GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Marriage

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"The plaintiffs have not established that they are members of a suspect class or that they have a fundamental right to marriage that includes the right to marry a person of the same sex," wrote Madsen.

"Under this standard," she continued, "DOMA is constitutional because the legislature was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to survival of the human race, and furthers the well-being of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by the children's biological parents. Allowing same-sex couples to marry does not, in the legislature's view, further these purposes."

"DOMA bears a reasonable relationship to legitimate state interests-procreation and child-rearing," Madsen continued.

"The people of Washington have not had in the past nor, at this time, are they entitled to an expectation that they may choose to marry a person of the same sex," Madsen wrote.

Both sexes barred from gay marriage

In a nearly mirror image of the New York decision, Madsen opined, "DOMA does not violate the state constitution's equal rights amendment because that provision prohibits laws that render benefits to or restrict or deny rights of one sex. DOMA treats both sexes the same; neither a man nor a woman may marry a person of the same sex."

That amendment appears to be broader, reading: "Equality of rights and responsibilities under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex.".

To get around that, Madsen found that homosexuality is behavioral, and not immutable, and supported it with a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a case involving a transgender woman seeking asylum that says gays and lesbians are not a "suspect class," and as such are not entitled to constitutional rights that others who are part of a "suspect class" may have.

Political success used against gays

Madsen also cites non-discrimination laws of Washington cities and the state law amended this year to include gays and lesbians, and that there are openly gay and lesbian elected officials at every level of Washington government, to determine that same-sex couples have plenty of opportunity to function in society.

"The enactment of provisions providing increased protections to gay and lesbian individuals in Washington shows that as a class gay and lesbian persons are not powerless but, instead, exercise increasing political power," Madsen wrote.

This analysis allows Madsen to say that the DOMA law did not result from anti-gay sentiments or animus. She also noted that some of the same legislators voted for both laws.

"While the state agrees that marriage is a fundamental right," wrote Madsen, "it says that it does not include same-sex marriage."

July 28, 2006

Tradition cited

Madsen sided with the state's argument that "there is no history and tradition of same-sex marriage in this country, and the basic nature of marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman has not changed. With the exception of Massachusetts, no state permits same-sex marriage."

"Although marriage has evolved," wrote Madsen, "it has not included a history and tradition of same-sex marriage in this nation or Washington State."

Justice James M. Johnson's concurring opinion goes even farther than did Madsen in its use of tradition. Justice Richard B. Sanders joined this opinion.

"Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and every Washington citizen has a constitutional right to enter into such a marriage," wrote Johnson. "This understanding of marriage has been continuously recognized throughout the history of the United States and of the state of Washington, including Washington territorial law."

"Every United States Supreme Court decision concerning the right to marry has assumed marriage as the union of one man and one woman," wrote Johnson.

Strong dissents

Justice Bobbe J. Bridge was part of two dissenting opinions one he authored, the other he joined with Justice Mary E. Fairhurst.

These two dissents are the most prolific and the most criticized in the majority opinions, showing a definite split in the court.

"The impact of this case upon the plaintiff couples and their children is both far reaching and deeply saddening," wrote Bridge. "The impact extends to all of Washington's gay and lesbian citizens and to the many fair-minded Washington citizens who hoped for a different result in this

case.

"What we ought not to address is marriage as the sacrament or religious rite—an area into which the state is not entitled to intrude at all and which is governed by articles of faith," wrote Bridge.

"What we have not done is engage in the kind of critical analysis the makers of our constitution contemplated when interpreting the limits on governmental intrusion into private civil affairs; what we have done is permit the religious and moral strains of the Defense of Marriage Actto justify the state's intrusion.

Bridge also concludes that the state will, at a future time, be embarrassed by the majority decision.

Justices Tom Chambers and Susan J. Owens also signed the Fairhurst dissent, and offered one of their own authored by Chambers.

That opinion sharply disagrees with Madsen on the matter of marriage only being a fundamental right when the couple are opposite-sex, and on the use of federal law, not state law, to determine it so.

"I conclude that properly read, Article I, Section 12 of the Washington Constitution protects us against all governmental actions that create unmerited favoritism in granting fundamental personal rights," wrote Chambers.

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Fairhurst's strongly worded dissent blasts the entire premise the majority

rests on.

"Neither an objective analysis of relevant law nor any sense of justice allows me to agree with the plurality” opinion, Fairhurst wrote.

"The plurality and concurrence condone blatant discrimination against Washington's gay and lesbian citizens in the name of encouraging procreation, marriage for indi-

Gay Games

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delayed for hours over difficulty with the results.

However, despite the problems, organizers are, according the Chicago Tribune, “99 percent" certain that the festival will come out in the black for the first time in 12 years. The last time the Gay Games were held in the United States, the 1994 games in New York, some events were canceled, which was not a problem this time.

Three days after the last of the sporting events, and two days after the closing ceremonies, full results were still not available from the organizing committee, and most of the results that could be procured failed to specify the home towns of the winners.

One example of the poorness of result reporting is the case of Brian Hoar, a runner from Cleveland. He was quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times discussing the difference between the Chicago games and the 1990 ones in Vancouver, British Columbia, yet it took extensive searching of links on the Gay Games website to find out Hoar's results, none of which included his home town.

However, Ohio athletes brought home enough medals to satisfy any relatively conservative, medium-sized state.

Bowling saw Cleveland's Kevin Rotenberry taking home a silver medal in Mixed Singles, Division D (Averages 155169), and Columbus' Jeffrey Baker and his partner Mike Riley of Round Rock, Texas, brought home the silver in Mixed Doubles Division C (Averages 340-369). In Mixed Team Division D (Averages 620-679), Northcoast Bowlers Lindo Mancini, Ed Progar, Kevin Rotenberry and Andrew Wright brought home the gold medal.

"It was kind of overwhelming," said Progar, one of the organizers of the Gay Invitational Fellowship Tournament, an

Red

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Up until this record, you have been primarily known for instrumental acoustic guitar work. Do you feel that your emotions and creativity are best expressed through this form of music?

No, I wouldn't say that. It's a very small genre of music, but I happened to grow up with it because my father enjoyed this whole guitar idiom. For me, instrumental acoustic guitar was a discipline that I really enjoyed it was just one of the things I did musically, and I happened to make two records of instrumental acoustic guitar music. But now I've made a third album which is still mostly instrumental, but definitely not in the acoustic idiom any longer because I was tired of it. I felt like I was being limited by my choice of instrumentation.

Tell me about "Jessica," which was written about one of your early lesbian experiences.

I wrote that a long time ago. I was about fifteen or sixteen. It sounds like I'm pining away for this woman, but in reality, she's the one waiting for me. She was this 21-year-old teacher's assistant at this nerd camp that I went to during the summer. We had fun together. But she was very interested in me, and I was very interested in my sexuality and not necessarily her. Ultimately, the song is probably about trying to remember a love that never really was.

But do you feel like she had a major influence on you, even if it was just by being in your orbit at a really formative time?

viduals in relationships that result in children, and the raising of children in homes headed by opposite-sex parents, while ignoring the fact that denying same-sex couples the right to marry has no prospect of furthering any of those interests.”

"Furthermore," wrote Fairhurst, “history and tradition' should not control us where that history and tradition merely reflect that a popular majority is willing to denigrate the rights of a minority group."

International Gay and Lesbian Bowling Organization tournament in Cleveland. "We didn't get to see a lot."

Progar bowled 19 games in five days, leaving him little time to view other events or really enjoy the city.

"If I go again, I probably would not go as a participant, I would go as a spectator so I can see more," he said.

John Katsaros, the owner of Twist nightclub in Cleveland, sponsored a volleyball team and a skater at the games, and was thrilled to learn that Franklyn Singley was bringing home the gold in his division in figure skating.

Singley has been skating since he was 7, and his win vindicates his years of effort.

Two silvers were brought home by Julio Aponte, the only member of the Ohio Splash to compete in the Gay Games.

He picked up one in open-water swim, slicing his way through the waters of Lake Michigan, and the other in Men's 200Meter Breaststroke, Ages 60-64.

"The opening ceremony was magnificent," Aponte said, "state by state was great. We were about 30 from Ohio, a contingent from Ohio State, the volleyball team from Cleveland sponsored by Twist and groups from Cincinnati and Dayton."

Aponte, born in Colombia and living in Ohio since 1970, was impressed with the Windy City.

"Chicago is great, with two gay areas and hundreds of businesses of all kinds in Andersonville and Boystown," he said, "each one bigger and more open than the Castro, DuPont Circle or Chelsea."

The organizers of the Chicago Gay Games had half the normal amount of time in which to plan their events. Originally, Montréal was selected to be the host city for 2006, but disagreements between the planning committee and the Federation of Gay Games led to a split, and Chicago emerged as the victor in the search for a new city.

The Outgames were Montréal, 2006's response to the situation, and run until August 5.

Sure. I mean that was the first summer that I kissed a girl, and she was this strange influence because she was older, and she was interested in me.

Tell me about the song "Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers." It's an instrumental track, and it's the most electronic song on the album.

I was going to put in paretheses, after the title, "Shit Happens." [laughs] There's really not much more to it than that.

Was there a specific gay son of a lesbian mother?

I'm sure there was. It's really me wondering if that particular family dynamic makes life more complicated.

It's an electronic track-was that a conscious nod to gay club culture?

I don't think so. I'm sure that people will pull that out—that it sounds the gayest song on the album. Or the gay boy-est on the album. Then I'll have to figure out what the gay girl-est song on the album is. I guess that would have to be "Yellowcake." The irony is that to a lot of people, "Yellowcake" sounds light and happy and feminine, but it's actually so weird and so dark.

Do you see yourself getting married someday?

You know, it's having that choice to get married that's important for gay people. Personally, I don't believe in God, and I don't believe that anyone needs to sanctify my relationship. But at some point, I think marriage might become a very practical stage in a relationship for me, so yeah, I might get married someday. No ceremony, though, but I like having parties [laughs], so I'm going to throw a big one! ♡