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Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 14, Number 13 • November 13, 1999 • FREE
Gay candidates
score in NC, US
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CARRBORO, NC—On November 2, pro
gressive voters in the state’s Triangle region
elected Mike Nelson to a third term as Carrboro
Mayor — with litde drama since he ran unop
posed — and tapped an out lesbian to join the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board.
The fourth-highest vote getter in a nine-way
race, Gloria Faley made history in becoming
the first lesbian elected to any civic position in
NC. Although this was her first run for the
board, the mother of two had been active in
the school system for some time — ostensibly
the key factor in her victory.
MK Cullen, executive director of Equality
NC PAC, a state-wide GLBT advocacy orga
nization, stated, “Gloria ran a real grassroots
campaign and her strong showing proves that
many people have faith in her abilities to serve
all the people of Chapel Hill and Carrboro.”
Nelson and Faley are the second and third
openly gay elected officials in NC history, fol
lowing on the heels of retired Chapel Hill Town
Councilman Joe Herzenberg.
While no gay candidates were elected in
Mecklenburg County, openly gay Democratic
Party Chair Andrew Reyes guided his organi
zation to a stunning victory.
Continuing a swing to the political center
that began with the County Commission elec
tions last year, voters gave Democrats a seven
to four majority on the Charlotte City Coun
cil — the same margin the GOP held going in.
The win was so convincing, in fact, every
successful Council candidate carried an “en
dorse” or “recommend” rating from MeckPAC,
the county’s GLBT advocacy organization.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well in the
Charlotte/Mecklenburg School Board races; all
three seats were filled by incumbents and only
one of them, Wilhelmenia Rembert, was a “rec
ommend” candidate. The remaining two,
Arthur Griffin and John Lassiter, carried “warn
ing” designations from MeckPAC.
In other races around the nation, voters in
Plattsburgh, NY made history by electing Dan
Stewart as the city’s mayor — the first time an
Meeting brings hope for healing
Mike Nelson will serve a third term
openly gay person has been elected mayor of
any municipality in New York State.
In San Francisco, Tom Ammiano, president
of the Board of Supervisors, was successful in
his write-in campaign for mayor and will face
incumbent Willie Brown in a December 14
run-off.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Victory
Fund, a national organization that works to
increase the number of GLBT elected officials,
four other openly gay and lesbian candidates
prevailed at the ballot box. They include: Seth
Chafetz for Birmingham (MI) City Commis
sion; Annise Parker for Houston (TX) City
Council; Jon Cooper for Suffolk County (NY)
Legislature; and AJ Oertwig for St. Paul (MN)
Board of Education.
Additionally, two candidates came within
one percent of prevailing: Joe Steffan, who ran
for a seat on the West Hartford (CT) Town
Council, and Scott Robinson, who fell just six
votes shy of winning a seat on the Melvindale
(MI) City Council.
Voters in Falmouth, ME and Spokane, WA
turned back efforts to undo civil rights ordi
nances based on sexual orientation, while a
measure to expand a non-discrimination law
to include sexual orientation and other factors
failed in Greeley, CO. ▼
Shepard saga comes to a close
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
LARAMIE, WY—On October 25, the na
tion began to hear the details surrounding the
death of gay University of Wyoming student
Matthew Shepard. Aaron MeIGnney, 22, went
on trial, accused of first-degree murder, kidnap
ping and aggravated robbery, and possibly faced
the death penalty.
The j ury of 10 men and six women, includ
ing four alternates, was sequestered during the
trial which was expected to take four weeks,
but lasted just over one. The jury included three
students at the University of Wyoming, where
Shepard was a freshman studying human rights.
Co-defendant Russell Henderson’s trial in
April ended when he pleaded guilty to felony
murder and kidnapping and received two life
sentences. The plea allowed him to avoid the
death penalty.
Defense lawyers Dion Custis and Jason
Tangeman tried to persuade the jury to convict
their client of the lesser offense of second-de
gree murder or manslaughter, which do not
carry a possible death sentence. They were also
challenged to prove that Shepards death did
not result from a kidnapping or robbery be
cause Wyoming subscribes to the felony-mur
der rule. That law allows a defendant to be con
victed of murder for a death that results from
the commission of a felony, even if the death is
unintentional. Which means that even if
McKinney avoided conviction on the individual
first-degree murder charge, he could still face
the death p>enalty if the j ury found Shepard died
as a result of a robbery or kidnapping.
Opening statements
After the jury was seated, defense attorney
Jason Tangeman said Shepard was pummeled
to death by Aaron McKinney in a drunken,
drug-induced rage after Shepard made a pass
at him, but that he did not intend to kill
Shepard when he repeatedly beat him on the
head with a .357 Magnum pistol.
“Did Matthew Shepard deserve to die? No,
that’s ridiculous. No manslaughter victim de
served to die,” Tangeman said. “That’s what
Aaron McKinney is guilty of, manslaughter.”
McKinney’s judgment that night was af
fected by alcohol, methamphetamines and
some sexually traumatic and confusing events
in his life,” Tangeman told jurors.
Tangeman said McKinney was confused by
three homosexual encounters that occurred
when he was seven, 15 and 20. In one case,
McKinney was forced into an oral sex act with
See SHEPARD on page 18
by David M. Baker
Special to Q-Notes
LYNCHBURG, VA—The name Jerry
Falwell has come to have an odious ring for
many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
people. In his many years behind the pulpit at
the Thomas Road Baptist Church, the 68-year-
old Southern Baptist preacher has earned a
reputation for having a less than positive view
of homosexuality.
On October 22, amidst protests by both gay
and anti-gay activists, an interfaith delegation
of 200 GLBT people and their supporters ar
rived in Lynchburg to meet with Rev. Falwell
to discuss the words he chooses when speaking
his conscience about homosexuality. Leading
the delegation, called Soulforce — which gets
its name from Mahatma Ghandi’s teaching of
satyagraha, or “soul force,” a form of non-vio
lent social activism — was former Falwell col
league Rev. Mel White.
Raised as an evangelical Christian, White
attended Fuller Theological Seminary which,
according to its web site, is “an evangelical com
munity dedicated to the preparation of men
and women for the manifold ministries of
Christ and his Church.”
After completing his studies at Fuller, White
went on to teach there for more than a decade
and would later ghost write books for Falwell
as well as fellow evangelicals Jim Bakker, Billy
Graham and Pat Robertson.
White wrestled with his homosexuality for
many years and employed a wide array of strat
egies in attempting to overcome it. Over the
course of two decades, he tried prayer, exor
cism, therapy, and even electric shock treat
ments to no avail. Finally, in 1993, "White came
out publicly after being installed as dean of
Dallas’ Cathedral of Hope — the largest church
within the Universal Fellowship of Metropoli
tan Community Chufches (UFMCC), a Chris
tian denomination with a special outreach to
gays founded by Rev. Troy Perry in 1968.
White, who found his inspiration in the
writings of civil rights leaders Ghandi and
Martin Luther King, Jr., started Soulforce with
his partner Gary Nixon this year to apply the
tenets of non-violent social activism to the quest
for gay and lesbian equality. The three-day so
journ to Lynchburg provided the perfect test
for White’s ambitious plan.
The gathering
On the evening of October 22, under the
watchful eye of the Lynchburg Police Depart
ment — whose constant presence throughout
the weekend was at once comforting and alarm
ing — the Soulforce delegation gradually ar
rived at First Christian Church on Main Street.
Over the next several hours, nearly 200 men
and women of all faiths and sexual identities
ftom as far away as California and as nearby as
down the street came together for an evening
of preparation for the days to come. Pervading
every corner of the red brick church was a com
mingled spirit of hope and expectation.
Karla Fleshman, a delegate from the sub
urbs of Philadelphia, PA who will soon be or
dained as an MCC minister, said that hope is
what brought her to Falwell’s hometown. “You
do a lot of tilling before you see the fruit,” she
said. “We’re tilling here.”
Fleshman’s hopefulness was amplified by the
welcoming remarks of Mayor Pete Warren who
was on hand for the weekend’s commencement.
“When I met Mel in August, I knew that the
event being planned here in Lynchburg would
be a very positive one,” said Warren. “ [I] t would
be good for relationships with one of the main
forces in the city of Lynchburg, Rev. Jerry
Falwell.”
"White added that Falwell had demonstrated
that same spirit of change earlier in the day
during an interview with Diane Sawj’cr on 'Good
Morning America. After being pressed about his
“definitive stance on homosexuality,” a docu
ment that claimed gays were more prone to
disease, depression and addiction and which
appeared on his web site, Falwell apologized and '
said that he had allowed a small percentage of
gays and lesbians, to whom he referred as ex
tremists, to define his perception of the overall
community. Falwell changed the “definitive
stance” and removed the derogatory comments
about gays after the broadcast.
By offering an apology in front of millions
of television viewers, said "White, Falwell set an
example that others could follow.
The evening ended with a candlelight vigil
to remember the victims of hate crimes. Large,
poster-sized pictures of Matthew Shepard, Billy
Jack Gaither, Pfc. Barry Winchell, James Byrd,
Jr., gay author Robert Drake and other victims
of hate crimes were slowly paraded down the
side aisles and up the center aisle of the church
and placed next to those seated in the pews —
an eerie reminder that everyone was potentially
sitting next to a victim of a hate crime. The
seemingly endless procession underscored the
number of people who have been victimized
because of their sexual orientation, their race,
their gender and their tradition of faith. In the
front of the church, portraits of Martin Luther
King, Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, and Jesus of
Nazareth were held aloft as the soft glow of 200
candles illuminated the sanctuary.
Go tell it on the mountain
The next day, before going to Thomas Road
Baptist Church to meet Falwell and 200 repre
sentatives from both the church and the affili
ated Liberty University, the Soulforce contin-
See MEETING on page 12
i fc".!
.m wmrE
Revs. Falwell (1) and White x>mmitted to lowering the rhetoric on each side