pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 40 No. 24 June 10-16, 2016
The dish on Front Street Café and Prohibition Taproom
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Pride preview with Deborah Cox
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Casey vows support of Equality Act
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Three LGBT authors coming to town this weekend
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Pride returns to Philly with larger parade
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Pair accused in Maya Young murder to stand trial
By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com The 28th-annual Philadelphia Pride will have its largest parade yet. There will be 75 groups marching, up from 61 last year. Up to 5,000 people will march in the parade that starts in the Gayborhood and makes its way over Seventh, down Market and over Front streets before ending at Penn’s Landing. The parade starts at 11:30 a.m. June 12 and reaches the festival grounds around 1:30 p.m., where 165 tables will be set up to help people link with programs and services. The theme for this year’s Pride is “Are You Connected?” “It’s supposed to be a loaded question,” said Franny Price, executive director of Philly Pride Presents. “Our Pride event is a networking day.” LGBT city employees will serve as grand marshals of the parade. After a petition last month, the Greater Philadelphia Gay Officer Action League for LGBT law-enforcement officials and emergency responders withdrew as co-grand marshals. Pride programs will still list both as marshals because it would’ve cost $7,000 to reprint them, Price said. Deborah Cox, known for her R&B hit “Nobody’s Supposed to be Here,” will headline Pride. It costs $15 to attend, or $10 for anyone who gets a wristband at the Pride Kickoff Block Party in the Gayborhood from 6-11 p.m. June 10. The party includes a mechanical shark and a rock wall, in addition to dance parties at Woody’s, Tabu and ICandy. Chuck Volz, senior advisor to Philly Pride Presents, described the day as a “whirlwind of action.” He gets up at 5 a.m. to put up signs, then hops in a golf cart to start selling wristbands to people along Second and Market streets. “It’s like hosting a wedding,” Volz said. “You plan and plan and the day of the event, it’s over before you know it. It’s really fun.” For more information, visit www. phillygaypride.org. n
Film of N.J. couple: “Love Wins”
By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com
FESTIVE IN PHOENIXVILLE: Hundreds gathered June 4 for Chester County Pride Fest at Reeves Park in Phoenixville. It was the county’s first Pride festival in more than a decade and featured dozens of vendors, live entertainment, games and food. Sunday included a Pride gala at Spring Hollow Golf Club. For more coverage, see page 24. Photo: Scott A. Drake
New state guidelines recognize lesbian couples on birth certificates By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com The state Department of Health has issued new guidelines that allow two wives to be listed as parents on the birth certificate of their child without getting a court order to do so. The guidelines, which were issued May 31, have been conveyed electronically to hundreds of hospitals throughout the state. The guidelines specify that women who are married prior to the birth of their child may have both of their names appear on the child’s birth certificate, as long as one of the women gave birth. Molly Tack-Hooper, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, applauded the new guidelines. “Hopefully this official guidance will give many LGBT parents peace of mind they didn’t necessarily have before this,” she said. “Gender is no longer part of the equation as far as what you have to do to have your name appear on your child’s birth certificate.” Prior to the new guidelines, many
Pennsylvania hospitals weren’t clear on whether two married women had a right to have their names appear on their child’s birth certificate when one of them gave birth, she noted. “We’ve been in discussions with the state about enacting new guidelines since Pennsylvania became a marriage-equality state in 2014,” Tack-Hooper explained. The guidelines don’t make any changes for parents who use a gestational carrier, including gay-male couples. The nonbiological parent in a gay-male marriage must still obtain a court order to have his name appear on his child’s birth certificate, the guidelines state. “Male-parenting couples have to do the same thing now that they had to do before marriage equality because they’re using a gestational carrier, and that changes the equation,” Tack-Hooper explained. She noted that simply having your name listed as a parent on a birth certificate doesn’t ensure that your rights as a parent will be fully protected. “Until the law in this area is more setPAGE 12 tled, family lawyers
The fatal February stabbing of transgender woman Maya Young in Frankford stemmed from an argument over a man, according to the summary of a statement that defendant Jose Pena gave to investigators. Pena’s codefendant, Tiffany Floyd, told investigators that she felt Young had used “voodoo” to “cast a spell” on her boyfriend, according to her lawyers. Both Pena, 19, and Floyd, 25, will face trial on charges of murder, conspiracy and related offenses. Judge Teresa Carr Deni held them for court after an hour-long preliminary hearing June 7. Philadelphia Homicide Det. James Pitts was the only witness. He read summaries of both defendants’ JOSE PENA statements into the record. Investigators have about 24 hours of footage with Pena and about three hours w i t h F l oy d , s a i d Assistant District Attorney Chelsea Lightsey. Lawyers for both defendants have not seen all the footage. They will TIFFANY FLOYD be able to review it during discovery before the trial gets underway. Pena and Floyd appeared in court separately to hear evidence against them. Both stared at the table and didn’t speak during the hearings. They were denied bail and remain in custody until their next court date June 28. Pena is in Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, while Floyd is in Riverside Correctional PAGE 42