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This Week in LGBT Alaska 11/13/09

Friday, 13 November 2009 – 5:09 PM | Comments Off

This week’s events from the statewide newsletter Alaska GLBT News.

Juneau

SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.

Fairbanks

UAF Gay-Straight Alliance meets Mondays at 5 p.m. in the Women’s Center (Eilson 112). Jessi.

Wednesday LGBTA Social at 9 p.m. Email Joshua for the current location.

Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.

Anchorage

Lesbian Film Group Night 11/13, 6 p.m. potluck and 7 p.m. movie, location info on the LGBT Meetup group.

The Rocky Horror Show, 11/13-11/21, Fri & Sat 7 p.m., and Sat at 10 p.m. $20 at Mad Myrna’s.

The Out Club’s Broadway Drag Show, with performers from Mad Myrna’s and UAA 11/14, 7 p.m. in the UAA Commons, Room 107, only $5.

How To use Facebook 11/19, 7 p.m. at the GLCCA.

Sunday worship with MCC Anchorage at 2 p.m.

Transgendered Veterans Support Group, Thursdays 4-5 p.m. at the VA Mental Health Clinic.

Sullivan’s Say ‘No’ To Bullies Month (or something like that)

Friday, 13 November 2009 – 6:17 AM | 2 Comments

“Hi, I’m Mayor Dan Sullivan. I’ve declared November as Say ‘No’ to Bullies Month. Bullying occurs far too often, and we need to stand up and say ‘no’ to this hurtful behavior.”

Th e Jazz Greats concert at the PAC on Friday is a benefit for a good cause: Bye Bye Bullies, an international anti-bullying organization based in Anchorage. Earlier this week, Bent heard that Mayor Sullivan supports the program and declared November Bullying Awareness Month to draw attention to the issue.

It was November 10, but there was no declaration of Bullying Awareness Month on the Mayor’s website and no mention of it in the ADN’s piece on the concert. Sure the Mayor has been busy vetoing Assembly bills, denying thousands of Anchorage voters protection against hate-based discrimination, and slashing the city’s arts and library budgets. But if he wants to draw attention to an important problem like bullying by declaring a month to raise awareness about it, you’d think that his office would send out a press release.

So I wrote to a contact person listed on the Mayor’s website, praising Bullying Awareness Month and asking for a copy of the declaration.

Then I heard the radio ad for the Jazz Greats concert with Mayor Sullivan’s part quoted above, declaring November as Say ‘No’ to Bullies Month.

Well, ok, the promoter must have written the name incorrectly, Bullying Awareness Month instead of Say ‘No’ to Bullies Month. But there wasn’t anything posted on a local Say ‘No’ to Bullies Month either, so I waited for the declaration from the Mayor’s office… and was surprised to get a declaration for Bullying Awareness Month. (Did they write it on Nov. 10 in response to my request? Or did they change the name in the radio ad after the declaration was written?)

Bullying Awareness Month

WHEREAS, we must safeguard schools for our children, and, through our recognition of the serious issues that face them each day, offer our children an environment that holds promise and security; and

WHEREAS, many organizations, school districts, educators and parents have publicly expressed concern about the bullying of children; and

WHEREAS, it is important that we acknowledge and heighten awareness about the serious issues and the negative effects of bullying, including the long-term damage it can cause in our youth, which may include the risks of teenage suicide; and

WHEREAS, providing a safe physical and emotional environment is a significant goal and a personal responsibility of each individual; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate to speak out AGAINST bullying and FOR our children; and

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mayor Dan Sullivan, on behalf of the citizens of Anchorage do hereby proclaim the month of November 2009 as

BULLYING AWARENESS MONTH

in the city of Anchorage and encourage the community to acknowledge and address the important issue of bullying and work to prevent it from affecting our children.

It’s a good statement and a great cause, although I hope the Mayor will do more than just speak about it. For example, he could recommend that the Bye Bye Bullies program be taught in the Anchorage School District.

“It’s a benefit for Bye-Bye Bullies, a program to address school violence that originated in Anchorage and is now being effectively used in school districts around the country (though not here; go figure),” wrote the ADN.

Maybe he could do more to provide a ‘safe physical and emotional environment’ free from bullying for both the children and the adults who live here. Just saying…

Bye-Bye Bullies, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to protecting the integrity of individuals and preventing violence in schools and beyond. Founded by attorney Dennis Maloney, Bye-Bye Bullies organized the Violence Prevention Under the Midnight Sun conference in Anchorage, Alaska, the first national conference on bullying.

The Jazz Greats concert features Jeff Golub & Rick Braun, two excellent musicians. Go and enjoy the music for a good cause. And if anyone tries to bully your children this month, stand up and say “no.” Mayor Sullivan says so.

Queer, Christian, and raised in a Yupik Village

Monday, 9 November 2009 – 9:35 PM | One Comment

Julia McCarthy grew up Catholic in a Yupik village. She graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, worked in Anchorage for a few years, and now lives in Maine with her partner. She wrote this essay about her journey as a queer person of faith on October 30, a few days before the religious conservatives of Maine voted to repeal the state’s new same-sex marriage law.

* * *

How does that slogan go? I’m queer and I go to church – get used to it

I am a person who tries to practice my faith daily. I am a queer person who believes that we can experience mysteries that defy explanation in our daily life. I am a person who regularly attends church and believes that there are many, many paths to understanding ourselves and our relationship with the unknown. I am a person who loves math and science and logic and believes that we gain wisdom from knowledge.

My relationship with religion may seem complex to some. It is not a relationship which I choose to be very vocal about, for a variety of reasons. I’ve been inspired to try to share something of my path by the aggression I have seen directed toward a number of young people in our community and by the powerful words of our housemate, who chose to share his perspective. Thank you for reminding me that it’s important to come out in lots and lots of ways.

Spirituality and religion have played transformative roles in my life since I was born. The village culture I grew up in practiced both Catholicism (in Yupik) and a variety of ways of celebrating the worldview of Yupik peoples – dance, singing, mask making, storytelling, honoring the cycles of life. Fellowship with your community and with God was a part of my daily life in the village and imbued almost every task in some way or another. It’s how I learned to respect life, the natural world, responsibility to others, and more. These traditions are not without their challenges – most GLBTQ Yupik people I know have had both cultural and religious barriers to coming out. It was through the lessons I learned in the village that I developed a relationship with god, though, and it’s important to note that the lens through which that relationship developed was guided by the elders I loved and respected.

Throughout the rest of my childhood and into my teens I was a devout Catholic. I attended St. Nicholas Church in my hometown and, as I got older, found as many reasons to be at church as I could. My devotion to my faith set me apart from many of my peers and it was sometimes difficult for me to find community that was accepting of who I aspired to be. For a long time, I thought about becoming a nun – I felt my path to being a helping person was to be found next to God. I was confirmed as an adult in the tradition of that faith, and shortly thereafter chose to leave the Church. When I left Catholicism, I lost many of my friends. More importantly for me at the time, I lost my faith. There were a number of reasons that my relationship with God was damaged and the one reason that created a huge barrier for me in finding another community of faith was my queerness.

I was taught through declamations of supposedly loving people that the god that I had developed a relationship with throughout my life HATED me because I was queer. I learned through the behavior of my community and my peers that to be queer was to be without faith, without support, without dignity. I learned through conversations with other queer people that to adhere to a path of faith was scary and wrong, especially after understanding the damage inflicted upon queer people by communities of faith. I learned to create an armor to deflect the painful phrase “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” I learned to avoid conversations with people that had to do with any kind of spiritual belief system. I learned to hide my questions and to reject my beliefs and to keep my mouth shut so as not to offend anyone. I have watched people be shunned by their communities or live closeted in fear that they will be rejected and ridiculed if they come out. I have lost so many friends to suicide that I cannot keep track any longer. I decided that if there was any kind of higher purpose to life, it completely escaped me.

Then I met Jamez and with him I remembered what a joy it is to explore my faith. To lift up my voice in praise. To listen to a sermon and feel inspired to disagree with my faith leader and thereby learn more about who I am in the process. In this community of faith, I don’t need to make up my mind about anything to know that I have value.

When I think about the people who have been with me to explore my faith, I feel lucky to count among them people from all walks of life and all belief systems. It is not my intention to change your mind about your particular system of belief or non-belief.

I’ll tell you what I do think needs to change though:

I think more queer people need to feel safe coming out as people of faith.

I think people who are queer allies and practice any kind of religion need to feel like they can express dissent without becoming isolated.

I think people of faith who are NOT allies to GLBTQ people need to stop choosing to abuse their fellow humans with words and looks and actions.

We are complex beings, with beautiful multi-faceted identities. I want to see more love in the world, and if I can’t see that, I want to see more respect for one another.

Top Forty, UAA & VA support, MCC helps Covenant House, and the Uniting Families petition

Saturday, 7 November 2009 – 2:56 PM | Comments Off

Gay AK – notes for and about LGBT Alaska

Lesbian Journalist and Identity recognized

Congratulations to Julia O’Malley for being named one of “Alaska’s Top Forty Under 40” this year! And congratulations to Identity, Inc. for being #10 on the list of Alaska’s Largest Nonprofit Organizations, ranked by number of volunteers, according to The Alaska Journal of Commerce.

UAA’s GLBTQA Support Group

OUT: a support group for the GLBTQA in all of us (formerly known as The Family) is meeting every Sunday at noon in the Student Union. Come Out and be a part of equality on campus!

Transgendered Veterans Support Group

The VA Mental Health Clinic in Anchorage holds a support group for Transgendered Veterans on Thursdays from 4-5 p.m. on the second floor, facilitated by Sue Ellen May LCSW and Dr. Camilla Madden PHD. If you are interested in attending, please call them at 257-4846 or 257-4857.

MCC holiday fundraiser for Covenant House

Each year, MCCA serves the community in Anchorage by raising money and needed items for those organizations which directly impact our community at large. Covenant House Alaska (CHA) provides shelter and other services to homeless, runaway and at-risk youth. Donations are tax deductible and can be made online at MCCA or sent to: Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage, 2222 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99507. Please note your gift as “Covenant House 2009” and send by December 16, 2009.

The Uniting American Families Act

The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) will provide gay and lesbian U.S. citizens and permanent residents the right to sponsor their partners for immigration. It includes the same process and penalties as applied in heterosexual sponsorship applications. Read the letter and sign the petition for passing UAFA.

Election 09 LGBT wrap-up: K’zoo wins, Maine loses, WA looks good

Wednesday, 4 November 2009 – 1:52 AM | Comments Off

Tuesday’s election was a mixed bag for LGBT Americans. Voters repealed Maine’s same-sex marriage law, approved Kalamazoo’s nondiscrimination ordinance, and may have extended the Washington state domestic partnership law. They elected openly gay and lesbian mayors and city council members, along with anti-gay governors.

On the local scene, Luke Hopkins, a democrat, appears to be the new mayor of Fairbanks, beating the socially conservative Tammie Wilson, who is rumored to be anti-gay. (Both are heterosexual.)

As for LGBT issues around the country, here is the good and bad news.

Bad News:

It looks like Maine’s same-sex marriage law, passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, will be repealed by the will of the homophobes.

Anti-gay Republican Chris Christie unseated Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race.

Good News:

Kalamazoo, Michigan voters approved an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance, similar to the Anchorage ordinance vetoed by Mayor Sullivan. Congratulations to K’zoo!

The vote for the Washington state domestic partnership extension hasn’t been called yet, but is currently winning.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina elected Mark Kleinschmidt, a gay man, as mayor.

Charles Pugh, a gay African American, was elected president of the Detroit City Council.

Annise Parker, a lesbian, was the front-runner in today’s mayoral election in Houston, Texas and will face the second candidate in a December runoff.

In Georgia, lesbian City Council members Kathi de Nobriga and Melanie Hammet were re-elected in Pine Lake, and Brian Bates, an openly gay Republican, was re-elected to the Doraville City Council.

Stan Penfold became the first openly-gay member of the Salt Lake City Council. In recent years, SLC has elected three gay state legislators.

North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Michigan, Utah. Conservative states electing openly-gay and lesbian political candidates. Conservative states with progressive populations concentrated in one or two big cities and the capitol. States like Alaska…

Overall, we’re not there yet on marriage equality, but things are getting better for gay candidates.

So, who is going to run as the first openly gay and lesbian candidates in Alaska?

FBI ready to protect queer Alaskans

Tuesday, 3 November 2009 – 2:42 PM | Comments Off

GLBT Alaskans have a new ally in the fight against anti-gay and anti-trans violence. If the authorities in Alaska will not protect us against hate crimes, the federal government will.

On October 28, President Obama signed the Hate Crimes Protection Act, an expansion of the civil rights law protecting communities that are targeted for hate violence. Now, if an Alaskan is killed or caused serious bodily injury for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, or being perceived as queer, the federal government will investigate it as a hate crime.

The local FBI agent already called the Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage to offer assistance.

“By the time the ink had dried on President Obama’s signature, the Agent-in-Charge of the Alaska FBI was on the phone to me,” wrote Phyllis Rhodes of Identity, Inc. and the Community Center. “Until advised otherwise by the Justice Department, the local office will fully investigate any violence against GLBT individuals.”

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act gives the federal government jurisdiction over violent hate crimes that target the victim because of sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, when the local authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, like in Alaska. The new law also allows funding for local, state and tribal authorities to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers on the characteristics of hate crimes, and keep better records on the hate crimes committed.

“We have very weak anti-hate crime legislation in Alaska,” Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage told KTVA. “Probably one of the reasons that the federal government felt it was so necessary to do this [is] because a number of states, including Alaska, just do not protect their citizens.”

According to the FBI, over 12,000 reported hate crimes were committed in the US based on sexual orientation during the last decade.

“We are very proud that both Alaska’s Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski have supported this strong statement against hatred and violent discrimination,” said Elias Rojas, newly elected Board President of Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc.

All three of Alaska’s members of Congress voted for the final version of the Hate Crimes Act. Senator Begich became a co-sponsor of the original bill, and Senator Murkowski voted for it after many Alaskans called in support. Representative Young voted for the final House version as part of the Defense Authorization bill.

Election 09: LGBT issues and candidates

Tuesday, 3 November 2009 – 6:31 AM | Comments Off

Putting the civil rights of minority groups up for a public vote is always risky, especially when it involves gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.

Today’s elections involve a number of important LGBT issues and candidates around the country, including same-sex marriage in Maine and an anti-discrimination ordinance in Kalamazoo, Michigan that is similar to the Anchorage ordinance vetoed by Mayor Sullivan. In Alaska, voters in Fairbanks will choose between a democrat and an anti-gay Christian for mayor.

Voters in Maine are deciding whether to repeal or affirm a state law that would allow gay couples to get married. The law was passed by the legislature last May, but anti-gay groups pushed for a repeal.

Voters in Washington state are deciding whether to uphold or overturn a recently expanded domestic partnership law that entitles same-sex couples to most of the state-granted rights heterosexual married couples receive, except the ability to get married.

The Kalamazoo anti-discrimination ordinance was passed unanimously twice by the city council, but anti-gay groups pressured them into putting it on the ballot for a public vote. If Ordinance 1856 passes today, it will be illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations in Kalamazoo.

Watch this quick ad for Kalamazoo’s anti-discrimination ordinance:

In other parts of the country, openly gay or lesbian candidates, and straight allies, have a good chance of being elected. Houston, Texas could become the largest U.S. city to elect an openly lesbian mayor if they elect Annise Parker.

The Governor’s race in New Jersey is also important for gay rights. The Democratic candidate Jon Corzine said he will fight to pass marriage equality in the state, while the GOP candidate Chris Christie will fight against equality. Both New Jersey and New York have same-sex marriage bills working through the legislatures.

In Alaska, voters today will choose a new mayor for the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The front-runner is Assemblymember Luke Hopkins, who has lived in Alaska since 1966. Tammie Wilson, who moved to Alaska only six years ago and still manages rental properties in Illinois, ran as a socially conservative Christian backed by the baptist churches. She won enough votes in October to force a run-off election today.

Alaskan Psycho-Zombie-Homophobe Halloween video

Saturday, 31 October 2009 – 1:11 PM | One Comment

On Halloween, we watch scary movies. But Bent is a GLBT Alaska blog, and there aren’t many scary movies set in queer Alaska. However, there are scary videos of our homegrown homophobes.

The scariest gay-related Alaska show I’ve ever seen was real: the public hearings on the non-discrimination ordinance. It was downright creepy listening to religious fanatics read a steady stream of random Biblical quotes and unscientific homophobic nonsense to the Anchorage Assembly as their public comments against a secular non-discrimination ordinance, while dozens of devil-red-shirted church members clapped at the lunacy. They were all kinds of crazy, and scarier than fictional characters because you might find yourself standing in the grocery store next to them after the hearing.

But I won’t subject you to the testimonies. Instead, John at Alaska Commons recently posted a creepy video from Prevo’s 38th Pastoral Anniversary at ABT mixed with photos from the protests outside the hearings.

Gryphen from Immoral Minority actually attended Prevo’s celebration of homophobia and wrote an interesting story about that day. On John’s video montage, he said,

“Crushing the enemy under our feet.” No you did not hear that wrong.

I was sitting in the audience when they were singing that song and watched the congregation, with heads lifted toward the heavens, belt out that song with both conviction and passion.

They DO believe with all of their hearts that they are fighting a battle against the devil, and that the LGBT community are his agents here on earth.

Definietly creepy. So here is a video of local Alaskan homophobes for a bit of Halloween entertainment. Thanks to John and Gryphen for the video and on-the-scene commentary.

This Week in LGBT Alaska 10/30/09

Friday, 30 October 2009 – 12:10 AM | Comments Off

Happy Halloween!

This week’s events from the statewide newsletter Alaska GLBT News.

Juneau

SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.

Fairbanks

UAF Gay-Straight Alliance, Mondays at 5 p.m. Jessi.

Wednesday LGBTA Social at 9 p.m. Email Joshua for the current location.

Mat-Su Valley

Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.

Anchorage

The Rocky Horror Show, opens 10/30 at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov 21. $20, at Mad Myrna’s.

Out: University of Alaska Anchorage, GLBTQA Support Group, Sundays at noon.

Sunday worship and Wednesday Bible study with MCC Anchorage.

PFLAG Board of Directors meeting 11/3, 7 p.m. at the GLCCA.

Churches are at war over homosexuality

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 – 11:56 AM | Comments Off

This article on the harm caused by anti-gay churches was written by Matthew Moak and posted yesterday on MCC Anchorage.

If the past summer in Anchorage is any indication, Christian churches are at war over homosexuality and this war is exacting a heavy toll among homosexuals themselves. Homosexuals are the number one persecuted group of people in the Christian community, persecuted by their own friends, families, and church families.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, according to the Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey. A 2007 San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute study shows that LGBT and questioning youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. And for every completed suicide by a young person, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made (2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey).

If that is not disturbing enough, GLBT youth left homes last year more often (12.38 times) than their heterosexual counterparts (6.69 times). GLBT youth were more likely to leave as a result of physical abuse, alcohol use in the family and conflicts with family over their sexual orientation.

Nothing says Jesus like making a child’s living conditions at home so unbearable that they feel they must either take to the streets where drug addiction, sexual abuse, homelessness, alcohol addiction and more horrific realities await them on the streets, or commit suicide. Nothing says Jesus more than displaying such an utter lack of understanding or compassion that homosexuals are driven from their homes and take their lives.

This summer on the Eddie Burke show, one caller referred to the homosexual community as non-human. Other callers read Scriptures that they interpreted to mean that God did not love homosexuals. I suspect that callers believe this because it is what they have been told as opposed to seeking and searching the Scriptures.

Baptist Pastor Jerry Prevo claims that the idea of homosexuals being protected from discrimination under the law would give them special rights which are unnecessary because homosexuals already have the same rights as heterosexual individuals. Further, in a KTVA interview, Prevo also claims that he doesn’t believe discrimination is actually happening in the city of Anchorage.

In an interview conducted by the Anchorage Daily News, Pastor Prevo asserts:

“I’ve tried to reason with these people. I don’t want the issue to come up. I’ve just dealt with a couple. … Their daughter, 19 years old now, is taking shots to make herself a man. These parents, their daughter never had any signs of being unsatisfied with her assigned sex, which is another terminology in here that’s a legal term, assigned sex at birth, and what they feel like has happened, she just got with this crowd and has been brought over.

“My problem is when I take this stand and I can’t minister to these people. I can’t tell them that Jesus Christ died for them and will forgive them just like he will an adulterer or a murderer and they can be changed. It makes it hard for them to listen to me, because they frame me as being hateful. … But I see it as that I’m telling them the truth. …

“I’ve had those who’ve come out of homosexuality in my church, and I’m sure I have some there now that are homosexuals. Based on scripture, I just can’t allow them to promote it as an acceptable alternative lifestyle.”

Red flags should immediately be raised when the pastor of any church is unable to minister to any individual or a group of people. What Pastor Prevo has asserted here is his inability to love all people.

Often, when we are so close to a subject we are passionate about, we fail to see that it is ourselves promoting hate, intolerance and that individuals who display such an utter lack of compassion, understanding and love (the greatest commandment) are the very people who are enabling children and young adults to take to the streets, and to take their lives.

It is time Anchorage to begin shouting from our churches that the spreading of hate, intolerance and discrimination must end. The lives of so many are being destroyed and countless lives are being lost, largely because churches and spiritual leaders such as Jerry Prevo are far too busy trying to be correct, rather than making an attempt to minister and to love.