pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 36 Sept. 8-14, 2017
Family Portrait: Bastion Carboni: Agitating, educating with art
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Trial date set for lawsuit against N.J. school district PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Trans comedian releases first CD
Penn LGBT Center director named
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Five years pass since murder of Kyra Cordova
New documents detail Internet postings in Knott federal case By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
Attorneys for a woman suing convicted gay basher Kathryn Knott recently submitted hundreds of Internet posts made under the pseudonym “Knotty is a Tramp.” The filing came July 31 in a federal suit filed by Norristown resident Kathleen O’Donnell, who claims she was unjustly terminated from her job for posting online comments using the moniker. Knott, along with Philip Williams and Kevin Harrigan, was arrested in 2014 in connection to a physical and verbal attack on a gay couple. She rejected a plea deal and was found guilty of four misdemeanors, serving five months in prison. O’Donnell created the account on Disqus.com, an online-commenting tool, and posted under it, using a photo of Knott from her social-media profile, on local news sites. According to court filings, Knott was notified of the account and reported it to Bucks County Police; d e t e c t ive s c a m e t o O’Donnell’s workplace to investigate the report, and she was terminated shortly after. O’Donnell filed suit in April 2016, alleging her free-speech rights were violated by Knott, her father — a former Bucks County police officer — Bucks County, its district attorney and two detectives. She is seeking punitive damages of at least $5 million, as well as compensatory damages of at least $150,000. On July 25, Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg ordered O’Donnell to submit all of the comments she made under the “Knotty is a Tramp” account. In a 54-page exhibit, O’Donnell’s attorney, Sean Ruppert, submitted more than 400 comments she posted between PAGE 15 September 2014 and
“Sometimes it seems like yesterday, and sometimes it seems like forever ago,” Dawn Maher said about Sept. 3, 2012. It was early in the morning that Labor Day holiday that her daughter, Kyra Cordova, was gunned down execution-style. Her body was found later that day in a wooded area off the 1100 block of Adams Avenue. Maher marked the fifth anniversary with a visit to the area where her daughter was killed, continuing to tack up posters seeking information about her killer. There have been few breaks in the case in the last five years. Shortly a f t e r t h e 2 7 - y e a rold trans woman was killed, investigators said they had a person of interest in their sights but no arrest was ever made. “They said her case is not a cold case because they do have a person of interest in mind; they say they’re waiting for someone to slip up or tell on them,” Maher said. Philadelphia Police did not respond to PGN’s request for an update on the investigation. Maher said she plans to also send another round of letters, with Cordova’s photo included, to law-enforcement and elected officials, urging renewed activity on the investigation. “At year three, I sent a letter to the detective, the police commissioner, the mayor and got calls [from them]. It’s upsetting to just get no calls, no answers. I still want to hear something.” Without an arrest, Maher said she takes solace in her hope that justice has been served another way. “I like to believe in karma,” she said. Maher also continues to go to counseling once a month. PAGE 20 “My counselor keeps
LOCKS OF LOVE: Locals flocked to André Richard Salon last week to help raise funds for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Owner Drea Richard (left) donated all proceeds from hair services last Thursday afternoon to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, as well as all sales from hair products over the weekend, netting $1,650 for the effort. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Norristown man seeks pro-LGBT appellate ruling By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com A Norristown gay man hopes his lawsuit against a Whitemarsh nursing home will result in federal antibias protections for LGBT workers in the region. “Frank Doe,” a former activities director at Meadowview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, hopes to persuade the Third Circuit Court of Appeals that antiLGBT workplace bias always is a form of sex discrimination. But first, Doe needs permission from a federal judge to present his arguments for such a pro-LGBT ruling in the Third Circuit. The circuit’s jurisdiction covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the Virgin Islands. For more than 40 years, the circuit has held that anti-LGBT bias isn’t a form of sex discrimination banned by Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. Other jurisdictions across the country have taken a different stance, ruling that anti-LGBT workplace bias inherently is a form of sex discrimination and banned by Title 7. In those jurisdictions, LGBT plaintiffs are allowed to pursue their workplace antibias claims with the full force and effect of Title 7 on their side. Doe is embroiled in contentious litigation with Meadowview, where he worked for about 16 months before being fired in September 2016. Doe filed a federal lawsuit in May, alleging anti-LGBT workplace bias at Meadowview and seeking an unspecified amount in damages. But on Aug. 7, U.S. District Judge Thomas N. O’Neill Jr. ruled that Title 7 doesn’t provide Doe with specific antiLGBT-bias protections, thus severely PAGE 20 hampering his case.
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