pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 40 No. 31 July 29-Aug. 4, 2016
Michael Flynn takes us for a spin in the country-dancing PAGE 27 world
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
• Philly fundraiser generates $106K for Orlando victims
More than 1,000 counter-protestors meet hate with love outside Mazzoni Center
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LGBT issues take center stage at DNC By Jen Colletta and Paige Cooperstein jen@epgn.com, paige@epgn.com
Diversity and inclusion, especially for LGBT people, got top billing during the first half of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Hillary Clinton’s LGBT record — and Donald Trump’s anti-LGBT stances — were a frequent topic of on-stage conversation at Wells Fargo Center Monday and Tuesday nights. PGN goes to press
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay senator, read the tally of Wisconsin’s votes. North Carolina’s speakers said the state’s Democrats were committed to efforts to repeal HB2, the state law that was rammed through the legislature in March to prohibit nondiscrimination laws that protect LGBT people. New York touted its progressive values that passed marriage equality early in the movement. Massachusetts cheered while announcing it was the first state to make
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA DELIVERED A POWERFUL ENDORSEMENT OF HILLARY CLINTON MONDAY AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Photos: Scott A. Drake
Dem party unity urged in Philly By Jen Colletta and Paige Cooperstein jen@epgn.com, paige@epgn.com
“We’re stronger together,” Hillary Clinton’s campaign tagline, was a common theme from speakers during the first two nights of the Democratic National Wednesdays and will have full coverage of the second half of the convention online at pgnblogs.wordpress.com. Five states referenced LGBT milestones in the roll-call vote Tuesday that officially nominated Clinton as the first female to run for president for a major party. “This is the first time the DNC has been that inclusive and not hidden us in a pocket,” said Jude-Laure Denis, an LGBT delegate from Lehigh Valley. “In that way, I feel encouraged by the progressive direction of the party.”
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marriage equality legal in 2004. Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed marriage equality, read the votes from his home state. “This Ohio boy helped love win last summer,” he said. “Know this: Love trumps hate.” Later that night, former President Bill Clinton took the stage and, toward the end of his 40-minute speech, highlighted his wife Hillary’s famous quote, “Women’s rights are human rights and human rights PAGE 16 are women’s rights.”
Philly gets two LGBT historic markers Pages 7-9 LGBT delegates celebrate, look ahead Page 13 Political partying in Philly Pages 14-17 Convention coverage
Convention, which was punctured by dissension from some stalwart Bernie Sanders supporters. When the convention opened Monday, boos could occasionally be heard throughout the stadium when Clinton’s name was mentioned, which paled in comparison to the raucous protest outside the SEPTA AT&T Station by anti-Clinton demonstrators. Comedian Sarah Silverman, a Sanders backer, delivered perhaps the most frank, and seemingly ad-libbed, address to Sanders supporters who refused to back Clinton. “Can I just say to the Bernie or Bust people, you’re being ridiculous,” she said, which drew standing ovations from Clinton supporters and continued boos from some Sanders backers. PAGE 14