Michael Dithers


by Michael Mahler


Hope that everyone is having a great month! We here at Erie Gay News are very proud to bring you the directory of wedding officiants in this month's issue. In addition to government and secular resources, I am very proud of the fact that we have several different faith traditions represented among the various clergy. I think that this helps even those who are not necessarily looking to be married to see that there are LGBT friendly/welcoming faith centers in our area.


Greater Erie Alliance for Equality (GEAE) and NW PA Pride Alliance (NWPAPA) have started on a joint project of an LGBT Roundtable. The first phase involves a needs assessment, and the focus is on groups/organizations. Representatives from several groups met on February 21 at the Maennerchor Club, and there was a lot of great dialogue. There will be another meeting within the month for organizations and groups that weren't able to be at the first meeting. If your group would like to be part of this, please contact Will Koehler at wkoehler@edinboro.edu. We will have a more in depth article about this in the next issue of Erie Gay News.


Drenched Fur, Erie's annual Bear run, is shaping up very well for April. In addition, we have had some great Bear Bar Nights at the Zone the first Friday of each month (see the photo gallery page), as well as our monthly Bears Do Dinner. More info at www.drenchedfur.com,


Growing up, my family always had cats, and I have had cats most of my adult. However, since the death of my cat Puck this past Labor Day, I have been without feline company. On Groundhog Day, I went to the Anna Shelter with my friend Matthew. There were some wonderful pets for adoption, and I left with Oscar Wildecat, who is an orange tabby and a little over a year old, and Hades Cat-thulhu, who is a black domestic shorthair and about 4 1/2 years old. (In my opinion, it's simply not a home without a black cat.) They are both ridiculously adorable and wonderfully affectionate. My two dogs, Hecate Sable and Heracles Turlough, get along with them fairly well.

About the Author

Michael Mahler Michael Kenton Mahler (He/Him) has been the editor of Erie Gay News since it was founded in December 1992. He is also a founding member of NWPA Pride Alliance. He serves on the Governor's Commission for LGBTQ Affairs and is active with Aging with Pride and the Erie County HIV Task Force. He became the first LGBTQ person to be fully out in May 1992 when appearing on local TV coverage. Michael currently works as a software developer for Erie Custom Computer Applications.