'Senator No’
UNC-TVpremiers Helms doc
page 14
Queerdance
2008 Sundance preview
page 21
Noted . Notable . Noteworthy. LGBT News & Views
Holy bullies
S.C. author takes on the right
page 21
Volume 22 . Number 18 www.q-notes.com January 12.2008
2008: A look ahead
Expectations for the
LGBT community
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
From almost-made-it legislation and Capitol
Hill lobbying to youth activism and national
work for real, substantive improvements for the
national LGBT community. Now, it’s time to look
, forward to 2008 and the positive aaomplish-
ments we will hopefully see in this year.
Election 2008
Whether we end up with a president and
Congress more attuned to our needs is just one
Policies Banning Sexual Orientation and/or Gender Identity Employment Discrimination*
n No praiocOoo*
PiiMe aid prinM Mcton
■ Senalorianiatian aid gender ktanHy
■ Sexual orlencadon only
PuMc Mdofonly: ■
■ S«ajaloharttfon and gender Identity
■ SoDual oriemaeion only
* CMtT«s« «s «f HvMmbcr 22.2007.ttcMv eMciiew «nter9 0
eecnrMMlen « banned iar «l> Mwaf o«e MPMC*
k IMvs to poicin it statt iMf omjn oilcntaden
r atio be pruiwWtf onOer aunty or murticifwl peHcec
Employment discrimination laws and policies in the U.S.
movements for equality, 2007 laid the ground- (admittedly major) part of the issue. Also impor
tant is that our community’s concerns should
play a large role in the 2008 elections whatever
the eventual outcome. Throughout the primaries
and presidential campaigns, candidates and the
media will speak at length on LGBT issues
including marriage,“Don’t Ask, Don’t TeU,”
employment non-discrimination, hate crimes
and more. With these public discussions, more
minds and hearts can be changed — or at least
poked and prodded in the right direction.
Marriage Equality-
Once again, the community will have to
unite to fi^t an amendment batde, this time in
Florida. Playing host to dozens of national inter
ests on both sides of the debate, Floridians will
hear lots of vitriolic rhetoric to scare them into
constitutionalizing second-class citizenship for
LGBT people. Anti-gay, religious right “marriage
advocates” will be jumping for their chance to
smear the queer marriage movement; LGBT
and allied organizations will be working hard
on the other side. To date, the pro-LGBT Florida
Red and Blue has raised $2 million.
Employment Non-Discrimination
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act
see look on 16
,4 V
John Edwards
endorsed by Q-Notes
After a series of meetings between the
editors, the staff and the piAlisher, Q-Notes
has endorsed John Edwards for President.
His concrete, progressive policy positions
(including steadfast support for pro-LGBT
issues), his commitment to returning power
to the people from moneyed special interests,
his outstanding polling strength against the
Republicans and his positive impact for
down-ticket candidates nationwide combine
to make Jdm Edwards the best candidate in
the race.
Q-Notes encourages all lesbian, gay,
bisexual and tran^ender voters to support
John Edwards in the primaries and b^nd.
— See page 4 for full endorsement.
Appeals Court overturns
custody restriction
Family court judge opposed gay
dad’s ‘deviant lifestyle’
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Court
of Appeals has reversed a lower court ruling
limiting the visitation rights of a gay father.
The lower court placed prohibitive travel
restrictions on the father because the presid
ing judge did not “condone [the] Husb^d’s
alternative lifestyle.”
In 1992, Ernest Matthew West and Mary
Denise West were married. In 2002, Ernest
lost his job in Columbia and was sent to
Dallas, Texas. He eventually moved to
Maimi, Fla., where he became involved in an
affair with a man.
In 2004, Mary initiated divorce proceed
ings. Fearing the affair would damage his
ability to see his children and disadvantage
him during divorce hearings, Ernest denied
the existence of the affair until a week before
the final hearing in the divorce case.
Danger: Giuliani
page i I
Lexington County Family Court Judge H.E.
Bonnoitt, Jr., granted Mary and Ernest a
divorce after living separately for one year.
Mary was given custody of the children and
Bonnoitt placed travel restrictions on Ernest’s
visitation rights, limiting his contact to his
children only within the state of South
The S.C. Court of Appeals overturned a
prejudiced lower court ruling.
Carolina. Bonnoitt prohibited Ernest finm tak
ing his children to Florida during visitation,
see custody on 18
Gay vioggers get mixed
reception in Iowa
Clinton supporters taken to task for
non-assistance
by Matt Comer . Q-Notes staff
DES MOINES, Iowa — Video bloggers
(“vioggers”) and staff reporters from the new
ImGay.tv, a fledging video site for the LGBT
community, said they were surprised to find
themselves ignored or shut out from cover
ing caucus events by campaign workers and
supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Qinton.
“I’m really disappointed,” said Michael
Freincle, one of seven staff reporters with
ImGay.tv who filed reports on the Iowa caucus
in Des Moines, on his vlog.“[Clinton] has sup
porters who don’t support all Americans, and
yet Hillary’s trying to govern all Americans.”
Cate Colgan, an internet entrepreneur who
founded ImGay.tv in the summer of 2007,
decided in mid-December to take a crew to -
Iowa to track the gay side of the caucuses.
“As far as we faiow, we’re the only gay
medium that can do this kind of coverage”
2007: Year in Photos
page 32
Colgan said from the Des Moines Convention
Center. “We do the interviews, videos or vlogs
and post them that day. You don’t have to wait
for the paper or the evening news, and we’re
covering what’s important to the
GLBT community”
But ImGay.tv staff said
getting campaign workers
and supporters to talk to
them and participate in
interviews and discussions
about LGBT issues was diffi
cult, especially within the
• Clinton camp. “We really didn’t expect
this from the Hillary campaign,” Colgan said.
College students Freincle and Dayna Firth
volunteered to cover the caucus with
ImGay.tv during their winter break. Their
initial vlogs highlighted the struggles they
encountered. “The crowd is kind of looking at
us like we’re not really supposed to be here,”
Firth reported in her Dec. 31 vlog.
see vioggers on 18
Pembroke’s a drag
page 3 i