Volume 33, Number 25

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1979

MARYLAND’S LGBT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER DECEMBER 23, 2011– JANUARY 19, 2012 VOLUME XXXIII, NUMBER 25 WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO

Eat! +

BEST QUEER FILMS ENJOY TWO DAYS OF THE

AT THE CHARM CITY LGBT FILM FESTIVAL

THE EFFECTS OF

HOMELESSNESS ON THE LGBT COMMUNITY TRIXIE AND MONKEY'S

HOLIDAY

SPECTAC-U-THON A NOVEL EXPLORES MULTIPLE LIVES TOUCHED BY

TEEN SUICIDE

WIN FREE PASSES! See inside for details

PAGE 2 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 3

letter editor’s

HIRING IMMEDIATELY

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE

Results-oriented salesperson needed! Baltimore’s Gay Life newspaper seeks ambitious sales rep to boost print and online advertising sales and distribution.

Requirements and qualifications: Demonstrated experience in sales, ideally within the publication industry, with a proven record of accomplishment.

Email resume & cover letter to editor@baltimoregaylife.com PAGE 4 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

This issue of Gay Life is one of our best—and that’s good news because we’re taking the next issue off. That’s right: there will be no January 6 print issue of Gay Life. We’ll be posting great new content to BaltimoreGayLife.com, and you’ll see us in print again on January 20.

Check back for in-depth coverage of the upcoming Creating Change conference, and much more.

In the meantime, we explore some very important topics. You can learn about the approximately 4,000 people who sleep in shelters or on the streets of Baltimore each night—and how both LGBT youth and the transgender community in general are disproportionally plagued by homelessness (p. 12). Also, read about the Ugandan minister who fled his country and will stop in Baltimore to speak about the international struggle for LGBT rights (opposite page).

And on the lighter side, you can check out the upcoming LGBT Film Festival (p. 11) and learn how you can win free passes; also, find out our favorite place to eat—we spotlight 14 restaurants and eateries that made our list (p.10). Plus, our Calendar of Events covers four full weeks of fun (p.16), and visit our website for even more local happenings!

CONTENTS

10 outfront

outgoing

PAGE 5 TALK

PAGE 16 SPOTLIGHT

Minister flees Uganda, spreads message of peace at a Unitarian Universalist church near you.

Hometown band, Medicine Lake, brings acoustic sounds and progressive mentality to upcoming show.

By Anthony Moll

By Rachel Roth

PAGE 5 BOOKS

DATEBOOK

By Terri Solomon

By Rachel Roth

Monoceros describes a teen suicide victim from the perspectives of those around him.

Calendar of Events, plus welcoming church services for Christmas and beyond.

PAGE 7 CABARET

Trixie Little and Evil Hate Monkey offer their annual holiday debauchery at the Patterson.

afterhours

By Rose D’Longcroi

12 Days of Christmas Charity Gala at Club Hippo.

PAGE 18 BSCENE

Photos By Jay W.

headlinenews

Equality Maryland reception for new Executive Director.

PAGE 8 NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Photos By Jay W.

By Rachel Roth

firstperson PAGE 15 SPEAKING OUT

Reflections on losing Gay Black Men News.

By Rev. Irene Monroe

FEATURES PAGE 12

TRANSMISSIONS

Maggie Beetz

Editor

ON THE COVER

Glenn v. Brumby: A step in the rights direction.

Homelessness in Baltimore’s LGBT Community. By Terri Solomon

By Gwendolyn Ann Smith

ALSO: GL Favorite Places to Eat PAGE 10 The Best Queer Films PAGE 11

LGBT films clockwise from top: Leave It on the Floor, Married in Spandex, and Jamie & Jessie Are Not Together.

241 W. Chase Street • Baltimore, MD 21201 Phone 410.837.7748 • Fax 410.837.8889 Email sales@baltimoregaylife.com

Maggie Beetz, Editor

Gay Life is a publication of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB). Gay Life is published every other Friday in Baltimore, Md., with distribution throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved. Gay Life is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of Gay Life or its publisher.

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editor@baltimoregaylife.com

M. Cory Burgess, Art Director cory@metroscapemedia.com sales@baltimoregaylife.com 410.837.7748

National Advertising Rep.

Rivendell Media, 212-242-6863

Marty Shayt

Senior Volunteer

Contributors

Rose D’Longcroi Anthony Moll Rev. Irene Monroe Gwendolyn Ann Smith Rachel Roth Terri Solomon

Photographers Jay W Photos

Newspaper Committee

Trevor Ankeny, Bud Beehler, Kelly D. McClain, Terri Solomon

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

outfront TALK

First Unitarian Church of Baltimore

Ugandan Minister, LGBT Activist Speaks in Baltimore

BY ANTHONY MOLL

With the struggle for legal equality and cultural acceptance of LGBT people still raging in the U.S., it can often be difficult to acknowledge how much the community has shifted. Yet in contrast to Uganda, where anti-gay activists have been fighting to marginalize, arrest, and even destroy LGBT people, the movement in the U.S. has achieved so much.

As a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Uganda, the Reverend Mark Kiyimba understands this struggle all too well. For several years, Kiyimba has acted as a rational voice on the topic of acceptance of LGBT people in a country with some of the harshest laws on same-sex contact in the world. Since 2009, advocates like Kiyimba have been resisting a bill in the Ugandan Parliament that seeks to inflate these laws even further. In its most intense version, the bill aimed to expand anti-gay laws to include the death penalty for aggravated offenses, and lengthy jail sentences for anyone who did not report same-sex activity.

When Kiyimba visits the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore on January 11, Marylanders will get the chance to hear him speak about the struggle for international LGBT rights. On this stop of his tour, titled “Standing on the Side of Love in Uganda and the USA,” attendees will have the opportunity to hear Kiyimba’s unique perspective of the topic of criminalization of LGBT people in Uganda and other countries WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

around the globe. Additionally, visitors will learn more about Kiyimba’s efforts to mobilize Unitarian Universalist congregations to support LGBT equality, and his efforts to raise funds for his New Life Primary School, a K-8 school for students impacted by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. The lecture will include questions from the audience, and will be followed by a reception.

“I want always to recognize that we will always have differences,” said Kiyimba in a recent address to a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. “But the differences should not be able to divide us.”

Kiyimba is among several advocates who have paid a great price for their resistance. Earlier this year, he was forced to flee Uganda when an arrest warrant was issued as a response to his advocacy.

Around the same time, Ugandan educator and LGBT advocate David Kato paid an even greater price, when he was beaten to death in his home. These events follow the very public outing of LGBT people and their supporters by a Ugandan tabloid in the months prior, which included photos of several of these individuals printed under the headline “Hang Them.” ■

REV. MARK KIYIMBA PRESENTS STANDING ON THE SIDE OF LOVE IN UGANDA AND THE USA

Wednesday, January 11 • 7pm • Free First Unitarian Church of Baltimore 12 W. Franklin St. • FirstUnitarian.net VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 5

outfront BOOKS

Monoceros Explores Multiple Lives Touched

by Teen Suicide

BY TERRI SOLOMON

“Because ‘u r a fag’ is scrawled in black Jiffy marker across his locker. Because after school last Thursday, the girlfriend of the guy he loves hurled frozen dog shit at him, and her friends frisbeed his skateboard into the river.” So begins the litany of wrongs suffered by Patrick Furey, a gay teenager bullied by his peers, ignored by his parents and teachers, and rejected by the boy he loves who has a girlfriend.

Canadian novelist Suzette Mayr recently published her fourth novel, Monoceros, which examines the timely subject of gay teen suicide through the eyes of a variety of characters who did not know the dead boy well. It’s an interesting way to approach the topic, and makes the point that suicide affects a larger circle of people than immediate family and friends.

After a brief introductory chapter, readers don’t hear any more from Patrick, who hangs himself at home “because he wants to be in charge of his own ending.” But his presence is strongly felt throughout the novel, as his English teacher, his guidance counselor, his principal, several classmates, his parents, and the uncle of a classmate all live their lives in the fallout from his death.

Mayr’s novel is peopled with quirky characters like the adolescent Faraday, who finds a world where unicorns exist (and can fix her messy life but only if she remains a virgin) more bearable than the embarrassing sexual fumblings of her parents; and Walter, who as a closeted gay man working in a Catholic high school, has stuffed his feelings with fast

PAGE 6 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

food so often that he fantasizes about a return to even a 40-inch waist.

It’s a world both comic and tragic, set against the slush and snow of Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Here, characters trudge through long hours at work, have superficial connections with peers, and fear being outed, being judged and being left. But there is also humor interspersed with heartbreak, seen most in Faraday’s Uncle Suzie, a drag queen named Crêpe Suzette.

Suzette is campy, and a study in curious contrasts. Portrayed as the most honest character, living his life unapologetically as an out gay man and forging a strong bond with his niece, Suzie is also a bit of a thief masquerading as a superhero: “Earlier, Uncle Suzie at the Walmart, fast as Wonder Woman, using all the power he possesses to swipe umptillion pairs of X-tall pantyhose into his Safeway bag.

If the clerks don’t notice, well then that pantyhose was destined, right?”

One of the more enjoyable aspects of Mayr’s writing is her ability to capture a variety of personas and depict them with integrity. At first, readers may not sympathize with Max, Walter’s secret lover and the dead boy’s principal—he refuses to take responsibility for disregarding Patrick’s plea for help against his aggressors, he yells at Walter for staining the coffee table, and he can be patronizing and cruel. But when Walter begins to wish for a more open relationship with his lover, Max comes across as a sad creature, trapped in a straight conception of himself that leaves neither man satisfied.

Then there is the dead boy’s mother, Gretta—by choosing to include her Mayr is essentially stating that even Patrick’s parents had little knowledge of his inner life. The portrait Mayr paints of a mother who couldn’t acknowledge that her son was gay because she wanted him to be “normal” but also mourns the loss of her only child is genuine.

“You knew he didn’t like school, but you thought, Soon he’ll graduate. You forgot to ask why he spent all his time in his room, who was texting him all the time, his phone chiming like raindrops, why one day he was wearing a locket in the shape of a heart and a blue sweater you didn’t remember buying…If you’d known, you would have done something because you always assumed he would be a banker, not a faggot.”

Monoceros toys with the theme of reality versus fantasy, asking, which realm bestows greater happiness on an individual? Can unicorns nudge an imaginative believer through hard times? Does a television show about outer space make its most ardent fan happier than his real life? Is death the final fantasy?

Ultimately, the novel gives few answers about which region we should inhabit, although in a society where no one pays attention to a suicidal gay teenager a depressing reality, Mayr appears to favor the unicorn-believers. ■

MONOCEROS

A novel by Suzette Mayr Coach House Books ISBN: 978-1-552452417 Paperback • $18.95 • 272p

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

CABARET

Trixie Little & Evil Hate Monkey Present Holiday Spectac-U-Thon Before you dive into the wholesome sugar rush that surrounds Christmas, join Trixie Little and her faithful companion Evil Hate Monkey at their holidays-onSpanish-fly spectacle. This love/hate acrobatic duo wants to take you away into an adults-only enchanted forest full of sparkling lights and not so tongue-incheek femme mystic. Now in their seventh year, Trixie and Monkey will invade the halls of Creative Alliance for the Holiday Spectac-U-Thon, a heavy dollop of holiday spirit spread over dazzling trapeze stunts and risqué burlesque performances guaranteed to put an ache in your sweet tooth.

Since 2002, Trixie and Monkey have taken their years of circus training and second skin thin clothing from the 14 Karat Cabaret and other art venues of Baltimore, to the glittering lights of New York and Los Angeles. But these Baltimoreans return to their roots with two annual shows for last two major holidays. With the Baltimore Burlesque Beauty Pageant, Bunny Vicious as the crowned winner, and the Holiday Spectac-u-thon, Trixie and Monkey keep a full docket with a rotating schedule in New York’s clubs, 30 plus acts, and two full length theater shows gathering national recognition.

WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

Photo by Roxi D'Lite

BY ROSE D'LONGCROI

Evil Hate Monkey and Trixie Little The Holiday Spectac-U-Thon, the brain child of this now happily engaged couple, is “…the most fun, weird, sexy and hilarious holiday show out there!

The holidays can be saccharine and predictable, but they don’t have to be!” exclaims Trixie when we pick her brain. She goes on to state that, “I still love elves, gingerbread, snowballs, jokes about snowballs, jingle bells, Dickens, and virgins. And we put them all to good use!”

Much like Cirque du Soleil, seeing the wacky collection of friends that are attracted to this tiny powerhouse is worth the advance price of admission. So whet your appetite with this spicy plum. It promises to leave a pleasant aftertaste. ■

TRIXIE AND MONKEY’S HOLIDAY SPECTAC-U-THON

Fri., Dec. 23, 7 & 10pm • $17-22 The Patterson • 3134 Eastern Ave. 410.276.1651 • CreativeAlliance.org

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 7

headlinenews NATIONAL

C

D

Corporate Equality Index Reports A Huge Increase in EmployerProvided Health Care for Transgender Employees

On Dec. 8, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) published the 2012 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) which evaluates the inclusiveness of corporate policies towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender people. The most striking findings include the huge increase in transgender inclusive policies, particularly those offering health care coverage to transgender employees.

E Some of the key findings in the HRC’s report are as follows:  80% of rated employers include gender identity protections in their nondiscrimination policies. In 2002, it was only 5%.  More than 200 major U.S. businesses include transgender-inclusive health care coverage that provides medically necessary transition-related care, tripling since last year.  50% of Fortune 500 companies now include gender identity in their employment nondiscrimination policy, a dramatic growth of 1,567% since 2002.

The Transgender Law Center has worked tirelessly over the last year to improve polices and educate employers on obtaining equitable health benefits for transgender individuals. Most recently, the Transgender Law Center helped Google develop and implement a “gold standard” role model, a comprehensive insurance plan for transgender employees.

“While transgender people, especially people of color, continue to face discrimination at every level of society, we are inspired to see that more than ever businesses are realizing that healthy employees whose human dignity is respected make for a more motivated workplace,” said Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center.

Gay Republicans Running as Delegates

B for D.C. Primary

Campaigns for GOP presidential hopefuls Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have each selected openly gay Republicans to run with them as candidates for delegate to the Republican National Convention in D.C.’s April 3 presidential primary.

According to the Washington Blade, Huntsman’s campaign selected R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans. The Gingrich campaign selected gay Republican activists Marc Morgan and Timothy Day. The Romney campaign, meanwhile, recruited Rachel Hoff, a lesbian who last year ran for the presidency of the Young Republican Federation, a national GOP youth group.

While the campaigns may have openly gay delegates in their ranks, many of the candidates are staunchly opposed to gay marriage. Paul is personally against it, but thinks it is a matter for the states to decide. Huntsman supports civil unions but not gay marriage. Both Romney and Gingrich have publicly declared support for an amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.

For the complete article, visit: washingtonblade.com/2011/12/14/gay-republicans-running-as-delegates-for-d-c-primary/

Massachusetts Senate Hopeful, Elizabeth

C Warren, Declared Support for all LGBT Issues In a recent press release, Elizabeth Warren pledged support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and advocated a program to help teachers and school administrators combat bullying.

The piece, which was published December 15 on BlueMassGroup.com, praises Massachusetts for “[being] the nation’s leader in protecting and promoting equality—from marriage equality to the recently passed Transgender Equal Rights Bill,” but she added there is still much work to be done.

“As other states grapple with whether to support marriage equality, I’m ready to move to the next step: End the two-tiered system created by the Defense of Marriage Act. Our federal government should not be in the PAGE 8 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

A B

business of selecting which married couples it supports and which it treats with contempt.”

Warren, who is running against incumbent Scott Brown (R) also wrote that “This is our moment in history.

From marriage equality to investing in public education, from sensible financial regulations to environmental protections, we must decide what kind of people we are and what kind of nation we are going to build.”

To read the entire piece, visit: bluemassgroup.com/2011/12/protecting-and-promoting-equality

D Sen. Kerry Demands LGBT-Friendly Financial Aid As the cost of college education rises, federal financial aid is declining. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is calling for the federal government to remove barriers against incoming college students who are transgender or the children of same-sex parents and looking for financial aid.

According to an article on Advocate.com, transgender students encounter complications with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), because of name and gender identity mismatches between their official documentation and application information, a problem Kerry called “disturbing.”

“We should encourage all students to pursue a higher education, and turning them away because the bureaucracy can’t ‘compute’ their gender is just wrong,” he told the Advocate.

Historic Number of LGBT Roles

E Nominated for SAG Awards

The Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were announced on Dec. 14. GoldDerby.com reports that among those nominated were a record number of LGBT roles.

For films, Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer were recognized for their performance in “J. Edgar,” in which DiCaprio played the title role and Hammer played Hoover colleague Clyde Tolson. Hoover and Tolson’s close friendship was rumored to have a “romantic element,” one that was explored more in the film than perhaps Hoover’s life.

Glenn Close and Janet McTeer were nominated for “Albert Nobbs.” The two play women dressing as men in the late 1800’s. McTeer’s character is married to a woman, and Close, who plays the title character, falls in love with a female coworker.

Nominations for television boast even more LGBT parts. Three Best Comedy Series Ensemble nominees have LGBT actors or characters in their cast; “Glee,” “Modern Family,” and “The Office” all star one or more LGBT character. Eric Stonestreet, a straight actor who plays the gay character Cameron Tucker on “Modern Family,” is nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

BY RACHEL ROTH INTERNATIONAL

Nations Releases First Report on A United Human Rights Violations of LGBT People In the midst of the growing conflict between African nations and the United States regarding LGBT rights, the United Nations has, for the first time, released a report detailing how LGBT people are treated throughout the world. Released on Dec. 15 by the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR) in Geneva, it outlines “a pattern of human rights violations.”

The report, which can be read on UN.org, states that “LGBT people are often targets of organized abuse from religious extremists, paramilitary groups, neo-Nazis, extreme nationalists, and others, as well as family and community violence, with lesbians and transgender women at particular risk.”

It also finds that while homophobic and transphobic violence has been recorded in every region of the world with violent acts ranging from murder, kidnappings, assaults and rapes to psychological threats and arbitrary deprivations of liberty, most governments do little or nothing about it.

Charles Radcliffe, the chief of OHCHR’s global issues section, told UN Radio that all U.N. Member States have an obligation under international human rights law to decriminalize homosexuality.

“One of the things we found is if the law essentially reflects homophobic sentiment, then it legitimizes homophobia in society at large,” Radcliffe said. “If the State treats people as second class or second rate or, worse, as criminals, then it’s inviting people to do the same thing.”

Radcliffe did add that it was important to persuade Member States to change their position, rather than lecture them. But he also said that “no religious belief or prevailing cultural values can justify stripping people of their basic rights.”

B Transgender “Icon,” Carmen Rupe Died Carmen Rupe, Australia’s first-ever Maori drag performer and LGBT advocate, died of kidney failure on December 15. According to GayNZ.com, Rupe was born in 1935 and spent the first years of her life living as Trevor. At 11 years old, Trevor began dressing in his mother’s clothes. As soon as he could, Rupe left school and moved to Auckland and Wellington where he experimented with drag performances while doing compulsory military training and working as a nurse and waiter.

In the 1950s, Rupe moved to Kings Cross and officially became Carmen, based on Dorothy Dandridge’s character in the movie Carmen Jones. It was then Rupe vowed to give up men’s clothes forever.

In addition to being New Zealand’s most-loved transgender performer, Rupe was a fierce advocate of LGBT rights. When she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Wellington in 1977, she campaigned for hotel bars to be open till midnight or even 2am, the drinking age to be lowered to 18, prostitution to be made legal, homosexual acts and abortion to be decriminalized and nudity on some beaches—all of which are now legal.

“The police were very, very heavy,” Carmen recalled in a 2006 interview with the New Zealand Herald.

“They hated gay people. They hated drag queens and they hated lesbians. They used to take us into the police station and give us a hiding and beat us up. I was locked up in Long Bay prison about a dozen times. But it made me a stronger person today.”

To read more about the life of Carmen Rupe, visit GayNZ.com

A

Obama, Hillary Clinton Condemn Global Anti-LGBT Human Rights Abuses The Obama Administration is taking a tough stance on countries that discriminate against LGBT members of the population. In Geneva on Human Rights Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech promising “sweeping efforts to confront global anti-LGBT human rights abuses.”

“Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” she said at the December 6 event.

“It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave.”

“It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished.”

President Obama has instructed officials across government to “ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons around the world.”

Under this new initiative, legal, moral, and financial support will be boosted for gay rights organizations. Additionally, emergency assistance will be sent to groups or individuals facing threats, and asylum in the U.S. will be offered to people forced to flee homophobic persecution in their countries.

Prior to delivering the speech, Clinton met with human rights activists from Cameroon to discuss how the U.S. can promote the rights of LGBT residents in Cameroon, where ten people have been detained or arrested by police for being gay in the last year, according to Change.org.

“It’s truly remarkable to see how organizations like The Association for the Defense of Homosexuals (ADEFHO) are building international support to fight back against laws that criminalize LGBT people,” said Change.org Senior Organizer Michael Jones in a statement on the organization’s website.

“In the face of enormous personal risk, ADEFHO has managed to recruit more than 30,000 people to call for the release of these two men in Cameroon, sending a message to the President and Minister of Justice that the world is watching.”

Many African countries are not pleased with the Obama Administration’s commitment to protecting LGBT rights. John Nagenda, a senior adviser to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, told The Christian Science Monitor that Obama’s view would be “anathema” to most African nations.

“I don’t like her tone, at all,” he said, referring to Clinton’s speech, “I’m amazed she’s not looking to her own country and lecturing them first, before she comes to say these things which she knows are very sensitive issues in so many parts of the world, not least Africa.”

Sentiments were similar in Nigeria, where just last week the Senate agreed to pass a proposed law banning same-sex marriages, imposing 14-year jail terms for people found guilty, and adding a 10-year sentence for anyone who helps homosexuals marry. Columnist Leon Usigbe wrote in the Nigerian Tribune that the new U.S. gay rights policy would provoke a “significant diplomatic confrontation” between Washington and Africa’s most populous country.

Church leaders in Kenya responded the most derisively, with Deputy General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, Oliver Kisaka, stated, “We don’t believe in advancing the rights of gays.”

“God did not make a mistake; [being gay] is that person’s own perception,” Kisaka said in an article

by The Monitor. Those who live as gays need help to live right, and we should not be supporting them to live in a wrong reality.”

To read more about this issue, visit: CSMonitor.com/World/Africa.

To sign the Change.org petition to release the two Cameroon men who have been sentenced to five years in prison for being gay, visit Change.org/petitions/demand-cameroon-release-gay-mensentenced-to-five-years-in-prison. ■

B WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

SEE MORE HEADLINE NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ONLINE AT WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM/NEWS VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 9

We told you our favorite places to shop—now check out the first in a series of issues highlighting some of our favorite places to dine! Between our staff and board, we’ve dined at quite a few local spots. Add to that the plethora of restaurants our Dining Out restaurant reviewers, John Cullen and Marty Shayt, have visited, and we’ve covered most of the state! So take a look at the first installment of...

Fells Point

OUR FAVORITE PLACES TO

A Maryland seafood restaurant so gayfriendly, the owners provided meeting space for the (now defunct) local chapter of Stonewall Democrats. —Mark

O — LGBT Owned

Downtown

SHUCKERS RESTAURANT & BAR (M, S)

1629 Thames St.  410.522.5820

MR. RAIN’S FUN HOUSE (S)

800 Key Highway  443.524.7379

This restaurant atop the American Visionary Arts Museum offers another reason to visit the uniquely Baltimore attraction (as if you needed one!) —Maggie

Havre de Grace LAURRAPIN GRILL (M, S)

209 N. Washington St.  410.939.4956 M — LGBT Managed

S — LGBT Staffed

Mt. Vernon

Mt. Washington

CITY CAFÉ (O, M, S)

ETHEL & RAMONE’S (S)

1001 Cathedral St.  410.539.4252

1615 Sulgrave Avenue  410.664.2971

This is the place to see and be seen for homo- and metro-sexuals, and Chef Chad Gauss is among Baltimore's best.

—Mark

The ‘Chesapeake Bay meets Louisiana Cajun’ fusion fare is simply amazing! A word-of-mouth spot where the food is only surpassed by the owner’s affable personality. —Scott

LAND OF KUSH (S)

840 N. Eutaw St.  410.225.5874

Their incredible you-wouldn’t-believeit’s-vegan soul food can satisfy both my veggie tastes and my dad’s meat-andpotatoes palate! —Maggie

Laurrapin Grill Shuckers STICKY RICE (S)

Hampden & Remington

1634 Aliceanna St.  443.682.8243

GOLDEN WEST CAFÉ (O, S)

Gorgeous and delicious sushi creations I’ve never seen before! —Maggie

1105 W. 36th St.  410.889.8891

This hipster hang out in Hampden welcomes all for drinking, dining, and live alternative music on weekends. The warm Vietnamese salad is da bomb! —Mark Dining at this wonderfully charming and funky restaurant is an interesting adventure on many levels. —John & Marty

Land of Kush MILK & HONEY DELI (M, S)

Bel Air BLUE DOG ARTS CAFÉ (S)

802 Conowingo Rd.  410.420.2371

Canton JACK’S BISTRO (S)

3123 Elliott St.  410.878.6542

This cozy, out-of-the-way café serves up quality coffee and a queer-friendly vibe. —Mark

Their innovative cuisine includes fabulously enticing options like “Mac + Cheese + Chocolate,” and a “Buttered Popcorn Martini.” —Maggie

Lauraville

816 Cathedral St.  410.685.6455

CHAMELEON CAFÉ (M, S)

This market/deli offers tasty, healthy, and organic sandwiches and paninis, as well as groceries—and an espresso bar to boot!

—Maggie

4341 Harford Rd.  410.254.2376

The Dizz

WATERSTONE BAR & GRILLE (O, M, S)

THE DIZZ (formerly Dizzy Issies)

A very unique and upscale atmosphere where everything on the menu is reasonably priced with quality and tastes that make all of the items become my favorite. A great wine selection with unique house specialty drinks that you cannot get anywhere else. Simply my favorite place in Baltimore for dinner, drinks, fun, and superb staff. —Jen

One of my favorite places in town to grab a bite to eat and a pitcher of beer either at the bar or in front of the cozy fireplace. The owner Elaine is a passionate supporter of our community. —Gary This classic Baltimore treasure promises “Good food, cheap drinks, casual & funky” and that hits the nail on the head.

—John & Marty

311 W. Madison St.  410.225.7475

The warm dining room of this affable (and affordable) eatery has been known to provide refuge for the Harford Rainbow Society's crowd. —Mark

300 W. 30th St.  443.869.5864

PAGE 10 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

This inconspicuous, family-owned gem put Lauraville on Baltimore's culinary map with a seasonal menu of Frenchinspired, locally sourced delicacies and an exceptionally well curated wine cellar. —Mark

Blue Dog Clarksville GREAT SAGE (O, S)

5809 Clarksville Sq. Dr.  443.535.9400

A vegetarian menu so good that carnivores won't miss their meat—plus an outstanding wine list for perfect pairing. —Mark

Chameleon

FIND MORE DELICIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS IN FUTURE ISSUES BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

COVER STORY ENJOY TWO DAYS OF THE

To give Baltimore a taste of the best queer filmmaking of the past year, Creative Alliance brings you the 2012 Charm City LGBT Film Festival! Funny, thought-provoking and innovative, these films represent variety of cutting-edge work from Baltimore to Jakarta to Ecuador to the planet of Zots!

BEST QUEER FILMS

1 Screening $10 General • $5 Members 3 Screenings $25 General • $12 Members

AT THE CHARM CITY LGBT FILM FESTIVAL

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20 7:30pm

Leave It on the Floor Sheldon Larry • 2011 • US • 101 min.

You’ll laugh and cry and not be able to get songs out of your head throughout this exciting rollercoaster of a musical drama.

9:30pm

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same Madeleine Olnek • 2011 • US • 76 min.

These are the adventures of three lesbian space aliens who are sent to Earth because their “Big Feelings” are depleting the ozone layer on their home planet.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 11am

This Is What Love In Action Looks Like FREE Youth Program!

Morgan Jon Fox • 2011 • US • 73 min.

In an early example of the power of social media to spark change, this documentary tells the story of how Zach Stark, whose posts on Myspace about being forcibly sent to Love In Action (LIA), caused international outcry.

1pm

Married In Spandex w/ Dance Tranny Dance Devin Gallagher & Allison Kole • 2011 • US • 50 min.

Amanda and Rachel met, fell in love, and decided that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. But what they really wanted was to get married, to declare their love for each other publicly, and celebrate their joy with family and friends.

VISIT US ONLINE TO

WIN PASSSES baltimoregaylife.com

WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

CreativeAlliance.org

The Patterson • 3134 Eastern Ave.

3 pm

Angel Sebastiano d’Ayala Valva • 2009 • France/Ecuador • 52 min.

After living as a transvestite prostitute in Paris for five years, Angel finally gets papers so she can return home to Guayaquil in Amazonian Ecuador to visit her family.

5pm

Bashment Rikki Beadle-Blair, 2010, UK, 110 min.

A riveting lesson in our human commonalities marks this year’s return of TIGLFF favorite Rikki BeadleBlair with the thought-provoking and intensely entertaining Bashment, based on a stage play by the same name.

7pm

Jamie & Jessie Are Not Together Wendy Jo Carleton • 2011 • US • 95 min.

From the director of last year’s Hannah Free, Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together is a slick indie love story about two queer girls whose co-dependent, loyal friendship is fraught with erotic tension—a lesbian musical romantic comedy with a big fat heart!

9pm

eCupid

JC Calciano • 2011 • US • 95 min.

On a late night computer surf, Marshall stumbles onto a mysterious relationship application that immediately and virally takes over, performing algorithms that figure out exactly what he wants at all times. Immediately, texts from his partner Gabe are deleted, dates are arranged, and party planners are hired to create occasions for hook-ups.

11pm

Madame X Lucky Kuswandi • 2010 • Indonesia • 100 min.

When Capital City is threatened by a hostile takeover

by Mr. Storm, his three wives and a political party of tyrannical homophobes, it is up to Adam, a crossdressing hairstylist to save the world. ■ VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 11

rdens: Restoration Ga ortive housing pp permanent su h homeless yout

Examining the Experience of

Homelessness for the LGBT Community

By Terri Solomon

s colder weather finally rolls into our A city, the men, women, and children who hunker down in makeshift homemade

shelters outside or seek temporary housing indoors have one thing in common—Being homeless places them in one of the most disadvantaged social groups in country.

The homeless are by no means only a small number of city dwellers. According to the Baltimore City Homeless Point-InTime Census Report 2011, “there were 4,088 homeless individuals in Baltimore City on January 25, 2011.” That’s 6.5 percent of the city’s population (620,961, according to the 2010 census). And “almost half (43.9 percent) of this homeless population were unsheltered that night.”

Moreover, “Baltimore’s homeless situation is on an upward trend.” The numbers display a startling reality: “The rate of homelessness increased by 13.9 percent from 2007-2009 and by 19.6 percent from 2009-2011.”

Inside these numbers live the percentage of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. How large or small? It’s hard to say, because the Baltimore census report doesn’t contain questions on sexual orientation. And while gender identity is included, only one respondent indicated he was transgender (0.3 percent).

This year, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force published research stating one-fifth (19 percent) of transgender and

gender non-conforming individuals experienced homelessness at some point in their lives because they were transgender or gender non-conforming; and 2 percent of respondents were currently homeless.

A 2006 Task Force study on LGBT youth says it all in its title—An Epidemic of Homelessness. According to the study, “between 20 percent and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.” Data from Safe Horizon, a New York-based victim assistance organization, also states that 40 percent of home-

PAGE 12 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

less youth identify as LGBT—compared to 10 percent of the general youth population in the United States.

If the current research is correct, LGBT individuals—especially LGBT youth—experience homelessness at a disproportionate rate.

Here at Gay Life, we wanted to examine two local organizations providing a welcoming roof over the heads of our homeless LGBT community members, and examine one woman’s story from homeless individual to advocate.

Being homeless and trans in a culture that ostracizes us

Trans-United Fo under Sandy Rawls

Sandy Rawls is the founder of TransUnited, an organization that “serves the community through advocacy efforts, and by offering accommodating, supportive resources to improve the quality of life and health of transgender individuals.

For two years in Baltimore city when I was homeless, I saw many people trying to make it and get their needs met,” said Rawls. “It’s hard to stay grounded, being homeless and trans, and to be in a culture that ostracizes us.”

According to Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (2011), “the majority of those trying to access a homeless shelter were harassed by shelter staff or residents (55

percent), 29 percent were turned away altogether, and 22 percent were sexually assaulted by residents or staff.” While homeless, Rawls personally experienced this harassment.

“I slept on the train, bus and light rail during the day, and at night I stayed up and watched my back to make sure I was safe. Trying to find resources, I faced discrimination,” she remembers. “People didn’t want to accept us into their programs because they didn’t want the chaos they thought we would bring. The women’s shelters didn’t want to take me in and the men’s shelters didn’t want to take this ‘transvestite or transsexual.’”

When Rawls finally found a shelter that would house her, she still faced hostile residents who didn’t understand her gender identity. “I’ve been harassed by clients,” she said. “I’ve been told by a staff member, ‘Sandy, when you leave the room, they talk about you like a dog.’”

After she got on her feet, Rawls founded Trans-United to “let transgender individuals know the law and their rights,” to assist them in the often discriminatory housing environment and to connect clients to additional resources. While Baltimore city has had gender identity anti-discrimination legislation in effect since 2002, Rawls states, “People are still afraid to go into shelters.”

“Offering us beds in a place where we are not welcome is like giving us a biscuit instead of the whole meal,” she said. “It’s not publicly accommodating me to put me in a dangerous situation.”

So what solution does she advocate?

“I think our city council needs to work with Trans-United and its allies a little closer to bring a city solution to this issue. Places open their door to us just to get funding,” said Rawls. “Let us take the lead on our issues.” In the meantime, Rawls will continue to do advocacy and link people to care and to places that will accept them.

TRANS-UNITED

410.332.0234 or 443.447.3238 Trans.United@yahoo.com

“Serving the underserved” at Project PLASE

One of the few local adult homeless shelters accepting all sexual orientations and gender identities is Project PLASE (People Lacking Ample Shelter and Employment).

According to Mary C. Slicher, executive director since 1987, their mission statement to “serve the most vulnerable and underserved” encompasses all members of the LGBT community.

“The LGBT population is a very diverse one, but we are glad to be able to house and serve these populations. I do think still in our culture, even though we’ve made progress, individuals still are in great need of housing and understanding from parts of our community,” Slicher said. “Some who are LGBT that live with us come with emotional and spiritual wounds and a sense of struggle.”

To make all residents feel welcome and BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

have a safe place to stay first. Then they can start to address any special needs they may have—around their sense of self-value and worth, healing trauma, or finding the strength in their identity.”

PROJECT PLASE

1814 Maryland Ave • 410.837.1400 ProjectPlase.org

Restoration Gardens addresses needs of homeless youth Project PLASE or Executive Direct r he ic Sl y Mar

supported, Project PLASE implements non-discrimination policies and frequent cultural sensitivity trainings for staff, by organizations such as the Mautner Project and the former AIDS Administration.

These contribute to the generally positive feedback Slicher receives from gay, lesbian, and transgender clients.

“We have a policy that says people selfidentify their gender identity, and they are housed in that facility. It’s around 2 percent of the individuals we house, but we will continue to support and house transgender persons who come to us,” said Slicher.

In contrast, most other homeless facilities across the country house transgender men and women according to their birth gender, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Overall, staff, volunteers, LGBT residents, and other residents have related well with each other. Nonetheless, housing transgender clients has sometimes led to “concerns with a few residents,” she said. “We had a time where a transgender female ended up in a room with a female who had just came in and had recent sexual trauma. She was frightened.”

“The woman with sexual trauma needs to know that she is safe and the transgender woman needs to understand the emotion, even though she was in no way the cause.

Simultaneously, the transgender person needs to feel how much she is cared for.

Each person may have to make some adjustment and understand the other. Isn’t that way life is about for all of us? It’s addressing human issues,” Slicher said.

Project PLASE operates three transitional facilities for men and women in Lower Charles Village, housing about 62 men and women at a time. They also have a successful permanent housing program, which accommodates families with children younger than 18 years old. According to Slicher, “94 percent who have gone through permanent housing and received the support have stayed in housing.”

“Lesbian, gay, and transgender homeless are homeless people first,” Slicher said.

“They have all the same needs as homeless persons first and then have special needs too. It’s important to ensure persons WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

According to their website, “AIRS was founded in 1987 by the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council as the faith community’s response to the AIDS epidemic.” AIRS now provides a variety of housing facilities and services in Baltimore city and county, including housing for disabled individuals, families and individuals living with HIV/ AIDS, HIV+ individuals leaving prison, and homeless youth.

Restoration Gardens, “a 43-unit permanent supportive housing project for homeless and unstably housed youth ages 18-24,” is the latest venture for the organization. Located in southern Park Heights, it’s been open since last December. Mark Harrison, program manager at Restoration Gardens, calls it “a great place.”

Residents live in their own apartments, and are offered a range of supportive services, which many take advantage of. “We offer workforce development, cooking classes, job skills, and computer preparedness, but because residents are independent, it’s not mandated,” said Harrison.

They also participate in council meetings, which build a sense of community.

Staff members receive diversity training, according to Harrison. Training focuses on sensitivity and non-discrimination in the areas of age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. “We don’t break training down based on anything specific,” he said.

And while Restoration Gardens does not keep any statistics on sexual orientation and gender identity for its occupants, “we understand this group is at high risk for homelessness, and is certainly represented in our building,” said Harrison. He wants all homeless youth to know they are welcome in the facility. In order for a young person to qualify for Restoration Gardens, they must apply, pass a screening and complete an assessment, receive life skills while on a wait list, and go through a process of approval from Section 8 housing.

AIRS

1800 N. Charles St. • 410.576.5070 AIRSHome.org Want to see the numbers yourself? Visit our website to find links to the Baltimore City Homeless Point-In-Time Census Report 2011; The Journey Home: Baltimore City’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness (Year Three Outcome Summary July 2011); LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness; and Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. ■ VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 13

Dear Community Member, Thirty five years ago there was a vision for the LGBT citizens of Baltimore. That vision was a place where they could gather without fear, access hard-to- find information and resources, and organize and advocate for better lives for LGBT people in Baltimore and beyond. During the next 34 years, the vision materialized and steady progress was achieved. A permanent home for the young organization was purchased, a clinic was established, and countless meetings, petitions, and demonstrations paved the way for more inclusive legislation for LGBT citizens, while providing important core services to individuals and groups every day – 11,315 days to be exact. And we’re still counting, thanks to the generosity of our community. I’m writing to you to once again ask if you will be a part of the future of the GLCCB by making a tax deductible donation today.

DID YOU KNOW? The GLCCB will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2012 The GLCCB publishes Gay Life newspaper, one of the oldest on-going LGBT newspapers in the country, since 1979 The GLCCB is the organization that produces Baltimore Pride each year More than 6,000 individuals attend support and social groups, classes, and events at the GLCCB each year The GLCCB receives more than 2,500 phone calls, e-mails, and visits from individuals seeking information about and referrals to LGBT friendly services and business The GLCCB provides technical assistance through presentations, trainings, and collaborations on issues that impact the LGBT community to community groups, service providers, and businesses The majority of the programs and services the GLCCB provides to the community are not funded by grants, but through donations from community members like you!

Yes, I want to be a part of the next 35 years…

You can count on my support! I am eager to do my part to maintain and expand programs and services for the LGBT community. I am enclosing my tax deductible contribution of:

Name: _______________________________________________________

$25

$50

$75

$100

Address: _____________________________________________________

Other Amount: $________

City: __________________________ State: _______ Zip: _____________ E-mail: _______________________________________________________ GLCCB, Building Community Since 1977 Please make your check payable to GLCCB and return to GLCCB, 241 W Chase St, Baltimore, MD 21201.

You may obtain, on written request, a copy of the current financial statements for the GLCCB .

Information filed under the Maryland Charitable Organization Solicitation Act may be obtained from the Maryland Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage.

PAGE 14 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

Please charge my: *Monthly

□

Visa

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Discover

Card #: _____________________________________

Exp: __________

Signature: ___________________________________________________

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

firstperson SPEAKING OUT

Black LGBTQ Community Doesn't Support Its Own

BY REV. IRENE MONROE Just last month, Gay Black Men News (GBMNews.com) folded. It was a unique online eZine because it brought a perspective of the news as it related specifically to gay men of African descent.

And its circulation was global.

“We are blessed with a large following of avant garde, artistic people,” said Ralph Emerson, publisher and founder of GBMNews. “While most of our site visitors are in the USA, we have a good following around the globe. This we believe is largely due to our global prospective and the fact that the global people of color community are a priority with us.”

Emerson has operated this publication out of pocket. And while clearly the cost of operation was prohibitive, causing the eZine to cease publication, another reason, according to Emerson, is the LGBTQ communities of African descents lack of support for the online site.

“Our folk don’t rally around and support their own. When GBMNews started everyone rushed to it, but with the advent of

Facebook the attention had shifted,” Emerson told Out in Jersey reporter Antoine Craigwell.

“We didn’t have a groundswell of support for the site and for the newspapers as I thought it should have had from the community. As a community, we don’t seem to work together and support each other as a collective, and as a result, it collapses,” Emerson stated.

But Emerson’s statement that LGBTQ people of African descent don’t support their own cannot be summarily dismissed as Emerson’s anger and bitterness for having to close shop. Rather his statement speaks about our black LGBTQ community’s history of not financially supporting projects that are beneficial for us.

“Many of us seat up in these homophobic churches and put money in the offering plate. Surely we can send money toward a healthy goal,” Glen Glover of Roslindale stated.

Issues of race, gender expression, and sexual orientation invite a particular type of

news reporting. One of the biggest losses, with now no nationally recognized black LGBTQ print or online eZine, will be the unreported and underreported news of our lives. GBMNews did local, national, and international coverage of us.

A lack of financial support from the black LGBTQ community has contributed substantial to all the print and online black LGBTQ publications folding. I’ve had the pleasure of writing for all these magazines but sadly my tenure with these ’zines was short-lived.

In 2007, GBMNews, an all-volunteer contribution site devoted to the LGBTQ community of color, was founded by Ralph Emerson. In 2009, Emerson launched GBMMagazines and in 2010, he launched RadioGBM, a ground breaking internet radio station with exceptional coverage of the music industry and emerging artists. I joined GBMNews in December 2009 when Emerson wrote, “I noticed your article submissions and I’m contacting in hopes that you will become a regular

GBMNews contributor. I am certain our site visitors would enjoy your journalistic dispatches, your opinions, analysis, and distinctive observations.”

But this Nov. 28, GBMNews, GBMMagazines, and RadioGBM shut their doors for good. “I’m going to take a few months off to think about my next direction. I’ve toyed for years with starting an arts business,” Emerson stated.

In 2000, Arise was founded by Glenn Alexander and the Rev. MacArthur H. Flournoy, associate director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign. The publication’s readership was the same-gender-loving community of people of African descent. Its mission was “to challenge the mind, encourage the spirit, and affirm the value of all sexually diverse people of African descent.”

In November 2003 the paper celebrated its 3rd anniversary of publication, and had become a national icon for the African

of his or her perceived gender-nonconformity. Because these protections are afforded to everyone, they cannot be denied to a transgender individual... A person is defined as transgender precisely because of the perception that his or her behavior transgresses gender stereotypes.”

This isn’t the first time Federal law has been on our side. While the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not provide any explicitly protections based on gender expression and identity—nor, for that matter, sexual orientation—we have been seeing recent instances of Title VII protections extended to transgender people. Perhaps the best known is Schwenk v. Hartford, where a transgender prisoner sued after an assault by a guard. The Ninth Circuit determined that, “discrimination because one fails to act in the way expected of a man or a woman is forbidden under Title VII.” I’d be remiss if I did not mention this is a complete turnaround of a dusty, old Title VII case, Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, Inc. from 1984. In Ulane, the Seventh Court held that the United States Congress, in enacting Title VII, only meant to “prohibit

discrimination against women because they are women and men because they are men.”

What Glenn v. Brumby has done is take this into new ground, saying that transgender people do enjoy the same protections as others under the Fourteenth Amendment, and giving another avenue for transgender people who have had their rights violated.

Is it perfect? No. Much like the Ulane case was seemingly superseded by other Title VII cases, we could see other court challenges come down the line and rule opposite of the Glenn case. While this is one step below the United States Supreme Court, is it not a decision of SCOTUS, and like it or not, that leaves a bit of wiggle room in the future.

It’s important to add, too, that if Glenn’s case had been a Title VII case, things would have gone a very different way—the appeals court did not feel that Glenn’s gender “non-conformity” would have applied in that case.

Of course all of this does require filing court cases, and likely going through

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

TRANSMISSIONS

A Step in the Rights Direction

BY GWENDOLYN ANN SMITH Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman from Georgia, had been working as a proofreader and editor in the state’s Office of Legislative Counsel. Two years into her employment, in 2007, Glenn went to her supervisor to inform her of the pending transition. Her supervisor then took this news to her boss, Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby. Brumby then terminated Glenn’s employment.

This story is likely not too uncommon for many other transgender people out there. I still remember telling my employer about my own transition, all those years ago, and expecting that I’d soon be given my pink slip. Further, I suspect you’ll find very few transgender people who have found employment hard to gain due to being transgender, or even who’ve had to face troubled times at work after their gender identity or expression becomes the subject WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

of so-called “water cooler” chatter.

Glenn’s story doesn’t end quite the same as it does for many, perhaps most, and this is important.

In 2008, she filed suit against the state, claiming that the Glenn’s termination violated the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Specifically, her lawyers claimed that treating her employment differently due to her transgender status was in violation.

Now a district court agreed, ruling that the Constitution was indeed violated, and Glenn was discriminated against. The state, naturally, appealed to the Eleventh Circuit.

This year, the Eleventh Circuit has handed down its decision. In a 3-0 decision, the District Court’s ruling has been upheld. In handing down its decision, the panel stated, “An individual cannot be punished because

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 15

outgoing E M A I L YOUR E V E NT INFO TO C ALENDAR @B ALT I MO R EGAY LI F E.CO M

and, of course, Chinese food. FREE. Jewish Museum of Maryland, 15 Lloyd St. JewishMuseumMD.org

Monday, December 26 Kwanzaa Begins

Tuesday, December 27 PFLAG Baltimore County General Meeting: Support group and Q&A parents of LGBT children. Bring a dish of food to share event. FREE. 7pm. Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Rd. Lutherville, PFLAGBaltimore.org Rainbow Youth Alliance of Howard County: A support group for GLBT and questioning teens and allies. RYA is a safe place to ask questions, find mutual support, and learn information pertinent to their lives. For more info, contact: rya_leaders@hotmail. com. or call 410-280-9047. Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, PFLAGmd.org

Wednesday, December 28 SPOTLIGHT

BY RACHEL ROTH

Hometown Band, Medicine Lake, Brings a "Genuine Good Time" to Rams Head Live Medicine Lake, the Baltimore-based, six-piece, acoustic-driven rock band comes home to perform songs from their debut, self-titled EP, released in December 2011.

“I honestly think this is going to be the most fun show we have ever played,” said the band’s frontman, Simon Pyles. “We have added a few new pieces to the group over the last year and are finally back in the mix playing out again.”

Influenced by artists like Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Coffin, Chris Thile, Paul Simon, and Porcupine Tree, Pyles describes Medicine Lake’s sound as “combination of acoustic rock and thoughtful lyricism, with a progressive mentality.”

“Everyone in the group is extremely excited and ready to go,” he said. “We are bringing in all kinds of friends, new and old, to help us make this a memorable show for anyone and everyone.”

“If you love music, there is no way you won’t have a blast at this show.”

Event Info

MEDICINE LAKE

Thursday, January 12 • 6:30pm doors, 7:30pm show • $10 • All ages Rams Head Live • 20 Market Pl. • 410.244.1131 • RamsHeadLive.com

BINGO! Come for happy hour, stay for Bingo. Cash prizes and progressive jackpot.

Enjoy drink specials, appetizers, and raffles all night. Hosted by Roger Dimick.

Proceeds benefit GLCCB. 8:30pm. Club Hippo, 1 W. Eager St. 410.547.0069, ClubHippo.com Transgender Issues Working Group: Support group for those who identify as transgender. Meets every other Wednesday. Registration required. FREE. 7pm.

Equality Maryland, 1201 S. Sharp St. Contact Owen@EqualityMaryland.org Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos: New material from the puppet master. $58.90.

7:30pm. First Mariner Arena, 201 W Baltimore St. BaltimoreArena.com

Saturday, December 31 New Year’s Eve B&O Black Ties & Bubbles: Celebrate New Year’s with Kimpton’s B&O American Brasserie and enjoy a three- or five-course prix fixe menu. All guests will receive a complimentary glass of bubbles while dining. $45-65. Seatings at 6, 8 & 10pm. B&O American Brasserie, 2 N. Charles St. BandORestaurant.com Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular: Celebrate 2012 with live music and a choreographed fireworks show over the Inner Harbor. FREE. 9pm-12:30am Inner Harbor Amphitheater, Pratt and Light Sts. bop.org Traditional Unity New Years Eve Burning Bowl Service: Begin the New Year moving forward into a higher good for your life by releasing and let go of anything in your life no longer needed! FREE. 7pm. Unity Church, 927 Wertzville Rd. Enola, PA UnityChurchPA.org

Sunday, January 1

DATEBOOK Friday, December 23 Wine Tasting: Get your weekend started off right with complimentary tastings of wines from around the world. Discounts on bottles included in tastings.

FREE. 5-8pm. Fridays. Spirits of Mt Vernon, 900 N. Charles St. 410.727.7270, SpiritsOfMtVernon.com Eclipse! at Club Orpheus: Dance to a mesmerizing light show with video projectors, lasers and strobes. 9pm every Friday. 18+. Club Orpheus, 1003 E. Pratt St. ClubOrpheus.webs.com

Saturday, December 24 Christmas Eve Baltimore Frontrunners: Running/walking club for LGBT individuals and friends.

Assemble 8:45am, run 9am. Reassemble for brunch 10am. Panera Bread, 3600 Boston St. BaltimoreFrontrunners.org

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Monday, January 2 Salute to Vienna: New Year’s Concert: Welcome the New Year with The Strauss Symphony of America and dancers from the Vienna Imperial Ballet. This holiday tradition features brilliant new cast of over 75 musicians, stellar European singers and dancers performing a light-hearted blend of popular Strauss waltzes, polkas and famous operetta excerpts. 3pm. $49-89. The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln. North Bethesda, Strathmore.org

Tuesday, January 3 Rainbow Youth Alliance of Baltimore County: A support group for GLBT and questioning teens and allies. RYA is a safe place to ask questions, find mutual support, and learn information pertinent to their lives. For more info, contact RYABaltimoreCounty@gmail.com FREE. 7:30pm. Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Rd. Lutherville, PFLAGBaltimore.org

Wednesday, January 4

Merry Christmas!

BINGO! Come for happy hour, stay for Bingo. Cash prizes and progressive jackpot.

Enjoy drink specials, appetizers, and raffles all night. Hosted by Roger Dimick.

Proceeds benefit GLCCB. 8:30pm. Club Hippo, 1 W. Eager St. 410.547.0069, ClubHippo.com

Chanukah, Christmas Day & Chinese Food: “Chosen Food,” celebrates the unique relationship between American Jews and Chinese culture. The familyfriendly event will feature games of mah-jong, Chinese lantern and origami making,

Living the Full Rainbow Flag: (LGBT) members and allies in the UU community who face oppression for supporting full LGBT equality connect on the first Wednesday.

FREE. 7:15pm. Cedar Lane UU Church, 9601 Cedar Ln. Bethesda, CedarLane.org

Sunday, December 25

PAGE 16 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

Thursday, January 5 BSO SuperPops: Jack Every and the Brothers Gershin: Fascinating rhythms and rhapsodies fill the hall when piano man extraordinaire Stewart Goodyear performs Rhapsody in Blue. Broadway star Judy McLane also showcases the greatest hits from the George and Ira Gershwin songbook. $28-88. 8pm. The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Ln. North Bethesda, Strathmore.org

Friday, January 6 Arsenic and Old Lace: Two maiden aunts, three brothers, four cops, and thirteen dead bodies all collide in one charming Victorian house in this madcap comedy.

Murder was never so much fun! $16. 8pm. Thru 2/5. Vagabond Players, 806 S. Broadway St. VagabondPlayers.org Last Chance: The Story of a Broken Heartland: The first weekend in a series of 16 new theatrical works in various stages of development features a new show by Baltimore resident David M. White about life in the Ozarks. FREE. 7pm. Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. TheatreProject.org Witches Brew: A screening of Baltimore horrormeisters Chris LaMartina and Jimmy George’s latest horror comedy. The film follows two microbrewers who screw over the town witch, who curses their alcohol: anyone who drinks the hexed brew suffers a gruesome, ironic demise. $5-10. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. CreativeAlliance.org

Saturday, January 7 Baltimore Frontrunners: Running/walking club for LGBT individuals and friends.

Assemble 8:45am, run 9am. Reassemble for brunch 10am. Panera Bread, 3600 Boston St. BaltimoreFrontrunners.org Washington Winter Show: Washington’s answer to The Antiques Road Show.

Distinguished dealers offer verbal appraisals and insights to the background of your antique treasures. 9-11am. Lecture from former White House pastry chef follows. $10. 9am-6pm. Katzen Arts Center at American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW Washington DC, WashingtonWinterShow.com Artist’s Reception for Pat Baker: Non-profit artists’ cooperative featuring original art and prints from local artists presents pieces from the metalsmith. Her exhibition will feature unique jewelry pieces created using enameling, self-made glass beads, precious and semi-precious stones, resin additions, and anodized titanium. FREE. 2pm. Thru 1/29. Art Gallery of Fells Point, 1716 Thames St. FellsPointGallery.org Balti Mare Balkan Dance Party: Baltimore’s favorite Balkan band leads a mad night of dancing to frenetic songs about everything from illicit love to cavorting goats. Have some plum brandy, get your palm read, and dance! $7-12. 8pm. Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. CreativeAlliance.org The Legwarmers: Crimp your hair, roll up the sleeves of your blazer and Wang Chung with the beloved 80s cover band. $15. Doors, 7pm. Show, 9pm. 21+ Rams Head Live, 20 Market Pl. RamsHeadLive.com Toast Delegate Mary Washington: Toast Delegate Mary Washington. As a freshman member of the House Appropriations Committee last year, Mary remained steadfast in her commitment to fighting for LGBT rights. 7-9:30pm. $50-250. Terrace at Gertrude’s at the BMA, 10 Art Museum Dr. ArtBMA.org

Tuesday, January 10 Night Out presents “Gleam”: LGBT cocktail hour and preview of Centerstage’s newest production. Based on the Zora Neale Hurston’s beloved novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, the play spans three decades of American history and encompasses life-changing, epoch-shaping events. $10-40. 8pm. Thru 2/5. CENTERSTAGE, 700 N. Calvert St. Centerstage.org The Music of ABBA: Bring your Dancing Queen to hear the music of ABBA, featuring Arrival From Sweden and ABBA original musicians. $39.50. 8pm. Rams Head On Stage, 40 West St, Annapolis, RamsHeadOnStage.com Howard County PFLAG Monthly Meeting: Support group and Q&A parents of LGBT children. FREE. 7:30-9pm. Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, PFLAGmd.org Rainbow Youth Alliance of Howard County: A support group for GLBT and questioning teens and their allies. RYA is a safe place to ask questions, find mutual support, and learn information pertinent to LGBTQA youth. For more info, contact: rya_leaders@hotmail.com. Or call 410.280.9047. Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, PFLAGmd.org

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

Wednesday, January 11 BINGO! Come for happy hour, stay for Bingo. Cash prizes and progressive jackpot.

Enjoy drink specials, appetizers, and raffles all night. Hosted by Roger Dimick.

Proceeds benefit GLCCB. 8:30pm. Club Hippo, 1 W. Eager St. 410.547.0069, ClubHippo.com Talk by Rev. Mark Kiyimba: (See article p. 5) The Ugandan minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kampala discusses “Standing on the Side of Love in Uganda and the USA.” The staunch advocate of LGBT rights faces arrest in his country for his support of the LGBT community. FREE. 7pm. First Unitarian Church of Baltimore, 12 W. Franklin St. FirstUnitarian.net Transgender Issues Working Group: Support group for those who identify as transgender. Meets every other Wednesday. Registration required. FREE. 7pm.

Equality Maryland, 1201 S. Sharp St. Contact Owen@EqualityMaryland.org

Thursday, January 12 Generous Company’s Gumbo: Three original works from three different companies; Generous Company, Un Saddest Factory Theatre Company, and Annex Theatre Company. Part of a series of 16 new theatrical works in various stages of development.

FREE. 8pm. Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St. TheatreProject.org Violinist and Conductor Itzhak Perlman: Back by popular demand, the legendary violinist and conductor return for an evening of audience favorites. $50-81. 8pm.

Thru 1/15. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. BSOMusic.org

Generous Company’s Gumbo: Three new plays from WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, followed by receptions with the Playwrights, cast and crew. Second Week of a series of 16 new theatrical works in various stages of development. FREE. 8pm.

Thru 1/21. Theater Project, 45 W. Preston St. TheatreProject.org

epic symphonic tone poem Zarathustra, from the celebrated 1968 movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tchaikovsky’s masterful first piano concerto rounds out the program featuring the extraordinary talents of Olga Kern. $28-61. 8pm. Thru 1/22. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. BSOMusic.org

PFLAG of Columbia/Howard County Parent Forum: Support group and Q&A for parents of LGBT children. For more info, contact: Judy Gaver at 410-848-5705 or judygaver@hotmail.com. FREE. 7:30-9pm. Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, PFLAGmd.org

Friday, January 20

Woodberry Kitchen Cocktail Seminar: Mixologist Corey Polyoka shares Woodberry Kitchen’s approach to making cocktails with homemade ingredients and raw creativity. 7:30-9pm. Marquee Lounge at the Paterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. CreativeAlliance.org

Thursday, January 19 Maryland Corporate Council Launch Event: Premier corporate and business network of LGBT & ally professionals in Maryland. MCC will introduce the organization, sponsors, and goals, planned events, and answers questions. Networking opportunity.

Light hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. 6-8pm. $25. Hotel Monaco Baltimore, 2 N Charles St. MarylandCorporate.org Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto: Marin Alsop holds the reins for two orchestral tours de force–Ravel’s propulsive and unforgettable Boléro, and Richard Strauss’

Flux/us Dance Projects presents The Key is Only One: Opening night of Maryland Art Place Performance and Workshop Series; the collaborative effort between MAP and Baltimore’s most exciting performance collectives. A reception follows Saturday’s performance, featuring Baltimore‐based electronic music act Tek SubPort. Thru1/14 Power Plant Live! 8 Market Pl. MDArtPlace.org G. Love & Special Sauce: The Philadelphia-based artist, best known for his “sloppy” blues that fuses the sound of folk and classic R&B with elements of modern hip-hop performs with special guest Kristy Lee. $25. 8pm. Rams Head Live, 20 Market Pl. RamsHeadLive.com

Saturday, January 14 Baltimore Frontrunners: Running/walking club for LGBT individuals and friends.

Assemble 8:45am, run 9am. Reassemble for brunch 10am. Panera Bread, 3600 Boston St. BaltimoreFrontrunners.org Modern Dance Workshop: Choreographer Judy Kurjan from Flux Flux/us Dance Projects leads a dance class. RSVP sofia@mdartplace.org. FREE. 2-4pm. Maryland Art Place, 8 Market Pl. MDArtPlace.org Night OUT at the Wizards: LGBT night at the Verizon Center for the Wizards’ game vs. the 76ers. 7pm. Verizon Center 601 F Street NW Washington DC

Monday, January 16 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade: Baltimore City commemorates the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with marching bands, color guards, steppers, equestrian units, dance squads, and civic organizations. FREE. Noon. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd & Eutaw St. bop.org

Tuesday, January 17 Bottoms Up!: Anal Sex 101 Adult Classes with Chris Snider and Jaki Grier. $20. 6:308pm. Sugar, 927 W. 36th St. SugarTheShop.com Rainbow Youth Alliance of Baltimore County: A support group for GLBT and questioning teens and their allies. RYA is a safe place to ask questions, find mutual support, and learn information pertinent to their lives. For more info, contact RYABaltimoreCounty@gmail.com FREE. 7:30pm. Towson Unitarian Universalist Church, 1710 Dulaney Valley Rd. Lutherville, PLFAGBaltimore.org

Wednesday, January 18 BINGO! Come for happy hour, stay for Bingo. Cash prizes and progressive jackpot.

Enjoy drink specials, appetizers, and raffles all night. Hosted by Roger Dimick. Proceeds benefit GLCCB. 8:30pm. Club Hippo, 1 W. Eager St. 410.547.0069, ClubHippo.com WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

Baltimore Restaurant Week Begins: The culinary event of the year. Enjoy a threecourse dinner for $20.12 or $30.12. Select venues offer two-course lunches for $15.12 Find participating restaurants at BaltimoreRestaurantWeek.com Wine Tasting: Get your weekend started off right with complimentary tastings of wines from around the world. Discounts on bottles included in tastings.

FREE. 5-8pm. Fridays. Spirits of Mt Vernon, 900 N. Charles St. 410.727.7270, SpiritsOfMtVernon.com Eclipse! at Club Orpheus: Dance to a mesmerizing light show with video projectors, lasers and strobes. 9pm every Friday. 18+. Club Orpheus, 1003 E. Pratt St. ClubOrpheus.webs.com

Christmas Services at Welcoming Congregations

Friday, January 13 Ain’t Misbehavin’: Opening night of the tribute to the black musicians of the 1920s and ‘30s who were part of the Harlem Renaissance, an era of growing creativity, cultural awareness, and ethnic pride. $10. 8pm. Thru 2/12. Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul St. Spotlighters.org

Charm City LGBT Film Festival: Sample some of the best queer filmmaking of the past year. The festival features nine films, 2 on Friday and 7 on Saturday, and a free film for youth. For showings, tickets, and the films visit CreativeAlliance.org. $5-25. 7pm. Thru 1/21. Creative Alliance at The Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. CreativeAlliance.org.

Saturday December 24 Christmas Eve

First Unitarian Church of Baltimore

Corpus Christi Church

Two Christmas Eve Services: Christmas Family Mass, 4pm. Christmas “Midnite” Mass, 10pm.

110 W. LaFayette Ave. • 410.523.4161 CorpusChristiBaltimore.org

Annual Christmas Eve Potluck: Bring a dish to share, and fellowship with your friends and family.

Pratt Parish Hall. at First Unitarian! 6:45pm.

Christmas Eve Service: Witness the sanctuary awash in candlelight at this very special service.

Sing Christmas carols and join hands. 8pm.

12 W. Franklin St. • FirstUnitarian.net

Christmas at St. Mark’s: Holy Eucharist for Christmas Eve, including music by the St. Mark’s Choir. Festive Christmas Eve reception. 7:30pm.

1900 St. Paul St. • 410.752.5804 StMarksCelebrates.org

Grace United Methodist Church

Faith Presbyterian Church

Two Christmas Eve Services: Special family service with music by children and youth choirs. 4pm. Festival Service of Candlelight and Communion. 8:30pm.

5407 N. Charles St. • 410.433.6650 GraceUnitedMethodist.org

Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church

Candlelight Communion Service of Lessons & Carols: 5pm.

5400 Loch Raven Blvd. • 410.435.4330 FaithPCBalt.org

Saint Bernardine Catholic Church

Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore

Christmas Eve Mass & Midnight Mass: 4 and 11:45pm.

3812 Edmondson Ave. • 410.362.8664 StBernardineChurch.org

Govans Presbyterian Church

Traditional Unity Christmas Eve Service: Unity views the 12 powers of man, represented by colors and candles, as spiritual gifts that each one of us can call into expression. This service provides meditation upon that power(s) and affirms that it is expressing through us to help in daily life.

FREE. 7pm.

927 Wertzville Rd. • Enola, PA UnityChurchPA.org

Service: Please come and join our celebration of the season. 7pm-9pm.

4007 Old York Rd. • UFCB.org Pageant and Candlelit Service: 5:50 & 8pm.

5828 York Rd. • 410.435.9188 • GovansPres.org

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

The Eve of the Nativity-Festival Christmas Eve Mass: Come early with your family and friends to experience a glorious service of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We will celebrate Christmas Eve with a festive service of the Holy Communion. Music will be offered by Emmanuel’s 17 voice professional choir, accompanied by organ and harp. 6pm, 10pm.

811 Cathedral St. • 410.685.1130 edt.episcopalmaryland.org

The First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church

Two Christmas Eve Services: Child-friendly service with carol singing, 7pm. Traditional service of lessons and carols with the Sanctuary Choir, 10pm.

210 W. Madison St. • 410.728.5545 FirstFranklin.org

Unity Church

Sunday December 25 Christmas Day

First Unitarian Church of Baltimore

Grace United Methodist Church Christmas Day Service: 10am.

5407 N. Charles St. • 410.433.6650 GraceUnitedMethodist.org

Govans Presbyterian Church

Combined Worship Service: 11am.

5828 York Rd. 410.435.9188, GovansPres.org

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Choral Holy Communion: Christmas Day service of the Holy Communion with organ, choir and sermon at 10:30am.

811 Cathedral St. • 410.685.1130 edt.episcopalmaryland.org

The First and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church Service of Worship: 10:30am.

210 W. Madison St. • 410.728.5545 FirstFranklin.org

Corpus Christi Church

Christmas Mass: 10:30am.

110 W. LaFayette Ave. • 410.523.4161 CorpusChristiBaltimore.org

Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church

Christmas at St. Mark’s: Holy Eucharist for the Nativity of Our Lord followed by coffee hour. 11am.

1900 St. Paul St. • 410.752.5804 StMarksCelebrates.org

Faith Presbyterian Church

Carol Sing & Christmas Story: 10:45am.

5400 Loch Raven Blvd. • 410.435.4330 FaithPCBalt.org

Saint Bernardine Catholic Church

Christmas Day Mass: 9am.

3812 Edmondson Ave. • 410.362.8664 StBernardineChurch.org

Christmas Morning Service: A reflection on the Christian faith with a celebration of Communion as our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors might have understood it. 11am.

12 W. Franklin St. • FirstUnitarian.net

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 17

afterhours BSCENE

EQUALITY MARYLAND RECEPTION FOR NEW EXEC. DIR. CARRIE EVANS ■ DEC 6 PHOTOS BY JAY W

SEE MORE PHOTOS ON BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

13TH ANNUAL 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS CHARITY GALA AT CLUB HIPPO ■ DEC 10 PHOTOS BY JAY W

firstperson SPEAKING OUT

TRANSMISSIONS

Black LGBTQ Community

A Step in the Rights Direction

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

American LGBTQ community. Sadly a month later, Arise folded. In an email blast to Arise supporters, the publishers wrote, “Despite our best efforts to remain in print, it has become cost prohibitive to continue to produce Arise as we know it. It is not our desire to compromise its quality to remain in existence. Therefore, effective immediately we are closing the pages of Arise magazine.” Eight months since the decision was made to close the pages of Arise, a relaunch issue was slated for January 2004, but that too failed.

In the 1990s, Venus Magazine was founded

by Charlene Cothran, a publication that for 13 years targeted the Black LGBTQ community. As a staple in the African-American community, Venus Magazine was the first and only queer magazine owned and operated by a black lesbian that spoke to and about the unique intersections of being black and LGBTQ in both the African-American and white queer communities. And Venus’ loyal readership had hoped the magazine would

do for its queer population what revered publications like Ebony and Jet magazines did for all people of the African Diaspora— that is, change society’s negative and misinformed perceptions about us.

Charlene E. Cothran sent shock waves throughout African-American LGBT communities nationwide when she wrote an article entitled, “REDEEMED! 10 ways to get out of ’The Life’ if you want out!” In it, she wrote that she’s now not only “saved,” having turned her life over to Jesus, but “straight” as well. And as a fledgling magazine with the threat of folding always hanging over its head, Cothran opted to take financial support in 2007 from black churches funded by white right-wing Christian organizations that emphasize “reparative therapies.” In fact, she opted to be her own magazine’s “ex-gay” poster girl, rather than let the magazine fold.

Those of us who read GBMNews will feel its absence, hopefully remembering why it’s not here with us. ■

PAGE 18 • DECEMBER 23, 2011 – JANUARY 19, 2012

a lengthy appeal process. Glenn was fired in October 2007, and it’s taken until December 2011 to have this ruled in her favor.

Not everyone has the resources and intestinal fortitude to go through this process.

That said, it’s important to consider that this case does provide some basis for those who can pursue a case. If the historically conservative Eleventh circuit can find in Glenn’s favor, then there’s hope for us all.

I’d like to see this victory taken a couple steps further. For one, I’d like to see the Department of Justice look at where transgender people fall under Title VII, under the Fourteenth Amendment, and other places rights based on sex or gender are mentioned.

Perhaps it is time these are clarified, in the light of trials such as Glenn v. Brumby.

More than this, it also points to the importance of bills such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and the need for this now-transgender inclusive bill to pass.

Let’s clear this up, once and for all, and make sure that transgender protections are,

and will be the law of the land.

One more thing: Hillary Clinton spoke to the United Nations within days of the Glenn decision. In a speech celebrating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Clinton spoke at length about the importance of LGBT rights.

“I am talking about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people,” Clinton said, “human beings born free and given bestowed equality and dignity, who have a right to claim that, which is now one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time.”

She followed that up by immediately saying, “I speak about this subject knowing that my own country’s record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect.”

Cases like Glenn v. Brumby are a step in the right direction. Let’s take more steps, and see that all people truly are protected. ■ Gwen Smith may be left handed, but she’ll take all the rights she can get. You can find her on the web at GwenSmith.com.

BALTIMORE’S GAY LIFE NEWSPAPER

Beginner Yoga With Yoga Therapist Tim Hurley

Sundays at 3:30pm (please arrive a few minutes early) Room 201 at The GLCCB 241 W. Chase St. Cost is $9 www.glccb.org 410.837.5445 A portion of the cost is donated back to The GLCCB

WANT MORE GREAT CONTENT? Visit us online for web exclusives!

www.BaltimoreGayLife.com WWW.BALTIMOREGAYLIFE.COM

VOLUME 33, NUMBER 25 • PAGE 19