SUMMER READS

A roundup of the best LGBT-themed

books to take to the beach.
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AM E RI C A S GAY NE W S S O URCE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Plainti couples on pins

and needles awaiting
marriage ruling
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Editors note: The Supreme Court is expected
to rule on marriage by Monday. No ruling was
announced as of Blade press time on Thursday.
Visit washingtonblade.com for updates.

The plaintis in the various marriage cases pending before the Supreme Court gathered after oral arguments in April. Many of the
couples will not be in D.C. for the ruling.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Unmarried survivor seeks

common law status
in unique case
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
In what may be just the second case of its kind in the
District, a gay man has led a petition in D.C. Superior
Court seeking a declaration arming the existence of
a common law marriage between him and the man he
considered to be his spouse, who died one year ago.
An attorney representing D.C. resident Enrique
Mendez led the petition last December with the courts
Domestic Relations Branch as part of an estate dispute

with the niece of his late partner, Miles Eric Lease.

The niece, Virginia resident Jennifer Lynn McKelvey,
contends in court lings that Mendez isnt entitled to any
of Leases assets, including the house that the couple
shared for four years. Documents led with the Superior
Courts Probate Division show that the house at 4820
Iowa Ave., N.W., has an estimated value of $525,000.
The documents show that other property owned by Lease,
including vehicles, household furnishings and personal
eects bring the total value of his estate to $545,000.
A 13-page memorandum in support of a motion
by McKelveys attorney asking the court to deny
Mendezs petition for common law marriage argues
that Mendez fails to provide sucient evidence that
he and Lease were in a relationship equivalent to
marriage under D.C. law.

Days before the U.S. Supreme Court

is expected to rule on whether samesex couples have a constitutional right
to marry across the country, many
observers are busy checking the Internet
for news on the ruling and the plaintis
in the litigation are no exception.
Jim Obergefell, the Cincinnati widower
for whom the consolidated case before
the court of Obergefell v. Hodges
is named, said hes in D.C. and the
courtroom every possible decision day
so he can hear the ruling direct from the
justice who writes for the majority.
I was here last Monday and Thursday,
and Im here this entire week, waiting for
the ruling, Obergefell said.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 16

Among other things, the memorandum says

virtually all of the property the two allegedly shared
was owned and listed under Leases name, including
the house, a car and a truck that the two used together,
and the auto insurance policy for the two vehicles.
The memo also points out that Lease and Mendez
led separate tax returns during the years Mendez
claims the two were a couple and each listed on his
return that he was single rather than married.
Noting that same-sex marriage became legal in D.C.
in 2010, the memo states, As ceremonial marriage
was readily available to Lease and Mendez, Mendezs
claim must be closely scrutinized. Mendezs claim
lacks merit.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 06

0 2 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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JUNE 26, 2015 03

Master weavers from the Centro de

Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco, Peru.

Photo by Josu Castilleja, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives, Smithsonian Institution

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FREE TO THE PUBLIC

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 4 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

LO CA L N E W S

Rehoboths controversial pool ban fails

Gay residents help defeat
proposed ordinance
targeting renters
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Gay vacationers and residents of
Rehoboth Beach were part of a coalition
of property owners and renters credited
with persuading the popular resort citys
Board of Commissioners to unanimously
defeat a controversial proposal to ban
rental homeowners from operating
swimming pools.
The 7-0 vote by the commissioners on
June 19 to defeat the proposal, which was
introduced earlier this year by Rehoboth
Mayor Sam Cooper, followed a heated
debate and citizen comment period.
Following the defeat of the pool ban
proposal the commissioners voted 6-1 to
approve a pool ordinance that requires all
pools to be licensed. The new ordinance
gives the city authority to shut down pools
in any residential property if either renters
or owner occupants are found to be in
violation of the citys noise ordinance.
The
commissioners
moved
the

What we saw was an awakening of citizens/

property owners of Rehoboth Beach, said
RICHARD PERRY, a candidate for the Board
of Commissioners.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PERRY

Friday night meeting from City Hall to

the Rehoboth Convention Center to
accommodate more than 100 people
who attended. Many, including a number
of gay residents and renters, were part
of a newly formed group called Save Our
Nations Summer Capital. The group held
a rally outside the Convention Center
before the commissioners meeting
began, urging the commissioners to vote

against the pool ban.

What we saw was an awakening of
citizens/property owners of Rehoboth
Beach to critical issues that aect them
and the City of Rehoboth Beach as a
whole, said gay attorney and civic activist
Richard Perry, a Rehoboth resident who is
running for one of two seats on the Board
of Commissioners up for election on Aug. 8.
The city has suered in the past from
inadequate or nonexistent information ow
to all members of the community regarding
the issues being considered by the Board of
Commissioners, Perry told the Blade in an
email statement on Saturday.
I believe last night dramatically shifted
how the City will have to operate in the
future, he said. The silent majority is no
longer silent.
Perry and others opposed to the pool
ban pointed to another controversial vote
by the commissioners in April to pass
an amendment to the Rehoboth noise
ordinance that allows police to issue
citations for plainly audible noise coming
from homes in residential neighborhoods.
Critics, including gay residents and
renters, have expressed concern that
the new standard for determining noise
violations is too vague and opens the

way for frivolous complaints. They note

that the new standard replaces the past
requirement that decibel measuring
devices be used to determine a level of
noise deemed to be a violation.
The new plainly audible criteria leaves
it up to police ocers arriving on the scene
of someones yard after being called by a
complaining neighbor to determine if a
sound violates the noise ordinance.
D.C. gay Democratic activist Lane
Hudson, who vacations in Rehoboth,
said a number of group homes where
gays were staying over the Memorial Day
weekend this year were visited by police
responding to complaints by nearby
residents that too much noise was coming
from the group houses. According to
Hudson, some of the complaints came
during the day when the gay guests were
having outdoor barbeque gatherings.
Cooper and a number of commissioners,
including gay Commissioner Patrick
Gossett, argue that a growing number
of exceptionally large houses in the citys
residential sections that have as many as
20 renters have been the site of loud and
disturbing noise to their neighbors.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Hogan battling aggressive cancer

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday announced he has been diagnosed
with a very advanced and very aggressive form of cancer.
Hogan made the announcement during a press conference in Annapolis. His
wife, their daughters and members of his cabinet were in attendance.
The Washington Post reported that Hogan began feeling ill earlier this month
after returning from a trade mission to Asia. Hogan told reporters that he plans
to continue working while he undergoes chemotherapy to treat the cancer
B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma that has spread to his lymph nodes.
Its a tough time to go through and Im going to miss a few meetings, he said.
Im going to have the capacity to make decisions.
Gay state Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) is among the myriad
Maryland lawmakers and others who expressed their support for Hogan and
his family.
My thoughts are w @LarryHogan & family. Every Marylander knows he has
overcome big challenges before & I hope this time will be no dierent
Rich Madaleno (@RichMadaleno) June 22, 2015
Former Gov. Martin OMalley also reached out to his successor.
@LarryHogan Katie and I are sending our thoughts & prayers to you and your
family, and wishing you the best in overcoming this challenge.
Martin OMalley (@GovernorOMalley) June 22, 2015
Hogan, a Republican, last November stunned political observers when he
defeated then-Lieutenant Gov. Anthony Brown in the race to succeed OMalley
who is running for president.
He took oce in January.
My odds of getting through this are much better than my odds were of
beating Anthony Brown to become the 62nd governor of Maryland, said Hogan,
discussing his diagnosis.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

PHOTO BY JON HOWARD, POTOMAC DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Twynham, Frazier wed

James Twynham and Ronald Frazier were married June 6 in an outdoor
ceremony at their compound in Sleepy Hollow in Hedgesville, W.Va.
Attended by 75 relatives and friends, ranging in age from 6 months to 79,
the wedding was ociated by Robert Safro, with Fraziers son Ronald Frazier II
of Washington, and Twynhams best friend Willson Hardy of York, Pa., as best
men. Fraziers granddaughter Lillian Frazier was the ower girl, and Twynhams
great-great nephew Parker Harman was the ring bearer. Jessie Frazier was the
wedding planner and coordinated the rainbow-themed reception and dinner.
Twynham, 75, a native Washingtonian, has worked for Safro as operations
manager for the past 16 years, after teaching high school in Washington. Frazier,
61, originally from upstate New York, has worked as a master carpenter and
home improvement specialist for the past 40 years. A canopy, or chuppah, was
raised above the couple, symbolic of the home they have created together over
the course of their 32-year relationship.
From the ceremony: While we can erect a roof to protect from the elements,
the open walls signify that the outside world will always be a part of, and aect
their lives.
STAFF REPORTS

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JUNE 26, 2015 05

Wanda Sykes
EMONIES

MASTER OF CER
NATIONAL LGBT 50TH ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY
Independence Hall, July 4th

Edie Windsor

Judy Shepard

James Obergefell

Gene Robinson

Supreme Court
DOMA Case Plaintiff

LGBT Activist,
Matthew Shepards Mother

Supreme Court
Marriage Equality Plaintiff

First Openly Gay

Episcopal Bishop

Visit lgbt50th.org

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 6 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

LO CA L N E W S

Gay man seeks common law marriage in dispute

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

It concludes, While Mendez and Lease

may have intended to become married
in the future, there is legally insucient
evidence to establish that a [common
law] marriage had actually occurred.
Mendez and friends of the couple take
strong exception to those arguments.
Several of the couples friends who
regularly hang out at the Fireplace,
a Dupont Circle gay bar, told the
Washington Blade that everyone who
knew the two men considered them to
be in a committed relationship that could
be viewed as equal to a marriage.
The word they used was partners,
said gay Episcopalian activist Charles
Briody, who said he was a longtime friend
of Leases. But you knew the nature of
their relationship was one that could be
viewed like a marriage.
The petition led in court by Mendezs
attorney seeking a declaration of
common law marriage appears to
express those sentiments in legal terms.
Mr. Mendez and Mr. Lease began
their romantic relationship shortly after
meeting on Feb. 13, 2010, with Mr. Mendez
visiting Mr. Lease in Washington, D.C. and
Mr. Lease visiting Mr. Mendez at his home

ENRIQUE MENDEZ (left) and MILES ERIC LEASE at the 17th Street Festival in 2013.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MENDEZ

in New York City, the petition says.

The couple took the next step in
their romantic relationship in July 2010
when Mr. Mendez, at the request of
Mr. Lease, moved from New York City
to Washington, D.C., the petition says.
The couple immediately began residing
together at 4820 Iowa Ave., N.W., sharing
living expenses and jointly contributing
to the household.

Black gay group receives death threat

D.C. police are investigating a telephone death threat left at the oces of the
D.C.-based LGBT group Center for Black Equity at 6:30 a.m. on June 18, just hours
after a white gunman killed nine black people in a church in Charleston, S.C.
The three-minute phone message was tirade lled with homophobic, antiSemitic and downright racist references including the suspects urgency to
institute the mass killing of Blacks, Jews and LGBTQ citizens, according to a
statement released by the Center for Black Equity on Tuesday.
Earl Fowlkes, the organizations president, told the Washington Blade the group
waited ve days before publicly disclosing the death threat because it wanted to
discuss the matter internally and wait for the completion of a police report.
We decided not to keep quiet about it because bias hate and racism and
homophobia and anti-Semitism are something that people have to start standing
up against, Fowlkes said. People have to say something about it.
He said the rambling message left by an unidentied male caller began by
repeating the phrase, the Holocaust is Christmas. According to Fowlkes, who
was the rst to listen to the message when he arrived at his oce, the caller then
said, All you black fags should go back to Africa.
And it said that blacks and Jews should be gassed, Fowlkes said.
He said D.C. police classied the threatening call as a bias-hate incident.
We at the CBE are extremely thankful that no one was injured and or is
currently in danger following the callous eort to distract from the hard work
our center does to improve the lives of LGBTQ people of color, globally, the CBE
statement says. We will continue to work with the local police department to
bring this individual to justice.
In referring to the Charleston incident, the statement adds, Our thoughts
and prayers go out to the families of those who lost their lives, the immediate
Charleston community, and to the many communities across our great nation
who have courageously challenged these acts of violence, discrimination and
injustice, which have no place in our democracy.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

The petition says the couple fullled

the legal requirements of common law
marriage in D.C. when they exchanged
vows to one another in January 2013.
In the early morning hours of Jan. 1,
2013 while the couple was on vacation
in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Mr. Lease
asked Mr. Mendez to be his spouse from
that moment forward, the petition says.
Mr. Mendez replied in the armative,
verbalizing his acceptance and intent to
be Mr. Leases spouse from that moment
forward, it says.
Mr. Mendez then asked Mr. Lease to
be his spouse from that moment forward.
Mr. Lease replied in the armative,
verbalizing his acceptance and intent
to be Mr. Mendezs spouse from that
moment forward, the petition says.
The petition adds that Mendez and
Lease presented themselves as spouses
or partners to friends, family and
neighbors throughout the duration of
their marriage.
Lease died unexpectedly of a heartrelated ailment on June 27, 2014 at the
age of 66, according to information
released by his longtime friend
Stephen Crowley.
Court records show that he did not
leave a will and that the court approved
McKelvey, the niece, as the personal
representative of the estate after
Leases mother and sister who are
the next of kin submitted adavits
waiving their right to be named personal
representative. Under D.C. probate law,
the personal representative plays a role
similar to an executor of an estate.
Mendezs petition for a common law
marriage declaration, which was led
by attorney Meaghan Hearn of the local
law rm Ackerman Brown, says there
is a dispute between Mendez and the
Lease family over whether a marital
relationship exists and whether Mendez
is entitled to property from Mr. Leases

estate as his surviving spouse.

Mr. Mendez is in need of a declaration
from this Court so that he may intervene
in the Probate proceeding to, among
other things, challenge the appointment
of the Personal Representative, the
petition states.
In the memorandum opposing the
petition, attorney Christopher Glaser of
the law rm Jackson & Campbell, says
the rm obtained credit card records for
Mendez that show he had been making
purchases in Raleigh, N.C., at the time
Mendez claims in his petition that he
and Lease exchanged marital vows in
Rehoboth Beach.
[I]t is apparent that Mendez was not
in Rehoboth Beach when he claims,
Glaser states in his memo in support of
the motion seeking denial of the petition
for common law marriage. Mendez told
no one prior to the purported Jan. 1, 2013
exchange of vows that he and Lease were
discussing marriage.
Hearn, Mendezs attorney, declined
to comment on any aspect of the case
when contacted by the Blade. She said in
an email to the Blade that she would be
ling Mendezs response and rebuttal to
Glasers motion for summary judgment
calling for denial of the common law
marriage petition within a week and in
time to meet a court deadline of June 29.
Meanwhile a court status hearing on
the case is scheduled for June 30.
An earlier document led in court by
Hearn responding to written questions
raised by Glaser points to Mendez as
saying he could not remember the exact
dates on which he and Lease discussed
their marital commitments, suggesting
that an incorrect date did not negate the
marriage-like commitment the two men
had for each other.
In the petition seeking the common
law marriage declaration Hearn also
points out that Leases mother was not
accepting of Lease as a gay son.
Upon information and belief, Mr.
Lease kept his family at arms length due
in part to his mothers disapproval of his
sexual orientation, the petition says.
Although Mr. Leases family was
aware that Mr. Mendez and Mr. Lease
were at the very least in a romantic
relationship and that the couple resided
together, Mr. Leases family purposefully
excluded Mr. Mendez from participation
in planning his husbands funeral and
burial arrangements, the petition says.
It could not immediately be determined
when Superior Court Judge Kimberley
Knowles, who is presiding over the case,
was expected to issue a ruling on the
petition for a common law marriage
declaration.

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JUNE 26, 2015 07

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

0 8 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

NATIONAL NEWS

Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) introduced the First Amendment Defense Act.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee designated the Stonewall Inn
as an ocial landmark.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Landmark status for Stonewall Inn

NEW YORK The New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee on June
23 voted to designate the Stonewall Inn as an ocial landmark.
The Associated Press reported the vote, which was unanimous, is the rst
time the commission has designed a landmark in the city based on its role in the
LGBT rights movement.
The New York City Councils LGBT Caucus is thrilled that the Landmarks
Preservation Commission has voted to designate the Stonewall Inn as an
individual landmark, said the New York City Councils LGBT Caucus in a
statement. Landmark status will ensure that this historic site remains intact for
future generations to visit and enjoy.
A group of patrons at the Greenwich Village bar on June 28, 1969, fought against
members of the New York Police Department during a raid. The Stonewall riots
became a watershed moment in the modern LGBT rights movement.

California anti-gay ballot measure blocked

SACRAMENTO, Calif. A California judge on June 22 struck down a proposed
ballot measure that would have made same-sex sexual activity punishable by death.
Superior Court Judge Raymond M. Cadei in a one-page ruling said the socalled Sodomite Suppression Act that Matthew McLaughlin, an Orange County
attorney proposed in February, is patently unconstitutional on its face. Cadei
also ruled that Attorney General Kamala Harris does not have to circulate
petitions in order to place it on the ballot.
Any preparation and ocial issuance of a circulating title and summary for
the fact by the attorney general would be inappropriate, waste public resources,
generate unnecessary divisions among the public and tend to mislead the
electorate, wrote Cadei. The attorney general is relieved of any obligation to
issue a title and summary for the act.
Harris in March requested a court order that would allow her to refuse to act
on the proposed ballot measure.
This proposal not only threatens the public safety, it is patently unconstitutional,
utterly reprehensible and has no place in civil society, Harris said.

Transgender teen murdered in Mississippi

LUCEDALE, Miss. A self-professed gang member has been charged with
murder in connection with the death of a transgender teenager from Alabama.
Police in George County, Miss., said Josh Brandon Vallum killed Mercedes
Williamson, 17, and dumped her body in a eld behind his fathers home. The
Sun-Herald newspaper reported that authorities found Williamsons partially
decomposed body on the property on June 2.
The newspaper reported that Williamson lived in Theodore, Ala., which is
roughly 50 miles southeast of where her body was found.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs in a June 22 press release
notes Williamson is the eighth trans person to be killed in 2015.

Fedl religious freedom bill

seen to enable anti-LGBT bias
Measure would
open Pandoras Box
of discrimination
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
New legislation introduced by Rep.
Raul Labrador (R-Idaho) and Sen.
Mike Lee (R-Utah) has the stated
intent of protecting institutions that
oppose same-sex marriage, but LGBT
advocates are opposing it for what they
say is the potential to go further and
open a Pandoras Box of anti-LGBT
discrimination.
The bill, the First Amendment Defense
Act, was introduced last week ahead of an
expected decision from the U.S. Supreme
Court this month on whether same-sex
couples have a right to marry across
the country.
Proponents of the religious freedom
legislation say it would prevent federal
agencies from denying a tax exemption,
grant, contract, license or certication
to an individual, association or business
based on their belief that marriage
should be restricted to one man, one
woman. For example, one stated intent of
the bill is prohibiting the Internal Revenue
Service from a removing a churchs taxexempt status for refusing to perform
same-sex weddings.
Lee said in a statement he introduced
the Senate version of legislation because
theres a reason the right to religious liberty
appears rst in our nations Bill of Rights.
The vast majority of Americans today
still hold a robust view of religious
liberty, yet across the country the right of
conscience is threatened by state and local
governments that coerce, intimidate, and
penalize individuals, associations, and
businesses who believe that marriage is
a union between a man and a woman,
Lee said. The First Amendment Defense
Act is necessary to ensure that this kind

of government excess never occurs at the

federal level.
In the Senate, the bill has a total of 18
co-sponsors, all Republicans, including
presidential candidates Ted Cruz (Texas),
Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Lindsey Graham
(S.C.). Another Republican U.S. senator
whos a presidential candidate, but not a
co-sponsor, is Rand Paul (Ky.). In the House,
the bill has 57 co-sponsors, including one
Democrat: Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill).
Similar religious freedom legislation
was introduced during the 113th
Congress by the same lawmakers and
was known at the time as the Marriage &
Religious Freedom Act.
Labrador said in a statement he
introduced the House version of the bill
because America set the standard for
upholding freedom of belief and worship
in a diverse society.
No American should ever doubt
these protections enshrined in the First
Amendment, Labrador said. Our bill
ensures that the federal government
does not penalize Americans for following
their religious beliefs or moral convictions
on traditional marriage. Our bill shields
against federal intrusion without taking
anything away from anyone. In a shifting
landscape, its time that Congress
proactively defend this sacred right.
LGBT
advocates
oppose
the
legislation, saying it reaches beyond its
stated purpose and, like controversial
religious freedom measures in Indiana
and Arkansas that were later scaled
back, would similarly enable anti-LGBT
discrimination, but at a national level.
Ian Thompson, legislative director for
the American Civil Liberties Union, said the
legislation would eviscerate the executive
order signed President Obama last year
barring federal contractors from engaging
in anti-LGBT bias in the workplace.
This sweeping and dangerous bill would
open a Pandoras Box of taxpayer-funded
discrimination against same-sex couples
and their children, Thompson said.

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JUNE 26, 2015 09

Fourth of July Sale!

Celebrate the birthday of America
and Ginkgo Gardens...... for 15 days only......
June 26th through July 11th.

25% to 50% off on selected

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Many other items will be
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Over 15 Years on the Hill!

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accent on the t: taking Stock of

Progress in transgender health and rights
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 7:00 PM
Jack Morton Auditorium, Media and Public Affairs Building, The George Washington University
805 21st Street, NW Washington, DC 20052
The annual LGBT Health Forum is a high profile public event that showcases the accomplishments of LGBT Health Policy & Practice students and
shines a spotlight on vital health issues facing LGBT people in the United States and globally, including insurance reform, DOMA, human rights, HIV/
AIDS, and global health, among others. The event is free and open to the public. However, The Forum is also a fundraiser. Donations of $50 or $100
or more priority seating and VIP reception access, respectively. Get tickets online at lgbt.columbian.gwu.edu. Tickets will also be available at the door.

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Mara KeiSling
Founding Executive Director
of the National Center for
Transgender Equality

ilan Meyer
Senior Scholar for Public
Policy at the Williams Institute
for Sexual Orientation Law
and Public Policy at UCLAs
School of Law

naSeeMa ShaFi
Deputy Executive Director,
Whitman Walker Health

ruby corado
Executive Director, Casa Ruby
LGBT Youth Shelter

SPecial celebrity
gueSt PaneliSt
Fallon Fox
Transgender professional,
Mixed Martial Arts fighter
and subject of the new
documentary Game Face

Sponsored by: The Washington Blade, Sorraia Consulting, Abundance Management, The Divino Grill, Whitman Walker Health, Modus One Hotels, GLMA Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, Athlete Ally, Capital Pride

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 0 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

NATIONAL NEWS

OPM bans trans exclusion in federal health plans

PRESIDENT OBAMA isnt expected to lift the ban on transgender service in time for
Pride.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Obama wont lift trans

military ban for Pride
Despite growing calls from lawmakers and advocates to lift the ban
on transgender people serving in the armed forces, President Obama isnt
expected to announce a policy change on the issue during the upcoming Pride
reception at the White House on Wednesday.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday he wouldnt
anticipate an announcement like that at the event from Obama in response to
a question from the Washington Blade on whether the president would take the
opportunity to declare an end to the policy.
Earnest said implementation of a change like open trans service requires
military leaders to complete a process when asked if the administrations
previously stated openness to the idea is incongruous with the militarys
continued policy of expelling trans troops.
Weve long acknowledged that considering these kinds of policy changes
also involves considering the process for implementing them, and the job of
advocates on the outside is to apply pressure and to try to speed that process,
Earnest said. Its the responsibility of those, particularly those who are leading
our military, to ensure that any policy that is decided and implemented is clearly
within the best interest of the United States military and our men and women in
uniform who volunteer to serve this country.
Earnest restated Obamas view that suggests he supports allowing openly trans
people to serve, although that view doesnt explicitly endorse a policy change.
But I will reiterate the presidents view, and its one that is shared by his
secretary of defense, Earnest said. Its that Americans who are qualied to
serve should be able to do so and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
The ban on openly trans military service continues to receive attention.
Although the White House and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter have expressed
an openness to the idea, no specic review of the ban is underway and the ban
remains in place.
Instead, the Pentagon says a wide-ranging review of medical policy that isnt
specic to the ban on trans service is underway. That may result in a change to
the trans ban, which is a medical regulation. The Army and the Air Force have
raised the authority needed to discharge a service member for being trans,
while the Navy is considering such a change.
Meanwhile, at least two openly trans service members and four trans military
veterans were scheduled to attend the Pride reception at the White House held on
Wednesday, after Blade print deadline, according to the LGBT military group SPARTA.
One of these trans active duty service members, Air Force Senior Airman Logan
Ireland, has received dispensation from his command to attend wearing a male
dress uniform. The other trans active duty service member schedule to attend is
his ance, Army Corp. Laila Villanueva, who plans to attend in civilian clothes.
The trans veterans set to attend are retired Army Col. Sheri Swokowski, Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Brynn Tannehill, Former Marine Sgt. Devon Allen and former Army
National Guard Specialist Bryce Jordan Celotto.
CHRIS JOHNSON

In a move that builds o a policy change

made one year ago, the U.S. Oce of Personnel
Management announced Tuesday that federal
health plans cannot have blanket prohibitions on
transition-related care for federal employees.
Samuel Schumach, a spokesperson for OPM,
told the Washington Blade his agency had
informed federal health coverage providers
on the same day it announced the change that
such coveragemust be made available for plans
beginning next year.
Earlier today, OPM informed health insurance
carriers participating in the Federal Employees
Health Benets Program that for 2016 health
plans, we are prohibiting the general exclusion
of services, drugs, or supplies related to gender
transition, Schumach said. Our carrier letter
helps clarify OPMs earlier guidance recognizing
evolving professional consensus on the medical
Former Gov. JEB BUSH (R-Fla.) leads
needs of transgender individuals.
the GOP pack in recent polls.
The change, which was announced quietly
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY LEE WHITMAN
without any formal news statement, builds o a
change the agency made in June 2014, when it
told carriers it would no longer bar coverage of
transgender-related care beginning with the 2015 plan year. However, carriers were still
free to have bans on such services on their volition.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, only three providers AETNA, Kaiser
Permanente, and the Foreign Service Benet Plan provided transition-related care to
federal employees as of the start of this year.
In preparation for the Federal Health Benets Open Season this fall, OPM continues
to work hard to provide Federal employees with a broad selection of plan options at
reasonable prices, Schumach said. Last year, OPM removed the requirement that FEHB
plans exclude services, drugs, or supplies directly related to transition. By the start of
2015, at least one FEHB plan in every state oered coverage for a broad range of gender
transition-related services, including hormone therapy, counseling, and surgery.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality,
said the policy change is a huge step toward ending one of the last remaining ways
the federal government discriminates against transgender people, but warned the ght
isnt over.
Its unclear how many federal employees identify as transgender. According to a 2011
report from the Williams Institute, an estimated 700,000 people in the entire United
States identify as transgender, which accounts for about one-third of one percent of
the population.

Bush reiterates opposition to marriage equality

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush reiterated his opposition to same-sex
marriagelast week, urging the country to recognize the power of a man and a woman
raising children regardless of the upcoming decision on the issue by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
The former Florida governor made the remarks during a speech at the Faith &
Freedom Coalition conference in D.C. in which he decried supposedthreats to religious
liberty.
His comments on the issue were virtually lifted from his presidential campaign
announcement in Florida earlier in the week, but he added new language,saying the
views of religious individuals who object to same-sex marriage should be valued.
This conscience should also be respected in people of faith who want to take a stand
for traditional marriage, Bush said. In a country like ours, we should recognize the
power of a man and a woman loving their children with all their heart and soul as a
good thing, as something that is positive and helpful for children to live a successful life.
And while there are people who disagree with this, we should not push aside those
that believe in traditional marriage, Bush continued. I, for one, believe its important,
and I think its got to be important over the long haul, irrespective of what courts say.
Bush didnt articulate any policy measure by which he would seek to oppose samesex marriage. He hasnt yet spoken this campaign cycle on whether hed back a U.S.
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage an idea that GOP hopefuls
Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Scott Walker have endorsed.
CHRIS JOHNSON

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I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S

Gay Dominican ambassador prioritizes human rights

Brewster, husband
promote LGBT issues
in Catholic country
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic
U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican
Republic James Wally Brewster was
looking out over the driveway of his
ocial residence shortly after 6 p.m. on
June 19 when he noticed the Pride ag
ying over it had become caught around
the agpole.
The decision to also hang it from the
facade of the U.S. Embassy in Santo
Domingo, the Dominican capital, sparked
controversy among some religious
leaders in the predominantly Roman
Catholic country. Brewster said the fact
that other foreign governments decided
to y it over their respective embassies
in the Dominican Republic for Pride
month shows the LGBT rights movement
continues to gain traction in the country
and around the world.
I see it progressing and it gives
me great hope, Brewster told the
Washington Blade during an interview
at his home with his husband, Bob
Satawake. You can see it happening here
in the Dominican Republic.
Dominican advocates with whom the
Blade has spoken since President Obama
nominated Brewster two years ago credit
the former Human Rights Campaign
board member and his husband with
making the countrys LGBT rights
movement more visible.
Brewster and Satawake who
frequently appear in the Dominican
press have met with local LGBT rights
advocates several times since they
formally assumed the post in late 2013.
Special U.S. Envoy to Promote Global
LGBT Rights Randy Berry earlier this
month keynoted a Pride month reception
that Brewster and Satawake hosted at
their ocial residence. Dennis and Judy
Shepard, Miss Dominican Republic World
2008 Geisha Montes and two prominent
Dominican lawmakers Minou Mirabal
Tavrez and Victor Gmez Casanova
were among those who attended the
Breakfast for Equality with Ambassador
Brewster event.
Brewster and Satawake last month
spoke to 1,100 women who were in Punta
Cana on an Olivia Cruises vacation. The
company, which caters to lesbians and
their families, rented out an entire Club
Med resort.
Brewster and Satawake on June 19
attended a press event in Santo Domingos
Old City that highlighted a new LGBT

U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic JAMES WALLY BREWSTER, (left) and his husband,
BOB SATAWAKE, at their ocial residence in Santo Domingo on June 19.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS

tourism campaign launched by the Center

for Integrated Training and Research, a
Dominican advocacy group known by the
Spanish acronym COIN, and ProActividad,
an economic empowerment program.
Victor Terrero, executive director of the
Dominican Republics National Council
on HIV and AIDS, COIN Executive Director
Santos Rosario, COIN Medical Director
John Waters and Marriott International
Vice President of Multicultural Aairs
Apoorva Gandhi spoke at the gathering
alongside Brewster.
Brewster and Satawake spoke with
the Blade shortly before a group of LGBT
journalists from the U.S. and Latin America
who were in the Dominican Republic to
report on the tourism initiative arrived at
their ocial residence for a reception.
One of the key things that I want to
continue to focus on as Bob and I have
is to show that were a loving couple and
we are gay, said Brewster as Satawake
listened. We are out there talking about
relationships, talking about our faith and
really representing the American people
in a way that I think continues to promote
our values.
Brewster and Satawake spent their
rst winter in the Dominican Republic
in 2004 after Moises Alou, a player for
the Chicago Cubs who lived next door
to them in the Windy City, invited them.
They bought a home in Juan Dolio, a
small beach town about 30 miles east of
Santo Domingo, in 2008.
The two men were well established in
their respective careers before Obama
tapped Brewster to represent the U.S. in
the Dominican Republic.
Brewster is a former senior executive
for General Growth Properties, which is
one of the largest commercial real estate
and land development rms in the U.S. He
started his own consulting rm SB&K
Global after leaving the company.
Satawake owned the Chicago Luxury
Group, which he described as a private
luxury real estate business. He was aliated
with Sothebys International Reality.

Haters did us a favor

Obamas
decision
to
nominate
Brewster to represent the U.S. in the
Dominican Republic sparked outrage
among the countrys religious leaders,
most notably Cardinal Nicols de Jess
Lpez Rodrguez of the Archdiocese of
Santo Domingo who described him as a
faggot during a 2013 press conference.
Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo,
the Vaticans envoy to the Dominican
Republic, cited the countrys Constitution
that denes marriage as between a man
and a woman as the reason he did not
invite Satawake to a diplomatic reception
last year with President Danilo Medina
and his wife, Cndida Montilla de Medina.
Okolo was forced to postpone the
event after a number of ambassadors
said they would not attend. It eventually
took place at a Santo Domingo hotel with
Satawake and Brewster in attendance.
From day one, Bob and I were
embraced by President Medina, the rst
lady and his administration, Brewster told
the Blade. Weve continued to grow that
relationship and I think there has been a
shared appreciation for the eorts that
both our countries are making together.
The two men declined to specically
discuss Lpez with the Blade, but
Satawake said the haters did us a favor.
They put this conversation on the front
page of the newspapers, he told the
Blade, noting the lack of positive coverage
of LGBT issues in the Dominican press
before Obama nominated Brewster.
Satawake said Dominican culture is not
one of hate at all. Both he and Brewster
told the Blade throughout the interview that
many Dominicans apologized for the way
that Lpez and others categorized them.
There were a lot of people that stood
up and said No, no, no, no, no, this is not
what our country is about. This is not what
our people are about, said Satawake. I
dont think we facilitated that. I think they
facilitated that.

The U.S. is the Dominican Republics

largest trading partner, with nearly $14
billion worth of trade each year between
the two countries. The Dominican Republic
is also part of a free trade agreement that
includes the Central American nations
of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua.
Brewster
told
the
Blade
that
expanding
business
opportunities,
ghting corruption, improving the
countrys education system and energy
infrastructure and combating racism and
violence against women and girls are
among his priorities as ambassador.
Brewster earlier this month joined the
ve other openly gay U.S. ambassadors,
Berry
and
Deputy
U.S.
Trade
Representative Robert Holleyman who
publicly said a controversial pan-Pacic
trade agreement would expand rights
for LGBT people in the countries that
ratied it. He also told the Blade that he
welcomes Pope Francis more moderate
tone toward LGBT Catholics and other
hot button social issues.
My hope is that everyone and I
do believe this puts love rst, said
Brewster. Thats what I think of when
I think of what God speaks to me about
everyday is putting love rst. That is what
I hope that he continues and it seems he
continues to promote.
Brewster spoke to the Blade two
days after the deadline for migrants to
register with the Dominican government
passed. He downplayed media reports
that suggest Medinas plan to legalize
undocumented immigrants the
majority of whom are from neighboring
Haiti would lead to mass deportations
of Haitians from the country.
Dont believe the press youve seen
in the last couple of days, said Brewster
during the Santo Domingo press event
in response to the Blades question to
Terrero about the issue. Theres some
sensational press out there.
Brewster told the Blade that he
hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will issue
a positive decision in the same-sex
marriage cases it heard in April.
Hopefully the Supreme Court ruling
will be one that were all going to be
happy with, added Satawake.
Satawake told the Blade that any
decision the U.S. Supreme Court may
issue against nuptials for gays and
lesbians would not have an adverse
impact on him or Brewster.
He conceded he is concerned that
some countries may use a ruling against
same-sex marriage as an excuse to
discriminate against LGBT individuals
and to justify their adverse opinions.
Satawake told the Blade he feels condent
that this situation will not come to pass in
the Dominican Republic.

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I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S

Increased tourism good for LGBT Dominicans

MANABAO, Dominican Republic A
cross-dressing Dominican activist this
week said increased LGBT tourism to
his country will benet him and other
community members.
I think that it would be good, Nol
David Guerrero, who uses the name
Catalina when he dresses as a woman,
told the Washington Blade during an
interview at a ranch along Ro Yaque del
Norte, which ows from Pico Duarte,
the highest mountain in the Dominican
Republic. [Tourism] will be a great focal
point for the LGBT community.
Guerrero was among the LGBT rights
advocates from the nearby cities of La
Vega, Jarabacoa and Puerto Plata in the
Cibao region who had gathered at the
ranch for a two-day workshop that took
place as part ProActividad, an economic
empowerment program.
The Center for Integrated Training and
NOL DAVID GUERRERO is a cross-dresser from La Vega, Dominican Republic. He also
Research, a group known by the Spanish
uses the name Catalina when he dresses as a woman.
acronym COIN that has fought the AIDS
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
epidemic in the Dominican Republic
and throughout the Caribbean since
the 1980s, launched ProActividad as part of its ongoing eorts to respond to what it describes on its website as a lack of
expectations, opportunities and the economic situation.
COIN is based in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo, which is roughly 100 miles southeast of the ranch at which
Guerrero and other local advocates had gathered. It is working with government ocials and travel industry representatives
to promote LGBT tourism and gay rights in the Caribbean country.
Guerrero, 22, lives in La Vega.
He told the Blade that he feels people in his region have become more conscious and more tolerant since he became an
advocate ve years ago. Guerrero pointed out that LGBT people in his region feel more comfortable going to hospitals where
they once may have been discriminated against.
Here in Cibao we have seen very big changes that you would not have seen before, he told the Blade.
He said increased awareness of LGBT-specic issues and an increasing amount of information about them has contributed
to these changes.
Its something powerful, said Guerrero.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Mexican court rules marriage bans unconstitutional

The Mexican Supreme Court on June 19 released its decision in which it concludes
same-sex marriage bans in the countrys states are unconstitutional.
The exclusion of same-sex couples from the institution of marriage perpetuates the
notion that same-sex couples are less deserving of recognition than heterosexuals,
oending their dignity as people and their integrity, reads the ruling.
The court also rejected the argument that marriage is necessary for procreation.
To link the requirements of marriage to the sexual preferences of those who seek to
access the institution of marriage with procreation is discriminatory, reads the decision.
It unjustly excludes same-sex couples from accessing marriage who nd themselves in
similar conditions as heterosexual couples. The distinction is discriminatory because
sexual preferences are not a relevant reason on which to make the distinction in
relation to the constitutional mandate. As the purpose of marriage is not procreation,
there is no justiable reason that the marital union should be heterosexual, nor should
it be described as only between a man and a woman.
The court issued its ruling in cases from the states of Oaxaca, Baja California, Sinaloa,
Mxico and Colima in which same-sex couples sought legal resource known as an
amparo in the Mexican judicial system in order to receive marriage rights.
Mexico City and the states of Coahuila and Quintana Roo are among the jurisdictions
in which gays and lesbians can legally tie the knot.
The governor of the state of Chihuahua earlier this month announced his
administration would no longer prevent same-sex couples from marrying. Lawmakers
in the state of Tamaulipas, in which the city of Matamoros is located, are expected to
consider the issue in their upcoming legislative session.

Gay couple unable to leave

Thailand with daughter

A Florida man claims he and his

husband are unable to leave Thailand
with their infant daughter because the
woman who gave birth to her objects to
the fact they are a same-sex couple.
Gordon Bud Lake told the Washington
Blade during a Skype interview on June
9 that he met the surrogate mother in
person for the rst time the day before
his daughter, Carmen Santos Lake, was
born in a Bangkok hospital on Jan. 17.
He said he visited her in the subsequent
days, and brought his son lvaro, who
was born through a surrogate in India
in August 2013, with him. Lake told the
Blade that his husband, who is from
Spain, did not accompany him.
Lake said the surrogate who is not
the babys biological mother agreed
to list him on their daughters birth
certicate as her father. He told the Blade
the surrogate also signed a consent form
that allowed him to take her from the
hospital.
All seemed to be going well, wrote
Lake in an email to the Blade earlier this
month. Carmen was beautiful, happy
and healthy. The surrogate was fully
cooperating and I was looking forward
to heading home with my family in a
matter of weeks, once all the remaining
paperwork was nalized.
Lake told the Blade he rst became
aware that the surrogate had an issue
with the fact that he and his husband are
a same-sex couple a few weeks after she
gave birth to their daughter.
She had stated to our lawyer [that] she
was ne helping out a couple that had
problems that couldnt have a child on
their own and that we werent an ordinary
family, Lake told the Blade, recalling the
surrogates objections. Thats when I rst found out about it. I dont know if the agency
told her before hand.
Lake told the Blade the surrogate represented by the Womens Lawyers Association
of Thailand did not show up for a scheduled meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok
where he said she was to have provided him with the necessary paperwork that would
have allowed him to leave the country with his daughter. He said the surrogate was also
supposed to sign for her American passport.
The surrogate made the rst of several appearances in the Thai media on March 3.
Lake told the Blade that the surrogate on March 19 arrived at the Bangkok apartment
building in which he and his husband had previously lived. He said they had already
moved because their original lawyer told them she could come and try to take the baby
from us.
Lake said the surrogate and her teenage daughter waited in the lobby for eight hours.
She asked me to come downstairs and bring the baby, he said, recalling a
conversation he said he had with the surrogate over a Thai social media network. She
wanted to see the baby.
Lake provided the Blade with a picture he said the surrogate posted to her Facebook
page in which she is holding a gun. Four other pictures show guns and bullets.
Lake said the surrogate and her representative earlier this month requested a
meeting with him. He told the Blade they asked to bring her daughter, as they put it.
We refused because we dont trust them at all, said Lake. We do think that it is
possible if they had the opportunity they would do something to try to take Carmen
from us.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

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NEWS

Plaintiff couples anxiously await marriage ruling

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Obergefell is a plainti in a lawsuit

seeking recognition in Ohio of his out-ofstate same-sex marriage to John Arthur,
who died in 2013 of Lou Gehrigs disease.

The couple sued the state to ensure

Arthurs death certicate designates
Obergefell as spouse to Arthur.
Every day Im in court its the anxiety
of wondering is this the day? Obergefell
said. Im thinking of John and hoping

Kameny inducted into Labor Hall of Honor

More than 300 people turned

out at the U.S. Department of Labor
headquarters in Washington on
Tuesday for a ceremony in which
Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez
inducted the late gay rights leader
Frank Kameny into the departments
Labor Hall of Honor.
In a statement last month
announcing
Kamenys
selection
for the honor the department said
Kamenys decades long work to end
LGBT discrimination in the federal
workplace made a monumental
dierence in improving the lives of all
workers all across America.
Perez noted that Kameny joins
the late Sen. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.); former Secretary of Labor
Frances Perkins; famed civil rights
leader Bayard Rustin, who was gay;
Frank Kameny was inducted into the
Labor Departments Hall of Honor on
and others selected for the Hall of
Tuesday.
Honor because of their extraordinary
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY LOU CHIBBARO JR.
contributions to the eld of labor and
the quality of life for working families.
People who are in the know, know of Frank Kameny, Perez told the gathering.
And it is my sincere hope that more people will get to know Frank Kameny
because like Bayard Rustin, like so many other gures in the LGBT movement,
they changed this country for the better, he said. And frankly they changed the
world for the better.
Others participating in the ceremony were D.C. Congressional Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton and U.S. Department of Defense Chief of Sta Eric
Fanning, whos gay.
Veteran D.C. gay activist Paul Kuntzler, who worked on gay rights projects
with Kameny in the early 1960s in Washington, stood next to Perez and Fanning
as Norton removed a black veil from a wall at the site of the Hall of Honor to
ocially display Kamenys name.
Kamenys name has been placed just above that of famed labor leader Walter
Reuther and just below that of former AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland.
Just before unveiling Kamenys name, Norton told the gathering that she
observed Kamenys work as a leading gure in the LGBT rights movement over
a period of many years. She noted that Kameny, who held a Harvard Ph.D. in
astronomy, chose to switch gears and start the ght for LGBT equality after
being red from his job with the U.S. Army Map Service because he was gay.
He had no role models to encourage him and no gay rights organizations to
protect him, so he started one, the Mattachine Society, Norton said, referring to
Kamenys eorts in the early 1960s.
He took his courage and made it contagious, Norton said. He counseled the
closetedHe led countless gays out of their fear of being discovered by showing
that hiding their identity reinforced bigotry.
Kameny has been credited, among other things, with playing a key role in
pressuring the then-U.S. Civil Service Commission to end its ban on gays in the
federal workforce in 1975 and subsequent eorts to end the governments
longstanding ban on issuing security clearances for gays.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

SCOTUS rules that we and all couples

like us are equal citizens of the United
States, deserving of the right to marry
the person we love, and to have that
marriage recognized throughout the
country.
Its unknown exactly what day the
Supreme Court will issue its decision,
although the court has set Thursday,
Friday and Monday as opinion days.
The court just this week added
Friday, the two-year anniversary of the
ruling against the Defense of Marriage
Act and the 12-year anniversary of
Lawrence v. Texas, as an opinion day on
its schedule. A ruling on Friday would
amplify the historical nature of the
day, but the prevailing wisdom is the
Supreme Court will issue the decision
on the last day of the term, which is set
for Monday.
Other plaintis in marriage litigation
arent in D.C. awaiting the decision, but
are still on pins and needles awaiting
the ruling.
Rev. Maurice Blanchard, a Baptist
minister whos among the plaintis in the
Love v. Beshear case seeking to the right
to marry in Kentucky, said he and his
partner, Dominique James, are staying
in their home state because they cant
aord to travel or take time o.
We are very excited though and
check our phones often for alerts on
SCOTUS, hoping theyll make their
decision each day, Blanchard said.
While we know there are several
dierent outcomes possible, we know
in our hearts that love will win. There
are times like this, where all involved
have done every single thing possible
to bring about the end of discrimination
and we must trust with faith that God
will bring about the nal victory; that
God will make the impossible possible.
Dominique and I lean on this faith daily
as do our friends and family.
The lesbian plainti couple in the
Michigan marriage case, April DeBoer
and Jayne Rowze, are also staying in their
home state for the day of the decision.
When the decision is handed down the
couple, their attorneys and supporters
are set to gather in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
to celebrate and conduct a news
conference.
Mark Phariss, who is among the
plainti couples in the DeLeon v. Perry
case seeking the right to marry in Texas,
said he and his partner, Vic Holmes,
plan to travel on decision day to the LBJ
Library in Austin for a news conference
with fellow plaintis and their attorneys
at Akin Gump.
As an FYI of how closely were watching
everything, we have booked round trip
ights to Austin for each day the decision
could come out starting with June 15,

Phariss said. On each of those days,

we have risen at 5:30 a.m., fed the dogs
and left the house by 6:30 a.m. for Dallas
Love Field...We then checked in and sat
in the terminal, watching SCOTUSblog
to see if theres a decision. When there
hasnt been, we have left the secured
area of the airport and canceled our
ight for a refund. We then have headed
back to work.
After the Texas news conference,
Phariss said the couple plans to return
to Dallas to apply for a marriage license
and head to the Cathedral of Hope
for a celebration rally. The couple is
planning their actual wedding ceremony
in November, but may speed things
up a bit.
We dont want to get married right
away because we want a more traditional
wedding, but were getting a license in
case Texas tries to muck things up like
call a special session of the legislature,
Phariss said. We may then go ahead and
have a courthouse wedding.
Joce Pritchett, one of the plaintis in
the Mississippi marriage case led by
the Campaign for Southern Equality,
said friends are keeping her and her
spouse, Carla Webb, updated about
developments.
Were exhausted, Pritchett said. Im
trying not to watch it, but, honestly, we
have friends that send us every little
email, every little article they see on
Facebook, even text message if their
mama hears something about the
Supreme Court, so its hard to avoid it.
We were trying to lay low, but its just not
happening.
A documentary is underway on the
marriage campaign in Mississippi and
Pritchett said cameras are in her oce
every potential decision day just in case
to capture her reaction when the decision
is handed down. Parties are planned
to celebrate the decision in Mississippi
where hundreds of people have made
reservations, but because the day isnt
rmly known, Pritchett said the time and
location arent yet decided.
Pritchett and Webb have already wed in
Maine and are seeking state recognition
of their marriage, but Pritchett said theyll
le back taxes with Mississippi for an
additional refund if the Supreme Court
renders a favorable decision.
Im probably going to cry, the
people in the office are probably going
to cry, Pritchett said. My little girl is at
the office with me. Shes been talking
about changing the bad laws. When
we got our [district court] ruling here
in Mississippi that we had won, we
dancedShell be here with us when
we find out about the Supreme Court,
and well probably be dancing and
crying at the time.

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JUNE 26, 2015 17

Brian had his HIV under control with

medication. But smoking with HIV
caused him to have serious health
problems, including a stroke, a blood
clot in his lungs and surgery on an
artery in his neck. Smoking makes
living with HIV much worse.
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

BA L T I M O RE N E W S

Lesbian Couples Club

helping homeless youth
In an eort to help LGBT homeless
youth in Baltimore, the Lesbian Couples
Club will raise money by holding an allyou-can-eat crab feast on July 10 from
7-11 p.m. The event will take place at
Michaels Eight Avenue, 7220 Grayburn
Dr. in Glen Burnie.
Founded by Wendy Jones and her
wife Dr. Tonya Featherston, the Lesbian
Couples Club (lesbiancouplesclub.com)
is an organization geared toward helping
lesbian couples build lasting, healthy
relationships.
Dr. Tonya and I started the organization
almost a year ago, and we currently have
over 200 couples as members of the club,
Jones told the Blade. The crab feast
fundraiser is aimed at raising seed money
to open a drop-in center and shelter for
homeless LGBT youth and young adults
called the Rainbow Hope House, which
we are planning to open in the Baltimore
area in 2016.
The plight of homeless LGBT youth in
Baltimore continues to be a challenge
especially with the lack of available
resources. Statistics indicate LGBT youth
comprise 40 percent of the homeless
children on the streets of Baltimore and
other major cities.
We are very aware of the issue of
homeless youth and young adults
nationwide and particularly in the
Baltimore/D.C. area, Jones said. Many
of the members of our organization are
educators, social workers and human
service professionals who have a passion
for helping our LGBT youth. The Rainbow
Hope House is our way of giving back and
helping to support our youth ... many of
whom remind us of ourselves when we
were that age.
The cost of the crab feast is $55
plus a $2.37 service fee for each ticket
purchased. Tickets are available at
eventbrite.com.

Carroll County rejects PFLAG

efforts on gender identity
The
Carroll
County
Board
of
Education denied a request by the
Westminster chapter of PFLAG to
provide sta development to teachers
related to students with gender
identication issues.
According to a letter dated May 15, in
response to a request by members and
supporters of PFLAG to partner with the
school system, the board stated, While
we appreciate your request and sincerity
of your interest, we do not permit
outside groups to work with teachers to
promote outside organization goals and
objectives. Therefore we must decline

JUNE 26, 2015 19

your request. Allowing your group to

do so would create an open forum,
requiring us to allow all outside groups to
provide instruction to our teaching sta.
The letter was obtained by the Carroll
County Times.
A similar partnership was formed in
April between PFLAG-Howard County and
Howard County Public Schools.
While the [Carroll County] school

system has made some positive steps

with PFLAG by allowing advertisements for
some community meetings be distributed
at local high schools and middle
schools, it is clear that there is great
misunderstanding regarding the needs
of the LGBTQ population in their schools,
Anne Stoner, a member of the PFLAG
steering committee and a paraeducator
for Carroll County Public Schools, told the

Blade. I am convinced the solution to this

ignorance is dependent on straight allies
in our conservative part of Maryland.
There are people that care here but dont
know how to help. Waiting for equality
in our schools is unacceptable, we need
equality now, she said.
STEVE CHARING

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for Starter XF Triple Play is $136.99$141.99 and for Blast! Internet is $12 (pricing subject to change). TV and Internet service limited to a single outlet. May not be
combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. WiFi
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6/18/15 10:45 AM

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

20 J U N E 26, 2015

H E A LT H N E W S

Houston researchers seek gay smokers for study

HOUSTON A new LGB smoking study at the University of Houston is
underway and researchers are seeking participants, Project Q Houston reports.
Scientists behind Project FRESH AIR (Focused Research to Enhance Social
Health Among individuals in the Rainbow) are hoping to nd out why gays
smoke more than non-sexual minority individuals, the article said.
The reasons for this are likely multifaceted, ranging from the eects of the
unique cultural stressors we face to the inuence of targeted tobacco advertising
campaigns, Nathan G. Smith, professor, told Project Q.
We are interested in how the specic stressorsthatsexual minority individuals
face such as discrimination and unfair treatment impact their health
behaviors, Smith says. It is important to better understand these factors so
that we can appropriately tailor interventions to reduce smoking, and associated
tobacco-related health disparities, in the LGBQ community.
Gay Houston smokers can earn gift cards for participating. Once enrolled,
they must visit the campus twice, answer computer questionnaires and give six
saliva samples. Participants must also agree to GPS monitoring for about a week
during the study.

Study nds support networks essential for youth

SAN FRANCISCO The need to prevent stigma-related health risks for LGBT
youth and young adults including mental health, substance abuse, suicide,
homelessness and sexual health risks calls for developing low-cost options
that promote well-being and increase connectedness according to a new study
from the Family Acceptance Project.
Researchers examined the role of family, peers and community support
during adolescence on positive adjustment and well-being in LGBT young adults
conrms the important role of support, especially family support, for LGBT
youth and young adults, Project sta announced in a press release.
The study, Social Support Networks for LGBT Young Adults, published in
the July issue of Family Relations, reports on data from the Family Acceptance
Projects young adult survey which examined the relationship between family
acceptance and LGBT-positive peer and community support during adolescence
with positive adjustment in young adulthood. Conducted in English and Spanish
with immigrant and U.S.-born populations, the survey included 245 Latino and
non-Latino white LGBT young adults, ages 21-25.

STI rates up dramatically among British MSM

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LONDON Sexually transmitted infections among gay men in England are up

dramatically, a trend Public Health England sta attributes to hook-up apps and
more condomless sex, the BBC reports.
Figures for 2014 show a 46 percent increase in syphilis infections, 32 percent
increase in gonorrhea and 26 percent increase in chlamydia. Atlhough overall
STIs were down .3 percent from the previous year, men who have sex with men
saw spikes across the board with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and genital
warts, the BBD reports.
Dr. Gwenda Hughes, the head of STI surveillance at Public Health England, said,
The stats published today show that too many people are getting STIs, reducing
this spread must be a public health priority. We are particularly concerned about
the large rises in diagnoses among gay men.
The report said high levels of sex without a condom probably account for most
of this rise, but it also drew attention to the rapid spread of infections in dense
sexual networks of HIV-positive men who have sex with men, the BBC article said.
Health promotion and education to increase risk awareness and encourage
safer sexual behavior remain the cornerstones of STI prevention, Hughes
said. Ensuring easy access to sexual health services and STI screening is a vital
component in the control of STIs.
Gay men are advised to have HIV and STI testing every year, or every three
months if they have sex without condoms or with casual partners.
Theres also striking evidence that this trend extends far beyond the UK. In
May, the Rhode Island Department of Health announced its data ndings and
said reported cases of infectious syphilis increased 79 percent, gonorrhea cases
increased 30 percent and new HIV cases increased 33 percent, WBUR, Bostons
NPR news station reports. The department also said these rates are overall
higher for men who have sex with men.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

CO A CH G

J U N E 26, 2015 21

Keep your promise to protect each other.

The skinny on fat

Its not all bad for you just
know what youre taking in

Whats up healthy people? Hope

you are enjoying your post-Pride
recovery by eating healthy foods.
While prancing around last
weekend, possibly shirtless, I had a
few people ask me what low fat diets I
recommend. To start the week I had a
new client tell me hes been only eating
GERARD BURLEY is a D.C.-based personal
trainer. Reach him via @CoachGFit or coachg@
low-fat granola bars for breakfast.And
coachgtness.com.
you may have heard that the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) has just
come out with an upcoming ban on trans fat in most of our foods.With all this fat talk
surrounding me, I gure the world is ready for some answers on fat.
What are fats? So lets start with the basics.Fat is nothing more than a very
concentrated energy source in foods.Shes the thicker sister to carbohydrates
and proteins.Though its gotten a pretty bad rap over the years, its an essential
nutrient that we need for everyday body function. Without the presence of
some fat in our diets, many of the nutrients we take in would not be able to be
absorbed and for my pretty friends out there, remember the oils in fats help
with skin and hair health.No fat in your diet equals ashy skin and brittle hair, and
aint nobody got time for that.
Who dat fat? I feel like we all have heard of the major three dierent types
of fats: saturated, unsaturated and trans, but how many of us really know what
each of those terms mean?
Saturated fats are traditionally known as your bad fats.They are found mostly
in animal products like meat, cheeses and whole milk, but can also be found in
coconut and palm oils.An easy way to recognize these are the fats that are solid
at room temperature but become oily as they are heated.So that old can of solid
body mind Self
bacon grease from your mommas breakfast last week, yea thats saturated.The old
atbody
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Yoga
mind
Self
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at Allay Yoga
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Trans fats or trans fatty acids are your stay-away fats that have been directly
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foods tend to be the biggest culprits of holding trans fat.The harder these food
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PROOF #1
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SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
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REVISIONS
omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is
deemed not generally recognized as safe by the FDA, which has given
food
responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users
REDESIGN
can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or
TEXT REVISIONS
manufacturers three years to remove all trans fat from human food unless
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any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any
copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair
IMAGE/LOGO
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competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation,
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The big news is that fats are not your enemy.By limiting your diet to healthier
and warranties.
fats like saturated and unsaturated fats and avoiding trans fats, you can keep a
heart-healthy diet.Though the studies show that some fats can be heart healthy,
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watch how much you put into your diet.
Even overdosing on something healthy like olive oil can still cause you to put
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foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, include proteins from sh and make sure
AT TO R N E YS AT L AW D C | M D | VA
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 2 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

VIEWPOINT

VOLUME

46

ISSUE

26

ADDRESS

Celebrate LGBT 50th in Philadelphia

Commemorating Annual
Reminders protests over
July 4 weekend
By MALCOLM LAZIN
Despite popular misconception, the
LGBT civil rights movement did not start
with Stonewall. Like the Boston Tea Party,
it was an important event.
In the early 1960s, there were about 200
gay activists in the U.S. Most were located in
New York, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Los
Angeles and San Francisco. The largest umbrella organization was the Eastern Conference of Homophile Organizations (ECHO).
While there were gay demonstrations in
New York and D.C. in late 1964 and early
1965, they were about a single issue, such
as Fidel Castro rounding up gays. In early
1965, ECHO organized the rst multi-city
demonstrations for equality. They decided
on July 4 at Independence Hall for what
were called Annual Reminders.
Independence Hall was chosen because
it was where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted and
the Liberty Bell was then located. The Liberty Bell, previously known as the State
House Bell came into prominence when

the abolitionists and then suragettes used

the bell as their logo. The Gay Pioneers decided to demonstrate at the Liberty Bell to
link their aspirations to the African-American and womens civil rights movements.
At the rst Annual Reminder on July 4,
1965, 40 demonstrators with men in suits
and ties and women in dresses carried
picketing signs for equality. Those 40 picketers were the largest gay demonstration
in world history at the time. Instead of a
one-time demonstration, the Annual Reminders were the rst to be repeated. By
the 1969 Annual Reminder, the numbers
swelled to 150 equality picketers.
The principal organizers of the Annual
Reminders were Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, the father and mother of
the LGBT civil rights movement. When
Stonewall occurred, they and others recognized it as akin to the Boston Tea Party.
They suspended the Annual Reminders
to focus their energy on a 1970 rst anniversary Stonewall march from Greenwich Village to Central Park. They held
their collective breath not sure how many
people would participate. Between 2,000
to 5,000 joined the march, now known as
the rst New York Pride Parade.
Stonewall in 1969 was not the rst time
gays, lesbians and transgender people

clashed with police. In Los Angeles, there

were clashes at Coopers Donut in 1959
and the Black Cat Riot in 1967. The difference was that there was no follow up
demonstration to remember gays taking
on police harassment and misconduct.
But for the skills of Kameny, Gittings and
others in organizing the 1970 rst anniversary Stonewall march, it is unlikely that
Stonewall would be well remembered.
With 50 years of perspective, we celebrate
the Annual Reminders as a seminal and
transformational moment. The one-hour
ceremony will commemorate the Gay Pioneers, celebrate LGBT civil rights progress
and address future challenges. The ceremony occurs 50 years later on the day and at the
iconic location selected by the Gay Pioneers.
With Wanda Sykes as master of ceremonies, James Obergefell as a featured
speaker, Edie Windsor, Judy Shepard,
Bishop Gene Robinson and other movement leaders and entertainers, we will
gather on Independence Mall over the July
4 weekend to make history where history
was made. For more information on this
weekend-long celebration, visit lgbt50.org.
MALCOLM LAZIN is chair of the National LGBT
50th Anniversary Celebration. Reach him via
lgbt50.org.

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CO MMUNI K A TE

JUNE 26, 2015 23

Papal encyclical is this summers beach read

Francis reminds us not to
mess with Mother Nature

KATE CLINTON is a humorist who has

entertained LGBT audiences for 30 years. Her
monthly column appears exclusively in the
Blade. Reach her via kateclinton.com.

Nothing says summer beach reading

like a Papal encyclical.
Anticipation for Pope Francis encyclical
on human ecology and the environment
had been building since early 2014.
The Vatican can put on quite a show
but it is unclear if its pre-encyclical press
events included Texas overowing its
banks, Alaska forests burning, India sizzling, and California going dust bowl.
To review: an encyclical is a letter regarding some doctrine of the church that
the Pope sends to his ock of Catholics.
Think papal snail mail. Sometimes the
pope sends the letter just to the bishops,

they hit the forward button and send the

news to their congregations. Popes are
big letter writers. Its kind of sweet.
Pope Francis letter is sent to every
person living on the planet. Thank god
for the Forever stamp. It is titled Laudato Si (translation: Praise be to You). I
think Non Frackum Per Mater Naturam
(translation: Dont Mess with Mother
Nature) would have worked better with
the churchs rebranding eorts, but
whateverum.

tion in her NPR reporting. But the Papal

publicity oce managed to keep focus on
the encyclical.
In his own pre-release teasers, the
Pope said that we must treat the planet
as we treat our mother and sisters. Oy. I
did not read with my eyes wide shut.
Laudato Si is 45,000 words long and
my Latin is a bit rusty, but I saved a tree
and loaded it up on my iPad and took it to
the beach. Beach reading tip: tape those
little drink umbrellas around your device

The Pope takes on the dominant technocratic

paradigm, aka capitalism, with its
unsustainable, throwaway, consumer culture.
The eagerly awaited rollout of the
Popes letter to Catholics was hardly
dimmed by the Vatileaks prior to the release. To professional Rome-watchers,
the leaks were a signal that the Pope has
dissenters among the Bishoprics. Could
the Koch Brotherhood have hired antienviro goondahs in the Curia too?
The Vatican was furious, which is, by
the way, one of the ocial deadly sins,
something Sylvia Poggioli did not men-

to prevent glare. Youre welcome.

There are some encouraging sections.
The Pope takes on the climate deniers,
those Doubting Thomases who say they
need to put their hand in the open wound
in the ozone layer before theyll believe in
a climate crisis or ever participate in a carbon cap and trade plan. He says guardedly that science and religion can enter
a dialogue to solve climate problems. He
takes on the dominant technocratic para-

digm, aka capitalism, with its unsustainable, throwaway, consumer culture.

Most encouraging is that almost every
Papal point about the crisis is driven by
an unwavering concern for the worlds
poor whose lives are disproportionately
aected by environmental degradation.
But in answer to your question, Is the
Pope Catholic? oh yes, he still is. After
establishing his pro-creation creds, the
Pope says that population control is not
a solution to climate crises. Thus redistribution does not include redistributing
the contraceptives that women in rich
nations have to women in poor nations.
Even though he prefers to think of the
dominion over nature found in Genesis as stewardship over nature it is still
natural for men to have dominion over
women. The farming might be organic
but its still husbandry. And the so-called
complementarity of nature forbids the
unhealthy devaluing of the femininity or
masculinity of the body.
Pope Francis had many of us LGBTQs
at Who am I to judge?
Praise Be to You, but not you, LGBTQ,
reminds us who he is. The Pope. So I
wont be putting on my made-in-theUSA, all cotton Je Suis Frannie summer
T-shirt just yet.

V I E W PO I N T

We must welcome those with disabilities

LGBT community has long
excluded crips

KATHI WOLFE is a writer, poet and regular

contributor to the Blade. She can be reached
through this publication.

As I write, the U.S. Supreme Court is

expected to rule on same-sex marriage
at any moment. Everyone I know, queer
or hetero, is on tenterhooks, hoping, that,
as seems likely, the court will decide in
favor of marriage equality. Among those
most interested in the courts decision are
those of us who are queer and disabled
and/or LGBT parents of children with disabilities. To us, the courts ruling will not
only be historic, but a wake-up call to the
LGBT community a community that
has often excluded or been largely un-

aware of people with disabilities.

April DeBoer and Joyce Rowse, one of
the couples in the same-sex marriage
case before the Supreme Court, have
adopted four children. Two of their kids
have developmental disabilities. In 2011,
the couple was driving down a road with
three of their children when a truck almost swerved into them. It was that moment, that realization, DeBoer told the
New York Times, that we needed to get
things in order. The couple found that
Michigan doesnt permit two unmarried
parents to adopt a child. This led them to
be a part of the same-sex marriage case
before the Supreme Court.
DeBoer and Rowse are far from alone.
No matter how the court rules, LGBT people will continue to raise families. And, as
nearly one in ve Americans has a disability (according to the U.S. Census), more of
our children will likely have special needs.
Historically, the LGBT community has,
by and large, turned away from those
of us who are queer and crip. (Some of
us have reclaimed the word crip as an
umbrella term for people with disabilities.) Lets start with sex. Many of us are

frequently seen as without a sexual orientation, asexual or as objects of fetishized

sexuality. I never thought there were
blind lesbians, a man commented on
one of my Blade pieces.
Id bet that one reason were often not
viewed as sexual is that our communitys
inaccessibility makes it dicult for many
of us to be out and about in LGBT places.
Corbett OToole, 63, who uses a wheelchair and lives near San Francisco, has
been ghting the lack of access in queer
spaces from bars to bookstores since
1973. Yet, today, nearly 25 years since the
Americans with Disabilities Act passed on
July 26, 1990, theres been little change.
OToole, author of the new book Fading
Scars: My Queer Disability History, told
the Blade, Information about events
rarely tells if theyre wheelchair accessible. Conferences almost never have sign
language interpreters, she said. Youre
not told if printed materials will be in
Braille you have to gure it out.
Often parents who are LGBT adopt children with disabilities, said OToole, who
has a daughter with cerebral palsy. Its
frequently dicult to advocate for what

your kid needs in school, or medically, or

from insurance or Social Security if youre
out. Often, these systems would deny
my daughter services if they knew I was
queer.
DL Adams and her former partner Kate
have a daughter named Olivia, who is on
the autism spectrum. We were the rst
unmarried couple in Texas to adopt a
child, Adams, who has a Ph.D. in special
education, told the Blade.
Olivia, now 20, just completed her
sophomore year at the State University of
New York in Albany. Yet, parenting a child
with a disability hasnt been easy, said Adams, who teaches womens and gender
studies at the University of Toledo. Frequently, gatherings of LGBT parents and
their children arent welcoming toward
or accessible to disabled kids, she said.
Often these groups arent physically accessible, Adams said, with kids on the
spectrum they dont try to make sure
the spaces arent too stimulating. Its isolating.
Lets start welcoming, rather than turning away, the adults and kids with disabilities in the LGBT community.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 4 J UNE 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

I N SI D E LG BT W A SH I N G T O N

What does Charleston massacre

say to LGBT community?
We are as guilty of racism
and sexism as anyone else

PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights

and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.

As we await the Supreme Courts opinion on marriage equality we need only

look at the continued racism in our nation
to understand no matter how many laws
we pass it will take much more to change
peoples hearts and minds.
The massacre in the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, was another stark reminder that racism is alive and rampant
in our nation. To make change we must
do more than mourn for those who lost
their lives and pray for their loved ones.
The symbol of the confederacy still
hangs from a agpole at the State Capitol,
though Gov. Nikki Haley this week nally

said it should come down. African-American men are beaten by police in cities
across the nation and the unemployment
rate for black men is nearly twice the rate
of that for white men. According to the
New York Times, Nationally, 21.6 percent
of black youths are neither working nor
in school, compared with 20.3 percent of
Native Americans, 16.3 percent of Latinos, 11.3 percent of whites and 7.9 percent of Asians. The feeling of despair in
poor communities breeds violence both
within and against the community. With
this background Republicans are still trying to curb voting rights for minorities
and the poor in states across the nation
making it even harder for them to participate in our democracy.
Women ostensibly have equal rights
yet there is a concerted eort across the
nation to take away their right to control
their own healthcare and they still earn
less than men for the same jobs. The last
eort to pass an equal rights amendment
(ERA), rst introduced in 1923 and nally
passed by Congress in 1972, failed. It was
sent to legislatures for ratication, but
only 35 of the necessary 38 states ratied
it before a 1982 deadline.
So what does this tell us in the LGBT com-

munity as we are on the cusp of having our

marriage rights recognized in our Constitution? Can we expect that ruling to change
peoples hearts and minds about our community and generate acceptance of us?
Unfortunately the answer is no and made
clearer by the backlash against the LGBT
community in legislatures across the country passing new laws to curb our rights.
With lightning speed, we ended Dont
Ask, Dont Tell, passed hate crimes legislation and will have won marriage equality. Yet LGBT children are still being thrown
out of their homes when they come out to
their parents and being bullied in school;
transgender people are being beaten and
murdered; and LGBT individuals are being red from their jobs and denied accommodations based on who they are.
As we see from the experiences of African
Americans and women just passing laws
to guarantee civil and human rights wont
solve all our problems, rather it is just a
beginning.
A response to the massacre in Charleston should be to look within ourselves to
see who we are as a community as we
ght for our rights. We need to ask ourselves if we are as guilty of racism and
sexism as anyone else. Is the lack of di-

versity and gender equality in our leadership a result of this racism and sexism?
Can we really move forward to change
the hearts and minds of the community
at large without doing the work we need
to do within our own community?
Speaking from her heart to the U.S.
Conference of Mayors, Hillary Rodham
Clinton spoke truth when she said, Race
remains a deep fault line in America. She
went on to say, Once again our country is
trying to make sense of violence which is
senseless. In this time of tragedy many of
us struggle to process our rush of emotions and gure out how to turn grief and
confusion into action. It is tempting to believe that in America bigotry is behind us
and that institutionalized racism is a thing
of the past. Many of us hoped by electing
our rst black president we turned the
page on this history But we have not, so
we need to have this discussion no matter how dicult it is.
Our community, too, needs to have
this discussion if we are ever to see acceptance for us. We need to determine
what action we will take both as individuals and a community to ensure our own
hearts and minds are open as we ght to
open the hearts and minds of others.
F E E D BA CK

Re: Seattle mayors Israel trip highlights dangers of pinkwashing (Alex

Shams, June 19).
We all know that Israel like any other
country is not perfect.
However, Israel provides to all of its
citizens, Arab and Jew, equal rights so
Shams claim of apartheid is hate mongering, a calumny that certainly does not
belong in the Washington Blade or in any
serious publication.
In painting Israels pro-gay agenda as
a cynical attempt to cover its massive
abuses, Shams himself cynically ignores
the reality that Israel, the only democracy
in the Middle East, is committed to equality for its LGBT citizens precisely because
it is committed to democratic values.
And his article oers a vast simplication of a complex situation. He ignores
longstanding, ongoing Arab hostility to
the very notion that the Jewish people
have a legitimate claim to their his-

toric homeland. In fact, it is this hostility that led to the ongoing military occupation: In June 1967 Israel launched
a pre-emptive strike against its Arab
neighbors, who had begun a blockade
and were threatening Israel with imminent annihilation and subsequently took
control of the West Bank (then held by
Jordan), from which numerous terrorist
attacks had been launched against Israel
since its birth in 1948.
These are not incidental details; they
are necessary to consider if you are to
discuss the conict thoughtfully rather
than using selective details in an attempt
to undermine the legitimacy of the State
of Israel. I choose my words carefully
here, given that Palestinian Queers for
Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions rail
against Israels occupation not since
1967, but since 1947 when the United
Nations passed the resolution leading to
Israels establishment.
I might also note that Shams raises not

a word in protest against the treatment

of gay people in the West Bank territories
administered by the Palestinian Authority; in Hamas-ruled Gaza; or in any of the
Arab and Muslim countries of the Middle
East, where gays are subject to hatred,
discrimination, prison and death. Nor,
incidentally, does he have anything to
say about the treatment of Jews in these
countries, perhaps because most of them
were expelled (and their property conscated) following Israels creation, in contrast to Israel, which granted citizenship
to its Arab inhabitants.
To paraphrase Shams, the long struggle for queer rights is now being cynically
co-opted by anti-Israel activists for their
own agenda that entails using gay people
as an unwitting tool in an attempt to destroy the Jewish State.
PETER DARVAS
Alex Shams June 19 commentary on

Israel is a piece of crude, malicious agitprop. The world is not divided neatly into
oppressors and oppressed, contrary to
Mr. Shams ideology.
Are the Palestinians, who have turned
down peace oers by Israel (notably, in
2000, 95 percent of the West Bank and all
of Gaza), who dig tunnels into Israel from
which to cause mayhem and who lob missiles into Israel, simply victims of oppression who have had no role in their plight?
And in any case, should the LGBT community ally itself, as Shams insists we
must, with a group that itself oppresses
LGBT people?Does he not know that men
having sex with men in Gaza face up to 10
years in prison?
Perhaps the Blade might devote some
space in the future to highlighting the difcult lives of LGBT people in Palestinianadministered West Bank, in Gaza, and in
the countries that surround Israel.
STEVE HUGHES

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

JUNE 26, 2015 25

LOCAL
LOU CHIBBARO JR. has reported on the LGBT civil rights movement and the LGBT community for more than
30 years, beginning as a freelance writer and later as a staff reporter and currently as Senior News Reporter for
the Washington Blade. He has chronicled LGBT-related developments as they have touched on a wide range of
social, religious, and governmental institutions, including the White House, Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court,
the military, local and national law enforcement agencies and the Catholic Church. Chibbaro has reported on
LGBT issues and LGBT participation in local and national elections since 1976. He has covered the AIDS epidemic
since it first surfaced in the early 1980s. In June 2011, Chibbaro became the first reporter from the LGBT press to
be inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. Professional Chapter Hall of Fame, which recognizes
journalists of distinction who have worked in the news business for 25 years or longer.

POLITICAL/NATIONAL
CHRIS JOHNSON is Chief Political & White House Reporter for the Washington Blade. Johnson attends the daily
White House press briefings and is a member of the White House Correspondents Association. Hes worked with
the Washington Blade since 2008 and was a founding employee of the paper when it relaunched under local
ownership in 2009. Before coming to the Blade, Johnson covered defense issues for Inside Washington Publishers
and previously wrote for MIRS newsletter, a Lansing-based publication covering state political news in Michigan. A
Michigan native, Johnson graduated with honors from the University of Michigan in 2003 with a degree in English
and Creative Writing. In 2013, the Blade was admitted to the White House Press Pool with Johnson taking the lead
in covering the president. This marked the first time a gay newspaper has been invited to join ranks of mainstream
outlets covering the president.

INTERNATIONAL
MICHAEL K. LAVERS has been a staff writer for the Washington Blade since May 2012. The passage of Marylands
same-sex marriage law, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the burgeoning LGBT rights movement in Latin America and the
consecration of gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson are among the many stories he has covered since
his career began in 2002. Lavers work has appeared in the EDGE Media Network, Fire Island News, Village Voice,
Huffington Post and other media outlets. He has also discussed LGBT-specific issues on the BBC, New York Times,
News Channel 8, WNYC in New York City other mainstream and LGBT publications. Lavers holds a degree in
journalism and Spanish from the University of New Hampshire.

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ENTERTAINMENT

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

VOLUME

46

ISSUE

26

JUNE

26

2015

PAGE

These breezy new

LGBT-themed books will keep
the pages turning
By MIKEY ROX
Youve got the essentials packed in your bag for
a relaxing day at the beach except a good
book. Take your pick from these new releases,
all with LGBT angles.

I Left It On the Mountain

KEVIN SESSUMS

From the underbelly of New York society and

celebrity journalism to the peaks of Kilimanjaro,
Sessums chronicles his post-Mississippi Sissy
(his rst memoir) adolescence in a poetic
recollection of decidedly adult explorations
and experiences like casual chats with Andy
Warhol, a mind-bending trek through Camino
de Santiago and the drug addiction that almost
cost him everything.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 39

27

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 8 J UNE 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R P E T E R BRE H M

PETER BREHM
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
Since I was 18; hardest people to tell
were my parents.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FREDERICK MAGAZINE

By JOEY DiGULIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Frederick Pride has exploded in growth over its three-year history. The rst
event, held in 2012, attracted about 300 people. In 2013, 1,000 came. Last
year, about 3,000 attended. This year, organizers expect between 3,000-5,000.
Located about 45 miles from Washington, Frederick Pride, organized by the
Frederick Center, has its OUT on the Creek event Saturday from noon-6 p.m.
at Carroll Creek Linear Park between Market and Carroll streets in downtown
Frederick. About 75 organizations will set up booths and all the usual Pride
amenities food, entertainment, games, non-prots, bands, drag, DJs,
dancing and more will be there. Details at thefrederickcenter.org.
Peter Brehm works by day at the IT help desk at Hood College and has been
involved with Frederick Pride since its inception. Hes particularly delighted by
the bevy of proclamations the committee has received from local and federal
government including the White House and says its important for LGBT
people to stay vigilant.
Bodies equal votes, the Philadelphia native, who lived in Washington from
1983-2005, says. I want everybody to appreciate the size and commitment of
the LGBTQ community and our allies. If were not watchful, were doomed. The
religious right and the Koch brothers and all these other idiots are on the prowl.
Its important for the LGBTQ community to gather at least once a year and with a
little sass and panache, celebrate how far weve come and where we need to go.
Brehm is married to John Day and they reside in Fredericks College Park
neighborhood. Brehm enjoys gardening, exercise and movies in his free time.

Logan 14 saLon spa/med spa

haircuts, body waxing, laser hair removal

Whos your LGBT hero?

The drag queens who fought back at
Stonewall and set in motion the progress
we have achieved today; Frank Kameny,
who fought back againstthe government
for his being red for being gay, further
contributing to our progress; and
Larry Kramer, who fought back and
continues to ght back over social and
governmental indierence to HIV/AIDS.

Whats Washingtons best

nightspot, past or present?
I do not know. I was never much for the
nightclub scene.
Describe your dream wedding.
Going to the courthouse with close
friends and family and having the clerk
perform the ceremony.

What non-LGBT issue are

you most passionate about?
Storm-water management in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.

What historical outcome

would you change?
The Supreme Court ruling that
corporations are people since this has
created enormous distortions in our
political system.

Whats been the most memorable pop

culture moment of your lifetime?
The positive inclusion of LGBTQ
characters on television.

On what do you insist?

That LGBTQ community members get
equal rights in all facets of life.

What was your last

Facebook post or Tweet?
I do not use either.
If your life were a book,
what would the title be?
Far from the Madding Crowd
If science discovered a way
to change sexual orientation,
what would you do?
Nothing; I am a reection of the creator,
who does not make mistakes.

1314B 14th St. NW WDC 20005 202.506.6868 Logan14salonspa.com

What do you believe in

beyond the physical world?

I believe the Apostles Creed.
Whats your advice for
LGBT movement leaders?
Do not take the progress weve made
for granted. The enemies of our rights
as citizens of a country that is based
on the separation of church and state
remain waiting, funded by wealthy
donors and organizations who seek to
turn back time. They are seeking to use
obfuscating logic (e.g. the religious rights
laws) to promote discrimination.
What would you walk
across hot coals for?

Not sure.

What LGBT stereotype

annoys you most?
That someone needs to be the man
and someone needs to be the woman
in our relationships.

Whats your favorite LGBT movie?

Philadelphia

Whats the most

overrated social custom?
Over-the-top weddings that are more
like a Las Vegas show than a ceremony
celebrating the union of two people and
their families.

What trophy or prize

do you most covet?
None

What do you wish youd known at 18?

That relationships require
communication and work as well as love
and aection, and if one is not willing to
put this work into them, then they fail.
Why Frederick?
I initially moved here because my thenboyfriend and now-husband was not
comfortable living in a big city and have
come to very much enjoy the small-town
ambience that exists here. Frederick
is very LGBTQ friendly, has lots of cool
shops and restaurants, has preserved
its historic downtown, oers many great
neighborhoods in which one can live, and
oers lots of cultural activities to enjoy (not
as many as Washington, of course, but
there is plenty to see and do). Plus, Frederick
County remains largely rural and unspoiled.
To me, it is a combination of Georgetown
(city) and Leesburg (county), but without the
trac congestion and high prices.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

BARBARA HAMMER says she wants viewers to take away power from her work.

4701 Old Dominion Drive Arlington, VA 22207

703-593-3204 WWW.DAVELOYD.NET

Prime Time reALTOr

Avant garde lesbian

lmmaker honored
with series
By MARIAH COOPER
Coming out and discovering her
artistic voice in the medium of lm were
intertwined for Barbara Hammer, so
much so that lesbian themes were almost
inevitable in her work.
Hammer, 70, widely regarded as a
pioneer in queer lm, found herself drawn
to documenting movement in her art
classes. Eventually, she began to take lm
classes and was introduced to the work
of one of the most inuential avant-garde
lmmakers of her time, Maya Deren.
Hammer watched Derens short
lm Meshes in the Afternoon, an
experimental psychological lm that has
since become a cult hit in the avant-garde
world of lmmaking.
I knew then that I was right, that I
was conrmed in my decision to be
a lmmaker, Hammer says. I saw a
woman expressing herself on screen
from the inside out and not the way she
had been constructed to be.
At that time in her life, Hammer felt
like she wanted to break free from
the constrictions placed upon her in a
similar way that Deren was doing in her
lmmaking. She came out at age 30.
Part of my construction being raised in the
1950s was to be a middle-class woman really
living from the outside in, Hammer says.
Hammers love for Deren resulted in
the documentary Maya Derens Sink
where Hammer visits Derens homes in
New York and Los Angeles and shows the
footage projected on a sink Deren owned.
That lm, along with six others, is
being shown as part of an exhibit,
American Originals: Barbara Hammer,
at the National Gallery of Art (6th
and Constitution Ave., N.W.) through
Sunday. Other lms being show include
Generations,
Resisting
Paradise,
My Babushka: Searching Ukrainian
Identities, Diving Women of Jeju-Do,
Lover/Other and Tender Fictions.

Hammer will be in attendance on Sunday

at 4 p.m. for the double-feature screenings
of Love/Other and Tender Fictions, an
autobiographical 58-minute documentary
from 1995 that explores coming out and
sexual identity and features Hammers
partner of 28 years, Florrie Burke.
Her themes and subjects are all over the
map, from the stories of surrealist artists
and resistance ghters Claude Cahun and
Marcel Moore in 2006s Love/Other to the
developing self-identities of contemporary
women in the Ukraine following the
post-Glasnost era of the 2001 piece My
Babushka, to the women divers of South
Koreass Jeju province who search for
marine life o the coast in the 25-minute
2007 lm Diving Women of Jeju-Do.
Although Hammers later work has
included documentaries, her lm style
began in an avant-garde direction with
hints of it present in her later work.
When I came out, it had to be
experimental, she says. We were like
this rst wave of lesbians arriving on the
scene and changing the culture. We had
to have a new way to speak.
Since her beginnings as a lesbian
lmmaker struggling to make a name for
herself in a heteronormative-dominated
lm world, she has found her place
among the ranks of successful queer
cinema lmmakers. Hammers work has
been displayed at the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City, the Tate Modern in
London and the Jeu de Paume in Paris.
PROOF
#1 have been
People from all over the
world
able to experience her work and Hammer
wants everyone to walk away
from her
REVISIONS
lms with one thing.
REDESIGN

Valerie M. Blake

Associate Broker, GRI

Come see the finished product!

read the engraved invitation,
My House of Cards is finally
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Dupont Circle Office 202.243.7700 (o)
202.246.8602 (c) Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com

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MY BABUSHKA: SEARCHING UKRAINIAN

IDENTITIES AND DIVING WOMEN OF JEJU-DO
53 minutes and 25 minutes respectively
Saturday at 3 p.m.
West Building Lecture Hall
Lover/Other and Tender Fictions
55 minutes and 58 minutes respectively
Sunday at 4 p.m.
West Building Lecture Hall
Admission is free; seating is rst come-rst
seated basis. Doors open 30 minutes before
each show. The West Building entrances are
on the Mall, on 7th Street and on Constitution
Ave. at 6th St., and on 4th St., N.W.
Details at nga.gov.

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30 J U N E 26, 2015

THEATER

PHOTO BY STAN BAROUH; COURTESY OF THEATER J

From left are LISA BRUNEAU, SUSAN ROME and PAUL MORELLA in The Tale of the Allergists Wife.

Solid Charles Busch play

holds up in Theater J
production
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Legendary
drag
performer
and
playwright Charles Busch made his name
writing and starring in campy downtown
New York vehicles like Vampire Lesbians
of Sodom and Psycho Beach Party. But
when he wrote The Tale of the Allergists
Wife, which premiered in New York in
2000, he uncharacteristically gave the
meaty comedic role of Marjorie Taub to a
woman Linda Lavin.
Though the result was deemed a little
conservative by his most ardent fans, it
proved a breakthrough for Busch, earning
him a Tony nomination alongside theatrical
heavyweights August Wilson, Tom Stoppard
and David Auburn (who won for Proof). A
slightly updated version of Buschs comedy
is now playing at Theater J.
The action centers on the doctors wife,
Marjorie (Susan Rome). Shes a tortured
wannabe intellectual who isnt dealing
well with middle age. When we meet
her shes in dramatic mourning over the
recent death of her therapist. Typically
a ravenous culture vulture, Marjorie has
traded art openings and experimental
theater premiers for the couch in her
tony Riverside Drive apartment on
Manhattans Upper Westside.
And
neither
Marjories
selfcongratulatory husband Ira (Paul Morella),
a retired allergist who keeps busy at a
free clinic in Harlem and lecturing adoring
med students at NYU, nor her critical,
bowel
movement-obsessed
mother
Frieda (Barbara Rappaport), who lives
down the hall in less luxe digs, can lift her
from the doldrums.

But all that changes with the arrival of

Marjories childhood friend, the exciting,
glamorous and sexually uid Lee Green
(ne Lillian Greenblatt) played by the terric
Lise Bruneau as an intriguing charmer with
a whi of con artist about her. Both women
have come a long way since their early days
in a Jewish working-class enclave of the
Bronx, but Lees life is especially thrilling:
she jet sets the world hobnobbing with the
rich and famous and lending her energy
to humanitarian crusades, and has known
everyone from Quincy Jones to Gnter
Grass. It was Lee who inspired Warhol to
paint the Campbells Soup can and rst
motivated Princess Diana to take up the
land mine cause.
Lee isnt shy. But theres nothing
restrained about self-obsessed Marjorie
either. And here Rome, who was so
compelling as Empty in Theater Js The
Intelligent Homosexuals Guide to Capitalism
and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures,
doesnt hold back. Whether whining about
her own inadequacies or discussing her
returned BFFs many virtues, Marjorie is on
full throttle. And though initially reluctant
to accept Lee, Ira and Frieda eventually
embrace her too, for a time.
Narrating and sometimes participating
in the tale is Mohammed, the Iraqi
doorman played subtly and wryly by
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh. As he sits to the
side at his lobby desk, he writes about the
Taubs in his diary his intense interest
in the family is never fully explained.
From time to time his notes set the scene
as supertitles.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
THE TALE OF THE ALLERGISTS WIFE
Through July 5
Theater J
1529 16th St. NWC
$30-65
Washingtondcjcc.org

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C O NCE RTS

J U N E 26, 2015 31

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Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most and Stay with Me were highlights from BETTE MIDLERs
concert Monday night, her rst D.C. show in more than a decade.

Legend hits perfect balance

between zany and poignant
By ROBBIE BARNETT
The Divine Miss M brought her dazzling
Divine Intervention Tour to the Verizon
Center on Monday evening, her rst time
back in Washington since 2004s Kiss My
Brass Tour. Gratefully, not much has
changed in 11 years as the 69-year-old
legend still has it.
Opening with the tongue-in-cheek
Divine Intervention, the title song crafted
just for this show, Midler enthusiastically
welcomed her audience in a blue
sequined romper while accompanied by
her longtime (and constantly changing)
trio of backup singers the Harlettes.
Though shes promoting her latest
album, Its the Girls! a covers album
of hits from famous girl groups Midler
could easily have toured without a new
release. Strictly incidental, she performed
just three songs from this new album, the
most notable being her stripped down and
heartbreaking version of TLCs Waterfalls.
Always self-depreciating and in on the
joke, she made a few jabs at her own age
as well as the age of her typical fan, at one
point asking who in the audience drove to
the concert and then quipping, Im so glad
to see that so many of my fans are still able
to drive at night. Though, nearly within the
same breath she asked the audience Dont I
look fabulous? And she did indeed.
Her voice has held up just as well as
her legs. She did not disappoint when
delivering her top three signature hits:
The Rose, From a Distance and Wind
Beneath My Wings, from Beaches. Two
other Beaches cuts also made it into the
show, the haunting I Think its Going to

Rain Today and the whimsical Ive Still

Got My Health.
Raunchy Sophie Tucker jokes have
been a part of Midlers act since the mid70s. Always beginning a joke in character
with the phrase I will never forget it, ya
know... and ending with a hilariously
vulgar punchline, she donned a campy
feathered costume (think chicken
showgirl) in this well-crafted segment
singing A Bird in the Hand in between
her rapid re delivery of classic jokes.
While Sophie Tucker jokes remain part of
her act today, sadly there is one long running
bit she has permanently retired. Delores
De Lago, Bettes mermaid in a wheelchair
character, was given a tasteful sendo a la
an Academy Awards Show in memoriam
tribute. One imagines Midler is simply no
longer up for jumping around in a sh tail.
The biggest surprise of the evening,
and a nod to her fans from the Millennial
generation, was I Put a Spell on You from
the lm Hocus Pocus dressed as the
character Winifred Sanderson, with the
Harlettes backing her as her sister witches.
She has never referenced this movie in any
of her live acts, so this was denitely an
added treat and proof that she has nally
realized the lasting impact of this lm.
The way Midler meshes class with trash
is a testament to her impressive versatility.
One moment she is making a hilarious dirty
joke while dropping the F bomb and in the
next set belting out an inspirational ballad
with unbridled sincerity. Making you laugh
one moment and cry the next is a unique
ability she has always possessed and is what
sets her apart from her diva contemporaries.
While her act does not have the production
values of a Cher extravaganza, the softness
of a Streisand concert or the soul of an
Aretha show, its eortlessly sincere and
incredibly entertaining.

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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House legends Basement Jaxx brings tour to D.C.

U.K. dance duo Basement Jaxx performs at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on
Tuesday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
The show will consist of 12 performers using the stage to bring the music to
life with movement. Basement Jaxx has earned Grammy nominations as well as
having the No. 1 song on Billboards 2014 Club Chart for their single Never Say
Never. Their latest album Junto was released last year.
Tickets are $35. For more details, visit 930.com.

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HRC plans trivia

bar crawl contest
Human Rights Campaign hosts The
A-Gayzing Race: A Trivia Crawl starting
at Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17th St.,
N.W.) on Saturday at noon.
Teams consisting of two to ve people
will bar hop local gay bars including JR.s
Bar and Grill (1:30-3 p.m.), Number 9
(3-4:30 p.m.), Nellies Sports Bar (4:30-6
p.m.) and Town (6-7 p.m.). Along the way,
teams will answer trivia questions. The
rst three teams to reach the nal bar
before time runs out are the winners.
Admission is $5 per person. For more
information, visit hrc.org/therace.

OUR FAMILY OF BRANDS

Lenox Corporation 2015. Present this Ad to receive

discount. ONE COUPON PER CUSTOMER/FAMILY
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purchases, gift cards or online. May not be combined
with other coupons or promotions. Expires 7/8/15.

By MARIAH COOPER

PHOTO COURTESY OF OLD GREENBELT THEATRE

Pride Film Series has weekend screenings

The historic Old Greenbelt Theater (129 Centerway, Greenbelt, Md.) holds a
Pride movie series this weekend.
Married in Spandex, a lm about a lesbian couple who make elaborate
preparations for their wedding, screens at 9 p.m. Friday. Filmmakers will be
present for a discussion and Q&A. On Saturday, Cloudburst, a lm that tells the
story of an older lesbian couple who escape their nursing home to get married,
screens at 11 a.m. and Pride, a lm about gay activists in the U.K. who ghts for
miners rights, screens at 2 p.m. On Sunday, Pride screens again at 11 a.m. and
Cloudburst will be shown at 2 p.m.
Tickets range from $5-8. For more details, visit greenbelttheatre.org.

Monthly Rayceen show

features trans discussion
The Ask Rayceen Show with Rayceen
Pendarvis returns for another taping
Wednesday at LIV Nightclub (20001 11th
St., N.W.) with doors to open at 6 p.m.
This months show features a panel
discussion called The Trans and
Genderqueer Spectrum and will feature a
live musical performance by Dana Nearing
and LGBT hip-hop pioneer TimM T. West.
Admission is free. The series continues with
tapings on Aug. 5, Sept. 2, Oct. 7 and Nov. 4.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

FI L M

J U N E 26, 2015 33

PHOTO BY TIM HERR; COURTESY OF HBO

A vintage photo of LARRY KRAMER as seen in Larry Kramer In Love & Anger.

New HBO doc goes easy

on ery writer/activist
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
Its too soon to tell how future generations
will measure the overall impact of outspoken
AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer,
but thanks to his friend, the talented
documentarian Jean Carlomusto, historians
will be grateful for a new well-rounded
portrait of a complex and controversial
man. Contemporary audiences will have a
lot to think about as well.
Larry Kramer In Love & Anger, which
premieres Monday night at 9 p.m. on
HBO, brings together the many facets
of Kramers long life from his unhappy
childhood to his work on the recently
released novel The American People:
Volume One, which claims that dozens
of gures from American history were
gay. The lm chronicles his lonely years
at Yale, where he thought he was the
only gay kid on campus; his happy years
nding writers and stories for Hollywood
in the swinging London of the 1960s;
his success as a screenwriter; his return
to New York and the release of his
provocative novel Faggots.
Kramer and his collaborators also
discuss his role in ghting AIDS, especially
his work with the Gay Mens Health Crisis,
the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power
(ACT UP), and his subsequent playwriting
career. Throughout, there are his battles
with depressions and complications from
HIV, his tortured relationship with his
own sexuality and the gay community
and many years of therapy.
Carlomusto skillfully weaves together
material from a variety of sources to tell
this fascinating story. There are lots of
interesting passages from his writing.
Excerpts from the o-Broadway production
of The Destiny of Me supplement family
photographs to capture Kramers troubled

relationships with his homophobic father

and inattentive mother. Clips from various
productions of The Normal Heart
illustrate Kramers version of the founding
of the Health Crisis. Actor and director
Joe Mantello oers sensitive readings
from Faggots.
And, most delightfully, there are
extended clips from Kramers Hollywood
career. His Academy Award-nominated
script for Women in Love is represented
by the intensely homoerotic nude
wrestling scene between Alan Bates and
Oliver Reed. Carlomusto also includes
scenes from the unintentionally campy
Lost Horizon, an unsuccessful remake
of the classic movie that paired Kramers
script with songs by Burt Bacharach.
The lmmaker also uses a lot of great
archival footage including cable access
and network interviews with Kramer and
news coverage of the emerging AIDS
epidemic and ACT UP demonstrations.
Carlomusto also had incredible access
to Kramer during a lengthy hospital stay
after his liver transplant. The scenes of
Kramer and his partner David Webster are
incredibly moving, as is the scene where
Carlomusto tends to her ailing friend.
She also features Kramer and Websters
2013 wedding in Kramers hospital room,
an eerie echo of the deathbed wedding
between Ned Weeks (Kramers theatrical
alter ego) and Felix Turner at the end of
The Normal Heart.
The director also includes interviews
with a number of Kramers colleagues and
collaborators. His frenemy Anthony Fauci
describes how Kramer changed patient
access to federal drug trials. Director
George C. Wolfe and other theater artists
praise his erce spirit. AIDS activists hail
him as a hero and only briey mention
his combative and uncompromising
nature, his grand-standing ego and his
controversial opinions on gay sexuality.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Presenting
6730 greentree rd. Bethesda, Md 20817
Offered at $2,250,000

A SIGNATURE RESIDENCE. A rare blending of architectural styles & eras.

Enlarged, designed, and restored by the inspired owners of 40 years. Arboretum-quality grounds, chef-grade kitchen, spa-like Master bath & sauna, marble center hall opening to a glassed atrium flanked by formal Living & Dining
rooms. A Great Room with full palladium arched 24 tall wall-of-windows
inviting in the South West sky, and you. A private tour is strongly encouraged
as the scale and details are best appreciated in person.

Matthew G. Smith

202.406.0404 (C ) | 301.907.7600 (O) Email: MGS@lnf.com

Got Realtor?

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 4 J UNE 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

A RT S & CU LT U RE

HOT HITS & HIDDEN JEWELS

From CultureCapital.com
YOUR LINK TO THE ARTS IN METRO D.C.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Jun 27-Jul 26. Keegan Theatre.
703-892-0202. keegantheatre.com.

Over the course of one hot summer night at the family estate in Mississippi,
alcoholic former football hero Brick and his beautiful but sexually frustrated
wife Maggie the Cat become front and center as their troubled relationship
comes to a stormy and steamy climax, and a shockwave of secrets are nally
revealed.

Chamber Dance Project

Thru Jun 28. Chamber Dance Project at Lansburgh Theatre.
202-547-1122. chamberdance.org.

Chamber Dance Project breaks creative and conceptual bounds with works of
sweeping athleticism, artful sensuality, arresting emotional shifts, and a power
that lingers long after the curtain.

Castleton Festival
Jul 2-Aug 2. Castleton Festival.
866-974-0767. castletonfestival.org.

The 2015 Castleton Festival includesRomeo et Juliette, the world premiere

ofScalia/Ginsburg, a symphonic journey with Maestro Fabio Luisi, and Wynton
Marsaliswill introduce jazz to this festival season.

The Book of Mormon

Thru Aug 16. Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.

The smash musical and nine-time Tony Award winning Broadway phenomenon
from the creators of South Park has been hailed as the best musical of this
century by the New York Times.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEEGAN THEATRE

Your link to the

arts in Metro DC.

THEATRE
Cabaret. Thru Jun 28. Signature Theatre.
703-820-9771. signature-theatre.org.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are
Dead. Thru Jun 28. Folger Theatre.
202-544-7077. folger.edu.
The Producers. Thru Jul 26. Olney
Theatre. 301-924-3400. olneytheatre.org.
The Tale of the Allergists Wife. Thru Jul
5. Theater J. 800-494-8497. theaterj.org.
Las Polacas - The Jewish Girls of
Buenos Aires. Thru Jun 28. GALA
Hispanic Theatre. 202-234-7174.
galatheatre.org.
Shear Madness. Ongoing. Kennedy
Center. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Swing Time - The Musical. Thru Jun
27. Navy Memorial. 202-737-2300.
swingtimethemusical.com.
Bond: An Unauthorised Parody. Jul
1-Jul 2. Workhouse Arts Center.
703-584-2900. workhousearts.org.
One Destiny. Thru Jul 3. Fords Theatre.
202-347-4833. fords.org.
Million Dollar Quartet. Jun 26-Jun 28.
Wolf Trap. 877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.
Source Festival 2015. Thru Jun 28.
CulturalDC. Source Theatre.
866-811-4111. culturaldc.org.
The Madwoman of Chaillot. Thru Jun
28. WSC Avant Bard. Gunston Theatre
Two. 703-418-4808. wscavantbard.org.

MUSIC
Jazz in the Garden: Marty Nau. Jun 26.
National Gallery of Art. NGA Sculpture
Garden. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Best of Serenade. Jun 28. Free Summer
Outdoor Concert: Ten Strings and A
Goatskin. Jul 1. Strathmore.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
Robin & Linda Williams. Jun 27. AMP.
301-581-5100. ampbystrathmore.com.
The Damnwells. Jun 26. King Sunny
Ade & His African Beats. Jun 27.
F**ked Up. Jun 29. Freshlyground.
Jul 2. Howard Theatre. 202-803-2899.
thehowardtheatre.com.
Free Summer Concert Series: Red
Baraat. Jun 27. BlackRock. 301-528-2260.
blackrockcenter.org.
Take a Break Concert Series: Elikeh.
Jul 2. Reston Community Center. Reston
Community Center at Lake Anne.
703-476-4500.
restoncommunitycenter.com.
Bartk, Beethoven and Wagner.
Jun 27. Clarice Smith. 301-405-2787.
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.
John Fogerty. Jun 30. Wolf Trap.
877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.

MUSEUMS
National Gallery of Art. Peter Paul
Rubens. Thru Jul 5. In Light of the Past.
Thru Jul 26. The Art of Joachim Wtewael.
Jun 28-Oct 4. Gustave Caillebotte. Jun 28Oct 4. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Folger Shakespeare Library. Ships,
Clocks, & Stars: The Quest for Longitude.

Thru Aug 23. folger.edu.

National Archives. Spirited Republic:
Alcohol in American History. Thru Jan 10.
202-357-5000. archivesfoundation.org.
Museum of Women in the Arts. Daisy
Makeig-Jones. Thru Aug 16. Organic
Matters. Thru Sep 13. 202-783-5000.
nmwa.org.
National Geographic. Monster Fish.
Thru Oct 11. Indiana Jones. Thru Jan 3.
202-857-7000. nglive.org.
Prince Georges African American
Museum and Cultural Center. Patented
Ingenuity: The Art of African American
Inventors. Thru Sep 12. 301-809-0440.
pgaamcc.org.

GALLERIES
Strathmore. Creative Crafts Council.
Thru Jul 26. 301-581-5100.
strathmore.org.
Gallery 3700. Nauck Community Portrait
Exhibition. Thru Sep 6. arlingtonarts.org.
The Art League Gallery. Tabletop
Ceramics. Thru Jul 6. Maremi Andreozzi.
Thru Jul 6. 703-683-1780.
theartleague.org.
BlackRock. Mid-Atlantic Watercolors.
Thru Jul 1. 301-528-2260.
blackrockcenter.org.
WPA at Capitol Skyline Hotel. Avi
Gupta. Thru Aug 1. 202-488-7500.
wpadc.org.
Fisher Art Gallery. Paintings by Brian
Williams. Thru Jul 12. 703-534-5726.
schlesingercenter.com.
Goethe-Institut. Future Perfect Project.
Thru Jul 3. 202-289-1200. goethe.de.
ISAAG. Street Trades, Lima Style.
Thru Jun 26. 202-623-2217.
idbstaassociationartgallery.org.
Neptune Fine Art. The Language
of Line. Thru Jun 27. 202-338-0353.
neptuneneart.com.
Target Gallery. Borders &
Boundaries. Thru Jul 19. 703-838-4565.
torpedofactory.org.
VisArts at Rockville. Sharpened. Thru
Jul 5. Parabolic. Thru Jul 12.
301-315-8200. visartsatrockville.org.
Zenith Gallery. Lucent Moments: The
Works of Emily Piccirillo. Thru Jul 3.
202-783-2963. zenithgallery.com.
Zenith Sculpture Space. Earth, Fire,
Stone - The Works of Hadrian Mendoza.
Thru Aug 23. zenithgallery.com.
Flashpoint Gallery: CulturalDC. Rachel
Schmidt: Forgotten Futures. Thru Jul 2.
202-315-1305. culturaldc.org.

AND MORE...
Cinema Under the Stars: Mamma Mia!
Jun 26. Workhouse Arts Center. 703-5842900. workhousearts.org.
Film: Looking for Langston (1989; 60
min). Jun 27. Smithsonian Anacostia
Community Museum. 202-633-4820.
anacostia.si.edu.

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

JUNE 26, 2015 35

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 6 J UNE 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

CA LE N D A R
Mary is free. For more information and to
purchase tickets, visit nelliesdragbrunch.
eventbrite.com.

E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.

com two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.

TUESDAY, JUNE 30
Lollytart, a new gay dance party, hosts
a happy hour at Meridian Pint (3400 11th
St., N.W.) today from 6-8 p.m. For more
details, visit facebook.com/lollytartdc.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts a
rap group, a support group for LGBT
youth, today from 5-6:30 p.m. For more
information, visit smyal.org.

TODAY
Bear Nonsense hosts a Bear Happy
Hour at Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H
St., N.E.) tonight from 5-10 p.m. Drink
specials will include $6 Ketel One drinks,
$4 rail drinks, $4 Yuengling pints, $3 PBR
pints and $1 o everything else. There is
no cover charge. For more information,
visit facebook.com/bearnonsense.
D.C. Bear Crue hosts Bearaoke at
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight from
8-9:50 p.m. Drink specials are $4 rail
drinks, $4 Bud Light, $4 draft pints and
$8 draft pitchers. There will also be free
pizza. The rst ve singers get a free drink
ticket. For more details, visit facebook.
com/bearhappyhour.
DJ Shea Van Horn hosts Dark and
Stormy, a new dance party, at Black Cat
(1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 10
p.m.-2:30 a.m. Music will be new wave,
nu-disco, post-punk, goth and more.
Cover is $5. This is an all-ages party. For
more information, visit facebook.com/
darkandstormydc.
Women in Their 20s, a social discussion
group for LGT and all women interested
in women, meets today at the D.C. Center
(2000 14th St., N.W.) from 8-9:30 p.m.
Come meet other queer women in a fun
and friendly setting. All welcome to join.
For details, visit thedccenter.org.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1

SATURDAY, JUNE 27
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer
organization, volunteers for Food and
Friends (219 Riggs Rd., N.E.) today from
8-10 a.m. Volunteers will chop vegetables
and pack groceries. To volunteer, email
jonathan@burgundycrescent.org.
For
more details, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) presents
BearZerk, a bear dance party, from 10
p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Tommy Cornelis and DJ
Dean Douglas Sullivan will play music for
the night. This is the last BearZerk until
August. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Town
and Country today from 6:30-10:30 p.m.
The main lesson will be the Timber Line
Dance from 7-8 p.m. The lounge lesson
will be continuing the Two-Step from
8-8:45 p.m. There will be open dance
from 8-10:30 p.m. Cover is $5. For more
information, visit towndc.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 28
Special Agent Galactica performs
at Freddies Beach Bar (555 23rd St., S,
Arlington, Va.) today at 4:30 p.m. The
show is a blend of music performance and
Galactica sharing stories of her top-secret
spy career. This will be Galacticas only

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOUCHSTONE GALLERY

A photo of Sol Duc Falls in Washington state by Harvey Kupferberg. His work is on display now at
Touchstone Gallery.

D.C. performance this summer. There is

no cover charge. For more details, visit
facebook.com/specialagentgalactica.
Where the Girls Go and DJ Vanniety
Kills present Overeasy, a ladies dance
party, at Dodge City D.C. (917 U St.,
N.W.) from 3-8 p.m. today. Drink specials
will include $3 Miller High Life, $5 vodka
lemonade and $5 rail drinks. For details,
visit facebook.com/wherethegirlsgo.
Perrys (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts
its weekly Sunday Drag Brunch today
from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95
for an all-you-can-eat buet. For more
details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.

MONDAY, JUNE 29
La-Ti-Do, a cabaret group, presents
its rst boy band night at James Hobans
Irish Restaurant and Bar (1 Dupont Circle,
N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Songs will be a mix
of boy band and girl band music. Guest
performers include Rachel Levitin, Ben
Lurye, Wood van Meter and more. Don

Mike Mendoza and Regie Cabico will host

the night. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10
in advance, $7 for students and seniors
with ID and $5 for non-performing La-TiDo alumni. Doors open at 7:55 p.m. For
more information, visit facebook.com/
latidodc.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..)
hosts coee drop-in hours this morning
from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT
community. Older LGBT adults can
come and enjoy complimentary coee
and conversation with other community
members. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave.,
N.W.) holds a support group for gay black
men to discuss topics that aect them,
share perspectives and have meaningful
conversations. For details, visit uhupil.
org.
Nellies Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.)
hosts a drag brunch today with shows at
10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Brunch buet
is $26 and the rst mimosa or Bloody

The Tom Davoren Social Bridge

Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the
Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social
bridge. No partner needed. For more
information, call 301-345-1571.
The Ask Rayceen Show is at Liv
Nightclub (2001 11th St., N.W.) tonight
from 6-8:30 p.m. Singer Dana Nearing
will perform, Rayceen Pendarvis will
moderate The Trans and Genderqueer
Spectrum: A Panel Discussion, VenusThomas Hinyard will read poetry, Rehmih
Mihreh will have a unisex clothing
fashion show and rapper Timm T. West
will perform. DJ Que Lo Que will provide
music for the night. Admission is free.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
askrayceen.
Bookmen D.C., an informal mens
gay literature group, discusses Flagrant
Conduct: The Story of Lawrence V. Texas
by Dale Carpenter at the Cleveland Park
Library (3310 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)
tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. For
details, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.
Touchstone Gallery (901 New York
Ave., N.W.) holds its July exhibit preview
today and Thursday from 11 a.m.6 p.m. Exhibits include Some Like It
Hot, Memoryscapes: Blurry Lines II
and Olympic Peninsula: From Coast to
Ancient Forests. For more details, visit
touchstonegallery.com.

THURSDAY, JULY 2
Phase 1 hosts Patriot Party, a karaoke
party, tonight at 8:30 p.m. Attendees can
come to sing karaoke to their favorite
patriotic songs. For more information,
visit facebook.com/phased.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts
Womens Leadership Institute, a group
for LBT women and their straight allies
ages 13-21 to discuss female sexuality,
relationships and womens rights today
from 5-7 p.m. For more information, visit
smyal.org.
Bachelors Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.)
holds a happy hour today from 5-7:30
p.m. All drinks are half price. There will
be pool, video gaming systems and cards.
Admission is $5 after 9 p.m. DJ Bling, DJ
Freaky and DJ Tim-Nice will play music
for the night. For more information, visit
bachelorsmill.com.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

D I N ING

J U N E 26, 2015 37

PHOTO BY KRISTEN HARTKE

Red cabbage salad and cold octopus salad at Ambar.

Ambar brings avors of the

Balkans to Capitol Hill
By KRISTEN HARTKE
Youd be forgiven if you stepped inside
Ambar (523 8th St., S.E.) on Capitol Hill
and thought that youd magically been
transported to a trendy restaurant in
Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
Not only is the cuisine inspired by
Balkan traditional foods, even most of
the sta appears to be imported from the
Balkan Peninsula, making them incredibly
knowledgeable about the menu, which
features such regional specialties as
hobotnica (cold octopus salad with garlic
beans and sliced cucumber), dimljeni
svinjski vrat (smoked pork neck) and
telea krem orba (veal soup with root
vegetables and crme frache), alongside
more familiar items like atbread topped
with shiitake, crimini, button and oyster
mushrooms and chicken kebabs.
There is a pleasant co-mingling on the
menu of avors and dishes that can be
found in homes across Serbia, Croatia,
Macedonia, Kosovo and the other
countries that make up the region. Look
for plenty of paprika, roasted peppers,
cabbage,
horseradish
and
pickled
vegetables galore but elevated to a level
quite beyond homemade. This is denitely
not your grandmas stued cabbage.
Start your meal with a traditional tipple
of rakia, a fruit brandy that is so common
in Balkan countries that many families
actually distill it at home. This palatecleansing drink is made from a wide range
of fruits and herbs, but its nice to opt for
a summery stone fruit variety, like apricot
or plum, to start o your meal. If you are
intrigued by the 33 dierent types of rakia
available at Ambar, you can take part in
their Rakia Tasting Challenge: taste all
33 preferably not all at the same time
and have them recorded in Ambars
Destination Rakia passport, and, when
youve completed the challenge, youll win
a personalized bottle of rakia that will be
kept behind the bar for you to enjoy on
subsequent visits.
Served tapas-style, the menu items at
Ambar are meant to be shared by the
table. A charcuterie board, or meat mezze,

features salami and prosciutto made from

beef, pork and lamb, and the spreads
made with ajvar, a Serbian roasted red
pepper sauce, are slightly addictive,
especially when eaten with deep-fried
pus of sourdough bread. Follow up
with a refreshingly simple spinach salad
tossed in a creamy horseradish dressing
and crisp fresh red cabbage, carrots and
radishes served with a sharp vinaigrette
perfect on a hot summer evening
then move on to some of Ambars
standout dishes, like leek croquettes with
a crunchy panko crust, drunken mussels
cooked in rakia, and, of course, stued
sour cabbage packed with pork belly and
jasmine rice.
While the food at Ambar does provide
a glimpse into another cuisine, the wine
list adds a whole new dimension. If
youve ever wanted to try Balkan wines,
this is denitely your opportunity, while
also being the ideal complement to a
Balkan-inspired meal, with wines from
Moldova, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Slovenia,
Romania, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia.
Be sure to talk with your server about the
wine to get recommendations based on
your preferences; some of the red wines
can be quite earthy for an American
palate, while many of the white wines
are acidic and bright. The Stobi ros from
Macedonia is a nice option for a summer
evening, with round oral notes.
Finally, for dessert, end on a sweet
note with the forest gnocci, which arrives
at your table as an artfully arranged
collection of chocolate mousse, chunks
of bitter orange cake, orange gele,
tarragon gnocci, passionfruit espuma,
black tea sauce and ground chocolate.
Youll be instructed to take a spoon and
stir it all together until an ugly lump
destroying such a pretty dish is a bit
painful at rst, but the result is worth it.
Left in separate bites, the dessert would
honestly not make much sense, with too
many competing avors and textures,
but, mixed together, they form a pleasing
whole, a perfect summing up of Balkan
cuisine bold, vibrant, spicy, sweet and
savory, all in one mouthful.
Kristen Hartke is managing editor of Edible
DC and writes about food and beverages
both regionally and nationally. See what shes
cooking on Twitter: @khartke.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

38 J U N E 26, 2015

BO O KS

IMAGE COURTESY OF TWELVE

Gay author shares

bittersweet memoir

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER has been reading

since she was 3 years old.She lives in Wisconsin
with two dogs and 12,000 books. Reach her at
bookwormsez@yahoo.com.

proud winner of
a 2013 & 2014
american graphic
design award

Its perfect!
Once upon a time, those words were
music to your ears. But then you grew up.
You learned then that a made bed didnt
make the man, good enough generally
was and, as in the new book Bobby
Wonderful by Bob Morris, sometimes
its better to ignore perfection and focus
on a life, or lives, well-lived.
As Bob Morris watches his husband Ira
struggle with his mothers aging issues,
Morris understands the emotions Iras
going through. Caring for an elderly
parent, has become the new normal
Morris says, and he should know: he
helped tend to his own parents at the
ends of their lives.
As his mother lay dying rst, Morris
remembered how, when he was a child,
she encouraged him to see beauty in
the world around him. She loved music
and was a good mother whose messy,
painful death brought out the worst in
Morris and his brother. Oh, how they
fought, though her passing also showed
Morris how much he truly loved and
admired his older sibling.
At the funeral, Morris only wanted to
talk about his mother but nobody seems
to know how.
Not long afterward, on a sunny
summer Monday, Morris father tried to
commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping

pills. Though hed seemed to heal well

from his wifes illness and death at age
80-something, hed plunged back into the
dating scene his quiet despair about
his failing heart, previously unnoticed,
shook the Morris brothers to their cores.
Things became worse, and as their father
began to desperately hound Morris for
pills to end his life, Morris looked for ways
to enhance his fathers days, but time was
running out and they both knew it.
During his last hospitalization, the elder
Morris told his sons that he wanted o life
support. It was a wish they let him have.
Caring for your parents is an
opportunity, Morris says. But We have
no parents now, nobody to love us in
the way they did. And we also have no
worries now, no concerns for a suering
so close that it often felt like our own.
Some 65 million of us, says author
Bob Morris, are caregivers; most are
caregivers for someone over age 50.
That could be why this memoir will strike
a chord for many Baby Boomers but,
aside from common-bond feelings that
children of aging parents will nd familiar,
Bobby Wonderful is also a love letter
wrapped inside a very beautiful, moving
story. Morriss cherished memories of his
parents good times seem to buer the
pain of loss, and that he shares those vivid
personal recollections is a delight. Still,
readers get real peeks of irritation here,
exasperation, even anger sometimes,
which totally t in this memoir. I would
have been disappointed without them.
My best advice is to grab tissues before
you start this book. Youll have abundant
reason to use them, especially if youre caring
for your own parents. If thats the case, for
you, Bobby Wonderful lives up to its title.
BOBBY WONDERFUL: AN IMPERFECT SON
BURIES HIS PARENTS
By Bob Morris
Twelve
$25
192 pages

AUGUST

30 2013

VOLUME

44

ISSUE

35

OUR COMMUNITY, OUR STORIES SINCE

1969

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT

J U N E 26, 2015 39

Summers best
beach reads
Wild Pitch

SLOAN JOHNSON
In the spirit of author Peter Lefcourts The
Dreyfus Aair, this baseball-focused gay/
bi love story follows hopeful Sean Tucker
through the ranks from farm team to the
major league as he tries to keep his sexual
orientation and his love for a fellow player
a secret on and o the eld.

Take This Man:

Gay Romance Stories

EDITED BY NEIL PLAKCY

Released on the anniversary of Congress
repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act,
this anthology aims to put the passion
back into married sex with 16 stories
celebrating the commitment of what it
means to be gentlemen in the streets and
freaks under the sheets.

Host of Memories: Tales of

Inevitable Happenstance

agents, whisked away to a secret civilian

detention center o the coast of Maine
and violently interrogated in this terroristweary political thriller set in the days
leading up to the anniversary of 9-11.

Best Gay Romance 2015

EDITED BY FELICE PICANO

In this diverse collection of scintillating

stories, readers will experience the
mostly highs of love, lust and pleasure
with elaborate tales of sweet romances,
secret trysts and erotic encounters.

Fin & Matt

CHARLIE WINTERS
Fin MacAulie returns to Missouri after
graduation to start the traditional life his
parents have intended for him land a
good job, nd a good girl when hes
thrown o track by chiseled-and-charming
Matt DiFiore, setting both private school
teachers on an as-yet-unbeaten path.

After Woodstock
ELLIOT TIBER

PETER RUPERT LIGHTE

From his Jewish New York upbringing to
discovering his sexuality to becoming
founding chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase
Bank China, Lighte wanders through
diverse social and cultural landscapes,
nding niches into which he ts along the
way and embracing the circumstances in
which hes a square peg.

Author and humorist Elliot Tiber helped

start the gay liberation movement and
saved the Woodstock Festival from
cancellation, but the renowned writer
and entertainment producer didnt start
really living until after the summer of 69.

Served Hot

Winner of the gay/lesbian nonction

category of the sixth annual International
Book Awards, Sweet Tooth describes in
uproarious detail how a gay, Southern,
junk-food-loving 15-year-old copes with
the onset of Type 1 diabetes and his
hormones in the 1980s.

ANNABETH ALBERT
Self-employed barista Robby throws
caution to the wind when he works up the
nerve to take his slow-brewing relationship
with one of his customers from simmering
on the surface to piping hot when they meet
at a Pride festival which ultimately begs
the question: Will someone get burned?

Top Me Maybe?
JAY NORTHCOTE

On the outside, tall, broad and brut police

ocer Duncan is the quintessential power
top, but when he confesses his desire to
ip the script to boyfriend Tyler, its game
on for a night theyll remember forever.

On Hurricane Island
ELLEN MEEROPOL

As a hurricane threatens New England,

lesbian protagonist and math professor
Gandalf Cohen is abducted by federal

with guest editor brendon ayanbadejo

Sweet Tooth
TIM ANDERSON

Too Late I Love You

KIKI ARCHER

Connie Parker doesnt believe in real-life

love, but when she starts ctionalizing her
version of it in a new book shes set out
to write, shes left scratching her lonely
head when the hero begins to resemble
her best friend Maria.

MIKEY ROX is an award-winning journalist

and LGBT lifestyle expert whose work has
been published in more than 100 outlets
across the world, including CNN.com, the
Hungton Post, the Advocate, Instinct magazine and Out.com, among many others. He
splits his time between homes in New York
City and the Jersey Shore with his dog Jaxon.
Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox.

AUGUST 22 2014 VOLUME 45 ISSUE 34 CELEBRATING 45 YEARS AS AMERICAS GAY NEWS SOURCE WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

PHOTO BY JOHN TODD

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 0 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 15

P H O T O S BY MI CH A E L KE Y

Team D.C. hosted the annual Night Out at the Nationals on June 17. The Gay Mens Chorus sang the National Anthem and
openly gay MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts threw the rst pitch.

W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

JUNE 26, 2015 41

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4 2 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

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W A SH I NGTO N B LA D E.C OM

JUNE 26, 2015 43

REALESTATE

Halfway through the 2015 market

D.C. sales down slightly
but prices rise 2 percent
By TIM SAVOY
At the turn of the New Year, I wrote
that the 2015 D.C. real estate market was
going to be a milder year than 2014 with
fewer gains across the board. Part of me
was certainly correct total number of
sales at this point in the year is down 2.7
percent, clearly a contrast to the booming
2014 market. However, our median days
on market have decreased in 2015 by 11
percent across the District for all home
sales, and the price per square foot for
the city is up just over 2 percent.
Lets take a look back at a few indicators
of a strong market and recap what we have
seen in the D.C. marketplace this year:
First, lets look at the average sales price
of homes through the end of May (Junes
data wasnt quite ready at the time of this
article). Year over year, the market is only
up 1.3 percent this year, but when we focus
down to some of the neighborhoods that
are on the rise, we see a dierent story. For
example, the average sales price for Congress Heights (20032) is up more than 52
percent this year compared to the same
time in 2014. An outlier neighborhood to
many for years, Congress Heights has become a developers paradise, and 2015
has shown that Southeast D.C. continues
to rise. The same trend of double digit increasing average sales price year over year

has been seen to this point in Brookland

(14.6 percent), Brentwood (20 percent) SW
Waterfront (21 percent) and Woodley Park
(24 percent).
Next, the total number of sales is an
indicator that can measure the health of
a neighborhood and predict directions
of supply. So far in 2015, total number
of sold units is down 2.7 percent across
the District. However, focusing in on particular zip codes, we again see Brentwood
coming out on top (53.7 percent increase
in total sold units year over year). Other
neighborhoods with an increased number of closed sales compared to this time
last year include The West End and Foggy
Bottom (42 percent), Deanwood (28 percent) and Brookland (19 percent).
Finally, what about the median number
of days on market? For many, this number represents how hot a neighborhood
might be as properties are snatched in
a matter of days in some locations. The
neighborhoods with the fewest number
of days on market in 2015 are Shaw, Capitol Hill, Logan Circle, and Dupont Circle.
However, of these, the Shaw areas days
on market has been reduced by 33 percent from 2014 and Capitol Hills by 20
percent year over year. This is in contrast
to the 14 percent increase in Logan Circle
from the same time last year.
As we move into the second half of
2015 when the summer may cool the
market as families take vacation and the
heat of the summer slows the market, it
will be interesting to see how the market

Median days on market have decreased in 2015 by 11 percent across the District for all home
sales.

changes from this rst half of the year.

With historically low interests rates during the winter and spring, it will be interesting to see how the market turns as
rates are expected to rise slightly.
What is the point to all of this? Quite
simply, the city continues to change. This
year, we have seen the rise of neighborhoods like Brentwood and the continued

success of places like Brookland. While

the markets are still strong in the Northwest staples such as Dupont and Logan
Circle, the trend of moving east will prevail the rest of the year.
TIM SAVOY is a real estate agent with Coldwell
Banker Residential Brokerage, Dupont Circle.
Reach him at 202-400-0534 or timothy.savoy@
cbmove.com.

Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN

Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Individual & Couples Therapy

for the LGBTQ Community
20 years experience!
3000 Connecticut Ave. NW 202.255.5187 SidBinks@aol.com

LGBTC.com/html/sid_binks.html

SIMPLE
AFFORDABLE
PROVEN RESULTS
CALL TODAY TOPLACE YOUR AD

202.747.2077

4 4 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

6331 WaterWay Drive, Falls ChurCh, va, $1,875,000

Luxurious 4BR/5BA lakefront home on nearly 1 acre lot with private dock and pontoon. Many custom features including: a gourmet kitchen; antique,
European hand carvings; 3 fireplaces; wood floors; embassy-sized bedrooms; great landscape; koi pond; and large slate patios.

6200 lakevieW Drive, Falls ChurCh, va, $1,350,000

Elegant sophistication converges with a serene natural environment in this 4BR/2.5BA

home to create the perfect lake house. Captivating water views and a private dock
with pontoon boat. Wonderful entertaining spaces.

3425 stoneyBrae Drive, Falls ChurCh, va, $799,000

Remodeled 4BR/3BA home with open concept living/dining room, den,
spacious family room, fireplace, and great outdoor entertaining spaces.
Set on a wooded lot just 1/5th mile to lake and beach.

ken trotter, realtor, J.D.

Previews Property Specialist

Lake Barcroft Resident & Real Estate Specialist

Licensed in DC & Virginia

703-863-0650 (c); 703-524-2100 (o)
ken.trotter@cbmove.com
dcregionhouses.com

6124 BeaChWay Drive, Falls ChurCh, va, $1,190,000

Glamorous Mid-Century lakefront 5BR/4BA home on half-acre, wooded lot.

Large living and dining room area with floor-to-ceiling windows and balcony.
Family room with fireplace. Private lakefront for your boat!

6400 Cavalier CorriDor, Falls ChurCh, va, $750,000

Updated 4BR/3BA home on more than a half-acre, corner, partially wooded lot. Hardwood floors and
large family room. Outstanding landscape and large brick patio. Just 1/3rd mile to lake and beach.

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W A SH I NGTO N B LA DE.C OM

MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
REFRESH & RELAX IN
ROSSLYN. Certified
massage therapist
available. Call or text
Gary w/ your name at
301-704-1158 or visit

www.mymassagebygary.com.
BEST MASSAGE by male
certified therapist. Soothing Swedish;
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Safe Atmosphere in Annandale, VA,
almost right off I-395. Days/Eve/
Wkend. In/Out calls. Hotels welcome.
Call Marval (703) 568-6348.
START FRESH UPGRADE YOURSELF
before upgrading your phone! My
deep tissue massage will help you
feel like a new person! Stretching,
Swedish & Sports massage. Dupont.
Marcio (202) 271-9440. www.
MarciosMassage.com.

LGBTQ AFFIRMING THERAPY at

Dupont Circle Individuals, couples,
families, adolescents. Over 15
years serving the community. Mike
Giordano, LICSW. 202/460-6384
mike.giordano.msw@gmail.com.
www.WhatIHearYouSaying.com.

EMPLOYMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT for
National Real Estate Firm, Great
opportunity to join a successful,
nationally-known real estate
company in DC which offers a
progressive corporate culture and
enormous room for growth. If
you are interested in moving your
career forward, please email your
resume and salary requirements to
resumes@elitepersonnel.com.

LEGAL SERVICES
FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM
Representing the GLBT community
for over 30 years. Family adoptions,
estate planning, immigration,
employment. (301) 891-2200.Silber,
Perlman, Sigman & Tilev, P.A. www.
SP-Law. com.
ADOPTION & ASSISTED
REPRODUCTIVE Law Attorney Jennifer
Fairfax represents clients in Maryland
& D.C. interested in adoption or ART
matters.301-221-9651,JFairfax@
jenniferfairfax.com.

YAMAHAS NEW & USED

50% off pianos and digitals, free
bench, warranted & delivered,
Schaeffers Piano Company
240-380-4026.

COUNSELING
CHANGES ARE EASIER WITH
HELP. Small, private practice
group of experienced, caring
therapists.Safe, confidential
setting. Offices in Woodley Park &
Takoma Park near Metro.Licensed
professionals.Insurance
reimbursable.Washington
Therapy Guild. Call 202-483-2660.
washingtontherapyguild.com.

HEATING / COOLING

COUNSELING FOR GAY MEN.

Individual/couple counseling w/
volunteer peer counselor. Gay Mens
Counseling Community since 1973.
202-580-8861. gaymenscounseling.
org. No fees, donation requested.

LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANTS

NEEDED! The Crew Club, a gay mens
naturist gym & sauna, is now hiring
Locker Room Attendants. We all
scrub toilets & do heavy cleaning. You
must be physically able to handle the
work & have a great attitude doing
it. No drunks/druggies need apply.
Please call Richard at (202) 319-1333.
from 9-5pm, to schedule an interview.

PIANOS

PETS

JUNE 26, 2015 45

PHOTOGRAPHY
STEVE OTOOLE
PHOTOGRAPHY Fine
Art Photographer for
portraits, weddings
& dating photos for
the internet. Call
(703) 532-3031. www.
steveotoolephotography.
com.

CLEANING
TOO NEAT GUYS INC.
Residential & Commercial cleaning
in DC & Northern VA. Over 20 years
experience, gay owned, licensed,
bonded & insured. Email: tooneat@
comcast.net, (703) 622-5983.
FERNANDOS CLEANING:
Residential & Commercial Cleaning,
Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates,
Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out.
(202) 234-7050, 202-486-6183.
MAIDTOCLEAN Gay owned,
awesome, trustworthy and reliable!
Serving the DC/VA area. Mention
this ad for $50 off. Maidtoclean.com.
(703) 299-0101.

HEATING / AC
$1,700 SPRING REBATE,
get up to a $1,700 rebate on a
qualifying new Lennox heating
and cooling system from Magnolia
Plumbing, Heating & Cooling.
Call 202-829-8510 today. www.
magnoliaplumbing.com.

MOVERS
OUR GUYS AROUND TOWN
MOVERS. Professional Moving &
Storage. Let Our Guys Do The
Heavy Lifting. Mention the Blade
for 10% off of our regular rates.
Call today 202.734.3080. www.
ourguysatmovers.com.

TREE SERVICE
BRANCHES - FULL SERVICE
Tree Expert Company. Certified
Arborists, pruning, insect &
disease diagnosis, treatment &
removal. 301-589-6181. www.
BranchesTreeExperts.com. Angies
List Award Winner 09, 10, 11, 12.

SHARE / DC

LIMOUSINES / DRIVERS

Beautiful 3bd/2ba house

w/ yard in NE DC. Hardwood floors,
new carpet, fireplace. Shared laundry
room. $2375/month ($100/month
credit when owner in basement unit).
202-344-5049.

KASPERS LIVERY SERVICE

BMW 740LI Luxury Sedan Service;
Hourly, Point to Point & Special
Airport Transfer Rates! Gay & Veteran
Owned! http://www.KasperLivery.
com Phone 202-554-2471 or 800455-2471.

DEADLINES

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- Including Regular & Adult Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
So They Can Be Included
in That Weeks Edition of
Washington Blade and
washingtonblade.com

NIRSA CLEANING SERVICE

serving the Metropolitan area, call me
with any housekeeping needs, 202669-6858.

HOUSERVICES, LLC Licensed,

Bonded & Insured. Family Owned!
Serving DC & Northern Virginia since
2000. Weekly or Bi-Weekly, Move-In/
Move-Out Cleaning. Call us now for
a FREE ESTIMATE! (703) 929-6463.
info@Houservices.com.

GWM w/ 2 cats seeks

house mate/health aid, has cozy
fully furnished room available in
NE DC. No Pets, no children, nonsmoker preferred. Metro, Parking,
all amenities. 202-306-0288. Serious
responses only, no texts.
A furnished room for
rent in my home, near metro ( Ft
Totten Metro) $700 a month util
included. I travel often for work
so may not be around. Quiet
neighborhood and home. Mjsndc@
gmail.com.

SHARE / VA
WOODBRIDGE,MBR single-family
home between Quantico & Ft. Belvoir.
Beautifully renov. walk-out bsmt. BR
w/ priv. full bath. Singles only. $1000/
month.703-798-3955.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

HOME BUYER BONUS!

Top LGBT Realtors Represent Buyers
FREE! Plus up to $2,500 Cash Back at
Closing. www.GayRealEstate.com or
1.888.420.MOVE (6683).

RENT / DC
LOVERLY APARTMENT ON THE
HILL. Enjoy this 1-bedroom apt.
with hardwood floors and fireplace.
Utilities included. Use of back
yard. One small dog permitted. No
smoking. Metro bus to Union Station
right across the street. Walk to the
happenings on H Street. $1800/
month; 1/2 months rent as security
deposit. sherrycd@verizon.net.

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4 6 J UN E 2 6 , 2 0 1 5
1340 Q STREET NW.
LOGAN CIRCLE... Sunny 1bd, 1bh,
W/D, dishwasher, gas fireplace,
granite counters in kitchen and
bathroom, stain steel appliances,
hardwood floors, street entrance,
terrace level unit located in the heart
of Logan Circle. Close to two metro
stations and bus service on the
corner. Available July 1st for a one
year lease minimum. A small dog is
acceptable with a non-refundable
fee, no cats. No smoking. One month
security deposit with good credit.
bettoortiz@hotmail.com.

W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

COLLEGE PARK
WALK TO METRO!
$245,000

REQUEST ONLINE PHOTOS

3 Bedroom, Rambler, 2
Full Baths, Full Basement!
Custom-Built Two-Tiered
Deck !
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com

RENT / MD
HISTORIC HOME FREDERICK
(downtown) 2 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2 Fpls.
Great layout w/ split bedrooms
for privacy. Gourmet kitchen with
Viking stove, Miele DW, Hdwd. floors
throughout. Private garden, Off
street parking, Available immediately.
boudreaux.c@comcast.net.

Renovated
2BR/1BA
w/PARKING
Brightwood
Avail. Immediately $2,000/mth, Beautifully
renovated 2BR/1BA
in boutique 6 unit
building. *New kitchen
with stainless steel
appliances; gas stove,
DW, & microwave. *70
bus line connects directly
to Georgia Ave - Petworth
Metro (green and yellow
lines). Easy and direct
access to downtown.
301-351-9630.

SALE / MD
MONTGOMERY
VILLAGE
TOWNHOMES

REQUEST ONLINE PHOTOS!

-$199,995 EndUnit Garage 3
BedroomTownhouse!
*$147,900 - 2 Spectacular
Levels! 2Bedrooms! 2
1/2 Bathrooms !
-$349,995 - Garage!3 BRs!
2 - 1/2 Baths! Terrific
Basement Family Room!
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Baltimore Stunning
renovation $269,000 Classic
Ashburton colonial with all the
original charm. Near 95S for
Washington commuters! 3BR/2.5BA,
New gourmet kitchen w/42 cabinets,
granite & stainless. Inlaid wood floors.
Formal dining room. Fireplace in living
room. Fabulous Speakeasy bar from
1920s in lower level rec room. Central
air. 2-car detached garage. Dora
Wolfe, Cell (410)733-4686, DORA.
WOLFE@longandfoster.com, The
Dora Wolfe Team of, Long & Foster
Real Estate, Pikesville, Licensed in MD
& PA, Office (410)653-1700, EHO

SILVER SPRING
Spectacular NV
Kings Mill

Exquisitely finished home w/3

meticuloius levels!!! 4BR, 3 BA on top
floor plus overlook into Sunroom!
Kitchen opens to family room and
there is a wonderful office as well.
The ll is finished w/ a BR, FB and large
RR. The back yard is an oasis w/
gazebo, waterfall and Koi pond.....and
it is so private!!!
Traci Levine & Associates
Long & Foster Realtors
7719 Tuckerman Lane
Potomac MD 20854
Direct - 301-455-0333
Office - 301-469-4700
Email: traci@tracilevine.com
EHO
Rent/Sale 2 BR 1 BA, WD, DW,
AC, Hdwd. Floors, Steam heat.
Quiet, clean. To buy all Rents got to
downpayment. Buyer must go to
settlement in 14 months or lose rent
credits. Rent negotiable + utilities. Call
443-310-8702.

PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
GORGEOUS 5BR 5.5BA
4 Minutes from Penn Station
Baltimore! Could be B&B, Rental,
or Home! Christopher Graham,
Coldwell Banker, 410-327-2200 Equal
Opportunity Housing.

TREASURE BY CHESAPEAKE
Stunning 4 bed condo in gated
community offering an all-inclusive
lifestyle featuring pools, tennis courts,
beach, gym, marina & restaurant by
Bay in Annapolis! 2108 Chesapeake
Harbour Dr. #202, Annapolis, MD
21401. Sandra Gendleman, Coldwell
Banker - Annapolis, (703) 609-2714,
(410) 224-2200, Sandra.Gendleman@
CBMove.com. EHO.

BODYWORK

SPECIAL LATINO
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private studio. Quality massage by a
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W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM

JUNE 26, 2015 47

WARNING
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Hot n horny hookups.

Washington

202.822.1666
Arlington

703.373.1000
Baltimore

410.468.4000
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