Quest
NewsVolume 13 No. 8 May 11, 2006 Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick
Top
Stories:
Los Angeles - A U.S. appeals court on May 5 skirted the incendiary issue of whether same-sex marriage could be barred under the Constitution, ruling a gay couple had no legal right to challenge such laws. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said the two California men, who sued in 2004 after they were denied a marriage license in Orange County, should wait for California courts to rule on a state law that bans gay marriage.
California voters in 2000 endorsed a ballot measure defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, in upholding a lower-court ruling, ruled that Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer lacked standing to sue over the laws in part because they have not sought federal benefits of marriage.
National gay rights activists had urged the couple to drop the lawsuit because they prefer to fight for same-sex marriage on a state level. The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit is considered one of the most liberal and activist appeals courts in the country.
Only Massachusetts, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, allows same-sex couples to wed. But gay activists were seeking similar rights in California and New York, among other states.
"It is difficult to imagine an area more fraught with sensitive social policy considerations in which federal courts should not involve themselves if there is an alternative,” 9th Circuit justice Ferdinand Fernandez wrote for the court in the 24-page opinion.
Smelt and Hammer had challenged the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 and limits federal marriage benefits to traditional married couples - a man and a woman. They argued that the law, which also says that states are not required to recognize same-sex marriages from elsewhere, violated their constitutional rights, including equal protection, due process and privacy.
It is unknown as Quest goes to press, if Smelt and Hammer will appeal the Ninth Circuit’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Brown County United Way Changes Discrimination Policy
List Of Protected Classes Including Sexual Orientation Eliminated
Green Bay - By a 23-4 vote the board of directors of the Brown County United Way revised the agency’s nondiscrimination policy April 26 by removing a list of protected classes and instead requiring agency and program partners to “provide services and offer employment and volunteer opportunities without unlawfully discriminating on the basis of any characteristic protected by state and federal law.”
The policy, created in 2001, had broadened the list to include sexual orientation as a protected class. The United Way then discontinued funding to the Bay-Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which excludes gay men from troop leader appointments. The new BCUW policy in effect will allow the Boy Scouts to apply for funding despite the Scout’s policy of excluding gay men from troop leader appointments.
“The board’s intention back in 2001, I believe, was to be inclusive and to require its agencies and its own practices to go beyond what was required by federal law,” BCUW chair Steve Van Vuren said in a statement. “On the opposing side were community leaders who felt the Brown County United Way board was mandating public policy. That was never our intention.”
Quest has learned a key reason for the policy change was the loss last Fall of the corporate campaign conducted by Schreiber Foods over the gay-inclusive policy. Schreiber Foods is a global leader in providing dairy products with more than 5,000 employees, whose annual United Way campaign typically topped $200,000. Sources tell Quest Schreiber will now rejoin the 2006 campaign.
Schreiber Foods generally has been supportive of the area’s LGBT community over the years. In 1988 Schreiber representatives approached ARCW predecessor agency Center Project to set up a food pantry for clients impacted by HIV/AIDS. Center Project’s board of directors, struggling to keep the agency afloat at the time, passed on the offer. Representatives of Positive Voice told Quest that the company has made in-kind donations to the group’s drop-in center over the last year.
With the change to the non-discrimination policy, however, it is possible for the Boy Scouts to apply for funding through the Brown County United Way’s community impact system. However, BCUW Executive Director Toni Loch told Quest that the first opportunity the Scouts will have will be in 2007. “Our programs for the 2006 campaign have already been finalized,” Loch said.
Changes in the way the Brown County United Way determines its funding priorities may make it harder for the Scouts to successfully obtain grants in the future. United Ways across the country, including the BCUW, have begun a new focus on bottom-line results and getting to the root of their communities’ most pressing needs.
The new focus is known as Community Impact, which allows the United Way to play more than its traditional fund-raising role. Volunteer representatives work to build on the strengths of Brown County to address issues that affect all citizens. The impact council volunteers make recommendations to BCUW board regarding the allocation of resources, focused strategies, and response to community needs.
Each impact council has chosen a specific focus area within its broader area of responsibility. The Youth Development Impact Council - the council which develops grant proposals the Bay Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts might be eligible - currently has focused on developing programs to combat truancy and improve middle and high school attendance in the county.
World & National News:
Gay Games Executive Director Fired Chicago - With just two and a half months to go before the opening of the 2006 Chicago Gay Games, organizers of the event have announced they will be replacing Gay Games’ executive director Brian McGuinness effective immediately, according to a report in the May 4 edition of the Chicago Tribune.
The event’s board of directors replaced McGuinness last week, naming Christee Snell managing director, co-vice chairman of the Chicago Gay Games Kevin Boyer told the Tribune Wednesday. Snell was a member of the board.
For more than a year, McGuinness was in charge of the event, which is expected to bring more than 100,000 tourists and participants to the Windy City this July. Boyer would not reveal why McGuinness was let go.
According to Boyer, Snell will help streamline how organizers get ready for the event, which is held in different places around the world every four years.
Chicago won a bidding war to host the Gay Games back in 2004 though several members of the city’s tourism board questioned whether the city was equipped to handle an event of such magnitude. More recently, residents of suburban Crystal Lake put a wrench in plans to host a rowing competition in the lake by loudly opposing the event. Residents questioned the morality of gay marriage and raised questions about HIV and AIDS.
Boyer said that McGuinness may still be offered some role with the event, but did not know what it might be.
The Gay Games will kick off at Soldier Field July 15 and end July 22 at Wrigley Field.
Massachusetts Court Revisits Gay Marriage
Boston - The subject of same-sex marriage returned to the Massachusetts’ highest court May 4 as supporters challenged a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Supreme Judicial Court - the same court that legalized same-sex marriage through a landmark 2003 ruling - heard arguments on a referendum proposed for the 2008 state ballot.
Proponents of same-sex marriage told the court that Attorney. Gen. Tom Reilly should not have certified the ballot question because the state constitution bars any citizen-initiated amendment that seeks to reverse a judicial ruling. “The people shouldn’t be able to directly attack an SJC decision,” Gary Buseck, legal director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which filed the lawsuit, said.
Reilly said the proposed amendment would not reverse what is known as the Goodridge ruling and would not invalidate existing same-sex marriages. Instead, if approved by voters, it would amend the state constitution to bar future same-sex marriages, he says.
“This amendment does not put the people in the position of declaring the Goodridge decision wrong,” Assistant Attorney. Gen. Peter Sacks argued.
More than 7,000 same-sex couples have wed in Massachusetts since same-sex marriages were allowed beginning in May 2004.
The justices took the case under advisement. They didn’t indicate when they might rule. State lawmakers might also debate the issue in a constitutional convention next week.
After the court made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage, opponents saw a ballot question as their best shot at circumventing the ruling.
Reilly, a Democratic candidate for governor, initially opposed same-sex marriage, but later became a supporter. “While the attorney general does not personally support the proposal, we are confident that letting this question proceed was the proper legal decision,” Reilly spokeswoman Meredith Baumann told the Associated Press.
The ballot question was certified after more than 124,000 signatures were collected. Before it can be placed on the 2008 ballot, supporters must win the votes of 25% of the Legislature in two successive sessions.
Methodist Church Upholds Barring Of Gay Man
Overland Park, KS - The United Methodist Church’s highest court has decided not to reconsider a case in which it permitted a Virginia pastor to keep an openly gay man from joining his church. In two rulings last fall, the court sided with Rev. Ed Johnson of South Hill, Va., who refused to admit an openly gay man as a church member and was subsequently ousted by his peers.
The court also ruled at the time that Johnson’s due process rights were violated when he was charged by Virginia Bishop Charlene Kammerer with “unwillingness or inability to perform ministerial duties.” An overwhelming majority of other pastors in the state voted to place Johnson on an involuntary leave of absence, but the court ordered him reinstated with back pay.
Three of the nine council members explained in a concurring opinion that those seeking reconsideration of the case had not shown the previous decision “clearly to be in error.” They noted that the decision had drawn a great deal of attention.
“The 12 briefs and the more than 2,000 communications filed with the Judicial Council on the petitions for reconsideration ... reflecting the diversity of positions on the issues before the council, have not persuaded us that the council erred in Decision 1032,” wrote members James Holsinger Jr., Mary Daffin and Keith Boyette.
“We believe that reopening this matter, especially where no grounds have been demonstrated to do so, will further polarize the various parts of the church.”
The court decided on April 28 not to reconsider the case during its meeting in Overland Park, Kan. Its decision was made public May 2.
Two court members said in a dissenting opinion that the decision “creates grave theological problems” and is legally flawed. “We deeply regret the denial of reconsideration, because it further advances a spirit of distrust and contributes to the brokenness of the church,” wrote Susan Henry-Crowe and Shamwange Kyungu, who were joined by two others in their dissent.
“Determining who is eligible for life in the church is not the vocation of the pastor. It is the Holy Spirit who makes us members of the church.... For the pastor to deny membership is to present obstacles to the work of the Holy Spirit.”
Conservatives, who had supported the court’s first ruling, praised the court for not changing its position. “It is right that the Judicial Council affirmed once again a local pastor’s right of discretion about who is ready for church membership,” said Mark Tooley, director of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy’s program for United Methodists.
But the executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, a Chicago-based organization that seeks full inclusion of gays and lesbians in church life, said that in 2008 his organization will seek the removal of the five council members who voted not to reconsider the case. “They turned a deaf ear to the many, many, many requests,” Rev. Troy Plummer said.
Report Claims U. S. Immigration Laws Hurt Gay Couples
New York - As the current national debate over immigration rights heightened with marches and work boycotts last week, Human Rights Watch and Immigration Equality issued a report May 2 on the problems faced by thousands of U.S. citizens and their foreign-born same-sex partners.
The report, “Family, Unvalued: Discrimination, Denial and the Fate of Binational Same-Sex Couples under U.S. Law,” documents how U.S. immigration law and federal policy discriminate against binational same-sex couples.
The 191-page report describes the consequences of this discrimination and explains how it can separate not only loving partners from one another, but also parents from children. It shows how this policy has destroyed careers, livelihoods and lives.
“Our immigration laws are undermining the traditional American values of fairness and family,” Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality said. “U.S. immigration policy is designed to keep families together. But the current law targets an entire class of American families and tears them apart.”
Couples described abuse and harassment by immigration officials. Some told stories of being deported from the United States and separated from their partners. Many couples, forced to live in different countries or even continents, endure financial as well as emotional.
“No family should be forced apart, no matter what the sex is. This is how immigration laws have affected us,” a woman in North Carolina told report authors, describing how her Hungarian partner and their children were forced to leave the United States. “We are separated and without each other. . . . We just want to be together, that’s all.”
Many U.S. citizens are obliged to live in countries where their relationships are recognized. At least 19 nations worldwide provide some form of immigration benefits to the same-sex partners of citizens and permanent residents, while the United States still refuses. These countries include Canada as well as 13 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). On other continents, this list includes Brazil, Israel, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The report details how current U.S. exclusionary policies are rooted in a long history of anti-immigrant sentiment, in which fears of sexuality have played a steady part. From the McCarthy era until 1990, U.S. law barred foreign-born lesbians and gay men from entering the country.
The United States is also one of the few industrialized countries that ban entry by HIV-positive individuals.
The report concludes that Congress should immediately pass the Uniting American Families Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would offer binational same-sex couples’ relationships the same recognition and treatment afforded to binational married couples.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen in this Congress,” Scott Long, co-author of the report and director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program for Human Rights Watch said. But Long said he believes this bill will “create the groundwork for the next Congress and the Congress after that.”
“It is conceivable that the bill can be passed within four years,” he said.
Minnesota Gay GOP Senator Faces Primary Challenge
Brainerd - A local city council member will run against incumbent Minnesota State Senator Paul Koering in the Republican primary, after failing to get the party’s endorsement over Koering. Kevin Goedker said he’d run a campaign based on fiscal responsibility and fundamental conservative values.
“I believe that we need to take our values seriously and stop trying to dilute what is right,” Goedker said in a statement. “That includes upholding the defense of marriage and the right to life.”
Koering, 41, is a first-term senator from Fort Ripley. He made statewide headlines last year when he revealed he was gay, and drew criticism from some fellow District 12 Republicans when he voted against an effort to bring to the Senate floor a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
This year Koering reversed course and voted for the same measure. But support for Koering among some other prominent local Republicans has been tepid - so far, both local state representatives, Paul Gazelka and Greg Blaine, have declined to offer Koering an unqualified endorsement, according to the Brainerd Dispatch.
Noting that he and Koering are both opposed to abortion, Goedker cited his own strong support for the gay marriage ban as evidence of his conservative moral values.
Koering said he feels his legislative record has been distorted, and that he would address that in the campaign. The primary election is September 12.
“I’m very proud to stand on my record,” Koering said. “My No. 1 concern has always been my constituents and it will continue to be.”
Survey: Most Gay Americans Are Already “Out”
Syracuse - A new census conducted annually by the School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York suggests that 97% of gay Americans are out to their families, friends and at work.
That statistic, which some activists are suggesting seems unreasonably high, is partnered with several other percentages in the Gay/Lesbian Consumer Census Online, conducted in partnership with the media relations group OpusComm.
A spokesman for the census said it is the largest annual LGBT study, with nearly 5,000 national responses. The goal of the census is to help paint a clearer picture of LGBT people – their relationships, their families, their politics and their consumer and media habits.
“When it comes to relationships, children, economics, employment, the GLCensus reveals that the national gay community is one that is comprised of a population that is deeply seated in values and concerns, not unlike the rest of America”, said Jeff Garber, president of OpusComm Group.
The 97% statistic is comprised of findings from a number of questions. A deeper look at the survey finds 85% of respondents are out to family, 95% to friends and 74% at the workplace.
Additional findings from the survey include 77% respondents feel legal recognition of same-sex marriage for tax, estate and insurance purposes are extremely important in voting for a candidate.
Kinsey Sicks’ “I Wanna Be A Republican” Set For June Premiere
San Francisco - “The Kinsey Sicks: I Wanna Be a Republican” will premiere Wednesday, June 21, at the Castro Theatre as part of the 30th San
Francisco
International LGBT Film Festival. The self-styled “dragapella” quartet
has gained a strong following in Wisconsin since their appearance at
Madison’s MAGIC Picnic in 2004.“Republican”is one of two films currently in production. The other is an on-the-road, behind-the-scenes documentary, full of laughter, tears and dirt, dirt, dirt. Both are being made by the filmmakers at Eyethink Pictures.
Republican was directed Ken Bielenberg. A 15-year PDI/Dreamworks veteran, Ken was the Visual Effects Supervisor for “Shrek” and “Shrek 2”, two of the biggest summer blockbuster films ever
made. His
work as the VFX Supervisor on “Antz” and “Shrek” led to British Academy
Award nominations for Special Effects. Ken also contributed to the
effects work in the feature films “Angels In The Outfield”, “Eraser”
and “Heart And Souls.”. He also served as a technical director for the
classic 3-D animated segment of the The Simpsons’ 1995 Halloween
Special. “Republican” is produced and distributed by Eyethink Pictures. In 2001, Eyethink’s Alonzo Ruvalcaba and Ken Bielenberg formed their production company and produced their first short film “Just Ryan.” This short was screened at the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival in 2002. In July of 2005, their collaboration became a full time venture. Besides the Kinsey Sicks films, they are currently in development on a television series, and a feature-length gay-themed horror feature film.
State News:
Death
Penalty Advisory Vote Joins Civil Union Ban On November Ballot
Madison - The state Legislature decided May 4 to give voters a say on whether Wisconsin should lift its 153-year-old ban on the death penalty,
the
longest
state ban on the practice in the nation.The state Assembly narrowly approved a resolution to hold a statewide advisory referendum in the November 7 election asking voters whether they favor the death penalty in cases involving first-degree murder convictions backed up by DNA evidence.
The Assembly, controlled 59-39 by Republicans, voted 47-45 to approve the measure. Seven Republicans and 38 Democrats voted against the measure after an emotional and somber debate.
Democrats fumed that three Republican lawmakers who opposed the death penalty - Reps. Sheryl Albers of Reedsburg, Jerry Petrowski of Marathon and Judy Krawczyk of Green Bay - were asked to leave during the vote so it could pass without a majority.
“This is the most unbelievable and despicable maneuver in the 36 years that I’ve been here,” Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) said. It was not immediately clear why the three were excused before the vote.
The Senate, which adopted a similar measure in March, would have to sign off on Assembly changes before the question would go on the ballot. The Senate could do so as early May 9 (after Quest goes to press).
Senate President Alan Lasee (R-De Pere), a longtime supporter of the death penalty, has pushed the referendum, saying overwhelming public support could spur lawmakers to pass legislation to reinstate the punishment.
“We’re asking the citizens of the state for some guidance on this social and moral issue,” Rep. Dean Kaufert, (R-Neenah) claimed.
But Democrats said the measure was an election-year stunt designed to boost Republican turnout as the GOP tries to unseat two Democrats - Gov. Jim Doyle and Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager. The death penalty question joins a vote to approve or reject constitutional amendment to ban civil unions gay marriage already on the ballot.
Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) spoke of the murder of her parents in 1993 as she urged her colleagues to vote against the death penalty. “For some survivors of homicide the thought of executing someone adds to the pain,” she said. “Nothing gives me chills more than the thought of a carnival atmosphere that I would see surrounding executions.”
Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (D-Manitowoc) pleaded with his colleagues not to schedule the referendum just weeks after Steven Avery stands trial in high-profile murder of a 25-year-old photographer. He said the referendum would create “a supercharged political environment” that would divide the community and put the victim’s family in the glare of publicity.
It would also inject the death penalty as an issue into the races for governor and attorney general. Doyle and Lautenschlager oppose the death penalty and their Republican opponents support it.
The mix of advisory and constitutional referendums on the same ballot may also cause further voter confusion, some opposing the civil union ban contend. Activists also concede the “double whammy”of conservative issues may drive up turnout among marriage and civil ban supporters.
Wisconsin banned capital punishment in 1853, the longest ban out of all 12 states that do not have it. The ban came amid outrage over the public hanging in 1851 of a man who had drowned his wife. The penalty had been allowed since Wisconsin was a territory in 1839 and continued after it gained statehood in 1848. Four murderers were believed to be executed.
Lawmakers have failed more than 20 times over the decades in attempts to reinstate the death penalty, despite polls that show more than 60% support the punishment.
Diversity Day Returns To Off-Campus Site
Viroqua - Following school officials’ recent decision to cave in to threatened lawsuit by an out of state “Christian” legal defense team, two Viroqua High School students have brought Viroqua’s Diversity Day back to life by organizing an off-campus event held May 8.
Tasha Mills and Jenna Thompson collected donations sufficient to cover this year’s event and to provide seed money for future events. Diversity Day was held from 8AM - 3:15 PM at The Move in Main Street Station.
Though not a school-sponsored event, but students were able to attend with written parental permission. Local community members also were invited to attend.
The district’s semi-annual Diversity Day was canceled in late March after the district was told it could face a legal challenge if it didn’t include a a so-called “ex-gay” speaker. The event was also called off in 2004 after several residents protested the inclusion of a gay couple. Following an election that changed the school board’s makeup, the Diversity Day was reinstated.
The event included speakers on Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. Others talked about poverty, living with physical disabilities and the Hmong culture. Keynote speaker was Thomas Harris from UW-La Crosse’s Department of Multicultural Services, who spoke about African-American issues. The local gay couple who participated in 2004 event also spoke.
200 Gather At State Capitol To Break The Day Of Silence
Madison - Over 200 students from kindergarten to college age, along with dozens more community members gathered at the State Capitol to
“break
the silence” following a march up State Street from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The silent countdown
featured poster board signs that counted “3...2...1...Vote NO!!” Speakers included GLSEN-South Central Wisconsin Executive Director Cindy Crane, and students from Verona and from southwestern Wisconsin. Concerns about the impact of the constitutional amendment on school climate were voiced by several speakers.
Many of the marchers sported “Gay? Fine By Me” T-shirts in all the colors of the traditional six-color rainbow, plus a few others in black, burgundy, and teal. Earlier in the day, a free pizza lunch at UW-Madison, part of the annual All Campus Party, drew attention to the Day of Silence, as servers and others wearing the distinctive T-shirts dominated the event.
Topher
Chase Reigns As Mr. Gay Wisconsin 2006Madison - Topher Chase was selected as Mr. Gay Wisconsin 2006 April 29 held at Club 5 here. Twelve contestants from across the state vied for this year’s sash, the most in the pageant’s history.
Contestants competed in evening wear, swimsuit and talent categories. The pageant featured a guest appearance by Monty St. James, Mr. Gay USA 2005. Topher takes the sash from Joel Z, Mr. Gay Wisconsin 2005. Drag aficionados may remember Joel also once held the Miss Wisconsin USofA title in the 1990’s as Josie Lynn.
First runner-up was Mr. Gay Lakeshore Kurtis Ryan of Madison. Chase and Ryan will go on to compete in the Mr. Gay USA national pageant at a site to be determined later this year.
OutReach Hosts Generation Q Youth Group
Madison - Generation Q: We’re queer and we’ve got questions! Generation Q is a social group for 18-24 year olds, where we have light to medium hearted discussions on all topics queer, from current events to local hot spots to “just what do all of those letters in LGBTQ mean?” The group aims to be fun while being open and informative, without being intimidating. So, if you’re queer, or questioning, or both, and you want to talk, bring yourself down to OutReach. 600 Williamson St., on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 7 PM. For more information, leave a message for Holly at 255-8582 or e-mail at thenotalentkid@hotmail.com.
Milwaukee Transgendered Author Pens Chapter In LGBT Aging Book
Milwaukee - The Transgender Aging Network is pleased to announce the publication of a book chapter on trans aging, authored by TAN Executive Director Loree Cook-Daniels.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Research and Clinical Perspectives, edited by Douglas Kimmel, Tara Rose, and Steven David and published by Columbia University Press, grew out of a symposium on LGBT aging at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in 2002.
“Trans Aging” is one of sixteen chapters covering topics such as the aging bisexual, LGBT physical and mental health needs, sexuality, victimization, alcohol and drug use, retirement planning, grandparenting, legal concerns, end-of-life issues, and the historical context for research on LGBT aging. There is also an extensive bibliography and three chapters that discuss specific LGBT projects or services.
The Trans Aging chapter begins and ends with the discussion of a fictional nursing home resident who may or may not be transgender or intersex. Other sections cover the importance and implications of gender transition; special features of transitioning later in life; trans individuals’ unique relationship to mental health “gatekeepers”; early transitioners and nontransitioners in later years; and health care, legal, and financial issues in later life.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Research and Clinical Perspectives can be ordered from local bookstores or directly from Columbia University Press (800-944-8648 or www.columbia.edu/cu/cup). Cost is $45.. A 20% discount is available to those who request a special order form from TAN by sending a mailing name and address to tan@forge-forward.org.
MGAC’s Saint Sebastian Project To Open During PrideFest
Milwaukee - The Milwaukee Gay Arts Center (MGAC) has announced a special art show to open in coordination with PrideFest in June 2006. The Saint Sebastian Project, named for Saint Sebastian, a 4th century Roman soldier who was martyred for his beliefs, was conceived by the
center’s director and curator Paul Masterson.Masterson says he’s looking for artists to present a multi-media exhibition with a focus on contemporary LGBT depictions of saints and martyrs. “But more so,” Masterson said, “this show should be a mirror of traditional supernaturalism reflecting the highest human virtue. It should articulate it in an LGBT context.”
The artistic statement should portray the gay heart in the bliss, ecstasy, love, loyalty, sacrifice and commitment of martyrdom. It should also portray suffering, the destruction of beauty, loss, hatred, victimization, and oppression. Works may be in any media. They should articulate the image and impact of saints and martyrs, but particularly of Saint Sebastian, whose fate has been the subject of artists’ interpretations for centuries.
“Art conveys who we are,” Masterson said. “The dilemmas we face as members of the LGBT community in today’s society and our emotional response to them are best expressed through art. It’s my intention to accomplish that through this exhibition.”
Artist Dale Winkler, whose “Natural Variants Shamed” has been accepted for the exhibit explained the inspiration for his piece to Quest.
“Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender individuals are the results of natural variants that occur in the reproduction of our species. With these chromosomal variations occurring at a lesser rate of incidence than heterosexuality, our society has regarded these individuals as ‘less than’ the norm,” Winkler said.
“Natural Variants Shamed” depicts the X and Y chromosomes in varying combinations and in colors of the rainbow, exemplifying the spectrum of individual differences relating to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, etc. “The same-sex couples are standing on our earth, with the strong and naive religious belief system of the populace majority being exemplified by the overpowering two-faced serpent - religious leader
and Satan,” Winkler said. “This two-faced serpent represents the historic and on-going oppression of our Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender population by our societies’ members via their belief system.”
“I look to the future where a modern and educated society accepts and values all individuals, allowing them to live without fear or ridicule, being equally regarded without censorship of their natural instinct or being,” Winkler concluded.
Potential contributors are asked to call the Milwaukee Gay Arts Center at 414-383-3727 or email milwgac@yahoo.com for more information.
Feature Story: