GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE April 10, 2009

www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Democrats' Senate choice may come down to marriage

by Eric Resnick

Cleveland

Marriage equality is one of the few issues separating two Democrats vying for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by George Voinovich, who will retire in 2010.

Lee Fisher and Jennifer Brunner have declared their candidacies and will square off in next year's May primary.

Fisher, of Cleveland, is now Ohio lieutenant governor. Brunner, of Columbus, is the secretary of state.

Both have longstanding relationships with the LGBT community and have used their political careers to help advance equality, making it difficult for those who vote on those issues to pick an early favorite.

That may be changing, however, as marriage equality has emerged as the

issue separating the Democrats. Brunner favors it. Fisher doesn't, but is open to being convinced.

Both attended the Cleveland Human Rights Campaign dinner on March 28, and spoke in interviews about their position on marriage equality.

Brunner unequivocally believes that same-sex partners should have the right to marry. She does not put any qualifications on it, nor attempt any equivocation. It is a belief she has held publicly since 1989.

Fisher said, "I am in favor of civil unions, but I have questions about marriage."

Inquiry to Fisher arose from his answers to a Project Vote Smart survey, that appears to have been done during the 2006 gubernatorial race.

Fisher wouldn't verify the date on

the published survey. He said that as the lieutenant governor candidate that year, almost everything went through the Strickland campaign and he doesn't recall completing it.

However, Fisher said the questions and answers on the survey, regardless of when they were written, are accurate. Two of them are on LGBT equality. The first asks: Do you believe that the Ohio government should include sexual orientation in Ohio's anti-discrimination laws? Fisher answered "Yes."

Brunner also shares this belief. The second question asks: Do you believe that the Ohio government should recognize same-sex marriages? Fisher answered "No."

Pressed to clarify, Fisher said he is "not closing the door" to marriage equality, and that he expects to have discussions with HRC about it during the course of the Senate campaign.

"I don't know whether civil unions will be sufficient or not," Fisher said, "and those discussions will help me to understand."

The winner between Brunner and Fisher will likely face Republican Rob Portman, a former U.S. House member from Cincinnati and George W. Bush's trade representative.

Former Ohio secretary of state and noted anti-gay activist Ken Blackwell has endorsed Portman.

Republican state auditor Mary Taylor of Akron is also considering a run for the Senate seat.

411 is date, time and purpose of breast cancer benefit

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-In contemporary slang, 411 means information, from the telephone dialing code.

Now, on 4/11, from 4-11, people can get the 411 on breast cancer while helping to raise money to fight the scourge during a party at Twist Social Club.

The event will raise money to help Sheila Romes and Tara Beziat's team for the Three-Day Breast Cancer Walk, a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Romes and Beziat, mother and daughter, are the backbone of Sundays at Twist. Romes is their bloody Mary specialist, and Tara hosts Sunday nights.

Romes' sister Laura was diagnosed with breast cancer; doctors gave her six months to live.

Now, 15 years later, they call her "Long-lasting Laura" and the Energizer Bunny, because she just keeps going and going.

The event, organized by three customers who are on Twist's Rainbow Bowlers team, will feature a 50/50 raffle, silent auction, jello shots and a DJ spinning retro music on old 45s. The tag line for the event is, "Walk back in the past to walk into the future."

Owner John Katsaros was impressed with the dedication of the customers to the cause.

"They took the initiative," he noted.

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Romes is also touched by the show of support.

"Keith, Michael and Matt are doing a fantastic job of putting it together," she said.

bar's

the website, www.twistsocialclub.com, is a letter written by Romes expressing the emotional blow breast cancer can present, and the need to battle back against it.

"Everyone has been touched in some way by breast cancer, and recoiled from the touch," Romes wrote. "No family should lose a mother prematurely. Or a dear friend, sister, wife, daughter, coworker."

She continued, "No one of us, just diagnosed, should have to look at the

mirror in the morning and say: Will I survive? Everyone deserves a lifetime: We feel it deep in our bones."

Of the proceeds from the event, 85 percent will go to the Susan G. Komen walk, and the other 15 percent will benefit the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund, which provides ongoing support to breast cancer initiatives.

Those unable to attend the event on Saturday, April 11 at Twist, 11633 Clifton Blvd. in Cleveland, can go to www.the 3day.org. To find Romes and Beziat's team page, click on “donate," then select "Search for a team" and enter "Long Lasting Laura."

Sutton confirms: LGBT issues on back burner Economy gets top priority for Congress

by Eric Resnick

Cleveland-Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality is taking a back seat in Congress to economic issues, says an LGBT community advocate in the House.

Rep. Betty Sutton, a Democrat representing the Akron area, acknowledged in an interview what LGBT bloggers and community activists have been speculating: that Congress won't tackle the nation's economic woes and human rights at the same time, and that the economy is getting top priority.

"It's an amazing time to be in Congress," said Sutton at the Cleveland Human Rights Campaign dinner March 28. "People are sliding off the economic cliff every day, and I'm doing what I can to minimize that harm."

"Obama's plate is full," said Sutton. "There's been unprecedented damage to the economy. It's a matter of managing the crisis and preventing more loss."

Formerly a labor attorney, Sutton has a long relationship with the LGBT commu-

nity and a record of working for equality.

As a member of the Ohio House, Sutton was a leader of the opposition to the antigay “defense of marriage act,” which passed after she left.

In the U.S. Congress, Sutton is a charter member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, and lobbied the State Department to negotiate for the safety of LGBT people living in oppressive nations.

She is currently an original co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow a same-sex partner to be sponsored for immigration the way a married spouse can be, and the Military Readiness Enhancement Act to repeal "don't ask don't tell."

Sutton was asked about repealing “don't ask don't tell," given that public polls show as high as 76 percent of Americans disagree with the law and think it should be repealed. "Civil rights are always a priority," Sutton said, "but right now, it's a matter of massive [economic] challenges we are facing" that is holding movement of these bills back.

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