Volume 45, Issue 3, January 17, 2014

WHAT TO EXPECT IN SOCHI PAGE 14 STATE DEPT.
TRAVEL WARNING PAGE 14 GAY NIGHTCLUB MANAGER SEEKS ASYLUM PAGE 15

RNC MEMBER BACKS ANTI-GAY LAW PAGE 15 WILL NBC HOLD PUTIN ACCOUNTABLE? PAGE 20
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTINS ANTI-GAY CRUSADE
THREATENS TO OVERSHADOW SOCHI OLYMPICS
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WASHI NGTONBLADE. COM JANUARY 17, 2014 03
Graham, Bonds face
opposition in April primary
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
LGBT voters could play a key role in
determining the nominees for at least
three of the six D.C. Council seats up
for grabs in the citys April 1 Democratic
primary, according to activists familiar with
the candidates.
Similar to past years, nearly all of the
candidates who are favored to win or who
have a shot at winning their primary contests
and the general election in November are
strong supporters of LGBT rights.
In the April primary, D.C. Council Chair
Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), Council
member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3), and
Council member Kenyan McDufe (D-Ward
5) are considered strong favorites to win in
the primary and general election. Cheh is
running unopposed in the primary.
Mendelson and Cheh are longtime
supporters of the LGBT community and
McDufe has been supportive on LGBT
issues since winning his seat in a special
election in 2012.
Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-
Large) and four-term Council member
Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), whos gay, are
running in competitive races in the primary,
in the opinion of some political observers,
although most knowledgeable observers
consider them the clear front-runners.
Bonds, who has been involved in D.C.
politics since the early 1980s, has a long
record of support for LGBT rights. And
Graham, the former head of the Whitman-
Walker Clinic, has been among the
Councils strongest advocates on LGBT and
AIDS issues during his more than 15 years as
a Council member.
The remaining Council race on the
primary ballot will be for an open seat in
Ward 6, which is being vacated by Council
member Tommy Wells, a Democrat whos
running for mayor. Three Democratic
candidates running in the primary
Charles Allen, Wells former chief of staff;
Darrel Thompson, and Shelonda Tillman
have expressed strong support on LGBT
issues and are expected to compete for
support from the large number of LGBT
residents that live in Ward 6.
Grahams longstanding reputation as a
champion for his Ward 1 constituents
both gay and straight would normally
make him a shoo-in for winning election to
a fth term. But an 11-2 vote by his Council
colleagues last spring to reprimand him on
grounds that he violated the Councils ethics
rules in 2008 by improperly interfering with
negotiations over a Metro development
contract have raised questions over whether
his support in the ward has eroded.
The Councils vote to reprimand Graham
came shortly after the citys independent
ethics board, headed by gay former D.C.
Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti,
issued an opinion saying Graham did not
violate any laws but committed an ethical
breach as a city ofcial by intervening in the
contract process.
Graham has disputed the claim that he
did anything improper, saying he pushed
for awarding the contract to one developer
over another because the one he favored
was better qualied to do the work on a
project located in his ward.
Lesbian Democratic activist Barbara
Helmick, a longtime resident of Ward 1,
said she has voted for Graham in the past
but is undecided on whether to vote for
him this time.
Certainly the ethics question has
raised eyebrows, Helmick said. But Jim
has done a lot as a Council member and
he has basically done a good job for his
constituents.
Helmick, like other Ward 1 residents, said
shes looking at Grahams two remaining
opponents in the primary, civic activists
Bryan Weaver and Brianne Nadeau. Both
have been strong supporters of the LGBT
community. A third opponent, Beverly
Wheeler, a former aide to Council Chair
Mendelson, dropped out of the race last
week, citing family related issues.
Ward 1 is believed to have the largest
concentration of LGBT residents among
the citys eight wards and is home to two
LGBT community centers, one of which
Casa Ruby reaches out to the LGBT Latino
community. Activists say that Grahams
prospects for winning the primary would
increase signicantly if he can retain the
support of LGBT voters who have backed
him overwhelmingly in past elections.
No Republican, Statehood Green Party
or Libertarian Party candidate entered the
Ward 1 Council race this year, a development
that means Graham would likely face one or
more lesser known independent candidates
in the November general election if he wins
the Democratic nomination in the primary.
Bonds, meanwhile, is being challenged
by four other Democrats in the primary in
her race for one of two at-large Council
seats that will be on the ballot in the
November general election. In a process
that has often confounded voters, one of
the two seats is reserved for a non-majority
party candidate under the citys election
law, which means a Democrat cannot
compete for the second seat.
Gay D.C. Council member David Catania
(I-At-Large) has held the so-called non-
Democratic seat since 1997, when he won
a special election to ll the then vacant seat.
He has been re-elected four times since
then, but this year Catania said hes strongly
considering giving up his Council seat to
run for mayor.
As an independent, he doesnt have to
make a nal decision on whether to seek re-
election to the Council or enter the mayoral
race until June. Many of the citys political
pundits believe Catania will run for mayor,
clearing the way for others to compete for
his Council seat.
Gay Republican activist Marc Morgan,
a Ward 1 Advisory Neighborhood
Commissioner, is running unopposed in
the Republican primary for one of the two
at-large seats. Should Catania run for mayor,
Morgan could be in a strong position to
compete for the non-Democratic seat.
A Libertarian Party candidate, who
is running unopposed in his partys
primary, and one of two Statehood
Green Party candidates running in that
partys primary, will be competing with
Morgan for the non-Democratic seat in
the November election.
Another openly gay candidate, Libertarian
Party activist Martin Moulton, is running
unopposed in the Libertarian primary
for the citys U.S. shadow representative
seat. Moulton is expected to compete
for the shadow seat in the November
general election against Democrat Franklin
Garcia, whos running unopposed in the
Democratic primary in April.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
Catania, Gray in dead
heat for mayor: poll

A poll released by the Washington Post on Tuesday shows that gay D.C.
Council member David Catania (I-At-Large) is in a statistical tie with Mayor
Vincent Gray if the two were to run against each other for mayor.
The poll, which consisted of a sample of 1,003 city residents contacted by
phone Jan. 9-12, found that among registered voters, 43 percent support
Gray and 40 percent support Catania. The poll had a margin of error of plus
or minus 4 percent, the Post said.
Catania has said hes seriously considering entering the mayoral contest in
the November general election. The close polling numbers indicate that if
Gray wins the Democratic nomination in the April 1 primary he could face a
competitive race against Catania in November.
Todays Post poll results are encouraging, Catania said in a statement
released on Tuesday. They indicate that should I choose to run for mayor this
year the race will be very competitive.
The poll showed that Gray had a substantial lead over his challengers in
the primary. Among registered voters, 24 percent said they support Gray,
12 percent support Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), 11 percent
said they support both Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Council
member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), 9 percent said they back Council member
Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), 5 percent said they support businessman and
Busboys and Poets Restaurant owner Andy Shallal.
The remaining candidates, including Reta Lewis and Christian Carter, had 1
percent or less support, the poll shows.
Among likely voters, the poll showed Gray would receive 27 percent
support, with Evans coming in second with 13 percent. Bowser and Wells
each had 12 percent among likely voters. Orange had 7 percent, Shallal had
5 percent, Lewis had 2 percent and Carter had 1 percent.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
washingtonblade.com
04 JANUARY 17, 2014 LOCAL NEWS
Council member DAVID CATANIA predicts a competitive race should he decide to run for
mayor against Vincent Gray.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
D.C. Council candidates court LGBT voters
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Mayor mentions gay,
trans residents in rst
campaign speech
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
At least a dozen LGBT activists joined
more than 500 city residents on Saturday for
Mayor Vincent Grays rst rally to launch his
2014 re-election campaign.
Several of the activists said Grays mention
of LGBT people two times in his speech
at the rally highlighted his long record of
support for the LGBT community.
The event was held in a packed
auditorium at an arts and recreation center
on Mississippi Avenue in Southeast D.C.
known as THEARK.
I look around this room and I see folks
from every part of our city, Gray told
the gathering. I see enormous talent
and tireless dedication. I see white, I see
black, I see brown, and every color in
between, he said.
I see straight, I see gay, and I see
transgender. I see rich and I see poor, he
said. But above all, I see what makes us the
greatest city in the greatest country on Earth
I see a community.
In another part of his speech Gray said
the accomplishments of his rst term
included his longstanding effort to unify the
citys diverse and growing population.
We are bringing together young and
old, black, brown and white, Latino, Asian,
immigrants from throughout the world, gay,
straight, able and disabled, he said.
Gray is being challenged by eight
candidates in the citys April 1 Democratic
primary, including four City Council
members, all of whom have records of
support on LGBT issues.
Much of the coverage of Grays speech
by the media focused on his apology to the
city for the campaign nance irregularities
associated with his 2010 mayoral campaign,
which led to criminal charges and guilty
pleas by four of his top campaign staff
members. Gray has said the campaign
nance law violations by the four staffers
happened without his knowledge.
I know that the 2010 campaign caused
many people great pain, Gray said in
his speech. I know that our city suffered
embarrassment. Today, I apologize to you
for the pain that my campaign caused. I ask
for your forgiveness.
Gray added, Although I cannot
apologize for the misdeeds of others,
the 2010 campaign was my campaign,
and I am deeply sorry for the pain and
embarrassment it caused.
The LGBT activists attending the rally
joined virtually everyone one else in the
packed auditorium in rising to their feet to
give Gray a prolonged ovation in response
to his apology. Many in the audience
chanted, Four more years, four more
years before sitting down to listen to the
remainder of Grays speech.
I thought it went extremely well, said
gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson,
a member of Grays 2014 campaign
nance committee.
Its an overow crowd. There are
hundreds and hundreds of people here,
Hudson said. The mayor gave a great
speech. He addressed very well the 2010
election issue and laid out a real clear vision
for the next four years.
Asked how the LGBT vote is likely to
break down in the April 1 primary, Hudson
said, I think it will probably split just like it
did in the last election. But one thing thats
clear is Vince Gray is the best mayor in the
entire country on LGBT issues.
At least four prominent transgender
activists attended the rally, including Earline
Budd, Jeri Hughes and Alexandra Beninda.
Budd and Beninda were appointed by Gray
to the D.C. Human Rights Commission as
the rst-ever transgender people to serve
on the commission.
He has done what I think is vital to this
city in so many ways in terms of economic
development, said Beninda. Within our
transgender community he denitely has
a place in our hearts because he has done
so much with Project Empowerment, with
the Transgender Awareness Campaign,
she said in referring to a city-sponsored job
training program and a trans related non-
discrimination campaign initiated by Gray.
He has done more than anybody else
has ever done in the city for the transgender
community, Beninda said.
Hughes and Budd said Gray, while
breaking new ground in his support
for the transgender community, has an
exceptionally strong record in support of
the entire LGBT community. The two also
said the city as a whole has prospered under
Grays tenure as mayor.
LGBT activists who are backing other
candidates, including Council members
Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Muriel Bowser
(D-Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6),
have said those candidates are also strong
supporters of LGBT rights and that LGBT
people should select a candidate based on
non-LGBT issues.
Longtime gay activists Deacon
Maccubbin and Bob Summersgill said they
are backing Wells over Gray, among thing
things, because Wells has a stronger record
on ethics in government issues.
Gray says D.C. should
recognize Utah marriages
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray told a meeting of the Gertrude Stein Democratic
Club Monday night that he believes the city should recognize same-sex marriages
performed in Utah.
Gray said he would consult with D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan on the matter.
But he said he sees no reason why the city shouldnt recognize the Utah marriages
performed prior to a Supreme Court decision putting same-sex nuptials on hold in
the state until the courts resolve the issue.
Ill talk to Irv Nathan about it, Gray said. But my position would be unequivocally
that we ought to do that.
Grays statement on the Utah marriage issue came in response to a question by
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance President Rick Rosendall.
Grays response came three days after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
announced on Jan. 10 that the federal government would recognize the Utah same-
sex marriages. On that same day, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler told
the Blade that Maryland would also recognize the Utah same-sex marriages.
A spokesperson for Nathan told the Blade on Monday that Nathan and his legal
team were reviewing the Utah marriage question and would likely develop a position
for the District to take on the matter shortly.
A U.S. District Court Judge in Utah startled the states conservative political
establishment on Dec. 20 when he ruled that Utahs ban on same-sex marriage
violates the U.S. Constitution and refused to put a stay on his ruling while state ofcials
appealed his decision. The Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals also refused to place a
stay on the right of gay and lesbian couples to obtain marriage licenses in the state.
During the period between the District Court judges Dec. 20 ruling and the
Supreme Courts decision to issue the stay on Jan. 6, more than 1,300 gay and lesbian
couples married in Utah. Utahs Republican governor, Gary Herbert, responded to
the Supreme Court stay order by declaring the same-sex marriages invalid.
Gay rights attorneys quickly disputed Herberts assertion, saying the marriages
were performed at a time when the District Court ruled they were legal under the
federal Constitution.
Stein Club President Angela Peoples said the club invited Gray to speak before its
regularly scheduled monthly meeting Monday night as part of a series of appearances
the club has arranged for mayoral and City Council candidates competing in the
citys April 1 Democratic primary.
She said other mayoral candidates, including City Council members Jack Evans
(D-Ward 1), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) have already
appeared before the club.
Others who spoke at the Stein Club meeting on Monday were Council members
Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), whos running for re-election; Anita Bonds (D-At-Large),
who is also up for re-election; and Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), who is running for
mayor. Also speaking was shadow U.S. House member Nate Bennett-Fleming, who
is one of four candidates running against Bonds, and Shadow U.S. Senator Paul
Strauss, who is running for re-election.
The Stein Clubs former president and current vice president for political affairs,
Martin Garcia, announced at the meeting that the club will hold a joint candidate
forum and endorsement meeting for City Council candidates on Feb. 26 and a
combined mayoral candidate forum and endorsement meeting on March 5.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
washingtonblade.com
Today, I apologize to you for the pain that my
campaign caused. I ask for your forgiveness,
Mayor Vincent Gray said of his 2010 mayoral
campaign.
Activists rally for Gray at re-election kick-off
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JULIE, THE BIG BAD WOOF
New Va. guv sworn in;
House to consider
marriage ban repeal
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
RICHMOND, Va. Former Democratic
National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe
on Saturday became Virginias 72nd
governor amid hopes his administration
will extend rights to LGBT Virginians.
An open and welcoming state is
critical to the 21st century economy,
but its also imperative for justice and
fairness, said McAuliffe.
He stressed throughout his inaugural
address the economy remains among his
administrations top priorities. McAuliffe
also said the commonwealth needs to
ensure that someone cant lose their job
simply because they are gay.
As the legislature and my administration
work to diversify our economy, we need
to remember that our sense of urgency is
driven by those Virginians who struggle
each and every day just to get by and whose
dream is simply to give their children the
opportunities that may never have had,
said McAuliffe. My administration will
work tirelessly to ensure opportunities are
equal for all Virginias children no matter
if you are a girl or a boy, no matter what
part of the commonwealth you live in, no
matter your race or your religion and no
matter who you love.
Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Attorney
General Mark Herring were also sworn in.
McAuliffe on Saturday promptly signed
an executive order that bans discrimination
against LGBT state employees.
By virtue of the authority vested in
me as governor, I hereby declare that
it is the rm and unwavering policy of
the commonwealth of Virginia to assure
equal opportunity in all facets of state
government, reads the directive McAuliffe
signed shortly after he took ofce on the
South Portico of the State Capitol. The
foundational tenet of this executive order
is premised upon a steadfast commitment
to foster a culture of inclusion, diversity and
mutual respect for all Virginians.
McAuliffe repeatedly promised during
his campaign against then-Attorney
General Ken Cuccinelli that the rst
executive order he would sign as governor
is a ban on anti-LGBT discrimination
against state employees.
Gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin
(D-Alexandria) told the Washington
Blade in November after McAuliffe
defeated Cuccinelli in the hotly contested
gubernatorial race and Northam beat
Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson that
the election results were a clear victory for
equality that brings the promise of a new
day for Virginia.
McAuliffe, Northam and Herring support
marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Lawmakers are expected to consider
a number of LGBT-specic bills during
the 2014 legislative session that began
on Wednesday. These include measures
that would ban anti-LGBT employment
discrimination in Virginia, extend second-
parent adoption rights to gays and lesbians
and prohibit ex-gay conversion therapy
to minors in the commonwealth.
The Blade also learned this week that a
Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee
on Jan. 20 is scheduled to consider a bill
that would repeal the commonwealths
statutory same-sex marriage ban.
The House Civil Law Subcommittee is
expected to take up the measure House
Bill 939 that state Del. Scott Surovell
(D-Fairfax County) introduced last week.
This is the rst time the House of
Delegates will get to actually address
Virginias statutory ban on same-sex
marriage in the Code of Virginia in at
least the last ve years as opposed to the
Constitution of Virginia, Surovell told
the Blade on Tuesday. While marriage
rights face an uphill battle in the heavily
Republican Virginia House of Delegates, I
am encouraged to learn that it will at least
hold a hearing on the bill.
Gansler says Equality
Md. traded for
Brown endorsement
State Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery
County) this week introduced a bill
that would ban discrimination against
transgender Marylanders.
State Sens. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery
County), the chair of the Senate Judicial
Proceedings Committee who is running
for attorney general, and Robert Zirkin
(D-Baltimore County) are among the 25
senators who have co-sponsored the
measure. State Del. Luke Clippinger
(D-Baltimore City) plans to bring forth the
bill in the House of Delegates where it
passed in 2011.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings
Committee last March by a 6-5 margin
struck down an identical bill that
Madaleno and state Sen. Jamie Raskin
(D-Montgomery County) introduced
that would have banned anti-trans
discrimination in housing, employment
and public accommodations. State Sens.
Norman Stone (D-Baltimore County), C.
Anthony Muse (D-Prince Georges County)
and James Brochin (D-Baltimore County)
voted against the measure.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike
Miller (D-Prince Georges and Calvert
Counties) state Sen. Katherine Klausmeier
(D-Baltimore County) support the bill.
House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne
Arundel County) also backs the measure.
Gov. Martin OMalley and the three
Democrats who are running to succeed
him Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney
General Doug Gansler and state Del.
Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County)
are expected to testify in support of the
bill. Browns running mate, Howard County
Executive Ken Ulman, has also pledged to
speak for the measure in Annapolis.
Both Mizeur and Ganslers running mate,
state Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Prince Georges
County), co-sponsored the 2011 trans rights
bill in the House of Delegates.
Inequality anywhere should be
recognized as wrong for anybody, Gansler
told the Washington Blade during a Jan.
10 interview. Inequality for any person is
inequality for all of us.
Gender Rights Maryland Executive
Director Dana Beyer welcomed the
introduction of the bill.
Im glad to see that this years gender
identity bill is now in play and we are all
looking forward to an expedited hearing
in the [Senate] Judicial Proceedings
Committee, she told the Blade. With
strong support in both the Senate and
House, as well as from senior leadership,
the administration and all the Democratic
gubernatorial candidates, the time has
come to nally move the bill from the
Senate committee to the oor.
The bill remains a legislative priority
for Equality Maryland, after voters in
2012 approved the Free States same-sex
marriage law.
Gansler told the Blade the organization
traded its endorsement of Brown
for governor last month for his support
of the trans rights bill. Gansler said the
measure would have a stronger chance
of becoming law this year if the lieutenant
governor made it an administrative bill as
OMalley did when he made the same-sex
marriage bill a legislative priority in 2012.
That would be sort of putting his money
where his mouth is, said Gansler. If its not
an administration bill, I just dont know.
Baltimore City and Baltimore,
Montgomery and Howard Counties
have already added gender identity and
expression to their non-discrimination
laws. Hyattsville last month became
the rst jurisdiction in Prince Georges
County to pass a trans-inclusive anti-
discrimination ordinance.
washingtonblade.com
An open and welcoming state is critical to
the 21st century economy, said Virginia Gov.
TERRY MCAULIFFE.
PHOTO BY BOB BROWN;
COURTESY OF THE RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH
Md. lawmakers to again consider trans bill
McAuliffe acts swiftly on anti-LGBT bias
Attorney General DOUG GANSLER said the trans measure would have a stronger chance of
becoming law if Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown made it an administrative bill.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 12.20.13 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
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State Dept. seeks to conrm
arrest of gays in country
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
The State Department is looking into
media reports that authorities in Nigeria
are arresting dozens of LGBT activists in
the aftermath of passage of an anti-gay
law in the country.
Under questioning from the
Washington Blade, State Department
Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said
reports of arrests in Nigeria are very
troubling if true.
Were trying to conrm those
reports, Harf said. Ive seen them. We
dont know if theyre true or not. If they
are true, that would obviously be very
troubling. Again, our team is continuing
to check on the ground to get new facts
to see whats actually going on.
According to a report on Tuesday
from the Associated Press, human
rights activists in Nigeria claim police
are working off a list of 168 suspects
purportedly obtained through torture
to arrest dozens of gay men in the
country. A police ofcial reportedly
denied any use of torture, and accounts
of the number of arrests vary from as low
as 11 to as high as 38.
Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel to
Human Rights First, said the reports of
arrests demonstrate the impact of the
new anti-gay law in Nigeria, which was
signed last week by Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan.
This is truly the worst case
scenario, Gaylord said. When
discriminatory bills like this are
passed, we are always concerned that
they set the stage for violence and ill
treatment in society even when they
are not enforced. But the fact that this
law is being enforced so quickly and
forcefully demonstrates the full extent
of Nigerias human rights crisis.
Under the new anti-gay law in
Nigeria, same-sex marriage and
same-sex amorous relationships are
banned as well as membership in LGBT
groups. The statute contains a provision
allowing punishment of up to 14 years
in prison for attempting to enter into a
same-sex marriage.
After being unable to answer some
questions from the podium on Monday
for the Blade regarding the anti-gay law,
Harf on Tuesday offered some answers.
For starters, after saying that passage
of the law is inconsistent with Nigerias
international legal obligations, Harf was
able to identify which obligation the law
violates: the International Covenant on
Civil & Political Rights. Nigeria joined
the 167-party agreement that aims to
protect the civil and political rights of
individuals in 1993.
The Same Sex Marriage
Prohibition Act not only prohibits
same-sex marriage in Nigeria; it also
includes broadly worded provisions
implicating the rights to the freedoms
of expression, peaceful assembly and
association that are set forth in the
ICCPR, Harf said. So, when we were
talking about international law, thats
what we were referring to.
Harf also claried which U.S. ofcials
spoke with ofcials in Nigeria prior to
passage of the anti-gay law, saying
they consisted of individuals at the U.S.
Embassy in Abuja, the U.S. consulate
general in Lagos and Washington
ofcials. These ofcials, Harf said, helped
Nigerians who support LGBT rights
chart a course to support the LGBT
community there and to help Nigerians
who are opposed to discrimination
against the LGBT community.
Still, Harf said she didnt have an
answer to a previous inquiry about
whether U.S. ofcials had any knowledge
that Jonathan would sign the legislation
before he took that action.
Will Stevens, a State Department
spokesperson, later said the U.S.
government has been monitoring the
legislation for some time.
We have been closely monitoring
the progress of this law as it moved
through the legislative process and
have engaged regularly with the
[government of Nigeria] and civil society
on our concerns about the proposed
legislation, Stevens said.
Also this week, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human
Rights Navi Pillay spoke out against
the anti-gay law, marking the rst
statement against the statute by the
intergovernmental organization.
International human rights law and
jurisprudence clearly indicate that states
have a legal duty to protect all individuals
from violations of their human rights,
including on the basis of their sexual
orientation, Pillay said. Disapproval of
homosexuality by the majority on moral
or religious grounds does not justify
criminalizing or discriminating against
LGBT persons.
Pillay urged the high court in Nigeria
to examine the constitutionality of the
new law at the next opportunity.
Christie vetoes birth certicate bill
TRENTON, N.J. Embattled
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on
Jan. 13 vetoed a bill that would
have allowed his states transgender
residents to change their gender on
their birth certicates.
It appears that this veto is
arbitrary, capricious and designed
to harm transgender people who
are the most vulnerable among
LGBT New Jerseyans, said Barbra
Casbar Siperstein, political director
of the Gender Rights Advocacy
Association of New Jersey.
Garden State Equality Executive
Director Tony Stevenson described
Christies veto as a vindictive move
to punish the LGBT community after
a year of tremendous progress.
This was a simple bureaucratic change, which would have offered
tremendous support to the transgender community, and have zero effect on
anyone else, said Stevenson.
Christie vetoed the measure nearly a month after the New Jersey Senate
approved it by a 21-11 vote margin. The bill passed in the state Assembly last
June by a 43-27 vote margin with one abstention.
Christie is embroiled in a scandal involving aides who allegedly created
massive trafc jams in Fort Lee because the mayor there wouldnt endorse
Christies re-election bid last year.
N.Y. lawmakers seek conversion therapy ban
ALBANY, N.Y. Three New York lawmakers on Jan. 13 introduced
measures that would ban so-called conversion therapy against LGBT minors.
State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick (D, WFP-Manhattan) and state Sens.
Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) put forth
identical bills in their respective legislative chambers.
Stronger laws to protect LGBT youth from being subjected to these
unsafe and disproven practices are long overdue, said Glick.
Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Nathan M. Schaefer
applauded Glick, Hoylman and Gianaris for introducing the bills.
Trying to change someones true identity through so-called therapy is a
dangerous practice that can seriously harm our LGBT youth, said Schaefer.
Anyone who says they can change an LGBT person from being who they are
is preying off of fear and confusion to sell a practice that doesnt work and
causes lasting harm.
A federal judge in November upheld New Jerseys law that bans sexual
orientation conversion therapy for minors.
Lawmakers in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia have recently introduced
similar measures that seek to ban the practice.
IEEE adds LGBT support to ethics code
NEW YORK The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Board
of Directors on Jan. 8 announced it had approved the inclusion of sexual
orientation and gender identity and expression in its ethics code.
Lynn Conway, professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science
at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and Leandra Vicci of the University of
North Carolina-Chapel Hill spearheaded the effort to spur the IEEE Board of
Directors to include trans-specic protections in its Code of Ethics. The proposal
was subsequently approved by more than two-thirds of the board members.
It means that hundreds of thousands of engineers worldwide including
in Russia, Uganda and over 60 other nations where being gay or trans is
considered a crime are now honor bound to treat their colleagues with
respect, wrote Gender Rights Maryland Executive Director Dana Beyer in
the Hufngton Post.
The IEEE is the worlds largest professional body of engineers. It has more
than 425,000 members from 160 countries.
Worst case scenario
in Nigeria
New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE is
embroiled in scandal but took time out to
veto a trans rights bill.
washingtonblade.com
10 JANUARY 17, 2014 NATI ONAL NEWS
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Decision stayed, likely
headed to Supreme Court
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled
Oklahomas same-sex marriage ban is
unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Terence C. Kern of
the Northern District of Oklahoma said
the state constitutional amendment
that says marriage shall consist only
of the union of one man and one
woman violates the Equal Protection
Clause of the 14th Amendment. Mary
Bishop and Sharon Baldwin and Susan
Barton and Gay Phillips challenged
the ban shortly after Oklahoma voters
approved it in 2004.
Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe
Smith and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Judge Kern has come to the
conclusion that so many have before
him that the fundamental equality of
lesbian and gay couples is guaranteed
by the U.S. Constitution, said Human
Rights Campaign President Chad
Grifn. With last years historic victories
at the Supreme Court guiding the way,
it is clear that we are on a path to full
and equal citizenship for all lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender Americans.
Kern stayed his ruling pending an appeal.
We are disappointed in the ruling,
said Tulsa County District Attorney Tim
Harris. We will need to review the
decision and talk with our client, Tulsa
County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith,
about appeal options.
Gov. Mary Fallin said the people of
Oklahoma have spoken on this issue,
noting her states marriage amendment
passed in 2004 with 75 percent support.
I support the right of Oklahomas
voters to govern themselves on this
and other policy matters, said Fallin
in a statement. I am disappointed in
the judges ruling and troubled that the
will of the people has once again been
ignored by the federal government.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott
Pruitt described Kerns ruling as a
troubling decision.
As the Supreme Court recently noted
in the Windsor case, it is up to the states
to decide how to dene marriage, not
the federal government, said Pruitt in
a statement.
Eighteen states and D.C. have extended
marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this
month blocked any future gay nuptials
from taking place in Utah pending the
outcome of an appeal of U.S. District
Court Judge Robert Shelbys Dec. 20
ruling that struck down the states same-
sex marriage ban.
National Organization for Marriage
President Brian Brown on Tuesday
renewed his call for a federal
constitutional amendment that would
dene marriage as between a man and
a woman.
The decision by U.S District Court
Judge Terence Kern in Oklahoma is
the latest in a string of examples of
the dangers posed to state marriage
laws when the avenue of debate is
the federal court system, he said in
a statement.
Pruitt conceded the U.S. Supreme
Court will likely consider the
constitutionality of state same-sex
marriage bans.
The issue most likely will end
up at the U.S. Supreme Court and
the outcome will dictate whether
Oklahomas constitutional provision will
be upheld, said Pruitt.
Marriage equality in
conservative state impacts
public opinion, LDS Church
By CHRIS JOHNSON
Although the 18-day period during
which Utah allowed same-sex marriages
has ended, observers say the visibility
of gay couples marrying there made
an indelible impression on one of the
nations most conservative states.
Utahs irtation with marriage equality
began on Dec. 20 when a district court
ruled in favor of marriage, allowing more
than 1,300 same-sex couples to marry in
the state before the U.S. Supreme Court
issued a stay on the weddings pending
appeal of the litigation.
Gov. Gary Herbert has said the
state wont recognize the same-sex
marriages, but the federal government
had pledged to view them as legitimate,
and the events have shaken the state
government, the view of state residents
and even the Mormon Church.
Michael Ferguson, who wed his
partner in Salt Lake City on Dec. 20
and became one-half of the rst same-
sex couple to marry in Utah, saw a
sharp transition in support for marriage
equality on social media in just two days
of having marriage equality in Utah.
I saw people who were posting some
pretty horrible things about bestiality
and pedophilia, and the slippery slope
of world corruption, thats going to
ensue with same-sex marriages being
solemnized in Utah, Ferguson said.
Within two days of social dialogue,
those same people were apologizing,
and saying, I can see that I was wrong
and speaking from a place of ignorance,
and Im going to keep a more open-
minded position in this conversation.
Mark Lawrence, director of the Utah-
based Restore Our Humanity and the
individual behind the marriage equality
lawsuit, also noticed a distinct change in
public opinion as the weddings took place.
So many more people are, OK, this
is going to happen, Lawrence said.
Theyre coming around. They still may
not agree with it, they still may not be
happy with it, but I dont think they see
it anymore as the sky is falling and this is
going to be the destruction of society.
Evidence that attitudes have shifted
on marriage equality in Utah is more
than just anecdotal. Two new polls
reveal signicant growth in support for
same-sex marriage in the state.
A new consumer poll made public on
Sunday reveals that for the rst time ever,
a bare majority of Utah residents 51.3
percent support marriage rights for
gay couples. In comparison, 43.7 percent
oppose legal relationship recognition.
David Baker, a Mormon and gay D.C.
activist, ran the poll over the course of
last week using Googles digital platform
system, which is deemed an accurate
method of polling by statisticians.
Baker said he absolutely believes
the events in Utah in the past few weeks
especially Herberts decision not to
recognize the marriages performed in
the state has had an impact on the
perception of marriage equality in the state.
I feel that Gov. Herberts decision
to continue to put the rights of LGBT
couples, who are legally married in
the state of Utah, in a legal limbo has
caused Utahns to face this issue that
they may not have thought of before
in the same context of legal rights for
LGBT couples, Baker said.
The results of Bakers latest poll are
along the lines of a poll published
Tuesday by the Salt Lake Tribune that
found Utah residents are now evenly
split on whether same-sex couples in
Utah should be allowed to marry
48 percent were for it and 48 percent
against it and nearly three-fourths
said same-sex couples should be
allowed to have civil unions.
Its hard to say that new support
for marriage equality in Utah is the
result of people seeing rsthand
same-sex marriages happening in the
state because no other data exists
immediately before the weddings took
place. However, the ndings assert
strong support for gay nuptials never
before seen in the state.
washingtonblade.com
12 JANUARY 17, 2014 NATI ONAL NEWS
Utahs 1,300 gay weddings spark change in attitudes
Judge strikes down Oklahoma marriage ban
Same-sex marriage was legal for 18 days before the Supreme Court intervened in Utah.
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Olympic charter restricts
participants ability to protest
With less than a month until the 2014
Winter Olympics begin in Sochi, Russia,
LGBT activists hope athletes who take part
in the games will speak out against the
Kremlins gay rights record.
Its important for the athletes to speak
out, in Russia, about their belief that the
way the Russian government is treating its
gay and lesbian citizens is unacceptable,
said Andrew Miller of Queer Nation NY,
which has held a number of protests in New
York over the last few months to highlight
Russias LGBT crackdown.
Speaking out against Russias gay
propaganda to minors law and other anti-
LGBT measures while in Sochi could prove
easier said than done.
The Olympic Charter that the International
Olympic Committee adopted in 2001
states no form of publicity or propaganda,
commercial or otherwise, may appear on
persons, on sportswear, accessories or,
more generally, on any article of clothing or
equipment whatsoever worn or used by the
athletes or other participants in the Olympic
games outside of a manufacturers logo.
Any athlete who violates this rule could
face disqualication or a loss of their
accreditation at the Sochi games.
I am very reluctant to call on athletes to
do anything that would explicitly jeopardize
their ability to compete in the games or
jeopardize their ability to win a medal,
Hudson Taylor, a former University of
Maryland wrestler who founded Athlete
Ally in 2010 to combat homophobia and
transphobia in sports, told the Washington
Blade on Tuesday.
Taylor, who is currently an assistant
wrestling coach at Columbia University,
described the Sochi games as an
enormous moment where international
attention is going to focus on sport. He also
told the Blade the athletes who compete in
the Olympics will have a platform they could
potentially use to highlight LGBT rights
abuses in Russia.
I would like athletes if they are asked
about their opinions on these laws, to
give their opinion on the laws or give their
opinion around support for the LGBT
community, said Taylor.
Ty Cobb, director of global engagement
for the Human Rights Campaign, made a
similar point.
A lots on the line for athletes who may
speak out in ways that the IOC does not like,
such as losing their medal, said Cobb. I
would never want to advocate for someone
to put themselves in a situation to lose
their medal or be chastised by the IOC,
but at the same time we would support
any athlete in their effort to really highlight
whats going on with LGBT Russians and to
show solidarity with their ght.
Retired tennis champion Billie Jean King,
whom President Obama last month tapped
alongside gay gure skater Brian Boitano
and others to join the U.S. delegation to
the Sochi games, discussed the issue on
Tuesday during an appearance on The
Colbert Report.
I probably wont protest, King told
Stephen Colbert. But if the media asks me
a question, Im going to answer it.
Doubts about enforcement
of law remain
Russian President Vladimir Putin told
reporters during an October press
conference in Sochi with IOC President
Thomas Bach that gays and lesbians
will not suffer discrimination during the
games. The IOC maintains it has received
repeated assurances from the Kremlin the
gay propaganda ban will not affect athletes
and others who plan to travel to Sochi, even
though Russian ofcials have previously said
the statute will apply to those who attend
the Olympics.
Taylor acknowledged it is highly unlikely
Russia will repeal the gay propaganda law
and other anti-LGBT statutes before the
Sochi games begin.
At this stage of things I think the most
that we can hope for is to make sure these
laws are not being enforced for the duration
of the games, he said, noting Russian
ofcials have created specic areas where
they say people can gather and protest.
Im not convinced those same people
protesting will be safe once they leave the
protest zones.
Miller told the Blade he would like to see
the U.S. Olympic Committee, along with
Coke and other Olympic sponsors pressure
the Russian government to overturn the
countrys anti-LGBT laws. He said members
of Queer Nation NY will continue to hold
protests and other actions during and after
the Sochi games to highlight Putins LGBT
rights record.
He may be counting on the worlds
attention focusing elsewhere after the
Olympics, said Miller. Its important to
pressure them.
He also said NBC, which will broadcast
the Sochi games, can cover whats going
on in Russia beyond the Olympics.
Gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts
criticized Russias gay propaganda law
in a series of interviews he gave before
he co-hosted the Miss Universe 2013
pageant in Moscow last November with
singer Mel B. Neither he, nor pageant
participants discussed the Kremlins
LGBT rights record during the broadcast
of the event that NBC Universal co-owns
with Donald Trump.
Theyve done little to nothing about
speaking out against the anti-gay laws and
have done little to nothing about covering
them or their effect, said Miller.
Bob Costas, who will anchor the networks
prime time coverage of the Sochi games,
told the Associated Press in November he
welcomes the opportunity to directly ask
Putin about the gay propaganda ban as
opposed to offering his own commentary
about it. He sought to clarify his comments
during a Jan. 7 press conference in New
York with NBC executives.
If Putin doesnt drag his butt into the
studio, then well talk about it without
him, said Costas as the Hufngton
Post reported. But if he shows up, wed
rather talk to him. Wouldnt you rather
hear it from the horses mouth? I would.
Thats what I was trying to say.
State Dept. issues
Sochi travel alert
The U.S. State Department on Jan.
10 issued a travel alert to Americans
planning to travel to Sochi following
two suicide bombings in the city
of Volgograd late last month that
killed 34 people. The advisory also
highlighted the vagueness of Russias
gay propaganda law.
The U.S. government understands
that this law applies to both Russian
citizens and foreigners in Russia, reads
the State Department alert. Russian
authorities have indicated a broad
interpretation of what constitutes LGBT
propaganda and provided vague
guidance as to which actions will be
interpreted by authorities as LGBT
propaganda.
Cobb acknowledged security remains
a serious concern ahead of the Sochi
games. He stressed, however, those
who plan to travel to the Olympics need
to know about the Kremlins ongoing
crackdown of LGBT rights and other
issues that include freedom of speech.
Its important for the State
Department to be very clear with people
traveling to Sochi about what the laws
are in Russia, Cobb told the Blade.
Hudson also said those who plan to
attend the games should be mindful
of the ongoing security concerns.
We have to be careful and measured
in how we are speaking out or how
someone is protesting, he said. I dont
want somebody to expose themselves
to potential physical harm. However, I
think that there will be opportunities to
speak your mind, to show support for
the LGBT community without exposing
yourself to those risks.
washingtonblade.com
14 JANUARY 17, 2014 I NTERNATI ONAL NEWS
Athletes urged to speak out against Russia LGBT record
Members of Queer Nation NY protest outside of the New York Stock Exchange.
IMAGE COURTESY QUEER NATION
Agema calls ban on pro-gay
propaganda common sense
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A member of the Republican
National Committee who has been
criticized for expressing anti-gay views
has apparently endorsed the anti-gay
propaganda law in Russia.
Dave Agema, former member of the
Michigan House, expressed support for the
controversial measure via Facebook posting
last week, according to two sources who are
able to see the message and an apparent
screenshot of the link.
Read their law. Common sense in
Russia, Agema apparently wrote in a link
to a Jan. 6 posting from the Illinois Family
Institute, titled, Russias Anti-Propaganda
Law Riles Pro-Homosexuality Crowd.
The posting mitigates the threat of
the anti-gay law in Russia by noting it
emphasizes that it prohibits propaganda
directed to minors, saying the ne
incurred for breaking the law hardly
sounds unreasonable...for trying to
inculcate other peoples children with their
subjective beliefs about sexual morality.
Critics have charged the law is so vaguely
written that in Russia its now illegal for gay
couples to publicly display affection, such as
holding hands; tweeting positive messages
about LGBT people; broadcasting news
stories about LGBT people; equating
straight and gay relationships; or wearing or
displaying a rainbow ag.
As seen in the screenshot, Agema
made the posting visible to only his friends
on Facebook, so the Blade is unable to
independently view it to conrm its accuracy.
However, two sources who have access to
Agemas news feed said that it was online as
of Saturday at noon.
Dennis Lennox, a Republican precinct
delegate in Grand Traverse County, was
among those able to see the posting and
captured Agemas words in the screenshot
provided to the Blade.
This is outrageous that a leader of the
National Republican Party, my political
party, is siding with an autocratic regime that
believes in arresting political opponents,
censoring reporters, jailing dissidents and
eliminating free speech, Lennox said.
Russia and the Putin regime other than
maybe Iran, North Korea and China, is the
last regime the Republican Party or one of
its leaders should associate itself with.
Agema didnt immediately respond
to the Washington Blades request for
comment to verify the posting or to explain
why he made it.
A vocal opponent of LGBT rights and
same-sex marriage, Agema has made a
series of anti-gay statements in the past
year that have landed him in hot water with
Republican LGBT activists.
Last month, Agema reportedly said hes
seen gay people working for American
Airlines falsely claim to have HIV-infected
partners to obtain spousal health coverage.
The Log Cabin Republicans called for his
ouster, but the Michigan Republican Party
took no action against him.
Its not the rst time Agema has posted
anti-gay messages on his Facebook page.
On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court
heard oral arguments last year on same-sex
marriage, Agema posted a message on his
Facebook page titled, Everyone Should
Know These Statistics on Homosexuals,
which appeared under the byline Frank
Joseph, M.D.
According to an article at the time
from the Detroit Free Press, it reportedly
depicted gays as sexually promiscuous,
rife with sexually transmitted diseases
and responsible for half the murders in
large cities.
I feel my safety, even
my life, is threatened
The former manager of a Russian gay
nightclub that has been attacked several
times over the last few months told the
Washington Blade during an exclusive
interview last week that he plans to seek
asylum in the United States.
Arkady Gyngazov and three of his friends
arrived in D.C. on Dec. 14 after ying from
Moscow to New York the day before.
He told the Blade he has obtained a pro
bono lawyer through Immigration Equality
and the D.C. Center who agreed to take his
case. Gyngazov has also worked with Larry
Poltavtsev of Spectrum Human Rights, an
organization that monitors the Kremlins
LGBT rights record, since he arrived in the
nations capital.
Gyngazov said he will formally seek
asylum once his visa expires in June.
Im not going to go back to Russia
because I feel my safety, even my life, is
threatened, he said.
Gyngazov was managing the Central
Station nightclub in Moscow on Nov. 16
when two men whom security personnel
refused to allow inside the establishment
opened re. None of the estimated 500
people who were inside the club during
the incident were injured, but the assailants
destroyed its surveillance camera and left
bullet holes in the buildings facade.
An estimated 500 people evacuated
Central Station on Nov. 23 after a group of
assailants launched poisonous gas into the
club. The Moscow Times reported roughly
100 people on Dec. 14 dismantled the
roof of the building in which Central Station
is located and either damaged or stole
some of the clubs equipment that had
been stored in the attic.
Gyngazov told the Blade during an
interview from Moscow after the Nov. 16
incident the owners of the building placed
a large neon sign above the clubs entrance
the month before that reads gay club
here. It also contains an arrow that points
toward the door.
Im afraid because I dont know what
will happen tomorrow, what will happen to
me, he said on Thursday. Im not going to
hide all my life.
Gyngazov, 32, grew up in the Siberian city
of Tomsk. He moved to Moscow in 2006.
Gyngazov is not out to his two younger
siblings or his grandparents, even though
he said he realized he was gay when he was
a child. His parents are deceased.
He said life for LGBT Russians was
easier than now in the 1990s under then-
President Boris Yeltsin, in part, because his
government was struggling to rebuild the
countrys economy after the collapse of the
Soviet Union.
Gyngazov told the Blade he never
thought the Russian Duma would pass a
bill that sought to ban gay propaganda to
minors and that President Vladimir Putin
would sign it into law.
Hes making a dictatorship, like the
Soviet Union two, said Gyngazov.
Gyngazov said he recently read an article
in a Russian newspaper in which government
ofcials said the suicide bombers who killed
34 people in two separate bombings in
Volgograd late last month targeted the city
because the West has sought to export
homosexuality to Russia. Authorities said
two men tortured and killed Vladislav
Tornovoi near Volgograd last May after he
came out to them.
The Duma last month approved a
sweeping amnesty bill that prompted the
release of two members of the Russian punk
band Pussy Riot who had been serving two-
year prison sentences for staging a protest
against Putin inside Moscows Christ the
Savior Cathedral in 2012. Authorities in
December also released a group of 30
Greenpeace members who had been in
custody since they tried to board an oil rig in
the Barents Sea in September and Russian
billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky who was
serving a 10-year prison sentence after his
conviction on fraud charges in 2005.
Gyngazov told the Blade he thinks
Putin granted amnesty to members of
Pussy Riot, the Greenpeace members
and Khodorkovsky because he wanted
to temper criticism of his countrys human
rights record ahead of the 2014 Winter
Olympics that will take place next month
in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. He said he
remains fearful of what will happen to LGBT
Russians once the games end.
Im afraid for my friends who stay there,
said Gyngazov. When I talk to them, I cant
help them.
washingtonblade.com
I NTERNATI ONAL NEWS JANUARY 17, 2014 15
Russian gay nightclub manager seeks asylum
RNC member DAVE AGEMA has apparently
endorsed Russias anti-gay propaganda law.
SCREEN SHOT COURTESY OF DENNIS LENNOX
RNC member endorses Russia anti-gay law: sources
ARKADY GYNGAZOV arrived in D.C.
last month.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Mizeur campaign
keeping busy
Del. Heather Mizeur (Montgomery
County) continued her grassroots
people-powered movement to end
politics as usual in Maryland campaign
last weekend. She is seeking to be the
rst female and the rst openly gay
governor of Maryland.
On Jan. 8, she appeared before
a well-attended candidates forum
sponsored by the Columbia Democratic
Club. Mizeur was the only candidate
running for the top spot on the ticket
speaking at the forum while lieutenant
governor hopefuls Howard County
Executive Ken Ulman and Del. Jolene
Ivey (Prince Georges) represented the
Anthony Brown and Douglas F. Gansler
candidacies, respectively. At the forum,
Mizeur separated herself from her rivals
with her push to legalize, regulate
and tax marijuana to help fund early
childhood education.
During the weekend of Jan. 11-12,
billed as a Weekend of Action, Mizeur
continued her campaign schedule with
18 events in seven counties. Included
were Meet and Greet stops on Jan.
11 in Frederick, Elkridge, Annapolis,
Waldorf, Clinton and Gaithersburg. In
addition, phone banks were conducted in
College Park, Baltimore, Silver Spring and
Greenbelt.
On Jan. 12, Meet and Greet events
took place in Rockville/Potomac, Bethesda,
Olney, and ended in Baltimore in a Mount
Washington Community Forum. Phone
banking efforts occurred in Adelphi, Fort
Washington and Silver Spring.
Trans rock band
forms in Baltimore
A new contemporary conceptual
performance art band, Transexual Fetus,
consisting of artists within the trans
spectrum, recently formed in Baltimore.
The band, which features a combination
of beat poetry, funk, psychedelic new
wave and punk rock and glam metal
fusion music, was conceived by Devin
Cherubini, also known as Devin Hellre.
Cherubini/Hellre is a Baltimore-
based female-to-male transgender
visual artist, performance artist, political
activist, poet, lyricist and writer. He
has performed in a variety of bands
since the 1980s and was a headliner
at Club Hippo for ve years sharing
the same stage as performance artist
Wolfgang Nomi, who is a member of
the local group Charm City Boys. Nomi,
who plays percussion in Transexual
Fetus, combines contemporary dance
movement material with mime and
outrageous costume designs inspired
by the likes of Klaus Nomi, his namesake.
Baltimore born and raised Roxy Storm,
a veteran musician of 35 years, is another
key component of the band, playing lead
guitar. Roxy Storm is a black trans woman
struggling with inner city violence, poverty
and oppression. A true survivor, says
Cherubini/Hellre.
Transexual Fetus reects the same
struggle of those musicians and artists
who came before us who were gender
queer and non-conformative and died
too young from hard living in a world
that could not accept or understand
them, says Cherubini/Hellre.
Hellre encourages trans people with
musical talent in Maryland to join in on the
fun. Transexual Fetus is always open to
working together musically on this project.
If interested, contact Devin Hellre by visiting
the Facebook page TransexualFetus.
STEVE CHARING
washingtonblade.com
16 JANUARY 17, 2014 BALTI MORE NEWS DI GEST
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Light refreshments.
Del. HEATHER MIZEUR held a slew of
campaign events in seven counties last
weekend in her pursuit of the governors ofce.
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Study nds LGBT health care improving
WASHINGTON A new report nds that things are improving for LGBT people
because of better access to health care, Benetspro.com, a Summit Professional
Network publication, reports.
Citing a new study called Health and Access to Care and Coverage for LGBT
Individuals in the U.S. from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the site reports ndings
that say that while LGBT people still tend to have more physical and mental health
challenges than their straight counterparts, their needs are being increasingly
recognized and met.
Researchers evaluated data from the U.S. Census Bureau, various state agencies,
the Institute of Medicine, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the Centers
for Disease Control and more to issue the report. Recent factors such as the
Affordable Care Acts implementation and the Supreme Courts DOMA ruling were
also considered, the article said.
The report credits the Affordable Care Act and the rejection of DOMA with reshaping
the health care and coverage landscape for (LGBT) individuals and their families.
Wealthy lesbians concerned about health: study
CHICAGO Wealthy LGBT people, especially women, rank health issues as their
primary personal concern according to a new study conducted by the Spectrem
Groups Millionaire Corner. Spectrem is a research and consulting rm for the wealth
and retirement industry.
The ndings were published on the Corners website and note more than two-
thirds of afuent LGBT investors surveyed expressed concern about the health of
their spouse or partner (67 percent) and 65 percent said they are most concerned
about having someone to take care of them in their senior years, the Corner reports.
Six out of 10 surveyed (62 percent) said they are most concerned with their own
health and 58 percent ranked assuming responsibility over aging parents atop their
personal concerns. More than half (55 percent) are most concerned about a family
health catastrophe, the article notes.
In comparison, 63 percent overall said they are most concerned about maintaining
their current nancial position, and nearly half (50 percent) are focused on the
nancial situation of their children.
Lesbians as is the case with straight women report being more concerned
about these issues than men, gay or straight, the article said. Salary inequality, child
rearing and caring for parents were all cited as factors, the article said.
Atlanta-based AIDS organization gets new director
ATLANTA A gay doctor with a lengthy background in health grant and program
management was tapped to lead AID Atlanta, the largest AIDS service organization
in the Southeast, and manage its $7.6 million budget, Project Q Atlanta, a regional
blog, reports.
I am thrilled to become part of this great organization, Dr. Jose Rodriguez-Diaz
said in a prepared statement. I look forward to working closely with the board, the
staff and the community in taking AID Atlanta to the next level of its more than 30-
year history. This year will be exciting and transformative for the organization and I
am excited to be part of it.
British youth face mental health crisis
LONDON More than half of young gay people in England have suffered
mental health issues and 40 percent have considered suicide according
to ndings of a major study from Youth Chances released this week, the
Independent reports.
The report says that neglect of LGBT issues in schools contributes to a
climate of hostility and fear that results in a mental health crisis for LGBT
young people, the Independent said.
The Youth Chances Project the biggest social research study into young
LGBT people ever undertaken in England nds that 50 percent have self
harmed and 42 percent have sought medical help for anxiety or depression,
the article said. Charity Metro, which led the project, interviewed more than
7,000 16- to 25-year-olds and asked about their experiences with education,
employment, health services and relationships.
Dr. Greg Ussher, Metros acting chief executive, told the Independent, We are
failing LGBTQ young people. The clear message is that they are badly served.
What they want most is emotional support and they are not getting it. By the age
of 13, most are already sure or are questioning their sexuality or gender identity,
so we need to ensure all families and schools are equipped to give that support.
One in ve LGBT pupils reported being the victim of physical attacks at
school, but the majority did not report them and only a small proportion of
those who did felt that their concerns were resolved. And only a quarter said
they had learned anything at school about safer sex with a same-sex partner,
the Independent reports.
Ussher warned that if schools failed to act it would lead to a hugely increased
risk of bullying and abuse; isolation and rejection all leading to signicantly
increased levels of depression, self-harm and suicide, the article said.
Forty percent of young gay people in England have considered suicide according to a new study.
washingtonblade.com
18 JANUARY 17, 2014 HEALTH NEWS
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NBC must shine light on
de facto Russian dictator
during Olympics
The news from Russia keeps getting
worse as gays ee the country fearing for
their safety, just as hordes of international
tourists prepare to descend on Sochi for the
Winter Olympics next month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a de fac-
to dictator, is cynically using anti-gay animus
to distract the nations attention from his
own domestic failures. Putin in June signed
a bill into law that bans gay propaganda to
minors. The law is so vaguely written that
in Russia its now illegal for gay couples
to publicly display affection or even hold
hands. The law can also be interpreted to
bar broadcasting news stories about LGBT
people, which could prove tricky for NBC as
it gears up to cover the Olympics.
A second statute bans foreign same-sex
couples and any couple from a country in
which gays and lesbians can legally marry
from adopting Russian children. And LGBT
advocacy groups are among those that face
nes under a 2012 law that requires NGOs
that receive funding from outside Russia to
register as a foreign agent.
All of this amounts to an all-out assault
on the liberty and safety of LGBT people
in Russia and American corporations must
act to avoid complicity in these atrocities
starting with NBC, which owns the U.S.
broadcast rights to the Winter Games. The
Olympics are so important to NBCs for-
tunes that NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke
went so far as to announce, The soul of this
company is the Olympics.
That doesnt bode well for a tough ap-
proach to covering the anti-gay push. Bob
Costas, who will head NBCs primetime cov-
erage, said he wants to interview Putin and
suggested that NBC would address the is-
sue. But the media giant isnt off to a good
start, given MSNBC anchor Thomas Rob-
erts recent visit to Moscow as host of the
Miss Universe pageant. Roberts is a stooge
who was used by Putin; NBCs actual jour-
nalists must do better next month in shining
a bright light on Putins attacks on gays.
In this issue of the Blade, youll nd sev-
eral heartbreaking stories about the state of
affairs in Russia, including the plight of one
gay man forced to ee the country. Its not
just the anti-gay law thats the problem its
the hatred and violence that it encourages
against anyone who publicly comes out.
Arkady Gyngazov, former manager of
a Russian gay nightclub that has been at-
tacked several times over the last few
months, told the Blade last week he plans
to seek asylum in the United States.
Im not going to go back to Russia be-
cause I feel my safety, even my life, is threat-
ened, he said.
President Obama has so far admirably
stood up to Putin, canceling a planned
September meeting with him and, more
recently, boldly naming Billie Jean King and
two other gay athletes to the U.S. delega-
tion to Sochi. A host of world leaders is skip-
ping the games at least partly in protest of
the anti-gay crusade. And leaders from left
and right, including Sen. John McCain, have
assailed Putins actions.
But so far all the criticism hasnt been
enough to change the law. And thats why
its now incumbent on NBC to allow its jour-
nalists to do their jobs next month. Sunshine
is the best antiseptic and NBC is in a unique
position with its unfettered access to Sochi,
to Russian public ofcials and to the athletes
to expose whats happening to gays under
Putins dictatorship. American corporate in-
terests and prots must not get in the way of
covering the big story. The very lives of gay
Russians likely depend on it.
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Standing up to Putins anti-gay crusade
Whose interests are
served when majority of
lawmakers are on the trail?
Nine of the 13 members of the D.C.
Council are either running for mayor
or re-election to the Council. Another
Council member is contemplating a
mayoral run and will most likely seek re-
election to his seat if he does not run for
mayor. With all but three current Coun-
cil members vying for ofce this year, its
hard to be optimistic that Council mem-
bers are legislating in the best interests
of the city versus the best interests of
their respective campaigns. Council
members Yvette Alexander (D-Ward
7), Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and David
Grosso (I-At Large) are the only mem-
bers not currently seeking election.
Over the next three months, dont be
surprised to see an inordinate amount
of grandstanding and petty bickering
on the dais. This is not to say that there
is anything wrong with seeking higher
ofce or running for re-election, but
when the overwhelming majority of
any body is running for election at the
same time, it is going to impact daily
operations.
It will be much more difcult for con-
stituents to meet with Council mem-
bers, as most of them will be on the
campaign trail when the Council is not
in session. However, on the plus side,
constituents should have no problem
nding their local Council member in
the community.
Dont get me wrong, I do not think
any individual sitting member seek-
ing higher ofce or re-election has any
more effect on legislative operations
than the mayor seeking re-election, but
Im focusing on the Council because it
creates a unique dynamic when, essen-
tially, the entire body is running for elec-
tion at the same time.
The D.C. Home Rule Act stipulates
that Council terms are staggered, so
only half of the Council is up for re-elec-
tion at one time. The general reason for
staggered terms is to ensure that the
legislature maintains some continuity
and there is not a complete overhaul in
any given election year. Another conse-
quence of staggered terms, however, is
that usually the Council members who
are not up for re-election are able to
solely focus on their Council duties, so
there is no noticeable impact on legisla-
tive functions and constituent services.
That clearly is not the case this year.
Of course, the other side is that resi-
dents may get better services since
most of the Council members are aim-
ing to please voters. This may work for
constituent services, but it does not usu-
ally work for legislation. Every decision
made early this year will be a calculated
political decision. Do not expect too
many members to vote for or against
legislation based on their conscience.
We, the residents of the District, need
to be the watchdogs to ensure that the
decisions made are in our best interest.
We need to continue to advocate for
our respective causes and continue to
hold our elected ofcials accountable.
No one should get a pass because they
are campaigning. It may be difcult to
meet with Council members in their of-
ces during election season, but if need
be, we should meet with staffers and
push for our goals, just as we would any
other year. We are truly the only ones
who can make sure that our elected of-
cials are placing our interests above
their own.
Military inequality continues
after Dont Ask repeal
By WILL SMITH
Transgender Americans serve our
country in uniform at twice the rate of
the general population yet they are
forced to keep their gender identity a
secret or risk being discharged. While
the United States military made a tre-
mendous step forward within the realm
of social justice and fairness with the
repeal of Dont Ask Dont Tell, noth-
ing was done to remove the ban on
transgender individuals from serving in
uniform, a uniform I proudly wear as an
ofcer in the Naval Reserve.
There is no doubt the next gen-
eration, my generation, possesses a
completely different worldview than
our parents and certainly our grandpar-
ents. The lens through which we view
the world has been colored with more
shades of equality than any other in our
countrys history. We cannot forget that
some my age are merely one generation
removed from a time when people were
deprived of their voting rights, equal
access to quality education and public
facilities people like my parents.
My generation drinks deeply from
wells we did not ourselves dig. We have
been afforded a vast array of opportuni-
ties that eluded those who came before
us. To us, issues like equality should tran-
scend religious afliation, gender and
race. To us, issues like marriage equality,
the ability to rent a home we can afford
and military service are viewed as un-
alienable rights, civil rights deserving of
the laws protection.
To me a heterosexual, African-
American, church-going, Catholic mili-
tary ofcer the issue of transgender
service is personal. Equal rights and the
struggle for fair treatment under the law
is analogous to the civil rights struggles
of my parents and grandparents. As the
great civil rights activist Julian Bond
once said, No parallels between move-
ments for rights is exact ... but we are
far from the only people suffering dis-
crimination sadly, so do many others.
They deserve the laws protection and
they deserve civil rights too.
In 2008, the fall of my third year of
law school at The College of William
and Mary, I applied for a commission
as a Naval Reserve ofcer. This was an
important and personal decision for
me. I have always believed peoples
safety and security was as important to
protect as their civil liberties. My mili-
tary service has been one of the most
rewarding experiences of my life. I
have been tremendously enriched by
the love of country and dedication to
its principles those with whom I serve
demonstrated every day. My love and
dedication to our country has com-
pelled me to write this article. My aim is
not only to shed light on this issue, but
also to appeal to those in positions of
power with the hope they may nd the
same strength and courage our service
members display every day to rectify
this lingering injustice.
washingtonblade.com
VI EWPOI NT JANUARY 17, 2014 21
Will Smith of Silver Spring is a candidate for the
Maryland House of Delegates in District 20.
LI FE I N THE I NTERSECTI ON
To me a heterosexual, African-American,
church-going, Catholic military ofcer the
issue of transgender service is personal.
Ban on trans service members a lingering injustice
LATEEFAH WILLIAMS biweekly column, Life in
the Intersection, focuses on the intersection of
race, gender and sexual orientation. She is a former
president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club.
Reach her at lateefah4@hotmail.com or follow her at
twitter @lateefahwms.
Campaign frenzy as Council members seek mayorship, re-election
Over the next three months, dont be surprised to
see an inordinate amount of grandstanding and
petty bickering on the dais.
Activist helped pave the
way for the rest of us
to live openly
By JOE TOM EASLEY
Lou Chibbaro Jr.s obituary of Tom
Chorlton last week brought back a ood
of memories.
In January of 1980, I was a closeted
professor and associate dean of the
American University law school. Tom
was the head of the Mayoral Appoint-
ments Project of what was then called
the Gay Activists Alliance. His job was
to get openly gay people appointed to
District boards and commissions by the
mayor. He wanted to get Mayor Marion
Barry to appoint me to the newly cre-
ated police civilian review board. There
was only one problem: I was not out.
GAA, understandably, would not sup-
port the appointment of a closeted gay
person. Tom worked on me for several
weeks until I agreed to come out. He
pressed me to get active in GAA and
also the Gertrude Stein Democratic
Club. I did so and ultimately succeeded
Tom as president of Stein.
Thus began a side career as a gay ac-
tivist, which has now extended for some
33 years and it all started because of
Tom Chorlton.
Tom went from the Stein Club to the
launching of the National Association
of Gay and Lesbian Democratic Clubs,
or NAGLDC. The association, through
Tom as executive director, played a key
role in pushing gay issues within the na-
tional Democratic Party, including a vis-
ible and active presence at the Demo-
cratic National Convention in New York
in 1992.
Tom was everywhere at that con-
vention, and it was the last time I saw
him. We lost touch in the 1990s when
I moved to New York and Tom to Mis-
souri, but Tom ultimately wound up in
the same business I was in, university
teaching.
I can imagine Tom in that perfect set-
ting for him: nurturing closeted gays
and lesbians out of the closet and help-
ing some of them become gay activ-
ists. There continue to be some in our
community for whom gay activist is a
pejorative term. Many of these are the
still-closeted who feel threatened by
boat-rockers like Tom.
But it is activists like Tom Chorlton
who have paved the way for the rest of
us to enjoy the freedoms and accep-
tance we all have today. All of us, me
included, owe Tom a great debt.
Remembering boat rocker Tom Chorlton
True collaboration requires
respect for opponents
Wikipedia says Bipartisanship is a po-
litical situation, usually in the context of
a two-party system, in which opposing
political parties nd common ground
through compromise. There are many
politicians that speak of trying to be bi-
partisan and to govern in that way. But
two distinct visions of what that really
means came to the forefront last week
with the inauguration of Terry McAuliffe
as governor of Virginia and Gov. Chris
Christies troubles in New Jersey. They
have both spoken about working across
the aisle to solve problems, but it seems
what they actually do is quite different.
Democrat McAuliffe ran a campaign
on the promise that he would try to
work across party lines to nd common
ground with the Republican members
of the legislature. He touted his past ef-
forts with former Gov. Bob McDonnell on
a transportation bill and how he worked
behind the scenes to get that passed.
During his campaign and at his inau-
guration he spoke passionately about his
own beliefs and was clear in saying that
working across party lines would in no
way cause him to abandon his principles.
He is a strong supporter of a womans
right to choose and to have control over
her own healthcare decisions; and of civil
and human rights for the LGBT commu-
nity. Those principles will clearly put him
at odds with many members of the legis-
lature. But he has stated many times that
these differences wont preclude him
from working with those who have dif-
ferent ideologies to accomplish needed
reforms on a host of other issues. He be-
lieves that if people respect their differ-
ences they can work together. His cabi-
net appointments have been inclusive of
both parties and diverse in whom is rep-
resented. There can be many attacks on
McAuliffe for different things but he has
a history or working with people of dif-
ferent political persuasions and beliefs.
McAuliffe is the type of politician who
doesnt hold grudges and is a business-
man who understands the need for ac-
commodation.
Then there is New Jerseys Gov. Chris
Christie. He also speaks of working across
the aisle in a bipartisan way and stood tall
with President Obama when trying to get
all the federal aid he could for New Jersey
after Hurricane Sandy. But clearly Christies
brand of politics is much more confronta-
tional than that of McAuliffe. Christie is an
in-your-face politician who believes that
waving his nger in the face of, and de-
meaning constituents who disagree with
him, is acceptable behavior. He believes
ghting with a former Democratic gover-
nor and then taking retribution by taking
away his security detail when he doesnt
get what he wants is a way to work across
party lines in a bipartisan way. To Christies
credit it does appear that earning his ire
and retribution is occasionally a non-par-
tisan event.
The entire George Washington Bridge
trafc asco, which some are calling
Bridgegate, appears to follow a pat-
tern of bullying to get his way and MS-
NBCs Rachel Maddow has suggested
that rather than it being a grudge against
the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee it was
retribution against a Democratic legisla-
tor who was trying to hold up his judicial
nominations. That idea actually makes
more sense but it also shows how Christie
works against his own statements of want-
ing to work across the aisle and move to-
ward governing in a bipartisan way.
True bipartisanship requires some re-
spect for your opposition. It requires that
you are willing to disagree but to do it
agreeably. It requires the kind of relation-
ship that President Ronald Reagan had
with Speaker of the House Tip ONeill.
They didnt always solve the issues but
they had the ability to debate an issue,
look for possible compromise and then
move on respectfully to the next issue.
Bipartisanship seems to be a lost cause
in todays political climate especially at the
federal level. There is a bigger reason for
it to work on the state level as state gov-
ernments need to balance their budgets
while the federal government doesnt.
Another reason may be that today so
many seats in the House of Representa-
tives have been gerrymandered to ensure
one or the other party will win them that
there is less need to compromise.
That is a sad state of affairs for the nation.
I NSI DE LGBT WASHI NGTON
Bipartisanship a lost cause in todays politics
washingtonblade.com
JOE TOM EASLEY is a former co-chair of Lambda
Legal and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
and a former president of the Human Rights Campaign
Foundation.
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights
and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for
the Blade.
So many seats in the House have been
gerrymandered to ensure one or the other party will
win them that there is less need to compromise.
TOM CHORLTON died Jan. 5 from complications
associated with leukemia. He was 67.
WASHINGTON BLADE ARCHIVE PHOTO BY DOUG HINCKLE
Despite anti-gay climate,
Ive found a home
By CHETT PRITCHETT
The United Methodist Church recently
defrocked Rev. Frank Schaefer, a United
Methodist pastor in Pennsylvania, for refus-
ing to stop ofciating wedding ceremonies
for LGBT couples. I heard my friends ask
again and again, Why do you stay in The
United Methodist Church? Sometimes I
ask it of myself.
Why do I stay in a church that, since 1972,
has called homosexuality incompatible
with Christian teaching? Why do I stay in
a church that afrms my call to ministry yet
says self-avowed, practicing homosexu-
als (whatever THAT means) are not to be
ordained or appointed to positions as cler-
gy? Why do I stay in a church that considers
a pastor presiding at a holy moment in the
life of a couple to be a chargeable offense
because that couple happens to identify as
the same gender?
Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of
friends and acquaintances have asked
themselves these same questions. We
havent always answered them in the same
ways, and I afrm their decision to nd hope
and home in other religious traditions (or for
some, none at all).
But my reasons for staying United Meth-
odist are many: the United Methodist pas-
tors kids who were the rst people I told I
was gay; the clergy and laity who nurtured
my ministerial gifts; the seminary professors
who challenged and strengthened me; the
congregations who let me stand in their
pulpits and parishioners who allowed me
to be with them in emergency rooms; the
queer United Methodists who both dispute
and afrm my ideas on race, sex, class and
gender identity.
Even though Im seminary trained, but
not ordained, I stay in the United Meth-
odist Church because Ive found a home:
both a congregation that welcomes and
afrms my gifts (Dumbarton United Meth-
odist Church in Georgetown) and a family
of choice with the Methodist Federation for
Social Action and Reconciling Ministries
Network. This circle of advocates is working
for change in the denominations policies
and practices.
Many other LGBTQ United Methodists
have found congregations across the coun-
try where they are not only welcomed, but
afrmed in their leadership skills and spiri-
tual growth. More than 12 United Method-
ist congregations inside the Beltway have
publicly declared themselves welcoming of
persons of all sexual orientations and gen-
der identities I was welcomed, you will
be, too. And not just at Christmas, but at
every time of year.
Sometimes Ill be confronted with the
notion that staying in the United Method-
ist Church and advocating for change on
the inside is tantamount to being complicit
with my own oppression, and to be honest,
its not an invalid point. The churchs cur-
rent policies are homophobic, and Ive had
ample opportunity to leave for more gay-
friendly denominations. It would be a pretty
simple thing to do. And yet, if I and thou-
sands of others left, there would be no one
left to declare to the young queer people
growing up in the church: God loves you
no matter what!
Where will they hear those voices in
Sunday School or in the church choir if we
become Episcopalian or Lutheran or Pres-
byterian? Where will they nd themselves in
Scripture if we arent there to whisper, See,
were in these stories, too! Where will they
learn the ideals of hospitality and service if
we arent there to lead work teams and altar
guilds and make casseroles for potlucks?
I stay in the United Methodist Church,
but, like Frank, I do not stay silently. This is
far from complicity. I stay as a loud noisy
gong because I love the United Method-
ist Church, a denomination that can be so
much more than it is today a church that
increases in love and decreases the number
of queer youth committing suicide; a church
that increases in hope and assures all peo-
ple that housing and employment discrimi-
nation are a thing of the past; a church that
increases joy and works for a day when all
people are welcomed and afrmed.
Why do I stay in the United Methodist Church?
New law mandates that
chefs, bartenders and
sushi chefs wear gloves
Imagine walking into your favorite bar or
restaurant, or sitting at a sushi bar, and see-
ing the chefs, cooks, expediters, bartend-
ers, or sushi chefs wearing gloves.
If you live in California, you will.
The fear is that this regulatory ridiculous-
ness, so common to the state, will spread.
Prepare for the D.C. Council chamber
to echo once again with proclamation that
this law has been implemented in the na-
tions largest jurisdiction. The unfortunate
reality is that the infamous West Coast labo-
ratory for mandated behavior of all types of-
ten becomes a convenient crib-sheet for
legislative proposals by trend-seeking local
politicians. They may soon compete to curry
favor from or at least quiet special inter-
est advocacy groups through replication.
On Jan. 1, a new law signed by Gov. Jerry
Brown went into effect that is so sudden
and sweeping that state agency ofcials
have agreed to slow implementation to a
soft roll-out over six months. Inspectors
will issue only warnings instead of nes for
non-compliance during the initial period.
The law dictates that anyone handling
items that have already been cooked, will
not be thoroughly cooked or reheated,
fresh fruits and vegetables served raw or
cooked, breads and baked goods, raw
sushi sh and sushi rice, and garnishes for
food or beverages must wear gloves. Bar-
tenders adding garnish to your drink must
wear either gloves or grab a tong, while
chefs and food handlers and presentation
preparers must don gloves at all times.
Instead of current safety-procient strin-
gent regulations governing food handling
and preparation, and glove wearing when
appropriate, California is imposing new re-
quirements that dont make much sense.
Culinary professionals were quick to
roundly criticize the new law. Washington
Post food columnist, cookbook writer, culi-
nary scribe and gay former restaurateur Da-
vid Hagedorn took to Twitter last weekend
to call it an absurd law.
While the regulatory excesses and dearth
of common sense in the pre-eminent nanny
state are long legendary, this new law has
caused even progressive heads to tilt in
wonderment.
A little intuitive appraisal is instructive as
to why: Latex and other types of service
gloves are just as susceptible to bacterial
transfer as unwashed hands, if not more so.
The new rule is expected to decrease food
preparation safety by both generating bac-
terial build-up inside and outside of gloves
while simultaneously discouraging the cur-
rently required and commonly observed
practice of hand washing. The law will likely
decrease food-handling safety and increase
the presence of bacteria in prepared foods.
The better focus on effective food safety
protocols and hand washing comportment
will be replaced by the wearing of gloves
conducive to spreading bacteria. It begs
the question what rationalizes a shifting
away from hand cleaning to the wasteful
consumption of hundreds of pairs of sweat-
inducing gloves per typical restaurant shift?
In addition, the tactile sensitivity and
control critical to certain types of chef
preparation activities, notably including
sushi creation, will be signicantly reduced.
Sushi rice will stick to gloves and the over-
all ability to concoct food items will be di-
minished. General food preparation and
plating with nishing accoutrements will
be reduced to something akin to packing
snowballs in winter.
The common sense rules already in
place and enjoying adoption are appar-
ently never enough to satisfy business
regulation activists.
When people carry anti-bacterial lotions
and sanitizing wipes in purses and pockets,
and douse children with ointments, it is easy
to fool people into believing that an illusion
of safety is better than measures producing
it. Weve become petried of germs and
have the diminished immunity to prove it.
The notion of enforcement of such regu-
lations should prompt pause. Rules in place
and in practice best address food safety
efcacy. Why advocates chasing a grandi-
ose headline for their next news release or
funding proposal ascribe to the religion of
regulation as if a deity despite the counter-
vailing evidence is befuddling.
Lets hope this crazy California disease
doesnt go airborne and afict D.C.
Will California-Crazy spread like disease to D.C.?
OUR BUSI NESS MATTERS
washingtonblade.com
VI EWPOI NT JANUARY 17, 2014 23
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur and community
business advocate. Follow on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC.
Reach him at OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
CHETT PRITCHETT is executive director of the
Methodist Federation for Social Action and a
member of Dumbarton United Methodist Church in
Georgetown.
Economic struggles remain
underreported in community
Im coming out. Not as queer ev-
eryone knows Im lesbian. Im disclosing
something even more personal: my in-
come is low. Im one of many in the LGBT
community who live in or near poverty.
Why am I telling you this? Because 50
years ago, Lyndon Johnson in his State of
the Union message declared an uncon-
ditional war on poverty.
We shall not rest until that war is won,
Johnson told Congress on Jan. 8, 1964.
The richest nation on Earth can afford to
win it. We cannot afford to lose it.
Decades later, the war on poverty is still
ongoing. This struggle is particularly intense
within the LGBT community. Yet, you rarely
see people like us in movies or on TV. Our
faces seldom appear our voices arent
often heard in the media. Say gay, and
many will think of Cameron and Mitchell of
Modern Family planning their wedding;
the upper-middle class lesbian couple rais-
ing their kids in The Kids Are All Right or
wealthy gay men and power lesbians spear-
heading queer fundraising galas.
Im a fan of Modern and of Kids, and
I dont mean to disparage LGBT fundrais-
ing. But, if you looked beneath the glossy
media surface into our community, youd
nd people from 8 to 80 your relatives,
parents, children and friends struggling
with poverty and income inequality.
I write this not to seek pity but to encour-
age us to care about what many of us would
rather not have on our radar screens. Pov-
erty isnt sexy. It doesnt walk down the red
carpet like a star at an awards show. Yet mil-
lions of us in the LGBT community and our
families feel its impact.
Many Americans, especially people of
color and other marginalized groups, have
been hurt by unemployment, lack of health
insurance, discrimination, lack of afford-
able housing and education. Take women.
Nearly 42 million women live with economic
hardship, according to a new report on the
status of women, co-authored by Maria
Shriver of NBC and the Center for American
Progress.
These are not women... wondering if
they can have it all, Shriver writes in the
study, released on Jan. 12, ... they and their
families cant prosper and thats weighing
the U.S. economy down.
The LGBT community, historically and
now, has been among the groups hit the
hardest by poverty.
As poverty rates for nearly all popula-
tion increased during the recession, lesbi-
an, gay and bisexual Americans remained
more likely to be poor than heterosexual
people. Gender, race, education and
geography all inuence poverty rates
among LGBT population, and children
of same-sex couples are particularly vul-
nerable to poverty, according to a June
2013 report from the Williams Institute, a
UCLA think tank on sexual orientation and
gender identity law and public policy.
Among the studys ndings:
African-American same-sex couples
have poverty rates more than twice the rate
of heterosexual black Americans.
Almost one in four children living
with a male same-sex couple and 19.2
percent of children of a female same-sex
couple are in poverty, compared to 12.1
percent of children living with married
straight couples.
And 14.1 percent of lesbian couples
and 7.7 percent of gay male couples receive
food stamps, compared to 6.5 percent of
married heterosexual couples.
Transgender people are among those
most impacted by poverty. According to
the National Transgender Survey, 90 per-
cent reported having been harassed or
discriminated against in the workplace; and
nearly one in ve had been homeless dur-
ing periods in their lives.
There are myriad reasons why poverty in
the LGBT community is so extensive. De-
spite the great progress thats been made in
winning our equality, many of us still experi-
ence employment and other forms of ho-
mophobia-based discrimination. A number
of us encounter hardship because of age or
disability, racism or transphobia.
The war on poverty wont be easily won.
But lets keep ghting the battle.
Im coming out: as living near poverty level
Building must be home
to DC Center, market,
daytime commerce
By JIM GRAHAM
I have known Mark Lee another
columnist whose writing appears fre-
quently on this page since the
1980s. His philosophy then, and now, is
pretty much what is good for business is
good for the people of D.C.
In his Dec. 20, 2013 Washington Blade
column, Lee suggests that the private
sector should have full reign in the dis-
position of the publicly owned Reeves
Center at 14th and U. Lee says in so
many words, Just stand aside neigh-
bors and communities let business
and developers dictate your well-being.
Government doesnt know what its do-
ing. We know whats best for you.
The Blade identies Lee as a busi-
ness advocate. True enough, but in this
case for what business is he advocating?
Is it the big guys on K Street? Maybe,
but I doubt it. Since daytime commerce
on U Street doesnt, we can assume that
he doesnt give a hoot about hardware
stores, cleaners, design shops and lunch
places.
I think, once again, Lee wants alcohol
to be king, with rents that only night-
clubs can afford. Lee wants to return U
Street to exclusive nightlife economy
and with much less daytime commerce
that outcome will be assured.
I am all for bars and restaurants but
neighborhoods need balance.
What is all of this about anyway?
Somehow the uncompetitive sale of the
Reeves Center certainly one of the
top prime properties owned by the D.C.
government has become part and
parcel of an elaborate adagio intended
to bring about a soccer stadium at Buz-
zard Point.
If the Reeves is to be redeveloped, it
should be as a commercial building pro-
viding daytime commerce to U Street.
Also, it must include the DC Center, the
weekend farmers market and the U.S.
Post Ofce facility.
Lee rejects that with orid turn of
phrase, Graham behaves as an old-
world Soviet apparatchik, insisting on
dened private sector build-out to suit
his command economy proclivities. He
demands that the project consist of
commercial ofce space instead of resi-
dential housing, including non-prot of-
ces. He also species a seasonal farm-
ers market on a public plaza not part of
the plan or likely economic feasibility...
Step aside Mr. Graham, this is enterprise
at work again beneting our city.
Well thank goodness for the demo-
cratic process and some semblance
of the collective and public good a
concept Lee dismisses as Soviet. The
community gathered on all of this on
Dec. 17 at the Reeves Center.
I remind Mr. Lee of several points:
There is no deal until the Council
approves one where, by the way, I
have a vote. Until then, all options are
on the table.
The sale of publicly owned land is a
big deal and should be made with full
transparency.
The Dec. 17 community meeting
was a good rst step in hearing directly
from the residents and business owners.
In a near unanimous voice, they wanted
daytime commerce.
Also, this is no time for us to pro-
claim Mission Accomplished at 14th
and U. The area is very attractive to
commercial ofce development. In a
new building, at 7th and T N.W., the
United Negro College Fund has estab-
lished its headquarters. That and more
is possible at Reeves. Can you imagine
the interest Reeves would generate if it
was put out to auction as a commercial
building property, to all bidders?
VI EWPOI NT
Ideas for Reeves Center future stir debate
washingtonblade.com
Kathi Wolfe is a writer, poet and regular contributor to
the Blade. She can be reached through this publication.
JIM GRAHAM represents Ward One on the D.C.
Council.
Poverty isnt sexy. It doesnt walk down the red
carpet. Yet millions of us in the LGBT community
and our families feel its impact.
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2011 VW GTI just off lease. Origianlly sold and serviced by Mar-
tens. Nicely equipped; 2.0T engine, 6-spd manual transmission,
power windows & locks, keyless entry, heated mirrors, cruise
control, fog lamps, anti-theft alarm, Sirius satellite radio and
much more. One owner, clean CarFax, Maryland Inspected
and VW Certified. Comes with an additional 24 month/24K
mile full coverage warranty.
2013 Touareg 4dr VR6 Sport
VWCertified One Owner AWD*
2013 VW Touareg Sport with 22K miles. Nicely equipped; VR6
engine, Automatic, AWD, Leatherette, Heated Seats, Dual Zone
Climate Control, Touchscreen Radio w/6-Disc CD Player, 8-Way
Power Front Seats, Power Liftgate, Bluetooth, Fog Lamps, Bi-Xenon
Headlamps and much more. One owner, Clean CarFax, Mary-
land Inspected and VW Certified. Comes with an additional 24
month/24K mile full coverage warranty.
2010 Jetta Sedan 4dr Auto Limited
Certified One Owner*
2010 VW Jetta Limited just off lease with only 20K miles. Nicely
equipped; Sunroof, Auto, Leatherette, Heated Seats, Aluminum
Wheels, Power Windows & Locks, Keyless Entry, Bluetooth and
much more. One owner, clean Carfax, Maryland Safety Inspected
and VW Certified. Comes with a 24 month/24K mile full coverage
warranty from date of purchase.
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4800 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 202-537-3000
2013 Touareg 4dr VR6 Sport
2013 VW Touareg Sport with 15K miles. Nicely equipped; VR6
engine, Automatic, AWD, Leatherette, Heated Seats, Dual Zone
Climate Control, Touchscreen Radio w/6-Disc CD Player, 8-Way
Power Front Seats, Power Liftgate, Bluetooth, Fog Lamps, Bi-Xenon
Headlamps and much more. One owner, Clean CarFax, Mary-
land Inspected and VW Certified. Comes with an additional 24
month/24K mile full coverage warranty.
Gay leather lovers gather
on the Hill this weekend
By KEITH LORIA
It all began with a party and a cock ring.
That was the basis of the rst Mid-Atlantic
Leather Weekend (leatherweekend.com)
in 1976 and over the ensuing 37 years,
the event has grown into one of the most
popular and anticipated leather/fetish
events in the world.
Today through Monday, thousands of
leathermen, skins, gearheads, kinksters
and rubber freaks will descend on the
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill for a four-
day-long party of fetish fun.
We have lots of things going on at
the hotel 24-7 so to speak, such as MIR
hosting a meet and greet on the Friday
night, and they havent had an event
with us before, says Patrick Grady,
chair of the event. People need to just
come out to the lobby and see the mass
humanity of people. Its the largest gay
bar in the city over that weekend.
Steve Ranger, past president of
Centaur MC and Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather
2005, says the number of events in the
hotel have expanded this year, including
three new parties. Last year, several new
dances made their debut and will return
and this years new entries will see Sigma
(once again sponsoring the dungeon
parties) bringing a demonstration and
instruction on safe practices. New parties
include those thrown by the Boys of
Leather and the Highway Men.
A lot of the guests really like the
ability to stay in the hotel and really
enjoy themselves, so we have made a
concerted effort to provide more events
and themed parties, Ranger says.
Theres a brotherhood and sisterhood
and people just have a great time and
people accept you for who you are.
The heart of the weekend is the
historic leather formal Saturday evening
cocktail social, Leather Cocktails. This
year marks the 30th anniversary that
the Centaur MC has hosted the party
and it will commemorate the event with
specialty cocktails and 3-D miniature
mock-ups of what the stage will be
like for the event. Additionally, Leather
Archives is bringing in an award that has
been handed down over the years.
The focus will be on the fact that this
is a weekend that started from a simple
cocktail party and has grown into what
CONTI NUES ON PAGE 39
ART S AND E NT E RTAI NME NT WAS HI NGT ONB L ADE . COM V OL UME 4 5 I S S UE 0 3 J ANUARY 1 7 2 0 1 4 PAGE 2 7
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY PETE EXIS
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
Since college. My girlfriend.

Whos your LGBT hero?
There are several LGBT people I truly
admire for their courage, activism and just
downright moxie: Larry Kramer, who wrote
The Normal Heart, for saying and writing
the things no one wanted to hear at the
time about AIDS and how it affected our
community. Ellen DeGeneres for being
funny, resilient and successful. Harvey Milk
for his bravery, optimism and sacrice.
RuPaul. Thank God for RuPaul. Also, any
sports gure who comes out.
Whats Washingtons best
nightspot, past or present?
Peach Pit at DC 9 with DJ Matt Bailer.
Black Cat, 9:30 club and Nellies also get
my vote. Also, the Blagden Alley Social
Club Google it. And I do wish I had
been around to have experienced Tracks.
Describe your dream wedding.
Provincetown
What non-LGBT issue are
you most passionate about?
How our government doesnt subsidize
the arts.
What historical outcome
would you change?
This question is too difcult so Im gonna
go with Drew Barrymores dress at the
Golden Globes.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
Hanging out with Jason Sellards (Jake
Shears) and driving him to JR.s after a
Scissor Sisters concert. Much drinking
ensued.

On what do you insist?
A sense of humor. And good hygiene.
What was your last
Facebook post or Tweet?
Publicity for the play in which I am
currently performing LATE: A Cowboy
Song (Come see it!)
If your life were a book,
what would the title be?
Privileged Poor

If science discovered a way to change
sexual orientation, what would you do?
Cry. I dont want science to screw with
what I want to screw.
What do you believe in
beyond the physical world?
The non-physical world. (But seriously, I
do believe in a non-physical world.)

Whats your advice for
LGBT movement leaders?
America isnt the country we claim
it to be as long as LGBT people are
denied rights that are inherently given to
heterosexual people. Keep on ghting the
good ght: Equality for all!

What would you walk
across hot coals for?
My nieces and nephew.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you
most?
Twink

Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Ofcial LGBT movie: Paris is Burning.
Unofcial: Beaches

Whats the most
overrated social custom?
The high school prom.
What trophy or prize
do you most covet?
Powerball

What do you wish youd known at 18?
Parents are people, too; awed and full
of dreams. That, and the foresight to study
coding and get in with an ambitious start-
up company called Facebook.

Why Washington?
Aside from family living here, boyfriend
and all the acting opportunities? Because
New York is ofcially for wealthy people.
I know that because the Hufngton Post
told me.
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
For Chris Dinolfo, acting is kind of like a drug.
Though he keeps a day job so I can pay my rent, acting, for him, is essential.
You kind of get addicted to the adrenaline of it, he says. The other
part of it is that when you get in a good show and you start to realize youre
telling a really important story you want to share that with more and
more people. It keeps me sane. In some ways it seems counterintuitive
most people I know in the theater are batshit crazy, but I just know I belong
in the arts. When Im not acting, I start to go a little stir crazy.
Hes currently in the Sarah Ruhl play Late: A Cowboy Song at No Rules
Theatre Co. (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington/norulestheatre.org) where he plays
Crick, a controlling, asshole of a character Dinolfo says hes tried to infuse with
as much humanity as possible. Go now if your interest is piqued the show
(which has been called a quirky urban fairytale) closes Sunday.
Dinolfo, a 20-something Faireld, Conn., native, came to Washington for
school 12 years ago and stayed. He works by day in Friendship Heights in
admin at a health care clinic. He lives in Kalorama with his boyfriend and enjoys
paddle boarding, theater and going to Good Wood on U Street in his free time.
washingtonblade.com
28 JANUARY 17, 2014 QUEERY: 20 QUESTI ONS FOR CHRI S DI NOLFO
202.747.2077
CHRIS DINOLFO
Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway
exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123.
Tickets
888-945-2468
or cfa.gmu.edu
Visit us at cfa.gmu.edu
ff
= Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children
Center for the Arts
GREAT PERFORMANCES AT MASON 20132014 SEASON
Joffrey Ballet
American Legends
Friday, March 7 at 8 p.m.
Body and Soul
Saturday, March 8 at 8 p.m.
The Center for the Arts is honored to welcome one of the worlds most
well-known and respected dance companies. American Legends will feature
Jerome Robbins Interplay, Twyla Tharps Nine Sinatra Songs and more. Body
and Soul features works by some of todays most brilliant choreographers.
Balletgoing rarely gets more rewarding, and the [Joffrey] dancers reach for
and often grasp new levels of achievement. (Chicago Tribune) Friday,
$25, $42, $50 / Saturday, $25, $42, $50
Mark Morris Dance Group
Saturday, February 22 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, February 23 at 4 p.m.
Always with live music, Morris brilliant choreography will be on show on
our stage with Italian Concerto, set to Bachs Italian Concerto in F major,
the D.C. area premiere of A Wooden Tree, set to the music and words of
Ivor Cutler, Jenn and Spencer, set to Henry Cowells Suite for Violin and
Piano, and Crosswalk, set to the Grand Duo Concertant for clarinet and
piano by Carl Maria von Weber.
Saturday, $23, $38, $46
Sunday, $23, $38, $46
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester
The Golden Age
Sunday, March 2 at 4 p.m.
Youre in a popular Berlin nightclub back in the 1920s-1930s. The smooth,
impeccably dressed crooner with the silky voice is singing the current
cabaret hits backed by the very ne orchestra Irresistible elegant fun!
Featured in Vogue before their Carnegie Hall appearance this past October,
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester classically trained and serious about
the music, but not themselves present a delightful concert quite unlike
anything youve experienced before!
$23, $38, $46 ff
SERIES UNDERWRITER
Tree growing at Arena
Acclaimed director Moiss Kaufman, who is openly gay, brings a musical
solo show The Tallest Tree to Arena Stage (1101 Sixth St., S.W.). Its playing
now and runs through Feb. 16.
The show combines storytelling and music to tell the story of iconic
performer Paul Robeson. Award-winning solo artist Daniel Beaty brings to life
more than 40 characters as he recounts Robesons history.
Tickets range from $40-$100. For more information and to purchase tickets,
visit arenastage.org.
Several MLK events planned for region
Several local Martin Luther King Jr. memorial events are planned for the
coming days.
Restore Together hosts its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast
at Willard Intercontinental Hotel (1401 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.), the hotel
where King nished writing his famous I Have a Dream speech, Saturday
morning from 8-11:30 a.m. Admission is free.
AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Rd. Silver Spring, Md.) screens King: A
Filmed Record Montgomery to Memphis, a compilation of documentary
footage of King from the Montgomery bus boycott to his assassination in
Memphis, Monday at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free.
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (9601 Cedar Ln., Bethesda, Md.)
hosts an interfaith, multicultural celebration of Dr. Kings birthday Sunday at
3 p.m. The program includes a multicultural musical ensemble with excerpts
from Kings writing and prayers and readings from world religions. Admission
is free.
The Mansion on O Street (2020 O St., N.W.) hosts Martin Luther King Day
Power Lunch Monday from noon-3 p.m. Celebrate the life of Dr. King with
a gourmet buffet lunch and deserts. After, explore the museums 100 rooms
and 70 secret doors. Tickets are $45. To purchase, visit omansion.com/mlk.
T he Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) and Georgetown University present
Let Freedom Ring, a concert featuring the Let Freedom Ring Choir on
the Kennedy Centers Millennium Stage, Monday at 6 p.m. Dionne Warwick
is slated to perform. Admission is free but tickets are required and will be
distributed the day of the event at 5 p.m.
Pride Reveal party
set for next week
Capitol Pride and Pride Partners
reveal the 2014 Pride theme and
marquee events at Pride Reveal 2014
at the W Hotel in the P.O.V Lounge (515
15th St., N.W.) Thursday from 7-10 p.m.
Enjoy giveaways, food, drinks, prizes
and entertainment while learning about
the plans for this years Pride.
Tickets are $25. For details and to
purchase tickets, visit capitolpride.org.
Womens event planned
at Spy Museum
Center Women and Zoom Excusions
present She Spy, an interactive game
of Operation Spy, at the Spy Museum
(800 F St., N.W.) Saturday at 1:45 p.m.
The hour-long game is a series of
reality-based challenges that decode
secret messages and plan escapes.
Enjoy hands-on activities, special effect,
themed environments and more.
Tickets are $20 and by advance sale
only. For more details and to purchase
tickets, visit dccenter.org.
washingtonblade.com
30 JANUARY 17, 2014 OUT & ABOUT
PHOTO BY DON IPOCK; COURTESY OF ARENA STAGE
By MARIAH COOPER
LIVE
UPCOMI NG PERFORMANCES
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
WEDNESDAY, JAN 22 SOLD OUT
CODY SIMPSON
W/ PLUG IN STEREO
THURSDAY, JAN 23
SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION:
A BENEFIT FOR THE POTOMAC AND
SHENANDOAH RIVERKEEPERS
W/ 19
TH
STREET BAND
SATURDAY, JAN 25
NRBQ
FRIDAY, JAN 31
BRINDLEY BROTHERS PRESENTS
BRONZE RADIO RETURN
W/ THE FALLS
TUESDAY, FEB 4
INDIGENOUS
FRIDAY JAN 17
TUESDAY JAN 21
RHETT
MILLER
OF THE OLD 97s
W/ TRAPPER SCHOEPP & THE SHADES
EARPHUNK MUSIC PRESENTS:
DAFT
PHUNK
New Synetic adaptation takes
the Bard to the apper era
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Ordinarily when we meet Twelfth
Nights Viola shes just been washed
ashore after a terrible ship wreck. Not in
Synetic Theaters roaring 20s take on the
Shakespeare comedy.
Here, the yacht is still very much aoat
with onboard appers and their beaus
enjoying a wild Gatsby-esque party. Viola
(Irina Tsikurishvili) and her twin Sebastian
(Alex Mills) are the main attraction, a
magnetic sibling dance team not unlike
the elegant young Fred and Adele
Astaire, only more double-jointed. Its a
great party, but everyone ends up under
water just the same.
Once on dry land alone and in a
strange place Viola disguises herself as
a man and goes to work for Duke Orsino
(Philip Fletcher). As Cesario, Violas newly
assumed name, she carries letters between
the duke and the object of his unrequited
passion Olivia (Kathy Gordon). But the
gender-bending plot thickens when Olivia
is instantly smitten with Cesario. Viola, in
turn, falls for Orsino. Whats more, there are
zany subplots involving more unrequited
feelings and a devastating prank. Billed as
a comedy, Twelfth Night boasts many
moments of hilarity but theres sadness too
(Viola believes her twin has died at sea).
Director Paata Tsikurishvili doesnt neglect
those darker moments he gets the
balance just right.
Fittingly the movement-based company
whose players almost never utter a sound
has set the 10th addition to its Silent
Shakespeare series on a silent movie stage
the type that would later be converted
into sound stages with the advent of
the talkies. The action unfolds as a silent
comedy directed by Olivias household
fool Feste (Ben Cunis) with the help of his
clownish cinematographer sidekick Fabian
(Vato Tsikurishvili) who both step in and
out of the action, playing their parts in the
story when needed. This works wonderfully
particularly since Feste is an almost
omniscient presence in the original text.
The production draws broadly from the
voiceless genre: sepia-toned subtitles on
a movie screen, frantically paced comedy,
lots of physical comedy and even the old
pie-in-the-face bit. But the scenes most
reminiscent of the silent cinema era are
those with Viola/Cesario. Its Tsikurishvili as
the resilient cross-dressing heroine who
shines most brightly. With an economy
of movement, brilliant attention to detail
and expressive face all reminiscent of
Chaplins iconic bowler-wearing little tramp,
she recreates the best of silent lm.
An early scene in which Tsikurishvilis
Cesario gets acquainted with Orsino
(played wonderfully as a schmaltzy lothario
by Fletcher ,who is gay) has the feel of a true
silent comedy. Its especially well thought
out and executed. Her scenes with twin
Sebastian (out actor Alex Mills) are also
memorable, ranging from high spirited
to wistful. The talented cast nicely assays
the supporting stock characters including
Gordons vampy Oliva; the lush, Sir Toby
Belch (Hector Reynoso); and an over eager
college boy, Sir Andrew Aquecheek (Dallas
Tolentino). Irakli Kavsadze is perfect as the
solemn yet ridiculous butler, Malvolio.
In addition to playing Viola, Tsikurishvili is
also the productions choreographer. Like
all Synetic productions, movement affects
the mood and emotion deeply and often
instantly. Here its during the shipwreck when
partiers who seconds ago were dancing
the fox trot, Charleston and athletic Lindy
Hop (all new to Synetic), are suddenly deep
underwater, moving slowly but beautifully in
a quest for survival.
TWELFTH NIGHT
Through Feb. 16
Synetic Theater
1800 South Bell Street, Crystal City, VA
$35 and up (some discounts available)
866-811-4111
synetictheater.org
washingtonblade.com
THEATER JANUARY 17, 2014 31
PHOTO BY KOKO LANHAM; COURTESY OF SYNETIC
IRINA TSIKURISHVILI as Viola in Twelfth Night.
EISENHOWER THEATER
JANUARY 28--FEBRUARY 16
Tickets on sale now!

(202) 467-4600

kennedy-center.org
Tickets also available at the Box Ofce
|
Groups (202) 416-8400
The Kennedy Center Theater Season
is sponsored by Altria.
Comedy at the Kennedy Center
Presenting Sponsor
The Neverland you never knew...until now.
UTTERLY CHARMING!
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS
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Gay DJs Bob Mould and
Richard Morel bring
Blowoff to close
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Blowoff, a monthly gay dance party
helmed by DJs Richard Morel and Bob
Mould, started innocuously. The two
were collaborating on a project a 2006
album called Blowoff and nding
themselves at the time both living in
Washington, the concept was born.
That was 11 years ago.
We just kind of said, Why dont
we do a party?, Morel says. He had
just moved to town. It was really pretty
simple. We started at Velvet Lounge on
Sunday nights once a month. Thats how
it began.
Saturday nights event, planned as usual
for the January installment to coincide
with Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend,
will be the duos last. Theres no grand
proclamation about it being the last
ever, but with Mould now living in San
Francisco, a good long run behind them
and schedules as tough to coordinate
now as ever, Morel says it was time to put
the event on indenite hiatus.
Its been a very successful event and
very personally gratifying and fun and its
done very well, but after 11 years, we both
have other projects right now, Morel
says. So were just taking a break for
awhile. Who knows what might happen
down the road in a year or two, but for
now, were focusing on other projects.
Mould, who is traveling this week and
wasnt available for comment, is known
widely for his work with the bands Husker
Du and Sugar. Hes released a series of
well-received solo albums, most recently
2012s Silver Age. Morel, known widely
as a DJ, producer and remixer, has mixed
hits for everyone from Cyndi Lauper, Tina
Turner, Yoko Ono, Nelly Furtado and
scores of others.
The Blowoff concept was simple the
two took turns spinning for about an hour
at a time. Nick Lopata created the partys
visual effects. Linas Garsys created a series
of posters that became easily identiable
in the D.C. gay world over many years.
Jacob Pring, a local gay event
promoter and CODE producer, says
Blowoff will be missed.
The music was different, the
atmosphere was different and the visual
effects were unheard of for the D.C.
market, he says. I admire that they
were able to create a party with a room
full of gay men and no attitudes. Thats
pretty unusual.
After about ve Blowoffs at Velvet
Lounge, the party moved to the basement
of the 9:30 Club and for a time was a
weekly event. Eventually it moved upstairs
in the clubs larger main space.
Morel guesses about 90 percent of
attendees on average were gay with a
large bear crowd especially. The music was
usually a mix of indie rock and house with
some dance and electronica, especially
in more recent years. Blowoff events
were also held at various times in New
York, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco,
Provincetown, Dallas, Denver and more.
Pring admires Mould but says Morel
has been especially generous with him,
sometimes sending him unreleased
mixes to play at his own parties.
Its always music that just makes you feel
good, Pring says. Hes a creative genius.
BLOWOFF FINALE
Saturday
11:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m.
9:30 Club
815 V Street, N.W.
$12
blowoff.us
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY PETE EXIS
DJ Richard Morel at a previous Blowoff party.
washingtonblade.com
32 JANUARY 17, 2014 MUSI C
PROOF # ISSUE DATE SALES REPRESENTATIVE
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Maryland Stingers
navigating rugby reshufing
By KEVIN MAJOROS
Despite a lot of changes in rugby in
this part of the country, the Maryland
Stingers, a local womens team, is
gearing up for a busy spring.
The Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football
Union (MARFU) was an association of
youth, high school, collegiate and adult
mens and womens rugby teams in
the Mid-Atlantic United States.
In August of 2013, MARFU ceased
to exist because of some reshufing
being done by USA Rugby. With
approximately 6,800 players from about
180 clubs, MARFU represented the
largest territorial rugby union in the
United States.
MARFU was split in two and renamed
the Mid-Atlantic Conference (NCR4)
which now consists of two geographic
unions Capital Geographic Union
and East Penn Geographic Union. The
teams completed their fall 2013 season
under the new designations and are
still waiting on the competitive matrix
schedule for the spring season.
The Stingers, a womens Division
2-South club team, are launching
their practice schedule in February in
anticipation of matrix play beginning
in March. The Stingers, who have a
presence at Capital Pride every year, are
a diverse group of lady rugby players
with varying levels of skill and age.
Because of the transient nature of
the D.C. area, recruiting new players
is an ongoing process, says Taryn
Michelitch of the Stingers. In addition
to former rugby players, we get a lot
of crossover from lacrosse and soccer.
Beginners are also always welcome.
The Stingers schedule consists of
spring and fall seasons played under the
rugby fteens rules and a summer season
played under the rugby sevens rules.
Practices for the spring and fall seasons
are held under the lights at Duvall
Field in College Park on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Practices
for the summer season are held at the
Tacoma Education Center on Tuesdays
and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m.
Dues for the team are tiered with rst-
year members paying a lower amount. All
players must join USA Rugby to compete.
For those who have never played
Rugby, the Stingers offer skills practices
at the beginning of each season.
We start the seasons out with rookie
practices consisting of non-contact
skills, Michelitch says. An experienced
player will spend concentrated time with
the rookies going over skills and rules.
In addition to league play, the
Stingers compete in rugby tournaments
throughout the year. In the past theyve
competed at Ruggerfest in Manassas,
Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington
and Cape Fear in Wilmington, N.C.
Despite their busy schedule, the lady
Stingers nd time to give back to the
community. Periodically during the
year, they can be found doing clean-up
on Duvall Field.
They have also volunteered their
time in the United States Quad Rugby
Association. The University of Maryland
Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic
Institute is home to Maryland Mayhem,
a collision (wheelchair rugby) team.
Look for the Stingers to start bi-
weekly practices in February for the
spring season.
Our roster of players usually ranges
from 20 to 30 players, Michelitch says.
We have a core group of women who
play consistently from year to year which
is why the team has remained active
since the early 1980s.
washingtonblade.com
SPORTI N I N D. C. JANUARY 17, 2014 33
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARYLAND STINGERS
The Maryland Stingers.
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PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: SPEC SALES REPRESENTATIVE: JERYL PARADE (jparade@washblade.com)
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COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
3462 14th St. NW 202-387-0882
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STUDI OTHEATRE. ORG.
Playing out in sign language, argument, music, and mesmerizing silence,
this sophisticated drama examines family, belonging, and the limitations of
language. A moving and surprising play from a rising star of the British theatre,
presented in cooperation with Gallaudet University Theatre Department.
LA VI E EN ROSE
JAN 17- JAN 19. I N SERI ES AT GALA HI SPANI C THEATRE.
202- 204- 7763. I NSERI ES. ORG.
An assembly of French art-song and cabaret chanson--including Berlioz,
Debussy, Satie, Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel in collaboration with the dancers
of The Washington Ballets Studio Company. Choreography & Direction by
Septime Webre and David Palmer.
ALEX PRAGER: FACE I N THE CROWD
THRU MAR 9. CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART. 202- 639- 1700.
CORCORAN. ORG.
For ten years, Los Angeles artist Alex Prager has staged imaginary scenes for
her camera--dream worlds in Technicolor, rife with tension and melodramatic
ctions. Face in the Crowd, Pragers rst solo museum show in the United
States, presents her latest body of work by the same title.
WOLF KAHN: PRI NTMAKI NG WI TH LI NE AND COLOR
THRU JAN 25. NEPTUNE FI NE ART. 202- 338- 0353.
NEPTUNEFI NEART. COM.
Spanning 40 years, from 1969 to 2010, this exhibition of monotypes,
screenprints, etchings and lithographs reveals the scope and skill of Kahns
ability to transform space into color.
IMAGE COURTESY OF STUDIO THEATRE
washingtonblade.com
34 JANUARY 17, 2014 THE GUI DE TO ARTS & CULTURE
THEATRE
Flashdance--The Musical. Thru Jan 19.
Shear Madness. Thru Jun 30. Kennedy
Center. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Aquila Theatre: Fahrenheit 451. Jan 19.
GMU Center for the Arts. 888-945-2468.
cfa.gmu.edu.
Shocked and Amazed presents the
Skulduggery and Strange Show! Jan 17.
Artisphere. 703-875-1100. artisphere.com.
The Old Masters. Thru Jan 26.
Washington Stage Guild. Undercroft
Theatre. 240-582-0050. stageguild.org.
Gypsy. Thru Jan 26. Signature Theatre.
703-820-9771. signature-theatre.org.
Twelfth Night. Thru Feb 16. Synetic
Theater. 703-824-8060. synetictheater.org.
Scapin. Jan 23-Feb 16. Constellation
Theatre Company. Source Theatre. 202-
204-7741. constellationtheatre.org.
DIONYSIA: Celebration of Greek
Culture. Jan 18-Jan 19. Ambassador
Theater. George Washington Masonic
National Memorial. 703-475-4036. aticc.org.
Bang the Drum Slowly. Thru Feb 1.
American Century Theater. Gunston.
703-998-4555. americancentury.org.
DANCE
CityDance Presents Robert J.
Priores Emergence. Jan 18-Jan 19.
CityDanceStudio Theater at Strathmore.
202.347.3909. citydance.net.
Evenings With Extraordinary Artists
- Dancin Unlimited. Jan 22. Arts
Club of Washington. 202 331-7282.
artsclubofwashington.org.
MUSIC
NSO: Sir Mark Elder, conductor and
Stephen Hough, piano. Thru Jan 18.
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
/ Dvoraks From the New World
Symphony, plus Mozart and an NSO
debut. Jan 23-Jan 25. NSO. Kennedy
Center. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Meklit Hadero. Jan 18. Artisphere.
703-875-1100. artisphere.com.
International Guitar Night. Thru Jan
17. Ari Hest with Special Guest: Sarah
Siskind. Jan 18. The Barns at Wolf Trap.
877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.
Sweet Honey in the Rock. Jan 19. Reston
Community Center. CenterStage.
703-476-4500.
restoncommunitycenter.com.
Three Great Classics. Jan 18. National
Philharmonic. Strathmore. 301-581-5100.
nationalphilharmonic.org.
The 9 Songwriters Series. Jan 18.
BlackRock. 240-912-1058.
blackrockcenter.org.
Chamber Concert. Jan 17. FMMC. Calvary
Baptist Church. 202-333-2075. fmmc.org.
MUSEUMS
Corcoran Gallery of Art. Recent
Acquisitions: American Art from the Johns
Collection. Thru Feb 9. Question Bridge:
Black Males. Thru Feb 16. NOW at the
Corcoran Mia Feuer: An Unkindness.
Thru Feb 23. Alex Prager: Face in the
Crowd. Thru Mar 9. American Journeys -
Visions of Place. Thru Sep 21. 202-639-1700.
corcoran.org.
Fords Theatre. Abraham Lincoln and the
Technology of War. Thru Jul 6.
202-347-4833. fords.org.
National Gallery of Art. Heaven and
Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek
Collections. Thru Mar 2. The Dying Gaul:
An Ancient Roman Masterpiece from the
Capitoline Museum, Rome. Thru Mar 16.
Masterpieces of American Furniture from
the Kaufman Collection, 1700 - 1830. Thru
Dec 31. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
National Geographic. Lions, Tigers, and
Bears. Thru Feb 2. Women of Vision. Thru
Mar 9. One Cubic Foot. Thru Mar 31. A
New Age of Exploration. Thru Jun 8.
202-857-7000. nglive.org.
Museum of Women in the Arts. Judy
Chicago: Circa 75. Jan 17-Apr 13. Workt
by Hand: Hidden Labor and Historical
Quilts. Thru Apr 27. Equal Exposure:
Anita Steckels Fight Against Censorship.
Thru May 9. Making her Mark: Publishers
Bindings by Women. Thru Nov 1.
202-783-5000. nmwa.org.
The Phillips Collection. Van Gogh
Repetitions. Thru Jan 26. Jean Meisel:
50-65 Horizon Line. Jan 23-May 4.
202-387-2151. phillipscollection.org.
GALLERIES
Artisphere. Alicia Eggert: Everything You
Are Looking For. Thru Feb 2. Lina Vargas:
Portable Places_Permanent Spaces. Thru
Feb 2. Claire Briggs: #Coping. Thru Mar
15. Gary Kachadourian: Progress Report +
Backgrounds. Thru Mar 21. 703-875-1100.
artisphere.com.
Goethe-Institut. Linger On! Photography
from Saxony-Anhalt. Thru Jan 31.
202-289-1200. goethe.de.
Joan Hisaoka Gallery. A Window into the
Minds Eye. Thru Mar 15. 202-483-8600.
smithcenter.org.
The Art League Gallery. Solo Preview
2014. Thru Jan 23. Abstract Expressionism
Revisited. Thru Feb 3. 703-683-1780.
theartleague.org.
Workhouse Arts Center. Drink this!
The Workhouse International Ceramic
Cup Show. Thru Feb 2. Collectors
Showcase 2014. Thru Mar 1. 703-584-2900.
workhousearts.org.
Zenith Gallery. The Powerful Strokes of
Robert Freeman. Thru Mar 1. 202.783.2963.
zenithgallery.com.
NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR WASHINGTON D.C. AND OUR NATION
TODAY
Nellies Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.)
hosts Kickoff featuring DJ Matt Bailer
tonight from 10 p.m.-closing. For more
information, visit nelliessportsbar.com.
Bachelors Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.)
holds a happy hour from 5-7:30 p.m.
tonight with all drinks half price. Music
begins at 11 p.m. Enjoy pool, video
games and cards. Admission is $5 after
9 p.m. Must be 21 and over. For more
details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear
Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m.
There is no cover charge and admission
is limited to guests 21 and over. For
more information, visit towndc.com.
POV Live is tonight with Glorious, a
livetronica drummer and D.C.-area
native, performing with DJ Tempo
at the W Hotel (515 15th St., N.W.).
She also plays Saturday night with
DJ Oz. Free. RSVP at whappenings@
brandlinkdcrsvp.com.
SATURDAY, JAN. 18
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer
organization, volunteers today for the
Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation
at the Falls Church PetSmart (6100
Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) at
11:45 a.m. today. You will be paired with
a dog on a leash to walk aroun d and
play with. Wear casual clothes. For more
information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Bistro Bistro (1726 Connecticut Ave.,
NW.) hosts Let Freedom Ring, a
Martin Luther King weekend ladies
bash, tonight from 11 p.m.-3 a.m. Enjoy
music from two lesbian DJs with the cast
of lesbian web series District Heat.
There will be giveaways by Style is
Freedom, a lesbian clothing line. Cover
is $10 before midnight and $15 after
midnight. Admission is limited to guests
21 and over.
Onyx Cocktail Party and Gear Show,
a leather/BDSM auction, is at the
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill (400 New
Jersey Ave., N.W.) today from 2-6 p.m.
All proceeds from the auction will be
donated to SMYAL, a local organization
that aids LGBT youth in the District. For
details, visit leatherweekend.com.
Several Species: the Pink Floyd
Experience, a Floyd tribute show, is
tonight at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U
St., N.W.). Doors at 7 p.m. Tickets are
$35. Details at thelincolndc.com.
Merrield Garden Center starts its
winter/spring series of free seminars
on gardening and landscaping
today with events at each of its three
locations. A session on orchids with
the Smithsonians Jonathan Kavalier
will be held at the Merrield location
(Merrield Community Hall, 8104 Lee
Highway, Merreld, Va.). A Gardeners
Calendar with plant specialist David
Yost will be held at Fair Oaks (Fair
Oaks Meeting Room, 12101 Lee
Highway in Fairfax, Fa.). Terrariums
with Regina Lanctot, a tropical plant
specialist, will be held at the Gainesville
location (Our Garden Room, 6895
Wellington Road, Gainesville, Va.). Visit
merrieldgardencenter.com for details.
SUNDAY, JAN 19
Del Ray Artisans (2704 Mount Vernon
Ave., Alexandria, Va.) hosts From
Board Game to Book, a workshop
to create a hand-bound notebook or
journal with a board game as the cover,
today from noon-4 p.m. Recycle any
cardboard board game into an art book
using traditional bookbinding methods.
Supplies will be provided. Tickets are
$48 for Del Ray Artisans members and
$53 for non-members. For details, visit
thedelrayartisans.org/bookmaking.
Patty Boom Boom (1359 U St.,
N.W.) hosts Free to Be, an LGBT
dancehall event, tonight from 8 p.m.-
2 a.m. Dance to reggae, dancehall and
roots music to raise funds to support
J-Flag, an organization dedicated to
supporting LGBT people in Jamaica.
Entry is free. Admission is limited to
guests 21 and over. For details, visit
pattyboomboomdc.com.
Perrys (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts
its weekly Sunday Drag Brunch today
from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95
for an all-you-can-eat buffet. For more
details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
MONDAY, JAN. 20
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts a free relationship workshop for
lesbian couples today from 11:30 a.m.-
2:30 p.m. Its the rst workshop in a series
of six. This workshop focuses on sex and
intimacy led by professional relationship
coach Jayne Kelly. Bring your partner
and lunch to learn how to have a healthy
and sexually satisfying relationship. For
details, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W..)
hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning
from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT
community. Older LGBT adults can
come and enjoy complimentary coffee
and conversation with other community
members. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave.,
N.W.) holds a support group for gay
black men to discuss topics that affect
them today, share perspectives and
have meaningful conversations. For
details, visit uhupil.org.
Nellies Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.)
hosts poker night tonight at 8 p.m.
Win prizes. Free to play. For more
information, visit nelliessportsbar.com.
TUESDAY, JAN. 21
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer
organization, volunteers today for the
Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and Atlas
Performing Arts Centers Remembrance
of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Atlas
Center (1333 H St., N.E.) tonight at 7 p.m.
Duties include ushering the event and a
chance to watch the concert. For more
information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Special Agent Galactica performs
Intoxicating with Peter Fields at
Banana Caf (500 8th St., S.E.) tonight
at 7:30 p.m. The show is a mix of jazz,
burlesque and modern hits. No cover.
For details, visit pinkhairedone.com.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.)
hosts its weekly FUK!T Packing Party
from 7-9 p.m. tonight. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org or greenlanterndc.com.
Birdie LaCage hosts a Grease sing-
a-long at JR.s (1519 17th Street, N.W.)
tonight at 10 p.m. Drinks are two-for-
one til midnight.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 22
The Lambda Bridge Club meets
tonight at 7:30 p.m. 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 and Professionals in
the City host speed dating for women
in their twenties and thirties at Finn and
Porter located inside the Embassy Suites
Hotel (900 10th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9
p.m. Dating is approximately one hour.
After enjoy a mixer with fellow speed
daters. Cash bar. Check in is at 7 p.m. and
dating begins at 7:20 p.m. Complimentary
valet parking offered to anyone who
purchases two drinks or other items from
the bar or restaurant. Cost is $30. For
details, visit thedccenter.org.
THURSDAY, JAN. 23
Gays and Lesbians Opposing
Violence (GLOV) hold a meeting at The
D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.) tonight
from 7-8:30 p.m. GLOV works to reduce
violence against LGBT individuals
through community outreach,
education and assisting members of
anti-LGBT violence. For more details,
visit thedccenter.org.
Rude Boi Entertainment hosts
Tempted 2 Touch, a ladies dance
party, at the Fab Lounge (2022 Florida
Ave., N.W.) tonight. Doors open at 10
p.m. Drink specials $5 and vodka shots
$3 all night. No cover charge. Admission
limited to guests 21 and over. For more
details, visit rudeboientertainment.
wordpress.com.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts Caf
SMYAL, a fun event to get out of the
cold, today from 4-5 p.m. Drink hot
cocoa, play board games and make
new friends. For more information, visit
smyal.org.
Whitman-Walker provides free and
condential HIV testing at Miriams
Kitchen (2401 Virginia Ave., N.W.) today
from 4-6 p.m. For details, visit whitman-
walker.org.
MARIAH COOPER
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.
com two weeks prior to your event. Space is lim-
ited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY BLAKE BERGEN
BIRDIE LACAGE hosts a Grease sing-along Tuesday at JR.s.
washingtonblade.com
36 JANUARY 17, 2014 CALENDAR
Opening a relationship may
seem like a win-win, but
beware the unexpected
MICHAEL,
Your recent advice to the sting top
whose boyfriend wasnt interested left
me with mixed feelings.
On one hand, I like your drawing a
line between saying, This is important
to me as a way to make a request of
your partner versus you are obligated
to participate. But your seeming
to lay down an ultimatum of if your
partner isnt willing to join you, you
have to either do without or end the
relationship perplexed me.
What about trying to negotiate an
arrangement like were an exclusive
couple, except you can go to sting
parties every month or so, with the
following ground rules?
This might not be a workable solution
for everybody it does require a
lot of time, communication and trust
but Id hate to see an otherwise
rewarding relationship fail because the
parties didnt have the tools or skills
to think outside the box with regard
to negotiation. Fisting is a fairly niche
activity (and one thats incredibly low-risk
for a knowledgeable and responsible
top) that theres a world of difference
between I want to do this activity in
a way we can both be OK with, which
might involve casual outside partners
and lets go crazy and have an open
relationship.
MICHAEL REPLIES:
If you are determined to st and your
partner isnt interested and he does not
want to open the relationship, you are
indeed facing a dealbreaker issue. If he
does agree to your sting other people,
then of course you can go for it. But
be aware that you might run into some
hazards. Here are three big ones that
people who open their relationships
frequently encounter:
First, no matter how casual the
sex you are having outside of your
relationship or how unconnected you
plan to be with outside sex partners,
you may get interested in guys other
than your boyfriend. Its usually exciting
to have sex in ways that you dont have it
at home and new sex partners are often
a big turn-on. The result: sex with your
long-term guy may start to seem bland,
leading your thoughts and fantasies
elsewhere. Where might that take you?
Second, although it may seem logical
to both you and your partner that he
shouldnt feel threatened or jealous
of your having sex with other people,
especially if you are pursuing some
sort of sexual activity that he doesnt
want to engage in with you, he may still
ultimately get upset. Our feelings arent
logical and if youre spending time
hooking up with others, your partner
may wind up feeling hurt and angry, no
matter what your agreement.
Third, even if you set limits on how
often you are having outside sex, youre
still going to be putting energy and
excitement into encounters with other
guys rather than into life with your
partner. This is usually not a recipe for
maintaining a hot sex life or a strong
relationship at home.
I get your point that a person in this
situation might have a limited interaction
with the guys hes sting, but its also true
that sting just like negotiating with
ones primary partner requires time,
communication and trust, three main
ingredients of bonding. So you may wind
up developing a powerful bond with one
of these guys. And then what?
Opening your relationship can seem
like a fantastic way to have great sex
that you arent having with your partner.
But no matter how many rules you
have in place, outside sex may put
your relationship in a vulnerable spot.
Before making such a move, I suggest
you discuss two questions with your
partner: Is hot sex with someone else
worth the risk? And can we have sex
with other people while still nurturing
and strengthening our relationship?
Finally, keep in mind that no matter
how much planning or thinking you do
beforehand, you cant know in advance
how things will turn out.
washingtonblade.com
ADVI CE JANUARY 17, 2014 37
Michael Radkowsky is a licensed psychologist
who works with gay couples and individuals
in D.C. He can be found online at
personalgrowthzone.com. All identifying
information in the questions has been changed
for reasons of condentiality. Have a question?
Send it to Michael@personalgrowthzone.com.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: SPEC SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
REVISIONS
REDESIGN
TEXT REVISIONS
NO REVISIONS
703 820 2028 I MainEventCaterers.com
Ohh, Ahh!
This years models feature
impressive features, design
By JOE PHILLIPS
Detroit kicked off the auto show
season this week, with dozens of snazzy
models on display. For gear-heads, this is
like watching The Voice or American
Idol, except contestants range from
sexy sport sedans to racy ragtops.
Youll see many of these newbies at
next weeks Washington auto show,
though nal pricing and mpg ratings
may not be announced for a few months.
Heres a sneak peak at some of the
best contenders for 2014.
SPORTS CAR: FORD MUSTANG
Last year, Chevy unveiled its seventh-
generation Corvette to much fanfare.
Now its Fords turn with the sixth-gen
Mustang, which turns 50 this year. The
pony car keeps its muscle-car prole
and upraised tush, along with a pair of
menacing hood vents. But this Mustang
is slightly smaller and evokes sleeker
Aston Martin-like styling, especially in
the grille and wraparound headlights.
The retro cockpit is familiar to Stang fans,
but now theres ambient lighting that can
be changed to different colors. And the
latest SYNC infotainment system can
access apps quickly and read emails, texts
or social media posts aloud. Alas, the
engine/transmission choices are carry-
overs from the current model, though
new eco-friendly and high-performance
powerplants are expected later.
SEDAN: HYUNDAI GENESIS
The rst Genesis was a hit, mixing
Mercedes styling and Lexus handling
with an affordable price. This second
version ups the ante with a ritzier design,
smoother ride and tasteful brushed-
aluminum everywhere. But the big
news is the Google Glass integration,
which allows the driver to access
service info, activate vehicle functions,
send text messages, take photos/vids,
get directions and more. Other tech
features include lane-departure warning,
automatic parking and a CO2-detection
system that opens the air vents to prevent
drowsy driving. If your hands are full, the
trunk lid opens automatically when you
stand next it for three seconds. But dont
worry this only works if you have the
key fob in your pocket, so others cant
open it accidentally.
CROSSOVER: AUDI Q3 CROSSOVER
Audi is muscling into the compact-
crossover market with its all-new Q3, which
joins the midsize Q5 and full-size Q7. The
Q3 takes direct aim at the BMW X1 and is
powered by a peppy four-cylinder turbo
(with either front-wheel or all-wheel drive).
As with all Audis, the Q3 has a high-end,
high-quality cabin thats full of the latest
tech gear. Its all very user-friendly and
incredibly quiet inside, even on bumpy
roads. Every Q3 comes standard with
a panoramic sunroof, heated seats and
LED lighting (both inside and out), with
optional power liftgate.
GREEN MACHINE: HONDA FIT
Despite all the hybrid hoopla from
other automakers, the completely
redesigned Fit is still a good er, well
t for fuel-savvy drivers. Its bigger than
before, with a better engine, improved
chassis and sporty six-speed manual
transmission (an automatic gearbox is
optional). Theres much more room,
especially for rear-seat passengers.
And along with sassier styling outside,
the interior is more upscale. Rear-
view camera and Bluetooth are both
standard, while options include heated
seats, push-button s tart and a tech-savvy
touchscreen that lets users pinch, swipe
and tap to operate the nav system.
HONDA FIT
washingtonblade.com
38 JANUARY 17, 2014 AUTOS
NORULESTHEATRE.ORG BOX OFFICE: 703-820-9771
it has become and a big focus on the
back-patch leather clubs in the District,
says Todd White, president of Centaur
MC. The Centaurs are honored and
blessed that the community trusts us
with their tradition and the weekend,
and we appreciate that its a joint effort
of all the clubs in the D.C.-area coming
together. Without the parties planned
by the clubs throughout the weekend, it
just wouldnt be the same.
Some welcome news came in early
January when the D.C. Eagle, a popular
gay bar with many of the attendees in
years past, announced that it would
remain open throughout the weekend
of the show, having previously thought
it would be closed as it made way for
construction of a new ofce building.
We will have a shuttle bus for our
package holders taking them to the
Eagle and the Green Lantern, Ranger
says. People who have come to
Washington for many years are used to
going to the Eagle, so this is a chance
for them to say farewell.
Theres been a lot of change in the
regions leather community of late.
Eagle co-owners Ted Clements and
Peter Lloyd are working on transporting
the venue to a three-story warehouse
building at 3701 Benning Rd, N.E.,
proposing to operate as a tavern and
restaurant and offer live entertainment,
dancing, a rooftop summer garden
and a small retail gift shop.
On New Years Eve, the L Bar, a
popular leather bar in Rehoboth,
closed its doors after 16 years and will
reportedly reopen as a non-leather,
non-gay bar.
The leather community also lost a dear
friend and Centaur brother Jim Raymond
before New Years, and many look to
honor his memory at the celebration.
The Weekend also includes ofcial
events organized by weekend hosts,
Centaur MC that include a bustling
Leather Exhibit Hall, Sunday brunch, Mr.
MAL Contest and the ofcial Sunday
night closing party, REACTION.
This weekend is a time to see friends
who come from all over the country,
Canada, Europe and even Australia and
socialize, enjoy cocktails and have one
comfortable social environment lled
with camaraderie, Ranger says. You
can wear your clothes, your leather, your
gear all around the hotel and its a very
welcoming environment.
The contest has changed a great
deal since Ranger took home the award
in 05, with a much better prize package
being offered and more people letting
down their inhibitions and competing.
The hotel is already sold out and
the pre-numbers that Centaur MC are
seeing reect possibly the biggest
turnout ever.
Its denitely going to be one of our
biggest ones in recent history, Grady
says. Theres nothing to be afraid of. The
leather community is very friendly. For
those who want to come out or maybe are
just curious, you should take advantage of
it while you can because you dont know
when it could be your last.
washingtonblade.com
ARTS & ENTERTAI NMENT JANUARY 17, 2014 39
MID-ATLANTIC LEATHER WEEKEND
Friday through Monday
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill (host hotel)
400 New Jersey Ave., N.W.
MAL Full Run Package $200
Limited number available at 3 p.m. Friday in the
registration area at the Hyatt
Weekend admission passes also available
Full weekend schedule and
admission information
available at leatherweekend.com
CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 27
D.C. Eagle moving
after MAL weekend
BHT Boot Black night at the eagle circa 1986. The Eagle plans a move after MAL weekend.
WASHINGTON BLADE ARCHIVE PHOTO BY DOUG HINCKLE
A
SociallyGay.com
SociallyGay.com
Please contact us at: sociallygay2014@gmail.com
I We are looking for someone who is planning
a great wedding; we would love to cover it
I We are looking for anyone that has had an
unusual wedding, tell us your stories
I We are looking for stories about the outdoor
life in Colorado
I We are looking for athletes who have participated
in Spartan Races, Extreme sports, or the X Games
I We are looking for someone who has hiked
the Pacific Crest Trail
I We are looking for chefs and restaurant owners
to share their stories and/or experiences
I But most of all, we are looking for freelance
writers and contributors
new social media site that is dedicated to the
gay community will be going live in March 2014.
The site is going to be unique and not like anything
that is currently online. The idea of SociallyGay is to
have a site where people can meet for friendship,
knowledge, like minded interests and just generally
hanging out. This will not be a site about sex or
dating. Here at SociallyGay we refer to the site as;
a hook up site for everything in life but sex
and dating.
As part of the SociallyGay site there is an online
magazine, SG Life. SG Life will be published
quarterly with the first issue going live, May 2014.
The first issue is about gay weddings and the
second issue is about adventure.
So, we need your help.
We want to reach out to the community.
We are looking for:
I freelance writers
I contributors
I people with great ideas and stories
D
team
the
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Booming area now
home to many dining,
nightlife options
By PHILLIP RAY
As the temperatures climb again, take
a moment and perhaps a streetcar,
soon to the nearby H Street corri-
dor in Northeast Washington. Thanks
to the continued promise of the new
light-rail line connecting Union Station
to Anacostia, many new dining and
entertainment options are becoming
available in this hot area. Entertainment,
restaurants, and even an indoor bocce
court now line this once less-glamor-
ous street.
The most famous of places on H
Street is perhaps the Atlas Theater.
The Atlas Theater is home to the Joy
of Motion Dance Studio and regular
performances. Next door, The Rock &
Roll Hotel is another recent spot for hot
entertainment, housing a dance party
every week, many popular DJs and a
drink to play, play to win spelling bee.
Toki Underground is a new eatery that
spices up the dining scene on H Street.
D.C.s rst restaurant serving Taiwanese
ramen, dumplings, and Asian-themed
cocktails, Toki is a new hot spot for those
looking for a unique dining experience.
Be sure to try their pork cheek ramen
with the homemade srirachi chili sauce.
For those seeking a more casual
scene, enjoy H Streets local Belgian-
inspired restaurant and bar, Granville
Moore. The lengthy beverage menu will
have you coming back again and again
to try the delicious cocktails. Make sure
to try the mussels, which executive chef
Teddy Folkman made to defeat Bobby
Flay in an episode of Throwdown.
Vendetta, a bocce bar and tavern, of-
fers its guests the chance to do the ul-
timate throw balls and drink. Guests
can even hold private parties where
they serve more balls meatballs.
If balls are your thing, also be sure
to try the H St. Country Club, which of-
fers a renowned menu with scrumptious
Mexican food, as well as a large rooftop
deck and the only miniature golf course
in D.C. The weekend brunch also fea-
tures bottomless mimosas, which no
one should ever turn down.
Venturing a few blocks away from H
Street is Union Market, featuring pop-
up shops, restaurants and local pro-
duce. Many events are starting to en-
courage patrons, such as book signings,
mixology seminars and gospel choir
brunches. And dont forget to check out
Dock 5 for a potential event space. The
13,000-square-foot area can accommo-
date up to 1,500 people.
H Street is continuing to grow and will
be bigger and better with the introduc-
tion of the D.C. streetcar. And just when
can we expect to be joyriding on this
streetcar?
Mayor Gray has promised it will be
just a matter of months before the long-
awaited line opens for business. Wheth-
er you use it to just get to work, or to
enjoy a unique bar or restaurant experi-
ence, be sure to venture to H Street for
great food and fun.
REAL ESTATE
The Atlas is among the standouts on H Street.
H stands for Hot on H Street
PHILLIP RAY is a Realtor with the Bediz Group
(formerly Dwight and David Group) at Coldwell
Banker Dupont. Reach him at 202-570-8822 or
Phillip@dwightanddavid.com for advice on buy-
ing or selling in Dupont, H Street and beyond.
and warranties.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 11.15.13 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: ERIN WOMACK (ewomack@washblade.com)
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ARLINGTON N. PICTURESQUE LEE HEIGHTS SETTING! $1,199,500
JUST LISTED! 2312 N. STAFFORD STREET
Brand new Craftsman inspired rebuild strategically perched for
commanding views over the private wooded 11,587 sqft. lot.
Enjoy 3,000 sqft of space, a welcoming front porch, gleaming
hardwoods, granite kitchen w/adjoining great room, formal
living and dining rooms plus a main level family room, 4 UPPER
LEVEL BRS, 3.5 high-end remodeled baths, spacious walk-out
LL with recreation room, one car garage and spectacular views
throughout. All within easy walking distance to parks, trails &
Lee Heights shops & cafs.
DAVE LLOYD & ASSOCIATES
4701 Old Dominion Drive Arlington, VA 22207
703-593-3204 WWW.DAVELOYD.NET
OPEN SUNDAY 1-4PM
Dito Sevilla concocts
cocktails while setting the bar
for community conviviality
By MARK LEE
I live above a restaurant on 17th Street
and work below another one, chuckles
Dupont Circle neighborhood bar manager
Dito Sevilla. Its clear that is where he feels
most at home.
Entertaining has always been in my
blood, the offspring of a prominent am-
bassadorial family says. Sevillas paternal
grandfather served as Nicaraguan en-
voy to the U.S. for nearly four decades,
until 1979, later becoming a dean of
the Washington diplomatic corps. His
father would also serve as an emissary,
rst representing Nicaragua in Argentina
and later as United Nations ambassador.
Sevillas elegantly beautiful mother, who
stops by to see her son at his bar on oc-
casion, was a Miss Nicaragua internation-
al pageant contestant in her youth.
I fell in love with hospitality, explains the
35-year-old Sevilla, and nd it extremely re-
warding. Serving guests is an expression
of my best traits, the ones that come natu-
rally to me. The suburban Maryland native
studied nance and marketing in college,
but made a conscience decision to stay
in the business.
Sevilla can be found most nights orches-
trating the cozy conviviality for which Ditos
Bar at Floriana restaurant has long been
known. Tucked away down a short stack of
steps behind a door obscured from street
view, the small lower-level bar at 1602 17th
St., N.W., opened 10 years ago next month.
The business moniker, like the friendly famil-
iarity that often develops among the bars
patrons, naturally evolved.
As the venue became a popular des-
tination and pop-by hotspot, we dis-
covered we needed a name, explains
Sevilla. Floriana restaurant management
and staff suggested referencing it as the
customers already did using the bar-
tender-hosts name.
Ditos Bar is part of the 65-seat noted culi-
nary contributor on the commercial stretch.
Known for its well-regarded modern Italian
cuisine and extensive wine list, Floriana relo-
cated to a previously converted multi-level
row house near Q Street in 2000. Sevilla
launched the basement bar a few months
after he joined the staff of the upscale yet
comfortable dining venue.
The restaurant menu is also available at
the bar, enlisting early evening customers
following a 5 p.m. opening each night.
The bar generally stays open until 11 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday, extended to 1
a.m. on weekends.
Guests refer to the bar as the bunker,
Sevilla jokes. Its 450 sq. ft. size is smaller than
most studio apartments in the area but is
surprisingly spacious. The set-up offers 16
stools at both an angular bar and alongside
wall-hugging ledges.
Seated patrons engage in private conver-
sations amid the bustle of others standing
and moving about, as if at a house party.
Sevilla will wave a hand or shout out a greet-
ing as new arrivals enter welcoming both
frequent customers and rst-timers alike.
Although Sevilla considers contrived the
speakeasy motif adopted in recent years
in the industry, we have a sort of clandes-
tine feel, he admits. The exposed brick
walls and subterranean environment give
the bar a decidedly underground vibe
and hideaway ambience.
Devotion to conveying high-quali-
ty cocktails, utilizing his own specially
batched mixers infused with natural
ingredients, along with a personable
service style have earned Sevilla a high-
prole reputation as ambassador of 17th
Street. He regularly assists nearby busi-
nesses in promoting the area and coordi-
nating community events. Cobalt/Level
One manager Mark Rutstein and JR.s
bar manager David Perruzza are my men-
tors, he says, giving them huge credit
for their business acumen and under-
standing the constant need to reinvent.
Ditos Bar is a community room with
liquor, Sevilla laughs, describing the di-
verse clientele. The more different types of
people spend time together the better we
understand one another, he adds. Thats
what happens here.
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur and com-
munity business advocate. Follow on Twitter: @
MarkLeeDC. Reach him at OurBusinessMat-
ters@gmail.com.
Ditos Bar is a community room with liquor, jokes DITO SEVILLA.
and warranties.
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P090102 04/09 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company, Bloomington, IL
Get discounts up to 5-40
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If your economy needs some stimulation,
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T H E M O N D R I A N
1 2 0 0 N St NW WDC 2 0 0 0 5
CAL L 2 0 2 . 3 7 1 . 1 7 4 7 OR T EXT 7 0 3 . 6 2 8 . 4 6 6 3
RENTS STARTS AT $1895 PER MONTH! Near 3 Metro StopS, USt aND VerizoN CeNter.
SpaCioUS 1, 2 or 3 beDrooMS, With balCoNieS, garage parkiNg, froNt DeSk, SeCUrity,
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and warranties.
PROOF # CAMERA READY ISSUE DATE 09.10.10 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: JERYL PARADE jparade@washblade.com
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MONSTER REPAIR PROBLEMS?
A DIVISION OF ARGENT
HEATING & COOLING, LLC
15% OFF
Any Service Call
We service all makes & models.
Washers / Dryers
refrigerators / freezers
Cook tops / ovens / MiCroWaves
iCe MaChines
garbage Disposals / trash CoMpaCtors
703.255.2440 www.homeappliancerepair.us
and warranties.
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FORRESTER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Bid Opportunity: Israel Baptist Church | New Building Addition
Requesting Subcontractors with the following certifcations:
CBE, SBA, SDB, WOSB, SDVOSB and HUBZone
Bid Date 12/3/2013 @ 2:00pm
For more information contact Michelle Evans in writing,
mevans@forresterconstruction.com
or Fax 866-405-1913.
No calls please.
and warranties.
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Valerie M. Blake
Associate Broker, GRI
Dupont Circle Offce 202.243.7700 (o)
202.246.8602 (c) Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com
www.DCHomeQuest.com
Sort-after area.
(Sorting areas before a
property tour works better.)
MIS
S
PELLINGS
Dwellings with
and warranties.
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Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN
Board Certied in Clinical Neuropsychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
3000 Connecticut Ave. NW 202.255.5187 SidBinks@aol.com
LGBTC.com/html/sid_binks.html
Individual & Couples Therapy
for the LGBTQ Community
20 years experience!
professionaldirectory
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 01.06.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: PHIL ROCKSTROH (prockstroh@washblade.com)
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NO REVISIONS
Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapy
Results-Oriented q Affordable
Larry Cohen, LICSW
25 years serving the lgbt community
202-244-0903
socialanxietyhelp.com
See website for NPR story on my work
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NO REVISIONS
IndividualssCouplessSex
Helping People
Grow Stronger
in Rough Times
Michael Radkowsky, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist s20 years experience
Near Woodley & Cleveland Park metro
(202) 234-3278
www.personalgrowthzone.com
and warranties.
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THOMAS JENKINS
& COMPANY
Certied Public Accountants
Corporation, Partnership, Trust, Individual
Income Tax & Financial Planning
202-547-9004
Washington, DC
and warranties.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 12.13.13 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: PHIL ROCKSTROH (prockstroh@washblade.com)
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JOEL C. ANG, M.D.
Family Medicine, HIV Diagnosis & Treatment
Adult Primary Care
Copies of records at each visit
Insurance Accepted
Instant HIV/Syphilis/Herpes Testing
CLIA Certifed In-House Laboratory
1759 Q St. NW, WDC
Red Line Metro Dupont Circle
www.qstreetmds.com
202-667-5041
Parking Available Free Wi-Fi Same Day Appointments
SIMPLE
AFFORDABLE
PROVEN RESULTS
CALL TODAY TO PLACE YOUR AD
202.747.2077
MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
YOURE WORKING THAT BODY HARD.
Come to a professional massage therapist
offering the best deep tissue massage
available. Stretching, Swedish & Sports
massage. $70-1 hr./$100-90 mins. Dupont.
Marcio (202) 271-9440. www.MarciosMassage.
com.
ROSSLYN/ADAMS MORGAN Improve your
workouts and refresh your body. Massage
available in Rosslyn Sun-Wed, 301-704-1158
and at TuSuva, Adams Morgan Thur-Sat
202-299-9005 (ask for Gary). http://www.
mymassagebygary.com/ Gary 301-704-1158.
ITS NICE TO BE KNEADED! For
quality, consistency & trust; choose an
experienced, intuitive masseur. For
appts. 703-402-6698. You wont regret
it!
BEST MASSAGE BY male certied therapist.
Soothing Swedish; deep-tissue; 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.
COUNSELING
A MINDFULNESS-BASED MENTAL
HEALTH PRACTICE specializing in a holistic
approach to anxiety, depression, careers, &
relationships. 20 years experience helping
people identify & overcome impediments
to a fullling life, satisfying careers, & healthy
relationships. Jonathan Kirkendall MA LPC,
202.550.3589, www.dclpc.com.
LGBTQ AFFIRMING THERAPY at
Dupont Circle Individuals, couples, families,
adolescents. Over 15 years serving the
community. Mike Giordano, LICSW. 202/460-
6384 mike.giordano.msw@gmail.com. www.
WhatIHearYouSaying.com.
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.
CHANGES ARE EASIER WITH HELP. Small,
private practice group of experienced,
caring therapists. Safe, condential setting.
Ofces in Woodley Park & Takoma Park near
Metro. Licensed professionals. Insurance
reimbursable. Washington Therapy Guild. Call
202-483-2660. www.therapyguild.net.
EMPLOYMENT
DRIVER/DETAILER FOR Automotive PR
Firm. Do you love cars? Self-motivated?
Detail-oriented? Customer service oriented
with clean driving record? See ad in the Blade
classieds online.
MENS ITALIAN CUSTOM Shirt Fabric, Full
or part time sales opportunity with the largest
importer of these fabrics in the world. Must
be motivated, social, and articulate. To apply,
please contact Boots Harris at boots.harris@
jhilburnpartner.com or 301-466-9344.
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.
LEGAL SERVICES
FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM Representing the
GLBT community for over 30 years. Family
adoptions, estate planning, immigration,
employment. (301) 891-2200. Silber, Perlman,
Sigman & Tilev, P.A. www.SP-Law. com.
ADOPTION & ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE
Law Attorney Jennifer Fairfax represents clients
in Maryland & D.C. interested in adoption
or ART matters. 301-221-9651, JFairfax@
jenniferfairfax.com.
LIMOUSINES
KASPERS LIVERY SERVICE Gay Veteran
Owned Operated Since 1987! 2013 BMW
740LI Special Airport Rates! 24 Hour
Reservations. 202-554-2471 - 800-455-2471.
www.KasperLivery.com. Click the rates tab!
PETS & SUPPLIES
ADOPT AN ADORABLE PUPPY OR DOG
All-breed, non-prot rescue. 100% volunteer
run. Donations welcome & needed. www.
aforeverhome.org.
LOOKING FOR THAT special
someone? Loving vet-checked cats
& kittens waiting to meet you.
Feline Foundation 703-920-8665.
Application & adoption fair schedule
online at www.ffgw.org.
PHOTOGRAPHY
STEVE OTOOLE PHOTOGRAPHY Fine Art
Photographer for portraits, weddings & dating
photos for the internet. Call (703) 532-3031.
www.steveotoolephotography.com.
WEDDINGS
CANTOR JINNY - YOUR Wedding Your
Way. Well work together nding the right
vows, blessings, & expressions to make the
ceremony ow with your personal touch.
Cantorjinny@gmail.com 703-282-6505.
CLEANING
TOO NEAT GUYS INC. Residential &
Commercial cleaning in DC & Northern
VA. Over 20 years experience, gay owned,
licensed, bonded & insured. Email: tooneat@
comcast.net, (703) 622-5983.
FERNANDOS CLEANING: RESIDENTIAL
& Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates,
Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/
Move-Out. (202) 234-7050, 202-486-6183.
MAID TO CLEAN. Rated #1 in Metro DC.
Gay owned. Serving DC/VA. DC & VA (703)
299-0101. Visit www.maidtoclean.com.
HOME/OFFICE CLEANING by one neat
guy! One-time or regular service. Responsible
& reasonable rates. Call 202-276-9272.
LEOS CLEANING SERVICE Honest, neat,
responsible, good references, gay owned,
residential/ofces, regular cleaning, move in/
out, good rates. Call Leo 202-271-4273.
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.
HOME SERVICES
BRITISH REMODELING HANDYMAN
Local licensed company with over 25 years
of experience. Specializing in bathrooms,
kitchens & all interior/exterior repairs. Drywall,
paint, electric & wallpaper. Trevor 703-303-
8699.
TWO POOR TEACHERS Kitchen & Bath
Remodeling in Northern VA. Call for free
estimate! Two Poor Teachers at 703-969-1179.
PJ MCTAVISH & CO. ROOFING Repairs,
New Roof, Gutter Cleaning. Licensed -
Bonded Insured. See our display ad in this
issue. 301-476-8551.
WOOD & WHITACRE CONTRACTING -
see our ad online at washingtonblade.com/
classieds.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED ONLINE
washingtonblade.com
BRANCHES - FULL SERVICE Tree Expert
Company. Certied Arborists, pruning, insect
& disease diagnosis, treatment & removal.
301-589-6181. www.BranchesTreeExperts.
com. Angies List Award Winner 09, 10, 11,
12.
SHARE / DC
BRENTWOOD LARGE FURNISHED Room,
private bath, 1 blk to bus, 5 blks to red line
Metro. W/D, shared kitchen. $850/month. Call
202-361-8087.
SHARE / VA
FALLS CHURCH $500/MONTH + 1/3 utils w/
2 men & a cat. Beautiful renovated 4BR, 3BA,
2FPL, conv. to Metro. Contact Jeff Hoffman
202-230-1106.
REAL ESTATE
GALE STORM TEAM - Realtors The Realtors
you refer to your Friends & Family! Looking
to sell or buy a home? Call us! 202-355-4316.
www.gayrealtors.us.com. Licensed in DC, MD
& VA.
SALE / MD
COLLEGE PARK METRO
$344,000
4-LEVEL Brick Split-Level !
3 Bedrooms,3 Bathrooms,
Huge Deck! Garage! Party Room!
Fireplace! Gourmet Kitchen!
Photos Available!
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com.

GAITHERSBURG
$750,000
Splendid Contemporary built
2000. 6 Big Bedrooms ! 3 - 1/2
Bathrooms ! 2-Story Entertainers
Living Room ! HUGE Formal Dining
Room! Gourmets Dream Kitchen
overlooks Fireplace / Family Room !
Breakfast Room ! Incredible Basement
Party Room includes 2 Bedrooms /Full
Bath ! Private Cul-De-Sac ! Fruit Trees
! Custom-Built Deck ! 2 Car Garage !
Photos Available !
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com
SALE / VA
SHIRLINGTON TREETOP 1BR/1BA home
Bright & sunny! Updated kitchen, W/D,
attic, replacement windows. Pool, tennis, pet
friendly. Karina Srebrow, Nova Properties, See
ad in Blade classieds online.
JANUARY 17, 2014 45
CONTACT
US
AT
202-747-2077
ENHANCE YOUR AD WITH
OUR UPGRADES LIKE
PICTURES
BOLD TEXT
LARGE TEXT
COLOR
AND MORE!
DEADLINES
all classied ads - including regular and
adult - must be received by mondays at
5pm so they can be included in that weeks
edition of the washington blade and
washingtonblade.com
A postumous entry - DANTE
(left) and CLEO lived in
urban D.C. for almost 20
years. They ate, they slept,
they fought raccoons. They
will be missed.
If you would like to have your pet in
the paper, please send a photo and
description to ewommack@washblade.
com.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED ONLINE
washingtonblade.com
A D V E R T I S E
bladeclassieds
BEST RATES
BEST RESULTS
MENS PERSONALS
ATTRACTIVE, ITALIAN, GWM, 40s Inshape.
Seeking down to earth guy for dating & more.
Have many varied interests. Serious replies
only. Call 202-306-0288.
LOOKING FOR A man between the ages of
59 - 70 for fun & more. I am a friendly, down to
earth black man. McCloud 202-733-2881.
BLACK MALE TOP seeks black or latino male
bottom, 50 - 65 yrs with whom to celebrate the
holidays as friends with benets. Please call
202-251-0091.
RAPE ME, BEAT me, enslave me, og me,
dirty me. Use all your sadistic lust on my body.
It is why I exist. Me: pig bottom submissive,
58, 5 1/2 cut, Big white butt, fairly hairy.
mature. You: horny aggressive top master.
Pluses: bear, black or latino, hung long and
thick. Work me over in my condo. I have lots of
toys. I need it bad. Jack 301-982-0690.
BODYWORK
WHITE HOUSE ATHLETIC CLUB masseur
(former) Custom bodywork! Quality massage
by a nationally certied masseur. Exceptional
deep tissue & sensual bodywork for total stress
relief in private studio.4 Handed Massage
Available. (Shower & parking available, 2.5
blocks to Metro on Capitol Hill) Call Erik 202-
544-7905 or 202-285-5709. for one of the best.
In calls only. $89.00 SPECIAL Reg. $130.
JUST LUCAS
Hot Latino w/ a special touch. 32 yo, 5 9,
165 lbs, Offering full body release in a private
atmosphere. In/out. Parking Available, hotels
welcome, Silver Spring/DC area, 24/7. 240-
462-8669 brazilusa50@yahoo.com.
SOOTHING SUPERB, SENSUAL massage
by in shape attractive guy. Calif. certied,
comfortable massage table. 2 Metro stops
from Dupont. Private entrance. In/Out. 10 AM
- 11 PM. David 202-421-8900.
BLONDE GI 6 0 , 165 lbs, Good looking,
athletic, well-endowed. Sensual Massage &
More. Eli (703) 599-2668.
MASSAGE SILVER SPRING est 2004.
Where some of the nicest guys in town
come for one of the best massages in
town...sensuous erotic naked. Days/
Evenings $70 one hour..parking/metro
BRUNO 301 580 2716.
EROTIC SWEDISH MASSAGE - healthy
clean cut guy, 61, 160 lbs, Dupont Circle,
massage table, noon to 1:00 a.m., indulge
your body. $70 for 1 hour. Bill 202-728-0238.
AFFORDABLE MASSAGE BY friendly &
intuitive Latin male, in relaxing, priv. studio
just 15 min from DC in Arlington. Plenty of
Parking. Same day appts, 703-401-9093 or
a2006mx@yahoo.com.
THE MAGIC TOUCH: Swedish, Massage or
Deep Tissue. Appts 202-486-6183, Low Rates,
24/7, In-Calls.
EXCELLENT DEEP TISSUE Massage &
stretching by athletic CMT for neck/back pain,
sports recovery, injury rehab. All ages/types,
last minute welcome. 7dys/wk til 11pm. 17th/
Kalorama NW by HT. Tim 202.957.1559 www.
dcpromassage.com.
ESCORTS
NEVER HIRED BEFORE? Get tips for a good
experience here: http://beforeyoucome.
blogspot.com
TED 5 11, 155LBS, 30yo, 9X6, Versatile Top
202.271.0440.
The Blacklist Site Real Recourse for Male
Escorts & Masseurs. (Now a National
service) http://BlackListedJohn.com.
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RENT-A-DUNGEON EXPLORE your
fantasies! Surprise a BF or FB. Awesome,
clean, discrete. Fully equipped private DC
playroom. Dungeon Massage Available.
(Tutorial/instruction available). Dungeon
Master - 202-544-8094.
and warranties.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: SALES REPRESENTATIVE:
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Volume 45, Issue 3, January 17, 2014

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WHAT TO EXPECT IN SOCHI PAGE 14 STATE DEPT.

TRAVEL WARNING PAGE 14 GAY NIGHTCLUB MANAGER SEEKS ASYLUM PAGE 15

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