pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 6
• Craigslist case brings jail time • Antibias complaint settled PAGE 2
Feb. 10-16, 2017
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
PGN Love & Lust: • Marry Me Philadelphia couples • ‘Skate Pride Love’
• IBA, Borgata Valentine’s contest • Arts for Valentine’s Day • Andrew Christian: sex, power, freedom
PAGES 14-15
Hate-crimes bill to be reintro’d in PA House By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
TARGET ON TOOMEY: Several-hundred people assembled outside of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s Center City office during Tuesday’s lunch hour for the now-weekly “Tuesdays with Toomey” demonstrations. The protests have been gaining steam and numbers in recent weeks as more residents turned out to voice opposition to President Trump’s cabinet picks and other issues. As protesters assembled, Toomey was in Washington, D.C., voting to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, despite a sharp outcry from constituents who flooded Toomey’s office with phone calls, emails and faxes. “Tuesdays with Toomey” will next be held at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at 1600 JFK Blvd. Photo: Scott A. Drake
A state representative this week will reintroduce an LGBT-inclusive bill protecting Pennsylvanians from hate crimes. State Rep. Kevin Boyle said he will submit the bill to the House of Representatives, which will be referred to the Judiciary Committee. This bill will amend the state’s existing hate-crime law to extend protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. As of presstime, the bill has 37 cosponsors. State law currently defines a hate crime as one motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion or national origin; Boyle’s bill would also expand protections to include ancestry and disabilities, in addition to LGBT protections. Boyle referred to a New York Times report that found the disproportionate effect of hate crimes on LGBT people. “If we’re going to have a hate-crimes statute on the books, I certainly believe
the group that is most susceptible to be targeted because of their identity should be protected under the law,” Boyle told PGN. The Pennsylvania legislature added sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s hate-crimes law in 2002, but that measure was later overturned by the judiciary on a procedural technicality. Boyle’s brother, former state Rep. Brendan Boyle, who now serves in the U.S. Congress, moved his version of the bill forward through a successful committee vote in 2014 but it stalled before being brought to the floor. Boyle reintroduced it in 2015 but it died in committee. To move forward with this latest incarnation of the bill, Boyle encouraged supporters to put pressure on Rep. Mike Turzai, speaker for Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives. Boyle said Turzai has been hesitant to bring the legislation forward because of the speaker’s conservative followers within the Tea Party. “It’s really a matter of constituents — and not just in my district but PAGE 16
Organizers considering rescheduling Philly Pride
Reports: Nellie Fitzpatrick to depart post After two years at the helm of the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs, Nellie Fitzpatrick may be stepping down. Fitzpatrick did not respond to repeated requests for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Mayor Jim Kenney, but a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to PGN the identities of several individuals who had interviewed with the mayor for the position. Interviews started in early January, according to the source. It is unclear what prompted Fitzpatrick’s potential departure. She had been the target of criticism from some members of the LGBT community in recent months, particularly the Black & Brown Workers Collective, which contended her response to allegations of racism in the community was ineffective. The group had been calling for her resignation
since the fall, a demand that was met by several statements of support for Fitzpatrick from Kenney. Also in the fall, Kenney’s office announced the formation of the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs. The selected members were expected to be chosen by the end of 2016, but the final panel has yet to be publicly announced. Previous administrations have utilized LGBT-advisory bodies, but this new commission will be the first established after the Office of LGBT Affairs became a permanent part of government; city voters approved that move in a ballot initiative in the fall of 2015. Fitzpatrick was appointed to the position by outgoing Mayor Michael Nutter after the death of inaugural director Gloria Casarez in October 2014. n — Jen Colletta
By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
TAKING ACTION: Members of The Attic Youth Center marked National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Tuesday with an LGBTQ Youth Town Hall Meeting. The youth-led event was organized by the center’s MPowerment internship program and let local teens and young adults explore the issues impacting black and brown LGBT youth. Conversations centered on such topics as the fight against HIV, shade culture, mental health and peer mentoring, among others. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Philly Pride Presents is looking into changing the date for its upcoming Pride Parade and Festival. This potential change comes as the result of the National Pride March being held the same weekend in Washington, D.C. The National Pride March began as an event on Facebook and grew to have more than 30,000 confirmed guests and more than 107,000 designated as “interested.” However, a number of Pride organizations have expressed concerns regarding the march being held June 11, the PAGE 16 same date as