PGN Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012 by The Philadelphia Gay News

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

Family Portrait: Bridget O’Loughlin

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Final farewells of the year

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Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Top Stories 2011 PGN Staff This past year was one of highs and lows, progress and setbacks for the LGBT community. There has been increased visibility, with progress on LGBT rights at the local and national level. Sexual and gender minorities gained protections from discrimination in several local municipalities, the Obama administration implemented the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and more out candidates ran for public office. In the “needs improvement” column, Pennsylvania has yet to pass a statewide nondiscrimination law for LGBTs, the Phillies were the only local sports team to make an “It Gets Better Video” and there were numerous arrests for child-sex abuse, both recent and from years past, in the Catholic church, athletic departments and, in one case, the athletic department of a Catholic school. A few stories date back further than 2011 — and will likely linger through 2012 and

beyond — including the city’s dispute with the Boy Scouts over the building they occupy and the proposed LGBT-friendly senior housing center. As the year comes to a close, PGN revisits the stories that impacted the community or just caught our eye. We promise to follow up in 2012. LOCAL LGBT measures spread across PA In 2011, eight Pennsylvania municipalities made strides for LGBT equality with the adoption of ordinances banning LGBT discrimination. With a statewide LGBT nondiscrimination bill stalled for years, local residents have taken the issue into their own hands, with many of the successful measures first proposed by residents of the towns. Equality Pennsylvania took a leadership role in the effort, working closely with elected officials to craft and move forward

the bills. This year’s victories were secured in Haverford, Conshohocken, Bethlehem, Springfield, Newtown, Whitemarsh and Jenkintown. In December, Susquehanna Township became the first Central Pennsylvania municipality in nine years to approve such a measure. The state is now home to 26 municipalities that prohibit LGBT discrimination, with several more considering following suit. Additionally, Allentown and Easton approved domestic-partner laws this year. With those successes, Pennsylvania now has five municipalities that offer such programs. Philly couple faces deportation The federal ban on same-sex marriage hit home for one Philadelphia couple this year. Anton Tanumihardja, a native of Indonesia, is facing deportation after several failed attempts at political asylum based, among other factors, PAGE 5

Sims gets Victory Fund endorsement By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Out Pennsylvania House of Representatives candidate Brian Sims got the backing this week of a national LGBT political group. The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund endorsed Sims in his bid to represent Pennsylvania’s 182nd District. If elected, Sims would be Pennsylvania’s first openly LGBT state lawmaker. Vi c t o r y F u n d endorses LGBT candidates for local, state a n d f e d e r a l o ffi c e across the nation. In order to qualify for the endorsement, candidates must demonstrate “community support and a realistic plan to win,” and back LGBT civil-rights efforts, as well as privacy and reproductive-freedom issues. Sims said the application for the endorsement was an arduous PAGE 15

WEIR WITH THE CHORUS: Three-time U.S. national champion and two-time Olympian Johnny Weir (center, in red hat) performed as part of the “Holidays Dreams on Ice” tour, along with the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus, Dec. 23 at the University of Pennsylvania Class of 1923 Arena. Weir was joined on the ice by colleagues U.S. bronze medalist Ashley Wagner, Skate America bronze medalist Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Junior Grand Prix bronze medalist Samantha Cesario, U.S. silver medalist Brandon Mroz and three-time Israeli national champion and 2010 Olympian Tamar Katz. Photo: Patrick Hagerty

HIV funding fallout continues Colours to receive $135,000 AACO cites shifting priorities to reach those with HIV for treatment and prevention messages, less focus on testing low-risk populations By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com HIV/AIDS service organizations in the area have been reassessing their options following last week’s announcement that a number of agencies would not receive funding from a federal prevention program. The High Impact HIV-Prevention Services awards list was unveiled Dec. 19, with Action AIDS and The Colours Organization Inc. being zero-funded. However, PGN learned this week that Colours will receive $135,000 from the program, funding that was put on hold in light of the death of the organization’s executive director. The money for the program comes from the Centers for Disease Control and is distributed by the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office. CDC revised its prevention funding for health departments this past summer, funneling dollars to cities and states most affected by the disease, with a focus on “high-impact” services that present the greatest opportunity to “significantly reduce new infection.” CDC spokesperson Scott Bryan said the agency is “maximizing the impact of HIV-prevention funding and HIV-prevention efforts by increasing funding in areas with the greatest need. This new funding approach will help maximize the collective impact by directing resources to jurisdictions with the greatest needs and supporting interventions with the greatest, most lasting impact.” The program allocated about 75 percent of the funds toward testing efforts, with the rest going to support risk reduction, education and other programs. The funding program PAGE 6

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Who will be PGNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Person of the Year?

2011 Person of the Year Coming next week!

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: Members of The Attic Youth Center got in the holiday spirit at the agency’s holiday party Dec. 21 at William Way LGBT Community Center. About 100 supporters turned out for the event, which featured crafts and art for sale, food and dancing. Photo: Scott A. Drake NEWS

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Contents

EDITORIAL/OP-ED

Creep of the Week Editorial Op-Ed Mark My Words Street Talk

10 10 11 11 11

Do you make a New Year’s resolution? Poll results from our online survey as of Dec. 28:

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Never have, never will Used to, no more Yes, and I keep it Yes, but I never keep it

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Art Director/Photographer Scott A. Drake (ext. 210) scott@epgn.com Graphic Artist Sean Dorn (ext. 211) sean@epgn.com Executive Assistant/ Billing Manager Carol Giunta (ext. 202) carol@epgn.com Philadelphia Gay News is a member of: The Associated Press Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Suburban Newspapers of America Published by Masco Communications Inc. © 2011 Masco Communications Inc. ISSN-0742-5155 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 TOP STORIES from page 1

on his sexuality. Immigration officials ordered Tanumihardja to return to his home country Feb. 14, which would have separated him from partner Brian Andersen. The couple was given a last-minute reprieve on Valentine’s Day as the case was reopened. Tanumihardja and Andersen wed this past summer in Washington, D.C., but the Defense of Marriage Act precludes the federal government from recognizing samesex marriages, effectively stymieing efforts of binational couples to sponsor their partners or spouses for a visa, a right enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Subsequent appeals by Tanumihardja were rejected, and in October, immigration officials ordered him to appear again in January to make plans for his return to Indonesia. The couple has vowed to continue fighting deportation. Abuse scandals rock city and state Several high-profile sex-abuse cases in the area dominated the news this year. In February, four Archdiocesan priests and one lay teacher were arrested after a sweeping grand-jury indictment. The teacher and three of the priests were accused of molesting male students in the 1990s and, in a first for the nation, a highranking Archdiocesan official, Monsignor William Lynn, was arrested for endangering the welfare of a child for his alleged complicity in covering the incidents.

The indictment indicated that nearly 40 priests who had previously faced sex-abuse allegations were still in service, and the Archdiocese later placed nearly two-dozen priests on administrative leave. Several alleged victims subsequently filed suits against the priests and the Archdiocese. A joint trial for Lynn and his co-defendants is set for March. This past summer, the Archdiocese took another hit when Neumann-Goretti High School baseball coach Louis Spadaccini was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing at least two male students. A scheduling conference will be held Feb. 2. Penn State made international headlines when former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested for sexually abusing at least 10 young boys, whom he met SANDUSKY through his nonprofit that sought to provide opportunities for underprivileged youth. The case had wide-ranging implications, with the arrests of two top school officials and the firing of the university president and legendary coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky is free on bail on house arrest. A trial date has not yet been set. Gays go for public office A number of openly gay candidates sought

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

COHEN (FROM LEFT), KING, LAZIN, MCDERMOTT AND MALLIOS

to make history this year in Philadelphia. Republican Malcolm Lazin and Democrat Sherrie Cohen each vied to become the first openly LGBT member of Philadelphia City Council, narrowly losing their races in the spring primary. Out attorneys Chris Mallios and Leon King both ran, but were unsuccessful, in the Common Pleas Court judicial race, and attorney Bob Tuerk also lost his bid to become a Traffic Court judge. However, attorney Barbara McDermott’s campaign to join the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was successful. She made the cut in the primary and placed first among all of her fellow Common Pleas candidates in the November general election. Numerous openly gay candidates have already thrown their hats into the ring for next year’s election. Community leader Brian Sims is running against longtime Pennsylvania Rep. Babette Josephs (D-182nd Dist.) in the April primary, while out candidates Christopher Deitz and Joshua Young plan to run for

state House seats in Central Pennsylvania and Chester County, respectively. Senior housing proposal moves ahead The effort to create affordable living spaces for LGBT seniors saw several ups

and downs this year. Dr. Magnus Hirschfield Fund’s seniorhousing proposal, first submitted in late 2010, in February got the green light from partner William Way PAGE 12

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was last open in a competitive process in 2008, with grantees able to apply for continuation of funds on a yearly basis. In this latest competitive process, Philadelphia received $570,000 less from the CDC, according to AACO, and the funding was distributed to 22 agencies, compared with 15 organizations in the last cycle. AACO’s revised Request for Proposals took into account the new CDC guidelines and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and was informed by the Philadelphia Community Planning Group, an independent panel that sets priorities for addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic locally. “It’s a fairly significant shift that starts with and emanates from the president’s strategy to address HIV/AIDS, which puts more of a focus on identifying and getting into care those who are already HIV-positive,” said Nan Feyler, chief of staff of the city’s Health Department. “For many years, there was a focus on testing negatives but there’s a lot of epidemiological evidence to show that many folks, in particular those in the African-American [men who have sex with men] community, are positive but have not been tested.” For that reason, Feyler said the past success of a program in generating HIV-positive tests was integral when it came to where the funding was directed. “Because of the shift toward focusing on positives, we had to look carefully at how effective the agency’s strategy was in identifying, locating and getting tested those who are positive,” she said. “It wasn’t just about the number of people who were tested but, to be consistent with the president’s priorities, the number of people who tested positive.” The RFP was issued in mid-October with a bidders’ conference held at the end of the month, where interested organizations could garner more information, although individual conversations between service providers and city officials were prohibited. The applications were due in midNovember and came before the Resource Allocation Advisory Committee, a group of 12 individuals appointed by the health commissioner — none of whom are allowed any conflict of interest, such as an affiliation with a service provider. The RAAC then made its recommendations for awards to the health commissioner, who gave final approval. While there were six categories funded through the High Impact program, a seventh, Social Media Technology focused on the MSM population, was included in the RFP but no funding allocated. “There was a very small amount of money earmarked in that category and, in light of the shift in the priorities and the $570,000 funding cut, it wasn’t cost-effective to use money for that category,” Feyler said. While Colours, which had received $190,000 in the last cycle, was initially not included on the awards list, money had been allocated for the organization. Feyler said executive director Robert

Burns passed away the same time as the decisions were being made, and city officials wanted to meet with the agency’s board before finalizing the funding decision. “They weren’t on the list that was sent out because we were waiting to talk to the board,” she said. “It would have been listed with every other agency but because this happened at the same time, we didn’t have information about what was going to happen to Colours so we wanted to meet with them first.” Colours’ funding will be directed toward targeted testing for African-American MSM. Action AIDS previously received $233,000 but did not receive any funding through the High Impact program this cycle. Because of the cuts, Action AIDS last week laid off three staff members in its prevention department — one tester, one outreach worker and one comprehensive risk counseling and services staffer. Action AIDS executive director Kevin Burns said one of the released employees had been with the agency for more than a decade. After the layoff, the agency now has 84 full-time employees, with three staffers working in the prevention unit. Burns said Action AIDS now has about $170,000 left for its prevention efforts, with a total agency budget of about $6 million. Burns contended that, considering the funding shifts, there wasn’t enough time between the release of the RFP and the due date. “When the new direction came out, AACO gave us little time to adjust what we were doing,” Burns said. “We were already in the cycle and weren’t able to shift things quickly enough to meet the goals. It’s hard for the priorities to be changed midstream and then have them expect people to meet those goals. I think this is a systems issue, not any issue with the AIDS services organizations.” Feyler said the timeline was standard and that she believes the department “created a process that gave folks adequate information.” Elsewhere in Philadelphia, Mazzoni Center was awarded $665,480, a jump from its previous $610,000. Mazzoni has a total budget of about $9.5 million. Prevention Point Philadelphia received a total of $397,500, of which $150,000 will benefit its Trans-Health Information Project, in particular for comprehensive prevention with positives and health education/risk reduction. Other awardees include The Attic, which received $50,000, and SafeGuards, which received $61,428 in the social-network category, an increase from the $50,000 it received in the last cycle. SafeGuards had applied for funding in five categories, which would have totaled $270,000. “Considering that some agencies got nothing, I should feel happy we got funded at all,” said SafeGuards executive director Brian Green. “But overall, I wasn’t very PAGE 16

OBITUARIES PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

2011 Notable deaths

Carter Burnette, 50 The music consultant died in November of liver cancer. A longtime songwriter, Burnette was the founder of WhatEver Productions, where he oversaw marketing for a number of national performers. He also worked on web design for several local HIV/AIDS service organizations. Robert Burns, 36 Burns died in December. He had served as executive director of The Colours Organization Inc. for the past year and previously worked as the organization’s deputy director and interim executive director. He also was the former director of HIVprevention effort The Collective and the House of Blahnik. Greg Campoli, 29 Campoli died i n D e c e m b e r. The Northeast Philadelphia native a n d S t . J o s e p h ’s University grad was a popular figure in the Gayborhood and a frequent presence at Uncles, where a crowded memorial was held for him. Gene Cavanaugh, 63 The cabaret performer died in July. Cavanaugh performed at such LGBT locales as Tavern on Camac, Chez Odette and Bob Egan’s in New Hope. Weeks before his death, he retired from a 40-year career at Cherry Hill’s Record Shop. Donn DesChaine, 63 DesChaine died in September of complications from emphysema. DesChaine worked at a number of South Street restaurants throughout the 1970s and ’80s and was also a member of the Dumpster Divers arts group.

Ellis Ginsburg, 80 Ginsburg died in August. He was a volunteer at the William Way LGBT Community Center for a number of years and was involved in the center’s “40+ Club” in the 1990s. He later helped launch the center’s Silver Foxes program and founded its Party Bridge group. Barbara Grier, 79 Grier died in November of lung c a n c e r. T h e c o founder of Naiad Press, Grier first wrote for a number of lesbian publications, including The Ladder, for which she later served as editor. The Rev. Dr. Bob Hanrahan, 76 Hanrahan died in June. An LGBT ally, he volunteered at AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania during the height of the AIDS epidemic. He served at a number of congregations before retiring as pastor of the New Britain Baptist Church in Bucks County. Dr. Frank Kameny, 86 Kameny died in October, on National Coming Out Day. Known as a father of the modern gay-rights movement, Kameny wa s a m o n g t h e participants in the Annual Reminder LGBT demonstrations in the 1960s in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. He brought the nation’s first civilrights claim based on sexual orientation to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1950s after being fired by the Army Map Service. Kameny, who co-founded the D.C.-based Mattachine Society, is credited with coining the slogan, “Gay is Good.” Marvin Lundy, 80 Lundy died in December of heart failure. He was one of the city’s most prominent personal-injury lawyers and had vast philanthropic interests. In the late 1980s, he organized a fundraiser that generated $40,000 for the Philadelphia Endowment for AIDS.

Gary Dennis Mammucari, 53 Mammucari died in May. A sales representative by trade, Mammucari was also a singer, specializing in ’40s hits. He was a member of the South Jersey String Band and a frequent entertainer on the Jersey Shore boardwalks. Dr. Arnold Markley, 47 Markley died of complications from leukemia in June. He was a longtime professor at Penn State’s Brandywine campus, where he coordinated the school’s English department. He also volunteered for AIDS Fund and Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance. Mark Mechowski, 45 Mechowski died in November of heart failure. A New Jersey resident, Mechowski served as assistant vice president of the Collingswood branch of Bank of America. He was active in his local community and supported fundraisers for Equality Pennsylvania

a n d t h e A I D S L aw P r o j e c t o f Pennsylvania. Doug Shaps, 53 Shaps died of colon cancer in October. A financial analyst, he served as the former executive director of Outfront Philadelphia. Shaps additionally sat on the Philadelphia Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign and on the national HRC board. Robert Smith, 62 Smith died of liver cancer in January. A longtime travel professional and former flight attendant, he most recently worked as the travel representative for a local engineering company before retiring last year. John Wilcox Jr., 66 Wi l c o x d i e d i n January of mesothelioma. Known by many as Jack, he was a constant presence at the William Way LGBT Community Center, to which he contributed heavily. Wilcox established a $100,000 endowment for the center and also supported the center’s library and archives, which was renamed after him. ■

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Bob Bland, 64 Bland died in June of cancer. Bland was an original member of the New York Gay Liberation Front and a longtime Democratic activist. Bland most recently chaired the Democratic Party Committee in the town where he lived in Arizona.

Stephen Gallagher, 31 Gallagher died in May of heart failure. The University of Pennsylvania genetic analyst was a member of the City of Brotherly Love Softball League and also a self-taught sketch artist.

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Steve Black, 44 Black died in January. A native of Pen Argyl, Black helped found and operate the Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Alliance for 10 years. A strong lobbyist, he began pressing for a domestic-partner law in Allentown two decades ago, which was passed shortly after his death.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

LOCAL PGN

Gayborhood Crime Watch The following incidents in the Midtown Village and Washington Square West areas were reported to the Sixth Police District between Dec. 11-18. Information is courtesy of 6th 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 (8477). INCIDENTS — At 1:15 p.m. Dec. 11 (reported 1:45 a.m. Dec. 12), someone approached the complainant from behind on the PATCO train platform at 13th and Locust streets and stuck an unknown object to complainant’s head and took a wallet. No description of the suspect was provided. — Between 5:50-10:30 p.m. Dec. 12, a secured bicycle was stolen from outside 211 S. Broad St. — At 1:50 p.m. Dec. 13, a male snatched an iPhone from a woman’s hand while she was walking outside 1220 Walnut St. The suspect fled east on Walnut and was described as a black male, 18 years old, 5-foot-8, 130 pounds and wearing a black hoodie, a black and orange hat and black jeans. — Between 11:15 a.m.-noon Dec.

13, someone punched out the lock of an ambulance parked in the 800 block of Spruce Street and stole a laptop. The incident was not reported until 10:30 p.m. and the scene was contaminated, thus no latent fingerprints were lifted. — Between 5:30-6:50 p.m. Dec. 14, a secured bicycle was taken without permission from outside 12th and Locust streets. — Between 10 p.m. Dec. 14 and 8 p.m. Dec. 15, a secured bicycle was taken without permission from outside 1200 Spruce St. — Between 3-6 p.m. Dec. 17, a secured bicycle was stolen from outside 1020 Locust St. NON-SUMMARY ARRESTS — At 8:40 p.m. Dec. 13, two males took an iPhone from an outdoor table at Tria, 1137 Spruce St., and fled north on 11th Street. A witness saw the males get into a taxi and gave a description to responding police. Sixth District Officer Cash stopped a taxi at Ridge Avenue and Spring Garden Street and the two male passengers were positively identified. The stolen phone was recovered. The 18- and 15-year-old suspects with North Philadelphia addresses were charged with theft and related offenses. ■

PGN NATIONAL

Media Trail Plaintiff in landmark gay rights case dies at 68 The Houston Chronicle reports John G. Lawrence, 68, whose legal case led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned state sodomy laws and granted privacy rights to gay men and lesbians, died Nov. 20 in Houston. He had a heart condition, his partner, Jose Garcia, told the paper. Lawrence’s case began in 1998 when a neighbor with a grudge faked a distress call to police, telling them that a man was “going crazy” in Lawrence’s apartment just outside Houston. Police went to the home, pushed open the door and found Lawrence and Tyrone Garner having sex. Both spent several hours in jail for alleged violation of the state sodomy statute, a misdemeanor,

and paid $200 fines. Mitchell Katine, a Houston attorney who represented Lawrence in the case Lawrence v. Texas, said Lawrence did not view himself as an activist. “He was angry at how he was treated, both physically and personally,” Katine told the Chronicle. “He was taken to jail in the middle of the night in his underwear.” At the time of the 2003 Supreme Court ruling, advocates called it the most important legal advance ever for gay people in the United States. Writing for the court majority, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said that the two men “are entitled to respect for their private lives. The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.”

Ad defending NH gaymarriage law launches The Boston Chronicle reports a bipartisan group has launched a television ad defending New Hampshire’s gay-marriage law and urging lawmakers not to repeal it. The ad shows people saying the state believes in freedom for everyone.

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Friday, January 20, 8:00 PM. Beth Ahavah Shabbat Services. Please join us for our monthly BA Shabbat Service followed by a sumptuous oneg (social hour). Dinner at a local restaurant at 6:00 PM precedes services. Please call or email for restaurant location and to RSVP. Visit www.bethahavah.org for additional information, programming and directions 615 North Broad Street, Phila., PA 19123-2495 Phone: 215.923.2003 E-mail: BethAhavah@rodephshalom.org Free secure parking: Cross Spring Garden at 13th St., left at next light, Mt. Vernon St. Parking lot entrance on left.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Standing Up for New Hampshire Families paid for the ad. The state House votes in January on a bill to replace the law with civil unions for any unmarried adults. The proposed civil-union law would differ from the previous civil-union law (which provided the same rights as marriage minus the name) in that it would be open to any two adults and would allow anyone to refuse to recognize the unions.

for the Metropolitan Community Church who was scheduled to speak Dec. 22, said the cancellation sends a message to gay and lesbian Catholics — the majority of Most Holy Redeemer’s membership — that they are unwelcome in the Catholic Church.

Catholic church in SF disinvites gay clergy

CBS news reports a lesbian couple living in southern Vermont say they’ll fight a federal order that one of them, a Japanese immigrant, leave the country. Frances Herbert and Takako Ueda of Dummerston received letters in December from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services saying though they’re married under Vermont law, federal law doesn’t recognize that, and Ueda has overstayed her visa. Herbert and Ueda have been together over a decade and married in April. Ueda said she has no interest in returning to Japan. Federal law allows immigrants to remain in the country if they are married to an American. But the federal agency says it’s barred by the Defense of Marriage Act from recognizing the marriage of two women. ■ — compiled by Larry Nichols

The San Francisco Chronicle reports a Roman Catholic church in San Francisco is being criticized for canceling a series of pre-Christmas services featuring gay ministers from other denominations. The Rev. Steve Meriwether of Most Holy Redeemer Church, in the Castro, rescinded the invitations he had extended to the three ministers at the direction of San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer. Archdiocese spokesperson George Wesolek said the archbishop felt the speakers were “inappropriate for the season of Advent.” The Rev. Roland Stringfellow, a minister

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

EDITORIAL PGN

Creep of the Week

D’Anne Witkowski

Gov. Rick Snyder

Editorial

New Year’s resolutions Amy: To never allow myself to settle for anything less than happiness, and to continue doing my best to improve the person I am. Brooke: To see Led Zeppelin if they go back on tour ... Dan: Stop, collaborate and listen. Greg: Stop ignoring auto correct on my phone. Jen: To live each day with purpose and meaning. Larry: A significant increase in prosperity. Prab: Quit trying to reason with unreasonable people. Sarah: To continue working on better health, fitness and nutrition (consistency!), do things that make me happy and pursue new challenges. Scott: Work on remembering people’s names better. And finally get my passport and leave the country. For a few days, at least. Sean: To better manage my time and sleep more. Tim: Do 100 sit-ups daily to eliminate those annoying love handles. And watch less Fox News so my editor doesn’t worry about me! ■

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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder gave the middle finger to gays and lesbians in the state when he signed a bill Dec. 22 that yanks domestic-partner benefits away from state employees. That’s three days before Christmas, folks. Snyder Claus has nothing but lumps of coal for ho-ho-homos. There was no compelling reason for such a bill to even exist — aside from the Michigan legislature’s long-standing obsession with discriminating against LGBT people, that is. Ever since the antigay marriage amendment passed in 2004, domestic-partner benefits have been in the crosshairs. While some Republicans claim that doing away with the benefits helps save the cash-strapped state money, the amount of money in question is negligible, especially for a state that is leaking talented young people like a sieve. The move has, not surprisingly, riled up civil-rights organizations and Michigan’s LGBT groups. Not that Snyder gives a shit. Emily Dievendorf, policy director at Equality Michigan, called Snyder’s support for the bill “appalling” and accused him of caving “to the radical social agenda coming from the legislature.” “[T]he governor told unmarried public employees that they could no longer care for their partners or children,” Dievendorf said. “He has put hardworking gay and lesbian couples and their children into harm’s way by eliminating important health-care coverage. He has spent the last two years talking about creating a welcoming state with an attractive business climate, and these bills fly in the face of those goals.” The Michigan ACLU vowed to fight the law. “The decision to take health-care benefits away from families just in time for the holidays is mean-spirited and cruel,” said Kary Moss, executive director of the Michigan ACLU. “The bill serves no other purpose than to single out a small minority of people and deprive them of critical protections as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.” Oddly enough, Snyder did care about the Michigan Constitution, though only a little, when he made sure that the state’s universities would be left out of this bill. He cited the “constitutional autonomy” of universities when he touted their exclusion. On the

surface this might seem like a generous move, but don’t be fooled. Public universities in Michigan were very outspoken against this bill. “The University of Michigan must be able to offer an excellent benefit package to our employees and to those we hope to recruit to UM for their unique talents, skills and expertise,” University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman wrote in a letter sent to legislators. “The loss of our ability to offer such benefits would put the university, and our state, at a serious disadvantage compared to peers.” Snyder didn’t let universities keep domestic-partner benefits because he respects the need to attract the best and the brightest talent and to foster a welcoming and diverse atmosphere. No, he did it because he didn’t want universities to sue. Because he knows that he did a really shitty thing, and he made damn sure the public employees impacted — including but not limited to schools, cities, townships — didn’t have a gay leg to stand on. These people are real. According to Equality Michigan executive director Denise Brogan-Kator, they include Ann Arbor teacher Theresa Bassett’s partner and 6-year-old son, Kalamazoo City employee JoLinda Jach’s partner “who suffers from arthritis and early stages of glaucoma,” and state employee Deb Harrah’s partner “who has diabetes and a thyroid condition.” With a stroke of a pen, Gov. Snyder told these families, “You don’t matter because you’re gay.” My guess is he didn’t lose any sleep over it. ■

Michigan’s Gov. Snyder didn’t let universities keep domestic-partner benefits because he respects the need to attract the best and the brightest talent and to foster a welcoming and diverse atmosphere. No, he did it because he didn’t want universities to sue.

D’Anne Witkowski is a freelance writer and poet. When she’s not taking on the creeps of the world, she reviews rock ’n’ roll shows in Detroit.

OP-ED PGN

Year of local, national progress Well, we’ve made it through another in Harrisburg — but statewide, more and year. Was your year full of excitement, joy, more municipalities are beginning to see friendship? Or was it a year of disappointthe shortcomings of Harrisburg and adoptment and hardship? Whichever it was, it’s ing their own antidiscrimination or domestic-partner laws. We surpassed 25 this over and, while there are issues we might year, with more on the way. want to look back at, it always seems to Philadelphia has always been a beacon me that Jan. 1 starts a clean slate. on LGBT issues, from 1965 But what would a good New onward. Our first attempt at a Year’s column be without a gay-rights bill was long before look back at last year, and especially our very special commuSan Francisco and Harvey Milk, nity? If I were to rate last year in 1975. Our domestic-partners (and I’m writing this column bill was long before most cita week before the big day and ies or states had even heard the from that date), I’d have to rate term before. Our registry was this not a good year but a great the first in the nation to offer year for equality. tax benefits. So Philadelphians Last year at this time, the of every stripe accept Philly’s U.S. Congress and President LGBT community as equal Obama finally tossed out partners in a growing city. So it should be no surprise that when “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” paving the way for gays and lesBlondell Reynolds Brown introbians to serve openly in the duced a bill that would enhance military. Continuing on the Mark Segal our domestic-partner bill to include companies that do businational path, we saw the government seriously looking at the problems ness with the city, not one person testified of our youth and our seniors as well as against it. Then when Council voted, it our health needs for the first time. If that was unanimous. Does that happen in any were not enough, the U.S. led the way in other city? By the way, Philadelphia’s the U.N. to create a study on the condienhancement of domestic-partner law to tion of LGBTs globally. That report, just include city contracts was only the 13th passed in the nation. issued, called for reforms in 75 countries, Happy New Year to everyone. Together, five of which literally call for the death we’ll make more news and progress for penalty for LGBT people. The year ended our community and city in 2012. ■ with both the president and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Human Rights Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the Day stating that the U.S. would not fund nation’s most-award-winning commentacountries that violate human rights, which include LGBT rights. tor in LGBT media. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com. On a state level, it wasn’t a great year

Mark My Words

General Gaiety

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Street Talk Who’s the LGBT person of the year? “Neil Patrick Harris. He’s a gifted actor, with great charisma. He truly deserved getting his own star on the Jason Boyles Hollywood architecture intern Walk of Fame. Queen Village I think it’s great that he came out of the closet, even though he would inevitably be ridiculed.”

“Rosie O’Donnell and Chaz Bono. I’ve been watching both of them on TV all year. Rosie Sieada Brown is a sweet, service representative caring, Mayfair generous person. I wish her all the best in her upcoming marriage. And Chaz is to be commended for his courage. I adore his mother, too.”

“Daniel Hernandez, the guy who saved Gabby Gifford’s life. He acted so admirably. A lot of people would avoid getting Regina Dawley involved. computer They’d be programmer Yeadon afraid of a lawsuit. I think he’s conducting himself very well in the spotlight.”

“Ricky Martin. He performed at the first concert I ever went to. He’s good to look at, a great dancer [and] always Brigette Kragie student having fun. Chicago When I see him [in the media], I feel nothing but admiration. After he came out, I liked him even more.”

Leslie Robinson

Helping out on the resolution front I’ve taken the liberty of composing New Year’s resolutions for individuals who are just too busy to do it themselves.

Newt Gingrich: 1. Lose weight. 2. Win the Republican nomination. 3. Win the presidential election. 4. Gloat. Mitt Romney: 1. Win the Republican nomination. 2. Win the presidential election. 3. Sentence Newt Gingrich to Devil’s Island. Herman Cain: 1. Land a gig on Fox. 2. See a marriage counselor with Gloria. 3. Find a new piece of chicken on the side. Rick Santorum: 1. Lose the Republican nomination. 2. Sulk. Michele Bachmann: 1. Win the Republican nomination. 2. If that fails, angle for the vice-presidential nomination. 3. Confront Marcus once and for all. 4. Introduce legislation removing all gay people to Key West — at least Marcus will be warm.

Marcus Bachmann: 1. Reconcile my faith, my orientation and my choices. 2. Not. Rick Perry: 1. Burn the jacket I wore in the antigay video. 2. Remain firmly ignorant about everything. Ron Paul: 1. Lose the Republican nomination. 2. Declare Houston a new libertarian nation. 3. Deny foreign aid to Dallas. Jon Huntsman: 1. Come from behind, way behind, and win the Republican nomination. 2. Failing that, accept a cabinet post — in the Obama administration. Fred Karger: 1. Be denied entry to the Republican National Convention. 2. Lose the Republican nomination. 3. Start planning for 2016. Sarah Palin: 1. Get Todd his own reality show on snowmobile racing. 2. Win the Arizona Senate seat. 3. See Russia from Scottsdale. Donald Trump: 1. Convince the world I’m the most important person in it.

Barack Obama: 1. Recapture the White House. 2. Work on my place in history. 3. Resume smoking, no matter what Michelle says. Michelle Obama: 1. Campaign like crazy. 2. Urge America to support Iraq veterans. 3. Rotate my crops. Bo Obama: 1. Locate an irreplaceable White House antique and eat it. John Boehner: 1. Do my part to get a Republican in the White House. 2. Perfect my tan so Sports Illustrated has to ask me to model in the swimsuit issue. Barney Frank: 1. Serve effectively in Congress until my final term is finished. 2. Try not to laugh when people suggest I lead the HRC. Tammy Baldwin: 1. Win Wisconsin’s tough Senate race. 2. Publicly downplay that I’m the first openly gay U.S. Senator. 3. Privately tingle all over. Pope Benedict XVI: 1. Continue leading

the Church backward. 2. Convince God I’m too valuable to be called home. Grethe Cammermeyer: 1. Make sure certain persons know I’m available to serve on the Joint Chiefs. Steve Jobs: 1. Reveal to the world that my consciousness now resides in Apple’s latest product, the iMback. Tinky Winky: 1. Haunt Rick Perry by being Photoshopped in with him as often as possible. Jerry Sandusky: 1. Go down fighting. 2. Go down lying. Jane Lynch: 1. Write another book. 2. Host more awards shows. 3. Star in “Glee” and appear in other shows. 4. Continue doing ads. 5. Throw in a movie. 6. Avoid a nervous breakdown. ■ Leslie Robinson hasn’t gotten around to fashioning her own resolutions. Email her suggestions at lesarobinson@gmail.com.

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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LGBT Community Center, to which the new building was slated to be attached. However, the project was not selected for state tax credits this past summer, setting back the timeline and causing the center to pull out of the deal. Backers resubmitted the proposal for tax credits in October. The project, which would cost approximately $19 million, received $2 million in city funding, as well as an additional $6 million from the state. Organizers also secured a new site, at 249-257 S. 13th St. Tax-credit awards will be announced in April and, if the proposal is selected, construction could begin in January 2013. Glassman heads west The state’s highest-ranking openly gay official left his post this year. Stephen Glassman, former chair of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, stepped down after eight years to accept a position as president and CEO of a Pittsburgh nonprofit design agency. While leading PHRC, Glassman lobbied strongly in Harrisburg for the statewide nondiscrimination bill and also worked on numerous local-level ordinances. Shortly after taking the position, he crafted an executive order for then-Gov. Ed Rendell GLASSMAN that extended nondiscrimination protections to transgender state employees. Glassman led the PHRC’s adjudication of a predatory lending case, in which African Americans were being illegally targeted by a mortgage broker, and oversaw the investigation into racial violence at South Philadelphia High School. Under his direction, the commission established the nation’s first Disability Stakeholder Taskforce, and he later served as vice chair of Rendell’s Cabinet and Advisory Commission for People with Disabilities. “Any time there’s an historically marginalized community that’s facing a rollback of rights, Steve has been right there to advocate,” said Andy Hoover, legislative director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. Marker hails history at bookstore The rich history of LGBT bookstore Giovanni’s Room was honored at October’s OutFest. A coalition of local LGBT community members successfully applied for a historical marker from the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, which last spring approved the installation of 13 new markers across the state, including at Giovanni’s Room, the nation’s oldest LGBT bookstore. The Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus

and other donors pitched in to defray the approximately $1,500 cost associated with the creation and erection of the sign. A host of leaders and elected officials, including Mayor Nutter, gathered at the Oct. 9 OutFest to celebrate the unveiling of the marker. The sign heralds the store as a “refuge and cultural center at the onset of the modern LGBT civil-rights movement” that has provided “resources to those working to gain legal rights for LGBT people.” It is the second in the state — a marker at Independence Hall that recognizes the LGBT demonstrations of the 1960s was the first — to specifically reference LGBT history. Philly sports see highs, lows The issue of homophobia in sports took center stage this year as several prominent professional sports leaders made antigay remarks, and many more took a stand against antigay sentiments. In Philadelphia, Flyers player Wayne Simmonds appeared to direct a homophobic slur at a member of an opposing team during a game in September. The exchange was caught on camera but, since there was no audio, officials with the National Hockey League did not penalize Simmonds. The NHL did, however, affirm that it would treat antigay comments on par with racial slurs in the future. Eagles player DeSean Jackson also used an antigay slur during a radio interview in June and, after initially taking to Twitter to defend his comments, later issued an apology. There were also bright moments in the sports world, as a number of Major League Baseball teams joined the “It Gets Better” video campaign, which seeks to support LGBT youth. The Phillies created their own video, starring members Chase Utley, John Mayberry Jr. Roy Halladay, Michael Stutes and Hunter Pence. The video made its big-screen debut at the Phillies’ Gay Community Night at Citizen’s Bank Park in August. The effort was supported by a fan-generated petition on Change.org that secured more than 2,000 signatures.

Boys Scouts debate drags on A deal that would have put ownership of the Boy Scouts building in the hands of the agency died in Philadelphia City Council this year. The proposal to sell the building on North 22nd Street to the Scouts for $500,000 — much less than its estimated value — was introduced late in 2010 and saw backlash from LGBT community members. An LGBT coalition met with Mayor Nutter in March to discuss the administration’s support for the proposed deal. The Scouts have been locked in a legal battle with the city over the property, which it had been using rent-free in an agreement the city said violated the Fair Practices Ordinance, as the Scouts bar openly gay members. A judge in 2010 ruled that the Scouts’ constitutional rights were violated by the city’s efforts to entreat them to denounce the national antigay policy. As part of the deal, proposed by Councilman Darrell Clarke, the Scouts would drop their claim that the city pay their nearly $1 million legal fees associated with the case. The future of the building remains uncertain. Irene makes her mark Thousands of LGBT visitors got an unwanted welcome to Philadelphia in the summer as Hurricane Irene blew through town. The Category 1 storm, which hit Aug. 27, threw a wrench in the scheduled National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention and the world series of the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America, both held in Philadelphia that weekend. While most of the series got in before the rain began, a number of events, including a Gayborhood-wide festival and the ASANA

championship ceremony, were cancelled. NLGJA axed a number of its Saturday workshops, as well as most of its city tours and a Sunday morning brunch. Both events were set to end Sunday and, while some guests got early flights and trains out of Philadelphia, many participants extended their stays. The Gayborhood was a ghost town that Saturday night, as a number of bars and restaurants closed their doors early, although the party continued at Venture Inn and ICandy.

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NATIONAL DADT is repealed This year saw the final repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers. Congress voted to lift “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” at the end of 2010, but full repeal was contingent upon the heads of the military and President Obama signing off that the military was prepared for the law to be lifted. Members of all the branches were trained in the first half of the year and, in July, Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen certified that the military was ready. The law officially hit the history books Sept. 20. Philadelphia LGBTs celebrated repeal that night at locales like Tabu, where former Congressman Patrick Murphy, the prime sponsor of the repeal bill, was in attendance to mark the occasion. In October, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network filed a federal suit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act on behalf of eight married same-sex couples who were unable to access equal benefits from the military for their same-sex partners. Feds drop DOMA defense The Obama administration dropped its support for the federal ban on same-sex marriage this year, stepping out of a number of federal lawsuits. In February, Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the administration found the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act that limits the definition of marriage to being between one man and one woman to be unconstitutional. While the administration said it would continue to enforce the law, it would no longer defend it in court. The move caused Republican members of Congress, backed by the Bi-Partisan House Legal Advisory Group, to step into the cases. The group initially selected D.C.-based firm King & Spalding to represent Congress; however, the agency later backed out after intense pressure from LGBT advocates. King & Spalding partner Paul Clement resigned from the firm after the dust-up and is now handling the case with Bancroft, PLLC. The Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA, was introduced in March in both chambers of Congress, and a number of Pennsylvania LGBT activists have been calling for Sen. Bob Casey (D) to sign on as a cosponsor. Wedding bells in NY In a late-night vote June 24, the New York Senate approved a marriage-equality law, making the Empire State the sixth and largest state to sanction same-sex marriage. LGBTs took to the streets of New York City that night to party and, in Philadelphia, the Gayborhood was host to several impromptu celebrations. The prospect of legislative victory had

been up in the air up until the final day, as supporters appeared one vote short, but eventually succeeded with the support of four Republicans. A number of local gay and lesbian couples trekked to New York this summer to tie the knot, including August owners MaryAnn Brancaccio and Maria Vanni and Jim Kelly-Evans and Dan Evans. The two couples were among the approximately 800 selected in a lottery to take their vows July 24, the first day marriage equality became legal. Philadelphia’s director of LGBT affairs Gloria Casarez and partner Tricia Dressel also headed to the Big Apple in August to wed. Couples counted in census The U.S. Census Bureau for the first time counted same-sex couples in its data, which was released throughout 2011. The Census found a total of 646,464 same-sex couples across the nation. About 132,000 of those couples listed themselves as married. According to the data, Pennsylvania is home to 33,602 gay and lesbian couples, with a rate of 6.7 couples per 1,000 households. About 5,700 same-sex couples live in Philadelphia, with 10.62 couples per 1,000 households, or 1 percent of the city’s total households. The highest concentration of same-sex couples in the state was in New Hope, followed by Lansdowne. Females made up about 63 percent of the state’s same-sex couplings, and there were areas of high concentrations of same-sex couples raising children in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania. Elsewhere in the area, New Jersey is home to 24,112 same-sex couples and Delaware to 3,352, amounting to 7.5 and 9.8 couples per 1,000 households, respectively. Inroads made abroad Efforts were made this year to promote LGBT equality across the globe. The United Nations’ Human Rights Council approved its first-ever resolution calling for LGBT rights in June. The measure, submitted by South Africa and supported by the United States, mandated a study to examine violence and discrimination committed against LGBTs around the world. In December, President Obama issued a memorandum instructing all U.S. agencies engaged abroad to adopt a number of policies to enhance their defense of LGBT rights. The president’s directive established a standing group to ensure proper responses to LGBT-rights violations and required all affected agencies to report back to the U.S. Department of State on their LGBT progress. The same day as the president’s announcement, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed the United Nations in Geneva, where she called on all nations to respect and protect LGBT rights. ■

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one. “It’s really quite a process,” he said. “It starts with a detailed campaign plan and a budget and, if you make it through the first round, you then submit a series of questionnaires and secondary detailed campaign plans.” If the application meets the Fund’s criteria, it comes before the organization’s board for a vote. Sims said the tough endorsement process makes the final seal of approval even more appreciated. “Part of the reason Victory Fund is so important is because they don’t give candidates a pass-through,” he said. “Anyone who’s applied for this or received it knows that the process itself is a litmus test for the professionalism and complexity of the campaign you’re running. You don’t get the endorsement just for being LGBT; you have to go through so many processes and really be a person who genuinely knows politics and knows a campaign.” The endorsement will come with a campaign contribution from Victory Fund in 2012, but Sims has not been informed yet of the amount. He said the organization ranks candidates and allocates the level of contribution based on a number of factors, including national interest and their ability to set a precedent in their state, and he said he is considered a “top tier” candidate. Sims previously served on the Victory Fund campaign board and said the endorsement is especially rewarding given his knowledge of the organization’s work. “I’m really excited about this,” he said. “Victory Fund has been around for 20 years. It’s because of Victory Fund that I have been able to meet and talk with all four LG members of Congress. I have an insane amount of respect for Victory Fund and it’s very humbling to be endorsed by a group of people I know to be very competent and very, very professional.” ■

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pleased because I thought we presented a very good proposal that would have targeted MSM, specifically African-American MSM.” Mazzoni executive director Nurit Shein noted that, while her agency saw an overall increase, it did lose funding. In the category supporting its CRCS, its funding was cut, as Shein said the agency had been at about 65-70 percent of its goal for that category. The loss resulted in the layoff of one CRCS staff member, Shein said, although other staffers will be cross-trained to alleviate any impact on consumers. Mazzoni received increased funding in the testing category, and Shein noted the agency was about 130 percent over its goal for that contract, having tested 5,439 people with a projected goal of 4,288. The added money will enable the agency to hire an additional HIV counselor. The agency received level funding for its education and social-network contracts. The first contract supports its Many Men, Many Voices program, an education workshop series for young, black MSM. The previous contract had a goal of 60 MMMV participants, and Shein said the agency surpassed that, with 81 participants and a combined 255 participant sessions. Its social-network aims were also exceeded, she said, with the program operating at 178 percent over goal. Shein said the agency has been generating a positivity rate on HIV tests of about 5-7 percent for young black MSM, and 3-4 percent among all MSM, rates that Shein said are higher than city averages. The agency also generates a 2-4-percent positivity rate in its medical practice, which is not funded through this program. However, those numbers are used by the city, Shein said, when pursuing federal HIV funding. While some in the community have criticized the amount of funding that Mazzoni received, Shein asserted it is important that funding be allocated to agencies that are meeting their goals. “Funding for testing is based on the number of positives that are found. So given that, I think the 30-percent past performance [rating] in the RFP was a very important 30 percent,” she said. “What that means is that if the city does not adhere to its goals, in the next go-around if we weren’t able to show results, the city of Philadelphia could lose more money overall. Can we afford to lose more?” Feyler cautioned that noninclusion in the awards list doesn’t signify an overall failing performance. “Even though it’s difficult to get that news, agencies that were level funded or didn’t get funded aren’t necessarily poor performers,” she said. “It came down to whether their strategy for reaching HIV-positive individuals, in particular AfricanAmerican MSM, was working. There is a strong

commitment from the health commissioner, this administration and AACO to work in line with the president’s strategy. The prevalence of HIV in African-American MSM is really staggering and we need to be in line with the national strategy to get those who are positive tested, into care and receiving counseling around prevention.” Among the agencies that had not received the dollars in the past and whose applications were not accepted were the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative, Philadelphia FIGHT and BEBASHI. ASIAC did not submit an application, said executive director Kevin Huang, but he said he was disappointed that a number of organizations that serve communities of color have continued to be underfunded. “The federal standards for a long time have been moving toward addressing populations at highest risk, which for some time has been MSM and, in particular, African-American and Latino men. And it appears that Asians are at a low risk for HIV but right now, we’re really at the early part of the curve in terms of the epidemic and, if we don’t get the resources we need, we will have the same emergency every other group has had,” Huang said. Green contended that there was a disparity between the RFP and the programs that were eventually selected for the awards. “I was glad to see that the city was focusing the RFP on MSM communities, but I don’t see that happening in the way this was funded,” he said. “I really question whether or not there’s going to be enough of a focus on MSM communities most at risk, and that’s African Americans and Latinos.” Huang asserted that community collaborations could be helpful in dealing with the fallout from the funding. “The only way we can end the spread of HIV is to be working together. We live together, we love one another and we should all be doing this together.” Mazzoni is open to examining opportunities for collaboration, Shein said. “We already subcontract with one organization that did not get funded and we will continue that,” she said. “No other organization that got defunded has come to us yet but I am most definitely open to that. We want to provide services to the whole community and, while we do provide services to the targeted population of MSM and MSM of color, we are definitely open to working with other organizations.” Service providers are invited to meet with AACO officials to discuss this funding stream and other opportunities, Feyler said. Meetings must be requested in writing. “There’s a lot of vulnerability in federal and state funding these days but we’ve worked hard to have an objective process, and we’re going to work very hard with the providers to try to reach those who are HIV-positive.” ■

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International Fewer Lithuanians back same-sex unions A poll by Lithuanian market research company RIAT claims only 4 percent of the country supports the introduction of civil partnerships for gay couples. The Baltic News Agency-commissioned poll says 70 percent of the population favors some form of legal recognition for relationships outside marriage, but not for gays. Same-sex marriages are currently banned under the country’s Constitution and the Civil Code, and while civil partnerships are permitted to be introduced by the legislature, the Code states they may only be between a man and a woman. While 70 percent of respondents supported opposite-sex civil unions and 4 percent supported opposite-sex and samesex unions, the remaining quarter did not approve of any non-marriage partnership being recognized by the state. Figures for public support of gay marriages rather than civil partnerships were not immediately available.

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A poll by the European Commission across all member states in 2006 showed 17 percent of Lithuanians then were in support of civil unions that would give gay couples the same rights as heterosexual married couples. In 2009, Lithuania’s Delfi newspaper reported 42 percent of those it polled supported civil partnerships for gay couples. The 2011 poll said more support was found among younger people, those with higher incomes and those who have had more education, but its overall findings of support are still markedly lower than the polls undertaken in previous years. One thousand and three Lithuanians ages 1574 were polled in November for the RIAT research.

Nigerian health minister: Bisexuals threaten HIV efforts Nigeria’s health minister has warned that bisexual men pose a “challenge” to efforts to tackle the spread of HIV in the country, as the prevalence of HIV among gay and bisexual men has risen. Onyebuchi Chukwu, launching the 2010 Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance in Abuja, said that HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men has risen to 17.2 percent, up from 13.5 percent in 2007.

But the report says half of the surveyed men who have sex with men also said they have sexual contact with women. Chukwu said the link between the groups of men who have sex with men and the female population “poses a challenge to the national response to HIV epidemic.” “If care is not taken, this behavior may erode the gains we have made in the national response to HIV/AIDS.” The survey studied some 14,987 people classified in high-risk groups—including female sex workers, men who have sex with men, police and armed-forces personnel, transport workers and injection-drug users. It found the prevalence of HIV among female sex workers and the armed forces had fallen over the three-year period. Earlier this month, 60,000 people signed a petition calling on the Nigerian president not to increase the penalties for homosexuality, which is illegal in the country. Activists said the bill, which has been passed by the Senate, further criminalizes any public relationship between two people of the same sex by classifying it as a “samesex marriage,” for which it introduces a punishment of 14 years’ imprisonment.

Malaysia urged to repeal antigay law, end trial The Malaysian government has been urged to revoke its laws criminalizing

homosexuality and abandon the criminal trial of its former deputy prime minister, which is believed to be nearing a verdict. Human Rights Watch made the call during the trial of Anwar Ibrahim, whom it claims the state is trying to “slander” with the antigay laws. Ibrahim was first imprisoned for corruption and sodomy charges in 1999. Though the second charge was later overturned and he was freed in 2004, Ibrahim was arrested for a second time in 2008 after Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old aide, claimed he had been sexually assaulted by the politician. Ibrahim was charged under the country’s consensual sodomy laws, as officials believed he could not have physically forced Azlan into the alleged act. Azlan was not charged, as he had reported the incident. The trial began in February 2010. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Malaysian government uses its outdated sodomy law to slander political opponents and critics. Whether or not Anwar Ibrahim engaged in consensual ‘sodomy’ is irrelevant. It’s time to reject this law and end the farcical political theater that promotes discrimination based on sexual orientation and destroys people’s lives.” Section 377 of the Malaysian penal code prohibits “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” ■ — compiled by Larry Nichols

PGN FEATURE

AC ul t ure rts

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Bulletin Board Family Portrait Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly Worth Watching

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CHRISTOPHER COUCILL AS FRANK BONITATIBUS, MARY MARTELLO AS JOYCE, GRACE GONGLEWSKI AS PHYLLIS AND DUSTIN INGRAM AS JARED; GONGLEWSKI AND MARTELLO (BELOW) Photos: Alexander Iziliaev

Lesbian couple the focus of Wilma Theater comedy By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com

The Wilma Theater will present “Body Awareness,” an early work by award-winning playwright Annie Baker, Jan. 4-Feb. 5. At 30, Baker has won a number of awards for her off-Braodway plays including “Circle Mirror Transformation” and “The Aliens.” Like Baker’s later and better-known works, “Body Awareness” finds humor in the lives of richly drawn and captivating characters, this time offering a glimpse into the quirky domestic life of a contemporary yet unpredictable family centered around a lesbian couple during one rather transformative week. Set in Shirley State College, Vt., where it’s Body Awareness Week, college professor Phyllis leads an unconventional life with girlfriend Joyce and her son Jared.

Two award-winning, Philadelphia-based actors, Grace Gonglewski and Mary Martello, both longtime fixtures in the Philadelphia theater community, portray Phyllis and Joyce, respect ive l y, i n “ B o d y Awareness.” Martello said she was familiar with Baker’s plays, particularly this play, going into the production. “I had done the reading that Wilma did about four years ago and I really liked the play,” Martello said. “I

thought it was extremely well written. It’s such a beautiful slice of life. All the characters go through a struggle and a change. They all come to some kind of realization about themselves, the people and the family. I thought it was beautiful. When I heard they were doing it, I made sure that I got to come in for an audition.” Both Martello and Gonglewski said that Joyce and Phyllis’ relationship, up until the point that the audience is introduced to them, has been solid.

“They’ve been partners for three years and I think when we see them in this play, their relationship is very domestic,” Martello said. “Joyce has a son and it has been a positive experience and relationship for both of them and the son. But I think they’re at the point after three years where they are ready to go through some kind of shift. But it’s a very warm, respectful and loving relationship.” “I don’t think Phyllis is as enlightened as we would wish for her to be,” Gonglewski said. “I think that she is unknowingly controlling. There are reasons for that and it’s a nice journey for her in the play for her to be able to address some of that and move away from it. There’s some healing that happens there. I find her funny. I find her sardonic. She’s sort of poking fun at me in a way. So it’s very tongue-in-cheek and that is wickedly delicious to do.” The source of the conflict between Phyllis and Joyce comes in the form of visiting art-

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

ist Frank Bonitatibus, who brings his photographs of nude women into their home, stirring up conflicting feelings over sexuality and identity. “He tells it like it is,” Gonglewski said about the character of Frank. “His character is something that’s insensitive, but unwittingly so. But it’s very powerful.” “For one thing, he’s staying in the house,” Martello explained about why Frank is the catalyst for confrontation. “Any time a stranger comes and stays in your house, that creates heightened awareness. But it’s his job, his art, as a photographer: He takes photographs of naked women of all ages. He goes around the country displaying this art and Joyce and Phyllis have two very different reactions to it. And so that creates a lot of conflict. Joyce finds them beautiful, strong and a statement of freedom and self-recognition. Phyllis is the opposite. She’s shocked that the two of them who have agreed on so many things over the years have two completely different responses.” Yet, Martello and Gonglewski said the humor in “Body Awareness” comes from a healthy and heartwarming place and isn’t necessarily a harbinger of doom for the couple. “It’s poking fun of sorts of the PC intellectual,” Gonglewski said. “It’s sophisticated and subtle. I think it’s a unique play

FEATURE PGN

in terms of poking fun at these kinds of characters. [Director] Anne Kauffman is doing an amazing job of rounding them out and not putting stereotypes on stage. I think

and raising a difficult child. I don’t think that paradigm is explored in depth on stage often.” “I think it’s the recognition of ourselves,”

that is a great source of humor. Sometimes painful things are wonderful sources of humor. I think it’s the relationship between them. They have a guest staying at the house and that is kind of a catalyst to bring things to the surface. So I would say that the humor comes right out of the relationship.” Martello said it isn’t often audiences get to see openly LGBT stage characters who aren’t in crisis, and she is happy to be part of portraying a healthy and stable lesbian couple — even when they are discovering and working through their differences. “I think people will be quite moved, and maybe put off a bit, by the absolute reality and honesty of these people and this situation,” she said. “I think it’s just beautiful. Normally, characters like these are seen in a sitcom situation or made fun of or they are at some point of crisis about their gay identity. But these people aren’t struggling with that. They’re just struggling with a normal domestic relationship and how they make that work. And that’s why I love that.” ■

COUCILL, MARTELLO AND GONGLEWSKI Photo: Alexander Iziliaev The Wilma Theater presents “Body Awareness” Jan. 4-Feb. 5, 265 S. that’s a little bit of a relief and pretty sophis- Martello added. “I think the source of the Broad St. Playwright Annie Baker will host ticated too. I have played lesbian characters humor is that these people are struggling to an onstage conversation on Jan. 8. For more before but I don’t think I’ve portrayed one figure out who they are, what life is about information or tickets, visit www.wilmathelike this: parents and non-parents partnered and how to get along with each other. I think ater.org or call 215-546-7824.

Get the scoop on Philly’s LGBT nightlife in Barcrawlr, PGN’s biweekly take on not-to-miss events

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FASHION PGN

Out fashion stylist goes solo on Bravo

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

��

�� The most award-winning LGBT newspaper in the country! During our 35th year, PGN staff collected a total of seven awards from Suburban Newspapers of America and the National Newspaper Association PGN Staff SNA First Place, Best Special Section World AIDS Supplement

BRAD GORESKI Photo: Nicole Wilder

By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Out TV personality and celebrity stylist Brad Goreski is ready to step out of the shadow of the fashion expert and the TV show that garnered him fame as he embarks on his new reality show, “It’s a Brad, Brad World.” The show follows Goreski as he breaks away from mentor and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe as well as her reality TV show, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” and tries to start his own company with limited funds and no assistance. “You see from the show the reality of what my world was when I left Rachel,” Goreski said. “Indeed, a lot of time was spent at home while I was waiting for work to come in with my dogs and my boyfriend. The whole point of me going off on my own and the point of assisting people is you want to learn from somebody who is an expert and then, once you get to a place you feel like you’re ready to go off on your own into that profession, that’s what I did. My intention was to always be a stylist and the intention when I left was to create my own business and they were aware of that. I love my boyfriend and I love my dogs but a girl has to pay the bills. I broke off with the intention of becoming my own stylist.” If there was any dirt about his breaking away from the Zoe camp, Goreski wasn’t dishing. But he did describe the transition from being an assistant to starting his own company as “very hard.” “It was a whole different amount of stress,” he said. “I got the courage and the confidence to be a really good assistant but it’s taken me a little bit to develop confidence as my own stylist. That was a major transition for me and definitely a theme we explore on the show.”

But Goreski also said that the benefits of being a known personality as a cast member on “The Rachel Zoe Project” far exceeded any drawbacks when it was time for him to forge his own path in the fashion world. “The only setback for me was having to work that much harder to prove that I have my own distinct sense of style and that I have my own way of working, and really trying to carve out my identity separate from her,” he said. “The hard work has definitely paid off because I’m busy now and I work with great women.” Indeed. Goreski now boasts celebrity clients like actresses Jessica Alba and Demi Moore and R&B singer Keri Hilson. Aside from the sweat and the glitz of the fashion world, “It’s a Brad, Brad World” also gives viewers a peek into Goreski’s personal life as he struggles to maintain his happy home life with his longtime boyfriend, Gary. “It’s very much a balance,” he said. “The show is very much focused on my building my business and me as the lead role as stylist as opposed to the assistant role, the way I was on Rachel’s show. So I think people will get to see how I work and how I’ve developed. I’m still kind of developing the process in which I work. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do this show, to show the actual process behind getting a photo shoot and getting a client and all the work that goes into that. But definitely my personal life and my family life is a big focus, because I really wanted to show people the other side of my life: my great family and my great boyfriend. I hope the audience enjoys them as much as I do.” “It’s a Brad, Brad World” premieres 10 p.m. Jan. 2 on Bravo. For more information, visit www.bravotv.com. ■

Gary M. Kramer SNA First Place, Best Arts & Entertainment Writing-Feature “John Waters Is My Role Model” Jen Colletta NNA Second Place, Best Feature Story “Kelly McGillis talks marriages, divorces and civil union” Larry Nichols SNA Second Place, Best Arts & Entertainment Writing-Feature “The Many Faces of Meshell” Mark Segal NNA Second Place, Best Serious Column “Mosque issue is an LGBT issue” Scott A. Drake SNA Honorable Mention, Best Photojournalism “Outfest” Scott A. Drake SNA Honorable Mention, Best News Photo “Historic Storm”

Congratulations to everyone on a great year! ��

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

PGN FILM

Model-turned-actor hones craft in new thriller By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor Ronnie Kroell made a name for himself appearing on Bravo’s “Make Me a Supermodel” and doing a nude Playgirl spread. With his starring turn in the locally shot “Into the Lion’s Den,” now out on DVD, Kroell is embarking on an acting career. In the engrossing thriller, Kroell plays Michael, a heartbroken Los Angelino stuck overnight in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. Traveling with two queer pals, the gay guys run afoul of the homophobic locals. On the phone from Los Angeles, Kroell spoke about getting naked and getting into character. PGN: Let’s start out as the characters in the film do, playing Never Have I Ever. Never have I ever seen “Supermodel” or your Playgirl spread. But I did catch you in “Eating Out Drama Camp” and now “Into the Lion’s Den.” What can you say about your budding acting career? RK: Being a model since I was 15 and following that dream to New York, and “Make Me a Supermodel,” I wanted to dig deeper and find new emotional and intellectual honesty. The model wanted to speak, and start telling stories. “Eating Out Drama Camp” presented itself, and that was fun to do. I auditioned [for “Lion’s Den”] and got a lead. It was really trial by fire for me. I have had some acting training and classes. I want to be considered a legitimate actor after doing a reality show. I have no regrets at all with “Supermodel,” but with anything in life, it comes with pros/cons, and there’s a challenge to gain respect with my peers. So I’m working on my craft.

PGN: You seem to enjoy showing your penis in your films and photo spread. But there’s an uncomfortable full-frontal scene in “Lion’s Den” involving a needle ... RK: I’m comfortable in my own skin. I don’t think that I did anything gratuitous. I had creative control for the Playgirl spread. With “Den,” our director/producer knows his stuff. He’s into blood and gore and props. The needle pricked my prick a bit, but it’s not real. PGN: Your character is described as “quiet, mysterious,” but also easy to coerce. Is that how you are in real life? RK: I’m probably one of the most extraverted introverts you’ll meet. I don’t need to be the center of attention. I gauge the temperature of the room and listen. I enjoy learning about others and see what makes them passionate and what excites them. PGN: Michael is heartbroken and looking for a new start. What’s your relationship status? RK: I’m single. Heartbroken, but not necessarily looking for a new start. I’m a serial monogamist. I’m learning to date me. It’s important to not need to be with someone. It’s nice to be loved, and have someone to bear witness and support you, and I want that relationship when it happens. I’m interested in dating, but it’s nice not to rush into it. I’m learning more about myself, and what I deserve and have to offer. PGN: The three gay guys are real fish out of water in Amish country. How have you handled experiences where you were out of your element? RK: When I was at Roosevelt University, I was into vocal jazz. A guy said, “If you want PAGE 26

RONNIE KROELL IN “INTO THE LION’S DEN”

PROFILE PGN

Family Portrait

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Suzi Nash

Bridget O’Loughlin: Parole officer, autodidactic writer The New Year is the time many of us take stock of our lives. This week, PGN profiles someone who took the concept to a whole new level. Just over one year ago, Bridget O’Loughlin challenged herself to write a story every single day for 365 days. Her funny and touching stories take us from the tragic event that started her journey to her triumphant 365th day. PGN: So Ms. O’Loughlin, tell me little about yourself. BOL: I just turned 40 and I was born in Bethlehem. PGN: Appropriate for this time of year! BOL: Isn’t it? I’ve often said that I was the second coming. But I’m from Bethlehem, Pa., so it’s not quite the same. I grew up in the suburbs of Philly, and I’ve lived in Center City since I was 17. PGN: Any other kids in the fam? BOL: I have a younger brother, Pat. He’s awesome. He’s an artist and he helped me a lot with this project. I don’t think I could have done it without him. PGN: And what did the folks do? BOL: My mom is happily retired from nursing and I have no idea what my dad does. I haven’t talked to him in 16 years. PGN: Where did you and Pat get your creative side? BOL: I think from a fucked-up childhood. I believe that’s where most creative types come from. It’s a good outlet for a life with a lot of pain. You can either wallow in it or find a way to channel it. My mom’s funny and Pat and I are funny, but as far as the creative arts are concerned, I think we just figured it out on our own. PGN: And how does he express his creative side? BOL: He’s a fine artist — photography, painting, sketching, anything along those lines. PGN: So what was the project? BOL: It started Dec. 14, 2010, and I decided to write a story a day for 365 days. I just finished the last one on the 14th of this month. PGN: Your blog is called “My Pants Won’t Stay Up.” Sounds naughty. BOL: It does, but no! About eight years ago I went through a cancer scare with my lady parts ... I had two tumors (that I named) and I lost a lot of weight, mostly from being stressed about it. When I started writing the blog, it was also after a period of stress that caused me to lose weight again, hence the pants not staying up.

PGN: And what prompted the project? BOL: I fell apart. At the end of October 2010 I tried to commit suicide. Three days later I got into therapy, though I’d always been resistant to try it. And I have a degree in psychology! I’m that guy, the one who’s always like, “No, I got this. I don’t need any help.” The therapist recommended that I start writing in a journal but I found that writing privately, I was just wallowing a lot. I figured that if I did it on a grander, more public scale, it would make me move out of that mind frame and lighten up a little. I mean some of the stories are pretty serious, but even then I tried to keep my sense of humor. It also started as a way to reach out to the person who had left and kind of wrecked me, but it soon grew into something else. At first it seemed insurmountable, because it took me two to three hours a day to write something and it was hard to always fit that in with life and my day job. PGN: And what do you do? BOL: I’m a parole officer. I still haven’t quite figured out what I want to be when I grow up. But I feel I can now say I’m a writer, which before I wouldn’t have been able to say or believe. PGN: What’s a funny parole-officer story? BOL: Oh God. Well, the funny ones usually revolve around drug tests. I had a guy test positive for weed and he kept denying, as they all do, that he had done anything. I said, “I didn’t ask you if you’d done drugs, because we know that for a fact, I asked for the circumstances.” He concentrated and racked his brain for the memory of what could have happened and finally asked, “Do you know the 76ers?” and I thought, this is going to be a good one. He said, “Well, a friend of mine won box seats for the game and they gave him a free buffet. I remember they had a hoagie spread and you know how hoagies have oregano on them? Well, I think someone sprinkled weed on them instead of the oregano. They look alike you know. That’s what must have happened.” I told him, “Wow, you get points for creativity. You’re not getting locked up today, not because of the story, but because you need treatment, but that was fun.” PGN: Where did you go to school? BOL: I got my degree from Temple. I majored in psychology and minored in women’s studies. PGN: Do you apply your psychology background as a parole officer? BOL: All day, every day. The law-enforcement part comes first, but in the end, it’s dealing with people who have problems. I’m not adverse to locking people up — and I do — but I’d rather talk to people

and try to help them. PGN: What’s the worst job you ever had? BOL: Cleaning toilets for four years to get through college. Not just toilets — I worked for a cleaning company — but they were the worst. And kitchens, people go nuts, especially if they know a cleaning crew is coming: They just lose their shit and trash the place. PGN: Favorite job? BOL: I love music and in high school my friends and I would go down to Tower Theatre and wait for musicians to arrive to do sound checks. We got to see a lot of our favorite artists that way. I hung out there so often that the head of security eventually offered me a job. I worked the Tower Theatre, the Mann Music Center, the Spectrum, etc., and got to meet people like Annie Lennox, who is a hero, and the B-52s, 10,000 Maniacs, Crowded House, you name it. It was awesome. Music has always been an escape for me.

because of this project. I hope it inspires other people to try something different to help them with their struggles. PGN: I’m sure it helps people to know they’re not alone — that someone else might be going through something similar. BOL: Yeah, I put a lot of shit in my writing that was really personal, because I wasn’t afraid anymore. There was a lot of physical and mental abuse that both my brother and I suffered at the hands of our father. Then a divorce and a mother who couldn’t be there because she was trying to work to support two small kids on her own. We tried to handle it ourselves, but at 8, it’s hard to know what to do with that stuff. You internalize it and assume that you must deserve the bad things that happen to you. I lived a life of fear and destruction for a long time, not feeling worthy of anything good because of my childhood. PGN: Did you take on the parent role? BOL: No and that’s one of the things I felt guilty about, that I didn’t protect my brother who was five years younger. I was too busy trying to survive myself.

PGN: Which story seems to have touched people the most? BOL: I think the one where I celebrated the one-year anniversary of my suicide attempt, which was Oct. 24. I told the whole story of what happened instead of glossing over it like I might have done in the past. I had people from Africa and the U.K. and all over the States write to me and say that the story touched them. People that I never would have otherwise had contact with. And I got a lot of responses from my last entry, where I challenged people to get going and do something. Not to defeat themselves or cave in to excuses. I spent two to three hours a day writing, which in the course Photo: Suzi Nash of a year came out to about PGN: You mentioned a tough child42 days. Most people would hood. Can you talk about it? look at that and say, I just don’t have the BOL: It’s funny — I was always the stoic time. But if you really want it, you make one who tried to deal with everything the time. And I feel like I made myself into on my own. I was very private, a master a writer by practicing every day, which can deflector, I never let people really get to be applied to anything. In the beginning, know the real me. If you asked someone, my first entries were just mediocre and if they would have told you I was a wiseI’d quit then I never would have become cracking tough gal. But this project has the writer I am now. That’s something I made me comfortable enough to talk about hope people take away from reading my posts. my childhood and about myself. I’m alive PAGE 24

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

PORTRAIT from page 23

PGN: You have an interesting non-written twist to each post. BOL: Yeah, at the end of each post I have a link to a song that expresses the message of the post or that inspired me to write it. Sometimes that’s what takes so long — finding the right song. Music is life to me and I have thousands of songs in my head, but sometimes I want to research to find just the right one. PGN: What was your favorite post? BOL: In the process of writing the pieces, I’ve gotten a lot closer to my mother and brother. It’s allowed all of us to open up to each other more. There was one called “Mother Knows Best.” In it I write about a time where I was talking to my mother and she told me about some irresponsible shit she’d done in her mid-30s. Including putting a bid on a trailer when we were kids. She was relieved when her bid lost because, as is the case with trailer communities, they turn the water off from November until March. She hadn’t thought that part through. It made me realize that she didn’t have it all together in her 30s and that I didn’t have to either. That you don’t have a certain time for — I don’t like to say starting over — but for writing a new ending for yourself. You don’t have to wait to start on a Monday or Jan. 1: You can change your path at any time. PGN: When did you come out?

PROFILE PGN

BOL: Well, I’ve had a girlfriend since I was 15. I didn’t have a name for it and we kept it a secret because we knew it wasn’t “right,” but we were together for three years. When I lived on campus at Temple, I got a job at Giovanni’s Room even though I was still trying to have a foot in the “normal” world by saying that I was bisexual, even though I never did anything with men. That lasted about five minutes. You look back and realize that you were always gay. PGN: What was one of your signs looking back? BOL: I was into ’80s television. I love a brunette with a gravelly voice, so I had a huge crush on Kate Jackson from “Charlie’s Angels”! I had a picture of her on my wall next to my bed that I would make out with before I went to bed. The ink on the picture around her mouth was all worn away from me slobbering all over it! Looking back, I should have also been arrested for stalking my eighth-grade teacher. I made friends with her daughter just so I could get close to her and, when her daughter wasn’t around, I would ride over to her house on my bike and just circle the block hoping to get a glimpse of her. PGN: Since you were into ’80s television, which sitcom family did you want to belong to? BOL: Probably “Kate & Allie,” two sassy single moms living in a rowhome base-

ment in Greenwich Village. The girls were about my age, so that would have been fun. PGN: Do you collect anything? BOL: I used to collect snow globes but then it was getting out of control and I was fearful that I could end up on an episode of hoarders. I try not to clutter, but I have a fear that deep down inside I could go there! PGN: Useless talent? BOL: I can do accents and voices, including a wicked Elmo that has fooled many a small child. PGN: I can’t live without ... BOL: Coffee, cigarettes and music. PGN: As a music aficionado, which songs are you embarrassed to admit you like? BOL: “Hold On” by Wilson Philips, “MMMBop” by Hanson or “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys! PGN: What was the first R-rated movie you saw? BOL: Crazily enough, “Chariots of Fire” when I was 10. It was awful. I think my dad wanted to see it and it was his weekend for their custody arrangement. PGN: Three celebrities you’d love to do lunch with? BOL: Oh, that would be Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders, Doris Day and Eleanor Roosevelt. If I could break the rules and add a fourth, maybe Kelly

Clarkson. Or shit, can I add Tom Selleck too? I am pretty sure he is actually my father and my mom just won’t admit it. PGN: Before we finish, give me a wrap-up of what the project gave to you. BOL: Before I took this on, I was someone who would defeat themselves before I tried something or someone who had to have a wingman at all times. I was ruled by fear. With this project, I did things I never thought I would do and I did them on my own. Since I chose to write every day, I had to go out and do things to write about. In December of last year, I walked into the William Way Center and started volunteering; I am currently their Tuesday night front-desk girl and am finally giving back to my community in a way that I never have before. In March, Philly Gay Calendar was looking for writers and I submitted some stories and got a spot. I joined the Fairmount Park Women’s Softball League on my own as well, am currently on the Dymond Gurlz and was voted onto the all-star team this past summer. For my 40th birthday, I jumped out of a plane! I did some stand-up/sketch comedy with Alejandro Morales in October at Camp Tabu and will be doing more. It’s been an amazing year and I’m looking forward to even more adventures in 2012. I hope everyone can find the inspiration this year to just get out there and go for life. If I can do it, anyone can! ■ To suggest a community member for “Family Portrait,” write to portraits05@aol.com.

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Q Puzzle

23. “Some nerve!” 25. Coming more quickly 28. See 20-Across 29. Start of a description of an angry drama 30. Word before buco 31. More of the description 34. Get one’s feet wet 35. Like McKellen’s Magneto 40. “___ you serious?” 43. End of the description 44. Monk’s title 47. Cartoonist Alison 49. Paul Cadmus work 51. Ike’s opponent 52. Strides easily 53. Talk show of this puzzle’s theme 59. Snowman prop 60. “The Mystery of ___ Drood” 61. Film pioneer Marcus 63. Words before many words 64. Top 65. Barbra’s “Funny Girl” guy 66. Pounder part 67. Hard to penetrate 68. Tight-assed

Down The Apology Across

1. “Move your butt!” 5. Pinch pennies 10. Good buddy on a radio 14. Native American tongue 15. Bill T. Jones’ partner Zane

16. Award for Ursula Le Guin 17. Place of the first fig-leaf codpiece 18. “Filthy” money 19. Sex party 20. With 28-Across, he apologized for saying 29-Across on 53-Across

1. Antonio’s “Evita” role 2. Stylish, ’60s-style 3. Tools in kitchen drawers 4. Club for Patty Sheehan 5. Rimbaud’s rooms 6. Drummer Gene 7. Peruvian friend of Maya Angelou? 8. Gaiety 9. Watch closely

10. Mississippi natives 11. Africa’s ___ Faso 12. One that gets laid 13. Singer Orbison 21. “The Last King of Scotland” character 22. Land of the cut (abbr.) 23. However, to Emily Dickinson 24. Laugh track sounds 26. It was sometimes split, for Kopay 27. Reuben bread, usually 31. Dying one in a Craig Lucas title 32. Blow it 33. Buster Brown’s dog 36. Partner of Steve, but not Adam 37. One on the other side 38. Not closet-bound 39. Paul Lynde, on “Bewitched” 40. Attorney’s org. 41. It divides a hockey rink in half 42. “Total ___ ” 44. Graduation handout 45. Like many leases 46. Classic two-seaters 48. Wear 50. Like aluminum bats 54. Herbicide target 55. “Spamalot” writer Eric 56. Castor, to Pollux 57. Flirts with, with “on” 58. You may go down on one 59. Citrus fruit seed 62. Like some grins

KROELL from page 22

to learn how to sing, come to my church in the South Side of Chicago.” This place was outside of my comfort zone, and I took the adventure. I went to this huge church and was the only white person there, and felt out of my element until this one couple came and introduced me, and welcomed me. I wonder if my church would have been welcoming the odd person out. PGN: What about the film’s depiction of gays? Michael and his friends are described as “different,” “eccentric,” even “Californian.” Everyone knows they are gay, but talks around it. Do you think Michael and his friends are gay clichés/ stereotypes? RK: Not necessarily a stereotype ... We wanted to show that the stereotype isn’t the only thing that people should know about gay people.

PGN: One of the characters has to disclose his HIV status in the film. What are your thoughts on that situation? RK: The character has to deal with and disclose it and figure out what it means. It’s important to have this message that [HIV] still exists. We have to be aware of it, and de-stigmatize it, and have conversations about it. You see two opposite reacSOLUTION, PAGE 31 tions [to the disclosure]: a loving, caring one, and a very different reaction from another character. It reminds us how much more work needs to be done to educate people. PGN: What can you say about your drunk scene(s)? RK: [Laughs]. Oh my God. It was kind of ri-donk-ulous. I was really drinking. I had a couple of shots to loosen me up. They are difficult to play.

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PGN: You have a notable sex scene in the film, not just because you’re with a woman, but because you’re tied up at the time. How was that to film? RK: [Laughs]. I’m a gold-star gay. I’ve never had sex with a woman. This was the closest I got. PGN: The film certainly plays on fears. What is your biggest fear? RK: I think my biggest fear is spiders, because I was bitten by a spider when I was on “Supermodel,” and I didn’t know until a week later when I couldn’t feel my arm and had a 104-degree temperature. Every time I see a spider now, I scream like a little girl. PGN: Michael is both hunted and a hunter. What can you say about those scenes of him running shirtless through a field and the kill, wound or-be-killed action? RK: Running in the field half-naked, I was allergic to the brush, and broke out all over and had to stop and put on cream. Then I found out I got chiggers, which are mini-spiders. And I didn’t get combat pay! ■

TELEVISION PGN

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Worth Watching

ROCKIN’ WITH DICK: Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will celebrate 40 years of history as they host “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2012” live from ABC Studios in New York beginning 10 p.m. Dec. 31 on ABC. Photo: ABC/Heidi Gutman

FASHION VICTIMS: Jane and out character Max (Adam Pally, pictured) fight over ownership of a sweater and end up in another one of their strange competitions in which whoever is “less vain” gets to keep the sweater — the challenge is to see who can wear a horribly unflattering outfit the longest — on “Happy Endings.” And, as you can see, Max is probably a shoe-in to win, 9:30 p.m. Jan. 4 on ABC. Photo ABC/Richard

THE ODD COUPLE: Firebrand comedian Kathy Griffin and über-professional TV journalist Anderson Cooper join forces again — with Griffin ready to put her job on the line and Cooper trying to keep his job — to ring in New Year’s Eve live from Times Square, 11 p.m. Dec. 31 on CNN.

HAPPY-HOUR HILARITY: Barney (out actor Neil Patrick Harris, from left) and Ted (Josh Radnor) open a bar called Puzzles, and Kal Penn (“Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle”) guest stars on “How I Met Your Mother” 8 p.m. Jan. 2 on CBS.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

FAMILY PGN

The year’s best moments in LGBT parenting Each year our children grow, and each Legislation also advanced, both federally year we make a little more progress toward and in some states. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act, equality for our families. Here are 10 of the best moments of 2011 that helped raise which would ban discrimination against visibility and advance equality for LGBT LGBT parents in adoption or foster-care parents and our children. placement, was reintroduced in the House by Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) First, two heroes: in May and introduced for the Lesbian mom Janice first time in the Senate by Sen. Langbehn in October received the 2011 Presidential Citizens Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in Medal, the nation’s secondNovember. It looks unlikely highest civilian honor. In 2007, to move this session, but has Langbehn was denied access to gained 86 House sponsors — her partner Lisa Pond, who lay more than double the number it had last session — and eight dying in a Florida hospital. The Senate sponsors, indicating that couple’s three children were support is growing. kept from Pond as well. Her In May, Washington state story helped motivate President enacted a version of the Obama to revise hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples. Uniform Parentage Act that Dana Rudolph gives registered domestic partIowa college student Zach ners the same rights as oppoWahls shot to fame in February site-sex spouses. Among other provisions, when at an Iowa House hearing, he spoke it presumes people in a domestic partnereloquently about his two moms and ship are both the parents of a child born against a bill that would ban marriage for to one of them. Equally important, said same-sex couples. A video of his speech became a YouTube hit. Then, in November, LGBT family-law expert Nancy Polikoff in her blog, is the fact that nonbiological progressive organization MoveOn.org reposted the video — and the reposting parents will also be recognized if they live gained over 600,000 new Facebook shares, with the child and hold the child out as their own, even if they are not married or Likes and comments in less than 24 hours. in a domestic partnership with the biologiThe video has now garnered almost 2.5cal parent (beyondstraightandgaymarriage. million YouTube views in total. Wahls is clearly striking a chord. blogspot.com).

Mombian

And in August, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the Protection of ParentChild Relationships Act. The statute will prevent sperm donors from signing a “voluntary declaration of paternity” with the biological mother and denying the nonbiological mother legal parenthood. Same-sex couples racked up some wins in court as well. Most significantly, the Arkansas Supreme Court in April unanimously agreed with a lower court ruling that struck down the state’s ban on adoption and foster parenting by unmarried couples — by definition, all same-sex couples in the state. In March, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that Carol Guest (a court pseudonym) was the “de facto” parent of a child she had been raising with her former partner, Lynn Smith. Smith was the only one to adopt the child because the child was from Kazakhstan, which does not allow two women to adopt jointly. The case had been through the courts once already, and Guest had been denied custody under the state law that defined who may be considered a parent. The legislature, motivated by the case, amended the law to include “de facto” parents. Guest was then granted custody, but Smith continued to challenge her, which precipitated the March state Supreme Court ruling in Guest’s favor. As evidenced by that case, some of the most contentious issues involving

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LGBT parents come when a biological or adoptive parent tries to deny custody to the other, using a legal system that does not always recognize both parents’ rights. Guidelines released in September from Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and NCLR’s National Family Law Advisory Council are designed to stop that. They ask parents and lawyers to honor the relationships between children and their nonbiological parents, even when the law does not, and to seek conflict-free custody resolutions. Parents and lawyers can sign pledges to that effect at glad.org/ protecting-families. A number of organizations also released major new reports on LGBT parents and our children. “All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families” details the demographics of LGBT families across America and the legal obstacles they face. It makes a compelling case for how current inequalities harm children, and what we need to do to create positive change. Seasoned with charts and personal stories, this will become a go-to reference for advocates, politicians, the media and the families themselves. The report was prepared by the Center for American Progress, the Family Equality Council and the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with several other groups. And “Expanding Resources for Children III: Research-Based Best Practices in Adoption by Gays and Lesbians,” by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, compiles previous information, incorporates findings from new studies and makes recommendations for policy and practice changes to benefit the more than 115,000 children who need permanent homes. There were plenty of other successes this year that will have a positive impact on LGBT parents and our children, including repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and the enactment of marriage equality in New York. My intent here is to celebrate the parenting-specific ones, not to lessen the others. May 2012 bring more joys, both personal and political, for our families. ■ Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (www.mombian.com), a blog and resource directory for LGBT parents.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

OUT & ABOUT The week ahead Fri. 12/30 Before & After Entertainment presents a PreNew Year’s Eve Celebration Comedians, DJs and bands perform, 8 p.m. at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 215-222-1400. Live Wire The AC/DC tribute band performs 8 p.m. at Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville; 215257-5808. Third Eye Blind The rock band performs 8 p.m. at The Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800-745-3000.

Thursday The punk-rock band performs 8 p.m. at TLA, 334 South St.; 215922-1011. Die Hard The action film is screened 9:45 p.m. at Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-0223.

Sat. 12/31 New Year’s Eve The Philadelphia Orchestra performs 7:30 p.m. at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800. Seth Meyers The comedian and SNL personality performs 7 and 10:30 p.m.

at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. Christine Havrilla The out singersongwriter performs 8 and 10:30 p.m. at Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St.; 215-928-0770. IKE, Brett Talley Band, John & Brittany, Susan Steen, June Divided, Felix Hunger, Southwork, Joe Trainor Trio, DJ Swizzul, DJ Skinny White, DJ Kardiair and DJ EA A full night of New Year’s Eve revelry starts 8 p.m. at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 215-222-1400.

“I lingered in the shadows of my mind to hide from forces I believed would conjure greater torrents of pathos in my life, as if my fate was to live in perpetual sorrow, and barebacking indiscriminately would keep fate at bay.”

The LVRS Lane with Chris Turner, Rocki Evans, U.City and DJ AYE Boogie Indie Soul artists perform 10 p.m. at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215222-1400. New Year’s Eve 2012 at Sisters Open bar from 8-11 p.m. and festivities until 3 a.m. at Sisters Nightclub, 1320 Chancellor St.; sistersnightclub. com. New Year’s Eve Bash 2012!! Thunder Showers and Summer Clearance help ring in the New Year 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at Beagle Tavern, 1003 E. Main St., Norristown; 610272-3133.

Stimulus Presents: 3rd Annual Stimulus New Year’s Eve DJ Kash provides the music on the year-end blowout, 9 p.m.-6 a.m. at Voyeur, 1221 St. James St.; www. stimulusphilly. com. A Voice 4 All People presents New Year’s Eve Philly’s only radically inclusive LGBTQ gospel choir performs 10 p.m. at Arch Street United Methodist Church, 55 N. Broad St.; www. facebook.com/ AV4AP.

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‘CHAIR’-WOMAN: Out singer-songwriter Christine Havrilla rings in the new year with a pair of shows in support of her latest album “In My Chair” at 8 and 10:30 p.m. at Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St. For more information or tickets, visit www. christinehavrilla.com or call 215-928-0770.

Mon. 01/02 Groove Night Local musicians join forces to bring the R&B, soul, jazz and funk 7 p.m. at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 215-222-1400.

Tue. 01/03 Unlabeled: The Acoustic/ Electric Open Mic for Up and Comers Sign up and play 7 p.m. at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 215-222-1400. TuesGAY Nights Lyrics Lounge and DJ June Rodrigues

host a weekly night of music and performers for the LGBT community at 8 p.m., 6527 Roosevelt Blvd.; 215-533-5888.

Bob and Barbara’s Drag Show The outrageousness begins 11 p.m. at Bob and Barbara’s, 1509 South St.; 215545-4511.

Wed. 01/04

Fri. 01/06

4W5 Blues Jam Local musicians get down 7 p.m. at World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington, Del.; 215-222-1400.

Beethoven’s Fifth The Philadelphia Orchestra performs 2 p.m. at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-7905800.

Thu. 01/05 Edwin McCain The rock guitarist and singer performs 8 p.m. at Sellersville Theater 1894, 24 W. Temple Ave., Sellersville; 215257-5808.

Half & Half Drag Show Brittany Lynn hosts an evening starring Misses Pinklewinkle, Aida Snatchwell, Tammy Faymous and Diana Dharling 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at Raven Lounge, 1718 Sansom St.; 215840-3577.

New Year’s Day Celebration! The Kimmel Center hosts its annual New Year’s Day bash featuring live entertainment for the whole family and activities for children and others, 10 a.m. at Commonwealth Plaza, 260 S. Broad St.; 215790-5800. Pitbull The rapper performs 9 p.m. at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000.

RETRO STYLING: You would think the story about a group of young Americans searching for peace and love in a turbulent time would be a product of the times we live in today but, in reality, the show we’re talking about is “Hair,” the Tony Award-winning musical from the 1960s, running Jan. 3-8 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-790-5800. Photo: Joan Marcus

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS

Opening Hair The peace and love-themed musical runs Jan. 3-8 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800. Body Awareness The Wilma Theater presents a heartwarming comedy about a lesbian couple dealing with issues of sexuality and identity, Jan. 4-Feb. 5, 265 S. Broad St.; 215-546-7824. John Oliver The comedian from “The Daily Show” performs Jan. 6-8 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001. Shen Yun The classical Chinese dance and orchestral company performs Jan. 6-8 at Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800.

Continuing Gypsy Tovah Feldshuh stars in the classic musical through Jan. 15 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol; 215785-6664.

Tristin Lowe: Under the Influence Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition debuting works from the Philadelphia artist through Jan. 29, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Zaha Hadid: Form in Motion Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of product designs by architect Hadid, who in 2004 became the first female recipient of the renowned Pritzker Architecture Prize, through March 25, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100.

Closing Anthony Jeselnik The comedian seen on the Comedy Central Roasts performs through Dec. 31 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-496-9001. Dutch Treat: A Glimpse of Holland’s Golden Age Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition devoted to the art and culture of Netherlands through Jan. 1, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.

THE FAR EAST COMES TO SOUTH BROAD: Shen Yun Performing Arts, the classical Chinese dance and orchestral company, returns to Philadelphia for another series of spectacular eye-catching performances Jan. 6-8 at Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-790-5800.

Jersey Boys The Tony Award-winning Best Musical about Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons hits the stage through Jan. 14 at Forrest Theater, 1114 Walnut St.; 215-923-1515. The King and I The Walnut Theater presents Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical through Jan. 8, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. Sound of Music Media Theater presents the musical through Jan. 15, 104 E. State St., Media; 610-891-0100. Time, Light, Chance The James Oliver Gallery presents Ron Johnson’s exhibition of oil paintings, through March 2, 723 Chestnut St., fourth floor; www.jamesolivergallery.com.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker The Pennsylvania Ballet performs the holiday story, through Dec. 31 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800. SOLUTION from page 26

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

Molly Landreth/Aiden Simon The William Way LGBT Community Center hosts an exhibition of the photographers’ work through Dec. 31 at the center, 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220. Motherhood: The Musical Society Hill Playhouse presents the musical comedy from the creators of “Menopause: The Musical” through Dec. 31, 507 S. Eighth St.; 215-923-0211. Noël and Gertie The Walnut Street Theatre presents the story of remarkable theater duo Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence through Dec. 31 at Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. StripWorks AxD Gallery presents an exhibition by Larry Wood of hand-etched imagery of the human form on steel and bronze through Dec. 31, 265 S. 10th St.; 215627-6250. ■

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.

YEAR-END UPDATE: The comedian and “Weekend Update” host on “Saturday Night Live,” personality Seth Meyers is set to bring Atlantic City into the new year with some wry humor when he performs 7 and 10:30 p.m. at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Music Box, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 609-3171000.

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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NOTICE

NOTICE To whom it may concern: Notice is hereby given that the City Commissioners sitting as the County Board of Election, will meet at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 in the City Commissioners, 6th Fl. Hearing Room Riverview Place Columbus Blvd. and Spring Garden Sts., for the Purpose of Reorganization. Margaret M. Tartaglione Chairwoman, City Commissioners

Hon. Leon W. Tucker Acting City Commissioner

Charles J. Cunningham III Acting City Commissioner

Carmelo Seminara Acting Supervisor of Elections

Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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Los Comisionados de la Ciuadad de la Junta Electoral del Condado tendran un reunion el 4 de Enero de 2012 a las 11:00 A.M. en Los Comisionados Municipales 6’ Piso Salon de Audiencias, Riverview Place, Columbus Blvd. & Spring Garden Sts., concerniente un reorganizacion Margaret M. Tartaglione Presidenta de Los Comisionados Municipales

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Hon. Leon W. Tucker Comisionado Interino Municipal

Charles J. Cunningham III Carmelo Seminara Comisionado Interino Municipal Supervisor Interino De La Electoral

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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Dec. 30, 2011 - Jan. 5, 2012

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