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Last week’s hottest items couldn’t wait to be printed...

Compiled by Nicole Wiesenthal

Appeals Court Puts Idaho Gay Marriage on Hold

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Idaho residents planning to gather at courthouses across the state to celebrate samesex marriages saw their plans put on hold Thursday by a federal appeals court. Idaho’s gay marriage ban was overturned Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Candy Dale said the law unconstitutionally denied gay and lesbian residents their fundamental right to marry. Dale said Idaho must begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples starting Friday morning.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay while it considers whether a longer stay is needed. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden both asked that Dale’s ruling be placed on hold while they appeal. The appellate court ruling might put a halt to plans for a “Party for Marriage Equality” scheduled for Friday morning at the Ada County Courthouse. Gay rights advocates were arranging the event.

Fed. Judge Strikes Down Oregon’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban A federal judge struck down Oregon’s voterapproved ban on same-sex marriage Monday. “Because Oregon’s marriage laws discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation without a rational relationship to any legitimate government interest, the laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said in his ruling. Oregon voters passed Measure 36 in 2004,

which amended the state’s Constitution to define marriage as between one man and a woman. In February, the state’s attorney general said she would not defend the ban in court because it would not stand up to a federal constitutional challenge. Multnomah County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples minutes later, the county said in a statement.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Crowns a Winner In season six, after a tense competition between the top three competitors: Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano and Courtney Act, a winner was announced. Bianca Del Rio, Roy Haylock’s drag queen persona, won the cosmetics, $100,000 cash prize and title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar.” The show aired Monday, May 19, on Logo TV. Bianca Del Rio had long been a crowd favorite for fans of the show, and the win came as a

surprise to few. “It’s an incredibly rewarding experience to have this honor and I’m proof that anything is possible,” Rio said in a statement, according to Huffington Post. “I extend my love and gratitude to the talented World of Wonder family, Logo TV, the amazing fans, and especially RuPaul.” Bianca Del Rio beat 13 other contestants to the crown and won three different challenges, never once making it into the bottom two. May her reign be long and prosperous.

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News Briefs

South Dakotah Couple to Challenge Gay Marriage Ban

Compiled by Nicole Wiesenthal

enny & Nancy Rosenbrahn

RC Launches ‘Project One America’

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign launched ‘Project One America,’ a new multi-year campaign aimed at extending lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality throughout the South, particularly in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. In the video launched with campaign, LGBT southerners talk about the difficulty they faced when coming out within their community. Some people talked about losing their jobs or how they have to pretend to be sisters with their significant other to avoid biases. The southerners in the video look no different from others in the state, yet they face discrimination every day. When asked why they don’t want to leave their state, the people talk about their friends, closely-knit families and love of the community. The people interviewed for the video end on a positive note, saying that the south can change, though it may take a longer time than in other states. “People love their Sourthern roots, their families and they don’t want to leave their home. So they are choosing to boldly speak out to effect change,” Project One America Director Brad Clark said, according to the Huffington Post. “The interviews in this video are a courageous testament to the strength of the LGBT people in the South.” HRC’s kick-off tour for Project One America will end today in Alabama, according to the HRC. HRC President Chad Griffin spoke at events and meetings during the tour which travelled through all three states. The campaign will focus on getting antidiscrimination bills passed through the states’ congresses.

A newly married lesbian couple is poised to become the first to challenge South Dakota’s ban on same-sex marriage following the state’s refusal to grant the women a name change after they were legally married in Minnesota. The couple, Jenny and Nancy Rosenbrahn, plan to file the lawsuit next week in federal court, according to their attorney, Joshua Newville. The Minneapolis-based lawyer said Thursday he also has been talking with couples looking to file suit in North Dakota, which along with South Dakota and Montana are the only states with gay marriage bans that haven’t been challenged in court, according to gay-rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. “Our focus right now is to get filed in South

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evada School Shooting: Child Bullied, Called ‘Gay’

In less than 10 minutes after his mother dropped him off at school on the morning of Oct. 21, 2013, seventh-grader Jose Reyes and a popular middle school teacher lay on the school yard, dead from gunshot wounds. Two classmates were wounded and a school was in panic. After seventh months and an exhaustive police investigation that produced a report of 1,300 pages, authorities on Tuesday released an in-depth report about the shooting that painted a picture of bullying, depression and a normal school day turning violent in the matter of minutes. Still, authorities aren’t sure they fully understand what motivated the 12-year-old Reyes to take his parents’ 9mm Ruger pistol and two magazines of ammunition to school that day. Interviews with the boy’s parents, teachers and classmates and the boy’s own writings paint a portrait of a child troubled by depression and feelings of inadequacy at home and tormented by a school life in which he was mocked, teased and mistreated. Some warning signs were there. His father had taken him to a psychotherapist just three days before the shooting and the doctor proscribed an antidepressant after the boy told of being teased at school, called “gay” and accused of peeing in his pants. His mother had done research on autism after Jose showed signs of it. Police learned one of the students shot during the rampage had teased Reyes about not having muscles during a physical education class, had called him names and may have played a part in pouring water on him when he was accused of wetting his pants. From the Associated Press

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yprus to Hold First Gay PrideFest

Cyprus’ Orthodox Christian Church lashed out against homosexuality Thursday after activists announced the country’s first gay pride festival. The Holy Synod, the Church’s highest decision-making body, said it looks upon efforts to give homosexuality social and legal acceptance with “concern and grief.” “The Church and science consider homosexuality to be the human being’s fall from grace and an illness and not a natural way of life or choice,” the Holy Synod said in a statement. It said although the Church condemns homosexuality, it loves and supports the “fallen” and prays that they seek God’s mercy. The statement came after activists said a two-week festival would culminate in a May 31 parade in the capital, Nicosia. The head of Accept LGBT Cyprus, Costas Gavrielides, said the festival will include film screenings, book presentations, musical events and participants from the Turkish Cypriot community in the ethnically split island’s breakaway north. European Union member Cyprus decriminalized homosexuality a dozen years ago but it still ranks low in terms of gay rights, according to activists. Gavrielides said the country still needs to pass laws recognizing same-sex partnerships and against inciting anti-gay violence. From the Associated Press

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Dakota and to focus on the case in front of us in the immediate short term,” Newville said Thursday, but “we are very seriously contemplating filing in North Dakota.” The couple’s Minnesota marriage license reads Jenny and Nacy Rosenbrahn, a last name that combines each of their original last names. But when Nancy Robrahn, 68, and Jennie Rosenkranz, 72, who live in Rapid City, went to the Pennington County courthouse to legally change their last names last week, they were denied. That denial gave the women grounds to challenge a provision in federal law that allows states to not recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, Newville said. From the Associated Press

nti-Gay Marriage Group May Face $50,000 Fine

A national anti-gay marriage group that helped defeat a same-sex marriage law in 2009 in Maine could face more than $50,000 in fines for violating campaign finance laws. The Maine Ethics Commission said Monday its investigators have found that National Organization for Marriage should be fined for failing to register as a ballot question committee and to file campaign finance reports.

NOM was the primary donor when it gave nearly $2 million to Stand for Marriage Maine, a political action committee, to help defeat the Maine law in a 2009 referendum. Gay marriage became legal in the state after a second referendum in 2012. State law requires groups to register as ballot question committees if they raise or spend more than $5,000 to influence a state ballot question. From the Associated Press

news highlight

French Schoolboys Wear Skirts to Stop Sexism Nicole Wiesenthal

As part of the ‘Lift the Skirt’ campaign to support gender equality, male students and teachers of 27 public schools in France wore skirts on May 16 to protest sexism, creating controversy throughout the city. In Nantes, northwest France, the students themselves came up with the idea to substitute their trousers for skirts to stand against sexism, according to RT. According to New York Dailey News, ‘Lift the Skirt’ organizer Arthur Moinet said, “We noticed that in a lot of high schools in our region, there are lots of cases of sexism and discrimination, so we thought we should do something to change that, and so we came up with the idea.” According to the Huffington Post, boys who chose not to bare their legs could wear stickers which read “I am fighting against sexism, are you?” “We’ll do any old nonsense in the name of equality. This move is inspired by the Day of the Skirt, whose original aim was to allow women to express their femininity in environments where it was often difficult. But this is just denying feminine and masculine

identity,” said Olivier Vial, president of the conservative UNI party, according to Bustle. French political activist Frigide Barjot, notorious for her opposition against samesex marriage and LGBT adoption, tweeted about the event asking if girls would be wearing beards, referencing Eurovision winner bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst. The movement faced other opposition, but most responses were positive.

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entucky Ordered to Pay $70K in Gay Marrriage Case

A federal judge has ordered Kentucky to pay $70,000 in attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that resulted in the recognition of out-of-state samesex marriages. U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II on Wednesday immediately put the order on hold, though, pending the result of an appeal of his ruling in the case. Heyburn concluded that the lawsuit brought by two couples who were married in other states or countries over the past 10 years and sought to force Kentucky to recognize their unions was novel and difficult. Heyburn ruled that the plaintiffs’ attorneys showed “considerable skill” in winning the case and the fees requested were reasonable.

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nly One of Alaska’s Candidates for Gov. Supports Gay Marriage

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Only one of the main candidates for Alaska governor supports same-sex marriage. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott says he welcomes news of five gay couples suing to overturn Alaska’s same-sex marriage ban. Mallott calls freedom to marry a basic right he would work to make a reality for gay couples. Other candidates have said they believe marriage is between a man and a woman and supports the state Constitution.

aster, Cheaper HIV Test Created by 15-Year-Old

A teenage girl from Canada who won first place in the British Columbia 2014 Regional Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge has developed a faster, cheaper HIV test that may change the way we look at the virus. IFL Science reports that Nicole Ticea, a 10th grader at the private girl’s York House School in Vancouver developed a test for HIV using Isothermic Nucleic Acid Amplification. The test allows users to place a drop of blood on a chip and receive an almost instant response whether they are infected. Rather than searching for antibodies to HIV, as most HIV tests do, the technique amplifies the virus itself, even revealing a positive response during the window during which people are infected, are highly infectious but still show up as negative on other antibody tests because the immune system has yet to gear up its response.

rtsUnited’s “We Do, Too” Photography Show Portrays LGBT Couples

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A show displayed at Gallery 6, Broward County Main Library from June 3 to June 30, 2014, will feature 30 images of LGBT couples who left Florida to get married because they cannot in the Sunshine State. On Wednesday June 4th ArtsUnited will hold a reception from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The show will also feature artwork created by members of the group addressing marriage equality. ArtsUnited invited married couples to submit their own images for consideration for the show along with a statement on why getting married was important to them.

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news local News from South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN) – May 2014 Sean McShee

Below are the highlights from the May 2 meeting of the South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN). National ADAP Advocacy Association Meeting in Washington D.C.

Joey Wynn of the Florida HIV AIDS Advocacy Network (FHAAN) presented material from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Advocacy Association’s meeting in Washington, DC on April 14. The material concerned proposals to expand ADAP‘s capacity to serve 1,500 additional clients at current funding levels. These proposals would move about 5,000 current ADAP clients to the “silver” plans of the health care exchanges of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). It is these cost savings that will fund the slots for 1,500 additional clients. According to the Cascade of HIV Care (see graphic), there are almost 6,000 people infected with HIV, and linked to the system, but not yet on anti-retrovirals. ADAP needs to expand its capacity. As a result of Florida’s refusal to expand Medicaid, a large number of ADAP clients

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cannot move to a less expensive insurance program. About 5,000 (36 percent) of Florida ADAP clients have incomes between 100 and 249 percent of the federal poverty level. The current proposals would move these 5,000 ADAP clients to the ACA. Programs such as Ryan White Care, ADAP, and AIDS Insurance Continuation Program (AICP) would pay the deductibles, premiums, and co-pays. These proposals are very complex. People who may be affected by them should pay close attention. Local Ryan White Budget

Ann Mercer of the health department reported that the local Ryan White Care (RWC) program under-spent its 2013/2014 budget by about $200,000. This underspending resulted from the late start of a new program, but will not affect the RWC’s budget for 2014/2015. These unspent funds will be returned to the Florida Department of Health to support the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

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Housing Assistance for People Infected With HIV

Mario DeSantis of the local Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) reported that it was facing a $350,000 cut in its permanent housing placement program. This program provides one-time assistance to people infected with HIV who have experienced a sudden, unexpected life event that threatens their housing stability. The next SFAN meeting will be June 6 at 10 a.m. at the Holy Cross Healthplex, Dorothy Mangurian Comprehensive Women’s Center, 1000 NE 56th Street Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334. These meetings are open to the public and newcomers are encouraged to attend.

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The Cascade of Care in Florida

The Cascade of HIV Care is a new reporting tool. It shows where in the system of HIV Care people fall through the cracks. Each step shows the percent of HIV infected people remaining in the system. For example, this shows that 20 percent of all HIV infected people in Florida have not been tested. It is now possible to treat people with HIV and suppress the virus. Unfortunately only 28 percent of the HIV infected in Florida have suppressed their viral load to that level. ART = Anti-retroviral drugs Suppressed Viral Load = less than ≤200 copies of the virus per /Mm

Source: http://www.theaidsinstitute.org/sites/ default/files/attachments/S.%20Riley-HIV.AIDS%20 and%20Hepatitis%20Section%20Update.pdf

news national

Trans Air

Turbulent times for transgender travelers Nicole Wiesenthal For two years, 27-year-old Reilley Clemens hadn’t gone home. Not because she didn’t have the money or the will to travel, but because she feared what she might experience at the airport. Clemens, a women’s studies graduate student of the University of Florida, is transgender. And for trans people, airline travel – which is already a hassle for any gender – can become a complicated, frightening proposition, especially when it comes to security checks. “Who’s going to perform the search? Where’s it going to be performed? I feel like someone would mistreat me or something would happen,” Clemens said. “There’d be an awkward pause where I’d have to explain that I’m trans.” In the trans community, it’s understood procedures at airports are overly invasive and, at times, uncomfortable. Transgender people can experience problems if their appearance does not match the picture or gender identified on their identification. Ryan Nowak-Crawford, an 18-year-

old undergraduate at the University of Southern California, said it’s not systematic discrimination, but it could potentially lead to discrimination. “Having the security person check you can make a trans person very uncomfortable,” Crawford said. “If that particular security official had something against trans people, it could make your life difficult.” Transgender people face other problems as well. Those wearing prosthetics are often patted down and screened again after an initial screening, according to the TSA. Clemens said that while it makes sense to check for banned items, when compared with other means of travel, it seems excessive and unnecessary. “I feel the same way about that as I feel about someone who has to take a sip of breast milk that they are bringing onto the plane,” Clemens said. Harper Jean Tobin, director of policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality (TrasnEquality), said that although she has heard many people say they’ve experienced

problems when trying to fly, the amount of stories is decreasing. “It does seem to have made a difference that they have software that is supposed to eliminate individual body images,” Tobin said. “Any group of people who somebody sees as being different is likely to feel their privacy and dignity is at risk of being invaded.” Clemens and Crawford agree that one of the main problems transgender people face is that people assume that gender identity can only be determined by genitalia. “At the end of the day we have this binary. We assume that people who have an ‘F’ for female cannot be what they claim they are if they don’t also have a vagina,” Clemens said. “That’s rather terrifying and yet completely predictable.” Tobin said she believes the best way to stop the problems is to educate people and raise awareness. TransEquality has recently been asked to deliver training videos to a select group of TSA officers. Tobin said that though they had not yet had the opportunity to train the front line security officers, they view their accomplishment as a small success. “We don’t think that training can solve the problems, but we’re certainly thinking about doing this to help with the bigger problem,” Tobin said. In order to help transgender people prepare for flights TransEquality features a travel page on their website. The TSA also offers its own page of travel advice for the trans community.

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One important recommendation: the name on the ticket should match the name on the ID. Other tips from Crawford, Clemens and Tobin include wearing gender non-conforming clothes, being polite and assertive, and not wearing prosthetics when flying if possible. Clemens said the general public needs to learn to adapt to the presence of a growing transgender community and that trans people should not have to be fearful of traveling before or when they’re transitioning. “There is no transition camp where you can go for a few weeks to transition,” Clemens said. So for now, until the TSA makes its own transition, transgender people should prepare for turbulence at their local airports. It’s going to be a bumpy ride to acceptance. Visit TransEquality.org/Issues/travel.html or TSA.gov/traveler-information/transgendertravelers for more information.

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Melbourne and Brevard County Celebrate Pride

Organizers hope to raise funds for LGBT community center Anthony Lanni This year organizers are hoping the seventh annual Space Coast PrideFest really takes off. Seven years ago the event launched with 100 supporters at a picnic; this year they’re hoping for more than 2,000. “The Space Coast Pride Festival is our primary yearly fundraiser with the majority of the profits going into a building fund that would provide a safe space community center for the LGBT community in Brevard County,” said President Lexi Wright of Space Coast Pride. This year’s event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. May 25 at Wickham Pavilion in Melbourne and will feature vendors, live musical entertainment, and a kids-zone with rock climbing and bounce houses. Admission is $5 with free parking available. This year’s highlights include performances by the Central Florida Sounds of Freedom Band and Color Guard; the Orlando Gay Chorus; Miss Space Coast Pride 2014, Susan Whitney; Kelli Randell; Coco Biatche; The Henegar Center for the Arts; Adelpha, Josie Milan; Dominique Taylor; Azhia Li

Kincade; DJ Woofy; Leigh Shannon, Nicole Saphire; Erikka Caine; Organized Kaos; Lacey On Stage; Diva Divine; and Gabkat Fitness. Space Coast Pride was founded in November of 2005 to provide services to the LGBT community in Brevard County. In 2007 SCP held it’s first PrideFest which started out as a small picnic with about 100 supporters. Only one year later the event grew to nearly 1,000. Organizers expect more than double that this year. And big changes are in the works for next year. “The event continues to grow each year, in vendors, sponsors and attendees, the venue will change next year and we will have a parade in 2015,” Wright said. Some of the local charities that will benefit from this year’s event include Family Counseling Center; Melbourne PFLAG; Brevard National Organization for Women; Project Response; Crosswinds Youth Service; Daily Bread; Taylor for Teens; six GSAs (gay-straight alliances); the Family of God Community Church; Metropolitan Community Church; and the Space Coast Progressive Alliance.

For more information visit SCP’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/ SpaceCoastPride or their website www.SpaceCoastPride.org. This year’s event will be held at 3701 N. Wickham Rd, in Melbourne.

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UK Tops the Chart in Europe for LGBT Rights Nicole Wiesenthal

ILGA-Europe has just released its Europe Rainbow Map, which uses percentages to compare countries’ LGBT rights situations. The United Kingdom had the most positive results with the highest percentage, 82 percent. This is UK’s third time topping the charts for national legal and policy human rights situations. “The UK has a strong record for protecting and promoting equality,” said Minister for Equalities Sajid Javid, according to Pink News. “I am pleased that our work to protect people from discrimination because of their sexuality has been recognized as some of the best in the world.” While most countries’ percentages either rose or remained the same, some countries percentages actually dropped. One country in particular is Ireland, which dropped two percent. Ireland’s drop means that it falls 12 percent below the EU national average. Brian Sheehan, Director of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), said Ireland needs to work on its progress.

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“Ireland is generally a good place to be LGBTI and Irish people are supportive of LGBTI people,” Sheehan said, according to the Irish Mirror. “However, it could be much better, and there are still some issues to address to ensure that Ireland is one of the best countries in the world to be LGBTI.” Europe still has room for improvement, but overall the results have been positive, with an increase in percentages. “The EU is a huge force for progress but we must not be complacent,” said Giles Goodall, spokesperson for Liberals 4 Equality, according to GScene Magazine. “Homophobia and transphobia continue to blight thousands of lives around Europe and populist parties are threatening to roll back protection for LGBTI communities.” To view the map and rankings, visit http:// www.ilga-europe.org/home/publications/ reports_and_other_materials/rainbow_ europe/.

news local Criminal Legal System vs LGBT New report highlights plight of the LGBT community in the face of the judicial system Sasha Razumikhin In a newly released 84 page report supported by over 200 sources, the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School says LGBT people and people living with HIV, or PLWH, “face sweeping discrimination at all stages of the criminal legal system.” The report, co-authored by the Center for American Progress (CAP), the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and Streetwise & Safe, is called “A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People with HIV.” With input from more than 50 organizations working on LGBT and criminal justice policy, the report “provides an extensive outline of policy measures that federal agencies can adopt to address discriminatory and abusive policing practices, improve conditions for LGBT prisoners and immigrants in detention, decriminalize HIV, and prevent LGBT youth and adults from coming in contact with the system in the first place.” “The principles that define our nation’s character do not tolerate racial bias, nor do they tolerate bias against members of any community,” said Ben Jealous, former president of the NAACP and CAP senior fellow, who contributed to the preface for the report. “Existing research indicates that LGBTQ people and PLWH are overrepresented in all aspects of the penal system. This roadmap contains recommendations for federal policy change that would represent important steps toward preventing and addressing the impacts of the crisis of mass incarceration [of] LGBTQ people — a crisis that is too often ignored, even by people of good conscience.” According to the report, 73 percent of all LGBT people and PLWH recently surveyed have had face-to-face contact with police during the past five years. For LGBT people of

color, more than one-third of these interactions featured some form of harassment or abuse. Five percent of the respondents also reported having spent time in jail or prison, a higher rate than that of the nearly three percent of the total U.S. adult population who are under some form of correctional supervision — jail, prison, probation or parole — at any point in time. The report, which took 18 months to produce, consists of six main sections—Policing and Law Enforcement, Prisons, Immigration, Criminalization of Youth, Criminalization of HIV, and Drivers of Incarceration. The recommendations in each section are very specific, drawing from historical context and providing solid solutions to existing issues like this example from the Drivers of Incarceration section: [Health and Human Services] should develop anti-LGBT discrimination guidelines for substance use treatment programs and ensure that no one is denied access to treatment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and that residential substance use programs receiving federal funds are respecting the gender identities of their participants. “Legal equality has not translated into lived equality for LGBT people, especially poor people and people of color,” said Dean Spade, co-author and visiting professor at Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law. “There is still little justice for LGBT people ... who are driven into the criminal legal system by pervasive poverty and systemic discrimination in the distribution of life chances.” For more information, check out the full report online at http://bit.ly/1ojBOGp.

“The principles that deﬁne our nation’s character do not tolerate racial bias, nor do they tolerate bias against members of any community.” – Ben Jealous soflagaynews //

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opinion publisher’s editorial

Getting High Has Consequences Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

// 5.21.2014 // SFGN.com //

soflagaynews //

The Florida Penal Code outlines a number of substances that are illegal, from cocaine and crystal meth, to ecstasy and oxycontin. This may come as a surprise to many of you, but there is no exception to these rules for gays and lesbians. Years ago, Florida ran an ad campaign saying ‘the rules are different here.’ Too many gay men took that slogan to heart. The rules are not different for us. Gay men use too many drugs. We drink too much, smoke too much, and abuse our body too often. Coming out of the closet may have been tough, but it does not grant you a non-stop, self-indulgent right to get stoned, be stoned, and stay stoned. Unfortunately, the drugs work. You get high and you want to get higher, again and again. So you go back to the bottle or the pill to score the buzz one more time, to find a freedom, and you become a slave to them. It’s ironic in a way. You get high to escape, but you are really building your own prison. You get busted, and you pay more than a lawyer. You give up your freedom, and surrender individual autonomy to probationary supervision. You started off doing a line, and instead wind up waiting on a line to go to some office to take a drug test. A new job opens up but you are going to a court ordered drug class instead. You are getting counseled by an ex addict who is telling you how drugs ruined his life, and advising you how to get clean. And you say to yourself, ‘how is this happening to me?’ The mirror, check out a mirror. To live for something is to die for the lack of it. To become dependent on anything, you lose your independence for everything else. South Florida is not a good place to become dependent on drugs. We do not have enough treatment programs and we put too many people in jail. Drug abuse should be a public health issue. We should check the abuse, not jail the abuser. But we don’t. We have weakwilled judges and lousy legislators who like to think they are being tough on crime. They are just being stupid, and we elect them again and again. We put more people in jail in South Florida for drug law violations than most of the state. We are not alone. Last year, America arrested over three quarters of a million citizens for marijuana possession. It’s unreal. Yes, 20 states have decriminalized. 30 have not. Florida is one of the ‘nots.’ You still go to jail for pot. You still get placed on probation. You still pay fines. You still place yourself under judicial restrictions. Bad laws create unjust sanctions. It may be stupid, but it’s real. I know that 80 percent of all gays and lesbians use cannabis,

SouthFloridaGayNews

but that does not make it legal. That will be up to you, by voting yes on Amendment 2 on November 4. Support the medical marijuana amendment, and maybe you won’t have to pay lawyers any more when you are caught with a joint. The truth is no one gets addicted to cannabis. You may consume it irrationally, use it incessantly, but you don’t get to blame pot for your problems. Pot is an answer to your problems. Day after day, and year after year, I go to court explaining away irrational acts by decent people. As a criminal defense attorney, my duty is to find a reason for the jury to acquit you or court to dismiss you. Drugs are the scapegoat. “Oh, your honor, if he had only not been high on oxycodone, he would not have run over that dog.” But let’s be real. You made the choice to consume the oxy, knowing that the little amber bottle has a cautionary instruction that you should not drive or use heavy machinery. So don’t blame the drug. That same oxycodone can be used for chemo. It’s not the drug’s fault you became reckless. It’s yours. Being gay is no excuse for self-inflicted abuse, either. Sorry, but I have heard that line too often. Yes I know it is tough being a gay person in a straight world. Get over it. We all have issues. To survive, you overcome adversity and rise to challenges. No, it is not always easy, and life is not always fair. We all make choices in life, and they take us to where we are now. Gay men like to party, hedonistically in nightclubs and romantically in bedrooms. Caution and control get lost in the wind. Oh, straight men do too. We don’t have an exclusive on selfindulgence, but we have raised it from an excuse to an art form. One of the things we learn in life, gay or straight, is that while our time is limited, we can stretch boundaries and reach mountaintops if we only use, not abuse, our resources. Cherish and nurture the ones you have.

news local

FAU Student Joins the Fight for Same-Sex Marriage Rights eorge

Castrataro

Denise Royal

A Florida Atlantic University journalism student is fighting for his marriage rights. Gildas Dousset, has filed an appeal in state court asking that his same-sex marriage be recognized in the state of Florida. It happened after he was denied in-state tuition rates. The appeal, filed in the Fourth District Court of Appeals, argues that Florida’s laws barring recognition of valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples violate the United States Constitution. Dousset and his spouse were legally married last year in Massachusetts and later had a reception in Fort Lauderdale, where they live together. When Dousset sought instate tuition at FAU as the spouse of a longtime Florida resident, the school refused to respect the couple’s legal marriage, citing Florida’s discriminatory laws. In a pre-released statement, Dousset said, “Florida is my home and I would like my marriage to be recognized just as other

students’ marriages are. My husband has lived in Florida all of his life and we love this state. This case is about protecting our family.” Dousset’s attorney George Castrataro said: “Gildas and his husband are recognized as legally married by the federal government and by many other states. But in his home state of Florida, his legal marriage is deemed void and unenforceable under Florida law. The harms inflicted by this extraordinary law are profound and burden the lives of countless Floridians.” National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter added: “The law should support families, not make it harder for committed couples to protect their families. These laws cause great harm to same-sex couples and their families while helping no one.” The National Center for Lesbian Rights also represents six same-sex couples and Equality Florida in Pareto v. Ruvin, a separate

case before a state circuit court in MiamiDade County challenging Florida’s laws barring same-sex couples from marriage. Oral argument in that case will take place later this summer. FAU says it is following the law. Dousset’s lawsuit challenges Florida statute 741.212 that was signed into law in 1997. It requires that no state agency, including state universities, can recognize same-sex marriages. This includes recognition for the purposes of in-state tuition as outlined by Florida law. FAU, and every Florida state college and university, is bound to follow all the laws of the State of Florida unless they are deemed unconstitutional by the court. FAU released a statement saying, “It is our understanding that this law is being challenged in courts throughout the state, and there is no allegation that FAU misapplied the law or did anything other than what is specifically required by the laws of the state.”

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health interview

Meet Michael Botticelli

The Drug Czar

Michael Botticelli understands all too well the effects alcohol and addiction has had, and continues to have, on the LGBT community. The acting Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is not only gay, but also a recovering addict. “LGBT folks [have] often suffered the consequences of elevating alcohol and drug use, so my own recovery really helps me in a very deep and personal way to understand what we’re trying to accomplish here,” he said. “I go back to my own experience and my own story and I think ‘where were the missed opportunities along the way?’” Even though data is sparse, according to one report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 20 to 30 percent of the LGBT community abuses substances, while only 9 percent of the general population does so. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also states that LGBT individuals are more likely to use alcohol and drugs; have higher rates of substance abuse; are less likely to abstain from alcohol and drug use; and are more likely to continue heavy drinking into later life. For gay and bisexual men the statistics are even more discouraging. According to the book “Unequal Opportunity: Health Disparities Affecting Gay and Bisexual” men who have sex with men are 3.5 times more likely to use marijuana than others; those men are 12.2 times more likely to use amphetamines than others; and they are also 9.5 times more likely to use heroin. To better understand addiction in the LGBT community Botticelli routinely sets up roundtables with LGBT leaders around the country. “A lot of times when I travel I will do community roundtables with LGBT leaders…in terms of talking about how do we make sure that that we as a community are addressing the issues,” he said. “…usually I do a lot of listening sessions with LGBT youth to talk about the issues that they see and face. So I really try to do a tremendous amount of outreach to national, state and community level folks in terms of raising the issues around LGBT substance abuse while also looking at community based solutions.” And what are those issues? Well for the most part, Botticelli said, it comes back to affordable and “competent” healthcare.

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When it comes to healthcare for the LGBT community “culturally competent care” is a phrase that Botticelli is fond of saying and repeating. In order for the gay community to receive effective healthcare, and substance abuse treatment, providers must understand the community and be “culturally competent” in LGBT issues.

about this being a public health issue and about addiction as a disease. And really endorsing a wide variety of evidence based practices, like supporting needle exchange programs and overdose prevention programs,” he explained. “It really both surprised and pleased me the extent to [how much] this drug policy [has changed] under

With Obama’s Affordable Care Act healthcare has become a major priority for his administration and it appears it has even found its way into the administration’s drug strategy by emphasizing that addiction is a disease that needs to be treated in the healthcare system rather than a crime that needs to be punished in the criminal justice system. “We can’t arrest our way out of the problem,” Botticelli said. “Addiction is a disease. This is a public health related issue. Our strategy will again continue to emphasis that.” Botticelli said the Obama administration’s strategy is “dramatically” different than previous ones in terms of how addiction is viewed and treated. “I remember the inaugural strategy for this administration when the director talked

this administration. It has really made a significant change in terms of how we deal, from a national perspective, with issues of substance use.” Botticelli has a long history of working with drug policy and addiction. Before his current position he served as deputy director since November 2012. Before that he served as director of the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where he expanded prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services for the state. But his work in this field all started more than 20 years ago when he only had 2 years sober and started working with treatment programs in Massachusetts. “I wanted to develop a specialty track for LGBT people within the treatment program. So part of my job was to do outreach to the

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SouthFloridaGayNews

Jason Parsley

LGBT community in Boston and work with a treatment program to design a specialty track for LGBT Folks,” he said. “From there I started working at the Massachusetts Health Department where I worked in our HIVAIDS division.” While this year’s drug strategy has yet to be released, Botticelli said it would continue to treat addiction as a disease and a public health related issue. As to why LGBT people suffer from higher rates of substance abuse he can only speculate. “There are lots of reasons and speculation as to why,” he said. “When you look at any historically disenfranchised minority population, including LGBT folks, we historically have seen elevated issues around substance abuse related issues.” Botticelli also believes that because for so long the only way for gays and lesbians to meet were in bars, that “bar” culture subsequently led to higher rates of alcohol consumption and abuse. Much of Botticelli’s own substance abuse revolved around the bar culture. And it all started on the day he came out of the closet. “[The night] I came out, someone took me to a gay bar,” Botticelli recalled. “I think it’s particularly telling to me that the first thing someone said to me is ‘oh you’re gay, you need to go to this bar.’ And it was actually a straight person that took me to a gay bar.” Another example of this bar culture Botticelli points out is the amount of alcohol ads found in gay publications. “You’ll see an inordinate amount of alcohol advertising,” he said. “So historically the [LGBT community] has been targeted by the alcohol industry because they know there is elevated alcohol use. We have a responsibility as a community to change that kind of normative view, that sometimes alcohol and drug use is part and parcel of what it means to be gay.” Botticelli recognizes that technology is changing LGBT culture and how gays and lesbians meet each other and bars aren’t

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health features

Broward House

The LGBT community’s safe-haven for recovery Andrea Richard Where there’s despair, there’s the Broward House. The nonprofit group, founded in 1988, serves the community offering support to individuals needing substance abuse treatment, mental illnesses support and HIV/AIDS prevention and education. Members of the LGBT community can turn to the friendly, compassionate staff of the Broward House for help without judgment said Cindy Sterne, director of clinical and residential services. The staff is trained to handle complex cases and clients from various lifestyles. “We are very accommodating and culturally sensitive in that we support the person,” Sterne said. “We want folks mentally, physically, and sexually healthy so we focus on the whole human being.”

The holistic approach to treatment means that each patient’s needs are met through individualized treatment plans. The Broward House offers assistant living, health education, support groups, oneon-one counseling, life skills coaching and even guidance on career development. Those suffering with a substance abuse issue, for example, can contact the facility and rest assured that help is readily accessible. Sterne said they don’t have a wait list and the programs are free. “If you have a substance abuse problem, and you call us; we’ll try to help you out,” she said. Overcoming substance abuse is a difficult struggle that many face, but with the right amount of structure and a safe environment the Broward House can help.

Once admitted, patients enter a multi-level program geared for a 5 to 6 month stay in which the participant begins the recovery process. Just how does Broward House help so many people? It all comes down to the basics. Treat people with acceptance, dignity and respect, Sterne said, and people will in turn treat themselves with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, not everyone grew up in an environment where they learned self-respect or were treated with kindness, but the staffers at the Broward House aim to lend a helping hand. For More Information, please visit www.browardhouse.org or call 954-522-4749.

The Reality of Recovery

A guide to South Florida’s LGBT 12-step recovery clubhouses Nicole Wiesenthal We’re taught from a very young age that abstinence is the key to conquering addictions. We’re forced to sign a form in elementary school in which we promise to never drink alcohol. We watch television depicting people with extreme addictions who drink bottles of Listerine for breakfast. Society portrays addictions as things of fiction, requiems for a dream. Addictions, however, are very real, and no one should blame themselves for them. If you think you have an addiction, it’s easy for you to get help at an LGBT 12-Step Recovery clubhouse. South Florida offers three different places where LGBT people can anonymously receive help with recovering from an addiction and getting their lives back on track. Check them out below.

Lambda North:

Address: 18 South J Street, Lake Worth, FL, 33460 Website: www.LambdaNorth.net History: Lambda North began in the 90s. It closed down due to lack of funds and was reformed in 2009. The clubhouse reopened in January 2012. It now serves men and women who are part of the LGBT community who have drug and alcohol addictions, said Lambda North President Michael Giorgi. Resources and meetings: Lambda North currently offers Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. People are welcome to start meetings for other addictions at the clubhouse. For newcomers: There are specific meetings for newcomers. One is the noon meeting, which takes place Monday through Friday at noon. What to expect: The most common type of meeting is a topic meeting in which a topic, such as how to deal with socializing in the gay community while in recovery, is brought up by someone in the group and then discussed by the rest of the group. Social events: Lambda North also offers events such as an

upcoming pool party barbecue on May 24. Cost: Meetings are free, but people can make voluntary donations to clubhouse. Events cost around $15. The money goes to maintaining the building. Lambda North relies on donations and fundraisers. People can become a member for $10 a month or $100 a year.

Lambda South

Address: 1231 E. Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301 Website: www.LambdaSouth.com History: It started as a safe place for the community to be able to meet and hold 12-step meetings in 1983. Resources and meetings: Lambda South provides many 12step recovery programs including Narcotics Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts, Codependents Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Crystal Meth Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. All meetings are open for everyone. Social events: Lambda South hosts numerous events such as movie nights and game nights. There is an anniversary dinner every year. Cost: Meetings are free as well as events, but people can make voluntary donations to clubhouse.

Lambda Miami-Dade

Address: 212 NE 24th St, Miami, FL 33137 Website: www.LambdaMiami-Dade.org History: Lambda Miami-Dade is a clubhouse that began over twenty years ago as a safe meeting place for 12-step meetings for the LGBT community. Resources and meetings: Lambda Miami-Dade offers meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, Adults Children of Alcoholics, and Crystal Meth Anonymous. Anyone can start their own meetings and all meetings are open. For newcomers: Newcomers should feel welcome attending any meeting. There is a beginners meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous every Monday at 8:30 p.m. soflagaynews //

Social events: A separate not-for-profit entity hosts fundraisers to raise money so that the building can eventually be purchased. Groups rent the space so meetings are selfsupported through contributions of their groups. Cost: Meetings are free, but people can make voluntary donations to clubhouse. Even if you doubt whether or not you have a substance abuse problem, attending a meeting won’t hurt. Addictions are a reality, but so is recovery. Start yours today.

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5.21.2014 // 17

health feature quite as important anymore. Yet there is still a significant problem of substance abuse rates within the community. “I found it very, very hard to think of myself as a gay man who didn’t drink and do drugs,” he said. Fortunately for Botticelli that’s no longer the case. Today he has more than 25 years of sobriety under his belt. “[But it wasn’t] until I got sober that I found that there was this incredibly vibrant recovery community of gay men,” he said. “So how do we promote the positive image that recovery can play? And how do we make sure we have a vibrant and visible recovery community within the LGBT community to show people that there is a way to have a really happy life on the other side of substance abuse.” Education and prevention is key, he said. “A lot of our prevention work is focused on how do we change community norms so that substance abuse issues are not endemic in the community,” he said. “And working with our medical providers to do prevention and intervention work. And making sure people have good culturally competent care and treatment.” Right now a hot topic is across the U.S. is marijuana use. States are either legalizing recreational use or medicinal use. Florida is one of them. In November voters will vote on Amendment 2, which would legalize the medicinal use. While the federal government continues to be anti-marijuana, traditional opponents are, in some cases, evolving. Even Republican Governor Rick Scott has signaled he will sign a bill into law allowing for the use of Charlotte’s Web, a buzz-free strain of pot, that can be given to children with debilitating seizures and also be prescribed to some patients who suffer from cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other very severe ailments. “We don’t look at [marijuana use] as a political issue, we look at this as a public health related issue,” Botticelli said. “We rely on science and research to guide our way. In the U.S., based on the last national survey of high school students, it showed that we now have more students 12-17 years old smoking marijuana than tobacco. We see more adolescents in treatment as a result of marijuana dependency issues.” One of the reasons for the increased rate of consumption Botticelli believes is that the perception of marijuana as a harmful substance is changing and that people, especially adolescents, no longer believe it’s harmful. “When youth see that marijuana has a medicinal purpose…they don’t see marijuana use as harmful,” he said. “We know [marijuana use] is related to a wide variety of health related issues such as poor academic performance. A study showed regular marijuana use can reduce

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cont’d from pg 16

IQ. We know that one in nine people who use marijuana become dependent on it. So we have to look at the science and data to guide our policy on this issue. We know that many people who become addicted to prescription drugs or heroin often start their drug use at a very early age. And they often start with alcohol, tobacco and marijuana — often in combination. From a prevention standpoint we want to make sure our youth, are not turning to these substances, because we know there are life long implications.” But despite Botticelli’s line of reasoning even some supporters of the Obama administration are breaking with the federal government on the issue of marijuana. In February, while Botticelli was still deputy director, he came under fire from Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) during a House Oversight Committee hearing, and was reluctantly forced to admit that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. During the back and force exchange Botticelli attempted to dodge the question several times but Connolly wouldn’t let up and continued to press him. “Is it not a scientific fact that there is nothing comparable with marijuana?” Connolly asked. “And I’m not saying it’s good or bad, but when we look at deaths and illnesses, alcohol, other hard drugs are certainly — even prescription drugs — are a threat to public health in a way that just isolated marijuana is not. Isn’t that a scientific fact? Or do you dispute that fact?” “I don’t dispute that fact,” Botticelli finally replied. And in an interview with David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, President Obama made a few statements that might signal a softening stance on the federal government’s long-standing views on marijuana. “As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice, not very different from the cigarettes that I smoked as a young person up through a big chunk of my adult life,” he told the New Yorker. “I don’t think it is more dangerous than alcohol.” It remains to be seen whether Botticelli will be officially appointed to the position of director, informally known as the U.S. Drug Czar. But one thing is almost for certain, Botticelli’s sexuality will not be a factor. President Obama hasn’t shied away from appointing high-ranking openly gay officials in the past. In fact according to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute he’s has appointed more than 250 openly LGBT professionals to full-time and advisory positions in the executive branch; more than all known LGBT appointments of all other presidential administrations combined. Botticelli has been with his husband for almost 20 years and they have been married for the past 5. They already own a condo in Wilton Manors and hope to retire to the area someday. soflagaynews //

health feature

Pride Institute Provides Unique Drug Treatment Denise Royal

One treatment center does not fit all. That’s the mantra at PRIDE Institute near Minneapolis. The facility opened its doors in 1986 as the nation’s first treatment center dedicated to providing services exclusively for the LGBT community. Since then, PRIDE has graduated more than 14,000 people hailing from every state in the country and even some from Canada. PRIDE Institute now features a 42-bed residential program and intensive outpatient service for adults. In addition PRIDE offers the only program of its kind for working with LGBT people with sexual health concerns including sexual compulsivity and sexual anorexia. Pride Institute of Florida at Fort Lauderdale Hospital provides inpatient and outpatient programs to adults suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, depression,

anxiety and sex addiction. It has the some parent company as the PRIDE Institute in Minneapolis, but the two are independently managed. Some studies suggest that up to 33 percent of the LGBT population have difficulty controlling their drug or alcohol use. Scientists believe that societal factors affect the relationship between chemical abuse and the experiences of members of the LGBT community. The society in which we live marginalizes the LGBT community. Under such conditions, members of the LGBT population can experience varying degrees of heterosexism. Heterosexism is defined as the stigmatization of non-heterosexual forms of emotional and affectional expression, sexual behavior or community. It also plays a part in the chemically dependent LGBT individual’s inability to access effective treatment services. Substance abuse treatment facilities are often not able to meet the needs of this special population. That’s where PRIDE’s approach makes a difference. “Clients at PRIDE Institute have the opportunity to face their internalized

SouthFloridaGayNews

homophobia head on in both individual and group sessions. One’s sexual identity is not an issue to be ashamed of at PRIDE Institute unlike many mainstream or ‘ally’ programs. When clients are able to be open and honest about their authentic self, they are then able to focus solely on their recovery. After all if it is OK to keep one’s sexuality a secret, then why not keep one drink or one pill a secret, too? At PRIDE Institute, honesty is a key to recovery,” said Molly Gilbert, PRIDE Institute’s Director of Business Development. Despite its 28 years in business, PRIDE Institute is not resting on its laurels. “In March we opened an Intensive Day Program/PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) with Lodging located within one mile of Pride Institute. This offers out of state clients or those not yet ready for outpatient care only an option to have a beautiful home to stay in overnight, with up to 7 other clients from PRIDE,” Gilbert said. “This is exclusive, LGBT sober housing provided for by PRIDE in a quiet, wooded, residential area, which allows clients to spend time with family and friends when applicable. This allows us to offer an intensive, psychotherapeutic based treatment program for clients who do not need the security of 24hour care, but require more than a traditional outpatient program. Clients are very excited about this wonderful new option, and are referring to the property as the Spring Hill House.” It appears many other treatment facilities are taking notice of PRIDE’s success. Within the last ten years, many mainstream treatment programs have opened LGBT-affirming programs, trained staff to be affirming, and have tried to emulate what is offered at PRIDE Institute. “We are supportive of this development as we believe there can never be enough people serving our communities. However, nothing can replace the safety and comfort of knowing the exclusive, shared experience of other LGBT people during the treatment stay,” Gilbert told SFGN. Visit Pride-Institute.com for more information on the their national based facility in Minneapolis. Or visit PrideInstituteFlorida.com for information on their local facility.

health feature

Groups Raise Money to Fight Meth SunServe steps in to lead local effort John McDonald

jeanmichelmcdonald@gmail.com

They know the effects. They’ve seen the damage. And enough and is enough. Community leaders and health care professionals in South Florida’s gay community are joining forces to fight an old enemy — Crystal Meth. Recently on top of the Conrad Hotel in Fort Lauderdale Beach, members of SunServe’s Guardian Circle raised $10,000 in a matter of minutes to stop the rise of what some in American feel is an epidemic. “It’s a horrible drug and we all know someone who has been ravaged by it,” said Mark Ketchum, SunServe’s executive director. SunServe, South Florida’s largest social services agency for LGBT community, is the fiscal agent for the group No More Meth, which aims to “conquer and combat” the drug’s resurgence, said group member Dr. Joel Kaufman. “It sounds like it is coming back with a vengeance,” said Kaufman, a psychologist, who has seen firsthand the horrors of meth use. “Your brain is truly hijacked on this drug,” Kaufman said. Meth is short for Methamphetamine and goes by many names on the street – crystal meth, Tina, ice, glass – but its effects are all the same. Whether the drug is injected intravenously or snorted, it gives users an enormous high. “It causes the brain to release a torrent of dopamine,” said Dr. David Fawcett, a clinical hypnotherapist who has written extensively about meth and gay men for the HIV/AIDS website TheBody.com. Fawcett said meth has been around a long time and was once known as speed. “Crystal meth anonymous meetings are overflowing right now,” he said. No More Meth has been active in the fight for the past 12 years. The group has gone by other names with the same mission.

“Our task is to provide resources for health and wellness,” Kaufman said. And it’s no easy task. Kaufman said it’s important to not hit gay men with what he calls “scare tactics” to keep them away from meth. Gay men, he said, are already battling many other stigmas and to throw at them images of rotting teeth, hair loss and drastic wasting would not be the best approach. “Gay men are tired of hearing they are bad,” Kaufman said. Instead, Kaufman proposed initiating a series of town hall style discussions with health care professionals and law enforcement, many of whom are on the front lines of this problem. Fawcett agreed, noting the demographic he sees most affected among gay men is those ages 40 to 50. “They are experiencing issues of aging,” he said. “They do not feel as attractive anymore and meth gives them energy and self-confidence. There’s also a huge sexual component to it.” The sexual component, Fawcett said, leads to risky behavior and ultimately contraction of diseases like HIV. “A lot of people in the community are tired of seeing their friends crashing and burning,” Fawcett said. And that’s where SunServe is there to help. The Guardian Circle’s fundraising effort was a big wakeup call for the community. “Mark (Ketchum) is the epitome of a great leader,” Kaufman said. “When we came to him for help after hearing about meth’s resurgence, he said ‘we’ll find some way to make it happen’ and they did.” Visit www.SunServe.org for more information.

Crystal Meth Anonymous Meetings in South Florida Fort Lauderdale:

Lambda South Clubhouse, 1231-A East Las Olas Blvd., Monday through Saturday at 7 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. Pride Center, 2040 North Dixie Hwy., Wilton Manors, Mondays and Wednesdays at 6 p.m. Miami:

Lambda Clubhouse, 28 North East 54th Street, Miami, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. SoBe Room, 1718 Bay Road, Miami Beach, Thursdays 8:30 p.m.

soflagaynews //

Visit SouthFloridaCMA.org for the local chapter of Crystal Meth Anonymous or their national website at CrystalMeth.org for more information.

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column off the wall

Along Came a Dog Pier Angelo I grew up and lived all my life without a pet. Actually for about two weeks, one summer eons ago, we had a dog. It’s a memory that could fit in a Fellini movie. “Amarcord” comes to mind. We were in our house in the Italian countryside when one morning stepping out of the door my brothers and I were greeted by an ugly, malnourished mutt of a dog. We had never seen him before. He did not belong to anybody in the village; he was obviously starved for food and affection and in need of a bath. Our parents immediately told us he was not allowed in the house. We had a very large garden in the back so we took him there, fussed over him, fed him and petted him. He could not stop licking our hands legs and faces. We called him Ringo, after the Beatles’ drummer. Somehow he understood he was not welcome in the house so he stayed by the front door waiting for us to come out and play. That’s where he slept at night and that’s where we found him each morning. We fell in love with him and him with us. He quietly followed us everywhere. A week later, when we got up, he was gone. We looked for him all over the village, left treats by the door, cried, but after two or three days we resigned ourselves that the same way he appeared he had also vanished from our lives and moved on. We referred to him as our lost gipsy mutt. Unbeknownst to us kids our father had locked Ringo in the trunk of the car, drove ten miles and let him lose in the woods. Four nights later we were tucked in bed when we heard a bark. We thought it was one of the neighbor’s dogs, but then we heard scratching at the front door. And we knew. Ringo was back. We flew out of our bedrooms, opened the door and there he was. Dirty, even skinnier, starved, but ecstatic to see us. How he made it back is a mystery to this day. We fed him, cleaned him, and loved him under the annoyed and stunned eyes of our father. Both our parents were adamant — Ringo had to go. We were not going to keep him. We begged them to allow us to adopt him but they pointed out he was sick and riddled with all kinds of diseases and flees, perhaps so.

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There was no arguing. A couple of days later we thought a miracle had happened. Our father came out of the house carrying Ringo’s food bowl. He placed it in the same spot we always did in the back of the garden. The dog ran for it. And then the village’s priest appeared out of nowhere. Flowing black tunic, a Borsalino’s cap on his bald head and his faithful hunter’s shotgun on his left shoulder. He was often showing up unannounced and since he was already chatting with my father, I paid little attention to him. By then I was already a tiny little atheist in the making. It is a scene that my mind has revisited for years. We were watching Ringo happily scarfing down his food when out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the priest slowly lifting his shotgun, aiming and firing two shots. I will never forget that moment. I knew what was going to happen and I knew I could not do anything to prevent it. I can still see it in slow motion but it took seconds. Ringo was dead. I never considered having another dog. Fast forward to 2013. Perhaps to please my partner who loves dogs, I watched, for the first time, the Westminster Dog Show. Banana Joe, a seven-pound Affenpinscher, claimed the title of Best in Show. I instantly fell in love with him; his devil may care attitude, his funny monkey face, the bright eyes, and the confident strut made me feel like a child again. I shocked my husband when I said: “We should get one of those.” Two months later we drove 1,000 miles to Tallahassee and back in one day, to pick up an eight-weeks-old female puppy. We named her Cabbage. It was love at first bark. I had often heard that dogs are gay people’s surrogate children. I always dismissed the notion. Now I am a daddy. I live and feel a type of love I never knew or thought possible. She is a full-fledged member of the family, she knows it because she runs our household and her toys have taken over the once immaculate den. Each morning she wakes up with the certainty that it will be the best day of her life because she truly enjoys every moment. I don’t have to tell her when I am sad, when I am happy or angry. She knows, sometimes before I even know it. With her sitting by my

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column

What’s an important story this week that should be noted?

This week SFGN launches “Speak OUT” a weekly feature giving a regular voice to South Florida LGBT leaders. This week we asked them for their thoughts on an important news story this week. Below are some of their answers: “The anti-gay Hindu Nationalist Party in India recently took power in a landslide election. As we all begin to feel assured that full equality for the LGBTQ community will soon be a reality in this country, our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world are facing significant dangers including physical abuse. We must be cognizant of our risk and continue to demand equality for all - locally, nationally and worldwide. What we have accomplished since Stonewall, can be taken away from us in one election.” — Anthony Timiraos, CEO/President, OUR Fund “There is a backlash simmering on why straight people should be penalized for saying they object to gay and transgender people, such as Michael Sam and Conchita Wurst, expressing themselves in public. What’s most disturbing to me is the heterosexism of some gay people who feel Sam went too far in kissing his boyfriend on ESPN. We need more gay and lesbian public displays of affection, not fewer, if we’re ever going to get past the “gross” response of some sheltered heterosexuals. Normal is as normal does.” — Brian McNaught, noted columnist, author and LGBT activist

“Arkansas began issuing marriage licenses to same-couples and the sky did not fall. Is Florida waiting until hell freezes over…?” — Dean Trantalis, noted attorney and Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner

“The battle that has been going on in Houston, TX over the attempt by openly lesbian Mayor Annise Parker to get an equal rights ordinance passed that would benefit so many people from all walks of life. It should be no-brainer, but it is being opposed by those abusing religion and the Bible to perpetuate lies and discrimination against LGBT people. I am so proud of Christians like those from Resurrection MCC in Houston who are courageously bringing a Christian voice of inclusion and justice to the fight!”

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cont’d on next page Visit SFGN.com/SpeakOut to see more of this week’s responses. Send an Email to Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com if you know of a LGBT community leader that should be or wants to be a part of this list.

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“[Recently] we learned that Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tracy Dice Johnson, whose wife was killed by a suicide bomber while fighting in Afghanistan, will receive the same survivor benefits that heterosexual married couples are entitled to, along with retroactive pay. Tracy Dice Johnson and her deceased wife Donna Johnson, who was also an ‘outspoken’ LGBT Activist, are the first same-sex couple to suffer a casualty after the 2011 repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’ This story is important because it shows yet another huge progress made in the fight for full equality for LGBT Americans, and it also shows how we as an LGBT community can work hard to bring about positive changes to our society.” — John Paul Alvarez, educator, historian, and Democratic candidate for Florida House District 100 “Miami Beach has touched the hearts of many LGBT visitors. Now that Gay Marriage is legal in their home state of MN. Andy & Nick are getting married! They sent a Ziploc bag for me to fill with “Miami Beach “sand that will be sprinkled down the aisle on wedding day!” — Lori Lynch, Executive Director, LGBT Visitor Center of Miami Beach “[Recently] the CDC reported that Syphilis has returned with a vengeance in the gay community with cases more than doubling among gay and bisexual men since the year 2000. Needless to say the gay community has become complacent in their duty to not only safeguard themselves, but also others from not only HIV/AIDS, but other sexually transmitted diseases. Yes, people are living longer due to new drugs, but do you really want to be on a daily drug regime, deal with the side effects, or risk getting an STD? It’s a piece of rubber people and it can save your life…use it” — Terry DeCarlo, Director of Development & Public Relations for the Broward House “On Wednesday evening, SAVE will sponsor “Springtime Freedom,” an anti-bullying showcase at Homestead Senior High organized by students and overseen by teacher Aaron Bos-lun. The show begins at 5:30 p.m. and costs $5 for adults and $2 for students, with all proceeds benefiting Gay-Straight Alliances at Homestead High, Miami Central High, Miami Edison High, and Miami Northwestern High. The showcase will also feature an appearance by former California schoolteacher Erin Gruwell of Freedom Writers fame.”

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Visit SFGN.com/SpeakOut to see more of this week’s responses. Send an Email to Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com if you know of a LGBT community leader that should be or wants to be a part of this list.

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cont’d from pg 20

side I chill out, I unplug from the world and release the stress of a day at the office. She doesn’t ask for much. I can tell what she feels when she sees me even after a short absence. Her happiness never diminishes, it is new each time. Her excitement is contagious and real. I just have to pick up the tennis ball for an endless game of fetch and she becomes a gazelle. It’s easy love, love without anxiety. The anxiety for the people we love more often than not comes from fear, fear of their reactions. We are afraid they will hurt us, disappoint us, come short of our expectations SouthFloridaGayNews

that our emotional investment will crash. With Cabbage it cannot happen. She accepts my love for her and gives it back in spades unconditionally. I know for certain she will not hurt me, she will never disappoint me. She will always be loyal. She will not judge me or leave me one day because she is tired of me. She teaches me that joy, happiness and the capacity to love is not exclusive to human beings but instead inclusive of all living things. And no Catholic priest will ever take her away from us. Not even with a shotgun in his hands.

column for becker or for worse

On the Michael Sam Kiss and ‘Getting a Room’ John Becker

Earlier this month, college football star Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, becoming the first openly gay person to ever be drafted by an NFL team and setting Sam up – if he makes the team in the fall – to become the first openly gay professional football player in history. We all know what happened next: after Sam received the call from the Rams, he burst into tears and kissed his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano – the same way many straight football players also celebrate being picked in the draft (and many other career milestones, for that matter). That kiss was captured live on national television by ESPN and has since become known as the “kiss seen ‘round the world.’” It was a watershed moment, to be sure – television’s first unscripted gay kiss – but not all of the reactions were positive. Several football players took to Twitter to post messages of disgust; Bryan Fischer, a spokesman for the American Family Association – an anti-gay hate group – urged Sam to change his sexual orientation through discredited and dangerous “ex-gay” therapy; and Dallas morning-show host Amy Kushnir stormed off the set in disgust after angrily opining that parents should “have a choice as to whether or not they want their children to see” an innocuous, routine moment of intimacy between two people of the same sex. “Get a room. I don’t want to see that,” Kushnir whined. According to a recent Huffington Post/ YouGov poll, an astonishing number of people agree with Kushnir. While 60 percent of Americans and 65 percent of NFL fans profess support for openly gay sports players in theory, that alleged support doesn’t translate into comfort with displays of same-sex affection. Forty-seven percent told pollsters it was “inappropriate” for networks to air footage of Michael Sam kissing his boyfriend. Just 36 percent said airing the kiss was appropriate, and 17 percent said they weren’t sure. The message this sends to the LGBT community is clear: we’ll tolerate you – we can deal with your existence and even grant you equal legal rights – but public expressions of your love are gross and disgusting. Get a room. We don’t want to see that. This phenomenon is closely related to the way many people react every time a celebrity like Anderson Cooper or Tom Daley comes out of the closet as LGBT. It seems as though for every person who welcomes and congratulates them, there’s another saying “Why does this matter?” or “I couldn’t care less what they do in their private life.” See that? Your sexuality is your “private life.”

Translation: Get a room. We don’t want to see that. The double standard is both counterproductive and infuriating. In our heterosexist culture, straight people feel no obligation to keep any details of their love lives private. We’re bombarded on a daily basis with art, music, literature, drama, and media dissecting, lamenting, and extolling every facet of love between opposite-sex couples. We constantly hear about the boyfriends/ girlfriends, fiancées, spouses, or even the onenight stands of everyone from our straight friends and co-workers to heterosexual celebrities, major and minor. And oppositesex couples can be observed holding hands, kissing, and walking arm-in-arm on nearly every sidewalk in America. Yet as soon as LGBT people enter into the discussion – as soon as we choose to unashamedly express affection in public – love and sexuality become a matter of a person’s “private life,” and we’re told we need to “get a room?” Give me a break. As far as I’m concerned, this flagrantly hypocritical double standard only serves to silence us and keep our lives and loves in the shadows, and as we know, breaking our silence and going public is how the movement for LGBT civil rights has achieved so much so quickly. Keeping our lives, loves, and relationships “private” – listening to the “Get a room; we don’t want to see that” crowd – only perpetuates the shame of the cultural closet and postpones our equality. There’s really only one way to push back: instead of getting that room – instead of accommodating straight people’s discomfort with gay love and intimacy by being less public about our love lives – we need to kiss, hold hands with, and talk about our spouses and partners more. Many Americans may not want to see LGBT people kissing... but they need to. John Becker is an LGBT rights activist and writer who is best known as a contributor to and the Editor in Chief of The Bilerico Project and is a frequent guest on news networks including ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. soflagaynews //

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column chamber chat GFLGLCC’s 2014 Gay Travel Guide Distributed Internationally

A huge success! Keith Blackburn

President/CEO Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce

Greetings from Madrid Spain! The Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC) recently published the Second Annual 2014 Gay Travel Guide. The guide has one simple goal — enticing people from around the globe to come and enjoy what Fort Lauderdale offers LGBT visitors. We’re just back from Madrid Spain, location of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s (IGLTA) annual conference. In addition to the many attendees, several of our members and partners were in attendance. Included were Richard Gray, LGBT Managing Director of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau – CVB, Casey Koslowski, owner of The Grand Resort and Spa, Felipe Cardenas and Andreas Vasquez of Gay Hills, Matt Skallerud of Pink Banana Media, Scott Mazer of Gay Ad Network and Chance Mitchell of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). While in Madrid, we distributed our complimentary Gay Travel Guide to all of the attendees and many locals. The 64-page pocket guide, includes a directory of all chamber businesses which may benefit from tourism, maps, cultural, spiritual and event listings and much more. The Guide and distribution is fully funded by display ad sales and partnerships. Prior to Madrid, the Guide was most recently distributed at the IPW trade show in Chicago. In early March, we were in Berlin Germany for ITB, which is the world’s largest travel show, followed by Gay Pride in Lake Worth. Moving forward, we will be at Gay Days in Orlando this June, Gay Days in Las Vegas in September and Bogotá Colombia in October. Additional events and locations will be added as we move forward. Locally, the guides are in all of our hospitality member businesses, the CVB and the Information booths in all terminals in the Fort Lauderdale airport. The GFLGLCC works with partners like the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB to distribute the travel guides to LGBT groups and convention attendees that are visiting the Greater Fort Lauderdale area throughout the year. Recent groups include the North American Gay Volleyball Association, Gay Rodeo, Gay Polo League, the National Gay Pilots Association and Beach Bear Weekend. We’re

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working closely with the upcoming National Association of Gay Real Estate Professionals on their upcoming conference this October. Many of our member guesthouses are offering special rates and we’re putting together closing night events for October 16th in Wilton Manors. The 2014 Gay Travel Guide is designed to give the LGBT traveler coming to the Fort Lauderdale a head’s-up approach to where they would be welcomed at various hotels, nightspots, restaurants, events and tourist attractions. Thus saving valuable time and money, resulting in a more enjoyable,

memorable and a return visit to Greater Fort Lauderdale. In addition, the virtual flip-book can be viewed on the chamber’s website (www.GoGayFortLauderdale.com), the CVB’s new LGBT microsite within Sunny.org and other on-line websites. The GFLGLCC’s mission is to promote business and economic opportunities for the LGBT and LGBT-friendly community. We are an advocate and resource for all member businesses that promote equality. We promote tourism with a unified approach by working with appropriate and related organizations. We work as partners with local LGBT organizations, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), other LGBT chambers and with businesses wishing to make stronger outreach to the Greater Fort Lauderdale LGBT community. For information on joining the GFLGLCC or to advertise in the 2015 LGBT Gay Travel Guide please contact the Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (GFLGLCC) by email; keith@gflglcc.org, or visit www.gogayforlauderdale.com.

feature cover story

The Day I Met Harvey Milk Norm Kent

In the next 24 hours, I will be at a White House ceremony where our nation will release a United States postage stamp honoring Harvey Milk, a gay man who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, when he spectacularly won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Harvey’s tenure in office was short, assassinated in November of 1978, by a crazed colleague only eleven months into his term. I know, it’s a long time ago, but his life has been memorialized in a moving documentary, and then captured again in the award winning film, “Milk,” so amazingly played by Sean Penn. For me, Harvey’s life was more than a movie. In no small measure, Harvey’s life touched my own. I grew up and went to high school in Woodmere, Long Island, New York. That’s where Harvey was from. He taught at Hewlett High School, but left for the west coast in the early 1970’s. It was 1976 when I left New York and moved temporarily to South Florida. I never thought I would stay here. Except for the weather, I really hated this place. There was no sense of community or purpose. In 1977, I left for California, staying in San Diego, Venice, LA, and San Francisco, trying to find a comfort zone on the West Coast. It was in San Francisco in 1977 that I met Dennis Peron, an openly gay man, also from Long Island. Not surprisingly, Peron was a prominent cannabis activist, and I met him through NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Peron was a little older than me but he showed me the Castro, openly gay life, and we hit it off and hung out at his Island Restaurant. Active in politics and the soul of the community, Peron introduced me to this fiery candidate for city hall — Harvey Milk. Ironically, as much as I wanted to learn about them and San Francisco, their eyes and ears were focused on South Florida. Milk wanted to know all about this ‘crazy lady,’ Anita Bryant, the Orange Juice Queen, a former Miss America, who wanted to repeal a Dade County human rights ordinance that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. I remember giving Milk a button that read “Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges.” It was 37 years ago, a brief moment in time decades past. On that day he was shot, less than a

an Francisco politician, Harvey Milk, meets President Jimmy Carter

year later, I remember being so stunned and shocked. It was not only Milk who was killed, it was the Mayor too, George Moscone. For me, it was Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy all over again; another civil rights leader slain by the bullets of false revenge. This one was more personal. This was my friend from Woodmere, a man I had just met in the last year and now would never see again. Never did I ever imagine when I was playing softball at the age of 12 at School Number 6 on Branch Boulevard in Woodmere, that at the age of 62, I would be invited to the White House to celebrate his life, the life of a gay rights leader from Woodmere. Never did I ever imagine I would become one myself. I guess life is what happens when you are making other plans. Offered a job at Florida Atlantic University as an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, I wound up staying in South Florida. I would teach for a few years, before deciding whether to stay here or move there. I stayed here, and visited there. Years later, I would establish dual residency with an apartment in San Francisco. It’s still my favorite place to go. Stuart Milk, Harvey’s nephew, was a teenager when his uncle was shot. Today, he stewards the Milk Foundation, a global ambassador for LGBT rights, working with an administration that has done more for our community than any other, ever. This week, SFGN features an Interim Drug Czar who is a gay man. Last week, President Obama named a gay man to be the ambassador to Vietnam. Over the past few years, he has appointed too many LGBT officials to mention, from Navy undersecretaries to federal judges.

Being gay has opened doors, not closed them. Being gay in 1978 meant breaking down those doors, at great personal risk. We scared people. Laws were lined up against us everywhere. When I applied for the Florida Bar in 1978, being gay was grounds for denial. Being open was professional suicide. Being gay made you a target. Harvey knew that. He understood that he might have to give up his life in the struggle for human rights. He understood he could be shot. But he fought on. Peron is still in San Francisco, ever the activist, having worked on Prop 215 and marijuana legalization in California for decades. He also runs Castro Castle, a guest house in the LGBT district. Today, bars as well as high schools memorialize Harvey Milk’s name. Now so does a U.S. postage stamp. Milk was a natural to become the first openly gay supervisor. His passion, his voice, made him known as the “Mayor of Castro Street.” He had started the Castro Street Fair in 1974. He helped make gay people feel safe and secure, yet visible and open to the world. He helped make San Francisco a safe haven for homosexuals. What we take for granted for today he gave his life for yesterday. Milk did not win in his first try for the board of supervisors, or his second, or third. He kept on plugging away. So must we. We only lose life when it has no purpose. Harvey Milk stood tall and died proudly, for all of us; for the cause of equal rights. There is no greater calling. soflagaynews //

On the occasion of the White House ceremony, Harvey Milk’s nephew and co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation Stuart Milk released the following statement: “A stamp dedication ceremony on May 22 at the White House comes with incredibly special significance for both place and date. President Obama and his administration have provided the nation with steadfast and trend setting leadership in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the US and abroad. May 22, Harvey Milk Day, is celebrated annually Uncle Harvey’s birthday as an official California State day of recognition and is used in communities around the world as a day for all minority groups to collaborate on the vigilance needed to achieve fully inclusive human rights for everyone, everywhere.” “The Milk family thanks President Obama and other allies and champions of LGBT inclusive diversity as exemplified by Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, all of the LGBT leaders who have stood on uncle Harvey’s shoulders to run for and serve openly in public office, and each and every LGBT individual who go about their daily life with authenticity, refusing to hide who they are and who they love. Together, all of us, continue to move humanity forward, bending that arc of the moral universe ever closer to justice.” “As letters and postcards are sent across the nation and around the globe, they can now bear the face of a man who gave his life in the struggle for human rights to ensure equality for every minority group and marginalized community. The Harvey Milk Forever Stamp, which further memorializes Harvey’s legacy of hope, is a gift to help us all remember where we’ve been and the work we still need to do.” “Uncle Harvey, a pioneering spirit of the 20th century, is in my life and in my heart every day. Through our work at the Harvey Milk Foundation, we have seen the power of his courage and the example of his voice, which was brutally silenced by hate, continue to touch lives and inspire hope. His story and example is extraordinary and uniquely transcends national borders and languages.” The Harvey Milk Foundation is a global non-profit charitable organization that promotes Harvey Milk’s legacy through human rights education and global outreach efforts. The foundation was founded by Harvey’s nephew, Stuart Milk, and Anne Kronenberg, Harvey’s campaign manager and political aide. For more information on the Harvey Milk Foundation, please visit: http://milkfoundation.org, friend the foundation on Facebook and follow @HMilkFoundation

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lifestyle history This Week in Gay History May 21 - 27 Quistapp.com

arvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978

May 21,1979 — Daniel White May 24, 1993 — Lesbian Sentenced for Killing Harvey Conﬁrmed by U.S. Senate to Milk and Mayor Moscone Federal Position

After using the “Twinkie defense,” Roberta Achtenberg becomes the White is acquitted of the first-degree assistant secretary of Housing and Urban murder charge, but is found guilty of the Development. voluntary manslaughter of both victims. He May 25, 1895 — Oscar is sentenced to serve seven and two-thirds years. Over 3,000 people rioted in what Wilde Convicted of Gross became known as the White Night Riots. Indecency Dozens were hospitalized. Gross indecency is a crime under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, meaning May 22, 2008 — Domestic homosexual acts not amounting to buggery. Partnership Bills Signed in He is sentenced to two years hard labor, the maximum allowed. The judge describes this Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signs the two bills restriction as “totally inadequate for a case that legalize domestic partnerships for such as this,” and says it was “the worst case I Maryland same-sex couples. Full same-sex have ever tried.” marriage equality comes to the state on May 26, 1988 — Start of January 1, 2013.

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May 23, 1920 — Harvard Establishes Committee to Investigate Homosexual Activity

First Nat’l HIV Education Campaign in U.S.

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop oversees the mailing of a booklet titled “Understanding AIDS” to all American households.

Following two weeks of inquiries, Harvard May 27, 1937 — Golden expels several students. The tribunal Gate Bridge Opened becomes known as the “Secret Court of Approximately 200,000 bridge walkers 1920” after records filed under that name are attended opening day. As a symbol of the city discovered in 2002. of San Francisco, the bridge is also considered a symbol of the gay community. All of the information above has been reprinted with permission from Quist, an LGBT mobile history app that can be found on iOS and Android devices. Visit QuistApp.com for more information. The app was created by Sarah Prager and launched in July of 2013.

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outeats

Special Advertising Section

Pernil Al Horno (Roasted Pork Shoulder) Jay Rinaldi

There’s nothing like a great hunk of PORK. Pernil always fits the bill for holidays and special occasions with a bit of a Latin flair. This is a definite do ahead, so set aside a good 3 to 4 hours for the roasting process, and be a part of your own party. It can be served with any number of sides, and makes great next day meals... like pulled pork BBQ sandwiches for example. Prep:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees You will need a good 4 to 5 lb. pork (Butt) shoulder with a nice thick fat layer. Make a pocket between the skin and flesh where a marinade will be placed but hold the marinade well enough inside. You can also poke holes into the flesh so that the marinade can seep into it. Score the top layer of the fat, but don’t cut all the way through. Pour some the rest of the marinade over skin. Chill in the fridge overnight. The Marinade:

In a food processor... • full head of garlic cloves only • handful of fresh cilantro and a handful of fresh oregano • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or your favorite) • 2 tsps of kosher salt • tsp of pepper • tsp cayenne pepper • tbsp ancho chili powder • tsp cumin • tbsp pimenton (smoked paprika) • 1 extra cup of orange juice Process... then add the juice of two limes and two oranges. Drizzle in slowly 1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Now a few hours before you plan to serve the pork shoulder, bring the meat out for an hour or so to come closer to room temperature. This will actually help in the roasting process. Put meat in a roasting pan on top of a rack insert. Add the extra cup of orange juice to help steam the meat. Then into the oven for 3 hours, uncovered and that’s it! You can check and baste as often as you like. It’s pretty fool-proof and the crispier the skin gets, the better. When the cooking time is over, cover the Pernil with aluminum foil lightly and let rest for at least 10 minutes before carving. You can also use the juices as a dipping sauce or as a gravy if you like by adding flour or cornstarch to the strained juices and whisking until thickened. As you can see, this dish is simple and has room for personal touches. And, as I’ve said, “it’s great for holidays and special occasions”... or just a Sunday game. So grab some folks and plan a day to enjoy some good food and hang with friends. Jay Rinaldi is an SFGN reader, fabulous cook, and local bartender extraordinaire.

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F O R

SFGNITES

T H E

J.W. Arnold

jw@prdconline.com

THUR THEATER

W E E K

5/22

Island City Stage closes out its season with the poignant and searing drama, “The Pride” by Alexei Kaye Campbell. Betrayal, guilt, identity and passion are at the core of the drama in “The Pride” as it unfolds separate, but parallel, love triangles between Oliver, Philip and Sylvia which alternate between 1958 and 2008. The cast includes Carbonell Award winners Michael McKeever and Bruce Linser. Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Dr. in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are $30 at IslandCityStage.org.

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aroline Bowman stars as Eva Peron in the national tour of “Evita,” opening May 27 at the Arsht Center in Miami.

5/23

Cirque du Soleil, the inventive French Canadian circus troupe, is back in South Florida this weekend, this time with a show built around the unmistakable pop music of Michael Jackson. “The Immortal World Tour” features 49 international dancers, musicians and acrobats performing in a rock concert format at the BB&T Center in Sunrise and marks a departure from the company’s previous fanciful productions. Prepare to be amazed by Cirque du Soleil’s interpretation of Jackson’s biggest hits. Performances today and tomorrow, Saturday, May 24. Tickets are $50 - $125 at CirqueDuSoleil.com/MichaelJackson.

SAT

THEATER

5/24 SUN

Zoetic Stage presents the regional premiere of Amy Herzog’s play, “The Great God Pan,” in the Carnival Theater at Miami’s Arsht Center. The play, under the direction of Stuart Meltzer and starring Nicholas Richberg, details the emotional tailspin a forgotten childhood trauma throws a young man’s seemingly perfect life into when a friend reveals his father molested him. Unsettling and deeply compassionate, “The Great God Pan” tells the intimate tale of what is lost and won when a hidden secret comes to light. Performances through June 8. Tickets are $45 at ArshtCenter.org.

Photo: Richard Termine

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TELEVISION

5/25 MON

HBO will premiere “The Normal Heart,” the largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer documenting the rise of the AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1985. Produced by Ryan Murphy (“Nip/ Tuck,” “Glee”) the film features an all-star cast, including openly gay actors Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons and Jonathan Groff, as well as Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Alec Baldwin and Alfred Molina. The play was first mounted Off-Broadway in 1985, but was a big winner at the 2011 Tony Awards. The film promises to take Kramer’s touching story further. Check local listings for show times. soflagaynews //

CABARET

5/26 TUE

Memorial Day is the official start to the summer season — like we’d notice in South Florida! After a relaxing day of cookouts, pool parties and some shopping, head down to the Alibi on Wilton Drive for a performance by Florida’s Own Dame Edna. Never at a loss for words, Dame Edna’s a pretty good singer, too, belting out Broadway standards in the cool Manchester Room. She’ll make your Memorial Day red, white, blue and purple! Shows at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. For more information, go to AlibiWiltonManors.com.

SouthFloridaGayNews

THEATER

5/27

“Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina,” the immortal words of Eva Peron, will fill the hall at Miami’s Arsht Center when the touring production of “Evita” makes another stop in South Florida tonight through Sunday, June 1. This legendary musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice set the standard for a generation of Broadway shows and this production recaptures that magic. Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets start at $26 at ArshtCenter.org.

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a&e television

‘The Normal Heart’

Groundbreaking AIDS play now an extraordinary TV movie David-Elijah Nahmod

Sit back, relax and enjoy our new luxury seating along with our new digital projection and sound. Also the popcorn is on us!* The Classic Gateway Movie Theatre www.classicgateway.com 1820 East Sunrise Blvd., Like us on FACEBOOK Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954-763-7994 *Free small popcorn valid Friday, May 23rd through Sunday, June 1st, with this ad th 36

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HBO’s production of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which premieres on Sunday, May 25 at 9 p.m., is a true life story which will likely tug at viewers’ heartstrings even as it fills them with rage. The openly gay, HIV positive Kramer wrote “The Normal Heart” as a theater piece some three decades ago. Heartbroken after losing dozens of friends to AIDS and disgusted by the apathy he saw from government health officials, the White House and even the gay community itself, Kramer vented his rage on the stage. And in life. The play tells what happened to Kramer, and to the community, during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Kramer adapted his play for the screen, while Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) directs.

keep them as comfortable as possible. They die quickly, and they’re all gay. Kramer was never afraid to speak his truth. In one particularly powerful scene, Dr. Brookner throws her notes at a government official who refuses to fund her research. “Take my notes!” she yells. “Do something with them!” She warns the official that the plague will soon affect heterosexuals, but he is unmoved. No one is spared the wrath of Kramer’s pen. The author has harsh words for a gay community that would rather go to sex clubs than save their own lives, and for AIDS activists who attack each other instead of the enemy. Kramer, speaking as Ned, tells gay men to come out while they’re still alive to do

In 1981, Kramer, then in his mid-forties, was known as an Oscar nominated screenwriter and the author of the controversial 1978 novel “Faggots.” In that daringly titled book, Kramer painted a negative portrait of gay male promiscuity, which he claimed was preventing people from finding true love. Gay men vilified Kramer for writing it. It’s at this point that we meet Ned Weeks (Mark Ruffalo), a barely disguised version of Kramer. It’s 1981, and Ned is reading a story in the New York Times about a rare cancer that’s stricken 41 “homosexuals.” In a matter of days, several of Ned’s seemingly healthy friends suddenly take ill, dying almost overnight. In a few weeks’ time, Ned knows ten people who’ve died. He hears about dozens of others who’ve gotten sick. Dr. Emma Brookner (Julia Roberts), a paraplegic in a wheelchair, is the only doctor in New York, and possibly in the U.S., who’s willing to treat the patients. All she can do is

so. He tells his own brother (Alfred Molina) that they cannot speak “until you can tell me that we’re equals.” Yet it’s the brother who takes Ned’s partner Felix (Matt Bomer) to the hospital when Felix collapses and descends into his final illness. The brothers’ embrace is one of the film’s most gut wrenching moments. Kramer reminds HBO viewers what many may have forgotten: as thousands of gay men lay dying, lesbians stepped up to the plate and offered to help. They were the first AIDS volunteers to come from beyond the gay male sphere. Few films are as intensely riveting and as emotionally draining as “The Normal Heart.” The film is a memorial tribute to those who fought and died. For the generations which followed, it’s a history lesson. “The Normal Heart” premieres on HBO on Sunday, May 25th at 9 p.m. The film will also be available at HBO On Demand.

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a&e films

Summer Movie Guide 2014 What’s on the menu? J.W. Arnold

When I was child growing up, Mondays were “leftover night” at dinnertime. Whatever we didn’t scarf down over the weekend magically reappeared on the table, sometimes recognizable — like my dad’s smoky barbecued chicken — but most likely disguised in a mysterious saucy casserole. That metaphor pretty much sums up the summer movie season as Hollywood serves up more sequels and spin-offs. Comic books and safe commercial bets pepper the releases. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was a surprisingly tasty amuse-bouche, kicking off the season a few weeks early with lots of special effects and a well-thought plot, but was quickly followed by rubbery fried lizard, “Godzilla,” and Marc Webb’s recognizable reboot, “The Amazing Spider Man 2.” Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (May 23) reunites our favorite mutants and will likely be another box office smash this weekend. Mark Wahlberg returns to the silver screen to helm the latest edition in the “Transformers” franchise, “Age of Extinction” (June 27) followed by “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Aug. 8), both big ‘80s cartoons turned big-budget blockbusters. Marvel is taking a chance on “Guardians of the Galaxy” (Aug. 1), a cheeky hero movie that could go either way with audiences. DreamWorks and Disney offer “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (June 13) and “Planes: Fire and Rescue” (July 18). These animated sequels will appeal to kids, but promise grown-up lessons, too. And the darker subtexts of fairy tales come to life in Disney’s “Maleficent” (May 30), starring Angelina Jolie as the evil queen from “Sleeping Beauty.” But don’t expect any deep thoughts or morality tales from Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in their “22 Jump Street” (June 13).

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SouthFloridaGayNews

A few new films provide both sweet and savory sides to the summer mix: Melissa McCarthy (“Mike & Molly”) is one of the freshest comedians in years and she returns to the big screen with “Tammy” (July 2) with Susan Sarandon in tow as her grandmother. John Carney (“Once”) hopes to hit high notes again with “Begin Again” (July 4), starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. For musical fans, the movie adaptation of the Broadway smash, “Jersey Boys” (June 20), is one of the few films this summer in this category. Definitely don’t skip a serving of Ira Sachs’s new film “Love is Strange” (Aug. 29), starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina as longtime lovers whose decision to wed leads to unexpected complications. For Fort Lauderdale filmgoers, dessert is served up, courtesy of the Gateway Theatre, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd. The ‘50s retro movie palace was the site for the premiere of “Where the Boys Are,” but fell on hard times in the decades to follow. An office building was built above and the large theaters subdivided. Still, LGBT audiences remained loyal to the theater, longtime host to the Fort Lauderdale Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Once again under new management, the Gateway is undergoing long-needed repairs and updates. Just this month, all the seating was replaced with leatherette rocking chairs. The lobby has received a facelift and concessions have even been expanded to offer sliders and pizza. Upgrades to the projection and sound systems were also undertaken, making the theater a great place to escape the heat of summer and enjoy the latest independent, foreign and studio releases. Visit TheGatewayTheatre.com for more info on the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale.

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Datebook

Theater

irque Du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: The IMMORTAL World Tour returns to South Florida at the BB&T Center in Sunrise on May 23 & 24.

Christiana Lilly

Calendar@SFGN.com BROWARD COUNTY broward county

* Michael Jackson: The IMMORTAL World Tour

May 23 and 24 at the BB&T Center, One Panther Parkway in Sunrise. The worldwide tour returns to South Florida in a mash up of Michael Jackson classics and impressive feats by Cirque du Soleil. Tickets $68 to $147.50. Visit TheBBTCenter.com.

* The Pride

May 24 to June 22 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. Oliver, Philip and Sylvia are in a love triangle that spans 50 years -- with a pseudo-Nazi sex partner, gay aversion therapist, and a magazine editor thrown into the mix. Tickets $30. Call 954-519-2533 or visit IslandCityStage.org.

* Festival Yachad

May 25 at 7 p.m. at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. More than 500 dancers both local and international perform Israeli folk dance. Tickets $10 to $50. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

Maria’s Girls Night Out

Through May 25 at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs. An interactive girls night out, Maria and her friends have invited some hot guys for entertainment, when their significant others have other plans. Tickets $39.22 to $49.82. Call 954-344-5990 or visit CoralSpringsCenterfortheArts.com.

* Classical and Romantic Gala

May 30 to June 6 at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. Principal dancers from the San Francisco, Joffrey, Boston and San Jose dance companies come together for a mesmerizing performance with the Florida Classical Ballet. Tickets $30 to $50. Call 954-4620222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

hot dog

May 15 to June 1 at NSU’s Black Box Theatre, 3301 College Ave. in David. Dog lives next door to her daughter, Maryanne, and son-in-law, who are both tired of having to take care of her. Tickets $35. Visit ThinkingCapTheatre.com. PALM BEACH county palm beach

* Timb!

May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Boynton Beach Art District, 410 W. Industrial Ave. in Boynton Beach. The singer will be performing during the monthly Art Walk as artist Christian Bentall does live art. RSVP to Boynton Beach live on Facebook.

* Irish Theatre Festival

Through May 24 at Arts Garage, 180 NE First St. in Delray Beach. Irish theatre groups celebrate their heritage with different plays and performances. Tickets $20. Call 561-450-6357 or visit ArtsGarage.org.

* Doubt

May 24 to June 8 at the Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW Ninth St. in Delray Beach. At a prestigious Catholic boys school, Sister Aloysius suspects that Father Flynn may be having an inappropriate relationship with a young black student. Tickets $30. Call 561-272-1281, ext. 4 or visit DelrayBeachPlayhouse.com.

Tryst

Through June 8 at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach. George Love weds and beds unsuspecting women before running off with their money -- until he tries to scam Adelaide Pinchin. Tickets $60. Call 561-514-4042 or visit PalmBeachDramaworks.org.

Free Friday Concerts

Fridays at 7:30 p.m. at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Enjoy live music from the comfort of your picnic blanket or lawn chair every week, for free! Call 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayArts.org. MIAMI DADE county miami-dade

The Great God Pan

May 22 to June 8 at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Jamie’s perfect life in Brooklyn is turned upside down when a childhood trauma comes to the surface. Tickets $45. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

* Gidion’s Knot

May 24 to June 15 at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211st St. in Cutler Bay. When fifth grader Gidion is suspended from school, his mother confronts his teacher during a parent teacher conference and uncovers a world of bullying and the failing school system. Tickets $26 to $31. Call 786573-5300 or visit SMDCAC.org.

* Evita * Denotes New Listing

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May 27 to June 1 at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Eva Peron rose through the society soflagaynews //

Photo: www.cirquedusoleil.com and was adored by her people as the First Lady. However, power and greed during a tumultuous time in history would change all that. Tickets $26 to $96. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

* Morrissey

May 31 at 8 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The former front man for The Smiths performs hits from his 30-year career from the band as well as his own original tunes. Tickets $59.50 to $99.50. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

* Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Through June 15 at the GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. Siblings living in Bucks County, Penn. get a visit from their movie star sister and her latest fling. Tickets $45 to $55. Call 305-446-1116 or visit GableStage.org.

Everybody Drinks the Same Water

Through June 1 at the Miami Theater Center, 9806 NE Second Ave. in Miami Shores. Three teens of different religious backgrounds come together to solve a murder caused by someone poisoning their water supply in Cordoba, Spain. Tickets $25 to $35. Call 305-751-9550 or visit MTCMiami.org.

PAMM Outdoor Music Series

Third Thursdays at the Perez Art Museum Miami, 101 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Come out for live music from DJs and musicians by the bay. Drink specials available. Free with museum admission. Call 305-3753000 or visit PAMM.org.

The Big Show

Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. at Just the Funny Theater, 3119 Coral Way in Miami. A collection of comedy mixing the likes of improvisation and sketches. Tickets $12. Call 305-693-8669 or visit JustTheFunny.com.

SouthFloridaGayNews

ormer Smiths frontman, Morrissey, comes to Miami’s Arsht Center on May 31.

Photo: Wikipedia

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Datebook

Community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com

broward county

BROWARD COUNTY

* Lunch, Learn & Networking

May 27 from noon to 1 p.m. at Dapur, 1620 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Join the Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce for an intimate, family style luncheon, with speaker Candace O’Brien of Advocates for Surrogacy. Cost $35 for members, $40 for prospective members. RSVP to Keith Blackburn at 954-523-3500 or keith@gflglcc.org.

* Transgender-Friendly Businesses Panel Discussion

May 27 from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. SunServe presents a panel to discuss businesses in the Fort Lauderdale area that are friendly to the transgender community. RSVP to 954-764-5150, ext. 112 or email alint@ sunserve.org.

* Tequila Chopped

May 29 at 7 p.m. at Cantina Laredo, 501 Silks Run in Hallandale Beach. Mixologists from III Forks Prime Steakhouse and Cantina Laredo will battle it out behind the bar to become the 2014 Cocktail Master. Event benefits The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. Call Rhonda Gibson at 561-201-4877 or email southfloridaevents@croinc.com.

Pride Center Flea Market

First Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Scour through arts and crafts from area vendors every month. Call 954-463-9005.

Introduction to Modern Buddhism

Mondays 6 to 6:30 p.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 140 W. Prospect Road in Fort Lauderdale. Join a guided meditation and instruction with Western Buddhist teacher, Jay Radin. Free. Visit MeditationinFortLauderdale.com.

Man2Man Discussion

Mondays 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. A weekly informal discussion group among gay men of all backgrounds. Contact John Beuscher at 954-202-4469 or email johnnybushwick@aol.com.

Gender Bender Youth Group

Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe Campus, 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A group for LGBT youth 13 to 21 to discuss gender, gender expression, binary systems, friendship, family and whatever else comes up! Free. Visit SunServeYouth. com

SunServe Youth Group

Tuesdays and Thursdays in Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches, Coral Springs and Hollywood. A support group and night of fun for LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and times.

PFLAG

Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Southwest Ranches. A support group for parents of LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and locations.

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GayWrites

Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Library, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Come join us and write your memoir, poem, blog, novel or short story. Free. Email garri1@earthlink.net

Survivor Support

First and third Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital cafeteria, 6401 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Find support from counselors and peers who have lost loved ones to suicide. Call the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention at 954-384-0344 or visit FISPOnline.org.

Women4Women Support

Wednesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at SunServe, 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. An open meeting and discussion group of all topics brought up by participants. Call 954-764-5150.

POZitive Attitudes

Wednesdays 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. A support group for gay and bisexual men who are infected or impacted by HIV/AIDS. Visit PozitiveAttitudes.com

palm beach county PALM BEACH * Gatsby Prom

May 23 from 7 to 11 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Come join the equality program, free and welcome for all to join in on the fun. Mandatory pre-event meeting May 21 at 5 p.m. Register to 561-533-9699 or email Ryanmarie@ compassglcc.com.

* TattooMania

May 23 to 25 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, 650 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The best in the tattoo industry, including Big Gus from “Tattoo Nightmares,” come together for an exposition of body art, music, a pageant, Tickets $20 per day of $40 for a three-day pass. Visit TattooManiaWPB.com.

* Grief and Loss Support Group

May 24 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. The Hospice of Palm Beach County joins in a support group for those experiencing loss. Must register. Free. Call 561-5339699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

You Take Such Liberties!

Through May 24 at the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County, 601 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. A collection of work by Raymond P. Neubert and his subreal paintings. Call 561-471-2901 or visit PalmBeachCulture.com

To Jane, Love Andy: Warhol’s First Superstar

Through May 25 at the Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave. in West Palm Beach. The love and friendship between eccentric artist, Andy Warhol, and superstar, Jane Holzer, is chronicled in this art exhibit. Call 561832-5196 or visit Norton.org.

Adult Acting Class

Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. through June 3 at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. A 10week acting class for amateur adults wanting to learn the craft of scene study and monologues. Cost $150. Call 561-586-6410 or email Shonna Rash at shonna@ lakeworthplayhouse.org.

Paths

Mondays from 7 to 8 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A men’s discussion group about relationships, coming out, safe sex and more. Visit CompassGLCC.com.

Sober Sisters AA Lesbian Group

Mondays at 7 p.m. at Lambda North, 18 S. J St. in Lake Worth. A support group for recovering alcoholics. Visit LambdaNorth.net.

Yoga with Deborah

Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Learn to control your breathing and find peace with this ancient exercise. Must bring your own mat. Class $6. Visit CompassGLCC.com.

Yoga Among the Orchids

Wednesdays at 9 a.m. at the American Orchid Society, 16700 AOS Lane in Delray Beach. Practice your yoga in the presence of beautiful, calming orchids. $20 a class. Call 561-404-2011 or visit OrchidWeb.org.

Yoga on the Waterfront

Wednesdays at 5:45 p.m. at Lake Pavilion, 101 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. Take a day out of the week to center yourself on the yoga mat. $10 per class or residents $40 for eight weeks, nonresidents $50 for eight weeks. Call 561-804-4902.

BrothasSpeak

Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A discussion group dedicated to gay black men. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

* Voices of Pride

Wednesdays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Join the Gay Men’s Chorus as they practice every week. Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com

* Overeater’s Anonymous

Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A safe place to discuss their eating habits and goals. Free. Call 561533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com

Coming Out Support Group

Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. a Compass GLCC of the Palm Beaches, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Get support as you explore your sexual identity and be your true self. Call Forrest at 561-479-8313.

* Queer Alternatives

Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. An all encompassing social group, those 18 to 29 who consider themselves to be lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, questioning, or anything in between are welcome to join! Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

* Compass Entourage

Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Gay and bisexual men ages 18 to 29 are invited to socialize and meet new people with different planned activities, such as movie nights, volleyball games, discussion groups, nights out, and more. Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

Green Market

Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon at West Palm Beach Waterfront, 101 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. A relaxing morning of shopping through green vendors and live entertainment. Contact Katrina Resch 561822-1520 or KResch@wpb.org.

PFLAG

Third Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Temple Shaarei, 9085 Hagen Ranch Road in Boynton Beach. A support group for friends and family of LGBT youth. Call Carole 561-716-9464 or Joyce 561-292-3273.

Boynton Beach Art Walk

Fourth Thursdays from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Boynton Beach Art District, 404-422 W. Industrial Ave. in soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews

Boynton Beach. Art studios will be open for the public to view, as well as food, music, dancers and live performances. Call 786-521-1199.

Jazz on the Palm

Third Fridays from 8 to 10 p.m. at the downtown West Palm Beach waterfront. Relax on the water to the sounds of jazz with the family. Free. Visit WPBGo.com.

* Palm Beach Prime Timers

Second Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Mature gay men meet monthly for diverse social, cultural and educational activities. Visit PrimeTimerSWW.com/ PalmBeaches.

* Peer Navigation

Third Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Meet others who are HIV positive for discussion topics and meet new friends. Free. Contact Danielle@compassglcc.com. MIAMI miami-dade county

* Blue Water Fishing Classic

May 29 to June 1 at all six Miami-Dade marinas. Join other fishermen vying to catch the three largest fish, as well as a captain’s party, silent auction, awards ceremony, and live entertainment. Registration $400 per boat. Call 305-665-5475 or visit BlueWaterFishingClassic.com.

Rainbow Circle

Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Miami Flipse Building #302, 5665 Ponce de Leon Drive in Coral Gables. An open discussion about coming out, relationships, peer pressure, bullying, depression and more. Free. Visit Pridelines.org.

HIV Support Group

Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Beach AIDS Project, 1234 Washington Ave. Ste. 200 in Miami Beach. A support group for those who are HIV positive. Free. Call 305-535-4733, ext. 301 or email support@ sobeaids.org.

Modern Buddhist Meditation

Mondays and Tuesdays at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Find inner peace with instruction on meditation with Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu. Cost $10 and $5 per class. Call 786-529-7137.

Book Study

Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu, will lead classes on learning the foundations of Buddhism. Call 786-529-7137.

Prayers For World Peace

Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon at he Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist teacher, Todd Ellenberg will lead prayers and meditation. Cost $10. Call 786-529-7137.

Community Yoga Series

Third Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. at jugofresh Wynwood Walls, 222 NW 26th St. in Miami. Yoga instructor Dawn B. Feinberg leads a monthly yoga class in the middle of Miami’s art district. Mats are available, but yogis are encouraged to bring their own. Free. Call 786-472-2552.

Sex Talk

Second and fourth Thursdays at Pridelines, 9525 NE Second Ave. #401 in Miami Shores. Conduct outreach events, record video messages, participate in a series of performances, and organize special events with a purpose. Free. Visit Pridelines.org.

* Denotes New Listing

advertorial who bowl, no worries, we’ll find a team for you. 3. Register as a Virtual Bowler Not into to slinging a 12 pound ball down the alley? No worries. Sign up as a virtual bowler. Enjoy the same benefits, prizes and parties as an actual bowler. 4. Invest in a sponsorship opportunity - Sponsorships range from $375 to $5000. 5. Donate raffle prizes and/or silent auction prizes. 6. Host a launch party or event for a team at your restaurant or bar. 7. Spread the word about “Bowling to Fight Hunger” across your social media profiles.

8. General Donation make a donation to the event or a general donation to Poverello. To learn more and to register for this event go to www.poverello.org. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on this great event when the community comes together to support our local HIV/AIDS community!

WIN YOUR OWN MEDAL in 2014! Register NOW! SAVE $30 on general regstration by 28 February (general registration discount code*: SFGN. Must be used at checkout.)

T H E WO R L D W I L L C O M E TO G E T H E R I N O H I O

TO G E T H E R , W E W I L L M A K E H I STO RY.

P H OTO C O U RT E S Y L A R RY H I G H B AU G H J R .

On Saturday August 9th 2014, join Poverello and hundreds of community supporters to fight hunger among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Broward County. Bowling to Fight Hunger is the longest running nonprofit fundraiser for PLWHA in Broward County. For the last quarter century, Poverello has been holding this fun-filled charity event. To date, Bowling to Fight Hunger has raised more than 1 million dollars to feed thousands of people living with HIV/ AIDS (PLWHA) who live at or below the poverty level. 100% of event proceeds are channeled back into the community. Funds are used to support food, nutrition, health and wellness services for PLWHA. Participants have a wonderful time as they achieve an important goal: feeding the most financially challenged PLWHA in Broward County. Last year Bowling to Fight Hunger raised nearly $50,000 and was described by Poverello’s CEO Thomas Smith as “The best in almost ten years in terms of total money raised.” In addition to raising money, Thomas Smith said, “All 246 participants had great fun bowling and trying their luck at raffles and bidding on our incredible silent auction items.” Join us on Saturday August 9th, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm at Sawgrass Lanes; 8501 N University Drive Tamarac, FL 33321. Participate in the following ways: Go to www. poverello.org. 1. Form a Team - Teams consist of 5 bowlers. There are cool prizes for groups that raise the most money. 2. Register as an individual – Don’t have any friends

O N YO U R M A R K ...

G E T S E T...

GAMES. 9 -16 AU G U ST 2014 35+ sports & cultural events Plus festivals, ceremonies performances, parties and more

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Classiﬁed$

To place an ad call 954.530.4970 or visit SFGN.com cleaning services attorneys

EL SHADDAI CONSULTING, INC IMMIGRATION LEGAL SERVICES by Licensed Attorneys representation before immigration services & immigration court. Assist with applications, waivers, motions, appeal and prosecutorial discretion cases. Call 305-407-9397 for free consultation/appointment

CLEAN IT RIGHT! The best cleaning for your buck. 1BD $50, 2BD $60, 3BD $70. Excellent rates & references. 10 years in business. Serving Broward, North Miami Dade & S. Palm Beach. Call Manny 954-560-4443

computers

COMPLETE COMPUTER REPAIR FREE ESTIMATES - No extra charge for in-home. FREE Computer tune-up with any service. Replacement of laptop screen & key board. Viruses, spyware, data recovery, lockouts & more. SAME DAY SERVICE - LOWEST PRICE GUARANTEE Call Ernesto: 754-234-5598 www.CCrepairservices.com HATE WINDOWS 8? We can bring back the look and feel of windows. Same day service. Call 954-986-1316 www.gaycomputerwiz.com

counseling/therapy

employment/jobs

models/casting

NUTRITIONIST FULL-TIME: Poverello is seeking a full-time nutritionist to provide nutrition education and counseling to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. For more information go to: http://www. poverello.org/portal/job-opportunities. Fax resume to (954) 566-7868, ATTN: Nutritionist.

$$$ MODELS NEEDED $$$ Wrestling Company in South Florida is seeking athletic models for planned video shoots in our new facility. Wrestling and/or performing experience is helpful but not necessary. Good pay. Contact us at TheBoss@bgeast.com for more information!

COMPANION FOR ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WANTED - In-home care. Patient suffers from mild dementia. Position is part time to start. Exceptional working environment and conditions. Must have clean background check, mature, good natured and in good health need apply. Submit resume with cover letter, including references and pay requirements to: P.O. Box 2213, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303

ONLINE MAGAZINE IS LOOKING FOR COVER MEN. We professionally shoot you, promote you & will feature you in a model proﬁle. Visit HIM-Magazine.com and send email to David@HIM-Magazine.com for information.

home health care

SWINGING RICHARDS NOW HIRING Quality Male Dancers & Waiters. Full nudity/upscale club environment with great income potential. Please text (865)385-9568 or email photos/info to roman@swingingrichards.com PERSONAL ASSISTANTS WANTED We are currently recruiting for Personal Assistants to organize and help. You must be fun, caring, and passionate about working as a personal assistant. Basic computer skills needed and must be good with organization. Salary/Weekly Rate: $582, Interested persons should contact for more info: frank.lafollette147@hotmail.com

home health care Treating Drug and Alcohol Addiction for 38 years, since 1976 • Facilities in

Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale • GLBTQ Outpatient Tracts • Transportation Provided

EVANS HOME CARE Home Health Care - Free consultation. Certiﬁed and insured professional. Assistance with day to day activities, experience in disability, Alzheimer’s. Assistance with shopping, cleaning, doctor visits, bathing/shaving. Anything you need I can help! Call or email Jamie 561-685-5254 jamiejeep37@gmail.com

561-736-6501

www.beachcomberoutpatient.com

furniture repair business consulting

AAA FURNITURE HOSPITAL We specialize in gluing and clamping of “broken and loose” tables, chairs and occasional pieces. Other services include repair of cigarette burns, perfume stains, dog bites, water damage,recliner and sofa bed repairs. Free estimates 954-493-5221

flood/fire

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To place your Classiﬁed, call 954.530.4970

home improvement Angler Landscape, Inc. Residential and Commercial Lawn and Landscape

(954) 448-6394 Install Grass - Mulch - Rock - Hedges - Trees - Lighting Weekly and Monthly Service

www.AnglerLawn.com

licensed massage

pets/supplies

Psychic Gallery

RECESSION RELIEF $50 per 90 MIN - Out calls higher. Swedish, Deep Tissue, Specialty Back, Lower Body & Feet. Couples Discounts. Seniors Welcome. Delray Beach. 16 years experience. MA18563 Dennis 561-502-2628 www.massagebydennis.net

• Does he love me? • Is he being faithful? • Am I heading in the right direction?

AFFORDABLE AWESOME MASSAGE BY JIM Offering Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports and LomiLomi Massage for Men; in a very comfortable, relaxed and Private Massage Studio, NOW conveniently located in Wilton Manors on NE 26th Street, with plenty of free parking. Same Day appointments are welcome; please call Jim, 954-600-5843 email: info@massagebyjim.com or visit my website for testimonials, rates and more. GREAT OPENING SPECIAL NOW AVAILABLE! www.massagebyjim.com Licensed and Certiﬁed MM22293 INCREDIBLY AWESOME BODYWORK in WPB! Incalls @ private studio, 15 min. due west of PBIA. Intuitive, experienced LMT offers affordable rates 7 days, early to late. ASK ABOUT WEEKLY SPECIALS! Calls only, 561254-8065 for the very best massage experience you can get, HANDS DOWN! LIC #MA51008

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pool services

POOL SERVICE Mention this ad and receive your ﬁrst month

painting

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INTERIOR PAINTING No job too small! We offer great competitive rates. Call Gregg @ 617-306-5694 or Tom @ 352-322-7139. We are reliable and honest with references!

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piano lessons

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO? Learn from an experienced teacher. All levels and ages welcome. Learn to play classical, popular, jazz, or show tunes. Visit www.edwinchad.com or call 954-826-9555 for more information.

pets/supplies Dependable Reliable Ser vice Delivered with Love and Respect

psychic readings

Serving Broward Since 1999

Call for a free estimate: 954-367-7007 Web: www.skimmerspools.com Email: skimmerspoolservice@gmail.com

furnished housing **PERFECT RELOCATION RENTALS** *4 WEEK+ SPECIAL FROM $395/WEEK* Award Winning Gay Apartment Hotel. All the comforts of home. Beautifully Furnished & Full Equipped Studio, 1 & 2 BR Apts. with Full Kitchens. All Men, Clothing optional heated pool, laundry, private parking. Dania Beach location Central to Haulover Nude Beach & Wilton Manors. Incl. Wi-Fi, utilities, cable, tel. Gay Owned & Operated. Longer term Monthly rates available for 3 months+ Stays. Pets Always Welcome. Celebrating Our 17th Year Call Joe or Jack at (954) 927-0090 or visit www.LibertySuites.com

real estate for sale BEAUTIFUL WILTON MANORS CONDO 2/2 completely renovated corner unit. Lots of amenities and centrally located. Sale $145K, negotiable. Pool, laundry, bike path, clubhouse and BBQ. Call 561-654-8708 for more details.

rent/lease fort lauderdale NEWLY RENOVATED HOUSE FOR RENT Middle River Terrace - available June 1st - 2/2 house with den, huge fenced back yard with deck, brand new energy efﬁcient appliances/ central air, led lighting, impact windows & doors. Close to downtown Wilton Manors and minutes to Fort Lauderdale Beach. Must be clean, nonsmoker, pets OK with deposit, background check required. $1900/month, call Lee at 561-483-6724

spiritual DIVINE MERCY CHAPEL - A Special place to grow spiritually! 2749 NE 10TH Ave., Wilton Manors FL, 33334. 954-567-1930, Divinemercychapel.com www.facebook.com/divinemercychapel

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To place an ad in the Classiﬁeds call 954.530.4970 or visit SFGN.com soflagaynews //

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Spring p g has sprung!

EDGE brings yo u eatest the latest and gr in LGBT news & entertainment 365 days a year!

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Talk before you play.

Protect yourself and your partner. Talk about testing, your status, condoms, and new options like medicines that prevent and treat HIV. Get the facts and tips on how to start the conversation at cdc.gov/ActAgainstAIDS/StartTalking.

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@TalkHIV