GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

dina, Bay,

Regular, at last

KATHY SANDHAM

"Would you keep that racket down? I'm trying to iron here!" proclaims Edna Turnblad (Kevin Joseph Kelley) in the Beck Center's production of Hairspray, running through August 14. Brittany Lynne Eckstrom portrays Tracy Turnblad and Mark Heffernan is her father Wilbur in the production of the musical, based on the John Waters film.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, Tracy Turnblad is a pleasingly plump teenager living in Baltimore during the days of segregation. She wants to get a spot on the Corny Collins Show, the city's #1 dance program. However, the Corny Collins Council finds her Raphaelite figure... inappropriate. What starts out as an effort to get a fat girl on a TV show turns into a battle over segregation, and musical mayhem ensues.

In the original film, Divine played Edna Turnblad, followed by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway and John Travolta in the film adaptation of the musical adaptation of the original. So, having Kevin Joseph Kelley playing the role in the Beck Center production puts him in appropriate company, since he is perhaps the closest Cleveland has to a true Divine/Fierstein grand dame of the stage.

Insert your own Travolta gay joke here. Seriously, taking that role did nothing to help dispel those

rumors.

Hairspray is performed at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 pm on Sundays through August 14 on the main stage of the Beck Center for the Arts, 17801 Detroit Avenue, in Lakewood. Tickets are $28, $25 for seniors, $17 for students and $10 for kids 12 and under. For tickets or more information, go to www.beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540.

-Anthony Glassman

Volume 27, Issue 2 July 15, 2011

Justices: Ex-partner has no parent rights

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus-The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the former partner of a child's biological mother has no parental rights, even though she was a constant presence for the first two years of the girl's life.

The July 12 ruling involves Michele Hobbs and Kelly Mullen, who after five years together, had a daughter in 2005. Mullen carried the baby, but the couple agreed to be equal co-parents.

For two years the couple raised the girl, sharing child-related expenses while Hobbs prepared meals, drove the child to and from child care and nursed her when she was sick. Then, in October 2007, the couple decided to split, and Mullen moved out, taking the girl with her. She denied Hobbs any contact, and Hobbs filed a petition for permanent shared custody two months later.

Hobbs was granted permanent shared custody a year later, but Mullen appealed and a juvenile court reversed the decision in April 2009. The court said because the couple had never gotten a written custody order, Mullen had not relinquished her sole custody.

An appeal was filed immediately, but in December 2009, an appellate court upheld the juvenile court decision. The case was accepted by the Ohio Supreme Court last year, and oral arguments were heard in February of this year.

The high court decided the case on a 4 to 3 split vote, upholding the juvenile court's rejection of Hobbs' request.

Justice Paul Pfeifer, in his dissenting opinion, took issue with the ruling.

"The majority's decision today

continued on page 10

Court order halts 'don't ask, don't tell'

by Anthony Glassman

San Francisco-The Department of Defense was ordered on July 6 to cease enforcement of the “don't ask, don't tell" policy by an appeals court that had previously issued a stay of their order that stopped discharges under the regulation.

The Pentagon said it would comply with the order, meaning "don't ask" is now completely halted, indefinitely.

The three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in its order that the stay it had originally placed on a lower court's ruling overturning DADT was no longer necessary, since Congress repealed the policy at the end of last year and the military itself is in the final stages of training personnel on the repeal.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates estimated before leaving office last month that

Inside This Issue

Governor signs Rhode Island civil unions into law

Le Tigre on tour

News Briefs..

Page 2

Charlie's Calendar Resource Directory.. Classifieds

certification of the training, the last major step before the repeal becomes official, could happen as soon as the end of July or August. The final step is a 60-day wait built into the repeal legislation.

The court's decision called an immediate halt to all discharge proceedings on the basis of sexual orientation, and while the Department of Justice was given until July 21 to decide if it would continue to defend DADT in court, a July 6 story from the American Forces Press Service written by Jim Garamone noted, "The Defense Department will comply and is informing commands worldwide of the court's order, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan said."

Military branch heads were scheduled to give recommendations on repeal to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on July 8. Once Continued on page 10

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