Xpress: January 2013

XPRESS GUIDE TO DINING OUT • HEALD: TOASTED OAK GRILL & MARKET IN NOVI 01/13

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SEEKING HOME FOR FAITHFUL ANSWERS COMPLEX FOR LGBT BELIEVERS

THE INTERVIEW:

ALLAN GILMOUR BUSINESS ICON, WSU HEAD, GAY PHILANTHROPIST

TRANSGENDER CHALLENGES

DOUBLE LIFE TAXING, PHYSICALLY / MENTALLY

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january 2013

JANUARY 2013 8 Letter to our Friends Publisher's thoughts on how the far right wing still controls the legislative agenda in Lansing as demonstrated by the closing days of the lame-duck session.

12 The Interview: Allan Gilmour Allan Gilmour has made a name as a leader at Ford and as the current president of Wayne State University, as well as a philanthropist in the gay community.

19 Transgender challenges On a national basis, transgender people represent two to five percent of the population, a group that faces disproportionate challenges in all facets of daily living.

23 The faith seekers Sexual minorities of faith wonder if there is life beyond traditional LGBT churches and if they can ever find a spiritual home within denominations that haven't been historically welcoming.

34 LGBT people of color For LGBT people of color, it's not just about being gay, but also about being a minority within a minority and therefore twice as susceptible to discrimination.

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40 Compendium A collection of LGBT news notes from around the country.

43 Dining Out directory A guide to selective restaurants in the tri-county area.

47 At The Table Toasted Oak Grill & Market 's current winter menu created by Executive Chef Steven Grostick is filled not only with good eats, but fun.

50 Views from inside The U.S. Supreme Court decision to review same-sex marriage cases.

FACES 17 Nancy Schlicting 33 John Arnold 39 Rayya Elias

Cover photo by Laurie Tennent

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PUBLISHER David Hohendorf E: DavidHohendorf@DowntownPublications.com O: 248.792.6464 ext. 800 C: 248.736.7047

AD MANAGER Jill Cesarz E: JillCesarz@DowntownPublications.com O: 248.792.6464 ext. 600 C: 248.860.8414

SALES STAFF Leo Calhoun E: LeoCalhoun@DowntownPublications.com O: 248.792.6464 ext. 601 C: 206.290.9106

NEWS EDITOR Lisa Brody E: LisaBrody@DowntownPublications.com O: 248.792.6464 ext. 700

NEWS STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Allison Batdorff, Hayley Beitman, Hillary Brody, Eleanor & Ray Heald, Austen Hohendorf, Garrett Hohendorf, Laurie Tennent (Laurie Tennent Studio), Dawn Wolfe

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Ann Burns, Sara Celina, Michael Collins, Harris VanCleef, Amy Weber, David Zawicki

GRAPHICS/IT MANAGER Chris Grammer

Xpress is a member of Downtown Publications 124 West Maple Road Birmingham MI 48009 P: 248.792.6464 Downtown Publications include Downtown Birmingham/Bloomfield Black Book of Non-Profits The Guide • Xpress

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DISTRIBUTION: 20,000 copies of Xpress are distributed free at over 300 high foot-traffic locations throughout portions of Oakland, Macomb, Wayne counties each month.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Paid mail subscriptions are available for a $12 annual fee. For paid mail subscriptions, go to our website (xpressmi.com) and click “subscriptions” on the home page and place your order online or scan the QR code here.

VIEWS FROM OUTSIDE: We welcome your feedback on both Xpress and general issues of concern in the LGBT community. The traditional “letters to the editor” in Xpress are published in our Views from outside section and can include letters received via e-mail to: XpressLetters@DowntownPublications.com or mailed to Downtown Publications, 124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009. Letters must include your full name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS

If Xpress had existed back in 2010, I would probably be devoting this space to the renewed hope, given the fact that the state had just elected a more moderate governor with Rick Snyder.

Based on what we were led to believe, there was hope that with the right party leader the fringe element in the Republic party would be brought to heel and the shenanigans by the GOP in both chambers would be a thing of the past.

But the actions in the lame-duck session of legislature have certainly put that to rest.

Put bluntly, Snyder failed to lead in the waning days of this session of the house and senate, although insiders have maintained for the last couple of years that the GOP caucus in both chambers has been really driving some of the more off the wall legislative efforts, as opposed to the governor handing down marching orders based on an agenda for some of the critical social issues today.

What we witnessed in late November and early December was an onslaught of attacks driven by the Tea party members in Lansing on issues ranging from women's health, adoption procedures, and the age-old pro-choice/pro-life battle. Some will also put the Right to Work (RTW) skirmish on this list, but labor leaders were warned a year ago that placing an issue on the ballot to constitutionally enshrine collective bargaining rights in Michigan was a risky issue that would probably make the RTW issue an agenda item for the GOP. In other words, it was waking a sleeping giant. Labor lost and RTW became the lighting rod, as predicted.

My concern has more to do with dashed aspirations for progress on personal rights that need to be addressed in the LGBT community. Shame on me for thinking that it might be possible to move more of the debate from the courtroom to the halls of Lansing, that assembling a group of more enlightened lawmakers would allow for discussion to start on a mutually agreeable game plan for seeing gay-friendly legislation start to move.

That's not to say that Xpress and I personally won't be applying the effort in coming month to begin an organized push with lawmakers, starting with Oakland County legislators, to begin a private dialogue about LGBT concerns. It just means it will take more work.

For me, that is nothing new. At the risk of dating myself, I have been involved in a variety of causes starting in the mid-to-late 60s to the present day. The crystalizing issue then was the Vietnam War, which brought me into what I will describe, for lack of a better term, as the movement, including counseling 18-year-olds at the East Lansing Draft Information Center, along with members of the armed services hoping to escape the military either by taking advantage of the system by finding a military rule that would allow them to leave or electing to move through an underground railroad into Canada.

As to the mess in Lansing, I personally hoped the changing national attitude about LGBT issues would somehow infect the members of the state House and Senate and that the far right wing of the Republican party would not hold sway with the bulk of the GOP in the capitol. I was wrong, as demonstrated by the drama that played out during the lame-duck session in Lansing at the close of the session.

The fringe element of the GOP was able to bring pressure on party lawmakers and correspondingly on Snyder, although his spokespersons deny he caved. The result? More bad legislation driven by ignorance, intolerance and just bad politics.

So as we move into a new year, I am reminded of the work that needs to be done and that change never takes place without a consistent effort with an eye on the goal.

Here's to progress on the LGBT front in the coming new year.

David Hohendorf Publisher DavidHohendorf@downtownpublications.com

VIEWS FROM OUTSIDE THE LIVES OF LGBT MUSLIMS

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Gay retirement options I was amazed by Dawn Wolfe's article (on gay retirement living) in your most recent edition (Xpress/December 2012).

Her quotations from her interviewees were deadly accurate, yet woven into a story that truly flowed. She managed to capture so many of the pieces in the growth of the movement to better acknowledge and address issues facing Michigan's aging LGBT residents.

Keep up the good work and high standards for your journalism!

Michael Bartus, Bloomfield Hills

Adoption hurdles The December issue of Xpress captured completely the problems that many of us face in the gay community when it comes to adoption and full rights for both

Xpress

members in the relationship when adoption does occur.

For far too long those of us in the LGBT community who would cherish the chance to raise children of our own have been ignored by the main-stream politicians who are not sensitive to the plight of our community.

I am looking forward to future issues of Xpress and the issues you select to explore.

Jay Criner, Detroit

Montgomery interview Thank you for the article (November Xpress) about Jeff Montgomery, a long-time LGBT activist.

Leo Romo, Saginaw

Views from outside

Your comments can be sent via e-mail to XpressLetters@DowntownPublications.com, or mailed to Xpress,124 West Maple Road, Birmingham MI 48009.

While we don't have a specific word limitation, we reserve the right to edit for length.

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THE INTERVIEW:

ALLAN GILMOUR

BUSINESS ICON AND GAY RIGHTS PHILANTHROPIST

Business icon and gay rights philanthropist Allan Gilmour speaks to Xpress editor Lisa Brody about breaking through the “lavender” ceiling, his love affair with Ford Motor Company, meeting the true love of his life, his devotion to education and learning, his fight with cancer, and the importance of giving.

XPRESS: Tell us about yourself. We all know life is an evolution, and your life has definitely been an exciting journey. How would you describe Allan Gilmour in 2012 versus the Allan Gilmour of 1952, 1972, 1992, and 2002? You grew up on a dairy farm in Vermont, and then rose to be Vice Chairman of one of the largest automotive companies in the world before becoming president of a major urban university. When you look back, what is the reflection that catches your eye in the rear view mirror?

GILMOUR: Unpredictability. I meet with a lot of people, of course, as university president and sometimes our faculty members here encourage students to declare their majors/occupational interests too early, and so I say to people, how many of you are doing now or did before you retired, what you expected to do when you were 18? It’s a very small number. If this is 60 years ago, I was a college freshman and I expected then that I was going to be a country lawyer. And so I went to college for four years, then came to University of Michigan law school. I didn’t like it at all and then I worked for a local lawyer for a summer after that, and I said the world has enough mediocre lawyers already and they don’t need me. I did something different and went to business school, then to Ford, then retired from Ford, went back a second time, retired again. I’ve been involved in not-for-profits including Wayne State, but also the Community Foundation (of Southeastern Michigan), Henry Ford Health System, the DIA, the Cultural Alliance, a bunch of things around here plus corporate boards I was on, about six or seven, not all at once but a variety of times. It’s fascinating to me, because I’ve lived a very fortunate life. I’ve been able to do interesting things with interesting people in interesting circumstances.

Although I’m far behind right now, I love to read. I love to read about different things. I love to read about the things I’m not responsible for and see what they’re like. It’s a fascinating world, isn’t it? The mother-in-law of one of my former colleagues, who now lives in California and retired well into his 90s, lived with him and his wife until she passed away. She said I want to stay around and see how it all works out.

XPRESS: You spent your primary career, your first career, at Ford Motor Company. You were an economics major at Harvard, and got your MBA at Michigan. How did you become a car guy?

GILMOUR: I liked cars. I liked cars from the time that I was ten years old, maybe eight years old. You young people can’t remember the Saturday Evening Post, but it was a weekly magazine and a considerably bigger format than TIME or Newsweek while it was here, and it had a lot of car ads. This was largely before TV and so this was the way to advertise. I cut out the ads and I pasted them in scrap books and that sort of stuff. So, again speaking of being fortunate, I was very fortunate to be a finance major, and that was my particular business interest if you will, in a car company because I liked the product stuff and later on, responsibility at various times for products and other stuff.

XPRESS: Were you always fascinated by cars and engineering, or were you more interested in the finance and business end of the auto industry?

GILMOUR: I’m certainly not an engineer. I know just enough to be wrong. At the same time, the engineering work is the foundation of the product so I was involved in those kind of jobs because it was necessary to understand what they were doing and why they were doing it.

XPRESS: How did you end up in Detroit, and what was your evolution up the chain like at Ford?

GILMOUR: I ended up in Detroit because that’s where Ford was. When I left I

was a PhD student for three semesters after getting my MBA in Ann Arbor, and I began to go to a bunch of places and I selected Ford and Ford selected me too, so I was in Dearborn. In those days, this is 1960, it was the headquarters worldwide of the auto industry, and to some extent, still is. I think we’ve downplayed the importance of the auto industry, particularly after the Great Recession, but the thinking for the auto industry, certainly for three companies, is done here. All three companies are worldwide companies.

XPRESS: You began at Ford in 1960, in the “Mad Men” era, which was certainly a repressive time for homosexuals. Was that tough for you?

GILMOUR: No, because I didn’t know what I was. I had a slow start at Ford, at least in my view, but within a year...I suppose I was impatient. I was much more talented for top management then than I am now. I was ready as an MBA to set the world on fire. I ended up with a great job before my first year was out. It was coordinating a financial review that went to the top inside committee of Ford and the board of directors. I had a great job in breadth. I could see what was happening at all parts of Ford Motor Company. Ford was, and is, a gigantic company with all sorts of things going on and I was almost, if I can use the term, in love with Ford Motor Company. I guess the best answer is I was neither gay nor straight. I was Ford.

As time passed I thought, you’re missing something, and I dated some women and I guess they can conclude they probably weren’t missing a thing.

There was no spark or anything like that, if you will. Then I just, because of interest and all sorts of things, was reading and studying, studying might be too strong a word, and I thought “hmm, this is interesting”. I traveled to various places where a lot of gay people travel on vacation and I thought “hmm, these are interesting people”. I gradually concluded I was. I didn’t go to a psychiatrist or psychologist; I probably should have. I was at least in my late 30s before it really got through my head that this is what I was.

I must tell you this story with this line because I use it all the time. When I’m talking with groups of gay people I say, “For all of us old people, we think great progress has been made. For the young people, they think great progress needs to be made,” and both groups are right.

XPRESS: Did you feel it was imperative that you remain in the closet in order to rise in the auto industry? Was Ford any different than it would have been at GM, Chrysler or American Motors?

GILMOUR: Yes and that was not because the auto industry was bad. Ford was as open a company as one would find in our kind of business, but as I got higher level positions, I did not want the attention to be on me. I would have an ingredient, an element, a facet of my life that was different and I did not want in the media to have the word gay in front of me every time I was described. I had increasingly jobs where I was highly visible with media dealers, some writers, also some organizations, and people like that. This isn’t fair to Ford, and it might not be fair to me, because they would say “well, we don’t want him out there with all this going on,” so I kept my lifestyle to myself.

Lifestyle was an awful word; I shouldn’t use that word. My life, I guess.

XPRESS: Do you feel you sacrificed anything in order to make your way through the hierarchy at Ford, or in the auto industry as a whole at that time?

GILMOUR: Yes and no. One of the great pluses in so many organizations of gay people is that they work harder because they don’t have to go home at night and take care of kids and wives and things of this kind. Now circumstances (have) changed so more gay couples have kids and all sorts of things like this, but in the older days that wasn’t true so I could focus very much a lot of attention on my work. Did that help me? Yeah, it did. I was able to do more, if you will, and therefore get better positions as time passed. Did I miss part of my life? Sure I did because I closed off or probably didn’t recognize to some extent a big hunk of what is life.

XPRESS: You were passed over twice for the chairmanship of Ford, once in

1989 to Harold “Red” Poling, despite being the choice of incumbent CEO Donald Petersen, and then a second time, despite being Poling’s choice, in favor of Alex Trotman, in 1992. Do you think, either time you were passed over, it was because you were gay or because your colleagues or board members suspected you were gay?

GILMOUR: A straight answer, if I may use that term, is I don’t know, but the first time, I don’t think so. What was needed in the change in management in the late ‘80s was a person like Red Poling because the economy and Ford had declined sharply. His abilities to work on the kinds of things that would help us were better than my abilities. The second time around I have less certainty, less knowledge. There had been some discussion and I was told a of couple years before that I would get the job. At the same time, the comment was that Alex Trotman had better operating experience and that was what was needed. Did he have better operating experience?

Yes because he had run Ford in Europe and in North America and I hadn’t done those things. A professional product person and he had that background and we worked very well together.

With hindsight, first, you can’t fix the past and second, gee, I’ve enjoyed the thing since I retired the first time.

XPRESS: You obviously handled it with grace and humility, becoming Ford Motor Company’s Vice Chairman from 1992 until 1995, when you retired, and then again from 2002-2005 when you returned to the company. Why did you step down in 1995?

Was it your choice, or the company’s?

GILMOUR: Because I was tired. It was my choice, and I had gone back to see if I could help in a very difficult circumstance with a lot of turmoil in the economy first, and second in Ford management. I think we made some good progress then, but it was time to get out of the way. By then I was 71 years old. Time had passed.

XPRESS: What was it like, for the first time in your adult life, to be free of the boundaries of a corporation? You had publicly “come out” as a gay man in an interview with Between the Lines.

You now could live as an openly gay man. Do you think that was a transformative period for you?

GILMOUR: That’s an interesting word, and I don’t want to call it transformative. It was an opening, relaxing in some senses, a free period. Because of all the publicity when I did the interview with Between the Lines, all of a sudden the world that was interested knew all about it. So therefore I just continued my life and there were no obvious bad repercussions. In other instances, there were repercussions that I was surprised at. People sort of not bringing up the subject. Right after all the publicity, you’d have thought, gee you’ve been in the papers a lot, what’s going on? But on the

County because it’s too far away or whatever.

whole, the boards I was on, for example talking with Alex Trotman on the phone about this, no problems with the boards or family or things like that. At least with me, there’s no discussion these days with being gay.

XPRESS: Do you think that your coming out has had an impact on others in executive positions, either in the auto industry or the business community in general, in terms of general acceptance of diversity in the workplace and the issues surrounding sexual orientation?

GILMOUR: I think so. It’s hard to say I did something and therefore the whole world benefited. I don’t know that the whole world changed but I think so. People say to me, “it made my life easier”. The question doesn’t come up now.

Society has changed and it wasn’t led by me but I was around and visible.

I did have a wonderful compliment paid to me by one of my co-directors at DTE Energy who said to me, you’ve made it acceptable.

XPRESS: Do you still feel, as you have been quoted in past interviews, that progress on LGBT issues will come more through government policies rather than corporate policies?

GILMOUR: No, I was quoted the other way around.

I was quoted that government was the last, along with some religious organizations, to adapt to what I would call the modern world. Business led the way, and business didn’t lead the way because they woke up in the morning and said, “Gee, I like gays.” Business woke up in the morning and said, “Hey, some of them are customers and some of them are employees.”

It’s an over simplification, but in general, you don’t have too many good customers and you don’t have too many good employees, and some of them might be gay. As a business person, I’m not going to set aside this population anymore than I’m going to set aside those who live in Macomb

XPRESS: Is progress being made in the corporate world or does the “lavender ceiling” still exist for those business leaders who are openly gay?

GILMOUR: It depends on the business and the culture, a cliché word that I despise, although I’ll use it today. It gradually opens because the conclusion is talent. Are all the gay people talented and the straight ones not? No. I’m afraid that’s not the case, but if the talent is there and the need is there, fine. We’ve got bigger things to worry about than this.

I’ve given thirty-odd talks on diversity around the country since I first retired from Ford in ‘95. I’ve only given one or two since I got this job, and I say when I joined Ford Motor Company, it was run by white men. Females were secretaries, nurses, a couple of statisticians and things like that. We left out half the population. Is that how to run a big company or a big anything else or a small anything? Heavens no. The biggest change in my view in diversity, demography, whatever you want to call it in my time has been the role of women.

Which is now just largely taken for granted. Why is it that of the five largest defense contractors, three are female?

XPRESS: You and your partner, Eric Jirgens, met in 1994. Tell us the story of your romance, and how it has changed your life. What does it mean to you to have someone to share your life with?

GILMOUR: It’s great. We had a birthday party for him last Friday. Today is his fiftieth birthday, so we had a party. We had it at the Henry Ford Museum and about 150 people were there, and it was a surprise, and I thought how lucky I am. He’s a lot younger than I, which is normal for most of the population. In some senses that was good, because he’s up on all sorts of things and I’m not. I did tell him way back in 1994 or 1995 or 1996, I told him you will age faster than I do for the first 15 years, then I will age faster than you do. This started with health issues in the last year or so. I am aging much more rapidly than he is at 50, but in going from 32, which he was then to 50, he aged. In terms of his business, in terms of the world, his interests, all sorts of things, but it’s just delightful in every sense I can think of.

We met at a Grosse Pointe dinner party. I went alone. These are very nice people who live in a gorgeous Grosse Pointe house and have very nice dinner parties, jacket and tie and just sensational food. So I walked through and I thought I don’t know a single person in this place. I walked out on the lawn in the back and there is Eric along with a person I didn’t know and a person I knew slightly so I went up to say hello and then we chit-chatted and wandered off. Then the buffet dinner was served and so I wandered into the living room to find a place to sit and the two of them are sitting

on a sofa. I sat on a chair and we start talking, and I thought, oh I met someone who is really special, so then I pursued him. I didn’t know his last name, besides he didn’t use that in his business. I can’t figure out how I found his name, but I finally did.

XPRESS: How is Eric alike, or different from you, and how does that balance you?

GILMOUR: He is largely different. I grew up in the country in Vermont, as you know, and our normal answer to most questions is no. His answer to most questions is yes. He reminds me greatly of my aunt, my father’s sister. My father was very conservative in all senses. She was not. She owned three restaurants in Boston and one in Cape Cod. I remember, I suppose I was 15 or 16 years old, she said I am in great shape, I have a husband who looks like Clark Gable, which was factual, I have two dogs and a Cadillac convertible. She was the bouncy kind that would do things. Eric is the same way, the bouncy kind who can do things and is interested in all sorts of things. Our interests now, they’re not perfectly joined. I don’t like vegetables anymore than I used to like vegetables.

XPRESS: You are an extremely philanthropic individual, sitting on the boards of Henry Ford Health System, the Detroit Zoo, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Karmanos Cancer Institute, New Detroit, among several others, as well as being chairman of the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan. What motivates you to continue giving back?

GILMOUR: I was visited by someone recently who asked that question and I said I don’t use the term “giving back” and I don’t know why, it’s not a bad term. I just don’t think of it that way. I think of it in two ways— is this something that I am interested in, and is it something I can make a contribution to? A lot of the nonprofits are very well run organizations. A lot of them, almost all of them, are doing terrific work and I enjoy being involved in that. It’s not unlike, in many ways, Ford or Wayne State. In the kinds of things we do, yes, the missions are different but we better have professionals in all senses carrying out those kinds of missions, and it’s fun to be involved with these people. I’ve been fortunate that the organizations that I ended up with continue to do very, very good things and they’re needed.

XPRESS: In 1996, you agreed to appear on a panel at the annual conference of the Council of Michigan Foundations. By then, you had become an open fundraiser for a gay and lesbian charity called the HOPE (Helping Others through Partnerships and Education) Fund, which is an affiliate of the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan. After being very quiet about your sexual identity for so long, was it

meet, a couple to three times a year. I guess it’s our annual meeting. We have a meeting next week. We have five board members. The Community Foundation (of Southeastern Michigan), because this is called a supporting organization, which means we do not have to have a minimum distribution according to IRS rules, (and) we do not have to pay an excise tax according to IRS rules. So the Community Foundation appoints three members of the board and I appoint two members of the board. The Community Foundation has appointed Mariam Noland who is head of the Community Foundation, David Adamany who used to be president of Wayne State, and Nancy Schlichting who is the head of the Henry Ford Health System.

difficult for you to speak at a panel and to raise money openly for gay charities?

GILMOUR: Yes. It was a weird panel. The only audience, the better part of 1,000 people attend the conference, and there were about between 20 and 30 in the room and I knew them all because they were the true believers. So I talked to myself essentially. It was the first venture into saying we must raise money for gay and lesbian causes, organizations or the mainstream organizations helping gays and lesbians.

The whole fund has been successful. We now have an endowment of $2 million. We have a legacy program where people include us in their estate plans, so there is more money coming. We raise roughly $100,000 a year separate from that, and give away roughly $100,000 a year.

XPRESS: You also have a personal foundation, the $4.3 million Gilmour-Jirgens Community Fund, which you chair. Tell us what this particular fund supports, and why you feel it’s so important to that you and Eric have set this up and maintain this fund.

GILMOUR: Regrettably, it doesn’t have $4.3 million dollars because we gave away the money. When I was getting deferred compensation from Ford after my first retirement, I thought I want to set up some sort of a fund where we can give away money on our own schedule to organizations that we were interested in on our own schedule, so we did. A good part of it, I don’t use this term because I’m proud of it but because it’s accurate, is what I call memberships. In other words, a whole bunch of charities that I believe deserve some amount of money, we’ll call these the mainstream charities.

Then there’s another group, gay and lesbian ones.

Then there’s another group, a small group in Vermont where I grew up, and the rest of the group is called other, which is people who call up and say will you give us some money and we’ll say, yeah sure. It’s better to say yes than to argue. We

XPRESS: You’re obviously not a man who likes to sit around and take it easy. In August 2010, after former Wayne State University president Jay Noren unexpectedly resigned, you were elected as Wayne State’s 11th President, and you’ve done such a good job that the board asked you to stay on and you’ve agreed to until this June 30, when you’ll retire at 79. You seem to be having a pretty busy retirement. What is it about Wayne State that enticed you away from a lounge chair and into an active presidency?

GILMOUR: I first came at the end of August 2010 as interim. That’s when Jay Noren left, but I was interim until as I say, they had a search for a grown up. In January, x months later, four months whatever it is, the board said, would you stay on and I said yes. I said yes because I found this to be a wonderful job. I will retire at the end of this academic year and that’s fine. At my age, it’s time to get someone else in here. Someone who can make better long-term plans than I can and carry out the long term plans.

Wayne State is a fascinating place. We change lives in medical research, we change lives on the football field where our students have a better grade point average than the campus average and it’s not because they take basket weaving. It’s the research we do. Our students come here at 18 and most of ours take six years to get through because they’ve got work or family obligations or something like that. We aren’t Michigan, but we don’t intend to be. We’re supposed to find our own niche, and that sounds too narrow and it is too narrow, but our own position. We are a metropolitan university in a big city with all the problems of big cities and all the pluses of big cities. Whether it’s the DIA across the road or whatever else comes along.

XPRESS: You have been credited with shaking up the culture at Wayne. What does that mean?

GILMOUR: When I came here we had a number of problems, and I don’t mean this has been magic, but one of the things that was bothersome was that

people said they had been “Wayned,” and I said what do you mean by that? And they talked about the bad service they got or the people who didn’t pay attention.

We’ve done some changes to that. We’ve modernized some of our systems which were out of date, so you can see why people wouldn’t be very happy providing the service. We’ve also changed some attitudes. We’ve got more to do.

Higher education, to more extent than most kinds of endeavors, is inward looking. We look inward and say aren’t we doing a good job?

Yeah, we are but the world is changing. What we do doesn’t mean we throw out everything we’ve done in the past. Just because we’ve added a year of history we don’t drop off a year way back when. The knowledge is expanding. How do we handle that? How do we handle online learning or distance learning, whatever we want to call it. I conclude that most of the things I read are wrong because they’re exaggerated. Either it’s a terrible thing or the greatest thing and neither is right.

XPRESS: While Wayne continues to be a university of opportunity for those with less educational choices, you toughened the admission criteria by taking a more holistic approach to better determine who will succeed.

Why was that necessary?

GILMOUR: Because not enough people are graduating and we were letting in people who could not make it and we were doing it too simplistically. Now do we pay attention to grade point? Sure we do, but we also pay attention to how it progressed during the four years of high school. We pay attention to the quality of the high school, we pay attention to the ACT score, we pay attention to did the kid have a good family situation, did he or she have to work, did he or she have to support a family. So we know more about the student.

We’re just getting started, if you will. This coming fall will be the full implementation. With partial implementation, do we think it’s working?

Yeah. You want to let in every person who can benefit from an education, but there’s no need of letting in people who should be doing something else. Going to a community college, going to a vocational school, who knows what and that’s not to dismiss those jobs. One of the most intriguing facts I read somewhere, the top quarter of automotive technicians in this country make more money annually than the bottom quarter of lawyers. I was going to be a mediocre lawyer.

XPRESS: What else do you hope to achieve in the next six months before you call it a day?

GILMOUR: Two or three things we’ve got to work on, but we were going to have a big discussion with our board yesterday about our facilities plan and it took me months including the day before

yesterday afternoon to say this isn’t what we should be discussing. We need a better discussion of what is the long-term vision and strategy. Now I’m not going to set that before I leave but I want to get started on that. We are starting an intuitive to figure out how to get more revenue in place because almost no one wants to pay more tuition and not many legislatures want to send more money from Lansing and when you add them together it’s not enough.

What do you do about it? So we’ll be putting together a group to think about this and see what we can do.

We are just in the process of looking for a new dean in the school of business. We’re just in the process of selecting an interim dean at the law school who will serve for 18 months, and by the end of 18 months, the search will have been carried out by that person. We are competing for a major contract in Washington on maternal and baby health care. The place is full of things.

We’re building where the old Dalgleish Cadillac building used to be. A $93 million dollar medical research building.

XPRESS: You were diagnosed with a pretty aggressive form of prostate cancer and you worked at Wayne State through your treatments.

Tell us all how you are doing now. I understand you are on preventive drugs now that leave you a little weak, and you have appointed Phyllis Vroom as deputy president to assist you.

GILMOUR: To me it’s an interesting story. I think the world, alas, will hear too many times about it. I took 43 radiation treatments. I took 60 pills a day to control the hormones because hormone growth increases the risk of cancer growth, and I can verify my hormones are under control. There’s no problem with that and I took a few other odds and ends. Then I took, the most important one of all I forgot—or at least one of the most important ones—an injection of a medication called lupron and it’s designed to control the possible return of cancer. At the end of August, I got a clean bill of health. There is no sign of any cancer anywhere and you can’t beat that.

Regrettably, the lupron injections have adverse side effects for a lot of people who take them. What I feel, and it started about the first of August, is fatigued, some lack of focus, some lack of memory, I guess that’s true. Fatigue is the one that’s most bothersome, so this is the reason I said to the board in September, if you think I should, I’ll step down. They said ‘no’; that instead we should get someone to work with me. Phyllis Vroom, who had been both acting president and acting provost and dean of the school of social work for 42 years came to work in the middle of October. My gosh, I essentially work half days.

Yesterday I was in the board meeting from 9 until 4, but today I didn’t get here until just before 1

o’clock. Now I do some work at home, e-mail and telephone stuff. Starting the middle of September, I haven’t felt worse. I’m happy about that so I’m a partially effective president. But with Phyllis, I think between us is when people say what does she do and I say whatever’s hard.

We’re catching up to things that I had let drop. I think we’re getting the job done.

XPRESS: What are your next plans? Travel?

Enjoying staying home? More philanthropic work?

GILMOUR: I don’t have any idea. Staying home is one of them. I like to read. Right now, I read all the papers and the magazines. I’m going to rest and I am tired from the job because it is a tough job. It’s a rewarding job but it’s a tough job. I’m convinced that university presidents have tough jobs but most of us are doing it because we like it.

XPRESS: You will have left strong footprints in several communities. How would you like to be remembered at Ford, Wayne State and in the gay community?

GILMOUR: In the old days, there were inscriptions on tomb stones as to what the deceased had said he or she wanted on the tomb stone, and this allegedly is a true story, although I’ve never read it. There is one in Key West that says, “I told you I was sick.”

I don’t have any great words but I think what we all do or what we all try to do is our best. I think that’s what we all want. People end up in different positions; that doesn’t mean they’re better or worse, it means we all do our best for ourselves, family, community, employer. I once spent a number of sessions with a marvelous person in California who was a psychologist, but I was a client or patient and he consulted with individuals of companies, and he said when you retire you have the best freedom of your life. You can do what you want. You have spent your life satisfying other people. You have more opportunities to think about things and you can also quit. If you’re working at Ford and you say I’ve had three lousy days, I’ve had enough of this. If you say that, you may really have enough of this. He said the principal evaluation is internal. How did you do?

What did you do? Are you happy or content? And I said I’ve been very fortunate, particularly the people at Ford or various charities or boards. I was talking to one of the executives of DTE Energy where I was on the board for 17 years, what a good company and what a good board.

Somehow the right chemistry, the right mix of people. Maybe my tomb stone should say, “he had a terrific life”, and it would be accurate.

Scan for Gilmour audio

FACES Nancy Schlichting

N

ancy Schlichting first volunteered at a local hospital in her hometown of Akron, Ohio, which led her to the ultimate decision to pursue the business end of healthcare.

Today, she is the president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System.

Schlichting attended Duke University, graduating with a degree in public and health policy. “When I started taking classes, I knew I had found my niche. I finished my major in two years which was no small feat.”

Upon graduation, Schlichting worked at a handful of hospitals where she gained exposure to different areas of healthcare. “I got a variety of experience that confirmed I was going down the right path,” she said. “I knew what I wanted to do and knew I needed a masters degree to do it.

Cornell had an MBA program and I needed to understand the business of healthcare.”

She graduated with a master's in hospital administration and accounting, and completed her residency at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. “My background working with cancer patients gave me a leg up. Within two weeks of arriving, they allowed me to be the administrator on call at a prestigious hospital in New York City.”

While completing her fellowship at the American Hospital Association/Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, she was introduced to Gail Warden. “He really guided me to go back to Akron and work where I (had) volunteered in high school.”

At only 25 years old, she became the assistant director of operations of Akron City Hospital and was promoted to executive vice president and chief operations officer.

“The fellowship was very prestigious. It allowed me to go into operations with almost no leadership experience at all.

It was unheard of to rise to that level of responsibility.”

Schlichting was recruited to Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and was promoted to president and CEO. “I briefly worked at Catholic Health Initiatives, and then realized I didn't want to travel anymore. I went back to Akron and got a call from Gail Warden.”

In 1998, Schlichting moved to Michigan to take a position with Henry Ford Hospital. In 2001, she was promoted to CEO and by 2003, she became president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, where she led a drastic financial turnaround and helped earn the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. “Being in Detroit, people had a tendency to play the victim and we got our mojo and confidence back, and I'm just so proud of that.”

She serves as the chair of the Detroit Regional Chamber and as a board member of The Kresge Foundation and Walgreen Company, to name a few.

Schlichting and her family have called Bloomfield Township home for the past six years. “I've lived in nine states in my life and Michigan is the best place I've ever lived,” she said. “My family comes first and always has, but I've always had a lot of support from my family that's allowed me to do the things that I do.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Henry Ford Health System

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TRANSGENDER DISPROPORTIONATE CHALLENGES IN DAILY LIFE

BY ALLISON BATDORFF

mani Love doesn’t need to know the back-story of the transgender sex workers at Detroit’s Six Mile and Woodward. Understanding isn’t a job requirement. Caring is.

Love passes out condoms and lets the women know where they can find a safe bed, a warm meal, support groups, education help and free HIV testing.

“It’s my calling,” the 19-year-old Detroiter gushes excitedly about her job with Ruth Ellis Street Outreach Team. “This community needs our help. People shun these women. But we’re in no position to judge. We just can love and accept them and do what we can to help them.”

Love and accept what we don’t personally understand? Is it possible?

Love says “yes.” She is also a transgender person. She keeps her details private. Personal experience taught her that people, even those close to her like her family and within the LGBT community, have trouble understanding what transgender means.

“People don’t understand what a struggle it is to be something internally that your physical appearance does not reflect,” Love said.

“Everyone wants to look at biological sex, not gender identity.”

K

eeping sex simple – a rigid approach where girls do this and boys do that— means labeling everyone else as confused, or worse, she said. Insults both “interesting” and “uncouth” have been flung her way since she began living her life as a woman as a 15-year-old.

Emani Love was just being herself. And at 15 years-old, she was emotionally exhausted with the effort of being someone else.

“I just always felt this overwhelming sense of femininity within me,” Love said. “I finally came out because of the weariness of hiding who I really was.”

That’s the problem with the gender binary, said Louis Graham, PhD. A two-party system with strict gender roles based on biological sex is not one-size-fits-all.

Like two-party politics, the stark polarization leaves most people somewhere in the middle of the sexual spectrum.

“We all have external pressure to conform to gender norms, but real people rarely fit the stereotype,” says Graham.

But there’s a difference in social tolerance experienced by the male nurse, the female lieutenant and transgender individuals. Blatant gender bending comes with a sharp social backlash, one that Graham is trying to quantify as a Ford Fellow on the “Detroit Youth Passages” project.

“Detroit Youth Passages” goes beyond the numbers to get into the homes, workplaces, and family structures of some of the most marginalized and underserved populations in the area. Graham works with transgender males-to-females, focusing on issues of unemployment, housing instability, and sexual vulnerability. Although the numbers aren’t crunched and the project is only in its third of four years, Graham can offer a few personal observations.

“Some people come out as gay first, because their families can understand that better,” Graham said. “But as early as they remember, most people knew they were different.”

Transgender-men-to-women are often sent to live with an uncle or someone who will “teach them how to be a man,” Graham said.

“These women realize it’s not socially acceptable to be who they are, while they are sexuality developing at the same time,” Graham said.

This often leads to disconnected families, residential instability, and potentially risky survival sex work, Graham explained.

Detroit’s marginalized population isn’t unusual. National percentages put transgender people at somewhere between two to five percent of the total population, yet they are a population facing disproportionate challenges.

Transgender people are four times more likely to be impoverished and twice as likely to be unemployed, says a 2010 joint survey of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equity.

In surveying almost 6,500 people, 41 percent of them reported attempting suicide. School bullying numbers were off the charts—78 percent of nongender conforming kids experienced harassment, physical assault (35 percent), and sexual violence (12 percent.)

Workplace harassment was at 90 percent. Consequently, hiding gender identity at work is prevalent, with 71 percent of respondents admitting they hid to avoid discrimination and possible job-based recrimination.

Employment is a huge issue, echoes Rachel Crandall, a transgender person in Ferndale.

“A lot of people don’t want to hire a ‘trans’ person because people are afraid that their clients would react negatively or wouldn’t understand,” Crandall said.

Years ago, she came out in a small Michigan town and was fired from her job as a psychotherapist, Crandall said. Even if a trans person gets a job, problems crop up when the Social Security information or gender on the driver’s license doesn’t match the employer’s assumptions.

“I had one job where my boss called and asked me about my Social Security number. ‘This number is for a guy,’ he said. When I agreed, he said he’d call me back, but that was 15 years ago and I’m still waiting,” Crandall said.

According to Equality Michigan, current legislation (House Bill 5039) will weaken LGBT protections from discrimination in the workplace, in housing, and in other public venues. The organization tracks 50 cases of gender-based employment discrimination every year, according to the website.

The group also publishes a list of top trans-friendly employers compiled by the Human Rights Campaign's 2013 Corporate Equality Index. Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Company, Dykema Gossett (law firm), and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan top the Detroit list.

Safety is also a concern, as transgender people are easy targets of hate crime. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence reports that 27 LGBT and HIV-positive people were killed in 2010, with 44 percent being transgender women.

Two transgender women who frequent the Ruth Ellis Center were killed this year, said Outreach Director Jessie FullenKamp.

“Things aren’t perfect for gays and lesbians, but we as a culture are slowly moving towards understanding what it means, and the legislation and laws are starting to reflect that,” FullenKamp said. “With people who are transgender, it’s not happening as quickly. We’re lagging behind, especially in terms of safety.”

At Detroit’s Ruth Ellis Center, 15 percent of their clients are transgender. The center runs transgender support and advocacy along with baseline assistance with food, housing, education, counseling, employment, and HIV prevention.

The mental health impacts of leading a double life can also be taxing, FullenKamp said.

One of the Ruth Ellis Center kids told her that she had been seeing a counselor for three years, and still dressed up in her “boy clothes” whenever they met.

“She had been changing into boy clothes for her counselor for three years,” FullenKamp said. “Her counselor didn’t think to ask her client’s gender identity. A young person has to constantly evaluate the safety risks in being who they are. They are very aware of the safety risks from coming out to someone and the implications for mental health can be huge. You can never be yourself, or trust others with who you are. To be in this situation 24-hours a day, seven days a week is incredibly challenging.”

M

any people who are transgender undergo a process called “transitioning,” or reconciling their inner feeling to the outside world. This takes many shapes, varying from a legal name change to full sexual reassignment surgery.

In the state of Michigan, a legal name change doesn’t require sexual reassignment surgery, but changing the gender on a driver’s license or birth certification, does, Crandall explained.

Crandall opted not to have surgery and is “pretty happy where I am.”

But as the executive director of Transgender Michigan, she advocates for more awareness in the health system. The hotline rings several times a day, with many questions directed towards finding help transitioning, she said.

“It’s really a huge issue,” Crandall said. “There are very few doctors that will see trans clients outside of the Detroit area.”

Her group works with health professionals in Michigan to do training and raise awareness, as there is little to no mention of transitioning in medical school.

“It can be very frustrating for all involved,” Crandall said. “New doctors call our hotline, too. Their patients are asking them questions.”

When one of Dr. Mark Sikorski’s patients approached him about a friend who was taking estrogen shots in a bathroom, the Macomb-based family practitioner decided to act.

“I did a lot of research to try to get the best handle I could,” Sikorski said.

Now, 15 years, and hundreds of transitions later, Sikorski enjoys helping people “feel the gender they want to be.”

Before surgery or hormone replacement therapy, patients undergo psychological and counseling evaluation to confirm gender identity disorder, Sikorski said. Then he tailors the transition to the patient’s individual needs and means.

“Some patients stick with hormone therapy, (while) others opt to have full sexual reassignment surgery,” Sikorski said. “A well-informed patient is the best kind.”

University of Michigan opened a Comprehensive Gender Services center in 1993 that has helped a “1,000 clients in varying stages of transition,” according to the website. The center offers speech therapy and regular physical services as well as tracheal shaves, breast augmentations and chest reconstruction, facial feminization and genital reconstruction for their clients.

Few health insurance carriers cover these procedures, which can run up to $20,000 for full sexual reassignment surgery.

Transitioning is just as important for those on the street without the means to pay for office visits, and recent years have shown an uptick in the sale of street hormones and the process called “pumping,” or injecting silicone directly into the body.

“I hate it,” says Sikorski. “People use the injections to provide more curvature to the hips, facial pumping for the cheekbones or breast augmentation…but the changes are temporary. The silicone hardens, making the situation far from ideal and fraught with all kinds of complications.”

Michigan Department of Community Health issued a warning in response to “pumping parties” where untrained salespeople would inject industrial grade silicone (like bathtub caulking) and castor oil into transgender people in motel rooms and at parties. The practice can result in “death from lung failure,” autoimmune diseases, infection, and HIV or Hepatitis transmission from dirty needles, the warning says.

FullenKamp addresses these issues in “Gurl Talk,” a retreat tackling transitioning issues and HIV on the street.

“We respect the right of people to try and feel more like themselves in their bodies,” FullenKamp said. “We just want to educate people and make sure they’re transitioning safely.”

Love tackles this question too in her street outreach, as some people aren’t aware that the dangerous – and counterproductive – practice of injecting the wrong dosage of estrogen can actually produce a “more masculine appearance.”

Still, for most people, one of the biggest aspects of their transition is coming out to their families.

Said Crandall of her experience, “We didn’t have the word ‘transgender’ when I was growing up but I knew that naturally, I was a girl. I tried to come out to my mom and dad as a child, but it didn’t go well, and I went back into the closet for 20 years,” she stated.

“Then I tried again. My parents weren’t happy about it and it took them a few years to come around to really accept me as their daughter.

Eventually they were happy that I finally came out, and were happy that I was happy.”

Using the right pronouns and names are so important to transitioning individuals, Graham said, as many want to return to their families after being separated.

“We see that transgender people reproduce versions of the family structure within their peer groups, with ‘mom,” and surrogate brothers or sisters,” Graham said. “But their families miss and worry about them.”

One interesting observation Graham noted is that families often accept the transition relative to how well – or “passable” – the transgender person fits their chosen gender.

“The families perception of 'pass-ability' as women can mean they are more likely accepting of them. This means implications for feminine performance, body language and appearance and whether the child lives up to what they consider a women should act like,” Graham said.

There again enters that murky business of biological sex and the social constructs that shape perceptions and acceptance of gender roles.

W

hat people don’t realize is that most of us “break the rules” in some way, shape or form, FullenKamp says.

“It (gender) is always a part of our lives, and we are all breaking rules because the rules aren’t written down anywhere for us to follow,” FullenKamp said.

For instance, in 1890s Michigan, a woman would be considered cross-dressing as a man if she wore trousers. Dress codes change, roles change. And, in the end, a polarized two-party system doesn’t do any one justice.

“People want to look at the individual and know everything about them. But you can’t look at someone and know what they look like underneath their clothes,” FullenKamp said. “And even if you could, what’s under there doesn’t define us either.”

In general, transgender awareness has really grown, Crandall said.

“As more people look at their own gender, they become more accepting of diversity of all kinds,” Crandall said. “I’d like to think we played a part in that.”

Creating a culture where people can feel safe, not shameful, benefits everyone, FullenKamp said.

“Our recommendation is that providers are LGBTQ competent. This means asking someone’s biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and the sex they are currently having,” FullenKamp said. “All of these questions create a sex-positive environment.”

In the end, you can care about someone without understanding exactly what someone is experiencing.

“I try to approach the issue with cultural humility and a recognition that what you don’t know goes a long way,” Graham said. “I see it as a privilege. I might ask the questions, but I recognize that no one has to answer me.”

Sikorski says simply, “when people come to my office, we don’t treat a gender. We treat people.”

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FAITH WHEN LGBTS OF FAITH SEEK, WHAT SHALL THEY FIND?

BY DAWN WOLFE

S

exual minorities of faith wonder if there is life beyond traditional LGBT churches like the Metropolitan Community Church, and if queer people can ever find a spiritual home within denominations that haven't been historically welcoming, or even tolerant. For spiritual and faithful souls who happen to be gay, yet who don't subscribe to the world's three monotheistic faiths, there is actually progress and inroads being made, and hope for more inclusion.

But, like religion itself, the answers to questions of where LGBT members of faith are welcome are complex, sometimes self-contradictory, sometimes maddening – and frequently inspiring.

Birmingham Unitarian Church in Bloomfield Hills

For believers, their religion is just as vital an aspect of their identity as their sexual orientation or gender identity. But what is a believer who is a sexual minority to do if she or he is condemned within their faith tradition – whether by the hierarchy, from the pulpit, or by other congregants in the pews, if they feel an outcast in a place meant to be a sanctuary? Both members of religious communities and sexual minorities of faith ponder whether it is enough for a religious institution to merely allow LGBT singles to join, or should sexual minorities hold out for full acceptance in every aspect of their lives – including their marriages, partnerships and families. It's a conundrum being faced by the faith-based of many religions.

PRESS

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Celebrating the accomplishments of the community and exploring the issues facing gay, lesbian, bi and transgender residents.

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A SPIRITUAL 'STATE OF EMERGENCY' FOR BLACK LGBTS For Rev. Darlene Franklin, who served as the pastor of the LGBT-centered Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church in Detroit for ten years, the hostility of Detroit's traditional black churches has created “a state of emergency. People are taking their lives because the church won't accept them.” Franklin, who says she has been “sort of retired now for about three years,” states that as far as she knows there isn't a single mainstream black Christian church in the city of Detroit that is open and affirming of sexual minorities. This includes the city's United Church of Christ ministries, despite the fact that, on the national level, UCC broke ground by becoming the first mainstream Christian denomination to openly affirm the civil rights of sexual minorities in the mid-1970's.

Rev. Selma Massey, founder of Detroit's Whosoever Ministries – another congregation formed specifically to welcome same-gender-loving and transgender Christians – says that Franklin is correct about the lack of support for sexual minorities in Detroit's mainstream African-American churches.

Furthermore, the fact that African-American leaders including the NAACP, the National Black Justice Coalition, and President Barack Obama have recently come out in favor of equal marriage rights has only hardened the position of black churches on LGBT issues.

Why would people choose to attend a church where they aren't fully welcomed? Franklin's voice turns reflective as she answers. “People we've run into have different ideas of what 'welcoming' is. People are telling me that as long as the pastor isn't bashing homosexuals that they're OK (in a given church). My opinion on that is, 'No, you're not OK'. Because if I'm not welcome to the full life of what the ministry has to offer, then I am sure not welcome there.

They attend those churches because of the traditions of the African-American community, because of the family ties, the traditional black music … many consider not being able to be out and open a small price to pay for the overall traditional fellowship they receive.”

Of course, walking into the closet the moment one walks into a church is only one option. Another is to stay away from church altogether – an option that Franklin says a “significant number” of the people she knows in the community have chosen.

Judy Lewis, former executive director of the Jewish Gay Network and current director of Affirmations' Faith Alliance, says that she too has encountered “People (who) are saying 'I don't need church or organized religion. I can come together with other people of faith; I don't need to be part of a specific denomination.' I think on some level that's not such a bad thing – but I think that both the churches and the individuals who leave are somehow missing out.

“Human beings need ritual and tradition and those things, and the fact that they reject their faith or organized religion can have a very negative result -there's a lot of anger and a lot of toxic things that happen.”

SHEPHERDING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS ALIKE Lewis and her organization are working hard to soothe that anger. Launched in January of 2012, the job of the Faith Alliance is to make it possible for more believers of every race, and every religion, to find an open and affirming faith community. As part of that work, the Alliance has taken on the challenging task of teaching religious organizations exactly what it takes to be considered a truly open and affirming space.

Xpress

january 2013

Answering questions from her car inside a parking lot at a local Meijer, Lewis is instantly on fire with her mission.

“My intention, my hope is that we can educate the LGBT community and the mainstream religious community that there are more lines in the Old Testament and the New than just two lines of Leviticus,” she emphasized. “We have somehow found a way around the injunction that a woman must marry her rapist, like it says in Deuteronomy, and I don't know any parents who have stoned their children – and all of them deserve to be stoned, including my own daughter,” she said, laughing.

Turning serious again, she continued. “The problem is that we don't know who the enemy is. People who are Catholic have disengaged from the Church because they see the Church as being the (Detroit) Archdiocese – and the archdiocese is very negative. There are Catholic churches out there that aren't negative, but people have to find those churches. We need to teach congregations how to be inclusive and then direct people of faith back to those congregations.” To that end, the Faith Alliance collected the contact information of worship leaders representing faith communities that either are, or are interested in becoming, open and affirming at Affirmations' November 2012 Shower of Stoles event. The Shower of Stoles Project recognizes LGBT clergy who have been excommunicated because of their faith or who are forced to serve from the closet.

According to Lewis, the Alliance collected eight pages of contacts during the event – “We have quite a number from the Reform and Humanistic Jewish synagogues, we have a Catholic church, a couple of MCC churches, a few Evangelical Lutheran churches, a few Methodist congregations – it's a broad-based compilation.”

The presence of Reform and Humanistic synagogues isn't surprising. Beginning with Troy's Shir Tikvah reform temple, Reform, Humanistic, Reconstructionist – and even a few Conservative – Jewish congregations have been increasingly open to sexual minorities since the 1980's.

For Lewis, her compilation is just the beginning.

“The problem is I have no Buddhist groups, no Hindus, no Muslim organizations, and only a couple of Sikh temples.”

Although this writer was unable to find any reference to open and affirming Sikh worship groups – either in Michigan or nationwide – and the Hindu temple consulted seemed welcoming but not necessarily affirming, what is also true is that the Buddhist organizations that were consulted for this article probably belong on Lewis' list. Not only that, but sometime in late winter or early spring 2013, there is a good chance that an open and affirming mosque will be coming to the area.

continues, his tradition's local teacher, Gelek Rimpoche, did officiate at a samesex wedding in the Netherlands.

The volunteer outreach coordinator for one local Hindu temple, Anjalie Vale of Bharatiya in Troy, said, “Nobody asks whether you are (a sexual minority). It's not a question anybody would ask. You are a devotee, you come to the temple, you worship.” However, Vale says she has never seen or heard of a local Hindu temple officiating a same-sex union, and internationally, the topic of homosexuality is still highly controversial among many Hindu teachers.

Islam is probably the last religion that most people would think of when considering a religious tradition that is open (or potentially open) to lesbian, gay and bisexual people. With the well-known, severe oppression of LGB people in places like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other predominantly Muslim countries, it would be easy to assume that Islam has no place for most sexual minorities, though the theocratic regime in Iran, for example, does support sexreassignment surgery for transgender individuals.

However, that assumption would be wrong. While the movement for a more progressive Islam is (very) small, it exists and it is growing – but while the movement is affirming of sexual minorities, its organizers stress that inclusion of sexual minorities is just a part of what they're about.

Ami Zonneveld, the co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values, stands out in Islam for the simple fact of being a woman in a role of religious leadership.

As far as she's concerned, that's part of the point.

“MPV started off the bat by creating an inclusive space,” she insists firmly. “We want to stress the fact that LGBTs are normal. Women leading prayer is normal. How can Islam be a tradition of peace without justice? The heart of Islam is justice – it's talked about all the time but it's not put into practice. We're an indicator of the end of the world in some opinions, but we're practicing what we preach – which is justice for all.”

In November of 2012, MPV made headlines with the opening of a progressive (and LGBTaffirming) mosque in Paris, and during her interview Zonneveld said that her organization is also extending into Denmark and opening chapters in Salt Lake City and Columbus, OH. One of those new chapters might just be coming to Detroit. The LGBT Outreach Director of Muslims for Progressive Values, Imam Daayiee Abdullah, is one of two openly gay Imams in the world, and he is planning an event in Detroit for either late winter or early spring that could lead to the formation of the area's first open and affirming mosque. Abdullah says that he is working with KICK: The Center in Detroit Executive Director Curtis Lipscomb to create a two-day event, including “A social day and a day of workshops to discuss the issues of being LGBT and Muslim, and also to look at establishing an inclusive mosque, a space for queer Muslims to come together.” The date of the upcoming event wasn't available in time for the deadline for this article.

OF COURSE, WALKING INTO THE CLOSET THE MOMENT ONE WALKS INTO A CHURCH IS ONLY ONE OPTION. ANOTHER IS TO STAY AWAY FROM CHURCH ALTOGETHER

DIFFERENT FAITHS, DIFFERENT APPROACHES While related, Hinduism and Buddhism are distinctly different belief systems – and while the first seems to be struggling (at least internationally) with homosexuality, at least two Buddhist practices in the metro Detroit area are definitely open to sexual minorities.

According to Detroit Lotus Sangha Director Sean Raesa (who himself is gay), both his organization – which follows the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh – and the other Buddhist centers he has attended in the area are open and affirming.

However, don't necessarily expect a Buddhist temple to conduct a marriage ceremony for either same or opposite sex couples; at least, not in the same sense that the three monotheistic religions understand the rite.

Why? Because “according to Buddhism, marriage is not a sacrament – it's more of a legal thing,” according to Hartmut Sagolla of the Jewel Heart Tibetan Buddhist study group at the Birmingham Unitarian Church. That said, Sagolla xpressmi.com

LEADING FROM THE INSIDE While the hierarchies of many Christian denominations are decidedly antiequality, there are also an increasing number of what Sharon Groves, the director of the Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith project calls, “para-denominational affinity groups” that welcome sexual minorities with open arms and, in some cases, advocate for acceptance within the denominations as well.

Even over the phone, Groves' energy and enthusiasm are contagious – and in just a few moments, she covers what feels like an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge about the current state of sexual minorities and faith. According to her, “In every single denomination (that isn't already open and affirming of LGBT worshipers) there's some kind of affinity group, outside of the

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denomination, working with people inside the denomination – sometimes really closely with the officials in those denominations.”

In other cases, Groves says, “Where there's been a strong line drawn (against LGBT equality), even in denominations like the LDS (Mormon) Church and Seventh Day Adventists, these groups function as separate religious spaces to go.”

The president of one such local affinity group, Dignity Detroit, says that his organization has been ministering to LGBT Catholics since 1974, when they began meeting at Most Holy Trinity Church before being ejected by the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1997. Glenn Crane says that his organization has between 70 and 80 members who, “Grew up Catholic, many were raised in Catholic schools, so Catholicism is part of their own true being and they want to continue their faith in the Catholic church.”

Crane adds something that may be a surprise to those who are aware of the Catholic hierarchy's stringent anti-LGBT stance: he confirms Lewis' statement that not every Catholic church in the area is anti-gay. “Probably 20 percent of Catholic churches are affirming or don't speak to it (homosexuality),” he said.

Not only that, Crane adds that Dignity Detroit has “a regular round” of priests who are happy to perform weekly mass for the organization's members.

While the members of Dignity Detroit are relieved to have a Catholic space in which to worship, the Jewish Gay Network is openly working with the metro area's Jewish organizations and congregations to identify which ones are truly open and affirming of sexual minorities. According to JGN President Michael Phillips, his organization did a survey of local Jewish congregations, synagogues and temples in 2011, and “all of the Reform congregations, as well as the Humanist and Reconstructionist groups sent back very positive responses and said they were either welcoming or wanted more information. We only got two responses from the Conservative organizations we surveyed, and the Orthodox communities refused to even do the survey.”

However, the positive responses of so many within the varied Jewish community is not a sign that all of even the most progressive congregations are open and affirming. “Of course, not every Reform temple is completely inclusive,” Phillips continued. “It's kind of up to the individual rabbi and the congregation as to whether they will perform services and that type of thing. There are basically about twenty-six Reform and Secular Humanist congregations that are welcoming, but they're not all, all-inclusive. They don't necessarily perform marriages and that type of thing.”

are they truly inclusive of LGBT people and LGBT families? It's one thing to say 'You're welcome to come here.' but another to say you can't teach Sunday School or preach or anything else,” says Reverend Jim Lynch of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit in Ferndale. “I can go to any church I want to and some churches don't have a big problem with the fact that I'm gay, but they do have a sudden intake of breath when I come with my partner and we go to communion together.”

Lynch is one of the many interviewed for this article who feels optimistic about the future of religious inclusion for sexual minorities – but with a caveat.

“We're well on our way to inclusion, but it will be another generation before (LGBT individuals) are just another group coming in to worship.”

And despite her concerns for the mainstream black church, Franklin said, “The wheels are slowly turning. They know they need to welcome gays and lesbians, but the black church is behind in doing this work, so they need to play catch-up.”

Of course, even before other religious organizations and congregations began to open their doors to LGBTs, sexual minorities who identified as Christian had a place to worship – Metropolitan Community Churches.

Founded in 1968 in the Huntington Park, California living room of the Rev. Troy Perry, the Metropolitan Community Church movement now claims 172 member churches throughout the world.

Metropolitan Community Churches Moderator Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson's voice remains calm, full and soothing throughout her interview – despite being caught with just ten minutes to spare between other commitments.

While she happily acknowledges that today's sexual minorities have more options to choose from when it comes to which Christian church to attend, she said that she and her organization are also quite ready to meet that challenge.

“MCC churches seem to thrive in places with lots of other open and affirming churches,” she explained. For one thing, she added, “MCCs reach out to more diverse groups even than other open and affirming churches. We tend to include more transgender or gender-variant people and other people who may not be as welcome even in more open worship spaces.” Also, “There are still many places in the world where MCC today is the only option, or we're in a place where there aren't many options, and they are beginning the process that our church as a whole began more than forty years ago.”

Finally, Wilson said before she had to leave the interview, “Some of our churches have also gotten the message that it's not the 1970's anymore and our church isn't the only option, so they're asking what their church can do to be more inviting to diverse communities.”

The HRC's Groves said that LGBT-associated denominational groups like the Metropolitan Community Churches are, “In a process of defining themselves. There are people within MCC in particular who are wanting to move forward toward an embrace of straight people, and others are looking for the specific work they can do as an LGBT congregation that they might not be able to do if they broaden their base.”

Lynch of MCCD in Ferndale agrees. “I know that we still have a market, but obviously we're not the only game in town anymore,” he says. “Now we have to be a bit different in how we market or promote ourselves and how we preach.”

But even though increasing acceptance of sexual minorities means more competition for LGBT-centered organizations like his church, Lynch said he'll welcome the change. “I'm looking forward to the day when my partner and I can go merrily into any church in this country and feel like we belong there.”

EVEN BEFORE OTHER CONGREGATIONS BEGAN TO OPEN THEIR DOORS, SEXUAL MINORITIES HAD A PLACE TO WORSHIP – METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCHES

ARE WE REALLY WELCOME? Rev. Franklin isn't the only queer person of faith who feels it's not enough for a faith community to tolerate the presence of sexual minorities. That's why people working on behalf of sexual minorities of faith distinguish between what they call “welcoming” and “opening and affirming” congregations.

“There were people at the Stoles event who told me that their congregations were open and affirming, and I said, 'We need to talk, because until we tell you that you are, that's not necessarily the case,” Lewis declares firmly. “'If you think you're open and affirming and you don't talk about someone's anniversary or their partner or add 'partner of' in church directories, that's not inclusive. If you would do something for a heterosexual couple in your congregation you need to do the same thing for an LGBT couple.' Many of them had never thought of it that way before – but that's our (Affirmations' Faith Alliance) job – we find ways to comfortably educate people.”

“There are other churches out there that are welcoming, but the issue is, 32

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FACES

John Arnold

J

ohn Arnold, the mastermind behind Linda Dresner's window displays, was once mistaken for a homeless man sitting outside the storefront in downtown Birmingham drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette in a sleeveless shirt.

His casual appearance belies an innovative mind.

Arnold grew up in the rural and isolated town of Massillon, Ohio. “I had an amazing mother that never stopped my creativity, no matter what. My father always let me pursue and didn't stop me either, I was really lucky in that aspect.”

He began working when he was only 17 full-time at Zayre discount stores during the day, and at Higbee's department stores in the evenings.

“I had a cute little Mustang, and I would drive around to the back of the store by the dumpster, and change into designer clothes in the car and go to the mall to work in the evenings.”

During a 24-hour sale and midnight shift, Arnold decided to quit working at Zayre and began working full-time at Higbee's. After 10 years at Higbee's, he applied to work at Barney's at their Cleveland store. He later transferred to their Somerset store, and began working for Linda Dresner in 2000 at both her Birmingham and former New York stores.

“I got a call from a friend that worked there who said 'Do you want to work for Linda Dresner?' and I said 'What am I going to do for Linda Dresner?'”

As the creative director, Arnold is in charge of all window installation and displays. “I interpret Linda's vision and my vision for the store, and we work hand-in-hand together. She has always been a forward thinking woman in the fashion industry in terms of how a woman should look, and I'm a big believer in her philosophy.”

Arnold's ideas come from everywhere—from his imagination, to what he finds in the dumpster that day. “I never ever think about a window or plan or draw it out. I always think in the moment and that's some of my best work,” he said. “People don't always get it but that's OK. I get a lot of compliments on the windows here. Some people ask me to explain, but I don't feel like I have to.”

In addition to his work at Linda Dresner, Arnold also freelances for Lori Karbal in Birmingham and creates for the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD).

“I live in a great space in Royal Oak which I'm really grateful to have but I would love to live in a vacant building in downtown Detroit,” he said. “I love Detroit, present, past and future.”

Arnold plans to continue his creative work, and wants to keep being surrounded by people he loves and admires. “I have a wonderful circle of men and women in my life who have really taken me under their wing and helped me grow, and I hope I've made them proud.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Laurie Tennent

PEOPLE OF COLOR DOUBLE STIGMA IN LGBT COMMUNITY

BY HAYLEY BEITMAN

I

magine realizing you are gay, and turning to your family for acceptance, knowing that not only would it be difficult for them to acknowledge you, but that your whole community will likely doubly disdain you because homosexuality is unacceptable. That is what it is like for many black, Hispanic, Muslim and Asian gay individuals who choose to come out.

For LGBT people of color, it's a double minority thing. It's not just about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, but also about being a minority within a minority and therefore twice as susceptible to discrimination..

The fight against inequality in the United States can be traced back to prehistoric times, when indigenous populations and hunter-gathers established a hierarchical system of labor. Today, acts of racial, ethnic and gender discrimination still occur every day on every continent, country, city and state. People are subject to unequal treatment because of their race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and the intersectionality of these identities. Unfortunately, prejudice is something that individuals of every group are familiar with, but for LGBT people of color, they are dealt a double whammy, often experiencing prejudice both from the world as a whole as well as from within their own communities.

“The whole Detroit region has struggled with race issues for a long time. It has deep historical roots,” said Kathleen LaTosch, Affirmations' chief administrative officer. “Black families could legally only live in certain neighborhoods for a long time. Even to this day, there are some real estate agents who won't sell homes to black families in white communities.

Obviously, it's kept rather hush-hush, but it has resulted in very distinct neighborhoods.”

Some of these distinct neighborhoods are located in Detroit and as well as in Dearborn, which is home to the second largest Arab community outside of the Middle East. These areas are not only racially segregated, but prone to racial violence. Another area particularly affected by ethnic violence is Highland Park, where Chinese-American Vincent Chin was beaten to death outside of a bar in 1982 in an ethnic hate crime. His assassins never served a day in jail for the murder.

“In metro Detroit, the LGBT community is a microcosm of the larger community. Metro Detroit by many definitions is the most diverse city in the country and is also the most segregated in the country. This comes from the fact that the city of Detroit is around 90 percent black and right alongside Livonia, which is 99 percent white. There are literally several borders where you go from all black to all white,” LaTosch said.

As a white, female community activist, LaTosch hears many eyeopening stories from LGBT people of color. “I feel like most white people are pretty unaware of the ways they are more fortunate than people of color. A lot of things are taken for granted. When people of color come up against barriers, white people don't see that sometimes and may not even believe barriers exist. There's a little bit of a blindness issue,” she said.

“People of color are extremely adept at picking up when they are being treated differently. What I've seen a need for most in my struggle to help change racial dynamics is to educate white people about the lack of awareness about issues. Look around you and you'll see it is happening. It happens within the LGBT community, too.”

As members of two or more minority groups at once, LaTosch has been told LGBT people of color feel additional pressure to choose between their race and sexual orientation. “Black friends tell me they feel like they have to make a decision. There is a constant sense of having to choose, who am I going to be today and not being able to be their whole self,” she said.

“For caucasians, gender and sexual orientation are top ranking for how people identity themselves. For people of color, race is usually in the top spot.”

So what is it like to be a LGBT woman of color living in Detroit? For Kiana Miller, it's not only the double minority thing, “it's the triple minority thing—being a female, lesbian and black,” she said. “I just became comfortable with them. I can be in different circles and that's okay. I can be however I feel at that moment. I would never say race or being a lesbian doesn't have an effect on how I think or how I feel.”

Miller is a youth action board member at KICK, a center for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered African Americans in Detroit. “KICK gives me the sense of community I've been needing for a very long time— that need for an African American LGBT community. When I was in college and coming out, I had a lot of caucasian friends and found it hard to express things that are so easy for me to express around a group of black people,” she said.

As for coming out to her religious parents, “that didn't go over too well,” Miller said. “It's not their dream, but it's something I think they have to deal with on their own and they both dealt with it in very different ways. It still comes up from time to time. It's that thing we just don't talk about. I felt that for my father, when I came out to him, he was really heavy in the church and that's not what God wants you to do.”

More than half of black pride event attendees reported that their churches or religion viewed homosexuality as wrong and sinful, according to a survey conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 2000.

“It's so funny to me because the other day I was at the Woodward (Cocktail Bar)—they have drag shows on Monday night—and on Monday night at 12:30 they played a gospel song and the whole place was going crazy and truly enjoying it. It reminded me that gays are religious too, and grew up in these churches and are in that community also. Gay people go to church, too. Religion plays a part but we're still there,” she said. oodward Cocktail Bar in Detroit isn't the only place Miller is a regular; she also frequents Stiletto's, a lesbian bar in Inkster. “I haven't found if you were anything other than the norm you were treated any type of way. I think it's African American men and females who aren't feminine that are discriminated against the most. A woman who is a stud or dresses masculine shouldn't be doing that either,” she said. “Over the summer, I was at RiverWalk and there was a woman who was dressed like a boy, and this guy was verbally assaulting her and the girl she was with. It was really hard because the security guards weren't doing anything. It was very intimidating. What do you do in those situations?”

LaTosch points out that Hispanic and African American communities are very tied to their religion. “The church is extremely powerful and important to those in that community. It's where they get a lot of their support and who they turn to in times of trouble. Most very traditional religions are not very supportive of LGBT people,” she said.

Though Miller's family has remained loving and supportive, bringing her LGBT friends around provokes mixed feelings. “It's frustrating when you bring African American gay males around,” she said. “Straight

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African American men that I know get really defensive and make a lot of assumptions and think that just because they're gay, they need to act as straight as possible.”

The “cool pose” was coined by Janet Mancini Billson, a writer who explained it in the 1990s as a coping strategy for men of color who have their own challenges living up to the role of provider and protector. “The cool pose comprises attitudes and behaviors that present a young man as calm, emotionless, fearless, aloof, and tough and suggest competence, high self-esteem, control, and inner strength and hides selfdoubt, insecurity, and inner turmoil. This pose often manifests itself, as well, in reluctance to show weakness or to communicate emotions, especially the softer emotions,” Billson wrote in Transitions, a quarterly publication of Advocates for Youth—Helping young people make safe and responsible decisions about sex, in 2004.

A handful of African American men secretly engage in sexual activities with other men “on the down low”. This slang term applies to both heterosexual and LGBT men, who are perhaps uncomfortable or fearful of being called “gay”, as it doesn't correlate with the African American culture's definition of masculinity. In lieu of the term “gay”, which was originally used to describe white males, social activist Cleo Manago began using “same gender loving” to describe black LGBT's and connect to African American culture.

“I have heard of the term “same gender loving” but I feel like that's an older kind of term for an older generation. People still use it, but it's an older generation,” Miller noted. he Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force says strong family and ethnic connections are necessary to endure racial or ethnic discrimination unscathed. The report, which focuses on Latino gay men and HIV risk states, “GLBTQ youth of color seldom receive their community's support regarding sexual orientation or transgender identity. Indeed, ethnic communities often perceive gay, lesbian, and bisexual orientation or transgender identity as a rejection of ethnic heritage. Unlike racial stereotypes that family and ethnic community positively reframe, many ethnic minority communities strongly reinforce negative cultural perceptions of homosexual orientation.”

Each culture's definition of masculinity will determine how acceptable it is for a gay man to deviate from the masculine norm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latino/Hispanic culture regards masculinity eminently, as it equates with the ability to provide for the family. Femininity is also regarded highly, as it suggests having qualities stereotypically regarded as characteristic of women, such as fertility.

Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBT's value the ability to naturally produce a male heir and continue the family line. Failure to do so can result in feelings of shame and disgrace. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute in 2005, 82 percent of Asian Pacific American LGBT experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation and 82 percent of Asian Pacific American LGBT experienced discrimination based on their race or ethnicity.

Ramon Valdez is a 19-year-old Hispanic LGBT who moved from Miami to Michigan to wrestle at the United States Olympic Education Center.

Valdez, who came out to his parents in the seventh grade, has only confided in a small number of people outside of his family.

“There are a few reasons why I haven’t come out. (The) main reason being that the wrestling world doesn’t accept the whole gay idea at all,” he said. “I’ve slowly come out to a few of the teammates who I truly trust and the results have actually been much better than I expected. They

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look past it and realize that I'm here for the same reason they are, to try and fulfill an Olympic dream. Although there's a handful of guys who I know I wouldn’t be able to tell, one of them being our coach. Him especially, because he’s actually pretty old and still has that mindset that doesn’t really accept homosexuality.”

Valdez's parents first found out he was gay from a note to a friend that he accidentally left in the pocket of his jeans. “From then on it was a really tough five years. They would tell me how much pain they were in, how immoral it is in the Bible and how the risk of catching AIDS was through the roof. Then they would get even angrier when I lied to them about either places I went or people I was talking to, but I only lied in fear. These were feelings that I couldn’t control. It was tough having feelings that I knew were real. Being told it was wrong just hurt a lot.

There were many nights that I would be locked in my parents’ room and we would have talks that usually ended in me crying my eyes out,” he said. “My entire family is Hispanic, but they're also Christian, which is the main reason why they don’t accept the idea of one of their family members being gay. I know that at least in my family it is because it goes against Christianity – the Christianity they believe in at least.”

Valdez says to this day he is surprised at how much he's accomplished academically and athletically considering his rough past. “At one point, I even considered suicide because I was in such a low place. Thank God I never did,” he said.

Eddie Munoz has had very different experiences living as a gay Latino in an open-minded and accepting community in Dallas.

“As a 100 percent gay Latino I can honestly say I’ve never really experienced discrimination from any gay white male. I have been to many different cities in the United States and to countries in Europe and I have never really felt any sort of discrimination. In fact, I own my differences proudly because it sets me apart. These differences are exactly what I strike up most of my conversations with white men,” he said. “The only stereotype I can think of that gay white men seem to think we Latino's possess is that we are after money. This might be a little discriminatory. I’ve encountered certain situations where the men joke around about me being a gold digger looking for a sugar daddy, but it’s all joking around with no serious accusations.”

On “the gay man's Facebook app” Grindr, Munoz says it's completely normal to see profiles of men who are only interested in white or Latino men.

“Sometimes literally, they will state, no black guys or Asians. They will go as far as to say 'not racist, just prefer white'. The guys that post these comments usually are white, but some are Latino as well.” He playfully laughs at memories, “Now that I think about it, the only discrimination I feel from gay men stems from my own race.”

Munoz dates white, black and Latino men. “I am usually more attracted to Latinos but I find that they are mostly interested in white men. I do feel pushed aside by Latinos because I am a little darker than most of them, although I come from 100 percent Mexican parents. Lighter skinned Latinos are treated a little better by whites and Latinos than darker skinned Latinos, but then again, I do get complimented a lot about my permanent tan and exotic looks.”

Latino gay men with indigenous features or darker skin have access to a smaller dating pool, and Munoz says preference is no modest topic among LGBT conversations.

“I do feel white men typically and generally are more attracted to Latinos over black men or Asians. Most white men have told me that they don’t like to date or hook up with black men or Asians,” he said. “There is a lot of discrimination within the Latino community towards Latino gays, due to a machismo mentality. It is definitely a tough subject to discuss coming out to a Latino family and relatives.” xpressmi.com

According to the United States Conference of Mayors, machismo and Catholicism both contribute to homophobic attitudes in many Latino communities.

A nonprofit organization called the National Latino/a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization (LLEGÓ) was founded by Latino and Latina LGBTs in 1987 during the National March for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington, D.C. LLEGÓ fought anti-Latino/a discrimination but closed in 2004 due to financial and administrative reasons. Two years later, Latino and Latina LGBT's came together to protest anti-Latino discrimination in The Castro, a neighborhood of San Francisco known as being the mecca of the LGBT community.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association released a report that found in 2009, homosexuality was illegal in 80 countries and punishable by death in five. The report, entitled State Sponsored Homophobia, found this is especially common in Islamic states or under Islamic leadership. Another article issued by the IRIN, a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stated that killing a gay family member in Iraq is sometimes honored and can be legally protected. ichael Skrobeck is a talented gay actor, singer and dancer currently studying theatre in Michigan.

Skrobeck spent an entire year learning about Arabic culture, including the language, to play the part of a gay terrorist. “We even had a playwright from the Middle East, Gaza, actually come in and we held workshops all about acceptance and the culture, where I learned that two men holding hands isn't a big deal. It's fascinatingly normal to find two men holding hands in public even if they're straight.

It's kind of sneaky for gay men because you can't tell unless you open your mouth to find a feminine speaking tone,” he said. “I was shocked to hear that being gay in the Middle East is almost safer in some ways than being a Hispanic or black man in an unsafe neighborhood.”

There is no known data ranking LGBT ethnic groups, according to Angel Brown, senior program manager for GLBTQ health and rights at Advocates for Youth.

Kathleen LaTosch suggests labor force characteristics and earnings patterns can roughly predict where each ethnic group falls in terms of acceptable within a larger community.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that in terms of composition, whites made up 81 percent of the labor force in 2011, followed by 15 percent Hispanic or Latino, 12 percent black, five percent Asian, one percent American Indian and Alaska Native and one percent Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.

Earning patterns by race and ethnicity show Hispanics and blacks earned less than Asians and whites in 2011. Median weekly earnings were $866 for Asians, $775 for whites, $615 for blacks, and $549 for Hispanics.

Unemployment rates can also help suggest workplace discrimination.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the race with the highest unemployment rate in 2011 was blacks at 15.8 percent, followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives at 14.6 percent, and Hispanics at 11.5 percent. The unemployment rate was 10.4 percent for Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, 13.6 percent for individuals of two or more races, 7.9 percent for whites and 7 percent for Asians.

“Latino people are usually on the lowest end of the pay scale. caucasian being at the top end and Asians and African Americans in the middle,” LaTosch said. “All of these are indictors of racial discrimination and the effects of institutional racism.”

M

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37

FACES

Rayya Elias

R

ayya Elias moved from Syria to Warren speaking only Arabic and French when she was just eight years old. Learning English by watching television, she has since become a successful author and musician.

“Moving to the states, I couldn't figure out what and why we moved because the quality of life seemed so much less than what we had. I also couldn't figure out the whole American thing, just being dark-haired and foreign and moving to a very sort of Polish-white Warren.”

Without acceptance from her peers, Elias rebelled. “I didn't fit in with my family anymore either, so I was isolated in my own world and at a very young age. Anything my parents loved, I sort of hated. I was kind of looking for a reaction everywhere I went.”

She attended Macomb Community College before she was introduced to cutting hair in the bathroom of Bookie's nightclub in Detroit. Elias attended beauty school and was influenced by British punk rock. “It took a couple years, but I really set my mind to it and started practicing and taught myself how to play drums and keyboard.”

She moved to Connecticut with $200 in her pocket and a thirst to diminish any barriers holding her back.

“My family didn't support me because I'm Syrian and a woman. You didn't really move out of the house before you're married and I was like, 'I'm so out of here!'”

Her former band member and friend Corey Clark encouraged her to write short stories about her past and turn them into videos. Elias was named “One of 25 new faces to watch for” by Filmmaker Magazine.

“Making films is very expensive and not really my forte—I'm a story teller and musician.”

Physically exhausted from cutting hair, she decided to sell real estate and sold her first property in New York for $1.2 million dollars.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love and Elias' hair client, recognized her storytelling ability and invited her to use her home in New Jersey to write. After the first nine months and first draft, Gilbert encouraged her to stay and keep writing. “I've been there for four years now and she doesn't want me to leave. I sold the book [Harley Loco] to Viking, and it's quite amazing.”

Splitting her time between writing in New Jersey and creating music in Chelsea, Elias is excited to be releasing songs along with her book.

“I feel like I've been given such an enormous leg up and I'm a walking miracle. My forever goals are to give a hand when a hand is needed,and it'd be nice to meet a chick sometime soon. Harley Loco has been my lover for the past four years and I'm waiting to get myself out there.”

Story: Hayley Beitman

Photo: Laurie Tennent

COMPENDIUM

Compendium is just as the title would imply–a collection of short items of note from the LGBT community nation-wide.

We have recapped the following news items and then credited the first publication where the item was noticed, although in many cases the items has also appeared elsewhere. In some cases, we have actually done some additional leg work when recapping these items.

For those who want added information, at the Xpress website (xpressmi.com) Compendium items provide a direct link to the full news item you find here.

Compendium items are compiled by staff reporter Hayley Beitman.

Same-sex cases heard The Supreme Court will hear two cases, from California and New York, that challenge the state and federal same-sex marriage laws.

The California case, Hollingsworth v.

Perry, which was filed in 2009, will decide on a constitutional and state right to same-sex marriage. The New York case, United States v.

Windsor, challenges a part of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, and will determine how same-sex couples will be granted or denied benefits. The New York case involves 82-year-old Edith Windsor and her former wife, Thea Clara Spyer, who passed away in 2009.

The two cases are supposed to be heard by the end of March and decisions on both cases are expected by June. President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage this May, which has resulted in a shifting public opinion and support.

New York Times www.nytimes.com

Royal Oak ordinance The Royal Oak City Commission voted to approve drafting a new ordinance that would ban sexual orientation discrimination at their monthly meeting on Monday, November 19.

Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of crafting the new ordinance that would ban discrimination in the city of Royal 40

Oak, including in the case of sexual orientation. Commissioner Jim Rasor, who is senior trial counsel at Rasor Law Firm, proposed the ordinance to the commission. The new ordinance will enforce sexual orientation and gender identity protection in the city of Royal Oak. The nondiscrimination ordinance would also give Royal Oak police more authority to apply consequences for discrimination.

The commission will vote again once the ordinance is drafted by the city attorney. There will be two readings of the drafted ordinance, with the first at the monthly city commission meeting on Monday, December 17.

Xpress www.xpressmi.com

First black gay judge William Thomas, a current judge on a state court in Florida, was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The position on the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida would make Thomas the first openly gay African American man to become a life-tenured federal judge.

Deborah Batts, appointed by Bill Clinton, was the first lesbian black federal judge. Thomas was one of seven nominees and was recommended by the Presidential Appointments Project, which is organized by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Two other nominees, Pamela Ki Mai Chen and Michael McShane, are also waiting for confirmation from the Senate, which has confirmed the president's nomination of three other LGBT judges.

The Advocate www.advocate.com

Starbucks boycott The National Organization for Marriage, a nonprofit organization that works against the legalization

of same-sex marriage, is allegedly upset about recent same-sex progress. Starbucks has been targeted by the organization for their financial support of gay marriage in Washington State.

National Organization for Marriage's president Brian Brown said they will create a boycott campaign against Starbucks to inform customers in the Middle East about the company's support for same-sex marriage. During a conference call on Thursday, November 8, a leader from the National Organization for Marriage asked what could be done to stop Starbucks and other corporate sponsors in supporting same-sex marriage. According to Brown, the National Organization for Marriage has already stopped over 50,000 customers from buying Starbucks beverages and products through a “Dump Starbucks” protest.

The Edge San Francisco www.edgesanfrancisco.com

LGBT studies donation James J. Leos, a University of Arizona alum, stated he will donate $1 million to the University of Arizona's Institute for LGBT Studies over the next five years.

Leos, a businessman and philanthropist, wrote a $10,000 check as the first installment and delivered it by hand to Susan Stryker, the director of the Institute of LGBT Studies. Since 2010, Leos has made numerous contributions, including gifting a $100,000 life insurance policy. His contribution was the largest in the history of the University of Arizona's Institute for LGBT Studies and opened the flood gates for other donations to the institute. He also created a trust at the University of Arizona Foundation on behalf of the LGBT institute. To show their appreciation, a James J. Leos Symposium on

Xpress

intersex issues will be held in March 2013.

Windy City Media Group www.windycitymediagroup.com

Marriage boosts economy According to new research from The Williams Institute at UCLA, the recent legalization of same-sex marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington could add over $166 million to the economy over the next three years. The research estimates that same-sex couples in Maine will spend $15.5 million on weddings, Maryland couples will spend $62.6 million, and Washington couples will spend $88.5 million, based on 2010 United States Census data of average wedding costs. The Williams Institute estimated that half of same-sex couples in Maine, Maryland and Washington will marry within the next three years.

Same-sex marriage has already helped the economy, adding $111 million to Massachusetts economy from May 2004 to September 2008, and $259 million to New York City in one year.

The Huffington Post www.huffingtonpost.com

Gays helped Obama According to exit polls, support from the LGBT community was crucial in President Obama's election. Polls showed that Mitt Romney and President Obama won an equal amount of straight votes. Out of the five percent of voters who identified as LGBT, three-to-one voted for Obama, according to a study done by Gary J. Gates of the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law, in conjunction with Gallup. The study also found that since 2004, public support for same-sex marriage and civil unions has been climbing steadily. A growing young LGBT population could be one reason january 2013

for increasing public support of same-sex marriage. LGBT AfricanAmerican, Latino, Asian-American, and Jewish voters have voted Democratic over Republican in recent elections, supporting samesex marriage and civil unions.

The New York Times www.nytimes.com

University safe spaces A program that will attempt to create safe spaces for LGBT students at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was created and endorsed by the Board of Trustees. The endorsement from the University of North Carolina Board of Trustees was a first in history for a publicly-funded university. The endorsement was unanimous and will add genderneutral housing options for LGBT students. Chapel Hill Trustee Alston Gardner said he believes it is the responsibility of the university to create a safe place for students to live and study on campus once they are admitted to the university. The effort for opt-in gender-neutral housing has been a two-year effort led by students on campus.

The Washington Blade www.washingtonblade.com

Pioneering Teamster dies The first gay Teamster truck driver and Coors boycott leader, Howard Wallace, died at the age of 76 on Wednesday, November 14, in San Francisco. Wallace was best known for combining the LGBT community with the labor movement. According to Pride at Work, the LBGT group of the ALFCIO, Wallace had Alzheimer's and had been struggling for years. In addition to his work as an activist, Wallace co-launched Pride at Work with Nancy Wohlforth and served as the co-president. Nancy Wohlforth still serves on the xpressmi.com

national executive board. Wallace also founded Bay Area Gay Liberation, a movement to advance lesbian and gay liberation by reaching out to potential allies within the labor movement, the feminist movement, and movements of people of color and national minorities.

The Edge San Francisco www.edgesanfrancisco.com

Harassment case won A steakhouse in New York must pay $600,000 after a male manager sexually harassed over twenty male waiters. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the harassment took place over an eight year period and Sparks Steak House failed to stop the manager from touching the buttocks of the waiters, making sexual comments, and attempting to touch them inappropriately. A few victims complained to other managers but were either ignored, assigned more work or suspended. Sparks has been ordered to create a hotline for reporting employment discrimination, update their sexual harassment policy, and hold antidiscrimination training for employees. In the 1980s, Sparks Steak House was also the site of a legendary mafia murder when John Gotti ordered Paul Castellano and Thomas Billotti to be shot.

The Edge San Francisco www.edgesanfrancisco.com

Pension benefits denied Boeing said the company will deny pension benefits to the spouses of same-sex couples.

Boeing announced their stance on Wednesday, November 21 to Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) during a discussion of pension issues and contact negotiation. SPEEA is the

union that represents Boeing engineers. According to SPEEA, the discussion included talking about medical benefits, salary raises and pensions. SPEEA spokesperson Bill Dugovic said they were shocked at how Boeing reacted when SPEEA brought up the topic of benefits for same-sex spouses. Boeing stated they did not have to provide same-sex benefits to spouses because their benefits packages are not administered by state law and are administered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Seattle Gay News www.sgn.org

Scouts’ funding ended As more companies become aware of the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay scouts and scout leaders, they are ending funding towards discriminatory organizations. UPS will join Intel in stopping corporate funding for organizations that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes the Boy Scouts of America after they stated that they will continue to ban gay members. UPS recently announced they will end funding after Intel did in September 2012.

In 2010, UPS gave $167,000 to the Boy Scouts of America and will no longer provide more funding. The Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index has given UPS high marks in the past based on their non-discrimination policies.

GLAAD www.glaad.org

DOMA challenged Karen Golinski, a lesbian who works for the United States government for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, applied to add her wife to her employer-sponsored health care

Xpress

plan over four years ago. Adding Amy Cunninghis, her wife of 23 years, to her health care plan would save the same-sex couple thousands of dollars each year.

Golinski's case resulted in a 1996 law prohibiting legal protection of spouses in same-sex couples, and the case is now challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has a policy prohibiting discrimination against LGBT workers, which is why Golinski pushed for her rights.

In March, Amy Cunninghis was added to Karen Golinski's health plan, making them the only samesex couple to receive benefits while the Defense of Marriage act is in place.

The Edge San Francisco www.edgesanfrancisco.com

Rulings on therapy Two separate rulings were made regarding banning gay “conversion therapies” for minors in California, one clearing the way and one calling it an unconstitutional infringement on speech. Judge William B. Shubb, of Federal District Court in Sacramento, argued against the ban for three plaintiffs, two therapists and a former patient, who was likely to succeed with the therapy. The ruling against gay conversion therapy was originally banned because treatment was potentially damaging to youths.

Judge Kimberly J. Mueller argued against Judge Shubb, stating that plaintiffs in her case were unlikely to succeed. The California attorney general said the law did not infringe upon freedom of speech but that the government had a responsibility to criminalize anything that could be harmful to youths.

The New York Times www.nytimes.com 41

DINING OUT

The Xpress guide to Dining Out is a quick reference source to select establishments offering a place for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. By no means is this meant to be a complete guide to all dining establishments; it is a selective guide to some unique places.

Dining Out is available at xpressmi.com and soon we will offer it in an optimized format for mobile devices which will allow you to actually map out locations and automatically dial a restaurant from the Xpress guide.

220: American. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 220 Merrill Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.645.2150.

24 Grille: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday.

Reservations. Liquor. 204 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48220. 313.964.3821.

526 Main Dueling Piano Bar & Tequila Blue: American/Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 526 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.591.9000.

Andiamo : Italian. Multiple locations. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 129 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.582.9300. 14425 Lakeside Circle, Sterling Heights, 48313. 586.532.8800.

Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, Sunday.

400 GM Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243.

313.567.6700.

Angelina Italian Bistro: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1565 Broadway, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.1355.

Anita’s Kitchen: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine.

22651 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220.

248.548.0680.

Ashoka Indian Cuisine: Indian. Multiple locations.

Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 3652 Rochester Road, Troy, 48083. 248.689.7070. 2100 Haggerty Road, Canton, 48187. 734.844.3100.

Assaggi Bistro: Mediterranean. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 330 West 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.584.3499.

Atlas Global Bistro: American. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner,

Monday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 3111 Woodward, Detroit, 48201. 313.831.2241.

Bacco: Italian. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Liquor.

29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.356.6600.

Barrio Tacos & Tequila: Mexican. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 203 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.6060. bd’s Mongolian Grill: Mongolian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 430 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.398.7755.

Beans & Cornbread Soulful Bistro: Barbecue/Soul Food. Brunch, Sunday.

Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 29508 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034. 248.208.1680.

Beau Jacks: American. Lunch, MondaySaturday; Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 4108 West Maple, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.626.2630.

Bella Piatti: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 167 Townsend, Birmingham, 48009. 248.494.7110.

Beverly Hills Grill: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor.

31471 Southfield Road, Beverly Hills, 48025.

248.642.2355.

Big Rock Chophouse: American. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor.

245 South Eaton Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.647.7774.

Birmingham Sushi Cafe: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 377 Hamilton Row, Birmingham, 48009. 248.593.8880.

Bistro 222: European. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Beer & Wine. 22266 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48124.

313.792.7500.

BlackFinn American Saloon: American.

Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 530 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.582.9460.

The Blue Nile: Ethiopian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 221 East Washington, Ann Arbor, 48104.

734.998.4746. 545 West 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248.547.6699.

Blue Pointe Restaurant: Seafood. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

17131 East Warren, Detroit, 48224.

313.882.3653.

Bombay Grille: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. 29200 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, 48334. 248.626.2982.

Brio Tuscan Grille: Italian. Multiple locations.

Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2801 West Big Beaver, Troy, 48084. 248.643.6045. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. 17420 Hall Road, Clinton Township, 48315.

586.263.7310.

The Brookshire: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 600 East University, Rochester, 48307. 248.453.8732.

Bucci Ristorante: Italian. Dinner, TuesdaySunday. Reservations. Liquor. 20217 Mack, Grosse Pointe, 48236. 313.882.1044.

Café Cortina: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, MondayFriday; Dinner, Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 30715 West 10 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, 48336. 248.474.3033.

Café Muse: Eclectic. Breakfast & Lunch, daily.

Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 418 South Washington, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.4749.

Cafe Nini: Italian. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 98 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe Farms, 48236. 313.308.3120.

Café Sushi: Sushi. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1933 West Maple Road, Troy, 48084. 248.280.1831.

Café Via: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 310 East Maple Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.8800 Cameron’s Steakhouse: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 115 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.723.1700.

The Capital Grille: Steakhouse. Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2800 West Big Beaver, Somerset North, Troy, 48084. 248.649.5300.

Chen Chow Brasserie: Japanese. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 260 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.2469.

China Café: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-

Sunday. Reservations, parties of 5 or more.

Liquor. 24299 Novi Road, Novi, 48375.

248.449.4888.

Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar: Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 116 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.647.4555.

City Kitchen: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 16844 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe, 48230.

313.882.6667.

Cliff Bell’s: Eclectic. Brunch, Sunday. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 2030 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.961.2543.

Coach Insignia: American. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 100 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243.

313.567.2622.

Como’s: Italian. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late night until 4 a.m.

Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor.

22812 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220.

248.548.5005.

Cork Wine Pub: Small plates. Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations, parties of 6 or more.

Liquor. 23810 Woodward, Pleasant Ridge, 48069. 248.544.2675.

Crave Restaurant + Sushi Bar: Mediterranean. Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 22075 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48124. 313.277.7283.

Crispelli’s Bakery Pizzeria: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 28939 Woodward Avenue, Berkley, 48072.

248.591.3300.

Cuisine: American. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 670 Lothrop, Detroit, 48202. 313.872.5110.

The Cutting Board: American. Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 28655 Schoenherr, Warren, 48088. 586.751.1788.

D’Amato’s Restaurant: American. Brunch, Sunday.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 222 South Sherman, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.7400.

Da Edoardo: Italian.

Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 19767 Mack, Grosse Pointe Woods, 48236. 313.881.8540.

Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille: Italian. Lunch &

A dish from Luxe Bar & Grill in Birmingham.

Xpress photo: Laurie Tennent

FOCUS ON WINE

Iconic champagne represents unique style

By Eleanor and Ray Heald

Celebrate the New Year with prized bubbles.

Time is an important element in making champagne. It is aged for two years on the yeast lees during a second fermentation. This aging in the bottle creates and traps carbon dioxide which gives the wine its effervescence – the very reason it has become the celebratory wine of choice.

Champagne is the sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France and is the only wine in the world entitled to put the word Champagne on the label. Champagne is a place name so be aware of frauds.

We discussed champagne with Moët & Chandon’s winemaker Marc Brevot. “Ninety percent of all champagne,” he began, “is a blended, non-vintage wine. The only grape varieties grown and used to make champagne are chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier plus reserve wines of those varieties to help maintain consistency.”

R&D through the ages Moët & Chandon was founded in 1743. In 1792, before the champagne production method was fully understood, Jean Louie Moët realized the need for and created a research and design department to help understand the science of making champagne. He knew that understanding the “whys and wherefores” gave him the opportunity for innovation, which in turn meant quality, modernity and sustainability. Moët & Chandon is the only champagne house with an R&D department.

“Today,” Brevot continues, “we know that making good wine begins in the vineyard, but in 1792, growing grapes and making wine were separate tasks. Because Jean Louie Moët realized the importance of good fruit, he began to plant and purchase the best vineyards in the region. Now, the company owns the largest vineyard area (2,965 acres) in Champagne which yields 25 percent of the company’s needs. Fifty percent of the company vineyards are Grand Cru and 25 percent Premier Cru, but also are as diverse as possible.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 2203 Woodward, Detroit, 48201.

313.471.3500.

Dakota Inn Rathskeller: German. Lunch, Wednesday-Friday; Dinner, Thursday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 17324 John R, Detroit, 48203. 313.867.9722.

Da Nang Restaurant: Vietnamese. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 1 South Main Street, Clawson, 48017.

248.577.5130.

Detroit Beer Company: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1529

44

“The key development for us has been the versatility of the vineyards. Vagaries of weather mean that there is no guarantee that the best grapes are always found in the same place each year. Every year, grape quality seems to move from one vineyard to the next, but our diversity allows us to reach the maximum potential each year.”

Brevot also says that at harvest the most important thing is maturity and sanitary conditions, meaning the fruit must be without botrytis or mildew. It is a challenge to grow grapes to the peak of flavor maturity in the cold climate of northern France.

An iconic bottling Each grape variety and each vineyard is harvested by hand and fermented separately, giving more than 100 different wines plus reserve wines made in the previous one-to-three years and stored in stainless steel tanks.

The task of a group of seven winemakers is to blend these still wine components so the style of Moët Imperial remains consistent from year to year.

The task of blending is very difficult yet important since the winemakers have the job of projecting how the still wines will taste after going through the second fermentation which produces the bubbles.

Moët Imperial $45, is the iconic wine of Moët & Chandon. Created in 1869, it is a blend of all three varieties, each adding to the complexity of the wine and represents the pure image of the Moët house style. Pinot noir contributes body to the wine, as well as notes of red fruits such as raspberry, strawberry and cherry. Pinot meunier adds suppleness, flesh and ripeness with highlights of yellow fruits such as peach, pear and apple.

Chardonnay gives the wine backbone and finesse contributing citrus aromas with floral notes and a unique minerality.

Over 300 years of experience growing grapes in Champagne has shown that pinot noir grows best in the area known as the Montagne de Reims, chardonnay in Côte des Blancs, and pinot meunier in the Vallée de la Marne.

Broadway, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.1529.

Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar: American.

Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, Sunday-Thursday. Liquor. 43271 Crescent Blvd, Novi, 48375. 248.380.8460.

Due Venti: Italian. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 220 South Main Street, Clawson, 48017. 248.288.0220.

Edamame Sushi Nu-Asian Kitchen: Asian.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

31632 John R, Madison Heights, 48071.

248.597.4500.

El Barzon: Mexican/Italian. Lunch & Dinner,

Enjoying champagne Moët Imperial embodies conviviality and, as such, it is a perfect holiday wine. As an aperitif it can accompany each course throughout the meal. Simple appetizers such as popcorn, salted nuts or shaved parmesan can work as well as more complicated creations. During the meal, Moët Imperial easily accompanies sushi, scallops, fresh oysters, white fish or roasted chicken.

The magic of champagne is its bright fruit character and spontaneity.

To discover the style of Moët & Chandon, begin with Moët Imperial. If you have experience with champagne in different styles from many producers, then you should try the Moët & Chandon 2002 Vintage Champagne $80, currently on the market. Moët & Chandon Vintage Champagne is produced only six out of every 10 years, on average.

More bubbles One of the founding principles of the House of Delamotte and of its sister company, Salon, is that Champagne is first and foremost a wine to be enjoyed and appreciated for its quality and authenticity. It is on this premise that we recommend Delamotte Brut $46, Delamotte Brut Blanc de Blancs $60, and the unparalleled 1999 Salon Blanc de Blanc $375.

The House of Salon produces only one champagne, from a one-hectare parcel it owns and from 19 other smaller parcels. On all accounts, it is a rare wine, always from a single harvest, single cru, single grape variety, and only in the best vintages.

California’s Russian River Valley is the source for outstanding sparkling wine grapes. J Vineyards & Winery showcases this in two wines, 2005 J Vintage Brut $48 and 2003 J Late Disgorged Vintage Brut $90. Excellent balance is the hallmark of both wines.

Eleanor & Ray Heald have contributed to numerous international publications including the Quarterly Review of Wines. Contact them by e-mail at focusonwine@aol.com.

Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations, on weekends. Liquor. 3710 Junction Street, Detroit, 48210. 313.894.2070.

Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine: Mediterranean. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 263 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.647.2420.

Eurasian Grill: Asian. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4771 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield, 48323.

248.624.6109.

Evie’s Tamales: Mexican. Breakfast, Lunch

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& Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 7 or more. 3454 Bagley, Detroit, 48216.

313.843.5056.

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 323 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.723.0134.

The Fly Trap: American. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. No reservations. 22950 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220.

248.399.5150.

The Fiddler: Russian. Lunch & Dinner,

january 2013

Expires 01-17-2013

Thursday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

6676 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.851.8782.

Filippa’s Wine Barrel: Seafood/Steak.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 45125 Mound Utica, Shelby Township, 48317. 586.254.1311.

Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafe: Cajun.

Multiple locations. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 400 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.965.4600. 29244 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, 48034.

248.351.2925. 23722 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, 48080. 586.498.3000.

Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub: Irish. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 612 Woodward, Detroit, 48226. 313.961.3043.

Forest Grill: American. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 735 Forest Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.9400.

Fountain Bistro: French. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 800 Woodward, Detroit, 48226. 313.237.7778.

Fox Grill: American. Sunday, brunch. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor.

39556 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304. 248.792.6109.

Frittata: American. Breakfast & Lunch, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. 236 South Main Street, Clawson, 48017. 248.280.2552.

Garage Grill & Fuel Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations, for parties of 6 or more.

Liquor. 202 West Main Street, Northville, 48167. 248.924.3367.

Gemmayze Lebanese Kitchen & Lounge: Middle Eastern. Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 310 S. Main St, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.399.4900.

Gim Ling: Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. 31402 Harper, St. Clair Shores, 48082. 586.296.0070.

Ginopolis’ Bar-B-Q Smokehouse: Barbecue.

Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 27815 Middlebelt, Farmington Hills, 48334. 248.851.8222.

Giovanni’s Ristorante: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 330 S. Oakwood, Detroit, 48217. 313.841.0122.

Giulio’s Cucina Italiana: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday. Reservations. Liquor.

31735 Plymouth Road, Livonia, 48150.

734.427.9500.

Godaiko: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 44175 West 12 Mile Road, Novi, 48377. 248.465.7777.

Golden Harvest: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 6880 12 Mile Road, Warren, 48092. 586.751.5288.

The Hill Seafood & Chophouse: American.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday. Reservations, parties of 6 or more.

Liquor. 123 Kercheval, Grosse Pointe Farms, 48236. 313.886.8101.

Hot Taco: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late night until 2 a.m. No reservations. 2233 Park Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.963.4545.

Howe’s Bayou: Cajun. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, Sunday. No reservations. Liquor. 22848 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220. 248.691.7145.

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Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse: American.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 201 South Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.594.4369.

Inn Season Cafe: Vegetarian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations, parties of 6 or more. 500 E Fourth, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.547.7916.

Inyo Restaurant & Lounge: Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 10 or more. Liquor. 22871 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220. 248.543.9500.

Jeremy Restaurant & Bar: Seasonal. Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1978 Cass Lake Road, Keego Harbor, 48320.

248.681.2124.

Joe Muer Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

400 Renaissance Center, Detroit, 48243.

313.567.6837.

Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse: Italian. Multiple locations. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 6676 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.865.9300.

21400 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48124.

313.359.3300.

Jumps Restaurant: American. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday; Breakfast & Lunch, Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 63 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Farms, 48236. 313.882.9555.

Kiernan’s Steak House: Steakhouse. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 21931 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48124. 313.565.4260.

Kitchen Hanzo: Japanese. Dinner, MondaySaturday. No reservations. Liquor. 6073 Haggerty Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.624.8666.

Kona Grill: Asian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 30 East Big Beaver, Troy, 48083. 248-619-9060.

Kruse & Muer on Main: American. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 327 South Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.652.9400.

La Dolce Vita: Italian. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 17546 Woodward, Detroit, 48203. 313.865.0331.

La Pita: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, parties of 8 or more. Liquor.

22681 Newman Street, Dearborn, 48124.

313.563.7482.

La Saj Lebanese Bistro: Middle Eastern.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

13776 Southcove, Sterling Heights, 48313.

586.566.6600.

La Shish: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 12918 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48126. 313.582.8400.

The Lark: French. Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations, required. Liquor. 6430 Farmington Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.661.4466.

Lily’s Seafood Grill and Brewery: Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor. 410 South Washington Avenue, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.591.5459.

Local Kitchen and Bar: American. Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more.

Liquor. 344 West 9 Mile Road, Ferndale, 48220. 248-291-5650.

Lockhart’s BBQ: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner,

daily. Reservations, parties of 8 or more.

Liquor. 202 East Third Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.584.4227.

The London Chop House: Steakhouse. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 155 West Congress, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.0277.

Loon River Café: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 34911 15 Mile Road, Sterling Heights, 48312.

586.979.1420.

Los Galane’s Restaurant: Mexican. Breakfast, Friday-Sunday; Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 3362 Bagley, Detroit, 48216. 313.554.4444.

Luxe Bar & Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily; Late night, 9 p.m.-closing. No reservations. Liquor. 525 North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.6051.

Mario’s Restaurant: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4222 Second, Detroit, 48201. 313.832.1616.

The Masters Restaurant: Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1775 East 13 Mile Road, Madison Heights, 48071. 248.543.6299.

Mene Sushi: Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, parties of 8 or more. Liquor.

6239 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.538.7080.

Mercury Burger & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2163 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216.

313.964.5000.

Meriwether’s: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 25485 Telegraph, Southfield, 48034. 248.358.1310.

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood: Seafood.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 2850 Coolidge Highway, Troy, 48084. 248.637.6400.

Midtown Shangri-La: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 4710 Cass, Detroit, 48201.

313.974.7669.

Michael Symon’s Roast: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1128 Washington Blvd, Detroit, 48226.

313.961.2500.

Mitchell’s Fish Market: Seafood. Multiple locations.

Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 117 Willits Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.646.3663. 17600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, 48152.

734.464.3663. 370 North Adams, Rochester Hills, 48309. 248.340.5900.

Mon Jin Lau: Chinese. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 1515 East Maple Troy, 48083. 248.689.2332.

Monterrey Cantina: Mexican. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 312 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067 .

248.545.1940.

The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill: American.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 2395 South Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48302. 248.858.7688.

Morton’s The Steakhouse: Steakhouse.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 888 West Big Beaver Road #111, Troy, 48084.

248.404.9845.

Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant: Indian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor allowed.

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411 South Washington, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.298.3198.

Northern Lakes Seafood Co.: Seafood. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 39495 North Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.646.7900.

No VI Chop House: Seafood/Steakhouse.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 27000 Karevich Drive, Novi, 48377. 248.305.5210.

Oak City Grille: American. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 212 West Sixth Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.556.0947.

Ocean Prime: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Saturday, Sunday.

Reservations. Liquor. 2915 Coolidge Highway, Troy, 48084. 248.458.0500.

Ollie’s Lebanese Cuisine: Middle Eastern.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

33355 Van Dyke, Sterling Heights, 48312.

586-978-2000.

Opus One: American. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations.

Liquor. 565 East Larned Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.961.7766.

Oxford Inn: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 1214 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.543.5619.

Peabody’s: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 34965 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.5222.

Pegasus Tavernas: Greek. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 24935 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, 48080. 586.772.3200.

Pete’s Place Broadway Café: European.

Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. 1225 Woodward Heights Boulevard, Ferndale, 48220. 248.399.1366.

Phoenicia: Middle Eastern. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

588 South Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.3122.

Pizzeria Biga: Italian. Multiple locations.

Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, MondaySunday. Reservations, parties of 8 or more.

Liquor. 29110 Franklin Road, Southfield, 48034. 248.750.2442. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 711 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.2442.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro: Chinese. Multiple locations.

Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 2801 West Big Beaver, Troy, 48084. 248.816.8000. 17905 Haggerty Road, Northville Township, 48167.

248.675.0066. 17420 Hall Road, Clinton Township, 48038. 586.263.0860. 18900 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, 48126.

313.429.2030.

Polish Village Cafe: Polish. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2990 Yemans, Hamtramck, 48212. 313.874.5726.

Pronto!: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor.

608 South Washington, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.544.7900.

The Rattlesnake Club: American. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 300 River Place Detroit, 48207. 313.567.4400.

Redcoat Tavern: American. Multiple locations.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations.

Liquor. 31542 Woodward Royal Oak, 48073.

248.549.0300. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. 6745 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.865.0500.

january 2013

AT THE TABLE

Fun with food, hungry for more at Toasted Oak Grill & Market

By Eleanor Heald

becoming a recent winner for his Porchetta at the Michigan Pork Producers Association competition.

His recipe features Gunthorp Farms Duroc pork loin wrapped in housemade kielbasa and bacon. Hand-

T

oasted Oak Grill & Market opened April 2010 in Novi’s Baronette Renaissance Hotel and hit stride almost immediately. The current winter menu, created by Executive Chef Steven Grostick, is filled not only with good eats, but fun. Because of the seating potential, it’s a perfect restaurant to take family, large or small in number, for a treat at sensible prices.

Toasted Oak is part of the Sage Restaurant Group headquartered in Denver, Colo. Peter Karpinski is co-founder and COO. As General Manager, Jared Chorney has teamed well with Chef Grostick in maintaining a hometown atmosphere showcasing its Novi location.

The Market, one of three adjoining dining areas, is the first room entered from outside the building. In addition to a full-service bar and the most casual eating area, it houses a gourmet meat and cheese counter, and wine shop.

A large middle area features a fanciful chalkboard menu in addition to a printed version available in all three eating areas. Space three adjoins the hotel lobby and features a contemporary fireplace set into a stone wall. Because it accommodates the hotel, the restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also offers a Sunday “pajama brunch,” a hit for families with younger children who if attired in their pajamas, eat free from the kids menu. Adults are attracted by the “make your own” Bloody Mary or Mimosa bar.

Beginning at 3:30 p.m. every Saturday, adults can attend a themed wine tasting of three wines and snacks for $10.

rolled potato gnocchi, caramelized onion and spinach garnish the plated presentation.

As much as possible, Chef Grostick buys products from Michigan farms. Famous for its Duroc pork (a breed known as the “Black Angus” of pork), Gunthorp Farm is in LaGrange, Ind., a stone’s throw from the Michigan border.

Signature dish Chef Grostick traces his liking for the style of food served at Toasted Oak from early years in his family kitchen, then honing his skills and graduating from Schoolcraft Culinary College before working for Chef Brian Polcyn, proprietor of Birmingham’s Forest Grill and internationally prominent charcuterie master.

Grostick’s love of “farm to fork” led to his

Winter menu Several new items make the winter menu inviting. Among small plates is Dr. Mike’s Toasted Poutine $10, a Canadian treat with fries, crispy pork belly confit, cheddar cheese curds, caramelized onions, mushrooms, gravy and a poached egg. Mussels from the Bar $15, are cooked in vodka with spicy tomato and pickled veggies.

Red Smoke Barbeque Restaurant: Barbecue.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

573 Monroe Street, Detroit, 48226.

313.962.2100.

Roadside B & G: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1727 South Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48302.

248.858.7270.

Rochester Chop House & Oyster Bar: American. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 306 Main Street, Rochester, 48307. 248.651.2266.

xpressmi.com

Popular new Market Plates include Warm Raclette $11, Beet-Cured Salmon $12, where the salmon shows the impact of beet curing in both color and flavor.

Among pizzas, try the Duck Confit Pizza $15, enhanced by Zingerman’s goat cheese, poblano, roasted tomato, caramelized onion and parmesan.

Wood-burning grill items include Roast Leg of Michigan White Tail $29, Cider Brined Grilled Duroc Pork Chop $24, Grilled New York Strip $26, with Dijon-horseradish crust, and Cedar Planked Lake Huron Trout $19, garnished with red wheat berries, walnuts, brussels sprouts, grilled lemon and roasted grapes. It took Chef Grostick six months to be pleased with his Faygo Root Beer Braised Short Rib preparation $32 (18-oz on one bone), so rib lovers don’t miss it.

Quenching thirst Chorney was more than eager to explain Toasted Oak’s wine program. “We have,” he says, “the best values of any restaurant in the area.”

The number of Michigan wines by the bottle ($24 and under) is significant. Wines of the world range in price from $14 to generally under $50. Add $7 to the wine list price for service in quality glassware, and in a majority of cases the price is less than most restaurant pricing.

Faygo Root Beer braised short rib. Xpress photo: Kate Saler

Roma Café: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. Reservations. Liquor. 3401 Riopelle Street, Detroit, 48207.

313.831.5940.

Ronin Sushi Bar: Japanese. Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 325 West Fourth Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.546.0888.

The Royal Oak Brewery: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor. 215 East Fourth Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.1141.

The Rugby Grille: American. Breakfast, Lunch

...hungry for more Borrowing this phrase in the headline from Tony Bourdain, Toasted Oak is not finished having winter fun. Plans include innovations for the market aspect.

Chef Grostick would not give me more clues, but with elements so on point with everything else, let’s look forward.

Toasted Oak Grill & Market, 27790 Novi Road, Novi, 248.277.6000. Monday-Friday breakfast 7-10:30 a.m. Until 11 a.m. Saturday. Sunday Brunch 7 a.m.2 p.m. Monday-Friday lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Sunday-Thursday 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday until 10:30 p.m. Parking: lot on premise.

Eleanor Heald is a nationally published writer who also writes the wine column in a double byline with her husband Ray for Xpress. Suggestions for Quick Bites section can be e-mailed to QuickBites@downtownpublications.com.

& Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 100 Townsend Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.642.5999.

Russell Street Deli: American. Breakfast & Lunch, Monday-Saturday. No reservations.

2465 Russell Street, Detroit, 48207.

313.567.2900.

Ruth’s Chris Streak House: Steakhouse.

Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. #151 755 West Big Beaver, Troy, 48084. 248.269.8424.

Salvatore Scallopini: Italian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Beer & Wine. 505

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North Old Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.644.8977.

Sangria: Spanish. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations.

Liquor. 401 South Lafayette, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.543.1964.

Seva Detroit: Vegetarian. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, Sunday-Thursday. Liquor.

66 E Forest, Detroit, 48201. 313.974.6661.

Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant: Chinese.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor. 6407 Orchard Lake

47

Casual, Fun and Delicious! www.SweetLorraines.com

Offering a Globally-inspired selection of Daily Specials, including House-made Soups, Pastas, Seafood, Steaks and Vegetarian Entrees by award-winning Chef Lorraine Platman.

SOUTHFIELD/BERKLEY LIVONIA (Located in the Livonia Marriot Hotel) 29101 Greenfield Rd • 248-559-5985

17100 N. Laurel Park Dr • 734-953-7480

Voted One of Michigan's Top Ten Favorite Restaurants in the Zagat Guide for Michigan.

COMMITMENTS A new feature offered by Xpress.

Share the news about your same-sex marriage, civil union or commitment ceremony.

See our online form at xpressmi.com to share your information and photo.

Commitments appears in print and online.

The upscale newsmagazine for the LGBT community.

A member of Downtown Publications 124 W. Maple Road Birmingham MI 48009 248.792.6464 48

Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322.

248.626.8585.

Shangri-La Garden: Asian. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 27626 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills, 48334.

248.474.8183.

Shogun Chinese & Japanese Bistro: Asian.

Lunch, Monday-Saturday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 23195 Marter, St. Clair Shores, 48080. 586.350.0927.

Sindbad’s at the River: Seafood. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 100 St. Clair, Detroit, 48214. 313.822.7817.

Slows Bar BQ: Barbecue. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor.

2138 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, 48216.

313.962.9828.

Small Plates Detroit: American. Brunch, Sunday.

Lunch & Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 1521 Broadway, Detroit, 48226. 313.963.0702.

Social Kitchen & Bar: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 5 or more.

Liquor. 225 East Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.594.4200.

Sposita’s Ristorante: Italian. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

33210 West 14 Mile Road, West Bloomfield Township, 48322. 248.538.8954.

Stage Deli: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 6873 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield, 48322. 248.855.6622.

Steve’s Backroom: Middle Eastern. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations, parties of 6 or more. Liquor. 24317 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, 48080. 586.774.9337.

Steve’s Deli: Deli. Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 6646 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, 48301. 248.932.0800.

Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar: American.

Multiple locations. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 29101 Greenfield, Southfield, 48076. 248.559.5985.

17100 North Laurel Park Dr., Livonia, 48152.

734.953.7480.

Streetside Seafood: Seafood. Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 273 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009.

248.645.9123.

Sushi Hana: Japanese. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, Monday-Saturday. Reservations. 42656 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, 48304.

248.333.3887.

Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro: American. Sunday, brunch.

Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 55 South Bates Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.731.7066.

TAP at MGM Grand Detroit: American. Lunch & Dinner, Thursday-Sunday; Dinner, MondayWednesday; Late night until 2 a.m., daily. No reservations. Liquor. 1777 Third Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.465.1234.

Thai Basil: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 37273 6 Mile Road, Livonia, 48152. 734.464.5934.

Thai Orchid Cuisine: Thai. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. 60 Cherry Street, Mount Clemens, 48043. 586.783.1727.

T.N. Thai Bistro: Thai/Sushi. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Beer & Wine. 17100 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe, 48230.

313.885.2695.

Toast: American. Multiple locations. Breakfast & Lunch, daily; Dinner, Monday-Saturday.

Reservations. Liquor. 203 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.258.6278. Breakfast,

Xpress

Monday-Sunday. No Reservations. 23144 Woodward, Ferndale, 48220. 248.398.0444.

Toasted Oak Grill & Market: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Breakfast & Lunch, MondayFriday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

27790 Novi Road, Novi, 48377. 248.277.6000.

Tom’s Oyster Bar: Seafood. Multiple locations.

Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 318 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067.

248.541.1186. Lunch & Dinner, MondaySaturday. 519 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, 48226. 313.964.4010.

Townhouse: American. Brunch, Saturday, Sunday. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 180 Pierce Street, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.5241.

Town Tavern: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 116 West 4th Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.7300.

Traffic Jam & Snug: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 511 West Canfield Street, Detroit, 48201. 313.831.9470.

Tre Monti: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1695 East Big Beaver Road, Troy, 48083.

248.680.1100.

Union Street Saloon: American. Brunch, Sunday. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 4145 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48201. 313.831.3965.

Vincente’s Cuban Cuisine: Cuban. Lunch & Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 1250 Library Street, Detroit, 48226. 313.962.8800.

Vince’s: Italian. Lunch, Tuesday-Friday; Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday. Reservations. Liquor. 1341 Springwells Street, Detroit, 48209.

313.842.4857.

Vinotecca: Wine Bar. Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 417 South Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.544.6256.

Vinsetta Grill: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

No reservations. Liquor. 28028 Woodward, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.543.2626.

Vivio’s Food & Spirits: American. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. Liquor. 2460 Market Street, Detroit, 48207. 313.393.1711.

Volare Ristorante: Italian Steakhouse. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations.

Liquor. 49115 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, 48393.

248.960.7771.

Wasabi Korean & Japanese Cuisine: Korean/Japanese. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 15 East Kirby, Woodward, Detroit, 48202. 313.638.1272.

Waves: Cuban/Hawaiian. Lunch & Dinner, daily.

Reservations. Liquor. 24223 Jefferson, St. Clair Shores, 48080. 586.773.3279.

What Crepe?: French. Multiple Locations.

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Saturday, Breakfast & Lunch, Sunday. No reservations.

172 North Old Woodward, Birmingham, 48009.

248.792.5634. Lunch & Dinner, Tuesday-Sunday.

No reservations. Liquor. 317 South Washington, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.629.9391.

The Whitney: American. Lunch, Monday-Friday; Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor. 4421 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, 48124.

313.832.5700.

Zazios: Italian. Dinner, daily. Reservations. Liquor.

34977 Woodward Avenue, Birmingham, 48009. 248.530.6400.

Zúmba Mexican Grille: Mexican. Multiple locations. Lunch & Dinner, daily. No reservations. 304 North Main Street, Royal Oak, 48067. 248.542.1400. 163 West Maple Road, Birmingham, 48009. 248.792.2775.

january 2013

INDEX TO LISTINGS

INDEX BY LOCATION Oakland: 220, 526 Main Dueling Piano Bar and Tequila Blue, Andiamo, Anita’s Kitchen, Ashoka Indian Cuisine, Assaggi Bistro, Bacco, Barrio Tacos & Tequila, bd’s Mongolian Grill, Beans & Cornbread Soulful Bistro, Beau Jacks, Bella Piatti, Beverly Hills Grill, Big Rock Chophouse, Birmingham Sushi Cafe, BlackFinn American Saloon, The Blue Nile, Bombay Grille, Brio Tuscan Grille, The Brookshire, Café Cortina, Café Muse, Café Sushi, Café Via, Cameron’s Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Chen Chow Brasserie, China Café, Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar, Coach Insignia, Crispelli’s Bakery Pizzeria, D’Amato’s Restaurant, Da Nang Restaurant, Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar, Due Venti, Edamame Sushi Nu-Asian Kitchen, Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine, Eurasian Grill, Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, The Fly Trap, The Fiddler, Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafe, Forest Grill, Fox Grill, Frittata, Garage Grill & Fuel Bar, Gemmayze Lebanese Kitchen and Lounge, Ginopolis’ Bar-BQ Smokehouse, Godaiko, Howe’s Bayou, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Inn Season Cafe, Inyo Restaurant & Lounge, Jeremy Restaurant & Bar, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Kitchen Hanzo, Kona Grill, Kruse & Muer on Main, The Lark, Lily’s Seafood Grill and Brewery, Local Kitchen and Bar, Lockhart’s BBQ, Luxe Bar & Grill, The Masters Restaurant, Mene Sushi, Meriwether’s, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Mon Jin Lau, Monterrey Cantina, The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant, Northern Lakes Seafood Co., No VI Chop House, Oak City Grille, Ocean Prime, Oxford Inn, Peabody’s, Pete’s Place Broadway Café, Phoenicia, Pizzeria Biga, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Pronto!, Redcoat Tavern, Roadside B & G, Rochester Chop House & Oyster Bar, Rojo Mexican Bistro, Ronin Sushi Bar, The Royal Oak Brewery, The Rugby Grille, Ruth’s Chris Streak House, Salvatore Scallopini, Sangria, ShangriLa Chinese Restaurant, Shangri-La Garden, Social Kitchen & Bar, Sposita’s Ristorante, Stage Deli, Steve’s Deli, Steven Lelli’s Inn on the Green, Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar, Streetside Seafood, Sushi Hana, Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro, Thang Long Thai &

xpressmi.com

Vietnamese, Toast, Toasted Oak Grill & Market, Tom’s Oyster Bar, Townhouse, Town Tavern, Tre Monti, Vinotecca, Vinsetta Grill, Volare Ristorante, What Crepe?, Zazios, Zúmba Mexican Grille Macomb: Andiamo, Brio Tuscan Grille, The Cutting Board, Filippa’s Wine Barrel, Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafe, Gim Ling, Golden Harvest, La Saj Lebanese Bistro, Loon River Café, Ollie’s Lebanese Cuisine, Pegasus Tavernas, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Rojo Mexican Bistro, Shogun Chinese & Japanese Bistro, Sindbad’s at the River, Steve’s Backroom, Thai Orchid Cuisine, Tokyo Sushi & Seoul BBQ, Waves Wayne: Ashoka Indian Cuisine, Bistro 222, Bucci Ristorante, Cafe Nini, City Kitchen, Crave Restaurant + Sushi Bar, Da Edoardo, Giulio’s Cucina Italiana, The Hill Seafood & Chophouse, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, Jumps Restaurant, Kiernan’s Steak House, La Pita, La Shish, Mitchell’s Fish Market, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Polish Village Cafe, Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar, Thai Basil, T.N. Thai Bistro, Tria Detroit: 24 Grille, Andiamo, Angelina Italian Bistro, Atlas Global Bistro, Blue Pointe Restaurant, Bourbon Steak, Cliff Bell’s, Coach Insignia, Cuisine, Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, Dakota Inn Rathskeller, Detroit Beer Company, El Barzon, Evie’s Tamales, Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafe, Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub, Fountain Bistro, Giovanni’s Ristorante, Hot Taco, Joe Muer Seafood, La Dolce Vita, The London Chop House, Los Galane’s Restaurant, Mario’s Restaurant, Mercury Burger & Bar, Midtown Shangri-La, Michael Symon’s Roast, Opus One, The Rattlesnake Club, Red Smoke Barbeque Restaurant, Roma Café, Russell Street Deli, Seva Detroit, Slows Bar BQ, Small Plates Detroit, TAP at MGM Grand Detroit, Tom’s Oyster Bar, Traffic Jam & Snug, Union Street Saloon, Vincente’s Cuban Cuisine, Vince’s, Vivio’s Food & Spirits, Wasabi Korean & Japanese Cuisine, The Whitney INDEX BY FOOD TYPE American: 220, 24 Grille, 526 Main Dueling Piano Bar and Tequila Blue, Atlas Global Bistro, Beau Jacks, Beverly Hills Grill, Big Rock Chophouse, BlackFinn American Saloon, The Brookshire, Café Via, Cameron’s Steakhouse, Coach

Insignia, Cuisine, The Cutting Board, D’Amato’s Restaurant, Detroit Beer Company, Diamond Jim Brady’s Bistro Bar, Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, The Fly Trap, Forest Grill, Fox Grill, Frittata, Garage Grill & Fuel Bar, The Hill Seafood & Chophouse, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Jumps Restaurant, Kruse & Muer on Main, Local Kitchen and Bar, Loon River Café, Luxe Bar & Grill, Mercury Burger & Bar, Michael Symon’s Roast, The Moose Preserve Bar & Grill, Oak City Grille, Opus One, Oxford Inn, Peabody’s, Pronto!, The Rattlesnake Club, Redcoat Tavern, Roadside B & G, Rochester Chop House & Oyster Bar, The Royal Oak Brewery, The Rugby Grille, Russell Street Deli, Small Plates Detroit, Social Kitchen & Bar, Stage Deli, Steven Lelli’s Inn on the Green, Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar, Tallulah Wine Bar and Bistro, TAP at MGM Grand Detroit, Toast, Toasted Oak Grill & Market, Townhouse, Town Tavern, Traffic Jam & Snug, Tria, Union Street Saloon, Vinsetta Grill, Vivio’s Food & Spirits, The Whitney Asian: Edamame Sushi Nu-Asian Kitchen, Eurasian Grill, Gim Ling, Inyo Restaurant & Lounge, Kona Grill, Shangri-La Garden, Shogun Chinese & Japanese Bistro Barbecue/Soul Food: Beans & Cornbread Soulful Bistro, Ginopolis’ Bar-B-Q Smokehouse, Lockhart’s BBQ, Red Smoke Barbeque Restaurant, Slows Bar BQ Cajun/Creole: Fishbone’s Rhythm Kitchen Cafe, Howe’s Bayou Chinese: China Café, Golden Harvest, Midtown Shangri-La, Mon Jin Lau, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant Cigar bar: Churchill’s Bistro & Cigar Bar Cuban: Vincente’s Cuban Cuisine, Waves Deli: Steve’s Deli Eclectic: Café Muse, Cliff Bell’s Ethiopian: The Blue Nile European: Bistro 222, Pete’s Place Broadway Café French: Fountain Bistro, The Lark, What Crepe?

German: Dakota Inn Rathskeller Greek: Pegasus Tavernas Hawaiian: Waves Indian: Ashoka Indian Cuisine, Bombay Grille, Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant Irish: Foran’s Grand Trunk Pub Italian: Andiamo, Angelina Italian Bistro, Bacco, Bella Piatti, Brio Tuscan Grille, Bucci Ristorante, Café Cortina, Cafe

Xpress

Nini, Crispelli’s Bakery Pizzeria, Da Edoardo, Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, Due Venti, El Barzon, Giovanni’s Ristorante, Giulio’s Cucina Italiana, Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, La Dolce Vita, Mario’s Restaurant, Pizzeria Biga, Roma Café, Salvatore Scallopini, Sposita’s Ristorante, Tre Monti, Vince’s, Volare Ristorante, Zazios Japanese: Birmingham Sushi Cafe, Café Sushi, Chen Chow Brasserie, Godaiko, Kitchen Hanzo, Mene Sushi, Ronin Sushi Bar, Sushi Hana, Tokyo Sushi & Seoul BBQ, Wasabi Korean & Japanese Cuisine Korean: Tokyo Sushi & Seoul BBQ, Wasabi Korean & Japanese Cuisine Mediterranean: Assaggi Bistro, Crave Restaurant + Sushi Bar, Elie’s Mediterranean Cuisine Mexican/Guatemalan: 526 Main Dueling Piano Bar and Tequila Blue, Barrio Tacos & Tequila, El Barzon, Evie’s Tamales, Hot Taco, Los Galane’s Restaurant, Monterrey Cantina, Rojo Mexican Bistro, Zúmba Mexican Grille Middle Eastern: Anita’s Kitchen, Gemmayze Lebanese Kitchen and Lounge, La Pita, La Saj Lebanese Bistro, La Shish, Ollie’s Lebanese Cuisine, Phoenicia, Steve’s Backroom Mongolian: bd’s Mongolian Grill Polish: Polish Village Cafe Russian: The Fiddler Seafood: Blue Pointe Restaurant, City Kitchen, Filippa’s Wine Barrel, Joe Muer Seafood, Lily’s Seafood Grill and Brewery, Meriwether’s, McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant, Mitchell’s Fish Market, Northern Lakes Seafood Co., No VI Chop House, Ocean Prime, Sindbad’s at the River, Streetside Seafood, Tom’s Oyster Bar Seasonal: Jeremy Restaurant & Bar Small plates: Coach Insignia Spanish: Sangria Steakhouse: Bourbon Steak, The Capital Grille, Filippa’s Wine Barrel, Kiernan’s Steak House, The London Chop House, Morton’s The Steakhouse, No VI Chop House, Ruth’s Chris Streak House, Volare Ristorante Sushi: T.N. Thai Bistro Thai: Thai Basil, Thai Orchid Cuisine, T.N. Thai Bistro Vegetarian: Inn Season Cafe, Seva Detroit Vietnamese: Da Nang Restaurant, Thang Long Thai & Vietnamese Wine bar: Vinotecca

49

VIEWS FROM INSIDE

The importance of a Supreme Court decision

W

e all welcomed the relatively astonishing news that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases this session on same-sex marriage. The arguments will be heard this spring, and the decisions are expected some time in June. The court's move comes at a time when the general public is moving rapidly towards acceptance of same-sex marriage, with recent polls indicating that a majority of Americans support allowing gays to marry. Following the November elections, the number of states where voters approved same-sex marriage increased to nine. The court will hear these two cases only eight years after Massachusetts became the first state to permit same-sex marriage, which in the legal world, is really fast.

As we stated last month, with this election, the clarion call was loud and clear. Those who seek to legislate who someone can love and spend their life with should be warned they should be in retreat. As this election was evidence of, voters of all persuasions recognize that they respect the choices adults make for themselves. We hope the Supremes will be open and willing to make the same decision for a portion of the population who has been waiting to have the same rights as every other American adult in this country—to marry the one they love, and to legally share their benefits with that person.

“We are at a major turning point in the arc of gay and lesbian rights,” Suzanne B. Goldberg, a law professor at Columbia, told the New York Times. “The cases are moving fast, and the country is as well.”

One of the cases, Hollingsworth v. Perry, from California, could potentially establish or reject the constitutional right to same-sex marriage. However, the justices could also rule on narrower grounds that would apply only to marriages in California. A key question that will come before the justices is whether or not voters in California, who voted against Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage in the state, had withdrawn a key constitutional right from gay men and lesbians.

The basis for this question will likely lie in court precedence in miscegenation—the laws banning interracial marriage. The Supreme Court did not strike down laws banning interracial marriage until 1967, with Loving v. Virginia. At the time, 16 states still had laws banning interracial marriage.

The second case, United States v. Windsor, from New York, challenges a part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the law which defines marriage as between only a man and a woman for the purposes of more than 1,000 federal laws and programs. This suit challenges the part of the federal law that requires the federal government to deny benefits to gay and lesbian couples married in states that allow such unions.

The case concerns two New York City women, Edith Windsor and Thea Clara Spyer, who married in 2007 in Canada. Ms. Spyer died in 2009, and Ms. Windsor inherited her property. The 1996 law did not allow the Internal Revenue Service to treat Ms. Windsor as a surviving spouse, and she faced a tax bill of about $360,000 that a spouse in an opposite-sex marriage would not have had to pay.

Ms. Windsor sued, and in October 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, struck down the 1996 law. It now comes before the Supreme Court.

There is no guarantee that the Supremes will rule affirmatively in either case, either by a majority or unanimously.

On December 10, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said at an event at Princeton University that it is “effective” to compare laws that ban bestiality and murder to those that ban homosexuality. Not a very “open” mind coming into court arguments, we'd say.

We hope the other justices are more receptive to legal arguments before them. As with interracial marriage, the issue of same-sex marriage is one whose time has come. As our friends have shown in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington state and Washington D.C., Maine and Maryland, our marriages are as valid and wonderful, as functional or dysfunctional, but most especially, as real, as any straight couple's. And unless we're walking into someone else's bedroom, our ability to marry doesn't threaten anyone else's marriage.

The country is on rapid acceleration towards acceptance of that fact, with only a small minority of older Americans not quite getting it. They might not like it, but most of them get it. Let's hope the Supreme Court, when they hear the arguments for both cases, get on the bus, as well.

It’s a New Year...

Dreams will come true.

DG

DAN GUTFREUND A passion for finding your dream home

SKBK 415 S. Old Woodward Birmingham, MI 48009

248.731.1030 dan@skbk.com

REAL ESTATE SPECIALIST