The Georgia Voice - 8/19/11 Vol. 2, Issue 12

5/9/2018 The Georgia Voice - 8/19/11 Vol. 2, Issue 12

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B J NB J PWRXB L N W R X W RBLPWRX L T D D k , G r a y

B J V W R X S T iW R B l u e P e a r l 4 D RB J V W R X S T i S a t in W h i t e P e a r l 4 D RB J V W R X S T i S p a r k S i l v e r M e t a l l i c 4 D R

I I B J V W R X S T i O k , G r a y M e t a l l i c 4 D RI 1 \ \ \

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1950 O RION DRDE CA TU R G A

1 1 1 1 4 Z U . SUBARUI.DECATUR,GAwwwSTIVERSATLANTASUBARU.COM


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D ir e H IV n um b er s d em a n d n ewre sp on se s f o r g ay m e n . P a g e 4S ta te w a nts $ 3 m i l l io n t o e n dw a i t l is t f o r H IV m e d s. P a g e 6R e d is tr ic tin g e n da n ge rs g a yG a . st a te le g is la to rs P a ge 8A n ti -g a y p ro te s ts ta rg e t H e le n , G a . P a g e 1 0A tla n t a B ra ve s h os t g am efo r G a . E q ua li t y . P a ge 1 1N a ti on a l N e w s i n B r ie f: R e p ub lic a np re s id e nt i al d e ba te , A n n C o u lte ris G O P ro ud . P a ge 1 1

G u e s t e d it or ia l: B a s k e tb a ll a n d b i- p ho b ia .P ag e 1 2M i k e R i tt er C a r to o n :C h am p io n S u ck e r P a ge 1 2S p e ak in g O u t: S h o ul d B e rt a n d E r nie t ie t hek n ot? P a g e 13[ L t M 1B la ck G a y P r id e c e le b r a te s 1 5 y ea rs o fc om m un it y e m po w e rm e n t. P a g e 1 5P a ck ed p a r ty s ch ed u l e fo r u p c om in g B la ckG a y P rid e w e e k. P a g e 1 7M u s ic : J a nis I an b re a ksb a r r ie rs w ith s on g . P a ge 1 9T h ea te r: T h e g a y v o ic eb eh in d C ir q u e 's " Dr al io n " P a ge 2 5fo o d: D o u ble Z e ro N a p ole ta n o,5 N a pk in B u rg e r . P a ge 26B o o ks : K i m S e v er so n 's " S po o n f ed ." P a g e 2 7P h o t o s : A t la n t a C o t il li o n 'sB u rl e sq ue C a ba re t P a ge 2 8P h oto s: P r id e D a y a t S ix F la gs . P a g e 2 9

G a y C h a m be r o f C o m m er c e h on o r s b us i-n e ss le a de rs . P a g e 31N o n p ro fi t S p o tl ig h t: C H R I S K i ds s u p po r tslG B T y ou th P a q e 32B u s in e s s S p o tl ig h t: T r il og y B o o k s to r e'su n iq u e fa m ily . P a g e 32P e rs o na li t y S p o tl i gh t: T ra n s m a n M e lv inA r un d el li o v er co m e s o b sta c le s . P a g e 33T h a t 's W h a t S h e S a id : M e li ss a C a rt er f in d sin sp ir a ti o n in t r a ge dy . P a qe 3 8D o m e s t i c a ll y D i s tu r b e d : Iophers r e ad y f orO b am a to e vo lv e o n g ay m a rr i a ge . P a ge 3 9

P a g e s 34-36

o T S P O K E N I N T H E IR O W N W O R D S

B Y T H E N U M B E R SE M P L O Y M E N T D I S C R IM I N A T IO N4 2 P e r c en t o f l e sb ia n, g ay a nd b i-s ex ua l e m p lo ye e s w h o r e po rtfa c i n g d is cr im in a t io n a t w o rka t s o m e p o in t in t h eir l iv es16 P e rc e nt o f L G B p e o p le w h o r ep o rtth a t th ey h av e lo s t a j ob b a s edo n t h e ir s e x u a l o r ie n t a ti o n3 3 P e r ce n t o f L G B e m p l o y ee sw h o s a i d th ey w e re n o t o u tto a ny on e a t w o rk5 8

P e r ce n t o f b is e x ua l e m p l oy e e sw h o r e po rt b e in g o u t to e v e r y o n e a t w o r k

7 8 P e r ce n t o f t ra n s ge n d er p e o pl ein a s e pa ra te s tu d y w h o r ep o rtf ac in g h a ra s s m e n t o r m i st re a t-m e n ta l w o rkS o ur ce : M u ll ip le s tu d ie s c om p il ed b V Ih. W i ll ia m s I ns ll lu le ,J ul v 1 01 1

"O n th e c o ve r o f N e w s -w e e k u n d e r M . B a c h -m a n n 's p ic tu re i t s a id'Q u e e n o f R a ge : b u t t h e r eis o n ly 'O n e R a g in g Q u e e n 'in h e r h o u s e ! "

A c tr es s , s i n ge r a n d g a y r ig h ts a d vo c at eC h e r, c o n ti nu in g h e rT w i ti er w a r w i thG O P p r e s id e n t ia l h o p e fu l R e p . M i c h e leB a c hm a n n . B a c hm a n n 's h u sb a n d, M a r cu sB a c hm a n n . r u ns a t he ra p y p r ac ti ce t ha ta tte m p ts t o c on ve rt g a ys a n d h a s b enth e s ub je ct o f I n te rn e t r um o rs th a t h e i sg a y h i m S lf . ( T o w l e ro a d . co m , A u g . 14 )

" M o s t g a y p eo p le a re v e ry ta s t yp eo p le - t h e y l ik e b ea u t i f u l s tu ff inth e i r l iv e s . I f t h e y l ik e m e , i t m e a nsth e y h a v e ta s te . T h e y d o n 't f o llo wm e f o r m y b u t t s h o t s , "

- A c to r J ea n -C la ud e V a n D a m m e in a r ec en t in te rv ie ww i th S a b o ta g e T im e s ( T ow l er o ad .c o m , A u g . 14 )

"W h e n d id e v e ry b o d y g e t lu m p e din w it h th e g a y s? Y o u k n ow w h a t Im e a n ? . .. W h e n d id w e s ta r t g iv in g as h it a b o u t l l r a n s q e n d e r l p e o p l e ? . ..A n d s h ou ld n 't [ L G B T ] b e s o m e th in gt h a t s p e lls s o m e th in g , l ik e Y U C K ? "

- C om ed ia n A da m C ar o lla , r a nt in g o n h is A ug . 1 1p od ca st a bo ut t h e te rm " L GB T " a nd th e C h an ge .o rgp et i t io n th at w a nts to s ee E rn ie a nd B e r t g et m a r-r ie d o n " Se sa m e S tr ee t." Care l la w il l p o dc as t l iv ef r o m th e T ab ern ac le in A tla nt a o n S ep t. 30 . ( G L A A D .o rg . A u g. 15 )

" G iv e n h is h is to r y o f a n ti - g a y a n dr a c is t c o m m e n t s , n e tw o r k s a n da d v e r tis e rs s h ou ld k n o w w h a t th e irm o n e y is s u p po r t in g i f t h e y c h oo s et o h ir e A d a m C a r a lla , T h e g ra s sin to le ra n c e th a t h e t r ie s to p a s s o ffa s c o m e d y s h o u ld n o t h a ve a p la c eo n o u r a ir w a v e s . "

- H e rn d on G ra d dic k. s en io r d ir ec to r o f p r o gr am s a t th eG ay & L e sb ia n A l li an c e A g a in s t D e f am a t io n , i n a p r es sr e le a se d e n ou n ci ng A d a m C a r ol la 's r e m ar ks ( G L A A D .o r g . A u g . 1 5 )

"W e h a v e p e o p le w h o s a y , ' s ta te sh a ve th e r ig h t t o p as s g a y m a r -r ia g e .'1 s ay , 'N o th e y d o n o t b e -c a u se th e y d o n o t h a ve th e r ig h tt o d o w r o n q ."

- R e pu b lic an p re s id en tia l h o pe fu l R ic k S a nt or um in ac am p aig n a pp e ar an ce in I ow a , w h er e h e p l ac ed f ou rth ina s tr a w p o ll o f G O P c o nt en d e rs { R a di o I ow a , A u g . 1 5 )


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DA V o ic e \ A u g u s t 1 9 , 2 0 1 1 \ N ew s w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o mBy 0'ana [email protected]

U ri . B u tl er is a n at ur al . in f r on t o f t he c am e ra .His t al l, l an k y f ram e a n d s o ft f ea tu r es p r oj ec t c o n-f id en ce , l ov e, h ap p in e ss - a ll e as ily c ap tu re d b ya p ro f es s iona l pho t og raphe r .

B ut le r, 2 0 , s aid h e 's th o ug ht o f b ein g a m o de la nd q ui ck ly s ca ns t hr ou gh h is c el l p h o n e t o s h owp h ot os o f him posing in o th e r s ho o ts . R ig ht n o w,th o ug h, h e is a ju ni or m a j or in g i n b io lo g y a t F o r tV all ey S ta te U ni ve rs ity ; lo ca te d a bo u t 9 0 m ile ss ou th o f A tl an ta , a nd d re am s o f b e com in g a nurse,

B ut o n A ug . 1 3, B utle r to ok a b re ak fr om hiss tu die s to p os e fo r th e E vo lu tio n P ro je ct's n ewm e di a c am p ai gn , s et to la un ch i n S e pt em b er tor ea ch o ut t o b la ck , g ay y ou ng m e n a bo u t H I V p re -v en ti on . T h e E v olu tio n C en te r, a p ro je ct o f A I DA tl an ta l o ca te d o n J u ni pe r S tr e et , o f fe r s p r o gr am-m in g a nd r es o ur ce s a s w e l l a sHrv t es t ing spedf i -cally aimed a t b l ac k g ay m e n."I w as diag no se d [w ith H N] in F eb ru ary ,"B utl er s ai d w h il e w at ch in g h is f ri en ds t ak e t he irturns i n f r o n t o f t h e c ame r a. " N o rm a ll y I g e t t e st ede ve ry s ix m o nt hs ; I w o ul d g et t es te d i n A u gu st o rS e pt em b er a nd th e n a ga in in J an ua ry o f F eb ru -a ry . A t th e tim e I w as w ith m y p ar tn er . A fte r s ixm o nth s t og et he r I s h ow e d him m y s tatu s an d h eto ld m e h e didn 't kno w his status, I t w as lig hta ro u nd t h at t im e I t es te d p o s it iv e ."N e w g e n e r a ti o n o f g a y m e n a t r i s kA s a 2 0-y ea r-o ld b lack g ay m an with HIV,Butler is no w p art o f a de mo grap hic th at hasp ub lic h ealth o fficials so un din g th e a la rm s.O n A ug . 3 , th e C en te rs fo r D is ea se C on tr ol &P re ve nt io n r el ea se d d ata s h ow in g th at b et we en20 0 6-2 00 9, blac k m en w ho h av e se x w ith m en(M SM ) age s 13 -29 showed a 48 percent in-crease in n ew H IV i nf e ct io n s .T he C DC n um be rs s ho w th at in 2 0 06 ,th er ew er e 4 ,4 00 HIV in fe ctio ns a mo ng b la ck g ayand bisexual m en age s 13 -29. Th e num bersju mp ed to 6,5 00 in fe ctio ns in 2 00 9 w ith in th es am e a ge g ro u p. T h is s ub p op u la tio n r ep re se ntsth e o nly s ubp op ulatio n in tile U .S . to e xp er i-e nc e a s ta ti sti ca ll y s ig ni fi ca nt i nc re as e d ur in gt he s e t hr e e y e at s.A nd w hile in th e U .S . th e r ate o f n e w H IV in -f ec ti on s r em a in s r ela ti ve ly s ta bl e a t 5 0 ,0 0 0 n e win fe cti on s a y ea r, g ay a nd b is ex ua l m e n s til l a c-C OW lt o r t he h ig h es t n um b er s o f n ew in fe ct io n s- th ey m ake u p 2 p e rce nt o f th e n atio n's p op u-latio n b ut ac co un te d fo r 6 1 p erce nt o f all n ewHN in fe ct io n s i n 2 0 0 9, a cc or di ng t o t he C DC."W e a re d ee ply co nce rn ed b y th e alarm in gr is e in n ew H IV in fe ctio ns in y ou ng , b la ck g aya nd b is ex ua l m en ard th e c on tin ue d im p ac t o fH lv ' a mo ng yo un g g ay an d b is ex ual m en o f a llr ac e s, " s a id J o na th a n Me rm in , d ir e ct or o f CDC 'sD i v is i on o f HNIA IDS P r ev e nt io n , i n a s ta tem e nt ."W e canno t allo w th e h ealth of a new ge n-e ratio n o f ga y m en to b e lo st to a p re ve nta bledisease . I t's tim e to renew tile fo cus o n HIVa mo ng g ay m en a nd c on fr on t th e h om op ho biaan d stig ma th at a ll to o o fte n a cco mp any th isd is ea se ," M e rm in a dd ed .

P o s i t i v e a b o u H VW h a t w il l i t t a k e t o s t e m H IV in f e c t i o n sa m o n g g a y m e n ? F o r s o m e A tl a n t aa c t i v i s ts , t h e a n s w e r i s h o p e ,

GayA tl an ta m en a re p ar t o f Q ne w HN p r e ve n ti on c ampa ig n f o r t il e E v o lu t io n P r o je ct . ( Ph ot o b y Ca r lt on Ma c k ey )

F i g h t i n g s t i g m a w i th v is ib i l i t yF or B utle r, p articip atin g in s uc h a p ub lic

c am pa ig n is a w ay to h elp o th er s."Th is is m y way o f show ing peop le whom ay have fe lt th e sam e w ay I fe lt th at yo u can

b e h ap py ," h e s aid ." My in itia l r ea ctio n w as n ot to c ry o r p an ic ,bu t to th in k, 'W hat n ex t?" be sa id . ''W hat d oI need to do to ensure my longevity: M y ini-tia l th ou gh t w as th at th is p ho to s ho ot w ill h elp

b rin g o ff t be fi lm , t he s ti gm a ."B utler also said tes ting H IV p ositive re-lieved him o f th e burden o f h aving to w orrya bo ut c on tr ac ti ng i t a t s o me l at er ti me ."F in din g o ut k in d o f lib era te d m e b ecau senow I don't have to worry about it," Butle ra dd ed . " Th at 's a p ar t o f t he c ul tu re . I t's lo om in ge ve ry wh ere . M y th ou gh ts n ow are th at I h av es om eth in g w he re m y b od y is c om pr om is ed a ndin ste ad o f fu nn in g aro un d h av in g s ex w ith e v-

e ry on e, I t hin k t ha t t ill s p e r so n m ig ht h av e s om e -th in g th at m ig ht h ar m m e, lik e a . c ol d. I f ee l li keI h av e to fo cu s o n m y h ea lth a nd b ein g h ea lth y.

" An d w he n I m e e t p e o ple th ey lo ok a t m e a nds ay I'm h an ds om e, I'm s mart an d I h av e e ve ry-th in g g oin g fo r m e. W he n I d isc lo se m y statu s,th ey k ind o f b ac k u p a little ," h e s aid. "S om e-tim es I w an t to be ne gativ e an d g iv e u p. B ut inth e p ast m onth m y p ercep tio n h as ch ange d. Ithink t he E vo lu ti on C e nte r r es cu ed m e ."
http://www.thegavoice.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.thegavoice.com/


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w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o mN o e a s y a n s w e r t oc o n t i n u in g e p i d e m i c

H IV is a p re ve nta ble d is ea se . A nd to m an y,it s ee ms s im p le e no ug h to n ot c on tr ac t th e v ir us- jus t p ractice safer se x. G ay m en h ave be ento ld fo r 3 0 y ears to u se co nd om s, to n ot d o th is ,n ot d o th at, b e c ar ef ul w ith e ve ry s in gle p er so ny ou b ec om e in tim ate w ith . I t's e no ug h to w ea rso me on e d ow n an d fo r m an y it b eco me s p art o ft he b ac kg ro u nd , l ik e w h it e n o is e.T he re ar e n o e as y an sw ers fo r w hy p eo ple ,in clu din g g ay a nd b is ex ua l m en , co ntin ue toc on tr ac t H IV , s aid S te ve n I ga ra sh i, g ay m en 'sh e al th c oo r di na to r f or A I D A tl an ta ."T ha t's th e m illio n d olla r q ue stio n - w hy ?B ut I d on 't th in k it's o ne is su e w e c an p in po in t.Ifw e c o ul d w e 'd h a ve a s o lu ti on ," I ga ra sh i s ai d.

W ith th e n atio n 3 0 y ea rs in to th e p an de m ic ,th er e c om e s b ac kla sh s uc h a s c on do m f atig ue ,h e a dd ed

" An d p eo p le ju st tir ed o f h ea rin g a bo ut it,"I g ar a sh i s a id .A b s ti ne n ce -o n ly s e x e d u ca ti o n i n s c h oo ls c o n -

t ri bu te s t o y o u n g p e o p le b e in g i gn o ra n t t o t h e r i s kso f s e x , w h ic h c an b e d ea dl y f or y o u n g p e op le w h oa lr e ad y b e li ev e t h ey a r e i n v in c ib le , I g ar a sh i s a id ."And in th e gay com munity - and I do n'tth ink th is m indset is a blanket sta tem ent -th ere is a p ortio n o f o ur co mm unity th at s tilllo ok s at H IV as in ev itab le . T he y se e it is a r is ka nd th in k th ey w ill p ro ba bly h ec om e p os itiv ea ny wa y s o w hy ta ke p re ca utio ns ," h e s aid .A ID A tl an ta a nd P o si ti ve I m pa ct' s M I STERP ro je ct a re a ls o v er y c o ns ci ou s a bo u t p r ov id in gp ro gr am s a nd r es ou rc es fo r g ay m en th at d o n otfo rc e th em to c om e s it in a s te rile c lin ic al e nv i-ro nm enr to learn h ow to be safe o r talk abo utis su e s t he y f ac e.

M IST ER p ro vide s yo ga classe s and bo okc lu bs w h il e I ga ra sh i o r ga ni ze s s o ci al o u ti ng s a tb ar s, c of fe e s h op s a nd r es ta ur an ts .

''W e w ant to m eet m en w here th ey are an dre mo ve th e b arr ie rs o f th em h av in g to co me tou s a s p ar t o f b ui ld in g c omm u ni ty ," I ga ra sh i s ai d.R e s e a r c h e r : C D C n u m b e r sn o t s h o c k i n g

D av id M ale br an ch e, a p hy sic ia n w ho h as fo -c us ed m u ch o f h i s p u bl ic h e al th r es e ar ch o n b la ckgay m en and HIY , is a n a ss is ta nt p ro fe ss or a tEm o ry U n iv er si ty 'S S ch o ol o f M e d ic in e. H e s ai dl oo k in g f o r o n e " sm ok in g gun" as to w hy H N in-f ec ti o ns c o n ti _n u et o i nc r ea s e i s a f o ol 's m i ss io n .H e a ls o s aid th e C DC 's m o st r ec en t n um be rs o ny o un g, b la ck g ay m e n a re n o t s h o ck in g a t all.

" I' m f ms tr at ed a nd a nn o ye d a nd this fuckinge me rg en cy h as b ee n g oin g o n s in ce 1 99 8. It'sn o th in g n ew . I l ov e t he s ta ti st ic s, b ut t he y n e ve rte ll u s w h y. S o th ey k ee p s ou nd in g th e a la rm -a nd I d on 't s ee r es ea rc h m at a sk s b la ck g ay m e nt he se q ue s tio n s, l ik e w h y, " h e s ai d.O f c ou rs e, th e re i s n o s in gl e a ns w er t o " w h y"b la c k g a y m e n c o nt in u e t o b e d is p ro p o r ti o na te lya ff ec te d b y H I V. B u tM a l eb ra nc he , w h o i s o p e n-ly g ay , s aid it i s s tr uc tu ra l - p ov er ty , b ar rie rs toa cc e ss t o h e a lt h ca r e, h om e le s s ne s s.

" W ha t's in te re stin g a t th is p o in t is th at th e

'I d o t h is w o r k b e c a u s e I fe ll i nl o v e w it h m y c om m u n i t y , I l o v ew o r k i n g w it h t h e m , c o m in g u pw it h u n i q u e w a y s t o r e a c h t h e ma n d ta lk in g a bo ut h o w to sa veeach other .'S a v i n g e a c h o th e r g o e s b e yo n dH IV p r e v e n t i o n . . . i t g o e s t o h o ww e f o rm re la t ionships~. '~ .C h a s e A n d r e w s

CDC is p u sh i. ng t es ti ng . I t's l ik e t he y a re te s tin ge ve ry b la ck M SM, w hic h I th in k is c ou nte rp ro -d uc ti ve a t t h is p o in t, " h e a dd e d.

"W hen p eo ple w ho are no t b lack g ay o r bi-s ex ua l m en s ee th e m un be rs im pac tin g b la ckM SM s, th ey th ink, 'I 'm fine . I 'm no t part o fm at ris k g ro up ' a nd k ee p h av in g u np ro te cte ds ex ," M a le b ra nc he s ai d.A nd fo r b la ck g ay a nd b is ex ua l m e n w ho a reb om ba rd ed w ith th es e n um be rs , M ale br an ch es a ys i t b e com e s a " s el f- fu lf il li ng p r o p he c y. "

''Y ou k ee p o ve rc as tin g a p op ulatio n. Y oukee p tes ting m ore and m ore black M SM s andyo u are go ing to ge t m ore and m ore p ositivete sts . T he re is an o ve re mp has is o n te stin g a ndju st te stin g b la ck M SM s. T he re is n o e nd in s ig hta nd i t l o ok s l ik e a h u ge r ac ia l. d is p ar it y," h e s aid .

O ne th in g is certa in - black gay and bi-s ex ua l m en d o n ot h av e m or e u np ro te cte d s ext ha n o th e r d emo g ra p hi cs . B u t n ew CDC s tu di esdo show that black M SM s tend to have m oreS TD s, s uch a s s yp hilis, w hich m ak es it e as ie rfo r th e H IV v ir us to spread.

"I t's neve r been about behavio r," M al-e b ra n ch e s a id .A nd if h e co uld h ave th ree w ish es th at h ebelieve s w ould drive do wn HN infectionsa mo ng b la ck g ay a nd b is ex ua l m e n?

" Un iv er sa l h ea lth ca re , p ro p er m e nto rs hipan d r ole m od els fo r y ou ng b la ck g ay m en , a ndfo r r elig io n o r s pir itu ality to b e m o re e mb ra c-i ng i n th is c ou nt ry a nd a cc ep t a ll s ex ua l o ri en ta -t io n s ," h e a n sw e r ed .C ha se A nd re ws , 2 5, th e r ec ru itm en t a nd r e-t en ti on s p ec ia lis t f or t he E v ol ut io n P ro je ct , d is -ag re es w ith M ale br an ch e o n th e C DC 's n um -be r s be i ng coun te r p r oduc t iv e ."I w as n't s ho ck ed , b ut to s ee it in b lac k a ndw hite w as s ob er in g," h e s aid . "P eo ple n ee d tok no w . .. s o th ey k no w th is is s till a n is su e. "

A nd w h y a re H IV in fe ctio ns s till o n th e r is e?

" Th at's th e q ue stio n. O ur c om m un ity is n'tre ally m on olith ic," A nd re ws s aid . "I d o th isw ork because I fe ll in lo ve with m y c om mu -n ity , I lo ve w or kin g w ith th em , c om in g u p w ithu niq ue w ay s to re ac h th em a nd ta lk in g a bo uth ow to s av e e ac h o th er ,

" Sa vi ng e ac h o th e r g o es b ey o nd H I V p re v en -tio n . .. it g o e s to h ow w e f or m r ela tio ns hip s. "' I n fe c t in g w i th i n fo r m a t io n '

C hris B ar ke r, 2 6, a g rap hic d es ig ne r w hoc am e u p w ith th e c o nc ep t f or t he E v ol ut io n P ro j-e c r' s n ew c ampa ig n , s p e nt h o u rs d ir e ct in g B u tl erand a do ze n o th er yo ung gay black m en at th eAug. 13 pho to shoo t. He is w ell aware o f th eC DC n um b er s t ha t s h ow t he s ta gg e ri ng i nc re as ein n ew H I V in fe ct io n s w ith in h is d emo g ra ph ic ."W e are trying to be as aggre ss iv e as th en um be rs ," B ar ke r, w ho is H IV n eg ativ e, s aida b ou t t h e c ampa ig n .' 'W e w a nt t o i nf ec t w it h i nf or m at io n . T h is iso ur co mm un ity . T he re is n o o ne p lac e y ou cang o fo r th is d em og ra ph ic. Y ou h av e b lac k, y ouh av e g ay , y o u h av e lo ca l. W e a re tr yin g to b rin gall th is to ge th er to a v ery te ch no s av vy g ro upa nd b e c oh es iv e s o p eo ple g et th e id ea o f b r an d-in g. M an y think it w on't h ap pen to m e, bu t itd oe s. E ve ry d ay ," h e s aid .

B ar ke r sa id h e k ne w h e w an te d to s tay H IVn eg ativ e a fte r h is f rie nd fo un d o ut h e w as H IVp o s it iv e a ft er f ir s t b e c o r rt in g v e ry ill."1 th ou gh t it w ou ld b e lite rally o ve rn ig htth at h e w ou ld d is ap pe ar. T he n I w ou ld talk toh im and ask what h e was do ing and he w oulds ay h e w as s ittin g in lin e a t t he I DP [G rad y In -fe ctio us D is ea se P ro gr am ] n ow . H e a ls o h ad tod ea l w ith s oc ia l a nd c la ss is su es , g o th ro ug h a llth e se a ve n ue s j us t t o s ta y a li ve ," B ar ke r s ai d." Pe o pl e a re l iv in g a lo t l on ge r b ut t he y d o n'tr ea liz e th e h in dr an ce s. E sp ec ia lly fo r a y ou ngp ers on w ho is u se d to alw ay s b ein g o n t he g o t o

N e w s

n ow h av e to s to p a nd w ait in lin e. I k no w th at'sn ot th e w ay [ w an te d to liv e," h e s aid .

B a rk e r's p a ss io n f or t he E v ol ut io n P ro je ct 'sc am pa ig n is e as y to s ee . H e k no ws e xac tly th elo ok h e is g oin g fo r, h ow it m us t b e im p le me nt-e d o n th e w eb, o n so cia l netw orking sites , o nm o bile p ho ne s, w ith Q R c od es .

''W e w an t o ur d em o gr ap h ic in un da te d w ithth e b es t, p os itiv e m es sa ge s. H IV is s till a ta bo os u bj e ct ," h e s a id ." Th is c am p aig n is u s, lite ra lly o ur fr ie nd s,n eig hb or s, p eo ple w e s ee in th e p ark , th e c lu b,w a lk in g d own 1 0 th S tr ee t. T y pi ca ll y w h en p e o-p Ie s ee o ur d em og rap hic it's afte r th e fa ct. W ea re d oin g m o re p os itiv e s ta nc es , p os tu re s, th anse en in th e past - to m ost e ffe ctively reachth em y ou h av e to b e a mo ng st th em ," h e ad de d.S e x , m i n d a n d s o u l

N ic ho la s R ob in so n, 2 5, w ho is a ls o a m o de lin th e E vo lu tio n P ro je ct c am p aig n, w as r ais edin a h om op ho bic e nv iro ru ne nt in C olu mb us ,G a. H e s aid b eco min g e du ca te d ab ou t s ex w asa to p p rio rity w he n h e b eg an co lle ge a t G eo r-g ia S ta te U niv er sity a s p ar t o f h is d es ire to b e ah ea lth y y ou ng m an . H e r em ain s H IV n eg ativ e."In h ig h s ch oo l th ere w er e s o m an y p eo pleg ettin g p re gn an t o r e ng ag in g in u ns afe s ex a ndyou would hear th ese peop le had S ills andS TIs . I w an te d to k no w ab ou t c on do ms , ris kyb e h av io r s, d if fe r e nt p o s it io n s ," h e s a id .

T h e h ig h n um be r o f in fe ctio ns a mo ng b la ckg ay m en s ho ws th at th e b la ck c om m un ity is o neth at is in n ee d, h e a dd ed ." It's n ot ju st a bo ut s ex ua l h ea lth b ut a bo ute mo tio na l h ea lth ," R ob in so n s aid . "T he n ee dfo r love becom es so strong and if y ou lac ke ducatio n yo u e nd up w ith a p op ulatio n th atd oe sn 't k no w h ow to g o ab ou t n av ig atin g s ex ,yo u do n't kno w yo ur o wn self w orth - p eo pleneed to kno w th ey de serve a h ealth y life andn ot ju st w ha t c om e s a lo ng ."

C han gin g th e tid e o f H IV in fe ctio ns in th eblack gay co mm unity - an d in all co mm uni-tie s - m us t fo cu s n ot j us t o n s e x b ut a ls o o n th em in d a nd s ou l, R ob in so n s aid . L ea vin g b eh in dth e h o mo p ho bia o f w h er e h e w as r ais ed p la nte dth e s ee d th at h e w as w orth y o f h av in g a h ap pya nd h e alt hy l if e.

" I d i dn' t think I would liv e p as t t h e a ge o f 1 8.B ut w he n I s ta rte d c olle ge I g ot th e s ma lle st in-k lin g th at I w as w or th y. I t t oo k y ea rs fo r th at tob ec om e c on cr ete . G ay p eo ple d ea l w ith a lo t o fh a te , a l ot o fm i s i nf o rm a ti o n i s g i v e n t o u s . I d id n 'tk no w w h at i t w a s t o b e v al ue d ," h e e xp la in ed .

B ut o ve r tim e, R ob in so n s aid h e d ev elo pe dI rie nd sh ip s a nd re la tio ns hip s th at p ro ve d toh im h e is w orth y o f b ein g aliv e. T hat's a m es -s ag e h e w ou ld lik e o th er y ou ng b la ck g ay m ent o k n ow .

"I f y ou c an fin d p eo ple w ho w ill e nc ou ra gey ou a nd s up po rt y ou , th at y ou a re n ot th is p ie ceof shit o th er s te ll y ou , f in d th em a nd k ee p th ema ro un d y ou to m o ve o n a nd fo rw ar d, Ify ou r e n-viro nm en t is b ad - as so on as yo u can, ge t o ut,g o to co lle ge . T ak e th e re in s a nd m ov e to wa rdh ap p in e ss ," h e s ai d.
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6/40

m G A V o ic e \ A ug u s t 1 9 , 2 0 1 1 \ N ew s w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m

G a . H V U n i t a s k s C D C fo r $ 3 m i l i o n t o e l i m i n a t e A D A P w a i t i n g l i s tS t a t e a ls o in v e s tig a t in gs p e n d in g fo r H I V p re v e n tio nBy Prana Bagbydbagby@tl l egavoice.com

Georgi a's HIV Unit hopes t o e limina te thesta te 's AIDS Drug Assistance Program's waitinglist if it c an re ce ive a $3 mi llion gra nt from theCenters for Disease Control &Prevention this fall.

Some 1,718 Georgians were on the wait-ing list for ADAP as of Aug. 4, ac coding t o theADAP Advoc ac y Associa tion. The programhelps people who are uninsured or underin-sured pay for life-saving HIV medications.

Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, sta te commissioner ofthe Department of Public Health, which overseesthe HIV Unit, is quick to point out tha t the l is t isnot a "death sentence," as99 percent of people onthe list are receiving needed medication throughassistance from pharmaceutical companies.

But the lis t ca n be us ed as a "powe rful t ool"to a pply for more fede ra l mone y to be used forHIV prevention, Fitzgerald said.

"We insti tuted tha t [ADAP wa iting list ] inGeorg ia to i llus tra te the need and document theneed," she said. "By using tha t large number [ofpeople on the wa it ing l is t] we've app lied for an

add it iona l $3 mil lion f rom the CDC," she said."The exist ence of a wa iting list is a power-

ful tool for us when applying for federal funds."

I n te rna l inves t iga t ionGeorgia's bid for federal funding to helpADAP comes as the s ta te HIV Unit undergoes aninternal investigation to determine if the u nit - aswell as community-based organizations, such asthose that conduct ontreach to high risk popula-t ions inc luding gay and bisexua l men - use s themoney currently received from the CDC wisely.

"The investigation was initiated by sev-eral factors," Fitzgerald said. "As a c linician, Ididn't li ke t ha t there were 1,600 pe ople on theADAP wa iting Usc Then we sta rt ed looking atsome of the communi ty-based organ izat ionsa nd some are spending $25 a pe rson, s ome $75a pe rson, some more . We want to make sure weare spending money effectively."

In a recen t interview with GA Voice , MarkDouglas , a co-founder and the execnt ive d ir ec -t or of My Brothaz Home in Sa vanna h and a lsoco-chair o f the Georg ia HIV Prevent ion Plan-ning Group, sai d he and others are frustrat edwith trying to fulfill their promises to their com-munit ie s when the HIV Uni t somet imes del iv -ers grants months la te. The dela ys forc e someage ncie s to l ay people off as we ll a s try to rusha ye ar's worth of work into just a few months.

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B re nd a F it zg er al d, s ta te c om m is si on er o f t h e D ep ar t-m en t o f P ub lic H ea lth , sa ys a n in ve stig atio n in to th eH IV U n it 's s pe nd in g p r ac ti ce s a n d h ow c omm u ni tyo rg a ni za ti on s u s e f U nd in g i s n e a r c o mp l et io n .(photo by Dyana Bagby )

"The bureauc racy jus t takes foreve r. The reare delays [in getting grants]. Sometimes ittakes six months or more. That's my biggestcompla int," Dougla s sa id. "And tha t makes it

bard on us to deliver contracts."The Atlanta Joumal-Constitution recently re-

ported tha t some c lien ts who rely on the Hea lth-care Insurance Program to cover pre rn inms fortheir AIDS medications get cut off suddenly be -cause the HIV Unit fails to deliver checks on time.

While Fitzgerald acknowledges there ismuch improvement needed in the HIV Unit,she is not willing to take the full blame. Shesaid that some community-based organizations~ she declined to say which ones - can takebe tween 28-75 days to get the properly fille dout pape rwork to the HIV Unit in order for it tocut a check to a client for medications.

This delay of getting in the proper paper-work, which is typically sent back and forthsevera l t imes using regu la r mai l ra ther than on-line be twee n the HIV Unit and the a genc ies, isa lso a major r ea son money is not d ls tnbured ina timely manner.

F itz gerald sa id she hope s the pa perworkcan soon be completed online. She also saidshe 'd l ike to have a person from her off ic e, whoknows how to f il l out the paperwork cor rect lythe first time, in every agency.

"If it takes between 28 to 75 days to get usthe proper paperwork , tha t' s not accep table, "Fitzgerald said. "I've been told the average timei t takes uswhen we get the proper paperwork tocut a check is 10days ."

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7/40


8/40

G A V o ic e \ A u g u s t 1 9 , 2 0 1 1 \ N e w s w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m

G a . l e g is l a t i v e r e d i s t r i c t i n g p i t s g a y l a w m a k e r s a g a i n s t g a y r i g h ts a l l i e sT w o o u t o f th r e e o p e n lyg a y r e p s m a y fa c ein c u m b e n t o p p o n e n ts

districts that will increase its power. The mapsa pprove d by the Georgia legisl ature wil l a lsorequire federal approval to certify that theycomply with the Voting Rights Act.

The proposed map released by the HouseReapportionment Committee pits Rep. RashadTaylor (D-Atl anta ), who rec ently came out asgay and is black, against gay-friendly longtimeRep. Pat Ga rdne r (D-Atl anta ), who is white.Gardner strongly opposed the 2 0 0 4 state consti-tutional amendment that banned gay marriage.The same yea r, Ga rdne r defea ted an openly gaychallenger, Alex Wan, in the Democratic prima-ry , Wan now serves on the Atlanta City CounciL

State Rep. Simone Bell (D-Atlanta) , the f irstout b lack lesbian in th e nat ion tose rve in a s ta telegi slat ure , may ha ve her district combinedwith s ta te Rep . Ralph Long (D-At lanta), whois also black and who supported Rep. Taylorwhen he c ame out .

Sta le Rep . Kar la Drenne r (D-Avonda le Es-tates ), Georg ia 's f ir st openJy gay s ta te leg is la -t or, does not ha ve her distric t combine d wi thanother incumbent.

Jeff Graham, executive director of sta tewidegay political group Georgia Equality, said that hed idn' t think the maps were inten tiona lly drawnto hurt gay l awmake rs, but urged LGBT Geor-gians to speak out about redisnicting c onc e r ns ,

"Cons idering the large numbe r of inc um-

o ther s ta te s, inc luding Cal ifornia and Florida ,that use independent commissions to draw theirlegislative maps.

"The ger rymander ing tha t has been done toso many dis trict s, e spec ia lly in metro At lanta,is a dea r indica tion that we need a proce ss thati s f ar more fai r and thought fu l and less ove rt lypartisan," he said.

The proposed House map, which had notbeen official ly approved as of pre ss t ime Aug.16, pits incumbents against eacb other in 10d is tr ic ts . Twe lve Democra tic incurnben ts , in-c luding Ben and Taylor , and e ight Republicanincumbents are affected.

Democra tic leade rs warn tha t if the Repub-licans are successful in gaining a constitutionalmajority in both the House and the Senate,meaning they have enongh vote s to pass cons ti -tutional amendments without any Democraticsupport, LGBT Georgians could be amongthose at r isk

"The e ffect o f c reat ing a Republican super -majori ty would be devas ta ting to Georg ia c it i-zens, leading to constitutional amendments tbathave been introduced or passed in other sta tes,"the talking points sta ted, listing "outlawing gayadopt ion" a long with a ttacks on reproduct iverights and immigra tion , a s wel l a s the po tent ia lpassage of schoo l vouchers and e limina ting theincome tax by inc reas ing the sales tax.

By Laura Douglas-Brown &pyana BagbyIbrown@thegavoice .com

Redis tr ic ting maps c reated by Republicanlea ders in the Georgi a House could lea ve twoof t ile s ta te 's thr ee openly gay s ta te lawmake rsfacing tough battles against fellow incumbentsfor re-election next year.

"Republican maps are forcing two of thethree gay representatives (and the only twoAfrican-American LGBT representatives in thenation) into competition with fellow incumbentDemocrats, resulting in the potential reductionof gay representation in the House," DemocraticCaucus leaders argued in talking points distr ib-uted to help build opposition to the proposal.

The Georgia GeneralAssembly began meet-ing Aug. 15 in a spec ial se ssion to a pprove themaps, which were released Aug. 12. Redistr ic t-ing takes p lace eve ry 10year s a fter the relea seof results from the u.s . Census.

The proce ss of re shaping the stat e's l egis-lati ve distric ts is oft en highly pa rt isan a s thecon trol ling pol it ic al par ty may a ttempt to c ra ft

S ta te R ep s. S im on e B el l a nd R ash ad T il Y1 ar , w ho a reo pe nl y g ay , c ou ld be d ra wn in to d is tr ic ts w he re t he ywi l i have to face fel low Democrari c incumbents f or r e-election. (File photos)Fo r b re a k ing news on r e d is tr ic ti ng , v is itwww. thegavoice .com

bents who were pitted against each other, Idon 't f ee l tha t gay and lesbian leg is la to rs werespeci fic al ly ta rge ted," Gra ham sa id. "Folkswho are upset that their distr ic t boundarieshave changed, especially if those changes splitneighborhoods, should weigh in with their sta telegisla tors and should communicate specifical-ly with both the House and Senate leadership."

Graham said the highly con tent ious red is -tricting process shows why Georgia should join

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10/40

DA V o ic e \ A u g u s t 1 9 , 2 0 1 1 \ N ew s w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o mA n t i g a y s t r e e t p r e a c h e r s t a r g e t N o r t h G a . m o u n t a in sS m a l l b a n d o f p ro te s t e rs b r in g'H o m o S e x is S in ' s ig n s t o H e le n

physica l hara ssment , a ccording to Mel Marsh,a traosge nde r man from Covington who wi t-nessed the event.

Marsh contacted the GA Voice about thedemonstra tion in an email that was al so sent tothe Atlanta Joumal-Constitution and the WhiteCounty News.

"We witnessed a truly horrible anti-gay reli-gious prote st In the middl e of the main stri p oft own, Pe ople shouting 'Homo Sex i s a Sin' a nd

ca lling people fa ggots a nd a ll a round be ing anuisance and not let ting anyone get pas t them,"Marsh recalled in the email,

"They were also insulting everyone's re-l ig ion a lthough this was prima ri ly an ant i-gayra lly. The y we re al so ca lling for our (ga y peo-p le 's ) dea ths. These people were Laying handsand grabbing patrons/customers and disruptingbusiness and harassing everyone," he said.

He len is a r ec reated Alpine v il lage tha t s it s

By lzyan [email protected]

The Nor th Georg ia mountain town ofHe lenwas the targe t o f an ant i-gay demonst ra tion onAug. 13, featuring signs, gay slurs and even

V o t e d A t l a n t a ' s B e s t .

L e a r n w h y G R E E N r : s w a s v o t e d b e s tI l i q u o r , s t o r e b y I G A V o i c e r ' e a l d e r s a to u r t w o c o n v e n i i e n t I D e a t i o n s , :

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on the Cha ttahoochee River in Whi te County,Ga . The town draws te ns of thousa nds of tour-ists annually and is famous for its German-themed archit ect ure , shops and rive r tubingduring summer months.

Marsh said tha t he' s been v is it ing Helen formore than 25 years and had never seen any-thing like the demonstration.

"Peop le a re coming here wi th the ir k ids, " hesaid in a telephone interview this week. "Whyon Ear th a re they doing this c rap in Helen?"

He len a nd White County a re far remove dfrom the s ta te 's LGBT hub inAtlan ta , bu t localoff ic ia ls acknowledged that these types of dem-ons tr at ions have occurr ed across the county inrecent months.

"I was trying to not get too dose," Marshsaid. "Not like you could because they weredrawing a crowd."

Marsh said he only saw one per son counter -ing the pro te ster s. When Marsh cheered for theman, someone in the c rowd a ttempted to spiton h im, he said.

Helen Police Chief Ted Ray said in a tele-phone interview that he was aware ofthe demon-strations but did not know who organized them.

" It 's one of those things tha t people cal l andcomplain about the volume, about the loudnessof the event , p ro te st , whatever you want to cal lit," Ray said.

Ray said he believed there were between fourand six demonstra tors that evening. Marsh esti-mated there were as many as a dozen protesters.

The re we re no re ports nf any physic al c on-fron ta tions, a ccording to the Helen Pol ic e De-partment No offic ers we re sta tione d with theprotesters.

"Like any other event , o ther n ight , we havepeople patrolling the area," Ray said.

The demonstrators were not required tohave a permit, according to Ray, because theevent was religious in nature, Other demonstra-t ions or pro te st s would l ikely requ ire a permi t,he said."The y're not re quire d to have pe rm its forthe nature ofwhat they're doing. I t's a religious-based type of event. If you 're marching or pro-tes ting a p lace orbus iness, yes , you would haveto ha ve a permit. Thi s doesn't c ome unde r tha tcriteria," Ray said.

Ray belie ves tha t the same group ha s dem-onstrated in Helen before.

"They come here periodically," he said.The GA Voice cou ld not confi rm the ident i-

t ie s of the pro te sters , but the ir tac tics and s ignsare simi lar t o a n affi liat ion of Georgi a stree tp reache rs who have taken ant i-gay messages toevents l ike At lanta Pride and Augus ta Pride , a swell as local college campuses.

If you have more information about theidentity of t he prot esters, pl ease emai l rwat [email protected].
http://www.thegavoice.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.thegavoice.com/


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w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m N ew s / A ug u s t 1 9 ,2 0 1 1 / G A V o ic e '"

A tla nta B r ave s g ame tobene f it Geo rgia Equa lityT he A tla nt a B ra ve s w il l h o st a S ep t . 1 3

g a m e t o b e ne fi t G e o rg ia E q ua li t y , th e s ta le 'sl a rg e st L G B T a dv oc a c y o rg a ni z a t i o n , i n w h a tIS b e in g c a l l e d " O ut i n th e S ta n ds ,"G e o rg ia E q ua li t y a nd m e m b e r s f r om P F L AG( P a r e n t s , F a m i l i e s , & F r ie n d s o f L e s b ia n s a n d G a y s )m e t w i t h A t l a n ta B r av e s P r e sid e n t J o h n S c h ue r -h o lz a f te r p i t ch in g c o a c h R o g e r M c D o w e l lw a s a c -c u se d o f u s in g a n ti- g ay s lu r s t o w a rd fa n s in S a nF r a n c is c o o v e r E a s te r w e e k e n d e a r lie r t h is y e a r,

M c D o w el l a ll e g e d ly s ho u t e d , " A re y ou ah om o c o up le o r a th re e s o m e ? " a t f a n s a ndim it a te d a s e x a ct u sin g a b as e ba ll b a t . H ew a s e v e n tu a ll y s u s pe n de d a n d p ub li c ly a p ol -o g iz e d f or t he in c id e n t.

G e o rg ia E q ua li t y E x ec ut i v e D ir ec to r J e f fG ra ha m s a id t h a t h e b e li e v e s " O u t i n t h eS ta nd s" i s t h e f i r s t s te p t h e A tl a n t a B ra ve sw il l t a ke in r e pa ir in g t h e d am a ge c au se d b yM c D o w e l l' s c o m m e n t s ,

" W e c e rta in ly h a ve c on tin u ed to b e in c on -v e rs a ti o n s w i t h t he B r av e s o rg a n iz a tio n ," G r a -h a m t old G A V o ic e , 'T v e e n co u ra g e d t he m t o g e tb e h in d l o ca l e f f o rt s t o a d d r e ss b u ll yi ng in p u b lics ch o ol s a nd t o s up p or t o rg a n iz a t io n s t h a t d ot ha t w o r k, I d o n'! b e lie v e t h e B ra v e s a re d o new i th t h e ir i ni ti at iv e s a r o u n d t h a t. I c e r ta i n ly t h a th o pe w e c on ti n u e t o s ee m o re o u t o f t h e m ,"A p o r t i o n o f t h e S e p t. 1 3 t ic ke t s a le s w i llb e ne fi t G e o r g ia E q ua li t y , t h e o rg a n iz a t io ns a id , T ic k e ts m u st b e p ur c h as e d th ro ug hD e n n e tte T h o rt on ( 40 4 '6 1 4 -1 4 9 3 o r d e n ne tte .t ho r nt on @ b r a ve s .c o m ) b y S e p t. 9 .

- R ya n W a t kin s' @ H ! j ' M ' w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m'O u t i n t he S ta n ds 'A t la n t a B r a v e s V S , F l o r id a M a r l in sT u e s d a y , Sept 1 3 , 7 : 1 0 p . m ,T u r n e r F i e ld7 5 5 H a n k A a ro n D r i v e S EA t la n t a , G A 3 0 3 1 5w w w . A t l a n t a B r a v e s . ( o m

NOW HIRIN G

G O P p re s id e n tia l h o p e fu ls d e b a t e s a m e -s e x m a r r i a g eT he re 's n o d en yin g th e e co no my is th e m ainfo cus o f p olitida ns co nte nd in g to b e th e n ex tp re si de nt o f t he U n it ed S ta te s. L as t w e ek 's GO P

d eb ate o n F ox N ew s fo cu se d la rg ely o n th e s ub -j ec t, b u t o th e r t o p ic s , l ik e f o re ig n p o li cy a n d s o c i ali s sue s , we r e a l so d i scu s sed ,

T h er e w e re a h an df ul o f q ue st io n s d ir ec te d toc an di da te s a bo u t s am e -s ex m ar ria ge d ur in g t heA u g. 1 1 d eb at e, a nd t he re w e re n't a ny s ur pr is es i nt h e a n sw e r s g iv e n to t h e mode r a to r s .F on ne r M as sa ch us etts G ov . Mitt Romneyf ie ld ed th e fir st q ue stio n o n m ar ria ge w he n h ew a s a sk ed i fh e b el ie ve d s ta te l awm ak er s h av e th er ig h t t o l eg a li ze s ame - se x u n io n s a s r e ce n tl y h a p -p e ne d in N ew Y o rk .

" I'd fa r p re fe r h av in g th e r ep re se nta tiv es o fp e op le m a ke t ha t d ec is io n t ha n ju st ic es , b ut 1 b e -l ie v e t h e i ss u e o f m a rr ia g e s h o ul d b e a t t h e f ed e ra ll ev e l, " R omn ey s a id .

R omne y a d de d t h at h e s u pp o r ts a c o ns ti tu ti on -a l a me nd me nt th at w ou ld " de fin e m ar ria ge a s au nio n b etw ee n a m a n a nd a w om an ."

F o rm e r g o ve rn o r o f U ta h a nd Am ba ss ad o r t oC h in a J o hn Hunt sm a n, w h o s u pp o r ts c iv il u n io n sf or s am e-s ex c ou ple s, w as a sk ed if h is p os itio nw as t oo m o de ra te f or GO P p ri ma ry v o te rs .

Mitt Romne y (C r ea ti ve Commons ph ot o by JessicaR i n a ld i l M i tt R om n ' 0' Me d i a )

"I b elie ve in tr ad itio na l m ar ria ge , fir st a ndf o rem o st ," H unt sm a n s a id ."B ut, I a ls o b elie ve in c iv il u nio ns b ec au se I

think t his n ati on c an d o a b ett er j ob w h en i t c om e st o e q ua li ty , I t hi nk t h is n a ti o na l c an d o a b e tt er j o bw h en i t c om e s t o r ec ip ro ca l b en ef ic ia ry r ig h ts .111at'S ju st m y p er so na l b elie f. E ve ry on e is e n-

t id e d t o t h ei r p e r s o na l b e li ef , t oo . "O ne o f th e m od erato rs as ke d L ib erta ria n-le an in g R ep . R on P au l (T ex as ), w ho h as s aid h e

s u pp o r ts t h e s ta te s ' r ig h ts i n t h e m a rr ia g e d e ba te ,i f h e w o ul d s up p or t s ta te s t ha t w an te d t o le ga li zep o ly g amy . P a ul s co f fe d a n d s a id i t w o ul d be l ik e as t at e r e enac t ing s l ave ry .

" I w a nt t he s ta te s t o d e a l w ith it if t he y h av e to ,if t he y n ee d t o," P au l s aid o f t he m a rr ia ge d eb at e." I w o ul d s ay l es s g ov er nm e nt w o uld b e b ett er . Ify o u h a ve t o h a ve r e gu la ti on s , l et t he s ta te g o vem -rnents d o it."

R e p. M ic he le B ac hm a nn (Mi nn .) , t he w in ne ro f t he Am es S tr aw P o ll l as t w e e ke nd , t ol d v ot er st ha t s h e h as n't b ud ge d o n t he m a rr ia ge d eb at e.

" I s up po rt th e fe de ra l m ar ria ge a me nd me ntb ec au se 1 b e li ev e th at w e w iU s e e this i ss u e a t t h eS up re m e C o ur t o n e d ay ," s h e s aid . " I h av e a n u n-b lem is h ed r e co r d w h e n itc om e s to this i ssue ."

F r ed Ka r ge r , a p o li ti ca l c o ns u lt an t r u nn in g o nth e G OP tic ke t, w as n otic ea bly a bs en t fr om th ed eb at e. K a rg er ; w h o is g ay , h a s s in ce f il ed a c om -p la in t w it h t he F e de r al E l ec ti on C omm is s io n o v e rhis e x cl us io n , a c co r di ng t o p o li ti ca l n ew s s o ur ceTh e D a il y C a ll er .

- R yan W atk in s

'G a y I c o n ' A n n C o u l t e r o in s G O P r o u d 's a d v i s o ry b o a rdGOPr ou d, a c on se rv at iv e L GB T p o lit ic al o r-g an iz at io n, a nn o un ce d A u g, 9 th at i t h a d n am e d

columnis t Ann Coul ter to i ts a dv is or y b o ar d.C oulte r h as a lo ng h isto ry o f an ti-g ay s tate -m e nt s a nd d o es n ot s up p or t m ar ria ge e q ua li ty ."A nn Co ulter is a brilliant and fe arlessle ade r o f th e c ons erv anv e m ov em en t, w e arehono red to have her as part o f GOProud'sle ad er sh ip ," s aid C hr is to ph er B ar ro n, c ha ir -m an of G OProud's bo ard, in a s tatem ent re-le as ed o n G OP ro ud 's w eb site .

"Ann h elp ed put o ur o rganizatio n o n th em ap , P olitic s is fu ll o f th e m ee k, th e co mp ro -m is in g a nd t he a p ol og is ts - A n n, l ik e GO Pr ou d,is th e e xact o pp osite o f all o f th os e th ing s. W en ee d m or e A nn C ou lte rs ," B ar ro n a dd ed ,

FIT Op e ra tio ns p os itio n w ith " O n C aU " r e sp on sib ilit ie s to in clu de s om ee ve nings, w ee ke nds. holiday s. M ust b e ab le to lift 75+ I b s . consi s-te ntly . E xp er ie nce in th e p et ca re in du stry a p lus. G oo d p ay , b en efitpackage . S end re sum e to of f i [email protected] s]?J)_ w h . is . hers\:,9 wags '"...: YOUR PET CRIMATORY- 2800 E, P Dn c e d e tso n A ve . D eca tu r G A 3003 0www.PawsWhiskersandWags,com40'4.370'.60'0 '0 '

Cou lt er 's o f fi ci al t it le i s "G ay I co n .""I am h ono re d to serve in th is cap acity onG OP ro ud's A dv is ory C ou ncil, an d lo ok fo r-ward to be ing th e Q uee n o f Fabulo us ," saidC o u lt er v ia GOP ro u d .C o ul te r m ad e w a ve s i n c on se rv at iv e c ir cle sla st y e a r w h en s he h e ad li ne d GO Pr ou d's i na ug u-r al H omo co n e ve nt, C o ns er va ti ve " ne w s" o u tl etW or ld N et D aily d ro pp ed C ou lte r fr om its lis to f c o nt ri bu to r s a n d q u es ti o ne d h e r c o ns e rv a ti vep r in c ip le s o v e r h e r a p p ea ra n ce a t t he c o nf er e nc e .C o ult er r es p on de d, s ay in g t ha t W o rl d N e t D ai lye dit or J os ep h F ar ah . w a s s im p ly s ti lt in g u p c on -tr ov er sy t o g et h its t o h is w e bs ite .

- RYan Watk ins Anne Co u lt er ( pho to v ia Fa c eb o ok J

B uy and sellhigh qualityfurniture50%..80%off retail.

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12/40

IJ\ G A V o ic e \ A u g u st 1 9 , 2 01 1 \ V o ic e s w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m

Th e Geo rg ia V oic e1 9 04 M o n r o e D r . . Su it e 1 3 0A t la n ta . G A 3 0 3 2 44 0 4 8 1 5 - 6 9 4 1 1 w w w . t h e g a v o i c e . c o mE D I T O R I A LE d it o r: la u ra D o u g la s -B r ow nI b r o w n @ t h e g a v o i c e . c o mD e p ut y E d it o r: D y an a B a gb yd b a g b y @ t h e g a v o i c e . c o mW e b M a n a ge r: R y an W a tk in sr w a t k i n s @ t h e g a v o i c e m mA rt D ir ec to r: B o S h e l lb s h e l l @ t h e g a v o i c . c o mE d it or ia l I n te rn : S a ge N e ny u es n e n y u e @ t h e g a v o i c e . c o mC o n t ri b u to r s : R o b A n d r e w s , M e l i s sa C a r te r .J im F a r m e r. S ha n n o n H a m e s . R y a n L e e .T o p h er P a y n e, M i k e R i tt er , M a t t S c h a fe r .S t ev e W a r re n . J u s t in Z i eg le rB U S I N E S SP u b li sh e r: C h r is ti na C a s hc c a s h @ t h e g a v o i c e . c o mA s so c ia te P u b l i s he r: T im B o ydt b o y d @ t h e g a v o i c .c o mS a le s E x e cu t iv e : M a r s ho ll sranernm g r a h a m @ t h e g a vo i ce . c o mS a le s E x ec u t iv e : J oh n S u gg sj o n n s u 9 9 s @ t h e g a v o i c e . c o mN a t io n a l A d v e r ti si n g :R l v e n d e ll M e d i a . 9 0 8 - 2 3 2 2 0 2 1s a l e s @ r i v e n d e l lm e d i a . c o mB O A R D O F A D V I S E R SR i ch a rd E ld r ed g e . S a n d y M a l co lm ,L y n n P a s Q u a le t ti . R o b e rt P u ll en

A ll m a te ri al in l he G e or gia V o ic e i s p ro te c te d bv f e d e r a lc op y ri gh t la w a nd m a y n o t b . r ep ro du c ed w it ho u t t he w ri tt enc o n s e n t o f t h e G e o r g ia V o i c e . T h e s e z u a l o r i e n ta t io n o f a d v e rt is -e rs . p h o t oq ra p h sr s , w r it er s a n d c a rt oo n is ts p u bl is h ed h e re in i sn e it he r i nf er re d n o r i m p li ed . T h e a p p e ar a nc e o f n a m e s o r p ic -t or ia l r e pr e se n ta ti on d o e s n o t r ec e s sa r il v i nd ic a le t he 1 0 ," ,1o ri en ta ti on 0 1 t ha t p e r so n o r p er so n s. W e a ls o d o n o t a cc e ptr e s p on s i bi li ty f o r c l a im s m a d e b y a d v e rt is e r s .

U n s o l ic i te d e d i to r ia l m a t e r ia l i s a c c e p te d by t he G e o rg iaV o ic e . b u t w e d o n o t t ak e r e sp o ns ib il it y f o r i ts r e tu r n. T h e e d it or s r e se r ve t he r ig h t t o a c c ep t. r ej ec t o r e d it a n y s u b m is s io nG u i d e li n e > f or f r ee l an c e c o n t ri b ut o rs a r e " , i la b l e u p o n r e q u es t

A s in gl e co py o f th e G e or gie VOiCE i s a va il ab le f ro m ilU~t h~ ri z, d d is tr ib u ti on p a in ts , M u l ti pl e c o p ie s a r, " a ll ab le f ro mt he G e o r~ ia V o ic e o ff ic e o n ly . C a l l f or r a te s . I f y o u a re u n a bl e t or e ac h a c on ve n ie n t f re e d is t r ibu t ion po in t, y ou m ay receive a2 6 is s u e m a i le d s u b s c ri p ti o n f o r $60 p e r y e a r . C h e c k s o r c r ed itc a r d o r de rs c an b e s e n t t o T i m B o yd ,t b o y d @ t h e Q a v o i c e . c a m

P o s tm a s te r : S e n d a d d re s s c h a nc e s t o t he G e o rg ia V o ic e .1 9 0 4 M o n ro e D r iv e . S u it e 1 3 0 , A t la n ta . G A 3 0 3 1 4 . T h e G e o r g iaV o ic e i s p u b li sh e d e v e ry o f h e r F r id a y b y T h e G e o rg ia V Q i ce .L L CI n d iv i d ,, 1 s u b s c ri p ti o ns a r e 56 0 p e r y e a r f o r 2 6 i ss u e s. P o s t a gep a id a t A t la n t a, G A . a n d a d d it io n a l m a i li n g o f fi c e s.

T h e e d i to r ia l p o si ti on s o f t he G e o rg ia V o ic e a r e e x p re s s eci n e d it or ia ls a n d I n e d i to r 's n o te s . O t he r o p in io n s a r e t h o s e o ft he w r it er s a n d d o n o t n e c es s a ri ly r ep r es e n t t he o p in io n o f t h eG e o rg " V o ic e a n d i ts s t af f.

T o s u b m i t a l et te r o r c o m m e n ta r y. L e tt er s s h o ul d b e f e w e rt h a n 40 0 w o r ds a n d c o m m e n la ry . f o r w e b o r p r in t, s h o u ld b e f e we rt h a n 75 0 w o rd s . S u b m is s io n s m a y b ee d it ed f or c o n te n t a n d l e n gf h. a n d m u s ti n c l" d e a n a m e , a d d re s s a n ~ p h o n e n u m b e r f o r v e r if ic a f io n . E m a i l s u b m is s i on s t oe d lt or t! lt he g a vo ic . c o m o r m a i l t o t h ea d d r es s a b o ," .

Y O I C E S O P N O N & R E A C T O NB a s k e t b a l l a n d b i - p h oR e a ct io n s t o S h e r y l S w o o p e s 'r e tu rn to d a t in q m e n r e ve a l m o rea b o u t u s t h a n t h e W N B A s ta rGues t ed i to r i al by R ev . I re ne M o nr oe

T o s om e in t he le sb ia n, g ay , b i se xu al,t ra ns g en de r a nd q ue er c omm un it ie s, S h er ylSw o op e s i s a " li e- se x ua l"

S wo op es - th e th re e-tim e O ly mp ic g oldm e da lis t a nd t hr ee -ti me MV P o f th e W om en 'sN atio na l B as ke tb all A ss oc ia tio n - is ju st a n-o th e r S is te r- gi rl o n th e " do w n lo w " a nn o un cin gt he i nc re du lo us n ew s th at s h e's n ow e ng ag edto m any a m an.

T o in cu ra ble h omo p ho be s, e sp e cia lly o ft he f un dame nt ali st C h ris ti an v ar ie ty w h o p ed alt he ir r h et or ic t ha t h omos e xu a li ty i s c u ra b lew ith r ep ar ati ve t he o rie s, Sw oo p es i s t he p ro di-g al d au gh te r w ho h as fin ally fo un d h er w aya wa y fr om h om os ex ua lity a nd h om e to Jesus.

T o m an y o f m y h et er os ex ua l A fr ic an - me ri-c an b ro th e rs , C h ri s U nc le sh o , th e m an Swo o pe si s engaged to m ar ry , is th e m an ! A b on a fid e" dy ke w his pe re r" w ho h as tu rn ed S wo op es o utto th e s ex ua l jo ys o f w h at it i s to b e w ith a m a n.Sw o op e s, o f c o ur s e, m a de h e ad li ne s in 2005w h en s he a nn ou nc ed h er r el at io ns hi p w ith aw om an . S o S wo op es ' n ew s la st m on th th at s heis e ng ag ed to a m an s en ds s eis mic s ho ck w av es

l ato th os e o f liS f ig h ti ng t he d e -m e di ca li za ti on a n dde -s t igma ti zat ion o f quee r s exua l it ie s .

T h os e c he er in g Sw oo p es ' n ew s o f s tr aig htm a rr ia ge b e li ev e i t p r o ve s t ha t f ol ks l ik e R e p ub -l ic an p r es id e nt ia l h o p ef ul M i ch e le B a chmann a rer ig h t, t ha t o u r o n go in g s tr u gg le f or LGBTQ dv ilr ig h ts i s n o t h in g mo r e t ha n a p o li ti ci ze d h e do n is -t ic gay agenda . to upend t r ad i ti onal f am il y va lue s .T ak e th is ty pic al c om me nt fr om a n E SP N.c om b lo g ge r :

" Sh e ry l i s ju st m o re p ro o f t h at n o o ne is borng ay , i t i s a l ea me d b eh av io r b ro ug ht o n b y e xp e ri-e n ce s a n d c ir cum st an c es i n o n e' s l if e. "M y h ea d s pin s a t t he th ou gh t o f h o w C hr is -

t ia n " de -g ay in g " c o un s el in g s e rv ic e s, l ik e t ha to f D r. M a rc us B ac hm an n, M ic he ll e B ac b-m an n's s po us e, c ou ld p o li ti dz e Sw oo p es ' s ee m -i ngl y s exua l f li p -f lopp i ng a s t h e ir po s te r -ch il d .G ay , stra ig ht -o r b i?

I n 1 99 7, a p re gn an t S he ry l S wo op es w asth e h ete ro se xu al fa ce fo r th e WN BA . S he w ast he c ov er -g ir l f or th e p re m ie re is su e o f " Sp o rtsI llu str ate d W o me n. " A t th e tim e S wo op es w asm ar ri ed t o h er m al e h ig h s ch o ol s we et he ar t.I n 2 00 5, S wo op es c am e o ut a bo ut h er r ela -tio ns hip w ith a w om an , b ec om in g th e s ec on do ut le sb ia n in th e WN BA . S he e nd or se d th el es bia n t ra ve l c om p an y " Ol iv ia ." Swo o pe s w asp a rn te r ed w it h A li sa S c ot t, a ll a s si st an t c o ac hfo r th e H ou sto n C om ets (S he ry l p la ye d fo r

them fro m 1997 - 20 07) .A nd no w, in 2 01 1, sh e's w ith a m ale .W h ile s om e o f h er F ac eb oo k fo llo we rsm ay s us pe ct S wo op es h as in de ed fo un d J es usi n a B ib le -th um p in g h omo p ho bi c c bu rc h,

Sw o op e s h a s n e it he r r e no u nc e d h omos e xu al it yn or r etr ac te d h er 2 0 0 5 " com in g o ut" s ta te -m e nt s a bo ut b ein g a le sb ia n."T he re is n oth in g I 'v e b ee n th ro ug h in m ylife th at I r eg re t, o r th at I w ou ld g o b ac k a ndc ha ng e. I f ee l l ik e e ve ry th in g t ha t h ap p en ed- p ers on ally an d p ro fe ssio nally - I w en tth ro ug h fo r a r ea so n, a nd I le ar ne d fr om th os et hi ng s," Sw oo p es ju st r ec en tl y t ol d E S PN . comr e po r te r Me c he ll e V o e peLWh at l ie s a t t h e c en te r o f v a ri ou s r ea cti on st o Sw oo p es ' a nn o un cem en t is n ot h er s ee m -i ngl y dup li ci tou s s exual f li p -f lopp i ng , bu t r a th e ro u r i gn o ra nc e a n d p h o bi a a b ou t b is e xu a li ty t ha tc ompl ic at es o u r ( st ra ig h t a n d LGTQ f ol ks ')u n de r st an d in g o f t he s c op e o f h e te r os e xi sm .L ol ly ga gg in g o n th e p h on e w ith a f ri en d,w h o is l es bia n, ta lk in g a bo u t Swo o pe s, s hes aid , "W e ll, I k in da c ou ld s ee h ow a s is te rm ig ht b e b is ex ua l, b ut th er e's n o s uc h th in g a sa b is e xu al b r ot he r . G ir lf ri en d , h e 's r e al ly 011 th e'down-low?"

B is ex ua ls a re a n u nd er re p re se nt ed , if n oti nv is ib le , g r ou p . Mo s t ( ag a in , s tr ai gh t a n dL GTQ fo lk ) c an o nly c on ce iv e o f a g ay !s tr ai gh t b in ar y p ar ad igm. B is ex ua l w ome n a reb etw ee n a r oc k a nd a h ar d p la ce within ga yand s t ra igh t c i rc l es .W I th in b i- ph o b ic l es b ia n c ir cl es . t he p la ce o fb i sexua l women within t he q u ee r w omen 's COITl-munit y i s , s ad ly , s t il lma rg i na l , i f i t e x i s ts a t a ll .S ome l es bia ns b eli ev e th at a ny w oma n w h o h ast he a b il it y t o s e xu a ll y l ov e a n ot he r w om en a ls oha s a po l it ic a l ob l iga ti on t o i dent if y a s l e sb i an .O th e rs b eli ev e t ha t th e c om p ul so ry n atu reo f h e te r os e xu al it y i n o u r c u lt ur e p r ec lu d esa ll p o ss ib ili ti es o f w ome n f re ely c ho o si ng ahe t er o s exua l r e la t ion sh ip .A nd w it hi n h omo p ho bic s tr aig ht c ir cl es ,t he p la ce o f b is ex ua l w ome n is a p us h t ow ar dt hem a s d e vo u t h e te r os e xu a l C h ri st ia ns .

W h o S wo op es is p ar tn er ed with o r m a rr ie dt o i s r ea ll y n on e o f o ur b us in es s.B ut t hi s f ac t i s f or s ur e:

If y ou a re in th e s tr ai gh t c am p c he er in gS wo op es fo r " cr os sin g b ac k o ve r" o r in th eq u ee r c amp c as ti ga ti ng h e r f or " fl ip -f lo p p in g ,"YOLl s ha re a b i- ph o bic r ea ct io n to Sw oo p es 'c ho ic e o f s po us e.

R ev . I re ne M o n ro e is coordinator of th eA fi -i ca n -A m er ic an R o un d ta bl e o f t he C e nt erf o r L esb ian & Gay S tu d ie s i n R e li gi o n &Min -istry a t th e P ac iffc S ch oo l o f R e lig io n. S he c anb e r ea ch ed a t www.irenemonroe.com
http://www.thegavoice.com/http://www.thegavoice.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.irenemonroe.com/http://www.irenemonroe.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.thegavoice.com/http://www.thegavoice.com/


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w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m V o i c e s / A ug u s t1 9 , 2 0 1 1 / G A V o ic e 4DS P E A K I N G O U TS h o u ld E r n i e a n d B e r t g e tm a r r i e d , o r s h o u ld g a y f o lk sl e a v e t h e m a lo n e ?

R e: " Ch an ge ,o rg p etiti on . a im s to o ut B er tan d Ernie" ( th eg a vo ic e, co m , A u g , 1 0)

Ye s , t h ey a lr e ad y l iv e t o ge th e r ,M i g h t a sw e l l!There is a tim e to push th e envelope andth en tim e to le av e s om e th in gs a lo ne . Ierson-a lly th in k th is is o ne o f tim es it s ho uld b e le ft

a lo n e. C h oo s e y o ur b at tle s w is e ly .L ea ve th e d am n Mu p pe ts a lo n e. E v er yt hin gin t he e nt ir e w o rl d is n o t g ay , S tr aig h t p e op le d o

s ti ll e x is t. T h a t' s j us t s tu p id . T h is t yp e o f e x tr em -i st b e h av io r is t he c ra p t ha t p r e ve n ts u s f ro m h a v-in g e qu al r ig h ts . G e t r ea l! L e av e PB S a lo n e.

H ow is it th at " ge ttin g m ar rie d" e qu als b e-in g o ut? H ow ab ou t th ey ju st w ear "S ile nc e =De a th " t -s h ir ts i ns te a d?

H av e y o u s e en t he i ns id e o f t he ir a p ar tm e nt ?How about th ose eyebrow s?! No gay m an Ik no w w ou ld liv e in su ch a d ra b e nv iro nm en tw it h a n u nk emp t p h ys ic al a pp e ar an ce . I 'm w il l-in g t o b e t t he y a re j us t r oomm at es .

T his w as am us in g u ntil m or e th an o ne p er-so n o n m y friends lis t p oste d a C hang e.o rgp etitio n w ith th e co mm ent h eadline , "S to pH om o ph o bia o n S es am e S tr ee t. " I t t u rn ed in toin sa nity fo r m e a t t h at p oin t. P eo ple d o n ee d tow ak e u p, w is e u p a nd c ho os e r ea l b attle s. T he ya re p u pp e ts n o t h uma ns !

G O P ro u d c ra zy t o c a l l A n nC o u l t e r a 1 9 a y i c o n 'R e : '' 'G a y I co n 'A n n C o u lt er j oi ns G O P ro u d: sa d vi so r y b o a rd " (t h eg a vo i ce .c om , A u g . 9 )Ia v e p e r so n al ly n e v er u n de r st o od GOP ro u do r L og C ab in R ep ub lic an s. P eo ple v otin g th eir

p u rs e a nd n o t t h e ir r ig h ts i s b e y on d m e .W e are t al ki ng a b o ut Ann Cou lt er , w h o is

no t an "ally" but m ore like an "Alli," l ik e t hed ie t p i ll w i th t h e s id e e ff e ct s. Ann Coul ter is th es id e e ff ec t o f t ak in g a n "Alli" pill .

T his is in sa nity , D id y ou s ee h er in te rv ie ww er e s he c la im s th at s he talk ed G OP ro ud o uto f g ay m a rr ia ge ? S e lf -d e pr ec at in g p u sh o ve rsw ill neve r transfo rm the GOP and make itm o r e i nc lu s iv e .

E d it o r's n o t e : T h e s e c om m e n ts o nG e o rg ia V o ic e a r ti c le s w e r e s u bm i t-t e d v ia o u r w e b si t e a n d F a ce b oo .k p a g e( w w w .f a ce b o o k.c o m / t h e g a v o ic e ) . W a n tt o w e ig h i n ? F o l l o w u s t h e re o r s u b m itc om m e n ts o n o u r w e b s it e .

H i l l a r y C l i n to n v s . B a r a c kO b a m a : S h o u ld t h e y f a c e o f fi n D e m o c r a t i c P r im a r y ?

Re: "If C lin to n c ha lle ng ed O ba ma fo r th e2012 nominanon, w ho w ou ld yo u v ote fo r? A n.dw ou ld th is h elp o r h ur t th e D e mo cr ats, w ho a red efi nit ely b ett er o n L GB T iss ue s th an th e le ad -ing GOP candidates?" (discussion at www.f ac eb oo kc om lth eg av oi ce , A u g. 8 )Iw ould vo te fo r h er and , no , it w ould no thu r t Democ r a ts .Iw is h s h e w a s th e c ur re nt p re si de n t. Ihinks he w ou ld b e to ta lly o ut o f h er m in d to g et in -v o lv e d i n t he 2012 e le ct io n . I t' s g o in g t o b e a ile

o f t h e m es sie st o ne s th at w e'v e e ve r h ad ,It w ou ld to ta lly h ur t D em o cr ats . L oo k w ha tK e n n ed y c h al le n gi ng C a rt er d id . T h e g ra ss i s al -

ways sunn ie r o n th e o th er s id e o f th e s tr ee t, b utthere is n o w ay to k no w th at s he w o uld h av e b ee nany be t te r than Obama, e s p ec ia ll y s in c e i t w a s un-d er h er h us ba nd w e g ot DADT an d DOMA.

P rim ary ch alle nge be tw een H illary andObama + T ea B ag ge r in sa nity = Pres identBachmann.

~ , . . a study to evaluate the'\I rtlclpate In .I.feligible yOUWI pa , I ff'cacy of an HIV vaCCine.h Potentia e I IVsafety and t e . d s not contain H 'The vaCCine oe . nd. it for your time a. 5 er study VISI .You will receive $7 P " Decatur, Georgia.study location In .travel expenses to the t d bv Dr, Mark Mulligan. g conduc .e sThis study is beln Vaccine Center," f the Emoryof the Hope CliniC 0 tur GA 30030.

603 Church Street, Deca ,located at

~ : " i ~ O P E : ~ ~ ! [ ! ~ ~ ! " , ~ ! !( ou 8 17 _ 42 4- H O PH 45 1 3) 1 0 \ . ~R N M O R . . '

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A t l a n t a ' s 1 5 t h B l a c k G a y P r i d e W e e k e n d A C R Y S T A L B A l [ '" I n t h e p r e s e n t . l e a r n in g f r o mth e p a s t to s h a p e th e fu tu r e . "

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w w w . t h e G A V o i c e . c o m A & E ! August 1 9 , 2 0 1 1 ! G A V oice

.!f:i- b y S a g e N e n yu eB la c k G a y Pride ce leb ra tes p a s t , l o o k s t o t h e f u tu r eI n t h e L if e A tl a n t a m a r k s1 5 y e a r s o f c om m u n i t ye m p o w e r m e n t

L ab o r D ay w e ek en d b rin gs t en s o f th o us an dst o A t la nta f or w h at i s b il le d a s t h e w o rl d's l ar ge stB la ck Ga y P r id e . T h is y e ar 's f e st iv it ie s w i ll h a vea d de d im pa ct , a s t h e n o np r o fi t In t h e L i fe A t lan tac el eb ra te s 1 5 y e ar s o f b ri ng in g c ul tu ra l a nd e du -c at io n al e v en ts t o t he m a ss iv e c e le b ra ti o n.

In th e L ife A tla nta fo rm ed in 1 99 6 to c re atea co mm unity co mp on en t to B la ck G ay P rid e,w hich b eg an as an info rm al n etw ork o f h ou sep a rt ie s , n ig h tl if e a n d o th e r g a th e ri ng s . T h is y e ar ,I TL A' s p ac ke d s ch e du le o f e v e nt s f oc us es o n th eth em e "A C rys tal B all" to m ark th e o rg an iz a-t ion ' s c r y st a l ann ive r s ary .'T h e o ve ra rc hi ng t he m e f or o ur a nn iv er sa ryt hi s y e ar i s 'Inm e p re se nt , l ea rn in g f ro m m e p as tto s h ap e m e f ut ur e. ' W e c ho se t he c ry sta l b al l b e -c au se it's b ee n 1 5 y e ar s; 1 5 is th e c ry sta l y ea r,"e xp la in ed I TLA P re si de nt R aym on d D u ke .

"As fo r m e b all, rath er m an s ay , a c ry stalg ob le t o r th e c ry sta l its elf, w he n y ou g az e in toit, y o u c an s ee w ha t's g oin g o n n ow a nd w ha t'sh ap pened in th e p ast to get us to w he re w e aren ow . A n d t he n itw il l a ls o t ak e y o u i nt o t h e f ut ur eto s ee w ha t's u p a he ad ," D uk e s aid o f th e h ig hlys ymbo l ic t hem e .D uk e's r em ar ks c am e A ug . 1 5 a t m e H is to ryo f B la ck G ay A tlan ta P re ss C onfe re nce at m eM e li a H o te l. P re se nte d b y M e ak P ro d uc ti on s inp ar tn er sh ip w it h T h e T e nt h Am en dm e nt M e diaG ro up a nd X r re m e E n te rt ai nm e nt , m e p re ss c on -fe re nc e g av e a s ne ak p ee k o f th e e ve nts to o cc urd u ri ng B la ck Ga y P r id e .T he c on fe re nc e in clu de d r ep re se nta tiv esf ro m I n T h e L if e A t la nta , th e S ta te o f B la ck G ayAm er ic a S umm it , T ra xx , T ra xx G ir ls , a nd o th e rclub an d e ve nt p ro mo te rs , w ho p ro mis ed m atth is y ea r's B la ck G ay P rid e w ill c on tin ue to d e-l iv e r qua li ty en te r ta i nmen t and educat ion .I n t h L i f e A t l a n ta :'C a l l i n g u p o n o u r a n c e s t o r s '

Wh ile B la ck G ay P rid e b eg an b efo re In th eL if eA t l an ta f o rm e d , t h e n o np r o fi t b r ou g h t im po r -ta nt c ha ng es t o t he f es ti vit ie s, s ai d M ik o E v an s,e x ec u ti ve p r od u ce r /C EO o f Me a k P r od u ct io n s." Wh en th er e w as n o I TL A, I r em em be r p eo -p le ju st w en t o ut a nd p ar tie d w ith n o c oh es io n[ on L ab or D ay w e ek en d] ," E va ns s aid . " Now a llt he m a jo r p la ye rs h av e g ot te n t og et he r th is y ea rt o c e leb r at e ou r s e lv e s . "

ITLA wants to ente rta in and educateth ro ug h a v ar ie ty o f o ff er in gs th at r an ge fr om ah ealth e xp o, w or ks ho ps an d a y outh trac k to af as h io n s h ow , film f e s ti val and l it e ra r y ca fe ."W e are an o rganization m at, fo r the past1 5 y ea rs , h as w or ke d d ilig en tly to e du ca te o ur

Organizers o(A tl on ta s B la ck G a y P r id e e ve nt s g at he re d A u g. 15 ( or a p r e ss c on fe re nc e t o s h ow t he ir u n it y a n dd is cu s s p l an s f o r c h is y ea r 5 f es ti vi ti es . ( Ph ot o b y Sh oun Jo nes I F ine ss e, L LC )c om m un ity , to p ro vid e c ultu ra l s er vic es to o urc om m un ity , to lo ok a t t he n ua nc es o f o ur p op u-lation of m en and w om en w ho are o f A fricand es ce nt w h o c ou ld b e t ra ns ge nd er ed -s pe o pl ew h o i de nti fy o r d o n' t f it i nt o c er ta in s ub -p o pu -l at io n s, " D uke s ai d." We h av e h is to ric ally d on e th is a nd d o th isto day, calling up on o ur ance sto rs o n w ho ses ho uld ers w e s tan d to c on tinu e to s up po rt u s,p ro te ct u s, a nd s us ta in u s to b e a b le to d o t his f ord ec ad es to c om e ," h e c on ti nu ed .

D uk e a ls o dis cu sse d h is vis io n fo r B lackGa y P r id e ." We a re a p ro ud p eo ple , w e m atte r, w e m ak ea d if fe r en c e, o u r d o ll ar is v er y p ow er fu l a nd w ea re a fo rc e to b e re ck on ed w ith . M y v is io n fo rB la ck G ay P rid e is m at w e c on tin ue to e xis t, tob e p ro u d, " h e s ai d.-H e d isa gr ee d w ith th os e w ho s ay m at th eylo ng fo r a d ay w he n m er e is n o lo ng er a n ee d fo ra B la ck G ay P ri de , c ou nt er in g " th a t's l ik e li vi ngfo r m e da y w he n th ere is n o F ou rth o f J uly ce l-e br at io n o r M a rti n L uth e r K in g d ay .' 'P e o pl e a r e s ti ll c e le b ra ti ng C iv il R i gh t s v ic -to rie s ju st a s w e s ho uld b e c ele br atin g th e fa ctth at w e c an b e b la ck a nd g ay ," D uk e s aid .

I TL A is a ls o e xc ite d to b e a ble to c le ar u p th ep u b li c m i sc o nc e pt io n t ha t it is s om eh ow a t o d dsw it h th e A tl an ta P ri de C omm it te e, w h ic h h o st st h eA t la n ta P r id e f e st iv a l O c t, 8 -9 .

" Th e A tl an ta P rid e C omm itt ee i s 4 0 y ea rs o ld- it's a n a du lt w ith a d r iv er 's lic en se a nd a m or t-g ag e. I TL A i s j us t tu rn in g 1 5; w e a re b ar el y g et -tin g o ur p er mit," D uk e s aid . "T he re is s o m uc hw e c an le ar n f ro m th e A P e. "S t a te o f B l a c k G a y A m e r i c a :'R e v i t a l i z in g o u r c o m m i tm e n t '

T he S tate o f B lack G ay A me rica S um mit,h eld each year o n th e S aturday o f B lack G ayP r id e , c e le b ra te s i ts f if th a n ni ve r sa r y i n 2 0 1 1.

T he S BG A S um mit w as co nce iv ed b y D ar-l en e H uds o n , a n e d uc a ti o na l s p e ci al is t a d vo c at e,a nd c o- pr od uc ed w it h G re go ry A ll en , r he p re si -d en t a nd C EO o f X tr em e E nte rta in me nt, Inc.B am atte nd ed m e A ug . 15 p re ss co nfe re nce tod is c us s t he e v en t.

H udso n sp oke o f he r vis ion o f m e sum mitw o rk in g t o h e l p a nd n o ur is h c omm un iti es .A ll en d is cu ss ed t he im p or ta nc e o f c oh e sio nw i th i n t he b la c k LGBT c ommun it y."P eo ple h ave to s ho w u p an d sh ow o ut; th e

o nly w ay to m ov e a he ad is to m o ve to ge th er ," h es aid . " Bla ck G ay P rid e is e ve ry on e's , s o it's o urr e sp o n si bi li ty t o s e e i t t h r o ug h .

E arl F ow lkes , th e pres ident/CE O o f th eI nt er na ti on al F e de ra ti on o f B la ck G ay P ri de s,w as a nn ou nc ed a s m e k ey no te s pe ak er ." He 's a c ata ly st a nd r es o ur ce f or p ut tin g 10-g em er B la ck G ay P rid es a ll a ro un d m e w or ld ,"H ud so n s a id .T h e t he m e o f t hi s y ea r's s umm it i s " Re vi ta l-i zi ng O u r C omm itm en t t o L e a d e rs h ip , D i ve r si ty ,and Commun i ty . "O ne p an el , " Re vi ta li zi ng O u r C omm it me ntto L ea de rs hip a nd C omm un ity ," c alls f or s et-t in g th e a ge n da f or p ro g re ss f or t he b la ck L GBTconununity.

'W e can 't be s tagnant. In 10 ye ars , Prides ho uld lo ok c om ple te ly d iffe re nt; it s ho uld b eb e tt er ," H ud so n s a id .A l len ag r eed ,

" At la nta s et s t he t on e f or m e r es t o f t he b la ckg ay w orld . T his is th e b lack g ay m ecca . W he nA tla nta d oe s s om eth in g, p eo ple w atc h. W e s ett re n ds ," h e s a id .

A nd a s fo r m e f utu re o f m e S umm it, H ud so na ck now le dg ed th at o rg an iz er s h av e b ig d re am s :'W e w an t to n atio na liz e it. I t is n't c alle d 'T heS ta te o f B l ac k G ay A tla nt a o r G e or gi a. ' W e w an to ur m od el to b e u se d a cr os s th e n atio n. B ut fir stw e h av e to g et it r ig ht h er e," s he s aid .

I n t h e L i f e A t l a n ta6 7 8 - 8 2 4 - I T L Aw w w . i n t h e l i f e a t l . c o mA ll e ve nt s a t h os t h ot e l u nle ss o th er wis e n o te d:M e lia H o te l5 90 W e st P ea ch tr ee 5 1.A t la n ta . G A 3 0 30 8W e d n e s d a y , A u g . 3 1 C a n dle lig h t V ig il@ F ir stM C C o f A tla n ta , 7 1 0 pr nT h u r s d a y , S e p t . 1 B a g S tu ff in g P a rt y . 6 -1 0 pm . V IP R e ce pt io n/G a la C ry st a l 8 a1 l6 :3 0 -1 0 pr n M a r r ia g es B y J ud g e J a cq ue ' 7 - 9 pr n B la ck P r id e L it er ar y K ic k 'O ff P a rt y@ C h a risB o o k s & M o r e . 7 :3 0 - 9 p. m

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S t a te o f B l a c k G a yA m e r ic a S u m m i tS a tu rd ay , S e pt . 4 , 1 1a .r n - 4 p.mM e lia H o te lw w w . s b g a s u m m i t . o r g L un ch eo n a nd k ey no te s pe ak er E a r l F o lk es , 1 1a . m , -1 pm , $3 5, P a ne l d is cu ss io ns , 1 pm - 4 prn, f r e eS t a te o f Y o u n g G a y A m e r i c aW e d ne s da y , A u g. 3 1 ,7 p .m .M e lia H o te l
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1'!Wi~\ y D y a n a B a g b yA & E ! A ug u s t 1 9 , 20 1 1 ! G A V o ic e m

N i g h t l i f e h e a t s up for A t l a n t a B l a c k G a yP r o m o t e r s s t i l l f i n a l i z in gs ch e d u le s b u t p ro m is e g re a tp a r t ie s f o r L a b o r D a y w e e k e n d

Packed wi th educa tional and informat iveevents such as the Sta te of Black Gay Amer icaSummit, Black Gay Pride is more than just aweekend-long party. But the re is no doubt tha tpa rtying is a maj or a spec t o f celebra ting Pridefor the estimated 100,000 people who comefrom all over the world to descend on Atlantaover Labor Day weekend.

Thi s ye ar's partie s should be a s hot a s e ver;but which celebrities will perform remainsunc lear a s promoters con tinue to fina lize the irnightlife schedules.

"It's going to be a full weekend and we'restill putting on some finaltouches. It's been a realsnuggle with a rt is ts thisyea r but the y are sl owlytrickling in," says PhillipBoone, owner of TraxxAtlanta.

Known for hugeparties, including lastyear's performance byNic ki Mina j, Tra xx andTraxx Girls promiseanother national art-ist to perform duringBlack Gay Pride. Theenter ta iner will performat two events on Sat-urday, Sept. 3, as partof the group's "PureHeat" Pride weekend:the huge Traxx partyat Traxx Club on Co-lumbia Drive, and theTraxx Girls party heldeac h yea r a t the downtown Fre ight Depot.Boone did give a few hints about who theyexpec t t o perform: "She used t o have her ownTV show and she sings and she was on 'Danc-ing with the Stars ' recently.

"That should give you enough dues," headded with a laugh .

There will also be time to remember andhonor Traxx At lanta' s Durand Robinson, whowas shot and kille d shortly be fore last ye ar'sannua l Black Pride weekend , Boone said.

Tra xx and Tra xx. Girl s a re al so bringing inR&B singer Ma rsha Ambrosius. She was onc eone-hal f o f the popular Bri ti sh duo Floet ry andisa lso a wel l-known songwri te r pur su ing a solocaree r. She is set to perform on Sunday, Sep t. .4 ,a t the Mansion Elan n ight c lub in Decatur .

"She is one of our main performers thisyea r: We had been told no f rom her for months,but she decided to cut her vacation short and

come per fo rm on Sunday," said Mel issa Sco tt ,owner ofTraxx Gir ls.Ambrosius' new album, "Late Nights

& Early Mornings," includes the song "FarAway," wri tten a fter a c lose f riend a ttemptedsuicide . The v ideo for the song confron ts ant i-gay prejudic e a nd bullying a nd how it can le adto suicide.

"Her video is very c onscious a nd spe aks tosuici des and a ft er a ll we he ard about them la styea r [by tee ns who we re ga y or perce ived gayI,i t' s so re levant to wha t i s happening today . Sheis one of the fi rs t c elebri ties to do a v ideo tak ingon this subject," Scott said.P r id e : 'H i g h l i g h t o fo u r a c c o m p l i s h m e n ts

Opa l Harr is , events coord inator for Girl s inthe Night , said the group isp lanning i ts popularpartie s a t Compound whi le a lso hosting a bur-

r i d e

A bo ve: R &B sin ger M ar sh a A mb ro siu s, o nce on e-ha l f of t he p op u la r B ri ti sh d u o F lo et ry , p er fo rm s onSu nday , S e p t. 4, a t t he T ra xx p ar ty a t M a nsio n E la nnight dub in Decatur (Publicity photo)L ef t: A t l as t y ea r s B la c k Ga y Pride , Traxx hostedt h ou sand s f o r a p e r fo rman c e by Ilip-hop divaNick i M in aj . (P ho to b y D y an a B ag by )l esque show and i ts Whi te Par ty a t Park Tavernon Sunday , Sep t. 4 .

"[Bl ac k Gay Pride] shows our pride i n ourcommuni ty ," she said. " It 's an emotional t imefnr me. I'm proud to be LGBT, not only as awoman but a lso as a mother. Our communit yhas come through so much but we s tick togeth-e r and work hard to accompl ish things. "

Also promising a weekend full of partiesand events is Rockstars Productions which VJiIlseek the "Face of Rockstar" to be its spokes-per son for the nex t yea r. Conte stan ts wil l mee tand greet at a pool party at the Melia, the hosthote l for Blac k Gay Pride thi s yea r, on Satur-day, Se pt 3, and the new spoke sperson will beintroduced on Sunday, Sept. 4, at a "Rock theVote Red Carpe t Resul ts Par ty" a t Prima l.

"I see Pride as a highlight of our accomplish-ments," said Juhr Rock of Rocks ta r. "For manypeopl e, t here is a ma sk of shame they wea r andthis i s an opportun ity for all of us to come to-gethe r so we don 't have to wear tha t mask.'We a lso don' t bel ieve Black Pride shouldbe con ta ined to only b lack people. Our goa l andfocus is to have a unive rsal p re sence, " he said.

All of the hotels a re a lready pa cked wit hpeople coming in from around the world forone of t he la rge st Bla ck Gay Prides in t he U.S.

La bo r Da y W e ek endB la ck G ay Pride p artiesT h e r e is s ti l l t im e t o p u rc h a s e p a s s es t o t h ep a c ke d s c h ed u le o f e v en ts a n d p a rt ie s o v e rB l ac k G a y P r id e w e e k en d h o st ed b y t he s en ig h tl i fe p ro m o te rs . B e s u r e to c h e ck o u t o u rf ul l c a l en d a r o f e v en ts , w i th t he d e ta ils o f th e ire x te n s iv e o f fe r in g s , a t w w w . t h e g a v o i c e . c o mT ra x x A tl an ta a n d T ra x x G i rl s" P u re H e a l"w w w . a t l a n t a p r i d e w e e k e n d . c o mRocks ta r s P r oduct ion" La b o r D a y R o ck "w w w . r o c k s t a r s p r o d u c t i o n . c o mG ir ls in th e N ig ht" Fe r nr ne -N om e nn on X V I"w w w . g i r l s i n t h e n i g h t . c o mXplos ionEnte r ta inment" P e ac h F e v e r "w w w . x p l o s i o n e n t e v e n t s . c o mWas su p NA ll" M a n ua l L a b or "w w w . w a s s u p n a t l . c o m

L io n's D en" S o uth e rn E x p lo s io n A t la n ta "w w w . s o u t h e r n x p l o s i o n a t l a n t a . c o mL a die s A t P la yw w w . l a d i e s a t p l a y . c o m

But economic times are tough and Boone, ofTraxx At lanta, said he and his f riends a re t ry ingt o ensure people c an have a grea t t ime withoutbreaking their wallets.

' 'We want to make the weekend as economi-ca lly fea sible a s we c an for everyone," Boonesa id, "Pe ople have c omplaine d in t he pa st tha teve ry th ing is so ove rpr ic ed . So one way we' retrying to help is to have a $10 buffet brunch atXS Ultra Lounge so people can take a breakfrom overpriced hotel food."

Col labora tions a re impor tant , too , a s Traxxand Traxx At lanta team up with Rocks ta rs Pro-duction, Lions Den and In the Life Atlanta tohos t events to bring uni ty to part ic ipants look-ing to ha ve a gre at time in the cit y: The groupsco-host the ir popular Whi te Par ty on Monday,Sep t. 5 , a t Havana Club.

Traxx and Traxx Gir ls a lso take advan tageof t he popularity of P iedmont Pa rk on the Sun-day of Black Gay Pride to have a DJ and passout free water to everyone.

''We're going to ha ve a hospita lity suite se tup for eve ryone in the park and have a docks ideDJ set up," said Sco tt
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The Georgia Voice - 8/19/11 Vol. 2, Issue 12