Family Portrait: Pandora Scooter speaks out for youth PAGE 29
School district called out for hosting Scout recruitment rallies PAGE 5
Kaki King to light up World Cafe Live
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Winter 2015 Youth Supplement PAGES 17-24
Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2015
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 39 No. 5
Locals launch push for nondiscrimination
Advocacy groups support trans litigant By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Six LGBT-advocacy groups have submitted an amicus brief in support of trans woman Kate L. Blatt’s attempt to assert workplace anti-bias claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The groups are Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Mazzoni Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, National LGBTQ Task Force and Transgender Law Center. Blatt is suing for job discrimination in federal court. Part of her lawsuit contends that Congress acted unconstitutionally in 1989 when it excluded gender-identity disorder from ADA coverage. The ADA protects disabled individuals from discrimination in private employment, public accommodations and governmental services. Blatt worked as a seasonal stocker at Cabela’s Retail Inc. from September 2006 to March 2007. Cabela’s banned her from a female restroom, thus discriminating against her on the basis of her disability, Blatt alleges. PAGE 16 But Cabela’s contends
By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com
SAMPLING THE SELECTIONS: Birchtree Catering, LLC, staffer Jamie Inman (left) and co-owner Rasa Stirbys Benefico share samples of their products with guests at the Marriage Equality Wedding Expo Jan. 25 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Hundreds turned out for the event, which featured more than 50 wedding-related vendors, including photographers, venues, hotels, bakeries, florists, DJs, officiants and more. Two lucky couples were selected for a seven-night honeymoon package prize. This was the first same-sex wedding event ever held at the Convention Center. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Lesbian couple alleges assault at University City bar By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com A local lesbian couple alleges they were assaulted by a security guard at a bar in University City earlier this month. Amber Walker and Khadijah Brown, both 21, were having drinks at the Landmark Americana bar and restaurant at 33rd and Market streets in the early-morning hours of Jan. 16. The couple was in the ladies’ restroom when they say a male security guard came in and told them they had to leave. “We thought the club was closing,” said Walker. “It was towards the end of the night.” But when Walker and Brown walked out of the restroom, it was clear that the bar was still open. “Everyone was still there,” Walker said. The couple says they were followed very closely by the security guard as he escorted them to the front door. “He would not even let us put our jackets on,” said Walker. “It was freezing out.” That’s when, Walker said, the security PAGE 15
MORNING MOBILIZATION: Equality Pennsylvania executive director Ted Martin (standing, center) speaks with Gov. Tom Wolf about the need for LGBT nondiscrimination legislation at a business networking breakfast Wednesday morning in Harrisburg. Wolf said at the meeting that he is eager to sign such a bill. The event was part of the organization’s Campaign for Fairness, a push to pass the long-stalled LGBT nondiscrimination bill, and part of the national effort #DiscriminationExists, to raise awareness about the need for such measures. Photo: Equality PA
In an effort to combat the reality that in Pennsylvania and many other states, LGBT people are not protected from discrimination, Equality Pennsylvania, along with LGBT groups from around the country, has launched a week-long education campaign to highlight these glaring legal loopholes. Nationally, the campaign will be known as #DiscriminationExists and center around the fact that, despite recent victories in marriage equality, many states still need to update their laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Locally, Equality PA launched the Campaign for Fairness Tuesday to raise awareness that Pennsylvania’s nondiscrimination law does not include protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A press conference to announce the effort at the National Constitution Center was cancelled because of this week’s threat of snow. Campaign organizers hosted a press event Tuesday afternoon in Scranton focusing on the efforts small business owners planned to undertake this year to get a nondiscrimination bill passed and a business networking breakfast in Harrisburg on Wednesday. Gov. Tom Wolf attended the breakfast, calling for lawmakers to bring the legislation up for a vote and pledging to sign it if it reached his desk. A prayer breakfast for nondiscrimination is scheduled for Monday in Pittsburgh. “Really and truly the campaign for fairness has been going on for a while,” said Equality PA executive director Ted Martin. “We have been working hard to educate the public and elected officials on where Pennsylvania stands. This week marks the renewal of our efforts in 2015.” Martin noted that his organization had signed up 400 small businesses and 700 clergy to demonstrate their support for including LGBT people in the state’s nondiscrimination law. “We are making sure the public is aware of the issue,” said Martin. “The problem is many people think it is PAGE 15