8 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
news The top national and world news since last issue you should know BY CRAIG OGAN
In Chicago, lesbians rule This is what equality looks like: Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, was elected mayor of Chicago defeating city Democrat party chair Toni Preckwinkle, 74 to 26 percent. She ran as a reformer in an apocryphally corrupt city. Members of the city council have been indicted for bribery, the Smollett hate-crime hoax — and cover-up, police shootings, a burgeoning murder rate were all issues that helped defeat the “machine” candidate. One issue that’s clearly not an issue was Lightfoot’s sex life. She is married to Amy Eshleman. The couple is raising a daughter. Other Midwest cities re-elected out-and-proud candidates: in Madison, Wisconsin, Satya Rhodes-Conway beat the incumbent; and in Kansas City, Mo., Jolie Justus advanced from the primary to general election.
Equality Act gets hearing The U.S. Congress is holding the first-ever hearing on the Equality Act. The legislation guarantees LGBT nondiscrimination under the 1964 landmark Civil Rights Act. The act has major support from 180 name-brand businesses though the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Polls show 70 percent of
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Americans support any legislation with the word “equality” in the title. Congress will hear testimony from LGBT grievance-industry professionals, LGBT supporting churches, university law professionals and diversity officers, and the obligatory personal stories of discrimination. Not invited to testify is former Log Cabin chief executive Gregory Angelo, who wrote an op-ed for a conservative newspaper, saying, “Don’t be fooled by the name: The Equality Act is legislation that would compromise American civil rights and religious liberty as we know it.”
N. Carolina congressional nominee still hot on the pot North Carolina’s 9th congressional election was not decided in 2018 due to charges of voting fraud. The Republican in the race, who was ahead by a few votes, dropped out and will “re-run” this summer. The polls say the favorite to replace him on the “R Line” is the state legislator who sponsored North Carolina HB2, which banned transgender people from using the bathroom of their identified gender. The law led to a backlash, from canceled concerts to loss of the NBA All-Stars game. The law was largely modified, but remained objectionable to transgender activists. The legislator does not apologize for his support for the bill, rather is ratcheting up partisan rhetoric. His ads call Democrats “socialists” and “gun grabbers” who support “infanticide and open borders.” No mention of bathrooms, yet.
A tease does not please A couple of late-Victorian bachelors sit around in dressing gowns drinking tea in a fabulous London flat. Some fans of Sherlock Holmes and
Dr. John Watson thought (or hoped) they were lovers. According to Martin Freeman, Dr. Watson to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes on the PBS-aired series said a “writers’ tease” ticked off some fans when the series didn’t have a “gay” ending. The updated portrayal toyed with the sexual nature of the relationship. There was tongue-in-cheek humor, with other characters often assuming they were a gay couple. Fans assumed the show runners would end the series, “Where we held hands off into the sunset together,” says Freeman. That scenario didn’t occur and the production company got complaints of disappointment and “betrayal”. With another season in the offering, gay hope, as it does at midnight on Grindr, can spring eternal.
Adoption in Michigan A deal between the ALCU and the Michigan Attorney General requires faith-based adoption agencies, receiving state money, to help gay and lesbian people adopt. A lesbian couple were refused services by Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services, so they sued. Michigan, like most states, contracts with private agencies to place children with adoptive parents. The two services averaged 25 to 30 percent of the state’s foster care adoptions.
No ‘Call Me by Your Name’ 2, yet A sequel to Call Me by Your Name, a straight-washed movie about a gay relationship, is happening — at least in book form. André Aciman’s Find Me picks up where the book and movie left off. The age-significant lovers Elio and Oliver have moved on. Elio is now a gifted clas-
Issue 298 | APRIL 18, 2019
sical pianist and Oliver is a professor in the U.S., with sons. A movie sequel is in the talks, but the actor who played Oliver, Armie Hammer, talks it down, saying, “I think we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment.”
Sylvester, one for the books An out, proud and loud 1980s artist, Sylvester, has a song inducted into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. Annually, the registry adds 25 American recordings that are at least 10 years old, selecting works with “cultural, historical, or aesthetic” significance. One of this year’s 25 was Sylvester’s, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” recorded in 1978. Sylvester passed away in 1988 due to complications related to HIV.
VIP too important for ID, bar punished Washington DC’s former mayor and current city council member, Vincent Gray, was tossed out of the DC Eagle after refusing to show his driver license to the door person. He thought his city councilor ID, which didn’t show his age, was sufficient for entry. In a scene witnessed often in Utah, the 75-year-old politico, when challenged to use ID showing age, said, “Don’t I look old enough?” The bouncer pushed him out the door and the councilor fell and
