Cherie Curry is da bomb PAGE 25
Senate passes ENDA with Toomey support
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Family Portrait: Joan Myers Brown, founder of Philadanco PAGE 29
Looking back at The Attic’s 20 years of growing upward, PAGE 5 outward Nov. 15-21, 2013
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Vol. 37 No. 46
Kenney intros first-ever trans resolution PA welcomes City Council set to designate Trans Awareness Week, honoring contributions of trans community and remembering those lost to violence By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com Philadelphia Councilman-at-Large Jim Kenney this week introduced a resolution to honor the transgender community. On Thursday, Kenney introduced a measure that will recognize Nov. 17-23 as Transgender Awareness Week, the first time such a proposal has been made in Philadelphia. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held annually across the nation Nov. 20, and last year, Mayor Michael Nutter commemorated the day with a first-ever city proclamation. After the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s successful Transgender Awareness Week last year, local transgender activist Jordan Gwendolyn Davis approached Kenney about the city officially marking the full week. “I just felt, given the achievements, as well as heartbreak, that has been experienced citywide, that it was too good not to pass up,” Davis said. Although TAW is happening at the same time as the TDoR, the week should not overshadow the day event, Davis said, which is often used to commemorate those who have been murdered or violently attacked due to their gender identity. PAGE 20
first out mayor By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com Lifelong Doylestown resident Ron Strouse found out a little after 9 p.m. Nov. 5 that he would be his town’s new mayor. But, an even bigger surprise came when he learned he was the first openly gay mayor elected in the Keystone State. Strouse, 65, was born and raised in Doylestown and attended Central Bucks High School before earning his bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C. A f t e r c o l l eg e , h e worked as chief of staff STROUSE PAGE 21 for
MINISTERIAL DUTY: About 50 ministers headed into the Arch Street United Methodist Church Nov. 8 to jointly preside over a same-sex union. The action was meant as a show of support for the Rev. Frank Schaefer, a Central Pennsylvania Methodist minister facing a Nov. 18 church trial — and possible loss of credentials — for officiating his son’s legal same-sex marriage. On Saturday, the ministers, who were mostly Methodist, and the couple, Bill Gatewood and Rick Taylor, assembled on the steps of the LGBT-affirming church, stating in unison, “Those whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder.” It is unclear if the ministers will face any reprimand for their involvement. Photo: Scott A. Drake
N.J. judge tosses challenge to conversion-therapy ban By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
LAW OF THE LAND: AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania executive director Ronda Goldfein was among the speakers at the organization’s 25th-anniversary gala Silver Ball, which drew a crowd of almost 200 to Power Plant Studios Nov 7. The ball raised more than $41,000 for the organization, which, in its 25 years, has defended more than 38,000 people with HIV and AIDS and educated more than 40,000 others on HIV/AIDS-related legal issues. Photo: Scott A. Drake
A federal judge in New Jersey last week upheld the state’s new ban on therapy that seeks to change a minor’s sexual orientation. U.S. District Court Judge Freda Wolfson on Nov. 8 dismissed a challenge by two New Jersey therapists and the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and the American Association of Christian Counselors. The plaintiffs contended that the new law, which prevents mental-health professionals from employing therapy intended to change the sexual orientation of a patient under age 18, violates their rights to free speech and freedom of religion. In her ruling, Wolfson noted that the law does not prePAGE 19 vent professionals from opining about
Equality PA elects new board president By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com Adanjesús Marin, the most recent president of the board of Equality Pennsylvania’s political-advocacy branch, last week took over the reigns of the agency’s Education Fund. Marin, 37, helmed the organization’s (c)4 wing for the past two years. He takes over as board president of the education and outreach component from Adrian Shanker. In addition to serving as board president, MARIN Marin will also serve as vice president of education for the (c)4 board and assistant officer of the Equality PA Political Action Committee. Marin was born in Mexico and currently lives in Taylor, near Scranton. He serves as the director of mobilization and member political program for Service Employees International Union Healthcare PAGE 18 Pennsylvania. He has