1568 February 11, 2015

February 11, 2015

Issue 1568

New Catholic bishop 12 counties follow Alabama’s accepts science on trans chief justice over legal cliff don’t want to see judges people but not for LGBs “Imake the same mistakes that I think were made in this state 50 years ago [fighting racial integration], where you have state officials not abiding by federal orders.

The legacy always hangs over us until we show that we’re beyond it.”

OBSERVER STAFF BURLINGTON, Vt. -Bishop Christopher Coyne, Vermont’s new arbiter of things Roman, may have established a new paradigm right off the bat: The science on transgendered people is A-OK, but the science on LGB people is still heretical.

“There’s more and more evidence coming forward that a lot of this is biological . . . that transgender people are really struggling with the idea of gender identity . . . and that’s through no fault of their own.

And so there’s no fault to be made, actually. This is who they are. . . . Everyone is God’s creatures. And I would invite

Inside POLL: Half of young people don’t believe gender is binary Page 15 Boehner: House GOP hopes to stay out of U.S. Supreme Court marriage fight Page 6

Thank you Mary for comparing drag queens to blackface Page 3

Spraying Native kids with beer, invective: 57 counts of child abuse . . . for starters Page 4

Is that a crack in the ice? Well . . . um . . . yes!

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Russian homophobe may return ‘joke’ on lesbian couple Page 6

-- Judge Steven L. Reed of Montgomery County, Ala. OBSERVER STAFF Only 13 states don’t recognize marriage equality. A remedy may be forthcoming when the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue later this year.

Why evidence from the

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- It’s almost too delicious to believe: wingnut Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court yelling about activist judges while himself being the most blatantly activist judge in modern memory!

marriages were scheduled to begin across the state, only nine of Alabama’s 67 counties followed U.S. District Judge Callie Granade’s order to begin issuing licenses.

Continued on page 12

Monday, when same-sex

(Rural Crenshaw County --

Bishop Christopher Coyne

anyone to come to the table,” Coyne said.

Alabama minister arrested for offering to perform samesex wedding PRATTVILLE, Ala. -- A minister was charged with misdemeanor orderly conduct Tuesday after she offered to perform a same-sex marriage at the Autauga County probate judge's office, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

Anne Susan Diprizio of Prattville was held on $1,000 bond after refusing to leave the office where Courtney Cannon and Morgan Plunkett had been issued a license.

Diprizio had offered to perform the marriage on the spot but was handcuffed and led across the street to a jail.

Autauga County is basically rural but lies across the Alabama River from Montgomery, the state capital.

Twelve counties followed Moore’s order to continue Continued on page 7

Bill aims to allow AZ elected officials to conceal more from the public

By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST PHOENIX -- A bill introduced last week would allow Arizona elected officials exactly what we all think they need: more ability to keep the voters in the dark about what they’re doing.

Reportedly, the big push for this is coming from new Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who previously served in the state House of Representatives.

In between stints in the Continued on page 7

The Queen thinks same-sex marriage is wonderful, Stephen Fry claims

The judge's office staff stopped performing any weddings Friday, but claimed it was because of the office's work load. Same-sex marriage licenses began Monday in those counties that are obeying a federal judge's order.

It remained unclear whether the judge had any authority to stop a member of the public from performing a wedding in the lobby.

with Luverne as the county seat -- was ready to issue samesex licenses but none were requested.)

LONDON – Monday, PinkNews reported that “QI” host Stephen Fry – who recently married comedian Elliot Spencer – recounted a story about the monarch on “The Jonathan Ross Show.”

The queen gave Royal Assent to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in July 2013, paving the way for marriages to finally begin last March.

time, she put it down and said ‘Well, who’d have thought 62 years ago when I came to the throne, I’d be signing something like this? Isn’t it wonderful?’”

Fry said, “It was only last summer that Her Majesty The Queen gave the Royal Assent.

Fry continued, “I am so proud to live in the country where [acceptance] seems to be the absolute majority view.”

“I don’t know whether this is true, but there’s an Italian saying -- if it’s not true, it’s well founded.

“When the queen signed the Royal Assent for the equal marriages act, allowing gay people to marry for the first

The queen – who maintains political neutrality – has never publicly remarked about samesex marriage, and did not mention the first weddings in her Christmas broadcast last year.

OBSERVER

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Senior Pride seeking poets for October TUCSON -- Wingspan Senior Pride is looking for LGBT senior (50 plus) poets to read at the University of Arizona Poetry Center Oct. 3.

The time allowed for each poet will be determined by the number poets who show up. This is for all those seniors who love poetry whether they’ve been published or not.

Read your own work or the work of someone whose poetry touches you.

Contact Curt by phone at 520-293-8401 or by email at curtstubbs69@yahoo.com to sign up.

HELL YEAH, Meg Meyers at KMFA Day 2015 TUCSON -- Tucson’s Rock 102 KFMA announced KFMA DAY 2015 featuring Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace, HELL YEAH, The Pretty Reckless, Pepper, Meg Meyers and more.

KFMA Day is April 18 at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, 2500 E. Ajo Way. This is the 16th Annual KFMA Day, Southern Arizona’s largest outdoor concert festival. There will be a wide variety of food and drinks, plus multiple interactive booths and vendors at this all-ages event.

Tickets are $39.00 in advance and $50.00 the day of at all Tucson area Pizza Hut locations and www.kfma. com. Doors open at noon. Show starts at 1 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. Visit www. kfma.com for all Pizza Hut locations and additional details.

Chilean Congress OKs civil unions in lopsided vote SANTIAGO, Chile -- The Congress in heavily Roman Catholic Chile recently approved civil unions after four years of lobbying by LGBT organizations.

Even activists said they were surprised by the 78-to-9 vote.

Same-sex couples will be allowed to register their civil unions beginning in July.

“We are thrilled that the state recognizes, for the first time, that samesex couples also constitute a family and deserve protection,” said Luis Larrain of Fundación Iguales. “This is a step forward in the recognition of diversity.”

Bakery could face $150,000 fine for breaking state law PORTLAND, Ore. -- The owners of the bakery Sweet Cakes by Melissa could face a fine of up to $150,000 for violating Oregon’s public-accommodations law by refusing to produce a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.

Owner Aaron Klein had turned away Rachel Cryer and Laurel Bowman in 2013 by referring to the couple as “an abomination of the Lord.”

Oregon’s law hasn’t yet been changed to allow discrimination based on religion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling that established such claims.

The story made headlines again last summer when it came out that Sweet Cakes had done baking for the “ex-gay ministry” Restored Hope.

In defending themselves before Administrative Law Judge Alan McCullough, Aaron and Melissa Klein tried to claim they were being discriminated against because of THEIR sexual orientation.

The judge was not amused.

The amount of the fine, if any, will be determined in a separate damages hearing.

In a unique twist to the Sweet Cakes story, the owner of rival bakery Ace of Cakes offered to bake the Cryer/ Bowman wedding cake.

Fiorina pontificates: High court should bypass marriage Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, an almost-candidate for next year’s GOP presidential nomination, says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage right now is “the worst thing” that could happen on the issue.

She told The Christian Post in an interview that the court should leave the situation as is, where some gay and lesbian citizens can marry in their states and some can’t: “[Same-sex marriage] is an important conversation that is going on in homes, churches and communities across the country. I think that the worst thing the Supreme Court can do right now is shortcut this conversation.”

She also claimed to know that embryos feel pain and fetuses dream.

Fiorina was an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate from California in 2010.

Lance Bass: I was bullied by Perez Hilton to come out Former boy-band star Lance Bass has opened up to Attitude magazine about his 2006 coming out, saying he was “bullied” by “bloggers like Perez Hilton” into going public.

WEEKLY

Committee’s subcomittee on Africa.

During a hearing, he said:

of “Jessie presente!” filled the Sheraton ballroom.

“I am a strong believer in traditional marriage and do not construe homosexual rights as human rights.”

An activist told The Advocate that organizers of the event were not told in advance about the demonstration for fear they would prevent the activists from entering.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., also from New Jersey, fired back: “What is so troubling and inexplicable about Congressman Smith’s comments is that he makes a distinction between the rights of LGBT individuals and the rights of humans. The day that we begin plucking certain categories of people out from under the protections of universal human rights because of who they are is the day we abandon our commitment to building a more just world.”

Smith, of course, counters that he’s being misquoted -- “they’re twisting my words and profoundly inaccurate.”

On the other hand, Smith’s history of anti-gay votes is lengthy enough to make the case that he doesn’t consider LGBT rights to be human rights, even if he hadn’t spelled it out during a hearing.

Gallery/bistro ends weddings rather than accept equality GRIMES, Iowa -- The owners of an Iowa art gallery and bistro well-known as a wedding venue announced last week that they will end their practice of hosting weddings in order to avoid having a same-sex ceremony.

The Des Moines Register reported that the Gortz Haus Gallery in Grimes was unable to circumvent Iowa’s antidiscrimination law, so its owners opted out of weddings altogether.

The owners, Betty and Richard Odgaard, had sued the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, claiming they were not required to accommodate same-sex weddings no matter what the law might say.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith’s statement last week during a congressional hearing that gay rights are not human rights has him dodging rotten tomatoes right and left, including from a fellow member of his state’s U.S. House delegation.

Smith, R-Republican Naturally, chairs the House Foreign Affairs

The victim, Jacina Carla Scamahorn, was sent to the hospital with “major damage to the left side of her face,” including broken bones, according to Spokane Human Rights Commission chair Blaine Sturn.

Scamahorn told police the two men had been drinking at a nearby bar, verbally harassed her for being trans and homeless, and then followed Continued on next page

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

Assistant Editor Christine Beall

Denver mayor drops speech plans after activists demonstrate

N.J. Republican blowtorched over anti-gay remark

Adam R. Flippen, 45, and Marc A. Fessler, 42, were arrested hours after their images were released to media by the police; they reportedly were identified by several local residents.

The Odgaards also stopped catering and supplying flowers for offsite weddings so that no cake of theirs need attend a same-sex ceremony.

He previously said on Ricki Lake’s TV show that he was afraid to come out during N Sync’s heyday for fear that it would have “completely ruined” the band.

He married his husband last Dec.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Two men were arrested last week in connection with an assault on a trans woman in a Spokane bakery, according to The SpokesmanReview daily newspaper.

Executive Editor Nicholas K. M. Pafford

Gortz Haus is a picturesque former Lutheran church.

20.

Two men arrested in bakery attack on trans woman

The Odgaards have now withdrawn the lawsuit and agreed to pay $5,000 to settle a complaint filed by Jared Ellers and Lee Stafford, a same-sex couple turned away by the Odgaards, the Register reported.

Bass, now 35, said he was given 24 hours to decide whether to come out or to be outed.

Bass said he was hounded for two years before coming out in People magazine and that Hilton had been “just really malicious against me.”

February 11, 2015

DENVER -- Denver Mayor Michael Hancock canceled his planned speech to the National LGBTQ Task Force’s annual Creating Change event last week after nearly 100 trans activists stormed the stage demanding solidarity from LGBQ advocates.

Thousands of people attended the event.

Russell Roybal, the task force’s deputy executive director, and Sue Hyde, Creating Change director, each welcomed attendees and showed emotion over the fatal police shooting of teen lesbian Jessica Hernandez last month.

After the introduction of the evening’s emcee, comedian Kate Clinton, trans activist Bamby Salcedo led the storming of the stage as a chant

Senior Editor Greg Miller

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.

February 11, 2015 Continued from previous page her into Boots Bakery. She admitted spitting into the face of one of the men in retaliation.

A bakery employee, John Dandurand, who recognized Scamahorn as a regular customer, described the two men beating her, yelling slurs and kicking her in the face at least once.

Scamahorn said bakery staff members did what they could to protect her.

The police report stated that Scamahorn appeared intoxicated, but she and several witnesses said she was convulsing and vomiting from being beaten.

The two men were charged with malicious harassment, which The Spokesman-Review described as “Washington’s version of a hate crime.”

OBSERVER it takes trying to stop any more such marriages from taking place in Michigan.

Let’s see . . . The equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution says a state can allow 300 couples to legally marry and deny marriage to the rest?

Ummm, we’re betting the courts rule this theory to be a pile of caca.

And we’re betting Snyder knows what’s coming. So we’re betting he’s trying to impress his playmates and doing it on the taxpayers’ dime.

This is the work’s second staging, after its 2013 world premiere at Santa Fe Opera.

“Oscar” chronicles Wilde’s trial and imprisonment for “gross indecency” -open homosexuality.

“Oscar Wilde’s life and all that he stood for has tremendous relevance today,” said David B. Devan, Opera Philadelphia’s general director and president, in a statement. “He is an iconic figure in the struggle for gay rights and universal human rights, and in this opera he is presented as a hero, not as a victim.”

The production continues through Sunday.

Michigan governor finally admits 300 marriages happened LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced last week that his administration will recognize 300 same-sex marriages performed during a 24-hour window of opportunity last year.

But that doesn’t mean Snyder’s administration won’t spend whatever

Thank you Mary for comparing drag queens to blackface

black face

The Michigan case is one of four the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear this spring. Most observers expect the court to issue a definitive decision on samesex marriage, but the justices may find some way to waffle on it.

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A nationwide referendum on Saturday that would have enshrined three antigay laws failed to draw the 50 percent voter turnout required for the vote to be binding.

According to the nation’s Statistics Office, turnout reached only 21.4 percent.

Of those that did vote, 95 percent voted to define marriage as between a man and a woman; 92 percent voted to bar same-sex parents from adopting children; and 92 percent voted that it should be up to parents whether their children receive sex education.

drag on the other hand is an instrument of empowerment.

By Christopher L. Pankratz OBSERVER STAFF Late last month Mary Cheney took to Facebook to post a plea for attention at the expense of drag culture and African American oppression.

Posted Cheney: “Why is it socially acceptable - as a form of entertainment for men to put on dresses, make up and high heels and act out every offensive stereotype of women (bitchy, catty, dumb, slutty, etc.) - but it is not socially acceptable - as a form of entertainment - for a white person to put on blackface and act out offensive stereotypes of African Americans? Shouldn’t both be OK or neither?”

Let’s unpack this for her.

In other words, the percentage of the population that is anti-everything progressive appears to be about the same in Slovakia as in the U.S. The vote was forced by the Alliance for Family, described by The Associated Press as “a social conservative group that received a massive support from the [Roman] Catholic Church.”

Pope Francis generated a flurry of publicity about the vote last week when he urged Slovakians to vote for the antigay measures.

Slovakian LGBT activists told the news site BuzzFeed that a U.S. group, the Alliance Defending Freedom [But Only for Those Who Agree With Us], also was involved in the anti-gay drive.

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Commentary

Before last week, Snyder had insisted that the 300 marriages already performed “never existed” and the state would never recognize them, despite a federal judge’s January ruling that it must.

Oscar Wilde opera Slovakia vote fails gets second staging required turnout in Philadelphia on anti-gay laws PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The East Coast premiere of the opera “Oscar,” based on the life of gay icon Oscar Wilde, is currently playing at Opera Philadelphia.

WEEKLY

It’s all about intention. Blackface, the pre-Civil War and Vaudevillian practice of a white actor using burnt cork to blacken his or her face and wearing ratty wigs and costumes to ridicule, mock, and misrepresent African Americans, is a part of American theatre history. While out of fashion today, blackface was once commonplace. Even Judy Garland performed in this insensitive way.

Let’s take an intermezzo here to acknowledge that there are some similarities in technique and craft.

Wigs and makeup transform the actor from one body type to another.

Stereotypes are explored, embraced, and celebrated. The characters created can range from culturally normative to bizarre caricatures.

So what’s the diff?

Drag, which can claim a much longer heritage in world theatre, in its tamest forms allows for a male or female performer to play a role which dresses as the opposite gender expression than the actor’s. At its most extreme, drag pokes fun at cultural phenomena which originate in heteronormative culture.

Certain drag queens often portray “white trash” and “ghetto” stereotypes as well as sexually promiscuous and absurd behaviors. This occurs in both drag queen and king performance.

Blackface and Minstrelsy use theatre to denigrate, alienate, and stereotype African Americans into limiting archetypes: Black Sambo, Topsy, Uncle Tom, the tragic octaroon, etc.

Drag queens, often but not always gay men, have had a pivotal place in the LGBTQ rights movement. By putting on a wig and dress, queens serve to subvert the oppressive heteronormative culture which has led to the murder, bashing, and discrimination of countless effeminate men and the oppression of women as the “weaker sex.” Drag queens embrace femininity and abandon repression along with any notion that it is shameful, weak, or inferior to be effeminate.

Drag on the other hand is an instrument of empowerment.

“We’re here; we’re queer; get used Continued on page 10

February 11, 2015 OBSERVER WEEKLY Community Voices Spraying Native kids with Three big events in February beer, invective: 57 counts of child abuse . . . for starters

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By Scott Blades Executive Director TIHAN

Get ready, because February is heating up with three great events in our community!

The Arizona Gay Rodeo Association is celebrating their 30th annual rodeo in Phoenix. Always a fun time, this year’s event will again be held at the Corona Ranch and Rodeo Grounds, 7611 S. 29th Ave. (29th Ave. and Baseline Rd).

The gay rodeo events will take place on Presidents Day weekend (Feb. 14-15).

The gates open at 9 a.m. and the rodeo starts at 10 a.m.

Tickets are $15 for the day or $25 for the weekend. Also, there is a party bus between Charlie’s bar (Seventh Ave and Camelback Rd.) and the rodeo venue.

With its beginnings in Reno in 1976, the gay rodeo movement raises thousands of dollars for charity each year. In the many years of producing this rodeo, AGRA has raised more than $300,000 for charity. For over a decade, TIHAN has been one of the beneficiaries of the proceeds from gay rodeos in Phoenix and Tucson.

Visit www.agra-phx.com for more information about the rodeo, host hotels, party bus, entertainment schedule, and to purchase tickets.

In addition to men and women competing in the “traditional” rodeo events (bull-riding, barrel racing, chute dogging), you’ll also see some fun gaythemed events (wild drag race, steer decorating and the “royalty” traditions of gay rodeo.

I’m a member of AGRA and it’s a great group of people. If you are interested in joining AGRA too, dues are only $25 a year. Visit www.agra-phx. com for a membership application, and more information about AGRA events and opportunities for involvement.

Reveille Men’s Chorus is hosting a new event, REV IT UP! Reveille Roundup, an evening of music, food, and laughter, on Feb. 21 at the old west Savoy Opera House at Trail Dust Town 6541 E. Tanque Verde Rd. Hosted by Tucson’s handsome humorist and Arizona Daily Star’s king of cartoons, David “FITZ” Fitzsimmons, this event is a benefit for the Joel Meister Scholarship Fund.

Reveille Men’s Chorus, Tucson’s internationally recognized men’s chorus, is in its 20th year of changing lives through music. What began in 1995 as a gay men’s community chorus with an array of singers, has grown, transitioned and taken flight into a community institution of seasoned performers focused on building relationships, community, and a performance experience incomparable to any other here in Southern Arizona.

They are led by board president Stephen Michael, artistic director Shawn Cullen, and accompanist Kyungsun Choi, and dozens of beautiful people with amazing voices and a desire to share the gift of their music.

The event begins with a chow roundup at 6:30 p.m. with some

modified cowboy vittles. Then, at 7 p.m., Fitz will bring his amazing talents to the stage. You can expect: cartoons, political incorrectness, old time western songs, a live auction, and great Reveille music. The evening will also feature awards being presented to Jeffrey Bracker (Reveille Leadership Award), Allen Kinzey (Reveille Volunteer Award), and yours truly (Joel Meister Community Service Award).

This Feb 21 event is a new one, with the goal of having fun and raising funds for the Joel Meister Scholarship Fund, allowing members (often younger men) to offset the costs of being a member of the chorus. Before his untimely passing, Joel was a member of the chorus and the board of directors for Reveille. He was a retired professor of public health at the University of Arizona with studies that focused on concerns of social injustice. Under his tutelage, the chorus adopted its public health mission to bring understanding around LGBT issues to communities at large and strive to create a world free of AIDS. Joel was an ardent advocate for the reduction of social injustice in any community regardless of the reason for the injustice. He also felt that music helped makes tough messages easier to hear.

Admission is $80, with a portion being tax-deductible. Information and tickets are available at www. reveillemenschorus.org or by calling 520-304-1758.

On Feb. 28, Desert Voices is offering a taste of Mardi Gras! “BIENVENUE: A Cabaret Dinner and Silent Auction” will be a night to remember. Featuring music from Desert Voices and the River Road Ramblers Dixieland Band, many great silent and live auction items, a delicious French Quarter dinner with complimentary wine and beer, and hosted by Tucson’s Queen of Comedy, Lucinda Holliday.

Desert Voices, Arizona’s Premier GLBTS Chorus, was founded in 1988.

The organization is a not-for-profit corporation committed to promoting an ongoing, positive gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender presence in our community. The chorus is a uniquely diverse mix of GLBT people and straight allies. Celebrating 25 years, the chorus received the 2014 GALA CHORUSES Award for Excellence.

This event takes place at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. Tickets are $40. For more details and to get tickets to this fun Mardi Gras-themed Cabaret Dinner and Silent Auction, visit http://desertvoices. org/ or call 520-791-9662.

Also, for just $25, you can have a great chance to win a trip for two to San Francisco Pride 2015 and support Desert Voices. Only 300 tickets will be sold -- some great odds! Plus a new bonus -- not only will the winner receive round trip airfare from anywhere Southwest Airlines flies and three nights at the Sheraton at Fisherman’s Wharf, but the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has very generously donated tickets to its concert, Elton: The SingAlong, and the option of walking with the choir in the Pride Parade. Tickets are available by calling 520-791-9662.

Kids from the American Horse School were sprayed with beer and racial insults while attending a hockey game as a reward for participating in an after-school program.

By R.D. Smith GUEST COLUMNIST You keep thinking Americans can’t really want to go back to the days when racism and child abuse reigned supreme, but many of your peers keep voting to do it anyway.

Possibly a new low is the recent report of some privileged clowns in a VIP box spraying beer, racial epithets and a Frisbee down onto a group of Native American reservation kids attending a hockey game as a special reward.

What could these idiots gain by abusing a group of kids from an impoverished K-8 reservation school?

At least one of them reportedly faces 57 counts of child abuse, and let’s hope every count is prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but this is one case where the punishment needs to make the perps feel the way they made those kids feel.

The children had been bused to the hockey game at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D., as a treat for participating in an after-school program.

Their “treat” ended with them being

hustled out of the facility after trip chaperone and American Horse School Board member Justin Poor Bear said the taunts turned to challenges for a face-to-face confrontation.

Even the editor of the Rapid City Journal had to publicly apologize for a headline that some interpreted as victim-blaming.

“There can never be any justification for the appalling way those students and their chaperons were treated at the game,” Editor Bart Pfankuch said in the apology.

As of last week, the Rapid City Police Department was still trying to figure out whether to file criminal charges.

Yeah, that’s really a tough call.

Unless South Dakota law is different from most states, hitting anyone with beer or a Frisbee is assault and anyone who assaulted a police officer with either of them would have been charged muy pronto.

Until the Rapid City Police Department treats these kids as equals, shame on it as well as the asshats who assaulted those poor kids.

OW

State Department to name first LGBT overseas advocate WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. State Department will appoint a special envoy by the end of February to advocate for the rights of LGBT people overseas, The Boston Globe reported last week.

Candidates are currently being vetted, and the report stated that the appointee will be a current State Department officer who is openly gay.

Back in August 2013, the State Department began processing visa applications from same-sex spouses using the same criteria it uses for heterosexual spouses after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act.

February 11, 2015

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

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OBSERVER WEEKLY Boehner: House GOP hopes Perez Hilton voted off Celebrity Big to stay out of U.S. Supreme Brother TV show Court marriage fight Page 6

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton last week became the seventh contestant voted out of the “Celebrity Big Brother” house this season.

He made his exit surrounded by the usual swirling controversies.

Hilton left the house without saying goodbye to the other contestants and was quoted as saying he was relieved.

Among other things, he said living with Katie Hopkins was like living through the AIDS crisis.

Hopkins is a British journalist and TV personality who is fond of making controversial remarks -- some of which reportedly attract police attention.

OBSERVER STAFF Despite GOP leaders in the U.S. spending a ton of taxpayer money fighting marriage equality, House Speaker John Boehner said last week his caucus expects to avoid the current U.S. Supreme Court battle.

“The court will make its decision and that’s why they’re there,” he responded to a Washington Blade question during a news conference. “I don’t expect that we’re going to weigh in on this.”

That seems a more moderate stance than was taken back in 2011 when the Obama administration declined to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

That time, Congress’s Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (“bipartisan” but with a 3-to-2 GOP majority) spent more than $2 million in a losing fight against

marriage equality. House leadership was all over that effort.

Democrats, on the other hand, do intend to file a friend-of-the-court brief in support of marriage equality, as does the Obama administration.

Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, told the Blade it appears that Republican leadership recognizes where the equality is headed.

“They know their past pandering to part of their base is way out of step not only with a majority of the American people and independents, but with Republicans under 50 and even with young evangelicals,” Wolfson said.

The court will hear cases this spring from Tennessee, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio, states in which a same-sex marriage ban was upheld by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

February 11, 2015 public places, that’s also a funny step,” groused Milonov, a key figure in the passage of Russia’s anti-gay law.

“When he noticed what we were doing, he hid behind his tablet computer,” Ksenia Infinity wrote on a Russian social-media page. “We are very happy. He probably isn’t. But who cares!”

The photo has gone viral, worldwide.

Milonov is known for several antigay capers, including calling for a lifetime ban on Apple CEO Tim Cook ever traveling to Russia after Cook came out.

Anti-LGBT pastor switches to GOP in bid for Congress

Hilton repeatedly drew complaints from fellow housemates and from viewers due to his outlandish behavior and remarks.

Virulently anti-gay pastor Scott Lively is “contemplating a run for Congress” on the strength of his failed bid for governor of Massachusetts, in which he received less than 1 percent of the vote last November.

Among his critics has been RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, who called Hilton “an embarrassment” who was setting the LGBT community back by half a century.

Lively announced his latest plan last week in a column on the rightwing website BarbWire, adding that he switched his registration to Republican in anticipation of running again.

Russian homophobe may return ‘joke’ on lesbian couple

He ran for independent.

Russia’s most famously anti-gay politician said last week he may have the last laugh on a lesbian couple who snapped a selfie of themselves kissing with his face clearly visible in the background.

“I didn’t understand what they were doing [when they posed for the selfie] but they have a nice sense of humor,” Vitaly Milonov told CNN when asked about the photo.

“I also have a good sense of humor.

I will perhaps continue this joke by closing their gay club in St. Petersburg, or ban them from having meetings in

governor

as

an

And on what will his campaign be based? Forging an alliance of America’s anti-gay religious right with anti-gay Russia.

Lively previously claimed credit for helping get Russia’s anti-LGBT “propaganda” law enacted, and he’s currently facing a lawsuit for his role in pushing Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” Law, which was struck down by a court last year.

That may not sound like qualifications for Congress from progressive Massachusetts, but don’t count your votes before they’re submitted.

OW

Texas school: No, gay vlogger not welcome here HOUSTON -- A spokesman for a Texas Lutheran school has confirmed that openly gay students are not welcome there, in the wake of a young vlogger’s statement he was forced to either leave the school or go back in the closet.

Houston’s Lutheran High North is affiliated with the Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod, a less welcoming group than the Evangelical Lutheran Church in

America and other Lutheran groups.

The school is one of three overseen by the Lutheran Education Association of Houston.

The Texas Observer reported a statement obtained from the association’s executive director, Wayne Kramer: “Sometimes, as in this case, students have to make choices and decide whether their beliefs align with

our community, and we respect their choices. We also respect student privacy and do not comment on any individual student or their actions.”

The video, which has been viewed more than 200,000 times, did not identify the school; The Texas Observer reported it.

Until about two weeks ago, Austin Wallis attended Lutheran High North.

Since then, the 17-year-old posted a YouTube video claiming that the school’s principal, on learning that Wallis is gay, issued an ultimatum for him to get back in the closet or leave.

The school’s principal told the Observer the usual: “The allegations you received have been misrepresented,” then went on to quote from the student handbook essentially what Wallis and Kramer had said.

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Where God's love for all is the good news!

In March -- messages focus on healthy communication

February 11, 2015

Page 7 OBSERVER WEEKLY 12 counties follow Alabama’s Bill aims to allow AZ elected officials to conceal more from chief justice over legal cliff Continued from page 1 issuing only licenses for heterosexual couples, despite the U.S. Supreme Court declining on the same day to postpone same-sex marriage in the state.

Most counties stopped issuing licenses to anybody until somebody clears up the mess Moore created.

And lest you think Moore is out on a limb that somebody might saw off, remember that he knows his constituency.

That foul odor you detect could be him running for governor -- and winning.

In the more populous counties, there were anti-LGBT protesters around, but in general crowds gathered to cheer the couples getting licenses.

One unique couple got a license at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham.

Brent Thompson and Lindsay Crews of Birmingham, a heterosexual Baptist couple, walked out of the courthouse to the same cheers that had gone to samesex couples all day.

Thompson said they decided to get their marriage license with the same-sex couples in order to participate in history.

“It was wonderful,” Thompson said of the greeting from the crowd. “I loved it,” Crews echoed.

Moore, who last month wrote a letter to the governor asking him to act in contempt of court rather than accept marriage equality, wrote another letter

over the weekend to county probate judges ordering them not to issue marriage licenses in accordance with the federal ruling.

At least one law professor, Howard Wasserman of Florida, says Moore is correct in a narrow legal point: Granade’s ruling “is an injunction against the person (the attorney general) who lacks any power to do anything with respect to licenses and no injunction against the people (probate judges) who do.”

Wasserman said, however, that all Granade has to do is add the names of any probate judges who don’t follow the order, and they’ll be compelled to do so.

Moore previously was booted from office for judicial misconduct, and apparently is daring the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to kick him off the bench again. (The voters placed him back in charge of the high court after his first dismissal.)

While his ranting may seem oldfashioned to most Americans, he’s in the state where Gov. George Wallace blocked a doorway at the University of Alabama in 1963 trying to keep black students out.

Wallace was lionized in Alabama for decades because of his racist stance, and the parallels with Moore have not gone unnoticed.

Granade’s Jan. 28 “clarification” for probate judges that she had, indeed, issued a ruling and that it did, indeed, apply to them included a reminder that they can be sued for court costs and attorney fees for refusing to follow her ruling.

the public

Continued from page 1 Legislature, Allen became famous online for various statements -- including one that trees are “stealing Arizona’s water” after people protested that a real estate development near Heber would claim too many trees.

The new bill emerges just a week after House Republicans voted to begin holding caucuses behind closed doors.

Someone noticed that this would violate Arizona’s Open Meetings Law, so of course the solution is to gut the Open Meetings Law to allow legislators to do what they want in secret.

But the law would apply to all elected officials -- school boards, city councils, county supervisors; the whole lot of our “public servants” could conduct their discussions in private and only emerge into the light when they were taking a vote.

As Dan Barr of the First Amendment Coalition told Capitol Media Services, “That’s kind of like saying, ‘You know, instead of watching the baseball game, we’re going to give you the score.’”

“The assumption of this bill is that elected officials are not going to have full and frank discussions in front of the people who elected them,’’ he said. “Her [Allen’s] argument is, ‘We’re not fully transparent, so let’s be less transparent.’

That doesn’t make much sense.”

In other words, the public would be able to find out even less about why

elected officials voted the way they did than we’re able to find out now.

If corruption in Arizona politics could get any worse, this is a sure-fire recipe for accomplishing it.

The law now requires that discussion, proposing or taking legal action -- “including any deliberations by a quorum with respect to such” -- be conducted in the open.

You need to contact your legislators and let them know that there’s no way this stinker meets with voter approval.

Especially, if you have any link to anyone reported as a co-sponsor (mostly Republicans, but including some of those Democrats who occasionally forget the “D” after their name except when it comes time to run), you should lower the boom on them. In addition to Sen. Allen, they are: Sen. Carlyle Begay, D-Gilbert but representing Apache County (There’s been a pissing match over whether he’s even eligible to do this); Sen. Judy Burges, R-Sun City West; Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa; Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale; Sen. Barbara McGuire, D-Kearny; Sen. Lynne Pancrazi, D-Yuma; Sen. Don Shooter, R-Yuma; Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa; Sen. Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix; Rep. Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa; Rep. Regina Cobb, R-Kingman but representing Lake Havasu City; Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley; and Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria.

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OBSERVER

WEEKLY

February 11, 2015

February 11, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY

Page 9

Page 10

OBSERVER

Fireside Chat Thank you Mary for comparing drag Looking to blackface

By Wendell Hicks Continued from page 3 to it!” is a not so subtle message sent out by any dude in a dress that isn’t afraid to express gender.

Blackface cannot be said to be a tool to fight the oppression of African Americans. The black characters of Civil War era stages were not written to inspire change. White actors played animalistic, simple-minded, and clumsy black characters for the enjoyment of white audiences. This reinforced racism, prejudice, and oppression.

Taking on the appearance of the minority your culture is oppressing in order to laugh at the “stupidity” of the black man is not the same as subverting society’s expectations for the way you express gender.

Gender expression, gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation are separate traits that contribute to one’s identity.

A drag queen may choose to express their gender as a butch male in some situations and a hyper effeminate female in others. Choosing to express an artistic message through drag is choosing to tap in to the spectrum of gender expression that is within all of us.

Thank you Mary Cheney for asking this question and allowing the conversation of gender expression, camp, gender performance, and cultural oppression to continue. It is essential to stand up for the empowerment of women everywhere, but drag is not at the expense of women. It is a hyperbolic performance of gender expression.

Gender expression does not equate to gender.

WEEKLY

February 11, 2015

toward the future of our community

Executive Director SAAF I think it is important to celebrate how far we’ve come and acknowledge how far we still have to go. I never thought I would see the day come where gay marriage was legally recognized by our government. The “Legalize Love” movement means one more step closer to equality for LGBTQ people, but we aren’t there yet. Marriage is an incredible right that I am grateful for our community to have. There are some people that are afforded things in life that others are not, based on their race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or gender and that isn’t fair. As far as we have come, our LGBTQ brothers and sisters are still experiencing hatred and violence, which means that our work isn’t done.

A young transgender woman named Ty Underwood, who was from Tyler, a city near my home town in Texas, was recently murdered because of her identity. I wish I could say she was alone but she was one of three known trans women of color who were murdered since the start of the new year. I also wish I could say that this was the first time that this violence has hit so close to home. But, I remember a young man named Nicholas West who was murdered in a park in Tyler, decades earlier, because of his sexual orientation. I remember going to a memorial service for Nicholas, hearing speakers, and seeing people come out and support our community. I remember feeling motivated to do more for LGBTQ

people living in my small town but being too afraid to speak to news outlets and be visibly “out” on TV. I am no longer afraid to stand up and speak out for my community, including my beautiful trans family who deserves strong allies, safety, and equality.

I recently had the honor of connecting with Sally Dodds, an advocate and activist in the HIV/AIDS community who started a non-profit AIDS service organization in Miami, Florida about her experience of the early days of HIV/AIDS in her community. I wasn’t surprised to hear they mirrored my experiences as a volunteer case manager in Texas. Sally started out visiting people, providing mental and emotional support, feeding and bathing patients who had been quarantined due to their AIDS diagnosis (before we even had a name for the virus and syndrome).

Before she was 35 years old, Sally had delivered 80 eulogies for people who they had lost as result of complications due to end stage AIDS. Sally was driven and knew from the very beginning, a lot like myself, that she “HAD to be with patients in hospital rooms” and had to work within the HIV/AIDS field. Her nonprofit, the Health Crisis Network, was opened in 1983, was volunteer driven, and operated on a budget that was next to nothing. Working from the second story of a church building, HIV positive clients were carried by volunteers up to their floor to attend support groups.

The case management structure we have today is largely due to Sally’s early work and the commitment she had to supporting HIV positive patients within the hospital “buddy” system. So how is the work of Sally -- now another one of my heroes -- and others who fought in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, like the LGBTQ movement of yesterday, today, and tomorrow?

The HIV/AIDS movement took, and still takes, dedicated volunteers and committed community members to step up and support each other. We advocate against stigma and shame, which is the same thing we need to advocate against in the LGBTQ community. If we don’t fight for the rights of people who cannot fight for themselves, and we settle for marriage as equality, we won’t be making the progress we need to save lives. We will continue to see names like Ty Underwood’s in our papers and feel the weight of grief and loss of yet another member of our LGBTQ community. Something Sally said really stuck with me; “We can change laws and rules and legalize marriage but it’s hard to change deep seeded attitudes.”

This is my call to action to ask every person in our community to advocate for the well-being and safety of our LGBTQ, HIV positive, and at risk members of our family. Don’t stop at just one step -- help us to take many and walk with us into the future of equality for us all.

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February 11, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY

‘Bitcoin Jesus’ blocked from U.S. after being denied three times

Page 11

Rosie O’Donnell splits from 2nd wife and from The View NEW YORK CITY -- Six months after returning for a second stint on ABC-TV’s “The View,” Rosie O’Donnell announced last week that she’s leaving the daytime talk show amid reports that she and her second wife have been living apart since November.

The New York Post reported that this will be O’Donnell’s last week on the show.

At the same time, an O’Donnell representative confirmed that she has split from Michelle Rounds, her wife of three years.

O’Donnell, 52, and Rounds adopted a baby girl in 2013.

Roger Ver was an early investor in Bitcoin.

OBSERVER STAFF The U.S. recently barred the venture capitalist known as “Bitcoin Jesus” from returning to the land of his birth.

That may seem bitchy, but there’s a reason for it -- good enough for most everyone but Roger Ver (the venture capitalist in question) and his admirers.

As you may know, Ver renounced his U.S. citizenship a year ago this month in order to avoid paying taxes, and bought -- yes, bought -- citizenship in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, a tiny Caribbean island nation.

He did eventually pay those taxes, and three times he requested a tourist visa to “visit” the U.S. in January in order to speak at the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami.

Lots of ho-ho’s about being denied three times linked to his “Jesus” stature, a nickname used by Michael del Castillo at Upstart Business Journal -- whose headline also is used here.

The State Department’s reasoning in denying the visa is that Ver has

not demonstrated sufficient ties to his “homeland” to compel him to go “home” once his tourist visa expired, and if allowed back in the U.S., he might be tempted to overstay his visa and become an illegal immigrant.

Ya think?

Ver actually left the U.S. nine years ago, and for most of that time has lived in Japan, where he has business interests.

And he still addressed the Bitcoin conference, visa or no visa -- via motorized robot.

Ver being Ver, of course, he isn’t likely to give up his visa idea.

“I would be fine with them denying my visa if it was for a valid reason,” he said. (No list of what he would consider valid reasons has been publicized.) “But they are either lying, ignorant or stupid.”

Ver was an early investor in Bitcoin, then leveraged his earnings into Bitcoinrelated startups Blockchain, Ripple and Blockpay. He also has other holdings related to Bitcoin.

He has for some time been a

Classy is a gorgeous orange tabby, with a feisty personality! This pretty three year old girl doesn’t mind other cats, as long as she can retreat to her own space when she needs it. She prefers the quiet, and would rather lounge around in the sun. She loves catnip, and treats, and ear scratches—when she’s in the mood for them. If you need a feisty ginger in your life, come meet this adorable lady.

Classy

Libertarian, but he also has espoused anarchism, with his major grievance being the U.S. “forcing” him to pay taxes on U.S. income -- at least that was his big beef until he was denied a visa.

No doubt he already has another visa request in preparation for the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, which handles U.S. affairs for St. Kitts and Nevis. And no doubt, with enough money strewn around, he’ll eventually be allowed in the U.S. Granted, America has corporations parking trillions of dollars in profits overseas in order to vote paying their share of taxes. Ver, no doubt, is a comparatively small fish in that pond.

On top of that, we’re sympathetic to Ver’s “borders are imaginary lines” campaign. (He likes to wear a T-shirt bearing those words when he goes through airport customs.)

But it’s hilarious to watch a wealthy smart-ass shoot himself in the foot by attempting to avoid his responsibility to the system that made him rich.

Enjoy the tropics, Rog!

O’Donnell also has four older kids, and ABC’s announcement regarding “The View” said O’Donnell “has teens and an infant at home that need her attention” during this “very stressful period.”

Page 12

As Clark Saw It

OBSERVER

By Gary Clark

WEEKLY

February 11, 2015

Huge surprise -- Sam Smith grabs the top Grammys

Out crooner Sam Smith won best new artist, best pop vocal and both song and record of the year at Sunday’s 57th Grammy Awards.

Zoe’s World

By Zoe

Gay icon Joan Rivers was among the pre-show winners.

Beck grabbed best rock album and album of the year; Beyonce took home best R&B performance and R&B song for her “Drunk in Love”; and Pharrell Williams -- who appeared in a suit featuring short pants -- won best pop solo performance for “Happy.”

Kanye West walked onstage during Beck’s album of the year performance, then left. Many apparently thought it was a joke based on his 2009 interruption of Taylor Swift during the Video Music Awards, but West later clarified that it wasn’t a joke.

“I just know that the Grammys, if they want real artists [presumably himself] to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. We aren’t going to play with them no more,” West said.

New Catholic bishop accepts science on trans people but not for LGBs Continued from page 1 same source doesn’t apply to the wider LGBT community apparently will remain a mystery of the faith for now.

Coyne said in a recent Vermont Public Radio interview that he’s even ready for people to call him out if he uses the wrong pronoun in talking about a transgendered person. Just don’t ask him to extend that “Everyone is God’s creature” and “no fault of their own” nonsense to the wider community!

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the LGBT Roman Catholic organization New Ways Ministry, blogged that Coyne’s statement represents progress in that LGB members are apparently at least now included in the church, but only if they attempt to repress who they are.

Many Catholics have praised Pope Francis for changing the tone of the conversation about gay people, making it a little less spiteful, but so far nothing has changed as far as policy, and observers have said real change is unlikely any time soon.

Catholic writers began criticizing pederasty in the late 2nd century, but it wasn’t until the 12th century that the full hue and cry against homosexuality in general assumed its current emphasis.

The founding of New Ways Ministry in 1977 marked the beginning of a modern backlash that is still struggling to gain traction.

Within the church, transgender issues have been so sensitive that a trans ministry run for more than 30 years by a nun known as Sister Monica still operates anonymously.

February 11, 2015

OBSERVER WEEKLY

Page 13

Is that a crack in the ice? Well . . . um . . . yes!

OBSERVER STAFF

nude outings.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- A climbing daredevil identified only as “Sam” recently mooned the world in photos of himself scaling an ice wall clad only in an orange torch helmet and climbing boots.

Sam the ice man, photographed by his friend, Ian MacLellan, had legs turning deep purple from the cold as his privates dangled against the ice.

The temperature at the time was reportedly below zero.

Yummy. We can’t wait to have frostbite . . . er . . . there.

Now, for full disclosure (sorry!): Certain members of the Observer staff have been known to hike nude at Redington Falls and in the Santa Rita Mountains.

The ice wall Sam climbed is known locally in winter as the Auburn Ice Canyon -- a massive drainage ditch in which water freezes as it cascades down the sides.

But temperatures were always in the “comfy” zone during those outings. None of that crazyass Sam shit for us, no sirree!

“I’m not sure how he kept going for that long -- even with clothes on, it was chilly,” MacLellan said. “I can’t imagine what it was like in the nude.”

One recalls a certain outing in the Santa Ritas when we were scaling a small bluff and a nude family appeared above us to start the climb down.

“Did you SEE that guy’s dick?” our ex-lover asked after we were safely out of earshot.

“How could I have missed it? It blotted out the sun when it appeared over the horizon,” was our awed response.

A slight case of insanity must have helped.

Cold front! Naked Sam poses for the camera.

Naked ambition: Sub-zero temperatures have clearly taken their toll on Sam’s legs.

Feel the burn: The canyon is in fact a massive drainage ditch.

Shrinkage probably prevents such memories during subzero

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 11, 2015

February 11, 2015

OBSERVER

WEEKLY

Page 15

How likely are you to be POLL: Half of young people don't believe gender is binary promiscuous? Your fingers could hold the answer

By Gaz Jeffries PINK NEWS The length of your fingers could indicate how promiscuous you are, according to a study.

American millennials have a more expansive view of gender than any generation before them, according to a new study.

By Mitch Kellaway THE ADVOCATE It may not be long until a majority of U.S. young adults agree with what trans advocates have been saying for decades: Gender is more complicated than simply "male" or "female."

According to Fusion magazine's Massive Millennial Poll, 50 percent of the 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 34 who were interviewed by telephone agreed with the statement "Gender is a spectrum, and some people fall outside conventional categories." Before answering, interviewees were informed, "Some countries, including India, recognize a third gender that is neither male nor female," and were also given the option of agreeing with other statements: "There are only two genders, male and female" (46 percent agreed) or "Don't know" (4 percent).

Fusion also found that the belief that gen-

der lies on a spectrum varies by gender, race, and region. Its poll found that 57 percent of female-identified respondents see gender as nonbinary, compared to 44 percent of maleidentified respondents; 55 percent of white respondents see gender as nonbinary, compared to 47 percent of Latino respondents and 32 percent of black respondents; and 58 percent of Northeasterners see gender as nonbinary, compared to 42 percent of Southerners.

Millennials' growing recognition in nonbinary genders may have positive implications for the future of transgender rights as well as simply allowing all people to feel less constricted by gendered social conventions.

Fusion notes that universities may be the first places to see such changes, with the increasing presence of gender-neutral restrooms, ID cards, and on-campus housing hinting at greater acceptance of gender variance.

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R e s e a r c h conducted by the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology and Northumbria University shows that humans are inclined towards either promiscuity or fidelity.

The researchers analyzed survey data in which people from across the UK and North America were asked how they felt about “noncommittal” sex -- and looked at scans of 1,314 hands.

The researchers found that people who had a longer ring finger than index finger had been exposed to more testosterone in the womb -- and were more likely to be promiscuous.

Meanwhile, people who have a longer index finger are more likely to value fidelity.

Oxford professor Robin Dunbar said, “It is important to note that these differences are very subtle, and are only visible when we look at large groups of people.

“Human behavior is influenced by many factors, such as the environment and life experience,

and what happens in the womb might only have a modest effect on something as complex as sexual relationships.”

Dr. Rafael Wlodarski added, “This research suggests that there may be two distinct types of individuals within each sex pursuing different mating strategies.

“We observed what appears to be a cluster of males and a cluster of females who are more inclined to ‘stay,’ with a separate cluster of males and females being more inclined to ‘stray,’ when it comes to sexual relationships.”

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OBSERVER WEEKLY

February 11, 2015

Enter Asspizza’s weird world of cult teenage fashion

When Austin Butts was born at a hospital in Queens, his parents gave their son a common, Christian name. Sixteen years later, Butts is best known as Asspizza, an accidental fashion icon with a cult teenage following and a handful of celebrity fans.

“I didn’t know I’d be like a f*cking designer or some shit,” Asspizza tells us. “I made a shirt and then people liked it, so I was like, ‘OK I guess I’ll make f*cking clothes.’”

These clothes often feature a big-eyed alien and can’t be purchased in stores.

“Selling it feels weird ‘cause I don’t want to take people’s money,” he says. “So, like, I’ll give it to someone for free, and if they resell it, I know the person who buys it will really, like, want it.”

-- ROLLINGSTONE

16-year-old designer has won over artists like Wiz Khalifa, Lorde and ILoveMakonnen. Above: Two Asspizza T-shirt designs.