Q-Seattle Events: Tacky Tourist Clubs

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongkoski appeared delighted Wednesday (see video below) as he signed into law a bill that protects LGBT citizens of that state from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

An analysis by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force shows that 52% of the US population will be protected by state anti-bias laws when the Oregon measure and similar bills in three other states take effect.

Since Jan. 1, 2007, the legislatures in four states -- an all-time high -- have passed nondiscrimination laws. Three of those states -- Iowa, Oregon and Colorado -- moved to extend protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and the Vermont Legislature passed a bill amending its existing nondiscrimination laws to include transgender people. As a result, the percentage of the U.S. population living in jurisdictions protecting lesbian, gay and bisexual people from discrimination will rise to 52 percent, crossing the halfway mark for the first time. The laws of Iowa, Oregon and Vermont prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, among other categories; Colorado?s law covers employment only.

Kulongoski had a special reason to be pleased with the measure he signed this week because he had co-sponsored a bill in the 1975 legislature that would have added sexual orientation to Oregon's civil-rights law. As happened here in Washington where a similar anti-discrimination bill passed in 2006, the anti-bias bill rattled around in the Oregon legislature for decades before its final passage.

When the anti-bias law takes effect there in January, 2008 Oregon will join Washington and California in granting broad protections from discrimination. In a story that offers further analysis of the NGLTF date, the Ohio gay paper Gay People's Chronicle points out that the anti-bias laws fall into clusters

State laws group in four geographical areas: the Northeast including all of New England with New York, New Jersey and Maryland; the three West Coast states plus Nevada and Hawaii; a Midwest cluster with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa; and pair of mountain neighbors, Colorado and New Mexico.

Oregonian video via QPDX blog.

Labels: equal rights, LGBTQ, oregon

Just days after Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit against the city on behalf of two firefighters and a 911 dispatcher, Bellevue's city council decided Monday night to launch a study about offering health, bereavement and related benefits to the partners of all of its employees.

As the council considered the long-simmering issue, the Seattle Times, which -- despite its name -- strives to be the hometown newspaper for Bellevue and other east side cities, had an editorial in the can urging the city to adopt the benefits. Under the title "Hostile Bellevue," the editorial appeared Tuesday morning.

Bellevue ought not cast a shadow on what has been a sunny renaissance by appearing to be hostile to gay city employees.

The city has been slow to extend family employment benefits to gay couples, leading to a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit by three employees alleging discrimination. If the lawsuit is successful, it could force public employers statewide to extend the same employment benefits to partners of gay workers as provided to heterosexual families.

This page sides with the employees. The right to care and provide for loved ones is the cornerstone of family, whether they are gay or heterosexual. Extending health care, bereavement and family leave to domestic partners pays off with a work force high in morale and productivity and low in turnover.

Bellevue is surrounded by good role models that offer domestic-partner benefits to employees. They include Washington state, King County and Seattle.

Thousands of private employers also recognize the positive impact on morale and retention by offering domestic-partner benefits.

Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger personally supports domestic-partner benefits but is reluctant to commit without knowing the costs. Another Bellevue official points to the city's no-new-benefits policy.

But less-wealthy cities such as Burien, Sammamish, Tumwater and Pullman offer domestic-partner benefits. True, they are smaller, but as a matter of principle they stand tall.

Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger said in a news release, "The time has come to take action and give clear direction." The city hasn't exactly joined with those forward-thinking burgs like Burien, but their council has at least shown that it can do "Seattle process" as well as its neighbors to the west: When faced with a problem, launch a study.

At a meeting Monday night, City Council members directed staff to prepare information on how the city might offer domestic partnership benefits for employees across all bargaining units, as well as nonunion workers. The staff was also asked to analyze how much it would cost. [#]

Lambda Legal's lawyers also showed their understanding of the process with an understated response:

"It is welcome news that the city has had a change of heart and is going to work up a domestic partner benefits proposal," said Lambda Legal attorney Jenny Pizer. "We're eager to look at the details."

Labels: Gay, LGBTQ, politics, Seattle, Washington

Updating yesterday's post about a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Bellevue by two firefighters and a 911 dispatcher seeking equal rights for their partners.

A story about the suit in Wednesday's Seattle Times has more about the possible effect of the suit, if it is successful:

A lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city of Bellevue could force all public employers in Washington -- from the largest university to the tiniest town -- to extend the same employment benefits to partners of gay workers as they now provide to families of heterosexuals. ...

The suit, filed in King County Superior Court, accuses Bellevue of violating the privileges and immunities clause of the state constitution, which bans the granting of special privileges to one group that is not provided equally to everyone.

If that claim is upheld, all public employers across the state would be required to offer domestic-partner benefits, said Tara Borelli, a staff attorney with Lambda Legal.

And more about Bellevue's reluctance to offer equal benefits:

Gay-rights advocates have been trying for years to get domestic-partner benefits for Bellevue city employees. The firefighters union, as recently as last fall, included them in bargaining with the city, but failed to get the issue passed.

Bellevue officials say it's a question of cost.

In recent years, the city has adopted a "no new benefits" position to address rapidly escalating health-insurance costs, said Tim Waters, a city spokesman.

Studies show that extending domestic-partner benefits would add between 1 percent and 2 percent to an employer's overall compensation costs. ...

Borelli of Lambda Legal said a lack of domestic-partner benefits is a pocketbook issue as well ? about equal work for equal pay.

Family benefits constitute about 30 percent of an employee's total compensation, she pointed out. "By denying them these benefits, the city is paying them 30 percent less than heterosexual colleagues."

[Tee hee:] And Metblogs.seattle, which has always preferred to get their corporate media diet from less local and less cantakerous sources, finds a copy-editing mistake on the website version of the story to be a sign that Fairview Fanny "goes neanderthal." (We suspect that metblogs might be hearing from the Geico cavemen about that characterization.)

GAYSUIT? Did they seriously just call this a GAYSUIT?

Wait, is this a comment on the lawsuit or the snappy apparel of the fireman? I can't decide. (By the way, can we take a moment to reflect on the hotness of gay firefighter Larry deGroen? Okay, carry on.) I can't wait for more catchy wordslinging from this copy editor. Next up: immigrants from Mexico sue Bellevue in what the Times calls the "Mexisuit," and Taco Bell instantly picks up the term for a new menu item.

And of course, the "slug" used for the story is, indeed, "gaysuit" which appears even in the url "/localnews/2003670943_gaysuit18.html" But. Yes. The firefighter is hot.

The slug had been removed from the picture by 10:30 am.

Labels: LGBTQ, marriage equality, Washington

Two Bellevue firefighters and the city's lead 911 dispatcher have sued the City of Bellevue to recieve the same kind of benefits granted to married heterosexual partners of Bellevue city employees.

The suit was filed today in King County Superior Court by Lambda Legal on behalf of their clients, Larry deGroen, Faun Patzer, and George Einsetler.

The gay-advocacy law group explains in summary of the case:

Larry deGroen and Faun Patzer put their lives on the line for the people of Bellevue, Washington, each day they go to work as firefighters and paramedics. George Einsetler assists members of the public when they're at their most vulnerable as the city's lead 911 dispatcher. Each has served the city for more than 10 years with distinction. Each is in a committed relationship with a same-sex partner. Each is being denied valuable family benefits that are offered to their heterosexual married co-workers. Lambda Legal has filed a suit against the city of Bellevue seeking equal family benefits for its gay and lesbian

Unlike Seattle and several other Washington cities ad dozens of companies, Bellevue does not offer benefits to domestic partners of its employees. According to a Lambda Legal press release, the Eastside city resisted efforts by its firefighters' union to include domestic-partner benefits in its contract.

As firefighters, deGroen and Patzer are members of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1604 (IAFF). In its recent contract negotiations with the City of Bellevue, IAFF pressed the city to include domestic partnership benefits for the members of its union, but the city refused.

Tara Borelli, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney based in the organization?s Western Regional Office.Tara Borelli, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney based in the organization?s Western Regional Office, is lead attorney for the case. Her co-counsel for the case is Derek A. Newman of Newman & Newman in Seattle.

"Because our clients aren't allowed to marry according to Washington law, they are categorically denied the family benefits extended to married city employees for their different-sex partners," Borelli said. "It is simply unfair and against the law to deny these public servants basic protections like healthcare for their partner or bereavement leave when their partner?s parent dies."

Labels: LGBTQ, marriage equality, Washington

The Soulforce Equality Ride bus made an unscheduled lunchtime stop yesterday in Kennewick on its way from Seattle to Nampa, Idaho where activists will visit Northwest Nazarene University.

The bus and its twenty-plus rider visited Vista Youth Center, a drop-in center for "LGBTQA" youth that opened in February. On its web site, the center describes its mission this way:

We work with GLBTIQQA individuals 14-21 years old and offer unique combinations of direct service, social service, referrals. Our programs are youth-driven and based on the model of peer support and leadership.

[And we, too, have only only the vaguest notions of what the various collections of initials might mean.]

According to the Herald story, one of the riders on the Soulforce bus is from Kennewick and is inspired by the new facility in the Tri-Cities.

The bus stopped at the Vista center to show support for the facility, which opened six weeks ago to provide a haven for gay youths. Seventy young people from around the Tri-Cities have attended the center, including a crowd of 39 on April 5, said Mark Lee, executive director and founder.

Although the Soulforce Equality Ride primarily is stopping at colleges, it stopped by the Vista center for lunch Thursday in part because bus passenger Allison Eby, 29, is from Kennewick.

"Coming back with this bus and seeing this new center opening is really exciting," Eby said. "I really wanted to help bring some attention to this new center, because I think it's really important the youth have some place to go."

When she came out eight years ago, she wasn't aware of a gay and lesbian community in Kennewick, she said.

"So I think I felt pretty isolated," she said.

Because it was a daytime stop and the center doesn't usually open until after school at 3pm, most of the center's usual visitors were not there to greet the bus.

Instead, the travelers were greeted by about 20 people, including Vista Youth Center supporters, members of River of Life Metropolitan Community Church in Kennewick and a women's group from Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland.

The center depends on volunteers and contributions from local groups and churches.

The driving force behind the center is Mark Lee, 44, of Kennewick, a recent Portland transplant who spent years in the computer industry and is on the board of the nonprofit Equity Foundation.

The Oregon-based group promotes education, social justice and the welfare of LGBTQ people, according to its Web site.

When Lee moved here, he was looking for a way to become involved in the community, he said. In talking with Tri-City social service providers, he discovered there were few resources for gay youths.

He quickly found people willing to help with a youth center.

Along with volunteers..., the Benton-Franklin Health District and Planned Parenthood of Central Washington have agreed to send staff members during center drop-in times. They'll be available to provide education and give referrals.

Labels: activism, gay news, LGBTQ, Washington

The Soulforce Equality Ride western bus was welcomed to Seattle yesterday with an official proclamation from the mayor and city council.

The bus is now on its way to the less welcoming environs of BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. The bloggers on board probably haven't been able to connect to the net for their own updates on yesterday's visit. Beforehand, however, rider-blogger Jessica Kalup expressed surprise with what she was learning about the Emerald City and its large LGBT population.

The Equality Riders were in town to pierce the bubbles of two of the area's Christian colleges, Northwest in Kirkland and Seattle Pacific University on lower Queen Anne. (They did not visit Seattle University.)

Seattle is surprisingly "more gay" than my hometown Philadelphia which boasts a gayborhood and has GLBT-affirming high schools.

It is surprising that Seattle would even have schools which hold discriminatory policies. In attempting to locate Northwest University?s policy, I came across a document entitled "FAQs On Equality Ride", which specifies that "sexual intimacy is reserved for heterosexual, monogamous marriage?If a student acknowledges his or her homosexual tendency while at Northwest, he or she will not be asked to leave as long as he or she agrees to engage in ongoing dialogue with our campus ministries staff and live by our Community Life Standards."

Seattle PI writer Christine Frey reports on the group's reception at SPU.

Hundreds of students gathered Wednesday for a conversation not normally held on the Christian campus of Seattle Pacific University. The topic: homosexuality.

They crammed a conference room -- some sitting on the floor, others spilling into the hallway -- to talk with visiting gays and lesbians about sexuality and faith. ...

After the 90-minute conversation, some lingered and continued to talk. Students don't often have an opportunity to discuss such issues on campus, said Kerri Kline, an SPU senior who served as a host for the visitors. "They're curious," she said. She hopes a gay-straight alliance might form to provide a place for students to gather.

Members of Equality Ride called their reception at SPU warm and welcoming, but they emphasized that it was not a place that gay or lesbian students would feel comfortable attending because of some of its policies. Students who attend SPU agree to abide by its lifestyle expectations, which prohibits premarital sex and "homosexual sexual activities."

The activists on the bus split up to be able to visit both Northwest and SPU on the same day. The visit to the Kirkland school -- an even more securely bubbled college than SPU -- slipped under the radar of local media. Like SPU -- and unlike some of the other schools that have barred the gay Christian activists from their campuses -- Northwest welcomed the group onto campus with an official agenda of activities. Weeks prior to yesterday's visit, the school posted a FAQ about the Soulforce group.

It includes the question "What happens to a student who 'comes out' while at Northwest?" and offers this answer:

If a student acknowledges his or her homosexual tendency while at Northwest, he or she will not be asked to leave as long as he or she agrees to engage in ongoing dialogue with our campus ministries staff and live by our Community Life Standards. The Student Community Handbook covers a wide variety of lifestyle commitments, not just the issue of homosexuality.

... which, of course, shows why the activists on the buses are visiting. An anonymous local blogger who posts about the Seattle visit says it well:

I?m certainly not the biggest supporter of activism in general. Perhaps, living in Berkeley for five years jaded me too much to what I perceived as counterproductive, ineffective activism. However, what these folks are doing seems so important. The views regarding homosexuality held by the religious right are far more damaging to those glbt people trapped within that world than those of us on the outside (despite lots of political action for things like a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage).

Also: A Portland blogger gives an in-depth report on the Soulforce visit to George Fox University, a Quaker school in Newberg, Oregon.

[Update:] And one more: Here's a great report about what's inside the bubble from a gay alum of SPU:

during most of my time at Seattle Pacific University, my sexual orientation wasn't exactly a secret. My partner and I had been profiled in OUT Magazine shortly before I returned to finish my degree in 1998. ...

Although the "official" campus policy on same sex orientation was draconian, I never experienced any direct hostility from either my professors, or other students-At any time.

I did encounter ignorance on a regular basis, but that's why we expose ourselves to learning-to overcome our blindsides. ...

Yet, regardless of the openness I found on the student level, I was always aware that the attitudes of the administration and the alumni could be an entirely different matter. Some of my profs expressed fear of rocking the boat. They worried about jeopardizing their careers at the university if they were to be more outspoken or progressive.

For an institution of higher learning to foster such a climate of fear certainly on the surface runs contrary to their constant mantra espoused by the university's President to "Engage the Culture." ...

Great post. Read it all.

Labels: activism, Gay, LGBTQ, Seattle

All that odd political wrangling going on with our red-state neighbors to the north, has one Alaska blogger seething:

Queer Alaskans are a friendly people but right now they're as pissed off as a polar bear with his nadds on the barbie. As the state gets ready to consider a proposal to amend the Alaskan Consitution for the soul purpose of discriminating against Gay couples us Queer Folk are getting organized, digging our fox holes, and building our armory. Nothing can be wasted -- each shot must count.

Tenpa points out that Alaska doesn't have a statewide LGBT advocacy group. "We depend on the local chapter of the ACLU and activists (we like to say AKtivists) in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks," he explains.

He lists a large network of those "AKtivisits" who have banded together to raise money and to lobby to defeat this latest round in the long-running battle. And he quotes a friend who is one of the 55 people for whom legislators are spending millions to overrule a program that would cost the state, at most, a few hundred tousands per year:

"Tenpa, look what I have! It is my new insurance card and it includes my other half! Can you believe it! All of these years it has been so hard. Now we don't have to depend on public assistance and grants for his medical care and medications. Now I don't have to worry every month if I will have enough money to keep him going. My co-pay will be my co-pay. Our life can now be regular ?.. more predictable. I never thought this would happen!"

Labels: Alaska, LGBTQ, link bites, politics

The Seattle Times' David Postman reports that the legislature's unofficial gay caucus has now unveiled its two bills for marriage equality.

The bill that would grant equal marriage rights to gay couples is considered a long-term goal. Another bill would create a state-wide domestic partnership registry. The registry bill would be open to heterosexual couples where one partner is at least 62 years old.

It's seen as a first step in marriage equality, said Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle. As he and other lawmakers pledged to continue pushing for same-sex marriage, they said they would also work to incrementally increase domestic partnership benefits. They recognize that gay marriage will be difficult to get approved by the Legislature and could take years.

In an AP story on the announcement, Murray called the registry bill a stop-gap measure.

Murray said he wants to make sure at the very least that benefits are extended this year -- but he emphasized that a domestic partnership law is not enough.

"This is not about domestic partnership; this is about marriage," said Murray, the main sponsor of both bills in the Senate. "The only reason we are introducing the domestic partnership bill is to further the cause of educating the public."

The other legislators sponsoring the measure in the House echoed Murray's sentiments.

"Our goal is marriage equity, and we will work for that," said Rep. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, one of the Legislature's five openly gay lawmakers who are working on the measures. "In the meantime, our effort is to provide immediate relief, immediate benefits, to same-sex couples."

McDermott said the benefits sought in the partnership bill include health-care decision making, funeral planning and inheritance rights.

"An incremental approach provides the opportunity to educate people," said Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines. "People may see that just because these two loved ones can visit each other in the hospital and plan funeral arrangements, the sky isn't falling."

According to the AP story, the domestic partnership measure will be co-sponsored in the Senate by majority leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane).

"These are very practical issues that same-sex couples face," said Brown, who said she believed the bill had a good chance of passing the Senate.

And they are also issues often faced by senior couples which is why they are included in the domestic partnership bill.

[Update:] And here is Josh Feit's post about the press conference on the boldly redesigned Slog. Feit explains

The incremental approach is certainly about gaining rights, but it's also about highlighting what rights gays and lesbians don?t have. Murray and Pedersen believe this is a way to dramatize the issue for those who may oppose gay marriage....

"What's central to going about it this way," [Rep. Jaime] Pedersen told me, "is that we can make this progress this year. If we were going to do a symbol bill where we don't think we're going to pass it, why don't we just do marriage? Or do comprehensive domestic partnership legislation. We're doing what we can do this year, knowing that we're going to keep on doing this and keep on adding things every session until we get marriage."

[Update 2:] And here's Josh Feit's excellent explanation about the part of the domestic partnership bill that specifically includes hetero senior couples:

There are elderly couples that don't get married because if they do marry, they may lose the pensions that their original spouse left them.

Meanwhile, since they aren't married to their new partner, they don't have any of the hospital visitation rights, funeral arrangment rights etc.. with that new partner. Getting a domestic partnership allows them to collect their previous spouse's pension, while also being able to have rights regarding their new partner.

Labels: equal rights, Gay, HB1351, legislature, LGBTQ, marriage equality, politics, SB5336, Washington

AP (via the PI) has this update on plans to introduce equality bills tomorrow in the legislature:

Two bills dealing with same-sex couples are scheduled to be announced at a press conference Thursday: one to allow same-sex marriage, the other calling for domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples.

Supporters say the dual approach is necessary to extend benefits such as hospital visitation rights and end-of-life decisions to same-sex couples, while continuing to push for full marriage rights.

"Our goal is marriage equity, and we will work for that," said Rep. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, one of the Legislature's five openly gay lawmakers who are working on the measures. "In the meantime, our effort is to provide immediate relief, immediate benefits, to same-sex couples."

McDermott said the benefits sought in the partnership bill include health-care decision making, funeral planning and inheritance rights.

"An incremental approach provides the opportunity to educate people," said Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines. "People may see that just because these two loved ones can visit each other in the hospital and plan funeral arrangements, the sky isn't
falling."

Also working on the measures are Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, Rep. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who spearhead a gay civil-rights bill that became law last year.

Labels: equal rights, Gay, gay news, HB1351, legislature, LGBTQ, marriage equality, SB5336, Washington

The five openly gay members of Washington's legislature are expected to introduce bills tomorrow that would grant everyone in the state the same (or similar) rights and privileges to marry that are now enjoyed by a restricted group.

Senator Ed Murray of Seattle's 43rd District, the prime sponsor in the Senate, told the Seattle Times that the marriage equality bill probably won't pass in this year's session.

Murray said he's realistic about the odds of getting a bill passed this year allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry: basically nil.

"It's always hard for people who work on this to realize that most members have not really thought a lot about the issue. Most people in the state have not thought about the issue," said Murray, who led a long and ultimately successful effort to pass gay-rights legislation last year.

"It's going to take a number of years to educate people in the state as a whole and not just the Legislature," he said.

The legislators won't introduce their bills until tommorrow, but anti-equality activists like Gary Randall who calls himself the "Faith and Freedom Network" are already gearing up for a fight:

We do not expect them to immediately put forward a gay marriage bill, but rather several bills that will be incremental steps toward gay marriage.

Make no mistake about it; they do not merely want to extend a few rights and benefits. They want gay marriage.

Times political reporter David Postman notes that the legislators are following the advice of the state's Supreme Court with the bills.

The Legislature's five openly gay members are taking up the state Supreme Court's many hints that lawmakers could craft a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

They are also following a now common course of dealing with this often contentious issue on the state level rather than in the US Congress. A forthcoming report by the Human Right Campaign Fund finds that state legislatures had considered a broader range of LGBT equality issues -- most of them not directly related to marriage:

The ... bills covered other areas, including sexual orientation discrimination, hate crimes, family recognition, parenting, and education and schools, the HRC report shows.

"State capitols continue to be the epicenter in the quest for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality," says an executive summary of HRC?s soon-to-be-released report.

HRC's state legislative director, Carrie Evans, called Washington's passage last year of the long-delayed civil rights measure a highlight of the 2006 political landscape.

"For every step forward, there was a half-step back," said Carrie Evans, HRC's state legislative director.

There were 242 "favorable" bills that "furthered equality," she said and 34 of those passed, up from 24 last year. And 11 of 137 "unfavorable" bills were enacted in 2006, the same as 2005.

The highlight, said Evans, was Washington State's passage of an anti-discrimination law, the 17th to include sexual orientation in a state human rights statute and the ninth to also cover gender identity and expression. She also cited the November vote of Arizona voters rejecting a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, civil unions, and more broadly domestic partnerships for gays and straights alike-the first defeat for such a measure-and the narrower margins by which they were passed in seven other states.

Murray had sheparded that measure through the legislature for much of its long slog.

Labels: equal rights, Gay, gay news, HB1351, legislature, LGBTQ, marriage equality, politics, SB5336, Washington

Registration is now open for those who plan to lobby legislators during Equality Day on February 26 in Olympia.

The most obvious part of the day is a noon rally on the capitol steps that features a bevy of speakers and entertainment from the Seattle Men's and Women's Choruses and others. Registration isn't required for the rally. Just show up.

But the more important part of the day comes before and after the rally. In the morning, a series of forums and workshops are scheduled to help train activists and their supporters in effective lobbying techniques. In the afternoon, registered participants meet with individual legislators to talk to them about LGBT issues, including marriage equality.

Equality Day is sponsored by Equal Rights Washington (ERW) and Religious Coalition for Equality. ERW will schedule meetings among participants and the legislators from their local district. They point out that it's important to get as many participants as possible from throughout the state, and for them to talk to all legislators, even those not inclined to support LGBT issues.

Labels: Gay events, LGBTQ, politics

Marriage in MA:
The state of marriage equality in Massachusetts isn't nearly as safe as it looked to some of us last week. After a scolding last week by the state's highest court, legislators meeting in a special session called a "Constitutional Convention" today agreed by a vote of 61 to 132 to put the fate of equality on the ballot in 2008.

Boston's WCVB explained the complicated process:

On Tuesday, 61 lawmakers voted to keep the proposal alive, while 132 voted to kill it. The proposed amendment needs 50 or more votes in two consecutive legislative sessions to get on the 2008 ballot. Late Tuesday afternoon lawmakers agreed to reconsider the vote, but a second vote still gave the proposal enough support to advance it to the next session.

Prior to the vote, the Democratic Governor-elect Deval Patrick served notice that he will treat the issue far differently than his predecessor, Gov. Mitt Romney. He wrote in a statement to legislators,

"Using the initiative process to give a minority fewer freedoms than the majority, and to inject the state into fundamentally private affairs, is a dangerous precedent, and an unworthy one for this Commonwealth," Patrick said in a statement distributed to lawmakers.

"For practical reasons as well, it's time to move on," the statement said. "Whatever ones views of marriage equality, all can agree that we have far more pressing issues before the Legislature and the Commonwealth."

He urged lawmakers to move on to more important matters.

Ford's friends:
Both Slog and Towleroad take note of a Wall Street Journal story [link will break after today] about Gerald Ford's later years. It turns out that a gay couple bought and lovingly restored Ford's childhood home in Grand Rapids, MI. Towleroad notes:

Ford later paid a visit to the couple and they began corresponding. As Joe notes, "Isn't it nice to read about non-gay-baiting Republicans?" It certainly is, and their actions perhaps contributed to Ford's views on gay marriage. News of Ford's death was poignant for the couple:

"Just past midnight on Wednesday morning, after Messrs. England and Kent went to bed, a friend called and told them to turn on their television. Watching the report of Mr. Ford's death, Mr. England says he felt sick to his stomach. A few minutes later, a local news crew pulled up in front of the home in the darkness. Mr. England went outside and pleaded with them to wait before they started shooting. He brought out the big American flag and draped it over the front porch. Then he told them they could start their cameras."

Meanwhile, at today's funeral for the former President, the pastor of the California Episcopal Church decried divisions that are arising within that church.

In his homily, Episcopalian minister Robert G. Certain touched on the fractious debate in the church over its growing acceptance of same-sex relationships, and said Ford did not think the issue should be splitting Episcopalians. He was Ford's pastor at St. Margaret's Church in Palm Desert, Calif.

"He asked me if we would face schism after we discussed the various issues we would consider, particularly concerns about human sexuality and the leadership of women," Certain said. "He said that he did not think they should be divisive for anyone who lived by the great commandments and the great commission to love God and to love neighbor.

The Episcopal Church has been under pressure from traditionalists for its 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop. Several prominent Virginia parishes have recently broken away from the church in protest.

Alaska benefits
The Associated Press caught a human-interest angle on the still-uncertain progress toward equality of benefits for partnered state employees in Alaska. AP interviewed Lin Davis, one of several parties on whose behalf ACLU filed a suit in 1999 that sought to assure equal treatment for the partners of all state employees.

The still-contentious wrangling among the legislature, courts, and administration came a step closer to solution last week when -- despite opposition to equal benefits -- the governor vetoed a bill that would have prevented their implementation.

Davis began her quest on principle. Her partner of many years, Maureen Longworth, also was a state employee and didn't need the health care, survivor benefits and other perquisites of state employment.

As the long case drew to an end, however, Longworth lost her job. Now, Davis needs the benefits to cover her partner.

"I just want to be able to sign her up for health benefits. We are planning on that for Jan. 1 because her (health coverage) runs out," said Davis, a job counselor with the state.

Legally married couples, which Alaska law defines as opposite-sex partners, automatically qualify for coverage.

The state set up a series of criteria to determine whether same-sex couples also qualified. Such factors as evidence of a committed relationship, living together and commingled finances are considered by the state to be evidence of a substantial enough relationship.

"We just want to be able to take care of each other, especially in these older decades of our lives," said Davis, who is in her 60s.

Longworth is now self-employed, with Davis' state benefit providing crucial security for her.

Don't ask, don't tell, don't support
General John Shalikashvili, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 through 1997, is now calling for the repeal of "Don't Ask. Don't Tell", the rule that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Shalikashvili oversaw the implementation of the rule as chief military officer during the early Clinton administration.

Writing from his home in Steilacoom, WA, Shalikashvili announced his change of heart in an op-ed piece in today's New York Times [reg].

"I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces," Shalikashvili writes in the Times.

"Our military has been stretched thin by our deployments in the Middle East, and we must welcome the service of any American who is willing and able to do the job."

He also notes that 24 foreign nations, including Israel, Britain and other allies in the fight against terrorism, let gays serve openly, with none reporting morale or recruitment problems.

A recent Zogby poll of military who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan indicated those now in the military are comfortable with gay folk.

According to the new Zogby data, however, nearly three in four troops (73%) say they are personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians. Of the 20% who said they are uncomfortable around gays and lesbians, only 5% are "very" uncomfortable, while 15% are "somewhat" uncomfortable.

More than half of those polled said that, despite the DADT ban, they had served with gay or lesbian peers.

Labels: Gay, gay news, LGBTQ, marriage equality, news bites

Alaska's new governor, Sarah Palin, today vetoed a bill that would have denied equality of benefits to the same-sex partners of state workers. The issue of partner benefits for state workers has been a contentious one in Alaska since the state's highest court ruled in October 2005 that denying benefits to same-sex domestic partners violated the equal protection guarantees in the state's constituiton.

Since then, the GOP-controlled state legislature failed in a regular session and in two special sessions to address the issues raised by the court ruling. Facing a court-mandated Jan. 1, 2007 deadline, a state administrator drafted stringent regulations tentatively responding to the court order but neither the state's lieutenant governor or then-Governor Frank Murkowski would sign the regulations.

The issue was kicked back the courts a few times before the legislature finally met in a third special session in November called specifically to address the issue. But instead of adopting regulations of some sort, the legislators passed a law ordering the administration not to implement the regulations that had already been developed by the commissioner of the Office of Administration.

That law, however, was never signed by Murkowski. That left Palin to veto it less than a month after her inauguration. Gaywired.com explains:

The Associated Press reports that the governor said she rejected the bill despite her disagreement with a state Supreme Court order directing the state to offer benefits to same-sex partners of state employees.

Palin said in a media statement that she vetoed the bill on the advice of her new attorney general who said it is unconstitutional."Signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office," Palin said in her media release Thursday night.

The Alaska blog Queer Frontier explained the situation after the Court's latest (and, they said, last) ruling on the blown-out issue:

The state and the Anchorage municipality must provide benefits to the same-sex partners of Gay and Lesbian state employees and employees of the Anchorage municipality on January 1st 2007.

The court also stated that any future challenges of this issue must be taken up in new proceedings. In a nut shell... this particular suit filled against the state by the ACLU and nine gay/lesbian couples has run its course, the court has made its decision, the decision is final and the court will not entertain further discussion.

Of course there will be more discussion as conservative legislators are not going to swallow this pill easily. Although they have said they would abide by the courts decision, I for one don't expect them to do so. They are a nasty bunch that believe they have "God" on their side. As for our new Governor? Forget it! Although she is abiding by the court decision she is not helping us out. She has signed a bill allowing the legislators to call a "special election" which will consider a constitutional amendment banning what the court has just upheld.

Hat tip: Alaska Daily News has a December summary of the story here, but registration is required to view it.

Clearly, there's more to come on this one.

Labels: Alaska, gay news, LGBTQ

It's that time of year when publications and blogs turn reflective and cover for vacations by producing Top-X lists. We'll look at some of the other lists in a moment, but our own top 5 in 2006 would look something like this:

1. Supreme's marriage inequality decision. In a close split decision, the Washington Supreme Court decided that they just don't have the chops to enforce the state's constitution and that legislators should do it for them. The Supremes decided that it's OK for marriage to be a special right for heteros.
2. LGBT civil rights, finally. After 30-years, a state civil rights law that includes LGBT folk finally passed in January, 2006. It prohibits discrimination because of sexual orientation in hiring and contracts. An initiative to overturn the law failed to scare up enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
3. Bars are dropping. Timberline closed in 2005. In October, 2006 Thumpers served its last drink. The Elite will close in January. Manray can keep its space only until November, 2007. It may not seem as important as the big political stories, but this kind of thing may affect even more folks. It changes the character of our real neighborhood.
4. Dueling parades. Seattle Pride moved its parade downtown. Another group tried to keep the tradition of a Broadway parade alive for one more year. Pride earned raves for its Seattle Center post-parade rally. Its 4th Avenue parade drew big crowds and produced huge boring gaps. But, at least, it looked good on TV with a great hosting turn by Mark "Moms" Finley.
5. Legislature gets a little more gay. Long-time 43rd District Representative Ed Murray sailed through to an easy victory when he decided to move the state senate. His former seat kept its "gay rep" credentials when openly gay lawyer Jamie Pedersen finally won in a crowded race to succeed Murray and former Rep. Cal Anderson.

Labels: Gay events, gay news, Gay Seattle, legislature, LGBTQ, politics, Seattle, Seattle Pride

Let the planning begin. Seattle Black Pride is now selling advance tickets for a Two-in-One New Year's Party that they'll host at Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue, [get directions]. (That's the big house across the street from Cal Anderson Park.) The party starts at 9pm and continues until 2am on New Year's Day.

The night is called New Year's Eve Red Carpet Event and features two "vibes" for the oh-so-reasonable ticket price of $10. Your ticket gets you into both parties. Move between hip-hop and the live juke joint all night long. They warn that tickets are selling quickly, so -- at that price -- it's a great idea to buy them in advance. Order online or stop by the SBP office at SBP Office daily Monday through Friday from noon to 6pm at
115 16th Ave. S. [get directions].

The double party features SBP's Juke Joint with Live Music by Felicia Loud & Band in one room along with Seattle Black Pride's Hip-Hop Party in a different room (DJ to be announced). They also promise a champagne toast at midnight, drink specials, light food and great surprises!

Labels: Black Pride, Gay, Gay events, gay organization, Gay Seattle, LGBTQ, New Year's party, Seattle

This afternoon's parade by SOP was certainly comprehensive. It seemed to include just about any group that wanted to be seen as allied with the LGBT community and that owns or could make a banner of some sort. And most of those groups had a dozen or so people walking behind the banner and waving at the crowds along the street.

There were church groups, affinity groups, employee groups, just about every ".org" serving LGBT Seattle, companies, city agencies. Several of them managed to put together some kind of entertainment for the crowds. Unfortunately, because of the conspicuous lack of parade monitors, most of those crowd-pleasing entertainments helped to create the huge breaks in the proceedings. There were even a few floats spread out among the seas of waving humanity.

But, oh, did it ever take a long time to get through all that.

So, if last night's parade/march on Broadway seemed fast-paced, energetic, and brief with a good mix of entry types, today's installment seemed the opposite of all those things. Today's parade seemed insufferably long and drown out. Anyone who actually managed to watch the whole stung-out affair spent most of the time waiting beside a blank roadway for yet another group to walk by.

We watched the endless delays mostly from a shady spot at Fourth and Blanchard which is only a few blocks from the starting point. We can only imagine how bad it must have been closer to Seattle Center. At one point about midway through the endless afternoon, there was break that stretched for five or six long blocks. Standing in the middle of the street, we could just barely see the gold banners of a group coming along to the south and could no longer see the last group that had passed on to the north.

Clearly it's a difficult thing to keep something like this moving especially because they chose to run this parade along a route that required frequent stops for bus lines to make their way through the paraders. But still... it seems like one of the basic responsibilities of parade management to keep things moving.

Imagine walking into a dance club and having the sound system go silent after every few mixes while the DJ searches around for the next mix. Wouldn't stay around for long, eh? But that's what the "organizers" of this parade did. It's rude to the people watching and it's rude to the people who agreed to be part of this travesty of a "parade."

Tags: Gay pride Seattle Pride Seattle Gay Seattle

Labels: Gay events, LGBTQ, Seattle Pride

So what did you think of the march and paradelette on Broadway this evening. [This is us begging for at least one comment.]

We thought it was cute and energetic, if a bit short (not that there's anything wrong with short, especially when it's also energetic). The crowds were far thinner, but still respectable in the stretch from Seattle Central to Mercer. For the parade's size, it sported a good mix of entries including music, skin, drag queens, skin, protesters, and even a few (thankfully few) politicians -- most of them from the 43rd District (including -- by our misleading count since we were watching for other things before the lens of our camera -- Murray, Pedersen, and Street).

(And yes, we fully expect Savage to find something weasley because some of the men supporting one of those candidates were wearing kilts.)

So it was a good start and certainly shows there's still a demand for having this kind of thing on the Hill.

And, oh yeah, if you were there you might have even caught a glimpse of one of the HomoAquatic sea-horses. We admire the woman who rode that amazing creation along the entire parade route. But even if you saw it, there'd be no way for you to know that it was a HomoAquatic seahorse since there were no signs for the Queen City Cruise, and (ahem...) absolutely no sign of those sexy HomoAquatic fliers.

The seahorse and the boys with sailer hats were behind the banner for Action Northwest, one of the beneficiaries of the Cruise. But, oh, how we wish there had been some sign of what all that was meant to signify.

Fortunately, though, "There's always next time" might mean as early as Sunday at noon.

[Pictures to come...]

Tags: Gay pride Seattle Pride Seattle Gay Seattle Gay party Queen City Cruise

Labels: Gay events, LGBTQ, Seattle Pride

As you enjoy this weekend of double the parade/marches and double the festivals, be sure to check our comprehensive Pride guide, so you don't miss a thing -- or, at least, know what you're missing.

And while you're at the parades, pick up one of those sexy little fliers for Queen City Cruise: HomoAquatic at either of the marches or festivals (if we manage to get enough folks to pass them out, that is). It's a pity you probably won't be able to see the great HomoAquatic sea-horse costumes that Mark made for the events. But they ended up being just so elaborate that it was hard to find anyone to wear them. You're sure to see them later, however, at some bar events (where there's room) and at the Cruise itself on August 12.

Tickets to the Cruise are now on sale. Congrats to Donald and Wayne for getting theirs almost as soon as we had the button up on the page. We're delighted to see that six others quickly joined them. See you all on the Cruise!

It might have helped that they had signed up for our Cruise alerts email list. (Somebody actually asked about that in comments. We so wish there were more comments.) Get the Cruise scoop. Sign up for the list.

The Cuff [see map] has offered great insider advice on its own mailing list for its wildly popular street party: To avoid the often long entry line, you can drop by the gate near Pine as early as 11 am. Pay your 10 bucks, show your (required) ID, and get your hand stamped. Once you have that stamp, you can get back into the festivities through the (usually) shorter re-entry line. They take credit cards at the main gate and will even let you get some cash back.

They also offer advice that could serve you well almost anywhere you go on this hot weekend:

Eat! Sunblock! Fluids! Cruise! Make up cards with your phone/email. Take lots of fun pictures... Have fun!

And share those fun pics with us and/or with them (cuffevents[at]aol.com), or with anyone you think might share them (umm... the appropriate ones, of course) even more widely.

Oh, and a personal note from our WebWrangler: Curse Comcast! You managed to drop his connection for over 8 10 hours at precisely the most inappropriate moment, just hours before we had intended to take the Cruise tickets page live. What good is a supposedly fast connection (which hasn't been all that fast for the last couple of weeks) when it's unreliable. Comcastic def: Whenever we get around to it, we'll fix it.

Tags: Gay pride Seattle Pride Seattle Gay Seattle Gay bars Gay party Queen City Cruise Comcast

Labels: Gay events, LGBTQ, Seattle Pride

We have wealth (one could even call it an overabundance) of Pride celebrations to look forward to at the end of June. To help you schedule your own parties and celebrations, we offer this list of some of the big events. But be sure to check out the all the bars on our map, since it's a great time to visit someplace new or unfamiliar, or to revisit a familiar old haunt.

Reign


Pride Kickoff Party



XY: A rare collection of male photographs



Wildrose beer garden


Seattle Men's Chorus Pride Concert: Our Mighty Men



Queen City Cruise tickets



Run and Walk With Pride 2006