Funeral Protest Lawsuit Verdict: Westboro Wackos To Pay $10.9 Mil
Anti-Gay Church Members Resume Picketing, Topeka Church Vandalized
Baltimore - Members of a fundamentalist Kansas church ordered to pay nearly $11 million in damages to a grieving father smiled as they walked out of the courtroom October 31, vowing that the verdict would not deter them from protesting at military funerals.
  “Absolutely, don't you understand this was an act in futility?” said Shirley Phelps-Roper, whose father founded the tiny Westboro Baptist Church.
  Members of the church announced on November 2 that they would resume their pickets of military funerals with placards bearing such slogans as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.”
  The group claims that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality. They also claim that they are entitled to protest at funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.
  Albert Snyder sued the anti-gay church after a protest last year at the funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. He claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.
  A jury agreed. The church and three of its leaders - Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis - were found liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress. Jurors awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages.
  Snyder, who lives in York, PA, said he hoped other families would consider suing. “The goal wasn’t about the money, it was to set a precedent so other people could do the same thing.” Snyder said.
  Snyder appeared on NBC’s Today show on November 1, and said that while his son was fighting for freedom for Iraqis, “my son did not fight for hate speech. “And that’s basically what it is,” he said of the church’s protest. “Everybody’s under the impression that the First Amendment gives them the right to do anything, say anything any where, any time. And along with the First Amendment also comes responsibility.”
  Snyder said that on the day of the funeral, he didn’t see the protesters or their signs, only the tops of the signs. “But a lot of people at the church did see it,” he said. “And it was splattered all over the newspapers the next day.”
  It’s unclear whether Snyder will be able to collect the damages. The alleged assets of the church and the defendants are less than a million dollars, mainly in homes, cars and retirement accounts, defense attorney Jonathan Katz said. The church has about 75 members and claims it is funded by tithing.
  Craig Trebilcock, one of Snyder’s lawyers, had asked jurors to question the truthfulness of the defendants’ financial documents, one of which show Phelps-Davis having only $306 in the bank. He noted that Phelps-Davis is a practicing attorney, who could afford to travel to spread the church’s message. “Rebekah Phelps-Davis has $306? She must be using Priceline.com. It doesn’t make any sense,” Trebilcock said.
  Trebilcock had urged jurors to award damages that would send a message to the church: “Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again” and later called the verdict “Judgment Day for the Westboro Baptist Church.”
  The day after the funeral, Westboro church members discovered that their building had been vandalized. Someone wrote “God Hates Intolerance” and “God Hates The Phelps.” Topeka police said, two “suspicious items” that appeared to be small, homemade firecrackers were removed. There are no suspects.
  Despite the stunning verdict, the legal community believes it likely will be overturned on appeal. Leading constitutional scholars say the multimillion-dollar damage award is likely to be overturned because the church members enjoy broad protection under the First Amendment.
  “I have spoken to a number of First Amendment attorneys today, and every one of them believes the case will be reversed and should be reversed,” Ronald K.L. Collins of the First Amendment Center in Washington told Baltimore Sun reporter Matthew Dolan November 2.

Wisconsin Budget Battle Over, No DP Benefits
Biennial Spending Bill Holds Several Pleasant Surprises For LGBT Community
Madison - The nation’s longest budget battle is over, and though domestic partnership benefits did not survive in the final bill, several provisions in Wisconsin’s new biennial spending package will benefit the state’s LGBT community.
   Governor Jim Doyle signed the new state budget October 26 at a ceremony at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student union. Both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature had passed the long-delayed state budget October 23, 115 days after it was supposed to take effect. The Assembly passed the budget in a bipartisan vote of 60-39, while the Senate approved the measure on an 18-15 party line vote.
  Governor Jim Doyle and legislative leaders reached an agreement late October 19 to end the stalemate. Among the items missing from the compromise deal is the domestic partner benefits package for state employees that could have extended health care coverage to same-sex partners.
  The breakthrough came after several days of intense negotiations between aides to Doyle and legislative leaders. The talks started in earnest after the Republican-controlled Assembly on October 15 met in a special session to reject Doyle’s October 9 offer, which they said still had too much spending and taxes.
  Doyle’s compromise package had removed “all the non-fiscal policy items in both the Assembly and the Senate versions that were not agreed to by both sides.” The proposed compromise eliminated the DP benefit portion from the version of the budget passed by the Senate as no similar package existed in the Assembly-passed version.
  Though domestic partner benefits failed to pass muster in the compromise budget, the expansion of BadgerCare health care coverage to include low-income unmarried adults should benefit non-traditional couples, including same-sex partners. Historically, family unit rather than household income has determined eligibility for the BadgerCare program. As legal strangers, each half of an unmarried couple without children may qualify for the coverage if their income meets BadgerCare income limitations.
  Also successfully passing through the final budget process was the largest increase in spending for HIV/AIDS care in the state’s history. The $1.4 million package will underwrite health care costs over the next two years for those living with HIV who are uninsured and ineligible for other state medical assistance benefits.
  An additional $84,000 in the budget will also help to better connect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to LGBT-appropriate service providers in areas such as health, mental health, housing, assisted living, domestic violence, and other services. The annual funding will be shared by Outreach, Inc., serving South Central Wisconsin; and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, serving Southeastern Wisconsin, to expand services in their communities.
  “This new funding from the State of Wisconsin makes a huge difference for OutReach,” Outreach Executive Director Steve Starkey said. It provides us with resources to improve our staffing and expand our programs for the LGBT community in South Central Wisconsin. Our health, mental health, domestic violence prevention and other services for LGBT people will be improved because of this grant. Our sincere thanks go out to State Senator Tim Carpenter and others that helped secure this funding for LGBT services in Wisconsin.”
  “We are pleased that our elected officials made addressing the many health disparities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people a priority in the budget process,” Milwaukee LGBT Community Center Executive Director Maggi Cage added. “Thanks to this funding, the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center will be able to connect more people in Southeastern Wisconsin to vital LGBT-friendly services.”
  Milwaukee-based Center Advocates was instrumental in getting the LGBT services budget grant, according to Director Patrick Flaherty.

World & National News:

Gay Politico Watch: Down (Under) And Dirty Edition
By Mike Fitzpatrick
Like some sort of demented elephantine Energizer Bunny, the Gay Republican sex scandals just keep coming and coming and coming. On the plus side for the GOP one has appeared to go away, though the circumstances are - shall we say - a bit shady. On the dark side, the latest revelations are loaded with juicy details that are not for the faint hearted, especially the bit of gossip that toe-tappin’ Larry Craig might like it on top. Flipping things over, so to speak, we need to add in how “family values” parties play the gay down under as well.
  Richard Curtis: Out in Washington State, official weekend Republican getaways apparently include bareback gay sex with male hustlers while wearing red fishnet stockings and bedazzled black bras - for some attendees at least. That’s what 48 year old married state Representative Richard Curtis was up to (and into) following the last scheduled session of his party’s sponsored political strategy retreat near Spokane October 27.
  After enjoying a condom-clad pounding by 26 year old call by Cody Castagna - a man known in some circles as “Stallion,” Curtis bargained for a thousand buck bareback boink of the pay-for-play hottie with the lingerie  loving pol on top. Castagna kept the married man’s wallet as security since he didn’t have the needed extra $800 on hand. But like most political promises, Curtis reneged in the afterglow, then told local police that the hustler was extorting him, threatening to expose his “gay lifestyle.”
  Local papers played up the story the following Monday, with the usual “no sex involved” denials coming from Curtis and his mouthpiece, John Wolfe. By Halloween both sides had been heard from, and a 15-page detailed police report of the hotel happenings had been released. Names may have been redacted by not a single juicy detail of Curtis’ attire and sex toys - including a light gray length of nylon rope and a plastic doctor’s stethoscope.  Turns out Curtis was “a very kinky girl, the kind you don’t take home to mother,” as Rick James used to sing about his “Super Freak.”
  Curtis, who during his career in the Washington state house opposed LGBT equal rights as well as gay marriage, issued a resignation statement to Governor Chris Gregoire, “effective immediately.” Neither Curtis nor his wife were present for the announcement.
   And to top things off, Curtis tryst may have been in part at taxpayer expense. Curtis was in Spokane to attend a retreat for Republican lawmakers to plan for the 2008 session. Because it was an official legislative those who attended are eligible for state reimbursement of a portion of their expenses. For events in Spokane County, the state reimburses legislators up to $77 per night for lodging and $49 per day for meals, according to Sue Adamich, senior financial coordinator for the Washington House of Representatives. The state pays the standard federal mileage reimbursement rate of 48.5 cents per mile. Some attendees chose to stay at the host Red Lion Hotel at the Park and some stayed at the Davenport Towers Hotel. Curtis opted for the Davenport. The corporate rate at the Red Lion at the Park ranges from $150 to $191 per night, while rooms at the Davenport range from $235 to $599 for the honeymoon suite.
  Larry Craig: His low-rated NBC “tell nothing new” interview with hunky Matt Lauer was barely a bad memory when new allegations arose about Larry Craig’s sex life. Well actually a new report of a vintage hook-up to be exact.
  Washington gossip blogger Wonkette issued a “world exclusive” October 25 with the recollections of DC bear and 2006 Metro Coverboy David Phillips’ twenty year old tryst at the Senator’s Capitol Hill love nest.
  “We got to what reminded me of a rarely used guest room, he stripped me down, and the man’s hands and mouth were all over me,” Phillips confided. “He kept his pants on, though, while laying me back on the bed to suck my cock. Then, he stripped naked and asked me to suck him.” But Phillip’s most startling claim was yet to come, so to speak. “I complied for a while, then he disappeared and returned with lube and a condom to fuck me with,” Phillips told the blogger.
 So how was the toe-tapper? “It was a clumsy and unremarkable fuck, except that I wasn’t clean and he was frantic about not getting my shit on anything,” Phillips remembered. “Still, he blew his load, ripped the dirty condom off and ordered me to get dressed without wiping myself. He hurried me to the back door, again ranting, ‘You were never here. You don’t know me. Right?’”
  Where have we heard that kind of attitude before? Oh yes, the police tapes of Craig’s interrogation last June after his wide stance dance in that infamous Twin Cities airport toilet that started the current avalanche of pink Republicans from the closet.
  Donald Fleischman: Of course not every tale of gay goings-on has an unhappy ending for the GOP offender. Not at least when the DA is a registered Republican in a town run by neocons.
  Charges of child enticement against disgraced Brown County GOP chair Donald Fleischman were dismissed October 29 in Green Bay when the chronic runaway named in the case failed to show for the hearing.
  Fleischman was accused of fondling a 16-year-old Ethan House runaway and providing the boy with beer and marijuana in late 2006. He faced two felony counts of child enticement, two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and two misdemeanor charges of exposing his genitals to a child.
  Successful prosecution could have meant Fleischman being ordered to enroll as a registered sex offender for life. Earlier this year the city of Green Bay was one of several cities that enacted an ordinance restricting the locations where registered offenders may live in the city. Luckily, Fleischman lives in suburban Allouez.
  However, prosecutors for DA John Zakowski’s office, who had originally initiated the charges without a complaint by the victim, told Judge Donald R. Zuidmulder they were dropping the charges, rather than requesting a rescheduled court date, a common procedure when a key witness fails to appear.
  Brown County Assistant District Attorney John Luetscher said prosecutors were unable to proceed on felony charges because of the missing witness, but he expected “some form of charges” to be reinstated at an undetermined “later date.”
  Also absent from the proceedings? Fleischman himself, who was represented by attorney Jeff Jazgar, who claimed Fleischman’s absence didn’t have a bearing on the case.
  Mum was also the word for the county GOP office, which refused to comment to the Green Bay Press Gazette on the dismissal in the paper’s October 30 story. Unlike the nearly three week delay in reporting the initial charges, the longtime GOP-endorsing daily splashed the dismissed charges story prominently the morning after.
  Andrew Quah: In the land Down Under, there’s no Republican Party but its “family values” counterpart - the Family First Party - doesn’t take kindly to the closeted homos in their midst either, especially when they flash their weinies on gay dating sites.
  The pro-family party “disendorsed” 22 year-old candidate Andrew Quah October 29, according to Australia’s News Limited newspaper syndicate. Quah has admitted to posing for two revealing images. In one, he is partly undressed, and in the other, he is clutching his private parts.
  The images were later attached in an email and sent around the nation. Quah also said he could not rule out being responsible for producing a third image which shows men’s genitalia. The pol’s alleged  “dick pic” was attached in an email Quah claimed he had neither sent or created.   Quah told the News Limited that believes he is a victim of a setup, though he did admit to downloading porn on the web, with the last load occurring about two weeks prior to his dismissal.
  “The first two (images) are definitely from me and the third one might have been from me,” Quah said. “Yes, I’ve downloaded pornography, maybe a couple of weeks ago.”
  In the email, Quah invited recipients to “suck my fat Asian cock.” Based on the X-rated evidence posted on blogs worldwide, readers can only hope it was fat because it certinly didn’t appear long.
  The scandal is an ironic blow for Family First, whose key concern is to crack down on Internet porn. In addition to opposing full gay equality that is.
  Mike Shallow: The ink had barely dried on the current edition of Quest’s Gay Politico Watch (found elsewhere in the November 8 issue) when yet another Republican closet case was outed following a new toilet tryst bust, this time in Daytona Beach, Florida.
  Former city commissioner and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Mike Shallow was one of nine men caught in an eight-hour bathroom sex sting conducted November 1 in the Sears bathroom at the Volusia Mall. Daytona Beach police staked out the second-floor  restroom after the store manager informed them he had caught men masturbating in the stalls, and that a suspicious man was repeatedly seen on camera entering and leaving the restroom. Investigators also confirmed that the restroom along with others in the area listed on several gay cruising websites, including craigslist and cruisingforsex.com.
  Using a variety of nonverbal signals, including the infamous Larry Craig toe-tap, undercover officers nabbed Shallow, Seabreeze High School teacher and athletic trainer David Behringer and seven others - including several repeat offenders and a registered sex offender. A police report described Shallow as lowering himself sideways to the floor and looking into the officer’s stall. Then he stood up and masturbated, according to the report.
  The 57 year-old Shallow served two terms as a city commissioner from 1999-2003 and ran for mayor unsuccessfully in 2003, 2005 and 2007, finishing a distant fourth in the last race held on October 9..
  A realtor and real estate broker, Shallow also served as chairman of the Main Street Redevelopment Board in 2004-2005, and was on the Downtown-Ballough Road Redevelopment Board while he was a commissioner.
  Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey told the city’s News-Journal that he was “disappointed and sad and sorry for (Shallow) and his wife and family.”
  Shallow, Behringer and others were released on $1000 bond November 2. Behringer also resigned his position at the high school.
  Police had no idea Shallow was involved in this clandestine lifestyle, according to Chief Mike Chitwood, who insists the sting was based solely on the store manager's complaints. “We did not go to that bathroom because we thought Mike Shallow would show up,” he told the News-Journal’s Scott Wyland. “If you're into that, fine, but do it in the bedroom, not in a public bathroom where children can go.”
  Shallow would sometimes criticize police, Chitwood noted, but their working relationship was otherwise cordial.

State News:

Shiffrin Exits Fair Wisconsin
Madison - After just five months on the job, Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Eve Shiffrin has decided to return to her first love: direct legal advocacy for social justice. Fair Wisconsin and the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund announced November 1 that Shiffrin had left the organization for a position at Disability Rights Wisconsin, effective October 31.
  “Eva came to us from the world of legal advocacy and returns to that world,” Fair Wisconsin Education Fund board president Glenn Carlson told Quest.
Prior to her accepting the Fair Wisconsin helm last April, Shiffrin had been a staff attorney at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
  Despite the unexpected turnover Fair Wisconsin board president Aaron Sherer saw Shiffrin’s decision as a way to best serve minorities in state “Her new capacity in the disability rights arena uses the skills she has honed in the past decade to ensure that all, including the most vulnerable, have rights,” Sherer said.
  Sherer praised Shiffrin’s brief tenure as well. “We are grateful for her service to Fair Wisconsin,” he said. “She helped build a bridge that will take our organization to the next level. That bridge spans the gap between the devastation of losing the constitutional amendment
in November of 2006 to realizing legislative, political and social victories in 2008 and beyond.”   “Eva’s service to our community in this transition period has been invaluable,” Sherer added. “With her help, Fair Wisconsin developed the strategy that focuses us on tangible victories for LGBT Wisconsin residents, their families and allies.”
  Prior to her departure Shiffrin had launched both an extensive legislative agenda and a $30,000 fundraising campaign to finance Fair Wisconsin’s campaign to enact a domestic partner registry for same-sex couples.
  Fair Wisconsin will begin a national search for Executive Director in the next several weeks. Until that search is completed, Carlson will serve as interim Executive Director.
  Carlson has been involved with Fair Wisconsin since the inception of the campaign to defeat the constitutional amendment that denies legal recognition of status to all unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation. Carlson previously served three years on the board of the National Gay And Lesbian Task Force. Prior to his Task Force involvement, for seven years as board treasurer for the Los Angeles Gay And Lesbian Community Center, Carlson oversaw the adoption of that venue’s $40 million annual budget, the largest community center budget in the United States.
  In accepting the interim Executive Director post, Carlson also resigned at board president of the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund, the statewide LGBT organization’s 501(c)3 arm. In that role Carlson served on an executive committee that oversees all staff. “Obviously it would be unethical for me to oversee myself,” Carlson quipped to Quest.
  Carlson’s first public appearance in his new role was November 7 in Green Bay for a candlelight vigil marking the first anniversary of the passage of the so-called “Protection of Marriage” amendment to the Wisconsin constitution.

UW-Eau Claire Senate Wants Trans-Friendly Toilets
Eau Claire - The Student Senate at the University of Wisconsin-Eau claire has come out in favor of of changing existing unisex bathrooms on campus into gender-neutral ones. the Senate passed the measure by a b vote 26-1 with two abstentions at its meeting here October 29.
  Currently, unisex bathrooms only exist in the school’s Phillips Science Hall, according to the resolution, and the “unisex” label on them is offensive to some.
  “Transgender, genderqueer, and other non-gender conforming individuals often report abstaining from bathroom use in public, leading to various health problems,” according to the resolution.
  Genderqueer refers to people who don’t identify or express themselves as completely male or female. Transgender refers to people whose gender is non-conforming and, different from their birth-assigned gender.
  The Office of Services for Students with Disabilities proposed plans for gender-neutral bathrooms in Hibbard Humanities Hall and the Human Sciences and Services building, according to the resolution, and several colleges across the country are doing the same.
  “We want to be accommodating to all students on campus,” student services director Elizabeth Lorenz told reporter Nicole Strittmater of the campus paper The Spectator.

“Laramie Project” Reaches Wisconsin’s Northwoods
Shell Lake - Some 12 actors, from an area stretching from Hayward, through Stone Lake, Spooner, Trego, Rice Lake and Cumberland will join together to present Theatre in the Woods’ production of “The Laramie Project” November for to weekends beginning on November 9 and  running through November18 at  the Erika Quam Memorial Theater, 605 First St. here. Curtain times will be 7:30  PM for the Friday and Saturday performances. The shows November 18 performance will be a 2 PM matinee.
  “The Laramie Project” differs from the format of most stage plays in that it originated as a project carried out by a theater company, and the dialogue is taken from actual interviews, not a playwright’s imagination.Using the words of Laramie, Wyoming residents, the play survey the reactions to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard. Since its first production in 2000, the play has been widely performed and is being used in schools to teach about prejudice and tolerance.
  To help prepare audiences for the deeply moving play about bigotry, tolerance, fear, courage, hate and hope, Theatre in the Woods has sent explanatory letters to area churches and high schools. The school letters include discount vouchers for students.
  Home schooled students or parents may request the letter and vouchers by calling Theatre in the Woods at 715-468-4387.
 Because this is a play that challenges viewers to both think and feel, historically many audience members want to talk about it afterward. Moderated audience discussions are planned to follow the evening performances.
  Reservations may be made by calling 715-468-4387. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors on Sunday, with student discount vouchers available through many area schools.

Rainbow Community Thanksgiving Pot Luck Dinner Set
Milwaukee - The annual Rainbow Community Thanksgiving Potluck dinner has been scheduled for Saturday, November 24 at the Plymouth Church, 2717 E. Hampshire St.here. Doors will open at 4:30 PM, with dinner served at 5:30.
  Attendees are asked to bring an appetizer if your last name begins with A-G, a side dish if it begins with H-M, a dessert if it begins with N-T or a salad, bread or rolls if it begins with U-Z. Please call SAGE-Milwaukee at 414-224-0517 to confirm attendance to assist the senior group with dinner logistics.
  Volunteers will also be needed for setup and cleanup.  The annual holiday potluck is co-sponsored by SAGE-Milwaukee, Project Q, the Lesbian Alliance of Metro Milwaukee, Black and White Men Together, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Community Church, the city’s chapter of PFLAG and the Brew City Bears.

Trans Awareness Week Set For November 12-17
Madison - UW-Madison’s annual Trans Awareness Week has been set to run from Monday, November 12 through Saturday, November 17. Finals plans were pending for some event at Quest’s deadline. The tentative schedule for the week’s event’s are as follows:
  On Monday, November 12 there will be Trans Slam/The Transgender Monologues, a show on empowerment and community for the trans population. The event will be held at the Play Circle with curtain at 7 PM.
  Tuesday, November 13 will offer “Trans on Campus,” an educational workshop and discussion forum on issues facing trans students on a college campus. The workshop will be held at the Chadbourne Hall Main Lounge, beginning at 6:30 PM.
  Trans activist Jessica Januit will speak Wednesday, November 14 in Room1641 of the Humanities building at 7 PM. Januit is the trans activist who has lobbied the Board of Regents to be more trans-inclusive
  The national Transgender Day of Remembrance will be honored throughout the day on Thursday, November 15.  There will be a display available for viewing throughout the day at Bascom Hill and trans victims’ names will be read off on the State St. Mall, leading up an evening rally and candlelight vigil.
  A trans Film Festival has been announced to run on Friday and Saturday November 16 and 17 with films, show times and locations to be announced shortly. Also planned is a queer self-defense workshop.

“Minority Within A Minority” Workshop Announced
LaCrosse - The LGBT Resource Center of the 7 Rivers Area will host a workshop entitled “Acceptance And Success As A Minority Within A Minority Community,” a day-long session on  minority issues on Saturday December 8.  The workshop will be held at the Hmong Community and Cultural Center on Ward Avenue here from 10 AM to 1:30 PM.
  The workshop will focus on the hidden challenges that face ethnic minorities who are gay or lesbian. The keynote speaker will be Richard LaFortune, one of the founders of the on-going Native American International Two Spirit Gatherings. Local minority individuals who have faced the challenges of coming out and living as a gay or lesbian will share their personal stories as well as answer questions as part of a panel discussion.
  There will also be a music performance by local songwriter and performer “RIO”. A light lunch of ethnic delicacies will be provided for those who attend. Contributing sponsors include the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin and Multicultural Advocates, Inc.  Following the workshop there will be an open house at the LGBT Resource Center at 303 Pearl Street from 2 to 5 PM. The art displayed will feature the work of artists of Ethnic backgrounds and or artwork surrounding minority or minority topics. This reception is also open to the public.
  For more information about the conference or to register, call the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center at 608-784-0452. The morning workshop is free and open to the public. Attendees are asked to call the LGBT Resource Center to register their attendance. Though this is not required but it will help conference organizers with logistical planning.

Current Issue Extends Three Weeks
Green Bay - To permit Quest editors and staff the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving, the current issue of Quest will be available for three, rather than two weeks. Deadline for our November 29 issue will be Tuesday, November 20.

Correction: In an October 25 story profiling the 12 District Milwaukee aldermanic race, initial online versions and the print edition of Quest misidentified candidate Jocasta Zamarripa as an “out Latina lesbian.” Longtime gay ally Zamarippa, who last year took a leadership role in organizing Milwaukee’s opposition to the constitutional amendment banning marriage and civil unions, is happily heterosexual.

ASAP Financial: Helping You Make Your Gay Home Your Own
Interview by Mike Fitzpatrick
For many in the gay community, getting into the process of buying a home - whether alone or as a couple - can seem especially daunting as they peer into the heterosexually-dominated, white picket fence world of mortgages, deeds, points and property inspections. Adding the recent turmoil in the home and mortgage markets to the mix might make some want to shy away completely.
  Think again, say Michael Sander and Mark Bugalski of the gay-owned, Milwaukee mortgage brokerage ASAP Financial. This might be the perfect time to invest in home ownership. Quest sat down recently with Michael and Mark to find out more.

Quest: Tell me a little bit about ASAP Financial.

Michael: We are a mortgage company. We pretty much only handle mortgages, whether an original purchase or a refinance. We do non-owner occupied properties, no income documentation loans for self-employed people, “one day out of bankruptcy” programs, and so on. We’re not a bank, so we offer 50-60 (mortgage) products. We have options for people with any kind of credit.

Quest: So you do everything from a WHEDA (Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority) loan to a “sub-prime special”?

Michael: Correct. We definitely do WHEDA: that’s a big thing right now. Sub-prime? It’s getting a little tougher in this market be we’re definitely doing them. That’s the base of our customers. Probably 50% of them are sub-prime so we definitely have to be up on the market, getting new products.

Quest: That would seem to be pretty tough right now. That whole market seems to have collapsed financially.

Michael: It’s very tough, but there are still some investors out there who are willing to take the chance on these borrowers. Programs have gotten a little tighter, but theses (types of loans) are still available if the mortgage broker seeks it out.
  We’ve been doing this for ten years, so we have a pretty good handle on who we can call to do what type of loan.

Quest: Of course, I’m looking at what happened with industry leaders like Merrill-Lynch. I think the loss there was $8 billion?

Michael: I know. But there are still a lot of small investors out there keeping afloat, that are able to help us out. But market is definitely changing. What happened was (sub-prime lending) got too big, too quick.

Quest: Let’s talk about loans those are for first-time buyers. I suspect that many of your customers may be going to you because of the gay angle, but a large number also are first time buyers.

Michael: You know you don’t have to be a first-time buyer to get a WHEDA loan. If you haven’t own a property within the last ten years you can qualify as a first-time home buyer again.

Quest: If a person wanted to have a WHEDA loan, what would they have to have in place?

Mark: There are a range of income brackets for people and purchase limitations on the amount of money they will lend you. When (a home buyer) is deciding to purchase a property, WHEDA will look at the neighborhood. Is the neighborhood an area where there have been many foreclosures in the past? That’s something WHEDA is looking at now.
  But anyone with a pretty decent credit history can qualify for a WHEDA loan with no money down. The rate is pretty darn decent for a !00% financed loan, with a small PMI (private mortgage insurance) payment. I believe the rate today is 6.7%. That’s really good.

Quest: That’s really good! That wasn’t available when I brought my property!

Mark: I know! I know! People think the rates are bad! They’re not bad. Twenty years ago my parents bought their home (at a rate of) 14%.

Quest: An what about re-financing? Some people with adjustable mortgages are hurting.

Mark: For people who need to cut their payments, there are loans that offer rates as low as 1.95%. That’s what the payment is based off of. Now, obviously, that’s a negative amortization loan. You’re owe more later. But it helps you get that home if you can’t afford it right now. (If) you know later down the line your financial situation is going to change and you’re willing to make the struggle, those loans are available. There’s just so much out there.

Quest: So even in this tight credit market, there is housing financing available.

Michael and Mark (together):  Definitely.

Michael: Oh yes, though the thing we’re running into right now are home values. People who refinanced a few years ago and need to re-finance today are finding their home values have not gone up. Loan providers only take into consideration only homes that sold in the last twelve months within a mile range (of the re-financer’s property).

Michael: And some people overpaid for homes when the market was hot three or four years ago

Mark: That’s problem the market is running into. The rates are still there. The programs are still there. Twenty four months ago during the housing boom people didn’t Take (a possible downturn) into consideration. They thought their value of their home was going to boost when they got a lower rate.

Quest: Is the contraction in housing market value in Wisconsin similar to what’s been going on on the coasts?

Mark: I don’t really want to comment on that because I pretty much just look at Wisconsin. I know how bad its fallen here and I know its fallen everywhere else.

Quest: So is this a buyer’s market or a seller’s market in Wisconsin right now?

Michael: This is definitely a buyer’s market right now.

Mark: For sure!

Michael: You have the pick of anything you want. People are willing to negotiate. Prices drop every week. Houses are on the market 90 days, 120 days.

Mark: We have some people who are purchasing houses that have been on the market a year, a year and a half.

Michael: So if you’re a buyer, this is the time to wheel and deal!

Mark: You can get the extras, like get your closing costs paid for or get extra credit.People will do anything to sell.

Michael: And the rates are still there. Is it great for the economy? No. But is it good for the buyer? Yeah its pretty good.

Quest: Looking into the future where we are going to have 74 million baby boomers going to retire in the next twenty years, is this going to stay a buyer’s market for the foreseeable future?

Mark: I don’t think so. The experts believe the market will bottom out in the Spring or maybe the summer of next year, then start picking up.

Quest: Let’s talk a little more about ASAP. Obviously you cater to anyone who walks in the door, but you have a special affinity for working with gay clientele.

Mark: Definitely. The bulk of our business comes from gay clientele. That’s something we decided when we first opened: we are gay, a gay couple. We understand what its like to go somewhere and feel comfortable. We try to make it an experience, especially if it is a gay couple. It’s fun for us, know that its their first house together. The people we’re affiliated with use only an appraiser who’s gay and in a relationship. The title company offers joint titles without asking any questions.
  It’s just a nice experience for our customers. And the gay community really treats us well in return. We get a lot of referrals from our customers.

Quest: Why is it important for gay people to work with someone who understands the gay community over, say, another more typical mortgage broker?

Michael: If the home buyers are a couple, we both their interests at stake. If you go to any other broker, they’re not going to take into consideration the relationship, they’re going to see two people with two different credit histories. They’re going to see which way their going to get the loan sold best only. We’re going to take into consideration what’s best for the couple. Is it a better benefit for one of them to purchase the home in one name but put both their names on the title? Is it a better benefit for both of them to be on the mortgage? We’re able to assess the situation better. That’s what we do very well.

Mark: There’s also a level of comfort that comes from going with a company that understands your situation.

Michael: And then there’s the experience. (ASAP has) been in business three years. I’ve managed other brokerage shops for ten years. Mark’s been a loan officer for 12 years.

Quest: So together you have a couple of decades of experience.

Michael: Definitely and we really enjoy doing this as well.

Quest: Has the Marriage Amendment thrown new questions your way?

Michael: Actually no, it has not. People don’t have questions (about its impact). Mostly they’re concerned about their rates and how much money they’re going to have to pay!

Mark: We’re in the same boat we were: we’re not any more illegal than we were before!

Quest: Any last words for our readers? It’s your last chance to get up on the soapbox!

Michael: I just want people to know that I’ve been advertising in Quest since before we started this company. And when we opened it was the first place we advertised. I thank the readers for supporting us. We get a lot of calls out of Quest magazine and I really appreciate it and hope it keeps coming!

Quest: Thanks for the compliment. You know there are some folks - let’s call them the more PC types - who are concerned about advertising in a paper that covers the entire gay community, including things like the leather column or the personal ads.

Michael: We thought of that. It’s something we questioned in the beginning. But you know what? I saw how many people picked it up. I also know how I read it, cover to cover. Did I read the personal ads? Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t - it all depended on my mood. But I just think it’s fun! It’s a fun publication. And I know a lot of who own small businesses who have said the same thing to me. It’s just been a great place to promote our business.