www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

January 2, 2009

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

7

keeping score

Pin Lizards are champs of Friday bowling's first half

Cleveland-The North Coast Bowling Association congratulates the Pin Lizards, who are first place champions at the end of the season's first half on December 19.

The second half begins January 2. The Friday night league is a fun social league with plenty of openings. No experience is necessary. Bowling begins at 7 pm Fridays at Ambassador Superior Lanes, 1500 Superior Ave. in downtown Cleveland, and finishes by

9:30 pm.

For more information, contact the league at 216-228-6966 or 216-481-4417, or see www.ncbafriday.org.

Team

Won Lost

Team

Won Lost

1. Pin Lizards

60

31

12. Ball Busters

46

45

2. Alley Katz

58

33

13. Hang'en on the Edge 45

46

3. Best of the Rest

55

36

14. Mikey's Misfits

44

47

4. Tied Up & Twisted

53

38

15. Ten Pins

44

47

5. Sex Toys of the Gods

50

41

16. Beyond a Mess

40

51

6. Superstars

49

42

17. Mines in the Gutter

39

52

7. BFTS II

48

43

18. Bounce Center Clevettes

39

52

8. Lighting Strikes

48

43

19. Zen-Tini

37

54

9. Spare Me the Details

48

43

20. Frames of Our Lives

37

54

10. Bruno's Boys

47

44

21. Spank Me

36

55

11. Cheap 'n' Easy

46

45

22. Wicked Twistas

32

59

DOUGLAS BRAUN

Registry

Continued from page 1

If Cleveland's registry is terminated by voters, it will have a chilling effect over other cities considering them, including Columbus, and will make other pro-LGBT measures more difficult for city councils to consider.

Campaign for registry is formed

The LGBT community and its allies have formed a campaign committee to preserve the registry, called Cleveland Families Count:

Among the principals of the effort is David Caldwell, who headed Heights Families for Equality, the group that created the Cleveland Heights registry.

The group has begun canvassing Cleveland neighborhoods to identify registry supporters. Eighteen people canvassed west side neighborhoods on December 21 on the seven degree temperature afternoon.

Others have begun raising money and working phone banks.

The initial leadership of Cleveland Families Count includes Caldwell, Equality Ohio director Lynne Bowman and northeast Ohio board member Doug Braun, and Cleveland LGBT Center director Sue Doerfer.

Churches are organizing

Anti-LGBT churches and their allies against the registry are organizing, too. That campaign committee is called the Greater Cleveland Coalition of Churches.

Doerfer attended the organizational meeting December 20 at City Church on Cleveland's east side.

According to Doerfer, opponents are keeping their initial activities confined to like-minded churches.

"Just get the petitions to believers.. Believers will sign," Doerfer said the group of about 30 was instructed to do with the petitions.

"The minister making the presentation said the people handling petitions didn't need to know anything about the registry other than stopping it would save the children of Cleveland from gay marriage," Doerfer said.

Their goal was to get 7,500 signatures by Christmas, according to Doerfer.

The church coalition is made up of black pastors, who appear to be the organizers, and white anti-LGBT activists who have been at odds with Cleveland gays in

the past.

Doris Durica, the white school-voucher activist who testified before council against the registry, is organizing against

David Caldwell, left, and Equality Ohio's Dan Coleman return from canvassing voters in 7° temperatures to retain the Cleveland domestic partner registry.

it. Assisting her is Richard May, the Ward 20 Republican Party official who in 2006 denounced fellow Republican William McGivern's bid for state representative because McGivern is gay. "Never mind the gay guy," headlined May's 1,200 flyers.

Durica said she is circulating petitions but didn't know about any campaign.

Durica complained that her parish priest and bishop are "lacking in courage" because they denied her permission to circulate petitions at her church.

She said she has opposed domestic partner registries since Cleveland Heights established theirs.

"I called Marty [council president Martin Sweeney] and told him to make sure nothing like that ever came here," Durica said.

Durica said that all signed petitions were to be returned to Rev. C. Jay Matthews' church, Mount Sinai Baptist, a large, predominately black congregation.

Matthews chairs United Pastors in Mission, a politically influential organization of black ministers directed by Marvin McMickle of Antioch Baptist Church.

Matthews denied being the leader of the campaign to stop the registry in an earlier interview with the Chronicle. He

also denied lobbying black city councilors, as did McMickle.

However, growing evidence confirmed by Durica suggests that neither denial is

true.

Matthews has avoided numerous attempts by the Chronicle to get clarification.

Doerfer said that before the meeting at City Church adjourned to an hourlong prayer service, it was also announced that Cleveland Ward 3 Councilor Zack Reed met with the group to instruct them on how to get the matter on the ballot.

Reed, who publicly claims to be a friend of the LGBT community, voted against the registry.

Suburban churches are joining the campaign to stop the registry, too.

In a letter recruiting members to oppose the registry, Pastor Rick Duncan of the suburban Cuyahoga Valley Church wrote about the "slippery slope," presumably to marriage.

"Statewide votes on these issues have already taken place. The majority of Ohioan's voted not to allow a marriage or a civil union of same sex partners," according to Duncan, pledging his church's support.

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