Quest News
Volume 12 No. 2    February 17, 2005             

New York Court Rules Gay Couples Must
Be Allowed To Marry

New York City - A New York State court ruled February 4 that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry. In a 62-page decision State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan said that the New York State Constitution guarantees basic freedoms to lesbian and gay people – and that those rights are violated when same-sex couples are not allowed to marry.  The ruling said the state Constitution requires same-sex couples to have equal access to marriage, and that the couples represented by Lambda Legal must be given marriage licenses.
  “I was even more moved than I thought I’d be when I heard about this ruling.  All of us cried – me, Mary Jo and our 15-year-old daughter.  For the first time, our family is being treated with the respect and dignity that our friends, coworkers and neighbors automatically have,” Jo-Ann Shain said. Shain, a 51-year-old New York City resident is a plaintiff in the case with her partner, Mary Jo Kennedy, 49.  “Last week, Mary Jo and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary together, but we’ve never had all the protections and rights that come with marriage.  We need these protections to take responsibility for each other and for our daughter, and we are enormously grateful that the court saw that and said our family should be treated equally.”
  “This is a historic ruling that delivers the state Constitution’s promise of equality to all New Yorkers,” Susan Sommer, Supervising Attorney at Lambda Legal and the lead attorney on the case said.  “The court recognized that unless gay people can marry, they are not being treated equally under the law.  Same-sex couples need the protections and security marriage provides, and this ruling says they’re entitled to get them the same way straight couples do.”
  In the ruling, Justice Ling-Cohan said, “Simply put, marriage is viewed by society as the utmost expression of a couple’s commitment and love.  Plaintiffs may now seek this ultimate expression through a civil marriage.”
  The ruling, which is stayed for 30 days to permit the city to appeal, says the New York City clerk may no longer deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the city will appeal a court ruling on February 5. In his press conference Bloomberg announced that the city will appeal the case directly to the state’s high court and that he supports marriage for same-sex couples.  The mayor’s position  invoked the ire of a number of the his fellow Republican colleagues.
  Justice Ling-Cohan’s ruling also said, “Similar to opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to follow their hearts and publicly commit to a lifetime partnership with the person of their choosing.  The recognition that this fundamental right applies equally to same-sex couples cannot legitimately be said to harm anyone.”  
  “This ruling is historic, well reasoned and, above all, fair,” Sommer said.  “Our clients got full and fair consideration in this case, which is all we asked for.  The court obviously looked carefully at the state Constitution and the rights and protections that same-sex couples were being denied because they couldn’t marry.  This decision is grounded solidly in the law and the state’s Constitution.”
  The 2000 U.S. Census counted 594,391 households in the country where same-sex couples live together.  Of those, 46,490 - 7.8% of the national total - are in New York State, and 25,906 (4.3% of the national total) are in New York City.  City and state law provides some limited protections and rights to same-sex couples.  
  Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in March 2004 seeking marriage licenses for same-sex couples in New York, arguing that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state Constitution’s guarantees of equality, liberty and privacy for all New Yorkers.  The case was the first of its kind to be filed in New York since the Massachusetts high court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to full marriage under that state’s Constitution.
  Lambda Legal is also currently litigating cases seeking marriage for same-sex couples in New Jersey, California (with NCLR and ACLU) and Washington State (with NWLC).  The Washington State Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in that lawsuit on March 8, and a decision is pending from the trial court in the California case.  A New Jersey state appeals court heard arguments in that case in December, and a decision is pending.  

Doyle Proposes Million Dollar Increase for HIV/AIDS Care

Madison - Governor Jim Doyle proposed a one million dollar increase in state funding to assist people living with HIV. Doyle made the proposal in his budget address to a joint session of the Wisconsin State
Legislature February 8. 
  The proposed increase in state funding is earmarked for the Life Care Services/Early Intervention Grant (LCS). The LCS grant is the bedrock of Wisconsin’s HIV care and treatment system and heavily funds the medical, dental, legal, and social services delivered by Milwaukee’s ARCW and Madison’s AIDS Network.  The $1 million increase is spread over the next state budget with an additional $500,000 in each of the next two years.
  Doyle’s budget proposal the first state increase in funding for the LCS grant since 2000 and makes his proposed budget the largest ever state commitment to the fight against AIDS.  ARCW’s Vice President and CEO Mike Gifford told Quest that the commitment comes at a very important time as the need for the agency’s services. “Medical care is growing at a very significant rate,” Gifford said.
   Doyle’s increased state funding proposal for HIV/AIDS care in Wisconsin strongly contrasts the flat funding seen at the federal level for the Ryan White Care Act since the end of the Clinton administration. AIDS activists point out that the “cost of living” increases to Ryan White are being stretched to cover all current HIV+ individuals plus the estimated 200,000 new cases that will have occurred between the election of George W. Bush in 2000 and the end of this year.
  According to Gifford, ARCW has already begun its lobbying effort to assure that the State Legislature supports the Governor’s increase and keeps the funding intact. Gifford also announced that the lobby effort would be coordinated by newly named Manager of Public Affairs Kate Venne. Venne also will maintain her current communications and public relations responsibilities.
  “In her new role Kate will serve as a registered lobbyist for (the agency) and dedicate a great deal of effort to assure that the Governor’s proposed increase in AIDS funding is maintained by the legislature,” Gifford said.  “She will also be monitoring HIV and health policy issues in Madison, coordinating ARCW’s advocacy efforts, testifying before the legislature and working to assure that Wisconsin continues its proud tradition of supporting effective HIV public policy.”

Wisconsin Legal Experts Decry State’s Proposed Civil Union Ban

Madison - 347 practicing attorneys and law students announced their opposition to the proposed constitutional ban on civil unions and marriage for lesbian and gay couples here February 8. The group of lawyers hand-delivered letters to legislative leaders explaining how the amendment will impact areas of the law far beyond marriage.
  “As lawyers, we’re all very concerned that this amendment proposal goes much too far,”  Linda Roberson, an expert on family law who practices in Madison said.  “The language of this amendment is so broad that it opens the door to legal challenges to estate planning and other legal documents that unmarried couples, gay and straight, use to protect their loved ones and their property in times of crisis.  In terms of its impact on families all over Wisconsin, in terms of its impact on the court system, in terms of its impact on the Wisconsin constitution, this proposed amendment is bad law and bad policy.”
  The letters came from 233 lawyers practicing in family law, criminal law, and estate planning.  Other letters explained concerns from the perspectives of constitutional law and the administration of justice.  One hundred fourteen law students from Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin also delivered a letter explaining their opposition to the proposed ban. 
  These letters come at a time when legislators and judges in states such as Ohio, Michigan, and Utah are beginning to face the unintended consequences of similar amendments in those states.  Lawyers in Ohio and Utah have challenged protective orders and domestic violence assault charges, claiming that the laws used to protect assault victims include elements of marriage that cannot apply to their unmarried clients.  The Governor of Michigan has refused to negotiate domestic partner benefits for public employees in the wake of the amendment prohibiting civil unions and marriage there.
  Several key concerns about the proposed Wisconsin amendment were offered. Of greatest concern was the growing number of children with same-sex couples as parents already lack many of the protections that other children may take for granted.  This amendment would make uncertain the legal protections parents have put in place by casting doubt on the enforceability of arrangements those parents may make such as guardianship designations and co-parenting agreements. 
  Also of concern was that other existing contractual arrangements such as health care powers of attorney, wills, and school authorizations between same-sex and opposite-sex unmarried couples may be invalidated.  School and hospital administrators would be stuck trying to decide between the wishes of same-sex partners and the dictates of the Wisconsin Constitution. 
  The lawyers also noted that employee benefit plans in both the public and private sectors that include the unmarried partners of employees, whether same-sex or opposite-sex, may be invalidated.  Wisconsin employers would find it difficult to compete for employees with offers in other states with no such limitations on benefits. 
  A flood of both serious and frivolous lawsuits also concerned the legal experts. The proposed amendment amendment would produce a large number of law suits asking courts to determine what is and is not “substantially similar to marriage.”  The result would be uncertainty for ordinary families all over Wisconsin, an increased workload for the courts, and resulting waste of tax payers’ dollars. 
  The legal experts also pointed out that the proposed amendment would be the first in the history of Wisconsin to restrict, rather than expand and protect, individuals’ rights. 
  Parallels were also drawn between historic same-sex and interracial marriage laws. Current Wisconsin law prohibits persons from marrying in other states in order to avoid any prohibition on their marriage that exists in Wisconsin.  Amending the Wisconsin constitution as proposed would make Wisconsin law functionally identical to the Virginia state law prohibiting interracial marriages that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in Loving v. Virginia in 1967.
  Finally the lawyers pointed out that singling out an unpopular group for discrimination undermines respect for the law, and for those whose job is to make and enforce the law.
  The proposed amendment reads: “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 this state.”
  The legal experts have formed a coalition named Lawyers Against The Amendment (LATA). Attorneys, law students and others in the legal field who are interested in becoming involved with the group are asked to contact Judith McMullen at the  Marquette University Law School at 414-288-5376, or Madison attorneys Lester Pines of Cullen Weston Pines & Bach LLP at 608-251-0101 or Linda Roberson of Balisle & Roberson SC at 608-259-8702.

National News:

California: Is She Or Isn’t She?  Housewives’ Marcia Cross Desperately Denies Lesbian Rumors - Days after tabloid tattling of her alleged sapphic sexual preference reached a fever pitch in the US and UK, “Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross is attempting to make it clear that she’s not gay. Cross claimed she was not a lesbian during a guest shot on ABC’s girl talk daytimer “The View” February 9.
  Co-host Barbara Walters questioned her on rumors regarding her sexuality. “I’m not,” Cross said, wondering aloud how the rumors had gotten started. “I just assumed this is what comes of being 42 and single. I don’t know if they just needed to find a reason why I wasn’t married.”
  Cross’ publicist also had earlier released a statement denying the reports. Cross said she didn’t know what all the fuss was about. “I do think it was really weird, though, that there was all this curiosity about something, like that - about sexuality,” she said. “And I thought what a world we live in that that’s so important.”
  The British tabloid The Sun and the New York Daily News initially reported that Cross was set to reveal she is a real-life lesbian by posing for The Advocate on February 6, less than a week after an insider rumor was first posted on the gay website Datalounge. The sexy redhead plays the anally retentive maven of all things tasteful Bree Van De Kamp on the hit show.  The Sun report characterized Cross’ revelation as another in a series of celebrity lesbian outings like the recent coming out of Sex And The City’s Cynthia Nixon, Rosie O’Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres and claimed Cross, 43, is believed to be in a long-term relationship with a brunette from another top US show.
  The Sun quotes a second show insider as saying: “Everyone on the show is aware of Marcia’s leanings, as is the rest of Hollywood. She hasn’t made a secret of it. Some of the other housewives were worried the news might hurt the ratings. But creator Marc Cherry is gay and very supportive of her decision.”
  On February 7, E! Online’s TV and gossip columnist Kristin was asked in her weekly chat  about the rumor that a cast member of Desperate Housewives was going to come out, and responded “I hadn’t heard that, but I wouldn’t be surprised.” Later, when the official transcript of the chat was posted, her response was changed to “I hadn’t heard that, but I’m not outing anyone.”
  The rumors about Cross began just as her screen son Andrew, played by Shawn Pyfrom, is set to be outed as gay during the show’s May sweeps episodes. According to the leaked story outline, Bree fears her uptight nature “contributed to him being homosexual.”
  According to Sarah Warn of the lesbian visibility website AfterEllen.com, internet and tabloid gossip about the personal life of stars is nothing new, but this appears to be the first time that a rumor started solely by an anonymous internet poster on a message board has become a “source” for traditional news outlets.
  “News and entertainment shows on channels like CNN have increasingly referenced or reported on internet gossip over the last few years, but usually in vague terms. The fact that CNN’s American Morning and Good Morning Live actually named Cross, rather than simply raising the question of whether someone on Desperate Housewives is coming out, is surprising,” Warn opined. “It also lends credibility to the rumor, since their phalanx of lawyers would be unlikely to allow them to name Cross on-air unless they had sources who privately confirmed the information.”
  It’s possible that Cross’s publicists are behind the rumor in the first place, Warn hinted . “Stars and their publicists have a long history of using the press to “leak” information like this, and they’re increasingly using the internet as an even faster method of testing the potential impact of the information, building buzz about their client, and keeping the client at arm’s length should the information prove too damaging.”

Utah: Bill to Fix Utah Gay-Marriage Ban Loses - After rushing to write a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution last year, Utah legislators are in no hurry to repair damage the law could deal other kinds of domestic partners. The Senate overwhelmingly voted February 1 to kill a bill that would have eased restrictions imposed by the gay marriage ban. The legislation came under fire from conservative lobby groups in this heavily Republican state where anything seen as advancing gay rights is often doomed to failure.
  Taken literally, the gay marriage ban could deny hospital visitation or survivor’s property rights to children being brought up by grandparents, or to senior citizens who live together but do not marry for financial reasons. Siblings living in the same household also could find themselves without customary rights.
  Utah’s Legislature - overwhelmingly Republican and Mormon, and one of the most conservative bodies in the nation - ignored warnings from the state’s Republican attorney general that the amendment went too far. Utah voters ratified it with 66% approval in November.
  But in a moment of sober reflection, some of the same lawmakers were looking at giving back to adults who live together but are ineligible to marry - a category that includes same-sex couples - some of the rights of husband and wife. “It addresses the need of persons who may have some relationship other than marriage to delegate responsibilities to each other,” Utah Republican Senator Greg Bell said.
  The Senate rejected Bell’s bill on an 18-10 vote, after Republican senators huddled over lunch with two marriage-law experts who argued there was nothing wrong with Utah’s constitutional ban on gay marriage. Bell gave his bill a bland title - the Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract - and was quick to deny it has anything to do with Utah’s ban on gay marriage. The measure would have created a state domestic-partner registry that would allow unmarried couples - heterosexual or gay - to have reciprocal property and health care rights and to bury one another at death.
  Opponents said the bill wasn’t needed; household partners can seal their rights by power of attorney and add each other to a house deed. There were no indications that the bill would be resurrected in the immediate future. However, supporters of Bell’s legislation believe as more documentation of the unintended consequences of the marriage ban accumulate, the bill will be reintroduced.

Utah: Attempt To Unseat First Openly Gay Senator Begun - He’d been in office only two days, but already a move has begun to unseat the first openly gay man to sit in Utah’s Senate. An elections complaint has been filed by an unnamed person claiming that Scott McCoy has not lived in the district long enough to be eligible to serve.
  Under Utah’s Constitution people seeking office must live in the state for three years and in their district for six months prior to state deadlines to file for office. That would mean McCoy would have had to move to Utah three years before the last time retiring Senator Paula Julander would have filed for office - March 2002, but  McCoy moved to Utah just three months before that deadline.
  McCoy was chosen by the Democratic Party on February 3 to replace Julander as state senator. Julander stepped down due to poor health. McCoy, the first openly gay member of the Utah state Senate, was sworn in February 7. In his initial address to his colleagues in one of the most conservative legislative bodies in the nation, McCoy, 34, said his sexual orientation will not define his work as a lawmaker.
  Senate Democrats say that because McCoy was selected to replace fellow Democrat Julander it does not constitute an election.   The party says that the real issue to unseat McCoy is because he is gay. “If you ask me is it because he’s gay, I have to say yes,” Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich (D-Price) said. “And I think that’s unfortunate.”
  Dmitrich said he understood, but could not prove, that the challenge of McCoy’s appointment came from a citizen who worked to help pass Amendment 3, the successful ballot initiative that changed the Utah Constitution to ban same-sex unions. McCoy ran the Don’t Amend Alliance, which lobbied to defeat the amendment.

Virginia: House Approves Gay-Marriage Ban - The Virginia House approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage February 8, despite a warning from the state’s first openly gay legislator that the measure will one day prove as shameful as slavery and segregation. The House voted 78-18 in favor of a resolution similar to one easily approved in the Senate a day earlier. If negotiators can reconcile the two versions this year, and the measure passes both chambers again next year, it will be put to the voters in November 2006.
  “Today is one of those moments for which we shall one day be ashamed,” openly gay House Delegate Adam P. Ebbin said. Virginia already has one of the nation’s strictest laws banning same-sex marriages, civil unions and other arrangements “purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage.”
  “We’re just here piling on like a bunch of schoolyard bullies,” said Delegate Mark Sickles.

Washington, DC: Bush Delivers Another Gay-Bashing State of The Union Address - For the second year in a row President George W. Bush used his State of the Union speech to call for an amendment to the US Constitution to bar same-sex marriage.
  “So many of my generation, after a long journey, have come home to family and faith, and are determined to bring up responsible, moral children. Government is not the source of these values, but government should never undermine them.
 “Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be re-defined by activist judges. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage,” Bush said february 2 in his address to the joint houses of Congress.
  Last year Bush told the joint session  that “If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.”
  LGBT civil rights groups were quick to chastise the President for his use of the State of the Union to renew the amendment push. “Once again President Bush is contradicting himself,” Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Steven Fisher said. “He said that the government would never undermine family values, but in the very next breath he calls for passage of a constitutional amendment that undermines LGBT families and denies them the same rights and responsibilities as all others. He chose a divisive path of supporting the narrow interests of extremists in his party over the interests of uniting the American people.”
  National Gay and Lesbian Task  Force executive director Matt Foreman called Bush’s address  “no surprise” saying that the President is only gratifying his conservative base. “Where the Republicans are on this issue is irrelevant,” Foreman said. “What is relevant now is whether the Democrats, our friends and allies, will stand strong and with us against this assault to gay Americans.”

Washington, DC: Early HIV Treatment Bill Returns - The Early Treatment of HIV ACT (ETHA), a bill to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income, HIV+ Americans before they develop full-blown AIDS that died in the last session of Congress was reintroduced February 9. “Today’s unacceptable reality is that most patients must become disabled before they can qualify for Medicaid coverage,”  Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), co-sponsor of the bill with Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) said. “We desperately need to provide early treatment to these individuals.”
  A study conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers has determined that providing early intervention care significantly delays the progression of HIV, and that ETHA could reduce the death rate by 60% for those living with HIV. ETHA also provides states an enhanced federal Medicaid match that makes more federal money available for states that invest in treatments for HIV. This legislation helps states with struggling budgets to provide medical treatment to low-income, HIV positive people in need.
  Clinton and Smith also introduced the Early Treatment for HIV Act in 2003. The current bill has 27 co-sponsors.
  ETHA is modeled after the highly successful and bipartisan Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000, which similarly provided states with the option to provide care and treatment to women diagnosed with breast and cervical cancer through publicly funded screenings.

Washington, DC: Bush-Planted White House “Journalist” Outed - A man accredited by the White House as a journalist has gone underground after being exposed as a fake, a possible a shill for the president, and perhaps a spy for the Pentagon trying to out gays in the military. According to a 365Gay.com story published February 10, questions began to circulate within the White House press corps almost as soon as the man who called himself Jeff Gannon arrived on the scene. But, it was not until gay activist John Aravosis, who operates the AMERICAblog Web site, began to probe Gannon’s background that some of the mystery became clear.
  Gannon was accredited by the White House as a reporter for the conservative Web sites Talon News and GOPUSA.  During news conferences he was regularly called on for questions by President Bush.  But, invariably Gannon’s questions would show an extreme right-wing and often anti-gay agenda. On one occasion he asked Bush how he could work with Senate Democratic leaders “who seem to have divorced themselves from reality.”
  White House press secretary Scott McClellan also would regularly call on Gannon “whenever he would be under more aggressive, hostile questions from the press,” according to media watchdog David Brock. “He’d call on him and he would get a complete softball,” Brock said.
  Gannon’s right-wing writing often has been homophobic. During last year’s election campaign Gannon wrote that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry “might someday be known as ‘the first gay president.’” He then noted that Kerry has enjoyed “a 100% rating from the homosexual advocacy group Human Rights Campaign since 1995 in recognition of his support for the pro-gay agenda.”
  While the White House press corps winced at Gannon’s lack of objectivity and began to wonder if he were an Administration “plant”, Aravosis and other liberal bloggers began to probe Gannon’s background. They discovered that Gannon was really a man named J.D. Guckert and that he owned a number of extreme conservative websites. They also found that Guckert owned gay sex sites - all with a military theme and all encouraging gays in the military to join.  The sites included hotmilitarystud.com, militaryescorts.com, and militaryescorts4m.com.
  While the White House welcomed Gannon, Congress would not. Gannon applied for a congressional press pass last April but was rejected on the grounds that he did not work for a real news organization. Asked about the Administration’s relationship with Gannon, McClellan said only that he did not have a permanent White House pass and said it was up to the media to police itself.
  Following his exposure Guckert February 8 quit Talon and GOPUSA.  The websites attributed to him have been taken off line, and in a message on his personal Web site he writes, “I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News”.
  But, troubling questions remain unanswered, according to 365Gay.com’s Washington Bureau Chief Paul Johnson. “What has become of any membership list to his gay military sex sites? Were those sites created only to out service members under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’?  Were any names turned over to the Pentagon? Additionally, was there more to Guckert’s relationship to the White House and the GOP than McClellan has acknowledged? In light of three journalists being exposed for being paid off by the Administration to tout the Bush “family” initiative, in columns that featured scathing attacks on gays and same-sex couples, it remains to be seen if Guckert was also being paid with tax dollars,” Johnson wrote.

Other National News In Brief: In Kansas, the state House on February 2 approved an amendment to the state Constitution banning gay marriage and civil unions, placing the measure on the April 5 ballot. The vote was 86-37, three more than the two-thirds majority necessary. The proposed amendment declares that only couples in a traditional marriage of one man and one woman are entitled to the benefits associated with marriage. The Kansas Senate approved the measure last month.
  In Massachusetts, defrocked priest Paul Shanley, the most notorious figure in the sex scandal that rocked the Boston Archdiocese, was convicted February 7 of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at his Roman Catholic church during the 1980s. The conviction on all four charges gives prosecutors an important victory in their effort to bring pedophile priests to justice for decades of abuse at parishes around the country. Shanley, 74, could get life in prison for two counts each of child rape and indecent assault and battery on a child when he is sentenced February 15. His bail was revoked and he was immediately led off to jail.
  In New York, a previously thought-to-be-rare sexually transmitted disease that can scar the genitals has been found in two patients. The strain is the same as that recently detected in Europe. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) is a form of chlamydia that can damage the bowels and scar the anus. Most U. S. patients are also HIV+, Health Department Commissioner Thomas Frieden said at a February 2 news conference. “We know LGV increases the risk of the spread of HIV because it causes ulcers and bleeding,” he said. Unprotected anal intercourse is the key risk factor for the spread of LGV. Symptoms include painful rectal infections, but the first symptom may be a painless pimple or lesion on the genitals. Untreated, LGV can cause permanent damage to the bowels and swelling and scarring of the genitals. Several deaths have been recorded in Europe since LGV was first identified last Fall.
  In Oregon, a gay civil rights group is challenging an amendment to the state’s Constitution banning same-sex marriage, arguing it revises rather than amends the document. The ban should be overturned because “it violates the fundamental principle of civil rights for Oregonians on which the Oregon Constitution is based,” Roey Thorpe of Basic Rights Oregon said. The group filed a lawsuit February 1 that also argues the ban makes more than one change to the constitution in violation of state law barring multiple changes under a single ballot measure.

State News:

Green Bay: Art Exhibit Debuts February 18 - An exhibit and sale of folk art by gay artist Dale Winkler will be held at Cricket’s Fox River Lounge, 715 South Broadway, here  The exhibit will open Friday evening, February 18 and will also feature a show by the popular vocal trio Glamorama.  Dale’s unusual and colorful sculptures that include figures, snakes, fish, picture frames, chains, etc. are assemblages created mainly from bottle caps, but also include other recycled and found materials or objects.  Dale will be donating 40% of the proceeds from his art sales to Positive Voice, Inc. for AIDS Education and outreach to youth.

Green Bay: Day of Self Discovery Set For February 25-26 - From gay marriage to Queer Eye for the Straight guy, it sometimes seems that the world has gone LGBT crazy.  All gay all day.  If that is so, then why are people still living in the closet?  Why are people are afraid to come out at work?  Why do people shy away from discussions of LGBT issues?  
  Liberty Hall in Kimberly will be the site of a free two-day conference on Friday, February 25 and Saturday, February 26. The keynote speaker for both days will be Scott Fearing, a Senior Director with OutFront Minnesota.  Scott spoke at the Positive Voice Day of Self-Discovery six years ago and we are pleased to have him come back to speak on new issues affecting the LGBT community.  
  The Friday night session is for those individuals in leadership roles in LGBT and other diversity focused community organizations. Hors d’ouerves will be served at 6:00 PM and the program will run from 6:30 to 9:00 PM.
  The Saturday session is more general in nature and will deal with coming out issues.  This session is open to the public.  There will be a complimentary continental breakfast at 8:00 AM and the program will begin at 8:30 AM.  We will break for a complimentary lunch at 11:30 AM and then reconvene around 12:00 noon and conclude at 1:30 PM.
  Although there will be no charge for either session, pre-registration will be requested to assure seating and appropriate facility accommodations.  More information and a registration form will be forthcoming on the Positive Voice website at: www.pvinc.org.  Be sure to mark your calendars now.
  Funding for this program has been made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation For The Fox Valley Region, Inc.  The Community Foundation generously gave Positive Voice $2,000 from their Opportunity Fund to cover all of the speaker costs for the two-day program.

LaCrosse: LGBT Center Adds Drop-In Hours - Drop-in hours at the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center here have expanded. The center now will be open from 3 - 7 PM each Wednesday and Saturday to provide the community with more access to the facility, which includes an expanded library. The newly elected Board of Directors encourages everyone to take the  opportunity to stop in, visit and check out the Center, located  at 115 5th Street  South, Suite 408 (The Scenic Center in which the restaurant, The Elite, is also located).

Madison: Christians Rally To Oppose Civil Union Ban February 22 - Christians for Equality in Wisconsin (CEW), a group of interested people of faith from various denominations, is holding a rally at 12:15 on Tuesday, February 22 at the State Capitol to voice its opposition to legislation that would harm same-gender couples. The purpose of the rally is to raise awareness about the potential harm that would result from passage of a proposed state constitutional amendment that would not only ban same gender marriage, but would outlaw official recognition of all forms of civil union between couples of the same gender. CEW also aims to send a message to legislators and voters that a large share of Christians believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in committed relationships should enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples.
  February 22nd Rally Day events will include a 10:30 AM news conference at Grace Episcopal Church at 116 W. Washington Ave., an 11:00 advocacy training session at same location, a 12:15 Rally at the capitol followed by visits to senators.  
  Lay leaders and pastors, are asked to come to show support whether or not they have time to call their senators ahead of time to set up appointments to individually make their voices heard. Clergy are also asked to wear their liturgical collars. All participants are also encouraged to bring signs but not to use any poles to hold up the signs as sticks and poles are not permitted in the capitol.
  More information about the rally and Christians for Equality in Wisconsin organization can be found at:  www.marriage-equality-wi.org.

Madison: Action Wisconsin Lauds Doyle’s Push For DP Benefits - Madison - The statewide LGBT civil rights organization Action Wisconsin has applauded Governor Doyle for his budget request to provide equal compensation to lesbian and gay University of Wisconsin employees. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is now the only school left in the Big 10 that does not provide equal health insurance benefits to its gay employees and their families. Well over 100 Wisconsin employers now offer equal benefits.
  “We are fortunate to have a Governor who understands that fairness to gay employees goes hand in hand with smart business,” Action Wisconsin executive director Christopher Ott said. “Lesbian and gay employees work just as hard as their non-gay counterparts, but gay employees are denied health insurance coverage for their families. This is driving away top-notch researchers who can now choose from over 280 colleges and universities that offer equal compensation.”
  Currently, a university employee who got married last week can obtain health coverage for his new wife, but a lesbian employee who has been with her partner for 30 years cannot.
  In recent months, Madison Gas & Electric, Northwestern Mutual, Kimberly-Clark, and Aurora Health Care announced equal benefits policies. Over 100 Wisconsin employers, including American Family Insurance, Miller Brewing, General Motors, and Lands’ End offer such benefits.  228 of the Fortune 500 companies and over 8,000 employers nationwide offer domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples.
  Surveys of employers with equal benefits show that the cost increase is negligible. Human resource directors at the rest of the Big Ten schools have found that less than one percent of employees enroll in the plans. In
most cases, enrollment is less than a half percent.
  State Republican leaders have previously opposed providing the state’s gay employees with the same benefits as their non-gay co-workers. Many leaders, including Assembly Speaker John Gard, have spoken out against
fair compensation for gay state workers.
  “We hope that Speaker Gard and his allies will finally see that the University of Wisconsin trails its peer institutions in this area and drop their resistance to this one single equal benefit for gay couples,” Ott said. “We also hope that lawmakers will reject the proposed constitutional ban on civil unions and marriage for gay couples. Even if the Legislature approves the budget request, the proposed ban could threaten domestic partner benefits.”
  In Michigan and Ohio, constitutional amendments passed last November are being used to deny domestic partner health insurance to state employees.

Madison: Men’s Coming Out Group to Start at OutReach - A men’s coming-out support group is forming and will begin meeting early to mid-March. The purpose of the group is to offer support to men who are dealing with the realization that they are not heterosexual and how that affects their everyday lives and to support those people previously or currently in same sex relationships. The men’s coming out support group will identify and discuss the stages of coming out and explore topics such as how to deal with family members, physical and sexual safety, legal rights and discrimination, and spirituality, among others.
  The group will run for ten weeks. Two trained volunteers will facilitate each meeting. People who are interested in attending the meetings should leave a message for Jim with contact information by Monday, February 28.
The OutReach LGBT Community Center has served Madison’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community since 1973, providing counseling, advocacy, education, youth information and referral services. It also offers a lending library, free publications, and meeting space. For more information, contact OutReach at 608-255-8582 or email at: programs@outreachinc.com.

Madison: Winter Women’s Dance Set For February 19 - It’s Your Move, LLC will sponsor a benefit Winter Women’s Dance on Saturday, February 19 from 8-11:30 PM at the Atwood Community Center, 2425 Atwood Ave. here. The dance will feature an eclectic mix by the fabulous DJ Sandy Seuser. Proceeds from the evening will go to support The Temple of Diana. It’s an opportunity for all women to get together, support a good cause and boogie those winter blues away. Suggested donation is $5-10 - more if you can, less if you can’t - no woman will be turned away. Water, soda and baked goods will be available for purchase. This dance is alcohol-free.  Dust off those dancin’ shoes, and mark those calendars. The dance you’ve been waiting for is just around the corner. See you there!

Milwaukee: ARCW Medical Clinic Expands to Serve 200 New HIV Patients - With the announcement by Aurora Health Care that it is closing its Positive Health Clinic that serves HIV patients, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin is prepared to enroll at least 200 new patients in its medical clinic.
  “We are pleased to welcome these Aurora patients to the ARCW Medical Clinic and we are dedicated to providing them with quality HIV medical care as well as complete access to our dental and mental health clinics and all of our social services,” said ARCW President and CEO Doug Nelson. “I appreciate the partnership that we’ve established with Aurora Health Care to make sure that these patients have a smooth transition to ARCW.”
  Nelson said the ARCW Medical Clinic currently serves 337 patients and with the enrollment of the Aurora patients it will become the largest HIV clinic in Milwaukee and the second largest in the state. Quest has learned that as of its deadline more than 20 of Aurora’s patients had already enrolled at the ARCW clinic.
  The ARCW Medical Clinic provides complete medical management of HIV disease with the most current HIV drug therapies and treatment for general health conditions.  It is integrated with the ARCW Dental Clinic and the ARCW Mental Health Clinic providing a multidisciplinary health care team for patients.  Also available to patients is ARCW’s historic and comprehensive social service system that includes housing, legal assistance, food pantries, and social work case management.
  The ARCW Medical Clinic is led by infectious disease physician David Fisk, MD, and Nurse Practitioner Sharon O’Dwyer. Nurse Practitioner Winsome Panton, formerly of Aurora Health Care, will be joining the ARCW clinic. ARCW is currently recruiting for a second physician.
  “We are always open to new patients,” Nelson said. “We will provide HIV medical, dental and mental health care to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.” Individuals interested in learning more about the ARCW Medical Clinic should call 414-225-1561.

Milwaukee: “Focus On The Negative Campaign” Bringing Positive Results - ARCW’s recently introduced “Focus On The Negative” HIV prevention and awareness marketing campaign has already begun the bring results, according to agency public relations director Kate Venne. The visually provocative, high-quality campaign that is currently being rolled out in the Madison, Green Bay/Fox Cities and Milwaukee media markets. The goal is to drive people to the IRC website and phone number, ultimately to get tested and to become aware of their risks for HIV. www.FocusOnTheNegative.com is an ARCW-owned URL which opens as a splash page and then links directly to the IRC site.
  Radio ads are already airing in all three markets. In Milwaukee, posters are up in bus shelters and on the sides of busses. Print ads in newspapers began on the 10th and 11th in Madison and Milwaukee. TV spots began in  all three markets on Valentine’s Day. Venne told Quest that Wisconsin AIDS Line coordinator Angie Clark has noticed an increase in calls about testing, and many callers immediately say that they heard the ads on the radio. Traffic has also increased at walk-in clinics in Appleton and Green Bay.
  “We are all very proud of this campaign, which is the result of months of planning and collaboration with the State of Wisconsin, our prevention department, and the Milwaukee advertising agency Kohnke Hanneken,” Venne said. “The creative portion of the ads came from a substantial donation of time and energy from the folks at Kohnke Hanneken as well as from their friends in the industry.”

Milwaukee: Alderman’s Racial Rally
Anti-Gay Epithet Sparks New Protest
Comments at a February 10 rally protesting racial bigotry have touched off new protests about insensitivities toward all communities. During a speech to about 100 people demonstrating outside the Safety Building to protest what they feel is a “racial cover-up”over the October beating of Frank Jude Jr. outside a police officer’s home in the city’s Bay View district,  rally organizer Alderman Mike McGee categorized Jude’s attackers first as “hate mongers and KKK
killers” and then singled out one of the dozen attackers as “a straight-up sick faggot” for pulling Jude’s pants down during the incident. McGee apparently regretted the phrase as it left his mouth, immediately tagging the comment with an advisory that he “did not mean to offend all homosexuals.”
  A number of local LGBT activists did take immediate offense to the comment, however. Former Wisconsin IN Step publisher William Attewell opined in his Bill’s Blog weblog: “Well, here is one homosexual who is deeply and profoundly offended.” Attewell demanded a public apology and sensitivity training for the African American alder, noting the likely outrage McGee might feel if the “N word” were uttered in a similar circumstance.
  McGee’s comments are the latest addition to a politically and socially charged atmosphere in the state’s largest city, still dealing with conservative radio talker Mark Belling’s recent on-air “wetback” comments and the ongoing prosecution of the offspring of several notable Democrats’ for slashing the tires of GOP voter vans on Election Day last year.

Milwaukee: Community Survey Focus of PrideFest Meeting - About forty people attended the  “town hall meeting” for PrideFest 2005 at the Hillside Family Resource Center here February 1. The meeting focused on a commissioned survey of community opinions about the festival and recommendations for the short and long term. The survey, conducted by veteran activist Karen Gotzler’s Urban Strategies consulting firm, showed that an online poll revealed 95% of respondents saw the festival’s Summerfest grounds location as important and that the annual pride parade would only be valuable if it could be a “large, representative, unifying, fun parade that makes a statement about equality and pride.” Survey respondents also liked the fireworks, and would like to see “big name acts” and “major underwriting” for the festival. Over a thousand suggestions for improving the festival were volunteered, according to Gotzler.
  Recommendations for the future included not having a parade in 2005, establishing a new parent organization to oversee PrideFest, soliciting major corporate sponsorships and developing a planned growth strategy for increasing programming and space parameters.
  Following Gotzler’s presentation, Scott Gunkel was introduced as the new Chair of the Task Force.  Denise Wise, who has previously served in that capacity, has accepted new employment out of state. Task Force members Paul Williams and Beverly Beenen presented on development of the festival’s new website, slated to be launched in March and early April.
  Co-Producer Michael Hall and Task Force member Cindy Taylor spoke about the ongoing need for volunteers to assist with several festival functions.  Key positions that need to be filled include a female Co-Producer and Directors of the Marketplace, Proud Crowd/VIP, and PR/Marketing areas.  Assistant Directors are also needed in most areas.
  PrideFest 2005 will be held during the weekend of June 11-12. For more information about PrideFest, call (414) 272-3378 (FEST).

Milwaukee: RSVP Productions’ “Mornings At Seven” To Open February 17 - RSVP Productions helps to melt away the winter chills this February with a warm slice of nostalgia. Raymond Bradford directs “Mornings at Seven,” a lovingly gentle comedy about growing up and growing old in 1930s small-town America.
  The story is that of four aging sisters - one smart, one wild, one slow, one mild - who all live within spitting distance of each other in an idyllic little mid-western hamlet. Their collective day-to-day existence is plain, pleasant and eminently affable - on the surface. Stirring just below the Mayberry-esque veneer are some less than pleasant resentments and jealousies, which begin to come bubbling over when a stranger named Myrtle comes to town, the betrothed of one of the sister’s sons.
  The sisters are portrayed by local talents Gladys Chmiel, Barbara Weber, Cynthia Paplaczyk and Sharilee Skiba - a veritable Mount Rushmore of character actresses. Colleen Hart, Jonathan Curvin, Jack Haar, Earl Scharnick and Glenn Villa round out the ensemble.
  “Mornings at Seven” will run from February 17-27 at the Off the Wall Theatre, Wednesday and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 4:30 PM. Off the Wall is located at 127 E. Wells St. Call 414-327-3552 to reserve your seat. Charge cards are accepted.
 
Union Grove: Investigation Uncovers No Widespread Lesbian Sex At Girls’ School -  An independent review found no evidence supporting allegations of widespread sexual activity among inmates at Southern Oaks Girls School.
    “The broad general conclusion was that widespread sexually activity among residents was not supportable,” Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Christopher R. Foley, a member of the independent review committee, said. “I think, generally speaking, the staff and environment there are very caring, very nurturing, safe and supportive.”
    Southern Oaks is a secure juvenile correctional facility in Union Grove for girls who have been convicted of felonies.
    The independent review committee was formed by the Department of Corrections in response to a series of articles by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last year. The purpose of the committee was to assess the level of sexual activity among residents, review pertinent policies and procedures of the department and offer any recommendations for improvement.
    Although Foley wholeheartedly agreed with the results of the study, he did point out that many of the girls are “extremely emotionally damaged and often victimized sexually” prior to coming to Southern Oaks and as a result, they often seek destructive relationships inside the prison and outside in the communities in which they are placed.
    While it’s not to say sexual activity never occurs, Foley said the steps taken have “effectively closed off opportunities for girls to have unobserved contact with each other. Those changes were made in July and required the girls to be placed in single rooms, required the girls to use bathroom facilities alone and doubled staff supervision.
  According to the report, from 2002 to the fall of 2004 there were “no incidents in the general population grouping where sexual activity between residents was observed by staff or specifically admitted by residents.” But there were 12 situations involving residents kissing; 23 incidents involving touching, groping or grabbing; 12 instances of exposing intimate parts; and four instances of vaginal contact in the form of oral sex or digital penetration. In only one of the four instances was the conduct the result of a romantic relationship between the participants.”

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