Consciousness raising
Family Portrait: Tenika Watson PAGE 25
Black Gay Pride expands entertainment and educational event calendar
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April 22-28, 2011
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Vol. 35 No. 16
Night court coming to ’hood By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com People accused of committing minor crimes in the Gayborhood may soon be required to pay restitution not in monetary fines, but rather through community-service hours served directly in the neighborhood. During the Police Liaison Committee last Thursday, 6th District Officer Joe Ferrero unveiled a proposed plan by out Court of Common Pleas Judge Dan Anders for the launch of a night-court system in the Washington Square West neighborhood. According to Ferrero, Anders, who is on vacation and could not be reached for comment, would serve as judge for the court, which would be open from 1-4 a.m. on certain days. Those accused of summary offenses, such as prostitution-related crimes, would come before Anders and be sentenced to community service at 501 (c)(3) nonprofits that operate out of the Gayborhood. Anders currently presides over a night court in the 17th District once a month. Franny Price, chair of the committee, which works to develop relations between the police and the LGBT community, said the community-service PAGE 20
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
OPEN SEASON: Chuck Volz threw out the first pitch to kick off the City of Brotherly Love Softball League season April 17 in Fairmount Park. About 250 CBLSL members and supporters turned out to watch the 35 teams compete in the first day of games, which came after the strong rainstorms on Saturday. Commissioner Bob Lenehan said he and other organizers were out at the fields at 6 a.m. Sunday shoveling the diamonds and laying down new sand. “It was a little muddy still for the first games but, once the wind got going, things started drying out and everything turned out fine,” he said. Games will be played on Sundays through the summer at Dairy Fields in Fairmount Park. Photo: Brandi Fitzgerald
Congress sees LGBT-rights bills By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
FINAL FIVE: Finalists in the Philadelphia Mr. Gay competition — Rocco DeFinis (from left), Colton Walden, Matt Hew, Dashiell Sears and Jerry Nguyen — lined up April 16 at Voyeur to be interviewed by host Frank DeCaro. Sears, an out Temple University gymnast, was crowned the winner, getting a strong reaction from the crowd of 250 as he displayed his gymnastics skills for the talent portion. Sears will represent Philadelphia in the U.S. Mr. Gay competition in the fall. Photo: Karen Cornell
Indictment in Clementi case
Two pieces of legislation to bolster rights for LGBT individuals were reintroduced to Congress last week. The Senate saw the submission of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act Thursday, the same day that an immigration-rights bill was filed in both chambers of Congress. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) reintroduced the Senate version of ENDA along with 39 cosponsors, a week after out Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) submitted his version of the measure. ENDA would extend federal employment discrimination protections to include sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity. Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey signed on to the bill. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) submitted the Uniting American Families along with 100 cosponsors, while Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) companion bill had 18. UAFA would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow LGBT Americans to sponsor a foreign-born permanent partner for immigration to the United States, a right currently only given to heterosexual married couples. Samesex couples who are legally married in the United States are still ineligible for the marriage provision because the Defense of Marriage Act prePAGE 20
A grand jury in New Jersey this week indicted one of the former Rutgers University students implicated in the webcam scandal believed to have led to the suicide of gay teen Tyler Clementi. CLEMENTI M i d d l e s ex C o u n t y Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced Wednesday morning that a grand jury filed a 15-count indictment against Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, 19, including several bias charges. Ravi is accused of remotely activating his webcam from the dorm room of student Molly Wei to spy on Clementi having a sexual encounter with another man. The indictment said several students watched the encounter live on Wei’s computer, and PAGE 9
Delaware legalizes civil unions By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Delaware last week become the eighth state to legalize the extension of marriage rights, without the title, to same-sex couples. The Delaware House of Representatives on April 14 approved a civil-union measure, following the Senate’s approval the prior week. The bill is waiting to be signed by Gov. Jack Markell, a strong LGBTrights supporter who is expected to sign it in the next few weeks. Civil unions will begin in the state at the beginning of next year. Unlike some states that undergo yearslong efforts to achieve passage of an LGBT relationship-recognition measure, this was the first time such a bill was introduced in the Delaware legislature. Sen. David Sokolo and Rep. Melanie George submitted the measure in their PAGE 17 respective chambers