PGN Feb. 26 - March 3, 2016

Family Portrait: Ron Mulray feels the flower power PAGE 21

Immigration Services gets backlash PAGE 8

A final nod to local activist and volunteer Ed Bomba PAGE 5

• 40 Years Ago in PGN • Judge urged to not resentence Knott • Charges filed in woman’s death

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Feb. 26 - Mar. 3, 2016

Since 1976

PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM

Vol. 40 No. 9

Two challenge Sims’ petitions There were two challenges filed Tuesday that seek to knock state Rep. Brian Sims off of this spring’s primary ballot.

A challenge to Sims’ nominating petitions was submitted by Walter Spencer and Sunanda Ghosh and another by Michael T. Connor and Andrew Allison. Connor is the partner of one of Sims’ primary challengers, Lou Lanni.

To appear on the April 26 ballot, all candidates were required last week to submit 300 valid signatures from individuals who belong to their political party and who live within their district. Objections to the validity of those petitions were then due to the Commonwealth Court this week.

Sims, who did not respond to a request for comment, submitted approximately 580 signatures, according to state records.

The state’s first openly gay elected state lawmaker is set to face primary challengers Lanni, Ben Waxman and Marni Snyder.

Sims last week ended his Congressional bid, in which he would have challenged embattled Congressman Chaka Fattah. n

Community mourns fatal stabbing victim Maya Young

By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com

LUCK OF THE BRITISH: BINGO Verifying Diva Stella D’Oro picks raffle winners at ActionAIDS’ Glamsino fundraiser Feb. 18 at Hotel Palomar. The British-themed casino event drew a sell-out crowd of 250, who raised more than $150,000 for the HIV/AIDS service organization. “Glamsino was a great success,” said ActionAIDS executive director Kevin Burns. “We are very proud of our partnership with Kimpton Hotels and the Palomar; their generosity makes this event shine!” Photo: Scott A. Drake

— Jen Colletta

Maya Young asked Anthony Harper for the time six years ago while she was walking in the Gayborhood. It was a simple question that spawned a long friendship.

“I noticed the birthmark on her cheek and told her it was beautiful,” Harper told PGN through his tears. “We talked for four hours that day and have been friends ever since.”

Young had recently come out as transgender and moved to Philadelphia to find other people in the community. She started living with Harper and his partner, Jonathan Carton.

Harper remembered the pair used to sing the Queen song “Bicycle Race” whenever they walked around the city.

“She was a light in a dark room,” Harper said, noting Young moved out in 2011 and found a roommate in Frankford. “It was us against the world.”

Young, 25, died over the weekend after suffering several stab wounds to the neck and chest late Saturday night in Frankford, police confirmed Feb. 23.

The investigation into Young’s death is ongoing with the homicide unit, Philadelphia police said, noting the motive is unknown. Anyone with information is asked to call 215686-3334. There is a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

PAGE 16

Medicaid’s anti-trans provision challenged

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

BOXERS AND BRIEFS: Bryon Yoder (center) was one of a dozen of Boxers’ Stonewall kickball team members participating in the annual Cupid’s Undie Run Saturday at XFINITY Live! Runners of all abilities stripped down to festive skivvies of all varieties for the 1-mile fun run. The fundraising event brought in nearly $200,000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Photo: Scott A. Drake

A federal lawsuit was filed last week seeking to eliminate the state Medicaid program’s ban on covering treatments for gender dysphoria.

The named defendant is Theodore Dallas, secretary of the state’s Department of Human Services.

Medicaid is a health-care program for low-income individuals that receives state and federal funds. But many states, including Pennsylvania, won’t allow their Medicaid program to fund treatments for gender dysphoria.

Those treatments include gender-confirmation surgery, hysterectomy, hormonal therapy, breast reconstruction, penectomy, vaginoplasty, mastectomy, vaginal dilation and release of labial adhesions.

Advocates say the gender-dysphoria exclusion discriminates against the transgender community, in violation of federal laws.

The Feb. 18 lawsuit was filed on behalf of “John Doe,” 30, a Delaware County trans man with gender dysphoria. Doe has received Medicaid benefits since 2013. He seeks a hysterectomy, but the state’s

Medicaid program refuses to pay for one.

In July 2015, Doe’s physician submitted a request on Doe’s behalf for Medicaid coverage for a total abdominal hysterectomy. The request was denied by Keystone First Health Plan, one of the state’s designees for administering the Medicaid program in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Doe appealed the denial, and on Oct. 26, 2015, an administrative-law judge denied Doe’s appeal, citing the gender-dysphoria exclusion in the state’s Medicaid rules.

“Doe’s untreated GD has led to his constant suffering and emotional distress,” the lawsuit states. “He is unemployed and has other issues, due in part to his untreated GD. Immediate and medically-necessary GD treatment should be provided to [Doe] in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the United States.”

The lawsuit also states that “other Medicaid eligible individuals who have not been diagnosed with GD and have been prescribed a medically necessary hysterectomy will receive Medicaid coverage for a hysterectomy and associated medically necessary PAGE 13 procedures and

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN LOCAL

Man arrested in death of Philly woman in Central PA

By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com The Centre County man charged in relation to disposing the body of a Philadelphia woman along a rural roadside near Penn State on Valentine’s Day tried to alert authorities of what he’d done with an anonymous letter mailed to the Centre County Coroner’s Office.

Authorities said Robert Moir, 59, of Patton Township, admitted he sent the letter in hopes that the body of Corinne Pena, 35, would be found. Pena married a woman from Lancaster in May, according to her Facebook page.

Moir faces charges of abuse of a corpse, a second-degree misdemeanor.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 23. Court records do not indicate that Moir is in custody in the meantime.

“Although this charge addresses the accountability of how she came to be abandoned along the road, the investigation into the cause and circumstances of her death continues,” Ferguson Township police said in a Feb. 23 news release.

Ferguson police did not confirm Pena’s cause of death, but “visible track marks could be observed on the victim’s body,” according to the criminal complaint.

“This is a sign of intravenous drug use,” the complaint said.

Ferguson police noted Feb. 20 that people are immune from prosecution if they summon aid and remain until emergency responders arrive for someone believed to be experiencing a drug-related emergency.

Asked if there was any anti-LGBT animus evident in Pena’s death, Ferguson Police Chief Diane Conrad told PGN, “There isn’t any sign of that.”

According to authorities, Moir said he met Pena in the Philadelphia area. He said they spent two nights together in a hotel in Philadelphia before she asked him to take her with him to the State College area. Along the way, Moir said he took Pena to a store where she purchased underwear, sweatpants and T-shirts. They arrived in Patton Township Feb. 12.

The next day, Moir said he drove Pena to meet some friends. One of the friends told police a member of their group purchased heroine during the time they were together. Moir picked up Pena in the early afternoon and the two cooked a turkey dinner and watched television before he fell asleep on the couch, the complaint states.

About 11 p.m. Feb. 13, Moir said he woke up and discovered Pena dead on the bathroom floor. He said he found her with a purple face and lips, and she had fluid coming out of her nose. Moir said he found a needle and spoon on the bathroom vanity.

Moir said he covered Pena in a red sheet from his bedroom. He drove her around and deposited her along Plainfield Road because “he thought that the location was an open area where Pena would be discovered.” Pena was placed face down in the snow without shoes or a coat.

“Moir acknowledged that he should have called 911 rather than leaving Pena along the road,” the criminal complaint said. n

Travel Photography Scott A. Drake — 267-736-6743

Brief urges judge not to resentence Knott A local blogger and former candidate for sheriff is asking the judge in Kathryn Knott’s case not to reconsider her request for a new sentence.

Christopher Sawyer filed a motion for leave Feb. 20 which, if accepted, would allow the court to consider his amicus brief urging Common Pleas Court Judge Roxanne Covington not to resentence Knott.

Knott’s attorney, William Brennan, filed a motion for reconsideration Feb. 17, asking Covington to lighten Knott’s five-10-month prison sentence. Knott was convicted of simple assault, conspiracy and two counts of reckless endangerment in December in connection with the September 2014 attack on a gay couple in Center City.

Brennan urged Covington to consider sentence parity — noting that Knott’s co-defendants, Philip Williams and Kevin Harrigan, received non-incarceration sentences as part of a plea deal, which Knott rejected. He also proposed community service or alternate options like Knott’s participation in a public-service campaign against anti-LGBT violence.

In his amicus brief, Sawyer, who runs

political blog Philadelinquency, referenced the epidemic of anti-LGBT violence in the country, and noted that large cities like Philadelphia are traditionally thought of as havens for LGBT acceptance.

He wrote that Knott’s prison sentence communicates that the city won’t tolerate such violence, an idea he said that would be damaged if the sentence is revised.

“By removing Knott’s incarceration term from this sentence, this court would also reverse its own attitude towards simple and aggravated assault in the public sphere,” Sawyer wrote. “It would communicate clearly to all LGBT people, not just myself, that there is no justice to be found in Pennsylvania if you are assaulted and attacked merely because of the gender of whom you love or the gender with which you identify.”

Sawyer added to PGN that Knott’s testimony during trial illustrated that she doesn’t grasp the severity of the crime.

“She still doesn’t think she did anything wrong,” he said. “Now she’s sitting in Riverside [Correctional Facility] and is trying to get a get out of jail free card.” n — Jen Colletta

40 years ago in PGN Gay professor to be dismissed Adapted from reporting by PGN staff The University of Delaware announced in January 1976 that it would dismiss Richard Aumiller, an openly gay professor who served as the school’s theater director and faculty advisor to the gay campus group. The school notified him that his contract would not be renewed when it expired at the end of August.

Aumiller, 26, was hired in the fall of 1975. Soon after, he began advising the university’s 80-member Gay Community group.

Dr. Edward A. Trabant, president of the 19,000-student university, said Aumiller was being dismissed “because he placed himself in a position of encouraging, condoning and sanctioning homosexuality for the undergraduate.”

“When young students come to the university, they may be unacquainted with various modes of sexual behavior,” Trabant said. “If they become misled, thinking the university condones this, they are in error.”

Aumiller has also written several articles about “gay lifestyles” in the university newspaper and local press, said Dr. Daniel Wood, assistant to Trabant. He said that “gave the impression that the

university sanctions homosexuality.”

Aumiller told PGN he planned to fight his dismissal.

“I’ll fight this with every resource I can muster,” he said. “I have no intention of leaving Newark until this issue is resolved.”

A grievance that Aumiller filed with the university’s theater department was denied as “without grounds.” The American Association of University Professors voted unanimously to support Aumiller.

Gay lobby day set in Harrisburg Adapted from reporting by PGN staff The Gay Rural Caucus announced a gay-rights lobbying day to take place March 23, 1976, in Harrisburg. The action will pull together a working coalition of organizations.

Sam Deetz of Northumberland County chairs the rural caucus. He said the caucus was looking for members from all over the state to coordinate lobbying efforts.

Workshops were planned for the Saturday before what was called “Gay Lobby Day.” They were scheduled in the eastern and western parts of the state before activists were to meet in Harrisburg. n

— compiled by Paige Cooperstein

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN

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Weekly features

News&Opinion 2 — 40 Years Ago 10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Letters/Feedback

Mark My Words

Street Talk 12 — Crime Watch 14 — News Briefing

Delaware Valley University announced Feb. 18 that Dr. Maria Gallo, an out lesbian, will be its first female president.

AC

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21 22 24 25 27

C o l u m n s

— — — — —

Family Portrait Out & About Cartoons Scene in Philly Q Puzzle

12 — Mombian: Two books tell family stories 13 — On Being Well: Daily HIV awareness

RED-HOT RENDITION: Leia Azealia performed “Love Hangover” at Sweethearts and Red Hots Feb. 19 at William Way LGBT Community Center. The annual event featured performers from The Attic Youth Center’s Drag Company, with proceeds benefitting the LGBT youth organization. This year’s “Seven Deadly Sins”-themed show included 15 drag performers. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Also this week in PGN 7 — Laird seeks third trial in murder conviction 8 — GALAEI joins protests at Immigration Services 9 — Caitlyn Jenner comes to Philly 15 — Michael Williams to be honored by Mazzoni 19 — A&C feature: Ellen Page goes the distance 23 — Sutton Foster takes a musical interlude

Marco Rubio wins this week’s “Creep of the Week” award with his “one man, one woman” monotony.

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26 — Dining Out: In the Yard

Classifieds 29 — Real Estate 30 — Personals 31 — Bulletin Board

Next week

Spring Wedding Issue

“It’s important as a queer or trans person to know how to navigate the process: what to look for in a fertility doctor, an adoption agency. Hearing from others who have gone down that path and come out the other side gives you a sense of communication and connections.”

~ Stephanie Haynes, on assistance programs for same-gender couples adoptions, page 7 PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506 Phone: 215-625-8501 Fax: 215-925-6437 E-mail: pgn@epgn.com Web: www.epgn.com

Publisher Mark Segal (ext. 204) mark@epgn.com Executive Assistant/ Billing Manager Carol Giunta (ext. 202) carol@epgn.com

Editor

Jen Colletta (ext. 206) jen@epgn.com Staff Writers Paige Cooperstein (ext. 215) paige@epgn.com Larry Nichols (ext. 213) larry@epgn.com Writer-at-Large Timothy Cwiek (ext. 208) timothy@epgn.com

Advertising Manager Greg Dennis (ext. 201) greg@epgn.com

Advertising Sales Representative Prab Sandhu (ext. 212) prab@epgn.com Office Manager/ Classifieds Don Pignolet (ext. 200) don@epgn.com

A new exhibit at Haverford College showcases Carl Van Vechten’s photography, letters and books on AfricanAmericans.

Art Director/ Photographer

Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com 267-736-6743 Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com

National Advertising Rivendell Media: 212-242-6863 Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspapers of America Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 1976-2016 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155

Copyright © 1976 - 2016 Copyright(s) in all materials in these pages are either owned or licensed by Masco Communications Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliate companies (Philadelphia Gay News, PGN, and it’s WWW sites.) All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of our materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Masco Communications. To obtain such consent, email pgn@epgn.com

The views of PGN are expressed only in the unsigned “Editorial” col­umn. Opinions expressed in bylined columns, stories and letters to the editor are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of PGN. The appearance of names or pictorial representations in PGN does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that named or pictured person or persons.

LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

Ed Bomba remembered as passionate volunteer, advocate

By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Longtime community advocate Ed Bomba — who worked on LGBT, HIV/ AIDS, senior and disability causes — died suddenly Feb. 17 from complications of surgery. He was 61.

Bomba grew up in Havertown and most recently lived in Center City. He earned a bachelor’s in political science from University of Delaware and a master’s of business administration from Penn State.

Bomba retired in the mid-’90s, after having worked in the communications field for such companies as North American Phillips.

He used his communications and marketing expertise to benefit a number of local organizations.

Most recently, he was a founding member of the LGBT Elder Initiative, first serving on the working group that formed the organization and later as an inaugural board member and chair of its communications committee. Bomba was a primary force behind the organization’s Conversation series and conceived of the “Gettin’ On” column that runs monthly in PGN. He also conceived of and helped organize PGN’s annual Senior Supplement.

“He was brilliant, strategic and very committed, very passionate about the mission of the LGBT Elder Initiative,” said LGBTEI board chair Heshie Zinman. “He saw that there was discrimination and marginalization and was right there from the very beginning working to have our aging services address the unique needs LGBT older adults have as we age.”

Zinman met Bomba in the 1980s. At the time, Bomba was volunteering at the AIDS Library and with marketing efforts for the SafeGuards Project.

William Way LGBT Community Center executive director Chris Bartlett, former director of SafeGuards, said, among other efforts, Bomba helped the organization design the advertisements that it placed in PGN and other publications.

Bomba also sat on the board of Mazzoni Center and worked with AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.

“He wasn’t a volunteer in an official way but was always somebody we could count on for guidance and to bounce ideas off of and get his opinion, which was important to us,” said AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania executive director Ronda Goldfein.

Bomba was featured in a video the orga-

nization made a few years ago to promote its work.

“He was so unbelievably gracious in his time and allowing us to film him and tell his story,” Goldfein said.

“I think he had a real love for the communities of which he was a part, whether that was people living with HIV, gay men, people living with disabilities or seniors,” Bartlett added. “He had a natural ability to see what the needs were of an underserved population and then dedicate his time to meet those needs.”

When it came to pressing for rights for those communities, Goldfein said Bomba had a quiet confidence that was compelling.

“He was kind of singularly focused.

It was like, I’m going to be really pleasant, have this twinkle in my eye and I’ll get what I want. But I’ll be really nice about it,” she laughed.

“But he just was a nice guy, just a really nice guy.”

In addition to his LGBT and HIV/AIDS work, Bomba was also a staunch advocate for people with disabilities, and sat on the board of such agencies as Liberty Resources.

In the past few years, Bomba gradually began losing his vision and his hearing.

Zinman said that after being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS, Bomba developed cytomegalovirus, which damaged his retinas.

“He was able to regain his health and his vitality, he just didn’t have all of his sight.

I can’t speak to what it must be like to be challenged with vision, but there must be a difference being born blind or becoming blind. But he handled it with grace and dignity,” Zinman said.

Bomba embraced technological developments and last year started working with a seeing-eye dog, a white lab named Cooper.

“He was a success story,” Zinman said.

“He was able to continue to read, to write and when his vision got worse, he started doing voice technology on his computer.

It never caused him to shrink from doing anything. He went to the gym, he wrote ‘Gettin’ On,’ he developed strategies to deal with things. He was a warrior.”

Goldfein said Bomba was so positive and independent that she often forgot he had to face such obstacles.

“I’ve known Ed forever so I knew about the vision and Cooper, but there was something about reading about this in his obituary that it really dawned on me the tremendous amount of struggles PAGE 17

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LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

in trans homicide HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIRECTORY Trial postponed he could be confined to a mental hospital until his

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com

The trial of Charles N. Sargent, who’s accused of slashing to death trans woman Diamond Williams — then dismembering her body with an ax — has been postponed indefinitely.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin March 14.

But according to court records, Sargent has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he’s competent to stand trial.

As a result, the trial will be postponed indefinitely.

Sargent is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, possessing an instrument of a crime and related offenses.

Sargent was scheduled to act as his own attorney during his upcoming trial. But during a December court appearance, he appeared erratic and disoriented.

At the beginning of the proceeding, Sargent refused to be sworn in and testify under oath.

“I’m not going to argue with you,” Common Pleas Judge Lillian H. Ransom told Sargent.

“You’ll either be sworn in or you’ll be taken out of this courtroom.”

At that point, Sargent agreed to be sworn in.

During the proceeding, Sargent acknowledged being diagnosed with schizophrenia but said he wasn’t taking any medications for the condition.

If Sargent is deemed incompetent to stand trial,

competency is established.

In recent court filings, Sargent requested the dismissal of all charges against him on the basis that he’s been denied a speedy trial. He noted that a criminal complaint was filed against him in July 2013, more than two years ago.

His request remained pending with Ransom as of presstime.

Sargent allegedly told police he acted in self-defense, after Williams visited his Strawberry Mansion residence to perform oral sex for a pre-arranged payment of $40. Sargent said that once he for only when realized Williams had a penis, he refused to pay the a minimu money. When Williams allegedly pulled out a knife and demanded the money, Sargent killed her.

But Sargent’s court filings are sprinkled with dozens of Biblical quotations indicating a strong disapproval of the transgender community.

In one filing, Sargent said he’d like to speak with his alleged victim, though he misgenders Williams.

“I would like to speak man to man, to the man I did wrong to. I would like to speak to him, man to man, to ask his forgiveness. I was once irresponsible. I would like to use my word as my bond to be released. Give me one last chance to be a man and to show the world that I have changed. Going to jail will cost a man harm.”

As of presstime, Sargent, 46, remained confined to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia. n

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Delaware Valley University announced Feb. 18 that its first female president will take the reins in July.

Dr. Maria Gallo, the 13th president of the Bucks County institution, is also the first out lesbian to helm it.

“It’s a historic moment,” Gallo, who has a background in agricultural science, told PGN. “Being a woman in science, there were a lot of firsts for me.

I think it’s important because you’re a role model.

It allows others to see that it’s a possibility for them too.”

Gallo replaces Dr. Joseph S. Brosnan. He started in 2007 and will retire at the end of the academic year.

Susan B. Ward, M.D., a 1980 DelVal grad and chairwoman of the university’s board of trustees; and Elizabeth Gemmill, chairwoman of the presidential search committee, both said Gallo impressed them.

“During the search process, the committee and board were struck both by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received about Dr. Gallo and the extent to which her experience and qualities match what members of the university have said they desire in the university’s next president,” the women said in a statement.

They noted Gallo is a thoughtful listener and inspiring communicator with the ability to steward and mentor members of the university. They also called her “an approachable leader” and “a dynamic and genuine collaborator.”

Gallo plans to move into the president’s house on DelVal’s campus.

“It’s special to be on campus so you’re available to everyone,” she said, noting it will take her three minutes to walk to her office from the new home.

Gallo will live with her spouse, Beth Creary. The couple married in Hawaii in 2013, shortly after midnight on the day when the state’s new law allowing same-sex couples to marry took effect. The women also have a beagle named Remy. They adopted their dog after two females in a University of Florida research study accidentally became pregnant.

Gallo and Creary met through mutual friends in Gainesville, Fla., a decade ago. At the time, Gallo worked as an assistant professor in the agronomy department and plant molecular and cellular biology program, while Creary worked at the veterinary school at the University of Florida. Creary is now retired.

She’s an animal lover,” Gallo said. “She’s devoted to animal rescue and will look to get involved in those efforts” in Pennsylvania.

Gallo currently serves as dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. She has a Ph.D. in genetics and master’s in crop science from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s in agronomy from Cornell University.

Gallo said the core values of PAGE 15

LOCAL PGN

Two groups launch for prospective parents

By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com A group for women in the community looking to become parents was created last year, and it’s returning next month — along with a group geared toward men.

The Maybe Baby program is led by Therapy Center of Philadelphia and Hornstein, Platt and Associates, along with Philadelphia Family Pride, an organization for LGBT-headed families.

Starting March 14, a group for queer, lesbian or bi women and trans communities will meet at TCP, and queer, gay or bi cisgender or transgender men are invited to a similar group at Hornstein. Trans men are invited to attend either group.

The groups will meet every Monday through May 2, and will fuse information, discussion and support for individuals and couples who are at all stages of the family-building process.

PFP executive director Stephanie Haynes said the inaugural women’s group last year was a success.

“It was great. We had several couples participate each week and got great feedback about how they really enjoyed talking to each other, comparing stories about where they were in their journeys,” she said, noting that organizers intended to launch a men’s version from the beginning.

“It was always our intent to have two different classes,” Haynes added. “The reason for the two separate groups is that there are some big differences in the options men and women have for making a baby. The men’s group will focus more on adoptions, with information on surrogacy as well. And then the women’s group, a lot of the talk last year focused on pregnancy and inseminating at home and conversations that don’t have relevance for the gay-men crowd.”

The format for both groups will be similar: Four of the eight sessions will include a guest speaker who will share his or her expertise — such as legal, financial, fertility, adoption or medical — with time for questions.

Confirmed sponsors include Reproductive Medicine Associates of Philadelphia, whose Dr. Jaqueline Gutmann will lead one of the sessions.

Non-speaker classes will encourage discussion, story-sharing and relationship-building among the group members.

In a testimonial, one woman who participated last year said, “Though my partner and I are several years from having children, this group has been an invaluable way for us to learn about all of our options and seek support and guidance from other couples who are going through the same thing before we do it.”

“Anyone — LGBTQ or not — who is entering parenthood has so many questions, fears and anxieties,” Haynes added. “Getting together with other people who are in the same boat can be affirming and reassuring. It’s like, ‘We’re all going through this together.’”

Group members have included people just starting to consider becoming parents and others who are farther along in the process — which Haynes said allows for important information-sharing.

“It’s important as a queer or trans person to know how to navigate the process: what to look for in a fertility doctor, an adoption agency. Hearing from others who have gone down that path and come out the other side gives you a sense of communication and connections.”

Deidre Ashton and Julie Lipson will co-facilitate meetings for LBQ women and trans communities will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Mondays from March 14-May 2 at TCP, 1315 Walnut St. Chris Wilson will lead the meetings for GBTQ men at Hornstein, 255 S. 17th St., Suite 1010, at the same days and times.

The program is $320 a couple or $160 per individual for non-PFP members, or $240 a couple or $120 for PFP members. Register for PFP at www. phillyfamilypride.org.

For more information on the women’s group, call 215-567-1111. For information on the men’s group, call 267-507-1310. n

Milano killer renews plea for new trial

By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Richard R. Laird, convicted in the brutal slaying of gay artist Anthony Milano, wants a federal judge to pave the way for a third trial in his case.

In 1987, Laird and Frank R. Chester kidnapped Milano to a wooded area in Bucks County and hacked out his throat. Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. But federal judges overturned their first-degree murder convictions on the basis they received unfair trials.

Laird was retried and reconvicted of first-degree murder in 2007, and remains on death row. State courts denied his request for a third trial.

But last week, Laird asked U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois to pave the way for a third trial, claiming his 2007 retrial was unfair.

Laird’s filing contends he wasn’t capable of forming a specific intent to kill Milano, due to excessive alcohol consumption, brain damage and other mental disorders.

Laird’s 158-page filing focuses on physical and sexual abuse that he allegedly experienced by his

father.

“The father would beat [Laird] until he was too tired to keep beating him. If [Laird] cried during the attacks, the father became more abusive. He saw crying as proof that [Laird] was a ‘pussy,’ and he beat him more,” the filing states.

The elder Laird’s sexual abuse of his son was particularly damaging, the filing states.

“At first, the sexual abuse was in the form of oral rape — his father forced [Laird] to perform fellatio on him and would ejaculate in his son’s mouth.

Later [Laird] was subjected to anal rape as well.

This horrific abuse occurred regularly for over five years.”

The filing adds: “The father would go into [Laird’s] bedroom, remove his clothes and force [Laird] to perform oral sex on him. After the father ejaculated, he would punch [Laird] in the face and head, call [Laird] a ‘dirty son-of-a-bitch,’ and tell [Laird] that he made the father sick.”

The sexual abuse contributed to Laird’s homophobia, culminating in Milano’s murder, when Laird was 24, according to the filing.

PAGE 17 “[Laird’s] violent behavior

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

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LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

GALAEI joins call to release detained immigrants

ACTIVISTS PROTEST FEB. 22 OUTSIDE THE PHILADELPHIA IMMIGRATION AND HUMAN SERVICES BUILDING. Photo: Scott A. Drake

By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com

Spring

is coming!

Take

a bite out of it.

Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month

- and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.

After waiting about 20 minutes for the field director of the Philadelphia office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the people who gathered Feb. 22 at the Callowhill Street office to call for the release of detained immigrants taped a cease-and-desist letter to the front window.

The state Department of Human Services declined to renew the license of the Berks County Residential Center in Bern Township, which ICE leases from the county to hold undocumented immigrants.

The license expired Feb. 21.

Security officials at the ICE office in Philadelphia initially said Thomas Decker, the field director, would meet the group outside. Later, they said he would not come out and the group could mail its letter.

“Shame on you,” the group chanted, after giving up on, “Show your face, Decker.”

Juntos, a Latino human-rights organization in South Philadelphia, organized the group. Representatives from GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization also attended, including youth coordinator Fran Zavala Cortes and board vice president Miguel Andrade.

About 25 people gathered to deliver the letter that called for “the immediate release of all families … and that the center be shut down completely.” Many then boarded a bus to the Berks County Residential Center to support the families who they say should be released because of poor treatment, ranging from the refusal of proper medical care to children to inadequate investigation of an alleged rape by a guard.

Zavala Cortes said Juntos and GALAEI formed a partnership last year.

“We understand the intersections of different identities,” he said. “There are a lot of LGBT folks who seek refuge as immigrants.”

Zavala Cortes said GALAEI is not aware of any LGBT undocumented immigrants currently being housed at the Berks County Residential Center.

“We at GALAEI don’t know,” he said.

“But more than likely there are.”

“There have been shifts at Berks in the last few months with some people being let go,” Zavala Cortes said, adding it’s difficult to establish communication with the detainees because immigration advocates are often denied entrance to the center.

Jasmine Rivera, lead organizer at Juntos, said Berks County is appealing the state’s decision not to renew the license of the residential center. But, she added, the families in the center should not have to remain detained during the appeals process.

“As far as the state is concerned,” Rivera said, “our hope is their response is, ‘You’re right. The families should be released.’ ICE is just completely ignoring the law.”

Erika Almiron, executive director of Juntos, said the argument that Berks is not a secured facility, and therefore not in violation of its former license, is not valid.

She recalled seeing a line of cones set up between her group and several women who were detained at the center last summer.

“If it’s not a secured facility, why can’t they come out and why can’t we go in?”

Almiron asked.

Rivera said supporters of immigration rights are encouraged to contact the state Department of Human Services to thank the organization for declining to renew the license for the Berks County center and ask for it to be completely shut down. n

LOCAL PGN

Caitlyn Jenner gets it, says Philly trans activist

By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com

said her biggest regret was not being able to come out to her father, a World War II veteran who died in 2000.

Caitlyn Jenner had her eye on Deja Lynn “I’m getting verklempt just thinking Alvarez from her spot in an armchair on about it,” said Bob Schoenberg, director of the Penn LGBT Center, adding he didn’t stage at the University of Pennsylvania.

Afterward, the reality star and the woman have high expectations going into the talk. who runs Divine Light LGBTQ Wellness “You could hear a pin drop. She got Center in North Philadelphia spent about 45 very weepy. She hopes he’s watching from Heaven,” he said. “She carried the night. minutes talking to each other.

“Right from the jump, she reached out She was articulate. Honestly, I just didn’t her arms,” Alvarez said. “She said, ‘I saw think she had a lot of guile.” you from the stage. I kept looking at you.’ Alvarez found Jenner personable and She wasn’t acting like a big-deal celebrity. funny.

She was interested in talking to another “She accepts all aspects of herself,” she said. “That’s amazing. She has no probtrans sister.”

Alvarez said she had hoped she wouldn’t lem acknowledging Bruce and the accombe disappointed by Jenner’s Feb. 17 visit to plishments he had and the turmoil he went through.”

Philadelphia — and she wasn’t.

“Caitlyn Jenner gets it,” she said. “She Talking about her forthcoming book, recognizes she’s new to this. She’s just Alvarez remembered Jenner joking, “Buzz looking for the chance to learn and to be asked me one question and I gave him 1,000 pages of transcript.” accepted by her own community.”

Jenner spent an hour and a half in Irvine Schept said she did feel disappointed that Jenner focused so much on the gender binary. Jenner told the audience, “I’m thoroughly on the girls’ team now, make no mistake.

Go girls.”

“A lot of transgender people don’t identify on the binary,” Schept said.

Dawn Munro, a Philadelphia transgender activist who does not consider herself a fan of Jenner, thought the evening was too rehearsed. She wanted to hear more questions about Jenner’s former spouses.

“Every trans woman I’ve ever DEJA LYNN ALVAREZ (RIGHT), DIRECTOR OF known who has been married DIVINE LIGHT LGBTQ WELLNESS CENTER, MET before, they’ve had stand-up fights CAITLYN JENNER AT A RECEPTION FOLLOW- with their spouses about this,” ING THE REALITY STAR’S FEB. 17 TALK AT Munro said. “There was nothing UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. about her intimate life. I suppose that was deliberate.”

Auditorium on Penn’s campus with Buzz Jenner also did not address the controBissinger, the former Philadelphia Inquirer versy spurred by the Mummers brigade that journalist who will help Jenner pen her mocked her transition in the New Year’s memoir and announced her coming out in Day parade.

Munro said she sees value in Jenner as a last year’s Vanity Fair article.

Jenner was married for more than 20 years high-profile person who came out as transto Kris Jenner and appeared on the reality gender. But the visibility can backfire, she show “Keeping up with the Kardashians” said, if people see Jenner having an easy on E! before starring in her own show, “I transition and think it’s easy for all transgender people.

Am Cait,” on the same network.

Several people from the local LGBT com- Munro said Jenner considers her tranmunity attended last week’s event. Most sition difficult because it was public, but walked away with positive impressions, countered that all transitions are public. despite the fact that Jenner is “a divisive “She couldn’t go anywhere without being figure in many ways,” said Rebecca Schept, followed by the paparazzi,” Munro said. associate director of the Penn LGBT Center. “I’d take being hounded by the paparazzi She noted Jenner’s wealth and conservative any day than by the three guys who beat me Republican politics, which often don’t gel and put me in hospital.

“Everyone’s entitled to tell their own with other transgender people.

Jenner talked about her decision to tran- story,” she said. “But my feeling is we sition at 65 and how it affected her relation- didn’t get the whole story. It was a very ships with her 10 children and mother. She sanitized version.” n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

A Support and Information Group for LGBT Prospective Parents Are you?

• queer or transgender and considering parenthood?

• an LGBT couple or single person thinking about starting a family?

• exploring paths toward pregnancy or adoption?

• seeking support around readiness to have a child?

• interested in learning about legal, financial, and medical options?

This 8-week support group provides emotional and community support along with information from legal, financial, and medical experts during your journey toward parenthood. Guest speakers include Dr. Jacqueline Gutmann from RMA Philadelphia fertility center.

Men's Class

(for cis and trans men) Facilitated by Chris Wilson, MFT, MEd, LMFT, CHES at the Rittenhouse Square office of Hornstein, Platt and Associates at 255 S. 17th Street, Suite 1010.

To Register call 267-507-1310.

Women and Trans/GNC Group (for lesbian and bi women and transgender communities)

Co-facilitated by Deidre Ashton, LCSW and Julie Lipson, MA, MT-BC at Therapy Center of Philadelphia 1315 Walnut Street, Suite 1004.

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Mondays, 6:00-7:30 pm • March 14 - May 2, 2016 $240 couple/$120 individual for Philadelphia Family Pride members (Propsective parents can join PFP for $25)

$320 couple/$160 individuals for non-PFP members

9

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

EDITORIAL PGN

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

Marco Rubio

Editorial

Changing the dialogue It seems that every few months, we have the grave task of reporting that another transgender woman of color has been slain on Philly’s streets. The details are different, but far too many times, the facts remain the same: A young trans woman is violently cut down and often the person who brutalized her walks away.

In the last few years, Maya Young, Kiesha Jenkins, Londyn Chanel, Diamond Williams, Stacey Blahnik, Kyra Cordova, Nizah Morris and countless other women across the city and country have met the same violent fate. However, in the last few years, locally we have begun to see a shift in public discourse on the context of these crimes.

This week, when word about Young’s murder began spreading, only one news outlet that we noticed misgendered the victim. Law enforcement’s reports properly noted the victim’s gender and chosen name. Several news outlets took note of the ongoing epidemic of anti-trans violence, locally and nationally, with reporters interviewing local trans advocates and allies about the disproportionate levels of violence the community faces.

A few years ago, it was common, and almost expected, to see misgendering, the use of legal names and other offensive descriptors when a transgender person was in the news. That media and law enforcement have seemingly seen the error in those practices is a testament to the collaborative work among city officials and community leaders. And that mainstream audiences are becoming increasingly attuned to the plague of anti-trans violence speaks volumes to just how serious of an epidemic this is.

It’s effective to evaluate the city and community response after a member of our community is lost. But that that response level is tested so frequently speaks to the amount of work that remains. n

We want to know!

If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.

On Feb. 8, Marco Rubio was asked a very important question by New Hampshire resident Timothy Kierstead, a man who said he’d been married for a “long time.”

“Why do you want to put me back in the closet?” Kierstead asked, according to the Washington Post.

“I don’t. You can live any way you want,” Rubio responded. “I just believe marriage is between one man and one woman.”

Kierstead wasn’t placated by that answer and after some words about marriage equality, the Post reported that the tense exchange ended with Rubio disengaging and walking away.

Poor Rubio. He’s so misunderstood.

People think he’s a moderate (aka “the least scary” among the GOP’s presidential contenders), but he’s really as far right as Ted Cruz. And yet Cruz seems to get all the credit — and the criticism — for his radical positions.

I think in part it’s because Rubio is a pretty handsome guy compared to smugmug Cruz. So everything that comes out of Cruz’s mouth sounds insane, but when Rubio says it, people are all, “Oh my, are those dimples I see?”

Just like Cruz, Rubio is anti-abortion with no exceptions for rape. Just like Cruz, Rubio supports so-called “religious-freedom” laws, which are by and large aimed at protecting those who discriminate against LGBT people.

In fact, Eric Teetsel, Rubio campaign’s director of faith outreach, told the Christian Post that there “are few, if any, substantive policy differences” between Cruz and Rubio when it comes to what feeds to the right-wing base.

Teetsel continued, “The National Organization for Marriage calls Marco ‘a champion of marriage’ and the Family Research Council’s political arm recently gave him a 100-percent score.”

Which leads, of course, to Kierstead’s question and Rubio’s bullshit answer, one that any LGBT person or ally would be wise to look at more closely.

When Rubio says, “You can live any way you want,” he’s being disingenuous at best. Because for many same-sex couples, the way they want to live is married, and they’ve fought for that right, and all the legal protections that come with it, for decades. Rubio would like to see all of that

undone. And he’s not shy about it.

When speaking about marriage equality on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Dec. 13, Rubio said, “It is the current law. I don’t believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed.”

In other words, if Rubio gets elected president, he will be sure to try to stack the Supreme Court with right-wing justices who would overturn Obergefell v.

Hodges, not to mention Roe v. Wade.

But make no mistake, Rubio says: “It’s not about discrimination. It is about the definition of a very specific, traditional and ageold institution.” I call bullshit on that, too.

Because the only reason Rubio wants to lock down that narrow definition is so gays can’t get married. Hence, that’s discrimination.

He also argues that equality advocates who won the right to marry didn’t do it right.

“If you want to change it, you have a right to petition your state legislature and your elected representatives to do it,” he said. “What is wrong is that the Supreme Court has found this hidden constitutional right that 200 years of jurisprudence had not discovered.”

Earth to Rubio: America has changed a lot in the past 200 years. If you haven’t noticed that, then you would be a very dangerous man to lead this country.

To people who support equality: Come November, you’d better show up. n

“I don’t believe any case law is settled law.

Any future Supreme Court can change it.

And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed.”

D’Anne Witkowski has been gay for pay since 2003. She’s a freelance writer and poet (believe it!). When she’s not taking on the creeps of the world, she reviews rock and roll shows in Detroit with her twin sister and teaches writing at the University of Michigan.

OP-ED PGN

Predicting the presidential lineup As stated in this column months ago, that Trump doesn’t get the required numbefore Dumpty Trump made his infaber of delegates before the convention and mous and racist remark about Muslims, thereby have a brokered convention where we should not look at him as a joke. Well, the party elite will decide who walks away most did and now we’re at a point where with the prize. That would be a bloody he has the best shot at the Republican nom- battle, and one that will leave the party ination for president. morale in a bad place before the Let me repeat myself: He November election. And for all should be taken seriously as a their talk, Republicans are willcandidate. But first you must ing to send others to fight their understand what that means. battles, but never themselves.

He’s the type of candidate that The establishment side of all campaigns want: the one the Republican Party is now where the candidate burns in attempting a last ditch effort: a the belly and will do or say Trump-Rubio or Trump-Kasich anything to get that prize. To ticket, which would freeze out make it worse, he also underCruz, who is universally disstands media, and realizes what liked.

Over on the Democratic side, it takes to be in its limelight as Bernie’s campaign was stunned much as possible. Hence, his

by Hillary’s win in Nevada, modus operandi: Say something outrageous, let the media go and he’ll be hit again later this crazy and then, as the roar dies Mark Segal week when, as expected, he down, say something more outloses South Carolina. Then from rageous.

March 1-8, 19 states and territories will With Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio fighting have primaries, with Clinton expected to for second or third place, it leaves the high- win most. At that point it is almost matheway completely open for Trump. Those matically impossible for Sanders to catch candidates are just not up to his game. up. He will, though, have enough delegates Trump is in the mud, and they simply do to be able to make some of his agenda not wish to enter the pit. That makes him clear on the party platform, and that is a look strong (that’s not exactly the case; victory of sorts.

So, it seems that this is your fall lineup, he’s just not as weak as his competitors).

This makes for a great situation at the but again this has been a very strange politRepublican convention in Cleveland in ical year and predicting anything is probJuly. lematic. And as I said months ago in this The assumption is a Trump nomination very column, this worries me. n would cause Republicans to lose their Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s majority in the Senate. The party establishment is not overwhelmed with Cruz, so most-award-winning commentator in LGBT that leaves them with Rubio. But you can’t media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter get a nomination with second- and thirdat https://twitter.com/PhilaGayNews. place primary losses. Their only hope is

Mark My Words

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

11

Street Talk Should the Oscars be boycotted?

"Yes, why not? I think African Americans have been overlooked for far too long at the Oscars.

They've Jake Brams given some student of the best South Philadelphia performances but their talent hasn't been recognized. I'm not going to watch the Oscars this year."

"Yes. It's a problem.

They're not acknowledging AfricanAmerican accomplishments. The powers that be are too Steven Layman narrowmusician minded, South Philadelphia myopic and elitist for my tastes. I'd encourage people to watch just about anything else on TV."

"No, I don't take the Oscars that seriously. It doesn't merit the energy of a boycott.

People who get an Oscar tend to be Patrice Singleton cursed. It's dietary clerk all downhill South Philadelphia from there.

I like the Grammys, not the Oscars."

"No. I do think they need more AfricanAmerican representation among the nominees and awardwinners, but Tasha McNeil the problem cook doesn't rise Brewerytown to the level of calling for a boycott. It's not that deep. They just need more diversity."

should spare him another thought.

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed when news of Scalia’s death broke.

Minutes after his passing was confirmed, there came the finger-wagging. Tweets written by exclusively straight, white and cisgender men reminding people that “regardless of their politics” it is “distasteful” to speak ill of the dead. These same people insisted to their followers that Antonin Scalia had a “brilliant legal mind” and a “great wit.”

That’s easy for you guys to say. In the nearly 30 years that Scalia spent on the Supreme Court, his rulings never denied you anything: your rights, your dignity or your personal freedom. Antonin Scalia worked his whole career to drag social progression back to 1776. He was very proud of his “originalist” philosophy, meaning he believed the Constitution should remain exactly as it was written, instead of a living document that must grow and evolve to reflect the needs of the American people.

He compared homosexuality to all manner of colorful things, including: flagpole sitting, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, eating snails, incest and recreational heroin use. Infamously, Scalia once told a gay law student that he believed marriage rights shouldn’t be opened to same-sex couples because of the moral stance against it.

He compared marriage laws to the laws against murder, saying that murder is illegal because of moral feeling. He was quoted as saying to the gay student: “I’m surprised you’re not convinced.”

I have trouble understanding how the willful taking of a human life could ever compare to the right to marry, but it was a metaphor Scalia trotted out more than once in his career.

Scalia openly hated LGBT people, women and people of color. He believed gay sex should be punishable by law because some people (him, for example) found homosexuality morally objectionable. While he morally PAGE 16

Letters and Feedback Editor: In February 2015, I had the unique opportunity to meet and talk with the late Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a man whose death earlier this month will have a drastic impact on the future of our country. What struck me then and continues to guide my views of him to this day was the utter brilliance with which he was able to support an argument and his views, even when my own personal opinions as a gay law student could not have been more opposite.

As I browsed social media in the hours following the news of his passing, I was surprised by the posts from friends that ranged from “good riddance” to “ding dong the witch is dead.” The sheer outrage I was confronted with when I exclaimed that Justice Scalia’s death was a devastating loss for the legal profession and the country again revealed an unfortunate side of our community’s continuous fight for

equal rights. The vilification of those with views contrary to ours weakens our positions, ultimately creating an “us vs. them” mentality that is responsible for much of our country’s inability to work together to solve the problems facing us.

Societal progress will not be achieved by undervaluing ideological divides, but by respecting all opinions that so closely reflect the diverse opinions throughout our country. Let us not be so quick to stoop to levels of disrespect that we ourselves would condemn.

— Joseph Peltzer Philadelphia Editor: I won’t mourn the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and I don’t think anyone in the gay community should feel obligated to have any sympathy for him. I don’t think any American with a working heart

12

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN

Gayborhood Crime Watch

Two books tell the stories of LGBTQ families

The following incidents in the Midtown Village and Washington Square West areas were reported to the Sixth Police District between Feb. 8-14.

Information is courtesy of Sixth District Capt. Brian Korn; Stacy Irving, senior director, Crime Prevention Service; Center City District; the Police Liaison Committee and Midtown Village Merchants Association. To report crime tips, visit www.phillypolice.com or call 215-686-TIPS.

Stories have power. Two new collections of context — but also cannot be understood apart stories about the creation of LGBTQ families from the personal, intense, creative drive that reinforce that point with two very different motivated them to become parents in the first approaches. place. His deft blending of the two makes his “Modern Families: Stories of Extraordinary book a must-read for anyone interested in famJourneys to Kinship,” by Joshua Gamson ilies today.

(NYU Press: 2015), is a collection of creation This brings us to “Journey to Same-Sex tales about Gamson’s own family and sevParenthood: Firsthand Advice, Tips and Stories eral other LGBTQ families he knows, woven from Lesbian and Gay Couples,” by Eric together by insights on the meaning of famiRosswood (New Horizon Press: 2016), which lies today and the intersecting and lies more towards the “repro lit” end sometimes conflicting social, legal of the spectrum. It features stories and economic contexts in which we of 19 couples (and co-parenting create them. units of more than two) telling us in Gamson, a professor of socioltheir own words about the obstacles ogy at the University of San and triumphs of forming their famFrancisco, was motivated to write, ilies. A list of legal tips and queshe says, by people inquiring about tions to ask in choosing a parenting his own family. Gamson, white path add to its practical, how-to feel. and Jewish, and his biracial (black We meet parents from around the and white) husband Richard had United States, as well as the United one child with a friend of Gamson Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. as their surrogate, and eggs from Their conversational and candid another friend. For their second are grouped by type of famDana Rudolph essays child, they used a surrogate from ily formation: open adoption, foster an agency and eggs donated by a parenting and adopting from fosfriend. While he sometimes bristled at quester care, surrogacy and assisted reproduction. tions about his family, he realized that “people Rosswood explains that he wanted to include really just wanted to know about origins: how all these approaches in one volume to help otha life and a family started when not everything ers who are starting their parenting journeys was easy and scripted.” but are unsure which way to go. After read He was surrounded by such stories. In his ing through these stories, prospective parents immediate social circle were a single mother should indeed have a better sense of what’s by choice who adopted a child from Ethiopia; involved with each method and be better prea lesbian couple who used one woman’s eggs pared to make their own decisions. while the other carried the fetus, fertilized For each section, Rosswood provides a brief from donor sperm; another lesbian couple overview of what each path to parenthood co-parenting two adopted children (from Nepal involves. The section on “Open Adoption,” and India) with a gay male couple; and a couhowever, is misleading. His introduction there ple consisting of a woman and a transgender implies that all open adoptions begin with the man, who started a family through private birth of the child. All of the stories in that secadoption. tion do involve parents who adopted newborns, He shares their tales with an engaging, genbut the fact is open adoptions — which allow tly humorous, and at times poetic style. At the some form of association among the adopsame time, he also teases out the connections tive parent(s), birth parent(s) and child — can between individual family stories and the occur with children adopted at any age, as well social systems in which they are immersed. as with those adopted from foster care (whom “There is no separation between the ways Rosswood puts in a different section). The we make our families and the various social section would have been better titled “Infant hierarchies in which we all find ourselves,” he Adoption.” says. His goal is not a systematic study, but Nevertheless, many same-sex couples conrather an exploration of how these hierarchies sidering parenthood will find the first-person — of gender, ethnicity, race and class — may stories in this book immediately useful, both affect our family-making and are illuminated for their practical tips and for the comforting by it in turn. Often-expensive assisted reprosense they convey that others have been there duction, for example, “facilitates the creation before. of some queer families even as it reinforces Those seeking insight on how we LGBTQ the distance between haves and have-nots.” families fit into larger social systems, however, This is not an “academic” book, however, but who want something more personable than despite Gamson’s credentials. (It should not an academic study, should turn to Gamson, be confused with “Modern Families: Parents who gives us thoughtful proof that the personal and Children in New Family Forms,” by is indeed political. “Hyperintentional, invenSusan Golombok, also published last year and tive and obstinate, the families wrote their own a worthwhile overview of current academic scripts,” he says. research.) Gamson places his book between The stories in both books help us to better what he calls “repro lit” — personal, honest understand — and to be part of — that creative accounts of starting families — and “repro process. n crit” — often critical academic analyses of Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian the institutional structures of family creation. (mombian.com), a GLAAD Media Award-winning blog The stories of the parents in his book, he says, and resource directory for LGBTQ parents. cannot be understood outside their structural

INCIDENTS — At 3:50 a.m. Feb. 9, a man was walking in the 1300 block of Locust Street when five men, one with a knife, exited a black SUV and assaulted him. The victim sustained a cut on his face. The suspects were only described as black and in their 20s.

— At 10:15 p.m. Feb. 11, a man was walking in the 200 block of S. Juniper Street when a panhandler attacked him after he refused to give him money. The suspect was only described as a Hispanic male, 5-foot8, 175 pounds.

— There was one theft of a bicycle reported Feb. 8-14: outside 120 S. 13th St. NON-SUMMARY ARRESTS — At 9:35 p.m. Feb. 9, a man stole a patron’s wallet inside Jamonera

Restaurant, 105 S. 13th St. As the culprit fled, the victim notified a police bike-patrol officer, and Sixth District Officers Chim and Wimsey apprehended the suspect at 12th and Ludlow streets. The wallet was recovered, and the 37-year-old suspect was charged with theft.

—At 9:15 p.m. Feb. 10, two men held up a man at knifepoint who was waiting for a bus at 11th and Walnut streets. The thieves took the victim’s wallet. Responding SEPTA and Center City District officers apprehended the suspects in the 300 block of South Quince Street, and recovered the knife. The 34-year-old suspect with a Kensington address and the 39-year-old suspect with a Logan address were charged with robbery and related offenses.

— On Feb. 16, Center City District officers arrested a suspect in the 1300 block of Walnut Street, shortly after he committed a bank robbery in the 1100 block of Chestnut St. The 34-year-old suspect with a halfway-house address will be processed and charged by the FBI for multiple counts of bank robbery.

— At 6:05 p.m. Feb. 13, a man who was detained for shoplifting inside Century 21, 821 Market St., was found to be in possession of a loaded handgun. The 31-year-old suspect with a South Philadelphia address was charged with theft and weapons violations. n

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13

Bringing HIV awareness to every day Every February, the prevention team the Philadelphia Department of Public at Mazzoni Center observes National Health reports that of 25 percent of new Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day with HIV infections are occurring within those educational programming, outreach activ- under 25. For young people of color, that ities and HIV testing at events and in number is even higher, and compounded neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. by the fact that many of those who are February 7 has passed but, for positive may not follow up to people living with HIV, every receive care. The stigma and day brings awareness to the fear around HIV can somevirus and the stigma that still times cause people to deny exist. their test results and wait until Another day we celebrated they are sick enough to take in February is Valentine’s Day. action.

For those who are single it can This is why linkage-to-care be a day to dread. This holprograms like the one offered iday can even be harder for at Mazzoni Center are part those living with HIV, as love, of the government’s National romance and relationships may HIV/AIDS Strategy. The proinitially take a backseat to their gram is designed to support health and well-being. We hear clients through every step of of people being linked to medthe process: from receiving ication and care programs but an HIV-positive diagnosis to Sean Laughlin understanding the implications often don’t hear stories about the work it takes to get back to of the virus and accessing the just living life. I recently chatted with a many resources that are available to them. young couple to explore how they develChris found Mazzoni Center’s Linkage oped a relationship and how together they to Care program to be supportive every fight to overcome HIV stigma. step of the way. He was linked to a clinic close to his home that already has had an Chris was sitting with the counselor in a private office at Mazzoni Center when impact on his life. he was told the news that his confirma “The clinic that I go to is very supporttion test for HIV was positive. ive of me and helps me think more positively of my situation,” he says.

“I didn’t even cry when they told me.

My first thought was, I will never have Within months of getting care, Chris a boyfriend and that I would die alone,” was ready to get back into the dating Chris said. For many young people who scene. are newly diagnosed, the life they envi “I made a mistake, but I wasn’t going sioned and planned may feel over. This to let it stop me from living my life,” he couldn’t be further from the case. The said. quicker a person gets into care to man Today, social-dating apps and websites age their health, the sooner they will take have made it easier for those who are control back from the virus.

LGBT, HIV-positive and HIV-negative Stigma and lack of access to health to interact with one another. However, care have an impact on the virus and how stigma can create barriers to finding love. people fight it. Over the last few years, When Chris began to date, he made the

not-so-easy decision to disclose his status.

“I needed to be upfront at the start,” he said, noting that he quickly learned that not everyone was comfortable with his status. “They usually stop talking to me after I tell them. One person at least had the guts to tell me straight up, ‘I don’t want to catch anything,’ which was better than silence for me.”

Still, he wasn’t discouraged from dating. Along the process he met Mike, the guy he would eventually call his boyfriend.

“We were texting and when he first disclosed to me I didn’t understand because of how he texted it, but once I understood it, I was totally OK with it,” Mike said.

He added, “After we had that conversation, I educated myself on HIV and then every day after I asked him a bunch of questions about it all.”

Communication is essential in any relationship, as it provides an opportunity for us to be clear about who we are and what our boundaries are. In Chris’ and Mike’s relationship, communication provided the opportunity to dispel misinformation.

Their relationship started slowly: “We had sleepovers and would go out on dates but we didn’t have deeper intimacy until later on, and even that was a process,” Mike said.

When it came time to talk about sex, it took some pushing from Mike. “It was something I wanted to do,” he explained, “but Chris was hesitant because he was still worried about my health. He was concerned something may go wrong, like a condom breaking, which is why I told Chris that I knew what I was getting myself into and that I wanted to go to the doctor for more information.”

At the doctor’s office, they learned about PrEP, which stands for Pre-

Exposure Prophylaxis. PrEP has been proven highly effective at preventing HIV transmission when taken as directed.

PrEP is a pill taken every day with regular medical follow-ups at your health-care provider.

Mike finds the daily ritual to be a bonding experience.

“I’ve been taking it every morning with my boyfriend at the same time he is taking his medication. It’s been a way for us to know that we are in this together.”

PrEP is available through many healthcare providers, including Mazzoni’s health center at 809 Locust St. Some insurance plans cover PrEP and those without coverage may qualify for assistance.

A healthy relationship involves trust, patience and the understanding that life is a journey you take together. Chris shares this sentiment and thought about his relationship: “Mike gives me hope that I didn’t have after I learned that I have HIV; things feel the way it did before I tested positive.”

Mike also has a new outlook on HIV: “Many people look at people with HIV as diseased or defective, but they rarely know people who are living with it,” he said. “When I look at my boyfriend, I see a person who I want to be with for the rest of my life.”

To learn more about PrEP, HIVprevention programs, peer-support programs for young men of color and other programs and services for LGBT individuals and people living with HIV/AIDS, visit www.mazzonicenter.org. n

The lawsuit also seeks punitive and com- with gender-dysphoria. pensatory damages, along with reasonable “If we get a declaration that the state attorney’s fees.

Medicaid program’s ban on treatments Julie Chovanes, an attorney, trans woman for GD is discriminatory, my client wins, and executive director of Trans Help, filed the ban is eliminated, and it paves the the lawsuit on behalf of Doe. way for all other Medicaid-eligible trans “I’m humbled and gratified to attempt Pennsylvanians diagnosed with GD to to vindicate my receive mediclient’s rights, cally necessary and in the pro- “I’m optimistic the state will treatments,” she cess, give hope realize the error of its ways and said. to thousands of The case has other Medicaid- do what’s right. But if it doesn’t, been assigned eligible trans we are prepared to vigorously to U.S. District Pennsylvanians Judge J. Curtis who are disen- pursue this matter in court.”

Joyner. franchised from A spokesperthe system,” Chovanes said. “I’m optimis- son for DHS declined to comment for this tic the state will realize the error of its ways story, referring the matter to Gov. Wolf’s and do what’s right. But if it doesn’t, we office. are prepared to vigorously pursue this mat- Wolf spokesperson Jeffrey Sheridan ter in court.” issued the following statement: She said the lawsuit has the potential of “The Pa. Code precludes coverage benefiting numerous trans Pennsylvanians through Medicaid for gender confirma-

tion medical care and surgical procedures.

Governor Wolf believes this is wrong.

Pennsylvania should not discriminate against any individual based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. The governor hopes to have a robust conversation with the legislature, community and all other parties regarding this issue to move the Commonwealth forward.”

Dr. David M. Jaspan, chair of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, voiced support for the lawsuit.

“We know the health-care industry is actively in the process of reviewing care practices specifically for transgender individuals and we hope that this recent development will further encourage those discussions,” Jaspan said in an email.

“In the meantime, at Einstein Healthcare Network, we stand ready to provide quality, compassionate care to all those in need, as we always have.” n

On Being Well

MEDICAID from page 1

services.”

The plaintiff claims the gender-dysphoria exclusion violates the equal-protection and supremacy clauses of the Constitution, the Medicaid Act and the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit also notes that Pennsylvania state-government employees are provided health-care coverage that includes treatments for gender dysphoria.

“The Commonwealth’s actions banning such coverage to Medicaid eligible individuals diagnosed with GD — while at the same time the Commonwealth furnishes health-insurance coverage to Commonwealth employees with GD — discriminates against [Doe], without any rational basis for such conduct,” the lawsuit alleges.

Doe seeks a judicial order for the state to lift the gender-dysphoria exclusion in its Medicaid program, and for him to be provided Medicaid coverage for all health-care services necessary to treat his GD.

Sean Laughlin is a youth-education specialist on Mazzoni Center’s education and prevention team, where he helps young people learn social skills and tools to negotiate risky situations and advocate for their health.

14

LOCAL PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

THE PHILADELPHIA GAY MEN’S CHORUS JOSEPH J. BUCHES, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Attorneys for Francis McGlinn recently subpoenaed the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for investigative materials relating to its prosecution of Kathryn Knott.

The subpoena seeks “any and all documents which refer or relate in any way to the investigation and/or prosecution of Kathryn Knott including, but not limited to, any and all interview notes or other documents which make reference to Francis McGlinn.”

McGlinn, who reportedly was present during a Center City assault of two gay men in 2014, is suing Archbishop Charles J. Chaput and Archdiocese spokesperson Kenneth A. Garvin for allegedly slandering him.

Shortly after the assault, McGlinn lost his position as an assistant basketball coach at Archbishop Wood High School.

But McGlinn hasn’t been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

McGlinn’s lawsuit detailing his allegations hadn’t been filed as of presstime.

This month, Knott was sentenced to five to 10 months in jail after being convicted of four misdemeanors stemming from the assault. She remains incarcerated while an appeal of her sentence is pending.

In October, Philip R. Williams and Kevin J. Harrigan received probation for their roles in the assault. Williams pleaded guilty to a felony, and Harrigan pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors.

Cameron Kline, a spokesperson for the D.A.’s Office, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Defendant in sex case undergoes surgery Charles L. Cohen, a Center City musician charged with multiple sex offenses, recently underwent knee surgery. As a result, a pre-trial conference set for Feb. 8 has been postponed until next month.

Cohen was arrested Sept. 28 after traveling to a shopping complex in Upper Providence Township, where he allegedly intended to meet a 14-year-old boy for oral sex. Upon his arrival, Cohen was arrested by law-enforcement authorities engaged in a sting operation.

Cohen, 70, is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, criminal attempt of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and criminal use of a com-

munication facility.

Attorneys for Cohen say he’s the victim of entrapment, and they’ve expressed concern that police and prosecutors are motivated by homophobia.

Cohen posted $100,000 cash bail on Oct. 28, and he’s been free since then.

A pre-trial conference is set for 9 a.m.

March 7 before Common Pleas Judge Gail A. Weilheimer in Courtroom 3 of the Montgomery County Court House in Norristown.

Deadline extended in antibias case Alfred W. Zaher, an openly gay attorney who allegedly left the Blank Rome law firm due to a hostile work environment, has agreed to a deadline extension in the dispute.

Zaher recently filed suit against Blank Rome, seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

Blank Rome was supposed to answer Zaher’s complaint by Feb. 23. But both sides agreed to extend the deadline until March 14, according to court records.

Zaher claims anti-LGBT bias at the firm became intolerable after he organized an LGBT-equality event in early 2014.

He also claims coworkers attempted to “steal” three of his clients.

In a prior statement, Blank Rome officials described Zaher’s allegations as “baseless,” and vowed to mount a vigorous defense.

Zaher, who specializes in intellectual-property rights, currently works at the Center City law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll.

— Timothy Cwiek

‘The Queen’ screened as qFLIX fundraiser qFLIX kicks off its fundraising campaign for this summer’s LGBTQ film festival with a screening of “The Queen,” a documentary chronicling the Miss AllAmerica Camp Beauty Pageant of 1967.

It takes place 2-5 p.m. Feb. 28 at Tavern on Camac, 243 S. Camac St. A $10 donation is suggested, but $5 will be accepted for those who arrive in drag and are deemed “extremely fabulous” by Brittany Lynn, performed by Ian Morrison.

The drag queen pageant in “The Queen” features its winner Rachel Harlow, a Philadelphia native who transitioned after the contest. Pop artist Andy Warhol appears as one of the judges. Frank Simon directed the documentary.

The door prize at the event includes a pair of VIP all-access passes to qFLIX Philadelphia 2016, slated for July 5-10.

For more information, visit www.qflixphilly.com. n — Paige Cooperstein

LOCAL PGN

Mazzoni honors local lawyer, Lambda Legal director

By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com Michael Williams served on former Philadelphia Mayor John Street’s LGBT Advisory Board in 2002 when he began drafting recommended legislation to protect people from discrimination based on gender identity. He’d earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

“When people were looking at LGBT issues, it was really the ‘G,’ for gay men, for a long time,” said Williams, who will receive a Justice in Action Award from the Mazzoni Center Feb. 26. “There’s still a lot of work to do for women and transgender people.”

After Philadelphia added protections for gender identity, groups in New Hope got in touch with OutFront!, an LGBT-advocacy organization that Williams helmed as president. The Bucks County borough enacted language in 2002 that included gender identity in its nondiscrimination ordinance.

Kevin Cathcart, executive director of Lambda Legal, will also be honored at the seventh-annual Justice in Action luncheon.

The event takes place from noon-1:30 p.m.

Feb. 26 at Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market St. It costs $75 for general admission, $60 for public-interest lawyers and $50 for law students. The money benefits Mazzoni’s legal assistance to low-income LGBT individuals.

“There’s a persistent myth of LGBT affluence,” said Thomas Ude Jr., legal and public policy director at Mazzoni. “Hundreds of people each year really would have difficulty accessing legal supports in order to realize some of the rights that have been gained through hard fights over the years.”

Preceding the lunch, lawyers are invited to attend a Continuing Legal Education session from 9:30-11:30 a.m. It covers developments in transgender rights and explores how they

fit with poverty and discrimination law. An expert panel will lead the session, including local lawyers and representatives from Lambda Legal and Mazzoni. It costs $89 for private-practice attorneys or $45 for those who work in the public sector.

Ude praised Cathcart for increasing the Lambda Legal staff to more than 100, about five times the number of people the organization employed when Cathcart started. Ude said Cathcart was attuned to emerging needs in the LGBT community, starting an HIV project when the disease was “decimating the gay community,” and a project for transgender rights.

“He’s led the organization through decades when the economy was strong and when it was not strong,” Ude said. “He kept it not only afloat but growing.”

“It’s important to note that organizations like Lambda Legal have really been arguing for decades — and having success in recent years — that prohibitions against sex discrimination already protect transgender people and those who are gay and lesbian,” he continued. “You can’t discriminate based on gender identity or sexual orientation without considering their sex.”

Ude commended Williams for his community activism that led to more inclusive antidiscrimination laws.

“In his work and community involvement, he’s been instrumental,” Ude said.

In addition to his advocacy, Williams said he feels proud of building a strong family over nearly 32 years with his husband, Tony Rodriguez, and their two sons and granddaughter.

“I want to help make the world a better place for everyone,” Williams said. “That’s kind of lofty. I don’t want to sound like Jesus.

I just want to sound like a guy who tried to do the right thing and make other people want to pick up wherever I leave off.” n

COLLEGE from page 6

DelVal made her want to lead the university.

“I believe they’re very different from other institutions,” she said. “Respect all people is the first core value. The school also wants people to be global citizens.

“When I went there, it was a very welcoming climate,” she added. “The school is on an upward trajectory with earning university designation in 2014.”

Gallo also felt drawn to the school because of its founder’s own ties to agriculture. Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf formed DelVal in 1896 to teach Jewish immigrants, who were fleeing anti-Semitic violence in Eastern Europe, how to master various farming techniques, so they could flourish in agricultural colonies in Southern New Jersey and other places.

In her first few months on the job, Gallo said she plans to listen to DelVal’s stakeholders, including students, staff, faculty and community members. She’s especially interested in the hands-on learning offered in the Experience 360 program.

“I really value understanding the community to get a better handle on the big picture,” she said. “I’m analytical and data-driven. A colleague of mine always said, ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.’”

Gallo said she’s looking forward to getting involved with LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education, a national group. She has experience advancing diverse demographics into academia.

At the University of Hawai’i, Gallo worked with local high schools to advocate for more native Hawaiians to enroll in the college. She also aided efforts to recruit more staff and faculty who identified as native Hawaiian.

“It’s important for people to recognize themselves in their environment,” she said. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

15

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With marriage equality now the law of the land in Pennsylvania, our March 4 Wedding Issue will celebrate local couples who have, or are planning to, put a ring on it.

16

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN LETTERS from page 11

objected to consensual sex between adults, the rest of America suffered through the ravages of the AIDS epidemic. The way the government dragged their feet on the AIDS crisis affects public health to this day. Scalia voted against almost every case involving LGBT rights brought to the Supreme Court in his time on the bench.

He repeatedly insisted that his opposition to LGBT rights was a moral conviction.

Being gay, a person of color and/or a woman are not political choices. They are not options. They are innate aspects of your personhood. It is terrifying, sometimes overwhelming, to try and live our lives knowing that powerful people like Scalia would have criminalized our community without a second thought, because of so-called moral convictions. There is nothing moral about discrimination and MURDER from page 1

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According to authorities, police responded to a report of a “stabbing on the highway” near 4900 Griscom St. about 11:50 p.m. Feb. 20. They searched the area and found Young in the 4800 block of Penn Street. She was suffering from multiple stab wounds. Police said they transported Young to Aria Health Frankford, where officials pronounced her dead at 12:21 a.m. Feb. 21.

Young is the latest in an epidemic of violence against transgender women of color in the nation, and is the first trans woman killed this year in Philadelphia.

Last year, Kiesha Jenkins, 22, was fatally shot in Logan in October; and London Kiki Chanel, 21, was stabbed to death in North Philadelphia in May. “This constant barrage of loss is devastating,” said Nellie Fitzpatrick, director of the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs.

“Maya joins a long list of names that just continues to grow. It certainly isn’t slowing down. This epidemic of violence requires real societal and cultural change.”

On a Facebook page apparently belonging to Young, she listed her hometown as Vineland, N.J., and said she attended Buena Regional High School in Atlantic County. She had been living in Northeast Philadelphia.

“I’m a kind of go getter,” read a post in a section of the page titled “About Maya.”

“I focus on what I want, and I’m a direct person.”

Fitzpatrick said transgender women of color often find themselves “in situations where violence finds them at a young age” because they’re not safe in school, not able to stay in stable housing and don’t have access to meaningful health care. She recommended that those in need contact Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or explore trans support options at the Mazzoni Center by visiting www.mazzonicenter.org/healthcare/trans-care.

The Trans-Health Information Project at GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization plans to host a Trans* Community Discussion to talk about reducing risks and developing resources. It will be held 6 p.m. March 11 at GALAEI, 149

hate.

Scalia lived a long and happy life. He loved his job. He had a huge, loving family, including dozens of grandchildren who miss him and a son who continues his work against LGBT rights. He was able to live his life exactly the way he wanted to every moment that he was on this earth. No one can take that from him.

But every person’s legacy is decided by the choices they make while they live.

Scalia made his choice with every opinion he wrote. Uncountable lives have been ruined by discriminatory laws supported by Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia never shed a tear over any of those lives. Don’t waste your tears on him. n — BethAnne Boyle Philadelphia

W. Susquehanna Ave. “It’s a transgender issue, but it’s a Philadelphia issue as well,” said Naiymah Sanchez, coordinator of Trans-Health.

“There’s so much violence in the city.”

Sanchez said the community needs to develop resources for transgender people in all parts of Philadelphia. She noted Frankford has a growing LGBT population.

Sanchez said Trans-Health participants started posting and calling about Young over the weekend.

“We saw some kind of headline about a man stabbed to death in Frankford,” she said, noting people who said they were friends with Young tagged her when posting about the news. “We didn’t put two and two together until we visited Maya’s Facebook page.”

“Nothing is confirmed as far as why she was murdered, who murdered her or what she looked like when she was murdered,” Sanchez said.

Fitzpatrick said some confusion arose around the identity of the stabbing victim because police did not immediately release the person’s gender. She said police were following protocol to first notify Young’s next-of-kin. Fitzpatrick added Deputy Commissioner Myron Patterson had been in contact with her throughout the early investigation, knowing the matter would be important to the local LGBT community.

Fitzpatrick added that discussion about trans issues is needed continuously, and not just after the event of a crime.

“We’ve got to get to a place where transgender people are able to talk about themselves, their successes and their satisfying lives,” she said.

Harper, who shared his home with Young for a year, said he wants people to remember that Young was smart, outgoing and strong-willed. She liked to play video games and the card game Magic: The Gathering, he said, adding she also loved animals.

“Maya knew everybody and she just embraced everybody,” said Carton, Harper’s partner. “She couldn’t walk down the street without stopping lots of times to say hi to people.” n

PGN RETRIAL from page 7

was a pent-up rage that he would feel against any male perceived as wanting to touch him against his will,” the filing states.

Laird suffered brain damage on numerous occasions, beginning at birth when a doctor improperly utilized forceps to deliver him, according to the brief.

“At the time of the offense, [Laird] suffered from alcohol intoxication and delirium, and he was ‘substantially impaired’ by a very large amount of alcohol.”

Laird faults his 2007 attorneys for failing to present an expert on male sexual abuse.

“An expert in male sexual abuse not only would have been able to educate jurors on the devastating implications of abuse by family members, but also would have been equipped to explain how and why men process such abuse,” Laird’s filing notes.

BOMBA from page 5

and challenges he faced every day just to get out of the house,” she said. “It’s because he did it in such a graceful and effortless matter-of-fact way.”

The medical challenges, Zinman added, didn’t keep Bomba from visiting the friends he had all over the country, or from enjoying his passion for music and the arts.

“He led a very full life,” he said. “He was a loyal and loving friend. He was like my brother.”

Bartlett added that Bomba’s dedication to volunteerism is a quality that should be emulated.

In addition to claiming ineffective assistance of counsel during his retrial, Laird also claims improper victim-impact information, improper jury instructions by the trial judge, lack of sentencing options for jurors and prosecutorial misconduct.

Prosecutors have until April 19 to respond to Laird’s allegations. Then, Laird’s attorneys will have an opportunity to file a rebuttal brief.

Laird, 52, and Chester, 47, remain on death row in Pennsylvania prisons.

Prosecutors have until March 20 to decide whether to retry Chester for first-degree murder.

If Chester isn’t retried, he’ll be released from death row, but he’ll remain incarcerated due to other convictions. n

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

17

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Tony Award Winner and Star of TV’s Younger “He left a legacy as a community member who dedicated countless volunteer hours to make a difference in so many communities,” Bartlett said. “And he did make that difference.”

Bomba is survived by his mother, Thelma; sisters Katherine, Marguerite, Monica, Cynthia and Linda; and brother John. A community memorial service is being planned for the spring.

Donations can be made in Bomba’s name to the LGBT Elder Initiative (www.lgbtei. org), AIDS Law Project (www.aislawpa. org) and The Seeing Eye Inc. (www.seeingeye.org). n

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Then Comes Marriage will be available for sale and signing.

Event co-sponsored by: National Museum of American Jewish History, Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel, The Meyer and Rosaline Feinstein Center for Jewish American History, and Jewish Book Council. In partnership with Spectrum Philadelphia.

Presented and held at Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel • 300 South 18th St. Phila.

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18

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

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Gay Across

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Globe

Ellen Page goes out on the road for ‘Gaycation’

By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor The first episode of Ellen Page’s new Viceland series “Gaycation,” airing March 2, explores LGBT issues in Japan. Page travels with her gay best friend, Ian Daniel, whom she met studying permaculture design in an eco-village in Oregon. The pair goes on a fabulous bar crawl in the gay district of Tokyo, meet women who enjoy naughty manga comics, attend a symbolic same-sex wedding ceremony and are present as a gay man comes out to his mother.

In future episodes, Page and Daniel

thoughtfully investigate what it means to be LGBT in Brazil and Jamaica, as well as in the United States.

PGN spoke with the intrepid travelers about “Gaycation” and their adventures.

PGN: How/why did you conceive of this show?

EP: I love travel shows and always have.

I’ve always learned so much and they can relay important and fun information. I have been privileged to travel with my job. I wanted to make a show that was specifically focused on the LGBT community in that country. But also, what does it mean as an

LGBT person travelling around the world?

ID: I tagged along. I thought it was a great platform for being edgy, interesting, fun and vibrant. Ellen presented me the idea of co-hosting and I was sold. I’m a gay guy who has not actively participated in LGBT culture on this level, so it was a way for me to push myself and get out of my bubble.

It had potential to shape things and change people and, coming from my childhood in Indiana, this was a great opportunity to reach people across the country and the world.

PGN: In the Japanese bar crawl, you visit a gay bar, a (women-only) lesbian bar and a

bar for cross-dressers, where Ian models a sexy outfit. How did you determine where you went and what you featured in each episode?

EP: We did research on a lot of countries to figure out where we wanted to go. We worked with local producers, who were extraordinary. They had incredible access.

The people we spoke to have been courageous and brave humans. It’s a humbling, inspiring experience. When the young man [in Japan] decided to come out to his mother and wanted us to be there — that happened on the ground. That becomes a conversation: Do you really want us

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

GAYCATION from page 19

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there? In Brazil, Carnival is part of the episode, and we show what that celebration represents — sexual freedom and a lot of trans dancers. It’s an incredible thing to see that and then what the reality is for LGBT people in Brazil.

ID: Some places aren’t accessible. We’re not coming in under the radar, or pretending to be straight. In our conversations, we look to get what we want out of each episode. Brazil looks like it is ahead of the curve on LGBT rights, but there is a lot of violence. Is the culture and subculture interesting to dig into?

Are people living or surviving? Jamaica is harder to get people on camera if they are LGBT. We want to share those stories.

PGN: What did you discover, or want to uncover, as you explored international queer subcultures?

EP: You never want to feel like you are infringing on someone’s experience. In Jamaica, we didn’t want to show someone who didn’t want their face on camera. In Brazil, we spoke to a man who is a retired cop who is proud he killed a lot of LGBT people. In the American episode, I wanted to focus on First Nations’ people and go to a two-spirit gathering, as well as retirement homes for LGBT seniors to have the perspective of people who experienced the history firsthand. That ignites the process: Is that going to be possible?

PGN: Did any of your experiences surprise or delight you?

EP: We didn’t plan to go into the Cholesterol bar in Tokyo, where the man with the throat made a sex toy. He had the [toys] on the bar, and he invited us in. We did not plan it!

ID: I’m game to try things and immerse myself, and maybe with a too-naïve attitude.

I’m so curious about this — how do I participate in a way that’s not offensive? We agree that to be there for Jamaica’s first public Pride ceremony, which was tangibly exciting, historic and electric, was an emotional moment.

PGN: You address issues of shame in Japanese society, as well as efforts of education and acceptance. Travelling to different cultures certainly makes you appreciate of what you have. It also sparks your inter-

est about how other LGBT people live.

How do you respond to and process your “Gaycation” experiences?

EP: The biggest takeaway is how much I have learned and how fortunate I’ve been to meet activists and people who have survived and are vulnerable sharing their story and wanting their voices to be heard. We’ve had some really intense moments — parents losing a trans daughter or gay son to violence.

That’s emotional and heartbreaking to sit with a mother who lost her child, or with homeless youth in Kingston, Jamaica. It’s devastating to see what they face every day.

Ian and I offered each other support. I think the sad thing is seeing the reality of people whose lives are far more vulnerable than your own. You can leave and go back to your life where you live freely as a gay person.

ID: For me, the point of the show is that we’re connecting — and trying to connect to — people whose stories you rarely hear. Our personal interactions can help dispel bigoted stereotypes, and that exposure helps people.

It’s hard to see a way out for people who are marginalized. It’s hard to change the country from within. We witness that. It’s not about us. We’re not journalists. We come in with our own feelings. How do we personally help, and is that possible? What more can you get out of it than being humbled?

PGN: What are some of your travel secrets?

EP: I don’t know that I have travel tips. I throw stuff in a bag. I try to pack light. Bring your best friend. I think it’s so crucial — and I’m fortunate to have traveled since I was so young. Travel has offered me so much to expand my mind and heart. I went backpacking around Eastern Europe when I was 20. It changed my life. And making “Gaycation” has as well. I am immersed to a degree. Be open: It’s such an opportunity to learn and grow and change so much.

ID: Learn about the place before you enter it. Brush up on customs, culture and do not go on your assumptions. If you’re LGBT, it’s important to understand the way the countries stand on those issues. If I look at myself as a traveler, I had to remind myself to be open-minded about the way people are living there and how they navigate through the world. n “Gaycation” debuts March 2 on Viceland.

PROFILE PGN

Family Portrait

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

21

Suzi Nash

Ron Mulray: Best in Flower Show Admittedly, this winter hasn’t been all that bad, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still impatient for spring to hurry up and get here. If you’re itching to stop and smell the roses — and the freesia and gardenias — have no fear, the world-renowned Philadelphia Flower Show is just around the corner. This year’s theme, “Explore America,” will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our National Park System. Look forward to Native-American-inspired art, sculpted animals, floral totems and a dazzling waterfall. In addition, there’s a new Railway Garden for train fans, “Butterflies Live!” where you can interact with the little beauties, a Pop-Up Pub Garden and country music and dancing to really help shake off those winter blahs.

Ron Mulray has been coordinating award-winning floral exhibits for decades.

We spoke to him in his bustling shop, the Philadelphia Flower Co., which he runs with his family members.

PGN: So where does the name Mulray come from?

RM: It’s Irish, an uncommon name. If you ever meet someone named Mulray, I’m related to them somehow, guaranteed.

PGN: You have a lot of relations here in the store.

RM: Yes, I opened the store in 1987 when I was 20. We’re Irish-Catholic so there were six kids and I had three working with me — two sisters and my younger brother — as well as my father, who was a retired police officer.

PGN: How did you get started?

RM: When I was 11, I got a job selling flowers on Vine Street, before they dug out the expressway. A neighbor would pick us up after school and drop us off on a 2-foot island with cars streaking by at 60 miles per hour. And when the light turned red, we’d sell five red carnations wrapped in white deli paper for $2 to the motorists. We’d be out there for rush hour, from 4-6, and then go home. You’d be shocked at the amount of flowers we were able to sell. I did that until I was 16, when I moved indoors and swept floors at a flower shop. One day, the phone rang and a customer wanted a funeral arrangement late in the day. No one wanted to do it so I jokingly volunteered and the owners said, “OK, go ahead.” I did and after that, I didn’t have to sweep anymore. I worked as a floral designer through high school and went to college to become a graphic artist before I discovered I hated it. Being stuck in a little cubby hole with a pencil was not for me. This was just as they were starting to use computers. I remember we went to Channel 10 to see their new state-of-the-art computer. [Laughs] My smart phone can do more now than that

fancy computer was able to do. Anyway, it wasn’t for me. I went home and told my mother that I was going to open a flower shop. I got in the car and drove around and saw a shop with a for-rent sign in the window, called the number, met on Thursday and signed the lease on Monday. I was so young I took my older sister with me, who was nine-months’ pregnant. The leasing officer apologized and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t put your wife’s name on the lease.” I told them it was OK and signed on my own. They never asked me for any ID or how old I was; I just had to put down first and last month’s rent and I was in business. I’ve been here almost 30 years!

PGN: So did you always like flowers or did you just fluke into it?

RM: Once I got into the flower shop, I discovered I really had a passion for it, but the hours are crazy, especially around the holidays. So I went to school for a “normal” job, but I found I’d rather jump out the window than be stuck in front of a computer screen for eight hours a day.

The flower biz is so different. Every day is a new challenge. We might help people celebrate the happiest occasions or grieve on the saddest occasions. I just love it!

cones and pine needles everywhere. We partnered with a set designer so there’ll be an 18-foot sculptured redwood tree that you can walk through like you see in TV ads. When you look up, there will be all sorts of things to see inside: chandeliers and vines, crystals and jewels. Our color pallet is red, so most everything will be in all tints, tones and shades of red. It’s going to be magnificent.

PGN: How long do you get to set everything up?

RM: Four days. It sounds like it’s not a long time to get everything done but it is. We used to have five days and everyone complained when they cut it back, but I think it’s fine; it forces you to work smarter to get everything done. For us, it’s less expensive to pay for everyone to come in for fewer days.

PGN: So you’re one of six kids?

RM: Yes, I’m number five. My brother Chris is number six; he works with me

PGN: Tell me a little bit about AIFD? RM: The American Institute of Floral Designers. We have about 1,500 members worldwide and it’s an accreditation in floral design. AIFD members are on the cutting edge of the floral industry. To become a member you have to take a standing test creating five floral designs and a written test.

PGN: What kinds of things would be on a test?

RM: Theory, primary colors, what is a triad color combination, what is an analogous color, name the elements and principles of design … They could show a picture and ask, “Are the flowers terraced? Are they grouped? Are they pillowed?” That sort of thing.

PGN: And you’re going to have an exhibit at the Flower Show?

RM: Yes, we’ve been doing it since 1997.

This year we have about 25 designers coming together. We have people who work in films, people who do large interiors, Broadway, upscale events, a little of everything.

PGN: What’s a favorite exhibit you’ve done?

RM: It’s always the one yet to come, so I’ll say this year. We’re doing Redwood National Park. We’re doing a walk through that will feel like you’re in a redwood forrest: dirt on the ground, pine

here and he’s gay too.

PGN: What’s a fun family memory?

RM: I liked being part of a big family.

You’re never bored, you always have something to do with someone. Even now, with just the immediate family and nieces and nephews at holidays, there are over 40 people. The other good thing was that if you got in trouble, it didn’t matter because you were only going to be in trouble for 10 minutes a day at

most before someone else did something worse! My mother was the disciplinarian, so if she ever said, “Wait ’til your father gets home!” we secretly were relieved because he was the pussy cat; he didn’t even like to discipline the dog!

PGN: Was it ever scary having a cop for a dad?

RM: No, he never brought it home with him, ever. The most I ever heard was on occasion if he came home and we were watching that show “Cops” he’d tease us, “Turn that stuff off, I live that.”

PGN: Speaking of TV, I’ve watched shows that picture fields of corn or acres of tomato plants, etc. But I never see commercial fields of flowers. Where do you get them from?

RM: Jersey! You can go there and see fields of locally grown flowers, especially end of summer/early fall. They have marigolds and zinnias, sunflowers.

The Van Dyke Brothers in Millville specialize in tulips and have some of the finest around, but we also get a lot of flowers from California.

Internationally, we get a lot from Colombia, Ecuador and Holland. And the Canadians, they’re doing a great job growing snapdragons and Gerber daisies and potted plants; they come down often. This is such a great location: We can order Holland flowers on Monday, they’ll be cut and shipped and in our store by Wednesday. For a past Flower Show, the theme was Africa and we wanted some specialized flowers. We called a vendor who walked through the field as we were FaceTiming so I could see and pick which ones I wanted. It was amazing.

We handpicked flowers off the side of a mountain and, with overnight shipment, I had them the next day! The world is so small now, we Photo: Suzi Nash used to be limited by season, but now you can get almost anything any time.

PGN: What makes a good designer?

RM: Passion. I was in a life-drawing class once and, on some days, I’d do really good and on others I could barely make a stick figure. I asked the professor about it and he told me it came down to passion.

He said, “You’ll know you love what you’re doing when PAGE 26

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS

Exhibit showcases Modernist photographer with queer sensibilities

By Ray Simon PGN Contributor

as gay as it was black.” In this exhibit, viewers can see portraits of poet Countee Cullen, blues singer Bessie Smith and philosopher Queer sexuality, the African-American Alain Locke — all LGBT individuals associexperience and Modernism mix in thought- ated with the Harlem Renaissance. ful, inspiring ways in “Carl Van Vechten: O Some of these portraits have become the Write my Name — Portraits of the Harlem most well-known images of the sitters. “The Renaissance and Beyond,” a new exhibit at Zora Neal Hurston photograph, and the Jacob Lawrence and Bessie Smith, those are all Haverford College.

The show, which runs until Aug. 19, is free iconic images of those artists,” Williams said. and open to the public. It is on display in the Van Vechten’s portraits aren’t interesting Sharpless Gallery of the Magill Library at just because of his subjects’ accomplishments Haverford, a prestigious liberal-arts college or fame; he also had considerable technical skill. Williams, a photographer himself, on the Main Line.

The exhibit was curated by William Earle praised this aspect of Van Vechten’s work.

Williams, an Audrey A. and John L. Dusseau “In terms of the formal language, that part Professor in the Humanities. It includes of it, Van Vechten’s a master of lighting, backbooks, letters and prints, but its core is 50 drops, the poses.” portraits of distinguished African-Americans His portrait of the choreographer Katherine Dunham is a good example. Because of her photographed by Van Vechten.

Van Vechten, born in 1880, was immersed costume, Dunham seems to blend into the thein Modernism, an experimental artistic move- atrical backdrop behind her, but her eyes, alert ment of the early 20th century. An avant- and vivacious, signal energy and movement.

Of course, technical facilgarde polymath, he was a ity by itself doesn’t guarantee dance critic, music reviewer an artistic outcome. For that, and novelist. In the early something more is required.

1930s, he stopped writing to In Van Vechten’s case, it may concentrate on photography. have been a very human eleBy the time he died in 1964, ment: respect. he had made roughly 15,000 By all accounts, Van photographs.

Vechten genuinely admired This exhibit, according the men and women he photo Williams, gathers “50 tographed. He championed pretty terrific images that he their work and helped them did, which is representative make influential connections. of his total project, which Some of his sitters, like the was extremely ambitious, poet Langston Hughes, himwhich was to photograph the self a gay man, became lifeWestern avant-garde.”

Van Vechten’s personal life ALAIN LOCKE PORTRAIT long friends. was as varied as his artis- BY CARL VAN VECHTEN For Williams, that relatic interests. Although marPhoto: Courtesy of Van tionship is crucial. “There’s ried twice, he had numerous Vechten Trust an exchange between those two, and it’s one of respect. affairs with men, which were And an equality,” he said. an open secret within his circle.

One thing that distinguishes Van Vechten This mutual respect produced excellent from his colleagues in the international avant- results. “If you look at any of these people’s garde, like surrealist Man Ray and experi- pictures, there’s a wonderful kind of physicalmental author Gertrude Stein, was his deep ity to them that you don’t get any place else in terms of their portraiture than with Carl Van appreciation of African-American culture.

“He’s special because he also saw, as a vital Vechten.” part of the avant–garde, the African-American How Van Vechten’s sexuality influenced his experience,” Williams said. “I think one of the art remains an open question. Williams, for ways he came to appreciate how vital that was one, does not think it should be dismissed. is because he was involved with dance, theater “Van Vechten was a very complex person, and part of his complexity was his sexuality,” and the visual arts.”

Among the displayed portraits are actor he said.

Ossie Davis and singer Ella Fitzgerald. Van In fact, Williams believes Van Vechten’s Vechten also photographed artists and think- sexuality may just have made him alert to posers associated with the Harlem Renaissance, sibilities that conventional taste and prejudice which flourished from 1918-37, and which prevented others from seeing.

Williams described as when “Harlem burned “There certainly is a sensitivity that’s there and some might refer to it as a ‘gay gaze’ or or shone brightest on the cultural scene.”

In addition to the art and ideas that emerged a ‘queer sensibility’ there, but that’s, again, from the Harlem Renaissance, the movement only part of the work, which I think makes it fostered a tolerant atmosphere. The frank, that much more engaging,” he said. n open expression of LGBT sexuality was not uncommon. As scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. For more information on the Van Vechten wrote, the Harlem Renaissance “was surely exhibit, visit ow.ly/YHVo7.

‘HIGH’ TIMES: Out pop/rock singer and part-time Queen frontman Adam Lambert comes to the area for a stop on his “Original High Tour,” performing 9 p.m. Feb. 27 at Caesars Circus Maximus Theater, 2100 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 609-348-4411.

Theater & Arts Army of Darkness The horror-action film is screened 8 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888.

Art of the Zo: Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition offering a look at beautiful woven textiles of the Zo people of Myanmar, India and Bangladesh through March 20, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.

Back to the Follies Wharton Follies celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original musical comedy parodying the MBA experience through Feb. 27 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215898-3900.

Dance Theater of Harlem Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg

Center for the Arts present the iconic dance company performing ballet masterpieces March 3-5 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215-898-3900.

Drawn from Courtly India: The Conley Harris and Howard Truelove Collection Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of masterful drawings from the royal courts of northern India through March 27, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.

Exit Strategy Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the story of a dilapidated public school in Chicago targeted for closure through Feb. 28 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215985-0420.

Funnyman Arden Theatre Company presents the story of an aging comic who

is forced to adapt to the changing tastes and times in post-war America through March 6, 40 N. Second St.; 215-922-1122.

Harvey Walnut Street Theatre presents the classic Pulitzer Prizewinning comedy about a man with an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot-tall invisible white rabbit through March 6, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550.

Holly Trostle Brigham: Sisters and Goddesses The Michener Art Museum hosts an exhibition of works

by Philadelphiabased artist Holly Trostle Brigham featuring seven self-portraits in which she takes the guise of artists of the past, through May 26, 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown; 215340-9800.

International Pop Philadelphia Museum of Art

presents an exhibition chronicling pop art’s emergence as a global movement, migrating from the United Kingdom and the United States to Europe, Latin America and Japan, through May 16, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100.

Local Girls Azuka Theatre presents the Philadelphia world premiere by local playwright Emma Goidel about a high-school burnout who needs to find a new singer for her heavy-metal band through March 13 at the Drake, 1512 Spruce St.; 215563-1100.

The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me: A Burlesque Tribute to Jim Henson Blacklist Burlesque presents a special burlesque show 8 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-9226888.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

23

Tony Award-winning actor talks music and TV career

By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

NEW YORK MOVES: Dance Affiliates brings its world-renowned ballet company Dance Theater of Harlem to perform its latest cutting-edge works March 3-5 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St. For more information or tickets, call 215898-3900. Photo: Rachel Neville

Picture This: Contemporary Photography and India Philadelphia Museum of Art presents the work of four contemporary photographers for whom India is an important subject through April 3, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100.

Pippin The high-flying, death-defying, Tony Awardwinning hit musical comes to town through Feb. 28 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-7905800.

Plays of/for a Respirateur Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an installation by Joseph Kosuth that

includes a selection of his work along with a group of seminal works by Marcel Duchamp through the fall, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.

Work on What You Love: Bruce Mau Rethinking Design Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of designs by the acclaimed commercial artist through April 3, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.

Yannick and Hélène Welcome Spring The Philadelphia Orchestra performs classical music March 3-5 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847.

Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com.

Notices cannot be taken over the phone.

Music Los Lobos The Latin pop band performs at 6 and 9 p.m. Feb. 27 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-572-7650.

Operation: Mindcrime The progressive rock/metal band performs 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 28 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-572-7650.

The Music of Billy Joel The Philly POPS perform the music of Billy Joel March 4-6 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847.

Wolfmother The rock band performs 8 p.m.

March 4 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888.

Nightlife Dumb Blondz Chasity St. Cartier and Ariel Versace host the monthly cabaret 8 p.m. Feb.

27 at L’Etage, 624 S. Sixth St.; 215592-0656.

Happy Bear The bear-themed happy hour, 5-9 p.m. Feb. 26 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675.

Outta Town The Brain That Wouldn’t Die The cult sci-fi film is screened

by Mystery Science Theater 3000, 2 p.m.

Feb. 27 at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228.

Adam Lambert The out pop/rock singer performs 9 p.m. Feb. 27 at Caesars Circus Maximus Theater, 2100 Pacific Ave., Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-348-4411.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

The drama starring Sidney Poitier is screened 2 p.m.

Feb. 28 at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n

Tony Award-winning actor and singer Sutton Foster is taking some time between her stage and screen duties to embark on a short tour of musical performances, which includes a stop in Philadelphia March 3 at Merriam Theater.

Sutton is known for her roles in Broadway productions like “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (for which she won a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in 2002),”Anything Goes,” “Little Women” and “Young Frankenstein.”

Foster said her solo performances stick close to her musical-theater background, while incorporating some of her other musical influences.

“I feel a responsibility to definitely touch on the things that people know me best from: Broadway,” she said. “But I want to introduce audiences to who I am as a musical artist so I pull from a lot of folk music, songs from my childhood and jazz standards. So it’s an eclectic evening but it’s also representative of who I am as a musical artist beyond the characters that you see on Broadway.”

Having already established herself in the worlds of theater and music, Foster has also been able to launch a successful television career, including as the lead on the TV Land series “Younger.”

Foster said managing a successful career on three fronts is both demanding and exciting.

“I’m definitely juggling quite a bit now,” she said. “The television aspect of my career is something new that has changed dramatically in the last five years. It’s something that I hope will open me up to a larger audience. It’s changed my career in many ways because now people know me from TV and not from Broadway. I don’t know if one takes priority over another; I hope to be able to give the same amount of energy to all of them. But I give priority to the thing that is in front of me. ‘Younger’ wrapped in December and we don’t start again until June. So right now my energy is going into a lot of concert work.”

On “Younger,” currently in its second season, Foster plays a 40-year-old recently divorced mother who has to go back into the workforce to support herself and her daughter. She gets a job in publishing, starting at the bottom, mostly because the people there think she’s 26 and she doubts they would hire her if they knew her real age.

Foster said she didn’t realize the underlying social statement the show was making at first.

“I haven’t experienced ageism in my career yet,” she said. “I’m going to turn 41 in a few months. I’ve never had to deal with ageism directly. I know it exists.

When I read the script, I saw it as a fan-

Photo: Laura Marie Duncan

tasy. Like, ‘Oooh, what would it be like to relive that time of my life?’ Like ‘Freaky Friday.’ When I started doing press for the show, people kept asking me about ageism and the statement we were making and I was like, ‘Whoa, yeah right.’ I started feeling feelings that I had never had before, thinking about my own career and navigating getting older and what that means for women. There is a reality to that and on the show we are addressing it in a dramedy form. I don’t think the whole intent of the show is to make this political statement, but all I can talk about is my own personal experience of how I’d like to navigate my own career. We will see. Talk to me in 10 years and I might have a different opinion about it. As of right now I feel like my career is more exciting than it has ever been. I’m actually looking forward to the opportunities I will have as a 40-year-old and in my 50s, 60s and 70s.”

On the show, Foster’s character. Liza, is best friends with Maggie, an out lesbian.

Maggie is the first person to encourage her to keep lying about her age in order to keep her job.

Apparently, we were the first to point out that bit of irony to Foster.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard about that,” she said. “I don’t know if we’ve addressed that yet. That’s very funny. It’s a new concept for me. That’s what I love about the show. We have openly gay characters, but yet my character is the one that is in the closet.” n Sutton Foster performs 8 p.m. March 3 at Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-8931999 or visit www.suttonfoster.com.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN

The

Since 1976

PGN Guide to the Gayborhood

The Philadelphia Gayborhood is roughly centered at 12th and Camac streets. Look for the rainbow street signs at intersections and remember to be aware of your surroundings wherever you go.

Boxers

1330 Walnut St. facebook.com/ boxersphl Sports bar with multiple plasma tvs, pool table, brick oven, djs

❍

<—

❍

Rosewood

Tabu

Woody’s

1302 Walnut St. 215.336.1335 rosewood-bar.com Cozy, panelled bar with dj and high-end cocktails

200 S. 12th St. 215.964.9675 tabuphilly.com Sports bar / drag shows and bar food

202 S. 13th St. 215.545.1893 woodysbar.com American-style bar food and large dance floor

❍ ❍

The Bike Stop

Four-level leather bar; basement enforces a dress code; secondfloor pool table and big-screen sports action

Walnut St. Chancellor St.

❍

❍

St. James St.

❍ Locust St.

Manning St.

❍

11th St.

❍

Quince St.

Latimer St.

12th St.

13th St.

<—

Camac St.

❍ Juniper St.

24

❒ ❒ Spruce St.

William Way LGBT Community Center

1315 Spruce St. 215.732.2220 waygay.org

A resource for all things LGBT

Voyeur

1221 St. James St. 215.735.5772 voyeurnightclub.com After-hours private club; membership required

U Bar 1220 Locust St. 215.546.6660

Relaxing corner bar, easy-going crowd, popular for happy hour and window watching

Tavern on Camac West of Broad Street Stir Lounge

1705 Chancellor St. 215.732.2700 stirphilly.com Fun two-bar lounge, DJ in the back, regular poker games and specials

255 S. Camac St. 215.545.8731 Piano lounge with upstairs dance floor; Tavern restaurant in the basement.

Knock 225 S. 12th St. 215.925.1166 knockphilly.com Fine -dining restaurant and bar with outdoor seating (weather permitting)

ICandy

254 S. 12th St. 267.324.3500 clubicandy.com Three floors with a total of six bars; dance floor, lounge and rootop deck.

The Attic Youth Center

Wedding Issue - March. 4

255 S. 16th St. 215.545.4331 atticyouthcenter.org Safe space and programs for LGBTs age 16-23 weekday afternoons and evenings

Pa. bars close at 2 a.m. unless they have a private-club license. Please drink responsibly.

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

25

26

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PORTRAIT from page 21

you have 102 fever and you have to do it and you don’t mind.” A little bell went off and I realized that was me with flowers.

I could be home in the middle of something else and I’d drop everything if they needed me to come in and work. I don’t care what you do, you just need to have passion for it.

PGN: I don’t know, I hosted karaoke and there were plenty of people who had passion — didn’t make them good!

RM: [Laughs] OK, maybe, but it’s subjective too! When we do the Flower Show, it’s a judged competition but we make sure to use that passion to analyze everything we do, to check every small detail, because I believe what you put in is what you’ll get out. We’ve won a ton of awards, including Best in Show for the past three years, because when we finish setting up we look and say to ourselves, Was this the absolute best we could have done? That way we don’t later feel, Wow, we should have done such and such. No. We use our passion to take it to the next level so, no matter what the judges say, we know we left it all out there.

PGN: And speaking of leaving it all out there, when did you come out?

RM: When I was about 7, my mom was watching “The Phil Donohue Show” in the kitchen and they had a panel of different type folks — a drag queen, a cross dresser, someone who was transgender, a gay man, a straight man — and he went around to each one to ask them how they identified. I walked in to get something to drink and looked up to watch. After the gay man identified himself as such, I turned to my mother and said, “I’m him,” and kept walking. But, I don’t know that I ever flung the door open. I dated someone for a long time and I’m sure that answered most questions. Though at one time my mother did confide to me that she thought he was gay! I just told her she needed to ask him.

PGN: You needed one of those T-shirts: “I’m not gay but my boyfriend is.”

RM: I know! But I’m sure she knew. I never dated a woman, hung around with groups of men and I’m a florist. I remember during the Gulf War my father came in the room and joked with us, “OK, you, you and you. You’re all going!” My brother is gay too so I said, “Hey Chief [my nickname for him], you know that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?’ We’re telling!”

We all just laughed. They were always very accepting, there was just never a fling the door and let the glitter fall moment. I was always wearing it anyway, especially doing drag.

PGN: How did you get into that?

RM: By accident! I was in P-Town with my brother Chris at Carnival. They do a big drag brunch and the entire town goes out in drag. I had no desire to participate but Chris really wanted to and didn’t want

PGN

to do it by himself. So I bought a goofy black dress, grabbed some old shoes and went to a salon to get someone to do my makeup. There was a young boy doing the styling and he asked me what I wanted to look like, and I was like, “I don’t care, whatever you think.” He turned me away from the mirror so it would be a surprise and when he finally turned me back I was like, “OMG, I’m stunning!” I looked like Divine. Suddenly I was like, I need a wig!

And shoes! I just loved it. I was walking Main Street holding babies and getting my picture taken! Ironically, Chris hated his look; he’d borrowed a catsuit from our sister — he was tall and thin back then — and it wasn’t working for him. I had so much fun that I’ve been doing it ever since. I’ve hosted shows and done all sorts of things.

PGN: Celebrity you’d like to pin a corsage on?

RM: You saw me do the mayor!

PGN: I didn’t. What happened?

RM: I was at the [Flower Show] press conference one year and I grabbed the mayor and put a boutonnière on him. Just as I pinned him, an API guy took our picture and it went viral. Anyway, I’ve met a lot of people: Joan Rivers, Eartha Kitt, Bette Midler. When I was still underage, one of the guys I used to work for was a big gambler. He used to take me down to A.C. and I’d usually watch him lose a lot of money. They’d let me sit next to him even though I was underage, so I met a lot of people through him as well: Boy George, Patti Labelle, one time Diana Ross came by while we were having dinner, grabbed a crouton out of our salad and popped it in her mouth as she said hi on her way to do her show. It was a fivestar restaurant at the Golden Nugget and it was one of those fancy salads that they prepare tableside. The waiter was pissed that he couldn’t serve us the salad though we were like, “Come on, who cares! Just serve it!” But he was like, “Absolutely not. She reached into your bowl” and wheeled it away to start again.

PGN: What are you looking forward to seeing at the Flower Show?

RM: Oh I get excited by everything. I get to see friends who I only see once a year so it’s like going back to summer camp for me. I enjoy seeing what everyone’s doing; it’s like meeting at the craft hut at camp. And having a chance to see what you’ve been conceptualizing for 18 months come to life is an amazing feeling.

To see it go from a thought in your head to 2D on paper to actually seeing it visualized on the floor is a special feeling. This year is going to be spectacular! n The Philadelphia Flower Show runs March 5-13. For more information or tickets, visit www.theflowershow.com.

To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@aol.com.

Making the ‘Yard’ choices

By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

could have gotten a better idea of what those combined flavors tasted like, but that cheese tortilla overpowered and obliterated everything that tried to compete with it.

Next we ventured south for the Nashville hot chicken ($16.65). The chicken itself was just OK — perfectly fried, but it had more of a spicy bite than it did flavor. But what really made the dish something special was the sweet potato pancakes that came with it. The pancakes were hearty and rich enough on their own, but the

Trekking out to the suburbs on a Friday night isn’t something we always do, but we found the beehive of suburban activity at Yard House, 400 Route 38 at Moorestown Mall, hard to resist.

Even though the recently opened New American restaurant chain and sports bar was bustling on our visit, the staff was always friendly and had the place running like a well-oiled machine.

That’s all the more admirable considering how extensive the menu is. It seems like Yard House has a lot of everything on the menu: Asian, Mexican, Italian, Southern, gastropub, wings, ribs, beer, burgers, vegan. Oh my. We felt like we spent more time staring at the menu trying to figure out what to try than we did indulging and imbibing.

The lobster, crab and artichoke ($12.55) dip was solid, served piping hot with chips and pita points to help penetrate the beautifully caramelized cheese crust on top.

Yard House has a section on its menu dedicated to Gardein, a vegetarian chicken substitute made up NASHVILLE CHICKEN Photo: Larry Nichols of soy, wheat, pea proteins, veggies and grains. I figured we’d take a vegan bullet for the sake of journalistic added syrup-like honey hot sauce really integrity. When I told our friendly waitress pulled the dish together. of our intent to try out the Gardein wings, We stayed down South for dessert in the form of the mini peach apple cobbler her whole body language changed.

“Have you tried Gardein before?” she ($3.95), which was the perfect size and texture. The cobbler itself was crisp and asked. crumbly and when it hit the vanilla ice No, that’s why we were interested.

Not only was she not in a hurry to write cream, it became a warm, creamy and that particular item down, but she was sweet experience. radiating fear, worry and dread while try- Yard House may have cast its culinary net a bit wide, but the operators really put ing to maintain a sunny demeanor.

Needless to say, we were a little freaked their best foot forward in terms of service out. We can recognize a thinly veiled dire and enthusiasm. If you’re in the neighborwarning when we see one, so we curbed hood, they’ll definitely have something our culinary sense of adventure and left that will appeal to your tastes. n alone whatever “Soylent Green” horror the waitress was trying to steer us away from.

Instead, we set our sights on the streettaco section of the menu. The baja fish Yard House taco ($3.95) and the grilled Korean pork400 Route 38 belly taco ($4.85) were both perfect and Moorestown, N.J. satisfied our taco itch. The vampire taco 856-722-5620 ($6.50), on the other hand, was an obnoxSun.-Thu.: ious train wreck. What undid the entire 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. effort was the cheese-crusted tortilla; Fri.-Sat.: inside were carnitas, chipotle salsa, cho11 a.m.-1:20 a.m. rizo, crema and guacamole. We wish we

If you go

Celebrating 40 years of serving the community.

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

27

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46. Triangleshaped peninsula 48. “___ Miz” 49. “Gulliver’s Travels” brutes 51. Philippines island 53. The Gay Nineties, for example 55. Alexander conquered it 59. “Gone With the Wind” extra 61. Where football players get naked together 64. Video category for porn 66. Royal threesome 67. Go down 68. Release from bondage 69. “How queer!”

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28

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

PGN

Food and Drink Directory

Wedding Services

The Center City IHOP located at 1320 Walnut St. is now open 24 Hrs on FRIDAY and SATURDAY

THANKS FOR MAKING IT A IHOP DAY

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FOR ADVERTISING INFO CONTACT YOUR PGN AD REP AT (215) 625-8501

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

29

Classifieds All real-estate advertising is subject to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental and financing of dwellings, and in other housingrelated transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).

PGN will not knowingly accept any real-estate advertising that is in violation of any applicable law.

PGN does not accept advertising that is unlawful, false, misleading, harmful, threatening, abusive, invasive of another’s privacy, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, hateful or racially or otherwise objectionable, including without limitation material of any kind or nature that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, provincial, national or international law or regulation, or encourage the use of controlled substances.

Real Estate Sale

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VENTNOR, NJ House for sale in Ventnor NJ. 2 story 5 bedroom house, needs some repairs. Priced right. Call 215 468 9166. ________________________________________40-10

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30

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

Friends Men LOOKING FOR ROMANCE Attractive GWM, warm, sensitive, caring, 48 y.o. with a smooth gymnast build looking for other GWM, 30-50, who is also in good shape. I live in NE Phila. I’m looking for guys who are also sensitive, caring with a fun personality.

If this sounds interesting to you feel free to call me, David, 215-698-0215. ________________________________________40-19 WOULD Like to meet men from Puero Rican and Dominican Repub. for friendship fun and more. Men of color also welcome.

609-332-6183. _____________________________________________40-15 WM, NE Phila. If you’re looking for hot action, call 215-934-5309. No calls after 11 PM. ________________________________________40-12

PGN

ADONIS CINEMA

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215-557-9319

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Eating Out Should Be Fun! Read PGN’s food reviews every second and fourth week of the month - and check out our archive of past reviews on epgn.com.

WEEKLY SPECIALS:

SUNDAY RELIEF

Half Price Rooms & Lockers (6am Sunday till 8am Monday) ROOMS: Members: $12.50 and Non-Members: $22.50 LOCKERS: Members: $9.00 and Non-Members: $19.00

MONDAY thru FRIDAY: (8am to 4pm) Business Mans Locker Special 4 hour lockers Members: $5.00 and Non-Members: $15.00 TUESDAYS

Half Price Rooms (6am till 12 Midnight) Members: $12.50 and Non-Members: $22.50

WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY NIGHT CRUISE $12 Flat Rate for Locker Admission & Clothing Optional (4pm-12 Midnight)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON DELIGHT 4 Hour Lockers (8am - 4pm) Members: $5.00 and Non-Members: $15.00

Check out our website for our WEEKLY SPECIALS & JOIN OUR e-mail List to get the latest information on upcoming events....

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BIGGER, BETTER & MORE ENTERTAINING EVENTS...

PGN

Activism/Politics

ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) meets 6-9 p.m. Mondays at St. Luke and The Epiphany Church, 330 S. 13th St.; 215-386-1981, www.actupphilly.org.

Delaware Valley Chapter, Americans United for Separation of Church and State seeks activists and supporters of church-state separation. Holds monthly meetings and events; www.dvau.org.

Equality Pennsylvania holds a volunteer night 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month, 1211 Chestnut St., Suite 605; 215-731-1447, www.equalitypa.org.

Green Party of Philadelphia holds general meetings 7 p.m. the fourth Thursday of the month, except August and December; 215-243-7103, www.gpop.org.

Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club meets seasonally; www.libertycity.org.

Arts

Library Book Club meets to discuss a new book 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at William Way. Men On Tap, an LGBT group that performs with choirs, organizations and at the Fringe Festival, rehearses 8 p.m.

Mondays at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St.; dale@ magicalfantasies.com.

Philadelphia Freedom Band, an audition-free LGBT band that does concerts and parades, rehearses 7-9:30 p.m.

Mondays; philadelphiafreedomband.com.

Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus rehearses 7-10 p.m.

Wednesdays; 215-731-9230, auditions@pgmc.org.

Philadelphia Voices of Pride, Philadelphia’s first mixed LGBT chorus, rehearses 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at William Way; www.pvop.org.

Queer Writer’s Collective workshop and discussion group meets 3-5 p.m. the fourth Saturday of the month at William Way. Reading Queerly, open to all women and genderqueer/ trans people, meets 6:45 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.

Recreation

Gay Bridge Club non-beginners group meets Monday 2-5 p.m. at William Way; reservations required. Call 215732-2220.

Gay-friendly Scrabble Club meets 5:30-10:30 p.m. at Abner’s Steaks, 38th and Chester streets; 215-382-0789.

Humboldt Society: Lesbian and Gay Naturalists meets 7:30 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at William Way; 215-985-1456, www.humboldtsociety.org.

Independence Squares LGBT square-dance club, modern Western square dancing hosts an open house and Tuesday classes in the fall at Lutheran Church, 2111 Sansom St.; philadances@gmail.com, www.independencesquares.org.

Male Oenophile Group forming to discuss, appreciate and taste various wines. Will meet once a month to investigate the nuances and glories of the fermented grape; 267-2306750.

Mornings OUT LGBT Senior Social activities for senior gay men are held 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesdays at William Way. PhilaVentures, Philadelphia’s LGBT outdoor group, meets for hikes in Wissahickon Valley and Valley Forge Park; philaventures.org.

Sports

Brandywine Women’s Rugby Club meets for practice at p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Greenfield Park, West Chester; www.brandywinerugby.org.

City of Brotherly Love Softball League serves the Philadelphia metropolitan area with games on Sundays, beginning in April, at the Dairy and Edgeley Fields in Fairmount Park; www.cblsl.org.

Frontrunners running club meets 9:30 a.m. Saturdays for a run and brunch at Lloyd Hall, No. 1 Boathouse Row; www.philadelphiafrontrunners.org.

Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club, open to LGBT and allies, practices 8-10 p.m. Mondays and 2-4 p.m.

Saturdays; www.falcons-soccer.org.

Philadelphia Fins Swim Team, open to male and female swimmers, meets 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday at Friends Select School and 10:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays; www.philadelphia-fins.org.

Philadelphia Gay Bowling League meets 8 p.m.

Wednesdays September-April at South Bowl, 19 E. Oregon Ave.; 856-889-1434, philagaybowling@yahoo.com.

Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League plays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at FDR Park; www.phillyflagfootball.com

Philadelphia Gryphons Rugby Football Club, open to players of all skill levels, meets 7:45 p.m. Thursdays at Columbus Square Park, 1200 Wharton St.; 215-913-7531, philadelphiagryphons.org, becomeagryphon@gmail.com.

Philadelphia Liberty Belles women’s semi-pro full-tackle football league holds fall tryouts; phillybelles.com.

Philadelphia Liberty Tennis Association plays yearround, all skill levels welcome; philadelphialibertytennis. com.

Philadelphia Firebirds women’s football team seeks players; www.philadelphiafirebirds.com.

Philadelphia Women’s Baseball League seeks players, all skill levels and ages. Practice is 7 p.m. Thursdays at Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 17th and Fitzwater streets, with games at 2:30 p.m. Sundays; 215-991-5995 (day), 301-919-1194 (evening), phillywomensbaseball. com.

Philly Gay Hockey Association Philadelphia Phury seeks players; 917-656-1936, phury@gayhockey.org.

Philly QCycle LGBT bicycling club promotes organized recreational riding for all levels in the Greater Philadelphia region; contact the organization via Facebook.

Rainbow Riders of the Delaware Valley motorcycle club meets regularly; 215-836-0440, www.groups.yahoo.com/ group/rainbowridersdv/.

Rainbow Rollers gay and lesbian bowling league meets 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays at Boulevard Lanes in Northeast Philadelphia; rainbowrollers.com.

Spartan Wrestling Club gay wrestling team meets 6:30-9 p.m. Mondays at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St.; 215-732-4545, www.phillyspartans.com.

Etc.

AIDS Law Project provides free legal assistance to people with HIV/AIDS and sponsors free monthly seminars on work and housing at 1211 Chestnut St., Suite 600; 215587-9377, www.aidslawpa.org.

BiUnity, Philadelphia-area social and support network for bisexuals, their family members and friends; http://biunity. org.

Delaware Valley Pink Pistols, for LGBT people dedicated to legal, safe and responsible use of firearms for self-defense, meets 1 p.m. the third Sunday of the month at The Gun Range, 542 N. Percy St.; 610-879-2364; www.pinkpistolsdelval.org.

Delaware Pride holds planning meetings 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at the United Church of Christ, 300 Main St., Newark; 302-265-3020, delawarepride.org.

Haverford College’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance holds open meetings 10-11 p.m. Mondays during the school year in the lounge in Jones Basement at Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave.; 610-896-4938.

Men and Women for Human Excellence support group meets from noon-2 p.m. the first and third Saturdays of the month at 26th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue; 267-2733513, cmoore8300@yahoo.com.

Long Yang Club Philadelphia, social organization for gay Asians and their friends, holds monthly socials; www. longyangclub.org/philadelphia.

Our Night Out, a casual social networking party of LGBT professionals, friends and colleagues, meets in a different Philadelphia hot spot each month. To receive monthly event invitations, email OurNightOutPhilly@gmail.com; more information on Facebook.

Philadelphia Bar Association Legal Advice offered 5-8 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month; 215-238-6333.

Philadelphia Prime Timers club for mature gay and bisexual men and their admirers meets regularly; primetimersofphiladelphia@yahoo.com.

Philadelphians MC Club, for leather men and women, meets 7:30 p.m. the first and third Monday of the month at The Pit at The Bike Stop, 201 S. Quince St.; philadelphiansmc.org.

Rainbow Amateur Radio Association ARRL-affiliated, weekly HF nets, quarterly newsletter; www.rara.org.

Silver Foxes, a social and educational group for gays and lesbians 50 and older, meets 3-5 p.m. the fourth Sunday of the month at William Way; 215-732-2220.

SNJ Queers meets monthly for queer/queer-friendly folks in South Jersey to mix and mingle; 856-375-3708, wmf69@comast.net.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

31

Community Bulletin Board Community centers

■ The Attic Youth Center 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. Groups meet and activities are held 4-7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. Case management, HIV testing and smoking cessation are available Monday-Friday.

■ Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania 3907 Spruce St., 215-898-5044, center@dolphin. upenn.edu. Regular hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. MondayThursday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Summer hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

■ ActionAIDS: 215-981-0088

■ Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext.

9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org. Activities held 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays.

■ William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org.

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays Peer counseling: 6-9 p.m.

Monday-Friday Library: noon-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Volunteers: New Orientation, first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Key numbers

■ AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania: 215-587-9377

■ Equality Pennsylvania: 215731-1447; www.equalitypa.org

■ AIDS Law Project of Southern New Jersey: 856-933-9500 ext.

221

■ Equality Forum: 215-732-3378

■ AIDS Library: 215-985-4851 ■ ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215592-1513 ■ AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800662-6080 ■ Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection at the Independence Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library: 215-685-1633 n The COLOURS Organization Inc.: 215-496-0330

■ LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK ■ Mazzoni Center: 215-563-0652; Legal Services: 215-563-0657, 866-LGBT-LAW; Family & Community Medicine: 215-563-0658 ■ Office of LGBT Affairs — Director Nellie Fitzpatrick: 215-6860330; helen.fitzpatrick@phila.gov

■ Philadelphia Police Department liaison — Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel: 215-6863318 ■ Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-760-3686 (Rick Lombardo); ppd.lgbt@gmail.com ■ Philly Pride Presents: 215875-9288 ■ SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-9209537 ■ Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207 (staffed 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 6-9 p.m.

Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)

■ Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 ■ Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: 215-686-4670

Health

Anonymous, free, confidential HIV testing Spanish/English counselors offer testing 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, 216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870.

ActionAIDS Provides a range of programs for people affected by HIV/ AIDS, including case management, prevention, testing and education services at 1216 Arch St.; 215-981-0088, www. actionaids.org.

GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization Free, anonymous HIV testing from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 1207 Chestnut St., fifth floor; noon-6 p.m.

Tuesdays at the Washington West Project, 1201 Locust St.; 215-851-1822 or 866-222-3871, www.galaei.org.

Spanish/English HIV treatment Free HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment for Philadelphia residents are available from 9 a.m.-noon Mondays (walk-in) and 5-8 p.m. Thursdays (by appointment) at Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad St.; 215685-1821.

HIV health insurance help Access to free medications and confidential HIV testing 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays at 13 S. MacDade Blvd., Suite

■ Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia Board meetings at 6:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at 100 S. Broad St., Suite 1810; free referral service at 215-6279090, www.galloplaw.org.

■ Independence Business Alliance Greater Philadelphia’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce, providing networking, business development, marketing, educational and advocacy opportunities for LGBT and LGBT-friendly busi-

108, Collingdale; Medical Office Building, 722 Church Lane, Yeadon; and 630 S. 60th St.; 610-586-9077.

Mazzoni Center LGBTQ counseling and behavioral health services, HIV/ AIDS care and services, case management and support groups; 21 S. 12th St., eighth floor; 215-563-0652, www. mazzonicenter.org.

Mazzoni Center Family & Community Medicine Comprehensive primary health care, preventive health services, gynecology, sexual-health services and chronic-disease management, including comprehensive HIV care, as well as youth drop-in (ages 14-24) 5-7p.m. Wednesdays; 809 Locust St.; 215-563-0658.

Philadelphia FIGHT Comprehensive AIDS service organization providing primary care, consumer education, advocacy and research on potential treatments and vaccines; 1233 Locust St.; 215985-4448; www.fight.org.

Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center Free, rapid HIV testing. Walk-ins welcome 9 a.m.-9 pm.

Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sunday; 1201 Locust St.; 215-985-9206.

Professional groups nesses and professionals; 215557-0190, www.IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com.

■ National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Philadelphia chapter of NLGJA, open to professionals and students, meets for social and networking events; www.nlgja.org/ philly; philly@nlgja.org.

■ Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus Regional organization dedicated to promoting LGBT tourism to the Greater Philadelphia region, meetings every other month on the fourth Thursday (January, March, May, July, September and the third Thursday in November), open to the public; 215-8402039, www.philadelphiagaytourism.com.

32

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2016

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN® The Gala Co-Chairs and Committee would like to offer special thanks to the following individuals who helped us along the way: Tim Adams - Field House/Pennsylvania 6 Joseph Gidjunis-JPG Photography Stacey Salter Moore-JPG Photography Brian Sims Paul Steinke (We love you!)

VoIver

A sincere thank you goes to all of our invaluable dinner committee members. Your incredible effort and enthusiasm made this the special event that it is.

Liz Balcom-Gala Co-Chair Neil Bardhan-Marketing/Social Media Chair Britt Bin/er - Corporate Committee Alex Brodsky-Silent Auction Committee Derek Coffman-Corporate Committee Michael Colligan -Af ter Party Chair Dan Daley-Silent Auction Committee Alex Daley-Montgomery-Program Book Designer Joseph DiDio-Silent Auction Committee Carly Friedman-Volunteer Committee Charles Massucci - Silent Auction Committee Vicki Ricart - Marketing/Social Media Committee Marvin Rocha - Corporate Chair Giovanni Sa/dutti-Volunteer Chair Aracely Somoza - Corporate Committee Katherine Spriss/er-Klein-Table Captain Chair Ron Stroh - Silent Auction Chair Jane Sung-Silent Auction Committee Nicole Svonavec - Gala Co-Chair

And of course, a huge thank you to our friends on Team Philly in the Development Department at the Human Rights Campaign: Cassandra, Chris, Frank, Kevin, Maurice, Mollie and Tim

HRC Greater Philadelphia Board & Steering Committee Chris Labonte - Board of Directors Joan Lau - Board of Directors Britt Bin/er- Board of Governors Marvin Rocha- Board of Governors Katherine Spriss/er-Klein - Board of Governors Liz Balcom, Neil Bardhan, Britt Bin/er, Crystal Cheatham, Dawn Dupre, Bradley Hoffercamp, David Klein, Chris Labonte, Joan Lau, Jon Pierre, Marvin Rocha, Giovanni Sa/dutti, Allison Smith­ VanKuiken, Megan Smith-Vankuiken, Katherine Spriss/er-Klein, Nicole Svonavec, Judy Williams

And thank you to every partner, spouse, or significant other of our committee members who sacrificed personal time with their loved ones and provided endless support behind the scenes!

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