Big Assembly Win Sends Marriage Bill to Senate
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AMERICA’S LARGEST CIRCULATION GAY AND LESBIAN NEWSPAPER! NEWSTM YOUR FREE LGBT NEWSPAPER MAY 14-27, 2009 VOL. EIGHT, ISS. 10 SERVINGGay GAY, LESBIAN, BI AND TRANSGENDERED City NEW YORK • WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM ■ CRIME ■ BOOKS DA Probe Tackling Appears Stalled Southern BY DUNCAN OSBORNE Gothic’s Queen hile activists and elected offi- BY MICHAEL EHRHARDT cials believed that District W Attorney Robert Morgenthau rad Gooch has fulfilled a long promised at a March 6 meeting to inves- harbored wish to write the defin- tigate the arrests of gay and bisexual B itive biography of the queen of men in Manhattan porn shops, com- grotesque “grit-lit,” Flannery O’Connor, ments made by an assistant district and it was well worth the two decades’ attorney during a trial suggest that any wait. Gooch, who confesses a “literary such investigation has produced little fascination” with his subject, has hand- information. ily tackled the life of this recondite and “Have there been any conclusions canonic American writer who died from reached in this investigation?” said Rich- lupus at age 39. Long before John Ber- ard M. Weinberg, the judge who presides endt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Good in Midtown Community Court, at the and Evil” chronicled the eccentric char- start of a May 5 prostitution trial. Andres acters and macabre manners of the Torres, the assistant district attorney inhabitants of Savannah, Georgia, the who was handling the case, said “No, GOOCH P. 28 your honor.” The questioning came as Linda GAY CITY NEWS CITY GAY DA PROBE P. 8 SENATOR TOM DUANE’S JOB NOW IS TO MOVE MARRIAGE EQUALITY BY JUNE’S END In this issue: Big Assembly Win Sends ■ EDITORIAL Answer the attacks ■ 10 Marriage Bill to Senate ————————————————— Malcolm Smith of Queens, whose cau- BY PAUL SCHINDLER ■ PANIC DEFENSE cus has only a 32-30 edge, has pledged fter an emotional debate that ran his support, though he has consistently Did “sexual predator” more than three hours — about said he would bring the measure to the A as long as when the question was floor only when he is confident it will invite 50 stab wounds? first taken up in 2007 — the New York carry. This year’s session ends in June. ■ 3 State Assembly passed Governor David As the Assembly debate unfolded, ————————————————— Paterson’s marriage equality bill on May however, Smith made his strongest ■ BEING MALCOLM 12, by an 89-52 vote. In June 2007, the statement on the prospects for the bill. measure carried with an 85-61 margin, “The momentum is shifting — marriage The task before the but was not considered by the State Sen- equality will be a reality in New York State Senate leader ate, then controlled by Republicans. This and I welcome that day,” Smith said in OUTRAGE ■ 11 16 year, Democratic Senate Majority Leader ASSEMBLY P. 4 Grand Reopening Party Fri. May 15th PM AMs$RINKS"EERS (OT'/ '/Ss7EARLEATHERFORSHOTS 185 Christopher Street, New York, NY © GAY CITY NEWS 2009 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 14 - 27 MAY 2009 2/ Human Rights Gays Turn Out in Beirut Open show of LGBT pride almost never seen in Arab world BY DOUG IRELAND year prison term. rising anti-gay and anti- HELEM is the only trans violence in the coun- n an almost unheard LGBT organization able try. ASWAT, which bills of event for the Arab to operate openly in any itself as an organization of I world, Lebanon’s LGBT Arab country, and was the “Palestinian gay women,” group held a gay rights recipient of the 2009 Felice operates from Israel but demonstration on May 10 de Souza Award given by cannot do so openly in the in downtown Beirut, with the International Gay and territories controlled by several dozen demonstra- Lesbian Human Rights the Palestinian Authority. tors carrying rainbow Commission. HELEM Iraqi LGBT, headquartered flags and signs in Arabic, operates a walk-in LGBT in London, has members English, and French. The community center in a and informants through- demonstration was orga- beautiful French colo- out Iraq, but its opera- nized by HELEM, which nial building not far from tions there are totally clan- is the Arabic acronym for downtown Beirut. destine, and 17 of its gay Lebanese Protection for Turkey, the only other activists inside Iraq have Lesbians, Gays, Bisexu- largely Muslim country in been murdered for their HELEM.NET als, Transgenders, and the region with open LGBT membership in the group A poster demanding the decriminalization of homosexuality to be used in another LGBT rights demonstration planned for Queers; the word “helem” groups, is not Arab, and in the four-year-old “sexu- Beirut on May 16. is also Arabic for “dream.” groups representing gays al cleansing” murder cam- It was intended as part of and especially the trans- paign by anti-gay Shiite keep records of LGBT sus- group has recently been private party attended by HELEM’s new campaign to gendered in Turkey have death squads. At the same pects and of the places making a particular effort gays, lesbians, and trans- repeal Article 534 of Leba- been under increasing time, Iraqi LGBT is charac- they frequent, which are to aid the growing number sexuals began circulating non’s penal code, which legal attack by the Islamist terized by the current gov- kept under surveillance. of Iraqi gays fleeing to Leb- Iraq. Neither had attend- prohibits sexual relations government now in power ernment as an “unauthor- The group added, “The anon to escape the cam- ed the party or seen the that “contradict the laws of there to ban them, taking ized terrorist organization,” Internal Security Forces paign of assassinations in footage, but several oth- nature” and carries a one- steps that have enflamed and five members of the have been given a discre- their home country. ers confirmed they had group arrested and given tionary authorization to The May 3 Huffington heard the rumor. The BBC a hasty star chamber trial censor all foreign maga- Post carried an article by recently posted a number FRENCH on charges of belonging to zines and non-periodical Lebanon-based journal- of videos depicting homo- such an organization are works, as well as foreign ist Meris Lutz in which sexuals and cross dressers CONVERSATION in prison and believed to and local plays, books, she interviewed one such being harassed by security Experienced Native Teacher be awaiting execution. and films, before they were new refugee, a 21-year-old forces. The video provided The Sunday demonstra- distributed in the market. code-named “Hassan” (the a pretext for the Mahdi Free LE MOT DU JOUR tion in Beirut was the sec- They also continue to con- interview was arranged by Army, partially disbanded In the comfort of your home or ond organized by HELEM fiscate personal LGBT pub- HELEM director Georges and discredited, to recon- office, alone or with a friend, this year. A slightly smaller lications from their owners Azzi, who accompanied stitute itself as a morality in person or via web cam. action was held in Febru- at the Beirut International “Hassan.”) The Iraqi youth force. Other armed groups ary to protest an extreme- Airport. They even scru- told the journalist of “three were not far behind.” French Classes and Translations by Luc Georges. ly violent attack on two tinize private mail enter- weeks of rape and torture The Huffington Post’s gay men by the Lebanese ing or exiting the country, at the hands of the Iraqi journalist reported that Army. In that homopho- confiscating LGBT books, Ministry of Interior, fol- Human Rights Watch 917-657-3794 bic incident, the two men, magazines, and films.” lowed by a month of living staffers returning from a www.frenchclassontheweb.com seen making out in a door- In connection with the as a fugitive before fleeing trip to Iraq were among [email protected] way on the Place Sass- International Day Against to Lebanon.” the human rights workers ine, were arrested by an Homophobia (IDAHO) — The Huffington Post she interviwed who con- Army patrol and severely observed in more than 60 added, “According to Iraqis firmed the account of the Located beaten bloody in the street countries each May 17 and human rights workers new agreement between in Chelsea! with rifle butts, fists, and in commemoration of the interviewed for this post, al-Sadr and the Iraqi gov- boot kicks as a crowd of World Health Organiza- some sort of understand- ernment to “cleanse” the onlookers who poured out tion’s removal in 1993 of ing was reached between country of homosexuals. of nearby cafes watched. homosexuality from its the Iraqi government and According to HELEM, list of mental disorders, the Mahdi Army to ‘cleanse’ The web site of the Leba- “State agents’ behavior HELEM is sponsoring this Iraq of homosexuals.” Lutz nese LGBT group HELEM, in with LGBT individuals weekend a decriminaliza- wrote, “According to Has- English, Arabic, and French, in Lebanon is marred by tion rally and concert for san and M.M., another gay is at helem.net/. The Huff- a string of human rights repeal of Article 534, to be Iraqi who fled to Jordan ington Post interview with violations as well as by fre- held at the Babel Theater and eventually made his the young gay Iraqui refu- ($380 value) quent violations of Leba- in Beirut. way to Lebanon, [radical gee in Lebanon is at huff- nese law. State intelligence In addition to counsel- Islamist cleric and Mahdi ingtonpost.com/meris-lutz/ (1 hr/10 times) $300 WHITENING services used informer net- ing, consciousness-rais- Army leader] Muqtada al- the-pink-army_b_195282.