pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976 COLOURS names new executive director
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Vol. 41 No. 24 June 16-22, 2017 Central PA history project is one for the books PAGE 27
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
William Way to connect refugees, immigrants with LGBT resources
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Tribe of Fools goes to summer “school” PAGE 69
“R” as in Rough Night PAGE 78
City unveils new rainbow flag symbolizing racial diversity By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com
STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY: GALAEI Executive Director Nikki López (left) speaks to guests at a community memorial June 12 to honor the victims of the Pulse shooting in Orlando. The event, held on the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, included a reading of the names of the 49 victims, most of whom were LGBT Latinx community members, followed by 49 seconds of silence. Participants enjoyed barbecue inside and outside GALAEI’s North Philly headquarters. Photo: Scott A. Drake
City Council advances bill to ban conversion therapy By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com A committee of Philadelphia City Council took a step Monday to make the city the second in Pennsylvania to ban conversion therapy for youth. The Committee on Public Health and Human Services unanimously approved Councilman Mark Squilla’s legislation and sent it to the full Council. The body could consider the bill at its June 15 session, though it wasn’t listed on the agenda as of presstime. The bill would prohibit mental-health providers in the city from efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of clients under age 18. The controversial practice has been banned in eight states and nearly two-dozen cities; Pittsburgh became the first in Pennsylvania to prohibit conversion therapy last year. “We need to stop treating the LGBTQ community as having an illness and understand that we are all human beings and
should be treated equally,” Squilla told PGN after the vote. Committee members Cindy Bass, Bill Greenlee, Derek Green and Al Taubenberger all voted in favor of the measure after hearing from three witnesses backing the bill. Director of LGBT Affairs Amber Hikes outlined the range of opposition to conversion therapy, from legislative efforts at municipal and state levels to position statements from all leading mental-health agencies in the nation. “This archaic form of treatment is based on the abhorrent idealogy that same-sex attraction and behavior is a chosen abnormality and is inherently wrong,” Hikes testified. She noted research that has found significant risk for depression, suicidality and substance abuse among individuals who have been exposed to conversion therapy. “After 40 years of this harmful practice, there remains no evidence that efforts to PAGE 13 alter sexual orientation
More than 200 people were in attendance last Thursday to celebrate the unveiling and raising of a new rainbow flag at the north apron of City Hall. The flag includes the addition of black and brown stripes to symbolize the racial diversity of the LGBT community. Director of LGBT Affairs Amber Hikes confirmed the addition of the black and brown stripes to PGN earlier last week. Philadelphia-based advertising agency Tierney created the new flag to celebrate “More Color More Pride.” The agency and the Office of LGBT Affairs developed a website (morecolormorepride. com) where individuals can download the flag for free and add the artwork to items such as T-shirts and posters. At the flag-raising ceremony, Hikes led a moment of silence for Gilbert Baker, the creator of the six-color rainbow flag, who died in March. “When [Baker] described the flag, he talked about this iconic image and he talked about the transient nature of it. I’ve PAGE 13 always been struck by
DIRECTOR OF LGBT AFFAIRS AMBER HIKES LEADS THE JUNE 8 FLAG-RAISING CEREMONY FOR THE CITY’S NEW RAINBOW FLAG, WHICH FEATURES BLACK AND BROWN STRIPES Photo: Scott A. Drake
Philly gears up for Pride weekend By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The 29th-annual Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival return to Philly this weekend, a week later than normal. Philly Pride Presents originally scheduled the event for June 11 but pushed it back to June 18 so it would not conflict with the national March for Equality and Unity in Washington, D.C. Philly Pride Presents Executive Director Franny Price said she doesn’t anticipate this new date will affect event attendance. This year, Philly Pride Presents collaborated with William Way LGBT Community Center, Lez Run Running Club and Out Philadelphia Athletic League to create a 1.5mile fun run to kick off the parade. The soldout Pride Run will have 260 participants run from Camac and Locust streets through the Gayborhood and past Independence Mall,
en route to Penn’s Landing. The run serves as a precursor for the Philly Pride 5K Race planned for 2018. “I think it will enthuse them [for the 5K Race],” Price said. “The first [event] is always an advertisement — a teaser — of what it can be.” The parade will include grand marshals whom Price called “very prestigious to all of us.” This group includes Henry Sias and the Mazzoni Center front-line staff. Sias ran for a seat on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and was set to become the nation’s first out trans male judge. While he did not get one of the nine spots in May’s primary, Price told PGN in May that he deserved recognition regardless of the election outcome. Meanwhile, more than 50 Mazzoni frontline staff members will participate. These members staged a walkout in April calling for PAGE 17 then-CEO Nurit Shein’s