Losangelesblade.com, Volume 1, Issue 20, December 15, 2017

LESB IAN CHRISTIAN FIGHTS B AD THEOLOGY ERIN GREEN SAYS EVANGELICAL FUNDAME NTALISM ‘DEEPLY, INHERENTLY WRONG’ PAGE 04

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COVER STORY

04 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

Lesbian Christian fights against bad theology Erin Green: Evangelical fundamentalism is ‘deeply, inherently wrong’

By KAREN OCAMB kocamb@losangelesblade.com

Two of the 45 demonstrators outside Biola University on December 4, 2017 Photo by Rich Harrington

Stop and take this in. On Dec. 12, pro-life, proLGBT equality Democrat Doug Jones defeated Bible-thumping former Judge Roy Moore, the Republican backed by President Donald Trump and white nationalist Steve Bannon, in a special election to replace former Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, now U.S. Attorney General—in rock red Republican Alabama.

For African Americans, women, and millennials, Moore’s alleged history of sexually harassing teenage girls, longing for the old days when slavery wasn’t so bad and homosexuality was criminal, and a penchant for theocracy over civil law was just a bridge too far. Flaunting biblical verses did not compensate for an immoral character.

But for the state that has lived under the pall of proud segregationist George Wallace, there was an even more pronounced victory. Jones relentlessly prosecuted two members of the KKK for the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four black girls in Sunday school.

He is filling the Senate seat of a man named for Confederate heroes and treasures that flag. “It is not appropriate for us to erase history and who we are and our ancestors,” Sessions said last January, in the aftermath of white racist Dylann Roof shooting black worshippers praying in a Charleston church.

Institutionalized racism got a shocking political comeuppance with Jones’ victory and Trump/Bannon/Moore’s defeat.

Evangelical Christianity took a hit, too.

While white evangelicals still turned out for Moore by 80%, their numbers were actually down 3%. And 18% of white bornagain Christians voted for Jones, according to a Washington Post exit poll, having had enough of naked political ambition disguised as Christian morality.

The Christian faith “lost” in this election, Mark Galli wrote in Christianity Today.

“When it comes to either matters of life and death or personal commitments of the human heart, no one will believe a word we

say, perhaps for a generation. Christianity’s integrity is severely tarnished.”

Perhaps no person of faith was more moving than peanut farmer Nathan Mathis whose gut-wrenching protest outside a Moore rally in Midland City went viral.

Struggling to not break down, Mathis told reporters that his lesbian daughter Patti Sue committed suicide at 23.

“Daddy, I don’t want to be gay,” Mathis said she told him. They took her to doctors, who said there was nothing they could do.

He discovered her body.

“I was anti-gay myself. I said bad things to my daughter myself, which I regret. But I can’t take back what happened to my daughter. But stuff like saying my daughter’s a pervert — sure, I’m sure that bothered her,” Mathis said.

“Judge Moore didn’t just say my daughter — he didn’t call my daughter by name — he called all gay people are perverts. Abominations.

That’s not true! We don’t need a person like that representing us in Washington.”

It’s precisely to prevent that kind of religious-based harm that Erin Green fights bad theology at the source—the universities and seminaries that teach such dangerous interpretations of the Bible. It’s personal.

Green grew up in a very Christian household in the Santa Clarita Valley. By age nine she knew something was “wrong” because the feelings she had were not in line with church standards. By 16, she realized “this is going to become a problem” when she didn’t have the same feelings for boys as she did towards her girlfriends. At 19, she had her first secret relationship with a woman.

Green’s mother confronted her. Filled with “a deep sense of conflict and turmoil,” and no one to talk to, she emotionally cut off the relationship. But Green was still curious and drove from Santa Clarita to West Hollywood to go to gay bars. “I didn’t know what the hell I was doing,” she told the Los Angeles Blade. “But I knew this community was safe for LGBTQ folks.”

The internal conflict intensified and she started drinking. “You cannot merge Christianity with sexuality at all,” she thought. West Hollywood offered an open, affirming community. And alcohol provided “a great way to numb and suppress the deep CONTINUES ON PAGE 06

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COVER STORY

06 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

Fighting bad theology at the source CONTINUED FROM PAGE 04

Jane Clementi, mother of Tyler Clementi and Soulforce founder Mel White Photo by Rich Harrington

inner turmoil I was going through.”

She often drove home drunk. “I just didn’t care,” she said. But the drinking didn’t work.

“I woke up with shame and guilt.”

The inner turmoil was hell. The church told her that her same sex attractions violated her relationship with God. “But I never fully believed that. There was something wrong with that message. I realized that the church’s evangelical conservative fundamentalist teaching is wrong. It is deeply, inherently wrong. And that was the only thing that kept me alive,” she said.

Green credits two DUIs with saving her life at 25. “I should be dead,” she said. The court-ordered programs made her feel “like the scum of the earth,” so “naked and vulnerable, so empty” as she “crawled back out to life again.”

Green became successful in the fashion industry. “I found dignity through work,” she said. But at 27, she was also extremely depressed. She sought help with an affirming therapist who helped her understand God would not condemn her for being gay.

“I realized this was the root cause of much of my depression and anxiety. It just goes to show how deeply affected people can become from the church in a very negative way,” she said. “I felt I had one foot in the grave. I just felt dead inside with no hope.”

Eventually Green was burned out by work and walked away. She decided to go back to school to pursue her love of Scripture. It was in one junior college class that Dr. Tom Elson, a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), introduced her to stories she never heard from a pulpit. Women weren’t submissive to men—they had been leaders in the church in the first century in the New Testament.

Green was shocked—but even more so when the professor was affirming about homosexuality. She came out to him and he told her about scholars who had revised their thinking about homosexuality: Mathew Vines “God and The Gay Christian” and “The Bible’s Yes to Same Sex Marriage: An Evangelical’s Change of Heart” by Mark Achtemeier.

Achtemeier persecuted pro-LGBT congregations. “Then he realized something was wrong and he reevaluated everything,” Green said. “That book changed my life. I

thought, ‘Oh, my God—this is me.”

Green gave the book to her mother who realized the pain the church had caused her daughter, left the evangelical church and joined PCUSA, too.

Green applied to Biola University to further her biblical studies because they had an LGBT community on campus. It turned out, however, that the group was underground. She was unexpectedly asked to take over and boldly invited Mark Achtemeier to speak on campus.

But Green quickly encountered issues with professors teaching ugly homophobic lessons and disregarding her corrections.

“I was the black sheep on campus,” Green said.

When she started to feel unsafe, she transferred to Azusa Pacific University, but stayed on as leader of the Biola LGBT group. Since then Green, now 36, has been working with the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which recently merged with Faith in America, and Equality California to ensure private religious universities do not discriminate against LGBT people.

Green continues to hold demonstrations protesting Biola University’s permission to have an anti-LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ speaker on campus.

“As a Christian and mother of a college student who died by suicide after being cyberbullied on campus because of his sexual orientation, I am hoping that Biola University will follow Christ’s commandment to love their neighbor as themselves,” said Jane Clementi, co-founder of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, at a Dec. 4 demonstration at Biola. “Biola University cannot simultaneously abide by the Christ-like compassion of the Golden Rule, while also supporting policies, speakers, and laws that harm our children.”

The academic piece of Scripture in the Bible is so critical,” Green said, noting she wants to become both ordained and a professor. “The more opportunity we have to get Christian leaders and LGBTQ leaders and people of color in these academic settings where we’re teaching seminarians or teaching people who want to be in biblical studies—that’s the way we can start to make systematic changes within the church.”

Having the evangelical church change its mind on homosexuality seems a doomed goal. But then—Alabama just elected a pro-life, pro-LGBT Democrat over Biblethumping Roy Moore. Miracles do happen, with work, heart and smart thinking.

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 07

LOCAL

Toni Atkins to be next California Senate Pro Tem

Toni Atkins Los Angeles Blade Photo by Karen Ocamb

First woman, first LGBT person to hold position

By KAREN OCAMB kocamb@losangelesblade.com Out San Diego State Sen. Toni Atkins is making history, again. On Thursday, California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De León announced that the Democratic Caucus had selected Atkins as De León’s successor. The formal vote will take place in early January, making Atkins the first woman and first openly LGBT person to hold that august leadership position in the progressive state.

Atkins, 55, was elected to the State Assembly in 2010 and was elected Assembly Speaker in May 2014, succeeding the Legislature’s first openly gay Assembly Speaker, John Perez. She served as speaker from May 2014 until March 2016, when she was elected to the senate.

De León said in a statement that Atkins “will make history and be our Senate’s next president pro tempore. I have every confidence she will lead America’s most accomplished legislative chamber to even greater heights and build on our extraordinary progress.”

“Today, I am humbled by the trust my colleagues have placed in me, and I intend to

earn that trust every day by working tirelessly and inclusively to keep California a place of opportunity for everyone,” Atkins said in a statement. “Given our national divisions, California’s example is more important than ever – and I look forward to working with our President pro Tem and all of our colleagues to ensure that the Senate continues to rise together to meet the challenges faced by the great people we represent.”

Equality California, the statewide LGBT lobbying and advocacy organization, was thrilled, as well.

“Senator Toni Atkins is one of the LGBTQ community’s most respected and effective leaders and her upcoming election as the Senate President Pro Tem breaks multiple glass ceilings,” Rick Zbur, Equality California executive director, said in a statement.

“Electing role models like Senator Atkins is important to the LGBTQ community because it sends a clear message to our community across the country, particularly LGBTQ youth, that LGBTQ people can achieve anything.”

EQCA notes that Atkins has championed groundbreaking bills in her impressive career that have advanced LGBT civil rights—such as SB 179 (Gender Recognition Act of 2017), SB 310 (Name and Dignity Act), AB 1577 (Respect After Death Act), AB 1211 (Transgender Name Changes, Birth and Death Certificates) among many others.

The news comes as wildfires—fueled by

unprecedented Santa Ana winds tearing through San Diego with the county calling more than 100,000 phone numbers through AlertSanDiego to issue evacuation orders or warnings.

Meanwhile, the California Republican delegation in Congress voted to approve a tax bill that eliminated the deduction for personal losses from wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, but kept the break for victims of the recent severe hurricanes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“They actually voted for that bill,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly news conference. “[The members] voted to discriminate against victims of fire.

We certainly want to have the deduction for victims of hurricanes and the rest, but why are they doing this to our state?”

“It’s once again important to note that 11 Republicans in California voted to do violence to the economy of our state,” Pelosi said.

Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said in a statement that a supplemental funding bill would provide fire disaster aid for California. “I look forward to passing that supplemental funding package — which will include tax relief that Leader Pelosi and I agree on — and I look forward to her support for tax reform that incorporates this wildfire tax relief and allows the deduction for personal losses and other tax relief for Californians and other victims of the recent disasters,” he said.

Pelosi noted pointed out that if the California House Republicans had voted against the tax reform bill, which passed by an 11-vote margin, the bill would have failed.

Fire damage will be a problem long after Atkins assumes her new office, though her historic swearing-in should be a welcome break from persistent bad news.

Meanwhile, despite a last ditch campaign skirmish that had some LGBT politicos calling homophobia-foul, LGBT ally Wendy Carrillo, a labor activist, won the Dec. 5 special election to complete former Los Angeles assemblymember Jimmy Gomez’s term, which expires Dec. 3, 2018. Carrillo’s gay opponent, Luis Lopez, conceded after the 129 precincts voted for Carrillo over López by a 52.83% to 47.17% margin—a 943 vote difference among voters in the Silver Lake-Eagle Rock-East LA district.

Carrillo was the nominee of the California political established, with significant backing from US Senate candidate, California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and out State Sen. Ricardo Lara.

López told the Los Angeles Times that the two progressive Democrats share similar positions on issues such as healthcare and affordable housing, graciously adding that her victory is “a win” for northeast Los Angeles.

“I wish her the best,” Lopez told The Times.

“I hope she will reach out to my supporters as she continues to build her base.”

LOCAL

08 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

Sexual harassment reaches a tipping point High-profile abusers falling like dominoes in #MeToo era

By KAREN OCAMB kocamb@losangelesblade.com

TIME magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year cover features five women and the arm of an anonymous sixth woman representing ‘The Silence Breakers,’ the people who have spoken up about sexual harassment and abuse.

This is what a tipping point looks like.

The once-common practice of entitled men sexually abusing, harassing and intimidating women (and men) is now being met with public exposure, pushback and the power of the #MeToo movement pressuring change, including calls for President Trump to be investigated or resign over alleged sexual harassment. Trump denies the allegations, despite his bragging on the Access Hollywood tape about kissing and grabbing powerless women by the pussy because he’s a star.

Recognizing the transformational moment, Time magazine declared “The Silence Breakers” as the 2017 Person of the Year.

The explosion of sexual harassment and abuse allegations against Bill Cosby and through a lawsuit filed by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson against heretofore untouchable media guru Roger Ailes encouraged women and men to break their silence about Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein and closeted gay actor Kevin Spacey. The #MeToo movement was born.

Since then, names of the accused have been dropping daily in every profession— equalizing the accusers from Hollywood star to the undocumented hotel housekeeper whose job fragility forced them into silence or the economic complicity of consent.

Perhaps one of the biggest developments is that the accused harassers are not the only ones being called out. Now the person at the top is being held responsible, too—such as the Dec. 10 forced resignation of the 20-year CEO of pioneering LGBT Fenway Community Health Center, Stephen L. Boswell, who failed to inform the board and properly handle allegations of sexual harassment toward at least three male employees and bullying of male and female co-workers by Dr. Harvey J. Makadon, 70, until a Boston

Globe investigation exposed the cover up.

Time will tell, but the “casting couch” has apparently been tossed onto the junk heap of history after serious charges were leveled at Hollywood talent agents, including APA agent Tyler Grasham who is being investigated by the LAPD for a “sodomy crime” after actor Tyler Cornell filed a police report, according to Variety. Filmmaker Blaise Godbe Lipman identified Grasham as the man who sexually assaulted him as a teenager.

“The powerful agents knew about Harvey [Weinstein], but it was more important to maintain their relationship with him,” a longtime producer anonymously told The Hollywood Reporter in early November.

“Both sides had a mutual benefit to make it go away. That’s the real cover-up.”

Some corporations and Hollywood companies are being proactive. Both the Creative Artist Agency (CAA) and ICM Partners announced plans to achieve 50-50 gender parity in management and on their board of directors in the next two years.

Some state houses—including the California Legislature—are also grappling with workplace sexual harassment policies since human resource department personnel too often tend to defend the company rather investigate employee allegations.

The world is now watching the contretemps between Trump and possible 2020 challenger, New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, who says no one, including the president, is above the law.

Gillibrand renewed a call for Trump’s resignation after a Dec. 11 Los Angeles news conference by three of Trump’s 16 accusers who came forward with accusations in 2016 but were largely ignored.

“President Trump has committed assault, according to these women, and those are very credible allegations of misconduct and criminal activity, and he should be fully investigated and he should resign,” Gillibrand said on CNN. “These allegations are credible; they are numerous. I’ve heard these women’s testimony, and many of them are heartbreaking.”

Gillibrand joins five other senators in calling for Trump’s resignation—but he only attacked her. “Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Charles E. Schumer and someone who would come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump,” the president tweeted Dec. 12. “Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!” Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Trump out on his sexist innuendo. “Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand? Do you know who you’re picking a fight with? Good luck with that, @realDonaldTrump. Nevertheless, #shepersisted,” she tweeted.

At a later news conference Gillibrand, who has a track record fighting against sexual assault on campus and in the military, said Trump’s tweet was “a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice.”

“I will not be silent on this issue, neither will women who stood up to the president yesterday and neither will the millions of women who have been marching since the Women’s March to stand up against policies they do not agree with,” Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand is among a growing chorus congressional women and men who have called upon the Republican-run House Oversight Committee to launch investigations into the allegations made

by Trump’s accusers. However, unless Democrats take back the House in 2018, those investigations seem unlikely.

Nonetheless, there’s an odd sense of hope at the obvious double standard. “Maybe, in this moment of #MeToo, [Trump’s accusers] will finally be heard,” wrote LA Times columnist Robin Abcarian.

“I see all these other men resigning or facing some sort of consequences for their actions,” Samantha Holvey, 31, told Abcarian. “It’s telling men in America, ‘Hey, if you want to do and say things that are inappropriate with women, you can’t be a Hollywood producer or actor or legislator, but you can be president.’”

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 09

LOCAL

Orthodox Christian cleric supports marriage equality in Armenia ‘Jesus said to love one another, there was no exception’

By DAWN ENNIS A high-ranking member of the clergy in Armenia’s Apostolic Church has stunned the world’s oldest established Christian community by joining the fight for marriage equality in the former Soviet republic.

Equality Armenia, or EqAr, recently announced that Father Vazken Movsesian has accepted a spot on the board of directors of the newly-formed nonprofit, whose mission is to legalize same-sex marriage in Armenia.

In an interview with a Los Angeles radio journalist, Father Movsesian compared the historic persecution of Armenians across the border in the majority-Muslim nation of Turkey, and the Armenian Genocide, to actions by those who reject the LGBTQ community.

“We’ve been persecuted because we were not accepted, because we were different,” Movsesian told KPFK radio. “As an Armenian Christian, how can I possibly close my eyes to what’s going on in the world? And it’s not just in Armenia, just everywhere, this intolerance.”

That intolerance is evident in Armenia, where a 2016 survey

by Pink Armenia found 90 percent of the country’s population is hostile toward LGBTQ people, and support limiting their civil rights. Pink Armenia became the nation’s first grassroots LGBTQ organization when it was founded in 2007.

The mountainous South Caucasus region where Armenia is located is rife with horrifying acts of violence and homophobia, said Los Angeles-based LGBTQrights advocate Amen Abelyan. He founded EqAr in early November, and in a press release, called Movsesian’s support “very significant,” given that the Armenian Apostolic Church is Christianity’s oldest church. In 301 A.D., he said, Armenia adopted Christianity as state religion more than a decade before the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire that would spawn the Roman Catholic Church.

“Jesus said to love one another, there was no exception,” Movsesian told gay radio host Cary Harrison. “There was no clause to it.”

Movsesian told Harrison that when he served as a priest in San Francisco in the early 1990s, he heard the confession of a young Armenian man who sought his advice before coming out, fearing his family would reject him. “If this is who he is,” Movsesian recalled thinking, “why am I not there with him? This is his nature, mine is to accept, and that was my awakening.”

“We have this opportunity to extend our hand to oneanother and make this world a better place,” he told Harrison.

Movsesian’s biography reveals that in his 32 years as a cleric, the Los Angeles native has worked to merge ancient traditions and practices of Armenian Orthodoxy with contemporary themes. He has worked around the world including in his ancestral homeland, where his parents survived the 1915 Genocide and escaped to America.

Movsesian also founded “In His Shoes,” a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting all those who suffer in the world. He says he created this effort as a response to the Genocide more than a century ago.

Abelyan is an immigrant from Armenia who arrived in the U.S. at age 19, and in addition to community organizing had a career in accounting and law enforcement. He was the Board President of Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society, or GALAS, prior to founding EqAr, which works to empower NGOs in Armenia. WeHo Times reported he is so passionate about his mission to achieve marriage equality in Armenia, that he is underwriting the non-profit organization until funds are raised through donations.

And the struggle of LGBTQ Armenians is not limited to their homeland. The latest report on hate crimes issued Nov. 16 by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Rights showed that for the first time in many years, the largest targeted group were gay men, lesbians and LGBT organizations, surpassing hate crimes against anti-African Americans. And given that Armenian-Americans were also singled-out for hate, LGBTQ Armenians are that much more at risk.

Their plight goes far beyond Southern California. The California Department of Justice released its annual report on hate crimes in July, showing an 11.2 percent spike across all marginalized groups — the second year in a row for double-digit increases, which political experts blamed on President Trump’s hate-filled messages and bullying tactics.

The focus on winning marriage equality back home can be achieved in concert with efforts here and in other nations where Armenians live, which Abelyan calls the Diaspora.

“I understand that Equality Armenia’s mission is a lofty goal,” he says in a press release heralding Movsesian’s decision to join EqAr’s board of directors. Already, some progress has been made, with Armenia’s Ministry of Justice declaring earlier this year that international marriage licenses, including for same-sex couples, are valid in Armenia.

“It is time for Armenia to extend the same rights to its own citizens,” Abelyan says.

On Dec. 2, EqAr held its first fundraiser, a night of comedy in Pasadena hosted by comics Mary Basmadjian and Movses Shakarian, who are also members of the nonprofit’s board. Organizers said 100 percent of the proceeds were to benefit Pink Armenia, which is headquartered in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.

Abelyan’s organization holds a monthly mixer as well, with the next meet-up set for Jan. 15 at The Black Cat on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Father Vazken Movsesian Photo Courtesy EqAr

Armen Abelyan Photo Courtesy EqAr

LOCAL

10 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

Chenoweth tells of friend’s suicide at TrevorLIVE Trevor Project honors Kristin Chenoweth and Tom Ford

By KAREN OCAMB kocamb@losangelesblade.com

Kristin Chenoweth singing.

Photo by Getty Images on behalf of The Trevor Project

It was a breathtaking moment. LGBT sweetheart Kristin Chenoweth, the funny and gracious star of Sunday’s TrevorLIVE gala, took the stage at the Beverly Hilton to accept the Icon Award, presented by legend Carol Burnett, when her spunky personality took a turn toward the unexpected. The audience was at first caught off guard until the ballroom silenced, understanding that Chenoweth was telling a personal story about why the award from the LGBT suicide prevention organization meant so much to her.

Chenoweth’s close high school friend Jeff was gay.

“I was just unaware, I was just living in the bubble,” Chenoweth said, laughing slightly at the oblique reference to her “Wicked” character Glinda. “But once I found out what it was, I figured out I wanted to be involved forever and ever, amen.”

Chenoweth appeared to be bracing to tell a secret. “In high school, I had a friend named Jeff. I’ll just leave it at that – Jeff is his name. And he was my prince to my Cinderella,” she said, recalling those times. “The minute he complimented my shoes, I knew we were going to be best friends. And of course, he was different. He would say to me, ‘I can’t really talk about it.’ At church, ‘I’ll tell you later,’ he would say. ‘I am a Christian but I can’t tell you who I really am,’ he would say.

“We went away to college and I would write him a letter,” she said pausing for a minute to explain what a letter was to young people watching the live-streamed event. “He would say, ‘tough times. Tough times.’ He was in a fraternity and they were not being so great to him and he was really struggling. (Chenoweth chokes up) and I was hoping he would find his way. But this was 1988 and he didn’t really know about The Trevor Project and we didn’t have it. So Jeff… had to move on to heaven.

“I think he made a decision and I know that tonight he is looking down on me and he is saying ‘thank you, Kris. Thank you.’ So that is why The Trevor Project is important for kids now – to know that you are not alone and you are important and you do matter,” Chenoweth said.

Chenoweth was supposed to sing “Over the Rainbow,” but decided to switch to “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables. It was clear she was singing to and for Jeff and when she choked up, briefly struggling to go on, the audience supported her, just as the LGBT family of choice tries to help its desperate youth and the pained survivors of a loved one’s suicide.

Asked why recent youth suicides were not specifically mentioned at the event, a Trevor Project spokesperson said

they were concerned about discussing specific stories for fear of the “contagion” effect in at risk youth who might be watching the live-streaming of the event.

“Suicide is a public health crisis that claims the lives of tens of thousands of people each year in the United States.

The Trevor Project mourns the loss of every person in this country who dies by suicide and is working tirelessly every day to support youth in crisis. Our hearts go out to every family that is grieving over the loss of a young person from suicide,” said the spokesperson.

“Today, The Trevor Project is needed more than ever. The day after the presidential election last fall, calls to our 24/7 lifeline from youth in crisis more than doubled,” said The Trevor Project’s new CEO and Executive Director Amit Paley.

“And every time a decision from this administration comes out that harms LGBTQ youth—especially trans youth—our call volume spikes. Today, we are serving more young people in crisis than at any point in our nearly 20-year history.”

Paley also explained that The Trevor Project wants to expand youth’s access to resources, building up its text and chat lines, as well as its central call line: 1-866-488-7386.

The spokesperson said the organization raised over $1 million dollars at the event, though they are still collecting pledges and tallying up the in-room giving before announcing the final total.

Film director and fashion designer Tom Ford was honored with the Hero Award, which was presented by “Call Me by Your Name” actor Armie Hammer, who was weirdly interrupted by Fergi promoting her latest song.

“Unfortunately, many young people don’t grow up in an environment in which they feel comfortable enough to be themselves or in which to explore exactly who they may truly be. And that is what the Trevor Project is helping to insure,” said the director of “Nocturnal Animals.” “We all know that we are currently enduring a political environment that thrives on hate, and division, and so we must work harder to ensure that we celebrate and fight for inclusion, understanding, and most importantly love.”

Among the other stars and entertainers was Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project, who told of suffering terrible abuse and so-called “conversion therapy” at the hands of loving, deeply religious parents. When California Gov. Jerry Brown signed then-State Sen. Ted Lieu’s legislation banning “conversion therapy” in 2012, he said: “This bill bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery.”

The message to LGBT youth throughout the evening was that they are loved and matter. If you need help, call the TrevorLifeline at 866-488-7386.”

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LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 11

Six major wildfires, fueled by Santa Ana winds reaching 40 mph, torched a wide swath of Southern California, with the raging Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties torching hundreds of thousands of acres—larger than all of New York City and Boston combined—forcing the evacuation of 93,243 people, making it the fifth largest wildfire in modern California history. At one point on Dec. 7, the Skirball fire in the wealthy Bel-Air district threatened the Getty Museum. As of midDecember, the human death toll was only one, a 70-year-old woman fleeing the fire. However, dozens of horses died outside of Los Angeles. LGBT community donors Michael Lombardo, the former head of HBO, and his husband Sonny Ward, who owns the June Street Architecture firm in West Hollywood, lost their avocado ranch in Ojai but with son Johnny were able to save their horses. – Karen Ocamb

QUOTES “Everyone in the Montecito area is checking up on each other and helping to get people and animals to safety.”

-Ellen DeGeneres tweeted after she and wife Portia de Rossi evacuated their six rescue pets (3 cats, 3 dogs) from the #ThomasFire.

“Our goal is zero new transmissions as well as zero stigma.”

- Phil Yaeger, CEO of Radiant Health Centers, which just changed its name from AIDS Services Foundation Orange County, which has helped people HIV for 32 years.

“Wherever I end up, I plan to continue to be part of the more critical than ever fight for social justice in our country.”

– Jon Davidson to the Los Angeles Blade after leaving Lambda Legal, where he has been 22 years, 13 of which he served as the highly regarded legal director.

Photo courtesy Michael Lombardo and Sonny Ward

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LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 13

NATIONAL

‘A great day for Alabama’ Jones stuns homophobe Moore in win seen as rebuke of Trump, Bannon

By CHRIS JOHNSON In a stunning political development celebrated by LGBT rights advocates, Democrat Doug Jones defeated notorious homophobe Roy Moore in an Alabama special election Tuesday for a U.S. Senate seat.

According to New York Times estimates, Jones, a former U.S. prosecutor, won 50 percent of the vote over Moore, who has a long career as an attorney and judge and who captured about 48 percent of the vote. Major media outlets called the election for Jones at 10:25 p.m. EST. Jones told supporters in Birmingham after his win he thinks he’s “been waiting for this all my life, and now I just don’t know what the hell to say.”

“I have always said that the people of Alabama have more in common than what divides,” Jones said. “We have shown the country the way that we can be unified.”

Jones gave thanks to the black community in Alabama, which had a large turnout widely seen as a major factor in his win, as well as Latinos. Jones also wished his Jewish friends a “happy Hanukkah.”

Concluding his remarks, Jones said Alabama has often been at the crossroads of U.S. history, but voters that night “took the right road.” The audience chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” Jones pulled off a stunning win against Moore in a deep red state that President Trump won by a handy margin in 2016. Jones is the first Democrat to win statewide election in Alabama since 1992.

Endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, Jones has expressed support for LGBT rights. The senator-elect was caught on camera telling a supporters the Trump administration was “wrong” to have rescinded Title IX guidance assuring transgender kids access to the school restrooms consistent with their gender identity. Further, Jones said Trump’s transgender military ban was “wrong.”

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the election demonstrates “attacking and demonizing the LGBTQ community is a sure-fire way to get yourself beat on Election Day.” “Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama is monumental, and was made possible by the overwhelming and unprecedented, grassroots resistance of ordinary Alabamians against the politics of hate and division,” Griffin said. “From our victories in North Carolina, Virginia, and now in Alabama, equality voters have proven that LGBTQ people and our allies are a voting bloc to be respected, sought-after and feared by candidates on both sides of the aisle.”

Moore faced accusations of sexual misconduct from nine women over his campaign, including three accusations of sexual assault, which likely affected Alabama voters.

The most prominent accuser was Leigh Corfman, who said Moore sexually assaulted her in 1979, when she was 14 and he was 32. Another, Beverly Young Nelson, said when she was 15 in 1977 she received unwelcome attention from Moore. Nelson said one

year later Moore sexually assaulted her. Other women accused of him pursuing inappropriate relationships with them when they were teenagers.

Moore was already well known in the LGBT community for his hostility toward LGBT rights, even when it meant abandoning the rule of law. Many LGBT observers predicted a Moore win would have been tantamount to a revival of late Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, who championed homophobic policies during his tenure in Congress.

After he started his run for the U.S. Senate, a tape emerged from 2005 in which Moore said same-sex relationships, which were illegal in many states just two years earlier before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, should be criminalized.

On the day of the election, CNN reporter Jake Tapper questioned Moore spokesperson Ted Crockett if the candidate still believes homosexuality should be illegal. His response: “Probably.”

Asked what the punishment should be, Crockett replied, “It’s just a sin, OK? That’s what it is.” Pressed further, Crockett said, “It’s what my Bible tells me. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament.” (Although the Old Testament calls when a “man lies with a male as with a woman” an “abomination,” the admonitions in the New Testament on homosexuality are sometimes seen instead as prohibitions on male prostitutes and pederasty.)

“That’s what this is about,” Crockett added. “You people want to take the whole two or three thousand years of our history, and ya’ll just want to throw it out the window as if you’re just going to make your own rules, your own man-made rules, and do whatever you want in sin. And that’s part of the problem we’ve got in Washington, D.C., today.”

Lane Galbraith, a transgender activist in Mobile, Ala., said the election results were a step forward for his state.

“Alabamians can hold their heads high,” Galbraith said. “We overcame white supremacy, bigotry, ignorance and religious oppression.”

The most prominent part of Moore’s anti-LGBT record was his opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling for same-sex marriage. Moore called the decision “an immoral, unconstitutional and tyrannical opinion” and instructed Alabama state judges to ignore federal rulings in favor of marriage equality.

Last year, Moore issued a directive saying despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision for same-sex marriage, probate judges should still deny marriage licenses to gay couples because the Alabama Supreme Court never withheld its 2015 ruling upholding the state law against gay nuptials.

For encouraging state officials to defy federal courts, the Alabama judicial court suspended Moore for the remainder of his term from the Alabama Supreme Court, determining Moore “failed to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.”

(It wasn’t the first time Moore was suspended from the bench. It happened in 2003 when he refused to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building.)

Doug Jones is the first Democrat to win a statewide race in Alabama in 25 years.

Photo by Doug Jones for Senate Committee; Courtesy Wikimedia

NATIONAL

14 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

Pentagon to allow trans enlistments January 1 after court order

The Pentagon under Secretary Jim Mattis will allow transgender service members to enlist starting Jan. 1.

Judge denies DOJ’s request for a temporary stay on accessions

By CHRIS JOHNSON The Pentagon has affirmed it will allow transgender enlistments starting Jan. 1 on the same day a federal judge asserted her order against President Trump’s ban on their service means they can accede into the military on that target date.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Clinton appointee, issued the order Monday in response to a request from the U.S. Justice Department for a temporary stay on the portion of her order requiring the Pentagon to admit transgender service members starting Jan. 1.

“For more than a year preceding the summer of 2017, it was the policy and intention of the military that transgender individuals would soon begin to accede,” Kollar-Kotelly said.

“Moreover, the court issued the preliminary injunction in this case approximately six weeks ago, and since then defendants have been on notice that they would be required to implement the

previously established policy of beginning to accept transgender individuals on January 1, 2018.

In other words, with only a brief hiatus, defendants have had the opportunity to prepare for the accession of transgender individuals into the military for nearly one and a half years.”

Kollar-Kotelly also takes a jab at the Justice Department over the process in which it requested a stay, saying the “portrayal of their situation as an emergency is belied by their litigation tactics.”

She notes the appeal of her initial decision didn’t come until weeks later and the request for a partial stay didn’t come until December.

“If complying with the military’s previously established January 1, 2018 deadline to begin accession was as unmanageable as defendants now suggest, one would have expected defendants to act with more alacrity,” KollarKotelly writes.

The judge had already clarified in response to a request from the U.S. government that her order against Trump’s transgender military ban, issued in response to a lawsuit filed

by GLBTQ Advocates & Defenders and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, means transgender enlistments must begin Jan. 1.

That was the target date Defense Secretary James Mattis established

for transgender enlistment in a memo he issued in June delaying that change in policy for another six months in response to a joint request from military service chiefs.

Transgender enlistments were initially scheduled to begin June 30 as a result of a change initiated in the Obama era under former Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement the Trump administration’s assertion “our highly sophisticated military is unprepared to implement a minor policy change after more than a year of preparation are simply not credible.”

“The military has studied this issue extensively and determined that permitting qualified transgender people to enlist and serve will only strengthen our nation’s armed forces,” Minter writes. “This administration’s claim that allowing transgender people to enlist will lessen military preparedness is contradicted by the military’s own conclusions.”

The Justice Department has already appealed KollarKotelly’s decision against Trump’s transgender ban as well as her clarification it means transgender enlistments must begin Jan. 1 to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in D.C. Meanwhile,

the Justice Department has also appealed an order against the transgender ban issued by a federal judge in Maryland as a result of a separate lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lauren Ehrsam, a Justice Department spokesperson, is quoted in the Washington Post as saying the department disagrees with the ruling and is “currently evaluating the next steps.”

“Plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging military service requirements is premature for many reasons, including that the Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the president ordered, and because none of the plaintiffs have established they they will be impacted by current policies on military service,” Ehrsam reportedly added.

Prior to the ruling, as reported by the Associated Press, the Pentagon announced Monday it’s preparing to admit transgender people into the armed forces starting Jan. 1 despite the Justice Department’s continued efforts to fight the court orders.

Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesperson, told the Washington Blade the U.S. military “will begin processing transgender applicants

for military service on January 1, 2018” as legal opportunities to challenging the court orders are evaluated.

Eastburn said the Pentagon will still disqualify potential recruits with “gender dysphoria, a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition and those who underwent reconstruction.”

However, those recruits, Eastburn said, will be allowed into the military if a medical provider certifies they’ve been clinically stable in their gender identity for 18 months and “are free of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, questioned on the Pentagon announcement by NBC News during the daily briefing, said the change reflects the requirements of court orders against Trump’s transgender military ban.

“As of right now, they’re simply complying with a court order and preparing to implement a previous policy to remain in compliance,” Sanders said.

Sanders added, however, the Justice Department is “currently reviewing the legal options to ensure that the president’s directive can be implemented,” deferring additional questions to the department.

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 15

INTERNATIONAL

Bermuda poised to repeal marriage equality Members of the Bermuda House of Representatives approved a bill that would repeal marriage rights for samesex couples in the British island territory.

The Royal Gazette newspaper reported lawmakers approved the Domestic Partnership Act — which would allow same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married — by a 24-10 margin.

Lawmakers debated the measure for five hours on Dec. 8 before they voted on it.

“As it stands now, they can have the name marriage but without the benefits,” said MP Lawrence Scott, according to the Royal Gazette. “But after this bill passes, they have the benefits and just not the name marriage.

The benefits are what they really want.”

LGBT rights advocates in Bermuda have sharply criticized the bill.

More than 60 percent of Bermuda voters in 2016 rejected marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples in a nonbinding referendum. Same-sex couples have nevertheless been able to marry in Bermuda since Charles-Etta Simmons, a judge on the territory’s Supreme Court, ruled in favor of the issue.

The Bermuda Senate will now consider the Domestic Partnership Act, which will become law if Gov. John Rankin signs it. His government would become the first in the world to rescind marriage rights for same-sex couples if the measure takes effect. The Senate was set to deliberate and vote after Blade press time.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Trans woman running for Colombian Senate

Tatiana Piñeros is a transgender woman who was a member of former Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro’s cabinet.

She spoke with the Blade at her home in Bogotá on Sept. 27.

Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — A transgender woman who is running for the Colombian Senate hopes to make history in the South American country.

Tatiana Piñeros on Monday formally registered her candidacy with Colombian election officials.

Piñeros is ninth among the list of candidates for the “List of Decency” — a coalition that includes the center-left Independent Social Alliance and Patriotic Union parties and the Indigenous and Social Alternative Movement.

Congressional elections are scheduled to take place on March 11. Piñeros would become the first openly trans person elected to the Colombian congress if she receives enough votes.

“We need to have new voices,” she told the Washington Blade on Tuesday from the Colombian capital of Bogotá. “We need new leaders.”

Piñeros was born and raised in Bogotá.

She transitioned a decade ago when she was working for a public relations company.

Piñeros ran Bogotá’s social welfare agency and tourism office during the administration of former Bogotá Mayor Gustavo Petro that ended in 2015. She also participated in a Victory Institute-sponsored event on LGBT Colombians’ involvement in their country’s political process that took place in Bogotá in 2013.

Piñeros told the Blade in September during a sit-down interview at her apartment that overlooks Bogotá’s Chapinero neighborhood that trans people have less access to education and employment opportunities because of discrimination based on gender identity. She told the Blade on Tuesday that increased access to health care with a “different approach to trans people” is part of her campaign platform.

“I am moving forward with every desire to represent not only LGBT people but all of Colombian society,” added Piñeros, noting her platform also includes free public education and fighting for people with disabilities.

Piñeros also discussed the peace agreement that President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londoño, the thencommander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed in the city of Cartagena on Sept. 26, 2016.

Voters narrowly rejected the agreement — which specifically acknowledged the war’s LGBT victims — in a referendum that took place a few days later. Santos renegotiated the agreement with the FARC and the Colombian congress ratified it last November.

The FARC and the Colombian government began to implement the agreement earlier this year.

“Social issues must be addressed in the post-conflict scenario because that is what is going to prevent or provoke a new conflict in the country,” Piñeros told the Blade on Tuesday. “People without opportunities fall into delinquency and we cannot think about militarization, we cannot think about filling the streets with police officers. We need to address the social issue.”

Piñeros would join a handful of openly trans elected officials in Latin America if she were elected.

Michelle Suarez, who is a member of the Uruguayan Communist Party, is the first openly trans person elected to the country’s Senate. She told the Blade after she assumed her seat on Oct. 11 that she feels “very honored” to have made history in her country.

Diane Rodríguez earlier this year won a seat in Ecuador’s congress when she ran on the ticket of current Congressman Carlos Vera, a former World Cup referee who was a candidate for the left-leaning Movimiento Alianza PAIS party. Tamara Adrián, a member of the left-leaning Popular Will party that is part of the opposition against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in 2015 was elected to the country’s National Assembly.

Luisa Revilla in 2014 became the first openly trans person elected to public office in Peru after she won a seat on the local council in La Esperanza, a city that is located in the province of Trujillo. Adela Hernández in 2012 became the first openly trans person to hold public office in Cuba when she became a member of the Caibarién Municipal Council in the province of Villa Clara.

Colombian Congresswoman Angélica Lozano in March confirmed to the Blade that she is running for the Senate.

Lozano, who is bisexual, in 2014 became the first openly LGBT person elected to the Colombian congress.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

16 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

VOLUme 01 ISSUe 20

Building LGBTQ political power across the nation Celebrating 15th anniversary of David Bohnett scholarship program at Harvard

Michael Fleming is executive director of the David Bohnett Foundation.

Election Night 2017 was a historic one for the LGBTQ community. Candidates across the country campaigned hard, talked to voters, raised funds, and spread their message. Their diligent work paid off. Forty LGBTQ candidates won their races. And now, more than ever, it is crucial that LGBTQ leaders have a seat at the table when critical decisions affecting our rights are made.

In 2002, at the suggestion of our good friend Fred Hochberg, a number of funders met in the Washington, D.C. home of Marylouise Oates to pool their funds to cover several partial scholarships to the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard Kennedy School. The program had existed for decades, but, even by its own admission, it suffered at times from a lack of diversity, including the absence of exceptional LGBTQ elected and appointed officials.

The Fellowship that the funders created was immensely popular, and it quickly became clear to all of us that a larger longterm commitment was required. Victory Institute’s mission is “to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ officials at all levels of government.” Its mission makes Victory Institute the perfect partner for the nation’s premier leadership program; you see, as funders, it’s our goal to bring likeminded folks together. This, to us, seemed a match made in progressive policy heaven.

In 2005, the Los Angeles-based David

Bohnett Foundation began to fund the program in earnest and, since then, with our investment of more than $1.7MM, the David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellows Program has become not simply a signature program for Harvard and Victory Institute but a great example to other funders about the power of investing in the leaders who will determine the future of our community and, indeed, our country. Designed for senior and midcareer executives from state, county, and local governments, as well as their elected counterparts, the curriculum thrives on the political expertise and real-world experience of its esteemed participants. Fellows for each class are chosen to represent a full spectrum of governmental levels, functional responsibilities, geographic distribution, and diversity in the LGBTQ community.

Funders are always asked how we measure the success of a grant. When I look at the caliber and quality of the 143 fellows whom we’ve helped attend Harvard, the transformative leadership skills they’ve developed, and the essential relationships they’ve honed both in Cambridge and after they’ve returned home, I know that by any measure this program is a success.

This training has enabled those leaders to move forward in their careers and achieve higher levels of public service, including: • Jolie Justus – Missouri State Senate, now running for mayor of Kansas City • Ricardo Lara – member of the California State Senate, now running for insurance commissioner • Annise Parker – former mayor of Houston, now set to become president and CEO of Victory Fund and Victory Institute • David Richardson – Florida state representative, now running for Congress in 2018 • Brian K. Sims – former staff counsel for policy and planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association, now a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 182nd district • Kyrsten Sinema – U.S. Representative from Arizona’s 9th congressional district, now running for U.S. Senate against an anti-LGBTQ challenger

• Lupe Valdez – Dallas County Sheriff, an elected position, now running for governor of Texas In the past several decades, the LGBTQ community has made significant strides in achieving equality, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning California Proposition 8, helping make marriage equality the law of the land; gains in employment and healthcare protections; repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the U.S. military; and establishing the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act. However, in the time of Trump and its accompanying surge of homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy, these advancements are under threat. For instance, Trump wants to reinstate a ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, while a federal court ruled that the military must pay for trans-inclusive medical services, including genderaffirming surgeries. It is vital that we have highly skilled representatives at all levels of government to safeguard our rights – as court challenges may or may not result in positive outcomes.

We are encouraged by the recent election wins that more than doubled the number of elected openly transgender officials in the United States, creating much needed visibility for the trans community and more pressure on lawmakers to make progress on equal rights legislation.

With these landmark victories, we look forward to welcoming more trans applicants for the 2018 Bohnett Fellows program. We encourage members of the LGBTQ community to consider applying to the Harvard Senior Executives Program, three-week sessions that take place during the months of June and July. Individuals wishing to be considered should apply to both the Harvard Kennedy School and Victory Institute. See further details at victoryinstitute.org/bohnett.

The Bohnett Leadership Fellows’ increasing power and influence in local, state and national governance is supported by the David Bohnett Foundation’s mission to improve society through social activism by applying philanthropy strategically.

ADDRESS 5455 Wilshire Blvd #1505, Los Angeles, CA 90036 PHONE 310-230-5266 E-MAIL tmasters@losangelesblade.com INTERNET losangelesblade.com PUBLISHED BY Los Angeles Blade, LLC PUBLISHER TROY MASTERS tmasters@losangelesblade.com 310-230-5266 x8080 (o), 917-406-1619 (c) SALES & MARKETING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE FRANK MORALES fmorales@losangelesblade.com 310-230-5266 x8095 ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TRACY PAASO tpaaso@losangelesblade.com 310-230-5266 x9459 PALM SPRINGS ACCOUNT EXEC BRAD FUHR, 760-813-2020. brad@gaydesertguide.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA sales@rivendellmedia.com, 212-242-6863 MARKETING DIRECTOR STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com, 202-747-2077 x8077 EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com, 202-747-2077 x8088 NEWS EDITOR KAREN OCAMB karenocamb@losangelesblade.com INTERNATIONAL EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com CONTRIBUTORS CHARLES KAISER, ALAN MILLER, TIM MILLER, MAER ROSHAN, HOLLY HUGHES, KIT WINTER, BRAD LAMM, DAVID EHRENSTEIN, STEVEN ERICKSON, LILLIAN FADERMAN, ORIOL GUTTIEREZ, SETH HEMMELGARN, ROBIN TYLER, CHRIS AZZOPARD, ALLEN ROSKOFF, JOHN PAUL KING, JOHN MCHUGH-DENNIS, MELODY MUNDY, ROBERT WILLIAMS, DAN ALLEN, BRAD FUHR, WINSTON GEISEKE, RICHARD ANDREOLI, DREW MACKIE, JOEY DIGUGLIELMO, CHRIS JOHNSON, LOU CHIBBARO JR., MARIAH COOPER, ABBY DEES, REBEKAH SAGER, JOHN MCHUGH-DENNIS, MIKE CIRIACO CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZercreATIVe.cOm DISTRIBUTION CHRISTOPHER JACKSON, 562-826-6602 All material in the Los Angeles Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Los Angeles Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons.

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LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 17

Political earthquake in Alabama Dems now have chance to take back both chambers of Congress

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist.

The voters of Alabama have spoken and elected Doug Jones. This is a huge loss for President Trump, as it can have major implications for his entire agenda. It is a stunning win for Democrats.

Now that this election is over we still need to look at all the issues that were brought to the fore prior to Tuesday when we had no way to know how the people of Alabama would vote in the special election to replace Jeff Sessions, who was named by Trump to be attorney general. Trump won Alabama by just under 30 percent, which was actually 1.5 percent more than Mitt Romney won it in 2012. In 2014, Sessions ran unopposed in both the Republican primary and the general election, capturing more than 97 percent of the vote.

So based on that backdrop the idea that Doug Jones running as a fairly liberal prochoice Democrat had a chance in hell of winning is incredible. But the polling in Alabama was all over the place with a general feeling that the race between him and Roy Moore was too close to call.

Clearly there was an unusual situation with Moore being accused of molesting teenagers and harassing and abusing a series of women. In just about any other state this surely would have kept him off the ballot. In Alabama, the governor (a Republican and a woman) said she had no reason to not believe the women making

Republican and accused pedophile Roy Moore lost his Senate bid to Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday.

Screencapture via Youtube

allegations against Moore but would still vote for him. We heard evangelical pastors support Moore some with the rationale that even if he abused teenagers electing him was better than the Democrat’s position on abortion, which was enough for them to say morally Moore was the best choice because abortion could kill millions of unborn babies while Moore has only abused the living and not all that many. Incredible to most of us not living in Alabama and not being of a rabid evangelical faith.

Alabama schools rank 8th worst in the country and their economy is the 8th worst, so other states have even bigger problems; but none had the focus of the nation centered on what Alabamians would do in this election. This was less about education and economy than it is about moral values.

What would this election say about what the people of Alabama consider moral enough for a politician? Would they want to be known as the state willing to send an abuser of children to the United States Senate?

The race also became a trial for the

Republican Party. The Republican Party in Alabama determined it would continue to support Moore even with all the allegations against him. Initially the national Republican Party withdrew its support. But then Trump, who claims his right to harass and abuse women and has a series of women making allegations against him, decided to give a full-throated endorsement of Moore and the Republican National Committee, representing the Republican Party, once again changed course and endorsed Moore.

There were some Republican senators embarrassed enough to say they wouldn’t vote for him including the other Alabama senator, Richard Shelby, who said he instead wrote in a name because he couldn’t vote for Moore. Some Republican senators threatened to vote to expel Moore were he elected.

So, as the people of Alabama went to the polls everyone held their breath. Trump’s tax plan may be on the line. Republicans would be saddled with Moore win or lose as Democrats in 2018 will make hay of the fact

that the party endorsed him.

Democrats will be debating if Jones had not been a pro-choice Democrat but rather a pro-life Democrat like Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) would the race have been easier by taking that issue out of the equation. Can the Democratic Party get beyond some of its most ardent progressives and be a big enough tent to allow for pro-life Democrats to run in areas where being pro-choice in a normal election basically guarantees losing?

Will they accept a Democratic candidate with Casey’s position who commits to vote for the Democratic leadership and says his position doesn’t mean he would defund Planned Parenthood?

The election of Doug Jones doesn’t in any way end some of these discussions and both parties will have to look deep into how they will run in 2018. Democrats now have the opportunity to take back both chambers of Congress and stop Trump in his tracks. That has to be the Holy Grail and what drives all Democrats and decent thinking people in every party.

18 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

HRC stands with Dreamers across America Opposing the Trump-Pence assault on 800,000 immigrants

By MARY BETH MAXWELL On a magical night not so many years ago, my home was filled with amazing, hopeful and savvy teenagers who had traveled to Washington to lobby for the DREAM Act legislation that would give them conditional residency in the only country they’d known.

These undocumented young people, camped out in sleeping bags on my living room floor, told me they knew the dangers of being out as a “Dreamer,” but they had chosen to emerge from the shadows to claim their identity as Americans.

Today, in cities and towns all across this country, the brave and inspiring young people I met on that December day in 2010 are among the hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, friends and family members living in this moment of grave uncertainty.

By rescinding DACA, Donald Trump launched a fresh assault on the American Dream, risking the lives — and livelihoods — of more than 800,000 Dreamers. There are more than 75,000 LGBTQ people who are eligible for DACA; an estimated 36,000 of them have received DACA status and face uniquely complicated — and potentially dangerous — circumstances if the TrumpPence assault is carried out.

Not everyone has the luxury of being born into wealth, much less the child of a New York real estate mogul. But through DACA, America has helped give young Dreamers, brought to this country as children, a chance to live up to their potential — the very essence of what makes our country great.

Dreamers are graduating from colleges and universities, they are leading successful careers, they are serving in our military, and they are living and working alongside us across this country. Most of all, they — like all immigrants — are human beings, deserving of dignity and respect.

Today and every day, the LGBTQ community stands with immigrants and

Photo by Rhododendrites; Courtesy Wikimedia

Dreamers. Many LGBTQ people know what it feels like to hide who they are as an act of survival, to look over one’s shoulder in fear, or to wonder what opportunities might be pushed out of reach if they are discovered.

This is what we have fought against for decades, and we can’t let Donald Trump and Mike Pence push anyone back into the shadows because of who they are.

HRC President Chad Griffin has spoken eloquently about our community’s connection with LGBTQ Dreamers like Jesus, who came with his family from Mexico when he was three years old and realized his dream of going to college. After coming out as gay, he came to work at PFLAG and HRC to help other LGBTQ youth. Jesus is a DACA recipient.

And Javier, who came to the United States as a young boy from Guatemala with his brother and mother, who simply wanted to protect her son and bring him to a place where he would be safe and could seek opportunity. Javier, who came out as queer

when he was 16, is fortunate to have legal status today. He’s an HRC Youth Ambassador and vocal advocate for the many others like him who still do not.

An extraordinarily frightening aspect of what Trump-Pence are proposing — many of the DACA-eligible LGBTQ people risk being deported to countries where they have not only never lived, but that have horrendous human rights records. To be openly LGBTQ in parts of Central America is potentially life threatening. The United Nations has called for an investigation into violence against transgender women in El Salvador. LGBTQ people in Guatemala often face harassment and abuse at the hands of police. And in Honduras, at least 192 LGBTQ people were murdered between 2008 and 2015.

Congress must protect these innocent Dreamers from the Trump-Pence administration’s heartless attacks. We share a belief in the U.S. that a person’s circumstances at birth, or where their life

takes them as a child, shouldn’t determine their ability to pursue the American dream.

I’ll never forget that on the same day the Dream Act failed back in 2010, Congress repealed the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, which had barred LGBTQ people from serving openly in the military. I dreaded going home and facing my young guests who had come so far only to lose — and on a day when our LGBTQ community was celebrating the DADT victory. But as we gathered around my kitchen table, I felt nothing but happiness and support from the Dreamers for a vote for LGBTQ equality — and they pledged to be back, to keep organizing, and to build more support to win.

And today, on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign’s grassroots army of 3 million members and supporters, to every Dreamer across America today, I say we are with you.

Mary Beth Maxwell is HRC’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training.

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

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Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

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Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

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

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People often slow down in their 70s, but not Armistead Maupin.

At 73, the iconic gay writer has a new memoir, “Logical Family,” and is executive producing a revival of “Tales of the City” for Netflix. Plus, the documentary, “The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin,” winner of an Audience Award at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival, is premiering on PBS’ Independent Lens, Monday, Jan. 1.

The film reveals Maupin’s wild life’s story, in his own words, on his staunchly conservative North Carolina upbringing, his service in Vietnam, his coming out in San Francisco, his relationship with closeted actor Rock Hudson and memories of the AIDS crisis — and explores the enormous cultural impact of the books and TV series.

Maupin has always been looked upon as a role model, brash and outspoken about LGBTQ issues. In an exclusive interview with the Los Angeles Blade, Maupin talked about the lack of support in North Carolina, noting that not much has changed since he lived there.

“I think they’re devolving and deteriorating.

It’s a much meaner place that it was when I lived there. I can only draw that conclusion from their trans bathroom laws and their whole-hearted support of Donald Trump,” he stated.

“And as far as the remaining members of my family are concerned, they’re dug in very deep with that neo-conservative philosophy. That’s not to say that there aren’t good people in North Carolina. I know who they are. Some of them are actually family members. There are pockets of civility within the state, like Asheville and Wilmington, but they are few and far between.”

About the Documentary Maupin was initially hesitant about participating in the documentary.

“I was a little nervous about it at first, because the prospect of being examined that closely can be daunting. But I liked director Jennifer Kloot so much and I had already admired her film about George Takei. (“To Be Takei”). So I came into it fairly certain that something good would come out of it.”

Maupin added: “We’ve known each other now for three years and are friends. When she brought on Bill Weber as co-director and editor, I was especially delighted, because I’ve known Bill for years and he’s got a real gift for storytelling. He knows how to pick the pieces and put them together and make it work.”

Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume “Tales of the City” series, “Maybe the Moon,” “The Night Listener” and, most

recently, “Michael Tolliver Live.” A Three part miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney was made from the first three “Tales” novels; the first aired on PBS in 1994 and the subsequent series aired on Showtime in 1998 and 2001. “The Night Listener” became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.

Tales’ Revival For Tales’ new installment, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis revive their characters, of course.

When asked to reflect on the original series, Maupin said, “I wish PBS had not been so afraid of the American Family Association and had allowed us to continue with the series under their auspices. We were forced to go to Canada and sometimes there are moments of cultural disconnect that happen when a story is told outside of the place where it’s happening.”

“The first miniseries was filmed in San Francisco and ‘More Tales’ and ‘Further Tales’ were filmed in French Canada. You can sort of tell the difference between them and the first one. I wish that we had been able to continue with the same company that did the first one.”

Yet he has no regrets.

“I think we pretty much knocked it out of the park, we were very lucky with that cast and some real magic happened on that set,” he said. “The director Alastair Reid really instinctively understood ‘Tales of the City.’

That’s been the challenge for me at every step of the way – to make sure that whoever is working on a new incarnation of ‘Tales’ is somehow capturing the DNA of the original.”

Maupin really lights up about Netflix, saying.

“I think this is going to happen with the new series. They’re making every effort to do that.”

Maupin has received expert advice about the Netflix series from fellow writer, Amy Tan, known to millions as the author of “The Joy Luck Club.”

“I had dinner with Amy, who is an old friend.

One of her famous works is being brought back to life in a modern way, and so many of our notes were the same. It’s very funny because things are written nowadays by a room full of people and you have to sit and be respectful of everyone’s ideas. Before, I was the only ‘room full of people’ I had when I constructed the story, which is a lot easier, I think. It is in a sense scarier because you’re having to make your own decisions about what happens and what doesn’t. but for the most part, I prefer it – having that control.”

Armistead Maupin is putting it all together Netflix brings ‘Tales of the City’ into 2018 as Maupin reflects

By SUSAN HORNIK

Armistead Maupin (right) and his husband Christopher Turner as pictured in Rome’s Piazza Navona in October 2017.

Photo by Turner; Courtesy Maupin

CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

D E C E M B E R 1 5 2 0 1 7 • V O LU M E 0 1 • I S S U E 2 0 • A M E R I C A’ S LG B TQ N E W S S O U R C E • LO S A N G E L E S B L A D E . C O M • 2 3

24 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

QUEERY 20 GAY QUESTIONS FOR BRIAN PENDLETON

queery BRIAN PENDLETON How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

I’ve been out since 1990 and my rush Limbaugh listening republican father was the toughest person to tell. He was also the most welcoming and loving about the news. I wish I hadn’t waited so long.

Photo courtesy Pendleton

By TROY MASTERS tmasters@losangelesblade.com brian Pendleton, perhaps more than any other person in LGbTQ Los Angeles during 2017, defined the year. He tapped into an extraordinary zeitgeist of fear and frustration and did what he is famous for; he transformed that energy into a positive force for good and helped launch what became an empowerment movement with #resistmarch.

It was an extraordinary display of action on his part. #resistmarch evolved from an angry Facebook post about Trump’s escalating attacks on civil rights, a post that went viral. Within weeks it seemed the whole city was resisting.

Pendleton began organizing. meetings were held, intersectional committees were formed, money was raised, politicians and agencies agreed (a miracle in itself) and eventually LA Pride saw the writing on the wall and turned the iconic gay pride parade over to brian. It grew and grew and by late spring it was clear that what was about to take place on Hollywood boulevard would be extraordinary.

The day, June 11, itself was an alchemy that transformed not just a parade but a people. Hundreds of thousands showed up, clogging Hollywood boulevard with a defiant but jubilant crowd the likes of which the famed street has not seen in years. From La cienega to well past Vine, people stood up for themselves and marched the miles-long route to West Hollywood. It was as if our community had returned to its roots for inspiration and a jolt of energy as a fractured community set its differences aside and joined a movement. “everyone is important here. Our civil rights are under attack and we must respond as powerfully as we can….together,” he told the Los Angeles blade on the day of the march. “Immigrants of all status, dreamers, women who care about reproductive rights, men, people of every gender expression, every color, creed, every race and nationality. We all have a stake in this.”

Over the past decades, brian, who is 22 years sober, honed that skill by crafting grand scale, interactive fundraising events for large charitable organizations and causes that poured more than $1 billion into medical research and patient support for people living with AIdS, cancer and other diseases. brian’s defiance, his love of the community and his ability to commandeer such a successful and pivotal event helped a lot of people get through a year that at times seemed perilous.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

There are so many incredibly important heroes in our community. It’s impossible to say who’s been the most impactful to our movement. Of course, several at the top of the list for our larger movement for equality would be Harvey milk, marsha P Johnson, and rev. Troy Perry. For me personally, dr. Scott Hitt. When I was newly sober he took me under his wing and taught me how to be involved and philanthropic. He set a great example for how to be a good man and to pay it forward.

What’s Los Angeles’ best nightspot, past or present?

Well, I’ve been around long enough to have fun at a LOT of places. For sentimental reasons, “Probe” stands out in my mind.

Describe your dream wedding.

I’ve already experienced it. I married my husband chad Goldman in an intimate gathering on the rooftop of the L’ermitage Hotel in beverly Hills with only close friends and family there. We were lucky to have enthusiastic support from both of our families. We married in 2008 before Prop 8 put our union in limbo.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about? education. chad and I have helped build schools in the Philippines for children growing up in poverty, helped fund the West Hollywood Library and established college scholarships for U.S. students. educated societies generally make better choices.

What historical outcome would you change?

I would rescue matthew Shepard from that roadside fencepost.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

Too numerous to list here but most recently Hamilton! I see it as often as I can!

On what do you insist? brevity.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet? doug Jones!

If your life were a book, what would the title be? count Your blessings If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

I would change Trump’s sexual orientation! mine would remain the same.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world?

I’m very spiritual. I believe in a higher power and the Golden rule.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders? remember the b, the T, the Q, the I, the A, the G and every intersectional member who make up our rich community.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

A no-sugar-added, nonfat vanilla latte from the coffee bean and Tea Leaf and a friend in need.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

That we’re all supposed to like movies with a cult gay following, like “The Sound of music.” I’ve never seen it.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie? “milk” and “The bird cage.” It’s a Tie What’s the most overrated social custom?

Long dinners. I’m an eat-n-go kind of guy.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

I covet seeing our community at peace and moving forward in solidarity.

What do you wish you’d known at 18? be fearless.

Why Los Angeles?

I’m originally from Los Angeles. I’m one of those insulated people that never left his hometown!

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26 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

OUT&ABOUT

Project Angel Food delivers God’s love and then some Richard Ayoub is on a mission

By MICHAEL JORTNER

Richard Ayoub, executive director of Project Angel Food on Vine St. in his office. The flamingo rocks back and forth.

Photo by michael Jortner

WANNA BE AN ANGEL? How to donate Project Angel Food gets the bulk of their donations from individuals between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. Ayoub says, “It is really vital to our support.”

Online: angelfood.org/donate Phone: 323-845-1800 (ask for bobby Hall) email: bobbyhall@angelfood.org How to volunteer The holidays are a challenging time for PAF. “right now,” Ayoub says, “december 26, 27 and 28 the kitchen is empty. We need volunteers. We gotta get 1,300 meals out every day.” What will you do? The most important job at PAF: “Help us put together the meals,” Ayoub says.

Online: angelfood.org/volunteer email: volunteers@angelfood.org

richard Ayoub, executive director of Project Angel Food for the past two years, believes in conspiracy theories – of the best kind.

“If you have a goal,” he says, “the universe conspires to help make it happen.”

Huh. Sounds like the philosophy of the nonprofit’s founder, New Age author marianne Williamson. but where raising money is concerned, Ayoub’s main job, it’s a good attitude to have when you feed 1,300 critically ill and/or mobility-challenged people per day.

“I always set a goal as far as fundraising is concerned,” Ayoub says. “because it always happens. People want to see you succeed.”

Ayoub has lived in Los Angeles for 27 years. He was born in el Paso, Texas, one of five kids, and says his background is “half Lebanese and half mexican.” It doesn’t take long to understand that this is a man who lives to give.

It all started with his mom, who once convinced her state senator to find a way to fly a burn victim from el Paso to Houston for treatment. “my mother knew how to get things done. She taught me a lot about philanthropy.”

At 19, Ayoub learned of a local gymnast who qualified for the Olympics but couldn’t afford to train for them. He formed a committee to secure the necessary funds ($800) in from the owner of a radio station.

And, although Ayoub is single, he has kids – about 600 of them. “my whole goal was to help them dream bigger,” he says, referring to Lockwood elementary in Hollywood. He and some friends give time and money to produce quarterly events like science fairs and athletic days. “Low income schools, they don’t have Pe teachers and they have no organized sports.”

Feel selfish yet? Inadequate maybe? both?

Ayoub started as a media guy. “A journalist,” he says. “To make a difference in my small part of the world.”

That led to producing TV, such as the show Extra and he also helped create “Kurt the ‘cyberGuy’” at KTLA. Jumping from media to running a nonprofit seems like an odd leap, but to Ayoub it all makes sense.

“I’ve always loved nonprofit,” he says. “I was on the board of the Trevor Project, raised money for AIdS Project Los Angeles and the AIdS marathon.”

So it wasn’t all that surprising to him when a Project Angel Food board member called one day: “richard, we’re looking for a new leader. Would you consider…?”

“When you get a call like that,” Ayoub says, “your only answer is ‘Yes.’” Within six months after taking the mantle, according to Ayoub, Project Angel Food had “raised an extra $650,000 above and beyond” budget.

Ayoub says 88% of the money the nonprofit raises “comes from individuals and from corporations and foundations.” “Only 12% comes from the government.”

So when a wealthy donor steps forward it can make a huge impact.

Prior to his death, singer George michael was PAF’s single biggest donor, having given more than half a million dollars in total. Ayoub has “a very sweet story about him.”

“In 1993, PAF was getting an influx of people with AIdS and we were having tough financial times at the moment. We didn’t know if we were going to make payroll. Out of nowhere came an envelope. It said, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. Love, George.’”

A check for $25,000 was included. “And that check kept coming every single year until the day he died.”

A celebrity blade readers may not expect to hear about is miss “cuchi cuchi” herself.

Ayoub told a producer friend from his “extra” days, “I need someone for Thanksgiving. And he said, ‘I can get charo.’”

“I fell in love with her,” Ayoub admits. “When she was in the kitchen everyone was smiling. She knows how to make people feel good. She’s just a ball of energy.”

There may be a few things blade readers just don’t know about Project Angel Food.

“Some people don’t realize,” Ayoub explains, “that we’ve expanded our mission beyond people living with HIV/AIdS to people living with every critical illness out there.” Also, every one of their meals is medically tailored to that illness. “So if you have a kidney problem, you have to have reduced potassium, phosphorous and sodium. Our meals are geared just for them.”

And other dietary restrictions are no problem. “We have vegetarian meals, gastrointestinal, heart healthy meals…39 different diet combinations.” registered dietitians work with every client to make sure their meals are “exactly what they need.”

The most challenging aspect of Ayoub’s job is that “there are more and more people who need help.”

“We’re only serving 1,300 people. I want to serve 3,000 people a day.”

That boils down to? You guessed it. “The biggest challenge is to raise enough money to reach capacity for this kitchen.”

How does PAF decide whom to help? “The criteria,” Ayoub explains, “is that you have a critical illness and you have mobility issues.”

“Some [clients] are in wheelchairs. Some of them are amputees. Some are attached to oxygen and they have a hard time shopping and cooking for themselves.” To provide an already-prepared meal that is healthy, not fast food, “That’s what spectacular about [what we do]. And it’s always been free.”

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 27

MUSIC

‘Raise Up’ celebrates global resistance movement A defiant dance music stand against xenophobia, homophobia and Trump

By REBEKAH SAGER

Where else do dreamers go, but La-La land to launch their careers?

Emerging singer, songwriter and producer, Joel rich, is one of those aspiring many, with one single out, and a recently dropped EP, rich is hoping to make a name for himself in English and in Spanish.

With a chiseled face and a sexy smile, rich, 27, told the Los Angeles Blade from his publicist’s office in Hollywood, his goal isn’t to make a hit; he simply wants to make music that has meaning for him.

His latest EP, “raise Up,” is his hope for connectedness in a much-divided world.

“The song is about accepting one another, and a community coming together. When that happens it’s much stronger than when separated,” rich says. “But, for that to be able to happen, we have to accept one another. And the first step to accepting one another is accepting yourself,” he adds.

Despite rich’s new arrival on the music scene, “raise Up” came together with an all-star group of music veterans. It was produced by two-time Grammy nominee Jorge Holguin aka Pyngwi and mixed by Jaycen Joshua, an academy-praised engineer who’s gotten Grammy nods for his work on hits like “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé and “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx. In his career he’s worked on over 60 #1 albums for artists like Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Sean Combs, Jay-Z, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus and more.

The song was mastered by Kevin Peterson, an engineer who worked on recent gems like Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’, Chance The rapper‘s ‘Coloring Book’ and Alicia Keys‘ ‘Here’. Kevin also mastered the highly regarded recent album from Tinashe ‘Nightride’.

Shot in the historic neighborhood La Candelaria in Bogota, Colombia, Andres Sanchez — whose production company, “I See You,” has worked with such prominent Colombian artists as Bako, Juan Felipe Samper, and Cohetes, directed the video.

“It was amazing. I felt like Beyoncé,” rich says. rich’s parents are immigrants to the U.S. from Spain. It’s one of the reasons he says he was inspired to the write the song.

“I was in Colombia in January of this year. Coming from a Spanish immigrant family, I didn’t want to celebrate Trump’s

inauguration, and that’s where the song came from. I was glad to be out of the country. The song is a reflection of the times. The idea evolved and I thought this should be an anthem,” he says. rich believes that music is a vessel to send a message, but in a “sly way.”

“Look how great life could be if it was a music video all day long,” he says.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC, he says shyly that his parents weren’t very supportive of his pursuing a life in music.

They also haven’t been supportive of his sexuality. His look is an ambiguous gender-neutral style, but he identifies as bisexual.

“You shouldn’t put a restriction on love. You might want this person, or that person, even though society says you can only have one. We’re all bisexual at heart. Society just makes certain things taboo,” he says.

He says he’s been compared to George Michael, and that’s fine he adds… “He’s dead. I’m happy to replace him.” But the artist rich admires and hopes to immolate (without the drugs) is the late singer, Amy Winehouse. “I love old school music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s -- she was the perfect mash-up of old and new. I like that, because I don’t want to be characterized in any one genre. I just want to make music,” rich says pointedly.

Ultimately, the young singer, who got his start playing bit parts on Broadway, has more long-term aspirations than simply “making heartfelt music.” rich says his goal, ambitious as it is, is to bring people together to make real change.

“The LGBTQ community is great symbolism; like the African American community coming together. Now, it’s the LGBTQ community coming together to help make real change. This isn’t a marketing ploy. It’s a symbolic thing. This community is the one you see come together and create real change for itself,” he says.

He is already working on new music for his next EP. This time it will be less political and more personal, he says. He has plans to go on tour… but not without his petite Pomeranian, Sam, toted along in a chic black leather bag. The two haven’t hit the big time yet, but for now, rich is spreading the “raise Up” message, and hoping to make big things happen in a world that could certainly use a bit of hope and a lot of unity.

Joel Rich is emerging and trying to break into LA. Photo Courtesy Criteria Entertainment

28 • december 15, 2017 • LOSANGeLeSbLAde.cOm

FILM

5 movies we loved in 2017 One of the most remarkable years in LGBT cinema

By JOHN PAUL KING

In many ways, this has been a banner year for queer cinema. Not only have there been an impressive number of films released dealing with LGbTQ subject matter, many of these have asserted their presence within the mainstream culture – and perhaps a record number of them have achieved contender status in the annual awards race. even so, putting together a list of the best is a challenge. many potential candidates have been acclaimed on the festival circuit but have not yet received an official release or even a distribution deal, making it problematic for them to be considered or even seen by a wide audience.

With that qualifier in mind, here’s my list of the top five LGbTQ movies of the year.

1.

God’s Own country (dir: Francis Lee) – This british indy romance earns the top spot largely for subverting expectations. An unlikely love story between a North country farmer and a romanian immigrant brought in as a hired hand, it turns a situation that might conventionally have been given bleak and depressing treatment into a life-and-love-affirming story of hope. Utilizing a gritty, cinema verité style to undercut the potential sentimentality of its romance and pastoral setting, it also features superb and naturalistic performances from its two leading men (Josh O’connor and Alec Secareanu). This impressive debut feature by director Lee stands tall as one of the year’s most refreshingly positive gay narratives – right alongside the next film on our list.

2.

Photo courtesy God’s Own country

call me by Your Name (dir: Luca Gudagnino) – A major player in this year’s awards game, this lush adaptation of André Aciman’s novel is one of those rare movies that lives up to its hype. more comingof-age drama than love story, this bittersweet Italian-set tale of a summer fling between 17-year-old elio (Timothée chalamet) and his father’s 24-year-old assistant, Oliver (Armie Hammer), is nevertheless as tender and passionate a romance as anyone might wish – and though it features no explicit nudity or sex, it’s also one of the steamiest. much of this is due to the performances – and the chemistry – of its stars; chalomet in particular, is breathtaking and unforgettable. With an eloquently understated screenplay by James Ivory, gloriously sun-soaked cinematography by Sayombhu mukdeeprom, and a piercingly intimate directorial style by Guadagnino, it feels like an instant classic.

3.

Photo courtesy call me by Your Name

bPm: beats Per minute (dir: robin campillo) – The French entry to the Oscar race for best Foreign Film, this depiction of young militants working with the Paris chapter of AcT UP in the early ‘90s took a number of prizes – including the Grand Prix – at the cannes Film Festival. director campillo crafted his movie from his first-hand experience as an activist, giving it a visceral authenticity that makes it stand out as far more than a period piece. bristling with urgency, unapologetically queer, and avoiding melodrama in favor of realism, it not only captures the spirit of the era in which it takes place, but serves as a call to action for our own troubled times.

4.

Photo courtesy bPm: beats Per minute

The Untold Tales of Armistead maupin (dir: Jennifer m. Kroot) – A delightful and surprisingly moving documentary about the life of one of our most important queer voices, this warm and loving look at the beloved author of “Tales of the city” also serves as a retrospective of LGbTQ social culture through his heyday of the ‘70s and ‘80s and beyond. In keeping with the positivity of much of the year’s best gay-themed filmmaking, director Kroot illuminates the importance of maupin’s contribution as a sort of spiritual godfather to the far-flung queer community by highlighting his message of inclusion and unification – of coming together with our “logical families” – and celebrates the impact of his work as a touchstone for an entire generation of LGbTQ readers who found themselves represented through his iconic characters.

5.

Photo courtesy The Untold Tales of Armistead maupin

Photo courtesy A Fantastic Woman

A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) (dir: Sebastián Lelio) – Another official entry for the best Foreign Film Oscar, this chilean/German production gives us a heroine for the ages in marina, a trans woman who is faced with a struggle for personal dignity and power when her older, cis-gender lover unexpectedly dies. Faced with suspicion from authorities and hostility from his family, she must find the strength to battle a trans-phobic society for the basic right to mourn her loss. Anchored by a towering, star-making performance by daniela Vega (who brings her real-world experience in chile’s trans community to create a deeply grounded portrait of her character), it’s an inspiring tale of empowerment from within; and though it necessarily confronts us with the all-too-familiar and expected circumstances of oppression from the blindly heteronormative culture, it avoids tropes and clichés as it charts marina’s journey to self-actualization. Like all of the films on this list, it carries an uplifting message for a world wrapped – for the moment, at least – in regressive fear and uncertainty.

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBER 15, 2017 • 29

All-weather rides ‘Tis the season to be jolly — and to scope out holiday deals on all-weather haulers. Below are a few top picks that are both naughty and nice.

BMW X1 XDRIVE28i $36,000 Mpg: 22 city/32 highway 0-to-60 mph: 6.4 seconds If X marks the spot, then the BMW X1 xDrive28i is in the sweet spot. Redesigned last year, this all-wheel-drive compact crossover is taller, wider and lighter than ever. There’s more legroom, headroom and cargo capacity — the most stowage in its class — with gobs of storage bins, including one under the front seat and a huge space under the cargo floor.

And the list of standard features is long, with push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, hill-descent control, automatic stop/start, regenerative braking and more.

Plus, the power liftgate can be opened by swinging your foot under the rear bumper.

The quiet cabin is elegant, with choice of aluminum or wood trim. And those finely sculpted seats are a chiropractor’s dream.

A 6.5-inch info display comes standard, but splurge for the optional 8.8-inch monitor.

Ditto the double-panel sunroof and M Sport package with its oh-so-taut handling. But other common luxury items are missing, such as cooled seats, power-adjustable steering wheel and rear-seat entertainment.

And various safety features; including forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning and pedestrian detection; are optional, not standard. Still, it’s hard to resist all the goodies this baby BMW has to offer.

MAZDA CX-3 $20,000 Mpg: 27 city/32 highway 0-to-60 mph: 8.1 seconds Mazda prides itself on being a niche player, offering sporty yet economical rides.

The CX-3 crossover fits the bill with a widemouthed grille and sharp-edged styling just like a Lexus NX. The well-bolstered seats and sweeping dash also look like they came

from the NX playbook, yet the CX-3 price tag is about half as much.

While it’s a subcompact with limited space for rear-seat passengers and cargo, the size is perfect for urban commuters, helping them nestle the CX-3 into Matchbox-sized parking spaces. The 146-hp four-cylinder engine is tops in fuel economy for tiny haulers, but acceleration isn’t as peppy as the racy exterior would suggest.

For 2018, the cabin gets thicker window glass, better door seals and more sound insulation to help reduce noise. Along with choice of front- or all-wheel drive, there are plenty of standard features in each of the three trim levels, including rearview camera, 7-inch touchscreen and automated emergency braking. The topof-the-line Grand Touring adds a sunroof, head-up display, steering-wheel paddle shifters and more high-end safety gear.

VW GOLF ALLTRACK $26,000 Mpg: 22 city/32 highway 0-to-60 mph: 7.4 seconds Despite all the hoopla over crossovers, VW is making noise with the all-new Golf Alltrack station wagon. Styling and handling are more athletic than the basic Golf SportWagen (and many boxy crossovers, for that matter). The result is a ruggedly chic yet comfortable car, with minimal body roll, standard all-wheel drive and good acceleration from the 170hp four-cylinder turbo.

Plenty of room for cargo and front-seat passengers, but backseat legroom is tight.

The well-built cabin is clean and functional, if not a bit spartan. Three trim levels, which all come with heated side mirrors, dual-exhaust pipes, LED daytime running lights, all-wheel drive, rearview camera and smartphone integration. Yet it’s easy to see the allure of the higher-tiered models, which add keyless entry, pushbutton start, tire-pressure monitoring system, panoramic sunroof and rainsensing wipers with heated nozzles.

One quibble with VWs has been the lackluster infotainment system, with a teeny 6.5-inch screen and low placement on the dash. But for 2018 models, a more dynamic 8-inch monitor is now available.

BMW, Mazda unveil spiffy new models

By JOE PHILLIPS

BMW X1 XDRIVE28i

AUTOS

30 • dECEMBEr 15, 2017 • LOSANGELESBLAdE.COM

CALENDAR E-mail calendar items to tmasters@losangelesblade.com two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBTspecific events or those with LGBT participants. Recurring events must be re-submitted each time.

Join “Everyone’s Hike” for a spiritual sunrise experience at LAs most treasured and secret icon, Griffith Park’s Wisdom Tree. It’s a great way to reboot your head for 2018.

DEC. 15 Wild Lights 2017, through SUN. DEC. 24 @ 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (47900 Portola Ave, Palm Desert, CA). You know you are already in the desert, pretending to work from home in Los Angeles, so go out and marvel at over a million twinkling lights, as the desert’s favorite holiday tradition returns!

It’s magic for adults and kids alike, but go at sunset to get the full on experience. For more info call 760-346-5694

DEC. 16 Hanukkahpalooza! Kids’ Hanukkah Party, DEC. 16 @ 10 AM at Beth Chayim Chadashim (6090 West Pico Boulevard).

Baby Kibbutz Babies, Ohr Chayim kids, and all kids at heart shoud be so lucky! If you are like a lot of LGBT parents you need to let the kids burn off some energy while schmoozing with their peers. Beth Chayim Chadashim offers just the right place.

They’ll love the Dreidel Dance Party, the cookies, the sing-along-circle with Shabbat and Hanukkah songs. Leave the kids with Rabbi Heather and Cantor Juval, or stay and hear stories you may not have heard since you were a kid. Call 323-931-7023 for more info.

LGBTQ Youth Holiday Talent Show!

DEC. 16 @ 11 AM at Village at Ed Gould Plaza (1125 N. McCadden Pl). It’s like a

combination Voice and America’s Got Talent times American Idol, but a bit campier, more fun and certainly gay.

There’s great swag, prizes and free food here — you are sure to have a great time. You must be 24 and younger. The event is free.

DEC. 17 “Time Square Angel” A Musical Pastiche, SAT. DEC. 17 @ 8 PM at the Desert Rose Playhouse (69620 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA). The Coachella Valley’s LGBTQ+ Stage Company presents TIME SQUARE ANGEL by Charles Busch, A Musical Pastiche. If gay Hollywood in the 1940s had adapted Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to a Broadway musical, the result might have been something like this mixture of fun camp, tart tongued wit and whacked out Tinsel town Yuletide in the desert. Call 760-202-3000 for more info.

DEC. 20 L.A. Equality Town Hall, WED. DEC. 20 @ 10 AM at The California Endowment (1000 North Alameda). Equality California in partnership with Health Access, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and APLA Health brings community members together to focus on disparities

in LGBTQ health and well-being. The event is a moderated panel discussion. For more details go to eqca.org.

DEC. 24 Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles at The 58th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration, SUN. DEC. 24 @ 3 PM at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 North Grand). Broadcast live on PBS from Los Angeles’ largest multicultural holiday celebration, Angelenos of all ages celebrate Christmas Eve in the most diverse possible way, enjoying performances on LAs gayest stage. One of the best choruses in America will bring the spirit of the holidays to life for everyone. Visit musiccenter.org for more details.

Marriane Williamson’s Miracle Minded New Years Weekend, DEC 29 @ 7:30 PM to JAN 1 @ 12:30 AM at Los Angeles Airport Mariott (5855 West Century Boulevard). In with the new and out with the old is the mantra most hope to embrace for the new year ahead, but it’s really a spiritual celebration that needs to be embraced. Project Angel Food founder Marianne Williamson will celebrate with a weekend of forgiveness and healing and help you wipe the slate clean of all the emotional bruises that have accumulated in 2017 and guide you through “the principles and processes that lift all things to their highest place.” Cost is $599.00 but scholarships are available. Visit

marriane.com for more information.

DEC. 31 New Years Eve Morning Hike to The Wisdom Tree, SUN. DEC. 31 @ 6:30 AM TO 12:30 PM at Griffith Park (4730 Crystal Springs Drive). Meet up with some of LA’s best people and enjoy the spiritual experience of the last sunrise of 2017. You will meet new people and enjoy a challenging hike to the Wisdom Tree, one of LA’s most treasured and off the radar landmarks. Honor 2017 and let it go. And take a selfie while you are at it, of course. Bring food and water. And visit facebook.com/EVERYONESHIKE/ for more information.

Boom! “A Prom to Remember,” Drug and Alcohol Free New Year’s Eve, SUN. DEC. 31 @ 8 PM at West Hollywood Park Auditorium (647 N. San Vicente Blvd.).

This event, sponsored by the City of West Hollywood, the Institute for Public Strategies, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the West Hollywood Project, the Tweakers Project, and APLA Health, gives a safespace for sober people to celebrate the New Year. The sober event brings several hundred people together for a celebration, complete with a DJ, dancing, food, photo booth, and a midnight balloon drop. This year’s theme is high school prom — be the king or queen you always wanted to be, as if you aren’t already. Visit weho.org for more information.

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • DECEMBEr 15, 2017 • 31

I’ve said it before, but one of the best shows every year is the “Divas Simply Singing” AIDS benefit. This year, Sheryl Lee ralph completely reinvented the enduring event as an elegant, swanky reception, dinner, and concert. The evening began with a VIP reception and book signing with my dear friend, Jenifer Lewis.

At the concert, I was onstage singing and leading the chorus as Jenifer belted out “I Don’t Want Nobody Fucking With Me In These Streets.” Then the ageless Thelma Houston did a dynamic set, ending with Jenifer and Sheryl Lee ralph joining her for a reprise of “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” When it was time to introduce Jennifer Holliday, Sheryl Lee did so with a very brief, but memorable, snippet of the dressing room scene from “Dreamgirls” when Effie calls Deena “common.” Even more shocked was when Holliday auctioned off the chance for people to sit onstage with her as she sang “And I Am Telling You.” The first $500 bid came from DJ Pierce (aka Shangela). She ultimately raised about $6,000 with that one song. One guy offered a thousand bucks if she would sing “I Am Changing”. She called him up to the stage, held him in her arms, and sang directly to him as the tears streamed down his face.

The show officially ended with ralph and Holliday singing “Joy To The World”. Then, while people milled around taking photos, Jenifer and Jennifer came together. Holliday proudly promoted Lewis’ book, “The Mother of Black Hollywood”. Sheryl joined them for photos, and then the three divas sang together.

You can see it all on BillyMasters.com.

Speaking of divas, the reboot of “Dynasty” has announced the new incarnation of Alexis.

Drum roll, please - it will be Nicollette Sheridan. Well, she was a vampy bitch on “Desperate Housewives” before her unceremonious ouster, so perhaps it’ll work out. And, you know, she is British. No, not British like Madonna or Tina Turner. Actually born in England.

London’s “Daily Mail” recently ran the following headline: “Bryan Singer: I wasn’t fired from Queen film for rape.” Somewhere, Singer was thinking, “Stop helping me!” It’s been a harrowing time for Bryan. With less than a month of shooting left on his film about the band Queen called “Bohemian rhapsody,” he was unceremoniously dumped by the studio.

Whispers of trouble began with rumors of escalating tensions between the director and star rami Malek (rumors Singer denies). Singer did miss several days of shooting in early November and his duties were assumed by cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel. Then the production unexpectedly shut down when Singer didn’t return from Thanksgiving break due to family health issues. While he claims he asked the studio for time off to deal with this personal matter, people in the know say this was a convenient excuse for the brass to make a change. Singer was replaced by Dexter Fletcher, who was already slated to direct a biopic about Elton John.

Within 24 hours of Singer’s ouster, word filtered out that he was being sued for allegedly raping a 17-year-old back in 2003. Cesar Sanchez-Guzman claims that Singer forced him to engage in oral sex and then raped him. According to the complaint, Singer went up to Cesar after the incident and said he was a Hollywood producer.

Singer says he’d be open to working with Kevin Spacey again. “I helped launch his career.

He’s an acquaintance of mine and it depends on the project, I guess.” The latest Spacey scandal states that he once groped royalty. Admittedly, it isn’t any of the good royals. It isn’t even someone underage. These accusations come from Ari Behn, the former husband of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway. Back in 2007, Ari allegedly found himself sitting at a table with Spacey at Nobel Peace Prize award dinner — I couldn’t make this stuff up! According to Behn, “We had a nice conversation. He was sat next to me. After five minutes, he says, ‘Hey, let’s go out and have a cigarette,’ and then he touched me right on the balls under the table.” Giving new meaning to the phrase, “Under the table.”

Time for more of Billy’s Holiday Gift Giving Suggestions. Each year, Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS honors one of our beloved divas as a holiday ornament. This year, it’s Carol Burnett - fortuitous timing given her recent anniversary special. You can deck your halls with Burnett as Princess Winnifred from “Once Upon a Mattress” by going to BroadwayCares.org.

I know you love Steve Grand and sexy calendars. So, why not pick up his 2018 calendar - shot on location this past summer in Provincetown. You still want more? You’re in luck. “I just had to make two calendars’ worth of images. So yes, both calendars have their own unique set of photos,” says Steve. You can pick him up at SteveGrand.com.

When I can finally say I was a diva simply singing, it’s time to end yet another column. Check that one off the bucket list. And you can check quite a few things off your list by going to www.BillyMasters.com, the site that doesn’t care whether you’re naughty or nice. If you have a question for me, send it to Billy@BillyMasters. com and I promise to get back to you before “Once Upon a Mattress” is the name of a CNN special report! So, until next time, remember, one man’s filth is another man’s bible.

GOSSIP

Billy Masters always finds something or someone to laugh at Divas Simply Singing, Carol Burnett, Bryan Singer, Steve Grand

By BILLY MASTERS

Add a little Carol to your holiday.

Image Courtesy Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

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