Articles in Anchorage
Court crowns Emperor and Empress, gives awards and scholarships at Coronation
Mike Bartels of Fairbanks and Paula Butner of Anchorage were crowned at Coronation 2008 as the new Emperor and Empress of the Imperial Court of All Alaska (ICOAA). The Court also announced the winners of five annual awards, and the recipients of the scholarship program.
A total of $60,000 was granted to the 25 scholarship recipients for 2008.
The Scholarship Awards are based on economic need, scholastic achievement, leadership ability and contributions to the Lesbian/Gay community, with preference given to members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and allied (GLBTA) community.
The Imperial Court’s five annual community service awards are given to individuals and businesses in Alaska’s GLBTA community.
Chosen by the College of Emperors and Empresses:
The Raymond Jorgenson Community Service Award to a group/business went to Bent Alaska
Raymond Jorgenson worked tirelessly for many years on behalf of the GLBTA community of Alaska and the Imperial Court. He was a founding member of every GLBT organization that existed during his day and espoused that it was only through our combined efforts that Alaska’s community could grow stronger. In his honor, the College chooses an organization, group, or business award each year to recognize their outstanding works on behalf of our community.
The C Wayne Hussey Community Service Award to an Individual went to Mr. Gay Alaska Kevin Holtz
C Wayne Hussey was the first Elected Empress of All Alaska and a founder of the Imperial Court of All Alaska. This award is presented annually by the College in recognition of an individual’s outstanding contributions to the community.
Elected by the Fairbanks Community:
The Rochelle DeLite Fairbanks Community Service Award went to College Floral owned by Michael Bartels
Rochelle DeLite served the Fairbanks Community and Imperial Court throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s as a driving force to keep both the Duchy of Fairbanks and the community together. In her memory, the GLBTA community of Fairbanks elects a recipient each year for their outstanding contributions to the Fairbanks Community.
Elected by Alaska’s LGBT Community during voting for Emperor and Empress:
The Peter Dispirito Award for Community Service went to Allie Hernandez.
An outspoken member of the community, Peter was very active in all GLBTA Community affairs. He was instrumental in opening the first gay bar in Alaska, was one of the founding members of the Imperial Court of All Alaska, one of the foremost members of the gay social scene and was loved by all who knew him. He was murdered in 1973. His murderer was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a mere 2 ½ years in prison. After serving only several months, he was released on parole. The murder and subsequent light treatment of the murderer only served to unite the Gay community and sparked the first real Gay Community activism in Alaska. To honor his memory past recipients, the board of directors of the ICOAA, and the College all place nominations on the ballot at the time of voting for Emperor and Empress… the community then elects the recipient of the award for their contributions to the advancement of the GLBTA Community in Alaska.
Chosen by the reigning Emperor and Empress and given to persons under the age of 21:
The Shante’ Youth Volunteer Service Award went to Paul O’Leary & Ashley Earll.
This award is given in memory of Shante’, for her outstanding contributions to the community. Our Hawaiian Princess worked closely and tirelessly with the GLBT youth of Anchorage to further acceptance among their peers and a more cohesive bond between them and the broader GLBT community. Also as a teacher of her Native dance to other young people, she brought them into our community as allies, helping foster new lasting friendships and understanding in the Anchorage community at large.
This Week in GLBT Alaska 9/26/08
Kenai Peninsula
“It Goes Without Saying” 9/26 & 9/27 at 8 p.m., 9/28 at 4 p.m. Bill Bowers performs at the Bunnell Street Gallery in Homer. $25 general/$22 gallery members, youth 8-18 pay half price.
Bac’untry Bruthers at the Seward Music Festival on Saturday 9/27 at 1 p.m.
Party with the New Emperor and Empress 9/27, doors at 8 p.m. show at 9 p.m. Investitures of the 36th Reign, $15 at Mad Myrna’s.
Last Sunday Brunch 9/28, 10:30 a.m. with The Last Frontier Men’s Club
This Week in GLBT Alaska 9/18/08
Resources on the “ex-gay” movement
The gay community held an all-day vigil to counter the “ex-gay” conference in Anchorage last weekend, plus a seminar with gay-affirming clergy and mental health professionals, and presentations by Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out.
Parents, friends and family members who have questions about “reparative therapy” and the ex-gay movement are invited to join PFLAG‘s support meeting, Thursday Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.
Learn about “ex-gays” and the “ex-gay” movement from those who know it best:
- Beyond Ex-Gay – an online community for those who have survived ex-gay experiences
- Ex-Gay Watch – dedicated to monitoring the ex-gay movement
- Truth Wins Out – fighting right wing lies and the “ex-gay” fraud
These civil rights groups have information on the ex-gay movement and tools to help local communities deal with the ex-gay events in their towns (links go to ex-gay pages):
- PFLAG – Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
- GLAAD – Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation
- Soulforce – Freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious & political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance
- Southern Poverty Law Center – Advocates for Justice and Equality
These LGBT blogs have vast archives on the ex-gays and Focus on the Family:
- Good As You – gay and lesbian activism with a sense of humor
- Box Turtle Bulletin – news, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
- Pam’s House Blend – … always steamin’
Anchorage Press covers the “ex-gay” conference
The cover story for this week’s Anchorage Press shows the truth behind the ex-gay conference that recently came to town, and includes the gay-affirming events also held that weekend. From Straight Talk? —
And now the culture wars are raging in Anchorage, too, with Love Won Out descending on the town and the opposition it sparked evident both outside on the sidewalk and in a gay-friendly church that last week hosted speakers who were outraged by this promotion of ex-gay ministries.
and:
“[The ex-gay movement] is just a smokescreen for political action, to elect right-wing politicians and to pass anti-gay laws. Nothing more, nothing less,” says Besen [from Truth Wins Out].
Read the full story and thank the Anchorage Press for this great article.
Not your father’s anti-gay crusade
by Karen
The “ex-gay” conference came to Alaska last Saturday, and the LGBT community held gay-positive events to counter the ‘pray away the gay’ message. MCC hosted “God Loves You Just As You Are” with five clergy members and a presentation by Truth Wins Out. On Saturday, PFLAG Anchorage and many supportive individuals held an all-day vigil outside the conference.
Meanwhile, Karen attended the ex-gay conference. This story was written by Karen for Bent Alaska:
I attended the Love Won Out conference in Anchorage last weekend, sponsored by Focus On the Family (FOTF), and it was interesting on many levels. I went with two straight women friends from my church in Palmer.
Most of the attendees were people like the three of us. Of the 250-300 attendees and volunteer hosts/ushers, the great majority were middle-class white folks in our 30’s, 40’s and older. I saw people who looked just like my fellow church-goers and neighbors. There were also a few goatee’d guys with nose rings from the Christian youth groups.
It was not the atmosphere of hate that I had been steeling myself to endure.
Admittedly, I’ve been out of the loop since the years I worked at gay newspapers in Minneapolis, but the message of conservative Christians has come a long way from the days of sign-wavers proclaiming God Hates Fags. There was a gentleness and kindness in what the speakers shared that was unexpected. The old commercial slogan, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile,” kept going through my mind. They went to great lengths to make the environment current and pleasant, compared to anti-gay teachings or workshops even ten years ago which were more about guilt and shame.
In the first few sessions, I didn’t find much that I actually disagreed with. Yes, many lesbian women suffer abuse in their family backgrounds. Yes, many gay men are creative and sensitive. No breaking news there, and they noted that stereotyping didn’t serve anyone. Speaker Jeff Johnston, a self-identified ex-gay who is now married with children, quipped that no one was there to say boys shouldn’t be creative or sensitive. “No one says, ‘why can’t you be more a jerk like your father?'” said Johnston.
They’ve learned to come across as more reasonable and caring. That could well be by design. Perhaps the gay community has prompted these changes over the years, pointing out the contradictions of un-Christ-like behavior on the part of groups like this one. Since the foaming-at-the-mouth venom and harsh Fire and Brimstone sermons were probably not persuasive with everyday folk who have everyday questions about their gay family members or friends, they do seem to have moderated their messages.
FOTF founder James Dobson’s introduction in the program booklet does promote “freedom from homosexuality” and the conference schedule online seems oriented towards political action. But there was nary a call to arms in the sessions I attended (I had to leave in the afternoon for work) and no one mentioned what used to be a standard, assumed parallel between gayness and pedophilia.
To their credit, I found FOTF’s theological break-out sessions more complete and thought-out than arguments I’ve heard at both LGBT-inclusive churches and my current non-affirming church.
Another way this was “not your Father’s anti-gay crusade” was the essential divide between how different Christian groups see Father God. The speakers acknowledged that the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and one branch of the Lutheran church have become accepting and affirming of LGBT folk. But that is not FOTF’s understanding of what God asks of us on our walk towards holiness. The position taken by FOTF hasn’t changed: that engaging in homosexual relationships is outside of God’s will for humankind.
It seems evident that the LGBT community members outside the conference hold a different view of the “Father” and what we’re called to as His people. One of the friends attending with me said she saw it as discussions happening on two different planes, with no intersecting points on the crucial questions, between the protesters and folks with the FOTF point of view.
A moment of hope came for me during a session presented by Nancy Heche, mother of actress Anne Heche. She asked audience members to raise their hands if they were gay or knew a gay family member or friend. Almost every hand went up. The next question she posed was, “How many here want to see the voice of their church change in regard to homosexuality?”
Given Alaska’s very conservative base of churches, I interpreted that to mean striving for a kinder, more compassionate dialogue. Nearly a dozen or so hands went up. Perhaps this will further the conversation locally and more broadly, as Christians of all stripes seek to live out their Christianity.
Our kids don’t need changing, part 2: Local news coverage
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight allies gathered in Anchorage on Saturday to protest the ex-gay conference. Their message of LGBT equality was echoed by the many cars who honked in support. See the photos and story: Our Kids Don’t Need Changing (part 1).
The local television news picked up the story:
Our kids don’t need changing: Anchorage gays and allies send message of LGBT acceptance outside ex-gay conference
Anchorage, Alaska – A dozen people gather at dawn in front of Abbott Loop Church on Saturday, the headlights of passing cars illuminating the rainbow flags and signs: “God Loves My Gay Son And So Do I!”, “First, Do No Harm”, “Be Yourself – We Love You!”
Behind the church, people struggling with homosexual feelings, or the homosexuality of a friend or family member, park in the back lot and enter the side door of the grey building. The front doors are locked.
The church is hosting the Love Won Out conference, with speakers preaching that homosexuality is a sin and a choice, and that gays must change or suppress their same-sex attractions.
The conference is sponsored by the Colorado-based right wing organization Focus on the Family, a group that also sponsors anti-gay legislation.
Along the street, PFLAG Anchorage and their supporters spread a message of love and acceptance to all who drive by the church.
“Our gay kids are not sick, they’re not evil, and they don’t need changing,” said Jane Schlittler, chair of PFLAG Anchorage. “We’re here so that truth wins out.”
Kirt and Roger stand together near the church parking lot. They were married in Canada, the first gay couple from Alaska to be legally wed.
“I’m here for people like Stuart Matis,” said Roger, “a young gay man in California who thought it better to put a bullet in his head rather than live with the shame that these people in the church create.”
“I grew up in a very religious background,” said Kirt. “I know about these types of programs that profess that you can change and that it’s some kind of choice to be gay. It absolutely isn’t. I’m proud to be a gay man, and proud to be married to my husband, and I’ll be proud to die that way.”
The Second Wave
As the PFLAGers move on to other commitments, a new group gathers at the intersection of Lake Otis and Abbott Road. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered young adults and their friends brought poster board, colored markers, musical instruments, food and water for an afternoon outside the ex-gay conference.
“I called all my friends to come here and protest,” said Mike, who contributed several large pizzas and a conga drum. “We’re going to tell them you can’t pray the gay away.”
Slade makes a sign saying “Honk If You (Heart) Gay People” and waves to the many honking drivers. “I’m here to protest the anti-gay ‘pray away the gay’ thing because you can’t change who you are,” he said. “You have to accept that and move on.”
Sean and Ted arrive with Ted’s mother. “We found out about Focus on the Family through watching the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So,” said Sean, a social work student at UAA. “‘Reparative therapies’ and ‘conversion therapies’ are not only ineffective but harmful. These programs are misleading the public, misleading people who are struggling with their sexual orientation, causing emotional harm and in some cases it’s devastating. I can’t sit idly by and allow the general public to accept this ignorance.”
“What they are teaching in that church is not about acceptance, it’s not about love,” said Mary, “it’s about self-loathing and fear.” Her signs say, “True Love is Unconditional” and “God Loves You Just As You Are.”
“Their hatred of homosexuals and pushing an anti-gay agenda is just not accepted here,” said Mike. “They can go back where they came from.”
Jason: An ex-gay survivor from Alaska tells his story
The ex-gay conference Love Won Out came to Alaska to promote “reparative” therapy. Jason Ingram describes their methods in his personal story.
“Conversion therapy” is harmful and ineffective, say local clergy and mental health professionals
Religious Leaders and Mental Health Professionals Affirm Support for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People
- WHEN: Thursday, September 11, 2008 – 7:15 p.m.
- WHERE: Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage, 7208 Duben Avenue, Anchorage
- WHO: Sara Gavit, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church; Rev. John Carey, Pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church; Rev. Beatrice Hitchcock, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Rev. Susan Halvor, Lutheran; Rev. Matthew Moak; Edie Bailey, Worship Coordinator for Metropolitan Community Church; Summer LeFebvre, Social Action Chair, National Association of Social Workers Alaska Chapter; Kaya Kade, President of the Alaska Counseling Association; Larry Michael, Psychologist; and Wayne Besen, Truth Wins Out.
ANCHORAGE – On Thursday, September 11, an interfaith group of leaders from Anchorage’s religious community will participate in “God Loves You Just as You Are” a forum sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage to inform the parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth and LGBT adults about the many welcoming and affirming religious denominations that celebrate the diversity of God’s creation.
The religious leaders along with mental health professionals will also discuss the harmful effects of so-called “therapies” that claim to “treat” same-sex attraction. All serious mental health organizations such as the American Psychological Association have long discredited the notion that homosexuality is a mental disorder or a problem that needs to corrected.
Some ultra-conservative, radical religious groups like Focus on the Family and Exodus International continue to promote the idea that same-sex attraction is something from which people need to be “freed,” or that can or should be “overcome.”
“Medical and psychological research shows that their whole agenda rests on false assumptions: that gay and lesbian persons choose their sexual orientation; that only heterosexuality is God’s plan for humankind; and that a person can be ‘converted’ to being heterosexual,” says Pastor John Carey of Immanuel Presbyterian Church. “This mindset leads to a damaging political perspective which results in destructive and sometimes deadly scapegoating.”
While “conversion therapy” groups purport to take a compassionate approach to dealing with same-sex attraction, most mental health professionals agree that their programs are largely ineffective and potentially harmful.
According to Randy Magen, a professor of Social Work at the University of Alaska Anchorage, there are at least seven studies which suggest reparative therapy is harmful. “One central tenet of all helping professions is, ‘do no harm.’ Advocates of reparative therapy are in danger of violating that ethical mandate,” Magen says.
On September 18, the Anchorage chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will hold a support meeting for parents and family members of gays and lesbians at Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
“We do not believe that ‘reparative or conversion’ therapy should be used to ‘cure’ gay and lesbian children of homosexuality,” says Jane Schlittler, current president of PFLAG-Anchorage. “There is nothing wrong with our children. They are not sick or evil. They are just fine the way God made them.”
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To arrange interviews in advance of the event, contact ACLU of Alaska.
