Adam Levine defends the gay community
Family Portrait: Amelia Carter
PAGE 19
Gay reservist hits a happy trifecta of good news
PAGE 25
PAGE 9
Aug. 24-30, 2012
����������
��� ������������ �������� �����������������������������������������
Vol. 36 No. 34
Complaints filed against local therapists The credentials of two area therapists are under fire after an advocacy group questions their support for therapies that seek to ʻchangeʼ patientsʼ sexual orientation. By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Ethics complaints have been filed with a state-licensing board and the American Psychological Association against two Philadelphia-area therapists who purportedly support and could be practicing conversion therapy for LGBT patients. Peace Advocacy Network said that a board member and a mental-health professional filed a complaint earlier this month with the Pennsylvania Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors against Peter Kleponis and Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, both based out of the Institute for Marriage Healing in West Conshohocken. A PAN board member filed an additional complaint with the APA’s Ethics Committee against Kleponis. Fitzgibbons is not an APA member. Kleponis and Fitzgibbons did not return a call for comment. A representative of the Department of State declined to confirm whether the complaint had been filed with the state licensing board. The Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation handles such complaints, with consultation with prosecuting attorneys if necessary. Investigations, which could require interviews and other evidence-gathering processes, typically take at least several months. Some investigations involve hearings before the licensing board, which then determines the course of discipline, which the licensee could appeal to the Commonwealth Court. APA executive director for public and member communications Kim Miller also said she could not confirm that the complaint was filed because of confidentiality reasons. Complaints filed with the APA Ethics Committee undergo a committee investigation and, if an APA member is found to be in violation of the Ethics Code, he or she could have his or her APA membership revoked. The APA has previously rejected therapies that seek to change one’s sexual orientation. PAGE 14 PA N s h a r e d w i t h
QUEEN FOR THE DAY: Latrice Royale lit up the stage at Pride in the Park, held Aug. 19 at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown. The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum headlined the event and performed alongside the Lehigh Valley Drag Review. This marked the 19th annual festival hosted by Pride of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Photo: Dan Calhoun
Penn ranks as top trans-, gayfriendly school UN-FEARFUL FRIDAY: About 75 people attended AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania’s 13th annual Summer Movie Party Aug. 17 at William Way LGBT Community Center, which featured a screening of Joan Crawford’s “Sudden Fear.” The event raised about $2,700 for the agency, which executive director Ronda Goldfein said will be used to support the organization’s general casework. “The event was great; it was well-attended and everyone stayed for the movie and all the way to the end of the movie,” she said. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Pennsylvania marks decade with adoption protections By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Although Pennsylvania is lagging behind neighbor states in nondiscrimination protections for LGBTs and relationship recognition for same-sex couples, for the past 10 years the state has allowed countless LGBT couples to create legally protected families, thanks to a pivotal ruling from Pennsylvania’s top court. On Aug. 20, 2002, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found that same-sex couples cannot be barred from petitioning for second-parent adoptions — which allow the child’s biological or legal parent to incorporate a partner as the joint co-parent, with both retaining equal parental rights. The lawsuit that led to the ruling was spearheaded by lead counsel Christine
SAME-SEX-HEADED FAMILIES CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF SECONDPARENT ADOPTION RIGHTS AUG. 18 IN PITTSBURGH WITH THE WOMEN’S LAW PROJECT Photo: Sam Hens-Greco
Biancheria with attorney Sandra Grey and support from Women’s PAGE 16
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com LGBT college group Campus Pride last week released its inaugural list of the nation’s best schools for transgender individuals, and a local university made the cut. University of Pennsylvania was among the institutions included in the “2012 Top 10 Trans-friendly Colleges & Universities,” presented in partnership with The Advocate. The schools were selected based on an analysis of the past five years of the Campus Pride Index, which ranks colleges and universities on LGBT-friendliness based on an array of policies, programs and practices. Joining Penn is Ithaca University and New York University in New York, Princeton University in New Jersey, University of California’s Los Angeles and Riverside campuses, University of Massachusetts’ Amherst campus, University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, University of Oregon and University of Vermont. Penn incorporated gender identity into its nondiscrimination policy in 2003 and began offering transgender-related health coverage for students in 2010. The plan, which includes up to $50,000 in coverage for counseling, hormone treatment and genderreassignment surgery, was extended to staff PAGE 13 last month.