The Georgia Voice - 4/13/12 Vol.3, Issue 3

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WEDDING ISSUE Tying the knot: Find inspiration with local couples. Page 4 Meet the women behind Atlanta’s own Equally Wed magazine. Page 6

OUTSPOKENIN THEIR OWN WORDS Photos via Facebook

04.13.12

“While the President does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples.”

Weddings your way: How to pick LGBT-friendly vendors. Page 11

— Kristen Sosanie, spokesperson for President Barack Obama’s Minnesota campaign, on why he opposes a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage in the state. The measure “would single out and discriminate against gay and lesbian couples,” she said. (Huffington Post, April 9)

Wedding Planning 101: Tips to plan your big day. Page 12 Where you can legally wed. Page 14 Fight for your right to marry. Page 14 Editorial: Why marriage equality matters. Page 16

NEWS Bond denied in Atlanta anti-gay beating. Page 19

Ga. Legislature adjourns with LGBT bills pending. Page 25

A&E Remembering lesbian poet Adrienne Rich. Page 27 Film: ‘Leave It on the Floor,’ ‘Bully’ coming to ATL. Page 29 Theater: ‘Auntie Mame,’ Page 31

COMMUNITY Gay rugby team hosts Purple Dress Run. Page 32 Pride Expo features gay-friendly businesses. Page 32 Health fair targets LGBT wellness. Page 32 Personality spotlight: Meet Ga.’s only openly gay mayor. Page 33

CALENDAR Pages 34-36

COLUMNISTS That’s What She Said: TV made Melissa Carter smarter. Page 38 Domestically Disturbed: How Topher Payne and his husband didn’t meet. Page 39

BY THE NUMBERS GAY SPOUSES IN GA.

21,318

Same-sex couples in Ga. who self-identified in the 2010 U.S. Census

3,661 Ga. same-sex couples who identified as “husbands” or “wives”

17,657

Ga. same-sex couples who identified as “unmarried partners”

50 / 50

Split between male couples and female couples in Ga. Those who identified as spouses were also evenly split.

38

Percent of couples who identify as spouses who are raising children, compared to 16 percent of couples who identify as “unmarried partners” Editor’s note: Numbers accurate as of Feb. 27

“I loved it when someone said to me, ‘Stephanie, what exactly did you think was going to turn men off about this? Because a lot of people told me, ‘Your ratings have only gone up.’ Because, you know, you say ‘gay,’ they hear ‘three-way.’”

Publicity photo

City details cost for investigation into Eagle gay bar raid. Page 24

— Radio show host Stephanie Miller, who came out in 2010, on how fears that knowing she was a lesbian would hurt her high ratings with straight male listeners didn’t exactly pan out. (AfterEllen.com, April 6)

“The perception in our society today is that if you don’t say you’re for same-sex marriage or if you say that homosexuality is a sin that you’re homophobic and you’re not for gay people. That’s not true... It doesn’t mean I have to agree with you to love you. I think that sex between two people of the same-sex is condemned in the Scriptures.”

— Bishop T.D. Jakes, pastor of the Potter’s House, a Dallas mega-church, in an April 8 interview with Oprah Winfrey (Gawker.com via Instinct, April 9)

Photo via Facebook

JustUsATL plans new group for LGBT youth. Page 19

“Happy Easter, Gay People of the World: you have indeed risen in the last decades from centuries of persecution and oppression. May this be a great holiday for you all wherever you are. You are winning the battle for equal rights. And your victory over discrimination and hate is a victory for all oppressed persons.”

— Author Anne Rice, whose son is gay, posting on her Facebook page (On Top Magazine, April 9)

— Slogan on the t-shirt that Maverick Couch, age 16, will get to wear to school on April 20, the Day of Silence to protest anti-LGBT bullying, after suing his southwest Ohio public school. (Associated Press, April 5)

4

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< - Casey Brown

Photo by Drew Newman

Each of these stories first appeared online at EquallyWed.com. Visit the website to view photo albums and read more about how these couples, and many more from around the country, created their unique “Real Weddings.”

“We really wanted to make the event about us, and we took a lot of time to add personal touches to everything.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

JONATHAN & STEVE

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

an

ewm y Drew N Photo b

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

MARNI & CASEY HOME GROWN, HOME RUN

Photo by Drew Newman

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< It was love at first pitch when Marni Kahn met Casey Brown at her company’s softball game. The two met through mutual friends, and as soon as Marni saw Casey’s hazel eyes, it was lights out, game over. They talked through most of the game in the outfield. Marni asked for Casey’s phone number that night, and five years later she proposed.

The couple chose April 10, 2010, at the Alto Rex Rooftop Lounge at the Hotel Palomar in Midtown Atlanta.

“One afternoon, Casey and I went to the Hotel Palomar for drinks,” Kahn said. “We were sitting on the terrace taking in the city views and realized this could be a beautiful space to have our wedding.”

“We really wanted to make the event about us, and we took a lot of time to add personal touches to everything,” added Brown. “We tried to personalize every aspect of the night … signature drinks at cocktail hour, keeping the menu vegetarian and pescatarian.”

The place cards were hand-embossed, and the couple even designed their own programs.

Cookies, modeled after their pet Labradors (Addie and Luke), were handed out as favors to each guest, with a pledged donation from the couple to Atlanta Lab Rescue.

“We had decided that our wedding environment needed to reflect our social practices and Hotel Palomar did,” Kahn said. “It’s a socially responsible eco-chic hotel that composts on hotel grounds, recycles, uses organic local products, and is pet-friendly. We had found the perfect space to share our wedding vows in front of our family and friends.”

The self-identifying queer brides walked down the aisle arm in arm.

“It was magical and magnificent,” Kahn reflected. “Looking out at our closest family and friends, feeling the touch of one another, and knowing that we were about to take something so private, our love, and make it public.”

— Nicole Walsh

Jonathan Goldman and Steven Schessler discovered love in the grocery store. While pushing their respective carts through the aisles of Whole Foods Market, the couple had a chance encounter, which ultimately lead them down another, much more impactful aisle.

“You really can find everything you need there,” Goldman said.

The couple dated for three years before Schessler proposed in March 2006 while vacationing in Spain.

“I knew Jonathan always wanted to go hot-air ballooning,” Schessler said, “since he mentioned it when we first started dating.”

And so the perfect proposal was born. Shimmying through the skyline over farmland with the Pyrenees in the background, Schessler put a ring on Goldman’s finger.

“We happily put off planning for a good six months, with the intention of leaving ourselves a year for a September wedding,” Schessler says.

At the time, Goldman lived in San Francisco, and Schessler stayed in Atlanta to wrap up a fellowship teaching at Emory for another school year — a plan that could ultimately provide stress at a time meant for celebration and elation over the pending union.

The extended planning-free engagement helped the cross-country lovebirds to relish in the moment before diving into the details, which they were able to manage with the help of wedding co-

Photo b y Olivia

Photo by Dominic Ramirez

ordinator Daria McGregor.

Schessler and Goldman tied the knot on the Magnolia Hall lawn at Atlanta’s landmark Piedmont Park. Goldman donned a Dolce & Gabanna suit with an Alexander McQueen shirt and Brioni tie with Schessler in a Hugo Boss suit, walking down the aisle hand in hand as strings played “Time After Time.”

The two were pleasantly surprised at how different, happy and excited they felt at the end of the day.

“We realized that while we need to continue to fight for marriage, equality and the recognition of our civil rights,” Goldman said, “all our emotions and memories of getting married come from the ceremony and reception that we designed to share with the ones we love in Atlanta, and that the laws we’re fighting to change can’t stop us from sharing our love.”

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

JENNIFER & BETH ANNE

ROAD TRIP TO MATRIMONY <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

tional nature, McKnight said simply, “It’s their loss. I told Carol, ‘Don’t let them off the hook!

Ask them why they are being judgmental so that they can hear aloud how ridiculous it is.’ Most of them would hide behind their religious beliefs as a platform for prejudice. Carol responded with ‘I choose to serve a loving God, not a condemning God’ and left it at that.”

The McKnights’ experiences and excitement while planning their own wedding inspired them to start their own wedding planning business, Euphoria Affairs (www.euphoriaaffairs.com).

“We had so much fun in the planning process, met a lot of great people, and the industry is full of people that are excited and in love, which makes for a great environment for a career,” Pondelick said. “This is a way we can give back.”

Happy happening or deliberate decision, there are oodles of couples living in bliss who aren’t wed. That’s how it was for Beth Anne Higgins and Jennifer Lynne Brooks, who met at a campus ministry while attending the University of Georgia.

“I knew the moment I first laid eyes on Jennifer that I would be with her forever,” said Higgins. “I knew I would do whatever I had to in order to win her over. I knew that in time she would fall for me, too, and I was right.”

Higgins, a bridesmaid seven times over and maid of honor at her sister’s wedding, dreamed of walking down the aisle herself.

“I had always imagined it, but never thought it would happen,” she said.

Brooks had something else on her wish list, and got it five years later when they welcomed two children, Ezra David and Jaden Mary.

After they celebrated 10 years together, the women made it official with a wedding.

“We wanted to get legally married and we wanted the wedding to take place at a house on the beach,” Higgins said.

Provincetown, Mass., with its gay-friendly atmosphere and picturesque setting, satisfied both requirements.

Since Higgins was working on her law degree, Brooks, a high school graduation coach, handled most of the planning and found nearly everything online. They chose a Cape Cod vacation home as the venue and booked it nine months in advance.

“There are great restaurants, shops, beaches and historical sites” in Provincetown, Higgins said. “We went whale watching, and ... it turned out to be one of the most amazing things we had ever seen.”

Now Jennifer and Beth Anne HigginsBrooks have a special day to remember— “when we are old and gray,” Higgins said.

Right after the wedding, they welcomed a third child, Zion Moses, to their family.

— L.A. Jones

— L.A. Jones

— Katie Gallagher

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

CAROL & KESHA SOUTHERN SATISFACTION >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> In April 2010, Carol Pondelick and Kesha McKnight tied the knot in an outdoor affair at the Greystone event space of the Piedmont Park Conservancy in Atlanta.

Choosing Greystone was the easiest decision in the planning process, McKnight said. Besides the elegant but relaxed setting, Piedmont Park offered a sentimental value for the two, who found it a safe haven when they were dating.

Most importantly, Carol always wanted an outdoor wedding, McKnight recalled.

“The terrace level where our ceremony took place was an outdoor oasis overlooking Lake Clara Meer and the pool on the grounds,” she said.

Both were heavily involved in the creative process and decision making that went into their wedding.

Sometimes the stressful times involved harsh confrontations. At a bridal show they attended together, the DJ called for the first engaged couple to win a prize. Their wedding planner, however, didn’t think two women should be qualified to win a prize.

When dealing with vendors who shied away from their marriage because of the unconven-

Peters

Photo by Aragon Photography

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GA Voice

April 13, 2012

Wedding Issue

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Deadline for entry 05/04/2012

Courtesy of

Kirsten Ott Palladino (right) and her wife, Maria Palladino, are ‘ridiculously proud’ of their twin sons Leo and Rocco. (Photo by Sandra Grose, Through Sandra’s Lens)

Equally Wed founders: ‘We love love’ Meet Atlanta’s own LGBT wedding experts

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com As a child, Kirsten Ott Palladino dreamed of having a beautiful wedding. And when she understood she loved women, it never crossed her mind that she would never have that ceremony.

“I never questioned I would have a wedding when I realized I wanted to marry a woman,” she said. “I never thought, ‘Oh, this is never a possibility.’”

Kirsten Ott and Maria Palladino met in 2003 through mutual friends and knew they were interested in each other, but waited about seven months before they began talking.

Their first date was at an Italian restaurant, Santino’s, that once existed in the same building where Jason’s Deli is located at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue. The couple celebrated their eighth anniversary on March 25.

The first date led to many more and then to a wedding proposal in Central Park in New York. But there were a few snags as they planned their dream wedding.

The wedding magazines, honeymoon ads and tips on how to make a wedding special were all about “he and she” — the couple did not see others like them anywhere. Frustrated with this realization, they hatched an idea for an online wedding magazine to target LGBT couples. But first, they had to get married.

The two married in Georgia on June 13, 2009.

Of course, gay marriage is not legal in Georgia.

“It is not illegal to have a gay wedding,” said Kirsten, who changed her last name to Palladino. “The marriage between two people in love is more than just legal documents – it’s about proclaiming that intimate love surrounded by people who love you and sharing the joy with others.”

“The marriage is also about our families and friends and chosen families. Sometimes those who are LGBTQ will have their families turn their backs on them. A marriage is about unity, the coming together and pledging support for the couple,” she added.

After their honeymoon in St. Martin, the duo came back to Atlanta determined and passionate about their new project — EquallyWed.com, described as the nation’s premier online gay wedding magazine. The magazine launched on March 22, 2009. It features a listing of gay-friendly vendors as well as extensive editorial content, including the popular “Real Gay Weddings” stories.

“We love love,” Maria Palladino said about the hard work that goes into EquallyWed.com.

“Whether you want a small wedding or a massive wedding, love is love.”

The couple works hard to stay ahead on trends and has tripled the site’s traffic since its launch.

Last month, the online magazine expand-

ed its reach by rolling out its new “Wedding Planning Tools” that can help couples keep track of RSVPs, money spent and every other item on their to-do list. More announcements about the expansion of the magazine will be made in upcoming months.

And thirteen months ago, the Palladinos became the moms to twin boys — Leo and Rocco — making life even busier. The twins, born March 14, 2011, are seven minutes apart with Leo edging out his brother as the oldest.

“They are developing so rapidly, they are incredibly verbal. My heart just melts,” Kirsten Palladino said. “We are ridiculously proud.”

Working around the clock on their magazine while also being moms to twins requires balance.

“We’re a passionate couple and I think that’s what drives us,” Kirsten Palladino said. “We create our own happiness and we are determined to make it all work. We both have a streak of gay activism as I think all gay people should.”

“We’re also growing our team and don’t sleep much,” Maria Palladino added. “It’s a juggling act but we love it.”

When New York legalized gay marriage last year, the Palladinos could not resist holding another wedding in the state where they got engaged — this one much simpler, held Aug. 19 in a chapel in New York City Hall.

“Spiritually and for our relationship and devotion to each other, our wedding in Decatur was more special and valid,” Kirsten Palladino said.

“But New York was a chance to have us legally recorded as a valid couple in this country.”

Maria Palladino agreed and said the New York wedding was a gift.

“It’s like a nice big bow on top of a great package,” she said.

S:19

www.egrifta.com

Actual patient living with HIV since 2000

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You’VE woRkED To ConTRoL YouR HIV. now, TImE To woRk on YouR

HIV-RELATED EXCESS BELLY FAT. In two separate clinical trials of HIV-infected people with lipodystrophy, each lasting 6 months, EGRIFTA® (tesamorelin for injection) reduced HIV-related excess belly fat by an average of 18% in the first trial, and 14% in the second trial. This reduction in excess belly fat resulted in an approximate 1-inch reduction in waist size. Individual results may vary. On average, patients on EGRIFTA® did not lose weight.

Like HIV, HIV-related excess belly fat is a chronic condition. In clinical studies: • People who used EGRIFTA® continuously for 1 year maintained their results over this time period • People who stopped taking EGRIFTA® after 6 months had their HIV-related excess belly fat come back EGRIFTA® is believed to work with your own body to produce natural growth hormone to reduce your excess belly fat.

Indication: EGRIFTA® is a daily injectable prescription medicine to reduce the excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy.

Limitations of use: • The impact and safety of EGRIFTA® on cardiovascular health has not been studied • EGRIFTA® is not indicated for weight-loss management • It’s not known whether taking EGRIFTA® helps improve compliance with antiretroviral medications • EGRIFTA® is not recommended to be used in children Important Risk Information Do not use EGRIFTA® if you: • Have pituitary gland tumor, pituitary gland surgery, or other problems related to your pituitary gland • Have active cancer (either newly diagnosed or recurrent) or are receiving treatment for cancer • Are allergic to tesamorelin or any of the ingredients in EGRIFTA®, including mannitol or sterile water • Are pregnant or become pregnant Before using EGRIFTA,® tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had cancer • Have diabetes • Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed • Have kidney or liver problems • Have any other medical condition • Take prescription or non-prescription medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements EGRIFTA® may cause serious side effects, including: • Serious allergic reaction. Stop using EGRIFTA® and get emergency help right away if you have any of the following symptoms: rash over your body, hives, swelling of your face or throat, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, feeling of faintness or fainting • Swelling (fluid retention). EGRIFTA® can cause swelling in some parts of your body. Call your healthcare provider if you have an increase in joint pain, or pain or numbness in your hands or wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome) • Increase in glucose (blood sugar) intolerance and diabetes • Injection-site reactions, such as redness, itching, pain, irritation, bleeding, rash, and 120127-102148 2/12

swelling. Change (rotate) your injection site to help lower your risk for injection-site reactions The most common side effects of EGRIFTA® include: • joint pain • numbness and pricking • pain in legs and arms • nausea • swelling in your legs • vomiting • muscle soreness • rash • tingling • itching EGRIFTA® will NOT cure HIV or lower your chance of passing HIV to others.

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 Consumer Brief Summary of EGRIFTA® on following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if EGRIFTA®, the first and only FDA-approved medicine for HIV-related excess belly fat, may be right for you. For more information, visit www.egrifta.com or call the AXIS Center at 1-877-714-AXIS (2947).

Consumer Brief Summary for EGRIFTA® (tesamorelin for injection) EGRIFTA® (eh-GRIF-tuh) (tesamorelin for injection) for subcutaneous use

• Swelling (fluid retention). EGRIFTA® can cause swelling in some parts of your body. Call your healthcare

provider if you have an increase in joint pain, or pain or numbness in your hands or wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome)

Read the Patient Information that comes with EGRIFTA before you start to take it and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This leaflet does not take the place of talking to your healthcare provider about your medical condition or your treatment.

• Increase in glucose (blood sugar) intolerance and diabetes. Your healthcare provider will measure your

What is EGRIFTA®?

• Injection-site reactions. Change (rotate) your injection site to help lower your risk for injection-site reactions.

• EGRIFTA® is an injectable prescription medicine to reduce the excess in abdominal fat in HIV-infected

Call your healthcare provider for medical advice if you have the following symptoms around the area of the injection site: – bleeding – redness – rash – itching – swelling – pain – irritation The most common side effects of EGRIFTA® include: – joint pain – nausea – pain in legs and arms – vomiting – rash – swelling in your legs – itching – muscle soreness – tingling, numbness, and pricking 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 EGRIFTA®. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. To report side effects, contact EMD Serono toll-free at 1-800-283-8088, ext. 5563. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Keep EGRIFTA® and all medicines out of the reach of children.

®

patients with lipodystrophy. EGRIFTA® contains a growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) • The impact and safety of EGRIFTA® on cardiovascular health has not been studied • EGRIFTA® is not indicated for weight-loss management • It is not known whether taking EGRIFTA® helps improve compliance with antiretroviral medications • It is not known if EGRIFTA® is safe and effective in children. EGRIFTA® is not recommended to be used in children Who should not use EGRIFTA®?

Do not use EGRIFTA® if you: • have pituitary gland tumor, pituitary gland surgery, or other problems related to your pituitary gland • have active cancer (either newly diagnosed or recurrent) or are receiving treatment for cancer • are allergic to tesamorelin or any of the ingredients in EGRIFTA®. See the end of this leaflet for a complete list of ingredients in EGRIFTA® • are pregnant or become pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop using EGRIFTA® and talk with your healthcare provider. See “What should I tell my healthcare provider before using EGRIFTA®?”

What should I tell my healthcare provider before using EGRIFTA®?

Before using EGRIFTA®, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have or have had cancer • have diabetes • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if EGRIFTA® passes into your breast milk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that HIV-infected mothers not breastfeed to avoid the risk of passing HIV infection to your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby if you are taking EGRIFTA® • have kidney or liver problems • have any other medical condition Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. EGRIFTA® may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how EGRIFTA® works. Know the medicines you take. Keep a list with you to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How should I use EGRIFTA®?

• Read the detailed “Instructions for Use” that comes with EGRIFTA® before you start using EGRIFTA®. Your healthcare provider will show you how to inject EGRIFTA® • Use EGRIFTA® exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider • Inject EGRIFTA® under the skin (subcutaneously) of your stomach area (abdomen) • Change (rotate) the injection site on your stomach area (abdomen) with each dose. Do not inject EGRIFTA® into scar tissue, bruises, or your navel • Do not share needles or syringes with other people. Sharing of needles can result in the transmission of infectious diseases, such as HIV What are the possible side effects of EGRIFTA®?

EGRIFTA® may cause serious side effects including: • Serious allergic reaction. Some people taking EGRIFTA® may have an allergic reaction. Stop using EGRIFTA® and get emergency help right away if you have any of the following symptoms: – a rash over your body – hives – swelling of your face or throat – shortness of breath or trouble breathing – fast heartbeat – feeling of faintness or fainting

blood sugar periodically

General information about the safe and effective use of EGRIFTA®: Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Patient Information leaflet. Do not use EGRIFTA® for a condition for which it was not prescribed.

Do not give EGRIFTA® to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them.

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This Patient Information leaflet summarizes the most important information about EGRIFTA®. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about EGRIFTA® that is written for healthcare professionals.

For more information about EGRIFTA®, go to www.EGRIFTA.com or contact the AXIS Center toll-free at 1-877-714-2947.

What are the ingredients in EGRIFTA®?

Active ingredient: tesamorelin Inactive ingredients: mannitol and Sterile Water for Injection

© 2012 EMD Serono, Inc. 120120-161843 2/12 All rights reserved.

EGRIFTA® is a registered trademark of Theratechnologies Inc. Distributed by EMD Serono, Inc., Rockland, MA 02370

Wedding Issue

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Weddings your way How to choose LGBT-friendly wedding vendors who will love, cherish and honor your business

By Kirsten Ott Palladino Getting engaged to your sweetheart is a profound moment for most couples — the day you profess to one another that you are ready to spend forever together. From this agreement to the day you publicly promise to love, honor and cherish each other ’til death do you part, it’s a whirlwind of cake tasting, visiting venues, shopping for attire, list making, kissing, people pleasing, RSVP counting and maybe even a little hair pulling for good measure (your own, of course).

But you’re getting married in a country where only eight out of 50 states fully offer marriage equality, and some of its hetero citizens aren’t on board with the idea that you might want to marry your same-sex partner. Unfortunately, this attitude is prevalent in the wedding industry, although that is slowly changing.

It’s imperative that you and your fiancé (for grooms) or fiancée (for brides) select wedding vendors who will treat you with the level of professionalism and respect that you deserve, that will allow you to fully realize all your romantic wedding-day dreams.

Whether you’re planning your wedding in the Dirty South or a destination where same-sex marriage is legally recognized, you’ll want to be armed with the tools to hire the right businesses for your wedding. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• First, strengthen your resolve to the fact that you have the right to have the wedding of your dreams. Nowhere in the United States is a gay wedding illegal. You might not get a marriage certificate from City Hall, but publicly saying “I do” in a wedding ceremony is not a crime.

• Start your search in Local Resources on EquallyWed.com, where you’ll find thousands of wedding vendors around the country and abroad who’ve personally vowed to treat you and your partner with respect.

• Ask your gay and straight married friends for recommendations, but be mindful that wellmeaning straight friends often assume gayfriendliness of businesses simply because there’s money to be made. It’s sadly not that simple.

• Many businesses aren’t just focused on weddings. With this in mind, pick up your favorite gay-oriented publication in town, such as the GA Voice, and peruse the advertisers vying for the LGBT community’s business. Look for restaurants that might double as caterers, event spaces where you could hold your wedding ceremony and/or reception, and bakeries that might make the most magnificent wedding cakes.

• When visiting a potential vendor’s website,

Dedicated vendors can help bring just the right details to your wedding. Here, a handcrafted chandelier by Twelve graces Steve Schessler and Jonathan Goldman’s Atlanta wedding. To learn more about their wedding, please turn to Page 5.

(Photo by Dominic Ramirez)

look for gender-neutral wording, such as “the happy couple” or “you and your partner” instead of “bride and groom.” Bonus: A photo of a samesex couple on their wedding day. While it’s still a rare find, you’ll know you’ve struck gold.

• When you call or email a potential vendor, make sure to clearly state that this is a same-sex wedding. Ask if they’ve ever done one before, if it’s important to you. While still painful, it’s easier to get the cold shoulder this way than when you meet in person — or worse, at your wedding.

• If anyone at any time tells you that this is “just a commitment ceremony” or “not legal,” don’t waste any more of your time, money or energy. Move on immediately.

Kirsten Ott Palladino is the co-founder and editor in chief of Equally Wed Magazine. For more extensive advice on every aspect of planning your wedding, visit www.equallywed.com.

April 13, 2012

GA Voice

11

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GA Voice

April 13, 2012

Wedding Issue

www.theGAVoice.com

Wedding Planning 101 Advice to take you from ‘I will’ to ‘I do’

By Kirsten Ott Palladino A wedding is about far more than saying “I do” and blissfully drifting off into happily ever after. It’s the marriage of everything you love — from each other, to the people in your lives, to designs and décor, to personalities and heritage.

Planning a wedding is wonderful, fun and exciting, but it can be stressful and hard, too.

Wedding planning can be a crazy journey, but it will inevitably bring you and your beloved closer as you select meaningful components that reflect you as a couple.

To help you get organized, consider these tips for planning the main aspects of your wedding. And when you’re ready to get started, enjoy the newly minted LGBTQ-oriented digitally interactive wedding tools at EquallyWed.com — all for free.

istock.com/ isitsharp

Before you decide if you’re honeymooning in the south of France or that all your wedding guests will drink Krug Champagne at your reception, you must create your budget. Don’t fret if you’re not a math whiz. This isn’t rocket science or anything close. The key to a good budget is being organized. Start a spreadsheet or let the free tools on EquallyWed.com do the work for you.

Next, open a separate joint checking account for your wedding. Put all contributions in here, including those from you and your partner. Pay for everything wedding-related out of this account, and you’ll be able to keep track of your wedding spending, as well as prevent you from using a credit card, a potential pitfall for wedding planning. You don’t want to go into debt for your wedding.

As far as who pays for what, don’t let yourself get caught up in customs that don’t interest you. Customs are merely that; there are no hard-and-fast rules. What’s most important is that people pay for what they’re comfortable with or interested in.

Many same-sex couples foot the bill for their own weddings, but there are those with

new set. Send them out eight to 12 weeks before the wedding.

Historically, weddings are a joining of two families. In the gay and lesbian community, most of us have struggled with our families about our sexual orientation at some point in our lives. Some are still struggling, either to keep it a secret or to encourage acceptance.

The situation is different in every family, but we commonly learn of brides and grooms who hear disheartening comments such as “How can you get married? You’re gay!” or “Why do you need to call it a wedding?” or “I think I’ve been pretty tolerant of your lifestyle, but this is taking it too far” or “Is that even legal?”

Georgia refuses to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but that doesn’t have to be viewed as a road block to your path of love and commitment. And neither does your family’s acceptance. Remember, this is your big day that you’re planning. Surround yourself with positive people who love you and your fiancé(é), and support your love — whether that’s your family of origin or family of choice.

When speaking with your family about your engagement and wedding plans, remember these rules for conversation: Remain calm; stay focused on your love for each other; listen to any family member who wants to calmly voice their concerns; explain why this wedding is important to you; and take your time while understanding that your family might need some time to work through their feelings, as well.

supportive families who are both able and willing to shell out cash for the big day. If your parents or other family members are taking care of any or all of the bill, you need to speak with them about what they plan to contribute.

Wedding invitations do more than tell your guests where and when to show up for your big day. They indicate through paper texture and weight, wording, illustration,

color palette and embellishments how formal your event is, what they can expect from your wedding and more about you as a couple.

Plus, wedding invitations tie your theme together — love birds, the perfect pair, classically elegant, a seaside wedding, two hearts beat as one — or at least just a consistent color palette.

Start researching your options early, requesting samples from invitation vendors and companies so you can get a feel for the texture and weight of the paper, but don’t order any until all your details are final. When placing your order, leave yourself enough time to check them for misprints and get a

Photography is one of the most important memory-saving methods for your wedding.

Whatever your budget dictates for this portion of your wedding, it mustn’t be skipped.

Wedding photos aren’t what they used to be: a few dull snapshots of the ceremony and the grinning wedding party. The transformation in recent years is due, in part, to the peak in technological advances. Even a high-end camera wielded by a friend can bring you noteworthy photos for your walls and al-

Wedding Issue

www.theGAVoice.com

April 13, 2012

GA Voice

Photo by Olivia Peters

get yourselves committed

bums, but I recommend going with a professional, even for the simplest of weddings.

When hiring a wedding photographer, make sure that you like his or her style, whether it’s kitschy, artistic, straight-forward or just the basics. Cover yourself with a contract and ask plenty of questions, such as what’s your backup plan if you’re sick on my wedding day, what if your camera malfunctions and when will I get my photographs.

Here’s the first rule of thumb when it comes to selecting the outfits you and your partner will wear on your wedding day: There are no rules. Throw them all out. View them as guidelines if you wish, but do not let society or your family or even your friends tell you, “Oh, you simply must wear X.” Your wedding day is about you looking your absolute best (not someone else’s version of your best), and being relaxed and comfortable. Do consider dressing for the event, as in time of day or time of year.

Butch or genderqueer women, if you have been donning masculine attire since you were able to pick out your own outfits and you’re loathing the idea of putting on a dress, guess what? You don’t have to wear a dress. You don’t even have to wear a lady’s pantsuit if you don’t want to (although it’s perfectly fine if you do).

Men, if your skin itches at the idea at tightening a bow tie around your neck or sweating a summer’s day out in a three-piece suit, it’s perfectly acceptable to wear a linen or seersucker suit with a button-down cotton shirt.

And ladies (lipsticks, femme, lovers of tulle and organza), you know you get to do whatever

There are as many styles of wedding photographers as there are weddings. When you find one you like, get a contract and make sure your photo pro has a backup plan in the case of ilness or camera malfunction.

you want, as always. Colors are trending — even Vera Wang just launched a line of wedding gowns in varying shades of blacks and nudes.

Once you’ve gotten a little more comfortable in what you’ll be wearing, it’s time to go try things on. In Atlanta, there are quite a few places for brides, grooms and brooms (a term for butch brides my wife coined when we were marrying, since she didn’t feel like either a bride or a groom) to comfortably shop without feeling like they can’t say they’re marrying someone of the same gender.

My No. 1 choice for Atlantans getting married is Brides by Lori and Black Tie by Lori in Sandy Springs. It’s a three-story building stocked with fine gowns, simple dresses, tuxes and suits, mirrors galore, expert associates and extremely gay-friendly. There’s a broad spectrum of prices, something for your attendants and parents (if you’re lucky enough to have them attend), and accessories galore.

Other known comfortable places to shop in Atlanta: J. Crew’s new wedding section, Express for Men (the suits fit butch women quite nicely), Brooks Brothers and some David’s Bridal locations. For more on gayfriendly wedding vendors in your area, visit our online magazine anytime.

Start shopping for your outfits at least six months in advance of your wedding. This allows for hunting down the right size or color if it’s not immediately available, alterations, the sewing of custom gowns or suits, portraits in you in your attire if you want them, and the peace of mind that it’s checked off your list, leaving you time to tend to the many other items waiting for your attention.

Kirsten Ott Palladino is the co-founder and editor in chief of Equally Wed Magazine.

For more extensive advice on every aspect of planning your wedding, visit www.equallywed.com.

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GA Voice

April 13, 2012

Wedding Issue

www.theGAVoice.com

Fight for your right to marry There are many organizations working to secure the rights for same-sex couples to legally wed. Here are a few who are leading the way. Visit their websites to learn more about the issues and how you can join the fight by donating time or funds.

BATTLEGROUND STATES Washington United for Marriage www.washingtonunitedformarriage.org Same-sex marriage is scheduled to begin in the state of Washington on June 7, 2012, unless opponents are able to gather enough signatures to get a ballot measure to overturn gay marriage approved for the November 2012 election. Washington United for Marriage is a coalition working to defend marriage equality.

Marylanders for Marriage Equality www.marylandersformarriageequality.org Same-sex marriage will begin Jan. 1, 2013, but opponents have until June 30 to gather enough signatures to put a referendum on the November 2012 ballot to stop it. Marylanders for Marriage Equality is coalition working to defend marriage equality.

Mainers United for Marriage www.mainersunited.org In November, Maine citizens will vote — not on a gay marriage ban — but on whether to pro-actively grant marriage equality in their state. Mainers United for Marriage is a coalition formed to lead the fight.

Protect All North Carolina Families www.protectallncfamilies.org Our Southern neighbor is one of several states battling anti-gay marriage amendments this year. The vote is set for May 8.

Protect All North Carolina Families is led by a steering committee of leading LGBT groups and allies, working to defeat the amendment.

NATIONAL GROUPS Lambda Legal • www.lambdalegal.org With offices around the country, including Atlanta, Lambda Legal has played a key role in legal battles for marriage rights around the country, including the case that won the right to marry in Iowa. Lambda’s case seeking marriage equality in New Jersey remains pending; a case seeking marriage rights in New Jersey was filed this week.

American Foundation for Equal Rights www.afer.org AFER is the group bringing the high-profile federal legal challenge to Proposition 8, the voter initiative that ended gay marriages in California. A district court judge and threejudge appeals court panel have ruled the ban unconstitutional; the case may eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Freedom to Marry www.freedomtomarry.org Freedom to Marry is a national voice for marriage equality, fighting for marriage rights at the state and federal level. Current projects include the Win More States fund, which aims to raise and spend $3 million on marriage battles in Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Washington.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders www.glad.org New England’s leading LGBT civil rights group, GLAD brought the legal case that led Massachusetts to be the first U.S. state to allow gay couples to marry. Current cases include a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. Human Rights Campaign • www.hrc.org The nation’s largest LGBT political group includes the Americans for Marriage Equality campaign, which is bringing celebrity voices to the cause, and helps bring national attention and resources to battles around marriage equality.

HERE AT HOME Georgia Equality • www.georgiaequality.org Overturning the ban on marriage equality here isn’t yet at the top of the agenda for Georgia Equality. But efforts like Georgia Equality’s fight for a law to protect state employees from anti-LGBT job discrimination will eventually pave the way for that battle, and in the meantime, the group’s website offers an easy place to download the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care — which allows you to designate your partner to make medical decisions on your behalf.

Georgia Benefits Counsel www.georgiabenefitscounsel.org This relatively new nonprofit was created to provide free legal services to Georgians in same-sex relationships. Services include wills, financial powers of attorney and advance directives for health care.

States where same-sex marriage is legal

Where you can legally wed States where gay marriage is legal

Georgia has banned gay marriage twice — by law in 1996 and by an amendment to the state constitution in 2004. That means you’ll have to travel if you want to wed where your marriage is legally recognized.

Since neither Georgia nor the federal government will acknowledge gay marriages from other states, you won’t bring any new legal rights home from your trip. That leads some couples to opt instead to simply tie the knot here.

But for others, it’s an important personal or political statement to say “I do” where gay couples are given full equality under the law.

You might choose a destination wedding in one of these jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legal, or have a small legal ceremony there followed by a larger ceremony or celebration back in Georgia.

It’s not exactly what you want to think about when planning for your big day, but if you do choose to legally marry, be aware that will be harder to legally divorce. States that allow non-resident gay couples to wed generally don’t allow access to their courts to dissolve these unions, meaning one or both partners may have to move to the state in order to obtain a divorce.

— Laura Douglas-Brown

Connecticut District of Columbia Iowa Maryland* Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Vermont Washington* *Governors in both states have signed marriage equality laws, but they have not taken effect yet and both could be repealed by possible voter referenda.

Countries where gay marriage is legal Argentina Belgium Canada Iceland Netherlands Norway Portugal South Africa Spain Sweden

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Voices

The Georgia Voice

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EDITORIAL

Editor: Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Web Manager: Ryan Watkins rwatkins@thegavoice.com Art Director: Bo Shell bshell@thegavoice.com Contributors: Melissa Carter, Brent Corcoran, Jim Farmer, Shannon Hames, Topher Payne, Mike Ritter, Matt Schafer, Steve Warren, Justin Ziegler

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BOARD OF ADVISERS

Richard Eldredge, Sandy Malcolm, Lynn Pasqualetti, Robert Pullen 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, 1904 Monroe Drive, Suite 130, Atlanta, GA 30324. 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.

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VOICES OPINION & REACTION

Why marriage equality matters

Whether you want to marry, it’s still the defining civil rights issue for our community Editorial by Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com “Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage.”

The subject line on this email sent out April 1 by the National Lesbian & Gay Task Force was intended to prompt readers to open it, and it likely worked. Casual supporters of the group would click to learn about an amazing victory for gay rights, while more savvy supporters would wonder how such a ruling could be possible, since there isn’t even a gay marriage case pending directly before the U.S. Supreme Court right now.

The first line of the email cleared things right up: “You know today is April Fools’ Day, right?”

The email turned out to be a cute invitation to visit the Task Force website to vote for April’s Worst Fool, out of a list of LGBT rights opponents including Pat Robertson, Rush Limbaugh, Fred Phelps and more.

Still, it’s telling that the Task Force chose marriage equality for their fake headline, instead of another LGBT issue like employment discrimination or hate crimes. Supporters of the Task Force tend to trend to the left in the LGBT rights movement, including many who may argue that marriage is too traditional and mainstream, and shouldn’t be at the top of the so-called “gay agenda.”

Yet Task Force leaders know gay marriage is the topic most likely to inspire us to open their email. Regardless of whether you personally want to marry, whether you think marriage is an oppressive heterosexist institution, or where you think it belongs on the list of priorities, marriage equality is the defining civil rights issue for lesbian and gay people. Only overturning sodomy laws, a battle that ended with the landmark 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v.

Texas, came close.

Not just a mere collection of individual rights, marriage is a collective statement about whether our relationships, and thus we as gay people, are worthy of respect, liberty and justice. More than just saying “I do,” marriage is about saying “we are.”

Here’s why: What defines us as a minority, a culture, a distinct group, is whom we love.

Denying gay people the right to marry — the highest status our society grants to loving relationships — strikes at the heart of who we are.

It sends the message that we are inferior, unworthy and undeserving.

The California Supreme Court hit on just this idea in 2008, in a landmark ruling legalizing samesex marriage that was later overturned by voters through Proposition 8. Explaining why even “civil unions” aren’t enough, the court wrote: “Retaining the designation of marriage exclusively for opposite-sex couples and providing only a separate and distinct designation for same-sex couples may well have the effect of perpetuating a more general premise — now emphatically rejected by this state — that gay individuals and same-sex couples are in some respects ‘second-class citizens’ who may, under the law, be treated differently from, and

less favorably than, heterosexual individuals or opposite-sex couples.”

Not just a mere collection of individual rights, marriage is a collective statement about whether our relationships, and thus we as gay people, are worthy of respect, liberty and justice.

More than just saying “I do,” marriage is about saying “we are.”

To be certain, we face discrimination in many different ways. We may be bullied, targeted for violence, fired from our jobs. But it is the belief that lesbian and gay people are “second class citizens,” and that there is something wrong with who and how we love, that fuels the widespread bias against us in other areas.

No wonder some people think it is acceptable to fire us or beat us up: why should they have to treat gay people fairly, when the government doesn’t?

Legalizing same-sex marriage around the country won’t automatically end anti-gay discrimination. But it will stop giving an official stamp of approval to the idea that we are inferior, and we can hope that with time, that message will move from the halls of government to the streets of middle America.

It will likely take decades or longer, as women and African Americans well know, but it can’t happen as long as our laws still say that discriminating against gay people is ok.

“Trickle down” economics didn’t work, but trickle-down equality may be the only thing that will.

Of course, you don’t need a marriage license to love someone and commit to building your lives together. That’s why our first GA Voice Wedding Issue includes ways to get involved in the fight for marriage equality, but also plenty of inspiring stories and useful advice for planning your wedding right here at home.

Whether you tie the knot in a formal venue or a backyard potluck, publicly declaring your love sends a powerful message — both personally and politically.

We’re listening.

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GA VOICE • NEWS

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Former members of YouthPride are moving ahead with plans for a new Atlanta LGBT youth organization as the troubled agency remains silent about where it will move after being forced out of its current home due to unpaid rent.

YouthPride Executive Director Terence McPhaul declined an interview this week. The organization must move next month from its space at 1017 Edgewood Ave. and faces a crisis in leadership after admitting that its board of directors has dwindled to below the minimum required in its bylaws and hasn’t met since December 2010.

McPhaul said in a brief statement last month that new sites were being explored and the formation of a new board of directors is “moving fast.” He stressed that YouthPride remains open and operating.

Repeated attempts to reach remaining board members Jordan Myers and Theresa Willis have been unsuccessful. Attorney Jason McCoy, who is working pro bono to help YouthPride establish a new board of directors, also could not be reached for comment.

YouthPride must relocate by May 31 after reaching a legal settlement with its landlord, Inman Park United Methodist Church. YouthPride owed the church more than $50,000 in back rent and fees, and the settlement agreement required YouthPride to pay the church $28,000. So far, YouthPride has paid $23,000; the final $5,000 is due May 1.

JustUsATL plans new youth center

In response to YouthPride’s woes, dozens of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth have formed JustUsATL, a youth-led group that seeks to find a new space and form its own non-profit organization. The group was incorporated with the Georgia Secretary of State on April 4 with local attorney Kathleen Womack serving as its registered agent.

JustUsATL already offers several support groups. At a town hall forum on March 31, members laid out future plans for the group, including securing a space, forming an advisory board and getting federal 501(c)3 nonprofit status.

“Queer youth, we have to stick together and have a place to stick together ― and currently that place doesn’t exist,” said Gabriel Haggray, one of the town hall organizers. “We don’t have a safe zone. It’s important to have someplace right now and queer youth in Atlanta currently don’t have that. We need that.”

But what about YouthPride?

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com JustUsATL www.justusatl.org www.facebook.com/JustUsATL Three-month plan (by June 30):

Gabriel Haggray, one of the organizers of JustUsATL, says he and other youth are hoping to create a new safe space for LGBT youth.

(Photo by Dyana Bagby)

“I will say that if people don’t feel that is a safe space we are a safe space,” added Haggray, who is also a former youth leader at YouthPride.

Preliminary ideas from JustUsATL include buying a space rather than renting, for an estimated annual budget of $41,780, according to the presentation at the forum.

The tentative budget includes an estimated $2,000 per month mortgage fee. Organizers said, however, they are not opposed to renting a space if one can be found or even sharing a space with an existing organization.

The group’s one-year plan includes hiring staff: an executive director for perhaps $35,000-$45,000 a year and an administrative assistant for $20,000 a year.

Haggray said JustUsATL plans to have a board of directors made up mostly of youth, although organizers know adult professionals will be needed.

A panel of nine youth gave a Power Point presentation laying out an overall preliminary budget of approximately $116,540, along with the organization’s mission and core values. The youth also laid out a three-month plan, a six-month plan and a one-year plan.

• File to incorporate as a 501(c)3 • Create diversified fundraising/development plan • Write and pass operating budget.

• Offer discussion groups for teens, young adults, trans/gender non-conforming/questioning youth, and empowerment as well as counseling, drop-in hours, STI testing, and social events • Obtain regular meeting space

Six-month plan (by Sept. 30):

• Form advisory board • Offer all existing programs as well as an after-school space, tutoring, and a speakers bureau • Host event for donors and volunteers • Rent, or preferably own, a permanent home

One-year plan (by March 31, 2013): • • • •

Have elections for a new Board of Directors Offer all services initially planned Formulate/approve new annual budget.

Create 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year strategic plans

Current discussion groups:

All held at 60 11th St., Atlanta, GA 30309.

Call 770-633-8438 for more information.

• Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Trans It! for transgender and gender non conforming people • Wednesdays, 7 p.m.: Separate groups for LGBTQQA young people ages 13-17 and ages 18-27

Services JustUsATL plans to offer: • • • • • • • • • •

Discussion forums Teen forum Young adult forum Trans* and gender non-conforming forum Counseling services (one-on-one & group) Sex education and safer sex supplies STI testing Group social activities Homework help/after school space Library

Christopher Cain, 18, one of the men accused in the attack of a gay Atlanta man in February, was denied bond Monday in Fulton County Superior Court.

Judge T. Jackson Bedford denied bond for Cain, saying Cain was a danger Christopher Cain to the community. It was also noted that Cain was on five-year probation for burglary before the Feb. 4 attack on Brandon White. Cain was arrested Feb. 11 and charged with aggravated assault and robbery. Three others have also been charged in the assault.

Cain, wearing a pale blue Fulton County jail uniform with a gray sweatshirt under the shirt, was shackled at the wrists and ankles. He did not speak during the approximate 15 minute hearing.

The Fulton Assistant District Attorney described the attack on White in southwest Atlanta’s Pittsburgh community as a “hate crime,” telling the judge how the men repeatedly said, “No faggots in Jack City” as they brutalized White. A video of the attack was uploaded to the internet and went viral.

Cain was described as one of the main aggressors of the attack and the person who stomped White after he was punched and kicked to the ground.

Cain’s defense attorney argued Cain was in high school and working at Taco Bell when the crime occurred and that he has strong ties to the community. The defense attorney also said because of the case being so high profile, Cain was being kept in seclusion in jail for 23 hours a day.

However, the DA’s office offered no sympathy.

“Brandon was subjected to a beat down,” said the prosecutor. “He was literally ambushed with hands and fists and stomped to the ground.

“The state can’t charge this as a hate crime, but this is clearly a hate crime,” the prosecutor added. “A gay man in our society who can’t walk to a store [without being attacked], that’s just ridiculous.”

Authorities continue to investigate whether the anti-gay attack meets the definition of a federal hate crime. Georgia is one of only five states in the country without its own hate crime law. State Rep. Rashad Taylor (D-Atlanta), who is openly gay, introduced a hate crimes bill on the last day of the legislative session.

White attended the hearing and stood up during the hearing, acknowledging he did not want Cain to get a bond. After the hearing, he said he was pleased bond was denied.

— Dyana Bagby

Fulton Co. Sheriff’s Depart.

JustUsATL outlines goals for new Atlanta LGBT youth group Bond denied for suspect in Atlanta YouthPride leaders mum on forced move, future plans anti-gay assault

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News

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City paid more than $1.2 million for Eagle raid investigation Atlanta’s total cost for illegal police raid nears $3 million

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com Documents released by the city of Atlanta show that the city paid out more than $1.2 million for an independent investigation into the botched raid of the Atlanta Eagle.

The documents show that high-profile law firm Greenberg Traurig charged the city more than $1.2 million for its three-month investigation and 349-page report of what happened at the Eagle the night of Sept. 10, 2009, when the gay bar was raided by the Atlanta Police Department after anonymous allegations about illegal sex and drug use at the bar. No drugs were found and nobody was arrested for illegal sex.

The investigation was mandated as part of a $1.025 million settlement the city reached in December 2010 with 26 patrons of the bar who said their constitutional rights were violated when they were detained for no reason, forced to the ground and had their IDs checked.

The Atlanta City Council approved a settlement in the third Eagle lawsuit filed by attorney Dan Grossman on March 19, with the

city paying out $330,000 to 10 plaintiffs. That March 19 agreement followed a settlement for $120,000 for eight employees in October 2011 and the original Eagle lawsuit.

The city hired Greenberg Traurig in March 2011 and the report was finished in June 2011.

The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the $1.2 million attorneys’ fees, but did provide the 166-page Greenberg Traurig expense report to the GA Voice.

The entries show that attorneys charged hourly rates ranging from $75 to $395.

The report gave hard evidence that some officers were anti-gay and many lied about what happened the night of the raid. Six officers were fired by Chief George Turner due to the report.

One of the officers fired, Sgt. John Brock, was a key organizer of the raid. Greenberg Traurig’s investigation included an interview with the former APD officer in which Brock said he believed gay people were more violent than straight people.

Brock’s interview by Greenberg Traurig took place on May 17, 2011. That day also included a site visit to the Atlanta Eagle with Eagle attorney Dan Grossman and other correspondence of attorneys and APD officers, as well as a analyzing cell phone records of offi-

lied and the constitutional rights of patrons were violated. However, the ACRB did not recommend officers be fired. Rather, the ACRB recommended three-day suspensions, written reprimands and Fourth Amendment training for officers for the some 20 officers it investigated in the raid. Chief Turner did nothing with the ACRB’s recommendations, however.

One Eagle lawsuit pending

The city of Atlanta has released to the public the cost of its independent investigation by law firm Greenberg Traurig into the botched raid of the Atlanta Eagle. (Photo by Shannon Jenkins)

cers around the time of the raid. Total cost for May 17, 2011, was $15,766.50.

The expense report shows Greenberg Traurig spent many hours reading media reports on the raid as well as a number of hours reviewing the Atlanta Citizen Review Board’s own investigation of the raid that was released in January 2011.

The ACRB report also showed that officers

The city’s release of the cost of the Greenberg Traurig investigation appears to signify an end to the Eagle cases. However, one case is still pending.

Chris Lopez, a former bartender for the Eagle, filed his own federal civil suit against the city on Sept. 9, 2011. Lopez was one of eight employees arrested the night of the raid.

The city filed a motion to dismiss on Oct. 24, 2011. The most recent filing in the lawsuit is

by Lopez’s attorney, Bill Hicks, who filed for a leave of absence on Feb. 26.

Lopez’ suit argues that the Greenberg Traurig report shows his constitutional rights were violated, however the city argues in court documents that the report only shows that the patrons’ Fourth Amendment rights were violated and not Lopez’s because, as an employee, the police had probable cause to arrest him.

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Ga. General Assembly adjourns with LGBT bills pending Hate crime bill introduced on final day of annual session

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com The Georgia General Assembly ended its annual 40-day session March 29, leaving two LGBT bills on the table.

State Rep. Rashad Taylor (D-Atlanta), who is gay, introduced a hate crime bill on the last day of the session.

Taylor announced he would introduce the bill back in February, while speaking at a rally to protest the beating of Brandon White by gang members in southwest Atlanta who repeatedly called him “faggot.” A video of the beating went viral and made national headlines. Four men have been charged in the beating and a federal investigation continues to determine if the attack is a hate crime.

Taylor said he hoped to get Republican cosponsors for the bill that includes sexual orientation and gender identity before introducing it, but because it was an election year several supportive Republicans wanted to wait until January to sign on. Georgia is one of five states that does not have its own hate crimes law.

Taylor’s bill would allow judges to decide to apply stiffer penalties to those found guilty of committing a hate crime against people who are gay or perceived to be gay as well as transgender.

The bill also includes race, gender, national origin and religion.

State Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) has repeatedly introduced a hate crimes bill since the state’s hate crimes law was deemed “unconstitutionally vague” in 2004 by the Georia Supreme Court.

Current co-sponsors of Taylor’s bill are Reps.

Karla Drenner, Simone Bell and Keisha Waites, who are all openly gay; plus Tyrone Brooks and Ralph Long. All are Democrats.

“I wanted to get the conversation started of what to expect in January [when the General Assembly reconvenes],” Taylor said. “This bill is very similar to Sen. Fort’s except mine gives judicial discretion.

“In January, I’ll be able to reintroduce the bill and I’m also working on a separate bill that will be about training and data collecting.

Hopefully in January I’ll have some strong cosponsors,” Taylor said.

Two hearings for employment bill

A bill that would prohibit state employees from being fired because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender never got out of a Judiciary

State Rep. Rashad Taylor (D-Atlanta), who came out last year, introduced a hate crime bill on the last day of this year’s state legislative session.

(Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Committee subcommittee this year in the Georgia legislature, but plans are to continue garnering support to have it passed in a future session.

When the State Fair Employment Practices Act, HB 630, was first introduced at the end of the 2011 session by state Rep. Karla Drenner (DAtlanta), activists expected the bill to take several years to win approval, said Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham.

The bill did get a hearing before one Judiciary Committee subcommittee with supporters

testifying on its behalf; Drenner also testified at a second subcommittee hearing in favor of the bill.

At the first hearing, Tanya Ditty, state director of the Concerned Women of America, testified against the bill, comparing gay people to pedophiles and necrophiliacs.

During the second hearing, Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), chair of the Judiciary Committee and a co-sponsor of HB 630, banned cameras and video because he said videos of Ditty testifying against HB 630 posted to the internet were an “abuse.”

Despite the discord at both hearings, Graham said they represented a historic first in Georgia politics.

“No bill with sexual orientation and gender identity in it has gotten this far before,” Graham said. “There was no vote to strip language from it and a number of Republicans supported the measure.”

Graham noted that Republicans who supported HB 630 are now being targeted in the upcoming election season by the Peach Tea Party.

While HB 630 didn’t get a full hearing, the conversation on the bill was started under the Gold Dome, Graham said. And for LGBT residents, the session was actually quite kind, he said.

“This certainly was not a great session for us, but many have been much worse,” Graham said.

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monster

a woman in the shape of a Adrienne Rich’s legacy First Person by Robin Kemp When I was a young college student in the mid-1980s, Adrienne Rich came to speak at the University of New Orleans. I was out, proud, and well-versed in gay and lesbian history and literature, thanks to Alan Robinson’s Faubourg Marigny Bookstore.

At UNO, a small core of faculty and students was pushing for a women’s studies minor, which meant I had the opportunity to study Rich’s writing. I accepted this as normal, not revolutionary.

Today, as a poet, essayist, and writing teacher, I wake alone, my partner headed to a foreign country where the very definition of revolution is up for debate, and open my e-mail to news from Marilyn Hacker. She writes: Adrienne Rich! what a loss. I can hardly believe it.

And everything stops — making coffee, grading papers, all of it while I search the wires, which have only begun to pass the word.

A woman in the shape of a monster a monster in the shape of a woman the skies are full of them --Adrienne Rich, “Planetarium” Who do I call first? My mother? My college girlfriend? My poetry mentor? I don’t know where to start. *** Arthritis insinuating itself by the mid‘80s, Adrienne Rich leaned on her cane as she entered the packed auditorium. Imagine several hundred men and women turning out to hear someone whose entire life, art, and intellectual project centered on womanhood and lesbianism. It was absolutely unprecedented in the South.

Rich was not the first feminist public intellectual, nor the first lesbian philosopher, nor the only major woman poet of the 20th century. But she was certainly a, if not the, leading figure behind much of what has evolved into today’s “gender studies,” from which all too often the lesbian point of view remains conveniently ancillary, minimized, ghettoized.

After all, ladies, we are living in a postfeminist era. Implicit in that statement is the claim, “We’re done talking about all that.”

Now, Rich herself is a post-era feminist, moving outside of time, living on through her writing that was the fulcrum of an enormous cultural shift for intellectual women in this country. Rich and others reclaimed the labels, wresting power from those who would use words like “lesbian” or “dyke” or (gasp) “feminist” as interchangeable put-downs.

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Adrienne Cecile Rich: May 16, 1929 - March 27, 2012

Adrienne Rich (right), shown here in 1980 with writers Audre Lorde (left) and Meridel Le Sueur, gave voice to generations of lesbians and feminists through her poetry and essays. (Photo by K. Kendall)

Rich’s quarrel with the way things were made possible our present happy situation in which we can conveniently move past “all that angry political lesbian stuff” from the ‘70s.

Now that we are “past all that,” we have a national radio commentator who has made millions off the label “feminazi,” and whose swan song was to call a young college woman, shut out of a Congressional hearing to prevent her from speaking her mind about her own body, a “slut.”

Charis Books & More is still open, yet we too often forget why it had to open in the first place. *** My college girlfriend Heidi, the youngest of three adult children, cared for her schizophrenic, alcoholic mother before and after working full-time at a grocery store.

Her father, a retired Navy officer who had remarried the widow next door, didn’t see the point of paying for her education. In particular, he did not approve of her taking “women’s studies.” He favored accounting.

Therefore, she paid for school out of her minimum-wage salary. Heidi never graduated, but that one class in which we read Rich’s work carries her forward as an independent, self-sufficient woman. I believe it saved her life. *** Rich was tiny, about five feet tall, and looked even tinier grasping the podium as she read. She was dead serious about signing every single person’s book in the standing-room-only crowd. But she also had a sense of humor.

“I’m sorry if this smells a little funny,” Heidi apologized, handing Rich her dogeared copy of “Of Woman Born.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Well, I just came here from work and I haven’t had a shower yet.”

“Where do you work?”

“Well, I work at a grocery store. I fillet fish.”

In response, this towering intellectual lifted the book to her nose, sniffed, rolled her eyes, and grinned.

Heidi hasn’t stopped telling this story since the ‘80s.

But that’s the point, isn’t it? What a woman writes about her life — which includes the life of the mind — should matter to other women.

Rich’s work mattered very much to lesbians and to our straight feminist friends, mothers, aunts, and sisters who came of age in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Charis Bookstore co-owner Sara Look, like so many others, first read Rich’s work for a women’s studies class in 1988.

“People were coming in and saying, ‘I can’t believe Adrienne Rich died,’” Look says. “It was a sad day here. I think of the moment when Audre Lorde died — I was working at Chapter 11 Books and remember seeing in Southern Voice — that’s how I found out that time. We found out about Adrienne Rich on Facebook.”

Rich’s work offered artistic, political, and intellectual sustenance that helped us survive on a daily basis.

“I feel like reading ‘On Lies, Secrets and Silence ‘changed my life. Someone else read it and said, ‘You have to read this’ — it was the most amazing thing ever.”

Look remembers, just as I do, and just as other lesbians will, reading Rich’s poems and essays to our lovers as part of our home life, not as homework.

Poet, essayist, and feminist theorist Adrienne Rich, 82, died March 27, 2012, in Santa Cruz, Calif., after decades of battling rheumatoid arthritis.

Rich was born in 1929 in Baltimore, Md., to a Jewish doctor and an Episcopalian pianist. She studied poetry at home, then Radcliffe.

In 1951, gay poet W. H. Auden chose her first book, “A Change of World,” for the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Award. Rich’s poetry ranged from tightly corseted (“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”) to gender-queer (“Diving Into the Wreck”) to feminist Pandora’s box (“Planetarium”) to geopolitical witness (“An Atlas of the Difficult World”).

Some of her prose classics include “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying,” “Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution,” “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence,” and “The Dream of a Common Language.”

Rich won nearly every major American poetry award, but turned down the National Medal of the Arts to protest then-Rep. Newt Gingrich’s (R-GA) campaign against NEA funding. Many male academics dismissed her work as “too angry” or “too political,” but Rich had a large and loyal public following.

Rich is survived by her partner of more than 35 years, the novelist and critic Michelle Cliff, three sons from a previous marriage, and two grandchildren.

— Robin Kemp “I keep thinking of moments in the ‘90s, reading Adrienne Rich out loud — thinking of all the women I did that with!”

Charis, like other feminist bookstores around the country, is planning to hold a tribute reading in memory of Rich.

Our post-soundbite world reduces everything to 140 Twitter characters, giving free passes to complex and often incorrect assumptions by talking about them in shorthand.

Rich had access to the intellectual tools and training that led her to question such lazy thinking. She inspired other women to complete, then reshape, higher education. She refused to be a good girl for the convenience of those who found their consciences publicly pricked by a lesbian, “a woman in the shape of a monster, / a monster in the shape of a woman.”

Today, “the skies are full of them.”

Goddess speed, Adrienne Rich.

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by Steve Warren

Fighting back against bullying — without violence ‘Leave it on the Floor,’ ‘Bully’ explore challenges of LGBT young people

Despite the recent focus on bullying in schools, many LGBT kids face their worst bullying at home. Take your pick from new films about these two kinds of bullying – or see both.

Old school meets new in “Leave It on the Floor,” a refreshing musical set in the ball scene immortalized by Jennie Livingston in “Paris Is Burning,” or at least its West Coast equivalent.

It begins when the mother of the teenaged protagonist, Brad (Ephraim Sykes), finds out he’s gay and throws him out of the house. (It’s OK. He steals her car.) Brad lands on his feet and discovers another kind of house in the ball scene, where his guide is Princess Eminence (Phillip Evelyn) of the House of Eminence.

The initially hostile house mother, Queef Latina (Barbie-Q), whose husband is about to get out of prison, says Brad can stay if he learns to walk for the house in an upcoming competition. Brad gets tutored by Carter (Andre Myers), who stole his wallet when they “met cute.”

(It’s OK. He stole Carter’s purse.)

It’s no wonder Eminence is a house of perpetual losers, when Mama Queef drives everyone away. She adds Princess to the list but it’s OK; he steals Brad and takes him along to the competing House of Allure.

A tragedy leads to a scene in which the gay and transgender outcasts and runaways confront the homophobic families that rejected them. Despite dealing with such heavy issues

the film maintains the sweet innocence of Hollywood musicals of the ‘40s and ‘50s. People can – and do – burst into song at any moment: original songs with lyrics by screenwriter Glenn Gaylord.

Dancing is less important an element. The ball competitions, a relatively minor part of the film that provides major eye candy, are more about strutting in character than dancing, so don’t expect anyone to get seriously served.

“Leave It on the Floor” is more about Brad coming of age and coming into his own, discovering who he is and who he loves.

In return for the love shown “Leave It on the Floor” at last year’s Out on Film, where it won the Audience Award for Best Men’s Feature and a Special Jury Citation for its cinematography and costumes, the film is having its theatrical premiere in Atlanta, screening April 20-26 at the Plaza Theatre. It is co-sponsored

by Out on Film.

‘Bully’ triumphs

Lee Hirsch’s documentary “Bully” has been all over the news because of Katy Butler’s petition drive (successful, after minor cuts were made) to get the rating lowered to PG-13 so schoolchildren can see it. It opens April 13 at Atlanta’s Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas.

While the film might have been a well-intentioned mess, it’s actually surprisingly good.

It also shows up the hypocrisy of the MPAA and their obsession with “the F-word.” You can see the F-words that really hurt are “fag” and “faggot” (and in one boy’s case, “Fishface”), not “fuck.”

The stories of five bullied children are told,

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com ‘Bully’ Opens April 13 at Landmark Midtown 931 Monroe Dr. , Atlanta, GA 30308 For information/assistance: www.thebullyproject.com www.standforthesilent.org ‘Leave It on the Floor’ April 20-26 at Plaza Theatre 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306 www.plazaatlanta.com two of them posthumously because the boys involved committed suicide. David Long of Murray County, in northwest Georgia, opens the film telling about his son Tyler, who hanged himself at 17.

“They said he was a geek and a fag and they didn’t want to play with him,” his father says.

The other fatality, Ty Smalley only made it to 11.

Kelby Johnson became a pariah when she came out as a lesbian at 16. She’s attempted suicide three times but has a circle of friends, straight and gay, and a good attitude: “Maybe all it takes is for one person to stand up,” she says hopefully.

We don’t learn why Ja’meya Jackson was bullied. Her mother shows off her athletic trophies and says she was an honor student, but one day Ja’meya had enough and pulled out a gun on the school bus.

Getting the lion’s share of screen time is Alex Libby, 12, who is slightly disfigured,

Ephraim Sykes stars as gay teen Brad in ‘Leave it on the Floor,’ which premieres April 20 in Atlanta after winning praise at last year’s Out on Film.

(Publicity photo)

probably as a result of being born prematurely.

He puts up with a lot of bullying before speaking out.

School administrators issue pathetic denials of bullying or a “kids will be kids” defense, but it’s true that there’s no simple solution to the bullying problem.

The Longs and the Smalleys have started awareness campaigns and the film’s publicity has led major celebrities to take stands against bullying. If the majority of young people will stand with the bullied rather than the bullies (as in the “21 Jump Street” movie), bullying will no longer be cool.

Then maybe kids, gay and straight, can go to school to learn, rather than to suffer or inflict pain on others. Maybe “Bully” can help make that happen.

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THEATER by Jim Farmer

Role reversals ‘Auntie Mame’ mixes genders, while puppet play explores a white minority

Topher Payne and DeWayne Morgan, who work together on Process Theatre’s “Designing Women,” are joining forces for a version of the campy “Auntie Mame.”

Payne stars as the infamous titular character while Morgan plays sidekick Vera Charles. The theatre company had been talking about doing the play for a few years and found a place for it this season, with the two popular openly gay actors in the forefront. The show runs April 14 to May 4 at Onstage Atlanta.

Payne says bringing Mame to life has been enjoyable but trying.

“She is in every scene, except for her (16) costume changes,” he admits. “I knew it would be a challenge, but the stamina has been the discovery. I had to train to play her.”

He calls director Barbara Cole’s version revolutionary.

“Charles Busch has played Mame, and so has Varla Jean Merman, but this is the first version I know of where some of the men play women and women play men,” he says.

Payne feels “Mame” is so beloved because she and the show were ahead of their time. “The only thing she could not tolerate was intolerance,” he says.

Playing Vera, says Morgan, is every gay man’s fantasy. “The whole world revolves around her,” he says. “She is exactly what you’d think a star would be.”

Exploring race through puppets

Openly gay puppeteer Paul Zaloom has been a frequent performer with the Center for Puppetry Arts for almost three decades now. Next weekend he brings a new show to the ATL, the politically themed yet farcical “White Like Me: A Honky-Dory Puppet Show.”

In it, Zaloom explores what he deems the anxiety of the Caucasian majority.

“There’s a line in the show where someone asks when White History Month is, and I say ‘every day,’” he says. “I had thought — why not do a show on white identity. I make fun of white folks becoming a minority.”

Divided into two halves, the first section of the show finds a ventriloquist bringing a dummy back to life after 50 years and catching him up with the world. In doing so, the ventriloquist tells him about having the first black president, gay marriage, gays in the military and the first female secretary of state. The second half is a fantasy about the history of “whiteness.”

Topher Payne, who also writes the ‘Domestically Disturbed’ column for GA Voice, stars in ‘Auntie Mame’ opening April 14 at Onstage Atlanta.

(Photo by Tom Gillespie)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com ‘Auntie Mame’ April 14 – May 4 at Onstage Atlanta 2597 North Decatur Road Decatur, GA 30033, www.onstageatlanta.com ‘White Like Me: A Honky-Dory Puppet Show’ April 20 -22 at Center for Puppetry Arts 1404 Spring St., Atlanta, GA 30309 www.puppet.org ‘Peter Pan’ Through May 27 Center for Puppetry Arts As someone who can remember the 1963 Birmingham church bombings, Zaloom is happy to see this moment in history.

“We are at an interesting place in our country,” he says. “The election of Obama was a profound event – in my opinion it was the most profound of my life.”

Zaloom — also known as Beakman on “Beakman’s World” — feels his main objective with his work is to “make people laugh their asses off,” and not hit them over the head with the message.

“This is more food for thought,” he says.

‘This is not didactic. I want to look at the attitude about race – it’s really interesting to think about.”

Also at the Center is a new version of “Peter Pan.” Luis Hernandez, who is gay, is the puppeteer for the villainous Captain Hook. He has been working on and off at the Center in various productions since 2005.

He thinks “Pan” will resonate with LGBT audiences.

“The idea of never growing up – we can relate to that,” he says. “Captain Hook here is very much a fop — and kind of a bitchy queen.”

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Atlanta Bucks ‘Purple Dress Run’ to plow through Midtown If you happen to be in Midtown April 21, don’t be alarmed if you run into well over 100 buzzed big guys traipsing around in purple dresses.

The sixth annual Purple Dress Run, a fundraiser for the Atlanta Bucks gay rugby team, takes over the city that day, and the 55-man team hopes to raise $5,000 with a little help from their friends.

“The term ‘run’ is used loosely as it’s more of a 5K bar run/walk/crawl/waddle/saunter, depending primarily upon which point along the route you survey the participants,” jokes Bucks President Max Alvarado. “Aside from the occasional wardrobe malfunction along the way, we haven’t lost a runner yet.”

The annual event starts this year at Mixx in Ansley Square, then takes contestants to the Nook, Joe’s on Juniper, Blake’s on the Park, the Fifth Ivory and wraps up at the Atlanta Eagle.

There’ll be plenty of games — and drinking — along the way, but the rugby club, which

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Atlanta Bucks Purple Dress Run April 21, 1 - 5 p.m.

Race starts at Mixx Atlanta 1492 Piedmont Ave. Atlanta, GA 30309 http://purpledressrun2012.eventbrite.com/ www.atlantabucksrugby.org celebrates its ninth year on the pitch this July, is raising money primarily for the team’s trip to Manchester, England, to compete in the Bingham Cup Tournament at the end of May. The Bingham Cup is the world championship of gay and gay-inclusive rugby teams and is the largest men’s 15-aside rugby union event outside of the sport’s World Cup. The event was named for Mark Bingham, a gay rugby player who died on United Airlines Flight 93 during

Pride Expo combines gay business, wedding vendors The Atlanta Pride Expo promises more than 100 exhibitions as well as live music and entertainment during its two-day run at the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart, set for April 21-22.

“The Rainbow Wedding Network is doing their event with us and Carma Productions is also joining us to help people locate gay-owned and gay-friendly local businesses,” says Ray McCreay, vice president of Expo Inc., which is organizing the event.

The event will include national and local exhibitors and a lineup of 15 entertainers during the two-day expo, he says. Price to enter the expo is $10 for regular admission if you buy online and $15 at the door. For VIP passes, which include an after-party on April 21 at My Sister’s Room in East Atlanta, the cost of a ticket is $25 in advance or $40 at the door.

Portions of the ticket sales will go to nonprofits including For the Kid in All of Us, the Atlanta Opera, the Shirt Off My Back Campaign and OutServe, a national organization for openly gay members of the military, McCreay says.

Expo Inc. is also partnering with Instinct magazine, a national gay men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine.

“This is like a boat show or a home show, a trade show, where we highlight gay and gay-

Last year’s Purple Dress Run saw around 130 participants raise $3,500. This year the Atlanta Bucks aim to have for more than 150 runners and raise at least $5,000. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on Washington, D.C. “The Bucks plan to raise in excess of $20,000 to help offset the cost of the trip. While it would be nice to fully fund each player’s trip, we’re not

in a financial position to do that,” Alvarado says.

“Obviously, the more money we raise, the more we can pass along to the players.”

Alvarado estimates that the trip will cost around $3,000 per player.

The team also hosts monthly first Friday wing and beer busts at the Heretic, and every third Saturday is the team’s fundraising night at the Atlanta Eagle in preparation for their trip across the pond.

A portion of the run’s proceeds will also be donated to Lost & Found Youth, Inc., an Atlanta non-profit dedicated to helping homeless LGBT youth get off the streets and into more permanent housing. The organization also operates a 24-hour hotline and six-bed transitional housing facility.

“The Bucks have been incredible in their support,” says Rick Westbrook, a member of Lost & Found Youth board. “These kids need help, and these guys, they get it.”

— Bo Shell

Health Initiative prepares for Spring Health Fair

Atlanta entertainer Barry Brandon will host and perform at the Atlanta Pride Expo. (Publicity photo)

MORE INFO www.theGAVoice.com Pride Expo www.theprideexpo.com April 21, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., after party at My Sister’s Room at 9 p.m.

April 22, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Regular admission: $10 in advance, $15 at the door; VIP admission: $25 in advance, $40 at the door friendly businesses and organizations,” McCreay says.

The expo is advertised as “Atlanta’s Lifestyle and Entertainment Event” and will include host and performer Barry Brandon.

Expo Inc. is ambitiously expecting a crowd of more than 7,000 over the two-day event. Exhibitors range from Wolf Cuff to Delta Air Lines to insurance companies.

— Dyana Bagby

The Health Initiative, Georgia’s voice for LGBT health, will host a Spring Health Fair on April 28 at The Rush Center. The event is being held in partnership with Grady Medical.

Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will be on-hand to offer a variety of free health screenings and consultations ranging from blood pressure to cholesterol and glucose checks.

Also included in the health fair are short (30-45 minute) health and wellness information sessions that will focus on a variety of topics specific to LGBT participants. These sessions will occur throughout the day, according to the Health Initiative’s James Parker Sheffield.

“There will be a session about medical directives, making sure you’ve filled out the appropriate paperwork,” said Sheffield, director of organizational development for the Health Initiative. “So, if you’re hospitalized, people making decisions on your behalf will be who you want them to be.”

Other topics to be discussed include exercise, healthy eating, and preventing and managing diabetes, he said.

Radial Cafe’s Frank Bragg, whose restaurant sits next door to the Rush Center, is also slated to give a session, Sheffield added.

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Health Initiative Spring Health Fair April 28, 12 - 4 p.m.

The Phillip Rush Center 1530 Dekalb Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 www.thehealthinitiative.org Uninsured and under-insured LGBTQ participants will also be given information on accessing the Health Initiative’s Health Fund, which provides members of the LGBT community access to health screenings, physicals, dental treatments, prescription medication and more. The fund utilizes health providers who offer free or discounted services to qualified applicants.

The health fair is free with no appointment necessary.

— Ryan Watkins

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PERSONALITY SPOTLIGHT Kathie deNobriga: Ga.’s only openly gay mayor on love, politics and priorities

By Laura Douglas-Brown lbrown@thegavoice.com You can safely say that Pine Lake’s 2012 Inaugural Ball was unlike any other held this year for elected officials in Georgia.

The new mayor held a pink wand as she made her first speech, and danced with the town’s First Woman.

Kathie deNobriga, 61, is a longtime advocate for the arts; she now works as a consultant and is a certified mediator. She moved to Pine Lake to be with her life partner, poet Alice Teeter, and was first elected to the City Council in the tiny Atlanta suburb in 2002. deNobriga was voted mayor in November and took office in January. She is the second openly gay mayor of Pine Lake and is currently the only known openly gay mayor in Georgia. Two of the tiny town’s five City Council members are also openly lesbian — including Mayor Pro Tem Melanie Hammet.

We caught up with the mayor to learn more about her goals, priorities and message to other aspiring politicians.

How long have you lived in Pine Lake? What first drew you to the community?

In 1999 I moved to Pine Lake to live with my girlfriend, Alice Teeter, who had moved to Pine Lake the year before. I immediately fell in love with the little town and its lake. I was already in love with Alice.

What motivated you to first run for public office? At the time, did you expect that you would one day be mayor?

I ran initially for City Council in 2002 because for years I had been urging artists not to sit back and complain about politics, but to run for office themselves. I realized that I needed to walk my talk. Plus I realized that Pine Lake might be the only place where I COULD get elected to anything!

What are your top priorities as mayor?

First financial stability, then economic sustainability, fueled by our cultural and environmental assets.

Your biography on the Pine Lake website includes your partner, Alice Teeter, as the city’s “First Woman.” As far as we know, you are the state’s only openly gay mayor — what message do you think this sends?

That some other gay folk might consider

With a wand befitting the town’s quirky image, Kathie deNobriga made her first speech as mayor of Pine Lake at the Inaugural Ball on Jan. 21. (Photo courtesy deNobriga via Facebook)

running for office too! And also that Pine Lake is probably the most gay (and artist)-friendly city in the state (two of our five Council members are also lesbians).

Pine Lake has long had the reputation of a quirky, artistic town. Do you think that is accurate? What are some of your favorite “quirks” about Pine Lake?

I cherish our quirkiness — the art that people put in their yards, their eclectic gardens, and the small cottages that have been imaginatively renovated over the years. Our lake sits at the geographic center and the virtual heart of our community — you can run into the entire community walking or rolling along the lake and wetlands. We also have the most charming arts festival ever, the first weekend in October, and our unique Tour of Homes is the first Sunday in May. If you had $1 million to do anything at all for the city, what would it be?

First I’d invest in our staff: reinstate retirement plans for our employees, eliminate furloughs and staff reductions, and restore training budgets. Next, I’d establish a cash reserve to get us through the tight times. Then I’d throw some money at Rockbridge Road, the butt-ugly major road through town, adding some street art, signage, trees, and banners. Finally I’d finish renovating and equipping our public buildings: we have four different spaces that can be used for arts and community gatherings (all within 1,000 feet of each other).

HEY, MAN’S BEST FRIEND, MEET DOG’S BEST FRIEND.

PIEDMONT BARK. MY BFF SINCE 2002.

– Wolfie

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Friday, April 13

Lesbian social group Fourth Tuesday hosts a happy hour that includes massages for a $1 minimum donation. 6 - 8 p.m. at Mixx Atlanta, 1492 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.facebook.com/FourthTuesdayAtlanta Enjoy Femmistry Fridays with Traxx Girls, 10 p.m. at Encore, 2520 Piedmont Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.traxxgirls.com

Saturday, April 14 The Magnetic Fields, led by gay musician Stephin Merritt, brings the “Tour at the Bottom of the Sea” to Atlanta. Doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8:30 p.m. at the Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.variety-playhouse.com

The guys at WassupNAtl get the party going with three levels of fun at Trio Fridays. 10 p.m - 4 a.m. at Mengo’s. 91 Broad Street, Atlanta, GA 30303, www.wassupnatl.com

Publicity photo Photo via boybutante.org

Celebrate Joining Hearts’ 25 years of fundraising with a Change of Seasons tea dance with dueling DJs Mike Pope and Vicki Powell. $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 4 - 9 p.m. at The Georgian Terrace Hotel, 659 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.joininghearts.org

Every Friday, Destiny Brooks, Jasmine Antoinette, Monica Van Pelt, Iysis Dupree, Eva Destruction and an ensemble cast from Dragstar Season 2 star in “Divas Get Schooled,” a cabaret production. 11 p.m. at LeBuzz, 585 Franklin Road, Marietta, GA 30067. www.thenewlebuzz.com

Friday, April 13 - Sunday, April 15 Head to Athens for the 23rd annual Boybutante Weekend, featuring the April 14 Boybutante Ball, promising the South’s “best and raunchiest drag performers” and this year’s theme of “Carnivale Cabaret: A Seductive Circus of Sin.” Events raise funds to support the Boybutante AIDS Foundation. www.boybutante.org

Saturday, April 14

Sunday, April 15 The Armorettes present a special show at their usual Sunday spot, turning Burkhart’s into the “Burkhart’s Pub Chapel,” with “Coretta’s Revival 2012,” featuring hostesses Coretta Scott Queen and Wild Cherry Sucret. 8 p.m. at Burkhart’s, 1492 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta GA 30309, http://on.fb.me/HdTONM

The Atlanta Eagle celebrates their 25th anniversary and co-produces the third annual Leather Pride, which includes a BBQ and beer bust, Mr. & Ms. Atlanta Eagle Contest and Dutch Treat Leather Brunch. All events at the Atlanta Eagle, 306 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlanteagle.com

DJ Lydia Prim spins every Friday at the Heretic. 10 p.m. 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com Savannah’s Club One and Savannah Pride present a performance by Ru Paul’s Drag Race finalist Jujubee.

10:30 p.m. at Clue One, 1 Jefferson St., Savannah, GA 31401, www.clubone-online.com

Sunday, April 15

Friday, April 13 Sunday, April 15

Join the guys at Mixx for a Grown & Sexy Party with DJ Smash. 10 p.m. at Mixx, 1492 Piedmont Ave, NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mixxatlanta.com

Rev Coffee presents the 6th semi-annual Rev Fest, a one-day music and arts festival featuring local artists and musicians, including gay filmmaker and artist Milford Thomas. 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. at Rev Coffee, 1680 Spring Road, Smyrna GA 30080, www.revcoffee.com The Atlanta Queer Literary Festival in conjunction with Charis Books and More, the Ponce De Leon Branch of the Fulton/Atlanta Public Library and Atlanta Pride host a poetry workshop with Alice Teeter that covers ideas of ensemble and will produce a collaborative piece. 1 - 2:30 p.m. at 1 - 2:30 p.m. at the Ponce De Leon Branch Library, 980 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta GA 30306, 404-885-7820, www.charisbooksandmore.com

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< MORE LGBT EVENTS: Visit our website for our extensive daily calendar, including nightlife schedules, sports, worship services and community organization meetings. www.thegavoice.com/calendar

The Atlanta Pedal Pushers, a cycling team in the AIDS Vaccine 200 to benefit the Emory Vaccine Clinic, hosts a beer bash/bust with DJ Corey D to raise funds for HIV/AIDS vaccine research. $10, 2 - 7 p.m. at Cowtippers, 1600 Piedmont Ave. Atlanta, GA 30324 Topher Payne switches it up as the title character in the show “Auntie Mame.” Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. through May 5 at OnStage Atlanta, 2597 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta, GA 30033, http://onstageatlanta.tix.com Sister Funk, a five-girl punk band featured on “L-Word,” rocks My Sister’s Room. DJ Liz Owen spins after. $10, 9 p.m. at My Sister’s Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com Washington, D.C.’s DJ Alex Cohen turns the beat for the boys at the Heretic. 10 p.m. at Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com Jungle presents a “Ruff: a night to play” where DJ Martin Fry mans the turntables and guys wearing leather are $5 before 11. $10 otherwise, 10 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

Publiticy photo

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Saturday, April 14 Sunday, April 15

The Festival on Ponce, part of the gay-owned and operated Foundation for Public Spaces festivals, offers local arts and crafts at Olmsted Linear Park.

Saturday, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. at Olmstead Linear Park near the intersection of Ponce De Leon and Moreland Ave., Atlanta, GA. www.festivalonponce.com

Sunday, April 15

The students at Kennesaw State’s Coles College of Business host a $15 bottomless bellini event to raise funds for AID Atlanta. A brunch menu will be available, but “every penny” of your $15 bottomless bellini goes to the southeast’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization. 12 - 3 p.m. at Cucina Asellina, Atlanta, GA 30309, http://on.fb.me/HgbM32 The Wilderness Network of Georgia — a group of gay men who host various outdoor social activities — host an introduction to fly fishing followed by a walk to Island Ford, a shoals area on the Chattahoochee River where your new skill can be put into play 12 - 4 p.m.

Details and contacts at www.wildnetga.org

Calendar Photo vbia Facebook

The Roy G. Biv project, a social group for gay families and allies, celebrates its second anniversary with an LGBT BBQ in Piedmont Park with a little help from Gay Pride at Six Flags. Look for the big rainbow umbrella by the play ground near the pool. 4:30 8:30 p.m. at Piedmont Park. http://on.fb.me/HKh6rO

Monday, April 16

Friday, April 20 Saturday, April 21

Jerry hosts “I Gotta Sing!” karaoke. 11 p.m. at Blake’s on the Park, 227 10th St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com Angelica D’ Paige hosts Trivia Tuesday Karaoke at Burkhart’s, where you’ll have your turn on the mic and a chance to win free shots by answering trivia questions throughout the night. 11:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.burkharts.com

Wednesday, April 18

The Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts a prix fixe Business Builder Luncheon. $20, cash only, RSVP to dr.olt@integratedchiropractic.com. 11:30 a.m. at Marlows at the Doubletree Hotel, 4156 La Vista Road, Tucker, GA 30084, www.atlantagaychamber.org Every third Wednesday, Jungle hosts “The Big Gay Game Show,” a fundraiser for Lost-n-Found, an organization to aid Atlanta’s homeless LGBT youth.

Games include Family Feud, Match Game, Let’s Make a Deal and more. 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324

Thursday, April 19

The White House Office of Public Engagement and Office of National AIDS Policy, in partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine, present a White House LGBT conference on HIV/AIDS for a public engagement session with the Obama Administration on issues related to the epidemic on the LGBT community with specific focus on national strategy. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at he Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, http://1.usa.gov/HynkIF

SPOTLIGHT

Friday, April 20

AID Atlanta launches their new “From Where I Stand” campaign, a social marketing campaign targeting young black gay men. 7 8:30 p.m. at the Evolution Project, 583 Juniper St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.evolutionatl.org

“Waiting for the Stork” is a group discussion of information, ideas and support to those going through IVF, adoption, surrogacy or donor insemination. 7 8:30 p.m. at the Philip Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.megafamilyproject.org South Georgia Pride hosts their monthly meeting and a special showing of “Beyond Gay,” a documentary about Pride festivals around the world. 7 p.m. at the Wooden Nicklen Pub, 3269 Inner Perimeter Road, Valdosta, GA, 31605, http://on.fb.me/HmWA1m The Cliterati Open No-Mic features Karen G., Amy Pence, Theresa Davis and members of the Art Amok Slam Team in celebration of National Poetry Month. The series cultivates the voices of authors, novices, poets, songstresses and storytellers. 7:30 - 9 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Friday, April 20

SAGE Atlanta, a social group of LGBT elders co-sponsors and leads the discussion at The Third Friday Film Series presentation of “Beginners.” Doors at 7 p.m., film at 7:30 p.m. at First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta, 470 Candler Park Dr., Atlanta, GA 30307 Prepare for Atlanta’s part in the 2012 Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March with a pre-party and sign making event. Every group and individual is welcome. 7 p.m. at the Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, http://on.fb.me/GRAwYD Charis Books and More hosts the first Atlanta Queer Poetry Ensemble featuring participants of the Ponce workshops hosted by Franklin Abbott.

7:30 p.m. at Charis Books and More, 1189 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Wednesday, April 18 Doria Roberts celebrates the release of “Blackeyed Susan” at Eddie’s Attic. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Eddie’s Attic, 515-B N. McDonough St., Decatur, GA 30030, www.eddiesattic.com

Saturday, April 21

Publicity photo

Tuesday, April 17

Savannah Pride hosts their annual sunset cruise along the Georgia coast from the Barrier Islands to the Black Water Inland Rivers. $25/person, $49/ couple. 6:30 - 8 p.m. departing from Bull River Marina.

Make reservations with dale@savpride.org Atlanta is taking part in the Worldwide LGBT Civil Rights March Movement for Equal rights to protest employment discrimination, housing discrimination, hate crimes and marriage inequality. 12 - 2 p.m. starting in Woodruff Park, 91 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30303, http://on.fb.me/GRAwYD The Atlanta Bucks host their annual “Purple Dress Run” fundraiser, where the beefy boys of the city’s gay rugby team invite runners to don purple dresses for a run/bar crawl through Midtown. For more details, see story on page 32. 1 - 5 p.m. Run starts at Mixx, 1492 Piedmont Ave, Atlanta, GA 30309. http://purpledressrun2012.eventbrite.com The MEGA Family Project ventures out to Sips N Strokes for a day of painting for the kids and adults.

Participants must RSVP with Sips N Strokes. 2 - 4 p.m. at Sips N Strokes, 2855, N. Druid HIlls Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, 404-901-1099, www.megafamilyproject.org

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Friday, April 20 Atlanta’s gay Out on Film Festival 2011 Audience Award winner “Leave it On the Floor” begins its theatrical run with a week at the Plaza Theatre. Through April 26 at the Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30306, www.ballmusical.com, www.plazaatlanta.com Publicity photo

Niesha Dupree’s Stars of the Century takes the stage on Mondays at 11 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Rd., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

3 Legged Cowboy night at Heretic means free dance lessons at 8 p.m., then open dance from 9 - 11 p.m. 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com

GA Voice

It’s a big Taurus birthday bash with DJ Ree De La Vega and DJ Fluff. As the owners themselves say “Dress up in your favorite kid’s costume and get ready to shake your ass and clap them thighs!” 10 p.m. at Marys, 1287 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.marysatlanta.com, http://on.fb.me/HvIUBf

“T&F Transitionz: a Project of the Feminist Outlawz” is an open forum to discuss gender and facilitating dialogue and activism around social issues lead by social justice minded feminists Buttonz and SJ. 7 - 9:30 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA, 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

The Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts a prix fixe Business Builder Luncheon. $20, cash only, RSVP to louis.a.gary@ampf.com. 11:55 a.m. at Hudson Grille, Brookhaven Station, 4046 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30319, www.atlantagaychamber.org

My Sister’s Room revamps it’s Raw Talent drag king, queen and femme competition with hosts Tiff-nay and Romeo Lee. The shows starts tonight and runs every other Friday through the August 24 finale. 11 p.m. at My Sister’s Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, GA 30316, www..mysistersroom.com

April 13, 2012

Photo by Dyana Bagby

www.theGAVoice.com

The Atlanta Rollergirls play two roller derby bouts starting at 5 p.m. at Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlantarollergirls.com

Saturday, April 21 Sunday, April 22

The Pride Expo, billed as the “premiere lifestyle and entertainment event,” takes over the Atlanta Convention Center for two days with a number of LGBT vendors and features, entertainment by Barry Brandon, Jean Kelly, Brie and more. VIP ticket holders enjoy an after party at My Sister’s Room on Saturday at 9 p.m., as well. 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. both days at The Atlanta Convention Center at Americas Mart, 240 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.theprideexpo.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Saturday, April 21 DJ Randy Bettis spins for an “Ultraviolet Blacklight Underwear Party” at Jungle. 10 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

April 13, 2012

+

Calendar

+

SPRING

PRESENT:

2012

FLING

EVENTS

THURSDAY APRIL 26th

6:30 - 9:00PM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35

THE WESTIN PEACHTREE PLAZA

Sunday, April 22

The Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus presents “Encore: A Night of Music.” The event is produced by former Broadway performer and award-winning New York cabaret artist Robert Ray. Melissa Carter guest hosts. 7 - 10 p.m. at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, 800 Spring St., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.agmchorus.org

Find us on:

Atlanta’s largest LGBT Professional Networking Event e the audience on Executive level speakers to challeng Ied talent is so rsif dive why d; bran their personal how you can and tion important to their organiza company r thei at tion posi t righ fInd the

Gay singer, songwriter and actor Terrell Carter performs live for an after party for the stage place “The Lost Sons,” with a special performance by Kai Richards. Tickets are going fast. 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. at Justin’s, 2200 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30309, http://terrellcarterlive.eventbrite.com

Recreate PMS(from pdf )

Monday, April 23 Recreate PMS

Writing With Intent is open to writers of fiction and creative non-fiction; group offers motivational exercises, constructive criticism and more to keep you on track. 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, www.chariscircle.org

Wednesday, April 25

The Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts a Business Builder Luncheon at 11:50 a.m. East Point Corner Tavern, 2783 Main St. East Point, GA 30344, www.atlantagaychamber.org

Thursday, April 26

Apres Diem “Feeds the Soul” with a monthly fundraising venture for Atlanta’s non-profits. This month it’s CHRIS Kids, and 20% of today’s total receipts will be donated. Apres Diem, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.apresdiem.com Out & Equal, the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Executive Network join forces for the 2012 Spring Fling, an LGBT professional networking event highlighting the value of diverse personal branding and finding a position in an organization that values LGBT contributors. 7:30 9 p.m. at the Westing Peachtree Plaza, 210 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.facebook.com/OEatlanta K. Murry Johnson brings his book “Images of Emeralds and Chocolate” to Mixx via Brushstrokes.

7 p.m. at Mixx, 1492 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mixxatlanta.com Party with Impact celebrates the work of Positive Impact, an Atlanta HIV/AIDS service organization with a focus on mental health counseling, outpatient substance abuse treatment and risk reduction services to the HIV/AIDS community. Festive attire is requested as guests enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres and complimentary wine bar. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. at The Wimbish House, 1150 Peachtree St. Atlanta, GA 30309, www.positiveimpact-atl.org

www.theGAVoice.com

hoto

GA Voice

p licity Pub

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28 Saturday, April the beats

DJ Chad Jack brings at Jungle. 10 p.m. at Jungle, 2115 24, Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 303 om ta.c lan bat eclu ngl www.ju

UPCOMING Friday, April 27

Enjoy a spring wine tasting, mingle with friends and nibble on light bites from Highland Bakery with a fundraiser for Chairs Circle, the non-profit arm of Charis Books and More. $30 pre-sale at Charis, $50 for two. $40 each at the door. 7 - 10 p.m. at Highland Bakery, 655 Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30312, www.charisbooksandmore.com, http://chariscirclewinetasting.eventbrite.com

Saturday, April 28

The Health Initiative hosts a Spring Health Fair for all LGBTQs featuring health screenings and, if needed, consultations with an onsite doctor and follow-up referrals. Uninsured or under-insured LGBTQ participants can learn more about the Health Fund for follow-up care.

Wellness information sessions on a variety of topics are also scheduled. 12 - 4 p.m. at the Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.healthinitiative.org LGBT homeless youth services group LostN-Found hosts a Clippers Party fundraiser where barbers, a message therapist and bootblack will be on the back deck of the Eagle, along with a silent auction, raffle and Jell-o shooters, to raise funds for their mission. 8 p.m. at the Atlanta Eagle, 306 Ponce De Leon Ave., Atlanta, GA 30308, http://on.fb.me/ HRhEev, www.lost-n-found.org The Ladies at Play host a Spring Fling dance party with DJ Periodic at the Park Bar Loft, which will also play home to Ladies at Play’s Ladies OUT Laughing and spoken word events.

Free before 10 p.m., $10 after at Park Bar, 150 Walton Street, Atlanta, GA 30303, www.facebook.com/ladiesatplayfanpage

www.theGAVoice.com

April 13, 2012

GA Voice

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GA Voice

April 13, 2012

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

THAT’S WHAT

SHE SAID

TV made me smarter With few channels, my family watched, then talked, together

I am a smarter person because of Made-forTV movies. I realized this the other night when Katie Jo and I were sitting on our back porch talking. The topic of Helen Keller came up, and I began to tearfully recall the scene from “The Miracle Worker” where Patty Duke’s Anne Sullivan finally gets through to Melissa Gilbert’s Helen at the well.

W. A. T. E. R. Who doesn’t get choked up at that memory? Katie Jo. When I realized my other half gave no reaction to my description of that pivotal scene, I questioned if she had ever seen “The Miracle Worker.” She had not, and went on to tell me she really wasn’t that familiar with Helen Keller’s life.

I was shocked, but remembered that if it weren’t for Duke and Gilbert, I might not be either.

So much of my early education came from those mini dramas, which provided greater opportunities for learning than books or theatrical releases ever could. That’s because Made-forTV movies came on one of the only three or four channels available then, and the lack of choice forced everyone in the family, and the country, to watch it together.

Take, for instance, “Roots.” My small-town, all-white, conservative Republican family sat down together to watch the struggles of LeVar Burton’s Kunta Kinte. We cried when he was put on the auction block as a slave in Africa, and smiled when his grandson, Ben Vereen’s Chicken George, became a free man.

I would never have had the ability to talk about the atrocities of slavery as openly with my parents, or even ask if our family had ever owned slaves as comfortably, had it not been for Alex Haley’s story brought to life on television.

When it came to forbidden love, Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward taught me about that in “The Thorn Birds.” Everyone was so invested in the love between Meggie Cleary and

Melissa Carter is also a writer for Huffington Post.

She broke ground as the first out lesbian radio personality on a major station in Atlanta and was one of the few out morning show personalities in the country. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter

her family priest Father Ralph de Bricassart in the fields of Australia, and stayed glued to the tragic consequences of that affair. All that drama played out before my church’s youth group, as we sat to watch it together.

My childhood owes a great deal to those forgotten classics. I understood about the potato famine in Ireland because of Pierce Brosnan and Kate Mulgrew’s “Manions of America.”

John Travolta’s “Boy in the Plastic Bubble” taught me to be kinder to my sick classmates.

And I first learned about cancer from James Caan in “Brian’s Song.”

Today, television provides hundreds of channels of programming, and the Internet offers endless possibilities for learning. However, the art of the Made-for-TV movie has been lost, with most now focused on shallow romances and regulated to the graveyards of the Hallmark Channel or Lifetime.

Even the idea of children watching television is coming under attack. Just last week the so-called ToyBox survey found that obesity among European pre-schoolers is at record levels, and experts believe television is a contributing factor. They suggest nurseries ban toddlers from watching television to fight childhood obesity, and parents remove sets from their children’s bedrooms.

Even though I agree too much television is not healthy for kids, I worry that message has been exaggerated to suggest any television is bad for children.

In my case, television brought my otherwise disjointed family together to learn.

I am a smarter person because of Made-forTV movies. Not just because of the topics they covered, but also because of the conversations they created afterward. In a way they brought history back to life, and my family got to know each other better through our reactions to them.

Katie Jo is even smarter 33 years after I saw Helen Keller’s discovery of language on TV.

A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

DOMESTICALLY In Mississippi, your husband could just as easily have been your cousin

COTILLION

Topher Payne is an Atlanta-based playwright, and the author of the book “Necessary Luxuries: Notes on a Semi-Fabulous Life.” Find out more at topherpayne.com

known them. Roger and Grace Patterson?”

My mother-in-law’s face turned gray. She stood, turned toward the door, then turned back.

“Mom,” said Preppy. “What’s wrong?”

“Roger and Grace Patterson are your aunt and uncle?”

“Oh God,” I said. “Did Uncle Big Bub sue you? He likes to sue people. I’m so sorry. My family has weird hobbies.”

“No, no… They were divorced at one time, yes?”

I nodded. It was back in the early ‘90s.

Aunt Grace got a little house, which I was allowed to visit once. She made Frito Pie, which I think proves she was keeping herself together pretty well. People in total crisis don’t make Frito Pie. They go to Sonic or something.

About two years later, she and Uncle Big Bub remarried, and now we refer to this entire episode as “Aunt Grace’s Vacation.”

“Son, you remember when your Daddy and I were separated for a bit. I dated that nice man who had the pool and the catfish pond?

That was… Topher’s uncle.”

I was sworn to secrecy, so I only told my mother and sister, who then proceeded to tell the rest of the family, but that’s totally not my fault. It has become one of our favorite stories.

Preppy and his mother are mortified by this, but I can’t help it if my family has opportunities when it comes to discretion.

It just serves to prove that our happiness is so ridiculously dependent upon timing. Little things like a flat tire, or arriving at a party at just the right moment. And sometimes bigger stuff: Had that brief courtship not ended with Preppy’s parents reconciling and my aunt and uncle remarrying, things could have been quite different. My husband would instead be my cousin.

And if that ain’t the most perfect damn love story for two Mississippi sissies, I simply cannot imagine what is.

GA Voice

PiEDmoNT BARK YAPPY HoUR PREsENTs

DISTURBED How we didn’t meet Preppy offered our guest room to a coworker in town from Miami, meaning there’s even more conversations than usual around our house involving phrases like “loss prevention” and “opportunities.”

“Opportunities” in particular is a major buzz word at his company. It’s a euphemism for “total fail,” but they’re savvy enough not to say that. But I’ve been with my husband long enough to translate what he means when he says there’s “opportunities” in our kitchen sink.

I’ve been spending my evenings playing Auntie Mame, which also sounds like a euphemism, but is in this case literally what I’m up to. As proud as I am of my career, I do hate it when I’m dressed like a lady the first time I meet one of his coworkers. But some things just cannot be helped.

When I finally joined Preppy and his coworker for dinner on my night off, she asked how we met, and we told that story — we’re both from Mississippi, met in Atlanta, a flat tire was a major plot point. When our guest expressed surprise that we didn’t meet back home, we got to tell the story of how we didn’t meet, which frankly is so much better.

It all went down the first time our extended families got together for one of my plays, and I was at the Best Western trying to prep my mother-in-law for what we lovingly call “The Mississippi Hootenanny,” a mix of about 30 relatives who caravan whenever I have an opening night and take over a moderately priced hotel. Preppy and I grew up about two hours away from each other in Mississippi, so we were naming everybody off to see if his Mama knew any of ‘em.

“My Aunt Ellen is the only other actor in the family. She did plays in high school, always played the maid,” I told her. “One of my cousins told me she was in blackface, but she denies it. And my Aunt Grace, she’s married to my Uncle Big Bub.” “Father of Little Bub,” Preppy clarified.

“Big Bub’s real name is Roger. They used to live in Vicksburg, you and Dad might have

April 13, 2012

oFFiciAL cRoWNiNG oF THE 2012 PALs sPoKEsPET EmcEEs Tyler calkins, Publisher, FENUXE magazine and mara Davis, DAVE Fm 92.9

mAY 6, 2012 H 3–6 Pm DoGs WELcomE H PET cosTUmEs oPTioNAL 20 admission to benefit PALs

$

Admission includes complimentary drinks and hors d’oveuvres

75 ViP admission also includes reserved seating and gift bag

$

Advance ticket sales or info to enter your pet: palsatlanta.org PiEDmoNT BARK H 501 AmsTERDAm AVE H ATLANTA, GA 30306 P 404-873-5400 H F 404-873-0240 ALEciA LAUREN PHoToGRAPHY

INtown Atlanta

DENNis DEAN cATERiNG

Due to State Regulations, no pet will be allowed in the facility without proof of current vaccinations.

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