Fightfor your freedom and righUt!
^noith
& sout
CAROLIN
ChUving:
Great Gay lams
Adodi Muse to perform at
Charlotte Black Gay Pride
July 15 37
|Bk
Tmmy Paye’s son Jaye
Balder to s[mk at Exodus
CciitorencB in Asherillj 03
PaWLabelle talks about
music and gay Mends 28
Time tor another nmd}
onaa? 21
Lesbian mm wins
child cusb^ 22
North Carolina:
"Cming Out ~ Cming In’
screens at Giariotte Gay
Center 08
South Carolina:
Congressmen spilt on
PBS funding 10
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Two Years Later
VOLUME 20 . ISSUE 04
SINCE 19S4 WWW.Q-NOTCS.COM
July 2.2005
Charlotte gay man convicted in death of partner
Robert Glenn Smothers sentenced to 16
years in death of Philip Horton
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
Last October Robert Glenn Smothers was
arrested and charged with the killing of his
partner Philip Horton. Eight months later
Smothers has been convicted of second-
degree murder and sentenced to 16 years
and six months.
Currently he’s serving time as a medium
security prisoner in a dorm-like setting at the
Polk County Youth Correctional Institute,
though administrators at the facility say that
he’ll be moved elsewhere soon.
“Inmates are not allowed to stay at Polk
past the age of 25,” explains Polk Assistant
Supervisor Mitchell.
Smothers is already 25. In April 2006 he’ll
turn 26. As to where he will serve the rest of
his sentence, Mitchell is unclear. “It depends
on the availability of the facilities at that
time,” he explains.
. Chartotte's gay community reacted with
shock last October at the events that took
place surrounding Horton’s death.
Greg Brafford, owner of Central Station
and The Woodshed, two Charlotte-area gay
bars the men frequented, talked with CtNotes
shortly after Smothers’ arrest last year.
“They were both very nice guys,” he
recalled. “This is
the last thing any
body would have
ever expected.”
At the time
Brafford confirmed
Robert Smothers (inset) is currentiy being
held at the Polk County Youth CorrecHonal
Institute.
the men had been together as a couple for
two years. “I think they probably met
through the Carolina Bears,” he said. “They
were both very active in that community.”
As confirmed by Horton’s court-
appointed attorney, sometime during the
day on Thursday, Sept. 30, after Horton
and Smothers had been drinking, an argu
ment ensued and Horton, who reportedly
wanted out of the relationship, began to
boast about sexual experiences outside of
his involvement with Smothers. Smothers,
who reportedly had recently discontinued
use of anti-depression medication, flew
into a rage and killed Horton. According to
a representative at the County Coroner’s
office, Horton died from blunt force trauma
to the head.
A few days would pass before Horton’s
body would be discovered in a roll-out
garbage can behind the house the two men
had shared with Smothers’ mother. Sherry
Smothers.
Brafford says that bar patrons and friends
of the couple told him Smothers stole his
mother’s car following Horton’s murder and
spent the weekend at The River’s Edge, a gay
see CHARLOTTEon 4
HIV infections in U.S.
reach one million
Atlanta conference underscores need for testing,
treatment and prevention
by Justin Burke
ATLANTA, Ga. — At the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference
in Atlanta )une 12-15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) released data projecting one million HIV infections in the U.S. at
the end of 2003, with HIV prevalence high among African-Americans,
gay men and male adolescents.
The estimates indicate that between 1,039,000 and (,185,000
Americans are living with HIV, of whom 74 percent are male, 47 per
cent are black, and one-fourth are unaware of their infection. Some
40,000 individuals be-
New HIV Diagnoses — Race/Ethnidty
come infected with HIV
each year.
By risk group, men
who have sex with men
account for 45 percent
of the population living
with HIV. Progression to
full-blown AIDS is high
est among black males,
black females and
Latino males.
At the same time,
experts warn that
1 pel
positive individuals are A^an-American.
, females, non-Latino blacks and people infected through high-risk het
erosexual sex may account for a greater percentage of the HIV-posi
tive population in the future.
“This is a heartbreaking milestone in
HIV’s devastating march through young, see ONEon 4
OutWilmington
Community Center
opens in historic
downtown district
Coastal LGBT community celebrates with 300-plus event
by L.S. Dean
WILMINGTON, N.C. — “This is what Wilmington has been wait
ing for,” says Bob Jenkins. He’s talking about the coastal town’s new
LGBT community center that recently opened at 317 Castle St. Over
300 people attended
the opening in the
revitalized area of
Historic Downtown
Wilmington.
Jenkins, now past
70, is a founder of St.
Jude’s MCC and the
inspiration for the
OutWilmington
Community Spirit
“Living Out Loud
and Proud" Award.
There’s no question
he has seen a great
deal of gay and les
bian history over the Community members line the block outside
yg3,.g 5Q Pijg p|.Q_ Wilmington's new LGBT center.
nouncement was especially moving to the leaders who helped to cre
ate this new space.
“We are so fortunate to be able see WILMINGTONon 17