pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 43 No. 6
Family Portrait: Ruckus knows his leather PAGE 31
Feb. 8-14, 2019
Could ‘Pastor Pamm’ be Pa’s first lesbian state rep? PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
It’s showtime for Philadelphia Theatre Week
PAGE 29
Special section focusing on older adults PAGES 16-23
New Jersey becomes the second Witness retracts account of state to require LGBT studies Gayborhood attack as police investigation continues By Josh Middleton PGN Contributor
Within the next five years, all public-school students in New Jersey will learn about the contributions of LGBTQ pioneers like Barbara Gittings and Harvey Milk as part of their regular social-studies curricula. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that requires all public middle- and high-school teachers and boards of education to update curriculum to “accurately reflect the political, economic and social contributions” of gay, lesbian and transgender citizens. In a statement to Philadelphia Gay News, the governor said he is “honored to sign the legislation” and “believes that ensuring students learn about diverse histories will help build more tolerant communities and strengthen educational outcomes.” The law goes into effect during the 2020-21 school year, which gives advocacy and education groups time to develop
By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor
appropriate resources for educators on how to weave LGBTQ-related stories into their lessons on U.S. history. Garden State Equality worked with GLSEN to develop and promote the bill, and is now taking a lead in working with groups like Make it Better for Youth and the New Jersey Education Association to develop the appropriate instructional materials. “We’re looking beyond textbooks — because most student learning doesn’t happen through textbooks anymore,” said GSE policy director Aaron Potenza, who pushed to get the bill scheduled and testified in front of the assembly and senate committees. “The PAGE 14
Another LGBT contender for city council By Brittany M. Wehner PGN Contributor Daniel “Duke” Orsino, 32, a blue-collar worker and LGBT advocate, has jumped into the race for a seat on Philadelphia City Council. Orsino, who joins the growing crop of LGBT candidates for council, hopes to not only be the first openly gay man to hold a seat, but is also looking to bring a healthy change to the city. “I do feel that there is not enough LGBT representation, not enough representation of the lower classes in government. I’m a firm believer anybody should have the right to run, regardless of class and that is one of the
reasons I’m doing this to prove that,” said Orsino, a Democrat. Orsino joins other out city council hopefuls including Sherrie Cohen, the lesbian daughter of late Philadelphia Councilman David Cohen; Adrian Rivera-Reyes, a young cancer biologist; and transgender woman Deja Lynn Alvarez. No LGBTQ person has held a city council seat. All 17 city council seats are up for election in 2019. City Council is comprised of 10 members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The five Democratic at-large candidates receiving the most votes in the May 21 primary election will go on to the Nov. 5 general election. “There are good people in the government, but nobody is acting. I want to be a voice in the government,” Orsino said. Orsino is originally from New Jersey and has resided in Philadelphia for the past two years and describes himself on his Twitter page as, “Just a millePAGE 6
As the police continue to investigate the violent attack on a 50-year-old gay man outside a popular Gayborhood venue, they have one less eyewitness to interview — and possibly one less motive. In a Jan. 30 interview, Josh Schonewolf, a bartender at the Toasted Walnut, 13th and Walnut streets, told PGN he witnessed a gaybashing in front of the club Jan. 27. Schonewolf had given an on-camera interview with a similar account to WPVI/6ABC the day before. Late on Jan. 31, Schonewolf contacted PGN to retract his account of the incident. “I never went outside during the altercation,” he said. Both PGN and ABC removed their original reports from their respective websites. The original story appeared in the print version of this newspaper last week. In a Facebook post, Schonewolf wrote: “I jumped the gun, plain and simple … I never saw a car, and I never saw the altercation itself happen.” Schonewolf posted that he witnessed only the end of the attack from the bar, which looks out onto the street. “I was just trying to help catch the guys who I thought committed a gay bashing & punched one of my friends,” he wrote. Sources close to the investigation affirmed to PGN Feb. 1 that Schonewolf had not been outside the Toasted Walnut
during the attack. As PGN reported originally, general manager Rocco DeFinis did go outside and attempted to break up the altercation, during which he was struck. He declined medical SCHONEWOLF attention, as previously reported, and was not the subject of the attack, despite rumors on social media. The facts of the case remain murky. The police and District Attorney’s Office are evaluating security footage in an attempt to determine what transpired and how best to address the incident. However, according to one city official, the incident is likely not a hate crime, as originally suspected. “After reviewing the evidence of the incident and speaking with the witnesses and complainant, [last] Sunday evening’s incident does not appear to be a hate crime,” said Amber Hikes, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs, in a Feb. 1 statement to PGN. “The complainant and witnesses have confirmed that no homophobic slurs were uttered during the altercation and the assault was not motivated by bias or homophobia. “Initial accounts indicating that the complainant was randomly targeted and PAGE 15 assaulted because of his
Obituary Barbra “Babs” Casbar Siperstein, 76, was a trailblazer for transgender rights and the first trans person to be selected to the Democratic National Convention. The “Babs Siperstein Law,” a NJ law to allow individuals to change their gender identity on their birth certificate without proof of gender reassignment surgery, was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Friday Feb. 1, and went into effect immediately, just 48 hours before her death. PAGE 8