11/07/14, Vol. 5 Issue 18

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IN THIS ISSUE OF GA VOICE NEWS

6 | News briefs 7 | 2014 general election wrap up 12-13 | Georgia’s same sex-marriage ban fight 10 years later 14 | Atlanta police cement trans procedures into policies 14 | Five questions with APD LGBT liaison Officer Eric King

GUEST EDITORIAL

16 | GA Voice co-founder and former editor Laura Douglas-Brown on lessons learned from Georgia’s gay marriage amendment fight

COMMUNITY

18 | Daniel Pierce speaks out on life after viral video

Caption: Daniel Pierce now serving on board of Lost-N-Found Youth to help homeless LGBT youth. Page 18

A&E Photo via Facebook

OUTSPOKEN FRIENDS & FOES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

“I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

“Make this man a saint now, OK?”

20 | Theater: ‘Murder Ballad’ promises thrills to the last minute 21 | Food: Famed Atlanta chef working with Chik-fil-A on new buns 22-23 | Best Bets calendar

COLUMNISTS

25 | Books: ‘My Thinning Year’ a story on starving and control 26 | Femme Folio: Kirsten Palladino wants Atlanta drivers to get off their phones.

27 | Sometimes ‘Y’: Ryan Lee says ‘queer karma’ followed supporters of 2004 gay marriage ban

—Elton John on Pope Francis, at his annual AIDS

—Apple CEO Tim Cook (Bloomberg Business Week, Oct. 30)

benefit concert (The Guardian, Oct. 29)

—Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” (Oct. 30)

Photo via Facebook

Official Apple photo

“Really, Texas is going blue? Texas has been a conservative state since dinosaurs roamed it 6,000 years ago. At least that date’s according to the Texas state high school textbooks. … Democrats in Texas are like the drunk guy at the bar who won’t stop hitting on a girl even though he knows she’s a lesbian.”

“I didn’t realize how much this mattered to me until it started to become possible. Now that this possibility is a reality, I walk around with a smile on my face all the time.”

—Tim Bostic, plaintiff in Virginia’s same-sex marriage lawsuit, reflecting on the marriage equality coming to the state. (The Virginian-Pilot, Nov. 3)

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GA VOICE | 6

11.07.14

NEWS

NEWSIN BRIEF

www.theGAVoice.com • Officers use the preferred name of the person rather than their birth name. “This is not a nickname or an alias. This is our name.

And to use it is based on dignity,” Thompson said. “We want to continue to dialogue so we can make East Point a safe place for all of us.,” — Dyana Bagby

GLAAD ATLANTA HONORS LOCAL, NATIONAL LGBT ADVOCATES

Juan Evans says he was discriminated against by East Point police for being transgender. The police department and mayor’s office are working with activists to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen. (via YouTube)

TRANS MAN SAYS HE WAS CALLED ‘IT’

BY EAST POINT POLICE

A man who says East Point police officers called him “it,” “thing” and repeatedly threatened a genital search after he was stopped for a traffic violation received an apology from the city’s mayor last week.

Juan Evans, who was pulled over Oct. 23 by an East Point police officer for speeding and taken to jail where he said he was harassed by officers, told the GA Voice that Mayor Jannquell Peters offered the apology after a group of protesters marched to City Hall.

“The mayor gave me a sincere apology,” Evans told the GA Voice. “As I told her, that [her apology] touched my heart. But to hear it from the officers would heal my soul.”

A call to the mayor’s office was not returned. Evans and other members of Solutions Not Punishment Coalition (SNaP Co) met with the East Point city manager and interim police chief to go over police procedures and discuss implementing new standards for dealing with transgender and gender nonconforming people.

Evans was pulled over by East Point police on Oct. 23 for speeding. He did not have his driver’s license on him and he gave his birth name to the officer. According to an East Point Police report, when Evans gave the officer his birth name, the “officer was confused at this time because the driver appeared to be male …

Officer asked the driver to step out of the vehicle and stand in front of the patrol car. Officer asked the driver still unsure at this time on gender since the driver does not have any type of identification and the vehicle registration comes back to another name.” At that time, Evans was arrested and taken to jail.

Approximately 50 people showed up in East Point on Oct. 29 to protest the alleged

police discrimination. They first marched to the police department and then to City Hall.

Everette Thompson, a spokesperson for SNaP Co, said he and fellow activists demanded an apology from the police department.

SNaP Co also wants to work with the East Point Police Department on officer training when it comes to trans issues.

“In no way should genital search be used to determine a person’s gender,” Thompson told the GA Voice. “What happened to Juan, we know happens often. This is all part of our fight.”

Evans said the rally and protest in East Point was inspiring.

“It was awesome for the community to gather in unity and come together and stand united and as one with same demands,” he said.

Evans said he never wants what he went through to happen to anyone else.

That is why he and SNaP Co are demanding justice from the East Point Police Department while also wanting to work with them so they can treat trans people they meet with dignity.

“I just wonder how many other people have been humiliated like this at the hands of the East Point police. How many others were outed in their jail cell in front of other inmates? How could they out me like that?”

Evans said.

“You can’t do that. Some sensitivity training has to be done. And gender is not the same as genitals; there is a big difference in that,” Evans added.

Thompson said some of the procedures SNaP Co would like to see East Point police implement include: • Under no circumstances should a genital search be used to determine gender. “Off the bat, that is a no go,” Thompson said.

National LGBT media advocacy organization GLAAD honored several local and national LGBT individuals and launched its new Southern Stories program Oct. 29 at the 2014 GLAAD Atlanta Benefit. Event organizers estimate the event raised roughly $75,000, a record for GLAAD in the Atlanta market.

The ritzy event, held at The Estate in Buckhead, was sold out to a capacity crowd of 250 and drew a wide range of notable attendees, including Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL player to be drafted; The Weather Channel’s Sam Champion and his husband, artist Rubem Robierb; actor Wilson Cruz (“My So Called Life,” “Red Band Society”); singer Frenchie Davis; comedian Fortune Feimster (“Chelsea Lately”); actress Kat Graham (“Vampire Diaries”); and actress Eva Tamargo (“The Haves and the Have Nots”).

Local LGBT activist Paul Horning was presented with the GLAAD Champion Award, and GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis recognized several other advocates in the news recently, including transgender homecoming queen Sage Lovell, anti-bullying employment non-discrimination advocate Brian Martin, and Daniel Pierce, who was attacked by his family and kicked out of his home after coming out.

Anti-bullying advocates David and Tina Long, parents of the late Tyler Long, the Georgia teenager who took his own life in 2009 after years of bullying, also gave an emotional speech.

The event was also a launching pad for GLAAD Southern Stories, a new program the organization will use to build support for equality in the South.

— Patrick Saunders

Veteran LGBT activist Paul Horning was presented the GLAAD Champion Award Oct. 30 by GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis at the GLAAD Atlanta Benefit. (Photo by Patrick Saunders)

NEWS

www.theGAVoice.com

11.07.14

GA VOICE

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7

Democrats lose big in Georgia statewide races Gay male candidates fail to break barrier in state legislature

By PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com It was a rough election night for Democratic candidates as Michelle Nunn, state Sen. Jason Carter, Connie Stokes, Doreen Carter and Greg Hecht all lost in their respective races.

A great number of polls and experts had predicted runoffs for Republican David Perdue and Democrat Michelle Nunn in the U.S. Senate race and Republican incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal and Jason Carter in the governor’s race, but TV networks had called both races for Perdue and Deal before 11 p.m.

“I really thought that the get out the vote efforts were strong enough this year that we would have at least been in the position to have a runoff, so I am a little surprised that both races were called withGRAHAM out a runoff,” said Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham while at the Hyatt Regeny Atlanta Tuesday evening, site of the election night watch parties for both Nunn and Carter.

How to target LGBT voters specifically is something Democrats plan to do in the future.

“I think that we have to look at the LGBT demographics. What we have to do is determine who those LGBT people are and we’ve had a discussion about that. Because when you register to vote you aren’t asked [about sexual orientation], and we no longer have a gayborhood, people are everywhere,” said Jim Taflinger, chair of the LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Georgia, while at a watch party at Amsterdam.

“So we’re going to have to find a new way to identify and target LGBT people and that’s going to be our next challenge,” he added.

NO RUNOFFS FOR REPUBLICANS

Nunn, the former CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, faced criticism from some in the LGBT community for not clarifying her views on marriage equality, stating early on in the race that while she supported samesex marriage, she also thought it should be left up to the states. Numerous attempts were made by the gay media throughout the campaign to give Nunn a chance to clarify her stance on that and other issues of importance to the community but she refused or ignored all requests.

Libertarian candidate Amanda Swafford asked her about her stance in an Oct. 8 Sen-

Democrat Jason Carter, who publicly supported same-sex marriage during his campaign, lost to incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal.

(Photo by Patrick Saunders)

ate debate, where Nunn confirmed her support for same-sex marriage but left out any mention of states’ rights.

Perdue opposes same-sex marriage and believes it should also be left up to the states.

But LGBT issues, including marriage, never became an issue in this campaign like it has in past races in Georgia.

According to unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State Office at Tuesday’s press time, Perdue beat Nunn 55 percent to 43 percent, with Swafford at 2 percent.

State Sen. Carter faced his own bout of criticism from the LGBT community for not going on the record about his stance on samesex marriage, but clarified his full support for marriage equality in early August. However, he also refused or ignored all requests by gay media to clarify his stance on other LGBT issues. Perdue opposes same-sex marriage and in 2010 ran one of the most anti-gay campaigns in the state’s history. But again, in this race, LGBT issues such as marriage did not become a major part of either campaign.

Deal beat Carter 54 percent to 43 percent according to the SOS office as of press time, with Libertarian candidate Andrew Hunt at 2 percent.

“We still have a giant amount to be proud of,” Carter told the crowd at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in his concession speech. “This campaign put education back at the very top… We had a great debate on how to appropriately fund our schools, how to improve them … We had a discussion and debate about the HOPE scholarship and how to expand it … and about making sure middle class families and small businesses didn’t get left behind.”

Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle handily beat Stokes for lieutenant governor, Republican incumbent Brian Kemp did

the same to Doreen Carter and Republican incumbent Sam Olens also won by almost 20 percentage points over Hecht.

Hecht garnered 976,624 votes, or 41.35 percent, to Olens’ 1.385 million votes, or 58.65 percent, according to SOS unofficial results.

Hecht garnered widespread support from the LGBT community for his early embrace of marriage equality and his promise not to defend the state’s same-sex marriage ban should he be elected. Had he won, his proLGBT stance would have had a direct impact on the current federal lawsuit attempting to strike down the 2004 ban.

OPENLY GAY MEN IN STATE LEGISLATURE RACES LOSE

Openly gay Democrat Tim Swiney conceded to Republican P.K. Martin in his bid for the Senate District 9 seat in Gwinnett. The announcement came in a Facebook post by Swiney barely an hour after the polls closed.

Swiney had 33 percent or 18,114 votes and Martin had 66.96 or 36,715 votes, according to unofficial SOS results.

Swiney, who lost in the race for House District 101 in 2012, received endorsements from Georgia Equality and Georgia Stonewall Democrats. However, he faced a tough battle by running in a primarily RepubSWINEY lican district and was outspent by Martin nearly three-to-one.

“We knew it was going to be a tough run from the beginning,” Swiney told the GA Voice. “It’s a very conservative district and my strategy had been to be more of a moderate. And being an openly gay candidate was difficult to deal with but I put it out there up-

front at the beginning so we could get it out of the way and talk about the issues.”

Republican Beth Beskin beat Democrat Bob Gibeling for the State House District 54 seat with 4,901 votes, or 64.4 percent, to his 2,040 votes, or 26.82 percent. Gibeling was considered by political experts to have the best shot of the three at making it to the Gold Dome.

Gibeling, who used to be a Republican, was endorsed by Georgia Equality, the Victory Fund and Georgia Stonewall Democrats.

Beskin outspent him nearly four-to-one.

Gay Republican Christopher Deraney lost with 26 percent, or 3,234 votes, to incumbent Democrat Demetrius Douglas who had 73.79 percent, or 9,190 votes, in the House District 78. That district includes portions of DERANEY Clayton and Henry counties.

Deraney, who was endorsed by the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans, is a fiscally conservative, pro-life political newcomer who faced an uphill climb after being outspent by his opponent nearly seven-to-one as of an Oct. 25 campaign disclosure report.

LESBIAN RETURN TO GOLD DOME, ANTI-GAY PREACHER ELECTED TO CONGRESS

Lesbian state House Rep. Karla Drenner was unopposed in District 85 and will therefore begin her eighth term in January.

Lesbian incumbents and State Reps. Simone Bell and Keisha Waites were also WAITES unopposed in addition to Drenner. LGBT allies U.S. Reps John Lewis and Hank Johnson had no opposition and were re-elected.

Anti-gay preacher Republican Jody Hice was elected to U.S. House over BELL I.K. Kenneth Dious with 66.5 percent to represent 10th District, which includes Athens.

In his 2012 book, “It’s Now or Never: A Call to Reclaim America,” Hice claims “the homosexual movement is also destroying America by aggressively seeking to destroy traditional families, religion and marriages for the purpose of removing all societal moral boundaries.” He replaces the anti-gay Paul Broun.

Georgia Equality’s Graham says the organization spend the next couple of months analyzing the data from the election.

“The models that we have on LGBT voters are really very imperfect, but the modeling tools get better every time,” he says. “We didn’t have access to this stuff two years ago. So hopefully over the next two years we’ll have better ways of targeting to the LGBT community.”

What is STRIBILD? STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. It combines 4 medicines into 1 pill to be taken once a day with food. STRIBILD is a complete single-tablet regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses you must keep taking STRIBILD. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids.

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

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects: • Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual (not normal) muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold especially in your arms and legs, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

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

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

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

Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you: • Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin, dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine, cisapride, lovastatin, simvastatin, pimozide, sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), triazolam, oral midazolam, rifampin or the herb St. John’s wort.

• For a list of brand names for these medicines, please see the Brief Summary on the following pages.

• Take any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection, or the medicine adefovir (Hepsera®).

What are the other possible side effects of STRIBILD? Serious side effects of STRIBILD may also include: • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do regular blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with STRIBILD. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD. • Bone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

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

• Changes in your immune system.

Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking STRIBILD. The most common side effects of STRIBILD include nausea and diarrhea.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

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

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. STRIBILD may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how STRIBILD works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Do not start any new medicines while taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider.

• If you take hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc).

• If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed.

HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. Also, some medicines in STRIBILD can pass into breast milk, and it is not known if this can harm the baby.

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

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

STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used as a complete single-tablet regimen to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

I started my personal revolution Talk to your healthcare provider about starting treatment.

STRIBILD is a complete HIV-1 treatment in 1 pill, once a day.

Ask if it’s right for you.

Patient Information STRIBILD® (STRY-bild) (elvitegravir 150 mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) tablets Brief summary of full Prescribing Information. For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information.

What is STRIBILD? • STRIBILD is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. STRIBILD is a complete regimen and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

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

• Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others. Do not share or reuse needles, injection equipment, or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them. Do not have sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD? STRIBILD can cause serious side effects, including: 1. Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis can happen in some people who take STRIBILD or similar (nucleoside analogs) medicines. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms which could be signs of lactic acidosis: • feel very weak or tired • have unusual (not normal) muscle pain • have trouble breathing • have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting • feel cold, especially in your arms and legs • feel dizzy or lightheaded • have a fast or irregular heartbeat 2. Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems can happen in people who take STRIBILD. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large (hepatomegaly) and you may develop fat in your liver (steatosis). Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark “tea-colored” urine • light-colored bowel movements (stools) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • stomach pain You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking STRIBILD for a long time.

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

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

• Do not stop taking STRIBILD without first talking to your healthcare provider • If you stop taking STRIBILD, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking STRIBILD Who should not take STRIBILD? Do not take STRIBILD if you also take a medicine that contains: • adefovir (Hepsera®) • alfuzosin hydrochloride (Uroxatral®) • cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®) • ergot-containing medicines, including: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), and methylergonovine maleate (Ergotrate®, Methergine®) • lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®) • oral midazolam • pimozide (Orap®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®), when used for treating lung problems • simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®) • triazolam (Halcion®) • the herb St. John’s wort Do not take STRIBILD if you also take any other HIV-1 medicines, including: • Other medicines that contain tenofovir (Atripla®, Complera®, Viread®, Truvada®) • Other medicines that contain emtricitabine, lamivudine, or ritonavir (Atripla®, Combivir®, Complera®, Emtriva®, Epivir® or Epivir-HBV®, Epzicom®, Kaletra®, Norvir®, Trizivir®, Truvada®) STRIBILD is not for use in people who are less than 18 years old.

What are the possible side effects of STRIBILD? STRIBILD may cause the following serious side effects: • See “What is the most important information I should know about STRIBILD?” • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking STRIBILD. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking STRIBILD if you develop new or worse kidney problems.

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

• Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine.

These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known.

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

The most common side effects of STRIBILD include: • Nausea • Diarrhea 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 STRIBILD. For more information, ask your healthcare provider.

• Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking STRIBILD? Tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including: • If you have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis B infection • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if STRIBILD can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking STRIBILD. - There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry.

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

- Two of the medicines in STRIBILD can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if the other medicines in STRIBILD can pass into your breast milk.

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

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

• Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you take any of the following medicines: - Hormone-based birth control (pills, patches, rings, shots, etc) - Antacid medicines that contain aluminum, magnesium hydroxide, or calcium carbonate. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take STRIBILD - Medicines to treat depression, organ transplant rejection, or high blood pressure - amiodarone (Cordarone®, Pacerone®) - atorvastatin (Lipitor®, Caduet®) - bepridil hydrochloride (Vascor®, Bepadin®) - bosentan (Tracleer®) - buspirone - carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®) - clarithromycin (Biaxin®, Prevpac®) - clonazepam (Klonopin®) - clorazepate (Gen-xene®, Tranxene®) - colchicine (Colcrys®) - medicines that contain dexamethasone - diazepam (Valium®)

- digoxin (Lanoxin®) - disopyramide (Norpace®) - estazolam - ethosuximide (Zarontin®) - flecainide (Tambocor®) - flurazepam - fluticasone (Flovent®, Flonase®, Flovent® Diskus®, Flovent® HFA, Veramyst®) - itraconazole (Sporanox®) - ketoconazole (Nizoral®) - lidocaine (Xylocaine®) - mexiletine - oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®) - perphenazine - phenobarbital (Luminal®) - phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) - propafenone (Rythmol®) - quinidine (Neudexta®) - rifabutin (Mycobutin®) - rifapentine (Priftin®) - risperidone (Risperdal®, Risperdal Consta®) - salmeterol (Serevent®) or salmeterol when taken in combination with fluticasone (Advair Diskus®, Advair HFA®) - sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®) or vardenafil (Levitra®, Staxyn®), for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). If you get dizzy or faint (low blood pressure), have vision changes or have an erection that last longer than 4 hours, call your healthcare provider or get medical help right away.

- tadalafil (Adcirca®), for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension - telithromycin (Ketek®) - thioridazine - voriconazole (Vfend®) - warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®) - zolpidem (Ambien®, Edlular®, Intermezzo®, Zolpimist®) Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. Do not start any new medicines while you are taking STRIBILD without first talking with your healthcare provider.

Keep STRIBILD and all medicines out of reach of children.

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

Issued: October 2013

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GA VOICE | 12

NEWS

11.07.14

FROM THEN TO NOW Jan. 26, 2004 State Sen. Mike Crotts introduces legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Georgia.

Feb. 16, 2004 Crotts’ legislation barely passes out of the full Senate with a 40-14 vote (two-thirds majority needed).

Feb. 26, 2004 The full House narrowly votes down the resolution 117-50 (again, two-thirds majority needed).

March 1, 2004 Republicans vote to reconsider resolution in the House.

March 31, 2004 The House votes to approve the resolution 122-52.

Nov. 2, 2004 Amendment 1 approved by voters.

May 16, 2006 Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell struck down the amendment, stating the amendment violated Georgia’s singlesubject rule, which limits each amendment put before voters to one topic.

July 7, 2006 Georgia Supreme Court overturned Judge Russell’s ruling.

April 22, 2014 Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban on behalf of seven plaintiffs.

Nov. 4, 2014 Although they lost in their respective races for governor and U.S. Senate, Democrats Jason Carter and Michelle Nunn spoke publicly about their support of same-sex marriage.

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Learning how to fight for LGBT equality Recollections from the 2004 same-sex marriage ban fight from those who were on the front lines

By DYANA BAGBY AND PATRICK SAUNDERS

T

en years ago, Georgia voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. It was a dark day in the LGBT community’s history and in our state’s history.

To make matters worse, 10 other states passed similar bans as part of a nationwide effort to block out LGBT equality as part of a Republican effort to get voters to the polls.

Today, a federal lawsuit is challenging that Georgia ban as federal judges across the nation are striking down same-sex marriage bans left and right. Could that happen in Georgia, just a decade later, whether through a court ruling in Georgia or an eventual U.S. Supreme Court decision?

We talked to some of the key players in the Amendment 1 battle to discuss how things have changed since 2004 as part of coverage of this historic time.

What the amendment says (a) This state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman. Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state. (b) No union between persons of the same sex shall be recognized by this state as entitled to the benefits of marriage. This state shall not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have no jurisdiction to grant a divorce or separate maintenance with respect to any such relationship or otherwise to consider or rule on any of the parties’ respective rights arising as a result of or in connection with such relationship.

Former state Sen. Mike Crotts, a Republican from Conyers, sponsored Amendment 1.

He served in the legislature from 1993 to 2004. Today he is a commercial realtor.

Why did you introduce the bill? “[Amendment 1] was brought to the forefront by the people of Georgia. In other words, it wasn’t something I was out looking to do. The state of Massachusetts … they were the first state to implement that [same-sex marriage]. What bothered me more than anything about that situation in Massachusetts was that you had activist judges making a decision over the separation of powers of the legislative and executive process.

When I saw that’s what happened in Massachusetts I began to research Georgia law to see as to what our situation was in comparison to Massachusetts law and I determined our laws in Georgia were almost identical to the laws of Massachusetts so I made the attempt then to try to change Georgia law … to where activist judges could not do some of those type things from the bench. The people of Georgia said they would like an opportunity to vote on this.

When the gay community came to me and asked why are you doing this, I told them this was nothing personal. I don’t care how you live your life.

It’s not for me to judge you. It doesn’t matter to me how you live your life. I’m a heterosexual and I believe in the heterosexual life. I’m just saying I live my life and I don’t try to push it out there to make people know who I am. All it does is create turmoil and confusion and it’s not healthy for our society.

What do you think about how judges are ruling across the nation on these kinds of constitutional amendments?

In our case a lower court judge [in 2006] … ruled it was unconstitutional and said 85 percent of people [Ed. Note: actually 76 percent] went to the polls didn’t know what they were voting for. I had a problem with that. That little judge was saying the people are stupid and don’t know what they are voting for and was stepping on the people.

Rather than get an activist judge to step on the people they should introduce a new bill, pass it, and put it to the will of the people.

You got judges throwing these cases out and overturning them … it needs to be done right like it was put in place the right way with a referendum.

How would a similar referendum do today?

I would still vote the same way I did and the reason I say that is it’s not that I’m opposed to what they do, that’s their business. But it’s based on my religious beliefs. That’s all. Even with my religious beliefs I’m not judging those people. It’s what I believe. It’s my feelings. But it don’t make ‘em wrong. I could not support it.

I never wanted people to think I was out and out bad guy because i was trying to do what the people were saying. I’m really not sure if a referendum today, if it would pass. I probably think you would be surprised, be a lot; It would be a lot different than 10 years ago.

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State House Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates). Drenner became a prominent figure in the fight as the only openly gay legislator. She was first elected to office in 2000.

BY THE NUMBERS

50

Percent plus one vote needed to pass the amendment

76.2

Percentage of Georgia voters who voted in favor of the amendment

2,454,930 Number of Georgia voters who voted in favor of the amendment

I participated in it in two ways. I did it through the legislature, then got out and got involved in the campaign across the state. So I have a different perspective than a lot of other people because I saw it from the inside as a legislator and then across a very conservative state afterward It was a very emotional experience for me. I can still remember the rallies and what it was like to win that day when we beat the amendment. There was a rally at the Capitol where the LGBT community was on the Presbyterian church side of the street and all of the church bus people were on the Capitol side. I was on the church bus side standing there looking at all these rotten signs they have and all of a sudden somebody recognized me and said, ‘There she is!’ I was afraid at that moment and the Capitol Police came up and escorted me back into the building.

There was so much media coverage everywhere I went and I knew that people were watching me.

It wasn’t until I got home that I cried. On day 38 when we lost the last vote, I missed day 39 and stayed home all day and hand-wrote letters to every single person in the chamber. For those that voted against it, I wrote that I hope one day you’ll be able to realize my family is just as important as yours.

I really learned from that experience how and why to respect other peoples’ religious beliefs. I could accept that a lot easier than saying, ‘Well, my district says I should vote this way.’ If you honestly believe in your heart that morally this is offensive, I’m okay with that.

So many thousands of people were engaged in the political process and were willing to come out and talk to people and come to the Capitol and not protest in a graphic way, but protest in a way that’s like, ‘Hey I’m just like you, I want the same things you want, I want a family.’ My colleagues who have been in the legislature as long as I have were impacted by that because they saw so many gay people.

Back then, legislators were saying they didn’t have gay people in their district. I used to say that my job was to find every gay person in Georgia, but every gay person in Georgia found them. They showed up. And showing up is what’s important in our movement.

I have every single email in a hard copy from every single person that wrote me asking me to vote for the amendment. People telling me God didn’t love me. And I have every email from the gay community thanking me, all the personal stories people shared.

That night at the Red Chair, we knew in advance that we probably were not going to win. But for me, winning was not numerical, winning was fighting. Part of my speech that evening was that we were not going to go back into the closet. We were now stepping out into the light and were going to continue this fight.

I don’t think many of us were really surprised by how lopsided it was. Considering the resources we had to work with I think we did really well. I don’t look at it as a losing proposition. All those who got involved in the legislative fight and in the campaign were charged up. It just propelled us further into where we are today, which is on the precipice of legalizing same-sex marriage in our state.

You know how a butterfly starts as a larvae and transmutes into a butterfly? I thought symbolically that’s what we had done as a community. We had transmuted who we were as individuals into a beautiful monarch butterfly. It makes me very emotional just talking about it.

Mayor Kasim Reed (then a state Senator) During that time, Republicans had only recently gotten control of the governor's office and the majority, so they were still finding their way and they were using marriage equality as a tool to drive voter turnout. We were having robust conversations during that time because everybody knew what that was designed to do. This was happening all across the United States of America. It was being driven by ALEC [American Legislative Exchange Council] and Karl Rove and George W. Bush's White House.

I felt that we were wrong to insert discrimination into the constitution of the state of Georgia. I thought it was a horrible decision. I had already developed very strong relationships with the GLBT community. We spent an enormous amount of time to stop efforts to ban gay adoptions. All of the issues around the LGBT community were being used to punish the Democratic Party.

If you were a Democrat and voting against the ban, you were told to walk off the floor because it was said it was a career-ending vote. That came from Democratic and Republican leadership. I think I was one of 10 to vote against the ban rather than walk off the floor.

It was a difficult decision because at that time the environment was much different than what it is today. But when I went home, I had a very good night's sleep. I knew that I could live with myself because I had made the decision not to place discrimination in the constitution of the state of Georgia.

We still have a great deal of work to do. We've made extraordinary progress on behalf of the GLBT community. We need to be far more aggressive in our actions to remove the constitutional ban. I look forward to the day when that 2004 vote is permanently reversed so that everyone can have the right to marry who they love in the state of Georgia.

11.07.14

GA VOICE

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Jeff Graham, executive director at Georgia Equality Those of us who had worked on the campaign were at the Red Chair and we were there for the LGBT community election night watch party. Karla Drenner did a great job of leading us under incredibly difficult circumstances when other people didn’t want to get involved. I think you always have to think that you can win just to give you the energy to keep going. We realized we weren’t going to win and then when the numbers came in and we realized how bad we lost...it was so freaking depressing.

It’s really hard to put so much effort into a sixmonth period in a campaign, working every weekend and several nights for months and months going door-to-door only to have the feeling that three-quarters of your friends and neighbors don’t like you. It was definitely a low point.

But being able to look back, a good that came out of it was teaching people who had never engaged in this kind of campaign work before how to engage in it. The importance of engaging voters one-by-one, doing the canvassing, raising the money, doing the hard intensive work of reaching voters one at a time. There’s a lot of good skills I learned from that campaign. Being on the first wave of the movement, people learned what worked and didn’t work for us here in Georgia. So those are all positive things that came out of it, as well as that sense of camaraderie.

I have carried one particular conversation I had with me to this day. It’s one of those things that whenever I’m feeling this work is overwhelming and hopeless, I remember this conversation.

It was in an East Atlanta neighborhood where I was canvassing. My then partner and now husband went up on the porch of an elderly African-American woman and I started talking to her about the amendment and she spoke with such commitment. She talked about how she has three granddaughters—two were straight and one was a lesbian and she was so angry that she felt that people were trying to treat her lesbian granddaughter differently than the other two.

She wanted us to know that in no uncertain terms that she loved all three granddaughters the same and wished for each of them to find someone to love for the rest of their lives. I’ve carried that conversation with me because it shows you can have really good allies in areas where you least expect to find them.

That night [of the vote] Karla gave each of us on the steering committee the gift of a butterfly to remind us that change does happen and to keep our spirits up. Many of those people I still work with on a regular basis all this time later.

It’s not about making legal arguments, it’s about expressing that we’re not trying to redefine marriage. We’re trying to make sure people realize that marriage is and always has been about two people making a commitment to each other. Once we made it about that is when we started winning hearts and minds and winning at the ballot box.

GA VOICE | 14

NEWS

11.07.14

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Atlanta Police cement trans policies Training procedures to be part of disciplinary process

Five questions with Officer Eric King

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com The Atlanta Police Department is soon adding “transgender interactions” to its Standard Operating Procedure that will hold officers accountable when they are working with trans or gender nonconforming people.

The policies go into effect Nov. 30 and are an extension of the LGBT diversity training that has been taking place at the APD for three years, said LGBT liaison and Senior Patrol Officer Brian Sharp.

“We already have these policies as best practices. Before [Nov. 30] these were taught what officers should do, now it’s part of the SOP and it what officers shall do. We moved these practices from being a good idea to what you have to do,” Sharp explained. And, should an officer violate any of the trans SOP, they will be disciplined, he added.

“This puts our disciplinary process behind what we’ve been training. It holds the officers accountable,” he said.

The Atlanta Police trans SOP includes: n Verbal communication — [E]mployees will treat transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming individuals in a manner appropriate to the individual’s gender identity, which may be different than the sex that the individual was assigned at birth or listed on their official government-issued identification. n Employees should use pronouns that match the gender identity of the individual (e.g. “she, her, hers” for an individual whose gender identity is female; “he, him, his” for an individual whose gender identity is male. n When requested, employees should address transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming people by their chosen name rather than the name which is on their government-issued identification.

The SOP also includes how officers must deal with issues including removal of wigs, prosthetics and clothes.

Included in the SOP are definitions of “sex assigned at birth,” “gender expression” and “gender identity.”

“This is all training we’ve already been doing,” Sharp said. “This SOP brings it to life.

We’ve been doing an LGBT diversity piece in training and a large bulk of that is spent on transgender interactions. This includes how we do interviews, handle traffic stops.”

Sharp said he worked with local transgender activists and also did trainings with the Department of Justice to ensure the trans SOP is fair, accurate and ensures LGBT people are treated with dignity.

“Transgender people are the most mar-

Atlanta Police Officer Eric King was appointed as a department LGBT liaison in August, joining Senior Patrol Officer Brian Sharp as openly gay officers serving in the role of liaisons. This is the first time the APD has had two men as LGBT liaisons.

King, 30, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised in metro Detroit. He moved to Atlanta in 2009 to join the APD. Atlanta Police LGBT liaison Brian Sharp says the department’s new trans interactions policy going into effect Nov. 30 ensures officers are held accountable for their actions when dealing with trans people. (File photo)

ginalized people within the LGBT community and we are about giving them the respect and dignity they deserve,” he said.

In East Point last month, police officers were accused by a trans man of calling him “it” and “thing” and threatening him with a genital search after an officer who stopped him for speeding became confused because the trans man’s birth name did not match how he presented.

“I think it’s important to avoid those situations before they happen,” Sharp said, adding he was not aware of what happened in East Point. (See our story on Page 6).

Officers do need education, however, and the tools necessary to ensure they treat all people fairly, he added.

“We are committed to do this as a police department,” he said.

More trans SOP includes: n Regardless of the individual’s public appearance, classify an individual’s gender identity in accordance with statements or requests made by the individual. For example, an employee will correct his or her initial assumption about an individual’s gender identity if the individual asks the employee to use different pronouns. n Employees searching or arresting a transgender, intersex or gender nonconforming individual, or performing similar official actions or duties (excluding preparation of written documents) in connection with a transgender, intersex or gender nonconforming individual, shall deem the individual’s gender to be male or female based upon the individual’s gender identity. n Employees making transport decisions regarding a transgender, intersex or gender nonconforming individual shall deem the individual’s gender to be male or female

based upon the individual’s gender identity.

“This important policy is a formal recognition that this community will be entitled to the same level of respect, courtesy and professionalism extended to all citizens with whom our officers interact,” APD Chief George Turner said in a press release. “We live in a diverse, major metropolitan city and our policies must reflect the need to embrace, and work cooperatively with, every citizen we serve within that broad community.”

All APD personnel will receive training on the new procedures, with assistance from the department’s LGBT liaison officers, Senior Police Officer Brian Sharp and Officer Eric King.

“The adoption of this policy is another step forward in our efforts to celebrate diversity,” said Mayor Kasim Reed in the press release. “I commend the Atlanta Police Department for their commitment to equal and respectful treatment of Atlanta’s transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming individuals, citizens and visitors.”

An incident earlier this year on a MARTA train where two transgender women were assaulted by several men brought back to the forefront the issue of violence against the trans community and police response to it. The women criticized MARTA police in this instance, but the incident brought up a broader discussion about any police department interactions with the trans community. Two town hall discussions were later held about the incident.

The Atlanta-based, trans-led Solutions Not Punishment Coalition (SNaP) released a “Ride With Respect” video afterwards, in which trans activist Everette Thompson alleges the Atlanta police have a “culture of disrespecting trans people. They harass us, they profile us.”

Why did you join the APD and become an LGBT liaison officer?

I joined the Atlanta Police Department because of all the different job opportunities that they offered. I became an LGBT Liaison to help continue the work that has already been done within the department and to foster better relationships between the community and APD. How old were you when you came out?

This might sound strange but I honestly don’t know at what age I came out. I was raised primarily by my father and we did not have any secrets so I always felt I was never hiding anything or felt I was ever in the closet.

What would you like to do as an LGBT liaison?

While serving in this current position I would like to increase the level of communication and continue to build the partnership between the LGBT community and the Atlanta Police Department.

When you’re not working what do you like to do?

There’s such a thing as not working? During my free time I like to play tennis, cycle, work out, cook or find new places to eat with my friends.

Why is it important to have LGBT liaisons on the APD? The fact of the matter is that the LGBT community does not have a large voice within police departments nationwide, so it is only right to try and provide the marginalized with a voice. Our Mayor made a commitment to the community that Atlanta Police will have two full time sworn LGBT Liaisons dedicated to educating the department as a whole while empowering the community. Policies and procedures utilized here in Atlanta are examined and replicated from agencies across the nation and even abroad, which causes us to constantly strive for better ways to improve our police department and city.

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EDITORIAL

11.07.14

THE GEORGIA VOICE

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EDITORIAL

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

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Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Steve Warren

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Ten years after Georgia’s gay marriage amendment It’s not enough to tell people what we stand against; we’ve learned we must tell them what we stand for

By LAURA DOUGLAS-BROWN Houses in Massachusetts are really expensive, and more than three-fourths of my fellow Georgians hate me.

Those were the parallel thoughts running through my head 10 years ago on election night, as I lay in bed watching vote tallies roll in, each update showing even more votes for an amendment to Georgia’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Earlier in 2004, Massachusetts had become the first and only U.S. state to allow gay marriage; on that depressing Tuesday night, Georgia was one of 11 states to pass constitutional amendments to ban such marriages.

It’s not that I was surprised by the vote. A native Georgian who began working in the LGBT press in 1997, I knew the political reality for LGBT people as well as anyone. After covering everything from hate crimes to the state legislature, I had come to view Georgia’s homophobia as a part of the landscape for me, just as much as the dogwoods and azaleas that bloom every spring.

Still, the landslide 76 percent approval brought tears to my eyes. As my partner slept beside me and our three-year-old daughter snuggled in her bed across the hall, I perched my laptop on my pregnant belly and searched real estate websites in Massachusetts, wondering whether it was simply time to go. Why should I even consider continuing to raise my family in a state where we might never be more than political pawns.

But alas, selling my small Atlanta home would not have allowed me to buy even the tiniest house I found that night, and looking back, I’m glad.

Just a decade after those first couples said “I do” in Massachusetts, 32 states now extend marriage benefits to same-sex couples. And while Georgia still lags behind, my soon-to-be 10-yearold daughter, born a few months after that sad election, makes cards for both of her moms in class; her sister, now 13, recently dashed away from us at Atlanta Pride to hang out with her friends and plan how they would wear their gay rights t-shirts to school. Middle school.

If an amendment to allow same-sex couples to marry had been on this Tuesday’s ballot, it would still struggle to win the votes of a majority of Georgia voters. Yet those numbers

“It is one thing to oppose gay marriage.

It is quite another to institutionalize this degree of discrimination,” —State Rep. Karla Drenner, (D-Avondale Estates) in 2004

are changing — a poll commissioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year showed 48 percent of Georgians support gay marriage — in large part due to how we are framing our message.

MESSAGES MATTER

Back in 2004, the fight against Georgia’s gay marriage amendment was led by an ad-hoc group of community leaders under the banner of Georgians Against Discrimination. Now Georgia Equality’s website proudly touts the Why Marriage Matters Georgia Campaign, “a grassroots public education campaign to build support for and ultimately win the freedom to marry in Georgia.”

It’s not enough to tell people what we stand against; we’ve learned we must tell them what we stand for.

The heroic activists who led Georgia’s

doomed effort to defeat the marriage amendment modeled their strategies on those being used in similar battles around the country.

Believing voters would be unwilling to proactively support marriage rights for gay couples, they built their campaigns around an argument that it was unnecessarily harsh to further codify such bans.

Georgia’s constitutional amendment, the argument went, was both redundant (as a 1996 state law already banned gay marriage) and deceptive, since only a question about banning gay marriage appeared on the ballot, while a second section hidden from voters also banned civil unions or any other recognition for same-sex couples.

“It is one thing to oppose gay marriage. It is quite another to institutionalize this degree of discrimination,” state Rep. Karla Drenner, (D-Avondale Estates), said at the time Georgia’s only openly gay state legislator, said at a rally against the amendment featuring a performance by Indigo Girls, according to press reports from the time.

But is it? If it is OK to deny loving gay couples the right to marry, why isn’t it OK to write those bans into state laws, state constitutions, or anywhere else? From Hawaii in 1998 to Georgia in 2004 to California in 2008, and in each state in between, the strategy lost every time.

TELLING OUR STORIES

In Georgia, the outcome of the vote was determined from the moment the amendment was placed on the ballot. Drenner had bravely stepped up to the plate to lead the coalition against the amendment, and she and the other members of Georgians Against Discrimination deserve nothing but our gratitude for enduring an unfair fight.

Making a proactive argument in favor of marriage rights would not have changed the result of that 2004 vote, but using that media spotlight to tell our stories might have helped build a foundation for future advocacy earlier.

When we as a national movement stopped trying to give cover to people who oppose gay marriage and started explaining why our love is every bit as deserving of legal rights as that of straight couples, we started winning.

It’s those stories — told through lawsuits, public education campaigns, and in countless conversations with friends, family members and coworkers — that enabled victories for marriage rights in 32 other states, and it’s those stories, now being told in Georgia, that will inevitably secure our marriage rights here.

Laura Douglas-Brown is a founder and former editor of the GA Voice.

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Daniel Pierce living his life after viral video Gay Georgia teen disowned by family now helping homeless LGBT youth

On our website Watch a video interview with Daniel Pierce at www.thegavoice.com Lost-N-Found Youth www.lnfy.org

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com More than 7 million people have watched the video of Daniel Pierce being attacked by family members after they confronted him about being gay. But Pierce, 19, refuses to watch it again.

“I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to hear it. I lived it. I’ve seen it hundreds of times since it happened. That is still too emotional for me to listen,” he says while sitting in the conference room of the Lost-N-Found Youth thrift store in Atlanta.

Pierce, who will be attending Kennesaw State University in January, was recently named to the board of Lost-N-Found Youth, the organization that immediately jumped into action to help him after the video of him being hit and yelled at by his father, stepmother and grandmother.

The 5-minute video of the clash is actually an “intervention” that was planned by his family, Pierce explains. In the video, his stepmother, father and grandmother say it is against God’s will for him to be gay and a physical altercation ensues. Pierce secretly recorded the fight on his cellphone.

“I actually came out last October, on National Coming Out Day, but I didn’t know it was National Coming Out Day. I told my stepmother and she was very supportive.

She talked about her kids, and said she would love her kids no matter what. My dad was unresponsive,” he says.

The issue was not discussed for a year and Pierce says he got tired of not talking about it, so he brought it up with his father again. “He reacted badly. This was days before the incident.”

On Aug. 26, a Tuesday evening, Pierce said he got a call from his grandmother saying she was coming over to the house where Pierce lived with his older brother. His father and stepmother were also coming and Pierce says he immediately knew something was up.

“I texted my aunt and said to stay close to the phone, they’re about to do an intervention,” Pierce recalls. “I went through everything in my head and stayed calm until I got hit. And I knew they were not going to change their mind.”

Pierce left the house after the violent fight with his family, carrying a toothbrush and two giant black garbage bags filled with clothes. He went to stay with his aunt where he currently lives.

Nothing happened to prompt the so-

The $90,000 is being used for living expenses, medical care, car insurance, and to pay for school, among other things. Pierce plans to major in business administration at KSU and wants to go into the pet food industry when he graduates.

He currently works at a pet store and spends most of his free time rescuing cats and dogs. His own dog, Rico, is a standard Chihuahua he rescued from the streets three years ago.

For someone who spends so much time rescuing pets, Pierce admits it was difficult for him to allow others rescue him.

“I’m so independent and I had to tell myself to step back and let people help you. Otherwise I would have crashed and burned,” he says.

Daniel Pierce, 19, made international headlines after a video of him being yelled at and hit by his family because he is gay is now working to raise awareness for LGBT youth. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

called intervention, Pierce says. Instead, he says he was “ambushed out of nowhere.”

He still hasn’t spoken to his family since that fateful night in August. He is close with his brother and they have spoken, but his brother tries to remain neutral, “like Switzerland.”

“He’s trying to keep the peace and I can understand that,” Pierce says.

His parents divorced when he was young and Pierce had to deal with wanting to live with his mother and then his father and then his mother again when he was 11. He was never very close to his father’s side of the family, although he tried. His efforts were met with a brick wall.

“I always referred to myself as the black sheep of the family and now I joke I’m the rainbow sheep,” Pierce says with a smile.

“Now I know why they didn’t like me.”

In the previous year, though, Pierce says he and his father had gotten close. Not having that relationship is hurtful. Watching a movie recently in which a child shares a special event with his father made Pierce sad.

“I have my moments,” he says. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get that again. It’s a shame

really. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to have a relationship. It’s silly and foolish to disown your child forever over something that should not be an issue.”

MONEY MATTERS Pierce’s boyfriend, David, immediately set up a GoFundMe account the day after the fight was recorded and uploaded to YouTube by friends. After receiving $90,000 in donations, Pierce posted to his GoFundMe account a request that future donations be made to Lost-N-Found and the nonprofit has received more than $20,000 in donations.

The story made international headlines and he was bombarded incessantly by calls and requests for interviews of his altercation with his family and the massive donations.

At the 30-day mark after the fight, Pierce says he had a “full on mental breakdown” and quit all interviews and denied all future interviews and took a break from public appearances.

Now more than two months later, Pierce says life is beginning to level out. He is thrilled to be a resource on the Lost-N-Found board, especially to youth who need someone they can identify with.

‘SO MUCH SUPPORT’ Reconciling with his family is not out of the question, Pierce says.

“They’re my family. I love them.”

The overwhelming support he’s received from people around the world who send care packages to Lost-N-Found’s thrift store and send letters to his work, helps him get through the difficult times.

“It just breaks your heart that someone you’ve never met and will probably never meet you can have this much love and support for you,” he says. “But you can’t get it from your parents.”

In the meantime, Pierce says he will continue to champion Lost-N-Found and bring awareness to LGBT youth who are kicked out of their homes for simply being who they are.

Forty percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT and most of them are disowned by families for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, national studies state.

Lost-N-Found is working on a $1 million capital campaign to renovate a house in Midtown so it can open a much larger dropin center and provide many more beds for homeless youth; the organization currently has a house with six beds located in West End and there is always a waiting list.

Lost-N-Found estimates there are 750 homeless youth in Atlanta on any single night. There is help, though, Pierce says, through his misfortune now available for everyone to see on the internet.

“If my family had seen that happen to someone else, maybe they would have acted in a different way and known this is not the way to approach this,” he says.

Celebrate 25 years of this magical family tradition.

Share your memories!

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November 21–December 24 Tickets @ 404.733.5000 Family Series on the Alliance Stage

alliancetheatre.org/christmas | Plan your holiday party 404.733.4690

Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs

By Charles Dickens Adapted by David H. Bell Directed by Rosemary Newcott

GA VOICE | 20

11.07.14

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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THEATER BY JIM FARMER

‘Murder Ballad’ promises thrills to the last minute Actor’s Express audience sure to love sexy, smart rock opera The new rock opera “Murder Ballad,” which has just opened its run at Actor’s Express, certainly begins with a bang. One of the characters has just been murdered—and the audience doesn’t know who it is or who’s the killer. Those secrets are revealed over the course of the evening, according to Freddie Ashley, the company’s artistic director, who is directing the production.

At its heart is a love triangle that goes wrong.

Narrated by Jessica De Maria, “Murder Ballad” stars Kristen Alyson Browne as Sara, an Upper West Sider who has been seeing Tom (Jeremy Harrison), a bartender. They are both would-be artists—she a rock star, he an actor—but their relationship runs its course fairly quickly. Later Sara meets Michael (Kevin Harry), who has a PhD and is very settled. They get married, but one afternoon Sara sees Tom by chance and they begin a brief affair. Afterwards, according to Ashley, “the shit hits the fan.”

DETAILS ‘Murder Ballad’

Actor’s Express 887 W. Marietta St., Atlanta, GA 30318 Through Dec. 7 www.actorsexpress.com

Jeremy Harrison, Kristen Browne and Kevin Harry star in ‘Murder Ballad’ now playing at Actor’s Express.

(Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)

“Murder Ballad” opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2012 and was a New York Times critic’s pick. It was conceived by Julia Jordan, responsible for the book and lyrics, and Juliana Nash, handling music and lyrics.

Will Swenson, seen recently in the Alliance Theatre’s “Bull Durham,” played Tom in the original production.

Although he has not seen the show (he tried to during a New York visit, but it was sold out) Ashley has become almost obsessed with the score and the way it is told.

“I fell in love with the music,” he says.

“This is one of the most original musicals I’ve come across in a long time. It’s anything but a traditional piece of theater. It really caught my eye. It’s very sexy and smart. It’s clear and engaging and suspenseful. I thought it was something our audience would really dig.”

The story is told entirely through song, with no spoken dialogue, and contains its share of plot twists, says Ashley. It’s also staged in a unique manner.

“The way it was done initially in New York and around the country, it’s an immersive show for the audience,” he says. “We have taken out the traditional seating for the theater, re-configured some of it and it happens all over the room. So there are times when actors are literally standing next to an audience member or sitting at the same table.”

The company has a long history with rock

operas, such as the award-winning “Spring Awakening” and “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.” They have proven to be audience favorites.

“Our audience always craves high-octane experiences and they want to be moved in very substantial ways,” Ashley says. “With a rock musical you have a lot of capacity for that. I love rock musicals—musicals in general—because there is so much potential for an elevated emotional experience.” The director also says one of the current trends in theater is to use rock and popular music to tell a story, which “Murder Ballad” certainly does.

‘THE SUGAR BEAN SISTERS’

In its final few days at Onstage Atlanta is “The Sugar Bean Sisters,” a Southern Gothic comedy directed by director Cathe Hall Payne and written by out playwright Nathan Sanders, who recently visited Atlanta for a performance.

In the play, two sisters decide to escape spinsterhood in two completely different ways, one of which involves aliens. The show debuted 20 years ago at The WPA Theatre in New York and has been produced hundreds of times across the country. It earned Sanders an Oppenheimer Award nomination from Newsday for the “most impressive debut of a new American playwright.”

www.theGAVoice.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

11.07.14

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Eating my words BY CLIFF BOSTOCK

Famed Atlanta chef working with Chick-fil-A on new buns How will LGBT community react to Linton Hopkins’ new endeavor?

The Eater Atlanta blog last week interviewed brilliant chef-restaurateur Linton Hopkins, who operates Restaurant Eugene, Holeman and Finch, H&F Bakery and H&F Burger at Turner Field. He’s planning more casual venues at the Botanical Garden and the Ponce City Market. His food is consistently among the best in Atlanta.

Hopkins also announced that he’s been working with Chick-fil-A to develop a new bun for his sandwiches: “I’ve gotten to know Dan [Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A]. Dan’s big focus is how could he be the food of American families and that’s really important to him. Regardless of all the stuff around definition of family, he really wants to [do good by] American families and since they’re an Atlanta company, they had asked me to look at our bun.”

Food and family is one of Hopkins’ persistent themes, but we all remember Cathy’s

Atlanta chef Linton Hopkins’ creations includes the renowned Holeman & Finch burger, including its tasty bun. Hopkins has been working with Chick-fil-A on a new bun. (Photo via Facebook)

hateful language about gay marriage two and a half years ago. It provoked demonstrations and boycotts. Cathy later said he regretted entering the political fray, but

that his opinions remained the same. In fact, when the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the Supreme Court, he infamously tweeted (and later deleted): “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen. to abandon wisdom of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.”

How should we greet this news? I never cared for Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches, although I enjoy its advertising featuring stupid cows.

It will be interesting to see how gay people respond to Hopkins.

Biggest trends of next year: Did you know fast food sales at places like McDonald’s are shrinking? The big deal now is “fast casual” spots, like Ansley Mall’s Moe’s, Panera, and Bantam and Biddy. Those are mainly what will be featured at the new Ponce City Market, which will also include Linton Hopkins’ burger joint.

The most explosive culinary trend is Asian-style food, often fused with other ethnic cuisines. The most recognizable example, already a cliché, is food-truck-style Korean-Mexican kimchi tacos. But ramen, dim sum, and curries featuring sourced ingredients are also showing up, in spots like Makan in Decatur, Ah-Ma’s at Midtown

Promenade, and Spice to Table at Studioplex.

Among the most eagerly awaited is Big Boss Chinese in Decatur. It will feature Cantonese-style cooking by Guy Wong, owner of Miso Izakaya, a groundbreaking restaurant in our city.

“Cannabis Cuisine” is making lists of the hottest trends for 2015 in some of the western states. We’re not talking brownies and cookies. We’re talking everything from entrees to gluten-free baked goods. Never mind that weed-feed might cost more than foie gras. Meantime, a rumor’s going around that pop-up dinners featuring ganja are in the planning here.

Interestingly, the popularity of affordable multi-ethnic cuisine is often attributed to Generation Z, the late Millennials. They are in their teens, but being hugely multi-ethnic themselves, preferring farm-to-table food and having grown up in a recession, they are overwhelmingly attracted to these fastcasual spots.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, is a longtime Atlanta dining critic and a former psychotherapist who now specializes in life coaching with creative people.

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Event spotlight

Susana Morris, co-founder of The Crunk Feminist Collective and author of “Close Kin and Distant Relatives: The Paradox of Respectability in Black Women’s Literature,” will engage in a public dialogue about writing race, gender, and complicated truths in 21st century U.S. culture as part of a celebration of Charis Books & More’s 40th anniversary, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m., Solarium in Oakhurst, www.charisbooksandmore.com

Photo via Facebook

Keep the party going into the wee morning hours at Xion with DJ Alyson Calagna, 3 a.m., www.cariocaproductions.com

bout Tell us aBT event your LGays to submit your

ow There are tw inclusion in our online r fo t n event ve e T LGB ubmit your S . rs a d n le ail and print ca eGAVoice.com or e-m h .t w . w info to w AVoice.com ditor@theG details to e

FRIDAY, NOV. 7 – SUNDAY, NOV. 9

To bring attention to the estimated 900 LGBT youth in Atlanta that are homeless, Lost-n-Found Youth Executive Director Rick Westbrook will join them with his annual “48-hour Vigil” where he will live out of a moving truck and depend on the charity of others for food and necessities to survive on the streets. Friday’s event begins with a community update at 7 p.m. at the Hideaway followed by a candlelight walk to the truck in the parking lot of Burkhart’s. Beer Busts will be held Saturday and Sunday with the 48 hours ending with a celebration with the Armorettes at the Hideaway, lnfy.org The Joint Meeting of NOGLSTP’s Out to Motivate 2014 and STEM’s 4th National Conference brings 500 LGBTQ+ scientists and engineers, both students and professionals, together at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center this weekend, including a speaker from the White House and a Gala Awards banquet, www.noglstp.org

FRIDAY, NOV. 7 – SATURDAY, NOV. 8 Candler and Emily Budd return to Serenbe Playhouse with “Craigslist Chronicles: An All New Cabaret.” This husband and wife comedic cabaret team brings a show featuring the hilarious and ridiculous stories from actual Craigslist ads. You will meet characters looking for love, roommates, and someone to buy their used crap, 8 – 10 p.m., www.serenbeplayhouse.com

FRIDAY, NOV. 7

SUNDAY, NOV. 9

reyreysphotography.com

DJ John LePage comes to the Heretic for a Bear Invasion, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

11.07.14- 11.20.14

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Photo via Facebook

Photo via Facebook

FRIDAY, NOV. 7

SATURDAY, NOV. 15

BEST BETS BEST BETS

11.07.14

Film Love presents three provocative videos demonstrating the power of the visual in storytelling and research. Sydney Meredith Silverstein’s video “La Mamá de los Pollitos/The Mother Hen” centers on a Peruvian woman who raises chickens; the chickens and their eggs become a conduit for viewing the many rituals of motherhood, courtship, flirtation, and sexuality in the community. A. C. Klupchak’s “In the Lemon Grove” documents a hurricane-damaged town in Nicaragua, sustained by a nearby landfill and the opportunities it presents for “collaborative commerce.” In both works, dynamic visual style and sensitive observation suggest that images tell us things words cannot. Accompanying is David and Judith MacDougall’s “Under the Men’s Tree,” a short classic. 7 p.m., Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, www.thecontemporary.org Directed by out artist Cathe Hall Payne, “The Sugar Bean Sisters” has an 8 p.m. performance before closing tomorrow, www.onstageatlanta.com Edie Cheezburger, Jaye Lish and cast bring “The Other Show” drag event weekly at Jungle,

SATURDAY, NOV. 8

Glitter Ball takes over the Heretic with DJ Neon the Glowbear and the infamous Legendary Children Atlanta drag troupe with plenty of glitter boy dancers. Doors open at 9 p.m. with a $10 cover after 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com

SOMETHING GAY EVERY DAY!

Bookmark www.thegavoice.com to get your daily dose of local LGBT events.

9 p.m., www.jungleatl.com Femme Fatale hosted by Destiny Brooks and Shavonna B. Brooks takes over Burkhart’s every Friday with a cast including Phoenix and Mariah Balenciaga from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and also Angelica D’Paige, 10 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SATURDAY, NOV. 8

Celebrate 40 years of feminism, books, and community by stopping by Charis’ all-day in store party and sale. Everything in the store is 10 percent off; hardbacks 20 percent off.

Cake and snacks are available. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Take in a matinee of the Alliance Theatre’s “Steel Magnolias” at 2:30 p.m. today before it closes tomorrow, www.alliancetheatre.org

Franklin Abbott presents a reunion of most of the poets who have read at Bound to Read Books over the past nine years in an event being held from 3-9 p.m., www.boundtobereadbooks.com Pride School Atlanta holds an educators information and networking meeting, 4-5:30 p.m., the Phillip Rush Center, www.facebook.com/prideschoolgeorgia The Atlanta Fundraiser for Family Equality includes information on new Southern initiatives and also meeting Family Equality’s new Southern Regional Manager Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality. Family Equality is a national group advocating for LGBT parents, 6-8 p.m., No Mas! Hacienda & Cantina, action.familyequality.org

BEST BETS

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Publicity photo

The Manly Miss America Pageant 2014 is a benefit for PALS Atlanta, with hosts Bubba D. Licous, Edie Cheezburger, Jaye Lish and Erica Lee, 6 p.m., Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com

11.07.14

Celebrating 40 Years of Feminism and Independent Voices is a fundraiser for Charis Circle, with presenting sponsor Edie Cofrin.

Join writers, feminists, activists, and friends to celebrate 40 inspiring years and toast an exciting future with music, dancing, drinks, fabulous hors d’oeuvres and interactive exhibits including feminist and queer video games, art, photography, and professional photo booth. 7 -10:30 p.m., Marianna (above the Wrecking Bar in Little 5 Points), www.charisbooksandmore.com

My Sister’s Room presents its annual Food Can Drive, with music guests Bucky Motter and Sophie Sputnik, 9 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com Hot Mess! is a weekly dance party at Mary’s, www.marysatlanta.com It’s Southern Bears night at the Atlanta Eagle beginning at 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com DJ Kevin Durard spins at Jungle, 10 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

SUNDAY, NOV. 9

Keep the party going into the wee morning hours at Xion with DJ Alyson Calagna, 3 a.m., www.cariocaproductions.com The Sisters of Sequins, hosted by Bubba D. Licious and Justice Counce, offers up drag extravaganza, laughs and a gospel brunch special.

Doors open at 12:15 p.m. with a 1:30 p.m. program, Lips Atlanta, www.lipsatl.com

MONDAY, NOV. 10

Making Space is a community writing group for those of us who work, move or spend time serving others through human service and community professions (psychologists, educators, social workers, etc). This is Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Program. The suggested donation is $10. 6:30 – 8:30, www.charisbooksandmore.com Play Texas Hold’em Poker at 7:30 p.m. at Woofs, www.woofsatlanta.com

TUESDAY, NOV.11

Solutions Not Punishment hosts a membership meeting and update on its work to have the East Point Police Department undergo transgender sensitivity training, 6-8:30 p.m., Café Azul, rjactioncenter.org/snap Drageoke with Angelica D’Paige begins at 10:30 p.m., Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

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MONDAY, NOV. 17

Trans and Friends: a Project of the Feminist Outlawz is a youth focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender, and aspiring allies. This space to discuss gender, relevant resources, and activism around social issues. This is a project of the Feminist Outlawz and sponsored by Charis Circle’s Strong Families, Whole Children Program. There is no suggested donation for youth participants of this program but adults and allies may make a donation, 6 – 8:30, www.charisbooksandmore.com The Stars of the Century drag show is every Monday at Jungle, 10 p.m., http://tinyurl.com/matzdvf

TUESDAY, NOV. 18

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, will pack ’em in tonight at the Fox Theatre, 8 p.m., www.foxtheatre.org The Atlanta Opera presents the extraordinary “Madama Butterfly,” 8 p.m., Cobb Energy Centre, www.cobbenergycentre.org

GA VOICE

FRIDAY, NOV. 14

The a cappella group Straight No Chaser performs at the Fox Theatre, 8 p.m., www.foxtheatre.org

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12

Get your bingo on tonight at Joe’s on Juniper at 8 p.m., www.joesonjuniper.com Ruby Redd hosts bingo at 8:30 p.m. at the Hideaway, www.atlantahideaway.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 13

Traxx Girls night at My Sister’s Room offers drink specials, great music and lots of beautiful women, 10 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com

SATURDAY, NOV. 15

“Let’s Make a Deal,” hosted by Ken, is on tap tonight at Friends on Ponce, 6 – 10 p.m., www.friendsonponce-atl.com

SAGE Atlanta hosts its social hour, with games and conversation from 10 to 11 a.m. then a regular meeting, Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com

Join DJ Yvonne Monet for Watershed’s monthly After Party party and girls night out, no cover, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., Watershed, yvonnemonet.com

As part of the continuing celebration of Charis Books’ 40th birthday, historian Edward Baptist visits with his book “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism,” a sweeping, authoritative history of the expansion of slavery in America, showing how forced migrations radically altered the nation’s economic, political, and cultural landscape. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event. The suggested donation is $5, but tax deductible birthday gifts to Charis Circle in honor of Charis Books’ 40th birthday may be made. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

Bedlam presents another of its popular Wack Out Black Out parties with live performances

by Michael Robinson, Ansley Gwinn, Autumn Hamilton, Biqtch Puddin’ and beats by Merrln.

Glow in the dark paint will be available, 10 p.m., Jungle, www.jungleatl.com

Directed by out David Crowe, “The Elephant Man” runs through Nov. 16 with an 8 o’clock performance tonight, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, www.get.org

FRIDAY, NOV. 14-SATURDAY, NOV. 15

DJ John LePage comes to the Heretic for a Bear Invasion, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com (Photo by reyreysphotography.com Glitter Bomb is 75 minutes of high energy illusion, hosted by Genre, 11 p.m., Blake’s, blakesontheparkatlanta.com

SUNDAY, NOV. 16

$2 well drinks are on tap all day and night at Sunday Funday at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309

A Trans Health Symposium to assist providers in building capacity through medical cultural competency to interact with and medically treat trans individuals with care and respect, https://adobe formscentral.com/?f=c5I4GGTrJLX2AidMvMzR2Q

Atlanta’s Angelica D’Paige and friends — including Brent Star and Destiny Brooks — purr up fun at Sex Kitten Sundays, with $5 burgers and Smirnoff cocktails, 8 p.m. at 10th and Piedmont, www.facebook.com/10thAndPiedmont

FRIDAY, NOV. 14

It’s Cell Block Sunday starring Lateasha Shante Shuntel with Shawnna Brooks, Nicole Paige Brooks, Raquell Lord, Michelle Paris and Taejah Thomas, 8 p.m., Blake’s on the Park, blakesontheparkatlanta.com

Eddie’s Attic and Bowe Inc. present Aaron Carter with his special guests Amanda Hale, Kz, and Liberty Deep Down, The Loft at Center Stage, 9 p.m., www.centerstage-atlanta.com

Kidliterate Book Club is a new kind of book club. Attendees will be reading one book a month (children’s or young adult fiction). This month’s book is “The Rock and the River.” This is a Charis Circle Whole Children, Strong Families Program.

The suggested donation is $5. 7 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Author Lindsey Grant visits the Georgia Center for the Book to discuss her new book “Sleep With Dogs.” Go behind closed doors and discover the secret lives of some of the most devoted pet owners, whether they’re serving their dogs filtered water or leaving Animal Planet on all day to keep their pets company. 9:15 p.m., Georgia Center for the Book, www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 19

After visiting the Georgia Center for the Book the previous night, author Lindsey Grant comes to Charis tonight to discuss “Sleep With Dogs.” This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event. The suggested donation is $5. 7:30 – 9 p.m. www.charisbooksandmore.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 20

SAGE Atlanta hosts its social hour, with games and conversation from 10 to 11 a. m. then a regular meeting, Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.com Michelle Malone, Kevn Kinney and Levi Lowrey unite for a great night of music at Red Clay Music Foundry, 5:30 and 8 p.m., www.eddieowenpresents.com Charis and Cliterati pair up to present an inviting and fierce open mic and reading series on the third Thursday of every month.

Hosted by the anarchic spoken word team of Karen G and Theresa Davis, members of the Art Amok Slam Team, this series cultivates the voices of authors, novices and an assortment of poets, songstresses and storytellers.

The November feature is Kris Villarreal, author of “Logost,” a feminist speculative fiction novel. This is a From Margin to Center Literary Program; suggested donation is $5.

7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com Every Thursday is 3 Legged Cowboy Night with free dance lessons from 8 – 9 p.m. at the Heretic, www.hereticatlanta.com

presents

the 12th annual

& silent auction

2014

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7

AMERICASMART 3 www.forthekid.org

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

11.0714

BOOKS BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

‘My Thinning Year’ thick with meaning Confusion over sexuality leads to self abuse

“You look great!”

When you’re dieting, there are no sweeter words. Losing weight is work, sacrifice, and lots of self-control. For sure, it’s not for wimps.

But how much is too much? Can you shed your past while you shed pounds, too? In “My Thinning Years” by Jon Derek Croteau, you’ll read about gains and losses that have nothing to do with a scale.

From a very young age, Jon Derek Croteau feared his father.

A salesman who traveled a lot, the man was loud, controlling, and abusive to the entire family, both physically and mentally. Croteau remembers when he was small, and his father screamed at him for singing in front of family friends. When Croteau confessed to playing dress-up in preschool, his father withheld food. Years later, after the family moved from Ohio to the Boston area, Croteau’s father forced Croteau into sports, vowing to “make… a real man” of him.

Croteau fiercely hated sports but he played anyhow. He desperately wanted his father’s approval; football, basketball, and baseball seemed the way to get it.

But the older Croteau got, the more relentless the abuse became. He started staying with friends as much as possible, avoiding his own home. By then, he’d “internalized” his father’s homophobia and, in doing so, began to fear his own feelings and his confusion about his sexuality. He prayed to God to deliver him from being gay. He developed an unrequited crush on his best guy friend.

Disgusted with himself, loathing his father but unable to stop trying to win his love and approval, Croteau became depressed and, he says, “I started thinking about killing myself.”

He couldn’t, so he began running. When he realized that exercise and weight were things he could control, he ran even more. He cut fat from his diet entirely, then he avoided almost all foods and began to starve.

“I knew that my father would rather I be dead than be gay,” he says. “There was noting I

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oDECATUR

TERRIFIC THURSDAYS Worthmore Jewelers The Cook’s Warehouse

Jon Derek Croteau (Photo courtesy of Boston University)

could do but obey the orders I was given, until I disintegrated into nothingness… and no one was going to stop me.”

In his preface, author Jon Derek Croteau (who obviously lived to tell the tale) says that he almost didn’t write this book, until he realized that “My Thinning Years” might inspire others to “let hope in” when faced with abuse for being gay.

For sure, victims who start this emotional ragsto-riches story will know they’re in the company of a kindred spirit because of what Croteau bravely shares. Those heartbreaking recollections make this a hard book to read for anyone (including LGBT allies, who will be horrified) but, at the same time, it’s also hard to turn away from the firm promise of triumph we’ll get in the end.

“It Gets Better” was never more apt than here.

I think that if you’ve taken an anti-bullying stand this year, you will surely appreciate what’s inside this book. It may not exactly be a pleasure-read, but “My Thinning Years” is thick with meaning.

seasonal shopportunities Get gifty in November and December. Look for special sales, snacks, and extended hours at local shops and restaurants during Terrific Thursdays in Decatur.

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COLUMNISTS

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FemmeFOLIO Get off your phone!

Atlanta drivers guilty of social media obsession

LESLIE A. COOK JD, CFP®, CDFA™ Financial Advisor 825 Juniper St Atlanta, GA 30308 404.564.4265 leslie.a.cook@ampf.com ameripriseadvisors.com/ leslie.a.cook

Can you keep your lifestyle in retirement?

Let’s talk.

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I’m on Atlanta roads an extraordinary amount of time each day. As a work-fromhome mother, I commute to a preschool clear on the other side of town, which on a good day and in the carpool lane, takes us 45 minutes to an hour to arrive at the school, and then another 45 minutes to get home.

Fast-forward six or so hours later, and it’s time to make the two-hour trek to retrieve my youngsters. All this is to say that I am getting an extraordinary amount of research time on the road in my informal survey of drivers who are looking at their phones in a moving vehicle.

It’s not a scientific number by any means, but I think it’s safe to guess that on morning and afternoon commutes, I see at least six out of 10 people slovenly scrolling through their smartphones, a puddle of drool forming at the side of their mouths (I imagine). This is when our cars are in motion. I’m not talking about the people stuck in actual unmoving gridlock—we’ve all been there. There’s a huge sign above the lanes on I-75 near Turner Field stating that texting while driving makes crashing 23 times more likely. But it’s not the texting that people are doing. It’s the mindless scrolling that I think people are doing. It’s social media—the black hole, the mind suck, the vacuum that convinces us that we’re connecting with the

Kirsten Ott Palladino is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Equally Wed Magazine. You can reach her via email kirsten@equallywed.com or Twitter at @kirstenop.

world when it’s anything but.

To the people swiping Tinder, retweeting on Twitter, liking on Facebook and heaven knows what on Grindr at 8 a.m., I have a message for you: GET OFF YOUR PHONE! I know it’s hard to hear. I’m no innocent hands-free angel myself. I’ve certainly sent the on-wheels text message C U SOON ILY (which my iPhone quickly transforms to “I love you” for me). But ever since that girl tragically died when she crashed her car after she updated her Facebook status that Pharrell’s song “Happy” made her so happy, I realized that nothing is worth it— not a status update, not a text, not a phone number, not a laugh at a cute meme, not an “aw, hugs” on someone’s sad status or even a thumbs-up emoticon to let someone know I received their text and I will get back to them later. Anything that risks your life, the life of someone else or even just the time and money spent repairing one or more cars after a fender-bender is just not that important.

Of course, the larger issue is our smartphone addiction. We’re glued to our gadgets while standing in lines, sitting at doctors’ offices, on our sofas, at our kids’ recitals and soccer practices, walking on streets and at meetings. We pretend we’re doing something important. Sudoku and Scrabble to work our brains! Tindr and Grindr to improve our sex lives! Facebook to connect with friends! Twitter and Tumblr to get our news and learn about new things! You know what it’s also called? Escapism. Addiction. Information overload.

I know what I’m about to say is not easy to think about. You probably get shaky just being five feet from your phone. But consider taking a break from your device for at least 10 minutes every hour, and when you’re driving, put it in the glove box.

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SOMETIMES'Y' Queer karma

Georgia’s gay marriage fight proved ‘God don’t like ugly’ The silence sounded delicious.

In early 2004, I was on the phone with then-state Sen. Bill Stephens, the Republican Senate majority leader who a week earlier announced at a press conference that he was introducing an amendment to Georgia’s constitution to protect “the sanctity of marriage” from same-sex couples and activist judges. It was our third or fourth conversation of the news cycle, and sensing where our interview was headed, Stephens had me on speaker phone in his Capitol office.

After polite greetings, I started with the question that Atlanta’s mainstream media was too polite to ask: “I’ve spoken to your ex-wife several times, and she’s not sure you’re the best person to be defending ‘the sanctity of marriage.’”

That’s when the deafening silence flowed across the telephone line, amplified by speaker phone. I savored the dead air for a few seconds, then tried to mute the vengeance from my voice as I asked Stephens whether it was true that his adultery with a staffer ended his 15-year marriage, and whether he annulled that marriage, wiping it out of existence and bastardizing the two children born of it.

Our telephone call ended abruptly, and a few minutes later our newsroom received a fax from Stephens’s lawyer threatening a lawsuit if we published the story. The article ran on the front page of that week’s now defunct Southern Voice, and Stephens was immediately replaced as the frontman of the family values initiative.

He said not another word about samesex marriage that legislative session—not via press conference or speaker phone, nor when the Senate debated the bill he introduced. He didn’t start talking about samesex marriage again until the 2006 Republican primary for Secretary of State, when he used his sponsorship of the amendment to pander to Georgia’s GOP base. It didn’t work.

Stephens lost both the primary and a runoff, and has been out of politics ever since.

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Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

Stephens, along with many of Georgia’s anti-gay torchbearers from a decade ago, learned what they should have been taught in Sunday school: God don’t like ugly.

Republican state Sen. Mike Crotts, who replaced his philandering colleague as the lead sponsor of the marriage amendment, tried to parlay the anti-gay measure into a seat in Congress. He was humiliated, receiving just 11 percent of the primary vote in the final election of his inglorious career.

Speaker of the House Terry Coleman, who ordered a second vote on the marriage amendment after it was initially defeated in that chamber, cemented his epitaph as the Democrat who presided over the last days of a 140-year political dynasty.

The richest justice was bestowed upon the man who initially was the biggest beneficiary of the anti-gay amendment, Glenn Richardson, who became the first Republican Speaker of the House since Reconstruction. During House debate on the amendment, Richardson “apologized” to the women in the chamber for even discussing a topic as filthy and repulsive as gay and lesbian relationships.

I know it’s unfashionable to speak badly of mentally ill people who are fragile enough to attempt—yet too incompetent to succeed at—suicide, but it was impossible not to cheer as life knocked the snot out of a political bully like Richardson.

Just two years after his historic rise to Speaker, the holy defender of marriage was investigated for an affair with a lobbyist that he later confessed to; a year later, his wife divorced him; a year after that, Richardson was sprawled across his bathroom floor after a failed overdose attempt; within a month the Speaker of the House was ousted from political office for good, literally in tears.

Perhaps Richardson should have “apologized” to his wife, children and parents for being such an imperfect being. Or maybe he should have remained silent instead of slandering LGBT love.

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