www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

•

September 25, 2009

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

5

newsbriefs

Britain apologizes to gay codebreaker Alan Turing

London-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown offered a posthumous apology on September 11 for the "inhumane" treatment of Alan Turing, the World War II codebreaker who committed suicide in 1954 after being prosecuted for homosexuality and forcibly treated with female hormones.

The mathematician helped crack Nazi Germany's Enigma code, a turning point in the war, and is considered a father of modern computing.

In 1952, however, Turing was convicted of gross indecency for having sex with a man and offered a choice between prison and "chemical castration," the injection of female hormones to suppress his libido. His security clearance was revoked and he was no longer allowed to work for the government.

Two years later, he killed himself at age 41 by eating an apple laced with cyanide.

As Britain marks the 70th anniversary of the September 1939 start of the war-remembered as its "finest hour"-Brown said Turing "deserved so much better" than the treatment he received from postwar society.

"It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War II could well have been very different," Brown said. "He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war."

Brown said Turing was "in effect, tried for being gay." Homosexuality was illegal in Britain until 1967.

Working at the wartime codebreaking center at Bletchley Park, Turing helped crack Germany's secret codes by creating the "Turing bombe," a forerunner of modern computers, to help reveal the settings for the Enigma code machine.

Turing also did pioneering work on artificial intelligence, developing the "Turing test" to measure whether a machine can think. One of the most prestigious honors in computing, the $250,000 Turing Prize, is named for him.

Police raid bar over minor violation

Atlanta-For the third time this summer

after incidents in Texas and Tennessee, gay bar patrons were forced to lie on the floor by police officers who barged through the door late at night.

Owners of the Atlanta Eagle say police unfairly targeted the business and mistreated customers during the raid.

Several customers told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they were harassed and witnesses said they were forced to the ground and frisked during the raid on September 10.

"Our problem is with the way our customers were treated," said one of the Eagle's owners, Richard Ramey.

Eight employees of the bar were arrested around 11:30 p.m. and charged with providing adult entertainment without a city permit.

The raid involved more than a dozen police officers, including some in plain clothes.

Atlanta police released a statement saying the city "received several complaints with descriptive information about alleged criminal conduct at the Atlanta Eagle Club located at 306 Ponce De Leon."

The statement acknowledged "allegations of improper behavior by police officers conducting the investigation."

Nine complaints were filed on September 14 against the arresting officers, including allegations that they were unnecessarily violent, threatened to hit one of the customers over the head with a bar stool and used antigay and racist language, including one officer saying that the event was "more fun than raiding niggers with crack."

Several of the complains said the officers' only response to questions was, "Shut the fuck up."

Danni Lynn Harris, Atlanta Police's liaison to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, said the raid was a result of a tip sent to Mayor Shirley Franklin's office alleging "illicit sex" at the Eagle.

Harris said no drugs were found, and none of those arrested face narcotics charges.

A September 13 protest of the raid attracted hundreds of people. Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said the incident was being investigated.

The raid comes after a July incident in

charlie'scalendar

To Saturday, October 3

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, glam-rock musical about a transgendered singer and her search for love and fame, features returning Cleveland cast members Dan Folino as Hedwig, Alison Garrigan as Yitzak and Dennis Yurish as Skszp along with the band Vanity Crash, $20, Hi Fi Concert Club, 11729 Detroit Ave, Lakewood (Cleveland); http://Hedwig Cleveland.com. Friday, September 25

How to Be a Supportive Ally, coming out, and family dynamics with an LGBT family member will be discussed by P-FLAG at the Knox County Gay-Straight Alliance meeting, 6:30 pm, First Congregational UCC, 200 North Main St, Mount Vernon; www.knoxgsa.org. Friday to Sunday, September 25 27 Emmaus Retreat, tenth annual retreat for LGBT Catholics, $150 includes meals and room, Jesuit Retreat House, 5629 State Road, Parma (Cleveland); Barbara, 440-884-9300 or www.jrh-cleveland.org.

Downtown Dayton LGBT Film Festival, annual showcase of queer cinema, headlined by Little Ashes, a film about the relationship between Salvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca, Neon Theater, 130 East 5th Street, Dayton; www.neonmovies.com.

Saturday, September 26

Stop AIDS Walk, benefits Stop AIDS, registration 8 am, walk 9 am, lunch and prizes follow completion of walk, steps off from Sawyer's Point, Cincinnati; www.avoc.org. Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for LGBT Christians, presentation by Candace Chellew-Hodge, 10 am, $20 includes lunch, Cross Creek Community Church, 667 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd, Dayton; 937434-4580, www.crosscreekchurch.org.

Come Out of Your Shell, fantastic fourth annual clambake, finale of the TaDa Dinner Series benefiting the Cleveland LGBT Center, $55, limited to 150 guests, 6 pm, Cleveland; 216-651-5428, www.lgbtcleveland.org. Smooth, drag show by Dangerous Productions, $7, doors 8 pm, Wall Street Niteclub, 144 North Wall St, Columbus; gavindanger @yahoo.com, 614-464-2800.

Jason and deMarco, gay Christian music duo, 8 pm, $20, Cross Creek Community Church UCC, 667 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, Dayton; 937-434-4580, www.crosscreekchurch. org.

Sunday, September 27

Jason and deMarco, gay Christian music duo, 7 pm, Franklin Circle Christian Church, 1688 Fulton Rd, Cleveland; 216-781-8232, www.franklincirclechurch.org.

Kol Nidre, services hosted by Chevrei Tikva Chavurah, Rabbi Charles Kroloff conducting, with song leader Dara Holop, the library of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 23737 Fairmount Blvd, Beachwood (Cleveland); 216464-1330 126,

ext.

clipton@fairmounttemple.org.

Monday, September 28

Yom Kippur, Jewish Day of Atonement, services throughout the day at the host synagogue of the Chevrei Tikva Chavurah, Yizkor 3:30 pm, Neilah 5:15 pm, annual dairy fast-breaking at member's house follows, Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 23737 Fairmount Blvd, Beachwood (Cleveland); 216-464-1330 ext. 126, clipton@fairmounttemple.org.

The Actress, by Elizabeth Simms, to be discussed at the 10% Book Club, 7:30 pm, Liberation UCC, 13714 Madison Ave, Lakewood (Cleveland); damichcoop@roadrunner.com.

Memphis, Tennessee and a June one in Fort Worth, Texas that resulted in the firing of three state liquor control officers. Teen sentenced for beating gay boy

Kalamazoo, Mich. One of two teens accused of beating a 15-year-old boy because he is gay will spend six to nine months in juvenile detention after pleading guilty to aggravated assault.

The 16-year-old defendant was sentenced on September 14 in Kalamazoo County Family Court.

Portage's Steve Harmon says he was attacked August 13 in a Portage parking lot. He says his attackers used anti-gay slurs as they struck him about 20 times in the head and face.

The attackers broke Harmon's cheek bone and gave him two black eyes, a swollen lip and scratches.

Police say he apparently was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

The two defendants weren't charged with a hate crime because, like Ohio's, Michigan's ethnic-intimidation law doesn't address sexual orientation.

Ruling to hide signatures appealed

Seattle The Washington state attorney general's office says it is appealing a federal judge's decision to keep secret the names of people who signed petitions calling for a public vote on expanded domestic partnership benefits.

Spokeswoman Janelle Guthrie says Attorney General Rob McKenna will ask the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the decision on a fast track, and in the meantime, he wants the appeals court to lift an injunction that blocks the release of the names.

U.S. District Judge Ben Settle ruled September 10 that the petitions should not be released because it would likely chill the First

For A Full Year of Events:

Chronicle.com

Wednesday, September 30

Same-Sex Unions and the Dilemmas of American Legalism, 2009 Ubbelohde Lecture by Prof. Michael Grossberg, presented by the Department of History and History Associates at Case Western Reserve University, 7:30 pm, Moot Court Room, CWRU Law School, 11075 East Blvd, Cleveland; 216-368-2625, kxv50@case.edu.

Saturday, October 3

Days of Hope Dinner, buffet dinner, 50/50 raffle, featuring the Dirtee 3, proceeds benefit Tri-County AIDS Coalition, $10, Arcadia Grill, 321 Court Ave NW, Canton; 330-454-6055. Sunday, October 4

Open the Door to Equality Rally, first-ever LGBT rights event in Wooster, speakers, live music, potluck dinner follows, presented by Ohioans for Marriage Equality, P-FLAG Wooster, U.U. Social Action Committee and the College of Wooster Allies and Queers, 4 pm, Gazebo on the Square, Wooster, dinner is at Trinity UCC; 330-887-1212. Monday to Saturday, October 5 to 10

Reformed Catholic Church Synod, annual meeting of gay-friendly offshoot of the Catholic Church, Basilica of the Ascension of Our Lord, 787 East Broad St, Columbus; www.reformedcatholicchurch.org.

Sunday, October 11

National Equality March, LGBT march on Washington, http://equalityacrossamerica.org; Ohio website http://2009Equality March.org or e-mail contactjack@earthlink.net. Burning River Ride, bicycle ride benefiting the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, starts in the Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation Polo Fields at South Woodland and Chagrin River Rds., Moreland Hills; aid stations every 12 miles; 216-621-0766 ext. 270, http://brr.kintera.org/faf/home/

default.asp?ievent=314756.

Amendment rights of petition signers. He said people have a right to participate anonymously in the political process.

Consul killed in Jamaica attack

Montego Bay, Jamaica-The honorary British consul was killed in what police believe was an anti-gay attack.

John Terry, 65, was found with a cord and a piece of clothing wrapped around his neck on September 9. Autopsy results show he was beaten to death with a lamp.

There was no sign of forced entry at his estate, and though his wallet and cell phone were missing, police said that a handwritten note found on the body indicated that the motive was homophobia, not robbery.

The note called him a "batty man," a Jamaican slang term for a gay man, and said, "This is what will happen to ALL gays." Oddly, it was signed "Gay-Man."

Terry worked in the hospitality industry at hotels, and also served as an honorary consul, doing work as a justice of the peace and helping British tourists with problems in the

area.

Governor expects full marriage in fall

Atlantic City-Gov. Jon Corzine told a Teamsters meeting that he expects to sign an equal marriage law later this year.

He was asked about the legislation at a September 14 union conference, during a question and answer session following his speech.

Corzine faces a tough Republican challenger in Christopher J. Christie, and it is thought that the legislature is likely to pick up the marriage legislation after the November election but before the January inaugurations.

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

Tuesday, October 13

Paul Roetzer to speak, founder and president of PR 20/20, on the importance of effective use of Web 2.0 and social network marketing, 6 pm, Avenue District Condominium Project, 1238 St. Clair Ave, Cleveland; www.thinkplexus.org.

Thursday, October 15

What Banks Look for in a Business, second installment of the Plexus Fall 2009 Business Roundtable Series, 7:30 pm, KeyBank Building, 4910 Tiedeman Rd, Brooklyn (Cleveland); www.thinkplexus.org.

Friday to Sunday, October 16 to 18

Leather Bowl, joint run of the Iron Eagles and the Rangers featuring a football theme, "tailgate" parties, formal leather dinner, Mr. Leather Ohio contest and other events, $99 before August 1, $110 before August 31, $125 after, host hotel Akron City Centre, 20 West Mill Street, Akron; www.ironeagles.com, www.rangersinc.com.

Saturday, October 17

Christine Havrilla and Equals Four, Pride concert presented by the Akron Pride Center, $10, $7.50 students, 7 pm, Musica at Mocha Maiden, 51 East Market St, Akron; www.akronpridecenter.org.

Sunday, October 18

Pig Roast, benefits Community AIDS Network, pork and chicken, side dishes, melon and drink ticket, $20, 3 pm, Square, 820 West Market St, Akron; 330-374-9661, www.communityaidsnetwork.org.

Sister Spit: The Next Generation, multimedia literary explosion of zinesters, fashion plates, novelists, performance artists, poets and fancy scribblers, featuring Michelle Tea, Beth Lisick, Ben McCoy, Ariel Schrag, Kirya Traber, Sara Seinberg and Rhiannon Argo, 7 pm, $10, the Nickel, 4365 State Road, Cleveland; www.radarproductions.org, 216-661-1314.

Tuesday, October 20

Insight Monthly Dinner Meeting, Cleveland's premier LGBT personal, social and business networking organization; 216-556-0576 for location and reservations.

-Compiled by Anthony Glassman