Philadelphia Gay News Vol. 34 No. 50
Honesty Integrity Professionalism
Dec. 10 - 16, 2010
Scouts deal dead in the water
Hatboro mayor vetoes LGBT bill By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer The mayor of Hatboro, which was poised to become the first municipality in Montgomery County to adopt an LGBTinclusive nondiscrimination law, vetoed the measure this week. Democratic Mayor Norman Hawkes exercised his veto power during the Hatboro Council meeting Monday night, quashing the ordinance that the council passed in a 43 vote last month. The measure would have banned LGBT discrimination and established a human-relations commission to investigate complaints based on a number of characteristics. The council could override the veto with a 5-2 vote in favor of the ordinance, meaning one of the three Republicans who voted against the bill would need to switch his vote. A special council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at Hatboro Borough Hall, 414 S. York Road, where an override vote will be taken. The bill’s prime sponsor, Councilwoman Nancy Guenst, said she wasn’t very optimistic that the council would be able to override the veto, but urged LGBTs and allies to turn out in full force to demonstrate support for the measure. If the override vote is not successful, Guenst said the only other option would be the reintroduction of the measure in the future, with the hopes that Hawkes will have changed his mind at that time. Hawkes told PGN this week that the decision was not a personal one, but rather he felt the state has better resources to handle discrimination complaints. “I have no religious or moral issues with this ordinance; I just feel it could be much better handled on the state level than on the local level,” he said. “I understand there’s not currently a provision to cover [sexual orientation and gender identity] at the state level, but I would like to see that enacted. I just think the state is more qualified than the local government to handle this.” Guenst disagreed. “I think his reasoning has no merit, no merit whatsoever. The [LGBT-inclusive state nondiscrimination bill] has been sitting in committee for 10 years and he knows it,” she said, arguing that she believes the See HATBORO, Page 21
By Timothy Cwiek PGN Writer-at-Large
CONTINUING TO FIGHT: About 180 people gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Dec. 3 to pay tribute to Philadelphia FIGHT’s 20 years of service. The HIV/AIDS service organization’s annual We Remember Gala remembered those who lost their lives to HIV/AIDS, as well as those who helped fuel FIGHT’s development, including The American Foundation for AIDS Research, which provided FIGHT its initial grant and which received this year’s Jonathan Lax Award. Photo: Scott A. Drake
DADT gets Senate hearings, vote still unclear By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer With the lame-duck session waning, there were talks of the defense-authorization bill, to which the repeal measure is attached, coming up for a cloture vote Wednesday night, which would send it to the floor for debate. As of press time, however, the Senate had not yet began discussing the bill. The Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from leaders from all branches of the military last week on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” who weighed in on the recent Pentagon study that found little harm in repealing the ban on openly gay servicemembers. The hearings, held Dec. 2 and 3, solicited testimony from all of the heads of the respective branches, as well as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. Throughout the two-day proceedings, the military leaders offered split opinions on whether the ban should be lifted summarily, with the heads of the Navy and Coast Guard voicing support for repealing the ban and the leaders of the Marines, Army and Air Force expressing varying concerns. Earlier last week, the Pentagon released its year-long study that evaluated the pos-
sible risks to military preparedness that openly gay servicemembers could pose and examined the attitudes of servicemembers toward the repeal of the 1993 law. The study found that a majority of servicemembers did not think lifting the ban would have an impact on military operations and concluded that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” could be repealed without damaging the military. The Army chief of staff, Gen. George Casey, said during the hearing he didn’t think the Army was ready for a change while two wars were being waged, but did remark that the study changed his mind on his previously held notion that openly gay servicemembers would be a detrimental distraction to unit cohesion. Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Amos noted that his branch of the military offered the most negative views toward repeal in the Pentagon survey and that he did not think that such a change should be implemented, while Air Force chief of staff Gen. Norton Schwartz advocated for full repeal to be held off until 2012, as the military undertook an education initiative to prepare for the change. Both Gates and Mullen testified last Thursday that repeal should happen immediately, before the end of the current See DADT, Page 21
Legislation enabling the sale of publicly owned land to a local Boy Scouts of America council isn’t expected to be introduced until early next year, if at all, a spokesperson for City Council said this week. “It’s extremely unlikely that any bill would be introduced into City Council this year,” said Anthony R. Radwanski, director of communications for Philadelphia City Council. He said City Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, whose district encompasses the property in question, is still gathering information on the matter. “Councilman Clarke is still gauging the feeling of the community,” Radwanski said. “Since Dec. 16 is our last City Council session this year, I don’t see how anything could be introduced until next year, if at all.” City Council will reconvene on Jan. 27. Clarke couldn’t be reached for comment. Officials Mayor Nutter’s administration want to sell the property at 231-251 N. 22nd St. to the BSA Cradle of Liberty Council to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the Scouts. But the sale requires approval from City Council. In June 2008, city attorneys filed suit in state court to evict the Scouts because they won’t pay fair-market rent or, in the alternative, permit openly gay participants. But 10 days earlier, the Scouts filed suit in federal court, alleging that their eviction would be unconstitutional. See SCOUT DEAL, Page 19
One of the most anticipated events of the season was packing them into the Design Marketplace on Dec. 4. More photos on Page 2. Photo: Scott A. Drake