by Peter DelVecchio and Karen Ocamb

Senate Sets ‘DADT’ Hearing, Army Ready, White House Tweets

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing in November regarding the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, according to a spokeswoman for committee chair Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., CNN reported Oct. 23. DADT prohibits gays from serving unless they keep their sexual orientation secret.

Levin made the announcement after an event Oct. 23 marking passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act the day before. “My hope is that we are going to find a way to repeal [DADT],” Levin said.

At an Oct. 11 Human Rights Campaign dinner, Pres. Barack Obama reiterated his pledge to work to repeal DADT, saying “We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country.”

Many in the LGBT community contend Obama has dragged his feet on keeping promises made to gays during the 2008 campaign, including repeal of DADT. Obama could halt DADT discharges by executive order pending repeal of the statute that established the policy, according to a study released last spring by the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Palm Center. So far, however, he has refused to do so.

In an interview published Oct. 25 in the Army Times, Secretary of the Army John McHugh said the military would be ready to implement a repeal of the ban once Congress and the president act, the Huffington Post reports. McHugh dismissed fears of upheaval in the military were the ban lifted, saying, “Anytime you have a broad-based policy change, there are challenges to that. The Army has a big history of taking on similar issues [with] predictions of doom and gloom that did not play out.”

In the meantime, Brian Bond, out Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, lauded the Obama administration’s LGBT achievements to date in an Oct. 23 blog piece, “tweeted” through Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging service, LGBTPOV.com reports. In “Day by Day, Law by Law, Mind by Changing Mind,” Bond notes the White House’s “long-term focus on major legislative goals like repealing [DADT] and [the federal Defense of Marriage Act], passing an employment non-discrimination act and providing domestic partner benefits for federal employees.” He then mentions actions the administration has actually taken, all administrative, including “proposals to ensure that [the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s] core housing programs are open to all,” a plan to assist local communities in providing “services and support for older LGBT Americans” and a “grant to an LGBT Aging Services Program ... to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Community Center.”

At least seven openly gay people were appointed to Obama’s transition team last year, the Washington Blade reported last Nov. 19. The team’s duties included “a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the United States government as well as the White House,” according to a post at the time on the transition website. It is unclear whether the measures noted in Bond’s blog piece resulted from this review.

Obama Declares Swine Flu Emergency, Free Vaccine in L.A.

Pres. Obama Oct. 26 declared H1N1 flu a national emergency, LBGTPOV.com reports. H1N1 has killed more than 1,000 in 46 states; more than 5,000 have died worldwide.

H1N1, or “swine flu,” is highly contagious, and spreads through coughs and sneezes. Symptoms in adults include trouble breathing, pain or pressure in the chest, dizziness or confusion and vomiting. Children may experience trouble breathing, bluish skin, not waking or interacting, irritability, fever with a rash and flu-like symptoms that improve, but then recur with fever and a worse cough. H1N1 is particularly dangerous for those with compromised immune systems.

The demand for H1N1 vaccine in Los Angeles exceeds supply, requiring “screening for priority groups,” says Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health Director Dr. Jonathan Fielding, who told Frontiers that people living with HIV/AIDS fall within the priority group.

Federal Prop. 8 Challenge Judge Orders Documents Produced

San Francisco federal judge Vaughn Walker ruled Oct. 23 that proponents of Proposition 8 in a lawsuit challenging the measure under the U.S. Constitution must give plaintiffs documents pertaining to last year’s campaign, LGBTPOV.com reports. The case was brought by conservative former U.S. Solicitor General Tom Olson and liberal attorney David Boies on behalf of same-sex couples denied marriage licenses in California.

The documents ordered to be produced include strategy plans and emails, which plaintiffs want to examine to determine whether anti-gay animus played any role in motivating the pro-Prop. 8 forces. “The intent or purpose of Prop. 8 is central to this litigation,” Walker said Oct. 1.

The ruling “will make any citizen group think twice before attempting a ballot initiative,” said Andrew Pugno, a pro-Prop. 8 lawyer.

Walker refused to stay his order pending appeal. The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 11.

Anti-Violence Coalition: L.A. Accounts for almost half of all Domestic Violence incidents

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs annual report released Oct. 29 on domestic violence within LGBTQ communities showed a slight increase in incidents, with 3,419 cases reported by 15 agencies. Los Angeles reported 1,483 cases, attributed to increased monitoring capacity.

Sharon Stapel, Executive Director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, however, says LGBTQ domestic violence is chronically “under-reported and under-addressed due to systemic anti-LGBTQ bias and discrimination.”

Domestic violence-related deaths increased from four to nine in 2008, and the number of cases with reported police misconduct in 2008 increased dramatically to 2.3% of all callers, compared to 1.2% of callers in 2007. The report also noted increases in reports along many race and ethnicity categories, notably people identifying as Latina/o (100%), multi-racial (91%), and African descent (50%). Striking increases were also seen among immigrants and people living with disabilities.

“Despite a troubled economy, NCAVP calls upon elected officials and community leaders to show their commitment to fighting domestic violence within the LGBTQ communities with resources, support and a willingness to speak out against this violence. The need for safe and effective services and public awareness has never been greater” said attorney Terra Slavin at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Domestic Violence Legal Advocacy Project.

For the complete report, go to avp.org.

Prop. 8 Protester Files suit Against L.A. City, County

On Oct 20, Kevin Miniter filed a lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court against the city and county of Los Angeles, as well as a named and unnamed LAPD officers for the alleged abuse he suffered during a Prop. 8 protest in Hollywood — which was captured on videotape.

Miniter alleges that on Nov. 5 when a march protesting the passage of Prop. 8 stopped at Hollywood and Highland avenues, an unknown protester threw a water bottle at police.

“Suddenly and without warning or provacation” from him, police officers “grabbed Miniter and threw him to the ground where he was immediately beaten, battered and assaulted with police batons.”

Miniter was taken to Parker Center and then to L.A. County jail where he says he was harassed with deputies “making fun of his sexuality and torn clothing.” On Nov. 7, he was released with no charges filed.

“My beating and subsequent jail time has conditioned me to become tense every time I see a police officer or patrol car. However long the interaction lasts, from seconds to minutes, I become anxious and obsess over how the police perceive me: am I walking out of line, am I making eye contact, am I hiding eye contact, do they suspect anything? Those police officers have created a heightened sense of anxiety,” Miniter told Frontiers.

Dong’s ‘Hollywood Chinese’ Exhibit Opens

Out Chinese-American director Arthur Dong’s exhibition examining the portrayal of the Chinese in American cinema opened Oct. 23 at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles.

The exhibition features posters, lobby cards, stills, scripts, press material and other items dating from 1916, and treats such themes as the portrayal of Chinatowns in films including Roman Polanski’s Chinatown (1974), martial arts “heroes and vixens,” as played by Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Nancy Kwan and Anna May Wong, and the casting of non-Asians to play Asian roles.

Dong’s work includes documentaries on LGBT issues, including Out Rage ’69, about the Stonewall riots (part of a PBS miniseries), Family Fundamentals (2002), about fundamentalist families with gay children, Licensed to Kill (1997), about murderers of gay men, and Coming Out Under Fire (1994), about the World War II origins of the military’s policies regarding LGBT service members.

Prejean Sued Over Ill-Gotten ‘Gains’

Miss California USA officials are demanding that dethroned Miss California Carrie Prejean return allegedly ill-gotten gains, including $5,200 they say they lent her for breast augmentation in 2008, CNN reported Oct. 20.

The demand is part of a counterclaim against Prejean in a lawsuit she filed against Keith Lewis, State Director of the Miss California USA organization, pageant official Shanna Moakler and others, after Prejean was fired in August for alleged breach of contract, LGBTPOV.com reports. The officials also seek profits from Prejean’s book, due out in November.

Prejean alleges she was fired for her anti-same-sex marriage statements, which she says constituted religious discrimination. Prejean came out against gay marriage at the Miss Universe Pageant in April, and went on to become a spokesperson for the National Organization for Marriage.

“We would never have brought this lawsuit had [Prejean] not opened the door for it,” Lewis told LGBTPOV.com. “[S]he cast the first stone and what we’re doing is saying, ‘OK—now we’re going to give you the truth.’ ... We’ll donate everything outside of the expense of what we have paid to a cause ... that would counter the damage that she’s done.”

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Holds Gala Event

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center held its 38th Anniversary Gala and Auction Oct. 24 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. The event was hosted by Chelsea Handler, star of E!’s Chelsea Lately. Comedian Jay Leno presented the Rand Shrader Distinguished Achievement Award to out actress and comedian Wanda Sykes. Actor Zachary Quinto presented the Board of Directors Award to actress and comedian Coco Peru (aka Clinton Leupp), who gave a moving explanation of how becoming a drag queen allowed her to celebrate who she was and to become an activist.

Also appearing were Amior Zhao and BeiBei Ye, two young Chinese participants in a month-long, immersion pilot leadership program the Center sponsors in conjunction with an organization in China called Aibai, led by Damian Lu. To date, the Center has hosted seven such interns, according to CEO Lorri Jean.

Marriage Foes Sue Maine

The National Organization for Marriage—the largest financial supporter of Maine’s Question 1, the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would prevent that state’s new law permitting gay marriage from going into effect—sued the state in federal court, challenging the constitutionality of Maine’s campaign reporting requirements.

The suit appears to be in response to an Oct. 1 decision by the state ethics commission to investigate NOM, which was in turn prompted by a legal challenge brought by Californians Against Hate’s founder Fred Karger. Karger alleged that NOM was violating state law by concealing the names of its donors.

On Oct. 28, the court ruled against NOM, saying in part, "Maine has a very strong interest in providing its voters with information about the source of the money that funds the campaign on either side of a ballot issue."

Meanwhile, reversing a district court decision, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 22 that marriage opponents must disclose the names of those who signed petitions in Washington state to put a measure to repeal that state’s new law affording domestic partners the rights of marriage on the Nov. 3 ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports. Plaintiffs in the lower court had argued that “signatories ... will be subjected to threats, harassment and reprisal.”

It is “fundamental” for voters to know who is seeking to change a law, said Washington Coalition for Open Government attorney Duane Swinton.

The names will not be released before the election, however, because the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the 9th Circuit’s ruling while the high court decides whether to review it.

The Maine and Washington Elections Matter Beyond Nov. 3

As with the post-mortem on Prop. 8, it is likely the strategies for the Nov. 3 antigay referendums in Maine and Washington state will be discussed long after the election. (Frontiers In L.A. hits the streets on Election Day. We will have an analysis in the next issue.)

In Maine, for instance, the organizers behind the No on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign prepared for several years for this ballot fight contesting the marriage equality bill signed by the governor. The campaign has most of the political and editorial establishment behind it, raised a considerable amount of money and volunteers, and had an aggressive get-out-the-vote, vote-by-mail and field campaign.

But there has also been considerable consternation within the national LGBT community over whether the campaign was too soft—especially in their TV ads. The anti-gay Protect Marriage Maine/Yes on 1 team was led by the Prop. 8 public affairs team of Frank Schubert and Jeff Flint, with almost half of their campaign funding coming from the National Organization for Marriage and major funding from the Catholic Church (which is also closing local parishes for financial reasons). The Yes on 1 Maine campaign almost exactly mirrored their Yes on Prop. 8 campaign with fear-based ads that said same-sex marriage would be taught in schools—and consider the consequences of that!

The No on 1 campaign, on the other hand, followed their research-tested strategy that said Mainers didn’t want to see attack ads. Instead, they used real Maine families featuring gay people—compared to the Yes on 1’s actors—talking about Maine values of “fairness.”

But on Oct. 29, five days before the election, a Daily Kos poll showed NO at 48%, Yes at 47%, with 5% Not Sure.

Washington state, meanwhile, fought to protect their expanded Domestic Partnership law with the anti-gay Protect Marriage Washington campaign equating domestic partnership with same-sex marriage. The Approve Referendum 1 campaign to keep their domestic partnership legislation also faced the National Organization for Marriage and anti-gay religious organizations in a largely vote-by-mail state with quirky rules. But despite a shout-out from popular comedian Stephen Colbert, the Approve Ref. 1 campaign received less attention than the marriage war in Maine.

With the campaigns so close in both states up to Election Day, the post-mortem will surely include the question: what more could we have done?

Obama Signs Ryan White, Lifts HIV Travel Ban; Senate Sets DADT Hearing

On Oct. 30, President Barack Obama took two giant steps toward helping people with HIV/AIDS. He signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, reauthorizing critical legislation that provides funding for more than half a million low-income people living with the disease. “I also want to acknowledge the HIV community for crafting a consensus document that did so much to help move this process forward,” he said at the signing ceremony.

Obama also announced the reversal of the HIV travel ban that prohibits HIV-positive people from entering the country. “If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it,” he said. “And that’s why, on [Nov. 2] my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year.”

On Oct. 23, Brian Bond, out Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, wrote a blog outlining the Obama administration’s LGBT achievements to date, noting the White House’s “long-term focus on major legislative goals like repealing [DADT] and [the federal Defense of Marriage Act], passing an employment non-discrimination act, and providing domestic partner benefits for federal employees.” He cites administrative accomplishments including “proposals to ensure that [the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s] core housing programs are open to all,” a plan to assist local communities in providing “services and support for older LGBT Americans,” and a “grant to an LGBT Aging Services Program ... to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Community Center.”

It is unclear if these actions are a result of the thorough review of key departments, agencies, and commissions by the openly gay members of Obama’s transition team tasked with finding ways to effect policy changes that might impact the LGBT community.

Meanwhile, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing in November regarding the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, according to a spokeswoman for committee chair Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., CNN reported Oct. 23. DADT prohibits gays from serving unless they keep their sexual orientation secret.

Levin made the announcement after an event Oct. 23 marking passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act the day before. “My hope is that we are going to find a way to repeal [DADT],” Levin said.

The hearings will now take place in the context of an interview published Oct. 25 in the Army Times in which Secretary of the Army John McHugh said the military would be ready to implement a repeal of the ban once Congress and the president act, according to a story in the Huffington Post. McHugh dismissed fears of upheaval in the military were the ban lifted, saying “Anytime you have a broad-based policy change, there are challenges to that. The Army has a big history of taking on similar issues [with] predictions of doom and gloom that did not play out.”

11-03-09

Nov. 3, 2009 could well be a harbinger of election strategies in 2010. In a closely watched GOP race in the 23rd Congressional District, the more moderate pro-gay Republican in the conservative district is supported by Newt Gingrich, while Sarah Palin, Tea Baggers and the Religious Right are supporting a third-party candidate. If the third-party candidate wins, expect many more primary challenges as the Republican Party tries to define itself. Meanwhile, if the National Organization for Marriage is stopped in Maine and Washington state, those winning strategies could be deployed for the next round of anti-gay initiatives.

Quick Picks

“Rise Up and Shout!”—a benefit event for a group that seeks to empower LGBT youth and bridge the gap between LGBT generations through mentoring—featuring a wide variety of performances, took place Oct. 24 at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre in Los Angeles.

Vid Picks

Philip Spooner, 86-year-old World War II veteran and father of four sons, one of them gay, testifies April 22 in favor of a Maine statute legalizing gay marriage. The law passed, but is the subject of a Nov. 3 ballot measure, Question 1, that would prevent it from taking effect, and that is widely viewed as a virtual repeat of last year’s battle in California over Proposition 8. Polls show the race too close to call. tinyurl.com/yd7sdhl

Comedian and faux-conservative commentator Stephen Colbert lampoons marriage equality opponents generally—foes of Washington state’s statute affording domestic partners the rights of marriage in particular—on the Oct. 26 edition of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. A measure to take away those rights is on the Nov. 3 ballot. tinyurl.com/yj5uolw

Guest hosting for Keith Olbermann, MSNBC and Huffington Post commentator and blogger Lawrence O’Donnell introduces a montage of clips compiled by Media Matters for America, demonstrating Fox News’s alleged bias against President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party on the Oct. 23 edition of MSNBC’s Countdown With Keith Olbermann. tinyurl.com/yja5kuf

Quote - Unquote

“I had it coming for a while.”

—Out British singer Boy George on time spent in jail for having handcuffed a male escort to a wall in a London apartment, in an interview with the BBC’s Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, as reported at towleroad.com.

“I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act.”

—Director Paul Haggis (Crash) in a letter resigning his membership in the Church of Scientology because of, among other things, the San Diego branch’s support of Proposition 8, as reported in the Village Voice.

“The LBGT community has been in the forefront of most major health movements. I think we can do it again.”

—Out breast cancer surgeon and activist Dr. Susan Love urging LGBT people to join her “army” against the disease, as reported at 365gay.com.

As of 4:16 p.m., Oct 26

American Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan: 5,248 icasualties.org

American Wounded in Iraq: 31,527 antiwar.com/casualties

Iraqi Dead Since 2003: 93,614 -102,141 iraqbodycount.org

Cost of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: $924,768,000,000+ costofwar.com

National Debt: $11,907,550,311,644.00 brillig.com/debt_clock

U.S. Trade Deficit: $533,211,000,000+
americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp