From Boston to San Francisco, we are all in this together. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Boston Marathon tragedy victims and to their friends and families. Unprecedented Security Likely at SF Pride in June (story on page 3)
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April 18 - May 1, 2013 | www.sfbaytimes.com
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PHOTO BY MI KE EL AM, US DE PA RTM EN T OF IN TERIOR
Rainbow Spring!
Earth Day is April 22 (see pages 18 and 19)
“Call it Rainbow Spring, where lawmakers are coming out in support of gay marriage faster than raindrops refract colors across the land.” – Jody Brannon, National Journal On The Path to Marriage Equality—
By Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, Marriage Equality USA
By Zak Mandel-Romann
Last week as we were busily collecting our 2012 receipts, W-2 and 1099 for ms and prepar ing to hit the send button on our income tax ret ur ns, we t hought maybe, just maybe, this year might be the last t hat lega l ly mar r ied lesbian and gay couples will have to lie to their federal government about the nature of their love and relationships a nd f i le t hei r t a xe s a s supp o s ed ly single people. If the United States Supreme Court in the historic United States v. Windsor case uphold s it s dut y to en force t he Constitution and strikes down section 3 of the misnamed Defense of Marriage Act, this indignity and real cost to thousands of same-sex couples will f inally end. For many lesbian and gay couples, not being able to f ile their taxes jointly means writing a check to the same federal government that openly discriminates against them for thousands of more dollars – money that they, just like anyone else, could use for health care, retirement, emergencies, or a down payment on a house. (continued on page 5)
P H OTO C O URT E SY O F MI SC H ELL E M AN DEL
LGBT Family Camp Changed My Life
P H OTO B Y JEN N Y PI ZE R
No Taxation with Discrimination: Ending DOMA and Beyond Equality
Camp It Up is k now n for being the f irst family camp for LGBT (a nd more) fa m i l ies. W h i le t he major it y of t he fami l ies are gay or lesbian parents with children, Camp It Up’s goal is not to draw attention to that fact. “Camp,” as it is known by all who attend, is all about family, community, and doing the things that families and kids typically do at family camp. Campers swim, hike, eat together, sing songs around the campf ire, a nd perhaps, most i mpor t a nt ly for a k id, roam free around t he camp grounds with peers and often long-time (or soon to be longtime) camp friends, all under the loving care of the giant collaborative family that comes together once a year for a week near Quincy, California. The kids at camp do not see themselves as a bunch of k ids with LGBT parents, but simply a bunch of kids, and that is the empowering nature of the experience. (continued on page 18)
Fro all Ou Bo to
Openhouse: Celebrating Our Seniors at the Spring Fling The 55 Laguna project includes 110 af fordable rental apartments for low-income seniors, along with services and programs for residents and LGBT seniors city wide. This is a victory that we all can share: the city’s first - and the nation’s largest - affordable housing community welcoming to LGBT seniors. We could not have accomplished this historical feat without the strong and enduring support of LGBT seniors, the Bay Area LGBT community and leadership.
LGBT Seniors Dr. Marcy Adelman It is spring again and time for Openhouse’s annual celebration, the Spring Fling. The ninth annual Spring Fling will be on Sunday, April 21st, 11am, at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel. Guests will enjoy complimentary champagne reception, wonderful auction items (especially in the realm of wine and wine-country adventures) and a delicious lunch. But, most notably, the organization is celebrating! First, it is celebrating the emerging affordable-housing project at 55 Laguna, under the leadership of Roberta Achtenberg and former Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., and LGBT seniors themselves. The city recently approved this housing development. Within a year, the organization expects to put the f irst shovel in the ground.
Second, the organization celebrates and recognizes inspired community leaders who have made signif icant contributions to Openhouse and to the lives of LGBT people. At this year’s Spring Fling, Openhouse will honor two very special people. Rober-
ta Achtenberg will receive the Openhouse Adelman-Gurevitch Founders Award for her generous contribution to the organization. Openhouse is grateful to Ms. Achtenberg for her invaluable advice and support, honed from three decades of leadership in civil rights, public service and public policy. Former Mayor Willy Brown Jr. will receive the Openhouse Trailblazer Award for his life-long advocacy for LGBT rights. Openhouse is proud to acknowledge Mayor Brown’s pioneering work on behalf of our community. He has been an ally and advocate for LGBT rights for more than four de-
cades. In 1975, he was instrumental in passing the Consulting Adults Bill in the state legislature that decriminalized homosexuality. Third, Openhouse celebrates LGBT seniors. LGBT seniors are true heroes and pioneers. It is on their shoulders that we stand as a community. At Openhouse, LGBT seniors serve on the board, work as volunteers, are our donors, our boosters and our clients. They are the spirit that moves us forward. At Openhouse, we believe in “aging in community” — people helping people, working together to help ourselves and each other live vital healthy lives. So join 400 friends of Openhouse at the Spring Fling on April 21st. Be in-
spired, have fun and learn more about what Openhouse is doing every day to ensure the health and well-being of our aging LGBT community. Tickets for the Spring Fling are $175, available online at www.openhousesf.org/springfling. See you at the Fling! Dr. Marcy Adelman, a clinical psychologist in private practice, is co-founder of the non-profit organization Openhouse and a member of the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force.
Boycott Hyatt, HRC Does Right By Workers, the Death of Jonathan Klein and LGBT Senior Housing LGBT community by, for example, offering space for LGBT events at free and reduced rates. Happily, Hyatt’s pink-washing efforts have largely failed.
A San Francisco Kind of Democrat Rafael Mandelman UNITE HERE is kickass. Staffed by hugely dedicated and wildly undercompensated organizers, the union has some of the finest brains in organized labor and is fighting a truly righteous fight for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workloads for hotel workers. Last summer, UNITE HERE and its allies called for a global boycott of Hyatt hotels, which apparently have a record of employee mistreatment that ranks among the worst in the industry. Since then, the Hyatt boycott has won support from organizations as diverse as the NFL Players Association, the National Organization of Women, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In response, Hyatt has made a concerted effort to make inroads in the
Check out
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has (as one would expect) been standing with the Hyatt workers since the boycott went global back in 2012 and, in fact, well before that. But I was frankly a bit surprised, and quite delighted, to learn from longtime queer and labor activist Cleve Jones that the Human Rights Campaign has twice this year moved significant fundraising events (one in San Antonio and one in Denver) after learning that they had been booked in boycotted Hyatt hotels. Now I know some of us have an almost Pavlovian negative reaction to the mere mention of HRC. I myself walked a picket line outside the group’s San Francisco dinner in 2008 to protest its embrace at the time of a non-trans-inclusive ENDA. But if one of the criticisms of HRC has been its narrow focus on the concerns of the whitest and wealthiest in the LGBT community and its indifference to building a broadly inclusive social justice coalition, it seems to me that by standing with the low income women of color who make up much of UNITE HERE’s membership, HRC has sent a powerful signal. There were high hopes for Chad Griff in when he stepped in as the new HRC president last year. It looks like he has begun to deliver. Good on ya Chad.
To learn more about the workers’ struggle for dignity and justice at Hyatt, check out www.hyatthurts.org. Gay travel agent Jonathan K lein’s t rag ic jump from t he Golden Gate Br idge on Apr i l 9 appears to have h it a ner ve i n t he communit y. Hav ing ser ved t he Castro’s travel needs for nearly thirty years, Jonathan fell victim to San Francisco’s overheated real estate ma rket when, severa l yea r s ago under threat of an Ellis Act eviction, he took a buyout of his home at 17th and Sanchez. Friends say he never really regained his footing and found himself in his sevent h decade unsure how to sus tain the remainder of his days in San Francisco. J o n a t h a n’s s t o r y i s s a d l y n o t unique. Too many of the beautiful souls who made our gayland and survived the plague are being displaced from the city they love. It’s wrong, and unfortunately our leaders aren’t doing much of anything about it. One of the organizations that IS t r y ing to do somet h ing about it is Openhouse, t he LGBT senior housing organization. Please see t he pr ior stor y for i n for mat ion a b o u t O p e n h o u s e ’s u p c o m i n g Spring Fling event. R afa el Ma n d el m a n i s a m e mbe r of the San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees. He is also a partner at Burke, Williams & Sorensen, L LP.
News, Entertainment and more in the
BayTimes CALENDAR & RESOURCE GUIDE at www.sfbaytimes.com
2 BAY TIM ES APRIL 1 8 , 2 0 1 3
When is a victory a Victory?
Do Ask, Do Tell Zoe Dunning I am not a lawyer. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have been surrounded
by lawyers for much of my adult life. My sister is a retired Marine Corps JAG Colonel and an employment attorney for the federal government. I spent much of the past 20 years volunteering for, and serving on the board of, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). SLDN provides free legal services to those impacted by Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) and has filed several lawsuits against the government challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and DADT on behalf of service members and veterans. As a result, even though I hold an MBA and not a law degree, I have picked up enough legal strategy and understanding over the years to
be dangerous without being necessarily 100% accurate.
by the federal government. These are the outcomes we had hoped for.
With that disclaimer, I want to share my thoughts regarding the recent marriage equality oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.
But because the basis for these decisions is predicted to come from legal technicalities, they feel like very hollow victories to me. Prop 8 will likely be nullified because those defending it did not meet the requirements for “standing” – they had no basis to represent and defend the proposition. DOMA is predicted to fall based on federal vs. states rights arguments. As a result, we will not get an outright statement from the highest court in the country saying that members of the LGBT community are equals. We will not hear them declare we deserve the same rights, responsibilities and
The conventional wisdom I have heard and read indicates the LGBT community will likely be victorious in getting Prop 8 and DOMA nullified. This will open the door for same sex marriages to take place in California again, and for married same sex couples in states with marriage equality (currently 9 + the District of Columbia) to have their unions recognized
opportunities as everyone else. We will not hear an interpretation of our constitution that says it provides us the same protections as all citizens. That is what we should get and what we deserve. But the cowardly conservative majority of this court will likely shy away from such broad and meaningful logic, and make its decisions as narrow as possible. In contrast, the most satisfying aspect of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was that Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and most senior military officer in the country, justified the change by saying in congressional testimony: “No (continued on page 7)
Unprecedented Security Likely at Pride 2013 The devastating Boston Marathon tragedy has officials from around the world reassessing their security plans for major public events. In London, for example, the Metropolitan Police is working very closely with race organizers to help ensure a safe London Marathon on Sunday. Here in the Bay Area, unprecedented security is expected at several forthcoming events, including June’s Pride Parade and Celebration. Even before Monday’s attack in Boston, officials were already planning to step up security and safety measures at Pride this year. Earl Plante, Chief Executive Officer of San Francisco Pride, told the Bay Times, “Our hearts and condolences go out to all those impacted by the senseless bombing tragedy in Boston. Safety and security of our attendees is our number one priority and we
take these modern-day threat challenges very seriously.” He continued, “With the impending Supreme Court decisions regarding marriage equality, we are anticipating larger numbers at this year’s parade and celebration. In anticipation of this occurrence, we are implementing key changes with an expanded security presence in addition to an enhanced medical team and protocols overall. (See page 4 for additional information on the medical team.) Collectively, SF Pride believes these strategic investments are now an industry-wide best practice and are essential to produce an event of our size and scale.” In addition to Celebration and Pride volunteers, the organization is also now recruiting Medical and Safety volunteers. For more information, please go to sfpride.org.
When a Photo Becomes News – An iconic image of first responders, by AP’s John Tlumacki, including BPD Officer Javier Pagan (right), an out gay man who serves as liaison to Boston’s LGBT community, has been featured by news outlets and social media around the world.
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National News Briefs compiled by Dennis McMillan
Honolulu, HI - Hawaiian Court Rules for Lesbian Couple Turned Away by Bed & Breakfast - 4.15 The First Circuit Court of Hawaii issued a ruling in favor of a lesbian couple who filed a discrimination lawsuit against Aloha Bed & Breakfast after the business turned them away because of their sexual orientation. Lambda Legal and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission issued a joint statement. “The Court today rejected a legal attack upon an important civil rights law that protects all people from discriminatory business practices,” Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Peter Renn said. “The Court made clear that no business is above the law. When you enter the commercial world, you take on an obligation not to discriminate against customers, no matter what the color of their skin, what religion they practice, or whom they love. That very simple but fundamental principle was vindicated today.” Lambda Legal, joined by co-counsel from the Hawaii-based firm of Carlsmith Ball LLP, represents Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford, the lesbian couple who were denied public accommodation because of their sexual orientation by Aloha Bed & Breakfast located in Hawaii Kai. The Executive Director of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission joined the lawsuit to protect and enforce the state public accommodations law. The establishment’s owner admitted that she turned the couple away because they were lesbians, stating that she believed same-sex relationships are “detestable” and that they “defile our land.” “The Court’s decision is based on Hawaii’s strong state civil rights laws which prohibit discrimination,” Hawaii Civil Rights Commission Executive Director William Hoshijo said. “When visitors or residents are subjected to discrimination, they suffer the sting of indignity, humiliation, and outrage, but we are all demeaned and our society diminished by unlawful discrimination.” Let’s wave goodbye and aloha to discrimination!
Chicago, IL - Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady Survives Latest Ouster Attempt - 4.13 Illinois’ Republican Party chairman Pat Brady escaped another ouster attempt and said his party must be more welcoming of diversity and inclusive of people who disagree if it’s going to grow and win future elections. Conservative members of the state Republican Party have been trying for months to dump Pat Brady as party chairman, largely because he took a position in favor of gay marriage when a bill to legalize it was before the Illinois Legislature earlier this year. About 50 Republican Party members of the party’s State Central Committee attended a meeting in Tinley Park to ask that Brady step down or that the committee fire him. After a tense, hours-long session, Brady remained as the party’s chairman. He said the committee did not take a vote on whether to fire him during a closed-door meeting. “I think there are people in the party who don’t necessarily agree with me, but the point is…we’re a party that welcomes all ideas,” Brady said. “You don’t have to be exactly a platform Republican to be welcome in the party, and that’s the direction we’re taking the party.” Besides Brady’s stance on gay marriage, his detractors also point to Republican losses at the polls in November. Illinois Democrats won veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the Legislature and picked up seats in Congress. The Illinois Republican Party has released a report analyzing the problems behind its serious losses in the November 2012 elections. The report, similar to one recently released by the national GOP, comes at a time when the state party is particularly divided and debated ousting Brady as its chairman. How’s that “new branding” coming along, Repugnicans? Source: suntimes.com
Source: Lambdalegal.or
Washington, D.C. - RNC Reaffirms Its Position on Same-Sex Marriage - 4.12
Phoenix, AZ - Gay Pro Athletes Get Backing of Nike - 4.11 Hollywood, CA - Glee’s Kurt and Blaine to Get Lesbian Friends - 4.12
By the time former Phoenix Suns executive Rick Welts’ I-am-gay announcement appeared on the front page of the May 15, 2011, New York Times, he already had revealed his secret to friends, co-workers and business associates.
Oscar winner Patty Duke and Family Ties’ Meredith Baxter, a rather newly out real life lesbian, are joining Glee as a longtime firmly committed lesbian couple who have been together for 25 years, sources confirmed to E! News. We will first see them in the season finale, shooting next week, and both Duke and Baxter will stay on as part of the Glee family, returning next season as recurring characters. We’re told Duke and Baxter were the first choice for these roles and immediately said yes.
Among those told before the article was published were NBA Commissioner David Stern and senior executives at Nike Inc., the world’s largest sportinggoods company, whose roster of team-sport athlete endorsers includes Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees and Joe Flacco of the Super Bowl-champion Baltimore Ravens. Nike asked Welts to deliver a message to anyone thinking about becoming the first openly gay athlete in major US team sports. The company wants him as an endorser.
Their storyline involves a whopper of a fan-favorite-couple spoiler, so read on only if you really want to know! According to sources, in Glee’s season finale, Blaine (played by Darren Criss, who is straight in real life) decides he wants to propose to on-off boyfriend Kurt (played by Chris Colfer, who is openly gay in real life). Blaine goes to a jewelry store to buy a ring and meets Duke’s character, the jewelry salesperson. She speaks to Blaine and his love for Kurt, and then she and her longtime girlfriend (Baxter) offer to be their mentors - a couple who can tell them about what it used to be like for queer people, and how great it is for this new generation. The inspiration for this storyline was the recent Supreme Court case regarding same-sex marriages, and one Glee source describes the storyline as “topical and sweet.”
“They made it clear to me Nike would embrace it,” Welts, 60, now president of the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors, said in a telephone interview. “The player who does it, they’re going to be amazed at the additional opportunities that are put on the table, not the ones that are taken off.” According to Bob Witeck, 61, a gay-marketing strategist and corporate consultant, the first openly gay team-sport athlete - provided he’s a recognizable name - would earn millions in endorsements and speaking engagements from companies seeking to capture more of a US lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adult population whose annual buying power he pegs at almost $800 billion.
In other Glee news, there is a rumor that Sue Sylvester (played by Jane Lynch who plays straight but is lesbian in real life) is leaving the show. But this is highly doubtful. Say it ain’t so!
“We’ve passed the tipping point to where national advertisers are no longer afraid of the gay market,” said Mark Elderkin, chief executive officer of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Gay Ad Network. The National Hockey League isn’t backing away from the issue. The league has aligned itself with a gay-rights organization in a partnership aimed at fighting homophobia in sports. Score!
Source: eonline.com
Source: bloomberg.com
The Republican National Committee has approved two resolutions reaffirming the party’s position on marriage, a move designed to mollify social conservatives angry at GOP leaders who have suggested Republicans tone down their rhetoric in opposition of same-sex marriage in order to appeal to younger voters. The resolutions were approved by a voice vote with no opposition. “Let me make crystal clear something I’ve said since January,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said before the vote. “While we have to do things differently, there’s one thing that can’t and won’t change: our principles. There are some that would like us to abandon them, but as long as I’m chairman, we’ll stay true to them. Some would have us turn into Democrats-lite, but I refuse.” While Priebus emphasized he would “never suggest we should waiver on our principles,” he also noted that he “won’t tell anyone they can’t be a part of this party.” Recent efforts by Priebus to attract new voters to the Republican Party have drawn the ire of social conservatives who fear the chairman is abandoning the GOP’s political and policy platform, specifically the plank that defines marriage as the “union of one man and one woman.” A task force created by Priebus in December released a report last month detailing strategies for the GOP to grow, including a suggestion the party soften its tone on gay issues. “For the GOP to appeal to younger voters, we do not have to agree on every issue, but we do need to make sure young people do not see the Party as totally intolerant of alternative points of view,” the five members of the task force wrote in the report titled “The Growth and Opportunity Project.” What growth would that be? Source: politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com
Local News Briefs Legislation Passes Countering Federal Discriminatory Tax on City Employees With Same-Sex Spouses The Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to pass Supervisor Mark Farrell’s legislation into law, which counters a discriminatory federal tax levied on City employees that have a same-sex spouse or domestic partner listed on their health care coverage. Currently, if City employees with a same-sex spouse/domestic partner elect to add their spouse or domestic partner to their health plan, an additional federal tax is taken out of their paycheck. This is because the federal government views health insurance coverage provided by a same-sex spouse/domestic partner’s employer to be taxable income since the federal government does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples. Therefore, City employees with a same-sex spouse/domestic partner are taxed more than other City employees simply because their spouse is of the same gender.
SF Pride Announces New Medical Partnership with Rock Medicine The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration is joining forces with Rock Medicine for this year’s Parade. Rock Medicine is a nonprofit organization that has provided free medical services at Bay Area events for 40 years. Rock Medicine believes that health care is a right, not a privilege. A nonjudgmental, unbiased approach to patients and a deep knowledge of medicine makes Rock Medicine unique among medical providers, an esteemed medical team with an excellent record for addressing patients’ needs, while decreasing the involvement of police and hospitals. “We provide nonjudgmental care, take care of our patients, get them well, and return them to their family and friends without hospitalizing them or getting them involved with the law,” said Gordon Oldham, Rock Medicine director. “We are very happy to work with Pride’s existing medical volunteers.” The ability of Rock Medicine’s doctors to provide more advanced care onsite should reduce the amount of transport costs to local hospitals.
This legislation provides an annual reimbursement to City employees to counter the cost of the discriminatory federal tax. Supervisor Farrell’s legislation will affect approximately 353 City employees who have their same-sex spouse or domestic partner listed on their healthcare coverage. The policy, which will go into effect July 1, 2013, will cover any City employee who has been a victim of this discriminatory federal tax.
This year, SF Pride needs as many medical volunteers as possible. An increase in Pride attendees is anticipated due to the US Supreme Court’s rulings on historic gay rights cases regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, announced in late June prior to the start of the Parade. (See story on page 3 regarding security concerns following the Boston Marathon tragedy.)
“San Francisco has always been a leader in supporting our LGBT community, and this discrimination in our federal tax code has cost individuals thousands and thousands of dollars each year,” said Supervisor Farrell.
“For all of those who have volunteered with SF Pride in a medical capacity, SF Pride thanks you for your inspired and loyal past service,” said Board President Lisa Williams. “All of us at SF Pride look forward to continuing to work with you in 2013 and beyond.”
In the upcoming months, it’s crucial to show support for our LGBTQ community as the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of DOMA and Prop 8. This legislation is a necessary and symbolic step to reversing this discrimination, and continuing to highlight San Francisco’s national leadership role fighting for our LGBTQ community’s rights.
Story by Dennis McMillan
Story by Dennis McMillan 4 BAY TIM ES APRIL 1 8 , 2 0 1 3
Money and Finance Socially Responsible Investing
Money Matters Brandon Miller, CFP & Joanne Jordan, CFP As the global climate change discussions heat up in Washington, many investors are paying attention to the impact of their investments on the environment and the well being of people around the world. As this trend has increased, so has the demand for investment choices that demonstrate not only financial soundness, but also a concern for quality of life. This investment philosophy, known as socially responsible investing (SRI), has a special appeal to many individuals concerned with the future of our planet. What constitutes socially responsible investing? Investors who adopt an SRI strategy believe their decisions should be governed not only by economics, but also by social issues. This often means refraining from investing in companies or industries that produce products or offer services the investor disapproves of, regardless of the company’s or industry’s potential for profit or value. Investors who maintain an SRI strategy may choose to
(DOMA continued from page 1)
avoid investing in companies related to alcohol, tobacco, gambling and weapons. It can also mean investing in companies that promote workplace diversity, actively participate in community volunteer programs or work to improve the environment.
tions to provide financial services to low-income individuals and to supply capital for small businesses and vital community services, such as affordable housing, childcare, and healthcare.
Benefits, drawbacks and strategies of SRI
Building a socially responsible portfolio
As with all types of investing, there are tradeoffs that come with socially responsible investing. Those who practice SRI can feel good that their investment choices reflect their values. However, socially responsible investors must balance this benefit with more limited choices with regard to portfolio diversification.
To invest according to your ethical standards, research your investment decisions carefully. SocialFunds.com is a website of SRI World Group, Inc., a news, research, and consulting firm that advises clients regarding sustainability investment issues and corporate responsibility practices. The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (socialinvest.org) is a nonprofit organization that promotes socially and environmentally responsible investing. Their website also provides extensive information that may help you get started.
Some strategies that those interested in SRI may employ include divesting from companies that don’t align with their personal morals or beliefs, and participating in shareholder activism or engagement. They may also include: Investing in SRI mutual funds. These funds include companies that many socially responsible investors support. They use SRI strategies as part of their fund objectives and portfolio choices. Micro-financing. Money invested in micro-financing service companies is used to support small businesses that otherwise would not be eligible for traditional financing. Community-investing. Community-investing directs capital from investors and lenders to communities that are underserved by traditional financial services institutions. It makes it possible for local organiza-
If you think an SRI strategy fits your financial objectives, consider working with a financial advisor to get professional advice about possible investment opportunities. A financial advisor can help you find appropriate SRI’s and brainstorm options for future investments that satisfy both your financial goals and your desire to invest ethically and responsibly. Brandon Miller, CFP and Joanne Jordan, CFP are financial consultants at Jordan Miller & Associates, A Private Wealth Advisory Practice of Ameriprise Financial Inc. in San Francisco, specializing in helping LGBT individuals and families plan and achieve their financial goals.
Indeed, for us it was the evening of April 14, 2003 – ten years ago – that we made the decision to become active in the emerging marriage equality movement. Our papers and calculators strewn across our kitchen table, we started to f ill out our tax return forms, and we remember get t i ng to t he sect ion per ta in ing to mar ita l status. We realized at that moment that our gover n ment wa s forci ng us w it h ou r ow n h a nd t o deny who we were as people and deny the truth of our relationship by requiring us to check the “Single” box – even though at that point we had been together for 16 years. We then had to t u r n t he for m over a nd s ig n “under penalty of perjury” that we were telling the truth. A nd when we did the math, we learned that we were paying almost 40 percent more in taxes than if we had been able to f ile jointly. It wa s t i me to get i nvolved. We decided to attend the rally at San Francisco Cit y Hall on Februar y 12 , 20 0 4, Nat ion a l Fr eedom to Marr y Day, and when we arrived it was the f irst hour that San Francisco was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. We bolted into Cit y Hall, got married (only to have it t a ken away 6 mont hs later), and have been working for marriage equality ever since. For us, it has now been 25 years of denying who we are to our federal gover nment; for many ot her lesbian and gay couples, it has been mu c h l o n g e r. B ut a w o n d e r f u l 83-year-old lesbian, Edie Windsor, may bring down the whole house of cards. W hen Ed ie lost the the love of her life, Thea— her partner of 4 0 years and lega l ly married wife—the federal government presented Edie with an estate tax bill of $363,000 that she would not
have had to pay if she and Thea had been a heterosexua l couple. Edie fought back along with many, ma ny ot her s i n ou r com mu n it y, a nd i f we a r e suc c e s s f u l at t he Supreme Cour t , DOM A w i l l no longer depr ive marr ied same-sex couples of over 1,100 protections, r ights, and responsibilities under feder a l l aw t h at a l l ot her m a rried couples have. If Section 3 of DOM A is found unconstitutional, it would have far-ranging implications, including opening the door to green card applications for binational couples, f inally allowing L GBT IQ A mer ic a n s to s pon sor their spouses for immigration and live their lives together at last. The end of DOM A could be especially important for protect ing older lesbian and gay couples t hrough s pou s a l so c i a l sec u r it y b enef it s and retirement and pension rights. Chi ldren of mar r ied lesbian and g ay c ouple s wou ld a l s o b enef it g reat ly by receiv i ng t he protection and respect for their families that heterosexual families already have. B enja m i n Fr a n k l i n onc e w r ot e t hat “not h i ng ca n be sa id to be cer ta in except deat h and ta xes,” but Martin Luther King declared t hat “t he a rc of t he mor a l u n iverse is long but it bends towards justice.” President Obama added: “But here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice...” As we begin to anticipate what the Supreme Court will decide in the marr iage equalit y cases, we take heart in how much our community is bending the arc toward justice and equalit y. Our countr y seems p oi s ed on t he ver g e of h i stor ic (continued on page 22)
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Round About – DogFest 2013 — Photos by Rink DogFest, held in Duboce Park, is a neighborhood festival that’s so popular it’s been called “Mutt-tastic.” Bay Times columnist Zoe Dunning and wife Pam were foster moms to Diego (top photo), who appears with his new owner Andrew Nance on the red carpet in the Best Tail Contest. Judges selected winners in numerous categories in the event, which brings together a diverse crowd reflecting the Castro and Duboce Triangle areas. Proceeds of the day benefit SFUSD’s McKinley Elementary School. If you were not there this year, start planning now for 2014 as word has it this is too good to miss!
FREE SEMINAR
My Life, My Choices: Planning for Future Health Care Decisions
May 9 • 6 – 7:30 p.m. San Francisco LGBT Community Center 1800 Market Street Ensure your health care wishes will be carried out, even if you can’t advocate for yourself. Learn how to document your choices, choose the right person to make decisions for you, and communicate your values and goals about medical treatment choices.
Seminars are free, but reservations are required.
Register at (415) 526-5580 or hbtb.org
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Whose Side Are You On?
Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT Are you on your own side? I don’t mean are you on your own side against others, but rather, are you consistently loyal to your own wellbeing and highest good? When you make mistakes, are you self-forgiving and patient with yourself, or are you angry and self-punitive? When you go through hard times, do you treat yourself with acceptance and selfcompassion, or with self-blame and guilt? Do you treat yourself as a close friend, or do you sometimes see yourself as an enemy? We humans have an amazing capacity to turn against ourselves. One ef-
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fect of growing up in a competitive society like ours is that almost everyone in our culture seems to have an “inner critic” that relentlessly evaluates our performance in the tasks of life, and consistently finds it deficient. The attacks of the inner critic contribute to many problems – anxiety and depression, dissatisfaction and despair, addictions and compulsions, and so on. And when we turn against ourselves, we lose motivation to overcome our pain or protect ourselves from abuse from others. We may also stop making the effort to meet our goals or realize our dreams.
ourselves. One simple practice is to stop and ask yourself several times a day: “Whose side am I on right now? Am I looking out for my own best interests?” If you have trouble feeling self-caring, remember what it feels like to care for someone else, especially a child. Then see yourself as that vulnerable, sweet child, and direct those same feelings of caring toward yourself. As a reminder, you can keep a picture of yourself as a young child with you, and look at it when you feel a bout of harsh self-criticism beginning.
It may be that LGBT people are especially vulnerable to acquiring the habit of harsh self-criticism because so many of us grew up with a conviction of our own “basic badness” – a sense that in some vaguely understood way we’re out of step and not who we’re supposed to be. Even for those of us who have long ago embraced our sexuality, our inner critics often continue the habit of telling us that we’re unlovable or unworthy of our own respect.
Another powerful practice is something I call the “fake it until you make it” method. Next time you’re faced with a diff icult decision and don’t know which way to go, ask yourself, “What would I do in this situation if I completely loved and respected myself and always acted in my own best interests?” When you get an answer, do it. If your inner critic calls you “selfish,” remind yourself that when you take care of your own needs and pursue your own dreams, then you also have more to offer others.
The good news is that, just as selfdenigration is learned, positive selfregard is also a skill that we can teach
Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. His website is tommoon.net
Outing Anyone? ferent context for those fans, as they did not know that I also identify as a birthmother.
Speak Up! Speak Out! Laugh Often! Karen Williams I am a birthmother…one part of the adoption triad that consists of birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees. Honored to be the closing keynote at the 34th Annual American Adoption Congress International Conference on Adoption, presented in partnership with Adoption Network Cleveland, I entertained the audience with anecdotal humor about the reunion with my son and healing with humor tidbits handpicked for the crowd. Held in downtown Cleveland, I met folks from around the world as well as local lesbian fans who remembered me from Theatre Rhinoceros in San Francisco and the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Interestingly enough, this venue was a dif-
When I arrived at the Adoption Conference for my presentation, the executive director of Adoption Network Cleveland stopped to introduce me to one of her political colleagues who’d introduced a bill for open adoption in Ohio (that was passed the day before the Conference). The E.D. did not know that I am good friends with our state representative, and in her introduction she said that she was “outing” me as a birthmother. Both the state rep and I laughed out loud because we are both lesbians and we use the term “outing” in a totally different context. I love that the word “outing” is in the English vernacular and that I get to be “outed” in yet another way. While there was a workshop for LGBT adoptees, a workshop for lesbian birthmothers was not in the program. The son I raised was born two years after my son who was adopted at birth. While at Berkeley High School, I shared with him that I’d had a child as a teenager and that I intended to embrace him in our lives once we were reunited. His response was that he wanted to meet him first so that he could tell him everything about me. That came in handy when
I spoke with my reunited son and neglected to tell him that I am a lesbian. It had nothing to do with being out and proud and everything to do with being a mom. It simply did not come up. Fortunately, my sons became instant best friends and it was soon revealed that while I like men, I prefer the company of women. However tactfully addressed, my son took a long pause during our reunion to process this information. After three long weeks with no contact, I picked up the telephone one afternoon and my son was on the line telling me that he loved me and that he was not going to let my lesbian lifestyle stand in the way of our developing relationship. Besides, I’d given him lots of food for thought and an opportunity for him to examine his own biases. Since that time, we have become very close. It’s been eighteen years since we met and we still talk three or four times a week. What I’ve learned is whether you’re on an outing or getting an “outing” by someone else, be prepared for the surprises that go along with the experience. After all, life is always better when you’re out and proud. Karen is an out and proud lesbian and birthmother. Let her hear from you at karen@ sf baytimes.com
(VICTORY continued from page 3) matter how I look at the issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens. For me, it comes down to integrity – theirs as individuals and ours as an institution.” It was that testimony that led to the Senate passing the DADT Repeal Act and the end of that discriminatory policy. He didn’t use utilitarian arguments like “it would save money,” or that it
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should be done because of some “legal technicality” – he said it should happen because it was the right thing to do, that it was a matter of integrity. It does not feel like we will get that kind of clean line of reasoning and authenticity in the upcoming marriage equality rulings. I hope we will be celebrating in June when the decisions are announced, as we welcome same sex marriage back to California and the extension of federal benefits
to legally married same sex couples. But for me, the celebration will be more muted. I will celebrate the accomplishment while still holding out hope for that day when our highest court sees us as the full human beings that we are. That will be Victory. Zoe Dunning is a retired Navy Commander and was a lead activist in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She currently serves as the 1st Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.
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The Promise of Aging in Community community. We know that there can be joy in the beauty of growing older. Beyond the merits of particular programs and services, Openhouse conveys the crucial message that getting older is not something that we have to fear; our community can come together to surround us in joy and love.
Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011
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Openhouse also educates the agencies and businesses that serve our LGBT elders about who we are. The organization helps us stand up for ourselves as older LGBT people living in diverse, largely heterosexual, communities. But the special optimism that Openhouse brings, for me, is the promise of aging in community. Belonging to a community, participating in a community, and being supported by a community will help us live independent, healthy, vital lives as we age.
Guest Editorial Roberta Achtenberg Since Dr. Marcy Adelman and her late partner, Jeanette Gurevitch, founded Openhouse in 1998, it has become a central resource and voice for San Francisco’s LGBT seniors. That’s why I am honored that Openhouse has invited me to receive the Adelman-Gurevitch Founders Award at its 9th Annual Spring Fling on Sunday, April 21. I am also thrilled to be in the company of former Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., who is also being honored this year – with the Openhouse Trailblazer Award – for his early and uncompromising advocacy for the LGBT community. I’m glad to think that Openhouse finds the work I’ve done valuable. As I think about getting older myself, I reflect on the work Openhouse has done and still proposes to do, and why it’s so crucial that we all take a very personal interest in its success. I think of Openhouse as an enormously positive institution in the LGBT community and beyond. It’s comforting to know Openhouse is there to build community among seniors and the larger LGBT
It’s tiring to come out all the time. Just the drudgery of confronting homophobia gets harder as we get older. Sustaining and supporting an institution to advocate for us in our later years is a tremendous contribution to our well being as individuals and as a community. Openhouse is now developing LGBT-welcoming senior housing at 55 Laguna in partnership with Mercy Housing California. It’s been my privilege to help Openhouse leverage some of the necessary resources for the project, and I’ll do all I can to help them break ground in 2014. 55 Laguna will not only provide critically needed affordable housing, but it will also provide a central hub of services, resources and community activities for the more than 20,000 LGBT seniors who call San Francisco home.
I’m optimistic. There’s no end to the opportunity 55 Laguna offers. My family and friends will be drawn to cutting edge arts activities, to debates and discussions, speakers’ series, and other offerings that can enrich the quality and texture of our lives. It will inspire people of all ages to build community and give back. It will impact the whole city. The ripples that will emanate from 55 Laguna will be extraordinary – made possible by every investment, large and small. The City of San Francisco and other government sources are investing deeply in the housing at 55 Laguna, and Openhouse needs foundations, businesses and individuals to invest in the stimulating services and community-building activities that will galvanize us all. I think of 55 Laguna as a place of our own. It is a good place to make an investment because of the attention it will garner, how inf luential it will be and how many people it will serve. The LGBT community in San Francisco has always been vital and incredibly strong. Our history has always been one of innovation and revolution. As more and more of us need the embrace of our community, Openhouse will be called on to do more. Openhouse is a beacon and symbol for what can be accomplished by a kind community of supporters on behalf of a generation that has done so much to make all of our lives so much richer. Hon. Roberta Achtenberg served as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, becoming the first openly LGBT public official in the United States whose appointment to a federal position was confirmed by the United States Senate. She co-founded the National Center for Lesbian Rights and served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Advisors. She is currently a Commissioner on the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
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Newlyweds Thoba Calvin Sithole, a Zulu from KwaDukuza, and Tshepo Cameron Modisane, a Tswana from Johannesburg, were married in a traditional ceremony, setting off a storm of discussion in South African social media. A prominent KwaZulu-Natal newspaper reported the event as “the area’s first traditional African gay wedding.” Although same-sex couples have had equal marriage rights in South Africa since 2006, opposition remains strong.
Profiles in Passion and Courage: Jewelle Gomez
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her best friends who, many years later, came to Jewelle’s wedding to Dr. Diane Sabin, Jewelle’s life partner. The two met at the Oakland Airport. Diane described the meeting to the New York Times: “I looked at Jewelle, and she looked at me, and it was love at f irst sight.” But we are getting ahead in the story…
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Don't Call It Frisco Stu Smith Nationally recognized writer and activist Jewelle Gomez is one of our true Bay Area treasures. We are lucky to have her here, as she is originally from Boston. There she was raised by both her mother and grandmother, who was a dancer very accepting of LGBT individuals. They instilled in Jewelle a sense of style and open mindedness, which she considers the gateway to her own growth and development. Jewelle’s first love was at age 7 when she fell for a “tomboy across the street” and would marvel and swoon as her neighbor appeared in the windows of her house in coveralls. Jewelle’s first kiss came in high school with one of
In 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jewelle was an undergrad and was given the chance to work for the Boston PBS station on one of the first weekly interracial shows. A new direction in her life took hold. She somehow knew she was going to be a writer, but intuitively realized there were bridges to cross before that could happen. Later, as a grad student at Columbia University, studying journalism with a minor in theater, she actually was given the opportunity to teach high school kids in Westchester Theater and her fate was sealed. She joined a playwrights’ workshop, which then led her to becoming a stage manager on “off, off Broadway” into the early 1980s. In the early 1990’s, the Urban Bush Women’s Company of New York City commissioned an adaptation of Jewelle’s vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. She further created “Bones and Ash,” a full-length piece that included dance
and music by Toshi Reagan. This work toured more than a dozen cities, including San Francisco, where it played at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in 1996. A self-described lesbian feminist, she and her partner Diane stay very involved in the greater community and many causes that they believe will be helpful and useful to youth, the arts, marriage equality and LGBT philanthropy. Jewelle was a grant-maker at Horizons Foundation and learned first-hand how much more needs to be done in our LGBT community with charitable giving. Together, she and Diane support many groups, but have a special affection for Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project and Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits. Last year, Jewelle’s recent play “Waiting for Giovanni” was produced at New Conservatory Theater under the direction of Ed Decker, who brings the best and brightest in LGBT theater and writing to the stage here in San Francisco. Work on a new play continues, and finding a publisher for her novel are high on her agenda these days, as is volunteering as an alumni of the SF Arts Commission for groups like Theater Rhino. She is inspired by, and grateful for, a rich and diverse cross
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BACK PAGE CLUB Catch Restaurant Fountaingrove Lodge Jordan, Miller & Associates Pelican Art Gallery NAPA Cellars Wines Olivia Travel
Jewelle Gomez with wife Diane Sabin
section of men and women who have given the world great art and activism, such as James Baldwin, Del Martin, Audre Lorde, Vito Russo, Madeline Lim, Caitlin Ryan and many more. Her favorite quotations are: “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have,” ( James Baldwin) and, “Although only breath, words which I command are immortal” (Sappho). Benefitting us, Gomez has commanded many words through her many award-winning books and other projects. One of our favorite lines of hers, from The Gilda Stories, is: “Stop trying to make the perfect move; trust your instincts more.” Perfection is an illusion and your inner dreams and desires, just like those
The Week in Review By Ann Rostow New Zealand the Latest Victory in Marriage Wars Before we start, I’m on Boston bomb overload at the moment, having watched one too many hour-long news shows devoted to the gruesome details. How is it that TV producers can patch together the exact same images while editors draft the exact same commentary and anchors go through the exact same interviews over and over again? And why do we (or some of us) remain fixed to the screen until we can’t take it anymore? How about this obsession with the word “terror?” If the president declined to use the word “bomb” in his statement, would analysts question whether or not a bomb exploded? The truth is, we have redefined “terrorism” to refer to coordinated attacks by Jihadists, and in the process we’ve forgotten that the word is a generic term for any act designed to instill fear in a civilian population. Of course the Boston bomber was a terrorist. And why are some people bemoaning the fact that Americans are becoming inured to “terrorism” when we haven’t had a major attack for over a decade? Even Boston, as bad as it is, does not appear to be an international plot. Now gun violence, that’s this century’s new black. But as I write, conservatives in the Senate are poised to block the bill to expand background checks as if arming felons is as American as apple pie. It’s a good thing our Founding Fathers didn’t add owning a car to the Bill of Rights or we’d be a nation of uninsured and unlicensed drivers racing down highways with no speed limits, careening through city streets with no stoplights. But enough of this. New Zealand has just authorized marriage equality, and the Uruguay senate also passed marriage rights into law by a whopping 71-21 margin. The French senate has held another successful vote on marriage, although it seems that the Delicious Food and Wine Country is required to hold a zillion votes before anything actually takes effect. That said, I read that marriage rights in France are a virtually certainty (un de ces jours). We will also be seeing a national referendum on marriage in Ireland soon, now that a constitutional convention has set that in motion. And finally, Colombia will likely legalize marriage under a court order that requires equality by June of this year. Let’s all do a couple of lines to celebrate when the time comes. I have a book of Shakespeare quotations by my side in anticipation. Slow Going in the States Meanwhile, here in the Home Land, we are finally seeing action on marriage in the Delaware legislature, where activists have been promising a new front in the marriage wars for some time. As I write, the House Administration Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, April 17. Over in Rhode Island, where the house approved marriage equality months ago, the senate is poised to take up the issue any day now. I’m still unsure of the state of marriage in Illinois, where the senate has already voted yes, but the house has yet act. Last time I checked, we didn’t have enough votes locked up to put the measure on the floor. And I think there are things happening in other states, but nothing to write home about. I have to add that the Oklahoma senate took time out from its busy schedule to pass a non-binding resolution in support of traditional marriage, which of course is already embedded in the Tornado State constitution.
I use that moniker advisedly since there are tornados in the Oklahoma weather forecast for this afternoon, and if I were a religious girl I’d be wondering---Pat Robertson style— if there was not a divine message in the wall of clouds now darkening the plains. My mind just hopped from “Home Land” to Homeland the series, and then to Top of the Lake, my latest favorite on the Sundance Channel. It was only seven episodes, but it was excellent. Just like The Killing, but compelling and dramatic instead of moody and depressing. Oh, and it was set in New Zealand, which as I said before, just legalized marriage equality. Still mind hopping, I have been impressed with Lydia Koh, the teenaged golf sensation from New Zealand who has won a couple of professional events as an amateur. And last, I am annoyed by the commercial for some prescription drug that features a man walking down the streets of a small town in a good mood because of this drug. He stops at a florist, and then he stops at Suzie’s Travel Agency where Suzie shows him several brochures before he points to a poster of New Zealand. Then he goes home to his wife and presents her with physical tickets in a ticket envelope. Hello, drug company? It’s 2013! No one drops into a travel agency to browse through pamphlets and buy plane tickets. Not even in a small town. It’s not simply quaint or old fashioned. It’s obsolete. It’s wrong. It bothers me. No way am I going to use that presumably antiquated medication. Losing Faith Do you know what else bothers me? It’s the assumption in this country that, as we make progress on gay rights, we must simultaneously carve out a special zone for people who dislike gays and lesbians. We outlaw racial discrimination in public accommodation, period. We do not allow exceptions for white supremacists. We do not tell male chauvinists that they can ignore laws against sexual harassment. And yet, how many gay union laws exempt religious institutions? How many small businesses out there insist on the right to violate state laws against anti-gay discrimination and take on court cases to push their position? They act, of course, under the banner of religious freedom. But we’ve never acknowledged a faith-based right to any other kind of bigotry. So why do courts and lawmakers continue to give credence to the notion that “religious beliefs” justify antigay prejudice? I mean, come on! There’s a difference between the rites and symbols of faith, the practice and tenets of a particular religion, and your own personal feelings. And yes, you may have derived your antigay sentiments from your interpretation of your faith, but that doesn’t count. A devout follower of an all-white church who thinks blacks, like Ham, are the embodiment of evil is not allowed to pursue that idea into the realm of public accommodation. Yet, for some reason, we still pander to religiousbased homophobes. Even though we often win these faithbased cases, it’s frustrating that we have to continually f ight them. In Hawaii, two lesbians who were nixed from a bed and breakfast just won their case in state court this week (see story page 4). In Washington, two men were denied service by their florist, even though they had been steady customers in the past, only because they were planning their wedding. In New Mexico, the state supreme court will soon rule on a long running case against a photographer who refused lesbian clients. And the list goes on.
Professional Services As for medical care, even though the president has issued an executive order requiring hospitals to defer to the patient’s wishes, the horror stories continue to unfold. Last summer, it was a pregnant woman in Nevada, whose registered domestic partner had to wait in the public lounge during the losing struggle to save their baby. It was also a New Jersey man, who was kicked out after kissing his sick partner goodbye, and later told he could return if he kept his behavior “appropriate.” And just last week, it was a Kansas City man who was taken out of his partner’s hospital room in handcuffs after the patient’s brother complained about his presence and nurses called police. His partner’s requests were ignored, as was their power of attorney and the pleas of the sick man’s daughter. Those aren’t even cases of “religious freedom” run amok, but I bet you dollars to donuts that the medical staff members responsible for such travesties will all play the faith card if called to task. And I don’t even like donuts. The point is that while no law or policy can force everyone to respect gay men and lesbians in their hearts, we need the strongest possible measures to force everyone to keep their personal views out of the workplace. Fracturing gay rights laws with religious exemptions simply undermines that effort, and there’s no excuse for it in this day and age. Ex-Gay Therapy Law To The Ninth Circuit
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Speaking of religious freedom, that’s one of the excuses on display as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considers California’s ban on reparative therapy. Passed last year, as many of you may remember, the law was quickly challenged in federal court by the usual suspects. Now, after two different district courts have ruled for and against the ban, the matter will be decided by a threejudge panel that includes one Clinton appointee, one Obama appointee, and the colorful Chief Judge himself, Alex Kozinski. On our side, of course, is Attorney General Kamala Harris. The motley group on the other side of the courtroom during oral arguments Wednesday included a couple of you-can-change therapists, a couple of we-hate-our-gay-kid families, and a consortium of Christian therapy groups. In keeping with our earlier theme, they are offering a mix of religious freedom and First Amendment arguments as if the Bible might support a doctor’s right to perform a lobotomy with a butter knife. Their premise might be similar to the one that drives the f lorists and the innkeepers. But the stakes here are a little higher. You can find a friendly f lorist (although you shouldn’t have to do so) but the trauma of reparative therapy can linger for years, or a lifetime. Here’s hoping Kozinski and company uphold the law, which is also under consideration in a couple of other states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts. Reagan Redux In other news, I just read that Nancy Reagan supports marriage equality. That’s according to daughter Patti Davis, who added that her mother is unlikely to come right and say so because she’s not in the mood to dive into a contentious social and political debate at this stage in her life. Still, Davis told Michelangelo Signorile in a radio interview, if her mother did not support equality, she would have no problem issuing a statement to clarify her views. And since such a statement will not be forthcoming, we can draw our own conclusions. Davis said her father would also support marriage equality were he alive and/ or cogent. Davis blamed Reagan’s in(continued on page 22)
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It Oughta Be a Crime parking lot near Lake Merritt within 30 minutes of my parking it.
Brass Tacks Heidi Beeler You never forget your first time. In 1985, coming home from dinner, we found the front door to our secondf loor Berkeley f lat slightly ajar. As we climbed the stairs, my housemate famously said, “No, if we’d been robbed, the TV would be gone. By the way, where’s the TV?” That night, we guided the police past the spilt drawers, the table sporting a TV footprint in relief in dust, and an unopened Coke can sweaty cold in the center of my bed. The officers swept black dust over the back door, also ajar, and like magic, a pair of ghostly hands appeared on the wood. For days after, we had that same skincrawling creepy feeling of our burglar appearing from thin air: a cup of pens shifted out of reach, a soda can in the wrong door rack, a rifled stack of towels placed him back inside your house again. It was a shock to feel I couldn’t trust my doors or control my home’s threshold, and it triggered that homesteader’s instinct to stay home to stand guard.
13811 Campus Drive, Oakland
Today, 25 years later, living in Mayor Jean Quan’s Oakland, that skincrawling thrill is gone. In the past two years, my house has been broken into 6 times, my car windows smashed once, and my car stolen from a church
Don’t get me wrong. I’m one of the lucky Oaklanders. Other than bucks spent repairing kicked in doors and crow-barred windows, I haven’t lost much. Just a few cups of change, a book of checks, some Halloween candy, and my reputation for competence at work as I’m forced to dash home in the middle of the workday every few months to answer a screaming security alarm. Rushing home in a cab last month for my sixth break-in, I realized I’d worked through the stages of grief during this crime wave. What had started with anger and bargaining with the early break-ins was transformed into a Zen understanding of the impermanence of our lives. You don’t own things, you only borrow them from the universe and sometimes the universe sends an unexpected collection agent to reclaim them. Each time I take an emergency ride home in a taxi, I imagine what’s likely to be gone. Now, walking through the house is a bit like winning what’s behind door number 2 on a game show. “My trumpet! I have a trumpet! My camera’s not gone! My checks are all here! I win! I win!” The other people who seem to think reducing crime is a game show are Mayor Quan and the Oakland City Council. First they cut back the police force, and - BUZZ! –under courtordered supervision, they’re adding them back again! After a 10% cut in the police force in 2010 in a city already notorious for its crime rate, Mayor Quan’s administration came into office and cut another 120 officers. Roughly 200 of more than 800 officers have been laid off or retired over two years. Before the second round of cuts, the officer taking a report on my break-in #2 told me he covered a 35-square-mile area alone.
The consequences of this understaffing are nauseatingly predictable; burglaries alone are up 43% in 2012 over 2011. I can add that in my anecdotal home, I’ve gone from one burglary between 2004 and 2010 to six since 2011. Neighbors throughout my zip code have suffered multiple ransackings. After break-in #3, when my partner came out of the shower to confront a man with a crowbar in our bedroom, the Oakland Police Department sent a note advising us to join a Neighborhood Crime Watch. We have a Neighborhood Crime Watch. Our watch has sent the police department descriptions, vehicle makes and models, license plate numbers and even security camera shots of the pair who’ve most frequently worked over our oak-shaded streets. What we don’t have is a police department with the capacity to turn that information into arrests. So we’re bringing on a private security company, as have other Oakland neighborhoods, including Mayor Quan’s. There are so many things this sprawling, woody, progressive, diverse, culinarily ecclectic East Bay city could be known for. Instead, Oakland’s synonymous for crime with even its own residents packing up and leaving. I hope the City follows through on its investment in making its citizens safe so this special community can turn the corner and thrive.
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The annual Saint Stupid’s Day Parade, held on April 1st in San Francisco’s Financial District, is sponsored by The First Church of the Last Laughs and traces its origins to the medieval Feast of Fools.
HIV/AIDS News
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President Obama’s newly released budget for the next fiscal year takes a bold step forward in the fight against HIV/AIDS and shows his administration is committed to creating the AIDS-free generation he envisions. The budget restores millions of dollars earmarked for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (A DAP) and Ryan White–funded HIV clinics and increases funding in other areas vital to the health of people living with or at high risk for HIV. Now it is incumbent upon Congress to approve the president’s spending proposals.
so we can truly realize an AIDS-free generation.”
“With this budget, the president sends a clear signal to our nation and members of Congress that HIV/ AIDS remains a top priority and he is committed to providing the funding we need to stop HIV transmission and improve care for all people living with the disease,” said Neil Giuliano, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “Our elected officials must take the president’s lead to ensure lifesaving programs are fully funded
The administration’s budget also redirects $40 million from “less effective activities” to support a new $40 million initiative to improve systems that link individuals recently diagnosed with HIV to care. According to administration briefings, this initiative will focus on high-incidence urban areas and black Americans.
Among the items in the budget, the president calls for $10 million in new funding to ADAP, $10 million in new funding to Ryan White Part C early intervention medical clinics, $50 million in World AIDS Day 2011 Emergency Funds built into the Ryan White Fiscal Year 2014 baseline, and a $10 million increase to HIV-specific prevention services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“President Obama’s budget sets a high-water mark for HI V/A IDS
funding and reflects the tireless work of HIV/AIDS advocates across the country,” said Ernest Hopkins, director of legislative affairs at San Francisco AIDS Foundation. “We’re gratified that the administration made evidence-based budget decisions and targeted increases for HIV/AIDS services and programs based on impact and need, but this is the beginning of the process, not the end.” The president’s budget next informs the budget negotiations between Congress and the administration, as lawmakers attempts to craft a comprehensive budget agreement that eliminates the sequester and provides budget caps for the appropriations process. San Francisco AIDS Foundation will continue to work closely with our allies to advocate for the highest possible federal funding for programs and services that protect the health of people living with or at risk for HIV. Source: San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Arts&Entertainment In the House: A Seductive, Spellbinding Comedic Drama About Desire boy, it was very subversive. The character of Sue Ellen was always drunk. I was too young to watch it. It was forbidden. So when my parents were not there, I was watching Dallas, wanting to know what the terrible Texas family was going to do. It was very exciting, and you were always waiting for the next episode “to be continued….”
Film
Gary M. Kramer Out French writer/director François Ozon’s diverting new film In the House, opening April 26, alternates between two stories. One has Germain (Fabrice Luchini), a teacher, mentoring Claude (Ernst Umhauer), a student in his literature class. The other features Claude’s stories, which depict his experiences in the home of his classmate Rapha (Bastien Ughetto). Claude’s stories intrigue and excite Germain, and In the House depicts how Germain crosses moral and ethical lines to keep Claude’s addicting tales coming. Ozon artfully plays with ideas of truth and trust, fiction and morality to create a seductive, spellbinding comedic drama about desire.
GMK: The narrative in In the House is manipulative—the narrator is possibly unreliable. How do you approach this material as a storyteller? FO: It was important to involve the audience in the process of creation—to share with you how it is to write a story. What are the different options? How it can be sometimes difficult. You don’t know exactly where to go, or what to do with this character. At the same time, it’s very exciting; there is a real challenge to tell the story. The idea was to see the story happening during the film and to share that.
The charming filmmaker recently met with me to talk about how he crafted In the House.
GMK: You’ve addressed perfect families previously in your film Sitcom, and now again here. What is your sense of the perfect family? FO: [LAUGHS]. As I child, I dreamt of the perfect family in the perfect house in a beautiful suburb. Actually, I lived in Paris in an old building and my dream was to live like a suburban American, like Rapha’s family. My family was not dysfunctional, but it was not perfect.
GMK: There is a line in your film, “People are nothing without stories.” Do you believe this to be true?
GMK: Another theme in your film is that art and literature teach us how to awaken our senses to beauty. Can you discuss this?
FO: Yes! I totally agree with that. I am nothing without film, without fiction. I need to escape—like the character of Germain—from reality. My childhood was not horrible, but you are always frustrated by your reality. Life in cinema is better than life in reality. That may be my problem. I live too much in fiction.
FO: I think art helps you understand life. For me, discovering a movie helps me understand my relationships. There are people who can cry in a movie, but are unable to cry in life.
GMK: Have you ever read a serial or watched a soap opera where you couldn’t wait for the next installment? FO: Yes, of course! When I was young, Dallas was so popular. For me, as a young
GMK: Who was inf luential in your education? FO: I didn’t have such a strong relationship like Germain and Claude in the film, but discovering Fassbinder— I never met him, he died when I was young—I had the feeling like he was talking to me, you know? I loved very stylish movies by Douglas Sirk and Max Ophuls, and at the same time I liked
F rancois Ozon, Fabiice Luchin iget
realistic movies, and I didn’t know how to have these two visions in the same movie. When I discovered Fassbinder’s movies, I thought the key is there.
with everybody! [Laughs]. Sometimes I would like to! There are many actors I like. In my next movie, you will see a very sexy actor, but I can’t say anything.
GMK : You create desire, you express desire, and your In the House shows how people act on desire, and with sexuality….
GMK: You tease! There is a morality at play in the film as Claude prompts Germain to cross ethical lines, which this only increases his desire for more storytelling. Do you think people can’t control their desires?
FO: [ Interrupts] Sexuality is life. [Laughs]. Sexuality is very important and very often my films are about people looking for their identity. To find your identity you have to go through your sexuality. That’s why sex is so important in my movies. As a director, I love to film sex scenes. It’s very exciting! GMK: You objectify all of the characters—male and female— in the film. What prompts you to eroticize these characters? FO: I think the cinema is the best place to have desire. It’s in the dark, you’re in front of a screen, and you feel alone, even if you have someone beside you. There is something about cinema and fantasy, obsession and sexuality, and we want to see passion in the actors in desire. You want to touch the bodies of the actors and actresses. GMK: Who do you desire? FO: I desire all my actors—men and women. It doesn’t mean I have sex
FO: No! We need desire for life. If you don’t have desire, you don’t want to wake up in the morning, you don’t want to do anything. If you don’t have desire, you are depressed. Desire can go in different places—you can have desire in your work, your sexuality, your relationship, with your friends. But without desire, life isn’t worthwhile. GMK: The film is also about being seduced… FO: I love to be seduced! That means you have desire, you feel alive. I love to seduce my audience. I love to seduce people too, but the problem when you become a director, or famous, you never know if you’re being seduced because of yourself or because of what you represent. That’s why I like to meet people who don’t know my movies. They are very honest. When they know me, they think they know me because they’ve
seen my movies. It’s quite disturbing to feel like you are naked in front of them. GMK: Do you feel your films expose you? FO: I think my films are very personal. That’s why I don’t understand why I do interviews. Everything [about me] is in the movies! GM K : In the House posits that an ending should be unex pected a nd sat isf y i ng. Do you feel you ac h ieved t h at? FO: I think it’s not up to me to do the end of the film. It’s up to the audience. I think it can be a frustrating ending because the ending is more about the relationship between the teacher and the student. For me it was important to end with this new couple that need each other to survive, and they need each other to tell stories. GMK: I need you to keep telling stories! FO: Exactly! © 2013 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of the forthcoming “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” You can follow him on Twitter @garymkramer.
Simon Killer Presents a Slow Burn Character Study Film
Gary M. Kramer Simon Killer, opening April 26, is a fascinating, slow burn character study. Simon (Brady Corbet), an American student who studies the connections between the eye and the brain, heads to Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend. He is lonely and horny, and lost. Director Antonio Campos follows Simon closely—often tracking him from behind—as he wanders around the city. When Simon meets Victoria (Mati Diop), a prostitute, he gets off with her, and they connect again for increasingly more intimate sex. The couple eventually hatches a plan to film and blackmail her married clients. But things do not necessarily go as planned.
In a recent interview with me, Campos spoke about his film, which builds to a discussion-worthy climax. The filmmaker explained the appeal of Simon, a young man whose behavior is at times inscrutable: “I find him interesting for all the reasons he seems normal and all the reasons he seems dangerous—how his pathetic and babyish aspects become kind of diabolical. I like that there is a shift in your perspective of his character. He is a young guy in his 20s, and you immediately connect with that. It was a slow process of getting to something scary, so you had to have a connection with him before that realization happened.” T he f i l m’s “ f ly- on-t he-wa l l” ap proach—what Campos described as “the cognitive camera”— is effective, particularly because viewers become part of the action by following Simon
(and Victoria) closely and intimately. Simon is often seen as desensitized, or in a bubble as he moves through his life with a mix of purpose and hesitation. Campos agreed, “That was exactly it! You have this wide range of emotion looking at him. We were very aware at when you would like him or wouldn’t like him. We were conscious of not going overboard, and yet it was important to humanize him—he’s complicated. He isn’t a sociopath. It seems like he’s gone down the wrong path, but there is something inside him he’s trying to satisfy, or connect to—or a barrier he tries to break—and we wanted pick away at that.” As the film reveals Simon’s true nature, Campos provides a sensory experience for audiences. Viewers hear the music in Simon’s iPod, and can feel the texture of his skin. There are also many refer-
ences to eyes—from the iris of a ceiling window at the Louvre, to the eye of the camera recording Victoria’s tricks, to a strobe-like f lashing visual effect the director periodically employs to mirror “blinking.”
is using the eye and the brain as a way
Campos claimed he chose this visual motif to find “a way into Simon,” who
filmmaking.”
to see the world. “The thematic connection made sense to me,” he said, adding, “I guess there is always something that connects the characters in the films to (continued on page 22) BAY T IM ES APR IL 18, 2013
15
SAN FRANCISCO... MAKE YOUR
Cinco de Mayo
Sister Dana Sez
COUNT FOR KIDS!
by Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “When are the Washington D.C. Beltway Boys gonna stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, the sick, and the aged?”
Amor
for
MAY 2, 2013 - 6:00 PM
Tastings, Tequila and Temptations
Join us for an evening celebrating the vibrant culture of Mexico in support of needy children in Oaxaca. Food, music, upscale Tequila, silent auction and more. Kids under 12 see the museum for FREE. Your donation of $25 (12 and over) supports educational expenses, books, food, shelter during school breaks and the building fund for a new center to serve Oaxacan students and their families. Please come out and support this great Bay Area evening for the entire family! Get Tickets
http://events.vidachildren.org
Get Tickets
The Children's Creativity Museum 221 Fourth St. San Francisco, CA 94103 More Info: (415) 525-4596
Show the President and Congress that our Social Security system is too important to be used as a bargaining chip by signing the petition: signon. org. Our Socia l Secur it y system h a s ne ver c ont r ibut e d a p en ny to t he def icit. T he debt we have comes from a decade of tax cuts for t he wea lt hy, un l i m ited spend ing on foreig n wars, and a recession caused by unregulated Wall Street speculation. It’s wrong to ask senior citizens, veterans, and the disabled to pay for the g reed of the top 1%. The President is proposing to use a cut ca l led the “Chained CPI” that will cut benef its for ever y single Social Security benef iciary - now and in the future. Senator Bernie Sanders delivered our petitions w ith over t wo mill ion s i g n at u r e s d i r e c t l y t o t he W hite House. We need to ma ke sure that ever y member of Cong res s k now s t h at t he pres ident might not have to run for reelection, but they certainly will. Voting for this is wrong!
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Stories @sfbaytimes.com Twitter, and find us Facebook.
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16 BAY TIM ES APRIL 1 8 , 2 0 1 3
And what’s also just plain wrong ( but in a delightfully funny way) is TH E TH R I L L PEDDL ER S’ rev iva l of t he Coc ket tes 1971 mu s i c a l , T I N S E L TA R T S I N A H O T C O M A , n o w p l ay i n g at t he Hy pnod rome T heat re extended t hrough Ju ly. Mar velously ma n ic music a nd w it t y ly r ics a re by Or ig i na l Cocket te (OC) Scr umbly Koldew y n, w it h book by OC “ Sweet Pa m” Tent a nd Koldew y n, w it h add it iona l lyrics by Tent, OC Link Martin, O C M a r t i n Wa r m a n a nd Tom Or r - so you just k now t h is is a sma sh i ng h it ! It’s a rev i s ion of t hat popu lar 1971 show back at the old Palace Theatre midnights in EssEf f, which horribly bombed i n N YC (t hose Big Apple snobs didn’t appreciate cardboard scenery and raggedy costumes the way we do), a nd wh ich is br i l l ia nt ly panned by Tent as theatre critic Vedd a V ip er ( pu n of ‘3 0 s -‘4 0 s g o s s i p c o lu m n i s t He d d a Ho p per) dur ing t his show. The t ime is somewhere around Hedda’s era w ith a theme of Holly wood versus Broadway - and all the delicious back st abbi ng a nd ter r ible treachery that goes with trying to be a star. Madge the Magnif icent ( played as an over-the-top Norma D e s mond b y pr o duc er R u s s e l l Bl a c k woo d i n d r a g or a lter n a tively Raya L ight), accompanied by best friend and matron Auntie Socia l ( M ichael Sold ier or Tom Orr) must deal w ith high-strung d i r e c t or C e c i l Vo n P a r a m o u r (d r a g k i n g G e r r i L aw lor) a n d her sex ier r iva l P r unel la P r une ( B on n i Suva l or M iss Sheld r a), who longs to be d iscovered in a greasy spoon diner run by Brenda Breakfast (OC Rumi Missabu or A nn ie L arson or Jef Va lent ine). A s you see, t he cast rotates frequent ly. Just for k icks, t hrow in Groucho Marx ( Jim Jeske), Salvador Dali ... er ...Deli ( Jim Toczyl),
the bizarre Queen of Mars (Leigh Crow or Tom Orr), Mayor Fiorello L aGuard ia ( Dave Frem land), a nd t he D e v i l ( S t e v e n S at y r i con or M ister WA). Add to t h is wacky cast of 24 characters, two dozen lively songs w ith fabulous choreography and costumes, chorus girls and boys, and you have t he ter r i f ica l ly t a lented Tin sel Tarts! Even the band (Koldew yn on piano, Birdie-Bob Watt [also Nik k i] on piano and saxophone, and Steve Bol inger on bass and d r u ms) i s i n cost u me. A nd just for the fun of it, be sur prised by a sca r y, si l ly spook show in t he dark w it h v ideo and fog. War ning: the prudish need not attend, si nce t here a re ween ies wav i ng in the w ind and bodacious boobies goi ng k nockers up! T hat is to say: lewd, nude, and socia l ly unacceptable - just like the ‘70s Cockettes, baby! T he tar ts play T hur sdays, Fr idays, a nd Sat urd ay s 8pm, 575 10 t h St reet a nd Br ya nt , brow npaper t icket s.com or 800 - 838 -3006, thrillpeddlers. com. C ome out on t he “Choo Choo Train” and “Do the Dada” to “The Sound of Old Broadway.” Yowzah! The Roaring ‘20s themed SH A NT I S pea k ea s y C ock t a i l C el ebration was at The Old M int. We enjoyed l ive music from t he Roar ing ‘20 s a nd later by Bet t y Fu, a burlesque performance from B ombshel l B et t y, sa mpled t a st y bites from Bi-R ite and specia lt y s p i r it- i n f u s e d c h o c o l a t e s f r o m Essence by Chocolate. Executive Director Kaushik Roy spoke about Shant i’s important work. We del ighted i n a shor t i n s pi r at ion a l prog r a m hosted by Don n a Sac het a nd honor i ng Dr. Jud it h Luce, Director of Oncolog y Services at SF General Hospital and b r e a s t c a n c e r s u r v i v or. B o a r d V i c e - C h a i r C o n s t a n c e N or t o n spoke about strengthening Shant i’s legacy. A l l proceeds d irect ly b e n e f it e d t h e S h a n t i B r e a s t Ca ncer P rog r a m , wh ich pro v ides care nav igat ion, advocacy, emotional support, and health and wellness activities for 500 women with breast cancer annually. IMPERIAL INVESTITURE of f icia l ly insta l led Emperor Drew Cut ler and Empress Patty McGroin, with fab entertainment by Litz Plumber, Danielle Logan, Synerg y, Keri Hana, D a f t- Ne e G e s u nt he it , K h mer a Rouge, A lex is M iranda, Cockatielia, La MoniStat, and Tora Hyman. Congratz, Imperials! Since 1983, A IDS L EGA L R E F E R R A L PA N E L (A L R P) ha s addressed more than 60,000 legal matters for their clients through t he e f for t s o f d e d ic a t e d s t a f f , board, and over 700 volunteer attorneys and legal professionals. So A LRP held a VOLUNTEER AP PR ECIATION PARTY, presented by volunteer coordinator Jenn i fer S c hu ster a nd hosted by Executive Director Bil l Hirsch at Pillsbur y Winthrop Shaw Pitt m a n L L P, Fou r E mb a r c a d er o Center, high atop the 22nd f loor. Coming up is 30 Y E A R S OF JUSTICE FROM THE HEA RT at T he Pla nt , P ier 3 on M ay 9. (415) 701-1200 ext 301. OPENHOUSE SPRING F L ING, a yearly fundra iser for LGBTQ senior housing, is at Four S e a s o n s Hot e l , S u n d ay, A pr i l 21st , 11a m, honor i ng Rober t a Achtenberg and Mayor Wi l l ie L . Brow n , Jr. ( For a related stor y, please go to
page 2.) $175 tickets openhousesf.org, (415) 659-8116. DA NCES FROM THE HEA RT 2 i s t he second a n nua l R IC H MOND-ERMET A IDS FOUNDATION fundraiser encompassing a unique evening of hope and compassion t hrough dance, featuring dancers from many of the premier dance companies in the Bay Area in a program featuring ballet, modern, salsa, traditional I nd ian, ba l lroom, and Ta h it ian d a nc e. A t t he h i st or ic Pa l a c e of F i n e A r t s T h e a t e r, 33 01 Lyon Street, Sunday, April 28th, 7:30pm (415) 273-1620, helpisontheway.org. OUT & EQUA L A DVOCATES honors Br igad ier Genera l Ta m m y S m i t h , t h e h i g h e s tra n k ing open ly gay of f icer currently serving in the US military, as an award recipient for her bravery in representing her authentic self in her workplace. Smith’s 26 years of militar y ser v ice include duty in A fghanistan and promotion to the rank of brigadier general. At MOMENTUM, the Four S ea son s Hotel , A pr i l 25, $175, (415) 694-6519, outandequal.org. Bummed t hat “HU NK Y JE S U S ” g ot r a i ned out t h i s ye a r at ou r E a ster pa r t y? We l l , t he Sisters aren’t going to let a little downpour stop us. Tickets are set at a sliding scale but no one will be turned away for a lack of funds; a l l t he money does go to T H E SIST E R S OF P E R P ET UA L INDULGENCE so we can keep suppor t ing organizat ions in our community. We’re excited to feature Love Charisse, Dottie Lux of Red Hot Burlesque, Go BA NG!’s Steve Fabus & Serg io Fedasz on the turntables and more. Wanna tr y to win that crown of thorns? Show up t he n ight of t he event bet ween 9 - 9:30 pm to reg ister, but please keep your Holy Grail tucked inside t hat loinclot h. No nud it y or simu lated sex acts a llowed s i nce t h i s event i s bei ng held in a bar. DNA Lounge, 375 11t h S t r e et , Fr id ay, A pr i l 19 , doors open 8pm, show goes until late. TheSisters.org. EROS is a safer sex club for men, b or n out of t he c lo s i n g of t he gay bat hs. E ROS celebrated 21 years w it h Ar t Reception and S i sters’ of Per pet ual In dul gence Blessing at 2051 Market St reet , across Sa feway M a rket . L oca l ar t ist, L oren Br uton, is cu r rent ly showc a si ng t he s pi r it and bod ies of E ROS in h is second solo show, The Bath House Men, in the EROS A rt Galler y. EROS is also a quiet day spa, a licensed nonsexual massage stud io, com mun it y classroom w it h yoga, drawing group, and tai chi throughout the week. Communit y groups use the classroom and lounge for meetings and open mic nights. Adult f lick pick: Close Up by TitanMen.com. Note: April 22 is EA RTH DAY, so hug your Mother Earth! Be a green queen. Recycle and replenish. S i st e r D a na sez , “If Apr il showe rs bring May f lowers, what do Mayf lowers bring? Answer: Pilgrims!”
Your Receptive Rivers Run Deep
Astrology Gypsy Love Theories differ regarding the number of sensory channels inherent to humans. Early on, we’re taught that these senses include sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. However, modern science suggests our receptive rivers run deeper. So far, neurologists have identified over 17 sensational sites detecting a full spectrum of conscious feelings beyond the fab five, such as hunger, balance, and intuition. Stuck in a stagnant stalemate? Snap out of it by coming to your senses.
ARIES (March 21 – April 19) Chime in, Aries. You’ve never been one to stand aside while others call the shots. Liberate from behavioral patterns that have stifled your selfexpression. Your voice is valuable. better.
LEO (July 23 – August 22) Unusual uprisings in your house of higher learning could prompt you to explore more progressive ways of thinking. Have faith, Leo. Find strength in the knowledge that you are limitless.
TAURUS (April 20 – May 20) Current restructuring in your relationship sector could cause you to question personal ideals. Trust yourself, Taurus. The Universe is reacquainting you with allies who will vow to support your vision.
VIRGO (August 23 – September 22) Sudden disruptions in the status quo are creating quite a stir now, Virgo. Embrace this opportunity to polish your principles. What is it that you authentically desire, and why?
GEMINI (May 21 – June 20) It’s time to get more serious about the sanctity of joyful service. What provokes your passions, Gemini? Boost your spirit and your career by harnessing happiness to help others.
LIBRA (September 23 – October 22) The subject of self-worth seems to seep into every situation these days, Libra. Stop seeking validation from external sources, and recognize the rewards that thrive intrinsically. You are priceless.
CANCER (June 21 – July 22) Your charm factor is rising off the charts, and others are taking notice. Gear up, Cancer. Utilize your favorable public image to activate important changes in the community.
SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21) Keep it real, Scorpio. Feelings of inadequacy will fester unless you confront fears head-on. You’re likely to discover that most self-debilitating stories are based much less on fact than fiction.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21) Spring-cleaning takes on a whole new meaning now, Sagittarius. It’s time to extinguish soulful skeletons that have sabotaged your subconscious for far too long. An emotional exorcism is in order.
CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19) Do you over-identify with your surroundings, Capricorn? Erratic shifts in your domestic routine could affect the way you define yourself. Experiment with this theory instead: You are un-definable. AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18) Chill out, Aquarius. Restless rumblings in your state of mind could lead to increased tension now. Plug into creative outlets and experience the thrill of playing with this energy productively. PISCES (February 19 – March 20) Your belief system is fielding a few curve balls, Pisces. Dare to stray from convention now. Engaging in verbal and written communication will help escort novel ideas into tangible relics.
www.AstrologyByGypsyLove.com
Gypsy Love’s astrology readings have helped 1000’s of people attract what they authentically desire.
As Heard on the Street . . .
compiled by Rink
AL L PHOTOS BY RIN K
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Kypper Shacks
Bill Crissman
David Cannon
Mutha Chucka
Estee Longah
“I would put the money into my design business.”
“I would buy a two bedroom condo in SF and spend summers in Ile du Levant.”
“I would try out every masseur at Adam4Adam, and pick the best to sponsor.”
“I would buy a condo in San Francisco.”
“I would buy world peace.”
BAY T IM ES APR IL 18, 2013
17
LGBT Family Camp Changes Lives! (CAMP continued from page 1) I f irst went to camp when I was 7 years old in 1998 with my mom, M ischelle. It was the most fun I had t he ent i re yea r. T hat yea r, we brought an inf latable raft, and ever y after noon I reveled in my glorious self-prescribed role as a swimming hole taxi driver. During the mornings, I was led, along w ith others in my age group, on epic h i k i ng ex ped it ions, worldrecord-breaking lawn games, and arts and crafts projects. Towards t he end of t he week , we h a d a g roup sleepover under the stars. I nervously played piano in front of t he ent ire ca mp at t he t a lent show a nd wa s a “ Sha rk” i n t he camp production of Grease. When it was all over, I could not wait for the next summer to come around again so I could see my counselors again and frolic with my new friends. It is truly amazing how fast friendships progress over the course of one week when so much t i me is spent toget her. I n fact, t he current camp staf f is made up mostly of young adu lts who g rew up at t he ca mp t hemselves, ret ur n i ng ever y yea r to see some of t hei r closest friends and continuing to come back as staf f members once t he y out g r ew t he k id s’ g roups . Camp has really become a single, g i a nt , mu lt i - g ener at ion a l f a m ily, with the second generation of
campers now running most of the day-to-day activities. One of the most important inf luences camp had on me personally (now as a professiona l musicia n i n t he ba nd Tu mbleweed Wa nderers), was helping to create my own love for music. Camp It Up ha s a lway s had a n a ma zi ng a rray of music going throughout the week. From da i ly sing-a longs of fol k song s a nd d r u m ci rcles, to t he l ive ca mp da nce ba nd playing 50’s and 60’s classics, to the orig inal camp theme songs written a n nu a l ly by c a mp d i rec tor Ji l l Rose, a nd ma ny more i nd iv idua l musicia ns br i ng i ng t heir own styles and f lavors, my narrow ex per ience w it h cla ssica l pia no lessons was blown open. I started taking guitar lessons from staf fer and Rebecca R iots member L isa
Zeiler, and continued to develop my musica l persona l it y, event ually moving into the roles I once idolized. Somehow, despite occurring only one week out of t he yea r, ca mp h a s s h a p e d m e mu s i c a l l y a n d persona l ly far out of propor t ion
Zak, who attended camp with his moms, Mischelle Mandel and Nancy Conway, is now a member of the popular group Tumbleweed Wanderers.
with the amount of time I’ve spent there. It will continue to do so for kids from LGBT families for years to come.
Wanderers, which is now on a national
Zak Mandel-Romann is a vocalist and bass player for the band Tumbleweed
F ra nc i sco. For info: ht t p://t u mbl e-
tour. A release event for their new E .P., “Worn Down Welcome,” will happen Apr il 26 at T he Independent in San weedwanderers.com/
Camp for LGBT Families Lets Kids Just Be Kids By Lilah Gliksohn As a kid growing up with LGBT pa rent s, I t h i n k ca mp creates a space where having two moms or two dads is not only not weird, but it’s also everywhere you look, and therefore a non-issue. That element of having to fit your family into a socially acceptable box is removed. The kids get to be kids and both parents and kids get to enjoy the freedom that arises when living in an accepting community.
Of course, there are still normal family dynamics. At the dance, for example, a ten-year-old kid might see one of h is moms slow da ncing and maybe sharing a kiss and he’ll roll his eyes and say, “Ew w stop!” w it h emba r rassment, but it’s not because t hey’re lesbia ns (t hey ’re not t he on ly ones!), it’s because t hey’re h is pa rent s a nd he’s 10, so kissing is totally gross. Ever yone gets to relax into their fa m i ly in a way t hat’s not qu ite the same anywhere else.
Photos courtesy of Camp It Up (campitup.org)
Camp It Up - Summer 2013 Camp Dates: July 27 - August 4, Feather River Camp, Quincy, California
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Camp It Up This Summer Camp It Up! was founded in 1989 by Jill Rose and Ellie Schindelman, t wo lesbian moms look ing for the perfect family vacation. It was the f irst family camp in the countr y to do specif ic outreach to LGBT fami l ies. In t he t wenty-four years since its inception, Camp It Up! has served more than 2,500 campers and has “raised” more t h a n 3 0 0 st a f f member s . T he c a mp er s a r e a wonder f u l and eclectic mix: lesbian and gay, single parent, adoptive, multi-racial and heterosexual families, as wel l as adults w ithout chi ldren. From the beg inning, the camp’s m i s s ion h a s b een to prov ide a place where LGBT families and their friends could come together in communit y to play and to be validated as members of unique and remarkable families. O ver t he yea r s, ca mp ha s seen a g ener at ion of c h i ld r en g r ow from babies to col lege st udent s to g raduates bu i ld i ng t hei r careers. Some of our earliest campers are now on the administrative staf f and help to run camp. This community has celebrated many bi r t hs, adopt ions, com m it ment ceremonies, career changes, ret irements and other life r itua ls. Camp It Up! has prov ided indiv idu a l s a nd fa m i l ies w it h new and cherished friends and with a home to return to each summer. Countless campers and staf f have remarked that Camp It Up! has
Earth Day Weekend 2013 Saturday, April 20th
San Francisco - Celebrate Earth Day SF, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Civic Center Plaza. Free day-long festival featuring entertainment, speakers, hands-on projects, Eco Fashion Show and more. Details: earthdaysf.org
changed their lives in innumerable and immeasurable ways. P l a n s a re i n f u l l s w i ng for t he 2013 summer session to be held July 27 to August 5. Campers will stay for either the full eight nights or for one of t wo four-night opt ions. Reg ist rat ion is open a nd available via the website at www. campitup.org and space is available for this session. The summer session takes place i n beaut i f u l P lu ma s C ou nt y at
Feather R iver Camp, located in Quincy, California. Each family has it s ow n cabin or tent- cabin and most have electricity. Meals are provided (vegetarian and vegan too!) and wonderful activities are planned for t he ent ire fami ly. Each day, ta lented counselors lead age-clustered groups for children — the “K ids Program” serves children aged 1 to 11, and the “Teen Program” serves those 12 and older. Specialists in music, drama, crafts, sports and nature assist all counselors. Adu lt s m ight be fou nd read i ng quietly in a hammock, just talking w ith fr iends, gett ing a massage or at tend i ng one of ma ny work shops i n cra ft s a nd music, or going for hikes or bike r ides. Act iv it ies for t he whole fa m i ly might include horseback r iding, swimming in the beautiful Spanish Creek, Disco Bingo, or Crawdad Creek wa l k s. A l l act iv it ies
are optional, of course, so campers can do as much or as little as they’d like. Some favorite camp activities over t he years have included dances (music provided by our very own band), tie-dye, talent shows, allcamp musical productions, overnights, a spa and salon day, family games, hay r ides, Casino Night, Floatilla, limbo, instrument making and theme day activities. Last year, t he staf f bui lt a Quidd ich pitch and Camp It Up! discovered a new favorite sport. Now in its 24th year, Camp It Up! is known for one-of-a-kind gay family vacations. All families are welcome to find out more by visiting www. campitup.org or w w w.facebook. com/campitup and to join the magical community this summer.
Gay and Lesbian Sierrans Celebrate Earth Day Every Day
San Jose – Earth Day & Arbor Day at History San Jose – A kid-friendly celebration planned by History Park San Jose featuring activities for children, music, strolls through the park, historic building tours and exhibits in the park. Admission on Earth Day is free and parking is $6. Details: historysanjose.org Santa Cruz – Earth Day Jubilee, Museum of Art & History – 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM. Kid Happy Hour – 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM. Earth Day Jubilee at the Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz. Make Earth art and nature crafts with local artists. Community drumming session. $5 adults/$3 students, seniors/ under 12 free. Details: santcruzmah.org Sunday, April 21st
Big Sur Earth Day Fair – 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Henry Miller Library. Featuring presentations and demonstrations, local community booths, children’s activities, Details: bigsurcalifornia.org
April 22 is Earth Day, but here in the beautiful Bay A rea, many of us enjoy the outdoors year round. The SF Bay Chapter of the Gay & Lesbian Sierrans takes that plan up a notch by going on one memorable advent ure a fter a not her. Debra Riat kindly shared images from some of these trips. We hope that they will inspire you to turn of f the electronic devices, put on some comfy attire and slow your m i nd t o t he s o ot h i n g , he a l i n g rhythms of nature. Gay & Lesbian Sierrans of the San Francisco Bay Area is an outings and conser vation club for LGBT people and friends. The group is an of f icial activities section of the GL S Bay Chapter of t he Sier ra Club founded in 1986. Throughout the year, GLS sponsors a variety of activities of fering somet h i ng for a l most ever yone who enjoy s t he out do or s . O utings run the gamut. They include
2013 is the 27th year for Gay and Lesbian Sierrans.
easy strolls, vigorous peak hikes, relaxed car camping, demanding wilderness backpacks, naturalistled wa lks, hands-on restorat ion, and trail maintenance projects–to na me a few. For more i n for mat ion, i nclud i ng spec i f ic cont act info, visit glshikes.org.
Photos courtesy of Debra Riat, GLS SF Bay Chapter activities co-chair.
GLS members enjoying nature in the High Sierras, at the beach and at Pinnacles National Monument. BAY T IM ES APR IL 18, 2013 19
compiled by Robert Fuggiti
See many more Calendar items @ www.sfbaytimes.com
2013 Epidemic Film Festival – Castro Theatre. Free. 4 pm to 8 pm. (429 Castro St.) www.academyart.edu. Enjoy an engaging evening featuring the Academy of Art University’s best work from the School of Motion Pictures & Television and the School of Acting. Jeff Chu – Books Inc. Bookstore. Free. 7:30 pm. (275 Market St.) www.booksinc.net. Jeff Chu, author of “Does Jesus Really Love Me,” will discuss passages from his book and sign copies. The Hush Hush Chronicles Z Space. $20. 8 pm. (450 Florida St.) www.theanataproject.org. An evening of dance that will also include a new work by guest artist Summation Dance from New York City. The Killer Wore Leather Book Launch – Good Vibrations. Free. 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. (1620 Polk St.) www.goodvibes.com. Meet the author Laura Antoniou, get your copy signed, and pick up a few toys for your next leather adventure! Also at Good Vibrations Berkeley on 4/21, Reading and Books, Inc. on 4/22, Wicked Grounds on 4/23, and Mr. S Leather on 4/24.
Flashback Friday – Bench and Bar. $5. 10 pm to 2 am. (510 17th St.) www.bench-and-bar.com. Celebrating the best in old school music with drink specials all night long. Hunky Jesus: The Second Coming – DNA Lounge. $8-$17. (375 11th St.) www.dnalounge.com. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence host a reschedule of the annual Hunky Jesus contest.
The “Hush Hush Chronicles” will be at Z Space on April 18. (Photo: Anata Project) Dancing Ghosts – The Cat Club. $7. 9:30 pm to 2:30 am. (1190 Folsom St.) www.sfcatclub.com. A monthly dance party happening every third Friday.
2013 Cherry Blossom Festival – Japantown. Free. 10 am to 6 pm. (1737 Post St.) www. sfcherryblossom.org. Enjoy a dazzling display showcasing the color and grace of the Japanese culture and the diversity of the Japanese American Community. Napa Valley Benefit Ride Napa Valley. Donation based. 7 am. (4026 Maher St, Napa) www.face-
book.comevents/ 457646430969206. Cycle for Sight has three scenic 50, 25, and 15 mile courses, that wind among the hills and vineyards of the World Famous Napa Valley. Inaugural Red Dress Ball – Lookout. $10 suggested donation. 9 pm to 2 am. (3600 16th St.) www. lookoutsf.com. Wear your best red gown for a fun evening in support of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Man, Oh Man – Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center. $15-$25. 7 pm. (900 Fallon St) www.oebgmc. org. The Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus is proud to present “Man, oh Man” - music for men throughout the ages. Also April 21.
Karaoke Mondays – Lookout. Free. 8 pm to 1 am. (2600 16th St.) www.lookoutsf.com. KJ Paul hosts a weekly karaoke night.
Funny Tuesdays – Harvey’s. Free. 9 pm. (500 Castro St.) www. harveyssf.com. An LGBT comedy night hosted by comedian Ronn Vigh. Meow Mix – The Stud. Free. 9 pm. (399 9th St.) www.studsf.com. A weekly cabaret variety show with drink specials.
Les Liasons Dangereuses – The New Dragon Theatre. $15-$35. 2 pm. (2120 Broadway St., Redwood City) www.dragonproductions.net. A tale of seduction set in France among aristocrats, this drama explores decadent sexuality, moral, and manipulation played as the ultimate battle of the sexes. May 12.
Community Update – Magnet. Free. 7 pm (4122 18th St.) www. magnetsf.org. Magnet hosts a discussion to increase awareness of issues facing the community.
Openhouse Spring Fling No. 9 – Four Seasons Hotel. $175. 11 am. Enjoy a fabulous afternoon with delicious food and silent auctions, while supporting Openhouse.
Beach Blanket Babylon – Club Fugazi. $25-$130. 8 pm. (678 Green St.) www.beachblanketbaby-
Sharks to Dinosaurs: A Walk Through Time – California Academy of Sciences. $30. 1:30 pm. (55 Music Concourse Dr.) www.calacademy.org. Learn about Earth’s ancient history and discover how sharks, tortoises and dinosaurs first appeared millions of years ago.
Radical Vinyl – El Rio. Free. 8 pm. (3158 Mission St.) www.elriosf. com. A revolving cast of well known record collectors spin the most eclectic mix of vinyl you’ll find in San Francisco.
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LGBTQ Support Group – Petaluma Health Center. Free. 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. (1179 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma) www.phealthcenter.org. A positive support group for the LGBTQ community in Petaluma. Meets every Monday.
lon.com. A hilarious show with gigantic hats and show-stopping numbers. Candlelight Flow Community Yoga – LGBT Center. Free. 7 pm to 8 pm. (1800 Market St.) www.sfcenter.org. Replenish your energy level with weekly “Candlelight Flow” class. Stay Gold – Public Works. $5. 10 pm to 2 am. (161 Erie St.) www. publicsf.com. Get down on the dance floor with music from resident DJ Pink Lightning and DJ Rapid Fire.
Momentum – Four Seasons Hotel. $175. 6 pm to 9:30 pm. (575 Market St.) www.outandequal.org. Out & Equal’s “Momentum,” formerly known as Leadership Celebration, honors workplace courage and support of LGBT equality. Bear Coffee – Café Flore. Free. 6 pm to 8 pm. (2298 Market St.) www.cafeflore.com. A meet-up and social for bears in the Castro. Last Drag Quit Smoking Class – LGBT Community Center. Free. 7 pm to 9 pm. (1800 Center) www.sfcenter.org. A free quit smoking class for LGBT and HIV positive smokers. Meetings every Wednesday through May 22.
Simon Killer – Various San Francisco Theaters. Check prices and times. Enjoy the opening night of Antonio Campo’s “Simon Killer,” a fascinating, slow burn character study. In the House – Cohen Film Collection. Check prices and times. (Select San Francisco Theaters) www.cohenmedia.net.com. A new film by François Ozon with a twisted plot that may blur the line between reality and fiction.
Author Jeff Chu will be at Books Inc. Bookstore on April Tumbleweed Wanderers – The Independent. (628 Divisadero 18. (Photo: Roxanne Lowit)
Ladies Go Biking will join the Napa Valley Benefit Ride (Saturday April 20 listing). Below, Tango No. 9 will be at St. Cyprian’s Church on April 27. (Photo: Kat Nyberg) St.) $18. 9pm. www.tumbleweedwanderers.com. The indie rock band, Tumbleweed Wanderers, will perform some of their best hits live. Lambda Legal 40th Anniversary Soiree – Terra Gallery. $75. 6 pm. (501 Harrison St.) www.support.lambdalegal.org. Join Lambda Legal for an evening of cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and after dinner show with Mx. Justin Vivian Bond.
Tango No. 9 – St. Cyprian’s Church. $15. 8 pm. (2097 Turk St.) www.tango9.com. Enjoy San Francisco’s premier chamber ensemble devoted to all facets of tango music. Crystal Castles – Fox Theater. $40. 8 pm. (1807 Telegraph Hill, Oakland) www.thefoxoakland.com. The experimental electric band comes to the Bay Area for one night only. Jalwa – Club OMG. Free. 10 pm to 2 am. (43 6th St.) www.clubomgsf. com. Enjoy a night of dancing at this unique, Bollywood- themed gay bar.
The Killers – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. $60. 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. (99 Grove St.) www.thekilersmusic.com. Enjoy an unforgettable evening as the Killers perform old favorites and new songs from their latest album, “Battle Born.” Stuck Elevator – American Conservatory Theater. $20-$95. 2 pm. (415 Geary St.) www.act-sf. org. A visionary musical work inspired by the true story of a Chinese immigrant trapped in a Bronx elevator for 81 hours. Salsa Sundays – El Rio. $10. 3 pm to 8 pm. (3158 Mission St.) www.elriosf.com. Enjoy live music and dancing every second and fourth Sunday.
Motown Monday – Madrone Art Bar. Free. 6 pm. (500 Divisadero St.) www.madroneartbar.com. Dance the night away to favorite Motown songs and remixes. Piano Bar 101 – Martuni’s. Free. 9 pm. (4 Valencia St.) www.dragatmartunis.com. Sing along to your favorite songs with friends and patrons. Gay Bowling – Mission Bowling Club. $15. 5 pm to 8 pm. (3176 17th St.) www.missionbowlingclub. com. Mix, mingle and meet new friends at this weekly bowling social. Full bar and restaurant inside club.
Second Annual Playground Film Festival – Rialto Cinemas Elmwood. $50+. 7:30 pm. (2966 College Ave., Berkeley) www.rialtocinemas.com. Six brand-new films by Bay Area filmmakers and writers, adapted from short plays from the celebrated Best of PlayGround. Through May 25. Peaches – Mezzanine. $25. 9 pm. (444 Jessie St.) www.peachesdoesherself.com. Peaches delivers an infamous performance that is not to be missed. Play with BeBe – Harvey’s. Free. 8 pm. (500 Castro St.) www. harveyssf.com. BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly trivia game with drink specials and prizes.
Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma – The Hypnodrome Theatre. $30. 8 pm. (575 10th St.) www.thrillpeddlers.com. “Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma,” is a new restored version of The Cockettes’ 1971 musical extravaganza. Through June 1. Video Tuesdays – Lookout. Free. 8 pm. (2600 16th St.) www. lookoutsf.com.. VJ 6PAC plays the best in music videos every Tuesday. Easy – The Edge SF. Free. 7 pm to 2 am. (4149 18th St.) www.edgesf. com. Enjoy $1 well drink specials and a fun-loving crowd.
Francois Ozon’s new film “In the House,” opens in San Francisco on April 26. BAY T IM ES APR IL 18, 2013
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Flowers on CASTRO
ST
Fundraiser & Art Show Thursday, April 18th 2013 5:30 - 8:00
PM
555 Castro Street Hors d’oeuvres Wine & Champagne Art raffle to support the cause 20% of art sales directly to hanging flower baskets
Help to raise funds for the hanging flower baskets and to beautify the Castro community.
HERTH R E A L E S TAT E As Unique As You
Featured Artists:
Randy Titchenal & Daniel Nicoletta
Jessica Joy Jirsa, Kate Tully, Richard Bolingbroke, Jacob Fisher, Arthur Tress, Elliott C. Nathan, Margaret Dow-Gritsz, Joanne Nelson, June Nichols, Keith Hollander and Masks by Kai
Join us for the annual celebration of LGBT Leadership and Progress Four Seasons Hotel • 757 Market St. April 25, 2013 • San Francisco featuring Honoree Brig. Gen. Tammy S. Smith, Emcee Liam Mayclem, Entertainment: Cheer SF, Curran Reichert, and The Choral Project conducted by Daniel Hughes
(SIMON KILLER continued from page 15) Smell is also a very palpable sense in that sex scene, we said that it’s when Simon Killer as two characters in the film both characters are getting f-ed in that mention the smell of sex. The filmmaker scene that they both enjoy sex the most. acknowledged, “Yes! Something about With Simon, we were exploring this Simon was very primal, and communi- character who is trying to figure himcating these senses through cinema was self out, and that’s there. We were also important. I wanted to explore this male thinking about Last Tango in Paris too. character almost as if I was studying an There’s something sexually charged in animal. At the end of the day we’re all Paris; it’s in the air.” animals, getting to the broadest experiSimon Killer benefits from Campos’ diences.” rect approach to depicting sexuality. “It Simon’s sexual activity is also very ani- is raw and awkward and exciting,” he malistic. He has sex doggie-style with said. “People get upset the film is graphVictoria in one encounter, and there is ic, but there are others who think it’s not another erotic scene in which she excites graphic enough. There’s more sex than him by pushing him up against a wall violence on purpose. It’s not a film made and dry humping him before forcing to satisfy all audience members, but if him onto the bed and penetrating him you give yourself into the experience, you will be satisfied. But if you’re not anally with her wet thumb. patient with it, you’re not giving into it.” Campos is intrigued by the suggestion that Simon is a latent homosexual, and Whether Simon’s sexual confusion insisted, “I think Simon is confused, and prompts his dramatic actions in the that’s part of it. When we talked about film’s ending is best left for audiences to (ROSTOW continued from page 9) action on AIDS on the people around him rather than on any antigay spirit. You may have heard that the Republican National Committee reaffirmed the party’s opposition to marriage equality at a platform committee meeting in LA last week. So much for a kinder and gentler GOP. But really, did you expect anything else from these jokers? And then there’s Nike, which announced that they will sponsor the first active athlete in a major American team sport who comes out of the closet. That should take some of the sting out of the backlash, although frankly, if I were, let’s say, a male baseball player, I’d do it. DOMA continued from page 5) change. Now more than ever, the momentum seems unstoppable. It seems as if almost every day in the news, a not her leader a n nounces they’ve “evolved” on DOM A and marriage equality. Just over three week s a go, S en ator C l a i r e Mc Cask i l l of M issour i (a st ate t hat in 20 04 passed an ant i-marr iage equa lit y ba l lot init iat ive by over 70 percent) a n nou nced her sup port for the freedom to marry: “I have come to the conclusion that our gover nment should not limit the r ight to marr y based on who you love. …[ M ]y children have a hard time understanding why this is even controversial. I think history will agree with my children.” Less than two weeks ago, Senator Joe Donnelly, who narrowly won election in Indiana in November 2012, proclaimed that he opposed “enshrin[ing]” in the Constitution “an ‘us’ and a ‘them,’ instead of a ‘we.’ …I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support mar-
I mean think about it. You’d instantly become a hero to millions of Americans, gay and straight. You’d be lauded for your courage, and every time someone hassled you, you’d get even more praise and attention for your stoic dignity in the face of persecution. Then, years later, they’d make a movie about you. It sounds absolutely worth it to me. Plus, there’s that fat Nike contract. I’d call it a win win. Hell, I might even do it if I were straight. And the movie plot would be even more intriguing. In fact, I think there’s a screenplay treatment here. The deceitful straight hero is a minor leaguer, who gets brought up to the majors but still hov-
r iage equa l it y for a l l.” A nd t h is change is not limited to marriage equality. As Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virg inia stated in announcing his support for the end of DOM A just over three weeks ago, “I’m against discrimination in all its forms.” When the Supreme Court decides t he W indsor case and t he Propo sit ion 8 ca se i n t he next couple months, it could announce landmark decisions st r i k ing dow n DOM A, invalidating Proposition 8 , a nd e s t abl i s h i n g he i g ht ene d const itut iona l protect ion for lesbian and gay people in all aspects of our l ives. It cou ld issue much narrower decisions, or indeed rule against us. Decisions invalidating section 3 of DOM A and Proposit ion 8 on a ny g rounds wou ld be a big step for ward for our movement. But narrow decisions would mean that we still have work to do to extend to all same-sex couples
decide. But Campos stated, “It’s up to you. I think flawed characters are easier to relate to; they seem more human. I feel the nature of the story is that you allow yourself to relate or connect to them or you fight that. I allowed myself to connect to them in whatever way happens naturally. I go with as open a mind as possible. If a film makes me feel upset or uncomfortable, that’s a successful film. I want an experience. Doesn’t have to be negative. Makes me see the world in a way I haven’t seen.” Viewers who go see Simon Killer are in for quite a stimulating experience. © 2013 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of the forthcoming “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” You can follow him on Twitter @garymkramer. ers on the thin line. He’s doing okay, but not great. Then, while drinking with his gay buddy from his hometown, the two of them have an idea. Why not make headlines and get the big sponsorship. With all the hoopla, the team could never send him back to Fresno! Eventually, our hero fesses up. But in the meantime, his “courage” has inspired one of his truly gay teammates to come out of the closet. Oh, and the teammate ends up falling in love with the gay buddy from the hero’s home town. I like it. arostow@aol.com
the over 1,100 federal r ights and pr ot e c t ion s t h at m a r r i a g e pr o vides and to establish the freedom to marr y as a fundamenta l r ight nationwide. As marriage equality is but one important element of the movement for full LGBTIQ equality, the work to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to sec u re much needed r ight s a nd protect ions for t ra nsgender persons, to support LGBTIQ youth, and to achieve many ot her community goals will continue as well. We as LGBTIQ people, along with our a l l ies, w i l l cont inue to bend the arc of the moral universe toward freedom, justice, and equality. John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together 26 years, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. T hey are leaders in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA.
Tickets: $175 outandequal.org/2013-Leadership-Celebration 415.694.6519
Bay Times “Momentum” quarter page ad – 4 inch x 6 inch – CMYK Process
More at sfbaytimes.com
Screen stars Robert Wagner and Jill St. John were among the celebrities who joined Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne at the Castro Theatre for the TCM Classic Film Festival. Photos by Steven Underhill.
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Round About - SF LGBT Community Center Soirée and More
Andrea Shorter, Lubov Smith, Julia Adams and Rebecca Prozan at The Center’s Soirée held at the Galleria
Photos by Rink
Supervisors David Chiu and David Campos, City Treasurer Jose Cisneros and Center board member Alex Randolph at the Soirée
Alotta Boutte performed at The Center’s Soirée
Sisters Eve Volution and Roma, Aaron Causey and Sister Pat N Leather at The Center’s Soirée
Bay Time’s columnist Rafael Mandelman and Bob Michitarian at The Center’s Soiree
SF LGBT Center’s Soiree emcee Tita Aida with SFPD’s Lt. Broberg
Stu Smith, Bay Times’ columnist and Shanti board president emetrius, with his partner Dave Earl, Matt Dorsey and Omar Romero at Shanti’s The Old Mint Dr. Kathleen McGuire and Senator Mark Leno at McGuire’s Farewell Benefit for Singers of the Street Dustin Manuel and Ed Mathews at Dr. Kathleen McGuire’s Farewell Concert Benefit at BeatBox
Shanti’s Maria Caprio and Kaushik Roy with honoree Dr. Judith Luce of SF General Hospital at Shanti’s Speakeasy Cocktail Celebration at the Old Mint
Mardi Gras King Kippy Marks with Dena Dawn and Transgender Law Center’s Nathan Harris who accepted a $5000 check from event coordinator Gary Virginia at the Krewe De Kinque Check Celebration held at The Edge
Under One Roof board members Alison Madden and Tony Hart at the Grand Opening at Crocker Galleria
BAY T IM ES APR IL 18, 2013
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The community you’ve imagined...at last.
You are invited to attend an exclusive OPEN HOUSE Saturday April 27th & Sunday April 28th 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Tours will be available of 5 new model homes and our main building. Please RSVP to 707-576-1101 as space is limited.
Reserve your new home on our gorgeous ten acre campus with golf course, oak grove and mountain views in the heart of Sonoma County. From gourmet dining and concierge services to spa treatments and housekeeping, Fountaingrove Lodge offers more than just a home. We provide an active, vibrant and luxurious retirement living with a commitment to diversity. Gourmet Dining Cocktail Lounge
Wine Cave and Cellar Private Movie Theater
Entrance Fees ranging from: $189,500 - $925,500 Monthly Fees starting at $3,395
Fitness Center Swimming Pool
Pet Park Onsite Care Center
4210 Thomas Lake Harris Dr. Santa Rosa, CA 95403 707-576-1101 fountaingrovelodge.com
RCFE Pending
For more information or to schedule a tour call (707) 576-1101 or visit our website at fountaingrovelodge.com 24 BAY   TIM ES APRIL 1 8 , 2 0 1 3