by Peter DelVecchio and Karen Ocamb

Clinton Challenged on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Former President Bill Clinton was interrupted during his opening night speech at the Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh Aug. 14. Gay blogger Lane Hudson challenged Clinton on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act, two anti-gay policies he signed into law.

On “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Clinton blamed gays for not getting him support in Congress to lift the ban and said Gen. Colin Powell’s original proposal was distorted in practice. He also referred to the case of recently discharged Iraqi war veteran Lt. Dan Choi, an Arab linguist.

“Look, I think it’s ridiculous,” Clinton said. “Can you believe they spent—whatever they spent—$150,000 to get rid of a valued Arabic speaker recently? And, you know, the thing that changed me forever on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was when I learned that 130 gay service people were allowed to serve and risk their lives in the first Gulf War, and all their commanders knew they were gay; they let them go out there and risk their lives because they needed them, and then as soon as the first Gulf War was over, they kicked them out. That’s all I needed to know, that’s all anybody needs to know, to know that this policy should be changed.”

David Mixner, who was instrumental in organizing the LGBT to elect his friend Clinton, was roundly critical on his blog DavidMixner.com. “President Clinton blaming us for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is simply wrong, insensitive and outrageous,” Mixner wrote. “He should step up to the plate, accept responsibility for this huge mistake and then he can lead with dignity the battle to repeal it.”

To see Clinton’s full response, go here: tinyurl.com/ne5ovz

Maine is the Next Prop. 8 State

Fresh from their victory in California, the religious groups behind the anti-gay Prop. 8 campaign are now pushing an initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot to overturn marriage equality in Maine. And as of the mid-July filings with the Ethics Commission, they seem to be winning—having raised more than $343,000 as compared to the $143,000 raised by the “No on 1” campaign, advocate.com reported Aug. 11.

Maine is smaller than California, so the referendum battle will be less expensive and the campaigns will be battling over a law passed by the legislature last May rather than one ordered by the court. However, with the anti-gay marriage initiative run by the same firm that ran “Yes on 8”—Schubert Flint Public Affairs—many of the messages are expected to be similar.

“We are not underestimating them,” No on 1 Campaign Manager Jesse Connolly told advocate.com. “It’s going to be a close election—every internal poll that I’ve seen shows it’s very close.”

Four groups account for $341,000 of the $343,000 anti-gay marriage funds, advocate.com reports: the National Organization for Marriage gave $160,000; the Roman Catholic diocese of Portland—$100,000; the Knights of Columbus—$50,000; Focus on the Family Maine—$31,000; and Stand for Marriage PAC spent a little over $293,000, mostly on professional signature-gathering.

The largest donation for the No on 1 campaign is $50,000 from a Maine resident, though the Human Rights Campaign has pledged $100,000 on top of their $25,000 contribution.

“If we want to make a statement to advance the gay rights movement forward across the country, Maine is a good place to start,” said No on 1 Finance Director Andy Szekeres.

Lorri Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, and Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, agree.

“Our overdue marriage rights have yet to be successfully defended at the ballot box anywhere in the country. We came closer to winning in California than anyone ever has, and we’ll fight again, but Maine is now ground zero in our great struggle for the American principles of liberty and justice for all. Time and the tides of history are unquestionably on our side, but we should do as much as we can to hurry history along. Maine!” Jean wrote in an Aug. 5 op-ed.

“The same people who ran the right-wing effort to take away our rights here in California have a new target: Maine, which will be voting in less than 80 days on whether or not to protect marriage equality,” Kors wrote in a fundraising letter. “We must fight back. Make a donation now to protect Maine’s Freedom to Marry now and Equality California will match your donation dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. A victory in Maine is essential for victory in California. We are all connected so we need to continue the national momentum toward marriage equality.” For more, go to eqca.org/protectmaine, which also goes to the No on 1 website—and especially check out their volunteer vacation program to push for early voters in October.

DOJ files new DOMA Brief; Smelt Attorney wants divided California

The Department of Justice filed another brief in federal court Aug. 17 in the ongoing case of an Orange County gay couple challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. The DOJ’s first brief last June seeking to dismiss the case prompted outrage when it defended DOMA with homophobic references.

The most recent brief, which calls for DOMA’s repeal, received a different response. “The government has made a series of historic concessions in this brief,” constitutional scholar Tobias Wolff told Frontiers in L.A. “The government concedes that DOMA is a discriminatory statute” and that “LGBT parents are just as capable of raising their children as straight parents, and hence that there is no rational or legitimate reason to treat LGBT couples unequally for reasons relating to child rearing or procreation ... The importance of the government’s disavowal of these outdated arguments that attacked LGBT families cannot be overstated. It will be helpful in every subsequent lawsuit involving the constitutional right of same-sex couples to equal treatment.”

On Aug. 18, the DOJ announced the hiring of openly gay veteran Senate staffer Matt Nosanchuk, who advised candidate Obama on LGBT issues as a senior counselor in the Civil Rights Division. He will also serve as a liaison to the LGBT community.

Meanwhile, Richard C. Gilbert, the attorney for O.C. couple Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, told the Gay City News that he expects to lose the case. However, he hopes the Smelt case will serve as a “springboard” for an initiative on the state ballot to break California into two states—North and South. One half would be citizens who respected everyone’s rights and the other half would be those who don’t.

That prospect made Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson angry. “I think it is reckless and intolerable to risk bad court rulings through premature and poorly executed litigation” for a “dubious” agenda, Wolfson told the Gay City News.

Federal Judge Sets Date for Prop. 8 Challenge

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker held a 90-minute hearing Aug. 19 to set dates for a speedy trial regarding the constitutionality of Prop. 8, and to consider motions by three LGBT rights groups and a conservative group that wanted to intervene in the case.

Judge Walker said no to all of them. However, he did allow the City and County of San Francisco to intervene because they are asserting specific governmental interests, such as lost revenues and social service costs, which are not covered by the plaintiffs.

Lambda Legal, the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights expressed disappointment that the court would not allow them to intervene on behalf of their diverse LGBT clients. The groups released a statement that said: “The significance of this case for our entire community is enormous. To exclude the people whose very freedom is at stake is troubling.”

The judge also excluded intervention by the anti-gay Campaign for California Families.

Walker set a strict timeline to ensure the start of a trial on Jan. 11. He ordered the two sides to start the discovery process immediately with witnesses to be identified by Oct. 2. On Oct. 14, he will hear motions to conclude some issues through a summary judgment. Discovery and sharing of information ends on Nov. 30. Walker will then hold a pretrial conference on Dec. 16, with rebuttal expert witnesses being identified by Dec. 31.

American Foundation for Equal Rights is leading the federal challenge, spearheaded by attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies. Board President Chad Griffin was pleased with the judge’s order. “Proposition 8 compels our government to treat people differently under the law simply because of who they are. That injustice cannot be corrected fast enough,” Griffin said in a statement.

Human Rights Watch: Gay Men Targeted In Iraq

On Aug. 18, a London-based Iraqi LGBT group welcomed the release of Human Rights Watch’s new report “They Want Us Exterminated” that documents a social killing and torture campaign against gay and transgender people in Iraq, UK Gay News reported. “This report underlines what we have been saying since our group’s formation in 2006,” said Iraqi LGBT spokesperson, Ali Hili. “We have information on over 700 killings, including honour killings.”

The report calls for intervention by the Iraqi government, but Scott Long, director of HRW’s gay rights program, told the Washington Post the government “has done absolutely nothing to respond. So far there has been pretty much a stone wall.”

To support the Iraqi LGBT human rights group, go to iraqilgbtuk.blogspot.com.

WeHo Creates Transgender Advisory Board

The West Hollywood City Council created the nation’s first official transgender governmental body when they re-authorized the Transgender Task Force as the Transgender Advisory Board. The primary focus of the Transgender Advisory Board, says an Aug. 18 city press release, is to increase employment opportunities in the transgender community; HIV/AIDS prevention, housing equality and community education of city resources available to the transgender community.

“We created the first Transgender Task Force to provide valuable insight to our city’s leaders and our community. In formalizing our Transgender Task Force into a permanent board in our government structure, we are leading what I hope will be a national model advocating for the rights of transgender Americans,” said Councilmember Jeffrey Prang.

“Our transgender brothers and sisters have taught all of us about compassion and the difficulties faced by individuals who transition from one gender to another. Thus, it is imperative that we continue to support their trailblazing educational work and advocacy efforts,” said West Hollywood Councilmember John Duran.

‘Angels of Change’ Supports Trans Youth

For the second year, the most marginalized of the marginalized will get to strut their glorious stuff and flaunt their beauty, power and leadership as young transgender models hitting the runway in the Angels of Change Fashion Show. The models, who are featured in the Angels of Change 2010 calendar, will be showcasing outfits specially designed for them by fashion design students from the Art Institute of California—Hollywood.

The Sept. 21 event at Arena Nightclub in Hollywood is sponsored by the Huckleberry Fund to benefit the Transgender Harm Reduction Project of the Risk Reduction Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Division of Adolescent Medicine. The Transgender Youth Project provides free and affordable medical and hormonal treatment and other supportive services for at-risk transgendered youth. The fundraiser is the brainchild of Bamby Salcedo, Transgender Services project coordinator at Children’s Hospital, and provides services for transgender youth at a time when the dire economy is forcing L.A. County to cut even safety net healthcare services.

For information on tickets, call Salcedo at (323) 361-5983 or email her at bsalcedo@chla.usc.edu. To order calendars, go to huckleberryfund.org or transyouthla.com/index.html

Quick Pix

60 LEX (Lesbian Exploratorium) members gather in front of their newly created Lesbian Legacy Wall.

Front (L to R) Jeanne Cordova & Loni Shibuyama. Back row: Yvette Sotelo, Margaret Smith, Lynn H. Ballen, Sue Sexton and Carr Blase.

The wall celebrates covers of lesbian publications from 1947-2008 and is installed as a permanent exhibit at the ONE Archives.

photo: Angela Brinskele 2009

Vid Picks

Pitt on Maher

Actor Brad Pitt appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher Aug. 14 and talked about religious freedom, gay marriage, legalizing pot and other issues. See the interview: tinyurl.com/ntz292

Obama grants medals to Milk, King

On Aug. 12, President Barack Obama honored assassinated San Francisco politician Harvey Milk and tennis star Billie Jean King (among 16 other recipients) at the White House with the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. See the entire moving ceremony here: tinyurl.com/mpo642

Mormons Provoke a National Kiss-In for Gay Rights

Gay rights groups organized a national “Kiss-In” after Mormon security guards handcuffed two gay men who kissed on church property. This Fox News report gives background and the kiss-in reaction in Utah. tinyurl.com/nsc8zq

40

Aug. 15-18 marked the 40th anniversary of the joyous “Aquarian Exposition” that described the peace-loving counter-culture youth as the “Woodstock Generation.” The musical lineup included Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills and Nash and Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane rocking on Max Yasgur’s 600-acre, rain-soaked farm in Bethel, New York. Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee will soon release Taking Woodstock, based on the life of Elliot Tiber, the gay man who made Woodstock work. Read more here: tinyurl.com/l36nl9

KNBC’s New Anchor Brings Homophobic Baggage

by Karen Ocamb

New KNBC4 weekend anchor Alycia Lane’s resume is impressive. The former weeknight anchor at CSB station KYW in Philadelphia holds a Master’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and has covered a range of news stories. Lane’s awards include two local Emmys and the 2007 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Large Market News.

“Alycia is an experienced anchor and skilled reporter who has a tremendous ability to engage and connect with the audience,” Craig Robinson, president and general manager, KNBC, who is openly gay, said in a press release.

Missing from the glowing account of her professional career are the tabloid headlines that still have people buzzing. A 5,058-word story in Philadelphia Magazine entitled “The Very Public Self Destruction of Alycia Lane” (http://tinyurl.com/nzmyb8) chronicles the ups and downs of the $750,000 anchor who landed on Page Six after emailing bikini photos of herself to a married friend whose wife went public. Lane claimed it was a misunderstanding.

But of importance to the LGBT community is the charge that apparently got her fired from CBS3 in January 2008—allegedly assaulting a New York City police officer during which she allegedly used a homophobic slur.

According to a felony complaint filed in criminal court on Dec. 17, 2007, NYPD Police Officer Richard Lawrence wrote that on Dec. 16, 2007, at about 2 a.m., he was trying to get an intoxicated man back into his taxi in the Chelsea area when Lane “placed a camera against [the officer’s] face.” Lawrence “states that defendant said in substance to P.O. [a female officer] ‘I don’t give a f---who you are. I am a reporter you f---ing dyke.’ [Lawrence] further states that [he] observed [Lane] strike P.O. [the female officer] about the face.” The report says the female officer sustained two lacerations and swelling. The final line of the report cautions in bold that making false statements are punishable as a Class A misdemeanor.

The charges were later dismissed—a point strongly emphasized to Frontiers in L.A. by Lane’s agent Gregg Wiilinger. “The case in New York was dismissed outright,” he said in a phone interview Aug. 20.

A friend of Lane’s who asked for anonymity told Frontiers, “she was wrongfully accused. It was an unfortunate incident. She’s a good lady and she didn’t do this.” He added that the police report should be taken “with a grain of salt.”

In a statement to Frontiers, Robinson said, “We’re aware of her background and have looked in to the claims against her, and we feel very comfortable with our decision to have her join the station.”

Openly gay Detective Thomas Verni, who headed the Gay Officers Action League at the time, was surprised that Lane landed a “promotion” in Los Angeles. During an hour-long interview, he said that “to my knowledge, she has never apologized” for the homophobic slur, though Lane’s friends note that she would not apologize for something she didn’t do.

GOAL issued a press release after the case was dismissed, saying they were “outraged and deeply concerned of the brokered deal by the Manahttan [sic] DA’s office and ex-CBS anchor Alycia Lane … The decision to not fully prosecute Miss Lane for her actions, sends a disturbing message that people can act in an openly homophobic, disorderly and violent manner towards a NYC police officer and get away with it—with virtually no penalty.”

Like law enforcement, media people should be held to a higher standard, said Verni, who is now the NYPD’s LGBT community liaison and knows and trained the female officer who was allegedly struck. An apology “would be a nice and righteous thing to do. But that might not be part of her character—to admit that she did something wrong. She might have to come down from her high horse to do that,” he said. “If this officer had been black, would the response have been the same?” Uttering a homophobic slur is just as unacceptable as uttering the “n-word,” Verni said. The incident leaves open the “speculation” about whether Lane can cover stories “in a biased or unbiased way.”

Lane assumes the KNBC4 anchor desk on Aug. 29.

Quote - Unquote

“Even in countries like Canada and the U.K., there is no intrinsic right to health care.”

—Whole Foods CEO John Mackey in an Aug. 12 editorial in the Wall Street Journal.

“He has a sense of rhythm.”

—Christine Delay to politicsdaily.com on her husband—indicted former GOP Majority Leader Tom “the Hammer” Delay—being a contestant on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

“Make sure the Governor knows how important Harvey is to all Californians.”

—EQCA Action Alert about Gov. Schwarzenegger’s possible veto of the Harvey Milk Day Bill. eqca.org

As of 4:20 a.m., Aug. 19

American Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan: 5,122 icasualties.org

American Wounded in Iraq: 31,469 antiwar.com/casualties

Iraqi Dead since 2003: 92,841-101,326 iraqbodycount.org

Cost of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: 899,872,000,000+ costofwar.com

National Debt: $11,730,768,486,259.52 brillig.com/debt_clock

U.S. Trade Deficit: $413,423,000,000+
americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp