepresentation about them done this year during the elections.”
In New York, men in button-down shirts outnumbered men in G-strings in a parade some said was less flamboyant than in past years - but still politically relevant. Both the state’s U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer were among the marchers.
“It used to be all drag queens all the time,” parade participant Susan Yousem said.. “Now it’s been sort of mainstreamed - for good or bad. There are a lot of church groups, a lot of families.”
Anthony Polito, marching in New York with the Stonewall Veterans’ Association, remembered “knocking a couple of cops down” during the 1969 rioting. In a sign of the changing times, Sunday’s parade featured contingents from the city police and fire departments, including recruitment vans.
In Conway, Arkansas, about 300 people marched in the city’s second pride parade, easily outnumbering a small group of protesters. Last year, organizers reported receiving death threats and a farmer protesting the event dumped three tons of manure along the parade route. Organizer Robert Loyd hailed this year’s event as a success, though he accused the mayor of trying to sabotage it by changing the approved route a few days before.
“Last year we had to deal with 6,000 pounds of manure. This year we had to deal with manure of a different source, and we can thank Mayor Tab Townsell for that,” Loyd said during a speech at the end of the parade.
Townsell said last week the change was made to ensure public safety and that the city welcomed “the full expression of everyone’s American freedoms.”

Tennessee Opens New Probe Of “Ex-Gay” Camp
Memphis - The state of Tennessee has launched a second probe of Love in Action, the Memphis facility that has drawn protests since a 16-year-old known as “Zach” blogged that his parents were sending him there for treatment intended to change his sexual Zach orientation.
The Tennessee Department of Health sent a letter to Love in Action notifying the group that it is suspected of operating illegally, according to Andrea Turner, communications director for the department.
Turner said that if the program is strictly faith-based it would not require licensing by the state, but that according to the group’s Web site, Love in Action has licensed counselors and provides services related to alcohol and drug addiction on site.
“If this is the case, they are required to be licensed as a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Tennessee,” Turner said. If employees there are providing counseling on homosexuality, it is possible that they are operating outside their area of expertise, Turner added.
Legislation giving the health department the authority to issue cease-and-desist orders to unlicensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities went into effect July 1. Turner said that the health department is considering whether the Love in Action facility is causing harm.
Rachel Lassiter, of Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen’s communications office, said that the Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities has also begun research on Love in Action and is writing a letter of inquiry to the facility to determine whether an official investigation is warranted.
Lassiter said that only licensed professionals should provide mental health care in Tennessee and that the state has an interest in making sure that whatever services are offered are beneficial.
In mid-June the Department of Child Services investigated allegations of child abuse at the facility and determined that the allegations were unfounded.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at faith-based Grove City College in Pennsylvania and a leading advocate for the view that sexual orientation can be changed, said that he believes that Love in Action is mixing ministry with treatment and that people can be damaged by sexual reorientation therapies offered by unprofessional practitioners.
Throckmorton emphasized that while a parent might compel a teen to attend church, a professional counselor is bound to obtain informed consent from a client and should not treat a minor solely because his parents are upset about his sexual orientation.
Love in Action advertises a therapeutic environment in which professional counselors help people overcome “addictive behaviors including homosexuality.”
Although homosexuality is not an illness, Jack Dresher, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual issues Committee, said that he believes some counselors offer therapies intended to reorient gays and bill insurance companies with the diagnosis “sexual disorder not otherwise specified.”
It is not clear how widespread this practice is. One insurance provider, when asked, could not provide statistics on how frequently people are diagnosed with “sexual disorder NOS.” Some providers, including Throckmorton, do not accept insurance, and therefore would not be subject to monitoring by managed health plans.
There is no referral system that guides people to professionals that specialize in sexual reorientation counseling. No schools provide specialized training in this area and so it is outside the area of expertise for most professionals.
The idea that sexual orientation is changeable is advanced by conservative groups like Exodus International and Focus on the Family. In “Calculated Compassion: How the Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right’s Attack on Democracy,” Surina Khan writes that the ex-gay movement provides political cover for anti-gay campaigns by repackaging them in kinder, gentler terms and attempting to ally itself with religious groups.
“The ex-gay movement is an integral part of the Christian Right, which promotes Christian nationalism, an ideology that seeks to use government laws and regulations to impose fundamentalist Christian values on the entire nation.”
Indeed, money from James Dobson’s Focus on the Family has funded both Exodus and the Alliance Defense Fund, the legal group currently attempting to insert the Wisconsin Assembly into the ACLU domestic partner benefit lawsuit launched in May. In her 1998 report Khan points out that Robert Knight of the Family Research Council has characterized the beginning of a major ex-gay publicity campaign as “the Normandy landing in the larger cultural wars.”
But not even those who support making sexual reorientation available to adults believe that it is right to coerce a minor into undergoing such treatment. Dr. Mark Yarhouse is often cited by the ex-gay movement. Yarhouse runs the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity at the religious Regent University in Virginia Beach. Yarhouse said that it is unethical to treat a minor against his or her will.
Arthur Goldberg is a board member of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality and co-director of Jonah, a Jewish ministry that addresses unwanted same-sex attraction. Goldberg said, “We tell parents that unless someone is motivated to want to change, they are wasting their money.”
Shannon Mintner, a lawyer with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has worked on hundreds of cases in which teens are forced into various types of treatment scenarios because their parents disapprove of their sexual orientation.
Mintner first became aware of this phenomenon when he was contacted by a teenage girl who had escaped from a psychiatric facility where she was undergoing forced treatment for lesbianism. Mintner was able to help the girl find an adoptive home with a San Francisco lesbian couple.
Mintner said that Love in Action’s attempt to reorient kids is unique only in that they are so open about what they are trying to do.
In 1995, Mintner was involved in a case in Memphis in which the group Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays helped a 16-year-old gay male seek emancipation from his parents because they were forcing him to attend reorientation counseling with a Memphis psychologist, Dr. Duff Wright, and planned to send him to either Love in Action, or another similar program.
Minter said that the Memphis Circuit Court judge agreed that the boy would be harmed by this treatment and indicated that he would sign the emancipation order. In a settlement agreement, the parents abandoned plans to send the boy to reorientation treatment. Last April, the Tennessee Department of Health permanently revoked Dr. Duff Wright’s license to practice as a psychologist, due to alleged ethics violations.
Mintner said that while he has been able to help young people on a case-by-case level, “What we have not yet been able to find a way to do is to develop a systemic response that would get at the heart of the issue.”
Discussion of Love in Action has permeated the Memphis media in recent weeks and Alex Polotsky of the Queer Action Coalition said that the group will continue its campaign of demonstrations against Love in Action.
“We want every person in America to know about this. No reasonable sane person would support this program,” he said.
Twenty-one-year-old J.M., who spoke to the Washington Blade on condition on anonymity, said that he was sent to Love in Action by his parents at the recommendation of a Christian counselor when he was 17. “The place was like a Nazi camp. I lost faith in God, friends, family.”
J.M. said he is glad that Love in Action has come into the spotlight. “I am optimistic for some point in the future, I’ve lived for brief periods in New York, New Jersey, Philly. They are not as close-minded about this; it is not as cruel,” he said.

State News:
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Coordinates Marriage Ban With Anti-Gay Group
Madison - Assembly Speaker and Majority Leader John Gard (R-Peshtigo) apparently is coordinating the scheduling the second Gard letter introduction of the proposed constitutional amendment banning any legal recognition of gay and other unmarried couples with Wisconsin’s leading anti-gay organization.
Quest has obtained a copy of a June 2 letter written by Gard to Julaine Appling, the Executive Director of the Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, detailing plans for a Spring 2006 reintroduction of the amendment proposal. Gard also wrote that he believes that “the best time to bring this issue before the voters is when we have the potential for high voter turnout,” noting the November, 2006 election would be the next such vote.
Gard also praised Appling’s organization for the “grassroots efforts regarding the proposed constitutional amendment.” Gard also claimed that the bill is “one of the most important pieces of legislation will act upon this session.”
Gard, who recently announced his candidacy for the 8th U. S. Congressional District to replace announced gubernatorial candidate Mark Green (R-Green Bay) likely would benefit from an increased voter turnout on the civil union ban referendum.
Gard’s coordination letter comes as Action Wisconsin, the lead organization opposing the amendment announced its success in recruiting and training more than 250 speakers to explain how the proposed amendment’s broad language, in the group’s words, “goes too far and hurts real families.” The revelation of Gard’s letter also comes just weeks after three Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synods, representing over 250,000 members, voted to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment.

14th Annual Guernsey Gala Kicks Off
Green Bay - The Guernsey Gala, the longest-running bar community fundraiser for HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin gay community history Guernsey 1 Guernsey 2 started off another round at the Napalese Lounge here Saturday, July 2. Four candidates - Tommy from Club XS, Joe from Cricket's Fox River Lounge, Earl from Napalese and Tippy from The Shelter - will spend the next three weeks raising dollar "votes" benefiting ARCW client services to earn the Dairy Queen title. Dinners, raffles, "cow eggs" sales and a softball tourney are all planned. The annual competition, which is now sponsored by Rainbow Over Wisconsin, has raised well over $110,000 over its history. One new twist this year is a concurrent personal care and cleaning supplies drive by the above named bars plus Appleton's Rascals Bar & Grill and Sheboygan's Blue Lite. The Guernsey finale will be held July 22 at the Fox River Lounge.

Milwaukee Cable Might Offer Q Network
Milwaukee - Time-Warner, the city’s cable provider, is considering offering the Q Network, according to a report published in the QTN Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The claim came in an Internet chat transcript between the paper’s TV critic Joanne Weintraub and an online participant who identified himself as “Lance Bass,” who wondered if the cable provider would be offering the recently-launched gay cable channel LOGO.
“If you’re talking about Logo, the MTV gay channel,” Weintraub responded, “it actually launches today in New York, L.A. and eight other cities, Milwaukee not included. At the moment, local cable carriers have no plans to pick it up. But another gay-oriented channel, Q, may be available on digital cable later this season. These pick-ups are driven by consumer interest, so by all means write to your cable or satellite provider and say “I want my Logo and/or Q!”
Weintraub also noted that “here!”, a third gay cable channel was running the “under the radar.”

Changes Afoot For Cream City Chorus
Milwaukee - Hot on the heels of it’s well-received cabaret show, “Up On The Roof” the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus gears up for several changes. Chief among them is the installment of its 2005-2006 Board of Directors, which takes office on July 1. Other WCCC changes include the search for a new Artistic Director and the departure of Emory Churness from his roles as President and Publicist.
“After four years leading the group,” Churness said, “I decided it was time to step aside and let some of the newer, decidedly enthusiastic members take the lead, especially right now.” Churness, who plans to remain a singing member with the chorus, went on to explain that the next two-year term will culminate in the group’s 20th Anniversary, and hinted that some very exciting things are already in the works for the anniversary season.
Assuming the office of President on July 1 is Hilary Giffen, who joined the group just over four years ago and has served on the board in one capacity or another ever since Her past experience with leading membership-driven organizations, coupled with a love of fun and a “get it done” attitude, make her the perfect fit for the organization’s next 2-year term.
“The chorus has definite plans for the future and a good idea where we want to be by our 20th anniversary in 2007. As President, it’ll be my job to steer this fun, diverse group of people toward achieving those goals.” Giffen said.
Joining the board as Vice President will be Kristen L. Weber. A long-time member of the chorus and past Artistic Director, Weber stepped into the office mid-term following a work-related departure. Weber’s credentials include an MBA and over 20 years experience, in various capacities, with the performing arts. Also elected to the board is Ellen Kozel, who will fill the one-year “At Large” position. A recent addition to the chorus, Kozel brings with her a great deal of enthusiasm and innovative ideas, as well as a certain business savvy earned through owning her own company. Filling out the board are Ebbie Duggins, who was elected for another term as Secretary, and Donna Plaski, whose current term as Treasurer will complete in 2006.
When asked about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus’ plans for the upcoming
year, members of the board admitted to having several goals in mind. Highest among them are increased membership, generating stronger media exposure, and finding a skilled Artistic Director. Applications for potential Artistic Directors are already being accepted.
“Paula set the bar pretty high,” Churness said. “We’ve learned just how much a skilled, creative, and well-suited director can bring to the chorus. We’re definitely excited about what the future will bring. All in all, it’s a very exciting time.”
The chorus also took the opportunity this spring to recognize that the group’s bright future is built upon a strong past. When Churness announced his intention not to run for a third term as President, the Executive Board set out to honor him with an ongoing tribute. At their April concert, the board surprised Churness not only by announcing the creation of the Emory Churness Leadership Award, but by making Churness himself its first recipient. In a statement read by Ebbie Duggins, one of the group’s founding members, the board stated that “There are times in the life of an organization that the contributions of a single individual are so significant that the group is forever changed.”
When asked this week for a comment, Churness would only say, “I believed in this chorus when I first joined 12 years ago, I believe in it today, and most importantly, I believe in its future. I can’t wait to see where the new leadership will take us.”
For more information about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus, contact 315 W. Court Street, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53212, call 414/276-8787 or visit www.creamcitychorus.org.

Competing Wisconsin Pride Celebrations Set For July 9
Stevens Point - The recent July 8-10 gay camping weekend announcement by Club Night Out here has created a conflict some gay activists have predicted would happen sooner or later: conflicting pride-type celebrations. With its July 9 day-long picnic followed by its presentation of the nationally touring CC Rae Show & Talent Search, the Club Night Out event directly conflicts with the Northeast Wisconsin PrideFest being run by the Argonauts of Wisconsin in rural Hilbert.
The Stevens Point picnic will run from Noon to 8 PM on the Club Night Out grounds, 2533 County Road M, about 5 miles northwest of downtown Stevens Point. The event will offer tap beer, food, soda and a charcoal chicken dinner for a flat $15 entry fee. Picnic goers will also be able to enjoy volleyball, horseshoes, croquet and other games. For $30 each, campers will be able to pitch their tents and recreational vehicles from July 8-10. The fee includes breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday evening the club will offer the CC Rae Show at 10:30 PM followed by a talent search contest at 12:30 AM.
The Northeast Wisconsin PrideFest will be held on Saturday, July 9 from Noon to 9 PM at the Al Kamke farm in Hilbert, about 2 Argonauts WI miles south of the Hwy 10 & 57 intersection in Forest Junction on Hwy 57. The location is about a half hour drive south of Green Bay and two hours north of Milwaukee. The Argonauts of Wisconsin-sponsored event will offer food, beer and soda a la carte and also feature vendors, raffles and few other activities. Live entertainment has been scheduled, but no performers have been announced to date. There will be a $2 per person admission fee to the event. Parking is free.
After several changes, central Wisconsin’s “official” gay pride picnic has been scheduled for August 6, at Pfiffner Park just west of downtown Stevens Point. Quest will have a full preview in the next issue. Other pride events scheduled for the summer of 2005 include Madison Pride Weekend, July 15-17; LaCrosse’s “Pride Along The Mississippi,” July 29-31, and Superior-Duluth’s Twin Ports Pride, September 2-4.

Madison Pride Weekend 2005 Set For July 15-17
By Dan Ross & Mike Fitzpatrick
Madison - Carnivale is the theme of this year’s Madison Pride weekend, to be held here July 15-17. A bevy of official events will mix with a number of traditional collateral events held to capitalize on the festivities. Will the crowds and costumes rival those in Rio (de Janeiro, not Wisconsin) - only time will tell.
July 15 will mark the annual OutReach Awards Dinner at the Monona Terrace starting with 6 PM cocktails dinner at 7. See the separate story in this issue of Quest for more details.
Also scheduled on Friday is the Underwear Party featuring RuPaul, being held at the Orpheum Theatre from 9 PM to 2 AM. Tickets are $18 plus tax in advance or $22 plus tax at the door. Attendees must be 18 and older. A portion of proceeds will be donated to OutReach. For more information, contact the Orpheum Theater box office at 608-255-8755 or online at: www.rupaulinmadison.com
Dance diva Pepper Mashay will be appearing at at Club 5 with show time at 11 PM. Doors will open at 8 and there will be a $9 cover charge. Pepper’s show will feature her newest hit song - the remake of Real Life’s “Send Me An Angel”- plus her classic club hits “Dive In The Pool,” “Signed Sealed Delivered” “I Got My Pride” and “Can’t Stop.” More information can be found at the Club 5 website: www.club-5.com.
Saturday, July 15 brings the return of Madison’s annual Pride Picnic from Noon - 6 PM at Brittingham Park. There will be a $5 admission, though kids under 5 will be admitted free. Entertainment at the picnic will begin at 2 PM and include lesbian acapella group Tongue ‘N Groove, the Wade Otis Band and Niki Harris.
That evening Club Inferno will Present “Switch/Chrome,”a multimedia event that will feature erotic male photography by Studio James, a midnight drag show by the Daughters of Darkness, an opportunity to meet the band “All the Pretty Horses,” all to the hard sexual dance beats by DJ Whiterabbit. The event starts at 9 PM at Club Inferno, with a $5 cover charge, a portion of which will be donated to AIDS Network. For more information, visit the club’s website at: www.clubinferno.com
Sunday, July 17 will begin with the annual UW-Madison GLBT Alumni Brunch, starting at 10 AM at the Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus. The $16 tickets must be reserved prior to the event. To reserve tickets online, go to: www.uwalumni.com/glbtac/index.html.
Coming Out, Coming Together will also sponsor a LGBT-welcoming Interfaith Service at a time to be announced in the late morning before parade. For updates, contact Ken Scott by phone at 608-437-7776 or via email at: info@idmadison.org
Madison’s annual Pride Parade will step off following a Noon rally in the Capitol Square and will be followed by a second Pride Picnic from 1 - 6 PM, again in Brittingham Park. Admission to the will be $5 with kids under
Sunday’s entertainment will begin at 1:30 PM with the Dairyland Cowboys & Cowgirls, followed by a drag show at 2 PM. Headliners All the Pretty Horses will perform at 3:30 PM. Songstress Simone Denny will close the weekend’s festivities with a 5 PM show.
In addition to special weekend events listed above, other Madison LGBT venues will be holding special events. The Shamrock Bar is twenty years old this year and will have their Friday happy hour, Saturday and Sunday brunches. Ray’s Bar will debut their larger space and dance floor, in addition to their their new bar, “Jake’s.”
Information about the picnics, the rally and parade can be found by visiting Madison Pride at: www.madisonpride.org.

Schneider Introduces Bill To Grant
Domestic Partner Insurance Benefits To UW Employees
Madison - Assembly Representative Marlin D. Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) has introduced a bill to grant domestic partner Rep. Schneider insurance benefits to University of Wisconsin employees. Assembly Bill 503, if passed, would amend state statutes to include a definition of domestic partnership in addition to revising Wisconsin’s already extant definition of marriage as between “husband and wife” to “one man and one woman.”
According to the legislative reference bureau’s review of the bill, would provide that “domestic partners of the University of Wisconsin System employees and annuitants are eligible to receive coverage under the health care coverage plans offered by the Group Insurance Board and that state employees and state annuitants are able to purchase policies for their domestic partners.”
The bill also sets a registry process for domestic partnership “similar to the procedure for obtaining a marriage license. Domestic partners would apply for a declaration of their relationship with local county clerks where at least one of the partners had resided for the past 30 days. Both parties must sign and provide identification on the application, which will also contain statistical information not to be made public, similar to current marriage licenses.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Insurance June 17.

Wisconsin Methodists Stand Against Proposed Marriage Ban
Madison - The Wisconsin United Methodist Conference has become the latest mainstream Christian denomination to oppose the the proposed constitutional amendment banning any legal recognition of gay and other unmarried couples. At its annual conference WI Methodists held here June 13-16, about 70-75% of the more than 500 registered representatives of the state’s nearly 100,000 Methodists passed Resolution 8, sponsored by Madison’s Bethany Methodist Church.
The resolution, in part, read: “Whereas, the following two sentences are proposed to be added to the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin: ‘Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in
his state,’ and
“Whereas, the first sentence of the proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution is not necessary to define marriage as union of one man and one woman, as this is already established law in Wisconsin, and
“Whereas, the second sentence of the proposed amendment would legally undermine certain basic human and civil rights of homosexual persons recognized by The United Methodist Social Principles [Paragraph 162(H)], and would become the first amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution to limit rather than expand and protect human rights and freedoms,
“Therefore, be it resolved that the Wisconsin Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church urges its clergy and lay members to enter into informed and respectful dialogue with Wisconsin citizens on all sides of the Marriage Amendment issue and urge their state legislators not to pass the proposed Wisconsin Marriage Amendment.”
The measure also affirmed the denomination supports “laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” However the denomination affirmed that “certain basic human rights and civil liberties are due all persons” and that the United Methodists “are committed to supporting those rights and liberties for homosexual persons.” The resolution reiterated that the denomination saw equal civil rights for the LGBT community as “a clear issue of simple justice.”
Prior to the vote the conference heard speeches for and against the resolution. One of the pro-resolution speakers was by Brian Soper of Cambridge. Soper and his partner of more than twenty years, Dr. George Gay were married in Canada last year. In his presentation Soper contrasted Canadian and current Wisconsin law, and cited the considerable expense and effort the couple had gone to to legally secure their relationship. Soper then explained how the constitutional amendment could negate their years of work.
The final tally for the amendment was an estimate by attendees reported to Christians For Equality in Wisconsin, a interdenominational coalition opposing the ban. The conference typically does not count votes individually unless the balloting appears close.
The Methodist vote is just the latest vote by a mainstream religious organization to oppose the ban. The Wisconsin United Methodist Conference joins the La Crosse Area, South Central Wisconsin, and Greater Milwaukee ELCA Synods, the Milwaukee Presbytery, and many more local organizations, individual faith leaders, and congregations in opposition to the proposed constitutional ban. Collectively the religious organizations opposing the proposed ban represent about 400,000 Wisconsin members.

Cream City Chorus’s Cabaret Show Marks Another Success
Milwaukee - The Wisconsin Cream City Chorus performed their annual Cabaret Show “Up On The Roof’ to a full house at Village Church Arts here June 18. By tradition, the chorus’ June show is composed primarily of solos and ensembles, with only a few anchor WCCC songs performed by the full ensemble - a formula that allows the group to highlight both the talents of its members and a diverse array of music.
By evening’s end, it was clear that the audience enjoyed the chorus’ offerings. “I say this every time, but I think this was the best show yet,” one attendee said. “It really shows how much you love what you’re doing,” added another. Under the musical direction of Paula Foley Tillen, the evening boasted several new arrangements and a few twists on old favorites. After setting the stage with a rousing rendition of “Up the Ladder to the Roof,” the
show’s sub-theme was introduced with a performance of “Love Is in the Air.” What followed were an always-enjoyable variety of special pieces, ranging from the fun and irreverent “Chocolate is Love” to the heartfelt “Vem Kan Segla” (“Who Can Sail”) performed with guitar accompaniment in both Swedish and English.
Other highlights included: A beautiful trio arrangement of “Maybe I Might” by Chicago musician Stolie; “Catch A Falling Star,” featuring 11-year old guest performer Anna Wolfe; a surprisingly funny performance of Lloyd-Webber’s of “All I Ask of You”, and a few numbers with parody lyrics including “A Blogger on the Roof”, plus a gay marriage version of Sondheim’s “Getting Married Today,” and a countrified “(I Was) A Good Old Boy” with a transsexual twist.
But it was the mix of fun, rowdy and sometimes touching choral numbers that anchored the evening. Selections
included “It’s De-Lovely,” “The Motown Song,” “Up On The Roof,” and “Think Summer.”
The evening also boasted the WCCC’s annual silent auction. Items ranged from electronics to art, theatre tickets to sports memorabilia and brought in over $1400, which will help continue the chorus’ message of celebrating diversity in the community at large. Sponsorship donations from more than 30 area businesses, organizations and the chorus’ family of patrons also supported the event.
   The Wisconsin Cream City Chorus will be on summer break until mid-August. For information about the first fall rehearsal or other information about the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus, contact 315 W. Court Street, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53212, call 414/276-8787 or visit creamcitychorus.org.

OutReach Awards Banquet Tickets Now Available
Madison - Tickets for the 13th Annual OutReach Awards Banquet are now available. The Banquet will be held July 15 in the Grand Ballroom of Monona Terrace. General Admission tickets cost $50.
The event schedule will begin with a Reception and Cocktails at 6 PM, featuring musical entertainment by Tongue ‘N Groove. The dinner, program begin at 7 PM.
Tickets for the event may be purchased through a variety of means. Credit Card orders may be placed by calling 608-255-8582. Those wishing to attend may also purchase tickets from over thirty table captains or by stopping by OutReach at 600 Williamson Street
The Awards Banquet is an annual fundraising event held by OutReach, Madison ‘s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community center. Awards given at the event recognize outstanding achievement on behalf of the LGBT communities by individuals and organizations.
For more information, contact OutReach at 608-255-8582 or by email at: commrel@outreachinc.com.

Potawatomi Pridefest Food Drive Collects 9,000 Pounds of Food For ARCW
Milwaukee – In only four hours, the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Food Drive at this year’s PrideFest June 11 & 12 collected 9,000 pounds of food for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin’s Food Pantry. The PrideFest donation is annually the largest donation ARCW of food to the ARCW Food Pantry from a single event.
The food drive promotion allowed attendees to gain free entrance to the festival by donating four cans of non-perishable food during two-hour blocks of time on each day of the festival. More than 1,700 people made donations.
   “PrideFest is proud to have facilitated such a large donation to the ARCW Food Pantry,” PrideFest Task Force President Scott Gunkel said. “We thank Potawatomi Bingo Casino for sponsoring this great community effort. This is one important way that we can extend the positive impact of the festival beyond PrideFest weekend.”
“ARCW has always enjoyed tremendous support from the gay community as well as PrideFest . We are so happy to partner with the organizers of PrideFest in a way that helps everybody,” ARCW President and CEO Doug Nelson added.   “I know our staff was pleased not only with the quantity of food, but also the quality. By donating to the food drive, festival goers contributed in a real way to the fight against AIDS.”.
   ARCW’s top rated food pantries in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Green Bay provide people with HIV/AIDS healthy, nutritious food to meet the nutritional requirements of their medical regimens.

Top of Page Quest Home QNU Home