Wisconsin Gaze

Cody J. Barker, 17, of Shiocton, Wis., took his life on Sept. 13.

Barker attended Shiocton High School, where he was active in choir. In August he attended a seminar and planned to start a gay/straight alliance at his school. He held a job at Fleet Farm in Appleton.

One Wisconsin Now has filed a lawsuit against right-wing Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth for refusing to release an e-mail as required under the state’s open records law.

Southworth briefly grabbed headlines this spring when he threated to prosecute school teachers who followed the state’s new sex education curriculum, which calls for instruction in contraceptive use and sexually transmitted diseases. Southworth described the law, which went into effect when the current school year began, as “sexual assault ed,” complaining that it amounted to the assault of minors.

Fair Wisconsin PAC and HRL-PAC have jointly endorsed the candidates below. Some face primary opponents on Sept. 14, while others will not be challenged until Nov. 2.

For information about voting, go to http://gab.wi.gov/.

A benefit to raise money for Helaman Iquique’s immigration battle will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24, at The Wherehouse in Walker’s Point.

Iquique was deported to Guatemala in January 2009 an hour before a judge granted a stay in his immigration case. He hasn’t seen his partner of 10 years nor his extended family in Milwaukee since then.

The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded Diverse and Resilient a $155,000 grant to increase awareness of intimate partner violence among LGBT people in Wisconsin.

The grant comes in response to youth and adult health surveys in Wisconsin that have shown significant disparities in partner violence and community violence for LGBT people.

A steering committee has been formed to create a new gay men’s chorus in Milwaukee under the international fellowship of GALA Choruses. A town hall meeting will be held at noon on Sept. 25. The meeting is open to members of Milwaukee’s last gay men’s chorus as well as singers in Milwaukee’s gay community who would like to learn more about joining the proposed group.

Topics discussed will include naming the new group, creating a sustainable business model and attending the GALA international festival in Denver 2012. An artistic director from a GALA choir with many years of service outside of Milwaukee will chair the meeting.

Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, gay bars have played a pivotal role in disseminating information about HIV disease and prevention. They’ve also contributed significantly to fundraising for local AIDS service organizations.

Raising the Bar, a statewide fundraiser for AIDS Walk Wisconsin, draws on the bars’ unique ability to raise both awareness of the disease and dollars to fight it. Begun in 2006, the fundraiser is open to all LGBT and LGBT-friendly bars in the state. This year’s event launched recently but is still adding participants. (See sidebar on page XX for a list of currently participating bars as well as contact information for joining the effort.)