Buttigieg doesn't take the bait
06
History of physique mags
ARTS
08
15
20
SFAC
Nightlife Events
The
www.ebar.com
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 49 • No. 17 • April 25-May 1, 2019
Rick Gerharter
State Senator Scott Wiener, left, the Reverend Amos Brown, and District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown spoke at Monday’s news conference.
The sister of David Zarda, above, who died before his case was resolved, is fighting her late brother’s firing from a recreational parachuting company.
Supreme Court will hear 3 LGBT cases
Hunky Jesus crowned
by Lisa Keen
I
n what one legal expert called an “aggressive move,” the U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it will take up the issue of whether existing federal law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. The eventual ruling has the potential to give a strong boost toward equal treatment of LGBT people in the workplace or to dramatically set back advances made over the past several decades. The court has agreed to review lower court decisions in three cases that define the limits of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sex in the workplace. The cases will be heard during the court’s next term that begins in October. Two of the three cases ask whether sex should be read to also prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. In one of those cases, the lower appeals court said yes, in the other, it said no. Those two cases are being consolidated and will be heard together. The third case asks whether Title VII should be read to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s status as transgender, or based on sex stereotyping. Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said he was surprised to hear the court took all three appeals. “This is an aggressive move and suggests that the court wants to resolve whether Title 7 protects LGBT workers,” said Minter. “These will be hugely important decisions for LGBT people and underscore the urgency of passing federal and state laws that expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, so that these critical protections do not depend on the courts.” Minter added that, while he thinks the legal arguments on behalf of LGBT employees are strong, “this is an extremely conservative court.” “These cases will tell us a lot about whether this court can deal fairly with issues affecting LGBT people,” said Minter.
Civil rights leaders unload on AHF over Wiener mailer
by Cynthia Laird Steven Underhill
F
orrest Gump Jesus, aka Nevin McConnell, center, took top honors as this year’s Hunky Jesus Sunday, April 21, at the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s 40th anniversary Easter party in Mission Dolo-
res Park. Also on hand was comedian Bruce Vilanch, right, who was a celebrity judge. The Sisters had a great time, as did the thousands of people who attended the event. For more photos, see BARtab’s Shining Stars, page 24.
S
an Francisco African American community leaders ripped into the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation Monday for the agency’s use of a race-baiting mailer to oppose gay state Senator Scott Wiener’s housing legislation. AHF and Michael Weinstein, its president, sent See page 12 >>
New owners of Pink Sonoma venue have anti-LGBT past
by Charlie Wagner
C
ontroversy about Out in the Vineyard’s upcoming Pink Sonoma Saturday event erupted late last week because one of the new owners of the venue has penned anti-LGBT posts on social media. Ownership of the General’s Daughter, a wedding and event space where Pink Sonoma Saturday will be held, recently changed hands. Stacy and Ken Mattson, the new owners, have spent $80 million over the past three years purchasing 26 properties throughout Sonoma Valley, according to the Sonoma Index-Tribune. The newspaper reported April 18 that before changing her Facebook page last week to make postings private, Stacy Mattson’s posts included one in 2013 describing how the Rose Parade was “high-jacked by the gay agenda” and another in 2015 describing U.S. Supreme Court rulings on “Obamacare” and same-sex marriage as “truly horrible.” Gary Saperstein, owner of Out in the Vineyard, responded with his own Facebook post April 19. “I get to share stories of hate & discrimination on a weekly basis on my Out in the Vineyard Radio Show,” he wrote. “And now it has hit close to home, in our very own backyard, in our very own city.”
See page 12 >>
Courtesy the General’s Daughter
The General’s Daughter, a wedding and event venue in Sonoma, was recently purchased by new owners, one of whom has posted anti-LGBT messages on social media.
Stacy Mattson’s missives were publicized after an earlier Index-Tribune article about the Mattson’s real estate purchases motivated Sonoma food writer Sarah Stierch to discover and circulate screen shots of the Facebook posts. Adding to the furor was the fact that the couple’s business partner, Tim LeFever, of LeFever Mattson Property Management, has served as board chairman of the Capitol Resource Institute, which lobbies against LGBT rights. Saperstein decided not to cancel Pink Sonoma
{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }
SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN
SATURDAY & SUNDAY MAY 4TH & 5TH Not yet a member? Support the Garden & JOIN TODAY at sfbg.org
Saturday because the venue’s previous owner had donated the space, allowing a portion of every ticket to go to Positive Images, which provides support and advocacy for LGBTQ youth in Sonoma County. “There is no money going into the hands of the current owner,” he wrote. “If there were, I would have moved and/or canceled the event.” Currently, the website for the General’s Daughter displays a Human Rights Campaign logo. The See page 5 >>