03/20/15, Vol. 6 Issue 1

GEORGIANEWS

Georgia corporations silent on ‘religious freedom’ LGBT activists, scholars call out business community for lack of support

been vocal in their opposition to similar legislation. They need to be held accountable and explain why they won’t do the same for their customers and employees in Georgia.”

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com It’s no secret that corporations and business groups have been showing more visible support for the LGBT community in recent years.

At no time was this support more apparent than during last year’s legislative session in Georgia, when state Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus) and state Rep. Sam Teasley (R-Marietta) each proposed so-called “religious freedom” bills. Georgia-based corporations came out forcefully in support of the LGBT community, issuing individual statements with direct references to such legislation. It’s that kind of support, along with a massive effort by LGBT rights groups and allies, that led to both bills’ failure.

But this year, over two months into the legislative session and just days away from the possible passage of SB 129, McKoon’s 2015 “religious freedom” bill, progressive and LGBT rights groups are fed up and have begun publicly calling out corporations for their efforts, or lack thereof.

Placement of ‘discrimination’ line in bill makes it ‘empty gesture’ When SB 129 passed in the Senate on March 5, state Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) worked with McKoon to insert the following line into the bill: “Courts have consistently held that government has a fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating discrimination.”

When contacted for their stances on SB 129, AT&T, Home Depot and Delta Air Lines all stated that they are aligned with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, who issued a joint statement referencing Cowsert’s attempt to insert that line about discrimination into the bill: “We are encouraged by Senator Cowsert’s leadership and support his efforts, as well as other members of Senate leadership, to amend the bill to make clear that government has a fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating

Opponents of the ‘religious freedom’ bill rallied at the Georgia Capitol on March 17, but business groups are taking a quieter role in the fight this year. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

“AT&T, along with other corporations and business groups around the country have been vocal in their opposition to similar legislation. They need to be held accountable and explain why they won’t do the same for their customers and employees in Georgia.”

– Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality discrimination,” the chambers say. “We will continue to work constructively with stakeholders to address lingering concerns over the potential implications of this legislation as it works its way through the process.”

But LGBT rights groups and legal scholars say the placement of that line in the legislative findings portion of the bill—instead of in the statutory portion where it would have more teeth—means it will do nothing to protect the community.

“While I can appreciate that Sen. Cowsert’s acknowledgment that the fear of discrimination is real, unless the current bill is amended to specifically prohibit it, the words are only a gesture,” says Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham. “AT&T, as well as the members of both chambers, know this, and it is unfortunate that they continue to refuse to take action to support Georgia’s LGBT community. AT&T, along with other corporations and business groups around the country, have

Delta’s $23 million slap on the wrist Further complicating matters is a March 5 report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that suggested Delta’s lowered profile on the matter this year may have something to do with a Republican state representative’s slap on the wrist—a $23 million slap on the wrist.

Inside the $1 billion transportation bill that’s receiving the majority of the attention this session is a new provision that would end a 10-year-old tax break on aviation fuel, which the AJC estimates would cost $23 million a year at today’s oil prices, and which Delta would bear the brunt of.

State Rep. Earl Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) appears to relish the predicament he put Delta CEO Richard Anderson in.

“He’s a private citizen. He’s welcome to chime in on anything,” Ehrhart tells Jim Galloway of the AJC’s Political Insider. “[The religious liberty bills] didn’t drive me.

But will I more than happily take advantage of those who are tired of him chiming in to pass a piece of legislation? Absolutely.”

Coca-Cola removes references to ‘legislation’ When Coca-Cola issued its statement on “religious freedom” bills last February, it did so strongly, repeatedly referencing the legislation that was at the center of so many battles in so many states.

But when asked for their stance on SB 129 this year, they pointed the Georgia Voice to the company’s new “Statement on Diversity.” Gone are any references to “legislation” and in its place is the word “policies”—a very important distinction, says Bryan Long, executive director of progressive political organization Better Georgia.

“It’s their silence on that direct question [their stance on SB 129] that is most important,” he continues. “No one doubts that Coca-Cola has strong non-discrimination policies. In fact, their policies are among the best in the nation. But this debate is about a discrimination law that could be passed as a result of their silence.”

4 News March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

VISIT US | LOEWSHOTELS.coM | 800.23.loews

BROUGHT THEM TO THEIR FEET. AND LEF T HAND IN HAND.

THE ROOM YOU NEED

AT L A N TA H OT E L

ANNAPOLIS • ATLANTA • BOSTON • CHICAGO • CHICAGO O’HARE • HOLLYWOOD • MIAMI BEACH • MINNEAPOLIS • MONTREAL • NASHVILLE NEW ORLEANS • NEW YORK • ORLANDO • PHILADELPHIA • SAN DIEGO • SANTA MONICA • ST. PETE BEACH • TUCSON • WASHINGTON D.C.

GEORGIANEWS

Motion: City violating Atlanta Eagle settlement mandates Police union says officers at risk for civil, criminal liabilities

ment, imposed by the Supreme Court, that police officers may stop an individual and demand identification only with reasonable articulable suspicion that the individual is involved in criminal activity,” the motion states.

“It is also shocking that the City would expose its police officers to civil and even criminal liability by instructing them to do something that is clearly unlawful.

“The very essence of this case was the City of Atlanta’s disregard for the law generally and for the Fourth Amendment jurisprudence of the Supreme Court in particular, and it is hard to imagine a clearer example of the City’s continued intention to disregard the law than its deliberate removal of a ‘permanent’ revision ordered by the Court to remedy an unconstitutional operating procedure,” according to the motion.

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com Court documents filed in federal court this week allege the Atlanta Police Department is failing to train its officers to follow court-mandated reforms that were part of the city’s settlement with Atlanta Eagle plaintiffs after the APD’s unlawful raid on the bar in 2009.

The allegations are being backed by an unlikely source—the police department’s union.

‘Disheartening and depressing’ The city settled with the Atlanta Eagle plaintiffs in 2010 for more than $1 million.

As part of that settlement, the city acknowledged it violated the patrons’ constitutional rights and promised to implement court-ordered reforms as part of the APD’s standard operating procedure (SOP), including: n documenting warrantless detentions, frisks and searches; n prohibiting officers from interfering with the public’s right to take photographs and videotape and make audio recordings of police officers and activity; n requiring uniformed officers to always wear clearly visible nametags and identify themselves when asked; n requiring the APD to rule on citizen complaints of police misconduct within 180 days; and n requiring the city of Atlanta to conduct mandatory in-person training for all police officers every two years regarding Fourth Amendment issues and the safe use of firearms.

However, these reforms have not taken place, even though the city was ordered to enact them by a federal judge in the original settlement and again in 2011, according to a “motion for contempt” filed March 17. Filing the motion are the attorneys who represented the Atlanta Eagle plaintiffs: Dan Grossman, Gerald Weber of the Southern Center for Human Rights and Greg Nevins and Beth Littrell of Lambda Legal.

“It is disheartening and depressing that the City of Atlanta does not want to provide its

Atlanta Police Department Chief George Turner and the city of Atlanta are under fire for allegedly not implementing federally mandated reforms. (File photo)

police officers with adequate training and constitutional SOPs voluntarily, simply as a matter of good government. But it is shocking that the City will not do so even when ordered by multiple federal courts,” the motion states.

Police union fears liabilities if officers not properly trained Ken Allen, national vice president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the union for the Atlanta Police Department, is backing the attorneys in their motion to force the police department to begin proper training on such procedures as stops and searches and the videotaping of police activity.

Allen states in a letter to the federal judges presiding over the motion for contempt that the union believes “adequate training on these issues appears to have fallen short of the intended outcome.”

“Any shortcoming in these expectations increases the risk of disciplinary actions towards the officers, and further creates the possibility of criminal and/or civil liabilities,” Allen adds. “[The union] leadership agrees that these particular topics of court-ordered training are of the utmost importance and ALL standards must be met and maintained, to prevent con-

flicts of interest and future liabilities.”

Motion: Police continue to unlawfully detain citizens The motion of contempt includes statements and documents backing up its charge that the city refused to remove unconstitutional training procedures when it came to stopping and detaining a person. Instead, the APD is training officers to stop and check the IDs of “suspicious persons” or “potential criminals.”

The Supreme Court has ruled it is unlawful for police officers to simply stop someone for appearing “suspicious” or looking like a “potential criminal,” it states in the motion.

Police officials did change the SOP on stopping citizens after the Atlanta Eagle raid settlement and prohibited officers from detaining people with no justification. But at a later date, the APD changed the standard operating procedure back to what it was before the Eagle raid, and it is now, again, unconstitutional, according to the motion.

“It is hard to imagine a more flagrant example of a city’s disrespect for the Constitution, or for the rulings of the Supreme Court, than a city that deliberately removes from its police ‘stop and frisk’ regulation the require-

Police destroying videotaped evidence?

Another motion filed March 17 by Grossman, Weber and Albert Wan deals specifically with officers not being trained not to destroy photographic evidence of police activity, and to wear visible nametags at all times.

These allegations follow the city’s settlement five years ago with Felicia Anderson for $50,000 after she was arrested for taking photos from her front porch of an Atlanta officer arresting and beating a handcuffed suspect. Her phone was also destroyed. As part of the settlement, officers were to be specifically trained not to disrupt or destroy photographic evidence taken by a citizen.

Grossman said he became concerned about the city following the Eagle and Anderson settlements after media coverage of the Ferguson protests showed officers not wearing visible nametags and allegedly telling people they were not allowed to videotape police action.

City of Atlanta spokesperson Anne Torres said in a statement that the city did indeed train officers not to destroy cellphone photos or videos taken by citizens.

“Since April 2011, employees in the Atlanta Police Department have been specifically prohibited from interfering with a citizen’s right to record police activity by photographic, video, or audio means, as long as these activities do not physically interfere with the performance of an officer’s duties,” she said.

6 News March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The Lexus

PERFECT UPGRADE PROGRAM

UPGRADE TO A NEW, SAFER, MORE RELIABLE VEHICLE 2015 LEXUS

ES 350

LEASE FOR

339

$

2015 LEXUS

RX 350

4dr Sedan

The Lexus

PERFECT UPGRADE PROGRAM

Model 9000. Lease for $339 a month for 27 months with $1,995 due at signing. $0 security deposit required.

Offer based on MSRP of $38,475 including delivery, processing and handling. Net selling price $35,900 (includes $1,500 lease rebate & $0 first month’s payment). Residual value $26,548. Based on $2,575 dealer discount. 7,500 miles per year allowed, $0.20 per mile thereafter. Based on approved credit to a very well qualified buyer through Lexus Financial Services. Excludes GA TAVT tax and registration fee. Stk#50508 Expires 3/31/15.

SOUTH ATLANTA

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

LEASE FOR

429

$

PER MONTH

PER MONTH

LEXUS

FWD 5dr

855-593-2304

LexusofSouthAtlanta.com

Model 9420. Lease for $429 a month for 27 months with $2,295 due at signing. $0 security deposit required.

Offer based on MSRP of $45,288 including delivery, processing and handling. Net selling price $42,900 (includes $1,500 lease rebate & $0 first month’s payment). Residual value $31,249. Based on $2,388 dealer discount. 7,500 miles per year allowed, $0.20 per mile thereafter. Based on approved credit to a very well qualified buyer through Lexus Financial Services. Excludes GA TAVT tax and registration fees. Stk#50518. Expires 3/31/15.

4025 Jonesboro Road Union City, GA 30291 March 20, 2015 Ads 7

GEORGIANEWS

Prospects slim for passage of any LGBT bills Hate crime, bullying, HIV bills among those to fail at Capitol

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com While SB 129, state Sen. Josh McKoon’s (R-Columbus) so-called “religious freedom” bill, has gotten all the attention during this year’s Georgia legislative session, there were several other bills proposed that affect the LGBT community.

Unfortunately, the chances are slim that any of them will pass.

That’s because none of the bills made it through Crossover Day, the last day a bill can pass in one chamber and go over to the other chamber before the end of the session, which is tentatively set for April 2.

However, even if a bill doesn’t survive Crossover Day, there are other ways of get-

Lesbian state Rep. Karla Drenner’s Fair Employment Practices Act did not pass in the House in time for Crossover Day, but still has a slim chance. (File photo)

ting it to pass. For example, the bill could be added as an amendment to another one, or either chamber could vote to suspend the rule about Crossover Day.

Lesbian state Rep. Karla Drenner’s (D-Avondale Estates) Fair Employment Practices Act, which would prohibit discrimination against state employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, was the second most high-profile LGBT bill.

There is still a chance of it being attached to another piece of legislation, although that can often result in a watered-down version of the original bill.

Drenner told the Georgia Voice that the bill is not dead, so it remains to be seen if third time’s the charm, as she earlier proposed the bill in 2012 and 2013. If some form of the bill doesn’t pass this year, it appears it will require a major shift in the makeup of the Republican-controlled legislature for it to become law any time in the near future. This year’s version was the strongest yet, with 77 co-sponsors, including one Independent and 17 Republicans.

Georgia is one of five states without a

hate crimes law on the books, and LGBT ally state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) tried to do something about that this year, proposing SB 47, which would provide for enhanced punishment for crimes involving bias or prejudice, including such crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

“I got a strong, gay-inclusive hate crimes bill out of the Senate Judiciary in 2005/2006 and it’s to the point now where it doesn’t even get a hearing,” he said.

Lesbian state Rep. Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta) authored both an anti-bullying bill and an HIV testing bill, and she confirmed neither will pass this year.

Lesbian state Rep. Simone Bell (D-Atlanta) introduced HB 142, a bill that would have ensured schools receiving funding from student scholarship organizations do not discriminate based on race, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. It did not make it out of the House by Crossover Day.

Hundreds rally against ‘religious freedom’ bill Faith leaders, politicians speak out as the bill enters its final days of consideration at Georgia State Capitol

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com As the days dwindled until the fate of state Sen. Josh McKoon’s (R-Columbus) so-called “religious freedom” bill is decided, hundreds of opponents of the bill gathered for a rally to make one last visible stand.

The March 17 rally against Senate Bill 129 took place at the Liberty Plaza next door to the Georgia State Capitol, and was organized by Georgia Unites Against Discrimination, the LGBT rights coalition group consisting of Georgia Equality and the Human Rights Campaign.

Rabbi Joshua Heller of Congregation B’nai Torah mentioned the ongoing debate

The March 17 rally was organized by LGBT rights coalition Georgia Unites Against Discrimination. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

in the Jewish community over verses in the Bible, such as those in Leviticus, that some construe as being against homosexuality.

“I’ve read those passages in Leviticus,” he said. “But I’ve also read Leviticus 19:18 that says ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ And I’ve read Leviticus 25:17 that says ‘Don’t op-

press your neighbor.’ And I can be no less serious about those verses than any other in the scripture that I hold dear. And so when I see someone citing Judaism, citing the Holy Torah to exclude people from a larger society, to impede human beings trying to live in human dignity, I must say ‘Not in my name,

not in our name, not in God’s name.’”

Macon Circuit District Attorney David Cooke, who cited the dangers of an increase in child abuse in his well-publicized editorial in opposition to such bills, repeated those points as well as the danger to women.

Other speakers included Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham, Human Rights Campaign Board of Governors member Brad DiFiore, and Neck Candy Tie Co. president and owner David Bachman, a gay Republican.

The rally occurred as attention on the bill during this year’s legislative session reached its peak.

While the legislature was not in session the day of the rally, state Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) attended and was recognized by Graham.

The bill passed in the Senate on March 5 and has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), a co-sponsor on lesbian state Rep. Karla Drenner’s Fair Employment Practices Act.

8 News March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

If you’re on HIV meds, Fulyzaq may help you...

Is diarrhea holding you back? If you are on HIV medications, Fulyzaq is a plant-based, FDA-approved prescription medication that may help manage your diarrhea.

Fulyzaq may help manage your diarrhea over time by making your bowel movements less frequent and loose. Fulyzaq works by normalizing the flow of water in your gut. Fulyzaq did not interfere with commonly used HIV medications, and did not affect CD4 count or viral load in a 4-week study.

It’s time to stop dealing with diarrhea and ‘Start the Conversation’ about Fulyzaq today.

Indication FULYZAQ® (crofelemer) is an antidiarrheal indicated for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adult patients with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy.

Important Safety Information about FULYZAQ FULYZAQ® (crofelemer) delayed-release tablets should not be used for the treatment of infectious diarrhea. It is important that your healthcare provider considers infectious causes of diarrhea before you start taking FULYZAQ. If infectious causes are not considered, and you begin taking FULYZAQ based on a probable diagnosis of noninfectious diarrhea, there is a risk that you will not receive the appropriate treatments, and your disease may worsen. • FULYZAQ tablets should be swallowed whole. FULYZAQ tablets should not be crushed or chewed. You may take FULYZAQ with or without food. You should follow the instructions of your healthcare provider. • If you are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider before taking FULYZAQ. The safety and effectiveness of FULYZAQ have not been established in people younger than 18 years of age. • In clinical studies, the most common adverse reactions associated with FULYZAQ – occurring in at least 3% of patients taking FULYZAQ – were upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis (inflammation of the lining of the tubes which carry air to and from your lungs), cough, flatulence (intestinal gas passed through your rectum), and increased bilirubin (a waste product of the breakdown of red blood cells). • You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see following page for brief summary of Prescribing Information for FULYZAQ. Snap a picture of our logo and show your doctor to ‘Start the Conversation’

IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION

Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age?

The following is a brief summary only. See complete Prescribing Information at Fulyzaq.com or request complete Prescribing Information by calling 1-800-508-0024. This information does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or your treatment.

• FULYZAQ has not been studied in children under 18 years of age

WHAT IS FULYZAQ?

Talk to your doctor to find out if FULYZAQ is right for you.

FULYZAQ is a prescription medication used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adult patients with HIV/AIDS who take HIV medication.

• FULYZAQ studies did not contain a large number of patients over the age of 65; therefore, it is unclear if this age group will respond differently

HOW SHOULD I TAKE FULYZAQ? • FULYZAQ should be taken orally, by mouth 2 times per day • FULYZAQ tablets may be taken with or without food

WHO SHOULD NOT TAKE FULYZAQ?

• FULYZAQ tablets should not be crushed or chewed

• FULYZAQ should not be taken if you have diarrhea caused by an infection

• FULYZAQ tablets should be swallowed whole

• Your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite) before you start taking FULYZAQ

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF FULYZAQ? • Upper respiratory tract infection (nasal or sinus infection) • Bronchitis (inflammation of the lining of the tubes which carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (intestinal gas passed through your rectum) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product of the breakdown of red blood cells) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

SHOULD I TAKE FULYZAQ IF I AM: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that FULYZAQ could cause harm to an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking FULYZAQ

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT TAKING FULYZAQ WITH OTHER MEDICATIONS? • If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, or herbal supplements or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting FULYZAQ

WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT FULYZAQ? • For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Fulyzaq.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist To report side effects, a product complaint, or for additional information, call: 1-800-508-0024.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 8510 Colonnade Center Drive, Raleigh, NC 27615 www.salix.com Copyright © Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. US Patent Nos. 7,341,744 and 7,323,195.

FUL-RALAB49-062014 Fulyzaq is manufactured for Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by Patheon, Inc. and distributed under license from Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ©2014 Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. FUL50-0614

• This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed

A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether FULYZAQ is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting FULYZAQ • Your doctor will help you to make a decision whether to stop nursing or to stop taking FULYZAQ

The botanical drug substance of FULYZAQ is extracted from Croton lechleri (the botanical raw material) that is harvested from the wild in South America.

Unitarian Universalist Rev. Duncan Teague speaks last October at a rally at Atlanta City Hall as city leaders, faith leaders and families gathered to show support for same-sex marriage. (File photo)

NEWSBRIEFS Georgia leaders sign amicus briefs supporting same-sex marriage Georgia faith leaders, businesses, mayors, police chiefs, sheriffs and more have signed friend-of-the-court briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court showing their support for marriage equality. The news comes as the court announced April 28 as the date for oral arguments on the issue.

The Georgia faith leaders showing support include Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, pastor and president of Georgia’s NAACP; Rev Dr. C.T. Vivian, civil rights leader and founder of the C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute; Bishop Keith Whitmore of Atlanta; David Key, Director of Baptist Studies at Emory University’s Candler School; and David Gushee, Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University.

Georgia-based business signers include the Coca-Cola Company and Delta Air Lines, and those signing onto a mayors’ brief include Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, Mayor Jannquell Peters of East Point, Mayor James Thomas Jr. of Hinesville, and Mayor Edward Terry of Clarkston.

Lambda Legal, representing Georgia plaintiffs seeking to overturn the state’s samewww.thegeorgiavoice.com

sex marriage ban, agreed with a motion to stay its case until the high court rules, which will likely occur in late June.

Cathy Woolard running for Atlanta mayor While the election is two years away, lesbian politico Cathy Woolard has already thrown her hat into the ring to run for mayor of the city of Atlanta.

Woolard, a lobbyist for Georgia Equality and former interim executive director at AID Atlanta, told Georgia Voice, “I’ve probably been thinking about this since I was in office, off and on. In politics, timing is everything and I had some friends running the last couple times and just decided this time that I’m going to do it. I’ve been thinking hard about it and what’s in store for me at this point in my life and I’ve never let go of how much I love Atlanta and all the wonderful things as a city we can do going into the future, not the least of which is finishing the Beltline.”

Woolard, 57, who is married to Karen Geney, became the first openly gay elected official in Georgia history when she began her first term on the Atlanta City Council in 1997. She then became the first woman to

serve as president of the council in 2002. She also was the first openly gay person in Georgia to run for Congress in 2004, but lost to Cynthia McKinney.

State Rep. Margaret Kaiser (D-Atlanta) has also officially announced she is running for mayor.

Official discloses doubts about ‘religious freedom’ bill Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) has said he has doubts about the necessity of SB 129, the so-called “religious freedom” bill.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Josh McKoon (R-Columbus), sailed through the Senate March 5 and is now in the House.

“I believe the Constitution is the paramount legal document of this state and this country. And if we need to codify those guarantees in terms of our freedom of worship, do we also need to do so for freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and all these other rights we have?” Ralston told Bill Nigut, host of the Georgia Public Television show “Lawmakers,” on March 10.

The last day of the 2015 legislative session is expected to be April 2.

March 20, 2015 News 11

Outspoken PO Box 77401 • Atlanta, GA 30357 P: 404-815-6941; F: 404-963-6365

Editorial

Deafening silence from Georgia businesses

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

By DYANA BAGBY

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com

When Dolce & Gabbana said in an interview that children in LGBT families are “synthetic” and the “only family is a traditional one,” the gays reacted with fury, and with celebrities urged Hollywood to boycott the Italian fashion house. In Atlanta and Georgia, many on Facebook decried the ugliness of the hate and also promised to boycott the brand (that is, if they could afford it in the first place).

But in Georgia, it’s not brash and controversial statements from fashion designers that deserve our ire. We need to listen to the deafening silence coming from major corporations who are apparently sitting out this year’s fight against the state’s “religious freedom” bill.

Last year, Atlanta-based corporations were quick to speak out against the proposed legislation that LGBT activists fear will have many unintended consequences, not just on LGBT people but also on all people who don’t fit in their white, Christian mold. And because these companies— Delta Air Lines, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, for example—did speak out, the bill was eventually defeated in the closing hours of the session.

The closing hours of the 2015 legislative session are fast approaching and not a peep has come from any of these corporations who we have for years considered our allies.

Editorial Contributors: Melissa Carter, Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Charles Stephens, Steve Warren, Simon Williamson

Production

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

Business

Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com Managing Partner: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Anne Clarke aclarke@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

Fine Print

All material in the Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return.

The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

A single copy of the Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from the Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to the Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. The Georgia Voice is published every other Friday by The Georgia Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of the Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Georgia Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

12 Outspoken March 20, 2015

Are we going to be angrier with a pair of Italian fashion designers than we are with these locally based companies who are turning their backs on us in our very urgent time of need?

These specific companies lead our Atlanta Pride every year and we cheer them, so thankful for their support of LGBT issues. They repeatedly score high on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index because they do everything to ensure equality for LGBT employees and we praise them in the press.

But the inclusion that companies like Delta, Coca-Cola and Home Depot promise goes beyond the boardroom and into the world where their customers live; these companies have publicly supported LGBT causes because they know it is the right thing to do.

And by doing so, they help shape our society’s narrative in acceptance of our equality.

That is why their silence or vague comments supporting equality this year concerning Georgia’s “religious freedom” bill is so disturbing. Lawmakers have fought back against these pro-LGBT companies in at least one way this year, by threatening to end a tax break on jet fuel worth millions of dollars, leaving Delta to suffer a $23 million hit to its bottom line.

And that’s why we, as LGBT people, need

to push back with our wallets and not let these companies get our dollars because of what they have done in the past. Let’s hold them accountable for what they are doing today.

Currently, Delta, Coca-Cola and Home Depot are corporate sponsors of this year’s HRC Atlanta Dinner Gala & Auction. HRC Atlanta recently joined Georgia Equality in the Georgia Unites Against Discrimination coalition. Despite HRC’s work to defeat the bill, their corporate sponsors continue to remain tight-lipped on the bill, instead intimidated by anti-LGBT lawmakers. You can’t have it both ways.

Are we going to be angrier with a pair of Italian fashion designers than we are with these locally based companies who are turning their backs on us in our very urgent time of need?

We can no longer cheer these companies as they ride past us in our parade, sit at their fancy tables at a black-tie affair, or praise their corporate inclusion when they are willing to back down to extremist lawmakers. It’s time we let them know with our wallets, our letters, our emails and our voices that their silence is unforgivable.

Comments “Elton John jumps into Georgia’s ‘religious freedom’ fray” (March 12) Elton John weighing in on RFRA would be like putting me in charge of the Grammys – not a good idea.

– Josh McKoon It’s amazing that someone who would profess to be an intelligent person would say something so utterly stupid...ANYONE should have every bit as much right (yes, even responsibility) to speak on an issue that affects ALL of us...do you think YOU’RE

supposed to be the arbiter of who is worthy to speak?? NOT! — Cheryl C. Courtney-Evans

legal protection to their desire to discriminate based on their bigotry and malice.

— Peter Engelmaier

“Georgia House Speaker David Ralston: Not completely sold on ‘religious freedom’ bill” (March 12) He says he doesn’t think there is malice in the supporters of the bill. I respectfully demand he listen to their speeches and re-address this comment. Their [sic] is absolutely malice and bigotry from this bill’s supporters and that is the whole point. This bill gives

“Fox News hires Martin Luther King Jr.’s anti-LGBT niece” (March 9) Maybe she could re-read her uncle’s positions on human rights?

— Patrick Joyner-Stephenson Join us online: facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

ho ed?

OUT IN THE WILD

By Simon Williamson

Claim all the space Simon Williamson lives with his federally-recognized spouse in the wild yonder of Newton County. You can follow him on Twitter: @simonwillo.

Two weeks ago our dog died. First I tried to deal with it by talking about it. Then I tried not talking about it. My brain then concluded that exercise would be the way forward, but I accidentally saw my reflection while doing yoga and realized my downward dog was less “Basic Instinct” and more “Pillsbury Doughboy trying to get up.” Then I tried to numb myself with cooking shows, but no amount of hate-watching Ina Garten was enough of a distraction, and Netflix was no help either, as the relationship between the “Gilmore Girls” gets progressively creepy. So, options exhausted, I finally decided to leave the house—I hardly ever leave it even when all my dogs are alive—and do something I hadn’t done before: visit Athens.

“Just about every American institution, agent of the criminal justice system and representative of the health care system has failed black people overall.”

A

s we continue to grapple with the impact of HIV among black gay men, we must will the courage to ask the kinds of questions that will reverse the path we have been bound to.

One such question is, in what ways have we as black gay men been failed by AIDS service organizations?

The failure of AIDS service organizations to effectively care for us is by no means singular. Just about every American institution, agent of the criminal justice system and representative of the health care system has failed black people overall. AIDS service organizations thus join in the parade of failed systems that have promised much, but provided little.

I know so many black gay men who have gone to work at AIDS service organizations, only www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Although I work in Atlanta, I spend very little time in the city outside my office, except for the mindless hours stop-starting on I-20, which flows as interruptedly as the bloodstream of Colonel Sanders. What this means is that my existence is fairly limited geographically: I spend all my free time well outside the Perimeter.

Of course, we pay for this bucolic bliss with something you may have picked up on in prior writs of mine in this fine paper: we live amongst people who confuse the Bible with the Constitution, put Paul Broun in office, and apparently don’t have the same ideas of fun that we do. It means we live a very private existence—we don’t know our neighbors, and we don’t care to. When we’re out and about this area we are conscious

of the stares of people (of which there are many), and we certainly wouldn’t think of holding hands, or anything else so flashy.

But something became clear to me during our Sunday in Athens: it doesn’t need to be this way. We shouldn’t have to act within the prejudices of the local population. Without looking for it, we found a very easy actuality, sitting at numerous bars as an obviously gay couple with no one batting an eyelid.

As a group we’re obsessing over the marriage fight, but forgetting that what we’re supposed to have already won is limited to communities where we live in numbers. There is a shitload of America that exists outside those communities, and there is no guarantee that those rights are safe in communities where our people don’t

“As a group we’re obsessing over the marriage fight, but forgetting that what we’re supposed to have already won is limited to communities where we live in numbers.” boast any sort of critical political mass, and where the people who hate us do.

We’re forgetting that outside safe communities, the right to not be murdered, especially for our transgender peers, is actually something with which people are required to grapple. Not being fired for where they like to put things, or to put their thing in, is another. People who live in fear of an injustice against them going nowhere slowly in the local judicial system: that’s the daily gauntlet LGBT people outside the safe parts of major cities are forced to run.

Let’s make sure our rights don’t only exist in places we have already made safe. We shouldn’t be forced to hide out in a college town if we want to avoid both big cities and bigot-laden danger.

THE ICONOCLAST

By Charles Stephens

How AIDS services fail black gay men Charles Stephens is a writer and organizer. He is the founder of Counter Narrative Follow him on twitter: @CharlesStephen2 to see their dreams smashed and their creativity smothered. Despite this, many of them still put their best foot forward, working hard for little money. They are committed because they care.

Unfortunately, I’ve also witnessed others who have substituted a lack of leadership experience and community engagement capability with academic credentials and social service jargon. The result of this is a landscape increasingly populated by those ill-equipped to effectively mobilize and build power among black gay men, but well-equipped to perpetuate a deficit-based view of our community.

Another example of the overvaluing of a narrow kind of public health content knowledge is the dependence we are seeing more often of financial incentives like gift cards to entice black gay men to attend workshops, HIV

programs, and events. This approach does nothing to reverse the structural violence of economic distress and poverty associated with HIV vulnerability. It merely reinforces the colonial relationship many AIDS service organizations are invested in maintaining with the communities they are funded to serve.

Social marketing campaigns must resist merely plastering messages like “take a test,” “take a pill“ or “take PrEP” on billboards, palm cards and T-shirts. They must resist using language and words as if following a checklist of things to say. They need to go beyond mere social marketing and move toward creating meaning for black gay men. As black gay men, we need nothing short of a language of resilience.

We need messages that can transcend time and space. This also calls for engagement with

art and culture. We need visual communication that isn’t limited to appealing to narrow and superficial pleasures, like beer commercials, but also to messages and symbols that uplift us, stir us, and build power.

Mobilizing and engaging black gay men has to be rooted in art and culture. Anyone working on behalf of black gay men should know films like “Tongues Untied” and figures like the poet and activist Essex Hemphill. All AIDS service organization staff orientations should draw upon these resources to provide background and a sense of purpose.

Taken together, these approaches can be the starting point for a new lens in how we view the work. AIDS service organizations must be willing to change direction, shift, and think more expansively.

March 20, 2015 Outspoken 13

5 QUESTIONS WITH

DIXON TAYLOR

The Georgia Voice’s new sales executive is no stranger to the LGBT community

By PATRICK SAUNDERS Dixon Taylor has seen a few things in her long and decorated career. She’s owned her own real estate agency for 40 years. She’s worked as a sales representative and later as an investor owner and associate publisher for the former Southern Voice. She created the annual Good Friends for Good Causes women’s dance that benefited Charis Circle and the Atlanta Lesbian Cancer Initiative among others, and she’s served on the board of LGBT business group the Atlanta Executive Network.

And she’s also served on the Human Rights Campaign’s Dinner Committee, was the first openly gay female to be appointed to the Small Business Task Force for the state of Georgia, and was an LGBT adviser to former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

There’s more—she’s served on the advisory board of Pets Are Loving Support, served on the board of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, founded the PRIZM Ball to benefit LGBT youth at risk, was named

by Atlanta Magazine in 2000 as one of 20 “Women Making a Difference” in Atlanta; and received a lifetime achievement award from the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in 2008.

So it goes without saying how proud we are to have her join the Georgia Voice as our new sales executive. Get to know Dixon a little better as we sit down with her for five questions.

14 Special Section March 20, 2015

What’s the biggest difference between working in LGBT media then and LGBT media now?

Clearly the biggest difference is the internet and social media. Anytime you want information it’s readily available.

What’s the most memorable thing a client has ever told you?

In 1993, a car dealer who was considering advertising in this “radical gay” publication asked me if I could remember when I decided to be gay. I believe my response was “Great question. It’s been such a long time ago. But I’m guessing it was about the same time you decided to be straight. When did you decide to be straight?”

He bought the advertising.

Out of all the groups you’ve served with or positions you’ve held, which has been the most rewarding personally and why?

The Women’s Holiday Balls for 19 years and the PRIZM Ball for New Years 1999 and 2000. We gave a total of over $500,000 to women and children of physical and sexual abuse and GLBT youth at risk.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Don’t ever apologize for who you are.

What’s one fact that Atlanta’s LGBT community should know about you that they don’t already know?

I think they probably know too much already! www.thegeorgiavoice.com

ve

MEET THE STAFF OF

GEORGIA VOICE TIM BOYD

Co-Founder/Owner and Publisher Tim Boyd has more than 25 years experience in business and sales, including serving as a sales executive in the early years of Southern Voice. In 1992, Boyd became an owner of Maddix Deluxe, a luxury gift store in Virginen ia-Highland. After buying out his partner and changBT ing the name to Metropolitan Deluxe, Boyd grew the company to 11 stores throughout the Southeast. Boyd nter- is a longtime LGBT activist who was on the front lines nt in- of Atlanta’s ACT Up in the early 1990s. Boyd says he’s always wanted to be a rock star. He is also dad to the Georgia Voice’s official mascot, Sophia, a French Bulldog, a cli- who is cute, crazy, single and looking. He loves working with the dedicated and talented staff at the Georgia Voice. ering blicamber CHRIS CASH I be- Co-Founder/Owner and Managing Partner Great Chris Cash, one of the three founders of Georgia Voice, uch a has a long history with Atlanta LGBT activism and pubI’m lishing. She served as editor for the Kennesaw State Senut the tinel in the 1970s, and in the mid-1980s she worked as cided a volunteer at various LGBT groups, including the Atn did lanta Committee for the 1987 March on Washington, ght?” where she edited its monthly newsletter. ising. Energized by that historic march, she founded Southern Voice in 1988 to serve a quickly growing oups LGBT community that had begun to flex its political and posi- financial muscle. For a decade, Cash served as editor, exbeen ecutive editor and publisher of Southern Voice as she and a hy? dedicated staff grew the newspaper from 16 pages (with no interyears net access and no fax machine until 1989) to its height as the largest LGBT media company 9 and in the South by 1997. She sold the newspaper that year to Window Media; it was the first of 00 to many publications Window bought during its lifetime. exual When Window declared bankruptcy in late 2009 and abruptly closed its doors, Cash began a conversation with then Southern Voice Editor Laura Douglas-Brown and former Southern Voice sales rep Tim Boyd to create a new LGBT media company. That conversation led to the have launch of Georgia Voice in March, 2010, and a new era of LGBT media for Atlanta and the state of Georgia, with fax and internet!

Cash, who now lives in Tampa, spends most of her time wishing she were in Atlanta playing . with her two granddaughters, Zola and Eleanor. Occasionally she has been known to offer her GBT two cents in decision-making to Georgia Voice; she is mostly humored and ignored ... which that is just fine with her.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 16

eady! www.thegeorgiavoice.com

March 20, 2015 Special Section 15

MEET THE STAFF OF

GEORGIA VOICE DYANA BAGBY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

ROB BOEGER

Editor Dyana Bagby is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years’ experience in print and online media. She served as deputy editor of the Georgia Voice when it was founded five years ago, and last year was promoted to editor.

The National Newspaper Association and the Atlanta Press Club have honored Bagby’s writing for the Georgia Voice. In the National Newspaper Association’s 2011 Better Newspaper Contest, she won second place for Best Sports Feature Story or Series (Non-daily Division); in the 2010 contest, she won second place for Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series (Non-daily Division, circulation 6,000–9,999). Also in 2010, she won second place for news (small print circulation) in the Atlanta Press Club’s Awards of Excellence.

She lives with her partner, Kathleen, and together they serve as butlers to their four cats around the clock.

Bagby recently discovered the beauty of manatees after taking a kayaking trip in Florida with a bunch of fun lesbians, and believes she has finally found her spirit animal.

Art Director Rob Boeger has more than 20 years’ experience in daily and weekly newspapers. Rob started his career in newspapers in 1993 at Southern Voice, where he was a graphic designer.

In 2001, he moved to Washington, D.C. when he was promoted to art director for Window Media. Rob oversaw all of the company’s production departments, which included Southern Voice, Washington Blade, New York Blade, Express Gay News and Houston Voice, SoVo magazine, Windows magazine and Eclipse. After the company folded in 2009, Rob worked with the staff as sole designer to start a publication to fill the void in D.C. It was the D.C. Agenda, which later became the Washington Blade again.

After working for a couple of years away from the gay press, Rob is excited to return by working at Georgia Voice.

In his spare time you can catch Rob hanging with his friends at Mary’s or contemplating his next tattoo.

PATRICK SAUNDERS

ANNE CLARKE

Deputy Editor Patrick Saunders joined the Georgia Voice full time in January 2014. His first published work was a concert review that ran in the alternative weekly Flagpole Magazine while he was a student at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. While at UGA, he also wrote a weekly opinions column for the student newspaper The Red & Black, covering everything from pop culture to politics to daily college life. The AJC published an editorial of his about his generation’s response to the September 11 attacks.

Following graduation from UGA, Patrick entered the real estate industry, where he worked for the next several years while freelance writing on the side.

He freelanced for Creative Loafing in 2009 and 2010, covering topics like the Atlanta Eagle raid and Atlanta’s gay media drama before accepting a position as the first Senior Writer for Fenuxe Magazine. After a stint as a full-time freelancer writing for publications like Project Q Atlanta and several copywriting clients, he started working with the Georgia Voice.

When not roaming the Capitol or tucked away in a coffee shop with his laptop, you can find him playing with his dog Otis or eating out with friends at spots like Henry’s or El Azteca.

16 Special Section March 20, 2015

Sales Executive Anne Clarke is a sales executive at Georgia Voice. For the past three years, she has been assisting Georgia Voice in expanding sales and marketing ventures as well as facilitating events. Clarke comes from a diverse media background starting with publishing the International Guest Guides, travel magazines in various U.S. cities and abroad. She owned an advertising agency that launched major brands and managed marketing campaigns. In 2003, she moved to Atlanta working for Gannett Media, where she accumulated many awards and recognitions. But her passion has always been in helping others, even those 4-legged folks! Her charity work includes saving pets, fighting against discrimination, fundraising for diseases, and working with the elderly and the young.

She volunteers with Decatur Parks & Recreation coaching soccer each season.

In 2014, the State of Georgia recognized her charitable work. If Anne isn’t asking you to advertise in the Georgia Voice, she is probably asking you to donate to one of her causes!

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

March 20, 2015 Ads 17

18 Ads March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

FIVE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS 260 Issues

Distribution sites 2010:

17,160

Newspaper Pages

75

60,840,000 total pages printed

Weekly Circulation 10,000 7,500

10,000 *END OF YEAR

8,000

6,000

Distribution sites by end of 2015:

125

5,000 0 2010

2014

2015

Online

Total Best of Atlanta nominees:

Monthly visitors in 2010:

1,800

Monthly Visitors in 2015:

Total Best of Atlanta awards given out:

Total Articles posted to the website: 7,315 Number of users: 2,450,000 Total website visitors: 8,000,000

60,000

100,000+

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

500

Facebook Fans:

10,425

Twitter Followers:

5,965

March 20, 2015 Special Section 19

COMPLERA is a prescription medicine for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood.

COMPLERA can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

COMPLERA combines 3 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. COMPLERA should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

Just the

one

for me

COMPLERA is a complete HIV-1 treatment in only 1 pill a day.

Ask your healthcare provider if COMPLERA may be the one for you.

Pill shown is not actual size.

COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS.

To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids.

Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

It is not known if COMPLERA is safe and effective in children under 18 years old.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?

COMPLERA can cause serious side effects: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Serious liver problems. The liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and fatty (steatosis). Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice), dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored bowel movements (stools), loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach pain.

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and stop taking COMPLERA, your hepatitis may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health. COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take COMPLERA?

Do not take COMPLERA if you: • Take a medicine that contains: adefovir (Hepsera), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV), carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), phenobarbital (Luminal), phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek), rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin), rifapentine (Priftin), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo), lansoprazole (Prevacid), omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole (Aciphex), more than 1 dose of the steroid medicine dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate, or the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, unless recommended by your healthcare provider.

What are the other possible side effects of COMPLERA?

Serious side effects of COMPLERA may also include: • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your kidneys before starting treatment with COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems, or take other medicines that may cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may also check your kidneys during treatment with COMPLERA. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: feeling sad or hopeless, feeling anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself.

Changes in liver enzymes: People who have had hepatitis B or C, or who have had changes in their liver function tests in the past may have an increased risk for liver problems while taking COMPLERA. Some people without prior liver disease may also be at risk. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA. • Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

• Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking COMPLERA. •

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, and depression. Other common side effects include vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), and pain. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works.

Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start any new medicines while taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

• If you take rifabutin (Mycobutin). Talk to your healthcare provider about the right amount of rilpivirine (Edurant) you should take.

• If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. • If you take stomach acid blockers. Take acid blockers at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Ask your healthcare provider if your acid blocker is okay to take, as some acid blockers should never be taken with COMPLERA. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking COMPLERA. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in COMPLERA can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

•

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information with important warnings on the following pages.

Brief Summary of full Prescribing Information COMPLERA® (kom-PLEH-rah) (emtricitabine 200 mg, rilpivirine 25 mg, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.

What is COMPLERA? • COMPLERA is a prescription medicine used as a complete HIV-1 treatment in one pill a day. COMPLERA is for adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have no more than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood (this is called ‘viral load’). Complera can also replace current HIV-1 medicines for some adults who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

• COMPLERA is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. When used properly, COMPLERA may reduce the amount of HIV-1 virus in your blood and increase the amount of CD4 T-cells, which may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak.

• COMPLERA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses.

• Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA? COMPLERA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take COMPLERA or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: – feel very weak or tired – have unusual (not normal) muscle pain – have trouble breathing – having stomach pain with nausea or vomiting – feel cold, especially in your arms and legs – feel dizzy or lightheaded – have a fast or irregular heartbeat • Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take COMPLERA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: – your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) – dark “tea-colored” urine – light-colored bowel movements (stools) – loss of appetite for several days or longer – nausea – stomach pain • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking COMPLERA for a long time.

• Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. If you have hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and take COMPLERA, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking COMPLERA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before.

COMPLERA is not approved for the treatment of HBV, so you must discuss your HBV with your healthcare provider.

– Do not run out of COMPLERA. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your COMPLERA is all gone.

– Do not stop taking COMPLERA without first talking to your healthcare provider.

– If you stop taking COMPLERA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking COMPLERA. Who should not take COMPLERA? Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any of the following medicines: • Medicines used for seizures: carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol-XR, Teril, Epitol); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital (Luminal); phenytoin (Dilantin, Dilantin-125, Phenytek) • Medicines used for tuberculosis: rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin); rifapentine (Priftin) • Certain medicines used to block stomach acid called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs): dexlansoprazole (Dexilant); esomeprazole (Nexium, Vimovo); lansoprazole (Prevacid); omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid); pantoprazole sodium (Protonix); rabeprazole (Aciphex) • Certain steroid medicines: More than 1 dose of dexamethasone or dexamethasone sodium phosphate • Certain herbal supplements: St. John’s wort • Certain hepatitis medicines: adefovir (Hepsera), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) Do not take COMPLERA if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (ATRIPLA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine or lamivudine (ATRIPLA, Combivir, EMTRIVA, Epivir, Epzicom, STRIBILD, Trizivir, TRUVADA) • rilpivirine (Edurant), unless you are taking rifabutin (Mycobutin) COMPLERA is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old.

What are the possible side effects of COMPLERA? COMPLERA may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about COMPLERA?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking COMPLERA. If you have had kidney problems in the past or need to take another medicine that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider may need to do blood tests to check your kidneys during your treatment with COMPLERA. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – feeling sad or hopeless – feeling anxious or restless – have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself • Change in liver enzymes. People with a history of hepatitis B or C virus infection or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems during treatment with COMPLERA. Liver problems can also happen during treatment with COMPLERA in people without a history of liver disease. Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with COMPLERA.

• Bone problems can happen in some people who take COMPLERA. Bone problems include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones.

• Changes in body fat can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the main part of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The cause and long term health effect of these conditions are not known.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine.

The most common side effects of COMPLERA include: • Trouble sleeping (insomnia), abnormal dreams, headache, dizziness, diarrhea, nausea, rash, tiredness, depression Additional common side effects include: • Vomiting, stomach pain or discomfort, skin discoloration (small spots or freckles), pain Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

• These are not all the possible side effects of COMPLERA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider.

• Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking COMPLERA? Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, mental health, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B or C infection.

• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if COMPLERA can harm your unborn child.

– There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

• If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take COMPLERA. – You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

– Two of the medicines in COMPLERA can pass to your baby in your breast milk.

It is not known if this could harm your baby.

– Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements: • COMPLERA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how COMPLERA works.

• If you take certain medicines with COMPLERA, the amount of COMPLERA in your body may be too low and it may not work to help control your HIV-1 infection.

The HIV-1 virus in your body may become resistant to COMPLERA or other HIV-1 medicines that are like it.

• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: – Rifabutin (Mycobutin), a medicine to treat some bacterial infections. Talk to

your healthcare provider about the right amount of rilpivirine (Edurant) you should take.

– Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. – Certain medicines to block the acid in your stomach, including cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), or ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac). Take the acid blocker at least 12 hours before or at least 4 hours after you take COMPLERA. Some acid blocking medicines should never be taken with COMPLERA (see “Who should not take COMPLERA?” for a list of these medicines).

– Medicines that can affect how your kidneys work, including acyclovir (Zovirax), cidofovir (Vistide), ganciclovir (Cytovene IV, Vitrasert), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and valganciclovir (Valcyte).

– clarithromycin (Biaxin) – erythromycin (E-Mycin, Eryc, Ery-Tab, PCE, Pediazole, Ilosone) – fluconazole (Diflucan) – itraconazole (Sporanox) – ketoconazole (Nizoral) – methadone (Dolophine) – posaconazole (Noxafil) – telithromycin (Ketek) – voriconazole (Vfend) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking COMPLERA without first talking with your healthcare provider.

How should I take COMPLERA? • Stay under the care of your healthcare provider during treatment with COMPLERA. • Take COMPLERA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it.

• Always take COMPLERA with food. Taking COMPLERA with food is important to help get the right amount of medicine in your body. A protein drink is not a substitute for food. If your healthcare provider decides to stop COMPLERA and you are switched to new medicines to treat HIV-1 that includes rilpivirine tablets, the rilpivirine tablets should be taken only with a meal.

Keep COMPLERA and all medicines out of reach of children.

This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about COMPLERA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can also ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about COMPLERA that is written for health professionals, or call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.COMPLERA.com.

Issued: September 2014

COMPLERA, the COMPLERA Logo, EMTRIVA, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, HEPSERA, STRIBILD, TRUVADA, VIREAD, and VISTIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. ATRIPLA is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. ©2014 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. CPAC0131 10/14

MEMORIES OF

MIKE RITTER

New scholarship in his name being established at Arizona State University

If you didn’t know Mike Ritter personally, chances are you knew his work.

He was an incredible political cartoonist who did not hold back when it came to skewering anti-gay politicians and ideas.

A year ago, Mike, the art director for the Georgia Voice, died from an aortic aneurysm, the same thing that killed his hero, Bing Crosby. It was shocking and heartbreaking for all of us at the newspaper and of course to all his friends and loved ones. We all loved Mike.

Mike graduated from Arizona State University, where he went on to become an

award-winning cartoonist at a state newspaper. His best friends and colleagues there are establishing a scholarship in his name.

There will be a temporary display of Mike’s work in the ASU Cronkite School of Journalism lobby, and also an unveiling of a permanent exhibit in the State Press newsroom at an April 3 ceremony at the university.

To donate: Mike Ritter Memorial Scholarship Account No. 30006319 c/o ASU Foundation, P.O. Box 2260, Tempe, AZ 85280-2260.

24 Special Section March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Georgia Voice gets its horn blown Loyal advertisers say investment in community pays off Georgia Voice is your voice in the Atlanta area but we couldn’t bring the news to you without supporters like HLM and Paws, Whiskers and Wags. Both companies started advertising with the first Georgia Voice printing and have continued as the newspaper hits its 5th year milestone in publication.

1. Why did you decide to advertise with the Georgia Voice five years ago?

Georgia Voice, and before that, the Southern Voice represents a demographic that is very aligned with pets. Many of us don’t have two-legged children, we have 4-legged children. Pet owners are wonderful people. Georgia Voice has allowed me, and my company, through advertising to build my brand with our community. I am thankful for the support we have gained.

“We built our practice in the LGBT community and over the 29 years it has evolved but we always want to make sure our community knows we are still here for them. As a lesbian-owned company we wanted to support our local newspaper and to make sure the public knows all the services HLM has to offer to the LGBT community.”

1. Why did you decide to advertise with the Georgia Voice five years ago?

We advertised with the previous LGBT newpaper from their first publication until it sold and since Chris Cash, Tim Boyd and Laura Douglas-Brown were all back together, we wanted to start back up where we left off. We built our practice in the LGBT community and over the 29 years it has evolved but we always want to make sure our community knows we are still here for them. As a lesbian owned company we wanted to support our local newspaper and to make sure the public knows all the services HLM has to offer to the LGBT community.

2. And why do you continue to advertise with us?

We are one of the oldest LGBT accounting firms in the city and we want to make sure we stay in the forefront of the community.

3. What does advertising with us mean for your business?

Longevity in advertising for us has always paid off. If we put in one or two ads in a publication, we never see any return on our investment but with consistent on-line presence and the bi-weekly ads, the community knows who we are and where to find us when they need our services.

– Lynn Pasqualetti, President and Managing Partner of HLM Financial Group www.thegeorgiavoice.com

2. And why do you continue to advertise with us?

It is money well spent for us. Our community has supported us whole-heartedly.

3. What does advertising with us mean for your business?

In my opinion, the Georgia Voice has earned the trust of its readers.

Because of that, the publication is well read. We enjoy our relationship with Georgia Voice and it has been beneficial to the growth of our company.

4. Would you encourage others to advertise with us?

Absolutely. I believe that the readership of the Georgia Voice takes to heart those in our community that advertise and in turn spend their money in our community. If given the chance, I have found our community to be very supportive of one another. The Georgia voice gives you that visibility.

– Christine Hunsaker, Owner and Founder of Paws Whiskers and Wags

Contact: tboyd@thegavoice.com PO Box 77401 Atlanta, GA 30357 404-815-6941 March 20, 2015 Special Section 25

Everything At One Location NEW Funeral Home • Crematory • Memorial Park • Cremation

One honor.

Two words: Thank you.

State Farm ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Life Insurance Providers” by J.D. Power.

Beautiful, convenient and affordable, the new funeral home Southern Cremations & Funerals at Cheatham Hill provides comfort and care while helping families celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

Now Locally Owned & Operated

• • • •

Brand new & elegant funeral home State-of-the-art crematory on site Indoor & outdoor mausoleums Unique & tranquil cremation garden

I’d love to help you get more out of life – and your life insurance.

Give me a call to talk about what State Farm® life insurance can do for you.

Cleo Meyer, Agent 1776 Peachtree St NE Atlanta, GA 30309 Bus: 404-817-0960 cleo@cleomeyer.com 1501056

State Farm received the highest numerical score among life insurance providers in the proprietary J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Household Insurance and Bundling StudySM. Study based on 23,171 total responses measuring 21 providers and measures opinions of consumers with their life insurance provider. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed June-July 2014. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI) State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company licensed in MA, NY or WI) (Licensed in NY and WI) Bloomington, IL

Cremation with Memorial Service from $895 Full-service funerals from $4,995* (including casket)

Cremation Specialists

A complete price list is available at the funeral home. *Prices subject to change without notice.

1861 Dallas Highway SW • Marietta (770) 919-7100

SouthernCremations.com

26 Ads March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

CATCHING UP WITH …

Mona Bennett Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition co-founder has long history with Atlanta LGBT activism

By PATRICK SAUNDERS On Christmas Day, 1988, a gift rolled into town by way of southwest Louisiana. The gift was Mona Bennett, who had hitched a ride here with her brother. But why Atlanta?

She started as an activist doing work for the AIDS Survival Project and LGBT rights group ACT UP, which led to her co-founding and becoming the executive director of the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, which offers needle exchange, HIV and other tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STD), services for the homeless, outreach to sex workers and so much more. The group, which is celebrating its 20th year as an organization, is based in “The Bluff ”— the notorious downtown Atlanta neighborhood known for being the heart of the city’s heroin trade.

We sat down with Bennett, or “Mona Love,” as many call her, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Atlanta to talk about the old days of LGBT activism, what gets her up in the morning, and of course, those buttons.

So how did you get involved in LGBT activism?

I first heard about HIV and AIDS and all the things before that—GRID, the big fight between doctors Luc Montagnier and Anthony Fauci over who discovered the virus—and I was learning a lot about HIV on the sly.

In college I had a lot of gay male friends and they were whispering about this thing that was sickening and killing their friends and friends of their friends. So the gut said pay attention to this, this is gonna be big.

Lord, I did not know how big. That’s where the seed started in college. It was around concern for my friends. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“My first action was the sodomy demonstration when the big brass bed with the dolls in a 69 position was carried up the Capitol steps on the Washington Street entrance.”

So you decided you wanted to do something with this, so what did you do to get started?

Well I was still learning about this HIV thing and I volunteered for the late, lamented AIDS Survival Project. I was a part of ACT UP Atlanta. I had a lot of friends and that’s what my friends were doing so that’s what I did.

Through ACT UP Atlanta, we had a subcommittee around 1994 that was looking at syringe exchange. We were seeing discarded syringes in Midtown, on Ponce, in Little Five Points. We knew that at the very least that people were disposing of syringes improperly and we correctly guessed that people were sharing syringes, passing HIV and Hep-B, Hep-C, blood-born stuff.

So we looked into it and we decided to start Prevention Point Atlanta, an all-volunteer syringe exchange, in spite of not knowing much if anything about injection drug use or outreach or anything. And it grew from there, from all volunteer to the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition.

What were those days like with ACT UP? Were you one of the ones getting arrested?

Well I wasn’t the one getting arrested but I helped with the background work on actions. When the others were getting arrested,

Mona Bennett’s roots as an activist began in the 1980s when AIDS started to affect her gay male friends. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

we were on the sidelines, chanting, “The whole world is watching,” “You’ll see it on the news, your purse don’t match your shoes,” “Shame, shame, shame, shame.” All that good stuff that we probably need to be chanting today, not only about HIV but about Hepatitis C. In fact, my first action was the sodomy demonstration when the big brass bed with the dolls in a 69 position was carried up the Capitol steps on the Washington Street entrance.

What was the reaction to that?

Oh, it made the news. There was one where activists blocked an intersection at the Capitol by people who were simulating sodomy in the streets. We had fiery speeches by people like Dolores French who reminded us that you could fuck a dead donkey on the Capitol steps, get arrested and do less time (because all of those things are misdemeanors) than being

caught up on a sodomy charge which at the time was a felony.

What is it that motivates you to keep doing this work day after day? What gets you up out of bed in the morning?

The people! The people I serve. Wonderful, smart, beautiful people who are underserved, very underserved. Oh my, and agencies who are doing the right things. But mostly it’s the people I serve.

So when did the buttons start?

I was starting to collect buttons just before I came here to Atlanta, so I think we’re going on 27, 28 years of button collecting.

I used to wear them on my shirt but then I had shirts with little holes in them. So I found this old hat and started putting them on the hat and just add condoms and away we went. There’s something to having a look.

March 20, 2015 Community 27

ATLANTA PRIDE 1996 | IMAGE PROVIDED BY ATLANTA PRIDE COMMITTEE

28 Ads March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

E

N

TE

R TA

T

T A T LGB

A T N A L EN

T AR

S

S

REVI EW

IN M

Celebration of

celluloid

Pink Peach celebrates Atlanta Film Festival LGBT features

By JIM FARMER

T

he big news from the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival is the attendance of actor James Franco. Franco, in town directing “In Dubious Battle,” will be at the opening-night film, the gay-themed “I Am Michael,” on March 20. In addition, the festival—the city’s second largest, behind the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival—has a ripe Pink Peach series of LGBT features as well as other films of interest in its 39th year. Here are mini reviews of some of the major offerings.

‘I Am Michael’ Justin Kelly, making his directorial debut, tells the story of Michael Glatze (Franco), the founder of the Young Gay American publication, from his early days in San Francisco with boyfriend Bennett (Zachary Qunto) to the time he denounced homosexuality. Ultimately Glatze embraces Christianity and decides to forego his gay past. At a Bible school, he meets Rebekah (Emma Roberts) and the two eventually plan to get married. The film is kind of a mixed bag. “I Am Michael” is well intentioned but somewhat bland, yet it does boast a convincing, restrained turn from Franco. (Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m., Plaza Theatre) CONTINUES ON PAGE 30 Zachary Quinto and James Franco star in ‘I Am Michael’ a film written and directed by Justin Kelly.

(Photo by Christopher Blauvelt)

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

March 20, 2015 A&E 29

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

March 21 at 11:15 a.m., Plaza Theatre)

‘Trans: A Documentary About Transboys’ Nathalie Cool’s documentary – filmed mostly at a hospital in Ghent, Belgium – is short (40 minutes) but informative, featuring discussions with doctors and patients about transitioning. There’s more than talk, too. If you’ve ever wondered how a new penis is made you’ll get a graphic demonstration here. (Saturday,

‘Helicopter Mom’ Nia Vardalos stars as the mother of a teenage boy who she thinks may be gay.

She outs him and her attempts to be an open, politically correct mom don’t go as planned. As directed by Salome Breziner, it’s not as bad as its detractors (The Hollywood Reporter calls its borderline offensive) say but its laughs are limited – and while Vardalos is a gifted and appealing

comic actress, her character comes across like a bulldozer at times. (Monday, March 23 at 7 p.m., Plaza Theatre) ‘Masculinity/Femininity’ Director Russell Sheaffer talks to a lot of academics, theorists, filmmakers and various artists about LGBT and gender issues in this experimental documentary, based on a short film that also involved the omnipresent Franco. Shot primarily on Super 8, much of this is quite interesting, with commentary

from the likes of Monika Treut, John Greyson, B. Ruby Rich, Barbara Hammer and more (Monday, March 23 at 9:15 p.m., 7 Stages Theatre) ‘Before the Last Curtain Falls’ Easily one of the best of the Pink Peach films is Thomas Wallner’s “Before the Last Curtain Falls.” In it, a group of gay and transsexual senior citizens gather one last time onstage in their home town of Ghent, Belgium (making its second AFF Pink Peach appearance) as performers of a show called “Gardenia.” It’s lovely and poignant – and the subjects spin terrific stories. (Tuesday, March 24 at 9 p.m., Plaza Theatre.)

‘Drown’ “Drown” is an Australian drama about the chaos that surfaces when a surfing star and a younger version of him arrives – a gay one to boot. Dean Francis’s new film has great cinematography, some skin and touches on important issues such as bullying and homophobia. Yet ultimately it’s too dark and unpleasant to appreciate. (Wednesday, March 25 at 9:30 p.m., Plaza Theatre) ‘In the Turn’ What starts off sad gets happier as Crystal - a 10-year-old transgender girl living in Canada – is bullied at school and not given much support by her teachers, or even allowed to play sports, yet finds refuge in Vagine Regime, a queer roller derby group. Director Erica Tremblay splits her time between Crystal and the various, colorful women of the derby clan. How Crystal finds her comfort level is absorbing. (Sunday, March 29 at 12 p.m., 7 Stages Theatre) The LGBT-themed short films in the festival include Jeremy Hersh’s “Actresses” (Saturday, March 28 at 2:30 p.m. at 7 Stages Theatre), a look at the budding relationship between two female thespians, and Hannes Thor Arason’s “Happy Endings,” (Friday, March 27 at 9 p.m. at Plaza Theatre) in which a parking lot attendant rescues an erotic masseuse from an evil boss. The best of the bunch, though, is Angel Kristi Williams’ “Charlotte” (Saturday, March 28 at 12 p.m. at Plaza Theatre) in which a young AfricanAmerican girl falls for a friend.

Details

The Atlanta Film Festival March 20 – 29 Various area venues www.atlantafilmfestival.com 30 A&E March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

Seeking answers as a black, gay man Tarell Alvin McCraney has become one of the most talked-about playwrights around.

His play “In the Red and Brown Water” was an award-winner at the Alliance Theatre in 2008, and his 2013 “Choir Boy” was another sensation, not just in Atlanta, but in New York. McCraney, the recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, is out and both of those plays have dealt with gay issues.

So does his “Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet,” opening later this month at Actor’s Express. Directed by Karen Robinson, the play stars gay actor Terry Guest as the titular main character. We caught up with the Atlanta-based actor to get his take on the Guest show, which deals with Marcus’ path of self-discovery.

Tell us about the show.

It is a coming-of-age story about a young gay boy who realizes he may have clairvoyant powers as well as that he is sexually queer. He is trying to figure out what these two things have in common with each other and how to be his full self. At the beginning he is trying desperately to figure out who his father is and how his father relates to all this. His mother is also an important character as is his best friend. He talks to a bunch of people in the community and by the end he realizes all the answers he needed are already within himself. People don’t talk to him about his history; he has to figure it out. Marcus is growing up gay in a world in which there are not a lot of role models for gay black men. That is the reason this show is so important. There’s also a magical element to it.

It’s about dreams and spirituality.

This is not the first time you’ve done this show, correct?

I have actually done this show before in college. The first time I did it I had just turned 21 and now I am 25. Also the first time I was only out to a few close friends and now I’m out to many family and co-workers.

I know so much more now.

Why is Tarell such a vital theatrical voice?

I value Tarell because he writes plays for people who are otherwise never seen onstage or in film or TV. He is writing for black men and women that I know personally, who are not www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Terry Guest, with Shon Middlebrooks, plays the lead role in ‘Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet.’

(Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)

“It is a coming-of-age story about a young gay boy who realizes he may have clairvoyant powers as well as that he is sexually queer.”

Terry Guest on ‘Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet’

Details

‘Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet’ Actor’s Express 887 W. Marietta St., Atlanta, GA 30318 March 26 – April 26 www.actorsexpress.com

people. Then I became obsessed with Whitney Houston and I wanted to be a singer.

Eventually I got into musical theater and this career I’ve trying to build for myself.

the sort of people I see in the media typically.

Particularly men. The way he writes gay men are layered. He writes them as vulnerable and funny; they don’t always have to be strong or masculine. He is also funny. “Marcus” is a very funny show So many coming of age stories are sad and this is not. This show is joyous.

How did you come to be in Atlanta?

I moved to Atlanta from Savannah in 2008.

I was a military kid so I lived all over. I went to Kennesaw State University and studied acting and musical theater. After that, my first professional gig was in Aurora Theatre’s “A Chorus Line.” It was wonderful. I met so many people and learned so many things about myself and performing. I started to come out around that time to my close friends.

Did you always know you wanted to be a performer?

When I was a little kid I really wanted to be a farmer, basically anything to do with animals. When I was about three years old, though, I saw “The Bodyguard.” I said, whatever this is, I want to do that for other

What is next?

I’ll be teaching at the Alliance this summer and trying to get a job. This is my fifth year teaching. I am as excited about teaching as I am acting. It is great to see students come to me, who feel like they are the weird kids, who leave feeling valuable.

March 20, 2015 Columnists 31

BO

LGBT

OK

TA N A L T

A

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

‘Manner of Breeding’ rants on dog shows

REVIE W The cur at the corner of your couch is one of the best dogs you’ve ever had.

He’s smart, he’s friendly, and he loves the kids. Ever since he was a puppy, he’s been scrupulously clean, inside and out. He watches over you, he makes you laugh, and you can’t imagine life without him.

So what kind of dog is he? The answer is complicated, as you’ll see in “A Matter of Breeding” by Michael Brandow.

Like most Manhattan-based dog walkers, Michael Brandow met plenty of pooches. He was paid to walk them, play with them, and help them burn energy – and in the meantime, he saw canine fads come and go.

A number of years ago, Brandow walked a lot of Jack Russell terriers. Then he saw scads of Shiba Inus, beagles, Frenchies, each “dog du jour” replaced by another in short order, each with a different “standard” for their breed. But those physical traits weren’t always in the dogs’ “own best interests,” though they’re mandatory in the show ring. Measurements, coat color, head size, paw shape, they’re all required for purebred dogs – even when genetics and health demand otherwise.

It didn’t begin that way, says Brandow; in fact, “breeds as we know them are… new inventions…” Dogs used to be just dogs and if a mutt could do a job, that was fine because they were all mutts anyhow.

But then dogs became status symbols, complete with individual breed clubs and fusses over curly tails versus high tails, and black coats instead of brindles. The British initially set those pesky standards, a sort of class war raged in England and North America, the aristocracy spoke up, the pedigree industry “showed an uncanny ability” to make certain dogs fashionable, and dogdom was never the same.

But the dirty little secret? Purebred dogs are hardly that; most were mongrel-bred at some point in their ancestry. Says Brandow, of your dog and his, “… they’re all mutts at the end of the day.”

When you bring a dog home with you, you naturally expect to have many happy years with him. Here, author Michael Brandow sounds the alarm: happy years might not be possible.

Details ‘A Matter of Breeding’

by Michael Brandow, foreword by Dr. Marc Bekoff Beacon Press, 2015 $18 288 pages For a dog lover, that’s horrifying, as is this: purebred Bulldogs have major, human-made health issues. The low-slung look of modern German Shepherds isn’t natural. Docking tails and cutting ears is almost never necessary. That made me cringe, though Brandow explains how those cosmetic issues are increasingly being rejected.

But “A Matter of Breeding” isn’t just informative; it’s also an outraged rant against dog shows, the pedigree industry, breeders, and owners of purebred dogs. Eventually, it feels incessant, and that tends to overwhelm and even numb a reader. It also can detract from the books’ main point.

And yet, though it’s not easy reading, I do think this book is worthwhile. Just beware – it could start a few arguments, too.

Depending on where you sit, with mutt or unmix, your side in “A Matter of Breeding” could land someone in the doghouse.

32 A&E March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

The Cockentrice opens in Krog Street Market I am sitting with my friend Tommy at the new Cockentrice (99 Krog St., 470-4282733, www.thecockentrice.com) in the Krog Street Market. The dining room, adjacent to a cozy bar, is decorated with cured meats and reminds me of a meal long ago in Spain when a ham crashed from the ceiling onto the table next to mine. Here, the meats do not dangle above the head.

The Cockentrice is most certainly worthy of enthusiasm. The owner-chef is Kevin Ouzts, whose charcuterie shop in Kirkwood, The Spotted Trotter, has garnered raves in the last few years. He opened the Trotter with his wife Megan in 2011 after attending cooking school and working at Holeman and Finch. Ouzts is fanatically passionate about his work, not just as a brilliant chef, but also in his support of “farmers, the service industry and their families, and our ever-engaged and fiercely supportive food community,” as the menu says.

The restaurant’s name refers to a Frankensteinian dish enjoyed by the 16th-Century Tudors—a pig’s upper body sewn to the bottom half of a turkey or capon. There’s nothing quite so weird as that on the menu. Well, a sharable “hot Reuben terrine” might qualify. Here’s the menu’s description: “Pumpernickel tempura, Russian ‘caviar,’ carrot frits, sauerkraut, ‘corn nuts,’ Mornay-studded Swiss cheese.” Even our cockentrice-fluent server could not put all that together into a coherent description. Think fried pies with lotsa stuff. Honestly, it’s the one dish I didn’t think worked well.

Most dishes here are small plates for sharing. A meatless dream was a plank of three fat dollops of custardy Roquefort from renowned Gabriel Coulet, served with a garnish of diced apple, baby celery greens, and pomegranate seeds. Spread it on crunchy toast or roll it naked around your tongue.

A good, uncomplicated example of Ouzts’ talent with cured meats is a plate of salami seasoned with a Georgia-grown chili pepper famous in the Basque region of France, the espelette. It’s mildly hot and a tad sweet. House made bread-and-butter pickles www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The Cockentrice menu includes charcuterie plates made for sharing. (Photo via Facebook)

and tiny dots of an esoteric mustard provide different dimensions of the same sweet heat.

Tommy and I decided to share a single entrée—the crispy guinea hen. Afterward, we wished we’d heeded our server’s warning that it is a hella messy dish to eat. Don’t even think about trying to eat it with a fork and knife. The hen is crunchier than your mama’s fried chicken and deliciously spicy. It reminded me of Korean-style fried chicken. Best of all, it was served over a bed of fresh green peas—first of the season.

The menu changes regularly. Bacon butter or roasted bone marrow butter? Rabbit wings or grilled beef and gruyere pudding? Confit of suckling pig or oxtail marmalade? If you can’t order everything you want at one sitting, you can stop to pick up something on your way out at the retail operation that adjoins the restaurant. Oh, and if you’ve had dental surgery, be glad that the restaurant bar features some weird cocktails with meaty additions.

Final advice. Plan to spend a lot of money here. It’s worth every penny, but if you don’t have the pennies, there’s a whole lot of very good grub elsewhere in the market’s food court.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, is a long-time Atlanta food critic and former psychotherapist who now specializes in collaborative life coaching (404-518-4415).

March 20, 2015 Columnists 33

B

T ES

Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for March 20-April 1

BETS

A T N LA T A LGBT EVENT

S

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

Out director Brian Clowdus and out dancer and choreographer Bubba Carr join forces for the musical “Man of La Mancha,” opening tonight at Serenbe Playhouse and running through April 11, with a performance tonight at 8, www.serenbeplayhouse.com (Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 – SUNDAY, MARCH 22

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MARCH 21

Atlanta favorite Manny Lehman spins all night at Heretic Atlanta, www.hereticatlanta.com (Photo via Facebook)

34 Best Bets March 20, 2015

Ladyfest Atlanta comes to the city and is an intentional space for women and gender nonconforming Atlanta-based artists, innovators and activists to perform and share their work. This is a multi-venue event hosted by Mammal Gallery, Eyedrum, Broad Street Visitors Center, and The Big House On Ponce, with proceeds benefitting Solutions Not Punishment Coalition (SNaP Co). A full schedule can be found at ladyfestatlanta.wordpress.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 20

The Atlanta Film Festival opens tonight with “I Am Michael” and runs through March 29 with a number of LGBT themed titles, various locations, www.atlantafilmfestival.com

Third Friday Film Series presents “Dear White People,” sponsored by the Social Justice Guild and cosponsored by Hello Racism, 7-10 p.m., donations welcome, popcorn and refreshments available, First Existentialist Congregation, www.facebook.com/ events/725503757548490/ The Atlanta Ballet presents the world premiere of its “Camino Real,” based on the Tennessee Williams work, tonight at 8 p.m. and running through March 22, Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.org PUMP Friday with DJ Mike Pope at the Heretic is tonight, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

The Atlanta Rollergirls host a double header today. At 5 p.m. is the Rumble Bs Bout and at 7:30 p.m. is the All Star Bout, Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce De Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308 The 2015 MOCA GALA Art Auction will be hosted this evening in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia’s newly expanded Education/Research Center galleries. MOCA GA will present 100 high-quality works of art by an invitation-only group of Georgia’s finest artists. Work by 20 Georgia artists will be curated into a fast-paced and dynamic live auction and 80 works will be available for bidding in the silent auction through an easy-to-use mobile platform. Among the

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

TELL US ABOUT YOUR

LGBT EVENT

Submit your LGBT event for inclusion in our online and print calendars by emailing event info to editor@thegavoice.com artists selected for the prestigious museum auction is gay Atlantan Robert Sherer, 8 p.m., www.mocaga.org “Feed me, Seymour!” Out director Barry West directs “Little Shop of Horrors” at Onstage Atlanta, through March 28, tonight at 8 p.m., www.onstageatlanta.com DJ Scott Anthony visits Jungle to get the crowd moving, www.jungleatl.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 22

Chaka Idris hosts Comedy Improv Nights from 8 – 10 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com Every Sunday is the Tossed Salad drag show with host Brigitte Bidet and fresh queens mixed weekly, 8 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 21

MONDAY, MARCH 23

Charis Books welcomes Kathryn Rhett to read from her new book of personal essays, “Souvenir,” a collection of autobiographical essays rooted in the present that investigates travel, staying put, and how it is that our experience of being here right now includes so much of being elsewhere at another time. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event.

The suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

Writing With Intent is a monthly writing class led by Charis Circle Executive Director Elizabeth Anderson. The focus shifts from month to month but the specific goal is to provide artistic accountability in a busy world and offer some academic insight outside the academy. All are welcome to attend. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Program and the suggested donation is $10. 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Free pool is on tap at Monday Night Madness at Model T Atlanta, beginning at 9:30 p.m., www.modeltatlanta.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 24

Kidliterate Book Club is a new book club, where one book a month (children’s or young adult fiction) will be read. Titles will be very carefully selected. Preference will be give to stories that some might call “edgy” or “controversial.” March’s Book Pick is “One for the Murpheys.”

This is a Charis Circle Whole Children, Strong Families Program. The suggested donation is $5. 7 – 8:30 p.m., www.charisbooksndmore.com The Dragnificient All-Stars come out tonight at Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Atlanta Freedom Bands’ “Heroes and Heroines” honors those who inspire us with, including some local heroes, giving attendees a chance to meet people who make our community better, 8 p.m., North Atlanta High School, www.atlantafreedombands.com (Photo via Facebook)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25

The 6th Annual Laughing Skull Comedy Festival returns to Atlanta presenting 72 up-and-coming comedians beginning tonight and lasting through March 29, various area locations, www.laughingskullcomedyfestival.com

in Georgia shelters. A suggested donation of $10 will get you a complimentary drink, access to the silent auction, and some fun games.

Dogs are always welcome on Henry’s huge patio, 6 – 9 p.m., www.henrysatl.com From out playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, the award-winning writer of “Choir Boy” and “In the Red and Brown Water,” comes the gay-themed “Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet,” running at Actor’s Express through April 26, showtime at 8 p.m., www.actorsexpress.com

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 – SATURDAY, MARCH 28

Stevie, Mick, and the rest unite as Fleetwood Mac jams at Philips Arena, 8 p.m., www.philipsarena.com

Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus presents “Unsung Heroes,” featuring vocalist Matt Alber, 8 p.m. and on March 27 at 2 p.m. and on March 28 at 8 p.m., Druid Hills United Methodist Church, www.AGMChorus.org

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

FRIDAY, MARCH 27

SAGE Atlanta hosts it social hour and games at 10 a.m. and then a potluck general meeting at 11 a.m., Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.org Join the Passion for Paws fundraiser in support of Two Tailz & New England Humane Society, both rescue organizations that work to reduce the pet population

The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) hosts its Fourth Friday networking and social event from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at No Mas! Cantina, www.NoMasAtlanta.com Edie Cheezburger presents “The Other Show,” the most unique drag show in Atlanta, while the Other Girls will leave

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MARCH 28

Out actress and Emmy winner Jane Lynch brings her musical cabaret to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, 8 p.m., www.atlantasymphony.org you gasping with laughter and surprise.

Admission is $5, Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com G’s Midtown hosts a Friday Night Dance Party, 10 p.m., www.communitashospitality.com/gs-midtown/

CONTINUES ON PAGE 36 March 20, 2015 Best Bets 35

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 Friday night is Papi’s South Beach night, featuring monster margaritas, mojitos and twisters, 10 p.m., www.lasmargaritasmidtown.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 28

Atlanta Pride sponsors “You Can’t Change What We Never Chose,” a discussion on the ex-gay movement and conversion therapy, with Sam Brinton and Justin Utley, 10 a.m. – noon. The event is free but donations are welcome, Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.org

EVENT SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY, MARCH 28

Join singer/songwriter Justin Utley and speaker Sam Brinton for a benefit concert to raise money for the Trevor Project, an American non-profit organization founded in 1998 and the leading national organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, $10 minimum donation, 8 – 10 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

Rupaul’s Drag Race Battle of the Seasons/2015 Condragulations tour is tonight, hosted by Michelle Visage, with appearances by the likes of Sharon Needles, Bianca Del Rio and more, 9 p.m., Center Stage, www.centerstageatlanta.com “Things We Don’t Talk About: Women’s Stories from the Red Tent” is a groundbreaking 72-minute documentary film weaves together healing narratives from inside the Red Tent—a red, textile space—to shine a spotlight on this vital, emergent women’s tradition. Advance tickets are $15 available in person at Charis

Books. Proceeds go to support the work of Charis Circle, The First Existentialist Congregation’s Social Justice Guild, and the filmmaker. Tickets are $20 at the door, 7 – 10 p.m., The First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta, www.firstexistentialist.org DJs galore – Vicki Powell, Stan Jackson, DJ David, Robert Ansley – help BJ Roosters with its Birthday Bash, 9 p.m., www.facebook.com/bjroostersatlanta Find your inner Cyndi Lauper – every Saturday is karaoke night with Tyler King at 10 p.m. at Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com DJ Mike Pope spins on the second level of Blake’s tonight, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com The infamous Charlie Brown hosts The Taboo Show at midnight at Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com

SUNDAY, MARCH 29

DJ Stan Jackson gets the late night crowd worked up, 3 a.m., Xion Atlanta, www.cariocaproductions.com Wake up and make joyful noise at Gospel Brunch, with the Sisters of

Sequin, hosted by Bubba D. Licious and Justice Counce, with brunch seating at 12:30 p.m. and the show at 1:30 p.m., Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com

MONDAY, MARCH 30

Monday Mingle at Blake’s is an opportunity to network, with a free buffet and prizes, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., www.blakesonthepark.com Come to Mary’s to watch “Rupaul’s Drag Race” with local contestant Violet Chachki at 9 p.m., www.marysatlanta.com

TUESDAY, MARCH 31

Full houses win at poker night at Model T Atlanta, 7 p.m., www.modeltatlanta.com Drageoke brings out lots of performer wannabes, with Angelica D’Paige getting the night started, 10:30 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1

B–18! Ruby Redd hosts Birdcage Bingo at 8:30 p.m., and it’s free to play, The Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com The Pig Dance Blackout Party at Heretic features all night, sweaty dancing, 9 p.m. – 3 a.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

For those who don't compromise on love or jewelry...

Worthmore Custom Design Services

Congratulations

on your anniversary!

Amsterdam Walk . 500 Amsterdam Ave . Atlanta . 404/892-8294 Decatur Square . 117 East Court Square . Decatur . 404/370-3979 www.worthmorejewelers.com

CustomFinal-GaVo.indd 36 Best Bets March1 20, 2015

3/16/15 12:34 PM

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

DIRECTORY SERVICES To advertise, contact: sales@thegavoice.com

STORAGE SPECIALS •Free Truck Rental with Move-In •12 Month Price Guarantee •24-Hour Access •Heated & Cooled Units •Security System •Clean, Well-Lit Facility •Loading Dock 726 Ponce de Leon PL NE Atlanta, GA, 30306

404-913-8977

We sell boxes & packing supplies!

1 Month Free First Month Free

New Customers. Select Units. Expires 6/30/2014.

25% Off

Boxes & Packing Supplies www.morningstarstorage.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Offer Never Expires.

March 20, 2015 Ads 37

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

By MELISSA CARTER

Double standards Paris. When you think of that European city, the first thing that usually comes to mind is romance. Imagine a couple walking hand-in-hand along the Champs-Élysées, stopping periodically to peer into each other’s loving eyes and seal their bond with an intimate kiss, while the Eiffel Tower illuminates their amour in the background.

But if you’re really in Gay Paree, you better think twice about locking lips at the end of that fantasy.

Earlier this month a lesbian couple spent a weekend in Paris, and afterward were saying goodbye to one another at a train station.

As they embraced, a Thalys International train guard shouted at them that their hug and kiss “cannot be tolerated.” During the confrontation, the guard told the women that it would have been fine for heterosexual couples to kiss in the same place. The women said they couldn’t believe they were singled out for not being straight, and described the experience as humiliating.

Unfortunately this double standard for public displays of affection is all too common.

In January, a gay couple that kissed in an English pub were told to leave. Darren Barnett and Dylan Morris were told to “get out” of the St. Levan Inn because their behavior was “revolting.” But the pub’s landlord, Paul Bodenham, said he is not homophobic and he would have told a straight couple the same thing.

This intolerance for same-sex affection occurs online as well. A district court in Lithuania this year dismissed a formal complaint by a gay rights organization after a gay couple received threatening online comments simply for posting a picture on Facebook of them kissing. The district court claimed a person who posts such a photo “has to anticipate that such an eccentric act would clearly discourage the common understanding and tolerance amongst people in our society who have different views and opinions.” Those comments included “die fags,” “smash their heads in” and “burn in Hell.”

I have had more than one debate with straight friends and colleagues over fictional gay and lesbian couples who kiss on television.

“Unfortunately this double standard for public displays of affection is all too common.”

Just recently there has been controversy over such kisses on “The Fosters,” “The Walking Dead,” and “Empire.” The thoughts of people in my life are that those types of romantic scenes should be reserved for times when their kids aren’t watching. Their anemic explanation is that they don’t want to have to “explain it” to their children, and that it has nothing to do with homophobia or any disrespect to me.

Right. We’ve almost convinced people in our society they are not prejudiced because they don’t say derogatory words to each other. But if you are going out of your way to keep your offspring from seeing or being part of any group, then you are prejudiced, and worse, teaching that prejudice to them.

At least the Paris tale has a progressive ending. One of the lesbians shut down at that train station is a member of All Out, an organization that fights for equality around the world. She has called for gay rights activists to complain to the company, and her efforts forced Thalys to apologize to her and her girlfriend for how they handled their goodbye kiss. You can read their petition at go.allout.org/en/a/mirjam-thalys.

Sources: The Guardian, Gay Star News, Metro News, and Express & Echo Melissa Carter is one of the Morning Show hosts on B98.5. In addition, she is a writer for the Huffington Post. She is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and one of the few in the country. Follow her on Twitter@MelissaCarter

38 Columnists March 20, 2015 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES Y

By RYAN LEE

Nameless & Shameless Last month marked a year since the first time I hooked up with a guy who has become one of my favorite regulars. The anniversary might’ve been opportune to finally ask him his name, but other priorities arise every time we’re together, and introductions remain irrelevant.

We met online during the second wave of last year’s Snowpocalypse, and no weather is as hedonistic as a blizzard. Everyone felt bad for the frozen souls who were trapped on the interstate for 19 hours, but I pity anyone who endures a dystopic snowstorm without having bucket-list quality sex.

I forget whether our first encounter was explicitly anonymous or if we simply didn’t make it to the part of a conversation when people normally exchange names, but I remember plenty else. Aside from the physical, which is its own category of highlights, I remember the harmony of our desire, our mutual satisfaction and the sincerity of our smiles while we were looking for our clothes.

I know the names of sexual partners don’t count as “small talk” for most people, and that just as many believe anonymous sex defiles the soul. I’m thankful that has not been my experience.

My journey through my 20s was irreversibly altered, and immeasurably enriched, by one-night stands. Sure, there were objectifying episodes and unreciprocated emotions; but there were also flings who kept me from transferring colleges, or who briefly entered my closeted psyche, kissed my shame and left without closing the door.

The best booty calls span several years of hooking up, my longest dating back to 2004.

I know most of their names – birthdays, too, but this column is already flirting with an NC-17 rating. The main reason I don’t know my anonymous anniversary partner’s name is because I rarely program numbers into my phone anymore, relying on previous text conversations to identify everyone.

A few years ago, my mother went through three cell phone numbers in about two months, and I got tired of updating her contact inforwww.thegeorgiavoice.com

Casual sex is almost universally understood to be an inferior relationship strategy to the sexless companionship bred by monogamy. It is often slandered as hollow and superficial, including by an LGBT movement that has positioned marriage as the Promised Land. mation. It took me more than a year to save her current number, and questionable as my morals may be, I’m not gonna subject my mama to a more rigorous review than someone whose name I will see in my phone in a few months and wonder, “Who the hell is Mike Kroger?”

Casual sex is almost universally understood to be an inferior relationship strategy to the sexless companionship bred by monogamy. It is often slandered as hollow and superficial, including by an LGBT movement that has positioned marriage as the Promised Land.

I don’t discount the nobility of forming a lasting bond with a single individual, although I believe it is foolish to consider monogamy the only, or even best, path to romantic fulfillment.

One of the things I love about being single is how regulars have a way of proving why they’re regulars—sexually, but also in their willingness to share intimacy without expectation. Affection does not require the wresting or surrendering of emotional dominion in order for it to be poignant and authentic.

“You’re the perfect person to get snowed in with,” one of my regulars said to me as we lay naked on the eve of one of the phantom blizzards that threatened Atlanta this winter. This particular partner often shows tenderness by lingering across my chest after climax, resting his head on top of my heart.

Knowing names is polite, but fundamentally, everyone is just searching for someone to know, to witness, that their heart beats, too.

ATLANTA GAY MEN’S CHORUS

UNSUNG HEROES

Featuring Matt Alber March 27 • 8PM March 28 • 2PM & 8PM

Druid Hills United Methodist Church

Tickets $35 • Available at AGMChorus.org

March 20, 2015 Columnists 39

IMPREZA 5-DOOR2.0i

2015 SUBARU

$ AS LOW AS

IMPREZA 5 DOOR 2.0i

2015 SUBARU

#FLA-01

18 ,641

$ AS LOW AS

AS LOW AS

0.9 % FINANCING

XV CROSSTREK 2.Oi Premium

#FRB-11

22 ,467

AVAILABLE UP TO

48 MONTHS ON FORESTER 2015 SUBARU

$ AS LOW AS

FORESTER 2.5i

2015 SUBARU

#FFA-01

21 ,845

$ AS LOW AS

OUTBACK2.5i

#FDB-01

24 ,257

Purchase or lease any new (Previously untitled) subaru and receive a comPlimentary factory scheduled maintenance Plan for 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever comes first.) see subaru added security maintenance Plan for intervals, coverages and limitations. customer must take delivery before 12-31-2015 and reside within the Promotional area. at ParticiPating dealers only. see dealer for Program details and eligibility.

1950 orion dr decatur ga

404-248-1888

www.STIVERSATLANTASUBARU.com

all Prices Plus taX, tag and include $499 doc fee with aPProved credit. not resPonsible for mis-Prints. 2015 subaru forester 2.5i Premium lease term 36 months, $0 security dePosit, 10,000 miles Per year, not all customers will qualify, with aPProved credit thru subaru motors finance, total out of Pocket at lease signing $1,900, 36 Payments of $299.00 , includes all taXes and $499 dealer document fee. lease disPosition fee at lease term $300, Purchase oPtion $50. residual value at lease end $16,347.00. Prices good until march 31st 2015.

285

285