National LGBT History Month Project
Philly’s own Stonewall, and debunking LGBT angles to JFK killing PAGES 16-17
Family Portrait: Malcolm Kenyatta goes for the youth vote PAGE 41
Fall Youth Supplement PAGES 25-32
Report: PA hospitals among leaders in LGBT health care
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Oct. 31-Nov. 6, 2014
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 38 No. 44
Candidates sound off on LGBT issues
Schaefer’s reinstatement upheld
By PGN Staff
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
Governor Tom Wolf RAINBOW REMEMBRANCE: The community came together to mourn Director of LGBT Affairs Gloria Casarez last Friday. Casarez died Oct. 19 of cancer. Atop a motorcycle and carrying a rainbow flag, friend Tami Sortman led Casarez’s funeral procession from South Philadelphia through the Gayborhood, where many businesses and homes were draped in rainbows in her honor. Before the funeral, Mayor Nutter and other city officials took down the rainbow flag outside of City Hall and presented it to Casarez’s wife, Tricia Dressel (above), at the service; a new flag remains at half-staff in her memory. Photos: Scott A. Drake
BEST LGBT Philadelphia OF
Philadelphia Winners announced next week!
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2014
BEST LGBT
Wo l f i s r u n n i n g a s a Democrat against Corbett in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. Wolf is CEO of his family business, the Wolf Organization, which supplies kitchen cabinets and specialty building products. In 2006, he was appointed Secretary of Revenue in Gov. Ed Rendell’s cabinet. Wolf
attended Dartmouth College for his bachelor’s degree, University of London for his master’s and Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his Ph. D., after which he joined the Peace Corps for two years in India. Wolf said he supports the full gamut of LGBT-rights issues, including legislation to include LGBT protections in the state hate-crimes law. “We need Pennsylvania to be a safe place for all our citizens, including LGBT people,” he said. “I fully support HB 177.” Wolf also is in favor of adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state nondiscrimination law. He noted that, beyond the equal-rights issue, it would be good for business. “Not only is it the right thing to do, but creating an inclusive work environment is key to the Pennsylvania economy,” he said. “The younger generation of skilled, talPAGE 6
Endorsements Governor: Tom Wolf Lt. Gov.: Mike Stack Congressional 1st Dist.: Bob Brady 2nd Dist.: Chaka Fattah 6th Dist.: Manan Trivedi 7th Dist.: Mary Ellen Balchunis 8th Dist.: Kevin Strouse 13th Dist.: Brendan Boyle 15th Dist.: Charles Dent
State Senate 2nd Dist.: Christine Tartaglione 4th Dist.: Art Haywood 12th Dist.: Ruth Damsker 26th Dist.: John Kane State House 74th Dist.: Josh Maxwell 81st Dist.: Mike Fleck 154th Dist.: Steve McCarter 172nd Dist.: Mike O’Brien 182nd Dist.: Brian Sims
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188th Dist.: James Roebuck 190th Dist.: Vanessa Brown 194th Dist.: Pamela DeLissio Out of State U.S. Senate Chris Coons (Delaware) Cory Booker (New Jersey) Congress Bill Hughes, Jr. (New Jersey) Donald Norcross (New Jersey)
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The United Methodist Church’s highest judicial body this week upheld the reinstatement of the Rev. Frank Schaefer. Schaefer was stripped of his credentials last year after being found guilty of violating church rules by officiating at his son’s same-sex wedding in 2007. But the jury conditioned Schaefer’s defrocking on whether he would promise to not officiate at another same-sex wedding. When Schaefer refused to make such a promise, he was defrocked. In June, a regional appeals committee reinstated Schaefer, on the basis that the discipline unfairly punished him for future conduct. On Oct. 27, after a hearing in Memphis, the church’ s Judicial Council announced that it upheld Schaefer’s reinstatement. Schaefer also will be compensated for all lost wages and benefits dating from Dec. 19, 2013. This week’s decision ends Schaefer’s case. But the debate OF continues about whether the church should countenance same-sex marriages. Schaefer issued a statement expressing gratitude to the Judicial PAGE 18 Council.
With Election Day approaching Nov. 4, PGN reached out to candidates in a number of local contested races: the gubernatorial race and Congressional races in the 13th District, where there was a vacancy, and Seventh and Eighth districts, where Democrats are challenging Republican incumbents. None of the four Republican candidates — Gov. To m C o r b e t t , D e e A d c o c k and Congressmembers Patrick Meehan and Mike Fitzpatrick — responded to PGN’s requests for interviews, while the Democrats — Tom Wolf, state Rep. Brendan Boyle, Mary Ellen Balchunis and Kevin Strouse — participated in interviews about their positions on LGBT issues and their plans for LGBT-rights progress.