Washingtonblade.com, Volume 50, Issue 22, May 31, 2019

PARADES, FESTIVALS, AND FIREWORKS, OH MY! PAGE 48

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VOLUME 50 ISSUE 22 ADDRESS

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The Blade is bringing fireworks to Pride this year with a show slated for Saturday, June 8 at 9 p.m. at the Wharf.

Admission is free but VIP tickets are available at prideonthepierdc.com.

06

Looking back:

22

50 years of the Blade 08 10 12 14 16 18

needed in HIV trials

Gay attorney runs for

25

Viewpoint

Alexandria Clerk of Court

30

Sassy Southern sissy

‘Dyke March’ to return during

34

Queery: Nancy Cañas

D.C. Pride Week

36

AIDS Walk Baltimore is June 9

Federal workers plan Pride

44

Walt Whitman at 200

celebrations, despite Trump’s attacks

48

Pride ’til you drop

Trump hawking ‘LGBTQ for Trump’

50

Despite flaws, ‘Rocketman’ takes off

T-shirts for Pride

51

Take me OUT to the ballgame

Trump seeks to roll back Obamacare’s

54

D.C. Black Pride

trans health care protections

69

Agents help you prepare

Wexton seeks to block HUD from gutting trans protections at shelters

21

Scientists say more women

for the unexpected 70

Classifieds

For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077, ext. 8075. Distributed by MediaPoint, LLC All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Washington Blade is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return.

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Barney Frank: ‘Yes,’ he’s Gay — June 5, 1987 Then-Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank in an interview that appeared on the front page of the Boston Globe on May 30, 1987, came out as gay. The pioneering Massachusetts lawmaker publicly disclosed his sexual orientation ahead of that year’s Pride season, which took place at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

Frank returns to D.C. next week to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in the 15th annual Night OUT at the Nationals game.

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Gay attorney runs for Night OUT at Alexandria Clerk of Court the Nationals to

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. LCHIBBARO@WASHBLADE.COM

Alexandria, Va., gay attorney Gregg Parks is running in that city’s June 11 Democratic primary for Clerk of Court, a position that has been held for the past 40 years by Democratic incumbent Edward Simonian, who’s 86 years old.

According to the website of the Alexandria Circuit Court, for which the Clerk of Court works, the Clerk of Court carries out dozens of administrative functions and duties that include providing clerical assistance to the judges in all civil and criminal cases.

Other duties, the website says, include maintaining and processing land record documents, handling probate and fiduciary matters, issuing marriage licenses and overseeing divorce proceedings, arranging for legal name changes, issuing notarial certificates, administering oaths to elected and appointed officials, and maintaining historical records and statistics for the city.

Unlike most other elective offices, the Clerk of Court has a term in office of eight years.

Parks, who has worked as an attorney for federal government agencies for more than 20 years, is running against Democratic challenger Ben Ortiz, who currently serves as a Deputy Clerk of Court under Simonian.

Ortiz’s website shows he has been endorsed by Simonian, his longtime boss, and by Alexandria’s former mayor, Kerry Donley.

Parks has been endorsed by current Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, former Mayor Bill Euille, and all but one of the members of the Alexandria City Council.

Also endorsing him are gay Virginia State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-AlexandriaArlington) and gay Virginia State Del. Mark Levine (D-Alexandria).

In addition, Parks has been endorsed by Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter, the city’s lead prosecutor; former Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Sengel; the city’s Sheriff, Dana Lawhorne; and two members of the Alexandria School Board, Meagan Alderton and Jacinta Greene.

Parks told the Washington Blade in a phone interview last week that in addition to believing his multiple endorsements are based on the belief that he’s the most qualified candidate, he said all those who have endorsed him know him through his many civic involvements in Alexandria. Among them, he said, were his service on various local boards and commissions, including the city’s Human Rights Commission, the Economic Opportunities Commission, and the City Council’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Arlington/Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Alliance (AGLA).

He said his husband, David Lord, also an attorney, currently works as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Alexandria.

Parks’ experience as a government attorney includes stints working on maritime safety and environmental protection at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Judge Advocate General’s Office; and service at the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. General Services Administration, where he served as chief counsel for that agency’s Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.

One of his priorities if elected, Parks said, is to modernize the Alexandria courts’ computer and case filing system to a level that many other cities and counties, including D.C., have already done – to have electronic in addition to paper docketing and files that are accessible to the public online.

“That’s the sort of thing that’s not sexy, but what we need to improve in Alexandria is we don’t have modern technology in all of the courtrooms,” he said. “We don’t have electronic online docketing – things like that. If you want to see what’s coming up in the civil or criminal dockets at the court in Arlington, you go online,” he said. “You can see it in a second. In Alexandria you’ve got to go physically to the courthouse.”

As Clerk of Court, Parks said he would make absolutely certain that all members of the public, especially LGBT people who may be applying for a samesex marriage license or a transgender person who may apply for a name change, are treated with “full dignity and respect.”

Ortiz couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. His campaign website says that with more than 15 years of experience working at the Alexandria Circuit Court, he is highly knowledgeable in the workings of the court.

“His focus will not only be on case processing and maintaining records, but more importantly on the services provided to the people,” his website says.

“Throughout his years of service, Ben has demonstrated that helping people is his main goal and he will not waiver from achieving his goals.”

The Alexandria Republican Party was expected to nominate a candidate for the Clerk of Court position in June through a party caucus rather than a primary.

Further information on the two Democratic candidates can be obtained from their respective websites: parksforclerk.com; benortiz.org.

celebrate 15 years Barney Frank to throw out first pitch; Blade to be honored

By KEVIN MAJOROS

A scene from last year’s Night OUT. Washington Blade photo by Kevin Majoros

Each year since the Washington Nationals came to D.C. in 2005, Team DC, in conjunction with the Nats, has hosted Night OUT at the Nationals. This year’s event is set for Tuesday, June 4 against the Chicago White Sox at Nationals Park.

Night OUT is an LBGT community event, which has continued to evolve over the years. In its 15th iteration, ticket sales at press time are over 4,200 sold – already surpassing their highest count ever.

“We are thrilled to once again be hosting the annual Night OUT at Nationals Park,” says Jake Burns, executive vice president of business operations for the Washington Nationals. “We know this year’s event will be especially meaningful since this marks our 15th season! We encourage our fans to show their support by purchasing a special ticket on our ticketing platform.”

The special ticket includes an exclusive Nationals-branded Night OUT T-shirt, and $5 from every special ticket sold will be donated to Team DC’s scholarship fund, which awards college money to local, openly gay LGBT youth.

“We can’t wait to see everyone at Nationals Park next Tuesday cheering on former Congressman Barney Frank during his ceremonial first pitch and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C. singing the National Anthem,” adds Burns.

Tickets that remain for the event range from $19 to $55 and each person buying a ticket through the link receives the Nationalsbranded Pride shirt which can be picked up starting at 4:30 p.m. through the end of the first inning. Sizes will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

The longest running Pride night in Major League Baseball will have a few surprises, including drag queens on the baseball field for the first time. Also new this year is a ‘community village’ featuring local LGBT nonprofits, which will give the LGBT community a chance to connect with Nats fans during the game.

On hand for the festivities will be 43 All Star partners from the D.C. community who purchased blocks of 50 tickets.

“This event isn’t just people from the LGBT sports teams and leagues, it is a very large cross section of our community,” says Brent Minor, founder and executive director of Team DC. “I love the natural diversity that happens at Night OUT. It’s good for our community.”

The Washington Blade will be honored on the field during the pregame ceremonies with the Spirit Award. The Blade is celebrating its 50th anniversary, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.

Gates open on June 4 at 4 p.m. with pregame ceremonies beginning at 6:30 p.m.

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©2019 FX Networks LLC. All rights reserved.

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‘Dyke March’ to return during D.C. Pride Week

The first Dyke March was held in 1993 and the event ran until 2007.

Washington Blade photo

A group of mostly anonymous organizers has announced in email messages to the Washington Blade that after a 12-year hiatus, a Dyke March will take place in D.C. on Friday, June 7.

“Did you know that the first Dyke March ever was in Washington, D.C.?” a statement from an unnamed sender says. “It’s been 12 years since the last D.C. Dyke March was held, but this year we want YOU to help us bring it back!” the statement says.

“The Dyke March, a grassroots march for queer liberation led by selfidentifying dykes, first started in the District in 1993,” the statement continues. “It subsequently spread to major cities in North America and the UK, but fizzled out in D.C. Now local organizers are bringing it back to the District on June 7 after a more than a decade-long hiatus and their inaugural theme is ‘Dykes Against Displacement,’” the statement says.

By displacement, the statement says it is referring to the large numbers of D.C. residents, including LGBT residents, who moved out of the city because they could no longer afford the high cost of living due to gentrification and real estate development.

“Dyke Marches are community-driven, grassroots, and meant to bring together all who identify as dykes through marching as an act of visibility and protest,” the statement says. “It is non-Pride affiliated, with no corporate sponsors, permits, or cops – our goal is to encourage activism within our community and center transwomxm, queer womxn, lesbians, and other dyke identities who are oft-marginalized by the mainstream LGBTQ movement.”

In a separate statement sent to the Blade by email on May 28, a press contact identified as Cabot Petois said “thousands of self-identified Dykes will descend on the nation’s capital on June 7 under the theme of ‘Dykes Against Displacement’ to protest the crisis in the District that affects the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ community.”

The statement from Cabot Petois says the Dyke March will kick off at McPherson Square at 5:30 p.m. on June 7, but it doesn’t disclose the route of the march or the location where it will end. However, it says there will be a “rally at the end of the march.”

The earlier statement says “more route details will be posted leading closer to the day.”

Cabot Petois’ statement included a phone number and email address, but no one responded to messages left by phone and email by the Blade as of Tuesday evening.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

D.C. Council rebuffs LGBT requests for hike in funds The D.C. Council on Tuesday approved a $15.5 billion fiscal year 2020 budget for the city that includes only $250,000 of $3.5 million in additional funds requested by a coalition of 15 LGBT and LGBT-supportive organizations for programs the groups said were important for the LGBT community.

According to a source familiar with the 15 groups, who spoke on condition of not being identified, the Council appears to have added $250,000 to the budget for the D.C. Office of Human Rights rather than the $500,000 requested by the 15 groups.

The source said the Council’s budget as approved on Tuesday did not include any of the $3 million funding increase the groups requested for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

In an “action alert” statement released by the groups on May 17, they called on the LGBT community and its allies to urge the Council to include in its FY 2020 budget a $500,000 increase for the Office of Human Rights to pay for four or five new full-time employees to boost the office’s ability to investigate discrimination cases.

The groups wanted the funds to also cover another new employee to coordinate Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Hate Crimes Response Team.

Concerning the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, the action alert called for urging the Council to add an additional $3 million to the city’s budget to pay for a competitive grants program within the LGBTQ Affairs Office. The groups said in the alert they wanted those funds to enable the office to focus on “health equity to support LGBTQ organizations and one new full-time employee to oversee the program.”

The alert added, “These investments are needed to better protect LGBTQ legal rights and address the health needs of the LGBTQ community.”

Those same requests by the 15 groups were sent in an April 30 joint letter to D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-AtLarge) and Council member Brandon Todd (D-Ward 4), who chairs the Council committee that oversees the LGBTQ Affairs and Human Rights offices. “[B]oth offices play an important role in the lives of D.C. LGBTQ residents,” the groups told Mendelson and Todd in their joint letter.

“Unfortunately, both are underfunded.

Thus, we are seeking the following budget allocations be included in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget,” the groups said.

In their letter, the groups outlined the details of the budget requests for $500,000 in new funds for the Office of Human Rights and $3 million in new funds for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which is currently headed by longtime D.C. lesbian activist Sheila Alexander-Reid. Reid has not spoken publicly about the groups’ request for increased funds for her office.

The Blade on Tuesday, following the Council’s approval of the city budget, sent Mendelson’s office a request for comment on the LGBT organizations’ budget request and the reason why the Council turned

down the request except for the reported $250,000 increase in the Office of Human Rights’ budget.

The groups making up the 15-member coalition include Capital Pride Alliance, Capital Trans Pride, Casa Ruby, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Federal City Performing Arts Association, Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, HIPS, LGBT Bar Association of D.C., Mary’s House for Older Adults, Rainbow Theater Project, SMYAL, Team D.C., and Us Helping Us, People Into Living.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Gay former councilman a contender for Metro chair

Paul Smedberg, a five-term former member of the Alexandria City Council who’s gay, has emerged as the strong front-runner to succeed D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) as chair of the Metro board, according to the Washington Post.

The Post reported on Sunday that multiple sources close to the Metro board said Smedberg was emerging as a consensus candidate to replace Evans, who announced last week that he would not run for re-election as chair of the Metro board after his term expires on June 30.

Evans has been the subject of ethics investigations in D.C., by the federal government, and by the Metro board over allegations that he used his position on the board and on the DC Council to advance his private legal and consulting work.

He said he plans to remain as a member of the Metro board. A spokesperson for the board’s ethics committee, which investigated Evans’s alleged ethics breach, angered Evans’s critics last week when he said the committee would not publicly disclose the results of its investigation other than to say it had been concluded.

Smedberg served five terms on the Alexandria City Council before losing his reelection bid last June in the Democratic primary.

He has also served as chair of the Virginia Railway Express operations board and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.

“Smedberg is a good choice,” the Post quoted a Metro board member who asked not to be identified as saying. “After three years of Jack, I think it’s a good time for the board to step back and let Wiederfeld be the face of Metro,” the Post quoted the board member as saying. He was referring to Paul Wiederfeld, Metro’s General Manager, who is in charge of the regional rail system’s day-to-day operations.

The Post said Smedberg has declined to comment on the news that he’s a lead candidate for the Metro board chair position.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

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June 29th, 2019 @ Centennial Park Ellicott City, MD

PRIDE FESTIVAL 1st Annual Howard County

Remember | Resist | Rejoice

HoCo Pride is a collection of events and programs that are geared toward the support of, advocacy for and education about the LGBTQ+ community in Howard County.

Join us for this family friendly event that is 100% free to attend!

For more information, visit our website or give us a call: www.visithowardcounty.com/festivall 1-800-TRIP (8747)

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Federal workers plan Pride celebrations, despite Trump’s attacks Pentagon, State Department among agencies holding events

By CHRIS JOHNSON CJOHNSON@WASHBLADE.COM

GLIFAA marches in the 2018 Capital Pride Parade.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

Amid continuing news of anti-LGBT attacks from the Trump administration, LGBT federal employees are still making plans to celebrate Pride in June with events at U.S. agencies, including celebrations at the Pentagon and the State Department.

In the face of President Trump’s recently implemented transgender military ban, DOD Pride is planning an event for LGBT service members and civilian employees June 12 in the Pentagon courtyard.

The official event is set to have as featured speakers Retired Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, the Federal Aviation Administration’s associate administrator for Commercial Space Transportation; Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq war veteran; and LGBT activist Stuart Milk, the nephew of gay rights pioneer Stuart Milk.

Rudy Coots, co-chair of DOD Pride, acknowledged the event will mark the eighth time the Pentagon has hosted an official event recognizing June as Pride month, which began after Congress repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” during the Obama administration.

“We’re very excited to be hosting the 8th annual LGBT Pride Month event in the Pentagon on June 12 to honor the significant contributions LGBT service members and DoD civilians make every day to our national security,” Coots said.

Coots said DOD Pride was set to invite to the celebration all members of senior defense leadership, including Acting Defense Secretary Patrick

Shanahan. A Pentagon spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request to comment on whether Shanahan would attend.

Meanwhile, GLIFFA, the affinity group for LGBT foreign service officers, is set to co-host Monday at the State Department an official event to celebrate Pride, according to an invitation obtained by the Blade. The event in the Dean Acheson Auditorium will be co-hosted by the State Department Office of Civil Rights and the Native American Foreign Affairs Council.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan is slated to give remarks. Delivering the keynote address will be Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), a lesbian and one of two House members who were the first female Native Americans elected to Congress.

Asked whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would attend, a State Department spokesperson said the secretary will be traveling. The date of the event is the same day Trump is set to attend a state dinner in London hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. At the Education Department, LGBTQ & Allied Employees of ED is planning a series of events, according to an invitation obtained by the Blade.

Employees are planning to take part in an interagency community service night Monday at the D.C. Center, an interagency Pride social on June 6 at Shaw’s Tavern and the Capital Pride parade on June 8.

An event called “Being LGBTQ+: A Panel

Discussion and Q&A” is set to take place at the Education Department itself on June 11.

An Education Department spokesperson didn’t respond to the Blade’s request to comment on whether Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would attend any of the events, such as the LGBT panel. Under DeVos, the Education Department rolled back protections for transgender students and won’t take up complaints for kids being denied access to school restrooms consistent with their gender identity.

A series of events related to Pride is also planned at the Department of Health & Human Services. The event will take place shortly after HHS announced it would institute a “conscience rule” for health workers to opt out of procedures to which they have religious objections, including gender reassignment surgery for transgender people, and reverse an Obama-era rule barring anti-transgender discrimination in health care.

An HHS spokesperson said HHS Headquarters Diversity & Inclusion Division will sponsor three activities for Pride: A video screening of “50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion” on June 12, a luncheon event called “Being An Ally To Special Emphasis Groups” on June 19, and a roundtable event on June 20 to discuss concerns of LGBT employees at HHS. Asked by the Blade whether Secretary of Health & Human Services Alex Azar

would attend any of the events, the HHS spokesperson deferred to the Twitter account at @SpoxHHS. Nothing was found there yet, although the account seems to announce the plans on a day-to-day basis.

A Justice Department spokesperson didn’t respond to an inquiry on whether the agency will host an event, although DOJ employees told the Blade something is in the works. Last year, an event recognizing Pride was held in late June, but away from the center of the Justice Department in the Great Hall for the first time in 11 years.

Carol Wilkerson, a Small Business Administration spokesperson, was vague about Pride events within her agency, but confirmed they’d happen.

“As with all special monthly observance activities, SBA’s Office of Diversity Inclusion and Civil Rights has plans underway to host an event for all SBA employees honoring LGBT Pride Month,” Wilkerson said.

A DHS official was similarly vague in response to an inquiry about plans at the Department of Homeland Security, but said plans were underway.

“DHS components are in the process of finalizing their plans for LGBT Pride Month,” the DHS official said. “The calendar will be available to employees early next month. Every year throughout the month of June, DHS components hold numerous events and programs for employees in observance of LGBT Pride Month.”

The Department of Housing & Urban Development, which under Secretary Ben Carson recently proposed a rule allowing homeless shelters to turn away transgender people, didn’t respond to the Blade’s request for comment on Pride events, nor did the the Treasury Department. The Labor Department didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request to comment before deadline.

In years past during the Obama era, Cabinet-level officials, such as Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, would take part in Pride celebrations at federal agencies. President Obama would also hold an annual reception for LGBT leaders at the White House and issue a proclamation designating June as Pride month.

In contrast, President Trump declined to issue a Pride proclamation in each of his first two years in office. Eyes will be on Trump yet again this year to see if he’ll change course and recognize Pride.

The White House didn’t respond to the Blade’s inquiries about whether Trump was planning a proclamation or reception.

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DC Scratcher games may continue to be sold even when all the top prizes have been claimed.

ROOFTOP

Happy Hour

Thursday, June 13 4 – 7 PM This popular event fills quickly.

RSVP by June 11.

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M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 13

Are you ready for the weekend?

Pop over Friday Eve (aka Thursday) for light appetizers and drinks around the rooftop pool. Enjoy the beautiful twilight views of the city as you talk to our residents about why they made the move to The Residences at Thomas Circle.

Trump hawking ‘LGBTQ for Trump’ T-shirts for Pride

Photo via Twitter

As Pride month approaches and corporations get in on the Pride action with rainbowcolored products galore, Donald Trump has now unveiled his own Pride merchandise.

The shirt, described as an “exclusive equality tee,” features the words “LGBTQ for Trump” written in white font over a rainbow background. The T-shirts are available in sizes S to 3XL and retail for $24.

In 2016, Trump vowed that he would “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.”

However, after taking office the Trump administration wiped any mention of LGBT rights from the White House website. As his days in office ticked by, Trump issued a transgender military ban; the White House ignored World AIDS Day; proposed a budget cut to global HIV programs; and proposed to roll back protections for transgender people in health care.

The irony behind Trump selling Pride T-shirts despite attacking LGBTQ rights wasn’t lost on some LGBTQ advocates who took to social media to denounce the product.

“Trump should hold the sales pitch and try issuing a statement honoring June as National Pride Month and the countless of LGBTQ Americans who fought tooth and nail for the level of acceptance our nation sees today,” GLAAD Tweeted in response to the news.

MARIAH COOPER

Supreme Court rejects challenge to Pa. school’s pro-trans bathroom policy The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it won’t hear a case challenging a Pennsylvania school district’s pro-trans bathroom policy, averting a decision that could have had implications on

protections for transgender students nationwide.

In an order list Tuesday, the Supreme Court indicated it has denied certiorari in the case of Doe v. Boyertown. That means

the petition for certiorari — which has been pending before the Supreme Court since November 2018 — obtained fewer than the four votes needed from justices for review.

The anti-LGBT legal group Alliance Defending Freedom filed the case against Boyertown Area School District, which initiated a policy in 2016 allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

The case was initially filed on behalf of an anonymous student identified by the pseudonym Joel Doe, asserting Boyertown’s policy is a violation of Doe’s privacy, as well as other anonymous students. According to Alliance Defending Freedom, after parents learned about the Boyertown policy, school officials told male students that their alternative was to stop using the boys’ locker room.

The harm caused to one of the anonymous students in the complaint, Mary Smith, was having to witness a transgender student wash her hands in the girl’s room — an incident that prompted Smith to complain to Wayne Foley, an assistant principal at her school.

“In March 2017, she entered a girls’ bathroom at the high school and saw a male student washing his hands in the sink,” the complaint says. “After immediately experiencing shock, confusion, and embarrassment, she went to report the incident to the school office. She eventually was able to report the incident to Dr. Foley, and during her conversation with him she learned for the first time that the school was permitting members of the opposite sex to use the girls’ bathrooms.”

The student behind the complaint later publicly revealed herself contemporaneously with her high school graduation by her true name, Alexis Lightcap.

At a time when pro-trans groups are arguing the Fourteenth Amendments and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ensure transgender kids have access to school restrooms consistent with their gender identity, ADF has taken the opposite approach. The legal firm claims the pro-trans policy violates students’ rights to privacy under the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, which allows for sex-segregated bathroom facilities, meaning transgender students must use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex.

The case has had no success in the courts thus far. U.S. District Judge Edward Smith in Pennsylvania, an Obama appointee, refused to grant a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the Boyertown policy. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision, asserting forcing transgender students to use separate

facilities would “publicly brand all transgender students with a scarlet ‘T.’” John Bursch, ADF’s senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy, in a statement acknowledged yet another defeat, this time before the Supreme Court, but was hopeful another opportunity for review would come around.

“No student’s recognized right to bodily privacy should be made contingent on what other students believe about their own gender,” Bursch said. “Because the 3rd Circuit’s decision made a mess of bodily privacy and Title IX principles, we believe the Supreme Court should have reviewed it. But we hope the court will take up a similar case in the future to bring much needed clarity to how the lower courts should handle violations of wellestablished student privacy rights.”

The Supreme Court has rejected the Boyertown decision shortly after it granted certiorari in the case of Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, which will determine whether antitransgender discrimination is a form of sex discrimination under current law, as well as cases seeking to clarify whether federal laws against sex discrimination cover sexual orientation discrimination. Although these cases don’t directly relate to bathroom access, many of the legal principles are the same and bathroom use is likely to come up during the review of the cases.

The American Civil Liberties Union has intervened in the case and represents the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, a coalition of LGBT youth leaders and youth organizations seeking to defend Boyertown’s policy.

Ria Tabacco Mar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project, said in a statement the denial of certiorari “is an enormous victory for transgender students across the country.”

“Boyertown’s schools chose to be inclusive and welcoming of transgender students in 2016, a decision the courts have affirmed again and again,” Mar said.

“This lawsuit sought to reverse that hardwon progress by excluding transgender students from school facilities that other students use. That would have increased the stigma and discrimination that transgender students already face.”

Aidan DeStefano, who’s transgender and a recent graduate of Boyertown High, also commended the Supreme Court decision to refuse to hear the case.

“By the time I graduated high school, I was using the boys’ bathroom and participating on the boys’ cross country team,” DeStefano said. “I felt like I belonged and had the confidence I needed to continue with my education. I’m glad the Supreme Court is allowing schools like mine to continue supporting transgender students.”

CHRIS JOHNSON

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Trump seeks to roll back Obamacare’s trans health care protections Proposal would eliminate ‘gender identity’ from definition of sex

By CHRIS JOHNSON CJOHNSON@WASHBLADE.COM

The Trump administration plans to undo a transgender health care rule, triggering protests from activists.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

In a surreptitious move on the Friday before Memorial Day — when much of Washington has already vacated town for the weekend — the Trump administration announced a proposed rule to undermine an Obama-era regulation ensuring nondiscrimination in health care for transgender people and women who have had abortions.

The proposed rule that the Department of Health & Human Services would eliminate asserts discrimination is prohibited under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which bars sex discrimination in health care.

In a statement announcing the proposed rule change, HHS is oblique in describing what it would accomplish and strikes a positive note, asserting it would “maintain vigorous civil rights enforcement on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age and sex” and save U.S. taxpayers $3.6 billion over the course of five years.

“We are committed to full enforcement of civil rights laws before, during and after any rulemaking,” Roger Severino, director of the HHS Office of Civil Rights, said in a statement. “We are also committed to the elimination of regulations that contradict law or raise the costs of healthcare without achieving intended results.”

But the devil’s in the details. A look at the language of the 204-page proposed

regulation reveals it would eliminate “gender identity” from the definition of sex under Section 1557 of Obamacare, and incorporate laws allowing health care providers to decline to perform abortion into the non-discrimination regulation.

The regulation also seeks to roll back protections for individuals seeking health care with limited English proficiency.

“The current rule’s provisions were not justified by need, were overly burdensome compared to the benefit provided, and created inconsistent requirements for HHS funded health programs or activities as compared to HHS funded human services programs or activities,” the rule says.

Under the interpretation of the law as proposed by the rule, health care providers and health insurance would be able to deny to transgender people transition-related care, including gender reassignment surgery. Transgender people and women who have had abortions could also be subjected to denial of general health care.

Laura Durso, vice president of LGBT research and communications at the Center for American Progress, said in a conference call with reporters the rule would have devastating effects on both women and LGBT people.

“Through this rule, the Trump administration is working to undermine

part of the Affordable Care Act that bans discrimination in health care and insurance coverage,” Durso said. “It has proposed a rule that will weaken enforcement of the Health Care Rights Law…particularly when it comes to protecting women, LGBTQ patients and people with limited English proficiency. Eliminating the strong, clear rules prohibiting discrimination will lead to confusion, unequal access, and potential rollbacks of landmark progress.”

The proposed rule was made public weeks after the Trump administration unveiled a different “conscience clause” for health care workers to decline to perform procedures, such as gender reassignment surgery or abortions, out of religious objections. A coalition of states with Democratic attorneys general have filed a federal lawsuit in New York City challenging the legitimacy of the rule.

Jocelyn Samuels, executive director of the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a conference report the “conscience” rule was more geared toward specific procedures, but the latest roll back was more general.

“The conscience rule released a couple of weeks ago was focused on implementation of specific statutes that are very narrowly drawn to authorize religious objections to certain services when they’re offered by certain providers who get certain funding streams,” Samuels said.

“And, of course,” Samuels continued, “One of the concerns about that rule was that it expanded authorizations for these denials beyond what was authorized in those very specific statutes, but this rule seems to intend an even broader application of religious exemptions and suggests that religiously affiliated health care providers would be able to opt out of providing any service to any individual that in any way conflicted with their asserted religious beliefs. That, obviously, could result in a huge loophole for application of non-discrimination protections in the world of health care services.”

More generally, the Trump administration for some time has steadily rolled back non-discrimination protections for transgender people in federal regulations. Just this week, the Department of Housing & Urban Development announced a rule gutting a different Obama-era rule ensuring homeless shelters receiving federal funds can’t turn away transgender people.

It should be noted the regulation the Trump administration seeks to rescind with

respect to Section 1557 of Obamacare was already moot. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor had enjoined the U.S. government from enforcing the Obamaera rule as a result of a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The Trump administration under former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined to appeal the decision.

But the move from the Trump administration to roll back the underlying rule under its own volition has been expected for some time. For years, transgender advocates have sounded the alarm over reported plans the HHS would rescind the regulation, with Severino in charge of the HHS Office of Civil Rights. As a scholar at the Heritage Foundation, Severino was hostile to transgender rights and supported North Carolina’s anti- trans House Bill 2.

The proposed regulation denies discrimination against transgender people is unlawful despite decades of case law interpreting laws barring sex discrimination to apply to cases of anti-trans discrimination.

Over nearly two decades, eight federal appeals courts and 35 federal district courts have affirmed anti-transgender discrimination is sex discrimination and unlawful, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

However, that could change soon. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC involving a transgender worker who was terminated after declaring she’d transition on the job. The case will determine once and for all whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars sex discrimination in employment, applies to cases for transgender workplace protection.

The ruling would apply to all federal laws barring sex discrimination, not just employment civil rights laws. The Supreme Court could either affirm decades of case law protecting transgender people, or throw them out with a single ruling.

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality, said the upcoming final decision from the Supreme Court heightens the absurdity of the new HHS proposed regulation.

“Part of the…cruelty, the dumbness of doing this rule right now, particularly around the transgender issues is that it may be rendered moot by a Supreme Court decision, which we expect to have…certainly in the coming year, but maybe in the coming months,” Keisling said. “So it doesn’t make sense that they did this with the Harris case getting cert to the Supreme Court.”

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Wexton seeks to block Senate confirms HUD from gutting trans judge who protections at shelters argued for Prop 8

Rep. JENNIFER WEXTON (D-Va.) has introduced a bill to block HUD from gutting transgender protections.

Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

Shortly after the Trump administration announced a proposal to gut transgender non-discrimination protections at homeless shelters, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) has introduced legislation to block the change from going into effect.

The two-page bill from Wexton, which was introduced late last week, has a simple paragraph in the text portion of the legislation.

“The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may not implement, administer, enforce, or in any manner make effective the proposed rule entitled ‘Revised Requirements Under Community Planning and Development Housing Programs,’ published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Spring 2019 (Docket No. FR-6152), or any final rule based substantially on such proposed rule,” the bill says.

Wexton introduced the legislation one day after OMB published the proposed rule change, which would carve out the Equal Access Rule implemented during the Obama administration to ban anti-LGBT discrimination and allow homeless shelters to turn away transgender people or deny them housing consistent with their gender identity.

HUD seeks to gut transgender protections at homeless shelters despite assurances Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Ben Carson gave Wexton just last week that LGBT non-discrimination rules at the department would remain in place.

“I’m not going to say what we will do in the future about anything,” Carson said, “I’m not currently anticipating changing the rule.”

Wexton in a statement announcing her legislation referenced Carson’s commitment to her during the committee hearing, saying he has failed to live up to it.

“I asked Secretary Carson directly if he was anticipating any changes to HUD’s Equal Access Rule and he said no under oath,” Wexton said. “This change will allow shelters and programs to discriminate against transgender people seeking access to housing.”

A staggering 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT, according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, one in three transgender people reported being homeless in their lifetime and one in eight were homeless in the last year.

“This is a cruel attack on a vulnerable population,” Wexton said. “Barring a community already subject to alarmingly high levels of violence and abuse from access to life-saving shelter is dangerous. This administration’s relentless assault on the rights of LGBTQ Americans cannot continue.”

It remains to be seen if Wexton’s bill will get a floor vote. Earlier this month, the U.S. House approved the Equality Act, which would amend the Civil Rights of 1964 to ban anti-LGBT discrimination. That legislation would bar discrimination in housing and programs and federally funds, which would also stop HUD from implementing the anti-trans rule change.

CHRIS JOHNSON

The U.S. Senate confirmed to the federal bench last week a Trump judicial nominee who not only litigated in favor of California’s Proposition 8, but argued a ruling against the measure should have been invalidated because the judge didn’t disclose he was gay before deciding the case.

The Senate confirmed Howard Nielson to a seat on the U.S. District Court in Federal District of Utah by a 51-47 party-line vote as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) presided over the chamber. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined Democrats in voting “no” on the nominee.

Kristine Lucius, executive vice president for policy and government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, condemned the Nielson confirmation in a statement.

“By confirming Howard Nielson, the Senate has pushed through another extreme lifetime nominee who will not be fair-minded or impartial.” Lucius said. “Nielson’s reprehensible arguments against LGBTQ equality – including asking to vacate a judgment because the judge was gay – are particularly alarming. In addition, he has litigated against common-sense public safety laws, demonstrated hostility to women’s health care, and argued against educational equity and opportunity.”

Nominated by President Trump in September 2017, Nielson’s nomination had stalled for nearly two years in the Senate due to Democratic opposition, although Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) change in rules to ease judicial filibusters allowed the nominee to come to a floor vote.

At the time of his nomination, Nielson was a partner at the D.C.-based Cooper & Kirk, PLLC and represented the defendants in Hollingsworth v. Perry, who sought to uphold the measure banning same-sex marriage in California they placed on the ballot in 2008. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately rejected their claims on the basis they didn’t have standing in court, restoring marriage equality to California.

But before that ruling, Nielson filed a motion seeking to vacate U.S. Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling against Proposition 8 on the basis that he was in same-sex relationship and didn’t disclose that as he adjudicated the case.

“Chief Judge Walker thus had a duty to disclose not only the facts concerning his relationship, but also his marriage intentions, for the parties (and the public) were entitled to know whether his waivable conflict was actually a non-waivable conflict mandating his disqualification,” Nielson wrote.

Nielson’s attempt to invalidate Walker’s ruling was rejected by U.S. District Judge James Ware, who sided with pro-gay rights groups in maintaining Walker’s sexual orientation shouldn’t invalidate his decision.

In his argument in favor of Proposition 8 on its merits, Nielson suggested being gay

is a choice by pointing out there is debate about how sexual orientation is defined and disputed the effect of discrimination on gay people, including increased rates of depression and suicide.

Upon nomination to become a federal judge, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) queried Nielson in a written questionnaire on various matters, including whether he believes the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015 was settled law. To that question, Nielson replied simply, “Yes.” But Nelson didn’t indicate a change of mind on gay judges ruling in LGBT cases when, in an apparent reference to his litigation position in the Prop 8 case, he asked whether he believes straight judges can rule impartially in those cases.

“I believe the law is clear that no one is required to recuse himself or herself based on status,” Nielson writes. “Where additional facts are involved, recusal issues must be resolved on a case-by-case basis, applying the judicial canons and the federal recusal statute. Under the judicial canons, it would be inappropriate for me to address hypothetical cases that could arise in litigation.”

Nielson has also faced criticism for being part of the screening committee at the U.S. Justice Department during the Bush administration, which was found to have taken political affiliation into account for hiring practices. He also worked at the Office of Legal Counsel, which justified the use of torture. Nielson has also been an attorney for the National Rifle Association.

In a letter this week, Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) distributed a letter signed by more than 50 U.S. House members urging the Senate to reject the Nielson nomination, citing his litigation position in the Prop 8 case.

“A fair and impartial judiciary is foundational to the success and stability of our democracy,” McEachin writes. “It is critical that federal judges embody these principles, and demonstrate a commitment to protecting all Americans’ constitutional freedoms. Mr. Nielson has a consistent record not just of opposing LGBT equality in court, but of making offensive and unfounded arguments in the course of those proceedings. That record raises serious questions about his ability to impartially administer justice.”

In related news, Trump announced last week his intention to nominate former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has a long anti-LGBT record, as secretary of homeland security. In addition to derisively calling being gay “intrinsically wrong,” Cuccinelli sought to have Virginia’s law criminalizing sodomy reinstated despite the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v.

Texas declaring such laws unconstitutional.

CHRIS JOHNSON

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Cannabis Culture

CBD reduces heroin cravings: study Gov. LARRY HOGAN signed legislation into law permitting qualified patients to access cannabis-infused edible products.

Photo courtesy of Executive Office of the Governor

Md. guv signs bill permitting ‘medible’ products ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has signed legislation into law permitting qualified patients to access cannabis-infused edible products from state-licensed facilities.

House Bill 17 permits dispensaries for the first time to sell “edible cannabis products.” Separate provisions in the law permit academic institutions and research facilities seeking to conduct research on the “medical use, properties, or composition of cannabis” to obtain source materials from a state-licensed cannabis dispensary.

Federal regulations currently provide only a single source of cannabis for clinical research purposes, the University of Mississippi. However, clinicians wishing to conduct FDA-approved clinical trials on cannabis have long complained that federallyprovided samples are of inferior quality. Recently published studies have reported samples contain far lower levels of both THC and CBD than do commercially available cannabis, and that federally grown cannabis strains are genetically similar to traditional hemp plants.

Mass. grants initial approval to social use spaces BOSTON — Members of the state’s Cannabis Control Commission have decided to advance plans to regulate social marijuana use facilities.

Regulators voted 3 to 2 in favor of the proposal, which seeks to establish a pilot program in up to a dozen self-selected cities throughout the state. However, implementing the plan will require additional legislative action from lawmakers.

To date,only Alaska has enacted statewide regulations governing on-site marijuana consumption sites. Similar legislation to establish “marijuana hospitality spaces” is before the governor of Colorado.

Earlier this month, city officials in Las Vegas approved a municipal ordinance to license on-site consumption spaces.

H E A LT H • MAY 31, 2019 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE . COM • 21

NEW YORK — The administration of oral CBD reduces cueinduced cravings and anxiety in subjects with a history of heroin use, according to clinical data published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Investigators at The Mount Sinai Health System in New York City assessed the effects of CBD versus placebo in 42 drugabstinent participants with a history of heroin use. In contrast to placebo, CBD dosing of either 400mg or 800mg “significantly reduced both the craving and anxiety induced by drug cues … in the acute term. CBD also showed significant protracted effects on these measures seven days after the final short-term exposure.”

Researchers concluded, “CBD’s potential to reduce cueinduced craving and anxiety provides a strong basis for further investigation of this phytocannabinoid as a treatment option for opioid use disorder.”

In observational studies, patients with legal access to cannabis typically reduce or eliminate their use of opioids. In clinical models, CBD administration has been shown to reduce cravings for tobacco. CBD dosing has also been associated with reduced cravings for methamphetamine in preclinical models.

Texas lawmakers advance medical cannabis bill AUSTIN, Texas — House and Senate lawmakers have approved legislation, House Bill 3703, to expand the state’s low-THC medical access program. The bill’s language must be finalized in conference committee prior to being sent to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The measure expands the pool of patients eligible for low-THC therapy to include those diagnosed with: all epilepsy and seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, terminal cancer, incurable neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease), autism, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It also eliminates existing requirements that patients receive approval from a second physician prior to becoming eligible for the state’s access program.

Under existing law, patients diagnosed with intractable epilepsy may register to obtain low-THC (no more than 0.5 percent THC) oils produced by state-licensed manufacturers.

Cannabis Culture news in the Blade is provided in partnership with NORML. Visit norml.org for more information.

Cutting Edge Gay/Bi Men’s Health Research Shares New Findings

By Morgan Wright Last week, initial findings were published from the first study of its kind, researching gay and bisexual men (GBM) who’ve had prostate cancer.

The study, referred to as Restore #1, was the culmination of half a decade of careful design, research, and execution. Published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, this study describes the effects of prostate cancer treatment on win for transgender rights. The change GBM’s sexual behavior and urinary functioning.

Scientists say was announced last summer, but a resolution to amend the health guidelines Make no women mistake, this is a huge advancement for our community. Never more was officially approved May 25, CBS before has there been a study about the specific experience of GBM News reports. undergoing prostate cancer treatment. It was The the first study of this kind to needed in HIV trials United Nations’ health agency receive federal funding and found examples of how disparities in health

released a revised version of the International Classification of Diseases(ICD) that reclassifies “gender identity disorder” have been enrolled in HIV vaccine trials findings of this study were aupcall to of guys as action. “genderTwo-thirds incongruence,” which is now andThe treatments though they make described their sexual functioning as “fair” to “poor” after treatment.

This chapter featured under the sexual health half of infections worldwide. Because the is part of aresponds bigger issue because functioning is predictive of chapter. rather than the mental disorders female body differently, thisgood is a sexual long-term mental and physical health. The fact that many men reportedis better Gender incongruence problem, the New York Times reports. erectile and that cited this as a reason for notthe feeling as gender dysphoria, Womendifficulties make up just over halfmultiple of the 35men known usingpeople condoms should alsoworldwide, be of concernofto distress those working field of gender when in anthe individual’s million living with HIV prevention. identity is at odds with the gender andHIV theand virusSTI is the leading cause of death assigned at birth. An evolving scientific among women of reproductive age. In Restore found that and overeven half of reported problems with urine understanding of gender and work by Africa, parts#1 of also South America in guys sex.

This is a huge problem that hasn’t been explicitly addressed transgender advocates have contributed theduring southern United States, new infections in research until now.

In fact, compared previously published findings to the reclassification, CBS reports. in young women are helping to sustain the to the epidemic, the Times reports. for straight prostate cancer survivors, GBM were found to have worse Women and men differently urinary function and respond worse hormonal function than their straight counterparts. to HIV infection, but clinical trials continue to This rely study heavilyalso on was the the participation of describe common problems with first ever to gaybottoming men. Trials potential fare for of guys who’ve cures had prostate cancer treatment. A surprising particularly in this#1 regard. result of poorly the Restore study was discovering that for many guys, a loss A role-in-sex 2016 analysis by theoccurs charityafter AMFAR of identity prostate cancer treatment. The study found that women represented median bottoms ORLANDO — Withthe730 suggests that rather than topsa becoming or vice versa, morenew cases of common 11 percent in cure trials.

Trials of of HIV in 2017, the Orlando region outcome is that they have less anal sex altogether. antiretroviral drugs fared little better; 19 ranked No. 2 among major U.S. cities, percent the participants were women, Miami in the Thereofwere also encouraging results as with the team looked at top their spot, data. according theMaybe Times reports. to AIDSVu, an interactive map of HIV most interestingly, the study shatters the stereotype of older men Vaccine were the closest to all statistics in the States,#1 the Orlando no longerstudies being sexual since almost participants in United the Restore equitable participation, at 38 percent.

Sentinel reports. study reported some recent sexual activity, either alone or with a partner.

There are well-known differences in Just behind Orlando are Atlanta, New the immune systems of men and women.

Orleans and Baton Rouge.

The overall picture is that sexual recovery is a major problem for GBM The flu shot produces a much stronger The number includes new HIV post-treatment for prostate cancer. Only 11% of participants described immune response in women, for example. diagnoses in Lake, Osceola, Orange and their sexual functioning as “good” or “excellent” which means conventional The response to HIV infection seems Seminole counties. treatment is failing almost nine out of every ten men. also to differ. The immune system in The number of new HIV cases in the women initially responds forcefully, Central Florida area has been steadily on To pick up where this over research left off, study team has already begun maintaining tight control the virus for the the rise, increasing by more than 200 since collecting data for Restore #2.

The new work is taking lessons learned five to seven years, the Times reports.

2013, the Sentinel reports. from and building a sexual urinary rehabilitation But #1 over the long term, thisand state of functioning The answer to whyprogram. the numbers are They hope to evaluate this new sexual recovery program high alert takes a toll. Women progress growing here by isn’tconducting a simple a one. When randomly controlled trial. Themen goal and is a newranking standard recovery forresearchers GBM faster to AIDS than infected theof cities, AIDSVu took have had cancer treatment. arewho more likely toprostate have heart attacks and into account population growth, so the strokes. area’s growth isn’t driving the numbers, The study is entirely online and is enrolling 400 guys from For Restore example,#2 the female hormone the Sentinel reports. acrossseems the nation. youinto would like to participate or know someone who lack of estrogen to lull IfHIV a dormant Contributing factors include might, can contact Restore #2 teamaccess at theto University of Minnesota and lack state.

Thatyou may sound likethe a good thing, care or transportation, calling 612-568-8860 or sending an email to restorestudy@umn.edu. butbythe dormant virus is harder for the of education, poverty and stigma, all of immune system, or drugs, to kill, the Times which can be a major barrier in seeking reports. care, especially among minorities.

Another factor is effective testing by area agencies. HIV testing is available for free in several locations in Central Florida, including The LGBT+ Center Orlando and Hope & Help Center of Central Florida.

About one in seven The Restore Study is a National Institutes of Healthfunded study people with HIV don’t know through the University of Minnesota. Reach out through email (restor- that they’re infected.

Testing can help diagnose NEW YORK — The Worldor Health estudy@umn.edu) phone number (612-568-8860) infected individuals early, get them started Organization (WHO) will remove on medication and prevent the spread of “gender identity disorder” from its the disease, the Sentinel reports. global manual of diagnoses, a major

research negatively GBM. NEW YORK — Notimpact enough women

Are you a gay or bisexual man who has been diagnosed with prostate cancer?

Join the first study on prostate cancer rehabilitation designed for and by our community.

Visit restorestudy.umn.edu to learn more and take the eligibility survey Email: restorestudy@umn.edu Phone: 612-568-8860 NIH grant #1RO1CA218657-01

2 Florida cities tops for HIV rates

You can contact us by calling 612-568-8860 or send an email to restorestudy@umn.edu.

WHO reclassifies trans terminology

22 • WA S HI N GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • H EALT H N EWS

11th annua annual al DC CH Housing ousing E Expo xpo & Home Show w Saturday, June 15, 2019 | 10 am - 3 pm |

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202-442-7200 dchousingexpo2019.eventbrite.com M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 23

2 4 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL

is a writer and activist. Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

VI E WPO I NT • MAY 31, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 25

PHILL WILSON & RANIYAH COPELAND Phill Wilson is founder of the Black AIDS Institute. Raniyah Copeland is president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute.

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL

is a writer and activist. Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.

Fight erasure—take the Virginia statehouse Lilli Vincenz’s 2005-’06 battle in Arlington has a lesson for today The determination by some people to impose their personal faith dictates in commercial transactions is sadly nothing new.

Consider the use of “religious freedom” to legitimize anti-LGBT discrimination. In 2005 in Arlington, Va., when lesbian activist Lilli Vincenz tried to order VHS copies of films she made in 1968 and 1970, she hit the same wall under the term “core values.”

Tim Bono of Bono Film and Video refused to do the video transfer because, he said, it would violate his core values. The films, I should not have to mention, were not pornography. They were the 7-minute “Second-Largest Minority,” covering the gay Reminder Day Picket in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 4, 1968; and the 11.5-minute “Gay and Proud,” covering the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in New York City on June 28, 1970.

Vincenz filed a complaint in May 2005 against Bono Film for violating Chapter 31 of the Arlington County Code prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The Arlington Human Rights Commission held a public hearing in March 2006. Vincenz spoke eloquently of her films and her activism and of being wronged by Bono. Bono claimed the Commission could not force him to provide service in violation of his religious beliefs.

The Commission ruled against Bono in April 2006, requiring him to do the work or pay for it to be done elsewhere. Commission chair Tim Brogan said, “If you are a business providing services to the public, you can’t choose who you provide services to and who you are not going to provide services to.... That is illegal in Arlington.”

Mat Staver and Liberty Counsel filed suit against the Commission in May on behalf of Bono in Arlington Circuit Court, citing the Dillon Rule that limits the power of localities to what is specifically granted by state legislatures. There being no sexual orientation protections in Virginia’s Human Rights Act, Staver claimed the Arlington statute had overstepped the county’s authority.

The Commission reconsidered Lilli’s case in June 2006 and dismissed it by reframing the issue: it said Arlington may prohibit discrimination against individuals but may not “prohibit discrimination based on content of materials”—essentially reducing the county ordinance to a toothless expression

of sentiment. Virginia voters compounded the injustice in November 2006 by passing the Marshall-Newman Amendment to the state constitution denying any legal status to same-sex couples or LGBT individuals.

The U.S. Supreme Court nullified antimarriage equality state constitutional provisions with Obergefell in 2015, but this did not make people like Staver go away. He is the same Mat Staver who defended Kim Davis in Kentucky for denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples; who became dean of Liberty University Law School; and who opposes congressional anti-lynching legislation because it includes sexual orientation.

With the U.S. Constitution mentioning states but not localities, progressive municipalities are in a weak position when going beyond state law. Passage of LGBT nondiscrimination bills in Virginia, such as John Bell’s HB 2067 (on public employment), Roxann Robinson’s HB 2677 (on fair housing), and Mark Levine’s HB 2421 (an “LGBTQ omnibus” bill), requires Democrats to win control of the House of Delegates. Two Senate bills passed with bipartisan support.

I relied for the Bono case history on McDermott Will & Emery, legal counsel to the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., of which I am secretary. Mattachine President Charles Francis says, “Thanks to McDermott’s research and analysis, we were able to uncover how Lilli Vincenz—a true pioneer of the LGBT rights movement—could be so discriminated against in our time, even in Arlington, Virginia.”

In a forthcoming article on the Bono case, Mattachine’s McDermott team writes, “While Arlington County has a non-discrimination ordinance in place to this day, and one that provides protection of LGBTQ citizens as well as others, future Plaintiffs have a clear path to challenge its authority if they take issue with providing services to LGBTQ customers.”

Francis adds, “This forgotten history—from ‘Gay and Proud’ at the first Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in New York to Lilli Vincenz’s pioneering courage over the decades in Arlington— must stand as an inspiration for action this election day in Virginia.”

That’s November 5.

Copyright © 2019 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved.

26 • WA S HIN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • V IEW P O IN T

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Abortion should be legal, safe, rare and a woman’s choice Let’s hope reasonable men and women stand up to be counted in 2020 Roe v. Wade is the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision establishing a woman’s legal right to an abortion. In a 7-2 decision the Court ruled a woman’s right to choose an abortion was protected by the privacy rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Forty-six years later the fight to overturn Roe goes on. In 1973, I was working for Rep. Bella S. Abzug (D-N.Y.), a leader in the women’s movement, a feminist and strong supporter of choice, a woman’s right to control her own healthcare and her own body. She celebrated Roe v. Wade victory with staff. While my mother was a quiet feminist it was during the time I worked for Bella I made my lifelong commitment to fighting for women’s equality.

It is both frightening and infuriating that we are constantly re-litigating the issue of choice. We have a president who believes not only should we overturn Roe v. Wade but is appointing judges to the Supreme Court who may actually do it. He is encouraging people like those in the Alabama Legislature who recently passed what is considered the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. It makes it a crime for doctors to perform abortions at any stage of a pregnancy, unless a woman’s life is threatened or there is a lethal fetal anomaly.

Under the new law, doctors in the state face felony jail time up to 99 years if convicted. The law they passed was so restrictive even our disgusting president said it went too far and one of the most ardent anti-choice people in the country, Rev. Pat Robertson, said it was not the law to take to the Supreme Court even with the new right-wing justices.

Eight states, including Alabama, have passed laws limiting abortions in their state just this year. According to the New York Times “Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio stopped short of outright bans, instead passing so-called heartbeat bills that effectively prohibit abortions after six to eight weeks of pregnancy, when doctors can usually start detecting a fetal heartbeat. Utah and Arkansas voted to limit the procedure to the middle of

the second trimester. Most other states follow the standard set by the Supreme Court’s Roe decision in 1973, which says abortion is legal until the fetus reaches viability, usually at 24 to 28 weeks. The latest bans are not yet in effect (Kentucky’s was blocked by a judge), and all are expected to face lengthy court battles — indeed, their proponents are hoping they will reach the Supreme Court.” We have moved so far away from a separation of church and state that Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), who will sign the next anti-choice bill, can get away with saying “his views come from his religion, and though they may ostracize him nationally, they’re pretty natural in his home state. That’s the way I was raised. That’s what my Catholic Christian faith requires.” It is time all politicians are reminded they didn’t swear on the Constitution to uphold the Bible, but rather on a Bible to uphold the Constitution.

What is just as disturbing about the people fighting Roe v. Wade in the name of saving the life of a baby are often the same ones who would happily disregard the needs of that baby once it is born. They are often the ones who oppose guaranteed healthcare for that child, appropriately funded childcare and education programs, and even guaranteeing that child a decent home. They are willing to tell a woman or even a young girl, maybe as young as 12, who was raped that she has to carry that rapist’s child to term and then when the baby is born say to her ‘well we did our job’ now it’s your problem to care for that child. They are willing to tell a girl who was raped by her father or brother that she has to carry that child to term.

In 2018, a poll by NBC/WSJ on Roe v.

Wade found “those supporting the ruling include 88 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of independents and a majority — 52 percent — of Republicans.” Roe v. Wade has once again moved to the front of the political agenda and we can only hope women who believe they have the right to control their own body and their own healthcare, and the men who support them, will stand up and be counted at the ballot box in 2020.

VI E WPO I NT • MAY 31, 2019 • WA SHINGTONB L A DE . COM • 27

Barrie School Annual Boat Races

They will be made of cardboard, glue and tape, not a usual recipe for a seafaring vessel, but the annual boat races at Barrie School won’t be what some would expect for Middle School students! The seminal project of the eighth grade year is to create a boat out of cardboard and race it against other teams in the school’s outdoor pool. Students learn about buoyancy, engineering, and various construction methods.

Barrie students, parents, and alumni will gather on Tuesday, June 4th for the 25th Annual Barrie Boat Races, and pay special tribute to John Fuller, Barrie’s beloved Middle School science teacher credited for beginning this Barrie tradition in 1994. The inaugural John Fuller Boat Races Award will be presented to this year’s winning team.

Boat designs are left to the creativity of the students-often with a theme or color scheme in mind. The only requirement is that the boats must be made using only cardboard, tape, and glue. It’s part of how the independent school uses Project Based Learning (PBL) and its 45-acre campus to make school more active and engaging.

Projects like the boat races afford students an opportunity to not only learn about buoyancy and work with facts and figures, but allows for a final lesson in practical application and teamwork.

After completing a project like building and racing a cardboard boat, students report that they understand content more deeply, remember what they learn, and are more likely to retain it longer than with traditional instruction. Barrie School students learn through projects such as these, how to take initiative and responsibility, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas, and manage themselves more effectively.

Kitty Jones 301-576-2847

END! K E E W THIS

STONEWALL 50

A MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPARK THAT IGNITED THE PRIDE MOVEMENT

JUNE 1 AT 8PM JUNE 2 AT 3PM LINCOLN THEATRE, 1215 U Street NW Tickets: 877-435-9849 or GMCW.ORG tickets & groups of 10 or more Call 202-293-1548

PHILL WILSON & RANIYAH COPELAND Phill Wilson is founder of the Black AIDS Institute. Raniyah Copeland is president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute.

20 years of fighting HIV/ AIDS in Black America Twenty years ago, against a backdrop of increasing awareness of the enormous HIV/AIDS health disparities between Black and other racial-ethnic communities and the first development of Highly Affective Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), a small group of Black activists, people living with HIV/AIDS, and doctors founded the African American AIDS Policy and Training Institute (later to become known as the Black AIDS Institute. BAI was the first national HIV/AIDS think tank in the U.S. focused exclusively on Black people. Its mission was to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black leaders, institutions, and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. BAI’s founders knew that even with the discovery of new treatments, you could not end the AIDS epidemic in America without ending it in Black communities.

BAI’s motto was, and is, “Our people, Our Problem, Our solution.” The organization was formed on three founding principles: • To end the AIDS epidemic, Black communities have to be fully engaged; • To fully engage Black communities, it is imperative to raise the science and treatment literacy in Black communities; • And mobilization is crucial: Knowledge alone is not enough. Black communities must be mobilized to take ownership of the epidemic in our communities.

Significant progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS over the last 20 years. AIDS-related deaths are down in all communities, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, or geography. But there is still a long way to go. Huge disparities remain based on race, gender identity, and geography. Today, there are approximately 468,800 Black Americans living with HIV. Only 1 in 7 Black Americans are aware they are living with HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of Black men who have sex with men are projected to be diagnosed within their lifetime. Black people continue to be by far the most affected racial or ethnic group with a lifetime HIV risk.

The Trump administration recently rolled out a plan to end the epidemic by 2030. If the administration is serious about achieving this goal, it must stop actively trading in racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other drivers of HIV. It must also stop undermining existing prevention and treatment efforts.

New leadership and a new generation of activists, advocates, and policy makers

are needed to meet the new and complex facing efforts to end the epidemic today. BAI is poised to answer that call, in partnership with other leaders, institutions and individuals committed to ending the HV/AIDS epidemic by making sure no one is left behind. BAI understands the role intersectionality must play in any effective effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is committed to centering people living with HIV, queer people, trans people, and other marginalized folks in both policy and service delivery strategies to confront HIV/ AIDS on national, regional, and local levels.

HIV is a disease of intersectionality and syndemics. To end the HIV and AIDS epidemic we must respond to the reasons why Black Americans are not able to access and utilize the amazing tools we have that can end this epidemic. Increasing access to prevention and treatment in high burden areas is a good start, but we won’t achieve full success unless we address the underlying factors driving HIV. In the U.S., these drivers include racism, homophobia and mass incarceration. For example, Black people are incarcerated at five times the rate of white people in this country and HIV rates among incarcerated individuals are three times greater than among the general U.S. population; mass incarceration, like racism, transphobia, and homophobia have deep and complex connections to the HIV epidemic.

The epidemic still rages in Black communities and we have the tools to end it.

People living with HIV who take HIV medications as prescribed and maintain an undetectable viral load can live long, healthy lives and have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner.

There is some hope! While new infections among Black men who have sex with men have remained stagnant—a sign of some of the work that remains. Overall, the rate of new infections among Black Americans decreased by 25 percent among Black heterosexual women and 26 percent among Black heterosexual men but remained stable among Black gay and bisexual men.

We are moving forward to victory toward the day when the epidemic has ended. At the Black AIDS Institute, our team works to ensure Black communities know about the tools we have to end HIV and make sure healthcare providers and institutions are doing the necessary work to provide quality services to Black communities. We will not allow Black people to be left behind. We are the generation that can end the HIV and AIDS epidemic, let us march on till victory is won!

28 • WA S HIN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • V IEW P O IN T

SHOULDN’T THE FINAL MEMORIES OF A LOVED ONE BE AMONG THE FINEST?

There are times when nothing short of the best will do. A memorial service is one of them. It is a final expression, the culmination of a lifetime orchestrated into a singular event. What leaves a lasting impression?

A ceremony that is as unique as the individual. We’ll help you plan ahead and design every detail of your own remarkable send-off.

M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 29

LESLIE JORDAN says his current stand-up show ‘EXPOSED’ is his best one yet.

Photo courtesy Jordan

Sassy Southern sissy

Character actor Leslie Jordan on his pony obsession, TV hits and misses and his dream threesome

By JOEY DIGUGLIELMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM

Actor/comedian Leslie Jordan returns to Washington for another Bladesponsored stand-up show Wednesday, June 5. The “Sordid Lives”/“Will & Grace” Southern sissy spoke by phone two weeks ago from his Los Angeles home.

He doesn’t wait for a question — just starts things off with some bad news.

LESLIE JORDAN: I got this television series ,which by the way, got canceled today.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Ohhhh JORDAN: I’m gutted BLADE: I’m so sorry.

JORDAN: I don’t care so much except the money was so good. I really liked that.

I’m sure other things will come along, but it’s a political move. Twentieth Century Fox was bought by Disney and this new guy came in and it was really weird, he picked up only really dramas. And guess what’s going on in our place? (“WWE) SmackDown,” that wrestling show.

BLADE: How did you hear?

JORDAN: (Series creator) Charlie (Day) called me, who’s just so adorable. He did “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” he created the series and wrote it. First he sent me an e-mail and said, “Be ready because it’s probably going to happen.” Then he called us each personally which I thought was very sweet. … I don’t know, there’s a chance it could be picked up by another network so you just roll with the flow.

BLADE: How did you like working with (“Cool Kids” co-star) Vicki (Lawrence)?

JORDAN: We glommed on to one another from the moment we met. We’d met at the airport before in Puerto Vallarta and she said, “Oh, I remember,” and I thought, “She doesn’t remember me.” (Laughs) She was my best friend and is my best friend still. She’s more upset about it than I am, I think. But yeah, we got along so well. She’s exactly like you think she would be. It was so interesting on that show because all four of us (Jordan and Lawrence co-starred with David Alan Grief and Martin Mull) had such history in the industry. … It was kind of a companion piece to Tim Allen’s show (“Last Man Standing”) and I always forget, he’s just rabidly Republican so it’s a very conservative audience and we followed them with all kinds of shenanigans. We had gay people, gay people kissing.

BLADE: How did you feel it was going?

JORDAN: Well I knew there were some problems with the direction only because the network was there so much and I kind of thought at first well, maybe it’s because it’s a new show but oh my god, we would have rewrites right up until and even in front of our audience. But they did that on “Will & Grace” too, so I didn’t think that much about it. But then I think Charlie

3 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

Collier, who’s the new person at Fox, he wanted to put his own stamp on things, so there’s that. I don’t think we did anything bad or wrong.

BLADE: How long is it usually in sitcoms from the night you tape until it airs?

JORDAN: The rule of thumb is you want about five in the can but we didn’t shoot in the same order they aired. We try to stay about five ahead so you can gauge the audience reaction. It’s a really interesting process for me, ‘cause I’ve been on other shows from the beginning but not where I was one of the lead lead leads.

BLADE: Do you prefer sitcoms to single camera?

JORDAN: My schedule on “Cool Kids” was the easiest schedule I ever have. You know, on “American Horror Story,” we did like 14-hour days. And we’d have big stars like Lady Gaga who could only give us one day so we had to get all her stuff in. That’s the difference between multi-cam, which was “The Cool Kids.” We’d be out in the woods in Malibu trying to make it look like it was Virginia. I don’t know how those people like (“American Horror Story” mainstay) Sarah Paulson do it. She’s such a trooper.

She’s been doing it for years, all these 14hour days. I don’t know how they do it.

BLADE: What do you do when you have downtime between shots?

JORDAN: I’m a big napper, which is funny because I don’t nap at home. Or I like to watch. I don’t mind sitting there on the set watching the other actors. I’d rather do that than sit in my trailer. I know people who watch TV, read a book. I read, but mostly on my way to work. And of course I’m a big yapper. Sometimes I have to go to my trailer because I just talk until I’m exhausted.

BLADE: Have you ever seen one of those big reclining boards they have on sets?

JORDAN: The only time I’ve ever seen that was on “The Help,” of all places. I haven’t done many costume dramas but on “The Help,” they had Jessica Chastain, who was kind of unknown then, I mean she’d done a couple movies, but she wasn’t anything like she is now, they had her in this gorgeous dress and she requested that. She couldn’t sit down so they just hung her up there like a bat. But yeah, it’s like a board where you have to put your arms up. I said, “You look so pretty hanging there.” She said, “I don’t want to wrinkle my dress.” I said, “God, you’re a trooper.” I’d wrinkle that dress, I couldn’t care less. Make ‘em steam it. (laughs) BLADE: Have you ever spilled something just before a shot?

JORDAN: A hundred times. I’ll tell you what the worst is, you have to go pee real fast and you say, “I’ll be back in two seconds,”

then you dribble. Then everybody’s looking and they take a hair dryer out (laughs). But I’m notorious. At lunch break when I’m on these shows, the costumers will come take my clothes off and put me in a T-shirt because I’m just notorious. When I was a little boy, I’d come home and my mom would say, “Oh, spaghetti, green beans …,” she knew everything I’d had because it was all over me.

BLADE: Tell us about your new live show.

JORDAN: I’m so proud of it, I think it’s the best of all my shows. I tell about each of my previous ones and within the journey of telling about all that and how it was when I first got to Hollywood, this wonderful kind of journey comes out about acceptance.

I’m really proud of it. The last time I was in D.C. was the weekend of that devastating occurrence at the club in Orlando, you remember that? Oh honey, it was Pride weekend but that Sunday morning I was taken to the White House, they invited me, the Washington gay choir and Ty Herndon was there, because our ex-president and his lovely first lady wanted a gay presence there so I have this wonderful story and I end the show telling about that weekend.

BLADE: You were in our parade three years ago, and threw the first pitch at Night OUT plus your show. How was D.C. for you last time?

JORDAN: It was wonderful. The only thing was I wanted to ride a pony and they thought I was kidding. I showed up in my riding gear.

I said, “Where’s the pony,” they said, “Oh we thought you were kidding.” I said, “Does it look like I’m kidding?” So I went to Kinkos and made a little sign that said, “I was promised a pony.” If you look at the pictures, it’s me in the back of a car in a riding outfit. Nobody knew what the fuck was going on.

BLADE: Have you done many Pride events?

JORDAN: So many over the years, I love it.

I’ve been the grand marshal I can’t even tell you how many times. My favorite was years ago in Nashville, this was like 20 years ago. I said, “Y’all must be brave in Nashville, Tennessee, with all those rednecks,” and they said, “We do have a wonderful parade. It’s nothing like y’all get in L.A. It’s mainly a baton-twirling sissy and two lesbians.” I thought, “Well, that’s all you need for a parade — a baton-twirling sissy and two lesbians.” (laughs) BLADE: Are you staying for the parade this year?

JORDAN: No, I have to get back to L.A. because I’m hosting an Actors Fund event for Lily Tomlin the night of the Tonys.

BLADE: Last time we talked you said things had dried up after you won your Emmy and that’s what led to your stage show, but lately you’ve been doing a lot of

M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA D E.COM • 31

TV. How did you get hot again?

JORDAN: Well I’ve been able to balance the two really, really well. The TV stuff, I have no control over. It truly is just things falling into my lap but I have to be available for it.

The year before we did “Cool Kids” (2017) I did 44 venues, which I love because of the immediate response of the audience.

But you have to balance it because all the money’s in TV, you just can’t beat the money so that allows me to go on the road and I do really well. … Now to have done a full year on a show, that’s got to help my TV profile.

Something’s gotta give here. I’m 64, I’ve been at it a long time. If you can get a series on the air for about four seasons, you’re set.

It’s all gravy from there. But they’ve already called me for “Will & Grace” next season, they want to book me again for that. In a way I’ve done everything I really set out to do, so from here on out it’s all just fun.

BLADE: How many “Will & Grace” episodes have you done since it came back?

JORDAN: Let me see, I’ve done three.

One was a Christmas episode where you barely saw me but then I did a hilarious one last season where they named the wall after me because I gave so much money to the Republican party and then Karen wants her name on the wall and we got rolled over to Mexico and put in those cages (laughs). But anyway, it was wonderful.

But (co-creator) Max (Mutchnick) had called me and asked if I wanted to come back. I said, “Of course, but you killed me.” He said, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out,” so they ended up just kind of dropping that finale because it was just too much going on there. I didn’t do the first one, they were already like five in by the time I was there so they’d had their little reunion, but … Megan Mullally gave me the sweetest compliment. She said, “I never lost Karen Walker, but tonight bantering with you, I believe Karen Walker is truly back.” I thought that was sweet.

BLADE: What do you think of this trend of rebooting so many classic shows?

Especially the ones like “Dynasty” or “MacGyver” they do with new casts?

JORDAN: I wonder why with all these platforms now, people aren’t open to new ideas. It’s harder now. My friend Del Shores and I come up with these ideas all the time and go to pitch’ em and they just stare at us. Maybe we’re just too old and it’s just kids running the shows now. Of course, you wanna bring stuff back but it gets a little ridiculous after a while.

BLADE: What’s something you like and don’t like about the way the industry has evolved in let’s say the last 10 years or so?

JORDAN: I like the way in which gay characters are portrayed, I really like that. It’s

been a long journey since I got here in 1982.

It was very wink-wink. You’d go out at night to the gay bars and see every producer and casting director in town, then you’d see them on the job and it was very wink-wink, very different than it is today. What I don’t like about the industry today is there seems to be no sense of history. I got so upset the other day because somebody online, a TV critic, called our show “The Cool Kids” a snoozefest and I wanted to write him and say I would love for you to come to 20th Century Fox to stage 17 and see the 80-odd people who come in sometimes at 4 o’clock in the morning to create this snoozefest. The four leads on that show have more combined TV history than you would if you worked the rest of you entire life. It’s so casual and easy to critique and everybody’s a critic now.

I wanted to say, “Young man, you need to respect your elders.” (laughs) BLADE: Last time we talked you were excited about having lost weight. Have you kept it off?

JORDAN: No, I’m fat as a pig. I went over to the equestrian center, I wanted to ride a pony, they have a beautiful pony there, and they said, “No, you’re too fat.”

I gained more weight on this “Cool Kids,” but no, I’m gonna try to get it off. But I’m not trim at all. I’m as big as Dallas and half of Fort Worth.

BLADE: What happened?

JORDAN: The catering on “The Cool Kids” was ridiculous. They’d come to me and say, “Leslie, there’s this little Asian lady over there cooking rice balls,” and I’d go, “We just had tacos.” It was like being in a food mall. The food was constant, so I’ve got to get that off. I mean I’m not fat, fat. I’ve gained about eight pounds, but on me, I’m like a little beach ball with arms.

BLADE: Who’s your dream threesome?

JORDAN: I think Eddie Redmayne is adorable. Oh, I don’t know, I’m so old I don’t even think about that anymore (laughs). My biggest crush has always been Mark Harmon. I’ve known him 20-30 years and he just gets better and better looking. Same with George Clooney. I did a series with George a hundred years ago.

So that’s a funny threeway — Mark Harmon, Leslie Jordan and George Clooney.

Washington Blade presents: Leslie Jordan EXPOSED Wednesday, June 5 7 (sold out) and 9 p.m.

Union Stage 740 Washington St., S.W. $45 ($60 with meet and greet) unionstage.com

3 2 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

Pride @ SAAM

Sunday, June 9 | 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m. | FREE

Celebrate Pride with a day full of LGBTQ+ inspired art, from performance and music to painting and video.

• Brendan Fernandes’s Free Fall 49, a dance-based performance responding to Orlando’s 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, 3-6 p.m.

• Back-to-back screenings of feminist Pride video art and playable video games, 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m.

• Series of close-look gallery talks on an LBGTQ+ related artwork • Oral histories from DC’s LBGTQ+ communities with American University’s Humanities Truck, F street entrance • Festive food and beverages available for purchase in the Courtyard Café and one-day pop-up bar on the Portico More information at AmericanArt.si.edu/events Presented by SAAM, Smithsonian Pride Alliance, and the Capital Pride Alliance, and supported

by Smithsonian Year of Music and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative

8th and G Streets, NW | Free | AmericanArt.si.edu | #atSAAM Free Fall 49, 2017, live performance, dance platforms, event lighting, DJ and original score. Collection of Brendan Fernandes, Image courtesy of the J Paul Getty Trust. Photographers Sarah Waldorf and Tristan Bravinder

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QUEERY Nancy Cañas Washington Blade photo by Michael Key

QUEERY: Nancy Cañas

The Latinx Pride board president answers 20 queer questions

By JOEY DIGUGLIELMO JOEYD@WASHBLADE.COM Nancy Cañas was asked to perform at Latinx Pride in 2012 and has been involved ever since. She’s been on the board for four years and started her second year as president this month.

The 13th annual D.C. Latinx Pride is June 1-6 with various events. This year’s theme is “Gritando Orgullo” (screaming pride). About 1,000 attended last year.

A panel discussion will be held on Saturday, June 1 at 5 p.m. at Metropolitan Community Church of Washington (474 Ridge St., N.W.), a Latinx LGBTQ History Tour with Jose Gutierrez will be held on Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m. starting at the corner of Columbia Road and 18th Street, N.W. in Adams Morgan. The walking tour will stop

by Salud Inc., one of the first D.C. Latino HIV/AIDS organizations, El Faro, the first D.C. Latinx LGTBQ bar, Bar Noa Noa, Perry’s Restaurant and more. Admission is free.

A group art show dubbed “La Platica:

Elevando Arte, Poesia & Palabra” will be held on Tuesday, June 4 at 5 p.m. at HRC (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) and the official dance party “Gritando Orgullo” will be Thursday, June 6 at 9 p.m. at the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.). All the events are on Facebook or visit latinoglbthistory.org.

“D.C. Latinx Pride provides a unique and safe space for queer Latinx folks to come together, celebrate, listen and dance to our music, uplift and create visibility of local artists to share their work,” says Cañas, a life-long D.C.-area resident (her parents migrated from El Salvador in the ‘70s).

Cañas, 39, is a licensed cosmetologist at Spa Logic. She and wife Ana Gomez live in Prince George’s County, Md., with children Christopher, Alexandria and Samantha. Cañas enjoys dancing with her wife but says there’s “never any down time as a parent.”

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

I’ve been out for about 10 years and the hardest to come out to were my children. As children we look to our parents for guidance and I was unsure how to guide them from any hate and discrimination they may have experience due to having a queer parent.

Who’s your LGBTQ hero?

Frida Kahlo teaches us that the struggles experienced in life can be conquered through self expression.

Kahlo channeled her grief into art and her miscarriage became an important part of her life.

What LGBTQ stereotype most annoys you?

The notion that all gays are promiscuous.

What’s your proudest professional achievement?

The fruition of Create Your History.

It’s allowed me to merge my passions of mentoring youth and increasing confidence through hair services.

What terrifies you?

Dying young and not being around to help guide my children in their teen and early adulthood years.

What’s something trashy or vapid you love?

I love supernatural, witch and vampire TV shows.

What’s your greatest domestic skill?

I love making home-cooked meals for my family. One day we’ll have Salvadoran carne guisada con arroz and the following day chili and cornbread.

What’s your favorite LGBTQ movie or show?

“Boys Don’t Cry” and “If These Walls Could Talk.”

What’s your social media pet peeve?

People putting all their personal business out there.

What would the end of the LGBTQ movement look like to you?

I don’t think there will ever be an end.

We must continue to advocate for the many marginalized groups within our own communities.

What’s the most overrated social custom?

Hair removal What was your religion, if any, as a child and what is it today?

I grew up with a Pentecostal mother and a father who wasn’t very religious.

As an adult, I don’t adhere to any organized religion.

What’s D.C.’s best hidden gem?

The best pupusas in D.C. are found in a little tienda latina in Columbia Heights, Antojitos Cecibel.

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Britney shaving her head. I believe so many of us could connect on multiple levels with her. She was going through a messy divorce, custody issues and public scrutiny, like who wouldn’t snap?

What celebrity death hit you hardest?

Robin Williams teaching us that battling mental health issues is hidden in many ways. We must always check on our community, even those who look like they’re doing well.

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Counterclockwise from left: BOBBY HANKINSON of Kweendom Photo by Leslie Knott; last year’s AIDS Walk Baltimore event Photo courtesy Chase Brexton; and ‘Falsettos’ will be performed at the Kennedy Center June 11-23 Photo by Joan Marcus; courtesy Kennedy Center.

AIDS Walk Baltimore is June 9 Chase Brexton Health Care is sponsoring its annual AIDS Walk & Music Festival in Baltimore on Sunday, June 9 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Registration is $35 until June 1, $45 from June 3-9, and $40 for virtual walkers.

Proceeds benefit Chase Brexton’s newly established HIV medication messenger delivery service, which will deliver patient prescriptions to their home or work for no additional cost.

The walk begins at 9 a.m. at Power Point Live! (34 Market Pl, Baltimore) and follows a scenic two-mile route around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The music festival will feature three acts, including Davon Fleming, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.”

For more information visit chasebrexton.

org/join-us/aids-walk-music-festival.

Kweendom unites queer comedians Kweendom, a troupe of queer comedians and storytellers from New York, will perform at the Black Cat (1811 14 st., N.W.) on Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and 20 percent of the proceeds from this performance will be donated to the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community.

The group has received numerous awards to include The New York Times Critics’ Pick and was a featured performer at FlameCon and Story Fest. Kweendom is a high-energy show featuring everything from drag queens to laugh-out-loud comedians to thought-provoking storytellers.

Many of the performers have other

jobs, including performer Gabe Gonzales who is also a host on Scruff’s “Hosting” quiz show series.

Tickets are available at ticketfly.com.

Early ‘90s classic revived “Falsettos,” a Tony Award-winning musical about a gay man, his wife, his lover and their son, will run at the Kennedy Center (1412 F St., N.W.) June 11-23.

Tickets start at $49.

This new production stars Nick Adams (“La Cage aux Folles,” “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”) as Whizzer, Nick Blaemire (“Tick, Tick…Boom!,” “Cry-Baby”) as Mendel, Eden Espinosa (“Wicked, Brooklyn The Musical,” “Rent”) as Trina, and Max von Essen (“An American in Paris,” “Evita,” “Les

3 6 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

TODAY

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery (800 G St., N.W.) are hosting the Countdown! Pride Celebration Kick-Off Party from 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. tonight.

There will be music, dancing and art activities while learning more about the LGBT artists in the museum’s collection. “Rupaul’s Drag Race” season 10 winner Aquaria will have a headlining DJ set. The party is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, celebrate local LGBT residents, honor outstanding leaders and activists and launch the 2019 Capital Pride celebration. This event is 21 and up and tickets start at $60. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit capitalpride.org/kickoff.

D.C. Leather Pride Weekend is being hosted by D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Tonight will include the Birds of Prey Drag show and a special Friday Night Edition of Daddy, DADDY XL along with free food from 7:30-9 p.m. Daddies Israel Hermes and Aleks Buldocek will dance the entire weekend. D.C. Leather Pride is about bringing together the leather community in D.C. and serves as a central source for pride events and leather clubs. For more information, visit facebook.com/dcleatherpride.

The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) offers Queer Tango Classes tonight from 7-9 p.m. The course is for beginner students and will combine instruction on fundamentals of tango and include a discussion about assumptions made about gender, masculinity and femininity. Students will be encouraged to explore both roles and reflect on their experiences. Liz Sabatiuk is the instructor from Montevideo, Uruguay and manages the Queer Tango Program at Tango Mercurio.

Tickets are $10. For information and to purchase tickets, visit thedccenter.org.

Saturday, June 1

Misérables”) as Marvin.

“Falsettos” revolves around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin along with his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist and the lesbians next door.

It’s been called a “hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family.”

For more information visit kennedycenter.org.

The 2019 Pride Womxn’s Kickoff Party is back. Whitman-Walker Health, in partnership with Tagg Magazine and Lure D.C., is hosting a celebration for LBTQ and gender nonconforming people tonight at Big Chief (2002 Fenwick St., N.E.) from 6-10 p.m. The night will include dancing, drinks and music from DJ Alex Love. This is a 21-and-up event and tickets start at $10. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit whitman-walker. org/pride-womxns-party.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington presents a “Stonewall 50” concert is is tonight at 8 p.m. at Lincoln Theater (1215 U St., N.W.). The concert will include the premiere of “Quiet No More,” a one-act musical commissioned by GALA Choruses to celebrate the anniversary of Stonewall.

It will also include dancers, the GenOUT Chorus and music from Broadway. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington sings to inspire equality and inclusion with musical performances and education promoting

M AY 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 • WA SHINGTONBLA DE.COM • 37

justice and dignity for all. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit gmcw.org.

The BullPen (1201 Half St., S.E.) is hosting its Blasts From The Past! D.C. Decades Fest tonight from 4-9 p.m. The night will include music from the ‘80s all the way up to the 2000s along with food, drinks and costume contest. This is an all ages event and tickets start at $15.

Children 10 years or younger are free.

To purchase tickets, visit facebook.com/ thebullpen.

Sunday, June 2 A Latinx LGBTQ+ History Tour will be held today at Adams Morgan (corner of Columbia Rd and 18th St., N.W.) at 3 p.m.

Historian and board member of the Latino GLBT History Project Jose Gutierrez will lead the tour through significant places like the first D.C. Latinx LGBTQ bar and the 1991 D.C. Latino Riots. The Latino GLBT History Project is a non-profit volunteerled organization that responds to the critical need to preserve their history through educational exhibits. For more information, visit latinoglbthistory.org.

Tagg Magazine will continue its Ladies Tea event at Hank’s Oyster Bar (1624 Q St., N.W.) and today will kick-off its Pride edition at 3 p.m. There will be exclusive drink and food specials in the bar downstairs and a new garden patio upstairs. This event is 21 and up and for everyone lesbian, queer and “anything else under the rainbow.”

For more details, visit eventbrite.com and search ladies tea.

Monday, June 3 Capital Pride and Busboys and Poets Brookland (625 Monroe St., N.E.) present its annual OUTSpoken: Women’s Spoken Word and Other Queer Expressions event tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Guest can expect live DJ music, special performances and two hours of mic open anyone who identifies as a woman. The full food and drink menu will be available including pride-themed drink specials.

This space is open to all and welcomes all gender identities.

A Latinx Pride Panel will be hosted at Shaw’s Tavern (520 Florida Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6-8 p.m. Attendees will join Booz Allen Hamilton’s GLOBE and the Latin American Forum for a panel discussion on the intersection of LGBTQ, Latinx and immigrant identities. Expert panelist from the Center for American Progress and the National Center for Transgender Equality will be there too.

To register, visit eventbrite.com and search Latinx Pride Panel in Washington D.C.

Tuesday, June 4

N Street Village is hosting drag bingo tonight from 7-10 p.m. at Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.). The event is to celebrate Pride week while also fundraising for the Village which is a community of empowerment and recovery for homeless and low-income women. A $1 of every margarita sold will go directly to the N Street Village. For more information on the Villages services, visit nstreetvillage.org.

Night OUT at Nationals Park (1500 S. Capital St., S.E.) will celebrate the largest LGBT community night in professional sports today from 4-11 p.m. Proceeds from ticket sales will contribute to Team D.C.’s student-athlete scholarships which are awarded each year to college-bound LGBT student-athletes. Night OUT T-shirts will be distributed outside of the First Base Gate and available until the end of the second inning. Gates will open at 4 p.m.

To purchase tickets, visit nationals.com.

Wednesday, June 5 A Drag Salute to Divas and Devos will be at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight from 6-7 p.m. The event is a revue showcasing the impersonations of the world’s top musical legends like Tina Turner and produces lip sync stage plays including “The Wiz” “Twisted” and “Dreamgirls.” It’s featured as part of the Kennedy Center’s free daily performance series. Salute to Divas celebrates diversity and individuality in hopes of inspiring millions to embrace their differences. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org/video/upcoming.

GLOE, GLBTQ Outreach & Engagement at the Edlavitch, and Pitchers D.C. (2317 18th St., N.W.) presents the Annual Big Queer Jewish Happy Hour tonight from 5-9 p.m. GLOE is the first and only full-time LGBTQ engagement program at any Jewish Community Center in the world and serves the local queer Jewish community through unique and meaningful programming.

Professionals in the City is hosting a Lesbian Seated Speed Dating at Finn & Porter Restaurant (900 10th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. Lesbians and bisexual singles are welcomed to come meet new people and celebrate Pride week. Staff will seat the first dates and will plug participants to their online messaging system to keep the conversation going within two days after the event. Professionals in the City organizes hundreds of events each year to bring together professionals and familiarize residents with all the city has to offer. To sign up, visit prosinthecity.com.

Bookmen D.C. meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Cleveland Park Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) to discuss presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg’s memoir “Shortest Way Home.” All welcome.

Details at bookmendc.blogspot.com.

May 31 – August 27 Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

U.S. Capitol West Steps

Fridays at 7:30 p.m.

Air Force Memorial

Saturdays at 7 p.m.

National Harbor

FREE! No tickets needed.

No concerts on June 8 ,25, July 2, 5. Outdoor concerts subject to weather cancellation. For more info, please visit our website.

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Walt Whitman in 1869 during his years in Washington.

Photo from ‘A Life of Walt Whitman’ by Henry Bryan Binns via Wikimedia

Walt Whitman at 200 Bevy of events planned to celebrate legendary gay poet

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

After publishing his first edition of “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, Walt Whitman set the stage to become America’s greatest and most transformational poet. A collection of poems that would expand and evolve throughout the rest of Whitman’s life, the book innovatively features free verse, new diction (American slang and working-class language) emphasis on self, urban life and most significantly his insertion of sexuality — gay and straight — into poetry. Though considered too risqué by the day’s literary establishment, Whitman’s work ultimately changed poetry, at home and abroad, forever.

In his work, Whitman celebrated existence, practical and optimistic democracy, urban life and language. He was a vociferous fan of Abraham Lincoln and became the poetic voice of the American Civil War. And Whitman was about as openly gay as you could be in a time when the concept of homosexuality barely existed.

In celebration of Whitman’s bicentennial (born May 31, 1819), a nationwide party is taking place replete with exhibitions, readings, parties, performances and walking tours. And because Washington figures prominently in the poet’s life, professionally and personally, he’s being remembered locally with The Walt Whitman 200 Festival, a citywide string of events emphasizing the poet’s continuing influence on American culture and city’s culture. For a list of remaining Walt200 celebratory events, go to walt200.org.

When descending the escalator of the Dupont Metro Station’s Q Street entrance, one sees words carved into its massive curving stone wall. It’s a passage from Walt Whitman’s poem “The Wound Dresser” (1865) alluding to the poet’s experiences as a volunteer in D.C. hospitals during the Civil War. “Thus in silence in dreams’ projections/ Returning, resuming, I thread my way through the hospitals/ The hurt and wounded I pacify with soothing hand/ I sit by the restless all the dark night — some are so young/ Some suffer so much — I recall the experience sweet and sad.”

The engraving was added to the station in 2006 as a tribute to caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS in the early years of the epidemic.

Whitman lived in D.C. for 10 years and counted that decade as one of the most important of his life.

In 1862, at the height of the Civil War, 43-year-old Whitman left New York City and headed South to look for his brother George who reportedly had been injured in the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. As it turned out, George had merely been scratched, explains Garrett Peck, esteemed historian and author of “Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: The Civil War and America’s Great Poet.” Relieved about George but struck by the great

number of sick and injured young soldiers languishing far from home on the battlefront and in Washington D.C.’s overcrowded and sometimes makeshift hospitals including the Patent Office (now renovated as the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum), Whitman decided to stay on and help in any way he could.

“Contrary to what’s been said, Whitman wasn’t nurse, he was more of a one-man U.S.O, a hospital volunteer was there for the comfort and morale of the soldiers,” Peck, who’s gay, says.

He made the rounds, faithfully visiting the injured, writing letters home for them, bringing small gifts of candies or tobacco, and in many cases, he sat by beds and held frightened soldiers’ hands. He appreciated their beauty (“he lay naked to the waist on acc’t of the heat — I never saw a more superb development of chest & limbs”) and the direness of their situations. He wrote, “Many a soldier’s loving arms about this neck have cross’d and rested, Many a soldier’s kiss dwells on these bearded lips.”

After the war ended, Whitman further settled into America’s fledgling capital city.

He was employed at a number of federal jobs that allowed him to explore his art on the side, says Peck.

“As a federal clerk, he essentially did the paper work for the federal government,” Peck says. “It gave him a middle-class paycheck, stable employment and time to write and think. He met nightly with a literary salon formed from a group of friends.”

Also in Washington, Whitman forged a significant romantic relationship with Peter Doyle, a streetcar (horse drawn) conductor on the Pennsylvania Avenue line.

“They actually met on the streetcar in 1865. Walt was almost 46 and Pete was 21 when they got together. Despite the age difference, it was Pete who made the first move. And Walt liked young working-class men, so it worked out.”

After suffering a stroke in 1873, Whitman left Washington and joined brother George and family in Camden, N.J., where he continued expanding and revising “Leaves of Grass” until his death in 1892 at 72. Had his health held out, Whitman most likely would have lived out his days in Washington surrounded

by Doyle, literary friends and his growing coterie of acolytes.

Marking Whitman’s bicentennial is important, Peck says.

“In part it’s not that often in the U.S. that we get to celebrate a writer let alone a poet. Walt is in the pantheon of the great American writers. Also, Walt and his partner Peter are one of the very first documented couples that we have in D.C. and Walt was fearless in exploring sexuality in his poetry both gay and heterosexual, even though some of that went over people’s head at the time.”

Here’s to Whitman. His poetic brilliance.

His fearlessness. And his determination to celebrate life, love and the gay experience.

Happy birthday, Walt.

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Pride ’til you drop Events are nearly 24-7 through next weekend

By MARIAH COOPER MCOOPER@WASHBLADE.COM Pride is rapidly approaching with plenty of events to attend in the District.

Capital Pride Honors is at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (800 G St., N.W.) tonight from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Individuals, leaders and activists who have made LGBT impact both locally and nationally will be recognized.

Kimberly Bush, Rea Carey, Ben De Guzman, Martin Espinoza, Amanda Hackett and Tony Nelson will be honored. The Washington Blade will receive the Paving the Way Award.Team D.C. will receive the Larry Stansbury Award.

Donald Burch and Alan Thompson will receive the Bill Miles Awards. The National Center for Transgender Equality will be honored with the Community Impact Award. This is a reception prior to the Countdown: Pride Celebration KickOff Party. Tickets range from $60-75. Admission includes complimentary cocktails and food tastings.Visit capitalpride.com for details.

Rainbow Theatre Project presents “Stonewall 50,” a series of short plays that pay homage to the Stonewall Riots, at D.C. Arts Center (2438 18th St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $2835. For more information, visit facebook.com/ rainbowtheatreproject.

Brightest Young Things and Capital Pride Alliance host Countdown: Pride Celebration Kick-Off Party at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (800 G St., N.W.) in the Kogod Courtyard and Luce Foundation Center tonight from 8:30 p.m.-1 a.m. The party will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and kick off the 2019 Capital Pride celebration. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 10 winner Aquaria headlines the party with a DJ set. Leonce and Ase Manual will also spin tracks.There will be dancing, art activities and an opportunity to learn about LGBTQ artists in the Smithsonian’s collection.

The outside of the museum will be lit up with rainbow lights. Tickets range from $50-60. For more details, visit capitalpride.com/kickoff.

The Qrew hosts Game On: Pride Kickoff at Union Stage (740 Water St., S.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. DJ KB will play music.There will be swag and prices. Entry is $10. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Trevor Project. For details, visit unionstage.com.

Pride Kickoff II: Pride for the People is at 18th & U Duplex Diner (2004 18th St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 1 from 2-6 p.m.

The event will raise money for local LGBTQ charities. Jonathan Shields and Brock Thompson will bartend. Beaumont Brackeen and Shaunda Leer will host the event. For more information, search “Pride Kickoff III Pride for the People” on Facebook.

Whitman-Walker Health presents the 2019 Pride Womxn’s Kickoff Party at Big Chief (2002 Fenwick St., N.E.) on Saturday,

June 1 from 6-10 p.m. DJ Alex Love will play music. General admission tickets for one person are $15. Deluxe admission is $30 and includes entry for one person and two drink tickets. The VIP Package is $100 and includes entry for two, open bar and food. For details, visit whitman-walker.org/pride-womxns-party.

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington presents “Stonewall 50,” a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m.

The concert will include the premier of “Quiet No More,” a one-act musical commissioned

by GALA Choruses in celebration of the anniversary of Stonewall. There will be dancers, costumes, vocal ensembles, the GenOut Chorus and more. The chorus will perform music ranging from Broadway to pop. Tickets range from $25-65.Visit gmcw.org for details.

Annapolis Pride hosts Pride Month Kick Off Party at the Metropolitan Kitchen and Lounge (169 West St., Annapolis, Md.) on Saturday, June 1 from 10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/annapolispride.

Boomerang Tours and Will Call Events presents a Pride Cruise on Sunday, June 2 from 3-5:30 p.m. Washington Heights, Desiree Dik, Baby and Myah Duboise Blue will host the event. DJ Honey will spin tracks. There will be one welcome cocktail and light bites. Checkin is from 2:30-3 p.m. The boat departs from 3100 K St., N.W. Tickets are $25. A portion of ticket sales will go to the D.C. Center. For more information, search “Pride Cruise” on eventbrite.

Capital Pride hosts Out Spoken: Women’s Spoken Word and Other Queer Expressions at Busboys and Poets Brookland (625 Monroe St., N.E.) on Monday, June 3 from 7:30-10 p.m.

Transgender women and cis-women will share their stories through words or music. There will be a mix of professional spoken word performers, first-time perfumers and acoustic musical performances. There will be a full food and drink menu available including Pridethemed drink specials. Tickets are $10. For more details, visit facebook.com/capitalpridedc.

The Washington Blade presents Leslie Jordan’s “Exposed” stand-up comedy show to Union Stage (740 Water St., S.W.) on Wednesday, June 5 at 9:30 p.m. Doors open at 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $45.

Meet-and-greet passes are an additional $15.

A full dinner and drink menu will be available.

This is a seated show. For more information, visit facebook.com/washingtonblade.

LGBTQ Victory Institute hosts Congressional Pride Reception 2019 at the Hart Senate Office Building (120 Constitution Ave., N.E.) on Thursday, June 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Members of Congress and movement leaders will discuss how to advance equality.

Refreshments will be provided. For more

details, visit facebook.com/victoryinst.

D.C. Brau and Washington Blade present #PridePils Launch at Dacha Beer Garden (1600 7th St., N.W.) on Thursday, June 6 from 6-10 p.m. The winning Pride Pils can will be unveiled.100 percent of proceeds benefit the Blade Foundation and SMYAL. For more details, visit facebook.com/washingtonblade.

Capital Pride hosts a Rooftop Rally and Pool Party at the Penthouse Pool Club at the Yards (1212 4th St., S.E.) on Thursday, June 6 from 7-11 p.m. Volunteers, partners, donors, advocates and supporters of the Capital Pride Alliance are invited to enjoy cocktails and appetizers. Tickets are $25. For more details, visit capitalpride.org.

Capital Pride hosts its Weekend Welcome Pride Happy Hour at the Capital Burger (1005 7th St., N.W.) on Friday, June 7 from 4-7 p.m. Cocktail, beer and wine will be $5. There will be complimentary burger sliders, snacks and appetizers. Tickets are $15 and proceeds benefit the Capital Pride Legacy Fund. For more information, visit capitalpride.org.

Shaw’s Tavern (520 Florida Ave., N.W.) hosts a Pride drag show on Friday, June 7 from 9:30 p.m.- midnight.Staff members from Shaw’s Tavern will perform. Kristina Kelly hosts the show. No cover. For more details, visit facebook.com/shawstavern.

Fruity Boi Productions hosts Pride Afterhours at Tropicalia (2001 14th St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 8 from 3:30-9:30 a.m. DJ Aaron Aanenson and DJ Renato Cecin will spin tracks. Tickets are $40. For more details, visit facebook.com/fruityboi.

Capital Pride hosts “Crack of Noon” Pride Brunch at Human Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) on Saturday, June 8 from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. There will be gourmet brunch tasting stations and complimentary Heineken, Barefoot Wine and Bubbly Mimosa Bar and Tito’s Vodka cocktails and bloody Marys. The Pride Parade grand marshals, Pride 2019 honorees and other surprise guests will be in attendance.

Alexa V. Shontelle, Jasmen Renee Clitopatra, Chicki Parm, Nubai Love-Jackson and Miss Labella Mafia will perform.Tickets are $55.

Visit capitalpride.org for details.

The Washington Blade and LURe D.C. host the second annual Pride on the Pier at the Wharf (760 Maine Ave., S.W.) on Saturday, June 8 from 2-9 p.m. There will be DJs, dancing and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. DJ Rosie will spin tracks from 2-5 p.m. followed by Brothers Brau from 5-7 p.m. DJ Drew G closes out the night with music from 7-9 p.m. Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show, presented by Compass, is at 9 p.m. Free admission. Guests can enjoy the VIP experience in the Dockmasters Building. There will be an air-conditioned lounge, catered food, private restrooms and an open bar. The first VIP session is from 2-5 p.m. and the second session is from 6-9 p.m. Tickets for the first VIP session are $75. Tickets for the second session are $125. The Transit Pier will have a family zone with activities for all ages. For more information, visit prideonthepierdc.com.

Washington Blade hosts a Pride Parade Viewing Party at Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 8 from 4-7 p.m. There will be light food, drinks and music. Tickets are $40. Proceeds will benefit

the Washington Blade Foundation. Visit bladefoundation.org/pride for more details.

Loyalty Books (827 Upshur St., N.W.) hosts a Pride reading featuring authors Gregg Shapiro (“More Poems About Buildings”) and Philip Dean Walker (“Read By Strangers”) on Saturday, June 8 at 5 p.m. Free admission.

Visit facebook.com/loyaltybooks for details.

Swazz Events hosts Cirque du So Queer, a circus-themed LGBTQ dance party, at Pie Shop D.C. (1339 H St., N.E.) on Saturday, June 8 from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. DJ Uni and DJ Kryptk will play music. There will be pie, cocktails and a costume contest with prizes. Tickets are $10 online and $15 at the door. For more information, visit facebook.com/swazzevents.

Defiance D.C. Pride 2019 is at City Winery (1350 Okie St., N.E.) on Saturday, June 8 from 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m. DJ Kidd Madonny, DJ AJ Reddy, DJ Twin, DJ Randy White and DJ Sean Morris will play music. Maddelynn will perform.The dance party will take place on four floors. Food will be available. Visit citywinery.com for details.

Avalon Saturdays hosts an 18-andover Pride party at Soundcheck (1420 K St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 8 from 9 p.m.-4 a.m. Tatianna, Ba’naka, Brooklyn Heights, Lena Lett, Kristina Kelly, Iyana Deschanel and Crystal Edge will all perform. Drag show starts at 10 p.m. General admission tickets are $30. VIP tickets are $50 and include express entry and access to a private VIP lounge with a dedicated bar and bartender. For more information, visit dougiemeyerpresents.com.

Distrkt C Pride is at Karma D.C. (2221 Adams Pl., N.E.) on Saturday, June 8 from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. Maya Simantov will give her first performance in D.C. DJ Joe Gauthreaux, DJ Seth Breezy and DJ Cajjmere Wray will spin tracks. Karma will unveil its new 400-person outdoor patio and new sound system.

Tickets are $70. For more information, visit distrktc.com.

Mixtape Pride Party is at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Saturday, June 8 at 10 p.m. DJ Matt Bailer, DJ Lemz, DJ Tezrah and DJ Keenan Orr will spin tracks for the night.

Tickets are $18. For details, visit 930.com.

The Capital Pride Festival and Concert is on Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. between Seventh and Third Streets on Sunday, June 9 from noon-10 p.m. The 2019 Pride Concert headliners include Marshmellow, Zara Larsson, Todrick Hall, Shea Diamond, Calum Scott, Nina West and Big Dipper. There will be three stages of entertainment. Admission to the concert is free. The Concert VIP Experience Pass is $175 and includes a private bar, private air-conditioned restrooms, complimentary beer and wine, complimentary light fare, view of backstage, access to the VIP concert pit and more. Performances are from 1-8 p.m. followed by the sunset dance party from 8-10 p.m. The festival will have 300 organizations providing services, job and volunteer opportunities and more. There will also be four beverage gardens. For details, visit capitalpride.org.

The Cherry Fund hosts Action: Afterhours Saturday Night Pride at Flash (645 Florida Ave., N.W.) on Sunday, June 9 from 3:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. DJ Nina Flowers, DJ Serving Ovahness and DJ Shane Marcus will spin tracks. Tickets are $55. For more information, visit cherryfund.org.

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with the Washington Blade!

TUESDAY, JUNE 5

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6

Night Out at the Nationals Happy Hour 4-7PM Walters Sports Bar Free and open to the public

Comedian Leslie Jordan Live 7PM & 9PM Union Stage at the Wharf Tickets at washingtonblade.com/leslie

THURSDAY, JUNE 7

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Pride Pils Can Launch Party 6-10PM (Free) Dacha Beer Garden Visit PridePils.com for more information

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Inaugural Pride on the Pier Fireworks Show presented by Compass 9PM (Free) The Wharf Visit PrideOnThePierDC.com for more information and VIP tickets

Pride on the Pier presented by Absolut 2-9PM (Free) The Wharf

Visit PrideOnThePierDC.com for more information and VIP tickets

SATURDAY, JUNE 8 Pride Parade Viewing Party 4-7PM Studio Theatre Visit BladeFoundation.org/Pride for tickets

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12 Pride Yappy Hour 5:30-7:30PM (Free) Milk Bar Logan Circle Free and open to the public

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TARON EGERTON as Elton John in ‘Rocketman.’

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Despite flaws, ‘Rocketman’ takes off An appropriately entertaining and dazzling biopic

By JOHN PAUL KING As if to establish the appropriate flourish right from the top, “Rocketman,” Dexter Fletcher’s brassy big-screen fantasia on the breakthrough years of Elton John’s career, immediately sets a cheeky tone by giving its lead character an explosive, bravura entrance, clad horns-to-toe in a shimmering devil costume and already fully formed into the superstar whose razzle-dazzle image we know so well.

This will be no glossy docudrama that merely dramatizes the “facts” of a famous life, it seems to be telling us, but rather a surreal look back at that life taken through an impressionistic mélange of music and memory.

Screenwriter Lee Hall has adapted John’s early biography into a long flashback, told from the perspective of the singer’s recollections while undergoing treatment for substance abuse at the height of his career. As he tells his story to a roomful of

fellow patients, he mingles memory with music to take us on a hazy tour of his past; the factual details blur into a wash of color and movement, and ghosts of the past and present mingle in song-and-dance fantasies set to his own iconic compositions.

It’s an approach that makes all the difference. Even the best film biographies often falter as they try to take an entire, complex, real human life and distill it into an approximately two-hour narrative that ties everything up into an easily digestible package. Only an exceptionally gifted writer can accomplish such a feat without conflating, oversimplifying, and resorting to the kind of pat, clichéd dialogue that never rings true even when delivered by the finest actors in the business.

Hall’s solution, realized with style and vision by Fletcher’s skilled direction, is to abandon any semblance of objective reality in favor of interpreting the facts through the prism of Elton’s fantastical imagination. There’s no need to be concerned about maintaining an accurate chronology; the narrative bounces between periods of the singer’s life at will, underscoring connections between the formative experiences of his life and revealing the emotional threads that chart his path from precocious childhood to self-indulgent superstardom and beyond.

This conveniently eliminates the potential for quibbling over anachronisms – such as where and when Elton is wearing each outlandish costume, lovingly re-created by Julian Day from the singer’s wardrobe over the years — that are always problematic for fans seeking accuracy in depictions of their idols’ lives.

More importantly, though, it allows for the conceit of presenting Elton’s life as a quasi-musical. Powered by the eloquent melodies and lyrics of John’s iconic songbook with longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin, the flights of fancy it permits lift us from the frustrating mess that is real life and into a realm where even the most complex, painful experiences become coherent and beautiful. Fletcher draws from the iconography of classic Hollywood and the edgy flash of modern music video to create visual poetry; from the infectious youthful energy that explodes from “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” to the melancholy candor expressed through “Tiny Dancer,” he matches song to mood in a way that gets to the emotional heart of Elton’s story and delivers moments of pure cinema that stick with us long after the credits have rolled.

Unfortunately, the film is unable to completely escape the pitfalls of its genre.

The tired tropes of the “rock-and-roll bio” still manage to insert themselves throughout, and characters (such as Elton’s parents, or his first manager and lover John Reid) are unfavorably rendered into antagonists for the sake of dramatic conflict. Since most of what we see is presented through the filter of a drug-addled, mental state, this latter point might be forgiven; still, in a film that ultimately espouses forgiveness and taking responsibility for one’s own behavior as keys to finding a path to self-actualization, turning real people into little more

than villains strikes one as a particularly disappointing cop-out.

Still, it’s not enough to overshadow the good things about Fletcher’s movie, which benefits not only from his own colorful imagination but from the superb work of his performers. Taron Egerton’s honestly drawn Elton captures both the unrepentant boyishness and the diva-esque petulance that characterize the pop icon’s persona, and finds the humanity that gives us a leading character worth loving. Jamie Bell portrays Taupin with exactly the right easy-going, grounded energy needed to illuminate why these two men – whose partnership yielded some of the greatest songs of the era and is the reason the story of Elton John is really the story of them both – were such a perfect artistic match. The chemistry between the two players allows this relationship to serve as the movie’s “love story,” a refreshingly platonic one far more significant than any minor romance that might have been explored.

The talent extends into the supporting cast. Richard Madden, as Reid, may be limited by the broad strokes with which is character is written, but he makes the most of his screen time, providing subtle dimensions that somehow keep him from being completely unlikable; likewise, the oddly cast Bryce Dallas Howard avoids turning Elton’s mother into an unfeeling monster. Smaller turns by Gemma Jones, Tate Donovan, and Charlie Rowe also make deep impressions.

Finally, many audiences will be concerned about the handling of sexuality in a film about an openly gay pop star.

In Lee’s deft screenplay, Elton’s sexuality is clearly established, but it does not define him, nor does it control his journey.

While some will doubtless see this as an avoidance or a cheat, it’s a refreshing sign of progress that a film can be made about a gay character that doesn’t have to be about a struggle toward acceptance.

As an added sign of diminishing taboo, the much-publicized sex scenes between Egerton and Madden, though comparatively tame, are handled with a satisfying authenticity that speaks volumes about the film’s intentions to represent with honor.

With a movie like “Rocketman,” there is great temptation to nitpick. It deals with a beloved real-world figure, and one who’s still very much alive, at that; it necessarily invites debate about the portrayal of queer people in our popular entertainment, a hot button issue that ensures a wide range of audience reaction; perhaps most dangerously, it takes a bold and unorthodox artistic avenue to tell its story, something that is often met with distaste by a public looking for something more concrete and accessible. To be sure, sometimes it falls short of its ambition; but considering all that could have been wrong with it, it succeeds beyond reasonable expectation not only to offer a balanced and enlightening portrayal of its central character, but to entertain and dazzle us as well. For a movie about Elton John, nothing could be more appropriate.

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Take me OUT to the ballgame

琀栀攀

Orioles’ second annual Pride Night slated for June 12

By KEVIN MAJOROS

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Hookups = Last year’s LGBTQ Pride Night with the Baltimore Orioles.

Photo by Kevin Majoros

The Baltimore Orioles return with their second official LGBTQ Pride Night on Wednesday, June 12 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Last year’s event drew about 2,000 participants and marked a huge demand for the O’s Pride Caps.

“The Orioles organization was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for last year’s event,” says Greg Bader, vice president of communications and marketing.

Bader is in his 26th season with the Orioles and is married to husband John.

This year’s Pride Night was moved up in the calendar to coincide with Baltimore Pride events which culminate the following weekend at their Pride Parade and Block Party.

The Baltimore Men’s Chorus will perform the national anthem as part of the pregame festivities.

Ticketholders will receive the retooled O’s Pride Cap and prices range from $2741. A VIP ticket is also being offered for

$75 with access to a pregame party at the Center Field Roof Deck.

A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit Moveable Feast and The Pride Center of Maryland.

Moveable Feast is a Baltimore-based organization that provides nutritious foods and other services in order to preserve quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions.

The Pride Center of Maryland is a catalyst for uniting and empowering sexual and gender minorities in Baltimore and Central Maryland, and to advocate for a better quality of life for the entire community.

“We have already seen a great interest level for this year’s event, and we have heard from a lot of Birdland members who will be attending,” Bader says. “Everyone with the Orioles organization is really thankful for the support.”

Tickets for LGBTQ Pride Night can be purchased at mlb.com/orioles.

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Visit www.squirt.org to hook up today

D.C. Black Pride

D.C. Black Pride was held over Memorial Day Weekend with music, workshops and parties in venues throughout the city and an outdoor ‘Pride in the Park’ festival at Fort Dupont Park.

Washington Blade photos by Molly Byrom

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#homewithyou

Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. Logan Circle: 1313 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 202.386.6330 | Chevy Chase: 5471 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 300, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 301.298.1001 | Georgetown: 1232 31st Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 202.448.9002 | Capitol Hill: 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 202.545.6900 | McLean: 6849 Old Dominion Drive, Suite 360, McLean, VA 22101 703.310.6111 | Arlington: 3100 Clarendon Blvd. Ste 200, Arlington, VA 22201 703.266.7277

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The Seth Turner Group Seth Turner | seth@sethturnergroup.com | 202.253.2913 Gerri Pozez | gerri@sethturnergroup.com | 617.834.6583

Happy Pride from the most colorful DC real estate duo! Call The Seth Turner Group for any of your buying or selling needs. They are here to help everyone find their place in the world!

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Guiding you home.

David Wolfe david.wolfe@compass.com | 703.258.9098

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Sheila and Ty Group Ty Hreben | ty@compass.com | 202.336.3607 Sheila Mooney | sheila@compass.com | 202.302.4321

Anyone can list a property, but it takes professionals with experience, knowledge, and results to get it sold for the best price. Sheila and Ty have been the top agents in Woodley Park since 1995. They are confident they can devise a successful real estate strategy for you, and welcome the opportunity to do so.

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Top real estate team in 10 DC zipcodes

Helping you find where you belong.

Jenn Smira Team jsmira@compass.com | 202.340.7675 jennsmira.com | @jennsmirateam

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Michael Moore michael.moore@compass.com | 202.262.7762

Known for his unrivaled knowledge of the real estate market and his commitment to delivering exceptional customer service, Michael is one of the area’s most successful and sought-after agents.

Thanks to his designer’s eye, unique appreciation for each home’s story, and his intuitive ability to match buyers with the right homes, Michael has received the highest caliber of recognition from peers and clients alike throughout his entire 29 year career.

10 Average Days on Market

102.6% Average Sale/List Price

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Have you found your place in the world?

Stanton (and Buster) Schnepp stanton@compass.com | 202.997.5192

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Vassar Broermann Group Todd Vassar | todd@thevbgroup.com | 202.384.7405 Eric Broermann | eric@thevbgroup.com | 202.643.1480

Todd and Eric have been recognized for their exceptional character and skills both locally and nationally. No matter your circumstances, their team is committed to understanding your goals and helping you reach them.

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Voted 2016 Best of Gay DC—Best Realtor

by The Washington Blade readers

Your home.

Our mission.

The Fowler Group Michael Fowler | mfowler@compass.com | 202.812.0272 Alison Scimeca | alison@compass.com | 202.607.0649

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Helping you find your place in the world

Evan + Mark Team team@evanandmark.com 202.524.1676 dcrealestate.com

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16698 Ki ngs H i ghwa y S t e . A , L e w e s , D E 19958 • ( 3 02) 645- 6 6 6 4 • L e e A n n Gr o u p . c o m

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Make Summer 2019 Your Year to Move to the Beach!

24438 Putters Drive, The Peninsula Offered at $1,499,900 | MLS Number: DESU140020 EXCEPTIONAL LUXURY Original Echelon model home on the 11th hole in The Peninsula, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course in eclectic Coastal Delaware, delivers amazing style, custom design, and unparalleled amenities with low property taxes.

36347 Warwick Drive, Rehoboth Beach Offered at $499,900 | MLS: 1007522996 ALWAYS IN SEASON Spacious and like-new, this luxury low-maintenance carriage home offers impeccable taste and style!

1 6 6 9 8 K in g s H ig h way St e. A, Lewes, DE 19958 • (302) 645- 6664 • L eeA n nG ro u p . c o m

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We believe that to create an exceptional community of culture, it takes all kinds.

The Ingleside Communities Are Proud We are proud to be advocates for an entire new generation of diversity, of our great history, and heritage of serving Washington, DC area seniors. Our legacy of promoting a culture of inclusion provides extraordinary service and exceptional care.

Visit us today, and discover what engaged living can mean to you!

An Ingleside Community

An Ingleside Community

3050 Military Road, NW, Washington, DC 20015 202-470-3413 | www.ircdc.org

701 King Farm Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850 240-380-2678 | www.ikfmd.org

Ingleside at Rock Creek and Ingleside at King Farm are not-for-profit, CARF accredited, continuing care retirement communities.

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Agents help you prepare for the unexpected

As the Midwest and even areas close to D.C. are coping with tornadoes this month, such events can impact a real estate purchase.

Photo by Solarseven; courtesy of Bigstock

From tornadoes to mold, have you thought of everything?

By JOSEPH HUDSON When buying real estate, just when you think you have done everything you can to put your best financial foot forward, there are times where things that are out of your control happen.

Think of the Midwest with the

tornadoes, Puerto Rico and Florida and Texas with hurricanes. Think of going under contract to buy a condo and finding out the building’s finances are not in order and the bank won’t give you a loan. Or there is a problem with the title to a property and it could take weeks or months to clear up. Or you are buying new construction and the tax IDs from the city haven’t been assigned yet, therefore delaying settlement.

That’s why a good agent will protect their buyers with contingencies, and that’s why there exist such systems as homeowner’s insurance, title insurance, mortgage insurance — we all have to plan a little wiggle room for those situations in life where we did the best we could, but still came up short.

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If I do a home inspection with a client and we discover leaks and mold and all kinds of unfavorable situations, hopefully I have built in a home inspection contingency to get them out of the contract. If a homeowner bought a home and the title was not cleared correctly, that’s where the title insurance comes in when they go to resell and need to clear up the title and who is going to pay for that?

If the condo building you want to buy in has a budget problem and the owners of the various condos are not current with their condo dues, then hopefully the financing contingency can come into effect because the bank won’t be able to issue a commitment letter for the loan, and the buyer can walk away.

A good agent will understand the layers of protection and contingencies, and can explain how to insure their client from the inadvertent surprises that come up when buying or selling a home. A good agent will also not act as an insurance salesperson, an attorney, a home inspector, or a structural engineer, but will be able to lead you to the right person to help you as a client make the most informed decision possible in that situation.

Joseph Hudson is a Realtor with The Oakley Group at Compass. Reach him at 703-587-0597 or Joseph.hudson@compass.com.

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TELL ‘EM YOU saw their ad in the Blade classifieds!

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Place your HOUSING TO SHARE ad online at washingtonblade.com and the ad prints free in the paper and online.* *25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

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RENT / DC Playmates and soul mates...

Place your HOUSING TO SHARE ad online at washingtonblade.com and the ad prints free in the paper and online.* *25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

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MOVERS AROUND TOWN MOVERS. Professional Moving & Storage. Let Our Movers Do The Heavy Lifting.

Mention the ‘Blade’ for 5% off of our regular rates. Call today 202.734.3080. www. aroundtownmovers.com

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BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC BLOOMINGDALE – Large 1000 sqft, 2BR/1BA Eng. Bsmt.

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