Empty Closet, November 2014

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NUMBER 484

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A PUBLICATION OF THE GAY ALLIANCE

NOVEMBER 2014

PHOTO: LORRAINE WOERNER-M c GOWAN

Grant of $447,000 comes through for abused deaf survivors here

Every day should be a Transgender Day of Remembrance

By Tristan Wright Later this month, people will gather across the globe, including here in Rochester, to commemorate the Transgender Day of Remembrance, an event created in 1998 as an online project to honor the still-unsolved murder of transgender woman Rita Hester. Since its creation, it has become an annual fixture with support from national and international organizations alike.

On November 20, people will come together to grieve the lives of trans* people who were murdered for being who they were, and to mourn the ones who took their own lives after the toll

Possible hate crime in Geneseo raises weakness in state law

By Susan Jordan Local and national media circulated a story on Oct. 1 about an assault on a transgender SUNY student that occurred on Sept. 26 at around 2 a.m. in Geneseo.

The Gay Alliance has been working with organizations in Geneseo to ensure that the situation is handled appropriately.

Executive Director Scott Fearing said, “The LGBTQ community should know that based on conversations with our contacts on campus and in the area, we currently feel confident that the response and investigation by local law enforcement have been handled in appropriate ways. Further it seems that campus administra-

of daily encounters with transphobia and discrimination could no longer be borne. Those gathered will reflect on the innumerable transgender people whose deaths went unreported, the hate crimes that went unsolved, and the justice that remains elusive.

(See p. 11 for Rochester events.)

According to data collected and analyzed by the Transgender Violence Tracking Portal, a transgender person is murdered somewhere in the world every 38 hours. Based on their data, in 2013 alone 23 transgender people were killed in the United States; there have been nine killings of trans* people in the US thus far this year. However, these numbers only account for murders that are reported; the deaths of transgender people are far more likely to remain unre( Trans Day continues page 7)

tion and other campus services are also responding appropriately to support the victim, including protecting the student’s desire to remain anonymous.”

Media reports have indicated that the student “was born male and now identifies herself as a woman.”

However, the Gay Alliance feels the comments made on Oct. 1 by Livingston County District Attorney Greg McCaffrey are very disturbing. His assertion that the severity of the injuries from the assault were not severe enough to warrant calling the assault a hate crime is unconscionable, Fearing said.

“A line was crossed,” stressed Fearing, “an assault occurred.

If the victim was physically assaulted because of their identity, as the reported name-calling indicates, then this was a hate motivated incident and should be investigated, and potentially

On Oct. 1, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced a $447,000 grant for the Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims (ASADV) in Monroe County.

The funding was allocated through the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office on Violence Against Women and will be used in collaboration with the Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley to create more outreach services and resources for deaf and hard of hearing survivors of domestic and sexual violence, including those in the deaf LGBTQ community.

Additionally, ASADV will provide direct services, such as counseling, advocacy, and support groups, to deaf and hard of hearing survivors of domestic and sexual violence as well as community education workshops and programs.

“This money is absolutely critical to better protect victims of sexual violence and rape who are deaf and hard of hearing,” said Sen. Schumer. “Survivors of these tragic, life-endangering situations don’t just need a safe place to stay, they need comprehensive services that can help them get back on their feet and move forward with confidence. The Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf ($447,000 continues page 6)

charged as such.”

The Gay Alliance feels that this situation emphasizes the need to update NYS Hate Crimes legislation to allow the victim of an incident to name the attack as a hate crime, as is the case in many states, rather than leaving that to the police.

Fearing added, “Such a vital determination should not be in the hands of an authority who may have very limited knowledge of what it means to be targeted for a hate crime. We ask that New York lawmakers follow the lead of other states and allow the victim of a crime to state that they believe the criminal was motivated by personal hatred (Geneseo continues page 12)

Rush to justice: Marriage equality is now legal in 32 states plus D.C.

By Susan Jordan The Supreme Court on Oct. 6 decided not to review same-sex marriage victories in Virginia and four other states, meaning legal marriages can take place there.

The court’s decision came without explanation and put off a decision about gay marriage The first marriage in Virginia. nationally. The court decided not to review decisions that struck down proNorth Carolina, West Virginhibitions on same-sex marriage ia, and Wyoming. The stay on in Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Alaska marriages was denied on Indiana and Wisconsin. MarOct. 17. riages had been on hold in those The previous week, the places pending the disposition of Attorney General made a simithose cases. lar announcement with respect With the Court’s decision to seven other states: Colorado, not to review the cases, favorable Indiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, marriage rulings in the 10th CirUtah, Virginia and Wisconcuit, the 7th Circuit, and the 4th sin. Colorado Attorney GenerCircuit have gone or will soon al John Suthers said on Oct. go into effect. Marriage bans 6 that all 64 county clerks in in every state within those cirthat state must begin to issue cuits will be invalidated, adding marriage licenses. The Oct. 25 Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklaannouncement adds to that list homa, Utah, Wyoming, North and brings the total number of Carolina, South Carolina, Virstates where same-sex couples ginia, West Virginia, Indiana, are recognized by the federal and Wisconsin to the list of freegovernment to 32, plus the Disdom to marry states. As a result trict of Columbia. The Attorney of the Court’s decision, an addiGeneral’s announcement means tional 51 million Americans will couples married in these states live in a freedom to marry state. will now qualify for a range of On Oct. 25, Attorney Genfederal benefits, including those eral Eric Holder announced that administered by the Social Secuthe federal government will now rity Administration and Departrecognize same-sex married coument of Veterans Affairs. ples in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, (Rush continues page 3)

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

Perspectives The Empty Closet Editor SUSAN JORDAN

Good news Good news is always welcome. On Oct. 6, the Supreme Court declined to review five states’ bans on marriage equality – which means marriages can go ahead there, and in fact are going ahead, full steam.

Congratulations to Wisconsin, Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma and Indiana.

And let’s not forget that because of the ruling, other states will also have to end their unconstitutional marriage bans, which now makes 32 and soon 35 states where LGBTQ marriages and families are legal and “real”. Despite attempts at stays, same sex marriages are now underway (or soon will be) in Alaska, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Nevada.

The Court may get around to ruling nationally one of these days. It’s hard to imagine they would reverse equality as established by an overwhelming majority of federal judges.

The very fact that so few of the bans have been upheld by appeals courts is one reason why the Supremes weren’t immediately obliged to intervene with a national ruling.

Williams Institute surveys imply that between 5.2 and 9.5 million adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. As of 2013, an estimated 124,000 same-sex couples were married and raising more than 30,000 children. Our families ARE real!

In world news this fall, thousands protested for marriage equality in Taiwan. Estonia, a former Soviet-ruled country, has approved civil unions. In Spain, the Catalan parliament has passed a law to curb homophobic violence. Uganda’s president has backed down a bit on that “kill the gays” bill – due to trade boycotts. Money talks.

In non-gay-related but encouraging news, brave feminist Malala Yousefzai, 17, has become the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize. A teenage girl defeated the Taliban killers! She is an icon for young people all over the world.

Also, hundreds of thousands of people, many of them students, rallied for democracy in Hong Kong. The voter ID law in Wisconsin, which was implemented by the Republican Party to keep anyone likely to vote Democratic from the polls, has been overturned. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has given Texas permission to maintain that state’s unconstitutional voter photo-ID law.

Now many Americans are advocating for the overturn of Citizens United, to protect OUR endangered democracy from the 1% and their financial influence over elections. Maybe elected officials should wear the corporate logos of their financial contributors the way athletes do, so voters would know where their loyalty lies!

Early last month, Facebook had apparently decided not to ban pages with “false names” after all – but on Oct. 21, Sister Roma, one of the San Francisco queens who had negotiated with Facebook, told media that even as one or two queens get their pages approved, a handful get suspended. So much for good news from Facebook!

Sister Roma urges queens to contact her with their names, deactivated policy URLs and explanations of why their drag identity is the name they need to use publicly.

The struggle continues. Let’s keep working and the good news will keep coming! ■

Gay Alliance Board of Trustees David Zona, President, Jessica Muratore, Vice-President, W. Bruce Gorman, Secretary, Peter Mohr, Treasurer, Jason Barnecut, Chris Hilderbrant, Emily Jones, Jeff Lambert, William Schaefer

Gay Alliance Executive Director SCOTT FEARING

Be out, be out, wherever you are Since Stonewall all the various segments and identities of the LGBTQ communities have encouraged people to live out of the closet, to live open and authentic lives.

Harvey Milk famously said, “Come out to your relatives... come out to your friends... if indeed they are your friends.

Come out to your neighbors... to your fellow workers... to the people who work where you eat and shop…”

His plea remains important.

Even with marriage equality and increased LGBTQ protections, invisibility remains one of our biggest challenges.

Invisibility allows violence to continue. LGBTQ people face bullying and hate crimes with more regularity than nonLGBTQ people. Some of the most vulnerable are those who have the fewest resources. The murder and suicide rates for Trans* people, especially Trans* women of color, are beyond troubling.

Here in Rochester we have a long-standing relationship with the Police Department, but if you move a few miles out of town that can change. Invisibility can lead law enforcement agencies and entire justice systems to assume that they don’t have to serve and protect “those people”.

Invisibility allows bias to continue. “We don’t have LGBTQ seniors here.” The Gay

Name

Alliance staff often hears this when we try to engage with organizations that work with seniors. We know that is not the case. LGBTQ seniors attend their programs and live in their communities.

It’s not just seniors who fall prey to bias. We all face dehumanization and discrimination when people think they don’t know any gay or trans people – just stereotypes.

Invisibility allows our existence to be dismissed. Resorts will market get-away specials for “couples” and then blanch when two women show up.

Forms will provide only two boxes to define gender. Politicians won’t know what GENDA or ENDA would do for their fellow citizens.

Visibility is power. The Gay Alliance is currently running a campaign to encourage people to be out and visible. We are asking LGBTQ people and our allies to be out and visible.

At the heart of the campaign is a request for people to take pictures of themselves holding signs that proudly proclaim their identity and to post and share these images. (See page 30.)

The campaign will run through the end of the year, but we are starting it in connection with the United Way’s annual ROC The Day event. This oneday online fundraising effort is an important day for us and this year we want to ensure that LGBTQ people are VISIBLE. The Gay Alliance has produced identity signs that are on our website to download and print. Feel free to make your own. Photos taken at local landmarks or at locations in your daily life are encouraged as a way to show that our community members are an important part of Rochester.

Go to www.gayalliance. org/PrideInROC to learn more. Photos that get posted, tweeted or shared should include #PrideInRoc. It is up to you to break the invisibility -- to show that we are everywhere. ■ 11/14

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Benefits: Subscription to The Empty Closet mailed to home or work, plus privileges at each level. Phone: 585 244-8640 or mail to: Gay Alliance, 875 E. Main St., Suite 500, Rochester, NY 14605. Home delivery of The Empty Closet is free with your annual membership.

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NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

PAGE ONE (Rush from page 1) The Court’s decision on Oct. 6 not to review the rulings means that as many as 60 percent of the American people are living in freedom to marry states, with a majority of the states having the freedom to marry for all.

“With each new state where same-sex marriages are legally recognized, our nation moves closer to achieving of full equality for all Americans,” the Attorney General said. “We are acting as quickly as possible with agencies throughout the government to ensure that same-sex married couples in these states receive the fullest array of benefits allowable under federal law.”

In addition, the Attorney General also announced that the Department of Justice has determined it can legally recognize marriages performed in Indiana and Wisconsin this past June.

These marriages were performed immediately after federal district courts ruled that those states’ bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, but subsequent developments created confusion about the status of those marriages. Based on the Attorney General’s announcement, however, those couples married during that period will now have their unions recognized by the federal government.

In total, 41 federal and state courts in the past year have ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples with only one federal and one state ruling going the other way. Five of these marriage wins were before the Supreme Court for possible review.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, released the following statement: “Today’s decision from the Ninth Circuit brings to 35 the number of freedom to marry states, and 64 percent of the American people now live in a state where gay people will soon share in the freedom to marry. We now have more states that have ended the exclusion of gay couples from marriage than had ended bans on interracial marriage when the Supreme Court brought the country to national resolution in Loving v. Virginia. We hope that the other federal appellate courts will move swiftly to end the disparity and unfair denial that too many loving and committed couples in the 15 remaining states endure.”

In total, 42 federal and state courts in the past year have ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples with only one federal and one state ruling going the other way. On Oct. 6, the Supreme Court denied review of five of these marriage wins, paving the way for the freedom to marry in an additional 11 states.

Two of the judges on the panel were also part of the majority in SmithKline Beecham Corporation v. Abbott Laboratories back in January of this year, holding that discrimination based on sexual orientation requires heightened scrutiny.

The decision, written by Judge Stephen Reinhardt, holds that “Idaho and Nevada’s marriage laws, by preventing samesex couples from marrying and refusing to recognize same-sex marriages celebrated elsewhere,

impose profound legal, financial, social and psychic harms on numerous citizens of those states.”

The decision further states: “Classifying some families, and especially their children, as of lesser value should be repugnant to all those in this nation who profess to believe in ‘family values.’ In any event, Idaho and Nevada’s asserted preference for opposite-sex parents does not, under heightened scrutiny, come close to justifying unequal treatment on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Idaho The Idaho case was brought in November 2013 by four same-sex couples: Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori and Sharene Watsen, Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer, and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson.

The couples are represented by Idaho attorneys Deborah Ferguson and Craig Durham of Ferguson Durham LLP and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).

On Sept. 8, Ferguson argued before Ninth Circuit Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Marsha S. Berzon, and Ronald M. Gould that Idaho’s laws that ban marriage equality and prohibit the state from respecting the marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states violate the U.S. Constitution.

The state of Idaho on Oct. 8 filed a motion to recall the mandate allowing same-sex marriages to begin immediately in the state. KTVB reported Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden’s office confirmed the emergency motion the morning of Oct. 8. According to the Idaho Statesman, Thomas C. Perry, counsel for the governor, wrote in that morning’s filings that the state is prepared to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy entered a temporary stay against gay marriages in Idaho, asking the opposing side to file a reply

by Thursday, Oct. 9 at 5 p.m.

Attorney General Holder’s Oct. 25 announcement establishes that the federal government recognizes Idaho marriages.

Originally the Idaho case was consolidated for purposes of the decision with Sevcik v. Sandoval, a case challenging Nevada’s marriage ban brought by same-sex couples represented by Lambda Legal.

The original Supreme Court decision made the Ninth Circuit the fourth consecutive circuit court to rule in favor of the freedom to marry since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act in June 2013. Since then, the Tenth, Fourth, and Seventh Circuits have ruled that state laws barring same-sex couples from marrying are unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed those decisions to stand.

Said attorney Deborah Ferguson (before the mandate was blocked): “The Court’s ruling is a victory not only for the courageous couples who brought this case, but for our entire state and every state in the Ninth Circuit.

The decision affirms the fundamental principles of equality (Rush continues page 6)

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NewsFronts LOCAL AND STATE

Sara Campbell and Brae Adams at Open Arms MCC.

Pastoral interns provide new Leadership at Open Arms MCC

By Susan Jordan Brae Adams and Sara Campbell, both students at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, are now pastoral interns at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church, 707 E. Main St. Both are working for their Masters of Divinity degrees, which Sara will attain in May 2015 and Brae in May 2016.

Jeff Myers has been named Executive Director and has taken over administrative aspects of the church. Jeff’s focus is on community outreach to other groups, churches, and interfacing with area LGBTQ persons.

Open Arms is not simply “the gay church” – it is an inclusive church, which also emphasizes families and social justice issues. Brae told The Empty Closet, “Our biggest focus right now is making connections in the community. Sara and I bring different skills to that, so that’s perfect. Sara does outreach to college-age through 30s people, who maybe aren’t that interested in a traditional service. That’s why we put in an evening service that Sara will lead. It’s very exciting – there is a praise band, with a professionally trained singer.

The service has a modern feel to it, encouraging participants to interact with the preacher, both through their smart phones and direct questions.

“I lead the Sunday morning service and am doing more outreach in our local community.

We’re starting a very limited food cupboard and will still do our Thanksgiving food baskets.

With our unique location, we are poised to be a help to the community. Some members are less affluent than others and we want to be accessible to them.

People will get the word that they can come here for food if

they are in need.

“We are supplying enough food for a day; for long term needs that we can’t provide for, in Rochester we have good resources like Foodlink; there is a big list and we can help people utilize the many resources in the city. We can also help with housing. Monroe County has a social services emergency housing program. We’re trying to be a resource.”

Brae said, “One of my particular charges is that the Metropolitan Community Church denomination offers a certification process for working with trans issues. I have been working with both the cisgender and gender variant communities, both inside our congregation and within the greater community, on understanding trans issues and on how to be an advocate. One thing I’ve noticed is, the best thing you can do is to treat transgender people AS people. I proudly say I am a straight, cisgender ally. When I walk into places it does good for other cisgender people to see me accepting people as they are, regardless of how they define their gender or who they love.

Often those two different issues are confused!”

Brae has been married for 25 years and has three children. So why did a straight, cisgendered woman want to intern at Open Arms?

Brae said, “I helped start one of the first GSAs in Mississippi, in 1989 at Mississippi State University. My best friend since junior high is a bisexual woman and people weren’t nice to her.

There were incidents of violence and bullying on campus that involved LGBT people.

“I’ve always dreamed of having my own church and painting it rainbow – a place where people could be beloved members of the community regardless of anything else. Here it is!”

Open Arms has worked for outreach to African American churches in the city. “We have

a long way to go,” Brae said.

“However, there’s a group of African American church leaders who have initiated a dialogue on homosexuality. It’s in the process of forming now. We’re just getting together to talk among ourselves about what our commonalities are. This group is about social justice – not just LGBT issues – but they are included.”

Brae summed up, “I think this is an exciting time to be at Open Arms. There are so many opportunities for worship and community building.

Our motto is: ‘Beyond open and affirming… beyond welcoming… a safe place where all are welcome.’

“Galatians 3:28 says, ‘We are all created in the image of God. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus.’”

Sara Campbell has been married to her wife for three years and they have a son. Sara is in her Senior year at Colgate.

She did her supervised ministry internship last year with a group in Buffalo called the Buffalo Peacemakers. The Buffalo Peacemakers provides proactive intervention into the cycle of violence in the lives of ganginvolved or at-risk youth.

“We at Open Arms are trying to talk openly about these issues and how we are called to act on them. Not just LGBTQ issues but gun violence, systemic poverty, homelessness, racial issues, the school to prison pipeline, border issues, these are the subjects that the gospel wants us to talk about and create change around.”

Sara said her reason to intern at Open Arms was because it is the only church where she, as a lesbian, has ever felt completely included and comfortable. “I got a chance to preach here last summer and had never experienced a church that was beyond ‘affirming’.” Sara describes The United Church of Christ, her home denomination, as “amazing, they have done a lot of good being proactive on all levels of social justice and they are inclusive of LGBTQ folks. However, there’s a difference at Open Arms. Last summer I had a chance to preach on a gay pride sermons series, the final sermon on the weekend of Pride. It was amazing, and freeing. When Jeff asked me to intern at Open Arms it felt natural and a good opportunity for both me and the church. MCC is completely inclusive and not just ‘affirming’. I never feel here that I have to defend who I am.”

She talked about her vision for OAMCC. “I want for this church to start figuring out ways to be disciples of Jesus Christ. To live out the call of the gospel in love. To truly be servants of each other and the world. Seeing people as human beings is so important – having relationships and not seeing people as ‘The Other’ is what changes things.

“OAMCC has gotten beyond what people think of us and is focusing on how to serve others. The focus isn’t proving who deserves to be at the table, but just to be at the table and serve others and have dialogue. It doesn’t matter what our opinions are, only that we are serving others. That’s ‘Radical Hospitality’ – we show our hospitality to all.”

(Pastoral continue page 12)

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

NewsFronts NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

First Alaskan marriage took place in a small Arctic town after a judge granted a waiver.

Federal judge gives go-ahead for Alaska marriages on Oct. 10 A federal judge ruled on Oct. 10 that Alaska’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, Alaska Dispatch News reports: Judge Timothy Burgess wrote in a summary judgment that Alaska’s “refusal to recognize same-sex marriages lawfully entered in other states is unconstitutional as a deprivation of basic due process and equal protection principles under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

The lawsuit was filed in Anchorage in May. The ruling took effect immediately, despite the fact that Alaska’s governor has vowed to disregard the court’s ruling and stop the legal weddings.

“As Alaska’s governor, I have a duty to defend and uphold the law and the Alaska Constitution. Although the district court today may have been bound by the recent Ninth Circuit panel opinion, the status of that opinion and the law in general in this area is in flux. I will defend our constitu-

tion.” - Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell -JoeMyGod.com California’s Williams Institute stated, “In Alaska, there are nearly 1,230 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 23 percent are raising more than 560 children in their homes.”

Williams Institute research also suggests that 614 of these couples will marry in the first three years, generating $8 million in spending in the state and an additional $135 thousand in sales tax revenue.

Spending related to same-sex couples’ wedding ceremonies and celebrations is expected to create 26 to 79 jobs in the tourism and recreation sector for the state.

A few weeks earlier, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned similar bans in Idaho and Nevada. Alaska, along with Arizona and Montana, falls under the Ninth Circuit’s purview.

Alaska Dispatch News adds officials with the state’s Bureau of Vital Statistics began accepting applications for same-sex marriage licenses at 8 a.m. Oct. 11.

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3G2AkyODg

New studies: up to 9.5 million identify as LGBT Two new studies, released in late September by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, review findings from four recent large, national, population-based surveys to derive estimates of the size of the LGBT community and same-sex married and unmarried couple families.

Estimates across the surveys analyzed imply that between 5.2 and 9.5 million adults in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). As of 2013, an estimated 124,000 same-sex couples were married and raising more than 30,000 children.

Authored by Williams Distinguished Scholar Gary J. Gates, PhD, the two studies are titled “LGBT Demographics: Comparisons among population-based surveys” and “LGB Families and Relationships: Analyses of the 2013 National Health Interview Survey.” Between them, four national surveys are analyzed: 20062010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); 2008-2012 General Social Survey (GSS); 2013 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS); 2014 Gallup Daily Tracking Survey.

Gates observes, “Courts, legislatures, and voters continue to debate high profile policy issues including marriage and parenting rights for same-sex couples along with economic and health disparities associated with discrimination and stigma toward LGBT individuals. The availability of new data sources that include identification of LGBT respondents allows us to better inform those debates with critical information about the demographic characteristics of LGBT individuals and their families.”

Key findings from the LGBT Demographics study include: Estimates of the percent of adults who identified as LGB or LGBT varied across surveys from between 2.2 percent and 4.0 percent, implying that between 5.2 million and 9.5 million individuals aged 18 and older are LGBT. Surveys were more consistent in estimates of the percent of all adults who identified as lesbian or gay (1.4 percent to 1.6 percent) but there was variation in estimates of the proportion of bisexuals among adults (0.6 percent to 1.6 percent) Surveys found many demographic similarities among respondents who choose to identify as LGB or LGBT. LGBT identity was more common among younger populations. LGBT populations generally shared the racial and ethnic characteristics of non-LGBT individuals. Adults were more likely to identify as LGBT in the Northeast and West than in the South and Midwest.

Key findings from the study of LGB Families and Relationships include: In 2013, there were an estimated 690,000 same-sex couples in the US, of whom, approximately 124,000 were married. Analyses restricted to the second half of that year, after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Windsor that brought federal

recognition to married same-sex couples, suggest that the figure may be as many as 130,000 married same-sex couples.

In the last three years, the number of married same-sex couples in the US has increased by an estimated 50 percent Married same-sex couples lived in every region of the country. More than 1 in 10 (12 percent) lived in the South.

Nearly 4 in 10 married same-sex couples (39 percent) live in the Northeast Same-sex couples were raising an estimated 200,000 children under age 18, of whom 30,000 are being raised by married same-sex parents. LGBT individuals who are not part of a couple are raising between 1.2 and 2 million children (depending on which estimate is used regarding the proportion of adults who are LGB or LGBT).

Catalan parliament fights homophobic violence with new law The parliament of Catalonia, an ancient community in Spain, has passed a law to fight anti-gay violence. Specifically, the law targets attackers of the LGBT community with fines — maximum €14,000 ($17,500).

Pink News points out that, despite the fact that Spain is one of the gay-friendliest countries in Europe — having samesex marriage for almost 10 years — this law is a response to a report in July that said the majority of Spain’s hate crimes in 2014 was motivated by sexual orientation, with 452 identified cases. (All this is not to mention suspicious, recent bar raids by police.)

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3FN1z9pg1 Via TeleSUR: The law, passed on Oct. 2 and backed by 80 percent of the Catalan Chamber, will protect the LGBT community from homophobic attacks.

“I feel furious when someone appears to deny or play down the discrimination that we gays have suffered or run the risk of suffering,” said Catalan Socialist Miquel Iceta, one of the first politicians to come out as gay. “They speak derisively of a gay lobby. But look at this room! This is not a group of people working undercover to achieve illegitimate goals. This is a group working to defend the rights of everyone,” he added.

However, the new bill has come under fire from various factions due to the clause that states that the person who is accused of homophobic acts must prove their innocence. On Oct. 3, the bishops of Catalonia expressed their concern that the anti-homophobia law could violate the presumption of innocence and “complicate the liberty of communication in the teachings of Catholic morals.”

More from Gay Star News: Calling it the “world’s most pioneering laws against homophobia,” the staterun Catalan News Agency (ACN) reports that it includes fines for homophobic behavior at the work place and positive

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET discrimination measures, such as having to prove one’s innocence if accused of homophobia.

“This positive discrimination measure is already in place for other offenses, such as domestic violence against women, in instances when it is very difficult to prove,” the ACN report said. The new provisions will punish those who attack gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals with fines of up to €14,000 ($17,700). According to a study on hate crimes, the first of its kind, published by the government, it showed that out of the 1,172 hate crimes recorded in 2013, a majority (452) were based on the victim’s sexual orientation, followed by race (381) and disabilities (290).

Estonia lawmakers pass civil unions in close vote Estonia on Oct. 8 became the first former Soviet republic to approve a civil unions bill. The vote was very close.

Via the Associated Press: In a 40-38 vote, lawmakers voted Oct. 8 in favor of a civil partnership act that recognizes the civil unions of all couples regardless of gender. Twenty-three lawmakers were absent or abstained in the third and final reading of the bill. The new law comes into force in 2016.

Estonia, which like Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union for almost five decades, is deemed the most Western-oriented of the former republics ruled by Moscow. The Estonian Human Rights Center hailed the law as “historic,” saying it would send a strong message to neighboring Russia, which passed what it called “a draconian anti-gay law” last year.

More from Estonia Public Broadcasting: If signed by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the Cohabitation Act would enter force in 2016 and allow cohabitating couples, irrespective of the gender of either partner, the right to register their relationship at a notary and enjoy the kinds of financial benefits conferred by marriage. The final version also provides for the possibility of adoption by unmarried cohabiting couples. There is some fine print, however: to enter into force in 2016, some implementing acts will have to be passed first. These require 51 of 101 MPs to be in favor.

The Family Act, which was not affected by the bill, continues to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The Reform Party, the ruling party which championed the bill along with the Social Democrats, hailed the passage as a gamechanger. In a political process that saw protests, petitions and social media campaigns, top Reform Party MP and former justice minister Kristen Michal said it debunked the myth that Estonians were closed-minded. “Estonia is very small.

There are too few people for building walls between neighbors,” he said.

JoeMyGod.com: “You may recall that NOM and other US-based Christian groups have campaigned against LGBT rights in Estonia.”

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LGBTQ-friendly senior housing development opens in Chicago Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted on Oct. 10 opened Chicago’s first LGBTQ-friendly, affordable senior housing development.

“Town Hall Apartments is a safe, welcoming and affordable place for seniors to call home in a community that embraces and supports everyone, regardless of sexual orientation,” said Michael Goldberg, Executive Director of Heartland Housing, a division of Heartland Alliance, the leading anti-poverty organization in the Midwest. “Affordable housing is critical to the success of any city. Town Hall demonstrates how good design, development and collaboration can fulfill a critical need while improving the surrounding neighborhood.”

Town Hall Apartments is located at 3600 N. Halsted Street in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the heart of Chicago’s vibrant LGBTQ community. The $23.7 million, 79-unit building provides housing for seniors 55 years old or older.

Because all units are subsidized, rent will be no more than 30 percent of a given resident’s income.

As a testament to the need, Heartland Housing received more than 400 applications to live at Town Hall. All 79 units have been rented for the coming year.

Center on Halsted will offer residentand community-based services for seniors living in the building, as well as expand and relocate its existing Senior Services program to the first floor of the building.

“Town Hall Apartments directly addresses the disparities amongst our LGBTQ older adults,” said Modesto “Tico” Valle, CEO of Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ community center. “This generation lives in isolation and experiences housing and healthcare discrimination more frequently and proportionally than their straight counterparts. With more than 50,000 seniors who identify as LGBTQ in the Chicagoland area, Town Hall will act as a model, both locally and nationally, to address these issues.”

Heartland Housing was the lead developer for the building and will provide on-site management. Heartland currently manages 14 affordable housing communities and has developed nearly 1,850 affordable homes throughout the Midwest.

Eva Skye, a senior program participant at Center on Halsted since 2008, lives on a fixed income and could only afford a room in a single room occupancy building, where she felt unsafe and unwelcome.

When she learned about Town Hall, she jumped at the opportunity.

“I don’t have to worry about my safety anymore,” said Skye. “I feel at home.

Everyone has embraced me for being myself. Some say moving into a senior living community is the end of the line, but for me it’s just the beginning.”

History redeemed

Via the Movement Advancement Project: A landmark report released Sept. 30 paints a stark picture of the added financial burdens faced by LGBT Americans because of anti-LGBT laws at the national, state and local levels.

According to the report, these laws contribute to significantly higher rates of poverty among LGBT Americans and create unfair financial penalties in the form of higher taxes, reduced wages and Social Security income, increased healthcare costs, and more.

The momentum of recent court rulings overturning marriage bans across the country has created the impression that LGBT Americans are on the cusp of achieving full equality from coast-to-coast. But the new report, Paying an Unfair Price: The Financial Penalty for Being LGBT in America, documents how inequitable laws harm the economic well-being of LGBT people in three key ways: by enabling legal discrimination in jobs, housing, credit and other areas; by failing to recognize LGBT families, both in general and across a range of

programs and laws designed to help American families; and by creating barriers to safe and affordable education for LGBT students and the children of LGBT parents.

The report documents the often-devastating consequences when the law fails LGBT families. For example, children raised by same-sex parents are almost twice as likely to be poor as children raised by married opposite-sex parents. Additionally, 15 percent of transgender workers have incomes of less than $10,000 per year; among the population as a whole, the comparable figure is just four percent.

To demonstrate the connection between anti-LGBT laws and the finances of LGBT Americans and their families, the report outlines how LGBT people living in states with low levels of equality are more likely to be poor, both compared to their nonLGBT neighbors, and compared to their LGBT counterparts in state with high levels of equality. For example, the denial of marriage costs gay and lesbian families money; same-sex couples with children had just $689 less in household income than married opposite-sex couples in states with marriage and relationship recognition for same-sex couples, but had an astounding $8,912 less in household income in states lacking such protections. ■

The Town Hall police station was a symbol of police discrimination against the surrounding gay community during the 1970s and 80s. Beginning in the 1990s, however, the Chicago Police Department established an LGBTQ liaison to improve relations in the neighborhood.

“We often hear that history repeats itself. Today we see that history can also correct and redeem itself. What was once

a symbol of fear is now a place of inclusion, expression and community,” said Goldberg.

Identifying a need Town Hall Apartments is the culmination of nearly a decade of research, advocacy and community relations. In 2005, Heartland Alliance conducted a research study of Chicago’s LGBTQ senior community to determine the need for an (Housing continues page 13)

Report: Anti-gay laws add to LGBT financial burdens

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PAGE ONE (Rush from page 3) and fairness for gay and lesbian couples.

As the Court recognized, these families are part of Idaho’s community, and our Constitution requires that they be given the same legal protections and respect as other families.”

Added Lori Watsen: “It means so much for the courts to recognize our family and say that we must be treated equally. Our son will be able to grow up in a world where the state treats his family the same as other families. Today’s ruling means that we can finally have the same legal protections as other married couples and the security of knowing that our family is legally secure.”

Said National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Legal Director Shannon Minter, “Over the past year, court after court—now including federal appellate courts in every region of the country— have recognized that the Constitution protects the equal dignity and full citizenship of same-sex couples. Today’s decision reaffirms that fundamental principle for residents of much of the Western U.S., which very soon will bring the total number of states that must respect same-sex couples’ freedom to marry to 35.”

Oklahoma A gay couple sued a county clerk in Oklahoma for failing to issue them a marriage license shortly after state voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage in 2004, the Associated Press reports. A federal judge overturned the ban last December. The Oklahoma couple wed Oct. 6 in Tulsa, according to the Associated Press.

The Cleveland County Court office is waiting for the district attorney to give them approval to issue same-sex couples marriage licenses, said Larry Bierman, a deputy at the office. While marriage licenses had previously designated gender, Bierman said marriage licenses at the Cleveland County Court office and throughout Oklahoma – as of about a month ago – designate only two applicants, regardless of gender. This means the office will not have to change their marriage licenses and can begin issuing them to same-sex couples as soon as they’re given approval by the district attorney.

Wyoming On Oct. 7, four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the State of Wyoming’s refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry and to respect the legal marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states. On Oct. 17 a federal judge ruled that weddings must go ahead. The couples had asked the court for an immediate order directing state officials to comply with a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in June establishing that a state’s refusal to allow same-sex couples to marry violates the Fourteenth Amendment

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014 of the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 let that appeals court decision stand, meaning that all states within the Tenth Circuit, including Wyoming, must comply with the decision.

The couples are Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson of Laramie, Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston of Casper, Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion of Cheyenne, and who previously filed a state-court lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s marriage ban. Also joining the lawsuit are Brie Barth and Shelly Montgomery of Carpenter, who attempted to obtain a marriage license in Wyoming after the Supreme Court decision but were refused. Wyoming Equality is the state’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Wyoming’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Its members include same-sex couples throughout the state.

Said Wyoming Equality Executive Director Jeran Artery: “The Tenth Circuit has decided that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the freedom to marry, and the Supreme Court’s decision to let that ruling stand means that the Tenth Circuit’s decision is also the law in our state. Wyoming’s same-sex couples deserve to have their state treat them as it would treat any other family, and they deserve that freedom immediately.”

Added NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter: “With the Tenth Circuit’s decision now final and binding, there is no longer any legal basis for the State of Wyoming to continue to enforce its marriage ban, which serves only to harm and stigmatize one group of Wyoming families. All families deserve equal respect and protection, including same-sex couples and their children.”

“This is another great legal moment this week for loving and committed couples. Today’s decision reflects the reality that the majority of Americans agree that it is time for same-sex couples to have the right to marry and protect their families,” said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “As yesterday’s action by the Supreme Court also showed us, the unstoppable legal momentum toward full marriage equality is a reality. We are thrilled that love has won out again.”

Following the decision from the Ninth Circuit, nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) of same-sex couples across the country will live in states where they can marry and nearly two-thirds of Americans will be living in states that allow marriage for samesex couples.

See page 14 for the full Wyoming story.

Wisconsin Via the Associated Press: Wisconsin’s Republican attorney general is conceding the fight to preserve the state’s gay marriage ban is over. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had filed Wisconsin’s appeal in hopes of preserving a 2006 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. His spokeswoman issued a state-

ment saying the Department of Justice made every attempt to defend the state constitution but acknowledged gay marriage is now legal.

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), openly gay co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, issued the following statement when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Governor Scott Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s appeal after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban: “The Supreme Court’s rejection of Attorney General Van Hollen’s appeal puts an end to a dark chapter in Wisconsin’s history where many are treated as second-class citizens simply based on who they choose to love. Today’s ruling reaffirms we are all equal under the law.”

ACLU reaction “This is a watershed moment for the entire country. We are one big step closer to the day when all same-sex couples will have the freedom to marry regardless of where they live. The time has come and the country is ready,” said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “This is lifesaving news for same-sex couples all across the country. Marriage helps families deal with times of crisis, and the Supreme Court’s action today means more loving and committed couples will have access to the protections that marriage provides.”

The ACLU was co-counsel in five of the seven petitions that were denied, in cases from Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Crunching the numbers Williams Institute research suggests that an estimated 14,000 same-sex couples in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada will likely marry in the next three years, generating $133 million in additional spending.

Key statistics include: Recent Williams Institute analyses suggest that the number of married same-sex couples, estimated to be as high as 130,000 in 2013, has increased by more than 50 percent over the last 3 years.

Williams Institute research has analyzed the economic impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Nevada will likely soon allow such marriages. Combining these states, nearly 14,000 samesex couples are likely to marry in the next three years generating an estimated $133 million in additional spending and $17 million in sales tax revenue.

Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) of same-sex couples in the U.S. will now live in a state where they can marry.

Now nearly two-thirds of Americans will be living in states that allow marriage for same-sex couples.

Williams Institute research suggests that there were 690,000 same-sex couples in the US in 2013 raising an estimated 200,000 children. As many as 30,000 of those children are being raised by married parents.

In Alaska, there are nearly 1,230 cohabiting same-sex couples, of which an estimated 23 percent are raising more than 560 children in their homes In Arizona, there are nearly 16,000 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 16 percent are raising more than 5,060 children in their homes.

In Idaho, there are more than 2,040 cohabiting same-sex couples, of which an estimated 27 percent are raising nearly 1,140 children in their homes.

In Montana, there are nearly 1,350 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 22 percent are raising nearly 600 children in their homes.

In Nevada, there are an estimated 7,140 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 20 percent are raising more than 3,000 children in their homes.

Williams Institute scholars have filed amicus briefs in, and severed as expert witnesses in, many cases concerning marriage rights for same-sex couples, and numerous courts have relied explicitly on William Institute research in striking down bans on marriage for same-sex couples. ■

PAGE ONE ($447,000 from page 1) Victims (ASADV) of Monroe County will help by providing safe, supportive services, including counseling, advocacy, and support groups, to the survivors of domestic and sexual violence. I have long fought for this kind of funding and will continue to do so in the future.”

“This is an important investment that will help so many people impacted by domestic violence and sexual violence,” said Sen. Gillibrand. “When we do more to protect all survivors of sexual and domestic violence we can help put their lives back together, and keep more New Yorkers safe. This funding is particularly important because it provides our deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind survivors with the support and resources they need to seek justice.”

“Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims (ASADV) is extremely honored and humbled to receive this $447,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

Our team is very excited about the collaboration with the Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley to address domestic and sexual violence in the Deaf LGBTQ community as well as the larger Deaf community,” said Erin Esposito, Executive Director of ASADV. “We deeply appreciate Senator Gillibrand’s support of ASADV, her passion and commitment to address sexual violence in our military and on our college campuses. Together, we all can create the positive change we wish to see in our respective communities, for it is high noon time to work together in putting an end to domestic and sexual violence.”

The Monroe County ASADV provides services to deaf and hard of hearing survivors by offering counseling, support groups, safety plans, medical services, legal support, and court advocates.

ASADV also provides community education and training for area professionals.

All of their services are provided in American Sign Language (ASL).

The grant program was created through the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013 to develop and implement outreach strategies targeted at adult and youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking in underserved populations; and to provide victim services to meet the needs of such populations.

Tristan Wright, Gay Alliance Office administrator, is also an ASL interpreter who worked to make this happen. Tristan commented, “I am floored to begin this long project with Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims. This is a genuine opportunity for two organizations to bring resources and knowledge together to create tangible benefits in our communities. I feel confident that the journey our organizations are setting out on together will bring about positive change and improved access to resources for d/Deaf and hard of hearing LGBTQ people in Rochester. As a hearing sign language user and interpreter, I am deeply honored to have been invited to play such an important role in this collaboration.”

Gay Alliance Executive Director Scott Fearing said, “We are thrilled to partner with ASADV on this grant to provide culturally competent services to Deaf LGBTQ victims of violence.” Erin Esposito added, “ASADV will partner with the Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley (GAGV) for the purposes of reaching the Deaf lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

ASADV and GAGV will conduct a needs assessment to identify the gaps in services for Deaf LGBTQ survivors. We will use the needs assessment results to enhance direct services for Deaf LGBTQ survivors and to craft a community education plan.

ASADV, in partnership with GAGV, will produce six VLOGS (video blogs) to further educate the Deaf, hard of hearing, and Deaf-Blind communities on domestic and sexual violence and about services provided by ASADV.” ■

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

PAGE ONE ( Trans Day from page 1) ported. The National Coalition of AntiViolence Programs reports that gender identity and expression are second only to race in motivating hate crimes, and that transgender women constitute 72 percent of LGBTQ murders. The risks are highest among transgender women of color who comprise 67 percent of all anti-LGBTQ homicides.

Underreporting makes it nearly impossible for researchers to accurately count the number of deaths caused by anti-trans bias, but transgender people’s reluctance to make a report is often in part because of the police: data from 2013 found transgender people to be seven times more likely than cisgender individuals to experience physical violence at the hands of law enforcement.

Although at this writing 32 US states now legally recognize same-sex marriage, only 18 have protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression (New York State is not among them). Research conducted in 2011 by the National LGBTQ Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality found that nine in ten transgender people in the US have experienced workplace harassment or discrimination; white transgender people are twice as likely to be unemployed as the population at large, while unemployment rates for transgender people of color are four times the national rate.

Transgender people are four times more likely to live in severe poverty, as well as being considerably more likely than straight or LGB people to experience homelessness at some point in their lives.

While lesbian and gay Americans have been enjoying an increase in legal marriage rights, transgender people in the US ( Trans Day continues page 11)

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Candidates to Watch Peter Lawrence, candidate for State Assembly 134th District

By Susan Jordan Peter Lawrence, 65, hails from Little Falls, east of Utica, and moved to Brockport in 1968. He has spent 37 years in law enforcement, 29 years in the state police and around eight years as a federal marshal, appointed by President George Bush.

He is now the Republican candidate opposing Gary Pudup for NYS Assembly.

When asked why he decided to go into politics and run for an Assembly seat, he said, “When I retired in 2009 from my position with the Marshal Service, I was 59 and thought I was ready for retirement, but I wasn’t. It was a need for feeling at work. I did some consulting but felt I wanted to be involved with the community again. I used to be a volunteer wrestling coach at SUNY Brockport. And I do a golf tournament every year for ALS – Lou Gehrig’s Disease. We’ve raised $1.75 million over the past 13 years, all of which went to the University of Rochester Medical Center for their ALS clinic. Running for office is another way I can continue being involved with the community.”

When asked if elected, would he vote for passage of GENDA, the trans civil rights bill passed for seven years in the Assembly and blocked by Senate Republicans, Peter Lawrence replied, “I know nothing about GENDA. I probably would support it. I’d have to see how the bill is written. How would restrooms and locker rooms work? If someone is uncomfortable when a person of a different gender walks into the restroom, you have to consider

their feelings too. I don’t agree that transgender people don’t have equal civil rights.

If someone feels they have been unjustly fired, they can go to court.”

Asked about his thoughts on marriage equality, he said, “I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.”

The Women’s Equality Bill, which failed to pass in the Senate in 2014, includes 10 points, one of which acknowledges the national law that women have a right to choose abortion. When asked if he would vote for passage of the Women’s Equality Act, he said, “I support nine points out of 10.”

Mr. Lawrence said that he might debate his opponent Gary Pudup, a supporter of LGBTQ and women’s rights.

“That’s yet to be determined,” he said.

He said that he has signed the League of Women Voters pledge, which includes a

promise to debate.

He said his message to Empty Closet readers would be, “We’re all people. We all live in the same society. I was a supervisor in the state police for many years, and I personally never tolerated any bias or harassment on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

“We live in a society that’s evolving all the time. What was accepted 20 or 30 years ago is not accepted now. I treat people the way they treat me. If elected I will serve all the people.

“We have to look at people as people.

We all want decent jobs and lives. These are things that need to be addressed. I’ll have to go back and look (at GENDA and trans issues). We can’t keep grouping people – pro gun, pro women, etc. -- we have to look at ourselves as one country with issues that need to be addressed.” ■

A C O M M U N I T Y E V E N T F R O M T H E G AY A L L I A N C E

MEET THE AUTHOR RECEPTION FOR LGBTQ FAMILIES

Monday, November 10 Meet the Author: 5:45 - 6:30pm Free Reception: 6:30 - 7:15pm *JCC Community Read: 7:30pm

Judith Frank author of All I Love and Know, a new book “that explores adoption, gay marriage and true love lost and found.” *Tickets to the Community Read: Lecture only: $11/$8 JCC member Book and Lecture $36/$33 JCC member

Free childcare available.

Ages: 6 weeks to 12 years. Must register

by Fri., Nov. 7 with the JCC

*Tickets, child care and more information, visit rjbf.org or call 585-461-2000.

JCC Rochester, 1200 Edgewood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618

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An InQueery event of the Gay Alliance

Champions for LGBTQ Life and Culture

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

Making the Scene MOCHA RECEPTION: Stanley Byrd, president of the MOCHA Center board, at the Oct. 15 reception at the new MOCHA Center, 189 N. Water St. Photos: Susan Jordan

PINKIE IN SF: Pinkie Eleganza Extravaganza took over Folsom St. Fair in San Francisco this summer.

Above, she is seen at Macondray Lane, famous from Armistead Maupin’s “Tales Of The City”.

Jasan Ward, left, manager of MOCHA Prevention Programs and Services, with Jevon Cooper.

IMAGEOUT’S CLOSING NIGHT PARTY took place Oct. 18 at the George Eastman House. More about ImageOut on page 27. Photo: Lorraine Woerner-McGowan

My Own Private Rochester: Gabrielle Hermosa

By Susan Jordan Gabrielle Hermosa is a trans woman, raised in Brockport and now living in Greece with her partner of 19 years and their shih tzu/poodle Lucas. She is an information-processing professional but her real passion is being a motivational speaker and mentor.

“I’m passionate about working with people,” she said. “I love humanity and believe by working together, we can change the world.”

Gabrielle’s favorite Rochester organizations are Genesee Valley Gender Variants, TAGR (Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester) and the Gay Alliance. She said, “I love the Gay Alliance – they have empowered me. I took Speak Out last Novem-

Gabrielle at Equal=Grounds. Photo: Susan Jordan

ber, and met Jeannie Gainsburg and Scott Fearing. I love working with Scott and I love Jeannie so much and am so grateful because the GAGV has helped me achieve some of my goals.”

She also admires Maur and Laine DeLaney of Genesee Valley Gender Variants, where she first felt comfortable with openly being herself. “I went in 2013 and felt for the first time what

it’s like to be ‘normal’. Maur has such a great smile,” she noted, “you can’t help but feel relaxed.”

Her favorite places are Equal=Grounds, 140 Alex and Tilt. “I don’t go out a lot because I’m very busy,” she said. “I exercise a lot, but not at the gym – in my basement. I have a treadmill and exercise bike and I do two to three hours a day. I started 10 years ago when I had hypertension. So I lost weight and got into shape. Physical fitness is very important to me. My motto is ‘Live forever or die trying.’”

Gabrielle’s favorite local event is Pride. She said, “I went to my first Pride last summer -- I was surrounded with love for three days. People were so friendly and non-judgmental. I can’t wait until society is like that – a big Pride Festival!”

When out of town guests arrive, Gabrielle said, “We usu-

ally end up at Equal=Grounds.

I can come here by myself and make friends with strangers. I like 140 Alex and Tilt, and that’s where I’d take people for fun.”

On an ideal Saturday night, Gabrielle said, “I’d be with a bunch of friends and kick back and enjoy life in one of those places where you can meet people.”

She commented, “I used to feel Rochester was a very closedminded place, and I felt I needed to get away. But after meeting people and getting involved in the community, I’m starting to see now how open-minded Rochester really is. I love this town because I know I look different, but more often than not I can meet people and strike up a conversation. I see Rochester as generally open-minded, and even people who are on the fence are willing to learn. I see a lot of beauty and potential here.” ■

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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PAGE ONE

MORE IMAGEOUT: Michael Gamilla with Renata Hill, Patreese Johnson and Terrain Dandridge at the Little Theater. Photo: Garnetta Ely

Elizabeth Streb from “Born To Fly.” Photo: Garnetta Ely

Jim Tushinski, director of “I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole”. Photo: Garnetta Ely

( Trans Day from page 7) continue to struggle daily to meet even the most rudimentary human needs like food and shelter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 2013 research from the Williams Institute found that 41 percent of transgender Americans have attempted suicide - twice the attempted suicide rate of gay and lesbian Americans and almost forty times the rate of straight, cisgender Americans.

On the 20th, in community centers, churches, parks, and homes, people will come together to honor individuals whose lives should never have been lost, and to remember people who should never have been forgotten. They will be calling out a harsh reality that is too often obscured by other successes of the LGBTQ movement nationwide, successes that failed to benefit the transgender lives that will be remembered that day. Those gathered will be asking all of us to make every day a transgender day of remembrance, to make the rights of transgender people a national priority; they will be reminding us that for too many in our community the struggle for recognition, respect, and safety continues to be, quite literally, a life-or-death issue. http://www.empirejustice.org/policy-advocacy/memos/gendamemo.html?print=t#.VDsE0vldXQR http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/ wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-Report-Final.pdf http://www.avp.org/storage/documents/2013_ncavp_hvreport_final.pdf http://www.transviolencetracker.org/ http://tdor.info/about-2/ http://www.glaad.org/ tdor?gclid=CM27v_aXqMECFcRzMgoddAUAKw Rochester to mark Trans Day of Remembrance with events, march On Nov. 16 at 2 p.m., a Transgender Day of Remembrance service will take

place at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church, 707 E. Main St. Dr. Karen Boyer, a transgender minister, will be guest speaker. A reception will follow immediately afterwards.

Both GLAAD and the National Coalition of Anti Violence Programs report that 72 percent of all LGBTQ homicides are of Transwomen. This day of remembrance, which is officially Nov. 20, provides an opportunity to remember those in the trans community who have been killed in hate crimes. Almost 500 were murdered worldwide last year.

Presentation on Nov. 1 On Nov. 1 at 6 p.m., Shauna O’Toole will be sharing her story, You Can’t Shave in a Minimart Bathroom, at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church, 707 E. Main St. Besides her own transition story, she will also talk about how various churches have -- and have not -- accepted her and other transgender people.

Nov. 22 march TAGR (Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester) will have a march of visibility for the November Trans Awareness Month on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 2-3 p.m.

The group will march on the corners of Goodman and Monroe and cross with the lights; that way marchers don’t need permits or permission. Marchers will meet at Open Arms, 707 E. Main St., and then return to Open Arms for hot chocolate and coffee.

Sign painting party on Nov. 20 TAGR will host a sign painting party for the march on Thursday, Nov. 20, yet another way to commemorate the Trans Day of Remembrance. TAGR says, “We think with all the visibility we’ve gotten in the last few months and allies we’ve made this past year, this march of visibility could be even bigger than 2012!” ■

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PAGE ONE (Geneseo from page 1) and ask for a crime to be investigated as a ‘hate’ incident.”

Minnesota is one state that allows for the victim to determine whether the hate crime charge should be added to the charges against an alleged attacker. An example: In Minnesota Law Chapter 609 looks at how one determines a hate incident. The legislation reads in part “...if the officer has reason to believe, or if the victim alleges, that the offender was motivated to commit the act by the victim’s race, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or characteristics identified as sexual orientation….” (Emphasis added) ■

LOCAL AND STATE (Pastoral from page 3) Sara leads the Sunday evening Contemporary Service. Brae holds the monthly Agape Potluck on Sunday evenings. “At Sunday evening services we bring tables with coffee and food into the sanctuary, so the eating and the service take place at the same time, rather than doing fellowship afterwards,” Sara said.

“I preach from a chair, not a pulpit.

I talk a little about that evening’s theme, based on scripture, and then we have a conversation about that particular piece of scripture. We have made our service at a time that is convenient for young families.

We encourage young families to come and participate. I have a three-year-old who is an active participant in our evening service!”

Sara knows that many LGBTQ people feel uncomfortable in a church environment, since they have been excluded from their original churches and often demonized by Christians. “Church is scary for LGBT folks,” she said, “and we try to make it not scary. Everyone is welcome here. We really want people to know we won’t ask them to change what they believe, whether they are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Wiccan or whatever.

They’re welcome here. This is a safe place to worship where people won’t find themselves needing to be on-guard or defensive. If people walk out of the service knowing one thing I want it to be that we are all wanted by God, exactly as we are.”

MOCHA Center launches consulting services The MOCHA Center has announced the launch of its MOCHA Consulting Services (MCS).

MCS is a fee-for-service initiative dedicated to bridging the gaps to health and wellness for LGBT POC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender People of Color). MCS utilizes a multifaceted approach to capacity building for individuals and organizations that serve LGBT POC through consulting, speaking engagements, trainings, workshops, and research. MCS’s stellar faculty of academics, educators, community based service providers, and researchers have extensive experience addressing the disparate and unique needs of LGBT POC within the United States and abroad.

Eight courses are scheduled for November and December: November 6, 4pm-7pm – LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools: Framework & Strategies for Educators – Dr. Ed Brockenbrough & Kelly Clark November 14, 8:30am-12:30pm – Working with LGBTQ Victims of Domestic Violence – Kelly Clark November 21, 8am-5pm – Diversity & Intersections of Identity – Tomás Boatwright December 4, 1pm-5pm – LGBTQ 101 – Tomás Boatwright December 12, 8am-5pm – Empowering Social Justice Advocates – Bruce Smail

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014 December 13, 10:30am-12pm – The Non-Traditional Family Structure vs. Traditional Family Theories – Dr. Kamila Barnes & Dr. Orlando Harris December 13, 1pm-4pm – Quality Improvement: Why Improve Outcomes?

– Dr. Kamila Barnes December 15, 2pm-4pm – Transgender Basics – Kelly Clark You may also visit http://mochacenter.org/consulting-services/courses/ for a complete listing of the MCS courses. All courses are held in the MOCHA Center Rochester’s Training Center located at 189 N. Water St., Suite 1 (Riverside Lower Level). Additional information about MCS is located on http://mochacenter.org/consulting-services/. Faculty bios and resumes are also available at http://mochacenter.org/consulting-services/faculty/.

Registration is conducted through an online service – EventBrite.com. Please see the link associated with each course.

Genesee Valley Presbytery installs first openly gay pastor

The Rev. Dr. Pat Youngdahl was installed Oct. 24 at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 North Fitzhugh St. The Downtown Church became a More Light Church some 35 years ago, welcoming all without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. This event celebrates the progress that has been made in reducing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered people within faith communities.

In 1991 the Downtown Church called Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr to be its pastor. This call was approved locally, but ultimately was denied by the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA)’s highest judicial court because Janie was openly lesbian.

The Downtown Church dealt with this disappointment by creating That All May Freely Serve and naming Janie as its evangelist. She toured the country for many years advocating for full inclusion in the Presbyterian denomination. Rev. Spahr participated in the service of installation and also preached during the Sunday morning worship.

In 2011 the PCUSA voted to remove the restrictions that denied pastoral leadership to LGBTQ people by denying them ordination and installation as pastors. This change has opened the door so that Rev. Youngdahl could be installed.

Rev. Youngdahl has taught at universities and seminaries, and she is a published author.

Pride Agenda adds new resource for trans voters Empire State Pride Agenda has developed a new resource for trans voters in New York this election season. It is called Transforming The Vote: Everything Transgender New Yorkers Need To Know To Head To The Polls.

It’s an informational resource for transgender New Yorkers, and includes: Why it’s important for transgender New Yorkers to vote in 2014; Tips for Transgender Voters in New York; Information on registering and absentee voting; Information on pro-LGBT candidates this election; Links to national resources.

The Pride Agenda says, “2014 is an important election year for transgender New Yorkers. We have the chance to elect a NYS Senate that will finally stop blocking progressive legislation that will benefit the transgender community – including GENDA, which has passed the assembly seven years in a row, and which the Senate has refused to bring to the floor for a vote every one of those years. Let’s make sure 2015 is the year the NYS Senate can no longer ignore the needs of our community.

“It’s estimated that new voter ID laws in different states are going to disenfranchise over 24,000 transgender people across the country – but here in New York

L-R: Sharon Glezen, Patrick Fisher, Lori Meath, Laine DeLaney.

InQueery workshop addresses trans health issues

By JoAnne Metzler On Oct. 1 about 25 people came to the Open Arms Community Center for “Being Trans... Being Healthy... Being Aware ~ know the elevated health & cancer risks of being Trans.”

TAGR (Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester) and the Gay Alliance partnered to hold this first event marking the reestablishment of the InQueery program (originally from 2007 – 2010) that consists of classes, workshops and events on all kinds of subjects and ideas.

First, Dr Sharon J. Glezen from the University of Rochester gave a presentation about longterm hormone use and other Trans health issues.

Lori Meath of the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester discussed the difficulties of connecting with a community that is marginalized and often needs to be invisible, and brought up the fact that Trans people are just now realizing what they don’t know about the potential risks.

Patrick Fisher of Us Too!, a prostate survivors support and advocacy group, talked about his experience of being diagnosed with prostate cancer and how he dealt with it.

One quite disturbing thing that came out of this presentation was the fact that there is really not enough known about what the risks truly are because there have been no studies, let alone any long term studies, done for Trans people on Trans health issues. ■

voters are not required to present a photo ID in order to vote! All transgender New Yorkers should know their rights, know the issues, and make sure that on Nov. 4 they go to the polls and make their voice heard!

“There is also a PDF version of the guide, which can also be printed, shared, and even kept in your back pocket as you go to the polls to fill out your ballot!”

Long Island GLBT center receives death, arson threats Via press release from David Kilmnick, PhD – Chief Executive Officer, Long Island GLBT Services Network: This past week, we received our third letter in the mail in the last 16 months that continued to threaten my life and this time also mentioned burning down the LGBT and LGBT friendly senior housing we just announced two days prior.

The first two letters were received in June 2013 and June 2014 threatened to make the LI Pride Parade, which we run,

worse than the Boston Marathon bombing. The last two letters (June 2014 and the most current one) indicated they know where I live, that I’m being tracked and watched and it’s only a matter of time before they eliminate me and our locations (meaning our Centers). Over the years we certainly have received our fair share of “God forgives you” and “Sinner and we are disgusting” letters, but these are very different. These are being investigated as Hate Crimes and it has been the top story on the news for almost two days.

All of these letters were turned over to police immediately, but this instance was the first time the media got wind of it and it has been two complete days of crisis management, dozens of media interviews, making sure the community knows our Centers are safe and that we have increased security measures, keeping our staff informed and preparing them with how to talk with constituents and community members and much more….

In this link of CBS TV and Radio coverage (http://newyork.cbslocal. com/2014/10/10/li-gay-advocacy-groupreceives-threatening-letters/), you can see

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET what our message has been publicly – that these need to be taken seriously, that all the gains in equality do not translate to safety for our families and that we will not be bullied or deterred from the work we do.

We sent out an blast to the community (http://goo.gl/y7KmFO) informing them of what was happening and that we were working closely with both County Police Departments and Hate Crime Bureaus, ensuring them that our Centers are safe and using it as an opportunity to do some education on the issues that still exist and why our work is so important. The response has been incredibly supportive from the community and I personally received phone calls and emails from the Governor, other state officials, members of our Congressional delegation and local officials expressing their disgust for what’s happening and offering their full support.

If anything, this incident has strengthened the case for continued and increased support of our work.

Hopefully the visibility leads to the person(s) being caught. Both County Police departments have installed panic buttons at our Centers and in my house as a result of this latest threat. Personally, I do feel safe, however after each of these letters that threaten to “eliminate” me, I do think twice and look around when doing such simple tasks as going to the curb throwing out the garbage and getting the mail.

traffic laws.

Some refreshments will be provided at scheduled stops.

Wedge Waddle is sponsored by Business of the South Wedge Association (BASWA); Hungry Hedonists; Hedonist Artisan Chocolates; South Wedge Planning Committee; South East Area Coalition; The Christopher Group; PrintRoc; The Coffee Connection. ■

Waddle through the Wedge on Thanksgiving; donate to St. Joseph’s

Supporters of Syracuse trans murder victim rally in Albany for overturn of killer’s release

Thanksgiving Wedge Waddle is a three-mile Walk/Waddle/Run/Skip/ Sashay/Whatever.

OK Rochester, let’s get up and waddle this thanksgiving, before the food coma kicks in. Come on out to the Second Annual Thanksgiving Wedge Waddle.

You don’t have dress up as a turkey, you don’t even need running shoes, just bring yourself, your loved ones, and if you like bring your dog. Free, family fun, healthy event. How you waddle is up to you! Run, walk, skip, or waddle.

You can also help others this year.

Donate and bring a new pair of socks for Saint Joseph’s Hospitality House! We will also have a sock drop box starting Nov. 7 at Hedonist Artisan Ice Cream. So even if you can’t come to the waddle in the wedge you can still donate to a community member in need.

It’s Thursday, Nov. 27. Location: Start & Ends: Star Alley next to Lux bar at 666 South Ave. Registration is available online at wedgewaddle.com. You may also register at the event, starting at 9:30 a.m.

Event Start Time: 10 a.m. Event Cost: FREE, just show up, no running shoes required. Strollers, dogs, red wagons and most things welcome! This is not a timed race; there will be a clock, but it’s not a timer. The Waddle takes place on open city streets. No streets will be closed. In other words you’ll need to obey all regular

On Nov. 14, 2008, in Syracuse, a young transgender woman of color was shot and killed by an assailant who shouted anti-LGBT slurs.

Dwight DeLee was tried for the murder of Lateisha Green in 2009. The jury was convinced that DeLee targeted Lateisha because she was a transgender woman and he was the second person in the entire country and the first in New York State to be convicted of a hate crime in the killing of a transgender person.

In 2010, a three-judge panel overturned DeLee’s conviction and he was released and remains free today.

Lateisha’s family and community are now faced with the knowledge that the system did not find Lateisha’s life, like those of so many other transgender women of color, valuable enough to fully protect.

On Oct. 15, there was a press conference and demonstration in support of Lateisha, her family, and the transgender community in front of the Court of Appeals at 20 Eagle St. in Albany. Following that the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office appealed the decision to overturn DeLee’s conviction, and the case is set to be heard by the New York State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.

-Empire State Pride Agenda ■

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (Housing continued from page 5) amenity-rich LGBTQ-friendly affordable housing development. Heartland worked with local aldermen to identify a workable location, and later worked with city, state and federal agencies to identify and secure solid financing.

In 2012, the City of Chicago selected Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted to develop the former Town Hall police station site. In 2013, the Chicago City Council transferred the land over to the Center and Heartland and construction began. “Reclaiming this site is significant for our Stonewall trailblazers,” said Valle. “The Town Hall police station, once a site of fear for LGBTQ individuals, has now been given back to the community and is testament to changing times, popular opinion, and our supportive partnerships.”

Sustainable design, historic preservation Heartland Housing worked closely with seniors during the design process to better understand the needs of potential residents. These conversations clarified the importance of common and outdoor spaces, a strong connection with the rest of the neighborhood, an interest in maintaining social activity and physical fitness during the aging process, and the sensitivity required regarding property management for transgender residents.

Designed by Gensler and built by Power Construction, LLC, Town Hall Apartments blends the “old” with “new” by incorporating an existing historic façade and variegated color palette into its design. Large, colorful mosaic walls welcome residents and guests in the main lobby and at all elevator banks. Each floor features a different wall color that accents the flooring patterns. Town Hall Apartments is expected to achieve LEED Silver level for its many sustainable elements, including high-efficiency fixtures and appliances, building materials with high (over 20 percent) recycled content, a green roof, and an energy efficient heating and cooling system.

Built in 1907, the Town Hall police station officially became a Chicago landmark in September 2013. According to the Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development, the building “is significant as a finely designed Classical Revival style police station.

Distinguished by its symmetrical façade arrangement, classically inspired ornament, and distinctive copper cornice, this well-preserved police station exemplifies the influence of Classicism on the architecture of government and public buildings in Chicago in the early twentieth century.”

Modern amenities The facility has 30 studios and 49 onebedroom apartments (79 units total). In addition, the building has 4,450 square feet of ground floor commercial space, 20 covered car parking spaces, and dedicated parking spaces for bicycles. Amenities include ENERGY STAR appliances, security cameras, high-speed Internet, and on-site laundry facilities.

Strong financing Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted leveraged Low Income Housing Tax Credits, the City of Chicago HOME Investment Partnerships Program, equity from the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit and an Energy Efficiency Grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The City of Chicago also donated the former police station and land to the project.

The Chicago Housing Authority provided 79 project-based vouchers, which enable those with even the lowest of incomes to afford to live in the building.

The project enjoys generous support from Citi Community Capital, the National Equity Fund, Enterprise Community Partners, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and LISC Chicago.

13 Heartland Housing, Inc. is a community housing development organization, which facilitates the development of people through the preservation and creation of affordable and supportive housing with a priority in meeting the needs of homeless persons and families, very low-income individuals, and persons with chronic disabilities. More at: www. heartlandhousing.org.

Center on Halsted is the Midwest’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to building and strengthening the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community.

More than 1,000 community members visit the Center every day, located in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview Neighborhood. For more information, visit: www. centeronhalsted.org.

W. Va. drops defense of marriage ban; accepts license applications In a statement issued Oct. 10, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced he would no longer be defending the state’s ban on gay marriage in court, writing: “On Oct. 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court decided it would not take up the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to set aside Virginia’s law regarding same-sex marriage.

By refusing to consider the appeal, the Supreme Court has caused the Appeals Court’s decision to become final and binding on West Virginia. While we disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Fourth Circuit’s opinion to stand and believe it improperly displaces state and local decision-making, we will respect it.

“As the state’s Attorney General, it is my duty to defend state laws that have been passed by the state Legislature and are consistent with the Constitution. We have discharged this duty faithfully. In the upcoming days, we will now seek to bring to a close the pending litigation over West Virginia’s marriage laws, consistent with the Fourth Circuit’s nowbinding decision.”

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has also issued a statement responding to the AG’s announcement: “As the attorney general stated today, recent rulings by several federal courts, combined with the refusal of the U.S. Supreme Court to hear this issue, make it clear that laws banning same-sex marriage have been declared unconstitutional. I do not plan to take any actions that would seek to overturn the courts’ decisions. West Virginia will uphold the law according to these rulings, and I have directed state agencies to take appropriate action to make that possible.

“Our state is known for its kindness and hospitality to residents and visitors alike. I encourage all West Virginians — regardless of their personal beliefs — to uphold our statewide tradition of treating one another with dignity and respect.”

UPDATE: WV Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Karen Bowling has also released a statement, saying that gay couples across the state could begin applying for marriage licenses in the state by Oct. 14 at the latest: “The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources has prepared all of its bureaus for implementation of this change regarding forms (both paper and online) and its technology systems,” Bowling said. “We expect that county clerks across the state will be able to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples by Tuesday, October 14, 2014 at the latest.”

UPDATE II: It appears Kanawha County and Cabell County had begun accepting marriage license applications from gay couples by Oct. 9.

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3Fg4v0nOT (Newsfronts continue page 14)

14

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (Newsfronts from page 13)

Arizona federal court: state ban on marriages is unconstitutional Arizona’s ban on same-sex couples’ marriages is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on Oct. 17.

U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick struck down the state’s ban based on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision striking down Idaho and Nevada’s similar bans. Additionally, he refused to grant a stay of his opinion, meaning the decision went into effect immediately.

Freedom To Marry reacts: “The case, Connolly v. Jeanes, was filed by private counsel on behalf of several samesex couples. A separate case, Majors v.

Horne, has also been working its way through the courts this year, led by Lambda Legal. In the Connolly case, several of the couples, including Terry Pochert and Joe Connolly and Mason Hite and Christopher Devine, married legally in California, while various other families await the day that they can marry in Arizona. The ruling strikes down Arizona’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples. It comes just over a week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit’s decision in two other cases out of Idaho and Nevada affirming the freedom to marry.”

Said ACLU of Arizona Executive Director Alessandra Soler, “Today’s ruling brings security to thousands of families in Arizona. It’s a moment to be celebrated. Equal protection of the law is one of the fundamental principles that allows our country to thrive and evolve. Dismantling this discriminatory ban brings our state and

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014 nation closer to our founding ideals of fairness, justice and liberty. We will continue to fight for equality for all Arizonans and oppose any efforts to unravel today’s historic victory.

“Today we celebrate the court’s recognition that every individual in Arizona has the freedom to marry the person they love. We hope that Attorney General Tom Horne will honor the court’s ruling and allow marriage licenses to be issued immediately.”

In Arizona, there are nearly 16,000 cohabiting same-sex couples, with an estimated 16 percent raising more than 5,060 children in their homes.

Williams Institute research also suggests that 7,909 of these couples will marry in the first three years, generating $62 million in spending in Arizona and an additional $5.1 million in sales tax revenue. Spending related to same-sex couples’ wedding ceremonies and celebrations is expected to create 172 to 517 jobs in the tourism and recreation sector for the state.

Key nationwide statistics include: Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) same-sex couples across the country will soon be living in states where they can marry and nearly two-thirds of Americans will soon be living in states that allow marriage for same-sex couples. These are the states and D.C. where same-sex marriage is presently legal, as well as the states where same-sex marriage is currently prohibited but where federal appellate courts have issued binding decisions against same-sex marriage bans.

Williams Institute research suggests that there were 690,000 same-sex couples in the US in 2013 raising an estimated 200,000 children As many as 30,000 of those children are being raised by married parents.

Recent Williams Institute analyses suggest that the number of married same-sex couples, estimated to be as high as 130,000 in 2013, has increased by more than 50 percent over the last three years.

State judge rules Missouri must respect same-sex marriages On Oct. 3 in Kansas City, Missouri, Circuit Court Judge James Dale Youngs ruled that the state of Missouri must respect the marriages of same-sex couples who married in other states.

Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry and Kansas City native, released the following statement: “Committed same-sex couples who are married should be treated as married no matter where they live. Couples in America should not have to play ‘now you’re married now you’re not’ as they travel, work, or move across state lines. Judge Youngs’s ruling powerfully affirms that principle. Yet the only way we’ll achieve national resolution on the freedom to marry is for the Supreme Court to take up a marriage case, bring an end to the unsustainable patchwork of marriage laws across the country, and affirm the freedom to marry for all.”

In total, 41 federal and state courts in the past year have ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples with only one federal and one state ruling going the other way. Five of these marriage cases are now before the Supreme Court for possible review, with a powerful array of amici briefs from scores of first responders, law enforcement, clergy, and businesses urging the Supreme Court to take up a case. The briefs filed show the depth and diversity of support for the plaintiffs harmed by marriage discrimination and underscore the urgency for the Supreme Court to take one or all of the cases before it.

Judge rules Wyoming marriage ban unconstitutional; marriages began Oct. 23 On Oct. 17, a federal district court in Wyoming ruled that state’s ban on samesex marriage is likely unconstitutional and issued a preliminary injunction in favor of same-sex couples. Marriages started there Oct. 23.

U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl of the District of Wyoming ruled in favor of the freedom to marry in the challenge to the State of Wyoming’s ban on marriage equality. The court’s order granted a request by four same-sex couples and Wyoming Equality, who had filed a federal lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s marriage ban, for an order requiring the state to allow couples to begin marrying immediately.

Citing two decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit striking down Utah’s and Oklahoma’s bans on marriage for same-sex couples, Judge Skavdahl ruled that Wyoming’s refusal to permit same-sex couples to marry is unconstitutional. Judge Skavdahl ordered the state to begin issuing marriage licenses, but placed that order temporarily on hold to permit Wyoming state officials to appeal his ruling.

Marriages began in Wyoming at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 23.

The case was brought by Wyoming Equality and four same-sex couples who requested an immediate order directing state officials to comply with two decisions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit establishing that a state’s refusal to allow same-sex couples to marry violates the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 let those appeals court decisions stand, meaning that all states within the Tenth Circuit, including Wyoming, must comply with those decisions.

The plaintiff couples are Anne Guzzo and Bonnie Robinson of Laramie, Carl Oleson and Rob Johnston of Casper, and Ivan Williams and Chuck Killion of Cheyenne, who previously filed a statecourt lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s marriage ban. Also joining the lawsuit

British trans woman, 81, says, “It’s never too late to come out”

By Joe Morgan on gaystarnews.com A trans woman has claimed she is the oldest person to have genital reassignment surgery in the UK -- at the age of 81.

Ruth Rose, a former RAF navigator, knew she was a woman at the age of nine but has had to wait decades to feel truly happy in the body she is in.

She is now speaking out, saying trans people should be able to live their real lives at any age.

“I’m enjoying the fact that I have made the transition,” she said.

“My main thing in life isn’t going around saying I am a lady now. But not a day had gone by since I was nine when I didn’t think I was in the wrong body. I always felt I was a woman.”

Rose, a campaigner for Age UK, said it was a hip and knee replacement that made her wonder whether it was time for her to get the surgery. While she was happy having made the transition without it four years ago, she said she wanted to feel more “feminine”.

“It was my doctor who told me to go ahead. She said, ‘Go to the clinic and get it done,’” she told the Sunday People.

“My doctor had said I should have the gender ­transformation operation but I thought I was too old. I thought I had left it too late. But the surgeons wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t think I could go through with it.

“I am the oldest person to have it done.”

Rose added, “It fills me with joy in so many ways that I notice my womanhood.

It just falls into place.” ■

are Brie Barth and Shelly Montgomery of Carpenter, who attempted to obtain a marriage license in Wyoming after the Supreme Court decision but were refused.

Wyoming Equality is the state’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Wyoming’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Its members include same-sex couples throughout the state.

The four couples and Wyoming Equality are represented by Cheyenne attorney Tracy Zubrod, the law firm of Arnold & Porter LLP, the law firm of Rathod Mohamedbahi LLC, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR).

Said Wyoming Equality Executive Director Jeran Artery: “We are overwhelmed and overjoyed by the swiftness of the court’s decision. Today’s decision means marriage is a certainty for loving, committed, same sex couples living in the Equality State, and also a victory for everyone who believes in justice, fairness and freedom. We have received so much support from so many people, and we are looking forward to these same sex couples receiving marriage licenses very soon.”

Said NCLR Senior Staff Attorney Christopher F. Stoll: “Today’s ruling means that Wyoming will now join the majority of states that permit all families to enjoy the security, respect, and protection that marriage provides. Wyoming’s same-sex couples and their children will live in a state that treats their families with the same respect as other families.

We congratulate the couples who will now be able to marry in the Equality State and have the security of knowing that those marriages will be respected.”

In Wyoming, there are more than 650

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Thousands protest for marriage equality in Taiwan Via AsiaOne News: An alliance of more than one hundred non-governmental organizations the first week in October staged a rally outside the Legislative Yuan urging the government to complete the necessary amendments that will pave the way for the legalization of gay marriage.

Dubbed the “rainbow siege,” reports indicate that more than 4,000 members of the public participated in the demonstration at the Legislative Yuan. Demonstrators attached 112 padlocks symbolizing the strangleholds of homophobic opinions labeled with the names of lawmakers on the gates of the Legislative Yuan facing Qingdao East Road.

In response to the appeals of activists, 21 lawmakers accepted the invitation to unlock and remove the padlocks with “keys of equality.” Demonstration organizers stated that among the 21 lawmakers openly expressing their support for equal marriage rights yesterday, four are aligned to the ruling party while 14 are from the opposition party, with two being independent lawmakers.

The leader of Taiwan’s opposition party has announced a public hearing on marriage equality later this month. Same-sex marriage is not presently legal anywhere in Asia, unless you count New Zealand.

RELATED: In December 2013 a massive crowd in the tens of thousands marched against same-sex marriage in Taipei. American anti-gay sites, including NOM, claimed that the crowd numbered as many as 300,000.

cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 25 percent are raising more than 320 children in their homes, according to the Williams Institute.

Williams Institute research also suggests that 329 of these couples will marry in the first three years, generating $2.4 million in spending in Wyoming and an additional $134 thousand sales tax revenue. Spending related to same-sex couples’ wedding ceremonies and celebrations is expected to create eight to 24 jobs in the tourism and recreation sector for the state.

Florida recognizes same sex marriage with new death certificate Via Equality Florida Florida also made history on Oct. 9 as Arlene Goldberg and her late wife, Carol Goldwasser, officially became the first same-sex couple whose marriage is respected in the state.

US District Court Judge Robert Hinkle ruled on Aug. 21 that Florida’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples was unconstitutional and – despite a stay on his ruling –ordered the State of Florida to issue a new death certificate for Carol Goldwasser, naming her partner of 47 years, Arlene Goldberg, as her wife. Arlene was first added as a plaintiff in Grimsley and Albu v. Scott when the ACLU filed a motion of preliminary injunction in April asking the court to immediately stop enforcing laws barring legal respect for marriages between same-sex couples.

On Oct. 9 Arlene received that newlyissued death certificate, making her and her late spouse the first same-sex couple to have their marriage recognized in Florida.

“It’s hard to put into words how meaningful this is to me,” said Goldberg. “For 47 years, Carol and I made our lives together, all the while being treated like strangers in the eyes of the law in Florida. It’s bittersweet that Carol isn’t here to share this joy with me, but for the first time in 47 years, our marriage was respected. Our relationship and commitment to each other is finally recognized. ” The ACLU reacts via press release: “Today is a milestone day for all Floridians but especially for Arlene. As Judge Hinkle stated himself, listing Arlene as

Carol’s wife on Carol’s death certificate is about ‘simple human dignity.’ The state has no business denying this dignity—or any of the other protections and responsibilities of marriage—to Arlene or anyone else. The time for marriage in Florida is now, and Governor Scott and Attorney General Bondi need to stop fighting the inevitable.”

The stay on Florida’s marriage ban overturn is due to expire in three months.

Why trans people can finally breathe a sigh of relief in Scotland

By Nathan Gale on gaystarnews.com Same-sex marriage will be legal in Scotland from 16 December. Hogmanay, our New Year’s Eve, will take on special significance for many couples this year, as this will be when the first same-sex weddings take place.

As couples across Scotland plan their big day, trans people who are already married or in a civil partnership can breathe a sigh of relief knowing they can finally have the gender they live as legally recognized without being forced to break up their families.

In 2005, many trans people in the UK won the right to have their gender legally recognized, the culmination of decades of campaigning in the courts and parliament.

But that new right did not apply to all trans people.

In particular, the Gender Recognition Act forces trans people who are married to choose between their marriage and their right to gender recognition. A married trans person can only get gender recognition if they first divorce, and of course many have been married for years in a marriage that continues to be loving and affirming, and which they want to keep.

But that untenable choice is coming to an end. The Scottish Government announced Oct. 14 that from 16 December, trans people who married in Scotland will finally be able to get gender recognition without divorcing. The UK Government is responsible for the rules for trans people who married in England and Wales, and has set the date there at Dec. 10.

So by Christmas, trans people who married in England, Wales and Scotland will finally be able to apply for gender recognition, and get it while continuing their marriage. Unfortunately, people who married in Northern Ireland still won’t have the same right, because the Democratic Unionist Party continue to veto LGBTI rights there.

Those who married in Scotland will then be able to get a new marriage certificate in their new name and showing their new chosen designation “bride”, “bridegroom” or neither. There will be two ways of doing that. Couples can have a full “renewal” marriage ceremony, which can be conducted by a registrar, religious celebrant or belief (humanist) celebrant.

Or they can simply re-register the marriage for free.

For people who married in Scotland there is an additional right – to get gender recognition as your own decision, a decision that cannot be blocked by your spouse.

The campaign we led against the so called “spousal veto” persuaded the Scottish Parliament Equal Opportunities Committee to accept an amendment from Linda Fabiani MSP, to remove the veto from the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014.

The effect of that is to enable trans people who do not have their spouse’s consent to apply to the gender recognition panel for an interim gender recognition certificate, and then get that automatically converted to full gender recognition by the sheriff court in Scotland. The only drawback is that a replacement marriage certificate can’t be issued unless and until the non-trans spouse agrees to it being issued. But the marriage continues anyway, in full legal effect, uninterrupted.

This is just one aspect of the legislation which makes Scotland’s equal marriage law one of the most progressive in the world and strengthens our place as a leader on LGBTI equality.

Mixed sex civil partnership has not

15

Nathan Gale.

yet been introduced anywhere in the UK, although Scotland’s equal marriage campaign continues to work for it. Therefore, if one person in a civil partnership wants to get gender recognition, they will have to convert to a marriage before submitting their application.

The Scottish Government intends to introduce a streamlined process next year, enabling applicants to obtain gender recognition and have their civil partnership converted to a marriage in one step. If both civil partners want to get gender recognition, they can keep their civil partnership so long as they both apply to the GRP for gender recognition at the same time.

Although these changes will be widely celebrated, for trans and intersex people there is still a way to go before we achieve legal equality. The Scottish Transgender Alliance and Equality Network will address this with the Equal Recognition Campaign to strengthen trans and intersex equality and human rights, on Nov. 1 and 2 in Edinburgh…. The conference will be a first in bringing together trans and intersex activists from across the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

Health National Cancer Network seeks participants in online support groups The National LGBT Cancer Network, located at 136 W. 16th St. #1E in New York City, is seeking applicants and participants for its next round of free, online LGBT support groups for cancer survivors: http://cancer-network.org/support_ groups_for_survivors/ These groups take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week on a moderated message board. There is one group for transgender people, one group for gay/ bisexual men, and one group for lesbian/ bisexual women, all of which are led by social workers and professional moderators.

Topics discussed in previous groups include coming out to providers, sexual health and sexuality after diagnosis and the feminization of breast cancer.

The Network expects to launch its next round of groups very soon and is hoping to enroll new participants. To register for an upcoming group, go to: http:// cancer-network.org/support_groups_for_ survivors/register.php

Fenway Institute gets research funding to study FTM trans sexual health The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health in Boston has been approved for an $813,000 funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study the sexual health of female-to-male (FTM) transgender people.

The study is one of 46 proposals PCORI approved for funding on Sept. 30 to advance the field of comparative clinical effectiveness research, and to provide patients, healthcare providers, and other clinical decision makers with information that will help them make better-informed choices.

Sari Reisner, ScD will lead the research project, which will focus on innovations in preventive sexual health screening in sexually-active FTM transgender patients.

This will include assessing the acceptability and comparative effectiveness of selfswab HPV testing compared to provider clinical swabs, as well as investigating the prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in this group. The project is designed to fill key gaps in clinical knowledge about sexual health in FTMs by comparing the effectiveness of alternative strategies for sexual health prevention, screening, and diagnosis.

The award has been approved pending completion of a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and issuance of a formal award contract to The Fenway Institute.

“This project will have a national and international impact on sexual health screening for FTMs, an underserved patient population,” said Dr. Reisner, a transgender health researcher at The Fenway Institute and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.

“Most FTM transgender men retain their natal reproductive organs. Our preliminary research suggests that more than one in three of FTM patients are not upto-date on cervical cancer screening and many are not getting routine screening for STIs. We know that it is hard for FTM patients to find health care providers who

are knowledgeable about health issues specific to transgender people, and can talk about sexual health in sensitive and gender-affirming ways. We hope that our research will find new strategies of care that could potentially lead to alternative screening strategies, as well as less invasive STI detection practices. Ultimately, our goal is to find ways to improve the health of FTM patients.”

“This project was selected for PCORI funding not only for its scientific merit and commitment to engaging patients and other stakeholders, but also for its potential to fill an important gap in our health knowledge and give people information to help them weigh the effectiveness of their care options,” said PCORI Executive Director Joe Selby, MD, MPH. “We look forward to following the study’s progress and working with The Fenway Institute to share the results.”

Out for Health publishes N.Y. trans resource Out for Health, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes’ LGBT Health and Wellness Program, announces the publication of a new free resource for transgender people in New York and providers that work with and care for them.

Out for Health says, “At our program in Ithaca, we’ve been getting consistent questions about the legal and administrative paperwork processes in New York that many trans people need to engage with regarding changing their name and gender marker on their driver’s license, passport, social security card, etc. What we wanted to create is one place where all of the information about name and gender marker changes was gathered together for ease of use so we could say, ‘Here, jump in, go to whatever page and process you’d like, to and get the information you need!’ We were especially excited to work with the always amazing Ithaca College Center for LGBT Education, Outreach

& Services and our regional Transgender Advisory Committee on this project.

“Here’s a link to the e-booklet on ISSUU and a link to PPSFL’s transgender services webpage.

“We proudly provide quality, compassionate care from an informed-consent model for our transgender patients in our Ithaca, New York Health Center. We serve transgender people and people at various places on the spectrum of gender identity and expression. We are committed to improving the way transgender people receive health care in our region and we proudly work together with our transgender community to lead the way in eliminating barriers to care.”

Please note our new address! Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes Education & Out for Health, LGBT Program Center, 620 West Seneca St., Ithaca, NY 14850 607.216.0021 ext. 2306 facebook.com/ppsfl facebook.com/outforhealth ■

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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LGBTQ Living

Darienne. Photo: Jill Frier

Kasha. Photo: Jill Frier

Brunch

By Susan Jordan Like Tea Dances, Sunday brunch is an ancient gay male tradition, but come to think of it, a lot of Ls, Bs, Ts and Qs, not to mention Str8s, don’t mind a nice Mimosa and Eggs Benedict on a Sunday morning. Throw in some sassy drag stars and who could ask for more fun?

A very traditional Drag Brunch has taken place at Edibles on University Avenue, in the Neighborhood of the Arts, since 2011. Last month’s brunch featured those three Rochester Queens of Drag Ms. Aggy Dune, Mrs. Kasha Davis and Miss Darienne Lake. Photographer Jill Frier comments, “They

Aggy. Photo: Jill Frier

were funny, witty, bawdy, sexy, and completely delightful! They announced that they will be having a drag brunch about once a month, with the next one on Nov. 23.”

The Empty Closet asked Edibles owner Jason Herbert to talk about the concept (or philosophy) of Brunch. Jason said, “I think they’ve always been popular because you can’t drink at breakfast! But brunch gives you the green light to have some champagne with your orange juice. Also, brunch is later in the day.” Those who have been partying until late Saturday night are definitely not ready to face scrambled eggs at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Edibles’ Drag Brunches start

at noon. They take place monthly on Sunday (dates vary but it’s always a Sunday) and the cost is $25/person, including buffet and the show. “You need to book a table in advance,” Jason said, “via the website or by calling us at 271-4910.”

A typical Edibles brunch buffet consists of mixed green salad, fruit platter, French toast stuffed with chestnut cream, bacon, sausage, truffled home fries, fresh fruit with yoghurt, bleu cheese and mushroom quiche and Croque Monsieur – egg-battered bread with Swiss cheese, turkey and ham inside, and then the whole sandwich is grilled.

“We have fun drinks,” Jason added. You can choose between Kasha Fizz (champagne, melon and Campari), Darienne Peach Bellini (peach nectar, champagne, simple syrup), French 75

(dry gin, champagne, lemon and lime juice), Aggy and the Honey Badger (honey tea bourbon

whiskey, ginger ale, lime juice), Bloody Mary, Classic Mimosa and Daylight Drag (vodka, St. Germain, strawberry schnapps and champagne).

Jason said, “The brunch gets very busy and the restaurant gets very full, so we set up communal tables of 12. You sit with strangers and get to meet people. Some have even met their partners at a Drag Brunch!”

There are usually three weeks between shows, and Kasha, Darienne and Aggy are the usual conspirators, but Jason said, “Pandora Boxx came by this year when she was in town.”

Things have changed for the LGBTQ community over the past decade or so – for one thing, bars and clubs on Saturday night are not our only source of social life any more – but an enjoyable gay tradition is alive and well on University Avenue. ■

Edibles owner and single dad Jason Herbert with his adorable daughter Sydney, five months. Photo: Susan Jordan

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

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NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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Shoulders to Stand On Continuing history of the Transgender community

By Evelyn Bailey The 1960s saw many firsts. Virginia Prince, a transgender person who began living full-time as a woman in San Francisco in the 1940s, began a second publication in 1962, also called Transvestia, that discussed transgender concerns. In the same year, she founded the Hose and Heels Club for cross-dressers.

In the late 1960s in New York, Mario Martino founded the Labyrinth Foundation Counseling Service, which was the first transgender community-based organization that specifically addressed the needs of female-to-male transsexuals.

In 1965, 150 gender non-conforming people came to Dewey’s Coffee Shop in Philadelphia in the first protest against a coffee shop’s refusal to serve young people in “non-conformist clothing”. Three protesters, along with a black gay activist, were arrested. This led to a picket of the establishment organized by the black GLBT community. In May another sit-in was organized and Dewey’s finally agreed to end their discriminatory policies.

The following year, in 1966, one of the first recorded transgender riots in US history took place. The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot occurred in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This resulted in the creation of the National Transsexual Counseling Unit [NTCU] in 1968, the first such peer-run support and advocacy organization in the world.

Transgender people were also heavily involved in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York. These riots are widely considered to have begun the LGBT rights movement in America.

Transgender activist Sylvia Rivera was among those involved.

Aside from publicized activism, transgender people also gained some exposure through popular culture, in particular Andy Warhol films. In the 1960s and early 1970s the transgender actresses Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling were among Warhol’s Warhol Superstars, appearing in several of his films. Jackie Curtis, who had no word for the concept of genderqueer, said, “I’m not a boy, I’m not a girl – I’m Jackie.”

Though transgender activism began on a larger scale in this period, it was also a period of heavy discrimination for those who were known to be transsexual, a term that was coined by cisgender American physician Harry Benjamin in 1957.

In 1966 the first case to consider transsexualism in the U.S. was heard, Mtr. of Anonymous v. Weiner, 50 Misc. 2d 380, 270 N.Y.S.2d 319 (1966).

The case concerned a transsexual person from New York City who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and wanted a change of name and sex on their birth certificate. The request on both counts was denied. In 1968 a transgender person again sought a change of name and sex on their birth certificate in the case of Matter of Anonymous, 57 Misc. 2d 813, 293 N.Y.S.2d 834 (1968). The change of sex was denied, but the name change was granted.

The same occurred in the case of Matter of Anonymous, 64 Misc. 2d 309, 314 N.Y.S.2d 668 (1970). In 1976 the New Jersey case M.T. v. J.T., 140 N.J. Super. 77, 355 A.2d 204, cert. denied 71 N.J. 345 (1976), was the first case in the United States that found post-operative transsexuals could marry in their post-operative gender.

TM

Many support organizations for male cross-dressers began in the 1970s and 1980s, with most beginning as offshoots of Virginia Prince’s organizations from the early 1960s. Three organizations that were formed in 1970 were the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) - later renamed Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries - which was founded by two transgender women, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, to provide shelter and clothing.

Transvestite activists Lee Brewster and Bunny Eisenhower founded the Queens Liberation Front, and Brewster began publishing the transgender women’s magazine Queens. Angela Douglas founded TAO (Transsexual/Transvestite Action Organization), which published the Moonshadow and Mirage newsletters.

TAO moved to Miami in 1972, where it came to include several Puerto Rican and Cuban members, and soon grew into the first international transgender community organization. In 1986 transgender activist Lou Sullivan founded the support group that grew into FTM International, the leading advocacy group for female-tomale transgender individuals, and began publishing The FTM Newsletter In 1975 Minneapolis became the first city in the United States to pass transinclusive civil rights protection legislation.

[8] In 1977 Renee Richards, a transgender woman, was granted entry to the U.S. Open (in tennis) after a ruling in her favor by the New York Supreme Court. This was considered a landmark decision in favor of transgender rights.

Another significant event for activism occurred in 1979, with the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held in Washington, D.C. on October 14. The march was organized by Phyllis Frye (who in 2010 became Texas’s first openly transgender judge) and three other activists, but no trans people spoke at the main rally. In 1980, transgender people were officially classified by the American Psychiatric Association as having “gender identity disorder”.

Other key moments in the 1970s and 1980s concerned the inclusion of trans women within the lesbian and feminist communities, an issue that continues to the present day, and the classification of transgender people as a group. In 1991 a transgender woman named Nancy Burkholder was removed from the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival when security guards realized she was transgender. Every year since then, there has been a demonstration against the Festival’s woman-born-women-only policy.

This demonstration is known as Camp Trans. Many cisgender lesbian feminists have stopped going to the Michigan Festival because of the anti-trans policy.

1991 was also the year of the first Southern Comfort Conference. The Southern Comfort Conference is a major transgender conference that takes place annually in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the

largest, most famous, and pre-eminent trans conference in the United States.

Many transgender organizations were founded in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Transgender Nation, an offshoot of Queer Nation’s San Francisco chapter, Transsexual Menace founded by Riki Wilchins, National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, Transgender Foundation of America Sylvia Rivera Law Project National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) were founded, to name only a few.

In 1998 the LGBT rights group Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), founded in 1972, added gender identity to their mission after a vote at their annual meeting in San Francisco.

PFLAG was the first national LGBT organization to officially adopt a transgenderinclusion policy for its work. PFLAG established its Transgender Network, also known as TNET, in 2002, as its first official “Special Affiliate,” recognized with the same privileges and responsibilities as its regular chapters.

The trans* community continued to struggle on the legal, social and economic fronts from the ‘60s through the ‘90s.

By the end of the ‘90s, the gender variant community was beginning to become more visible to the world. In the next issue of the Empty Closet we will complete the history through 2010. ■

History Corner A Monthly Newspaper of The Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley 713 Monroe Avenue, Room 4, Rochester, N Y l4607 (716) 244-8640 NOVEMBER 1974 NO. 43 IN THIS ISSUE: NYC Center torched pg.1; Consciousness raising groups being formed pg.1; Aldrich goes to Albany pg.1; NBC Airs Anti-Gay Show pg.1; Gays respond to Welby pg.1; Voting guide pg.1; Gay Church Conference pg.2; Largest Gay Show to Be Held in Rochester pg.2; Welby not “Outrage” Just Inept pg.3; Record Review: Michael Cohen – What did You Expect pg.4; Gay Survey pg.4; Kinsey Report pg.6 Do you want to read this issue of the Empty Closet?

Here is the link: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=4800.

On that page click on: Browse the Empty Closet issues Go to 1974 – November Calendar of Events Gay Brotherhood of Rochester Meeting Schedule SUN: 3 NOV: Business Meeting/ Open Forum SUN: 10 NOV: Coffee House/ Film: “The Dutchman” by Leroy Jones.

SUN: 17 NOV; One-To-One, Part 1.

Relating to each other’s needs.

SUN: 24 NOV: One-To-One”, Part 2.

Continuation of last Sunday’s program.

TUE. 26 NOV: Coordinating Council Meeting. All welcome. ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

Columnists The opinions of columnists, editorial writers and other contributing writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the collective attitude of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley or The Empty Closet.

Growing Up SOON ENOUGH

By Eric Bellmann Catherine Deneuve, the French actress, was asked, perhaps impertinently, how she regarded aging and the loss of her looks. She replied that it happened so slowly over a long period of time that it did not concern her. Good for you, Cathy.

Sometimes to get attention and perhaps better consideration, when I’m speaking with the cable TV folks or the phone company, I play the age card. I add five years or more and yowl into the phone pleading technical incompetence.

“I just don’t understand why it’s not working.”

In person I’m capable of lying upward and bump myself up to the next birthday with the same intent: getting help. “Oh, you don’t look your age” they coo. “Talk to my knees,” I groan. The outsides may look passable. It’s what you can’t see that’s decrepit, falling apart.

I do what I can do. I have my regimens. A good face cream, Botox twice a year. Too expensive pedicures, not that anyone sees my feet. And yoga and the gym but no longer in hope of building muscle, ho, ho, ho, now just to keep the cogs and wheels from rusting over, seizing up. Some things help. Time slogs onward: decline is inevitable.

There’s arthritis for one thing. My left hand can no longer open jars. I’m used to that. I have a pair of pliers that does the job.

Then there’s hearing. Audiologists tell us that it’s five years on average before the client (that’s me) admits hearing loss.

Wrinkles maybe can be eased, hearing cannot be restored. So I bitch to the workout instructors to turn down the volume.

Let’s save what’s left. Problem is they’re losing their hearing and don’t realize it.

It’s a noisy world we live in.

I prefer foreign sub-titled movies. No problem there. Mainstream movies are so loud, I can manage. But anyone watching TV in my company is aghast. I have it turned up as high as it will go. So far the neighbors haven’t complained.

Pills. Baby aspirin for the heart. Arthritis meds. Fish oil, only now we learn that only real salmon does the trick. Anti-oxidants, multi-vitamin, stool softeners – you don’t want to hear more about that.

In New York City I ride buses. You can see a lot and it eats up time, which I think I have a lot of, at least within this particular day, if not the years to come.

My friend Sally, 12 years in New York, only takes cabs. She hates to waste time.

I actually took her on her very first bus ride. It nearly drove her insane. The buses are filled with school kids and old folks.

Old folks can’t handle the subway stairs.

I get that.

When she retired I used to take my mother grocery shopping once a week.

My most striking memory of those excursions is how she would groan getting in and out of the car. Now it’s my turn. I groan and I think of my mother. I also think of her when I buy prunes. Oops, that’s part of the tale you don’t want to hear.

And so it goes. A lengthening list of deteriorations. Fall clean up gets spaced out with shorter work sessions. Leaves and shrubs are comparatively easy. The prospect of winter and snow shoveling scares

me more than Al Qaeda. Mercifully my friend Mike will shovel when I’m out of town and the guy who plows the driveway apron says he’ll help, too. I worry in anticipation. Anxiety is a later-in-life phenomenon. When I was younger I hardly cared about anything. Now I live in a state of what-if. What if there is a blizzard. I fret about that in August When I bitch to someone younger than me about getting older, they stare back in total lack of comprehension.

When I complain about the tribulations of aging to someone older than me, they look at me with eyes filled with loathing: I’m younger than them!

I have a friend who has had a life long strategy for coping. She demonstrates little personality quirks. She flutters and giggles and feigns confusion. I tell her that approach is adorable when you are young, now it’s just clear, strong, resounding evidence that she needs to be parked in the old folks’ home.

Email: ericlbellmann@gmail.com

Cleaning My Closet LIVE FREE OR DIE

By Meredith Elizabeth Reiniger There were no moose. I was not surprised.

The brochure’s invitation was puzzling: “Join us for moose sightings. Go on a moose search in the comfort of our moose bus. 7:30–10:30 p.m.” In the dark? I was skeptical.

I was a tad suspicious when I saw garlands of plastic autumn leaves and orange lights draped at ceiling level. I was tickled to see soap bubbles drifting from above as moose number one climbed into our bus, giving high-fives to each old coot on the trip.

Then off to adventure we went. Our thoroughly tricked-out bus had flood lights, plus a live-feed video camera that clearly showed, on a large screen, all the trees of New Hampshire, in front of which no moose stood.

And nary a moose was licking a purported wallow. Moose especially like runoff salt that collects in roadside wallows.

Apparently not so much when a gigantic, metal, motor vehicle scoots down Route 3. Although I was pleased to learn that moose kneel.

Another learning opportunity was hands-on a moose’s previously-employed body-parts. An extremely heavy lower limb with hoof (spooky to hold a dead leg). A long, lower-jawbone (equally weird contact with a dear departed). A flat, multi-tined antler (once a rutting bull’s very dandy, lady-moose catcher, now a tourist attraction).

Of course there were teaching moments. Evidently staying in the same room with my male friend Matthew led other heterosexuals to assume that we were married. Their “Where’s your husband?” queries were immediately followed by my pathetic attempt to give hints: he is not my husband; never was my husband; never will be my husband. I knew suppositions whirled inside their tiny worlds.

And I certainly understood that only my Coming Out would bring about a cease and desist. But My Closet door was stuck.

It seems that a few exchanges between my not-spouse and me corroborated Mrs. Matthew evidence. For example, I was in yet another gift shop, a given at the end of

all tour events, when I spied a delightful duck hat. A duck I could not live without.

Indubitably.

My poor prior planning plus wearing pocket-less girl-pants forced me to ask Matthew for a twenty-dollar loan.

“Ah ha,” opined a gray-haired explorer, “that’s the way to do it. Let him spend his money.” Giggle. Smirk. My feeble justification… I left my money in the room … apparently did not imply lesbianism.

My deliberate use of “the” rather than “our room” was way too subtle. I kept My Closet locked.

Purchase completed, I paraded down the aisle wearing my bright yellow fuzzy duck, sharing mirth and bemoaning a lost opportunity to buy moose earmuffs.

I explained that the store sold only children’s sizes.

Merely my moan of regret, not details of retailers’ failure to support post-puberty silliness, reached the ears of those in the back of the bus. As I waddled into my seat, tour-pal Sally whispered, “Did your husband cut you off?” Her beaming smile helped me make-up my mind to not toss my truth on top of her humor. Comingout is a wobbly-walk on a tightrope.

On Mount Washington, I spotted an elegant Cog Railway car resting among flowers at the base of the Cog’s incline.

The retired wooden car, named Peppersass, is painted red and yellow. Yes, said I, that will be a great name for my Darling Duck bonnet. But it was not that car’s yellow trim that influenced me. No, it was when seat-neighbor mumbled, “I bet the locals call it Peppers-ass.”

I decided, even though I had done it in Cuba, that I did not feel comfortable enough to stand at the front of this particular busload to make my I-am-a lesbian declaration of independence. Instead, I went for small group announcements.

Seven of us were at White Mountain’s summit, walking along an easy pedestrian trail. “I want to clear something up. I am not Mathew’s wife.” I had to talk quickly before they filled-in blanks with guesses: Oh, his sister? Daughter? Oh, heaven to Betsy, are you his affair partner? Bravely I unbolted My Closet Door. “He never was my husband. I will never be his wife.

Because I am a lesbian.”

Silence. Stunned quiet as each one in my audience held her breath. An extended period of canceled verbalization. Only the crunch of feet on high-elevation stones.

Followed by a rush of observations about twisted undergrowth and lichens, those complex organisms consisting of fungi and algae growing together in symbiosis.

My hike-associates had exhibited what I call the “Startle & Suspend” effect.

There’s more. Right there in New Hampshire which has “pumpkin” as its state fruit, I witnessed a distinctive reaction to Lesbian on the Premises. Maybe it was high-altitude oxygen-deprivation or moose under-exposure that exacerbated the anger of one large, tall, mooselegged Menacing Male, wearing khaki short-shorts, who did not want his picture taken. He terrorized a sweet fellow-traveler trying to use-up Fuji film in his tapedtogether camera: “Do you want me to rip that film out?” Reconsidering options, Bully slithered toward the edge of his chair, loudly threatening to smash sweettraveler’s camera. Our startled vacationphotographer backed away.

Without skipping a beat, Intimidator proceeded to interrogate Matthew.

“Why is your wife standing at the side of the porch? Why isn’t she sitting?” Calmly, Matthew provided basic information: she needs to be out of the sun and she’s not my wife. Then dead-serious Matthew turned to me: “You wanna take over?”

I stepped into a spot of light. Projected my voice toward the porch filled with Americans of the 21st century. “He’s not my husband. Never was. Never will be. I am a lesbian.” At which point, incredulous Bully wrinkled his brow in consternation and dropped his jaw, wideopen. Remained in freeze-frame for several minutes. This is a classic example of “Post-Astonishment Animation” rarely witnessed by de-closeting persons. Unfor-

tunately there is no news footage.

And no snapshots of wild Alces Alces, giants of the deer family. As disappointment-compensation, our guides provided a top-class video about moose we never saw. Close-up pictures of leaf-stripping facilitated by prehensile moose lips.

Caught-on-camera just-born moosettes struggling to control their spindly and wildly uncooperative new legs. Clips of many moose standing next to some other highway in some other state. Ah, well, there are always postcards.

On departure day, I packed-up my duck headdress and my portable closet.

Tucked away in my memory, the sound track of a whole busload of elders beltingout the refrain to an especially entrancing moose ditty.

Pinned to my heart, film clips of Moose Ballroom, background moose-ic (they said it, I’m just sharing) playing, and a crystal ball that scattered leaping colors on playful seniors travelling through autumn miracles in magic mountains.

My superlative souvenir? Lingering laughter. meredithreiniger@gmail.com

Faith Matters REMEMBERING THE LIFE, LOVE AND LEGACY OF AUDRE LORDE

By Rev. Irene Monroe Have you ever wondered what unseen photos, faux pas, untold stories, and unfinished works surviving partners of famous people are left with?

Dr. Gloria I. Joseph has a treasure trove of memories of the renowned Audre Lorde. Joseph’s long-awaited new book “The Wind is Spirit: The life, love and legacy of Audre Lorde” gives us a rare glimpse of Lorde, as told by people who knew Lorde, or whose work was greatly impacted by her.

Who was Audre Lorde?

While I gasp at having to pen such a query I realize there’s a generation who are the beneficiaries of Lorde’s prodigious body of work and social activism, but who don’t have a clue who she was.

If she were among us today this “poet, warrior, feminist, mother, pioneer, lover, survivor” would be 80 years old. She was born February 18, 1934 in Harlem to Caribbean immigrant parents.

I met Lorde in my early 20’s after returning home from Wellesley College looking for a LBTQ support group. I was taken to African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change (AALUSC)— the first out LBTQ sister organization in NYC. Back in the day AALUSC was known as Salsa Soul Sisters, and Lorde facilitated workshops helping us to love ourselves regardless of family and church rejections.

But Lorde’s indefatigable spirit fought on many fronts — and white feminist exclusion was just one of the battles.

The rise of the Second Wave Feminist Movement was intentionally an exclusive women’s country clubs. Betty Friedan’s feminine mystique of upper-crust “pumps and pearls” wearing white women was the audience, and poor white women and women of color — straight or gay — had neither voice nor visibility.

Lorde not only addressed Friedan’s omission of us, but she also called out Mary Daly’s hubris in an open letter.

“To dismiss our Black foremothers may well be to dismiss where european women learned to love.... What you excluded from Gyn/Ecology dismissed my heritage and the heritage of all other noneuropean women, and denied the real connections that exist between all of us.”

Lorde had shaped contemporary feminist and womanist thought before her 1984 seminal book “Sister Outsider” — a collection of speeches and essays unflinchingly depicting black lesbian women’s

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Rev. Irene Monroe with the late Audre Lorde.

lives as interlocking oppressions-sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class— as a clarion call for change and activism.

“As a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother of two including one boy and member of an interracial couple, I usually find myself part of some group in which the majority defines me as deviant, difficult, inferior or just plain ‘wrong.’

From my membership in all of these groups I have learned that oppression and the intolerance of difference come in all shapes and sizes and colors and sexualities; and that among those of us who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children, there can be no hierarchies of oppression,” Lorde wrote in “Sister Outsider”.

Today among scholars and activists Lorde’s depiction of “hierarchies of oppression” is lauded as a theory on intersectionality.

Imani Rashid, Lorde’s girlhood BFF, shared with me her insights of when Lorde began to witness multiple oppressions on her.

“Audre and I were little girls together.

We both grew up in Harlem during the post World War II era. We both attended the same little Catholic School, St Marks The Evangelist. Audre was, I believe at an early age, aware of the race, class and gender issues of our times. Even though the school was co-ed, only little boys were selected to be altar boys.”

Lorde struggled mightily with breast cancer and wrote “The Cancer Journals” that helped me through my bouts. Lorde not only leaves us with a body of work to reflect on, but she also leaves us humbly trying to uphold and to implement her vision of radical inclusion and wellness.

“Audre was an eloquent, charismatic revolutionary. And while she may have left this dimension, Audre is still being our mentor. She teaches women how to live with the challenges life has to offer,” Rashid told me.

Joseph is keeping Lorde’s legacy alive.

Joseph is Lorde’s surviving partner, and they resided on Joseph’s native familial island of St. Croix. Joseph in her day was a firebrand and still is one in her 80’s.

Now a retired professor in the School of Social Sciences at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., her legacy is not only the nationally-renowned Black Studies Department she and others developed in the 1970s, but, also, her inimitable pedagogical style of blending scholarship, the arts with activism her students so richly enjoyed and still speak about until this day.

Collaboratively Joseph and Lorde, while quite ill with cancer, continued their activism founding several organizations, including the Che Lumumba School for Truth, and the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, to name a few.

Joseph and Lorde together produced “Hell Under God’s Orders,” a compilation of wrenching personal accounts of Hurricane Hugo, which devastated St. Croix in 1989 and our government’s slow hand in assisting this U.S. Caribbean Island.

Lorde’s piece titled “Of generators and survival - a Hugo letter,” addressed the devastation and geopolitics of Hugo.

In honoring the wishes of her beloved

partner before her death in 1992 Joseph presents her book. Joseph depicts her book as a “bio/anthology” on Audre Lorde. It is a compilation of essays, photos, and recollections by a diverse group of contributors ruminating on Lorde -- how she impacted their life, work, and activism.

In Joseph’s eclectic style of creatively being outside the box, her book is also compilation of the various written genres Lorde employed throughout her lifetime, and it’s narrated in the classical “griot style,” a West African oratory form blending history, storytelling, poetry and music that organically emerged as a result of the slave trade.

Joseph’s book is a must read, not only to carry out Lorde’s vision but to also help us make all of our lives better.

The Wind is Spirit: A bio/ anthology of Audre Lorde by Villarosa Media — Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1554636407/the-wind-is-spirit-a-bioanthology-of-audre-lorde

A Few Bricks Short FOOTBALL FANTASIES

By David Hull My brotherin-law called. His number popped up on the TV screen thanks to caller ID. I rolled my eyes and looked over at my husband.

“Are you going to answer that?” I asked Bernie.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Why don’t you answer it?”

“Well,” I explained. “He’s married to your sister, so technically that makes him your brother-in-law, not mine.”

“But since you’re the one closer to the phone,” Bernie argued. “You should technically answer it for me.”

I decided to answer. I’d get my revenge next time my mother called and Bernie was closer to the phone.

Now, my brother-in-law has never been one to stand on ceremony by asking “how you are doing” or “what’s new with you”; he just immediately begins with whatever reason he has to call. I expected him to need help moving a heavy piece of furniture or maybe he wanted to borrow our ladder, but I was wrong. Instead, he told me how his fantasy football league needed more people to sign up and he wondered if I wanted to participate.

“Well, for me,” I explained, “fantasy football would be me holding the football and a dozen big, muscular, naked guys trying to tackle me. And I’d get tackled a lot!”

“No,” he said. “That’s not what I’m talking about. This is totally different.

This is kind of like… imaginary football.

You pick your imaginary team and then each week, according to what happens in the NFL, your fantasy team will score and lose or win a game.”

“It doesn’t sound like it makes much sense,” I said “Yeah,” my brother-in-law replied. “It’s mostly for straight guys, so it doesn’t have

to make sense.”

“So, how do you pick your contestants?” I asked.

“They’re not contestants,” he corrected me. “This isn’t The Price is Right.

It’s football. You pick players. Just think about who you’d like on your team, make a list and I’ll meet you at Marko’s Tavern on Thursday night and everyone will draft their teams then.

“So, I just pick anybody I want?” That seemed too simple, even for straight guys.

“That’s right,” said my brother-in-law.

“But, look, don’t try to get a team of all superstar players – that’ll cost too much.

Just try to pick out a well-balanced team that can win games.”

“Okay,” I said and I agreed to meet him at Marko’s.

After I hung up, I explained to Bernie what was going on.

“Do you want to play fantasy football too?” I asked.

Bernie shook his head. “No, that’s okay. You go. I’ll just stay home and do anything else other than play fantasy football. Good luck though – I hope your team wins the World Cup.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “The World Cup isn’t football! In football I’ll win the World Series!”

Marko’s Tavern is a straight bar on Main Street where the walls are covered with neon beer signs and flat screen TVs that are always tuned to various sporting events. They serve over-cooked wings and skimp on pepperoni for the pizza.

And on Thursday night the bar was packed with handsome, excited men – unfortunately, they were all straight men and only seemed excited about this football thing.

I ordered a glass of zinfandel and found my brother-in-law and two of his friends at a table in the back. They all warmly greeted me with cheers of “Hey, dude” and pushed out a chair for me.

“Do you have your list ready?” asked my brother-in-law.

“I sure do,” I replied as I pulled my list from my back pocket, unfolded it and spread it on the table for their inspection.

My Football Team Wolverine The Tasmanian Devil The Kool-Aid Man Bigfoot The Michelin Tire Man Chewbacca Tony the Tiger The Robot from Lost in Space Frankenstein The bearded lumberjack guy on the “Brawny” paper towel package.

The group seated at the table was silent for a few moments. They looked at each other, then looked at me. “What the hell is this?” asked my brother-in-law, waving his hand at my list.

“The players I want for my team,” I said. “Is something wrong? I did what you said; I tried not to pick any superstars, like Superman or Darth Vader or Count Chocula.”

“These are fantasy characters,” he said.

I nodded. “Yeah. For a fantasy football team.”

“Not fantasy like this.” My brother-inlaw pointed at the paper on the table. “It’s supposed to be a fantasy team made up with real-life football players.”

I thought for a moment. “You mean like Joe Namath or Howie Long?”

“No! You’re supposed to pick guys who play football in this century!” said my brother-in-law.

One of his friends nodded his head.

“Yeah, dude,” he said. “And Lost in Space was on TV a long time ago. I think that Robot might be dead by now.”

“No, bro,” corrected the other friend.

“I don’t think so. Robots are actually machines, so they don’t die.”

“Forget the robot!” snapped my brother-in-law. He grabbed my list off the table, folded it up and handed it back to me. “I’ll just help you pick a team.”

So, it ended up that I drank a couple glasses of wine, ate a few over-cooked wings and I got a fantasy football team made up of a bunch of guys I’d never

23 heard of – none of whom, I am sure, are as strong as the Bigfoot or as fast as the Tasmanian Devil. And my brother-in-law was pessimistic enough to tell me that no matter what happens, my fantasy football team will never, ever get to play in the World Series!

Regardless of what anyone tells me, considering the situation with the NFL these days, I think I’d be better off with my own team of fantasy players anyway.

Kool-Aid Man may have crashed through a few kitchen walls and the Lost in Space robot may have blasted some evil alien monsters, but at least none of them were ever accused of domestic violence or child abuse! One should never underestimate the power of a good fantasy!

Contact David at davidhull59@aol.com

Trans*missions COMING OUT IS VITAL

By Laine DeLaney When people say that they don’t know any trans* people, I tell them, “Yes, you do. You do and you don’t know it. For every one person I see at one of our meetings, I see two or three people around town who are undoubtedly part of our community but I haven’t seen as a part of any group.

“For each of those people, there are two or three or more others hiding inside themselves out of fear of social censure or violence, terrified to come out. So whether you’ve known that they’re trans* or not, you’ve met one of us.

“The problem is, we assume you hate us and want to hurt us, because we’ve been taught that. We’ve been taught that being ourselves makes us legitimate targets for violence and ridicule. We’ve been taught that just the same as you have -and we’re terrified of coming out because of it. It’s legal. In much of this State it’s legal to deny someone jobs, housing, and emergency medical care -- let that one sink in -- because you don’t like their gender identity or expression.”

For some of us the fear of the ofteninevitable internal violence against oneself for failing to follow one’s nature overcomes the terror of the culturally legitimized external violence. We can’t handle it anymore, and rather than harm or kill ourselves, we start being ourselves.

So many of us don’t, though. So many of us can’t overcome the years of being told that what they are is an abomination, or a disease, or a form of insanity.

So many of us are convinced that we will never be allowed to live free, normal lives.

Coming out humanizes us. Each one of us who comes out is another person that your friends or neighbors or family know who is trans*, another human face that they are less willing to harm by virtue of knowing you. Coming out is powerful, because the more of us who come out, the safer it is for everyone else to.

Don’t let them (whether the “them” is close friends and confidants or the voices in your head) tell you that it’s not worth it. Don’t just do it for yourself -- do it for every other person that lives in fear as well. The more of us there are, the more of us people see and know, the less we will be feared and reviled for our differences.

We can do this. You can do this. By doing this, you *will* change someone’s opinion about trans* people, and probably for the better if they are your friends or relatives.

Some people will be jerks to you, but they don’t matter. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” For every person you lose by being yourself, you will gain another who sees you as who you are, with whom you can have a genuine human relationship.

I’ll be there. I promise to do my best to be there for you if you lose people as a result of being honest about yourself and trying to live as the person that your

24 nature inclines you to, to embody the gender that you know that you are. I will do my best to be there for anyone who comes out, because it’s scary, and dangerous, but it’s one of the most important things that you can do.

Let people know the truth. Let them know who you are. Let others like you know that they are not alone, that those being honest about themselves and emerging into the light of day are growing with each passing hour. We can do this.

We ARE doing it.

What’s Bothering Brandon?

ROYALLY ENSNARED

By Brandon W. Brooks Walking through Wegmans the other week, I was momentarily shocked at whom I thought I saw.

Standing in the whole-wheat pasta section, I noticed a tall redheaded man.

Suddenly realizing how badly I needed whole-wheat pasta, I turned my own cart down this aisle towards him. With each passing moment I knew my initial shock and excitement was entirely unwarranted; this gentleman was most certainly not Prince Harry.

False alarm.

Nevertheless I perused the boxes of elbows, bowties and orzo, taking my time in order to be seen. I will admit that, like many others, I will display myself accordingly in order to attract some sort of desired response, from some sort of desired target. Classical poses against the shelves of Wegmans, evoking the forms of ancient sculptures. Sighing little sighs whilst I make the difficult decision of pasta selection. Glancing in his direction to see if my shameless attempts at artifice

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014 have been at all effective. He grabbed a box of off-brand angel hair and quickly left.

This botched interaction got me thinking; what would it really be like to be royal? Certainly it would not involve purchasing one’s own pasta in a grocery store as this would most likely result in some sort of stampede effect. Many people, including myself at one time, contemplate or have contemplated how lovely life would be if we were princes or princesses.

But would it really be lovely? We’ve all heard of gilded cages, but come now, could it be all that bad?

I’d like to make a distinction between those born into a royal family and those who marry into royal families, from the social level of commoner. The term “commoner” can sometimes be met with hostility in America, as we are generally not familiar with titles and styles having (carelessly) discarded them more than two hundred and fifty years ago. It sounds mean, or “classist”, as they say, to many an American ear. A “commoner” is anyone who is without rank or title – there is not explicit valuing going on here other than what we externally apply to the definition ourselves.

Now a commoner marrying into the royal family is not impossible, as we all know, but it is rare. It is rare in that most royal families would marry other royal families. These royal-to-royal marriages worked to quell burgeoning wars and xenophobic sentiments amongst enemy nations. Cementing an alliance through marriage was, of course, a shrewd political strategy, and certainly not the result of so-called, Victorian, “true love.”

With royal families not exactly wielding the power they used to, marriages can now be defined through love, amongst other things, and celebrated as such. These marriages are now global “fairy tales” or “love stories” that culminate with a kiss (or two) on Buckingham Palace’s now-famous balcony.

But what happens to the former com-

moner once the license is signed, after the kiss is bestowed, after the dress is put into the archive? I can only imagine that this is the point where most of the work of conversion and grooming begins for a commoner who is now titled as well as styled.

Being born into a royal or aristocratic family, one is constantly surrounded by tradition and protocol usually more than a thousand years old. A young prince or princess would be genetically linked with their nation’s history and lineage; your relatives would be those studied by students across your kingdom, they would be the history–makers of your very world. One would be prepared from the moment of birth for a life of servitude for their country… did I say servitude?

Indeed. Being a royal does not exactly give one the right to relax upon the lap of luxury. One may be surrounded by priceless objects, gilded furnishings, and imposing architecture, but these are neither owned nor possessed by this person.

No, a royal is merely a custodian of these properties until their death – when the heir takes over.

They act a servant to the public, keeping up tradition in a world that is increasingly disinterested in tradition.

Their insistent smiling, waving, and talking to arbitrary children on the roadside is not the full extent of their position.

No, there is much more that we could never understand or even describe. And for those two young royals over the pond, I can only imagine how increasingly dif-

ficult this task may be as years pass by.

To modernize an institution that resists modernization to begin with, to do this in order to successfully pass on the torch to your heir, all the while pleasing the public under their unrelenting eye. That is a job I would not enjoy.

But I suppose it would be more than a job – it would be your identity. There is no other alternative when one is royal.

One cannot simply stop being royal, just as much as we cannot simply stop being a part of our own families. One cannot retire and take up another vocation, find a new career and move on. Indeed, the world saw where this path led with the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.

Perhaps all the glitz and the glam in the world could not stand up to the honor and heritage of a royal family (just ask that horrible Kardashian family), but maybe our social freedom does. I do sometimes romanticize about the idea of being royal, but the cost of my own freedoms would not be worth it. It’s more than simply being famous when one’s freedoms are breeched or blunted – tradition, heritage and rank can infringe as well.

And in that sense, I should have known immediately that the redhead I saw in Wegmans was not in fact Prince Harry – his pants may have been in the shade of royal blue, but they were most certainly denim.

Questions, comments or critique?

Please feel free to e-mail the author at: brandonb@gayalliance.org ■

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NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Community Find the friends, fun, and common interests you’re looking for through the various groups listed here.

DIGNITY-INTEGRITY D-I Rochester meets weekly at 5 p.m. at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St., corner of Broad St. We have the following services and activities for the month of November 2014: 1st Sunday: Episcopal Mass/Healing Service, with music 2nd Sunday: Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Word, with music 3rd Sunday: Episcopal Mass, quiet 4th Sunday: Evening Prayer, followed by a Potluck Dinner!

5th Sunday: Catholic Service, quiet Our fourth Sunday Potluck theme for November is “D-I Test Kitchen”. It is almost Thanksgiving and you’re thinking about trying a new recipe to impress your guests, right? It is probably best to try it out on friends first, so cook it up and bring it along to the potluck.

No time to cook? Don’t worry, there is always plenty to share so invite a friend or two and join us for a great meal!

SAVE THE DATES: Sunday, December 21 we’re going to have our annual Christmas Hymn Sing with Tim Schramm, 5 p.m. in place of the regular service that evening.

Saturday, February 21: Winter Cabin Party (details in the December/January EC) 2015 — our 40th anniversary! No date has been set to celebrate this amazing anniversary, but I’m going to be reminding you every month to watch for details.

There are so many of you folks out there who have been a part of the life of Dignity Integrity. I recently saw some pictures of the first anniversary in 1976; I couldn’t believe how many folks were there for the service and fellowship that followed. It would be fantastic to see or hear from as many former members of DI as possible. Send us your current contact information via our email, info@dirochester.org, so we can be sure to send you an invitation!

You can call the Hotline at 585-2345092 or check our website at www.dirochester.org/ for updates on services and activities.

EMPIRE BEARS As I write this, we’re in the middle of ImageOut. What a great festival this year. Wonderful films, a chance to catch up with old friends, and some great parties.

The Bears still supper every Wednesday. Third Wednesdays at Carrabba’s on W. Henrietta. Fourth Weds. at The Winfield Grill. Always at 6 p.m.

You can catch us at 140 Alex on Weds. nights line dancing. We bowl in the Friends and Family League every other Sunday at Empire Lanes. We get together at the Cinema, attend RGMC concerts, theater, dinner, game nights.

What do you like to do? Probably some of our members are looking for a friend to do it with. See ya.

FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF TRANS ADULTS

By Tristan Wright When someone you know and love comes out as transgender, you, too, are faced with a transition.

Perhaps you’re struggling to adjust from being the parent of a son to the parent of a daughter, or from having a sister to having a brother. Or, maybe you’re transitioning from having a best “guy” friend to a best “girl” friend. Perhaps you find yourself going from being in a queer relationship that now somehow seems

oddly straight. Where can you go to talk about what you’re going through? With whom can you share the difficulties of getting used to new pronouns, names, and identities?

Starting this November, you can talk about those things with us -- Families & Friends of Trans Adults. We’re a newly formed support group where those whose lives include a transgender adult can come together with a facilitator to talk about the transition they’re experiencing, and to share resources and knowledge with one another. The purpose of this group is simple: “To be a safe place for listening, sharing, support, and information exchange among families and friends of transgender adults.” You’re not alone – come share with us, we’re family members and friends of transgender adults just like you.

The first two meetings of Families & Friends of Transgender Adults will take place on Nov. 11 and Nov. 25 at 6:30 p.m. in Brighton. For these two pilot gatherings, the group will meet at The Meeting Place in Brighton, located at 2600 Elmwood Ave. at 12 Corners (formerly the Bagel Bin). The group currently has three individuals sharing the work of facilitation: Lynda Garner Goldstein MS, Andrew Durham, and John Aceto MS, LMHC. Anyone who has a close relationship with a transgender adult is welcome.

OPEN ARMS MCC Open Arms MCC is “Beyond just Opening and Affirming…Beyond Welcoming….”

Our Contemporary Praise and Worship Service is held each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Be assured that you will be accepted, honored and loved. This contemporary service features our live Open Arms Praise Band. Sara Campbell will be leading your worship experience in this electrifying service.

Our Sunday Morning Celebration Services begin at 10:30 a.m., offering a vibrant inclusive progressive worship experience, blending elements of traditional and contemporary worship styles.

Depending on the Sunday, worship may include hymns, prayer, scripture, audio visual, special music and our own Open Arms ensemble.

Communion is served each Sunday in both of our services. Brae Adams always delivers a message that is both scriptural and socially relevant. During our Celebration Service, children are invited to participate in our Children’s Moment before heading off to our Rainbow Rangers (ages 5-12) and Rainbow Sprouts (newborn-5) Sunday School Program. Following the service join us in our Community Center for coffee social time.

Our Social Justice team continues to support Dwayne’s House in Jamaica. Dwayne’s house is an organization that provides clothing and gives monetary assistance to the homeless LGBTQ youths in Jamaica. We continue to fund travel expenses for our pastor emeritus Rev. Jim Mulcahy through our bottle and can collection ministry. Rev. Jim is building churches and teaching our brothers and sisters in Eastern Europe about God’s unconditional love.

Our Thanksgiving Food drive has begun. Last year we prepared food baskets that fed over 150 people in our community. This year we are expecting to break that number. Food donations can be made on Tuesdays or Sundays in our community center.

Our Spirituality Team continues to educate. Sara Campbell will be conduct-

ing a Queer Theology Bible Study. This will be held at Equal Grounds at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays nights. Our Soup and Book Study continues with Brae Adams every other Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.

Our Community team has been busy planning the following events. Saturday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. author Shauna Marie O’Toole will be discussing her book and her journey in making her transition. Shauna will be educating as well as enthralling us as she gives a more lighthearted look at what happens when you transition from your birth-sex to your true gender.

Saturday, Nov. 15, starting at 5:30 p.m., we will host a Community Thanksgiving Potluck with members of Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester, SAGE, PFLAG, the Gay Alliance Youth, AFTY, Adult Families with Trans Youth and MOCHA. Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. will be our observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance. This is a day where we remember and honor the murdered Trans people who were victims of Trans phobia and trans hate. This is a simple service where we will remember those who violently lost their lives for simply being who they are -- often in the most gruesome ways possible Our Angel Tree will begin again in December. Last year we provided Christmas presents to 75 children through Action for a Better Community. This year we would like to increase our giving to the children in our community.

Saturday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m., we will start our celebration of the holiday with Cocoa, Cookies and Carols. We will be singing Christmas Carols around the piano while exchanging cookies and enjoying some hot cocoa.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings Rainbow SAGE gets together with Tom Somerville for yoga from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and there is a $5 fee. Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. there is also Yoga with Tom Somerville, a mixed level class that welcomes all including beginners.

BTW BYO mat (if possible). Cost is $15 per class.

Open Arms MCC is committed to Building Bridges and Changing Lives and we are the only accepting church in Rochester. We are located at 707 East Main St. almost right across from Delta Sonic. There is plenty of free parking in front to the side of our building. For updated information on these and other exciting upcoming events check out our website at: openarmsmcc.org. Or give us a call at (585) 271-8478.

ROCHESTER WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CHORUS Our fall season is in full swing and once again RWCC was proud to be involved with the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.

We sang at the opening ceremonies and we had an enthusiastic fund raising team that walked.

It’s been a couple of seasons since we’ve had a concert in December, and we’re looking forward to singing some holiday songs again. Our concert is “SIMPLE GIFTS” and we’ll be featuring songs about love, sharing, peace, family, friendship and holiday joy.

This season the chorus is happy for the gift of 12 new singing members and one new accompanist. Our concert is on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. We’ll be performing in the beautiful sanctuary at Downtown United Presbyterian Church at 121 N. Fitzhugh St. For more chorus and concert information, visit our website at www.therwcc.org. or on Facebook, or call us and leave a message (585) 234-4441.

ROMANS ROMANS (Rochester Male Naturists) members had a wonderful afternoon meeting last month at a member’s home in Rochester.

It was an exceptional warm Fall day

25 and we sat and ate naked on a scenic back patio overlooking a lake. We are looking forward to resuming our nude swim with Naturist Rochester on the first Saturday of November.

Our regular meeting for November will take place at a member’s home with a hot tub, which is always good for a relaxing soak and good conversation.

ROMANS is a social club for gay and gay-friendly male nudists (or naturists) over 21. You can find out more about us at our website at www.wnyromans.com. We also have a message line 585-281-4964, an email address wnyromans@yahoo.com and a P.O. Box 92293, Rochester, NY 14692, to answer any questions your may have.

TAGR (TRANS ALLIANCE OF GREATER ROCHESTER) The second Saturday of the month Planning Group meeting will be Saturday, Nov. 8 from 3 to 5 p.m. We have a lot that we’d like to do in the coming months and into next year and we need your ideas and support make these things happen!

On Saturday, Nov. 15, at 5:30 p.m. we have been invited to Open Arms for a Community Thanksgiving Potluck with members, Rainbow SAGE, PFLAG, the Gay Alliance Youth, AFTY (Adult Families with Trans Youth) and MOCHA. On Sunday Nov. 16 starting at 2 p.m., the Trans Day of Remembrance will be observed at Open Arms MCC & Community Center, 707 E. Main St. This is an annual event that happens all over the world to commemorate all the trans people who have been murdered since 1998 when this was first started.

As part of what has become known as Trans Awareness Month we will have another march of visibility on Saturday, Nov. 22 from 2-3 p.m. We did this is in November of 2012 and we had about 20 marchers! We will march on the corners of Goodman & Monroe and cross with the lights, that way we don’t need permits or permission. We will meet at Open Arms and then return to Open Arms for hot chocolate and coffee!

We will have a sign painting party for the march on Thursday, Nov. 20, yet another way to commemorate the Trans Day of Remembrance on the actual day of Trans Day of Remembrance.

We think with all the visibility we’ve gotten in the last few months and allies we’ve made this past year, this march of visibility could be even bigger than 2012!

Our LAST Saturday of the month meeting is on Nov. 29 and will be an open discussion support group. Open ended questions may be asked by the facilitator to encourage discussion. People will be encouraged to talk about their trans-related personal issues while the rest of the group offers a sympathetic ear and possibly advice on their situation. So come to a meeting and find out you are not the only one and you are NOT alone!

On Saturday, Dec. 13 we are going to hold an Open House in place of our regular planning meeting. We are inviting members of the Greater Rochester who are not part of the Trans & LGBQ community and having a Trans 101 presentation so we can get know one another.

We want to get beyond just “Preaching to the Choir!”

We meet at the Open Arms Community Center, 707 East Main St., almost across the street from Delta Sonic and there is plenty of parking in front and to the side of the building.

There will be refreshments and we will be asking for at least a $1.00 donation towards supporting TAGR and the work we need and want to do!

“Trans... invisible and silent no longer... invisible and silent no more!” rnytg.org facebook.com/rnytg info@ rnytg.org twitter: @rochestertrans Our phone no is: 585-432-0456 ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

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NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

27

Arts & Entertainment ed Myles’ witty, gossip indulgent co-worker Diane (played

by Teri Reeves) and Myles’ curmudgeonly vigilant (yet insightful) neighbor (played by Michael Rothhaar).

When asked about his future endeavors, Bucci said he is coproducing, starring in, and writing a “dark, twisted love story” called Find What You Love and Let It Kill You. Having just moved to New York City, he also just wrapped season two of the web series, Eastsiders. For more information about actor Adam Bucci’s current and future projects, visit his Twitter page at https://twitter.com/AdamBucci5. For more information about The Ten Year Plan, visit http:// www.10yearplanmovie.com/. ■ Adam Bucci with Michael Gamilla. Photo: Garnetta Ely

ImageOut Q&A: Adam Bucci of “Ten Year Plan” highlights the fun and challenges of indie film making

By Adam Young Following the New York State premiere of rom-com The Ten Year Plan at the ImageOut Film Festival on Oct. 17, actor Adam Bucci answered questions during an audience Q&A session.

The Ten Year Plan is about two polar-opposite best friends, Myles and Brody (played by Jack Turner and Michael Adam Hamilton), who agree to try a relationship if hopeless romantic Myles is single (yet again) in 10 years. Guest Adam Bucci plays Hunter, a potential love interest for Myles. ImageOut Programming Committee Chair Michael Gamilla moderated the Q&A with questions of his own.

For Bucci, the casting process started about a year and a half ago, when writer/director JC Calciano was working with him on another project, a web series called Steam Room Stories. Bucci said about 100 actors auditioned for each major role in The Ten Year Plan. While Bucci’s character, Hunter, eventually displayed some deceptive qualities, Bucci said it was fun developing Hunter’s beguiling quality. Although preparation time was slim, Bucci wrote journal entries to give Hunter a backstory. “That was fun too, being the nice guy and the jerk… that was a fun duality,” Bucci said.

The film was shot in only 12 days on a budget of $80,000.

Some of the film’s funding was raised on the crowdfunding website, Kickstarter, Bucci said.

To keep costs in check, the film was shot entirely in Los Angeles. The homes of friends were used as sets for the homes of the characters. A taco truck and a bar were rented for a single day to complete scenes involving Brody eating lunch while on his police beat and dragging along mopey Myles for a drink to forget his dating woes. Usage of the gay hook-up app Grindr was in “pending” status while the film was edited. Although approval was ultimately given, had Grindr declined, key scenes and dialogue would have needed to be reworked, Bucci said.

The challenges proved worthwhile, as Director JC Cal-

ciano was in Germany promoting the film at the time of the ImageOut screening. The film also won an Audience Choice Award at the Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in South Africa. So far, The Ten Year Plan has been shown at about 60 festivals across the country, Bucci said.

Programming Committee Chair Michael Gamilla has stated that the audience for ImageOut has grown beyond LGBT people, a fact echoed by Bucci when he said, “I think what’s interesting about Myles and Brody is there’s no judgment on their lifestyle… no one in the movie is judging them for being gay.” Supporting characters that were audience favorites includ-

Greece native returns in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

By Susan Jordan The new 2014 national tour of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, directed and choreographed by Tony® Awardwinner Andy Blankenbuehler, will run Nov. 11-16 at the Auditorium Theatre. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and the box office. Prices will range from $32.50-$72.50.

Cast member Mark Roland, a native of Greece, spoke with The Empty Closet about the show and his own return to his home area.

Asked if he still sees his local teachers Judith Ranaletta and Judy Brondon when in town, Mark said, “I do still see Judy

Mark Roland

Brondon, I’ll actually be teaching a master class at her studio when the show is in town. She’s also a friend of my mom’s when I’m out of town so she is very much in my life. I see Judith every once in a while, she is always interested and excited for what I’m doing in my career.”

Mark started his performing career as a dancer. He said, “When I was living in Greece I basically danced and did show choir every day after school. So all my memories are with that.

My dance studio would travel all over the country performing which is a very fond memory.

“I started dancing when I was three years old so I always say I’m a dancer first, but I feel throughout the years I can say

43rd Miss Gay Rochester pageant set for Nov. 9

By Susan Jordan The Miss Gay Rochester pageant for 2014 will be the 43rd anniversary of the drag event, according to Wayne Esposito (Liza), who has been organizing it for 25 years.

“Miss Gay Rochester is one of the longest-running continuous pageants in the country,” he said. “Rochester should be proud!”

The doors at Harro East Ballroom open at 6 p.m., and show time is at 7. Aggy Dune will serve as hostess, and Mercedes Sulay, both Miss Gay Rochester and Miss Gay Syracuse, will be honored.

Tiffany Lane will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of her coronation as Miss Gay

I’m pretty efficient in all three things now (acting, dancing and singing).

“I went to college as a dance major and a musical theater minor. Towards the end of my time at school I realized I wanted to be involved in theater more, so after a couple years on cruise ships, I moved to NYC and began auditioning. This is my third tour after being in multiple regional theater productions... after Joseph, the dream is Broadway!”

He sees inspiring performers as teachers. “There are so many performers I look up to. Starting way back to Fred Astaire and Tommy Tune. But I look at all performers as teachers. I can take little things about each of their performances and apply it to me and my acting/dance/singing ability. I believe a performer never stops learning.”

About the show, Mark commented, “Joseph is such a fun show to be in! I play multiple different characters and have a variety of dance styles I do throughout the show. It’s the same Joseph story but updated with some new vocal arrangements and some amazing lights and projections! I can’t imagine anyone seeing this show and not walking out happy and humming one of the many catchy tunes!” ■

Rochester. The show will also feature special performances by Divinity, Miss Gay NYS, and Dee Dee Dubois of Tilt Nightclub and Ultra Lounge, as well as appearances by Kasha Davis, Samantha Vega, Poison Waters, Olympia Arriago La Paige, Keke Velasquez-Lord, Vita St. James and Lady Jane.

The pageant began as a bar event at Jim’s Bar in 1971.

Later the event left the bar and became a ballroom event. Wayne said, “It’s something young people can bring their parents and straight friends to.”

Tickets are $15 (advance) and $20 (at the door) and are available at The Bachelor Forum, Thomas Laurence Salon, Green With Envy Salon, Tilt Nightclub and Ultra Lounge and the Avenue Pub. For information and table reservations, call Liza at 585-285-0119. ■

UFC to screen monthly films by LGBT women of color, starting Nov. 8

By Susan Jordan Kelly Clark of Unity Fellowship Church has organized a free series of films by and often about LGBT women of color, to run here monthly, from this month (Nov. 8) through April.

Clark says the films will be screened the second Saturday of every month, at The MOCHA Center, 189 N. Water St., from 7-9 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Venues may change in future.

Clark told The Empty Closet, “I got in touch with the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project in San Francisco.

This is the 10th anniversary of their SF film festival. The Project teaches women to make films and then screens them at the fes-

tival. They go all over the country with free four-day trainings.

You have to secure funding to bring them to your city and feed and house them while they are here.”

She hopes that by next spring a training might be possible for Rochester.

The Nov. 8 screening is “Trans Lives, Real Lives”. Titles and directors are Of Truth A Canvas by Monely Soltani; 36A

by Alejandro Gabriel Cruz Gonzalez; the ride by Shawn Demmons; Ain’t I A Woman by Kebo Drew; My Inner Turmoil by Rashmi; Help Wanted by Truc Thanh Nguyen and A Night In The Woods by Alexander Lee. Total Running Time: 62 Minutes.

(UFC continues page 28)

Mercedes Sulay at her crowning as Miss Gay Rochester in 2013.

28 ( UFC continued from page 27) The dappled reflection of a Two-Spirit artist emerges in OF TRUTH A CANVAS. Witnessing the death of his father ignites the transition and spiritual journey for a transsexual man whose top surgery leaves behind 36A. THE RIDE channels a man’s struggle for visibility with a new love interest. AIN’T I A WOMAN celebrates the luminous enduring beauty of Black Femmes and Black transgender women. A transgender woman proclaims her true self despite MY INNER TURMOIL. In the heat of desperate times, HELP WANTED doesn’t apply to a genderqueer Asian looking for employment.

A genderqueer Asian survives A NIGHT IN THE WOODS with some help.

The Media Arts Project or QWOCMAP “promotes the creation, exhibition and distribution of new films/videos that address the vital social justice issues that concern queer women of color and our communities, authentically reflect our life stories, and build community through art and activism.”

Their website says, “We actively invest in, develop and nurture the creativity of emerging media artists who are Asian/ Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Chicana/Latina, Native American and Mixed-Race lesbians, bisexual, queer and questioning women in the Bay Area.

QWOCMAP provides training, screening opportunities and resources free of charge to guarantee full access to our traditionally underserved community, particularly low-income and immigrant queer women of color. QWOCMAP began in 2000, and has been training filmmakers and presenting films by queer women of color since then!”

Kelly Clark said that each film night (including from three to six films, some of which are very short) will have a theme. This month the theme will be gender-non-conforming people of color (see above). December will feature Children and Family; January New Year Reflections and Renewal; February “Chocolate

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014 Love,” about relationships and romance; March Surviving and Thriving and April Home and Belonging.

Clark said, “If we get a big response we will keep this going throughout 2015.

UFC is doing this to provide programming for the LGBT community, beyond just going to the bars. It’s an opportunity for people to come together, especially LBT women of color – but everybody can come to the films.”

The screenings are free, but donations are appreciated to help defray costs.

“Our hope is if we get a good audience and build desire among women to have the training, we will raise funds to bring that to Rochester,” Clark said. “It’s such a movie-making, imaging-center kind of town that it makes sense to have films by and about women of color (not all films are about women – but all are by women).

We’ve got LGBT award-winning videographers and filmmakers and also within the black community we have filmmakers who aren’t necessarily LGBT. We’d like to bring people together.”

The Project includes African American, Latina, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Islamic and Buddhist filmmakers. Clark added, “We asked for a diverse selection among the films we will be screening. We’re hoping younger women will gravitate towards this. I think it’s going to build and people will be excited. For details over the coming months, look for the Unity Fellowship Church page on Facebook.”

Laverne Cox, many celebrities mark Spirit Day on Oct. 16

By Greg Hernandez on gaystarnews.com Photo: GLAAD To mark Spirit Day on 16 October, a number of celebrities wore purple and millions of other people decided to “go purple” online in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for LGBT youth.

Anna Faris and Allison Janney, singer Billy Ray Cyrus, the hosts of CBS’ The Talk, actor Beau Bridges, MSNBC Morning Joe personalities Thomas Roberts and Mika Brzezinski and tennis legend Billie Jean King.

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews. com/article/celebrities-go-purplemake-statement-against-anti-lgbtibullying171014#sthash.FU3qb6sD.dpuf

Hot tickets: Some openly gay leading men on Broadway right now

Emmy nominated actress Laverne Cox took things a step further when she took part in lighting New York City’s famed Empire State Building purple for the night.

The Orange is The New Black star, who has become one of the most famous transgender people in the US this year, told the crowd at the lighting ceremony about why the effort to stop bullying is so close to her heart.

“The issue of bullying is so deeply personal to me because I spent much of my youth being bullied, being called names, being chased home from school practically every day by groups of kids who wanted to beat me up and far too many LGBTQ youth are enduring the same thing across (the US) and it’s unacceptable.

“I want LGBTQ youth to know that they are beautiful, that they are divinely made and that their lives matter.”

Other celebrities who wore purple and posted it on social media were singer Demi Lovato, stars of the sitcom Mom

Going to NYC and thinking of taking in a show? The Advocate recently listed some of the hottest out male stars on Broadway. Here’s an excerpt: Alan Cumming in Cabaret The Good Wife star reprises his Tonywinning role as the seductive and flamboyantly omnisexual Emcee of a seedy Weimar-era Berlin nightclub in Roundabout Theatre Company’s perfectly marvelous revival of the Kander and Ebb gem, directed by Sam Mendes. No surprise Shia LaBeouf recently called Cumming “the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”

Studio 54, through March 29.

Jay Armstrong Johnson in On the Town Last seen on Broadway in Hands on a Hardbody, Johnson plays sweet and nerdy Chip, one of three sailors looking for luck and love on shore leave in New York City.

He brings youthful spunk to John Rando’s shiny and spirited revival of the 1944 musical classic, beautifully choreographed

by Smash’s Joshua Bergasse. Lyric Theatre, open-ended.

Nathan Lane in It’s Only a Play Lane reunites with Producers pal Matthew Broderick in out director Jack O’Brien’s star-studded revival of out playwright Terrence McNally’s gut-busting comedy about insufferable show folks gathered at an opening night soirée. He anchors the chaos as a TV actor who,

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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Travel

Alan Cumming in “Cabaret”.

according to one scathing review, has a less masculine presence than Harvey Fierstein. Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, through January 4.

Kyle Dean Massey in Pippin Stephen Schwartz’s coming-of-age musical about King Charlemagne’s son gets a high-energy revival courtesy of Hair’s Diane Paulus, who turns the showwithin-a-show into a thrilling big-top circus. Wicked alum Massey plays young Pippin, who, egged on by the androgynous Leading Player, briefly finds himself at the center of a pansexual cage orgy.

Music Box Theatre, open-ended.

Andy Mientus in Les Misérables Vive la révolution! Best known as gay composer Kyle Bishop in NBC’s Smash, Mientus makes an impressive Broadway debut as the passionate Marius, a lover and a fighter, in this stirring revival. The Chasing Life star, who is engaged to Anger Management’s Michael Arden, was recently tapped to play a gay villain in the CW series The Flash. Imperial Theatre, open-ended.

Billy Porter in Kinky Boots Based on the 2005 film about a drag queen who saves a shoe factory, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper’s Tonywinning musical isn’t just an excuse for sassy showstoppers choreographed by out Broadway Bares creator Jerry Mitchell.

As Lola, a performer dealing with a bully and daddy issues, the Tony-winning Porter is powerful with or without his wig.

Hirschfeld Theatre, open-ended.

Anthony Rapp in If/Then Rent reunion alert! Frozen’s Idina Menzel stars as Elizabeth, a divorcée starting over in Manhattan, in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s ambitious concept musical, an earnest exploration of chance and choice with a Sliding Doors split narrative. Rapp is doubly charming as her bisexual buddy, Lucas, who goes after different sexes in each parallel universe.

Richard Rodgers Theatre, open-ended.

Merle's rubber chicken samples Mother Myrick's candy.

Vermont tale from bakery to glass blowing

Judith Frank to read at JCC’s Jewish Book Festival on Nov. 10 Judith Frank will appear at a Community Read during the Jewish Book Festival, on Nov. 10 at JCC’s Hart Theatre, 1200 Edgewood Ave., in an event sponsored by the Gay Alliance.

Frank will read from her novel “All I Love and Know,” a new book “that explores adoption, gay marriage and true love lost and found.” Frank will meet with LGBTQ families and community members to discuss the book, LGBTQ parenting and more.

Tickets for the lecture are $11 general admission and $8 for JCC members. Gay families can meet the author between 5:45-6:30 (no charge), and a community reception will take place from 6:30-7:15.

The Community Read starts at 7:30 p.m.

Free childcare is available for ages six weeks to 12 years. Parents must register

by Nov. 7 with the JCC. Tickets are $11/$8 for the lecture only.

Book and lecture are special for JCC members at $36/$33. For tickets, child care and more information, see rjbf.org or call 585-461-2000. ■

By Merle Exit Southern Vermont was the road trip destination with a focus on the area around Manchester that seemed to follow either route 7 or route 7A. A tourism office and a B&B are usually the best contacts for what is local and for places to remember.

I had spoken with Ron Mancini, owner of Mother Myrick’s confectionary in Manchester Center. What could be better than checking out a chocolate making venue slash bakery!

We first visited the production building to be introduced to the best butter crunch candy and how it is made. Needless to say, I had to ask what bulk chocolates are used in creating all the goodies.

Let’s just say that as a picky chocoholic, I was quite satisfied to see some of the best!

Off to another room where the baked goods were being worked on. For those of you who love lemon bars, one special cake called Lemon Lulu is beyond the most delicious I have ever indulged in for taste, ingredients and without that acidic (but tasty) lemon cream top. The consistency is more like eating a lemon pound cake. Ron also boasted about his much demanded stolen that contains almonds, rum soaked raisins, and apricots topped with butter, sugar and cinnamon. I was tempted to steal a stolen.

The bakery itself would have been the next destination if it weren’t for the friendliness and hospitality of Ron, who took us on a local trip (in his electric car) to several places.

A company called Wagatha’s was around this particular complex. They make organic dog biscuits. We were intro-

duced to Erica Olsen, the owner and got a tour of the operation. Due to the contents of the biscuits it could cause no harm if a human took a few bites since “human grade foods” are used. www.wagathas.com Earth Sky Time is a Community Farm located in the Green Mountain National Forest. A group of people living in a big house, creating vegetarian recipes and baking lots of crusty breads and pastry… all to sell. Oliver was preparing a batch of breads in this awesome oven called a Llopis that rotates manually by turning the wheel. www.earthskytime.com Food was not the subject of the Manchester Hot Glass Studio and Gallery on Elm Street in what is known as the Depot section. We arrived to find owner/artist Andrew Weill giving lessons. It was quite an experience watching what looked like a lump of glass being blown, transferred to the fiery heating element, cut, blown, etc.

I would have never thought that it would turn into a gorgeous large glass bowl.

Andrew, who maintains a good set of lungs, told me that he opened his studio in 2000. Looking around the examples of various glass blown products it is clear that he is quite the artist and teacher. If you don’t have a whole day to create and blow, you can make your own personalized paper weight. www.manchesterhotglass.com Our final destination was Mother Myrick’s Retail Store at 4369 Main Street.

In 2005 his former ice cream parlor and café was exchanged for his production center. I think it had something to do with the demand for his products outside of the Manchester or even Vermont areas.

Tasting included a lemon almond brittle, and Linzer Torte. It was like being a kid in a confectionary store. www.mothermyricks.com ■

766 S. Clinton Ave. 585-530-3371 M-F 10-7 Sat. 10-5

Celebrating 12 years helping people make diet choices for their dogs and cats info@naturalpetfoodscompany.com • www.naturalpetfoodscompany.com

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GAY ALLIANCE NEWS FOR NOVEMBER 2014

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

about what keeps her going, Jenna says, “Working is very important to me, whether it be hotels or art. I love them both equally. I like earning a living, enjoy volunteering for my community.”

Dedicated, spirited volunteers like Jenna help maintain the ongoing, day-to-day functions of the Gay Alliance, and we are deeply grateful to her for her commitment to the community.

For more information about Jenna and to see her artwork, please visit her website: jennarationarartworkcompany.com.

Jenna does a selfie for PrideInRoc.

Volunteer of the Month: Jenna Vanas The Gay Alliance is pleased to feature Jenna Vanas as our Volunteer-of-the-Month for November 2014!

Jenna has been a volunteer with the Gay Alliance since 2011, starting with the Pride Festival. She became a regular volunteer in our administrative offices in 2012. Having just celebrated her two-year anniversary as an Office Volunteer, Jenna is one of the senior members of our Office Volunteer team.

Jenna is also a 2004 alumna of RIT where she studied Hos-

pitality Service Management, and has been a painter for seven years (JENNAration Artwork Company). Several of her distinctive and beautiful paintings are on display in our Fifth Floor Lounge. When she isn’t painting or helping out at the Gay Alliance, Jenna works at The Inn on the Lake in Canandaigua.

The work of our Office Volunteers isn’t always visible: they answer the phone at the front desk, greet people when they come to the offices, oversee patrons at the David Bohnett Cyber Center, and help out with the countless little tasks that make an office run. Asked

Understanding the Challenges: LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training for Providers of Services to Older Adults

By Jeanne Gainsburg Please join us for this fastpaced, dynamic, informational cultural competency training geared towards senior service providers.

We will focus on understanding the unique barriers to care faced by LGBTQ older adults, how to create an environment at senior service agencies that is inclusive and welcoming for all people, and how to ensure that LGBTQ older adults at your agency are able to acknowledge their life experiences and age with dignity and respect.

Understanding the Chal-

We got unmasked at Pride, now let’s show the faces of Pride in Rochester!

This year we’re joining the United Way’s ROC the Day event with our #PrideInRoc campaign, by gathering photos of out and proud Rochestarians like you!

lenges: LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training for Providers of Services to Older Adults will take place on Friday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (check in at 8:30 a.m.) in the Canteen Room at the Rochester Red Cross (50 Prince St. Rochester 14607).

The cost is $125 per person, which includes a light breakfast, a full lunch and our LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training Manual. Register three or more individuals from your agency and receive a discounted registration fee of $100 per person. To register, go to www.gayalliance.org and click on the yellow slide.

Registration opens for 2015 SafeZone Train-the-Trainer Certification Programs The winter and spring sessions of the Gay Alliance SafeZone Train-the-Trainer Certification Program will take place on Friday, Jan. 23, and Friday, March 20, from 9 a.m.-

5 p.m. (check in at 8:30 a.m.) at the Rochester Red Cross, 50 Prince St. We can also bring this program to your campus or workplace.

The SafeZone Train-theTrainer Certification Program is an interactive eight-hour course, which includes activities, small group discussions and opportunities for practicing skills as educators. During this course, participants will be coached in running SafeZone trainings and offered opportunities to ask and answer questions in a supportive environment using the teaching skills that they acquire.

Each participant will receive a SafeZone Training manual that will provide a complete course guide for running SafeZone Trainings, recommended exercises and activities, resources and suggested readings to extend knowledge, handouts to use in future SafeZone Trainings, a Gay Alliance SafeZone sticker and a certificate of course completion. Ongoing support will be available to all participants through the Gay Alliance following the presentation, to offer assistance and suggestions for keeping programs fresh and up-to-date. Our October train-the-trainer session filled six weeks prior to the workshop date, so please register early!

To register go to the Gay Alliance home page at www. gayalliance.org and click on the SAFEZONE slide.

For questions, please contact Jeanne at jeanneg@gayalliance. org or 585-244-8640 ext. 14 ■

Does your life include a close relationship with a transgender adult?

So do ours, come share with us.

Families & Friends of Trans Adults

How to participate : 1. Print out one of the identity signs at www.gayalliance.org/prideinroc 2. Take a selfie holding the sign.

3. Post it to Facebook or Twitter with the tags #PrideInRoc and #ReadyToRoc Everyone who posts a photo with the tag #PrideInRoc will be entered in a raffle to win two VIP Passes to Rochester Pride 2015 The United Way will select four photos with the tag #ReadyToRoc and donate $500 to the organization of the posters’ choice.

www.gayalliance.org/prideinroc

We’re pleased to introduce a new group for the families and friends of transgender adults, created to be a safe place for listening, sharing, support, and information exchange among families & friends of transgender adults.

First meetings: Tuesday, November 11 and 25 at 6:30pm Meeting Place, Brighton 2600 Elmwood Avenue, 12 Corners (formerly the Bagel Bin) For more information: info@gayalliance.org or 585-244-8640 www.gayalliance.org

www.gayalliance.org/prideinroc

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

GAY ALLIANCE NEWS FOR NOVEMBER 2014

Speaking Engagements and Events for September 2014 • • • • •

• • • •

SafeZone Train-the-Trainer Certification Program at SUNY Geneseo LGBTQ 101 at The Center For Youth LGBTQ Issues in Social Work at Nazareth College Social Work Dept.

SafeZone Training at St. John Fisher College LGBTQ Substance Abuse Issues at DePaul’s National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence LGBTQ 101 at Center for Dispute Settlement Resource and Info Table at the Pride Conference of Western NY” Advanced Speakers Training at the Gay Alliance Resource and Info Table at the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Quotes from Sept Presentations: “Absolutely wonderful and incredibly inspiring. Presenters were clear and concise while being honest and authentic. This workshop truly inspired me.”

“Very welcoming. A space to feel comfortable learning about sensitive issues and especially tips for having those conversations with others.

The presenters made sure that everyone (no matter the background) felt accepted and valued. They were great!”

“The experience was renewing in that I had become complacent with many aspects of campus life. Having this opportunity gave me hope again.”

“Very engaging and humorous. Made the time go fast and learning easy. It was fantastic.”

Youth

Our program empowers today’s teens to meet today’s challenges!

It provides a safe space to explore their identity, make friends, build community, gain life skills, become a leader and have fun!

Fabulous Fridays: 7-9pm. (Ages 13-20) Gender Identity Support Group: Tuesdays: 5:30-6:30pm. (Ages 13-18) For more information: youth@gayalliance.org The Gay Alliance 875 E. Main St., 5th Floor, Auditorium Center, Rochester, NY 14605 Phone: 585 244-8640 • Web: gayalliance.org

Gay n o Alliance on-line Resource Directory

D R GA GARD:

the online community tool providing local, state and national resources, twenty-four, seven at: www.gayalliance.org

31

NOVEMBER SAGE CALENDAR

SAGE members dine at Antonetta’s.

Tuesday 11/4 11:30am-2pm. Let’s do Chili at the center.

We will have Chili, Garden Salad, Bread, Beverages and Dessert. $3 donation. Please RSVP by 10/30 to 585-857-9428.

Thursday 11/13 10:30am-12:30pm. SAGE will meet at Friendly’s 2717 Monroe Ave., for Senior Breakfast, $3.

Please RSVP by 11/11 to 585-857-9428.

Thursday 11/20 12noon-2pm, we will be going to Coffee Connection at the Greenhouse Café, 2271 E. Main Street. Host Ginny Dekin.

Menu: soup, wraps, etc. $4. Will leave MCC Church at 11:30.

Please RSVP by 11/18 to 585-857-9428.

Thursday 11/27 No yoga or program today.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Rainbow Sage, for LBGTQ people 50 and over, meets at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Center of Western New York, 707 East Main Street Rochester New York 14605. Yoga is from 10:30-11:30am $5 per person. Tuesday and Thursday. All programs are subject to change and Rainbow Sage members are responsible for setting up their own transportation to and from any program. All programs are open to the community and the Gay Alliance welcomes all to participate to enhance the quality of diverse, member-driven programming.

Library & Archives Hours: Every Monday & Wednesday: 6-8pm 875 E. Main St. ,1st Floor (off Prince St. lobby) Phone: 585 244-8640

The Gay Alliance is a non-profit agency, dedicated to cultivating a healthy, inclusive environment where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) people are safe, thriving, and enjoying equal rights. We are a coalition of individuals and groups working to empower LGBTQ people to affirm their identities and create an atmosphere where the diversity can thrive both collectively and separately. We educate and advocate for civil rights for all and for the eradication of homophobia.

The Gay Alliance, 875 East Main Street, Rochester, New York 14605 • Phone: (585) 244-8640 Fax: (585) 244-8246 Website: www.gayalliance.org E-mail: Info@gayalliance.org Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm • Board President: David Zona Board Vice President: Jessica Muratore Executive Director: Scott Fearing Education Director: Jeanne Gainsburg Database: Kat Wiggall Bookkeeper: Christopher Hennelly Office Administrator: Tristan Wright The Empty Closet: Editor: Susan Jordan E-mail: susanj@gayalliance.org Phone: (585) 244-9030 Designer: Jim Anderson Fax: (585) 244-8246 Advertising: (585) 244-9030 Ad Sales: Brandon W. Brooks E-mail: brandonb@gayalliance.org

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Resources BISEXUALITY RESOURCES AMBI Los Angeles; American Institute of Bisexuality (Journal of Bisexuality); Bay Area Bisexual Network; ; BiNet USA; Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP); Biversity Boston; Boston Bisexual Women’s Network; ComBIne - Columbus, Ohio; Fenway Health’s Bi Health Program; Los Angeles Bi Task Force; New York Area Bisexual Network; Robyn Ochs’s site; The Bi Writers Association; The Bisexual Resource Center (email brc@biresource.net)

CULTURAL Rochester Women’s Community Chorus 234-4441. (See Ongoing calendar).

Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus www.thergmc.org Open Arms Community Center Availabel for parties, events, meetings. 707 E. Main St. Parking. Accepting and welcoming of all.

271-8478.

DEAF SERVICES Advocacy for Abused Deaf Victims Mailing address: c/o ASADV, P.O. Box 20023, Rochester, NY 14602. 24-Hour Hotline: ASADVhope@gmail.com; VP: 866-936-8976; TTY/FAX : 585-232-2854.

Lilac Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf (LRAD) Meets second Saturdays, 6-9pm. For location, information: rcoaster@rochester.rr.com Spectrum LGBTIQ & Straight Alliance RIT/NTID student group. <SpectrumComment@ groups.facebook.com

ELDERS Gay Alliance Rainbow Sage Many monthly get togethers, some at Open Arms MCC 707 E. Main St. 244-8640; SAGE@gayalliance.org

FAMILY Open Arms Community Center Open Arms Community Center available for parties, events and meetings; 707 East Main St. Plenty of parking. We are inclusive, actively accepting, welcoming of all people. 271-8478 openarmsmcc.org CNY Fertility Center Integrative Fertility Care. Support meetings, webinars, workshops. Information: cbriel@cnyfertility. com; www.cnyhealingarts.com Rochester Gay Moms’ Group Support group for lesbian mommies and wannabe mommies in Rochester and surrounding areas.

Subscribe: RochesterGayMoms-subscribe@ yahoogroups.com.

Lesbian & Gay Family Building Project Headquartered in Binghamton and with a presence throughout Upstate NY, the Project is dedicated to helping LGBTQ people achieve their goals of building and sustaining healthy families.

Claudia Stallman, Project Director, 124 Front St., Binghamton, NY 13905; 607-724-4308; e-mail: LesGayFamBldg@aol.com. Web: www.PrideAndJoyFamilies.org.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) PFLAG’s threefold mission: supporting parents and family members in coming out process; educating the community; advocating on behalf of LGBT family members. rochesterepflag@gmail. com; 585-813-5081.

Adoptive Parent Support Group Monthly potluck lunches. For information, location, call Shari, 350-2529.

Angel Food Ministry Box of fresh/frozen food for $30 in advance.

Menu changes monthly. For information and distribution sites, call 585 861-4815.

HIV/AIDS Free testing for HIV exposure is available from New York State Department of Health: call Rochester Area Regional Hotline at (585) 423-8081, or 1 800 962-5063. Deaf or hearing impaired people should call (585) 4238021 (TDD.) Available from NY Dept. of Health: HIV and STD resource testing site. Rapid testing in only 10 minutes. STD testing provided by Bullshead Clinic, 855 W. Main St., Rochester. Contact: Narissa @ Rochester hotline.

Volunteer Legal Services Project (585) 232-3051; www.vlsprochester.org. 1 West Main St., Suite 500 Rochester, NY 14614. Free legal services for low-income HIV positive clients.

No criminal cases. Appointments are scheduled at area medical provider locations or by calling 295-5708.

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

Trillium Health Trillium Health is the leading provider of HIV/ AIDS services in Rochester and the Finger Lakes.

On-site services include HIV testing and limited STD screenings, Primary and HIV Specialty Medical Care, Pharmacy, and many more. Satellite offices in Geneva and Bath. Trillium Health is also a leader in providing services and education to members of the LGBT community. Contact Information: Website: www.trilliumhealthny.org. Main Office: 259 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY 14607; Main Phone: 585-545-7200, Health Services After Hours: 585-258-3363; Case Management After Hours (Lifeline): 585-275-5151; Fax: 585244-6456. Finger Lakes Office: 605 W. Washington St., Geneva, NY 14456, 315-781-6303.

Southern Tier Office: 122 Liberty St. Box 624, Bath, NY 14810 607-776-9166. The Health Outreach Project: 416 Central Ave., Rochester, NY 14605; 585-454-5556.

Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley Referrals to physicians and service agencies.

(585) 244-8640; www.gayalliance.org.

Victory Alliance University of Rochester Medical Center. One of several research sites worldwide that comprise the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Rochester site conducts research vaccine studies sponsored

by National Institutes of Health (NIH). 585-7562329; www.vaccineunit.org.

Threshold At The Community Place, 145 Parsells Ave., third floor, 585-454-7530. Provides confidential HIV, STD testing and General Health Care, ages 12-25.

Sliding fee scale, no one denied, most insurances accepted. Mon., Wed., Fri. 9am-5pm; Tues., Thurs., 9am-7pm; Sat. 10am-2pm. www.ThresholdCenter.org Center for Health and Behavioral Training of Monroe County 853 W. Main St., Rochester 14611. Collaboration of Monroe County Health Department and U.R. Provides year-round training in prevention and management of STDs, HIV, TB and related issues, such as domestic violence and case management. (585)753-5382 v/tty.

Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region 114 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14605; Tollfree Helpline: 1 866 600-6886. Offers confidential HIV testing and information. When you make your appointment, be sure to ask about our sliding scale fees. No one is turned away for lack of ability to pay.

Rochester Area Task Force on AIDS A collection of agencies providing a multiplicity of resources and services to the upstate New York community. Their offices are located through the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency, which also provides medical literature and newspaper clippings, as well as demographic and statistical data for use in developing health care services. (585) 461-3520.

The MOCHA Center of Rochester Our mission is to improve health and wellness in communities of color. Youth drop-in center, HIV testing, peer education, support groups, computer lab, referral services and more. 107 Liberty Pole Way (corner of Pleasant). (585) 420-1400.

Monroe County Health Department at 855 W. Main St., offers testing and counseling for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

(585) 753-5481. Hours: M-W 8:30-5:30; R: 8:30-11 am; F 7:30-2:30.

Strong Memorial Hospital provides a complete range of HIV medical care, including access to experimental treatment protocols, and HIV testing. Also provides individual and group psychotherapy. Training of health care professionals also available. Infectious Disease Clinic, (585) 275-0526. Department of Psychiatry, (585) 275-3379. AIDS Training Project, (585) 275-5693.

Planned Parenthood of Rochester and Genesee Valley Offers testing and information (585) 546 2595.

Rural HIV testing Anonymous and confidential, in Allegany, Livingston, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne or Yates Counties, call 1 800 962-5063.

Action Front Center (Action for a Better Community.) Provides HIV, STD, viral hepatitis prevention counseling, risk reduction counseling. Tailored programs available to incarcerated, ex-offender individuals. Services for people living with HIV; case management, peer support groups, United Colors support group for MSM of color, educational groups, peer educator training and leadership development, multicultural, bilingual staff. 33 Chestnut St., 2nd floor, Rochester 14604. Office hours M-F 8:30 am-5 pm. 585-262-4330.

Check our monthly and ongoing calendar as well as the community section for more groups and events.

For further information, call the Gay Alliance at 2448640 or visit: www.gayalliance.org. Gay Alliance Youth Group info: pages 30-31.

Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, Prevention and Primary Care.

HIV walk-in testing Tues. & Fri.; Hep C walk-inn treating Weds. & Fri; Meet clinician by appointment. 82 Holland St., Rochester 14605. 585-4232879; fax 585-423-2876. www,jordanhealth.org CDC National STD and AIDS Hotline 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) 24 hours a day. TTY service: 1-888-232-6348. E-mail address: cdcinfo@cdc.gov.

Fair Housing Enforcement Project of Monroe County 585-325-2500; 1-800-669-9777. Deals with housing discrimination on basis of race, orientation, HIV status, etc.

Public Interest Law Office of Rochester 1 W. Main St., Suites 200 & 300. Free legal services to HIV positive persons, families. Spanish bilingual advocates available. All civil cases except divorce; no criminal cases. Ask to speak to someone in PILOR. 454-4060.

Westside Health Services Brown Square Health Center, 175 Lyell Ave. (2546480); Woodward health Center, 480 Genesee St. (436-3040). HIV/AIDS services, support, more.

McCree McCuller Wellness Center at Unity Health’s Connection Clinic (585) 368-3506, 89 Genesee St., Bishop Kearney Bldg., 3rd floor. Full range of services, regardless of ability to pay. Caring, confidential and convenient.

Geneva Community Health 601 W. Washington St., Geneva. Provides HIV testing, HIV specialty and primary care for residents of Ontario and surrounding counties. M, W, R, F 8am-8pm. 315-781-8448.

LGBT HEALTH Trillium Health See www.trilliumhealthny.org, www.everybodysgood.com LGBT Healthy Living Veterans support. Second, fourth Tuesdays, 10-11am Canandaigua VA, bldg. 9 room 8. 585 463-2731, 585 205-3360.

HCR Home Care We provide a full multidisciplinary team consisting of nursing, social work, physical, occupational, and speech therapies as well as home health aides who have completed the eight-hour cultural competency program provided by the Gay Alliance. For more information, contact us at 585272-1930 or visit us online at HCRhealth.com.

Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley See www.gayalliance.org Resource Directory under “Health” for Gay Alliance referrals to physicians and service agencies.

CNY Youth Group Bi-Polar Support.

Second Monday of every month. 315-428-9366.

TRANSGENDER Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester Support/educational group for gender variant people and allies. Last Saturday, 3-5:30pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Empire Justice Center Julia A. Sáenz, Esq. Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellow, Empire Justice Center, LGBT Rights Project, Telesca Center for Justice, 1 West Main Street, Suite 200, Rochester, NY 14614. (585) 295-5721 Fax (585) 454-2518, jsaenz@empirejustice.org, www.empirejustice.org.

Volunteer Legal Services Project (585) 232-3051; www.vlsprochester.org.1 West Main St. Suite 500, Rochester, NY 14614. Free legal services for low-income clients seeking a name change. Other legal services for lowincome clients include family law issues, bankruptcy, unemployment insurance hearings, wills and advance directive documents for clients with serious illnesses.

Gay Alliance Youth Gender Identity Support Group Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 Gay Alliance office, 5th floor.

875 E. Main St., Ages 13-18. 244-8640 Genesee Valley Gender Variants Thurs. 7-9pm, Equal Grounds, 750 South Ave. GVGenderVariants@yahoogroups.com Guys Night Out Social group for transmen. Second Saturdays, 1pm, Equal Grounds, 750 South Ave. tguysnightout@gmail.com

WOMEN Highland Hospital Breast Imaging Center 500 Red Creek Drive, Rochester 14623; 585487-3341. Specializing in breast health, diagnostic breast imaging and treatment and mammography outreach and education.

Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester 840 University Ave.; 585-473-8177; www.bccr. org; email: info@bccr.org. Breast Cancer Coalition provides support services that include programs designed to help those coping with a recent breast cancer diagnosis and those coping with an advanced breast cancer diagnosis, such as the Advanced Breast Cancer Support Group to support women living with metastatic breast cancer. Information about breast cancer, lending library, a monthly educational program. All BCCR programs, support services free.

Center for Community Health (585) 224-3050. Comprehensive breast cancer screening services for uninsured and underinsured women.

Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic 170 Sawgrass Drive. 442-8432. Dr. Wende Logan-Young and an all-woman staff provide mammograms.

Self Help for Women with Breast or Ovarian Cancer (SHARE) Breast: 866-891-2392; Ovarian: 866-537-4273.

Alternatives for Battered Women 232-7353; TTY 232-1741. Shelter (women only), counseling. Lesbians, gay men welcome.

Victim Resource Center of Wayne County Newark N.Y. Hotline 800-456-1172; office (315)331-1171; fax (315)331-1189.

Mary Magdalene House Women’s outreach center for HIV positive women and women at risk. 291 Lyell Ave. Open Mon-Fri. 6:30-9:30pm.

Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/ Syracuse Region 114 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14605; Toll-free Helpline: 1-866-600-6886. Planned Parenthood has led the way in providing high quality, affordable reproductive health care since 1916. All services are confidential. Accept most insurances; including Medicaid. You may qualify for low- to no-cost family planning services. When you make your appointment, ask about our sliding scale fees. No one turned away for lack of ability to pay.

Women’s Shelter YWCA, 175 N. Clinton Ave. 546-5820. ■

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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Ongoing Calendar DAILY Free HIV Testing 9am-7pm. Trillium Health, 259 Monroe Ave. David Bohnett Cyber Center Gay Alliance 5th floor lounge, Mon.-Thurs. 11am3pm, Fri. 11am-1pm, 875 E. Main St. 244-8640; www.gayalliance.org

MONDAYS L.O.R.A. Coffee Social Weekly on Monday Nights, 7 pm. Equal=Grounds, 750 South Ave. Rochester. Family, Friends & Allies Welcome! Contact Person: Cathie Timian. More info: www.loragroup.org. Events: https://www. facebook.com/groups/L.O.R.A.14464/. Email: info@loragroup.org LORA Late Bloomers Coming Out Group for Women 2nd & 4th Mondays of the Month. 7 pm, Private Location. Call for info! Contact Person: Wanda Martinez. Email: sanlorenzena@yahoo.com.

Phone: 585.414.9164. More info: www.loragroup. org. Events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ L.O.R.A.14464/ Rochester Historical Bowling Society 7pm. Clover Lanes Gay Alliance Library & Archives, Every Mon./Wed. 6-8pm. David Bohnett Cyber Center, 5:30-7:30pm, First floor, 875 E. Main St. 244-8640 Born That Way Formerly 3rd Presbyterian LGBT Support Group.

First, 3rd Mondays, 7:30-9:30pm, 34 Meigs St. Carol, 482-3832 or Kaara, 654-7516.

HIV Positive Men’s Support group Every Monday, 5pm, Trillium Health Center for Positive Living, 259 Monroe Ave. Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Mondays, 6pm, George Eastman House parking lot. www.rochesterfrontrunners.org.

Steps Beyond Stems Crack Support Group, Mondays, 7-8pm, 289 Monroe Ave.

TUESDAYS The Social Grind 10am-12noon and again 7:30-9pm at Equal Grounds, 750 South Ave. Email: DHutch457@aol. com for information Adult Families of Trans Youth (AFTY) Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30, Open Arms MCC Community Center, 707 E. Main St. LGBT Healthy Living Veterans support. Second, fourth Tuesdays, 10-11am Canandaigua VA, bldg. 9, room 8, Library conference room. 585 463-2731, 585 205-3360.

Free syphilis testing Trillium Health, 259 Monroe Ave., 5-8pm.

442-2220.

Women’s Community Chorus Rehearsals each Tuesday, 6:30-9pm, Downtown United Pres. Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh Street. 2344441, www.therwcc.org LORA Knitters Group 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the Month. 7pm-9:30pm, Crossroads Coffee House, 752 S. Goodman St. Rochester. Contact Person: Kerry Cater Email: dressyfemme@aol.com. More Info: www.loragroup.org Events: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/L.O.R.A.14464/

Gay Alliance Trans* Youth Support Group 5:30-6:30 pm, GAGV office, 5th floor, 875 E. Main St. Ages 13-18. 244-8640.

WEDNESDAYS Identity Group The Identity Group is for LGBT identified individuals who have a developmental disability diagnosis. The group meets Wednesdays 3-4 pm at ARC Health Services (2060 Brighton-Henrietta Townline Rd. 14623). The goal of the group is to provide a safe space to discuss identity issues, share personal experiences and increase selfesteem. The group is facilitated by Delaina Fico.

LMSW. For more information, please contact Delaina Fico at dfico@arcmonroe.org or 585271-0661 ext. 1552.

Gay Alliance Board of Directors Meets Third Wednesdays, 6pm, 875 E. Main St. 244-8640 New Freedom New Happiness AA Gay meeting, 7pm, Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Rd. Men and women. Open.

Support Group for Parents who have lost Children First, 3rd Wednesdays, 11am-12:30pm, Third Presbyterian Church, 4 Meigs St. Genesee Region Home Care. Free. 325-1880 COAP Come Out and Play. Wednesday game nights.

8-11 pm. Equal=Grounds, 750 South Ave. 7pm, woody14619@yahoo.com.

Rochester Rams General Meeting 2nd Wednesdays, 7:30pm, Bachelor Forum, 670 University Ave. www.rochesterrams.com HIV+ Mixed Men’s Group Wednesdays, 11:30 am-12:30 pm.

Trillium Health, 259 Monroe Ave. Frontrunners/Frontwalkers 6pm, Eastman House parking lot. www.rochesterfrontrunners.org.

Gay Alliance Library & Archives, Every Mon./Wed. 6-8pm. David Bohnett Cyber Center, 5:30-7:30pm, First floor, 875 E. Main St. 244-8640 Empire Bears Every Wednesday. 6pm dinner at The Wintonaire. www.empirebears.com

THURSDAYS Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns 6:30pm, first Thursday. Ralph, 271-7649 Pride at Work & AFL CIO First Thursdays, 5:30pm. 1354 Buffalo Road, Rochester 14624, 426-0862.

GLOB&L (Gays & Lesbians of Bausch & Lomb) Meets every third Thursday in Area 67 conference room at the Optic Center. Voice mail: 338-8977 Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St. 6:30-9pm, 423-0650 Free confidential walk-in HIV testing M, W, R, F 9 am-7 pm; T 9a,-5pm., Trillium Health, 259 Monroe Ave. 442-2220 Out & Equal Second Thursdays Social/business networking, 5:30-7:30pm.

Changing venues. E-mail: fingerlakes@outandequal.org Genesee Valley Gender Variants 7-9pm, Equal=Grounds, 750 South Ave. GV GenderVariants@yahoogroups.com

LORA - Buffalo Women’s Coffee Social Weekly on Thursday Nights, 6pm. Spot Coffee, 765 Elmwood, Buffalo. Contact Person: Barb Henderson Email: Morningstar5588@yahoo.com More Info: www.loragroup.org. Events: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/buffaloles/

FRIDAYS Gay Men’s AA meeting Fridays, 7:30-8:30pm, Closed meeting. Emmanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Ave. Gay Alliance Youth Fridays, 7-9pm, Gay Alliance, 5th floor, 875 E. Main St., 244-8640; youth@gayalliance.org GLBTQI Motorcycle Group Second Fridays, 5:30pm, Various locations.

RochesterGLBTIQbikers@yahoo.com; 467-6456; bmdaniels@frontiernet.net.

LORA GaYmes Night Meets 4th Friday of the Month, 7-10pm, Equal Grounds Coffee House, 750 South Ave. Rochester. Contact Person: Christine O’Reilly. Email: irishfemmerochester@yahoo.com. Phone: 585.943.1320. More Info: www.loragroup.org.

Events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ L.O.R.A.14464/ Monthly LBTQ Womyns Bingo Night Third Fridays, 7 pm, at Empire Bingo. Contact: Christine, IrishFemmeRochester@yahoo.com; 585-943-1320 text/talk.

SATURDAYS Rochester Rams Bar Night Third Saturdays, 8pm-2am, Bachelor Forum, 670 University Ave. 271-6930 Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester Support/educational group for gender-variant people, allies. Last Saturdays, 3-5:30pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Frontrunners/Frontwalkers 9am, George Eastman House parking lot.www. rochesterfrontrunners.org.

Rochesternygrrlz Girls’ night out and social time at the Gay Alliance, 875 E. Main St., third Saturday of the month, 4-6 p.m., 5th floor conference room.

Guys Night Out GNO, social group for transmen, now meets on the second Saturday of the month, @ 1pm @ Equal Grounds, 750 South Ave. Saturday Night Special Gay AA 7pm, Unitarian Church, 220 Winton Rd., S. Men and women. Open meeting.

Lilac Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf (LRAD) 2nd Saturdays, 6-9pm. rcoaster@rochester.rr.com Sophia’s Supper Club First, third Saturdays, 25 Bernie Lane, 6:30 pm.

Men’s Cooking Group Third, fourth Saturdays. 585-355-7664; mcgofrochester@aol.com.

SUNDAYS PFLAG (Parents Families & Friends of Lesbians And Gays) 585 813-5081; rochesterpflag@gmail.com.

Unity Fellowship Church Sundays, 1:30 pm, Second, 4th Sundays 12;30pm.

S. Wedge Mission, 1125 Caroline St. 520-6188 Dignity-Integrity 1st Sunday: 5pm Episcopal Eucharist with music; 2nd Sunday: 5pm Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Word with music; 3rd Sunday: 5pm Episcopal Eucharist (quiet); 4th Sunday: 5pm Prayers to start the week, followed by potluck supper.

Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church 707 E. Main St. Rochester, Services at: 10:30 am and 5:30 pm. 271-8478.

Gay Men’s Alcoholics Anonymous St. Luke’s/St. Simon Cyrene Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St. 8pm, 232-6720, Weekly.

Closed meeting LORA Sunday Brunch 1st & 3rd Sunday of the Month, 11:30am 1:30pm. Jays Diner, 2612 W. Henrietta Rd., Rochester. Contact Person: Cathie Timian. More info: www.loragroup.org. Events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/L.O.R.A.14464/. Email: info@ loragroup.org Gutter Gals - Bowling 2nd & 4th Sundays, 6:30pm - 9:30pm. Bowl A Roll, 1560 Jefferson Rd. $5.70 for 2 games & $2.50 for shoes. For more info: http://www. facebook.com/groups/guttergals/Contact Person: Cathie: Email: ctimian@l-o-r-a.com; Phone: 585.313.3037 ■

ROCHESTER AA/NA MEETINGS Every week there are four regularly scheduled GLBTI AA and two inclusive NA meetings in Rochester.

ROCHESTER TUESDAYS

AA/NA MEETINGS

Narcotics Anonymous 6-7:30pm. AIDS and Recovery 1124 Culver Road (Covenant United Methodist Church) This is an NA meeting that is open to all addicts who have a desire to stop using. Although it is not specifically a gay-oriented meeting, it is welcoming to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as to anyone who is affected by HIV and AIDS.

WEDNESDAYS New Freedom/New Happiness Group 7pm. First Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd. Bus riders: Take the last #18 University bus to 12 Corners. Use the stop just past the top of the hill at Hillside Ave. and before Highland Ave. Or take the #1 Park Ave. to the corner of East and Winton, then walk five minutes south (uphill) on Winton. This is an open discussion meeting. All issues – as they relate to our alcoholism/addiction and recovery – are fair game.

FRIDAYS Gay Men’s 7:30pm. Immanuel Baptist Church, 815 Park Ave. • Closed meeting, restricted to alcoholics and addicts • Men’s meeting • Handicapped accessible This is a round-robin discussion meeting. If you are shy about meeting people or speaking up in a group, you will find this meeting particularly warm and inviting because everyone gets their turn to speak (or pass). As a result, this meeting often runs long, so plan on more than the usual hour.

SATURDAYS Saturday Night Special 7pm. First Unitarian Church, 220 S. Winton Rd. Bus riders: The #18 University Ave. bus does not go by the church on weekend evenings. Take the #1 Park Ave. bus to the corner of East and Winton, then walk five minutes south (uphill) on Winton.

• Open meeting, all are welcome, “straight friendly” • Mixed men and women • Handicapped accessible, take elevator to basement Meeting begins with a speaker, followed by open discussion.

SUNDAYS Step in the Right Direction 7:30-9pm. 1275 Spencerport Road (Trinity Alliance Church) This is an NA meeting that is open to all addicts who have a desire to stop using.

Although it is not specifically a gay-oriented meeting, it is welcoming to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Each week features a reading from NA literature, followed by discussion.

Rochester Gay Men 8pm. St. Luke/St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh Street. Bus riders use the Fitzhugh Street stop on Main Street at the County Office Building and walk south one block.

• Closed meeting, restricted to alcoholics and addicts • Men’s meeting • NOT handicapped accessible Meeting begins with a speaker, followed by open discussion.

SELFIE ALERT SEE PAGE 30

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

November SATURDAY 1

Shauna Marie O’Toole talks about her book, “You Can’t Shave In A Mini-Mart Bathroom”. 6 pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Central NY LGBTQ Child Welfare Coalition. Fostering Families: A MiniConference for Building and Celebrating LGBTQ Families and Allies. 8:30 am-2 pm, Park Central Presbyterian Church, 504 E. Fayette St., Syracuse.

SUNDAY 2

Dignity Integrity. Episcopal Mass/ Healing Service, with music. 5 pm, St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St.

TUESDAY 4

Election Day. Get OUT and vote.

Your civil rights may depend on it!

SATURDAY 8

“Trans Lives, Real Lives.” First Unity Fellowship Church monthly screening of films and videos by and about LGBTQ women of color. 7-9 pm, MOCHA Center, 189 N. Water St. Free. All welcome.

SUNDAY 9

Dignity Integrity. Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Word, with music. 5 pm, St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St. Miss Gay Rochester pageant. Doors open 6 pm; pageant starts 7. Hostess Aggy Dune; honoring Mercedes Sulay, Miss Gay Rochester and Miss Gay Syracuse, and Tiffany Love’s 30th anniversary. Tickets $15 advance, $20 at door, available at The Bachelor Forum, Thomas Laurence Salon,

Green With Envy Salon, Tilt Nightclub and Ultra Lounge and Avenue Pub. For information and table reservations, call Liza at 585-285-0119.

MONDAY 10

Author Judith Frank at JCC Community Read, 1200 Edgewood Ave. Reception for LGBTQ families, 5:45 pm; general reception 6:30. Read starts 7:30 pm. $11/$8 for lecture only. 461-2000; rjbf.org

TUESDAY 11

Families and Friends of Trans Adults. 6:30 pm, The Meeting Place in Brighton, 2600 Elmwood Ave. at 12 Corners. First meeting of new group, facilitated by Lynda Garner Goldstein, Andrew Durham, John Aceto.

Thursday 13

Out & Equal 2nd Thursdays. 5:307:30pm. For location see Out & Equal Finger Lakes.

FRIDAY 14

Empty Closet deadline for Dec-Jan. issue. 244-9030; susanj@gayalliance.org.

Please note: Monday the 17th will be TOO LATE!

SATURDAY 15

Community Thanksgiving Potluck.

5:30pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St.

SUNDAY 16

Dignity Integrity. Episcopal Mass, quiet. 5 pm, St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St. LICK Events presents Day Party Sunday: “Rosie’s Throw Back for Women & Friends” at the Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave.,

1-6pm. DJ Reign, drink specials, $5 at the door includes pizza, munchies. 21+ only.

Throwback to the old Rosie’s women’s bar.

Information: annet@gayalliance.org Open Arms MCC observance of Trans Day of Remembrance. Service, Dr. Karen Boyer guest speaker. 2 pm, Open Arms Center, 707 E. Main St.

WEDNESDAY 19

Gay Alliance annual meeting. 6-7 pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Bylaws changes.

THURSDAY 20

Trans Day of Remembrance. Sign painting party for Nov. 22 Trans march.

Hosted by TAGR, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St.

FRIDAY 21

Understanding the Challenges: LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training for Providers of Services to Older Adults 9 am-5 pm. (check in at 8:30 am) in Canteen Room at Rochester Red Cross (50 Prince St.). $125 per person includes light breakfast, full lunch, LGBTQ Cultural Competence Training Manual. Register three or more from your agency, receive discounted registration fee of $100 per person. To register: www.gayalliance.org and click on the yellow slide.

SATURDAY 22

TAGR March of Visibility for Trans Month of Remembrance. 2-3 pm, starts corner of Monroe and Goodman. Meet at Open Arms, 707 E. Main St. and return there for hot chocolate and coffee.

SUNDAY 23

Drag Brunch at Edibles. $25/person.

Starring Aggy Dune, Kasha Davis, Darienne Lake. Noon. 271-4910.

Dignity Integrity. Evening Prayer, followed by a Potluck Dinner. 5 pm, St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St.

TUESDAY 25

Classifieds

Classified ads are $5 for the first 30 words; each additional 10 words is another $1. We do not bill for classifieds, so please send or bring ad and payment to: The Empty Closet, 875 E. Main Street, Suite 500, Rochester, New York 14605.

Paying by check: checks must be made out to Gay Alliance. The deadline is the 15th of the month, for the following month’s issue. We cannot accept ads over the phone. Pay when you place your ad. We will accept only ads accompanied by name and phone number. Neither will be published, but we must be able to confirm placement.

The Empty Closet is not responsible for financial loss or physical injury that may result from any contact with an advertiser. Advertisers must use their own box number, voice mail, e-mail or phone number. No personal home addresses or names allowed. Classified ads are not published on The Empty Closet page of our website. However, each issue of the paper is reproduced online in its entirety.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Children’s Ministry thriving at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church for toddlers to ‘tweens. Join us for vibrant, inclusive, progressive worship on Sundays at 10:30 am, 707 E. Main St. info@ openarmsmcc.org; (585) 271-8478.

HELP WANTED

Gay male or female. I need help with my tablet. Someone with computer skills to guide me through it. Willing to pay for help. If interested contact me at savannahb719@gmail. Leave contact info.

CHOW.

WORK WANTED

Hard working guy looking for part time weekend work. Honest and hard working, willing to do anything. peanutsgreece@yahoo.com

SERVICES

Rochester’s Best Man to Man Rubdown. Unwind with this degreed, employed, fit, friendly, healthy, Italian GWM. Middle aged, 5’8”, 165 lbs., 32” waist, nonsmoker, d & d free, HIV negative. My 10-plus years experience guar-

antees your relaxation and satisfaction.

Hotel visit, in call in my home or out call in your residence. Reasonable rates. Discretion appreciated and practiced. Don’t delay, call me today at 585-773-2410 (cell) or 585-235-6688 (home).

Handyman: Simple repairs or full renovations, no job is too large or small.

Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrical, Interior & Exterior. 35 years experience. Call Alan & Bill 585-204-0632 or cell 304517-6832.

Martin Ippolito master electrician.

Electrical work, telephone jacks, cable TV, burglar alarm systems, paddle fans.

585-266-6337.

Hate to paint or clean gutters? I have tall ladders! Dale’s Pleasure Painting and Gutter Cleaning has very reasonable rates for painting year round and gutter cleaning in spring or fall. 585-576-5042. Email dale.furlong@yahoo.com.

Wedding Space and clergy services available. Celebrate your special day at Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church, 707 E. Main St. info@ openarmsmcc.org (585) 271-8478. ■

Families and Friends of Trans Adults.

6:30 pm, The Meeting Place in Brighton, 2600 Elmwood Ave. at 12 Corners.

THURSDAY 27

Thanksgiving Wedge Waddle. Threemile walk. Start & Ends: Star Alley next to Lux bar, 666 South Ave. Registration available online at wedgewaddle.com. Register at the event, starting at 9:30 am. Event Start Time: 10 am. FREE. Donate new socks to St. Joseph’s Hospitality House. Drop box at Hedonist Artisan Chocolates, South Ave.

SUNDAY 30

Dignity Integrity. Catholic Service, quiet. 5 pm, St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St.

DECEMBER MONDAY 1

World AIDS Day. AIDS Quilt panels will be on display at Equal=Grounds. ■

NOVEMBER 2014 • NUMBER 484 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

The Empty Closet is published by the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley 875 E. Main Street, Suite 500 Rochester, New York 14605 © 2014, All rights reserved.

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Bed & Breakfast

Editor-in-Chief: Susan Jordan Staff Reporter: Ove Overmyer Graphic Design: Jim Anderson Ad Sales: Brandon Brooks (brandonb@gayalliance.org Advertising policy: The Empty Closet does not print advertisements that contain nude drawings or photographs, nor does it print advertising that states that the person pictured in the ad is for sale, or that you will “get” that particular person if you patronize the establishment advertised. Advertisements that are explicitly racist, sexist, ageist, ableist or homophobic will be refused; advertisements from organizations that are sexist, racist, ageist, ableist or anti-gay will also be refused. All political advertisements must contain information about who placed them and a method of contact.

Additionally, The Empty Closet does not print negative or “attack” advertisements, whether they relate to a product or politics and no matter in whose interest the ad is being produced. A negative advertisement is defined as one that focuses upon a rival product, or in the political area, a rival election candidate or party, in order to point out supposed flaws and to persuade the public not to buy it (or vote for him or her). The Empty Closet maintains, within legal boundaries, neutrality regarding products, political candidates and parties. However, “attack” ads that fail to provide undisputable evidence that the information in the ad is true do not further in any way the objectives and policies of the Gay Alliance or The Empty Closet, including the primary tenet that The Empty Closet’s purpose is to inform the Rochester gay community and to provide an impartial forum for ideas.

Submissions: For publication, submit news items, ads, photos, letters, stories, poetry, ads, photographs or art by mail or in person to The Empty Closet office by the 15th of the month.

Design services for non-camera ready ads are available for a fee. 244-9030, susanj@gayalliance.org Publication Information: The Empty Closet is published 11 times a year (December and January combined) by The Empty Closet Press for the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, Inc. Approximately 5000 copies of each issue are distributed during the first week of the month, some by mail in a plain sealed envelope. The publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles is not an indication of the sexual or affectional orientation of that person or the members of that organization. For further information, please write to The Empty Closet, 875 E. Main St., Rochester NY. 14605, call (585) 244-9030 or e-mail emptycloset@gagv.us.

The Empty Closet is the official publication of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, Inc., as stated in the bylaws of that organization. Its purpose is to inform the Rochester gay community about local and national gayrelated news and events; to provide a forum for ideas and creative work from the local gay community; to help promote leadership within the community, and to be a part of a national network of lesbian and gay publications that exchange ideas and seek to educate.

Part of our purpose is to maintain a middle position with respect to the entire community. We must be careful to present all viewpoints in a way that takes into consideration the views of all – women, men, people of color, young and old, and those from various walks of life.

The opinions of columnists, editorial writers and other contributing writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the collective attitude of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley or The Empty Closet. The Empty Closet shall not be liable for any loss or expense that results from the publication (whether correctly or incorrectly) or omission of an ad. In the event of non-payment, your account may be assigned to a collection agency or an attorney, and will be liable for the charges paid by us to such collection agency or attorney.

Letters to the editor: The opinions of columnists, editorial writers and other contributing writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the collective attitude of the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley or The Empty Closet. We will print letters at the editor’s discretion and on a space available basis. Only one letter by the same writer in a six-month period is allowed.

We will not print personal attacks on individuals, nor will we be a forum for ongoing disputes between individuals. We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. We will print anonymous letters if the name and phone number are provided to the Editor; confidentiality will be respected.

Submissions are due by the 15th of the month at: The Empty Closet, 875 E. Main Street, Suite 500, Rochester, NY 14605; e-mail: emptycloset@gagv.us. The online edition of EC is available at www.gayalliance.org.

JASON KLAUM, STYLIST 585.732.7676 90 Canal Street, Suite 308 Rochester 14608

TUES NOV FOUR

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 484 • NOVEMBER 2014

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7 ~ 7 to 11pm DIPLOMAT BANQUET CENTER Tickets available November 23: $20 advance, $30 at the door.

Purchase online at www.gayalliance.org or at Equal=Grounds, OUTlandish (cash only), Parkleigh, Hedonist Artisan Chocolates.