A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Alaskans Together for Equality has joined the United ENDA coalition. 

“We continue to support ENDA in our statewide activities,” wrote Marsha Buck, Board President of Alaskans Together for Equality, Inc. “We would be proud to join the other members of the coalition toward that end.” 

ENDA, the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, will add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal employment protections, currently provided based on a person’s race, religion, gender, national origin, age, and disability. United ENDA is a coalition of nearly 400 state, local and national LGBT organizations and allies committed to the passage of an inclusive ENDA. 

Send a message of support to Congress: United ENDA

July 3 is the submission deadline for the Imperial Court of All Alaska’s Scholarship Program applications, available online at the ICOAA web site under “About Us.”

Photo (right) of Divas at Femme Fatale 2009, May 1-2 in Juneau, Alaska.

Congratulations to Chris Olson and Michelle Coen on their upcoming wedding in Iowa. They met in 1981 while living in Anchorage, Alaska but moved to Wisconsin in 1998 to be closer to their families. They plan to marry in Olsen’s Iowa hometown, so her 96-year-old mother can attend the wedding. Story and photo.

Join Anchorage Frontrunners, a GLBT group that walks/runs/rollerblades (dogs welcome) along the Coastal Trail on Tuesdays from May-September. Meet at Westchester Lagoon at 6 p.m. in the far west parking lot near the coffee shack.

The annual Memorial Day Community Picnic will be held at Kincaid Park again this year. The Community Picnic is a tradition going back more than 40 years, held in Eklutna until that property was sold last spring. The College of Emperors and Empresses sells burgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks as a fundraiser for ICOAA.

In Iowa, same-sex couples began marrying on Thursday, following the 3 day waiting period after the first licenses were issued. The senates of both New Hampshire and Maine passed marriage equality bills last week, and the bills will go to the state houses for approval. Unfortunately, the New Hampshire senators also voted to kill a bill that would have extended housing and employment anti-discrimination protections to transgender people.

The federal Hate Crimes Act passed the House and has Pres. Obama’s support. New Mexico will now offer health care coverage to domestic partners of retired government and school workers (current workers have received benefits since 2003.) 

A federal judge has awarded a former Army Special Forces commander nearly $500,000 in back pay and damages. Diane Schroer applied for a terrorism analyst job while still a man and was offered the job, but the offer was pulled after he told a library official that he was having surgery to change gender. The ruling is important because the judge recognized this as job discrimination.

The Scandinavian country of Iceland elected a lesbian Prime Minister. Johanna Sigurdardottir is the first openly gay head of a national government in modern times, and her country’s first female prime minister. She and her partner were married in 2002.

The British government has named Carol Ann Duffy as the UK’s new poet laureate. The first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post, she is also the first openly gay person and the first Scot to hold the title.

Vat “Sean” Chea died on Saturday, April 19. He was 26 years old and worked as a cab driver in Fairbanks. Vat is survived by his partner in Fairbanks and his family in California.

A private celebration of Vat’s life was held on Sunday, April 26 at Club Alaskan, with his partner, his coworkers, and his friends in Fairbanks. There was a potluck and a silent auction to help with burial expenses. 

“We had a good time remembering Vat and his goofy ways,” wrote Johnmichael. “Thank you GLBT community for your thoughts and prayers in my time of grief.”

While serving in the U. S. Army, Vat was stationed at Fort Wainwright. After his Army time, he chose to remain in Alaska. 

“Vat and his partner usually had to work during local GLBT functions,” wrote Terry, “but often they would take a short break to greet friends before returning to the road.” 

Friends are invited to view and sign his online Legacy Book.

Our condolences to all who knew Vat.

Vat Chea: 12/20/82 – 4/19/09

For over a decade, there have been two “PFLAG Adopt-A-Highway” signs on the Juneau public road system near Auke Bay. The signs have been vandalized and replaced more than once, but both signs can still be seen by every driver on that scenic 2 mile stretch of the Egan Highway. 

PFLAG Juneau and SEAGLA need your help to fulfill their biannual cleanup duty on Saturday, May 2, from 10-noon.

Volunteers will meet at the Auke Lake parking lot. Bright yellow trash bags and sanitary gloves will be provided, along with free cookies for the cleanup crew. 

“Please wear very bright colored clothing,” write Bronze of SEAGLA and Lin of PFLAG. “We want you to be safe while working near the highway, and we also want to show a very bright rainbow of colors on the road Saturday morning.”

Dining Out For Life, a national event to raise money for HIV & AIDS organizations by eating at participating restaurants, takes place throughout the day on Thursday April 30 in Fairbanks and many other cities. The Fairbanks restaurants will donate a portion of their profits to Interior AIDS Association.

Participating restaurants include Lu Lu’s Bread & Bagels for breakfast, Ivory Jacks for lunch (11-5), Regency Cove for lunch, Trappers Tavern for lunch, and Lavelle’s Bistro for dinner (reservations recommended.)

Dining Out For Life – Fairbanks is sponsored by Denali State Bank and Interior Graphics & Printing. The national “Dining Out For Life: Dine Out, Fight AIDS” annual event is sponsored by Subaru.

Over 50 cities throughout the United States and Canada and more than 3,000 restaurants are participating in Dining Out For Life this year. Nearly $3 million dollars is raised annually to support AIDS service organizations throughout North America.

Read the News-Miner’s article and interview with IAA executive director Anna Nelson.

Watch the Dining Out For Life PSA with the Food Network’s Ted Allen:

Join the party and connect with others: be friends with Bent Alaska. Many LGBT Alaskans are announcing our community’s events and posting photos on Facebook pages, then sharing the links on Bent Alaska’s wall. Share your links, events, photos and ideas, and meet LGBT Alaskans and our allies. Bent Alaska on Facebook.

You are also invited to subscribe to Alaska GLBT News, the free statewide e-newsletter.

Two Four A’s fundraisers were held at Mad Myrna’s last weekend, the No Foolin’ Fiesta and Scott’s Bake Sale and Bake-Off.

“We’re so happy with the results of the Four A’s events these past two days,” writes Chrissy Bell, Director of Development at Four A’s. “Over $4,000 was raised this weekend! Thank you MJ and Scott for two awesome events and to everyone who came out to support those living with HIV and HIV prevention in Alaska.”

Scott Turner wants to thank everyone associated with the Community Bake Sale. “You all raised over $2300,” writes Scott. “Even in crazy economic times, we managed to beat last year’s total again!”

Many of our state senators and representatives voted against the confirmation of W.A. Ross last week. Please take a moment to thank them. Here is the full list, for and against.

One of the representatives who mentioned WAR’s prejudice against gays as a reason for voting ‘no’ was Rep. Les Gara from downtown Anchorage. Please remember his support of our community. 

From his e-newsletter: “Good AG’s don’t come into the job with lists of groups they dislike. They have to get along, and make rational decisions so they don’t take the state into costly “political cause” litigation. And they have to do their jobs in an even handed way. An Attorney General has to represent everyone in the state, not just his own causes. For example, while Mr. Ross is not required by anyone to hold a particular position on gay rights, he seems to dismiss gay Alaskans as equal human beings… Mr. Ross fits lots of job requirements. But his temperament is better suited for politics, party causes, and private law. In private practice you can represent a few. As the State’s top lawyer you’re supposed to represent all.”

Read WAR’s complete letter to the Alaska State Bar newsletter, where he called gays “immoral”, “perversion” and “degenerates” in opposition to the 1993 effort to add sexual orientation to the Anchorage non-discrimination code.

The Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) has been re-introduced to Congress. An estimated 36,000 same sex bi-national couples in America are in danger of having one partner deported because their relationships are not recognized. UAFA will protect them from deportation the way heterosexual couples are protected. Visit Immigration Equality to read the personal stories and send letters to Congress.

The federal hate crimes bill, known as the Matthew Shepard Act, has been re-introduced as well. Watch the appeal from Judy Shepard (video below), and visit HRC’s action center to send letters to members of Congress.

Allen Ray Andrade was found guilty of 1st degree murder, of a bias motivated crime, of vehicle theft and identity theft, for the killing of Angie Zapata, an 18 year old transgender Latina woman. Andrade’s so-called ‘trans panic’ defense – that he panicked and killed her when he realized she was transgender –  did not sway the jury, and he was sentenced to life without parole.

Washington’s Gov. Gregoire signed a transgender hate crimes bill on Wednesday, which added “gender expression or identity” to the state’s hate-crime law and had bipartisan support in the legislature.  

The Washington state House and Senate also passed an expanded domestic partnership bill that grants approximately 250 additional rights and responsibilities to registered domestic partners.

The Connecticut General Assembly voted to update the state’s marriage laws to conform to the recent landmark court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The bill defines marriage in Connecticut as the legal union of two people, and transforms ‘civil unions’ into ‘marriages’. The bill also strips language from a 1991 law that said the state does not condone “homosexuality or bisexuality or any equivalent lifestyle.” Gov. Rell is expected to sign the bill.