Gay City News May 14, 2009

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MAY 14-27, 2009VOL. EIGHT, ISS. 10

OUTRAGE

16

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CRIME

DA Probe Appears Stalled

BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

W

hile activists and elected offi-cials believed that District Attorney Robert Morgenthaupromised at a March 6 meeting to inves-tigate the arrests of gay and bisexualmen in Manhattan porn shops, com-ments made by an assistant district attorney during a trial suggest that any such investigation has produced littleinformation.“Have there been any conclusionsreached in this investigation?” said Rich-ard M. Weinberg, the judge who presidesin Midtown Community Court, at thestart of a May 5 prostitution trial. Andres Torres, the assistant district attorney who was handling the case, said “No, your honor.” The questioning came as Linda

BY PAUL SCHINDLER

A

fter an emotional debate that ranmore than three hours — about as long as when the question wasfirst taken up in 2007 — the New York State Assembly passed Governor DavidPaterson’s marriage equality bill on May 12, by an 89-52 vote. In June 2007, themeasure carried with an 85-61 margin, but was not considered by the State Sen-ate, then controlled by Republicans. This year, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens, whose cau-cus has only a 32-30 edge, has pledgedhis support, though he has consistently said he would bring the measure to thefloor only when he is confident it willcarry. This year’s session ends in June. As the Assembly debate unfolded,however, Smith made his strongest statement on the prospects for the bill.“The momentum is shifting — marriageequality will be a reality in New York and I welcome that day,” Smith said in

G A Y C I T Y N E W S

SENATOR TOM DUANE’S JOB NOW IS TO MOVE MARRIAGE EQUALITY BY JUNE’S END

GOOCH P. 28DA PROBE P. 8

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EDITORIAL

Answer the attacks

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PANIC DEFENSE

Did “sexual predator”invite 50 stab wounds?

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BEING MALCOLM

The task before theState Senate leader

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In this issue:

ASSEMBLY P. 4

Grand Reopening Party Fri. May 15th

185 Christopher Street, New York, NY



Big Assembly Win SendsMarriage Bill to Senate

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BOOKS

TacklingSouthernGothic’s Queen

BY MICHAEL EHRHARDT

B

rad Gooch has fulfilled a longharbored wish to write the defin-itive biography of the queen of grotesque “grit-lit,” Flannery O’Connor,and it was well worth the two decades’ wait. Gooch, who confesses a “literary fascination” with his subject, has hand-ily tackled the life of this recondite andcanonic American writer who died fromlupus at age 39. Long before John Ber-endt’s “Midnight in the Garden of Goodand Evil” chronicled the eccentric char-acters and macabre manners of theinhabitants of Savannah, Georgia, the

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MAY

2009

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Human Rights

BY DOUG IRELAND

I

n an almost unheardof event for the Arab world, Lebanon’s LGBT group held a gay rightsdemonstration on May 10in downtown Beirut, withseveral dozen demonstra-tors carrying rainbow flags and signs in Arabic,English, and French. Thedemonstration was orga-nized by HELEM, whichis the Arabic acronym for Lebanese Protection for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexu-als, Transgenders, andQueers; the word “helem”is also Arabic for “dream.”It was intended as part of HELEM’s new campaign torepeal Article 534 of Leba-non’s penal code, whichprohibits sexual relationsthat “contradict the laws of nature” and carries a one- year prison term.HELEM is the only LGBT organization ableto operate openly in any Arab country, and was therecipient of the 2009 Felicede Souza Award given by the International Gay andLesbian Human RightsCommission. HELEMoperates a walk-in LGBT community center in a beautiful French colo-nial building not far fromdowntown Beirut. Turkey, the only other largely Muslim country inthe region with open LGBT groups, is not Arab, andgroups representing gaysand especially the trans-gendered in Turkey have been under increasinglegal attack by the Islamist government now in power there to ban them, takingsteps that have enflamedrising anti-gay and anti-trans violence in the coun-try. ASWAT, which billsitself as an organization of “Palestinian gay women,”operates from Israel but cannot do so openly in theterritories controlled by the Palestinian Authority.Iraqi LGBT, headquarteredin London, has membersand informants through-out Iraq, but its opera-tions there are totally clan-destine, and 17 of its gay activists inside Iraq have been murdered for their membership in the groupin the four-year-old “sexu-al cleansing” murder cam-paign by anti-gay Shiitedeath squads. At the sametime, Iraqi LGBT is charac-terized by the current gov-ernment as an “unauthor-ized terrorist organization,”and five members of thegroup arrested and givena hasty star chamber trialon charges of belonging tosuch an organization arein prison and believed to be awaiting execution. The Sunday demonstra-tion in Beirut was the sec-ond organized by HELEMthis year. A slightly smaller action was held in Febru-ary to protest an extreme-ly violent attack on twogay men by the Lebanese Army. In that homopho- bic incident, the two men,seen making out in a door- way on the Place Sass-ine, were arrested by an Army patrol and severely beaten bloody in the street with rifle butts, fists, and boot kicks as a crowd of onlookers who poured out of nearby cafes watched. According to HELEM,“State agents’ behavior with LGBT individualsin Lebanon is marred by a string of human rights violations as well as by fre-quent violations of Leba-nese law. State intelligenceservices used informer net- works and lengthy interro-gations of LGBT detaineesin order to gather informa-tion on suspects.” Policekeep records of LGBT sus-pects and of the placesthey frequent, which arekept under surveillance. The group added, “TheInternal Security Forceshave been given a discre-tionary authorization tocensor all foreign maga-zines and non-periodical works, as well as foreignand local plays, books,and films, before they weredistributed in the market. They also continue to con-fiscate personal LGBT pub-lications from their ownersat the Beirut International Airport. They even scru-tinize private mail enter-ing or exiting the country,confiscating LGBT books,magazines, and films.”In connection with theInternational Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) — observed in more than 60countries each May 17in commemoration of the World Health Organiza-tion’s removal in 1993 of homosexuality from itslist of mental disorders,HELEM is sponsoring this weekend a decriminaliza-tion rally and concert for repeal of Article 534, to beheld at the Babel Theater in Beirut.In addition to counsel-ing, consciousness-rais-ing, AIDS prevention, andother educational servicesthat HELEM provides at its community center, thegroup has recently beenmaking a particular effort to aid the growing number of Iraqi gays fleeing to Leb-anon to escape the cam-paign of assassinations intheir home country. The May 3 HuffingtonPost carried an article by Lebanon-based journal-ist Meris Lutz in whichshe interviewed one suchnew refugee, a 21-year-oldcode-named “Hassan” (theinterview was arranged by HELEM director Georges Azzi, who accompanied“Hassan.”) The Iraqi youthtold the journalist of “three weeks of rape and tortureat the hands of the IraqiMinistry of Interior, fol-lowed by a month of livingas a fugitive before fleeingto Lebanon.” The Huffington Post added, “According to Iraqisand human rights workersinterviewed for this post,some sort of understand-ing was reached betweenthe Iraqi government andthe Mahdi Army to ‘cleanse’Iraq of homosexuals.” Lutz wrote, “According to Has-san and M.M., another gay Iraqi who fled to Jordanand eventually made his way to Lebanon, [radicalIslamist cleric and Mahdi Army leader] Muqtada al-Sadr was given the greenlight from the government to attack homosexualsafter video footage of a private party attended by gays, lesbians, and trans-sexuals began circulatingIraq. Neither had attend-ed the party or seen thefootage, but several oth-ers confirmed they hadheard the rumor. The BBCrecently posted a number of videos depicting homo-sexuals and cross dressers being harassed by security forces. The video provideda pretext for the Mahdi Army, partially disbandedand discredited, to recon-stitute itself as a morality force. Other armed groups were not far behind.” The Huffington Post’s journalist reported that Human Rights Watchstaffers returning from a trip to Iraq were amongthe human rights workersshe interviwed who con-firmed the account of thenew agreement betweenal-Sadr and the Iraqi gov-ernment to “cleanse” thecountry of homosexuals.

The web site of the Leba- nese LGBT group HELEM, in English, Arabic, and French,is at helem.net/. The Huff- ington Post interview with the young gay Iraqui refugee in Lebanon is at huffingtonpost.com/meris-lutz/the-pink-army_b_195282.html. Doug Ireland may be reached through his blog,DIRELAND, at http://direland.typepad.com/.

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Gays Turn Out in Beirut

Open show of LGBT pride almost never seen in Arab world

A poster demanding the decriminalization of homosexuality to be used in another LGBT rights demonstration planned forBeirut on May 16.

H E L E M . N E T

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14 – 27

MAY

2009

GAY CHRISTOPHER STREET

Opening party

Friday May 15th 9PM till 4AM

Happy Hour - 12 - 9 pm Daily

185 Christopher Street 212-242-9113

Wednesday Night Karaokestarting at 9pm Staring ShowBiz Spitﬁre Paige Turner

Starting May 20th and everyWednesday there after

Mon-Fri 2pm-4am Sat-Sun 1pm-4amHappy Hour 4pm-8pm Sat & Sun Beer Blast 2-8pm

Fire Flag/EMS Firemen’s beneﬁt 2nd Tuesday of the month. Supporting LGBT uniformedprofessionals 50/50 Rafﬂe

114 Christopher St.

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HAPPY HOUR

3 P.M. – 9 P.M.

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212-633-1986

www.bootsandsaddlenyc.com

BY DUNCAN OSBORNE

T

he attorney for a 16-year-old whoallegedly mur-dered a gay journalist inBrooklyn’s Cobble Hillneighborhood arguedthat his client wasdefending himself from a sexual assault when hestabbed the 47-year-oldradio anchor.“He’s absolutely the victim, morally, he’s the victim,” said Jeffery T.Schwartz, referring tohis client John Katehis,following a May 8 court appearance. Allegedly, George Weber offered to pay Katehis $60 to smother him in a March 20 Craig-slist exchange. Kate-his traveled from hishome in Queens, wherehe lived with his par-ents, to Weber’s home.Once there, Weber gaveKatehis some beer andcocaine, which madeKatehis “jumpy,” he wrote in a statement hegave to police. The twothen moved to Weber’s bedroom where Katehis began to bind Weber’slegs with duct tape. Weber then took a knifeout of his pocket. “Hetook it out just to show it to me, but I got ner- vous and grabbed for theknife,” Katehis wrote. “I was able to turn the knife back toward George andpush it toward him, acci-dentally stabbing him inthe neck.”Police have alleged that Katehis stabbed Weber 50 times.Because the age of con-sent in New York is 17,Schwartz, who referred toKatehis as a “16-year-oldchild” during the hearing,argued that the encoun-ter was per se a sexualassault. Under New York law, a person who is over 21 who has sex withsomeone under 17 can becharged with third-degreerape, an E felony, the low-est level felony.“As a matter of law, it was a sexual assault,”Schwartz told the presslater. “He had an absoluteright to defend himself.”It is not clear that smothering would legally be viewed as a sexualencounter. Indeed, Kate-his’ description in his written statement sug-gests that the two never removed any clothing,kissed, or engaged in any behavior usually associ-ated with sex.It is, however, likely that most juries wouldnot care about such hair-splitting and would takea dim view of a 47-year-old paying a 16-year-oldfor anything remotely resembling sex. Cer-tainly, giving a 16-year-old beer and cocaine is a crime. The defense that Schwartz proposes,assuming he moves for- ward with it, is relatedto homosexual panicdefenses that attorneyshave used for decades to win acquittals for their clients in attacks on gay men and, more recently,transgendered people.Katehis faces onecount of second-degreemurder and one weap-ons possession count inthe killing. He could get as much as 25-years-to-life if convicted.Schwartz was not simply previewing hisdefense. Because Weber belonged to the fraternity of New York City journal-ists, the press coverageof the killing has tendedto present him favorably and Katehis as a dement-ed kid with an unhealthy obsession with violenceand knives. Schwartzsaid explicitly that he was countering that mes-sage.During the hearing,Schwartz said Weber hada “long history of tryingto prey on young chil-dren” and that “smother- boy” was a screen name Weber used when he“attempted to lure other underage boys to hislair.”Schwartz also came out aggressively against theBrooklyn district attor-ney. The May 8 hearing was intended to releasethe indictment against Katehis and its sup-porting documents, but Schwartz presented thecourt with motions seek-ing evidence from the dis-trict attorney that would vindicate his client.“We’re very specific inour requests,” he told Judge Neil J. Firetog. When talking to the presslater, Schwartz said he was seeking copies of thehard drives of Weber’sand Katehis’ computers. Typically, such motionscome much later in thelegal process.Schwartz also moved toset bail for Katehis, whohas been held on RikersIsland since his March24 arrest. When Firetogsaid he would read theindictment, grand jury minutes, and supportingdocuments, and rule onthat motion on July 17,Schwartz said he wouldappeal that decision,then pressed for argu-ment so he would have a record on which to basean appeal.“Based on what you’resaying, judge, this child will have to stay in jailfor another two months,”Schwartz said.Firetog cut off Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi, the pros-ecutor in the case, whenshe said she wanted torespond to Schwartz.Nicolazzi declined tocomment following thehearing.

A picture found on 16-year-old John Katehis’ MySpace page at the time of hisarrest.

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CRIME

Panic Defense on Tap

Defense charges George Weber was a sexual predator

Most juries would take a dim view of a 47-year-old payinga 16-year-old for anythingremotely resembling sex.

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