Our two-part Holiday Gift Guide starts this week with things to see, hear and wear
Family Portrait: Linda Slodki
PAGE 35
Philly entrepreneur launches a new way to save on gay travel options
PAGE 41
PAGE 7
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1, 2011
����������
��� ������������ �������� �����������������������������������������
Vol. 35 No. 47
Whitemarsh bans LGBT discrimination By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com
SERVING UP THANKS: The Rev. Andrea Harrington (right) serves up a pre-Thanksgiving feast hosted by Colours on Nov. 20. Over 50 people partook of the turkey dinner with all the fixins, and many stayed to participate in Colours’ Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial immediately following. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Whitemarsh Township in Montgomery County became the 24th Pennsylvania municipality to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression last week. The ordinance, passed Nov. 17, provides protections for members of the LGBT community. If a member of the community feels discriminated against in any way relating to housing, education, employment or other matters, a human-relations commission, once established, would hear complaints and work to resolve the issue for all parties involved. Ted Martin, executive director for Equality Pennsylvania, an LGBT advo-
cacy group, said this ordinance, which has been in the works for six months, is one of a number of similar ordinances the group hopes to get passed in other municipalities across the state. “We’re working very hard to have 25 ordinances on the books by the end of the year,” he said. “We’ve been working with receptive communities to start these ordinances to put them in place. We work with people in the community beforehand. Then we start working through those folks to get an ordinance.” Whitemarsh’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the ordinance, with supervisor David Brooke absent for the vote. According to the 2010 Census, Whitemarsh has a population of 17,349.
Local guys take top Mr. Gay prizes
During the public meeting, some attendees stridently opposed the ordinance, including the American Family Association representatives, said Adrian Shanker, president of Equality Pennsylvania. “They came from outside the township and, quite frankly, they made comments that were reprehensible at the public meeting at LGBT people in general,” he said. “It actually caused some gay residents that were at the meeting to feel very defensive [and] uncomfortable and they responded with very strong words in response. One of the speakers, Jim Scheneller, who is affiliated with the American Family Association, stated that he’s not sure that discrimination or harassment against LGBT people actually exists. That’s a delusional perspective to take. Those were PAGE 23
Antigay groups allowed to defend Prop. 8 By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
GAY WHAT?: Bryan Dorsey (above, center) reacts to the announcement of his 2012 U.S. Mr. Gay win and receives his sash from last year’s winner, Eddie Rabon. Photos: Scott A. Drake
By Scott A. Drake scott@epgn.com For the second year in a row, an East Coaster won the U.S. Mr. Gay 2012 title. Lancaster native Bryan Dorsey took the top honor in last weekend’s competition, beating out 15 other contestants. Dorsey will represent the United States in the International Mr. Gay competition next year in Chicago. Dorsey, 35, received a theater
degree from UArts but found his true calling in the nursing field. He currently works at Lancaster General Hospital and volunteers in Harrisburg at Adler Health Services. Still interested in the theater side, he starred in a York production of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” in October. The self-proclaimed country boy was still somewhat dazed on Sunday, the day after his win. “It’s surreal,” Dorsey said.
“I just came to participate and have some fun. I didn’t have any idea I might win. I’m still a little shell-shocked.” As a health-care provider, Dorsey said he hopes to use his new visibility to help promote health issues in the gay community, noting that the incidence of new infections of STDs is alarming even in the Lancaster area. He also said he empathized with youth facing bullying.
“I was bullied through grade school, middle school and into high school. In that area, in a smaller community, it can still be very difficult for a gay guy. But I still took a boy to my high-school senior prom. “I used my question on Friday night about GOP candidates — and what I would say to one — to talk about the horrible antibullying laws in Minnesota. The religious right, which is pretty much all PAGE 20
California marriage-equality advocates saw a setback last week as the antigay supporters of the ballot effort to overturn the state’s same-sex marriage law were given the green light to back the initiative in court. The California Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the Protect Marriage coalition had standing to challenge a lower court judge’s ruling that overturned Proposition 8. The backers intervened in Perry v. Brown, filed by a group PAGE 22
World AIDS Day supplement
Pages 25-32