Quest New Logo     Volume 15 No. 8   May 29, 2008
Compiled & written by Mike Fitzpatrick
Quest Magazine          QNU: Quest News Update          Quest Bar Guide        Quest Diversion Of The Day          Contact Quest News
 
Top Stories:
Fallout From California Gay Marriage Ruling Continues
Dobson’s “SpongeBob” Defense Team Asks Court To Stay Implementation
Pundit Claims Decision May Secure Presidency For McCain
Sacramento - Two weeks following the California Supreme Court’s landmark May 15 ruling to overturn the Golden State’s gay marriage ban, the fallout from the 4-3 decision continues.
George Takei & Brad Altman  Celebrity couples from Ellen & Portia De Rossi  and Star Trek’s “Sulu” George Takei and his 21-year partner Brad Altman have joined the not-so-famous in planning their nuptials - currently set to begin June 16.
  Pundits, social and political, from left, right and middle, have pored over and pontificated on the massive 72-page document that derailed every argument the Religious Right had put forth over the last decade and a half: gay marriage was not a “special right;” marriage is not solely for procreation; and there was no meaningful “slippery slope” toward depravity if same sex couples were allowed to wed.
  Indeed the majority opinion, penned by Chief Justice Ronald M. George, had declared that any law that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation will from this point on be constitutionally suspect in California in the same way as laws that discriminate by race or gender, making the state’s high court the first in the nation to adopt such a stringent standard. The decision had been a bold surprise from a moderately conservative, Republican-dominated court that legal scholars have long dubbed “cautious.” Judicial experts believe the ruling was likely to influence other courts around the country.
  That doesn’t mean opponents of equality will not try their best to undo what they perceive as “profound damage” to so-called “traditional marriage.” A ballot initiative to add an amendment banning same sex marriage to the state’s constitution was already apace, with signatures turned in, reviewed and approved in numbers sufficient to cause a November vote. Moments after the ruling was announced Catholic bishops and faith-based “family” groups denounced the decision. So-called “social conservatives” vowed legal moves to blunt the gay ban’s overturning.
   On May 22, the Alliance Defense Fund, founded by James Dobson and infamous for claiming cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants was turning tots gay, asked the California Supreme Court to put a hold on the ruling. The maneuver is now likely to push the first gay weddings into at least mid-July and possibly August because of routine procedural delays.
  The out-of-state legal group’s key argument: the ruling should be stayed until after the November elections, when voters are most probably will consider a ballot initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage, effectively overruling the court and undoing any same-sex marriages already conducted.
  Historically, California’s Supreme Court seldom has agreed to reconsider its rulings. However, Alliance attorneys feel their argument for a “temporary freeze to avoid legal chaos” might be the exception that proves the rule. “What we’re doing essentially is asking the court to maintain the status quo,” Alliance attorney Glen Lavy told reporter Howard Mintz of the San Jose Mercury News.
  Top court officials have indicated that the Alliance legal team’s request will be addressed no later than August, meaning couples will have three months to wed before the November election if the justices refuse to stay their ruling.
  A spokesman for Attorney General Jerry Brown said state officials would not back the request for a stay. The state defended the law in the Supreme Court, but Brown and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger both said last week that they would respect the outcome of the ruling.
  The Alliance Defense Fund’s challenge has already caused some confusion. Following the request, Secretary of State Debra Bowen and the state’s legislative counsel issued statements saying that the court’s ruling giving gay couples the right to wed does not impact the legal rights of registered domestic partners. Bowen said her office has been getting dozens of calls each day and wanted to assure same-sex couples that getting married would not jeopardize their domestic partnership status.
  While the future impact of the California court’s ruling may have left doubts in the minds of gay couples eager to wed, the rulings’ impact of another landmark event - the first election of an incumbent-free Presidential race in a half century - was also mulled by political scientists. Peter Brown of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, writing in the Wall Street Journal May 19 thinks the ruling may have just handed the election to the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
  “Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign, facing the most anti-Republican mood since Watergate, may have finally caught a break,” Brown wrote. “It’s not enough to change the election by itself, but the California Supreme Court may have handed him an issue from which he can profit.”
  “By overturning a ban on gay marriage that was approved by 61% of California voters, the judges have helped revive an emotional issue that seems likely to work to Senator. McCain’s benefit and to Senator Barack Obama’s detriment,” Brown continued.
  “Until now Senator. McCain has opposed gay marriage,” Brown noted. “His immediate reaction after the decision was to castigate the court for overruling the will of the people...”
  Brown then pointed out the problem faced by McCain’s opponent. “...Senator Obama, the almost-certain Democratic nominee, has less wiggle room. He favors civil unions - unlike Senator McCain - and says the legality of gay marriage should be up to the states.” To Brown, it was advantage McCain.
  However in the first new poll released since the California ruling, the number suggest Brown may be mistaken. A new poll released today in California finds political momentum shifting dramatically toward Barack Obama - and away from both Hillary Clinton and John McCain- in the nation’s most populous state. According to the May 23 results of a survey conducted over the past 10 days by the Public Policy Institute of California, 59% of likely voters here now have a “favorable” impression of Democrat Obama, while a majority view both of the other candidates unfavorably. 51% of voters now say they have an unfavorable opinion of Clinton while 53% percent of voters feel the same way about McCain.

Kevin Aviance To Open, Close PrideFest
Milwaukee - He’s had four #1 dance hits top the Billboard charts. His brutal gay bashing stunned the LGBT world in 2006. His valiant comeback from Kevin Aviancehis serious injuries have been an inspiration for his legions of  fans.  Performer, musician, illusionist, designer and all around “force of nature” Kevin Aviance will share both his story and his art during both the opening and closing hours of PrideFest here June 6-8.
  For those unfamiliar with Kevin Aviance, it is likely that they have never stepped foot into a dance club anywhere in the world in the last decade. With two albums under his designer belts, those four #1 Billboard Dance hits, nearly a dozen groundbreaking music videos and a fan base stretching from New York to Tokyo, Kevin Aviance is a force that cannot be denied. His innovative, gender bending avant-garde style has made him a “style icon” in the world of high fashion, his chart topping dance hits and energetic, commanding and innovative live performances have made him a “dance icon” in the international dance music scene, and his proud presence and political activism solidified his status as a “gay icon” for the global gay community.
  Aviance’s darker journey made headlines two years ago. On June 11, 2006 he was attacked after leaving the Phoenix, a trendy East Village club in lower Manhattan by a group yelling anti-gay slurs. A group of six or seven men attacked Aviance and passers-by did not stop to help as they threw objects at him. Aviance suffered a broken jaw in the attack that required emergency surgery. Despite his injuries, Aviance insisted on appearing in the city’s gay pride parade later that month. Four people were arrested and were later convicted on hate-crime charges.
  Kevin will share his story during the opening ceremony at PrideFest Friday night. He also will serve as a Pride Idol judge for the Semifinals on Saturday and the Finals on Sunday afternoon.
He will perform Sunday evening in the Dance Pavilion.
  Aviance was raised in Richmond, Virginia, in a close-knit family with seven siblings. From a young age, Aviance dedicated himself to the study of music and theater. Kevin’s career as a performance artist and club personality began in Washington DC, continued in Miami, and eventually landed him at the epicenter of the club and music scene: New York City where he became the undisputed queen of nightlife.
  Aviance cites superstars Grace Jones, Boy George and David Bowie as key influences in both his performance art and music. Kevin is currently working on a new album and gearing up to release a slew of new singles collaborating with DJ Gomi, Mike Cruz, and Tom Stephan. These hotly anticipated new tracks will be his first releases since the 2003 #1 Billboard Dance hits, “Give It Up” and “Alive,” produced by two time Grammy nominated producer Tony Moran, and his first #1 hit, 1997’s “Din Da Da.” Kevin recently debuted his latest single, “Strut” on The Tyra Banks Show.
  Kevin continues to donate his energies and time to the fight against HIV/AIDS and the fight for human rights. His bookend appearances at this year’s PrideFest will only serve to reinforce the festival’s 2008 theme: “Live. Love. Be.”
World & National News:
Michigan Supremes: Marriage Ban Amendment Nixes DP Benefits
Lansing - The Michigan Supreme Court ruled May 7 that public employers are barred from providing health care benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian employees.
  The 5-2 ruling found that an amendment to the Michigan Constitution approved by voters in 2004 to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman also applied to employee benefits. Specifically, the court found that language in the amendment prohibiting recognition of other unions “for any purpose” effectively bans same-sex partner benefits.
  In providing benefits to same-sex domestic partners, employers recognize those relationships in a way indistinguishable from the way a marriage is recognized, the court majority found.
  There is likely to be no immediate impact from the ruling because public employers in Michigan who had offered such benefits already had changed their policies to ensure their employees’ partners would remain covered. But lawyers and gay rights advocates said the ruling has sent a “devastating” signal about the state’s attitude toward gays, lesbians and their children.
  “I think it’s a sad day in Michigan when we decide which children and families are valuable enough to cover,” Tom Patrick, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told the Detroit Free Press.
  Other states are also grappling with whether marriage amendments passed in their states apply to same-sex benefits, though currently no case has been filed in Wisconsin. Efforts to pass a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages recently resumed following the California Supreme Court decision overturning that state’s Proposition 22 gay marriage ban.
  The immediate practical impact of the Michigan ruling is not expected to be dramatic. Although no precise figures were ever compiled, same-sex benefit policies were available at a limited number of public employers before the amendment was adopted. The most prominent among them, the University of Michigan and Michigan State, have since revised their policies in ways that avoided cutting benefits to same-sex couples.
  Nationally, the Michigan ruling is unlikely to have wide implications because it was based on the specific language of the state’s amendment. Amendment authors inserted the “for any purpose” language because in other states, advocates for gay rights allegedly had exploited loopholes in statutes and amendments.

Federal Judge: Gay Pride Symbols Okay To Wear To School
Ponce De Leon, Florida - A 17 year old junior at Ponce De Leon High School won her “gay pride” lawsuit here May 13. 
  Judge Richard Smoak of the United States District Court, Northern District of Florida, Panama City Division, issued an order that forces the school to stop its unconstitutional censorship of students who want to express their support for the fair and equal treatment of gay people. The judge also warned the district not to retaliate against students over the lawsuit.
  “Freedom of speech for every person and every idea is one of the bedrock principles on which America was founded,” Christine Sun, a staff attorney with the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, said following the ruling. “Censorship reflects a deep lack of faith in the American system, and it teaches students exactly the wrong lesson on what America is about. We are thrilled that the court in this case made the importance of students’ First Amendment rights so completely clear.”
  Heather Gillman sued after the school’s principal and the Holmes County School Board  prohibited students from wearing clothing or putting stickers on their books that show support for the fair treatment of gays and lesbians. 
  School Board Superintendent Steve Griffin had claimed that the District did not restrict gay pride slogans and symbols until they “caused a disturbance in school, thus violating School Board policy.”
  Ponce de Leon High School principal David Advise also admitted under oath that he had banned students from wearing any clothing or symbols supporting equal rights for gay people. Advise also testified that he believed rainbows were “sexually suggestive” and would make students unable to study because they’d be picturing gay sex acts in their mind. The principal went on to admit that while censoring rainbows and gay pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the Confederate flag.
  Student witnesses say many students wore shirts, made posters, and wrote gay slogans and drew rainbows on their arms and face.  Those students were suspended for five days.

Bravo, Apple Top Survey Of Gay-Friendly Companies
Los Angeles -  Cable channel Bravo and iPod maker Apple have emerged as the most “gay-friendly” companies in the United States, according to a recent survey from Prime Access and PlanetOut. Four of the five top-ranked brands were from the media and technology sectors. Following Bravo and Apple, were Showtime and HBO.
  52% of gay consumers polled recognized Bravo, which has aired series such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Project Runway and Working Out, as gay-friendly. Bravo also was perceived as highly gay-friendly by 28% of straight consumers.
  Among gay consumers, Apple finished second with a 39% score, followed by Showtime (35%) and HBO (34%). The list was rounded about by non-media companies including Absolut, Levi’s and American Express.

Study: Nearly 1 In 4 Gay and Lesbian Patients Lack Health Insurance
Washington, D.C. – According to a recent national survey conducted by Harris Interactive, nearly one in four gay and lesbian adults lack health insurance and are nearly twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to have no health insurance coverage. When asked, 22% of gay and lesbian survey respondents reported having no health insurance, compared to only 12% of heterosexual adults in the survey.
“We know the problem of the uninsured has reached crisis proportions in this country and, unfortunately, this survey shows that the LGBT community is today at greater risk. What LGBT households and all Americans deserve and need is affordable access to quality health care that results in positive outcomes and facilitates prevention, wellness and chronic care coordination,” Peter Francel CEBS, Head of Sales-Product Group for Aetna said. “We must step up all efforts to serve the uninsured and take the lead in transforming our health care system for not only our LGBT members but all those who are not covered by health insurance today.”
  When asked about factors that influence their likelihood to consider specific health insurers, almost the same number of gay and lesbian adults said that it was important to them that the health insurance company provide domestic partner health coverage for companies to whom they supply health insurance (85%) and to their own employees (84%).
  Also, 79% of gay and lesbian adults also reported that seeing a print advertisement for a health insurance company that provides information about insurance products and speaks to gay persons with images of gay and lesbian people would be an important factor on their likelihood of considering the company’s health insurance products.
  “Studies consistently show that gay and lesbian consumers are far more likely to focus their spending on companies that sensitively and specifically reach out to them,” Colleen Dermody, Vice President of Witeck-Combs Communications noted. “LGBT consumers place a high value on brands, including health insurance companies, that earn and grow respect within the community. LGBT consumers are among the most motivated to ‘vote’ with their dollars and to seek out brands they believe to be very friendly and supportive of the LGBT community.”
State News:
Gay Marriage Ban Challenge Hearing Set For May 30
Madison - Though all eyes may seem to be on the recent California Supreme Court ruling overturning that state’s gay marriage ban proposition, attention Tamara Packardmay soon turn back to Wisconsin where a  married Oshkosh professor’s one-man battle to challenge the Badger State’s so-called “protection of marriage” amendment will shortly have its day in court. Dane County Judge Richard Neiss has scheduled oral arguments on May 30 on what remains of William McConkey’s one-time pro se lawsuit: whether the referendum on the fall 2006 ballot asked two questions rather than one.
  McConkey now has attorneys Tamara Packard and Lester Pines from the Madison law firm Cullen, Weston, Pines & Bach advocating his position along with the support of Fair Wisconsin. Packard submitted her 13-page argument in support of McConkey’s position to the court May 19.
  In the brief, a copy of which was obtained by Quest, Packard argued the state legislature violated Article XII of the state constitution, which specifically requires all referenda put to the voters to contain single questions only. 
  Packard wrote that the two questions contained in the marriage ban amendment - defining marriage and prohibiting legal recognition of civil unions - were not sufficiently interrelated and failed to pass an earlier Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling invalidating another multi-part referendum identified by Packard at the Hudd Test.
  Packard also wrote that the issue in front of the court is how the ballot was offered to the voters, not the meaning of the amendment as perceived by proponents and opponents of the marriage and civil union issues.
  Packard also argued that how other supreme courts in other states decided lawsuits about the wording of their marriage referenda was irrelevant as the question for Wisconsin courts is how the wording of Article XII impacts the questions presented in the 2006 marriage amendment ballot. “The interpretation of our Constitution should be based only on the laws and policies of this State,” Packard wrote. “The constitutions, laws and policies of Georgia, Louisiana and Florida have no relevance here.”
  Though it could take up to 90 days following the hearing for Judge Neiss to issue a ruling, Packard believes it is also possible he might issue a ruling May 30. “The newer judges, because of the way they are trained these days, do tend to rule from the bench,” Packard told Capital Times reporter Judith Davidoff. “That’s great for litigants because we then keep things moving, we know what’s going on and we don’t have to sit around waiting.”
  If Neiss rules in McConkey’s favor, the amendment would be considered overturned. However Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen, who has argued against McConkey’s suit on behalf of the Department of Justice, is expected to appeal such a decision to the state Supreme Court.
  According to Packard, Wisconsin’s high court has only decided on referendum questions three times in the past 124 years. Two referenda were thrown out.

Wisconsin Hate Crimes On The Rise
Madison, Milwaukee - Hate crimes have nearly doubled in Wisconsin over the last decade according to recently released FBI statistics. Bureau statistics show that  43 cases were reported in 1996. In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, there were 84 reported.
  In a recent interview Madison Jewish Community Council Executive Director Steven Morrison admitted that he was surprised by the increase. “There’s been distribution of hate literature in the last few years from various neo-Nazi groups - not necessarily directed only at Jews,” Morrison told Milwaukee Public Radio reporter Ann-Elise Henzl May 8. “The literature is directed at Jews, but left at homes of a variety of different kinds of people. We get reports of anti-Semitic phone calls,” Morrison said.
  Madison’s synagogue was recently vandalized twice, according to Morrison. “On April 25 two very large swastikas appeared on the front door of Beth Israel Center,” he said. “And then either that same time or perhaps sometime during the weekend on a brick on the same side of the building on Mound Street here in Madison, the smaller swastika along with the words ‘Die Jew.’”
  In addition to racial and religious minorities, the LGBT community also has been victimized by hate crimes. Some consider the April 2007 murder of a Madison man to be hate inspired. Bret T. Turner’s death was one of seventeen victims cited during last November’s Transgender Day Of Remembrance. Turner had been found stabbed 14 times. His attacker received a thirty year sentence in a plea deal.
 Meighan Bentz of the anti-violence project at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center detailed the types of reports the project regularly receives for the Milwaukee Public Radio report. “We see hate crimes involving damage to property, graffiti. We also get reports about assault, physical, sexual assault - very violent in nature - and then a lot of verbal abuse. It really is unfortunate and it puts people in a position of feeling vulnerable and not safe,” Bentz said.
  The increase in the Badger State’s hate crimes may in part be the result of more visible activities by extremist hate groups. OutReach director Steve Starkey was recently contacted by openly gay Madison Police officer Alix Olson about plans by the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Movement to hold a June 7 protest at the main gate of the Henry B. Maier festival grounds. Organizers for both PrideFest and the Milwaukee Pride Parade were subsequently advised of the event. Both groups have alerted the Milwaukee Police Department about the demonstration.
  Police will also have to deal with a planned counter-protest by two Milwaukee-based groups - the self styled “radical transfolk and queer” organization Bash Back! Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Anti-Racist Action. In addition to the counter-protest, Bash Back! Milwaukee announced a June 6 training session and offered housing for counter-protesters in a May 23 posting on the anarchist website Infoshop News.
  PrideFest has commented officially on the issue. In a statement issued to Quest and other LGBT media, festival organizers noted that “PrideFest is a celebration of the strength that diversity brings to our communities. The festival respects the right of all people to express their views and opinions. However, festival organizers are disappointed that individuals may choose our event as an opportunity to promote agendas that focus on hate and discrimination. Our most appropriate response is to make our celebration larger, louder and even more focused on the respect for diversity that is at its core.”
  Festival organizers also addressed the personal safety issue. “As we do every year, we will work to ensure an excellent experience for all of our patrons and are in close communication with the police and public authorities to ensure that all patrons have easy and safe access to the festival grounds,” the announcement concluded.

Rural Gay-Affirming Evangelical Church Vandalized
Beecher - The last thing Pastor Leonard Newlin expected to find when he checked the mail May 22 at his Northern Pines Community Church was a message that some in this rural Marinette County town harbor feelings similar to those that erupted last October in Jena, Louisiana. Hanging from the cross Beecher, WIin front of his gay-affirming congregation’s building was a toy action figure with a noose around its neck.
  “It was a kid’s toy but the hangman’s knot around the action figure’s neck makes me think that it was left there by someone a lot older,” Newlin told Quest in a phone interview. “I think I’m the only openly gay minister north of Green Bay and everyone around here knows that. I don’t think it was a prank.”
  According to Newlin, that was the conclusion of the local sheriff’s department who is investigating the issue after the minister filed a formal complaint. “He (the responding county deputy) wanted to shrug it off as a kid’s joke,” Newlin said.
  It’s not the first time anti-gay tinged vandalism has occurred in the area Newlin claimed. “A couple of years ago in (nearby) Pembine the rental property that a woman with AIDS and her kids lived in was trashed after she moved out,” Newlin said. “Whoever did that made the place unlivable.” Newlin said the vandals in that incident were never found.
  Newlin told Quest that he took photographs of the vandalism before calling the sheriff’s department, but that he couldn’t immediately offer up a picture of the incident because his camera was not digital. “I’m pretty computer illiterate and it’s a half-hour to the nearest Wal-
Mart where I can get the film developed,” he said. The pastor has promised to send Quest a photo via U. S. Mail for future publication.
  Newlin said though he was upset by the vandalism, his life partner was even more rattled. “He wants me to keep a loaded gun handy because he’s out of town for work a lot,” Newlin said.
  The nondenominational evangelical Northern Pines Community Church was founded by Newlin seven years ago. At its height the church claimed 35 members, though only about 6-7 currently attend weekly services. “Unfortunately one of our most prominent members passed way last year,” Newlin said. “Since he a lot of people have drifted away.”

Fair Wisconsin To Present 1st Annual Leadership Awards June 16
Madison - Congressional Representative Tammy Baldwin and the Fair Wisconsin community will host the statewide civil rights organization’s 1st Annual Fair WILeadership Awards Monday, June 16 from 5:30-8:30 PM at Samba Brazilian Grill here.
  The inaugural event will thank the previous presidents of the board of Fair Wisconsin and the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund.  Tickets for the event will be available shortly, and proceeds from the evening will benefit the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund.
  For more information, contact Christine Callsen at the Fair Wisconsin office at 608-441-0143.  You may also email her at: ccallsen@fairwisconsin.com.
 Fair Wisconsin is a statewide organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. They carry out this mission through education, legislative advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalition-building and electoral involvement. These efforts are designed to educate the general voting public, sensitize the media, promote a politically active and effective organizational membership, and better inform policy makers on issues of concern to our members.

LaCrosse LGBT Center To Hire Executive Director
LaCrosse - The Board of the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center has announced the beginning of the search for an Executive Director for the Center. The job posting will be published in local newspapers and nationally in other media as well. Center members and supporters are encouraged to spread the 7 Rivers LGBT Centerword and particularly to pass the job posting on to prospective candidates that they might know.
  The Board also sent members a letter enclosed in the current edition of the Center’s newsletter asking that they help support the efforts at providing the Center with an Executive Director by sending a donation to the Director Fund. Board members Mary O’Sullivan and Francie Ball had previously announced that they are contributing their tax rebate checks to get the Executive Director Fund started. The Board sees the hiring of a full time director the next step in continuing the 7 Rivers Center a major force in the LaCrosse community.
  In it’s solicitation announcement, the Board said: “The LGBT Resource Center provides services to foster understanding and build connections on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity to the 7 Rivers Region through education, events and programming. The Resource Center is a public voice for the LGBT community and its allies throughout the 7 Rivers Region, an area on the Upper Mississippi River known for its bluffs, river access, and natural beauty with bike paths, hiking, canoe and kayaking trails.”
  “The Resource Center is located in a city population of 52,000 which encourages and embraces diversity. This is a unique opportunity to serve as the first Executive Director. You will be responsible for the administration, staff supervision, fundraising, grant writing, program development, volunteer organization and public relations efforts of the 7 Rivers LGBT Resource Center, under the general direction of the Board of Directors.”
  “Qualifications for the Director position include a B.A. degree or 2 years of related experience, familiarity with LGBT issues, social activism, and standard Microsoft Office software. To be considered for this position, please send a resume and letter of application to: LGBT Resource Center for the 7 Rivers Region, Attn: Executive Director Search Committee, P.O. Box 3313, 303 Pearl Street, LaCrosse, WI 54602-3313.”

Midwest Trans Youth Conference Hailed As “Youth Program of the Year”
Milwaukee –Laura Sorensen and Jay Botsford were recently honored at the Rainbow Alliance for Youth (RAY) Awards in Milwaukee for thier work co-organizing the first Midwest Trans Youth Conference. The event was a collaboration between Sorensen, from the Michigan-based Affirmations gay community center and Botsford of Project Q at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center. Diverse and Resilient, a youth-serving organization in Wisconsin, named the conference the best program of 2007.
  The conference, which focused on community-building, activism, and education, spanned three days and attracted over 60 young people and youth workers from 6 states to Affirmations. Participants attended over 15 workshops around the theme, “Revolutionary Voices, Transforming Choices.” Youth were involved with every aspect of the planning process, from picking a host hotel to presenting workshops.
  “I was lucky to be part of such an exciting event, helping to bring resources, community, and entertainment to transgender and gender non-conforming youth in the Midwest. These young people often don’t have the same access as youth in other parts of the country,” Sorensen said.
“It’s exciting that our partnership and the hard work of all the youth and volunteers were recognized.”
  Last year’s conference was so successful that Affirmations and Project Q plan to make it an annual event. Youth leaders and youth workers will convene for the 2008 Midwest Trans Youth Conference on November 14-16 in Milwaukee.
  Affirmations is the community center for LGBT people and their allies that has been open since 1989 and is located in Detroit suburb of Ferndale. For more information, visit the center’s website at: www.GoAffirmations.org. For more information about Milwaukee’s Project Q, visit their website at: www.projectq.org.

Pride Alive Fundraiser Set
Appleton - Pride Alive in conjunction with the Harmony Café and Angels of Hope MCC will host a fundraising barbecue and beer bust Sunday, June 22 Pride Alivefrom 2-7 PM at Rascals Bar & Grill, 702 E. Wisconsin Ave. here. Cost for the beer bust will be $9. The barbecue dinner will run from 4-6 PM at a cost of $5 per person. Attendees must be 21 year of age or older to participate.
  The event will underwrite the copyright fees for the planned July 11 showings of the film “For the Bible Tells Me So” at the Harmony Café, 124 N. Oneida St. Show times will be 7 and 9 PM and admission is free. The film portrays in a “Dateline NBC” style several stories of how people of different religious beliefs react and interact when they find out they have children who are lesbian or gay.
  The film will be the kick-off event for Pride Alive, the northeast Wisconsin festival celebrating the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community, their friends and allies. The day-long music and cultural festival will run from 11 AM - 9 PM at Joannes Park in Green Bay on July 12.

ARCW To Hold National HIV Testing Day Activities Throughout Wisconsin
Statewide - The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (ARCW) will expand hours and locations for HIV testing as part of National HIV Testing Day.  ARCWNational HIV Testing Day is a countrywide effort to encourage people at-risk for HIV infection to receive voluntary testing and counseling on June 27, 2008.
  “One of the most important things people can do to keep themselves healthy and prevent the spread of HIV is to get tested,” Paul “Cricket” Jacob, a prevention specialist with ARCW in Green Bay, told Quest.  “Early detection of HIV enables people to start receiving life saving care and treatment as soon as possible and reduces the likelihood of further transmission of the virus.”
  It is estimated that between 180,000 and 280,000 people are living with HIV in the United States but do not know it.  Today, more than one million people are living with HIV, 6,400 in Wisconsin alone.  So far in 2008 there have been 127 confirmed new HIV infections in the state and more than 10,000 since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in 1983.
  “We encourage sexually active gay men, injection drug users who share equipment or people with multiple sexual partners to get tested,” Jacob said.  “ARCW uses rapid tests that require just a small amount of blood, taken from the finger tip, with results available within 20 minutes.”
  ARCW has nine locations across Wisconsin where HIV testing is available.  To get information about expanded testing hours and additional testing venues in these communities, visit the agency website at: www.arcw.org.  Information is also available at the Wisconsin HIV/STD/Hepatitis C Information and Referral Center at 1-800-334-2437 or online at: www.irc-wisconsin.org.
 While there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, advancements in medical care and treatment are helping people live long and healthy lives with HIV.  HIV care and treatment regimens are most effective and offer the best chance for long-term survival if people who are living with HIV learn their status as soon as possible.

Paul Williams Lands Communications Role At LGBT Center
Milwaukee - The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center has named Paul Williams as its new Director of Communications. Williams, who currently handles public relations for PrideFest will assume begin at the Center June 23.
  Williams has been a Milwaukee resident for 21 years and has been active in the local LGBT community in many capacities. He has worked for eight years as Administrator of the Hillside Family Resource Center, a social services center of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee. Since 2004, he has served as a Board Director of PrideFest and since 2005 as the festival’s Director of Communications, overseeing marketing efforts that have helped establish the festival as one the nation’s most unique and fastest-growing LGBT pride events.
  Williams previously served as President of the Human Rights League-Political Action Committee, as a Board Director of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, and a leader of the Milwaukee Domestic Partner Task Force. Prior to his work with the Housing Authority, he worked as a Research Writer for the Medical College of Wisconsin.
  Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Marquette University. Paul’s communication skills will guarantee that Center members and donors have timely and relevant information about Center programs and activities.

Angels Of Hope To Host HIV Testing Day
Green Bay - The Angels of Hope Metropolitan Community Church, in conjunction with ARCW will host an HIV Testing Day June 22 from 1-4 PM at the church site, 3607 Libal St. here Testing will be done on a first come, first served basis. Refreshments will also be available on site. There is no fixed charge for the rapid antibody testing, and results will be available within 20-30 minutes. Donations either of cash or items for the ARCW food pantry are encouraged. For more information, or directions contact the church at: 920-983-7453.

OutReach Seeks 2008 Award Nominations
Madison - OutReach has announced that nominations are currently being accepted for the organization’s annual leadership awards. Nominations are OutReachbeing solicited for the Man and Woman of the Year, Ally of the Year, Organization of the Year and Volunteer of the year.  Nominations may be made at the OutReach website at: www.outreachinc.com or by obtaining forms at the agency’s office at 600 Williamson St.
  Award winners will be announced at the 16th Annual Awards Banquet on Friday, July 18 in the Grand Ballroom of the Monona Terrace.  US Representative Tammy Baldwin will be the keynote speaker. Baldwin will be addressing health care issues as they relate to the LGBT communities. Susan Siman of WISC-TV will serve as emcee.
  The 2008 banquet’s theme will be “35 Years Under the Rainbow,” a salute to OutReach’s 35th Birthday.  Tickets for the event can be purchased by calling OutReach at: 608-255-8582, or stopping at the office.  Tickets are $60 per person and $110 per pair.  The agency will also offer a sliding scale, as well as a $30 rate for students and those living on limited incomes.

Arts & Entertainment:
Proud Theater To Be Heard Loud And Clear May 29-31
Madison - Proud Theater Productions, in conjunction with StageQ, presents Proud Theater: Loud and Clear, a fun and exciting evening of theater, music, poetry and dance written by and starring the talented youth of Proud Theater, Madison’s very own lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth theater troupe.
  Proud Theater is an award-winning, exciting and innovative youth theater program designed to foster self-expression and self-empowerment for Madison-area youth ages 13 to 19 who identify as LGBTQ, are the sons or daughters of gay parents, or allies of the queer community at large.
  As with their earlier well-received productions - R Evolution and Plugged In, Loud and Clear tackles many of today’s issues that affect youth and does so with humor, heart and honesty as only the young adults of Proud Theater can do. Sometimes outrageous, sometimes profound, the youth share their voices with the community in a no-holds barred and uncensored way. This year the youth look at personal acceptance, family issues, history, dating and more.
  Proud Theater: Loud and Clear will run May 29, 30 and 31, 2008 at 7:30 PM, with a matinee on May 31 at 2:30 PM in the Evjue at the Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin Street. Tickets are $10, and can be reserved by calling 608-661-9696, Ext. 3  or by going to www.stageq.com. For more info on the show, contact Proud Theater by email at: proudtheater@gmail.org or online at: www.proudtheater.com.
  Founded in 1999 by Sol Kelley-Jones and Callen Harty, Proud Theater’s mission is to change the world in a positive way through the power of theater and the theater arts. The teens of Proud Theater collaboratively create theatrical pieces and original music through improv, group discussion and guidance from Proud Theater Artistic Director Brian Wild and other adult members of the Madison community.
  Proud Theater is currently a program of Outreach, Inc. and is also sponsored in part by a grant from the New Harvest Foundation. Tax-deductible donations to Proud Theater can be made to Proud Theater and sent to Outreach at 600 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703-3588.

Julie SchurrNationally Touring Lesbian Musician Julie Schurr to Perform
Green Bay – Nationally touring lesbian musician Julie Schurr will perform her unique fusion of folk rock and comedy at Sass bar in Green Bay on Friday, June 6 at 10:30 PM.
  Julie Schurr has headlined Pride and women’s music celebrations around the country and has been featured on Curvemag.com and in the Advocate.  Her two hour performance will include acoustic music from her current album as well as her unique style of audience participation and comedy.
  More information on Julie can be found online at: www.julieschurr.com or www.myspace.com/julieschurr.

MONA’s Stirs Up Pride Weekend Fun
Milwaukee - Those coming to town for PrideFest weekend June 6-8 will find the fun won’t end when the festival closes - or before it opens, for that matter. MONA’s (Milwaukee’s Out ‘N About) will feature special music and snacks during the weekend and reprise their legendary Sunday Brunch prior to the Pride Parade Sunday morning.
  On Friday & Saturday after PrideFest MONA’s will offer non-stop DJs to keep everyone dancing right up until closing time. The club will also offer late night grilling treats - from burgers to brats to soothe those hungry bellies.
  Sunday morning MONA’s will serve up its infamously decadent AYCE Pride Brunch from 10 AM to - 2 PM. The menu will feature MONA’s irresistible cream cheese-stuffed French toast, plus pancakes with fruit toppings, sausage, bacon, eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, potatoes, toast, bagels, muffins, desserts, and more for the low price of just $10 per person.
  Serenading Sunday brunch crowd will be - fresh from Key West and on his way to Sturgis - singer Scott Yvonne. Scott will be performing outside during the meal. At Noon, 3 Strikes Productions will present drag queens Shawna Love & Betty Boop for a sassy show..
  MONA’s will have the parking lot set up with an outside bar, a Miller Beer Truck, & tables and chairs so you can enjoy your brunch al fresco, or just savor a cold beer, mimosa, bloody Mary or your favorite libation. It also will be the perfect place to watch the Pride Parade get ready to roll.
  MONA’s will cap the Pride weekend on Sunday evening with the refreshing sound refreshing sounds of the eclectic al-girl rocker Infinity Is She. The show will start at 7 PM and there is no cover charge.
  MONA’s is located on the corner of 1st and Greenfield Avenues. For more information about MONA’s weekend plans, visit the club’s website at: www.m-o-n-a-s.com.

“Bold And Racy” Gilbert & George Comes to the Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee - The first major retrospective in over twenty-five years of the British artists Gilbert & George makes the only Midwest stop on its international tour at the Milwaukee Art Museum, June 14 - September 1 here. The exhibition is the largest ever mounted of their art, with more than 45 Gilbert & Georgepictures from 1971 to the present and a host of archive materials that follow the prolific forty-year career of these iconic provocateurs, called “bold and racy” by the Associated Press.
  The art of Gilbert and George encompasses an astonishing range of emotions and themes, from rural idylls to gritty images of a decaying London; from fantastical brightly colored panoramas to raw examinations of humanity stripped bare; from sex advertisements to religious fundamentalism. Since they began creating art together, the artists have always wanted to communicate beyond the narrow confines of the art world, adopting the slogan “Art for All.”
  Gilbert & George is a thorough presentation of the large-scale pictures for which the artists have become renowned, and provides a comprehensive overview of the other artistic media explored by the artists since the late 1960s. The artists themselves and over 30 public and private lenders have contributed six films and several hand-drawn preparatory sketches, as well as books, historical photographs, announcements, and other documentation from throughout their career. Gilbert & George also features new works made especially for the exhibition.
  Since their meeting at St. Martins School of Art, London, in 1967, Gilbert and George have presented themselves as a single artist, united by the unwavering maxim, “Always be smartly dressed, well groomed relaxed friendly polite and in complete control.” Self-proclaimed living sculptures, the two use their own bodies to boldly present subject matter addressing universal themes such as birth, death, and bodily functions. Conceived and organized by Britain’s Tate Gallery with their full support and collaboration, the artists consider this the definitive presentation of their work to date.
  The Milwaukee Art Museum is the second of only three North American venues for Gilbert & George. Prior to coming to Milwaukee, the exhibition was on view at the Tate Modern, London, from February through May 2007; Haus der Kunst, Munich, from June through September 2007; Castello de Rivoli, Turin, October 2007 through January 2008; and the de Young Museum, San Francisco, February through May 2008. Gilbert & George will end its international tour at the Brooklyn Museum of Art October 2008 through January 2009.
  A Tate Modern, London exhibition in association with the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition is curated by Jan Debbaut and Ben Borthwick, and coordinated at the Milwaukee Art Museum by Chief Curator Joe Ketner.
  Gilbert was born in San Martino, Italy, 1943. He studied at Wolkenstein School of Art, Hallein School of Art in Austria, Munich Academy of Art, and finally at St. Martins School of Art, London, where he met George in 1967. Born in Devon, England, 1942, George studied at Dartington Adult Education Center, Dartington Hall College of Art, Oxford School of Art, and St. Martins School of Art.
  There will be Preview Celebration for museum members on Thursday, June 12 from 5-8 PM.
Doors to Lubar Auditorium will open at 5:30 and seating is limited. The event is free for members. Non-members may also attend for a $20 fee.
  Special guests at the preview will be Gilbert & George. Curator Jan Debbaut will engage  the artists in discussion and introduce the exhibition to members and the general public. A video of the program will be screened immediately following. Music provided by 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. A cash bar, and complimentary appetizers round out the evening.
  The preview celebration caps the first of two “member only” preview days of the exhibit. A second, member-only exhibition talk is set for Friday, June 13, at 1:30 PM in the Lubar Auditorium. Attendees can expect a lively discussion between the artists Gilbert & George, exhibition curator Jan Debbaut, and Museum Chief Curator Joe Ketner.
  The Milwaukee show is being sponsored by Argosy Foundation, Donald and Donna Baumgartner, Suzanne L. Selig, Lynde B. Uihlein, Lehmann Maupin Gallery (New York), Sonnabend Gallery (New York), and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism.
  Additional support has been provided by Greater Milwaukee Foundation Terry A. Hueneke Fund, Tony and Sue Krausen, Jon Schlagenhaft & Curt Stern, Jean Friedlander, David and Maggi Gordon in memory of Max Gordon, Marc and Jacqueline Leland in honor of Max Gordon, Susan and Lew Manilow, Cream City Foundation’s Joseph R. Pabst LGBT Infrastructure Fund, Reva and Philip Shovers, Leonard Sobczak, and Richard W. Weening.
  The Milwaukee Art Museum’s far-reaching holdings include more than 20,000 works spanning antiquity to the present day. With a history dating back to 1888, the Museum’s strengths are in 19th- and 20th-century American and European art, contemporary art, American decorative arts, and folk and self-taught art. The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for Thursdays when the Museum stays open until 8 p.m. (supported by Greater Milwaukee Foundation). General admission tickets are $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 students. Members and children 12 and under are admitted free.

Cedar Creek Winery Tour & Wine Tasting Set
Cedarburg - The Milwaukee LGBT Center will hold a “Mix ‘N Mingle” gathering featuring a tour of the Cedar Creek Winery here Tuesday, June 17 beginning at 6:30 PM. A wine tasting will follow at 7:30.
  The Cedar Creek Winery is housed in a 1860s woolen mill and its stone wine cellars located in the historic Cedar Creek Settlement in downtown Cedarburg. The formal wine tasting will feature five to seven Cedar Creek Wines in the hospitality area of the winery with a view of the beautiful Cedar Creek waterfall that flows alongside the mill and through the heart of the town. Hors d’œuvres will be provided during the wine tasting as well.
  Tickets for the event are $15 for LGBT Center members and $20 for non-members. RSVPs with payment are due no later than June 10 to Patrick Price, Director of Philanthropy. To RSVP or for  more information call Patrick at: 414-292-3065 or by email at: pprice@mkelgbt.org. The tour and wine tasting is limited to only 45 guests and attendees must be 21 years of age or over. as possible. Proper identification may needed to presented as requested..
  To learn more about the Cedar Creek Winery and for directions to the event, visit the winery’s website at: www.cedarcreekwinery.com. Directions found at other sites such as MapQuest have been noted as being incorrect.

National Women’s Music Festival Tickets Available
Madison - This year the  National Women’s Music Festival (NWMF) will be held for the first time in Wisconsin at the Alliant Energy Center here, June 19-22. Begun in 1975 and featuring four days of women’s music, comedy, drag kings, a marketplace, and other special events, the NWMF welcomes people of all genders to celebrate the creative talents and technical skills of women in the visual, performing, and fine arts.
  One-night tickets for either Friday or Saturday concerts at the NWMF are now available at A Room of One’s Own Bookstore, 307 W. Johnson St. Tickets in this limited time offer are $45 each night.
  The Friday night line-up includes Paprika, Sonia and Disappear Fear, Tret Fure with her band (Pamela Means, Lyndell Montgomery, and JJ Jones), Martine Locke, and comic Mimi Gonzalez. On Saturday night festival attendees will enjoy Andrea Gibson, Cris Williamson and her band (Jen Todd and Mel Watson), comic Karen Williams Ellis, and the drag cabaret of All the King’s Men.
  Work-exchange and volunteer opportunities are also available for those who need financial assistance to attend. Lodging is available at hotels next to the Center, or camping is available right on the Center’s grounds, with showers and electric hookups available. For more information, check out the festival’s website at:wiaonline.org.

Popular Novelist Nick Poff To Appear at Outwords Books
Milwaukee - Nick Poff, author of the popular Handyman series is a novelist on the rise and the Outwords Books Gifts & Coffee is pleased to welcome him here Tuesday, June 24 at 7 PM.
Nick PoffHandyman's Promise  Just published is “The Handyman s Promise” (Authorhouse paperback $15.95), the third book to feature handyman Ed Stephens and his dream man Rick Benton. The first book in the series,  “The Handyman s Dream”  was published in 2005.  The follow-up, “The Handyman s Reality,”  was published in 2007, and is currently a finalist for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year in the category of gay/lesbian fiction.  
“The Handyman s Dream,”  a humorous, heartwarming love story of two “average Joes” set in small town America, is just the sort of story which has been practically unheard of in Gay Men’s literature. Setting the series in the early 1980s offered Poff the opportunity to recreate a portrait of gay life before AIDS, complete with references to all of the popular songs and important world events.
 “For many years I felt there was room in the gay fiction world for some tender, romantic, optimistic stories about average guys in the Midwest,”  Poff said. “The Handyman series was born of that belief.”
  Nick Poff is an Indiana native, currently living in Fort Wayne. He began a long career in the radio business at the tender age of 16. He cheerfully admits that was back in the days when disc jockeys actually spun records.  He had always harbored a desire to write stories, and has taken a break from full-time radio work to pursue that goal. 
  Poff has been gratified at the enthusiastic response to Ed and Rick - the heroes of the Handyman series - and believes readers will be equally responsive to  “The Handyman s Promise.”
  “Faithful fans will be pleased to find answers to some lingering questions in this latest book,” Poff said.
  Nick Poff will read from “Handyman s Promise” beginning at 7 PM on Tuesday, June 24 at Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee.  This is a free event and all are welcome. Outwords Books is located at 2710 N. Murray Ave. in Milwaukee.  For further information, please call 414-963-9089.

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