1567 February 4, 2015

February 04, 2015

Issue 1567

Huppenthal: TUSD’s ethnic studies promote overthrow of U.S. government

AZ GOP poised to pass SB 1062 revision

Former state Chupacabra of Public Instruction John Huppenthal finally sees himself as others see him.

OBSERVER STAFF PHOENIX -- The final act in office for skanky former state Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal was to write a letter accusing the Tucson Unified School District of promoting the overthrow of the U.S. government by teaching MexicanAmerican students about their history.

The knowledge and sophistication continue to gush forth from wingnuts like Huppenthal.

Continued on page 15

Inside

‘Ugly Betty’ actor slams Billy Crystal on gay TV sex

Anti-gay groups: Environmental movement is ‘an insult to God’ Page 6

Gay-basher Bryan Fischer fired . . . sorta kinda not quite Page 11

Help us recognize and celebrate those who make a difference TIHAN on Page 4 Alabama Supreme Court justice to governor: Go for contempt of court to stop equality!

Page 6

Thought police aim to squeeze the last life out of life OP-ED on Page 3

Jo Beaudry (with the sign) was among nearly 250 protesting anti-gay religious discrimination bill SB 1062 at the Arizona Capitol last February.

OBSERVER STAFF

decision reversing 200 years of legal history by declaring that religious belief trumps law.

PHOENIX -- Remember last February, when Arizona was embroiled in the fight over Republicans’ SB 1062, the bill to authorize religious discrimination against the LGBT and other communities?

Denver police, witnesses tell opposite stories in death of lesbian teen Page 7

Ross D. Franklin, AP

“Ugly Betty” actor Michael Urie reacted strongly to Billy Crystal’s recent claim that there’s too much gay sex on TV. Urie -- who has said he identifies as queer -- told NewNowNext: “If gay sex on TV is too much for you, change the channel and don’t watch it; it’s not for you.

“I think there is far too much football on TV,” Urie continued.

“But I’m not going around saying they should take football off the air; I’m changing the channel.”

Well, February is coming around again, so brace yourself for . . . fighting SB 1062 again.

As has been stated in the Observer before, it’s hard to see how anyone could word a law that would protect women, blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, LGBTs or any other minority if anyone who wants to ignore the law can claim it’s against their religion and get away with it.

Welcome to USA According to GOP!

The difference is, in 2014 Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the bill, partly to head off negative publicity ahead of Super Bowl 2015.

Rumors around the capital are saying that the Republicans have waited for the Super Bowl before resurrecting the nasty piece of work with a few tweaks.

The differences this time are many: The Super Bowl is over; instead of Brewer, equality advocates will be up against Gov. Doug Ducey -- who has Cathy Herrod on his staff (she of the Center for Arizona Purgatory -- er, Policy, one of the main promoters of last year’s mess); and we have the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby

The Associated Press reported last week that its reporter was barred from a closed-door session where the GOP’s legislative strategy was to be discussed, but it’s been reported that Herrod has been working on a revamp of SB 1062.

Herrod said the closed-door session was standard procedure -- which, of course, is part of the problem for anyone who thinks the public has a right to know about the legislative process going on in its name.

Steve Muratore of the Blog for Arizona speculated on Facebook over the weekend that Continued on page 6

Crystal’s remarks seemed noteworthy because he played one of the first regularly openly gay characters on the 1970s comedy “Soap.”

Too many politicians think the voters are stupid, and too many of us are

Russell T Davies, a TV producer and screenwriter whose credits include “Queer As Folk” among many others, also responded to Crystal:

By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST

“There is not enough male frontal nudity on TV. . . . You’re far more likely to see a naked woman than a naked man. . . .

“It’s only [seen as] rude because the rest of television is rather tame -- it doesn’t actually talk about sex and our bodies and how we feel about them.

I’m not out to shock.”

I guess most Americans sense that our national politics have gone to hell in a handbasket over the past 30 years or so.

Fewer seem to notice that the “solutions” being proposed get more irrational by the month these days.

I like to be a fiscal conservative when it makes sense.

For instance, if someone would propose that the taxpayers stop being forced to pay for training, maintenance, storage and other expenses related to military hardware being stockpiled by local police departments, I’m probably right there with them.

Unfortunately, the “budget cuts” being proposed are more likely to increase costs somewhere else, and if you look closely enough, the proposal is

usually aimed at punishing a poor person while increasing the cash flow of someone who isn’t poor.

This appears to be the motivation behind the proposal of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to cut off food stamps, Medicare and unemployment benefits to anyone who fails a drug test.

Now, along with being by nature a fiscal conservative, let Continued on page 7

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Water of Life MCC: Sexuality and the Bible TUCSON -- Have you ever wondered what the Bible does and does not say about sexuality?

Does the Bible have any useful guidance for out and proud LGBT people? Attend an informative and interactive class on the subject to find out.

Class will be held on Feb. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon, at 3269 N. Mountain Ave.

14 rights groups call for action against Gambia homophobia WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Human Rights Campaign and 13 other human rights groups have asked the Obama administration for stronger action against Gambian leaders for their ongoing crackdown and persecution of LGBT citizens.

“The United States cannot turn a blind eye to the horrific human rights abuses being inflicted on Gambians by President Yahya Jammeh’s regime,” said Ty Cobb, the director of HRC Global.

Jammeh has called gay people “vermin” and said gays are one of the greatest threats against humanity. Late last year, he signed a bill calling for life imprisonment for people suspected of same-sex activity.

An alleged coup attempt against Jammeh’s government at the end of December resulted in the arrest of two U.S. citizens.

Film captures transition of priest and single parent TUCSON -- A single night screening of the documentary film “Too Cold Out There without You” will be held on March 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ.

Filmmaker, Amy Gattie, brings the story of Rev. Christopher Fike, an Episcopalian priest who is undergoing transition from female to male while “balancing his life as a priest, social worker, and a single parent.”

This independent film was a winner of the Toronto Independent Film Festival of 2013 and has been selected for multiple film festivals.

Post screening will include a light refreshment reception and a panel discussion with Amy Gattie and Rev. Christopher Fike. A donation based collection will be accepted on behalf of Amy and Rev. Fike.

Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ is also an open and affirming congregation, accepting and valuing people regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity and physical/mental ability.

Contact Davin Franklin-Hicks at 520-440-9384 for information.

20-year-old nabbed in Kentucky over possible hate crime LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro Police arrested a suspect last month in

OBSERVER the Jan. 9 slaying of a person of color in what some are saying may be an antitransgender hate crime.

Both the suspect and the victim were 20 years old.

Henry Richard Gleaves is being held in the shooting of a victim so far identified only as Edwards, since police have conflicting reports about whether Edwards identified as male or female.

The victim was originally from Indianapolis and died after being found in a hotel parking lot with a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Police said initial investigations did not establish whether Edwards was a guest at the hotel or even whether the shooting occurred inside the hotel or not.

Gleaves is being held under $500,000 bond.

CODAC welcomes an experienced physician to board TUCSON – CODAC Behavioral Health Services announced Monday that John Denman Lewis MD is the newest member of the organization’s board of directors.

Lewis has been an emergency physician in Arizona for more than thirtyfive years and has worked at St. Mary’s Hospital, and Generations House Call Providers. He has also served as medical director of the Emergency Department and Paramedic Training Program and was chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Mary’s.

Lewis is a graduate of the University Of Oklahoma College Of Medicine and trained for two years at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Lewis is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

The board of directors is responsible for providing governance over CODAC’s operations and the accomplishment of its mission. Officers and members serve two-year terms with opportunities for term renewal.

Court: Moroccan can marry despite anti-gay homeland PARIS -- The Cour de Cassation -- France’s highest appeals court -- has ruled that a Moroccan can marry their French same-sex partner in spite of a long-standing agreement between the two countries that marriages are subject to the laws of the partner’s countries.

The couple took their case to court after learning that despite France’s equal marriage laws, they were prohibited from marrying because France recognized Morocco’s law banning same-sex relationships.

The agreement between the two countries dated to 1981.

The high court ruled that denying the pair’s right to marriage was a violation of their human rights, agreement or no agreement to the contrary.

The court ruled that as long as the Moroccan has a connection to France, such as residency, the government could not ban the pair’s wedding because of the agreement.

The ruling could affect many foreign nationals resident in France, which has similar agreements with Algeria,

WEEKLY

Laos, Cambodia, Poland, BosniaHerzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Slovenia.

Girlfriend arrested in death of Georgia woman, age 22 ATLANTA, Ga. -- Police have filed murder charges against the girlfriend of an Atlanta woman shot to death last month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Ashley Belle, 22, was killed in the Southeast Atlanta apartment she shared with Laura Bozeman, also 22.

WSB-TV reported that this was the first killing ever recorded of a resident of that apartment complex.

The two had been in verbal and physical altercations for two days before the death, a police spokesperson said. Bozeman provided police with incriminating statements, the spokesperson added.

Belle’s friends set up a GoFundMe account to help with burial costs.

High-end Selfridges abolishes men’s, women’s sections LONDON -- Selfridges, the high-end department store, announced last week that it will stock only gender-neutral clothing, abolishing the traditional men’s and women’s sections.

The iconic store, long known as a British fashion trailblazer, said the March 12 shakeup will involve mannequins, beauty products and accessories as well as clothing.

“We want to take our customers on a journey where they can shop and dress without limitations or stereotypes,” a store spokesman told The Times of London.

The spokesman said the store will aim for “a space where clothing is no longer imbued with directive gender values, enabling fashion to exist as a purer expression of ‘self.’ “ Brands named as on board for the revamp include KTZ, Trapstar and Hood

By Air. Honey, we are NOT in Kansas anymore.

N.C. bill to allow discrimination against gay couples RALEIGH, N.C. -- One of the first bills introduced in North Carolina’s new legislative session would permit public officials to refuse to perform marriages for same-sex couples, according to WRAL-TV. Essentially, the bill provides a religious exemption for magistrates and registers of deeds, the public officials most often called on to perform marriages in North Carolina.

But this measure is different in that the exempted official would not be allowed to perform any weddings for six months or until the written recusal is rescinded in writing.

If all the magistrates in a given office refuse to perform weddings, “the chief district court judge would have to ask the state Administrative Office of the Courts to send in a magistrate to perform ceremonies,” the TV station reported.

February 04, 2015 The bill doesn’t specifically mention same-sex couples, but Democrats in the legislature were quick to point out what the exemption meant.

“In this nation, we as citizens do not have to pass any government employee’s personal religious test in order to receive a government service,” Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, told WRAL. “Whether it’s a prosecutor policeman, magistrate or mailman, government offices that are open to the public must be open to everyone on the same terms.”

If only.

Lesbian legislator threatens to out wingnuts’ affairs MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama’s only lesbian legislator posted a Facebook message for her wingnut colleagues last week: If they continue opposing marriage equality in the name of “family values” and she knows they’re having an affair, she’ll out them.

“I will not stand by and allow legislators to talk about ‘family values’ when they have affairs, and I know of many who are and have,” Rep. Patricia Todd wrote on Facebook.

Continued on next page

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February 04, 2015 Continued from previous page Todd told The Huffington Post she decided to post the statement when antigay rhetoric began flowing in the wake of a federal judge overturning Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“If certain people come out and start espousing this rhetoric about family values, then I will say, ‘Let’s talk about family values, because here’s what I heard.’ I don’t have direct knowledge, because obviously I’m not the other person involved in the affair. But one thing you would never hear about me is that I ever cheated on a partner or had an affair,” she said.

“One thing I’m pretty consistent on is I do not like hypocrites,” she added.

“If you can explain your position and you hold yourself to the same standard you want to hold me to, then fine. But you cannot go out there and smear my community by condemning us and somehow making us feel ‘less than,’ and expect me to be quiet.”

Tell it, Sister Todd!

Idaho won’t add LGBT protection law this session BOISE, Idaho -- A proposal to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to Idaho’s antidiscrimination law died in committee last week in the state House of Representatives.

The House State Affairs Committee heard testimony for three days, including 134 people who spoke in favor of the bill, 54 against, and two speakers who were neutral, according to the state’s largest newspaper, the Idaho Statesman.

Committee members then voted 13-4 not to advance the bill to the full House. Defeat was expected because of the committee’s Republican majority.

Marine fails to get charges dropped in transgender killing MANILA, Philippines -- A U.S. Marine failed to get a murder charge against him dropped last week, The Associated Press reported.

Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton is charged with killing Filipina trans woman Jennifer Laude in the Olongapo city hotel room where the two went after meeting in a bar.

Pemberton, 19, was stationed in the

OBSERVER Philippines for military training exercises.

Among the evidence submitted was testimony from a fellow Marine that Pemberton told him, “I think I killed a he-she.”

Pemberton was taken into custody

by U.S. officials, but Philippine authorities demanded he be turned over to the local justice system. In late October, the U.S. agreed to joint custody.

His trial was delayed until late February to allow his attorneys time to prepare a case.

Oklahoma legislator withdraws one of 3 anti-gay proposals OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma Republican lawmaker last week withdrew one of three anti-gay bills she introduced the week before.

State Rep. Sally Kern said she withdrew the proposal allowing any business to discriminate against any LGBT person or group because it didn’t accomplish what she wanted -- which was to ban lawsuits against businesses that discriminate.

She still has bills pending to protect practitioners of gay-to-straight “conversion therapy” and to punish public employees who issue or recognize same-sex marriage licenses.

WEEKLY

OP-ED

Thought police aim to squeeze the last life out of life

By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST Political columnists don’t know everything -- but we don’t have to know much; that’s why we call it “opinion” or “commentary.”

In politics, if you were to ask me how John Boehner can figure the Constitution gives him the right to preempt foreign policy from the executive branch (by inviting the Israeli prime minister to address Congress in opposition to the president), I’d have to say . . . I dunno.

If you asked me how Boehner and Mitch McConnell can think the Constitution gives them authority to switch immigration enforcement to Congress from the executive branch (in order to stymie an executive order from the president), I’d have to say . . . I dunno.

If you asked me how the same two guys can think the Constitution gives them authority to wrest the power to approve international infrastructure from the executive branch (such as approving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline), I’d have to say . . . I dunno.

Kern’s views mirror those of many Americans years ago. As she told KFOR-TV in discussing her gaggle of anti-gay bills, “If they want to live that way, let them, but see, that’s not enough for them right now. What they want is to force their lifestyle upon the rest of us.”

Those are opinions that those guys claim to hold.

Yes, yes, and damn all those LGBT activists trying to force Kern into a homosexual lifestyle.

So my OPINION on all three questions is this: I suspect they’re pandering to their audience by saying such things.

Kern first achieved national notoriety in 2008 when she said gays pose more danger to the country than terrorists do.

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I use the word “claim” because it’s hard to believe either of them really think they can change the Constitution so easily.

See? I don’t KNOW what they’re thinking, but I certainly have an opinion about it.

As an example of an opinion, last week’s issue carried a letter to the editor advising the Observer about how to perform quality journalism.

If the writer has any background to qualify him for that judgment, he didn’t mention it in the letter, but he’s entitled to an opinion just as surely as he’s entitled to two elbows and . . . that other thing.

My opinion on that is this: If you require your reading material to be dry and politically correct, and especially never to cause you to gasp and clutch your auntie-pearls, that describes plenty of newspapers but hardly this one.

I think the Observer deliberately cultivates a “bad-boy” edge almost every week, so what the letter-writer is saying is “Change the direction of this rag right now.”

The insult mentioned in his letter might not even be the biggest one from the last issue, let alone the past month!

Now, a reference to the girth of the dictator of Gambia is not the same as trying to shame someone who has a health condition that causes them to carry a few extra pounds.

And if you tell an overweight person you’re concerned about their health, is that “fat-shaming” or just saying you’re concerned about their health?

Researchers have been telling us for decades that the growing epidemic of obesity in this country is mostly not connected in any way to chronic and uncontrollable health conditions but chronic bad diet and chronic refusal to exercise.

Reinforcing negative behavior produces . . . negative behavior.

And once you start, where do you stop stifling life?

I just finished reading a blog that said we have to stop: Fertility shaming -- Quit “gleefully celebrating pregnancy” by posting photos of your baby-bump or newborn on Facebook, because not everyone can do it.

Accomplishment shaming -- Stop your “wanton bragging” in posting your scholastic and professional accomplishments, because not everyone can do it.

Family shaming -- You’re a nasty human being for posting that selfie with your grandmother or boasting about the fun day you had with Mom, because not everyone has either of those.

Rehabilitation shaming -- If you boast on social media about how many days you’ve been sober, never mind how many people you might inspire to think they can do it, too -- you might make somebody feel bad about not being able to do it.

Pet shaming -- It “hardly seems Continued on page 12

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OBSERVER

Community Voices

Help us recognize and celebrate those who make a difference: Seeking your input on outstanding volunteers, businesses, congregations, and models of empowerment

By Scott Blades Executive Director TIHAN One of the things I love about our Tucson community of LGBTQ and allies is meeting so many people who care and who get involved to make things better.

We all see things in our community that can be better, that can work more efficiently. We see gaps in services, programs that could be so much better if only . . .

And some people do more than just complain –- they speak up but also devote themselves to making change and being part of the solution.

Whether it is advocating for a better organization or a better community, or working hard to change laws or elect leaders to effect a better government, or going out of their way to help a neighbor or a friend or a stranger, so many people in Southern Arizona step outside of themselves, and even outside of their comfort zone, to make a difference.

Some people give generously of their time, and some give generously of their hard-earned dollars.

I bet that you know people in our community who inspire us by who they are and what they do. And we want you to tell us who they are so that we can honor them and celebrate them for what they do, and for encouraging all of us to do more.

So we’re asking you to let us know which community volunteers, which persons living with HIV, which

WEEKLY

February 04, 2015

McCain knows a bit about associating with ‘low-life scum’

businesses and faith communities that you see as role models for positive change? Please let us know so that we can honor them!

You can do so by nominating them for recognition at TIHAN Annual Meeting and Appreciation Party! TIHAN will present awards on Feb. 24 in recognition of outstanding contributions of volunteers and supporters who work for HIV awareness and support.

Please take a minute now and think about who inspires you with their activism, their leadership, -perhaps their quiet behind-the-scenes but important contributions. And then nominate them --whether they are a volunteer, business, faith community, or a person living with HIV. Nomination forms are available in hard copy format at the TIHAN office, on our website (www.tihan.org) or just e-mail volunteercoordinator@tihan.org with a sentence or two about who you are nominating, and why.

Thanks for letting us know your thoughts about those doing outstanding work in support of TIHAN and our mission of a compassionate response to HIV! And come join us on as we celebrate those you have nominated, and thank them for their work and inspiration!

TIHAN’s Annual Meeting and appreciation party will take place on at St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church 602 N. Wilmot Rd., from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. RSVP to 520-299-6647 or volunteercoordinator@tihan.org, and let’s celebrate each other and take our own next steps in being part of a community that cares, and that takes action to become better.

By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST

McCain “a huge screw off” -- on the record.

U.S. Sen. John McCain can’t resist re-emphasizing the mystery surrounding why Arizona GOP voters keep reelecting his gnarly ass, and he did it again last week.

But even if McCain did take advantage of his own form of affirmative action, hasn’t that become the American way? We had a recent president who refined it to an art, so McCain’s probably no worse than many.

A “very angry” (according to reports) McCain was confronted by Code Pink activists exercising their constitutional rights in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing featuring former secretary of state and perennial warmonger Henry Kissinger.

“Get out of here, you low-life scum!” was McCain’s reaction.

No, no -- to the protesters, not to Kissinger!

McCain also called the demonstrators “disgraceful, outrageous and despicable” and accused them of “physically intimidating” Kissinger.

Right ... Kissinger’s in the habit of being intimidated by the “little people” of America.

“They were right next to Henry Kissinger, waving handcuffs at him,” McCain groused later. “He’s a 91-yearold man with a broken shoulder who was willing to come down and testify before Congress, to give us the benefit of his many years of wisdom. Of course I was outraged, and I’m still outraged.”

The point being made there: McCain is allowed to express outrage, whereas the “scum” of everyday people better not try it.

I don’t know whether there’s any merit in the old rumors that McCain never would have become a national hero if not for his father and grandfather.

(They were both admirals in the Navy.)

It’s been reported that Phil Butler, one of his classmates at the U.S. Naval Academy and also a prisoner of war in Vietnam as was McCain, once called

I may think it’s chicken-shit in hindsight, but who’s to say that if any of us had the opportunity in the 1970s we wouldn’t have done the same?

But if McCain had to spout the word “despicable” in regard to the antics at the recent hearing, he might have at least aimed it at some of Kissinger’s past stunts. Like his role a 1973 coup in Chile; a 1975 invasion of East Timor; massive slaughter in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 1969 to 1973 . . . you know: Things that more literally fit the definition of “despicable.”

After all, it’s no accident that Kissinger once fled France to escape a warrant. Nor that he was also indicted in Spain, Argentina and Uruguay over his bellicose “diplomacy.”

The late gadfly Christopher Hitchens was apoplectic on the subject of Kissinger, whom he savaged in a 2010 Salon rant: “Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized, and excluded. No more dinners in his honor; no more respectful audiences for his absurdly overpriced public appearances; no more smirking photographs with hostesses and celebrities; no more soliciting of his worthless opinions by sycophantic editors and producers.”

Ouch.

But the same could be said about McCain without stretching it much.

Except -- I forgot, didn’t I? -- Arizona voters still love them some McCain.

February 04, 2015

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February 04, 2015

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Anti-gay groups: Alabama Supreme Court Environmental movement justice to governor: Go is ‘an insult to God’ for contempt of court to In a later appearance on the same network with professional gay-basher Bryan Fischer, according to RightWing Watch, the two of them elaborated on Beisner’s idea:

Failure to use coal, oil and natural gas is an insulting rejection of the gifts that God has given us -- gifts which, incidentally, He OBSERVER STAFF Among the massively funded groups fighting to keep you a secondclass citizen, there are extremists you probably can’t even imagine.

In normal times, they’d be dismissed as the fringe figures they are, but right now they’re very powerful because they have tons of money behind them.

One such group is the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, headed by professional climate-change denier Calvin Beisner (whose Ph.D is reportedly in Scottish history, not exactly climate science).

Beisner has called the entire U.S. environmental movement “un-biblical” and a false religion.

In a recent appearance on American Family Radio, Beisner informed us that believing in climate change “really is an insult to God ... and it will lead to tyranny.”

That’s the same argument Christians once used against curing disease -- it was attempting to thwart God’s will. People were burned alive for it; remember all those “witches”?

So now, fighting pollution becomes fighting God’s will.

buried deep in the earth because He delights in our search for and discovery of them.

Good grief.

A recent study funded by the Charles Koch Foundation and intended to prove that climate change is a hoax turned out to be a huge oopsie -- the physicist behind the study, former climate skeptic Richard Muller, ended up by stating “Global warming is real.”

Beisner quickly attacked Muller for making bad science, since the conclusion wasn’t what the Koch money paid for. In other words, actual research makes no never-mind to these fruitcakes.

And who bankrolls the Cornwall Alliance?

Filings with the government indicate it’s largely funded by the nonprofit James Partnership, which is under the Committee for a Cleaner Tomorrow, which is heavily funded by ExxonMobil, Chevron, and the ultra-right-wing Scaife family foundations (which were funded from steel and Gulf Oil holdings).

Whether it’s anti-gay, antienvironment or just anti-21st century in general, the trail always leads back to the same small group of people.

Dan Savage to be subject of new ABC comedy series ABC-TV has picked up an as-yetuntitled semi-autobiographical comedy based on Dan Savage’s coming out and how it resonated through his family, The Hollywood Reporter stated last week.

“It centers on a picture-perfect family that is turned upside down when the youngest son comes of the closet,” according to the report. “What seems like the end of their idyllic life turns out to

be the beginning of a bright new chapter when everyone stops pretending to be perfect and actually starts being real.”

Savage’s original claim to fame may have been his sex-advice column, “Savage Love” (now in its 24th year), but he and his husband, Terry Miller, also co-founded the It Gets Better video campaign and Savage is involved in several ongoing media projects.

stop equality!

OBSERVER STAFF MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore urged the governor last week to simply ignore a federal judge’s ruling that struck down the state’s ban on samesex marriage.

This is the same Roy Moore who got booted off the state’s Supreme Court in 2003 for refusing to remove the Ten Commandments from public property, then was returned to office by the voters in 2013.

“Be advised that I stand with you to stop judicial tyranny and any unlawful opinions issued without constitutional authority,” Moore wrote in a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley that was released to several newspapers.

Be advised also that Moore’s letter is a hod of twaddle.

David Kennedy, an attorney for the couple involved in one of Alabama’s successful same-sex marriage cases, pointed out to the website AL.com that U.S. Supreme Court rulings state that “the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution provides that when a federal court with the proper jurisdiction

rules that a state law is unconstitutional that state officials are bound to abide by the ruling.”

If the federal courts didn’t trump state courts, how would you even have a country? Every state would go its own way.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed a complaint against Moore in 2003 leading to his removal from office the first time, quickly filed another complaint over his latest stunt.

The center’s complaint to the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama points out three specific violations of the state’s Canons of Judicial Ethics: improper comments about pending cases; lack of faithfulness to the law; and disrespect for the integrity of the judiciary.

“There’s something deeply ironic about a judge seeking the right to ignore another judge’s ruling while crying ‘judicial activism,’ “ said a statement from Ashley Jackson, state director of the Human Rights Campaign.

The Observer agrees that an “i” word applies to Moore’s moronic maxims, but we’d choose “idiotic” rather than “ironic.”

AZ GOP poised to pass SB 1062 revision Continued from page 1 Republicans might be planning what’s called a striker amendment.

That’s a procedure whereby legislators publicly discuss a certain bill, then at the last minute “strike” the entire language of the bill and substitute an unrelated bill under the number that’s been discussed publicly, then pass the bill with language that has nothing to do with what had been there.

In other words, a strategy for bypassing public scrutiny.

State Sen. Steve Yarbrough,

R-Chandler, sponsored SB 1062 last year but won’t be carrying bills this time in his new role as Senate majority leader.

“I hope we (introduce) pro-life legislation, pro-school choice legislation, pro-religious freedom legislation,” Yarbrough said. “All that sounded like great ideas to me.”

In plainer English, that translates to an anti-abortion, anti-public school and anti-LGBT smorgasbord.

And with no Super Bowl publicity to stand in the way of it this time.

February 04, 2015

OBSERVER

Too many politicians think the voters are stupid, and too many of us are

If people are unemployable, it makes sense to force more of them into jail?

WEEKLY

Denver police, witnesses tell opposite stories in death of lesbian teen “When the cops walked up, they were on [Hernandez’s] side of the car, and they shot the window and they shot her,” one of the people reportedly in the car told KUSA-TV. “That’s when she wrecked, and that’s when the cop got hit.”

If Walker’s plan (or anyone else’s plan) includes any idea for what we do with these people once we punish them by withholding $136 a month, please speak up now.

I’m not hearing you . . .

Continued from page 1 me also point out that no one has ever accused me of being a bleeding-heart liberal where drug and alcohol abuse are concerned.

BUT, if someone is “addicted” to a substance, doesn’t that mean they’re powerless to automatically stop using that substance just because somebody insists they need to?

OK, so we cut off $136 a month in food stamps to punish people for not living as we demand that they live.

Does the proposal include a provision that those people simply cease to exist?

Or does common sense tell us that cutting off food stamps makes them more likely to steal or commit some other crime and end up incarcerated at a tremendously greater expense to us than a paltry food-stamp allotment?

Ditto with the unemployment benefits: How is stopping it going to save money if it simply causes more people to land in jail?

If we punish them by cutting off Medicaid, doesn’t that mean they’ll show up at emergency rooms at much higher cost to us?

Walker says his rationale is that employers tell him they need people who can pass a drug test. How does cutting off benefits help with that?

And therein lies the problem: Walker’s plan is not about saving money, it’s about punishing society’s most vulnerable people. If they end up in jail, that siphons a helluva lot more money to Walker’s campaign contributors just to take care of the people who might have made it on food stamps and unemployment benefits.

Jennifer Epps-Addison, with a group called Wisconsin Jobs Now, summed it up precisely in her reaction to the Walker proposal:

Page 7

Some of the four other occupants of the car also claim that police dragged Hernandez’s body from the car, searched it and handcuffed it before calling for medical help.

KWGN-TV has reported that the autopsy declared the death a homicide.

Jessie Hernandez

OBSERVER STAFF DENVER -- The police shooting death of a 17-year-old Latina lesbian is helping to reignite a tense national debate about police use of force against communities of color.

What does seem undisputed is that Jessica Hernandez took some of her friends joyriding in a stolen car, and police then responded to a call about suspicious activity in a Park Hill neighborhood alley around 6:30 a.m. one day last week.

Police have since acknowledged that none of the kids in the car were armed.

“I think the facts will show that hopefully the officers’ reactions were correct,” Denver Police Chief Robert White said in a statement. “If they weren’t, we’ll certainly address that.”

Hernandez’s family has demanded access to video that purportedly shows the teen being searched after being shot, according to news reports.

“This is not about the workers. This is about Gov. Walker playing to the dogwhistle politics of the worst of his base as he follows his presidential aspirations.”

But police initially claimed Hernandez drove the car into an officer, fracturing his leg and prompting officers to open fire.

The Denver Post reported that this was the fourth time in seven months that Denver officers have fired into a car they claimed was being used as a weapon, with the earlier incidents resulting in two other deaths and three injuries.

Epps-Addison has some special qualifications to speak out this -- she depended on food stamps when she first began law school at the start of the Great Recession of 2008.

Now eyewitnesses claim that the car only hit the officer after Hernandez was shot.

The Post also reported that the district attorney is considering criminal charges in Hernandez’s death.

“There were times even I couldn’t navigate the process, as a law student with a college degree,” she said. “The system is set up to disempower people and make them frustrated enough to give up before receiving the help they need.”

I’m still waiting to hear how this latest scheme to harass the poorest among us is likely to save us money.

I know the response will probably crash a few websites, but please don’t give up ... I’m waiting.

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OBSERVER

WEEKLY

February 04, 2015

February 04, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY

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OBSERVER

Virginia lawmakers Fireside Chat kill bill authorizing Progress total anti-gay bias RICHMOND, Va. -- A House of Delegates subcommittee last week turned thumbs down on a bill that would have allowed businesses to discriminate against LGBT people and groups.

Guthrie Gastañaga of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia had said previously about the proposal: “It’s like [racial segregation laws] Jim Crow. It’s like a state law that says it’s OK to discriminate against black people and have two different kinds of water fountains.”

The bill was introduced by Republican Delegate Bob Marshall, who co-authored the state’s unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The subcommittee also voted down several pro-LGBT bills, but it least it stopped short of endorsing this one.

Marshall is virulently anti-gay and anti-contraception (he says the pill is abortion), but his nuttiness is pretty much unlimited.

He once introduced a resolution of no-confidence in the House Republican leadership, and when it came to a vote, his was the only “yes” vote.

Even more telling, in 2007 he served as interim chair of a Virginia immigration committee, and when committee members voted on a permanent chair, Marshall refused to give up the gavel until committee members physically wrestled it out of his hand.

One more proud achievement for Virginia Republicans . . .

WEEKLY

February 04, 2015

where communities come together plan to grow and give back even more to us. I am so grateful for the collaboration between organizations like ours and faith based communities like that of the United Methodist Congregation of St. Francis in the Foothills. I look forward to seeing many more years of progress as interfaith communities and as our HIV positive and LGBTQ communities come together to celebrate life and love.

By Wendell Hicks Executive Director SAAF

Recently I had the privilege of sitting down with Lana Holstein and Dr. W. Edward Morton of St. Francis in the Foothills to talk about the church and our community. For the last few decades, St. Francis in the Foothills has been a strong supporter of the HIV/AIDS community and the LGBTQ community through donation and volunteerism.

Hosting Poz Café, a monthly luncheon where HIV positive participants of the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network, is just one of many ways that the interfaith and HIV positive communities come together at their church. In addition to their support of SAAF and TIHAN, St. Francis has a long standing tradition of donations to Wingspan in the form of space, time, and financial support of the LGBTQ community.

Always encouraging LGBTQ people to join their congregation and express their faith, St. Francis became a safe haven and a reconciling church that accepts all. As a reconciling congregation, LGBTQ members are treated fairly and equally to their straight counterparts in the church.

Representatives of St. Francis have worked at advocating for other congregations across the state and country to become reconciling churches through conferences. And recently, because of their commitment and devotion to equality, the entire southern Arizona Methodist conference passed an initiative and became reconciling.

This is especially important with the

For more information about St. Francis in the Foothills, check out its website at http://www. stfrancisumc. org/. passing of marriage equality in Arizona.

St. Francis has already performed three LGBTQ marriage ceremonies and are looking forward to their future in performing even more weddings.

Speaking of focusing on the future, St. Francis is looking to expand their church to accept a whole new array of programs and services for the community. A celebration hall with space to perform many more LGBTQ weddings is just the beginning in their

February 04, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY

Gay-basher Bryan Fischer fired . . . sorta kinda not quite

Pastor Sodomite Semen keeps stirring it up

OBSERVER STAFF NEW YORK CITY -- Some of us retreat when we make an ass of ourselves in public, and then there are the homophobic knuckleheads who get off on exposing themselves over and over.

Pastor James David Manning of New York’s ATLAH World Missionary Church made world headlines last year when he reported that Starbucks uses “sodomite semen” to flavor some of its lattes.

OBSERVER STAFF No sooner had Rachel Maddow announced that the American Family Association had fired anti-gay chupacabra Bryan Fischer than the word began to filter out ... well, the group didn’t exactly fire him or even trim his horns.

The association officially stripped Fischer of his title with the group -which apparently all along was “director of issues analysis” even though he was the group’s high-profile spokesperson and universally identified as “executive director.”

Even without the title, Fischer retains his AFA radio show and a blog on the AFA website -- so the flow of his steaming bile won’t even be interrupted.

In both venues, he rants against the LGBT community, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Native Americans, Muslim-Americans, Muslims in any other country, Mormons and Jews.

He avows that the U.S. was founded

by Christians for Christians and that 1st Amendment rights to freedom of worship under the U.S. Constitution are reserved for Christians only.

If Fischer made the rules, believers in evolution would be banned from holding public office.

Fischer’s almost-separation from the American Family Association seems tied to the public revelation last week that the anti-everything-not-evangelical group is paying for 100 members of the Republican National Committee to visit Israel -- a fact not exactly enjoying universal acclaim in Israel because of the hatred preached by the sponsoring group.

As the Southern Poverty Law Center expressed it, the issue is not the trip but the “heinous beliefs” of those paying for it and the GOP accepting the payment.

But fear not -- for the time being, Fischer will continue as the high-profile face of the American Family Association even if the group “fired” him with some fanfare.

Before that furor died down, Manning repeated his contention that sodomite semen imparts “quite a flavor” to some Starbucks products.

And now he’s about to lose the spotlight, so while he still advocates that LGBT people be stoned to death, he’s also claiming that he’s been tempted to risk stoning himself.

Interviewed last week by Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian on The Young Turks, Manning was reminded that he has said homosexuality is a choice and was asked if he’d ever been tempted to make that choice.

“Oh, absolutely. No doubt about it,” Manning responded. “I spent 3 1/2 years in prison. . . . I saw a lot of that activity going on. . . . I saw that and was tempted, but I didn’t yield to temptation -- make sure you publish that as well.”

Sounds as if Manning wanted to polish his street cred, but who knows.

Andrew Sullivan gives up blogging, at least for now OBSERVER STAFF Andrew Sullivan, one of the most successful bloggers on the planet and

Sprocket is a wonderful and cuddly boy who lives in our FIV ward. Don’t let his diagnosis concern you, however, he’s healthy, curious and always wants to get into everyone’s business! He thinks he has to supervise us whenever we go into the room, so we don’t make any mistakes (everyone knows cats are the perfect supervisors!) He’s only three years old and has so much love to give his family!

Sprocket

Page 11 currently writing for his own subscriptionbased site The Dish, said last week he’ll quit blogging in the near future.

The out 51-year-old, who is HIVpositive, dismissed questions about an HIV-related health crisis, but said health concerns related to 15 years of stress were a factor.

“There comes a time when you have to move on to new things, shake your world up, or recognize before you crash that burn-out does happen,” he wrote in an emotional post.

“I’ve had increasing health challenges these past few years.

They’re not HIV-related; my doctor tells me they’re simply a result of 15 years of daily, hourly, always-on-deadline stress.

These past few weeks were particularly rough — and finally forced me to get real.”

Sullivan has gained fame through high-profile blogs supporting and eventually opposing the U.S. invasion of Iraq, supporting marriage equality, and addressing other political and religious issues, especially relating to the Roman Catholic Church, of which Sullivan is a member.

In just about two years, The Dish has grown to include 30,000 paid subscribers, a million readers a month, and a million dollars in annual revenue.

Among other things, Sullivan said he wants to write another book.

Page 12

As Clark Saw It

Zoe’s World

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

February 04, 2015

By Gary Clark

By Zoe

Send your photos, cartoons, music and book reviews to the Observer at: info@observerweekly.com

Thought police aim to squeeze the last life out of life Continued from page 3 considerate to stomp on a broken heart” by exposing photos and videos of your pet to somebody who just lost theirs.

Death shaming -- Don’t even think about “In Memoriam” posts because too many people are in denial when it comes to death.

Job shaming -- Any comment about people’s jobs might make the unemployed feel miserable.

Bald shaming -- Stop obsessing about your hair lest baldies feel oppressed.

Beard shaming -- That thick, flowing beard is only an accident of genetics, so quit showing off and making less hirsute men feel inadequate.

(My apologies to blogger Ryan Brooke for stealing his list and perverting it to my own purposes.)

I think you can see where that’s going -- if the terminally prissy have their way, what was the purpose of developing social media in the first place?

Or, to paraphrase an axiom that’s even older than I am, you can tell a horse what to think but you can’t make him think it.

February 04, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY 1970s feminist icon Germaine Greer: Being trans is a ‘delusion’

yearly on a geographic basis, and this year it was Africa’s turn.

Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark takes over in September.

being transgender is a “delusion” and “they seem to us ghastly parodies.”

According to the Cambrige Student, she said: “I didn’t know there was such a thing [as transphobia].

Arachnaphobia, yes. Transphobia, no.”

She also suggested that trans women Germaine Greer

cannot know what it’s like “to have a big, hairy, smelly vagina.”

OBSERVER STAFF Along with her millions of admirers, ‘70s feminist icon Germaine Greer has always had a gallery of critics who said she’s completely potty.

The detractors are probably feeling vindicated.

A native of Australia, Greer’s 1970 international bestseller, “The Female Eunuch,” set off worldwide controversy that continues to flare now and then thanks to Greer’s off-thewall pronouncements.

Thus comes her latest: When she showed up to speak at the Cambridge University Students’ Union, she was asked about her recent statement that

Cambridge’s LGBT student group had encouraged a boycott of her speech even before the latest foot-in-mouth.

Members of the group held a separate event in protest.

Greer married Paul du Feu, a Welsh carpenter and remodeller, in 1968, but the couple lived together only three and a half weeks.

As stated on Wikipedia, “As she later admitted, Greer spent their wedding night in an armchair (or on the floor, according to her other version) as her drunken husband did not allow her in bed and also that she was unfaithful several times “

The couple finally divorced in 1973.

Greer has written several books since “The Female Eunuch,” including “Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility” (1984); “The Change: Women, Aging and the Menopause” (1991); “The Whole Woman” (1999); and “Shakespeare’s Wife” (2007).

Anti-gay Ugandan mocks activists who opposed his UN gig KAMPALA, Uganda -Sam Kutesa, a former Ugandan minister and now president of the UN General Assembly, recently mocked gay-rights activists who worked to block his UN appointment.

More than 13,000 people signed a petition opposing the appointment.

Kutesa made his latest remarks while visiting his homeland.

“I had been nominated by my country, Uganda, and the African continent had endorsed me,” he said. “No matter how much noise the frogs make, they cannot stop a cow from drinking water.”

The UN presidency rotates

While the president presides over sessions of the UN General Assembly, the organization’s public affairs are conducted by the secretarygeneral, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, whose views are more moderate.

Page 13 her military records would say about her.

Neira resigned her commission in 1991, and underwent gender confirmation surgery in 1995.

Of the 22 million veterans of the U.S. armed forces, an estimated 134,000 are transgender.

Everyman poet of the late ‘60s U.S. Navy issues documents in name Rod McKuen dies of trans veteran

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National LGBT Bar Association announced a historic decision by the U.S. Navy last week about the issuance of new military documents recognizing a transgender veteran’s legal name change and gender identity.

The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force have taken similar action.

Lt. Paula M. Neira became the first Navy veteran to be issued new Defense Department paperwork known as Form DD-214, the paperwork Navy veterans must use when they apply for work or benefits available only to veterans.

Neira, now a nurse educator in Bowie, Md., learned the importance of the DD-214 document when a job offer was rescinded after she revealed to a prospective employer what

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -Heralded or reviled, at his peak everybody knew his name.

Best-selling late-’60s poet and performer Rod McKuen died last week at the age of 81.

Particularly among young gay men, McKuen’s influence was pervasive at the time even though critics reviled him.

His translations of Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel’s songs led to Brel’s popularity in the English-speaking world, and McKuen’s work was recorded by Madonna, Dolly Parton, Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra and even Rock Hudson.

After Brel’s death in 1978, McKuen was quoted as saying, “I stayed locked in my bedroom and drank for a week. That kind of self-pity was something he wouldn’t have approved of, but all I could do was replay our songs (our children) and ruminate over our unfinished life together.”

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

Page 14

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.

February 04, 2015

February 04, 2015

OBSERVER

Huppenthal: TUSD’s ethnic studies promote overthrow of U.S. government Continued from page 1 Teaching about the lyrics of Rage Against the Machine and an explanation of hip-hop by rapper KRS-One also were included on Huppenthal’s list of TUSD’s terroristic threats, according to the letter dated Jan. 2.

As a right-wing Republican (sorry -- that’s redundant) state senator in 2010, Huppenthal helped pass the law later used to shut down TUSD’s highly successful ethnic studies program -- which was credited with improving the district’s graduation rate, which threatens the U.S. government because, apparently, the last thing we need is educated low-income people.

Republican voters dumped Huppenthal’s re-election plans in the GOP primary last year before he could even reach the November general election, but it was because he’s a hideous person, not because of his hideous politics.

Huppenthal got caught posting anonymously online with messages so repulsive that even his own partisans didn’t want him back.

Stephanie Boe, communications director for TUSD, recently told Roque Planas at The Huffington Post that the ethnic studies classes will continue for now. The state education department ordered the classes stopped by March 4 or the district may lose 10 percent of its funding.

With Arizona’s education cuts, 10 percent may not amount to a lot but every dollar for schools is important.

The district’s appeal is pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

While a trans woman was being booked for shoplifting, McLaughlin insisted on playing Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” and The Kinks “Lola” at high volume until another detective asked him to stop.

Trans woman Robin Adelmann, a resident of a local women’s shelter, filed a formal complaint after the Dec. 21 incident.

Trans woman’s boyfriend in custody over her stabbing LOS ANGELES -- The live-in boyfriend of a 33-year-old transgender woman found dead of multiple stab wounds has turned himself in to police, according to KTLA-TV. Ezekiel Dear, 25, was accompanied by a pastor when he walked into a police station and confessed to killing Michelle (Yazmin) Vash Payne, a police spokesperson said.

Payne reportedly had recently moved in with Dear, and police said neighbors reported hearing the couple arguing late into the night before a fire started in the apartment.

Payne’s body was found by firefighters in the apartment’s kitchen when they showed up just after 5 a.m.

Huppenthal’s appeal is non-existent.

OW

Police detective hits musical wall with trans harassment LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Lakewood Police Detective Thomas McLaughlin apparently thought he was just being cute by serving up some Christmas harassment, but the 23-year department veteran earned a verbal reprimand and a ton of bad publicity for his department instead.

WEEKLY

Adelmann told Cleveland news site CleveScene that the arresting officers were polite and detained her in a female cell block, but then McLaughlin began his mockery.

Lakewood Police Chief Tim Malley acknowledged that the incident cast his department in a bad light, and he’s now considering department-wide sensitivity training.

What? You mean the Lakewood, Ohio, police department doesn’t get national publicity every day?

Well, put McLaughlin in charge of fixing that -- he knows how to generate the publicity.

OW

Payne is the third U.S. trans woman of color reported murdered in the four weeks of 2015 so far.

Ex-partner sues estate of woman who hid wealth LONDON -- The former civil-union partner of a British real estate developer has taken her fight for a bigger divorce settlement to the Court of Appeal, England’s second-highest court.

Helen Roocroft claims her expartner, Carol Ainscow, hid millions of pounds when they dissolved their civil partnership in 2010 after being together for 19 years.

Ainscow, a property developer in London’s SoHo and in Manchester’s gay village, died at 55 in 2013.

Roocroft said she was misled into accepting a settlement of about $250,000 because Ainscow reported her worth at roughly $1.1 million instead of the $9 million she was actually worth.

The case is being called unique because Roocroft is asking to reopen

Page 15 the settlement case after Ainscow’s death.

Roocroft’s appeal is almost certain to be contested because Ainscow died without a will, leaving the full estate to her mother.

Tucson Pride announces Parade, Pride Festival dates and this year’s theme TUCSON – Tucson Pride has Fourth Ave. locked-in for Oct. 10 for its “Pride on Parade.” The grand marshal for the event will be revealed in August.

This year is the 15th anniversary of the official Pride Parade and the Pride board hopes to make it even bigger than last year’s.

Tucson’s 38th annual Pride event, “Pride in the Desert” returns to Kino Sports Complex the weekend following the parade Oct. 17. The theme for this year’s Pride is “Color Our World With Pride.”

All of the forms for the parade and the Pride Festival including volunteer and vendor applications have been updated and are available for download at the Tucson Pride website at tucsonpride.org.

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OBSERVER WEEKLY

February 04, 2015