What’s cookin’ in Las Vegas?
Attic art at William Way
Family Portrait: Terri Cotto
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July 20-26, 2012
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Vol. 36 No. 29
Locals mobilize to D.C. for AIDS conference By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com After more than a two-decade absence, the International AIDS Conference will return to the United States next week. Up to 25,000 people from around the globe will converge on Washington, D.C., July 22-27 to discuss the latest developments in all fronts in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The conference was last held in the United States, in San Francisco, in 1990 but, three years later, the federal government enacted legislation to prevent travel into the country by HIV-positive individuals, making the U.S. an infeasible host. In 2010, however, that restriction was lifted by the Obama administration, paving PAGE 14
Scouts: Gay ban to stay in place By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The Boy Scouts of America this week reaffirmed their commitment to banning openly gay members. After a two-year review of its controversial policy, an internal BSA committee unanimously agreed that the regulation should remain in place. The 11-member committee of BSA volunteers and “professional leaders” was convened in 2010 at the behest of the agency’s president and Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca. The organization will not release the names of the committeemembers or details of its report. The agency said the panel was comprised of people with a “diversity of perspectives and opinions” and came to its conclusion after “forthright and candid conversation and extensive research and evaluations, both from within scouting and from outside the organization.” On account of the committee recommendation, the BSA has PAGE 20
DNC Chair: Marriage equality expected to be on platform By Sarah Blazucki PGN Editor Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives, told PGN this week that she expects marriage equality to be a plank of the party’s platform, which will be finalized at the Democratic National Convention Sept. 3-6 in Charlotte, N.C. PGN interviewed Wasserman Schultz, particularly about what LGBTs can expect from Democrats in the short and long term. PGN: President Obama has led his administration to undertake reforms that improve civil rights for LGBTs, including repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and not defending the Defense of Marriage Act. Can you tell me the specific efforts the DNC is embarking on to improve LGBT rights? DWS: Sure. I’m very proud to represent this president and talk about his commitment to making sure that there is equal opportunity and recognition under the law for all Americans. This is another chapter in our civil-rights history. And the quest that we should all be making a priority and that president Obama has: of ensuring that we have equal treatment under the law for all Americans. So whether it’s ensuring hospital visitation rights for LGBT Americans and their partners or repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” or refusing to continue to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court or ensur-
DNC CHAIR DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (RIGHT) WITH PGN EDITOR SARAH BLAZUCKI JULY 16 AT SHERATON CENTER CITY Photo: Scott A. Drake
ing the way we treat people’s foreign LGBT partners under immigration law is revised, that we make progress there. And all the way up to publicly declaring his support for marriage equality. President Obama has been committed throughout his presidency to try to make sure that no matter who you are, that the law is applied equally and that Americans are treated equally. PAGE 16
Man found murdered in former PGN building By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
PUB PARTY: The Gayborhood went from rainbow to pink last Saturday night with the Pink Pub Crawl. The outing, hosted twice a year by NightlifeGay. com, took pink-clad revelers throughout Gayborhood nightspots for drink specials and dancing at Stir, Tabu, Sisters and Voyeur. At the Sisters stop, partiers included Dan Villagrana (from left), Victoria Ayres, Megan Rok, Ruben Velazquez, Nellie Fitzpatrick and Trace Palmer. Photo: Scott A. Drake
There was a gruesome discovery in the Gayborhood this week. A landlord on Monday found the badly decomposing body of a man in a secondfloor apartment at 233 S. 13th St. The victim had been shot multiple times and appeared to have suffered blunt-force trauma to the head. The 30-year-old black male, who lived on Pine Street, has not yet been identified. It was originally reported that police were searching for a woman who rents the apartment, but police spokesperson Lt. Ray Evers said she is not the prime suspect. However, police are close to an arrest.
“Right now it’s not a who-done-it so much as we’re just putting the final pieces together to finish this up and make an arrest,” Evers said. “We have very, very good direction on this, and I expect an arrest any day.” Evers said the victim knew his attacker. “This was not someone who was a stranger to him,” he said. “For people who live in the neighborhood, there’s not someone who is going around killing people. The decedent definitely knew who killed him.” Evers did not provide details about the motive for the murder. He said there was no indication whether or not the victim was gay. Shell casings were found at the scene, as was a bloodied fire extinguisher that police believe was used to strike PAGE 20