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MAY 3, 2010 • VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 15

Mother’s Day Issue

LesBIaN MoMs

CLaIM the Day Page 20 SFGN Profile

exclusive interview with legendary gay rights activist

Larry KraMer Page 24

INSIDE ThIS ISSUE

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Palm Beach Protects LGBT Rights

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Palm Beach Protects LGBT Rights in School Board

May 3 , 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 15

EDITORIAL OFFICES 2520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305 PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943

NORM KENT PUBLISHER AND EDITOR IN CHIEF PUBLISHERNORM@SOUTHFLORIDAGAYNEWS.COM Piero Guidugli

rand hOch

By A. Sebastian Fortino

O

n April 28, Palm Beach County’s school board voted unanimously to amend their Equal opportunity Policy and its Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and Harassment to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity or expression.” Both policies are expected to be formally ratified at a public hearing within a few weeks.

Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBCHRC) is a non-profit organization that seeks to end discrimination towards the LGBT community in the county, founded by Rand Hoch, a Civil Rights Attorney.

Since 1991 PBCHRC has asked the county’s school board to prohibit discrimination against their gay employees.

Hoch says in 1991 there were still

individuals on the school board who wished to reserve the right to discriminate against gay or lesbian teachers. The council thought it was an ideal time to fight for these protections as Palm Beach County had just passed a fair-housing policy to protect gays and lesbians. yet, this was a more sensitive issue because of students being minors and being around LGBT teachers.

“The board didn’t want the words “sexual orientation” in any school district policy. Instead of adding in those enumerations they made an absurd compromise. Race, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status and handicap were all removed from the school board’s nondiscrimination policy,” said Hoch.

By removing the specific areas of discrimination the school board hoped to create a blanket against discrimination of any kind. Hoch finds this absurd because the purpose of such policies is to educate the public about what is prohibited in any work place, whether it’s a school board or a major corporation. The school board’s resolution was short lived however, thanks to a 1996 Supreme Court ruling in landmark gay rights case Romer vs. Evans.

“Enumeration is the essential device used to make the duty not to discriminate concrete and to provide guidance for those who must comply,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Rather than insert anything about sexual discrimination or identity into their anti-bias policies they reverted back to the original list. They flatly refused to add sexual orientation.

Since 2002 the Council has been challenging the School Board again.

By 2003 the school board did adopt

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

“UNTIL NOw, ThE SChOOL BOARD ShOwED LITTLE INTEREST IN A POLICY ThAT wOULD IMPOSE ThE

Features Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joey Amato joey.amato@southfloridagaynews.com Lifestyle Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A. Sebastian Fortino sebastian.fortino@southfloridagaynews.com Arts/Entertainment Editor . . . . . Mary Damiano SFGNites Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . JW Arnold

IDENTICAL REQUIREMENTS

Health/HIV Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Gallotta

ON ThE SChOOL DISTRICT OF

Business Editor ........................... Richard Gary

PALM BEACh COUNTY.” – Rand Hoch

a policy protecting students and employees from harassment based on sexual orientation. In 2006 they went one step further and included a commercial non-discrimination clause, that barred doing business with any entity that discriminated based on the traditional enumerations as well as sexual orientation. By 2009 that list would include gender identity or expression. “until now,” added Hoch, “the school board showed little interest in a policy that would impose the identical requirements on the School District of Palm Beach County.”

As conservatives and the religious right argue against ENDA, the proposed Employment Anti-Discrimination Act which is making daily headlines in DC, this is an important victory. Especially for Florida, which on the state level does not have any policies protecting people in cases of sexual or gender-identity expression.

“In Florida there are less than ten counties that have protection for teachers and staff in terms of sexuality and gender expression,” Hoch added triumphantly. “Good things come to those who wait and we have waited a long time.”

Front Page Photograph is used courtesy of Kevin Tsui (flickr.com/kevin813) via a creative commons license.

Use of this photograph is in no way meant to presumptively convey the sexual orientation of the unidentified model or photographer.

Senior Feature Correspondent. . Jesse Monteagudo Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fritz Contributing Columnists . . . . . . Tony Adams, Wayne Besen, AJ Cross, Deb Price, Brian McNaught, Jennifer Vanasco Creative Director . . . . . . . . . . . . George Dauphin Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . Jarrett Terrill Online Website Director (Master of Our Domain) . . . . . . . Tom Forcella tommy.forcella@southfloridagaynews.com Display Marketing Associates . . . Brian Swinford, John Fugate Jay Shadden Joyce Blustein Display & Internet Marketing Manager . . . . . . . . . . Cliff Dunn cliff.dunn@southfloridagaynews.com Classified Advertising . . . . . . . . . Mike Trottier classifieds@hotspotsmagazine.com 954-928-1862 National Sales Representative . . . Rivendell Media todd@rivendellmedia.com Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . ..........Charles Braun Printing and Publication . . . . . . . Miami Offset South Florida Gay News.com is published weekly on Mondays.

Our paper is a member of the Associated Press.

The views and opinions expressed within this publication, in bylined columns, stories, and letters to the editor are those of the writers expressing them. They do not represent the opinions of South Florida Gay News.com, Inc., or the Publisher. They are included to promote free speech and diversity of thought.

You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations in SFGN, and it would be careless to do so. For the sake of readable newswriting, the word “gay” in SFGN should, when relevant, be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community.

All of the material that appears in SFGN, both online at www. southfloridagaynews.com, and in our print edition, including articles used in conjunction with our contract with the Associated Press and our columnists, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Thus, nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher of SFGN, at his law office, Kent & Cormican, P.A., 110 Southeast 6th Street, Suite 1970, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301.

SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

Copyright©2010 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Lakeland Dad Kills Lesbian Daughter’s Lover

By Staff Reporter

An autopsy determined that Bright had been killed April 20 or 21. Bright was found dead in a closet on the second floor of a foreclosed home. She was wearing erry Lee Seger, only a pair of socks and had a T-shirt over 40, an enraged her head. Investigators determined that father who allegJerry lee seger she died of strangulation. edly blamed 24-yearone witness who came forward apparold Courtney Bright for leading his daughter ently saw Seger with Bright the evening she down what he felt was the wrong path—indisappeared. He also confided in detectives cluding a three-year lesbian affair - strangled that Seger had been drinking alcohol on the Bright to death and left her body in an abannight of the murder, and had suggested to doned house, say Lakeland police authorities. him that he would kill Bright.

In the days before the murder, Seger’s Another one of Bright’s friends, Shawn daughter Ashley Dunn had been arrested Thompson, said he told Seger and another for dealing in stolen property. Homicide detectives say that Seger blamed his daugh- man, Rabon Strain, on Tuesday where ter’s lover for her arrest, also admitting to Bright was. Seger then said he would pick a friend that he hated the victim he is now up Bright and give her a bus ticket to leave town, according to the police arrest affidaaccused of killing. vit. She was never seen alive again.

But friends of the lesbian couple think The Polk County Sheriff’s office arrested the hatred went deeper than that.

Seger and charged him with first-degree “That’s not why he killed her. He killed murder. He is being held without bail. her because they were lesbians,” Bobbi “She was a sweetheart. She would do Johnson told local station WTVT. Johnson said Dunn and Bright had been together for anything in the world for you,” said Johnson to WTVT. three years and were inseparable.

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Darrin to Be Different McGillis Wants to Give Your Gay Vote Some Meaning

By A. Sebastian Fortino & Jarrett Terrill

w

hen Darrin McGillis announced his candidacy for Governor of Florida, it was out of frustration with the current lot of democratic candidates. No other candidate, whether Democrat or Republican, is willing to discuss any opposition to Amendment 2, the most restrictive anti-gay marriage law in the United States of America.

McGillis has an entire platform for how he would run Florida if elected, but he has no illusions that he is any kind of front-runner. If elected, McGillis would score a 25% salary increase for Florida educators, cut taxes across the board, promote fairer redistricting practices and support a less moneydriven election process. His interest in challenging Amendment 2, however, is the real reason he has put his name in the hat.

McGillis’ website has video showing the state-sanctioned execution of two teenage

turely because Sink is unwilling to commit herself to repealing the most damaging antigay law in the state. Sink has stated that she supports overturning Florida’s ban on gay adoptions – the only law of its kind in the United States. She has not yet announced any kind of stance on other issues important to the gay community such as ENDA, DADT or Florida’s Amendment 2.

boys, put to death for having a sexual relationship in Iran. His campaign believes if more people were aware of incidents like this, and the murder of American youth because of their sexuality, they would be more likely to support LGBT issues.

McGillis is quick to point out that Democratic front-runner Alex Sink has no such statement of support on her website – not even close. “I hope she is really behind the human rights issue and not just saying only what needs to be said,” McGillis shrugs, “and I hope that Equality Florida gave her the Voice darrin mcgillis of Equality Award for the right reasons “When Sink said she couldn’t commit to and not just because she has over $6 Million in campaign contributions ready to be spent.” gay marriage but she could commit to gay Alex Sink, currently Florida’s CFO, es- adoptions, I was offended,” says McGillis. sentially kicked off her campaign fund- “Someone observing the Sink campaign raising tour by receiving recognition from said she just doesn’t want to lose votes in Equality Florida for past deeds. But some, smaller, rural communities in Florida. If like McGillis, are skeptical and feel that you’re going to stand for equality, it should these awards may have been given prema- be across the board.”

LGBT Aging Issues Take Center Stage in D.C. Main Focus of Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill

By Joey Amato

T

rea carey in cOngress

he National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE) took part in a National LGBT Aging Roundtable last week in Washington, D.C. In addition, the Task Force organized a congressional briefing on issues facing LGBT people as they age.

The briefing, held on April 22 focused on the injustice facing many elders. This comes on the heels of the painful story of Clay Greene and Harold Scull, an elderly gay couple separated by officials in Sonoma County, California.

“The needs of the oldest members of our community have long been invisible to many of

us and ignored by most institutions in our society,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force, which recently released Outing Age 2010: Public Policy Issues Affecting LGBT Elders.

“Elders remain a highly vulnerable and largely invisible aging population. We know that invisibility leads to greater social isolation, which can lead to increased vulnerability in many areas,” said Carey.

“We also know that discrimination across the lifespan leaves LGBT people economically and socially vulnerable as they age.

There are many challenges but we also have concrete recommendations on how aging advocates, policy makers and social service agencies can meet them,” Carey stated.

Speakers at the briefing included Laurie Young, interim director of Public Policy and Government Affairs of the Lesbian Task Force, Hope Barrett, director of Elder Affairs of the Howard Brown Health Clinic

To a savvy voter, it becomes apparent that what McGillis is aiming for is more acute than simply running for Governor. It seems that he wants to use the primary election to send a clear message to Democratic frontrunners. The message is: You can’t have our gay votes if you’re wishy-washy on gay rights.

The issue extends beyond gay rights and taps into what voters on both sides of the aisle have been complaining about for decades. McGillis puts it like this: “The whole reason for elections is to have a debate, to weed out the candidates who will say things only to get elected and then never return your calls or stand up for what is right versus what might win them re-election.”

McGillis summarizes, “Perhaps my campaign will bring them out of the closet, so to speak, and they will make their stance clear on their homepages. Time will tell. Until then, I am a candidate for Governor who believes every person should have the right to be in love with that special someone and if they choose to marry that person, they should have that right also.”

For more information, visit: Mcgillis4governor.com or find Darrin E. McGillis on Facebook

and Harper Jean Tobin, policy counsel of the National Center for Transgender Equality, among others.

SAGE recently released a groundbreaking report representing one of the first major collaborations between LGBT advocacy organizations and mainstream aging organizations to comprehensively examine the issues facing adults.

“SAGE’s report outlines the issues and offers solutions, providing a much-needed roadmap for creating a society where all older adults are treated with dignity and respect,” said John Johnson, SAGE’s federal director of governmental affairs.

The LGBT elder population is growing, with a large wave of openly gay baby boomers poised to seek aging-related services over the next 25 years. Despite that, there is virtually no government-sponsored research on aging that includes sexual orientation or gender identity variables. This lack of data results in policy and practices that ignore the unique realities and needs of older LGBT people.

“This change can’t come too soon,” said Carey.

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Saudi National Acquitted in Big Apple Gay Rape Trial Jury Concludes ‘Saudi-mizing’ Did Not Happen

By Norm Kent

I

n New York City, 27-year-old Saudi national Naief Al-mateiry has been acquitted after a trial during which prosecutors alleged he sexually assaulted a 69-year-old man he met outside the Townhouse, a gay bar on East 58th Street owned by Fort Lauderdale and New York businessman Bob DeBenedictis. The case was well publicized, and had been covered closely in the daily tabloids.

Naief Al-mateiry sobbed openly as he was found not guilty of kidnapping, burglary and sex abuse for the February 2009 incident in a West 99th Street apartment. He was represented by a powerhouse legal team.

“The defendant told [the victim] that he’d like him to be his daddy-o,” prosecutor Maxine Rosenthal told the jury in opening statements.

“Well, I’ll be your daddy, but I won’t be your sugar daddy,” the prosecutor said the older man answered.

Both sides agreed the two men met at the upscale, east side piano bar on a winter night last year. But prosecutors had claimed while Al-Mateiry was invited back to the victim’s apartment, while there he allegedly beat the elderly gentleman with a hanger, stole cash and three

watches, and then raped him twice.

In between the assaults, the defendant purportedly forced the man to go to an ATM machine and take out more than $1,000. According to police documents, Al-Mateiry stated to his victim that “If you go to the police or [the] club again you’re done…I know where you live. I’ll hurt you.”

Al-mateiry didn’t testi­ fy but defense lawyer Henry Asbill dismissed any violence as “consensual, routine S&M” and called the victim a flat out liar. “My client was a gigolo and this was rough sex for money between two consenting adults.”

“Even if there was consensual S&M, something went wrong,” said a juror. But “inconsistencies” in the evidence led them to acquit, he told the Daily News. Had he been convicted, the defendant was facing a maximum of 25 years prison or deportation to his not-too-gay-friendly native country.

The Townhouse describes itself “as a gay bar that appreciates older gentlemen of exquisite taste along with those who admire them.” Kilian Melloy, a reporter for the gay online news site edge, recently wrote that The Townhouse “is reputed to be a ‘wrinkle bar,’ or an establishment where older gents meet up with younger men, sometimes for paid companionship.”

Ted Olson

ress” of the trial.

The conflict involves a refusal by the ACLU and Equa­lity California to turn over internal e-mails and memoranda to defendants in the Perry v.

Schwarzenegger lawsuit challenging Proposition 8. Last week, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the groups’ appeal of an order to turn over the documents. The 9th Circuit said it did not have jurisdiction over the matter and could not review the controversy unless the groups’ defy the order, are found in contempt of court, and appeal the contempt order.

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker, the presiding judge in the Proposition 8 trial, urged the groups, the defendants, and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to try to reach a resolution on their own concerning document production. But in communications filed with the district court on Thursday, April 22, all sides agreed that they had not been able to reach a resolution.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs challenging the California com­plained to Judge Walker that the ACLU and Yes on 8 supporters “are delaying the progress of this case” and urged him to move quickly to find the ACLU and Equality California in contempt to that their anticipated appeal of the contempt order can proceed.

In his statement to Judge Walker Thursday, April 22, Olson said that, “While Plaintiffs cannot stop the ACLU from choosing to go into contempt, the Ninth Circuit’s order makes clear that such a tactic and any subsequent appeal would be futile.”

The conflict over document production emerged halfway through the threeweek-long trial on Proposition 8 held in January.

Prop 8 Ruling Delayed by Internal Legal Feuds

By Lisa Keen

Keen News Service

A

sidelines skirmish over document production in the Proposition 8 lawsuit rages on this month, for­cing the continued delay of closing arguments and, ultimately, a decision on the con­stitutionality of Cali­fornia’s ban on same-sex marriage. And Ted Olson, the wellknown conservative attorney leading the litigation against the ban, accused the ACLU and Yes on 8 pro­ponents of “delaying the prog-

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Supreme Court Justices Overturn Animal Cruelty Law Case Pitted Animal Rights Activists against Free Speech Advocates

By Cliff Dunn

O

n April 20, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law which banned depictions of violence against animals. Justices said it violated constitutional free speech guarantees and created a “criminal prohibition of alarming breadth.”

In the 8 to 1 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., the High Court reinforced the First Amendment’s protections of even distasteful expression.

Roberts called the government’s argument “startling and dangerous” that the value of certain categories of speech should be weighed against their societal costs.

Writing for the majority, Roberts stated that “the First Amendment itself reflects a judgment by the American people that the benefits of its restrictions on the government outweigh the costs. Our Constitution forecloses any attempt to revise that judgment simply on the basis that some speech is not worth it.”

The ruling received mixed reviews from members of South Florida’s LGBT legal community.

“While I am an animal lover and a proud animal owner I agree with the majority ruling,” said Lea Krauss, a Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney who co-chairs the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Network (GLLN).

“One of the cornerstones of American society is freedom of expression. Protecting that right, even when we don’t agree with the content of someone’s message, is paramount,” added Krauss, a former prosecutor.

Robin Bodiford, Fort Lauderdale-based attorney and LGBT rights activist disagrees.

“My gut feeling when I heard about the decision was that the court was just horrifically and callously wrong to strike down a law that criminalizes cruelty to animals,” Bodiford said.

Congress passed the law in 1999 to forbid sales of so-called “crush” films: fetishist pornographic videos that depict the torture of animals, including dogs, cats, mice, ham-

sters and even monkeys, or that show the animals being crushed to death by women with their bare feet or wearing stiletto heels.

Although dog-fighting and other types of animal cruelty are already illegal, support-

Leah Krauss

ers and animal rights activists said the law was necessary in order to stop the production of videos for profit.

“I’ve spent much of my career fighting ‘the Man,’ and the Supreme Court is THE MAN,” Bodiford offered. “They were wrong. If child pornography was the issue, there would be no hesitation.”

The Feds never used the law to prosecute a producer of a crush video. Instead, the case heard by the justices, United States v.

Stevens, involved a Virginia man, Robert Stevens, who was sentenced to three years in prison for making videos which depicted pit bulls fighting.

An appeals court overturned Stevens’ conviction when it ruled that the law was unconstitutional.

In the majority opinion, the Chief Justice left open the possibility that the High Court might let stand a narrower statute limited to crush videos and “other depictions of extreme animal cruelty.” But the law passed by Congress was too broad.

Roberts said the definition as written could include all depictions of wounding or

killing animals, including those in hunting magazines or videos.

He argued that the law’s exemption for depictions of “serious religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, histori-

Robin Bodiford

cal or artistic value” didn’t provide enough protection.

In the past, the Supreme Court has identified certain categories of speech as being outside the scope of the First Amendment’s protection: obscenity, fraud, incitement, defamation and speech that’s integral to criminal conduct.

The last time the court ruled that speech was so unredeeming it didn’t deserve First

Amendment protection was 25 years ago, when the subject was child pornography.

But GLLN’s Krauss says there are differences.

“Unlike child pornography, depictions of dog fighting do not have the same effect or implicit danger,” she notes.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was the court’s single dissenter in the Stevens case. He said the law was passed “not to suppress speech, but to prevent horrific acts of animal cruelty.”

Alito said that the “practical effect” of the ruling would be to increase the production of crush videos, which opponents such as the Humane Society said had decreased when the 1999 law was passed.

The dissenting jurist finds support from unlikely quarters.

“I agree with the Humane Society,” says Bodiford, “and for maybe the first time with Justice Alito, that the prohibition of animal cruelty has long been part of our ‘core societal values.’”

“The majority of the justices got hung up on a series of hypothetical ‘what if’ scenarios as to the application of the law they struck down,” she adds.

Krauss isn’t convinced: “Rather than banning the depictions of dog fighting, I would urge the Humane Society to educate people about how harmful dog fighting is, and to focus on the benefits of adopting needy animals.”

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

First Ever Jamaica Gay Pride – 2010 SFGN Exclusive

T

Kingston, Jamaica By Jarrett Terrill

his past Friday, April 23, something magical happened in the island nation of Jamaica. An estimated 20 to 25 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jamaican citizens took to the streets around Emancipation Park for the first time, wearing rainbow colored feather boas and t-shirts from various pride events in the United States.

The LGBT Jamaicans kissed in public, struck poses, danced and made their orientations obvious to onlookers. The parade lasted for about 2 and a half hours before the participants needed to disperse for safety and re-organize in another location.

While the pride parade was meager by our standards here in the United States, it was truly spectacular for a nation where such actions can get a person killed on the spot. There were no signs, no corporate sponsors, no floats or even a balloon… but there was music pumped into the location from a rented car, which helped to keep the spirit up and embolden the marchers.

The participants faced shouts, insults and threats but the biggest reaction was fear. Passers by immediately recognized the sexual orientation of the group and walked far out of their way to avoid being seen in any connection with the event.

Out of concern for the participants’ safety, I have guaranteed the organizers of Jamaica Pride 2010 that no real names would be used and faces would be blurred in any photographs. One of the organizers, who we will call “S.M.,” central to the underground Pride movement does not want to stop at just feather boas and a walk in the park.

According to S.M, “there is so much more that must be done. They need condoms and HIV testing. They need cell phones to keep in touch with each other and plan for safety in their community. But this was an amazing and liberating experience for them.

I think of myself as an educator and I try to teach the LGBT community in Jamaica about who they are and how to take care of themselves but it’s hard when they don’t

have some basic needs being met.”

“And do you know what did it for them?”

S.M. asked me, “Do you know what emboldened them to take to the streets? When I told them that all of the gay organizations in America knew about them and wanted them to succeed in life, it gave them a kind of energy.” For most of these marchers, it was a revelation. Previously, they had no way of knowing that anyone knew they existed, let alone cared about them.

One participant’s life changed when S.M. told her that there was a special word for someone like her… a “transgender” person.

It was the first time that Krissy had ever considered that there might be others like her; let alone whole communities and families. S.M. said that it just lit up her face to know this.

Krissy was also struck by the respect that S.M. showed her by referring to her in female pronouns. No one had ever bothered to ask her how she prefers to be addressed before.

S.M.’s activities in Jamaica are mostly a covert operation and she is in a unique po-

sition to help. She tells me that she can pass as a Jamaican citizen if she’s careful of her dialect and mannerisms. This is important because Jamaica’s government can be corrupt and homophobic violence runs rampant throughout the country.

S.M. works with other non-gay organizations as well and is always learning and thinking of new ways to do LGBT outreach all over the island. She understands the fear that prevents Jamaicans from even discussing gay issues. “It’s the kind of environment where they will kill a young man in broad daylight and nobody will intervene. These friends are so brave to have gone out there like this and expose themselves, even if only for a short while. We need to let them know they are supported and have our attention.”

If you would like to get involved with Jamaica Pride and help with donations, goods, or other forms of support, email Jarrett.T@SouthFloridaGayNews.com and we will put you in touch with an organizer of the movement or keep you informed.

9

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

BULLYING, Part 2

A Department of Silence:

Bullying of LGBT Youth Not a Priority

By Dana Rudolph Keen News Service

Second of two parts

F

WIKIMEDIA

rom the beginning of the Obama administration, the general attitude of the LGBT community was that things would be better for them than they were under the administration of President George W. Bush.

But even from the beginning, there were signs that protections for LGBT youth might not be better and that “safe schools” might not be a priority for the Department of Education (DOE).

Several federal departments under President Obama have made moves to benefit the LGBT community, but the Department of Education has done little. This is despite growing evidence that LGBT youth are among those most at risk and that safe-schools programs benefit all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Many in the LGBT community cheered when President Obama appointed Kevin Jennings, the openly gay founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to head the DOE’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. Before he took office in July 2009, however, his department’s budget had already been slashed by more than 40 percent -- from $690 million in the last year of the Bush administration to $393 million under President Obama. The budget request for 2011 is only slightly higher, at $410 million.

The money will be used to fund a new “Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students” program to replace the existing “Safe and Drug Free Schools” program. Schools will compete for grants under the program by completing an assessment of students, staff, and parents. Grants can be used to address problems such as the physical environment, wellness, respect for diversity, and bullying.

But bullying is only one possible com-

ponent of the program. The DOE has done little else to promote efforts to address the problem of school safety—much less the high incidence of bullying based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity—as a priority.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan did meet with GLSEN executive director Eliza Byard and a delegation of students and teachers in March 2009. And in that meeting, he “affirmed a commitment to make schools safe for every student, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,” according to a GLSEN press release.

But DOE did not issue a press release of its own, even though it regularly does so when the Secretary or other senior officials meet with organizations or community groups.

The DOE also displayed winning entries from GLSEN’s “No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest” in the lobby of its headquarters for a month.

However, no DOE officials testified in a July 2009 House committee hearing on “Strengthening School Safety through Prevention of Bullying.”

At the hearing, two expert witnesses— Kenneth Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services, and Scott Poland, Coordinator of the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention at Nova

Southeastern University—each called for strong school safety components, including anti-bullying measures, to be included in this year’s reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

ESEA, better known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), was the major educational policy enacted by Congress under the direction of President George W. Bush.

A bill introduced in May 2009 by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) would provide such anti-bullying measures. Known as the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA), it would require schools that receive federal funds to implement and report on anti-bullying programs. It would define bullying as hostile conduct based on someone’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, among other attributes. The SSIA is structured to be a set of revisions to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, which is part of NCLB. Sirdeaner Walker, mother of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy who committed suicide in 2009 after relentless bullying about his perceived gay sexual orientation, testified at the July hearing and called on Congress to move the SSIA forward.

A number of organizations also contributed written testimony in support of the SSIA. They included GLSEN, the National Gay and

Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Family Equality Council, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, COLAGE, and Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) as well as several non-LGBT organizations, including Girl Scouts of the USA, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Federation of Teachers, and the American Association of University Women.

A spokesperson for GLSEN, Daryl Presgraves, said in an interview that the SSIA is “our biggest priority right now on a federal level.”

But when President Obama released his “Blueprint for Reform” of NCLB, through a DOE document that details the administration’s proposal, it contained no mention of the provisions of the SSIA. It also included no mention of the Student Nondiscrimination Act (SNDA), a bill introduced by Rep. Polis in January 2010. SNDA would prohibit discrimination—including harassment—on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in any program or activity receiving federal funds.

The DOE has also been silent about the several high-profile bullying-related student suicides since President Obama took office.

And the administration did not issue any remarks of support for Jennings when rightwing groups attacked his appointment, suggesting he supported pedophilia and claiming he would promote a “homosexual agenda” in the nation’s classrooms.

Jennings himself has given no interviews to the LGBT media since taking office. A spokesperson for the DOE Office of Communications and Outreach, Jo Ann Webb, declined repeated requests for interviews with Jennings either in person, by phone, or email. According to Webb, Jennings has a schedule that is too “hectic” to accommodate an interview.

A comprehensive federal law to promote safe schools for every student, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, would provide a level of uniformity that current state and local laws do not offer. Only 12 states plus the District of Columbia have safe-school laws that specifically cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Other states cover only sexual orientation or do not enumerate specific categories of coverage. Some have only non-discrimination laws that may or may not include schools.

The Massachusetts House and Senate each passed anti-bullying bills in March, having sped up the process after the widely publicized suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe continued on page 37

10

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Jesse Monteagudo

Jesse’s Journal Hospital Visitation

A Daily Struggle for LGBT Couples

By Jesse Monteagudo

domestic partners to visit their loved ones in the hospital. During the last year, Michael very day, same-sex couples must and I had to be hospitalized in separate ocfight for the basic rights that straight casions: Michael in the Cleveland Clinic in married couples take for granted. March and myself in Broward General in One of those rights is the right to visit your June. Happily, neither hospital visit lasted for more than a day or so. partner in the hospital.

In either case, our partner was allowed Michael and I are fortunate to live in Broward County, a progressive county in the unlimited access into the hospital’s emermostly conservative state of Florida. Broward gency room to be with our loved one.

Unfortunately, other couples were not so has a Domestic Partners ordinance which, roverspectorad475x525:Layout 1 4/8/10 11:46 AM Page 1During the height of the AIDS epamong other things, guarantees the right of fortunate.

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idemic, too many gay or bisexual men were forcibly kept away from their dying lovers by hospitals and hospices who did not recognize their relationships.

Just last year, partners Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond experienced homophobia first hand when Pond suffered an aneurysm during a Florida vacation. When Pond was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Langbehn and her children were denied access to Pond because in the hospital’s opinion she wasn’t a “real” family member.

As a result, Pond died alone, in spite of the fact that she and Langbehn had living wills, advanced directives and power-of-attorney documents. This didn’t matter, according to a heartless hospital worker, who allegedly told Langbehn that she was in an “antigay city and state.” This might be true of the State of Florida, but not of the City of Miami.

Langbehn, not surprisingly, sued the hospital.

Obviously an incident like this one does nothing for Jackson’s reputation, especially when one considers the hospital’s current financial problems. To their credit, officials from the Jackson Health System (JHS) dealt with the resulting brouhaha by meeting with a coalition of local LGBT organizations, including SAVE Dade (Safeguarding American Values for Everyone), to solve this pressing and embarrassing issue.

The end result of these negotiations, announced on April 12, was a change of policy for JHS that gave the same-sex partners of lesbian, bisexual and gay patients the same visiting rights as heterosexual spouses. Jackson redefined its definition of “family” to include people who are not legally related to the patient, including “spouses, domestic partners and both different-sex and same-

sex significant others.”

Meanwhile, “while this is a positive step for the LGBT community in South Florida, the work to implement fair visitation policies throughout the rest of South Florida and across the state is far from over,” announced SAVE Dade.

Coincidentally, on April 15 President Barack Obama, who’s having his own problems with his LGBT constituents, issued a memorandum that calls for an end to discriminatory policies that limit hospital visitation to legal spouses and immediate family members.

The president directed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to “ensure” that hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid (that is, most hospitals) “respect the rights of patients to designate visitors” and allow those visitors the same privileges that married spouses and legitimate children take for granted. The memo makes no mention of assisted living facilities.

Obama then called Janice Langbehn, to express his sympathy and apologize for the injustice done to her and her dead partner.

“I hope that taking these steps makes sure that no family ever has to experience the nightmare that my family has gone though,” she replied.

Cases like this remind us that we must keep vigilant and ever-active in our struggle for the rights of same-sex couples. Horror stories will not cease until and unless lesbian and gay couples achieve the same rights that straight married couples now have, whether in Florida or across these United States.

Jesse Monteagudo (jesssemonteagudo@aol.com) is a freelance writer and regular contributor.

11

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Big Push Building for DADT, ENDA Votes Keen News Service

I

t is the end of April. Spring has sprung and all hell is breaking out in Washington, D.C. There, Congress is racing through the final months of its 111th session, trying to fix everything from the nation’s financial system and the street policing of citizenship to climate change and next year’s budget.

Around the corner awaits a soon-to-be-announced Supreme Court nominee and the contentious mid-term election campaigns.

Not wishing to be left behind in this biennial political morass, LGBT activists have stepped up their pleas to be heard. To push for repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, a new activist group called GetEqual handcuffed six uniformed protesters to the fence in front of the White House this month. That was one day after the group staged a highly publicized interruption of President Obama’s speech in Los Angeles, beckoning him to make repeal happen.

On April 21, GetEqual interrupted a House committee hearing to demand a committee vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). That same day, more than 200 LGBT organizations of every size and scope signed onto a one-sentence “Statement to members of the United States Congress: Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act NOW.” Along with the expected national LGBT groups, the signers included the Massachusetts Lesbian & Gay Bar Association, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, the Michigan AIDS Coalition, the Transgender Education Network of Texas, Atlanta Stonewall Democrats, Equality Illinois, Florida Together, and the Freedom to Marry chapter of San Diego.

The following day, a panel of national LGBT leaders, participating in a live broadcast of the Michelangelo Signorile Show on SiriusXM radio, gave both President Obama and Congress failing grades on LGBT issues. (Where a “D” earns one point and an “A” earns four, President Obama scored 1.8 and Congress 1.5.)

This week, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) launched a daily online open letter campaign aimed at illustrating the “personal stories on how this terrible law [DADT] has impacted them.”

The effort is being magnified through the re-posting of letters by 16 different and well-established LGBT blogs.

Meanwhile, GetEqual was back on Capitol Hill, going door-to-door and politely distributing a toughly worded flyer to members of the Senate Armed Services which states: “You’re Next! We demand ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ be repealed now or you will become a

Ryan Brown said the senator’s office has also agreed to “one meeting” between the senator’s staff and LGBT activists about DADT. MassEquality is pushing for that meeting prior to the May 11, the date for HRC ‘s large lobby day effort on Capitol Hill to push for DADT repeal.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told the Signorile Show that she is still “very optimistic” ENDA will get its vote in committee in the next two weeks, but that “we have to be marching in the streets.”

And things are looking a little tough for ENDA these days. The rightDemonstrators on behalf of ENDA staging wing has stepped up its rhetoa sit-in at Nancy Pelosi’s office in April ric considerably in recent days, sounding an alarm.

An editorial in the conservative Washington Times in D.C. on April 23 said: “First-graders should not be forced into the classrooms of teachers undergoing sex changes.

Religious broadcasters and faithbased summer camps should not be forced to hire cross-dressers.

Women should not be forced to share bathrooms with people with male body parts who say they want to be females. Yet those are some of the likely results if Congress passes” ENDA, said the editorial.

The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call ran House –more than 300 of them this session.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human two articles on Monday reporting that supRights Campaign, told the Signorile Show port was slipping for ENDA because of the last week that his organization and others inclusion of gender identity in this year’s are focusing their lobby efforts in the sen- bill. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), who voted ate. They are focused on six senators on for the “sexual orientation only” ENDA in the Senate Armed Services Committee: Jim 2007 said she’s now undecided and pointed Webb of Virginia, Bill Nelson of Florida, to how the expansion of the law could afBen Nelson of Nebraska, Robert Byrd of fect schools as her concern. Ditto Rep. John West Virginia, Evan Bayh of Indiana, and Campbell (R-Calif.).

But the paper said at least some RepubScott Brown of Massachusetts.

Brown is the lone Republican among the licans are staying onboard with their supgroup and the man who famously hobbled port, including Reps. Mary Bono Mack of the Democratic majority in the Senate with California, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, his winning of the late Senator Ted Kenne- and Mark Kirk of Illinois.

But is it reasonable to expect both housdy’s seat in January. MassEquality field operations manager Ryan Brown said his group es of Congress to take up both DADT and has coordinated members to call Brown’s of- ENDA this year?

“It’s definitely possible,” said David fice to inquire about his position on DADT and, so far, have verified only that he has Smith, HRC vice president of programs and a long-time legislative activist on Capitol not taken a position.

“We’re taking that as a good sign,” said Hill. “But is it going to be tough? On this Brown, who is not related to the senator. issue, in this environment—yes.”

And Diego Sanchez, a senior legislative advisor to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), said Frank has been urging activists to stop “armchair speculating” about when a vote will occur “and focus on getting the votes.”

Just getting a vote on DADT or ENDA will be a victory of sorts, but unless there are enough votes to pass either bill favorably and to sustain a victory on the floor, those votes could be for naught.

And there’s another complication, noted one senior Democratic aide: The House is getting a little frustrated with the Senate’s inaction on numerous bills passed by the

omar clarke/GetEqual

By Lisa Keen

target for non-violent direct action.”

With this sense of urgency, they face a Congress wrestling with an overload of legislative priorities, an obstructionist minority party, and a Democratic party skittish over its grasp on the majority. Thus, the LGBT community can be forgiven for reading too much or too little into a statement coming out of the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday.

That statement, reported in a blogpost by reporter Chris Johnson in the D.C. gay newspaper D.C. Agenda (which is re-assuming the name Washington Blade this week), quoted Pelosi’s press secretary, Drew Hammill, as saying: “It is the Speaker’s intention that a vote will be taken this year on [‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’] in the House.”

In an interview with this reporter on Tuesday, Hammill made clear that he was not announcing any new commitment by the Speaker, only reiterating a “long-stated plan” for the bill.

13

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Guest Editorial 5/3/2010 Paul Gallotta, Health/HIV Editor

Going South

A

ccording to Mark Twain, there are three types of lies; “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” While anyone is capable of tweaking statistics to enforce almost any side of an argument, some are so glaringly bad that they defy ignoring them.

Here is an unpleasant one released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month; 46 percent of all new AIDS (not HIV, but AIDS—if you don’t know the difference, please move to a different state as you are bringing down the learning curve for the entire county) diagnosed in the United States are in the Southeast. That’s where we live for those of you who are geographically challenged. The South also has the largest proportion of AIDS cases from less urban and non urban areas (translated as the suburbs and rural areas). The South

Services, Inc. in Fort Walton Beach, and the Rural Women’s Health Project in Gainesville.

The grant awards are earmarked to create programs that bring about “social change, promote responsible HIV/AIDS public policies and respond to factors which contribute to disproportionate rates of HIV AIDS in the southern United States.” In a state that once removed a child from a lesbian birth mother to give custody to a convicted murderer father? Good luck with that.

The problem as I see it is that the change has to come from the ground up. Given the magnitude of the problem, 1.3 million isn’t exactly throwing money at the issue. But behavioral change doesn’t come about by governmental mandate. It has to start with individuals. People with HIV need to protect their partners, even if they’re only partnering

leads the nation in both people living with AIDS, and dying from AIDS. In terms of the number of AIDS cases per 100,000 residents, Miami ranks number 2 in the nation (behind New York City) with 49.4. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton ranks fifth with 48.6 with Fort Lauderdale at number six with 44.1.

To that end, the National AIDS Fund in conjunction with the Ford Foundation has announced 1.3 million dollars in grant awards to 21 community-based HIV/ AIDS organizations in 9 southern states (including Florida) to “promote smart public policies”--when it comes to HIV in Florida, a real contradiction in terms—that target the most vulnerable populations.

This grant money doesn’t quite make it to our regional AIDS community service agencies, who still need all the help they can get.

In the Sunshine State they’re going to the Okaloosa AIDS Support and Information

with them for 10 minutes at a clip. People who are HIV negative need to assume that everyone they have sex with is HIV positive.

The concept of rejecting a partner on the basis of their sero-status is incredibly stoopid. Here’s a thought: men in general and gay men in particular, lie. How many people on chat sites really use their actual age, job, current body-type, etc. So why in the name of Charlie Crist would you assume someone you met in a bar/bath/club/ online would be telling you the truth?

Here’s a few more statistics that I invite someone to tweak. In Washington, D.C., 14 percent of the gay men in our nation’s capitol are HIV positive. This is almost 5 times higher than the percentage of the District’s heterosexual male population.

In San Francisco, the number is 24 percent.

In New York City, it’s 25 percent, one in four.

And in metropolitan Fort Lauderdale, the number is closer to one in three.

Earlier this month, The Florida Department of Health released a disturbing report, “Man Up: The Crisis of HIV/AIDS Among Florida’s Men.” It revealed that 1 in every 123 adult men—gay or straight--in Florida was living with HIV/AIDS. In Florida, 1 in 209 white men, compared to 1 in 44 black men and 1 in 117 Hispanic men, is living with HIV/AIDS. The statewide rate among black men was 4.8 times that of white men and 2.7 times that of Hispanic men. Hispanic men were impacted with HIV/AIDS nearly twice as often as white men.

The highest rate in any racial/ethnic group was seen in Miami-Dade County, where 1 in 29 black men was living with HIV/AIDS in 2008.

Following close behind was Palm Beach County (1 in 31) and St. Lucie County (1 in 32).

Having worked with PLWAs since the eighties, I’m fully aware that people think differently when they are horizontal than they do when they are vertical. But if we as a community don’t pull our heads out of our asses quickly, some of you reading this won’t need Viagra to get stiff when you are horizontal in the not too distant future.

Write to the Editor Please send your letters to: Letters to the Editor, SFGN 2520 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 OR EMAIL: editor@southfloridagaynews.com

Letters, We Got Letters Comments On:

Ricky Martin: too little, too late, too gay (4/26): To the Editor: Ricky Martin reaped the benefits but he can never be called a soldier or a fighter for the gay cause. Looking back at his music, its embarrasing since he sang so much about women, where’s the artistic integrity?

The honesty? His music is just empty, pop, money making hits, that I don’t even think is that great. Coming out is hard, everyone has there own journey. Ricky Martin is just not somebody to look up to as fighter. Is he a true artist? Now is the time to prove that and make some sincere music.

JG

To the Editor: Ignoring the other comments and just responding to [Fortino’s] column....

Um, you do realize Ricky Martin was famous outside the US long before and after he was famous in the US? He may have been replaced with Timberlake, etc., in the US, but not outside. Latin America still loves him, and he still gets radio play in Europe.

Also, who uses “homosexual”? Many Spanish speakers do. (Although not related to the topic at hand, “homosexuel” is the preferred term in French too.)

This is a big deal. And Lambert hid his sexuality too when he was on Idol and everyone who was gay knew he was gay and then came out long after it was obvious to everyone, so I don’t see why he gets off the hook. Plus Ricky Martin’s music is more interesting than Lambert’s.

Alex Blaze

15

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Off the Wall

by Piero Guidugli

Who’s on First?

T

o celebrate the opening of the 2010 Baseball Season I compiled a random list of “First Recorded Homosexual Person, Place or Reference” and organized it in the format of the all American game.

The LGBT National Anthem

tence,” he said, “You can do it one person at a time.”

Rights:

– Heinrich Hoessli, (1784-1864) in 1836 published the first volume of Eros: Die Männerliebe der Griechen (“Eros: The Male-love of the Greeks”), a defense of same-sex love.

at bat Inning # 1: The First Gay Pope

• TOPs of the 7th: The First Openly Lesbian Musicians To Play Carnegie Hall:

– Benedict IX (10201055) turned the Vati– Cris Williamson & Meg Chriscan into a male brothel, tian, November 1982. Indigo Girls he was the first pope were eighteen. known to be homosexual or bisexual at best.

• Seventh Inning The irony: One Stretch: thousand years later we Gayest Cities: – Berlin, have another Benedict, Germany 1932, with over number XVI, has any300 gay bars and cafes.

Pope Benedict IX thing changed since?

– Wilton Manors/FTL, Have they learned anything?

Florida 2010, 30 gay bars and nightclubs.

• # 2: The First Gay Political Party • BOTTOMs of the 7th: The Recognized by a Constitution: First Gay Musical Group To Play – April 2010, The Philippine Supreme Carnegie Hall: Court recognised Ang Ladlad (Out of the Closet) as a legitimate political party for – The NYC Gay Men’s Chorus, the first time. The justices said the party Christmas 1981. Ricky Martin was complied with all legal requirements and ten years old, two years later he that there is no law against homosexuality. joined Menudo.

• # 4: The First Openly Gay Rabbi: – Allen Bennett, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, has the distinction of having come out in the New York Times in 1978, “staying in the closet is an emotional death sen-

Extra Innings: • # 10: The First Country To Ban Discrimination Against Gays in the Military:

– The Netherlands,1974. We are still debating DADT.

– The first recorded mention of the performance of same-sex marriages occurred during the early Roman Empire. Cicero states that the younger Curio was “united in a stable and permanent marriage” to Antonius. Gay marriages continued until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. After that they opened the Vatican.

• # 5: The First Advocate of Gay

“Glad to be Gay” performed by Tom Robinson from the album “Power in the Darkness.” Great Britain, 1978. The first commercially successful gay political song. Sorry, it • # 6: The First Openly Gay Eurois not “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. pean Mayor: – Bertrand Delanoe,Paris-France, 2001.

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?

The Boys and Girls of Summer

• # 3: The First Gay Pride: – NYC June 28, 1970. Thousands of gay men and lesbians take over Sixth Avenue to commemorate the first anniversary of Stonewall. See you on Wilton Manors Drive, June 2010

Sodomy was struck down in the US in 2003. In other countries the death penalty for homosexual behavior is still enforced.

• #11: The First National Coming Out Day: – October 11, 1988.

Is it a coincidence that October 11th is also Eleanor Roosevelt’s birthday? I heard Lincoln is quite mad, he wanted February 12th.

• # 12: The First Gay Doll: – Gay Bob, 1978, produced by Out of the Closet Inc. The Cher Doll came later.

• # 13: The First Professional Athlete to Come Out of the Closet: David Kopay, 1975, played, among other teams, for the San Francisco Forty-Niners (ding ding). Martina Navratilova and Billy Bean came later.

• # 16: The First Gay Games: – 1982, San Francisco, where else?

• MVP: The First, Openly Straight, Triple X Porn Star Elected MP:

David Kopay

• # 8: The First Gay Monument:

– Amsterdam, 1985, “The Stichting • # 14: The First Transgender PolitiHomo-Monument”, on the river Amstel, in memory of all men and women persecuted cians: because of their homosexuality. Bless those Italy’s Luxuria, 2006, the first openly “coffee shops” and Amstel Light. transgender Member of Parliament in Europe, and the world’s second openly • # 9: The Last Execution for Homo- transgender MP after New Zealander Georgine Beyer. sexuality in the West: – Britain, 1836, but the death penalty • # 15: The First Gay Marriage: for sodomy was not outlawed until 1861.

– Ilona Staller, better known as La Cicciolina, Italian politician, porn star, and singer, 1987. She continued to make hard core pornographic films while in office.

Reminds me of George W. Bush.

• Honorable Mention: – Norm Kent: First Attorney to Publish Two Gay Newspapers in a Decade.

Game over.

If you want to learn more about your gay heritage and those who have paved the way, through activism, through sacrifice, through civil disobedience to give us a better and freer life, you can start by picking up a little book, published in 1992, called “The First Gay Pope and other records” by Lynne Yamaguchi Fletcher, she is the first to compile a list of hundreds of gay and lesbian firsts. It is a quick, at times amusing, course in Gay History.

We should all know who our heroes are and be thankful for what they did on our behalf. Her book gave me the idea to update and refresh, twenty years later, her original collection, with some new entries. You are invited to add your own “first” by going to the “add comments” feature online. Gag contributions welcome.

16

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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17

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Leslie Robinson

Bad Fences Make Bad Neighbors

F

ences.

Poet Robert Frost, playwright August Wilson and novelist Mark Twain got literary mileage out of fences. Now instead of writing about a fence, Chris Trumbull has written ON a fence. He didn’t create literature; he created graffiti.

Or it would be graffiti if he’d written on someone else’s fence. Trumbull wrote on his own fence, so it’s protected speech. Ugly, but protected.

On the outside of his fence, Trumbull, of Casper, Wyo., spray-painted “Leviticus 20:13, To be gay = death.” I support free speech. But as a home beautification project, his sign bites.

“I put it up because society is not looking at the truth,” Trumbull told the Casper Star-Tribune. “They’re not my words, they’re the Lord’s.”

Actually, that Leviticus passage reads, “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is

detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”

Trumbull shorthanded the passage. He edited God. The Wyomingite said he’s generally disappointed in society, and no specific event induced him to paint his sign.

“I’m not doing it to be spiteful. Gay people are bashing themselves,” said Trumbull.

“My fence seems like the proper setting [to express an opinion].”

Why stop with the fence? He could paint a message on his roof, warning planes and ducks not to be gay.

Trumbull’s property sits on the route be-

Susan Estrich

The First Amendment and Animals

L

et me be clear at the outset: I love dogs. Not like them, love them. Of course, I love mine the best: Judy J. Estrich, Molly Emily Estrich and Irving A. Estrich. Judy is named after one of my dearest friends, Judy Jarvis, who died of cancer 10 years ago. Molly is named after her dog, who took care of her when she was sick and taught me not to be afraid of big dogs.

Irving is named for my father. I would kill anybody who laid a hand on them.

That is why I so strongly support the efforts of Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., and Rep. James Moran, D-Va., to enact legislation aimed at prohibiting the sale and distribution of “crush” videos depicting senseless and vicious animal cruelty.

In 1999, according to the Humane Society of the United States, there were as many as 3,000 videos on the market depicting ani-

mals being crushed, burned or impaled for so-called “entertainment” value. After Gallegly’s initial bill was enacted, the market disappeared. But earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court held that law to be unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds, finding that it swept too broadly and could be construed to apply (even though no one ever has) even to hunting videos.

Videos of women in high heels crushing puppies to death are a far cry from hunting videos. I’m glad that the conservative court has embraced the First Amendment, which they don’t always do. But nothing in the First Amendment allows for the celebration of criminal cruelty. Just as we protect children through carefully tailored bans on child pornography, so should we be entitled to protect animals from the effects of gratuitous and criminal violence.

tween Roosevelt High School and the Boys & Girls Club. Over 100 students walk by it every day, getting an education of sorts.

The city asked Trumbull to remove the sign, but he refused. More than that Casper cannot do, said the city code enforcement supervisor. Freedom of speech means Trumbull is free to be rude, obnoxious, holier-than-thou, incendiary and a thorn in the side of the Wyoming tourism department.

While Trumbull’s fence raises questions about protected speech, a different issue stands out to me: What is it with Wyoming and fences?

The stories I read about the Trumbull case didn’t mention Matthew Shepard, but he leaped to my mind anyway. Wyoming.

A fence. Loathing of gays. If I hadn’t made that connection, I’d worry that my synapses have walked off the job.

They have, Wyomingites might reply. Trumbull didn’t kill anybody. He just made his fence into Martha Stewart’s worst nightmare.

True. But Trumbull has undeniably contributed to a poisonous atmosphere for gays. In Wyoming. Using a fence.

Who can forget that ranch fence Shepard was tied to after being savagely beaten and left to die in 1998 on the outskirts of Laramie? It’s no longer there, by the way.

Many wish Trumbull’s sign was no longer there, perhaps hoping a modern-day Tom Sawyer would find a way to give it a good whitewashing.

According to Towleroad, something similar happened. A person or persons changed the words to “Religion = War.” The message was then changed back, presumably by Trumbull. It’s the Great Graffiti War. Trumbull is obstinate and Casper’s city officials say their hands are tied. So unless Trumbull’s opposition plans to perform a drive-by editing every night, it’s up to the community to handle this in a positive manner.

Marty Wood, safe schools coordinator for the Natrona County School District, said teachers could make something out of Trumbull’s creation. “I’d use it as a big learning piece about free speech and constitutional rights,” he said. “We live in a free country, so how do you handle disputes and differences of opinion?”

If the students learn that lesson, maybe a future Matthew Shepard will be avoided. Chris Trumbull will have accidentally paved the way to understanding. I hope he can live with the shame.

Leslie Robinson’s fence has deteriorated into toothpicks. E-mail her at lesarobinson@gmail.com, and read more columns at www.generalgayety.com.

The new bill introduced by Gallegly and In 2008, a federal court of appeals struck down the law that Gallegly championed. Moran this week would prohibit the interSubsequently, the Humane Society found state sale of images of animals being “inthat the blatantly offensive videos that had tentionally crushed, burned, drowned or disappeared from the market in 1999 were impaled” unless they have “religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, hisall over the Internet. toric or artistic value.” PunI was teaching a First ishment is up to five years Amendment class at that time in prison, a fine of up to and remember assigning my $10,000, or both. The draft students the task of finding bill, in an effort to satisfy the “outer limit” of protected First Amendment critics (inspeech. I don’t shock eascluding those in robes), speily, but I was shocked. What cifically provides that it does kind of a person would make not apply to hunting videos. such things or watch them?

Don’t expect all the critics I understand the dangers to be satisfied. Andrew Tauof content-based regulation.

Michael Vick with pitbull ber, an attorney who filed I understand that the answer to bad ideas is debate and not censorship. a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme But I am hard-pressed to come up with any Court, is already being quoted today critiargument as to the value of protecting de- cizing the bill as “presumptively unconstipictions of criminal cruelty and the brutal tutional.” A new round of court challenges murder of animals. These are not hunting should be expected. Sign me up.

There’s a famous Harry Truman quote I’ve videos we are talking about. They aren’t images of slaughterhouses. Staging such always loved: “If you want a friend in Washevents would be criminal (just ask Michael ington, get a dog.” Dogs are lucky to have Vick), and recording them and selling them good friends in Gallegly and Moran. They just need a few more on the court. should be, too.

18

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Profile

dations and domestic part­nership recognition.”

Bodner credits SAVE Dade for making signifi­ cant contributions to the community through its advocacy and by being instrumental in the passage of Huthrough several European man Rights and countries including Italy, Domestic Partner­ France, Switzerland and ship ordinances the United Kingdom for alin a number of most two years before setSouth Florida tling back in South Florida. com­munities.

Raised in Miami, CJ now C.J. Ortuño Glenn Kauflives on South Beach with his wife and 2 year-old daughter Amalia. As hold serves on the Executive Committee of a graduate from the 2008 Leadership Miami the SAVE Dade Foundation, the educational Class, he led a project that created an eco- branch of the organization. After learning nomic development software program for the outcome of the gay marriage ban in the City of Miami. His passion and dedica- Florida and California, Kaufhold decided tion to the public sector has benefited chil- he needed to take a stand. “It angered me,” dren, the environment, and the disadvan- he stated. “I don’t like to be one of those taged. He lives by a simple philosophy and is people who just sits and complains about often heard saying, “listen to understand and what is going on. I try to stay aware of issues and get involved where my abilities not to respond.”

“There aren’t a lot of chances in life to do will allow me to make a difference.”

Kaufhold, a Broward Country resident, things 100% right. Marrying my wife and having a child is one of them. Leading SAVE has been enlightened through his inDade is another.” Ortuño is confident that volement. “SAVE Dade is working on many when the organization achieves its goals, it’s initiatives with a positive, constructive attitude. It’s non-threatening and I think that’s for the greater good of the people.

Many people have been supportive of SAVE important when it comes to bringing electDade and Ortuño’s work thus far. Nate Bodner, ed officials to understand the importance co-chair of the Political Committee joined the of our issues. I believe the benefits extend organization in 2009. “I have been a political beyond Miami-Dade County.”

Another supporter, Orlando Gonzalez beactivist for years and became involved with SAVE Dade because there is a need for equali- gan working with the organization as a volty in employment, housing, public accommo- unteer in 2007 and is currently the Chairman

C.J. Ortuño Executive Director of SAVE Dade

By Joey Amato

S

AVE Dade’s mission is to promote, protect and defend equality for the LGBT population of Miami-Dade County. C.J. Ortuño, Executive Director of the organization is determined to making sure this mission is accomplished. “We will secure and guarantee equal rights under the law through the passage and defense of the Miami-Dade County Human Rights Ordinance,” states Ortuño.

Starting with the landmark passage of Miami’s HRO in 1998 to recent enactments of domestic partner benefit policies, SAVE Dade continues to lead the fight for equality.

Ortuño joined the organization a little over a year ago, having previously held the position of Director of Development for Hands On Miami. At Hands On Miami, Ortuño led efforts that helped build the community by engaging people in over 100 monthly volunteer action projects. “When the opportunity was presented to head up SAVE Dade, it seemed like a logical fit,” stated Ortuño.

Born into a Puerto Rican and Cuban family, Ortuño became the first to achieve a college degree. He graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Ortuño then traveled

of the Board. “I decided to become involved because the cause and issues directly affect the quality of my life as a gay person.”

The organization provided Gonzalez with an outlet to make a civic contribution while at the same time benefit personally by surrounding himself with likeminded individuals who have ultimately become close friends.

“The benefits that are most important to all people are those protective and inclusive policies, granting us the ability to be first class citizens. When any of those rights are segregated the social, economic, political, and emotional implications lead to a disenfranchised society which weighs heavily on our health and well-being,” Gonzalez states.

Gonzalez would like to see every member in our community become involved in SAVE Dade. “We understand that not everyone can give financially, which is why donating a few hours of time and skill is always helpful,” he states.

One way to get involved is by attending the organization’s Champions of Equality Awards Reception. The gala will take place on May 21 at the Marquis Tower & Residence in Miami Beach. “This annual event was established to honor those members of the community who have significantly advanced the cause of equality for the LGBT community,” states Ortuño. More than 300 community, political and civic leaders will be in attendance to support SAVE Dade.

The 2010 honorees include United States South Florida Congresswoman Ileana RosLehtinen, City of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, former City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. For more information on SAVE Dade or to purchase tickets to the Champions of Equality Awards, visit Savedade.org.

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Mother’s Day Issue

Rosie O’Donnell and family

Mother’s Day for Gays and Lesbians

By Norm Kent Are you a local lesbian mom? SFGN wants to feature you? Call Sebastian Fortino at 954-430-4970

Sandra Bernhard, who has a daughter with red hair as fiery as her mother’s remarkable humor.

Praise too the individuality of Mary hat is marriage? What is famCheney—who gave birth to a son in ily? What is motherhood?

2007—and to which her father, the former What is parenting?

Vice President, responded, “I’m looking In Florida, which just finished another forward to the arrival of a new grandson.” legislative session with not a single gay Note, he did not add, “even though his friendly bill passing, these are real issues to be sorted out. Gays are not equal here. Out mother is a lesbian.”

Rosie O’Donnell, herself a mother of of 50 states in the nation, eQuality Giving four children, whose fifth child was forcibly just ranked us as, oh, let’s see- 49th. Great! removed from her home in Florida because We have taken our quest for equality to she is gay, has produced a stunning docuthe streets, the courts, and state legislators. mentary about diverse families.

We should salute one group for making a “A Family, is a Family, is a Family” demondifference, and forging ahead with new defistrates that it is not the nature of a family nitions of parenting.

The group we salute on Mother’s Day are that makes it viable but the nurture of it.

Salute your mom this weekend, and take the lesbian mothers, from celebrities who her out to a gay establishment, like the Mancampaign for the right of gays and lesbians or or the Torch, advertised on these pages. to adopt, to ordinary mothers fighting Let your Mom see who we are and support bigotry. They are not so much redefining motherhood as confirming what all mothers the gay businesses which not only support our paper, but are there week after week have known all along: that motherhood is for our community, sponsoring sports team, about love and responsibility.

AIDS walks, or the GLCC. While the State of Florida prohibits gays These local businesses, such as the Manor, and lesbians from adopting children, lesbian or Sidelines, or New Moon, and so many women have proven time and time again other gay owned hospitality establishments— that they make excellent mothers.

So join with us as we place Wanda Sykes we can’t name every one—should be saluted and patronized, because they, like our moms, on our cover, and salute her and her wife, nurture us, support us, and make us whole. who welcomed twins, Olivia Lou and son We owe it to ourselves to support each Lucas Claude, in April of 2009. other. If we do not, who will?

Salute and say thank you to comedienne

W

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Cinco de Mayo Celebrations wikimedia

page 22

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Nightlife by J.W. Arnold

Olé! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at your favorite bars and clubs.

I

rish-Americans have St. Patrick’s Day and Italian-Americans have Columbus Day, but for Mexican-Americans, Cinco de Mayo has become the day to celebrate their national heritage. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait a year to dig into sizzling fajitas, down a ton of chips and salsa and chug salty margaritas, but the upcoming holiday is a great excuse to celebrate all things “south of the border.”

Several local bars and nightclubs have planned big parties in conjunction with the traditional observance of Mexican independence: Lincoln Rd. hotspot Score gets a jump on the Mexican holiday on Tuesday, May 4 with a Latin blowout. Sip on $6 Herradura premium margaritas, but don’t leave before the live mariachi performance at midnight.

On Wednesday, head down Washington Ave. to Twist for their Cinco de Mayo celebration. DJ Maximus 3000 will be in the booth and the bartenders will be serving up potent $6 margaritas with a “twist.”

In Broward County, Cozmos Lounge in Fort Lauderdale is marking the holiday with a unique piñata contest. Take your swing at $3000 in cash and prizes and chow down on complimentary chips and salsa.

Here are a few highlights of the week to come: Monday, May 3

I

f you haven’t checked out Fort Lauderdale’s newest bar, Cozmos Lounge on Oakland Park, here’s a reason: the Ginch Conch Amateur Strip Contest.You won’t catch us on stage showing our “somethin’ somethin’,” but we hear plenty of amateur hotties will be there strutting their stuff to win $750 in cash in prizes. There’s no cover and $2 drinks all night long.

Tuesday, May 4

irl, when was the last time you were on roller skates? No, not rollerblades—the four-wheeled kind of skates.

Come on out to Gold Coast Roller

Theatre Review

LAY: Three Tall Women P HERE: Palm Beach Dramaworks W 322 Banyan Blvd., West Palm Beach.

Wednesday, May 5

I

f margaritas and fajitas aren’t your thing, head to the perennial Miami Beach hotspot, Twist, 1057 Washington Ave., for the Sean Brady Show, a night of karaoke fun in Bar 5. Order up one of Mario’s $6 divine martinis and you’ll be belting out those torch songs and gay anthems all night long.

Thursday, May 6

T

hursdays are ladies’ night at MOVA, thanks to Pandora Events. MOVA’s happy hour is always a hit, but the party really gets started at 10 p.m. with DJ Zehno, spinning the hits, electro and more. Drinks are half price between 11 p.m. and midnight. MOVA is located just off trendy Lincoln Rd. at 1625 Michigan Ave. Friday, May 7

T

he weekend gets off to a hot start tonight in West Palm Beach at one of the county’s newest bars, iRock, 2650 W. Military Tr. Falcon Studios stud Rob Romoni will be performing live tonight and throughout the weekend. Romoni recently signed with Fabscout, the Fort Lauderdale-based agency handling some of the hottest talent in the porn world, so expect an eye-popping show.

Saturday, May 8

P

romoter extraordinaire Hilton Wolman celebrates his birthday at Score with a Salvation reunion party.Wolman always throws a great party, but expect a blowout for his birthday. DJ Abel will be spinning beginning at 10 p.m. and don’t miss the performance by Kitty Meow. Score is located at 727 Lincoln Rd.

DATES: Runs through June 13 For more information, call 561-514-4042 or visit PalmBeachDramaworks.org.

It’s a Woman’s World Palm Beach Dramaworks Fills Albee’s Tall Order

By Mary Damiano Arts Editor

T

hree Tall Women has always been a difficult play for me. The first act is long, practically a monologue as an elderly woman reminisces about her life to her caretaker and a representative from the law firm that handles her affairs.

I’ve seen it three times now, and each time, I find it hard to get through that first act.

Apparently I’m not the only one. About a dozen audience members during the performance I attended left at intermission.

Boy, did they miss out. Because the thing about Edward Albee’s play, which was written in 1993 and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, is that if you make it through the first act, you are handsomely rewarded by all that comes next, because they are great riches to be mined in the second act of Three Tall Women.

Three Tall Women delves into the three stages of life, in this case, of one woman’s

life. There she is at 26, (Geneva Rae) with all the possibilities of life spread out before her. There she is at 52 (Angie Radosh) a society matron jaded by life and love, still angry at her gay son for being who he is.

And there she is at 92, (Beth Dixon) a feisty yet fragile woman who knows that life’s journey is drawing to a close. Through the woman’s experiences, Albee examines the repercussions of choice and the evolution of a woman in all her mess and glory.

That Palm Beach Dramaworks has mounted a sumptuous production of Three Tall Women is no surprise. The theatre has built its reputation on gorgeous productions of classic plays. The costume design by Brian O’Keefe is both age and era-appropriate. Michael Amico’s beautifully-appointed French Provincial bedroom screams old money. Ron Burns’ lighting is evocative.

Director J. Barry Lewis has put together a powerhouse cast more than up to the task of making Albee’s conversational rhythms sing. Rae is all business in the first act, but seamlessly morphs into a wide-eyed innocent in the second act. Radosh imbues her character in both acts with a been-there, done-that sensibility—one arched eyebrow, one Cheshire Cat grin from Radosh speaks volumes. She’s like the aunt everyone should have—well-moneyed, well-traveled, and the only person you’ll actually believe when she tells you the way the world really works.

Dixon has the most difficult transition to make from the first to the second act, from dying old woman to spry senior, and she delivers a nuanced, powerful performance.

Watching these women on stage is like watching a theatre master class in acting.

Three Tall Women the perfect melding of a playwright and a theatre, both at the top of their games. Don’t miss it.

Sunday, May 9

T

here are always plenty of great parties on Sunday, but for the guys looking to wind down, check out Sunset Sundays at The Depot. It’s a low-key afternoon at this popular neighborhood hangout: pick up an $11 domestic beer bucket, play Ballsy Bingo with Nickkay Waters at 3 p.m. and enjoy the Humpy’s Pizza Party at 4 p.m. At 7 p.m., Don Kasteel hosts “T” karaoke. The fun can be found at 1243 NE 11th Ave.

Geneva Rae, Beth Dixon and Angie Radosh in Three Tall Women at Palm Beach Dramaworks.

Steven Caras

G

Rink, 2604 Federal Hwy., tonight for Gay Skate. They’ve got a disco ball and there’s bound to be a queer couples skate, too.

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN EXCLUSIVE

The Fresh Bile and Sex Life of

Larry Kramer

By Tony Adams

he despises. He has been tackling this mammoth project off and on since 1978 and n hour into my conversation with its destiny has become a contest between death and his publisher. Kramer who tested iconic HIV activist and author Larry Kramer, he paused and said positive for HIV in 1988 gives evidence that the publisher may win. He survived a liver “Darling, you’re getting an interview out of transplant in 2001, and uses his fresh bile to me that no one else has ever had.Your ediattack the same enemies. tor should be well pleased with you.”

“I don’t like Mr. Obama. He is just anWe had been talking about the seventyother in a long line of presidents who have four year old Larry Kramer’s sex life!

I consider Larry Kramer’s perpetual insis- dumped all over us. He is not honoring his tence that we not sweep AIDS under the rug campaign commitments. I really think he hates gay people and we are not dealing to be heroic. Others take an opposite view of a man whose voice has been the constant with this in an effective way. It’s nice that he wants to protect our right to hospital visitadeafening siren of an ambulance since his tion but it’s no big deal. days as a founder of both GMHC and ACT “We are too passive and too invisible UP in the 1980s. In 2007, he said that Ronald and too unwilling to demand our equality.

Reagan is responsible for more This continues to be very painful deaths than Adolf Hitler. for me. When I speak about this, Having read his book people either say ‘He’s Faggots when it was new right’ or ‘There she in 1978, I had decided goes again’. I’m used he was not a great writer. to it.”

I changed that sour opinion I steered him back many years later when I read to speaking about longevity. his Florida based “Mrs. Teffilin,” “I’ve been thinking a lot about older gay a short story that is one of the best ever written. When I told him this, Larry Kramer men because I’m almost 75. I’ve suddenly started being horny again! My partner and corrected my pronunciation. “Teh-FILL-in, I have known each other since the late not TEH-fuh-lin” he schooled this goy.

1960s. This is our second time together.

Larry Kramer continues to work on his Seventeen years this time. He gave me 4,000 page history of the strife of homopermission to explore, but what does a sexuality to be published in two volumes 75 year old do when he wants to crawl with the title “The American People,” a phrase often used by Ronald Reagan whom in bed with a hot young body? I think this

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David Shankbone

A

Legendary gay rights leader Larry Kramer

is the biggest unwritten thing and there must be an awful lot of older men like me who are hungry for another sexual chapter before they die. I don’t think we talk about it enough.”

When I asked him how he handled his new vigor, he surprised me.

“Almost as research for my book, I joined two hook-up sites and posted my profile on both of them. I get a lot of views but I get no takers. Only a couple of old ACT UP members wrote to say they recognized me.”

I checked out his profiles. His photos are impish, happy and attractive. I suggested that the lack of response might be due to intimidation by the prospect of being in bed with the formidable Larry Kramer. He laughed when I offered that my own hands would be shaking under his covers.

“I take a lot of pills for my HIV and my liver transplant. Erections are a sometimes thing, but I can still have an orgasm. I’m grateful for my favorite gay porn sites. In the old days I’d just go down the street to the baths.”

These days, Larry Kramer worries about the appearance of his body, distended and scarred by disease and surgery. He explained his signature overalls as a way to hide his lack of a waist.When I assured him that many men find scars sexually attractive because they are evidence of experience, he said “Well I’ve got plenty of stories on my belly.”

He is well aware that some will find the idea of a sexually active Larry Kramer at

odds with his insistence that gay men learn to police their own sex lives.

“People think I’m the one who demanded that gay men stop fucking altogether but you have to realize that in 1981 or 82, one had to be something of an alarmist. People would say you’re going to scare us to death and I’d say that’s what I want.”

He says that his research and interviews with the owners of hook-up sites lead him to believe that younger gay men are having more sex, but this does not alleviate the enormous loneliness that applies to both young and old gay men. He is also quick to say that new gay sex is hardly carefree.

“Somewhere in your unconscious brain the specter of AIDS lurks, no matter how stoned you are and even with a condom.

When ACT UP was in its ending years, I remember one of its most important members Jim Eigo saying to me that we haven’t finished our work until we bring sex back again.”

Never the shirker, Larry Kramer fears not finishing both sex and his book.

“I worry that I won’t have enough time and good health to finish this book. I always wanted to write a really long book but you have no idea what it is like to even edit 4,000 pages. I worry that I will lose some sort of mental facility before I’m done.”

Let those who respond to his online profile be forewarned. For the sake of the book and because we need his strong voice, do not tire him out.

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

scend and bridge multiple musical categories–gospel, classical, blues, even country.

Pianist, composer, writer and philosopher Kenny Werner displays effortless mastery of his instrument every single day, as does Joe Lovano, one of the foremost saxophonists and innovators of our time. It is rare to have artists of their lofty standing appear together, and it has never happened in Florida. This will be a memorable jazz event. May 8 at the Miniaci Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets start at $35. www.browardcenter.org.

urn the Floor Burn The Floor is a dazzling display of Ballroom Dance that forever blurs the line between the frenetic energy of an electrifying rock and roll arena show and the seductive glisten of Broadway-style theater. Featuring a high-voltage blend of Rumba, Cha-Cha, Samba, Salsa, Waltz, Tango, Quickstep, Swing, and Jive, Burn The Floor ushers in a new era of im Ballroom Dance.

McGraw Stripped of pretense, With special the performances guests Lady Antehave an unbridled bellum and Love energy that makes & Theft. Country this sensuous mix superstar Tim of dance and music McGraw returns to a stunning rhythmic South Florida on his spectacle of dramatic Southern Voice Star. sophistication never Come see McGraw before seen on stage. perform all his hits May 4 – 9 at the including Live Like Kravis Center for You Were Dying, My the Performing Arts.

Next Thirty Years Tim McGraw Tickets start at $20. and Where the www.kravis.org.

Green Grass Grows. Joining him onstage will be Lady Antebellum. The band recently swept the ACM’s and will be performing all lorida’s Singing Sons their future classics, Need You Now, Run Florida’s Singing Sons Boychoir, to You and Love Don’t Live Here Anymore. under the direction of Craig Denison, May 8 at the Cruzan Amphitheater. Tickets continues its 34th season with their start at $25. www.livenation.com.

Spring Concert The Greatest Hits. Join the Singing Sons as they perform some audience favorites from previous Parker Playhouse performances as well as audience favorites from the centuries of Boychoir singing. May 8 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets start at $20. www.browardcenter.org.

T

F

K

enny Werner Quarter Few jazz artists have the ability to let their musical creativity tran-

Lady Antebellum

Book Review

he wanted Hollywood’s most tony role: that of producer. Grease, originally Party Animals set in Chicago, was something Author: Robert Hofler for which he fought, so he could live out his own high DaCapoPress.com school dreams. Against all $15.95 odds it went on to be the 308 pages highest grossing movie musical until “Mama Mia!” hit screens.

His next dream, to make

By A. Sebastian the Village People a household, Fortino not merely homosexual, name tanked. “Can’t Stop the Music,” certain Britpremiered as one of the last ish television lavish disco era parties set on series about the Lincoln Center plaza. Meantwo slightly debaucherous ladies implied the best kind of gossip is while, disc jockeys across the country heard about people “you don’t know.” After read- the death knell ringing and stopped the music.

Through interviews and quotes from the ing Party Animals, the life of Allan Carr by Robert Hofler, I concur. Having never heard likes of Dominick Dunne, Bruce Vilanch, Harvey Fierstein, Robe Lowe, Don Bachaof the producer and host, I was not sure rdy, Steve Guttenberg, Olivia Newton-John, what to expect. and Stockard Channing, we see a man who This book has all of the trappings, both desperately tried to assimilate while never magical and troubled, of Hollywood. Carr allowing himself to blend in. owned Hillhaven, Ingrid Bergman’s former In 1989, he would host what some saw as home. He bought the house to reinvent the the worst Academy Awards ceremony. With glamour of old Hollywood.

Once the house was purchased, he filled a fashion show, and extended red carpet coverage he changed it with nuances that it not only with a private disco and grand still linger today. However, it was too over Lucite piano but with both Hollywood’s the top, too built on what he hoped for, not old and new guard. Gregory Peck and Joan what could be done.

Collins sipped Cristal during spectacular An elaborate production between Prince themed fetes while a host of rent boys Charming and Snow White, that recreated entertained the sexual appetite of dancer the famed Coconut Grove, was lost on the Nureyev in the bedrooms. audience and viewers alike.To further the He could be generous to the point of blows, the Disney princess’ executive guardostentation, sending gifts to the extended ians were “very unhappy” about her depiction. families of people he had worked with via His Gemini dichotomy was reflected in telephone but never met.Yet he could be vindictive; reminding Lorna Luft that he made that ill-fated production. While it would reviher a star and insinuating that Steve Gutten- talize international viewings of the Oscars, it would also cause him to be snubbed at Morberg should have stayed in dentistry school. ton’s and denied the opportunity to produce A spoiled child of well-to-do Chicago again. To combat this depression he would merchants, his partying and entertainment reinvent himself as an investment wiz. began in childhood. High school parties at His depression drove him into a Greta his parents’ home were catered when he Garbo existence, barely leaving his fabuwas merely a teenager. Before his rise, he lous Hillhaven and receiving only those was unusual or bizarre, never “queer.” This that would force their way in. While his life despite dressing up to play the titular drag ended on a rather lonely note, he somehow role in “Charley’s Aunt” or inventing a colmanaged to accomplish almost all he wanted lege theatrical award called the Poopsies. to do with the short time he was allowed.

His weight, always an issue, fluctuated.

It seems that he got what he wanted, He occasionally carried 300 lbs on his 5’6” with perhaps the exception of the 1989 frame. To hide, which only emphasized his Oscars. A life stuffed with all the magic and weight; he amassed a collection of caftans. tragedy of a person who lives and lusts for Rather than merely be the greatest host public approval. in Tinseltown—or publicist and PR guru—

A

27

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

By Chris Azzopardi Rufus Wainwright All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu Troubadours like Rufus Wainwright get off on being grandiose, but what happens when you lose something

Rufus Wainwright and album cover (above)

Heard it on...

By the Nite Owl Does A Busy Brain A Cheater Make?

On Monday, April 26 Dr. Phil McGraw, better known simply as Dr. Phil, appeared on CBS’ “The Early Show.” He brought two brain scans. One scan was of a cheating brain, and the other a non-cheating brain. It is interesting that the latter scan was not described as a “faithful brain,” since the brains were of straight, married men.

According to Dr. Phil—whose psychological statements are often received with a grain of salt—the brain scan of a cheater is abuzz with activity. In a non-cheater’s brain the activity occurs in the back of the brain,

you can’t get back? You scale it down, as he has after the recent death of his mother. On his sixth studio album, Wainwright comes equipped with his rich croon, the piano and lots of grief. It weeps and wallows, only once sounding anything like his usually flamboyant baroque-inspired self on “Give Me What I Want and Give it to Me Now!” Otherwise, he’s sulking—crying for sibling civility on the standout “Martha” and then leaving us with an emotional juggernaut, the lonely “Zebulon,” that shoots right through your heart.

Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour Even if our Gay Goddess ran out of reinventions and sold into mainstream trends with _Hard Candy_, the unremarkable album she supported on this 2008-09 tour, Madonna’s mojo still makes for one heck of a show. Over several hours—a couple on DVD; one on CD—the enduring diva gives us a shotgun seat on her disco ball. The album, thankfully including many of the genius do-overs of such heyday classics as “Vogue”

around the cerebellum. He likens the activity to “compulsive behavior.” For anyone who has been with a cheating, lying, bastard—politely known as an ex-boyfriend—you can sum up this behavior as “scheming.”

If he’s guilty of checking out mutual friends at cocktail parties, or mysteriously sleeps at his best-friend’s house on a Thursday, or wakes up in the middle of the night to check his email you might not need the scan…but I digress!

We here at SFGN want to know: how do you casually get your man into a cat-scan?

Promise him it’s a new take on a sling, or tell him he’s on the set of “College Boy Physicals?” If the science is true, I predict party planners purchasing cat-scan machines and renting them out for “Cheaters Parties.”

It might be the first time a medical device carries a sticker bearing the words “For entertainment purposes only.”

ADAM LAMBERT IS HUGE IN LONDON If Delta Burke could wear pants, she’d be Adam Lambert in London last week (that’s meant as a compliment), where Lambert performed at the gay essential

videoed-in Britney Spears or make “Into the Groove” a pulsating playground were just a few highlights of this tour—one filled with frilly fun, flamboyant theatrics and the kind of energy that’s typical of someone half Madonna’s age. Go behind-the-scenes of it all with a 30-minute feature that actually feels like a backstage pass to one of music’s most iconic fixtures. How’s that for Sweet?

Grade: A-

and “La Isla Bonita,” is cool and almost too polished, but what hardcore fans really wanna see is Madonna get her jump-rope on, enter on a throne and masturbate with her guitar. Watching her do so during this Buenos Aires stint—being both playful and intense—is definitely a steal compared to the in-person cost, but no DVD could ever mimic the magic of seeing Madge live. With full-screen videos and scoping cameras, it captures that rush as best as you could hope for from someone of such Queen of Pop caliber. Seeing Madonna rip apart her guises, sing “Human Nature” alongside a

Usher Raymond v. Raymond Usher’s one horny hottie. He basically does the dirty enough on his latest CD to make you forget about his other career— the music one, where he’s wooed followers with his smooth falsetto and crunk club grooves. Even though nothing ever goes as deep as the album’s title might suggest, the sampled “Making Love (Into the Night)” works its bump-and-grind magic and “Foolin’ Around” is a decent “Burn” redo. Rapper/bi-of-the-moment Nicki Minaj springs “Lil Freak” to life, but the disc is still remarkably flaccid for someone who always seems to have a hard-on.

tan federal court Thursday alleges that Adolfo Mendez was fired after he blew Lambert’s the whistle on sexual harassment from two G-A-Y show managers at Gucci’s Fifth Avenue store. One of them insisted that Mendez, who is married to a woman, was gay. “‘I know you’re gay,’ Gray allegedly told Mendez, who says the manager’s favorite subject of conversation was sex,” the Daily News reports.

Mendez says that he complained to hunightclub G-A-Y. The resemblance to Burke aside, the American Idol runner-up man resources and was placed on administrative leave, then fired within two weeks. was a hit at the London club, where some of the most famous stars of Rock, Pop and The managers accused no longer work at the store.

Disco have performed in the past—a real sign of how big he is getting. We wish Adam continued success.

WIREIMAGE

Music Review

Adam

Straight Gucci Salesman Sues for Gay Harassment A former salesman at Gucci’s flagship store in New York City has filed a $5-million lawsuit, charging that he was discriminated against because he is straight.

According to the New York Daily News, the lawsuit filed in Manhat-

Gay Young Things

Gucci Fifth Avenue: Straight people work there too!

Who knew?!

28

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Chase & Jordan’s Fight for Equality Debate Heats Up in North Carolina

By Joey Amato

N

orth Carolina gay teen couple Chase and Jordan, have been making headlines recently for the controversy they, and Jordan’s mom Leesa Nixon, have caused in Booneville, NC. Chase, who has been together with Jordan for almost two years, was originally told by the principal of Starmount High School that he would not be allowed to attend prom with his “friend” Jordan.

Outraged by the decision, Leesa Nixon threatened to take action by informing the ACLU and local media of the issue. The school was quick to respond. Principal Parker contacted Nixon on April 7 and informed her that after speaking with the school’s attorney, the school was going to allow Chase to bring Jordan.

“Mrs. Parker stated that Chase was allowed to bring Jordan as his outside date and they were going to have to change the rule to allow students to bring a guest and not necessarily a date,” Nixon stated.

But in an unfortunate turn of events, parents of other students are organizing a separate prom because they don’t want their children exposed to “Jordan and Chase’s gayness.”

“I have felt an extreme amount of disappointment in my fellow man and North Carolina neighbors,” states Nixon. “Some of the comments that we have received about two gay boys attending the senior prom have been hateful, disheartening, and

Chase and Jordan

some have even been scary.” Nixon says it’s unclear what will happen.

In an interview with SFGN, Nixon also points out that parents are planning an alternate event a local Holiday Inn because, “they don’t want to see two boys making out.” Nixon, now concerned about Jordan and Chase’s safety contacted the school to make sure proper security measures will be implemented if necessary.

“I’m afraid people will try to hurt them and I even thought of staying in the parking lot during the prom,” Nixon states. “But we

can’t live our lives in fear and the boys really want to go on their own.”

Nixon also tells us that Jordan took Chase to his junior prom without any problem.

“No one complained, everything was wonderful and all the kids had a great time... because they did not care that a gay couple was at the prom. They did not discriminate against them, they accepted them.”

A series of posts on the Web site Topix reveal some stunning realities about our culture.

One individual named “Angry American” posted the following in reaction to schools

decision: “The school system promoting gays as they are doing by letting this occur is disgusting. Teaching our children to be anti-Christian is teaching them to be antiAmerican.”

Another post affirms that another prom is in the process of being organized. “I really disagree with this and am now trying to plan out an alternate plan to the prom.

I have spoken with several parents and we all feel that if these two boys are allowed to go to prom that there may be trouble and we don’t want it to interfere with our children and their special night.”

There is a clear division amongst the small town community. Nearly 300 people have posted comments on Topix and many people are coming to the defense of Jordan and Chase. BS Mom posts, “They are going to the prom, not a bath house! I suppose it is completely ok with you that boys and girls are having sex on buses and in the parking lot.”

Tove posts: “There are children being abused and children dying from diseases, but you want to spend your time, money and effort on a prom so that you can exclude one couple. Get your priorities straight.”

Nixon, who loves Chase like one of her own is hopeful that the community will support the young couple and unite in an effort to end discrimination. “Both of these boys are wonderful and loving people. Homosexuality is not a choice. No one would choose to live with this kind of hate if it were up to them.”

29

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Books highlight LGBT Life for Middle & high School Students

By A. Sebastian Fortino

school, but we didn’t know about our history and role models. If it is our job to educate that hiladelmeans we must phia-based provide informaM a s o n tion that wasn’t Crest Publishers is there before.” preparing a series The 15 books of 15 books to be are penned by included among the different authors. libraries of middle Sears gave suggesand high schools. tions as to what The publication seeks areas were not covto normalize LGBT ered. He points out life among students that 10 or 15 years through education. ago gay youth Gallup’s Modern Guide had to search lito Gay, Lesbian, and braries for novels Transgender Life is with gay characscheduled to be pubters, or hope a lished in time for the supportive librarfall semester, 2010. ian would assist Gallup has a misdr. James T. sears them. “Now is the sion “to understand what subjects are under-published and time to include LGBT issues in our nation’s then produce educational books that ful- schools,” he added.

Pompano Beach High School senior, Alex ly cover all aspects of those topics.” The publication of the series comes as the Hu- Salgado, is graduating in June this year. He man Rights Campaign currently is trying came out when he was a freshman.

“In middle school sex-ed they wouldn’t to equally protect LGBT students through talk about anything other than the heteroThe Student Non-Discrimination Act. Dr. James T. Sears is a professor with ten- sexual aspect of sex. I would sit in class and ure at Harvard, Penn State, and the Univer- think, that’s not the only thing that’s going sity of South Carolina. Sears is also a visiting on,” Salgado said. “My first semester freshlecturer on LGBT issues and education on man year, was a difficult time for me. I had an international level, and founding editor no access to anything gay that could have of the Journal of LGBT Youth. In 1990 he helped me through my journey.”

Salgado’s window into gay life was prowrote the first book about gay youth in the south. He is the editor of the Gallup series. vided by television. He didn’t know of any “The normalization in the past 10 years educational books that could have made has created much more acceptance of being his coming out an easy, positive decision.

LGBT as a fact of life, now it’s time to edu- Luckily for Salgado his school started a Gay cate these kids in such a way that sexuality Straight Alliance, of which he was an early or gender identification is not “an issue.” member.

“Someone can feel comfortable in their That’s why these books are so important, because this is just one more piece of what own skin, but if people oppress them for it means to be human. Schools are sup- it they won’t. So, it’s great these books will posed to educate instead of mis-educate educate gay students, allowing them to be our youth,” Sears said from his home in comfortable. Straight students will learn how to treat gay classmates with more reCharleston, SC. “We certainly learned about all the spect,” added Salgado, who hopes to enter straight personalities when we were in culinary school after graduation.

P

Louis Cohen, of Mason Crest Publishers, is confident that the books will be successful both as a publication and a learning tool.

“At Mason Crest we try to be forward thinking, and in the 80s we published a series on gay and lesbian individuals of achievement. People that were out. At the time the books were not well-received. Now we believe the books are timely.”

Keeping with timeliness Cohen promises that the books will be available in both hard copy and electronic formats.

According to their research prior to developing the series, Mason Crest found there were no educational books of this nature.

The books that are available have dealt with the possible negative aspects of coming out to family and peers.

The Gallup series will not be the first controversial series they have gone forward with publishing. Cohen’s father also published books in the 1980s about distinguished, African Americans, and drug education, which at the time was very taboo.

For more information please visit LGBT-books.com

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisement. Before you decide, ask the attorney to send you free written information about his or her qualifications and experience.

30

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Travel

Out In...

Andrew Collins

Hawaii’s Garden Isle: Kauai

Kauai’s famed Na Pali Coast, with its 4,000-foot cliffs rising high above the sea.

By Andrew Collins

resorts, and the western side by gargantuan Waimea Canyon—there’s unparalleled beauty wherever you look. Kauai remains n terms of scenery, the one Hawaiian largely unspoiled and slow-paced, an ideal island that comes closest to living up spot for devotees of the outdoors—loyal to the expectations of many first-time admirers often vacation here exclusively and visitors is Kauai, a comparatively small but magnificently lush isle of rain forests, tower- skip the other islands.

There’s just an incredible amount to do ing seaside cliffs and secluded beaches. on this island. More energetic types will want Hikers flock to the Na Pali Coast, which to drive the main highway encircling much is on the remote northwestern tip of the island, just beyond the picturesque village of of the island, from south to north, and hop Hanalei (which has been the setting for such out at various points of interest to hike and films as South Pacific, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic explore. The one section you can’t reach by car, the famed Na Pali Coast with its sheer Park). The eastern side is dominated by the waterfalls of the Wailua River Valley, southern 4,000-foot cliffs, you can access in other side by Poipu’s stunning beaches and upscale interesting ways. Perhaps take a catamaran

I

cruise up the west coast of Kauai—the five- beach), at the end of Kuhio Hawaii on the north shore. Easier options for sightseeing hour tours offered by Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures are great fun and include an op- include driving the viewpoints at Waimea Canyon State Park—they don’t call this the portunity to snorkel right off the boat.

Outfitters Kauai offers rigorous but highly “Grand Canyon of Hawaii” for nothing. The 10-mile-long canyon is 3,000 feet deep and is rewarding kayak tours around the Na Pali one of Hawaii’s best photo ops.

Coast as well as a wide range of both exYou’ll find beautiful beaches all around treme and easygoing adventures—easy kayak the island, including a few with gay followtrips up the placid Hule’ia River, bike rides into spectacular Waimea Canyon and Ziplin- ings. The easiest to reach is Lydgate State Park, just south of Kapaa off the Kuhio ing treks in several different areas.

Highway—walk south from the parking area If you’re in good shape and game for an for the gay-popular section. Donkey Beach, independent adventure, you can always hike off Kuhio HIghway a bit north of Kapaa, is into the Na Pali highlands via the famed enjoyable both for sunbathing or swimming 11-mile Kalalau Trail—access the trail from Ha’ena State Park (itself home to a lovely continued on page 34

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May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

The Dog Days of Spring

F

erational historic 1928 Ahrens-Fox piston pumper which served the Chicago Fire Department with distinction.

For more information please visit our website www.greendogdayfestival.org

LAW

GC

.com

ort Lauderdale, the 13th Street Alliance and SoRDI (South of the River District) will host their First Annual Green Dog Day Festival, Sunday May 16 from 12 Noon until 5 PM. This charitable and fun event, M.C.’d by Tedd Marefka, will benefit The Pet Project, enabling people with HIV/AIDS or otherwise disabled to keep their pets with the project’s ongoing care and support.

The event will feature live entertainment, raffles—including two round trip tickets anywhere in the Continental u.S., exhibitor booths, a dog wash and games for children. Enter the Green Dog Day Festival contest and vote for: Best dog/owner Look-alike, Best Barker, Best Dressed (dog…not owner), and ugliest Dog. The Fort Lauderdale Fire & Safety Museum will be showcasing their painstakingly restored and fully op-

THE LAW OFFICES OF GEORGE CASTRATARO

32

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Crossword Puzzle

Long Division

Across 1 Sound of oral enjoyment 6 Lickety-split (abbr.)

10 Nathan of the English version of 10-Down 14 Campbell of Martin 15 Boob, to a Brit 16 Hot to trot 17 Like an active partner 18 Lennon/McCartney’s “Love ___” 19 Movie theater 20 Goldberg of The Color Purple 22 Where Larry Kramer went to college 24 Private languages 26 Yule drink 27 Hiker’s route 30 Add an inch 32 Sneaky Pie’s cries 36 It’s sold in bars 37 Get by somehow 39 Luau food 40 Beat poet Jack 42 Part of D.H. Lawrence 44 Pull a boner 45 Sucked up 47 Highland dialect 48 Vanilla, in the sack 50 Triangle ratio

51 “Nuts!”

52 Composer Rorem 54 Suit fabric 56 Fab Five’s point of view 60 Harvey, in Torch Song Trilogy 64 The NCAA’s Runnin’ Rebels 65 Funny Mabley 67 Anouk of Lola 68 “Look ___, I’m Sandra Dee” 69 Rubber-stamp 70 Public spectacle 71 Way out of the closet 72 Tickle pink 73 Madrid mister Down 1 Unload loads 2 Ho Chi ___ City 3 Regarding 4 Train 5 K on Lesbos 6 It swallows plastic and spits cash 7 Playwright/poet May 8 West Wing worker 9 Popular resort, for short 10 ___ aux Folles 11 Old Hebrew month 12 Baseball number 13 Snake-infested garden 21 Director Bergman

23 Greek poet who didn’t look at pornography 25 Minute amounts 27 Cowboys, informally 28 Red state?

29 Nero’s land 31 Polynesian woman 33 Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, e.g.

34 Bottom-of-the-barrel 35 www.gay.com, and others 38 Family subdivisions, in biology 41 Moo juice source 43 Photographer Abbot 46 One of Mary’s visitors 49 Virgin’s complaint?

53 Baldwin and Frank 55 Hawaiian skirt material 56 Muscle Mary’s pride 57 Gay Talese’s ___ the Sons 58 Ticklish muppet 59 Oxen collar 61 Serious sign 62 California state senator Mark 63 Stag party?

66 Rock guitarist Barrett Solution on page 34

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33

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Sports

wrestling without Borders

By Dan Woog

A

t the 1990 Gay Games in Vancouver, wrestling was an afterthought. Organization was so haphazard, longtime devotee Gene Dermody paid $300 of his own money to get mats in place for competition.

That galvanized the small but intense gay wrestling community. Realizing that no one would help them except themselves, they formed a coalition. Wrestlers Without Borders—dedicated to promoting the freestyle and Greco-Roman versions of the sport— has grown into an international umbrella organization for wrestling clubs. Its focus is on gay clubs and events, though it welcomes any group that shows “a commitment to wrestlers of all ages, genders and orientations in a safe, non-elitist environment.”

WWB has helped push wrestling to the forefront of the Gay Games. Its Web site provides a clearinghouse for LGBT wrestling events. And it offers help to any group or individual new to the sport.

In 1994, the group worked with New York organizers to include women’s wrestling in the Gay Games, says WWB chair Roger Brigham.

Four years later, in Amsterdam, WWB helped introduce gay wrestling to many Europeans.

That, in turn, led to an impressive wrestling presence at the 2002 Sydney Games.

Along the way, WWB has served as an ambassador for gay wrestlers. “Everywhere we go, mainstream organizations are impressed by our professionalism,” Brigham says. “We’ve gained acceptance and broken down barriers.”

At the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago, some of the sport’s top national officials became vocal advocates of WWB’s all-encompassing approach. When the games ended, they threw their support behind the formation of a gay wrestling club in Chicago.

The Chicago organization joined counterparts in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, London, Paris and Sydney.

Allies are a crucial part of Wrestlers Without Borders. “Our clubs have a higher percentage of straight athletes than other sports organizations,” Brigham notes. “We couldn’t survive without them.”

His friendship with Jim Michael provides an excellent example of such support. A Chicagoan, he was intrigued by the 2006 Gay Games. The next year, on a trip to San Francisco with his wife, he visited a practice of the Golden Gate Wrestling Club. He loved the atmosphere; his wife was treated well—and a year or so later Michael returned for a tournament. “He got his ass kicked,” Brigham says.

Yet Michael grew emotional when he told Golden Gate members how respected they made him feel—“not like a has-been or washedup old guy,” Brigham says. When the Chicago Wrestling Club hosted a WWB event the following year, Michael was a primary backer.

“Wrestling is a sport of great intimacy.

When you wrestle you know a man’s character, and he knows yours,” Brigham says, explaining the ease with which gay and straight wrestlers get along.

Yet despite the growth, all is not well in the gay wrestling world. The World Outgames—an upstart organization that began in 2006 in Montreal, continued in Copenhagen in 2009 and now plans a 2013 event in Antwerp—has diverted focus from all gay sports, Brigham says. Wrestling—a sport that does not attract wealthy participants, and that needs a critical mass of athletes in each weight class to run an effective tournament—has been hit hard by the Gay Games-Outgames schism.

“It’s hard to fill all the classes, and it’s asking a lot to travel internationally so often,” he says. “We worry about ‘event fatigue.’”

WWB has drafted an online petition to keep the Gay Games “the premier global LGBT sports-cultural event.”

WWB has also taken a lead in documenting the history of gay wrestling. A com-

prehensive page on the Web site, wrestlerswob.com, explores wrestling’s role in both the Gay Games and the birth of the LGBT sports movement. The Don Jung Hall of Merit honors the sport’s LGBT pioneers.

As it looks back, WWB inspires wrestlers in unexpected ways. “People hear about us, and even if they’ve been out of wrestling for years, they get involved again,” Brigham says with pride. “They realize the importance of giving back.”

Many times, former athletes find that doing so—while identifying for the first time as a gay wrestler—is both empowering and exciting.

At the same time, sexual orientation is only part of Wrestlers Without Borders. “As the

barriers of homophobia in sports wear down, people in the gay sports world are saying, ‘We’re so successful—do we still have a reason for being? Are we losing our gay identity?’

“We don’t call people ‘straight allies’ or ‘straight partners,’” Brigham says. “We call them ‘wrestlers.’”

And because of that philosophy, borders between straight and gay wrestlers are falling around the world.

Dan Woog is a journalist, educator, soccer coach, gay activist, and author of the “Jocks” series of books on gay male athletes. Visit his Web site at www.danwoog.com. He can be reached care of this publication or at OutField@qsyndicate.com.

34

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Hawaii’s Garden Isle On the savory side, and also in and it draws a mix of gays and straights. Waimea, do not miss Shrimp Station, which serves super-fresh, deliciously Just keep in mind that the surf can be seasoned shrimp platters—a faintense, so exercise caution.You’ll see the parked cars on the side of the road vorite being the spicy Thai shrimp.

Poipu’s Puka Dog has been featured as you head north out of Kapaa, between mileposts 11 and 12. From here on television’s No Reservations with just follow the trail down to the water. Anthony Bourdain and is renowned for piquant-sweet hot dogs topped Nudity is permitted at this beach. with tropical mustards and sauces. Just Kauai has always excelled when it comes to super-fresh produce and seafood. One of the best examples of this transformation is the Beach House, which serves exceptional contemporary Hawaiian-Asian fare (wasabicrusted snapper with lilikoilemongrass beurre blanc) from a dining room with stunning view of the ocean.

The Grand Hyatt Kauai has several good restaurants on-site, including romantic Tidepools steak and north of Poipu, the Koloa Fish Market prepares super-fresh plate lunches and seafood eatery, the most elegant of bento boxes to go (try the ahi poke the bunch. This resort is also a good bento)—they’re perfect for a picnic. option for experiencing a traditional luau—these feasts are held on Sundays And if you’re headed north of Kapaa toward the north shore and craving a evenings and are open to nonguests snack, be sure to check out Duane’s (reservations are recommended). In Ono-Char Burger in Anahola. the early evening, the Hyatt’s Seaview Kauai has no gay nightlife per Terrace is a breezy and relaxing spot se, although the entire island is so to sip wine or cocktails and sample welcoming that you’re liable to bump some terrific pupu (appetizers), and into “family” at just about any bar on clubby Stevenson’s Library—thought the island. One spot that many local known primarily as a cocktail bar— gays and lesbian do frequent, especially also serves a full menu of super-fresh during the “gay nights” held the first sushi from Friday through Monday Saturday of each month, is Nawiliwili evenings.

Tavern, near the Kauai Marriott and Other Poipu culinary notables the airport in Lihue. include the Kauai outposts of two Kauai has a nice range of accommorestaurant brands that have become dations in all prices ranges, from posh legendary among foodies in Hawaii: Merriman’s, which opened recently and resorts to gay-friendly B&Bs. Poipu, on the south shore, has the greatest features farm-fresh, healthful regional cuisine and Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cui- concentration of distinguished lodgings, including the fairly new Koa Kea Hotel, sine, a longtime favorite in the area. a hip and stylish boutique property Up on the north shore, charmingly laid-back Hanalei is a cluster of restau- whose rooms surround a pool that overlooks the ocean. rants, some of them quite good. For Gay-owned Poipu Plantation Resort lunch, Hanalei Gourmet is hard to beat comprises an atmospheric 1938 B&B for fresh salads, coconut-shrimp and as well as nine individual rentals—it’s sandwiches from the gourmet deli. A steps from the beaches, is run by few doors down, Javakai serves some friendly and helpful innkeepers, and has of the best coffee on the island. And romantic Postcards Cafe is a good bet warmly furnished, reasonably prices for sophisticated seafood and modern rooms (with full breakfast included in the B&B rooms). It’s steps from the Hawaiian fare.

continued from page 30

beach and several restaurants.

Other nice lodgings around the island include Outrigger at Lae Nani, which is run by one of Hawaii’s most gay-friendly hotel brands, and the similarly GLBT-welcoming Aston Islander and Aston Kauai Beach hotels. On the north shore, both the elegant Hanalei Colony Resort and ultra-swanky St. Regis Princeville are well recommended.

Another option, especially worth considering if you’re staying for more than a few days or traveling with a group of buddies, is renting a vacation house or condo. With properties all around the island, the Parrish Collection is a reliable, reputable and gay-friendly vacation rental agency, and it manages a wide variety of lodging options, from simple one-bedroom condos starting around $115 per night to overthe-top-luxurious homes with multiple bedrooms and designer kitchens.

Andrew Collins covers gay travel for the New York Times-owned website About.com and is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA. He can be reached care of this publication or at OutofTown@qsyndicate.com.

The Little Black Book Aston Islander and Aston Kauai Beach (www.astonhotels.com). Beach House (www.the-beach-house.com).

Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures (www. napali.com). Grand Hyatt Kauai (http:// kauai.hyatt.com). Hanalei Colony Resort (www.hcr.com). Hanalei Gourmet (www. hanaleigourmet.com). Javakai (www. javakai.com). Kalalau Trail (www.kalalautrail.com). Kauai Visitors Bureau (www. kauaidiscovery.com). Koa Kea Hotel (www.koakea.com). Lappert’s (www. lappertshawaii.com). Merriman’s (www. merrimanshawaii.com). Nawiliwili Tavern (www.nawiliwilitavern.com). Outfitters Kauai (www.outfitterskauai.com). Outrigger at Lae Nani (www.outrigger.com).

Papalani Gelato (www.papalanigelato. com). Parrish Collection (www.parrishkauai.com). Poipu Beach Resort Association (www.poipubeach.org). Postcards Cafe (www.postcardscafe.com). Puka Dog (www.pukadog.com). Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine (www.roysrestaurant. com). St. Regis Princeville (www.princevillehotelhawaii.com). Shrimp Station (www.shrimpstation.com). Whaler’s Cove (www.whalerscoveresort.com).

Q Scopes By Jack Fertig

Your brain wants a challenge, Virgo!

Saturn opposing Uranus is a long-running on-and-off aspect that’s scattering minefields, challenging us to change structures and goals through the year. The Sun and Mars are triggering those with sometimes violent results. Ideological, “values”-based attacks are likely at personal and political levels.

ARIES (March 20 – April 19): Your competitive drive can become obsessive, even selfdestructive. Looking good is not about conquest, but moving on gracefully. Let go, meditate, open your creative soul.You can’t do that while guarding your turf as queen of the mountain.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21): Immediate concerns – work and partnership – feel like distractions from your creative engagement with the world, building the future. In fact, those quotidian details are exactly how we do that.

Try to channel that aggravation into creative energy.

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): Celebrate your birthday with your family and your most creative friends, not necessarily at the same party. Bringing them together may get a bit dramatic, even catalytic.

This could be a good thing, or not.

Think it through.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 20): Domestic drama threatens to disrupt your plans at work. If you can keep an even keel, handling those unpredictable upsets could help you gain confidence in your managerial skills.

Remember, a team leader is still a team member!

GEMINI (May 21- June 20): Meditation will cool your heated brain and help you to keep your mouth out of trouble. In that calm solitude, think of ways your home life can support your ambitions.

They don’t have to be at war with each other.

CANCER (June 21- July 22): Showing off to your friends can get expensive and become a source of fights. If your love and admiration aren’t enough, homebaked cookies should do it. If they want more, they’re not really your friends, and their arguments aren’t worth the trouble.

LEO (July 23 – August 22): Whatever you do is sure to get noticed.You do realize that can be a mixed blessing! Some humility would be in order, but that doesn’t mean denying your actual gifts and accomplishments. It’s just a matter of keeping perspective.

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22):Your brain wants a challenge.

Find it in a book; don’t go picking arguments. If you want a good debate, hold yourself back a bit and make an effort to really hear what the other person has to say!

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22): Trying to keep up with peer pressure, you could worry yourself sick. Balance? It means they have to meet you half way, too.Your real friends will do that.

Standing your ground is sexy.

CAPRICORN (December 21 – January 19): Maintain respect for people even when their questions seem abysmally stupid. It is tempting to mess with their heads, or to mock them, but mellow out that playful streak and engage them.

That could lead to fun for all!

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18): Everybody needs to be concerned about money these days.You may be more worried than is necessary or helpful. Don’t take it out on your family or housemates. The first purpose of discussion is to get problems into perspective.

PISCES (February 19 – March 19): Flaws and frustrations in your relationship, however minor, are now feeling worse than they really are.You could both make a list now to discuss later. If you must trash someone, that is what politicians and celebrities are for.

Solution to Crossword Puzzle on page 32

35

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Accomodations LIBERTY SUITES PERFECT RELOCATION RENTALS – 3-6 MONTHS APRIL/MAY SPECIAL From $250/week & $1000/month. Beautiful Studio, 1 & 2 BR Apts. w/Full Kitchens. Turn key, fully furnished & equipped, clothing optional pool, laundry, parking. Close to Gay Dania & Nude Haulover Beaches. Pets Welcome. Incl. utilities, cable, telephone, Wi-Fi Internet. 954-927-0090 or visit www.

LibertySuites.com ------------------------------------------------SOUTH BEACH Short term rental. Collins and 11th St...1/2 Block from Versaces Mansion. 1 BD condo. Fabulous location. Just pack your bathing suit! 3 night minimum. $110 a night.

Call Steve at 508-982-1029 or email southbeach.delrio@yahoo. Can email photos.

Real Estate For Sale FT LAUDERDALE/LAUDER LAKES PRIMARILY GAY PARK Hurricane Ready 1,600sf 2BR/2BA 1 Yr Old, 32’ Party Deck overlooks huge Lake.

Manufactured Home. Wood Cabinets & Granite Tops, Slate & Marble floors.

Immaculate. Real Show Place! Pics @ www.twitpic.com/photos/FLParadise4Sale Cost $205K+, Sell $149,900, Call 954-817-6233 ------------------------------------------------8 INCOME UNITS FOR SALE EAST WILTON MANORS across from new Wilton Station townhomes. Lush landscaping, central ac and near everything. Gross income nearly $75,000 per year. $524.9K. Illness forces sale. Reduced nearly $200,000.

Call Floyd, owner/broker, at JOY Real Estate, 954 254-7613 ------------------------------------------------8 INCOME UNITS FOR SALE NEAR E WILTON MANORS Located between Wilton Manors & downtown FtL., this property is fenced, gated & nicely landscaped. Receive nearly $65,000 rent a year. $419.9K. Illness forces sale. Reduced nearly $200,000. Call Floyd, owner/broker, at JOY Real Estate, 954 254-7613

2/2 PALM AIRE COUNTRY CLUB - GREAT LOCATION Spacious, quiet, w/screened-in balcony, new wood floors, hurricane proof windows/shutters, central AC, ceiling fans, W/D on floor, elevator, pool, golf course. $950/Mo. Includes cable tv/water. Easygoing Landlord. Call 754-224-6146 ------------------------------------------------LARGE 2BD/2BA HOUSE IN NE POMPANO - 1BLK OFF US1 Great neighborhood, remodeled, tile floors, new appliances, W/D in unit, central AC, ceiling fans, big fenced-in party-style back yard w/ patio, bbq & lanterns. $1,300/Mo. Call 954-798-7959 ------------------------------------------------2/1.5 ON EAST CYPRESS CREEK Renovated, beautiful complex. Immediately available, furnished or unfurnished, $400/week (includes all) or $800/Mo. + Util. 2nd Floor corner unit. W/D on prem.

Call 954-614-8733 ------------------------------------------------DANIA BEACH - EAST OF US1 1BD/1BA, W/D in unit, new paint, new bath, new AC, gated private terrace, $800/Mo. Also, Large 1BD/2BA w/ huge kitchen and bath w/ hot tub, private terrace with hot tub, W/D in unit. $975/Mo. Call 954-987-7842

Rentals Fort Lauderdale FT LAUDERDALE - MIDDLE RIVER AREA LOW MOVE IN /EASY TERMS* 1BD/1BA in 4 unit bldg. All Tile $680/Mo. or $175/Wk*. W/D on premises. 6 or 12 Mo. Lease. 954-527-9225 ------------------------------------------------LAKERIDGE RENTAL HOME 3BD/2BA house in friendly neighborhood blocks from shopping, beach and Wilton Manors nightlife. Well maintained property, tile throughout, totally fenced yard, with ceiling fans and extra laundry/ mud room. (W/D not included). REDUCED $1,250/Mo.F/L/S. References. Call Randy for appt. 954-347-1016 ------------------------------------------------DROP-DEAD-GORGEOUS Supersized 1BD/1BA, All New!, open granite kit w/island, D/W, 15’x20’ Bdrm, central air, 1 yr. lease $915/Mo. F/S. Middle River Ter. Call 954-448-9811 ------------------------------------------------LAKERIDGE - PERFECT 1BR/1BA Newer everything, granite kitchen, icemaker. Steps to Holiday Park. $725/ Mo. F/S. Pets ok. Call 954-448-9811 ------------------------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE - MINUTES TO WILTON DRIVE - IMMACULATE EFFICIENCY & 1/1’S With your own PRIVATE backyard or patio, tile floors, large closets, tile floors, newer kit/bath, water/garbage/pest cont incl., cable ready, W/D avail, QUIET all gay complex. No pets. $575-$700/Mo. Will work w/ you on move-in costs. Call 954-592-3772 ------------------------------------------------731 NW 1ST AVE-OFF OF ANDREWS AVE. Completely Remodeled 1BR/1BA on beautiful street lined with new townhouses. Large fenced yard, very quet, private laudry on premises, parking. $750mo + 1/mo security. Gino 954-551-3621 ------------------------------------------------EAST FORT LAUDERDALE HOUSE $800 OR EFFICIENCY $550 1BD/1BA Cottage, all fenced in w/ fruit trees, very private, central ac, full kitchen, storage area, $800/Mo. Also, efficiency, full kitchen, AC, Victoria Park $550/Mo. Call 954-522-0062 ------------------------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE Large 1BD/1BA in fourplex. Tile floors throughout, laundry facilities, parking, less than 1 mile to Wilton Drive. $750/Mo. Call 954-815-2550

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------------------------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE 2/2 plus den; half-duplex. Less than 1 mile from Wilton Drive. Recent paint, new flooring, fenced tropical yard, pool. Offstreet parking. W/D on premises. $1,200/ Mo. Call David, 954-806-8520 ------------------------------------------------LAKE RIDGE TOWNHOUSE Lg 2BD & 2Baths 1,200sf, Hurricane Shutters, Pets OK, fenced yard, tile down stairs and carpet up, Full W/D, big kitchen, covered pkg, great for sharing, Near Beach & Galleria $1,450/mo. Call Owner/Agent 954-661-4481- Avail May 1 ------------------------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE 1/1 Minutes to Wilton Drive, 2 miles to the beach. Nicely landscaped fourplex. All tile, central ac, new kit/bath, walk-in closet, french door off kit to priv 20x20 yard w/ privacy fence, laundry on prem, parking, pets ok, $750/Mo. 954-849-4944 ------------------------------------------------EAST FORT LAUDERDALE EFFICIENCY WITH LARGE PRIVATE YARD Full size fridge, walk in closet, laundry on premises, 20 x 20 private fenced yard with table and chairs, parking spot right outside unit, water/electric included. There is no stove in unit $525/ month. Call 954-849-4944 ------------------------------------------------HARBORDALE 2/2 spacious ,newly renovated w/ central air,tile floors,lush private patio.

Pets Welcome. Near Beach, Las Olas, Airport,Resaurants and Shopping. A MUST SEE $1,050/Mo. Bill 954-612-4381 ------------------------------------------------PRIVATE TROPICAL NATURIST PARADISE Modern and private 2/2 fenced in gated compound with private naturist resort pool area. Tile flooring. Includes free water, cable and laundry facility. Pets allowed. 2nd BR has outside entrance, perfect for roommate. Near downtown. $1,200/mo. Call owner 954-557-4333.

------------------------------------------------VICTORIA PARK VERY LARGE 1 BEDROOM Large 1 bedroom, central ac, pool, updated, Walk to Gateway and Galleria.

N/S. $1,050/Mo. Call 954-270-0304

------------------------------------------------3/1 DOWNTOWN FORT LAUDERDALE W/ DETACHED EFFICIENCY that can be rental income, making this a 4/2, A/C, W/D, large fenced yard, pets ok. $1,750/Mo. Call 954-270-4544 ------------------------------------------------NEAR WILTON MANORS Remodeled 2BD/1BA, new kitchen/bath, DW, stainless apps, pool, pets ok. $950/ Mo. Call 781-249-9562 or email: smithblock@aol.com ------------------------------------------------VICTORIA PK 2BR/2BA W/POOL $795/MO Beautiful gated gay complex, private tropical setting, minutes to beaches and Galleria. AC, ceiling fans, skylight, laundry facil, private covered porches. Perfect for roommates. 954-524-5188 ------------------------------------------------VICTORIA PARK CONDO 2BR/1BA fully furnished condo for rent.

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No Pets. $950 per month plus electric, F/S. Call 954-565-2714.

------------------------------------------------POINSETTIA HEIGHTS Large 3/2 Duplex Apartment for Rent.

Tile floors throughout. Eat in Kitchen, W/D, Guest Bedroom with Private Entrance. $1,100/Mo. + utilities. F/S. Call 954-565-2714.

------------------------------------------------FORT LAUDERDALE EAST OF I-95 Great location 1BD/1BA w/ extra large walk-in closet, french doors lead to private deck and yard, built-in desk looks onto central courtyard, tile floors, smallquiet pets ok, coin laundry, $725/Mo. Call James 305-213-3473 ------------------------------------------------WATERFRONT LARGE CONDO SE 15TH ST FORT LAUDERDALE 2BD/1.5BA w/ screened patio, overlooking canal and pool, new carpet, updated bath, $1,100/Mo. F/L + $500 Sec. Boat dockage avail. @ $4/ft. Call 954-782-0172 ------------------------------------------------1BD/1BA LOCATED IN HEART OF UPCOMING AREA NEXT TO WILTON MANORS Fully tiled, eat-in kitchen, use of washer/ dryer, ample parking, pets allowed, $650/ Mo. Call 954-557-8088

Rentals Oakland Park 2/1 IN OAKLAND PARK 5-PLEX GREAT NEIGHBORS Good size apartment, ideal floorplan for roommates. Living/dining room with open plan kitchen, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, Central air, tile floors, New paint, parking, small pets with approval. Clean and ready now. $895/Mo. Michael 954-540-3543 ------------------------------------------------2/1, PRIVATE COURTYARD, CENTRAL AC, GREAT NEIGHBORS Rarely available very nice 2/1 apartment Brand new kitchen, tile, central AC, unique private fenced courtyard, $900/Mo, 954-655-2299 or email pep446@aol.com Oakland Park area, come take a peek!

------------------------------------------------1BD/1BA IN OAKLAND PARK 1 MILE FROM WILTON DRIVE Central AC, W/D, ceiling fan, eat-in kitchen, dishwasher, $750/Mo. Call 954-818-9422

Rentals Wilton Manors WALK TO WILTON DRIVE RESTAURANTS AND CLUBS 2BR/1BA - Central AC, freshly painted, renovated kitchen, built in micro, D/W, tile floor. Only $875/Mo. 30 lb pet limit. Call David at 917-710-8852, 407-491-1353 ------------------------------------------------NEW IN TOWN? COMING TO WILTON MANORS SOON? FURNISHED 1/1 $295/WEEK Walk to Wilton Drive, bright comfy spotless nicely updated furnished (pots, pans, dishes, etc.) 1st floor corner 1 bdrm, cen a/c, $395 a week includes electric, water & cable, pet considered; call for details.

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36

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Classifieds: Call Mike 954-928-1862 Rentals Wilton Manors, cont’’d 4 BLOCKS TO WILTON DRIVE AND 2 BLOCKS TO THE NEW GLCC 1BD/1BA, tropical sitting area, tile, safe, quiet, W/D on primases, 1 car parking. $750/Mo. F/S. Call 954-934-8360 ------------------------------------------------FIRST MONTH FREE! CALL 954-678-1500 (24/7) IN East Wilton Manors, Across from New Wilton Station, quiet residential 1 bedroom $710/month.

Roommates Broward PALM AIRE COUNTRY CLUB/POMPANO Roommate needed to share my 2000 square foot condo on the golf course.

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Please be responsible and employed. $650/Mo. Avail April 1st. Michael 954540-3543

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By A. Sebastian Fortino

F

riday May 7 and Saturday 8 Voices of Pride (VOP) will host an evening of music by and about women, at the Kravis Center of West Palm Beach.

Songs by Billie “Lady Day” Holiday, Peggy “You Give Me Fever” Lee, Ethel “You’re the Top” Merman, Carmen “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat” Miranda, and of course la Garland will be performed with other pieces from the American Songbook. Our modern divas will also be represented on the program, with songs by Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé. The evening promises memorable, show stopping moments from Broadway and the Silver Screen as well as poignant remembrances of the great women in our lives.

There will be a lot of the VOP fun, and irreverent humor.

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37

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Bullying, Part 2 continued from page 9

Prince in January. Prince, who had moved to Massachusetts from Ireland with her family, was repeatedly bullied by a number of classmates. Six of those students now face felony charges and three others have been charged as youthful offenders.

But neither version of the Massachusetts bill enumerates sexual orientation, gender identity, or other attributes on which bullying may be based. The same is true for bills pending in both houses of the Michigan legislature.

A 2007 survey of students conducted

by GLSEN found that students were more likely to report harassment problems to staff—and staff were more likely to help— in schools or states with policies that enumerate categories, than in those with policies that do not enumerate the categories.

And in Romer v. Evans, a landmark 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down Colorado’s anti-gay Amendment 2, the high court noted, “Enumeration is the essential device used to make the duty not to discriminate concrete and to provide guidance for those who must comply.”

Both the SSIA and SNDA bills would provide enumerated coverage and federal clout to ensure compliance.

Despite the absence of safe-schools provisions in the President’s proposal, GLSEN spokesperson Presgraves said he is optimistic.

“Obviously, this is just a blueprint,” he explained. “As the ‘Blueprint’ will continue to expand and become the actual language for the reauthorization, at that point is when we’ll definitely do everything we can to en-

sure that [the Sánchez and Polis bills’] language are part of the reauthorization.”

HRC’s chief legislative counsel Brian Moulton agreed.

“Certainly, would it be preferable for there to be a strong, explicit signal going into this process from the White House? Sure,” he said. “But I don’t know that we should see this as a problem right out the gate.”

Moulton added that HRC is working with GLSEN and Rep. Polis’ office to build cosponsors for both bills and “to look for the potential to include one or both of these bills as part of that larger reauthorization bill,” but added, “I’m not sure what those next steps will be because I’m not sure we know what the timeline on the reauthorization is.”

Moulton also suggested the bills could face “competing interests.”

“We are obviously very organizationally focused on getting ENDA through and the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal effort,” said Moulton. “The window between now and the midterms [elections for Congress] keeps getting smaller and smaller, unfortunately.

I’m not sure that right now there’s an immediate path to moving either” the Sánchez or Polis bills. But he said HRC can “continue to be able to use them as a tool to talk to Congressional offices about the issue.”

“As with any of our issues, it is a heavy lift politically,” said Moulton, “and I don’t know what the prospects are. . . . It is very much a question of when will we have the opportunity to move things on the Hill and how much we can get the community activated once these opportunities present themselves.”

Queeries by Steven Perow Steven Petrow is the author of The Essential Book of Gay Manners & Etiquette. Find him on the web at www.gayandlesbianmanners.com

When a Straight Guy Asks a Lesbian Out Q: I could use some help in understanding proper etiquette when a heterosexual fellow asks me out thinking that I’m a straight woman. What can I say?

A: If you missed the wonderful cartoon on this subject in the New Yorker recently, let me repeat the caption, since it’s brilliant. Straight guy asks lesbian out, and she replies: “Thanks, but I’m in the middle of a lesbian phase that started the day I was born.” If you’re prepared to be out, a dollop of humor will take you far. A line of that kind delivered with warmth (as opposed to snottiness) definitely counts as “proper.”

Are older gay men “cougars” or “daddies?”

Q: I’m in my mid-40s and have started dating a guy who is about 20 years younger than me.

While it’s practically trendy these days for cougars (older women) to be pursuing younger straight men, I’m getting a lot of flack from my friends that my boyfriend’s not “ageappropriate” for me. What Don Bachardy and Christopher Isherwood is most insulting is how my numerous age-inappropriate marriages. But friends dismiss him in social situations as a don’t forget the many happy “age inappropri“kid” (even though he’s a Fulbright Scholar) and me as a “daddy,” which he doesn’t need ate” gay couples: writer Christopher Isherwood and painter Don Bachardy (30 years or want and which is a role I would never play. They also just assume that I’ve pursued between them) and playwright Terrence him and that I’m “robbing the cradle.” That’s McNally and lawyer Tom Kirdahy (25 years). actually not the case. He came after me. I’m In any case, it sounds like you need to speak frustrated and need to know how to handle up, though not in front of your boyfriend. Be clear with your friends that you expect them all these raised eyebrows and sharp words.

A: Did you know that the general rule of to treat him with respect and that their thumb for so-called age-appropriate relation- jokes about you being a “daddy” have worn themselves thin. Good friends will follow ships is half your age plus seven? So, given your lead. Bad friends can be asked to make what you’ve told me, you’re very close to for the door. a mathematically correct relationship. But, Of course, “daddy/boy” relationships have really, so what? The most important thing is that you’ve found someone you care for and a long and not necessarily sordid history in gay culture, but whether or not there is that that those feelings are reciprocated.

As for your friends mouthing off about your dynamic, it’s nobody’s business to make a age difference, I can only guess that it’s some judgment. Honestly, it’s hard enough to find a compatible boyfriend or girlfriend, so congratcombination of envy (“he’s got a young, ulations to you both. And don’t forget Julie hot one”), caring (“as soon as he grows up, Andrews’ memorable lyrics from the Sound he’ll leave you with a broken heart”) or the of Music: “Love is where you find it.” slimy cultural residue from Donald Trump’s

38

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gay Down Under

‘Gay Dog’ Refused Entry to Australian Restaurant

By Joey Amato

Equal Opportunity Tribunal.

Jolly is now set to receive a written n Australian apology and $1,400 restaurant compensation. has been forced However, Jolly said to apologize and that the situation has pay compensation made him embarafter refusing to rassed about going to let a blind man restaurants. enter because “I just want to be they thought his dog was gay. like everybody else and be able to go out In May 2009, Ian Jolly, 57, was attemptfor dinner, to be left alone and just enjoy a ing to dine at the Thai Spice restaurant in Adelaide, when he was refused entry after meal,” he said.

Zephyr Clarke-Dolberg, owner of Miami staff misheard his female companion, and Dog Training said that he has never heard thought his “guide dog” was a “gay dog.”

“The staff genuinely believed that Nudge of such a thing as a gay dog. “Sometimes you see a dog exhibit sexual behavior with was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog,” the owners other male dogs in a struggle for dominance.” said in a statement to South Australia’s

A

Daniel Kowalski

Olympic Swimmer Comes Out

By A. Sebastian Fortino

D

aniel Kowalski, 34, an Australian swimmer and Olympic contender, who shared a gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and won a silver, and two bronzes in the 1996 Summer Olympics came out of the closet last week. Australian newspaper, “The Age” interviewed the athlete.

Kowalski said, like many people that ultimately come out, he could no longer “live a lie.”

“Growing up in sport and subsequently working in it has made the whole acceptance of who I am extremely difficult for many reasons,” he said.

He considers Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas as inspiration for his coming out.

The most recent installation of the Olympics, in Vancouver, made strides for gay athletes by including a pride house where other out athletes could congregate comfortably. However, there was little gay buzz in and around the Olympic Village.

“My opinion is it’s difficult to come out in any sport. Swimming is almost an ex-

ception, as it is an individual sport,” said Jim Harper of Miami’s gay Nadadores swim team. He indicated that Bruce Hayes and Greg Louganis are both Olympic medalists who are out of the closet.

Ireen Wüst, who competed in Vancouver, was quite irritated that her sexuality was on center stage as opposed to her athletic talents. Coming out of the closet is difficult for athletes who are largely seen as celebrities by sports fans who are stereotypically straight.

Gay Olympic veteran Ryan Quinn has stated that gay athletes have nothing to gain by coming out, “I often think that if I had people to look up to, to read about, who were elite athletes and were easily accessible—people who had lived some of my experiences as an athlete—then it would have helped the situation. It would have made it easier. But having lived it, I do understand why so few elite athletes have come out,” said the swimmer.

Conversely, he also said that depression, and suicidal tendencies plagued him while he was in the closet; conditions that are common among closeted gays in heterodominated fields.

39

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Lawmaker Mell Announces Engagement on house Floor

Travel

But Illinois Legislator Has to Marry in Iowa

TravelOutNewsWire Launches

Joint Venture Distribution Service Unites LGBT Tourism

By Joey Amato

T

he International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association in partnership with Witeck-Combs Communications last week announced the creation of TravelOutNewsWire.

The joint initiative is an innovative webbased news distribution service dedicated to travel-related news and announcements of direct interest to the LGBT community.

Distributed to a growing global network of more than 160 LGBT and mainstream media contacts around the world, TravelOutNewsWire is intended to serve as the most comprehensive and useful press release distribution service specifically dedicated to the needs of the LGBT travel industry.

Upon launch, the newswire will reach media representatives around the world.

News releases will be packaged and distributed to individual news channels, editors, freelance writers and bloggers who voluntarily wish to receive targeted press releases via email.

These recipients reflect LGBT and mainstream news outlets, and all have chosen to opt-in to this unique news service as a way to monitor, report and publicize news and events about LGBT travel interests, needs, products and services.

John Tanzella, President/CEO of the IGL-

TA said “Travel is the world’s most powerful connector. If we succeed in our mission, as business leaders and travel consumers, we will build lasting bridges of welcome and acceptance for the entire LGBT community, as well as our allies, friends and partners.

TravelOutNewsWire is one more way we hope to benefit not only our thousands of global members, but to extend their messages throughout the media.”

“By partnering with IGLTA and with Witeck-Combs Communications, we recognize our shared value to ensure that news and information about the LGBT community will reach the journalists most interested in these topics,” added Michael Tune, NLGJA Managing Director.

“We see this as a way to both help our members stay on top of the latest LGBT travel and hospitality news and to provide trusted access to those organizations who want to reach the community,” states Tune.

There is no cost to receive releases distributed through TravelOutNewsWire and all media recipients must opt in to do so.

However, similar to other news release services, there is a fee for the distribution of each news release, with a substantially discounted fee for use by IGLTA and NLGJA members.

To learn more about the service, visit Traveloutnewswire.com.

debOrah mell

By Staff Reporter

I

llinois lawmaker Deborah Mell is sharing some bittersweet news with her colleagues.

The sweet is that she’s engaged. The bitter is that Illinois doesn’t recognize gay marriage. So she plans to get married in Iowa, which does.

Mell rose on the Illinois House floor last

Wednesday to announce her engagement and say she looks forward to the day when same-sex couples can marry in Illinois.

A 1996 law specifically defines marriage as applying only to a man and a woman. Illinois doesn’t allow civil unions for samesex couples, and recent efforts to begin offering civil unions have fallen short.

Mell’s announcement was greeted with applause. Several lawmakers rose to congratulate the 41-year-old, who got engaged two weeks ago to her girlfriend of six years.

The openly lesbian Mell is the daughter of long time Chicago Alderman Richard Mell and his wife Marge. She was arrested in 2004 while protesting her inability to get a samesex marriage license. She is now engaged to her partner of five years, Christin Baker.

Deb Mell is also the sister in law of former Illinois Governor Milorad “Rod” R. Blagojevich. Her sister Patricia is the Governor’s wife as well as the mother of his two children, Anne and Amy.

Mon 9-5, Tues 8-4, Wed 9-4 Thur 9-3, Fri 9-2

40

May 3 , 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Aqua Girl Returns to Miami

By A. Sebastian Fortino “It’s hot. It’s steamy. And it happens only once a year. It’s the thrill of being with thousands of women, coming together in one of the most beautiful and exciting locations in the world, South Beach, for a weekend of spectacular events.”

F

rom May 12-16 fabulous South Beach will host the 11th annual celebration for women who love women, Aqua Girl.

With fourteen events over 4 days it’s the largest event of its kind in the country, with 100% of event proceeds going to the Aqua Foundation for Women (AFW). The non-profitfoundation has a mission to promote

the equality, visibility and wellbeing of women. over the past six years AFW has awarded nearly $300,000 in grants and scholarships while empowering women to be engaged in their community. This is an impressive amount given the economy, and the chic locale of the events.

“Aqua Girl has grown tremendously over the past 11 years,” said Alison Burgos who partnered with Shescape in 1999 to host an event called Sweet Charity that subsequently grew into Aqua Girl. “This year is really special to me as we were able to guarantee a total of $20,000 in grants to the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Safe Schools, Pridelines, and the

Community Center before the event – rather than having to wait until afterward to tally the proceeds.”

Burgos feels this represents stable, continuing support for the event which allows local LGBT charities to grow along with Aqua Girl.

The Aqua Girl events promise something for everyone who attends. While dance and pool parties highlight the event, there is a comedy performance with Elvira Kurt, a bowling event at Lucky Strike – aptly named Lady Luck – and a Jazz Brunch at Emeril’s on Collins Avenue.

While the event draws women on an international level, if you live in South Florida and never get to take a vacation in your own backyard,

this might be an ideal time to do so.

Featured hotels for the event are The Doubletree Surfcomber Resort and The National Hotel, both on Collins Avenue.

“Aqua Girl is a labor of love.

Women from around the community take time out of their busy schedules to make Aqua Girl happen every year.

We’re extremely lucky to have an amazing, talented, group of women come together to give back in such a meaningful way.”

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit Aquagirl. org or visit Mova on South Beach or The Manor on Wilton drive.