A weekend in Bucks NHCP bridges gap Bucks County for history
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Bucks County Issue
Bucks County for family Day in the Life Of: Alex Fraser
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Rrazz Room dazzle Dario to rock the block Scene at The Raven
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Family Portrait: Sharon Fronabarger 55 Dining al fresco 57 May 16-22, 2014
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Vol. 38 No. 20
Waiting game begins in Whitewood
Village People to headline Pride Endorsements Governor Rob McCord Lt. Gov. Mike Stack
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By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
Congress Shaughnessy Naughton (Eighth Dist.) Daylin Leach (13th Dist.) State Senate Christine Tartaglione (Second Dist.) Brian Gralnick (Fourth Dist.)
The group that gave us “Y.M.C.A.” and “Macho Man” will headline this year’s Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival. The disco group Village People will take center stage at this year’s Pride. The group first hit the airwaves in 1978 with their hit “Macho Man” and became a household name with “Y.M.C.A.” The musical group — composed of Eric Anzalone, Felipe Rose, Jim Newman, Ray
Simpson, Bill Whitefield and Alex Briley — went on to become gay icons and “Y.M.C.A.” is now considered an anthem for the LGBT community. Philly Pride Presents president Franny Price said she tried to get theVillage People to Philly Pride in the past but the group was always unavailable. She said the group is one that all generations can enjoy. “These are people that everybody knows,” she said. “I don’t care how old PAGE 25 you are, how young you
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By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com
State House Kevin Boyle (172nd Dist.) Mike O’Brien (175th Dist.) James Clay (179th Dist.) James Roebuck (188th Dist.) Vanessa Lowery Brown (190th Dist.) Pamela DeLissio (194th Dist.) Mark Cohen (202nd Dist.) Brian Sims (182nd Dist.) and Mike Fleck (81st Dist.)* Neither candidate has a primary opponent, but both are out LGBT leaders and merit our endorsement.
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The countdown is now on for a judge to rule on a case that could bring Pennsylvania one large step closer to marriage equality. Monday was the filing deadline in Whitewood v. Wolfe, the first suit ever to challenge Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage. After more than 130 filings, the case is now in the hands of U.S. District Judge John E. Jones 3d, who will rule based on the briefs, as opposed to bringing the case to trial, which was originally intended. John Stapleton, of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, which represented the 25 plaintiffs with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said Jones could rule any day. “Essentially, the work of the attorneys is finished and it’s really in the judge’s hands now,” Stapleton said. “I wish I had a more precise answer about when. It could be any day versus sometime longer. That answer is up to the judge.” The plaintiffs argued that the state’s 1996 law defining marriage as between one man and one woman violates the constitutional equal-protection clause. Stapleton noted that attorneys argued that law is unconstitutional because it denies couples the right to marry in Pennsylvania, and also denies state rights and benefits to couples married legally outside of Pennsylvania. “We challenged both parts of the Pennsylvania DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act]. And if we’re successful on our claims, then both parts of the Pennsylvania DOMA will be stricken,” Stapleton said. He added that, if Jones rules in the plaintiffs’ favor, it will be up to the judge to decide if that ruling goes into effect immediately or not. It is unclear if Gov. Tom Corbett will immediately appeal a favorable ruling. Joshua Maus, of the Office of General Counsel, declined comment on that issue, other than to say the office is “awaiting Judge Jones’ ruling.” “They certainly have the right to file an appeal, like any party does, but we certainly PAGE 25 would argue strongly
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City Council Ed Neilson
Pols sound off on LGBT issues PGN reached out to all localCongressional candidates in contested races and conducted phone interviews with those who responded, as well as with lieutenant governor and City Council candidates. Candidates denoted with a * are endorsed by PGN.
CONGRESS 13th District Daylin Leach (D)* LEADING THE REVOLUTION: Elicia Gonzales (from left), executive director of GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization, presented Adam Hymans, donor engagement officer at The Philadelphia Foundation, his agency’s David Acosta Revolutionary Leader Organization Award and Diana Estefania Estrada Alamo the Youth DARLA at the agency’s May 9 25th-anniversary celebration at William Way LGBT Community Center. Louis Ortiz, GALAEI’s former youth program coordinator and current Mazzoni Center education director, received the DARLA. This was the first year the organization presented more than one award. Photo: Scott A. Drake
State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17th Dist.) hails from Northeast Philadelphia and said he has been advocating for LGBT rights since “before it was cool.” Leach was the first state lawmaker to introduce a measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania.
“I was watching a television program one night where they were highlighting states that had marriage equality and I noticed that Pennsylvania was in the wrong color, so I planned to introduce the bill in the Senate a few days later,” he said. “It was a very new idea and not so popular and when I introduced it, it received a lot of attention.” If elected to Congress, Leach said, he would support measures like the Respect for Marriage Act, Safe Schools Improvement Act and Employment Nondiscrimination Act, the state version of which he co-sponsors. “The fact that you can still be fired in the state — and not have PAGE 27-29 federal protec-