January, 2017 News (46 Articles with 184,288 total views)

On the cover of the print edition for January, 2017 WORLD AIDS DAY EVENT AT ZONE: On Thursday, December 1, 2016, Erie Awareness Outreach organized a World AIDS Day event at The Zone Dance Club, 133 W 18th St, Erie PA. The event included performances by Michelle Michaels, Misty Michaels Kall, Jill Jamison, Twerkzilla, and Shun. Special guest DJ was BlackCat from Toronto. There was also a twerking competition. In addition, Erie County Department of Health provided free, rapid HIV and syphilis testing. Photo Mike Mahler

This began publication in December 2002 after a hiatus

Go to issue for

Category for this issue

Calendar & Upcoming Events

Calendar of Local GLBT Events

Up to date listing of events and meetings.

Local and Regional News

New Erie Gay News Folding Location Will Be at Lake Erie Counseling

New Erie Gay News Folding Location Will Be at Lake Erie Counseling
Please note that beginning on January 24, 2017, Erie Gay News folding and distribution work parties will be held at Lake Erie Counseling, 301 W 10th St, Erie PA. Folding will still always be on a Tuesday at 7 PM, and the schedule for folding is set through the end of 2017. Volunteers are always appreciated, and this is a great wy to meet folks while helping the community. Great big thanks to Lake Erie Counseling for hosting!
Read more...

NW PA Pride Alliance Thanks 2016 Donors & Supporters

This year was a year of firsts for NW PA Pride Alliance. This was our first full year of being a 501c3. Many things remained the same, but together with the support of our donors and the Erie community, we added even more visibility to the LGBTQIA community. In addition to our Pride Picnic on June 4 and our PrideFest and March on August 27, we added a Painting with Pride night in the spring and early winter, partnered with the Erie Seawolves for our 3rd annual Pride Night, partnered with the Zone Dance Club for a Pride Kickoff party the night before Pridefest, and also partnered with Waldameer Park and Water World for the first Pride Day at the Park the day after PrideFest.
Read more...

NW PA Pride Alliance 2017 Pride Logo Design Contest - Win $100! Theme is 25 Years of Pride

NW PA Pride Alliance will be accepting design entries through March 1 for the 2017 Pride logo. The theme for 2017 Pride is "25 Years of Pride!" We hope that your design will include the official Pride theme. This year’s Pride Picnic will be the 25th anniversary
Read more...

17th Annual Lake Erie Gala a Success!

The Erie Sisters and Brothers Transgender Support Group held their 17th Annual Lake Erie Gala on Wednesday, November 16 through Sunday, November 20 at the Bel Aire/Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, 2800 W 8th St, Erie PA. About 70 people attended the event.
Read more...

NW PA Pride Alliance Painting with Pride 2 at Dramashop

On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, NW PA Pride Alliance and Dramashop held Painting With Pride 2, a joint fundraiser at Dramashop, 1001 State St, Erie PA. Thanks go out to Angela, our instructor, and Dickey's Barbecue Pit for the use of tables. The event was well attended and very enjoyable.
Read more...

World AIDS Day event at The Zone Dance Club

On Thursday, December 1, 2016, Erie Awareness Outreach organized a World AIDS Day event at The Zone Dance Club, 133 W 18th St, Erie PA. The event included performances by Michelle Michaels, Misty Michaels Kall, Jill Jamison, Twerkzilla, and Shun. Special guest DJ was BlackCat from Toronto. There was also a twerking competition. In addition, Erie County Department of Health provided free, rapid HIV and syphilis testing, and Community Health Net also had testing information.
Read more...

Deadline for January 2017 print edition (issue # 254) of Erie Gay News is Monday, December 12

Deadline for January 2017 print edition (issue # 254) of Erie Gay News is Monday, December 12
For the next print edition of Erie Gay News (issue # 254, cover dated for January 2017), please send in calendar events, news items, and other info for late December 2016 and beyond by Monday, December 12. We expect that the next print edition will come out on Tuesday, December 20.  This will be our 24th anniversary issue!
Read more...

Entertainment and Travel

Earth Stories Exhibition at Erie Art Museum

December 29, 2016, Erie, Pennsylvania – The Erie Art Museum is pleased to present a new Bacon Gallery exhibition, Earth Stories. The show will run from January 20, 2017 through June 11, 2017. Earth Stories, a traveling textile exhibit juried by quilt historian Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi and curated by Leni Levenson Wiener of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Earth Stories showcases work from 24 contemporary international fiber artists, each inspired by issues of environmental concern. Employing a variety of techniques including painting, dyeing, drawing, photo transfer, patchwork, collage, and appliqué into compositions that range from abstract to figurative to graphic, these artists stitch stories of social, economic, and geopolitical significance. This exhibit celebrates stories of people and projects working to protect and restore natural lands and endangered species, increase sustainability through new approaches to agriculture and energy consumption, and otherwise improve the planet we live in.
Read more...

Local Faces and Photos

Photo Galleries for 2016

Photo Galleries for 2016
Check out all of our photo galleries for 2016. The Erie PA region saw many terrific, important and historical events! You can see them all here. Pride events, vigils and memorials, fundraisers and charity events, people we lost and so much more! Be sure to check out what Erie's LGBT community did in 2016!
Read more...

Political, Activism and Legal

Thwarted Attempt to Defund the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Two days before Christmas, a group of conservative states at the United Nations made a final attempt to stop the Independent Expert on the "protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," by stripping the mandate of standard UN fundin
Read more...

Shameful! NC Fails to Repeal HB 2

December 21, 2016 - A deal to repeal North Carolina's anti-LGBTQ law, HB 2, failed to materialize on Wednesday. The city of Charlotte upheld their side of the bargain and repealed their nondiscrimination ordinance on Tuesday after an agreement with the Legislature was reached to repeal HB 2. Negotiations unraveled as Senators added discriminatory amendments that could not garner a majority vote.
Read more...

ACLU and Lambda Legal Condemn North Carolina Lawmakers' Failure to Repeal H.B. 2

RALEIGH - Decmber 21, 2016 –The North Carolina legislature today convened for a special session where it failed to pass a bill repealing H.B. 2, the state's sweeping anti-LGBT law.
Read more...

TLC condemns North Carolina legislature and calls for full, immediate repeal of HB2

December 20, 2016 - Today, North Carolina legislators convened a special session and proposed a bill that they claim would repeal HB2, but which would in fact keep in place key parts of the law for six months. Transgender Law Center executive director Kris Hayashi released the following statement: "Today, following months of public outcry, community mobilization, and economic backlash, the North Carolina legislature promised but failed to fully repeal their notorious law targeting transgender people and workers in the state. Instead of the straight-forward repeal they promised, they have proposed another terrible provision banning local towns and cities from setting policies to meet the needs of their communities for the next six months.
Read more...

Equality Prevails at UN General Assembly; SOGI Independent Expert Position Protected

December 19, 2016 - Today in the United Nations General Assembly, a cross-regional group of states affirmed the principles of universal human rights by blocking a hostile attempt to prevent the work established by the UN Human Rights Council of the Independent Expert on Discrimination and Violence based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identit
Read more...

North Carolina's Anti-LGBTQ Law HB 2 Set For Repeal!

December 19, 2016 - North Carolina Governor-Elect Roy Cooper and Governor Pat McCrory have announced a deal, along with the state legislature and city of Charlotte, to repeal HB 2, the state's notorious anti-LGBTQ law. In exchange for Charlotte repealing its nondiscrimination ordinance, the state legislature is expected to repeal HB 2 on Tuesday.
Read more...

ACLU and Lambda Legal Comment on Expected Vote to Repeal HB2

RALEIGH, N.C. - December 19, 2016 - In a move that could lead to the repeal of North Carolina's anti-LGBT law, H.B. 2, the Charlotte City Council voted today to repeal its LGBT non-discrimination ordinance. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal today called on North Carolina legislative leaders to follow through and repeal H.B. 2, the state law that bans many transgender people from appropriate restrooms and prohibits local municipalities from extending nondiscrimination protections to LGBT people. The law caused harm to transgender people across the state and cost North Carolina hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue because of widespread opposition to the measure from both the general public and business community.
Read more...

LGBT Organizations See Continued Financial Growth and Stability

(DENVER, December 15, 2016) - 2015 held many changes for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations and their funders, especially as a result of the Supreme Court's decisive ruling that expanded the freedom to marry nationwide. As a few major organizations closed their doors declaring their mission accomplished, others sought to broaden their work and hold ground against the almost immediate backlash in state legislatures across the country, which included efforts to thwart nondiscrimination protections, broad religious exemption laws, and attacks on transgender people and their ability to participate fully in public life.
Read more...

AFT President on Rev. Barber's Civil Rights Lawsuit Against American Airlines

WASHINGTON - December 14, 2016 -Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II's federal civil rights lawsuit against American Airlines: "It is horrifying that an African-American man on one of America's great airlines was subject to the same racist, discriminatory and humiliating treatment as African-Americans were decades ago. The fact that he happens to be one of the nation's most prominent civil rights leaders gives him the agency to shine a light on this. That American Airlines would treat a major civil rights leader like this is disgraceful and should shock the conscience of all Americans.
Read more...

HRC Highlights Pennsylvania LGBTQ Protections, Laws and Legislative Proposals in New National Report

WASHINGTON - December 14, 2016 – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, in partnership with the Equality Federation, today released its third annual national report assessing the status of state legislation affecting LGBTQ equality across America, including in Pennsylvania.
Read more...

On International Human Rights Day: Global LGBTIQ Activists Urge the Trump Administration to Uphold Human Rights for All

(New York - December 10, 2016) -- LGBTIQ activists from Iraq, Lebanon, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, Sweden, Thailand, and USA gathered at the office of OutRight Action International, formerly the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, in New York City, to discuss the impact of the incoming Trump Administration and urge the President-elect and his administration to maintain US commitment to protecting the human rights of LGBTIQ people globally.
Read more...

Pride at Work Reacts to Secretary of Labor Nomination

Washington - December 8, 2016 - In another case of putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop, today Donald Trump named Andrew Puzder as the Secretary of Labor for his Administration. Puzder is the CEO of CKE restaurants, which owns the Hardees and Carl's Jr. fast food chains. He is strongly opposed to any increases in the minimum wage and wants to see the Affordable Care Act repealed. Pride at Work Executive Director, Jerame Davis, issued the following reaction to Puzder's nomination to head the Department of Labor: "Andrew Puzder's nomination to become the Secretary of Labor is a slap in the face to every working person in America. Here we have a man who makes over a million dollars a year in base salary, but he thinks the minimum wage is too high. Just to prove how out of touch he is with average working people, he also opposes the Affordable Care Act, which has insured over 20 million people - many of whom likely work for Pudzer's company.
Read more...

Large-Scale Survey Reveals Deep Disparities Between Transgender People And General Population

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) released the largest survey of transgender people ever conducted. The findings reveal significant disparities between transgender people and the rest of the U.S. population across a range of categories. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) examined the experiences of transgender people across the United States, with 27,715 respondents from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas. The USTS serves as a follow-up to the groundbreaking 2008-2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), which has been integral in shifting how the public and policymakers view transgender people and the challenges they face.
Read more...

Victory Institute Condemns Trump's Meeting with Ousted Anti-LGBT Governor Pat McCrory

Wednesday, December 7 (Washington, D.C.)- Victory Institute today condemned the meeting between President-elect Donald Trump and former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory – who lost his re-election because of his unwavering support for discrimination against LGBT people. The latest potential anti-LGBT appointment comes as Victory Institute convenes LGBT elected officials from around the nation to strategize opposition to the anti-equality agenda of the new administration. The meeting – at Victory Institute's International LGBT Leaders Conference in Washington, DC – is the largest gathering of LGBT elected officials in the world.
Read more...

LGBT Groups Call On Oakland Authorities and Media to Honor the Names and Genders of Transgender Ghost Ship Fire Victims

(Oakland, December 7, 2016)-In the aftermath of the tragic fire at the Ghost Ship artist community on December 2 that claimed the lives of more than 35 people, local authorities and media have continued to disrespect transgender victims by not honoring their true names and gender identities.
Read more...

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Southern Poverty Law Center Respond to Nationwide Spike in Hate-Filled

WASHINGTON, D.C. and Montgomery, Ala., December 6, 2016 - The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers' Committee) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued the following statement today in response to nationwide spike in hate-filled incidents nationwide. "Hate crimes and hate-filled incidents stand as a dark cloud over our democracy," said Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law President and Executive Director Kristen Clarke. "The recent spike in hate crimes is attributable, in part, to the racially-charged rhetoric that characterized the 2016 election cycle and the rise of "alt-right" white nationalist extremism. This is a moment that calls for federal, state, and local officials to use every tool in their arsenal to fully investigate and prosecute these incidents when they occur."
Read more...

Erie Insurance earns perfect score on 2017 Corporate Equality Index

ERIE, Pa., Dec. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row, Erie Insurance has received a perfect score of 100 on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmark on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality. The index is administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Read more...

Record Number of Top U.S. Companies Embracing Inclusive Policies for LGBTQ Workers

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's major companies and law firms are advancing in record numbers vital policies and practices to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workers around the world, according to the 2017 Corporate Equality Index released today by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest LGBTQ civil rights organization.
Read more...

HRC Scores LGBT-Inclusive Workplace Policies of Pennsylvania Companies in New Corporate Equality Index

WASHINGTON - December 5, 2016 - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released the 2017 Corporate Equality Index, an annual report assessing LGBT inclusion in major companies and law firms across the nation, including 45 in Pennsylvania.
Read more...

ACLU And LGBT Groups Call on Obama to Grant Clemency to Chelsea Manning

WASHINGTON - December 5, 2016 - The American Civil Liberties Union and over a dozen LGBT groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama today urging the commutation of Chelsea Manning's sentence for disclosing classified information to the media to raise public awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians. Manning is in the seventh year of a 35-year sentence.
Read more...

NCAVP mourns the intimate partner violence homicide of Dalia Elhefny Sabae in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

December 5, 2016 - The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has learned of the intimate partner violence homicide of Dalia Elhefny Sabae, age 28, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania which occurred on November 10, 2016.  According to media reports, Sabae, a bisexual woman, was allegedly killed by her husband, Michael Cwiklinski, age 47, against whom she had sought Orders of Protection in the past. During the homicide, a responding police officer was also killed, and Cwiklinski committed suicide. Sabae was 6 months pregnant at the time she was killed.
Read more...

Health

All I want for Christmas is the Perfect Relationship

As Christmas nears, many of my single clients want Santa to bring them the perfect relationship and leave it under the tree (nicely-wrapped, of course). As a psychotherapist, I am happy to play cupid, but I insist on being a cupid based in reality. In this column, I'll include questions you can ask yourself to increase the likelihood of finding that perfect woman/man under your Christmas tree!
Read more...

Erie County HIV TASK Force World AIDS Day presentation at Blasco Public Library

On Thursday, December 1, 2016, Erie County HIV Task Force had a presentation for World AIDS Day at the Blasco Public Library, 160 E Front St, Erie PA. The event included a display of AIDS quilt panels and other HIV-related art work. Speakers included Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper, Laura Beckes and Sylvia Holland of Erie County Department of Health, and Maria, a woman living with HIV. There was local media coverage by both TV news crews and Erie Times-News. Other elected officials attending included PA State Senator Elect Dan Laughlin and Erie County Councilmember Jay Breneman. The event was well-attended and well received.
Read more...

Letters, Columnists and Opinion

The Amazon Trail: Our Neighbor's Cat's Nephew

After the doom and gloom of our fall-and boy did moods around here fall-I've noticed, with the approach of the holidays, an unusually earnest air of festivity around town. People crave more light in winter; this year our neighborhood seems to be going all out on bright decorations. Homes that have never boasted more than a wreath in past years have strung up a sunrise of red and green and white and yellow-and purple-bulbs. And all the wreaths wear big red ribbons.
Read more...

Contests

Enter for a chance to win The Secret Life of Lilykins by Max Goodman!

Enter for a chance to win The Secret Life of Lilykins by Max Goodman!
Enter for a chance to win The Secret Life of Lilykins by Max Goodman! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, January 20 and Friday, February 10.
Read more...

Enter to win Retake DVD from Breaking Glass Pictures!

Enter to win Retake DVD from Breaking Glass Pictures!
Enter to win Retake DVD from Breaking Glass Pictures!To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Tuesday, January 17 and Tuesday, February 7.
Read more...

Enter to win BOYSTOWN Season Six by Jake Biondi!

Enter to win BOYSTOWN Season Six by Jake Biondi!
Enter to win BOYSTOWN Season Six by Jake Biondi! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, January 13 and Friday, February 3.
Read more...

Enter to win a digital copy of Just Say from KDA feat. Tinashe!

Enter to win a digital copy of Just Say from KDA feat. Tinashe!
Enter to win a digital copy of Just Say from KDA feat. Tinashe! "JUST SAY" featt. TINASHE, The hit single from London-based DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist KDA. Available Now! Win "Just Say" featt. Tinashe remix download cards with mixes from Joshua James, Kabuki and more! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Tuesday, January 10 and Tuesday, January 31.
Read more...

Enter to win Rainbow Gap by Lee Lynch!

Enter to win Rainbow Gap by Lee Lynch!
Enter to win Rainbow Gap by Lee Lynch! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, January 6 and Friday, January 27.
Read more...

Enter to win Best Gay Erotica of the Year Volume 2: Warlords and Warriors autographed paperback by Rob Rosen!

Enter to win Best Gay Erotica of the Year Volume 2: Warlords and Warriors autographed paperback by Rob Rosen!
Enter to win Best Gay Erotica of the Year Volume 2: Warlords and Warriors autographed paperback by Rob Rosen! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Tuesday, January 3 and Tuesday, January 24.
Read more...

Enter to win Black Kettle by Jason Leclerc!

Enter to win Black Kettle by Jason Leclerc!
Enter to win Black Kettle by Jason Leclerc! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, December 30 and Friday, January 20.
Read more...

Enter to win Get Together (Ft. Twisted Dee) and remix EP by Christine Saade!

Enter to win Get Together (Ft. Twisted Dee) and remix EP by Christine Saade!
Enter to win Get Together (Ft. Twisted Dee) and remix EP by Christine Saade! To enter the contest, fill out the form below between Tuesday, December 27 and Tuesday, January 17
Read more...

Enter for a chance to win a digital download of A Christmas Carl: A Gay Retelling of A Christmas Carol by Ryan Field!

Enter for a chance to win a digital download of A Christmas Carl: A Gay Retelling of A Christmas Carol by Ryan Field!
Enter for a chance to win a digital download of A Christmas Carl: A Gay Retelling of A Christmas Carol by Ryan Field! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, December 23 and Friday, January 13.
Read more...

Enter for a chance to win a Passengers bluetooth speaker and shirt!

Enter for a chance to win a Passengers bluetooth speaker and shirt!
Enter for a chance to win a Passengers bluetooth speaker and shirt!

Columbia Pictures presents Passengers

Nothing happens by accident. Jennifer Lawrence (Aurora) and Chris Pratt (Jim) star in an exciting action-thriller about two passengers who are on a 120-year journey to another planet when their hibernation pods wake them 90 years too early. Jim and Aurora are forced to unravel the mystery behind the malfunction as the ship teeters on the brink of collapse, with the lives of thousands of passengers in jeopardy. To enter the contest, fill out the form below between Tuesday, December 20 and Tuesday, January 10.

Read more...

Enter to win a Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Combo Pack!

Enter to win a Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Combo Pack!
Enter to win a Florence Foster Jenkins Blu-ray Combo Pack! Every voice deserves to be heard. Florence Foster Jenkins Based on the incredible true story, Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep stars as a New York socialite who dreams of becoming a great opera singer. While the voice she hears in her head is beautiful, to everyone else it is hilariously awful. Her husband and biggest fan, St. Clair Bayfield (Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant) is determined to protect his beloved Florence from the truth. But when Florence stages a huge concert at Carnegie Hall, he faces his greatest challenge to make sure her performance hits all the right notes. To enter the contest, fill out the form below between Tuesday, December 20 and Tuesday, January 10.
Read more...

Enter to win Dance Again from Jennifer Lopez!

Enter to win Dance Again from Jennifer Lopez!
Enter to win Dance Again from Jennifer Lopez! To enter the contest, fill out the form here between Friday, December 16 and Friday, January 6. The DVD release date is December 6.
Read more...

History

A Look Back at 2016 for Erie's LGBT Community

A Look Back at 2016 for Erie's LGBT Community
Erie Gay News looks back at 2016 for our region's happenings and news for the year. We also will have an updated LGBT history page for our region, which covers events from the 1960's up to the end of 2016.
Read more...

Videos

Videos

Photo Galleries

Photos

Advertisers

Advertisers

Volunteers

Thanks

Connect with us