October 1, 2015 :: The Power Issue

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POWER PARTY 4th annual

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CONTENTS OCTOBER 01, 2015 VOL39 NO13

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08 HELPING CHURCHES COME OUT 12 KIM DAVIS & THE MANUFACTURING OF A HERO 16 TRANS WOMEN ARE 49 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE HIV & HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

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SCANDAL & GRIEF IN THE IMPERIAL COURT

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS 38 CALENDAR 40 STONEWALL DELIVERS NOTHING BUT DISAPPOINTMENT 48 BAR TAB 50 WEBSITE SPOTLIGHTS COLORADO’S COPIOUS COLD CASES 62 YODA AND HIS YOUNG, GAY JEDI 70 BACKWORDS

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POWER PARTY 4th annual

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ON THE COVER

Marc Beshany, a 2015 Power Award Recipient photographed by Paul Wedlake Photography

SERVING THE LGBT COMMUNITY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS SINCE 1976 3535 Walnut Street, Denver, Colorado 80205 PHONE 303-477-4000 • FAX 303-325-2642 WEB OutFrontOnline.com • FACEBOOK /OutFrontColorado TWITTER @OutFrontCO • INSTAGRAM /OutFrontColorado FOUNDER PHIL PRICE 1954-1993 ADMINISTRATION info@outfrontonline.com JERRY CUNNINGHAM Publisher J.C. MCDONALD Vice President MAGGIE PHILLIPS Operations Manager JEFF JACKSON SWAIM Chief Strategist EDITORIAL editorial@outfrontonline.com BERLIN SYLVESTRE Editor RYAN HOWE Digital Content Manager BRENT HEINZE Senior Columnist CAITLIN GALIZ-ROWE Intern CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Diane Anderson-Minshall, Jeff Berry, Paul Bindel, Rick Kitzman, Gary M. Kramer, Kelsey Lindsey, Corey Dylan Simms, Mike Yost, The Cycle Sluts ART art@outfrontonline.com TRISHA HIMMLER Art Director CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHERS Charles Broshous, Jonathan Crosby MARKETING & SALES marketing@outfrontonline.com DUSTIN KRIER Director of Sales & Marketing JORDAN JACOBS Senior Marketing Executive TOPHER LA FLEUR Marketing Executive CURTIS STAFFORD Marketing Executive NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media 212-242-6863 | sales@rivendellmedia.com DISTRIBUTION Out Front’s print publication is available semi-monthly, free of charge in Colorado, one copy per person. Additional copies of Out Front may be purchased for $3.95 each, payable in advance at Out Front offices located at 3535 Walnut Street, Denver CO, 80205. Out Front is delivered only to authorized distributors. No person may, without prior written permission of Out Front, take more than one copy of Out Front. Any person who takes more than one copy may be held liable for theft, including but not limited to civil damages and or criminal prosecution.

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Out Front is published by Q Publishing, Ltd., a Colorado corporation and is a member of: NEPA, Denver Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and Denver Drama Critics Circle.

O U T F R O N T O N L I N E . C O M 5

FROM THE INBOX “THE IMPERIAL COURT OF THE Rocky Mountain Empire has been serving the community’s needs for the past 42 years, and during that time we’ve raised and donated more than $4M. Our charities include Howard Dental, Urban Peak, Chesney-Klinejohn, Freedom Service Dogs, Rainbow Alley, CAP, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Horizon and Arapahoe House, Gender ID Center, The Center, and our own White Rose Scholarship.

It is with a heavy heart, we come to the community with the following statement.

During a recent audit, we discovered that our organization had been the victim of fraudulent financial activity, perpetrated by an individual in a position of trust.

We immediately removed this person from their position and forwarded our findings to the proper legal authorities.

We fully intend to prosecute to the fullest extent of our abilities. In continuing with the audit, we have also discovered that some of our charities, which have been paid, may have been paid less than what was owed. Moving forward we will be meeting with all of our charities, whether affected or not. Those affected will be updated as to the amounts owed, making arrangements to get them paid as quickly as possible.

We have created unique checks and balances, all while strengthening our internal financial controls. We currently are seeking an outside accounting firm, to provide both bookkeeping and auditing services. We have divided our cash handling responsibilities, requiring those individuals to be both bonded and fingerprinted. We are a charter, belonging to an International Council of Courts. We have informed the Executive offices. Our Executive Director has been made aware of this situation. We will be presenting our findings along with the immediate and long term protocols put into place to ensure no future occurrences. Once presented, all information will be returned to the Ethics Commission and they will remain involved until the process is resolved.

We are bringing this information to you

directly so we may provide complete transparency of our actions as we move forward. We are most humbly apologetic to you, our community, and ask that you remain steadfast by our side while we work diligently both regaining your trust and continuing our long history of fundraising through diversity. Our goal will remain unchanged, along with our commitment to helping others in need.

We have asked Our Board of Directors and court members to refer you to us directly, so we may answer any questions you may have in regards to this letter. Please don’t hesitate to ask us in person or with the contact information below. Doing so will prevent any misinformation this unfortunate incident may generate. We are grateful for the support of our members, community partners, and donors. Your continued support will indeed create a brighter future for the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire and those who depend on our fundraising.

Yours in continuing service, Emperor 42 Richard Brendlinger Empress 42 Gabbriella But’zin Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire” Please direct inquiries to: Richard&Gabbie@Gmail.com

S E E O U R I N T E R V I E W W I T H E M P R E S S 4 2 G A B B R I E L L A B U T ’ Z I N O N PAG E 2 1 .

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N EWS

HELPING CHURCHES COME OUT LAST WEEK AT CHARLIE’S, A new friend dropped a

Contemporary Christian Music quote in the middle of a conversation. Catching a whiff of my 90s childhood, I shared my idea for a CCM drag show, but it didn’t inspire the glee I’d hoped.

Paul Bindel “I’d be curious enough to show up,” he joked, “but I can’t promise I’d last through the first song.”

My friend’s uneasiness is not unwarranted. It’s no secret that the rift between the evangelical and LGBT communities runs deep. Some of us were raised in religious homes only to be burned by both church and family after coming out. Others with a different (or absent) religious background scoff at a religious tradition premised on exclusion and literal Bible-readings — especially at seeing people like Kim Davis and members of the Religious Right work against marriage equality.

Within this conflict, it might be easy to miss something new: an increasing number of evangelical churches are seeking to “come out.”

Isaac Archuleta, a 32-year old bipsychotherapist, is radiant as he describes the work of his Denver-based nonprofit iAm Institute. “We currently 8 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

have two churches in Denver that are on the verge of coming out as gay-affirming — one with 3000 members and another with 150. We also are working with a large congregation in New York.”

This opportunity emerged when Archuleta teamed up with theologian and straight-ally Michael Stark, 29, to address a problem from Archuleta’s psychotherapy practice: The shame that many LGBT people experience from homophobia leads to unhealthy patterns and relationships.

Evangelical churches “come out” when they become places where all people can worship without shame. “First,” Archuleta explains, “the church becomes a safe place of worship for a queer person.

Second, they affirm the gifts of queer people as staff and volunteers. And finally, they provide equal access to sacraments like communion and marriage.” iAm Institute shows churches how to transition their congregations and help

Churches that come out affirm the gifts of queer people as staff and volunteers.

And finally, they provide equal access to sacraments like communion and marriage. families and individuals expand their emotional and relational capacities.

When it kicks off in February, it will be a resource center for the LGBT community and evangelicals, offering psychotherapy scholarships, discussion boards, and practical tools for families, individuals, and churches.

Archuleta and Stark work with church boards to deconstruct dualistic thinking that leads to LGBT exclusion: gaystraight, good behavior-bad behavior, orthodox-heretical — the stuff of queer theory. “Many church leaders have the emotional inclination for LGBT inclusion. Michael provides the philosophical and theological grounding that legitimizes their inclinations, and I bring a therapy background that gives them a framework for healthy relationships.”

At the same time, Archuleta is quick to note that finding a gay-affirming church may not be for every queer person, particularly those who have experienced emotional and verbal abuse. “When we begin to claim that one thing is best for everyone, we begin instantly marginalizing others. But by making space for each other, I believe we can find a greater social and psychological integration.”

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OPINION

POSITIVE THOUGHTS: VIRAL FATIGUE I RECENTLY ATTENDED THE NATIONAL Lesbian and Gay

Journalists Association’s 25th National Convention in San Francisco. NLGJA’s first convention took place in the city by the bay in 1990, so this year’s conference was aptly called Coming Home. The four-day meeting was filled with workshops, plenaries, and programs for LGBT journalists looking to sharpen their skills, network, and meet up with old friends.

New HIV infections are increasing at alarming rates in certain subgroups, including young, gay, black men and trans women.

Jeff Berry I’ve worked in the HIV field for more than 23 years, and participate in dozens of meetings, conferences, and activities throughout the year and around the country, but all of them are related to HIV. This conference is refreshing for me because it’s not HIV-specific, and it allows me to break out of my “HIV bubble” and gain a renewed perspective. When you’ve worked in the same field and organization for 23 years like I have, you can easily become siloed in your work and vision myopic. Everything is seen through the lens of HIV, and you stand in danger of suffering from what I call “viral fatigue.”

young, gay black men and trans women. And it’s not necessarily

Those of us in the broader LGBT community can undergo viral fatigue as well. If you’ve made it this far in reading this column, whether you’re HIV-negative or not, congratulations. People often get tired of hearing or talking about HIV — I know I do!

candid, open, and honest conversations with our partners,

“Isn’t that manageable now?” I often hear. Or: “Is that really a big deal anymore?” In this age of successful treatment of HIV to an undetectable viral load (which nearly eliminates the chance of transmitting the virus to others), and now PrEP, a one-pill-a-day medication that prevents those who are negative from acquiring the virus, maybe it’s time for us to just move on.

and understand that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes

It would be nice to think so, but sadly, no. New HIV infections are increasing at alarming rates in certain subgroups, including 1 0 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

because they are taking more risks — a recent study showed that young, gay, black men actually took fewer risks than their white counterparts, but saw more infections because the sexual networks they interacted with had more people who were HIV positive, and they therefore had more exposure to the virus.

We have a unique opportunity in our community to change the narrative and steer the conversation in a new direction. It’s no longer enough to say “Use a condom every time.” By having our healthcare providers, and most of all with others in our community, we can gain a fresh perspective and a new outlook.

If we take the time to learn about new prevention modalities, to preventing HIV, then maybe we’ll be a little less “judgy” about the choices of others.

I admit I get a little viral fatigue now and then. But I never get tired of learning new things, gaining insight or a new perspective, and helping someone look at something in a new and different way.

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 11

OPINION

Kim Davis makes Peyton Place look like a nunnery.

KIM DAVIS & THE MANUFACTURING OF A HERO KIM DAVIS IS A HERO — just not mine. Davis became

nullify the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision.)

Rick Kitzman

Davis added momentum to her trumpedup plight during a television interview with ABC News taped on September 21.

She said she still can’t (won’t!) sign samesex licenses because “they’re not valid in God’s eyes,” and that she has given no one authority to do so. She feels she should keep her job because she’s good at it. Maybe, if she did her job. (Check out Randy Rainbow’s satirical Kim Davis Cell Block Tango on YouTube, a re-write of the song from the musical Chicago with the staccato punches of “Job, Bitch, Hypocrite, Nuh-huh, Huckabee, Bigot.”)

If your conscience is so bothered, resign and end your charade.

a media sensation (and political gold!) when, as a Kentucky clerk, she was jailed for refusing to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Bucolic Rowan County became ground zero in the Religious Right’s latest salvo in their imaginary war on Christianity, Supreme Court decision be damned and those who support it literally be damned.

On Sept. 7, a cheerful and tearful Davis emerged from jail to the rousing tune of Eye of the Tiger and, like a rock star performing for screaming fans, proclaimed, “We serve a living God!”?

by Luke Skywalker or Katniss or Frodo.

She was manufactured with all the political chicanery at the rich fingertips of the Republican Right abetted by the insatiable media machinery.

Kim does not serve a living God; she serves the Religious Right’s political agenda. Apoplectic that their power is evaporating, evangelicals needed a hero to galvanize their rage into a visible force. Their God sent Kim Davis, not perfect but meeting the necessary requirements of bigotry, an exploitable situation, and greed. She earns – without doing her job – $80k a year in the 47th poorest state in the Union where a woman earns an average of $20k.

Weighing her choices (“Hmm … God? Or $80k? God? Or $80k?), she stuck with the $80k. Davis didn’t become a hero from a Joseph Campbell-like journey traveled

The marketing phase of this new product kicked off with a makeover.

When Davis returned to work, gone were over-applied hair products and the too-tight, polyester, full-length skirt with horizontal stripes. Her hair was softer and she wore a decent red top, black skirt, and stylish new glasses. On September 17, when husband Jim Davis appeared in Nashville on the steps of the Capitol building in front of frothing supporters to launch the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act, gone were his bib overalls and camouflage ball-cap. He wore a blue shirt and slacks.

(If passed, this state bill would attempt to

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But the Davis product will be kept in the public eye for years to come. Her personal legal wrangling — and the legality of licenses issued in Davis’ absence — may ratchet up to the US Supreme Court. According to the BBC, the Davis legal team, Liberty Counsel, has a long history of anti-gay rights cases and has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Davis will not pay a nickel for hundreds of thousands of legal bills, and litigation will go on and on and on. Riding on her

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LEGAL DIRECTORY

SAME-SEX COUPLE TAKES THE CAKE On August 13, the Colorado Court of Appeals announced its long-awaited decision in Craig v.

Masterpiece Cakeshop, ruling that a Colorado bakery could not cite religious beliefs as the reason to refuse to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. Back in 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullens were planning their marriage in Massachusetts, and a celebration with family and friends in Colorado.

They asked Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, to bake them a wedding case.

However, their seemingly simple request was rejected by Mr. Phillips, who refused to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple due to his religious convictions. Mr. Craig and Mr. Mullens filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Divisions, and an Administrative Judge for the commissions agreed with them that Masterpiece Cakeshop had improperly discriminated against them. Masterpiece then took the case to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

In ruling in favor of Mr. Craig and Mr. Mullens, the Colorado Court of Appeals relied on the seminal US Supreme Court case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted same-sex couples the right just a few months earlier. Quoting the

Obergefell case, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that “The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy and spirituality. This is true for all persons, whatever their sexual orientation.” It therefore appears that the Obergefell decision created a clear path for the Colorado Court of Appeals to prohibit the discrimination of a same-sex couple.

The Colorado Court of Appeals further shot down Mr. Phillips’ argument that his rights to exercise free speech and religion allowed him to discriminate against a same-sex couple. The Court determined that “the act of designing and selling a wedding cake to all customers free of discrimination does not convey a message about same sex weddings likely to be understood by those that view it.”

The summer of 2015 will long be remembered for the landmark legal victories that same-sex couples achieved, both nationally and here in Colorado.

Bloch & Chapleau is a full service law firm that represents clients in domestic, criminal, personal injury, and civil matters. One of the first firms in Denver to represent same-sex couples in marriage and civil union matters, including divorce and pre-nuptial agreements, call Bloch & Chapleau today to schedule a consultation.

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OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 13

coattails, more legislative shenanigans like the Tennessee Bill will be introduced in the near future.

Predictably, Davis will notch more political candidates on her belt, but avuncular mentor Mike Huckabee may not be willing to share with the salivating Cruz Camp. As in Nashville, expect more testimonial proselytizing from the newly manufactured power couple. On September 21, USA Today reported that Davis “has signed a sevenfigure book deal with Forever Faith Publishing.” I’m a Survivor analyzes her agonizing moral dilemma during her nights in Gethsemane, and will be released before Christmas with “advance orders from Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club already flooding in.” Huckabee penned the forward and will join Davis on the book tour after the duo’s scheduled appearance on Fox Noise’s The O’Reilly Factor in October.

Elected as a Democrat, changing political parties may be in Davis’ future, but not integrity, nor giving up big bucks (a page out of the Palin book, The Idiot’s Guide to Making Millions), nor gathering more fodder for her book, and most importantly, not lording her discrimination over her constituents. Davis makes Peyton Place look like a nunnery. Defending herself from accusations of being a hypocrite and homophobe (if the horizontal stripes fit, wear them), and since she’s been married four times and birthed bastard children (all damned according to her Bible), Davis said during the ABC taping, “I’m forgiven. Washed clean.” During her reported religious rapture, she skipped her Savior’s admonitions to render unto

those sinners are exempt from Davis’ judgment while legally unsanctioned Evangelicals pick and choose what same-sex husbands and wives are not. serves their bigoted taste.

As my born-again Christian brother No one has denied Davis her choice informed me, believers have the moral of worship, yet the distracting authority to pass judgment on nonand inaccurate message that her believers based on the facts that their Constitutional right has been denied God is the only true God and that their feces do not elicit an unpleasant No one has denied Davis odor. (I added that last reason.)

Caesar and not cast stones.

her choice of worship, yet the distracting and inaccurate message that her Constitutional right has been denied blares from the evangelical pulpit. Imagine a Muslim clerk refusing to sign Davis’ fourth application for a marriage license because her conscience and her Quran decree divorce an

LGBT rivals such as evangelicals don’t just believe they’re right and everyone else is wrong. Their behaviors imply, “Believe what I believe, or get out of my way. I am the better person, and you will burn in hell!” Rising to their challenge, we can each be our own hero, not as a manufactured and manipulated hero, but as an individual who lives courageously.

The future of the LGBT movement in this nation will depend on you.

abomination. blares from the evangelical pulpit.

Imagine a Muslim clerk refusing to sign Davis’ fourth application for a marriage license because her conscience and her Quran decree divorce an abomination.

(Hmm … there’s a familiar word.) All jihad would break lose! As county clerk, Davis probably signed marriage licenses to adulterers, liars, and thieves, folks clearly outlined as sinners in her Ten Commandments. Apparently,

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A manufactured product meets a need, real or imagined. Davis is now the darling hero of the Religious Right, both void of shame and common decency. She began her ascension like a Valkyrie to a modern day Wagnerian anthem for underdogs, the aforementioned Eye. Co-writers of the 1982 Survivor megahit in Rocky III have clarified that the Davis rally used the song without authorization; rumors of an impending lawsuit against Uncle Huck and Kim have yet to materialize. On Facebook, one wrote, “I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin!”

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TRANS WOMEN ARE 49 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO HAVE HIV & HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULD CARE LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT a woman I met. Let’s call her

Trina. On the surface, we have some similarities. A woman of color and a bottle blonde, Trina grew up feeling like she never fit in. Shuffled between family members, she left home early in an effort to be herself, and ended up homeless at one point.

Diane Anderson-Minshall Like my husband, Trina is transgender. Unlike my husband, who grew up in a white middle-class family and has a master’s degree, Trina doesn’t have insurance (yes, even in this age of Obamacare), worries about affording her hormones, and has had to do a lot of things to be the person she is. That includes turning the odd trick or two.

She has HIV. When she tested positive last year, it wasn’t a surprise to her or to the other women in her trans support group. It’s one of the few places Trina feels at home, accepted, able to be honest. And many of the women are also HIV positive.

Transgender women are 49 times more likely to have HIV than the general population. We first heard this number when The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) released a report in 2014, Trans Populations and HIV: Time to End the Neglect, and this summer, when World Health Organization did a new meta-analysis of data from 15 different countries, which again showed that transgender women were nearly 49 times more likely to have HIV than the general population.

Both studies argue that trans women are the most at-risk population around the globe. The numbers are even worse for those who are women of color; 56 percent of black trans women have HIV. That’s more than half.

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Perhaps you’re ready to turn the proverbial page because you think women who do sex work deserve it.

They don’t.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transgender women involved in sex work have HIV rates that are almost twice that of trans women not engaged in commercial sex work. They’re also six times more likely to be living with HIV than other female sex workers.

Perhaps you’re ready to turn the proverbial page because you think women who do sex work deserve it. They don’t.

My friend Trina gave blowjobs to help afford the hormones she needs every two weeks to continue living as a woman. Going off hormones would give her serious medical issues. The waiting list to get into her local clinic was two months. She’s had bad experiences with doctors who refused to treat her because she’s transgender. She’s not alone: The Task Force’s 2011 study, Injustice at Every Turn, reports that approximately one in five trans people in the United States has been denied medical care as a result of their gender identity.

She’s also shared injection needles not for drugs, but at a pumping party, where trans women get low-cost fillers to create a more feminine look in their faces, breasts, and hips.

As a once-homeless trans teen — more than 40 percent of homeless teens are LGBT, according to a 2011 Williams Institute

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 17

HEALTH DISPARITIES study — Trina has had to do plenty of things that put her at risk for HIV. But that’s not how she got HIV. Like the majority of HIV-positive people today, Trina became HIV-positive during a relationship she believed was monogamous. The man she loved was not monogamous — and he was not aware that he had HIV. Today, Trina is on antiretrovirals and sees a doctor at a clinic who knows how to treat trans people living with HIV. Those are few and far between.

It’s time for all of us to wake up to this issue. As we revive the conversation around gay and bi men and HIV, it’s time to end this epidemic for trans people, too.

This is what it takes: • LGBT activists need to care about the alarmingly high rate of HIV among trans women, and to push our organizations, political leaders, and the pharmaceutical industry to do so as well. Silence can still equal death for trans people who can’t access medical care. It’s time to remind everyone of this.

• The research/medical community and pharmaceutical industry needs to stop misgendering trans women in research studies. Lumping trans women in studies about “men who have sex with men” does not give you true statistics on trans women’s needs and risks, making it difficult for concerned clinicians to properly treat trans women with HIV. We need them to ensure that trans people are properly categorized in future research.

• We need to push researchers to understand that gay and bi transgender men may be at equally high risk; since there have been no studies, nobody knows.

• Medical schools and medical organizations need to start training their people to treat transgender patients properly and mandating that people do so. Refusing care to people because of their gender identity is a travesty.

• We need to elevate trans people into leadership areas in HIV organizations, including their voices when we talk about HIV. • We need LGBT organizations to take up the mantle in talking about trans people and HIV, and we need trans organizations to tackle HIV. One such organization is doing just that: The Transgender Law Center has created Positively Trans, a project led by a group of poz trans people who have launched the first-of-its-kind study seeking to determine the obstacles to care faced by trans people living with HIV. In order for all of us — poz or not, trans or not, queer or not — to do right by trans women, we have to do more than tune into I Am Cait once a week. We have to tear down and rebuild the systems that are here to care for trans and gendernonconforming people in a way that really works. We have to remove the stigma of being trans, of being positive, of seeking to take an HIV-prevention treatment. That’s only one step, and there are many needed, but just that, understanding and truly caring about trans people, can take us quite a way.

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Berlin Sylvestre

“This has to be a mistake,” Empress Gabbriella But’zin thought aloud to other members of the Imperial Cour t of the Rocky Mountain Empire. “Something easy, something simple to fix.” The numbers on the tax retur n the nonprof it posted to the Secretar y of State’s website didn’t match the numbers they repor ted on their profit-and-loss statement and, as any good Empress knows, bad math can yank a nonprofit’s status from under neath it. “Maybe one or the other is just wrong,” she said in good faith.

So, headache or not, the gang huddled to crunch some figures before it slowly and agonizingly dawned on them — there was a thief in their midst.

The Court immediately launched an internal audit.

They pored over their QuickBooks and financial statements, and “that’s when we felt we were being embezzled,” she says. The fur flew. “As soon as we found out what was going on, this individual had all sorts of charges leveled by many of our members,” she tells Out Front. “But then we felt they weren’t being given due process, so we suspended their position until our audit confirmed everything.”

And there were tears. “Lots of tears,” she admits as we wait for our food on a quiet Hamburger Mary’s Wednesday. “This was a person in a position of trust — not an entertainer, no, just a general member, but someone we trusted.” And you can imagine that we’re talking about a tight-knit

group, being an all-volunteer organization whose members frequently use their own money to put on fundraisers for Freedom Service Dogs of America, Colorado AIDS Project, Parkinson’s charities, and so many others. To think someone felt more entitled to the contents of the coffers and actually broke the trust they were given sent shockwaves of anger and sadness throughout the team.

“When we finally had the proof, no one could believe it,” she says. “This was a beloved member and someone you couldn’t see doing this. As a volunteer organization, you’re kind of always putting yourself out there for this to happen, but we were still like, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding.’”

Keeping the figure ambiguous, the dollar discrepancy is said to be more than a few thousand dollars, a sum that could give two military veterans, kids with autism, and/or people with mobility OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 21

issues a service dog to regain a foothold on their independence; or, perhaps, it could’ve given two years’ worth of HIV/AIDS medication to five people in need. Instead, the Empress suspects it was spent on, among other items, personal trips that “weren’t cheap.” The theft was through electronic transactions via the organization’s credit account and “just plain taking money.”

After the results of the audit were presented, the individual accepted responsibility for the trespasses. Further: “They gave us a letter saying they acted alone.”

No matter how hard I press, the Empress won’t reveal any names. Suffice it to say, the individual will no longer work alongside the Imperial Court.

“Per our bylaws, no one can have their title removed — they’re permanent,” she says. The closest an ousted member gets to being written off for good is getting suspended. “So we suspended them.”

All the evidence, including the confession letter, was turned over to the Denver District Attorney’s office. As they’re a nonprofit, the Court is obligated to report what happened. “Because we’re a 501(c)3, we don’t have the option not to do that — it can affect our status with the state. We have to be able to show the IRS our loss and how it all transpired.”

Though Empress Gabbriella says it could be two to three weeks before the DA’s office makes any moves, the Court has “provided so much information [to them] that the case can be fast-tracked.”

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40 years of Imerial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire history taken April 27, 2013.

The missing amount could’ve given two vets or two autistic children a service dog; or, perhaps, it could’ve given two years’ worth of HIV/AIDS medication to five people in need.”

Then the group got together to close up any loopholes that may be abused in the future.

“We’ve altered internal processes and instituted trackable things. We’ve given new responsibilities to the treasurer and the CEO, we have another member who is auditing monthly, and we’ll be doing quarterly followups,” she says. “Anyone who touches any of our money is bonded, and the individual pays for it.”

Getting bonded is a process that helps protect the organization’s assets in a way not entirely unlike insurance against theft. Those who want to deal with the financial end of the organization will now come out of pocket around $180 for the bonding.

And par for the course, these volunteers will gladly pay their dues. That’s how much it means to them to keep the integrity up and the ball rolling. “We’ll also be looking at an outside auditor, a third-party, non-vested person. If we had that in the first place, we might not have been in the situation we’re in.”

They’ve even resolved to go back a few years for audits, just to make sure any past discrepancies — should they exist — are found.

But the Imperial Court isn’t stopping there. Because the origins of the organization go beyond the Rocky Mountains, there’s an additional higher power that needs answers.

The International Imperial Court System, founded in 1965, spans Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Our beloved Rocky Mountain chapter is

only one of 68 that work year-round to provide assistance to thousands of those going without.

The Empress is visibly upset at the idea that shame has befallen the prestigious Rocky Mountain wing of the International Imperial Court System, and it shows on her face.

“We’re in jeopardy,” she says heavily. The executive director of the International Imperial Court System — known formally as Her Most Imperial Majesty, The Queen Mother I of the Americas, Empress Nicole the Great — is flying in next week from San Francisco. “We’ll be presenting everything to her and showing her the newly formed ethics process.”

When asked what it could mean if the meeting doesn’t go well: “The consequence is that we could be sanctioned, and if we are, they take away our titles. It all depends on what they feel is proper punishment. We could also get probation.”

And though she’s gravely disappointed that someone took advantage of the group’s trust, the Empress Gabbriella is willing to fall on the sword. Still: “The unknown is always scary. We hope we’re doing the right things and showing our due diligence. We have to persuade the [International Imperial Court System] that our actions are being changed, and that the change will last.”

But until then, it’s on with the show.

“This individual may suffer down the road, but ultimately our organization is on the line for all of our charities,” she says without blinking. “Our top priority is that every single dollar of what was promised [to our charities] gets paid. If we’ve got to go out and do 42 shows, 37 bake sales, and 48 car washes, we will. We have to fulfill our commitment to our charities. If we don’t have the ability to raise money for them, where will they get the money?”

Her tone feels suddenly hot. “[My Emperor, Richard Brendlinger, and I] feel an intense responsibility to make things right because this happened on our watch. When you’re a leader, it falls on our shoulders. To blame someone for this isn’t going to fix our problems and change what happened, and if we can show the community that we’re sincere, hopefully they’ll see our commitment is still there.”

Indeed there’s a fire in the eyes of the Empress, and as noble as it is to accept responsibility, history OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 23

Drag queen Gabbriella Butz’in poses during Aspen Gay Ski Week’s Downhill Costume Contest on Jan. 22, 2010

“The first time was 20, 25 years ago, before we were a 501(c)3,” the Empress says. “All the money was paid back instead of the individual being arrested.

We don’t have that option now.”

On Sept. 23, the Empress wrote to our office:

I ask if they might’ve accepted restitution instead had they not been a 501(c)3. She shakes her head.

“No,” she admits. “Not with how much was taken.”

The hardship is felt throughout everyone at the organization — not just the figureheads. “All of our volunteers are out there raising the money and working,” she says, and the fire is back. “They definitely have a sense that this is their watch, their leadership. They want people to know we’re not just silly drag queens; that we’re an organization with standards trying to do the right thing.” She settles a touch. “Our community partners — especially the bars — have been incredible.” She cites Exdo, Charlie’s, Hamburger Mary’s, Tracks, and Broadway’s in particular. “They’ve been amazing 24 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

“After a review of our process, the Executive Director has cancelled her trip to Denver. She feels that our chapter is handling the situation to the best of our abilities!

She will be given an update in about a month and the Ethics Committee will give its final recommendation.

At this time, it looks like our chapter will not get any penalties.”

Updates as they happen will be made to OutFrontOnline.com.

and have all asked how they can help.”

Additionally, the DA’s office has been really communicative and up to date with the process.

“We’ve asked that if they have to arrest this person, please don’t arrest them in front of their kids. We’re trying to be as decent as we can. More than likely we’ll be dealing with restitution — to their credit, this person isn’t disavowing what they’ve done,” she says. You can see how deeply this has affected her, but she once again reiterates that they were literally left with no choice. “This person has to try and get through this as quickly as possible.”

The air is heavy, but after a few moments: “We’re going to get through this. We owe it to the community. We have so many concerned with the wellbeing of our organization, and 41 years of past emperors and empresses behind us. Everyone touched by this has been victimized, but we’ll get through it.”

If the anonymous individual would like to come forward to present his/her side of the story, feel free to reach out to Berlin@OutFrontOnline.com

Photo Credit: Jonathan Crosby

has shown it can happen to the best of the best.

Well-meaning businesses and organizations the world over have fallen prey to unscrupulous people who’ve slithered their way into the treasury. It’s even happened to the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire before.

®

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 25

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“I’m an attorney with Reilly Pozner and normally represent businesses and individuals in high-stakes litigation. I’ve recently been lucky enough to do some significant work in LGBT rights litigation.”

“In five years, I hope to still be practicing law here in Denver, married to my husband and raising our child(ren).”

“The best part of my day is seeing the smile on our daughter’s face every morning. I wish I could be half that happy when I wake up in the morning.”

“If I could choose to live in any era, I’d choose this one ... or maybe the future. I’m a big fan of indoor plumbing, modern conveniences, and being able to openly be gay.”

“I’m addicted to Dr. Who.”

“My favorite thing about work is being with very intelligent and very funny people with whom it is an absolute joy to interact.

Beyond that, I love coming to work and being challenged every day.”

“As Managing Director for the Wells Fargo Advisors Rocky Mountain Market, I lead a team of financial services professionals throughout Colorado and Wyoming.”

“I love Colorado. Ideally, in five years, I would like to continue to live and work here. I’d like to spend more time giving back to the community. Having the pleasure of serving on the Board of Trustees of the National Sports Center for the Disabled, I see myself focusing in areas that celebrate the uniqueness of all people and helping to make a difference in the way we think and grow as a community.”

“My advice to the world is embrace people for who they are. Leave your stereotypes at the door and be open to the vision and values of others. When you make the effort to learn how others see the world, you open yourself to appreciate them for their energy, how they think, and the way they operate.”

“I’m passionate about motorcycling. There’s nothing like being on the open road and just enjoying the scenery.

I’ve been doing it for about 15 years and value the fact that motorcyclists represent a real cross-section of the population. I also enjoy working on my bike, doing my own maintenance, and getting my hands dirty.”

“I’ve embraced winter mountain sports such as snowboarding, and am now venturing into downhill mountain biking. It’s a summer extreme sport that’s popular in Colorado and one that I would like to get better at.”

“At the end of the day, I consider myself fortunate to live in Colorado and enjoy so many things that most people have to fly here to experience.”

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OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 29

“I’m a baker and the owner of Azucar bakery.”

“In the future, I see myself teaching cake decorating and helping others.”

“My favorite thing to do is decorate cakes and talk to my customers. The best part is seeing the final product put a smile on their faces, or setting up a beautiful wedding cake in the middle of a ballroom.”

“My dream vacation is on a beach in front of the ocean with my family.”

“My husband (and best friend) Hansell and my two kids Fernando, 18, and Santiago, 8, are my inspiration and what keep me going during difficult times.”

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OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 31

“I’m a Senior Vice President with Wells Fargo Advisors.”

“I hope to be very active into the next decade. I would think that I would still be involved in nonprofit organizations, as I find a great deal of gratification trying to help make this a better world.”

“If I could choose to live in any era, it’d be this one.

I’m excited by what is happening now and have great anticipation of what will happen in the future. There are very significant advances happening — especially in the LGBT community. I hope we continue to put the effort into the evolving issues that need to be addressed, especially in the transgender arena.”

“The riskiest thing I’ve done professionally was probably becoming a professional golfer. I’m afraid I was unsuccessful in that endeavor, but I would’ve wondered for the rest of my life about that potential if I hadn’t tried. I learned a lot from that failure and enjoyed every minute of it!”

“My partner Jason and I are about to embark on what must be considered my dream vacation. We’re going to fly to Auckland, NZ, cruise around the islands, then finish up with three stops in Australia, finally arriving in Sydney for a few days, then coming home.”

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to participate in a SAGE program such as health and wellness activities, free art workshops, coffee and lunch groups, and teaching events.

Rainbow Alley is the GLBT Community Center of Colorado’s safe and brave space supporting LGBTQ youth and their allies, ages 11 to 21. “We provide drop-in space, youth-led events, and activities, health services, counseling, support groups, and life services in a warm and supportive environment,” says program director Nadine Bridges.

“From day one, The Center’s main service was helping people come out,” says Phil Nash, The Center’s first paid staffer in 1976.

In the early days, people came for support groups, meetings, and to visit the free library. “People called, people dropped in — often after walking by the building a dozen times to build up the courage.”

Today, more than 40,000 people visit The Center annually.

People from across the socioeconomic spectrum participated in Center programs and came from across the Denver metro area to visit. People still use the free library, but now they also come to visit the free cyber center. People participate in programs serving the transgender community, youth, seniors, and families. More than 400 people annually use The Center’s free legal help line to resolve legal questions.

SAGE of the Rockies (SAGE stands for “Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders.”) serves those 50 and better from across the metro area. About 27 percent of visitors to The Center came

“The Transgender Program assists many transgender Coloradans each year in living their true selves,” says Sable Schultz, Transgender Program manager. “It’s really important work that saves lives.” The Center hosts support groups for those questioning or exploring their gender identity and continues to develop programs supporting job readiness in the transgender community.

And, of course, every June The Center hosts Denver PrideFest, one of the largest celebrations of LGBT pride in the country. This past June, Denver PrideFest celebrated its 40th anniversary.

“The Center was founded shortly after that first gay pride parade in 1975,” says Debra. “It’s amazing to think that The Center has been an advocate for LGBT rights, a resource for education, and a service provider for our community for nearly four decades.” As The Center marches towards its own 40th anniversary in 2016, the organization will continue to build on a proud legacy of serving Colorado’s LGBT community.

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 33

“I am the founder and owner of BAD … Babes Around Denver.”

“The riskiest thing I’ve ever done professionally was leaving my full-time corporate job to pursue the development and expansion of BAD. I was scared to death since I had never had my own business and grew up thinking you had to keep a stable job/seek security. That was in 2007. I’ve been running it ever since and never looked back!”

“I wouldn’t live in a different era. I feel fortunate to be a baby boomer who experienced the evolution of civil and LGBT rights. I loved growing up in Brooklyn, too. I love modern technology and I welcome most of the digital revolution.”

“Close and meaningful relationships with family and friends are what’s truly important. As I’ve gotten older, I realize I don’t need any more ‘stuff’ but what I need are meaningful experiences, whether it’s good conversation, family gatherings, vacations with family and friends, Democratic conventions, a good movie, or being a good friend/sister/aunt/manager/colleague.”

“If I could give one piece of advice to the LGBT community, I’d say, ‘Please try and find the courage to come out to as many people as possible whether you are gay/bi/ transgender. It’s hard to hate us if you know us. It really does get better. Some of you will have to make difficult choices about family and friends who don’t accept you.

I regret that I did not come out sooner to my family and co workers but I was fearful too.”

“My pet peeves are the words ‘tolerate’ and ‘accept’ when referring to LGBT. We want to be ‘embraced’ and ‘welcomed.’”

“I’m actively trying to get better at Pickleball, my absolute favorite sport to play. It’s a cross between tennis/ping pong and badminton — trust me, it’s so much fun.”

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“Five years from now, I may be leading a nonprofit organization as an executive director or starting up a campaign to run for an elected position.”

“My least favorite job was working as a security guard at a summer baseball camp in Cooperstown, NY. Between the owner of the camp being incredibly disrespectful to employees, constantly being yelled at by helicopter parents, and witnessing the inherent sexism that still exists within Little League (that I experienced when I was younger), it was an interesting summer.”

“Some of my guilty pleasures include singing along to Taylor Swift songs, watching romantic comedies, and taking pictures of my cats to post on social media.”

“As an introvert, the best part of my day is when I get home after a long day and get to spend some quality time with my partner and cuddle with our three cats.”

“My all-time favorite movie that I know all the words to is A League of Their Own.” “What’s truly important to me on both a professional and personal level is being authentic. The work I do isn’t glamorous and can often be draining. There’s a thin line between what’s personal versus what’s professional as a transgender advocate. However, I try my best to bring my true and authentic self to all that I do and with the people I work alongside. I believe that’s how we build the relationships that will ultimately advance transgender rights.”

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 35

“I am a Colorado State Representative for House District 8 in central and northeast Denver.”

“If everything goes according to plan, in five years I will be the Denver District Attorney and will be implementing criminal and juvenile justice reform in Denver.”

“The riskiest thing I’ve done professionally that actually worked out was to run for state representative in a very tough, contested Democratic primary. I won the primary and went on to win the general election and have been honored to serve in the Colorado General Assembly for seven years — one more to go.”

“What keeps me busy when I’m not at work includes jogging, skiing, hiking, and bicycling. I love [watching] theater as well.”

“My son recommended Game of Thrones and I got addicted. Despite the violence, I find the character development and larger themes of lust for power, cruelty, and human relationships very interesting.”

“One of my favorite books as a child was The Little Engine that Could. Sometimes I feel that way, as it seems I have to try several times to get certain things accomplished.”

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Beth McCann

“I’m the United Methodist pastor serving the people of Denver with Highlands United Methodist Church.”

“I love everything about where I am right now. In five years, I’d just like to be wiser and able to affect more positive change in the world from right here. I’d like to see the United Methodist Church in a place of full LGBT inclusivity, and Highlands United Methodist Church an even stronger center of community for NW Denver.”

“I love time with my family, conversations over Sweet Cow ice cream, and use any free time for yoga, biking, and swimming.”

I know all the words to Tommy Boy, The Emperor’s New Groove, 10 Things I Hate About You, Empire Records, Dogma, Big Trouble ... (oh, did you say “movie” singular?).

“Helping people find meaning in their everyday lives is what’s important to me professionally. Making religion relatable and reclaiming what it means to be a person of faith in this world ... and giving Jesus some new PR.” “What’s truly important to me on a personal level are my relationships. My family, friends, colleagues, congregation, neighbors ... my relationships keep me honest, keep me humble, and keep me going.”

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 37

CALE NDA R

B ROUG HT TO YOU BY THE D E NV E R GAY & L ESB I AN C HAM B E R OF CO M M E RC E

OCT 23-25 U PCO MI N G

CHAMBER E V E N TS

OCT 01

CHERRY ARTS FESTIVAL AT STANLEY

BREAKFAST SERIES

@ DOUBLETREE BY HILTON DENVER • 3203 QUEBEC ST • 7.30AM–9AM Come meet the winners of the Non-Profit of the Year award as they share the message they present the community, how they reach out, and how you can participate. All three winners will receive recognition at our Awards Gala on November 20.

@ STA NL EY M AR KET P LACE • 10AM –5 P M CherryArts Festival at Stanley, showcases national art, local flavor, and creative living. With a national juried art show featuring more than 70 exhibiting artists in 13 media categories, including ceramics, mixed media, digital art, photography, metalworks, and drawing, visitors will enjoy live entertainment, children’s activities, home design, and culinary demonstrations.

Oh, and did we mention it’s free? CherryCreekArtsFestival.org

THRU NOVEMBER 08

OCT 06

BREAKFAST NETWORKING GROUP

OCT 29

@ RE/MAX AVENUES • 495 UINTA WAY #100 • DENVER • 5.30PM–8PM Hosted by Re/Max Avenues.

3 8 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

RELATIVE WEIGHT & TINY SURRENDERS

@ DAI RY CEN T ER FOR T HE ARTS • 259 0 WALN UT ST • BOULDER • 7. 30P M Evolving Doors Dance is hosting a physical exploration of conflict, struggle, and resolution under the direction of Angie Simmons and Amy Shelley. Bonus: a recreation of works from Chicago’s RE|Dance Group. EvolvingDoorsDance.org

@ HOT CAKES DINER • 1400 E 18TH AVE • DENVER • 7.30AM–9AM

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS

OCT 02+03

MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING

@ TH E SOI L ED DOVE I N LOW RY • 74 01 E 1 ST AV E • DEN VER Based on true events, Wiccan Wedding is a hilarious, heartfelt story of a divorced woman’s journey of self-discovery and the son who turns her life into a hit musical. Come out and see a beautiful, modern love story about change, family, community, and finding yourself.

COLORADO GHOST STORIES

OCT 08

@ HI G HLAN D S EN I OR CEN T E R • 28 8 0 OSCEOLA ST • 1. 30–2.3 0 PM Tiptoe through the haunted houses and ghoulish graveyards of our area. With ghost stories associated with the Stanley Hotel, Cheesman Park, the Molly Brown House, and more as we visit the past and the past visits with us a bit. This event is sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association.

OCT 13

OCT 09

PROJECT ANGEL HEART A TASTE FOR LIFE @ HYATT REGEN CY D E NVER AT COLORA DO CON V E NT IO N CE NT ER • 6 50 1 5TH ST • 6 PM An evening showcasing delicious tastes and cocktails from some of Denver’s most celebrated restaurants and purveyors. Each year, A Taste for Life draws hundreds of philanthropic “foodies,” community leaders, and local culinary gurus for an evening featuring a silent auction, unique entertainment, and an opportunity to support a great cause. ProjectAngelHeart.org/ Events/A-Taste-For-Life

OCT 09

1ST THURSDAY

GLOBAL PANDEMICS

@ SAM GARY LI BRARY • 29 6 1 ROS LY N ST • DEN V ER • 1–2PM

YOGA + WINE

FREEHELD

@ S E LEC T T HEAT RES Ellen Page and Julianne Moore strike up a lovely (if not unusual) relationship in this hot-off-the-projector drama from Lionsgate. Turns out, it’s a the true love story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree and their fight for justice. Moore plays Laurel, a decorated detective who’s diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard-earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However, the county officials (“Freeholders”) conspire to prevent Laurel from doing this.

2ND+4TH WEDNESDAY

WOMEN OF DENVER HISTORY

@ I N F I N I T E M ON KEY T HEOR EM • DEN V ER • 6. 30 TO 8. 30P M • $25 Every 1st Thursday of the month, Infinite Monkey lets yoga enthusiasts of all stripes practice their stuff with a yoga class in the winery, topped off by a glass of wine afterward.

@ BEAR VALLEY LI BRARY • 5 17 1 W DART M OU T H AVE • 6. 30–7. 30P M The city of Denver was shaped by the efforts of many great people. Join Active Minds as they focus on the women of Denver and their contributions to the city and the state. AM will cover some familiar names as well as some lesser-known figures as we trace the impact of these women and their place in history.

Concern over the global spread of diseases such as ebola, swine flu, HIV, and others has increased dramatically. Join Active Minds as we seek to understand the current threats by examining both the science of how diseases spread as well as the history of pandemics.

This program is brought to you by the Stapleton Master Community Association.

OCT 10

SEXCOM

@ BLUS H AN D BLU • 1526 E CO L FA X AVE • DEN V ER • 8 P M A show featuring comedienne Debbie Scheer and sexologist Shanna Katz, SexCom is an open, real, and very funny forum about sex and sexuality in which the audience’s anonymous sex questions fuel the show. It’s the perfect blend of adult sex education and comedy. Free lube for all and amazing raffle prizes to be won so there’s that, too!

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 39

O N SC R E E N

STONEWALL DELIVERS NOTHING BUT DISAPPOINTMENT WALKING INTO A SCREENING OF the film Stonewall, I tried

my best to watch the movie as an ignorant audience member with an open mind. I wanted to be ignorant of the controversy that surrounds the film. I wanted to forgo my knowledge of Stonewall and the riots that started on June 28, 1969. I wanted to enter this movie with an open mind that the writer, Jon Robin Baitz, and director, Roland Emmerich, were producing art. I really tried to enjoy this film.

Ryan Howe Stonewall starts out with a black-and-white, slow-motion reenactment of the historic night the riots started, with explanations typing across the screen about how it was illegal to serve alcohol to gay people in 1969. True, homosexuals were considered mentally ill, and serving them alcohol would be wrong. It explained that many of the gay bars in NYC were run by mobsters that paid off the cops to keep it running. True, three mafia men from the Genovese family took ownership of a heterosexual bar on Christopher Street and turned it into one of the only dancing gay bars in the city, Stonewall.

The film then jumps back three months and introduces us to our main character, Danny. Danny is a gorgeous, white, corn-fed Hoosier who plays football but gets a little “tight end” action on the side from the quarterback. When two classmates catch them performing fellatio, Danny’s world comes crashing down. He gets kicked out of Indiana and moves to the concrete jungle, New York City.

First stop, Christopher Street. Cue the stereotypical “I’m confused by all these gay people, but I really want to be all 4 0 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

Our hero (a white, gay, cis male) discovers that his friends turn tricks for money, meets Marsha P. Johnson (briefly), and sleeps on the streets for two nights before Stonewall is even mentioned.

their friends” scene, where Danny meets a ragtag group of hustlers. Most of the hustlers are white. Three are effeminate and one is a man of color. Danny has found his friends, and the supporting cast throughout the movie.

Over the course of the next 45 minutes, we see Danny discover that his friends turn tricks for money, meets Marsha P. Johnson (briefly), and sleeps on the streets for two nights before Stonewall is even mentioned. And while the appreciation for his backstory and character development was appropriate, I was ready to see the inside of Stonewall.

I wish the movie never delivered on that hope.

As soon as Danny walks into Stonewall his eyes light up with confusion and admiration. Simultaneously, my eyes glazed over. The bar was filled with white people. Actually, it was filled with white men, who act and dress like men. I saw one lesbian couple. I saw at most three drag queens. I saw maybe two people of color, one being Marsha P. Johnson.

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4 9

DENVER’S BEST PAITO Soak up some sun, sip on a cocktail, and enjoy a juicy burger on Denver's best patio!

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 41

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BOULDER PRIDE The 12th Annual Boulder Pridefest was held in Central Park on Sunday, September 13th. Boulder Pridefest, organized by Out Boulder, commemorates the many successes, along with the ongoing struggles, of the LGBTQ community. Through celebration, community activities, and fabulous events the Boulder community came together to elevate awareness and visibility in the continuing journey toward social justice. Festivities in the park, which concluded Boulder’s Pride Week, included live entertainment, vendors, and several local food trucks.

Photos by Charles Broshous

WIN E A ND DINE DJ’s 9th Avenue Cafe DJ’S 9TH AVENUE CAFE 865 Lincoln St. Denver • 303.386.3375 DjsCafe.biz

HAMBURGER MARY’S 700 East 17th Ave. Denver • 303.832.1333 HamburgerMarys.com/denver OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 43

O N SC R E E N

MOTORCYCLES, THE DOUBLE LIFE, AND ELLEN PAGE THE AFFECTING DRAMA FREEHELD is based on the true story (and Oscar-winning short documentary) about Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), a dedicated detective in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, who must fight for justice when her legal domestic partner, Stacie (Ellen Page), is denied pension benefits after Laurel develops terminal cancer. Although domestic partnerships were legal in the state at the time, the Freeholders of Ocean County had the power to determine the pension benefits for state employees in same-sex domestic partnerships. They refused to grant Laurel’s pension benefits to Stacie, which would likely force the widow out of her house.

Gary M. Kramer The film chronicles how Laurel and Stacie reluctantly but emphatically challenge this decision. They enlist the help of Steven Goldstein (Steve Carell), a Garden State Equality activist. In addition, Laurel’s partner on the force, Dane Wells (Michael Shannon), a straight ally, also helps mobilize the fight for equality with the precinct.

While it may not be a surprise how the story turns out, Freeheld generates its greatest emotional power not in the fight for equality but in the intimate moments between Laurel and Stacie — on a date, or setting up their dream house — and Moore and Page are incredibly endearing as a couple.

The openly gay Page spoke about making her passion project, Freeheld.

4 4 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

Freeheld tells the story in the macro and micro perspectives, how inequality makes people feel the world is saying we’re not going to value your love; you are less than us.

You have a producer credit on the film. Why was this story important to be told, and told now?

I attached myself to this film when I was 21, so it’s been a long time. I was involved pre-screenplay, pre-director, preJulianne. I think the film is important now because while the Supreme Court decision is amazing and unbelievable and the progress is astonishing, there’s so much more work to do for true equality. In many civil rights movements, there’s always some backlash. I think this film shows why that recent decision is so important. Freeheld tells the story in the macro and micro perspectives, how inequality makes people feel [the

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 4 6

DGLCC MONTHLY HAPPY HOUR The Denver Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce held their monthly happy hour at the Crown Social on September 24. The networking event allows DGLCC members to socialize and learn more about the other members. The DGLCC is a statewide, equal-opportunity chamber comprised of GLBT and GLBT-supportive business owners and professionals. For more, visit DenverGLC.org Photos by Charles Broshous

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 45

MOTORCYCLES, THE DOUBLE LIFE, AND ELLEN PAGE C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 4 2

world is saying] we’re not going to value your love; you are less than us. And the couple’s socioeconomic situation has the real impact — especially when we talk about equality in the large political sense. And to convey what that decision means and what discrimination does is to make people feel they are validated and what their love is, and it is being respected.

What emotional buttons does the story press for you and why?

I think I have a similar response to what it means to be together in a relationship that’s closeted. It was exciting to explore that in a slightly more layered way. This wasn’t just a fight about coming out. More like: Why do we have to live and compromise our love and relationships? I found that in my personal experience. I think telling this story is important because Stacie and Laurel did something crucial in a time of unimaginable difficulty and I wanted to be a part of telling their story.

You tend to play tough, determined women, but in Freeheld, your character is more passive. How did you approach playing Stacie?

When I met Stacie, the thing that was most evident was her desire to tell this love story and make that the emotional through line: her complete and utter dedication to Laurel; to do what she thought Laurel would want. She is a very shy person. You get to know her and she’s incredibly funny and deeply, deeply sensitive. But she’s very quiet. Her journey is powerful. She did not want to invest in the activism at first.

Doing so would acknowledge that her lover is going to die. She was doing her job, navigating the insurance companies, and activism. So she didn’t have an opportunity to be vulnerable.

How did you personally relate to Stacie? Are you into volleyball, motorcycles, and older women?

I’m horrible at all things like that. I wish I had more hands-on skills, but I don’t. Motorcycles kind of scare me. Older women are super hot, though. Stacie and I don’t have that much in common. That said I’d be delighted to have the opportunity to learn some of those skills.

Laurel has to live a double/secret life. You had a secret life for a while, too. What can you say about that experience and your decision to come out?

It was the best decision I ever made, wish I had made it sooner.

But I had to go on whatever journey I went on. Some people have a risk of being thrown in jail or killed for being gay. For me, 4 6 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

This wasn’t just a fight about coming out. More like: Why do we have to live and compromise our love and relationships? I found that in my personal experience. I think telling this story is important because Stacie and Laurel did something crucial in a time of unimaginable difficulty and I wanted to be a part of telling their story. being closeted was an incredibly sad and toxic experience, and it got to a point where I was done living like that. It created a ripple effect of happiness in every aspect of my life. Being closeted does affect every aspect of who you are. There are people in the community who are far more vulnerable than me. I want to help them.

The film is very much about Laurel and Stacie’s dignity and giving visibility to marginalized people who become citizen-activists. What prompts you to speak up and out?

I was closeted because of my job. I’m not anymore. I feel really fortunate that I can be out. I thought it wouldn’t be a possibility for me to be out and walk down red carpet with my girlfriend.

My goals and intentions are positive. I’m doing this show called Gaycation where I explore the LGBT communities and issues and difficulties in different countries. It hopefully will create a larger conversation about LGBT communities around the world. I want to talk about more experiences. Trans women of color have life expectancy of 35, and 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT. Those are troublesome statistics. I want to do what I can to talk about these issues and bring them to the forefront and give visibility to those who are vulnerable.

Freeheld is opening 10/9 in Denver in select Denver theaters.

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 47

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STONEWALL DELIVERS NOTHING BUT DISAPPOINTMENT C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 3 6 Danny was enamored. I was disgusted.

Fun Fact: Stonewall was a bar that minorities within the already marginalized gay community could gather. There were people of color. There were trans women. There were drag queens.

There were butch lesbians. Of course there were white men, but a lot of them were poor and turning tricks, or they were professionals hiding their sexuality.

The movie carries on for another hour of Danny figuring out where he fits in the world. He turns a few tricks, but quickly decides that he cannot do it. He will not. He is too beautiful, white, and heteronormative to partake.

Fun Fact: Stonewall was a bar that minorities within the already marginalized gay community could come together. There were people of color. There were trans women.

There were drag queens. There were butch lesbians.

This made my stomach turn. Many of the men in the film can’t get a regular job so they turn to sex work. This is the reality for many of our queer predecessors, and continues to be a reality for many of our brothers and sisters in our queer community. Our protagonist turns his nose down to this work.

He thinks it is below him, and I could feel his judgment of his ragtag group of friends with every tear that he forces out of his perfectly chiseled face.

Even the movie’s climax comes as a smack in the face. Spoiler alert! The riots that were started out of frustration of being targeted and abused by the police is portrayed as a way to get the mafia man who owns the bar out of police custody.

Or that’s how it starts, before good ol’ Danny takes a brick from the hands from a person of color and throws it through the window exclaiming “Gay Power,” which could easily be translated as “CIS White Power.” I wanted my own brick to throw at the screen.

I’d officially had it. I couldn’t even enjoy the final minutes of the perfectly packaged ending for Danny. I really, really tried to enjoy this film. But they made it really, really difficult to.

Stonewall hits theaters this Friday.

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 49

CO L D CAS E

WEBSITE SPOTLIGHTS COLORADO’S COPIOUS COLD CASES FROM A SUN-BLEACHED HUMAN SKULL found near

Idaho Springs to an infant kidnapped from his parents’ bedroom to a 53-year-old woman stabbed to death in her own kitchen, a public database created by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) features unsolved cases dating back to the 1950s.

Mike Yost “It’s a way for us to remember the victims,” says Audrey Simkins, Intelligence Analyst for CBI, “and that we’re always looking to pursue a resolution for the victims and their families.”

The goal of the project, launched in August of 2010, was to present as much information as possible to the public in hopes of closing these cases. Working with local law enforcement agencies, the website outlines the narrative of each crime, along with a photograph and detailed information on the victim such as weight, height, and eye color.

An update last September allows users to search through cases based on age, gender, a range of years, judicial district, and several other filters.

One of the oldest is the homicide of 38-year-old Harold Murphy Cohen, whose body was found on Feb. 11, 1950. According to the site, Harold was a fight referee and a gambler who went by the nickname Murph. He disappeared in November of 1949, and his body was discovered three months later at Blue Lake in Jefferson County.

There are 1,615 cold cases in Colorado including 1,330 open homicides and 247 missing person cases.

Jenny Bado, 53-years-old, was stabbed to death in her kitchen during a failed robbery attempt on April 30, 1994.

Police believe her killer fled the scene on foot from her home near Montview Blvd. and Pontiac St. in Denver.

“I think it’s just the sheer number more than anything that I want people to realize,” says Simkins.

Then there’s the macabre case of a Jane Doe, whose skull was found by hikers in Echo Park near Idaho Springs in October of 1995. Even after an exhaustive search of the area, no other remains were discovered. Jane Doe has never been identified, as the teeth do not match any dental records on file.

There are currently 1,615 cold cases in Colorado including 1,330 open homicides, 247 missing person cases, and the remainder falling under the category of unidentified remains or other. And that number increases every year, as cases that go unsolved for three years are added to the database annually.

One of the most unsettling cases is that of the Bennett family.

The father, 27-year-old Bruce Alan Bennett, mother, 26-yearold Debra Bennett, and 7-year-old daughter Melissa Bennett, were all found murdered on January 16, 1984 in their home at 16300 East Center Drive in Aurora.

5 0 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 51

The database also features solved cases, such as that of Denise Oliverson of Grand Junction who disappeared on April 6, 1975. Her body was found the next day under a bridge near a set of railroad tracks.

Authorities believe serial killer Ted Bundy committed the murder.

Before his execution in 1989, Bundy admitted to dumping a body in a river near Grand Junction at the same time of Oliverson’s disappearance.

The database also features solved cases, such as that of Denise Oliverson of Grand Junction who disappeared on April 6, 1975.

Her body was found the next day under a bridge near a set of railroad tracks. Authorities believe serial killer Ted Bundy committed the murder. Before his execution in 1989, Bundy admitted to dumping a body in a river near Grand Junction at the same time of Oliverson’s disappearance.

Debra died from blunt-force trauma to the head, and Bruce and Melissa both died from “sharp force” injuries and bluntforce trauma. There was also evidence that Melissa had been sexually assaulted.

Although the day of remembrance occurred after the publication of this article, Simkins encourages readers to explore CBI’s cold-case website. “Look, if there is a case that they’re familiar with, or if they’ve lost a loved one, make sure our information is accurate and complete.”

In addition, the Bennett’s 3-year-old daughter was found in the home. She also suffered blunt-force trauma but survived.

One of the youngest victims is Christopher Enoch Abeyta, who was kidnapped from his parents’ bedroom at night on July 15, 1986 when he was only 7-months-old. The only clues left behind was an opened window in the basement and a missing garage-door opener.

An age-progression photo of Christopher is featured on the website, the image created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

5 2 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

As of yet, no cold case has been solved directly because of the website, but Simkins points out that the database has garnered new and sometimes crucial information since its launch. For example, updated photographs have been sent in by family members of victims, and personal details (such as hair or eye color) have been added — information that was previously missing in some cases.

“I think all of those things help to resonate with someone else’s memory,” she says. “Maybe they saw this person or maybe they remember this incident.”

And the website is not the only tool CBI is using to solve these cases. “We’re always trying to be innovative and come up with other ways to keep these faces in front of the public,” says Simkins. “And another way we’re doing that is through our cold-case playing cards.”

Introduced last year, the playing cards feature the faces and information of cold-case victims with a tip line at the bottom.

Three different decks have been distributed to all of the Colorado Department of Correction facilities, private prisons, and most of the local detentions centers around the state.

“The hope is that we get them in front of our incarcerated population and maybe enough time has passed and enough relationships have changed that today, someone is willing to talk who wasn’t before.”

There is some debate, however, on making the decks available to the public. “There’s some sensitivity that these are families who’ve lost loved ones. That’s something we need to make sure we’re evaluating completely before any decisions are made.”

The National Day of Remembrance took place on Sept. 25, established by Congress in 2007, in an effort to commemorate homicide victims. “Often times we focus a great deal on suspect information,” Simkins says. “And this is a day for us to remember the victims.”

Visit Colorado’s cold-case website: Colorado.gov/apps/coldcaset

For those who might have information on a case featured on the website, contact Audrey Simkins, Intelligence Analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, at 303-239-5764 or by email at Audrey.Simkins@state.co.us

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 55

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is an admission that you aren’t ready for a “real” relationship and should choose to remain single, or that there’s something lacking that needs to be gained outside of the relationship.

H E I N ZES I G H T

A great fallacy exists when people who pursue their sexual interests are considered selfish or non-committal.

Someone who decides they are going to train for the AIDS Lifecycle or wants to take time out of their life to backpack across Europe isn’t considered morally wrong, so why is it frowned upon when someone wants to take time out of their life to roll around naked with someone? As long as everyone involved is cool with the activities, the opinions of other people really don’t matter.

WHEN DID BEING SEXUALLY INTERESTED BECOME A BAD THING? ALTHOUGH THE UNITED STATES IS not known for being

as sexually liberated as other countries, many of us are fortunate enough to enjoy an exciting and fulfilling sex life. It surprises me that so many people either have a lack of personal pride and engagement about their own sexuality, or negative things to say about the ways people mess around and the frequency with which they like to engage in frisky behaviors. Last time I checked, being intimate with someone can be extremely fulfilling and getting off feels absolutely amazing.

Brent Heinze, Senior Columnist Words like “promiscuous” and “slutty” are used frequently by others in an attempt to put people in their place by assigning judgment about their sexual activities. Strangely enough, these terms are generally being used to describe someone who will probably never get naked with the perpetrator of sexual hate speech. Additionally, I’m curious about the number of people someone would have to bang to adequately become a “skanky manwhore,” and if it’s a monthly or annual evaluation period.

I’ve heard the phrase, “A slut is anyone who has more sex than you.”

Sometimes this bitter attitude comes 5 8 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

from a place of anger or frustration where they may be jealous of the fact that someone is having naked opportunities that they are not. These judgements are usually expressed by people on the outside of any situation as a method to put their own values on someone else. It’s common to become bitter with other people who have more than us, regardless of whether it’s a relationship, money, friends, or a fantastic sex life.

Some feel that being sexually active with multiple people should be reserved for those outside a committed relationship. Screwing around with anyone except your primary partner

Healthy relationships are formed with a set of expectations that identify acceptable behaviors. Fortunately, choosing to pursue an open relationship is not necessarily because our partners don’t satisfy our physical, sexual, or emotional needs. It’s absolutely reasonable to feel that one person may not be everything we need to find happiness in our lives. Although having a “sexual support system” is not desirable for everyone, those who gain excitement, enjoyment, and fulfillment from these types of intimate exchanges continue to have their lives enriched by pursuing their desires. Some couples play together, separately, or not at all. Each relationship has its own combination of activities that focus on the romance, interests, companionship, and connection that you share with each other, not just who you have sex with. The reality is that relationships succeed and fail regardless of monogamy or openness.

We all express our sexuality in different ways and there should be no shame in pursuing the life we want. Be careful about speaking your own truth and not putting your values on others or allowing those who judge us to affect us negatively. Thankfully, we exist in an environment where we can freely enjoy a variety of sexual activities and positions while having the freedom of how, when, and with whom it can happen. Don’t let opponents of your sexual health and happiness stop you from enjoying your life.

DRAG BINGO A capacity crowd packed Hamburger Mary’s on September 22nd for OUTrageous Drag Queen Bingo with Jackie Summers and Felony Misdemeanor for an evening of great food, great fun, and great drink specials. Balls drop every Tuesday at 9pm.

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“Age has never been a thing for me,” Benny told me. “I get along with all ages. So I never treated him as beneath me. I view that as demeaning. We’re all equal to a certain degree. We all have something to offer. Early in the relationship, I would reference music, TV shows, and movies and there was a disconnect. I needed to educate him.” I totally understand this. I myself was lost and naive when I was younger.

YODA AND HIS YOUNG, GAY JEDI WHEN I THINK OF OLDER guys, I think knowledge. I’ve

always been attracted to them, ever since I came out when I was 16. But what’s fascinating about an older man? And why would an older guy want someone like me? Does it work? I dove into this issue with two of my older friends. They’ve had their fair share of indulgences with younger men and I wanted to know why. The results were fascinating to me and I finally understood the topic from a different perspective.

Corey Dylan Simms Benny is someone I’ve known for years and he’s also great friends with my older brother. I was instantly attracted to him because he has jet-black hair and sparkling blue eyes, but my brother (at the time) told me to stay back. We’re 20 years apart and that was enough for my brother. I asked Benny, “Why do you think older men go for younger, twink types?” I was almost positive he was going to say it’s for the sex, that there’s something fabulous about hooking up with a young man in his 20s. With Benny, this wasn’t the case. He gave me something I’ve never thought about.

“I met a 26-year-old on Grindr and he served a purpose for me. We ended up hooking up which eventually led to dating and he became my boyfriend for about a year. He became someone to educate, impart my wisdom on, and groom. I 6 2 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

wanted to show my worldly ways, because I was someone who had the answers — I lived it. In some ways, I was the protector.

It gave me purpose, self worth, and made me feel like I had something to offer someone else. In a weird way, like a father to a child, it felt good that someone was looking to me for advice.”

I found this so fascinating. It wasn’t about sex (even though the sex was “pretty good”); it was about protecting and teaching someone. Benny educated a young man who needed support in the gay world. Too many young gay men aren’t educated and know zilch about this chaotic community. There’s so much going on and there’s so much to learn. Benny was somewhat of a Yoda to a young Jedi. It’s like: ‘Here’s the gayborhood, let me show you the world!’

I used to talk Riley, another older friend, when I was in my early 20s. (He’s such a flirt.) He was always talking to younger guys and there was a strong attraction with his young boyfriends. I asked him the same thing and his answer was surprisingly the same, which kind of shocked me.

“I particularly enjoy showing somebody the world or being able to help people along a path you’ve already gone down.

That’s more emotional than attraction.”

There must be tons of older gents just wanting companionship and someone to share their life with. They want to share their wisdom and “gay smarts.” That’s so beautiful. I sometimes wish I had someone like that when I was coming out. It would’ve been a lot easier. I had one too many guys just wanting sex and not enough real connection. No one really took me under their wing, and I didn’t have a strong alliance around me. I was on my own.

“I do know for certain it’s not about trying to be young myself, which I think a lot of people might assume. If anything, it makes you feel older when he doesn’t get your references or has unbounded energy.” I guess after a certain point, the newness and freshness of this young boy may become too much. When it comes to 20+ years, maybe the age gap is too much? Could a relationship that’s 20 years apart really last? I’m not sure.

With these two men, the relationships didn’t. The age gap was just too big.

I do believe in love, however, and I trust if both men are compatible enough, the relationship will last. There are so many factors that go into a relationship — age shouldn’t be the main issue here. Some older men like younger guys and vice versa. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Like my mother has always said: “Age is nothing but a number.”

OUTFRONTONLINE.COM 63

H EA LT H

THE SKINNY ON SUGAR THERE’S A TIME IN YOUR life when you’re forced to confront your life choices in the rawest of manners.

Staring at the bottom of an empty bag of Sour Patch Kids in disbelief five minutes after you opened them is one of mine. Definitely one of mine. I was stressed and hungry and emotional, and sugar, oh sugar, that trusty friend, was once again there for me at a low moment.

But turning to write my HEALTH column right after this binge, fingers still sticky with the crystallized toppings of my sour little friends, really put things in perspective.

I should probably cut down on my sugar intake.

Kelsey Lindsey I say this like it’s the easiest thing to do, but it certainly is not. Humans are wired to like sugar. Stocking up on the good stuff when it was plentiful gave us a better chance of survival when times were lean. And as we have evolved and pumped every processed food with additional sugars into the market, it’s become harder to avoid added sugar entirely, no matter if you’re eating a brownie or a sandwich with Wonder Bread.

It’s no wonder ketchup is my favorite condiment, regardless of the fact that I hate tomatoes — one tablespoon of Heinz tomato ketchup contains four grams of sugar, more sugar than a Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookie.

But more research is beginning to link refined sugar to a variety of diseases: obesity, heart disease, depression, diabetes, arthritis, and more. Quitting sugar entirely is hard, but there are tangible steps anyone can take to reduce their daily sugar 6 4 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

One tablespoon of Heinz tomato ketchup contains four grams of sugar — more sugar than a Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookie.

intake. The American Heart Association recommends that men only eat nine teaspoons, or 37.5 grams, of added sugar a day, and women only eat six teaspoons, or 25 grams of added sugar.

To start, be mindful of how many grams of sugar you consume, and eliminate soda and juices from your diet completely, as these are among the worst culprits for added sugar.

Try to wean sugary junk food like cakes, granola bars, and overly processed food from your diet, and replace them with fruit when the sugar cravings hit. Simple carbs like white breads and white pasta also act like sugar in the body, so try cutting those out too. While the process will be tough, and will most likely take several weeks, your taste buds will adjust, hopefully urging you to forgo the Sour Patch Kids and reach for that peach instead.

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ASK A SLUT [WARNING: GRAPHIC]

My partner and I can hardly sleep together anymore. He’s so warm-blooded that the house has to be super cold or he’s miserable, while I feel like I’m freezing to death all the time! Do you girls have any suggestions to save our marriage?

Signed, FIRE & ICE

I’m an attractive guy and very much a people person. I like to flirt with everyone at the bars, especially the guys who have no chance in hell of hooking up with me. My friends think it’s mean but I think I’m just being kind to the less fortunate. What do you think?

Signed, SOCIAL WORKER

Bea: Ever hear of spooning? It’s not just for

Bea: I love it when someone has to tell me they’re

Tuesday night anymore! If you’re cold, wrap your scrawny, spaghetti-thin arms around his hot, muscular body and cuddle, cuddle, cuddle. If you do it right, you’ll end up with a hot liquid injection that should warm your frozen body.

attractive. If you really were, then I would tell you. I’m guessing your coal-ridden heart keeps you company all the nights you have to jerk off looking at your own picture when you could’ve had a real man. Your outside is as ugly as your inside, bless your heart!

Zoey: Have hot, steamy sex then send him to the

Zoey: If you’re really a people person, you’d put

basement while you get the wet spot. Problem solved.

out. Otherwise, you’re going to get a rep for being an ass for not giving up yours.

LaTexa: Sounds like you need something hot on

LaTexa: This reminds me of Rizzo’s song from

top of you when you slumber. If your BF won’t do it, I will.

Grease. It’s about how the worst thing you can do is be a tease. If you are gonna offer, follow through. Just sayin’.

Cookie: Ice is really nice as a kinky toy and dirt cheap. You won’t feel cold as long as you keep him in the sack and create fire. Once you have worn him out, turn up the temperature.

JackLynn: Rub yourself down with warming gel.

Then not only will you be toasty, you’ll be ready when he is.

Cookie: You’re only being kind when you hand out pity sex … and you call yourself a social worker. Look inside your philanthropic heart and give it up for the betterment of the less fortunate and quit being so cruel.

JackLynn: Once in a while, you gotta put your money where your mouth is. I’d say save your karma and give a blowjob to an ugly person once in a while.

6 6 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

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O U T BAC K CLASSIFIEDS Envisioned by Boberto

Need help?

If you believe you’re a victim of a sex or hate crime, contact the Colorado AntiViolence Program at 303-852-5094

Advertise Here

303-477-4000

6 8 O CTO B E R 0 1 , 2 0 1 5

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PRIDE AND PREDICTIONS

BAC KWO R DS

LIBRA: With your amazing birthday comes amazing weather, so you’ve always got some really killer memories attached to your big day. We’d like to remind you that you’re one of the chillest people to party with, so even though you’re busy as hell, make certain you don’t overlook how badly you’d be depriving your buddies if you sat this one out.

SCORPIO: You’re not even secretly boo hoo that the cooler temps mean you’ll have to put some damn clothes on, but there’s a silver lining to that snowcloud — bearskin rugs and a naked cuddle in front of the fireplace.

SAGITTARIUS: It seems your summer slump is wearing off, sage Sag, and things are looking up again. Good. You’ve had far too much bad news so far that even the retrograded Mercury is taking some pity on you. Live it up, archer.

CAPRICORN: You’re the only sign in this lineup who’s facing a real changing of the guard when it comes to your love affairs. Whether it’s a new person betwixt your sheets, or an uncharacteristically calm state of affairs in your boudoir, ready yourself for what’s in store of wind up on the ‘wtf?’ end of thirsty.

AQUARIUS: Get outside. Go! You’ve been so cooped up lately that it’s no wonder you’ve been feeling stepped on at every turn. It’s all in your dusty little head, water bearer! No offense, but take a hike.

PISCES: There’s travel on the horizon and you can feel it in your bones every single day. Good. There’s a reset button that you’re about to hit and every single aspect of your life will benefit from it.

When you return from your muchneeded journey, you’ll leap back into your affairs with the gusto that was fading from your life before you left.

Bon voyage!

ARIES: Don’t obsess another moment on that person you hurt, Aries — they’ll

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get over it. Truth is, they needed to be told and who better to tell it than you?

And since when did it bother you so much to stand up for yourself? Though we love that consideration means you’re maturing, don’t let your heart be so open that assholes walk by and put things in it.

TAURUS: You’ve gone and let the negative voices in your head get the best of you. (Why do you always do that?!) Seriously, bull, you’re such a strong and independent warrior, and the absolute best advocate for yourself.

Get it together! This isn’t you at all.

GEMINI: The adage “it’s better late than never” couldn’t apply to you more than it does today, twin friend. It seems you’re actually turning over a new fall-colored leaf, albeit a few skips on the timeline later than you’d originally intended. We trust you’re smart enough to not lament what could’ve been, as you’re too busy looking to what will be, right?

CANCER: I hope you trust it’s good news when we say October 2015 is going to be pretty uneventful. We don’t mean that you’ll be sitting around bored; we mean that the even the brand-new projects you’re undertaking will work out so smoothly that there won’t be any hitches in your giddyup to fret over. The peace is overdue, crabby patty.

LEO: You go, Leo! It’s impossible to look at you without noticing the changes you’ve implemented in this beautiful new phase of your life. It’s so inspiring!

Even better, it makes your haters seethe with renewed reasons to be secretly peanut butter and jealous of your new take on life. Loves!

VIRGO: Let’s be frank: There were a few mistakes made over the last two months.

No big deal! If you choose to look at them so negatively, you’re gonna waste the opportunity to learn from them. You’ve got good times ahead if you can use the new info to your advantage.

BOTTOMS UP!

Power to the Party and Power to the People! Dixie is proud to support the LGBT community and we thank you all for paving the way with a “how-to” on starting a social revolution. Let’s celebrate with a cold Elixir.

Find Dixie near you at DixieElixirs.com