MILLENNIAL MINDS

Study nds broad LGBT support

among younger generation.

PAGE 21

AUGUST 26,

2016

VOLUME 47

ISSUE 35

AMERICAS LGBT NEWS SOURCE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

Mixed reviews
for Lanier
Outgoing police chief criticized for
diminishing LGBT Liaison Unit
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, who announced last week she is retiring
after nearly 10 years as chief, has been praised by most LGBT activists who
know her as someone deeply committed to equal rights and public safety
for the LGBT community.
But many of the same activists say that while they have never doubted
her personal support for the LGBT community, they disagreed with some
of her policies and actions addressing LGBT issues, especially the changes
she made to the departments LGBT Liaison Unit since taking oce in 2007.
Thank you so much, Chief Lanier! said longtime D.C. gay activist John
Klenert in an email to the Washington Blade. Our community may have
had its disagreements with you but your commitment to the safety and
wellbeing of all the citizens of our nations capital was never in doubt,
Klenert said.
With D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser standing at her side, Lanier announced
on Aug. 16 that she would be retiring from the department eective Sept.
17 to become Senior Vice President of Security Operations for the National
Football League.
On Aug. 23, Bowser announced she had named Deputy D.C. Police Chief

D.C. Police Chief CATHY LANIER is leaving next month for a job with the NFL.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Peter Newsham as the interim chief eective Sept. 17 while she conducts a search for a
permanent police chief.
Rick Rosendall, president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, said GLAA maintained
a cordial relationship with Lanier even though GLAA and other local LGBT organizations
sometimes clashed with her over specic issues such as the LGBT Liaison Unit.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

Vietnams warm welcome for gay ambassador

Ted Osius on marriage, Trump and
Hanoi Pride
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius this week
downplayed concerns in the Southeast Asian country
over the potential outcome of the U.S. election.
For 240 years weve had a peaceful transition of
power, Osius told the Washington Blade during a
telephone interview from the Vietnamese capital of
Hanoi. That will happen again.
Osius did not mention Donald Trump by name. He
did say that everyone here in Vietnam is focusing on
our election.
He noted Hillary Clintons tenure as secretary of
state is generally viewed as positive in the country.
Osius also told the Blade that her husband, Bill Clinton,

normalized relations between the U.S. and Vietnam

in 1995, two decades after the Vietnam War ocially
ended.
Theres a lot of aection here for the Clintons, said
Osius.
The U.S. Senate conrmed Osius nomination in
2014. The career diplomat who co-founded GLIFAA
in 1992 is one of six openly gay ambassadors who
represent President Obamas administration overseas.
Osius said he plans to remain in Vietnam through
2017.
Im a career diplomat, he said. I work for whoever
is the commander-in-chief.
Osius and his husband, Clayton Bond, have become
two of the most prominent gay people in the country
since they arrived in Hanoi.
The two men renewed their wedding vows last
CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam TED OSIUS (right) takes

part in Viet Pride in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Aug. 21, with his
son TABU and Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam NIENKE
TROOSTER.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. EMBASSY TO VIETNAM

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Comings & Goings

Helping Clinton in Ohio; lawyer named ABA fellow
By PETER ROSENSTEIN
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining
boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at
comingsandgoings@washblade.com

Congratulations to Caleb S. Carter who

has just been named Coordinated Campaign
Field Organizer in the Akron region of Ohio
for the Hillary Clinton campaign. Carter will
be responsible for organizing and mobilizing
volunteers into a team that will phone bank,
canvass and host events related to the general
election. The team he will work with will be
doing voter registration and working to turn
out voters for Clinton on Election Day. The
CALEB CARTER
larger the turnout the better both for Hillary
PHOTO COURTESY OF CARTER
and down ballot Democrats, Carter said.
Carter is a young activist with a lot of
experience. He is attending the University of
Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and hopes to
earn his bachelors in political science. He was
the lead coordinator of Birmingham Students
for Hillary and oce manager of Hillary for
America in Birmingham. He also served as
vice president of the UAB College Democrats.
Carter was also involved in the community
DONALD DAVIS
with non-political work. He volunteered at
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVIS
the Autumn Care Nursing and Rehabilitation
(Mocksville, N.C.) for three years. He was also
a campus organizer for the UAB Gender and
Sexual Diversity Programs. Thanks, Caleb, for
all your hard work and good luck in Ohio.
Congratulations to Donald C. Davis, a
senior litigation associate at Ackerman Brown
PLLC, a regional law rm serving the needs
of individuals and businesses in the greater
Washington metropolitan area. Davis was
selected as a member of the American Bar
TOMMY WRENN
PHOTO COURTESY OF WRENN
Association Business Law Section Fellows
Program for the 2016-2018 class. The goal of the program is to give each fellow
an opportunity to become involved in the work of the Business Section. Davis was
also elected to the board of directors of the LGBT Bar Association of the District
of Columbia.In addition, he is a member of the executive committee of the board
serving in the capacity of secretary. The LGBT Bar Association of the District of
Columbia is an aliate of the National LGBT Bar Association.
Davis was asked to participate in the CVS Health Executive Learning Series for
Diverse Suppliers at the Roger Williams University School of Continuing Studies
in Providence, R.I. The series is designed to help diverse suppliers gain capacity
building skills by oering training opportunities to expand skill level and growth
potential in areas such as marketing, nance, leadership and human resources.
Davis obtained a Juris Doctor from the Ohio State University Moritz College
of Law in 2007 and was named to the list of 40 LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the
National LGBT Bar Association in 2015. He also serves on the board of directors
of SMYAL.
Congratulations also to Tommy Wrenn who has been appointed development
program assistant at the Public Justice Foundation (www.publicjustice.net). The
foundations sta attorneys team with private attorneys around the country to
ght injustice and preserve access to the courts for ordinary people.
Wrenn is a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., and moved
to D.C. in the summer of 2014 to serve as a White House intern. Since leaving the
White House, he has worked for peace and justice organizations, including the
Friends Committee on National Legislation,a Quaker advocacy organization.

LO CA L N E W S

Court martial underway

for gay Air Force lieutenant
Witnesses say accuser in
assault case consented to sex
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Editors note: A verdict in this case could
come this week. Visit washingtonblade.com
for updates.
A gay former U.S. Marine who has accused
gay Air Force Lt. Joshua Seefried of sexually
assaulting him in a New York hotel room in
2012 acknowledged in four and a half hours of
testimony on Monday that multiple witnesses
saw him and Seefried hugging, kissing and
fondling one another in a hot tub in the hotels
spa.
The former Marines testimony came on
the rst day of a court martial proceeding at
Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Md.,
in which Seefried was on trial more than two
years after being charged in April 2014 with
wrongful and abusive sexual contact and
forcible sodomy in connection with the former
Marines allegations.
The former Marine stated repeatedly during
his testimony that he was too drunk to consent
to sex in the hot tub, in a nearby steam room,
and a short time later in Seefrieds hotel room.
He insisted he was the victim of sexual assault,
even though two witnesses on Tuesday said
he willingly participated in the hotel trysts.
D.C. gay activist Lane Hudson, whos a
friend of Seefrieds and who attended the trial
on Monday and Tuesday, said prosecutors
and defense lawyers indicated the trial could
be completed as soon as Wednesday, with a
possible verdict handed down by the judge, Lt.
Col. Andrew Kalvanos, that same day.
Seefried waived his right to a jury trial and
opted for allowing the judge to render the
verdict.
The gay Air Force lieutenant has been a
prominent advocate for the rights of gays in
the military. He was the co-founder in 2010 of
the LGBT military advocacy group OutServe.
The court martial trial comes after a
respected Air Force investigator conducted
two proceedings considered similar to a
civilian grand jury probe known as an Article
32 hearing and recommended the charges
against Seefried be dropped because the
evidence was insucient to justify a court
martial. The recommendations were rejected
by Major Gen. Darryl Burke, commander of
the Air Force District of Washington.
Burkes action, and a later decision by Air
Force Secretary Deborah Lee James to reject
a decision by prosecutors to allow Seefried
to resign from the Air Force in lieu of a court
martial, prompted observers to speculate
that Burke and Lee were overreacting to

Air Force Lt. JOSHUA SEEFRIED is accused of

sexual assault.

longstanding criticism that military authorities

have not adequately prosecuted sexual
assault cases against women in the military.
According to information that surfaced in
several pre-court martial hearings, the sexual
assault allegations hanging over Seefrieds
head for more than four years emerged from
a weekend gathering in New York City in May
2012 of seven junior gay military ocers from
across the country who participated in Fleet
Week, an annual event in which Navy and
sometimes Coast Guard ships dock in a major
U.S. city.
The gay ocers, including the then Marine,
were from all branches of the military and
were also celebrating the repeal a few months
earlier of the Dont Ask, Dont Tell law and the
behind-the-scenes eort by several of them,
including Seefried, to push for its repeal.
According to sources familiar with the case,
the gay ocers met at a Manhattan restaurant
for brunch on the afternoon of May 26, and all
of them, including the then Marine, consumed
several alcoholic beverages. After spending a
good part of the afternoon at the restaurant,
several of them accepted Seefrieds invitation
to join him at the spa in the hotel in which he
was staying, which was located about a mile
from the restaurant.
All of them walked from the restaurant to
the hotel, and witnesses said the then Marine
appeared capable of walking without any
outward signs of intoxication.
In his testimony on Monday, the former
Marine said he may have consumed as many
as eight mimosas at the restaurant and was
so intoxicated that he had no memory of
anything that happened from the time he
was at the restaurant to the time he woke up
confused and disoriented in Seefrieds hotel
room bed.
Although the former Marine testified on
Monday that he was too drunk to remember
what happened in the hot tub, he told Judge
Kalvanos that his memory returned after he
woke up sometime before midnight in bed with
both Seefried and then U.S. Coast Guard Lt.
Commander John Fiorentine in the hotel room.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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N.C. Gov. McCrory targeted

for defeat over HB2 support
Gubernatorial race one of the most competitive in country
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
With North Carolina unwilling to repeal its
anti-LGBT law despite widespread criticismand
pressure from the business community, national
groups are energized to unseat Gov. Pat McCrory
to make it happen.
Last week, the Human Rights Campaign and
the LGBT state group Equality North Carolina
jointly announced they had formally endorsed
Coopers opponent, North Carolina Attorney
General Roy Cooper, in his bid to unseat McCrory.
JoDee Winterhof, vice president for policy and
political aairs at the Human Rights Campaign, said
the endorsement marks the launch of our work
to hold McCrory and his allies accountable forHB2.
LGBT advocates are eager to defeat Gov.
Theyve put countless people at risk and cost
PAT MCCRORY (R-N.C.).
the state millions of dollars in economic losses,
PHOTO BY HAL GOODTREE;
Winterhof said. Moving forward, we will be
COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
reaching out to our members and supporters,
turning them out to vote and making sure they
know whats at stake and why they should volunteer to elect a governor who believes that each
and every LGBTQ person across North Carolina should live free from fear of discrimination.
Aftera single day of consideration and approval by the North Carolina Legislature, McCrory
in March signed into law House Bill 2,undoingpro-LGBT non-discrimination ordinances in cities
throughout the state, such asone recently enacted in Charlotte, and prohibiting transgender
people from using the public restroom in schools and government buildings consistent with
their gender identity.
The law inspired a massive outcry. More than200 business leaders called for repeal of the
law whileothers cancelled business expansion in the state. Conventions in North Carolina were
cancelled as a result of HB2 and performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Cirque de Soleil
nixed events in the state.
Nonetheless, McCrory and the legislature havent changedthe law aside fromreinstating
the ability to sue in state court in cases of discrimination on the basis ofrace, religion, national
origin and sex. But the approved change still allows anti-LGBT discrimination because neither
sexual orientation nor gender identity were part of the x. McCrory has earmarked $500,000 of
taxpayer money to defend the law in court.
Jared Leopold, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, said unseating
McCrory in the upcoming election is one of the top prioritiesin the aftermath of enactment
of the law.
We think Pat McCrory is the most vulnerable incumbent governor in America right now,
Leopold said. He damaged a brand that was already damaged and that every poll indicates
HB2 further damaged his brand as someone whos been too focused on his social agenda to
the detriment of the economy.
In April, NC Families First, backed by DGA, launched aTVadconsisting of aseries of media
reports on the economic fallout of HB2and cites companies that have condemned the antiLGBT law. The DGA, Leopold said, spent about $500,000 on the ad campaign and plans to invest
more in the gubernatorial race.
Polls continue to show the gubernatorial race in North Carolina is a tight contest. Earlier this
month, a Public Policy Polling poll found a near dead heat between McCrory and Cooper in
the red counties. Cooper had 43 percent support compared to the 42 percent who backed
McCrory and the 4 percent for Libertarian candidate Lon Cecil.
If McCrory is unseated on Nov. 8, the enactment of HB2 may well be to blame. That same poll
foundonly 30 percent of voters support the law compared to the 43 percent who oppose it. A
plurality of voters, 43 percent, also said the way McCrory handled the issue makes them less likely
to vote for him compared to the 31 percent who say it makes them more likely to support him.
Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said the gubernatorial race is
highly competitive and he expects coattails from whomever wins the presidential race in
North Carolina.
No question NC is tight on the White House too, but we have the state leaning slightly to
Clinton at the moment, Sabato added.

NATIONAL NEWS

Trump donates $100,000 to anti-gay church

GREENWELL SPRINGS, La.
Donald Trump has reportedly made a
donation to Family Research Council
President Tony Perkins Louisiana
church.
Reports indicate Trump made a
$100,000 donation to the Greenwell
Springs Baptist Church in the wake of
historic oods that inundated large
swaths of south Louisiana. The church
acknowledged on its Facebook page
that Trump is sending a nancial
contribution . . . to aid our eorts,
but it did not disclose the amount of
DONALD TRUMP reportedly donated
money he is donating.
$100,000 to an anti-LGBT church.
Perkins who is the churchs
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO
interim pastor said he and his family
BY MICHAEL KEY
used a canoe to evacuate their home
on Aug. 13 as oodwaters swamped
it. He said during an interview on his
radio program the ood also inundated buildings on his churchs property.
This is a ood of, I would have to say, near biblical proportions, said Perkins.
Perkins said that Hurricane Joaquin, which devastated portions of the Bahamas
last fall was a message from God about same-sex marriage and abortion. The
Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Family Research Council as a
hate group.
Trump and Mike Pence visited Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 19. President Obama
toured the area on Aug. 23.

Juneau approves nondiscrimination ordinance

JUNEAU, Alaska Lawmakers in Alaskas capital city on Aug. 22 approved a
nondiscrimination ordinance that would include sexual orientation and gender
identity.
The Juneau Assembly approved the measure by an 8-1 margin. The Juneau
Empire, a local newspaper, reported roughly 70 people who support the
ordinance marched to Juneau City Hall before the vote.
Two people testied against the ordinance, which will take eect in 30 days.
This is truly a historic night for Juneau, said Jenny Jahn, chair of the Southeast
Alaska Gay and Lesbian Alliance, in a press release the Human Rights Campaign
released.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska also applauded the ordinances
passage.
Treating others as we all want to be treated is what Alaska is about, said
Joshua A. Decker, the groups executive director.

Broadway dancer charged with killing boyfriend

BRONX, N.Y. A Broadway dancer faces murder and manslaughter charges
in connection with the death of his boyfriend.
Police told the New York Daily News that Marcus Bellamy strangled Bernardo
Almonte inside an apartment in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx
on Aug. 19 as they fought.
Bellamy reportedly bit Almontes shoulders during the ght. The Daily
News reported the dancer who performed in Spider-Man: Turn O the Dark
confessed to the murder on Facebook.
I did it for love, wrote Bellamy, according to the Daily News. I did it because
I love you. He told me love and hate are the same emotion.
Beverly Tillery, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project,
issued a statement in which she expressed her condolences to Almontes family.
Too often we only hear of LGBTQ intimate partner violence through these
most tragic homicides, said Tillery. As a community, and as a society, we must
make sure that we help address LGBTQ IPV (intimate partner violence) before it
escalates, and raise up the experiences of queer, gay, bisexual and transgender
men who are often not given access to services and whose realities as survivors
are not factored into policy discussions.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Gavin Grimm: Lawsuit against Va. school district exhausting

U.S. Supreme Court could
hear trans students case
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
A transgender student who is
challenging his Virginia school districts
bathroom policy said this week that the
case has taken an emotional toll on him
and his family.
Its been exhausting, Gavin Grimm
told the Washington Blade during a
telephone interview from his home in
Gloucester County, Va.
Grimm, who will be a senior at
Gloucester County High School this
fall, spoke with the Blade more than a
year after the American Civil Liberties
Union led a federal lawsuit against the
Gloucester County School Board on his
behalf.
The lawsuit alleges the policy that
prohibits him from using the boys
restroom or locker room because they
are not consistent with his biological
gender is unconstitutional under the
14th Amendments Equal Protection
Clause. Grimm also contends the policy,
which the Gloucester County School
Board approved in 2014, violates Title
IX of the U.S. Education Amendments
of 1972 that prohibits schools receiving
federal funds from discriminating on the
basis of sex.
The Justice Department argued in

GAVIN GRIMM is ghting an anti-trans

bathroom policy in his Virginia school.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES
UNION OF VIRGINIA

Grimms case that Title IX requires

school districts to allow trans students
to use restrooms that correspond to
their gender identity. The Department of
Educations Oce of the General Council
also led a brief in support of the Grimm.
That was pretty powerful, Grimm
told the Blade, referring to the Obama
administrations decision to intervene in
his case. It felt good to have that kind of
progress.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Richmond which is the rst federal
appeals court to consider whether Title IX
allows trans students to use facilities that
are consistent with their gender identity

ruled in favor of Grimm. The Gloucester

County School Board subsequently
announced that it plans to petition the
U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3
decision earlier this month issued an
injunction against a 4th Circuit ruling
that would have allowed Grimm to use
the boys restroom at Gloucester County
High School during his senior year. Chief
Justice John Roberts on Aug. 16 refused
to extend the deadline for the Gloucester
County School Board to formally appeal
the 4th Circuits ruling.
I absolutely didnt expect where it has
gone . . . in two years time, said Grimm,
referring to his case.
Eorts to guarantee trans people have
access bathrooms that are consistent
with their gender identity have gained
traction since Grimm led his lawsuit.
The
Department
of
Education
reached an agreement with an Illinois
school district late last year that allows
a trans high school student to use the
girls locker room. Trans students in
Maryland and Wisconsin have also
challenged their respective schools
bathroom policies.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory
earlier this year signed House Bill 2,
which prohibits trans people from using
bathrooms in public buildings that are
consistent with their gender identity and
bans local municipalities from enacting
LGBT-inclusive
nondiscrimination
measures.

The 4th Circuit which ruled in favor

of Grimm includes North Carolina. The
Justice Department alleges in a civil rights
lawsuit it led against the state in May
that HB 2 violates Title IX, Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Violence
Against Women Act.
Its very unfortunate . . . what happened
in North Carolina, Grimm told the Blade.
The Obama administration in May told
public schools that Title IX requires them
to allow trans students to use bathrooms
consistent with their gender identity. U.S.
District Judge Reed OConnor earlier this
week issued a preliminary injunction
against the guidance in response to a
lawsuit that Texas Attorney General Ken
Paxton led on behalf of a dozen states
and two school districts.
Grimm spoke with the Blade less than a
day after OConner issued his ruling.
He did not discuss the lawsuit against
the Obama administrations guidance
to public schools about allowing trans
students to use the bathroom that
corresponds to their gender identity.
Grimm spoke directly to those people
who continue to criticize him.
I would encourage (people) to think
from the perspective . . . to put themselves
in a position if they could if they were
the only person forced to use the facility
separate of that of their peers, especially
when this decision was made in a public
way that opened them up to the abuse at
the meeting in which that was made, he
told the Blade.

Lawsuit seeks to overturn pro-trans rule in Obamacare

Litigation contends
regulations violate rights of
religious orgs
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
A new lawsuit led by religious-aliated
health care providers and ve states
seeks to overturn a regulation under
Obamacare prohibiting discrimination
against transgender people intransitionrelated
care,
including
gender
reassignment surgery.
The 79-page complaint, led Tuesday
in federal court in Texas, alleges the
regulation improperly redenes the
denition of sex under federal law,
forces healthcare professionals to
disregard their medical judgment and
religious beliefs and undermines state
authority to regulate health care.
Ultimately, this case boils down to
a very simple question of statutory

interpretation: Can HHS redene the

term sex to thwart decades of settled
precedent and impose massive new
obligations on healthcare professionals
and sovereign States? the complaint
says. The answer is no, and the new
regulation must be set aside as a
violation of the Administrative Procedure
Act and multiple other federal laws and
constitutional provisions.
Defying legal precedent establishing
that transgender discrimination amounts
to gender discrimination under current
law, the lawsuit seeks an injunction barring
enforcement of the regulation on the
basis it is invalid under the Administrative
Procedure Act, the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act and the First, Fifth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution.
In May, the Department of Health
& Human Services made nal a rule
interpreting Section 1557 of the
Aordable Care Act, which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of gender

in health care, to apply to transgender

and
gender-nonconforming
people,
including for the purposes of transitionrelated care. Under the rule, a health care
provider must provide transition-related
care, including gender reassignment
surgery, to a transgender person if that
provider oers a similar service, such as
hysterectomies.
The lawsuit takes issue with the lack of
a religious exemption in the regulation,
pointing out Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 on which the
rule is based aords such a carve out.
Although HHS was asked to include
a religious exemption in the regulation
due to the obvious implications
for religious healthcare providers,
HHS declined to do so, stating instead
that religious objectors could assert
claims
under existing
statutory
protections for religious freedom, the
lawsuit says. HHS also failed to provide
any mechanism by which a religious
entity could determine if it was entitled

to any existing religious protections

under the law.
Leading the litigation on behalf of the
states Texas, Wisconsin, Nebraska,
Kentucky and Kansas is Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton, who has led
several lawsuits against the Obama
administration for regulations advancing
LGBT rights.
This is the thirteenth lawsuit I have
been forced to bring against the Obama
administrations
continued
threats
on constitutional rights of Texans,
Paxton said in a statement. The federal
government has no right to force
Texans to pay for medical procedures
designed to change a persons sex.
I am disappointed in the Obama
administrations lack of consideration
for medical professionals who believe
that engaging in such procedures or
treatment violates their Hippocratic
Oath, their conscience, or their personal
religious beliefs, which are protected by
the Constitution and federal law.

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

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NATIONAL NEWS
Muslims, immigrants and minorities, reads the letter that Rolling Stone published.
The letter criticizes Trump for his comments against U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and for suggesting that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)s father was
involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It also notes that Trump
initially declined to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte
(R-N.H.) and McCain in their respective re-election campaigns.
His actions towards his fellow Republicans should disqualify him from receiving any
further support, reads the letter.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Judge blocks guidance on bathroom access

for trans students
KYLE KITTLESON no longer supports Trump for president.
SCREENSHOT COURTESY OF YOUTUBE

Gay blogger dumps Trump

A gay Los Angeles-based video blogger who was an early supporter of Donald
Trump no longer backs the candidate, citing inammatory remarks hehas made on
the campaign trail and his choice of a vice presidential nominee.
Kyle Kittleson, who came out as a gay man in support of Trump in an October 2015
YouTube video, disavowed that support which garneredsignicant attention and
criticism in a blog post and Facebook video on Sunday.
Last year, I made a YouTube video that explained I was a gay man who supported
Donald Trump for president, Kittleson says in the video. And now, one year later,
Im still gay, but I do not support Donald Trump for president.
Kittleson writes in his blog post his reconsideration of support for the candidate
began about a month ago, making the case Trump has changed.
Last year, Donald Trump expressed views which were largely moderate and
more aligned with libertarian philosophies, Kittleson writes. Trump supported
progressive social views, small government, and sensible tax reforms. However,
today, hes not the same person I once publicly supported.
Although Kittleson writes he could list plenty of other things contributing to
hisdecision to the drop the candidate, the video blogger sticks with three primary
reasons.
Onereason Kittleson cites is Trumps selection as running mate Indiana Gov. Mike
Pence, who signed a widely criticized religious freedom bill enabling anti-LGBT
discrimination in addition to costing the state jobs and damagingits economy.
Additionally, Kittleson cites Trumps criticism of the Gold Star parents ofArmy Capt.
Humayan Khan. The father of the slain U.S. Muslim soldier strongly condemned
Trump at the Democratic National Convention.
Kittleson also invokes Trumps assertion President Obama founded ISIS. The
widely panned remarks were so completely ignorant, Kittleson writes, he began
to wonder about the candidates connection to reality and his understanding of the
issues actually facing our country.
But Kittleson doesnt endorse Hillary Clinton or any other candidate, saying hes
still working through the decision of whom hell back in the presidential election.
CHRIS JOHNSON

Some gay Republicans

urge RNC to abandon Trump
Three prominent gay Republicans have urged the Republican National Committee to
stop funding Donald Trumps presidential campaign.
Former Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe, former Delaware Republican Party Executive
Director John Fluharty and Bowie (Md.) City Councilman Michael Estve are among the
123 Republicans who signed the open letter to RNC Chair Reince Priebus that was sent
last week.
The letter references Trumps criticism of U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khans parents
who spoke at the Democratic National Convention. It also notes, among other things,
that the Republican presidential nominee appeared to tell supporters at a North Carolina
campaign rally earlier this month that he supports the assassination of Hillary Clinton.
Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during
which he has mocked and oended millions of voters, including the disabled, women,

A federal judge has blocked the enforcement of guidance from the Obama administration
prohibiting schools from discriminating against transgender students, including denying
them access to public restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Reed OConnor, an appointee of former President George W. Bush,
issued the preliminary injunction late Sunday in response to a lawsuit led in May by Texas
Attorney General Ken Paxton on behalf of 12 states and two school districts.
In the 38-page order, OConnor writes the case presents the dicult issue of balancing
the rights of transgender students and privacy concerns, but he nonetheless sides with
states suing the Obama administration.
The sensitivity to this matter is heightened because defendants actions apply to the
youngest child attending school and continues for every year throughout each childs
educational career, OConnor writes. The resolution of this dicult policy issue is not,
however, the subject of this order. Instead, the Constitution assigns these policy choices
to the appropriate elected and appointed ocials, who must follow the proper legal
procedure.
In May, the Departments of Justice and Education said schools are barred from
discriminating against transgender students, including in bathroom use, under the
prohibition of gender bias in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. That means
schools refusing to allow transgender students to use the restroom consistent with their
gender identity are at risk of losing federal funds.
The court order doesnt devote signicant discussion to why transgender students should
be subjected to schools barring them from restroom use consistent with their gender
identity, but cites the intent of Congress in passing Title IX and portions of the law that allow
schools to segregate students by gender.
Without question, permitting educational institutions to provide separate housing
to male and female students, and separate educational instruction concerning human
sexuality, was to protect students personal privacy, or discussion of their personal privacy,
while in the presence of members of the opposite biological sex, OConnor writes.
Critics say Paxton and the states he represents lacked standing to sue the Obama
administration over the guidance, but OConnor writes theyre able to sue because the
guidance is clearly designed to target plaintis conduct.
Guidelines will force plaintis to consider ways to build or reconstruct restrooms, and
how to accommodate students who may seek to use private single person facilities, as
other school districts and employers who have been subjected to Defendants enforcement
actions have had to do, OConnor writes. That the guidelines spur this added regulatory
compliance analysis satises the injury in fact requirement.
OConnor writes the injunction should apply nationwide and states that dont wish to
comply with the order can easily avoid doing so by state law that recognizes the permissive
nature. The injunction, OConnor writes, shouldnt interfere with similar cases pending
before federal courts on transgender bathroom use and parties should le a pleading
describing those cases so the court can appropriately narrow the scope if appropriate.
Kasey Suredini, chief program ocer for Freedom for All Americans, called the ruling a
step back for transgender protections, criticizing OConnor for the decision and refusing to
hear from a single transgender student during court proceedings.
It is shameful that opponents of equality have forced this lawsuit forward in an attempt
to make transgender Americans pawns in a political game; but this ruling will not stand the
test of time, Suredini said.
Paxton in a statement after the ruling said the plainti states are pleased with the
decision and it restrictsthe Obama administrations latest illegal federal overreach.
This president is attempting to rewrite the laws enacted by the elected representatives
of the people, and is threatening to take away federal funding from schools to force them
to conform, Paxton said. That cannot be allowed to continue.
Dena Iverson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department, said the Obama
administration is considering the order and whether to appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals.
The department is disappointed in the courts decision, and we are reviewing our
options, Iverson said.
CHRIS JOHNSON

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

NATIONAL NEWS

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 1 1

U.S. court denies asylum for bisexual Jamaican felon

Petitioner invokes fear of
anti-LGBT persecution
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
A federal appeals court last week
denied asylum for a Jamaican national
who was once convicted of attempted
sexual assault in the United States
even though he asserted hes bisexual
and would face persecution if forced to
return to his home country.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel on
the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
upheld a decision from an immigration
judge denying the petition from Ray
Fuller, a 51-year-old Jamaican citizen, on
the basis his testimony wasnt credible.
Writing for the majority, U.S. Circuit
Judge Diane Wood, a Clinton appointee,
said the determination by the immigration
judge Fuller isnt bisexual is entirely
reasonable due to discrepancies in his
testimony.
Because we cannot say that any
reasonable
adjudicator
would
be
compelled to conclude to the contrary (i.e.
compelled to conclude that he is indeed
bisexual), the agency properly denied
Fullers application for deferral of removal
under the CAT, the decision says.
Fuller sought withholding from removal
under the Immigration & Nationality
Act and the United Nations Convention
Against Torture. After the immigration
judge denied all relief under those laws,
the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld
the decision.
According to the decision, Fuller came
into the United States in 1999 with a
ance visa sponsored by a U.S. citizen,
whom he later married and with whom he
had a daughter, but they later divorced.
His immigration status was terminated in
2004.
Also in 2004, Fuller pled guilty to
attempted criminal sexual assault.
According to the decision, the victim
informed police he threatened to kill
her and that she told him several times
during the encounter to stop.
He was sentenced to 30 months
probation. After violating the terms of
his probation, Fuller was sentenced
in 2012 to four years imprisonment.
Upon his release, the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security detained him and
charged him as removable.
Fuller sought withholding of removal
on the basis hes bisexual and pointed
to evidence, including human rights
reports from the U.S. State Department,
documenting anti-LGBT persecution in
Jamaica, a country that criminalizes samesex relations.

U.S. Circuit Judge DIANE WOOD denied an

asylum petition from a Jamaican man who
claims to be bisexual.
PHOTO COURTESY WOOD

In Jamaica, Fuller said he had

relationships with both men and women,
was attacked and sometimes stoned by
other students at college in Kingston and
held up at gunpoint for being a batty
man, which is a Jamaican slur for a gay
man.
On another occasion, Fuller said he was
shot in the back and buttocks by someone
from an anti-gay mob while partying
with his boyfriend in the resort town of
Ocho Rios. Afterwards, he said his sisters
learned about his sexual orientation as a
result of the shooting and disowned him.
Fuller later became romantically
involved with a woman in Jamaica, then
travelled to the United States, but said he
continued to have multiple aairs with
both men and women.
The immigration judge denied all relief
to Fuller, rst on the basis attempted
sexual assault is a particularly serious
crime, and second because she didnt
believe hes bisexual or the Jamaican
government would consider him such.
Disputing Fullers assertion hes
bisexual, the immigration judge pointed
to his marriage to a woman and two
children. She also noted a discrepancy
in his stated history, pointing out he said
during his written statement he was shot
between 1983 and 1988 with a boyfriend
named Henry, but during testimony
the incident happened in 1997 with a
boyfriend namedStephen.
The immigration judge pointed out
Fuller lied on an application to return
to Jamaica in 2001, confused his sisters
names, mixed up a sister with his mother
and gave dierent gures of his number
of sisters.
Although Fuller produced seven
letters from sisters and friend asserting
hes bisexual, the immigration judge
discounted them on the basis the authors
wouldnt testify in court and because the
signatures on the letters were stylistically
suspicious. In some instances, they
consisted of a series of dots.

Echoing the immigration judge, Wood

on behalf of the 7th Circuit arms Fullers
testimony presented discrepancies.
People may not remember what they
had for lunch 20 or 30 years ago, but some
experiences leave a greater imprint on
the memory than others, Wood writes. It
was entirely reasonable for the IJ to think
that the experience of being shot falls in
the latter category, and that someone
for whom that is not an everyday event
would remember whether he was shot
while in college in the late 1980s or with a
boyfriend in the late 1990s.
Joining Wood in the decision was U.S.
Circuit Judge Ilana Rovner, an appointee
of George H.W. Bush whose recent
decision denying anti-gay workplace
discrimination
is
covered
under
current federal civil rights law inspired
consternation among LGBT advocates.
Dissenting from the majority opinion
was U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner, a
Reagan appointee who wrote a scathing
rebuke to the immigration judge, saying
she apparently does not know the
meaning of bisexual.
And how exactly does one prove that
he (or she) is bisexual? Posner writes.
Persuade all ones male sex partners
to testify, to write letters, etc.? No,
because most Jamaican homosexuals
are not going to go public with their
homosexuality given the vicious Jamaican
discrimination against lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender persons, which
is undeniable, as Ill show.
Posner criticizes the immigration
judge for basing her denial of relief on
unquestionable, but trivial and indeed
irrelevant mistakes in Fullers testimony
as opposed to focusing on the anti-LGBT
atmosphere in Jamaica.
The fact that an applicant for asylum
makes mistakes or even lies is material to his
asylum claim only if the mistakes or lies are
germane which the mistakes (or lies) about
his sisters and mothers were not, Posner
writes. He testied without contradiction
that his family has rejected him because of his
bisexuality; it would be no surprise if, having
been rejected by his mother and sisters, he
lashed back at them, as by mixing up one of
his sisters with his mother.
Posner faults the immigration judge
for rejecting the seven letters Fuller
presented asserting his bisexuality. As
for the diering recollections for the
timing on being shot, Posner writes Fuller
may have misremembered. Posner also
criticizes the immigration judge for not
seeking a psychologist to verify Fuller is
bisexual.
Nor has any reason been given,
either by the immigration judge or by
the majority opinion in this court, why if
Fuller is not bisexual he would claim to

be in an eort to remain in the United

States, knowing that if he failed in his
eort to remain he would be in grave
danger of persecution when having lost
his case he was shipped o to Jamaica,
Posner writes. No doubt once back in
Jamaica he could deny being bisexual
but no one who was either familiar with
this litigation, or had been one of his
persecutors before he left Jamaica for the
United States, would believe (or at least
admit to believing) his denial.
Nowhere in Posners dissent does he
address Fullers conviction forattempted
sexual assault or what bearing that would
have on his case for relief.
Posner, who wrote the majority opinion
striking down bans on same-sex marriage
in Indiana and Wisconsin, gained notoriety
among LGBT advocates for his aggressive
questioning of attorneys general seeking
to defend their states ban on gay
nuptials. Like many Americans, Posner,
based on his writings, underwent an
evolution to reach support for same-sex
marriage, rst denying courts could nd a
constitutional right for same-sex couples
to marry, then embracing the idea.
According to the decision, if Fuller can
gather new evidence demonstrating the
immigration judge was mistaken about
his sexual orientation, he can ask her to
accept a motion to reopen, although the
decision on such a request is entirely up
to the judge and not subject to review.
Dorian Needham, a sta attorney with
Immigration Equalitys pro bono program,
said the ruling demonstrates the need for
immigration judges to receive training on
LGBT issues.
Immigration Equality trains every
incoming asylum ocer hundreds
each year on issues pertaining to
sexual orientation and gender identity,
Needham said. This case illustrates why
we have long advocated for immigration
judges to receive the same training.
Pointing to the majoritys determination
the immigration judge could be criticized
for betraying a lack of understanding
about bisexuality, Needham said the
court should have remanded the case for
further consideration.
Rather than oering Fuller the
admittedly thin comfort that he may
be able to prevail upon this same
immigration judges discretion to reopen
his case, however, the majority should
have remanded Fullers case so that
he could (as they suggest) gather new
evidence showing that the [immigration
judge] was mistaken about his sexual
orientation, Needham said.
The U.S. Justice Department, which
defended the removal proceedings
for Fuller, declined to comment on the
Seventh Circuit decision.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 2 A UGUS T 2 6 , 2016

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

Iraqi cleric denounces anti-LGBT violence

British diver TOM DALEY won a bronze medal in synchronized diving but failed to
medal in the solo competition.
PHOTO BY MEGAN TRACE; COURTESY OF FLICKR

Half of out LGBT Olympic

athletes medal
Nearly half of the 53 openly LGBT athletes who competed in the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro won medals.
Seimone Augustus, Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Angel McCoughtry
were members of the U.S. womens basketball team that won a gold medal.
Caster Semenya, a South African sprinter who has undergone controversial tests
to determine her sex and her eligibility to compete because of high levels of
testosterone, won a gold medal in the 800 meters on Saturday.
Lisa Dahlkvist, Nilla Fischer, Hedvig Lindahl and Caroline Seger were members
of the Swedish soccer team that won a silver medal. British diver Tom Daley, who is
engaged to Dustin Lance Black, won a bronze medal in the 10-meter synchronized
event.
The Olympics closing ceremony took place in Rio de Janeiros Maracan Stadium
on Sunday.
The games took place against the backdrop of rampant anti-LGBT violence in
Brazil, President Dilma Rousses impeachment, an economic crisis and concerns
over Zika. The Daily Beast on Aug. 11 published an article which it later retracted
that outed Olympic athletes, some of whom come from countries in which
homosexuality remains criminalized.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Prominent Turkish trans activist murdered

Hundreds of people gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to protest the murder of a
prominent transgender rights activist.
LGBTI News Turkey reported activists carried a banner that read, Justice for Hande,
referring to Hande Kader. They also read the names of those who LGBTI News Turkey
said had been killed because of hate crimes.
LGBTI News Turkey reported at least two Turkish MPs attended the protest.
Reports indicate Kaders mutilated and burned body was found in Zekeriyaky, an
upper middle class Istanbul neighborhood on Aug. 8.
Kader who was a sex worker in her early 20s was reportedly last seen entering
a clients car near Taksim Square. The BBC reported Kaders roommate, Davut Dengiler,
identied her body at the morgue.
I was about to leave the morgue, Dengiler told the BBC. I felt a sense of lightness
for not having found her there. At the last minute, a doctor there said, Theres also a
burned body look at that as well. I did. I told them identifying features. They then
looked at the computer, at the report. The doctor put his hand on my back and gave his
condolences. I lost myself.
Kaders murder underscores the anti-LGBT discrimination and violence that remains
commonplace throughout Turkey.
Police used tear gas, water cannons and pepper spray against Kader and other
activists who were about to take part in last years Istanbul Pride march.
Authorities in June detained gay German MP Volker Beck and more than a dozen
other people who challenged a ban on this years Istanbul Pride march. Three suspected
members of the so-called Islamic State reportedly planned to attack a trans rights march
in Istanbul that had been scheduled to take place on June 19.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

A prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric has banned

his followers from committing violence against
LGBT people.
[You] must disassociate from them [but]
not attack them, as it increases their aversion,
said Muqtada al-Sadr in a decree he issued
from the city of Najaf on July 7, according to a
press release that Human Rights Watch issued
on Thursday. You must guide them using
acceptable and rational means.
MUQTAD AL-SADR
PHOTO BY SDFAHM0; COURTESY
Human Rights Watch said in its press release
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
that al-Sadr expressed his opposition to samesex relationships and cross-dressing. The
prominent cleric also said that gender non-conforming Iraqis are suering from psychological
problems.
Members of the Mahdi army, a Shiite militia that al-Sadr runs, have been accused of kidnapping,
torturing and executing LGBT Iraqis over the last decade.
A report that OutRight Action International and three other advocacy groups released last fall
indicates members of al-Sadrs militia kidnapped an 18-year-old lesbian woman in Baghdad in 2008.
The report says the militants brought her to a place that was covered in blood in which other
lesbians and gay men were located. It also notes that members of al-Sadrs militia burned the
womans left thigh and killed a gay man.
Human Rights Watch notes in its press release that the Mahdi army began killing gay men in
Baghdads Sadr City neighborhood in early 2009. The report that OutRight Action International and
the other advocacy groups released last fall indicates al-Sadr was among those who encouraged
these executions.
The report also notes militants in 2012 placed leaets throughout Sadr City that contained the
names of men who they thought were gay or emo, which is slang for emotional. The yers
reportedly told teenagers and young adults who listened to rock music, dressed in black, wore
tight clothes and styled their hair that they could be killed if they did not change their ways.
People perceived to be gay, lesbian, transgender or eeminate are particularly vulnerable,
reads the report.
Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International note that Iraqi authorities have either
not responded to anti-LGBT violence or have been complicit in it.
Finally, the head of one of the groups whose members have carried out serious abuses against
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Iraq is condemning these heinous attacks,
said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, in his organizations press release
about al-Sadrs decree. We hope this will change behavior in successors to the Mahdi army and
other ranks, and spur the government to hold accountable those who commit these crimes.
Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight Action International, told the Washington Blade
on Thursday that al-Sadrs comments can have a very real impact in Iraq and in the region more
widely.
We hope his comments will open the doors to a broader debate among Shiite religious leaders
on the treatment of LGBTIQ people in Islam and to recognizing that violence targeting this minority
group is unacceptable, said Stern.
Ayaz Hassan, a human rights activist from Sulaymaniyah, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, agreed.
Even though it might look very small comparing to what is happening in Western countries .
. . it is a very positive step towards change in our society, he told the Blade on Thursday. It also
encourages other religious leaders and his followers to go with the same way or at least think
about the issue before judging on it.
The so-called Islamic State, which is a Sunni militant group, has publicly executed dozens of men
in Iraq and Syria who have been accused of committing sodomy. OutRight Action International
and MADRE, a global womens advocacy organization, concluded in a 2014 report that LGBT Iraqis
who live under ISIS control are likely at imminent risk of death.
A State Department ocial told the Blade on Thursday that U.S. ocials had not seen al-Sadrs
decree.
The United States places great importance on the protection and promotion of the human
rights and fundamental freedoms of all people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
persons around the world, said the ocial.
A gay Iraqi man who lives in D.C. told the Blade that he is doubtful al-Sadrs statement will have
a positive impact.
Muqtada al-Sadr contradicts himself, said the man, who asked the Blade not to publish his
name. He still thinks homosexual relationships or being transgender is unacceptable. He is asking
his followers to end violence on homosexuals in Iraq, but at the same time, he refers to gays as
psychologically troubled humans (who are) suering. He calls for the ostracizing of gays socially
and to lead them to path of faith through conversion therapy.
It is hard to establish gay rights in a country that barely has sexual freedoms and human rights
and that follows sharia Islamic law, he added. Reality and cynicism look alike sometimes, but I
hope to see improvements in gay rights in Iraq and the Middle East.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

N E WS

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 1 3

Lanier gets mixed reviews from LGBT activists

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

Rosendall noted that one of Laniers

rst actions after being named as chief
by former D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty was
to announce plans to close the Dupont
Circle headquarters oce of the thenGay and Lesbian Liaison Unit and replace
it with GLLU aliate ocers in each of
the departments seven police districts.
Lanier said at the time that the GLLUs
good work and resources should be
spread throughout the city and not be
conned to one area like Dupont Circle.
She said she planned to put in place LGBTrelated training for all ocers on the
force so that every ocer could provide
the same top-notch services to LGBT
citizens that the GLLU was providing.
GLAA and other LGBT groups quickly
pointed out that the highly trained and
mostly gay and lesbian ocers assigned
to the GLLU worked on cases throughout
the city and were highly knowledgeable
on LGBT issues that often came up when
LGBT people were targeted for crime,
including hate crimes.
They noted that while Laniers plans
to have all ocers provide the same
services for LGBT people as the GLLU was
a commendable goal that would not likely
be achieved any time soon.
One point of contention was when
she used to claim that LGBT advocates
defense of the central GLLU amounted
to wanting it only to serve Dupont Circle
and environs, but that was never true,
Rosendall said. Nobody I know and any
local group was ever clueless enough to
pretend that our community only lived in

one neighborhood, he said.

The diverse coalition of which we were
a part always knew that LGBT people lived
in all parts of the District, said Rosendall.
Our purpose was to ensure there was a
central unit. It was about organization,
not geography.
Following a groundswell of opposition
to closing the central headquarters of
the GLLU, including opposition from
members of the D.C. Council, Lanier
backed down and agreed to retain the
Dupont Circle headquarters. She said she
would go ahead with her plans to create
a GLLU aliate ocers program for each
of the police districts.
GLAA and the other groups, including
the group Gays and Lesbians Opposing
Violence (GLOV), expressed strong
support for that option.
However, in the ensuing years, activists
expressed concern that Lanier and other
department ocials decreased the
number of ocers assigned to the GLLU
central oce and in recent years required
all GLLU ocers to spend at least half of
their work shift on patrol duties unrelated
to their GLLU work.
Lanier said she adopted the policy of
detailing ocers from all specialized
units, not just the GLLU, to street patrol
duties due to a citywide shortage of
police ocers. Police ocials cited a
retirement bubble caused by a major
hiring surge 25 years ago, as the reason
for the shortage of ocers at this time.
Sgt. Matthew Mahl, a former supervisor
at the GLLU and the current chair of the
D.C. police union, told the Washington
Post this week that the shortage of

ocers is also being caused by many

ocers leaving the department well
before retirement age. Mahl said many
were leaving because of what the police
union has long said was low morale
during Laniers tenure as chief.
Longstanding concerns over what
some activists said was Laniers de facto
dismantling of the GLLU surfaced in a
41-page Hate Crimes Assessment Report
prepared by an independent task force
created in 2012 by the Anti-Defamation
League of Washington, a nationally
recognized civil rights organization. The
ADL created the task force and conducted
a two-year review of the departments
policies toward addressing hate crimes
and the LGBT community at Laniers
request.
Among the ndings of the report was
that structural changes the department
put in place for the GLLU beginning
in 2009 appeared to have weakened
its eectiveness and diminished its
credibility within the LGBT community.
The restructuring of the GLLU
reduced the size and limited the role of
the central core of the GLLU, weakening
its eectiveness in responding to hate
crimes and engaging in outreach and
made it less accessible and visible to the
LGBT community, the report says.
Lanier has since renamed the unit
the LGBT Liaison Unit and appointed an
openly transgender ocer, Sgt. Jessica
Hawkins, as its supervisor. Although the
outgoing chief has said the unit enjoys
the full support of the department, LGBT
activists have said it never regained the
visibility it had before the restructuring

polices.
For the past 10 years, Chief Lanier
has voiced her support for the LGBTQ
community, said Tonya Turner, an
ocial with the D.C. Anti-Violence Project,
which is aliated with the D.C. Center for
the LGBT Community.
She often met with advocates and
attended community gatherings as she
sought to improve relations between
MPD and the LGBTQ community, Turner
said in a statement. We thank her for her
eorts and look forward to building upon
those eorts with her successor.
Veteran D.C. gay activist Phil Pannell,
who serves as president of the Congress
Heights Community Association in Ward
8, said Lanier as done an overall good job
as chief.
I think the police department could
have been a bit more creative in engaging
the public in getting involved in unsolved
homicides, Pannell told the Washington
Blade. But other than that, I give Cathy
a solid B+.
When asked about concerns by LGBT
activists over Laniers handling of the
LGBT Liaison unit, Pannell added, It is for
that reason that Im giving her a B+ rather
than an A.
Transgender activist Ruby Corado,
founder and director of the LGBT
community services center Casa Ruby,
said that while she, too, agrees that
Laniers intentions on LGBT issues
have been supportive, she called
Laniers overall record on LGBT issues
disappointing.

Ambassador downplays Vietnamese concerns over U.S. election

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

August during a ceremony at Osius ocial

residence over which U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided.
Osius and Bond and their two young
children, Tabo and Lucy, participated in a
bike ride on Sunday that was part of the
sixth annual Viet Pride.
Were
welcomed
really
warmly
wherever we go, whether its the two of us
or all four, Osius told the Blade.
Osius said the Vietnamese government
has also welcomed him.
Everywhere we go we get these warm
welcomes, he told the Blade.
Vietnamese lawmakers have extended
some rights to LGBT people since Osius
became U.S. ambassador.
Trans people are unable to undergo
sex-reassignment surgery in Vietnam, but
a law that takes eect in 2017 will allow
those who underwent the procedure in

another country to register under their

new gender. A statute that allows samesex marriages to take place came into
force in 2015, even though the Vietnamese
government does not recognize them.
Vietnam voted for a resolution the U.N.
Human Rights Council approved in June
that would create the U.N.s rst-ever
position to combat anti-LGBT violence and
discrimination around the world. VietJetAir
and other Vietnamese companies have also
begun to enact what Osius described as proequality policies for their LGBT employees.
They are learning from our businesses:
Inclusion is good for the bottom line, he
told the Blade.
Osius said the U.S. Embassy has oered
support to Vietnamese advocates.
President Obama met with LGBT
activists and other members of Vietnamese
civil society in May during his trip to the
Southeast Asian country. Osius credits
them with successfully campaigning

for the trans rights law and workplace

protections for LGBT employees.
The change is being driven by
Vietnamese young people and Vietnamese
NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
who mapped out a strategy for rights for
transgender persons, Osius told the Blade.
Vietnam is among the 11 Pacic Rim
countries that are part of the controversial
Trans-Pacic Partnership.
Advocates have criticized the TPP over
its lack of LGBT-specic provisions and
what they say are inadequate protections
for workers and labor unions.
Osius told the Blade the U.S. reached
an agreement with the Vietnamese
government beyond anything that I
thought was possible even a few years
ago because we were able to hold out
the promise of TPP. He also said the
Communist country agreed to allow
independent labor unions.
A capitalist country lectured a

Communist country on human rights,

said Osius.
China, which borders Vietnam to the
north, is not part of the TPP.
Osius told the Blade the Vietnamese
government is increasingly concerned
by Chinas growing belligerence in the
region, which includes the construction of
man-made islands with military bases in
the disputed Spratly Islands in the South
China Sea.
He said the Chinese military has also
rammed and sunk Vietnamese ships.
Osius told the Blade these actions have
prompted the Vietnamese government
to deepen its ties with the U.S. and
other countries within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations.
China has very directly bullied and
intimidated the Vietnamese, said Osius.
The Vietnamese are very tough, he
added. Its not wise to mess with the
Vietnamese.

Keep your promise to protect each other.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

14 A U G U S T 26, 2016

BA LT I MO RE N E W S

Dozens of protesters descended on Chase Brexton on Friday.

PHOTO BY BOB FORD

Protesters demand Chase Brexton CEO be red

Wills & Trusts

Powers of Attorney Living Wills
Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements

Ten days after the fth manager at Baltimores Chase Brexton Health Care was
abruptly red, a spirited protest and rally was held in front of the headquarters
building on Charles and Chase Streets. The crowd that numbered well over 100
crammed that corner on a sun-baked late Aug. 19 afternoon, waving signs and
chanting slogans, such as Patient Lives Matter.
The grievances leveled against Chase Brextons CEO Richard Larison and the
organizations management team centered on the rings of ve long-standing
professional managers because, according to the protesters, it was an attempt
to intimidate other employees leading up to a union vote, which management
opposes. In addition, these individuals who were terminated had provided
quality health care services to a multitude of patients, many of whom are lowincome transgender individuals who have no other access to health care.
The crowd consisted largely of Chase Brexton patients and clients, employees,
representatives from the Service Employees International Union 1199 (SEIU),
activists and supporters. Speaker after speaker from various connections to
the care provided at the 38-year-old institution originally founded as a health
clinic for gay men demanded the removal of Larison, the rehiring of the ve
managers and deplored the potential poor quality of health care and services
stemming from these terminations.
The speakers included State Sen. Rich Madaleno and Del. Mary Washington,
as well as clients and patients at Chase Brexton who told personal, often moving
stories of how Chase Brextons providers gave them hope.
Some were particularly eective in ring up the crowd. Monica Yorkman, a
transgender activist, warned that the direction Chase Brextons management
was taking would turn the institution into a generic-ass hospital.
Kate Sumiko Bruce, who is a patient at Chase Brexton, and works with Baltimore
Transgender Alliance, organized the protest, and SEIU provided support to their
eorts. Bruces spouse, Reece Bruce, a transgender man, is also a patient.
I organized the protest after discovering that my provider had been one of
the employees red for attempting to organize a union at Chase Brexton, Kate
Bruce told the Blade. I want those with power within Chase Brexton to know
that the current CEO must be replaced, that those red need to be rehired and
that bullying and union busting will not be tolerated in Baltimore. We patients
love our providers and the sta at Chase Brexton and want to support them.
They have been there for us so its our turn to be there for them!
SEIU organizer Brian Owens agreed. Were bringing the community and
patients together to bring pressure on the board of directors to stop their
intimidation against the workers and rehire the red workers.
ADVERTISING
R O O F day, Becky Frank, Chase Brextons vice president of development
ThePprevious
ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12
SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
and marketing, issued a statement acknowledging the period of rapid change
in order to ensure our long-term viability and said that the SEIU is not the right
REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of
proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of
long-term solution for Chase Brexton. No mention was made of the ve red
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after
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wednesday,
the
week
of
publication.Brown
naff
pitts
NS
omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is
workers in the statement.
responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users
GN
can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or
EVISIONS
any rgihts of third parties, including, but not limited to, such violations as infringement or misapporpriation of any
Jill Crank, assistant medical director and nurse practitioner, is one of the
copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, music, image, or other proprietary or propety right, false advertising, unfair
/LOGO REVISIONS
competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation,
or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the
ADVERTISER SIGNATURE red ve. The act of ring ve compassionate and dedicated employees
SIONS
washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all
By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contract obligations with the
liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred
washington blade newspaper. This includes singlehandedly
but is not limited to placement, destroyed the trust between Chase Brexton and the community
by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertisers breach of any of the foregoing representations
payment and insertion schedule.
and warranties.
it serves, Crank told the Blade. It sent a signal that employees are disposable
and replaceable, as well as the relationships they built with their patients and
community organizations.
FamiLY | eState PLaNNiNG | emPLoYmeNt | immiGratioN
Throughout the rally, dozens of cars and trucks driving up Charles Street
ComPLeX LitiGatioN | CiviL riGHtS | LGBt | adoPtioN | BuSiNeSS
honked their horns in support of the protesters. In addition, a letter signed by
10 Maryland legislators denouncing the rings was delivered to Larison and his
management team just prior to the rally.
A vote for those eligible employees to join the union will take place Aug. 25.

(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220

www.PartnerPlanning.com

Serving the LGBT Community

in DC/MD/VA since 1983

Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC

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

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 1 5

DIAMOND SPONSORS

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ART & DESIGN STUDIO

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

16 A U G U S T 26, 2016

H E A LT H N E W S

New study out of step with psychiatric agencies

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Healthy Adult?
NIH RESEARCH STUDY

NEW YORK A major new report published this week claims that the belief
that sexual orientation and gender identity are innate is not supported by
scientic evidence. It has sparked considerable coverage and discussion.
Billed as having been co-authored by two of the nations leading scholars
on mental health and sexuality, the 143-page paper discusses about 200 peerreviewed studies in a variety of disciplines and challenges the leading narratives
that the media has pushed regarding sexual orientation and gender identity,
according to the Daily Signal, the Heritage Foundations digital platform. The
study was published in a journal called the New Atlantis.
The report, Sexuality and Gender: Findings from the Biological, Psychological
and Social Sciences, is co-authored by Dr. Lawrence Mayer, a scholar in
residence in the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and
professor of statistics and biostatistics at Arizona State University, and Dr. Paul
McHugh, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine and former psychiatrist-in-chief at the Johns
Hopkins Hospital.
The study claims that a minority of children who express gender-nonconforming
thoughts or behavior continue to do so into adolescence or adulthood and that
non-heterosexual and transgender people have higher rates of mental health
problems that cannot all be attributed to discrimination.
The authors claim their ndings have alarming real-world political
ramications.
We are disturbed and alarmed by the severity and irreversibility of some
interventions being publicly discussed and employed for children, Mayer
and McHugh write. We are concerned by the increasing tendency toward
encouraging children with gender identity issues to transition to their preferred
gender through medical and then surgical procedures. There is little scientic
evidence for the therapeutic value of interventions that delay puberty or modify
the secondary sex characteristics of adolescents.
Media reaction was quick on both ends of the political spectrum with outlets
like Townhall writing that gay activists will shoot the messengers weve seen
this pattern for years, as Michael Brown writes in an Aug. 24 blog. Other outlets
from the Heritage Foundation to the Christian Post had a eld day with the study
as well.
But as Samantha Allen writes in the Daily Beast, McHugh has an especially strong
anti-gay political bent in his ndings and comments, such as 2006 comments
that attributed clergy abuse in the Catholic Church to homosexual predation on
American Catholic youth, an amicus brief in the California same-sex marriage ban
case that argued sexual orientation is, in part, a choice, an anti-transgender oped in the Wall Street Journal and more, the Daily Beast reports.
Their ndings are at odds with many respected groups from the American
Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Academy
of Pediatrics and the World Professional Association of Transgender Health.

Safer Sex for Trans Bodies guide released

Join A Study on Anxiety

These studies explore how the brain and body work when people feel
anxious. Studies are conducted at the NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, MD.
Compensation is provided.
Research may include:
Participants must be:
1-4 outpatient visits
18 to 50,
computer tasks
free of psychiatric disorders and
exposure to unpleasant stimuli
certain medical conditions
brain scan
To find out if you qualify, call...
www.clinicaltrials.gov

301-451-5087

Email: Bari.fuchs@nih.gov (TTY:1-866-411-1010)

Refer to studies 01-M-0185 or 02-M-0321. Se habla espaol.

www.nih.nimh.gov/JoinAStudy
www.nih.nimh.gov/JoinAStudy

WASHINGTON The Human Rights Campaign and Whitman-Walker Health

have teamed up for a comprehensive sexual health guide for transgender
and gender-nonconforming people called Safer Sex for Trans Bodies, HRC
announced in a press release.
This rst-of-its kind resource was drafted by HRC and Whitman-Walker Health
in consultation with Casa Ruby, Trans United Fund, and TransLatin@ Coalition. It
was made possible with support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The guide is written by and for members of the transgender community and
oers them a resource on potentially life-saving and arming practices, from
respectful terminology and denitions to helpful practices for sexual health
following transition-related care. It will be available online and at WhitmanWalker Healths locations in Washington. A Spanish-language version will be
released in the coming months.
Transgender people frequently experience signicant barriers to inclusive and
competent care. Last year, the HRC Foundation released a guide for transgender
people navigating insurance plans, which often exclude coverage for medically
necessary transition-related care. The annual Healthcare Equality Index ( HEI ),
the HRC Foundations national benchmarking tool that evaluates health care
facilities LGBT-inclusive policies and practices, measures services and treatment
of transgender patients.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

CO MMUNI K A TE

A U G U S T 26 , 2 0 1 6 1 7

VOLUME

47

ISSUE

35

ADDRESS

Ptown swoons for Hillary and Cher

Fundraiser brings together
two LGBT icons

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.

This years Ptown Carnival theme was

Back to the 80s and the pre-parade
mingle featured several head-banded,
curly-wigged Richard Simmonses. With
some shnet stockings, a couple of the
older, grayer Tom Cruises in Risky Business long-tailed white shirts and white
tube socks, could have passed for Elaine
Stritch. There was only one Madonna. But
there is only one Madonna.
For some town elder Ls and Gs, who
had survived the 80s, it was a headscratcher of a theme. The 80s was a decade of Reagan and AIDS. The black humor of those horrible days re-emerged as
many imagined a costume, Im going as a
T-Cell. Im wearing a hospital gown and
pushing my IV pole bare-butted down
Commercial. I pictured a oat with an educational diorama of Reagan never saying
AIDS for eight years, destroying unions,
cutting taxes on the rich, and eliminating
the Department of Education. I pictured a
kinetic depiction of the Trump voter origin story.
Carnival Parade, not Labor Day, always
seems to be the absolute apex of the
summer season and then its a quick slide
downhill to Christmas and a January blizzard. But after Carnival this year, instead
of a near audible sigh of relief, there was
instead a full-throated roar for Hillary
Clinton.
And Cher.
The real Cher. On Sunday after Carnival,
Cher came to town with Hillary Clinton for
a fundraiser up on Pilgrim monument hill.
The town was a-swoon. The news that
Cher was coming with Hillary had swept
through town faster than a self-congratulatory Google search. If anything untoward happened, the event producers did
have tag-team Chers standing by.
A thousand people attended and the
event raised $1.5 million in ticket prices
ranging from $45 to $27,000. While Hillary and Cher were taking grip and grin
photos with big dollar donors in the
Monument Museum, I emceed the preshow T-dance. A huge crowd in a cavernous open-sided white tent sang and

HILLARY CLINTON and KATE CLINTON getting chummy at Sundays Ptown fundraiser.
PHOTO COURTESY KATE CLINTON

A thousand people attended and

the event raised $1.5 million.
sashayed to a booming Cher playlist.
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, Attorney General Maura Healey and sports
icon and social justice pioneer Billie Jean
King ramped up the already ramped
crowd. Then Cher came out and was
Cher in her fabulous, chatty, wise way.
More swoon.
Then event co-chairs Brian Rafanelli
and Alix Ritchie introduced the next president of the United States. At 4 p.m., and
fresh from two fund-raisers earlier on
the Cape, Hillary took the stage to a long
ovation. She spoke for 30 minutes. She
was by turns warm in her appreciation of
the organizers, awed by the panoramic
view of the beautiful day and bay, self-de-

scribed wonky with plans for the country,

grateful for the support of the LGBT community and realistic about her dangerous
opponent, the election and the polls. It
was a pleasure to be in an unapologetic,
pro-Hillary crowd and good to see her nally getting some love.
Hillary and I not only have the same last
name but we are the same age. She left
the stage for a car to another fundraiser
then to the airport to another city, another time zone, another fundraiser. I left the
site, went home, ate leftovers, watched
The Great British Bakeo, fell asleep on
the couch at 9 p.m. and woke with shin
cramps at 2 a.m. She is the unbreakable
Hillary Clinton.

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1 8 A UGUST 2 6 , 2016

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

Mayor should consider Groomes for police chief

We have in-house talent to replace
Lanier as she moves to NFL

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

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

Replacing D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier

will not be easy. Chief Lanier has denitely
made a positive mark on our city from the
time she entered the police force in 1990
as a foot patrolman. She moved up the
ranks and in 2006 then Mayor-elect Adrian
Fenty named Lanier as his choice for chief.
That was when I rst met Lanier. It was
suggested to her she meet with a group of
LGBT activists and the meeting took place
in a private home in Northwest D.C. There
were about eight in attendance and one of
the major issues on the table that day was
the continuation of the award-winning
Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit (GLLU). This

was a unit begun by former Chief Charles

Ramsey and led by Sgt. Brett Parson. The
unit had been recognized nationally as an
example of superb community policing. It
turned out Parson had worked as a partner of Laniers at one time. The meeting
was great and we formed a good bond
with the new chief, which on my part lasts
until today. There were, of course, disagreements over the ensuing 10 years,
most of which concerned the stang of
the unit. But Lanier was always open to
discussion and negotiation with the LGBT
community even when we werent always
on the same page.
Crime has gone down during her tenure here and she is often rated highest
by the community of any public ocial.
There were rumors of other cities wanting to hire her away. I would assume her
knowledge and expertise in the area of
homeland security is what attracted the
National Football League to her. That experience was rst attained when in 2006
she became the Commander at the Ofce of Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Oce of the Chief of Police in
MPDC, overseeing, among other things,
the bomb squad and the emergency re-

sponse team.
So replacing her isnt easy. But while
I am sure there are many good choices
across the nation my suggestion to the
mayor is she look here within the department. There are six assistant chiefs and
others in the department who I am sure
could do the job. I have personally had
great experiences working with Assistant
Chief Peter Newsham, a stand-up ocer
with a real understanding of the District. In
addition to his background in policing that
began when he joined the force in 1989 he
also holds a law degree from the University of Maryland.
But the person I think should get strong
consideration as the replacement for Lanier is Assistant Chief Diane Groomes. She
currently heads the Patrol and School Services Division. Groomes is one of the most
visible of police ocials present anytime
day or night to support both the community and her ocers. In her role, she oversees all of the ocers who respond to 911
calls, which is the largest command on the
force. From everything I have seen she has
a well-earned reputation of working with
all the diverse communities across the
District, helping to solve problems in a way

that ends up being respected by all.

Groomes joined the Department in
1990 and moved up the ranks quickly. She
was named an Assistant Chief by Lanier in
2007. She has been responsible for developing many innovative programs and has
always been willing to both review and improve the ongoing education that ocers
of the MPD are required to have.
Mayor Bowser is now faced with replacing what most consider the two most crucial members of her administration. The
Schools Chancellor and the Chief of Police.
When she is up for reelection in November
of 2018, the performance of city students
and the crime level will most likely be big
determinants for many voters on whether
to give her a second term.
Because no one administration stands
on its own feet and there is a continuity
over the years the mayor is lucky that in
both agencies, MPD and DCPS, there is
a strong bench of professionals ready to
step up. That shouldnt stop the mayor
from looking across the nation for new talent but it should give her condence we
have people here in the District ready to
assume the mantel of leadership if she
calls on them to do so.
VIEWPOINT

Past and present of Nate Parker

Rape, racial justice and
rehabilitation are on
Hollywoods doorstep

RICHARD J. ROSENDALL is a writer and activist.

Reach him at rrosendall@starpower.net.

Nate Parker is the breakout director

and star of the much-anticipated lm
The Birth of a Nation, due out in October, a century after D.W. Griths racist
movie of the same name. It emerged at
the Sundance Film Festival as a compelling lm about the 1831 Nat Turner rebellion. But it has been overshadowed by
the terrible way Parker and Fox Searchlight addressed Parkers 2001 acquittal
in a rape case in which he and college
wrestling teammate (now co-writer) Jean
Celestin had sex with a drunk woman.
The studio showed more concern for the
lms Oscar chances than for the woman,

who killed herself in 2012.

The controversy over Parkers past
sparks a memory from my own. I was 25.
An older man invited me to dinner at his
home in Southwest D.C., where he spoke
animatedly of how composer Leonard
Bernstein had once spent a day with him
giving insights into Mass, the theatre
piece he composed for the opening of the
Kennedy Center.
My host kept relling my drink as the
evening wore on. I nally said I needed
to go, by which point I was plastered. He
said I was in no condition to walk home,
and urged me to stay over. But he wanted
sex, and I did not. I thanked him and began my unsteady walk home. I had never
been in that condition. As a student at
Villanova, I had been the one who stayed
late at a party so my friends nishing the
keg had someone sober to see them safely back across Lancaster Avenue.
I would likely have been raped that
night in Southwest had my survival instinct not propelled me out the door. But I
would not have called it that; I would have
felt foolish and blamed myself. I did not
then have Beverly Johnsons vivid description in Vanity Fair of the day she realized
Bill Cosby had given her a cup of drugged

cappuccino. She cursed him and escaped.

Being impaired by drugs or alcohol
does not give permission to others to take
sexual advantage of you, any more than
the unjust barriers to getting a rape conviction make the accused morally innocent. Parkers acquittal was partly based
on his accuser having previously given
him oral sex. But as 22-year-old Nasa
Ahmed tweeted, Just because I gave you
$5 in the past, doesnt mean I have to give
you $5 in the future. The optics were not
improved by Celestin joining in, as if he
found tempting leftovers in the fridge.
Despite the controversy, I am eager to
see Parkers lm on its own merits. I have
never been a big proponent of boycotts
as an activist tactic. I prefer engagement
to disengagement. Yet I respect that boycotts are a legitimate tool of activism.
I have other dierences with Parker. He
associates homosexuality with what he disparagingly calls the feminization of black
men. At a time when producer and director Lee Daniels is breaking ground with gay
characters in his television series Empire,
Parkers homophobia is sadly dated.
Parkers lm redresses a century-old
artistic crime in the portrayal of our nations racist past. Birther-in-Chief Donald

Trumps thinly veiled white supremacist

presidential campaign shows that the
past is not even past.
But the value of art does not excuse
wrongdoing by an artist. I feel little sympathy for these men after reading the details of the case. They need to show more
contrition and atonement. Still, Parker
was acquitted of the rape charge. Celestin won on appeal, though not on the substance.
And there are blatant racial double
standards. Roman Polanski ed the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty to
Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a minor in a plea bargain. Yet he won an Oscar for Best Director in 2002 for The Pianist, which he could not come to America
to receive.
Our understanding of sexual consent
has fortunately evolved, though the deck
remains stacked against women making
rape accusations. At the same time, I have
to ask: doesnt an African-American artist
deserve the same chance for rehabilitation that was extended to a white one? I
have no easy solution, just questions and
an old memory of vulnerability.
Copyright 2016 by Richard J. Rosendall.
All rights reserved.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

V I E W PO I NT

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 1 9

The man behind Belizes gay rights ruling

No longer a prisoner in my
own home, now I am free
By CALEB OROZCO
Belize City, Belize Until last week, I
was an un-apprehended felon in my
country. The law I broke just by being
myself criminalized carnal intercourse
against the order of nature, including
anal sex, making it punishable by up to 10
years imprisonment.
Although I am an openly gay man, I
was never prosecuted. Still, I was imprisoned all the same. Ever since 2010 when
I decided to challenge the law, Ive spent
most of my time in my home, behind a
security gate. Whenever I leave, I am insulted and threatened for being eeminate. Ive also faced death threats and
endured protests fuelled by homophobic
hatred. But not even these realities could
dissuade me from pursuing my case.
On Aug. 10, all the hardshipswhich
pale in comparison to what many other
LGBTI people facewere validated when

the chief justice of the Supreme Court of

Belize ruled in my favor on every argument. I brought my sister to the courtroom for the decision. Like my mom,
shes been with me from the start, paying my bills when I had no job or money.
She even helped me establish the United
Belize Advocacy Movement, the oldest
and only policy and advocacy group of its
kind in Belize. In court, she sat beside me.
When she whispered that she was anxious, I whispered back, tell you whatif
you stay calm, so will I.
The preparations for my case began in
2007 at a meeting in Santo Domingo in
the Dominican Republic. I was there with
University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Representatives from the Faculty of
Law (URAP) to talk about opportunities to
pursue strategic litigation. We decided to
le an application to challenge the constitutionality of Belizes sodomy law, which
is similar to laws in several other Englishspeaking Caribbean countries.
In his groundbreaking decision last
week, the chief justice ruled that I had
legal standing to bring a claim against

Section 53 of the criminal code despite

the fact that I had not actually been
prosecuted under the law. The very existence of the statute, he wrote, made
me and others like me un-apprehended felons.
We prevailed across the board. The
chief justice held that Section 53 was inconsistent with the Constitution of Belize
because it violates the right to human
dignity, privacy, freedom of expression,
non-discrimination, equality before the
law, and equal protection of the law. He
then made clear that Section 53 should
exclude consensual sexual acts between
adults in private.
The chief justice also ruled that the
denition of sex in Section 16 (3) of the
Constitution of Belize includes sexual orientation, which is consistent with Belizes
international obligations.
This, in my mind, was the game changer. Extending the denition of sex sets a
precedent for future cases in the Caribbean where hostile laws persist, particularly in Commonwealth countries where
the LGBTI community continues to face

the harshest penalties in the region.

After the ruling, I hugged the trans
women and other supporters who came
to the courthouse. Many of them were
crying. I was elated and had never been
so proud of Belize. But I was also tempered by the reality that reform requires
monitoring, mobilization of resources,
nding champions to enforce the ruling,
and navigating the dicult political environment we still face.
My workthe work of all the allies who
have supported me through this long
journey continues. We must ensure
that substantive laws are updated to ensure they are inclusive, that human rights
are observed, and that our social movement and visibility in the community are
sustained. Dignity and rights are not just
concepts they are tangible things that
aect our every day lives. Without them,
I was a prisoner in my own home, an always-future felon. Now I am free.

CALEB OROZCO is executive director of the

United Belize Advocacy Movement.

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ARTS

AND

ENTERTAINMENT

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

VOLUME

47

ISSUE

35

AUGUST

26,

2016

PAGE

21

Generational shift
MILLENNIALS EMERGE AS MOST LGBT-FRIENDLY GROUP IN HISTORY
By JESSE ARNHOLZ

DAVID CAHN, left, and JACK CAHN are authors of When Millennials Rule: the Reshaping of America.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CAHNS

In their new book When Millennials

Rule: the Reshaping of America, David
and Jack Cahn, 20-year-old, identical twin
journalists and undergraduates at the
University of Pennsylvania, investigate
what will happen to the political culture in
the United States when their generation
is in charge.
The Cahn brothers spent ve years
investigating the political identity of the
millennial generation, those born anytime
from the early 80s to about 2000. They
traveled across the country and talked to
more than 10,000 young people about

their views. The Cahns, both straight,

drew interesting conclusions about LGBT
millennials as well.
But do their conclusions about LGBT
millennials and their allies ring true? The
answer seems to be yes.
A large focus of the Cahns book is how
technology has shaped and dened the
millennial mindset. David Cahn says that
technology has also made the process
of coming out easier because you can
inform a larger group of your LGBT status
rather than having to spread the news by
word of mouth.

Sultan Shakir, executive director

of Supporting and Mentoring Youth
Advocates and Leaders (SMYAL), an
organization that works with LGBT youth,
says technology is largely responsible for
the way millennials view the world.
What were seeing with millennials is
a desire for equality and a voice that is
amplied more than other generations
due to social media and other technology,
Shakir says.
Soleil
Solomon,
a
21-year-old
transgender woman and Cinema Studies
major at Oberlin College, agrees. She

says that technology has empowered

millennials, making them more open
minded.
With the rise in use of social media
and methods of communication, were
able to understand experiences that
have formerly been seen as completely
foreign to us, Solomon says. As a result,
when we consider our identities within
a greater societal framework, we have
more breathing room to consider why we
hold certain views.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 2 A UGUS T 2 6 , 2016

Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R MU RRA Y A RCH I BA LD

MURRAY ARCHIBALD
How long have you been out and who was
the hardest person to tell?
I told my parents when I was 17 and they
basically said, We know. I was out in college,
but since it was in the theater department, it
wasnt a big deal.

PHOTO COURTESY ARCHIBALD

By JOEY DiGULIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Murray Archibald was working for a theater company in Birmingham, Ala.,
back in the 70s, when he drove to Washington to visit a college friend. Helping
to move a large painting to an oce in the White House, he encountered
Steve Elkins, who was working in the Carter administration.
It was love at rst sight, the 61-year-old Rainbow City, Ala., native and
son of a Methodist minister, says. As soon as I could wrap up my work at the
theater, I moved into Steves apartment in D.C.
In a few weeks the couple will celebrate their 28th anniversary. After several
years in D.C. with stints in a few other cities along the way, the two settled in
Rehoboth Beach, Del., in 1990.
Its a big weekend over Labor Day there as the Sundance 2016 Rainbow
XXIX: Sol Groove event oers the annual auction and cocktail buet (on
Saturday, Sept. 3) and a dance party with gay DJ Joe Gauthreaux on Sunday,
Sept. 4. Its an annual benet for CAMP Rehoboth, the local community center
Archibald co-founded.
Archibald and Elkins founded Sundance in 1988 and have co-chaired it ever
since.
This year the event will be held at the Rehoboth Mall because the
Rehoboth Convention Center is closed, he says. Its going to be amazing. For
all the folks who dont want to drive to the dance, we will have shuttle service
throughout the night.
Also an artist, hes a full-time volunteer sta member and president of the
board of directors for the organization. Full details at camprehoboth.com.
Archibald enjoys movies, books and cooking in his free time.

202.747.2077

Whos your LGBT hero?

After 26 years of involvement with an LGBT
community center, weve witnessed the joys
and the pain of LGBT people of all ages and
backgrounds. I am astounded by all of them
and especially the courage and strength of
the young transgender members of our
community. They have more courage than I
ever had, it seems to me.
Whats Washingtons best nightspot, past
or present?
The rst night Steve and I met, we went to
the Lost and Found.
Describe your dream wedding.
I had my dream wedding. We were
married in a Methodist Church in
Rehoboth Beach with family and friends
around us, by three Methodist ministers
(and a retired Methodist Bishop). My
father passed away four months before
we were married, but my mother gave me
his wedding band and he was very much
present with all of us.
What non-LGBT issue are you most
passionate about?
A tremendous amount of our passion
involves LGBT causes, but equally important
to us at are thebroader equality issues of
race, gender, nationality and religion.

What historical outcome would you

change?
AIDS

Whats been the most memorable pop

culture moment of your lifetime?
So many choices, but I love to dance, so Im
going with disco and eventually the Saint,
the legendary New York 80s club.

On what do you insist?

Truth, forgiveness, love.

What was your last Facebook post or

Tweet?
Dont miss the biggest party of Labor
Day weekend! Tickets to Sundance 2016
are available here. Free shuttle service from
downtown Rehoboth Beach will be available
on the night of the dance.

If your life were a book, what would the

title be?
Home is Where the Heart Is

If science discovered a way to change

sexual orientation, what would you do?
Nothing. I am who I am.

What do you believe in beyond the

physical world?
God is love.

Whats your advice for LGBT movement

leaders?
This is an awkward time for us as a
community. We have made so much
progress, and yet until we are able to make
progress within the conservative religious
communities of our world, we will continually
be struggling to change hearts and minds. It
is impossible to change religious beliefs from
outside an organization. And its impossible
to fake faith in order to bring about change.
Change comes when we are able to make
heart connections with those around us.
That requires trust and shared beliefs and
experiences.

What would you walk across hot coals

for?
Steve

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

The tendency to be harshly judgmental.
We should be the most accepting people in
the world.

Whats your favorite LGBT movie?

Too many to choose from, but today Im
remembering Philadelphia. I put my head
down and sobbed in the theater.

Whats the most overrated social custom?

Steve and I just cant seem to get into
the customs of Valentines Day. I suppose
because we live and work side by side all
day, every day, and we nd our romantic
moments come at unexpected times.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

I dont really think about prizes, but on the
day Steve and I got married, Delaware Gov.
Jack Markel awarded us the Order of the
First State in recognition of the work we have
done with CAMP Rehoboth over the last 26
years.
What do you wish youd known at 18?
That I didnt know anything at 18.

Why Washington?
Were not there anymore, of course, but
we would never have found our way to
Rehoboth Beach without our years in D.C.
Even after we moved to New York City, we
spent far more time in Rehoboth than we
did on Fire Island, though I have many fond
memories from there, as well.

MARYLAND RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

FE A TURE

NEAR ANNAPOLIS, IN CROWNSVILLE, MD

A U G U S T 26, 2016 23

TIME TRAVEL TO...

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PHOTO BY BGERVAIS; COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The University of Maryland is the only D.C.-area university to make the Campus Pride list.

Univ. of Md. among top 30

LGBT-friendly campuses
Annual report by Campus
Pride includes just one D.C.area school
By STAFF REPORTS
Campus Pride released its annual Best
of the Best Top 30 list of the LGBTQfriendly campuses across the nationthis
week.
The eight-year-old list has highlighted
the most LGBT-inclusive colleges
and universities when it comes to
policy, program and practice in higher
education.
Campus Pride chose 30 campuses to
highlight this year based on their overall
ratings on the Campus Pride Index
and specic LGBT-inclusive benchmark
measures, according to a statement the
group released Monday. The Campus
Pride Index is a self-assessment tool
evaluating
LGBT-friendly
policies,
programs and practices. The tool is free
available online at campusprideIndex.
org.
Prospective students and their
families today expect colleges to be
LGBTQ-friendly, said Shane Windmeyer,
executive director of Campus Pride and
creator of the Campus Pride Index. They
want to know what LGBTQ programs,
services and resources are available on
the campus and which are the Best of
the Best. Now more than ever, there are
colleges that are recruiting LGBTQ youth
and they are investing in a campus that
is fully supportive of LGBTQ students.
The Campus Pride Index is based in
research on policy, program and practice
and is conducted for and by LGBT
experts in the eld of higher education,
Windmeyer said in a statement. Each
campus updates its index annually and
uses the Campus Pride benchmarking
tool to make improvements for LGBT life
on campus. According to Windmeyer,

there is a lot to nd for LGBTQ life at these

campuses. Many of them are specically
addressing recruitment and academic
retention eorts for LGBT students as
well as concerns for transgender student
safety, he noted.
In order to be in the Top 30 listing,
an institution had to score the highest
percentages
in
the
LGBT-friendly
benchmarks for policies, programs and
practices. The listing this year includes
colleges with student populations from
807 to more than 45,000, public and
private schools alike. The Top 30 list is in
alphabetical order, as follows:
Cornell University
Elon University
Harvey Mudd College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Indiana University, Bloomington
Ithaca College
Macalester College
Montclair State University
Portland State University
Princeton University
Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey-New Brunswick
San Diego State University
Southern Oregon University
The Pennsylvania State University
Tufts University
University of California Los Angeles
University of California, Davis
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Louisville
University of Maine at Machias
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
University of Pennsylvania
University of Vermont
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Washington State University

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

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

FI L M

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 2 5

Southside explores budding romance

Obamas rst date captured
in new romcom
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
Southside with You is, quite literally, the
ultimate date movie, a charming romantic
comedy about two people who are clearly
fated to be together.
The action takes place on a summer day in
Chicago in 1989. Hes a brash African-American
summer associate at a prestigious Chicago
law rm. Shes a second-year associate at the
same rm. He keeps asking her out, but she
keeps refusing. Shes been assigned to be his
mentor, and as the only African-American
woman at the rm, she feels that her behavior
is under intense scrutiny from their colleagues.
He nally wears down her resistance; she
agrees to go to a community meeting with him,
but insists it is not a date. It turns out he has a
full day planned: a visit to an art gallery, a picnic
lunch, the community meeting (where he is
the featured speaker) and a screening of Spike
Lees newly released Do the Right Thing.
They spend the day getting to know each other.
He learns that she likes chocolate ice cream; she

PHOTO BY MATT DINERSTEIN; COURTESY MIRAMAX AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

TIKA SUMPTER and PARKER SAWYERS in Southside With You.

learns that he lost his taste for ice cream after

working at Baskin Robbins. She talks about
growing up in Chicago; he talks about growing up
in Hawaii and Indonesia. He tries (unsuccessfully)
to hide his smoking; she ignores the hole in the
floorboards of his beat-up car. She worries about
her fathers health; he is still angry at his late father
for deserting the family. Theyre both ambitious
but deeply committed to social justice and worry
if they can maintain their ideals while working for
a large corporate law firm.
What gives this appealing romcom added
weight are the names of the couple: Barack
Obama and Michelle Robinson. Although the
young couple has no idea whats in store for
them, or even if they will have a second date,
the audience knows theyre headed for the

White House.
Writer/director Richard Tanne handles the
story with a deft touch. The dialogue is natural
and believable. The banter between Michelle and
Barack crackles with intelligence and electricity.
The events of the movie are actually pieced
together from several dates, but Tannes script
has a strong organic flow. With a running time
of less than 90 minutes, the story moves along
briskly, although the pacing occasionally flags.
Tanne is given strong assistance from
Patrick Scolas cinematography, which lovingly
captures the Southside of Chicago with
colorful strokes, and from Stephen James
Taylors bouncy score which weaves together
Janet Jackson, Martha Reeves and a new
song by John Legend, who also served as an

executive producer of the movie.

Tika Sumpter (HBOs Bessie and OWN TVs
The Haves and the Have Nots) and Parker
Sawyer wisely do not try to impersonate the
famous couple (although Parker does bear a
resemblance to Barack Obama and is known
for his sharp impersonations). Instead they
ll in the broad physical outlines of their
characters and focus on eshing out the
prickly passions that both draw the couple
together and threaten to push them apart.
Their performances are excellent.
Throughout the day, things are touch and
go between the young couple, which gives the
movie an unexpected layer of suspense. How
will these ever get to a second date?
Luckily, after embarrassing Michelle outside
the movie theater, Barack saves the date by
buying her a chocolate ice cream cone. The
rest, as they say, is history, and a reminder that
a stop for ice cream is not a bad way to end a
night out at the movies.
Southside with You is a delightful and
passionate portrait of an idealistic young couple
whose rst date will lead to them becoming the
First Family. Its a lovely and heart-felt antidote
to this season of poisonous political rhetoric.

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT MASON

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The original cast of Broadways Jersey Boys

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Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway

exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.

LIVE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

26 AUG U S T 26, 2016

O U T & A BO U T

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

LOVE

CANON
W/ THE WOODSHEDDERS

THURSDAY AUG

25

By MARIAH COOPER

AN EVENING WITH

AL DI MEOLA

ELECTRIC BAND
FRIDAY

AUG 26

SAT, AUG 27

AN EVENING WITH YELLOW DUBMARINE

SUN, AUG 28

WAMUS BLUEGRASS COUNTRY PRESENTS

THE LONESOME RIVER BAND

W/ FURNACE MOUNTAIN
THURS, SEPT 1

THE TRONGONE BAND

AND DANGERMUFFIN
FRI, SEPT 2

AN EVENING WITH TONY SANDS:

IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR
A TRIBUTE TO FRANK SINATRA

THEHAMILTONDC.COM

PHOTO COURTESY ARENA STAGE

Arena Stage kicks o season with carnival event

Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St., S.W.) kicks o its upcoming 2016-2017 season with a carnival on Sunday, Aug. 28 from noon-6 p.m.
The carnival will have family-friendly actives for all ages. There will be classic fair games, aerialists, season discounts and
prizes. Kids can also enjoy a Carousel bounce house and petting zoo. The theme is inspired by Rodgers and Hammersteins
Carousel and Lookingglass Theatre Companys Moby Dick.
Admission is free. For more information, visit arenastage.org.

Steve Weinberg
ATTORNEY AT LAW

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY

FOR 33 YEARS
PERSONAL INJURY PROBATE
WILLS/ POAs CIVIL LITIGATION
CONSERVATORSHIPS GUARDIANSHIPS

202-861-0077

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WASHINGTON DC 20037
E-MAIL steveweinbergdc@aol.com
LICENSED IN DC, MD AND VA

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY JON WOOTEN

17th Street Festival is Saturday, Aug. 27

The seventh annual 17th Street Festival returns to celebrate the best shops, restaurants and services the corridor has to
oer on Saturday, Aug. 27 from noon-6 p.m. The event is organized by the Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets.
Entertainment will include a marching band, mariachi band, a Chinese drag dancer and a New Orleans jazz band. More than
50 artists will display their art in jewelry, ceramics, crafts and more. Non-prot organizations, politicians and local entrepreneurs
will be featured on the vendors list. There will also be a Kids Zone with a moon bounce, ball crawl and face painting.
Admission is free, but for $10 purchase a wrist band that will be a pass for discounted drinks, appetizers and entries at
certain restaurants on 17th street.
For more details, visit 17thstreetfestival.org.

Out author appears at new D.C. book shop

Gregg Shapiro reads and discusses his new book How to Whistle at East City Bookshop (645 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.) from
6:30-8 p.m.
How to Whistle is a collection of short stories about gay men who comment on friends, family and life. Shapiro is also the
author of Protection and Lincoln Avenue. Admission is free, but RSVP is required.
For more details, visit eastcitybookshop.com.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

S P O RTI N I N D. C.

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 2 7

Gay Ugandan swimmers

embraced at Canadian
championships
By KEVIN MAJOROS
The rapid progression of LGBT rights and
support for the LGBT sports movement in
the United States over the past few years
has ignited a hope in many of us that the
same progression will happen in other
countries around the world.
When I arrived at the pool two weeks
ago in Edmonton, Canada for the
International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics world
championships (IGLA), I was excited to meet
the ve members of the Uganda Kuchus
Aquatic Team who would be competing
with us over ve days of competition.
Kuchu is Ugandan slang for gay.
I was greeted with hugs and shy
smiles at our meeting which evolved
into a kinship over the week through the
commonality of sports.
Just six months earlier, Nate Freeman,

PHOTO BY KEVIN MAJOROS

an American human rights lawyer

working in Kampala, Uganda had begun
the process of obtaining visas and
funding to bring the swimmers to Canada
to compete.
The IGLA Board, led by co-presidents
Kris Pritchard and Elisabeth TurnbullBrown, stepped forward with funding
along with the host team, Edmontons
Making Waves Swim Club providing free
meet registration and housing. Several of
the swim teams under the IGLA umbrella
also donated money to the cause.
Uganda is one of the countries that
criminalizes same-sex sexual acts and just
a few days before the meet, two of the
swimmers were sitting in a Ugandan jail
cell after being arrested at a Pride event.
One thing that probably surprised
many people at the swim meet was that
the presence of the Ugandan swimmers
changed the atmosphere of the entire event.
Having the Uganda Kuchus at IGLA
this year was inspiring for many of us at
the meet. The very existence of teams

CLARE BYARUGABA, KEVIN MUEHLEMAN, DIDI BAKS,SHOSHANNA EHRLICH,NATE FREEMAN

andADEBAYO KATIITI at the IGLA world championships in Edmonton.

like the Kuchus is an act of bravery that

deserves our support, says Evan Cobb
of Team New York Aquatics. One of the
best outcomes of their participation was
how it changed the conversation at the
meet itself. To me it seemed like more
than ever before, IGLA participants were
talking about how sports play a role in
the struggle for LGBT rights and dignity
around the world and that we as athletes
have a big role to play.
Its hard to say why any of us get
involved in particular causes, but I like to
point to the Popcorn Theory that was
presented in the book, In a Heartbeat:
Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving
by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy of Blind
Side fame.
Its about noticing others and assigning
that person value and potential, they
write. You cant help everyone, but you

can try to help the hot ones who pop up in

front of you. It requires that you perceive
the person standing right in front of you
and extend a hand in kindness.
That speaks to what one of the Ugandan
swimmers stated during a discussion
panel when the moderator asked what
people in the West could do to help the
Ugandan cause. She replied, We dont
need your help, we need your solidarity.
One person who embodied that
solidarity was swimmer Shoshanna
Ehrlich of Liquid Assets New England
Swimming in Boston. Not only did she
spearhead the drive to raise $3,000
with her teammates, she was also seen
poolside on a daily basis encouraging the
Ugandan swimmers and oering tips on
their swimming techniques.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

LGBT FALL BOWLING LEAGUES

NOW FORMING

The Capital Area Rainbowlers Association (CARA) has NINE fall/winter bowling
leagues that will begin within the next few weeks.
Weekly leagues
Welcome bowlers of all skill level
Most are socially-oriented
Handicap scoring to even the playing field
Weekly fee between $15-20
Win money at the end of the season
Win awards throughout the season by bowling above your average
Attend skills clinics and mini-tournaments held throughout the season
VISIT WWW.CARABOWLING.ORG FOR COMPLETE DETAILS

VIRGINIA LEAGUES

WASHINGTON, DC LEAGUES
League of Women Bowlers
Celebrating 10 years!
Sundays at 4:30 p.m.
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB)

CARA Sunday Night Mixed

Sundays at 6 p.m.
Bowl America Alexandria

Pride of Alexandria
Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
AMF Annandale Lanes

Ten-Pin Pride
Mondays at 8 p.m.
AMF Annandale Lanes

We Are Everywhere
Thursdays at 7:45 p.m.
AMF Annandale Lanes

CAMP
Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Bowl America Falls Church

SMACK
NEW LOCATION!
Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Bowl America Alexandria

Centreville Pride
Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Bowl America Chantilly

Metro Rollers
Sundays at 5 p.m.
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB)
presents a

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 8 A UGUS T 2 6 , 2016

A RT S & CU LT U RE

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com

with Marsha Ambrosius. Aug 31.
Chicago. Sep 1. Wolf Trap. wolftrap.
org.
Mount Vernon Nights: The Taters
(Roots/Pop). Aug 27. Workhouse Arts
Center. workhousearts.org.
Near Northeast. Aug 26. Good Old
Time Music & Clogging. Aug 27. Gold
Connections. Aug 28. Cristian Perez.
Aug 30. MetroPerforms! Aug 31. Luz
de Riada. Sep 1. Millennium Stage.
kennedy-center.org.

MUSEUMS

Hand To God
Thru Sep 18. Studio Theatre.
studiotheatre.org.

Like nothing youve seen before, this blasphemous Broadway hit is a ruthless
comedy about sex, sinners, and sock puppets. Extended thru Sep 18.

Free Summer Sundays

Aug 28. National Museum of Women in the Arts.
nmwa.org.

The last Free Summer Sunday. Take this opportunity to visit NMWAs collection
and current exhibition, Alison Saar In Print, which features dynamic sculptures
and prints from throughout the artists career. No reservations required.

Landschap
The Art League Gallery. Thru Sep 4.
theartleague.org.

Landschap is the Dutch word for landscape. The Netherlands was one of the
rst places where landscape became a popular subject matter to paint. Artists
will take this traditional subject matter and bring it new life, answering the
question: how does the landscape around us aect us?

Jazz in the Garden: Moonshine Society

Aug 26. National Gallery of Art.
nga.gov.

Moonshine Society delivers high energy roots rock, blues, jazz, and old school
R&B in a style guaranteed to keep audiences dancing and toes tapping. Fans
will tell you the band pays homage to the sounds of Mississippi blues, New
Orleans funk, and Texas roots rock while keeping the sound fresh for a new
generation of music lovers.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STUDIO THEATER

THEATRE
Jellys Last Jam. Thru Sep 11. Pride
Night. Aug 26. Signature Theatre.
signature-theatre.org.
Hamlet. Thru Aug 28. Olney Theatre.
olneytheatre.org.
Free For All: The Tempest. Thru
Aug 28. Shakespeare Theatre
Company. Sidney Harman Hall.
shakespearetheatre.org.
The Lonesome West. Thru Aug 27.
Keegan Theatre. keegantheatre.com.
Fourth Friday SCAPE Nights.

Aug 26. Workhouse Arts Center.

workhousearts.org.
Satchmo at the Waldorf. Aug 26-Sep
25. Mosaic Theater Company. Atlas.
mosaictheater.org.
Playback In The District! Thru Oct
26. HBC Playback Theatre. The Den.
thehbctheater.com.

MUSIC
Free Art on 8th: Pop Rox. Sep 1.
Dance Place. Arts Plaza at Monroe
Street Market. danceplace.org.
Bonnie Raitt. Aug 27. Boney James

Folger Shakespeare Library. Will &

Jane. Thru Nov 6. folger.edu.
National Archives. Amending
America. Thru Sep 4.
archivesfoundation.org.
National Gallery of Art. In
Celebration of Paul Mellon. Thru Sep
18. Hubert Robert, 17331808. Thru
Oct 2. Intersections: Photographs and
Video from the National Gallery of Art
and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Thru
Jan 2. nga.gov.
National Museum of Women in the
Arts. Alison Saar In Print. Thru Oct
2. Priya Pereira: Contemporary Artist
Books from India. Thru Nov 18. nmwa.
org.
Smithsonian Anacostia Museum.
Twelve Years That Shook And Shaped
Washington: 1963-1975. Thru Oct 23.
anacostia.si.edu.
Library of Congress. Jacob Riis:
Revealing How the Other Half Lives.
Thru Sep 5. Out of the Ashes: A New
Library for Congress and the Nation.
Thru Nov 12. World War I: American
Artists View the Great War. Thru May
5. loc.gov.
National Geographic. THE GREEKS:
Agamemnon to Alexander the Great.
Thru Oct 10. nglive.org.
National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian. The Four Justices. Thru
Oct 16. In the Groove: Jazz Portraits by
Herman Leonard. Thru Feb 20. One
Life: Babe Ruth. Thru May 21. npg.
si.edu.

GALLERIES
DCCAH. Arts and Humanities
Fellowship Program - Visual Arts
Exhibition. Thru Aug 31. dcarts.dc.gov.
The Art League Gallery. Taking
Shape. Thru Sep 4. theartleague.org.
District Architecture Center. Built to
Scale. Thru Sep 16. aiadac.com.
Glen Echo Park. Movement and
Balance: Abstract Drawings of an
Internal Life. Thru Aug 28. Triple Vision:
Mimi Betz, Marylouise Roach, and
Madeleine Schaller. Thru Aug 28. Rising
Scaold: Sondra Arkin. Thru Aug 28.

glenechopark.org.
Hill Center. Hill Center Galleries
Regional Juried Exhibition. Thru Oct 2.
hillcenterdc.org.
Torpedo Factory. Wade Kramm:
Dotted Space. Thru Aug 28. Magic and
Color. Thru Aug 31. Materialized Magic:
Mythical Creatures in a Yarn Artistry
Habitat. Thru Sep 2. torpedofactory.
org.
Zenith Gallery. Art for All. Thru Sep 3.
zenithgallery.com.
Zenith Sculpture Space. Movers and
Shakers. Thru Oct 2. zenithgallery.com.
DCAC. 1460 Wall Mountables 2016.
Thru Aug 28. dcartscenter.org.
The Den. Black Faces In Time. Thru Oct
1. thehbctheater.com.
Honeur Gallery. 10th Annual East
of the River Exhibition. Thru Sep 16.
anacostiaartscenter.com.
Joan Hisaoka Gallery. Exhibition:
OUTSIDE - IN. Thru Sep 2. smithcenter.
org.
Korean Cultural Center DC. LADC Exchange Exhibition: Same
Way, Dierent Path. Thru Sep 1.
koreaculturedc.org.
Gallery Underground. BLUE: AllMedia Juried Show. Thru Aug 26.
arlingtonartistsalliance.org.

AND MORE...
Ben-Hur: The Original Blockbuster:
Weekend Program with Film
Screening. Aug 27. Smithsonian
Associates. AFI Silver Theatre.
smithsonianassociates.org.
DesignDC Conference Day 3: Tours in
the Field. Aug 26. District Architecture
Center. aiadac.com.
Risers (2012; 60 min). Aug 27.
Smithsonian Anacostia Museum.
anacostia.si.edu.
Washington, DC premiere of
Unlocking the Cage. Aug 31. EFF. E St.
Cinema. dcenvironmentallmfest.org.
Screening: Richard III. Aug 29. Folger
Theatre. folger.edu.
Kitchen 101: Knife Skills. Aug 30. Hill
Center. hillcenterdc.org.
Russian Ark. Aug 28. Lecture: Days
of Destruction: Florence, November
1966. Aug 28. National Gallery of Art.
nga.gov.
Egypt Unwrapped: Alexander the
Greats Lost Tomb. Thru Oct 10.
National Geographic. nglive.org.
Gallery Talk: Collection Selections.
Aug 31. National Museum of Women in
the Arts. nmwa.org.
Strategic Civil War Crossings of the
Upper Potomac: All-Day Tour with
Special Guest Ed Bearss. Aug 27.
Smithsonian Associates. Holiday Inn
Capitol. smithsonianassociates.org.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

A D V I CE

How to proceed when

partner wont stop using

MICHAEL RADKOWSKY, Psy.D. is a licensed

psychologist who works with gay individuals
and couples in D.C. He can be found online
at personalgrowthzone.com. All identifying
information has been changed for reasons
of condentiality. Have a question? Send it to
Michael@personalgrowthzone.com.

MICHAEL,
My husband is using crystal meth
frequently. I would say he is an addict
though he denies this. Its been going on
for ve years and escalating throughout
this time.
Things have come to a head lately as
Kevin has lost his job and is now home
all the time. He says his being red has
nothing to do with using. I have a hard
time believing this as Ive watched him
become more forgetful and erratic
and unstable. And he denitely doesnt
appear motivated to look for a new job.
I feel totally heartbroken. We have a
long (18-year) history together and for
many years he was a wonderful and
devoted partner. The idea of leaving him
is not something I want to consider. I
dont know what would become of him
with no home, no savings and no income.
We arent wealthy and he has spent most
of his own savings on drugs over the last
few years.
One day I came home from work early
and found Kevin hosting some kind of crazy
crystal meth party. Porn was playing on the
TV and there were a bunch of half-naked
guys I didnt know who were acting very
sexual. Worst of all, Kevin was completely
irrational and just seemed out of his mind.
The whole scene made me sick.
I left and spent the night at a friends.
The next day I told Kevin that I had
reached my limit and this could not
happen again. I dont want strangers in
my house. Its not safe for him and its
not safe for me. Maybe I can deal with his
using but not having people over.
Yesterday I came home from a business
trip and it was clear hed had guys in our
apartment while I was away. I said this is
unacceptable but hes not listening. I dont
seem to have any leverage. I cant keep
feeling violated like this. I need my home
to be a haven, not a place Im scared to
go back to.
How can I get Kevin to honor my
request?

A U G U S T 26, 2016 29

MICHAEL REPLIES:
Im sorry, I know you are in a rough and
very painful predicament.
The only way for you to keep yourself
and your home safe right now is to
separate from Kevin. Period. He is
addicted to a seductive, highly destructive
substance, and for as long as he is
actively using, he is going to put crystal
meth ahead of everything. This includes
his well being and yours.
Dicult and painful as it may be, you
cannot trust a word Kevin says or expect
him to consider your safety at this time.
Right now, you cannot see him as the
same person you have loved and shared
your life with for 18 years. That person
has been hijacked by someone whose
only motivation is to keep using.
Yes, its tragic that Kevin is destroying
his life and threatening yours, but
you cant save him and you cant stop
him from taking himself down. You can,
however, save yourself.
So many of us, when someone we
love is caught in addiction, feel like we
are being selsh or unloving to create a
boundary in order to protect ourselves.
But self-preservation is not selsh. Not
allowing Kevin to put you at risk has
nothing to do with your love for him.
Heres what you can do for Kevin:
Recognize that only he can save
himself, though you may be able to
influence him. Advocate for him to
take steps to get well, keeping in mind
that you cannot make him do anything.
Encourage him to attend a Crystal
Meth Anonymous (CMA) or Narcotics
Anonymous (NA) meeting. Listening
to the stories of people who have
experienced the same life- and souldestroying experiences he is going
through, and hearing their stories of
rebuilding their lives, he may realize
that he can choose to get clean, too.
If Kevin does make the choice to get
ADVERTISING
sober, there are resources out there to
help him, from CMA PROOF
and NA
to
detox
and
#2
ISSUE DATE: 08.12.16
SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Phillip Rockstroh (prockstroh@washblade.com)
rehab. It is absolutely possible for him to
REVIEW AD FOR COPY AND DESIGN ACCURACY. Revisions must be submitted within 24 hours of the date of
proof. Proof will be considered final and will be submitted for publication if revision is not submitted within 24 hours of
get clean and have a healthy life ahead.
the date of proof. Revisions will not be accepted after 12:01 pm wednesday, the week of publication.Brown naff pitts
REVISIONS
omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) is not responsible for the content and/or design of your ad. Advertiser is
Either Kevin or you have REDESIGN
to nd a new
responsible for any legal liability arising out of or relating to the advertisement, and/or any material to which users
can link through the advertisement. Advertiser represents that its advertisement will not violate any criminal laws or
TEXT and
REVISIONS
place to live. Protect your assets
your
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
REVISIONS
competition, defamation, invasion of privacy or rights of celebrity, violation of anti-discrimination law or regulation,
property and educate yourself about
ADVERTISER SIGNATURE
or any other right of any person or entity. Advertiser agrees to idemnify brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the
NO REVISIONS
washington blade) and to hold brown naff pitts omnimedia llc (dba the washington blade) harmless from any and all
By signing this proof you are agreeing to your contr
addiction. I strongly recommend that
liability, loss, damages, claims, or causes of action, including reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred
washington blade newspaper. This includes but is no
by brown naff pitts omnimedia llc, arising out of or related to advertisers breach of any of the foregoing representations
payment and insertion schedule.
you start attending Al-Anon, a support
and warranties.
group for people whose loved ones are
addicts. If you dont like one meeting, try
another until you nd one where you feel
comfortable. You will nd community
there that will help you to stay sane,
strong and grounded while you go
through this painful period.
Im glad you reached out. Dealing with
an addicted partner is not something we
need to face on our own.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

30 A U G U S T 26, 2016

A RT S & E N T E RT A I N ME N T

7 percent of those
18-35 identify as LGBT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

FILM THEATER
GALLERIES MUSEUMS
MUSIC DANCE TELEVISION

TO ADVERTISE CALL 202.747.2077

Cahn also notes that social media has

made the question of LGBT rights a more
personal one.
Seeing photos of LGBT friends online
makes this a personal issue for many
straight Americans, he says. [This has]
helped accelerate the rate at which our
generation has welcomed and been
supportive of the LGBT community.
Nora Bess, a 20-year-old, queer
communications major at the University
of Texas, Austin, points out how dating
apps like Tinder and Grindr have helped
normalize LGBT relationships and dating.
As problematic as they might be, Tinder
and Grindr bring non-heteronormative
sexuality out of the dark, she says.
Before, there was this whole mentality
that LGBT sexuality was OK as long as it
wasnt ondisplay.
She says the upcoming election makes
this more crucial than ever.
Were in a time when LGBT folks,
people of color and other minorities have
never had such visibility and such legal
protections, she says. That scares a lot of
people.Donald Trump is a businessman by
trade. His biggest strategy so far has been
getting people to buy in based on fear.
In their most recent research, the
Cahns found Trump extremely unpopular
among millennials.
David Cahn also sites a recent USA
Today and Rock the Vote poll that shows
that voters under 35 would choose Hillary
Clinton over Trump by 52 percent.
A big reason Trump is failing so
spectacularly to attract millennial voters
is that his divisive rhetoric about gays,
blacks, Hispanics and immigrants is
repulsive to a generation that believes
so fundamentally in the importance of
diversity and accepting people for who
they are, he says.
Frankie Yara Colon, a 22-year-old queer,
gender-non-conforming, musician and
artist from Amherst, Mass., agrees with
Cahns analysis about Trump, but as a
Latinx person, Colon thinks his popularity
represents something far more sinister
than just a violation of millennial values.
Trump [represents] millions of
people actively condoning murder and
displacement of marginalized peoples,
Colon says. [He is] a clear mirror of
the most warped parts of the American
consciousness surrounding the treatment
of bodies that have been historically and
[are] currently contested.
Colon has been heartbroken by Trumps
success, but despite having grown up
in a largely white and conservative

community, Colon has seen very few

millennials supporting Trump.
But could Trumps failure among
millennials be because they are generally
more accepting than Gen Xers or Baby
Boomers, the two generations preceding
them?
The Cahns certainly think so. They
concluded that the millennial generation
is the most LGBT-friendly generation in
history. A recent Reuters poll nds 54
percent of Americans and 56 percent of
millennials think that businesses should
not be able to refuse services to LGBT
people on the basis of religious beliefs.
Shakir agrees with the Cahns. In his
experience at SMYAL, hes seen that
millennials are generally more accepting
of LGBT people. Colon also agrees.
During the Bush era, I remember
there being so much resistance toward
LGBT people, Colon says. Gay was still
all the kids favorite word to throw around
at something slightly uncomfortable or
odd. Dialogue around trans people was
non-existent.
Colon says within the last ve years
they have seen a lot of their peers have a
change of heart as they enter the world.
The increase in acceptance is also due
to the fact that, according to David Cahn
and a poll conducted by the Williams
Institute, 7 percent of people aged 1835 identify as LGBT, as compared with 4
percent of Americans overall.
Shakir says these statistics ring true.
He says theres no doubt that more
millennials are more out than previous
generations.
Some of that is due to increased
acceptance and some is due to an
increased spotlight, he says.
Solomon agrees. She says that because
information is readily available to more
people than ever before, millennials are
able to read about and understand their
identities more fully.
Instead of suppressing their feelings,
they are able to reach out to others and
conde in them, Solomon says. This
condence allows for a bigger and more
accepting community.
With this information, Colon thinks
millennials have potential to reform the
actions of the previous generation because
their failings are so clear in front of us.
A lot of [progress] can be accredited
to social media and increased visibility,
bringing realizations that they already
know, love and could be hurting LGBT
people in their lives, Colon says. A lot of
it is stepping into a world that no longer
belongs to our parents and realizing
theres so much to reckon with.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

M USI C

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 3 1

New band LAYNE blends

pop-rock sounds with
nonchalant sexuality
By MARIAH COOPER
Inspiration isnt always easy to come by
and while others seek it out in the walls
of a coee shop or by taking a late night
drive, Layne Putnams creativity owed
into her songwriting in the woods.
Growing up in Black Hills, S.D., Putnam,
21, admits the music scene was almost
nonexistent. So Putnam, who grew up
playing mostly drums and guitar, had to
make her own and used her environment
as her musical canvas. She says music
was always in her life, and also her blood
as her father Kenny Putnam was a ddle
players for the Red Willow Band and
toured with country legend Roy Clarke.
For Putnam, music was just part of living
and breathing.
Putnam has since taken her musical
ambitions from sparse South Dakota to
Los Angeles as half of the indie pop-rock
band LAYNE, which she formed with fellow
bandmate Alexander Rosca. The band is
on tour and LAYNE makes its D.C. stop
at DC9 on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Putnam,
who moved to Los Angeles three years
ago, met Rosca there through someone
they were both working with and says the
connection was instantaneous.
I needed a drummer and he was like,
Hey, Im a drummer. We met and had
coee and it was like immediate, instant,
Putnam says. We looked at each other
and we were dressed exactly the same
and we listened to the same music and he
understood things like I did. I played him
some stu and he was like, Im there.
Weve hung out pretty much every day
since. Hes like my best friend. We just
clicked, and now were a team.
The pair created a system with Putnam

PHOTO BY BRANDON WOLFORD; COURTESY REYBEE INC.

LAYNE is LAYNE PUTNAM, left, and ALEXANDER ROSCA.

on vocals, synths and guitar, and Rosca on

drums. Putnam says their collaboration
is dierent every time. At times, Putnam
sings a track and takes it to Rosca to
create a drum beat and other times Rosca
comes up with a drum beat for Putnam to
build around.
The Black Hills, named after Putnams
hometown and the duos rst EP, is the
nished product of their collaboration.
Good and Somebody are two singles
that have already been released as
previews to the release with both music
videos receiving thousands of YouTube
views. Putnam says the EP, which will be
released Aug. 26, is a collection of songs
from the past year. Some of the tracks
have the tell-tale mark of Putnams love of
nature. She says the two got sound bites
from the lakes, wind and trees from the
areas Putnam grew up in and sampled
them on the track.
Putnam says the EP chronicles their
creative journey from the last year.
I was in a midway point kind of
transitioning and really honing in on
the sound, Putnam says. So it really
encapsulates the last year of what
weve been doing creatively. We didnt
necessarily sit down at one time and do
it. But I think thats cool because it kind of
sums up our last year.
The EP reects the pop-rock sound
of the band which Putnam has always

admired. She says she has always enjoyed

both and likes to pull bits from each
genre. The happy medium felt natural
and right for her.
Putnam credits musicians like Prince,
Joan Jett, Bjork and St. Vincent as musical
favorites, but for more than just their
songs.
People like that their entire project is
an art project, you know? From the music,
to the visuals to the videos, its all a part
of it and all encompassing, Putnam says.
Although the band is just kicking o
its career, Putnam has been open about
being a lesbian from the start. Being out
and proud at the onset of her career is
something Putnam has no problem
doing, but doesnt want her sexuality to
be a reason people listen to her music.
I feel like were at a point now where
the best thing you can do is just be
equal, Putnam says. Weve fought as a
community to be treated the same way
and I think now Im in a place where I
dont ever want to openly say, Listen to
me because Im a gay artist. I dont want
that to be a thing. I want to say, Hey,
listen to my music, and also Im gay.
Putnam says she is very proud to be
part of the community, but doesnt want
that to be the dening characteristic of
her as a musician.
People think its such a huge part
of who you are as a person. And the

message I would like to send is, its not

a huge part. Were all the exact same,
Putnam says. So I wouldnt necessarily
come out and say, Im a gay artist but Im
not going to come out and say, Im not.
I think theres power in just acting like
were equal. We are. Theres no reason
to further put yourself in a minority or
group when were all the same.
That doesnt mean Putnam isnt
focusing on her sexuality in her music. In
fact, its quite the opposite.
Putnam admits she is always writing
about her own experiences and
relationships. Letting out her emotions in
her music is deeply personal and writing
about her relationships with women is
bound to come out. But, Putnam believes
her songwriting is universally relatable no
matter what a persons sexuality may be.
Ill say she, Im not afraid of that. I like
to listen to artists where I can relate to
that. I absolutely have no fear in that.
But I feel all relationships are the same.
I write about my relationship and I feel
anybody can relate to it if theyve been in
a relationship, Putnam says.
At their upcoming DC9 show, Putnam
is excited for her audience to connect
with LAYNEs music and simply feel that
universality.
I want people to feel empowered by
feeling because thats something that
makes us superhuman, our ability to
feel, and to hurt, and to be mad and be
happy and all those things. I want people
to feel either totally stoked or feel like,
Wow, that was heavy or think, Wow, that
made me sad. I want people to walk away
feeling something heavy.
LAYNE
DC9
1940 9th St., N.W.
Wednesday, Aug. 31
Doors 8:30 p.m.
Show: 9 p.m.
$12

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PROVEN RESULTS

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 2 A UGUS T 2 6 , 2016

CA LE N D A R

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.

TODAY
WhiskHER, a new trans-inclusive,
lesbian and bisexual womens party, kicks
o with an opening party at Old Engine
12 Firehouse Restaurant (1626 N Capitol
St., N.W.) tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ
Tezrah and a guest DJ to be announced
will play music. Katy Ray will host. Post
a sele with the hashtag #WhiskHER
for a chance to win a $25 bar tab. Drink
specials run all night. Admission is free.
For more information, search WhiskHER
on Facebook.
Hamiltunes D.C. hosts a Hamilton
sing-a-long at Edgewood Arts Center
(3415 8th St., N.E.) tonight at 8 p.m. Come
sing along to Hamilton on stage or from
your seat. Admission is $15. Portion of
proceeds will benet a music education
non-prot organization. For more details,
visit facebook.com/hamiltunesdc.
Bear Nonsense hosts a happy hour at
Rock and Roll Hotel (1333 H St., N.E.) today
from 5-10 p.m. There will be drink specials
and food served all night. For more
information, visit bearnonsense.com.
NMAC Treatment Division hosts a
Facebook Live chat on intersectionality
and gay Latino men today from 1:302 p.m. Jorge Vidal from AIDS United will
be a special guest. To watch and join
the conversation, visit facebook.com/
nmaccomunnity at the time of the chat.
Anyone who cannot make the chat is
invited to post their questions on the
discussion board of the event page.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
nmaccomunity.
BloominGays hosts a movie night
screening Coming to America in Crispus
Atticus Park (Crispus Attucks Ct., N.W.) tonight
at 8 p.m. Movie begins a 8:30 p.m. Beforehand
there will be time to socialize with other guests.
Bring your own food, beverages and blankets.
For more details, visit crispusattucksparkc.org/
bloomin-nigjts-returns.

SATURDAY, AUG. 27
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts CTRL:
Endless Summer, a gay dance party,
tonight from 11 p.m.-4 a.m. DJ Adam
Koussari-Amin, DJ Je Prior and DJ Devon
Trotter will play tunes. There will also be
a photo booth by Kalorama Photography.
For more information, visit towndc.com.
Three Point Events hosts a LGBT happy
hour at Nellies Sports Bar (900 U St.,
N.W.) today at 5 p.m. There will be drink
and food specials. For more details, visit
facebook.com/threepointevents.

SUNDAY, AUG. 28
D.C. State Fair is at Noma Junction

PHOTO COURTESY ALL EYES MEDIA

LUCINDA WILLIAMS plays Rams Head in Baltimore on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

at Storey Park(1005 First St., N.E.)

today from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. There will be
vendors, food, music, art, entertainment
and educational workshops. Admission
is free. For more information, visit
dcstatefair.org.
Where the Girls Go hosts OverEasy Tea
Dance at Dodge City D.C. (917 U St., N.W.)
today from 3-8 p.m. There will be drink
specials and music provided by DJ Ayes
Cold, DJ Jacq Jill and DJ Motherheister.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
wherethegirlsgo.
Nice Jewish Girls hosts a mimosa
brunch
at
GLBT
Outreach
and
Engagement (GLOE) today from 11
a.m.-1:30 p.m. Tickets are $28 and
include two bar tickets for mimosas or
unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and an
all-you-can-eat brunch featuring bagels,
lox and more. Guests also receive a
free T-shirt. For more information, visit
dcjcc.org/gloe.
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.)
hosts Animal Kingdom, a potluck dinner
today from 3-7 p.m. Plates, silverware,
napkins, hot dogs and hamburgers will
be provided by The D.C. Eagle. Guests are
asked to bring a potluck dish to share. For
details, visit facebook.com/eagledc.
AGLA hosts dinner at Freddies
Beach Bar and Restaurant (555 23rd
St., South Arlington, Va.) today from 6-7
p.m. Everyone is welcome. AGLA Board
Member TJ Flavell will be there to greet
guests. AGLA will be dining on the patio.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
outinnova.

MONDAY, AUG. 29

The Coven D.C. hosts Harry Potter

and the Lesbian Book Club at Busboys
and Poets (2021 14th St., N.W.) tonight
from 8-10 p.m. The group will be
discussing Harry Potter and the Cursed
Child by J.K. Rowling. The rst hour will
be socializing and the second hour will
be book discussion. Bringing the book
with you is highly recommended. For
more information, visit facebook.com/
thecovendc.
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.

TUESDAY, AUG. 30
Country music star Lucinda Williams
performs at Rams Head Live (20 Market
Pl., Baltimore) tonight at 8 p.m. Doors
open at 7 p.m. Advanced tickets are $28.
Day of show tickets are $32.For more
details, visit ramsheadlive.com.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts a
transgender and non-binary support
group today from 5-7 p.m. For more
details, visit smyal.org.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31
The Lambda Bridge Club meets at
7:30 p.m. tonight at the Dignity Center
(721 8th St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. No
reservations required and new comers
welcome. If you need a partner, call 703-

407-6540.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts Freedom From Smoking, a
workshop specically designed to help
LGBT people stop smoking, tonight from
7-8 p.m. The class is part of a seven-week
workshop. Visit thedccenter.org. for more
details.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
Anacostia Arts Center (1231 Good
Hope Rd., S.E.) hosts Say Her Name
Striptease: A Burlesque Benet for
Black Liberation tonight from 6:30-9:30
p.m. The performance will be in honor of
black women such as Mya Hall, Aiyana
Stanley-Jones, Sandra Bland and more
to benet Black Lives Matter D.C. There
will be burlesque, spoken word, drag
and cabaret. Performances will include
Coco B. Colby, Dr. Ginger Snapz, Lottie
Ellington, Amun Ra. K and many more.
Tickets range from $15-25. For more
details, search Say Her Name Striptease
on Facebook.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts Fight
4 Yr Rights Activist Night today from 5-7
p.m. The group will discuss historical
activism and help youth organize for an
issue thats important to them. For more
details, visit smyal.org.
Gamma MD, a support group for men
in mixed-orientation relationships, meets
today from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at 25 E 2nd St.,
in Frederick, Md. The group is for men who
are attracted to men but are currently, or
were at one point, in a relationship with a
woman. For more information about the
group and location, visit gammaindc.org.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

M US I C

A U G U S T 26, 2016 33

PHOTO COURTESY THE KARPEL GROUP

While its great STREISAND has stayed (relatively) active in the studio, theres little on new album
Encore to interest any but her most ardent disciples. (Photo courtesy the Karpel Group)

Tacky novelty album relies

more on stunt casting than
musical magic
By CHRIS GERARD
Its fair to say that Barbra Streisand,
the ultimate pop diva of the last three
generations, has nothing to prove.
The 74-year old icon could easily while
away her time in genteel luxury counting
her millions, but Babs has never stayed
away from the recording studio too long.
Her latest album, a duets collection of
theatrical material, is Encore: Movie
Partners Sing Broadway. It will never be
considered one of her great works, but
Streisand die-hards will enjoy it.
It should be made clear from the outset
that there are several things one much
enjoy at least to some extent to have
any reason to purchase this album. The
rst bar is the easiest to cross: Streisand
herself. Shes never been less than
magical. Just hearing her voice again is a
privilege that we should not take lightly.
Instead of retreating into a life of detached
luxury, she continues providing her fans
with what they love. One must also love
theater to have any prayer of enjoying this
album, and thats a slightly higher line to
cross. Its a form of music that speaks its
own language and has its own rules. Some
will nd it enthralling, some maddening
in its sing-song preciousness. Streisand
layers on humorous touches, a career
trademark that sometimes has worked,
sometimes has not.
Thirdly, to enjoy this album one much
appreciate strange duet partners. Some
of these odd couplings work better than
others. I mean, youre Barbra Streisand,
right? Legend doesnt cut it. A word has
yet to be invented to describe what you
are. You could sing with anyone at any
time. And who do you partner with on
Encore? Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy,
Seth MacFarlane, and Chris Pine. Why not
just wander into any fairly decent karaoke

bar and take your pick? Sure, they ham it

up and do well enough for this pointless
novelty album, and theres certainly
nothing wrong with doing something fun.
But youll never be getting the saccharine
out your ears after listening to the albums
relentlessly chipper and altogether
overdone Broadway exuberance.
At the Ballet from A Chorus Line
opens the album with forced charm and
awkwardness, guests Anne Hathaway
and Daisy Ridely adding nothing but
name cachet. The gargantuan Stephen
Sondheim ballad Loving You, featuring
Broadway powerhouse Patrick Wilson is
as tackily overwrought as youd expect.
The tragi-comic (although I suspect its only
supposed to be comic) The Best Thing That
Has Ever Happened nds Streisand once
again forcing the wit alongside a voice that
will never cease being Jack Donaghy.
Just when you think there are moments
of real heart hiding amongst the glitzy
artice, as in Streisands gorgeous
introduction to Any Moment Now, it
devolves into a mess of puerile dialogue
and a ludicrously overdone arrangement.
Pure Imagination begs the question:
Did the world really need a duet between
Barbra Streisand and Seth MacFarlane?
The answer is self-evident in the graceless
embarrassment they inict upon poor
unsuspecting
listeners.
Streisands
allegedly comical turn with Melissa
McCarthy on Anything You Can Do is a
trite, third-rate take on an Irving Berlins
classic that does not do justice to either of
these talented ladies.
Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway
is far from Streisands most compelling
work. In fact, it sounds like little more than
rushed together product to get something
on the shelves. But hell, its Barbra
Streisand. Like she cares the hell what I
think. Shes long ago earned the right to do
exactly what she wants, when she wants
to do it, and more likely than not her diehard fans (and there are many) will adore
it. And more power to em.

3 4 A UGUST 2 6 , 2016

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

REALESTATE

Navigating D.C.s Airbnb rules & regs

Licensing, inspections,
insurance and more before
you can rent
By VALERIE M. BLAKE
Have you ever awakened in the middle
of the night and stumbled into the bathroom only to find a stranger there? If so,
then either you were very drunk the night
before and forgot who you brought home
or you may be renting part of your home
with Airbnb.
Airbnb, Inc. was founded in San Francisco in August 2008 as a peer-to-peer
(P2P) service to make short-term housing
available to business and vacation travelers who prefer the ambiance of a home to
the sterility of a hotel. Properties are now
available to rent in nearly 200 countries
worldwide.
Eight years later, however, we are still
struggling with the legality, security and
logistics of having strangers in our homes,
which prompted the Short-term Rental
Regulation and Housing Protection Act of
2015 (DC B-414) to be introduced in the D.C.
Council on Sept. 22, 2015 by then-Council
member Vincent Orange. The bill would
regulate transient housing accommodations offering stays of less than 30 days and
is still under review by the Council.
In the interim, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) instructs a would-be Airbnb landlord to follow the current procedures for licensing
a single unit property such as a house or
condominium or, if applicable, a two-unit
property such as the elusive rowhouse
with English basement rental unit sought

by many of todays real estate buyers.

Each D.C. rental property must be properly licensed, meet the requirements of
the D.C. Construction Codes and fall within
the guidelines of any restrictive covenants
placed on the property by a condominium,
cooperative or homeowners association.
Potential Airbnb landlords are often disappointed to find that their condo, co-op
and HOA rules require a minimum lease
of 12 months and that short-term rentals
are prohibited.
A Basic Business License (BBL) is required for each property. An application
for a two-year BBL must be filed with additional supporting documents and fees
totaling slightly less than $200.
If you own your property as an entity
such as a corporation, limited liability company (LLC) or partnership, then you may
need to register with the Corporations Division of the DCRA before filing your BBL
application.
If you plan to rent a D.C. property but are
no longer a D.C. resident, then you must
designate a registered agent (a person or
entity physically located in the District) to
receive official documents on your behalf.
Your BBL application package must also
include a Clean Hands Self-Certification
form indicating that you owe no more
than $100 to the District government, so
pay those outstanding taxes and tickets
before filing.
You may also need a registered Tax ID
number, obtained by completing and filing a Combined Business Tax Registration
Application with D.C.s Office of Tax and
Revenue. (You didnt think youd get away
without paying taxes, did you?)

Thinking of renting your D.C. home on Airbnb? Theres a long list of rules and regulations to navigate.

A visit to the Rental Accommodations Division (RAD) of the Department of Housing

and Community Development (DCHD) will
be necessary to register your rental property and apply for a rent-control exemption.
Once your application is approved and
your license is issued, your property will
undergo a DCRA housing inspection to
ensure it meets city codes for the health
and safety of your tenants. Any violations
must be corrected within 45 days from the
date your BBL was issued.
Yes, the process of legalizing your rental
unit is a lot to take on, but before you curl
up into the fetal position, heres the good
news: There are companies you can pay to
do all this for you.
Pay just $399 for a single unit, including filing fees, and firms like www.rentjiffy.
com will handle the paperwork and inspection for you. For a nominal additional
amount, they will even be your registered
agent. And with a bit more money and
time, they can help with a two-unit property that requires a Certificate of Occupancy.
But wait, before you sign up as a host:

Check with your insurance company

to determine what additional coverage
will be necessary for providing short-term
housing and dealing with potential damage to your property or injury to your
guests;
Speak with your tax adviser about the
requirements for claiming rental income,
depreciation and related tax deductions;
Think about how you want to secure
the property to prevent unauthorized access and monitor activities when youre
not there; and
Read the Districts tenants rights laws
in case your short-term guest decides to
stay indefinitely.
To be sure, red tape and risks are involved, but the financial rewards may
outweigh them if you can handle the
stranger in your bathroom in the middle
of the night.
VALERIE M. BLAKE can be reached at 202-2468602 or at Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com. Each
Keller Williams Realty office is independently
owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Betty White
on Fitness Centers:

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Modern contemporary with art deco air. Original house built in 1953 and
two-level addition w/one car garage built in 1994. One master suite on
main level and second master suite on upper level. Total 5 bedrooms and
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has personality and character! List price $775,000. Call today for a tour.

465 Maple Ave. W, Vienna, VA 22180

703-517-6708 | 703-938-5600
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Best Washingtonian Agent 2015 & 2016

Top Real Estate Agent NOVA Magazine 2016

I have a two-story house

and a bad memory, so Im
up and down those stairs
all the time.
VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI

Dupont Circle Office 202.243.7700 (o) 202.246.8602 (c)

Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com

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

THURS
SEPT

22

A U G U ST 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 3 5

COMMUNITY GRAND OPENING

OF NEW LUXURY URBAN CONDOS IN D.C.

57 P M

Walk To Metro!

GEORGIA ROW
AT W A LT E R R E E D

CONDOMINIUMS
FROM THE
LOW $300S

The wait is over! Highly-anticipated Georgia Row at Walter Reed is celebrating its grand opening and you wont want to
miss it. These unique and innovative stacked townhome-style condos are designed with your lifestyle in mind.
Walkable, bikeable and with convenient access to major D.C. thruways, were bringing the regions most popular
urban charms and attractions to your ngertips. Shop. Dine. Entertain. This is your chance to own in the
Washington Metros most desirable location and enjoy your life upgraded.

This exciting event is being held at McWilliams Ballard:

1416 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

PLEASE RSVP TO GEORGIA ROW AT (202) 750-5929

GeorgiaRowLiving.com Brokers Warmly Welcomed.*
Prices subject to change without notice. * Must register on site and comply with all policy terms.

03837-CMH1-CGO-Ad-Georgia-WB-9.75x11.indd 1

8/24/16 4:12 PM

3 6 A UGUST 2 6 , 2016

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

Join us for DC Restaurant Week 8/16 extended through 9/4

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MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
BEST MASSAGE by male
certified therapist.
Soothing Swedish; deeptissue; stress & pain
release. 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 MASSAGE - deep tissue
massage will help you feel like a new
person! Stretching, Swedish & Sports
massage. Athletes, swimmers, cyclists
& runners. Dupont. $70 for 1 Hour.
Marcio (202) 271-9440.

BODY & SOUL

MUSCLE BUILDING COACH
You bring the effort, Ill
guide you to results!
Maximize your muscular
strength potential!
Maximum Bob Whelan,
MS, MS, CSCS. Visit:
WebStrengthCoach.com.

CHANGES IN BODY,
MIND & SPIRIT

Changing behaviors can be

difficult. Hypnosis can help you at a
subconscious level. Call the American
Wellness Institute for your free
consultation 202-544-5688.

COUNSELING
LGBTQ AFFIRMING
THERAPY at Dupont Circle
Individuals, couples,
families, adolescents.
Over 15 years serving
the community. Mike
Giordano, LICSW. 202/4606384 mike.giordano.
msw@gmail.com. www.
WhatIHearYouSaying.
com.

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.

ENHANCE YOUR AD WITH

OUR UPGRADES
PICTURES BOLD TEXT
LARGE TEXT COLOR
AND MORE
CONTACT US AT
202-747-2077

TELLEM YOU saw their ad

in the Blade classifieds!

EMPLOYMENT
WALSH GROUP, ADAMS
MORGAN Opportunities
Event. Learn about our
projects and our team
at Walsh Construction
and Adams Morgan
Hotel Owner LLCs
Opportunities Meet
& Greet Happy Hour,
6-8 p.m. Wed, Sep 14,
Washington Hilton, 1919
Connecticut Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20009.
CBE contractors welcome.
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.

EVENT MANAGEMENT
WOW AND IMPRESS Your
guests with our client
focused services. Relax
and let us create unique
and memorable events
and parties - imaginative
decor, sensational food,
impeccable service,
intimate gatherings,
birthdays, weddings,
themes, holidays,
corporate events,
conventions. www.
amemorableparty.com or
contact 301-841-8800.

LEGAL SERVICES
ADOPTION & ASSISTED
REPRODUCTIVE Law
Attorney Jennifer
Fairfax represents
clients in DC, MD & VA.
interested in adoption
or ART matters.301221-9651,JFairfax@
jenniferfairfax.com.

FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM

Representing the GLBT community
for over 35 years. Family adoptions,
estate planning, immigration,
employment. (301) 891-2200.Silber,
Perlman, Sigman & Tilev, P.A. www.
SP-Law. com.

LIMOUSINES / DRIVERS
KASPERS LIVERY
SERVICE

BMW 2016 750XI Luxury Sedan

Service; Hourly, Point to Point &
Special Airport Transfer Rates! Gay
& Veteran Owned! http://www.
KasperLivery.com Phone 202-5542471.

PERSONAL SERVICES

MAID TO CLEAN Gay owned,

awesome, trustworthy & reliable!
Serving Alexandria & Arlington.
Mention this ad for $50 off.
Maidtoclean.com. (703) 299-0101.

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.

SW DC WATERFRONT GWM ISO same

to share luxurious home. Private
Bath en Suite with guest room. Cable,
WiFi, Utilities, Maid, Parking, W/D,
DW Included. Beautiful Garden &
Outdoor areas to enjoy. Call Bruce
(202) 488-4888.

SALE / MD

TELLEM YOU saw their ad

in the Blade classifieds!

PAINTERS

LATINO AT YOUR Service - Offering

to do any of your chores such as
cleaning, driving, organizing, laundry,
pet care, also to remove your stress,
itll make you feel good, I have an
amazing hands to do it. Text/call 571306-9527.

FINESSE INTERIOR/
EXTERIOR PAINTING.
Chalkboard & Dry Erase
paint. Wood Staining.
Plaster Repairs. Pressure
Cleaning. Free Estimates.
Elmer 240-462-3760.

PHOTOGRAPHY

TREE SERVICE

STEVE OTOOLE
PHOTOGRAPHY Fine
Art Photographer
for Portraits &
Weddings.Check out
my new website - www.
steveotoolephotography.
com. Specializing in Bears
& Big men. Steve 703-8614422.

BRANCHES TREE EXPERT

Company. Full service
certified arborists,
pruning, insect &
disease diagnosis,
treatment & removal.
301-589-6181. www.
BranchesTreeExperts.
com. Angies List Award
Winner.

CLEANING

SHARE / DC

FERNANDOS CLEANING:
Residential & Commercial
Cleaning, Reasonable
Rates, Free Estimates,
Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/
Move-Out. (202) 234-7050,
202-486-6183.

CAPITOL HILL semi-furnished rooms

for rent in well appointed townhome.
2 1/2 blocks from Eastern Market
Metro. Finished single BR for $945+
utilities. Available immediately. Call
202-544-5688.

Architectural
Gem in Downtown
Annapolis

Bringing urban chic to the Historic

District. Open floor plan. 4 level

Loft style condo living with dramatic

soaring ceiling and priceless
original stained glass window.
Exposed architectural beams offers
unparalleled detail...1897 Church
converted to 3 luxury condos in 2003.
Private elevator. Leased dedicated
parking space 1 block away. Lock and
leave! 1 block from state capitol and 2
blocks to City Dock.
Liz Heinsohn
Associate Broker
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Annapolis, MD. 21401
(cell)410-991-8566
(office)410-263-3400
www.Lheinsohn.lnf.com
EHO

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SALE / VA

TOP RATED MASSEUR Custom

bodywork! Exceptional deep tissue
& sensual bodywork for total stress
relief in private studio on the Hill. Call
Erik 202-544-5688. In calls only! No
texts! Intro Special $99.00.

EROTIC SWEDISH MASSAGE - healthy

clean cut guy, 61, 160 lbs, Dupont
Circle, massage table, noon to 1:00

COLONIAL BEACH
WATERFRONT home with
magnificent views in
Westmoreland Shores
$329,000. 3 BR 1 BA w/
spacious porch. New roof,
new windows, drywall in
BRs+, W/D hookups, OSP.
Call 540-621-4850.
TELLEM YOU saw their ad
in the Blade classifieds!

WOMENS PERSONALS
Annapolis Luxury
Condo

living right in town. This beautiful

2 bedroom 2 bath condo boasts
hardwood floors and gourmet
kitchen. Master bedroom with walk in
closet. 24/7 concierge and security,
pool, Party Room for large gatherings,
private dog park, fully equipped gym,
underground parking. Walk to shops,
restaurants & city dock. $460,000.
Liz Heinsohn
Associate Broker
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc
Annapolis, MD. 21401
(cell)410-991-8566
(office)410-263-3400
www.Lheinsohn.lnf.com
EHO
Townhouse Silver Spring
Renovated 4BR/2.5 Ba w/ all new
appliances, flooring & house
generator so you never lose power.
Open House Sat. Sept. 3 11am-2pm
10853 Bucknell Dr. Silver Spg (walking
distance to Wheaton Metro) Mr Lister
Realty/ 301-252-3075.

GWF, SOFT BUTCH, attractive, blue

eyes, brown hair. I walk three miles
every day. I like movies, music, playing
cards, tv & pizza. ISO GWF attractive,
feminine, for friendship & a long term
relationship. If you are interested, call
Debbie 703-368-3618.

a.m., indulge your body. $70 for 1

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messages.
THE MAGIC TOUCH: Swedish,
Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts 202486-6183, Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls.

True M4M Massage,

In/Out, Swedish,
Deep Tissue, Sensual,
Tantric overtones
Tantric Anal & Lingam,
Grooming, Shaving,
Waxing,plus. www.
mensmassagebymitch.
com. Silver Spring, Appt
301-785-4181, call /text or
thru website.

MENS PERSONALS
LONELY GUY LOOKINGWhite male
6 280#s 50 looking for same Only
Taller and heavier. Ideal would be 66
370#s 45-55 yrs. TOTALLY SAFE U BE
TOO. Use online link to respond.

BODYWORK
FEEL THE TOUCH

5 9, 170 lbs, Offering full body

relaxing, release on my professional
table, in a private atmosphere. In/out.
Parking Available, hotels welcome,
DC/MD/VA, 24/7. Call Lucas, 240-4628669, email: fromlucas@yahoo.com.

DUNGEON MASSAGE? or Rent our

dungeon. Explore your fantasies!

PLACE YOUR FREE AD ONLINE

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Surprise a BF or FB. Awesome,

clean, discrete. Fully equipped
private DC playroom. (Tutorial/
instruction available). 202-5445688.

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ISSUE DATE: 08.12.16

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