Family Portrait: Nikiko Masumoto on film PAGE 29
LGBT delegates sought for 2016 Democratic convention PAGE 6
First Person Arts takes center stage PAGE 25
Philadelphia FIGHT raises PrEP awareness PAGE 5 Nov. 6-12, 2015
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 39 No. 45
Election results bode well for LGBT residents Jury clears police Among the victories from Tuesday’s elections was Montgomery County’s first out judge, the Democratic sweep of the state Supreme Court race and the voter-backed move to make the Office of LGBT Affairs permanent.
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Luis A. Berrios 3d says his world became a very scary place after a violent encounter with police almost five years ago left him feeling isolated and paranoid. “I didn’t know how to live anymore,” Berrios told a federal jury this week. But on Nov. 4, after two hours of deliberations, the all-white jury exonerated two officers allegedly responsible for Berrios’ ongoing trauma. Officer Michael Gentile was cleared of using excessive force against Berrios and Officer Robert Tavarez was cleared of facilitating the excessive force as a bystander. In a prepared statement, Berrios said: “This isn’t over. No wonder our youth are angry every day. They are not safe in this world.” According to Berrios, all hell broke loose on Dec. 28, 2010, after officers entered his Hunting Park residence to quell a domestic disturbance, then realized they were dealing with a same-sex couple. Berrios said officers beat his boyfriend with batons and pulled out his hair, hurled PAGE 19 anti-LGBT slurs at both
Get Pa
By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com There were a number of LGBT victories at the polls Tuesday, including the success of a ballot question that made Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs permanent. The question, made possible through legislation by City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, asked voters to consider amending the City Charter to officially incorporate the office. With 98 percent of precincts reporting as of presstime, the result was 58-42 percent in favor, 91,825 to 67,319 votes. “Philadelphia has an international reputation as a city that both celebrates diversity and has no tolerance for intolerance,” Reynolds Brown said in a statement to PGN. “This bill offers the LGBT community a permanent seat and voice at the table. To a community who too often faces discrimination, it is imperative for them to have a direct line to the mayor and City Council. Making this office permanent sends a continued message that, while we have more work to do, we are absolutely up to the challenge.” Among the races, Dan Clifford became the first openly gay county official in Montgomery County when he was elected as a judge for the county Court of Common Pleas. According to unofficial results, he earned 82,056 votes, the second-highest following Risa Vetri Ferman, district attorney in Montgomery County. Todd Eisenberg won the third available seat on the county court bench. All vote totals are unofficial until certification in the coming weeks. “It was finally time to break through the fire wall and have an LGBT official outside of Philadelphia,” Clifford told PGN Wednesday. “I feel wonderful about the victory. It’s due in part to the overwhelming support from the LGBT community. I certainly appreciate their support.” Clifford said he hopes his win inspires other LGBT residents PAGE 8
in brutality case
HERE TO STAY: The Gayborhood mural of Gloria Casarez was completed this week, just in time for voters to back the permanent establishment of the Office of LGBT Affairs. Casarez, who died last year, was appointed the inaugural director of the office in 2008. The mural, on the front of 12th Street Gym, honors Casarez’s work with the city and as a community activist. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Former Philly resident fired for same-sex marriage By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com It took two months of interviews for John Murphy, a former Philadelphia resident, to earn a job offer as the executive director of an assisted-living facility in Virginia; but only eight days and a “brutal” conversation with the local Catholic diocese to lose it. The trouble started when Murphy, 64, filed his benefits paperwork and listed Jerry Carter, 67, as his spouse. The couple met more than 30 years ago and married legally in Connecticut in 2007. On April 1, two representatives of Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo, head of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, visited Murphy’s office. Because Murphy had gone through the interview process for Saint Francis Home with the board of directors and had not interacted with the diocese, he assumed it was a welcoming committee. DiLorenzo grew up in Philadelphia and trained at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Merion Township PAGE 19 before serving as Auxiliary Bishop of
BEST IN BIZ: Philadelphia Business Journal unveiled its list of LGBT Top Companies and Awards Tuesday evening at Union Trust. For the first time, the initiative honored local LGBT leaders in addition to businesses. The honorees were: Patricia Boshuizen, Klayton Fennell, Marcus Iannozzi, Carrie Jacobs, Cletus Lyman, Nurit Shein, Reggie Shuford and Matthew Ray. Special guests included PBJ’s Sandy Smith (from left), TD Bank’s Ann Marie Carollo and PBJ’s Craig Ey and Courtney Armstrong. Photo: Scott A. Drake