Empty Closet, April 2015

The Empty Closet

Vanya & Sonya & Masha & Spike… page 27

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NUMBER 488

LGBTQ community honors Sue Cowell on May 2 Sue Cowell will be presented with a Shoulders To Stand On Lifetime Achievement award at a reception on Saturday, May 2 at Studio 180, 180 St. Paul St. The reception runs from 3-6 p.m.

Sue has served the Rochester LGBTQ community for many years, starting with feminist activism in the 1970s, as a member of Rochester Women Against Violence Against Women, organizers of the first Take Back the Night marches.

A registered nurse by profession, she was a co-founder of AIDS Rochester, now Trillium Health, and MOCHA and worked with the Monroe County Health Department and the University of Rochester Health Services. Sue has been both President of the

April 27 rally will ask SCOTUS to establish marriage equality in USA

By Susan Jordan The Gay Alliance will host a rally at the Federal Building, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., on April 27, the day before the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on marriage equality.

Organizer Anne Tischer told The Empty Closet, “Now that 72 percent of Americans live in states where same sex couples can marry, many conservatives who oppose gay rights have given up on that issue, and are now promoting rollbacks of LGBT anti-discrimination protections across the country, based on ‘religious freedom’. In Alabama, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and elsewhere, in frustration at losing the marriage battle, they are erasing LGBT protections on the state level, thus wiping out locally legislated protections.

This mean-spirited, petty spitefulness is losing the Right a lot of support, and increasing the possibility of getting a national omnibus LGBT civil rights act.

“Their bias and hatred create an anti-conservative backlash which could work in our favor.

A PUBLICATION OF THE GAY ALLIANCE Gay Alliance board and Executive Director.

Sue has also worked with the local Democratic Party, was a delegate to the National Democratic Committee and attended several national conventions.

She has organized campaigns for Louise Slaughter, Tim Mains, Bill Pritchard and Matt Haag.

She was also a businesswoman as co-owner of Ace Mailing. In fact her achievements are too many to list here, but Sue’s influence, organizing skills and service have touched every part of the LGBTQ community over the past 40 years.

Monies raised at this reception will be used by The Gay Alliance to establish a scholarship in Sue’s name within the “remove agencies” new Rochester LGBTQ Scholarship Fund, which will be housed at the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

“A scholarship to recognize Sue’s many accomplishments is a great way to kick off funding of the new LGBTQ Scholarship Fund,” said Gay Alliance Executive Director Scott Fearing.

Tickets to the May 2 event are $50 and all proceeds will be directed to the new Scholarship Fund; attendees will be encouraged to consider further contributions in Sue’s honor.

“Sue has done so much, usually behind the scenes, for the LGBTQ community of Rochester,” Fearing continued. “This event provides a wonderful opportunity to shine a little light on her to thank her for all that she has done to improve the quality of LGBTQ life in Rochester.” ■

For one thing, they’re educating heterosexuals that gays are not fully protected in the workplace and elsewhere. Right now 51 percent of Americans believe that gays have full workplace protections, which of course is not true. Even in New York State, many people assume that transgender people are protected on the job, in public accomodations, etc. Not so.”

Anne Tischer said that activists nationwide are now working on forming a coalition for an omnibus civil rights act, like the one which overturned DOMA. She said, “The purpose of the April 27 rally is to send a message to SCOTUS that across the nation people are united in their determination to see equality.”

Intersections workshops update There have now been two Intersections workshops for the LGBTQ communities, based on the issues of race, sexual orientation and gender identity. Around 20 people attended the February workshop and 15 took part in the workshop on March 7, both held at The MOCHA Center.

Tischer said, “The most impressive thing to me about the workshops was the vulnerability. When we’re at a place (Rally continues page 3)

APRIL 2015

Mayor, City Council members urge NYS Senate to bring GENDA to floor for a vote this year

By Susan Jordan On March 12, Mayor Lovely Warren, City Council members and local elected officials urged the NYS Senate to bring GENDA, the bill providing basic civil rights protections for trans people, to the floor for a vote.

The NYS Assembly has passed GENDA seven times but the Republican-controlled Senate will not even allow a vote on the bill.

Mayor Warren urged the crowd of around 100 people in the City Hall Atrium to sign the petition and said that she has personally witnessed the pain of a trans person who was denied the civil rights that most New Yorkers take for granted.

Council member Matt Haag, a strong supporter of GENDA, said, “Let me be frank and clear.

I like being treated special. I like when my partner, my family, my friends, make me feel special. I don’t, however, need nor expect my state to treat me as special.

Just fairly and equally. And I bet if you ask any Trans* member of our community or their family, they will tell you the exact same thing. Fair and equal isn’t special, it’s simply just.

“When the fallacies of that argument, those opposed to fairness and equality, often point out why it won’t work, it will be confusing or hard to enforce, create undue burdens or that it’s never been done, let me answer that by saying, come to Rochester, we’ve already done it.

“When it comes to GENDA, Rochester passed protections for our Trans* community more than a decade ago. And when we felt it wasn’t explicit enough in those protections, we revised them again eight months ago. As far as I can tell, we don’t have any cases of mass confusion or hysteria or have caused any undue burden on anyone.

“Several years ago our then police chief publicly advocated for GENDA and our department worked to improve the treatment of Trans* suspects and witnesses.

Well, the last I looked, our crime numbers are down and the cases

Members of the trans community signed the petition to the NYS Senate to bring GENDA to the floor for a vote. Photos: Susan Jordan

City Council President Loretta Scott, Mayor Lovely Warren, Brighton Town Supervisor Bill Moehle and City Council members Matt Haag and Elaine Spaull at the press conference on March 12.

we have solved are up.

“Last May, the Mayor and I announced that the City would provide Trans* Inclusive healthcare to our employees and their families starting in January.

Well, so far as I can tell, we haven’t bankrupted the treasury because of this. In fact, I’d argue, now as I did then, we will be a better city workforce and thus a more effective and efficient workforce because of this.

“So while we know that the Assembly will once again step up and pass this bill for the eighth time — and let me thank our Assemblymember Harry Bronson for his leadership on this — I need to ask, what are our friends in the Senate waiting for? Rochester has already done the hard work! We’ve blazed the trail, led the way, answered the

questions and proved all the naysayers wrong.

“We know we face our challenges as a City, we know there is work to be done and problems to solve, but not one of those problems, not one of those challenges, has been caused by insisting that our Trans* family, friends, neighbors and co-workers be treated fairly and equally.

“It’s time for our friends in the Senate — Senators Robach and Ranzenhoffer and my Senator, Senator Rich Funke — to realize that right here, in the community they are to represent, we have conducted all the research they need to know to inform their vote. Passing GENDA will have no downsides, no ill effects, and no unintended consequences. It’s good policy, the right thing to do (GENDA continues page 3)

Inside

Editorials....................................... 2 Interview: James Sheppard......... 7 Making the Scene......................10 Health: Trans youth......................16 LGBTQ Living: Two Spirits...........17 Shoulders To Stand On ...........21 Columnists ................................22 Community ................................25 Entertainment: OUT at GEVA...27 Gay Alliance: Legacy.................30 Calendar.....................................34 Classifieds..................................34 Comics................................ 34, 35

MKD at the Forum… page 10

The Gay Alliance is publisher of The Empty Closet, New York State’s oldest LGBTQ newspaper.

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

Perspectives The Empty Closet Editor SUSAN JORDAN

Taking responsibility In her Faith Matters column last month, The Reverend Irene Monroe wrote, “On one hand we have the dominant culture’s continued indelicate dance of white privilege and single-issue platforms which thwart coalition building with communities of color. On the other we have some people of color dismissing the notion that white marginalized and struggling groups (white women, LGBTQ, the poor) may have something to offer communities of color in terms of advice and shared (not same) experiences.

“Both hands are right. And both hands are wrong. The only way forward is to keep talking about race. But how do we make our way through the current tangle of misguided good intentions and valid suspicions?

“My answer: past harms need to be redressed.

“For example, the killing of unarmed black males has awakened the movement. ‘Black Lives Matter’ has taken to the streets.”

The Intersections workshops are attempting to encourage discussion about race, sexual orientation and gender identity in the Rochester LGBTQ community.

That’s a great start. But talk isn’t enough. If white people are serious about wanting to change our racist society, we must march in Black Lives Matter demos. We must struggle against economic injustice. We must be present and useful when communities

of color – both LGBTQ and straight -- need support with issues that they are facing.

The March 7 workshop encouraged participants to discuss privilege relating to race, orientation or gender – for white people, that’s economic privilege, not having to fear every day that you or your child will be shot down, etc. Facilitators encouraged participants to become allies to each other, and find ways to connect. Everyone agreed that assumptions about identity of any kind keep us down, either by denying things like jobs, respect, space, power to set agendas and make decisions – or else giving those things without reflection.

Oppressions are not identical, but they are connected, not least because the same group – wealthy upperclass white male heterosexuals – tends to benefit from all of them. Many LGBT people are multiply oppressed, especially lesbian and trans women of color. How do we become allies to each other?

Maybe white folks like myself need to LISTEN… and take responsibility.

This isn’t about white guilt.

Focusing only on guilt about the past is counter-productive, paralyzes people and blocks change.

This is about the present, the future and RESPONSIBILITY. White folks can take responsibility for questioning our actions, thoughts and words, and for how we confront society’s racism. No one who has grown up white in this culture can ever imagine that they don’t need to think about racism anymore! Nor should heterosexuals, males and the cisgendered deny the lethal realities of homophobia, sexism and transphobia. Then there’s the final taboo -- discussion of class privilege. Whatever our identities, LGBTQ folks must reject all forms of prejudice, if we really want to move forward together toward equality.

We will all benefit by keeping in mind the words of Kwame Ture: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” ■

Gay Alliance Board of Trustees David Zona, President, Jessica Muratore, Vice-President, W. Bruce Gorman, Secretary, Jason Barnecut, Paul Birkby, Kim Braithwaite, Emily Jones, Jeff Lambert, Colleen Raimond, William Schaefer

Gay Alliance Education Coordinator ROWAN COLLINS

Learning outside the box As the newest staff member at the Gay Alliance, many people have asked if it’s been difficult getting used to a new job and settling in to my responsibilities and tasks as the Education Coordinator. I almost have to laugh because I have been doing so much of this work for over three years now.

Having taken our SpeakOUT training in January 2012, and launching into a pretty jampacked career on the Speaker’s Bureau immediately thereafter, I’ve been entrenching myself in the Gay Alliance Education program since day one, so to speak.

The material we present in our trainings and workshops is constantly shifting and evolving to better represent our diverse, beautiful communities, but our message remains the same. We believe in creating safe, inclusive spaces for all identities to grow and succeed and it starts with meeting people where they are.

It starts with a simple conversation.

With three years of Speaker’s Bureau presentations and panels, as well as a year-plus of cofacilitating trainings, under my belt, I have learned three beautiful things: The wisdom is in the room When I started, it was so easy for me to go into a presentation knowing my own story and my own identity and think I was simply there to teach other people. But every talk I give,

Name

every training conducted, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from each participant. I have learned more as an educator than I ever thought possible.

Assume good will Instead of immediately writing somebody off for using the wrong term or outdated language, or phrasing a question in a way that seems off, I have learned that a little understanding goes a long way. Recognizing the effort that goes into starting a hard conversation, appreciating it, and working together from there, create an amazing result.

The world is changing for the better I so wish that the educational programming we provide at the Gay Alliance had been around when I was in grade school in Albany; maybe I would have seen safer spaces and infinite open arms. What a difference even five years makes! Seeing the enthusiasm and conviction shown by our participants and audiences gives me hope that our work will continue to create positive change.

With my new position as the Education Coordinator, my role within the organization has shifted. I talk about myself on a less regular basis – facilitating panels and presentations instead of being a participant – but watching the human connections being made through our trainings still remains one of the most rewarding things about this work.

Educating means touching hearts, opening minds, and finding common ground. It means reaching as many teachers, administrators, health professionals, students, executives, faith leaders, and community members as we can, who will in turn reach so many other lives and make that difference.

It all starts with a simple conversation. ■

04/15

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APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

PAGE ONE (Rally from page 1)

NewsFronts LOCAL AND STATE Suspect indicted in Islan Nettles killing

Intersections facilitators Sady Fischer, Christopher Goodwin and Steven Jarose, at the March 7 workshop. Photo: Anne Tischer

where we’re vulnerable, we’re at a breakthrough place.

“Right now a date hasn’t been set, but we’re making an effort to look at the religious component of identity – how people’s religious beliefs intersect with the issues of race, orientation, and gender. We’d like to have an event with religious institutions like Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and Spiritus Christi. Other future workshops, I hope, will address feminism, aging and poverty, classism and privilege around gender.” ■

(GENDA from page 1) for fairness and equality.

“Pass GENDA now.”

Town of Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle said that Brighton had passed transgender protections some years ago. “It’s high time – past time – to pass GENDA,” he said.

Emily Henniger of the Trans Alliance of Greater Rochester spoke about the disturbing statistics on transgender suicide, and said that she herself had attempted suicide in 2013. She was hospitalized for two weeks and said that she was admitted as “M” for “male”, which was on her wristband. Her request and then demand for a change were rejected, and the hospital refused to use the correct pronoun as well.

“Statewide protections would protect trans people from ignorance and disregard of local trans protection ordinances,” she said.

She gave an Inclusion Award to Mayor Warren and Matt Haag.

Empire State Pride Agenda ED Nathan Schaefer said that Rochester was the first city in New York to pass local trans protections, in 2001, three years before the first marriage equality law was passed in Massachusetts. He noted, “Eleven places across the state now have local protections. You could drive to Buffalo and lose your protection along the way. LGBT rights are not a privilege or a progressive issue. (GENDA) is simple and straightforward and we demand it today.”

Rowan Collins of the Gay Alliance staff said, “I call on the Senate to pass GENDA. ALL New Yorkers deserve to be protected. It’s not enough to have pockets of protection. As a young trans man, less than a year out of Nazareth, I have feared my gender identity would prevent me from finding housing, a job and success in life. The bill has passed seven times in the Assembly and has never seen the Senate floor.

That’s simply unacceptable.”

To sign the petition, go to www.cityofrochester.gov/genda. ■

By Mitch Kellaway on The Advocate A Brooklyn man was indicted March 3 on manslaughter and felony assault charges for the August 2013 fatal beating of 21-year-old trans woman Islan Nettles in Harlem.

The New York District Attorney announced in a statement that its 18-month investigation has concluded that 24-year-old James Dixon delivered the blow to Nettles’s face that caused her to fall and hit her head on the pavement, leading to a serious brain injury. According to Dixon’s idictment, he struck Nettles in the head several more times after she fell, exacerbating her injury— a trauma that resulted in her being declared brain-dead and being taken off life support several days later.

On the evening of the attack, Nettles was out walking with two other trans women, and the group was attacked by at least seven men who allegedly became enraged when they learned that the women were transgender, notes the district attorney’s statement. Dixon has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held without bail.

Prosecutors say that Dixon confessed to Nettles’ murder shortly after the attack took place, but have declined to explain the exact reasons for the delay in an indictment, reports news website DNAInfo New York. A second man, 20-yearold Paris Wilson, was initially detained in connection with Nettles’s murder shortly after the attack and was arrested for misdemeanor assault and harass-

Islan Nettles

ment. But when Dixon then told officials he’d committed the murder — a confession police originally considered false — investigators began to reconsider their conclusion that Wilson was the killer. The fact that Wilson and Dixon bear a “striking resemblance” to each other led witnesses to identify both of the men as Nettles’ attacker, reports DNAInfo.

The confusion about which suspect had attacked Nettles prevented the state from bringing the case before a grand jury — until now. Police urged more witnesses to come forward and continued their investigation, which ultimately found that while Wilson was one of the alleged seven men who accosted Nettles and her friends, he did not touch her, reports DNAInfo.

All charges against Wilson have subsequently been dropped.

The long road to an indictment for Islan Nettles’ murder has drawn protests from local and national trans rights supporters, as well as from Nettles’s mother, Dolores Nettles.

In January 2014, she was joined by more than 100 people outside the New York City Police Department to protest the delay and overall handling of Net-

Tribute to a Warrior for Justice: Ally Howell Ally Windsor Howell, nee Allen Windsor Howell, recently completed her life’s journey while residing in Elmira. She is survived by her beloved wife, Donna, and sons Jeremiah, Joshua and Christopher, as well as countless others whose lives she touched with her accomplished and energetic work and kind personality.

Ally W. Howell was a transgender lawyer, author and educator from Montgomery, Alabama, who also resided in Rochester for about 10 years. Her writings include poetry, books on Alabama law, numerous legal articles, non-fiction and history. In addition to her B.A. in history and J.D., she earned a post-doctoral degree, the LL.M. with Honors.

Ms. Howell practiced actively as an attorney for 25 years, including seven years in the general practice of law, three years as an Assistant Attorney General and Chief Counsel of the

Alabama Medicaid Agency, and fourteen years in the general practice of law with an emphasis on civil litigation. She presented continuing legal education programs at the invitation of national, state, and local bar association groups, universities, the NYCLU and for-profit providers. She was a member of the Board of the National Gay and Lesbian Law Association and served a term as Vice Co-Chair of that group.

Her most recent book, Transgender Persons and the Law, was published in 2013 by the American Bar Association. This is a treatise on the first decades of the injustices and beginnings of case law in our country’s judicial

3 tles’s case. At the time, Dolores Nettles expressed her grief to DNAInfo, saying, “I feel like someone got away with murder.”

Responding to the longawaited news that Nettles’ suspected murderer had been charged this week, Dolores Nettles told the newspaper, “I’m overwhelmed. I still want to know the facts, but it’s been a long time coming.”

The sentiment is shared by trans advocates nationwide, many of whom have called for transgender people to be explicitly protected under New York’s hate crime law. This group includes the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, whose executive director, Michael Silverman, made a statement following Dixon’s indictment.

“Far too many transgender women of color like Islan Nettles are lost to violence and brutality and all too often their killers go unpunished,” Silverman said. “The indictment of James Dixon is an important milestone and we urge a vigorous prosecution in this case. Islan Nettles deserves justice. We continue to honor her life and renew our plea for an end to anti-transgender violence.”

Union St. The cost is $25 with scholarships available as needed. Please RSVP to Bess Watts at besswhat@gmail.com. All are welcome; please encourage your Union stewards and leadership to attend.

Gay Alliance joins Rochester-Monroe County AntiPoverty Initiative

Pride at Work AFL-CIO Rochester will collaborate with the Gay Alliance to present Union oriented Safe Zone Training this month.

The workshop “Solidarity Safe Zone” was funded by a grant from the Ronald G. Pettengill Fund and targets Union leadership and members to enhance understanding of unique challenges faced by LGBTQ workers. Ultimately this will lead to better support for Union members.

The workshop is scheduled for Saturday, April 18 at the NYSUT building at 30 North

By Susan Jordan United Way is involved with Governor Cuomo’s Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative. Local efforts are being centralized through a steering committee led by Assembly Majority Leader Morelle, the City of Rochester and Monroe County, and convened by United Way. United Way says, “We are working together to eliminate poverty by ensuring that every child lives in a stable family environment where the promise of economic mobility is a reality.”

The Executive Summary of the Rochester-Monroe County Anti-Poverty Initiative Proposal includes the following statement: “If the nation’s war on poverty is being lost, Rochester ranks as among the worst of the war zones. Rochester, New York, once the envy of communities across our state, now is the third poorest city in America among comparably-sized cities, with the second highest child poverty rate in the country.

“That’s why Rochester and Monroe County’s public, private, and nonprofit leaders have come together in an unprecedented way over the past three months, not to despair about what is, but instead to re-imagine what could be. Our vision is to eliminate childhood poverty by ensuring that every child will have the opportunity to achieve the American dream, to live in a stable family environment where the promise of economic mobil(Poverty continues page 6)

system, as well as a professional legal text concerning the rights and protections of transgender persons in the United States, and globally.

Her achievements were many, her talents were expansive, and her involvement in the transgender community was nearly limitless. The impact of her efforts will continue to enhance the lives of the transgender community and their allies for generations to come. We are all better people for the life and example of Ally Windsor Howell.

We are graced with one of Ally’s poems, which prophetically reflect the dualities of her life, and her quest for justice: My Epitaph Here lies a warrior, who never saw battle.

Whilst in the body with which she was born, he fought with pen and voice in courtrooms and books and articles.

She was never satisfied with that and faintly yearned for a taste of a real battle – but not really.

She would likely have been

repulsed by the cruelty of real battle – although courtroom battles are cruel beyond description all too often.

She read of generals and commanders in chief and of battles long ago and not so long ago – she is a historian.

She had the soul of an artist and a poet, but had not the talent to fulfill her ambitions in either of those noble endeavors.

Her career as a practicing lawyer, and her career as an author and teacher were adequate and perhaps above average.

Like Don Quixote, he and she jousted with a few windmills and had the scars to prove it.

She and she too loved his and her own Dulcinea.

Her heart was not as pure as Quixote, but she tried.

She loved his and her sons, Dulcinea, and country.

She knew all too well his limitations – yet, he and later she tried.

She would settle for the wings of a third class angel in a remote corner of Heaven on a scraggly cloud – and maybe she got it. ■

Pride at Work, GAGV present SafeZone training

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

NewsFronts NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

Frank Mugisha

Ugandan activist shares ideas for ending homophobia

By Tris Reid-Smith on gaystarnews.com LGBTI people in Uganda live with the threat of even more draconian legislation hanging over them. But there is hope.

Under a proposed new law, which is yet to be debated in parliament, even someone sending a text message mentioning homosexuality could be criminalized.

Landlords would be punished for renting homes or offices to gay people – effectively making all gay people homeless But it is not only the haters who can strategize. Frank Mugisha, director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the country’s leading LGBTI organization, shares his ideas for changing a nation almost synonymous with homophobia Work with Museveni President Yoweri Museveni earned condemnation around the world by signing the Anti-Homosexuality Act into law – the one struck down by the courts last year.

To the outside world, he is the enemy.

To LGBTIs in Uganda, his government actually represents the best chance to stop new legislation.

“The government has a lot to lose. It will worry about its international relations, investors in Uganda, trade and tourism. Members of parliament don’t worry about this, they are more selfcentered about winning elections,” says Mugisha.

Problem is that while Museveni leads

the National Resistance Movement party and doesn’t want the embarrassment of new antiLGBTI legislation, parliamentarians may ignore him.

“If this law ever goes into parliament it will pass right away. They can pass a bill in just hours,” Mugisha concludes Go to court The AntiHomosexuality Act was struck down by the Constitutional Court last year. Is this is possible for new legislation?

Maybe not.

Mugisha says the new law has been written more cleverly. The court ruled against the last law not because judges disagreed with it, but only because parliamentarians hadn’t followed procedure when passing it.

“The AHA I was very sure we can win on substance. When I look on this I am 50/50. Having a bench of conservative old judges, you really don’t know. We are looking at a scenario where we are most likely going to have a law in Uganda. The president wants to win an election and the courts are not going to overturn it.”

Get allies NGOs were previously unwilling to involve themselves in LGBTI issues. A big success for campaigners has been building a coalition of civil society groups to fight the AHA. “Problems bring about strategies. They bring on board sympathetic people.”

Diplomacy and sanctions “We are trying to get friends of Uganda, people who know President Museveni, to tell him even if you change the language this law is still going to be a problem for Uganda.”

Mugisha adds that the US strategy of “imposing sanctions that are salient on any person promoting hatred or any person violating rights of people in Uganda, saying you won’t travel to the US” has helped.

It has even led some politicians to suggest they should debate any new law behind closed doors “Because they are afraid. Some of them trade with the US, they get donations from the US.” Change the public focus

“If you chose 100 Ugandans and ask them what the biggest problem is in the country, no one would mention homosexuality. We have much bigger problems.

If you ask them what they think about homosexuality, they say it’s our biggest problem.”

Politicians and religious leaders use LGBTI issues to shore up their support – moving the agenda on could silence them.

Come out “I have even met with members of parliament who are very homophobic in public but after having a meeting with you their mind has changed a little bit.

Because they understand this is a human being like me who is Ugandan and the only difference we have is our different sexual orientation.

“If someone came out in every family, that would change a lot, but that is impossible.”

By discussing the issue, politicians and religious leaders have broken a taboo and it has backfired on them.

“Before all this debate and media, people didn’t feel the need to come out. Now, we are seeing people feel they need to come out and express themselves. I know very many gay people [laughs]. Ten years back we are struggling to find friends, we know three or five people. Now I know hundreds and thousands. I can walk in every corner of the city and I can find gay people who live there or work there. I receive messages constantly saying I want to appreciate your work and I am thinking of coming out.”

Even media witch hunts, publishing lists of “homos”, are encouraging people to come out.

“They are saying I had better start telling my friends and my parents, just in case Red Pepper publishes me.”

Celebrity support Celebrity supporters are gold dust.

Media commentators, actors and musicians – particularly younger women – are starting to support gay people in Uganda.

They “let people know we are normal, we are human,” says Mugisha.

Support other causes “We get involved in charities. There is a charity in Uganda that supports children. We have raised money on Twitter and support building a dormitory or helping orphans. When we meet the young they say, ‘you are a different gay’. So we say, ‘we are the same.’”

Not special, just equal “People say you are just trying to promote your immorality but I say I am just promoting human rights.”

Tackling the church When just one religious leader speaks for LGBTIs, people can dismiss them.

“Ugandans will say you are gay, you have been paid or you are so much into the western world,” Mugisha says. “We need many different Ugandan church leaders to start preaching love. The problem will not end soon but the young generation is getting indifferent. They go to church and they preach to them about homosexuality and the young people say ‘whatever’…

‘these are issues I don’t believe in, you are lying about that.’”

Mugisha tells the story of a pastor who preached to science students about homosexuality and claimed there was “a skin disease caused by fisting” only for people to tell him he was making it up.

“We are talking to a young, very bright community who can check things out for themselves. You talk about something and they go on their phone and check on the internet and if it’s not there, and they will say ‘you are lying’.”

Get supporters to speak “The challenge we have is that progressive, liberal voices are very modest.

When they have partners in Africa they are very careful about annoying them.

You will find a church in the UK providing huge donations to a church in Africa.

But when you talk to them and ask them to raise diversity and LGBT, they say ‘we cannot bring up this topic because we will lose that partner’. The truth is they won’t lose them.

“We need those liberal voices to be strong – they can’t be scared forever. They say if they speak they create problems for us, but I don’t see any problems for us. I can’t see how any situation can be worse than when we had the AHA in place as a law.”

Backing from business Many of the large companies operating in the country are not Ugandan at all but from the US, UK or elsewhere in Europe. This is vital for campaigners.

“If I was talking to the CEO of a company, first of all I would tell them to talk to the Ugandan government. It is simple – the laws they are passing are affecting their businesses. If companies say this, the Ugandan government will care.”

Global public support The public support from outside Uganda has delivered huge impact, Mugisha says.

“We have had massive demonstrations outside embassies, people have signed statements, we have had someone write something about Uganda and it’s had so many hits. I’ve been to TV shows and the anchor has said ‘we have got the most traffic since that’. It makes politicians want to get involved.

“It is people asking, what are our values? We don’t support discrimination, we don’t support prejudice. And if you continue working with Uganda the way you are, you are not representing this country.”

Winning the media war “Most of the hate messages are carried through the media. So we are trying to get pro gay media.

“It’s not easy. The Ugandan government media has been told not to write anything pro-homosexuality.

“We have done a lot on social media and also engaged a lot of bloggers. Recently one of the main newspapers phoned me for an interview, which they rarely do and I gave them an interview and they published it properly – normally they just write what they want.

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET “Most of the reason we are seeing some positive media in Uganda is because of western media. Of course there has been some bad media, but the western media has been constant positive media and the Ugandans cannot ignore it forever.”

- See more at: http://www. gaystarnews.com/article/14ways-uganda-can-break-free-homophobia-forever110315#sthash.2iZbwlbb.dpu

Calif. school elects trans homecoming queen, gay king; students applaud

By Mitch Kellaway on The Advocate Another homecoming season is fast approaching, and with it come the uplifting stories of LGBT hopefuls reaching one of the pinnacles of their school year: being elected homecoming royalty.

While the number of queer and trans homecoming kings, queens, princesses, and princes rises each year, perhaps the most striking element of this trend is its continued presence in more conservative U.S. cities.

It’s partly why LGBT rights supporters in California’s Modesto County, a generally conservative area in the state’s central valley, are cheering the election of two students to Enochs High School’s homecoming court last week.

Nathan Hailey, 18, and Isaac Salazar, 15, told The Modesto Bee that they’re both overjoyed to have recently become Enochs High royalty. But Hailey, a gay senior who was elected homecoming king in October, and Salazar, a trans sophomore who was elected princess for the second consecutive year in February, both say their wins are bigger than they, showing how far their school has come in terms of LGBT acceptance.

“I think the general opinion is evolving as a whole not just here, but everywhere,” Hailey told the Bee. “I think it’s less socially acceptable to be homophobic now. If you are, you’ll definitely get crap from a lot of people around you.”

“If they can vote for me as princess, anyone can do it. Everyone has a chance,” Salazar added. “It meant a lot to me being transgender [to be homecoming princess]. It’s such a personal thing. Some days I worry, ‘Do I look feminine enough today?’ Being a princess, it’s like, maybe people accept me for who I am.”

Staff at Enochs agreed that the school climate continues to get better each year for LGBT students, though there is always room for progress. School officials and members of the the school’s gay-straight alliance said LGBT students have been named to homecoming court for the past several years.

But areas for improvement appear to be bathroom and locker room situations, which have increasingly become sticking points in particular for trans students nationwide, as evidenced by recent debates in both Minnesota and Kentucky.

Salazar, who has been out since middle school, tells the Bee that she faced some questioning from peers in the girls’ bathroom, and subsequently changed for gym in the nurse’s office throughout the past school year, as did a gay male student who was harassed in the locker room. GSA adviser Debbie Adair noted that some students questioned Salazar’s gender identity after the young woman was elected to the homecoming court the first time.

Still, Salazar is happy with her school experience and hopeful about the future.

Ed Plata, codirector of Modesto LGBT youth support group The Place, echoed her optimism about today’s youth — a group who, in a recent millennial poll conducted by Fusion, showed that half no longer consider gender strictly binary.

“The change is in the kids, it’s not the adults by any means. The adults have the same attitudes and same issues. It’s the kids who don’t have the same attitudes and issues the adults do anymore,” Plata concluded to the Bee. “Having these students [on homecoming court] is a good thing. It’s a sign of the times and the fact that things are changing.”

Fla. advances bill to ban trans restroom access Via the Tampa Bay Times: After an emotionally charged debate, state lawmakers (on March 4) gave their initial backing to a bill that would prohibit transgender men and women from using public restrooms aligned with their gender identity.

The proposal is intended to address public safety concerns that its sponsor, Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, said arise from a broad nondiscrimination ordinance passed in Miami-Dade County in December. That ordinance, he said, would permit men to legally enter women’s restrooms and locker rooms for the purpose of committing a crime against those women.

“I believe that criminals — males — will use this law as the cover to go into the women’s locker room,” Artiles said. “All they have to say is, ‘I feel like a woman today.’”

But activists and transgender people speaking before the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on March 4 argued the so-called bathroom bill would infringe on their civil rights and even their safety by requiring them to use facilities that correspond with the sex listed on their drivers’ licenses or passports, rather than their identity.

COMMENTARY: The “bathroom” claim has been used by Republicans in the NYS Senate for years to prevent GENDA from even coming to the floor for a vote.

Never mind that in states where trans civil rights exist, no women have ever been raped by trans women in any restroom.

Never mind that heterosexual male rapists can enter any restroom right now, whether they are wearing dresses or not. Never mind that Republicans seldom seem concerned about the issue of rape and violence against women – and that this is really all about transphobia and hate.

-JoeMyGod.com

President Obama speaks at Selma event, mentions LGBT rights Via the New York Times: In an address last month in Selma, Al. at the scene of what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” when police brutalized peaceful civil rights protestors, President Obama rejected the notion that race relations have not improved since then, despite the string of police shootings that have provoked demonstrations.

“What happened in Ferguson may not be unique,” he said, “but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned by law or custom, and before the civil rights movement, it most surely was.”

But the president also rejected the notion that racism has been defeated. “We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true,” he said. “We just need to open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us. We know the march is not yet over; we know the race is not yet won. We know reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character requires admitting as much.”

The President mentioned LGBT rights.

On the 50th anniversary of the march, Obama honored the protesters by saying, “Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for African-Americans, but for every American.

Women marched through those doors.

Latinos marched through those doors.

Asian-Americans, gay Americans, and Americans with disabilities came through those doors. Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.”

He further noted, “We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America.

If you think nothing’s changed in the

past 50 years, ask somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or L.A. of the ’50s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was 30 years ago.

To deny this progress — our progress — would be to rob us of our own agency; our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.”

JoeMyGod.com

Georgia senate moves on “religious liberty” right to discriminate The Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee has moved forward with an antiLGBT “license to discriminate” bill, Atlanta’s WABE reports: On March 2, a Senate committee made changes to the bill. Supporters say it’s now closer to a federal act that passed Congress in 1993 and was signed by President Bill Clinton. Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, is sponsoring the bill.

“I’m very pleased we were able to come to an agreement that protects the religious liberty for each and every Georgian,” says Mckoon, “while sending a clear message that none of us are trying to use this as a vehicle to be a license to discriminate.”

Supporters say the new bill makes it clear it doesn’t apply to private companies but only to government. Gay rights activists say the legislation is better than what was originally proposed, but they’re still concerned.

“This language is still not something that we’re going to be able to support,” Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, says. “We do feel that it still opens the door for action, for individuals and companies to continue to discriminate against people.”

The bill now moves to the full Senate, which is controlled 38-18 by Republicans.

Georgia’s push to further enshrine anti-LGBT discrimination into law has faced opposition from an unlikely source recently: Mike Bowers. Bowers was the former Georgia Attorney General who defended the state’s sodomy law in the landmark Supreme Court case Bowers v. Hardwick. Last month, he spoke out against such proposals as an “excuse to practice invidious discrimination.”

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3TXtGCDT1

Utah governor signs weak LGBT protections into state law As expected, Utah Governor Gary Herbert has signed a bill adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination laws in housing and employment, Utah’s NPR station KUER reports: SB 296 makes clear religious organizations and their affiliates cannot be forced to perform gay marriages, and no one can

5 be evicted or fired for expressing their religious beliefs. Governor Herbert said that strikes a fair balance.

“And I do believe that what we’ve done here will become a model for the rest of the country of how they too can resolve these issues in their own respective states as we find the right balance necessary to discourage discrimination while protecting religious liberty,” Herbert said.

Protections under new law will take effect in July.

National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell defended the bill in a Facebook post, saying it was the right move for Utah but shouldn’t be viewed as a model for other states to follow: “I know the Utah legislation is flawed.

It has too many exemptions (many of which already exist in Utah law) and doesn’t cover public accommodations. It is not a bill we want modeled in other states.

Nevertheless, for Utah it is a good move forward for the LGBT community. LGBT Utahns will be safer at work and in their ability to put a roof over their head after this becomes law.”

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3UGsqPBSD

Christian lawyer files ballot to execute all gays with bullet to head

By Darren Wee on gaystarnews.com Photo via Wikipedia A Christian lawyer has filed a ballot initiative to execute all gay people in California “by bullets to the head.”

Matt McLaughlin, 45, submitted his draft Sodomite Suppression Act to the justice department on 24 February.

The bill says gay sex is a “monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”

“Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God’s just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method,” it reads.

In language reminiscent of Russia’s anti-gay law, the bill would also ban “sodomistic propaganda” and fine offenders $1 million per occurrence and/or up to 10 years in prison and/or banishment from California for life.

McLaughlin also seeks to bar gay citizens from public office, public employment and public benefits, and wants the text of the act displayed prominently in every public school classroom.

The Huntington Beach lawyer said if the state did not the enforce the law, the public should to be able to kill gay people “extra-judicially, immune from any charge (Christian continues page 6)

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LOCAL AND STATE (Poverty from page 3) ity is a reality. This is about creating equal opportunity.

“We have the ‘community will’ to create a new system that will be childand family-centered and informed. It will be flexible, data-driven, and barrier-free.

There will be no ‘wrong door’ to access services. Full family assessments will be able to be completed online by any agency and services will be integrated and individualized for those requesting services. The restraints and restrictions of funding silos will be eased so needs will be met and opportunities created.

“A fully integrated, coordinated, person-focused, and data-driven system will move people in poverty from dependence to independence, from being enabled to being supported and encouraged, and from receiving entitlements to being worthy of investments. Given the right tools and resources, the poor will be able to assume more responsibility for their own futures.”

Gay Alliance Executive Director Scott Fearing said, “The Gay Alliance understands that poverty is a reality for members of the LGBTQ communities, and we wanted to make certain that our voices are included in these discussions by State, County and City leaders. We want to ensure that proposals and solutions are inclusive of our community members.

“In recent decades a myth has developed about the enormous wealth of the LGBTQ communities; the reality is that our community members cover the spectrum of class, from wealthy to poor. Most frightening is the new research that shows segments of our communities with some of the highest poverty rates. The Gay Alliance wants our political leaders to know this so that we can be part of developing inclusive solutions.” ■

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (Christian from page 5) and indemnified by the state against any and all liability.”

The initiative needs signatures from five percent of the electorate, about 350,000 people, for it to move forward.

Read the Sodomite Suppression Act in full below: a) The abominable crime against nature known as buggery, called also sodomy, is a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. b) Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God’s just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method. c) No person shall distribute, perform, or transmit sodomistic propaganda directly or indirectly by any means to any person under the age of majority. Sodomistic propaganda is defined as anything aimed at creating an interest in or an acceptance of human sexual relations other than between a man and a woman. Every offender shall be fined $1 million per occurrence, and/or imprisoned up to 10 years, and/or expelled from the boundaries of the state of California for up to life. d) No person shall serve in any public office, nor serve in public employment, nor enjoy any public benefit, who is a sodomite or who espouses sodomistic propaganda or who belongs to any group that does. e) This law is effective immediately

and shall not be rendered ineffective nor invalidated by any court, state or federal, until heard by a quorum of the Supreme Court of California consisting only of judges who are neither sodomites nor subject to disqualification hereunder. f) The state has an affirmative duty to defend and enforce this law as written, and every member of the public has standing to seek its enforcement and obtain reimbursement for all costs and attorney’s fees in so doing, and further, should the state persist in inaction over 1 year after due notice, the general public is empowered and deputized to execute all the provisions hereunder extra-judicially, immune from any charge and indemnified by the state against any and all liability. g) This law shall be known as “The Sodomite Suppression Act” and be numbered as section 39 in Title 3 of the Penal Code, pertaining to offences [sic] against the sovereignty of the state. The text shall be prominently posted in every public school classroom. All laws in conflict with this law are to that extent invalid.

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews. com/article/california-lawyer-files-ballot-initiative-execute-all-gays-bulletshead030315#sthash.1qX1wdmm.dpuf A Gay Star News reader supplies this information: Matthew Gregory McLaughlin is an attorney who lives in Huntington Beach, California. He lists his phone number at 949-285-7902.

UCLA report: law enforcement routinely harasses LGBT people A new report released March 2 by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law documents ongoing and pervasive discrimination and harassment by law enforcement in the LGBT community, especially among LGBT people of color and transgender individuals.

To address such discrimination and to improve effective policing more generally

in the United States, President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing issued recommendations to build stronger and more collaborative relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Key findings from the Williams Institute report based on several national surveys include: More than one-fifth (21 percent) of LGBT people who interacted with police reported encountering hostile attitudes from officers and 14 percent reported verbal assault by the police.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the LGBT violence survivors who interacted with police reported that they had experienced police misconduct, including unjustified arrest, use of excessive force and entrapment.

Two-thirds of Latina transgender women in Los Angeles County who interacted with police reported that they were verbally harassed by law enforcement, 21 percent report that they were physically assaulted by law enforcement, and 24 percent report that they were sexually assaulted by law enforcement.

Nearly half (46 percent) of transgender respondents in a national survey reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance, 22 percent reported that they had been harassed by law enforcement because of bias, and six percent reported having been physically assaulted by an officer.

Williams Institute researchers also documented widespread and frequent incidents of misconduct toward LGBT people by law enforcement in all regions of the country, including many instances of severe physical and sexual abuse.

Such discrimination, harassment and abuse undermine effective policing by weakening community trust, reducing reporting of crimes by victims in the LGBT community, and challenging law enforcement’s ability to effectively meet the needs of members of their communi(Report continues page 11)

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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Interview James Sheppard

By Susan Jordan James Sheppard, formerly Rochester chief of police, has announced his candidacy for the 23rd Legislative District seat in the Monroe County Legislature.

The Democratic Party committees will be meeting this month to select candidates, but the final selection may be made in next September’s primary.

Jim Sheppard had a 32-year career in law enforcement and served as RPD chief from 2010 to 2013. He said, “After I retired in December 2013, I took three months to travel and visit my siblings all over the country. When I got back I wanted to do something.”

He has volunteered with School 50 and was a mentor for high school youth at the Center for Youth’s New Beginnings program. Even before becoming a police officer he had worked with the Division for Youth in Rochester. He now works with youth at Dale Carnegie.

Sheppard said, “Four or five months ago a number of people said I should go into politics, since Paul Haney can’t run again (to represent the 23rd District). I took some time to think about it, having never been involved in politics. I wasn’t just going to stick my toe in – I was going to jump in and give it my all!”

Sheppard would like to see Monroe County invest in education for city youth and in youth services. He noted, “In terms not of looking at Democrats and Republicans, but to do the people’s business, good conversations could be had to move the agenda forward. A large factor is where the county saves by cutting services, they pay more at the other end, to educate, remediate and incarcerate.”

On the topic of the school-to-prison pipeline for inner city youth, Sheppard said, “It starts even earlier than high school – living in poverty… kids don’t learn social interaction and eventually it becomes a police problem.”

With the advent of privatized prisons, the funneling of youth into prison, where they are de facto slave workers, is profitable for corporations. Nonetheless, Sheppard says, “I have hope!”

He does not necessarily oppose charter schools, he says. “We’ve had Catholic schools, which offered a choice to parents. If you couldn’t afford that, or had objections on religious grounds to sending your child to Catholic schools, you could send them to public schools. Then Catholic schools started closing because they weren’t making enough of a profit.

Most definitely we should fund public schools. In terms of education, everyone knows the fix – a unified school district in Monroe County. But some people don’t want that changed. There are other things to be done, like magnet schools and neighborhood schools.”

Another major issue for Sheppard is ethics in government. “This needs to be addressed and instilled in how we do government,” he said. “The city has an Office of Public Integrity – the county needs an independent Office of Public Integrity.”

Sheppard is a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights. He commented, “I have advocated for GENDA as police chief and changed policies within the police department in terms of gender identification and how police should interact with trans people. I thought it was important that we had monthly meetings to address issues before they got too big.”

He is also committed to raising the

Photo: Susan Jordan

minimum wage and confronting poverty in Rochester — one of the most povertystricken cities in the country.

“Right now the focus is on poverty and its concentration in the city,” he said.

“That’s very important. We’ve had a poverty agenda since 1964, and when you look at the date, things have gotten worse!

When they talk about teaching someone to fish and they can feed themselves for a lifetime – we should help people do better at education and job preparedness, so they can take advantage of opportunities.

From what I understand, jobs are available, but they require high tech skills.

People need the skills to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Sheppard plans to be at the minimum wage march on April 15. “I’m 60 years

old,” he said, “and when I worked for minimum wage it was $2.25 an hour, 40 years ago. But you could survive on that then if you were a single person. Nowadays no one can survive, much less raise a family, on $8.25 an hour. I favor the $15 minimum wage. Seattle and Portland have done this.

“You need someone to do the grunt work – mop the floor and flip the burgers. And they and their families need to survive.”

He concluded, “Regardless of what the issue is, politicians need to stand up and speak out, whether it’s on minimum wage, social services, or whatever. The easy solution is ‘don’t spend money or raise taxes’.

“To me, it’s all about service.” ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

The Gay Alliance Red Ball 2014 Puttin’ on the Glitz Thank you for adding your glitz to our event!

Sincere appreciation to the Red Ball Committee and Volunteers and All who donated resources, raffle gifts, time or talent to this special event.

Special Thanks to our Generous Sponsors: Jim Moran Trillium Health Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP Marcus Kroll, Attorney at Law And Supporting Partners: Bachelor Forum Clover Nursery Dr. Robert Conway, Optometrist, PLLC Fascinations by SJS Designs Hedonist Artisan Chocolates Heveron & Heveron, CPAs Jean Guy Thibodeau, CPA Jill and David Frier Kittleberger Florist & Gifts Lisa K. Willis, Ph.D. National Income Life Insurance Co. tru concept salon Vittorio Men’s Wear & Tuxedo ~ The Staff and Board of the Gay Alliance

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

Making the Scene DONORS AT THE MAG: Gay Alliance Board President David Zona (left) with Board member Peter Mohr and Staff member Rowan Collins at the donor thank-you event held at the Memorial Art Gallery on Feb. 19. Photos: Susan Jordan

MKD AT THE FORUM: Mrs. Kasha Davis (MKD) was hostess with the mostess at the Bachelor Forum on March 2, the first RuPaul’s Drag Race show of the 2015 season. Above: Jeff Lambert, Peter Mohr, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Kim McEachern and Jared C Kane. The Intergalactic Celebrity Housewife will headline at next July’s Sci-Fi-themed Rochester Pride Festival. Photo: Bachelor Forum

B.J. and Donna. Photo: Susan Jordan

My Own Private Rochester: Donna Johnson Demhler & B.J. Demhler

By Susan Jordan Donna Johnson Demhler and B.J. Demhler got married on Valentine’s Day, after being together for 23 years.

Donna is bisexual and cisgender, while B.J. identifies with both genders. They live in Pittsford with their three cats, Fluffy, Ben and Jerry (“they like ice cream”).

Donna is a member of the women’s band “Unbound” which performs at Pride as well as at many other venues. She plays bass and says, “Our sound

is blues/rock/country.” Songs that make people feel good.”

She was in the Air Force from age 18 to 22, and has studied psychology at Geneseo and computer information at MCC. Since her job as secretary at U. of Rochester School of Engineering was eliminated, she says, “I’m evaluating my options.”

B.J. is retired and says she spends her time being a housewife/husband, mother of the three cats, and homemaker/snow removal technician/lawn mower, etc. She says Donna is “a people person with a wonderful heart”.

B.J. loves the outdoors while Donna loves her computer – but the two have accepted their differences!

Their favorite Rochester organizations include Open Arms MCC, where they met and are still members of the congregation; Rochester Women’s Community Chorus, Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus, L.O.R.A. breakfasts and Butch Femme Connection dinners. As trans allies they attend meetings of TAGR and Genesee Valley Gender Variants whenever they can.

The individuals they most

Daniel Meyers and Tim Tompkins.

Donna with Fluffy.

admire include Anne Tischer and Bess Watts (“who helped make it possible for us to get married”), Laine and Maur DeLaney, Ramona Santorelli, and Pamela Barres.

Their favorite Rochester places are Equal=Grounds, Red Wings games, and Dime Store BBQ downtown, where they enjoy the river view. They also like walking or biking from Pittsford to Fairport.

As far as local events go, they say, “Pride is number one.” BJ likes the Clothesline and Corn

Hill Festivals and Donna prefers the Park Avenue Festival, but both love Fairport’s Canal Days.

On an ideal Saturday night, they would see a musical at RBTL’s Auditorium Theatre, a film at The Cinema or a RWCC or RGMC concert. For Donna, however, the very best Saturday night would be playing a gig with Unbound.

They would take out of town visitors to the Pittsford Wegmans and a Red Wings game (B.J.) or to the Public Market, Seabreeze and “any festival that’s going on” (Donna).

Donna said, “I’m happy about the direction Rochester is heading in with trans rights.

In general this city has much to offer. I love the diversity and the LGBTQ community, which is strong.

“I don’t like that there’s so much poverty – we’re trying to address that at Open Arms. It’s another avenue for positive social change.”

B.J. commented, “Most impressive about Rochester is its people!” ■

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (Report from page 6) ties.

The President’s Task Force recommends that local law enforcement agencies (1) adopt and enforce policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression; (2) implement training for officers to improve interactions with the LGBT population; and (3) improve data collection on misconduct by officers against LGBT people. These recommendations are in line with the specific steps the Williams Institute report recommends to reduce such discrimination and improve effective policing.

US civil rights groups oppose Georgia’s “religious freedom to discriminate” bill The Georgia Senate is considering SB 129, a so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA) that would make it legal for any individual or business in the state to discriminate against others – including LGBT people – and claim they can do so because of their religious beliefs.

The GOP-led Senate is not allowing amendments to be offered – amendments which could have allowed for keeping the religious freedom component of the bill in place while carving out commonsense protections to ensure the bill couldn’t be used to discriminate.

Nearly 30 of the nation’s leading civil rights and LGBT organizations strongly oppose the bill, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Family Equality Council, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Black Justice Coalition, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. These groups recently sent a letter to Georgia’s Governor and legislative

leaders, condemning the SB 129 and its House counterpart, HB 218: Dear Governor Deal, President Pro Tempore Shafer, and Speaker Ralston: As leaders of organizations committed to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, we are writing to express our serious concerns about Georgia House Bill 218 and Senate Bill 129, the “Preventing Government Overreach on Religious Expression Act” and the “Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” As drafted, both pieces of legislation invite and legitimize further discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Last year, legislation similar to HB 218 and SB 129 passed the Arizona legislature but was vetoed by former Governor Jan Brewer following an outcry from businesses, sports organizations, and LGBT advocates. At the heart of this outcry was a simple message: Arizona should be open and welcoming to all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The passage of HB 218, SB 129, or a similar measure will send a loud message across the country that Georgia is an unwelcoming place for LGBT Americans.

Such a message threatens the state’s ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest workers, secure corporate relocations that spur the economy, support innovative entrepreneurship, and further develop its thriving travel and tourism industry.

All of us have organizational members in Georgia; like them, we want Georgia’s brand to remain welcoming to all.

Freedom of religion is one of our most fundamental rights as Americans. That’s why it’s protected in the state and federal constitution. But that freedom does not give any of us the right to harm or discriminate against others.

One of the very real consequences of HB 218 and SB 129, as they are currently written, is that both open the door to increased discrimination against LGBT Georgians—by both individuals and cor-

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porations.

If enacted, government employees could refuse to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A homeless shelter that receives government funding to provide social services could refuse shelter to same-sex couple by saying it goes against its religious beliefs. A guidance counselor could refuse to help a transgender teenager by saying it goes against her religious beliefs. Government officials who have sworn an oath to serve the public shouldn’t be able to pick and choose who they’re going to serve based on their religious beliefs—but HB 218 and SB 129 could allow them to do just that.

HB 218 and SB 129 could also allow businesses and corporations to discriminate; unless the bill explicitly states that it does not apply to for-profit entities, O.C.G.A. § 1-2-1 and decisions of the Georgia Supreme Court—which define a “person” to include corporations and businesses—will apply. Thus, a hotel owner could point to HB 218 and SB 129 as justification for refusing to provide a room to a same-sex couple. A restaurant could deny service to a group of LGBT patrons.

A hospital could refuse to provide medical care or information to a transgender person. Businesses that are open to the public should be open to everyone on the same terms, including to customers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender—but HB 218 and SB 129 could open the door to businesses refusing service to someone simply because of who they are or who they love.

This law would allow individuals and corporations to claim that their religious beliefs allow them to refuse to follow laws that prohibit discrimination in employment and public services. Georgia does not want a broad, ill-defined law that could allow some people to use one set of religious beliefs to hurt or discriminate against others.

The Family Research Council and the Faith and Freedom Coalition have been two the most vocal organizations calling

for legislation like HB 218 and SB 129 to be enacted in Georgia and other states.

Both organizations have a long history of extreme intolerance toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Their interest in advancing legislation of this nature has risen only recently, just as marriage for same-sex couples is sweeping across the country. We do not believe this to be a coincidence. We believe they’re seeking to create a “license to discriminate” against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Although they haven’t been able to clearly articulate any immediate or urgent need for this legislation, Family Research Council and the Faith and Freedom Coalition have pointed to the firing of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran as the key reason why this bill is needed. The City of Atlanta terminated Chief Cochran for distributing material to his subordinates at work without permission. In these materials, Cochran described LGBT people as “vile” and “vulgar.” He described being gay as a “perversion,” in addition to other out-of-touch and harmful remarks about women and Jewish people. He gave these materials to his employees unsolicited. Proponents of HB 218 and SB 129 hope that this legislation will protect others who, like Chief Cochran, force their religious beliefs on their employees.

As Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said at the time, there needs to be “an environment in government where everyone, no matter who they love, can come to work from 8 to 5:30, do their job, and go home without fear of being discriminated against… This isn’t just about the LGBT community, this is about how we treat each other.” Any legislation that could allow discrimination against anyone isn’t following one of our most important values—treating others the way we want to be treated.

We urge you to reject HB 218 and SB 129—to ensure that Georgia’s brand remains welcoming, that discrimination (Georgia continues page 12)

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NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (Georgia from page 11) against LGBT people isn’t invited, and that everyone is treated fairly and with respect.

Sincerely, American Civil Liberties Union Believe Out Loud BiNet USA Bisexual Resource Center The Center For Black Equity CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals Equality Federation Family Equality Council Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) GLAAD GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality Human Rights Campaign International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Marriage Equality USA National Black Justice Coalition National Center for Transgender Equality National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) National LGBTQ Task Force National Minority AIDS Council National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA) Pride At Work Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) Trans People of Color Coalition

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015 who introduced legislation in Canada exempting public washrooms from a bill that would fight hate crimes against trans individuals by adding gender identity provisions to both the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. Plett said that “the major issue raised with us from concerned citizens across the country” was to safeguard children from any harm that would result from giving a man access to women’s public bathroom facilities.

Trans man Michael C. Hughes followed Carnes’s lead (pictured). Wrote Hughes in one post: “Florida’s #hb583 and Minnesota’s #sf1543 will make guys like me use women’s facilities. This is what that will look like. Trans people aren’t trying to access bathrooms to creep on people in there, #wejustneedtopee”.

The #WeJustNeedToPee hashtag has been around for some time in an effort to fight disgusting anti-trans legislation but the new selfie dimension may be just what the effort needs to bring more mainstream media attention.

And other trans social media users around the country are beginning to reveal the real picture.

Read more: http://www.towleroad. com/#ixzz3UBfxawcg

Extremists behead three gay men in Iraq

By Joe Morgan on gaystarnews.com Islamic extremists have beheaded three gay men in Iraq.

(Pictures) published on social media (show) men blindfolded and (kneeling) in front of a huge crowd in an unidentified province in the northern city of Nineveh.

A masked executioner, dressed in black, wields a long, rusty and bloody sword.

While the bodies were not shown, it is claimed the three young men were killed for “blasphemy”. Under Islamic State-imposed sharia law, homosexuality is punishable by death.

Unconfirmed social media reports have suggested two of the men, who look to be in their late teens or early 20s, were a couple.

The beheadings have not been independently verified.

Since ISIS, also known as Daesh, have taken control of territory in Iraq and Syria, there have been several executions of gay people, with many thrown off buildings or stoned to death. They have branded homosexuals the “worst of creatures”.

- See more at: http:// www.gaystarnews.com/ article/isis-beheads-threegay-men-iraq100315#sthash. nSewvpuy.dpuf

Trans people fight back against rightwing “bathroom bills”

Video shows Jamaican mob murdering gay youth by stoning

Around the country, conservatives have tried (and succeeded in many cases) to use the specter of a transgender person in the bathroom as a scare tactic intended to kill the passage of gender identity-inclusive anti-discrimination laws for years. In recent weeks, heinous “bathroom bills” have sprung up intended to reward students who report that their trans peers are using the “wrong” bathroom at school.

Now, trans people are fighting back with a bathroom selfie campaigns intended to reveal how ridiculous the legislation is.

The #PlettPutMeHere campaign was started by 23-year-old Canadian Brae Carnes in response to Senator Don Plett,

By Joe Morgan on gaystarnews.com An angry mob stoned a young, allegedly gay man to death in Jamaica and filmed themselves hurling rocks at his head.

The video of the murder of the alleged gay youth, believed to be aged around 19 to 21, has gone viral on social media after being posted last month.

It shows the young man dressed effeminately with long hair, appearing to be tied up in ropes or wire, laying in a pool of his own blood. A large stone is thrown at the boy’s head, blood gushes out.

It’s not clear whether he is still alive or conscious as the rocks break his skull.

You can hear homophobic slurs, clear-

ly said with a Jamaican accent, yelling: ‘Batty man yuh fi dead!’ This means, ‘Gay, you should die’.

The identity of the murdered youth and many of the other details of the stoning are still unknown. Some have reported the victim was gay and had visited underground gay venues in Kingston.

GSN has seen the video but has decided it is too horrific to embed on its site.

Uncomfirmed social media reports suggest the youth was stoned in Montego Bay and it is believed to have happened in the last few weeks.

This is the same parish where gender non-conforming teen Dwayne Jones was murdered in 2013. Jones was chopped and stabbed to death by a mob. No one was ever charged with the murder.

Dwayne Brown, a Jamaican gay rights activist currently living in New York City, said attacks like this are not unheard of.

What’s worse, he says, is that anti-LGBTI attackers can brutally murder someone and not even get caught.

Brown asked GSN to publish this article despite so many of the details not being known in order to highlight the situation in Jamaica.

Speaking to Gay Star News, he said: “It’s time for persecution of LGBTI persons to end. The silence of our government, the silence of our politicians, the silence of our community allows this type of behavior to continue.

“Until the silence is broken, people will continue to die as a result of anti-gay attacks. People need to rise up and call for a full investigation into this video.

“We must have conclusive evidence, who is this person? The fact that someone can be beaten to death by several people, and nothing happens because of it, that’s disgusting. It’s nothing new, but it needs to change.”

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews. com/article/gay-youth-stoned-deathjamaica090315#sthash.BUTQgmhJ. dpuff

NBC/WSJ poll says 59% back marriage equality From a NBC/WSJ poll: In the new survey released March 9, 59 percent of Americans said that they favor same-sex marriages while just 33 percent said they oppose them.

The numbers have shifted dramatically in the past decade. In 2004, only 30 percent of Americans said they supported same-sex marriage, while 62 percent disagreed. Half of those polled at the time said they strongly opposed allowing gays and lesbians to marry.

Democratic pollster Fred Yang noted how quickly public opinion has shifted on the issue, even compared to interracial marriage, which is now almost universally accepted. “It took about 25 years for interracial marriage to get from 30 percent support to 60 percent,” he said. “It took same-sex marriage ten years.”

The share of the public backing samesex marriage has even jumped from just two years ago, when 53 percent of Americans backed it and 42 percent did not.

That’s due in part to big increases in support among Republicans (up 13 percent since 2013), seniors (up seven percent), and Hispanics (up 18 percent).

Court rules against Milwaukee archdiocese on hiding money for clergy abuse victims In 2013 it was revealed that the Archbishop of Milwaukee, now-Cardinal Timothy Dolan, sought the Vatican’s permission to move money into a cemetery fund in order to shield assets from the victims of sexual abuse. The Archdiocese declared bankruptcy in 2011.

Here’s the AP’s report.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said that the fund created

by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan when he was archbishop of Milwaukee is not covered by a federal law that protects

religious organizations from government interference. Attorneys for clergy sexual abuse victims say Dolan created the fund to hide money from their clients.

The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Hundreds of victims have since filed claims against the archdiocese. The appeals court’s ruling reverses a judge’s decision that had found that the cemetery fund couldn’t be touched. The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

-JoeMyGod.com

Trans youth commits suicide after years of bullying; 4th in 2015

By Darren Wee ongaystarnews.com Photo via ashlyn1228/Twitter A 16-year-old transgender boy from North Carolina has taken his life after enduring years of bullying.

Ash Haffner stepped into oncoming traffic near his home in Indian Trail on the night of 26 February.

His mother, April Quick, found the body. She said the suicide was a result of years of bullying, which became worse when he decided to transition and asked to be referred to as “he.”

Quick said she supported her son’s decision but continued to use the pronoun “she.”

“Ash had been so strong for years,” she told WSOC-TV. “Ash started enduring the most bullying when she cut her hair short.”

Haffner killed himself in the same way as trans girl Leelah Alcorn, the Ohio teen who pleaded in an online suicide note: “Fix society.”

Haffner also left a note on his iPad that read: “Please be WHO YOU ARE... Do it for yourself. Do it for your happiness.

That’s what matters in YOUR life. You don’t need approval on who you are.

Don’t let people or society change who you are just because they’re not satisfied with your image.”

A memorial was held outside Porter Ridge High School, where Haffner was a student.

He is the fourth transgender teen to commit suicide in the US this year.

Zander Mahaffey, a 15-year-old trans boy from Georgia, and Maryland trans girl Melonie Rose, 19, also took their lives in February.

- See more at: http://www. gaystarnews.com/article/transgender-boy-16-commits-suicide-afteryears-bullying020315#sthash.c1Is7iDy. dpuf

“Religious liberty” justifies discrimination to Indiana legislature On Feb. 23, the Indiana Senate voted 40-10 in favor of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which will allow private businesses, individuals and organizations to discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds.

According to JG Local, the measure was only supported by Republicans.

Defending the vote, co-author Senator Scott Schneider said that the bill will act as a buffer to “a growing hostility toward people of faith.”

Jennifer Pizer, National Director of the Law and Policy Project at Lambda

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET Legal, has issued a statement condemning the bill’s passage: “We are extremely disappointed that Indiana’s Senate voted to allow religious discrimination in many areas of life for Indiana’s families, workers and others.

“We have seen this over and over -bills that say they are about protecting one thing when the real goal is to target and discriminate against LGBT people, with vast implications for everyone else.

As written, this bill will upend the balance between religious freedom and freedom from imposition of others’ religious beliefs.”

Presbyterian Church USA approves same sex marriage The largest denomination of the Presbyterian Church voted on March 17 to amend its constitution to approve of same-sex marriage.

Via the New York Times: The final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the church’s General Assembly. The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from being between “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man and a woman.” The Presbytery of the Palisades, meeting in Fair Lawn, N.J., put the ratification count over the top on a voice vote.

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said the Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterian Churches. “There is still disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”

13

Trans woman of color shot in Louisville, Ky. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has learned of the homicide of Papi Edwards, a transgender woman of color, in Louisville, Kentucky, who was shot to death at the Fern Valley Motel on Jan. 9.

Early police and media accounts consistently misnamed and misgendered the victim, and only now are we learning that, according to BuzzFeed LGBTQ, her name was Papi Edwards and that she identified as a transgender woman. An alleged suspect, Henry Richard Gleaves, has been arrested and charged with her murder.

“At least seven transgender and gender non-conforming people of color have lost their lives to violence already in 2015, and this tragedy is compounded by police and media consistently misgendering and misnaming victims.” said Osman Ahmed, NCAVP Research and Education Coordinator at the New York City Anti Violence Project. “We all must take immediate action to end this epidemic by supporting the leadership of transgender women of color, public awareness and respect campaigns, speaking out against this violence, and protecting transgender people from harassment and discrimination.”

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs’ (NCAVP) most recent report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2013, documented 18 antiLGBTQ homicides in 2013. Of those homicide victims, almost 90 percent were people of color. Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of homicide victims were transgender women, and more than two-thirds (67 percent) were transgender women of color.

NCAVP has been working with the Fairness Campaign in Louisville, Kentucky to support the local communities affected by this violence. ■

Thank you for supporting of the LGBTQ community.

Your financial support to help us recognize our major donors is appreciated.

14

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

From our readers Porn vs. pornography To The Editor: Thank you for interviewing me for your March issue and keeping Topfree and certain women’s issues in discussion. I wanted to clarify the use of the word “porn” in my interview.

Language is not only interesting to me, it is paramount as a teaching tool. Topfree was a word created by me because I believe that topless has a direct correlation to topless bars and PornOGRAPHY. I have never abbreviated the word pornography because it somehow makes it legitimate, distances me from my feminist core and infers acceptance in my opinion.

Sincerely, Ramona Santorelli

On Topfree issues To the Editor: It was great to see an interview featuring lesbian feminist activist, Ramona Santorelli, in the March Issue. What was even better was that it brought three of us old school lesbian feminist activists together again for an evening of wine, pizza , analyze, criticize and rebuild. Its our favorite anytime activity; we are committed to the process.

Many issues arose and I want to share some in the spirit of feminist consciousness raising. First off, none of us were happy that the word pornography was shortened to porn, but we all had different reasons.

I believe that saying porn instead of pornography is a kinda feel good word thing, whereby the actual sexual abuse of women, which is being photographed or filmed, to sell and ultimately to financially benefit some wealthy pimp or corporation, minimizes the reality of the sexual violence

and the very real harm this does to all women living under white male supremacy. Another one of us believed that the abbreviated word contributes to the mass disassociation we seem to be experiencing as a culture around sexual violence against women and girls. We all agreed in the end to some extent on this point. It’s interesting to note that a recent issue of Ms. Magazine featured an article on sexual violence against women and repeatedly used the term porn. To be fair, I have never let Ms. Magazine guide my feminism.

We all strongly believed that the distinction between top free and topless was very important. Quite simply, top free expressed a freedom that individual women were asserting. The right to be without a shirt in society, for no one’s pleasure but the woman asserting that right.

This in stark contrast to the word topless which brings to mind nasty rape culture “topless” bars, existing only for the male pleasure of having access to and control of women’s naked bodies for money.

The situation of activist and performance artist Holly van Voast needs clarification.

Obviously, the name published was an error, and she was an absolutely wild feminist woman. She did win a federal lawsuit against the NYPD because she was arrested (not for the first time) and taken in for a psychiatric evaluation after an action in front of Hooters, all for being top free .

We all agreed that it was not anger provoking, so much as truly sad, that the very same issues are present today as were twenty three years ago, with seemingly no growth in the way that mainstream culture views women’s breasts and also women’s right to live free from sexual violence. In the court case, New York State vs.

Ramona Santorelli, it was for legal purposes that experts testified that the purpose of women’s breasts was to feed children. We hammered this out too, and we all agreed

that in reality breasts are a part of a woman’s body. It’s our body. It’s our body, it’s our right to be free as women.

Lori Hertelin

Joe Russo, Psy.D., CGP Licensed Psychologist Certified Group Psychotherapist 25 Canterbury Road, Suite 313 Rochester, New York 14607 ket c o Phone: (585) 506-6096 R E-mail: joerussopsyd@gmail.com ▼ Addiction ▼ Anxiety

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Bi/Gay Men’s Therapy Group

Sue Cowell Community Recognition Reception

ON THE SHOULDERS OF A GIANT Proceeds benefit the Rochester LGBTQ Scholarship Fund and Sue Cowell Scholarship.

$50 • 3 to 6 pm • Saturday, May 2 • Studio 180 180 St. Paul Street • Rochester, New York 14604 RSVP: rsvp@gayalliance.org or 585-244-8640

Our host committee encourages you to make an additional gift at the event in support of the Susan Cowell Scholarship Fund:

Mark Siwiec & Duffy Palmer • Tim Tompkins • Dr. William Valenti • John Altieri • Evelyn Bailey Bill & Jason Barnecut-Kearns • Pamela & Sue Barres • Hon. Harry Bronson • Judy Cranston & Lynn Tavernese Ralph Carter & Van Van Zanten • Bill DeStevens • Pat & Andrew Doniger • Scott Fearing • W. Bruce Gorman & Joe Nardone Hon. Tom Ferrarese & Bill Giancursio • Sandy Frankel • Hon. Matt Haag & Bill Schaefer • Emily Jones & Deborah Hughes Cathy Lewis & Angela Bonazinga • Dan Meyers • Tom Privitere • Bruce Smail • Hon. Elaine Spaull Thomas Warfield • Bess Watts & Anne Tischer • David Zona

Sue’s service to this community has been unparalleled. It is time to honor and celebrate her many achievements.

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Opinion LGBT Seniors in the Workplace

By Brian McNaught When we think about the issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender variant (transgender) people in the workplace, we work with the assumption that there is a war for talent in the workplace that somewhat evens the playing field.

In theory, companies can’t afford to lose the best and brightest workers because their workplace is unwelcoming.

To attract and retain highly-qualified people, and to maintain a competitive edge, most companies seek to create conditions in which the diversity of their workforce is celebrated and fully tapped.

That should mean that older lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are seen as having the potential to be among the company’s best and brightest employees, increasing the odds of profitability.

That said, the working conditions for LGBT employees of all ages can vary in the same company, depending upon the mentality of middle management. If the middle manager is influenced by any number of variables, such as religious beliefs, familiarity with gay and transgender people, race, and gender, and does not ascribe to his or her company’s values, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender worker is vulnerable to increased risk of harassment.

When considering hostile working conditions, we’re encouraged to allow for the possibility of the worst behavior in the workplace, such as physical and emotional abuse, but to also focus on the problems created by unconscious incompetence. Excluding examples of termination, hiring discrimination, and overt

hostility, the majority of LGBT people in the workplace complain about feeling isolated because of their sexual orientation or gender variance. Fear of isolation is what keeps many LGBT people in the closet. The isolation is created by the lack of social interactions with colleagues, especially conversations on personal life.

One of the challenges in creating a clear picture of workplace issues for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender variant seniors is that the culture is changing so quickly that the picture will never be complete or reliable. For instance, marriage equality is not at this moment the law of the land, but it may be in a few months. While progress is being made in state by state passage of non-discrimination ordinances, there are now efforts to pass statewide legislation that grants religious liberty to employers and employees to discriminate on the basis of their personal beliefs.

Eventually, the Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) will be passed, but probably not for many years. The current fear of gender variance on the part of many members of Congress keeps the legislation locked up.

That will change, or the legislation will change, and it will be passed, but it will still not cover housing and public accommodation, which might have an impact on a discussion of LGBT workplace issues. If a gay senior faces discrimination in housing, is it practical for him or her to live near the workplace?

We are aware of the quickly-changing culture, which in the Western world is becoming more comfortable with the full range of sexual orientation and gender expression, and we are aware of the increase in protective legislation. But

understanding the challenges faced by senior lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers means being aware of the rapidly-paced changes in language and attitudes in those communities. When I first began work as an educator on these issues, it was about gay people. It then became about lesbian and gay people.

Bisexuality was soon added to the topic.

Then, transgender issues became part of the discussion.

Not long ago, the organization that was originally called the National Gay Task Force changed its name to include letters in the acronym to accommodate the issues of people who identify as queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual. Further, the new preferred term for transgender people is gender variant, and the new preferred term for transitioning (the process of physically becoming one’s true self) is realignment. Sex reassignment surgery is now called sex confirmation surgery. I need to constantly update my educational resources on the topic because of these changes.

What began as a workplace concern in the United States, with my introducing the topic as a business issue in 1985, is now being discussed throughout the world because of the multi-national identity of most major corporations.

Creating an office culture that is welcoming to LGBTQQIA people is not just important in New York, but in Mumbai too. Wall Street banks brought me to India, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore to train their senior managers on gay and transgender issues. That work has rapidly expanded throughout those countries, and many others.

Understanding LGBT senior workplace issues requires familiarity with the cultures of those individual countries, especially as they relate to age, sexual orientation, and gender variance.

Gay and transgender discrimination has become an issue of importance to the United Nations. The Roman Catholic Church is said to be softening its approach because of the view expressed

by Pope Francis: “Who am I to judge?”

Gay issues are now part of the discussion on where the Olympics will be held.

Economic sanctions are being imposed on countries that discriminate against gay people. The words “lesbian,” “gay,” “bisexual,” and “transgender” were all used by President Obama in his State of the Union address in 2015.

Another component of the discussion is the very important shift in approaching the transgender topic. The number of people in a society who identify as transsexual or as transgender is very small, but the number of people who are discriminated against because of the variance of their gender expression is huge. Heterosexual men who are considered effeminate, and heterosexual women who are considered masculine, can experience more discrimination on the job than a masculine gay man or a feminine lesbian. And what is consid-

15 ered acceptable behavior or expression for males and females varies from culture to culture. Hand holding by heterosexual men is common in India but not in Great Britain.

One more thing to consider when analyzing workplace concerns for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is the differences between the individuals. Some LGBT people are highly-qualified, and are likely to be accommodated easily. People who bring in money are highly valued despite their age. If the senior gay person in question is black, Latino, female, foreign, Muslim, economically-challenged or has a disability, he or she will generally fare less well than a gay white Christian male, at least in the United States.

If the transgender person in question is transsexual, and passes easily because he or she fits neatly in the male or female box, and is physically attractive, that person will fare much better than the person who after realignment does not look attractive and easily identifiable as a man or woman. Cross-dressing men have a much more difficult time than cross-dressing women, partly because of sexism, and partly because they sometimes don’t pass easily as a female. If the person’s appearance is considered by others as “peculiar,” it is more likely he or she will suffer discrimination in the workplace.

Realtors tell us that the primary factor in selling a house is location, location, location. My message to companies is that the only reliable way to create a workplace that feels safe to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender variant people of all ages is education, education, education. Most people want to be supportive but don’t know how. They don’t start conversations with gay or transgender people because they fear making a mistake, so they keep quiet. The silence is interpreted as hostility or at least disapproval. Education through diversity training creates more competent and confident allies, and lowers the chances of unwelcoming behaviors. In addition to continuing education, a company that wants to diminish the chances of discriminating against LGBT seniors needs to nurture an LGBT employee resource group that will help the company stay current in properly adjusting to the changes in the culture, the rules, and the issues.

According to the State of Georgia Department of Labor, 4.7 percent of the workforce is 65-years-of-age or older.

Pew Research speculates that by 2022, 31.9 percent of people 65 to 74 will still be working. In the private sector, 6.48 percent of those people will be LGBT seniors, according to the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy. For the foreseeable future, more people will need to work past the traditional retirement age of 65 in order to make ends meet. A significant percentage of those people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and gender variant. ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

Health

Letting trans youth identify with their gender reduces depression, anxiety A new study has found that when transgender young people are allowed to fully identify with their gender and take steps toward transition, it significantly reduces their depression and anxiety.

Forty-two patients participated in the study through Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, California. Of those, 26 had depression, anxiety, and/or a history of self-harm, and 11 had other psychiatric or behavioral problems, like ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome/autism spectrum disorder, and bipolar disorder. According to lead researcher Maja Marinkovic, many of the patients had suffered greatly from “bullying, discrimination, isolation, and lack of support or lack of insurance coverage for the necessary treatment.”

Patients began puberty blockers at an average age of 12.5 years, and then hormone therapy at an average age of 16.5.

Two female-to-male patients also had their breasts surgically removed at ages 16 and 18, but others wishing to do the same couldn’t because their insurance plans did not cover it or they couldn’t find an experienced local surgeon.

In all but two of the patients, depression, anxiety, and self-harm improved, and according to Marinkovic, none of the patients expressed regret or stopped therapy. She worries that families and school staff might not think to have a child assessed for gender dysphoria until they’re already showing signs of depression or suicidal ideation. These results suggest that affirming their identities earlier could

help prevent their mental health from ever deteriorating that far.

This study adds to the growing research showing that affirming transgender identities at a young age yields positive results. The youngest of kids who assert a different gender than they were assigned at birth identify as completely with that gender as their peers. Using puberty suppressants to avoid taking on the wrong gender characteristics has no discernible consequences. And another new study finds that hormone therapy is safe for transgender adults too, so long as their care is monitored by a physician.

Meanwhile, it’s true that transgender young people experience higher rates of mental health challenges, like the patients in this study, but the mounting evidence indicates that it’s not because they are transgender, but because of how they are treated for being transgender.

New York State, Monroe Co. see spike in syphilis infections The AIDS Institute, The New York State Department of Health and Monroe County Department of Health have identified an increase in syphilis infections in the Upstate New York region. Health officials are alarmed because syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), which can have significant health outcomes if undiagnosed and untreated Early results from Monroe County indicate a 42 percent increase in 2014 from the previous year. Males account for 94 percent of total cases; 67 percent of those cases are among gay men/MSM and 21 percent of total male cases did not

include sex partner data and could also be gay men/MSM. Areas outside of the five boroughs of New York City (Long Island, Westchester County and areas outside but adjacent to NYC) continue to have the highest number of cases (172) as in years past with cases increasing 19 percent in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.* ] “The good news is syphilis can be identified by testing, cured with antibiotics, and through contact notification, the spread of syphilis can be stopped,” said Trillium Health’s staff physician Dr. William Valenti. “We want to encourage people to seek testing and treatment if they have been having unprotected sex.

Free confidential testing and treatment are available right here at Trillium Health and at the Monroe County STD clinic.

“The people most at-risk for Syphilis include men who have sex with men, people who have multiple sex partners, IV drug users and people who have sex with anonymous partners, including those met online and on mobile phone apps.”

Syphilis is a curable bacterial infection that is primarily spread through sexual contact. A person can contract and spread syphilis through oral sex; anal sex; vaginal sex, or through other intimate contact including kissing (when a syphilis sore is present in the mouth).

Symptoms of syphilis include a painless lesion, called a chancre, during the early stages of the infection, which can be on or in the penis, or inside the vagina, anus or mouth; red or reddish brown spots on palms of hands and bottoms of feet or on the torso; rashes, swollen lymph glands, sore throat and fatigue.

Left untreated, syphilis can cause damage to major organs, including the brain and blood vessels and also cause serious birth defects or infant death.

“Early detection and treatment can cure syphilis, and reduce the risk for HIV transmission. There are many ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat syphilis and other STIs. Reducing the number of sex partners and consistent condom use will greatly reduce one’s risk of STIs including syphilis. Once infected, STI screening and early diagnoses are vital to prevent serious health problems and increased transmission, or continued spreading of syphilis. Screening is particularly important since many STIs often have no signs or symptoms,” Valenti emphasized.

For information about prevention, risk factors, testing and treatment contact Trillium Health at (585) 545-7200 or visit www.trilliumhealth.org. For more information about syphilis and other STIs, visit www.cdc.gov/std. *Supporting information courtesy the AIDS Institute Syphilis Surveillance

Anti-herpes drug may help control HIV, NIH study finds

Valacyclovir, a drug commonly used to control the virus that causes genital herpes, appears to reduce the levels of HIV in patients who do not have genital herpes, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Emory University, Atlanta and Lima, Peru.

The study of 18 patients is the first to show that the drug does not require the presence of herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) to suppress HIV in patients. The researchers hope to confirm their results in a larger study.

“These findings are very encouraging,” said senior author Leonid Margolis, Ph.D., head of the Section on Intercellular Interactions at the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). “If valacyclovir’s effectiveness against HIV can be confirmed in a larger cohort, it could be added to the mix of drugs used to suppress the virus, and might prove especially helpful in cases in which HIV has developed resistance to other drugs.”

The study, published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases, was supported by NIH’s Bench to Bedside Program, which funds research teams seeking to translate basic scientific findings into medical practice. The first authors of this paper are Christophe Vanpouille and Andrea Lisco, both with NICHD. Other authors are Michael Lederman (senior author) and Benigno Rodriguez of Case Western Reserve University and Case Medical Center and Hospitals; Leda Bassit, Robert Kauffman, and Raymond F. Schinazi (senior author), Emory University School of Medicine and Veterans Administration Medical Center in Atlanta; and Jorge Sanchez, of The Civic Association for Health and Education in Lima.

These results follow a 2008 study by the same research team, which showed that acyclovir suppresses HIV in laboratory cultures of human tissues that were infected with various kinds of herpes viruses. Valacyclovir is referred to as a prodrug for acyclovir because it’s structurally similar to acyclovir, and is converted to acyclovir in the body. For the current study, the researchers used valacyclovir because it remains in the blood longer than acyclovir and so would not need to be taken as often.

Earlier studies have shown that acyclovir reduces HIV levels in patients coinfected with HIV and HSV-2, the virus that causes genital herpes. However, this effect has been attributed to the drug’s anti-HSV-2 activity. The decrease in immune activity results in fewer active immune cells for HIV to infect.

In contrast, the laboratory results of theresearch team indicated that the drug likely reduced HIV levels by interfering directly with HIV’s reproductive machinery and did not require the presence of HSV-2. HSV-2 chemically alters acyclovir, by attaching chemical groups known as phosphates to it. It is this altered form of the drug that suppresses HSV-2. The researchers believe this form also interferes with HIV’s ability to reproduce. In their earlier study, the researchers found that many other kinds of herpes viruses can also attach phosphate groups to acyclovir. Dr. Margolis noted that these other herpes viruses are widespread and that most people harbor at least one of them.

“We wanted to find out whether such a mechanism could operate in the cells of patients with HIV,” Dr. Margolis said.

The researchers enrolled 18 HIVinfected patients in their study, none of whom were infected with HSV-2, and treated them with valacyclovir. For 12 weeks, half of the enrolled patients took valacyclovir twice a day while the other half received a placebo. After two weeks, the placebo group received valacyclovir while the group originally treated with the drug switched to the placebo.

The researchers found that when the patients took valacyclovir, their blood HIV levels declined significantly. Typically, HIV patients take a cocktail of several anti-HIV drugs because a single drug is not enough to suppress the virus. Multiple HIV medications also hinder the virus’ ability to develop resistance to the drugs.

The researchers conducted a genetic analysis and found that the HIV in the study volunteers did not develop resistance to valacyclovir. But because HIV has a history of becoming resistant to the drugs used to treat it, the researchers do not discount the possibility that the virus could develop resistance to valacyclovir with longer treatment. Given the ability of the drug to lower HIV levels, however, the researchers believe that valacyclovir could one day be added to the cocktail of drugs given to HIV-infected people.

“Larger randomized trials and cost effectiveness analyses could be warranted to further explore the potential of [valacyclovir] in the context of HIV-1 infection, in particular in combination with other antivirals,” the study authors wrote. ■

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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LGBTQ Living Two Spirit people gather in San Francisco

By Kelly Baumgartner On Feb. 8, an estimated 2,000 people attended the 4th Annual Bay Area American Indian Two Spirit (BAAITS) Powwow at Cow Palace in Daly City, just south of San Francisco, Calif.

This is the only Two Spirit hosted powwow open to the general public, in the world. Yep, that’s what I said, the only one. I was one of those in attendance, and it was really something special.

What is BAAITS and what does the organization do? From one of their informational pamphlets: “BAAITS exists to restore and recover the role of Two-Spirit people within the American Indian/First Nations community by creating forums for the cultural and artistic expression of Two-Spirit people. BAAITS is a community-based volunteer organization offering culturally relevant activities for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Two-Spirit Native Americans, their family, and their friends. Two-Spirit refers to the commonly shared understanding among many Native American Tribes that some individuals manifest both masculine and feminine spiritual qualities. Modern American society identifies Two-Spirit people as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Inter-sex.”

If you are wondering why other Two Spirit powwows and Gatherings are not open to the public, it’s because those are events created to be safe spaces for those who identify as Two Spirit, their families, friends and allies. There are a number of weekend long Two Spirit Gatherings held across the continent, (USA, Canada, Mexico) which include an evening powwow, but this is the only event that is focused entirely on a day-long powwow.

Why is this significant? When I go to public socials and powwows in my

Kelly Baumgartner

East Coast Two Spirit Society Dancers after the debut of their production “Rainbow Crow”. L to R Sheldon Raymore, Everic J. Dupuy, Janis Stacy, OmiSade Yemaya, Kelly Baumgartner.

urban community, I don’t wear my regathe general public. Oh what a feeling! ing other Two Spirit identified folks, and

lia. Why? Because I do not wear traditional woman’s regalia, and I am female bodied. Instead I wear men’s style regalia when I dance at Two Spirit powwows. For the first time, I felt safe dancing in my men’s style Cherokee regalia, in front of

For some people who are Two Spirit, the private powwows are the only times they can dance honoring every part of who they really are, and feel safe.

Some Two Spirit people are not accepted by the dance circles in their community, once they come out, so they lose something that is a very valuable part of who they are. Being able to dance again in public, free of fear, is a blessing and a gift to so many of us. I have never danced in front of so many people and I was truly honored to have the opportunity.

Many people were in attendance to reconnect with old family and friends. Others to watch, or participate in exhibition and contest dancing. We can’t forget the food, vendor booths and info tables showcasing a variety of community health and services organizations. This year they had enough room to spread out, and then some.

The event had to be moved after outgrowing the previous location by doubling in size from the year before. A food truck offered hot food, including fry bread served up a variety of ways -- buttered with sugar and cinnamon, with fruit jams and in the form of the much loved Indian Taco. That would be chili, cheese, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce piled high atop a piece of hot fry bread.

The exhibition dancing included Maori dancers, Aztec dancers who go by the name of Queer Danzantesas, a special presentation of the Gourd Dance and an exhibition of the Southeastern Stomp dance by Head Female Dancer Jenny Davis. The East Coast Two Spirit Society dancers were not only there to celebrate and dance, but also to present a special performance of the story of “Rainbow Crow”.

“Rainbow Crow” is a story which stresses that we each have glorious gifts that were given only to us, so that we may give them to the world, in service of the People. There were Intertribal dances for all to participate in as well as contest dancing from the tiny tots to the Golden Agers, and everyone in between.

Like so many others, I am looking forward to next February! I will be join-

their families, old friends and new in celebrating the fifth year of the Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits Annual Powwow. In the meantime, there will be other gatherings for the Two Spirit community, their family, friends and allies. One takes place in July in Montana, and one in September here in New York State. I will share information on those events and other topics in later articles. ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

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19

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Shoulders to Stand On Shoulders to Stand On: A community’s response to AIDS – the beginning years before 1986

By Evelyn Bailey Last month we took a detailed look at the discovery and identification of AIDS

by Dr. Michael Gottlieb, a University of Rochester trained physician, who was at the UCLA School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

It is difficult at best to say how many people had AIDS in the years before 1981 in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Dr. Jonathan Mann who received the degree of M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1980, was a key figure in the early fight against HIV/AIDS and a pioneer in advocating combining the synergistic forces of public health, ethics and human rights. In 1989 Dr. Mann, (AIDS: A worldwide pandemic’, in Current topics in AIDS, volume 2, edited by Gottlieb M.S., Jeffries D.J., Mildvan D., Pinching, A.J., Quinn T.C., John Wiley & Sons) summarized the early development of AIDS: “The dominant feature of this first period was silence, for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was unknown and transmission was not accompanied by signs or symptoms salient enough to be noticed.

While rare, sporadic case reports of AIDS and sero-archaeological studies have documented human infections with HIV prior to 1970, available data suggest that the current pandemic started in the mid- to late 1970s.

By 1980, HIV had spread to at least five continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia). During this period of silence, spread was unchecked by awareness or any preventive action and approximately 100,000-300,000 persons may have been infected.”

By March 1981, at least eight cases of a more aggressive form of KS had occurred amongst young gay men in New York.

About the same time there was an increase, in both California and New York, in the number of cases of a rare lung infection Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP).

In April this increase in PCP was noticed at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. According to an Article in Newsweek, a drug technician, Sandra Ford, observed a high number of requests for the drug pentamine, used in the treatment of

PCP: “A doctor was treating a gay man in his 20s who had pneumonia. Two weeks later, he called to ask for a refill of a rare drug that I handled. This was unusual nobody ever asked for a refill. Patients usually were cured in one 10-day treatment or they died.”

On June 5, 1981 the first official documentation of the condition was published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Entitled “Pneumocystis Pneumonia – Los Angeles”, Dr. Michael Gottlieb detailed the cases of five young gay men hospitalized with serious PCP, cytomegalovirus, and disseminated candida infections. This report began genral awareness of AIDS in the USA. A few days later the CDC formed a Task Force on Kaposi’s Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (KSOI). Almost a month after the CDC’s announcement, the New York Times reported that a total of 41 homosexual men had been diagnosed with Kaposi’s Sarcoma, eight of whom had died less than 24 months after the diagnosis was made. At the end of 1981, 5 to 6 new cases of the disease were being reported each week, and by the end of the year, 121 people had died from the disease.

This “gay cancer” was first mentioned in The Empty Closet in September, 1981 when it reported on an article in the Democrat and Chronicle in which reporter Jack Jones talked with Dr. Alain Roisin, at the Monroe County Health Departmem, who was assigned by the Center for Disease Control to watch for cases of pneumocystis and also the “gay cancer,”’ Kaposi Sarcoma. Rochester is one of six U.S. cities where a special watch was undertaken. In September of 1981 there were no known cases of either disease in the Rochester area. In the October, 1981 issue of The Empty Closet, Dr. Roisin said that Rochestarians should not be unduly alarmed since the cause and the link to gayness remains undefined.

By 1982 the condition had acquired a number of names - GRID 5 (gay-related immune deficiency), ‘gay cancer’, ‘community-acquired immune dysfunction’ and ‘gay compromise syndrome’. It was not until July, 1982 at a meeting in Washington, D.C., that the acronym AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was suggested. The CDC used the term for the first time in September 1982, when it reported that an average of one to two cases of AIDS were being diagnosed in the USA every day.

Learn the history of the LGBT community in Rochester... ...from the people who made that history.

The Gay Alliance invites you to celebrate 40 years of LGBT history in Rochester with your very own DVD/BluRay of this powerful film.

Shoulders To Stand On Evelyn Bailey, Executive Producer Kevin Indovino, Producer/Director/Writer Standard DVD $25 / BluRay DVD $30 Order at: www.GayAlliance.org

In “New Findings on Fatal Illnesses”

by Bill Kelly in the January, 1982 issue of the EC, Bill reports that investigators have discerned a pattern of rare and sometimes fatal types of cancer and pneumonia among young urban gay males who are sexually active in drug-taking circles. The immune system breakdown has been noted in 180 patients in 15 states since July, of whom 92 percent were gay men.

By June, 355 cases of Kaposi’s Sarcoma and/or serious opportunistic infections in previously healthy young people had been reported to the CDC. By the beginning of July a total of 452 cases, from 23 states, had been reported to the CDC, and the disease was no longer solely affecting gay men; there were a small number of cases among heterosexual men and women. Over half of those identified as heterosexual had used intravenous drugs at some point. G’dali Braverman, AIDS activist living in San Francisco stated that by mid-1982 people were starting to shake in their pants.

In April, 1982 The Empty Closet article “’Gay Cancer’ Turns Straight” reported that the Washington Blade stated that “what was initially believed to be a disease peculiar to gay men is now being discovered in women and heterosexual men, in either the form of a cancer or pneumonia as reported in the Wall Street Journal. The disease, which has killed at least 99 persons in the past seven months, occurs in cases of Kapoci’s sarcoma or a form of pneumonia caused by normally harmless protozoa, pneumocysis carinii.

Neither antibiotics nor antiviral drugs have been effective in treating the disease.”

In a New York Times article “A Disease’s Spread Provokes Anxiety”, by Herman R., published on August 8, 1982, Herman reports “It is frightening because no one knows what’s causing it, said a 28-year old law student who went to the St. Mark’s Clinic in Greenwich Village last week complaining of swollen glands, thought to be one early symptom of the disease. Every week a new theory comes out about how you’re going to spread it.”

By this time, news of the disease had spread through the gay community like wildfire. Who, how, when where were the all-consuming, frightening questions faced not only by the gay community but, as we will see, by the straight community. African Americans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans, and other ethnic groups would contract the disease. AIDS would infect women and children. Shoulders to Stand On next month will begin here, and look more closely at the Rochester research and response to AIDS pre-1986.

Shoulders to Stand On is in awe of the men, women and children who lived through this period of time with fear and concern but also with incredible courage.

Today we can treat this disease, and people can live a “normal” life. I believe that no one would choose to be sick if there was an alternative preventive measure that would insure health. A vaccine would do just that.

Our work is not finished, a vaccine needs to be found, and we must raise our voices again to make this happen. ■

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Shoulders To Stand On Library Initiative takes off; screenings in May Over the past two months, Shoulders has been busy scheduling a total of seven screenings for the documentary in libraries in the Monroe County Library system and the Pioneer Library system through a grant from the LGBT Giving Circle of the Rochester Area Community Foundation.

The following screenings have been booked for May and are open to the public free of charge. Many of these libraries are taking advantage of the offer to have the Forging Alliance Exhibit and AIDS Posters from the U of R on display. Look for more screenings for June in the May issue of The EC. Sunday, May 3, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, Penfield Library, 1985 Baird Rd., Penfield.

Sunday, May 17, 2 pm – 4 pm, Macedon Public Library, 30 W Main St, Macedon. ■

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 April, 1975 NO 49 FOCUS In this issue, The EMPTY CLOSET focuses on the most intensive lobbying effort ever attempted by gays in New York State. The aim of the lobbying effort is to make consensual sodomy between two consenting adults legal pg. 6 IN THIS ISSUE: Dinner supports lobbyist pg.1; What’s new at the Gay Brotherhood pg.1 Who’s That Squatting on the Seat of Power pg.1; Lobbyist Comments

by Kevin Scahill pg1; Gay times in the Unemployment Line pg. 2 ; What’s New at the Gay Brotherhood pg. 3; Massacre at Local Bar pg. 10 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 issue -- Go to 1975 – April Calendar of Events Gay Brotherhood Meeting Sun. 6 April S u r p r i s e 8un. 13 April Pot Luck Dinner (benefit) at Bachelor Forum 6-8pM Sun. 13 April Coffee House. 8 - 10 PM Sun. 20 April New Gay Alliance Tue. 22 April Coordinating Council Sun. 27 April Business meeting OTHER EVENTS: Tues, 8 Apr VD Clinic 8-10 pm at AM-PM Club Sun. 13 Apr Pot-Luck Dinner (benefit for Gay Brotherhood) at Bachelor Forum 6-8 p.m. . $1 (See Ad pg. 17) 18-20 Apr. Toronto Weekend. See ad pg 2 Sun. 27 Apr. Party at Sodus point. 10 a.m. to - See ad for details (pg 7) ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

Columnists Growing Up FAIRY GODMOTHER

By Eric Bellmann I’m walking down the street with Marta on a cold windy evening, the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Marta cuts quite sight. As always she’s swathed in black. Always wears sunglasses, too, even when it’s dark. She walks with a cane, complains she has vertigo, worries about losing her balance.

I’ve run into her by chance and decide to escort her home to 17th Street. As she leans on me she growls in her deep voice, “Honey, I think you need a pied-a-terre in New York.” Yeah, well, sure I do. I’ve been staying in hotels or, lately, at Sally’s watching the damn cat. I cannot imagine a place of my own.

I’ve known Marta in a very casual fashion for a couple of years. I met her in “the rooms,” as we say. The support systems in New York are marvelous, meetings for every addiction known to mankind: food, alcohol, sex, drugs. You name it, you can find a place to go. Marta has been sober about as long as I. Turns out she owns a couple of floors in a building and on the floor below her is a small studio apartment initially designed for visiting relatives and outof -town guests. It’s vacant now. If I get her sons’ approval, I’m in. I pass. And so begins a two and half year residency in Manhattan. In Chelsea. In very gay, very liberal Chelsea. Who could ask for more?

And you know we mostly respect anonymity in these groups and even when I learn Marta’s last name, I haven’t a clue to who she really is. But I learn.

Marta was married to a very famous actor. Once he was a stage actor, won a Tony award in fact but for a dozen years or so he starred in a successful TV series.

They had two sons, one married in Jersey, the other living below Marta. Marta was an actress. She was considered the more talented of the two but gave up her career to manage her husband’s. She knows everyone. Knows the dirt. Every chance I get I beg her to tell me another story. I am, if nothing else, a gossip queen.

Item: I tell Marta years ago I saw the original production of “Company”. Marta tells me that the character of Marta in the musical was named after her. She knows Sondheim! They went on a Mediterranean cruise with Harold Prince, the director of “Company”. (There are monogrammed towels from Cap D’Antibes in my bathroom which I assume were filched during this vacation.) I mentioned Elaine Stritch of “Ladies Who Lunch” fame and Marta goes ballistic. “If I ever see her I’ll shove her down the g.d. stairs!” Show biz elephants have long memories. I just lap it up.

Item: Marta shows me a photograph of her oldest son as an infant. He is held

by Anne Bancroft, his godmother. “Mel never treated Annie very nicely,” Marta barks. I’m a good audience. Marta never fails me. Another snap shot shows the same son, snoozing as an infant in Marilyn Monroe’s lap. Marta was at the Actor’s Studio, not as a performer but in the playwriting unit. Gosh, gulp, tell me more!

The stories never end. Marta knows I’m a good audience.

Marta’s ultimate claim to notoriety was her friendship with the gangster Joey Gallo. When her husband started his TV series about crime and detectives it was filmed on the streets of New York, a new trend twenty years ago. One day, a couple of guys, gangsters actually, showed up to check it out. Who knew such things happened? Marta was on the set and ran

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.

interference. She and Gallo hit it off, became buddies. Marta wrote a book about her times with Joey Gallo that was never published. Friends assume it’s lying somewhere in her apartment underneath stacks of Playbills.

For years Marta had lunch every Friday with a gaggle of women friends dating back to her earliest days in New York.

One woman acted with Marta’s husband in his breakout performance. A couple worked as editors at the Times. Marta asks me to join her. It’s because she needs help getting in and out of cabs. Whatever, I’m happy to be an honorary lunch lady.

Marta is kind of wicked with her cane.

I’ve seen her swing at neighborhood kids in her path. I’ve seen her thump cabs to make them stop. But she laughs a lot, has a generous heart and I adore her. She’s opened a world to me that I never would have known otherwise. She gets a kick about my tales of the city.

Three years ago, the day after Thanksgiving, Marta phones me. “I fell last night, broke my hip, I’m in St. Vincent’s”. I visit her. Her eyes are ablaze. “Get me out of here!” Not remotely possible. Marta tries to run things with no success. She is transferred to the Village Nursing Home.

It takes a mountain of fortitude to visit, it’s a grim place. The physical therapist, a hot Latino with bulging biceps, urges me about nagging Marta to come to therapy.

She scowls, sits in bed, dark glasses barely hiding her fury.

Ultimately Marta returns home. To bed. Where she remains to this day.

Doctors eventually discovered a slow moving cancer, something that could be treated not cured, a cancer that may take years to kill her. No one ever thinks to figure out what caused Marta’s vertigo.

She has double vision. Six months later I learn she has had a series of minor strokes.

She loses her speech. The TV is on all the time. Her live-in nurse is a saint.

The reality of a non-lease rental is that you get thirty days notice to vacate.

New Jersey son sends me an email: I’m out. They need the space. There is no recourse. It’s not my worst day. I’ve come to dread the dark, cramped space. It’s been a good, long run. Time to move on. I can always stay at Sally’s.

I have to say goodbye to Marta. I phone the health care aide. Two hours later I climb the stairs. Marta is wearing lipstick, the TV is on. Her two cats are lolling about. Marta is now in a hospital bed, clearly she can’t lift her head. Her fingers seem frozen, like bird claws. But she squeezes my hand.

And when, in the course of telling her my tales of the city I love, the city she enabled me to explore, I remember and tell her about the time she told me about wanting to shove Elaine Stritch down the stairs. She cackles so loudly I’m sure they can hear her clear across the Emerald City.

Email: ELBCAD@RIT.EDU

Cleaning My Closet AUTO PILOT

By Meredith Elizabeth Reiniger My first car was a blue Ford.

I named it “Morton”. My last car might be the black Buick parked in my garage. She has no

name.

My first and only brain is 71 years old. That’s 621,960 hours of constant work. Not surprisingly, there is some slippage. Plus storage-cell overload. At first I claimed that my brain warehouses a bazillion facts, stories, experiences, videos, and fantasies. Then I reconsidered… surely

that slang term for “a very large indefinite number” dates me. Time to upgrade my Modern-Technology Deficit.

My cerebral stockpile has many bytes.

Maybe mega. Possibly giga. I consulted Marvel Wiki and discovered bigger than gigabytes. Zebibytes. Yobibytes. Yes, I believe those could be accurate terms to quantifying my brain cells. Now that I think about it, Zebibytes and Yobibytes are fine names for my kittens . . . Zebi and Yobi, the Byte twins.

My yobibytes store my YouTube-able Fleetwood Fiasco. Only three cars in the entire parking lot. Strangely, side-by-side: #1. little red car, #2. my colossal Cadillac, #3. anonymous auto. Ready to leave, I shifted into reverse, turned wheels, swiveled head, cautiously studied ambient factors behind me. I gently stepped on the accelerator. My car barely moved. I tapped, TAPPED on the gas pedal. Nope.

Pull-out not executed. I glanced out my windshield. Little red car leaning far to its left. Oh. Hanging on my big bumper, a crushed little red car. My stars! I was thirty-one, my prime-time. Finally, forty-years later, I have learned a name for that long-ago distracted driving disaster: Unintentional Blindness . . . when you look, but do not see.

Anyway, back to my 20th century brain, still capable of directing my driving but relentlessly challenged by Change - Human. Automotive. Interior and exterior.

Fortunately, my auto insurance carrier enticed me to enroll in an AARP driver re-education course. Amazingly, my pre-dawn rising . . . oh-my-goodnessit’s-still-darkness . . . did not kill me. And six hours stuffed with 123 pages of useful information were neither numbing nor noxious. Instructor Scott certainly presented giga-jillions of details to help me be a safer driver.

Basically I learned, in that room filled with LGBT elders… (plus two young women who, it seems, were sentenced by a judge to attend a class with lots of gay people)… that I must dismiss outdated habits and steadily train my weary (did I mention elderly?) brain. So, I have made some Necessary Brain Notations: Delete. Forget 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock steering wheel co-ordinates (sorry Drivers’ Ed. Circa 1962). Securely grip hands at 9 & 3, even 8 & 4, for better control, but also to prevent a crash-released airbag from breaking my arms.

Hmm. Should I also delete memories about Past Stupid Driver Behaviors? I left work very late, December snow cascading aesthetically. I turned onto the road, homeward, when I spotted a jolly green and then a dashing red light dangling above me. Oh, my exhausted cells declared, Christmas decorations . . . and we drove right through that traffic signal.

Stupid driver or stupid behaviors? Either way, it is important for me to appreciate that no elderly, expired brain was involved. I was 25 years not-old.

Perform proper preparation. No longer should I mindlessly plop behind the wheel. First I will… hmm, should... exercise daily… yikes… seven… Oh dear, now I’ll have to make another check-list… exercise seven muscle locations used in driving. (I hate to complain, but by the time I finish those driver-improvement workouts and my physical therapy mobility-enhancement drills plus complete my multifaceted dental regimen, it will probably be too dark to drive.)

Ensure safety. 1. Assuming I manage to leave my house in a timely manner, I will maneuver my fragile, old bones and recently robust-ed muscles onto my car seat and immediately employ my tape measure. Which I may or may not have left on the counter. 2. My chest… well, my steady sternum, not wayward breasts… must be 10 inches from the

center of my lovely gray leather steering wheel, thus reducing the chance that I will be smothered, maimed, or exterminated by an exploding airbag. 3. My skull should be no more than 2.5 inches from my headrest so that, during an unfortunate vehicular mishap, my cranium remains attached, as I prefer, to my body.

4. Engage my seat belt snugly across my hips, not over any belly fat, which I may or may not have.

After leaving my driveway things get complicated by Too Manys. I remember when driving seemed to be simple go-from-point-A and stop-at-point-B. But in this frenzied century, there are too many McDrivers who race through yellow lights, pedal-to-the-metal through red lights. Too many considerations… right on red, advanced green, bicycle lane, merge, yield. Too many configurations… continuous green T-intersections, restricted crossing U-turn, jughandles, dog legs, (Winton Road’s) divergent diamond. And roundabouts… I do prefer those circle things, even more after seeing their statistics: 35 percent fewer crashes, 55 percent fewer injuries, 80 percent fewer deaths.)

Face facts. Not so long ago, I believed that turning left was in my skill set.

Improved by adding look left, look right, look left, GO. But recently, vehicles move more quickly than my mind. So I stopped risk-taking; instead I proceed gaily forward, then make three right-hand turns.

Safer, but I do feel clutched by whitehaired-old-lady-driver stereotypes.

I hesitated to confess this turning strategy to friends. Until that class. Until numbers trumped feelings: a four-way, two lane intersection has 32 possible Conflict Points. Add 24 crash-possibilities if there are pedestrians. Add bicycles. Definitely, there are too many details for me to safely process a left turn.

I don’t even want to think about that Some Day when I will need to turn in my keys. My car is a necessity in a county with inadequate public transportation, in a town 19 miles from city-center. Automobility is freedom. A status symbol. An internalized measure of worth. But now I am more aware of how an elder with agecompromised abilities, in 3500 pounds of steel, propels a weapon.

Consider alternatives. A very important skill. Ask a friend, call a cab, move to an area with sidewalks. Maybe, before my Absolutely Stop Driving day arrives, I should trade-in my outdated automobile.

It seems sensible to buy a Smart Car with a Mission Control dashboard. A car more aware than its human: monitors eyelids and head position to warn of drowsiness, detects road markings to signal weaving; brakes when it senses tailgating; uses back-up cameras that eliminate blind spots. I will name her Wonder Witch.

Find another option. When cars were first invented and uncommon, a man would run slightly ahead of a motorized moving monster to shoo away startled horses and reckless pedestrians. Oh yes.

WANTED: one sprightly road-runner. meredithreiniger@gmail.com

Faith Matters DISCRIMINATION IS NOT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

By Rev. Irene Monroe A movement is afoot in state legislatures across the country to disenfranchise LGBTQ Americans.

There are a surprisingly number of bills being introduced in state legislative session, which outright sanction and enforce LGBTQ discrimination. These

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET bills are called “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” (RFRA), but don’t be fooled.

These lawmakers are looking to codify LGBTQ discrimination.

This week the Georgia Senate, with a vote of 37-15, approved their controversial RFRA (House Bill 1023). The bill doesn’t want the state’s Christian religious conservatives, fundamentalists and evangelicals to “substantially burden” their personal religious practices and beliefs.

What, you may ask, could possibly be such a burden to Christians in Georgia that a state law is necessitated?

Burden, according the bill, is defined as: “’Burden’ means any government action or implementation or application of any law, including, but not limited to, state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and policies, whether statutory or otherwise, that directly or indirectly constrains, inhibits, curtails, or denies the exercise of religion by any person or that directly or indirectly pressures any person to engage in any action contrary to that person’s exercise of religion, including, but not limited to, withholding benefits, assessing criminal, civil, or administrative penalties, and exclusion from government programs or access to government facilities.”

But let’s be clear, the only religious folk lawmakers hope to protect from a “substantially burden” is Christians.

Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and other non-Christian Georgians don’t merit protection. As a matter-of-fact, these demographic groups — along with atheists and LGBTQs — can easily be subject to egregious forms of discrimination, bigotry and hate crimes under the guise of religion.

For example, the Atlanta-based family-owned fast food fried chicken chain Chick-fil-A can now with the state’s sanctioning of House Bill 1023 openly and legally discriminate in their hiring practices of Jews, divorcees or LGBTQ people based on their Southern Baptist beliefs.

In June 2012 controversy arose when it was disclosed that the company’s founder S. Truett Cathy and his family donated millions of dollars to groups across the country opposing same-sex marriage. S. Truett Cathy through The WinShape Foundation, the chain’s charitable organization, flatly barred same-sex couples from participating in the foundation’s marriage retreats.

“Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” like Georgia’s are springing up around the country. And the bogus claims look like this in justifying denying services to same-sex couples: A family-owned bakery in Gresham, Oregon called “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” wanted to “practice their Constitutional right to religious freedom;” a florist in Washington state wanted to maintain her “relationship with Jesus;” and a photography company in New Mexico “ would “gladly serve gays and lesbians” by taking portraits. But photographing samesex marriages or commitment ceremonies would “require them to create expression

conveying messages that conflict with their religious beliefs.” Sweet Cakes by Melissa closed the family shop and moved the business to their home making it clear LGBTQ dollars are not wanted.

“They don’t have a right to be served in every single store,” said Mr. Silk, the Oklahoma state senator, referring to gay people. “People need to have the ability to refuse service if its violates their religious convictions.”

While South Dakota’s and Arkansas’s RFRA failed to advance in their states’ legislative sessions, North Carolina’s and Alabama’s bill did. In same-sex marriage equality states (like North Carolina and Alabama) state judges, state employers like justices of the peace can refuse to officiate same-sex nuptials and private businesses can refuse services to same-sex couples citing it violates their religious belief.

The argument cited by religious conservatives for discrimination against LGBTQ Americans is not confined geographically. And the last place one expects not to see this type of discrimination rearing its head is liberal Massachusetts. But it has.

Gordon College, a small conservative Christian college on the North Shore, prides itself on upholding the tenets of religious freedom. And in so doing, the college tested its boundaries with the recent Supreme Court case “Burwell v.

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.” The “Hobby Lobby” case ruling of last year allowed family-owned corporations to cite religious objections to opt out of the nation’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).

ACA required employers to cover certain contraceptives for women. Gordon’s President D. Michael Lindsay—along with 14 influential religious leaders from across the country—asked President Obama for an exemption banning discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation. (Immediately following the “Hobby Lobby decision the Supreme Court granted Wheaton College, another evangelical Christian liberal arts college outside of Chicago a temporary injunction allowing the college to refuse providing contraception.)

Lindsay and his band of homophobes framed their request to the president, by email, c/o Melissa Rogers, Executive Director, White House Office of FaithBased and Neighborhood Partnerships, under the guise of religious freedom.

This was hardly, though, the first time a Massachusetts school has tried to paint discrimination as religious freedom.

As recently as January of 2014, the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) filed a complaint against Fontbonne Academy, a religious college prep school in Milton, MA, when the school fired Matt Barrett—after offering him employment at the school as Food Services Director—when he stated on a form that his spouse was a male.

“If I’m planning and making meals for students, I’m not sure what my being gay has to do with the job,” Matt says “I’ve

always done well in my work, and was excited about working at Fontbonne. All I did was fill out the form honestly.”

The “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” springing up across the country are a backlash to the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage and the growing fear of when the Supreme Court legalizes it nationwide. They are a perversion of the Constitution and our history of religious freedom.

A Few Bricks Short ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL!

By David Hull Here’s another story from the file marked: “Weirder than Fiction.”

On February 3, 2015 in the town of Kermit, Texas, a 9-year-old boy was suspended from school for making a terrorist threat!

Apparently, the kid, named Aiden, told one of his classmates that he could make him disappear by using a magic ring that came from a place called Mount Doom.

Yep, that’s right – terrorist threat, 9-year-old kid, magic ring, Mount Doom.

The child’s father, Jason Stewart, assured both the school and the media that “… my son lacks magical powers necessary to threaten his friends’ existence.”

The father then added: “But if he did, I’m sure he’d bring them right back!”

According to the story, earlier that week, Aiden had watched a DVD of one of the movies based on JRR Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel The Hobbit and learned about the magic ring that could turn Bilbo Baggins invisible and the dark, fiery place where the ring had originated called Mount Doom. Aiden then told his classmate about what he had learned. And he was accused of being a terrorist and suspended from school. Doesn’t that all make sense to you?

Okay, let’s start at the beginning.

First of all, if you’re an administrator in a school located in a Texas town named after the frog from the Muppets, you need to have a sense of humor.

Second, I took my nephew to see those Hobbit movies in the theater and I think if a 9-year-old could not only sit through that daunting hours-long presentation about the adventures of Stumbledown and Frostrump or whatever-the-hell their names are, but actually understand what was going on, he should be congratulated.

I sat through those cinematic trash-heaps and the only thing I understood is that the price of popcorn is a ridiculous! Was the guy at the concession stand actually a troll named Ripuoff?

Also, if the kid that Aiden told about the magic ring from Mount Doom really believed the story, he must have been terribly scared (and not terribly bright). Do you think labeling Aiden a terrorist is really helping that classmate of his realize

23 that it’s all make-believe? When I was 9, if I had complained to my mother that some kid was threatening to make me disappear, she would have responded: “No one can make you disappear! What are you, stupid? Get back outside and play! I’m busy drinking … um, I mean … cleaning!”

I suppose if we all thought like school administrators in Kermit, Texas, we’d just arm our US troops fighting in the Middle East with plastic Hobbit rings and expect them to terrify ISIS into surrendering by threatening to make them all disappear. I can hear the platoon leader now; “By all the power of Mordor, I command you to drop your weapons or face the crushing force of Mount Doom!”

The world certainly has changed since I was in elementary school. I’ll admit I fell for every one of my classmates’ offers to “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.” And I never once accused any of them of being a terrorist. A closet-case maybe, but never a terrorist.

It’s a tough world. Doesn’t it just make it tougher when morons who make the rules lose their sense of humor? Adults are complaining that young people no longer use their imaginations. I think the real terrorists were the Kermit School administrators who crushed young Aiden’s attempt to use his imagination.

Let’s all just promise, the next we get a plastic Hobbit ring out of our box of Franken Berry cereal, we’ll handle it with respect. You never know where the real terrorists are hiding!

Contact David at davidhull59@aol.com

Trans*missions BATHROOMS

By Laine DeLaney Why is it always the bathroom?

Bathrooms are gross. They crawl with all kinds of icky germs and unpleasant stains and odors. You can wash them every day and they’re still gross. The vast majority of people just want to go in, do their business, and leave.

So why is it always the bathroom?

Whenever trans people try to stand up for themselves and fight for equal rights under the law, the bathroom is brought up. Specious arguments regarding rape and safety are made, with the defenders of bigotry claiming that trans women want to use the ladies’ room as a staging ground for serial rape campaigns.

Assuming that letting trans people into the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity will increase the likelihood of rape is ridiculous. Any person, whether trans or cis, who intends to commit rape isn’t going to be stopped by a sign on a door or a law (since, obviously, rape is already illegal).

So why does it always come down to the bathroom?

24 Even some people who claim to be allies show a remarkable shift when it comes to sharing bathrooms with us. All of a sudden whether or not trans women are really women and trans men are really men (and ignore the non-binary people because every one does) becomes an important philosophical question when previously it was comfortably accepted.

All of a sudden people become scared of their daughters being in a bathroom with someone like me. All of a sudden it becomes, “I’m for trans rights, but Not In My Backyard (or Bathroom, as the case may be).”

Why does it always come back to the bathroom?

It often does for me, too. It does when I’m out of the house and have to wait for hours to find a safe restroom, one where I won’t have the cops called on me or be forced to deal with harassment or potential assault. It does when I have to watch the ladies’ room carefully and perform a surgical strike when it seems likely that no one is in it and no one is heading towards it, and even then panicking as I wash and dry my hands should someone come in and start raising hell. It does when I know that I’ll get ugly looks for using the “family” restroom but it’s safer because the door locks and I don’t have to worry about assault or police. It’s an important factor in jobs and schools – the last time I went to an orientation session at a school when I asked where the restroom was I was told, “You’ll be using the men’s room, and it’s over there.”

So why the bathroom?

I can only conclude that it’s because using the bathroom is a visceral (pun intended) and private experience. Bathrooms have to have a veneer of safety, otherwise we wouldn’t feel comfortable with (or even capable of) making ourselves vulnerable in them. Because of that it’s the easiest route for politicians and patriarchs that are threatened by our existence to justify their bigotry. It’s easy to get people to be scared about assault in a public private place and fear brings votes, viewers, and money.

So what can we do about it?

Make an issue out of it, if it’s going to be made an issue of. There’s already a campaign of trans people sharing pictures of themselves in restrooms of the gender they were assigned at birth; part of the purpose of this is to make people realize how ludicrous these proposed trans bathroom bills are. Fight to remove gender segregation of restrooms – sure, it’s great

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015 for trans men and women to be able to use the bathroom of their true gender, but that leaves all of the nonbinary (genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, Two Spirit, and others) people with no where that is safe for them.

In the long run, the only way to get rid of this argument and this last bastion of bigotry is to open restrooms to everyone. We’ve had bigger social changes than that and have survived and prospered for it and I’m convinced that we can make it through this one as well.

What’s Bothering Brandon?

ACE SCORES, RESILIENCE AND PHOEBE BUFFAY

By Brandon W. Brooks Out of boredom, or perhaps in an attempt to reconnect with my childhood, I have been re-watching the sitcom Friends.

One of the quintessential shows of the 1990s, Friends surrounded the antics and misadventures of six friends, who somehow can afford a very large two-bedroom apartment in downtown Manhattan on wait staff salaries. Just suspend your disbelief for a moment, okay?

While I secretly watched this show on Netflix I was reintroduced to one of my favorite and most beloved TV characters. No it’s not the closeted and oh-soirresistible Chandler, neither is it Monica, although I do so identify and relate to her extreme neurosis. It is Phoebe Buffay with whom I find peace and possibly the most hopeful (and most likely unintended) message of the series itself.

Phoebe Buffay is likely to be remembered by most as the quirky, eccentric oddball of the six-person group that is Friends. She writes and “sings” some truly horrific songs, to her friends’ delight and chagrin, and it’s through these songs as well as her nonchalant bomb-dropping that we catch small glimpses of Phoebe’s traumatic life.

Phoebe is portrayed as a persistent optimist even in the face of extreme trauma and circumstance. Her life is really one traumatic experience after another.

Within the first episode of the series, we are told that Phoebe was raised by a single

mother who later killed herself by sticking her head in an oven. Phoebe’s stepfather has always been mentioned as being in prison, and not a part of her childhood whatsoever.

Moving to New York City alone at the age of 14, Phoebe then lived on the streets homeless, learning French behind a dumpster, linking up with “an albino who lived in his car” (who later killed himself), and learning how to “use a knife” among other things. She also has an aloof and actually evil twin, Ursula.

But somehow through all of this adversity, Phoebe remained the most giddy and bubbly person out of all six friends. How could this be, I wondered? What are they feeding her?

Dr. Vincent Felitti, the chief of Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Preventive Medicine of San Diego, may have the answer. Since 1985, Dr. Felitti has been researching the link between childhood traumatic experiences and the occurrence of medical and psychiatric illnesses in adulthood. Fast-forward 30 years and we now have one of the most comprehensive and inclusive research studies in modernity; The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. With over 17,000 participants (that’s a VERY large n) and a correlation so strong between childhood trauma and adult illness, most may forsake the mantra of “correlation does not equal causation.”

The ACE study reveals what we might all have been thinking: that traumatic experiences in childhood are indeed common across all demographics, and that these traumatic experiences during childhood (prior to 18 years) are linked with nearly every adult medical and psychiatric illness. There are ten types of childhood traumatic experiences measured and recorded on the ACE, with five being related to personal experiences (physical, sexual, verbal abuse and physical and emotional neglect), and the other five being related to other family members (parental drug use, domestic violence, parental jail time, relative with mental illness, divorce/death/abandonment).

The rationale behind this ACE measure is that the more of these traumas an adult experiences during childhood, the higher the likelihood this adult may experience medical illness, social disorders, or mental illness in their adult life.

The results and average ACE scores for both men and women are available online and may be quite interesting to consider yourself. One is even able to take the ACE measure and be given one’s own ACE score at http://acestoohigh.com/got-yourace-score/.

Getting back to poor Phoebe Buffay, if she were to take the ACE measure one may be surprised. One may be surprised not necessarily with how high her score may be (the higher the ACE score, the higher the frequency and diversity of trauma), but in how Phoebe seems to have surpassed all of these traumas despite them.

Phoebe is seen as almost always content, even enlightened, compared to her other

friends who did not experience the traumas Phoebe experienced in childhood. So why is that?

Psychologists Mark Rains and Kate McClinn of Southern Kennebec Healthy Start in Augusta, Maine think they know the answer: resilience. They have developed (2013) a resilience questionnaire that couples the ACE measure in order to determine the likelihood of adult mental, social and medical illness when resilience is added to the childhood trauma equation. This 14-question survey measures the extent to which one was considered, encouraged, supported and celebrated during childhood using a five-point Likert scale for each of the 14 questions. This allows for great variety and interpretation between test-takers. When paired with ACE scores, the scores of this resilience measure reflect just how impacting positive support and encouragement can be, especially in our early years.

But resilience, just like trauma, is an ever-changing creature, one that can be nurtured or starved throughout our lives, and not just during childhood. Although Phoebe may not have had family members or mentors who offered her the sword and shield of resilience during her colorful childhood, she does have friends in her adult life that do just that.

When I look back on life (I’m pushing thirty here!) I sometimes wonder in fear of what might have been if not for my friends, my friends’ parents, and my own parents. What kind of person might I have been if I did not have that one adult who understood, those friends who knew the potential costs of coming out in a Podunk town, or that teacher who kept my cover when I would skip gym class and hang out in her chemistry lab instead?

Would I still have the tools of resilience at my disposal that I have today? Would I be as marginally successful as I am today if not for my art or English professors? I shudder to think.

At the end of the day, I really must be thankful for being one of the so-called “lucky ones.” Despite growing up gay in a world that told me that I was wrong for being so, I think I’ve done well. However I must also give credit not only to my own stubborn nature that refused to believe that I was not right, but also to the countless others who lifted me up when I just felt like staying down. We all need friends and supports, whether it comes from our parents or relatives, professors or peers, role-models or strangers. Like the song says, if your life’s a joke and you’re broke, I’ll be there for you. Cue the vomit.

Questions, comment or critique? Feel free to e-mail the author at: brandonbrooks@mail.adelphi.edu

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • 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 Since March, 1975, Dignity-Integrity Rochester has been welcoming all who come through our doors, worshiping every week at 5 p.m. at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St., at the corner of Broad St. We have the following services and activities for the month of April 2015: 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: Roman Catholic Evening Prayer, followed by a Potluck Dinner!

The theme for the April Potluck dinner is “Primavera Potluck”. Think SPRING! Now that the snow seems to be melting away, it is time to look for your favorite spring recipe. No opportunity to cook or shop? Don’t worry, there is always enough to share. In fact, tradition has it that when we aren’t cooking up a Potluck supper on the fourth Sunday, we’re gathering for fellowship around a tasty coffee hour and going out to a local restaurant for dinner each Sunday. Join us anytime!

D-I Trivia: You may think that we’re “old-school” Catholic and Episcopal, but throughout the years, in conjunction with the National Dignity and Integrity groups, we’ve been working from within the structure of these denominations to get LGBTQI folks accepted, ordained, and so much more. All are welcome in our community!

2015—Our 40th Anniversary!

We’re booked for AUGUST 15, 2015 for a FABULOUS 40TH REUNION PICNIC! Volunteers are always welcome to prepare for this big event. We’ve started making lists of all the people we can remember (we’re up to about 250!) and now we need addresses. Please make sure you let us know how to contact you. 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@di-rochester.org, or write to us directly at 17 S. Fitzhugh Street, 14614 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

Spring! Finally, warmth, sunshine, getting outside, fresh air. I’m starting to sound like Oliver on Green Acres.

Anyway, the Bears are out on the prowl. You can find us having supper on Wednesdays at 6 p.m.: April 1 at Texas Roadhouse on W. Henrietta, April 8 at Flavors of Asia on Clinton, April 15 at Carrabba’s on W. Hen, April 22 at the Winfield Grill on Winton, and April 29 at Tony D’s on Exchange.

You might also run into members at The Cinema, at Empire Lanes on alternate Sundays in the Friends and Family League, or at the Forum. No potluck this month, as the second weekend of April, many of our members will be in

Erie at Drenched Fur, soaking in the pool, hot tub, wave pool, or sliding down a crazy waterslide. Camping season starts soon, so make your reservations at Jones Pond or Hillside.

In March, we went to concerts, movies, drag shows, card games, and played a lot of games. If you’d like to meet some new friends, join us at dinner one night, and we’ll add you to our email list, or look for us on Facebook.

OPEN ARMS MCC Open Arms MCC is Beyond Opening and Affirming…Beyond Welcoming….We are a Place for ALL. Our Sunday Morning Celebration Services begin at 10:30 a.m., offering a vibrant, inclusive, progressive and exciting worship experience! We blend elements of traditional and contemporary worship styles which may include hymns, prayer, scripture, audio visual and special music. Pastoral Intern Brae Adams always delivers a message that makes a unique connection with the scriptures and everyday life.

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 to 5 years old) Sunday School Program. Following the service you can join us in our Community Center for some social time.

During the last month or so our social time was devoted to making mittens out of donated materials. We made more than 60 pairs of mittens. The women’s and children’s sizes were given to ABW, Alternatives for Battered Woman, and the men’s went to Dimitri House. Our next community project will be collecting gently used or new towels for ABW. Our evening Contemporary Worship Service is held each Sunday at 5:30 p.m. During Lent, this is a multimedia based, contemplative service that is interactive, yet personally spiritual.

You will be accepted, honored and loved.​ Communion is served each Sunday in both services.

Our monthly Agape Supper Service is held the second Sunday of each month at 5:30 p.m. During this Service you’ll experience worship while sharing a meal in companionship with others. Please bring a dish to share in this intimate worship experience.

Adult Sunday School continues to meet at 9 a.m. each week. We are studying “Living The Questions.” The focus for this Adult Sunday School is how Christianity still has relevance in the 21st century. Providing a variety of flexible resources, “Living the Questions” can help people explore the future of Christianity and what a meaningful faith can look like in today’s world.

Our Social Justice team continues to support Dwayne’s House in Jamaica, which provides clothing and gives monetary assistance to the homeless LGBTQ youths in Jamaica. Our work also continues in Eastern Europe as we fund travel expenses through our bottle and can collection ministry.

We have contributed over $300 to our pastor emeritus, Rev. Jim Mulcahy, as he builds churches and ministers to our LGBTQ siblings in Eastern Europe about God’s unconditional love.

Once the weather starts to warm up (hopefully by June?!) we hope to be planting a community garden.

Food donations can be made in our Community Center on Monday mornings or Sundays for our Open Arms Food Bank, which provides food for those in need. Cash donations for our DUO fund (Do Unto Others) are used to assist the people in the Rochester community with urgent housing, medical, food or transportation needs.

AFTY, Adult Families with Trans Youth, meets on the first Tuesday of every month from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Community Center. This is a support group for parents and other family members who want to understand and

25 support their trans child with whatever difficulties they may be having. Families can learn ways to best treat their child in a loving and accepting way.

On Tuesday mornings, Rainbow Sage gets together with Tom Somerville for Yoga from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 and there is a $5 fee.

PFLAG (Parents, Friends, and Family of Lesbians and Gays and trans and questioning) is a support and activism group for anyone who supports the LGBTQIA community They meet on the third Sunday of each month at 1 p.m. in the Community Center.

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 and to the side of our building. For updated information on these and other exciting upcoming events, check out our website at: openarmsmcc.org. Our Pastoral Intern Brae Adams has office hours on Mondays from 12 to 2 p.m. or by appointment. You can reach us by phone at (585) 271-8478.

ROCHESTER WOMEN’S COMMUNITY CHORUS The Rochester Women’s Community Chorus will present a June concert, “Songs in the Key of SHE”.

The concert will inspire you with songs written by women with a wide range of styles, such as “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, “1,000 Grandmothers” by Holly Near, and the rousing gospel piece “Still I Rise” by Rosephanye Powell.

Join us on Saturday, June 6 at 8 p.m. at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St. This concert will be FREE to attend with a freewill donation that will go to benefit an organization to help victims of domestic abuse.

The performance is sign language interpreted and wheelchair accessible.

For more information call 234-4441 or visit our website, www.therwcc.org.

ROMANS ROMANS members are planning some exciting activities for the hot summer months.

Our regular meetings continue to happen every month at a member’s home and we are working on some interesting things to do at the meetings, e.g. wine making workshop, nude drawing session, plaster casting demonstration, etc.

Our summer outdoor activities generally include nude camping and hiking, trips to nude beaches in New Jersey or Toronto, and nude swimming and sunbathing at a member’s backyard. Other clothed activities in the past included a trip to New York City for Gay Pride, a trip to Toronto for World Pride, a week on a gay cruise, etc. ROMANS members are year round nudists who are active indoors as well as outdoors.

If you are interested in embracing nudism as a lifestyle, you can check out our frequently updated ROMANS’ website at http://www.wnyromans.com for information. ROMANS is a social club for gay and gay-friendly male nudists (or naturists) over 21. Currently the club is offering a year of free membership to all full-time students to promote the nude lifestyle among the younger generation.

You can contact ROMANS at message line 585-281-4964, by E-mail wnyromans@yahoo.com or via regular mail at PO Box 92293, Rochester, NY 14692. ■

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

Do d o o G Work e k a M Good y e n o M

The Avenue Pub Celebrating 40 years in the Gay Community 1975–2015

The Gay Alliance is seeking a reliable, energetic self-starter to sell Empty Closet advertising for a generous commission.

For more information, phone Susan Jordan at 244-9030 or e-mail: susanj@gayalliance.org

Updates are posted daily with drink specials & events

The Avenue Pub 522 Monroe Avenue 585-244-4960

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

27

Arts & Entertainment

Diversions and Delights returns to Blackfriars, starring Peter J. Doyle

Playing a “Boy Toy:” Gregory Isaac Stone of Geva’s Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, opening May 5

By Adam Young Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, a play by Christopher Durang, will debut at Geva Theatre Center on May 5. The Gay Alliance and Geva will host an “Out At Geva” performance on May 14. Patrons will need to mention “Out at Geva” when reserving tickets for the performance. A free, pre-show reception will be held on the second Thursday of the play’s run.

The comedy chronicles the ties-that-bind among sisters, when Hollywood diva Masha returns to the farm where she grew up, accompanied by her airhead boyfriend Spike. Sisters Vanya and Sonia extend a lukewarm welcome to Masha and Spike, and soon after, long simmering feelings of jealousy and resentment boil over among the family.

Gregory Isaac Stone, who plays Spike, describes his character as the proverbial “douchebag.” Spike embodies the classic shallow Hollywood stereotype in constantly seeking his fifteen minutes of fame on the next reality show. “I really relish his ludicrous sense of vanity,” Stone said.

Despite his dimwitted demeanor, Stone hinted there is more to Spike than meets the eye.

The play contains some tender moments among the characters as long bottled-up emotions are ultimately expressed. “He wants to be liked. I think that’s very human in general,” Stone said.

Stone, a native of Indiana, has lived the past three years in New York City. Theatre is in his blood as both of his parents are involved in theatrical productions. Stone decided to test the waters himself in high school with a production of “The Breakfast Club.” From there, he moved on to productions at The Boston Conservatory where he obtained his BFA in Musical Theatre.

Interestingly enough, although he performs on stage, Stone identifies as an introvert.

He admits he is a little unnerved being in a room with many people and he boils down performing to being in a “large room with a lot of stimulus.” Despite a bit of anxiety, he is energized by new opportunities and performing

in various locations around the country. In addition to the play, another recent project includes writing, production, and acting on the buddy comedy web series “DayOff” on Vimeo.

To prepare for a role, Stone reads a script several times and writes from the character’s perspective to “build a psyche,” so that acting out the character feels more instinctual. Stone also sees a similarity between acting and being an athlete in terms of getting psyched-up for a performance. “I played a lot of sports growing up… I draw parallels between the two, [you] go out there and play the game,” Stone said.

Although the play is comedic

Willie Dee of Anything Goes loves Broadway

By Susan Jordan The national tour of Anything Goes, the new Broadway revival of Cole Porter’s timeless classic musical theatre masterpiece, will make its Rochester premiere April 14-19 as part of the 2014-2015 M&T Bank Broadway Season at RBTL’s Auditorium Theatre.

Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com,

in nature, Stone believes there is something for everyone in the show. For regular theatregoers, there are several Chekhovian references and puns, as well as plenty of “silly, goofy” comedy for anyone just looking to sit back and have a good laugh.

Stone is excited to bring Spike to life. “I’m a total idiot. I get to be a professional idiot,” Stone said.

Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, directed by Bruce Jordan, will run from May 5-31 at Geva Theatre on Woodbury Boulevard. Tickets are $25 and can be ordered by phone or at the box office. For more information, call Geva Theatre Center at 2324382 or visit gevatheatre.org.■

800.745.3000 and the Auditorium Theatre Box Office. Prices range from $32.50-$72.50.

Winner of the 2011 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, Anything Goes sails to Rochester under the direction of Sean McKnight and Jennifer Savelli. McKnight and Savelli will recreate the original direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall, who won the 2011 Tony Award® for Best Choreography. The classic 19334 musical features music and lyrics by Cole Porter; original book by

The critically acclaimed John W. Borek production of John Hay’s “Diversions and Delights,” starring Peter J. Doyle, will be reprised at Blackfriars as part of their Spring Fling.

It will be performed on Thursday April 9 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday April 1 at 2 p.m., and Sunday April 12 at 6 p.m. at Blackfriars, 759 Main St. East. It was originally produced at MuCCC in October of 2014 where it played to sell-out performances.

David Raymond of City Newspaper said this of Peter Doyle’s performance: “The production certainly has the right kind of actor in Peter Doyle, who gives a tremendously engaging and moving performance as Oscar Wilde. Doyle has been a wonderful ensemble player in countless productions, but here he is the center of attention and is absolutely riveting.”

The play is directed by Michael H. Arve.

Tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for seniors and students and may be ordered at www.Blackfriars.org or by calling 585454-1260.

Mr. Doyle has been involved in theater, film, radio and TV for over 40 years. He has worked with Blackfriars, Geva, Method Machine, Shipping Dock Theater, JCC-Center Stage, Rochester Children’s Theater, and many other local and national groups. His most recent appearance was at MuCCC where he played Ernst Janning in “Judgment at Nuremberg”.

In film he has appeared in feature productions with Robert Guillaume, Gavin McLeod, Diahnn Carroll and Tom Wopat, and in over (“Diversions” continues page 28)

P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse; and new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. Cole Porter’s roundup of nostalgic hits in the production includes “You’re the Top,” “Friendship,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” and, of course “Anything Goes.”

Cast member Willie Dee is a native of Dallas, Texas and got a BFA at Sam Houston State University. He has performed on national tours and in regional theatre.

Willie told The Empty Closet, “I would say that my biggest challenge as a cast member would be keeping the integrity and energy of the show fresh for every single audience. We are constantly traveling from state to state and theatre to theatre. We have now done over 120 shows so it can be really tempting to go on autopilot, but you have to remember each audience is seeing things for the first time.

You’ve got to tell the same story.

“The biggest reward as a cast member is to now be part of the family of such a classic Broadway musical! People really love the show! They love Cole Porter’s music, they love the direction by Kathleen Marshall, so it feels special to be apart of that. I get to share this Broadway musi-

cal with the country!”

Is he an actor, singer or dancer first? “ALL THREE HONEY! Ha!,” he replied. “But really, I started singing very young and was very involved with choir which led me to musical theatre.

I began acting and dancing in high school and seriously training for a career on the Broadway stage. In my opinion the more you can do, the more you can work. Back in the day you could be in the dance chorus or the vocal chorus, today you need to be able to belt for the gods, kick that face (toes pointed strong), and give a Tony award-winning monologue! We are in an industry with a lot of competition and my goal is to stay as proficient as possible in all three.”

Willie has always been drawn to performing. “I’ve always loved to entertain! I’m a middle child, I crave the attention! I used to watch movies with musical numbers over and over and over until I learned every step! I was in all of the plays in elementary and junior high. In high school I was REALLY involved in theatre! I even became president of the theatre troupe my senior year. Also during senior year, I auditioned and got my first professional performing job in a Motown Revue at Six Flags Over Texas. We did five 30 min( Willie Dee continues page 28)

28 (“Diversions” from page 27) 30 short and industrial films. As a voice actor he has worked in animated films, television commercials, Internet training programs, and the occasional arcade game. On television he portrayed serial killer Arthur Shawcross in the Discovery Channel Series “Serial Killers”, and is currently in production for a sitcom from ColorStudios entitled “The Church”. He is a member of SAG-AFTRA and is a graduate of Nazareth College.

“Diversions & Delights” is set in a Parisian concert hall on the Rue de la Pepinier in 1899 -- about a year before Wilde’s death, at the age of 46. In an attempt to earn some much-needed money, Wilde is speaking to the audience about his life, his works and about his love for Lord Alfred Douglas. ■

( Willie Dee from page 27) ute shows a day all summer long. I learned so much about myself and my drive for performing. I loved that I could get paid to do something that did not feel like work at all.”

His great inspiration is Beyonce. As he put it, “If you know me, you know that I’m obsessed with Beyoncè!! (I know how shocked you must be!) Although I love her anthems and sexy dance moves and flawless looks, it is her dedication to her art that inspires me. When she steps onto that stage she is so present in what she is doing and gives you everything she has. I aspire to be like that. I want to always be focused and have my full self on that stage when I am performing.

“Audra McDonald is also a huge inspiration to me! Her work is magnificent and she is always challenging herself and continuing to thrive! If there was one career I would love to emulate it would be Jerry Mitchell’s! He gets to express himself as an artist in all realms! He performs, He set brilliant choreography, and he makes a difference in the world with the creation of Broadway Bares! He used his art and his voice to help a stand. I would love a journey like that!”

Meanwhile, Broadway comes first. Willie notes, “Yes I do especially love Broadway! I remember on my first trip to NYC, I saw 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the closing performance of The Light In The Piazza, and Hairspray! I laughed.

I cried. I was inspired! Seeing Hairspray on the Broadway stage was the moment I knew I had to be up there one day. Broadway will always be special to me and I would love a long career on that stage!

“I would also love to get into hosting!

One day I would like to have a talk show like Oprah did! One where I can have a platform to give other great people a voice!

I dream big, but I believe with hard work ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! I want to have a career I can thrive in and enjoy, but also give back to the world what it gives me on stage! LOVE!” ■

Star of “Transparent” series wins Courage Award at Point Honors Point Foundation (Point) will honor actor Jeffrey Tambor, the 2015 Golden Globe winner for his performance in the hit Amazon series “Transparent,” with the Point Courage Award on April 13.

The Award recognizes an individual who has advocated for the future of LGBTQ community, and lives with the vision that investing in today’s potential will produce a brighter tomorrow.

Tambor will receive the award at the April 13 Point Honors gala at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. The landmark venue speaks to the educationfocused mission of Point Foundation, which is the nation’s largest scholarshipgranting organization for LGBTQ students of merit.

“The Point Foundation’s mission of identifying and fostering meritorious stu-

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015 dents from the LGBTQ community is vital,” said Tambor. “I am honored to accept this award and I am humbled by the opportunity to use progressive storytelling as a platform for social change.

I want to thank the transgender and LGBTQ communities for their inspiration, courage, leadership, and for allowing me this supporting role in the movement.”

“Beyond his sensitive and intelligent portrayal of a transgender character on ‘Transparent,’ Jeffrey Tambor has used his platform to express how society can learn from - and do so much more to help support - the transgender community,” said Jorge Valencia, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Point Foundation. “It is so important for LGBTQ young people to see that there are allies such as Tambor, who value their stories and what they can contribute to society.”

The Co-Chairs for Point Honors are Brunson Green, Herb Hamsher and Judith Light. Some of Point’s 80 current scholars and 187 alumni will be present at the event to share with the audience their inspiring stories about how they have overcome challenges to get their higher education degrees. Information about attending or supporting Point Honors is at www.pointfoundation.org/ HonorsNY15.

Star Wars is as diverse (or more so because they have alien species) as humanity is in real life and we don’t want to pretend it’s not. It just felt perfectly natural.”

Star Wars: Lords of the Sith is available for preorder on Amazon.

wiped clean since Disney took over the sprawling space saga.) However, this is the first introduction of an LGBT character that is officially a part of the Star Wars canon.

Dey Rey editor at large Shelly Shapiro, who is responsible for the Star Wars fiction line of books, spoke up about the need for greater diversity in the Star Wars universe shortly after news about the inclusion of an LGBT character to the story’s cannon was announced.

“This is certainly the first [LGBT] character in canon,” Shapiro said on the Full of Sith podcast. “But there was a gay Mandalorian couple, so it’s not brand new.

It’s not something I really think about, it just makes sense. There’s a lot of diversity — there should be diversity in Star Wars. You have all these different species and it would be silly to not also recognize that there’s a lot of diversity in humans. If there’s any message at all, it’s simply that

Mercedes Sulay

Prom fundraiser is April 19 at 140 Alex 140 Alex Bar and Grill, The Gay Alliance and Todd Ranous present the 2015 Big Gay Prom Fundraiser.

The event takes place at 140 Alex Bar and Grill (corner of Alexander Street and Broadway Street) on Sunday, April 19, at 2 p.m., hosted by Destiny Spice and Mercedes Sulay.

Other performers include The Mighty Deelicious, Vivian Darling, Vanity Faire, and Taylor Mayde. A special guest appearance will be made by Mary and Rhoda.

Eggrolls and empanadas will be sold.

Minimum suggested donation to benefit the youths’ big night (“Prom-I-Con” on May 9, 7-11 p.m. at the Diplomat): $ 5.

Out comic to perform at Dukes Bar & Grill Peter Bisuito, an out comedian, will be performing at the old Daisy Dukes Comedy Club, now called Dukes Bar & Grill, in Webster on April 19, 6 p.m., tickets $15.

Dukes Bar & Grill is located at 2235 Empire Blvd. # 5, Webster, NY 14580, (585) 671-4880. Tickets are available online as well: http://www.thecomedyclub.us

Star Wars adds first official lesbian character

By Jase Peeples on The Advocate To quote Han Solo, “Here’s where the fun begins.” The Star Wars universe is getting its first official LGBT character in the franchise’s new canon, reports Big Shiny Robot.

The historic introduction will occur in writer Paul S. Kemp’s upcoming Star Wars novel Lords of the Sith, which is scheduled to be released April 28.

Big Shiny Robot describes the new character, Moff Mors, as “an Imperial who has made some very serious mistakes but she is an incredibly capable leader and spends much of the book working hard to prevent absolute failure. She also happens to be a lesbian.”

This is not the first time LGBT characters have popped up in a galaxy far, far away in some form. Video game developer Bioware recently added same-sex romance options for players in the online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Additionally, a subtle mention of two gay Mandalorian men in a committed relationship was previously referenced in the Legacy of the Force books, a series that was part of the Star Wars expanded universe. (That continuity has since been

Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne plays trans pioneer The first photo of Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne as 1930s sex reassignment surgery pioneer Lili Elbe has been released, The Guardian reports: “The Danish Girl”, adapted from David Ebershoff’s novel and directed by Tom Hooper, is the story of Elbe, who became one of the world’s first known recipients of this type of surgery. She was born in Denmark as Einar Mogens Wegener and underwent a series of then experimental operations in Berlin in 1930-31. Organ rejection following an attempt to transplant a uterus resulted in her death in 1931.

No release date for the film has been announced. In February Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the film “The Theory of Everything”.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz3SxG8CojS

Paul Pakusch Wedding Officiant Your wedding ceremony customized to your wishes.

(585) 352-1650 ppakusch@gmail.com weddings.paulpakusch.com

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

Travel Like an orange on a Seder plate

By Merle Exit Ma Nishtana, halaila hazeh, mikol ha’leilot? Why is this night different form all other nights? This is known as “the four questions” recited during the traditional Passover seder.

I never understood why that title was given since it is that one question with four answers. Nevertheless, the recitation is given to the youngest son present.

My household had no sons and I was the youngest daughter.

There are a few other rituals that puzzled me as well. Aside from the obligatory four glasses of wine that made me shika (drunk) a fifth glass of wine is placed on the table for when we are to open the door and allow the prophet Elijah to enter and sip. When I was young I would stare at the glass as well as wonder as to whether Elijah was an alcoholic.

My puzzlement was in regards to Elijah. “When Miriam was five, her mother was pregnant with Moses. Miriam prophesied and said, ‘My mother is about to bear a son who will save Israel from Egypt’.

When the time came for Yochevit to give birth, Miriam shared motherhood with her mother. On the day Moses was born, the house was filled with light. Her father kissed Miriam on the head and said, ‘Your prophesy was fulfilled’. When years later, it was time for the exodus, Miriam sang and danced her people to victory.”

The above quote was taken from a Feminist Hagaddah compiled by a former Queens-located feminist group called All the Queens Women. Although the group is defunct, the former members have kept their copy.

An Haggadah would best be described as a publication containing the rituals, prayers and explanations of the seder. In modern times, the Haggadah, usually written in Hebrew, is now compiled of both the Hebrew and its transliteration, along with English directives and explanations. The directives point to who gets to do the traditions and say the prayers as “The Leader” is supposed to be a male person. In fact, the traditional Haggadah clearly centers around giving credit to men.

Around the time that the organization was meeting it was rumored that during a speech, regarding Jewish women and the synagogue, a rabbi stood up and said that women belonged at the bimah (altar used for the reading of the Torah) like an orange on a seder plate.

In the traditional seder a prayer is cited for each of the items (there seems to be a Jewish prayer over everything, anyway). With the feminist version an added female angle follows, considering that the women did all the preparations but not the rituals. “They read of their fathers but not of their mothers.”

In the movie, “The Ten Commandments” ten plagues were put upon the Egyptians: water to blood; frogs; lice; flies; livestock diseased; thunder and hail; locusts; darkness; and death of the firstborn. “The plagues serve to remind us of the plagues of women, including discrimination, enslavement to roles, lack of respect, rape, powerlessness, and isolation from each other.”

The seder is split into two parts, like an intermission. This allows for everyone to stuff themselves with delicious holiday foods such as gefilte fish, which is not a fish caught in the waters but a cooked appetizer served cold; chopped liver; hardboiled egg in salt water; matzo ball soup; brisket or chicken; stuffed cabbage, matzoh farfel and matzoh, of course. If you arteries are doing fine, spread some chicken fat on the matzoh. No challah bread for this holiday!

A traditional song known as “Dayenu” (it would have sufficed) is sung during the seder in many verses. However, this particular Haggadah cites lines such as: “If our mothers had been honored for their daughters as well as for their sons, dayenu. If women had been among the writers of the Tanach (canon of the Hebrew bible) and had interpreted our creation and our role in history, dayenu”.

The conclusion of the seder has us drinking that fourth cup of wine as the leader says, “We hope that this evening’s seder has helped to strengthen our desire to gather together again to recall our past and present and to look to our future lives as women… as sisters.” ■

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GAY ALLIANCE NEWS FOR APRIL 2015

Volunteer of the Month: Gerry Szymanski As a small organization, many of the Gay Alliance’s programs and services are run by professionals who have decided to volunteer their skills to serve the community. For the month of April we’ve chosen to honor one such volunteer, Gerry Szymanski, Librarian and Director of the Gay Alliance Library & Archives.

Professionally, Gerry works as the Reserves and Digital Services Librarian at the Sibley Music Library at the Eastman School of Music, and we are lucky to benefit from his valuable background.

Gerry has contributed hundreds of hours to the Library & Archives over his several year tenure as Librarian, maintaining our collection of over 6,000 books, magazines, videos, and DVDs. He works with six other volunteers to maintain the physical space and the online catalog.

He also serves on the Shoulders to Stand On committee and was featured in the film documentary, and was a part of the team that created the panel display Forging Alliances: Rochester’s LGBT story.

In addition to his Library work, Gerry is both a writer and photographer. Outside the Gay Alliance, Gerry has served for over ten years as an official photographer for the ImageOUT film festival, in addition to a four-year stint on the ImageART committee. Six of his short films have screened at ImageOUT,

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015

including “Insight Out: Mark Groaning,” which received the first Mary Elizabeth Knight Award for best local film.

By offering his unique knowledge and experiences to the community, Gerry helps the agency preserve our community history, ensuring that it is accessible and available for generations to come. The distinct collection he and the Library & Archives volunteer team develop and maintain is a highlight of the Rochester LGBTQ community, and we are deeply grateful to Gerry for everything he has contributed to the Gay Alliance.

Gay Alliance

Legacy Paul in the lead, Ride for Pride 2014. Photo: Owen Zacharias

Ride For Pride 6: please support a rider online Gay Alliance launches Legacy Society “Planning for the future is at the heart of the new Gay Alliance Legacy Society,” said Scott Fearing, Executive Director, “not just for the Gay Alliance but for the future of Rochester’s LGBTQ Communities.”

Following the lead of other not-for-profits, the Gay Alliance plans to launch the Gay Alliance Legacy Society as a way for individual supporters to make planned gifts that will allow the Gay Alliance to create an endowment to keep its ever evolving programming strong into the future.

The Legacy Society will provide a way to honor people who have named the Gay Alliance in their wills, on insurance policies, or through a number of other financial vehicles that often come with beneficial tax savings.

To assist people in determin-

Fifty miles and 50 wonderful riders! Ride For Pride, the Gay Alliance bike ride fund-

ing which of the many giving options is best the Gay Alliance has a number of resources available that explain the options. “But,” stressed Fearing, “your own lawyer and financial planner are the best sources of information.

“The Rochester LGBTQ community and the Gay Alliance have accomplished so much these past 42 years. Within our lifetime we have seen the diagnosis of mental illness removed as a reality of being “homosexual” to witnessing the arrival of legal same-sex marriages. Together we have changed hearts and minds in Rochester.

“However, the work continues,” added Fearing, “social acceptance and strong community do not come from legislation. Social change requires

raiser, was able bring in $20,000 last year to support Gay Alliance programming.

This year we are going for $25,000! Won’t you be a part of our success by supporting one of our dedicated riders?

To donate, simply go to the

Gay Alliance website at www. gayalliance.org and click on the Ride For Pride slide. Then choose a rider to support! Your donation is tax deductible.

Thank you so very much for your support! ■

local, person-to-person work that the Gay Alliance provides.”

The Gay Alliance has already been notified by a number of individuals who have made a variety of plans for ensuring the future of the Gay Alliance; these individuals are the Founding Members of the Legacy Soci-

ety. The Gay Alliance is now asking anyone who has included them in their estate plans, to let them know. This will allow the Gay Alliance to acknowledge their generosity and welcome them into the Legacy Society.

You can contact Legacy@GayAlliance.org.

d

Thank you.

The following individuals are members of the Gay Alliance Legacy Society, we thank them for taking action to ensure a strong future for the LGBTQ Communities of the Rochester area:

John Altieri Mark Chaplin & John Strawway Pat Collins & Judy Lawrence Sue Cowell Judy Cranston Bob Darnado Tom Ferrarese & Bill Giancursio Jeanne Gainsburg W. Bruce Gorman Whitey LeBlanc Emily Jones Tim Mains & David Gardener Anthony Mascioli

Peter Mohr Jim Moran Lewis Nopper Dr. Vincent Smith Lewis Vallone David Zona To add your name to this list, please contact us about your legacy plans for the Gay Alliance. Call 585-244-8640 or email: Legacy@ GayAlliance.org

May the Pride be with you…

SPEAKING OUT: The group from the Gay Alliance SpeakOut training on March 14. Photo: Gregory Gerard.

Pull out your transponders, dust off your light sabers, and get ready for blast off to the 26th annual Pride Festival! We are thrilled to announce that our annual Rochester Pride weekend festivities will be held on the weekend of July 17-19 2015. This year’s theme is SciFi Pride: may the PRIDE be with you!

On Saturday, July 18, join intergalactic celebrity hosts Samantha Vega and Dee Dee Dubois for an evening of music, dance, drag, and more! We are thrilled to welcome International Celebrity Housewife Mrs. Kasha Davis from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7 as the 2015 festival headliner.

Tickets for festival entry will be $10 advance, $15 at the gate and will be available for purchase at a number of retail locations as well as through the Gay Alliance website. The 2015 Pride Parade will be on Saturday July 18 at 1 p.m. and will march from Park Ave. to the festival site on Chestnut St. The annual Pride Picnic event will take place on July 19 at Genesee Valley Park. In the first years of the annual Picnic, the event was free to the community. We’ve decided to travel backwards in time and bring that tradition back to the future: this year, the Pride Picnic will be free!

Festivities at the Picnic will include dancing in the Roundhouse, food truck vendors, and outdoor sports. ASL interpreting services and wheelchair accessible parking will be available at all Pride Weekend events.

We’ll see you there -- and may the PRIDE be with you!

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

GAY ALLIANCE NEWS FOR APRIL 2015

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Speaking Engagements February 2015 • SafeZone Training at SUNY Geneseo • Transgender Inclusive Healthcare at Canandaigua VA Medical Center • SafeZone Training at SUNY Geneseo • Intersections Workshop at The MOCHA Center • SafeZone Training for the Monroe County Library System • LGBTQ 101 at Wegmans School of Pharmacy • Transgender Panel Presentation at Nazareth College • Tabling at MCC Damon City Campus Community Resource Fair

Feedback from February presentations: • “It was all so great! I wanted it to be longer… I could have learned for hours!”

• “I learned how to respond to uncomfortable situations as a teacher. Everything was fantastic, thank you. I just wish we had more time.”

• “I learned how the simple things that we do in the clinic can affect the lives of others and that most of the time people are probably doing them and not realizing it. I would like to see this type of panel training become mandatory for our clinic providers, not just to make the experience better for the patients, but also to make the providers comfortable with treating transgender patients.”

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) More info: youth@gayalliance.org The Gay Alliance 875 E. Main Street, (5th Floor) Auditorium Center, Rochester, NY 14605 Phone: 585-244-8640 • Web: gayalliance.org

ON GARD

Gay Alliance on-line Resource Directory The online community tool – providing local, state and national resources... twenty-four, seven! www.gayalliance.org

Jessie Gibson recording ideas during the SAGE strategy-planning event on 2/17. Photo: Anne Tischer

SAGE APRIL CALENDAR Thursday April 2............10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom Tuesday April 7..............10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom; 11:30-12:30 Brown

Bag & Beverage; 12:30-1:3pm Food Demo, hosts Jessica and Anne; 1:30-3pm

Birthday celebration & games, your host Anne Thursday April 9............No Yoga. 10:30-12pm Breakfast at Dennys, 911 Jefferson

Road. Please RSVP by 4/7 to 585-287-2958. Your host Audet Tuesday April 14............10:30-11:3am Yoga with Tom; 11:30-12:30pm Brown Bag

& Beverage; 1-1:3pm Oasis presentation & programs by Josie & Ginny. Your host

Anne Tischer Thursday April 16..........10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom; 11:30-12:30pm Brown

Bag & Beverage; 12:30pm Movie day at the center, your hosts Gerry & Audet;

7-8:30pm Coffee at Equal Grounds, 750 South Ave., Rochester. Your host David Saturday April 18...........5-pm Sage & Community Potluck and Bingo game. Please

bring a dish to pass and go for the big win of token prizes! $3 fee for Bingo held

at OAMCC 707 East Main St. Hosts Anne & Jessie Tuesday April 21............10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom 11:30-3pm Brown Bag &

Beverage, Euchre & Games, your host Anne Thursday April 23..........10:30-11:30 Yoga with Tom Friday April 24...............5pm Fish Fry, Patties Pantry, 2485 Dewey Ave. on the

left after crossing railroad tracks. $9.99. Please RSVP to 585-287-2958 by 4/22 Tuesday April 28............10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom; 11:30-3pm Brown Bag &

Beverage, Arts and Crafts & Conversation: “Is LGBTQ culture disappearing?”

Thursday April 30..........10:30-11:30am Yoga with Tom Bad weather days: If schools are closed all programs are canceled that day.

Rainbow Sage, For LBGTQ People 50 and over, meets at Open Arms Community Center of Western New York, 707 East Main Street, Rochester, New York 14605.

Yoga is from 10:30 to 11:30 $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, memberdriven programming.

Library & Archives Hours:

Every Monday & Wednesday: 6-8pm 875 E. Main Street 1st Floor, (off Prince Street lobby) Rochester, New York 14605 Phone: 585 244-8640 Web: GayAlliance.org

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 Education Coordinator: Rowan Collins 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

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Resources

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015 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.

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 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 Available for parties, events, meetings. 707 E. Main St. Parking. Accepting and welcoming of all.

271-8478.

DEAF SERVICES Deaf Rainbow Network of Rochester See Facebook.

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; 585-993-3297.

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.

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. 189 N. Water St. (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.

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 Canandaigua VA, second and fourth Tuesdays, 10-11am, Building One, 2nd floor, room 245. Matt Cokely 585-393-7115; Wanda Martinez 585-3938265 or 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 (TAGR) Support/educational group for gender variant people and allies. Last Saturday, 3-5:30pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Adult Families of Trans Youth (AFTY) First Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Families & Friends of Trans Adults (F2TA) Support group for non-transgender people who are struggling with the transition of a transgender friend or loved-one. Meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Meeting Place in Brighton, 2600 Elmwood Ave (look for Yolickity & Sabra).

Trans Lifeline Hotline for transgender people experiencing crisis. Staffed by transgender people for transgender people. Trans Lifeline volunteers are ready to respond to whatever support needs callers might have. The Trans Lifeline number is (877) 5658860. Additional info is available at www.translifeline.org.

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

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. 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.

YOUTH Gay Alliance Youth Group Fridays, 7-9 pm. Gay Alliance office, 5th floor, 875 E. Main St. 244-8640; Ages 13-20. www. gayalliance.org Gay Alliance Youth Gender Identity Support Group Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 Gay Alliance office, 5th floor.

875 E. Main St., Ages 13-20. 244-8640 Trevor Project The Trevor Project offers 24/7 Lifeline with trained counselors, 1-866-488-7386; Trevor Chat, instant messaging; TrevorSpace online where youth can talk to each other, and Trevor Text, now in development, with text trained counselors for support and crisis intervention. ■

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • THE GAY ALLIANCE • THE EMPTY CLOSET

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) First Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30, Open Arms MCC Community Center, 707 E. Main St. Families & Friends of Trans Adults (F2TA) Meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Meeting Place in Brighton, 2600 Elmwood Ave (look for Yolickity & Sabra). This support group is for non-transgender people who are struggling with the transition of a loved-one, family member, or friend.

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 13-20. 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 various venues. 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

Martha M. Howden, LCSW, CASAC Anxiety • Depression Alcohol • Stress • Grief Relationship • Family Plan Rectification Work Holotropic Breathwork • Specializing in work with individuals and families in the Coming Out process Martha M. Howden, lcsw, casac 945 E. Henrietta Road, Suite A6 Rochester, New York 14623 Phone: 585 272-1760 Fax: 585 272-8986 Most Insurances Accepted

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; Ages 13-20. 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.

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.

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) 585 993-3297; rochesterpflag@gmail.com.

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 ■

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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.

34

April WEDNESDAY 1

Empire Bears dinner, Texas Roadhouse, W. Henrietta Ave., 6 pm.

SUNDAY 5

Easter Sunday Dignity Integrity. Episcopal Mass/ Healing Service, with music. 5 pm at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St.

WEDNESDAY 8

Empire Bears dinner, Flavors of Asia, Clinton Ave., 6 pm.

THURSDAY 9

Diversions & Delights. Starring Peter J. Doyle as Oscar Wilde. Opening night, Blackfriars Theatre, 759 Main St. E., 7:30 pm. $25 general admission, $20 seniors/ students. Tickets at www.Blackfriars.org or by calling 585-454-1260. Performances also April 11 at 2 pm, April 12 at 6 pm.

Out and Equal NY Finger Lakes, Second Thursday Networking Event, 5:30 pm, Centre City Place - hosted by Tavern 58 at Gibbs, 80 University Ave.

SATURDAY 11

Queer Women of Color Film Festival screenings. 7 pm, Doors open 6:30 pm. The MOCHA Center, 189 Water St. Free. Sponsored by Unity Fellowship Church of Rochester and Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project.

SUNDAY 12

Dignity Integrity. Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Word, with music. 5 pm at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St.

TUESDAY 14

SAGE Oasis presentation, programs

by Josie and Ginny. 1-1:30 pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St.

WEDNESDAY 15

Empty Closet deadline. For May issue. susanj@gayalliance.org; 244-9030.

Fight for 15. March for raise in minimum wage, 5:30 pm, U. of Rochester.

THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015 Sponsored by Metro Justice.

Empire Bears dinner. Carabba’s, W. Henrietta. 6 pm.

FRIDAY 17

MAY FRIDAY 1

SATURDAY 18

SATURDAY 2

Day of Silence. Youth 21 and under.

Tilt Nightclub, 444 Central Ave. 4-7 pm.

SAGE community potluck and bingo game. $3 fee for bingo. Bring dish to pass. 5-8 pm, Open Arms MCC, 707 E. Main St. Pride @ Work, Gay Alliance Safe Zone training. NYSUT building, 30 North Union St. $25 with scholarships available as needed. Please RSVP to Bess Watts at besswhat@gmail.com.

SUNDAY 19

Dignity Integrity. Episcopal Mass, quiet. 5 pm at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St. Big Gay Prom fundraiser. 2 pm, 140 Alex Bar & Grill, hosted by Destiny Spice & Mercedes Sulay. Eggrolls and empanadas for sale. Suggested donation $5.

FRIDAY 24

LGBT Health and Healthcare Acrosss the Generations. URMC conference on LGBT elder health. 7:30 am-4:30 pm, with keynote speaker Harvey Makadon of Fenway. To register: grace_fuller@urmc.rochester.edu

SUNDAY 26

“Let It Ride”. Trillium Health Casino Night at Avenue Pub. 4-8 pm.

Dignity Integrity. Roman Catholic Evening Prayer, followed by a potluck dinner. 5 pm at St. Luke’s and St. Simon’s Church, 17 S. Fitzhugh St. info@di-rochester.org

MONDAY 27

Marriage Equality rally. Federal Building, 5-6:30 pm. The day before the Supreme Court hears arguments on marriage equality. Rallies will be held across the country to urge the Court to make marriage equality legal nationwide.

WEDNESDAY 29

Empire Bears dinner. Tony D’s, Exchange St., 6 pm.

THURSDAY 30

Beltain, Walpurgisnacht. Ancient Celtic Fire Feast of Spring and the life

Classified Ads

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.

SERVICES

Man to Man Rubdown. Need to relax? Gym workouts, stress making you sore? Let my sensual, skilled, strong hands rub you the right way! In calls, out calls.

Reasonable rates. 585-773-2410 (c) or 585-235-6688 (h).

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.

force. Sacred tree: willow. Sacred beast: the hare (forerunner of the Easter bunny!)

Martin Ippolito master electrician.

Electrical work, telephone jacks, cable TV, burglar alarm systems, paddle fans.

585-266-6337.

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.

FOR RENT

Park Ave Town House. 3 bedroom, 1 bath, hardwood floors, appliances including dishwasher, washer dryer, fenced yard enclosed front and rear porches, near East Ave. Wegmans. $1100/month plus security. 461-9184.

APARTMENT WANTED

GWM looking for studio apartment in Park Ave. area for me and my small dog. Professional, non-smoker, nondrinker. Looking for place with all utilities included. 585-698-8157.

May Day

Reception honoring Sue Cowell, with presentation of Shoulders To Stand

On Lifetime Achievement Award. 3-6 pm, Studio 180, 180 St. Paul St. Monies raised will establish a scholarship in Sue’s name at the LGBTQ Scholarship Fund, Rochester Area Community Foundation.

SUNDAY 3

Shoulders To Stand On documentary screening. 2:30-4:30 pm, Penfield Library, 1985 Baird Rd. Free.

APRIL 2015 • NUMBER 488 • 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.

Editor-in-Chief: Susan Jordan Staff Reporter: Ove Overmyer Graphic Design: Jim Anderson 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.

Bed & Breakfast

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THE EMPTY CLOSET • THE GAY ALLIANCE • NUMBER 488 • APRIL 2015