Box Turtle Bulletin

Congrats, Wisconsin Couples

Today is the day that Wisconsin same-sex couples can register as domestic partners. Most of the small list of rights and benefits deal with health care or probate issues. (Capital Times)

The extension of health care benefits to same-sex couples is one highlight of the registry. Other perks include the ability for same-sex couples to inherit their partner’s property or other assets, even if they do not have a will. Without these protections, the property and other assets of gay men and lesbians without a will would go to their parents or siblings — not their significant other — at the time of death.

What to bring if you plan to register: Couples must provide proof of residence, certified copies of their birth certificates and their Social Security numbers. For those who have been previously married, a certified death certificate or divorce judgment is required. The fee is also the same as for a marriage license, $115 in cash per couple in Dane County.

Who qualifies for the registry: Two individuals must be at least 18 years old, be of the same gender, share a common residence, not be nearer of kin than second cousins, and not be married or in another domestic partnership.

This day is historic in that Wisconsin became the first midwestern state to grant recognition of same-sex couples by legislation and it is the first state with a clause banning “legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage” to offer any limited recognition at all.

Anti-gays, of course, have sued to stop gay people from being able to cover their loved ones on their health insurance or visit them in the hospital. It’s not that they hate you, want to make your life as difficult as possible, or see you as an enemy in a culture war. Oh no, they just want to protect marriage, you see.

Police Say They Have A Lead in Tel Aviv Killings

Ha’aretz says police believe they have a lead in the manhunt for the Tel Aviv killer, and in the process are trying to downplay the possibility of a hate crime:

This tip has to be examined very carefully. We are still at an early stage in the investigation, and it’s too soon to say if this supposition is going to materialize,” police sources said. Besides homophobia, another direction under investigation is that of a personal feud, they added.

Some of the sources criticized the reaction of the leaders of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, who police say rushed to make declarations about incitement being the cause of the murders of the two victims.

“They were too quick with the rallies and the slogans. It’s not at all clear – the motive for the attack may have been personal, rather than a general targeting of the community,” a senior Tel Aviv police source told Haaretz.

Meanwhile, friends and relatives gathered for the funeral of Nir Katz, the 26-year-old youth counselor at the LGBT center. The other victim, 16-year-old Liz Trubeshi was also laid to rest today. Liz’s friends say that she was active in the gay youth organization as a supportive ally, even though she was not a lesbian herself.

Israelis rally in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon (Mot Kimche/Ha'aretz)

Meanwhile, hundreds turned out for a rally in Tel Aviv Sunday afternoon to protest the shooting. Opposition leader Tzipi Livnie told the mourners, “We need to give strength to the child who comes to his parents and says: ‘I am gay,’ or ‘I am a lesbian;’ and this day needs to give the strength to everyone in the gay community to live their lives.”

The Knesset will hold a special plenum debate on the attack Monday.

“Not Terrorism”

That’s what this Associated Press video says:

Other outlets earlier made the same claim, although many have gone back and re-edited their stories so that they now say that it appears to be criminal and not nationalistic, although I don’t know how they can claim that since we don’t know who the attacker was. He may still turn out to be an Israeli nationalist.

Nir Katz (top) and Liz Trubeshi (bottom)

Okay, I get the police’s trying to distinguish this act from a terrorist act by Hamas or Hezbollah or another Palestinian/Muslim radical group. But come on. Are Arabs and Muslims the only ones we’re allowed to call terrorists? Is saying that it’s “not terrorism” supposed to reassure Israeli citizens that this was a targeted attack on gays and not Jews? What about the Jews who were targeted and died in this attack? What about the Jews who marched in the streets last night to mourn their deaths? And what about the Jewish families this morning who now have to bury their children? Don’t they count?

This exercise of trying to say that this was not terrorism cheapens the lives of Nir Katz and Liz Trubeshi, who died in the spray of automatic gunfire at an LGBT community center in Tel Aviv. It insults their families trying to grapple with the reasons their too-young loved ones were singled out for this attack. And it denies the impact that this is having in the LGBT community around the world, let alone the grieving community in Tel Aviv.

We don’t know the attacker’s identity. But we do know that a gunman — dressed in black, wearing a black ski mask and carrying an assault weapon — targeted a place of refuge for LGBT youth who were peacefully gathering for mutual camaraderie and support in the face of discrimination and prejudice. The attacker found them in that refuge and pumped them full of bullets. Yaniv Weisman, chairman of the Israeli Gay Youth organization, said, “Today, someone sent a message that gays in Tel Aviv and Israel are not safe.” That is terrorism. If it isn’t then the word needs to be stricken from the English language, for it will have lost all meaning.

Video From Last Night’s Tel Aviv Protest

JoeMyGod found this amateur video of last night’s spontaneous protest against the Tel Aviv LGBT center massacre. That protest took place just hours after the shooting. Another protest has been called for 5:00 p.m. local time in Rabin Square.

Manhunt In Tel Aviv; President and Prime Minister Condemn Massacre of LGBT Youth

Tel Aviv mourners paying their respects (George Ginsberg/Ynet)

Hundreds of police are swarming the streets of Tel Aviv and surrounding areas, searching for the gunman who shot and killed two youths meeting at an LGBT center Saturday night in what is being described as the worst attack against the LGBT community in Israel. The attack was condemned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai and several others.

Nir Katz (left) and Liz Trubeshi (right)

The dead were identified as 26-year-old Nir Katz from Givatayim, who was a counselor at the center, and 17-year-old Liz Trubeshi from Holom, who was attending the LGBT youth support meeting. About a dozen more were injured, five  seriously. Ten were still hospitalized Sunday morning. The attack shocked the residents of Tel Aviv, a seaside city that is well-known for its more liberal, tolerant attitudes, and is regarded as a safe-haven for the country’s LGBT community. The Jerusalem Post quoted the chairman of the youth organization:

These were teenagers,” Yaniv Weisman, chairman of the Israeli Gay Youth organization, told The Jerusalem Post.

With tears in his eyes, Weisman added, “They came to this center from across the country to talk to one another and receive help. This was supposed to be a safe place for them. Someone knew what they were doing when they came here. This is not a pub or a club.”

“Today, someone sent a message that gays in Tel Aviv and Israel are not safe,” Weisman said.

Murder scene in Tel Aviv (Avi Cohen/Ynet)

One 16-year-old victim of the shooting noted that many of the teens at the community center were not out to their families:

“I’m horrified to think that this is the way the parents of some of my friends will find out,” Or Gil, who was taken to Ichilov Hospital following a knee and chest injury, told Haaretz.

“At about 10.40 P.M. someone came over, all dressed in black and wearing a black mask,” he recounted. “I thought it was a joke at first, but he immediately opened fire. People took cover under the bed and tables, but there were no screams. I hid under a table with someone else. It’s a small place; there’s just one terrace. Once you’re inside, there’s nowhere to run.”

Gil came to the center every week to take part in activities for teenagers.

“It’s for 14- to 21-year-olds,” he said. “Teenagers just hang out there, talking and listening to music.”

“I love this place,” Gil concluded, “but I don’t know if I will ever go back there. I want to, but it’s too soon to say.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyaho, speaking at the Israeli Cabinet’s weekly meeting, offered his condolences to the families and condemned the attack:

“I unequivocally condemn the shocking murder,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. “I have spoken with Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and stand by the police in searching for and finding the killer. We will bring him to justice and will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law.”

…”I say to the Israeli people: We are a democratic country, we are a country of tolerance, a country of laws, and we must respect every person, whoever and wherever he is,” he said.

President Shimon Peres also condemned what he called “a despicable murder“:

President Shimon Peres said in a statement that “the dreadful murder that was committed yesterday in Tel Aviv against teenagers and young people is a murder that a cultured and enlightened people cannot accept.”

“Murder and hate are the two most terrible crimes in society,” Peres said in a statement. “Police must make a supreme effort to capture the loathsome murderer and the people must join together in condemning this despicable act.”

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni also expressed her “sadness and shock” over the murders, adding, “This difficult event must bring society to shake off prejudice, and to accept and recognize the right of every person to live in respect and safety.” Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai promised that the city would continue to uphold its pluralistic values:

“Tel Aviv has always been a bastion of pluralism, tolerance and openness, and no one will succeed in hurting the city’s character,” he said. “Our city will continue to be a home for the gay community, and we will fight for the right of every person to live his life in the city according to his beliefs and conscience.”

Hundreds of Israelis Protest Attack

Mourners light candles in memory of the dead. (Yaron Brener/Ynet)

The night is not yet over, and already Israelis are gathering to remember the victims of this evening’s attack on a teen support group at the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association.

Israelis comfort each other at the scene of the shooting (Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse, Getty Images)

Earlier this evening shortly before 11:00 p.m., two LGBT youth were killed by a lone gunman as they met for a support group an an LGBT community center in Tel Aviv. According to The Jerusalem Post, fifteen others were injured in the attack. Two are in critical condition, and three more are in moderate condition. Army Radio says that one of the dead was a 24-year-old male counselor at the center, and a second victim was a 17-year-old girl. The victims’ names have not yet been released. Eyewitness describe the scene at the LGBT community center as “like a slaughterhouse.” Despite the shock and horror, people are turning out for a spontaneous rally to protest the violence and commemorate the victims.

One of the marchers identified as Revital told Ynet:

“The feeling is terrifying. We live in a bubble, believing that everything is fine. This is an act of pure unfounded hatred, which leads to the murder of children for being gays and lesbians. It’s very sad knowing that it’s still so.”

The Shas faction condemned the attack, but Revital had harsh things to say against the ultra-Orthodox party. “People like (Shas Chairman) Eli Yishai and (former Knesset Member) Shlomo Benizri openly hared gays and lesbians,” she said.

Signs against the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. (Yaron Brener/Ynet)

The gunman has not been identified. According to the nationalist Arutz Sheva, the Shas party condemned the attack:

The Shas religious party condemned Saturday night\’s attack on a club of homosexuals. “Murder, understandably, is against the Torah way. Any attack is against the religion of Israel,” the Shas party said in a statement.

Apparently, Israel’s religious right can be as shameless as many in the American religious right. In an attempt to deflect criticism over Shas’ violent anti-gay rhetoric, Shas Knesset Member Nissim Zeev suggested that the gunman may have been gay:

“I am really shocked, but I’m not certain it’s because of this population’s affiliation. It’s possible that the person who fired the shots belongs to the same population.”

2 Killed, 15 Wounded In Tel Aviv LGBT Teen Center Shooting Spree

Update: The Jerusalem Post has updated its report to indicate that two were killed and fifteen wounded, and not three killed and fourteen wounded as they reported earlier.

Rescue personnel treating a victim of the shooting at a gay club in Tel Aviv on Saturday night. (Haaretz)

The Jerusalem Post has the developing news:

Three people were killed and 14 people were wounded – two seriously, three moderately and the rest lightly – in a shooting at the Bar Noir, a center for youth run by the Tel Aviv gay community, on Saturday night.

According to eyewitnesses, an unidentified assailant dressed in black opened fire from an automatic weapon inside the building, located at the corner of Nahmani and Ahad Ha’am streets, at approximately 10:40 p.m.

Israeli paramedics treat shooting victims. (Reuters / Amir Meiri)

Ha’aretz reports:

Witnesses told Israeli television that the black-clad, masked gunman stormed into the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association building and opened fire in a basement room where gay teenagers were holding a weekly support group. Most of the casualties were minors, a police spokesman said, adding that the assailant was believed to have used an automatic weapon such as an M-16 rifle.

Israeli police and paramedics work at the scene of a shooting attack at a gay community house in Tel Aviv (AFP)

An earlier Ha’aretz report says that the teen meeting typically draws 30 participants. That report continued:

Itzik Dror, a spokesman for the gay and lesbian community, said he was “shocked and shaken” by the event. Another community leader said that all activities for gay and lesbian groups had been suspended. “We thought we were living in a modern country where hate is not the standard,” he said.

Gay and lesbian organizations said they will hold an emergency meeting early today to develop policy on community events following the incident.

MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), who is also a gay rights activist, said after arriving at the shooting scene: “This is the most severe event to have hit the gay and lesbian community in the history of the State of Israel. I hope the shooter is caught. I do not want to come out with a statement, but this is a shocking thing.”

There were signs that this was a hate crime, he said.

Police have closed all gay bars in the area as a precaution.

Britain’s ITN has this coverage:

Police say there were no prior threats directed toward the community center, although the center has experienced anti-gay grafitti including swastikas painted at its entrance.  Ynet reports:

One eyewitness to the shooting said, “The place looked like a slaughterhouse.” Another witness said the shooter had worn a mask. Civilians were warned to stay away from the area.

Eyal Amit, a member of the GLBT organization, told Ynet that many of the teens who met at the clubhouse had not yet informed their loved ones of their sexual orientation. “It’s a very sensitive situation. What we know is that in order to get here one must come here especially. This was not some random shooting,” he said.

Anne Heche On Her Mother’s Ex-Gay Activism

This weekend’s New York Times Magazine has an in-depth account of bisexual actress Anne Hesche, whose mother Nancy Heche is a regular speaker at the Love Won Out ex-gay conferences put on by Focus On the Family and Exodus International. Anne has spoken out against her mother’s activities before, but in this piece, she gives some possible insight into what motivates her mother:

Anne\’s account in her own memoir of her father\’s sexual abuse and her mother\’s denial of it is devastating. She writes that Nancy Heche told her that as an infant she couldn\’t diaper Anne properly because of sores and rashes she had on her vagina but never knew why. Anne got herpes from her father, and in 1983, after he died of AIDS, doctors told her she would have to wait years to learn that she was not infected. She was 14 then; she wrote that the abuse stopped when she was 12.

Heche said that when she called her mother — during her seventh year in therapy — to confront her about the abuse, her mother ended the conversation by saying, “Jesus loves you, Anne,” before hanging up. In her memoir, Nancy Heche, who is now 72, never addresses the issue of Anne\’s abuse. I contacted her publisher, Regal Books, for a response to her daughter\’s comments, and was told by Jackie Morales, its marketing and publicity coordinator, that Nancy\’s agent, Mark Sweeney, said his client would have no comment (though she protested Anne\’s account of events at the time). Perhaps the most damning comment came from Heche, who told me she has never introduced either of her children to her mother.

Nor has she read her mother\’s book. “My mother\’s had a very tragic life,” she said. “Three of her five children are dead, and her husband is dead. That she is attempting to change gay people into straight people is, in my opinion, a way to keep the pain of the truth out. People wonder why I am so forthcoming with the truths that have happened in my life, and it\’s because the lies that I have been surrounded with and the denial that I was raised in, for better or worse, bore a child of truth and love. My mother preaches to this day the opposite of that core of my life. It is no mistake that she still stands up against love. And one wonders why I\’m not rushing to have her meet my children.”

In the talks that Nancy Heche gives to Love Won Out conferences, she credits her own prayers for Anne Heche’s leaving Ellen DeGeneres, her former partner. And in her talk, she then implies that Anne is now straight. But Anne denies that, and ties that tumultuous period in her life to the a psychosis she experienced due to the severe sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

Both women have lived tragic lives. One is confronting it head on and dealing with the aftermath; the other continues to live in denial and encourages others to embrace similar denials. Anne’s path of refusing to live in denial has lead to incredible growth:

I had a mother whose whole life was based on not looking around or knowing anything. If you\’re a man who\’s living with that kind of woman, you\’re keeping her in a bubble so that you can do whatever you want. It\’s not a big mystery how people hide abuse. They keep somebody in a bubble, and they go and do whatever the hell they want, and the person in the bubble says: ‘I love my bubble. This is the only bubble I\’ve ever known, and I don\’t want out of my bubble.\’ Then 20 years later, you\’re confronted with truths that happened from all of your children, and you say, ‘I was in a bubble.\’ ” She sighed. “There\’s no mystery to any life story. How do you think I turned out the way that I am? Because every single thing in my life leads to it. Every single thing in her life leads to where she is — still living in a bubble. Exactly where she always wanted to be. There\’s not a lot of mystery. It\’s why my brother ended up on the side of a road.” She stopped talking then and looked at me, seeming suddenly to realize someone else was there. She took a deep breath. “I hear people\’s stories,” she said quietly, “and I\’m so touched by how people survive their lives.”

Radio Appearance This Afternoon

I will be on Jack E. Jett’s radio program on Dallas’ KMNY, 1360 a.m., also known as Rational Radio, North Texas’ only progressive talk radio. The Jack E. Jett Show starts at 1:00 p.m. CST, and is rebroadcast at midnight. You can listen online here. I understand Bruce Valanch may be cohosting, and since Jack is known for his own irreverent style, I have no idea what to expect. It should be fun though.

2009 Anti-Heterosexism Conference Called to Counter NARTH Annual Conference

The National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) will hold its annual conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, in November, where they will push their claim among themselves and in the media that people can and ought to “change” their sexual orientation. In pushing their message, they have already pointed to examples from the 1950s through the 1980s when gays and lesbians underwent torturous electric shock aversion therapy. Is this what NARTH would have for our future?

We believe there is a better way. That’s why we are pleased to announce:

On Friday, November 20, Beyond Ex-Gay will hold a pre-conference institute for ex-gay survivors and allies. The conference itself will begin Friday evening and continue through Sunday morning. A full day of speakers and workshops are being planned, with topics touching on:

• Understanding the Harm Caused By Heterosexism
• Best Practices for Undoing Heterosexism
• The Dangers of Reparative Therapy, Ex-Gay Ministries, and Efforts to Change Sexual Orientation
• History & Practices of Reparative Therapy and Ex-Gay Ministries
• Therapeutic Models for Helping LGBT People in Health and Mental Health Care
• The Connection Between Religion, Heterosexism, and Reparative Therapy
• Intersections Between Heterosexism, Racism, Sexism, Capitalism, etc.
• The Healthy Reconciliation of Sexuality and Spirituality
• Reflections on the Ex-Gay Experience
• Impacting the Media: Strategies for Sharing Your Story with Confidence
• Building Healthy Relationships After an Ex-Gay Experience
• Ethical Dilemmas Associated with Reparative Therapy & Ex-Gay Ministries
• Social Science Research on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity
• LGBT Families and Parenting
• Nonviolent Activism and Advocacy Strategies
• Becoming a Powerful Ally

If you are interested in conducting a workshop, you can find an application with instructions at the Soulforce web site. Deadline for applications for workshops is August 29. Information on registration will be available in a couple of weeks. I hope to see you there.

Sailor Accused of Killing August Provost Commits Suicide

Seaman August Provost

The murder case of August Provost, the bisexual sailor who was found dead and burned at his guard post at Camp Pendleton, has taken a surprising turn. The suspect in the case was found dead in his cell yesterday afternoon:

Jonathan Campos, 32, of Lancaster, was found unresponsive in his cell at about 12:20 p.m., taken to the base hospital and declared dead about 1:15 p.m.,the Los Angeles Times reported.

Campos, a petty officer 2nd class, apparently asphyxiated himself with toilet paper. He had been on suicide watch in the brig and was last checked at 11:45 a.m., according to a Navy written statement.

A full statement from the Navy can be found here. Campos was charged with murder, drug possession, burglary and several other crimes. According to Navy investigators, Campos shot Provost, who was standing guard duty at the time, as Campos was trying to get onto the base to destroy property and attack other sailors. Navy investigators say there is no evidence that Provost’s death was the result of a hate crime.

Harvey Milk, Billie Jean King To Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom

The White House yesterday announced “sixteen agents of change” to recieve the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Among the sixteen are Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King. Focus On the Family, predictably, is having a complete meltdown over it.

Caught On Video: LDS Security Guards Hauling Off Kissing Couple

The Salt Lake City Tribune has posted video of security guards from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints confronting a gay couple after they kissed on the LDS plaza in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 9, 2009. The video was made available through an open records request with Salt Lake City. Missing from the video clip is the couple’s kiss that started it all.

City prosecutors have dropped tresspassing charges against Derek Jones and Matt Aune because the church failed to properly mark the open plaza as private property.

Ft. Worth Task Force Recommends Protections for Transgender People

From The Dallas Voice:

The Fort Worth Human Relations Commission this week voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling for the city to amend its anti-discrimination policy to include protections for transgenders. The resolution now goes to the new City Manager\’s Diversity Task Force, and then on to the City Council for final approval.

The City Manager’s Diversity Task force was established by the city in the wake of last month’s raid of the Rainbow Lounge by Ft. Worth police and agents from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. But according to Human Rights Commission member Lisa Thomas, this particular police recommendation from the Commission was was the result of more than a year’s worth of work. Several transgender residents spoke before the commission last March to talk about the discrimination they face at work and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, that newly formed Diversity Task Force, which met for the first time on July 23, discussed providing partner benefits to city employees. They are also taking up issues surrounding diversity training and LGBT economic development (i.e. resources for businesses and tourism).

Young Republican Tells Party “You Have to Change”

For your Friday reading pleasure, let me recommend this op-ed in the Minneapolis – St. Paul Star Tribune by Madeline Koch, a young Republican with some advice for the Party:

Even though I am a proud Republican, I am just as likely to be found backing up my political affiliation with how I think our party must adapt if there is any hope for survival.

Not surprisingly, we young voters will play a large role in the future of the Republican Party, but first our governing officials must listen to us.

And Madeline is very clear on where the party can start if it wants to reach younger Americans.

First: We want gay marriage. Though we may not all be willing to march in the Pride parades or even send fiery letters to our congressmen about it, most of us believe that gay couples deserve the right to be legally wed. I can guarantee you this: The issue of gay marriage is not going to go away, and unless you start shifting within the Republican Party, you will not gain our support.

I agree with Madeline. If the Party wants to survive it needs to change. Perhaps with more voices of young Republicans – or those in more liberal states – this message will start to take hold.