TSA News November 2017 Volume 35 Issue 11 Mr. Heavensville is on Nov. 17 at Evansville Tropicana Casino Executive Conference Center The 5th Annual Mr. Heavensville competition will be held on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6pm at the Evansville Tropicana Casino Executive Confer- ence Center. Cost to attend is $40 a person. The event is a benefit for the Tri-State Alliance and the TSA AIDS Holiday Project. See pages 2 and 3 of this newsletter for additional information. Transgender Day of Remembrance Monday, Nov. 20, 7pm Central Library Browning Room B 200 SE Martin L. King Jr. Blvd., Downtown Evansville Emcees at the 2017 Mr. Heavensville will be Nancy Drake and Ben Shoulders. Jon B. will once again DJ Mr. Heavensville! 2017 Mr. Heavensville Contestants Brian Bennett, Nate Boyett, Steve Carroll, Justin Coures, Phil Fisher, Chris Howard, Jayden Licious, Damon Murray, JD Opel, Chris Passage and Dave Smith. TSA Volunteers staffed an information table at the ARG AIDS Walk at Evansville’s Old Courthouse. TSA Youth Group members went to a haunted house on Oct. 21. Donations are needed to help pay for food and special events for our LGBTQ Middle & High School youth group. Donations can be sent TSA Youth Group, 501 John Street Suite 5, Evansville, IN 47713 or donated online at State Will Appeal Same-Sex Couple Birth Certificate Ruling By Mike Perleberg, eaglecountryonline.com, Feb. 1, 2017 (Indianapolis, Ind.) – Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that both spouses’ names should be listed on the birth certificate of children born to same-sex couples. In June, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled in favor of eight lesbian couples who sued the state in 2015. Pratt found that the State of Indiana must grant the same parental rights to married same-sex couples as opposite-sex couples have. “Given Indiana’s long-articulated interest in doing what is in the best interest of the child and given that the Indiana legislature has stated the purpose of Title 31 is to protect, promote, and preserve Indiana families, there is no conceivable important governmental interest that would justi- fy the different treatment of female spouses of artificially-inseminated birth mothers from the male spouses of artificially-inseminated birth moth- ers,” Pratt wrote. The state is appealing the ruling, The Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday. Attorney general office spokesman Corey Elliot says the appeal aims to defend statutes enacted by the legislature. State law only allows the birth mother to be listed as a parent on a child’s birth certificate. The attorney for the couples said the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling which legalized same-sex marriages nationwide, give same-sex couples the same protections as heterosexual couples. Without being listed on a birth certificate, both fathers or mothers in a same-sex couple may not be able to make healthcare decisions for a child or list them as dependants on insurance policies. Chris Paulsen, campaign manager for LGBT rights group Freedom Indiana, said Pratt’s ruling helps to ensure that all loving and capable parents are treated equally under the law. “Sadly, Attorney General Hill’s decision puts politics ahead of LGBT families, and it further damages the state’s reputation as an open and welcoming place for all,” he said. Editor’s Note: Indiana’s Anti-LGBT Attorney General Curtis Hill is the guest speaker at the NAACP Evansville Chapter Freedom Fund Banquet on November 7. TSA Volunteer Night Wednesday, Nov. 8 5-7:30pm TSA Offices 501 John Street Suite 5 in Evansville Help make safer sex kits and cut out AIDS Holiday Project Snowmen Free pizza & soft drinks TSA President Wally Paynter was one of 9 Hoosier activists featured in this film about the history of HIV / AIDS in Indiana. View this 34 minute film at https://vimeo.com/238787443 Topic: HIV Update and PREP Guest Speaker: HIV Specialist Dennis Myers Thursday, Nov. 16, 6:30pm St. Lucas UCC 33 West Virginia Street, Evansville Co-sponsored by Tri-State Alliance & Rainbow Catholic Interfaith Coalition SAVE THE DATE RCIC Christmas Party Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 6:30pm, St. Lucas UCC Volunteers Needed AIDS Holiday Project Barnes & Noble Gift Wrapping Chair AIDS Holiday Project Barnes & Noble Dec. 17 Book fair Chair AIDS Holiday Project Church Liaison AIDS Holiday Project Snowmen Sales Chair TSA Instagram Coordinator TSA Snapchat Coordinator TSA Social Media Coordinator TSA Twitter Coordinator TSA YouTube Video Coordinator TSA Pridefest 2018 Co-Chair TSA Pridefest 2018 Committee Members To volunteer, contact Wally Paynter at 812-480-0204, [email protected] or [email protected]. OpenDoorUUF.org Volunteer for 2018 Pride Events! In Owensboro, join the Facebook group: TSA Owensboro Pride Volunteers In Evansville, join the Facebook group: Tri-State Alliance Volunteers For Sale: Split, seasoned FIREWOOD Free delivery within Evansville. Proceeds donated to TSA Holiday Project. $95/pick-up load. Contact Bruce Wright (812) 422-9155 OR [email protected] [email protected] OR call 812-480-0204 UE Student Seeks LGBTQ Home Videos for Senior Project UE STUDENT REQUEST: UE Student Baxter Pitt is seeking home videos (or any old footage) of the LGBTQ+ community from the tri-state area! They are working on a senior honors project entitled Visible: Exploring the Power of Queer Home Movies. The end goal of the project is a video installation piece comprised of clips of a variety of home movies that highlight and uplift the lives of queer people. If you have any footage you would like to submit, have any suggestions for places to look or people to ask, or simply have questions regarding the project, please contact Baxter at [email protected]. Save the Date World AIDS Day Service Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 9am @ St. Lucas United Church of Christ 33 West Virginia Street in Evansville Sondra Matthews (center) was presented with the Sadelle Berger Award for her leadership in civil rights at the annual Human Relations Dinner and Mayor’s Diversity awards. UE’s Dr. Robert Dion, chair of the Human Relations Commission, and Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke are also pictured. Donations Received in Memory of Whitney Patterson Alison Johnson Andy Jones Wally Paynter The Tri-State Alliance AIDS Holiday Project THANKS the University of Evansville Alumni Association for supporting our project with their FIRST National Volunteer Day. Volunteers are needed in California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Virginia. For more information visit https://www.evansville.edu/alumni/dayOfService.cfm OR contact Wally Paynter at 812-480-0204 or [email protected]. .