DAYTONA BEACH • ORLANDO • TAMPA • ST. PETERSBURG • SARASOTA • ISSUE 20.15 • JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 • WATERMARKONLINE.COM
YOUR LGBT LIFE.
GSA SAGA CONTINUES
IN LAKE COUNTY
MCC TAMPA’S
PHYLLIS HUNT
ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
A WALK ON THE
MILD SIDE Controversial Congressman Alan Grayson weighs in on politics, his personal philosophy and the future of LGBT equality
ALSO: ST. PETE’S FREEFALL PUTS INTIMATE SPIN ON SPRING AWAKENING
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DEPARTMENTS 6 // MAIL 8 // ORLANDO NEWS 12 // TAMPA BAY NEWS 16 // STATE 17 // NATION & WORLD 23 // IN DEPTH 27 // ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 33 // EVENT PLANNER 35 // TAMPA BAY OVERHEARD 37 // ORLANDO OVERHEARD 38 // TAMPA BAY MARKETPLACE 39 // TRANSITIONS 40 // ORLANDO MARKETPLACE 45 // SPORTS
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If you’re married you’re married—you should see your significant other in the hospital, make choices for your significant other if you —TIM HARDAWAY need to make those choices.
ON THE COVER
Preview
PAGE Congressman Alan
enjoys the lake 23 Grayson at Shadow Bay Park
PAGE
17 SHOCKING DEATH: Within a day of reports that Glee star Cory Monteith was found dead in a Canadian hotel room, the Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to protest his funeral.
WATERMARK ISSUE 20.15 //J ULY 18 - J ULY 3 1, 2013
in Orlando during an exclusive photo shoot for Watermark. Photo by Jake Stevens
ORLANDO NEWS
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PAGE Members of Westboro
PAGE Two of the three candidates
IN-DEPTH: ALAN GRAYSON SPRING AWAKENING
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Baptist Church are drowned out by counter-protesters at UCF; Lake County delays GSA vote—again; NAACP discusses LGBT rights at local workshop.
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for St. Petersburg mayor talked issues and Pride at the Metro Center earlier this month; Rev. Phyllis Hunt will retire from MCC Tampa in August; A transgender student is denied access to her restroom.
PAGE Congressman Alan
23
Grayson gets personal with an in-depth interview with Watermark publisher Tom Dyer. He talks about why he wanted to return to congress and what the future of LGBT rights holds in the Sunshine State.
PAGE St. Petersburg’s freeFall
tackles the 29 Theatre big production Spring
Awakening in a very intimate setting. Three out members of the cast, and openly gay director Eric Davis, talk about the rock musical’s influence and impact.
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HE RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISIONS RULING THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT unconstitutional still seem surreal to me. In my life I have seen history unfold— from the days when we couldn’t hold the hands of the people we love to same-sex couples getting recognized on a federal level. I could have never imagined such things when I was growing up as a closeted 1950s kid in rural Alabama. Thank you, Watermark, for taking time to recognize the importance of this ruling, and the ruling on Proposition 8 in California, with a special commemorative issue. This is by far the most important and most substantial gain we have made as a community and as a nation on our path to full equality for all Americans. The mood at St. Pete Pride was celebratory in a way I’ve never seen, and I know that feeling will not go away any time soon. Keep up the great work! STEVE ISAACS BRADENTON
EX-EX GAYS?
L
IKE SO MANY OF YOUR READERS, I was thrilled to learn about the Exodus International group �inally closing its doors in Orlando. The ongoing circus that was ex-gay or conversion
“The ongoing circus that was ex-gay or conversion therapy would have been laughable if it hadn’t been so detrimental to so many lives.” —GARY LUPER
therapy would have been laughable if it hadn’t been so detrimental to so many lives. Science has proven that this so-called “therapy” does not work and that sexual orientation cannot be willed one way or another. While I accept we can choose to not act on our natural instincts, as in refusing to perform sexual acts with someone of the same sex, I could never accept that we could reprogram ourselves to �ind another gender sexually attractive. I wish those who have declared victory as an “exgay” would step forward and reclaim their homosexuality. It’s not a disease, it’s not something we should fear. Those ex-ex gays should know there is a welcoming community ready to celebrate who they are. GARY LUPER ORLANDO
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JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 // ISSUE 20.15
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THE EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT BILL in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee sends a clear message that there is nothing more basic, more fundamental or more American than guaranteeing that hiring decisions are based on a worker’s ability to do the job rather than who they are or who they love. The vote is a victory for all Americans, and we are deeply grateful to Chairman Harkin and Senators Merkley and Kirk for their leadership, as well as all the Democrats and Republicans on the HELP Committee who stood by this vital legislation and sent it to the Senate �loor. Now, the full Senate has a historic opportunity to tackle this issue once and for all. This committee proved that there is no good reason for any senator— Democrat or Republican—to oppose this commonsense legislation. It’s time to vote. CHAD GRIFFIN HRC PRESIDENT
editor’s
Steve Blanchard EDITOR
SteveB@WatermarkOnline.com
I
Desk
ATTRIBUTE MANY OF MY PERSONALITY quirks to my parents. That means I credit my mother for my ability to hold grudges.
If someone says something bad about her family or causes harm to someone she loves, especially her children, forgiveness is the last thing on her mind—no matter how much time has passed. It’s a trait I inherited, if such things can be inherited. Memory is a powerful tool, and I was always taught, “fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you.” In other words, you get one chance to stay in my good graces. So when an acquaintance, celebrity or sports �igure makes blatant, homophobic comments about my community, I take it personally and don’t rush to forgive them, even if he or she apologizes profusely on social media and
WATERMARK STAFF
in tabloids. Celebrity news, at least in my opinion, isn’t really news. It’s gossip and I rarely follow it. But the nature of my job typically keeps me in the loop of who said what about our community. And thanks to social media, there is always a celebrity saying something they regret, or say they regret, later. Fortunately, it’s rare that the celebrities I admire or enjoy attack me for my sexuality. Paris Hilton insulted us last year, but I can’t even remember the name of her shortlived reality series with what’s-hername. When Tracy Morgan went on a homophobic rant during his stand up routine before that, I had no problem not watching 30 Rock,
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a show I never watched anyway, or buying Mio, the sweet �lavoryour-water solution he pitches on television commercials for those too lazy to stir in Kool-Aid packs. Both Hilton and Morgan apologized for their statements, but did little else. I know they’re not pacing in their multi-million dollar homes waiting for me to bestow my forgiveness upon them. But that’s not the point. To me, it’s about making things right, not just apologizing for your wrong—and that’s something that very rarely happens, especially concerning insults tossed at the LGBT community. That’s why I was so surprised when former Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway led the charge earlier this month to bring marriage equality to Florida. He signed his name to a petition to put a marriage equality amendment on Florida’s ballot and told reporters, “If you’re married you’re married—you should see your signi�icant other in the hospital, make choices for your signi�icant other if you need to make those choices.” This is the same man who, in a 2007 radio interview, proudly proclaimed his hate for gay people. And that’s barely a paraphrase. He actually said, “I hate gay people. So let it be known, I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people. I’m homophobic.”
He never apologized for the comments and even defended them shortly after saying them six years ago. But recently, he said those comments were “truly, truly wrong” and then went the extra mile to do something to correct that past error. Hardaway said that conversations with friends and family members about his homophobia helped him change his opinions on us. He said those heartfelt conversations offered perspectives he had never considered and allowed him to evolve his position on marriage equality and the LGBT community. Is he truly sorry? I think so, and I can forgive him for his words in 2007. It may seem like a simple act, adding your name to a petition, but it’s a powerful one. How many pro NBA players— active or retired— have done the same thing for Florida’s LGBT population? Which of your favorite celebrities have actively petitioned on our behalf here in Florida? Since 2007, the LGBT community has targeted Hardaway and labeled him a homophobe. Even those who have helped him change his views have been called out as bigoted, a term we use all too often. Believe me, I get it. It’s hard to ignore the painful sting of words hurled our direction. Not to sound too preachy, but isn’t forgiving those people, especially the ones who legitimately apologize, the best way to heal those wounds? People change their opinions, and education usually leads them to the right revelations. When that happens, we should be grateful, and yes, even offer forgiveness for their past indiscretions. | |
Isn’t forgiving those people, especially the ones who legitimately apologize, the best way to heal those wounds?
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CONTRIBUTORS DAVID MORAN
is the LGBTQ Services Graduate Coordinator at the University of Central Florida, where he studied Emerging Media. Page 8
GREG STEMM
lives in Gulfport, Fla., and has worked as a freelance writer for several local publications. He is a founding member of St. Pete Pride and active politically in Tampa Bay. Page 12
PEGGY GREEN
is a chaplain and a ClearHeart Coach, serving the LGBT community and helping people and their families find grace and peace at the end of life. To reach her, visit ClearHeartCoaching.com. Page 19
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orlando NEWS
UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Students returning to Carver Middle School in August still don’t know if they can participate in a Gay/ Straight Alliance, or any club, for that matter. | PHOTO BY JAKE STEVENS
HUMAN SHIELD: UCF students surround Westboro Baptist Church protestors on campus July 15. PHOTO BY DAVID THOMAS MORAN
UCF students muffle Westboro protest David Thomas Moran DAVID@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
O
RLANDO | More than 100 people showed up in front of the UCF Arena July 15 to counterprotest a visit from the Topeka-based hate group, Westboro Baptist Church. The controversial anti-gay group made a brief stop at UCF after picketing the NAACP national convention earlier in the morning near Sea World. At around 9:30 a.m., six Westboro picketers arrived in front of the arena sporting their notorious anti-gay signage. The small group, which included three children, was quickly surrounded by a crowd of mostly UCF students. The counter-protesters came decked out with signs, rainbows and their own posters challenging Westboro’s message of hate. Poster slogans included “God Hates Fangs,” “A Life of Hate Creates Its Own Hell” and “Honk for Westboro to Go Home.” Some were humorous, others more serious. Westboro had announced earlier this month through a press release that it planned to picket at UCF from 9:15-9:45 a.m. at one of the campus’ free speech zones. Students used social media to organize the counter-protest. Westboro Baptist Church is registered as a hate group and has gained international fame for its picketing of American soldiers’ funerals across the country. The Westboro picketers arrived about �ifteen minutes late, which left some initially thinking the group might not show up. Campus police and administrators were on hand to maintain the peace. | |
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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
Still waiting Lake County School Board once again postpones GSA discussion Jamie Hyman and Susan Clary
JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
T
AVERES | Once again, the
Lake County School Board has delayed its decision on the future of clubs—including a muchdebated Gay Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School—for the 20132014 school year. A July 8 date for the discussion was advertised, but now the board says that was a mistake and the meeting is now set for Aug. 12, just a week before Aug. 19, the �irst day of school. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says Lake County schools must allow GSAs because middle schools have other non-academic clubs. In mid-May, the board voted to allow elementary schools to have school-sponsored clubs with parental consent, but student-created clubs would not be permitted. For high schools, the board voted students could create clubs with the superintendant’s approval. But the board argued about what to do for middle schools, �inally voting to limit clubs to organizations that can “strengthen and promote critical thinking, business skills,
JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 // ISSUE 20.15
future,” Tilley said. “We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure these students can meet in a safe environment at school.” The battle for the GSA goes back athletic skills and performing arts.” to Nov. 2012, when Bayli Silberstein, It is unclear whether the GSA club 14, �irst requested permission charter could meet those application to form the club. According to requirements. Superintendent Silberstien, school of�icials ignored Susan Moxley, who approves her request. On Jan. 23, the ACLU the applications, has expressed sent a letter to Lake County School her desire to keep GSAs out of Board attorney Stephen Johnson, middle schools. demanding the district follow The board needed to advertise through on Silberstein’s request its preliminary decision for 28 days for a GSA to “confront bullying, before a �inal reading date was educate the school community, and promote acceptance and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students.” Next, the School Board proposed a plan to ban all non-curricular student clubs, rather than allow the GSA. On March 11, the —DANIEL TILLEY, ACLU STAFF ATTORNEY board voted 3-2 in favor of set. The follow-up meeting was allowing non-curricular clubs, which scheduled for June 24, then moved would pave the way for the GSA. The to July 8 and now set for the new district attorney presented three August date. options: allowing non-curricular “I’m not holding my breath,” clubs at the districts’ high schools said Daniel Tilley, ACLU staff while closing them to middle attorney specializing in LGBT rights. schools, allowing non-curricular “Delaying is what [the school board clubs at both high schools and has] been doing from day one and so middle schools, or closing nonit’s really not a surprise.” curricular clubs to both high schools He said they can’t delay forever. and middle schools. “At some point somebody’s Board members Rosanne going to have to make a decision Brandeburg, Debbie Stivender and whether or not they’re going to allow the GSA to meet in the
“Delaying is what they have been doing from day one and so it’s really not a surprise.”
Continued on page 10 | |
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orlando NEWS
NAACP discusses the status of gay marriage within its ranks
| | Lake County GSA from pg.8
Susan Clary SUSAN@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
O
RLANDO | Julian Bond,
the revered civil rights activist and protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., famously boycotted the funeral of King widow Coretta Scott King in 2006 because the mega church chosen by her children was anti-gay. So when he put together an LGBT workshop on July 15 at the NAACP’s 104th Annual at the Orange County Convention Center, all of the participating panelists were passionately in favor of LGBT rights. “We believe it’s a human right to marry the person you love,” Bond said. “This is a �ight for civil rights.” When a self-ascribed anti-gay audience member accused Bond, 73, of not providing both sides of the debate on “The Christian Case for Marriage: Why All Marriages are Created Equal,” he and other panels members urged attendees
to state their minds. And they did. What followed was a dynamic three-plus hour discussion on issues surrounding gay rights, same sex marriage and religion in the black community. It began with a discussion on Bible verses that conservative Christians often use to defend the point of view that same sex marriage is a sin. “You can use sacred texts to support slavery, violence against women and a whole host of ideas that don’t belong in modern times,” said Amos Brown, with the NAACP National Board in San Francisco. “You need to make the effort to think for yourself and not allow yourself to be imprisoned by the oppressive side of Christian culture.” Bond, who served as Chairman of the NAACP from 1998-2010, reminded attendees that the NAACP board voted to endorse same sex marriage in June 2012, a week after President Obama’s endorsement. Bishop Othal Lakey, of the Christian Methodist Episcopal
Strategy first.
Church in Troy, Va., said he followed the anti-gay stance of many churches until a gay parishioner approached him and asked why he should be treated differently by his place of worship. Lakey subsequently researched and wrote the book Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: An Analysis of Homosexuality and the Black Church. He said black men often hold onto their manhood as a symbol of power in a society that has been oppressive them and that there is a fear that being gay is a threat to that power. “We need to have a dialogue about the difference between rights and what is right,” Lakey said. “People have the right to love whomever they want to love.” The event was sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Black Justice Coalition. | |
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Chairwoman Kyleen Fischer were the votes in favor, while Tod Howard and Bill Mathias voted to ban non-curricular clubs in middle schools but to allow them in high schools. However, on April 22, the board voted 4-1 to table the GSA discussion after a change to Senate Bill 1076, which will go into effect July 1 and potentially no longer requires Florida middle schools to adhere to the federal Equal Access Act. That Act protects student’s rights to organize clubs in secondary schools. Governor Rick Scott signed the bill into law on April 22, the same day of the school board meeting. Both Matthias and Howard admitted to lobbying for that law change. Matthias, who represents District 1 in Lake County, has been a vocal opponent of a countywide policy permitting Silberstein to form a GSA at Carver Middle School. The ACLU of Florida �iled a lawsuit on May 1, claiming
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that the school board, district superintendent and principal of Carver Middle School violated Silberstein’s rights under the federal Equal Access Act and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. On May 2, the School Board relented and the parties in the case entered into a consent decree allowing Silberstein to form the club for the remainder of the school year. That agreement has, of course, expired. Tilley said the School Board will not be given such a long time to decide, this time around. “We’re certainly not going to have a repeat of what happened in the spring where we just gave them months and months to give us a decision,” he said. “We’ve been in contact with a number of students who are interested in making sure the GSA goes forward and if there’s no af�irmative indication that they’re going to be allowed to meet at the beginning of school, we’re going to do everything we can at that time to make sure they can meet.” Tilley said they’ll have to wait and see what the school board does, but those actions could include litigation. | |
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tampa bay NEWS 12
Hunt to retire from MCC Tampa Steve Blanchard EDITOR@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
T
AMPA | For more than a decade, Rev. Phyllis Hunt has served as the senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa and as a mouthpiece for the LGBT community at rallies, council meetings and Pride events. CLOSING A But this August, Hunt will CHAPTER: Rev. move onto other things as she Phyllis Hunt has served retires from her post at the longas senior pastor at MCC standing Tampa church. Tampa since 2003. “No matter how long a pastor is called by a church body, it is a temporary relationship,” Hunt told her congregation. “I must listen beyond the familiar voices of emotions, opinions, logic, fear and even desire. My sense of call is a knowing that resides deep in the core of my being.” Hunt began her service at MCC Tampa in 2003 and told the congregation that she will step down on Aug. 11, 2013. She made it clear that she has not been hired by another church nor is she seeking a job with another church. “I will enter a time of well-needed rest and some space to grieve and celebrate my journey,” Hunt said. “As I move through this season of caring for myself, my family and my beloved spouse, Vilia, I believe that the work God is calling me to will become clear.” Because of the ethics involved in retiring a senior pastoral role, Hunt said she will not attend MCC Tampa events after the Aug. 11 date. That includes weddings, funerals, fundraisers and worship services. “Not attending MCC Tampa is not personal,” she explained. “It is my responsibility to the covenant of ordained ministry.” Hunt called the decision to retire “bittersweet” and said that she is “sad to leave.” However, she believes the church’s next leader, whomever that may be, needs space to establish spiritual authority and to set up the right relationships and partners within the church to continue its ongoing success. Hunt was a regular attendee of MCC Tampa since 1987. Since becoming the senior pastor in 2003 she became a spokesperson for the LGBT community at several wellpublicized events, including at Hillsborough County Commission meetings during the days of Ronda Storms now-repealed ban on Pride recognition in the county. She even attended Storms church to discuss the conservative Brandon of�icial’s anti-gay stance. Church board members will soon meet to place an interim pastor and begin the search for a new senior pastor. “The work ... as your spiritual leader has offered me some of the most spiritually enriched, creative and challenging experience both professionally and personally,” she said. “I’m proud of the work we have done and I will carry many meaningful memories of our time together in my heart and mind for many years to come.” | |
watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
DEBATE PREP: (L-R) Debate organizer David Schauer addresses the crowd before Mayor Bill Foster and challenger Rick
Kriseman begin their debate at the Metro Wellness and Community Center in St. Petersburg July 9. Also pictured is debate moderator WMNF news director Rob Lorie. PHOTO BY GREG STEMM
Tackling the issues 2 St. Pete mayoral candidates address pride, police and policies Greg Stemm
GREG@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
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T. PETERSBURG | Two of the three candidates for mayor of St. Petersburg participated in a debate July 9 at the Metro Wellness and Community Center before a standing room only crowd of mostly LGBT residents. Current Republican mayor Bill Foster and Democratic challenger Rick Kriseman were on hand, while candidate Kathleen Ford, also a Democrat, was notable in her absence. Ford had sent word through her staff to organizers that she had another appearance at a neighborhood association but would try and make the event. Despite organizers delaying the start time of the debate a half hour in attempt to accommodate her schedule, she failed to show entirely. “I think Kathleen’s lack of appearance today says a lot more about her commitment to the LGBT community of St. Petersburg than anything she might have said here,” said David Schauer, a member of the board of directors of Metro and one of the main organizers of the event.
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Schauer noted that both candidates in attendance had mentioned that outside their appearance at the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club this was the largest gathering of constituents they had faced so far in the election. Ford also failed to appear at the Suncoast Tiger Bay event on June 10. Before Kriseman or Foster could comment on Ford’s absence, an unidenti�ied person dressed as a
on openness and transparency, which is not what we are seeing from Ms. Ford by her not being present. But she seems to be only running on one issue, the Pier.” “This is an important election,” said Kriseman. “Here we have an opportunity to hear my views and Mayor Foster’s views. It’s very disappointing not to be able to hear what Ms. Ford thinks. This is particularly true since there is very little information about her positions on her website.” Perhaps indicative of the question that was highest on everyone’s mind, moderator Rob Lorie of WMNF radio jumped the gun at the beginning of the debate with the question, “What do you think the impact has been from the St. Pete Pride celebration on St. Petersburg and will you march in the parade next year?” Foster, who was �irst up, seemed unshaken by the impromptu launch into questioning ahead of his opening statement. Foster �irst pointed out to the audience some of his accomplishments as mayor, including navigating the city’s
“I can’t think of a better city than St. Petersburg when it comes to showing respect for diversity.” —MAYOR BILL FOSTER yellow chicken and holding a sign reading “Kathleen Ford too chicken to debate Foster and Kriseman” entered the room. Once the chicken had quieted down, Foster addressed the crowd. “I’ve spent the last three and a half years getting to know you and communicating with the public I serve,” said Foster. “The two candidates here today are running
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tampa bay NEWS
Trans woman barred from PTEC women’s room Staff Report
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T. PETERSBURG | Alex Wilson is a certi�ied nursing assistant, but she wants to become a licensed practical nurse, so she’s taking classes at Pinellas Technical Education Center. Until early July, she had used the women’s restroom at school. Wilson was born male, but is four years into hormone replacement therapy. She hasn’t undergone sexual reassignment surgery. When another student complained to administrators, Wilson was yanked out of class and told she could not use the women’s restroom, she told WFLA-TV in Tampa. The school threatened to expel her and alert law enforcement. Wilson said school administrators have relegated her to a facility in an inconvenient storage facility on campus and she is not happy. Melanie Marquez Parra, Pinellas County Schools spokesman, told WFLA that in such situations students are offered access to a restroom that provides privacy both for the individual and other students. | |
| | Mayoral Debate from pg.12
�inances through one of the most dif�icult �inancial years in memory, securing greater private investment and a strong city focus on the arts and cultural events. He pointed to the numerous cranes in the city skyline as proof of positive economic development. Turning to Pride, he praised the economic impact of the event, which he noted has been shown to be about $10 million. He said the event helps new people get the “vibe” of St. Petersburg and he praised the event’s impact on drawing visitors and residents together. However, he said he will not march in the parade because he believes the event is too adult-oriented. Kriseman followed the same format as Foster, �irst giving an opening statement saying he felt that in his role as a state representative he saw that in Tallahassee that partisanship was often more important than policy, a position he said he doesn’t see in St. Petersburg. He mentioned that while he often disagreed with former mayor Rick Baker on some issues it didn’t get in
the way of him helping move the city forward as a councilman. “This is an extraordinary city full of extraordinary people and my leadership will re�lect that,” he said. As far as Pride, Kriseman, who drafted the �irst proclamation naming June Gay Pride month in St. Petersburg in 2003, simply said that the impact of the event on the city had been “huge” and noted that he has attended and, when appropriate, ridden in the parade each year since its inception. He said he would march if he were elected mayor. Later the two were asked what additional things St. Petersburg could go to become even more friendly to the LGBT community. Foster said that he had surprised some people by supporting initiatives like passing a domestic partner registry and a human rights ordinance in St. Petersburg. “I can’t think of a better city than St. Petersburg when it comes to showing respect for diversity,” he said. “I will continue to support anything that treats people with respect and shows the world that our city is committed to equality.” Kriseman said he hoped that the city’s marketing department could
be called upon to do a better job of promoting St. Petersburg as a gayfriendly destination for visitors. Noting that Pinellas County has at least 3,700 people living with HIV/AIDS the two were asked what the city could do to be of more help with managing the health care issue. Both agreed that the city should continue to work with agencies like the Metro Wellness and Community Center and others who were on the leading edge of dealing with the disease. Both agreed that better education might be a key to lower infection rates. Both candidates agreed they would like to see gender identity and gender expression added to the city’s human rights ordinance. Topics were not restricted to those speci�ically of interest to the LGBT community however. St. Petersburg’s primary election is Aug. 27 and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 5. The June 9 debate was hosted by Metro Wellness and Community Center with support from the Tampa Bay Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, King of Peace MCC Church and St. Pete Pride. For more on the debate, visit WatermarkOnline.com. | |
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state NEWS
Equality Florida, ACLU target repeal of Amendment 2 Staff Report
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ALLAHASSEE | In 2008, more than 60% of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that prevents same-sex marriages from being performed or recognized in the Sunshine State. But after rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court in June declared a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and dismissed Proposition 8 in California, Floridians are hopeful that someday marriage equality could arrive in our state. A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s marriage ban may be the most viable option, but according to Equality Florida, that option must be pursued with care. “The wrong case poorly timed could do more harm than good,” the organization said in a statement. Currently, Equality Florida is
soliciting stories from Florida couples who are willing to be potential plaintiffs in a legal challenge to the amendment. Through its new campaign and website, GetEngaged.org, the organization has already enlisted more than 200 submissions from potential plaintiffs. The initiative is part of Equality Florida’s partnership with Freedom to Marry, a national organization seeking marriage equality in the United States. With any legal battle, �inances must be in order, and according to Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, the battle is off to a strong �inancial start. “A record number of people took part in this year’s Equala-thon and shattered our fundraising goal with $251,000 in gifts and pledges,” Smith said. The original goal was $200,000. Those who donated were given Get Engaged shirts, and Smith encouraged donors to
“wear your t-shirts proudly and let the world know you are engaged in Florida’s �ight for marriage equality.” Organizers of the lawsuit have not said when the paperwork would actually be �iled, mostly because timing is essential when it comes to success in such an endeavor. “To maximize the chance of winning and to avoid jeopardizing lawsuits already pending in other states, a legal challenge needs to be thoughtfully timed,” the organization said in a statement. “The few successful lawsuits that have won marriage equality... have shown that it takes more than a strong argument and justice to win. It also takes the right legal building blocks, constitutional litigation expertise, extensive background in LGBT legal issues and millions of dollars in attorney time, expert witness fees and costs.” The Sunshine State has
changed quite a bit in �ive years, when those 62% of voters passed the ban on marriage equality. Polls show that 54% of voters in Florida support marriage equality for samesex couples, according to a Public Religion Research poll. Another poll conducted by Public Policy Polling shows that 75% of Floridians now support providing all the bene�its of marriage to same-sex couples through either marriage or civil unions. That poll also shows that 23% oppose same-sex couples having any legal protections at all. While the poll numbers are encouraging, they aren’t quite strong enough yet to move forward with a ballot referendum in Florida, according to a joint statement released by Equality Florida, Freedom to Marry and the ACLU. “Rather than a rush to the ballot in 2014 with time, resources, turnout, and polling
stacked against us, it is better to invest in the tried and proven public education campaign that has helped to accelerate the shift in public opinion in states where victories have been achieved,” the statement says. “We can reassess how signi�icantly those numbers have shifted after a solid year, leaving ourselves ample time to prepare for 2016 or 2018 as a more favorable time for taking the issue back to the ballot.” While �ighting for marriage equality is a large undertaking, Smith is adamant that Equality Florida will continue to �ight for equality in other Florida arenas. “We’ll continue our campaigns to pass non-discrimination policies, domestic partner registries and anti-bullying policies throughout Florida,” she said. “Wherever there is an opportunity to advance equality in our state, we’ll be there and we’ll be ready.” To get involved in the campaign to overturn Florida’s Amendment 2, visit GetEngaged.org. | |
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Church is getting criticized for its homophobic Twitter posts and for its plans to picket the funeral. A cause of death has not yet been determined, but authorities do not
ProtectMarriage argued in its petition that Proposition 8 remains California law because the U.S. Supreme Court didn’t rule directly on the constitutionality of same-sex marriages in what is widely called the ``Perry’’ case. ``The Ninth Circuit’s decision in Perry has been vacated,’’ the petition stated, ``hence there is no appellate decision holding that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.’’ The petition also argued that the original lawsuit �iled in San Francisco named only the county clerks of Los Angeles and Alameda counties. On July 12, Harris �iled a brief urging the California Supreme Court to deny the request to stop counties from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Ted Olson, one of several highpro�ile attorneys who represented same-sex couples in the courts, called the petition “utterly baseless.’’ Olson said any county clerk
refusing to follow the state’s orders to issue same-sex marriage licenses faced contempt of court charges and federal civil rights lawsuits. “Proponents’ latest effort to stop loving couples from marrying in California is a desperate and frivolous act,’’ Olson said. University of California, Davis law professor Vikram Amar predicted the state Supreme Court would reject the petition and keep samesex marriages intact. Amar said the petition’s main arguments appear to fall only under the jurisdiction of federal judges. Since the U.S. Supreme Court has already banned ProtectMarriage and its allies from defending Proposition 8 in federal court, it appears they have almost no legal recourse, he said. ``My guess is that the California Supreme Court will not be eager to wade into this because so much of this turns on federal questions,’’ Amar said. | |
Same-sex couples applying for marriage licenses in Indiana could face perjury charges simply for submitting the application to a county clerk. Perjury is a Class D felony and carries a possibility of 6 months to three years in jail and a $10,000 fine. Indiana’s current electronic marriage license application specifically designates ``male applicant’’ and ``female applicant’’ sections for gathering required background information. County clerks say that if two men or two women applied for a marriage license, one of them would commit perjury. Marriage equality advocates said the law isn’t fair.
will be left up to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. In a brief statement to reporters and a small crowd of supporters at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Democratic Attorney General Kathleen Kane said she can’t ethically defend the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s
marriage law and she believes it to be unconstitutional. Kane, who supports marriage equality, said the state and U.S. constitutions stress equal protection under the law. The job of defending the law falls to Corbett, who opposes marriage equality. | |
RIP: For four seasons, Cory Monteith played “Finn Hudson” on FOX’s hit show, Glee.
Opponents want Calif. court to stop gay weddings SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. | Opponents of same-sex marriage demanded Friday that the California Supreme Court immediately halt the practice that recently resumed in the nation’s largest state after a nine-year legal battle. The group that sponsored voterapproved Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in 2008, launched a new, two-pronged legal attack in what one expert described as a last-ditch argument with little chance of succeeding. In its petition, ProtectMarriage argued that state of�icials who began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples had incorrectly interpreted a June 24 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The high court ruled that ProtectMarriage had no ``standing’’ to challenge a previous ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down Proposition 8.
Pa. attorney general won’t defend gay marriage ban Wire Report PHILADELPHIA, PENN. | Pennsylvania’s elected attorney general said July 11 that she will not defend a 17-year-old state law effectively banning same-sex marriage from a legal challenge in federal court, meaning the task
GAY RIGHTS SUPPORTERS AIM TO BUILD MISS. MOMENTUM Supporters of gay rights say they hope to use recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings to build momentum for full legal protections for gay and lesbian people everywhere, including in Mississippi. Speaking at a news conference at the Capitol, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin says he is confident that full legal equality, including gay marriage, will eventually come to Mississippi. In 2004, 86% of Mississippians voted for a state constitutional amendment that prohibited same-sex marriage from being recognized
SAME-SEX COUPLES SEEKING MARRIAGE COULD BE CHARGED
nation+world
An openly gay Indianapolis teenager expelled from an Indianapolis high school for bringing a stun gun to school to protect himself from bullies has agreed to settle his discrimination lawsuit against the school district for $65,000. The proposal also calls for Indianapolis Public Schools to remove all references of his expulsions from school from the 18-year-old’s academic record. The agreement still must be approved by a judge.
W
Wire Report
BULLYING SUIT SETTLED FOR $65K
suspect foul play. The 31-year-old had a history of drug problems and recently completed a 30-day stint in rehab. It is still unclear how Glee will deal with the passing of one of its stars. Monteith’s character, graduated high school at the end of Season 3 and spent much of the most recent season �iguring out what he wanted to do with this life. He did not appear in the �inal few episodes because of Monteith’s rehab stint, but reports indicate that he was expected to play a large role in the �irst two episodes of Season 5, which have already been written. | |
Staff Report ithin a day of reports that Glee star Cory Monteith was found dead in a Canadian hotel room, the Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to protest his funeral. Monteith, who played “Finn Hudson” on the popular FOX musical dramedy for four seasons, was discovered by hotel staff when he failed to check out of his room. He and real-life girlfriend and fellow Glee star Lea Michele, were rumored to be engaged. Already the Westboro Baptist
IN OTHER NEWS
NEWS
Westboro plans to picket Glee star’s funeral
CAMEROON GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST KILLED A prominent gay rights activist in Cameroon was tortured and killed just weeks after issuing a public warning about the threat posed by “anti-gay thugs,” Human Rights Watch July 16. Friends discovered the body of Eric Ohena Lembembe at his home in the capital, Yaounde, on July 15 after he was unreachable for two days. A friend said Lembembe’s neck and feet looked broken and that he had been burned with an iron. Lembembe was among the most prominent activists in one of Africa’s most hostile countries for sexual minorities.
SCOUTS FOCUSED ON JAMBOREE, NOT GAY VOTE Two months after a vote that accepted openly gay boys as Scouts, officials for the Boy Scouts of America say they’ve put the issue aside and are focused on their 10-day national Jamboree. Some 30,000 Scouts and their leaders arrived July 15 at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in southern West Virginia. ``We don’t see any changes in the way we do things at the jamboree at all,’’ Wayne Brock, the BSA’s chief executive, told The Associated Press.
ANTI-GAY LEADER SAYS ARMY OVERUN BY HYPERMASCULINE GAY SOLDIERS American Family Association spokesperson and radio host Bryan Fisher took on gay soldiers during a recent broadcast on July 10, lamenting the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. “It has opened the door for the hypermasculine homosexuals to come into the military, very similar to the sort of masculine ideal of the Greek warrior,” Fischer said. That influx, he said, is forcing out Christian soldiers.
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guestcolumn
A House of Cards, a House Divided and a House that is Always a Home
Peggy Green PEGGY@CLEARHEARTCOACHING.COM
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HEN WATERMARK
Editor Steve Blanchard wrote in his Editor’s Desk [Issue 20.08] that he’d returned to St. Louis to visit his mom, he said what most people say of the place they were born—he said he’d gone home.
But “home” can be a loaded word for this queer tribe, with so many who carry feelings of unbelonging. LGBTs, like refugees from the “family of origin,” go off in search of that “family of choice.” And we return to that house called home, where we know our place—or claim our place— and in that place, we wrestle with moving from silence to speech. So when Steve, at the kitchen table, thinks back to his days “at home,” I am right there beside him as he �lips through the pages of the American Family Journal and his blood pressure rises. He’s in a dif�icult position. His mother is in the hospital, his father is stressed out, and Steve, in the family kitchen, is reading lies and slurs. In his column, he never seems fully resolved about
his decision to discuss—or not—the contents of the magazine on his parents’ kitchen table. He recalls the Journal’s prescribed approach to homosexuals—love the sinner; hate the sin—as something with which his mother “really did struggle.” And in his nod to her sincerity, I hear neither blame nor anger. I hear only compassion for his mother. Last month in Miami, I attended the premiere of Two: The Story of Roman and Nyro. The �ilm, about the twin boys raised by two gay dads, explores the relationship between Curtis, one of the dads, and an evangelical Christian named Mary Ann, Curtis’s mom. In a gripping interview with Mary Ann, raised a strict fundamentalist who raised four sons the same way, she is talking about the moment when she �irst realized her son was gay. Re�lecting upon a moment that is 20 years old if it’s a day, her face shifts from the muf�in-making grandmother of Roman and Nyro to stark, stuttering silence. It’s like a long black car has slowed to a stop on a dusty road to release two men—one in a military uniform, the other in a white clerical collar—as they make silent strides to your front door in order to tell you your child has died. When Mary Ann cried, I cried. Back in St. Pete, I knew what was missing from the “guest column” I hadn’t been able to �inish—the one inspired by Steve’s trip to St. Louis. Missing was the face of an evangelical mother, facing the loss, chapter and verse, of all she held to be infallibly true. Missing, from the mental pictures that inspire good writing, were the eyes of a fundamentalist Christian who had built her life and raised her sons upon this rock only to �ind that the place called home was a house built on shifting sand. Missing was the stranded pause of a lifelong believer, up against the same desert-wandering as our own queer tribe if she removed even one spade from that house of cards. In these days of Climate Change, when shifting sands and twisting winds rock our walls on a daily basis, what matters is the house we all hold dear. While the left blames the right, and the right blames the left for this mutual feeling of homelessness, that we, the divided and conquered, suffer only from a missed opportunity. What are we missing? Each other. How will we ever get back Home? Together.
The only thing that stands between hate and love are the thoughts we allow to take root in our heads and the pictures we hold high in our minds.
Faced with a choice between a house of cards and a house divided, Curtis’ mother chose Curtis. Faced with the choice between airing hard feelings and adding to stress, Steve chose his mother’s health. Mary Ann, PFLAG mom, co-founded “Open Door Ministry.” Steve blessed his voice and published his feelings in Watermark. After years facilitating dialogue between gay people and evangelicals, I say this: the only thing that stands between hate and love, between the bitter grip that grinds our teeth and the peace of mind that sings us awake, are the thoughts we allow to take root in our heads and the pictures we hold
high in our minds. Don’t have a picture of Curtis’ mom? Picture this: An evangelical Christian, introducing her grandsons, Roman and Nyro, to two trays of muf�ins, hot out of the oven, in a house that is always a home to Desmond and Curtis, their two twin sons, the beauty who carried them into this world, and her husband. It’s a steamy-hot Hindu-Christian, CubanAnglo, I-Love-Lucy melting pot, and all the grandparents two kids could ever want. | | Got a dream? Join Peggy Green at Metro Wellness for group Life Coaching. 1st Thursday of every month, 11am. $10 donation.
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TALKING POINTS
You don’t have to be gay to be a supporter, you just have to be human.
40%
—ACTOR DANIEL RADCLIFFE, WHO PARTNERS WITH THE TREVOR PROJECT TO END LGBT BULLYING AND DISCRIMINATION
IS PRISCILLA ‘FLAWLESS?’
IDOL OUT,
GLEE IN
FOR LAMBERT
I
of LGBT adults in the US believe there has been too much focus on marriage equality at the expense of other issues of importance to LGBT people. —Pew Research Center
T TURNS OUT THE RUMORS ABOUT AMERICAN IDOL ALUM ADAM LAMBERT JOINING THE SHOW as a judge are just that—rumors. Instead, Lambert will bring his singing and dancing talents to Glee this fall for Season 5 of the high school and college musical. Creator Ryan Murphy broke the news on Twitter. While Lambert’s role hasn’t been de�ined, the show will say goodbye to cast members Heather Morris (Britany), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Mark Salling (Puck) and Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike). Lambert competed on the eighth season of Fox’s Idol. His album For Your Entertainment featured the hit single Whataya Want From Me. | |
ALL-AMERICAN BOY
PEOPLE ARE TALKING AT WATERMARKONLINE.COM
GAINS YOUTUBE FAME
ON LAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD POSTPONING THEIR DISCUSSION OF GSAS IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS YET AGAIN: “Given Lake County’s long and sorry history of intolerance (see the Groveland Four) is this really the image that the county leadership wants to project to potential investors and businesses? Lake County is in a financial mess and its schools are some of the lowest performing in the state. How about focusing on the problems you were elected to solve instead of furthering the image of Lake County citizens as a bunch of clay-eating, bigoted crackers.” —GODZILLA1960 “When asked directly, whether I support the GSA in middle school; I have been very clear the answer is NO. With that said I do not support ANY non-curricular club in middle school. When asked about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Rotary builder’s club, the cup stacking
club, my answer was the same NOT in middle school. You failed to mention or recognize the fact that I have been consistent with my position of curricular clubs only in middle school. Again when asked directly if I felt the GSA was age appropriate for 11-13 year olds I said NO.” —BILL MATHIAS (LAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER) “Your insinuation here--that you have some sort of general opposition to middle school extra-curriculars as opposed to a specific objection to a gay-straight alliance--is in line with other comments by school board members that have implausibly suggested that their concern is not the GSA itself. I don’t know who the board members think they are fooling.” —YOUTHALLIES
I
N A RECENT INTERVIEW WITH 75-YEAR OLD ENGLISH ACTOR TERRANCE STAMP, the A.V. Club’s Sam Adams asks about his role as Ralph Waite/ Bernadette Bassenger in the 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. “The thing is that Bernadette isn’t a drag queen, she’s a transsexual,” Stamp says. “So my characterization was based on how it would feel to be born into the wrong body. My feeling was, this was always a woman. She’d always only been a woman. But the truth is, the more I became familiar with the movie, I realized that it kind of is a masterpiece, really. It’s so silly that people don’t take it seriously, and it’s kind of a perfect movie. Flawless.” | |
SPIDEY ACTOR: WHY NOT MAKE THE CHARACTER GAY?
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CTOR ANDREW GARFIELD, WHO PORTRAYS SPIDER-MAN, told Entertainment Weekly this month that he doesn’t know why Spidey’s love interest couldn’t be a male. “Why can’t we discover that Peter is exploring his sexuality? It’s hardly even groundbreaking!…So why can’t he be gay? Why can’t he be into boys?,” he asked Producer Matt Tolmach. Gar�ield suggests Michael B. Jordan of Friday Night Lights as a love interest. “We’d have interracial bisexuality!” The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is scheduled for release in May 2014. | |
I
N ITS FIRST WEEK ON YOUTUBE, STEVE GRAND’S SINGLE “ALL-AMERICAN BOY” racked up more than a half a million views, and the numbers are climbing. The handsome six-pack sporting singer-songwriter has aspirations of becoming the �irst gay male country icon and his new video is about as country as you can get, with references to whiskey, trucks, American �lags and beers around the camp�ire. There’s just
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one thing that makes the story a bit different than other country songs—he sings about hooking up with his best friend once all the girls leave. Check it out on YouTube. | |
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PROGRESSIVE
IN DEPTH ALAN GRAYSON
CORE TO THE
REP. ALAN GRAYSON:
“Poverty, ignorance, prejudice—these are the things that keep us from attaining the heights that we could attain. My job is to try to eliminate those barriers for as many people as possible.”
in an extraordinarily personal interview, rep. alan grayson discusses the future of lgbt equality and his reasons for returning to congress.
A
Tom Dyer TOM@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
MONTH AGO, LGBT WASHINGTON
was abuzz about the pending DOMA and Prop 8 decisions. I was in town for several Pride events sponsored by the Obama Administration. Rep. Alan Grayson, elected to represent Florida’s newly reapportioned 9th District last November, graciously offered to take me to lunch and sit for an interview. But when I arrived at his of�ice in the Cannon House Of�ice Building across the street from the Capitol, the Congressman was rushing out the door to cast votes and make a rare speech on the House �loor. He asked a staff member to give me a tour and promised to meet up with me later. From the House gallery I watched Rep. Grayson—easily recognizable due to his height,
shock of thinning and unruly black hair and endearing forwardleaning tip-toe walk—make his way about the busy �loor and then set up to introduce the “Mind Your Own Business Act” to stop National Security Agency spying on U.S. citizens. It was vintage Grayson: clear, compelling, hyperbolic and �illed with quotable phrases. He claimed that Uncle Sam has become
PHOTO BY JAKE STEVENS
Big Brother, and charged that proponents of the NSA monitoring program believe it is—wait for the YouTube moment—“as American as apple spy.” “We are not North Koreans. We are Americans and we are human beings and we deserve to have our privacy respected.” Back at his crowded of�ice, his staff watched affectionately. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” one said as the phones lit up with overwhelmingly positive reactions from C-SPAN watchers. First elected in 2008, Grayson quickly made a name for himself as the outspoken progressive willing to go there. He described former Vice President Dick Cheney as a vampire, referred to a Federal Reserve advisor as a “K Street whore,” and famously characterized the Republican health care plan as “if you get sick, die quickly.”
Republicans spent a fortune successfully unseating him from his District 8 seat in 2010. But Grayson saw an opportunity when Florida gained two new congressional seats as the result of the Census. In 2012 he easily won election in a new and more Democrat-leaning district covering parts of Orange and Osceola counties. Grayson was born in the Bronx, and worked his way through Harvard as a janitor and night watchman. A magna cum laude Harvard law degree followed, and Grayson found success specializing in whistleblower fraud cases. A $13 million verdict against one government contractor remains the only successful prosecution against Iraq war pro�iteers. Grayson later started and then sold a successful telecommunications company, making him one of the wealthiest
JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 // ISSUE 20.15
members of Congress. During our lunch together, Grayson was warm, accessible, re�lective, even professorial— very different from the �irebrand persona touted in the media. He’s clearly devoted to his Philippinesborn wife, Lolita, and �ive children ages 8 to 18. And the depth of his commitment to LGBT equality was sincere and touching. In this unprecedented interview, I think you’ll see an unexpected side of this singular elected of�icial
WATERMARK: WE’RE ABOUT THE SAME AGE. I GREW UP FEELING THAT BEING GAY WAS A PRETTY BAD THING. YOU MUST HAVE LEARNED THE SAME THINGS. SO WHEN DID YOU FIRST ‘GET IT’—THAT GAY PEOPLE ARE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE AND SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO ALL THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES FOR HAPPINESS AND FULFILLMENT?
Continued on page 24 | |
watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
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| | Alan Grayson from pg.23
REP. ALAN GRAYSON: As with many people, I think it was when I �irst became aware that I had a gay friend. In my case, that wasn’t until I �inished graduate school. Interestingly enough, that �irst friend told me he was gay almost immediately; he felt he needed to tell me. I’m not sure that would be the case today. I think today it’s possible to be friends with somebody who’s gay and not even think about it. In the 60s being gay wouldn’t be talked about at all. In the 80s, when people came out we would discuss it. It was sort of a test of character for the straight member of the conversation. You know... how will you react? And as for me, when my friend came out to me I thought, ‘Let me be honest with myself. How do I really feel about this?’ And there just wasn’t anything that would lead me to feel hostility or negativity. There just wasn’t. So to answer your question, I think that was the crossing point for me. That was when, not being a gay person, I had to �igure out for myself what it meant to me on an individual level.
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WHAT ABOUT WHEN YOU ENTERED PUBLIC LIFE AND WERE FACED WITH DECISIONS HAVING TO DO WITH LGBT EQUALITY? DID YOU EVER CONSIDER THOSE ISSUES FROM A POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE, AND HOW THEY MIGHT COST OR BENEFIT YOU IN GETTING ELECTED?
Well, �irst of all, I came to this late in life. It was a whole new experience
unusual in the sense that I thought people actually deserved an answer. The feeling among most elected of�icials is that you don’t really want people to know your position because then they might not like you. And if they don’t know what your position is, then they have no reason to dislike you. Elected of�icials apparently never consider
why anyone else would care but the people involved. I mean… the propaganda that somehow gay marriage makes straight marriage bad for everyone is just farcical to me. I just don’t understand the logic of it. When you talk about marriage you’re talking about the people who are married to each other, not all these other people who are outside
The propaganda that somehow gay marriage makes straight marriage bad for everyone is just farcical to me. —REP. ALAN GRAYSON
to me. In 2006, if you were a candidate running for Congress—I think anywhere in the country—you were asked to take a position on issues like ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)... THE BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WAS RIPE IN FLORIDA.
Right, and also whether there would be some kind of alternative status to marriage... you would be asked that question all the time. And I was
watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
that if people know your position, they might actually like you and support you because of that.
YOU MUST’VE AT LEAST CONSIDERED: ‘HMMM... MY OPPONENT’S PRETTY CONSERVATIVE. I COULD EQUIVOCATE A LITTLE ON THIS AND GAIN SOME MODERATE VOTERS WITHOUT LOSING LIBERALS.’
Well, I’ve always been comfortable with the idea of gay marriage because I just don’t see
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the picture. Once you bring them into it, you invite prejudice.
BUT NOW WE’RE KIND OF AT THIS TIPPING POINT. THERE ARE 13 STATES THAT HAVE LEGAL SAME SEX MARRIAGE. IT SEEMS LIKE WE KNOW WHAT THE END GAME IS GOING TO BE, EVEN IF IT TAKES SOME TIME. LOOKING AHEAD 10 TO 20 YEARS, DO YOU THINK THIS ISSUE WILL BE MOSTLY BEHIND US? OR DO YOU THINK THAT THE BATTLE WILL BE ONGOING... BECAUSE MEMBERS
watermarkonline.com
OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY ARE INHERENTLY DIFFERENT, WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE MINORITY, AND WILL ALWAYS OFFEND CERTAIN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
Well, the progress that’s been made in the past 15 years in terms of people’s attitudes and views is almost unbelievable. I AGREE.
I often tell people that this is one of those things that makes me proud to be an American. People’s prejudices just vanish and they adopt a respectful and, I think, practical view. As you pointed out, when you stigmatize large groups of people everyone ends up getting hurt. Why do such a thing? What’s the motivation? My own view is that we have made a dramatic shift from a place that was fundamentally no different than the Jim Crow laws that African Americans faced until the 60s and 70s. We’ve gone from a position of organized prejudice and institutionalized discrimination [against the LGBT community] to a situation where there are openings, there’s a sense of progress, a sense of destiny and a sense that time is on the side of those who favor equal rights.
And there is tangible progress, like with ENDA and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ where you can actually point to speci�ic votes that re�lect people in Congress actually changing their minds. In some places that’s also true for same-sex marriage. But I think we’re approaching a situation where there will be some kind of stalemate between the red states and the blue states. Not a stage where there’s universal recognition of the right to equal treatment and respect, but rather a situation where there will be certain places in the country where gays and lesbians have equal rights and certain places where they don’t. And I think that sort of equation could exist for many years to come. The only way that I see that we can move beyond that is if your community continues to organize and press for equal rights in a way that forces the federal government to clamp down on state discrimination or if there is a clear majority for equality on the Supreme Court.
SUPPOSE ONE OF YOUR KIDS CAME TO YOU AND SAID, ‘DAD, I THINK I’M GAY, AND I’M SCARED ABOUT WHAT MY LIFE WILL BE LIKE.’ WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM? HOW WOULD YOU GUIDE THEM THROUGH THAT?
First, I would say I still love you. Forget the advice... I think they would need to know that above all else. But second, I’d tell them it’s up to them to create a life for themselves; one where they feel that they are not limited. In other words, don’t move to Uganda, where they execute gays. Instead, live in or create an environment where you can be everything that you can be, unconstrained by other people’s prejudices. The important thing is that they not put themselves in front of the moving truck that is other people’s prejudice. One of the beautiful things about America today is that there are places where gay people can live free. And as a father, I would recommend that a gay child take advantage of that. It’s an interesting question for me because I was concerned that my kids would face discrimination for being half Asian. And I think I faced some degree of discrimination for being Jewish. I know my father did. We are who we are. I don’t let other people judge me in any way that I regard as crucial. And I think when you’re talking about something as essential as your sexual identity, my children need to be strong enough to feel the same way.
And yet I’m back. They know exactly who I am, and that makes for challenging circumstances. Even still, in the six months since my reelection we’ve gotten 18 amendments passed in my two committees. These are substantive amendments that in some cases represent dramatic improvements in the law.
I THINK PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU’RE PROGRESSIVE. SOMETIMES PEOPLE ASSOCIATE THAT WITH BIG SPENDING...
You should ask my wife. My God… my wife could put lie to that.
GETTING REAL: Congressman Alan Grayson, makes a point on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher in 2010 while fellow guests Susan Eisenhower and Matthew Continetti listen. PHOTO COURTESY HBO
YOU GREW UP IN THE BRONX. YOU WENT TO HARVARD AND PAID FOR IT WORKING AS A JANITOR. THAT TAKES SOMETHING SPECIAL INTERNALLY, AND I WONDER IF YOU HAVE AN EMPOWERING PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY. AND IS IT SOMETHING YOU’RE TRYING TO INSTILL IN YOUR CHILDREN?
Well, I don’t waste time. I’ve been near death on many, many occasions and that instills you with a sense that you should take advantage of life.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN NEAR DEATH?
I was a very sick child. I had to go to a hospital four times a week for treatment. I almost died several times from that alone. Then when I was in high school I got thrown under a moving bus. And I was almost killed by a rhino two years ago in Africa. I could go on….
EACH TIME SERVED AS A REMINDER THAT LIFE IS FLEETING?
Yes. It’s not a reminder I really need anymore. I mean, if people want to sit in their living rooms and watch TV, God bless them. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. But I don’t feel that way. I’ve created different standards for myself that I don’t apply to others, even my children. YOUR CONSTITUENT FIELD DIRECTOR IN ORLANDO, VIVIAN RODRIGUEZ, IS OPENLY GAY. HOW DID THAT RELATIONSHIP DEVELOP?
Our district director, Susannah Randolph, was impressed with Vivian, both in terms of her ability to organize the LGBT community and to do Hispanic outreach. Vivian had a long and distinguished career with
the New York Police Department before she moved to Central Florida. She received honors and assignments that only go to people who have poise and intelligence. So we’re lucky to have her. I’m happy to have her advice when it comes to things like security at town hall meetings. She was responsible for visiting dignitaries in New York City. She knows what to do to handle me, that’s for damn sure.
WE’RE HERE IN WASHINGTON DC. WHEN I’M AT HOME WATCHING TELEVISION NEWS AND THE LIKE, THIS CITY SEEMS LIKE A GROTESQUE, DYSFUNCTIONAL CESSPOOL OF SELFINTEREST. BUT IT’S ALSO BEAUTIFUL. YOU’RE SURROUNDED BY REMINDERS OF THE COMPELLING, INSPIRING HISTORY OF OUR NATION. AND WHEN YOU MEET WITH MEMBERS OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTED OFFICIALS AND THEIR STAFF, YOU CAN’T HELP BEING IMPRESSED BY THEIR INTELLIGENCE, COMPETENCE AND PASSION. WHAT IS YOUR OVERALL SENSE OF THIS PLACE?
I’ve only been in Congress for 29 months. It still feels new to me. I enjoy every moment and I’m excited that I have the job. And on a certain level I’m grateful to the 700,000 people who elected me, and who want me to do something good for them. I understand that responsibility, and I think about it every day. Generally speaking, there’s a division in the world between countries that are set up to allow for majority rule and countries that are set up to put a brake on majority rule. Our Constitution puts us in the second category, so it’s intrinsically dif�icult to get things done. That
being said, I think it’s a personal failing on the part of many elected of�icials to say that it’s just too hard to accomplish anything… that it just can’t be done.
DO YOU ENCOUNTER THAT?
Oh, all the time… yes. It’s sort of a Republican mantra, and many Democrats have fallen into the same pattern. It’s a personal failure in many cases. I tell people, ‘If you think that you can’t get anything done in Washington, please don’t run for Congress! You are not the right person for the job!’ In less than two-and-a-half years, my of�ice has what I regard as an amazing record of getting tangible things done. And I get no credit for it in the local media. The �irst time I was in of�ice we cut foreclosures in Orange County in half by creating a mandatory mediation program. It was so successful that it was adopted statewide. Out of the 53 new members of Congress in 2009, Democrat and Republican, I was the �irst one to pass a substantive bill: The Pay for Performance Act. It cut off the use of bailout money for Wall Street bonuses. It passed in the House nine days after we introduced it. We did this under increasingly dif�icult circumstances, because I became really well known and everybody knows I’m a strong Democrat. When I ran for reelection in 2010, the Republicans declared me their number one target. They spent more super PAC sewer money, to get rid of me than they had ever spent against any Democrat anywhere in the country… ever.
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IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHAT YOU’RE REALLY ABOUT IS A STRONGER SOCIAL SAFETY NET, BUT ALSO LESS GOVERNMENT WASTE. SPEND MONEY WHERE’S IT’S ACTUALLY DOING GOOD, AND NOT ON EXPENSIVE WARS UNLESS FULLY WARRANTED. IS THAT ACCURATE?
I think it comes down to something I said at the Harvey Milk Foundation Breakfast in Orlando a few weeks ago. I want everybody to be all that they can be. I want people to be able to enjoy their lives and contribute whatever it is they have to contribute. Every one of us is this beautiful, gorgeous bundle of interests, talent, skills, experience and limitations. That’s what makes us human beings. The things that make us special are the things that make us different. It’s not our responsibility to overcome those things. It’s our responsibility to let a thousand �lowers bloom. That doesn’t come easy because there is sort of a dark impulse in many people toward prejudice and hatred and certainly fear. And those things are constantly reinforced by certain outlets of mass media in this country. Poverty, ignorance, prejudice— these are the things that keep us from attaining the heights that we could attain. My job is to try to eliminate those barriers for as many people as possible, whatever it takes. I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE IN CONGRESS HAVE THAT SAME CLEAR SENSE OF PURPOSE.
It’s in The Bible. Deuteronomy, Chapter 16, Verse 20: “Justice, justice, you shall seek.” There it is, right there. | | To read bonus content from this interview with Rep. Alan Grayson, including further thoughts on the future of LGBT equality, visit watermarkonline.com.
watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
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watermarkonline.com
ARTS &
ENTERTAINMENT
SEXUALITY, CHOICES AND YOUTH CULTURE STEP FORWARD IN FREEFALL THEATRE’S ‘SPRING AWAKENING’
S
Steve Blanchard EDITOR@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
T. PETERSBURG | SINCE IT DEBUTED
on Broadway in 2007, Spring Awakening enjoyed a bevy of Tony Awards, a successful Broadway-style tour that continues today and huge record sales of its rock-infused soundtrack.
It has also gained traction among local theaters and this month, freeFall Theatre will take on the now famous production and restage it for its intimate space on Central Avenue. “For this production, the theater space is set up as a
round, which seemed the most appropriate, the most intimate, for this show,” says director Eric Davis. “This is a very exposed room and no culture to hide anything. The audience sees the theatricality and the audience watches the audience
watch the play.” And the beginning of theater, Davis adds, began with circles of people around camp�ires, which provided the most intimate atmosphere. Despite it being a large Broadway production originally, Spring Awakening will work perfectly as an intimate production, he says. “It’s just so relevant,” Davis says. “Questions about sexuality and its consequences still exist today among youth. In this story we have a girl who is raised and not told where babies come from. She doesn’t know she can get pregnant. How can we
expect our youth to understand consequences if we’re afraid to talk to them about those very subjects that make us uncomfortable?” There is also, of course, an LGBT element to the production. “Hanschen,” played by Scott Daniel, is a sexually aware young man who preys upon the younger Ernst, played by 20-year-old Emanuel Carrero. Their relationship can sometimes provide comic relief, but the two actors do not play their roles as farce.
Continued on page 30 | |
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Vera Farmiga from The Conjuring.
The Conjuring
Despicable Me 2
Starring Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston
Voices of Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt
T BIG TROUBLE: A giant alien—kaiju—from Pacific Rim.
Screened Out MOVIE REVIEWS
Excess of Evil
T
HE MONSTERS AND ROBOTS ARE
Paci�ic Rim Starring Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba, Charlie Day
ginormous; the goal here is also big entertainment. Paci�ic Rim combines Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots with monumental sea monsters in a multi-million-dollar special effects prize�ight. If you want to engage your inner 12-year-old, look no further.
Stephen Miller
STEPHEN@WATERMARKONLINE.COM
A portal has opened deep in the Paci�ic Ocean, letting out Godzilla-like aliens. The creatures target coastal cities, and traditional weapons take too long to kill them. Hunnam (Nicholas Nickelby) is a futuristic soldier, strapped into a giant robot to do epic battle. He cannot go it alone. The machine requires two mind-melded operators, which is how he meets orphan Kikuchi (Babel). Together they and a few other brave soldiers put forth a plan to close the portal forever. Director Guillermo del Toro has done better
work than this—Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone. He’s also done worse—Blade II. In Paci�ic Rim del Toro channels fanboy fun and humor. He seems to know this is essentially a very expensive B movie, cheesy lines and all. He still shows us some cool, unexpected stuff, and the �ights are not merely an all-out assault on our senses. Sure, one could get persnickety, saying the mind-sharing aspect is given short shrift. Also, the leads are a bit simple, like old comic book heroes. But really, we’re paying to watch cities got destroyed, monsters get pummeled, and robots get dismembered. It’s a gargantuan blast—a big-budget update to the apocalyptic creature feature. | |
Two of Despicable Me’s minions.
I
HE CONJURING WAS THINK EVERYONE NEEDS ORIGINALLY SLATED FOR THE MINIONS, JUST LIKE WE ALL DEAD-ZONE—a January release NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO LOVE. Sometimes, though, life can get so date. However, it supposedly scared test damn busy that we can lose sight audiences so well that the studios gave of love’s possibility. That’s what it a summer release. This Hollywood Despicable Me 2 is about. It’s also fable is a little unbelievable, because The colorful and fun—airy and lightConjuring is simply a by-the-numbers hearted in the right place. Kids will fright fest. love it, and adults will �ind enough to In the early 1970s, Farmiga and keep their interests. Wilson were a real-live Catholic couple In the �irst �ilm, evil genius Gru who went around �ighting demonic gave up trying to steal the possession. In The Conjuring, moon so he could adopt and Taylor, Livingston and their �ive daughters have moved into RATINGS GUIDE take care of three orphan girls. Now, even with a house a surprisingly cheap house full of lovable yellow minions, with a hidden basement, odd Gru needs help. His jelly and toys, scary furniture, terrible See it now! Buy jam business isn’t doing so smells, and things that go the DVD! Quote hot. So, when the Anti Villain bump, thump and crash in lines at parties! League (with sexy-klutzy the night. As their lives grow agent Wiig) asks for help, Gru progressively worse, Taylor Definitely worth jumps at the chance. Perhaps seeks out the supernatural duo the price of he’s too busy to notice his to help her with an apparent admission little, yellow, pill-shaped pals demon infestation. are disappearing. Perhaps, The story builds in It’s useful as a Gru also doesn’t know love is regulation pace until the distraction right there, in his beaky face. faithful come face to face with For a long time, Universal the boogeyman. Music spells Pictures was way behind out the scares. Everything is Maybe if someone else pays and you Pixar in animation. gritty and grim. need a nap The studio still keeps These garden-variety things more broad and exorcism �licks are always geometric—simpler—but more thrilling in the build-up Slightly worse they’re de�initely catching than in the climax. With such than eternal up. They also know they a predictable script, director damnation have some magic in the James Wan (Saw, Insidious) minions, because so much of the cannot �ind a consistency between entertainment focuses on them. interesting shots and dull ones. This Perhaps this isn’t the deepest makes his hand a little too obvious— story, and there are a lot of comical computer-darkened corners and tangents. The good news is that swinging cameras. Despicable Me 2 is always fun and The actors are at least watchable— surprising. The jokes land, and the especially Farmiga and Taylor. The scares action zips along with a zany sense are timed with shifting shadows and of the absurd. | | dramatic music that’s sounds like an orchestra tuning up in hyper-speed. By the end, it’s a commercial for Catholicism.
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| | Spring Awakening from pg.27
“Their interaction is taken in a light way and it breaks up some of the score,” Daniel says. “We’re not schtick, but people will laugh.” The young Carrero, who is a student at the University of Tampa, agrees. “The characters are an essential part of the story and its structure,” Carrero says. “The show is a call to action for the audience to talk about subject matter they may not be comfortable with.” While the show is by no means a children’s show, the characters are all mostly school age. But the adult content is strong, including a “masturbation” scene on stage, featuring Daniel and several other male members of the cast. “There is some intimidation there portraying that scene,” Daniel says. “But we feel safe with Eric’s direction. That moment, when we’re all supposedly masturbating together on stage, essentially doing a circle jerk, I’m not afraid. It’s something we’ve all done. Granted, not in front of an audience, but these characters are not in front of an audience. They
MEET OTTO: In Spring
MEET HANSCHEN:
PHOTO COURTESY FREEFALL THEATRE
COURTESY FREEFALL THEATRE
Awakening, Chris Brent Davis plays an adult, which is something the young actor has never done before.
Actor Scott Daniel portrays a “predatory” older gay student in Spring Awakening. PHOTO
are learning who they are.” For actor Chris Brent Davis, who plays Otto, an adult character, the bond among the cast members has helped create a comfortable atmosphere and a stronger united front to present material that many may not always feel comfortable with. “It’s an incredible cast and it weaves in rock music,” Chris Brent Davis laughs. “What’s not to love? But I was anxious at �irst, but not because of the content. I’ve never played an adult character
MEET ERNST:
Emanuel Carrero plays the young Ernst in Spring Awakening. PHOTO COURTESY FREEFALL THEATRE
before this. I’ve always played children. It’s fun to be pushed and the choreography and staging is dif�icult and we all emotionally invest ourselves. That’s the true challenge.” The challenge is also presenting the LGBT community in a light that is not so �lattering, according to Daniel. He says his character and his “preying” instincts on a younger, gay classmate doesn’t re�lect so well on gay culture. “It’s honestly a very big switch from my life (playing the character
of Otto),” Daniel says. “I am very con�ident in who and what I am. My character is not.” And while he understands the con�lict of the gay characters in Spring Awakening, Daniel admits he’d like to see a mainstream play with gay characters that aren’t outcasts or presented negatively. “Where’s the story with two normal leads?” he asks. “Why isn’t there a Neil Simon-style play out there with two men as the leads? Look at Rent and Jeffrey— not every gay man is living with AIDS. I understand why those plays portray that, but we’ve moved so far forward, especially recently. It’s time to update the way the LGBT community is portrayed on stage.” But until those not-yet-created roles come along, all three young men, all of whom happen to be gay, are thrilled to be part of such a popular show in such an intimate theater. And director Eric Davis is con�ident theater members and the local audience will appreciate the vision he and his cast has brought to Spring Awakening. “Our actors are young but they are mature enough to have life experience and can understand
these roles,” Eric Davis says. “These tough things are parts of life and we all have to learn how to deal with things in an appropriate way and to teach our children that. How do you reconcile our children coming into bloom and having questions and our society recognizing their need to learn? That’s what makes this so relevant.” And the past success of the production has helped freeFall continue that discussion, and Eric Davis describes the show as its own marketing machine. “Regardless of your gender or your sexual orientation, you can relate to Spring Awakening,” Eric Davis says. “It is always better knowing about things before you deal with them and that’s why families should see this show together and can then have those conversations that begin with, ‘I don’t ever want you to feel...’ It’s a teachable moment.” | |
MORE INFORMATION
WHAT: Spring Awakening WHEN: July 19-Aug. 18 WHERE: freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg TICKETS: freeFallTheatre.com
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OVE OVER MAGIC MIKE. IT’S
raining men at The Parliament House. If you think the summers are hot in Central Florida, wait until you see the Rock Hard Revue! Two shows are scheduled for July 20 and August 3.
St.Petersburg & Tampa THROUGH AUGUST 31 Nuance Galleries 813-875-0511 NuanceGalleries.com
ORLANDO
TAMPA Interior. Leather Bar.
W
HEN ACTOR AL PACINO’S FILM CRUISING CAME OUT IN 1980, its storyline of an undercover cop investigating a murder in the NYC gay leather bar scene was plagued with controversy. Its director was forced to cut 40 minutes of sexually explicit material.
Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Matthews recreated what may have transpired in those scenes in Interior. Leather Bar. See for yourself on Thursday, July 18 at the Muvico Centro Ybor presented by the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. For tickets, visit TIGLFF.com. | |
T
This 70-minute, fully costumed and choreographed production features sexy male performers with sinful schoolboy charm, quiet con�idence, and that naughty side everyone secretly wants. This eye popping, heart throbbing production is directed and choreographed by David Greenhouse, former director and choreographer of “Chippendales” in Las Vegas. For tickets to this Michael Wanzie Presents show, call 407-425-7571 or visit ParliamentHouse.com. | |
ORLANDO Differing Views
HE CENTER IS KNOWN FOR PROVIDING ADVOCACY, EDUCATION AND SUPPORT TO THE ORLANDO LGBT COMMUNITY. However, in recent years it has become a destination for great local art. It’s next exhibit, Differing Views: Art at the Center, will feature the works
JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 // ISSUE 20.15
of four local artists: Painters Parker Sketch, Karen Cate and Orlando City Councilwoman Patty Sheehan, Glass Artist John Glassman Gardner. An opening night reception is scheduled for Monday, July 22. For information, call 407-228-8272 or TheCenterOrlando.org. | |
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Tampa Bay
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1- PASS THE BOTTLE: Friends celebrate the July 4 extended weekend at the Ybor Wine Bar. PHOTO COURTESY CARRIE WEST
2- WINNING ROSTER: (L-R) Matt Androsiglio, Sunshine Mathews, Bull Ferguson, Eldridge Williams, Crysandra Chatman and Angela Moormann were all smiles after winning titles at Talent Quest Florida 2013 July 7. PHOTO BY VINCENT DIPPOLITO
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3- STOP A BULLET COLD: Joey Brooks does Wonder Woman at Bradley’s on 7th over the July 4 weekend. PHOTO COURTESY CARRIE WEST
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4- TAG TEAM: Carla Vaughan and Steve Blanchard emcee the finals of Talent Quest Florida 2013 at the DoubleTree Westshore Hotel July 7. Blanchard and his husband, Phil Garris, own the regional contest. PHOTO BY VINCENT DIPPOLITO 5- MASCULINE SHOWCASE: A participant in the annual Dunedin Highlander Games July 3 prepares to throw a shot put on the high school’s football field. PHOTO BY NICK CARDELLO 6- DO-GOODERS: The cast takes a bow during the July 4 holiday after a special show at Throb night club in Sarasota raised more than $2,500 for the Community AIDS Network of Sarasota. PHOTO COURTESY ARICA LOVE 7- WHALE OF A PROP: Mathieu Stanoch loads a Killer Whale prop to be used as part of the decor of a themed Mermaids and Seamen party at The Honey Pot in Ybor City July 12. PHOTO COURTESY CARRIE WEST
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8- SULU SO LOVES US: Star Trek alum and out advocate George Takei holds the St. Pete Pride issue of Watermark during Florida Supercon in Miami July 7. PHOTO COURTESY TODD FIXLER
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OVERHEARD DANCE FEVER AT PUSH
T
HE ANNUAL RED RIBBON DANCE WILL RETURN THIS AUGUST to help raise money for the AIDS Service Association of Pinellas. This year’s celebration will be at Push Lounge in downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday, Aug. 17. Each year the dance party gets more fabulous and organizers sometimes incorporate a theme. This year’s dance will be catered by Cafe Alma and VIP tickets, which include an open bar, are $100. General Admission tickets are $50 and include two drink tickets. For details, visit ASAPServices. org or �ind “Red Ribbon Dance” on Facebook.
MANATEE PLAYERS GET GOVERNOR’S NOD OF APPROVAL
L
OVE HIM OR HATE HIM, GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT LOVES TO RECOGNIZE those making a difference in Florida. And the latest recipient of his praise is the Manatee Players. The theater group was honored as the 2013 People’s Choice Award winner and Scott acknowledged the company as an “At Your Leisure” pick. Scott wrote the Players, saying, “Your efforts, along with the Sunshine State’s economic turnaround, are making Florida the best place in the nation to live, work and raise a family. Your efforts in your community
are making a difference. You have my best wishes for the greatest success.”
HEDDA LETTUCE BRINGS THE GREEN FOR TIGLFF
T
HE HILARIOUS HEDDA LETTUCE RETURNED TO ST. PETERSBURG’S PALLADIUM THEATER last month to present her sing-along and live commentary with the �ilm Valley of the Dolls. The packed theater laughed hysterically throughout the night and helped raise a ton of money for the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. According to Todd Richardson, who introduced Hedda Lettuce that night, the night garnered
$4,500 for TIGLFF. We can hope that with such a successful event, TIGLFF will bring Hedda Lettuce back. We’d love to hear her commentary on Blackula or The Exorcist.
THE PROM YOU WISH YOU HAD
W
E ALL HAVE THAT PHOTO FROM OUR HIGH SCHOOL PROM. We’re sporting bad hair, not-so fabulous tux or gown and we’re in that awkward pose with someone of the opposite gender wearing a �lower that’s way too big. What if you could do it over? Well, you can. Quench Lounge is hosting the “Prom You Wish You Had” on
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Saturday, July 27, and it will be complete with a Prom King and Queen. Well, actually, a King/ Queen, Queen/Queen and King/ King. It is, after all, the prom you wish you had. Hostesses Madisyn T. Michaels and Alexis Mateo will ensure a fast, fun-�illed evening and contests for best Prom attire will be rewarded with gift baskets and drink specials. This prom is open to everyone— that is everyone over 21 years old—and those participating are encouraged to bring photos from their original prom to help remember the old days while celebrating the new. For details, �ind the event page for “The Prom You Wish You Had” on Facebook.| |
watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.
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1681 Providence Blvd, Deltona (386) 860-5900 CELEBRATING LIVES~PROMISING EXCELLENCE
Friday, August 16 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 18 at 4:00 p.m.
14 locations in Central Florida. Preneed and At Need Services.
Steve Rader Family Service Counselor Jason Gulley Funeral Director in Charge Se Habla Español
“Continually Voted Best All Around Funeral Home In The Area” D AY T O N A N E W S J O U RN A L - RE A D ER’ S C H O I C E
Tickets are $10.00 each and are available at st.lukes.org/ragtime. This dynamic musical intertwines the stories of three extraordinary families, as they confront history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair, and what it means to live in America. *Caution: This show contains difficult subject matter regarding race, gender and violence. Please be aware when bringing children under the age of 13.
“Ragtime” is presented through special arrangement with Musical Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI, 421 W 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 Tel.: (212) 541-4684 Fax: (212) 397-4684 www.MTIShows.com.
CLUB ORLANDO COME OUT TO PLAY! Gyms come and go…… Club Orlando’s Gym has been here for 14 years and is still going strong! We Offer Monthly and Annual Memberships. Stop in for a tour and a complimentary work out.
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ORLANDO
1- ROLLING TO VICTORY: The Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls travel team, the Straight Jackettes, host Palm Coast Roller Derby for a bout July 14. Straight Jackettes took home the win 150-147. PHOTO
COURTESY JAMES BENNETT
2- NYC WEDDING: Will Perry (left) and Ricky Palomar, of Orlando, visit Rockefeller Center July 16 on a trip to New York City where they were married after 18 years together. PHOTO COURTESY TONY PALOMAR 3- DISCUSSING DOMA: Randy Stephens, executive director of The Center, speaks to the Democratic Executive Committee at the IBEW Union Hall July 15 about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, as DEC chair Scott Randolph looks on. PHOTO BY SUSAN CLARY
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4- JOINING FORCES: (L-R) Eric Rollings, Sean Frank and Nayte Carrick mingle at the July 10 combined Orlando HRC and Metropolitan Business Association Mixer held at the Hammered Lamb. PHOTO BY CHRIS STEPHENSON 5- TALKING SHOP: Panelists talk about LGBT issues in the black community at the workshop “The Christian Case for Marriage Equality: Why All Marriages are Created Equal” July 15 at the NAACP 104th Annual Conference at Orange County Convention Center. PHOTO BY SUSAN CLARY
6- ROUGH DRAFT: Orlando artist Andrew Spear sketches ideas for a Ivanhoe Village project honoring Paul Wegman during a meeting at The Hammered Lamb. PHOTO BY SCOTTIE CAMPBELL 7- MASTERPIECE: Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan— pictured with Ken Pyle—signs her caricature at Palm Restaurant in Orlando July 11. PHOTO FROM SHEEHAN’S FACEBOOK PAGE
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8- STRIKE AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA: Florida Theatre Group’s team looks stylish in their rented shoes July 13 at Rolling For Dough, a corporate bowling event benefiting BENCH THE HATE, a public awareness campaign about gay athletes. The event was held at Colonial Lanes. PHOTO COURTESY RANDY STEPHENS
OVERHEARD PARLIAMENT HOUSE NAMED ONE OF BEST LGBT BARS IN THE WORLD
Y
ES YOU READ THAT HEADLINE RIGHT— ”IN THE WORLD!” The editors of Out Magazine compiled a list of the 200 best gay bars in the world, and landing on the list and representing Orlando was our very own Parliament House. Described as “less bar and more an entertainment complex,” the listing celebrates the complex’s seven bars on its 10 acres of land. The editors also say the P-House offers visitors any experience they desire, “be it sport, campy, grimy or glam.”
Also mentioned on the list is Georgie’s Alibi in St. Petersburg, whose listing highlighted its pool tables and popular $3 Long Island Ice Tea nights each Thursday.
ORLANDO NIGHTS SHUTTERS ITS DOORS
O
NE DAY IT WAS OPEN AND THE NEXT DAY IT CLOSED—leaving booked acts with nowhere to go. Orlando Nights Bar and Lounge at 1300 Mills Ave. has shuttered its doors, apparently for good. Angry booking agents posted on its Facebook page in search of new venues, and they didn’t hold back their tempers. Lynn McClintock Gabel, whose
family has owned the building for 35 years, said Orlando Nights was simply a tenant. Owners of the club “bought” the business last November from the previous owners “Paradise” for $50,000, she said. No word yet on what might replace the club.
ORLANDO BIDS ADIEU TO KRISTOPHER REYNOLDS
L
OCAL MODEL, CELEBRITY AND IMPRESSIVE PHOTOGRAPHER KRISTOPHER REYNOLDS is packing up and moving back home to San Diego, and his wellattended farewell party was held on Wednesday, July 17, at
Pulse Orlando. Reynolds announced his plans to move after sharing news about his separation from his long-time partner. He said he wishes his ex nothing but the best but feels he must move West and re-establish his photography business there. He also has aspirations of working regularly in Las Vegas. In his regular, good-natured way, Reynolds invited friends and foes alike to say goodbye to him. “If you like me, come have a drink and say goodbye,” he posted on Facebook. “If you don’t, come have a drink and tell me how you really feel. Either way I’m leaving. San Diego or bust!”
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BAYLI ON THE SMALL SCREEN
O
PENLY BISEXUAL TEENAGER AND LGBT ACTIVIST BAYLI SILBERSTEIN has made her small screen debut. Bayli made headlines during her �ight for a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at Carver Middle School in Leesburg. (A battle that is still ongoing, see full story page 8). She was featured as one of the “Everyday Heroes” as shown in the new “Nick News” special that aired July 15 on Nickelodeon. The show was hosted by awardwinning journalist and author Linda Ellerbee. Congrats to Bayli, a truly inspirational 15 year old. | |
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REST IN PEACE: Tampa resident Sammy Campisi passed away on July 15. PHOTO COURTESY CARRIE WEST
Transitions
CHANGE-OF-LIFE COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Passing
Tampa resident Sammy Campisi, 56, passed away on Monday, July 15. The active Ybor City regular and GaYbor District Coalition member was often seen at clubs, events, parades and offering guided tours of the historical district of Tampa. A wake was held in his honor on July 16 at Boza & Roel Funeral Home.
Congratulations Rae Ward is the new executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Central Florida. The Alliance’s board of directors announced her promotion July 8. Ward, who has been with the Alliance for more than a year, replaces Autumn Ames, who resigned in April. David Warner and Larry Biddle of St. Petersburg celebrated one year of their legal Massachusetts marriage on July 12. Marlyn and Melissa Moir of Joy MCC celebrate 31 years together on July 31.
Local Birthdays Logo reality star and former St. Petersburg actor Jonathan Lovitz, straight ally extraordinaire Deborah Simpson (July 19); St. Petersburg’s Karmic Tattoo guitarist and vocalist Pam Green, St. Pete DCF rep Jim Rood, MBA membership director Brian Gilvin, entertainment pro Tom Zaizar and Orlando drag legend Miss Sammy,
Sam Singhaus (July 20); St. Petersburg’s freeFall Theatre community outreach director Matthew McGee, St. Pete’s Earnest Mortgage Realty miracle worker Bob Barnum and Largo nurse, Human Heart Love-In leader Rachel Gardiner and Largo powerhouse vocalist Jenny Jones (July 21); handsome Tampa insurance counselor Kenny Sloan and St. Pete architect Michael Dailey (July 22); MBA Membership Director Charlene Bell, Orlando ECHO CEO and tri-athlete Carlos Carbonell and former St. Petersburg-based senator Charlie Justice (July 23); Orlando Gay Chorus member Bill Yahner, Tampa Crescendo singer Kathie Michael, Tampa KJ Joe Cox, Tampa Bay performer Alexis Mateo, Zebra Coalition director Dexter Foxworth, Tainted Slayer Eryn Batsell (July 24); Orlando’s Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel’s Associate Executive Director Sammy Goldstein, Orlando singer Elektra Heavenly, Watermark production assistant Andres Duputel, derby girl and burlesque bombshell Ashley Horvath and Tampa convenience store manager Rick Patterson (July 26); Orlando attorney Michael T. Sheridan, Tampa WMNF radio host Scott Elliott and Grey Goose Vodka regional manager David Chase Harding III (July 28); House of Adonis god Josh Walker and St. Petersburg Network professional Steve Stearns (July 29); House of Adonis’ Joey Clupper, appropriately moniker-ed artist Parker Sketch, attorney, roving shutterbug and Watermark founder/publisher, Tom Dyer (July 30); God-like actress Elizabeth Murff, Orlando Realtor Danny Veal, Tampa homeless advocate Rayme Nuckles (July 31).
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Are you making a Transition? Having a birthday or anniversary? Did you get a new job or promotion? See your news in Watermark! Send your Transition to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition - it’s that easy!
JULY 18 - JULY 31, 2013 // ISSUE 20.15
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Hardaway signs Florida petition for marriage equality
M
IAMI | Former Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway became the �irst person to sign a petition to get a marriage equality constitutional amendment on Florida’s ballot. “If you’re married you’re married—you should see your signi�icant other in the hospital, make choices for your signi�icant other if you need to make those choices,” Hardaway said July 3 as he showed his support for the effort that would legalize samesex marriage in Florida. Hardaway shared his views at Scully’s Tavern in Kendall, where he added his signature to a petition from Equal Marriage Florida, which wants the state constitution amended to de�ine marriage as a “union of two persons,” instead of between one man and one woman. More than 60% of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex
marriages in 2008. The signi�icance of Hardaway’s endorsement is huge, especially considering his comments during a 2007 radio interview. “I hate gay people,” he said in 2007. “So I let it be known. I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people. I’m homophobic.” But on July 3, he apologized, adding that those comments were “truly, truly wrong.” Hardaway said gay cousins and relatives of his sat him down and talked with him since that radio show and he saw things from a different perspective. Hardaway said he is making amends—and since his infamous interview he has put in time with organizations that help LGBT youth. Vanessa Brito, the chairperson of Equal Marriage Florida, has been by his side—and caught �lack for it. “I’ve gotten a lot of heat,” she told South Florida’s NBC af�iliate WTVJ. “And criticism from the
NHL star blames hackers for odd tweet Staff Report
D 180-DEGREE CHANGE:
Tim Hardaway, pictured during his 2009 retirement ceremony, now supports marriage equality in Florida.
gay community—even from the mainstream community.” Brito told the station she is touched not just by Hardaway’s tolerance, but by the fact he owned up to a mistake—and has become a voice for the initiative. | |
ALLAS, TEX. | NHL star Tyler Seguin blames hackers for a stramge comment that appeared on his Twitter feed in early July. The comment appeared on the Dallas Stars forward’s Twitter feed on July 6, but was quickly removed. The comment, “Only steers and queers in Texas, and I’m not a cow,” isn’t the �irst time Seguin has found himself in trouble with social media. In April he used “no homo” in a tweet and later apologized. In response to the July 6 posting, he said, “Twitter hacking has to stop. My apologies.” Seguin was just traded to the Stars from the Boston Bruins. The Stars say they have “addressed the issue directly” with their player, but added no more information. Seguin shared later that he has temporarily shut down his Twitter account because of “repeated attempts by hackers to damage my reputation.” The 21-year-old was criticized by Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, who criticized the 2010 draft as needing to be a “better pro.” | |
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