A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Gay AK – reports from LGBTQ Alaska

Anchorage, along with many other American cities, held a candlelight vigil last Sunday afternoon on the Park Strip to honor two young men who lost their lives recently because of anti-gay and anti-trans hate: Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, age 19, was beheaded and dismembered, and James Mattison, age 15, was raped and stabbed to death. Thanks to Christopher Narvaez for organizing the vigil, and to Heather Aronno for the story and photos posted on Alaska Commons.

Listen online to the lecture that Dr. Joseph Thompson of UAF’s Philosophy department gave Nov 20 on “The Morality of Same-Sex Marriage.” The event was sponsored by the UAF Socratic Society and hosted by the UAF Gay-Straight Alliance.

Miss MeMe’s Gospel Show raised $500 for the MCC Church. Thank you to those of you who supported the show and ICOAA: the Friday Divas who performed, the titleholders who participated, and all of our court and supporters.

Christopher Constant is throwing a fundraising event on Monday at Mad Myrna’s to get ready to run openly-LGBT political candidates in Alaska. It is well past time we had a seat at the table. Chris will bring his limited edition art prints for sale, as well as two first edition “Dyke Life” board games designed by local Radical Arts for Women member Kenna Bates. Please join him and help this important effort.

Gay AK – news briefs for and about LGBT Alaska

The 11th International Transgender Day of Remembrance is on November 20, recognizing those who were killed during the previous year because of anti-transgender hate and violence. All are invited to join MCC Anchorage at the Sunday Service on Nov. 22 to commemorate the lives of our trans brothers and sisters who were tragically taken.

Eve is cooking up Thanksgiving Goodies, and all this baby needs is a kitchen and a slave for a day. We’re doing 2 dinners, and this year it’s at the Raven Bar, on Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. and Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. The Raven Bar is located at 4th and Gambell, in downtown Anchorage. RSVP on the Thanksgiving Dinner Facebook event page.

Join Four A’s for their annual World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil to remember those we’ve lost to HIV/AIDS and honor those who are still living with the disease. Vigil begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday Dec. 1, in The Wolf’s Den at UAA. On Monday, Nov. 30, Four A’s is co-presenting the documentary film Sex Positive with Bear Tooth Theater as a World AIDS Day event. The film begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $3. Sex Positive is rated R for brief nudity, sexual scenes and graphic language.

We already have great LGBT events on the calendar for 2010: sex-columnist and political activist Dan Savage is returning to UAA on February 12, transgender performer Scott Turner Schofield is returning to Out North on January 14-17, and the dates are already set for Celebration of Change (3/27) and the spring Womyn’s Dance (4/17).

I.C.O.A.A. Cares will be accepting donations in the way of non-perishable food items, new clothes and toys for the holidays. We will get these items to local organizations for disbursement. You may drop new unwrapped items at Mad Myrna’s until December 20. The Empress and Emperor will also try and get donation barrels for The Raven and The GLBT Center. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

Let’s revive the Bear Men’s Monthly Potluck in Fairbanks. If you are interested in a once a month or even bi-monthly gathering, please respond. It will be open to all men, bears and their admirers, and men interested in a gay men’s function in Fairbanks. Contact Michael for more info.

Do you have a story for the Trevor Project? They want to hear all about it. Record a video, upload it by November 29 and you could win a prize. Create a short video telling the world about your experiences as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning youth within your family, school and/or communities. Please read the rules and regulations. The deadline is 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 29, 2009.

Gay AK – notes for and about LGBT Alaska

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.

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!

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.

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 (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.

Gay AK – news briefs for and about LGBT Alaska

The runoff election for borough mayor is on Nov. 3rd. The two candidates are very different in ideology and experience, and our borough will look very different depending on who wins this race. Luke Hopkins, a democrat, won the first round and now faces Tammie Wilson, a conservative Christian, in the run-off election. Please vote.

Congratulations to the new members on the ICOAA Board of Directors: Mikel Wiles, Mary Bess Bohall, Scott Turner, and Christopher Oeser.

Thanks to everyone who showed up at the retreat this weekend. It was a great success and the feedback suggests that people would like a similar event to happen in the near future. Contact Joshua to suggest ideas for other events.

More than 20 people showed up to the AMP Launch at Snow City. “We got the ball rolling on our MPowerment Project, now it’s time to spread the word about AMP throughout the community,” writes Ted Jones, Prevention Coordinator/Facilitator at Four A’s. The MPowerment Project is a community-level HIV prevention program for young gay and bisexual men.

COLAGE, a national network of people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer parents, announces the ART Project to highlight the experiences of COLAGErs born through Assisted Reproductive Technologies. COLAGE is calling all youth born through donor insemination, and their parents, to take a 15-20 minute online survey, available through November 30. There is a survey for LGBTQ identified parents with a donor conceived child and a different survey for people born through donor insemination with a LGBTQ identified parent. For more info, contact Jeff DeGroot.

Meet Out in Alaska’s lead guide Tim Stallard at the Gay and Lesbian World Travel Expo in Boston on 11/3, at the LGBT CENTER in New York City on 11/6, and at the All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, DC on 11/10. Visit Out in Alaska for more info on the roadshow and the Alaskan adventures.

Gay AK: short news items from and for LGBT Alaska

Alaskans Together created these “No discrimation” bumper stickers, and left a stack of them at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage. Pick up your sticker today!

Join Anchorage Won’t Discriminate in helping One Kalamazoo, the campaign to protect the non-discrimination ordinance facing a recall vote in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Kalamazoo ordinance is similar to the one vetoed this summer in Anchorage.

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCCA) hosted QLBTQA youth from UAA’s The Family and APU’s Spectrum GLBT groups for an open house, tour, pizza, and meet and greet on Sept. 26. Later the same evening, another open house was held at GLCCA to celebrate Diversity Month. The center was packed to the rafters with visitors enjoying each others’ company, fine food and great entertainment. See the October issue of NorthView, Identity’s quarterly bulletin, for more Community Center News.

Lesbian and gay couples in Alaska are not treated equally under the state’s Senior Citizen Property Exemption laws. Married residents 65 years of age or older are exempt from taxation on the first $150,000 of the assessed value of their home, regardless of whether the property is held in the name of the husband, wife, or both. However, same-sex domestic partners are excluded from the full exemption. Only one person in the same sex couple can receive the exemption, and the amount is essentially cut in half because state law treats same-sex partners as roommates. If you are 1) in a long-term, committed relationship with your partner, AND 2) at least one partner is 65 or over, AND 3) you are living with your partner in a home that one or both of you own, then the ACLU of Alaska would like to talk with you. Please contact Tiffany McClain at (tmcclain@akclu.org).

Pride Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2010-11 school year. Each year, Pride Foundation provides educational scholarships to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-ally leaders and role models from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington attending any accredited post-secondary school. They offer 50 different scholarships, but have only one application to complete. Just create an account and complete your application online.

Reports from LGBT Alaska

“The Lion Sings Tonight” raised a grand total of $15,401 for Four A’s and Broadway Cares, singing to an over-capacity crowd at Mad Myrna’s! The Four A’s thanks the Lion King cast and crew, Mad Myrna’s, the host Miss MeMe, and everyone who attended.

Identity, Inc. won $1,000 from Pride Foundation’s Raffle with a Twist for being our favorite Alaska non-profit yet again this year. Congratulations! Identity sponsors PrideFest in June, and the Alaska Pride Conference, which is being held this year on the APU Campus, October 9-11. Work place giving season is upon us. Wherever you work, please select Identity, Inc. for your contributions.

Alaskans are marching in the National Equality March in DC on Oct 10-11 for full equality for all LGBT people. If you cannot march with them, you can still support them: they’re buying a big blue and gold banner that will say “Alaskans Together for Equality” to carry at the march and are asking for donations. They’ve raised about half of the money already (the full cost is $235) and would be very grateful for additional donations from the community. Please send $10, $25 or whatever amount you choose, in care of: SEAGLA, PO Box 21542, Juneau, AK 99802. Thanks!

October 12 is the anniversary of gay college student Matthew Shepard’s murder, and The Laramie Project is releasing a sequel to their famous play about the incident. It opens on Oct. 12 at more than 130 theaters nationwide, and a free reader’s theater performance will be presented one night only in Juneau, on Monday October 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Alaska Territorial Hall.

Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. is Alaska’s only statewide advocacy organization with a focus on LGBT rights. ATE is seeking people from all across Alaska to serve on the Board of Directors. People from rural and urban Alaska who are highly motivated to increase civil rights for LGBT Alaskans and are able to serve on a working Board are encouraged to emil the current Board President Marsha Buck. New Board members will be elected at the annual meeting of Alaskans Together on October 11 in Anchorage.

The statewide e-newsletter Alaska GLBT News is seeking one or more co-editors, proofreaders and other volunteers to help create this informative weekly resource. Contact Alaska GLBT News.

Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska

A new version of the equal rights ordinance was released today. Check it out, ask Mayor Sullivan to support it, and write a supportive letter to the ADN. Then come to Loussac Library on August 11 for the Assembly debate and possible vote.

Alaska GLBT News, the statewide weekly email newsletter, is looking for one or two people to help collect events and news from the local LGBT web sites for posting in the newsletter. Email Alaska GLBT News to volunteer.

“Alaskans Together for Equality is grateful to our Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich for voting in support of the Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” writes ATE spokesperson Tim Stallard. “Many Alaskans called in to both Senators’ offices to request this support, which resulted in Senator Begich becoming a co-sponsor of the bill. This act will help enable gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans to live happy, productive lives without fear of violence.”

Northern Exposure, the gay and lesbian bowling league in Anchorage, is getting ready to start the 2009/2010 bowling season. We will have our first league meeting on Saturday, August 29, 4 p.m. at Park Lanes, and we’ll cover signup, registration and league setup. Our first day of bowling is the first Sunday after Coronation, Sept 13, and we will bowl every Sunday after that, barring holidays and League tournaments. For more info, email Stephen.

Frank Tano, formerly of Anchorage, makes a podcast called 5 minute Frank. “He frequently mentions Alaska and Alaskans,” writes Lisa. “It’s stream of consciousness, out gay humor. Very Frank. Listen to the later ones.” Listen to 5 Minute Frank here or use the iTunes link on Frank’s myspace page.

OutMusic Awardee live-looping folk-world-harmony artist (and out lesbian) Irina Rivkin is on tour in Alaska. She is available for back-yard concerts, house concerts, festivals, summer camps, & live-looping workshops. (Contact Rose Street booking.) Listen to her music here and here (includes live concert video).

Irina’s Alaska tour dates so far:

7/25/2009, 8pm, McCarthy, playing a birthday party at BMAC’s.

7/27/2009, 6:30pm, McCarthy, Wrangell Mountain Center & Hardware store, concert plus audience-participation live-looping jam $5-15 sliding scale donation.

8/01/2009, 8pm, Fairbanks, House Concert, 1202 Heath Ave.

8/06/2009, 10pm, Denali, Panorama Pizza, Mile 224 Parks Highway on Carlo Creek.

8/8 or 8/7 – seeking concert in or near Denali or Talkeetna.

8/10/2009, 8pm, Anchorage, Tap Root Café, 1330 E Huffman (btwn Old and New Seward, across from Wells Fargo, look for the prayer flags.)

8/9 or 8/11, Anchorage area (Palmer to Girdwood) concert TBA.

Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska

The US Senate voted 63-28 Thursday night to include the Hate Crimes Act as an amendment to the must-pass defense spending bill. The added measure will “provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes.” Both Begich and Murkowski voted in favor, and Begich is a co-sponsor of the original bill. The House passed a stand-alone hate crimes act in April, and President Obama supports it.

The Episcopal Church Convention approved two gay-positive resolutions: to open the ordination process to all individuals (D025), and to start the process of developing rites for blessing same-sex marriages (C056). Resolution D025 is a response to the restraint passed in 2006 on the election of gay and lesbian bishops in committed same-sex relationships. In the vote by orders, D025 passed the lay and clergy orders in the Diocese of AK, but not without dissent. Rebecca Snow, senior lay deputy from Alaska, co-authored the original version of D025 and was interviewed before the vote. Mary Ellen Harris, an alternate delegate member, describes the day the Convention passed D025 on the Alaska delegation’s blog. The national Integrity (LGBT Episcopal) blog has a news roundup on both measures.

We believe that the LGBT community has more support for the equal rights ordinance in Eagle River/Chugiak than most people assume, but we need your help to make sure that the voices of those who support equality are heard. Please join us for an organizing and strategizing meeting in the community room of Jitters Coffee House in Eagle River, 11401 Old Glenn Hwy, on Thursday, July 23, at 6:00 pm and help us create and execute an action plan to let Debbie Ossiander know that she has constituents who support LGBT equality. Invite supportive friends, neighbors, and family members to attend this meeting and learn how they can get involved. Thank you. Equality Works.

Top 4 on Bent Alaska

A big “thank you” to everyone who contributed writing, quotes, links and/or photos for these popular recent articles on Bent Alaska: Sarah Palin’s Top 10 Anti-LGBT Moments, Alaskan Celebrates Gay Pride in India (picked up by the ADN newsreader), Palin and Gays Make the Queerest July 4th Ever, and the top post of the month Kelly’s Story: A Transgender Christian Woman.

Are you in need of healing after the marathon of public hearings that have taken place this summer? Are you looking for effective ways to speak and hear compassionately in difficult circumstances? An evening introduction to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) offers practical tools that help you to generate empathy for self and others, identify what’s at the heart of people’s behaviors, and create simple, profound shifts in awareness and speaking habits. NVC can be used in any kind of interpersonal interaction. Interactive learning invites participants to use their own real-life situations to experience the NVC process. Facilitated by NVC practitioner and teacher Louise Baquero Deerfield. The LGBT Workshop is Monday, July 27, 6:00-8:30 pm, 1057 W. Fireweed, Suite 102, United Way Conference Room. Please pre-register if possible. E-mail: Tiffany McClain.

Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska 7/11/09

Fairbanks PFLAG invites the LGBTA community to walk together in the Golden Days Grand Parade on July 25, starting at the Carlson Center and carrying the large rainbow flag from Key West. Let’s show Fairbanks our pride! PFLAG will also have a booth at the Tanana Valley State Fair in August.

Adam N Steve, an Mpowerment Program in Anchorage, is seeking a Program Assistant to help coordinate a multi-level intervention HIV prevention program aimed at men who have sex with men, with an emphasis on community building and empowerment activities among gay and bisexual men ages 18-29. Read the job description and email Alex Barros, Director of Prevention at The Four A’s in Anchorage.

Enter the Raffle to support Interior AIDS Association, drawing on August 8, 2009. Only 250 tickets sold, $100 each, with a grand prize of $11,000 and other prizes.

World-folk live-looping harmony singer-songwriter Irina Rivkin will be back on tour in Alaska July 23-August 11 with new songs. If you would like to host or produce a concert (including a house concert or yard concert) or a live-looping workshop in Anchorage, Fairbanks or elsewhere, please contact Irina.

The Imperial Court of All Alaska requests the Honor of Your Presence at CORONATION XXXVII – “GOLD, FUR, AND FEATHERS” CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF STATEHOOD, on Sept. 3-7, 2009. The preliminary schedule is posted. Share your business with hundreds of people! Sponsorship Ads for this year’s Coronation Ball program are a great way to advertise your business and support the Scholarship fund. Ads must be received (in JPG or PDF and “camera ready”) and paid in full by August 7. The Imperial Court.

Gay AK – Notes from LGBT Alaska

A record breaking 200 people attended Drag Queen Bingo this year! The standing room only event won Best Non-Bar Event for Pride Week and raised over $2,800 for the Adam and Steve HIV Prevention program.

Four A’s marched for equality in the Pride Parade, showing that ABT equals “Anything But Tolerant” (photo below.) Mayor Matt Claman got tested on June 27, National HIV Testing Day, as one of 85 Mayors nationwide getting tested in the national campaign.

An Alaskan non-profit will win $1,000 from Pride Foundation again this year, and another could win the grand prize. What’s the twist?

If your name is drawn on September 15, 2009, they will make a $2,500 donation in your name to your favorite nonprofit. They will also give $1,000 to each of the most named organizations in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Winning nonprofits must have a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. There is no cost to enter the raffle, and no donation required. Enter the raffle here.

The application for Emperor and Empress of the ICOAA is due on July 12. Applicants must submit the completed form, required documents, fees, and photo no later than 4 p.m. on 7/12 to the board meeting at Mad Myrna’s. Applications are available online and at Mad Myrna’s or The Raven. The application for the 2009 Scholarship Program is also available for download. The Scholarship application is due on July 31.

SEAGLA posted this summer’s schedule of gay and lesbian cruise groups visiting Juneau:

• 07/14/2009 RFamily tour group visits Juneau aboard the MV Norweigan Star, 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• 08/16/2009 Pied Piper tour group visits Juneau 8 a.m.- 9 p.m. on the M/V Celebrity Millennium. SEAGLA Reception at a local venue, 5-7 p.m. Plan to be there!
• 08/26/2009 RSVP Vacations visits Juneau aboard the MS Westerdam, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• 09/22/2009 Olivia Cruises visits Juneau aboard the MS Veendam, 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• 09/27/2009 Aquafest Gay tour group visits Juneau aboard the MS Zaandam, noon to 10:30 p.m.