National groups
backing SC Pride.
Buyer beware
(of the hype)
, Page 3
.Page 16
The Carolinas' Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper » Volume 12, Number 21 « March 21/ 1998 • FREE
Gay PAC forms to unseat the “Gang of Five”
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—A crowd of approximately
120 gathered in the Mecklenburg County
Board of Elections building on March 9 to learn
about Charlotte’s newest gay, polidcal organi-
zadon, Mecklenburg Gay and Lesbian Polid
cal Action Committee (MeckGLPAC). Co
chairs Susan Shackelford and Phil Wells facili
tated the nearly two-hour meedng, oudining
the PAC’s needs and goals, assisted by others
who are leading the group’s voter registration
and education efforts.
Formed in December 1997, in the wake of
Charlotte Pride Alliance’s implosion due to
contentious infighting, MeckGLPAC hopes to
succeed by keeping bureaucracy to a minimum.
To stop the bruising debates before they begin,
the PAC’s founders have decided that there
won’t be any bylaws and no official board of
directors (although MeckGLPAC does have a
treasurer as required by law). Wells stated that,
currendy, there is a coalition of “probably 20
to 25 people” supervising the group, but they
are not organized in any officid capacity.
While a PAC’s basic function is to raise
money for distribution to supportive candi
dates, Wells said that MeckGLPAC’s primary
goal, at this early stage, is to successfully orga
nize a voter initiative to unseat the “Gang of
Five,” focusing on County Commissioners Joel
Carter (R-Distria 1), George Hi^ns (R-Dis-
trict 5) and Bill James (R-District 6).
The details of the campaign were oudined
at the meedng and encompass three main com
ponents: 1) focus on the primaries rather than
the general elections; 2) encourage Democrats
in Districts 1, 5 and 6 to register as “Republi
can” or “Unaffiliated” so they can vote in the
Republican primary; and 3) get gay and les
bian voters to go to the polls.
To accomplish these tasks, two teams have
been assembled to spearhead voter registration
and education outreach programs. The first
team, led by Tom Bell, will work to reach
Mecklenburg’s voting-age gays and lesbians and
ensure that they are registered to participate in
the May 5 primaries. Additionally, they will
help registered Democrats change their party
affiliations before the April 10 deadline. (These
can be changed back after the primary.)
The education committee, according to
Wells, will be responsible for “taking the March
9 meeting on the road.” At gay and lesbian
events and house parties (especially in Districts
1,5 and 6), Fran Rosch and MeckGLPAC vol
unteers will explain the importance of partici
pating in the primaries (a time when voter turn
out is typically low) emphasizing the need to
vote in the Republican primaries (when the tar
geted Commissioners will be most vulnerable).
In addition to these efforts, other areas of
focus for MeckGLPAC will be providing vol
unteers to assist with the campaigns of support
ive candidates; encour^ing gays and lesbians
to donate money to the campaigns of these can
didates and the PAC; organizing a transporta
tion pool to ferry voters to the polls on elec
tion day; developing a phone tree to dissemi
nate information; and distributing candidate
yard signs for gays and lesbians to display.
Contributions to MeckGLPAC shoidd be
made out to “Meek G&L PAC.” Due to fed
eral elections laws, PACs are required to iden
tify donors who give more than $99.99 during
the calendar year.
For more information on MeckGLPAC, or
to inquire about volunteer opportunities, con
tact PO Box 18804, Charlotte NC 28218;
(704) 553-7906; e-mail: Meckglpac@
geocities.com. Be sure to give your name, ad
dress and phone number. Visit MeckGLPAC’s
website at www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/
6l63/meckglpac.htm. ▼
. A
Alaska court rules for same-sex marriage rights
Kate Winslet convinced gay icon
Leonardo DiCaprio to come aboard
in Titanic (no small feat, we say) but
will she surface at the Oscars? As
always, "Q-Culture" has the scoop.
See page 20 for our predictions.
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
JUNEAU, AK—On February 27, a judge
in Alaska ruled that the state must show a com
pelling reason why same-sex marriage should
be illegal or else give gays and lesbians equal
marriage rights.
The case was brought by Jay Brause and
Gene Dugan of Anchorage, life partners for
nearly 20 years, to challenge a 1996 state law
banning same-sex marriage. The couple’s attor
ney, Bob Wagstaff, argued that the law violates
the Alaska Cdnstimtion.
Alaska Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski
agreed. He stated that choosing a partner is a
fundamental right. “Whether the decision re
sults in a traditional choice or the choice Brause
and Dugan seek to have recognized...the same
Constitution proteas both,” Michalski wrote
in his 13-page decision.
“It is the duty of the court to do more than
merely assume that marrit^e is only, and must
only be, what most are familiar with,” he as
serted. “In some parts of our nation, mere ac
ceptance of the familiar would have left segre
gation in place.”
John Gaguine, the assistant anorney gen
eral who argued the Alaska case, said the state
will likely ask the State Supreme Court to re
view Michalski’s decision. However, proving
that there is a compelling interest in banning
same-sex marriage may be difficult.
Michalski’s decision is similar to a landmark
1993 court ruling in Hawaii which forced that
state to justify its own stance against same-sex
marriage. In 1996, a state circuit court rejected
Hawaii’s rationalization and the case is currendy
pending before the Hawaii State Supreme
Coun. It is widely speculated that the court
will rule that banning same-sex marriage is
unconstitutional.
“[Alaska] is going to have to have a very good
justification,” said Matt Coles, direaor of the
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union in New York.
Wagstaff doesn’t believe the state can mus
ter any justification. “There really isn’t any com
pelling reason,” he said. “The state really has
offered no reason other than ‘That’s politics’
and ‘That’s what the Bible says.’”
State Senator Loren Leman, who sponsored
the original same-sex marriage ban enacted by
the Alaska Legislature, said he had little confi
dence in the State Supreme Court’s willingness
to overturn Michalsld’s decision. Leman stated
that a constitutional amendment might be
needed to overcome the judge’s decision. “If
judges can’t read the Constitution any better
than this, then we will clearly state it in the
Constitution,” he said.
On March 2, Leman began the effort to in
stitute a constitutional ban by introducing an
amendment to the Alaska Senate that reads:
“Each marriage contract in this state may be
entered into only by one man and one woman.” '
If a two-thirds majority of the Legislature sup
ports the measure, it will go before voters in
November.
According to a preliminary survey, even if
voters do get to have the final say in this mat
ter, it may not achieve the result that Leman is
hoping for. Local television station IQUD con
ducted an online poll around the question
“Should Alaska recognize same sex marriages?”
and 62 percent of respondents voted “yes.” ▼
Report shows anti-gay hate crimes rose in 1997
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
NEW YORK—Earlier this month, the Na
tional Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
(NCAVP) released its annual report document
ing the level of anti-GLBT and anti-HIV hate
crimes committed during ___________
the previous year. The re
port reflected another in
crease in the amount of
hate-motivated crimes
perpetrated against people
because of their sexual ori
entation or HIV status.
“Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bi
sexual, Transgender, HIV
Violence in 1997” docu
ments a 2 percent rise in
anti-GLBT/HIV violence across the country
utilizing data collected by 14 national commu
nity-based programs recording anti-GLBT/
HIV violence, with anecdotal information from
Hate-moti vated
violence continues
to be a severe
problem for the
GLBT community.
nine additional programs.
According to the US Department of Justice
and other law enforcement agencies, there were
double-digit decreases in violent aime reported
nationally in 1997. In contrast, the NCAVP
statistics indicate that hate-motivated violence
continues to be a severe
problem for the GLBT/
HIV community. In fact,
the GLBT/HIV commu
nity does not appear to be
benefiting from the much
publicized reduction in
crime generally seen aaoss
the country.
Beyond the overall in-
aease in the number of in
cidents, NCAVP docu
mented an 83 percent rise in anti-GLBT/HIV
violence occurring in police precincts and jails.
Also, the number of reported offenders who
were law enforcement officers inaeased by 76
percent nationally, from 266 in 1996 to 468 in
1997. In addition, reports of unjustified arrests
increased by 48 percent and the number of vic
tims who refused to report incidents to the
police increased by 21 percent.
“It is an extremely disturbing trend that
more and more people are suffering homopho
bic violence at the hands of the police, the very
people who are entrusted with ensuring the
safety of all citizens,” said Jeffrey Montgomery,
Interim Executive Director of the Triangle
Foundation, a member agency of NCAVP. “It
is not surprising that statistics continue to show
that many victims of anti-GLBT/HIV violence
are reluctant or unwilling to seek help from the
police or file police reports of an incident.”
NCAVP called for police training programs
and disciplinary procedures to be vastly im
proved in order to reverse these trends, Mont
gomery noted. “If drastic steps are not taken,
police officers will continue to be part of the
See REPORT on page 4
Youth survey
results released
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
SAN RAFAEL, CA—lOutProud!, the na
tional coalition for GLBT youth, and Oasis
Magazine, a monthly online magazine serving
the same audience, recently announced the re
sults of the first-ever survey of GLBT and ques
tioning youth on the Internet. A summary re
port of responses from the survey, which in
cluded more than 150 questions and ran from
■ August 15 through October 31, 1997, is now
available to the public on the World Wide Web.
Early in 1997 lOutProud! and Oasis em
barked on this ambitious project with the goal
of understanding more about the youth com
munities they serve. The result was a survey
which explored a wide range of issues in the
lives of GLBT youth: school, coming out, sexual
activity and health, the role of the media in
forming self-image, har^sment and suicide,
religion and spirituality, community, relation
ships, and the fiimre.
The findings
More than 2000 youth — the youngest 10
years old — responded. The average respon
dent was 18 years old; 78 percent of all respon
dents were male, 21 percent female, and 1 per
cent transgendered or “other.” A few key find
ings of the survey include:
• The typical respondent first realized that
they might be gay, lesbian, bisexual or
transgender at 12 years of age, but it typically
took them another three years before they ac
cepted their orientation.
• Youth are coming out earlier than ever,
telling their friends or family for the first time'
at 16 years old, on average; typically, they tell
their best friend first and the response is over
whelmingly positive. The survey found 75 per
cent of all respondents have come out to at least
one person.
• Youth are becoming sexually active at ear-
'lier ages, with the typical GLBT teen reporting
their first sexual experience at 14 years of age.
Although they believe that they are adequately
informed on issues of safer sex, a significant
See SURVEY on page 22