The Mirror Vol1 Iss1

SFGN INVESTIGATION: LAW ENFORCEMENT TARGETING GAY MEN

VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 Winter/Spring 2012

PRESERVING HISTORY

TRAVEL: THE DRY TORTUGAS

INTERNATIONAL

abs-olutely

STONEWALL

NATIONAL MUSEUM

PRIDE GUIDE

SUPREME WORRIES: SHOULD THE COURT

GIVE IN TO PUBLIC OPINION?

fabulous: HOW TO GET THE PERFECT ABS

COFFEE-TABLE:

GAY IN AMERICA PLAYERS TWO

DAVID BROMSTAD

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW

954.563.9889

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CONTENTS PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

NATIONAL:

WINTER/SPRING 2012 - Volume 1 - Issue 1 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 PHONE: 954.530.4970 FAX: 954.530.7943 PUBLISHER

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NORM.KENT@SFGN.COM

CHIEF EXUCUTIVE OFFICER

ON THE COVER

DRY TORTUGAS

CUISINE: CULINARY ADVENTURES ON CALLE OCHO EXCLUSIVE STORY: LAW ENFORCEMENT TARGETING GAY MEN PROFILES: TOM JUDSON AL CICOTTE & KEVIN PALOMBO

ART DIRECTOR

12

ONLINE WEBSITE DIRECTOR OFFICE MANAGER

EDITORIAL

18

EDITOR IN CHIEF

BUSINESS EDITOR

22

8

38

FITNESS ABS-OLUTELY FABULOUS

40

MINI-PROFILES:

Dennis Jozefowicz Brian Swinford Jason Parsley

INTERNATIONAL PRIDE GUIDE COMMENTARY Did I abandon family for gay community?

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JW@PRDCONLINE.COM

Richard Gary

Paul Domenick Donald Cavanaugh Lisa Lucas Denise Royal Michael Anguille Joey Amato A. Sebastian Fortino

HEALTH COLUMNIST

SALES MARKETING DIRECTOR SALES MANAGER

Wayne Besen Susan Estrich Brian McNaught Victoria Michaels Leslie Robinson Dana Rudolph Peter Jackson John Fugate Mike Trottier

SALES ASSOCIATE

Terri Esterby Edwin Neimann Michael Tisdale

NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE

Rivendell Media

DISTRIBUTION MANAGERS PRINTING

48 50

JW Arnold

CORRESPONDENTS

30

ALIX SMITH, CALE CASE, CLARKE COOPER, DEON DAVIS, JAMES DUKE MASON, ALEX LUCCHESI, MALCOM LAZIN, TERI WILLIAMS, ZACH WAHLS, PATTY BUCKLEY, MICHAEL RAJNER

COFFEE-TABLE BOOKS: GAY IN AMERICA & PLAYERS TWO

THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

Greg Bistolfi

Tony Adams Jesse Monteagudo

CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS

IN MEMORIAM FRANK KAMENY

George Dauphin

SENIOR FEATURES CORRESPONDENTS

26 28 36

Pier Angelo Guidugli

JASON.PARSLEY@SFGN.COM

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

FEATURE STONEWALL ARCHIVES

2

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

DAVID BROMSTAD

SUPREME WORRIES

TRAVEL:

Norm Kent

JR Davis THE PRINTER’S PRINTER

THE MIRROR is a quarterly magazine published by South Florida Gay News, Inc. Our company 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 notrepresent the opinions of THE MIRROR 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 Imagine, and it would be careless to do so. For the sake of readable newswriting, the word “gay” in THE MIRROR should, when relevant, be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material that appears in THE MIRROR and on the web 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 Imagine, 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 © 2012 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

Associated Press Florida Press Association National Gay and Lesbian Journa ists Association

PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

W

e are proud to re-launch our quarterly magazine, with a new name, title, and look. Welcome to The Mirror. We bounced many names around, but I reached the conclusion that The Mirror contained a message. After all, a mirror reflects who we are, and so does our magazine. It is a reflection of our lives.

Like anything SFGN.com does, this magazine is driven by content and credibility.

This issue features notable citizens who are leading the path to equal rights for all of us, along side a cerebral discussion concerning a case the Supreme Court will decide involving same-sex marriage. This is but a bare snapshot; a microcosm of who we are and where we are going as a community.

We are also republishing, from our newspaper, our two-year investigation into the entrapment of gay men in South Florida parks. Because this magazine will be circulated in gay communities throughout the United States, we want to populate these pages with hard news as well as lighter fare.

These types of arrests still take place in cities as far apart as Palm Beach and Portland, and this magazine is being sent from San Francisco to New York City, to popular gay venues in each locale.

One of the features we also highlight in this magazine is Scott Pasfield’s book, Gay in America. It is a collage of gay men, at work, at play, being themselves, as they are. We are not all going to become Rickey Martins or Anderson Coopers, for that matter. But our lives can illuminate and strengthen the community around us simply by being lived well. His pictures tell a tale that we count and that we matter, and that we are living normal, productive lives. We already know that. We just have to share our message with a few people that still have 4

THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

By NORM KENT

their head in the sand. Unfortunately, too many of those still hold public office.

It is a quote of Pericles, which I turn to often, that inspires this venture. “If Athens shall appear great to you,” he wrote, “consider that her glories were won simply by citizens doing their duty well every day.”

Each step we take into the sunlight lets the world know that LGBT Americans have a right to be proud Americans.

We are athletes and activists, entertainers and artists, tax advisers and legal scholars.

We are a part of society, not apart from it.

What we do with our clothes on in the daytime should matter a lot more than who we partner with in the nighttime with our clothes off.

Born this way? We should be proud of who we are and what we have achieved. We should be more proud of what we are still going to become. Just look at the two pages of pride festivals we showcase in this magazine. How can we not smile with joy at the part we play in the world we live? How can anyone even dare think we are not entitled to equal rights on an equal playing field?

If The Mirror becomes true to its purpose, it will reflect our lives and illuminate our achievements. It will be a magazine you can place on your coffee table in your living room, or in an office at your place of work.

Our history needs to be recorded accurately and truthfully, and that is why we found a place on these pages to write about the Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, which houses a marvelous collection of archives chronicling our past and preserving our future. It is the reason we found a page to celebrate the life of the late Frank Kameny, who stood firm for decades against discrimination of gays in the military.

The fights that Mr. Kameny saw reach closure at the end of his years does not mean all of our battles are over. There is still bullying in our schools and discrimination in our tax codes.

Professional athletes and even entertainers have a hard time stepping out of the closet. Each Republican presidential candidate is oozing an offensive anti-gay platform that would delay our quest for equal rights in employment, marriage and in our schools.

There are causes still to be fought, and rights still to be won. Most of all, there are stories about our lives still to be told.

We are proud to share The Mirror with you, and bring life to some of them.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR

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NATIONAL NEWS

By Lisa Keen Keen News Service

Supreme worries:

Should the court sync its ruling on marriage with public opinion?

A

ssociate Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, has already conceded that laws banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, according to one constitutional scholar. And the U.S. Supreme Court is “very likely” to invalidate the Federal Defense of Marriage Act once it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court says another generally conservative expert.

These are just two of the conclusions from more than a dozen constitutional law jurists who participated in a recent two-week long discussion of what most consider an inevitable case before the nation’s highest court. And most of the opinions bet heavily that the Supreme Court will have to acknowledge that bans on same-sex marriage --or laws limiting same-sex couples to a license for a civil union or domestic partnership—do violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.

If they are right, then gay legal activists should be demonstrating a sort of “bring-iton” attitude about putting a question before the Supreme Court, which holds its first conference meeting for the 2011-12 session on

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THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

Sept. 26.

But here’s a surprise: Not every gay legal expert is in favor of posing such a question to the Supreme Court right now.

Gay law professor William Eskridge Jr. was one of several essayists in the scotusblog.com symposium last month to argue that the samesex marriage conflict “ought not be resolved one way or the other [by the Supreme Court] until public preferences become more settled.”

“The Supreme Court ought to avoid a final judgment on the constitutionality of marriage law’s discrimination against lesbian and gay couples until the nation is substantially at rest on the issue,” wrote Eskridge in his Aug. 15 post in the scotusblog symposium. “Admittedly, that moment is coming more rapidly than anyone predicted, but that moment has not yet arrived.”

His argument is that, when the Supreme Court issues a monumental ruling too soon on an intensely controversial issue –such as the right to abortion or the right to private, sexual relations between same-sex adults— it raises “the stakes of politically intense issues to the detriment of our pluralism.”

Former Reagan–era Solicitor General Charles Fried expressed a similar position in the scotusblog symposium. He said he worries that a Supreme Court ruling on the issue would “abort” a gradual acceptance of samesex marriage that is already taking place.

“I believe that a strong liberty, equality and association claim can be made for allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions with the same legal effects as marriage,” wrote Fried on Aug. 25. “Marriage is different only in that it traditionally symbolizes the citizenry’s celebration of the union, and I do not believe people should be forced by a Supreme Court ruling to celebrate what they deplore.” But even Fried suggests a victory for same-sex marriage is likely.

“Ideally, Congress would repeal DOMA before the case reaches the court,” said Fried, “but with the dysfunctional Congress we enjoy today that is most unlikely to happen. Thus a ruling is unavoidable and its outcome is very likely to be invalidation of DOMA.” The symposium included essays from some of the most respected legal scholars in the

country, examining “the future of the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8” at the Supreme Court level. Although a case involving the merits of either law has not yet reached the high court, two or three “are likely to reach the Court soon, even if not this term,” said scotusblog symposium manager Kali Borkoski.

The essays, 21 in all, provided a glimpse into the sorts of arguments that will almost certainly be made when Perry v. Brown, (the California Proposition 8 case) and/or one of several cases challenging DOMA make their ways to the high court.

Not everyone agreed with Eskridge and Fried. In the last post of the symposium, famed Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe argued that it was “perverse” to make gay couples “wait a bit longer for their rights.”

“Those who advance this essentially gradualist view ground it in hardnosed realism and assure us that, even though they recognize the justice of the case for same-sex marriage, legislative change is simply preferable as a matter of democratic legitimacy or of some strategic consideration such as avoidance of socio-political backlash,” wrote Tribe.

“The most obvious historical analogy” to this sort of strategy, said Tribe, is the Supreme Court’s “disgraceful and widely condemned decision to duck the issue of interracial marriage when it first presented itself in Naim v. Naim.”

Naim v. Naim was a 1955 decision in which the Virginia Supreme Court ruled it permissible for state law to ban interracial marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. It wasn’t until 1967 that the U.S. Supreme Court took the better-known Loving v. Virginia that it ruled the ban on interracial marriage in Virginia and other states was unconstitutional.

Refusing to hear a case challenging a ban on same-sex marriage, as it refused Naim, said Tribe, “is hardly the kind of precedent that any Justice would wish to follow.”

“And, to make matters worse,” said Tribe, “the court would have to perform legal acrobatics far more painful to behold than those employed in Naim, because Lawrence laid the groundwork for striking down bans on same-sex marriage in … terms so stark that Justice Scalia, in his ferocious Lawrence dissent, as much as conceded that a rejection of the federal constitutional right to same-sex marriage could not be reconciled with the Lawrence holding or with its underlying rationale.”

Tribe may be right, but there is ample evidence of the high court’s ability and willingness to perform “legal acrobatics” to avoid being where the Constitution demands it must go. To wit: Bowers v.

Hardwick, 1986. In that case, a majority of the Supreme Court upheld state laws banning consensual sex between same-sex partners by simply declaring that there is, in the Constitution, no fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy.

But as Associate Justice Harry Blackmun said in his dissent, the case wasn’t really about whether there was a “right to engage in homosexual sodomy.”

That was essentially the tact used by New York’s highest court in 2006, when it ruled the state constitution “does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex.”

“Whether such marriages should be recognized,” said the New York state court, “is a question to be addressed by the Legislature.”

The Washington State Supreme Court then issued a similar ruling, saying it was a question for either the legislature or a popular vote.

So, the legal acrobatics have already been invented and exercised.

The question is whether the public’s comfort level has advanced far enough toward accepting marriage between same-sex couples to embolden the Supreme Court to do its job.

Eskridge says “not yet.”

But here’s an interesting thought: In 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could not bar interracial marriage, only about 20 percent of Americans (according to a Gallup Poll) “approved” of interracial marriage. Today, polls are consistently showing more than 51 percent of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR

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COVER FEATURE

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THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

By JASON PARSLEY

UP, CLOSE AND PERSONAL

In this interview with David Bromstad of Color Splash and Design Star on HGTV we discuss everything from his upcoming projects, which includes two new shows, his relationship status (sorry guys he’s taken), the reasons he no longer takes off his shirt (as much) on television to more serious subjects like growing up bullied in high school.

His honesty and sincerity was refreshing and he didn’t seem to hold anything back.

How has your life changed most since the debut season of HGTV Design Star?

I think it’s pretty much a 180. I went from being a starving artist to being this thing I am right now. It’s been really exciting.

I have my own television shows. It’s really cool. It kind of feels like a dream. It’s a pretty cool gig and I’m here to stay.

I guess reality shows can work?

You know what I guess they can.

When I went on Design Star, reality shows were just getting started. It wasn’t very good for people at that time. I was like, “Oh My Gosh what am I doing?” I just said “Lets just go for it, I have nothing to lose.”

Obviously I had tons to gain.

Any plans to be a mentor on Design Star again?

Yes. I am going to be a mentor this year which is great. I am super honored.

How do you like that?

It’s so different. I am a highly competitive person. I love competing. I think that’s why I did well on Design Star. I wasn’t the loud one of the bunch. I wasn’t cocky. I was just there. I wanted to compete and I wanted to win.

But being a mentor, it’s so meaningful because I’ve been in their spot before.

I know exactly what they’re going through.

I know how much they’re freaking out.

I know what they’re thinking in their minds, “This could ruin my career,” “This could make my career,” “What do I do with these designs?”

It’s really nice to be there for these guys and help them refocus, and think about what they’re doing and why they are there.

No pressure for me. All I have to do is show up and give some advice.

What’s the biggest design mistake you most commonly see?

I just think people just don’t try. I think they are a little afraid. Most people move into a house and they look at the whole house or apartment. They look at the whole entire space and say “I don’t know what to do, I’m overwhelmed.”

That’s overwhelming for any designer to look at the whole entire space. What you do is break it down room by room and you start with your overall look and then you figure out what you want to do and the aesthetics you want to go. Going and doing five rooms at a time or a whole house at a time is really daunting and really scary.

That’s why people don’t do anything.

It’s not like where you try a recipe and oh there’s fifty dollars. You’re spending thousands of dollars on your designs and lots of labor. It’s a big commitment. People are afraid to make that commitment when they don’t know what they’re doing.

For those that haven’t watched Color Splash can you tell us about it?

Color Splash is my show. It’s focused on bringing out some really fun and exciting designs. It was focused on color in the beginning. Now it’s just focused on fun and having a great time. It’s about showing people I can think outside the box and do exciting things with stuff that they thought maybe couldn’t look so great. But when you combine it together and follow some simple steps and rules you can make any color and design work.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR

9

major retailers interested. We’re just working out the fine details now.

So soon you should see my product in stores. Hopefully late 2012, early 2013.

What Stores?

I cannot say.

In the beginning you used to take off your shirt a lot more.

What happened?

[Laughs] Well I am kind of an exhibitionist obviously and I work out hard and I like to show off what I got. The network put a halt on it, and said “no more taking your shirt off we want you to grow up as a designer.”

The way I took it as, is everyone has an outfit or type of clothing for work. So I have to wear clothing now for work. [Laughs].

Can you tell us about Wall Murals Your Way? It’s a company I teamed up with. It’s really exciting because I love big pieces of art.

I usually paint big large pieces, whether for myself or my client just because I think it makes a major impact. Basically what it is, is picking my art and having this oversized piece of art that can fill up a wall or the whole side of a building. The capabilities are pretty much endless.

It’s really easy to put on. It’s not like wallpaper you don’t have to hire somebody.

If you don’t like it, you can take it off and re-stick it somewhere else if you need to move it.

So you like big pieces... of art?

I love big pieces. I like big things. [Laughs].

Besides Color Splash and Murals Your Way what else should we know about your work?

I have a bedding and bath collection that I’ve been working on for the last year.

That’s exciting. We actually launched this fall. That went really well. We have some 10 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

Before Design Star what were you doing?

I was doing whatever I could to make money. All I knew is I needed to do art.

I was doing paintings for hotels. I was working basically for other interior designers. I was fabricating props for kids rooms for homes around the southeast.

That’s what I was doing. Anything I could.

Anything that was creative. Anything that was artistic.

I was always challenging myself. Always doing my work above and beyond what I needed to do. I knew I needed to take a great picture for my portfolio. I knew it would come in handy someday and it did come in handy. It got me on to design star and therefore it changed my life.

Who are your inspirations?

I know he’s been around for a while but, Philippe Starck is my ultimate inspiration right now. He’s just fun and quirky.

He’s done several hotels and condos down here in Miami and around the world.

His style is beautiful but quirky at the same time. You look at it and smile. It’s not super serious but looks very expensive. I really appreciate his aesthetic.

Growing up who were your inspirations?

Walt Disney. 100 percent. That’s why I went to art school. I wanted to be a Disney animator. I was obsessed with anything Disney. Obsessed. Shortly after I was in art school I took an animation elective and just realized that it just wasn’t for me. It was very tedious. I was really getting in to painting and I was really good at it. I liked to draw and couldn’t imagine myself sitting at a desk for 10 hours and drawing the same figure that moved barely an inch. [Laughs].

You did work for Disney?

I was a visual merchandiser

for six months and then my boss said “you’re way too talented. You need to go in to the art department.” So I lost my full time status and my employee benefits and took a risk and went in to the sculpting department. Basically I was a grunt worker, sanding sculptures. Anyone that knows anything about Disney is that everything has to be perfect. Beyond perfect. It was a great learning tool for bringing perfection in to my work. At the time though, I was 23 years old and was like, “what the hell am I doing?” But I learned so much.

If you weren’t doing art or interior design what would you be doing?

I’d be dead. [laughs]. I can’t imagine doing art or interior design. I really can’t. It’s so much a part of me. So much so that when I took those online tests to see if I was left or right brained, I was 99 percent right brained.

So even growing up you always wanted to do art or interior design?

You know interior design didn’t come until I was on Design Star. I did fabricate kids’ rooms. So I did that. I wasn’t thinking about being an interior designer. I always loved the home. Always knew I wanted to have a furniture collection. I just didn’t put it together. I started doing interior design for Color Splash and I was hooked. I was creating an environment. There’s so many aspects to interior design that being an artist that you don’t have.

When did you come “out?”

I was 22-years-old when I came out. In this day and age that was pretty late. But back when I was that age it was pretty standard.

I’m 38 now.

So you are in relationship?

Yes I am. Going on 8 years on Valentine’s Day, actually.

Growing up did you know?

I definitely always knew. But I grew up in a very religious family. Very Christian. I denied it. Not what I wanted for my life. Probably around 30 years old, right before I went on Design Star I fell in love with myself in a really positive way. I realized it’s OK to be who you are.

Were you bullied?

I was majorly bullied. I was very “after school special” bullied. The whole lunchroom would join in. The whole cafeteria would stand up and tease me.

I moved from a very small town of 2,000 people in Minnesota. I grew up there and I knew everybody. I was teased but nothing crazy. People thought I was gay. I didn’t think I was. I actually liked girls at the time.

[Laughs].

And then I moved to a suburb of the big city. My graduating class went from 100 people to 750 people. I went to a school that was seventh grade to ninth grade. I came in at ninth grade. Everyone had established friends. The ninth graders were the rulers of the school. Even more kind of cocky, not quite as mature. The girls loved me and the guys hated me because the girls loved me. And that creates a very volatile situation. I was different. I was tall.

I was skinny. I was gawky. I was awkward.

Adorbale yes, but was I comfortable in my own skin? Absolutely not. And therefore I was brutally teased.

It was pretty brutal. It was relentless.

And it was everyday. My ninth grade year was really tough. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. It was really that bad.

You were actually bullied more in a suburb of a big city, which should have been more progressive and tolerant?

It was very strange. I was the youngest of four kids. My sister and brothers

protected me in school. When I went to Minneapolis I had no more protection.

I was the only Bromstad there.

It was crazy, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It made me a really strong individual and a very strong person. I went through my toughest phase in life very early.

It took me a long time to really like myself.

When I turned 30, something clicked.

I really started liking myself and that was amazing. I’ve been free ever since.

Back then what got you through it?

My church actually got me through it.

I got involved. My family was already very religious. We always went to church. There was a really great youth group. I made some really great friends. It was pretty amazing.

What would you say to kids nowadays?

Find yourself a good group of friends.

Whether it’s in school or out. Good people that generally want to be around you.

Don’t care about what other people think.

Kids are even more brutal these days. But kids are more open these days as well. So there’s always someone there feeling the exact same thing as you are. Find yourself good people that you can hang out with and surround yourself with family. That’s the way to go.

How did you meet?

Like all gay men used to, at a bar. [Laughs].

We met at Firestone in Orlando on Valentine’s Day at a single’s party. I had a crush on him for years and years, but was never formally introduced. We both were always in relationships and then we were single and we fell in love immediately.

It was really cool.

What are your plans for the next year? Anything exciting in the works?

Well I would love to go in to more detail about the other series I am going to be working on. I’m going to be doing Design Star, another series on top of that, and I’ve already filmed 6 episodes of another series.

So Color Splash, Design Star and two other series’. I wish I could tell you more but HGTV is very particular about the buzz that goes out too early.

I’ve also got the bedding and bath collection and an art collection and I have accessories coming out. I just don’t feel like there’s any need to slow down.

For more information about David Bromstad: Official Website: bromstad.com His artwork: pennylanepublishing.com/bromstad Wall sized murals: muralsyourway.com Color Splash: hgtv.com/color-splash/show

You said your family was very religious. How is your family life?

Ah wonderful. We just have the best relationship. My family, they are just my best friends. I lean on them every single day of my life. They are so supportive of everything I do. They love me no matter what. Although they are very religious, they are very accepting. They love my partner. They really like who I am and I think that’s pretty amazing.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 11

TRAVEL

By A. SEBASTIAN FORTINO

&

Inmates on par adise

12 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

left side: BY ANDY NEWMAN / FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU right side: by dave bogardus, JOHN ADORNATTO, STEVE MILLS, FRED LAFAVE

M

y name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”/Nothing beside remains./ Round the decay/Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare/The lone and level sands stretch far away.” – From Ozymandius, by Percy Bysshe Shelly, 1792-1822, poet, dramatist, essayist, novelist, traveler, friend of Byron & Keats, perhaps homosexual.

Some 70 miles west of Key West, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, one encounters a “colossal wreck, boundless and bare.” However, it is not a massive monument to some long-forgotten king, although the structure is on a desert isle.

Out in the blue one finds Fort Jefferson, which impossibly rises out of the water, built with some 16 million bricks, bleached more of a pink over the course of its 150-year-history.

The journey by boat takes two-hours, during the course of which one passes the Marquesas Islands and sees the waters of the Atlantic change from deep blue to aqua marine hues of the Gulf of Mexico. The water is the most peaceful I have ever encountered with few waves rising and crashing back into the deep. It is clear enough to see the globes of purple moon jellyfish, sea turtles, dolphins and flying fish from the decks of boats out to the Dry Tortugas.

In the 1820s – soon after the United States purchased Florida from Spain – the American navy wished to utilize the largest island, Garden Key for a lighthouse. The series of eleven

islands were known since Ponce de Leon charted them in the early 1500s to provide a safe harbor for ships during storms. He named them “tortugas,” meaning turtles, for the abundance of turtles he found there. The British later added “dry” to denote the islands had no natural source of water.

By 1829 the idea of constructing a fortress appealed to the navy as they thought it instrumental in providing “nothing but absolute naval superiority,” should hostile forces overtake the area. It would also protect the Caribbean, Gulf, and mouth of the Mississippi River from piracy. Over the course of 17 years the largest of the Dry Tortugas, Garden Key, was surveyed and analyzed. In 1846 construction began on what would become the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. Fort Jefferson’s design called for a three-tiered, six-sided 410 cannon fort.

Although, it was never actually completed – something always seemed to go wrong at Fort Jefferson. Normally large-scale buildings were built using materials fabricated nearby, much like cathedrals and castles built in medieval Europe.

This is impossible at Dry Tortugas, therefore bricks were fabricated in Pensacola then shipped to the island.

Of course American ingenuity lessened the amount of shipments of brick and other materials.

Cavities separating floors and heavy walls were filled in with a mixture of coral, sand and other materials. The bricks still came and this was going

well until the American Civil War. “Do you think Florida, part of the confederacy, would sell bricks to the Union-held fort?” our tour guide, Chelsea, asked us. The response from our group was a unanimous “no.” Cut off from Pensacola-crafted bricks they had no choice but to get them from the North.

They got the bricks from Maine, which added a thousand miles to “dealing with a contractor.”

One might wonder why they did not order materials from nearby Havana. However, Cuba was itself embroiled in political unrest, so the idea seems never to have been considered.

During the Civil War the fortress found new life, although it would still defend against hostility, it was renamed a military prison.

Imagine an island, in the middle of the Gulf, in the 1860s, without air conditioning, the men – both prisoners and soldiers – wearing heavy wool and cotton uniforms. Prior to our visit we imagined the men running around in very little clothing.

“The wives of the officers organized events here,” said Chelsea. “To keep them entertained the ladies held plays and other entertainments.”

So, forget the tantalizing idea of the fort being the first “clothing optional, men’s resort” in the Keys. One of those prisoners was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who unknowingly provided medical assistance to John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated President Lincoln. His residence was not long though, his life sentence rescinded after WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 13

he rid the island of yellow fever by removing sick men from crowded barracks and setting them up in passages of the fort where they had access to clean ocean breezes. Mudd was pardoned by President Johnson in 1867. By 1888 the usefulness of the fort waned, it was re-commissioned as a quarantine station.

Although named a National Monument in 1935 it was not until 1992 that it received National Park status. Perhaps it took this long because getting there has always been something of a problem.

Of course if you or a friend have a boat you can set sail yourself, or charter a crew and vessel.

There are also seaplane charters to the Dry Tortugas. However, we opted for the Yankee Freedom ferry to savor the water. The ferry departs at about 8 a.m. with a 7:30 check-in, daily and takes a little more than two hours on

14 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

their catamaran, the Yankee Freedom II. The company works in partnership with the National Park System as there is an additional $9 charge, which goes directly to the fort.

Yankee Freedom provides a hearty continental breakfast, offers a complementary 45-minute tour of the fort, and some wisecracking “old salts” who will outfit you in snorkeling gear included in the ticket cost. Then, you are left on your own to explore the magnificent, sandy white beaches. The snorkeling is some of the best in the country, recommended for snorkeling novices. With access to the coral reef, as well as nearby wrecks, and an artificial reef made up of old docks provides a very varied snorkeling experience.

Despite traveling with other passengers it was still easy to find a cozy, romantic spot for two – as did my partner and I. We laid there, looking off into the sea, and felt like we were 1,000 miles away from anything, perhaps the greatest joy of our visit.

However, there is so much to see we didn’t spend much time sunning or swimming. One of the most breathtaking ways to explore the fort is to wander the moat ramparts.

The moat was constructed by early architects, familiar with naval forts of the Northeast to act as a sort of septic tank. Rising and receding tides would wash waste out to sea. Alas, the tide does not rise in the Gulf of Mexico high enough to do so, and in the 19th century it was a stinking mess.

However, the architectural mistake left behind a wonderful walkway for modern visitors. Coral in shades of purple, pink, and white cling to the exterior wall of the rampart while the interior protects all sorts of tropical fish, including barracudas.

There are also a host of jellyfish who, as they travel on the current, might spend most of their lives within the moat. It is for that reason snorkeling is forbidden in the moat.

After our time touring and wandering about, lunch was served back onboard the Yankee Freedom II. We then returned to the beach to relax until the ferry was set to head back to Key West at 3:30 to get back before dinner time.

This being the Keys as soon as they pull

out of the dock at Fort Jefferson it’s cocktail time. Our gin and tonics were not a gratis, as we were spoiled by two meals, but they cost only $6 which is a great deal anywhere in the Keys.

The price of the Yankee Freedom might make you raise an eyebrow, as the roughly nine-hour excursion does cost $165 per person, with special rates for children, military and seniors.

However, with meals, snorkeling equipment, and history lesson there is perhaps no better deal available for the Tortugas.

As it is a national park the Tortugas offers a campground and the Yankee Ferry will leave you there for however many nights you request, and pick you up when they depart. The campgrounds, nestled between fortress and beach, are quite appealing. The next time we’re visiting the Conch Republic, we will elect to be temporary inmates of Fort Jefferson and camp out under what we are told is a magnificent canopy of stars.

Please visit www.YankeeFreedom.com for reservations and information.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 15

CUISINE

by J.W. Arnold

Culinary Adventures and More

on

Pedro Bello, a fourth generation cigar maker, calmly puffs on one of his cigars outside his shop on Calle Ocho.

Creamy Spanish potato salad provides a refreshing start to the food tour of Little Havana.

O

n a sleepy Saturday morning, this six block stretch of Eighth Street could be anywhere in Latin America. Rows of mom-and-pop shops and cafes, their colorful signage all in Spanish, prepare for another busy day. Except this just isn’t any street, it’s Calle Ocho, the de facto capital of the Cuban exile community in America.

In the distance, the modern skyscrapers of Miami tower over Little Havana; the quiet scene is disrupted by rhythmic chants from Castro protesters routinely making their way up the narrow sidewalk, flags and signs in hand.

Until recently, travel to Cuba by Americans has been limited, if not practically impossible, but on this sunny morning, I’m going to get a taste of life on the island that is so close and yet so very far.

My guides on this journey are Grace Della and Mirka Harris with Miami Culinary Tours.

Each week, they introduce locals and tourists alike to the food and culture that sprang up in a historic neighborhood that was largely Jewish before the 1959 revolution that sent tens of thousands to Miami. They look the part, dressed in cool white linen and shiny sunglasses, Grace’s jet black hair slicked back and Mirka shaded by a stylish fedora. We will soon learn just how knowledgeable they are.

Our group of 10 came for the food, but we’re in for so much more as we embark on

the tour, beginning at the Agustin Gainza Gallery, showcasing traditionally-inspired arts and crafts. As we head from west to east, we pass the oldest restaurant on the strip, Oriental Restaurant, founded in 1940. But, we’re not there for Chinese food, no matter how popular it remains.

Mirka points out that while Cuban food is generally not spicy, every Cuban table is set with a bottle of Tabasco sauce, an adopted American invention, when a little heat is desired.

On the corner we visit Molina Gallery. The handsome young artist, Luis Molina, is on hand to greet us and discuss his colorful giclee prints, nearly all influenced by Afro-Cuban deities and folk characters. On the last Friday of each month, thousands and thousands of people

Protesters are a regular sight on the streets of Little Havana, with their flags, drums and handmade signs.

flood into the neighborhood for a lively street festival, we are told, and of course, there’s the huge annual Calle Ocho Festival each March.

We finally get our first edible taste of the neighborhood as we stop in Casa Panza, a traditional Spanish taverna that sets the stage for our later tastings. Colorful tiles cover the tables and we are served creamy pappas aioli, a Spanish potato salad, spicy bites of chorizo sausages cooked in wine and fried garbanzo beans, washed down with a refreshing glass of Rioja. I make note to return sometime in the evening to see the flamenco show. We don’t eat much, because Grace reminds us there are many stops to follow.

We then stop at the Cuba Tobacco Cigar Company. Perhaps nothing is more synonymous with Cuba than the cigar. Cigar making has been a way of life for the Bello family for over a century. Outside, Pedro Bello takes his place on a chair next to a cigar store Indian, puffing on one of his own, the tobacco raised in the Dominican Republic from seeds originally harvested in Cuba. Inside, white smoke wafts through the shop as friends chat and a master roller completes another cigar.

Our next stop is El Pub Restaurant where we are welcomed by Heliodoro Coro, the 85-year-old owner. Venture beyond the coffee bar, where barista Betty brews strong black café Cubano for patrons at the walk-up window, and

Betty, Little Havana’s most popular barista, brews and pours thick Cuban coffee every day at El Pub restaurant.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 19

into the restaurant to view the exquisitely painted murals depicting life in the old country. We are served a traditional tortilla, a Cuban frittata bulging with slices of sweet sliced plantain, an unlikely combination at first, and paired with a salty black bean soup. Mirka points out that while Cuban food is generally not spicy, every Cuban table is set with a bottle of Tabasco sauce, an adopted American invention, when a little heat is desired.

Again, we resume our walk. The sidewalk is adorned with stars commemorating legends in the Cuban-American community, like Hollywood. We stroll past stars dedicated to salsa queen Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan and even the founder of El Dorado Furniture before arriving at the historic 1926 Tower Theatre, the first in the region to screen English language movies with Spanish subtitles. It provided an important window into American culture for the new immigrants and today shows independent art films.

We squeeze into the Exquisito next. Owned by Juan Coro, son of Heliodoro, it’s a tight fit as we wind past the lunch counter and into a dining room where a band is performing.

Finally, we are served the famous Cuban sandwich, slices of ham, homemade pickles and mustard pressed between two slices of crusty Cuban bread. Grace reveals the difference between Cuban bread and the fluffy stuff we’re used to eating—lard. It’s so bad for us, yet so very good.

Grace and Mirka then lead us into the domino park. Dozens of old men and women are gathered around tables playing dominos. You must be 55 years or older to play and you can’t make wagers on the games, or at least not get caught. All eyes are on the games as they discuss their families, plans for the weekend and politics. But don’t bring up politics, because it will be a futile exercise unless you vehemently oppose the Communist regime on the island.

After taking some snapshots, it’s time for something refreshing and, fortunately, Parqueo al Fondo, the neighborhood bakery, is nearby. We are served bite-sized guava pastries, but eat with care because the thin, flaky crust is loaded with sweet fruity filling that explodes in the mouth.

We wash it down with fresh guarapo juice, extracted from the cane just for us at Los Pinareños Fruteria. Many of the fruits and vegetables in the stand seem alien, imported from the islands and Latin America for their local clientele. I wonder aloud if some of the colorful exotic chickens wandering around the back parking lot will end up in a pot soon.

Our penultimate stop is the famous “Monument Boulevard,” the site of stone and metal tributes to the 2500 Cuban fighters who infamously attempted to retake the island at the Bay of Pigs massacre. It’s a familiar scene, often broadcast on television whenever there is a political rally or memorial service. In the background, a ceiba tree with its many gangly roots, dwarfs everything on the street. At the base, signs of Santeria offerings remain. Santeria is the West African- and Caribbean-originated religion that is influenced by Roman Catholicism, we are told.

We head back to the heart of the neighborhood for our final stop, El Cristo Restaurant, and dessert. We are served squares of rich cheese flan, a creamy custard accentuated with cream cheese and topped with sweet caramel syrup.

As Grace and Mirka say their farewells outside the restaurant, a tour bus passes by, their guide describing the highlights of the neighborhood over a microphone. One thing is certain, they will never experience the authentic taste of Calle Ocho the way we did. They’re stopping for lunch at McDonald’s.

20 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

Cheese oozes from authentic, hot Cuban sandwiches pressed between slices of fresh, crusty bread at Exquisito restaurant.

Our colorful guide, Grace Della, introduces us to the unique and flavorful staples of the Cuban diet.

Freshly crushed guarapo juice provides a refreshing break as our culinary walking tour of Calle Ocho winds to an end.

Statues commemorating Cuban-American heroes and freedom fighters mark Monument Boulevard, one of the most revered landmarks in Little Havana.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 21

EXCLUSIVE

BY jason parsley

Investigation Reveals law enforcement Targeting Gay Men In South florida Parks

This exclusive story ran in the SouthFloridaGayNews.com January 11, 2012 Edition

R

andy McGilton, Shawn Browser, and Gerry Sanders have never met but they have something in common: They were all arrested by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in a five-year undercover operation targeting gay men having sex in parks.

And they weren’t the only ones.

Those three men represent just a few of the more than 600 arrests made by Detectives Peter Lazar and his partner Vaniclov “Van” Garner, from 2005 to 2010. SFGN reviewed more than 300 of those police reports starting with the year 2007, but PBSO acknowledged their operation began two years before that.

Only a handful of the arrests – four to be exact -- were between two men. The rest of them involved an undercover detective soliciting another man for sex using tactics that one lawyer called “disgusting,” while another lawyer questioned the legality of the detectives’ behavior.

22 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

“They approach, lure and entice guys who are sitting alone in their car, start a sexually charged conversation and then look for a way to arrest them,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Russell Cormican, who estimates he’s probably represented upwards of a 100 men over the past 15 years who got busted for public sex (see “What is Entrapment”).

Two of the men mentioned above, McGilton and Browser, were charged with exposure of sexual organs, while the third, Sanders, was charged with loitering in a public restroom.

McGilton and Browser admitted they were guilty of the crime, but neither explored the possibility that they each might have been a victim of entrapment. Most arrestees do not; they can’t afford to do so. While the third, Sanders, denies any wrongdoing and believes he was a victim of an overzealous cop looking to make an arrest.

In fact, Sanders is still worried about

retaliation from the cops and did not want his real name used for this article. At first glance his story might seem hard to believe, but police reports confirmed most of the major details as he described them to SFGN (see Sanders’ full story online at sfgn.com/jogger).

Simply put, Sanders was taking a jog through the park, took a short break, and washed his face in the restroom. Sanders, who noticed two men acting strangely in the restroom, mistook the undercover detectives for potential muggers. After leaving the bathroom he got in his car and left with the detective following him through the park. The incident ended with Sanders being charged with loitering in a public restroom.

Sanders said he’s straight and has a girlfriend.

He insists he was not at the park looking for sex.

As for Browser, he posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a quick hook up. The detectives responded to it, and they agreed to meet

at Okeeheelee Park where they promptly arrested him as soon as he exposed himself.

Browser also did not want his real name used.

“They got me all excited by responding to an ad on Craigslist...so I pursued it...I met them in the park...they led me down a road...insisted that I’d whip it out before I could suck him,” he wrote in an email to SFGN. As for McGilton’s story: “They approached me. I was standing there for a minute. I wasn’t giving off any signals,” he said. “They asked me what I like to do. [The undercover detective said] my friend likes to fuck.

Do you want to get fucked? I told him not really.”

He did, however, end up exposing himself to the detectives who promptly arrested him.

Like many of the other men arrested, McGilton and Browser had to pay fines, attend prostitution classes, and take an AIDS test. Many who wind up in this situation plead no contest and do not hire an attorney because they don’t have the funds or are too embarrassed to fight.

Some like Sanders, though, come to regret that decision.

“Because of my financial situation I didn’t get an attorney to fight it. It was just easier to plead the way I did. My girlfriend told me to fight this. Basically the judge said this is just loitering in a bathroom,” he said. “I was warned about the detective. I was told, you go up against him and you have problems. I didn’t want to push the issue.”

Cormican pointed out that: “What these defendants do not realize is that once they plead no contest they compromise their ability to sue afterwards for false arrest. In fact those who accept the state’s offers are usually required to waive their right to sue.”

Even though loitering in a public bathroom is a misdemeanor and may not be a big deal, it still showed up on Sanders’ record and he had to explain the situation at work.

As far as SFGN can tell the operation started sometime between 2005 and 2007 and lasted until 2010. During that time the two police officers made more than 600 arrests of purportedly gay men in public parks throughout Palm Beach County, from Jupiter to Boca. More than half of the arrests were men aged 45 to 70.

That was the detectives’ only job – going undercover and soliciting men for sex and then arresting them. SFGN did not come across any arrests of men having sex with women and only a handful of arrests that involved two men.

Even though SFGN requested all of the arrest records that both detectives made since 2007, only about 320 were handed over. The others may have occurred before SFGN’s request.

A few arrests, though, were of female prostitutes, but none were of female detectives soliciting straight males in parks. If that were the case Russell Cormican is sure plenty of straight men would be arrested. Out of all of the men

Cormican has represented, none of the men were straight men busted by a female cop.

“I’ve never ever seen an operation where police utilized a female officer to come on to men,” Cormican said. “If you took an attractive female officer and put her by the restroom in a city park and she walked up to guys as they went in and out and asked them to show their private parts, I think they would arrest a lot of guys.”

When asked why they don’t set up an operation like that he stated: “That’s a good question. That’s probably a better question to ask the police. They’re targeting gay men, that’s the answer,” he said. “[The police department’s] answer is usually that they’ve received complaints about gay men having sex in the bathrooms. But they usually propose the sex acts themselves.”

What is usually happening in these types of operations Cormican asserts: “They’re essentially going out and creating their own crime,” he said. “They’re creating the entire incident from the beginning to the end themselves. It’s an artificially created act.

If that police officer was not there that day, it wouldn’t have occurred.”

SFGN also reviewed a deposition where Detective Lazar explained his undercover operation in detail.

This is how it goes down: “No, that’s all I do. Myself and my partner, that’s all we do. We have other park deputies that are uniformed that they do the car burglaries, the vandalism and patrol the parks. That’s what they do,” Lazar stated in a deposition.

“Sometimes I will wear shorts and a tank top. Sometimes it is just a t-shirt with some pants. Each time is a little different,” he bragged. “Six-hundred arrests, at least 300 of those are mine. In total, we have over 600 now in the last three years.”

He continued: “When people talk about the weather, they want to talk about, ‘Hey, do you want to have a good time?”

During the conversation with these men he would sometimes keep his hands in his pockets and pretend he was playing with himself. In many cases the detectives would tell the defendant they like to “suck” or would squat down waiting for the other guy to expose himself (see more stunning facts).

“I am playing the role of somebody looking for sex,” he admitted.

If the other person gets too aggressive and asks to see the detective’s genitals, they’ll pretend to get nervous in order to avoid doing so. The detectives also try to make sure to strengthen their cases while in the act.

“I could have arrested him when he exposed himself the first time, but I want more than just a little bit. I would like to get a better case, than his pants were up a little bit, and I had to walk up and see it. I want something a little bit more like him rubbing himself,” Lazar said.

Further answers are difficult to obtain since

At least 97 of the arrests between 2007 and 2010 occurred in John Prince Park in Lake Worth

55

Lake Worth

41

West Palm

36

Boynton Beach

27

Boca Raton Delray Beach

19

Jupiter

19

Green Acres 12 Palm Beach Gardens

WHERE THE DEFENDANTS LIVED

19 74

All Other Florida* Out of State** * OTHER FLORIDA CITIES Coconut Creek - 1 Deerfield Beach - 5 Fort Lauderdale - 3 Gulfstream - 1 Highland Beach - 2 Hobe Sound - 3 Hypoluxo - 1 Juno Beach - 6 Lantana - 7 Loxahatchee - 4 Mangonia - 1 Miami - 1 North Palm Beach 4

15 Okeechobee - 1 Palm Beach - 5 Palm City 1 Palm Springs - 3 Parkland - 1 PGA - 2 Pompano - 4 Port St. Lucie - 3 Riviera Beach - 1 Royal Palm Beach - 5 Singer Island - 2 Stuart - 3 Tequesta - 3 Wellington - 1

** OUT OF STATE Truno, MA - 1 Scranton, PA - 1 Rehoboth, DE - 1 Monticello, MN - 1 Holland, MI - 2 South Carolina 1 Kentucky 1 Minnesota - 1 Norwood MI - 1 Penbrook, PA - 1 Williams, NY - 2 Other - 2

PBSO Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has so far refused to speak with SFGN except for sending one prepackaged response through his Public Information Officer Teri Barbera.

This is what Bradshaw sent:

“First of all, SEX in public parks, bathrooms, nature trails, etc. is ILLEGAL per Florida State Statue - 800.03 Exposure of sexual organs: It is unlawful to expose or exhibit one’s sexual organs in public or on the private premises of another, or so near thereto as to be seen from such private premises, in a vulgar or indecent manner, or to be naked in public except in any place provided or set apart for that purpose. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. A mother’s breastfeeding of her baby does not under any circumstance violate this section.

In 2005, PBC Parks & Recreation contacted PBSO requesting assistance with illegal sexual activity occurring in PBC park bathrooms and nature trails. PBSO WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 23

48 41 AGE RANGE OF DEFENDANTS

39 34

28

19

6

10

7

33 24 19 5

3

17-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-86 AGES

began to enforce ALL illegal sexual activity in public bathrooms, which were mainly located next to playground areas. This enforcement resulted in numerous arrests over the last few years. The individuals arrested were issued a “notice to appear” in court for the charge of Exposure of Sexual Organs.

PBSO responds to all requests to stop illegal activity, regardless of its location, that is what the public expects from our agency.”

And while the statute may be clearly

defined, Bradshaw’s statement leaves a bit more to the imagination.

According to the Director of PBC Parks and Recreation they never contacted PBSO about combating illegal sexual activity and were surprised when informed of the undercover operation.

“Wow. I was not aware of that,” said Craig Murphy, director of park operations. “I don’t remember requesting any [assistance].”

Murphy stated he would be aware if anyone else had requested assistance.

“I would be aware of something like that,” he said. “[PBSO] sends us weekly operating reports.

I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary.”

PBSO used to have a Parks Division, but it has since closed down due to budget cuts, according to Barbera. Now Parks and Recreation must rely on the other PBSO units and individual municipalities to assist in patrolling the county’s parks. The undercover operation has also since been stopped because of those same budget cuts.

SFGN also requested to interview Detectives Lazar and Garner. Barbera said Lazar has since retired and did not answer when asked where he retired to. Garner is now a homicide detective, but Barbera said he declined to be interviewed. But that doesn’t mean nobody else

was willing to talk about the officers.

In particular, Michael Salnick, a successful and high profile attorney based in Palm Beach County, did have this to say about Detective Lazar: “In my experience with Mr. Lazar, I never found him particularly credible or believable,” he said. Salnick filed a complaint against Lazar in 1992 for unprofessional conduct and the internal investigation revealed it to be valid.

Lazar was given a written reprimand.

Salnick has been practicing law in West Palm Beach for 30 years.

Another well known attorney, Jeffrey Weiner of Miami-Dade County, had a lot to say about the matter. While he couldn’t comment specifically about Palm Beach County he’s seen other police departments in South Florida routinely target gay men.

“Many departments unfortunately repeatedly target gay men,” he said. “It’s disgusting and terrible. Miami Beach is one of the worst in that regard.”

Weiner has been practicing law for more than 38 years and is a former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a former president of the Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.

“The bottom line is, we’re often and usually able to get these cases dismissed. Many times there are no crimes except in the minds of the police officers,” he explained. “Prosecutors are a lot more reasonable than the cops on the beat. But it’s terrible what they put people through. The means they use are really offensive. The games they play.”

He added: “As a lawyer, I’m offended by this behavior by the police.”

Cormican said these types of arrests are embarrassing for defendants and many times they do not want to take it to trial even though there would be a good chance of either dismissal or acquittal.

“Usually it’s straight guys who are married

or a gay guy running around on his boyfriend and don’t want a public battle with police. They just want it out of their lives. Something like this has the potential to impact their personal relationships,” Cormican said. “So a lot of people don’t want to fight these and police take advantage of that.”

McGilton and the other men contacted by SFGN were all surprised that the information about their arrests were still available. All of them say they were led to believe by authorities it wouldn’t stay on their record.

“I’m surprised it’s on my record. That’s why I’ve had a hard time getting a couple of jobs.

Never realized that,” McGilton said. While Browser said: “They told me not to worry that it will disappear in 3 years or so....I’m really bummed tho that a complete stranger got hold of this...I guess it’ll show up as criminal record when I apply for a job.”

Cormican confirms that this isn’t unusual.

“Sometimes the police will even tell people up front don’t fight it. Don’t get a lawyer. Just go talk to the city prosecutor. Don’t bother fighting it,” he said. “A lot of people elect to do that because it’s an embarrassing thing.

The police really do push them that way. And I think a lot of it is because the police really don’t want people to stand up and fight these things. There are defenses there. What they’re doing is probably illegal.”

While no one from the PBSO would speak with SFGN, Tony Plakas, Executive Director of Compass, the gay and lesbian center of Palm Beach County, did come to Bradshaw’s defense and said he doesn’t believe there to be any widespread homophobia in the ranks of PBSO. He went on to say Bradshaw has been an ally of the LGBT community and praised the sheriff’s outreach efforts to the community.

In another case Jim Walker, (not his real name), hired an attorney who recommended taking it to trial and said it would most likely be thrown out, but he instead decided to settle without a trial and plead no contest.

“I should have gone to court. The attorney recommended it,” he said regretfully. “It would have been dropped. But I was afraid I would know someone there. I’m married with four kids. I sat in my car and cried for an hour. I was scared to death.”

And at 78 years old he has no plans on coming out of the closet.

“I can’t. My wife, it would be the end of her,” he said. “At this point too many people would be hurt.

STUNNING FACTS

H

ere are the most shocking facts SFGN found during its investigation.

Only 4 of the arrests happened between two men. The rest involved an undercover detective soliciting a man for sex.

In 130 out of 317 police reports the encounter took place within a restroom,

while the rest took place in the woods or in a parked car.

In 107 of the reports the officer squatted down in order to get the defendant to expose himself.

In 58 of the reports the officer either told the defendant “I like to suck” or asked the

defendant if he likes to be “sucked.”

And in 74 of the encounters it appeared from the police report that the officer approached the defendant or started a conversation. In many of the reports, however, it was difficult to conclude who approached who first.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 25

PROFILE

W

hen I checked in at Island House, Key West’s fabulous clothing optional gay guesthouse, on Dec. 17, owner Jon Allen supplied a ticket to see Tom Judson perform that evening on stage at the Tropic Cinema. Jon, who is on the Tropic’s board and is working to get more live gay entertainment in Key West, was also hosting singer/composer/author/Broadway performer Judson—aka ex-porn star Gus Mattox—at Island House which made the prospect of lounging poolside even more attractive. His cabaret-style performance that night was a delightful surprise that unleashed the talent and charming personality of a man known to many of us only by the sweat of his brow in the course of his successful two-year gay porn career. Next morning, at poolside breakfast, I had a chance to get acquainted with Judson who, at a boyish 51 years of age, is attractive, happy, energetic and enjoying a “fourth act” that is really a return to his prepornular musical career. (There was also a stint as a house renovator/flipper.)

When I asked him to describe “The Tom Judson Show” in terms of his experience and collaborative decisions about what elements of his past to include or emphasize, he said, “It feels like I’ve done just about everything in showbiz that one can do. I’ve sung and danced on Broadway, acted in straight plays, written music for film and television, served as musical director/arranger for other performers. You name it. But one genre that had somehow escaped me was “cabaret artiste” so I thought the time was ripe. Michael Schiralli who directs many of the top cabaret performers in NYC agreed to work with me on the show and we put it together last spring. I tried it out one night at a downtown NYC venue I’m associated with and then I spent the summer in Provincetown doing double-duty with my own show and playing for Varla Jean Merman. Since the summer, I’ve had a few gigs with the show and tried out new material in each of them.”

The show includes a Hoagie Carmichaelstyle “Guess who wrote this” song that is arrestingly beautiful. I suspected Cole Porter and was amazed to learn it was one of Judson’s compositions. While he sang it at the piano, my memory of the naked harnessed muscular Gus Mattox in a writhing erotic tableau was entirely replaced by the tuxedoed entertainer 26 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

By TONY ADAMS

by JOHN SKALICKY

with a wistful voice and skillful hands at the keyboard. I still had to ask him about his decision to strip down to his underwear in the course of the show. He laughed and said, “Hah! I suppose ‘pandering’ would be a fair description. The stripping down was merely a nod to the Provincetown audiences and their expectations. There was more of it there, in fact. I’m happy to say quite a few people told me they thought it wasn’t necessary. It’s a very brief moment in the show now and that’s stayed in mostly for my own amusement.”

Not knowing many 51-year olds who look as good as Judson in their skivvies, I asked him how he maintains his physique. He said, “Flatterer. Thank you. I wish I could say I have a trick but it’s nothing more than diet and exercise. When I have shows scheduled I try to stick to a 2000-calorie per day diet and a 3 to 4 days per week exercise routine and 7 days a week cardio program.

B-O-R-I-N-G, I’m afraid. But as I say in the show, knowing I’ll be on stage in my underwear is the best incentive in the world.”

Without specifically mentioning his sojourn in porn, I asked Judson if he had any regrets about his past. He said, “Not a regret in my body. Niente!

Nada! Yes, I had a great tragedy in life when I lost my husband, Bruce.

But even taking that into account I have had the most wonderful, interesting fulfilling life I can imagine.

And I’m just getting started! It seems my life has undergone a major change every 10 years, and since I was born in 1960 those usually coincide with the new decade. In my 20s I considered myself principally a composer/lyricist. In my 30s I added performing to the mix.

My 40s broke that trend when I ended up on Broadway, and then became quite successful in gay porn as Gus Mattox, along the way becoming a published writer and trying my hand at renovating and flipping houses in the real estate market. Now in my early 50s I seem to be back to performing. I guess I fit the definition of a true dilettante because I seem to enjoy most whatever I’m doing at the moment.

Right now it feels like cabaret is the most natural thing in the world for me to be doing.

I’m having a ball at it.”

While I managed to get into his head, I am sorry to report that I did not get into his underwear. I was eager to know who currently might be enjoying that honor. He tells me he is newly single and not in love. Having recently ended a two-year relationship, he is wondering if he is better off solo. Legions are the fans of Tom Judson who will want the chance to challenge that thought.

Get his book Laid Bare (which is a collection of his fine essays) on Amazon.com, follow him at TomJudson.com, and see his show at New York’s Metropolitan Room on Valentine’s Day 2012.

PROFILE

by JOEY AMATO

Power Couple Al Cicotte & Kevin Palombo Investing in your future

A

merican Tax and Insurance Services is a local investment company owned by partners of nearly 25 years, Al Cicotte and Kevin Palombo. The couple has been active in the retirementplanning industry for over 35 years and has made an indelible impact on the South Florida community.

Prior to their relocation to Fort Lauderdale, Al was the Southeast senior vice-president and divisional director for the seventeenth largest insurance company in the United States with over $80 billion in assets, while Kevin was the company’s regional vice president.

“In 1990, our company asked us to relocate to North Carolina to oversee that territory.” The pair, who met in Detroit in 1984, seemed to become the company’s power team and was then asked to relocate to Atlanta to oversee a 10-state territory, where they managed, licensed and supervised over 9,000 independent agents. Although they oversaw nearly $700 million in premiums, the pair decided to strike out on their own.

“After the three most recent market corrections, we decided we wanted to provide investors with a safe, guaranteed investment for retirement,” says Cicotte. American Tax and Insurance deals mostly with guaranteed-return fixed annuities.

These investment instruments are guaranteed by major insurance companies including Allianz Life, AVIVA and ING and provide individuals with a safer alternative to investing in the stock market, but a higher return on investment than banks offer. “Our company represents 60 of the top-rated companies in the investment and insurance industry,” Cicotte says.

Palombo adds, “On average, an individual can earn 6.4 percent on their money.” This is far greater than the 2 percent interest rates offered by the local banks. The ideal client for Cicotte and Palombo has three main objectives: to insure his principal against loss; earn a competitive interest rate; and have liquidity. “Of course, the higher the rate of return, the less 28 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

liquid your assets become, but it is still greater than investing in a CD or IRA,” says Cicotte.

The company currently retains 280 clients with over $100 million under management. Cicotte tells The Mirror that many of their clients, both large and small, have had previous relationships with financial advisors and are looking for an alternative to traditional investing.

“People come to us all the time after experiencing losses in the market.

Nobody ever has a problem when the market is up, but in this economy, it is so difficult to realize higher returns,” says Palombo.

American Tax & Insurance Services also offers legal and accounting services at discounted rates to all of its clients, as well as to other highly respected professionals with which it maintains a reciprocal relationship.

“We really try to go the extra yard to create relationships with our clients and work hard to earn their trust,” says Cicotte.

In their spare time, the couple likes to travel and visit the gym.

Cicotte has become a foremost expert on men’s aging, speaking at major conferences, seminars and corporate retreats around the country.

With a focus on sexual health, Cicotte says, “Through natural supplements, dieting and fitness, a person can retain a high level of sexual performance well into their 80s and 90s.” In this case, age is truly just a state of mind.

Furthermore, Cicotte and Palombo work hard to support charitable organizations around the country, including the Pride Center at Equality Park, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Joining Hearts, located in Atlanta, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to providing housing support to people living with HIV and AIDS.

For more information on Al Cicotte and Kevin Palombo, visit Americantaxandinsurance.com or call 954-302-3228.

Learn About Your Needs

Howard M. Cohen, M.S.

Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern

Cohen Counseling offers a safe and positive environment.

This reinforcing experience will help clients avoid and handle emotional downturns in order to maintain a healthy life balance.

Gay and Lesbian Issues Elderly/Seniors Concerns Couples Counseling

Fees may be based on a sliding scale, tailored to individual client needs.

954-980-9628 • cohencounseling.com • howardm@cohencounseling.com

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 29

MINI-PROFILES

men and women WHO are making a difference across the country

Alix Smith Photographer is literally putting a face on equality

By LISA LUCAS

N

ew York photographer Alix Smith spent the last year with her wife, traveling the country taking pictures. Sounds like a fun way to see the sights but she is not your typical tourist -- she is on a mission called “States of Union.”

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, Smith’s work has been exhibited in major galleries across the United States and Europe.

Her work has been described as having a “theatrical and painter-like quality reminiscent of the masters” and her “iconic images defy cliché.”

Now Smith is using this technique to put a face on a cause. Smith married her psychologist wife in Connecticut in 2009 and has been an outspoken activist for gay marriage and full equality.

“So many people have only been exposed to flamboyant photos of the gay community, like in gay Pride parades,” Smith says. “But it’s important to know

30 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

that not all gay people wear feather boas and dress in drag. They look just like everyone else.” Smith’s pictures are raw, real portraits of gay families that she digitally transforms into “works of art” based on classical paintings.

According to Smith’s mission statement, “States of Union” has a dual objective. First it acknowledges the gay community’s struggle with selfrecognition as well as the struggle many Americans have with accepting gays as worthy of equality. “The photographs give credence to the validity of family life among the gay community by universalizing the very idea of family. In a country that does not yet fully recognize same sex families, the visual record provided by ‘States of Union’ may be one of the few formal acknowledgments of these relationships.”

“The goal is to show the gay community as real people and real families,” Smith says. “It’s important for people growing up gay to see that they are just like everyone else and to show the anti-gay voters who they are voting against.”

One look at her photographs does just that. Smith uses Photoshop to enrich and enhance the images and “to show these people in their best light and allow their personalities to come through.”

For now the only place to see the photographs is at Smith’s websites but she is excited that many will be shown at New York City’s Visual Arts Gallery in an exhibition called “Being American.”

“Hopefully the exhibit will help continue funding the project, “ Smith says. “I did get a small grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts because they are non-profit, but basically I’ve been putting everything on my credit card and it’s pretty much maxed out.”

In 2009 PBS did a segment on the project and, through word-of-mouth, word started spreading and emails from potential subjects came pouring in. “There are so many people I want to photograph it’s just really a matter of getting to them.”

Visit AlixSmith.com and StatesOfUnion.com to visit her work.

MINI-PROFILES

State Senator Cale Case Unlikely Ally By donald cavanaugh

M

y girlfriend and I are going to have a good time in Florida and maybe get a look at South Beach culture,” chuckled State Senator Cale Case of Wyoming in a phone interview.

Case, a Republican from what Rachel Maddow calls, “the most Republican state in the nation,” spoke at last year’s Florida Together Statewide Conference in North Miami and took some time to check out the South Florida scene.

Maddow featured Case on a segment of her March 4, 2011 show for his contribution to the effort of preventing passage of an anti-gay marriage bill in Wyoming. He is what Maddow calls, “a small-C conservative, a small government Republican.”

The “Defense of Marriage” legislation in question, House Bill 74, would have stopped Wyoming’s current recognition of out-of state same-sex marriages and other legal partnerships.

The impact of the new legislation would have been enormous, stripping hospitalization visitation, property rights, life and death decision making etc. from same sex couples which would have affected not only residents but also visitors.

A Baby Boomer, Case was born in 1958. He attended high school with Matthew Shepard’s father, Dennis, who he says is “less militant than

Clarke Cooper War Vet, Republican and... gay J.W. arnold

R

. Clarke Cooper is an Eagle Scout, Army combat veteran in Iraq, former diplomat and Bush Administration appointee…and he’s gay. The Florida native is conservative and believes it’s not incongruous to be Republican and homosexual.

Last year, as the battle to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the military’s ban on openly gay soldiers, was being waged in the halls of Congress, Cooper assumed the leadership of Log Cabin Republicans, the advocacy group for gay conservatives.

Cooper recalls telling his deputy executive director, “We need to do a full court press. Let’s hit the armed services committees first and then every other Republican possible.”

While other gay activists had written off support from Republicans— other than the more moderate senators from New England—Cooper was surprised by the reception he and his organization received from other lawmakers.

“No one denied us a meeting,” he says. “Even those who probably wouldn’t vote for repeal. In Republican offices, some felt it incumbent to meet with us, as Republicans also, to do due diligence on the issue at least.”

What he found was that until his visit, no organizations had reached out

[Matthew’s mother] Judy.” Case has a Ph.D. in economics, was first elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1993 and to the Senate in 1999.

When asked if there was any discussion about amending Wyoming’s current gender restrictions, Case cautioned against trying to do too much too fast. “Let’s let this settle in a bit before taking on the next issue,” he said.

Case believes there may be a backlash to House Bill 74, but it will probably have to wait because the next session of the legislature is a budget session that requires a 2/3 vote to get legislation introduced.

Becky Vandenberghe of WyWatch Family Action, a Wyoming-based family-values group, thinks otherwise, however, and has already promised to get a vote on the bill even under the budget session rules.

Case is not a supporter of hate crimes legislation. Wyoming is one of five states that doesn’t recognize hate crimes against any groups or individuals. The other four are Arkansas, Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.

He noted that Judy Shepard was particularly pleased when the federal law passed, “But I’m not sure, myself,” he said. “We have good laws.

Judges can increase or decrease penalties for a variety of issues. There’s no need to force them to apply legislated penalties.”

In addition to getting acquainted with the Sunshine State, Case is looking forward to speaking to Florida’s gay activists. “It’s really a civil rights issue,” he said. “No one can make someone else second class whether you’re in Wyoming or Florida or anywhere.” to many of the Republican offices at all, assuming they would not even consider the issue. Many of the staffers and members of Congress he met with had no military experience and little knowledge of LGBT issues.

“In the end, we were all conservatives, we talk the talk, walk the walk, and we made the case why repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was a conservative vote,” Cooper says.

His experience on the battlefield didn’t hurt, either, as he explained how the policy was weakening the military at a time when the forces are stretched with two wars.

Ultimately, the DADT repeal was a bi-partisan decision, one not accomplished by the Democratic supermajority before the 2010 elections.

With a DADT victory under their belts, Cooper and his gay Republicans are turning their attention to the Defense of Marriage Act, which for federal purposes defines marriages as between one man and one woman.

“That one, again, is another example of where there is a lot of basic education that needs to take place,” Cooper explains.

“DOMA is anti-conservative, government encroachment and there are all kinds of reasons to [repeal it] in addition to it’s the right thing to do.”

Again, Cooper is optimistic that bipartisan support can again be raised, especially with a Republican House of Representatives.

He says many conservatives can back the domestic tax parity issue and Republican co-sponsors already support repeal, including Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen of Miami, one of Cooper’s former bosses.

As Republicans seek to govern again, he warns the party must support a more diverse base.

“We’re a dying breed if we don’t fix the platform and take a broader stance,” Cooper says. He goes further to encourage the LGBT community to embrace gay conservatives, too. “We can’t immediately be dismissive of people with different views, especially when we cherish the same goals.”

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 31

MINI-PROFILES

Deon Davis Nurse turned activist and author

James Duke Mason

By DENISE ROYAL

O

prah Winfrey often says that being a mother is the hardest job in the world but as Deon Davis points out, her job as a mother is also the most rewarding and challenging. She shared her story in a book titled, I’ll Find a Way: A Mother’s Journey of Love and Acceptance for her Gay Son. Davis did not set out to be an author. She’s a nurse by trade and a single mother raising two boys and a girl. Like most moms, she worried about her children’s safety, their health and overall well-being. She hoped they would all grow up to be successful, productive adults.

“I was determined not to let my children fall into the stereotypes of the black single parent family, especially with two young males but I was not prepared for the coming out of Rashad,” she said.

That coming out first happened to a therapist that Davis contacted because her son was depressed and suicidal. Bullying at school led him to harm himself by cutting his arms. But hearing him say the words “I’m gay” was not enough to convince Davis that her son was a homosexual.

“My initial reaction was he’s too young to know what he wants and he is just going through a phase.”

But when it became clear that it was not a phase Davis was able to get through the confusing time by focusing on one thing: being a mother.

“This new circumstance took parenting to a new level. I knew that at that moment of discovery that I had a new role, not only as his mother; but now I need to become his protector, his voice, and also his friend.

Growing up in an African American home I was taught that being gay was not accepted especially in our Christian community, but as a parent I knew that I loved my son and God loves him also. So I pulled out the boxing gloves and prepared myself for the fight that I had in front of me. I vowed to my son and the GLBTQ community that I will fight for equality forever,” Davis said.

Fighting that battle together has brought mother and son closer. Rashad was able to turn his life around thanks to his mom’s support. He eventually transferred to a more accepting high school and now attends college.

“Rashad is now exceeding in everything he does, with parental support the sky is the limit,” Davis said.

As for the responses she’s gotten from other parents, Davis says they’ve been mixed, but mostly those of praise and admiration. She offers this advice to other parents: “Do not allow his/her sexual orientation change the relationship between you and your child. The same love that you endured from birth, continue that love into every situation that life brings before you.”

32 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

Young gay actor playing his part in the politics of Hollywood By lisa lucas

A

ctor and gay rights activist James Duke Mason prefers to be called just “Duke:” an appropriate moniker considering his lineage is that of Hollywood royalty. The grandson of British actor James Mason and son of actor/producer Morgan Mason and singer Belinda Carlisle, Duke was named one of the most influential young LGBT Americans in The Advocate’s “Forty Under 40” issue. In addition he was voted into AfterElton.com’s list of the top 50 gay/bisexual male celebrities in the world.

Now he is trying to change history with his newly launched “Trailblazer Campaign” for out LGBT entertainers.

“This campaign is an unprecedented and important effort to derail the conspiracy that exists in the entertainment industry,” Mason says.

“Conspiracy may sound harsh, but there is definitely an effort of the establishment [studios, agents, producers] to silence actors and encourage them not to come out.”

Mason was born in Los Angeles and moved with his parents to the south of France when he was four. After graduating from Mougins School in France, Mason returned to the United States and back to the kingdom of his roots. However, acting is not the only career he has set his sights on.

He spent a year studying Political Science at California Lutheran University, worked as a volunteer for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2008 and was appointed to serve as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives. He’s also now actively involved in President Obama’s LGBT Leadership Campaign.

“I came out when I was 14 and I was always passionate about both acting and politics,” Mason says. “I had to decide how I was going to combine the two and use the acting as a platform to run for office and let my voice be heard.”

He has started doing just that with the launch of his “Trailblazer Campaign.” Although he admits that the entertainment industry has made great strides in the last decade, he’s still not satisfied.

“Studios are still afraid to cast an openly gay actor in a leading role.”

Mason says. “Studios have to give it a chance. If someone is a good enough actor – like Neil Patrick Harris for example – you can play any role and you shouldn’t be discriminated against because of your sexual preference.”

“Basically, ‘Trailblazer’s’ goal is to help pave the way for openly gay movie stars, like Sidney Poitier did for African Americans. It’s going to be difficult but I have a feeling that in the next few years there will be a tidal wave in the industry and someone, maybe even me, will do it and the naysayers will say, “They were right.”

Follow Mason @ttcampaign on Twitter to learn more about his campaign.

MINI-PROFILES

Alex Lucchesi Changing the world by Speaking OUT

By DENISE ROYAL

T

he bible says the truth shall set you free. SpeakOUT hopes the truth will change the world, or at least rid it of homophobia. The organization is the nation’s first LGBT speaker’s bureau. The Boston-based group works to create a world free of LGBT homophobia and other forms of prejudice by telling the truths of people’s lives.

SpeakOUT trains volunteers to use their personal stories to spread understanding about issues of gender and sexuality. Their clients include high schools, colleges/universities, churches, civic organizations and corporations.

By speaking directly to these types of groups the organization hopes to increase understanding.

Alex Lucchesi is Co-Chair of SpeakOUT. He started as a speaker with the organization nearly three years ago, then joined the board of directors in the summer of 2009 as director of training and later became co-chair of the board in January 2010.

“I joined SpeakOUT because I wanted to make the world a safer, friendlier place for kids and adults dealing with issues of gender and sexuality. I became passionate about SpeakOUT quickly because of the connection I was able to make with the audience and the difference that could be made in their lives,” Lucchesi said.

Malcolm Lazin A renaissance man bringing gay rights into the 21st century By lisa lucas

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alcolm Lazin has worn so many hats in the past twenty years that his collection could rival that of a London haberdashery.

But the one he now covets and wears the most, is the Executive Director of Equality Forum, a national and international LGBT civil rights organization with an educational focus.

A prominent Philadelphia attorney, Lazin, who didn’t come out until after law school, is actively involved in civil rights, LGBT rights, historical preservation, community leadership and is now making his foray into show business.

SpeakOUT believes that sharing personal stories and experiences publicly can educate and inform communities about issues that divide them. Usually speakers appear in pairs and talk for a few minutes about their own lives. They share their experiences of prejudice, as well as how they have evolved to take pride in their sexual or gender identities.

Speakers also discuss the details of how they’ve come out to their families, friends and coworkers, and how they’ve faced discrimination and hardships. Most importantly, though, how they’ve fallen in love and raised families.

“People can argue with statistics, but they can’t deny or negate your personal story. In sharing your experience with others you give hope to those that struggle, understanding to those that are unsure and enlightenment to those who have been misled,” Lucchesi says.

SpeakOUT encourages audiences to ask questions. Lucchesi says he’s often asked for blunt facts.

“Often high school students want to know about the mechanics of gay/ lesbian sex. My answer is always the same: ‘Gay or straight there are as many different ways to make love as there are couples on earth.’” I also get lots of religion questions, ‘How does it feel to know you are going to hell when you die?’ The trick in answering is to avoid being shocked or laughing, just answer honestly, respectfully and keep the questioner’s level experience and age in mind.”

Visit SpeakOutBoston.org for more information.

His resume is so long and diverse it’s hard to imagine that he has achieved so much and made such an impact on the community. Lazin was a federal prosecutor who led successful investigations into public corruption, a litigator in a private firm, commissioner of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, and was awarded the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award -- the Department of Justice’s highest honor.

But the tentacles of his ambition didn’t stop reaching there. He chaired the Philadelphia Waterfront Development Council, which not only instigated infrastructure improvements but Lazin conceived the idea to light the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and helped raised $1.7 million to fund the project. In addition, Lazin is the chair of the Washington Square Committee which secured the largest Revolutionary War burial site in Independence National Historical Park.

And now Lazin is able to wear the moniker of “executive producer.”

Having produced three award winning gay-topic documentaries including “Saint of 911,” about the tragic death of gay New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge during the fall of the Twin Towers.

This October, however, Lazin will relish in his most enthusiastic accomplishment. October is LGBT History Month and Equalityforum. com proudly joins the celebration by honoring 30 gay icons (one per day) with a short film on their website.

The icons are LGBT people that have distinguished themselves by making a significant impact on LGBT rights.

“Gay history is the only part of society that is not taught history at home, school or religious institutions,” Lazin says. “It’s no wonder that homophobia exists. Without life-empowering resources we are diminished. Resources help empower people and the community and we must take responsibility to teach history.”

Visit LGBTHistorymonth.com or Equalityforum.com to check out the iconic films starting in October.

MINI-PROFILES By donald cavanaugh

T

Teri Williams Keeping Broward County Schools Safe

Zach Wahls Overnight gay-rights activist and viral sensations By lisa lucas

T

o look at this handsome, strapping, engineering student from Iowa, who was an exemplary Boy Scout, no one would guess his secret. Actually, he has two secrets.

One, he is straight. The other: he was raised by lesbians. And he never thought that talking about it would propel him into the Cyber Hall of Fame.

It started in 2009, when he was 17-years-old and the Iowa House of Representatives was slated to pass a constitutional amendment that would to define marriage as between one man and one woman, and in so doing, reinstate the ban on same-sex marriage in Iowa.

Wahls decided to write a letter to the Des Moines Register about his take on the proposed amendment from the perspective of the son of a lesbian couple.

Soon after, his phone rang. It was a representative from “One Iowa,” a LGBT advocacy group, asking him to testify in front of the House Joint Resolution 6 Committee at a public hearing.

He agreed, never expecting that when he shared his impassioned and honest story about why he believed same-gender marriage should be constitutionally protected, that his life would change…and so would the lives of many that heard him speak.

It was a Monday night, when he spoke in front of the House and 500 spectators.

34 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

eri Williams is the point person on LGBT issues within the Broward County School District, the sixth largest in the nation with over 250,000 students.

Williams was a school teacher when she first encountered the issues faced by real or perceived LGBT students in school. One of her students committed suicide and left a note saying “please tell them I’m not gay.”

“That really motivated me to do this work,” Williams said. “Children shouldn’t be committing suicide for being called gay. Williams left the classroom and after several different positions became the go-to person for LGBT issues in the district.

Williams co-founded the Safe to be Me Coalition - a collaboration of nonprofits and the school district working together to support LGBT youth and their allies coming together to create safe spaces in the school environment.

She was responsible for coordinating an all-inclusive prom for gay and straight youth and has worked tirelessly to support GSAs (gay-straight alliances) in Broward County Schools where the number of GSAs has gone from 12 to 32 since she has started focusing on them.

Williams was also largely responsible for helping to make Equality Florida’s GSA Leadership Institute an officially recognized school event, leading to a more than 100 percent increase in participation among Broward Gay-Straight Alliances.

“It’s such an honor to do what I can to help LGBT students be safe in school and elsewhere in the community,” Williams said.

“Teri has transformed Broward County schools and is helping make the district a model across the state for confronting the epidemic of bullying,” said Stratton Pollitzer, deputy executive director for Equality Florida.

By Friday night, his testimony had gotten over a million hits on YouTube.

“I had no idea this was going to happen,” Wahls said. “The Democrats uploaded my testimony without even asking or telling me and within days it went viral. It’s not like I planned it. I mean, I had written about the subject but I wasn’t an activist. I was just a kid in high school trying to speak out to defend my family.”

Originally from Wisconsin, Wahls’ biological mother, Terry, is a doctor of internal medicine who decided to use donor insemination to have Zach and his sister. When she moved to Iowa she met and married Jackie Reger. Five years later his mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Confined to a wheelchair by 2007, Reger assumed a big part in Wahls’ parenting, even acting as a den mother for his Boy Scout troop, as well as caring for Terry. In 2007, Terry, unwilling to accept her fate, designed a series of cutting edge diets and interventions and has since made an extraordinary recovery.

“My mothers are amazing women and I am so lucky to have been raised by them,” Wahls said. “People have been single parents for centuries. I had two moms to love me.”

Wahls, who is straight, as is his sister, said he never longed for a father and had many male role models in his life, including football player Brett Favre and his Boy Scout leaders.

As a result of his testimony he has been inundated with speaking and writing gigs and has temporarily withdrawn from school.

“I think this is a pivotal time for gay rights because there are so many conservative Republicans. If we can just make it to 2013 without the bill passing, I think we’ll be okay. I’m going to do all I can to make

that happen.”

MINI-PROFILES

Patty Buckley Educating straight people about gay rights

By Lisa lucas

B

efore becoming the Chief Operating Officer of Friendfactor, a non-profit organization that makes it easy for straight friends to join the gay rights movement, Patty Buckley had already established herself as a born leader.

She graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in Political Science and Hispanic Studies and immediately got a job at Google. Buckley launched Google’s first offices in South America and oversaw AdWords Online Sales and Operations across Latin America. Under her direction the monthly revenue increased 242 percent and the advertiser base increased 191 percent in the Spanish-speaking Latin America region and led the company’s US-based AdWords teams in Eastern Europe, Korea and China.

During graduate school, she interned at Cell-Life, a South African non-profit that develops mobile apps for HIV workers. She was inspired by her teammates, who worked very hard for little pay and even less recognition, and who chose to devote their lives and talents to the benefit of others.

As if that wasn’t enough, Buckley received a Master’s in Business Administration from Stanford in 2009, during which time she started a company that builds low-cost solar panels for entrepreneurs earning under $1 per day. The next year she got a Master’s of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she met Brian Elliot, the founder of Friendfactor.

“Brian told me his vision which I thought was a great model for change in this movement,” Buckley says. “I thought this would be an opportunity to accelerate change in the LGBT community by making it personal for their straight friends, introducing them to the human side of the gay rights movement.”

She joined the organization in July 2010, has since launched its Web platform–and now oversees its programs. Since that time, Buckley has overseen internal operations and programs, including the launch of educational and advocacy tools. On the advocacy side, the “Friendsetter” tool generated more than 8,000 calls to state-legislators during the New York marriage campaign and was featured on the front page of the New York Times.

“Usually a non-profit campaigns for money, not advocacy, which is where Friendfactor stands out,” Buckley says. “My family and friends were always very supportive of me but didn’t know what or how they could help.”

“They’re not activists and have never called a legislator or taken any action for gay rights but once they made the calls they felt like they were part of something, that their voice was heard, and what they felt actually mattered.”

Buckley believes with the right mix of brightly colored Post-It notes, pretzel M&M’s, washable markers, and a little help from friends anything is possible. And based on what she has already accomplished, it seems she is right.

Visit Friendfactor.org for more information.

Michael Rajner Determined Activist

By donald cavanaugh

M

ichael Emanuel Rajner, a Fort Lauderdale activist transplanted from Brooklyn, NY, is a fearless and passionate advocate for LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities.

He once requested a meeting with U.S. Representative Allen West by convincing a flight attendant to slip a note to the representative when he found himself on the same plane.

Rajner serves as legislative director of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus. He previously served on Broward County School Board’s Diversity Committee and played a central role in securing LGBT protections including adding gender identity to the district’s nondiscrimination policy.

Rajner is a representative on the Florida Department of Health’s Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Formulary Advisory Workgroup. He also served on the Broward Sheriff’s Council for Diversity and Equal Opportunity and advocates to eliminate laws that criminalize HIV-related offenses.

“There are so many people doing great things in the community and I’m known for sometimes taking more difficult stands on issues,” Rajner said.

“Whether it’s passing a note, through a flight attendant, to outspoken anti-equality Congressman Allen West asking him for a meeting to discuss legislation aimed to reduce bullying of LGBT youth, or reaching out to the mother of a hate crime victim, Michael doesn’t stop until the mission is accomplished,” said Nadine Smith, executive director for Equality Florida.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 35

FEATURE

by DENISE ROYAL

L

by DENISE ROYAL

by BRYAN KNICELY

GBT history comes alive at the Stonewall National Museum & Archives. The good, the bad and the ugly are showcased in the most comprehensive library of gay and lesbian materials. From the successful campaign to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to the Stonewall riots and Anita Bryant’s anti-gay campaign in Miami, it’s all there.

What began as a small pioneering library in 1973 has grown into a national historic and cultural institution that documents the accomplishments and struggles of the past while looking ahead to the future. The archives are rows and rows filled with boxes of photos, buttons, news clippings, anything and everything documenting LGBT history.

Bryan W. Knicely is Stonewall’s president since April. Knicely has a Master of Arts from Ohio State University, and was trained at the Harvard Business School in Performance Measurements for Effective Nonprofit Organizations.

Knicely may be new to Stonewall, but he’s not new to museums. Previously he worked at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale. Prior to relocating Fort Lauderdale, he was the president of the Greater Columbus Arts Council in Columbus, Ohio and assistant director and accessibility coordinator for the Maine Arts Commission in Augusta, Maine.

He’s received many awards for his past creative work and service including Manager of the Year in State Government at the Maine Arts Commission (twice) along with two Golden Arrow Awards and two Silver Arrow Awards from the Maine Public Relations Council.

He says the staff at Stonewall comprises himself and one other person.

The museum gets a lot of help from volunteers. People are always needed to work at the library’s front desk and the museum is always looking for people that have marketing, design and library science experience to lend their time.

These days the venue is on its way to becoming a “must-see” for tourists, locals and anyone who wants to learn more about LGBT history and culture.

Among the many treasures in the archives are an extensive pulp fiction collection; organizational records of local, regional and national LGBT organizations; personal records of local and national personalities; and film, audio and oral histories.

“Our focus is on everything, not just on things that happened since the Stonewall riots. There are not a lot of artifacts out there. People did not know what to save or what not to save. We encourage people to send us what they have.”

Recent acquisitions include a copy of Walt Whitman’s 1876 “Two Rivulets.”

It’s one of only 100 leather bound copies. It’s personalized by Whitman and

36 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

contains handwritten changes to the text. Another important new item is a Susan B. Anthony handwritten four-page letter written in January 1888. The letter was sent to women’s suffrage advocate inviting him to a special gathering of other pioneering leaders of women’s liberation.

New items arrive by the box load every week. Knicely credits Chief Archivist Paul Fasana for organizing each item. “He knows everything in the archives. It’s pretty miraculous,” he said.

Stonewall’s circulating book collection includes more than 25,000 titles and each week new items are added. The circulation DVD collection contains more than 1,000 titles, ranging from classic gay cinema to the most recent releases. Stonewall members are able to check out books and movies. Members can also read the more than 60 national and regional periodicals available in the library’s John Graves Reading Room.

Membership costs $35 for individuals and $50 for families.

After their Florida showings, Stonewall’s Museum exhibitions travel extensively and have received national attention. Knicely describes them as Stonewall’s “best kept secret.” Each one tells a story based on items in the archives. Some of the past exhibits include The Harlem Renaissance: As Gay as It Was Black, Stonewall: The End of the Beginning of Gay Liberation and Days Without Sunshine: Anita Bryant’s Anti-Gay Crusade.

Throughout the year, Stonewall hosts readings, lectures and book signings by LGBT authors. Separately, four writer’s workshops are held each year, designed to help both established and aspiring writers hone their craft. Each Friday, there’s a film series that highlights LGBT cinema.

The Stonewall National Library & Archives honored Elaine Noble and Joel Burns with their Stonewall Heritage of Pride and Stonewall Spirit of Pride Awards at its Our Stars event Nov. 11.

Elaine Noble is known for becoming the first openly gay person in history to be elected to a statehouse in 1975 in Massachusetts. While Joel Burns, Fort Worth City Councilman, is known for his tearful speech on bullying to his colleagues, which was seen by more than two million people on YouTube. The event exhibited new items for the archives donated by celebrities including Carson Kressley, Barney Frank, the Hat Sisters, Martina Navratilova and Lily Tomlin, and it has been extended, by popular demand, until Jan. 28.

Kate Clinton

Political Humorist and Entertainer

Stonewall’s next Our Stars event will be Saturday, March 17 with Kate Clinton. Tickets for the private reception and concert event are still available. You can email info@stoneallnationalmuseum.org for more information. Stonewall is funded in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. The library also receives grants from other organizations, private donors and memberships.

Stonewall National Museum & Archives is located at 1300 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304.

Visit the museum online at StonewallNationalMuseum.org or on Facebook for more information.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 37

IN MEMORIAM

BY jesse monteagudo

1971 - Kameny for Congress Lige Clarke, Jack Nickols, Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings

Frank Kameny: Gay Rights Leader

Kameny in June 2009

and Preserver of History

L

ike many of you, I mourn the passing of Dr. Franklin Kameny, who passed away last year in October at 86 years young. I wrote about Kameny in 2006, when he donated his personal papers to the Library of Congress. Here is that article, slightly revised: History - and the LGBT community for which they did so much - have neglected the pre-Stonewall “homophile” activists. Even today many histories of the gay movement begin with the Stonewall Riots of 1969, thus ignoring decades of groundbreaking political, educational and social work. With a few exceptions, activist leaders of the 1950’s and 1960’s are ignored; their achievements unrecognized or forgotten by the GLBT generations who came after them and to who they owe so much.

Hopefully, posterity will be kinder to Franklin Kameny (1925-2011).

A one-man history of the LGBT movement – “I have become something of a walking history book” -- he said - Kameny has been at the center of events for the past fifty years. In the 1950’s Kameny challenged the federal government after it fired him from his job as an astronomer with the Army Map Service on account of his homosexuality. In the sixties, Kameny and Jack Nichols founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., a then-militant group that fought U.S. government and military discrimination and led the first queer protests in front of the White House and the Pentagon and Liberty Hall in Philadelphia.

It was Kameny who, in 1966, coined the then-radical slogan, “Gay Is Good.” In the 1970’s, Kameny waged a campaign against the American Psychiatric Association, one which led to the APA’s 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. He also ran for Congress as an openly gay candidate and co-founded both the National Gay Task Force and the Gay Rights National Lobby, which is now the Human Rights Campaign. Author Paul Russell discredited himself when he left Kameny out of “The Gay 100,” his controversial list of notable lesbians and gay men. Russell, however, did include Madonna.

Political pressure has kept government libraries, archives and the Smithsonian Institution from preserving and exhibiting the history of LGBT Americans. Thus many of us were delightfully surprised when the Library of Congress graciously accepted on October 6, 2006 Frank Kameny’s donation of his personal papers and historic artifacts.

Kameny’s unique gift to the nation consists of over 70,000 letters, documents and memorabilia that Kameny, a self-described pack rat, amassed for over half a century in his Washington, D.C. attic.

“Nearly fifty years ago, the United States Government banned me from employment in public service because I am a homosexual,” Kameny said. “This archive is not simply my story; it also shows how gay 38 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

and lesbian Americans have joined the American mainstream story of expanded civil liberties in the 20th century. Today, by accepting these papers, the nation preserves not only our history but marks how far gay and lesbian Americans have traveled on the road to civil equality.”

Incredibly, Kameny was not eligible for a federal tax deduction for his unprecedented donation. Fortunately, grants from former Congressman Michael Huffington (Arianna’s ex), Charles Francis and other philanthropists made Kameny’s generous gift possible.

“This is the real deal, Frank,” said Francis, who also heads the Kameny Papers Project. “This means that the papers are going from Frank’s attic to the nation’s attic.”

The Kameny Papers include half a century’s worth of letters, government correspondence, testimony and photographs. Replicas of some of those documents, as posted in the Kameny Papers Project’s Web site (KamenyPapers.org), indicate the breadth of Kameny’s activities and interests. Here are some of Kameny’s early testimony before committees of Congress, his letters to influential congressmen and said congressmen’s outraged responses.

“In all my six years of service in the United States Congress, I have not received such a revolting communication,” wrote an appalled Rep Charles E. Chamberlain of Michigan.

Kameny’s memorabilia collection includes photos of early gay rights demonstrations, groundbreaking court decisions and early issues of the Washington Mattachine newsletter, “The Homosexual Citizen.”

The Kameny papers are housed in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress (loc.gov/rr/mss), where they are available to historians and researchers. Not included in Kameny’s impressive donation are six placards that Kameny used in his demonstrations in front of the White House and the Pentagon, a campaign poster announcing Kameny’s run for Congress, and half a dozen pamphlets from the early 1960’s. After he considered spreading his wealth around various LGBT archives and libraries, Kameny decided to donate these precious items to the Stonewall National Museum and Archives in Fort Lauderdale, which is the largest collection of its kind south of Washington, D.C. Stonewall gratefully gave Kameny its Heritage of Pride Award, an honor that allowed the good doctor to visit Fort Lauderdale for the first time. He had visited Miami in 1977, during Miami-Dade County’s “gay rights” referendum campaign. Kameny’s donation to the Stonewall National Museum and Archives is indicative of that organization’s increasing importance as a repository of LGBT movement material.

FITNESS

By PETER JACKSON, CPT

Photos by toby

photosbytoby.com

ABS-OLUTELY

FABULOUS

The secret to six-pack abdominals

Begin by cutting out:

B

ulging biceps are attention-grabbing and a well-defined chest is always impressive, but nothing screams sex appeal on a man like chiseled abdominal muscles.

A “six-pack” midsection is the crowning achievement of a truly fit man. From Michelangelo’s famous statue of David to the pages of the world’s top fitness magazines, images of the perfect male body always reflect sculptured abs.

We all want them, of course, but washboard abdominals seem to be just out of reach for the average Joe who is more likely to drink a six-pack than create his own. The formula to a tight midsection is no secret at all: it’s all about proper nutrition and exercise.

Take a clean, healthy diet, add the right combination of exercises and physical activity, throw in a lot of self-discipline together with hard work and you, too, can be the envy of Sebastian Beach in Fort Lauderdale.

Nutrition is the key. Whoever said “Abs are made in the kitchen,” was (pardon the pun) absolutely right! No matter how many crunches or sit-ups you do, your abs won’t show until your body fat is 10% or lower (American men aged 3045 average around 17% body fat). Therein lies the battle.

Replace these with six small meals a day comprising lean protein (such as turkey and chicken breast), complex carbohydrates (such as legumes, leafy vegetables and whole grains), healthy fats (found in avocados, olive oil and nuts) as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Increase your exercise and activity levels and the fat will fall off as your burn more calories than you consume.

David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health and author 40 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

• Processed “junk” food • Fried foods including french fries • Sodas and other sugar-laden soft drinks • Sugar • Alcohol • Anything made from refined flour such as pastries, cakes and white bread.

of “The Abs Diet,” recommends 12 Superfoods which he promises will give you “all the vitamins, minerals and fiber you need for optimal health while triggering muscle growth and firing up your body’s natural fat burners.”

These are: Almonds and other nuts; Beans and legumes; Spinach and other green vegetables; Dairy (fat-free or lowfat milk, yogurt, cheese); Instant oatmeal (unsweetened, unflavored); Eggs; Turkey and other lean meats; Peanut butter; Olive oil; Whole grain breads and cereals; Extra protein whey powder; and Raspberries and other berries.

Drink lots of water, get eight hours of sleep and make exercise – both cardiovascular (jogging, walking) and strength training – one of your life’s new priorities.

If looking good and exuding sex appeal aren’t enough to motivate you to shed the belly fat, here’s a sobering fact that will: Men with low abdominal fat have a significantly lower risk of heart disease and diabetes than those with “pot bellies.”

Excess abdominal fat is dangerous and unhealthy.

To get you started on the road to your killer abs, German Seoane, the lead personal trainer at Push Fitness in Oakland Park and a fitness model, demonstrates six great abs-building exercises.

1

SIDE PLANK Lie on your left side with your feet and legs aligned. Rest on your left elbow with your upper arm perpendicular to the floor and left fist pointing forward. Keeping your upper body steady, raise your hips so that your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Hold for 45-60 seconds.

Do 12 repetitions then switch positions, lying on your right side and repeat.

2

1

BALL PASSES Lie on your back grasping a Swiss ball behind your head with your legs raised off the floor. Raise your head and shoulders, putting the ball between your legs. Pause, then lower your legs and upper body all the way down. Repeat.

2

1

FRONT CRUNCH Position yourself on a Swiss ball with your back on the ball, feet on the floor and your hands behind your head. Raise your head and shoulders and tighten or “crunch� your abs. Return to the starting position and repeat.

2

1

STRAIGHT-LEG HANGING LEG RAISES Suspend yourself from a chin-up bar with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet off the floor. Keeping your knees locked, raise your legs until they are parallel with your waist. Hold for a few seconds, lower your legs and repeat.

2

1

1

OBLIQUE SIDE CRUNCH Lie on a mat on your left side with your left arm extended on the floor for balance, your right hand behind your head, and your feet off the floor. Simultaneously raise your head and shoulders as well as your feet.

Hold for a few seconds, lower and repeat.

Do 12 reps then switch to your right side.

THE HINGE Sitting on an exercise mat with your hands on the floor, lean back to a 45-degree angle with your legs extended and your feet raised off the floor. Pull your knees in toward your chest. Hold, then return to the starting position and repeat.

2

2

Health and fitness guru Peter Jackson is a certified personal trainer and the owner of Push Fitness (PushFitnessFTL.com), a private training gym in Oakland Park. He welcomes your comments and questions via e-mail at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com.

WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 41

COFFEE-TABLE

By PAUL DOMENICK

by Scott pasfield

DAN Cambridge MA

Photo Book Pages: 224 Size: 11.5 x 9.4 x 1.1 inches Format: Hardcover with dust jaket Color: Full color ISBN 978-1-59962-104-3 September 27, 2011, $45.00 Amazon.com: $29.70 Barnes & Noble: $31.18

I

t all started with an avalanche in 1994.

This is when Scott Pasfield had a great insight and decided to become a photographer, which in turn led to a life changing project 14 years later. That project became Gay in America, a book of portraits and essays.

Out-and-proud gay men from every state in America submitted essays about their life and are captured by Pasfield in their natural elements.

(Continued on page 44)

JOSH & JOSEPH Eugene OR 42 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

JOHN & JOHN New York NY

ANTONIO Morgantown WV

J.E. Moorhead MN

JACQUES & ABI Sacramento CA

MARK Ferndale MI

CHARLIE Montgomery Center VT

JIM & LARRY Longmont CO

NANDI Red Feather Lakes CO

Scott Pasfield’s Groundbreaking Book, Gay in America The watershed moment for Pasfield, the impetus behind his photography career, was indeed an avalanche--the largest recorded avalanche in northern New Mexico.

“It was then I made peace with what was up above,” he said. But he didn’t die, and the near-death moment was instead “revelatory.”

He re-enrolled in school, this time applying to New Mexico university, choosing the major he had denied himself in the past: photography.

With a degree already in architecture, the corollary of knowledge proved more than sufficient, and he excelled.

“I didn’t want to make the same mistakes of my father,” he said of his sudden change in direction. “Photography became my healing process, and the book is the result.”

Gay in America, hence, originated with the seed of disapproval, first from Pasfield’s father, then from society as a whole. The book, in fact, is not free from controversy. But this is something everyone involved with the book wants. One of the biggest criticisms of it is the lack of lesbian, transgendered, or queer profiles and depictions.

“Although the term ‘gay’ encompasses all of these things, the other terms do not,” he said. “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer all mean very different things, and it was not my intent to cover them all in one book.”

Pasfield’s next project will be a book about lesbians in America.

His publishers, though, did not like the idea.

“But if someone tells me I can’t do something it just gives me the challenge I need,” he said.

Another controversy stirring around the book is Pasfield’s choice to put Dan Choi’s photograph on the cover. Because Choi is somewhat of a celebrity now, Pasfield was afraid he’d be exploiting that fact. In the end, however, it was Choi’s dedication to his country, as well as his ability to defy all stereotypes--not only in the gay community but in the Korean culture as well--that convinced Pasfield to put him on the cover.

Four of the men profiled in Pasfield’s book were at the book signing in Fort Lauderdale. Trace (whose last name, like all others, is not mentioned in the book) is on page 58. Pasfield found Trace, like he did all of his subjects: on the Internet. Trace, from Orlando, Fla., says he thought Pasfield was joking at first.

“But I am exceptionally pleased with how he pulled all together.

44 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

His resulting photo in the book tells society that he is a ‘sincere gay man who speaks from the heart,’” he said. “In my small way, I wanted to make a contribution, especially for young Southern men and all who preceded them. I wish I had read and seen something like this growing up.”

William is another gay man featured in the book. He is from Gulf Shores, Ala., and featured on page 10. Pasfield was actually on his way to photograph someone else, when he decided to make an unscheduled visit to photograph William. The picture was taken during Hurricane Gustav. So, for William, his photo conveys “the unexpected.”

“Not every gay man has a dramatic story. I was surprised at how well my parents accepted me. I wasn’t playing the in-and-out game because all I knew is all I knew,” William said. Although he grew up in the deep South, his childhood was mostly without incident. The drama of the weather seen in his photo, then, is more likely to represent his current life.

One filled with busy philanthropy. One of his current involvements supports the largest sanctuary for chimpanzees, which can be found in Fort Pierce, Fla. Michael, who can be found on page 60, represented Atlanta, Ga., although he now resides in Fort Lauderdale. Michael was homeless at the time his photograph was taken by Pasfield. Since then, his pastor helped get him down to Fort Lauderdale where he has found steady work in the hotel industry. He is also a photographer, specializing mostly in fashion and portraiture. Michael’s profile is considered one of the most fascinating in the book, because his story is so antithetical to what’s expected of the gay stereotype.

James, on page 152, is an officer on a private yacht in Sag Harbor, N.Y. Although his photo is strikingly serious, his quote shows levity.

James feels his close-up in the book illustrates that “any guy can get your attention, freckles and all, when captured in the right light.” James wasn’t as personally pleased with how he looks in his image but realized a while ago that the book wasn’t about him.

“The importance of the book tempered what was personal in me,” he says.

Pasfield began his book signing with a quote that he felt summed up his entire project: “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”

--Abraham Lincoln.

COFFEE-TABLE

BY RICK DAY

PLAYERS TWO

H

ere is Rick Day’s follow up to his best selling photography book “Players.” The sequel continues Day’s exploration of sexuality in sports with beautiful images of semi naked and fully nude men in various sports outfits or accessories like basket balls, footballs and boxing gear. Sensual and sexual, this book is a must have for photography lovers or just admirers of gorgeous men.

While this book is technically a “coffee table” book, your parents might not enjoy it as much as you do.

In fact I suggest viewing it alone the first time.

Day’s other work has been published in publications such as Elle, Details, Teen Vogue and GQ and shot advertising campaigns for Gap, Ritani and Rufskin.

Photo Book Pages: 160 Size: 11.75 x 15.25 inches Format: Hardcover with dust jaket Color: Full color ISBN 978-3-86787-142-6 July 2011, $122.99 Amazon.com: $77.48 Barnes & Noble: $105.15

46 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

INTERNATIONAL

I

f your local Pride Fest just isn’t enough, check out some of these extraordinary events ranging from our very own Pride Fests here in South Florida in Lake Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors and Miami Beach to Black Pride in Washington D.C. and even World Pride hosted in London this year. This guide will help you journey through multiple Pride fests all over the world. Many of festivals featured here are still being planned and details are subject to change so make sure you visit their webpages for up to date information.

Pride South Florida’s Pride Fest 35th Anniversary

phuket gay pride

APRIL 24 - 28, 2012 Phuket’s first Gay Festival and Parade was staged in 1999 and was an instant crowd pleaser for tourists and natives alike – gay and straight.

In 2012 this Pride event will take place April 24-28 and with a different theme night for the days of Pride, you won’t get bored at this Pride event. This event is to bring everyone together: straight/gay/lesbian/bisexual and everything in between.

Visit Facebook.com/GayPatong NORTHAMPTON PRIDE

MAY 12, 2012

MARCH 10, 2012 South Florida’s Pride Fest is one to see with great vendors and tons of happy people talking, drinking, and having a great time. This will be the 35th anniversary for South Florida Pride, and will be held at the War Memorial Auditorium at Holiday Park on March 10. South Florida Pride is Florida’s oldest and largest indoor and outdoor Pride festival.

After the Pride fest bills are paid & seed money for the following year is set aside, proceeds raised during the Pride fest celebration goes back out into the community in the form of grants.

Visit Pridesouthflorida.org

Northampton Pride takes place May 12, at the Tri County Fairgrounds.

This Pride fest will have an up roaring Pride parade with more than 100 contingents. The parade will go along Main Street and will end at 12:45 at the very popular gay Thornes Market Mall on Main Street. At the end of the parade will be a Pride rally lasting until 5 p.m. This will all be taking place just minutes from the elegant shops and restaurants of downtown Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts.

Visit Nohopride.org CHARLESTON SC GAY PRIDE

Lake Worth/Palm Beach Pride

MARCH 24 - 25, 2012 Pride fest of Lake Worth and the Palm Beaches attracts more than 12,000 attendees annually throughout South Florida and the Treasure Coast. This year’s event will take place March 24-25. The Lake Worth/ Palm Beach Pride Fest emphasizes the importance of diversity in the community, making it stronger and more accepting of all individuals and their contributions to society. Don’t miss this amazing event.

Visit Compassglcc.com/pf.html

MAY 12 - 14, 2012 Be gay and proud at the 2nd annual Charleston, SC Gay Pride, May 12 to May 14. Organizers created a terrific event last year, and it is hoped to double in attendance this year. The Charleston SC Gay Pride Parade will pass along East Montague Ave, and is followed by a Pride rally at the Riverfront Park. For more information on SC Gay Pride Check out Q notes the local gay paper.

Visit Charlestonpridefestival.org BELGIAN GAY & LESBIAN PRIDE

MIAMI BEACH PRIDE

APRIL 15, 2012

MAY 12, 2012 This Gay & Lesbian Pride event takes place in Brussels, and has been going on since 1996. The Pride fest date for this event May 12. The Belgian gay Pride parade will kick off on Anspach Blvd., and go through Bourse and circle through the neighborhood. Many of the local bars like L’Homo Erectus, and Telsquels will be throwing special events for Pride fest.

Visit Thepride.be WASHINGTON DC BLACK PRIDE

MAY 24, 2012 This year’s colorful Pride fest will take place Sunday, April 15. Miami Beach Gay Pride brings together members of the LGBT community, their friends, allies, and supporters in celebration of the unique spirit and culture of the community. Miami Beach Gay Pride is a not-for-profit organization that produces free, safe, quality mass-appeal events that are open to all, and that include the parade.

Visit Miamibeachgaypride.com 48 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

DC Black Pride is the largest African-American Pride event that takes place in the U.S. DC Black Pride will take place in late May. Many of the key events will take place at the host hotel, which is the Hamilton Crowne Plaza. Black Pride will have several men’s and women’s events and parties, including a retro dance, fashion show and also the DC Black Pride Film Festival. During Black Pride a lot of gay bars will be having special events in their bars like The DC Eagle, and The Banana Café near Capitol Hill.

Visit DCblackpride.org

PRIDE GUIDE 2012

By Brian swinford

birmingham gay pride

JUNE 2 - 3, 2012 With more than a million people the West midlands city of Birmingham has a large and very active gay community. Birmingham Pride is taking place June 2 - 3. Birmingham Pride is a two day celebration, with a Pride Parade at noon in the town’s center. Visit some of these popular gay restaurants and bars in Birmingham, like The Chung Ying Garden Restaurant or The Nightingale Club. Both are great locations.

Visit Birminghampride.com STONEWALL STREET FESTIVAL

TBD • Mid june, 2012 The Stonewall Street Festival will have its 13th Annual Parade in Wilton Manors in Mid June of this year. Come and show your Pride with over 30,000 people at this event. There will also be three stages set up for entertainment; numerous vendors will be handing out information and promotional items from their establishments.

Visit StonewallWiltonManors.com SAO PAULO BRAZIL GAY PRIDE

pride new orleans celebration

june 13 - 19, 2012 New Orleans Pride will be holding the Pride Celebration on June 13-19.

This event will have a little bit of something for everyone. New Orleans Pride embraces the message in their mission to celebrate and promote the history, diversity, and future prosperity of not only the New Orleans LGBT community, but the New Orleans community as a whole. Pride New Orleans is using public awareness of and education about the LGBT community as a way to combat “phobias” and discrimination. This year Pride New Orleans is creating ways to increase the interactions between the LGBT and the heterosexual communities.

Visit Gayprideneworleans.com st. pete pride

june 7 - 11, 2012

june 30, 2012 This year, St. Pete Pride celebrates Carnivale, 10 Years of Pride in Passion. With an estimated attendance of 90,000 - 100,000 people, the 10th Annual St. Pete Pride Street Festival & Promenade is the Largest LGBT Pride Celebration in Florida. For the last forty years, the last weekend of June has marked an important history for the LGBT community. Hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets every year to celebrate their right to express sexual orientation and gender identity in a safe and accepting environment.

Visit Stpetepride.com WORLD PRIDE 2012

The Sao Paulo Gay Pride or Parada do Orgulho Gay GLBT de Sao Paulo, in Portuguese, has grown from 2,000 participants in 1997 to 4 million people in its last edition. They made it to the Guinness Book in 2006 for the world’s biggest Gay Pride celebration. 4,5 million people are expected for 2012. “Love one Another. Enough with Homophobia,” was the 2011 theme. I can’t wait to see what this year’s theme will be.

Visit Gaypridebrazil.org/sao-paulo

JUNE 23 - july 8, 2012

CORK GAY PRIDE (ireland)

JUNE 5, 2012 Ever since homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993 Gay Pride has taken over Ireland’s second largest city, Cork which lays at the southern tip of Ireland. This event will take place in June. This year as well as the floats from the commercial venues there will be a community float which will highlight the various LGBT groups in the city. Everyone from demented drag queens to the ordinary ‘queer in the street’ will be there.

Visit Corkpride.com

This year London will be the host of World Pride. World Pride will be held in the capital during the summer of 2012. The festival will take place over two weeks from June 23 to July 8. This year World Pride is expected to bring in more than a million people from across the country.

The main parade for World Pride will be held July 7.

Visit Interpride.org/world-pride WINTER - SPRING 2012 THE MIRROR 49

COMMENTARY

P

anama City, Florida, with its sugar sand beaches and busy tourist trade, is affectionately considered the Redneck Riviera. Folks from Alabama and its neighbor states make the trip down Highway 231 and straight into the Florida panhandle, breezing through a stretch known as Watermelon Alley, where locals sell fruit and souvenirs along the asphalt in hopes of sidetracking some of the cash the drivers have saved for their weekend adventures.

But, if you were to turn northeast from Panama City, venturing further into what could be accurately called “the sticks,” you would eventually come upon the town of Vernon, home to the rustic retreat center Dogwood Acres. And it was here, deep in the woods, that I recently spent a weekend with thirty gay men from rural Florida to talk about gay community and men‘s health. The participants taught me a surprising lesson that wasn’t about AIDS or the state of gay rights. As deeply felt as those topics are to me, something else, something completely unexpected, came up during our time together.

And it made me re-evaluate life choices of mine that go back more than thirty years.

Sponsored by Okaloosa AIDS Support & Informational Services (OASIS) and fashioned from the ManReach retreats in Colorado, the weekend asked us all to examine what “community” meant, and how to find it even when living in rural areas, as these men do.

We sat in circles and shared laughs and a few tears. We hiked, ate quiche and slept in cabins of unvarnished plywood. I was invited to the event to lead one of the workshops, and was the only attendee who lives in a large metropolitan area.

I became fascinated by these out, proud, engaged gay men from towns with names like Cottondale and Chipley and Lake City, towns that require several magnifications on Mapquest before you can find them. How could they possibly feel free to be themselves, to be fulfilled, to be happy?

Their answers shamed my presumptions.

“I lived in big cities,” said Rick, who left one in 1985 to live on a thirty-acre ranch in Altha.

“I’d been diagnosed with AIDS and was given 18 months to live, and knew I wanted a different life, out of the city. I would have died there if I 50 THE MIRROR WINTER - SPRING 2012

By mark s. king

stayed too long.” Rick and his partner grow their own vegetables, care for horses and goats, and dote upon their two pigs, Pork Chop and Lily.

“It’s a quiet, natural way of life,” he says.

David lives in Fort Walton, and offered a simply reply to my question about feeling alone in such a small community.

“Isolation can happen anywhere,” he said plainly. “I’m open about being gay. I don’t hide.

It’s those that try to hide and are not honest about themselves that people have problems with, if you ask me.”

But when explaining their choice to live in small towns, one reason trumped all others.

“Family is important,” Marcus told me, as if he was surprised anyone could believe otherwise.

“Roots are important.” Marcus left his hometown of Bascom long enough to attend college in Pensecola, but returned to live on his family’s peanut farm.

“This was not some kind of tradeoff for me,” Marcus said. Nor was he particularly concerned about his romantic options. “You meet people in other places nearby, larger cities. But having a boyfriend isn’t a priority right now. My family will always be.”

“I live in my father’s house,” said Ken, who lives in Wellborn, “and I take care of my mother.”

Mother. Family. The words sent a low current of guilt through me, bringing back memories of my last, dramatic days of living at home and how very far away my life has taken me ever since.

Did I leave Bossier City, Louisiana because of my life ambitions, or did I flee? The truth is a little of both. After a scandalous year of bursting out of the closet during my senior year of high school in 1978, all the gossip about me was wearing on my family. I knew I was causing some embarrassment.

Only days after graduation I moved to New Orleans for college, and subsequent moves — Houston, Los Angeles — pushed me further and further away from them.

Maybe I kept a distance, geographic and otherwise, out of some deep shame, as if it would simply be better for all concerned if I stayed away. Or perhaps it was pre-emptive. I’ll leave before you tell me to leave.

Through the years I collected a patchwork

of close friends, and I even adopted gay catch phrases like “we choose our own families” because maybe it’s true. And then again, maybe I was comforting myself with substitutes.

When I tested HIV positive in the 1980’s, the stretches between visits grew even longer. I couldn’t bear the thought of household dilemmas — Would they watch which drinking glass I used?

Should I hold the baby? — so I decided to sit out those years by visiting less, even if it meant dying a thousand miles from my nearest relative.

But make no mistake about it, my exile was self imposed. Never had anyone in my family rejected me or suggested I wasn’t welcome. They received my visits home enthusiastically, and with acceptance and kindness towards whatever boyfriend I brought along.

If anything, my visits were such a happy event that I wondered what my family was like when I wasn‘t around. Who really got along with each other, who preferred American Idol over Dancing with the Stars, that sort of thing. But when you’re visiting from across the country only once a year or so, you don’t get a sense of the day by day. No one ever gets annoyed or loses patience with you.

And something about that always made me feel a little sad, as if I were company rather than family.

It was the rural gay men at the retreat who gave me a glimpse of what life might have been like, had I stayed. Minus the goats, of course. And the picture they painted looked simply wonderful.

As fate would have it, I left the men’s retreat and flew home to Bossier City for a visit. As I write this, Mother is reading the morning paper.

One of my brothers has come by to join us for coffee. I’ve tried to be good about loading the dishwasher and doing chores to keep Mom off her feet.

When I presented Mother with my theory about having abandoned family in order to follow my gay destiny, she dismissed it with a smile. “You had places to go,” she said, “and everyone has a life to lead.” It never occurred to her that her love couldn’t travel whatever miles lay between us.

I haven‘t started to annoy her at all, unfortunately.

But I do know who she wants to win the mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars.

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