Watermark Issue 24.22: Served and Unprotected

watermark Your LGBTQ Life.

issue 24.22 • nOveMber 2 - nOveMber 15, 2017

WatermarkOnline.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA:

CHRIS KING

MAKES BID FOR GOVERNOR

TAMPA BAY:

METRO CELEBRATES 25 YEARS

SERVED AND UNPROTECTED Equality Florida’s Todd richardson shares his story of being discharged from the United States Air Force because he is gay.

dayTOna beaCh • OrlandO • TaMpa • sT. peTersburg • ClearwaTer • sarasOTa

2017

L I G H T S O F H O P E : C E L E B R AT I N G 2 0 Y E A R S O F E Q UA L I T Y F LO R I DA YOU’RE INVITED!

Sunday, November 19 TH 5 - 8 PM Michael’s On East

1212 South East Avenue, Sarasota, FL

Tickets are $125 and $150 at the door.

No printed tickets issued | Names will be on an admission list at the door | Cocktail attire is suggested

R.S.V.P. A N D P U R C H A S E T I C K E T S AT equalityflorida.org/suncoastcelebration or call 813-870-3735

PRESENTED BY

Since 1997, Equality Florida has been winning victories for Florida’s LGBTQ community. Join us at the 2017 Suncoast Celebration to celebrate this progress and learn what’s ahead on our journey to full LGBTQ equality!

Our theme is “Lights of Hope: Celebrating 20 Years of Equality Florida.” We’re excited about this milestone in Equality Florida’s history, and hope you are too! The evening will feature live music by A Deeper Shade of Soul, open bars, delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by Michael’s On East, and an update on LGBTQ equality in Florida by Equality Florida’s CEO Nadine Smith. Also during the evening, we’ll recognize outstanding individuals who have made incredible contributions to LGBTQ equality.

S TAT E W I D E S P O N S O R S

Sponsorship opportunities begin at $500. Please contact Mark Puskarich at mark@equalityflorida.org or visit equalityflorida.org/suncoastcelebration.

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.

All net proceeds directly benefit Equality Florida Institute, a tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization.

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR EQUALITY FLORIDA INSTITUTE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES AT FLORIDACONSUMERHELP.COM OR BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN FLORIDA (1.800.435.7352). REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. REGISTRATION #CH7992.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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WE WILL DONATE

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100

TO THE GLBT CENTER OF CENTRAL FLORIDA INC. when you bring in this ad and open a new account with $800+ direct deposit.* First GREEN Bank is the first bank of its kind to promote positive environmental and social responsibility while providing traditional banking services.

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departments 6 // mail 7 // publisHer’s desk 8 // orlando news 13 // tampa bay news 17 // state news 21 // nation & world news 27 // talking points 43 // community calendar 45 // tampa bay out + about 47 // orlando out + about 48 // tampa bay marketplace 49 // wedding bells/ announcements 50 // orlando marketplace 54 // last page

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Laughter is the greatest drug of all. You can have the [worst] day, but when you get on that stage and hear people laugh at the things you say, it makes it all better. If you bomb, though, it sucks—and you just return to the fetal position —comedian Jeff Jones on your bathroom floor.

on tHe cover

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PAGE a VETERan’S

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aFFaIR: Equality

Florida’s Todd Richardson shares his story of being kicked out of the U.S. military because he is gay.

Photo by Jake Stevens

scan qr code For

watermarkonline.com

a proJect oF love:

Miracle of Love hosts a night of fun, fashion and music all in the name of raising funds for HIV/AIDS support.

watermark i ssue 24 .22 //november 2 - november 15, 2017

Family man

silver party

always a bridesmaid tHe last page

PAGE Scottie Campbell chats with Florida gubernatorial candidate Chris King about his take on LGBTQ rights.

PAGE ‘Metro Wellness & Community Centers celebrate 25 years in the Tampa Bay community with the Great Gatsby Gala.

PAGE

read it Online!

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

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Two South Florida towns self submit again to HRC’s Municipal Equality Index after another year off the list.

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PAGE

In our ongoing series introducing you to the Watermark team, we bring you our Tampa Bay sales rep, Debbie.

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give us a FOllOw On TwiTTer and insTagraM aT @waTerMarkOnline and like us On FaCebOOk. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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“Caleb you are precious for sharing your inner Brichard (Britney and Richard) with the world. Everyone needs something to tear down depressions walls and your video did that for me this morning. My butt cheeks are actually still dancing as I’m typing!”

—Kristi Young

On a report saying Trump joked Pence “wants to hang” all gay people:

“’Hang the gays,’ a joke? I never knew killing people was funny. I guess this is part of making America Great Again.”

—Todd Kachinski Kottmeier

Watermark’s Facebook Kathy Griffin accuses Andy Cohen of cocaine use, blasts Harvey Levin:

“I’m getting tired of Griffin spewing. She must be losing money and needs attention again. What’s the purpose of her doing this—almost suffering the similar mental issues that Trump does— thin skin, need for attention.”

—Terry Bender

On the DOJ seeking time to argue for anti-gay baker in Supreme Court case:

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On longtime community advocate Anastasia “Annie” Hiotis joining Equality Florida’s board:

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“[Jeff] Sessions needs to go look face first in a wood chipper.”

On a judge saying Kentucky must still pay fees in Kim Davis/ gay marriage case:

“She needs to pay those fees ‘payroll deducted’ since she unnecessarily caused them.”

—Steven Resatar

On Kamala Harris emerging as an LGBT favorite in the 2020 election:

“What’s her position on marijuana, women’s rights, influential money in politics? Her past grievances do not excuse her, because she is pro LGBT! She will have to come round and do better than she has all the way round.”

—Mylez Edward

On Georgia Rep. Price saying HIV comments were taken out of context:

“Listen to the recording.

It wasn’t out of context.

She is hateful and willfully ignorant.”

—Bob Poe

“Funny how comments like these are always taken out of context. Especially when the shit hits the fan.”

—Julee Sims

On Eric Rollings announcing he is running to become the first openly gay Orange County Commissioner:

“It is about damn time.

I told you a few years ago to run big! Let me know how I can support you and good luck!”

—J. Alan Shemelya

On Cher joining the Mamma Mia sequel:

“Cher deserves a better project for her return to the screen. That being said, of course I’ll still go see it.”

—John Dean

On Pence pushing back on Trump’s “hang the gays” joke, but not denying he said it:

“I’m sure both of them want to hang us all.”

—Eve Lake

Watermark’s Twitter: On Halloween being “Gay Christmas”:

“I always thought Fringe was Gay Christmas!”

—@ShartsvilleGal

On Caleb Marshall, The Fitness Marshall’s one-on-one interview with Watermark:

On the Zebra Coalition’s Robin Daily being recognized

by Orlando Family Magazine as a “Super Woman”:

“Yassss Caleb, those were great questions.

I love to learn new things about you!”

“You go Robin...

Super Woman!”

—@TheFitMarshall

—Debi Lippens

—Neal Upright

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—@CanoKateLynn

“One of my favorite interviews yet!!”

Publisher’s

Rick Claggett PUblisher

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

T

Desk

he death of Matthew

Sheppard on October 12, 1998, shook me to my core. It was a devastating, brutal reminder of the misguided hatred some had, and still have, for the LGBTQ community. It was also a reminder to me of how lucky I was to have survived college relatively unscathed.

I identified with Matthew a great deal. We were close in age, just under two years apart; we both went to small, remote colleges; and neither of us was quiet about being gay.

I consider myself to be a city boy.

I grew up in Houston playing baseball back when people still cared about baseball, before the strike. My family moved to Orlando in ’86 looking for new beginnings. Orlando wasn’t as big then as it is now, but it was still worthy of the city-life label.

Much to everyone’s shock, I left the urban scene behind when it was time to go to college. I didn’t seek out the big city theater life

of New York University as I was expected to. Instead, I only applied to one school: Mars Hill College, a small Southern Baptist college high in the sky of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Looking back it seems like I was keen on torturing myself. Mars Hill College was home to the world champions of clogging. It was the kind of place where it took 13 syllables to say, “Good morning.” There was seriously one street light on Main Street and it was a dry county. The next county over was just about a mile away though, making the Red Dot liquor store on the county line

a popular college attraction. The one restaurant on Main Street, Café Nostalgia, closed from time to time when the family running it went on vacation or needed a break. It was a culture shock.

Although I was out during my last two years at Winter Park High School, I was not brave when I first got to Mars Hill. I remember my first visit to the campus when I was interviewing for the coveted Grayson Scholarship, my father looked me dead in the eyes and said, “Now don’t go in there and be all political. Give them a chance to get to know you.”

Of course it was his way of begging me not to march into a room full of church folk with all the manliness of a Richard Simmons segment on the David Letterman Show, advice I followed.

But that didn’t last long. I was used to being out and being myself.

I sought out any signs of gay life I could find. That led me to the nearby, and now-lesbian-Mecca, Asheville. There I found a gay youth group started by a straight couple in their 70s. Well, they were straight when I first joined the group and each came out separately in the months that followed. I’m not taking credit, that’s just how the timeline goes.

This couple taught me that life was too short to be living in the closet no matter where you lived. I came busting out of that proverbial closet, marched into the college president’s office and demanded that Mars Hill College open its doors to a gay and lesbian youth group. He said no and my mentors told me that it wasn’t the right time to push the issue.

Soon after, I met a lesbian couple who decided to have a commitment ceremony on campus. I walked my friend down the aisle and a faculty member officiated. Unfortunately, as the story goes, a student saw the ceremony from the cafeteria window and let her Southern Baptist father know of the atrocity that took place at the school. The faculty member was fired, the couple dropped out

under the threat of expulsion and the institution discussed taking away my scholarship. I fought back with the help of my mentors. I kept my scholarship and gained a gay and lesbian youth group.

I was lucky. I was never assaulted, never abused. I got a few threatening voice mails, but it was a small school so we knew who left them.

My brother also attended Mars Hill College and he was part of the cool kids. I have no proof of this, but I am pretty sure he let his fraternity brothers know that I was off limits when it came to harassment.

We recently passed the 19 year mark since the death of Matthew Sheppard. Every year around this time I take a moment to remember how lucky I am and honor Matthew’s memory for his bravery to be himself

It was his way of begging me not to march into a room full of church folk with all the manliness of a Richard Simmons segment on the David Letterman Show. in a place and time where that cost him his life. We are all a little freer today because of him.

Watermark honors military veteran Todd Richardson in this issue. He is a Tampa Bay-based veteran who was discharged from the Air Force in the ‘80s for being gay. We celebrate Metro Wellness and Community Center’s 25 year anniversary, check in on Jeff Jones’ Pink Collar Comedy Tour and introduce you to Winter Park’s gubernatorial candidate Chris King. Our Last Page dives into the life of Tampa Bay account rep Debbie Reeves.

We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

watermark staff Sales Director: Danny Garcia Ext. 108 • Danny@WatermarkOnline.com

Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer • Tom@WatermarkOnline.com Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 • Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Office Manager: Kathleen Harper • Ext. 100 • Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com Staff Writer: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 • Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com Art Director: Jake Stevens • Ext. 109 • Jake@WatermarkOnline.com

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contributors Ryan WilliamsJent is a

Contributing Editor with the New Civil Rights Movement. He lives in St. Petersburg with his husband and their two dogs. Page 13

Michael Wanzie is

an Orlando-based playwright, actor and ordained minister. He is most recognized for his direction of productions in the Orlando area. Page 23

Jason Leclerc

is a near lifelong resident of the I-4 corridor, currently in South Tampa. He publishes poetry online at PoetEconomist. blogspot.com. His first book, Momentitiousness, was published in 2014. His next book, Black Kettle, was published in 2016. Page 25

Sabrina Ambra, Scottie Campbell, Krista DiTucci, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Kirk Hartlage, Samuel Johnson, Jason Leclerc, Stephen Miller, Maia Monet, David Moran, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie, Ryan Williams-Jent

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Angie Folks, Bruce Hardin, Julie Milford, Travis Moore, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift, Tinkerfluff

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Lisa Jordan, Jill Bates, Ken Carraway 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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central florida news

Research shows lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people at higher risk of breast cancer King of heart: Winter

Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | Another Breast Cancer Awareness Month passed with the end of October. The events have been packed up and the pink shirts have been stowed away in the drawer for next year, but for those who have gone through living with the disease can tell you cancer doesn’t go away once the pink ribbons are put away.

“Breast cancer does not end in October,” says Robin Maynard-Harris, founder of Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation. “You can be diagnosed any time of the year.”

Maynard-Harris started Libby’s Legacy in 2007 to honor of her mother, Libby Maynard, who passed away that year due to Stage IV breast cancer.

“Libby’s Legacy provides mammograms and free breast health services to the underserved, but not just the underserved. Just because you have health insurance and money doesn’t mean you automatically know how to navigate breast cancer,” Maynard-Harris says. “We help navigate and advocate for anyone diagnosed, and go with them to their appointments and take notes.”

Maynard-Harris wants to get the information out there so that all year round—not just in the month of October—women know what the risk factors are and how susceptible an individual is to getting breast cancer, and she is doing that with a grant from The Contingo Fund.

“They provided us a grant to make these informational brochures because they see the value in getting the information out there,” Maynard-Harris says.

The brochure, Bridging Breast Health Gaps in the LGBTQ Community, will be available at Libby’s Legacy as well as made available at various events throughout the year.

“This covers information that many people may know, but a lot of it may come as a surprise to a lot of people,” Maynard-Harris says.

One of the primary issues Maynard-Harris wants to educate women in the community on is that lesbians have a higher risk of getting breast cancer in their lifetime than their heterosexual counterparts.

Lesbians are at a higher risk for three reasons, according to Maynard-Harris. The first reason is breastfeeding.

Continued on pg. 10 | uu |

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Park businessman Chris King wants to become your next governor.

Photo courtesy ChrisKingForFlorida.com

Family Man Florida gubernatorial candidate Chris King takes LGBTQ rights personally Scottie Campbell

W

INTER PARK, Fla. | Each 2018 Democratic candidate in the Florida gubernatorial race has made statements in support of LGBTQ rights, but in a speech before the Florida LGBTA Democratic Caucus in August, Orlando’s Chris King revealed why his long-held support is personal.

King ended his speech talking about his eldest brother, David, who was gay. A polished and considered speaker, the cadence of King’s voice noticeably changes as he relates David’s rough childhood and adolescence growing up gay in Florida during the ‘70s and ‘80s.

After battling years of insecurities and depression, David eventually committed suicide 20 years ago at the age of 30. King tells Watermark that caucus speech is the one time he has talked about this publicly.

King, 39, graduated from Harvard majoring in religion and politics, then law school at University of Florida. He practiced law for about 19 months, then decided to start Elevation Financial Group with his brother Michael. The company is

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

focused on affordable housing for fixed-income seniors and low income families. Despite starting during the recessional climate between 2005 and 2007, the company has thrived and now includes a philanthropic footprint in Florida, Haiti and Africa.

At the beginning of 2016, King and his wife, Kristen, shared his desire to pursue the governorship during a brief annual retreat the couple takes to discuss goals. His father, David King, was lead attorney on the Fair Districts case which gave the family, always civic minded but not necessarily political, “a window into how bad things had gotten in state government.” King met with what he calls the “Obama high command” in Chicago in early 2016, who offered their support.

He launched his campaign in April of this year.

The Competitive Workforce Act is the prime issue for the LGBTQ community in this gubernatorial race.

The bill seeks to ban discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations for all Floridians with regard to sexual orientation and gender identity. Introduced in 2015, the bill has floundered in the legislature under the Rick Scott administration.

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“That is something [my administration] should be able to pass in a session; if not one, two,” says King. “I believe the votes are there in the House and Senate to pass it. I believe it’s leadership: the governor, the speaker and a lot of the guys running on the Republican side right now who just stopped that from happening.”

King asserts the bill is good for the economy, though he insists that point isn’t to diminish the essence of the bill. “I still start with this is a civil right, this is human rights, this is a fairness issue. It’s common sense.

I don’t care if you’re conservative or liberal. I don’t care if you’re coming from a faith community or you’ve got no background there. This should be something we all agree on: that you can’t bully and discriminate against a group of people.”

King’s “faith story” is front and center in his campaign; he views this as a bridge between communities rather than a hindrance. He is also not shy about taking the faith community to task as he did in an Orlando Sentinel op-ed a week after the Pulse tragedy.

“Historically,” he wrote. “I see a church that has often gotten it wrong—really wrong—when it comes to serving the needs of the LGBTQ community.”

Fellow candidates Gwen Graham, daughter of former governor Bob Graham, and Andrew Gillum have also spoken on their LGBTQ records.

Tallahassee Mayor Gillum says he

Continued on pg. 10 | uu |

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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central florida news | uu | Chris King FrOM pg.8 has spoken about LGBTQ rights for the past 15 years in part because his older brother is gay. Former U.S. Representative Graham points to her support of marriage equality during her successful 2014 campaign to represent Florida’s District 2. King trails Graham in fundraising by just under $1 million.

King says he was the first candidate to demand lawmaker Frank Artiles’ resignation in the aftermath of his racial tirade, as well as the first candidate to say all the confederate monuments need to come down. Last month, he was the only candidate to attend the protest against white supremacist Richard Spencer who spoke at University of Florida , “I say we were the only ones who showed up to show him the door out of the state.” For King, his presence fit with the consistency of his campaign.

“Wherever there’s an opportunity to use my platform to stand up against bullies and folks who are trying to create a smaller world, that’s what I’m supposed to do.”

| uu | LBTs at Higher Risk FrOM pg.8

“Breastfeeding reduces your chance of getting breast cancer,” she says. “Not so many lesbians now, but back in the day when lesbians weren’t having children and weren’t breastfeeding. Those women are now in their 40s and 50s, and didn’t have children.”

The second reason is not using alcohol in moderation.

This is not a risk factor exclusively to lesbians, alcohol consumption is an issue within the entire LGBTQ community.

Studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown higher levels of alcohol and drug use within the LGBTQ community, as well as heavy drinking into later life.

The third reason, and possibly the most crucial according the Maynard-Harris, who is openly gay herself, is the relationship a lesbian has with her doctor.

“When you’re in your 20s and you start going to the gynecologist, it is so important that you feel you can be open and honest with that doctor,” she says. “Unfortunately those same doctors who you need to come out to and be personal with are not always to most open and understanding people.”

Lesbian, bisexual women and transgender people are less likely to visit a doctor or nurse and seek breast cancer screenings than heterosexual women due to low rates of health insurance, fear of discrimination and negative experiences with healthcare providers.

Finding the right doctor is of particular importance to Maynard-Harris who has had a less than supportive gynecologist in the past.

“I had a visit with my doctor and they found a cyst and I was worried about it,” Maynard-Harris recalls. “And

his response was, ‘It’s not like you were going to have children anyway.’ When I told him I might someday, through in-vitro, he said to me ‘Good luck on getting anyone in this town to help you with that.’ That’s the one writing my prescriptions and doing my breast exams, and when something like that happens some women decide that they are just not going back. They decide they are just not getting checked. So many women do not have a good relationship with their doctor.”

Several other risk factors include being over 40 years old, having a family history of breast cancer and anyone undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

“This is a risk factor so many doctors are not talking about,” Maynard-Harris says.

“Many of the various types of breast cancer are estrogen fed, and if you already have a family history and you are

transitioning and taking estrogen pills you increase your risk of breast cancer.”

One in eight women get breast cancer, but survival rates are very good the sooner you catch it, making early detection vital. According to Cancer.org, catching breast cancer in Stage I gives you a near 100 percent chance of survival. That chance of survival drops to 11 percent if found in Stage IV. “Every month you should be doing your self exams, and it’s not just lumps. You are looking for changes,” Maynard-Harris says. “That can be dimpling of the skin, inversion of the nipple or discharge. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed and she only felt a thickening in one of her breasts, and she just felt something was wrong. So you must know your breasts.”

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tampa bay news

St. Pete receives perfect score in HRC’s Municipal Equality Index for third consecutive year Ryan Williams-Jent Building bridges:

Metro’s James Keane gives Watermark’s Tampa Bay team a tour of their expansion project.

Photo by Jake Stevens

Metro Turns Silver Metro Wellness & Community Centers celebrates 25 years with the Great Gatsby Gala Ryan Williams-Jent

S

t. Petersburg | Metro Wellness & Community Centers will commemorate its 25th year during their annual gala on Nov. 11, and the community it does so much to support is invited to help celebrate the organization’s landmark anniversary.

Community members can attend the organization’s Great Gatsby Gala, held at the appropriately-titled Gatsby’s, from 7pm-11pm in Clearwater.

For $50, attendees will enjoy an open bar, dinner, dancing and live entertainment, with collected funds used to support “life-changing LGBT programs for the youth, seniors, and transgender members of our community.”

Entertainment will include comedian Christine O’Leary, nominated by Curve Magazine

to be one of the “50 Funniest Lesbians in America,” as well as local favorites like vocalist Jennifer Real and DJ Bill Kody.

“The Metro Gala is one of the premier Tampa Bay benefits for the LGBT community,” the non-profit advises. “Many of the services they rely on would otherwise go unfunded and simply cease to exist without your help. We provide a safe environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence, where everyone is met with understanding, acceptance and compassion. Our programs and services enrich, impact and transform thousands of lives annually.”

And they do. In its 25 years, Metro has grown from two employees to 149, complete with a $12.5 million budget in 2017.

It allows them to offer HIV/ AIDS treatment and counseling services, youth programs,

educational opportunities, transgender services and more.

They now provide aid to close to 15,000 people face-to-face, with thousands more via outreaches.

“It’s such a special anniversary,” Metro CEO Lorraine Langlois tells Watermark, “one that always allows my mind to go back to our first days.” Langlois began her work with Metro in 1993, and laughed warmly at the idea of having known the organization would someday celebrate its 25th year.

“I don’t think anyone thought about anything other than what we had in hand,” she says. “People were so sick, it was just about making them comfortable. As time’s gone on, it’s gotten easier and easier… now, we need to keep people undetectable.”

Langlois credits the community it serves and the many dedicated employees over Metro’s 25-year history for their successes.

Among them, the upcoming gala’s 2017 honorees, like PNC Bank vice-president and inclusion consultant Ashley Brundage.

Brundage will receive the Robert Pope Distinguished Leadership Award, named after one of Metro’s founding board members. “Ashley’s always been in everybody’s eye,” the CEO says.

“With everything going on with the transgender community right now, this year is especially important to

S

T. PETERSBURG | Under Mayor Rick Kriseman, the city of St. Petersburg received a perfect score of 100 for a third consecutive year in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index.

The organization’s score, released in late October, represents how inclusive a city’s laws, policies and services are for the LGBTQ people who live and work there. Of the 18 Florida cities ranked by the Human Rights Campaign this year, St. Petersburg was only one of four to receive a perfect score. Orlando, Tallahassee and Wilton Manors rounded out the list of perfect scorers.

“St. Pete did it again!” Mayor Rick Kriseman celebrated the announcement via social media. “A perfect 100 score.” Under Kriseman, St. Petersburg has risen from a 66 percent.

The mayor elaborated on the positive news in a statement. “We are incredibly proud of our perfect score,” he said. “It is a reflection of our values and policy advancements and serves as a vital message point for us when recruiting people and businesses to our city.”

Jim Nixon, who this year joined the city as its LGBTQ liaison, echoed the mayor’s sentiments. “For the third consecutive year our city demonstrates [its] continuing commitment to equality for the LGBTQ Community and for all that live in our great city,” he said.

Kriseman, a vocal Democrat endorsed by former president Barack Obama and a longtime ally of the LGBTQ community, will face off against former mayor Rick Baker in the general election on Nov. 7. Baker, by contrast, has found himself at odds with the LGBTQ community for much of his career.

Ahead of the primary in August, in which Kriseman received 48.36 percent of the vote and Baker received 48.23 percent, Watermark spoke with the mayor about his hopes for continuing the city’s inclusive and trending score. “We need to continue to work to make sure that this is a welcoming, tolerant community where everyone feels respected and safe,” Kriseman told us. Baker did not respond to our multiple requests for comment.

The mayor also addressed supporters in August, cautioning that should Baker win November’s election, “he will turn the clock back on St. Pete. He will take us back to a time of back-room deals, to a time when the rainbow flag and the flag celebrating Black History Month didn’t fly proudly over City Hall, to a time when crime was up and opportunity was down.”

“This is a make or break moment for the future of

Continued on pg. 15 | uu |

Continued on pg. 15 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

13

READ IT ONLINE! Head to Watermarkonline.com and click on the Digital Publications link to a read a digital version of the printed newspaper!

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tampa bay news | uu | Metro Turns Silver FrOM pg.13

honor her courage and impact on the LGBT community as a whole,” says Kriseman.

The Infection Disease Associates of Tampa Bay, which Langlois called “instrumental for almost all of our 25 years,” will receive the Dr. John Barnett Service Award, and the Spirit of Service Excellence Award will also be presented to the Tampa Bay Area Cyclists (TBAC).

“They’re so committed to the community,” Langlois says. TBAC participates annually in the SMART Ride, the only HIV/AIDS bicycle ride of its size to donate 100 percent of funds raised to research.

“I’ll never forget my first year as a rider and going around asking for donations for raffle prizes,” Chris Lichfoldt, TBAC member, says. “I walked into a bakery and asked the young girl if I could speak to her manager. I explained that it was for the SMART Ride and Metro. She said, ‘I am very familiar with them, my grandmother has

been going to Metro for years and we would have not had food on our table or medicine in the cabinet if not for them.’”

“Metro has done so much for the community in its 25 years,” board of directors member Nate Taylor says. “Metro really means support and advocacy… we do our best to ensure the community is first and that they have what they need to be informed and safe.”

The organization’s impending expansion into its 47,000-square-foot space and the inclusion of a Health Center are just two ways Metro has stayed true to its directive. “[It’s] really helped us become an all-encompassing health care provider,” the organization’s lead PrEP navigator Christian Klimas, who works alongside the Health Center, tells us.

“It has opened the doors for our successful LGBT-centered programs like PrEP and HRT,” he continues, referencing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), daily medication used to reduce the risk of HIV infection, and Hormone Replacement Therapy

(HRT) for transgender clients.

“Treatment and prevention of HIV is ever-changing, and Metro has proven to follow suit,” Klimas says. “There is always something new around every corner…

I am still excited to see what’s what to come.”

And so is Langlois. Though she’s currently recovering from surgery, she tells Watermark with laughter that she’ll attend the gala even if she has to do so “in bed or in a wheelchair.”

“I want to see as many people come out and party as I can,” the Metro CEO says, teasing this may be Metro’s final gala before switching to another celebratory format next year. “It’s a community celebration… we’re here for the community.”

Metro’s Great Gatsby Gala will be held on Nov. 11 from 7pm-11pm at Gatsby’s, located at 13355 49th St N. in Clearwater. An official kick-off party will be held at Punky’s on Nov. 10, with an official after party Nov. 11 at Quench Lounge. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit metrotampabay.org/gatsby-gala or email JamesK@metrotampabay.org.

| uu | St. Pete’s Perfect HRC Score FrOM pg.13 St. Petersburg,” Stonewall Democrats President Susan McGrath agreed, speaking to Watermark after the primary election’s results. “We have two candidates who are diametrically opposite as far as the path they will take the city.”

Kriseman, elaborating on the Municipal Equality Index, noted that “we recognize that building an inclusive city never ends. There’s always work to do. We are committed to this work and ensuring that LGBTQ residents and visitors forever view St. Pete as a beacon of progress.”

With its third consecutive perfect score by the Human Rights Campaign in the books, the St. Petersburg LGBTQ community will have the opportunity to determine if the mayor’s commitment to equality will translate to their support at the ballot box on Nov. 7.

Polls are open on Nov. 7 from 7am - 7pm. Information on the candidates, the issues, polling locations and your voter registration status can be found at VotePinellas.com. You can also contact the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections by phone at 727-464-VOTE or by email at Election@VotePinellas.com.

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state news

Hrc’s municipal report snubs west palm beacH, miami beacH Jason Parsley, courtesy of South florida Gay News

m

iami | Eighteen cities made the cut this year to be included in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), which measures how LGBT-friendly a city is. But some activists feel the annual report has consistently snubbed two of the state’s most LGBT friendly cities: West Palm Beach and Miami Beach.

“It would be wonderful if HRC would include West Palm Beach in the MEI. The city has been in the forefront of LGBT rights since 1992, when it became the first Florida municipality to offer domestic partner benefits,” said Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council. “Just last year WPB became the second Florida

municipality to prohibit conversion therapy. In between, numerous LGBT-inclusive ordinances and policies have been put into place in WPB and in a 1995 referendum to repeal a gay rights law, we defeated the repeal effort with 57 percent of the vote!”

Even though neither city was included in HRC’s report, both cities self-submitted and received a perfect score of 100.

“HRC and the Equality Federation selects 98 municipalities which do not otherwise meet the criteria for inclusion in the MEI, yet despite repeated requests over the years

by WPB, HRC still refuses to include West Palm Beach,” Hoch said. “Hopefully, that will change in 2018, but I’m not banking on it. It would be great for HRC to be transparent about how those 98 are chosen, but…”

SFGN reached out to HRC for

clarification on how they choose those other 98 cities.

“The 2017 Municipal Equality Index rates the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the five largest municipalities in each state, the cities home to the state’s two largest public universities, 75 cities & municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples, and 98 cities selected last year by HRC and Equality Federation state groups members and supporters through online voting,” said Xavier Persad, HRC legislative counsel and author of the MEI. “Significant overlap between these selection criteria lead to a total of 506 cities rated. Additionally, cities that do not fall within our general selection criteria can submit themselves to be rated by the MEI.” Rob Rosenwald, first assistant city attorney for Miami Beach, also expressed dismay at his city being left out of the report.

“Miami Beach leads the state and nation in protecting LGBT rights,” he said. “Not ranking us the same as the other cities getting scored doesn’t make any sense.

lgbtq group launcHes survey to learn more about Jacksonville’s gay community Staff Report

J

acKsonville, fla. | An organization based out of Jacksonville hopes to gather information through an online survey on the LGBTQ people in northeast Florida that would help to identify areas of concern for the local community.

The LGBT Community Fund for Northeast Florida launched the survey, called the Jacksonville-Area Community Assessment Project, in September and hopes the information collected will help local organizations and policymakers to better serve the LGBTQ people of Jacksonville and its surrounding areas.

“Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adults, 18 and older, who work, pray, play or use services in Jacksonville and live in Northeast Florida are eligible to participate,” the organization wrote in a press release.

The survey asks a series of questions on a variety of issues including experiences with discrimination, health, socioeconomic status, safety and more.

The survey is available at NEFLCommunity.com and will close Nov. 14.

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17

What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex.

This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

TVDC0166_PrEP_B_9-25x10-1_Watermark_Runner_p1.indd 1-2

18

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

I’m active, not unaware.

I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life.

TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

Learn more at truvada.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

8/2/17 2:19 PM

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

19

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1.

• To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

• Bone problems.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

nation+world news

DOJ seeks time to argue for anti-gay baker in Supreme Court case Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

W

ASHINGTON | The U.S. Justice Department under U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is seeking a time slot of 10 minutes before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue on behalf of a Colorado baker who wishes to refuse the sale of wedding cakes for same-sex couples.

U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco filed the two-page

request Oct. 25 before the Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The request says the Justice Department “has a substantial interest” in the case because the U.S. government has an interest in “the preservation of federal constitutional rights of free expression.”

Jack Phillips, the Colorado baker, bases his argument that he can defy Colorado’s non-discrimination law and refuse wedding cakes to same-sex couples on the First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

The request also argues the U.S. government has an interest in the case because the scope of Colorado non-discrimination law, which bars anti-gay discrimination in public accommodations, is similar to Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The case came about after Phillips refused to make a wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins, a Colorado same-sex couple, in 2012 after their wedding in Massachusetts. An administrative judge ruled in favor of the same-sex couple—a decision the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld in 2015.

Although the Colorado Supreme Court had declined to review these decisions and let them stand, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari, or agreed to take up the case, in June.

Oral arguments are set for Dec. 5.

Judge allows new route to challenge Mississippi LGBTQ law Wire Report

J

ACKSON, Miss. | A gay rights group is getting another chance to challenge a Mississippi law that lets government workers and private business people cite their own religious beliefs to refuse services to LGBTQ people.

Legal experts say it’s the broadest religious-objections law enacted by any state since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves reopened a lawsuit Oct. 27 that seeks to overturn the law signed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant in 2016.

The law protects three beliefs: that marriage is only between a man and a woman, sex should only take place in such a marriage, and a person’s gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered.

Gay and straight Mississippi residents filed multiple lawsuits challenging the law, and Reeves blocked it from taking effect when

it was supposed to in July 2016.

He ruled that it unconstitutionally establishes preferred beliefs and creates unequal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

A panel of judges from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the hold on the law this year, saying people who sued the state had failed to show they would be harmed. The law took effect Oct. 10, and an appeal was quickly filed to the nation’s high court.

Those who are found guilty of violating the proposed law more than once would face up to five years in prison.

The bill states those who “incite same sex relations, either by inciting, facilitating, hosting or calling for (them), even if they don’t perform the act itself, will be sentenced to prison for a period of no less than one year and no more than three years, as well as shutting down the venue.” Those who are found guilty of repeatedly violating this provision of the proposed law would face up to five years in prison.

The proposal also states “audio and video publicity and advertising for LGBTQ parties or gatherings are strictly prohibited on visual, audio

and social medias.”

“In case of such violation, the host and promoter will face up to three years in prison,” it reads.

“In case of holding a party or a gathering, the organizers and all participants will be sentenced to three years of prison, even if they were normal individuals. If the host was an entity, their legal representative will be put in prison, as well as shutting down both the entity and venue.”

The measure would also “strictly” prohibit anyone from carrying “any symbol or sign of the LGBTQ community, as well as prohibiting the production, selling, marketing or promotion of such products.” Violators would face 1 to 3 years in prison.

Egyptian lawmakers introduce LGBT criminalization bill Michael K. Lavers of The Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

C

AIRO | Lawmakers in Egypt introduced a bill Oct. 25 that would criminalize the country’s LGBT community.

A translated copy of the measure obtained by the Washington Blade states “any two individuals or more, whether male or female, who conduct perverted sexual relations between themselves in any public or private place will each be arrested and sentenced to a period of no less than one year and no more than three years.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

in other news Transgender inmate settles Oregon lawsuit over medical care The state prison system in Oregon will provide Michalle Wright, a transgender inmate, with hormone therapy, bras and women’s underwear and will consider transferring her to the state’s only all-women’s prison as part of a settlement agreement announced Oct. 24. The state will also pay her $167,500 in damages.

Wright attempted suicide three times behind bars and tried to castrate herself twice. Wright filed the suit after nearly 100 requests for hormone therapy and other treatment for her gender dysphoria diagnosis— including the use of hair removal cream and access to a curling iron—were denied or ignored.

Judge says Kentucky still must pay fees in gay marriage case A federal judge says Kentucky taxpayers still owe nearly $225,000 in legal fees and court costs to the couples who sued Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her opposition to same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge David Bunning had previously ruled in the couples’ favor in July, but Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin asked Bunning to reconsider. Bunning denied Bevin’s request Oct. 23. Bunning wrote that Bevin fell “woefully short” of convincing him.

Ex-Attorney General honored for advancing gay, transgender rights Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been recognized in Boston for advancing gay and transgender rights. The nonprofit GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders honored Holder with its 18th annual Spirit of Justice award. GLAD organizers say Holder was selected “for his visionary leadership to advance civil rights and LGBTQ justice.” Holder served under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015.

New York professor under fire for ‘Female or Shemale’ class quiz A professor at State University of New York at Geneseo is under investigation for giving students a quiz to identify transgender women from cis-gender women. Sociology professor David Sorbello put on a slideshow of a quiz titled “Female or Shemale” which featured 16 photos of women. Students were meant to identify which of the women were transgender.

Student Jillian Sternberg snapped a photo of the quiz which was posted on Twitter by fellow student Jasmine Coi. Sternberg said that Sorbello also made offensive comments during the lesson. SUNY president Denise A. Battles released a statement saying that the matter is being treated seriously. After the incident, Sorbello sent an email to students reprimanding them for taking photos of his slideshows during class.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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viewpoint

Michael Wanzie

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WANZIE Thanksgiving is a fraud!

A

s I flip over the

hardware-store calendar to November and see that bigbusted gal sitting on her John Deere in her daisy dukes…oh who I am kidding. My calendar’s November picture is of a group of Catholic nuns in full-on black & white habits playing ice hockey, but I digress. As we stumble from the bar into the month of November our thoughts unavoidably turn to “The Holidays.”

November is the month of our annual fraudulent celebration feast commemorating the “First Thanksgiving,” which by now we should all know did not take place anywhere near Plymouth Rock. The actual, fact-checked-and-proven, “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated a full 50 years prior to the Massachusetts gathering by Catholic colonists who were following Spanish explorer Don Pedro Melendez de Aviles. As far as commemorating the first Thanksgiving goes we don’t even get the month right! Records indicate Melendez first spotted what is now Florida on August 28, 1565.

When he finally guided his 800 Catholic pals ashore on September 8, he declared the spot would hence forth be known as “St. Augustine” in honor of the saint on whose feast day Melendez had first glimpsed the Florida shoreline through his spyglass.

The writings of one Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales, indicate he celebrated the first ever Mass on American soil and afterwards the settlers dined and also fed the local Timucua tribe, which had been hanging around the site for about 4,000 years waiting for some churchy-type folk to come serve them a decent meal. According to the provisions list of the seafaring party they would likely have feasted on a garlicky salted-pork and garbanzo bean stew with hard sea biscuits and red wine on the side. The good mannered Timucua would have contributed food such as local game, grains, squash and perhaps even gator tail.

What is absolutely certain is that there was nary a turkey or a cranberry-anything anywhere in sight.

Historians and government leaders have long known all of this to be true yet we cling to the “fake news” and continue to embrace a false narrative because we as Americans cherish our heritage—real or imagined—and because as a people we are just plain stubborn.

Likewise, we continue to celebrate Columbus Day even though we now know Columbus did not discover America. There are numerous other examples of our trend of clinging to a tradition simply for the sake of tradition, even when the impetus for the tradition is proven to be misguided. In the end no real harm comes from our collective choice to do so. There is one tradition that is an exception to this rule, the ill-conceived and most-assuredly hurtful tradition of celebrating the Confederacy and wrongly honoring the men who committed treason by taking up arms against the United States Government. The arguments on both sides of this tedious and overly-long debated issue are numerous and quite emotional for many. I could write pages giving voice to those who— admittedly not always or only for nefarious or racist reasons—wish to preserve statues of Confederate soldiers and wish to keep the names of the like on various Southern public schools and highways and libraries. But there is no basis for further debate because there is no precedent for these statues. No matter why one might wish to cling to these statues, there is one fact and one fact only that need be considered—that nowhere else in this entire country do we embrace, memorialize, honor or tribute those who have risen up to destroy our country.

It is a fact that the Confederacy declared itself separate and apart from the United States of America. They raised their own flag; separate and apart from the American flag. They established their own military and printed their

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own currency. In short, they declared themselves to be their own nation and that nation attacked the Unites States of America. Now one might argue the semantics of this brief overview but if we are going to cling to our traditions then let us cling to our tradition of not celebrating or honoring those

wherein municipalities and state governments begin to sanction the erection of statutes to honor Osama Bin Ladin or the Japanese troops at Pearl Harbor, only then would there be a basis for debate, but as it stands right now we as Americans do not honor those who have sought to destroy our

in appropriate historical museums. In either case there must be attendant text which explains that the majority of such statues were not erected to honor anyone to begin with but rather to disrespect and diminish African American citizens. THAT is also an indisputable FACT which

who have risen up to destroy us. Only in the South and only in regard to this ill-conceived lust for romanticizing a shameful era of Southern heritage, which should only be preserved in our History books for sake of education and learning from out past, do we have the audacity to honor those who have attacked us.

When the day comes

system of government. Period.

End of Story. No further debate.

Every single statue of every Confederate honoree without exception must be removed from the public square. The only thing open for debate is whether to photograph the statues prior to their destruction and relegate those pictures to the history books or to place the statures

cannot and should not continue to be ignored if we as a nation still claim to have a soul.

Historians and government leaders have long known all of this to be true yet we cling to the “fake news” and continue to embrace a false narrative because we as Americans cherish our heritage—real or imagined.

Michael Wanzie is a playwright and theatrical producer residing in Orlando. You may subscribe to his weekly WANZeGRAM performing arts & cultural e-newsletter by logging onto WANZIE.com

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viewpoint

Jason Leclerc

The other side

of life The Other Hands, The Other We

H

ands, it seems, are

the new eyes: tools for feeling our way through the many ways we see our America.

Given the flurry of historical reassessments we are currently experiencing, I find that many of my conservative friends are torn between seeing and feeling, between their commitment to their ideals and their short termer’s allegiance with political expediency.

On one hand, we have enduring principles that advocate small government, commitment to rule of law, an adherence to moral and spiritual obligations, and a sincere belief that America’s endowment of resources comes with global responsibility for the welfare of friends and enemies alike. On the other hand, we have a commitment to our party and to the maintenance of control over the other.

Una Voce

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Tampa Bay

Presents

Traditional progressives— all-American heroes—like Joe Biden struggle similarly: “I’m not running, but I’m not leaving.”

On the other hand, there are those for whom a schism in the opposing party presents an unearned opportunity to gain their own control over the other.

On one hand, (this other)we have enduring ideals that include distrust that people will live up to their individual responsibility to their neighbors, a skepticism for the antiquated ideas espoused in the Constitution, and a willingness to cede American sovereignty to a greater global good. On the other hand, we have a commitment to our party and to the wresting of control from the other.

On one hand, George W. Bush and John McCain are warmongering oil-shah-enriching opportunists whose commitment to military power verge upon international criminality. On the other hand, engagement with evil regimes—even if it means militarily—provides pressure outside the conflict zone, to advocate—Like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton argued—for human rights.

All four agreed that feckless, isolationist policy not only undermines economic power but also America’s ability to fight for basic God-given freedoms.

As Senator McCain reminded us, the hands that wield, “half-baked, spurious

nationalism,” do no good.

This, in the context of current events, highlights that the we and we to which the one-hands and other-hands are attached become difficult to shackle.

On one hand, a polarized legislative branch unable to compromise on sustainable bipartisan lawmaking confirms American perceptions that Congress is

president’s Manchurianism by a future president lowers the bar on what kinds of lies can be perpetuated and accepted.

Never mind that W was the warmongering target of ire a decade ago and that McCain was the embodiment of that evil lineage until just a few months ago, their recent words spoken in a new context have ignited a

occasional high five.

On one hand we are a singlehanded nation, looking always to help a neighbor up.

On the other hand, we are nudged into the false premise that we can succeed only by pushing others down.

On one hand, we want to follow fearlessly successful people, people willing to do anything, belittle anyone, bemoan truth (even), in order

useless. On the other hand, a Congress that can prevent a president from pushing through unsustainable, poorly conceived legislation is not do-nothing.

At some point, compromise becomes a winning ideal unto itself. At some point, we find that our hands are reaching for the same ends—safety, equality, opportunity—even if our means to those ends may differ: the other hands on the other we aren’t really so other, after all.

On one hand, the talking points about Bill Clinton’s infidelities and about George W Bush’s Katrina still pack punches when legitimate arguments about fiscal responsibility and global security fail. On the other hand, insinuations of a sitting

flurry of reassessments of legacies and of histories in general. While partisans are concerned with embarrassing each other based on what their respective heroes’ hands have been grabbing, we have grasped that we have much more in common than what the headline-chasing mainstream media would have us believe.

“Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions,” W. Bush recently handily reminded us, “forgetting the image of God we should see in each other.”

Yesterday’s hand-wringers have become conspiratorial back-slappers. Finding that we have more in common than what separates us, we are even open to the

to win a battle. On the other hand, we want to follow brave, good people, to move incrementally, sometimes even zig-zaggedly, guided by firmly held faith and ideals, into a boundlessly promising war for the sustainability of humankind.

We are more complicated than a binary—even ambidextrous—worldview insists. We and we are simply a single, many-handed we.

We cannot cut off all of our hands. Facts, feelings, and fists rise from our individualism.

We can, however, use them to reach out as often as we can, to clasp others’ in common purpose: Samaritanism, betterment, prayer.

We must—MUST— however, use our good hands to idle the hands of those who would use them otherwise.

While partisans are concerned with embarrassing each other based on what their respective heroes’ hands have been grabbing, we have grasped that we have much more in common than what the headline-chasing mainstream media would have us believe.

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

40 % 19

talking points

I don’t know what the title would be but I feel just as much woman as I am man.

%

OF

FULL TI M E LGBTQ EMPLOYEES in The u.s. repOrT

Feeling BULLIED aT wOrk.

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—sam smiTh, resPonding To a quesTion abouT how he idenTifies in an inTerview wiTh The Times ocT. 22.

phOTO OF lady gaga wiTh all Five living presidenTs gOes viral

l

ady gaga commemoraTed meeTing all five living PresidenTs with a photo that has since gone viral. The pop star gave a surprise performance for “Deep from the Heart,” a concert organized by One America Appeal for hurricane relief. Former presidents Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton launched the effort to aid victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. The event raised over $31 million with Lady Gaga personally donating $1 million. “It was an honor to be invited by these five living Presidents to perform and speak at this historic event where we put our differences aside, and put humanity first in the face of catastrophe. #OneAmericaAppeal,” Lady Gaga captioned the photo on Instagram. President Donald Trump did not attend the event but sent a special video message.

COnOr MCgregOr CaughT On CaMera using hOMOphObiC slur aT uFC evenT

u

fc lighTweighT chamPion conor mcgregor was caught on camera using a homophobic slur at UFC Fight Night 118.

The fight, which was between Artem Lobov and Andre Fili, took place in Gdansk, Poland.

McGregor, who is teammates and close friends with Lovob, spent the match screaming words of encouragement to Lovob. His antics caused the referee to ask him to stop towards the end of the fight. Lobov was defeated

by Fili and after the match McGregor was caught on camera addressing Fili as a “fa*got.” “All I’m saying, he’s a fa*got. I never knew he was a fa*got,” McGregor tells Lobov.

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RUPaUL’S DRaG RaCE aLL STaRS 3 annOunCes CasT

R

UPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS 3 made The big “ru-veal” of its new cast of veterans that will compete for the “All Stars” winning title.

RuPaul unveiled the competition during “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Exclusive Queen Reveal.”

The queens that will appear in the new season are Trixie Mattel, Thorgy Thor, Shangla, Morgan McMichaels, Milk, Kennedy Davenport, Chi Chi Devayne, Bendelacreme and Aja. “Well, there you have it. I’ve Ru-vealed the ten queens that will be competing on ‘All Stars 3.’ But wait. I’ve only revealed nine. I’m just so awful at math. Or am I?” RuPaul teased. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 premieres in 2018 on VH1.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

FrenCh MOdel ines rau beCOMes FirsT Transgender playMaTe

F

rench model ines rau is Playboy’s firsT Transgender PlaymaTe. Rau, 26, is featured in the centerfold of Playboy’s November/December “Collector’s Edition” issue, the first issue since Hugh Hefner’s death in September. This isn’t the first time Rau has posed for Playboy. She also was featured in the magazine’s May 2014 “A-Z” issue for a nude pictorial titled “Evolution.” Soon after, she signed with a modeling agency. The “Collector’s Edition” issue will also have another history-making feature. The magazine will pay tribute to Hefner by making him the cover star, marking the first time a woman has not graced the cover in the magazine’s history. The issue hit newsstands on Halloween.

27

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

in-depTh: veTeran’s aFFairs

SERVED AND UNPROTECTED Equality Florida’s Todd richardson shares his story of being discharged from the United States Air Force because he is gay.

“a

Jeremy Williams

irman richardson,

I am here to escort you to the commander’s office.”

Long before Todd Richardson, the Pinellas County Regional Coordinator at Equality Florida, was an openly gay man living in Tampa Bay, he was an airman in the United States Air Force. He was also in the closet.

“Escort me?” Richardson said to the Technical Sergeant who had just walked into his office. The sergeant’s tone let Richardson know that he was in trouble, but for the life of him he could not figure out what he had done.

Richardson’s performance reports showed he was an exemplary airman with an impeccable record. As they approached the commander’s office door,

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Richardson noticed several airmen standing in front of the office.

Richardson suspected he knew what they were there for, probably the same reason he was there.

Richardson walked into his commander’s office, the same man he directly worked for, and stood in front of his desk.

“Todd, you know I like you,” his commander said to him.

Richardson replied, “Yes sir, I like you too and I have loved working for you. I feel like I might be in some kind of trouble today.”

“Yeah you sort of are,” his commander said. “Airman

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

COnTinued On pg. 31 | uu |

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

| uu | Veteran’s Affairs from pg.29

Crawford has signed a sworn statement against you saying that you and him have engaged in homosexual relations.”

The United States military has a long history of discriminating against LGBTQ servicemembers. As far back as 1778, when Lieutenant Gotthold Frederick Enslin was dismissed from the U.S. military for homosexuality under the order from General George Washington.

In 1951 all branches of the military adopted the Uniform Code of Military Conduct, which is still used today. Article 125 of that conduct code made the act of sodomy among military personnel illegal. This officially allowed servicemembers to be removed from duty for no other reason except that they were gay.

The biggest change to this policy came in 1993 when President Bill Clinton, who had run on the promise to let LGBTQ military personnel serve openly in his 1992 campaign, signed into law the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” This policy was seen as a compromise.

It prevented commanders from inquiring about a military person’s sexual orientation, but it still forced servicemembers to stay in the closest and deny who they are. This policy didn’t help Richardson at all. When he met with his commander, it was the Summer of 1985.

Richardson was fresh out of high school in 1981. He wasn’t ready for college, and his parents didn’t really have the money to send him. His older brother Steve had just gotten out of the Air Force and suggested that Richardson enlist.

“He helped me so I could get a guaranteed job, and it was a chance to learn good skills and see the world while serving my country and so I went through the process,” Richardson says.

Richardson completed basic training and technical training school, then was off to see the world spending time both stateside in Virginia and overseas in Germany. He also managed to garner near perfect performance evaluations and even obtained a position with top secret security clearance working for a four star general. With less than a year to go in his initial enlistment, Richardson was sent to Texas.

“I was in a TV room in the dorms when a really good looking guy named Craig Crawford came up to me,” Richardson remembers. “He said

How was I going to explain this to my family that I was coming back to Florida, not going to Mom’s sister’s house in D.C. and the job that I was so excited about all of a sudden vanishing? I couldn’t explain the gay thing because they didn’t even know I was gay.

— Todd Richardson

to me, ‘You must be new here,’ and I told him that I was and he invited me upstairs to play cards and to meet some of the other guys.”

Richardson went upstairs and among the four airmen playing cards was Greg Crawford, Craig’s twin brother. Craig and Greg Crawford were both gay, and not shy about discussing it.

“They were very out. Both of them,” Richardson says. “Both of them weren’t afraid to talk about it, they were very flamboyant. They attended gay clubs and to me that was just wow, to go out that far on a limb.” Richardson ended up having sex with Craig Crawford.

Richardson had less than two months to go from getting out of the military. After his four-year enlistment he decided to take his skills, and his top secret security clearance, and use them to build a

career in the civilian world.

“I had a job lined up with General Services Administration in Washington but they didn’t want me because of my computer experience, they wanted me because of my top secret security clearance,” Richardson says. “I got the job, my aunt and uncle owned an 85-acre farm in Maryland and the plan was that I would live on the farm and figure out what I was going to do and potentially move into the city at some point.”

Those plans changed the moment Richardson stood before his commander and found out that Craig Crawford had outted him.

“My heart just started beating out of my chest,” Richardson says.

“I wasn’t ready to come out, I wasn’t even in that mode of thinking I was going to come out. I wasn’t there, and here I was having to face something

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

I hadn’t even faced myself.”

Richardson was immediately taken into custody by the Office of Special Investigation, or OSI, the Air Force’s equivalent to the FBI. “They took me to another place on base,” Richardson says. “It was like something out of a movie. I was just sitting there at a table answering questions. They questioned me about everything I did with Craig and the fact that he had signed that statement against me saying that I had sex with him. Then they went into questioning my patriotism. I joined the Air Force to serve my country, learn a skill and travel, so for them to question that. It was hurtful.”

Richardson was one of tens of thousands of military personnel who were removed from service because of their sexual orientation.

Even after the implementation of

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” more than 13,000 servicemembers were discharged for being LGB before the policy was eventually found to be unconstitutional in 2010.

Many servicemembers suspected of being LGB during the DADT era were subject to open investigations by military policing agencies and were under constant surveillance.

While the policy stated that members of the military could not ask each other about their sexuality, this did not stop harassment against those servicemembers suspected of being gay.

Several studies have been conducted on the impact to LGB servicemembers during the lifespan of DADT. They all show higher numbers of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), problems with alcohol and depression among LGB military members as compared to their heterosexual counterparts. One study by the University of Montana in 2013 found that nearly 15 percent of LGB servicemembers have attempted suicide compared to 0.0003 percent for all servicemembers.

After hours of questioning, Richardson admitted to OSI that he was gay. The Air Force immediately removed him from his job and, while he awaited his discharge from the Air Force, he was given a push broom and forced to sweep the parking lot of the very headquarters building he worked in just a week prior.

A week into sweeping the parking lot for hours every day in Texas’ summer heat, Richardson had a visitor approach him.

“I’m sweeping the parking lot and I hear ‘Hey faggot’ from behind me,” Richardson says. “I still had the broom in my hand and boom, I was hit and he broke my nose. I fell to the ground and chipped both of my elbows. I have a deviated septum that was caused because of it.”

Richardson didn’t get a good look at the guy as he was sucker punched.

“I could remember that his hat was tipped down and I know he had light skin and freckles,” Richardson says. “That was all I could remember because it happened so fast. I went down and it was the asphalt burning my arm, because I didn’t have my long sleeve shirt on, that made me get up after being punched.

He was gone.”

Richardson didn’t report the assault. As he saw it now they were the enemy and he had no reason to think that they would help him.

“I had been punched in the face before,” he says. “I knew I would be fine, plus that really wasn’t the worst

Continued on pg. 33 | uu |

31

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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| uu | Veteran’s Affairs from pg.31

of what was about to happen.”

Two weeks after being pulled into his commander’s office and outted, Richardson received a call from the government job that was waiting for him on the other side. They were retracting the job offer. Along with the discharge, the Air Force pulled Richardson’s security clearance and with no clearance there was no job.

“How was I going to explain this to my family that I was coming back to Florida, not going to Mom’s sister’s house in D.C. and the job that I was so excited about all of a sudden vanished. I couldn’t explain the gay thing because they didn’t even know I was gay,” Richardson says. “That was the breaking point for me. I went into the Base Exchange and I bought three bottles of the sleeping pill Sominex and a bottle of Jack Daniels, and I didn’t know if it was going to kill me but I knew I was going to try.”

Richardson went back to his dorm room, it was a Friday night, and he expected he would have the entire evening alone.

“Two of my Air Force buddies that I was stationed with in Germany showed up to my dorm room unexpectedly asking if I wanted to go out for a drink,” Richardson recalls, holding back tears. “And they didn’t know it then, but they know it now, that they saved my life that night.

Because I would’ve done it, there is no question in my mind.”

Richardson says those two friends —John Wright and Tim Stacy — know now how much they played a part in saving his life.

“They were the first two straight men to tell me that it was okay to be gay,” Richardson says.

Richardson was fortunate enough throughout that process to have a woman in the discharge office who saw his exemplary record and was not going to let him be removed with anything other than an honorable discharge. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many LGB servicemembers discharged from the military.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been trying to rectify the U.S. military’s past sins by forming and implementing many programs geared toward LGBTQ veterans and their families.

After President Barack Obama forced the repeal of DADT in 2010, VA hospitals and clinics begun hiring program managers, social workers and mental health professionals specifically trained to address

Documented excellence: Richardson was recommended for early promotion based on high marks in his annual evaluations. Photo by Jake Stevens LGBTQ issues with veterans. The VA’s, including those in Orlando and Tampa Bay, regularly attend LGBTQ Pride events. Some are even holding LGBTQ-focused fairs and special events at their own facilities.

Watermark reached out to both the Orlando and Tampa Bay Veterans Affairs LGBTQ liaisons for this story, and while they were not able to obtain the clearance to speak directly with us, they did send over information and websites dedicated to LGBTQ veterans.

Along with the repeal of DADT, the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage in the U.S. in 2015 carried over to LGBTQ vets and their spouses as well. Benefits such as paying out life insurance policies and transferring educational benefits, which are limited to “next of kin,” are now open to all spouses and children, regardless of sexual orientation.

Same-sex spouses can also now participate in the presentation of the flag after the death of their partner.

While many of these benefits will automatically apply for LGBTQ

veterans, some are based on the status of the individual’s discharge, and even with the removal of DADT, there was no mass change to LGBTQ veteran’s records who were discharged dishonorably under that policy.

According to OutServe-SLDN. org, a legal organization dedicated to providing legal services and assistance to veterans affected by DADT, even if you were removed with an honorable discharge, you may still have issues you need address.

“Even if their discharges were Honorable, service members discharged under DADT or the prior policy have two notations on their discharge paperwork that they might find troubling,” OutServe-SLDN writes. “The negative reentry code marks the veteran as someone who the military has made a judgment is not fit for military service and the narrative reason for discharge summarizes the basis of a veteran’s separation from the military. In the case of a DADT discharge, the narrative reason

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

is often ‘Homosexual Conduct,’ ‘Homosexual Admission’ or even just ‘Homosexual.’”

While some of these issues can be time consuming to fix, a negative mark on the discharge paperwork can affect a veteran when applying for a job or VA benefit services.

Veterans looking to correct their discharges should start with their local VA benefits office or visit OutServe-SLDN.org. LGBTQ veterans can also visit benefits.va.gov to find out which benefits they qualify for and how to obtain them.

Richardson has built an great life for himself since those low days after being discharged. He is an active voice for change and fights for LGBTQ rights with Equality Florida in the Tampa Bay area, and across the state.

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That doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about what might have been if he had been allowed to serve openly and without judgment.

“I had four good years in the Air Force,” Richardson says. “Would I have stayed there? I don’t know, but they never gave me the opportunity to figure that out. They took that away from me because I was gay.”

Richardson is currently working with the VA, and has reached out to Congressman Charlie Crist, in order to have his military records released publicly.

“I want everyone to see what they said and what they did while they interrogated me for hours on end,” Richardson says. “They humiliated me and I want everyone to see why.”

33

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arTs and enTerTainMenT

Guy

Stand-Up

Out comedian jeff jones on performing for straight audiences and his ‘Pink Collar Comedy Show’

J

Ryan Williams-Jent

eff Jones will Tell you ThaT he

isn’t a gay comedian; he’s a comedian who happens to be gay. He’s also an actor, producer and playwright, one who frequents Orlando and Tampa and that’s even shared the stage with late comedic icon Joan Rivers.

On Nov. 8, Tampa Bay residents will get to experience Jones for themselves as drag and comedy collide for his “Pink Collar Comedy Show,” a night of laughter and drag divas with Brian Bradley, Carol Lee and Trixxie Deluxxe.

Ahead of the show, Watermark spoke with Jones about the full-time career in stand-up he never saw coming, the importance of comedy in today’s age and—naturally— children falling.

WaTERMaRK: iT was yOur

CO-wOrkers ThaT FirsT urged yOu TO pursue sTand-up. did yOu ever FOresee iT as a Career?

jeFF jOnes: Hell no. I was signed up as a birthday gift to a comedy class. Everyone I worked with thought I was funny. After I quit my job and walked away to do this full-time, maybe they

regretted that decision? Either that or it was just a plan to get rid of me. I’ll be 42 this year and I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. you’ve been performing stand-up for twelve years. what’s kept you on the stage?

Laughter... laughter is the greatest drug of all. You can have the [worst] day, but when you get on that stage and hear people laugh at the things you say, it makes it all better. If you bomb, though, it sucks—and you just return to the fetal position on your bathroom floor.

On ThaT, whaT wOuld COnsider TO be yOur wOrsT shOw, and whaT wOuld yOu COnsider TO be yOur besT? whaT sTands OuT in yOur Mind?

I don’t know if it was the worst

COnTinued On pg. 37 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

| uu | Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx FrOM pg.35

show, but there are situations that are just not good for comedy.

I showed up to do a show in a Mexican restaurant on the coast.

It was a rare, rainy and freezing night in Florida. There was one table of three people in the entire place, [but] we still did the show.

We basically just stood table side and did a conversational comedy show. One of the women liked one of my jokes so much that she asked me to do it again while she recorded it on her phone to send her daughter.

I ended up having to do it like four times because she wasn’t that great at using her phone. One of the best shows was this year at the Michigan LGBT Comedy Fest in front of about 1000 people in a really nice performing arts center.

When that many people laugh and it comes at you, I swear you can physically feel it.

whaT Makes YOU laugh? whO dO yOu COnsider TO be yOur COMediC inFluenCes?

I like the old school comics a lot.

Joan Rivers and Buddy Hacket are two of my all-time favorites.

I love the fact that you can be a little dirty without going all in.

The stuff they got away with in the 60›s and 70›s would never fly now. What makes me laugh?

I like to see children fall down, monkeys and farts. If you can combine all three, it›s amazing.

are There parTiCular audienCe inTeraCTiOns yOu’ve had ThaT sTand OuT TO yOu?

What makes me laugh?

I like to see children fall down, monkeys and farts. If you can combine all three, it’s amazing.

— Jeff Jones

comedian first.

I never want to be just a gay comedian. I am a comedian that happens to be gay. If I’m performing for a gay crowd then I’ll gay it up, though. That’s mostly because I’m trying to find a groupie that isn’t a single, heterosexual female.

I perform 95% of the time for straight people in the Southeast U.S., mostly in small conservative towns. I know going into most of these shows that they may have a negative perception since I’m openly gay on stage and with my material. When I get people coming up to me, eager to shake my hand, take a photo with me and tell me how much they enjoyed the show… that makes me feel like the world isn›t totally f*cked yet.

Almost all of my friends are actors, writers [or] producers. I just had a funny idea for a show, sat down and wrote it out. I look back at my first script and can totally see my evolution as a writer though.

I don’t think I’m a good actor at all, [which is] probably why I only get cast in shows that I write.

Not really, I don’t hide it. I don’t like to hit people with it over and over though. I never start out with the gay material; it would turn some people off right away. I like to ease into it and get the crowd to like me as just a

They both have their pros and cons. They are very different though. One I am hiding behind a character and costume and the other I’m out there totally solo. Comedy is very personal: we share stories that are true,

has being an OuT gay Man inFluenCed Or aFFeCTed yOur COMedy?

yOu’re alsO a playwrighT, prOduCer and aCTOr. whaT led yOu TO pursue TheaTre?

hOw dOes iT diFFer FrOM sTand-up TO yOu? dO yOu have a preFerenCe?

embarrassing, and humiliating, just for a cheap laugh.

Tell Me abOuT yOur wriTing prOCess.

I don’t really have a formal writing process. If I see something that makes me laugh or I think is just stupid I’ll write it down. Social media has become a good tool for writing a joke. I’ll post an idea as a status update and if the response is decent, I’ll try to work it into a new bit or an existing one.

YOU’VE PERFORMED WITH DEMETRI MARTIN, JOEL MCHALE, HAL SPARKS AND JOAN RIVERS. YOU’RE ABOUT TO HOST A SHOW FOR JOHN HENSON. WERE YOU A FAN OF TALK SOUP?

I grew up watching that show all the way back to Greg Kinnear. A show that basically takes clips from TV shows that I’ve seen and says the same things that I am thinking is going to get my attention. After John Henson I will have worked with 3 Soups hosts.

If you can put me in touch with Aiysha Tyler, that would be great.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

whaT MeMOries sTand OuT abOuT ThOse enTerTainers?

Comics are just nice people. I did a few shows with Joan and those were incredibly memorable. She told me that I am very likable on stage and that was a huge asset.

As long as you get the crowd to like you, you can get away with just about anything.

“The pink COllar COMedy shOw” FeaTures CarOl lee, brian bradley and Trixie deluxxe. hOw did The shOw COMe abOuT?

I have been friends with all of them for many years, they make me laugh. The drag queens come from the old school of camp comedy drag as well. Addison Taylor is another member of our crew that does dates on the tour with us. Occasionally Ginger Minj will also join us when she’s not on the road. Brian is totally hysterical and is a master of comedy. He doesn’t really work with a set and just get on stage and goes. He mostly works cruises and corporate gigs, so he’s looking forward to joining us

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

in Tampa and gaying it up. I had to talk them all in to doing it and convince them, just take all of the stories you normally tell between numbers and put them together for a 20 minute set. whaT are yOur gOals FOr The shOw?

We’d love to do this show more and expand to doing shows outside of Florida for sure. We’ve done some Pride events and some small theaters. We do find that the majority of our audiences are straight people and that’s great.

They might not be comfortable enough to go to a gay bar to see a drag performer, but they’ll go to their local comedy club or performing arts center. why dO yOu Feel COMedy is iMpOrTanT TOday?

Comedy is more important than ever. The higher visibility comics seem to be holding politicians more accountable than the news channels are. As far as those of us working the smaller venues and clubs, I think we’re there to be a good distraction.

No matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on, I think we’re all getting burned out. If you can go out and laugh at my dating misery or the idiots that live in tiny houses, then we’ve all shared something.

Comedy can unite us, I think. whaT else dO yOu wanT readers TO knOw? whaT’s nexT FOr yOu?

I’m single and always looking for more material, so if you’d like to go on a date you can reach me through my website. You can’t get me through Grindr though, I’m over 40 and we aren’t allowed to have that app on our phones over 40.

You can ask Jeff Jones for a date, or learn more about him, by visiting jeffjonescomedy. com. Doors open for the “Pink Collar Comedy Show” at 8 PM on Nov. 8 at Side Splitters Comedy Club in Tampa. Tickets and more information are available at sidesplitterscomedy.com or by calling (813) 960-1197.

37

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38

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

charity

Seeing Red

A night of fashion, visual art and music combine in a fundraiser to support HIV/AIDS organization Miracle of Love, Inc.

(above)

welcome center:

Miracle of Love’s Project Red team keeps the party going from the moment you’re greeted at the event.

Photos courtesy miracle of Love

O

Holly V. Kapherr

n November 8, Miracle of Love,

an HIV/AIDS education and awareness organization based in Orlando, will stage its second Project Red: An Art Experience event at Parliament House on Orange Blossom Trail. The event will feature artists from around the area in theatre, visual art, fashion, music and other mediums.

Proceeds from the event will go to fund Miracle of Love’s community endeavors, including programs for pregnant women, housing for HIV positive individuals, and care management assistance for underinsured or non-insured individuals with HIV/AIDS. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

The first Project Red: An Art Experience took place in 2015, when an artist approached Miracle of Live with the idea to stage an art show that communicated to an audience what the color red meant to them.

Red ribbons have been the internationally recognized symbol of HIV/AIDS awareness since the founding of World AIDS Day in 1988 and the Red Ribbon International Organization in 1993.

As the project grew in scope during that first year, Miracle of Love decided to expand the event to include other artists in different mediums displaying their interpretation of the color red. “We wanted the event to be all-inclusive of all art mediums, since our organization is also all-inclusive regardless of age,

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

sex, gender identity and race,” says Angus Bradshaw, executive director of Miracle of Love. “We decided to find out what red meant to anyone who considered themselves an artist.”

During that first event, which is now billed as Miracle of Love’s signature fundraising event, between 250 and 300 guests attended. After parking at the Parliament House, guests were shuttled over to Miracle of Love’s Stafford House.

The Stafford House is a safe space drop-in center for youth of alternative lifestyles. These vulnerable populations yearn for a space where they can meet and discuss relevant issues, as well as providing a fun space for activities like movie night, karaoke, kickball, game nights and more.

Continued on pg. 41 | uu |

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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queens in The house: Miss Darcel Stevens (L) and Miss Sammy greet a furry friend at a past Project Red event. PHOTO COuRTESy MIRAClE OF lOvE

| uu | Project Red FrOM pg.39

At the event, guests enjoyed art created and performed by entertainers and artists of every genre.

There was art for sale that went to fund Miracle of Love’s future projects. This year, guests can expect much of the same in an expanded atmosphere. “We’ll have body painters, art shows, photography, impersonators and more,” says Bradshaw.

Attendees can also expect singers and raffles to benefit the organization, including a hotel stay and wine-themed gift basket.

“We hope that those who attend Project Red will come away with an understanding of our services,” says Bradshaw. Miracle of Love was founded in 1991 and initially provided housing for individuals who were dying from AIDS progression.

Services expanded incrementally, including educational programs at correctional facilities, teaching inmates how to stay HIV negative, and how to manage their infection with medication if they are HIV positive.

Now, Miracle of Love provides medical care management for under- or non-insured individuals with HIV/AIDS, provides preventative programs

for pregnant women, and provides housing for those who are HIV positive. “A lot of our clientele comes from word-of-mouth and from events such as Project Red. We want to be visible in the community,” says Bradshaw.

Other Miracle of Love events include the Orlando Pub Prance in June, the Divas in Red party and a two-day bicycle ride called the SMART Ride from Miami to Key West.

Coming up at Thanksgiving, Miracle of Love will provide more than 250 complete Thanksgiving dinners to HIV positive clients in the Orlando area.

According to AIDSVu.org, in 2015 there were more than 11,000 individuals in the Orlando area living with HIV: 73 percent of those were men, and 27 percent were women. A significant portion of the HIV-positive populations are black and Hispanic. Almost 2,000 Floridians diagnosed HIV positive died in 2015; of those, 171 lived in Orlando.

And nearly three-quarters of the HIV transmissions in men were due to unsafe sex, underscoring the need for HIV/AIDS prevention services in Central Florida.

Because of the location of Miracle of Love’s offices and the Stafford House, the organization serves mainly people of color and other minority populations, but the services are not limited to minorities.

The event will be hosted and emceed by Parliament House staple Gidget Galore.

Other performers include Miss Continental 2016 Jazell Barbie Royale, Danielle Hunter, on-air personality and burlesque performer Blue Star, Angelica Sanchez, and Aysia Black.

“We want people to leave this event feeling more comfortable talking about HIV/AIDS in the community,” says Bradshaw. He says that a good way to get people talking is to lift the discomfort from the topic. He hopes that through this unconventional setting, the conversations will start about HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

“Putting an end to this epidemic is the ultimate goal,” he says.

Tickets for the event can be purchased by visiting miracleoflove.org/ project-red. Project Red: An Art Experience will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 10 p.m. General admission tickets start a $10, but sponsor tickets are available for up to $500.

more inFormation

whaT: Project Red: An Art Experience where: Parliament House, 410 N. Orange Blossom Tr., Orlando when: Nov. 8, 7-10 p.m. info: 407-843-1760

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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community calendar

evenT planner

arts+entertainment

OrlandO

OrlandO

2017 equality Florida Greater orlando Gala

Fiesta!, Nov. 3-4, Central Florida Community Arts, Orlando. 407-937-1800; CFCArts.com

friday, nov. 3, 8:00-11:00 P.m. orlando museum of arT, orlando

Debbie Does Dallas, Nov. 3-18, Footlight Theatre, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Pride in Business Awards, Nov. 4, Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando. 321-800-3946; MBAOrlando.org Snow Queen Ballet, Nov. 4, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org John Cleese live, Nov. 5, King Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne. 321-242-2219; KingCenter.com Boys II Men, Nov. 6-8, EPCOT, Orlando. 407-824-4321; DisneyWorld.Disney.Go.com Project Red an Art Experience, Nov. 8, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Art in Odd Places: noise, Nov. 10-12, Downtown Arts District, Orlando. 407-648-7060; ArtInOddPlaces.org lake Fairview Marina Customer Appreciation and Anniversary Celebration, Nov. 11, Lake Fairview Marina, Orlando. 407-295-0117; LakeFairviewMarina.com JAy-Z, Nov. 11, Amway Center, Orlando. 844-854-1450; AmwayCenter.com La La Land in Concert, Nov. 11, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull, Nov. 14, Amway Center, Orlando. 844-854-1450; AmwayCenter.com Straight no Chaser, Nov. 15, King Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne.

321-242-2219; KingCenter.com

sTraighT up The all-male a cappella group Straight no Chasers performs at the King Center in Melbourne Nov. 15 and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota Nov. 16. PHOTO FROM SnCMuSIC.COM

La Boheme, Nov. 15-19, Opera Orlando, Orlando.

407-718-4365; OperaOrlando.org

grand Central Market, Nov. 4, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com

The Great Gatsby Party, Nov. 11, Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa. 813-254-1891; PlantMuseum.com

TaMpa bay

Fall Out Boy, Nov. 5, Amalie Arena, Tampa. 813-301-6500; AmalieArena.com

Metro’s 25 Anniversary gala, Nov. 11, Gatsby’s Bistro, Clearwater. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org

neiBEARhood Takeover #DaddyIssues, Nov. 3, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625; SouthernNightsTPA.com

Elf the Musical, Nov. 7, The Lakeland Center, Lakeland. 863-834-8100; RPFundingCenter.com

Trinity Taylor, Nov. 3, Flamingo Resort, St. Petersburg. 727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com

Pink Collar Comedy Show, Nov. 8, Side Splitters Comedy Club, Tampa. 813-960-1197; SideSplittersComedy.com

gavin Degraw, Nov. 3, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

Much Ado About Nothing, Nov. 8-Dec. 10, American Stage, St. Petersburg. 727-823-7329; AmericanStage.org

loretta lynn, Nov. 3, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg.

727-898-2100; TheMahaffey.com

Chris Stapleton, Nov. 10, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater, Tampa.

877-870-3674; LiveNation.com

Sister Act, Nov. 3-12, Eight O’clock Theatre, Largo. 727-587-6751; EightOclockTheatre.com

gala Kickoff w/ Christine O’leary, Nov. 10, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org

sarasOTa A Little Night Music, Oct. 26-Nov. 12, Manatee Performing Arts Center, Bradenton. 941-748-5875; ManateePerforming ArtsCenter.com A Christmas Story, Nov. 14-Dec. 10, Venice Theater, Venice. 941-488-1115; VeniceStage.com Straight no Chaser, Nov. 16, Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, Sarasota.

941-953-3368; VanWezel.org

Equality Florida continues their 20th year celebration as they host the Greater Orlando Gala at the Orlando Museum of Art Nov. 3. The event features a silent auction, delicious hors d’oeuvres, open bar, live music with Silkee Smoove and a few entertainment surprises. Tickets are $100 in advance and $125 at the door. To purchase tickets visit EqualityFlorida.org/OrlandoGala.

Neema presents upscale Latin Night: Amor saTurday, nov. 4, 9:00 P.m. – 2:30 a.m. sTonewall bar, orlando Pulse’s Neema Bahrami brings back his Upscale Latin Night for one night only with AMOR at Stonewall Bar. Doors open at 9:00 p.m., showtime is at midnight. Entertainment features Saphyre L’Sweet Cardoza, Yeisa Jovovich and Lineysha Sparx. VIP bottle specials, Hooka bar, Latin fusion food and more. The party is 18 and up, 21 and up are free before 10:00 p.m.

TaMpa bay

balance Tampa bay’s November service saTurday, nov. 4, 8:30 a.m. – noon Perry harvey ParK, TamPa Balance Tampa Bay joins up with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay for their November Service event. The Humane Society will be offering free dog vaccinations to the first 1,000 guests at Perry Harvey Park. BTB needs your help assisting with crowd control, passing out literature and assisting the vets. For more information on the event or other volunteer services, visit BalanceTampaBay.org.

Tampa bay AIDs Walk Kickoff Party wednesday, nov. 8, 6:00-10:00 P.m.

PunKy’s bar and grill, sT. PeTersburg The 14th Annual Tampa Bay AIDS Walk + 5K Run, presented by Empath Partners in Care, is coming up so EPIC is holding a kick-off party at Punky’s Bar and Grill to get walkers/runners registered and gather volunteers. Come out, sign up and stay for Punky’s Bingo 4 Charity which will benefit the Tampa Bay AIDS Walk. The Tampa Bay AIDS Walk + 5K Run takes place Dec. 9 at Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg.

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

43

profitable custom picture frame and mirror shop

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Located in the same St. Petersburg, FL., location for 10 years at Tyrone Blvd N and 66th St N. More than 2,000 cars a day park in this shopping center.

All equipment necessary to operate this business is included in the sale: Computerized Lifesaver point of sale system, computerized Wizard mat cutter, Universal double miter saw, Miter Mite VN144 joiner, VacuSeal 4468H drymounter, two work stations, Silent air compressor, 2000 GMC Savana delivery van, all existing stock.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

overheard

TaMpa bay OuT+abOuT

adOre TOur nO MOre

F

ans of ruPaul’s drag race alum adore delano were disappointed to learn that the singer’s appearances for her “Adore Tour” were canceled in late October, just days ahead of her appearances at Southern Nights Tampa and Southern Nights Orlando.

Pardon Moi French, the event promoter presenting “The Adore Tour,” announced its cancelation just one day ahead of the Orlando stop and two before the scheduled show in Tampa. It had previously touted the tour, which would feature new music form the artist’s third studio album “Whatever” as “an incredible concert, featuring opening acts from some of your favorite entertainers in your city along with a 30+ minute concert.”

Southern Nights advised eager concertgoers of the cancelation, sharing a message from Pardon Moi French directly. “Valued Customer,” they wrote, “thank you so much for the support & enthusiasm that you’ve shown for The Adore Tour!”

The promoter cited “unforeseen circumstances” but noted “the cancelation is in no way the fault of Adore Delano’s. She is in great health & we wish her & her team nothing but the best. Each local venue has been a great partner.

We’re very fortunate to be working with each of them & look forward to future events.”

Delano wasn’t quite as vague with disappointed fans, which were quick to point out that the promoters likely hadn’t paid her. “Don’t worry,” Adore shared via social media, “most of the cities cancelled are being picked up again next year by a real promoter.”

sO They Think THEY CAN DANCE

b

reaK The floor ProducTions is bringing iTs eclecTic dance comPany Shaping Sound to Tampa on Nov. 9 for After the Curtain, the story of one gay man’s love and loss.

The 32-city tour, stopping then at the Straz, was conceived and choreographed by out, Emmy-winning choreographer and So You Think You Can Dance runner-up Travis Wall.

Audiences will watch Wall and his team of 14 “visual musicians,” including the dance company’s co-creator Nick Lazzarini, “tell the story of a man fighting to find his creative voice after the death of his one true love.” Lazzarini was the winner of the reality competition’s first season.

The production, set within the very-closeted 1940s, will last two hours and detail the struggle of coming out, something Wall connected with.

“I really wanted to add a piece of myself and a piece of my soul to this show,” he said. “That’s why I created a love story that’s between two men.”

Dance enthusiasts can learn more about the show, described as “heart-wrenching, breathtaking and ultimately uplifting,” by calling the Straz at 813-229-7827 or by visiting strazcenter.org.

1

2 3

1

fan-TasTic: Kathryn Carter was feeling the fan-tasy at Enigma’s Glow Ball on Oct. 21. PHOTO

By RyAn WIllIAMS-JEnT

2

The TemPle of fab: David Hines (l) and Indiana Jones himself, Chris gibson explored Old Key West Bar & Grill on Oct. 27. PHOTO

COuRTESy CHRIS gIBSOn

3

Pride-ready: Rainbow-clad Russ Martin showed his spirit during this year’s Sarasota’s Pride Fest on Oct. 21. PHOTO

4

5

COuRTESy RuSS MARTIn

4

Pride-ready: Tampa Pride President Carrie West officially began Tampa Pride 2018’s fundraising at Hamburger Mary’s Brandon on Oct. 19 with the event’s “Spooktacular Halloween Kick Off Party.” PHOTO By

RyAn WIllIAMS-JEnT

5

The real dill: Rainey brought the late comedian Phyllis Diller to Enigma on Oct. 28.

PHOTO By RyAn WIllIAMS-JEnT

6

iT’s been 300 yEaRS: Sanderson Sisters Daphne Ferraro, Kathryn nevets and Chi Chi lalique (l-R) put a spell on the crowd at Hamburger Mary’s Brandon on Oct. 19. PHOTO

6

By RyAn WIllIAMS-JEnT

7

sicily, 1922: Jeff Beadle channeled his inner Golden Girl Sophia to picture it in 2017 at Flamingo on Oct. 28. PHOTO COuRTESy JEFF BEADlE

8

nerd realness: Darnell Bradley (L) and Jacob Ahrens-Rich celebrated Halloween at Bradley’s on 7th Oct. 28. PHOTO

COuRTESy DARnEll BRADlEy

8 7

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

45

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

603 Virginia Drive

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overheard

OrlandO OuT+abOuT

wesTbOrO prOTesT gOT T-wreCked

w

haT haPPened when The wesTboro baPTisT church came To seminole counTy on Oct. 22 to protest outside of a church? Dinosaurs and Jesus threw a dance party. No, seriously!

A local group that dresses up in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex costumes, known as the T-Rex’s of Orlando, showed up—one on rollerblades—proudly waving rainbow flags and state flags to counter-protest. They were also joined by a man dressed as Jesus and others. They were loudly singing Katy Perry’s “Roar” along with a playlist straight out of the ‘80s.

According to their Facebook page, they’re just “a couple of dinos roaming the streets of Orlando.”

We reached out to the group behind these dinosaurs who wished to remain anonymous.

According to the T-Rex we spoke to, they were both straight allies who were also former military (he himself being a family man who had served two tours in Afghanistan) and the duo just wanted to spread a message of love and laughter to counteract the hate Westboro was bringing to his city.

They don’t wish to affiliate themselves with any political party but are firm believers in standing up for LGBTQ groups and minorities, and just wish to spread the message of “loving who you want.” Visit their page at Facebook.com/ TRexsOfOrlando.

2

OrlandO geTs a perFeCT sCOre

T

he human righTs camPaign’s annual municiPal equaliTy index is ouT and Orlando did pretty well for itself.

The organization’s MEI score represents how inclusive a city’s laws, policies and services are for the LGBTQ people who live and work there.

The City Beautiful ranked with a perfect score of 100 yet again. Orlando has scored the top score the three previous years as well. The HRC rates a city’s equality based on five categories: Non-Discrimination Laws, Municipality as Employer, Municipal Services, Law Enforcement and finally Relations with the LGBTQ Community.

Other cities in Watermark’s coverage area varied in their scores. St Petersburg joins Orlando in 100 club, while Tampa is a bit under the mark with an 86. Daytona Beach, on the other hand, fares pretty poorly. They are dead last of all ranked Florida cities with a 30.

HRC rated a total of 20 Florida cities. Orlando and St. Pete are joined by Wilton Manors, West Palm Beach, Miami Beach and the state capitol Tallahassee with perfect scores of 100. Daytona Beach is being kept company at the bottom of the barrel with Cape Coral and Port Saint Lucie.

Five hundred six U.S. municipalities were measured for this year’s MEI, including all 50 state capitals. The last time Orlando scored below a perfect 100 was in 2013 when it scored a 79.

4

1

silKee sounds: Suebee laginess (front) grabs a selfie with friends while Silkee Smoove jams in the background at Scooters 4 Hooters on Wall Street in downtown Orlando Oct. 21.

PHOTO By SuEBEE lAgInESS

2

raising awareness: Libby’s Legacy founder Robin Maynard-Harris (L) and mission manager (and breast cancer survivor) Sandy Campbell show off their new brochure for breast cancer information at the Libby’s Legacy Foundation office in Orlando Oct. 20. PHOTO By JEREMy WIllIAMS

3

Proud sTaTe: DJ Joanie (L) and neema Bahrami celebrate Volusia Pride in New Smyrna Beach Oct. 21. PHOTO By DAnny gARCIA

4

belles of The ball: Taylor lianne Chandler (L) and Miss Darcel Stevens dress up for the 6th Annual Black & Orange Ball at The Abbey in Orlando Oct. 27. PHOTO By TAylOR

1

3

5

6

5

sPooKy fun: Madame Peevira brought her 90’s Scare-a-van sing-along to Spooky Empire at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando Oct. 28.

PHOTO By DAnny gARCIA

6

flower Power: Katie Anaya shows of the City Oasis orchid she won at Watermark’s Third Thursday at Magruder Laser Vision in Orlando Oct. 19. PHOTO By

7

lIllIAn vERKInS

7

flesh frighTs: Less was more at Flex Friday’s Nightmare on Bumby at Southern Nights in Orlando Oct. 27. PHOTO COuRTESy SOuTHERn

nIgHTS ORlAnDO

8

sweeT cosTume: Tony Smith (L) was the honey to Rob Domenico’s bear at the Parliament House Orlando for Saturday Halloween party Oct. 28. PHOTO By DAnny gARCIA

lIAnnE CHAnDlER

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

47

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48

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

announcements

wedding bells

Christine Dance and Karen Schultz

Karen and Christine found peace, fellowship, unity—and each other—at 1U Church in Orlando.

current city oF residence:

Maitland, Florida

engagement date:

May 18 and May 28, 2016

wedding date:

December 21, 2016 and October 21, 2017

venue:

First Unitarian Church of Orlando

Flowers:

Julia Hournbuckle and Jean Conant

colors:

Rainbow

wedding song and artist:

“One” by Mary J. Blige & Bono

dJ or band name:

DJ Lucy Blu

caterer:

Andrea Lister, Curbside Chef, Waco Taco

oFFiciant:

Reverend Kathy Schmidt, First Unitarian Church of Orlando

pHotograpHer/ videograpHer:

Kathryn Cooper Weddings

PHOTO By KATHRyn COOPER WEDDIngS

o

n earTh day of 2012, Karen

Schultz decided to try out a new spiritual home. “I had been going through a rough time and was overwhelmed by all the love and acceptance at First Unitarian Church of Orlando,” she says. “I cried through the whole service.” She and Christine Dance had some mutual friends, and Karen came over to say hello.

“She had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen,” says Christine.

The following week, their mutual friends were going out of town and had asked Christine if she would sit with Karen at church.

“I thought I was just being friendly and welcoming, but I decided to ask her out to lunch afterward.”

Christine had been divorced for more than two years, but had decided not to start dating again until her oldest son went to college in August 2012.

At the International Fringe Festival, just a few weeks later, the women met again. They had a blast together. “We agreed to set up an exploratory committee to ‘consider the possibility of maybe, possibly dating someday.’”

Later that night – well, at 4 a.m. – Karen kissed Christine. Christine was hooked. They’ve been

together ever since.

Karen and Christine had both decided to propose, and had both bought rings. Karen recalls, “Our poor friends carried the burden of knowing both secrets. Christine felt that it was important, given her previous opposition to marriage, that she propose first.

She did at Fringe on their third anniversary.

Instead of taking their time, Karen and Christine decided to sit down and plan their wedding right away. “We planned the timing, the location, most of the guest list and the elements of the wedding,” says Christine.

After the 2016 election, the couple felt it was important to get married as soon as possible, as they were unsure what was going to happen after the new administration took office. “We

had a little ceremony on the Winter Solstice in Dickson-Azalea park to make it legal,” says Christine. “We wish we didn’t have to do that, but we felt much better having that protection.”

The couple decided to have their full wedding at 1U, but had to wait a year and a half until the church’s renovations were complete. On October 21, the two women said “I do” with Rev. Kathy Schmidt presiding over the service. “There were so many emotional moments during the ceremony,” says Karen. “We kept wanting to kiss each other before it was time, but Rev. Kathy told us ‘not yet!’”

Before the ceremony, the couple participated in a “grounding ritual” with two of their matriarchs. “They helped us breath, connect with the earth and made us feel much more in touch with ourselves and each other before the ceremony,” says Christine.

Being married has made the pair feel more connected.

“The act of writing our vows made us really think about what we were covenanting with each other.”

local birtHdays

St. Pete bear Wendell Wilson (Nov. 1); Rock Hard Fitness guru Jennifer Mae, Tampa organizing coach and personal assistant Tracy Miller, Orlando bartender Juan Miller, USF Grad student and retired political activist Rand Snell (Nov. 2); Orlando United Assistance Center’s Joel Morales (Nov. 3); Gulfport everyman Daniel Hodge, massage therapist and framer at Framing of Central Florida Kirk Johnston, St. Pete Pride volunteer Rich Runyan, St. Petersburg cowboy Winston Haws (Nov. 4); Orlando realtor Cindy gregory, Orlando Verizon Wireless employee and super dad Ryan lopez (Nov. 5); Tampa signing interpreter Steve Hammond, St. Pete Bears founder grahame Harte, former TIGLFF programming director Kelly Fry, Equality Florida’s Michael Farmer, Women In Film & Television Florida President Robin Wright, TIGLFF supporter Timothy Thomas, Pinellas Park massage Therapist John Waldorf (Nov. 6); Tampa Bay socialite Sterling Powell (Nov 9); Park Avenue salon owner gary lambert (Nov. 10); Margate, Fla. video gamer Scott Keener, former Tampa resident and book author/activist Steven Reigns, writer Mike Halterman, Tampa leather bear Brooks Davis, Watermark contributor Steve yacovelli, Orlando emergency services expert Alan Harris (Nov. 11); Manatee Performing Arts Center Director of Marketing Brian Craft (Nov. 12); Orlando writer liz langley, St. Petersburg ASAP star Jonathan Aller, Sarasota opera singer Ron Rispoli, Tampa networking guru vincent Papaleo, Orlando performer Miss Aiysia Black, super DJ Joanie Stanco, Orlando softball expert Anthony Andreala (Nov. 13); handsome Orlando bear-bartender and animal lover Christopher Torge, Ritz Ybor Marketing Director Okie Tilo, paper bag mushroom artist Doug Rhodehamel, Tampa-based but world-renowned flutist Joseph Rose, Disney application developer Dan Peters (Nov. 14); Sarasota activist and GAIN member Bart Coyle, Tampa-based Serious Satellite’s Out Q news freelancer Mike Wells (Nov. 15).

do you Have an announcement? Having a birtHday or anniversary? did you get a new Job or promotion?

See your news in Watermark! Send your announcement to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition.

it’s tHat easy!

—Holly V. Kapherr

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.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Nov emb er 2 - Nov emb er 15 , 2017 // Issue 24 . 2 2

53

The lasT page

PHOTO By JAKE STEvEnS

Debbie Reeves ACCOUNT MANAGER

age : 52

Hometown :

Detroit, Mich.

Diary of a Social Justice Warrior

identiFies as :

Hobbies :

Lesbian

out year :

1983

Hire date :

April 5, 2017

d

autobiograpHy title :

team earlier this year to handle advertising sales for the Tampa Bay region.

As with all our employees, her job description extends way beyond her title. She doubles as a marketing team and events coordinator and is hugely responsible for the resurrection of Watermark Wednesday, a bi-monthly social and networking event for Watermark’s readers and advertiser.

Music, reading, walking in nature, shopping, hanging out with my grandson

“I saw the job opening as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the LGBTQIA community in my new home city,” Debbie responded when asked why she took the job at Watermark.

“Working for Watermark is like one big family support when you need and the push to the direction for success.”

Debbie’s journey to Watermark began in Detroit, Mich., where she was born and grew up. At the age of 15, she and her long-time, out friend left their homes behind them by hitchhiking to Colorado.

“I loved traveling but I was scared to hitchhike,” Debbie says of their 1980 excursion. “He talked me into it and nothing bad happened.”

The two made a second trip across country to San Francisco before returning to their lives in Detroit. Their friendship grew strong and the young man became the father of her two sons.

Debbie later came out when she discovered a relationship with her high school teacher, which lasted about a year.

At the age of 28, Debbie moved to New Mexico. She had fallen in love with it on one of her trips across country at an early age.

Once her son graduated high school, Debbie decided to follow in the footsteps of her idol. “Maya Angelou was my

proFessional role model : Maya Angelou

54

ebbie Joined The WATERMARK

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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hero. I went to the same college as her in Hawaii. I based her life with mine and it pointed me in the right directions,“says Debbie.

Debbie’s favorite LGBTQ event is the Dyke March in San Francisco. “It was the most incredible thing I ever saw,” she says. “There were like a million women of all shapes and sizes.

I’ve never seen so many women in one place. It’s a lesbian dream and I was in it.” Debbie also speaks highly of St. Pete Pride. “It was my first time in a parade, on a float.

I loved it!”

To her younger self, Debbie would say, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. The perfectionist in me is never satisfied with doing my very best, a quality that has served me well but adds unnecessary stress.” Debbie relieves that stress by talking to her grandson. “He blows me away with how smart he is and I spoil him.”

Watermark is the collective product of a team of incredibly hardworking individuals.

Over the next series of issues, we’re using this space to introduce each member of our staff and contributors to you. When you see us out and about in the community, stop and say, “Hello.” We’d love to meet you.

TAKE THE LEAD

Take an active role in your health.

Ask your doctor if an HIV medicine made by Gilead is right for you.

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I choose the convenience of online scheduling.

I choose Orlando Health.

Orlando Health is committed to offering new ways to schedule healthcare. With online appointment scheduling, just a tap or a click provides access to a network of care — 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Orlando Health Online Scheduling — connected and convenient care at

Not an actual patient.

ChooseOrlandoHealth.com.