Honesty Integrity Professionalism
Mar. 20 - 26, 2009
Gay man gets life in pornmurder trial
See VERDICT, Page 16
By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer PRIDE ON PARADE: Franny Price (third from left), president of Philly Pride Presents; Steve Glassman (center), chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; and Chuck Volz (third from right), Philly Pride Presents senior adviser, lead guests of the Northeast Regional Pride Conference on a “Rocky” run up the steps of the Art Museum March 14. NERP brought together about 90 gay-pride coordinators from the northeastern section of the country for a weekend of networking, workshops and social outings. Mayor Nutter welcomed NERP attendees to the city on Friday, after which they had the chance to go on VIP tours of the City Hall Tower. Prior to the Art Museum stop, the visitors took part in a series of pride workshops at the William Way LGBT Community Center, went on a gay-history tour of the city and stopped in South Philly for the obligatory cheesesteak before the conference wrapped up with a banquet at the National Liberty Museum later that night. “I think it was very successful,” Price said. “Everything from the welcome at City Hall to the tours to the banquet dinner was just wonderful.” Photo: Scott A. Drake
When other household members and children are included, the number of lowincome same-sex female couples jumps to 22.2 percent, while 20.9 percent of married opposite-sex couples and 14.2 percent of gay-male couples would be considered low-income. M.V. Lee Badgett, a Williams Institute researcher who worked on the study, said several factors could be influencing the higher rates of poverty among lesbians. “The first is gender; two, women’s incomes are on average lower than two males or a male and a female added together, so I think that’s a big piece out of it,” Badgett said. “And the other reasons are a little more speculative, such as the possibility of being hurt by not having access to marriage, being vulnerable to employment discrimination, the possibility of losing a job or not getting health insurance for your family.” There were also stark differences along racial lines. About 21.1 percent of AfricanAmerican same-sex female couples are
About 250 people gathered at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg March 17 to show their support for HB 300, legislation that would ban discrimination against LGBT individuals in Pennsylvania. The “Rock the Dome” rally and lobbying day, sponsored by the Value All Families Coalition, drew a barrage of LGBT and ally supporters from around the state, as well as several lawmakers who are backing the bill. HB 300, which was voted out of the House State Government Committee March 11, would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations. Buses carrying about 100 LGBT and ally individuals departed Philadelphia at about 9 a.m. March 17 and met the 150 people who had boarded buses from Pittsburgh at 11 a.m. at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Harrisburg. Jake Kaskey, policy and outreach coordinator at Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, said the participants had lunch together and then attended a training session on how to most effectively lobby for HB 300 before heading to the Rotunda for the rally. Rally speakers included Pennsylvania Reps. Dan Frankel (D-23rd Dist.), Babette Josephs (D-182nd Dist.), Ron Waters (D-191st Dist.), Tony Payton (D-179th Dist.), Peter Daley (D49th Dist.) and Cherelle Parker (D-200th Dist.); Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17th Dist.); openly gay Harrisburg City Councilman Dan Miller; the Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church; Steve Glassman, chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; Diane Topakian, political programs coordinator of the Service Employees International Union Pennsylvania State Council; Andy Hoover, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania; and Kaskey. “I think the rally was very wonderful, very positive,” said the Rev. Jeffrey Jordan of the
See POVERTY, Page 15
See RALLY, Page 16
Study finds poverty highest among lesbians By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer A report being released today found that lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans struggle with poverty just as much as, if not more than, heterosexuals. The Williams Institute’s “Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community” revealed that all factions of the LGB community face financial hardships, with lesbians and African Americans experiencing poverty at much higher rates than other communities. The U.S. Census Bureau analyzes rates of poverty along numerous lines, such as race, age and sex, but doesn’t include statistics about the LGB community, one of the main motivating factors for the Williams Institute, which conducts research on an array of LGBT issues. Researchers gathered information from the 2000 U.S. Census, the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth and the 2003 and 2005 California Health Interview Surveys to analyze LGB poverty, using the federal poverty standard as a guide. The study found that, among
Vol. 33 No. 12
Advocates rally for equality in Harrisburg
By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer A jury in Luzerne County found Harlow Cuadra guilty last week in the stabbing death of a Pennsylvania gay-porn producer and a judge sentenced him this week to two consecutive life terms. Cuadra, 27, was accused of killing Cobra Video owner Bryan Kocis, 44. Cuadra’s former partner, Joseph Kerekes, 35, was also implicated in the murder but pleaded guilty in December and is serving a life sentence. Firefighters found Kocis’ body Jan. 24, 2007, after Cuadra and Kerekes stabbed him nearly 30 times and set his Dallas Township house on fire. After 12 days of testimony, the jury of eight men and four women deliberated for three-anda-half hours March 12 before returning their verdict that Cuadra was guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, two counts of arson, robbery, theft, tampering with evidence, abuse of corpse and four other conspiracy charges.
us lo bu 27 Fa e & g t pa Fi – t r es eve gg bi tion ur c O se
Philadelphia Gay News
heterosexual and LGB men and women age 18-44, women — in particular those who identify as lesbian or bisexual — experience much higher poverty rates than males. The study found that approximately 24 percent of lesbians and bisexual women are poor, while 19 percent of heterosexual women experience poverty. About 15 percent of gay and bisexual men fall below the poverty line, compared to 13 percent of heterosexual males. Lesbian couples also face poverty at a higher rate than heterosexual married couples or gay-male couples, with 6.9 percent of lesbian couples falling below the poverty line, compared with 5.4 percent of opposite-sex couples and 4 percent of gay-male couples. Similar proportions of same-sex female couples and heterosexual married couples are considered low-income — having an income that is 200 percent or less than the federal-poverty line — with 17.7 percent of married couples and 17.4 percent of lesbian and bisexual female couples falling into this category. About 11 percent of gay-male couples are low-income.