City says no to jury trial for gay police officer PAGE 5
Family Portrait: Dito van Reigersberg on a cracker PAGE 47
Local documentary filmmakers to begin trek PAGE 7 Dec. 26
Holiday music of note PAGE 45
Nov. 29 - Dec. 5, 2013
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Vol. 37 No. 48
Attack in Gayborhood days before rape
OutFest couple found not guilty By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com A gay couple arrested during OutFest was found not guilty of all charges this week. Judge Charles Hayden handed down not-guilty verdicts during a joint trial Nov. 25 for Anthony Reto and Thomas Berner. The pair was arrested Oct. 13 and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal conspiracy, both summary charges. The pair was arrested by Civil Affairs officers near 12th and Locust streets after taking a photo in front of protesters from antigay group Repent America. One officer contended Reto pushed him from behind, which both men denied. PAGE 2 Reto was physically
State: Dismiss two marriage cases By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com In the last week, the state has asked for dismissals of two of the pending challenges to Pennsylvania’s ban on samesex marriage. Last week, the Department of Revenue filed a preliminary objection in response to a lawsuit brought by a lesbian widow from Bethlehem, asking the court to dismiss the case. And on Monday, Gov. Tom Corbett asked a judge to dismiss another suit brought by a legally married lesbian couple who is seeking to have their marriage recognized by the state. In the first case, Barbara Baus filed a suit in Orphans Court of Northampton County Oct. 25 to seek equal treatment under Pennsylvania’s inheritance-tax law for same-sex couples. The case is one of at least six challenging the state’s Defense of Marriage Act. PAGE 2 Baus’ suit contends
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
TALKING TURKEY: Young LGBTs and allies lined up for QSpot Philly’s Thanksgiving meal Nov. 25 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A crowd of 50 heard presentations by QSpot founder Quincy Greene, Anna Schlupp of CHOP and Roxanne Wolf of Gilead Sciences about such topics as Truvada, a pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, while enjoying a full spread of Thanksgiving dishes. QSpot will next host its holiday party Dec. 14 at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Photo: Scott A. Drake
A gay man was attacked and robbed earlier this month in the Gayborhood, days before a woman was raped at almost the same location. Nick Forte, 36, said he was walking near 12th and Saint James streets around 2 a.m. Nov. 10 when he was struck on the head from behind with what might have been a metal object. He said he lost consciousness but believes he was pulled further onto Saint James and repeatedly punched and kicked. Forte, who was on his way to hail a cab after a night at ICandy, said he is unsure if he was attacked by one or two people. He said he was unconscious near the intersection of Camac and Saint James streets until about 3:30 a.m., when a passerby leaving Voyeur found him. The woman, who was unknown to him, roused him and attempted to take him to a hospital, but was unable to find assistance or a willing cab driver and transported him to his parents’ house in her own car. Forte reported the incident the following day
NICK FORTE FOLLOWING THE NOV. 10 ATTACK IN THE GAYBORHOOD
and the witness, who Forte later learned happened to be friends with one of his family members, also gave a statement to police. The assailant(s) stole Forte’s cell phone, a gift card, passport and a diamond cross pendant from around his neck. On Nov. 14, a 29PAGE 14
ACLU trial to be held in June By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The first lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania to challenge the state’s ban on same-sex marriage will get its big day in court this summer. In a conference meeting Friday in Harrisburg with the parties involved in Whitewood v. Wolf, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III set trial for June. The trial will last up to two weeks. The judge is expected to identify a specific date in June in the coming months. The
defense had asked that the trial be delayed until August, but the judge rejected that request. When the schedule is released, Jones will also set deadlines for the discovery period, during which parties will take depositions, identify expert witnesses and prepare expert reports. The trial will take place in Harrisburg. The suit was filed July 9 by 20 same-sex couples, two children of same-sex parents and one widow, who contend that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violates federal dueprocess and equal-protection
constitutional guarantees. One more couple was brought on as plaintiffs last month. Earlier this month, Jones released original plaintiffs Attorney General Kathleen Kane and Gov. Tom Corbett from the case; Kane had declined to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, while Corbett argued that the secretary of his Department of Health, which oversees marriage records, should be the primary defendant. Also brought on as a defendant was the state’s secretary of the Department of Revenue.
World AIDS Day pullout section pages 29-36
Additional defendants include the registers of wills in Washington and Bucks counties. On Nov. 7, Jones rejected defendants’ requests for a dismissal of the case. The defendants had argued that marriage has long been a state issue, but Jones said the “sea change” in the nation’s marriage laws in the past few decades merits the case moving forward. The plaintiffs’ case is being handled by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the national ACLU, as PAGE 26 well as firm