Wisconsin Gaze

The Janesville Alcohol License Advisory Committee voted 3-1 against issuing a liquor license for a proposed gay bar at the former site of Off the Wagon, 18-24 S. River St. Since that bar closed in July, the city has been without a welcoming place for LGBT people to gather, according to locals.

A group of partners that included Mary McIntyre, who operated Off the Wagon for several months, had applied for a license to open Club Haven. The ALAC responded with the unusual request of asking McIntyre to provide evidence of financial security for the proposed business, which she declined to do.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion in Dane County circuit court on Oct. 1 to allow five same-sex couples to participate for the defense in a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s domestic partnership registry. The suit, filed by a Christian right group, contends the registry grants same-sex couples the same status as marriage, which is barred by an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution.

”Same-sex couples who have registered as domestic partners have the most at stake in this lawsuit and deserve to be heard,” said John Knight, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Only those directly affected by the law know what it’s like to worry about not being able to visit a partner in the hospital or to be left with nothing when a partner dies without a will.”

After two decades of the Riot Grrrl movement, Milwaukee will host Girls to the Front Fest, Oct. 22 – 24 in the Riverwest neighborhood. The three-day event is open to “all people and all gender identities,” according to the website and will include music, workshops, films, readings and more. Event organizers are still looking for participants, sponsors and volunteers. Go to girlstothefrontmke.blogspot.com.

A group of LGBT alumni have formed an official chapter of the UWM Alumni Association to provide professional and business opportunities to LGBT grads, bring the resources of the university to the community and serve as an LGBT voice to the campus. Membership is free and open to all LGBT graduates.

The group holds its first official event – a reception – on Sat., Oct. 23, following the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival screenings. The event features food, entertainment and drink specials at Art Bar, 811 W. Burleigh.

Cream City Foundation’s QShare will distribute $5,000 in grants, to be divided evenly between Alliance School and the LGBT Center of Southeastern Wisconsin.

The LGBT Center in Southeastern Wisconsin was established in 2009, thanks in part to a grant from the Cream City Foundation. It is the only LGBT organization based in Racine.

A La Crosse official was ticketed for disorderly conduct after allegedly shoving a 14-year-old girl and assailing her with anti-gay slurs during the city’s Oktoberfest Maple Leaf Parade on Sept. 25.

Mark Schneider attended the parade in his official capacity as Riverfest Commodore, an honorary title bestowed annually on a prominent local citizen. At the start of the parade, Schneider became incensed over an American pride flag carried by the daughter of Rosanne St. Sauver, executive director of the LGBT Resource Center for the Seven Rivers Region.

A few days before the sentencing of Andrew Olaciregui, the man convicted of killing Chanel Larkin, the LGBT community and allies can peacefully come together at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, 821 W. State St., to march for justice. Please bring a Chanel T-shirt if you have one, a sign with a positive message, your friends and a peaceful heart. For more information or to request a T-shirt, contact FORGE, 414-559-2123, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Seventeen-year-old Cody Barker campaigned to make high school safer for students, because he didn’t always feel safe or welcome at his high school in Shiocton, a small town in the Fox Valley.

On Sept. 13, Barker committed suicide.

The heated battle over a liquor license in Janesville has brought allegations of homophobia and unleashed a torrent of charges and countercharges between those seeking to maintain an LGBT-friendly bar in the city and those with an apparent vendetta against the license applicants.

The controversy surrounds the former site of Off the Wagon, which was the city’s only predominantly gay and lesbian bar until it closed over the summer. Off the Wagon was housed in a building at 18-24 S. River St. owned by local businessman Kurt Miller of Integrity Quest and 4M Ventures LLC.