Bringing mainstream gay “Out in the Open” to non-gays
Family Portrait: Harry Giordano
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Penn Law hosts first LGBT rights symposium
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Jan. 25-31, 2013
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Vol. 37 No. 4
Inauguration Day historic for LGBTs, local musicians By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com President Obama started his second term this week with a renewed — and historic — pledge to fight for LGBT rights. In his inaugural address Monday before a sea of about 700,000 people on the National Mall, Obama stressed that LGBT rights would be a priority of his next four years, marking the first time LGBT rights have ever been explicitly referenced in a presidential inaugural speech. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” the president said to loud applause. He went on to call for equal rights for women, minorities and immigrants and also likened the LGBT-rights movement to other civil-rights struggles — on a day that the country also honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung
and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone, to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth,” Obama said. Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin hailed the history-making moment of the address. “By lifting up the lives of LGBT families for the very first time in an inaugural address, President Obama sent a clear message to LGBT young people from the Gulf Coast to the Rocky Mountains that this country’s leaders will fight for them until equality is the law of the land,” Griffin said. “The president’s unequivocal support for equality is a clarion call that all Americans should receive with celebration.” Members of the Philadelphia Freedom Band who participated in the Inaugural Parade got an almost-firsthand witness of the address. Band president Patti Calandra said the 11 local members who marched and performed with the Lesbian and Gay Band Association — which brought a total of 215 members from across the country to participate in the parade — were waiting on a bus for one of the many security checkpoints at the Pentagon during the speech.
“While we were waiting, they put the address on the radio on the bus. We were all of course listening very closely and when he mentioned the gay community, calling us out by name, we were just cheering,” she
said. “You could look back at the other busses behind us and knew that the same thing was happening with them. It was a little strange to think we were there for the event PAGE 15 yet listening to it on the
Bullying bill gets double the support
William Way meets year-end fundraising goal
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com After a challenging fiscal year that ended Oct. 1, the William Way LGBT Community Center finished out the calendar year on a fundraising high note. At its annual meeting Jan. 18, center officials reviewed a number of pieces of positive financial and programmatic items, including that the center met its year-end fundraising goal of $80,000. Executive director Chris Bartlett attributed the success to the work of board members, volunteers, community partners and patrons. According to Bartlett, the center puts together PAGE 6
BANDING TOGETHER: More than 200 members of the Lesbian & Gay Band Association, including 11 members of the Philadelphia Freedom Band, participated in President Obama’s Inaugural Parade Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C. Obama made several references to the LGBT community in his inaugural address, marking a first. Photo: Associated Press/Alex Brandon
OUT IN OFFICE: State Rep. Brian Sims (D182nd Dist., left) was ceremonially sworn into office by the state’s first openly gay man on the bench, Court of Common Pleas Judge Dan Anders, at a Jan. 17 ceremony at City Hall. Sims, the first out candidate elected to the state legislature, officially took office Dec. 1, but the local ceremony allowed for remarks by about 10 community, city and state leaders, as well as a community reception. Photo: Scott A. Drake
An LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying bill was introduced in the state House of Representatives this week with twice the number of cosponsors as last session’s inaugural measure. R e p . D a n T r u i t t ( R156th Dist.) introduced the Pennsylvania Safe Schools Act Jan. 23 with 62 cosponsors, compared to 31 on the original bill. The bill has overwhelming bipartisan support, with 34 Republican signatories. The measure was drafted and spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition, which represents LGBT and ally students across the state.
PSEC executive director Jason Landau Goodman said “youth across the state have consistently met with representatives and been in Harrisburg as often as possible to support this critical legislation to protect all students.” The legislation would require all school districts in the state to develop comprehensive antibullying policies that include procedures for reporting bullying and training for school employees. The bill’s definition of bullying includes conduct motivated by a victim’s perceived or actual sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as other factors such as race, color and religion. It includes actions that threaten a student’s person or
property, have a negative impact on the individual’s physical or mental health or interfere with a student’s ability to participate in school services, activities or privileges. It also extends the definition to cyberbullying. The measure mandates the Department of Education create an online portal to allow school officials to report incidents, and then provide periodic reports on each school’s incidents. The bill was referred to the Education Committee, on which Truitt sits. Cosponsor Rep. James Roebuck (D-188th Dist.) is the minority chair of the committee. The legislation was first introduced in the fall and died in committee. ■