January 14, 2015
‘Tales of the City’s’ final installment comes out in paperback this month
Issue 1564
Curt Beall named Man Of The Year by G3
OBSERVER STAFF In 1978, when we first walked into 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco and met Anna Madrigal, nobody told us she was transgendered. Wouldn’t have done a bit of good if someone had told us that -- in 1978, we couldn’t have guessed what “transgendered” might mean. Back in the ‘70s, kids who grew up in places like Habakkuk, Texas, and Pretty Poultry, S.C., didn’t know about “trans” except Trans Am. “The Days of Anna Madrigal” is the ninth and final book in the “Tales of the City” series. “Tales of the City” was originally serialized in The San Francisco Chronicle in 1978.
Inside Chuzapalooza 2015 hits the lanes this week Page 13 Mayoral proclamation for Chuzapalooza Days Page 3
‘We are all in this together –’:
What drag means for us
Fireside Chat Page 10
Ask Jeb Bush if his respect for ‘religious freedom’ means the freedom to fire or evict gays Page 5 Anti-gay Quran-burning pastor now burning french fries
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National Religious Freedom Day getting special attention this time Page 6
But plenty of us got our asses to places like San Francisco as soon as we could, and the minute we entered Continued on page 12
PFLAG Tucson scholarship applications now available TUCSON – PFLAG Tucson 2015 scholarships are available to southern Arizona high school seniors, undergraduate students, and graduate students to attend an institution of higher education, wherever that may be. This year again PFLAG will be awarding several $1,000 LGBT scholarships in the name of Gene Moore, its past president, and one $1,000 scholarship in the name of Art and Mark Woodland, husband and son of Elaine Woodland, strong PFLAG supporters. Application materials are now available on PFLAG Tucson’s website at http://www. pflagtucson.org/scholarships. For further information you may also contact PFLAG at 520-3603795, pflagtuc@pflagtucson. org, P.O. Box 36264, 85740.
Curt Beall has worked in the HIV services community for twenty years.
By Christopher L. Pankratz OBSERVER WEEKLY TUCSON – An emotive crowd cheered at the announcement that Curt Beall is the man of the year named by G3, a local gay men’s happy hour on Jan. 9. G3 event producer Pete King, Observer editor Nick Pafford, TIHAN executive director Scott Blades and SAAF
executive director Wendell Hicks congratulated Beall on his years of volunteer service to the Tucson community. Beall frankly told the Observer that he came to Tucson to die. In 1995 he was given a diagnosis of AIDS and told he would not survive. After seeing friends in similar situations pass away around him, Beall and his partner moved from New York State
Beall has continued to work in the HIV services community for twenty years including work at the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network, and the Community Advisory Board at El Rio Special Immunology Associates. He has also been on the Pride board for five years Continued on page 12
Will Congress force ‘female’ to be the gender that dare not speak its name? By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST For someone who churns out a lot of political columns, you’ll notice I don’t often rant about the “war on women.”
The application deadline is March 31, with award decisions made in mid-April followed by an awards reception on May 6 at the Ward VI City Council Offices. Founded in 1972, PFLAG is the largest organization in the U.S. for parents, families, friends, and allies who support people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.
to Tucson where he began volunteering with PACT, which is now SAAF and Wingspan.
Usually, I figure if I wrote about it, women might ask (with good reason) what the hell I would know about being patted on the head and sent off to fetch the master’s cigar and jammies.
The tiny microbrains of congresscritters know that science is a lie.
To which I now retort that Continued on page 11
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1 Dem senator refuses to back marriage bill
However, he couldn’t let it rest there. In a blog post, he went a step further: “The terrorists did what had to be done to publicly destroy and ruin the offender ... and the terrorists won in Atlanta.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Exactly one Democratic U.S. senator has not signed on with the federal marriage-equality bill.
Let it never be said that Erickson might be simply a sore loser and an asshat to boot.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-Republican -er -- West Virginia, is the only holdout on a bill that would establish full federal recognition of all same-sex marriages. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled part of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in the 2013 Windsor decision, the law remains on the books and is likely to stay there at least until 2016 when another election switches the direction of Congress. David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, points out that Manchin has never expressed any support for same-sex marriage although he has voted with the LGBT community at times -- including the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Until this month, Manchin was one of three Senate Democratic holdouts on marriage, but the other two -- Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas -- got bounced by voters in November for having a “D” after their names no matter how far to the right they veered. Back in 2013, Manchin explained his position in a Reddit post: “I was raised in little Farmington, West Virginia, and I don’t believe in any aspect of discrimination. With that being said, I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I know that might be [different] from other people, but that’s my view.”
Gay activists equal Parisian terrorists, GOP blogger says You probably don’t give a rat’s booty what a top Republican blogger says about you, but: RedState.com editor Erick Erickson seemed to place gay activists he blamed for the dismissal of Atlanta’s anti-gay fire chief on equal footing with the terrorists who killed 12 in the attack on satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. Speaking on his radio show, Erickson pontificated last week: “They believe that the views they want to silence are not worthy of ever being spoken … and so they must be punished, they must be vanquished, and everyone must know it’s going to happen to them as well. ... “And so they did the only thing they could do, the only thing they knew to do. They went to the mayor of Atlanta and demanded he fire the chief of the fire department for daring to mock them.” Atlanta’s policy against LGBT discrimination probably had something to do with Mayor Kasim Reed’s firing of frothingly homophobic Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran as well, but Erickson once again fails fact-checking.
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But Abraham Medina, a city councilman in this city of nearly 700,000, had a different view. “They’re just doing this to buy time,” Medina said. “I don’t know why they are making these people go through this torment.”
Michael Sam, Vito Anti-gay pisspot apparently get honored by queen engaged in Italy spits back at critics BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland -The anti-gay Northern Ireland politician who was on Queen Elizabeth’s 2014 honors list has reacted disdainfully to calls for him to decline the honor, saying he was speaking for God so if he apologizes it would mean God would have to apologize. “Why should I [decline]? That’s a silly question. It’s been conferred on me by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” said Maurice Mills, who represents Ballymena on the Northern Ireland Council. “My position is taken from the word of God and I’ll obviously not be moving from that, it’s as simple as that,” he added. Up to now, Mills had been most famous for saying gays caused Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and are responsible for spreading AIDS in Africa. Out actress and “Juno” star Ellen Page made headlines by tweeting her anger over Mills’ inclusion on the honors list and adding “fuck this.” Mills is above all that. “These people are making judgment on a person when they haven’t a clue about his background or what his position is. I’m not getting into a mix about that,” he said. Lordy, no -- someone who speaks the words of the Almighty sure wouldn’t get “into a mix” with persons of low estate.
Bureaucrats defy court for 2nd time on Mexicali nuptials MEXICALI, Mexico -- What would have been the first same-sex wedding in Baja California, as mandated by Mexico’s Supreme Court, has been postponed for a second time by bureaucrats in this city on the U.S. border. Fernando Urias, 37, and Victor Manuel Aguirre, 43, have been trying to wed legally in Mexicali since 2013. Their second wedding date, last weekend, had been scheduled with the city’s civil registry for weeks. Two months ago, local officials refused to marry them claiming “unresolved paperwork.” This time, they arrived at City Hall to find the doors locked. Angelica Guadalupe Gonzales Sanchez, president of the Coalition of Baja California Families, said the two men “suffer from madness” because they were “aggressive and impertinent” during their required pre-marital counseling.
ROME -- Several media outlets are reporting that out football player Michael Sam and his longtime love decided to get engaged during a trip to Italy. While the report had not been 100 percent confirmed as of the weekend, a college friend of Sam’s boyfriend, college swimmer Vito Cammisano, posted on Instagram: “People, he is officially off the market!!!!! My beautiful friend @vitcamm is getting married!!!!!!” According to the television show TMZ, Sam “liked” the post. Sam was the first openly gay player ever drafted by the National Football League, and while he was dropped for this season, he says he still hopes to be accepted by a team.
January 14, 2015 Long, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall, first approached the women’s section but said she was turned away by an Orthodox woman who said Long was “not a woman.” Then when she approached the men’s section where her friend was, she said men yelled at her “not to come near, that the woman’s section was on the other side.” Long’s Facebook status post went viral. The daily newspaper Haaretz even decried the shabby treatment: “[S]hould everything that upsets the ultra-Orthodox be banished from the Western Wall, or does the site belong to everyone? This incident cuts even deeper than the Women of the Wall. Kay Long wasn’t asking to flout Orthodox custom at the main Western Wall plaza in any way, shape or form. She was merely asking to be there. And refusing to allow her to do so is a clear violation of her rights as an Israeli citizen -- and as a human being.” Long said she has since received invitations from several religious women offering to accompany her to the wall for prayer, but she said she wasn’t there for Continued on next page
He recently celebrated his 25th birthday in Italy with Cammisano.
PFLAG LGBT couples celebration welcomes one and all TUCSON -- PFLAG will hold its annual LGBT Couples Celebration on Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. at Ward VI City Council Offices at 3202 E. 1st St. This is PFLAG’s Valentine’s Day celebration for the LGBT community, and everyone is welcome -- couples, singles, friends and allies to join in and have your relationship honored, be inspired by love and commitment, listen to “How we met” stories, inspire PFLAG parents for their children, and give hope to those yet looking! Sharing your stories of meeting, falling in love, and making a commitment for life reminds all of us of how similar we are. It also helps others understand why we’ve all been struggling for marriage equality for all of our family members! PFLAG will provide snacks, appetizers and assorted beverages. Please RSVP to pflagtuc@pflagtucson. org or 520-360-3795.
Trans woman gets shooed away from Jewish holy site JERUSALEM -- An Israeli fashion designer recently was denied access to Jerusalem’s most holy site because of her appearance. Kay Long, who designs wedding dresses, evening gowns and costumes, had a friend visiting from Madrid and wanted to take him to the Western Wall -- also known as the Kotel and commonly referred to by Christians as the Wailing Wall, although that term is considered derogatory by many Jews.
1830 E Broadway Blvd #124-215 Tucson, AZ 85719 www.observerweekly.com info@observerweekly.com Voice Mail 520-812-0909 Editor-In-Chief Bob Ellis Executive Editor Nicholas K. M. Pafford Senior Editor Greg Miller Assistant Editor Christine Beall Assistant Editor Christopher L. Pankratz Phoenix Area Distribution T-Media Promotion Send Classifieds, Inquiry Letters, etc to: info@observerweekly.com Publication of names or photos of any person or organization in the Observer Weekly is not to be construed as indication of the sexual orientation of such person, organization or advertisers or any employees thereof. Opinions expressed by contributors, advertisers or in PSA’s are not necessarily those of the Observer, its staff or advertisers. The Observer assumes responsibility for its own editorial policy only. © 2014 by Observer Publications Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted or archived in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Observer Publications Inc.
January 14, 2015 Continued from previous page religious reasons and has no problem with the religious being given priority there. “The point is, I decided to respect humans wherever they choose to be, and they didn’t respect me,” she said.
Plano’s LGBT foes start petition drive to repeal ordinance
OBSERVER The Friends (pimafriends.com) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization which redistributes recently discarded library books and gently-used donated books to provide funding for Tucson library projects. For more information contact: Libby Stone at info@pimafriends.com or 520795-3763.
Rubio: Courts can’t define marriage (unlike previously)
The ordinance is mainly symbolic, since it allows anyone who wants to discriminate to continue doing so simply by filing a religious waiver, unless they receive grants or contracts from the city.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio had a surprise for judges last week: Courts no longer get to define marriage, as they did in 1967 by tossing out bans on interracial marriage.
Still, it isn’t enough to allow the haters to declare themselves exempt -- they want even a symbolic gesture wiped off the books.
“You go through the legislature, or you go on the ballot, but I don’t agree that courts have the power to do this,” he told Politico.
The ordinance passed on a 5-to-3 vote, with Mayor Harry LaRosaliere’s speech in favor of the measure going viral worldwide. For the most part, Plano is a rightwing city and home to the Liberty Institute, which the Dallas Morning News describes as a “Christian advocacy and legal defense” organization.
Save on books at Friends of the Library book sale TUCSON -- Friends of the Pima County Public Library is having a book sale Feb. 13-16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Book Barn on 2230 N. Country Club Rd. just south of Grant Rd. Check out thousands of great used books and DVDs at great prices. The theme for February is Rodeos and Romance. Seniors (over 55) get a 25 percent discount on Saturday. Sunday is halfprice day. Monday is a Friends bag day, $10 per bag of books.
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Gift certificates and memberships are available for the teacher or avid reader in your circle.
PLANO, Texas -- A petition began immediately to repeal the LGBT antidiscrimination ordinance passed last month by the city council in this Dallas suburb of about 275,000.
If they collect 3,822 signatures by the Jan. 20 deadline, May 9 would be the earliest date for such an election.
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Knee-deep bullshit! Rubio, R-Fla., has a law degree from the University of Florida. Now he claims he never heard of the concept of judicial review? Deciding whether laws are legal is something courts do quite often. She’s a liar.
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Vice Mayor Richard Fimbres and the city council have long been supporters of the International Gay Bowling Organization’s Chuzapalooza tournament. Rothschild is one of the first mayors in the nation to issue a proclamation for an IGBO event. He is scheduled to attend the opening of the tournament on Friday and read the above proclamation. Turn to page 13 for tournament details.
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NOM’s anti-gay co-founder: It’s up to God to stop same-sex marriage now OBSERVER STAFF The co-founder and former head of the National Organization for Marriage said last week that it’s up to God to stop the spread of marriage equality now.
Mississippi’s first LGBT rights rule nixed; mayor vetoes action OBSERVER STAFF STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The first Mississippi city to enact an LGBT antidiscrimination resolution has become the first to repeal one, and its mayor quickly vetoed the 5-to-2 vote by its board of aldermen.
Maggie Gallagher’s remarks to The Daily Beast apparently were an acknowledgement that the group’s donations are drying up.
The resolution, adopted by Starkville aldermen last year, was repealed last week during a closed session with no public notice or input. Aldermen also rescinded a policy that extended health insurance to same-sex partners of city employees.
NOM’s current president, Brian Brown, said last year that “our resources are nearly exhausted.” Also, the group’s tax filings from 2013 indicate that plummeting donations and increased spending left the group $2.5 million in debt at the end of the tax year.
Mayor Parker Wiseman immediately said he would veto the board of aldermen’s action, and he quickly did. Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins led the repeal effort. If the five-vote bloc holds together, that will be enough votes to override Wiseman’s veto and kill the anti-discrimination resolution.
Asked whether she thinks marriage equality is inevitable, Gallagher said: “Nothing is inevitable.’ Inevitability’ is the progressive substitute for the idea of Divine Providence.
Wiseman said that at least aldermen should be willing to discuss the repeal in an open meeting.
“Either God is in charge, or the future hasn’t yet happened and is freely determined. Or God leaves us free.” Gallagher’s “evolution” on same-sex relationships has been the opposite of what most people experience.
January 14, 2015
Maggie Gallagher
Carolina proposal banning civil unions even for straight couples.
In 2006, she was urging gayrights groups to abandon the quest for marriage and instead seek acceptance for separate-but-equal civil unions, but by 2010 she opposed even that recognition for same-sex couples.
She endorsed the anti-gay, anti21st century Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential campaign, and has described herself as an early follower of Ayn Rand.
By 2012, she supported a North
Gallagher also has said that her
virulent opposition to marriage equality comes from an epiphany she had as a single mother abandoned by the father of her child. Why that led her to decide that thousands of other children should be denied two parents involves connecting dots that smarter people than us will have to connect.
“There’s no question in my mind that this sends the worst possible message to the outside world about our community,” he said. Starkville is the home of Mississippi State University, so is less homophobic than the state as a whole. After the city enacted the LGBT protection last year, several other Mississippi cities enacted similar protections: Hattiesburg, Oxford, Magnolia, Greenville, Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Jackson and Holly Springs.
Anti-gay pecan basket: Call out National Guard to stop same-sex marriages! OBSERVER STAFF
to the homosexual lobby and the courts, they would achieve hero status.”
Last time Randy Thomasson was in the news, he was getting all anal about bathrooms: They should be assigned by original birth certificates and no other way. Now Thomasson, who rocketed to fame in 2008 as one of the ramrods (don’t tempt us) of the campaign to pass California’s anti-equality marriage measure Prop 8, has come up with a new way to get his mug on TV. He wants governors to start calling out the National Guard to prevent samesex marriages. Gee, we see his point: That worked out so well to stop school integration . . . looks good in the history books . . . um . . .
Let’s see: Five minutes of “hero status” among a pack of homophobic bigots, followed by a thousand years of looking like a troglodyte in history books . . . yes, it’s a tight choice.
He specifically aimed a urine stream at Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant: “The governor is supposed to be a strong Christian man, so what is he going to do? Is he really going to protect marriage? As governor, he’s the head of the Mississippi National Guard. He can refuse to alter marriage certificates. He can threaten to sue county clerks for violating the state Constitution on manwoman marriage.”
Yes, Bryant could threaten anything he wants. It would be up to county clerks to choose between contempt-of-court charges or thumbing their noses at an asshat governor. But Roman Catholic anti-gay hyena Peter LaBarbera cheers Thomasson on, telling the right-wing toilet bowl WorldNetDaily: “Standing up to these courts would, I think, be good politics on the right. . . . I think if someone stood up
Have these trolls never read about the “hero status” of Gov. Orval Faubus, who called out the Arkansas National Guard in 1957 to fight off the 20th century by preventing school integration? Now they expect governors to try the same image-enhancing tactic with the 21st? Well, give it hell, Randy Peter! Very few governors ever blinded anyone with brilliance.
January 14, 2015
Weather Report
About enough rain fell last year in Tucson for LGBTQs TUCSON – According to a website which specializes in moisture tracking, Tucson had an average rainfall of 11.3 inches over the last 30 years, which is 71 percent less than the average nationwide, and about average in Arizona. If 11.3 inches of rain fell over Tucson last year and Tucson’s area is 227 square miles there’s still no way of knowing how many lesbians you could make with all that water. Even if you figure you had all 60 elements found in the human body on hand – only 29 of these are essential to life -- people aren’t uniform so the amount of hydrogen would differ, sometimes greatly. The average gay is about 60 percent water and the average lesbian is about 55 percent water. Overweight gays and lesbians have more water, as a percent, than their leaner counterparts. You’d expect to get the same amount of transgender folks from the same amount of water but fewer bisexuals. Being generally stout, bisexual muscle mass requires less water even when you calculate in a healthy BMI. With one subset set of gays, the twink, you’d get quite a few more in orders of magnitude as they weigh in at about two-thirds of an average adult male on every level. However, they require less than half the essential elements of life, on average, than an adult male. (It’s assumed these are replaced with whoreatonium.) There are currently no statistics available for queer and questioning individuals. Enough water falls in Tucson that, even if you can’t know how many LGBT or Qs it would make, water harvesting is a good idea. Right now, Tucson Water will rebate qualifying residential rainwater harvesting system costs up to a maximum of $2,000. Check it out by calling 520-791-4331 or emailing pico@ tucsonaz.gov. We want to write it one more time: moisture.
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Ask Jeb Bush if his respect for ‘religious freedom’ means the freedom to fire or evict gays By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST I’ve been reading that Jeb Bush’s idea on same-sex marriage is that everybody needs to respect everybody’s views including those who would use “religious freedom” to deny the LGBT community any equality under the law. That’s fine. I doubt that many of us are surprised he said that. But if there had been a reporter present, maybe someone would have asked him if he means the refusal not only of marriage equality, but of every law protecting gays from being fired or evicted at the whim of the person in power. How would you construct a law protecting the LGBT community that’s acceptable to people who claim their religious belief trumps any such law?
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wants everyone to respect “religious liberty” -- which would mean not only no marriages for gays and lesbians if somebody challenged them, but LGBT evictions and firings whenever the person in power claims “religion.”
I submit that it can’t be done -anyone with ideas, feel free to speak up. In fact, I submit that this is the ONLY reason for the sudden demon-spawn of “religious freedom” from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision last year.
person who seriously cared what his landlord’s religion was? “Religious freedom” here is a non-issue -- the issue is making sure no LGBT U.S. citizen goes into court thinking they might be treated equally.
Have you ever heard of an LGBT
We already had a couple of
City rallies to back terminally ill trans woman's wedding WORCESTER, England -- A town has come together to grant the dying wish of a terminally ill trans woman to marry her female partner. The Worcester-based couple, both transgender, have been together for more than 10 years as they transitioned. They had planned to marry, but sold everything -- even the rings -- to cover medical expenses. Parma Bertoli has been given less than a year to live because of a brain tumor. But once they appealed for help, local businesses and community members donated to the couple and now they plan to wed in February. "I feel stunned and overjoyed," Bertoli told the Worcester News. Her fiancee, Stephanie Nickles, added, "I never thought so many people would come forward to help and I have been taken aback by it all. It is going to be a fantastic occasion that we thought was never going to happen."
centuries of that. If these self-righteous, pseudoChristian chupacabras force people back into second-class citizenship, I expect them to get what they deserve. Eternally, if possible!
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National Religious Freedom Day getting special attention this time
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handful of people to contact their local newspapers about writing columns expressing the views of progressive Christians as well as non-Christian beliefs -- the people who are most often left behind in discussions of religion today.
If you’re like most people, you didn’t realize that the president of the United States declares every Jan. 16 to be National Religious Freedom Day. Until the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision potentially wiped out every protection ever enacted for blacks, women, LGBTs or any other group that someone claims their religion demeans, maybe most of us never gave it a thought.
The very idea of pointing out that cake shops, flower shops and photography studios are seldom places of worship -- and especially the idea that a family of gazillionaires doesn’t worship in Hobby Lobby -- has caught on somewhat around the country.
This year, the special day has already gained more publicity than in any year in modern times. The day commemorates the adoption of Virginia’s Statute for Religious Freedom (written by Thomas Jefferson) on Jan. 16, 1786. “Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever,” the statute reads. It’s generally regarded as the precursor to the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Just after Christmas last month,
As another blogger, elenacarlena, pointed out about religious freedom in a follow-up at Daily Kos: “It’s not the freedom to impose your religion on me.” a blogger named Frederick Clarkson started the ball rolling for actually celebrating National Religious Freedom Day by posting a piece at The Daily Kos headlined “The Christian right does not want you to know about this day.” Clarkson suggested offsetting the expected outpouring by wingnuts of various stripes:
“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.”
As Clarkson wrote back in December, “What if we decided to seize this day to consider our best values as a nation and advance the cause of equal rights for all?” What a plan!
-- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “What if we seized this day to think dynamically about the religious freedoms we take for granted at our peril; freedom that is in danger of being
redefined beyond recognition,” he wrote. The
suggestion
prompted
a
Let’s hope it’s a movement that grows as the country tries to figure out how to overcome the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse itself and give religious belief precedence over the law.
Texas bill would defy marriage ruling, prohibit courts from acting OBSERVER STAFF
prohibits taxpayer money from being used to provide any such abomination.
AUSTIN, Texas -- A wingnut GOP legislator has introduced legislation that would require elected officials in Texas to act in contempt of court if the state’s same-sex marriage ban loses on appeal -- an action anticipated at any moment.
Just for good measure, the bill prohibits anyone from suing over this law and prohibits courts from reviewing it. Then, this most amazing piece of legislation decrees that if it doesn’t get enough votes to become effective immediately, it takes effect on Sept. 15.
Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R-Magnolia, doesn’t seem to understand that if the ban is declared unconstitutional, hello -- his numbnuts bill will almost certainly end up in the same trash bin.
There has been no official word yet on whether other legislators will fund a remedial junior-high civics class for Rep. Bell, but observers expect that his bill has a better chance of passing than other bills that would recognize marriages and allow names of same-sex parents to appear on birth certificates.
He also doesn’t seem to understand that when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1869 that yes, indeedy, Texas DOES have to comply with federal law, the ruling applied to Rep. Cecil Bell Jr. and his cracker bigotry just as it applies to other Texas citizens. Bell says the courts should not be “tied up in that matter” in the first place, presumably meaning that he’s declared same-sex marriage off the table.
His measure would prohibit state and local government employees from
granting, recognizing or enforcing a same-sex marriage license and also
There was a time when Americans could vote for Republicans without turning our government into a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. That time is not now.
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Saks Fifth Avenue: ‘We reserve the right to fire trans people’ By Adrian Garcia GAILY GRIND
policy and the larger, crucial protections afforded by Title VII.
Luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue has triggered a firestorm of controversy after the company filed against a discrimination lawsuit brought forward by former employee Leyth O. Jamal, who claims she was fired for expressing her transgender identity at work.
“The policies our Corporate Equality Index advances are not window dressings for any company to prop up or disregard in the face of individual allegations of misconduct. Saks Fifth Avenue is publicly undercutting the applicability of its own policies reported in the CEI and we must suspend Saks Fifth Avenue’s CEI score until further notice,” Fidas said.
The controversy stems from how Saks is defending itself, arguing that they are legally allowed to discriminate against transgender individuals because they are not protected under Title VII. Leyth says that she was repeatedly told to behave in a more masculine way while on the floor as well as obliged to use the men’s restrooms. Saks Fifth Avenue went as far as to tell her that she needed to “separate her home life from her work life,” according to Law360. Jamal was let go from the store, after reporting that her work environment had become hostile at the Houston, Texas, Saks Fifth Avenue where she was employed. She additionally claims that another employee called her a prostitute and threatened to harm her, reported Metro. The iconic retail chain couldn’t have chosen a worse time to take
Leyth O. Jamal alleges in a law suit that Saks Fifth Avenue fired her for being transgender. The retail chain says, that’s OK, though.
such a stance. Less than a month ago, Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the Justice Department would be interpreting sex discrimination protocol in Title VII to include those with transgender status like Leyth, reported the Huffington Post. “I have determined that the best reading of Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status,” said Holder. Although the store in question is in conservative Texas, Saks’ status as a
South Dakota's ban trashed by court citing '67 precedent SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A U.S. district judge struck down South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage this week, though she put her ruling on hold indefinitely to allow the state time to appeal. U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier said the state failed to show that the ban serves a compelling governmental interest and compared the case to Loving v. Virginia, the 1967 Supreme Court decision that struck down bans on interracial marriage. "In Loving, the Supreme Court addressed a traditionally accepted definition of marriage ... Little distinguishes this case from Loving. Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry. South Dakota law deprives them of that right solely because they are same-sex couples and without sufficient justification," Schreier wrote. If there's a reporter in the house, maybe someone could ask Hillary Clinton and all those other right-wingers where they got the idea that the definition of marriage was ever left up to the states. The historical record says they're talking caca.
national brand has already taken a hit for its counteraction to Jamal’s transgender discrimination lawsuit. The Human Rights Campaign has officially suspended the company’s ally status, according to Deena Fidas, Director of HRC’s Workplace Equality Program. “Saks Fifth Avenue’s arguments are hugely concerning to us. In its court filings, Saks attempts to secure a motion to dismiss Ms. Jamal’s allegations by simultaneously calling into question the validity of its own non-discrimination
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‘We are all in this together –’: What drag means for us
By Wendell Hicks Executive Director SAAF
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court last week rejected a Louisiana petition by same-sex couples asking the court to review a district judge's anti-gay marriage ruling before the case has been ruled on by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The high court made no announcement regarding the four consolidated cases in which the 6th Circuit Court went contrary to all courts so far and upheld marriage bans in Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky.
Drag is more than just fun (although it is a lot of that); it is entertainment, performance art, and provides opportunities to shine light on issues and celebrate successes. I always say, the world would be a lot less colorful without drag queens.
Those cases could be scheduled after the Supreme Court's next private conference, scheduled for this week.
Ex-'ex-gay' activist comes out as gay in belated blog post
In the 25 years that Larry has been performing as Lucinda, he has been a part of fundraising efforts raising over $3,000,000 in Tucson. When he talks about the start of his performance he talks about raising money for funerals of people who were lost to HIV/AIDS.
Fast forward to 2015, Lucinda is still appearing, all over the country, to raise money for organizations she supports.
Supremes reject Louisiana request, 4 cases pending
By coincidence, that same case was being heard in New Orleans on the day the Supreme Court announced it would not accept review.
I recently had the chance to sit down with Larry Moore, or as he is known on stage, Miss Lucinda Holliday, of MadeForAQueen.com. I was interested to hear Larry’s perspective on his years of performance, the recent announcement of Tempest DuJour on RuPaul’s Drag Race, season seven, and how drag impacts communities.
Bobby Holliday, a performer in Larry’s drag family who helped to inspire his name, was an early loss for Larry. “Death was thrown in my face. In my world, five people died a week, every single week,” he said. Larry chose, like many other queens at that time, to respond, collectively raising untold millions for organizations like SAAF, all across the country, who do HIV/AIDS prevention and case management.
January 14, 2015
A former "ex-gay" Exodus International activist came out as gay in a blog post last week. Randy Thomas wrote that he's "gay with some level of bisexual tendencies." Larry Moore performing as Lucinda Holiday.
“We are all in this together . . . we ALL are.” – Larry Moore
And this upcoming May, will feature a Jell-O wrestling Lucinda Holliday, who set an individual fundraising goal of $10,000, to benefit SAAF and those we serve. In her 24th year as emcee, Larry/ Lucinda continues a tradition of building community all for a good cause. And as for some of Larry’s other insights and what he shared about his drag daughter, Tempest . . . Well you will just have to wait until next week to find out!
After working for Exodus from 2002 to 2013, he wrote a post in 2013 apologizing to gay people for his anti-gay activism. In 2014, he posted an endorsement of marriage equality. In last week's post, he addressed reality: "I am not sure many will accept my apologies or this disclosure. I would definitely understand some people's reluctance given my history," he wrote. "That said, while I care about what others think, I am doing this because I feel it is the right thing to do. I am gay. I am OK with who I am. I hope we can continue to journey together.”
January 14, 2015
Page 11 OBSERVER WEEKLY Anti-gay Quran-burning pastor now burning french fries OBSERVER STAFF
2,998 kerosene-soaked Qurans, Jones has not been known to burn holy books.
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Remember the Rev. Terry Jones, who burned a Quran and announced he would burn 2,998 more during 2013 but was arrested for unlawful carrying of a firearm and a bevy of other charges before he could accomplish his mission?
He never publicly announced whether he gave up burning Qurans because God told him to stop, or because he thought his rap sheet was long enough, or simply because he was terrified at the prospect of having his short hairs singed in a visit from AlQaeda.
Well, there’s a certain poetic justice here: Apparently unable to pay the bills peddling hate, he’s now a partner in a french-fry stand at a Bradenton mall.
The LGBT community may be a hell of a lot more familiar with Jones than his mall manager seems to be.
It seems Jones forgot to tell DeSoto Square mall management that he’s No. 2 on Al-Qaeda’s “most wanted” list (dead or alive) -- a list that until last week included Stephane Charbonnier of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Aside from his anti-Muslim activities, the Southern Poverty Law Center lists Dove World Outreach as an anti-gay hate group as well.
The Rev. Terry Jones, is now offering your fries with a special hate sauce.
Mall manager Robert Tackett said he was “shocked” to find out who’s doing business under his roof, but has no problem with the prospect of Jones being a terrorist target in his mall.
He said Fry Guys Gourmet Frys has so far paid its rent, which seemed to be Tackett’s main concern.
There was speculation that Jones viewed the Quran-burning as a cute caper to rebuild church attendance.
“People have an opportunity to do business in America because we are a free country,” Tackett told the Bradenton Herald when the newspaper contacted him about Jones. “This is the first I’ve heard about any of this.”
At the time of the Quran-burning, various media reported that Jones’ Dove World Outreach Center had about 100 members when he became pastor, but under his asshat guidance the membership quickly fell to 50.
In reaction to Jones, however, a UN aid center in Afghanistan was attacked by local Muslims who killed 12 people, including seven UN relief workers.
Jones told the Bradenton Herald that Fry Guys offers a dozen free topping options, but he didn’t say whether the hate costs extra.
After his arrest with a truckload of
Will Congress force ‘female’ to be the gender that dare not speak its name? Continued from page 1 there are a bunch of old buzzards in Congress who obviously know even less about it than I do, and that doesn’t stop them from curtailing women’s equality right and right . . . and right. Don’t even insult me by saying “Republicans elect women, too.” Didn’t we see just a few months ago that ALL FOUR female Republican senators voted against equal pay for women? Of course, you’ll notice that in THEIR jobs they get equal pay -- so buzz off the rest of you! But there’s nothing magic about a vagina. (OK, goddess may strike me for that one, but allow me to explain . . .) What I mean is, being technically female is no more likely to mean that the congresscritter will represent women’s interests than a little skin pigment would mean they didn’t come in an Oreo package. Last year, we had the congressional
hearing on contraception in which Republicans did not allow a female to speak (because, after all, women have no involvement with contraception kinds of things). This year, we come to THE FIRST DAY of a new Congress and they introduce a bill to further erode a woman’s constitutional right to decide for herself whether to have a baby or not.
to Arizona’s own Rep. Trent Franks and Tennessee’s Carol Burnett wannabe, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who introduced this bill. And the Franks-Blackburn collaboration may only get us off the starting blocks in the latest race to the 19th century with the GOP in charge.
This new intrusion would ban abortions after 20 weeks, alleging that the fetus feels too much pain after that stage.
I understand that some Republicans are sold on the idea that no woman should be able to get an abortion without being granted that right by the father of the fetus.
Now, the American Medical Association may claim that “the capacity for conscious perception of pain can arise only after thalomocortical pathways begin to function, which may occur around 29 to 30 weeks’ gestational age.”
In other words, if I knock you up and disappear, you get to hire a private detective to track my sorry ass to the ends of the earth and then try to convince me to sign your paper so you can act like a grown woman.
However, the tiny microbrains of congresscritters know that science is a lie.
Don’t have the money for a detective? Not my problem -- I wasn’t the one who chose to be born female.
The microbrains in this case belong
And you see? Right there is the
key. When I was being conceived, I had the foresight to check the box marked “male,” and that makes me a full-fledged citizen and anyone who didn’t check the right box is made to be ground underfoot. This has nothing to do with Republicans’ opinion on abortion. You can be against abortion without being against your fellow woman’s constitutional right to make private decisions for herself. This is absolutely about sending our country back to the 19th century, when women couldn’t own property or do much beyond draw a breath without a man’s consent. I can write lightly about it because I am the man. If I were a woman, I’d be screaming for GOP shit to hit the fan.
OW
Page 12
As Clark Saw It
OBSERVER By Gary Clark
WEEKLY
January 14, 2015
Curt Beall named Man Of The Year by G3 Continued from page 1
working prominently on coordinating the parade three years in a row. Beall has been involved with the Alliance fund’s fundraising initiatives and served on the grant selection committee. Other credits include involvement with Habitat for Humanity’s Rainbow Build, scholarship program selection at PFLAG, diversity training panels for Tucson Police, Strength for the Journey a retreat for people living with HIV/AIDS for 10 years, and five years of service on the board of Men’s Social Network.
Zoe’s World
By Zoe
Currently Beall coordinates the Tuesday Night Soiree potluck dinner group and helps to run G3 events. G3 is a monthly men’s happy hour which is held at rotating locations in Tucson. A former iteration of the event was called G2H2. This is the first time G3 has named a man of the year. A special event in Beall’s honor will take place from 5-9 p.m. Jan. 30 at The JunXion Bar. For more information, go to www.tucsonG3.com
‘Tales of the City’s’ final installment comes out in paperback this month Continued from page 1 Mrs. Madrigal’s environment, we were at home in a way we’d never been at home in hometown Habakkuk. Would LGBT rights be where it is now if Armistead Maupin hadn’t introduced us to this remarkable woman and the people who lived in her boarding house in the nine volumes of Tales in the City? Maybe, but the route getting here wouldn’t have been as interesting. It wasn’t that we hadn’t stood naked in front of an apartment window and masturbated for the sexy creature across the way -- of course we’d done that! It wasn’t that we hadn’t done such
a thing with the cameras rolling -- of course we had. But when it happened in the pages of “Tales of the City” and then a few years later in a PBS miniseries, middleclass gasping was heard from Pocatello to Poughkeepsie. Watching “Tales of the City” as it unfolded our newly emerging world, we knew Middle America would never recover. And thanks be to St. Armistead, it never did! But now, we find ourselves in “The Days of Anna Madrigal,” with our heroine 92 years old and committed to “leaving like a lady.” The spirited 16-year-old boy who ran away from the whorehouse outside Winnemucca is now a fragile old lady who soon won’t be around to show us how to live anymore. How did this happen? What can we say to the person who took thousands of bumpkins by the hand and explained to us that yes, we could make a life for ourselves whether society damn well liked it or not? Though we’ve seen so many changes in our time, changing into old age is not something our generation anticipated back then. We may fumble it a few times. But as Charlie Smith recently wrote at his book blog, herewearegoing, “eventually, one needs to sit down with one’s self and allow someone else to load the vaporizer.” Without Mrs. Madrigal to guide us for the first time in our adult lives, and without our siblings Michael Tolliver and Mary Ann Singleton, turning that vaporizer over to someone else may be the toughest change we’ve ever faced.
January 14, 2015
OBSERVER WEEKLY
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Chuzapalooza 2015 hits the lanes this week By Mark R. Kerr SPECIAL TO THE OBSERVER TUCSON – Bowlers from Tucson, across Arizona and the nation are coming to the Old Pueblo to take part in the 2015 Chuzapalooza Bowling Tournament, Friday through Sunday. Chuzapalooza will take place at Tucson Bowl, 7020 E. 21st St. and consists of three separate events: Singles, Doubles and Team (consisting of four people). This is a handicap tournament so the playing field will be leveled for all taking part. This is Tucson’s LGBT and straight supportive bowling tournament and the first stop on the International Gay Bowling Organization Rocky Mountain Region, which consists of the states of Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. An all-volunteer committee organizes and runs the event and members of the tournament committee are primarily from the Welcome to Oz Bowling League, which bowls Thursday nights, 7 p.m., at Tucson Bowl. The committee held fund raisers, from the Duel in the Desert, to the Absolute Worst Drag Show, showing of “White Christmas,” to the 40 Frame Escandalo, to raise the money needed to conduct the seventh annual event. In addition, the Welcome to Oz Bowling League designated part of the funds raised from its weekly 50/50 sales to go to the tournament. These funds will go to cover the costs and increase the prize money bowlers are competing for.
The most important aspect of this event isn’t solely the competition, but unity, fellowship and communication, the main points IGBO espouses for its regional tournaments that follow. Part of the fellowship is giving back to the community, and this year, the Chuzapalooza Tournament Committee voted for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Straight Alliance Fund. According to tournament co-director Kevin Wheeler, since 2008, charities have received more than $20,000 from the bowling tournament. And this year’s recipient will get a portion of money raised from Chuzapalooza. The Alliance Fund connects donors with projects that benefit the LGBT community in Southern Arizona, through annual competitive grant rounds. The fund provides donors with a way to channel their charitable investments into efforts that are likely to affect the issues they’re most concerned with. The fund was created in 1999 by the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in partnership with the National Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership. The fund addresses a chronic
pattern of under-funding of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender programs and supports efforts to address these issues through philanthropy and endowment building. Since its inception, the fund has awarded more than 100 grants to more than 40 different organizations.
an anti-discrimination ordinance as law, protecting LGBT citizen’s rights in employment, housing and public accommodations. I am proud to say that Tucson has been in the forefront of LGBT rights for Arizona for more than four decades.
The Mayor and Council for the City of Tucson have long been supporters of this event and LGBT bowling. When the IGBO Annual Conference and Tournament was held here in May 2014, members of the Mayor and Council were present for the event and the IGBO Annual Conference and Tournament Banquet.
“Our City’s Commission on LGBT Issues plays an integral part of our City government and will mark its 17th year of existence this year.
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild is scheduled to be at the opening of the tournament on Friday, and read a proclamation. (See page 3 for a copy of the proclamation.) He was one of the first Mayor’s in the nation to issue such a proclamation for an IGBO event. The biggest supporter and booster on the City Council for the Chuzapalooza bowling tournament is Tucson Vice Mayor, Richard Fimbres (Ward 5). Vice Mayor Fimbres has been giving updates on the event, during the Mayor and Council meetings and in his monthly newsletter. He wrote the following welcome letter for participants, which will be part of the tournament program, and reads as follows:
“I want to offer my congratulations to the volunteer committee running Chuzapalooza, which recently put on the IGBO 2014 Annual Tournament and Conference less than nine months ago. Their commitment to hosting an IGBO regional event is to be commended. “So good luck, good bowling and I hope you have a great time in our wonderful town.” The host hotel and location for the tournament banquet is the Viscount Suites Hotel, 4855 E. Broadway Blvd. For more information about bowling event times go online to chuzapalooza. com.
“I want to extend my greetings to you and hope your stay in the Old Pueblo is a good one and you are able to enjoy the various amenities Tucson has to offer during Chuzapalooza Days. “In 1977, Tucson was one of the first cities in the nation, to have
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.
To volunteer, call Mark Rosenbaum For support services, call a Link Specialist For more information, events, or to donate, visit www.tihan.org
OBSERVER WEEKLY
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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 11a.m.-2a.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-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi 2 for 1 Original Everything Happy Hour 5-6 pm.
Friday BRODIES TAVERN - Get the Party Started Friday 7 p.m. - 2 a.m. $3 Malibu Rum Black-House Long Islands-Pucker Vodka, Margaritas on tap-XX Pints IBT’s - 11a.m.-2a.m., Flawless Fridays featuring “Absolutely Flawless” Drag Show hosted by China Collins @ 9 p.m. DJ Import Inside after the show, Million$DJ on the Patio 9pm. GoGo Boys @11p.m. LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close, Karaoke 8-12, $3.50 Absolute Lemon Drops, $5 Jamesons VENTURE-N - Open Noon-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi 2 for 1 Original Everything Happy Hour 5-6 pm.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
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 - 11a.m.-2a.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-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi 2 for 1 Original Everything Happy Hour 5-6 pm.
BRODIES TAVERN - Whiskey Wednesday 7-2 a.m. $3.25 Jack-Jim Beam-JamesonFireball-Makers Mark-Johnny Walker Red IBT’s - 11a.m.-2a.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. VENTURE-N - Open Noon-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi 2 for 1 Original Everything Happy Hour 5-6 pm.Dave’s $3.50 Margaritas and Long Island Iced Teas
BRODIES TAVERN - Customer Appreciation 7-2 a.m. Two-for-One Well-Domestic Bottles, Margaritas on Tap House Kasiz Shots IBT’s - 11a.m.-2a.m. Therapy every Thursday. All Day *2-4-1 Drink Specials (excludes top shelf, wine & draft). Million$DJ Inside at 9 p.m., DJ Sid the Kid on the Patio 9 p.m. GoGo Boys @11 p.m. LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close, Happy Hour 6-8, $3 Southern Comforts, $5 Long Islands VENTURE-N - Open Noon-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi 2 for 1 Original Everything Happy Hour 5-6 pm. 4.00 Titos/Absolut, Cosmos/Martis from Dan G
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, $1 Tequila Shots-Corona Ritas IBT’s - 11a.m.-2a.m., Karaoke on the Patio 5 - 8 p.m., “Saturday Night Starlettes” drag show Hosted by Janee Starr 9pm, Million$DJ on the Patio 9 p.m., DJ Import Inside after the drag show. LOOKS - 6 p.m. to Close, $3 Flaming Shots From Hell, $5 Bombay Saphires VENTURE-N - Open Noon-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi
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.
sources
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 UMC-North, 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.
4 p.m.
LGBTQA Support Group. LGBTQ Affairs Office, UA Student Union level four. SAGA Desert Boyz for trans masculine folks 3rd Tuesdays
7-9 p.m.
Wednesday 3-8 p.m.
SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources
12-1 p.m.
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.
3-4:30 p.m.
4:30-6 p.m.
6:30-7:30 p.m.
7-9 p.m.
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 - 11a.m.-2a.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-2am. Free Music. Free WiFi
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
3-8 p.m.
SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health resources
4-5:30 p.m.
Support Group for Transgender Survivors of Sexual Trauma, SACSA, 1600 N. Country Club Queer People of Color &
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Ajia Simone, Owner 426 E. Ninth St. 520.624.8400
10-11.30 a.m.
10-12 p.m.
2-5 p.m. 2:45 p.m.
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 John 975-3166.
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.
Co-ed Softball, all abilities welcome. Oury Park, 600 W.St. Mary’s
Advice For Life & Prayers for World Peace. Bud dha’s teachings, Kadampa Meditation Cen ter Arizona 1701 E. Miles St. LGBT Buddhist Medita tion 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 info call Jim at 520-884-4218. Mamasitas! Men’s Sports club at Menlo Park The New Men’s Massage Group. Sept 21 at 4 pm. 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.
Saturday
Thursday
SAAF’s MSHAPE Lounge offers mens health re-
Sunday
2:30-4:30p.m.
Tuesday 3-8 p.m.
January 14, 2015
January 14, 2015
OBSERVER
WEEKLY
Page 15
Classifieds
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Personalized Greeting Cards
Roommate wanted
Unique Studio Apartment
Post-internet artist/intellectual seeks lunch buddy who likes art, lit., history and politics. Zero interest in pop culture. Write to Box 85571, Tucson, AZ 85754. 1549
Made to your specification Birthday, Anniversary or Anything you desire Robert Grummons 520-309-0306 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Large collection of artwork to choose from 1558
Wanted FYI
Sublet
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Or temporary residence for a month or two. Retired male looking for reasonably priced privacy. Text Jim at 774-573-1491 (hard of hearing) or e-mail me at jimtrabulsi@yahoo.com 1564
Looking for one mature person working or retired to share a two bedroom one bath house -- 800 sqft. $350/month plus 1/2 utilities. Call JR @ 520-461-6698 1550
Certified Wildlife Sanctuary N. Soldier Trail near Catalina Highway. Fully furnished large picture windows, mountain views, and labyrinth. Perfect for writers, artists and birders. $595 monthly w/ lease Call Donna 520-760-1331 1557
Classifieds rate: $30 for up to 30 words for 30 days. Contact Observer Weekly at: 520-812-0909 or 1830 E. Broadway Blvd, #124-215 Tucson, AZ 85719 or www.info@observerweekly.com
If you can read this Prince is a beautiful boy who’s almost 6 years old. He loves people, and has to be right where you are—until it’s nap time, then he can be found sprawled wherever the comfy spots are! He doesn’t like other kitties very much, as he’s a dominant boy who wants to be in charge; but as an only fur-kid, he’s the sweet, cuddly boy of your dreams. Come by the Hermitage and meet this gent—he might just be your Prince Charming.
Prince
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OBSERVER WEEKLY
January 14, 2015