November 1, 2002

From spike heels to ice skates

Pride! Kent makes Coming Out Week their own

by Anthony Glassman

Kent, Ohio�Ice skating, house music, religion, drag queens and Halloween came together in Pride! Kent�s Coming Out Week celebration, which ran from October 21 to 25.

Pride! Kent, Kent State University�s LGBT student organization, decided to separate their event from National Coming Out Day, held on October 11, to make it their own and prove that their organization is truly coming out and coming into its own.

On Monday, the Kickoff Party at the Interbelt Nite Club in Akron featured Danyel Vasquez, as well as members of the organization in drag as entertainment for the evening. The event raised $200 in tips for the group.

On Tuesday, Janet Black of Emmanuel Fellowship Church in Akron gave a talk entitled �Homosexuality and Christianity,� illustrating some of the mistranslations and misinterpretations that have been used by the religious right to condemn homosexuality.

An article the following day in the Kent Stater, the university�s student newspaper, illustrated her points. It brought at least one angry letter from a student using English interpretations of Hebrew texts claiming that the Bible speaks about �homosexuals.� That word did not come into being until 1868, almost two millennia after the original Greek texts of the New Testament were written and 3,500 years after the Old Testament was set to scrolls in Hebrew and Aramaic.

�Her speech was very controversial with many people,� said Pride! Kent secretary Steven Harbaugh.

The following day, Pride! Kent held a house party in the Student Center Plaza, with two hours of music by DJ Lee bringing students out to dance between classes before releasing rainbow-colored balloons at 2 pm.

That night, the crew strapped on their skates for Queers on Ice, featuring two drag queens reenacting the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan controversy at the KSU ice arena.

Michael Collins, a former president of Pride! Kent, spoke on October 24 about the 31-year history of the group, one of the oldest LGBT student organizations in the country.

�Friday�s event was explosive,� Harbaugh said of Pride! Kent�s Halloween Extravaganza in the KSU Student Center Ballroom. Over 330 people turned out to watch seven local drag queens perform and to dance, some in their Halloween costumes.

Monica Masters, the reigning Ms. Gay Akron, emceed the festivities.

The event, which ran for three hours, served as a kick-off for a weekend of Halloween festivities in town.

�Pride! Kent�s Coming Out Week was an extreme success,� Harbaugh said. �Each event went off without a hitch. We worked so incredibly hard that we made one of the best Coming Out Weeks in years.�

�It�s good to know we can get Pride! Kent out to the students and show that that we�re here to serve the community,� programming director Lawrence Faulk said. �We�re a colorful organization.�

Faulk explained the success of the week.

�In order to have a great organization, you have to have a board that can work together, take criticism and keep a common goal, to succeed and have fun,� Faulk noted. �It takes a determined board with the skills to get things done. I couldn�t ask for a better board to work with. You have to include everyone or it will not work out.�

Ohioans join Pride festival in Jerry Falwells hometown

by Anthony Glassman

Lynchburg, Va.�The hometown of anti-gay televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell held its first gay pride festival on October 26, �Out and About in Lynchburg.�

Organized by Soulforce, an organization committed to ending spiritual violence against LGBT people, the event drew over 200 people, up to half of whom were from Lynchburg.

According to Vicki Miller, the leader of Soulforce�s Liberation chapter in Cleveland, 22 people from the three Soulforce chapters in Ohio went to the event.

�The Ohio group was, I think, the largest group represented there,� Miller said. �They definitely knew Ohio was there.�

In addition to Soulforce co-founder Rev. Mel White, who moved to Lynchburg with his partner Gary Nixon in September, the event also brought in Faisal Alam, the founder and director of Al-Fatiha, an organization for LGBT Muslims, and Rev. Roger Zimmerman, the pastor of First Christian Church, which hosted the event.

The following day, Soulforce organized a rally outside of Falwell�s Thomas Road Baptist Church which drew 150 people.

In addition to Soulforce and its supporters, both events also drew a contingent of right-wing evangelical Christians, who referred to White as �the Antichrist.�

According to Miller, they were as angry at Falwell�s congregation as at the gay pride attendees and vigil-goers.

�I love it when they�re here because it�s a really good mirror for the religious right,� she said. �It almost forces them to see what they�re really saying.�

White has placed himself in the proverbial lion�s den. The front yard of his house, which served as a rest area for people involved in the vigil, is directly across the street from the front door of the Thomas Road Baptist Church.

While many of the people involved in both the rally and the vigil were from out of town, a number of high school and college students came out to support Soulforce�s efforts.

�It was great for me to see high schoolers and college kids walking down the hill past the protestors,� Miller noted. �A lot of people, though, were afraid to come.�

�Lynchburg is a surprisingly closeted community,� she continued. �It�s a beautiful city but very closeted. The young people just amazed us.�

While some people criticized the event, organized by newcomers and those outside of Lynchburg�s gay community, the younger people at the event believed it needed to be done.

�We did a good thing,� Miller concluded.

Judge sued for jailing TG man over marriage licenses

by Eric Resnick

Akron--A transsexual man has filed a federal civil rights suit against a judge who had him arrested for allegedly falsifying the gender on his marriage license applications.

Sean M. Brookings, 56, of Springfield Township, filed a federal civil rights suit against Stark County Probate Judge R.R. Denny Clunk for wrongful arrest, detention, invasion of privacy, and malicious prosecution without cause.

The suit stems from Brookings� arrest on February 6, 2001 after Clunk accused him of misstating his gender on three marriage license applications in 1988, 1990, and 1994. Another judge later dismissed all the charges.

Clunk had granted all three licenses, allowing the post-operative female-to-male transsexual to marry women.

The suit was filed October 25 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, which is located in Akron. Also named in it are Barberton attorney Vincent Alfera, Leslie McKinney of Tallmadge, and three Stark County sheriff�s employees.

Clunk learned that Brookings was transsexual in 2000 as the result of a Summit County probate court battle over the will of his most recent wife, Lois McKinney, who died that year.

Alfera represented Leslie McKinney, who is Lois� son, in the probate matter. The estate�s only asset is the mobile home that Brookings and Lois McKinney lived in, and where Brookings continued to live. It is the center of the probate case.

�It makes me sick to think that thing is living in my parents� home,� Leslie McKinney told the Akron Beacon Journal on April 1, 2001.

The newspaper also quoted Clunk, �Every now and then, one [of these transsexual marriages] gets by because there�s so many of these surgeries going on.�

Clunk wrote the landmark 1987 In Re Ladrach opinion denying a marriage license to a post-operative male to female transsexual and a male, saying Ohio law only recognizes a person�s gender at birth.

On May 4, 2001, Alfera sent a letter to Clunk and Stark County Prosecutor Robert Horowitz which ended, �I urge you to bring charges against Sharon M. Perry/Sean Brookings. Otherwise, this individual will not hesitate to continue frauding [sic] probate courts by making future marriage applications, for same sex marriages that are illegal in the state of Ohio.�

The prosecution ended when Brookings� attorney Randi Barnabee, who is also transgendered, moved to dismiss the charges, saying the statute of limitations had run out five years earlier for the most recent license.

Canton Municipal Court Judge John Poulos agreed April 3, and dismissed the case without hearing evidence.

According to Barnabee, the suit�s defendants are listed in the order of their culpability. Clunk is listed first, followed by the county, then Alfera, then McKinney, then the three sheriff�s employees who will be named once it is determined through discovery who they are.

They are alleged to have invaded Brookings� privacy when, following arrest, Brookings was sent to the Stark County jail for processing. Springfield Township and Canton police told the jail that Brookings was transsexual and needed to be segregated for his protection.

According to the complaint, two jailers, one male, one female, made Brookings pull down his pants so they could look at his genitals.

But the bulk of the complaint centers around the conduct of Clunk and Alfera as attorneys and officers of the court. Brookings alleges that the two violated numerous ethical canons and disciplinary rules.

The suit calls it �inconceivable� that Clunk didn�t know the statute of limitations had long ago run out, but he used his influence as a judge to get the city of Canton to prosecute the case anyway.

Clunk may be personally liable for any award to Brookings, because he made the falsification complaints as a private citizen, not as a judge.

Gay pioneer Harry Hay dies; he founded the Mattachine Society

by Anthony Glassman
with wire reports

San Francisco�The gay civil rights movement in the United States lost one of its earliest pioneers on October 24 with the death of Henry �Harry� Hay Jr. He died in his sleep at the age of 90.

Hay was born in 1912 in Worthing, England; his father, a mining engineer, moved his family to Los Angeles when Hay was 7. Hay briefly attended Stanford University, dropping out to pursue an acting career. Hay portrayed Mr. Martin in the 1937 film Woman Against the World.

While in Hollywood, Hay met Will Geer, the actor who portrayed Grandpa on the television series The Waltons. Sharing political ideology, Geer signed Hay up for the Communist Party and took him to demonstrations.

Hay, feeling desperately alone because of his sexual orientation, sought the help of a psychiatrist who suggested that he enter into a heterosexual relationship. In 1938 he married a woman, and they adopted two daughters. They divorced in 1951, shortly after Hay founded the Mattachine Society with Rudy Gernreich, his partner at the time, Bob Hull, Chuck Rowland and Dale Jennings.

Hay had, by this time, left the Communist Party, angered over its increasingly anti-gay stance, engendered by Josef Stalin�s purge of gays in the Soviet Union.

The Mattachine Society, named after secret all-male fraternities in medieval Europe that performed satirical dances at celebrations, became the first national organization for gay men, forming chapters modeled after Communist cells in many major cities.

In 1952, Dale Jennings was arrested and charged with lewd conduct in the most widely-publicized case of police entrapment of the era. While charges were eventually dropped after Jenning�s trial resulted in a hung jury, thousands of men joined the Mattachine Society in its wake.

Shortly after the trial, however, an increasingly large core of conservative members forced Hay out of the organization he helped found, uncomfortable with his leftist politics. Three years later, he was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee; Hay took his cue from the hearings and left the public eye.

Hay met John Burnside in 1963, and the two moved to New Mexico, where they ran a trading post on a Pueblo reservation.

In the 1970s, Hay co-founded the Radical Faeries, a loose-knit group of gay men that view homosexuality in spiritual terms. During that decade, Hay also championed women�s and Native American causes.

In the 1980s, Hay and Burnside moved to Los Angeles, and Hay helped start the gay caucus of the Rainbow Coalition, Rev. Jesse Jackson�s cross-cultural political organization.

Hay and Burnside moved to San Francisco in 1999 when Hay was invited to be the grand marshal of the San Francisco pride parade. Hay, despite failing health, accepted the honor, and the couple moved into a �painted lady,� a brightly-colored Victorian house in the Castro district of the city.

Hay was diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks ago, and died quietly during the night.

He is survived by John Burnside, who was his partner for 39 years, and his two adopted daughters.

Eight �Rainbow Awards� given at center�s annual meeting

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland�The Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center held their annual meeting on October 27, bringing around 50 people to the Gordon Square Atrium on Detroit Avenue.

The keynote speech was given by Dr. Marsha Martin, a Clinton administration appointee who currently is the executive director of AIDS Action, a network of 3,200 AIDS service organizations across the country.

Center members were updated on the state of the organization, focusing on the search for a new executive director. Staff members also gave out the annual Rainbow Community Awards.

Activist Sarah Young, 20-Something group organizer Dave Haynik, volunteer Tom Stebel and center benefactor Henry Hawley received awards during the event.

Paul Zeitzew, owner of Body Language and sponsor of many center events, also received an award. Jan Bruml accepted one on behalf of Red Hen, Cleveland�s feminist theater.

L. Michael Gipson arrived late to accept an award on behalf of BlackOut Unlimited�s youth group, Club 1722. Gipson was delayed because he was counseling a teen.

Cleveland Heights City Council member Nancy Dietrich represented her colleagues in accepting a Rainbow Community Award for their efforts in passing and defending domestic partner benefits for city employees.

�Every non-profit has an annual meeting,� said communication manager Tim Marshall, �but we like to make ours an event.�

�It�s an opportunity to bring the community together and recognize leaders who have helped advance the cause in our area,� he continued.

The center has expanded its search for a new executive director to the national level, and received applications from as far away as Puerto Rico, Florida and Washington state.

Three applicants will be interviewed by center staff and the board�s search committee on November 4, after which both groups will give feedback on the hopefuls to the board before a final decision is made. The finalists are from Wisconsin, Missouri and Florida.

Sen. Paul Wellstone was a voice for LGBT causes

by Eric Resnick

Northfield, Minn.--The life of Senator Paul Wellstone, 58, ended in a northern Minnesota plane crash the afternoon of October 25. The senator, his wife Sheila, their daughter Monica, three of Wellstone�s staff, and the crew of the chartered jet also perished while returning to the campaign trail from a funeral. The senator was a prominent voice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Wellstone, a Democrat, was first elected to the United States Senate in 1990 as a populist liberal. His underdog campaign was characterized by fiery speeches and Wellstone�s crossing the state in a green school bus.

The son of immigrant Russian Jews, Wellstone studied political activism and political science, which he taught at Carleton College prior to his Senate election.

In addition to being an outspoken voice for LGBT causes, Wellstone scored nearly perfect on Human Rights Campaign scorecards since they were first developed in 1993.

The lone exception was the 1996 �Defense of Marriage Act,� barring federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

That bill, initiated by anti-gay activists and politicians, was intended to be used to defeat gay-affirming officials up for re-election that year, especially President Clinton. Only 14 senators opposed the measure. All were Democrats, and none were running for re-election that year.

But Wellstone also lobbied for and cast some politically difficult votes that helped the GLBT community, including opposition to the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the armed forces.

Wellstone voted to confirm President Clinton�s nomination of openly lesbian Roberta Achtenberg to the office of Assistant Secretary of Fair Housing. At the time, no out gay or lesbian had ever been nominated to such a high position.

Wellstone criticized now-Attorney General John Ashcroft for his anti-gay activism and voted against his appointment.

At the time of his death, Minnesota Stonewall Democrats were campaigning hard to re-elect Wellstone to a third term.

�Paul Wellstone was both a friend and a champion of the gay community,� National Stonewall Democrats executive director Chad Johnson said.

HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch said, �America has lost a powerfully eloquent and passionate voice for fairness today.�

News Briefs

Compiled from wire reports by Brian DeWitt, Anthony Glassman and Patti Harris.

Murdered teen is laid to rest

Newark, Calif.�In a sunny parking lot outside St. Edward�s Church, family members released 17 butterflies, one for each year of Gwen Araujo�s life.

The teenager, who was born as Eddie but had been dressing as a woman for some time and went by Gwen or Lida, was beaten and strangled at a party Oct. 3, allegedly by three men who discovered she was biologically male.

On Oct. 25, Araujo�s family and hundreds of mourners buried her the way she lived, in women�s clothing and make-up.

Araujo�s family has shown a reluctance to see her name added to the list of hate victims such as Matthew Shepard or Brandon Teena.

Jaron Kanegson of the Youth Gender Project said, �No one wants to be remembered because they got killed in a horrible way. That�s not what you want for your family member.�

For the funeral, there was a service for family and close friends Friday morning, followed by an afternoon service open to the public.

Hundreds of people filed somberly past the open casket. Family members said they felt Araujo would want to be buried as a woman and they honored that.

Later, more than 700 people packed into St. Edward�s for the funeral, many standing outside when there was no more room.

Nasty e-mail wasn�t a crime

Oxford, Ohio�An anonymous e-mail sent to members of a gay and lesbian support group at Miami University was �despicable� but not a crime, university officials said.

The e-mail was sent Oct. 20 to twelve members of the campus LGBT and straight group Spectrum.

The e-mail said Spectrum and its members �weaken the moral foundation of this country.� It went on to suggest that they �should go find . . . a ceiling rafter and a sturdy piece of rope. You know the rest.�

Because the message did not suggest that the writer intended to harm the recipients, university officials concluded that it could not be investigated as a crime, said spokesperson Richard Little.

The e-mail was fictitiously signed with a name that does not belong to any student at Miami, and school officials do not know if it came from within the university, Little said.

The recipients came out in a National Coming Out Day advertisement that ran on Oct. 11 in the campus newspaper.

New trial for deadly outing threat

Allentown, Pa.�A federal judge stood by his order for a new trial in a lawsuit accusing police of driving an 18-year-old to suicide by threatening to tell his family he was gay.

U.S. District Judge Arnold C. Rapoport in June threw out a jury�s verdict that had cleared the borough of Minersville and three police officers of violating the teen�s privacy rights. Officers� attorneys asked Rapoport to reconsider, but he issued a terse ruling Oct. 18 reaffirming the decision.

Marcus Wayman, a high school football player, shot himself in the head at home in 1997, hours after the officers who arrested him on an underage drinking charge allegedly threatened to tell his grandfather he was gay.

Harrisburg attorney Robert Hanna, who represented Minersville and the officers, said he may appeal the decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, saying Rapoport overstepped his authority when he ruled that the jury had ignored salient facts in the case and reached the wrong verdict.

The case has been to the 3rd Circuit once before. In a pretrial decision in 2000, the court ruled that a person�s constitutional right to privacy includes protection of the person�s sexual orientation.

Minersville is about 45 miles northeast of Harrisburg.

Priest blesses couple, baptizes quads

Lexington, Ky.�A gay couple who became parents of quadruplets after enlisting the help of a surrogate mother had their 3-month-old children baptized Oct. 26 in a Roman Catholic church.

Father Paul Prabell blessed the men, Thomas Dysarz and Michael Meehan, and baptized their daughter and three sons at Lexington�s Cathedral of Christ the King.

The ceremony was attended by about 30 friends and relatives.

The mother, 23-year-old Brooke Verity, has said she thinks Dysarz and Meehan, a Lexington lawyer, will become great dads. She conceived Michael, Jacob, Tristan and Taylor through in-vitro fertilization in January and gave birth in July.

Prabell said no one had objected to the christening, although he expects that �some people would feel that the christening would be an endorsement of homosexuality and surrogate parenting.�

Those issues did not enter into the decision to baptize the quadruplets. Prabell said he and the Catholic Diocese of Lexington agreed to the baptisms because Dysarz and Meehan said they will raise the children as Catholics.

The men expressed gratitude to the priest for his acceptance.

�I didn�t expect him to bless us both. Just like any other couple,� Dysarz said.

School allows gay-straight alliance

Cannonsburg, Ky.�After their requests to hold meetings on school grounds were twice denied, members of the Gay-Straight Alliance are preparing for their first meeting at Boyd County High School.

On Oct. 28, the school�s parent-teacher council voted 3-2 to allow the group to meet at the rural 990-student high school. Twice this year, the council unanimously rejected the alliance�s requests.

The vote sparked an hourlong discussion, during which some parents threatened to remove their children from the school and others threatened legal action.

Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the parent-teacher council saying under the federal Equal Access Act, the alliance must be allowed to use school facilities if other non-curricular groups have access.

The Reagan-era law was created to allow students to hold Bible club meetings at school, but its protection extends to all students who want to start extracurricular organizations.

Cannonsburg is in northeast Kentucky, a few miles from both Ohio and West Virginia.

GOP group reorganizes without Log Cabin tie

by Dale Giesige

Cleveland--Area gay and lesbian Republicans have decided to refocus their efforts in forming a political group.

Originally the group gathered in May to reorganize the now-defunct Log Cabin Republicans of Northeast Ohio. After a summer off and significant discussion at the two most recent meetings, members have decided not to affiliate with the national Log Cabin Republicans and to form their own separate independent organization. The new group will be called the Republican Progressive Caucus.

�Having our own organization will allow us more independence in working with our local GOP and the local LGBT community on issues important to all of us,� said John Farina, a representative of the new group. �Many members felt that the National Log Cabin organization has strayed away from local grassroots efforts and has taken positions that many members do not support.�

This is especially in response to how the national group has dealt with the Bush administration.�

�While Log Cabin has seemed to make some progress with the administration, they have not been appropriately critical in many areas,� said David Tadych, another member of the new group. �In fact, they almost seem to blindly pander to every whim of the administration.�

Michael Flickinger added, �We need more independence to deal with endorsements and in working with our local leaders, much of the beltway politics that national is involved is not helpful to us on a grassroots level.�

The Republican Party of Cuyahoga County openly welcomes the new organization.�

�I have always advocated a �big tent� policy for our county organization, I welcome gays and lesbians to the party and look forward to working with them to help build a Republican Party that is representative of everyone,� said county GOP chair and State Rep. Jim Trakas.� Trakas was the only Republican official to speak at Cleveland Pride this past year.

At the caucus� most recent meeting they voted on these endorsements for the upcoming election.

Ohio

Governor:� No endorsement

Auditor of State: Betty Montgomery

Attorney General: Jim Petro

Ohio Supreme Court: Maureen O�Connor

Ohio Legislature

State Representative District 13: Ryan Patrick Demro

State Representative District 16: Sally Conway Kilbane

State Representative District 17: Jim Trakas

Ohio Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals 8th District: Laura Gallagher

Cuyahoga County

Court of Common Pleas: Eileen Gallagher

Court of Common Pleas: Robert T Glickman

Court of Common Pleas: George MacDonald Issues

Issue 1, State Constitutional Amendment on Drug Treatment: No

Issue 4, Cleveland Schools Mayoral Governance: Yes

Issue 58 Lakewood, Non-Partisan Elections: Yes

The Republican Progressive Caucus is an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals working to affect change in the Republican Party to further equal rights for all.� They meet every month on the third Thursday at 7 pm at Union Station, Detroit Ave. at West 28th St.. For more information, contact Dale Giesige at 216-7492942.������������

Dale Giesige is a member of the Republican Progressive Caucus.

Cleveland Stonewall Dems endorse in U.S., state, local races

Cleveland--The Cleveland Stonewall Democrats have voted to endorse these Northeast Ohio candidates for federal, state, county and judicial races. The group made the endorsements at their September 9 meeting at the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center.

The Cleveland Stonewall Democrats are proud to endorse these fair-minded candidates, all of whom have demonstrated their commitment to diversity and sensitivity to issues important to Northeast Ohio�s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

U.S. House

U.S. Representative, District 10

Dennis Kucinich

www.kucinich.net

U.S. Representative, District 11

Stephanie Tubbs Jones

U.S. Representative, District 13

Sherrod Brown

Ohio

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Tim Hagan and Charleta Tavares

www.timhaganforgovernor.com

Attorney General

Leigh Herrington

www.leighherington.com

Auditor of State

Helen Knipe Smith

www.smith4auditor.org

Secretary of State

Bryan Flannery

www.bryanflannery.com

Treasurer of State

Mary O. Boyle

www.boyle2002.com

Ohio Legislature

State Senator, District 23

Dan Brady

State Senator, District 25

Eric Fingerhut

www.senatorfingerhut.com

State Representative, District 7

Ed Jerse

State Representative, District 9

Claudette J. Woodard

State Representative, District 10

Shirley Smith

State Representative, District 11

Annie L. Key

State Representative, District 13

Michael Skindell

State Representative, District 14

Dale Miller

Ohio Supreme Court

Ohio Supreme Court � Term Commencing 1/1/03

Tim Black

www.blackforjustice.com

Ohio Supreme Court � Term Commencing 1/2/03

Janet Burnside

www.burnsideforjustice.com

Ohio District Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals � 8th District, Term Commencing 2/9/03

Sean Gallagher

www.gallagherforjudge.com

Court of Appeals � 8th District, Term Commencing 2/10/03

Thomas J. Pokorny

Court of Appeals � 8th District, Term Commencing 2/11/03

Patricia Ann Blackmon

Cuyahoga County

County Commissioner, Term Commencing 1/1/03

Jimmy Dimora

County Commissioner, Term Commencing 1/2/03

Peter Lawson Jones

www.peterlawsonjones.com

Court of Common Pleas - Term Commencing 1/1/03

Michael J. Russo

Court of Common Pleas - Term Commencing 1/2/03

Nancy A. Fuerst

Court of Common Pleas - Term Commencing 1/3/03

Mary J. Boyle

Court of Common Pleas - Term Commencing 1/7/03

Nancy Margaret Russo

Court of Common Pleas Domestic Relations � Term Commencing 1/8/03

Timothy M. Flanagan

Cleveland

Issue 4: Mayoral Governance of the Cleveland Municipal School District

Yes

The Cleveland Stonewall Democrats is an affiliate of the National Stonewall Democrats. The National Stonewall Democrats is the national organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats, with over 30,000 members and 80 affiliated clubs across the country. The National Stonewall Democrats is committed to improving the record of the Democratic Party and educating voters about the vast difference that exists between the two major parties on issues of importance to our communities. _|

Stonewall Dems of Central Ohio give nod to 23 for office

Columbus--The Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio have endorsed 23 candidates for the November 5 election.

Ohio

Governor:� Tim Hagan

Treasurer:� Mary Boyle

Auditor:� Helen Smith

Secretary of State: �Bryan Flannery

Attorney General: �Leigh Herrington

Ohio Supreme Court

Ohio Supreme Court: Tim Black

Ohio Supreme Court: Janet Burnside

Ohio Legislature

State Senator, District 3:� Debra Payne

State Senator, District 15:� Hon Ray Miller

State Representative, District 20: �Fran Dennis

State Representative, District 21: �Lori Tyack

State Representative, District 25: �Dan Stewart

State Representative, District 27:� Hon. Joyce Beatty

Ohio District Court of Appeals

Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals: Gary Tyack

Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals: Mark Froehlich

Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals: Deborah O'Neil

Franklin County

County Commissioner: Maryellen O'Shaughnessy

County Treasurer:� Richard Cordray

Court of Common Pleas: Jennifer Brunner

Domestic Relations Court: �Patsy Thomas

Probate Court: �Adam Miller

Court of Common Pleas:� Joe Mas

Court of Common Pleas:� John P. Johnson

HRC endorses six U.S. House candidates

The Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C. GLBT lobby group, has endorsed six Ohio candidates for seats in the U.S. House of representatives. These candidates have been endorsed by HRC because they have demonstrated clear and consistent support for GLBT equality.

With the exception of Rick Carne, opposing former Dayton mayor Mike Turner in District 3, all are incumbents.

U.S. House

District 3: Rick Carne (D)

District 9: Marcy Kaptur (D)

District 10: Dennis J. Kucinich (D)

District 11: Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D)

District 13: Sherrod Brown (D)

District 15: Deborah Pryce (R)

For more information on candidates for state and federal office, see www.hrc.org/campaigns/2002.

Log Cabin Republicans of N.W. Ohio has new web site

Eight candidates are endorsed for office

by Dave Schulz

Toledo�The Log Cabin Republicans of Northwestern Ohio have launched their new web site, www.lcrnwo.org.

The site features background information on Log Cabin, mission statement, endorsements, and recruitment information. An interesting feature is the Hall of Shame. It features political leaders from both major parties who have made intolerant or bigoted statements or acted hypocritically. It shows that both major parties have shameful segments and demonstrates the importance of having a voice in both major parties.

The endorsements of Judge Lanzinger, Judge Pollex, and Tim Brown reflect the 2002 club goal of becoming a bigger presence in the Wood County Republican Party. Log Cabin membership in Wood County has steadily increased over the last few years and 2002 was the right time to begin our involvement in Wood County.

Over the last two years, Log Cabin has made a big difference in the Lucas County Party and gained the reputation as the hardest working grassroots Republican political club.

The club�s 2001 successes included electing Gene Hagedorn, a Log Cabin member, to the Oregon City Council and was an important component in the Toledo Clerk of Court�s race, Toledo Municipal Court race and in the defeat of Becky Berry for Toledo School Board.

The group has also purchased advertising in the Toledo Blade to further promote endorsed candidates.

The Log Cabin Republicans of Northwestern Ohio is one of over 50 chapters of the Log Cabin Republicans. Log Cabin is the home of gay and lesbian and straight supportive Republicans working within the party to promote education, tolerance and inclusion and to elect supportive Republican candidates.

Here are Log Cabin Republicans of Northwestern Ohio�s endorsements for the 2002 elections:

Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals

Judy Lanzinger

Robert Pollex

State Representatives

Lynn Olman (Incumbent)

Cathleen Voyles Baden

Allen Roy

Wood County Commissioner

Tim Brown (Incumbent)

Lucas County Commissioner

Maggie Thurber

Lucas County Probate Court

Tim Kuhlman

David Schulz is the president of Log Cabin Republicans of Northwestern Ohio.

Stonewall Cincinnati PAC recommends 8 candidates

by Doreen Cudnik

Cincinnati--In past years, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender voters in southwest Ohio have looked forward to receiving their endorsement �palm cards� from the Greater Cincinnati Stonewall Political Action Committee.

The process involved in endorsing qualified candidates is a thorough and time-intensive one, requiring the involvement of many dedicated individuals, not to mention funds. Unfortunately, the PAC did not have the tools to provide a complete slate of endorsements this election. However, Stonewall PAC offers these recommendations:

Governor and Liutenant Governor: Timothy Hagan and Charleta Tavares

Tim Hagan has a long history of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. During a recent campaign event for a primarily LGBT crowd with his sister Susan, who is an out lesbian activist, Hagan reiterated his dedication to full equality for LGBT Ohioans.

One of the first things that Bob Taft did as governor was to delete a 16-year-old executive order banning sexual orientation bias from employment in Ohio government. Hagan has said that he will reinstate this policy protecting state workers against discrimination. Hagan�s running mate, Charleta Tavares, also has a long history of support for the LGBT community.

Hamilton County Commissioner:
Dr. Jane Siebenaler

Another very important race for LGBT voters this year is between Dr. Jean Siebenaler and Phil Heimlich.

During his tenure on Cincinnati City Council, Heimlich was one of the most conservative, and at times, anti-gay council members.

In July, 2001, Heimlich pressured Downtown Cincinnati Inc. to drop their support for an independent study about Article XII, the city�s ban on gay civil rights laws. Heimlich also questioned the Convention Bureau�s numbers that show a $65 million dollar loss as a result of businesses and conventions canceling their meetings in the city because of Article XII.

Siebenaler�s web site says that in order to attract new businesses to the region, we must �re-evaluate local policies that discriminate against people for biological traits like sexual orientation.�

She values the diversity that exists in our region and is ready to lead Hamilton County into a new era. Imagine what the combination of Todd Portune and Siebenaler as county commissioners could do in terms of LGBT equality!

Stonewall PAC also strongly recommends the following candidates and issue votes on Nov. 5.

Candidates that have previously gone through the Stonewall PAC endorsement process and earned the endorsement of the organization are marked with an asterisk *.

Treasurer of State: Mary O. Boyle*

U.S. Representative, 1st District: Greg Harris

State Senator, 9th District: Mark Mallory*

(Incumbent Mallory is running unopposed, but make sure to cast a ballot for this long-time friend of the LGBT community.)

State Representative, 32nd District: Catherine L. Barrett (*)

State Representative, 33rd District: Tyrone Yates

State Representative, 34th District: Dave Schaff

Issue 1: No

Issue 2: Yes

Issue 6: Yes

Issue 7: Yes

Issue 8: No

The Hamilton County Board of Election web site has this reminder running at the bottom of the screen: �Voting is a freedom and a privilege. Please protect yours by registering and voting.�

Much is at stake for LGBT voters in this election. Stonewall PAC urges everyone to exercise their privilege to vote and bring us a step closer to full freedom and equality.

To reach the PAC, call the Stonewall office at 513-6512500.���

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Non-partisan voter information

by Anthony Glassman

Endorsements issued by groups a voter trusts are well and good, but two people, no matter how similar their beliefs, seldom agree on everything.

There are issues on ballots that might not get much coverage; there are posts filled at elections that might fall under the radar.

To ensure that every voter is familiar with all the candidates he or she can support, as well as all the issues on the ballot, the Ohio Secretary of State web site has full lists of all the issues and candidates.

The address for the site is www.state.oh.us/sos. For those without internet access, election questions can be taken to 614-4662585.

Other non-partisan election sites include:

Human Rights Campaign

www.hrc.org/campaigns/2002/states/ohio.asp

The Human Rights Campaign keeps careful track of the voting records of all members of Congress on a number of hot-button issues, and their web site gives easy access to the information.

Project Vote Smart

www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml

Project Vote Smart bills itself as �a voter�s self-defense system.� They are currently tracking over 42,000 candidates across the nation, and have a handy search feature on the left side of their web site�s main page where a voter can enter his or her zip code and get information on everyone they�ll see on a ballot.

DemocracyNet

www.dnet.org

A project of the League of Women Voters� Education Fund. A handy map of the United States on the right side of the main page enables users to click on a state and find election information quickly and easily.

Smart Voter

www.smartvoter.org/2002/11/05/oh

A co-production of the League of Women Voters chapters in California and Ohio, the site includes information on the state level, or users can click on their counties for more local selections.�������� _|