Issue 1530, May 21

May 21, 2014

Issue 1530

Benghazi-palooza Tucsonans gather for the 15th to blow cash, annual AIDS Candlelight Memorial set achieve ... what?

OBSERVER STAFF WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. House Republicans foamed at the mouth over their announced Benghazi investigation as a way to skewer Hillary Clinton’s presidential ambitions.

They foamed for about a day before somebody thought it through. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, then said he thought the plan could backfire badly.

Rogers’ committee already held a series of Benghazi hearings that went nowhere, so he might know. (Rogers also isn’t seeking reelection, so maybe he just wants to avoid further backfires until he gets safely away from the wreckage.)

Sunday at Himmel Park Desert Voices, Reveille Men’s Chorus, the AIDS Ribbon Tucson, and panels of the AIDS quilt stood as reminders of those who have been lost to the terrible disease. See photo essay on page 9.

Inside First Native American woman confirmed as federal judge

As Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb wrote on May 9: “House Republicans are carrying a load of political dynamite in Continued on page 4

Milk for breakfast:

U.S.: Saying things and doing stuff for Freedom Day board cooks up LGBTs worldwide event with slain leader’s nephew

Page 6

IGBO recaped

By Greg Miller OBSERVER STAFF

Page 8

Photo of a lesbian kiss constitutes ‘nudity and pornography’ on Facebook?

The U.S. Department of State issued a statement on May 16 relating to LGBT human rights issues.

The department’s press release points out how under the “Presidential Memorandum on International Initiative to Advance the Human Rights of LGBT Persons” and working via “private engagement with governments, civil society, public diplomacy, foreign assistance” it has conducted “activities” in five areas — including institutionalizing efforts throughout the U.S. Department of State.

So what did they do here and abroad?

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Under the impressive rubric of “Combating Criminalization of LGBT Status or Conduct Abroad” the department notes that it has “developed decriminalization strategies in regions where LGBT conduct is criminalized.”

By regularly engaging with civil society and host governments via U.S. embassies the department seeks to de-criminalize “consensual same-sex conduct between adults.”

Continued on page 7

Pictured standing to the right of the Harvey Milk Forever Postage Stamp is Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk, and Marcy Nathan of the Harvey Milk Foundation.

Tucson LGBT Freedom Day Parade board members left to right: Bianca Lucrecia, Armando Vega (a.k.a. Vivika D'Angelo-Steele), Mavy Moreno, Adam Ragan, Jeffrey Scott Brown, and Richard Barajas (a.k.a. Vera DelMar.)

By Richard Barajas a.k.a. Vera DelMar SPECIAL TO THE OBSERVER

With just eight weeks to get it all done, the Tucson LGBT Freedom Day Parade board proved it was the “Little Engine That Could.” Working together with the Harvey Milk Foundation, it was able to put together a historical event that was well attended by state and local politicians, local community leaders, LGBT community leaders and other high profile folks. Everyone gathered together to eat breakfast and pay homage to Harvey Milk, slain LGBT civil rights leader.

Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk,

a global advocate for human rights himself, spoke of his uncle’s legacy, and presented local community leaders with the Harvey Milk Diversity Award. Then, Stuart Milk unveiled the Harvey Milk Forever postage stamp for all to see which will also be unveiled next week

by President Obama at a White House ceremony.

The breakfast was emceed by local KGUN TV News personality Guy Atchley and took place at the Tucson City Center InnSuites Conference Suite Resort. The event opened with entertainment from a local youth mariachi group, Mariachi Milagro, followed by the presentation of colors by a military contingent from Continued on page 12

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OBSERVER

Bruce Vilanch helps ‘60s TV star in race against JFK nephew

But Brown also “revealed that he supports gay marriage because as a cab driver in Boise he discovered that gay people ‘love each other more than I love my motorcycle.’ “

LOS ANGELES -- Bruce Vilanch, who charmed the Tucson LGBT community last year, is working on another political campaign ...

Even at that, Brown barely beat out Walt Bayes, whose main credential for governor seems to be that he “once went to jail for homeschooling his 16 children, five of whom went on to become rodeo cowboys,” according to Mother Jones.

Makes you think maybe Michele Bachmann is running for president again, doesn’t it? But no, nothing quite that fabulous.

It’s quite the high-profile contest, though. Vilanch is supporting ‘60s TV actress Sheila Kuehl (Zelda Gilroy on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”) against Bobby Shriver, President John F. Kennedy’s nephew and Maria Shriver’s brother.

Vilanch and actor Ed Begley Jr. even hosted a Kuehl fund-raiser last month.

Kuehl and Shriver are battling it out for a spot as a Los Angeles County supervisor, a fairly obscure position but it’s being called one of the more powerful elected offices in the country -overseeing a $10 billion budget, among other duties.

Kuehl spent several years as the first openly lesbian member of the California State Assembly (legislature).

Shriver has served on the Santa Monica City Council.

The county board has usually been an enclave of clubby privilege, which fits Shriver’s image but not Kuehl’s. In the assembly, she gained a reputation for her exhaustive knowledge of issues.

The New York Times reported Sunday on a Sherman Oaks candidate event in which Kuehl and Shriver participated. According to the Times, the 60-year-old telegenic, pedigreed Shriver didn’t faze Kuehl: “Hello, young lady,” Shriver boomed, leaning in to shake her hand.

Kuehl, who is 73, recoiled. “Please don’t call me that. It’s disrespectful to an equal, and demeaning.”

Yes, this one may end up with some blue blood spattering the walls.

Candidate combines same-sex support, Masai prophet’s OK BOISE, Idaho -- It isn’t even June and the GOP primaries have already turned into Wingnut Wigstock.

At a recently televised debate among Idaho gubernatorial candidates, incumbent Gov. Butch Otter and his opponent, ultra-conservative state Sen. Russ Fulcher, were clearly eclipsed in the entertainment department by two socalled lesser candidates.

The award winner was probably biker Harley Brown. According to Mother Jones, Brown “used his closing argument to wave a signed certificate from a ‘Masai prophet’ that confirmed that he would one day be president of the United States.”

OK ... That could make you stand out from all those buttoned-down “other guy” candidates.

Ah yes, it’s political season and the aroma of walnuts wafts about the hinterlands ...

Gold bars removed from man who couldn’t defecate DELHI, India -- We all know a special lesbian, or perhaps (shudder) a whole gaggle of gay men, who each think they excrete gold bars from their golden booty.

But did you ever try that literally?

WEEKLY

he says he was living in a “terrible flat in London with blood in the stairwell.”

His livelihood back then involved answering the phone for a criminal who sold stolen kitchen gear.

As related by Oliver, a typical professional conversation might follow this pattern: “The phone would ring, a guy would say, ‘Is Jim there?’ I said, ‘I’ve been told to say he isn’t.’ He said, ‘All right, tell him if he doesn’t call me back by this evening, I’m going to come down there and cut his throat. Did you write that down? Read it back to me.”

Doing his first bit on his first day with The Daily Show, he noticed Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling sitting in the first row.

Rowling increased the shock level by going backstage afterward to congratulate Oliver and give him a hug.

“It was a very bizarre first day,” Oliver understated.

Surgeons at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said last month they operated on a 63-year-old man who reported difficulty defecating after he had swallowed a bottle cap; sure enough, they found 12 little gold bars inside.

So remember: There is dignity in all work. Plus, next week you might get the chance to hand that nasty toothbrush to your supervisor in a manner that will never be forgotten.

Most media reported that the bars -- valued at $20,000 -- were found in his “stomach,” though at least one called it the “lower intestine.”

Register of deeds: This county will do same-sex marriage

Dr. C.S. Ramachandran, a senior surgeon at the hospital, told BBC News that the patient had undergone four stomach surgeries in the past and is diabetic, so “we had to be careful.”

He said police and customs officials confiscated the gold.

India raised the import duty on gold three times last year to curb demand, so there has been an increase in smuggling -- most of it by more conventional means, as far as we know.

Then again, maybe your friend who exclaimed “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do sh*t gold bricks!” just didn’t experience the defecation difficulty and wasn’t caught.

The alleged smuggler slash surgical patient had returned recently from a trip outside the country.

So far, the man has not been identified; The Observer advises wiping the slate clean.

Still a TV star, but only on the inside?

Just be patient!

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The new register of deeds in Orange County, N.C., says his county will soon issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples regardless of what the rest of the state does.

Mark Chilton defeated the incumbent in the May 6 Democratic primary, capturing 42 percent of the vote, and has no Republican opponent in November. Presumably he will take office with the new year.

Chapel Hill and Orange County are home to the University of North Carolina’s main campus, a bastion of progressive politics in a state that was considered purple (two-party) but recently looks more Republican red.

County registers of deeds are not usually controversial, but Chilton already has cred: He was among 900 arrested last year in the non-violent Moral Monday protests against the farright turn of the state legislature.

OBSERVER STAFF

In North Carolina, issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples could lead to misdemeanor charges and removal from office, but Chilton scoffs at that idea -- “There is no punishment for upholding the Constitution.”

If you still nourish your inner TV star even though your best gig to date was cleaning the jail latrine with a toothbrush, take heart: Miracles do happen, even in the electronic age.

He said he agrees with recent court rulings that North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the Constitution’s equal-protection requirement.

British comedian John Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter recently that he’s still getting used to having his own HBO show, and adapting involves quite a stretch.

“I don’t want to reach for melodrama here, but on some level there’s the question of whether we have a federal government or a Confederacy,” he told The Guardian US. “Does North Carolina get to nullify part of the Constitution it doesn’t like? I thought we settled that question.”

When Oliver flew across the pond in 2006 to audition for “The Daily Show,”

May 21, 2014

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May 21, 2014

OP-ED

OBSERVER

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Will this pill kill ‘safe sex’?

By Russell Saunders THE DAILY BEAST I’m ambivalent about one side effect of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention touting an HIV-prevention drug. Will today’s young gay men never know the painful lessons learned during the AIDS crisis?

I remember when AIDS was something I was afraid of.

I came out of the closet as a gay man in the mid-1990s. After years of unconvincingly pretending to be something other than what I was, I let my friends and family know the truth. It was the most liberating experience of my life. And once the secret was out, I went about getting a life. I started going out, making friends with other young gay men, and trying to find a decent boyfriend.

Those days, the safe-sex gospel was everywhere. The club where I would go to dance and hang out with friends had a poster I’d seen in a news magazine years before showing two men wrapped in an American flag, one of them holding a condom. The drag queens who emceed the nightly entertainment would end their shows with an exhortation “If you’re gonna tap it, wrap it.” There was a weekly fundraiser for amfAR. The message was clear: Take care of yourselves. Respect yourself enough to be safe. You owed it not only to yourself, but to the community.

Because of course, the AIDS crisis was still raw and real. Though I was just young enough to have missed the years when people lost friend after friend or lover after lover, there were

many people I knew who’d lived that experience firsthand. And it felt almost like an act of disrespect to the memory of people they’d so recently lost to be irresponsible.

It was a message I received, internalized, and believed. The idea of having sex without a condom was almost literally unthinkable.

I was in medical school while all of this was taking place. I had several HIV-positive patients, and remember standing quietly outside a hospital room while a mother cried at the bedside of her son who had died of AIDS. Though there were many antiretroviral medications by that time, it was still pretty much inevitable that patients infected with HIV would go on to develop AIDS, the only question being when.

And then came the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

This combination treatment, usually comprising three medications from two different classes of ARVs, seemed almost like a miracle. HIV went from an eventual death sentence to a chronic but manageable illness. When, more than a decade after I entered medical school, I had to tell two different young men they were HIV-positive, I could do so realistically hoping we could keep the virus undetectable in their bloodstreams.

But I still remembered the message I’d internalized years ago: Practicing safe sex was not only the right choice for personal health; it was a sine qua non of responsible membership in the gay community. Even with HAART at hand, I recommend nothing more strongly than consistent condom use for all of my adolescent patients, and to this day nothing is more likely to provoke a

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heartfelt plea to change behavior than when a young gay man admits to me he’s spotty about doing so.

This week, the CDC issued new recommendations for the prevention of HIV. It recommends that members of high-risk groups take an ARV called Truvada (actually a combination of two different ARVs) every day to prevent infection, a measure that confers 99 percent protection. Among those groups are gay men who don’t use condoms consistently.

I find myself riven with ambivalence.

While I understand that there is a difference in enjoyment between sex with a condom and without, I still expect gay men to use them. I still conflate safer sex with respect for the gay community and the lessons we learned from the AIDS crisis. And I wonder how such a horrible tragedy could seem so distant to young people scarcely a generation removed from it.

And then I wonder if I would be such a scold with my patients about any other issue. If the question at hand was more removed from how I came to understand my own identity, would I have the same expectations?

After all, I prescribe birth-control

pills readily and vociferously support a woman’s right to use them, and to have them covered by her insurance as a routine part of her medical care. While I still recommend a barrier method of contraception as backup, if a young woman and her boyfriend aren’t using them 100 percent of the time it doesn’t trigger the same internal disappointment as it does when it’s a young gay man behaving similarly.

Rest assured, if a vaccine for HIV were approved I’d be administering it with unalloyed zeal. How is Truvada different? How can I justify qualms about Truvada when I don’t have them about Ortho Tri-Cyclen (birth control)?

In truth, I can’t. If I’m going to be honest, I will admit that my misgivings are more about wanting my patients’ experience to conform to my own, and their identities to look like mine. And that’s not medical care, it’s moralism.

My job is to prevent HIV infections when I can. As the nation’s top AIDS doctor is quoted as saying, I cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

My personal feelings about the AIDS crisis are not a valid factor in my medical decision-making, and for patients who would benefit from a preventive prescription for Truvada I will start providing them.

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May 21, 2014

Oregon gay marriage Benghazi-palooza set to blow cash, achieve ban struck down ... what?

Continued from page 1 the Benghazi select committee, with considerable doubt that they have the skill necessary to keep from blowing themselves up.”

Paul Rummell (right) and Ben West were plaintiffs in the case deciding whether gay marriage in Oregon was unconstitutional. Their son, Jay Rummell-West, waits for the interview to be done. People gathered at the offices of Oregon United for Marriage on Monday for the announcement by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane calling Oregon’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

By Jeff Mapes ORIGON LIVE Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriages was struck down Monday by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane, who ruled that the prohibition violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians.

Jubilant couples who anticipated a favorable decision from the judge began the rush to officially wed at locations around the state. McShane ordered that his ruling take immediate effect.

“Because Oregon’s marriage laws discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without a rational relationship to any legitimate government interest,” McShane wrote in his decision, “the laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

Deanna Geiger and Janine Nelson, two of the plaintiffs in the case, were the first couple to marry in Multnomah County following the ruling.

Oregon becomes the seventh state where a federal judge has struck down a gay marriage ban since the U.S. Supreme Court last year invalidated key sections of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Unlike in the other states -- Idaho, Utah, Michigan, Virginia, Oklahoma and Texas -- there was no one with the immediate standing to appeal the decision.

The plaintiffs in the Oregon case as well as the defendants, chiefly represented by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, urged McShane to strike down Oregon’s ban. They said it violated equal protections for gay and lesbian couples.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a last-minute attempt by the National Organization for Marriage to halt McShane’s ruling. NOM, an anti-gay marriage group, said it wanted time to appeal McShane’s refusal to allow NOM to intervene in the case.

Rosenblum and the plaintiffs in the Oregon case urged the 9th Circuit to deny NOM’s motion for a stay.

Backers of gay marriage have been gathering signatures to qualify a measure for the November ballot that would remove the state constitutional provision limiting marriage to one man and one woman. That provision was approved by voters in 2004.

But House Democrats were at first determined not to let their GOP colleagues sink alone. They began frantically planning a counteroffensive to protect Clinton from the mudslinging that’s bound to go on. Then someone realized: Wait, how many people who would vote for Hillary are going to believe any of this anyway?

But perhaps Barbara Morrill at Daily Kos cut to the heart of the matter: She pointed out that as House aides meet to iron out details for the hearing, it’s clear that Republicans “will bend over backwards to be fair and balanced.”

Specifically, she wrote, “a senior GOP aide” said Republicans are willing to allow Democrats to have

“forewarning on subpoenas” and access to documents, so: A) Democrats in the House get to know who is being called to testify in the House.

B) Democrats in the House get to look at documents that will be introduced as evidence in the House.

WOW. For the House these days, that’s pretty bipartisan.

Makes it clear which party is expected to do the bending. Over.

Again.

Come to think of it, though, what purpose do House Democrats generally serve these days? With the exception of Tucson’s own Rep. Raul Grijalva and a small group you could count on your fingers, the answer seems to be “they keep seats warm.”

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

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Pope Francis: Church would baptize aliens

By Barbie Latza Nadeau THE DAILY BEAST

an open mind to anyone —or anything — seeking God.

it is not prudent! No, let’s do it this way...’”

Is Pope Francis willing to go to extremes to fill the pews? Apparently so, if his latest outreach message is an indication.

“If — for example — tomorrow an expedition of Martians came, and some of them came to us, here...

Martians, right? Green, with that long nose and big ears, just like children paint them . . .

And one says, ‘But I want to be baptized!’ What would happen?” he asked parishioners. “When the Lord shows us the way, who are we to say, ‘No, Lord,

One assumes the pope doesn’t actually think an alien ship filled with little green men hoping to convert to Catholicism will land in St. Peter’s Square any time soon, and Vatican Radio quickly interpreted the message as one about “inclusion” lest anyone start worrying about the Holy Father’s faculties.

Speaking on May 13 during the homily at his daily morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta inside Vatican City where he lives, he told his mostly clerical audience that they should keep

The ‘Party Monster’ returns after 17 years in jail

Apparently the pope’s message about Martians meant, “Who are we to close the doors to the Holy Spirit?” according to an article attributed to Vatican Radio on the Vatican’s main news website. “The Spirit blows where it wills, but one of the most common temptations of those who have faith is to bar its path and drive it in one direction or another.”

Catholic News Service also quickly defended and interpreted the quirky remarks,

In a quirky morning Mass, the pope used a far-out example of little green Martians seeking Jesus to preach about the church’s inclusiveness.

saying Francis was trying to make the point that the church is often overly judgmental when it comes to acceptance and that “if the Holy Spirit prompted the most unusual being to seek baptism, who would we be to hinder that person?”

Francis is not the first Vatican insider to toy with the

idea of alien life.

In 2008, Father Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, told L’Osservatore Romano that “believing in the possible existence of extraterrestrial life is not opposed to Catholic doctrine.”

Secretary of State John Kerry observes International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia OBSERVER STAFF

Newly free, the infamous ‘Club Kids’ ringleader returns to a changed world.

By Gavin Edwards ROLLING STONE Michael Alig — nightlife legend, party monster, convicted murderer — was released from prison last week after 17 years.

In the ‘90s, Alig was ringleader of New York City’s “Club Kids,” and the majordomo for Peter Gatien’s nightclub empire (which included Limelight, the Palladium, and the Tunnel.)

But in 1996, Alig and his friend Robert “Freeze” Riggs argued with a drug dealer named Angel Melendez, killed him and dismembered his body in gruesome fashion before disposing of the corpse in the Hudson River. (The events were dramatized in the 2003 film “Party Monster,” which starred Macaulay Culkin as Alig.)

Post-prison, Alig returned to New York City to find that the world had changed, but that he was still the subject of media attention and tabloid headlines.

Kerry went on to caution, “But this must be more than a moment to celebrate how far we have come. We know that our work is not complete when countries enact laws targeting LGBT persons and their supporters. We know that our work is not complete when LGBT persons and their allies are harassed, arrested, and even killed simply because of who they are and who they love.

On May 16, the same date the State Department issued its statement on LGBT human rights issues, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement commemorating the ninth annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia which was observed on May 17.

“Today of all days,” said Kerry, “. . . the cause of justice can and must triumph over hatred and prejudice.”

This year’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia coincided with the 60th anniversary of the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

“We have seen incredible progress in the fight to advance the human rights and fundamental freedoms of LGBT persons,” said Kerry.

According to Kerry the U.S. is proud to be doing its part.

This past week, the U.S. convened religious leaders and representatives of faithbased organizations to think about how we work together to promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. Next week, the U.S. will convene meetings with its private sector allies to discuss the important role of the business community in promoting equality and the ways it can partner through the Global Equality Fund.

“The United States condemns these senseless acts of violence and discrimination.

Human rights are universal, and LGBT persons and their allies must be free to exercise them without fear of intimidation or reprisal.

“When our LGBT brothers and sisters are threatened anywhere, it is a threat to freedom, justice and dignity of people everywhere. The United States will continue to protect and promote the human rights of LGBT persons worldwide this day and every day.”

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May 21, 2014

First Native American Apparently this photo of woman confirmed as a lesbian kiss constitutes ‘nudity and pornography’ federal judge on Facebook

As well as the image being reported to Facebook, she received abusive comments such as that the image was “disgusting” and inappropriate because other users “have young children to protect.”

The stock image used by Trevisan is widely available through search engines, and is used to show support for LGBT causes.

She said: “What was the harm with this photo, especially when so many like this can be found on Google? How can one photo provoke such sensitivity?

By Joseph Patrick McCormick PINK NEWS An Italian woman said she was left stunned after Facebook suspended her user account for posting a stock photograph of two women kissing in support of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Carlotta Trevisan, a 28-year-old mother who is straight but supports LGBT rights, was asked by Facebook to remove the image, which it said broke rules regarding “nudity and pornography.”

Diane Humetewa

PHOENIX — Diane Humetewa, Arizona State University special advisor to the president for American Indian Affairs has been named the first American Indian woman to serve as a federal judge.

Humetewa won unanimous approval in the U.S. Senate in a 96-0 vote and will serve in the federal district court of Arizona.

“I feel privileged to serve in this new capacity and I am certainly grateful for all of the support that President Crow and the ASU community offered me throughout the confirmation process,” Humetewa said.

This isn’t the first time Humetewa has made her mark in history. She was the first American Indian female to be appointed as a U.S. attorney in 2007.

During a long career in public service, she also served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Subcommittee, then chaired by Sen. John McCain.

Before the Senate vote, McCain informed the Senate body of the historic nature of the vote.

Former U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said that Humetewa “has extraordinarily

sound judgment. She’s fair and impartial.”

Charlton also noted the historic nature of her appointment.

“In this state more than any other, where we have 21 reservations and all felony offenses are tried in federal court, we do not have a bench that reflects the community it serves,” Charlton said.

“And now, for the first time in our nation’s history, we’ll have a representative to the bench.”

Humetewa, a member of the Hopi tribe, was born and raised in Arizona.

She began school on the Hualapai Reservation and traveled throughout Arizona’s Indian country with her father, who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She maintains close ties to her family and culture on the Hopi reservation.

Humetewa received her Juris Doctor degree in 1993 from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and her bachelor’s degree from ASU in 1987. She has served on the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Indian Legal Advisory Committee since 1997.

When she refused, she was told her account would be suspended for “violating the community’s standards.”

“There is nothing bad about a kiss . . . When I see people of the same gender kissing, I only see love, nothing else.”

Once Trevisan’s profile was reinstated after the incident which took place on IDAHOT on Saturday, she set the image as her profile picture.

She said the fact that her profile was suspended was “sobering,” and that she feared for others, particularly younger people who may not be able to stand up for themselves.

“I’m 28 years old and can fight back — but if that same photo had been posted by a 16-year-old girl how would she feel?”

Speaking of her daughter, she said: “I’m thinking of her future.”

Many welcomed Trevisan back to Facebook on her return.

May 21, 2014

Community Voices

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A weekend with moments that matter: Part 2

By Scott Blades Executive Director TIHAN [In part one Scott Blades described a weekend full of events including a campaign fund-raiser for Fred DuVal. Here he continues describing that evening.]

And when it came time for questions from the audience, there were a few questions about LGBTQ issues, but also questions about education, and water, and jobs, and the environment, and other issues of importance to us as Arizonans.

The candidate answered each one with great detail—he’s obviously got a grasp of the issues important to the citizens of this state, and he’s got a plan. The energy and enthusiasm in the room grew as the event continued, and the excitement in me grew as I realized that we were talking to someone who can help turn around this state of Arizona that so badly needs leadership like this.

Then it was time for the next event, a birthday party for the husband of Roy, our fabulous part-time staff member who coordinates the menu and kitchen for Poz Café, our lunch program. Roy’s husband Rolly, a United Methodist

pastor, was surrounded by great food and adoring friends. As the cake was brought out, a young refugee from Africa stepped forward with his guitar and began to sing “You Raise Me Up.” With a thick accent and his heart-filled voice, time stood still and everyone stopped in awe and gratitude, not just for Rolly but for the moment of inspiration and friendship and support and music and love. I didn’t have a chance to hear this young man’s story of escaping from Africa and coming to the US, and how he came into the life of Roy and Rolly and ended up a friend and singing at this birthday celebration, but I know it’s a story that needs to be told, and I look forward to hearing it.

The final stop of Saturday was a late dinner at one of my favorite restaurants with one of my best friends who was visiting us for the weekend. I walked into Café Poca Cosa and was greeted

by Susana, the owner, and I thanked her for donating a gift certificate to our Treasures for TIHAN auction. “I know you get asked 10 times a day by charities for donations, and I know you can’t say yes to all of them, but I appreciate you saying yes to us,” I told her. “I give because it’s important, and as long as I can give something, I will,”

she said, with a glimmer of both sadness and hope in her eyes.

We sat down and enjoyed a wonderful dinner, friends catching up on each others’ lives, speaking of our joys and challenges, our stresses and successes, our friends and families and hopes and dreams. A glass of wine, great food, and a time away from the busy-ness of the world, a time to reconnect and bare our souls and get real with each other and with our own selves.

It was a great way to end a busy and rewarding Saturday.

The weekend’s crowning glory was getting up early on Sunday morning to drive up to Phoenix to be with my mother and sisters and brother and family to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was a great day for a picnic in the park with family, playing and laughing and catching up and feeling gratitude.

I am blessed to have been born to a wonderful mother who has always been a great support to me. I’ve also been blessed to have a wonderful friend who has become my second mom.

And so many other women throughout my life who have also taken me in and mothered me in important and beautiful

ways. These amazing women have helped love and support and shape me and allowed me to grow into the best me I can be. They have mothered me, protected me, cared for me, loved me and helped me love myself.

I know that many of my friends have a hard time on Mother’s Day, because they have lost their mom, due to death or rejection, or perhaps never had a good relationship with their mom or maybe never even got to meet their own mom. I spent some time thinking of those friends and sent them some love.

Driving back Sunday night as the weekend’s moments counted down, it was good to reflect. It was a weekend that was full of moments that mattered.

And they mattered because I allowed myself to be grateful, focusing not on the six million things that are going wrong, or could be better, or need to be done or fixed, not on my faults and shortcomings and my needs and my lack, but instead I focused on the moment at hand, and the beauty of the people around me.

Thanks for being part of my life, and this journey that passes so quickly.

Nothing is guaranteed, so enjoy it while you can. Now.

U.S.: Saying things and doing stuff for LGBTs worldwide Continued from page 1 A very important area of concern for the worldwide LGBT community is “Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers.”

Here the department says that it is “developing targeted interventions” to address gaps in the LGBT refugee and asylum seekers policy.

Working through the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration the department instituted training programs where all PRM employees are trained on LGBT issues. One example of this was conducting a workshop in six countries to train government employees on the special protection needs of LGBT migrants and asylum seekers.

(While the department doesn’t elaborate in the statement about its training, it probably included instructions to “not house bigots and gays in the same areas.”)

The department also wants the PRM to communicate annually to all embassies about the refugee resettlement as it relates to LGBT applicants.

As far as “Foreign Assistance to Protect Human Rights and Advance Nondiscrimination” goes, the

department says that since December 2011 “more than $9 million has been provided to support activists and individuals working to promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons in over 50 countries worldwide.”

The money was disbursed through the Global Equality Fund, a “multistakeholder initiative” made up of governments, private foundations, and corporations. The money supported local civil society organizations with direct small grants to undertake short term projects. It also went toward building institutional capacity through long-term programs (whatever that means). It also went to providing technical assistance to local and national civil society organizations as well as providing emergency support for advocates, civil society organizations and LGBT people under threat because of their work.

Just so you know: $9 million is less than 0.0001 percent of U.S. spending since December 2011. Who gets to decide these things?

to Human Rights Abuses of LGBT Persons Abroad” the department had this to say: “We have developed a rapid response mechanism to address negative developments around the world.”

To wit: it regularly and promptly reports on negative developments; makes high-level public statements as appropriate; delivers private messages to the government, coordinating with other like-minded missions in country and in Washington, D.C.; and provides emergency funds to protect human rights defenders and NGOs under threat due to their work, to assist with safety and security, and to support emergency advocacy efforts, as needed.

But no, it doesn’t Air Evac to safety those in immediate threat of life and limb for simply being born LGBT.

“Responding quickly and effectively to violence and discrimination against LGBT persons is a priority for the State Department.”

And finally under “Engaging International Organizations in the Fight Against LGBT Discrimination” the State Department says it “works in partnership with a diverse group of countries to develop LGBT-related resolutions, statements, and side events at the UN.”

— The State Department Under the heading “U.S. Responses

Here its aim is to both pass resolutions specific to LGBT issues,

5/20/14

and to highlight LGBT issues by making statements from the floor, co-sponsoring side events, and empowering LGBT people and LGBT-friendly civil society.

In its long list of accomplishments the Department includes: “The United States makes LGBT-related recommendations to countries as a part of the Universal Periodic Review process” and it supported financially the Unit for the Rights of LGBTI Persons at the Organization of American States, which in November 2013 became the Rapporteurship for the Rights of LGBTI Persons.

Among the duties and responsibilities of the Rapporteurship is to publish and disseminate a Regional Report on Violence and Impunity against LGBTI Persons in the Americas, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights website.

(Just so you know: “rapporteurship” is a French word that means, “The person whose job it is to do research and present official reports.”)

OK, so the Department of State is definitely doing things for the worldwide LGBT community and its spending very little money (comparatively) to get it done.

Page 8

OBSERVER

Gay bowlers meet in Tucson alleys: The IGBO annual tournament strikes

WEEKLY

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER STAFF TUCSON – Over 300 bowlers from the U.S., Canada, and Australia convened in the Old Pueblo for the International Gay Bowling Organization’s annual tournament Friday through Sunday.

This was the first time Tucson has hosted the tournament. In 1994, Tucson hosted the IGBO semi-annual tornament, so the theme for this event was “Return to the wild wild west.”

Throughout the weekend bowling alley athletes competed in a variety of tournament categories both as singles and teams.

Mayor Johnathan Rothschild presided over the closing ceremony at the Hilton East on Sunday night and highlighted his gratitude for the tournament’s economic impact. He cited an estimate of the economic impact to be around $300,000 due to the tourism and lodging budgets of the visiting bowlers, an estimate previously reported in the Observer.

Vice Mayor Paul Cunningham squares up his stance to bowl the first ball of the tournament.

Rothschild was said to be the first mayor to have participated in an IGBO ceremony. He was joined by council members Karin Uhlich, Richard Fimbres, and vice mayor Paul Cunningham who bowled the first ball at the opening ceremony knocking down all but one stubborn pin.

Vice mayor Paul Cunningham and son, councilmember Karin Uhlich and daughter, councilmember Richard Fimbres, and tournament official Kevin Wheeler came out to wish the competitors luck at the openning ceremony.

Bagpiper Terry Rillos played the openning ceremony. When asked what is worn under her kilt she says “Nothing is worn under the kilt; everything is in perfect working order.”

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild congratulated the competitors and committe on a successful event with great economic impact.

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER WEEKLY

Page 9

AIDS Candlelight Memorial honors memories of family and friends Photos from the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial May 18

Above left: Volunteers assemble battery operated candles to be distributed across the crowd of supporters at Himmel Park.

Above right: Jeffrey Scott Brown sets up the AIDS Ribbon Tucson, a travelling memorial to those lost to the virus.

Below: Desert Voices and Reveille Men’s Chorus sing a medly of songs about loss, strength and hope.

Page 10

OBSERVER

Fireside Chat

WEEKLY

May 21, 2014

If you heard someone say ‘That’s so gay’ what would you do? what really matters. It certainly was a learning opportunity for me.

By Wendell Hicks Executive Director SAAF

In the past, I might have made different choices. There is a time when I would have erred on the side of my doubt, maybe I had misheard. After all, I had been shipping items from that store for years and felt like I was coming to see friends. Not wishing to make a scene, I might have acted like nothing had happened. I might even have picked a card and bought it. And I would have further fed that secret shame and hidden stigma that there is something wrong with being gay.

Living here in Tucson, I’ve let my guard down a lot. I no longer live in that constant undercurrent of weariness, fearing to hear slurs like I did when I lived in East Texas. But I bet, even here in our community, you’ve heard it… “faggot” or “queer” in that tone of voice that stings or even worse, makes your gut clench and sets off ghostly warning bells.

Earlier this month, I went to this place where I’ve been shipping packages back home to my family since I moved to Tucson, coming up on seven years. The mother and son who run the place know me by sight and by name.

I had become more than a customer, something of a friend.

So I stopped in to ship my mama her Mother’s Day gift. The son was standing behind the counter with a man I’d never seen before. There was a young woman across the counter.

I heard them talking but ignored their conversation as I was looking for a card to send for my nephew’s birthday too.

Then I heard “that’s so gay.” I stopped turning the rack, all thoughts of the birthday card gone. Even though I had not been following their conversation, my antenna for any hostile remark about sexual orientation was still on high alert.

It brought back old feelings. And fears.

Even here in Tucson a slur could still trigger the feeling of danger.

I’m sure Nick, who lived in Tyler, Texas where I lived, heard “faggot” or “queer” and much worse before he was taken to an empty oil field. I’ve never forgotten that he was told to strip by his assailants and shot in the back of the head multiple times. Back then we didn’t call them hate crimes.

The internal debate began… starting with doubt. Did I really hear what I thought I heard? I glanced over to the counter, my face flushing. The son and young woman were clearly embarrassed. She said “Quiet daddy,

Or I might have just walked out and never come back, an unspoken and half-hearted gesture that what was said was not OK. But you know how that goes. Have you ever walked away from a situation where you wanted to speak up, where you know you should have spoken up — and didn’t? Then afterwards spent time beating yourself up or thinking up clever things that you should have said?

you’re so bad.” Yup. I heard it right. It was the old man who said it. Once I allowed myself to believe that I heard correctly, I vacillated between just walking out or saying something. In the meantime, the son gave his dad the “stink eye” and the father scooted to the back of the store and out of sight.

At the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, we have a group of young adults who provide LGBTQ 101 trainings in high schools to students and teachers, to mental health and social service providers and even to SAAF’s staff. They teach young people to speak up when their peers use slurs like “that’s so gay.” One of the thoughts that crossed my mind is “What would Jai or T or Angel do?” They would speak up of course.

I turned to the counter and the son asked me “So, how are you doing?” I

told him “If I heard what I think I heard…”

He affirmed “You did. That was my dad.”

I told the son, what his father said was offensive. “Your dad is not 12 years old.”

Then I left, my heart pounding.

I was shaken, so I called my partner Kevin. His support soothed me and helped me get my bearings. When I hung up, I noticed that there was a message. Right after I had left, the son called his mother who had been working at another store and told her what happened.

She apologized to me, instead of apologizing for her husband which is an important point. She did not make excuses for him. She said “He thinks he is funny, and he’s not. What he said was offensive. I’m very very sorry.”

This may have been a learning situation for that family, but that isn’t

Where I came from, slurs about your sexual orientation could sting, could cause you to be ostracized by your entire community, could lead to a helluva beating or even death. Standing up for myself after years of reacting from fear was something new. I learned it from a younger generation. The son and daughter were clearly embarrassed and knew that what their father had said was offensive. They weren’t direct, but made him aware of it as best they could in a parent and child dynamic. I wanted to walk out, but then the question came in my mind: “What would Jai or T or Angel do?”

What would you do if someone in your hearing said “That’s so gay?” It depends on the people involved, where you are at physically and internally.

Trust your gut. There is no shame for walking away from a situation that could turn ugly or dangerous. But if it does feel right, speak up. By doing so, you may feel more empowered as you move on your path in life and you may also make the path easier for those who follow.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Narconon would like to remind families that the use of addicting drugs is on the rise, take steps to protect your family from drug use. If you know anyone who is struggling with drug addiction get them the help they need.

Call for a free brochure on the signs of addiction for all drugs. Narconon also offers free screenings and referrals. 800-431-1754 or DrugAbuseSolution.com

This beautiful seven year old Calico loves to lounge on our geriatric patio. While Yoshi isn’t elder, herself, she vastly prefers the quiet, to the hustle and bustle of the “house” here at the Shelter. She loves company, however, and adores treats and bum scratches. If you pop in to see her, be a little patient, as she’s a little shy at first—but warms up very quickly.

Yoshi

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER WEEKLY

TIHAN has a great opportunity for you!

By Scott Blades TIHAN

Are you interested in having fun, meeting others, volunteering for a great cause, and maybe even bidding on great items? Then we have a great opportunity for you!

Our “Treasures for TIHAN” live and silent auction, one of the largest fundraising events in our community is scheduled for May 31 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Tucson-Reid Park (445 S. Alvernon Way).

If you are interested in volunteering to help with this event, please let us know.

Volunteer forms are available at the TIHAN office or you can visit www.tihan.org and click on the Treasures for TIHAN Red Party link, then click on “How to Volunteer” and you’ll get our online registration form to complete.

This year, our theme is a Red Party, celebrating people who care — people like you! Volunteer opportunities include raffle ticket sales, helping load auction items in/out, setting up item displays, assisting with decorations, setting up auction items on tables, silent auction monitor, and more.

Contact us and be part of a fun team putting together a great party to support TIHAN. For more information, contact Alicia Talerico at volunteercoordinator@ tihan.org or 520-299-6647 ext. 204.

Trans antidiscrimination bill signed in Maryland ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland signed a measure to stop discrimination against transgender people May 15.

The new law takes effect on Oct. 1 and protects transgender residents against discrimination in housing, employment, credit and use of public accommodations.

Opponents of the bill can still get a referendum on November’s ballot if they collect 55,736 signatures by June 30.

Lesbian mayor drops trans loo language from Houston ordinance HOUSTON – Openly lesbian mayor Annise Parker removed a trans-friendly bathroom use provision from the city’s proposed anti-discrimination ordinance after pressure from the religious freedoms crowd May 15.

The ordinance would have required all businesses and public places to allow transgender individuals to use genderappropriate facilities.

The ordinance was proposed in April and aims to prohibit housing, services and employment discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.

“It shall be unlawful for any place of public accommodation or any employee or agent thereof to intentionally deny any

Page 11 person entry to any restroom, shower room, or similar facility if that facility is consistent with and appropriate to that person’s expression of gender identity,” the ordinance stated in part.

“Their rights should end where our morality and rights begin,” Ed Young, pastor of Houston’s Second Baptist Church wrote of the homosexual and transgender communities in an open letter attacking the provision.

A final vote on the measure has been delayed until May 28.

Twenty-dollar sofa holds $40K in cushions NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Three roommates who bought a used couch for $20 found $40,000 in cash stashed inside and returned the money to the 91-year-old upstate New York widow who had hidden it there.

WABC-TV in New York City reports that a State University of New York at New Paltz student and his two roommates found the money stuffed in envelopes hidden in the couch they bought from the Salvation Army in early March.

Third-year New Paltz student Reese Werkhoven of New York City says he found the first batch of cash. They searched the couch and found other envelopes stuffed with money.

One envelope had a woman’s name on it. After debating what to do, the roommates contacted the woman and delivered the money to her the next day.

Remember to send in your wedding announcements and photos to info@observerweekly.com so we can print them here for all the world to see.

Donations accepted.

Save the Date: Treasures for TIHAN Auction/Red Party May 31!

Contact us for discover ways you can get involved!

Page 12

OBSERVER

Milk for breakfast: Freedom Day board cooks up event with slain leader’s nephew

WEEKLY

May 21, 2014

Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria Shipwreck found off coast of Haiti thought to be one of the most significant underwater discoveries in history.

By David Keys THE INDEPENDENT

Stuart Milk far right with Tucson notables including Mayor Jonathan Rothschild at the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast.

Continued from page 1 the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing, Following the Pledge of Allegiance Kate Bradsen, vicar of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, delivered the invocation.

Public figures who spoke were supervisor Richard Elias, District 5; council member Karin Ulich, Ward 3; Rep. Stefanie Mach, District 10, followed

by Stuart Milk who awarded Harvey Milk Foundation Awards to the following local citizens: Dr. Kayla Boyer, local veterinarian and strong supporter of many local LBGT organizations; Paul Weir and Nadia Hagen, both of whom serve on the board of directors for Many Mouths One Stomach and are responsible for the current incarnation of the All Souls event as artistic director (Hagen) and technical director (Weir);

Steve Gottlieb, Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation’s first president; Laura Penny, executive director of the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona; Jerry R. Romero of the Tohono O’Odham Nation’s Two-Spirit of Tucson group; Margaret McKenna, president of Fiesta Grande of Hollywood Inc.; and Jeannette Maré, founder of Ben’s Bells Project. Accepting the award on behalf of the Ben’s Bells Project were Michael Bilharz and Jodi Van der Ploeg.

All in all, the consensus from those attending was that it was a successful event and they look forward to seeing it take place again next year.

More than five centuries after Christopher Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, was wrecked in the Caribbean, archaeological investigators think they may have discovered the vessel’s long-lost remains – lying at the bottom of the sea off the north coast of Haiti. It’s likely to be one of the world’s most important underwater archaeological discoveries.

“All the geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests that this wreck is Columbus’ famous flagship, the Santa Maria,” said the leader of a recent reconnaissance expedition to the site, one of America’s top underwater archaeological investigators, Barry Clifford.

“The Haitian government has been extremely helpful – and we now need to continue working with them to carry out a detailed archaeological excavation of the wreck,” he said.

So far, Clifford’s team has carried out purely non-invasive survey work at the site – measuring and photographing it.

Tentatively identifying the wreck as the Santa Maria has been made possible by quite separate discoveries made by other archaeologists in 2003 suggesting the probable location of Columbus’ fort relatively nearby. Armed with this new information about the location of the fort, Clifford was able to use data in Christopher Columbus’ diary to work out where the wreck should be.

The evidence so far is substantial.

It is the right location in terms of how Christopher Columbus, writing in his diary, described the wreck in relation to his fort.

The investigation into the wreck is being supported by the American TV network, the History channel, which has secured the exclusive rights to produce a major television program on the subject.

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER WEEKLY

Page 13

New Study: Sexual orientation not a predictor of parenting stress among first-time adoptive parents placement well-being was related to post-placement stress. Consequently, careful assessments of adoptive parents’ mental health and emotional resources can help identify those at risk for parenting stress.

LOS ANGELES – Sexual orientation is not a predictor of parenting stress among first-time adoptive parents, according to a new study by Abbie E. Goldberg, Clark University professor and Williams Institute visiting scholar, and JuliAnna Z. Smith, Center for Research on Families, University of Massachusetts Amherst. The article is based on the first longitudinal study of parenting stress in early childhood among lesbian, gay and heterosexual adoptive parents.

“Our study is consistent with and builds on a prior study that found no group differences in parenting stress among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parents,” said Goldberg. “As more LGBT people consider adoption, this paper helps focus adoption professionals and prospective families on the consequential and often preventable predictors of parenting stress.”

The study suggests the following pre-adoptive assessments could impact post-adoptive stress: •

Mental health: Parents’ pre-

• Relationship: Parents’ relationship quality pre-placement can be viewed as a protective factor against stress; such that professionals should assess prospective adopters’ relationship health do determine whether it is a resource or vulnerability for stress.

• Social support: Pre-placement support from friends and family predicted post-placement stress. Thus, professionals can support pre-adoptive parents by helping them to inventory their support resources and take steps to improve them if necessary.

Consistent with prior research, the study also found a child’s age at placement to be a predictor of postplacement parenting stress, such that parents of older children reported more stress. The study also found a relationship between parenting stress and child behavior problems, such that parents who reported severe problems in their children reported more stress.

The study was based on 148 couples of which 50 were lesbian, 40 were gay, and 58 were heterosexual.

The average age of the children was between 5-6 months when placed and 2 and half at the two-year post-placement follow-up.

Your face here

WARNING: Do not carry your baby in Cellophane or plastic bags.

Page 14 Monday 12-3 p.m.

4-5:30 p.m.

4:30-6:30 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

7-10 p.m.

7-8:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

6 p.m.

Tuesday 3-8 p.m.

4 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

Wednesday 3-8 p.m.

12-1 p.m.

3-4:30 p.m.

4:30-6 p.m.

6:30-7:30 p.m.

7-9 p.m.

7:30p.m.

OBSERVER WEEKLY As Clark Saw It

By Gary Clark

Zoe’s 3D World

By Zoe

Mah Jongg Mondays Himmel Park Library. Ages 50+, 1035 N. Treat.

In Our Own Voices, Women’s therapy group for survivors of sexual trauma, SACSA, 1600 N. Country Club, 520.327.1171 Cancer Support Group for LGBT People, Arizona Cancer Center at UMCNorth, Rm 1127, 3838 N. Campbell Ave. 520.694.0347 Regardless of… NA LGBT Meeting, Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd.

SAGA General for trans forlks and allies 1st Monday SAGA Desert Girlz for trans Femanine folks 2nd Monday Reveille Men’s Chorus Open Rehearsal, Rincon Congregational Church, 122 N. Craycroft Tucson Women’s Chorus rehearsal.Call for details: 520.743.0991 Desert Girlz meeting at Wingspan PFLAG en Español Meets the 1st Monday of each month at Fortin de las Flores: 243 W. 33rd St. SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources LGBTQA Support Group. LGBTQ Affairs Office, UA Student Union level four.

SAGA Desert Boyz for trans masculine folks 3rd Tuesdays SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources Pink Triangle AA Meeting, 439 N. Sixth Ave. Everyday.

Gender Spectrum support Group. UA Campus Health Service Building Room C312. $5 TMC Hospice LGBTQ Grief Support Group. 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, Peppi’s House Chapel, 2715 N. Wyatt Drive. RSVP at: 520-324-2438.

Wednesday Night Christian Bible Study, Cornerstone Fellowship Social Hall, 2902 N. Geronimo Ave. Weekly Bears Coffee at Crave, 4530 E. Broadway Blvd.

Yoga at Fluxx $5 suggested donation.

Thursday 3-8 p.m.

4-5:30 p.m.

SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources Support Group for Transgender Survivors of Sexual Trauma, SACSA, 1600 N. Country Club 5:30-6:30 p.m. Queer People of Color& Two Spirit support group. African American Student Affairs MLK Center, 1322 E. 1st Street.

6 p.m.

Write Now! a writer’s group open to all at Revolutionary Grounds 606 N. 4th 6:30-7:30 p.m. Regardless of… NA LGBT Meeting, Trinity Presbyterian Church, 400 E. University Blvd.

7 p.m.

Weekly Meditation Classes in Central Tucson, cost: $10, Kadam Meditation Center Arizona 1701 E. Miles St. 7-9 p.m. SAGA Desert Partnerz for cis-gendered 4th Thursday 7-10 p.m.

Triangle Tribe, Men’s Support Group. Call 520-398-6826 Friday 4 p.m.

5:30-6:30 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

Wingspan’s Eon Youth Program New Youth Orientation Fridays at 4p.m.

Youth Center Open M-F Oasis LGBT Social Group. Email oasis.wingspan@gmail.com Bingo at MCC Every Friday call 207-9354 for info.

Saturday 2:30-4:30p.m.

2nd Saturdays

Bears of the Old Pueblo Potluch 2nd Saturdays 520.444.2275 Transparents For parents of trans kids. RSVP SAGA to attend.

Sunday 9-11 a.m.

10-11.30 a.m.

10-12 p.m.

11a.m 2-5 p.m.

2:45 p.m.

May 21, 2014

Co-ed Softball, all abilities welcome. Oury Park, 600 W.St. Mary’s Advice For Life & Prayers for World Peace. Buddha’s teachings, Kadampa Meditation Center Arizona 1701 E. Miles St. LGBT Buddhist Meditation Group meets every Sunday at The Three Jewels, 314 E. 6th St. in Tucson. Meditation sessions with readings, recordings, and discussion. Welcoming to all.For information call Jim at 520-884-4218.

Zumba at Fluxx. $5 suggested donation.

Mamasitas! Men’s Sports club at Menlo Park The New Men’s Massage Group. 8/14 @ 4p.m. Call Marc at 881-4582 to sign up. Or email bleu55@gmail.com in advance. It’s a great place to meet men. Safe, non-sexual but very sensual and a little erotic. Donation.

3-5p.m.

Men’s Social Network “H” Club open to entire LGBTQ community. This is a fun discussion, learning and participation group meeting for discussions on major words beginning with the letter “H.” Doesn’t meet the 1st Sunday of the month.

5:30 p.m.

Puertas Abiertas Latin/Hispanic LBGTQ/Ally support group meeting at Wingspan 430 E 7th St – every 3rd Sunday of the month at 5:30pm.

For Rent: Looking for One Mature Person working or retired for my 1-br, 1-ba house. Has A/C, washer-dyer, shaded 1 car off-street parking, private front, side and a tiny back yard.

Smoking out side only but prefer non smoker.

Grant and Park area. $500 a month.

You pay utilities. Sweet Little Place.

Hopefully long term as have been the last three Tenets.

Call 520-440-2413 if interested.

Thanks~

May 21, 2014

OBSERVER

Astrology Monday BRODIES TAVERN - Service Industry Night 7 p.m.- 2 a.m. $2.50 House Well, Long Islands, Margaritas on Tap, $3 16 oz. BudBud Light-Mic Ultra Cans, Fireball Shots.

IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9p.m. Taking Back Mondays hosted by Diva featuring *3-4-1 Well Vodkas (Regular, Grape & Cherry) 9 - Close. Karaoke Inside or Lounge on the Patio 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon-4 p.m. Free music, WiFi Noon-2 p.m.

Tuesday BRODIES TAVERN - Two Buck Tuesday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $ 2 House Well, Fire Eater Shots, $2 Margaritas on Tap, $2 Long Islands IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m.; Taco Tuesdays. $1 Tacos. Drink Specials 9-Close: Mix-n-Match Mexican Beer Special, Tequila Specials (Patron $6, Milagro $4.50, Hornitos $4, Cuervo $3.50), Million$DJ Inside 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon- 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi noon- 2 p.m.

Wednesday BRODIES TAVERN - Whiskey Wednesday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3.25 Jack-Jim BeamJameson-Fireball-Makers Mark-Johnny Walker Red, $5 Redds Balls IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., “Viva La Diva” Drag Show Hosted by Diva at 9.

“Whiskey Breath” Drink Special Every Wednesday 9-Close. $2 Well, $3 Call, $4 Select Top Shelf Whiskey and Scotch Blend Whiskies. Million$DJ Inside after the drag show. Party on the Patio with DJ Import 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. Free pool noon-4 p.m. Free music, WiFi noon-2 a.m.

Thursday BRODIES TAVERN - Customer Appreciation 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. Two-for-One Well-Domestic Bottles, Margaritas on Tap House Kasiz Shots IBT’s - Therapy every Thursday. All Day *2-4-1 Drink Specials (excludes top shelf, wine & draft). Million$DJ Inside at 9 p.m., DJ Sid the Kid on the Patio 9 p.m. GoGo Boys @11 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open 10am. Free pool 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi 10 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Friday BRODIES TAVERN - Get the Party Started Friday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3 Malibu Rum Black-House Long Islands-Pucker Vodka, Margaritas on tap-XX Pints IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., Flawless Fridays featuring “Absolutely Flawless” Drag Show hosted by China Collins @ 9 p.m. DJ Import Inside after the show, Million$DJ on the Patio 9pm. GoGo Boys @11p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open 10 a.m. Free pool 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music, WiFi 10 a.m.- 2 a.m.

Saturday BRODIES TAVERN - Back Pocket Sabado Latino 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3 Magaritas on tap-Corona Bottles, $3.25 Latin Beers-XX Micheladas, $1 Tequila Shots-Corona Ritas IBT’s - Happy Hour 12 - 9 p.m., Karaoke on the Patio 5 - 8 p.m., “Saturday Night Starlettes” drag show Hosted by Janee Starr 9pm, Million$DJ on the Patio 9 p.m., DJ Import Inside after the drag show.

VENTURE-N - Open 10 a.m. Free pool 10.a.m. - 4 p.m. Free music

Sunday BRODIES TAVERN - Funday 7 p.m. - 2 p.m. $2.50 House Well, $3 House Long Islands, Tap Magaritas, $1 House Kasiz Shots, $1.75 Domestic Pints IBT’s - Happy Hour 12-9 p.m., Karaoke 4-8:30 p.m. “Cheap Ass Sunday’s” 9-Close feat. 2-4-1 Drinks and Bottle Beer (exclude top shelf, wine & draft), Karaoke Inside 9pm; DJ Sid the Kid on the patio 9 p.m.

VENTURE-N - Open noon. BBQ Burgers or Hot Dogs, Fries. Free Pool Noon-4 p.m.

Free Music, WiFi noon-2 a.m.

Aries: You are a bundle of energy — always on the go.

Taurus: The clouds will rain success on to you.

Gemini: You will overcome difficult times.

Cancer: Examine the situation before you act impulsively.

Leo: You will never need to worry about a steady income.

Virgo: There’s a secret romance blooming! Go for it, in spite of your hesitation.

Libra: For success today look first to yourself.

Scorpio: Lotto or not? That is the question.

Sagittarius: Work on ideas that are creative and can bring fine results.

Capricorn: You love the spotlight — become an entertainer.

Aquarius: A message from a distance is coming.

Pieces: Change is happening in your life, go with the flow.

WEEKLY

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OBSERVER WEEKLY

The mafia and Michael Sam’s boyfriend

When Vito Cammisano kissed his boyfriend in front of the ESPN cameras, he must have known the world would find out his grandfather was a notorious mob boss— but he wasn’t afraid.

By Michael Daly THE DAILY BEAST If the late mob boss William “Willie the Rat” Cammisano was like other Mafiosi—and by all accounts he most emphatically was — he would have been apoplectic had he been told his grandson was dating an African American.

But a Mafioso such as Willie the Rat would have taken that as the good news by comparison when he heard the rest.

For his grandson’s AfricanAmerican lover also happens to be a man, as the whole world came to learn when Vito Cammisano kissed football draft pick Michael Sam in front of the ESPN cameras.

In doing so, Vito must have known that the press would quickly reveal him to be the grandson of a notorious Mafia boss whose nickname was once explained by a witness before a U.S. Senate Committee.

“Because he killed people and stuck them in the sewers so the rats could eat them,” said the witness, Fred Bonadonna.

The spontaneity and genuine affection of the kiss on ESPN made clear that Vito was not at all afraid of what others might say about him or his family. And however much some part of Willie the Rat might have wanted to stick his own grandson in a sewer, the lifelong gangster also might have felt a grudging respect for Vito.

May 21, 2014