Articles in Juneau
Write to Marry Day: Gay Alaskans Say NO on 8
Gov. Sarah Palin wants a federal ban on same-sex marriage, but gay and lesbian Alaskans support the right to get married.
An unknown number of gay and lesbian couples from Alaska have been legally married in California since the state Supreme Court struck down their ban on same-sex marriage. Although not valid in Alaska, the marriages are recognized by several states and countries.
Will the right to marry be taken away by California’s Proposition 8?
When the California Court granted gay and lesbian couples the right to marry on May 5, LGBT Alaskans celebrated the news.
“LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT,” Shelly commented, and Koukla wrote, “Finally! I would love to be in San Francisco tonight.”
Alaskans Together for Equality and the ACLU of Alaska gave official statements supporting the decision, PFLAG Anchorage and Identity, Inc. added their statements, and many LGBT Alaskans sent their personal reactions on the impact of this historic event.
“It is a great day for humanity that this important state Supreme Court acknowledged that gay and lesbian Americans are due the same rights under the constitution as other Americans,” said Tim Stallard of Fairbanks, writing for Alaskans Together.
We knew the decision would be challenged, and Alaskans began donating money to support marriage equality.
“This good news definitely impacts us personally as Alaskans,” said Marsha Buck of PFLAG Juneau. “Way to go California! I’m sending off several personal checks to make certain this decision is not overturned in November.”
“I intend to give more money to our side in that campaign than to any in my life,” said Sara Boesser, author of Silent Lives: How High a Price?
A few weeks after the decision, the Juneau Pride Chorus collected donations for Equality For All during “Songs for the Soul,” their 10th Anniversary Spring Concert.
Alaskans also held two Equality For All: NO on 8 fundraisers and set up a state donation page for the NO on 8 campaign.
The Anchorage LGBT community Celebrated the Summer of Love with rumba dance lessons and a gay and lesbian newlywed game at Mad Myrna’s.
Juneau residents Jumped the Broom in Solidarity and Celebration of Love and Marriage at a wedding party hosted by a lesbian couple who were married (again) in California, eighteen years after their original non-legal wedding.
Many individual Alaskans donated to NO on 8, and Elias Rojas registered an Alaska Fundraising page to track our contributions.
“Why should Alaskans care what happens in California?” Elias wrote in his letter to Alaska’s LGBT community. “Simply put, [Prop 8] will not only eliminate the right to marry by same-sex couples in California . . . but it will also be an extreme step backwards for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community’s efforts to achieve civil equality in Alaska and across the country.”
Prop. 8 is unfair, unnecessary and wrong. Special interest groups behind Prop 8 have engaged in a deceptive campaign to confuse voters. Nearly every major newspaper in California, and a broad range of groups and leaders representing teachers, nurses, seniors, business and labor, oppose Proposition 8.
The polls are close. We can save this basic human right, for California and for all of us.
Support marriage equality – Ask your friends and relatives in California to vote NO on 8 on Tuesday, and donate to NO on 8 today: Alaska Fundraising page for NO on 8.
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This post is in honor of Write to Marry Day. Please join bloggers around the country and around the world on Wednesday, October 29 to blog in support of marriage equality for same-sex couples and against California’s Proposition 8.
Check out the many wonderful Write to Marry posts listed on Mombian.
Who will LGBT Alaskans Vote For?
Here is the political poll you’ve been waiting for, the big questions of our time: Will LGBT Alaskans vote for McCain and Palin, or for Obama and Biden? For Stevens or Begich? For Berkowitz or Young? Who do we support, and by how much? Inquiring minds want to know. (Well, I want to know – don’t you?)
Answer the 3 question poll in the right hand column here on Bent Alaska and we’ll see how the community votes. 60-40 for Obama? 70-30 for Begich? 80-20 for Young? (kidding!) Make your predictions below for how our community will vote.
There have been dozens of political messages on our email lists and newsletters. What does all this talk boil down to, what are the numbers? Take the poll, send the link to your LGBT friends in Alaska, and come back Friday for the results!
This Week in GLBT Alaska – 10/24/08
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news briefs and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
October is GLBT History Month – See a different LGBT leader each day!
EVENTS
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays, 10/14, 6-8 p.m., 21 and over.
Anchorage
Ever Ready in Eagle River 10/24, 7:30-11:30 p.m.
Last Sunday Brunch with TLFMC 10/26, 10:30 a.m.
MCC Sunday Worship service, Sundays 2 p.m.
Trans Support Group at the GLCCA, Sundays 4-6 p.m.
Craft and Chat at the GLCCA, Thursdays 7-9 p.m.
Hump Day Happy Hour, Wednesdays 5-7 p.m. with The Last Frontier Men’s Club.
Four A’s Gifts For Change
Have you ever tried to figure out what to give that person in your life who already has everything? The Four A’s has launched a new program for donors called “Gifts For Change” that not only provides you with another option for special occasion gift giving, but also provides support to individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Alaska and prevention efforts across the state.
Gifts For Change can be made in recognition of birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, weddings, thank you gifts or any other occasion you celebrate.
Here’s how it works. Fill out the Gifts For Change form, specifying the gift recipient’s contact information (recipients will not be added to any Four A’s mailing lists), gift occasion and the amount you’d like to donate. Four A’s will send the recipient a card recognizing the occasion and your name (gift amounts will only be reported to the gift recipient if you chose).
Send the completed form to Four A’s, ATTN: Chrissy Bell,1057 W. Fireweed, Suite 102, Anchorage, AK 99503.
RAW 2009 Short Story Contest
UPDATE: Wendy Withrow won 1st place for “Frayed Yellow Rope.” The list of winners and honorable mentions is posted at RAW. Thanks to all who entered the 2009 contest. The 2010 contest will be announced in the fall.
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Radical Arts for Women (RAW) is giving away the most money yet for its 3rd annual short story contest, open to all women living in Alaska.
The fiction pieces must be between 250 and 5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. The deadline is Jan. 15, 2009.
The grand prize is $500, publication and an opportunity to read the story at Celebration. The second place winner will receive $300 and the third place wins $100. There is no entry fee.
In addition to the annual story contest, RAW produces Celebration of Change and awards grants to Alaskan women in the arts.
Last year’s winning story was Annette Baker’s “A Place with Water“
Complete guidelines:
- Each entry must contain a cover sheet with author’s name, address, phone number and email and with the story’s title and word count.
- The short story must be between 250 and 5,000 words and contain some lesbian content. Stories should be on 8.5-by-11 paper, double spaced, 1-inch margins, no less than size 10 font. Do not put author’s name on the story. The fiction and lesbian stipulations may be interpreted by the author, but we are not seeking poetry or non-fiction. Erotica is acceptable. Electronic submissions are not accepted. Unpublished submissions only.
- Feel free to use a pseudonym, but let us know your real name in case you win a prize.
- Author must be a woman living in Alaska as of January 2009.
- Jan. 15 is the postmark deadline for entries.
- There is no entry fee.
- Winner receives $500 and the invitation to read her work at RAW’s annual performing arts production Celebration of Change in the spring of 2009 in Anchorage. The winning short story will be published on RAW and in the Alaska LGBT literary journal Naked Ptarmigan.
- Honorable mentions will be given at the judges’ discretion.
- Winners will be announced Feb. 15. For a complete list of winners, include an SASE with entry.
- Mail entries by Jan. 15 to Radical Arts for Women Short Story Contest, PO Box 244436, Anchorage AK 99524-4436.
Also, the Naked Ptarmigan is accepting submissions: PO Box 244076, Anchorage AK 99524. Several of last year’s stories were published in the journal.
This Week in GLBT Alaska – 10/17/08
Check out this week’s events from Alaska GLBT News.
For full listings, news briefs and up-coming events, subscribe to AGN, the weekly email newsletter.
October is GLBT History Month – See a different LGBT leader each day!
EVENTS
Fairbanks
Friends Steve & Carol are both turning 50! Birthday Party 10/18, 8 p.m. at Jeff’s house.
Casting call for Drag Through The Ages, a benefit show for Interior AIDS Association (IAA), 10/18, 4 p.m. at Dance Theater Fairbanks. First rehearsal is Sunday evening.
Juneau
SEAGLA Social Fridays, 10/17, 6-8 p.m., 21 and over.
Anchorage
HIV Rapid Testing by Four A’s at the Hispanic Community Center 10/17, 4-6 p.m. for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day.
MCC Sunday Worship service with speaker Sara Gavit 10/19, 2 p.m.
ICOAA Chili Cook*Off 10/19, 4-7 p.m. at Mad Myrna’s. Prizes! $3.00 at the door includes chilli & cornbread.
ICOAA Annual Meeting 10/20, 6:30 p.m. in Mad Myrna’s showroom.
Hump Day Happy Hour 10/22, 5-7 p.m. with The Last Frontier Men’s Club at The Raven Bar.
The 10th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s Murder
The Juneau Empire printed an editorial by current Juneau resident and former Wyoming resident Leslie Wood about Matthew Shepard’s murder and anti-gay hate crimes today, ten years after Shepard was killed.
By Leslie Wood | My Turn
It was October 1998, and I was new to Juneau. I had grown up in Wyoming, and for a week my attention was squarely on my old Wyoming community. It was as though the world was turned upside down. Word broke that a student from my former school, the University of Wyoming in Laramie, had been brutally murdered. He had been beaten, tied to a split rail fence, pistol-whipped, and left to die in near freezing temperatures.
It was shocking, it was sickening, and it left people wondering, “Why?”
For six days I watched the news and prayed for his recovery, but on Oct. 12, 1998, Matthew Shepard’s body finally gave out and he died. During that week, we discovered the reason that Shepard was beaten and left to die: He was gay.
Shepard’s brutal murder had a chilling affect on everyone, but it struck really close for some of us. How could someone hate this kid, just for being who he was? I wanted desperately to believe Wyoming was better than this. Surely the world was better than this? Shepard was the victim of this crime, but because this type of ugly hatred reared its head in our community, many of us were left with emotional scars that may never heal.
It has been 10 years since he was killed. Although I had moved to Juneau before he was killed, I had deep roots in the Wyoming community. Juneau is my home, it’s where I live, work, and with my partner raise our two little girls. Yet, as I compare the world then to the world now, it saddens me to realize that so little has changed. Today, we see little alarm or public outpouring to stop this type of bias-motivated crime, often these crimes making no more than the local evening news. Have we grown immune in the 10 years since Shepard was killed?
Anti-gay and anti-transgender hate crimes are still pervasive in our country: On Feb. 12, a 15-year-old boy in Oxnard, Calif., Lawrence “Larry” King, admitted to classmates that his innocent Valentine crush was directed toward a male classmate. The next day, the boy Larry had a crush on came to school and shot Larry in the back of the head. Larry was killed because he was gay.
In July of this year, 18-year-old Angie Zapata returned to her home in Greeley, Colo., to find a man who she had previously dated waiting for her. According to that man’s story, he became enraged when he found out Angie was transgender, and beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. In September, police reported that the murderer said, “All gay things should die.”
And we are not immune in Alaska: Young gay, lesbian, bi and transgender Alaskans have to ask themselves every day whether it’s safe to be honest about who they are. As lesbian mothers, my partner and I have to worry about how safe the community is for our daughters. Will they be targeted for harassment or worse simply for who their parents are?
It was wrong for Shepard to be so brutally murdered, and it is wrong for kids like Larry and Angie to still be subject to this type of crime today!
In 1998, I hoped the horror and shock of Shepard’s murder would help stop this type of anti-gay crime. To this day, the image of a split rail fence sends chills down my spine, as I think of Shepard spending some of his last hours, alone, tied to one in the Wyoming countryside. As we remember him, now a decade later, I call upon my fellow Alaskans to join me. As part of a new organization, Alaskans Together for Equality can make sure that we no longer tolerate this type of anti-gay bias. Alaskans Together, we can make this world a better place for all our children.
Dear Governor Palin,
When your gay friend(s) came out to you, it was their sign of faith and hope for you as a caring and understanding person. It was their way to reach out for closer friendship, and deeper mutual respect.
Please show the same friendship and trust to all lesbian, gay, bi and trans Alaskans and sign the National Coming Out Day Proclamation.
We come out to be more honest, to be better friends, to be closer family members. Those are our family values – which your gay friends showed to you, and we hope you can now show them and all of us in return.
Sara Boesser
An out for honesty’s sake lesbian
Juneau, Alaska
PFLAG Juneau wins $1,000 in Pride Foundation Raffle
Over 2,500 people entered the Raffle With a Twist, telling Pride Foundation which non-profit organization is their favorite and hoping to win some money for them. Here are the winners of the 2008 Raffle:
Rainbow Center of Tacoma is the grand prize winner of $2,500!
In addition, the most nominated organization from each of our five states will receive $1,000 for their work. The following received the most nominations for their state:
AK – PFLAG Juneau
ID – A.L.P.H.A. (Allies Linked for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS)
MT – Mt. Fund for Tolerance (at the Montana Community Foundation)
OR – Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette
WA – CAIR Project (Community Abortion Information Resource)
A huge thanks to everyone who entered the Raffle and spread the word about it!
Jump the Broom: In Solidarity and Celebration of Love & Marriage
Celebrate Love, Acceptance & Equality for All
Juneau Arts and Cultural Center
October 5, Sunday afternoon, 3:30 – 6:30 PM
Newly-wed/Oldy-wed Game, Emceed by Sharon Gaiptman and Peter Freer,
Meet Juneau’s Finest on stage being asked questions about their relationships!
Songs performed by special guests
Jump the Stick:
We use this old Welsh, African American, and Gypsy tradition
to honor the relationships of those not allowed to legally marry.
Dancing with DJ Ms. G
Appetizers/snacks/deserts for sale, No Host Bar
Pay as you can – all proceeds go to Equality for All
to keep gay marriage legal in California
and to support the No on 8 Initiative.
(Bring checks for your donations or cash if you must.)
Wear your wedding clothes if you like, or your wishful wedding clothes.
If they no longer fit, feel free to pin them on!
