pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 42 Oct. 19-25, 2018
Family Forward: Words of wisdom
Family Portrait: Gabriela Sanchez
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HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
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17 states and D.C. support city in foster-care dispute
Wave of aging LGBTQ population set to crash
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor There’s a critical emergency facing Pennsylvania’s LGBTQ community, yet it is barely discussed and remains mostly hidden. It is the crisis of how to care for the state’s aging LGBTQ population and the myriad problems those Pennsylvanians are facing every day in the Commonwealth. According to the U.S. Census, 14.5 percent of the country is aged 65 or over. Pennsylvania has the second-largest demographic in the county of people aged 65 and over — more than 16 percent of the 13-million population. Among those nearly two million Pennsylvanians are more than 150,000 people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, among an estimated 2.5 million or more LGBTQ elders nationwide. Where will they go as the age? PAGE 19 Who will take
LGBTQ-friendly state representative dies
Rupert Everett stars as Oscar Wilde in “The Happy Prince” PAGE 25
CELEBRATING OUR ELDERS: Ada Bello presents the 2018 Humanitarian Award to John Cunningham at Indigo Ball Oct. 13 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Cunningham was recognized as an early activist and cofounder of the AIDS Library and Bell was one of the original marchers at Independence Hall during the late 1960s Reminder Days. Indigo Ball is the largest William Way LGBT Community Center fundraiser of the year. Recap is on page 8. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Senator pushes for LGBTQ issues ahead of midterms By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey (D) has introduced a new bill that amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to ensure inclusion of LGBTQ seniors. The Elder Pride Act is the latest legislation Casey introduced to the Senate intended to support LGBTQ seniors, specifically seniors living in rural areas. The bill would establish the Office of
Older LGBT Policy in the Department of Health and Human Services to “conduct and arrange for research in the field of LGBT aging with a special emphasis on gathering statistics on older LGBT individuals.” The department’s director would oversee funding opportunities to benefit older LGBTQ Americans and promote polices to address the needs of that community. The legislation would also crePAGE 19 ate a grant program
LGBT History Month
Officials representing 17 states and the District of Columbia have filed an amicus brief in support of Philadelphia’s efforts to prevent LGBT bias within the city’s foster-care system. In March, city officials stopped referring foster-care children to Catholic Social Services of Philadelphia after published reports that CSS wouldn’t place children with same-sex couples. City officials contend CSS’ policy violates the city’s Fair Practices Ordinance, which bans, among other things, discrimination on the basis of LGBT status. However, CSS claims the city is violating its religious-freedom and free-speech rights. CSS filed suit against the city in May, and the dispute remains pending in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. CSS seeks a preliminary injunction from the Third Circuit to order the city to resume foster-care referrals to CSS. Otherwise, CSS maintains, its foster-care program is at risk for closure. CSS currently provides foster-care services for about 100 children in city custody. The states that filed the amicus brief are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. The 39-page brief contends it’s in the best interests of children to prevent anti-LGBT bias in the foster-care system.
Frances Kellor was an early integration pioneer PAGE 14
Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas filed an amicus brief last month in support of CSS’ position that its rights were being violated by the city. The Oct. 4 amicus brief in support of the city urges the Third Circuit “not to issue a preliminary injunction requiring Philadelphia to allow discrimination against same-sex couples in the provision of foster-care services.” The brief estimates that 27,000 same-sex couples are raising 58,000 adopted and foster children in the United States. “Children living within samesex parent families fare equally well as children living within different-sex parent families,” the brief states. “For example, children in same-sex parent families are equally well-adjusted. Full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the pool of foster parents thus maximizes the number of safe and loving homes available to foster children.” The brief urges the Third Circuit not to set a precedent by allowing anti-LGBT bias within the foster-care system. “We cannot afford to turn away any qualified families from the pool of prospective foster parents due to their sexual orientation or any other characteristic unrelated to parenting ability,” the brief states. “To allow for such discrimination would mean that the optimal foster family (or even a suitable one) might not be available to a child at the moment that the child most needs it. And discrimination based on PAGE 18
Cincinnati couple sweetens tea PAGE 15