Watermark Issue 22.05: LGBT Youth Human Trafficking by Watermark Publishing Group

Daytona beach • orlanDo • taMpa • st. petersburg • sarasota • issue 22.05 • feb. 26 - Mar. 11, 2015 • waterMarKonline.coM

Your lgbt life.

carVer MiDDle’s

GSA

gets its Day in court

TAMPA

GALA

brings $350,000 to eQuality floriDa

BREAKING

FREE

Florida ranks third for sex traﬃcking cases and transgender and gay male youth are especially at risk. Survivors turned advocates share their stories.

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

deparTmenTs

If they feel uncomfortable marrying same-sex people

then I feel uncomfortable 23 going in the courthouse.

6 // mail

PAGE

10 // OrlandO news 12 // Tampa Bay news

— chucK chapman, a JacKsonville man who refused Jury duTy

16 // sTaTe 17 // naTiOn & wOrld news 35 // cOmmuniTy calendar 37 // Tampa Bay Overheard 39 // OrlandO Overheard 40 // Tampa Bay markeTplace 41 // TransiTiOns 42 // OrlandO markeTplace 46 // spOrTs

On The cOver

PAGE

Torri Ramos is a Central Florida transgender survivor of commercial sexual exploitation, and she says her story began during her teenage years when she realized she wasn’t accepted by her family.

waTch The man: For decades Ray Boltz made a career out of writing and performing Christian music. But

when he came out in 2008, his fans turned their back on him. He tells us about his new found fans and how he plans to celebrate Venice MCC’s 20th anniversary.

waTermark i ssue 22.05 // feBruary 26 - march 11, 2015

OrlandO news

Tampa Bay

naTiOn & wOrld

Talking pOinTs

PAGE New development in

PAGE Equality Florida celebrates

PAGE

Photo by Jake Stevens

scan Qr cOde fOr

waTermarkOnline.cOm

read it online! In addition to a Web site with daily LGBT updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

the Ivanhoe Village area means LGBT businesses need to rethink their plans; Carver Middle School is headed to court because it still refuses to support a Gay-Straight Alliance; more.

successes at its Tampa Gala, but reminds attendees that there is still more work to be done; MC Film Fest is closing its popular store in Ybor City, but owners Mark Bias and Carrie West say it could rise again.

A judge rules that a florist in Washington State who refused flowers to a gay couple violated state law; gay Catholics are welcomed by the Vatican but don’t get an official mention; Idaho lawmakers discuss impeaching gay-supportive judges.

Fans of AMC’s popular show, The Walking Dead finally met the show’s first main gay couple during a recent episode; WWE’s only openly gay performer questions a gig in Abu Abu Dhabi; Laverne Cox lands a new role on a CBS Legal drama set to air this fall; more.

Do you haVe an opinion that you want waterMarK reaDers to hear? coMMent at waterMarKonline.coM!

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

reader feedBack “Perhaps we need a basic civics test as a prerequisite for filing to run in an election.” —chucK sTrom

Thanks fOr The inspiraTiOn

i On view now through May 31, 2015 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Figures on the Beach (detail), 1890, Oil on canvas, Robert Lehman Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art

T was so refreshing to read the stories of longterm, same-sex couples over Valentine’s Day weekend [Issue 22.04]. So often, we as LGBT people hear that our relationships cannot work. Yet, here are three shining examples of how men and women in same-gender relationships have found happiness. Thank you for the great read and congratulations to the couples featured. They give the rest of us hope!

MalcolM ballou Via e-mail

Italy. Lake Garda. 1999. from Life’s A Beach (Aperture, 2013) © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos

Exhibition organized by Aperture Foundation, New York.

On view now through April 26, 2015

Facebook.com/MFAStPete

Twitter.com/MFAStPete

Thank yOu

he cover arTicle and picTures were greaT [Issue 22.04]. Thank you and please extend our thanks to everyone

involved. Everyone did a great job on the whole piece. I even noticed the photo you took in our backyard which was in the Tampa Bay Shot on Site photos. Thanks again to everyone. bart coyle anD jiM jablonsKi Bradenton

TOp weB cOmmenTs

on saMe-seX rulings in iDaho spurring iMpeachMent resolutions:

On Watermark’s Facebook:

“How do so many lawmakers with no basic knowledge of the Constitution or the workings of our government manage to get elected? Perhaps we need a basic Civics test as a prerequisite for filing to run in an election.” —chucK stroM

Instagram.com/mfa_stpete

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

“Well they will never get impeached because they are upholding the constitution by overturning these discriminatory laws!”

—jesse prentice-bryant “Will never happen. This is how our constitution is set up; three separate parts to our government, one of which is judicial. Where do these quacks come from? Don’t they know how our government is run?” —MarK caDy

on utah’s goVernor Declining to officiate saMe-seX weDDings:

On WatermarkOnline.com:

“Perhaps Governor Herbert who is a civil employee should resign as his job is based on civil issues not religious ones.” —gayego

editor’s

Steve Blanchard EDITOR

SteveB@WatermarkOnline.com

Desk

o my 14 year old niece:

The same year you were born, 2000, I decided to leave my Midwest home state and move to Florida. While my “official” reason for leaving was the writing job I landed at a Southwest Florida newspaper, there were other reasons behind my decision to move south. I feel it’s time you know the rest of the story. The reason I bring this up now—15 years after my move—is that my sister, your mother, shared that you had a negative reaction when you learned about your uncle. She answered your question honestly when you asked her recently if I was gay. According to her, you were “upset.” I don’t know if that involved tears, a tantrum or a mixture of both. But if that was indeed

watermark staff

your reaction, I can understand why. It’s a horrible feeling when you realize the people closest to you have kept an important secret—especially about someone you love. When I first shared this secret with your mother, she and I were both upset. I knew the family wouldn’t react well to the news and that by coming out there would be sacrifices. She knew that her brother wouldn’t fill the role she had always envisioned for our future. There was disappointment, I suppose. But I knew I had to be true to myself. Of course even before you were born, I realized I would miss

Founder and Senior Contributor: Tom Dyer • Ext. 305 • Tom@WatermarkOnline.com Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 108 • Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Admin. Assistant: Kathleen Harper • Ext. 100 • Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com Editor-in-Chief: Steve Blanchard • 813-470-0899 • SteveB@WatermarkOnline.com Editorial Assistant: Samantha Rosenthal • 104 • Samantha@WatermarkOnline.com Online Media Director: Jamie Hyman • Ext. 106 • Jamie@WatermarkOnline.com Proofreading: Ed Blaisdell

out on the day-to-day activities of being a fun uncle. Not because I wanted to miss out on your life, but because I was told my role would be reduced because of who I am. I have missed a lot, which is upsetting. I missed the tension and excitement in the hospital leading to your birth and the celebration that followed after you entered the world. I never had the opportunity to see you in a school play or in the church’s Christmas production. Heck, I’ve never even attended one of your birthday parties or spent a Christmas Eve with you or your younger sister. So yes, it’s very upsetting to think that I missed all of that simply because I’m gay. So if these are the reasons you are upset. Please know that you have my sympathy, my shoulder and my ear. Because I can very closely relate to your disappointment. But please understand this: Don’t be upset simply because I am gay. I am who I am and there is no explanation needed beyond that. Don’t be upset because I will never marry a woman and introduce you to an “aunt.” And don’t be upset because of the horrible things you’ve been taught in church about what it supposedly means to be gay. I attended that church once, remember, and I guarantee, most of what you’ve been told is false. I am the same uncle who roughhoused for hours with you at your grandparents’ home when I would visit on long weekends. I am the same uncle who drank imaginary tea with you and your collection of stuffed animals

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during your entertaining tea parties. And I am the same uncle who makes you laugh at stories about your mother as a child and a teenager. None of that has changed. What has changed is that you finally have a real example of a gay person in your life—not some fabricated illusion created by a man hiding behind a pulpit or a Hollywood writer looking for laughs in a sitcom. I promise you, I am not nearly as exciting as the

What has changed is that you finally have a real example of a gay person in your life—not some fabricated illusion created by a man hiding behind a pulpit.

two versions created in those scenarios. But I am a much more honest representation of what it means to be a gay American. I hope you take what you have learned about me and use it productively. I hope you ask me questions and finally get to know the real me—not just the edited version of me that has presented to you for your 14 years. If you truly want to get to know your uncle, take the opportunity to do so. When we next meet you can choose to make it awkward. Or, you can choose to embrace the uncle you finally truly know. If you choose the former, that would truly be upsetting. —Uncle Steven

Orlando Office P. O. Box 533655 Orlando, FL 32853-3655 TEL: 407-481-2243 FAX: 407-481-2246

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

contributors Scottie Campbell

is a freelance writer in Orlando. He is also the manager of member relations at the Orlando Science Center. Page 10

Jill Shargaa

is a seasoned comedian and founder of the all-female comedy revue, ‘Evening of Estrogen.’ She is also an illustrator and designer who brings pulp sensibility to her work. Page 19

Zach Caruso

is a musician and journalist from New Jersey who now lives in St. Petersburg. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an M.A. in writing. Page 25 Greg Burton, Scottie Campbell, Zach Caruso, Susan Clary, Kirk Hartlage, Joseph Kissel, Ken Kundis, Mary Meeks, Stephen Miller, David Moran, Gregg Shipiro, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Jim Walker, Michael wanzie

photography Nick Cardello, Angie Folks, Tom Eckert, Julie Milford, Travis Moore, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift, Tinkerfluff, Lonnie Thompson

distribution RJ Publishing, Lisa Jordan, Ken Caraway, David Krauss

CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations. WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail). The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

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orlando news

developmenT crossroads:

With the announcement of a major development project, LGBT-owned businesses in the Lake Ivanhoe Neighborhood must now figure out their next move. PHOTO

day in courT: Carver Middle School is headed to court

over its refusal to support a GSA. PHOTO By JAKE STEVEnS

carver middle schOOl gsa headed TO cOurT

By PATRICK O’COnnOR

Jamie Hyman

cala, fla. | A proposed and hotly-contested GayStraight Alliance at Carver Middle School is headed back to court. A federal judge has set a trial date for the lawsuit challenging the Lake County School Board’s refusal to allow the GSA to meet. U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges will hear the case 9:30 a.m. March 2 at the U.S. District Court in Ocala, Fla. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit December of 2013, on behalf of a group of CMS students who want to create the GSA. There was a hearing before Judge Hodges Feb. 10, but no action since. “We look forward to the opportunity to argue before the court that the school district cannot pick and choose what kinds of groups students are allowed to start,” said Daniel Tilley, ACLU of Florida LGBT rights staff attorney and lead counsel in the case, in a media release. “Students and parents deserve to know that their school administrators treat all students with dignity and that they will be supported in efforts to make their schools safer and more welcoming places. This fight has gone on long enough, and in the intervening time, the number of GSAs working to fight bullying in schools across Florida has continued to grow. It’s time for the students at Carver Middle School to have their rights respected and have their opportunity to make their school safer.” This is the second lawsuit filed over a GSA at Carver Middle School in the past year. The last time the ACLU sued Lake County Schools, they were representing openly bisexual Bayli Silberstein, who at the time was a 14-yearold eighth grader at Carver Middle School. After months of legal wrangling and school board meeting debates, a judge granted Silberstein permission to form the club for the remainder of her eighth grade year, which ended in the summer of 2013. That settlement has expired, Bayli has moved onto high school and now, the GSA no longer meets at Carver Middle School. Before the club became inactive, CMS students tried to keep it going but ran into administrative roadblocks similar to the ones Silberstein faced.

everything must grow

Development in Ivanhoe Village means changes for the neighborhood’s LGBT-owned businesses Scottie Campbell

rlando | There was a time when the two gray towers looming over Alden Road had a practical use; a train would pull up alongside and fill the towers with small bits of plastic destined to become shower doors. Now dormant, the twin structure serves as a landmark to travelers using Alden’s brick roadway or the increasingly active thoroughfares of Orange Ave. or Virginia Dr., as well as SunRail passengers. A mid-century touchstone, symbolic of the eclectic neighborhood that has grown around them, it seems fitting that these two stalwarts are the only recognizable features in the renderings of a new Ivanhoe Village development that will begin in November. “Change is sometimes good and it’s sometimes bad,” said George Wallace, Executive Director of Orlando

watermark Your lgbt life.

International Fringe Theatre Festival, based on Alden Road. “In this case, I’ll need to see the final product, but I personally think the conceptual drawings I’ve seen of the new property are astounding.” In a deal that was finalized last year, Real Estate Inverlad Development LLC acquired the Ivanhoe Village property from R-Kid Properties, a family-owned company that owned the property from its industrial heyday to last year. Inverlad’s mixed-use project, currently called The Yard at Ivanhoe Place, will include 600 residential apartments and 45,000 square feet of “neighborhood retail.” The densityfocused project, near public transit, with local gathering spaces, The Yard is an urban planners dream, but will likely displace several businesses. As President of R-Kid Properties, Jane Webster served as matriarch over the warehouse and office space properties her father had collected and, over the past few decades, essentially curated the unique blend

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

of businesses there. Industrial work still happens in Ivanhoe with national brands like Enemy Ink, a custom screen printing factory, and Steadfast Brand, a tattoo-centric clothing company. Several noted artists, such as Chery Bogdanowitsch and Jake Harmeling, have their studios there and a small warehouse has been converted into one of Orlando’s more unique watering holes, The Thirsty Topher. “I personally enjoyed hanging out in the neighborhood long before this project came up,” said Chance Gordy, Vice President for Inverlad. He has become the face of the new development. Pointing to its walkability to popular restaurants and shops, Gordy feels the Ivanhoe neighborhood is “unique to Orlando.” Inverlad has taken a refreshing approach with this development by holding meetings and workshops with residents and business owners. Visitors to ivanhoeplace.com can take a survey to express their opinions. Gordy points to an outdoor amphitheater as one addition that resulted from feedback, though Inverlad will continue to face tough questions regarding the increased traffic 600 new households could create. The quiet neighborhoods of Lake Formosa and Park Lake Highland are already experiencing an unwelcome increase in traffic, due to the new Mills Park development, just blocks away from The Yard. Orlando Fringe has inarguably become an integral part of Orlando’s LGBT community. Wallace reports continueD on pg. 10 |  |

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“SNOWSHOW IS TO CLOWNING WHAT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IS TO CIRCUS” -VARIETY

FEBRUARY 17 - MARCH 1 DR. PHILLIPS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

orlando news |  | Everything Must Grow froM pg.8

OaTh Of Office:

Andrea Hays, center, is sworn in to serve as Seat 5 Supervisor on the Orange County Soil & Water Board. Lydia Pisano, Belle Isle Commissioner, presides over the ceremony Feb. 12 at the edgewood Farmer’s Market. Hays’ partner, Maria Ruiz Margenot, stood beside Hays for the swearing in. PHOTO By MARK CADy

nearly 30% of surveyed patrons identify as LGBT, not to mention the artists and staff involved. “Over the years, some of our best-selling shows have been LGBT written, produced and starred openly gay actors,” he said. “The joke on the global Fringe circuit is that we’re known as the ‘Gay Fringe.’” Fringe moved into Ivanhoe Village in October of 2012 from Downtown to be closer to Loch Haven Park, where their annual event occurs. While Inverlad has honored a generous arrangement Fringe had with R-Kid, Wallace said a place for Fringe in The Yard has not been discussed. Though Fringe is looking for new space, the organization must give priority to producing May’s festival, which will attract an estimated 50,000 attendees and generate an economic impact of $1.9 million. Gordy said that Inverlad has had discussions and is open to discussions with current tenants

watermark Your lgbt life.

hunTing for home: George Wallace, Executive Director of Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, is on the hunt for a new headquarters, but first must execute the 2015 festival. PHOTO By PATRICK O’COnnOR

about transitioning into the new development, but adds it may not be feasible logistically. For gay owned and operated D Squared Productions, the necessity to move may have a silver lining. Since opening their office on the corner of Alden and Virginia in 2007, the business has grown substantially. Co-owner Rich Kuntz said when

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they got wind of the redevelopment and possible resulting relocation, they realized an expansion was well overdue. “Business is business,” said Kuntz of the impending development. “We all know things change.” Logistics is working in the favor of another gay-owned business, The Venue. Since opening in May 2012, the performance space has established itself as, in Gordy’s words, “a force” both in the neighborhood and Orlando’s cultural landscape. Their 811 Virginia Dr. space will not be involved the initial phase of The Yard project, which is giving Inverlad the opportunity to work with The Venue owner Blue Star and her team to create a tailor-made space, while The Venue continues operations at their current location. “The change is happening whether we like it or not,” stated Star. “As a business owner I have to make a decision to embrace it. I love the area and want to stay here, we have been offered the opportunity to and I think it is important to take the risk and do so.”

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

tampa bay news

They’ll be bacK: Carrie West, left, and Mark Bias will soon close their MC Film Festival store in Ybor, but the couple plans to reopen another location soon. PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST

voice of eQualiTy:

mc film fesTival clOsing shOp afTer 26 years

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner speaks after accepting the 2015 Voice of Equality Award at Equality Florida’s Tampa Gala held at TPepin’s Hospitality Center in Tampa Feb. 21. PHOTO

Greg Stemm

ampa | Talking to Carrie West about the impending closure of the MC Film Festival, the venerable shop he started with Mark Bias, his partner of 38 years, is like taking a 26-year walk though the history of the Tampa Bay LGBT community. The shop in Ybor City at the corner of 8th Avenue and 15th Street is set to close soon. The building which houses it has been sold and the store is liquidating its stock. “We are still good friends with the current owners,” Carrie said. “We hope to continue to be friends far into the future. We wish them nothing but the best.” Surprisingly the MC Film Festival didn’t begin as a shop at all. “Mark and I had a large collection of gay and lesbian films that friends were always borrowing, so we thought, ‘Hey maybe we could make a business out of this,’” said West. In the pre-internet days of 1989. the best way to get your product out to a large audience was through direct marketing and a mail order business. So West and Bias produced a color catalog listing only 100 titles. “We advertised nationally in places like The Advocate,” said West. “I think we were probably one of the first of our kind businesses and we did really well.” In 1990, the couple opened a storefront across from the University of Tampa, which is now Cafe European. “The shop was only open Friday night, Saturday and Sunday,” said West. ‘That made us extremely popular with those who wanted to rent films because they could rent them one weekend and they didn’t have to be back until the next weekend when we were open again.” West is proud to say that one of their first customers was current mayor Bob Buckhorn. “He had heard about the shop and since he’s always had a strong commitment to diversity, he stopped by to check it out,” said West. “We’ve had a great relationship ever since.” The shop soon became synonymous with LGBT culture in Tampa. MC Film Fest would rent limousines to carry people to the shop from the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival held at the Tampa Theatre.

continueD on pg. 14 |  |

By LAuRIE ROSS

‘a lot more to do’ Equality Florida raises $350K at Tampa Gala, focuses on the future Steve Blanchard

ampa | More than 600 supporters of Equality Florida packed TPepin’s Hospitality Center for the organization’s annual Tampa Gala Feb. 21. As organizers continued to calculate the night’s success, it was determined that more than $350,000 was raised for the LGBT organization. It was a celebratory night and speakers discussed the changes brought about within one year—specifically marriage equality. But the message of the night was clear—there is still a lot more work to do. The organization honored Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner with its 2015 Voice of Equality Award for his work in repealing a gay pride ban in the county, creating a human rights ordinance that protects LGBT people and for spearheading a

watermark Your lgbt life.

domestic partnership registry in the traditionally socially conservative county. “While this award has my name on it, it was truly a community that made all of this happen over the past 10 years,” said Beckner, who was first elected in 2008. “A question I get asked often is now that we’ve accomplished all of this in Hillsborough, where do we go from here? Is our work done yet? The simple answer to that is no.” Equality Florida CEO Nadine Smith agreed with Beckner, and encouraged supporters to continue financially supporting the organization, even though marriage equality has finally arrived in Florida. “Kevin is right—the work is not over,” Smith echoed. “Because as much as marriage is transformational—and make no mistake, it is—it ain’t for everybody. But those couples that got married Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 and the days and weeks that followed triggered the

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

conversations many of us have had with family members...Those ripple effects are the change we haven’t even fully calibrated yet.” Celebrating the hard-fought win for marriage equality is expected, and even encouraged, Smith said. But she added that marriage equality isn’t the end point or the brass ring in the fight for equality. “My biggest message is simply this: Do not quit,” said Smith, adding that leaders of other equality organizations have warned her that donations would drop off after marriage equality became the law of the land. “We’re not going to turn our back on the kid that just got kicked out of his home or the seniors who are fearful and have to go back into the closet to survive their retirement community. The standard we want isn’t simply the changing of laws, but the changing of culture. The cost of arriving here has been very high, but don’t lean back even for a moment.” Smith went on to say that groups who oppose equality haven’t disappeared and are, in fact, reorganizing. “Fifty percent of our state at the local level has protections that ban discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity,” Smith said. “But the places that aren’t protected are the places that need it the most continueD on pg. 14 |  |

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tampa bay news |  | MC Film Fest froM pg.12

casTOr, king named Tampa pride grand marshals

Organizers of the new Tampa Pride have named Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Hamburger Mary’s owner Kurt King as the 2015 grand marshals. The two were celebrated during a Feb. 23 party at Cristino’s Coal Oven Pizza in Ybor City. Castor has spent 30 years with the Tampa Police Department and was appointed to the position of Police Chief by former Mayor Pam Iorio. King owns and operates two Hamburger Mary’s locations in Tampa Bay—one in Ybor City and another one in Clearwater. He is also a member of the Suncoast Softball League Hall of Fame. Both Castor and King will participate in the Tampa Pride Parade down 7th Avenue in Ybor City on March. 28. PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST

In 1992, the shop relocated to Kennedy and Hines avenues. West said the location had a movie theater right in it. The space was used for showing films, of course, and as meeting space for the Hillsborough Human Rights Campaign (which became Equality Florida) and The Sisters, a transgender support group. In 1998, MC Film expanded across the bay into the complex that would become the Suncoast Resort. “Actually, our store opened even before the resort itself and we loved being there,” West recalled. Three years later in 2003, West and Bias purchased a complex of buildings on Central Avenue in St. Petersburg and opened another storefront. When the resort was sold in 2007, MC Film had to close that popular shop. “They gave us less than 30 days to vacate because Home Depot had

said they wouldn’t seal the deal until all the businesses were out of the resort,” said West. “But of course none of us knew that the economy would go south so fast in 2008 and the deal with Home Deport would never materialize. Here we are in 2015 and its still just a vacant lot.” Soon, despite a trial run in Gulfport in conjunction with the now-closed Dive Bar, MC Film Fest was back to just one storefront when it opened in Ybor City in 2007. And now, with the iconic store closing shop, does that mean MC Film Festival is regulated to the history books? “Heavens no,” said West. ‘We’re looking at different locations in Ybor right now and another shop in St. Petersburg is not out of the question. The Tampa Bay gay community has given both of us so much that we feel it’s our responsibility to pay it forward. There will definitely be another shop as soon as we can find the right location. We’re not done yet!”

|  | EQFL Tampa Gala froM pg.12

and they are experiencing the harshest backlash.” Beckner, who spoke of his spouse, Gil Sainz, shared that while he is happy to call his longtime partner his spouse, there are still areas in the country—and in Florida—where people can be fired for simply being gay. “Until the day comes when every single individual...can go out and pursue their version of the American Dream without fear of discrimination, we have a lot of work to do,” Beckner told the audience. “Until no child is bullied because of sexual orientation or gender identity, our work is not done. Until the day comes when family is no longer defined by gender of individuals but by the shared love of its members, our work isn’t done. “We all have a lot of work to do and it’s not just up to elected officials. It is up to each and every one of you to continue to build the house of equality that we have started.”

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state news

anTi-Transgender Bill reaches suBcOmmiTTee in The flOrida hOuse

vigil held fOr murdered Transgender wOman

Staff Report

iami | As police investigate the death of a Miami transgender woman, friends gathered to remember the victim. Originally, Kristina Gomez Reinwald’s death was ruled a suicide, but the Miami-Dade Police Department later ruled the case a homicide investigation. Reinwald, who also goes by Kristina Grant Infiniti, was found dead in her Miami home Feb. 15. Friends have told media they think her boyfriend is responsible for her death, but police say they’re looking into a number of leads and as of press time, had not identified a suspect. Police say Kristina Gomez Reinwald’s body was discovered at the home that neighbors say she shared with her stepfather and brother. A candlelight vigil for Reinwald was held Feb. 19 in downtown Miami. Neighbors said she lived in an apartment at the back of the home and her boyfriend was a frequent visitor. According to Equality Florida, Reinwald is the seventh trans woman to be reported murdered in the U.S. in 2015.

allahassee | An antitransgender bill is now in the Civil Justice Subcommittee of the Florida House, where it will wait to be put onto the agenda. The bill was filed Feb. 7 by Republican State Rep. Frank Artiles of Miami and is titled “Single-Sex Public Facilities.” On the Florida House of Representative’s website

the description of the bill reads that it “requires that use of single-sex facilities be restricted to persons of sex for which facility is designated; prohibits knowingly and willfully entering single-sex public facility designated for or restricted to persons of other biological sex; provides exemptions; provides private cause of action against violators; provides for preemption.” One of the most concerning aspects of the bill is if a person who willing and willfully enters a single-

sex facility that doesn’t align with their biological sex, then they’re liable by civil action by any person who is lawfully using the same single-sex public facility at the time as the unlawful entry. The bill is now sitting in the same subcommittee, ironically, as the Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA)—or HB 33. FCWA is a statewide bill that aims at prohibiting discrimination against LGBTs in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Chuck Chapman, 63, went to the courthouse Feb. 17 for jury duty but refused to serve because the courthouse stopped holding wedding ceremonies once same-sex marriage became legal in Florida. Chapman said “if they feel uncomfortable marrying same-sex people then I feel uncomfortable going in the courthouse,” according

to The New Civil Rights Movement. Chapman said that he was willing to be held in contempt, rather than agree to serve as a juror. According to First Coast News, after Chapman was dismissed, he was approached and congratulated by people there for taking a stand.

gay man nOT fOund in cOnTempT fOr refusing Jury duTy Staff Report JacKsonville | A gay Jacksonville man was released from jury duty after he refused to serve because he didn’t feel comfortable in the Duval County courthouse.

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ALOMA & ST. ANDREWS

nation+world news

Washington judge says florist who refused same-sex wedding broke the law Wire Report

ichland, Wash. | A florist in Washington state who refused to provide flowers to a gay couple for their wedding violated state consumer protection and anti-discrimination law, a judge ruled Feb. 18. Benton County Superior Court Judge Alex Ekstrom rejected arguments from the owner of Arlene’s Flowers in Richland that her actions were protected by her freedoms of speech and religion. While religious beliefs are protected by the First Amendment, actions based on those beliefs aren’t. “For over 135 years, the Supreme Court has held that laws may prohibit religiously motivated action, as opposed to belief,” Ekstrom wrote.

“The Courts have confirmed the power of the Legislative Branch to prohibit conduct it deems discriminatory, even where the motivation for that conduct is grounded in religious belief.” Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers, sold flowers for years to customer Robert Ingersoll. She knew he was gay and that the flowers were for his partner, Curt Freed. After Washington state adopted gay marriage in 2012, Ingersoll went to the shop the following spring to ask Stutzman to do the flowers for his wedding. At the time, floral arrangements for weddings made up about 3% of her business. She placed her hands on his and told him she couldn’t, “because of my relationship with Jesus Christ,” she said in a deposition. As a Southern Baptist, she believed only in

opposite-sex marriages. Ingersoll and Freed sued, as did Washington state, alleging violations of Washington’s Law Against Discrimination and Consumer Protection Act. The couple went ahead with their wedding, but they had it at home with 11 guests and flowers from another florist, instead of the larger event they had originally envisioned. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, which represented the couple, welcomed the ruling. The law allows for penalties of up to $2,000 per violation, as well as legal fees. The state will likely seek those against Stutzman individually as well as her business, said Peter Lavallee, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

altogether. Francis didn’t mention them, either. Even without a papal shout-out, New Ways Ministry officials were nevertheless pleased that they had been invited to sit up front by Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, the prefect of the papal household who dispenses the coveted reserved tickets for Francis’ audiences. Gaenswein for years has also been the top aide to Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. When Benedict headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he permanently prohibited the New Ways Ministry co-founders, Sister Jeannine Gramick, and the Rev. Robert Nugent, from ministering to gays after determining in 1999 that they didn’t sufficiently adhere to

church teaching on the “intrinsic evil” of homosexual acts. Nugent abided by the directive and died last year. Gramick has continued her ministry, changing religious orders to the Sisters of Loreto, and was on hand for Feb. 18’s audience. “Pope Francis gives me hope,” she said. “To me, this is an example of the kind of willingness he has to welcome those on the fringes of the church back to the center of the church.” The group’s executive director, Francis DeBernardo, said New Ways Ministry had tried unsuccessfully under the previous two popes to get VIP seats for its Rome pilgrimages. “We didn’t get the shout-out, but we were very, very close,” DeBernardo said.

Gay Catholics get Vatican welcome, but no papal shout-out Wire Report Vatican City | The Vatican did something it has never done before by giving a group of U.S. gay and lesbian Catholics VIP seats at Pope Francis’ weekly general audience Feb. 18. But in a sign that the welcome wasn’t all it could have been, the New Ways Ministry pilgrims were only identified on the Vatican’s list of attendees as a “group of lay people accompanied by a Sister of Loreto.” And not even that got announced: When a Vatican monsignor read out the list of the different groups of pilgrims in attendance in St. Peter’s Square, he skipped over the group

Same-sex marriage rulings spur Idaho impeachment resolution Wire Report Boise, Idaho | An Idaho lawmaker upset with federal judges who have overturned same-sex marriage bans across the nation proposed that Congress impeach judges who fail to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Republican Rep. Paul Shepherd of Riggins introduced the non-binding resolution Feb. 16 to the Idaho House State Affairs Committee. The committee voted in favor, with four Democrats opposed. Shepherd says that federal judges are adjudicating against the intent of U.S. Constitution, focusing primarily on the multiple rulings that gay

marriage bans are illegal. Idaho’s gay marriage ban—passed in 2006—was overturned on Oct. 15. Shepherd’s resolution originally said judges should be impeached if they make changes to the law. However, several committee members countered that the language was too broad and amended it.

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in other news Philippine court enters not guilty plea for US Marine A Philippine court entered a not guilty plea Feb. 23 for a U.S. Marine charged with murdering a transgender Filipino, allegedly after he discovered her gender when they checked into a hotel. Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton refused to enter a plea in the brief proceeding in a court, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Pemberton has been charged by prosecutors in the Oct. 11 killing of trans woman Jennifer Laude.

University of Missouri adds gender-neutral housing option on campus The University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia is testing out a new gender-neutral housing option starting this fall. The 16-bed space in College Avenue Hall will be open to students of any gender, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported. The goal is to create a safe, secure housing option for those students who are transgender or gender nonconforming.

Utah governor says he’d decline to officiate same-sex wedding Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says he would probably decline to officiate a same-sex wedding if a gay couple ever made such request. Herbert told reporters Feb. 12 that he’d “probably respectfully decline” and that it’s not something he’d want to do. Herbert said that because he wouldn’t be obligated to officiate like a county clerk would be, he thinks it would be appropriate for him to decline.

Image of gay couple in Russia wins World Press Photo An atmospheric image of a gay couple in Russia by Danish photographer Mads Nissen was crowned the World Press Photo of the Year 2014 on Feb. 12. The intimate image of Jon and Alex is part of a larger project by Nissen called “Homophobia in Russia” that highlights how life is increasingly difficult for sexual minorities in Russia. Nissen said he sees the image as “a modern-day Romeo and Juliet story” about two people in love but facing outside forces who want to deny them their feelings.

Kate Brown becomes first openly bisexual governor in U.S. Kate Brown, the 54-year-old secretary of state, becomes the first openly bisexual governor in the nation. She was expected to assume office Feb. 13 after Kitzhaber stepped down amid an influencepeddling scandal involving his fiancee. Unlike most states, Oregon has no lieutenant governor. Under the state constitution, the secretary of state takes over if a governor steps down or dies.

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viewpoint

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Jill Shargaa

My View:

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asked me to write a column. “It can be on anything you want, political, serious, humorous…and it has to be about 900 words.”

I thought, “I don’t know 300 words, so this is gonna be a challenge.” I could go into excruciating detail about my childhood growing up here in Orlando, or I could start with the present and tell you what I had for lunch today. I’m known for a few things—being a comic, a professional graphic designer, sister, aunt, daughter, lover of vintage VW Beetles and three-time winner of the Irving Thalberg Award. Not really, but I thought that would look good right there. I’m happy to say that both of my 85-year old parents are alive and kicking and live just two doors down from me. My dad still goes to work Monday through Friday at his business and my Mom is a terrific cook and loves their cat, Sophie. This coming May they celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. I’ll let that sink in for a moment. Sixty-one years married to the same person and my guess is that they’re going to keep this up until we say otherwise. I have a sister who is married to a wonderful guy. They have two grown-ass kids, one of which is my niece, who will be married on my folks’ 61st wedding anniversary as a way to honor to them. How’s that for being corny, loving and wonderful? So you can see by these few sentences, I come from a very stable home, perhaps bordering on dull. I’m a product of the Orange County Public School system and I still get excited when I hear Boone High School did well at anything. My first two years

of college were spent at Valencia, then I transferred to a little school called the University of Florida. I majored in Graphic Design and graduated with a Bachelors in Art. I have a forced minor in Art History. I say it that way because I’d rather have had a minor in something like Broadcasting because I like watching TV. My graphic design career started at an outdoor billboard company—hated it. Here’s why. Back then, when you were interviewed for a job, they could ask you questions like “Do you plan on getting pregnant anytime soon?” I thought, “Do you plan on knocking me up? What the hell is goin’ on?” I didn’t stay long. I’ve worked for WMFE-TV (now WUCF) and learned how poor but necessary public television really is. And while we’re here, yes, I watch Downton Abbey, but prefer to call it Downtown Arby’s. It’s just easier. I worked for almost 10 years as an editorial artist at The Orlando Sentinel and can say that was my favorite job. We created breaking news graphics, illustrations, maps, charts and infographics all at a moment’s notice because it was all part of putting the story together. Trucks were waiting for you downstairs, so you better make that deadline. When the invasion of Iraq—Desert Storm— started, I drew the front page illustration. I had a zillion editors stand behind me as they barked out suggestions or changed the size or text. It was exciting and exhausting, having just pulled an all-nighter there sleeping on the floor of the art department. Today, it’s so different from just 20 years ago. I don’t live in the past. But there are some things “back then” that were just flat out better. Music—anything from Motown, the Beatles, the Stones, early Bette Midler; and Earth, Wind and Fire. Back then, no one “sampled”

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from other artist. They wrote it first. Television—to name a few, the Ed Sullivan Show, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Carol Burnett Show and Johnny Carson when he defined The Tonight Show. And well-built homes. You can keep your

bought a couple of them for $9 bucks apiece. At 23 years of age, I just made contact with my comedy idol, and she’s buying jokes from me. This is where I wake up, right? I eventually met her in South Florida at The Doral. I wrote in advance if I could meet her after the

clubs and venues like The Improv and the Tupperware Auditorium. And there’s been some real toilets like a golf course clubhouse in Sebastian, Fla. There, the stage was a sheet of plywood on top of some cinder blocks. God help you if you didn’t stand

Chinese drywall, thank you very much. As for being a stand-up comic, that started after college. I wrote a fan letter to Joan Rivers. I sent her a funny letter and mailed it to her in care of The Sands Hotel, Las Vegas. She wrote back a few weeks later and enclosed a contract offering me to be a writer for her. I gave myself a few weeks and wrote 19 one-liners and mailed them back to her. She

show. I gave her a bag of red grapefruit I had brought from home—she loved that. I was out of her dressing room door in probably a few seconds, but it was one of the greatest experiences ever. You can imagine my devastation when she suddenly died last year. Today, I can thank Ms. Rivers for giving me my start. Since then, I’ve put in 30 years of performing in some of the best comedy

in the center and not flip it over by shifting your body weight. I’ve performed with Lily Tomlin, Paula Poundstone, Rosie O’Donnell and Carrot Top. Last summer, I gave a TED talk in NYC. I’ve told jokes in my pajamas at my Dad’s Kiwanis meeting at 7 a.m. at the Citrus Club in downtown Orlando. I’m just not sure what to write about for this first column.

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viewpoint

repeaTing hisTory?: The

Oscar-nominated film Selma tells the tale of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and echoes the current state of affairs concerning marriage equality in the southern state.

susan clary

guesT cOlumn

‘Selma’ isn’t over

finally saw SeLma. The

Oscar-nominated film depicts Dr. Martin Luther King’s push for passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act—the federal legislation that was a crowning achievement of the Civil Rights Movement. Many protesters, both black and white, were sacrificed during the brutal efforts to make the 54-mile march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, the state capital.

The 1987 PBS documentary Eyes on the Prize chronicled the event. However, the 2014 movie directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as King reveals the powerful and moving story behind Dr. King’s efforts to grab the nation’s attention. Alabama Gov. George Wallace ordered state troopers to stop civil rights marchers trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge out of Selma. On March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday, the country watched live as 600 marchers were badly beaten by state troopers with nightsticks and tear gas. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who refused to make voting rights a priority, relented and signed the landmark legislation. It is all too obvious that Alabama remains frozen in time. Almost 50 years later, Gov. Robert Bentley walks

a tightrope on the issue of gay marriage, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy S. Moore channels Wallace perpetuating the state’s shameful history of prejudice and discrimination. Moore is pushing Bentley to support the gay marriage ban in opposition to federal judges who deemed it unconstitutional. Moore ordered state judges to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses. At the time that I write this, 17 of Alabama’s 67 counties refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Sadly, at least five are not issuing any licenses. Many judges are torn between the Chief Justice and the federal courts. A number of conservative organizations have filed appeals. Florida is not much better. The state has a long and embarrassing history of suppressing the black vote—a practice that continues. In addition, Florida is one of only three states in the country—alongside Alabama and Mississippi—that has a legal state holiday honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Virginia’s Confederate leader Robert E. Lee and Confederate Memorial Day. These only serve as painful and powerful reminders of slavery. It has been 100 years since the cornerstone was laid for the Lincoln Memorial. Florida’s repression is alive and well in other ways. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott fought tooth and nail to keep the state’s gay marriage ban intact. As other states were legalizing gay marriage at lightning speed, Florida was spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on protracted legal battles to keep the ban. Though marriage equality was finally legalized in Florida on Jan. 6, clerks in at least 13 counties refuse to perform ceremonies in their courthouses. Today, 13 states still have bans on same-sex marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to rule in June that no state can restrict marriage to heterosexual couples—making these bans

It is all too obvious that alabama remains frozen in time.

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unconstitutional everywhere. Don’t think for a minute the gay rights movement has been without bloodshed. Hundreds of hate crimes against gays are reported nationally every year—and always include murder.

Indeed, recent clashes between black men and cops are reminders that having a black president does not mean it’s over. There is still far to go to erase prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. It’s a safe bet that 50 years

from now, Hollywood will again create another film, inspired by actual events, that will secure an Oscar nod. And that film will depict the unbelievable prejudice and discrimination against African Americans and the LGBT community. Susan Clary is a freelance journalist living in Winter Park. She is a native of St. Petersburg.

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talking points

of liKely

REPUBLICAN

priMary Voters in new haMpshire anD south carolina saiD

A CANDIDATE’S

Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu Dhabi and

they look down upon women and gays? — darren young, The wwe’s only ouT wresTler, in a recenT TweeT

no Doubt, we loVe

laVerne coX f

ans of OraNGe IS tHe NeW BLaCk are Thrilled over the news that the breakout transgender actress will continue her career this fall on the new CBS drama Doubt. Sources close to the project say the role of an Ivy League-educated lawyer whose personal experiences with injustice fuel her competitiveness was written with Cox in mind. So far the legal drama is just a pilot, but if it is picked up by CBS, Cox would play the first series regular transgender character on a primetime show on the network. OITNB fans can relax—it seems Cox is still in the cast of that hit Netflix show too.

OPPOSITION

to saMe-seX Marriage is

gay Man lanDs chief of staff job for secretary of Defense

UNACCEPTABLE. d

47%

of liKely

iowa caucus Voters agree. —NBC News and Marist College

efense secreTary ashTon carTer has a new chief of sTaff, who just so happens to be gay. Carter, who replaced outgoing secretary Chuck Hagel, named Eric Fanning as his chief of staff Feb. 17. Fanning has been serving as under secretary of the Air Force prior to the new defense chief selecting him for the key role at the Department of Defense. The American Military Partners’ Association President Ashley Broadway-Mack was thrilled with the pick, saying, “Knowing that he’s an openly gay man in such an important role is a milestone.”

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THE WALKING DEAD introDuces gay couple

freuD: hoMoseXuality ‘nothing to be ashaMeD of’

n a recenT episode of The amc hiT tHe WaLkING DeaD, fans got a chance to meet the series’ first gay couple, Aaron and Eric. The pair are pulled directly from the graphic novel that serves as the AMC hit’s source material. And while it was unclear if this was the couple in the books at first, it became clear when the pair shared a big and very sexy kiss. It’s unclear how long Eric and Aaron will be on the series. But here’s hoping true love can defeat a horde of walking zombies, no matter its orientation.

newly unearThed leTTer from sigmund freud, dated 1935, illustrates how the popular psychotherapist viewed homosexuality. In a letter to a woman asking for help with her gay son, he replies “Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation; it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function, produced by a certain arrest of sexual development.” The letter currently appears at the Museum of Sexology in London.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

finding meaning: Ark

of Freedom founder nathan Earl stands at the Sundial complex in St. Petersburg. PHOTO By

in-Depth: seX trafficKing

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like him—have a story to share. He is a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation— more commonly referred to as human trafficking.

“I was sexually and physically abused when I was very young. The perpetrators were family members, so the protection aspect when I was little, it just didn’t exist,” the Sarasota resident says. “I was going through issues with my own sexuality, and all of this put together, I just felt like I was a mistake. I was initially too scared to run to the streets, so at 11 years old I started sniffing gasoline in the garage as a way to escape reality. “The sexual abuse lasted until I was around 14 or 15. I transitioned to pills, then pot, booze, cocaine, all in an attempt to numb myself.” At 19, Earl was accepted to the University of Florida. But, he says, the years of abuse and lack of opportunity to process all that happened eventually caught up with him, and everything came crashing down. “I ended up strung out on crack and crystal meth, I was homeless, subjected to brutal violence on the street,” he says. “My body was dumped in Sarasota out along the tree-line by the airport after I was out hustling one night. You couldn’t even recognize my face. I woke up

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

with no shirt, pants undone, and there were several instances of that type of violence in my life.” He says he was arrested numerous times and things continued to get worse. But after his last arrest, he reached a turning point. “One of the counselors mentioned a quote by Viktor Frankl which says, ‘If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering,’” he says. “I could barely speak at this point, but for some reason, that quote stuck. I made this decision that if I don’t do anything about this, if I don’t say anything about this, then it just ends up as this twisted thing that happened, and how horrible would that be? “So that’s when I made that transition from victim to survivor.” A decade later, Earl has found his destiny and purpose as founder of Ark Of Freedom, a nonprofit anti-human trafficking corporation headquartered in Manatee County. And he hopes things will begin to change, as programs get developed and the media brings the plight of these victims to light. continueD on pg. 27 |  |

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

|  | Sex Trafficking froM pg.25

it’s not genDer-specific Human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation are inarguably some of the most heinous acts committed worldwide, only really entering society’s human rights lexicon over the course of the last decade. And while these atrocities are becoming a more widely known and discussed set of topics, they still remain on the periphery of the national and international consciousness. They are often categorized and painted with the broad strokes of generalizations—the idea that “trafficking” and “sexual exploitation” refer exclusively to sexual slavery of primarily women, and occur in other countries. While that picture alone still struggles to spark enough global action to eradicate these crimes, there is a subset within the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation population that receives essentially no media coverage. There have been only a handful of national level studies published about male victims. There is a huge gap in victim identification, prevention education and counseling in regards to them. And yet they make up nearly half of the commercially sexually exploited and trafficked youth population. “The Department of Justice published three studies—one was in New York, one was North America in general, and one was Floridabased—and all three stated that, depending on region, anywhere from 30-50% of sex trafficked kids are male,” says Earl. “Domestically, around 100,000 youths are trafficked every year, so even if you’re looking at the most conservative estimates of 30%, that’s 30,000 boys,” says Earl. “Within that, what also often gets diluted in that figure is the subset of LGBT, which are the most marginalized.” Officially, trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Commercial sexual exploitation

finally free: Tampa resident Ira Baker says he was sexually abused at the age of 7, and after he ran away from home he found himself living a life of forced prostitution. PHOTO By BRuCE HARDIn

is officially defined as sexual activity in which one party is engaged in order to obtain food, shelter, clothing or other basic needs that result from a vulnerable state of being.

as gay, people will think you brought it on yourself.”

Florida currently ranks third in the nation for number of human trafficking cases, and a victim will only survive an average of six years without being identified and

often raised is, why don’t law enforcement officials step in to intervene, and furthermore, why don’t the victims self-report and escape the situation? The Safe Harbor Act in Florida empowers law enforcement to refer a youth who they feel is at risk for sex trafficking or exploitation. Instead of taking a youth to jail on an arrest charge, they can instead refer them directly to an agency. “But what’s happening is that they’re getting arrested for things

“The shame that many male survivors feel, as well as the fear of how others perceive them, plays a large part in why many do not share what has happened to them,” says nonprofit international human rights organization Love146’s US Programs Director Kimberly Casey. “When we ask males what prevented them from coming

taken into care. Why does Florida rank so high? “Number one is the tourism,” says Earl. “Any time you have transient populations, it makes this kind of activity easier—they can’t be tracked, they’re invisible. “When you have these clandestine operations going on, it becomes easier to hide in these areas, and you have the amusement parks, and you have family vacations where there are children.” Earl explains that the question

like loitering or panhandling, and instead of being referred to services, they’re being viewed as criminals instead of victims,” says Earl. “The other part of this is that males are considered invisible in this scenario because boys are thought to be more in charge and have more agency and control, those are our cultural perceptions. So if something like this happens to you, you don’t self-report because if you identify as straight, people will think you’re gay. If you identify

forward, we hear things like, ‘I’m supposed to want sex all the time,’ ‘They’d think I’m weak,’ ‘I didn’t want them to think I was gay.’ “The discussion of victimization in the United States is a difficult thing, regardless of gender. There has been no shortage of voices standing on top of the ‘victim blaming’ soapbox—for women. As we’ve begun to listen to male survivors, it is clear that this platform must be shared.” But beyond these obstacles,

floriDa ranKs 3rD in trafficKing cases

liVing in shaMe

The only time it was okay for me to be gay was when these older men wanted to pay [my mother] to take me for the evening. —ira baKer

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

there are far more severe physical and psychological factors that put these youths on the path to victimization, and keep them invisible. In 2014, Love146 published a report authored by Timothy A. Bastedo entitled The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Male Minors in the United States: A Snapshot with Strategic Implications for Prevention Education, which aimed at generating male-specific content for the organization’s Prevention Education Curriculum. In it, Bastedo reports that the “commercially exploited male minors paradigmatically engage in survival sex as a response to homelessness,” the primary cause of which is family dysfunction, including physical and sexual abuse, and the pervasion of drugs. “Whether a voluntary or involuntary exit of the home, male minors are at the highest risk to find themselves lacking food, shelter, clothing and other basic necessities,” Bastedo writes. “And it is estimated as many as 45% choose to engage in sexual activity to meet their basic needs.” Earl outlines the circumstances and experiences of the average commercially exploited male minor (CSEMM). “The pathway to exploitation is pretty much the same across the board,” he says. “It starts somewhere around 4 to 5 years old with family dysfunction where they are being physically or sexually abused at home, the parents are on drugs, the kids then end up on drugs, living in poverty. And even at 9 or 10 years old, there’s the ‘fight or flight’ reaction, and so most will either escape through drugs or escape to the streets. Either way, the outcome is not good. “So we have runaways, but we also have throwaways. About 26-30% of gay youths are still thrown out to the streets, and when that happens, survival mode kicks in—you don’t have any food, you don’t have any shelter, when the drugs take hold it becomes even harder.” Earl explains the progression to the next step of the victimization process. “The average age of becoming sexually exploited for a male is around 11-12 years old,” he says. “When you run to the streets, you only have a few options. You can run to a foster home, and while things are changing with foster homes now, many are still not

continueD on pg. 28 |  |

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trauma-informed relating to trafficking-specific issues, and the poly-victimization that these kids go through. Many times you’re further abused in foster care, so you run away from foster care maybe five or six times.” Adult homeless shelters aren’t always an option either, Earl says. “You say, ‘Ok, forget foster care, I’ll go to the Salvation Army,’” Earl explains. “With adult homeless shelters, the incidents of further molestation, victimization and recruiting out of those shelters into human trafficking is very high. They don’t have the staffing, they aren’t culturally competent, they don’t know what to look for and there’s no real screening process to differentiate between someone with deviant behavior and someone in a position of, ‘Hey I lost my job and I’m just down on my luck.’ The perpetrators in these scenarios are pedophiles, which pertains to prepubescent, hebephiles, which pertains to postpubescent, or situational abusers who are sex addicts. And it doesn’t matter whether girl, boy, it’s just the younger they are, they are perceived as safer from disease.” Earl explains that by this point, the CSEMM has already spent the majority of his life being abused and exploited. “By around 14 you say, ‘I’ll just stay on the streets,’ and by now you’ve learned you can have your necessary survival needs met by selling yourself,” Earl says. “And with that comes a sense of empowerment in the ability to decide how much to charge.” Bastedo’s report identifies this misguided mentality of empowerment within the CSEMM populous as well, stating that “once male minors become homeless, they are most frequently recruited into sexually exploitive activities by peers or potential customers. These relationships tend to be less overtly coercive than female-

pimp relationships.” CSEMMs will oftentimes report believing they have the ability to extricate themselves from situations and relationships they no longer want to be a part of, thus rebranding their exploitation as a “hustle,” creating the illusion of control. “Now you’re 15-16, by this time you’re probably so strung out on meth or crack, you have to get your fix just to get up and function,” Earl continues. “So you’re starting to make this transition where you’re so scarred emotionally that if you’ve survived that long, by around 18 you begin to transition into being a facilitator. They’ll rent a small apartment, recruit other guys to come in, and act as the facilitator.” The basic structure and pathway to victimization plays out nearly identically to Earl’s outline when survivors share their personal stories. Case in point, Ira Lee Baker of Tampa.

a surViVor’s story

A survivor of commercial sexual exploitation, Baker explains that he was a victim of abuse from early childhood. “When I was around 6 or 7 years old, the incest and sexual abuse began,” says Baker. “When I was 8, I ran away from home and hitchhiked from Tallahassee to Tampa and was introduced to prostitution. At that time, they didn’t do anything about [prostitution], you could lie about your age when you got arrested, tell a story and back then there wasn’t really a way of proving your age or your identity. “I had a pimp and he was aware of my real age, and he would dress me up like a girl and I would go out and walk up and down Kennedy Boulevard and turn tricks.” Baker explains this continued until he was 11, when he was picked up by law enforcement and returned to his family in Tallahassee. “My biological mother hated the fact that I was gay,” he says. “The only time it was okay for me to be gay was when these older men

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wanted to pay her to take me for the evening. It was dinner, then back to a hotel room, and that’s when the sex would begin.” Baker recalls being put into school at 13—an environment he could not relate to, nor was safe in. “I just couldn’t identify with any of the kids there,” he says. “I was ridiculed for being feminine. In the boys’ bathrooms I had boys that were older than me that would force me to have sex with them, then abuse and ridicule me in public.” He says his life was a continuous cycle of prostitution and jail. By 17, Baker was addicted to drugs, and was subsequently arrested and sentenced to five years in prison. “In prison, it’s the same thing,” he says. “An older guy kind of becomes your pimp in prison and you’re offered out for a certain amount of money. And that cycle just kept going on until I was around 35 years old.” Unfortunately, Baker’s story isn’t unique. “These victims have been treated like crap since they were 3 or 4 years old, they’re taught that they’re worthless,” says Earl. “When you reach 12-13 years old, you’re already vulnerable because of your age, and you’re still developing. There is a rationalization of saying ‘No, I can control [my circumstances],’ but the internal feelings of shame and stigma, the drug addiction and abuse, it’s all still there.” One of the most atrisk segments of the LGBT community for trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation is the transgender population, and as Earl explains, “It’s really because when adapting to adverse conditions, it becomes a lot harder when there’s a weaker sense of identity. So if you’re talking about someone who is 13 or 14 years old, naturally at a vulnerable state anyway, and then you factor in the identity crisis that comes into play with young LBGT, it poses a more complex situation.”

patience then healing When dealing with the trauma endured by a survivor, Earl explains that the rehabilitation process needs to be long term, and comprehensive. “It’s not an instant thing, they run back to the streets, not because it’s safe, but because it’s just what is known and what is familiar. So programs have to take that into account and design protocol that understands they are going to run and have an open door policy that they can come back,” he says. “The initial part is stabilization, and what that means is immediate safety by means of shelter, getting them off the street and away from the facilitator, a drug detox, food, and clothing. Once you meet those immediate tangible needs, you can work towards the restorative transitional aspect, and you start to meet their intangible needs and connect them to a formal economy through education and vocational rehabilitation.” There is also a need for improving life and social skills among this population as well as finding appropriate nutritional education and financial literacy. Earl says the process can take up to 24 months. He explains that even the most basic skills are likely to be lacking in a survivor victim.

finding her sTrengTh: Torri Ramos says she entered the world of sex trafficking after she realized her family didn’t accept her for being transgender. PHOTO By JAKE STEVEnS finDing the wrong KinD of acceptance Torri Ramos is a Central Florida transgender survivor of commercial sexual exploitation, and she says her story began during her teenage years when she realized she wasn’t accepted by her family. “My family was very religious, they really didn’t approve of me. I didn’t have anybody,” says Ramos. “I felt really in the dark and vulnerable. I was introduced to the streets and it gave me a feeling of being accepted and belonging. From there I was introduced to prostitution, and in this weird way I almost felt a sense of happiness because I was desired.” Ramos soon found her situation changing from bad to worse. “I was introduced to someone who offered to help me out. I had to work for them, they took my money, they were taking advantage of me. There were nights I was so tired I didn’t want to go out to the streets,

but they would force me. It was really bad.” Earl says there’s a word for such treatment: organized crime. “This is syndicated activity. It’s very clandestine, and there are very intricate networks. “Online places like Adam4Adam, Grindr, Backpage, Craigslist—these are major recruitment channels. The majority [of victims] do come from the vulnerable and homeless populations, and we see recruiting from shelters, foster homes, bus stops, the streets, adult bookstores. But there are a significant number of mainstream American kids who are lured through Facebook, Myspace, these online channels,” he says. Any youth already experiencing feelings of loneliness or a lack of self-identification are targeted online. “There are plenty of perpetrators out there who look for that online, befriend you, eventually set up a meeting, and that’s when they

can forcibly kidnap, and you’re pimped,” Earl says. “Or there’s the psychological coercion, where one may be convinced through these feelings of love, ‘If you love me, you’ll do this.’ We know of situations where there are brothels and circuit parties where people are literally chained to a wall, gagged and forced to ingest drugs.” The disconcerting facts and figures of the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation world is compounded when one learns that there are virtually zero services available for victimized males, as Bastedo’s report points out the troubling fact that “there are no prevention education or prevention services for male minors at high-risk for commercial sexual exploitation.” “Research has to be conducted, and funding for programs across the nation has to be sourced,” says Earl. “It takes a unified message from anti-trafficking providers to identify all victims.”

watermark Your lgbt life.

a collaboratiVe effort

Baker and Ramos are now part of Nathan Earl’s cause, both on the road to recovery and with plans to aid Ark Of Freedom as survivor mentors. “Until all the areas of trauma are addressed, you won’t have success,” says Baker, who has since been adopted by a family, and is currently working on his own path to recovery and stabilization. “When it comes to men, society tends to say, ‘You could fight back, you could run away. Where is there to run? Where is there to go? You feel mentally and spiritually trapped. You try to go to school or trying to have a normal life, the anxiety level is overwhelming, and the intensity of the fear is above and beyond.” But to escape, one must find his or her voice. “People have to speak out, it won’t be addressed if no one is talking about it,” says Ramos, who was a friend of Earl’s when both were on the street, and, in a twist of fate, was recently reunited with him by a chance encounter. “We need more people to report, especially within the

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gay community,” Ramos says. “Otherwise it’s going to remain hush-hush and it’s never going to be dealt with.” Casey agrees with these assertions. “The dominant image of masculinity in the United States renders ‘male victims’ a seemingly incongruous description,” she says. “Many Americans still associate human trafficking with young girls locked in brothels in developing countries. At Love146, we know that narrative to be true, however we also know that human trafficking and exploitation is incredibly complex, and that those being exploited don’t always fit our image of victimization at first glance.” There is still plenty of research to be done and there is an obvious lack in statistics concerning young boys trapped in a life they never wanted. The only way to boost that research is through reporting the crime. “When you want to end the marginalization of a particular group or population, you have to empower the population,” Earl says. “[Ark Of Freedom’s] mission is to educate, empower and mobilize communities in the battle to end the trafficking of youth, while restoring, enhancing and empowering the lives of trafficked or exploited youth and young adults. The second part of our mission is to decrease the marginalization of male victims through community awareness and education, community outreach training and through the provision of male-specific, victim-centered, trauma-informed safe housing and other restorative supportive services.” Casey echoes Earl’s sentiment on the need for a shift in society’s perceptions regarding victimization. “The domestic violence movement has found success in their efforts to challenge people to stop asking, ‘Why did you stay?’ and encourage the exploration of the larger societal influences that contributed to a person’s victimization,” she says. “Similarly, rather than asking ‘Why do you keep doing this to yourself?’ we need a collective shout that considers the complex vulnerabilities and circumstances that contribute to the commercial sexual exploitation of male minors.” And that means collaboration. “Human trafficking and exploitation is a global heinous crime, and there’s no way that one person or one agency is going to make a difference across the globe,” says Earl. “What it takes is us all joining the fight, assuming our roles, and being a voice.”

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

arts anD entertainMent

his Time: Christian musician

Ray Boltz came out in 2008 and despite a flood of hateful mail from former fans sentencing him to hell, he continued performing and now lives in Fort Lauderale with his partner of eight years.

‘BOLTZ’OF INSPIRATION chrisTian arTisT ray BOlTZ discusses small TOwn upBringing, cOming OuT and his upcOming cOncerT aT venice mcc

Krista DiTucci

he venice mcc cerTainly

has a history worth celebrating. On Feb. 19, 1995, Rev. Sherry Kennedy founded the church after Venice and Port Charlotte residents faced increased difficulty in traveling to the Manatee County MCC every week. Rev. Kennedy helped organize the first meeting, at which 78 members were present—a denominational record. watermark Your lgbt life.

Twenty years later, the congregation will celebrate a milestone with a weekend long celebration that includes a performance by out Christian performer Ray Boltz. on Saturday, Feb. 28. Boltz was raised Methodist and always had a love for music. In 1984, he kicked off his full-time music career with his album Watch the Lamb. He married his wife Carol in 1975; the two were married

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for 33 years and had four children together. Today he lives in Fort Lauderdale with his talent agent and partner of eight years, Franco Sperduti. Boltz came out to his fans and the public in 2008. In an interview with Watermark, Boltz shares his journey of becoming as a musician, coming out as a gay Christian artist and discovering his true self.

continueD on pg. 33 |  |

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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WATERMARK: how DiD you becoMe inVolVeD with christian Music perforMance? ray boltz: When I was 19—in the 1970s when contemporary Christian music was just beginning—I went to a Christian concert and it had a major impact on my life. I decided to pick up a guitar and start writing. The phones started to ring and I was asked to sing in nursing homes, coffee houses, pretty much everywhere within the community. You didn’t have to be famous to be asked to perform. I recorded Watch the Lamb in 1984. The song was technically not one that should have done well (laughing). There was no hook, no bridge and it’s seven minutes long, yet people were incredibly moved and it ended up going to number one. It went from station to station and started my career. About six months after the album was released, my distribution company asked if I was ready to do this full-time. I had four children and quit my job. The company went out of business, but about six months later I was able to sell records on my own through an independent distribution company. I went on to record my second album Thank You and spent the next 27 years touring. tell Me a little bit about your faMily.

I have three girls and a boy, and we’re expecting our ninth grandchild in October. I feel like Grandpa Walton a little bit (laughing). All my kids accept me and love me. Carol and I are still best friends. We talk every day. It’s difficult sometimes, but we decided feeling uncomfortable every once in a while is all right because we’re still a family.

what MaDe you finally DeciDe to coMe out?

For 30 years, I denied the fact that I was gay and did everything the church told me to do. I prayed, I fasted and I went to counseling. I confessed constantly. At the end of 30 years, I realized I was just pretending. I thought, ‘Here are the people closest to me and they don’t know who I really am.’ In 2004, a short time after Christmas, my family and I were sitting around the table and my son asked what was wrong. He could see I was going through something. I thought, ‘I can either go ahead and keep pretending or I can tell the truth.’ That was the

out and received, like, 20,000 emails. I would say 90% of them were, ‘You’re going to hell’ and ‘I never liked your music anyway.’ But then there would be people writing to me saying it [my coming out] gave them hope.

so how haVe you ManageD to Maintain your faith Despite all the negatiVe feeDbacK?

I think faith is a journey. It goes back to the concept ‘honest doubt leads to great faith.’ I came to the realization that God loves me just the way I am. I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody, not trying to be a martyr. I’m very, very happy, and I

he knows me as ray boltz, not some gay guy he’s heard preachers rail against. —ray bolTZ moment I came out to my family. They all hugged me and loved me—I couldn’t ask for more. Of course, there were tears. It’s not like it’s been perfect, but we’re being honest with each other and they feel like they know me. My former father-in-law, who was in his 90s, told Carol, ‘There is nothing he [Ray] could do that could make me not love him.’ He knows me as Ray Boltz, not some gay guy he’s heard preachers rail against. how DiD your christian fans react?

I was invited to sing at the MCC church in Washington, D.C. The Washington Blade found out I had been there and sent me and email asking me why I chose an MCC church. I thought, ‘This is the time to come out publicly.’ I had no doubt about what the response would be from fundamentalists. In 2008, I officially came

To read bonus content from this interview, go to

watermarkonline.com

still believe in God, but I just don’t believe all the things people have told me about God, especially the judgmental things. haVe you been to the Venice Mcc before?

I’ve played in Sarasota and Tampa but have never been to the Venice church. However, I met some of their members when I played in Tampa. I’m just looking forward to the anniversary celebration and I’m honored because I know what it’s like to come out and stand up and be rejected. The MCC churches have been firebombed as a denomination. They are really, really bold people and stood up when no one else would.

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whaT: SunCoast Cathedral MCC 20th Anniversary Weekend where: 3276 e. Venice Ave., Venice FL when: Friday, Feb. 28-Sunday, Mar. 1

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

eVent planner

arTs+enTerTainmenT

cOmmuniTy calendar

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(a love story), through March 1, UCF Conservatory Theatre, Orlando. 407-823-1500; Theatre.ucf.edu.

Zebra coalition education Fund Launch

God of Carnage, through March 1, Henegar Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne. 321-723-8698; Henegar.org.

6:30 p.m., friday, feb. 27 The sancTuary downTown 100 s. eola dr.

Merry Wives of Windsor, through March 7, Margeson Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org. To Kill a Mockingbird, through March 8, Margeson Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org. Photograph 51, through March 15, The Zehngebot-Stonerock Theatre, Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando. 407-297-8788; MadCowTheatre.com. Henry V, through March 22, Goldman Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando. 407-447-1700; OrlandoShakes.org. Trash 2 Trends Fashion Show Fundraiser, Feb. 28, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Orlando. 407-246-2752; CityOfOrlando.net/ KOB. Dancing with the Fringe Stars, March 2, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com. Orlando Ballet: Battle of the Sexes, March 6-8, Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 407-839-0119; DrPhillipsCenter.org. Les Misérables, March 6- March 15, Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center, Sanford. 407-321-8111; WayneDenschPerforming ArtsCenter.com. Girls, Girls, Girls, March 7, Abbey Theater, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com. Elton John, March 7, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com. Motown The Musical, March 10-15, Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 407-839-0119; DrPhillipsCenter.org.

Be one of the first to learn about the Zebra Coalition’s new education fund for LGBT students at this free event with food catered by John Michael Weddings and Special Events. Drinks are provided by Savoy Orlando. The event is free, but reservations are requested through the event’s Facebook page.

Mba Monthly Mixer

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6-8 p.m., wednesday, march 4 arTegon marKeTplace 5250 inTernaTional dr. The montly mixer for the Metropolitan Business Association of Orlando will be held at Artegon Marketplace March 4. Admission is free to members.

heaDliner Broadway star and multi-platinum recording artist Sam Harris will headline Garden Encore!, The Garden Theatre’s premier fundraising gala, on Saturday, March 7. Tickets are $200 and are available by calling 407-877-4736 or visiting GardenTheatre.org/Encore.

taMpa bay Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily by Katie Forgette, through March 7, Carrollwood Players, Tampa. 813-265-4000; CarrollwoodPlayers.org. First Date, through April 19, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 8/13-229-7827; StrazCenter.org. Wanda Sykes, Feb. 27, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RutheckerdHall.com. Megan Hilty, Feb. 28, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com. Bright Lights, Big City, Feb. 28- March 22, Freefall Theatre, St. Petersburg, 727-498-5205; FreefallTheatre.com.

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Jekyll & Hyde, March 2, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RutheckerdHall.com. Melissa Manchester, March 5, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RutheckerdHall.com. nude nite, March 5-7, 3606 E. 4th Ave., Tampa. NudeNite.com The Addams Family, March 6-22, Eight O’Clock Theatre, Largo. 727-587-6751; EightOclockTheatre.com.

Gutenberg! The Musical!, March 11- April 5, American Stage, St. Petersburg. 727-823-7529; AmericanStage.org.

6 p.m., friday, feb. 27 aria healTh and wellness insTiTuTe 115 firsT sT. s. This free community event lets the public learn more about the work of Equality Florida while introducing the Aria. A free raffle for a half-day of beauty and wellness and chances to win a free massage are also available. For details, search for the event on Facebook.

Grand central District Chili Cookoﬀ

Agnes of God, through March 8, Manatee Players, Sarasota. 941-749-1111; ManateePlayers.com.

11 a.m.-4 p.m., saTurday, feb. 28 cenTral ave. and 18Th sT.

Mary Poppins, through March 15, Venice Theatre, Venice. 941-488-1115; VeniceStage.com.

Jersey Boys, March 11- March 15, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 941-953-3368; VanWezel.org.

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

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equality Florida connections event

Into The Woods, through March 1, Manatee Players, Sarasota. 941-749-1111; ManateePlayers.com.

Jekyll & Hyde, March 5, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota. 941-953-3368; VanWezel.org.

Cirquesa Dreamquest, March 11, The Lakeland Center, Lakeland. 863-834-8100; TheLakelandCenter.com

st. petersburg

Come taste the best chili in the Tampa Bay area. In addition to the chili contest, enjoy live entertainment, a car show, vendors, and beer. Best of all, admission is free. Chili tasting tickets are $15 at GrandCentralDistrict.org.

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Florida strawberry Festival feb. 26-march 8 fesTival grounds The 2015 Florida Strawberry Festival is back and this year’s entertainment lineup is bigger than ever with stars like Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Alabama and Scotty McCreery in the mix. Tickets are available through FlStrawberryFestival.com.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2015

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

overheard

taMpa bay out+about

russell is Tampa pride’s emeriTus

ampa pride is only a monTh away. And who better to serve as queen for the inaugural pride festival on March 28 than Esme Russell. Russell, a performer, radio personality, Hamburger Mary’s hostess and all-around activist for equality, was selected as Miss Tampa pride emeritus 2015. A formal crowning and ceremony will be coming soon, but expect to see Tampa native of Cuban descent all over the pride festivities in an official capacity

g Bar isn’T gOing anywhere

e can admiT when we Jump The gun on Things in This column. When we recently reported that all signs pointed to the forthcoming sale of G.Bar to a bar owner in Orlando, we truly believed our sources. But, the always gracious G.Bar owner Steve Moss set the record straight for us, sharing that the bar hasn’t been sold and that it isn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future. We were right, though, when we reported that owners of Southern Nights in Orlando expressed interest in the popular Ybor club. Moss said there were inquiries made and a few discussions, but nothing ever came of it. There was a liquor inventory reduction sale, which led us to believe a sale was in the future. But apparently, the sale was exactly what it said it was—a way to reduce inventory and make room for more booze. We’re relieved the Ybor staple is sticking around!

sTaTe rep. fiOrini?

an fiorini, a founder of sT. peTe pride and The feisTy owner of Tyrone frame and mirror, has aspirations to become a state representative. Fiorini recently told Watermark that he’s considering a 2016 campaign for District 70, which covers portions of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties. The seat is currently held by Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg) who has launched his own campaign to claim the Senate District 19 seat, which also encompasses portions of the three counties. Fiorini, who would run as a Democrat, says he’s been encouraged by support for a campaign already but admits that it’s still too early to make any kind of official announcement. He has plenty of ideas, he says, and especially wants to focus on transportation issues plaguing the region. If he does announce, we can’t wait to hear the rest of his ideas.

scarBie is Back!

avid miTchell will reTurn To The flamingo resorT with his hilarious one-person show Lip Schtick! on March 7, 8, 14 and 15. This will be the Sarasota native’s second gig at the resort, after selling out all of his performances in 2014. Mitchell takes guests on a musical and comedic tour through multiple female personalities and celebrity impersonations— all without ever leaving the stage! The return performance is produced by Gypsy Productions and will be held in the resort’s Blu Room theater. For details and tickets, visit FlamingoFla.com.

2 3

celebraTing diversiTy: (L-R) Ana Cruz, Jane Castor and Linda Saul-Sena celebrate at TPepin’s Hospitality Center during Equality Florida’s Tampa Gala Feb. 21. PHOTO By LAuRIE ROSS

Keeping iT eroTic: Models wearing Spathose art keep the erotic vibe strong during “A Night of Erotica” at the St. Petersburg Museum of Art on Feb.17. PHOTO By AAROn ALPER

guesT spoT: Irish DJ and actor Kristian nairn— who plays “Hodor” on the HBO series Game of Thrones—was the guest DJ at District 3 in St. Petersburg on Feb. 20. PHOTO By TODD FIXLER

invade away: Roger Medrano and Ashley Brundage don their best Crewe of Cavaliers look for the annual Sant’Yago Knight Parade in Ybor City on Feb. 14.

PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST

search for booTy: This band of pirates invades Ybor City for the annual Sant’Yago Knight Parade down 7th Avenue on Feb. 14.

PHOTO COuRTESy CARRIE WEST

vip lineup: (L-R) Kevin Beckner, Mark Puskarich, nadine Smith and Stratton Pollitzer share their smiles before taking the stage at Equality Florida’s Tampa Gala at TPepin’s Feb. 21. PHOTO By LAuRIE ROSS

arTisTic endeavors: Scott Durfee, left, and husband George Medeiros of Spathose celebrate a “Night of Erotica” at the St. Petersburg Museum of Art on Feb. 17. PHOTO By AAROn ALPER

saying ‘i do’: Steve Stockwell, left, and Ken Shelin exchange wedding vows in downtown Sarasota Feb. 13 during “A Perfect Wedding,” a fundraiser for Equality Florida and the Sarasota Film Festival.

PHOTO By KRISTA DITuCCI

7 watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

BAYOU ’n BOURBON Louisiana cooking, Marlow’s way.

L February 17 – March 30 l It’s Bayou ’n Bourbon time at Marlow’s Tavern, our spicy spin on all the flavors of New Orleans, featuring a menu of fresh, chef-inspired dishes served with our own handcrafted bourbon cocktails.

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

overheard

orlanDo out+about

frOm Barry TO BOOne

ocal lawyer barry miller’s foundaTion is known for assisting the arts, like the Orlando Fringe Festival. Now, Boone High School’s Thespian troupe is counting on donations raised from To Boone, with Love: A Bene�it Cabaret and Silent Auction and the Miller Foundation. The funds raised on Feb. 20 will assist the talented Boon Braves as they head to the Thespian Society’s state competition. The Barry L. Miller Foundation of the Arts and Education offered to match up to $2,500 of the money raised. The foundation was founded in 2013 with the goal to provide financial support for scholarships and quality programming to individuals, artists, students, educational institutions, community groups, theatre companies and other artistic endeavors. Break a leg Braves!

g is nOT gOOd TO gO

ecenTly Watermark reporTed ricK KowalcZycK, owner of Southern Nights, was in the market to purchase G.Bar in Tampa. The tips were received by reliable sources in both Orlando and in Tampa’s Ybor City. However, by the time we last went to print, Kowalczyck wasn’t available to verify whether or not he was looking to buy. Since the last issue, Greg Skeen, manager at Southern Nights, stated that the story was false and that Rick was not looking to make a purchase at the Ybor city hot spot. G. Bar owner Stephen Moss, however, said inquiries were made, but negotiations didn’t go beyond that.

harris TO headline

roadway sTar, recording arTisT, Tony and drama desK award nominaTed singer sam harris will headline the Garden Theatre’s premier fundraising gala on March 7. As fans know, Harris got his start on Star Search when he amazed the world with his rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Now is your chance to see him live at the reception atop the rooftop of the greenhouse adjacent to the Roper Garden Building. Get tickets at GardenTheatre.org/Encore.

Things gOng’ed righT!

e had previously reporTed ThaT The cenTer was looking for acts to perform for a fundraiser to benefit their senior program. The response was great with 17 acts that varied from magicians, drag performers to live singers. The Judges included Michael Wanzie, Billy Manes and George Wallace from the Fringe Festival who had to fill in for Ginger Minj who was stuck somewhere in the bitter cold. More than $3,000 dollars was raised and the winners who beat the gong were Beaux Patrick in first, Chris Bean in second and Stuart Goldman in third.

guesTs of honor: (L-R) Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Bob Poe, Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Ken Brown smile for a photo as they wait for Billy Manes’ and Tony Mauss’ wedding to start on Valentine’s Day. PHOTO By TOM DyER

for a cause: (L-R) Devereux Arizona’s Director of Operations yvette Jackson, Zebra Coalition’s Executive Director Dexter Foxworth and a staff member from Devereux Florida mingle at the Human Rights Campaign’s Time To Thrive Conference for LGBT+ youth in Portland, Oregon Feb. 15. PHOTO COuRTESy DEXTER FOXWORTH

bye felicia: N.Y.C. native Maddelynn Hatter struts her stuff at the BUH-BYE party Feb. 18 at St. Matthew’s Tavern.

PHOTO COuRTESy RICARDO WILLIAMS

friends and laughTer: (L-R) Antoine young, Dan Cummins and Jeff Jones take a break from a weekend of performing at the Orlando Improv Feb. 15.

PHOTO COuRTESy BEAu EGERER

sTriKe a pose: Local out fashion and jewelry designer Rob Bacon takes a seat at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City, where he was invited to display his jewelry in Malan Breton’s runway show.

all you need is love: The group that participated in the 2015 The Human Heart: An OUTright Love-In pose for a picture at Loch Haven Park on Valentine’s Day. The group helped build a huge human heart that stood for human rights.

PHOTO By MATT MERKEL

PHOTO COuRTESy DyLAn DROBET

PHOTO By KIMBERLy SLICHTER

puppy love: Watermark writer Dylan Drobet (right), her fiancée Barrett Gamez and their dog Auggie help raise funds for homeless pets at Paws in the Park on Valentine’s Day.

PHOTO COuRTESy ROB BACOn

leT iT snow: A cast member from Slava’s Snowshow clowns around during a scene at the Dr. Philips Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 18.

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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call 813-655-9890 for More inforMation

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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saying goodbye: norman R. Glick, right, and

pictured with his brother David Glick, passed away at the Bay Pines VA Hospice on Feb. 11. Glick was a staple in Off-Broadway New York and worked at American Stage in St. Petersburg and at the Bay Pines VA in his later years. He was preceded in death by his partner of 53 years, Harvey Tavel.

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Billy Manes of the Orlando Weekly married his longtime friend and love Tony Mauss on Feb. 14 at The Acre in Orlando.

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A cake topper said “Mr. & Mr.” and a breakaway bouquet of roses they tossed had messages attached to each flower.

sOmeThing Old, sOmeThing new, sOmeThing Blue:

Their friend Freddy Perez gave them tie clips that were old, with their names together— the new union formed—on the back and a blue gem on it.

BarCodes Orlando celebrates six years in business on March 5. Photo by Art Faulkner

“i

T’s no longer JusT abouT

yourself. You make this lifelong commitment to the person that you love, and you want to make sure you uphold those vows and what you said on that specific day,” said Michael Scott, 27, about how his wedding day changed him and made him feel. Thomas Lawson and Michael Scott met two and half years ago at the April 2013 grand reopening of Savoy Orlando. The pair tied the knot on Jan. 6. “We were out on the back patio when my friend and I both noticed Thomas, so I decided to buy him a drink kind of as an ice breaker,” Michael says. “So I bought the drink, took it over to him and then I walked away to the restroom. That’s when Thomas went and talked to my best friend, and it kind of started right there.” Thomas, who had just returned from Ukraine where he was in the Peace Corps, wasn’t even sure he wanted to go out that night. But both believe fate had something to

do with their meeting. “It was love at first sight. We knew we connected that night,” Thomas says. “We left the bar, went to a restaurant and we had dinner together. And two years later, we’re married.” Thomas works for nonprofit City Year and Michael works in retail management. “It was last October when I decided to propose to Michael, but it was a surprise,” Thomas says. “I felt very confidently that we both wanted to get married, and we have talked about spending our lives together. But Michael wasn’t expecting me to propose. It was Orlando’s Come Out With Pride festival and it happened to be on

National Coming Out Day—Oct. 11. So I made plans and went out and bought a ring. “ Thomas proposed during the dinner and fireworks show at COWP. The couple were one of 30 that were issued licenses at midnight at the Osceola Courthouse. They were married later that afternoon at the Hyatt Regency with more than 150 people present. They spent the first two days of their honeymoon in a premiere suite and then drove to the Keys. Thomas says being married feels different. “One of the things our minister told us during our wedding ceremony, she said this is the most important vow you’ll ever take in your life, and I really feel that it is and I really feel that vow now being married to Michael,” Thomas says. “The commitment that we made to each other is very important to both of us, so it does feel different and it does feel very good.” —Samantha Rosenthal

The Lake Eola Heights Historic Neighborhood Association presented Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan with the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Feb. 12.

lOcal BirThdays

Tampa softballer and karaoke diva Carlos Lopez, sexy Sarasota Ballet marketing manager Mike Maraccini and muscled Tampa massage therapist Eduardo Campos (Feb. 27); Former Joy MCC pastor Lisa Heilig (March 2); Tampa Bay singer and comedian Judy B. Goode, Sarasota resident and activist Mark Kidd, Club Orlando attendant Arthur Adams and Tampa mama to twins and lactation counselor Patty Cannon (Mar. 4); Orlando playwright, actor, columnist and rabble-rouser extraordinaire Michael Wanzie and Rollins College theater director Thomas Ouellette (March 6); Tampa Bay fashionista Robert Chmura-Pappadeas, Tampa Bay political expert Randy Smith and handsome Tampa Bay bear David Sparks (March 7); psychologist and co-owner of E.M. & Voss Solutions Event and Wedding Services, Eric Muenks (March 8); St. Pete mail carrier Derek Wilkins and Sarasota woman about town Misty Smeltzer, Saint Petersburg Practice Management Consulting president Jacob Hamm (March 9); Halcyon singer/songwriter Deb Hunseder and Tampa Bay licensed mental health counselor Blake Williamson (March 10); smooth-pated O-Town actor Kevin Kelly, straight-but-not-narrow Orlando WAVEwinning activist/arts supporter Margo Dixon, Orlando Sentinel art columnist Terry Hummel, Orlando hubby to Ron Ellstrom-Oliver, Jeff Ellstrom-Oliver, Advertising Account Executive for Outfront Media Don Kiciena Jr. and crafty lady by day, derby girl by night Heather Ranier; muscular Dunedin Dentist Mike Hopkins (March 11)

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

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Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

watermark Your lgbt life.

Feb rua ry 26 - M a rch 11, 2015 // Issue 2 2.05

sports

Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame accepting nominations Staff Report

hicago | The National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame (NGLSHOF) is accepting nominations for the Class of 2015. Nominees can be gay or lesbian individuals, organizations that have made tremendous strides in recognizing gay and lesbian athletes, or individual allies. According to GayAndLesbianSports.com, where nomination forms may be printed, all nominations are due by March 1. Inductees into the third class of honorees will be celebrated during a ceremony on July 24, 2015 in conjunction with Out at Wrigley-the nation’s largest “Gay Day” at a major league sporting venue. The LGBT Sports community celebrated an exciting year. According to Outsports.com (an inaugural NGLSHOF inductee in 2013), “109 athletes, coaches, officials, sports administrators and sports media members came out to the world in 2014.” “The NGLSHOF recognizes those who have stood up to LGBT stereotypes and worked to break down barriers by bringing people together for the good of sport,” said NGLSHOF executive director, Bill Gubrud.

Ball players brave cool temperatures at Gasparilla Classic Staff Report

ampa | More than 50 teams braved cold morning temperatures when they participated in the annual Gasparilla Softball Classic held at softball complexes throughout Tampa Bay on Valentine’s Day weekend. With lows near 40s, players started the tournament in jackets and sweatshirts. But afternoon

temperatures reached the low 70s. Teams from Knoxville, Tenn., Philadelphia, Orlando, Tampa and Atlanta all placed in each of the three divisions. In the B-Division, which played at the Greco Softball Complex in Tampa, the Knoxville Cyclones took the first place trophy. The Orlando Voltage took second and the Philly Triple Play finished third. In the C-Division tournament held at the Eddie C. Moore Fields in

Clearwater, the Orlando Fury beat the Tampa Crocs to win the division. The Crocs came in second after advancing to the finals with a win over the third-placed Tampa Hustle. The Tampa Panthers won the D-Division bracket after two days of play at the Ed Radice Softball Complex in North Tampa. The Atlanta Wild Ones took second and the Tampa Dogpound finished third in the D-Division. For a full look at the brackets, visit GasparillaSoftballClassic.com.

attorney’s spokeswoman on Feb. 17 said that Jamie Ralph Kuntz pleaded no contest Feb. 9 to one misdemeanor count of stalking and was ordered to stay away from Geffen. A defense lawyer says Kuntz got into trouble for showing up at Geffen’s homes after their shortterm relationship ended.

Kuntz says he was kicked off the North Dakota State College of Sciences football team two years ago for being gay after he was seen kissing a 65-year-old boyfriend. His coach says he was removed for lying about the kiss. Kuntz must attend psychiatric counseling as a condition of his probation.

Ex-college football player admits stalking Hollywood mogul Wire Report

os Angeles | A former North Dakota college football player who was kicked off his team after kissing a man has been given probation for stalking billionaire David Geffen. A Los Angeles district

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