Quest Vol. 12 No. 24

*Quest News* Volume 12 No. 24 December 22, 2005 Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick Top Story: Partisan Vote Marks Senate Passage Of Marriage Ban Amendment Assembly Judiciary Committee Later Clears Bill For Floor Action Next Month Madison - The Wisconsin state Senate for a second time approved the proposed Constitutional amendment barring any legal recognition of all unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation here December 7. On a strict party line vote, the Senate voted 19-14 to approve the amendment, all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats against. Wisconsin law already defines marriage as a union between a man and a wife. The proposed amendment reads: “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.” Most of the debate focused on the second sentence. Senators Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) tried to alter the amendment to strip that language, maintaining it would have an impact far beyond its intended purpose. That includes impacting the ability of unmarried couples to visit partners in the hospital, their inheritance rights and their access to health care benefits. (Note: See a separate story on Hansen’s change of heart in this issue’s State News section) After lawmakers rejected those proposals, Carpenter proposed amendments to prohibit divorcees and adulterers from marrying, which he argued was a much greater threat to the institution of marriage than a union between two gay people. “The second sentence creates second-class citizens,” said Carpenter, D-Milwaukee. Both sides provided legal opinions to support their claims about the second half of the amendment. Opponents pointed to a memo from Dane County’s corporation counsel arguing the amendment would potentially endanger the domestic partner benefits the county offers its employees. Supporters cited a memo by one of the Legislature’s lawyers that argued that was unlikely. Lead sponsor Senator Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) claimed the courts could ultimately decide those questions if the amendment becomes law. At one point Fitzgerald claimed the amendment as written actually would allow civil unions. Carpenter countered Fitzgerald’s claim using his own words saying just the opposite as cited in press releases by Julaine Appling of the anti-gay Family Research Institute of Wisconsin. Democrats also focused part of the debate on the partisan political motivation for the amendment, noting the gubernatorial race, the U. S. Senate race and Congressional races already on the November, 2006 ballot. Language in both the Senate bill (SJR-53) and the Assembly version (AJR-67) sets a statewide referendum in November. Editorial reaction in the mainstream press following the vote was scathing. In an editorial entitled “Senate Shames Itself With Gay Marriage Vote,” The Racine Journal Times pointed out the danger to all the state’s citizenry. “We would hope that the citizens of Wisconsin see this piece of minority-bashing legislation for exactly what it is - an assault on all our rights as citizens. If one group can be singled out for a denial of rights, the rights of each of us is less safe,” the op-ed said. The Marshfield News Herald focused on the amendment’s second sentence. “It’s that extra little bit of verbiage, beyond the ‘one man and one woman’ part, that makes the defense of marriage bill difficult to defend,” the editorial read. “If some companies want to give their workers’ partners benefits, why let the state government interfere? Or if two people who are devoted to each other want to grant the legal right to make health care or end-of-life decisions for each other, why is that state government’s concern?” The paper then called the Republican sponsorship hypocritical. “The political party that says it wants to limit government intrusions into people’s private lives is intruding into people’s private lives. And it’s apparently telling businesses how they can treat their employees, besides,” the editorial said. Only the vote in the Assembly remains before the proposal could go to a public referendum. Legislators there are expected to pass it easily when they take it up after the first of the year. On December 15, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the measure to move for a floor vote by a 6-2 vote, again the vote was largely along party lines. Rep. Tony Staskunas of West Allis is the sole Democrat to side with the GOP thus far in the amendment’s second passage process. Minnesota Gay Priest Resigns Over Vatican Policy Collegeville - A priest at St. John’s University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican’s latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood. “Because I can no longer honestly represent, explain and defend the church’s teaching on homosexuality, I feel I must resign,” the Rev. Bob Pierson said in an e-mail December 14 to administrators and students at St. John’s and the nearby College of St. Benedict. The Vatican announced last month that it was toughening its stand against gay candidates for the priesthood, advising that men with “deep-seated” gay tendencies or who “support so-called gay culture” shouldn’t be admitted to seminaries or ordained. Others with “transitory” homosexual inclinations can be accepted if they have “clearly overcome” them for three years. Several gay priests are now questioning whether they can continue serving the church. The Rev. Leonard Walker quit his parish assignment in Mesa, AZ., in protest. The Rev. Thomas J. O’Brien, a Jesuit retreat director from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., disclosed his sexual orientation publicly - a rare step among clergy - saying the Vatican document promotes “bigotry.” Pierson, the chaplain and director of campus ministry, said in the e-mail that that he is gay and celibate. He said he did not accept several elements in the Vatican document, including the assertion that homosexuals are “objectively disordered.” “I am not an infallible person, but I cannot remain silent about my disagreement in conscience with this document, or the church’s teaching on homosexuality,” said the priest. Pierson said he would resign effective January 15. He will remain a member of the monastic community at St. John’s Abbey, which is on the campus but technically separate from the university. University spokesman Michael Hemmesch said that the school regretted Pierson’s decision but that “we must respect his personal conscience.” World & National News: Ford Makes U-Turn On Gay Media Ads Detroit - Ford Motor Co., the second largest U. S. auto maker, will resume buying corporate ads in gay publications, following criticism from gay rights groups who accused the motor company of succumbing to pressure from the religious extremist organization the American Family Association (AFA). In an attempt to end what has been considered a public relations nightmare, Ford wrote to gay groups December 14 saying it would resume buying corporate ads in gay media, featuring all eight of the company’s brands, reversing a decision to pull them. Previously only Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo ran ads in gay publications. “Ford’s action is a positive outcome and win for equality and fairness,” Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese said. “Ford has sent a powerful signal that corporate America values its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and consumers.” The AFA initially called for a boycott of Ford vehicles last May, citing what it claimed was the company’s “extensive promotion of homosexuality” including making contributions to gay rights groups. In June, the AFA suspended the boycott for six months after talks with Ford dealers and then ended it altogether after a meeting with Ford executives. In early December Ford announced it was going to pull the ads from gay publications and the AFA claimed victory. “While we still have a few differences with Ford, we feel our concerns are being addressed in good faith and will continue to be addressed in the future,” Donald Wildmon, the chairman of the Mississippi-based group, said. Ford denied it had struck a secret deal with the AFA, claiming the decision to pull the ads was a purely commercial decision. But gay rights groups reacted furiously, accusing Ford of pandering to extremist groups. The decision to reinstate the advertising followed a meeting with gay groups on December 12. The AFA countered December 15 it will consider reinstating a boycott against Ford because of the auto maker’s most recent decision. An ad promoting Jaguar could be found on the LGBT biweekly Advocate’s website that afternoon. “We had an agreement with Ford, worked out in good faith. Unfortunately, some Ford Motor Co. officials made the decision to violate the good faith agreement,” AFA Chairman Don Wildmon claimed in a news release. “We are now considering our response to the violation and expect to reach a decision very soon.” The AFA frequently singles out corporations for supporting violence, homosexuality or secular values. The alabama-based operation also has a history of claiming victories where none may actually exist. An AFA press release last April claimed that home products giant Procter & Gamble had “cleaned up its act under pro-family pressure.” “P&G has stopped their sponsorship of programs promoting the homosexual lifestyle, such as Will and Grace,” The AFA press release crowed. “And they have stopped their sponsorship of homosexual Internet sites.” However, the media industry magazine Advertising Age reported statistics that showed P&G never stopped advertising on the NBC show, or on the Bravo makeover show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy also cited in the AFA “success story.” The report noted that P&G actually increased ad buys by 33% on the shows between July and September of this year. The impact of groups like the AFA has been challenged by objective research that is then promoted by gay-positive organizations The Commercial Closet, an association that promotes gay advertising and education, pointed to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation’s weekly telephone omnibus poll for Fleishman-Hilliard in June 2005. It found that 68% of American adults said that knowing a company promotes its products or services to gays and lesbians has no effect on how they feel about the company. The annual market value of gay America is now estimated at $610 billion, according to advertising agency Prime Access. Ford is just one of dozens of mainstream businesses pitching products to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender consumers today. Over the last decade, more and more U.S. corporations, including General Motors, Coors and Wal-Mart have decided they cannot afford to ignore this lucrative niche. Advertising in gay media grew more than 28% last year, according to the 2004 Gay Press Report by Prime Access and media placement firm Rivendell Media. The report also found that more than 150 Fortune 500 brands bought into LGBT media in 2004, an all-time high. Businesses have a clear incentive to target the estimated 15 million self-identified gays and lesbians in the U.S., Howard Buford, chief executive of Prime Access said. “They (gay and lesbian consumers) not only have greater discretionary income, which can be used for luxury items like cars ... But they have much more disposable time, time for travel and entertainment,” Buford said. Buford believes that it’s because the majority of gay households do not have children and the expenses associated with child-rearing. However, other studies contradict Buford’s rosy assessment. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has issued several studies over the last decade that show that the majority of gay couples make less than heterosexual households, owing in part to ongoing challenges in the work force in some parts of the country and the extra expense that incurs due to the lack of legal recognition of same sex relationships. Despite the contradictory statistics, companies appear to consider one key factor in any marketing decision: the bottom line. “If you are a corporation, you have to play to the largest audience. It is very dangerous for a corporation to say we want some people to buy our products, but not others,” Buford said. “When you talk about marketing to gays and lesbians, there is always a significant layer of politics. And from a corporate point of view, there is a very clear business case to be made.” Vermont’s First Civil Union Couple Calls It Quits Brattleboro - A lesbian couple who entered into the nation’s first same-sex civil union are splitting up amid allegations of violent behavior. Carolyn Conrad, 35, had asked a court in October to end her relationship with Kathleen Peterson, 46. Conrad also obtained a restraining order December 14 against her partner, saying Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an argument and threatened to harm a friend. “All I want to say is that the civil union was a big source of pride for me, and now it’s not,” Peterson said. The two had been together for five years when they were legally joined in Brattleboro minutes after Vermont’s civil-union law took effect on July 1, 2000. Two years ago, the couple were offering relationship advice on the gay-rights website. By the end of 2004, a total of 7,549 same-sex couples had entered civil unions in Vermont, the first state to offer gay couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage. There have been 78 dissolutions, a 1% rate of “divorces” that is far lower than the state’s heterosexual marriage failure rate. Bari Shamas, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said gay relationships are prone to the same difficulties as heterosexual marriages. “There’s no proof that our relationships are any better than heterosexual relationships,” Shamas said. Gay Groups Unite To Oppose Alito Washington, DC - Gay rights groups are starting early in voicing opposition to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. A coalition of gay rights groups announced their opposition to Alito December 12, several weeks before he is to be vetted by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The organizations said Alito “would spell disaster” for gay Americans. “Alito’s record indicates that he would not protect all families equally,” Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) said. “As parents, family members and friends, we know that there is too much at stake now to leave LGBT rights in the hands of Alito.” The organizations said they were concerned about his record on civil rights and anti-discrimination matters, as well as his views on reproductive rights and the separation of church and state. Specifically, Alito authored a 2001 opinion that struck down a school district’s policy against harassing students based on sexual orientation. The announcement is a departure from the nomination of Justice John Roberts for U.S. chief justice, when several gay rights groups chose to wait until after his confirmation hearings before speaking out. Gay rights leaders said that while little was known about Roberts when he was nominated for the high court, Alito comes to the table with a long record that already raises concerns. “In this case, he has an extensive track record of court decisions and other materials that lend insight to his philosophy,” Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Lega said. Joining Lambda Legal and PFLAG are the Human Rights Campaign, the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The National Association of People with AIDS announced its opposition to Alito last month, largely for his role in authoring policy that supported legally firing people with AIDS and HIV because of “fear of contagion whether reasonable or not.” The LGBT rights advocates said Alito’s work in the Justice Department and on the bench shows an open hostility to diversity and enforcing nondiscrimination protections. “In striking down an anti-harassment law and arguing for a narrow interpretation of our Constitution’s guarantee of liberty, Judge Alito has proven himself to be the wrong choice to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said. “We also share our allies’ concerns about his record on reproductive choice and the separation of church and state.” Alito’s confirmation hearings are slated to begin Jan. 9. Closet Case Mayor Recalled, “Regrets” Personal Life Story-Breaking Newspaper Seeks To Release Photos and Names Of West’s Gay.com Contacts Spokane - Mayor Jim West was recalled from office December 6 in a special election prompted by news accounts that he offered City Hall jobs and perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room. In the city’s first all-mail election, 65%, voted “yes” for recall, while 35%, voted to retain West, 54, who became the city’s first elected chief executive to be ousted before his term expired. Final results were certified December 16. “I said I’d abide by the will of the voters, obviously, and they’ve spoken,” West said. “I’m at peace with their decision - and disappointed.” West, a Republican former state legislator who voted against gay-friendly bills, must leave office when the election results are certified Dec. 16. He has spent 27 years in public office. West told reporters December 7 that he intends to stay involved in some fashion “in making sure this community moves forward” after he leaves office. Asked what he will do after he leaves office, West replied: “I will stay comfortably in my home as a private citizen. I’ll be looking for work.” West offered a listing of his work as Spokane’s chief executive, including successful passage of a long-term bond program to repair streets, and codified budget policies. “I loved every minute of being mayor of Spokane,” West said. “I have no regrets as far as being mayor the last two years. I have regrets in my personal life,” he said. “I wish those things never occurred. I am embarrassed by them.” The Spokesman-Review newspaper had conducted an undercover investigation and reported in a series of articles beginning May 5 that West was a closeted homosexual who visited gay chat rooms on his city-owned laptop computer and offered internships and other favors to young men he hoped to have sex with. City Council President Dennis Hession, first elected to the council in 2002, became mayor pro tempore until the council appoints a replacement for the remaining two years of West’s term. West was elected mayor in 2003 after serving more than two decades as a conservative state legislator. The recall petition contended West used his political office for personal benefit by offering a city internship to someone he thought was an 18-year-old man he had met in a gay online chat room and with whom he had sexually explicit chats. One person he thought was a high-school senior was really a computer expert hired by the newspaper to snare West. West has not been charged with any crime. The Spokesman-Review recently asked a judge to rethink his decision not to allow the release of photographs from a gay-oriented website found on the city-owned laptop computer used by West. On November 17, Adams County superior court judge Richard Miller ordered the release of an index of the dates and times West used the computer to access Gay.com and similar websites, but with individual web addresses redacted to protect the privacy of third parties. The court said disclosure of the specific addresses “may result in identification of individuals who have an expectation of privacy” due to a user agreement with Gay.com. In the December 9 legal filing, attorneys for the newspaper argued that pictures and profiles found at Gay.com are posted by individuals who have no expectation of privacy on the website and, in fact, want others to see the information. The newspaper sought the information under the state’s Open Records Act while investigating rumors that West was visiting a gay Internet chat room, offering city jobs and perks to young men in exchange for dates. The city of Spokane’s computer chief, Garvin Brakel, testified that a person who is not a member of Gay.com could not access the personal profiles of those addresses found on West’s computer. However, attorneys Duane Swinton and Tracy LeRoy said in their motion for reconsideration that Brakel gave the court incorrect information. “Brakel’s understanding of how a person can access profiles on Gay.com is mistaken,” the attorneys said. Gay Health Groups Offer Email STD Notification Sites Los Angeles - For gay email users around the world, the familiar “You’ve got mail” may soon be adding “You’ve possibly got gonorrhea, HIV or some other sexually transmitted disease!” E-mail sent through wesites launched in Los Angeles and San Francisco is providing people with a free, sometimes anonymous, way to tell their casual sex partners they might have picked up more than they bargained for. Los Angeles County health officials launched www.inspotla.org this week in a bid to reduce the rapidly rising spread of STDs by encouraging sexually active men and women to get tested. “This is another opportunity for people to disclose STD exposure to partners because sometimes people don’t always have that face-to-face opportunity, or that level of relationship,” Karen Mall, director of prevention and testing at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, told Associated Press reporter Jill Serjeant December 15. “Partner disclosure is where we really have the opportunity to break the chain of HIV infection,” Mall added. The site allows users to choose one of six free e-cards to send to their sexual contacts either unsigned or with a personal message that avoids awkward face-to-face disclosure. “It’s not what you bought to the party, it’s what you left with,” says one e-card featuring a picture of a bare-chested man. “I left with an STD. You might have one too. Get checked out soon.” “You’re too hot to be out of action,” says another. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, which runs its own counselling services for partner disclosure, welcomed the website program. “Many of the people we are seeing are listing the Internet as the place where they are meeting partners, so the website is a really helpful tool for prevention and contacting them,” Tiffany Horton, manager of the center’s sexual health program said. The site is modeled on one launched in San Francisco last year (www.inspot.org) which is generating about 500 e-cards a month. Both are targeted at gay men but can be used by anyone. Health officials call the e-cards a “fast, free and flexible partner notification system” that also gives information and links to local testing sites. Some 2,400 new AIDS cases were reported in Los Angeles County in 2003, along with more than 8,000 new gonorrhea cases and 830 new syphilis cases - most of them among gay men. The websites urge users to show respect and not to misuse the system. Mall said only half of 1% of the e-cards sent through the San Francisco site had been malicious or fraudulent. “The sites do not give anybody the ability to do anything they can do already if they had somebody’s e-mail,” Mall said. “It is something we can monitor. People can get hold of the webmaster if they have concerns or want to complain. But I give the gay community more credit than that. I think the community really wants to get ahead of HIV and STDs and they realize that notification is really important.” State News: “Open Season” Call Changed Hansen’s Amendment Vote Madison - If the amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution banning legal recognition of all unmarried couples’ relationships is defeated, either in the Assembly or by voter referendum next year, Republicans pressing for the measure may be able to point to a single answering machine message as the reason the bill was killed. The message was left by an amendment supporter who felt comfortable enough in his opinion to identify himself on the answering machine in Senator Dave Hansen’s (D-Green Bay) office, according to staffers. The message suggested legislators create a new Constitutional amendment creating an “open season” on gays and lesbians, an implicit reference to the state’s recently concluded gun deer hunting season. The message, in full, said: “We, we, gotta stop these queers, Ron. There’s no question in everybody’s mind that this can not go through. Uh, we, we - this is gettin’ ridiculous. We gotta, we gotta stop this. There’s no such thing as, as queer marriages. We gotta stop it. In fact, you know, I think we should have an amendment - uh - put on the ballot, a referendum. Maybe we should have an open season on those people and just let ‘em know how we really think. Okay? Bye.” Hansen, who had voted for the amendment on its first passage last year, cited the phone message in remarks he made on the Senate floor as he offered an amendment to eliminate the second sentence of the amendment that would invalidate any “legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.” “In fact, I received a voice mail from a constituent who believes the next amendment we should pass is one that creates an ‘open season’ on ‘those people’ so we can show them what we really think about them,” Hansen said, after pointing out that “it has become increasingly clear that this Act is not about celebrating marriage as we know it.” In offering his amendment Hansen had made it clear he supported a traditional definition of marriage. “A year ago I cast my vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act as an extension of my firm belief that traditional marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman,” Hansen said. “In these turbulent times of moral uncertainty, we need to affirm our commitment to the fundamental family values that made our nation and our state strong.” Hansen then charged the bill’s supporters of political demagoguery. “It has become increasingly clear that this Act is not about celebrating marriage as we know it,” Hansen said. “Instead, it has been usurped by those who would use it instead for political gain in the upcoming elections and to spread fear and foment hate. It is the crassest of political strategies. And attempting to turn our Constitution into a campaign document is a dangerous tactic.” Hansen’s amendment was defeated on a party line vote. However, Hansen’s later “no” vote on the second passage of the amendment bill, along with that of Senator Roger Breske (D-Elderon), robbed the Republicans of the “bipartisan support” of the bill, touted during the debate by lead sponsor Scott Fitzgerald (R-Beaver Dam). Hansen staffers also told Quest the senator was comfortable voting against the measure since it followed Hansen’s often repeated promise for his votes to reflect the will of the voters in his district. Staffers reported that in the final days before the vote, callers opposing the amendment outnumbered supporters by more than fifty. Staffers also noted that information about the harm to same-sex and other unmarried couples provided by amendment opponents in the year since the first vote swayed Hansen on the issue. However, it was the hatred of gays and lesbians expressed by a significant number of amendment supporters - particularly the “open season” call - that finally changed the senator’s vote. The bill will taken up by the Assembly in early 2006, where the Republicans hold a 59-40 majority. After the expected passage, the measure will be on the November 2006 ballot. Ovadal Loses Another Court Battle Over Traffic Snarling Protest Madison - Wisconsin’s answer to Fred Phelps lost another round in his ongoing battle to promote his twisted version of the Christian message here December 12. After a six-hour court trial, federal district judge John Shabaz upheld the constitutionality of a Madison police policy that selectively prohibits signs from highway overpasses. Shabaz denied “Pastor” Ralph Ovadal’s request for an injunction. Ovadal had claimed that Madison police violated his free speech rights by threatening to cite him and other members of the so-called Wisconsin Christians United for disorderly conduct for displaying banners reading “Homosexuality is a sin” on major highway overpasses on two occasions in 2003. Shabaz again found that Madison’s policy, enforced only when a protest caused a traffic hazard, was content neutral and narrowly tailored and thus constitutionally permissible. Shabaz rejected Ovadal’s claim that police singled him out for scrutiny because of the nature of his message. Ovadal produced no evidence that it was the content of his anti-gay message that outraged some motorists, prompting them to call 911 to report near-collisions on the city’s Beltline highway on September 2, 2003, Shabaz ruled. “The signs created a traffic hazard. Traffic slowed down by the spectacle the plaintiffs created by the plaintiffs’ signs and banners,” Shabaz said. “It’s not the message we don’t like, it’s that we can’t get home on time.” In his ruling Shabaz cited testimony from Madison police Sgt. Patrick Grady who reported that he would not have seen the 16-foot-long banner Ovadal’s group displayed during a second incident on October 11, 2003, except for the traffic slowdown he had encountered before seeing it. Ovadal’s attorney Nathan Kellum told the Capital Times that Shabaz’s ruling would be appealed immediately. Kellum did not address if Ovadal would challenge the pending ordinance, though he suggested others might. “You’ll have people other than Mr. Ovadal who will be concerned. People involved in political speech, people involved in anti-war speech could very well have some concerns about the new ordinance,” Kellum said. Ovadal also claimed he didn’t expect to win in district court and downplayed the importance of securing a legal victory for his activities in Madison. Shabaz previously had ruled against a similar injunction request in 2004. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned his decision. However, based on a suggestion from the appeals court ruling, the Madison City Council last month enacted an ordinance that bans all banners from overpasses above streets and highways with posted speed limits over 45 mph. The ordinance goes into effect in January, 2006. LGBT Family Group Sets January Event Madison - My Family Playgroup, Madison’s playgroup for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender parents with children ages 0-10, will have a movie and pizza party on Saturday, January 14, 2006 from 10:30AM -1:30 PM in the private party room at Rocky Rococo’s Pizza Parlor, 1753 Thierer Road (at East Washington) here. Cost for the event will be $7.50 for adults, $5.50 for children under 10. No pre-payment is necessary. Please RSVP to Jim Schmid at: jhs1120@yahoo.com. Check www.myfamilyplaygroup.com for more details. Dueling New Year’s Celebrations Mark The Pink Party’s Passing Madison - Trying to go out in style can create special challenges of its own: like others trying to mark the territory before the last note is sung. That appears to be case as OutReach’s Pink Party will have a newcomer challenging its final bow here December 31. With both years of success and the “swan song” factor going for it, it will be hard to top OutReach’s 11th and final Pink Party. OutReach is promising both nostalgia and cutting edge entertainment. “Do you remember dancing to disco? Moving to Motown? Shaking to Cher? If so, do I have a dance venue for you,” Pink Party promoter Nicki Baumblatt told Quest. “Please join us at the Pink Party where Sandy Seuser will be playing the best in music for those who remember 8 track tapes, a time before microvaves and Soul Train.” The final Pink Party will be held on Saturday evening, December 31 at the Inn on the Park on the Capitol Square, 22 S. Carroll St. in downtown Madison. According to Baumblatt, this year’s line-up for the Pink Party includes Lynette and Tongue ‘n Groove who will anchor the live entertainment. According to Isthmus’ Music Review, “Tongue n Groove plays an infectious mix of R and B, funk, rock and groove tunes to get you dancing and sweating at night, but with lyrics that you will still respect in the morning.” The groups will be joined by comedian Lorne Newman, a veteran of USA Network’s “Up All Night.” Newman will share his eclectic sense of humor. Josh Wallin (AKA GiGi Monroe) will be Newman’s opening act. Additionally, DJ Tim of both Club 5 and 10% Society mixer fame will play the best in club music for dancing in the new year. Also planned are the first Drag King and Queen show of the year to be emceed by the notorious Dreux Watermolen. OutReach in cooperation with Charter Cable will also offer a free preview of the newest pay-per-view LGBT network, Here! On Demand, while the Lesbian Health Task Force will provide a kissing and photo booth. Tickets for the final Pink Party are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They will be available online through Brown Paper Tickets at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2870 or by calling toll free 1-800-838-3006. Ask for event 2870. Tickets may also be purchased through OutReach at 608-255-8582. A student discount of $5 will be offered with the presentation of a valid student ID. This rate can only be received through OutReach or at the door the night of the event. Sliding scale also is available by calling OutReach or at the door. The Pink Party website at: www.pink-party.info will provide updates on entertainment, the Inn on the Park room and brunch package deal, restaurants, tickets, directions, and more, according to Baumblatt. The new kid on the block also boast a history of party making that has been well-attended by Madison’s LGBT community. Ed Edney Productions, known for a series of highly successful underwear parties including the RuPaul event last June, announced December 16 that it has scheduled to host the very first “My New Year’s Eve Party” on December 31 at the newly opened Club Frida, 117 State Street. Headlining the event are three of the City’s most premiere vinyl artists: DJ Brook, DJ Prism, and DJ Jeremy Thomas. Doors will open at 10:30 PM and will not close until 5 AM. All guests must be 21 or older for admission, and should come dress to impress in the best New Year’s Eve attire. Complimentary hors d’ouevres, champagne, and New Year’s buffet will be served throughout the entire night. All tickets for the My New Year’s Eve Party are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets are available at Frida Mexican Grill, 117 State Street; MC Audio, 515 University Avenue, or by phone at 608-213-5226. Additional information about the My New Year’s Eve Party is available by email at: ededneyProductions@yahoo.com. Feature Story: Top of Page Quest Home QNU Home

Partisan Vote Marks Senate Passage
Of Marriage Ban Amendment
Assembly Judiciary Committee Later Clears Bill For Floor Action Next Month
Madison - The Wisconsin state Senate for a second time approved the proposed Constitutional amendment barring any legal recognition of all unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation here December 7. On a strict party line vote, the Senate voted 19-14 to approve the amendment, all Republicans voting for the bill and all Democrats against.
Wisconsin law already defines marriage as a union between a man and a wife. The proposed amendment reads: “Only a marriage Sen. Carpenter

between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.”
Most of the debate focused on the second sentence. Senators Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) tried to alter the amendment to strip that language, maintaining it would have an impact far beyond its intended purpose. That includes impacting the ability of unmarried couples to visit partners in the hospital, their inheritance rights and their access to health care benefits. (Note: See a separate story on Hansen’s change of heart in this issue’s State News section)
After lawmakers rejected those proposals, Carpenter proposed amendments to prohibit divorcees and adulterers from marrying, which he argued was a much greater threat to the institution of marriage than a union between two gay people. “The second sentence creates second-class citizens,” said Carpenter, D-Milwaukee.
Both sides provided legal opinions to support their claims about the second half of the amendment. Opponents pointed to a memo from Dane County’s corporation counsel arguing the amendment would potentially endanger the domestic partner benefits the county offers its employees. Supporters cited a memo by one of the Legislature’s lawyers that argued that was unlikely.
Lead sponsor Senator Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) claimed the courts could ultimately decide those questions if the amendment Sen. Fitzgerald

becomes law. At one point Fitzgerald claimed the amendment as written actually would allow civil unions. Carpenter countered Fitzgerald’s claim using his own words saying just the opposite as cited in press releases by Julaine Appling of the anti-gay Family Research Institute of Wisconsin.
Democrats also focused part of the debate on the partisan political motivation for the amendment, noting the gubernatorial race, the U. S. Senate race and Congressional races already on the November, 2006 ballot. Language in both the Senate bill (SJR-53) and the Assembly version (AJR-67) sets a statewide referendum in November.
Editorial reaction in the mainstream press following the vote was scathing. In an editorial entitled “Senate Shames Itself With Gay Marriage Vote,” The Racine Journal Times pointed out the danger to all the state’s citizenry. “We would hope that the citizens of Wisconsin see this piece of minority-bashing legislation for exactly what it is - an assault on all our rights as citizens. If one group can be singled out for a denial of rights, the rights of each of us is less safe,” the op-ed said.
The Marshfield News Herald focused on the amendment’s second sentence. “It’s that extra little bit of verbiage, beyond the ‘one man and one woman’ part, that makes the defense of marriage bill difficult to defend,” the editorial read. “If some companies want to give their workers’ partners benefits, why let the state government interfere? Or if two people who are devoted to each other want to grant the legal right to make health care or end-of-life decisions for each other, why is that state government’s concern?”
The paper then called the Republican sponsorship hypocritical. “The political party that says it wants to limit government intrusions into people’s private lives is intruding into people’s private lives. And it’s apparently telling businesses how they can treat their employees, besides,” the editorial said.
Only the vote in the Assembly remains before the proposal could go to a public referendum. Legislators there are expected to pass it easily when they take it up after the first of the year. On December 15, the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the measure to move for a floor vote by a 6-2 vote, again the vote was largely along party lines. Rep. Tony Staskunas of West Allis is the sole Democrat to side with the GOP thus far in the amendment’s second passage process.

Minnesota Gay Priest Resigns Over Vatican Policy
Collegeville - A priest at St. John’s University said he was resigning his leadership position because of the Vatican’s latest statement that homosexuals should be barred from entering the Roman Catholic priesthood.
“Because I can no longer honestly represent, explain and defend the church’s teaching on homosexuality, I feel I must resign,” the Rev. Pierson

Rev. Bob Pierson said in an e-mail December 14 to administrators and students at St. John’s and the nearby College of St. Benedict.
The Vatican announced last month that it was toughening its stand against gay candidates for the priesthood, advising that men with “deep-seated” gay tendencies or who “support so-called gay culture” shouldn’t be admitted to seminaries or ordained. Others with “transitory” homosexual inclinations can be accepted if they have “clearly overcome” them for three years.
Several gay priests are now questioning whether they can continue serving the church. The Rev. Leonard Walker quit his parish assignment in Mesa, AZ., in protest. The Rev. Thomas J. O’Brien, a Jesuit retreat director from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., disclosed his sexual orientation publicly - a rare step among clergy - saying the Vatican document promotes “bigotry.”
Pierson, the chaplain and director of campus ministry, said in the e-mail that that he is gay and celibate. He said he did not accept several elements in the Vatican document, including the assertion that homosexuals are “objectively disordered.”
“I am not an infallible person, but I cannot remain silent about my disagreement in conscience with this document, or the church’s teaching on homosexuality,” said the priest.
Pierson said he would resign effective January 15. He will remain a member of the monastic community at St. John’s Abbey, which is on the campus but technically separate from the university. University spokesman Michael Hemmesch said that the school regretted Pierson’s decision but that “we must respect his personal conscience.”

Ford Makes U-Turn On Gay Media Ads
Detroit - Ford Motor Co., the second largest U. S. auto maker, will resume buying corporate ads in gay publications, following criticism from gay rights groups who accused the motor company of succumbing to pressure from the religious extremist Ford

organization the American Family Association (AFA).
In an attempt to end what has been considered a public relations nightmare, Ford wrote to gay groups December 14 saying it would resume buying corporate ads in gay media, featuring all eight of the company’s brands, reversing a decision to pull them. Previously only Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo ran ads in gay publications.
“Ford’s action is a positive outcome and win for equality and fairness,” Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese said. “Ford has sent a powerful signal that corporate America values its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees and consumers.”
The AFA initially called for a boycott of Ford vehicles last May, citing what it claimed was the company’s “extensive promotion of homosexuality” including making contributions to gay rights groups. In June, the AFA suspended the boycott for six months after talks with Ford dealers and then ended it altogether after a meeting with Ford executives. In early December Ford announced it was going to pull the ads from gay publications and the AFA claimed victory. “While we still have a few differences with Ford, we feel our concerns are being addressed in good faith and will continue to be addressed in the future,” Donald Wildmon, the chairman of the Mississippi-based group, said.
Ford denied it had struck a secret deal with the AFA, claiming the decision to pull the ads was a purely commercial decision. But gay rights groups reacted furiously, accusing Ford of pandering to extremist groups. The decision to reinstate the advertising followed a meeting with gay groups on December 12.
The AFA countered December 15 it will consider reinstating a boycott against Ford because of the auto maker’s most recent decision. An ad promoting Jaguar could be found on the LGBT biweekly Advocate’s website that afternoon.
“We had an agreement with Ford, worked out in good faith. Unfortunately, some Ford Motor Co. officials made the decision to violate the good faith agreement,” AFA Chairman Don Wildmon claimed in a news release. “We are now considering our response to the violation and expect to reach a decision very soon.”
The AFA frequently singles out corporations for supporting violence, homosexuality or secular values. The alabama-based operation also has a history of claiming victories where none may actually exist. An AFA press release last April claimed that home products giant Procter & Gamble had “cleaned up its act under pro-family pressure.”
“P&G has stopped their sponsorship of programs promoting the homosexual lifestyle, such as Will and Grace,” The AFA press release crowed. “And they have stopped their sponsorship of homosexual Internet sites.” However, the media industry magazine Advertising Age reported statistics that showed P&G never stopped advertising on the NBC show, or on the Bravo makeover show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy also cited in the AFA “success story.” The report noted that P&G actually increased ad buys by 33% on the shows between July and September of this year.
The impact of groups like the AFA has been challenged by objective research that is then promoted by gay-positive organizations The Commercial Closet, an association that promotes gay advertising and education, pointed to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation’s weekly telephone omnibus poll for Fleishman-Hilliard in June 2005. It found that 68% of American adults said that knowing a company promotes its products or services to gays and lesbians has no effect on how they feel about the company.
The annual market value of gay America is now estimated at $610 billion, according to advertising agency Prime Access. Ford is just one of dozens of mainstream businesses pitching products to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender consumers today. Over the last decade, more and more U.S. corporations, including General Motors, Coors and Wal-Mart have decided they cannot afford to ignore this lucrative niche. Advertising in gay media grew more than 28% last year, according to the 2004 Gay Press Report by Prime Access and media placement firm Rivendell Media. The report also found that more than 150 Fortune 500 brands bought into LGBT media in 2004, an all-time high.
Businesses have a clear incentive to target the estimated 15 million self-identified gays and lesbians in the U.S., Howard Buford, chief executive of Prime Access said. “They (gay and lesbian consumers) not only have greater discretionary income, which can be used for luxury items like cars ... But they have much more disposable time, time for travel and entertainment,” Buford said. Buford believes that it’s because the majority of gay households do not have children and the expenses associated with child-rearing.
However, other studies contradict Buford’s rosy assessment. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has issued several studies over the last decade that show that the majority of gay couples make less than heterosexual households, owing in part to ongoing challenges in the work force in some parts of the country and the extra expense that incurs due to the lack of legal recognition of same sex relationships.
Despite the contradictory statistics, companies appear to consider one key factor in any marketing decision: the bottom line. “If you are a corporation, you have to play to the largest audience. It is very dangerous for a corporation to say we want some people to buy our products, but not others,” Buford said. “When you talk about marketing to gays and lesbians, there is always a significant layer of politics. And from a corporate point of view, there is a very clear business case to be made.”

Vermont’s First Civil Union Couple Calls It Quits
Brattleboro - A lesbian couple who entered into the nation’s first same-sex civil union are splitting up amid allegations of violent behavior. Carolyn Conrad, 35, had asked a court in October to end her relationship with Kathleen Peterson, 46.
Conrad also obtained a restraining order December 14 against her partner, saying Peterson punched a hole in the wall during an Splitsville

argument and threatened to harm a friend. “All I want to say is that the civil union was a big source of pride for me, and now it’s not,” Peterson said.
The two had been together for five years when they were legally joined in Brattleboro minutes after Vermont’s civil-union law took effect on July 1, 2000. Two years ago, the couple were offering relationship advice on the gay-rights website.
By the end of 2004, a total of 7,549 same-sex couples had entered civil unions in Vermont, the first state to offer gay couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage. There have been 78 dissolutions, a 1% rate of “divorces” that is far lower than the state’s heterosexual marriage failure rate.
Bari Shamas, a member of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said gay relationships are prone to the same difficulties as heterosexual marriages. “There’s no proof that our relationships are any better than heterosexual relationships,” Shamas said.

Gay Groups Unite To Oppose Alito
Washington, DC - Gay rights groups are starting early in voicing opposition to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. A coalition of gay rights groups announced their opposition to Alito December 12, several weeks before he is to Alito

be vetted by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The organizations said Alito “would spell disaster” for gay Americans.
“Alito’s record indicates that he would not protect all families equally,” Jody Huckaby, executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) said. “As parents, family members and friends, we know that there is too much at stake now to leave LGBT rights in the hands of Alito.”
The organizations said they were concerned about his record on civil rights and anti-discrimination matters, as well as his views on reproductive rights and the separation of church and state. Specifically, Alito authored a 2001 opinion that struck down a school district’s policy against harassing students based on sexual orientation.
The announcement is a departure from the nomination of Justice John Roberts for U.S. chief justice, when several gay rights groups chose to wait until after his confirmation hearings before speaking out. Gay rights leaders said that while little was known about Roberts when he was nominated for the high court, Alito comes to the table with a long record that already raises concerns.
“In this case, he has an extensive track record of court decisions and other materials that lend insight to his philosophy,” Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Lega said.
Joining Lambda Legal and PFLAG are the Human Rights Campaign, the National Lesbian and Gay Task Force and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The National Association of People with AIDS announced its opposition to Alito last month, largely for his role in authoring policy that supported legally firing people with AIDS and HIV because of “fear of contagion whether reasonable or not.”
The LGBT rights advocates said Alito’s work in the Justice Department and on the bench shows an open hostility to diversity and enforcing nondiscrimination protections. “In striking down an anti-harassment law and arguing for a narrow interpretation of our Constitution’s guarantee of liberty, Judge Alito has proven himself to be the wrong choice to replace moderate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said. “We also share our allies’ concerns about his record on reproductive choice and the separation of church and state.”
Alito’s confirmation hearings are slated to begin Jan. 9.

Closet Case Mayor Recalled, “Regrets” Personal Life
Story-Breaking Newspaper Seeks To Release Photos and Names Of West’s Gay.com Contacts
Spokane - Mayor Jim West was recalled from office December 6 in a special election prompted by news accounts that he offered City Hall jobs and perks to young men he met in a gay Internet chat room. In the city’s first all-mail election, 65%, voted “yes” for Ex-Mayor West

recall, while 35%, voted to retain West, 54, who became the city’s first elected chief executive to be ousted before his term expired. Final results were certified December 16. “I said I’d abide by the will of the voters, obviously, and they’ve spoken,” West said. “I’m at peace with their decision - and disappointed.” West, a Republican former state legislator who voted against gay-friendly bills, must leave office when the election results are certified Dec. 16. He has spent 27 years in public office.
West told reporters December 7 that he intends to stay involved in some fashion “in making sure this community moves forward” after he leaves office. Asked what he will do after he leaves office, West replied: “I will stay comfortably in my home as a private citizen. I’ll be looking for work.”
West offered a listing of his work as Spokane’s chief executive, including successful passage of a long-term bond program to repair streets, and codified budget policies. “I loved every minute of being mayor of Spokane,” West said. “I have no regrets as far as being mayor the last two years. I have regrets in my personal life,” he said. “I wish those things never occurred. I am embarrassed by them.”
The Spokesman-Review newspaper had conducted an undercover investigation and reported in a series of articles beginning May 5 that West was a closeted homosexual who visited gay chat rooms on his city-owned laptop computer and offered internships and other favors to young men he hoped to have sex with.
City Council President Dennis Hession, first elected to the council in 2002, became mayor pro tempore until the council appoints a replacement for the remaining two years of West’s term. West was elected mayor in 2003 after serving more than two decades as a conservative state legislator.
The recall petition contended West used his political office for personal benefit by offering a city internship to someone he thought was an 18-year-old man he had met in a gay online chat room and with whom he had sexually explicit chats. One person he thought was a high-school senior was really a computer expert hired by the newspaper to snare West. West has not been charged with any crime.
The Spokesman-Review recently asked a judge to rethink his decision not to allow the release of photographs from a gay-oriented website found on the city-owned laptop computer used by West. On November 17, Adams County superior court judge Richard Miller ordered the release of an index of the dates and times West used the computer to access Gay.com and similar websites, but with individual web addresses redacted to protect the privacy of third parties. The court said disclosure of the specific addresses “may result in identification of individuals who have an expectation of privacy” due to a user agreement with Gay.com.
In the December 9 legal filing, attorneys for the newspaper argued that pictures and profiles found at Gay.com are posted by individuals who have no expectation of privacy on the website and, in fact, want others to see the information. The newspaper sought the information under the state’s Open Records Act while investigating rumors that West was visiting a gay Internet chat room, offering city jobs and perks to young men in exchange for dates.
The city of Spokane’s computer chief, Garvin Brakel, testified that a person who is not a member of Gay.com could not access the personal profiles of those addresses found on West’s computer. However, attorneys Duane Swinton and Tracy LeRoy said in their motion for reconsideration that Brakel gave the court incorrect information. “Brakel’s understanding of how a person can access profiles on Gay.com is mistaken,” the attorneys said.

Gay Health Groups Offer Email STD Notification Sites
Los Angeles - For gay email users around the world, the familiar “You’ve got mail” may soon be adding “You’ve possibly got gonorrhea, HIV or some other sexually transmitted disease!” E-mail sent through wesites launched in Los Angeles and San Francisco is providing people with a free, sometimes anonymous, way to tell their casual sex partners they might have picked up You've Got Mail!

more than they bargained for.
Los Angeles County health officials launched www.inspotla.org this week in a bid to reduce the rapidly rising spread of STDs by encouraging sexually active men and women to get tested. “This is another opportunity for people to disclose STD exposure to partners because sometimes people don’t always have that face-to-face opportunity, or that level of relationship,” Karen Mall, director of prevention and testing at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, told Associated Press reporter Jill Serjeant December 15. “Partner disclosure is where we really have the opportunity to break the chain of HIV infection,” Mall added.
The site allows users to choose one of six free e-cards to send to their sexual contacts either unsigned or with a personal message that avoids awkward face-to-face disclosure.
“It’s not what you bought to the party, it’s what you left with,” says one e-card featuring a picture of a bare-chested man. “I left with an STD. You might have one too. Get checked out soon.”
“You’re too hot to be out of action,” says another.
The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, which runs its own counselling services for partner disclosure, welcomed the website program. “Many of the people we are seeing are listing the Internet as the place where they are meeting partners, so the website is a really helpful tool for prevention and contacting them,” Tiffany Horton, manager of the center’s sexual health program said.
The site is modeled on one launched in San Francisco last year (www.inspot.org) which is generating about 500 e-cards a month. Both are targeted at gay men but can be used by anyone. Health officials call the e-cards a “fast, free and flexible partner notification system” that also gives information and links to local testing sites.
Some 2,400 new AIDS cases were reported in Los Angeles County in 2003, along with more than 8,000 new gonorrhea cases and 830 new syphilis cases - most of them among gay men. The websites urge users to show respect and not to misuse the system.
Mall said only half of 1% of the e-cards sent through the San Francisco site had been malicious or fraudulent. “The sites do not give anybody the ability to do anything they can do already if they had somebody’s e-mail,” Mall said. “It is something we can monitor. People can get hold of the webmaster if they have concerns or want to complain. But I give the gay community more credit than that. I think the community really wants to get ahead of HIV and STDs and they realize that notification is really important.”

“Open Season” Call Changed Hansen’s Amendment Vote
Madison - If the amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution banning legal recognition of all unmarried couples’ relationships is defeated, either in the Assembly or by voter referendum next year, Republicans pressing for the measure may be able to point to a Sen. Hansen

single answering machine message as the reason the bill was killed.
The message was left by an amendment supporter who felt comfortable enough in his opinion to identify himself on the answering machine in Senator Dave Hansen’s (D-Green Bay) office, according to staffers. The message suggested legislators create a new Constitutional amendment creating an “open season” on gays and lesbians, an implicit reference to the state’s recently concluded gun deer hunting season.
The message, in full, said: “We, we, gotta stop these queers, Ron. There’s no question in everybody’s mind that this can not go through. Uh, we, we - this is gettin’ ridiculous. We gotta, we gotta stop this. There’s no such thing as, as queer marriages. We gotta stop it. In fact, you know, I think we should have an amendment - uh - put on the ballot, a referendum. Maybe we should have an open season on those people and just let ‘em know how we really think. Okay? Bye.”
Hansen, who had voted for the amendment on its first passage last year, cited the phone message in remarks he made on the Senate floor as he offered an amendment to eliminate the second sentence of the amendment that would invalidate any “legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals.”
“In fact, I received a voice mail from a constituent who believes the next amendment we should pass is one that creates an ‘open season’ on ‘those people’ so we can show them what we really think about them,” Hansen said, after pointing out that “it has become increasingly clear that this Act is not about celebrating marriage as we know it.”
In offering his amendment Hansen had made it clear he supported a traditional definition of marriage. “A year ago I cast my vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act as an extension of my firm belief that traditional marriage should be defined as a union between a man and a woman,” Hansen said. “In these turbulent times of moral uncertainty, we need to affirm our commitment to the fundamental family values that made our nation and our state strong.”
Hansen then charged the bill’s supporters of political demagoguery. “It has become increasingly clear that this Act is not about celebrating marriage as we know it,” Hansen said. “Instead, it has been usurped by those who would use it instead for political gain in the upcoming elections and to spread fear and foment hate. It is the crassest of political strategies. And attempting to turn our Constitution into a campaign document is a dangerous tactic.”
Hansen’s amendment was defeated on a party line vote. However, Hansen’s later “no” vote on the second passage of the amendment bill, along with that of Senator Roger Breske (D-Elderon), robbed the Republicans of the “bipartisan support” of the bill, touted during the debate by lead sponsor Scott Fitzgerald (R-Beaver Dam).
Hansen staffers also told Quest the senator was comfortable voting against the measure since it followed Hansen’s often repeated promise for his votes to reflect the will of the voters in his district. Staffers reported that in the final days before the vote, callers opposing the amendment outnumbered supporters by more than fifty.
Staffers also noted that information about the harm to same-sex and other unmarried couples provided by amendment opponents in the year since the first vote swayed Hansen on the issue. However, it was the hatred of gays and lesbians expressed by a significant number of amendment supporters - particularly the “open season” call - that finally changed the senator’s vote.
The bill will taken up by the Assembly in early 2006, where the Republicans hold a 59-40 majority. After the expected passage, the measure will be on the November 2006 ballot.

Ovadal Loses Another Court Battle Over Traffic Snarling Protest
Madison - Wisconsin’s answer to Fred Phelps lost another round in his ongoing battle to promote his twisted version of the Christian message here December 12. After a six-hour court trial, federal district judge John Shabaz upheld the constitutionality of a Rantin' Ralph

Madison police policy that selectively prohibits signs from highway overpasses.
Shabaz denied “Pastor” Ralph Ovadal’s request for an injunction. Ovadal had claimed that Madison police violated his free speech rights by threatening to cite him and other members of the so-called Wisconsin Christians United for disorderly conduct for displaying banners reading “Homosexuality is a sin” on major highway overpasses on two occasions in 2003.
Shabaz again found that Madison’s policy, enforced only when a protest caused a traffic hazard, was content neutral and narrowly tailored and thus constitutionally permissible. Shabaz rejected Ovadal’s claim that police singled him out for scrutiny because of the nature of his message.
Ovadal produced no evidence that it was the content of his anti-gay message that outraged some motorists, prompting them to call 911 to report near-collisions on the city’s Beltline highway on September 2, 2003, Shabaz ruled. “The signs created a traffic hazard. Traffic slowed down by the spectacle the plaintiffs created by the plaintiffs’ signs and banners,” Shabaz said. “It’s not the message we don’t like, it’s that we can’t get home on time.”
In his ruling Shabaz cited testimony from Madison police Sgt. Patrick Grady who reported that he would not have seen the 16-foot-long banner Ovadal’s group displayed during a second incident on October 11, 2003, except for the traffic slowdown he had encountered before seeing it.
Ovadal’s attorney Nathan Kellum told the Capital Times that Shabaz’s ruling would be appealed immediately. Kellum did not address if Ovadal would challenge the pending ordinance, though he suggested others might. “You’ll have people other than Mr. Ovadal who will be concerned. People involved in political speech, people involved in anti-war speech could very well have some concerns about the new ordinance,” Kellum said.
Ovadal also claimed he didn’t expect to win in district court and downplayed the importance of securing a legal victory for his activities in Madison.
Shabaz previously had ruled against a similar injunction request in 2004. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned his decision. However, based on a suggestion from the appeals court ruling, the Madison City Council last month enacted an ordinance that bans all banners from overpasses above streets and highways with posted speed limits over 45 mph. The ordinance goes into effect in January, 2006.

LGBT Family Group Sets January Event
Madison - My Family Playgroup, Madison’s playgroup for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender parents with children ages 0-10, will have a movie and pizza party on Saturday, January 14, 2006 from 10:30AM -1:30 PM in the private party room at Rocky Rococo’s Pizza Parlor, 1753 Thierer Road (at East Washington) here. Cost for the event will be $7.50 for adults, $5.50 for children under 10. No pre-payment is necessary. Please RSVP to Jim Schmid at: jhs1120@yahoo.com. Check www.myfamilyplaygroup.com for more details.

Dueling New Year’s Celebrations Mark The Pink Party’s Passing
Madison - Trying to go out in style can create special challenges of its own: like others trying to mark the territory before the last note is sung. That appears to be case as OutReach’s Pink Party will have a newcomer challenging its final bow here December 31.
With both years of success and the “swan song” factor going for it, it will be hard to top OutReach’s 11th and final Pink Party.

OutReach is promising both nostalgia and cutting edge entertainment.
“Do you remember dancing to disco? Moving to Motown? Shaking to Cher? If so, do I have a dance venue for you,” Pink Party promoter Nicki Baumblatt told Quest. “Please join us at the Pink Party where Sandy Seuser will be playing the best in music for those who remember 8 track tapes, a time before microvaves and Soul Train.”
The final Pink Party will be held on Saturday evening, December 31 at the Inn on the Park on the Capitol Square, 22 S. Carroll St. in downtown Madison.
According to Baumblatt, this year’s line-up for the Pink Party includes Lynette and Tongue ‘n Groove who will anchor the live entertainment. According to Isthmus’ Music Review, “Tongue n Groove plays an infectious mix of R and B, funk, rock and groove tunes to get you dancing and sweating at night, but with lyrics that you will still respect in the morning.”
The groups will be joined by comedian Lorne Newman, a veteran of USA Network’s “Up All Night.” Newman will share his eclectic sense of humor. Josh Wallin (AKA GiGi Monroe) will be Newman’s opening act.
Additionally, DJ Tim of both Club 5 and 10% Society mixer fame will play the best in club music for dancing in the new year.
Also planned are the first Drag King and Queen show of the year to be emceed by the notorious Dreux Watermolen. OutReach in cooperation with Charter Cable will also offer a free preview of the newest pay-per-view LGBT network, Here! On Demand, while the Lesbian Health Task Force will provide a kissing and photo booth.
Tickets for the final Pink Party are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They will be available online through Brown Paper Tickets at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2870 or by calling toll free 1-800-838-3006. Ask for event 2870.   Tickets may also be purchased through OutReach at 608-255-8582.   A student discount of $5 will be offered with the presentation of a valid student ID. This rate can only be received through OutReach or at the door the night of the event. Sliding scale also is available by calling OutReach or at the door.
The Pink Party website at: www.pink-party.info will provide updates on entertainment, the Inn on the Park room and brunch package deal, restaurants, tickets, directions, and more, according to Baumblatt.
The new kid on the block also boast a history of party making that has been well-attended by Madison’s LGBT community. Ed Edney Productions, known for a series of highly successful underwear parties including the RuPaul event last June, announced December 16 that it has scheduled to host the very first “My New Year’s Eve Party” on December 31 at the newly opened Club Frida, 117 State Street. Headlining the event are three of the City’s most premiere vinyl artists: DJ Brook, DJ Prism, and DJ Jeremy Thomas. Doors will open at 10:30 PM and will not close until 5 AM.
   All guests must be 21 or older for admission, and should come dress to impress in the best New Year’s Eve attire. Complimentary hors d’ouevres, champagne, and New Year’s buffet will be served throughout the entire night.
All tickets for the My New Year’s Eve Party are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets are available at Frida Mexican Grill, 117 State Street; MC Audio, 515 University Avenue, or by phone at 608-213-5226. Additional information about the My New Year’s Eve Party is available by email at: ededneyProductions@yahoo.com.