pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 30 July 27 - Aug. 2, 2018
LGBT-owned business recognized for work with elderly and disabled
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Family Portrait:
Matthew Rowe lifeguards the Boys of Summer
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HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Trans Wellness Conference ready for 17th year PAGE 5 6 PAGE
Joseph Cavalieri is in a glass of his own
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PA Sen. to introduce bill banning gay- and trans-panic defenses By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED: Philadelphia FIGHT unveiled its new Critical Path Learning Center with food, drink and hands-on involvement during an open house July 19 at the site of the former AIDS Library. Once a space crowded with books, medical journals and other materials, the library donated most of its contents to the William Way LGBT Community Center Archives and the Temple University Archives. The newly converted space now accommodates more visitors and is available for job searching, resume writing and GED testing. Photo: Scott A. Drake
State Sen. Lawrence M. Farnese Jr. (D-Philadelphia) said he will introduce legislation aimed at ending the use of gay panic and trans-panic defenses in homicide trials in Pennsylvania. The actual language of the proposed legislation hasn’t been finalized. But on July 17, Farnese issued a memo to his fellow state senators urging them to support the proposal, adding that he expects to introduce the bill within the next several weeks. The American Bar Association passed a resolution urging states to limit the use of gay- and trans-panic defenses in 2013.
City urges appeals court to reject CSS foster referrals By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com City attorneys this week urged the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to reject a request from Catholic Social Services to resume referring foster children to the agency. CSS claims its foster-care program, which now cares for 100 children, is in danger of closing if the appeals court doesn’t order an immediate resumption
of foster-child referrals to the agency. The city suspended the referrals in March after learning that CSS won’t certify same-sex couples as foster parents. U.S. District Judge Petrese B. Tucker declined CSS’ July 13 request to issue an injunction that would have required the city to refer foster children to CSS. The judge also rejected CSS’ claims that its constitutional rights were being violated. Three days after Tucker’s ruling, CSS
submitted a 42-page document asking the Third Circuit to issue an emergency order for resumption of the referrals. In its July 23 response, city attorneys emphasized that foster-care services must be provided in an unbiased manner in accordance with the law. “CSS is not entitled to insist that it be permitted to impose its religious beliefs upon — or discriminate against — foster PAGE 16 parents who are com-
Bethlehem bans conversion therapy By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com The Lehigh Valley municipality of Bethlehem became the seventh in the state to ban conversion therapy in a unanimous City Council vote of 6-0. Councilmembers Bryan Callahan and Shawn Martell sponsored the Appropriate Mental Health Services ordinance, which bans conversion therapy on minors within the city. The measure passed on July 17. Conversion therapy is not actively happening in Bethlehem, and councilmembers said the ordinance ensures that it never will.
“We didn’t want this happening anywhere near Bethlehem,” said Martell, adding that “there is no scientific evidence suggesting that conversion therapy is helpful in any way. In fact, all of the evidence suggests that it’s harmful to youth in terms of depression and anxiety rates, as well suicide rates going up for youths that have to be subjected to this type of therapy.” Kids have to figure out who they are and come into their own, added the councilmember. “Anyone who tells a child that there’s something wrong about them because of who they are, that’s shameful to me.” Allentown, Reading, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Doylestown, PAGE 16 State College already banned conversion-ther-
Although there is no defined version of either term in any Pennsylvania statute, some homicide defendants in Pennsylvania have cited a victim’s LGBT status in an effort to lessen their criminal penalties. “We are examining model language from the American Bar Association along with language used in other states that have passed similar legislation,” Farnese told PGN. “It is unconscionable that Pennsylvania permits the use of gayand trans-panic FARNESE defenses in murder cases involving LGBTQ individuals,” he added. “These are hate crimes and defendants should not be able to employ gay or trans panic as a justification for criminal activity.” Farnese said the use of such defenses increases negative stereotypes of the LGBT community. “When invoking such a defense, it suggests that the victim’s [sexual] advances were more aggressive because of their sexual orientation, further engendering more negatives stereotypes and playing to the jurors’ biases. “There is simply no justification for allowing a defendant to blame an individual’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender for a lethal attack.” Farnese said he’s concerned that antiLGBT hate crimes are on the rise. “In a time when we see an increase in hate crimes, particularly against the LGBT community, we should be looking for ways to ensure that irrationals fears, hatred and bigotry as a defense for why a crime was committed aren’t permissible.” Several states have taken legislative action to limit or prohibit the use of gay- and transpanic defenses, including Rhode Island, California and Illinois. Earlier this month, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. PAGE 16 Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.)