Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts is about to party like it’s 1999. And 1998, ’97, ’96 ... PAGE 25
Family Portrait: Gary Wallace
GLSEN survey shows PA LGBT students don’t feel safe at school
PAGE 29
PAGE 5
March 29 - April 4, 2013
Vol. 37 No. 13
LGBT-reform bill back with first-in-nation trans inclusion By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
MOTION FOR MANNA: Pennsylvania Ballet Company members Lillian Di Piazza (left) and Alexandra Hughes performed during the 21st annual “Shut Up & Dance” March 23 at Forrest Theatre. The one-night performance drew a crowd of 1,400 and raised $115,000 for Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance, which provides nutritional meals to people facing life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. “I think it went really, really well,” said MANNA events manager Rob Nonemacker, noting that the performance boasted more variety than ever before. “I heard nothing but positive things about it.” Photo: Scott A. Drake
MontCo to explore nondiscrimination law By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The chair of the Montgomery County Commissioners this week instructed the city’s attorney to investigate the legalities of the county adopting a county-wide LGBTinclusive nondiscrimination ordinance. Montgomery County is the third-most populous county in the state, with about 800,000 residents, and would be only the fourth county — of the state’s 67 — to adopt such a law. The most populous counties, Philadelphia and Allegheny, adopted such laws in 1982 and 2009. Erie County took on an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance in 2002.
Commissioner Josh Shapiro said county solicitor Ray McGarry is assembling a work group to explore the possibility of such an ordinance. Among the issues the group will consider, Shapiro said, is if the county — which is not a “home-rule” county — has the authority to adopt such a measure. “We’re governed by the second-class County Code, and that does not expressly say that we can do this, but it also doesn’t say we can’t,” Shapiro told PGN this week. “So we want to legally explore what we are permitted to do.” Shapiro said McGarry will tap “a group of people representing the cross-section of Montgomery County” for the group. PAGE 18
City Councilman Jim Kenney last week reintroduced a sweeping LGBT-reform bill — this time with a wealth of new transgender-inclusive provisions. Kenney submitted the legislation March 21, and it was referred to the Committee on Labor and Civil Service, which will hold a hearing on the bill next month. Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. is a cosponsor. Kenney originally introduced similar legislation in September to enhance the scope of the city’s domestic-partner registry.
The new bill, however, also incorporates transgender protections. The legislation mandates that any new building constructed by the city must include gender-neutral bathrooms and that gender-neutral bathrooms be established at current city properties when bathroom renovations are undertaken. One year from its passage, the legislation would require all new city forms to be gender-neutral, except under special circumstances, such as if the gender designations are required by state or federal law. The city’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which enforces the LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination law, would
be amended to specifically prohibit employers from failing to permit employees to dress in accordance with their gender identity. The public-accommodations section of the law would also be changed to ban entities from refusing or denying “any person access to any separategender bathroom where the person’s gender identity is consistent with the gender for which such bathroom is reserved.” “Life is hard for everybody and it’s harder for some people than others because of crazy restrictions placed on people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, which makes PAGE 2
Supreme Court hears landmark marriage cases By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com Thousands both rallied for and protested against same-sex marriage outside of the U.S. Supreme Court this week as the nation’s top court took on the highly anticipated and publicized Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage Act cases. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hollingsworth vs. Perry March 26 and Windsor vs. United States the following day, both of which could change the game for marriage equality in the U.S. Hollingsworth vs. Perry was filed by two same-sex couples who contend that Proposition 8, which overturned marriage equality in California, is unconstitutional. The court has a number of options in its ruling — including finding an intrinsic right for gays and lesbians to marry, overturning all state bans on marriage equality, limiting the ruling to California or dismissing it for a lack of standing. In a press conference after Tuesday’s hearing, Theodore Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, who represented the plaintiffs in the Prop. 8 case along with David Boies, said he was pleased with the court’s attention to the matter. “There was no attempt to defend the ban on gay and lesbian marriage, no indication of any harm,” he said. Plaintiff Kris Perry said she was ready for marriage equality to become a reality. “In this country as children, we learn that there is a founding principle that all men and women are created equally,” she said. “We want this founding principle.”
PHILLY DOES ITS PART: Two women donned red and pink jackets to voice their support for marriage equality March 25 at the James Byrne Federal Courthouse on Market Street. Despite freezing temps and a mix of snow and rain, about 250 people turned out for the rally, held on the eve of the two-day U.S. Supreme Court hearings on Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. More than 150 rallies were held in every state in the country in the past week, organized by United for Marriage: Light the Way to Justice. See more coverage, page 6. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Perry’s partner, Sandy Stier, called Prop. 8 “a discriminatory law that hurts people. It hurts gays and lesbians in California. It hurts the children we are raising.” During the arguments, both sides brought up a variety of questions, including procreation as the foundation of marriage, the historical evolution of same-sex couples and marriage equality’s impact on PAGE 14