Gay City
A M E R I C A’ S L A R G E S T C I R C U L AT I O N G AY A N D L E S B I A N N E W S P A P E R !
S E R V I N G G A Y, L E S B I A N , B I A N D T R A N S G E N D E R E D N E W Y O R K • W W W . G A Y C I T Y N E W S . C O M
■ CIVIL LIBERTIES
City Presses
Defense of
Whistleblower’s
Porn Bust
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
W A
hile New York City settled fed-
eral civil rights lawsuits with
four men who charged they
were falsely arrested for prostitution
in 2008 by vice cops in a Chelsea porn
shop and a Midtown spa (see story, page
14), the city continues to argue that the
2008 prostitution arrest of the man who
spoke up against those busts was justi-
fied.
Robert Pinter, the whistle blower, sued
the city in 2009 alleging he was falsely
arrested in an East Village porn shop.
Last year, the city sought “qualified
immunity” from a lawsuit for the officers
involved in his arrest. That was denied,
and the city appealed that ruling.
“The relevant inquiry on defendants’
motion was not only whether [undercov-
er officer] 31107 and the vice detectives’
actions were objectively reasonable,
but also whether, as a matter of law,
any police officer of reasonable compe-
tence could have made the same choice
to arrest plaintiff in the circumstances
PINTER P. 15
THE GREAT CARUSO
23
DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLYMEMBERS, IN 2007 PRIDE PARADE, AFTER APPROVING GAY MARRIAGE
UGANDA P. 4
Assembly Says It’s Set,
Can the Senate Count to 32? In this issue:
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
A
ndrew Cuomo, New York’s new
Democratic governor, has repeat-
edly emphasized that he “want[s]
to be the governor who signs the law that
makes marriage equality a reality,” say-
ing in his January 5 inaugural speech,
“We believe in justice for all, then let’s
pass marriage equality this year once
and for all.”
To be sure, State Senate Republicans
voted 30-0 against out gay Manhattan
Democrat Tom Duane’s equal civil mar-
riage bill in December 2009, but Long
Island’s Dean Skelos, the new GOP Sen-
ate majority leader, told the Log Cabin
© GAY CITY NEWS 2011 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TM
NEWS YOUR FREE
LGBTQ
NEWSPAPER
FEBRUARY 2-15, 2011
VOLUME TEN, ISSUE 3
■ HUMAN RIGHTS
Uganda’s Anti-
Gay Witch-Hunt
Yields Ghastly
Murder
BY DOUG IRELAND
lthough Ugandan activist David
Kato was only 46 when he was
bludgeoned to death on January
26 after a homophobic tabloid newspa-
per called for his lynching, the former
schoolteacher was known as the “grand-
father” of the small gay movement in
Uganda, one of the most homophobic
countries in the world.
The brutal murder of Kato, found by
a neighbor lying in a pool of blood in
his home in central Kampala, Uganda’s
capital, with his head bashed in by a
hammer, aroused anger and protests
not only in Africa but from around the
world, including a condemnation by
President Barack Obama.
But Kato’s martyrdom did not end
GAY CITY NEWS
there — his funeral erupted into chaos
as a fight broke out when the Angli-
can preacher officiating at it began
denouncing homosexuality and Kato
from the pulpit, and the villagers in the
Republicans last October he would bring
the issue before his party colleagues
■ NYC TRANS RIGHTS WIN
Transit authority, employee
during the 2011-2012 Legislature, pre-
dicting, “I think our conference would not free to discriminate
say put it up, let it up” for a floor vote. ■8
And polls over the past two weeks — —————————————————
one from Quinnipiac University, the
other from Siena College — found that ■ LESBIAN CENTARIAN DIES
at least 56 percent of the state’s voters Gerry Faier, labor agitator,
support equal marriage rights for same- came out in 1938
sex couples, with 38 percent or less in ■ 10
opposition. Significantly, the results —————————————————
show the issue polling slightly better (61 ■ TÓIBÍN’S EMPTY FAMILY
vs. 60 percent) in the New York City sub-
urbs, represented by a number of key
Gay Irish author heads to
NY with new short stories
Senate Republican targets, than it does
MARRIAGE P. 6 ■ 18
2 2 – 15 FEB 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
2 - 15 FEB 2011

Crime /3
Julius’ Arrestee Claims Innocence
Frederick Giunta says he’s bisexual, “bar scuffle” involved no hate speech
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE that I could admit to,” he said. “I never 15 arrest. He spoke to Gay City News by
used words of hate.” phone after his wife, Judy, approached

A
45-year-old man charged with
attempted robbery and third-
degree assault as a hate crime in
2010 incidents in two West Village gay
bars said that while he was involved in a
bar fight, he never used anti-gay or racial
slurs.
“I just wanted to tell my side of the
story,” said Frederick A. Giunta in a
phone interview with Gay City News. “I
think it’s only fair because I am facing a
lot of time in this case.”
Giunta, who said he is bisexual, arrived
in the West Village at roughly 1:00 p.m. on
October 11. He told police he was there to
see a friend. He then visited a series of gay
bars and drank at each one. By the time
he reached Julius’ on West 10th Street
at about 5:40 p.m., he was “really, really
intoxicated,” Giunta said.
Allegedly, he fought with another
patron and an employee there after an
argument. During the set-to, he is alleged
to have used anti-gay and racial slurs.
“[The bartender] then jumps over the
Just prior to going to Julius’, Giunta is the newspaper offering an interview with
alleged to have attempted to steal a wallet him.
from someone near Ty’s Bar on Christo- “A lot of these things are just fabricat-
pher Street. ed,” Giunta said. “I was actually flirting
He denied doing that. with the bartender... I’m a very caring,
The third-degree assault as a hate kind person.”
crime charge is significant in Giunta’s Giunta’s case followed the arrests of
case. If he is convicted, that E felony will two men, Christopher Orlando, 17, and
be sentenced as if it is a D felony, and his Matthew Francis, 21, for the October 3
possible maximum time in prison will go assault on a gay man in the Stonewall
The defendant charged with an October 11 hate crime from four years to seven years. Inn, the site of the 1969 riot that sparked
assault at Julius’ Bar on West Tenth Street says he has no Giunta was already on parole on an the modern gay rights movement. The
anti-gay animus and that the incident was merely a “bar earlier larceny charge. In that case, he two face attempted robbery and third-de-
scuffle.” was diverted to drug and alcohol treat- gree assault charges, all as hate crimes.
ment instead of prison. Since he was re- Francis also faces a weapons possession
bar, grabs me,” Giunta said. “As they are arrested, he would likely have to serve at charge.
escorting me out to the door, I’m sure I least two years in prison on the larceny The Manhattan district attorney
might have said something, but nothing charge. declined to comment.
hateful at all. It’s blown out of propor- Aside from the larceny case, he has The Giunta case is being prosecuted by
tion... I had no intent to do what they are served three short prison terms for larce- Anne Siegel, an assistant district attor-
saying I was doing.” ny and drug sales since 1991. None were ney who prosecuted a number of gay and
Giunta acknowledged he was involved violent crimes. bisexual men arrested by vice cops for
in the fight, but called it a “bar scuffle” Giunta could not make his $25,000 prostitution in Manhattan porn shops.
when talking to Gay City News. bail, so he has been held in the Manhat- Those arrests are seen as false arrests in
“There was one punch that was thrown tan Detention Center since his October the gay community.

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4/ Human Rights
䉴 UGANDA, from p.1
murdered activist’s home town
refused to bury the body.
“We called him jjaja, which
means grandfather, because
he was a mentor to us all,”
his friend Frank Mugisha, the
27-year-old executive director
of Sexual Minorities Uganda
(SMUG) — the country’s most
important LGBT rights organi-
zation — told Gay City News.
It takes enormous courage
to be a gay activist in Uganda,
one of 37 African countries in
which same-sex love is illegal,
where homosexuality is a crime
punishable by up to 14 years in
prison, and where an aggres-
sive homophobia is practiced
and preached at all levels of
government, including by the
country’s gay-hating president,
US-funded ally Yowen Musev-
eni. Kato, whom this reporter
interviewed on several occa-
sions, had the heart of a lion.
SMUG’s Mugisha, current-
ly on a multi-city US speak-
ing tour, told this newspaper
by telephone from Chicago,
“David had been a gay activ-
ist for 13 years, ever since first
getting involved with the LGBT
rights movement in South Afri-
ca, where he’d lived for several
years.”
As one of the most visible of
the few openly gay people in
Uganda, “David was absolutely
fearless, despite having been
arrested many times and tar-
geted by many death threats,”
Mugisha said. “Not only was
David our advocacy officer and
one of the founders of SMUG,
he was terribly concer ned
about the security of all LGBT
people and headed our LGBT
Security Committee. He was
at the center of responding to
every crisis, and there wasn’t
anyone imprisoned for being
gay with whom David was not
involved and concerned.”
Kato’s murder came just
weeks after he and SMUG won
a lawsuit against a tabloid
weekly, Rolling Stone, which
had published a front page
article last October — titled
“100 Pictures of Uganda’s Top
Homos Leak” — that listed the
names, addresses, and photo-
graphs of 100 supposed LGBT
people.
Kato’s photo — and that of
retired Bishop Christopher
Senyonjo, 78, a father of 11
children who had been excom-
Weeks after winning a lawsuit against the
gay-baiting Rolling Stone, Ugandan gay activ-
ist David Kato was brutally murdered.
municated fr om Uganda’s
Anglican Church for counsel-
ing gays — was featured on the
tabloid’s front page, with a cap-
tion reading, “Hang Them!”
A week later, Rolling Stone
devoted another issue to out-
ing more alleged gays, who
were — like those named in
its first issue — accused of
“recruiting children” and “raid-
ing schools” to convert the stu-
dents to homosexuality. That
issue brought the total of LGBT
Ugandans targeted to 117.
SMUG’s Mugisha, whose
photo was also published in
Rolling Stone, told Gay City
News, “Almost everyone who
was named by that tabloid was
harassed or attacked.”
Rolling Stone was launched
“by fresh graduates of the Uni-
versity of Makerere,” Mugisha
told this reporter. “Even though
it had a small circulation, its
outing articles were picked up
and reprinted by the Red Pep-
per, which everyone reads, and
were widely talked about.”
The Red Pepper is a popu-
lar sex-and-scandal tabloid,
owned by the half-brother of
President Museveni who also
serves as a government minis-
ter. That newspaper launched
the media outing campaign
targeting LGBT people in 2006
when, under a banner front-
page scare headline reading,
“GAY SHOCK!,” it published the
names of 45 allegedly gay and
bisexual men.
Those outed by the newspa-
per included lawyers, army offi-
cers, university lecturers, enter-
tainers, bankers, students, and
priests. The Red Paper listed
the profession, city of origin,
and in some cases information
on the friends and partners
of those accused of being gay,
most of whom lived in Kam-
pala and its suburbs. It also
identified venues popular with
gays and lesbians. (See this
reporter’s September 14, 2006
article, “Uganda Witch Hunt
Escalates,” which is linked in
the online version of this story
at gaycitynews.com.)
The Red Pepper continued its
series of outing articles in sub-
sequent issues, next naming 13
alleged lesbians.
Those identified by Red
Pepper were harassed and
attacked, with some of them
arrested and many others driv-
en into hiding or into exile from
Uganda.
T h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r, i n
response to SMUG’s first-ever
press conference, the Red Pep-
per was at it again, launch-
ing a new outing series under
the headline “HOMO TER-
ROR,” which contained a list
of 40 alleged gay men with very
explicit descriptions of them.
(See this reporter’s September
20, 2007 article, “Terror Cam-
paign Escalates,” also linked
online.)
But in winning his lawsuit
against Rolling Stone’s latest
outing campaign, the mur -
dered Kato struck a major blow
against the media gay-baiters.
The Uganda High Court rul-
ing said the tabloid’s listing of
alleged homosexuals, with the
clear aim of inciting violence
against them, threatened the
targets’ “fundamental rights
and freedoms,” including their
right to human dignity and con-
stitutional right to privacy.
SMUG’s Mugisha told this
reporter, however, that since
winning this lawsuit against the
newspaper, Kato “had become
increasingly concerned about
his security,” as the number
of death threats against him
escalated. “Just days before
his murder, his email had been
hacked,” Mugisha said. “I’d told
him we’d get him a new email
but to be careful.”
Mugisha said of the wide fall-
out from last October’s outing
articles, “When something like
this happens, every person who
is known to be homosexual is
harassed and attacked, even in
the rural areas, because they
are known to be gay in the dis-
tricts or villages where they
live.” Mugisha himself was on
the receiving of such hate-driv-
en acts.
2 - 15 FEB 2011
The media targeting of Kato
and other LGBT Ugandans fol-
lows an intense demonization
campaign fostered by right-
wing Christian activists from
the United States. A March
2009 conference in Kampala
featured notorious American
anti-gay campaigners, who
promoted the idea of a sinister
global homosexual conspiracy
to corrupt Uganda. Conference
speakers advocated parliamen-
tary action to thwart this “inter-
national gay agenda.”
The Holocaust revisionist
Reverend Scott Lively, a Mas-
sachusetts preacher who in
his book “The Pink Swastika”
charges homosexuals with per-
petrating the Nazi Holocaust,
spoke at the conference and
then met with Ugandan law-
makers and government offi-
cials, some of whom drafted the
Parliament’s infamous Anti-
Homosexuality Bill of 2009.
Still pending, the omnibus bill
would, among other repres-
sions, require citizens to report
homosexuals to the authorities
on penalty of prison and would
impose the death penalty for
certain homosexual acts.
Another influential anti-gay
voice in Uganda, the California
pastor and author Rick War-
ren — who spoke at President
Obama’s inauguration — has
asserted that human rights
don’t apply to LGBT Africans,
even though he eventually
spoke out against the proposed
legislation.
“The blood of David is on the
hands of American preach-
ers who came to Uganda,” said
Mugisha. “They share much of
the blame for presenting us as
less than human.”
Writing in their Boston Globe
blog “The Angle” on Janu-
ary 28, Jesse Singal and Rob
Anderson reported on what
they termed Reverend Lively’s
“bizarre response” to Kato’s
murder: “Lively suggested Kato
may have been killed by some-
one with whom he had been
romantically involved, despite
the fact that no one familiar
with the case has suggested
Kato was killed by a gay person,
let alone someone with whom
he had had a sexual relation-
ship. There remains a ‘possi-
bility’ Kato was ‘killed by a gay
lover,’ Lively wrote, and likened
Kato’s death to that of Carlos
䉴 UGANDA, continued on p.30
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 5

GayCityNews.Crunch.com
astor place . union square . west village . fort greene . park slope . wall street
murray hill . midtown east . midtown west . upper west side

6/ Politics
At a January 28 ribbon-cutting, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, a Chelsea-based clinic that serves the LGBT and HIV/ AIDS communities, opened an in-house pharmacy that, in the
words of Wendy Stark, its executive director, will enhance “our primary care facility as well as offer a more convenient and less expensive option for our patients.” Uninsured patients with
incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible for additional discounts. On hand were State Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Dick Gottfried, City Council
Speaker Christine Quinn, and Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer and Danny Dromm. State Senator Tom Duane and Van Bramer are seen on a facilities tour.
䉴 MARRIAGE, from p.1
in the city itself. Even upstate,
equality has majority support,
by a 51-43 margin, according to
Siena.
In the wake, then, of a Janu-
ary 22 off-the-record Albany
gathering of about 75 represen-
tatives from 50 organizations
that support marriage equality
— a meeting closed to the press
— what are the near-term pros-
pects for making New York the
sixth state to allow same-sex
couples to marry?
Nearly a dozen legislators,
professional advocates, and
grassroots leaders Gay City
News has spoken to since last
November’s election described
the ways in which the ball is
simultaneously in two courts
— the governor’s and the new
Republican Senate majority’s.
“Does the gover nor have
the capital to fulfill his care-
fully articulated support for the
issue?” is the way Assemblyman
Daniel O’Donnell, the out gay
Manhattan Democrat who has
led his chamber in approving
marriage equality three times
since 2007 — and is confident
of passage again this year —
framed the potential for success.
The Senate Republicans, he
said, “have historically only done
things transactionally. I’m not
empowered to make that hap-
pen, but the governor can do it.”
In trying to bring a wildly out
of balance state budget under
control, Cuomo has already sig-
naled his intention to leverage
the GOP Senate to counter the
traditional support for social
services spending in the heav-
ily Democratic Assembly; he also
moved quickly this past week to
offer a property tax cap sought
by Republicans.
Ross Levi, the executive direc-
tor of the Empire State Pride
Agenda (ESPA), the community’s
chief lobby group in Albany, is
banking on Cuomo’s political
muscle in the fight.
“There is a clear and credible
path to marriage equality and
[the Gender Expression Non-
Discrimination Act, or GENDA]
as early as this session,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not an
incredibly challenging task that
will require fortuitous circum-
stances.”
The governor’s role, he said, is
critical.
“From the Pride Agenda’s per-
spective, Governor Cuomo is an
extremely important ally and
advocate,” he said, adding of his
2010 campaign, “It was rare to
see Cuomo speaking publicly
and not mentioning marriage,
and not just when I was there.
And it was one of his biggest
applause lines.”
But from the perspective of
Deborah Glick, O’Donnell’s out
lesbian Manhattan Democratic
colleague, questions of commit-
ment and political capital remain
very much open.
“It is always helpful to have
the chief executive make it a pri-
ority,” she said of Cuomo. “But
there’s no indication to me per-
sonally that it’s at the top of his
list.”
The governor will push very
hard to set a new tone in Albany
by delivering a state budget on
time by April 1. The period after
the budget is completed, Glick
said, may be the time for advo-
cates to move.
“If the budget battle doesn’t
go on too long,” she said, “then
there’s an opportunity. Will he
have the capital left?”
Timing is one of the toughest
issues to pin advocates down on.
While Glick pointed to the period
“GOP senators have historically only
done things transactionally. I’m not
empowered to make that happen,
but the governor can do it.”
between early April and the Leg-
islature’s adjournment in late
June, O’Donnell did not think
action had to happen in 2011
to make success possible by
November 2012. Levi, who has
not sat down with Skelos since
the November election, said flat-
ly, “It’s not useful to talk about
timing.”
In fact, Levi said the January
22 gathering, of which ESPA was
one of the conveners, included
expert presentations on messag-
ing, polling data, and the eco-
nomic benefits of marriage, but
focused only “a little bit on the
political landscape of Albany.”
Gay marriage supporters
are also vague in their answers
about when Republicans, a
handful of whom — at least —
2 - 15 FEB 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
NIGHTLIFE
THU.FEB.3
WILLIAM ALATRISTE / NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL.
Lip Service
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party celebrating all forms of face fur
and friends. DJ Chauncey D creates the
sounds and mustachioed go-go men
enliven the view for the launch party
tonight. Julius’ Bar, 159 W. Tenth St.
at Waverly Pl. Feb. 3, 9 p.m. No cover
charge, great burgers, cheap booze.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
THEATER
Weill, Anderson’s
South Africa
Collaboration
must support the issue for it to “Lost in the Stars,” the second and
be successful, might be expected final collaboration between Kurt Weill
to voice their intention to vote and Maxwell Anderson, was billed as
“yes.” a “musical tragedy” when it opened
Duane’s bill was defeated on Broadway in 1949. Based on Alan
38-24 in 2009, but since that Paton’s novel “Cry, the Beloved Coun-
time, the number of public sup- try,” the show provides an uncompro-
porters of marriage equality in mising social indictment of apartheid
the Senate has grown to 26, all South Africa through the story of two
of them Democrats. Of the four aging men — one black, one white —
remaining Senate Democrats, brought together by a shared grief. The
one — Ruben Diaz of the Bronx score, one of Weill’s most polystylistic,
— is adamantly opposed, while contains operatic arias, chorales, blues,
folk music, and pop tunes, and makes
abundant use of a Greek-style chorus.
Gary Griffin directs, Chase Brock cho-
reographs, and Rob Berman is musical
director of the City Center’s “Encore”
series production, starring Chuck Cooper,
Daniel Breaker, Patina Miller, Sharon
Washington, Daniel Gerroll, John Doug-
las Thompson, and Sherry Boone. New
York City Center, W. 55th St., btwn.
Sixth & Seventh Aves. Feb. 3-5, 8
the other three — Shirley Hunt- p.m.; Feb. 5, 2 p.m.; Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m.
ley and Joe Addabbo of Queens Tickets are $25-$100 at nycitycenter.org
and Carl Kruger of Brooklyn — or 212-581-1212.
were all “no” votes last time. ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Even if those three could be
brought around, at least three Mondo Cane’s
GOP senators would also have to Latest
step up. Gregory T. Angelo, chair Paul Oakley Stovall’s musical “Clear,”
of the Log Cabin Republicans of which has additional music and lyrics by
New York, in late 2010 told Gay Stew, is a tale of destiny, luck, and the
City News he thought the sup- commonality of the human experience
port of five or six Republicans — from the slave castles of Ghana to
was possible, while Jeffrey Fried- the winding streets of Istanbul; from the
man, a Long Islander who directs banks of the river Seine to a star-filled
the political action committee of night sky over the suburban Midwest.
the grassroots group Marriage The storytellers — Stovall, Brad Sim-
Equality New York (MENY), com- mons, George Farmer, Yassmin Alers,
menting at the same time, saw Jarrod Emick, Celisse Henderson, Jon
prospects for seven or eight GOP Patrick Walker, and Alexis Hightower —
votes. each discover that change is inevitable.
䉴 MARRIAGE, continued on p.7 䉴 FEB 3, continued on p.13
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 7

䉴 MARRIAGE, from p.6
Angelo, who did not wish to comment
in the immediate wake of the recent
Albany meeting, earlier said, “It would
not surprise me if there is a Republican
that comes out publicly” for the issue in
advance of his or her colleagues discuss-
ing it internally. Such a public show of
support, however, is not an absolute pre-
requisite for the GOP conference moving
a bill, according to Levi, O’Donnell, and
Glick.
O’Donnell and Glick, however, did
focus on what they said is a simple real-
ity in the Legislature — bills brought to
the floor are almost invariably carried by
members of the majority, a tradition that
would wrest control of the marriage fight
from Duane. (It could also be a governor’s
“program” bill, with no specific sponsor.)
Politically, that’s a delicate, even uncom-
fortable matter, since the Chelsea Demo-
crat is the Senate’s only openly gay mem-
ber and so the one situated to explain
the issue from his own personal vantage
point, as O’Donnell has done very effec-
tively on the Assembly side.
“The bill needs a Republican sponsor,”
O’Donnell said, “somebody capable and
confident of counting to 32.”
The Assemblyman offered a blunt fol-
low-up.
“In 2009, the Senate Democratic lead-
ers were not competent in running that
vote,” he said. Asked if his criticism
extended to Duane himself, O’Donnell
responded, “Somebody has to be respon-
sible for shepherding the issue, but it
wasn’t him alone. My job has been made
harder” by the lopsided loss in the Sen-
ate that year.
Through a spokesman, Duane indi-
cated he was unavailable for an in-per-
son interview in New York City or by tele-
phone.
Others on hand at the Albany sum-
mit also declined to comment. Alphonso
David, a former Lambda Legal attorney
who now serves as Cuomo’s deputy
secretary for civil rights, attended, but
the governor’s office did not respond to
the newspaper’s request to speak to an
administration official about the meet-
ing.
Across the board, supporters of mov-
ing the bill emphasized the improving
climate for Albany action on gay mar-
riage.
Levi has, on several recent occasions,
noted the increase from 24 to 26 in pub-
lic supporters of marriage equality in
the Senate. Three incumbents — Demo-
crat Hiram Monserrate of Queens (seek-
ing to reclaim the seat he was expelled
from in early 2010), Republican Frank
Padavan, also of Queens, and Democrat
William Stachowski — lost last year, at
least in part due to their opposition to
equality. Though four pro-gay Demo-
crats also lost their seats, delivering the
Senate back to the Republicans, in none
of those races, Levi said, did marriage
equality play a factor.
O’Donnell and Glick concurred that
the defeat of more than half a dozen
Democrats in the Assembly was simi-
larly unrelated to passage there of the
marriage bill. Glick lauded the efforts
last year by Fight Back New York, an
independent expenditure political action
committee that spent hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars in helping defeat Mon-
serrate, Stachowski, and Padavan.
“Fight Back New York was strategic
and successful,” she said. “We need a
strategic plan to target one or two sena-
tors. Even if you only win one, it sends
shock waves.”
O’Donnell said Republicans, particu-
larly those who represent suburban New
York districts, may be seeing the hand-
writing on the wall.
“I would humbly suggest to Repub-
lican senators under 60, if they want
a future, get on the right side on this
issue,” he said. That is particularly appli-
cable, O’Donnell said, to those, like Long
Island’s John Flanagan, who might have
aspirations for statewide office.
Levi and Cathy Marino-Thomas,
MENY’s communications director, both
emphasized the need for targeted sena-
tors to hear from their constituents.
“If this community wants marriage,
we have to fight for marriage,” Marino-
Thomas, who has been working on this
issue for nearly a decade, said. “People
have to work for their own equality. If
they don’t want to work for their equal-
ity, they won’t get their equality.” Asked
whether local activists are as engaged as
they need to be in every target district,
Marino-Thomas conceded, “We are work-
ing hard to achieve that. I think there are
areas where we need to do better.”
MENY will be in Albany on February 8
for its annual Lobby Day, and ESPA will
follow suit on May 10.
The Washington-based Human Rights
Campaign, which, like ESPA, MENY,
and Fight Back New York, was heavily
engaged in last year’s Senate elections,
has in recent months been rolling out
video statements of support for mar-
riage equality from prominent New York-
ers. On February 1, one of former Presi-
dent George W. Bush’s twin daughters
released a video stating, “I am Barbara
Bush, and I am a New Yorker for mar-
riage equality.”
The bottom line, from O’Donnell’s
standpoint, is a hopeful one. As was the
case with the gay rights law in 2002, he
argued, Republican leaders in New York
may see taking marriage equality off the
table as a way to preserve their control
of the Senate, by neutralizing the hun-
dreds of thousands — or more — of gay
dollars that might otherwise come into
play in 2012.
“If I were Dean Skelos and I wanted to
keep my majority, I’d get this out the way
first,” O’Donnell said.

NEWS BRIEFS By PAUL SCHINDLER

Iowa House
Endorses
Anti-Gay
Constitutional
Amendment
The Iowa House of Representa-
tives, in a 62 to 37 vote on Febru-
ary 1, approved a constitutional
amendment to bar any legal rec-
ognition of same-sex couples in
a state where, two years ago, the
Supreme Court unanimously ruled
that gay and lesbian couples have
a constitutional right to marry.
The amendment needs
approval by both houses of the
Legislature in two consecutive
sessions before it could go before
Iowa voters.
Senate Majority Leader
Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, has
vowed to block consideration of
the amendment in his chamber.
Democrats hold a 26-24 edge in
the Senate, while Republicans,
in last November’s election,
grabbed control of the House by a
60-40 margin.
On the day the Iowa Supreme
Court issued its marriage equality
ruling in 2009, Gronstal told Gay
City News, “I am not going to call
up a constitutional amendment.
I’m the guy who gets to decide
and there will not be a vote as
long as I am the majority leader.”
He and then-House Speaker
Pat Murphy, a Democrat, issued
a statement that day that read,
“When all is said and done, we
believe the only lasting question
about today’s events will be why
it took us so long.”
Murphy has since been
replaced as speaker by Republi-
can Kraig Paulsen.
In last year’s fall election
campaign, the anti-gay National
Organization for Marriage (NOM)
mounted a furious and success-
ful campaign against the three
judges up for voter approval from
among the seven-member Iowa
State Supreme Court. When
judges go before Iowa voters,
they do not have opponents, but
must achieve at least a 50-per-
cent approval. The Supreme
Court members up in Novem-
ber — Chief Justice Marsha K.
Ternus and Justices Michael J.
Streit, and David L. Baker — each
received roughly 45 percent of
the vote, while every lower court
judge on the ballot was returned
to the bench overwhelmingly.
In the wake of the February
1 action by the House of Repre-
sentatives, Carolyn Jenison, the
head of the pro-equality group
One Iowa, said, “The proposed
amendment devalues families
and divides Iowans. The Constitu-
tion is meant to protect the free-
doms and liberties of all Iowans.
It is inappropriate to use the
political process to single out and
deny a group of Iowans of their
constitutional protections. ”
Civil Unions the
Law in Illinois
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a
Democrat, signed that state’s civil
union law at a jam-packed January
31 ceremony at the Chicago Cultur-
al Center in the heart of the Loop.
“We believe in civil rights, and
we believe in civil unions,” the
governor said.
The bill was approved by the
State Senate in a 32-24 vote on
December 1. The day before, the
House of Representatives approved
it 61-52. The bill’s title is the Illinois
Religious Freedom Protection and
Civil Union Act, a phrase intended
䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.8

8/ Legal
Win for NYC Gender ID Anti-Bias
Judge says transit authority not exempt, no 1st Amendment shield for transphobic employee
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
N
e w York State
trial judge in
Brooklyn rejected
the New York City Transit
Authority’s argument that
city law banning gender
identity discrimination in
places of public accommo-
dation is unconstitutional
as applied to a claim that
a transit worker directed
transphobic language
at a member of the pub-
lic seeking assistance in
using a Metrocard.
In a decision dated
December 29 but not
released to the par -
ties until January 21,
Supreme Court Justice
K e n n e t h P. S h e r m a n
denied a motion for sum-
mary judgment by the TA
and the accused transit
worker, while granting a
motion by the city’s Law
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Department to intervene
in the case to defend the
anti-bias law’s constitu-
tionality.
The lawsuit arose from
two incidents in July
2006 when Tracy Bum-
pus claims to have been
the victim of transpho-
bic verbal harassment
by Lorna Smith, a tran-
sit worker on duty at the
Nostrand Avenue A train
station in Brooklyn.
Bumpus claims that on
July 16 she asked Smith
for assistance in using
a Metrocard, and Smith
responded with “a steady
stream of discrimina-
tory, transgender-phobic
epithets at Ms. Bum-
pus, verbally harassing
her and haranguing her
with vicious transphobic
language in an extreme-
ly loud voice, point-
edly doing so publicly
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 tute found that two-thirds of
to humiliate and harass
Ms. Bumpus.”
Bumpus made a for -
mal complaint and spoke
with a TA superintendent
on July 20 about this
incident, but when she
entered the same station
on July 25, she claims,
Smith was there, rec-
ognized her, pointed at
her, and again verbally
harassed her with trans-
phobic language. Bumpus
then filed a claim with the
TA, testified at a hearing,
and, in January 2007,
filed her lawsuit against
the TA and “Jane Doe,”
later identified as Smith.
Attor ney Ar men H.
Merjian represents Bum-
pus on behalf of Housing
Works, the AIDS advoca-
cy group.
Bumpus claimed men-
tal and emotional injuries
due to conduct she char-
acterized as a violation of
the city’s ordinance bar-
ring gender identity dis-
crimination in places of
public accommodation.
The TA, pointing out that
it has a non-discrimi-
nation policy, argued it
could not be held liable
for Smith’s actions, but
Bumpus responded that
the TA was negligent in
not training its employ-
ees after enactment of
the transgender rights
law in 2002.
The TA also argued
䉴 BRIEFS, from p.7
to quell unfounded notions that
giving gay and lesbian couples
ed an attempt to force religious
bodies to offer union blessings at
odds with their teachings.
Despite that formulation, the
measure faced stiff opposition
from the Catholic Conference of
Illinois as well as the National
Organization for Marriage,
which is based in Washington,
ChicagoPride.com reported.
An October 10 poll by the
Paul Simon Public Policy Insti-
that as a public author-
ity it was not subject to
the city’s human rights
ordinance, and Smith
asserted that holding
her personally liable for
speech would violate her
First Amendment free
speech rights. The defen-
dants also claimed that
the anti-discrimination
provision was uncon-
stitutionally vague, and
that Smith could not be
liable for discrimination
because she never spe-
cifically told Bumpus she
was unwelcome in the
subway system.
Justice Sherman
found that the TA did
not enjoy any exemption
from the non-discrimi-
nation provisions in the
city ordinance, which he
wrote, by their terms,
clearly apply both to
employers and employ-
ees who violate them.
The judge rejected the
argument that direct-
ing transphobic com-
ments at a customer who
requested help from a
transit worker was not a
denial of services.
As to the negligent
training argument
against the TA, Sherman
noted evidence that there
had been 16 past com-
plaints against Smith by
TA customers, and that
“there is evidence that
the NYCTA simply failed
likely voters in Illinois favor civil
unions or full marriage equality
for same-sex couples.
When the measure takes
effect on July 1, Illinois will join
New Jersey, California, Nevada,
Oregon, and Washington in
offering same-sex couples com-
prehensive partnership rights
through civil unions or equivalent
structures. Only Massachusetts,
Iowa, Vermont, Connecticut,
New Hampshire, and the District
of Columbia have full marriage
equality, though even those
unions enjoy no federal recogni-
tion, due to the 1996 Defense of
Marriage Act.
to respond to complaints
about Smith… A trier of
fact could properly con-
clude that Smith had a
long history of mistreat-
ing subway customers.”
Sherman wrote that
there was “no indica-
tion” that the TA offered
training in the wake of
the 2002 law, conclud-
ing, “A reasonable trier
of fact could reasonably
conclude that by failing to
instruct Smith about sen-
sitivity to gender identity,
NYCTA’s failure to train
proximately caused the
alleged incident.”
The judge found it
irrelevant that none of
the past incidents involv-
ing Smith concer ned
transphobic speech,
since what was at issue
was the employee’s “pro-
pensity to cause injury,”
which would put the TA
on notice about its obli-
gation to protect its cus-
tomers.
Finally, Sherman
rejected the argument
that the law was unduly
vague or overbroad or
wrongly punished con-
stitutionally protected
speech. In light of the
TA’s “public service func-
tions,” he found, the
court must weigh how
Smith’s alleged speech
af fected the ability of
members of the public to
access a public service.
Homophobia
from New Imam
at Downtown
Islamic Center
A Muslim leader who recently
came to the fore in the contro-
versial effort to build an Islamic
cultural center just blocks from
the site of the World Trade Cen-
ter made incendiary statements
about homosexuality in a series
of video lectures he produced in
2007, according to a report by NY1
News.
“An enormously overwhelming
percentage of people struggle with
homosexual feeling because of
some form of violent emotional or
2 - 15 FEB 2011
“The pr ohibition of
bigoted behavior in the
public accommodation
context contained in [the
law] does not violate the
constitutional guarantee
of free speech,” he wrote,
finding that the city has
a “compelling interest in
combating invidious dis-
crimination,” and that
Supreme Court prec-
edents suggest that the
city law as applied in this
case “would survive the
most exacting scrutiny.”
It is surprising that
Sherman failed to men-
tion Garcetti v. Cebal-
los, a 2006 US Supreme
Court decision that held
that public employees are
not protected under the
First Amendment when
they ar e speaking as
employees rather than as
individual citizens on a
matter of public interest.
Smith was in uniform,
on duty at a subway sta-
tion in her capacity as an
employee, and respond-
ing to a r equest by a
member of the public for
assistance. Her speech in
response to that request
would seem to be exempt
from First Amendment
protection according to
that Supreme Court rul-
ing.
Bumpus’ case now goes
forward against the Tran-
sit Authority and Smith,
unless the parties settle.
sexual abuse at some point in their
life. Again, not necessarily in their
childhood,” Imam Shaykh Abdallah
Adhami stated in one of his seven
video lectures, according to the
cable news outlet. “A small, tiny
percentage of people are born with
a natural inclination they cannot
explain. You find this in the animal
kingdom on some level as well.”
Gay City News’ sister publica-
tion, Downtown Express, reported
that Adhami’s appointment came
as tensions grew between Sharif
El-Gamal, chief executive officer of
SoHo Properties and the president
䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.16
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 9
■ POLITICS

New Anti-Bias gaycity

Regs at HUD news.com
US Housing secretary outlines rental Celebrate Valentine’s Day
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that it would issue a regulation barring
Homeless
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ServicesSocial Spiritual
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discrimination based on sexual orien- and Sylvia Rivera
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ance program.
“From the beginning of the Obama
administration, we have made inclusivity
and diversity a cornerstone of HUD’s pro-
grams,” said Shaun Donovan, the HUD
secretary, in a January 20 conference
call with reporters. “This administration
is committed to combating discrimina-
tion against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender people.”
The regulation, to be issued on Janu-
ary 24, will define family to include LGBT
couples and will bar “owners and opera-
tors of HUD-assisted housing or housing
whose financing is insured by HUD from
inquiring about the sexual orientation
or gender identity of an applicant for, or
occupant of, the dwelling, whether rent-
er- or owner-occupied,” the proposed
regulation states.
Roughly 4.4 million units of HUD-as-
sisted rental housing would be covered
by this provision. Taxpayers with lower
incomes tend to live in those units or
use the HUD rental assistance program.
There are just over 130 million units of
housing in the US, according to the 2009
American Housing Survey by the US
Advocating
Marriage Equality and
Transgender Rights
The Reverend Pat Bumgardner, Pastor
HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announced sexual orien- Weekly Sunday Services: 9 am (Traditional), 11 am (Celebration)
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The more significant component is
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which currently backs one third of LGBT-INI @ BAR-TINI
all new mortgage applications, will be
barred from making “inquiries regarding
sexual orientation and gender identity”
under the regulation, Donovan said.
The proposed regulation won praise
from the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force and Congressman Jerrold
Nadler, a West Side Democrat, who has
advanced legislation that would add Cindy Vero amberRose Marie Will Love
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the protected classes in the federal Fair
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10/ Remembrance
PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER
JOHN W. SUTTER
Gerry Faier, Labor Agitator Out Since 1938, Dies
JWSutter@communitymediallc.com

A
n agitator, rabble-rouser, ship, Gerry shared her stories
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER & CO-FOUNDER and working-class Jew- with congregants, staff, and
TROY MASTERS
troy@gaycitynews.com
ish lesbian, Gerry Faier rabbinical student inter ns
found company and camara- who visited her regularly, and
EDITOR IN-CHIEF & CO-FOUNDER
PAUL SCHINDLER
derie among fellow labor orga- enjoyed Shabbat meals sent
editor@gaycitynews.com nizers, the burgeoning gay and weekly by the shul. A voracious
ASSOCIATE EDITOR lesbian communities of Wood- reader, writer, and lover of the
Duncan Osborne stock and Greenwich Village, library, she taught herself to
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS and activists across many gen- read Hebrew by reading the sid-
Christopher Byrne (Theater), Susie Day, erations. dur. In 2008, she celebrated her
Doug Ireland (International), Brian McCormick The backdrop of radical poli- 100th birthday at CBST with a
(Dance), Dean P. Wrzeszcz
tics was the context out of which Shabbat service in her honor.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Betsy Andrews, Seth J. Bookey,
she worked to support her own Born in 1908 to Polish immi-
Anthony M.Brown, Kelly Jean Cogswell, needs as a single parent, as a grant parents Pauline and
Dean Daderko, Tate Dougherty, Andres Duque, poor daughter of immigrants Jacob Minsky, Gerry was the
Michael Ehrhardt, Steve Erickson, Nick Feitel,
Jim Fouratt, Joe Fyfe, Deborah Garwood, who lied about her education to third oldest of eight children.
Erasmo Guerra, Emily Harney, Andrey Henkin, defraud the FBI in fighting for She was briefly married to a
Frank Holiday, Andy Humm, James Jorden, Brendan her own survival. Gerry joined man and had two children, and
Keane, David Kennerley, Gary M. Kramer, Arthur S.
Leonard, Rachael Liberman, the front lines of community is survived by her younger sister
Michael T. Luongo, Lawrence D. Mass, protests, organizing her neigh- Gerry Faier, August 7, 1908 – January 28, 2011, seen here with CBST Senior Rabbi Sharon Klein- Bessie Minsky, her niece Son-
Winnie McCroy, Eileen McDermott,
Gregory Montreuil, Ioannis Mookas, Carrie Moyer,
bors to fight for jobs and wages, baum. dra Berman, and many friends.
Stephen Mueller, Christopher Murray, participating in boycotts for bet- “Over 30 years ago, when
David Noh, Wayne Northcross, Lori Ortiz, ter access to transportation and riences. This experience I never Andy Rose’s “Twice Blessed: On no one was thinking seri-
Pauline Park, Sheila Pepe, John Reed,
Nathan Riley, Andrew Robinson, Gerard Robinson, groceries, and eventually cover- had — let’s try it. So we tried it Being Gay or Lesbian and Jew- ously about the unique needs
Chris Schmidt, Sarah D. Schulman, ing events as a journalist in the — and I thought this is where I ish” (1987). The story she tells of LGBT older adults, a small
Jason Victor Serinus, Linda Shapiro, Yiddish press. belonged all this time.” is one of the few about coming group of dedicated activists
David Shengold, Gus Solomons Jr., David Spiher,
Drew B. Straub, Stefen Styrsky, Jerry Tallmer, out in the 1930s to have been founded SAGE,” said Michael
Stefanos Tsigrimanis, Kathleen Warnock, documented. Gerry was also Adams, that group’s execu-
Benjamin Weinthal, Lee Ann Westover,
James Withers, Kai Wright, Susan Yung Like many, she rejected the featured in the Israeli television tive director. “Our community
program “Ima Machlifa” and in owes these founders and earli-
ART DIRECTOR
Mark Hasselberger
orthodox Jewish practices of her an episode of the LGBT monthly est members, like Gerry Faier,
mother’s house. But later, she public television magazine “In enormous thanks for their pio-
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Jamie Paakkonen the Life.” neering work to improve the
SENIOR VP OF ADVERTISING/MARKETING
returned to the synagogue. Like many of her generation, lives of LGBT elders.”
FRANCESCO REGINI she rejected the orthodox Jewish As Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum,
francesco@gaycitynews.com practices of her mother’s house. senior rabbi of Congregation
She came out as a lesbian This rich life would later be But later in life, she returned Beit Simchat Torah, noted, “We
ADVERTISING MANAGERS
in 1938, and met her lover, the impetus for Gerry’s com- to the synagogue, to New York are proud that Gerry Faier was a
COLIN GREGORY
colin@gaycitynews.com Ethel Cohen, in 1948. They munity organizing work as an City’s Congregation Beit Simchat long time member of CBST. She
were together for 40 years. In elder in the founding of SAGE: Torah, because she wanted a was unique, feisty, and outra-
ALLISON GREAKER
allison@gaycitynews.com her own words, “I didn’t know I Services and Advocacy for lesbian to officiate at her funer- geous to the end. We honor her
JASON SHERWOOD
was looking for a girlfriend. But GLBT Elders. Gerry was per- al. Not one but two lesbian rab- as an elder and her memory will
jsherwood@gaycitynews.com I was inquisitive my entire life, haps most famous in the Jew- bis honored her memory at her be for a blessing for all of us.”
MICHAEL SLAGLE read a lot of books, talked to a ish gay and lesbian world for an funeral on February 1. — Congregation Beit Simchat
michael@gaycitynews.com lot of people, had a lot of expe- interview in Christie Balka and Over her decade of member- Torah
JULIO TUMBACO
julio@gaycitynews.com
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VERA MUSA BY KELLY JEAN COGSWELL
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L
NATIONAL DISPLAY ADVERTISING a s t We d n e s d a y , g a y Nevertheless, just two days don’t recognize Uganda’s dan- live a life unconstrained and
Rivendell Media / 212.242.6863 activist David Kato was after his murder, a young ger for queers, but because without prejudice. I find the
Web master bludgeoned to death Ugandan lesbian, Brenda Brenda has to prove defini- information as to how she has
Arturo Jimenez
Arturo@gaycitynews.com with a hammer in his home Namigadde, was on a plane in tively she’s a lesbian. The origi- done so over the lengthy peri-
Gay City News, The Newspaper Serving Gay and Lesbian NYC, is
in Uganda. He’s been under London’s Heathrow awaiting nal British jurist that rejected od she has been in the United
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permission of the publisher must be obtained before any of the contents when he was one of the few where the likes of anti-gay wasn’t convinced. detail or coherence. The Appel-
of this paper, in part or whole, can be reproduced or redistributed. All
contents (c) 2010 Gay City News. queers to openly denounce legislator David Bahati have To him it was “strange” that lant appears to have taken
legislation proposing to exe- already announced Bren- her descriptions of gay life in no interest in forms of media
Gay City News is a registered trademark
of Community Media, LLC.
cute homosexuals, instead da was only welcome if she Uganda and the United King- including magazines, books,
John W. Sutter, President of just tossing them in jail. repented or reformed. dom were “very generalised or other information relating to
Fax: 646.452.2501;
E-mail: JWSutter@communitymediallc.com Afterwards, a local newspaper Luckily, a British judge and quite simply lacking in her sexual orientation.”
Subscriptions: published an anti-gay rant issued an injunction, and they the kind of detail and infor - The problem is that gayness
26 issues, $90.00 along with David’s picture on pulled Brenda off the plane mation of someone genuinely isn’t a lifestyle. If push came
(c)2010 Gay City News. the front page under the title before it left, though she’s still living that lifestyle. The Appel-
All rights reserved.
“Hang Them.” at risk. Not because the Brits lant claims to have freedom to 䉴 A DYKE ABROAD, continued on p.11
2 - 15 FEB 2011
■ SNIDE LINES
Queerer My God, to Thee: The Ex-Straight Ministries
B
elieve it or not, hetero-
sexuals, God loves you.
And because of His love,
God told us to launch a pricey
advertising blitz, gently rebuk-
ing you on billboards and in
newspapers across the coun-
try. Unfortunately, we could
only afford to rebuke you in
this crummy tabloid-type pub-
lication. But we know God will
understand. The important
thing is for us to shame you into
seeking reparative therapy.
Yes, blessed are you, the
little straight ones — in spite
of your abominable heterosex-
ual behavior. Blessed are you
straight women, even as you
diet and wax your legs and work
overtime to pay for your recon-
structive surgery, desperately
hoping that no one will call you
old or fat or ugly. Blessed are
you straight men, even as you
grunt and make kissy sounds at
the shapely butts, waxed legs,
and reconstructed pixie noses of
the straight women, desperately
hoping that no one will call you
a fag.
We believe that you would
stop all this sinful heterosexu-
ality if you knew that it makes
the Baby Jesus cry. In fact,
the Baby Jesus cried all over
Queensland, Australia. Did you
know you caused massive flood-
ing? And did you know that you
䉴 A DYKE ABROAD, from p.10
to shove, probably even I can’t
prove I’m a dyke as that judge
understands it. I write these
articles for Gay City News, but
instead of checking out queer-
themed books I usually go for
murder mysteries or French
poetry written by straight
(though queerish) men like
Blaise Cendrars.
Dyke bars have opened and
closed without me darkening
their doors, except for those
few weeks when I waitressed at
Crazy Nanny’s and went home
with phone numbers shoved
into my pockets that girls had
given me “just in case” I had
second thoughts about my girl-
friend, whom I suppose a judge
could just declare a roommate
unless I had some video foot-
age documenting sex acts.
prompted the eruption of a vol-
cano on Mount Kirishima, forc-
ing the Baby Jesus to puke on
Japan? That you are respon-
God feels you would be saved if
you allowed us to free you from
heterosexuality by destroying your
deepest psychosexual selfhood.
sible for dread diseases such as
mononucleosis, syphilis, and
other “straight plagues”? That
your selfish heterosexual “life-
style” may be ruining the plan-
et?
There’s no telling where the
Baby Jesus will strike next.
Shouldn’t you stop before it’s
too late?
That’s why we of Ex-Straight
Ministries founded Exorcist
International — to stop you.
You see, God feels that you
would be saved if you allowed
us to free you from heterosexu-
ality by destroying your deepest
psychosexual selfhood. But in a
nice way. Do you want a hug?
There, wuzza-wuzza. We for-
give you. Modern science knows
you can’t help it. You’ve got orig-
inal sin, but it’s not in your soul;
it’s lying lewdly around in your
misshapen, Satan-soaked hypo-
Let me interrupt this col-
umn to see if the words lesbian
or dyke are in the titles of any
books on my shelf... Yes, “Liv-
ing as a Lesbian” by Cheryl
Clarke is on the shelf next to
“Second-Hand Coat,” a volume
of poems by writer Ruth Stone
that I’d also forgotten. She’s not
a dyke, but a pretty good poet
with Virginia roots. If you hap-
pen to run across something of
hers — read it. She’s great. And
reminds me of back home.
Identity is tricky. Like with
the books, the music in the
house wouldn’t convince you of
anything either, though there’s
some Cuba there and Ken-
tucky, but also funk, blues,
classical, the great Lou Reed.
Ella Fitzgerald. And good luck
if you’re looking for clues in
our apartment. It tends toward
the Spartan. We like light and
BY SUSIE DAY
thalamus gland. God thinks it’s
a pity that the so-called men of
science didn’t “fix” you in utero.
But then, your parents — no
doubt ignorant heterosexuals
themselves — probably didn’t
know any better.
According to the latest — het-
erosexual — statistics, homo-
sexuals comprise only one to ten
percent of the population. That
leaves 90 to 99 percent of our
globe roiling in the fetid clutch-
es of — heterosexuals! Continu-
ing our calculations, we deduce
that a full 90 to 99 percent of all
drunk drivers, gun-toting psy-
chotics, sub-prime mortgage
financiers, marauding space
aliens, fundamentalist suicide
bombers, war criminals, and
toxic waste particulates are…
heterosexual!
Ergo, if anything died,
you killed it. If anything was
bombed, you did it. And if we
all perish in some apocalyp-
tic nuclear war, you caused it.
Good Lord, you straight people
emptiness. The little bit of art
we have is mostly abstract.
What does it say — that
blossoming jasmine, the enor-
mous snake plant, or the palm
pressing against the ceiling?
Only that we like a bit of liv-
ing green around the place. Or
I write these articles for Gay City
News, but instead of checking out
queer-themed books I usually go for
murder mysteries or French poetry.
that we feel the need of addi-
tional oxygen. The remnants
of our lesbian activist lives are
mostly tucked away in drawers
and cabinets. My own articles
are filed under “work” on my
computer.
Perspective /11
are taking us to hell in a hand-
car.
God has really put up with too
much from you people. Remem-
ber that heterosexual who
dropped the dime on Jesus?
He went over, smooched Him,
and told the Romans, “Ecce
homo” — meaning, in ancient
Christian, “There’s the homo,”
or, “How come he’s 33 and not
married yet?” Then came cen-
turies of ignorance, anti-Sem-
itism, racism, slave trading,
witch burnings, genocide, and
extremely lax personal hygiene.
Thanks a lot, pals.
Yet there is still time to
upgrade your heterosexual-
ity, Oh, reprobates. Somewhere,
there is a same-sex person for
you, waiting to engage you in
throbbing homo luv. For it is
through queer sex that God
works His magic.
You see, every time two (or
more) hot lesbo-babes make
love, an angel gets her boobs.
And every time some studly
dudes lather up in steamy
action, there is a slight drop in
the local murder/ suicide rate.
In fact, all we need for world
peace is for gay marriage to be
legalized, and maybe one or two
more amusing TV sit-coms, dec-
orated with wacky homosexual
and/ or transgender characters!
Of course, we of Exorcist
Are we lesbians, or not, if
all you have is what’s in our
heads and bodies, and our
pre-occupations that a little
surveillance might or might
not reveal? My girlfriend and
I have passed whole weeks
talking about nothing but her
aging mother or problems in
the building.
There are thousands of ways
to be a lesbian, queer woman,
dyke, gay. Somebody like
Brenda Namigadde, forced to
leave Uganda in 2003 when
International admit that we too
are imperfect. We too have made
the Baby Jesus colicky. We have
stood by in liberal complacency
while gay men, lesbians, trans-
gender people, bisexuals, and
drag queens were taunted,
humiliated, beaten, ostracized,
strangled, mutilated, impris-
oned, and executed all over
North and South America, Asia,
Europe, and Africa. In fact, a
gay activist in Uganda was just
hammered to death after a local
newspaper ran his name in a
list of “homos,” advising read-
ers to “hang them.” We confess
that it’s probably due to our
fear of being seen as “politically
correct thugs” that we queers
don’t pay you back in kind. For
that, we humbly ask God’s for-
giveness.
Still, you need r edemp-
tion more than we do. For it is
written that in order to accept
Divine Love, you must first learn
to hate yourselves. And surely
you can find it in your hearts
to do that? For us? Now, would
each of you please reach into
your perverted little pockets and
send us $1,000, so we can take
out that ad rebuking you on bill-
boards across the country?
Dedicated to David Kato,
Ugandan gay right activist, beat-
en to death January 26, 2011.
her relationship with a Cana-
dian woman led to threats and
violence, might not have had
much time afterwards to give
her dykeness much thought.
It’s not easy being an immi-
grant and facing the challenges
of living in a strange country,
understanding the myriad of
accents, finding work, making
a new life. Maybe she prefers
to read poetry or the Econo-
mist rather than the Pink
News. Maybe when she goes
out it’s not to a gay bar, but
just the corner pub where she
just does her best to get drunk
and forget the whole thing.
Maybe she’s even given up
girls. Though that won’t help
her back in Uganda, where
perception is enough to get you
attacked.
And embarrassing the gov-
ernment carries its own price.

12/ Politics
State of Union Nod to DADT Repeal
In a broadly thematic address, Obama hails end to bar based on “who they love”
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
O
ne year after he pledged
to end Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell in his 2010 State
of the Union speech, President
Barack Obama told a joint ses-
sion of Congress in his 2011
address, “Our troops come from
every corner of this country —
they are black, white, Latino,
Asian, and Native American.
They are Christian and Hindu,
Jewish and Muslim. And, yes,
we know that some of them
are gay. Starting this year, no
American will be forbidden from
serving the country they love
because of who they love.”
With legislation the presi-
dent signed on December 22,
the policy barring open service
by lesbian and gay members of
the military will end once the
Pentagon establishes policies
and procedures that the presi-
dent, the defense secretary, and
Where Traditional and Conventional Live HEALTHily Ever After
“Êi>Ì…Ê>˜`Ê
President Barack Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union address on January 25.
the chair of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff certify will not compromise
readiness, effectiveness, morale,
or retention.
The president’s remarks sig-
nal his view that the certifica-
ELM NUTRITION
matic and not peppered with the
typical laundry list of legislative
proposals. Talking about the
issues confronting the gay com-
munity, of course, has almost
never been part of a presidential
State of the Union address.
One of the only other men-
tions of a specific community
in Obama’s January 25 speech
was his call to pass the Dream
Act, a measure that would offer
a path to permanent residency
PETE SOUZA/ THE WHITE HOUSE
for undocumented immigrants
brought into the country as
minors but committed to com-
pleting higher education or mili-
tary service.
The Dream Act failed to pass
the Senate in last year’s lame
duck session on the same
tion process will be completed day that DADT repeal was
in 2011. approved.
The reference to ending DADT The president’s discussion
was the sole mention of LGBT of DADT repeal brought praise
Americans in a 62-minute from leading LGBT organiza-
speech that was broadly the- tions, along with reminders that
NOW OPEN on 7th Ave & 14th St!
2 - 15 FEB 2011
much more is expected from
this administration as well as
tough criticism from some quar-
ters about what was lacking in
the speech.
A key player in the push for
DADT repeal kept up the pres-
sure on Obama to see the pro-
cess through to certification
quickly.
“Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network is pleased the
president expects that gays and
lesbians will be able to serve
their country openly this year,”
said Aubrey Service, the group’s
executive director, in a written
statement. “In fact, we think
there should be certification
from the president, Secretary
Robert Gates, and JCS Chair-
man Michael Mullen in this
quarter. We need to make Don’t
Ask repeal a reality sooner rath-
er than later.”
䉴 OBAMA, continued on p.13
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2 - 15 FEB 2011
14 DAYS Cal. DOMA Challenge Alive
14 NIGHTS Judge finds no rational basis for law, will hear motion to certify plaintiff class
䉴 FEB 3, from p.6
Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St., btwn.
Rivington & Delancey Sts. Feb. 3-5,
10-12, 17-19, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15
at ovationtix.com/trs/pr/798415.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ples are poised to strike a heavy
DANCE
Green & May
Premieres
Natalie Green and Juliana F. May/
MAYDANCE present world premieres.
Fanciful, kinetic, and moody, Green’s
“nerves like tombs, nerves like nettles”
draws upon moments of isolation and
exposure in a piece marked by abrupt
shifts in tone and mis-synced sensory
experiences. May’s “Gutter Gate” cre-
ates an amorphous structure decon-
structing notions of craft and composition
and pruning back the glossiness. Dance
Theater Workshop’s Bessie Schön-
berg Theater, 219 W.19th St. Feb. 1–5,
7:30 p.m. Coffee and conversation
precede the Feb. 2 performance, 6:30
p.m.; the Feb. 4 performance includes a
post-show talk; and a free wine recep-
tion follows every performance. Tickets
are $20 at dancetheaterworkshop.org or
212-924-0077.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ or denied employment in many
CABARET
Nothing Gets
Between Brooke &
Her Audience
With “In My Life,” Brooke Shields will
share stories from her journey in show
business in an evening that will include
songs from Broadway, pop, and beyond.
Shields has earned critical praise for
turns in “Grease,” “Cabaret,” “Won-
derful Town,” and “Chicago,” and now
appears for 14 shows at Feinstein’s
at Loews Regency, Park Ave. at 61st
St. Feb. 1-3, 8-11, 8:30 p.m.; Feb. 4-5,
11-12, 8 & 10:30 p.m. The cover charge
is $75-$95, with a $40 food & drink mini-
mum. Reservations at feinsteinsatthere-
gency.com or 212-339-4095.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ of the National Gay and Lesbian
GALLERY
FRI.FEB.4
Recalling the ’70
Downtown Poetry
Scene
New York University’s Fales Library
presents “At Moments Like These He
Feels Furthest Away,” a new series of
䉴 FEB 4, continued on p.20
BY ARTHUR S. LEONARD
H
aving survived the US
government’s motion
to dismiss their claims,
three California same-sex cou-
blow against the Defense of
Marriage Act’s denial of federal
recognition of their marriages
when a federal district court
takes up a motion for certifying
a larger class of eligible plaintiffs
on February 24.
US District Judge Claudia
Wilken’s January 18 decision
on the federal government’s
effort to scuttle the claims made
in Dragovich v. US Depart-
ment of the Treasury appears to
forecast an easy victory for the
plaintiffs at the trial level.
The lawsuit was filed by three
California public employees and
their same-sex spouses who
were all registered domestic
partners and then married in
2008 during the window peri-
䉴 OBAMA, from p.12
Servicemembers United, an
organization of gay and lesbian
veterans, echoed that call, with
its leader, Alexander Nichol-
son, releasing a statement say-
ing, “We look forward to seeing
President Obama’s administra-
tion move quickly to finish the
job of repealing the Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell law by completing the
required certification process.”
“Tonight is the culmination
of a promise kept by this presi-
dent,” Joe Solmonese, president
of the Human Rights Campaign,
the community’s lead Washing-
ton lobby group, said in a writ-
ten statement.
Rea Carey, executive director
Task Force, released a statement
saying, “The repeal of Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell, which the president
noted tonight, was a tremen-
dous victory that will put an
end to systemic discrimination
against competent, qualified les-
bian, gay, and bisexual service
members. But let us not settle
there. Fact is, the state of the
union for lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, and transgender people
remains largely one of inequal-
od prior to passage of Proposi-
tion 8. The California Supreme
Court subsequently ruled that
such marriages remained valid.
After Michael Dragovich
married Michael Gaitley, he
inquired about signing his hus-
band up for coverage under the
state-maintained long-term
care insurance plan for public
employees and their families.
The program administrators
refused to send him an applica-
tion, explaining the plan would
lose its favorable federal tax sta-
tus if they extended eligibility to
somebody not recognized as a
spouse under federal law.
The administrators based
their decision on the US Inter-
nal Revenue Code, which speci-
fies in detail the family relation-
ships that qualify. Domestic
partners are not listed, and the
word spouse is limited by the
terms of DOMA.
Dragovich and his husband
along with two married lesbian
ity, as we can still be fired from
parts of the country for noth-
ing other than bias, and mar-
riage inequality relegates our
families to second-class status.
If the president is truly serious
about job creation and boosting
America’s economic well-being,
he must provide leadership and
action in helping to pass employ-
ment protections for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people
and ending the costly and unjust
federal marriage ban.”
Others were more pointed in
pressing the administration.
“Tonight, President Obama
missed an opportunity to lay
out an agenda and strategy that
continues progress made toward
LGBT equality — removing the
burden of being second-class
citizens and acknowledging our
families,” said Robin McGehee,
director of GetEQUAL, a direct
action group visible in Wash-
ington and around the country
over the past year.
In a Huffington Post article
earlier in the day, McGehee
wrote, “We refuse to accept the
political excuses that ‘now is not
the time’ for ‘difficult’ issues like
equality or that these issues are
couples interested in partici-
pating in the program joined as
plaintiffs, suing both the state
insurance program administra-
tors and the US Treasury and
the Internal Revenue Service,
arguing that failure to allow
them to enroll violates the due
process and equal protection
requirements of the 5th and
14th Amendments.
The US government defen-
dants moved to dismiss based
on grounds of standing and fail-
ure to state a claim.
The standing argument con-
tends that none of the plaintiffs
actually applied and was turned
down for the plan –– a totally
spurious argument, since the
California administrators are
so spooked about the danger
posed to the plan’s tax status
they would not even provide the
plaintiffs with an application.
Judge Wilken cut through
the nonsense, finding that the
plaintiffs do have a personal
too ‘complicated’ or ‘controver-
sial’ to take on right now.”
Dan Savage, a widely syn-
dicated sex columnist who
is the editorial director of the
Stranger, a Seattle weekly, in a
Sunday New York Times op-ed
published January 23, urged
Obama to use the State of the
Union to “tackle the biggest,
most meaningful right of them
all: the right to marry.”
With the president trying to
focus the nation on his com-
mitment to right the economy,
however, making news of that
sort, even if he were prepared to
take the leap, was never really
in the cards.
Obama coupled his salute to
DADT repeal with a call to “our
college campuses to open their
doors to our military recruiters
and the ROTC. It is time to leave
behind the divisive battles of the
past. It is time to move forward
as one nation.”
For more than a decade, the
Pentagon and Congress have
waged battle against some uni-
versities with anti-discrimi-
nation policies at odds with a
military presence on campus
over the issue of giving access to
recruiters and the Reserve Offi-
Legal /13
stake and a real controversy to
litigate.
On the merits, Wilken found
that the plaintiffs had the mak-
ings of valid equal protection
and due process claims.
Assuming these claims are
evaluated applying the most
lenient scrutiny to DOMA
–– known as a rational basis
test –– the government must
explain some rational connec-
tion between the denial of the
benefits these plaintiffs seek
and a legitimate governmental
purpose.
Wilken noted last summer’s
DOMA decision by US District
Judge Joseph Tauro in Mas-
sachusetts finding no rational
basis for denying same-sex
couples married in Massachu-
setts the right to federal benefits
under a program administered
by that state. She concurred
with Tauro’s analysis.
䉴 DOMA, continued on p.29
cers Training Corps.
At least some in the LGBT
community do not welcome
the president’s call to end that
debate.
On January 21, the Students
for Queer Liberation at Stan-
ford University, noting that the
Pentagon’s Military Leadership
Diversity Commission recom-
mends a ban on transgender
service members, issued a
statement saying, “A re-intro-
duction of ROTC on college
campuses (including Stanford,
Harvard, and Columbia) that
include ‘gender identity’ in their
non-discrimination clause is a
fundamental violation of policy
and an endorsement of discrim-
ination.”
One aspect of the president’s
address that captured particu-
lar interest in the LGBT com-
munity was the presence in
First Lady Michelle Obama’s
seating area of Daniel Hernan-
dez, the out gay college student
and intern to Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords, whose quick
and courageous actions are
widely credited with saving the
Arizona Democrat’s life during
the failed January 8 assassina-
tion attempt against her.
14 2 – 15 FEB 2011
■ CIVIL LIBERTIES
City Settles Four
Porn Suits
Among five challenges to ’08 arrests,
only whistleblower Pinter’s unresolved
BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
N
ew York City has settled law-
suits with four men who sued
in federal court after they were
arrested for prostitution by vice cops
in a Manhattan porn shop and a spa.
The city, however, will continue
fighting the federal case brought by
Robert Pinter, the gay man who blew
the whistle on the vice squad busts
and the only man among all those
arrested to go public.
Three of the men were arrested in
Unicorn DVD, located at 27th Street
and Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, while
the fourth, a straight man, was
arrested at a West 34th Street spa
after he went there to apply for a job
as a driver.
Some of the men who were arrested told
Gay City News they were approached
by a younger man who aggressively flirted.
One of the men arrested in Unicorn
DVD received $25,001, and the other
three received $40,001 each.
Their attor ney, Michael L. Spie-
gel, got “reasonable attorneys’ fees,
expenses, and costs,” according to fil-
ings on pacer.gov, the federal courts’
website.
All the arrests, which are seen as
false arrests in the gay community,
were made in 2008 by officers in the
Manhattan South Vice Enforcement
Squad.
Altogether, vice cops arrested 30
men in six porn shops. Another 11
men and one woman were busted for
prostitution in two spas. The same
group of officers in the vice squad
made most of the arrests.
Five of the men, including Pinter,
brought four federal lawsuits. Anoth-
er man sued in state court.
Some of the men who were arrest-
ed told Gay City News they wer e
approached by a younger man who
aggressively flirted with them. It was
only after they agreed to a consen-
sual sex act that the young man, who
turned out to be an undercover officer,
said he would pay for the sex. Some
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
men said they refused the money or,
as in Pinter’s case, said nothing and
they were arrested.
The city’s Law Department and the
police department’s legal unit cited
the prostitution arrests in separate
nuisance abatement lawsuits the two
agencies brought against the porn
shops and spas.
Pinter declined to comment, as did
Spiegel.
In an email, a Law Department
spokeswoman wrote, “Since some
elements of the settlements of these
cases r emain unr esolved, we ar e
unable to comment at this time.”
That likely means that Spiegel and
the city are still litigating his “reason-
able attorneys’ fees, expenses, and
costs” and both sides see little value
is saying something publicly that
might antagonize the other party.
The city has aggressively litigat-
ed Pinter’s case from the start, but
then the facts in his case are differ -
ent from the other cases. Pinter ini-
tially pleaded guilty to disorderly con-
duct. He later had that plea vacated
and the charges dismissed. The other
men contested their cases, and their
charges were dismissed.
In 2010, the city unsuccessful-
ly sought a summary judgment in
Pinter’s lawsuit. The city has appealed
that denial, and his case is not pro-
ceeding while that appeal is ongoing.
Pinter has been a vocal critic of the
police department’s handling of these
arrests. He has organized multiple
protests and held meetings with city
officials and the Manhattan district
attorney’s office.
The police department, which
did not respond to an email seeking
comment, may oppose settling with
Pinter.
In court filings, the city has noted
that it has had settlement discussions
with Pinter. Clearly, the city changed its
mind and will continue with its appeal.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 15

䉴
PINTER, from p.1
presented in this case,” the city wrote in a
brief filed with a federal appeals panel on
January 28.
In Pinter’s version of his arrest, he
was approached by a young Asian man
who aggressively flirted with him and
the two agreed to a consensual sex act
outside of the store. He later learned
that man was an undercover detective
identified by badge number 31107.
As they were exiting, the younger
man told Pinter he would pay him
$50 for the sex act. Pinter said noth-
ing. He continued walking with the
young man, engaging in sexual ban-
ter. He was then arrested. The city
argued that even assuming Pinter’s
story is true, police still had probable
The Bloomberg administration’s response
to what is seen as police misconduct
targeting gay and bisexual men is in stark
contrast to that in other cities.
pended any further operations in the
porn shops and the Internal Affairs
Bureau investigated the arrests in
2009. That bureau’s report was dis-
closed in Pinter’s lawsuit in mid-2010.
It found that the arrests were valid
and exonerated the officers involved,
but concluded that they were poorly
trained.
In its brief, the city argued that their
training should protect the officers
from scrutiny by the courts and the
public.
“Not only do police officers receive
special training that would enable
them to discern probable cause where
lay persons — including the Court —
might not, but their law enforcement
activities should not be chilled by the
fear of being second-guessed in a law-
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cause to arrest him and cannot be
held liable.
“[T]he district court’s denial of
qualified immunity to defendant UC
31107 and the vice detectives could
only be upheld by this court if no
police officer of reasonable compe-
tence would have chosen to arrest
plaintiff under similar uncontroverted
circumstances,” the city wrote.
Altogether, officers in the Manhat-
tan South Vice Enforcement Squad
arrested 30 men for prostitution in
six porn shops in 2008. Another 11
men and one woman were busted for
prostitution in two spas that year.
The same group of officers in the vice
squad made most of the arrests. The
city’s Law Department and the police
department’s legal unit cited the
arrests in separate nuisance abate-
ment lawsuits brought against those
businesses.
One of those nuisance abatement
lawsuits was filed just after Pinter
went public in late 2008. That lawsuit
was dropped less than two weeks after
it was filed.
The prostitution cases against five
of the men were still open in late 2008,
and their charges were dismissed. One
of those five sued in state court. Pinter
initially pleaded guilty to disorderly
conduct, but had his plea vacated and
his charges dismissed with the sup-
port of the Manhattan district attor -
ney’s office. That office opened two
investigations into the arrests, though
the thoroughness of those investiga-
tions remains a question.
Responding to the outcry over the
arrests, the police department sus-
NEWS
suit,” the city wrote.
While the city has not asked the dis-
www.gaycitynews.com
trict and now appellate courts to rule
:HOOV)DUJR$GYLVRUV//&0HPEHU6,3&
on every issue in the suit, should the
city prevail, it could gut Pinter’s case.
The Bloomberg administration’s
response to what is seen as police
misconduct targeting gay and bisexu-
al men is in stark contrast to that in
other cities.
Police and elected officials in Fort
Worth fired or reprimanded police
officers and Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission employees who partici-
pated in a 2009 raid on a gay bar there
that left a customer seriously injured.
Elected officials, including some
openly gay ones, belatedly condemned
public lewdness arrests in Palm
Springs, as did officials in Atlanta fol-
lowing a raid on a gay bar there. The
charges against most of the 11 men
arrested in a 2010 raid on a Dallas
bathhouse were dismissed earlier this
year.
“I guess the real answer is, from
what I understand, it was a few
cases,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said
in 2009. “They are looking at it to see
whether or not, and I just didn’t want
to prejudice the investigation and a
little bit of, hopefully, with some press,
they don’t do it again.”
Pinter’s attorney, James I. Meyer -
son, said his client would win before
the appeals panel.
“I remain confident that [the dis-
trict court’s] analysis will be upheld
and affirmed by the circuit and that
we will be able to proceed,” Meyerson
said. “The judge’s decision clearly was
a Pinter-favorable decision.”
16 2 – 15 FEB 2011
䉴 BRIEFS, from p.8
of Park51, as the project is known,
and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who
had been the public face of the
proposed Islamic center as nation-
wide controversy over the develop-
ment raged prior to last Novem-
ber’s elections.
Downtown Express reported
that Adhami, born in Washington,
studied architecture at Brooklyn’s
Pratt Institute and did post-doctor-
al work on the legal, ethical, and
spiritual meaning of shari’ah law
texts. For the past 20 years, he has
led prayers at a nearby downtown
mosque.
The NY1 story said that a
Park51 spokesman declined com-
ment on Adhami’s statements
about homosexuality.
Longtime gay rights activist
David Mixner, who was among the
earliest advisers on LGBT issues
to former President Bill Clinton,
told the news channel, “It’s not
a new statement, it’s been made
repeatedly by people who practice
homophobia as a way of life. It’s
also unfortunately not limited to
one religion.”
Parvez Sharma, an out gay
Muslim filmmaker who examined
gay life in Islamic communities
worldwide in his 2007 film “A
Jihad for Love,” told NY1 that
Adhami’s remarks were not as
bad as those he’s heard from many
Muslim leaders.
“I don’t agree with the imam,
but I think what he said is prog-
ress,” said Sharma. “Usually, from
the Muslim orthodoxy, you are pre-
pared to listen to very strong words
of condemnation.”
This reporter was also inter-
viewed for the NY1 story.
Designer Charles
Nolan Dies at 53
Charles Nolan, a sportswear
designer who sold his collection
at his own Meat Market shop and
through an exclusive contract with
Saks Fifth Avenue, has died at the
age of 53.
Nolan, who passed away Janu-
ary 30 in his Upper West Side home,
suffered from cancer of the neck and
head, his partner, Andrew Tobias,
a financial and fiction writer who
is the treasurer of the Democratic
National Committee, told the New
York Times.
The newspaper reported that
Nolan sought to emphasize the
everyday appeal of his designs by
using non-professional models
— including a city cop and a Fire
Island ferry captain — in his run-
ways shows. He also recruited big-
ger names, including Senator John
Kerry’s sister, Peggy Kerry, and Kerry
Kennedy, a daughter of Bobby and
Ethel Kennedy.
Nolan had a number of important
private clients, and dressed Tipper
Gore for her appearance the night
her husband accepted the 2000
presidential nomination.
A graduate of the Fashion Insti-
tute of Technology, Nolan began
his career designing sportswear for
labels including Bill Blass, Christian
Dior, and Anne Klein.
He left the business in 2003 to
volunteer in the presidential cam-
paign of Vermont Governor Howard
Dean, establishing his own line after
Dean left the Democratic race.
Nolan, who grew up in Brooklyn
and on Long Island, leaves his father,
four sisters, and four brothers, in
addition to Tobias.
Repeal
Supporters
Praise Early
Steps by
Military
Advocates for finally ending the
military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell poli-
cy responded positively to a Janu-
ary 28 news briefing held by senior
Pentagon officials, who described
the process they’ve undertaken
since President Barack Obama
signed legislation on December 22
charting a road map to repeal.
Dr. Clifford Stanley, the under
secretary of defense for personnel
and readiness reiterated a three
step-process that involves “imple-
menting or changing policies…
training changes, and… the train-
ing of the actual force.” Stanley
said the Pentagon is “doing it expe-
ditiously.”
Speaking after Stanley, General
James Cartwright, vice chair of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, seconded that
assessment, saying that among the
service chiefs, there is a consensus
that “moving along expeditiously is
better than dragging it out.” Cart-
wright also noted that 100 percent
of troops do not need to be trained
by the time the president, defense
secretary, and chair of the Joint
Chiefs give their certification, which
is a necessary step before repeal
becomes final and openly gay and
lesbian troops can begin to serve.
Still, noting the challenge of
training two and a half million
service members and the possibil-
ity that snags could be identified
in periodic “feedback” meetings
among senior Pentagon officials,
Cartwright would not commit to
a pace of implementation more
accelerated than the remainder of
2011.
In his State of the Union address
on January 25, Obama said, “Start-
ing this year, no American will be
forbidden from serving the country
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
they love because of who they
love.”
Cartwright told reporters that
each of the services would develop
its own approaches to training, but
a memo distributed at the briefing
emphasized the repeal would not be
rolled out “incrementally” but rather
“accomplished across the entire
department at the same time.”
Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran
who heads the Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network, the lead-
ing Capitol Hill lobby group that
pressed for repeal, lauded the Pen-
tagon’s “thoughtful steps toward
certification and implementation of
open service,” and then repeated
its view that “open service can be
achieved sooner rather than later.”
Keeping the pressure up on timely
action, Sarvis singled out Cart-
wright’s arguing, that training need
not be completed among all troops
prior to repeal, arguing, “The train-
ing and education plan need only
be in place. The fact is education
and training around open service
can be accomplished in the first
and second quarter of this year.”
Aex Nicholson, a former multi-
lingual Army interrogator who leads
Servicemembers United, an organi-
zation of gay and lesbian troops
and veterans, issued a statement
saying, “The speed with which the
Defense Department is moving on
the requirements for certification
and implementation of the repeal
of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is promis-
ing.” While noting “more work to
be done regarding some important
details and clarification of the time-
line,” Aaron Belkin, director of the
Palm Center, a University of Califor-
nia, Santa Barbara, think tank that
studies sexuality and gender in the
military, said, “This is certainly a
moment to step back, take a pause,
and salute the armed forces for a
job well done.”
The day before the Pentagon
briefing, former Army National
Guard Lieutenant Dan Choi, who
for many Americans became the
face of opposition to Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell, made public a letter
he sent to the president stating,
“Today I received a $2,500 bill from
your Defense Department Finance
and Debt Services. Specifically, you
claim payment for the ‘unearned
portion’ of my Army contract.”
Choi closed the letter by writing, “I
refuse to pay your claim.”
In October of last year, Service-
members United circulated a memo
laying out some of the more egre-
gious examples of the Pentagon’s
hounding of soldiers discharged
under the anti-gay policy. West
Point graduate Anthony Woods
䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.29
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 17

18/ Arts
■ BOOKS
Embracing the Rhythms
Colm Tóibín offers a haunting second short story collection
BY GARY M. KRAMER
“T
he Empty Family” is a marvel-
ous, melancholy, even haunt-
ing collection of short stories
by the celebrated gay Irish writer Colm
Tóibín. Perhaps best known for his nov-
els “The Master,” about Henry James,
and “Brooklyn,” this volume is Tóibín’s
second collection of stories after “Mothers
and Sons” in 2007. Fans of “The Master”
will appreciate the inclusion of “Silence,”
a story that features Henry James as a
supporting character.
On the phone from San Francisco,
where he is touring, the author explained
— in a lilting Irish accent — why he is
now focusing on shorts stories rather
than a novel.
“Part of the reason I didn’t do this before
is that I didn’t have the confidence,” he
said. “I did try. Before I wrote any novels, I
wrote short stories. But I didn’t think they
were any good. So I left it.”
His life living in hotel rooms, being
away from home prompted the author to
take up the short literary form again.
“I couldn’t write a chapter of a novel,”
he explained. “There was a vulner -
ability that came to me. Images and
rhythms made their way into the sto-
ries. I didn’t get that when I was work-
ing at home.”
His tales are achingly beautiful, with
characters grappling with family dis-
placement, self-invention, secrecy, and
silence. These themes echo and repeat
throughout “The Empty Family,” pro-
ducing a prism through which to inves-
tigate and evaluate characters from dif-
ferent countries and circumstances.
Tóibín said that this volume “is a bit
more edgy than the previous stories.
Three are told in first-person, and one
■ THEATER
Tabloid Tale
The Mint Theater unearths a gem about an unscrupulous press, and it shines
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
H
istory has not been kind to
Arnold Bennett. During the first
quarter of the 20th century,
he was considered a literary lion, with
novels flying off bookshelves and plays
appearing regularly in the West End and
on Broadway. In 1913, an astounding
2,700 performances of his plays were
2 - 15 FEB 2011
your work in some way or another,”
he said. “In a way, you don’t understand
yourself. I’m gay, and that will obviously
get into my work.”
Another excellent entry, “The Pearl
Fisher,” details the memory of erotic
fumblings the narrator had as a teenager
when he reunites with the object of his
affection — an adult now married to a
woman from both men’s past. Like “Bar-
celona, 1975,” this sexually tinged story
may be jarring for fans of the author
more accustomed to his genteel writing.
“I did realize that readers who read
‘Brooklyn’ would have a right to be sur-
prised,” he said about his gay stories.
CREDIT
PHOEBE LING
Tóibín offered a lesson he learned in
writing about sex.
“Don’t put in any similes,” he said.
With “The Empty Family,” Colm Tóibín gets very personal. “Don’t use metaphorical language.”
It is the author’s frank treatment of
of them — the title story — you can’t gay relationships that make these inti-
tell the character’s gender.” mate stories so powerful.
Explaining his reasoning for playing Perhaps the most noteworthy tale
with narrative and identity, he said, “I in “The Empty Family” is “The Street,”
was interested how, in a book of poetry, about two Pakistani immigrants in Spain
you could find a really personal poem THE EMPTY FAMILY who fall in love. Tóibín crafted this story
— you think, this must be very person- By Colm Tóibín after a recent visit to Barcelona, where
al and it must have happened — and Scribner he walked down the street represented
the next one could be about spring. It $24; 288 pages by the title, a place where Pakistani
struck me as interesting that in a book immigrants work in barbershops and
of stories, you could do the same thing. the author several times went to get a
Like poetry, it depends on the rhythm.” abroad. shave.
Tóibín wrote three highly personal, “It was deep in me,” Tóibín said of “I was often in a line, the only non-
autobiographical pieces in this col- writing about and revealing his past Pakistani, with music playing, and
lection — a first for the author. Both sexual experiences. “I saw no rea- watching them,” he recalled. “I met
the title story and “One Minus One” son not to publish it. I couldn’t write someone from the community, and I
address issues of grief and caring for a memoir because I couldn’t connect talked with him about details. I then
one’s parents — something people in the stories, but I was getting rhythms used bits of my own life from being
their mid-50s, like the author, are cop- from them that were emotionally rich alone in Barcelona when I was 20.”
ing with as they age. In contrast, “Bar- for me.” “The Street” was always Tóibín’s
celona, 1975,” has a completely dif- He of fers no apology for writing choice for the last story in the collection.
ferent perspective. It concerns the 20 about his sexuality.
-year-old author’s sexual awakening “All of your life is going to get into 䉴 EMPTY FAMILY, continued on p.20
seen around the world, and his pointed favor once moody modernists like Virgin- WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS
essays and book reviews could make or ia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence took over. Mint Theater Company
break careers. The Mint Theater Company wants to 311 W. 43rd St., third fl.
Bennett was so popular he became change all that. With the amusing reviv- Through Mar. 13
one of the wealthiest writers in Europe. al of one of his most popular comedies, Tue.-Thu. at 7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Apparently, his yacht was the talk of the “What the Public Wants,” it’s clear Ben- Sat., Sun. at 2 p.m.
town. nett has been neglected in America for $27.50-$55; minttheater.org
Today, his name is likely to draw far too long. Or 212-315-0231
blanks, because the unflinching realism
that won him acclaim quickly fell out of 䉴 TABLOID, continued on p.25
2 - 15 FEB 2011
Family Dearest
The prospect of a tell-all book shakes up a family in Jon Robert Baitz’s new play
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
F
amily histories are
imper fect and murky
things — particularly
for those who have lived them.
Versions of life-changing events
vary from one member to the
next, based on everything from
emotional make-up to long-har-
bored resentments. Truth is in
the eye of the beholder — or at
least the one telling the story.
That’s the dominant theme
of Jon Robin Baitz’s new play
“Other Desert Cities,” getting a
sumptuous and star-studded
production at Lincoln Center.
Add together buried secrets,
toxic resentments, depression,
alcohol, and Christmas, and
you have a volatile brew just
begging for a catalyst to ignite
it. The dialogue may sparkle like
Champagne, but the cocktail
about to be served is really of
the Molotov variety.
This is where the Wyeth
family of Palm Springs find
themselves on Christmas Eve,
2004. The staunch Republi-
can parents, Polly and Lyman,
are ex-Hollywood Jews with a
Christmas tree, fond memo-
ries of Nancy and Ronnie, and
the faux-patrician speech pat-
terns that indicated class in
1950s movies. Their son, Trip,
has come home for Christmas,
leaving his job producing low-
brow TV to be with the fam-
ily. Polly’s sister, Silda, is fresh
out of another rehab stint, and
daughter Brooke arrives from
New York, where she has finally
overcome crippling depression.
The spark that sets the story
in motion is that Brooke, whose
triumphant debut novel was
followed by devastating writer’s
block, has at last rebounded
with a memoir, about to be pub-
lished, that threatens to expose
the family to scandal. Her ver-
CdbViiZgl]^X]lVnndj\d!ndjÉgZValVnh]ZVYZY^ci]Zg^\]iY^gZXi^dc^c@ZnLZhi#
Theater /19
OTHER DESERT CITIES
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
Lincoln Center
150 W. 56th St.
Tue.-Sat. at 8 p.m.
Wed., Sat. at 2 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m.
$85; telecharge.com
Or 212-239-6200
sion of the Wyeth history focus-
es on the family’s third child,
whose radical acts during the
Vietnam War were scarring for
everyone. Brooke’s memories,
however, prove incomplete and
incorrect, and darker truths are
revealed.
Baitz writes snappy dialogue,
and there are plenty of wry jokes
recognizable by anyone who
has lived through family con-
JOAN MARCUS
flict, but overall the play is far
too facile, relying heavily on the
indication of character through
Joe Mantello coaxes wonderful moments out of Elizabeth Marvel and Stockard Channing, in
䉴 FAMILY DEAREST, continued on p.26 particular, but those glimpses are not equal to the flaws in Jon Robert Baitz’s new play.
6L=DA:C:L@>C9
D;8GJ>H>C<#
fla-keys.com/gaykeywest ~ 877-999-9539

20/ Film
Poetry and Death
Lee Chang-dong’s aging heroine is resilient in the face of men
BY STEVE ERICKSON
F
ifty-one years ago, South
Korean director Kim Ki-
young made a surreal-
ist, melodramatic masterpiece
called “The Housemaid.” No
one in the US seemed to notice.
Thankfully, time has a way of
repairing such omissions. Kim’s
1960 classic is now available for
free streaming online at mubi.
com, while Im Sang-soo’s 2010
remake is currently playing at
the IFC Center.
Korean cinema started to
become hip in America about
a decade ago, and while some
directors’ reputations have
already risen and fallen, this
New Wave hasn’t yet crested.
Lee Chang-dong has never
enjoyed the cult followings of
Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-
wook or the critical kudos
of Bong and Hong Sang-soo
(whose “Hahaha” gets a one-
off screening at the Museum of
the Moving Image on February
20), but he’s contributed to the
national cinema’s renaissance
all the same, not least by serv-
ing as South Korea’s minister
of culture from 2002 to 2004.
His 2007 film “Secret Sunshine”
finally made it to New York
screens late last year, and “Poet-
ry,” by far his strongest work,
follows a few months later.
Mija (Yun Jung-hee) is a
woman in her 60s with a taste
for colorful clothes. Living in
a small town, she takes care
of her self-centered teenage
grandson Wook (Lee David). She
makes a living as a nurse and
maid for an elderly man who’s
been partially paralyzed by a
stroke, bathing him and clean-
ing his apartment.
As the film begins, Mija finds
herself increasingly forgetful.
䉴 EMPTY FAMILY, from p.18
In fact, he shaped the collec-
tion to build up to a particular
sentence about family in this
story. The moment is emotion-
ally explosive; a punch to the
reader’s solar plexus.
Tóibín’s characters escape
from, return to, and form their
own families in the book’s the-
Yun Jung-hee as Mija, a woman of surprising strength, in Lee Chang-dong’s “Poetry.”
Seeking medical help, she dis-
covers that she’s in the early
stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
At the same time, she enrolls
in the local cultural center’s
poetry class and tries her hand
at writing it. She also learns
that Wook, along with five of his
friends, had repeatedly raped
a girl over the course of six
months, leading the victim to
take her own life.
“Poetry” appears to share
Mija’s taste and sensibility.
Undeniably, a certain amount of
cultural conservatism is at work
here — a degree of stodgy out-
rage at perfectly normal teenage
behavior. This gets mixed up
with the film’s critique of Kore-
an patriarchy and rape culture.
Does Lee really mean to imply
that it’s wrong for a teenager to
prefer hanging out with friends
his own age to playing badmin-
ton with his grandmother, or
that playing video games and
listening to loud music are on a
continuum with participating in
a gang rape?
As the film continues, how-
ever, it becomes obvious that it
criticizes men of all ages. The
matically linked stories. What is
his overarching perspective on
family that informs the collec-
tion?
“That idea — that once people
move from where they belong,
then they really have to invent
themselves — is pretty interest-
ing,” he explained. “All of these
stories are about people liv-
ing in exile — an exile as much
behavior of the teenage rap-
ists’ fathers, who think that
money can solve any problem
and cover up any crime, is even
more chilling than that of their
sons, whose sexual assault is
never shown on-screen. Even
elderly men are guilty of abus-
ing women. A seemingly harm-
less old man tricks Mija into giv-
ing him a Viagra pill and then
tries to get her to give him a
hand job.
With “Poetry,” Lee has written
a terrific role for a demographic
that rarely gets them. In anoth-
er director’s hands, this script
could easily have turned out
horribly twee and sentimental —
the kind of middlebrow schlock
that gets described as a “cel-
ebration of life” in Oscar cam-
paign ads. Lee keeps the right
balance of beauty, expressed
through Kim Hyung-seok’s airy
cinematography, and pain. He
places a vulnerable woman
in a cruel world, but gives her
enough tools to make her way
through it.
At first, Mija seems so fragile
that she’s bound to be abused.
She turns out to be tougher
spiritual as geographical.”
The state of limbo provided
Tóibín with magical inspiration.
“In the years before I wrote
the book, I was traveling back
and forth between the United
States and home,” he said. “The
emotions of homecoming and
wondering who you were in that
indeterminate space were in my
mind.”
POETRY
Directed by Lee Chang-dong
In Korean with English subtitles
Kino International
Opens Feb. 11
Lincoln Plaza,
lincolnplazacinema.com
1886 Broadway at 63rd St.
Quad, quadcinema.com
34 W. 13th St.
than she looks. Yun’s perfor-
mance brings out her inner
strength without overselling
it. On the surface, Mija is eas-
ily manipulated. Beneath it, she
knows what she wants and isn’t
about to be pushed beyond her
desires. Sent to negotiate hush
money with the rape victim’s
mother, she instead has a con-
versation about apricots and
zinnias. She turns her worst
experiences into moneymaking
opportunities.
The aesthetic of “Poetry”
is summed up as its opening
credits roll. A few children play
beside a river. Then, a corpse
appears. We later realize that
it belongs to the rape victim.
Next to the corpse, the Kore-
an characters spelling out the
word “poetry” are laid out. The
audience is in for 135 minutes
of poetry and death. In some
respects, the film risks turning
fey, indulging Mija’s passion for
flowers and fruit and tendency
to scribble down observations
for future poems. At other times,
its evocation of Mija’s world is
difficult and challenging.
Fortunately, Lee pr oves
himself up to expressing both
aspects of his film’s sensibility.
“Poetry” confirms how much
vitality Korean cinema still con-
tains, long after the era of Kim
Ki-young’s work. Thankfully,
this time the West is paying
attention.
Colm Tóibín will be at the New
York Public Library, 42nd St.
at Fifth Ave., on Feb. 3, 7 p.m.;
at Veronica People’ Club, 105
Franklin St. at Greenpoint Ave.
in Brooklyn, on Feb. 15, 8 p.m.;
at 192 Books, 192 Tenth Ave. at
21st St., Feb. 16, 7 p.m.; and at
Bookcourt, 163 Court St. at Dean
St. in Brooklyn, on Feb. 17 at 7
p.m.
2 - 15 FEB 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 FEB 4, from p.13
paintings by gay painter Philip Mon-
aghan. The exhibit, based on the late
Tim Dlugos’ mid-’70s poem “Gilligan’s
Island,” includes 54 works on oil and
canvas as well a graphic depiction of
the Dlugos’ famous poem on the gallery
walls. Marvin Taylor, David Trinidad, and
Monaghan provide essays for the show’s
catalogue. Bobst Library, third fl., 70
Washington Sq. S. at LaGuardia Pl.
Mon.-Thu., 10 a.m.-5:45 p.m., Fri.,
9-4:45, through Apr. 29.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MUSIC
Puddin’ & Jazz
Jazz vocalist Rome Neal is joined
by special guest Onaje Allan Gumbs on
piano, Paul Beaudry on bass, and Dwayne
Cook Broadnax on drums for Neal’s trade-
mark “All in the Puddin’ Show.” Jazz
966, 966 Fulton St., btwn. Washington
& Grand Aves., Brooklyn. Feb. 4, 8 &
10 p.m. Admission is $10. More informa-
tion at 718-638-6910, ext.25.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
GALLERY
SAT.FEB.5
Out There &
Underground
“Into the Neon” is a group exhibition
focused on the visual art emerging from
the vibrant scene of queer and trans-
identified artists, performers, musicians,
and filmmakers producing an incredible
range of work in both community spaces
and underground venues. Using photog-
raphy, sculpture, video, poetry, installa-
tion, and performance, the exhibition is
an interplay among seemingly disparate
mediums connected by the idea of our
relations to identity. Chashama Chel-
sea Project Space, 540 W. 28th St.
Tue.-Sat., noon-6 p.m. through Feb.
12. For information on the participating
artists, visit intotheneon.com.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Transcendent
Photography
In a window gallery exhibition titled
“Home Sweet Homo,” the Leslie/ Lohm-
an Gay Art Foundation will feature eight
new larger than life-size photographic
prints highlighting human beings of
transgender experience photographed
by Amos Mac and Katie Koti. One of the
works on display will be Mac’s 40 in. x
䉴 FEB 5, continued on p.22
2 - 15 FEB 2011
Beyond Mumblecore
Aaron Katz defies hipster conventions in, of all places, Portland
BY STEVE ERICKSON
L
abels can sometimes
be useful, but eventu-
ally their purpose runs
out of steam. Does it really
make any sense to describe the
Clash’s “Sandinista!,” driven
more by funk and reggae than
three-chord ranting, as a punk
album?
Mumblecore has reached
the point where it’s outlived its
descriptive value. Originally
applied to a handful of film-
makers — Andrew Bujalski,
the Duplass brothers, Aaron
Katz, Joe Swanberg — it’s now
expanded beyond that small
white boys’ club to include
work by women (Lynn Shelton’s
“Humpday”) and African Ameri-
cans (Barry Jenkins’ “Medicine
for Melancholy”).
Even the original group of
mumblecore directors have
evolved beyond the style with
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COLD WEATHER
Directed by Aaron Katz
IFC Films
Opens Feb. 4
IFC Center, ifccenter.com
323 Sixth Ave. at W. Third St.
which they began. Katz’s lovely
evocation of Portland in “Cold
Weather” and his flirtation with
the mystery genre have little in
common with the unmotivated
shakycam and ugly zooms of
the Duplass brothers’ 2010
“Cyrus.”
Doug (Cris Lankenau) has
abandoned a forensic science
major in Chicago and moved
to Portland. He lives with his
sister Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn)
and pursues a series of dead-
end jobs. The current one is a
gig working the night shift at
an ice factory, where he spends
IFC FILMS
eight hours a day hauling buck-
䉴 PORTLAND, continued on p.26 Aaron Katz has created a lovely film, even if at times he’s clearly straining to do so.

22/ Opera
Vetting Verdi
“Rigoletto” plods, “Boccanengra” soars at the Met
BY DAVID SHENGOLD
T
hough replacing Franco
Zeffirelli’s mammoth, pic-
torial/ touristic produc-
tions has rightly been a rhetori-
cal focus of Peter Gelb’s efforts
to re-vitalize and re-theatricalize
the Met, Otto Schenk’s grandi-
ose though rarely grand efforts
need to be next.
Whatever the ultimate results
of Robert Lepage’s haltingly
launched “Ring” cycle, Gelb is
to be commended for banishing
Schenk’s banal — if frighten-
ingly beloved — Classic Com-
ics staging, perhaps the world-
wide symbol for the Met’s sup-
posed conservatism. With the
exception of the neo-Romantic
“Tannhaeuser” and “Rusalka,”
none of the other extant lum-
bering Schenk efforts do credit
to the house, either.
His 1989 “Rigoletto,” pre-
sented with three different
casts over the course of this
season, evokes a rainy day
on the regional opera circuit
circa 1975. As a wise colleague
pointed out, this season the
long-abandoned set for the
first scene — outside the Duke
of Mantua’s palace entrance
— was revived not only for the
introductory action but, awk-
wardly, in lieu of the subse-
quent claustrophobic (by Ver-
di’s design) scenes inside the
palace. So the Rigoletto/ Gilda
scene after her ducal rape took
place among the hedges of a
formal garden. Actually, Gilda
spent far more time outside
confining spaces than either
the story warrants or has
been the case in past revivals.
I imagine this past fall’s min-
iscule-voiced Gilda, Christine
Schaefer, needed to be as near
the lip of the stage as possible,
and that proved determinative.
January 19 witnessed the
season’s second team, alas
still under the undistinguished
baton of Paolo Arrivabeni,
alternating the slack with the
metronomic. If I may echo a
refrain from my last column
— can’t the Met do better than
this?
The debut of Nino Machaidze
brought the company another
European artist who has gar-
baritone for light roles such as
Ford, Germont, maybe Posa.
Rigoletto needs more volume
and, certainly, some person-
ality. In a way it was interest-
ing to hear it sung without all
the traditional interpolations
and proto-veristic emphasis;
but having scrubbed all of that
away, Meoni offered little in its
place and encountered pitch
issues.
I find Stefan Kocan’s deploy-
ment in leading roles at the
Met and L yric Opera of Chi-
cago mystifying. A really good
agent? Someone judging tal-
ent on the basis of handsome
Internet photos? It’s a dark
MARTY SOHL/ METROPOLITAN OPERA
sound but thoroughly provin-
cial in its sledgehammer appli-
cation. Kirstin Chavez proved
dramatically apt but light-
voiced for Maddalena in this
theater.
The refined-sounding Duke
Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role and Fer- of Joseph Calleja proved the
ruccio Furlanetto as Fiesco butt heads enjoy- salvation of the evening, even
ably in Verdi’s “Simon Boccanengra.” though he had some issues
with forte high notes and was
nered fame for being young rather restrained as to dramat-
and personable rather than an ic interpretation. Still, this was
exceptional vocalist. The Geor- really world-class vocalism.
gian soprano, tiny with a huge The only supporting sing-
smile — anyone else recall ers in Calleja’s league were the
the pictures of Bette Milder as always-sonorous Edyta Kulc-
Tzeitel in “Fiddler?” — indeed zak as the Countess Ceprano
proved likable as a genuinely — Verdi’s shortest soprano
girlish if not very emotionally or role with romantic music —
verbally specific Gilda. This is a and the excellent Monterone of
tough role in which to make a Quinn Kelsey. As rarely hap-
debut — Mady Mesple (1973), pens, Kelsey’s huge baritone
Mariella Devia (1979), Sumi Jo cut through the orchestral
(1989), and June Anderson are texture, sounding like a fully
Machaidze’s only precursors in qualified Rigoletto.
this auditorium, and she’s just The production retur ns
not in that league. in April with another superb
I cannot hear why European tenor, Giuseppe Filianoti.
theaters are building produc-
T
tions around such singing. his “Rigoletto” was fol-
The voice is essentially quite lowed by my hearing the
hard and wiry, though she technically inadequate,
softens it attractively some of verbally unengaging Marina
the time; she used its edge to Poplavskaya cheered to the
be audible through the storm echo for being slim and for her
scene’s thunder. Attacks were committed if spasmodic stage
uneven, but her staccati were deportment in “La traviata”
quite good, and she left some (January 19) — a fascinating
of the traditional high caden-
zas unsung, probably a good
idea under debut conditions.
staging, but can’t the Met find
a stageworthy soprano who
can actually sing any of Vio-
Giovanni Meoni’s sleepy letta’s music? So, it was thrill-
Rigoletto proved an odd case — ing to next hear “Simon Boc-
by today’s standards, his is a canegra” (January 24).
well-produced italianate Verdi James Levine, reportedly
down with a severe cold, was
absent, but the show had
been scrupulously prepared
and assistant conductor John
Keenan did an admirable job
subbing, keeping Verdi’s grand
architecture clear and eliciting
delicacy where needed in this
haunting score.
In the wake of largely failed
experiments with Thomas
Hampson and Placido Domingo
in the title role, Dmitri Hvoros-
tovsky made a stronger case
as a Verdi baritone than he’s
made in any work except per-
haps “Don Carlo.” The volume
isn’t huge, but he managed the
big moments with a minimum
of hard edge; the lyrical, legato
portions of the Doge’s music
were quite wonderful.
Hvorostovsky seems to have
improved his breath control,
and the trademark gasps were
kept to a minimum. He lis-
tened intently to other char -
acters’ text — a novelty in my
experience of his stage work
— and gave a moving per -
formance. He butted heads
enjoyably with the sovereign
Fiesco of Ferruccio Furlanet-
to, huge in scale but detailed
in effect.
Barbara Frittoli, singing
carefully but with consid-
erable artistry and beauty,
acts conventionally but with
feeling. She placed her high
notes beautifully and phrased
with the kind of distinction
Poplavskaya would be wise to
emulate. Like most Amelias
not named “Margaret Price,”
she lacked trills.
Ramon Vargas, a shade light
for Gabriele’s climaxes, proved
mor e suited to big-league
Verdi tenorizing than he had
in “Attila,” drawing clear,
tapered lines and articulat-
ing wonderfully; his aria justly
won an ovation. Nicola Alaimo
made a gruff, capacious-voiced
Paolo; this part is tradition-
ally a launching pad for future
Boccanegras.
“Simon Boccanegra” will
count among the season’s high-
lights.
David Shengold (shengold@
yahoo.com) writes about opera
for many venues.
2 - 15 FEB 2011
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 FEB 5, from p.20
30 in. 2010 digital photo of Justin Bond.
An interview with Mac is featured in the
latest issue of Leslie/ Lohman’s quarter
publication The Archive. Leslie/ Lohman’s
ongoing window gallery series is curated
by Cora Lambert and brings the work of
LGBTQ artists to a public domain to tackle
issues of sex, gender, identity, and pop
culture. Leslie/ Lohman, 26 Wooster
St., btwn. Canal & Grand Sts., through
Mar. 12.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MUSIC
Ladies Play the
Rhythm & Blues
Rome Neal’s “Banana Puddin’ Jazz” is
back this evening with “Ladies Jazz,” an
evening that features vocalists Verna Hamp-
ton, Diana-Gitesha Hernandez, Aronda Way,
Sade Adona, Christiana Blain, Maribel Gil,
Tasha Nicole, Stacey Haughton; musicians
Katie Cosco on piano, Debbie Kennedy on
bass, Bernice Brooks on drums, and Tomoko
Omura on violin; and poets Tadunbah Talabi,
Malike Iman, and Elizabeth Rivera de Gar-
cia. Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 E. Third
St., btwn. Aves. B & C. Feb. 5, 9 p.m.
Admission is $15; reservations at 212-780-
9386. The performance is followed by a jazz
jam and open mic.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
POLITICS
No Excuses
The Human Rights Campaign bills its
annual New York City dinner with tough
talk — “No Excuses.” The evening, which
includes cocktails, dinner, and a silent auc-
tion will honor Julianne Moore — who
paired with Annette Bening, as lesbian
parents in “The Kids Are Alright” — with
HRC’s Ally for Equality Award, which will
be presented by “Kids” co-star Mark Ruf-
falo. Out gay Marine veteran Eric Alva,
who lost his right leg when he sustained
the first serious American injury in the
Iraq War, will also appear. Entertainment
will be provided by the cast of Broadway’s
“Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musi-
cal.” Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 301 Park
Ave. at 49th St. Feb. 5, 6 p.m. Tickets are
$400 at hrcgreaterny.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
CABARET
SUN.FEB.6
A Sweet Tenor
Birdland’s Jim Caruso praises Gregory
䉴 FEB 6, continued on p.23
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS Mezzo Assoluta
14 NIGHTS La divina DiDonato, the great Caruso, Tenn’s “Vieux,” Old Dutch
䉴 FEB 6, from p.22
Nalbone for the gift of his “rangy, sweet-
sounding tenor voice” that he uses “sen-
sitively for dramatic effect.” Nalbone
debuts his new cabaret show, “Love is
in the Air: Songs of Romance & Passion,”
which has a range of pieces from stan-
dards to contemporary pop/ rock. He is
accompanied by pianist David Schaefer,
with Saadi Zain on bass and Russ DiBo-
na on drums. Metropolitan Room, 34
W. 22nd St. Feb. 6, 7 p.m. Admission is
$20, with a two-drink minimum.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ reward the grateful listener. Her
BRUNCH
Klezbos & a Bloody
Isle of Klezbos is a soulful, fun-loving
powerhouse klezmer sextet whose reper-
toire, ranging from rollicking to ethereal,
includes folk dance and trance, Yiddish
swing and tango, plus genre-defying
originals. They approach tradition with
irreverence and respect. The ensemble
provides brunch music at City Win-
ery, 155 Varick St., btwn. Vandam &
Spring Sts. Feb. 6, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The
cover charge is $10; free for children
under 13. Reservations at 212-608-0555.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ other half in skirts, straddling
COMEDY
We’ll Always Be
Frienemies
Brad Loekle’s bosom buddy Adam
Sank fills in as host of the weekly “Elec-
tro Shock Therapy Comedy Hour” that
Sank created. In turn, his bosom buddies
— Jessimae (“Wendy Williams Show”),
Hilary Schwartz (UCB- “Stripped Stories”
at UCB Theatre), and M. Dickson (NBC’s
“Last Comic Standing”) — join him for
the adventure. Therapy, 348 W. 52nd
St. Feb. 6, 10 p.m. No cover charge, and
$7 cosmos all night.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ off and then changes, ending in
BENEFIT
MON.FEB.7
Girls Will Be Boys
& Boys Will Be
Girls
“Broadway Backwards 6” is a one-
night-only event featuring some of
Broadway’s biggest names singing songs
originally written for the opposite gender.
The performance is a benefit for Broad-
way Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS and the
LGBT Community Center, and features
Bebe Neuwirth, Lillias White, Clay Aiken,
Debra Monk, Denis O’Hare, Bobby Steg-
gert, Tituss Burgess, Len Cariou, Alan
䉴 FEB 7, continued on p.24
■ IN THE NOH
BY DAVID NOH
A
s far as female opera
singers go, there is a
definite dearth of truly
world-class voices out there,
even as the tenor, baritone, and
bass requirements seem to be
nicely covered at the moment.
Thank God, then, for mezzo-
soprano Joyce DiDonato, whose
lush, full-bodied sound and per-
fect Italian enunciation always
ravishing new gender-bending
CD, “DivaDivo,” explores vari-
ous operas she has appeared in,
from the vantage point of both
female and male characters.
“My last two CDs were very
specific — single composers and
almost a single idea,” she told
me, “but I’ve always had a big
musical appetite, so wanted to
find a cohesive way to present
different types of composers.
I love the world of the mezzo-
soprano; half of the time you’re
performing in pants and the
the gender line, which really
highlights the theatricality I love
in opera. Most of the ideas came
from my association with Ber-
lioz, Rossini, Mozart.
“But one aria came from
my record company — from
the opera “Ariane,” by Mass-
enet, which I’d never heard
of. I found the score and really
loved how it paired up with
the role of the Composer from
Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos.”
It’s Ariane’sentrance aria, which
is so bizarre in the way it starts
a sort of prayer.”
I adore the prolific, theatri-
cal Massenet and wish more of
his work, besides “Manon” and
“Werther,” were performed these
days.
DiDonato said, “Yes! I had
the pleasure of singing ‘Cen-
drillon,’ which is sort of a rar-
ity, but find, like you, that he’s
often dismissed, especially by
the French, who look down their
nose at him. It’s that French
opera thing, which I honestly
don’t understand. It suffers
because it’s not Italian, but we
always have a lot of great Ital-
ian music, and I love having this
different sound, how Massenet’s
Cinderella differs from Rossini.
2 – 15 FEB 2011
Joyce DiDonato, preparing for her March 6 debut Carnegie Hall recital, has issued a new CD,
“DivaDivo.”
I’m obviously a fan and wish
there was more Massenet, espe-
cially for us mezzos, as he gave
us such a lot of music. If people
come to it without this assess-
ment, there’s a lot of enjoyment
to be found.”
I told DiDonato that, in this
age of singers who may look
(and often sound) more like
fashion models, she’s a glori-
ous aural exception, and she
laughed, “Yeah, I know what
you mean! That means a lot
to me personally. I’m all for
the theatricality of opera and
convincing acting — the emo-
tion and drama enhances the
music, and the music informs
everything — but I am foremost
a believer that none of it is pos-
sible without the voice. Opera
needs to be believable and the-
atrical, but never at the expense
of the voice and musicality.
“I’m in touch with a lot of
young singers, a passion of
mine, thinking of the new gen-
eration, not that I’m ready to
retire [laughs]. But if I was 22
and coming up, who would my
idols be? I’d maybe think first of
getting to the gym and needing
teeth implants. The priorities
are shifting: I’m not discount-
ing the importance of glamour.
Opera has always been glamor-
ous: Joan Sutherland had this
glamour about her and other-
worldliness, but it was always
about the voice, first and fore-
most. It makes me question
today’s standards and priori-
ties.”
Asked whom she admires
vocally today, DiDonato replied,
“Mariella Devia. Bel canto sing-
ing is what interests me, and
she’s the model of expression,
technique, and longevity. I am
also sharing the stage in Hous-
ton now in ‘Dead Man Walking’
with Frederica von Stade, who
is retiring from the opera stage
after this. Her voice still has
this indescribable quality, and
it’s astonishing to stand next
to her and listen to the way she
produces sound and communi-
cates the story. And she’s been
around for over four decades,
still singing beautifully, health-
ily, with the intention not to
shine the light on her, but with
her character in mind.
“She comes in and is still
searching in rehearsals, the
most generous colleague. She
doesn’t exactly impart wisdom
to me, because she has a humil-
ity about her that feels she can
learn more from you than you
from her, which is extraordi-
nary, and why she is an art-
23
ist who never knows it all, but
keeps growing. We were talking
a bit about being overwhelmed
by everything that goes on in
your career, the demands, and
she said, ‘Don’t worry, Joyce,
something is always better than
nothing,’ which was so simple,
yet wise.”
DiDonato debuted “Dead
Man Walking” in New York in
2002: “To do it now in Houston,
which my real life character,
Sister Helen Prejean, says is ‘the
buckle of the death belt’ is pret-
ty amazing. I think this will go
down as one of the great operas.
It’s like how I always feel about
returning to ‘Figaro’ or ‘Rosen-
kavalier’ — there’s always more
journey to take, and your life
has changed in the meantime.
When I did it nine years ago, I’d
never lost anyone close to me,
but since then I lost both my
parents. I was with my father
when he took his last breath,
hooked up to a monitor and saw
it flatline, which is what hap-
pens in the opera with the lethal
injection. The first time we did
it, I completely lost it, so this hit
me in a different way.”
DiDonato recalled breaking
her fibula onstage during “Bar-
ber of Seville” at Covent Garden
in 2009, but continuing to play
the role in a wheelchair: “I had
just done my entrance aria and
had to run across the stage. My
heel got caught in a hole in the
stage and I fell. I’d never bro-
ken a bone before so thought
I’d sprained my ankle like I’d
done before, only discovering at
4 a.m. that morning in the ER
that I’d actually broken it.
“In hindsight, I feel like I tri-
umphed over adversity, but
at the time it was obviously
quite painful, and I remember
being fascinated that my brain
could separate into two distinct
departments — partly feeling
physical pain, while also on
autopilot doing my job. I wasn’t
at all focused on Rosina, but
she was coming out. The brain
has such a capacity for survival,
and adrenaline is the greatest
medicine.”
DiDonato is very happily
married to conductor Leonardo
Vordoni: “I’m in Portland now,
䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.24
24
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.23
where he’s opening ‘Turandot,’
and got to hear the run-through
last night, a different world from
my repertoire, but he’s so ridic-
ulously talented, loves what he
does, and it’s a joy for me to
share that with him, although I
don’t get to be there as often as
I’d like. We met at the Rossini
festival in Pesaro in 2003, in
different shows, but we shared
a pizza, and the rest is, as they
say, history.
“Children? Who knows? We
take it moment to moment in
our crazy life with a good sense
of humor. He’s making me laugh
now, overhearing this conversa-
tion. It’s unconventional and
challenging in many ways, but
we celebrate what we both do
and look at the glass as always
half full.”
Coming up is her March 6
Carnegie Hall recital debut (2
p.m.; $15.50-$88 at carnegie-
hall.org) — “very exciting, as
I’ll be world-premiering ‘Dead
Man’ composer Jake Heggie’s
song cycle with words by Sister
Helen” — “Ariadne auf Naxos,”
and “Comte d’Ory” at the Met-
ropolitan, and “Ariodante” at
Covent Garden and in Baden-
Baden.
Fashionista alert: “At Car-
negie, I will be wearing maybe
Carolina Herrera, but definitely
a gorgeous Vivienne Westwood
dress that Westwood gave me.
I’ve worn it for a few concerts
and love it, very timeless but
with a little Westwood funk. I’m
very lucky — her designs have
a lot of theatricality, and she’s a
huge opera lover who also takes
voice lessons. Who knew?”
A
lso out with a new CD,
“The Swing Set,” is New
York nightlife impresario
Jim Caruso, whose percolating
“Cast Party” every Monday night
at Birdland always attracts, as
he is often wont to say, “some
of the world’s greatest sing-
ers... and other people.” It’s a
sprightly, feel-good compilation
of songs, with a dream backup
band, including Bucky Pizzarelli,
Warren Vache, Tedd Firth, and
Aaron Weinstein.
The effervescent Caruso said,
“This all came about because
of Michael Croyder, Chita Rive-
ra’s drummer, who has this
new record label, Yellowsound,
who suggested I do another
CD, and Aaron Weinstein, this
crazy brilliant 24-year-old vio-
linist, who volunteered to pro-
duce and arrange it. All these
Jim Caruso, with his own new CD, “The Swing Set,” is hosting a February 17 Town Hall benefit
for Broadway Cares, starring Liza Minnelli.
great musicians I’ve known and
worked with were kvelling over
his charts, perfectly notated
and printed on that great heavy
paper, saying, ‘Holy hell, these
are gorgeous!’ All I had to do was
show up and, hopefully, sing in
tune.”
One of the tracks is “I Love
a Violin,” made famous by the
great Kay Thompson, whose
genius was celebrated in Liza
Minnelli’s last show, in which
Caruso was a backup performer.
“Kay was such a gigantic part of
my life, a great friend. When she
moved in with [her goddaughter]
Liza, I was there organizing Liza’s
amazing photo collection —
she kept everything — and Kay
would just talk. She would clam
up if you asked questions, didn’t
want you to know too much, but
she liked to impart stuff, and we
would watch a movie like ‘Funny
Face,’ and she would freeze the
screen and tell a story about [co-
stars] Audrey Hepburn, whom
she loved, or Fred Astaire, who
I think was jealous of her tal-
ent, and also she wasn’t his kind
of dame. He liked softer, fluff-
ier girls he could control, and
nobody could control Kay.
“Even though she was in her
80s and never left the house, she
still knew everything, loved lis-
tening to Sting’s music, and once
asked me to find her some tapes
of monks chanting. I managed to
locate one, and she was so grate-
ful and played it non-stop, which
I’m not sure Liza was too crazy
about — monks chanting in
the middle of all those Warhols,
Angelo Donghia furniture, and
Elsa Peretti. Then that hit record
by Enigma came out, and I was
like, ‘Kay! How did you know?’
She just said, ‘Everything else
has been done. I figured it was
time for monks!’”
Caruso met Minnelli through
2 – 15 FEB 2011
his BFF, Billy Stritch, who met
her when he first arrived in New
York, playing piano at Bobo’s
one night when she was there
with Chita Rivera: “Liza kept
looking up and asked, ‘Who’s
that guy playing those great
chords?’ Chita said, ‘Oh, that’s
Billy Stritch. He’s great!’ All of a
sudden Liza got up and sat next
to him on the piano bench, and
they started talking. Billy called
me that night and said, ‘You’re
not going to believe this, and
she’s coming to hear me play at
Eighty Eight’s tomorrow!’ I was
like, ‘Billy, please...’ but there she
was the next day! I was seated
next to her so I could hear every-
thing she said — she was doing
Radio City and was looking for a
new sound — and she hired him
to do the vocal arrangements
that day. I thanked her for being
so nice to my friend, and she
invited me to her birthday party
at Tabu the next night. All roads
lead to Billy, and she’s been an
unbelievable supporter of ours
for 20 years now in March.”
“Cast Party” is a logical exten-
sion of Caruso’s childhood
dream in his native Pittsburgh of
having his own variety show, like
Carol Burnett or Dick Van Dyke:
“I wake up every Monday like it’s
my birthday. Of course, there
are those nights of horror, like
the guy with no teeth who yodels
Elvis tunes, but then you get
Marilyn Maye, Tony Bennett, or
Jon Bon Jovi coming in. The ter-
rible or the brilliant are fantastic,
but the mediocre will kill you,
like when everybody just sings in
tune something from their audi-
tion book. Help me! The Den of
Non-Equity!”
And then there was the night
Caruso’s idol, Donny Osmond,
popped in just before his own
Christmas show: “We were in
the dressing room when we
heard a pounding on the door,
and he jumps in like a kid of 15:
‘I’m here and so excited!’ Hilary
Kole almost passed out. ‘Why
is Donny Osmond in our dress-
ing room?’ And when we were
onstage, Billy Stritch suddenly
had this weird look on his face
because Donny had jumped
onstage, grabbed a mic, threw
his arm around me, and started
singing harmony. The audi-
ence went ballistic and, as they
were screaming, he ran offstage,
grabbed his coat from the bar,
said, ‘I’m late. Bye!,’ and ran out
— a Donny Osmond drive-by.”
“Cast Party” would seem to be
a natural for reality TV but costly
song rights have proven a buga-
boo, although Caruso’s num-
ber-one get wish for his party is
Bravo producer Andy Cohen. (If
you’re out there, come on over!)
Caruso’s been so busy promot-
ing other performers he forgot
to save a night at Birdland for
his own CD release, but fear not.
On February 17, he’s hosting a
Town Hall benefit for Broadway
Cares, with a lineup consisting
of, among others, Rivera, Maye,
Kole, Stritch, Mayes, Christopher
Sieber, Sally Mayes, Klea Black-
hurst, and, oh yeah, Liza! (123
W. 43rd St., 8 p.m.; $25-$60 at
siegelpresents.com)
I
’m looking forward to the
Wooster Group’s revival of
Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux
Carre,” opening February 2 at
the Baryshnikov Arts Center
(450 W. 37th St., through Feb.
27; $30-$64 at bacnyc.org). At
a fascinating panel discussion,
“Tennessee Williams and the
Avant-Garde,” at the Museum of
Arts & Design, director Elizabeth
LeCompte described how she’d
always shied away from doing
Williams before, feeling he’d
been done definitively, especial-
ly on film. But, researching this
play brought her to other simi-
larly gay-informed, raffish, hus-
tler-studded 1970s work like
Paul Morrissey’s “Heat,” which
she used to inform her produc-
tion.
Unbeknownst to her, the star
of the play’s original 1977 Lon-
don production was also the star
of “Heat,” the ever-redoubtable
Sylvia Miles, who was replaced
by another fierce Sylvia, Sidney,
when it transferred to Broadway
(closing after six performances).
LeCompte said Miles has never
gotten over that and, when she
heard some of the director’s
radical ideas for her production,
䉴 IN THE NOH, continued on p.25
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 FEB 7, from p.23
Cumming, and Robin De Jesús. Longa-
cre Theatre, 220 W. 48th St. Feb. 7,
8 p.m. Ticket availability is limited —
though some addition seats may be open
up — so call 212.840.0770, ext. 268
immediately.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
GALLERY
TUE.FEB.8
A Pair of
Protagonists
“Luigi & Luca,” an exhibition by two
young Italian artists, includes photo-
graphs, video, and the US launch of their
recent book, “Private Album.” Luigi and
Luca collaborate to create a contempo-
rary photographic oeuvre in unusual and
innovative locations. Unlike Gilbert &
George, Pierre & Gilles, or Mc Dermott &
McGough, other artist couples who col-
laborated in the creation of their works,
Luca and Luigi are both protagonists,
each photographing the other. Peter
Weirmair curates the exhibition at Les-
lie/ Lohman Gay Art Foundation, 26
Wooster St., btwn. Canal & Grand
Sts. Opening reception is Feb. 8, 6-8
p.m. A curator’s talk, with the two
artists on hand, takes place, Feb.
11, 6-8 p.m. The exhibition runs Tue.-
Sat., noon-6 p.m., through Mar. 12.
More information at.leslielohman.org
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
YOUTH
WED.FEB.9
Responding to an
LGBT Crisis
Suicides by young people who iden-
tify or are perceived as LGBT has received
widespread public attention over the
past year. The New York City Bar Asso-
ciation’s LGBT Rights Committee and its
Sex and Law Committee host a forum
this evening exploring this problem and
potential solutions. Lisa A. Linsky, a part-
ner at McDermott Will & Emery, moder-
ates a panel that includes New York City
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Randi
Weingarten, president of the American
Federation of Teachers, Dr. Jeffrey Fish-
berger from the Trevor Project, which pro-
vides a 24-hour national hotline serving
at-risk youth, Joseph Kosciw, Ph.D. from
the Gay, Lesbian And Straight Education
Network (GLSEN), Elayna Konstan, head
of city schools’ Office of School and Youth
Development, and Lambda Legal attorney
䉴 FEB 9, continued on p.25
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 25

䉴 TABLOID, from p.18

14 DAYS A gentle satire on tabloid

journalism, it’s hard to believe

14 NIGHTS
䉴 FEB 9, from p.24
the play was written back in
1909 (it was first seen in New
York more than a decade later),
for many insights still resonate.
The plot centers on Sir Charles
Susan Sommer. The City Bar is located Worgan (Rob Breckenridge), a
at 42 W. 44th St. Feb. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. media mogul in the vein of Wil-
This event is free, but register at nycbar. liam Randolph Hearst, who
org/EventsCalendar/index_new.php. argues that newspaper pub-
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ lishing is a business, pure and
simple, and that content should
NIGHTLIFE be “snappy,” driven by what
Happy Birthday, the public wants, not what he
Sarah Louise Palin thinks it ought to want.

Okay, so the reality TV newcomer and
former half-term Alaska guv’s 47th birthday
is actually on Feb. 11, but Will Clark wants
you to know that he’s not celebrating that
milestone, but rather an appearance at
“P*rno Bingo” by “One Life to Live” star Flor-
encia Lozano, who will engage in an audi-
ence Q&A. Singer/ rock violinist Deni Bonet
also appears, performing from her upcom-
ing CD, “It’s All Good.” DJ Chris Padilla pro-
vides the tunes while participants engage
in four rounds of bingo. The evening will
benefit God’s Love We Deliver (glwd.org),
the region’s leading provider of nutritious,
individually tailored meals for folks too sick
to cook or shop for themselves. Pieces, 8
Christopher St., near Sixth Ave. Feb. 9,
8-10 p.m. “P*rno Bingo” has raised more
than $140,000 in the past six years for local
LGBT non-profits.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ruin, which instantly boosts his
“I’ve got no moral axes to
grind. I’m just a business man,”
proclaims the 40-year old bach-
elor, without a whiff of guilt.
But Worgan has a dilemma.
Despite being a powerful mil-
lionaire controlling dozens of
papers, the sensationalist is
shunned by society. When his
rootless brother, Francis (Marc
Vietor), suddenly appears in his
London office after a 19-year
absence, they devise a scheme
f o r Wo r g a n t o w o o E m i l y
(Ellen Adair), a smart young
actress from their hometown
of Bursley, to lend his life some
respectability.
Worgan rescues her esteemed
theater company from financial
reputation. Never mind that he
has designs on punching up
Marc Vietor, Rob Breckenridge, Birgit Huppuch, and Jeremy Lawrence in Arnold Bennett’s “What the Public Wants.”
brother, John, still live, she
discovers a cold cash register
where his heart should be, and
their future together appears
doomed.
Bennett packs his play with
lovable oddballs, many por -
trayed by actors in multiple
roles. The disagreeable drama
critic, played with unctuous
preciousness by Jeremy Law-
rence, quits after a split infini-
tive is inserted into his sacred
copy. The outraged theater
manager (also played by Law-
rence) refuses to be part of an
enterprise that values popular
what uneven. Lawrence pulls
out all the stops, while other
actors seem to forget they’re in
a farce. Occasionally, Breck-
enridge is tentative in his por-
trayal of Worgan, though I
suspect that over time he can
master the demanding role.
To its credit, at two-and-a-half
hours with two intermissions,
the piece moves along at a fast
clip.
Roger Hanna’s handsome
set, with its arched wooden
vaults, artfully evokes a pent-
house office suite. The modern
technological marvels of the
RICHARD TERMINE
the public what it wants isn’t
confined to the tabloids. The
play reminds us that the New
York Times credo, “All the News
That’s Fit to Print,” is more illu-
sory a code of practice than
ever.
All but forgotten in America,
“What the Public Wants” has
seen sporadic revivals in Eng-
land, where critics routinely
praise its enduring topicality.
The play’s theme has
remained remarkably fresh,
though I doubt it will retain
its bite indefinitely. In the new
Internet media age, the ques-

MUSIC
FRI.FEB.11
Wild About Weill
Kurt Weill connoisseurs Ian Greenlaw (bari-
tone, La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera
of Chicago) and Marcy Richardson (soprano,
Princeton Festival, Central City Opera, Carmel
Bach Festival) join operamission and Neke
Carson for “kurt weill uncovered: in cabaret,” a
chronology of Weill’s vocal selections. Gersh-
win Hotel, 7 E. 27th St. Feb. 11 & 18, 8 p.m.
General admission is $10. More information at
operamission.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ “and when she learned that I
PERFORMANCE
Speechless No More
In “Circus Incognitus,” Jamie Adkins,
its esoteric program to make it
profitable.
At first, a grateful Emily
takes the bait and agrees to
marry, but during a disas-
trous dinner at Bursley, where
Worgan’s mother and another
䉴 IN THE NOH, from p.24
shrieked, “You can’t! You can’t!”
“Her dream is to win an Oscar
for this role,” LeCompte said,
wasn’t going to cast her, she
screamed at me for another full
half hour.”
taste over artistic truth. Doug-
las Rees expertly delineates
both Worgan’s dutiful associ-
day, including a clunky Dicta-
phone and a hand-cranked,
color -coded system that sig-
tion of whether to give the pub-
lic what it wants is becoming
moot; the public is taking over
ate and his no-nonsense broth- nals Worgan’s availability, are crucial roles once reserved for
er, John. nicely rendered. trained press professionals. The
Under the direction of Mat- These days, as we all know public will get, a bit more each
thew Arbour, the tone is some- too well, the practice of giving day, what the public deserves.
the heaviness one would asso-
ciate with a playwright known
more for weighty dramas like
“Winterset” and “Anne of the
Thousand Days.” There was
also a surfeit of Dutch-accented
“humor” that made you realize
no one has attempted this since
the late Danny Kaye, and for
good reason.

from Montréal’s renowned Cirque Éloize,
stars as a man with something to say, but
who can’t quite find the words. By teetering
on towering ladders, somersaulting on slack
wire, and timing perfect pratfalls, he finds
unusual and hilarious solutions to overcom-
ing his fear of speaking in public. New Vic-
tory Theater, 209 W. 42nd St. Feb 11, 7
H
ard-core musical
queens were out in
full force for Collegiate
Chorale’s concert version of the
Kurt Weill-Maxwell Anderson
1938 show, “Knickerbocker
Holiday” on January 25 at Alice
Tully Hall. (“When will you ever
The juicy cast — Victor Gar-
ber, Kelli O’Hara, Ben Davis,
Bryce Pinkham, Christopher
Fitzgerald, Brooks Ashmans-
kas, and Brad Oscar — worked
hard, but were rather defeated
by the desaturating nature of all
that two-ton historical/ political
FRANK BELONCLE

p.m., Feb 12-13, noon & 5 p.m., Feb. 18, 7
p.m., Feb. 19-20, noon & 5 p.m., Feb 23, 2
p.m., Feb 24-25, 7 p.m., Feb. 26-27, noon &
5 p.m. Tickets are $14-$38 at newvictory.org.
䉴 14 DAYS, continued on p.26
hear this again?!” was the buzz.)
Some of the music was sublime,
like its best-known numbers, “It
Never Was You” and “September
Song,” but much of Anderson’s
book and lyrics suffered from
satire.
Contact David Noh at Inthe-
noh@aol.com and check out
his new blog at nohway.word- Kate Valk and Scott Shepherd in the Wooster Group’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “Vieux
press.com. Carre.”
26
䉴 FAMILY DEAREST, from p.19
stereotyped devices such as
addiction, political outlook, and
birth order. Real human beings
do not emerge, and we are left
to infer character development
that would have been more
interesting to see. The play is
unable to surmount the diffi-
culty that the story’s dramatic
events happened in the past,
and what transpires on stages
isn’t particularly dramatic.
Baitz has tried too hard to give
each character a showpiece
moment, an effort that often
feels mechanical and blunts
䉴 PORTLAND, from p.21
ets of ice into a truck. There, he
befriends Carlos (Raul Castillo),
who works as a DJ in his time
off. Obsessed with Sherlock Hol-
mes, Doug dreams of becoming
a detective. Then, an old ex-
girlfriend (Robyn Rikoon) goes
missing. He and Carlos try to
track her down, leading to plot
twists involving double identi-
ties, codes, and a missing brief-
case stuffed with money. Doug
even goes shopping for a pipe
so he’ll look more like Sherlock
Holmes.
It’s evident very early on in
“Cold Weather” that the film will
amount to something unusual.
Its second scene takes place
around a dinner table. Katz
frames and edits the scene with
jump cuts, turning it into a suc-
cession of two-shots in which
one person is always somewhat
out of focus. His vision is frag-
mentary — the entire table is
rarely shown in the same shot.
While he doesn’t direct the
whole film in such an uncon-
ventional manner, it’s obvious
that he could.
䉴 HUD, from p.9
Congress, whether controlled
by Democrats or Republicans,
has been disinclined to add
sexual orientation and gender
identity to the 1964 Civil Rights
Act, the federal anti-discrimi-
nation law.
Where Democrats, with little
Republican support, have tried
to advance such protections,
those efforts have been piece-
meal, with federal regulations or
through the proposed Employ-
ment Non-Discrimination Act
(ENDA) that would bar discrimi-
nation based on sexual orienta-
tion and gender identity only in
the play’s focus.
In short, there’s a great deal
of talk and not a lot of theater
going on.
Even at the climax of the play,
when the family is told the real
story, the actors are left with
nothing to do but look shocked
and crushed. Most frustrat-
ing of all is the brief epilogue
that feels tacked on to tie every-
thing up neatly and redeem
the characters. There’s a bit of
bite in the fact that the kinder,
gentler Brooke is nonetheless
completely self-absorbed and
the message that family history
can never be true, but those are
The Portland tourist board
would do well to hire Katz to
shoot some commercials on
behalf of that city. In a few of his
shots — particularly the image of
two people standing on a bridge
Much of the time, “Cold Weather”
exists in the image of its hero —
a man trying his hardest
to become someone.
that faces a waterfall — one
can sense the director strain-
ing to create loveliness. Most of
the time, his sense of beauty is
unobtrusive, often found in gray,
overcast landscapes.
Katz’s previous film, “Quiet
City,” was notable for its
expressive use of digital video,
although its grasp of narrative
and character was a bit tenu-
ous. His skill as a visual stylist
has improved between the two
films, and he’s matured a great
deal as a storyteller as well. This
time around, he was able to
shoot on high-definition video.
employment. That legislation, in
a form that did not include gen-
der identity protection, passed
the House in 2007.
ENDA lets employers dis-
criminate on the basis of sex-
ual orientation in that it allows
them to deny employee ben-
efits to the legal spouses of gay
and lesbian employees while
giving such benefits to the
legal spouses of heterosexual
employees.
In 1998, President Bill Clin-
ton issued an executive order
requiring federal agencies to
promulgate regulations that
barred discrimination based
on sexual orientation in fed-
2 – 15 FEB 2011
hardly enough to hang a full
evening on.
That’s not to say there are no
pleasures to be had. The won-
derful cast includes Stockard
Channing as Polly, Stacy Keach
as Lyman, Linda Lavin as Silda,
Thomas Sadoski as Trip, and
Elizabeth Marvel as Brooke.
They are all such consummate
actors, though, that it’s as frus-
trating to see them limited by
the weaknesses of the script as
it is exciting to watch them on
stage.
John Lee Beatty has created
a sensational Palm Springs
home as the set, and David
One wishes that he could write
and direct an episode of HBO’s
unfortunately titled mystery/
comedy show “Bored To Death,”
whose aesthetic bears some
resemblance to “Cold Weather,”
in order to breathe new life into
it.
“Cold Weather” arrives in
New York theaters just as the
IFC Channel has introduced a
show called “Portlandia,” which
pokes gentle fun at the city’s
reputation as a mecca for liberal
hipsters. Mumblecore has been
criticized for its focus on mid-
dle-class white urbanites who
often seem able to hang out in
cafés all day, chatting with their
friends about nothing.
Doug, in contrast, has a job,
and the film points out that he
only makes eight dollars an
eral employment. Uniformed
members of the military were
exempted.
While the agencies did issue
the regulations, how com-
pletely they were implemented
remains a question.
In a 2005 survey, the Merit
Systems Protection Board,
which hears appeals from civil-
ian federal employees who
believe they have experienced
prohibited personnel practices,
found that 0.9 percent of a rep-
resentative sample of federal
employees said they had experi-
enced job discrimination based
on sexual orientation in the two
years before taking the survey.
Zinn’s costumes are truly
remarkable, particularly in the
choices of cuts and colors that
underscore the characters per-
fectly.
Joe Mantello does a good job
of directing, getting some truly
memorable moments out of
Marvel and Channing, in par-
ticular. But those stellar teas-
es never cohere with any kind
of vision, and we’re left with
another tormented, imperfect
family trying to get along, love
one another, and make sense
of the world. For that I can go
home to my own family; on
stage it’s not enough.
hour. (That said, the ice fac-
tory doesn’t seem to mind when
he takes multiple sick days in
order to pursue his Sherlock
Holmes fantasies.) Although
Carlos is the only character in
“Cold Weather” who comes close
to being a hipster, with his side-
line as a DJ, he isn’t white. Katz
seems aware of the insular atti-
tudes around race and class in
the initial wave of mumblecore
films. While he hasn’t complete-
ly transcended them, he’s obvi-
ously trying.
“Cold Weather” is most excit-
ing in its middle section, when
it gradually transforms from a
portrait of Portland youth into a
mystery. Unfortunately, Katz’s
attempts at making a genre film
seem a bit half-hearted. Much
of the time, “Cold Weather”
exists in the image of its hero
— a man trying his hardest
to become someone else and
sometimes succeeding at it.
Still, the film’s virtues far
outweigh its flaws. While many
of Katz’s peers fiddle aimlessly
with the zoom lens on their
video cameras, he’s able to cre-
ate real poetry with his own.
If all those who reported sexual
orientation discrimination in
the survey filed a complaint,
that would total 332 complaints
for just those two years.
In 2008, however, when Gay
City News asked the 15 cabi-
net-level agencies how many
complaints alleging discrimi-
nation based on sexual orien-
tation they had received since
1999, 11 agencies respond-
ed, reporting 186 complaints
altogether for the nine-year
period. It is not clear why fed-
eral employees who have expe-
rienced sexual orientation dis-
crimination are not filing many
complaints.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
14 DAYS
14 NIGHTS
䉴 14 DAYS, from p.25
DANCE
SAT.FEB.12
A, B, Cs of Space
Following four sold-out shows in
November, Triskelion Arts presents an
encore performance of “(x,y,z)” by Jes-
sica Gaynor Dance. The piece is concerned
with an abstract exploration of line, plane,
and volume, and the ways in which these
defining spatial characteristics influence the
unique experiences of the individual dancer.
Nothing is off-limits in this work, and every
surface is danced upon including x, y, and
z. Aldous Theater, 118 N. 11 St., btwn.
Berry & Wythe Aves., Williamsburg (L
train to Bedford Ave.). Feb. 12-13, 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15; $10 for students at 718-599-
3577 or l info@triskelionarts.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
MUSIC
SUN.FEB.13
The Cop Meets the
Sopranos
Daniel Rodriguez, “the singing police-
man” who helped lift the nation’s spirits
as the New York City cop with stirring
post-9/11 performances of “God Bless
America,” returns to the Chelsea Opera in
concert with soprano Marla Kavanaugh,
mezzo soprano Leonarda Priore, and accom-
panist Kelly Horsted in an eclectic program
of inspirational songs, standards, musical
theater, and opera selections. Christ & St.
Stephen’s Church, 120 W. 69th St. Feb.
13, 3 p.m. Tickets are $25; $15 for students
& seniors at chelseaopera.org or 866-811-
4111; $20-$30 at the door.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
COMMUNITY
Nyack Gals
Afternoon Out
Madison’s brings back its Tea Dance
for Women in Nyack. 8 North Broad-
way, near Main St., 2-3 p.m. The cover
charge is $15 and includes one drink
btwn. 2 & 3 and light fare. For more infor-
mation, call 845-353-5352.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
PERFORMANCE
MON.FEB.14
Gay Hetero
Weddings
This Valentine’s Day, two couples will
say yes we do and tie the knot, legally,
䉴 FEB 14, continued on p.29
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 27

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28/ Politics
Obama Appoints Three New Gays
New York’s Paul Oetken could become first out gay man to serve as federal judge
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
T
he White House, on Jan-
uary 26, announced two
openly gay or lesbian
appointees to administration
posts and the nomination of an
out gay attorney to the federal
judiciary.
President Barack Obama
nominated J. Paul Oetken,
currently the asociate general
counsel at Cablevision Sys-
tems and an adjunct professor
at Fordham Law School, for a
seat on the prestigious South-
ern District of New York federal
bench.
He also named Roberta
Achtenberg, a co-founder of
the National Center for Lesbian
Rights and a top housing official
under President Bill Clinton,
for a seat on the United States
Commission on Civil Rights;
and Jeffrey Levi, who during
the early years of the AIDS cri-
House Office of National AIDS
Policy, to the Advisory Group
on Prevention, Health Promo-
tion, and Integrative and Public
Health.
Oetken, 45, was recom-
mended for the seat by New
York’s senior senator, Democrat
Charles Schumer, on September
23 last year, and is one of two
nominees who could become
the first openly gay man to serve
as a federal judge. Gay attorney
COURTESY: PAUL OETKEN
Edward C. DuMont has been
nominated to serve on the Wash-
ington-based Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit.
In lauding the president’s
President Obama has nominated J. Paul Oet- nomination of Oetken, Schum-
ken to New York’s Southern District bench on er, in a written statement, called
Senator Schumer’s recommendation. him “a strong advocate for the
LGBT community” who “has
sis headed up the Washington the right combination of skills,
efforts of the National Gay Task experience, and dedication to
Force (now NGLTF) to secure make an excellent judge.”
funding to fight the epidemic The out gay attorney has
and later worked in the White done work with Lambda Legal
and the LGBT Project of the
American Civil Liberties Union,
and co-authored an amicus
brief in support of the success-
ful 2003 challenge to the Texas
sodomy law before the US
Supreme Court.
“My three criteria for judges
are simple: excellence, diver-
sity, and moderation, and Mr.
Oetken fits that description to a
‘T’,” Schumer said in his state-
ment.
Oetken served as associate
counsel to President Bill Clin-
ton from 1999-2001 and, prior
to that, in the Justice Depart-
ment. After graduating from
Yale Law School, he clerked
for US Supreme Court Justice
Harry Blackmun. Oetken com-
pleted his undergraduate work
at the University of Iowa.
In October, the Washington
Blade reported that an ear -
lier Schumer recommendation
of an out gay attorney for the
2 - 15 FEB 2011
Southern District bench, Dan-
iel Alter, was rejected because
of comments he made that the
White House considered con-
troversial. In articles from 2004
and 2005, Alter was quoted
saying favorable things about a
lawsuit challenging the use of
the words “under God” in the
Pledge of Allegiance and about
retailers choosing “Happy Holi-
days” over “Merry Christmas”
as their greeting to customers.
The Blade said those remarks
weighed more heavily than a
letter from 66 attorneys who
worked with him in the office of
the US Attorney for the South-
ern District that said his was “a
nomination worth fighting for.”
Achtenberg’s nomination to
the US Commission on Civil
Rights would put her on a eight-
member panel — half appointed
by the president, half by Con-
䉴 FEDERAL JUDGE, continued on p.29
2 - 15 FEB 2011

Politics /29
14 DAYS 䉴 BRIEFS, from p.16

earned 70 days of leave while

2004 and 2009 to discharge
and replace 3,660 personnel
under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
file on the repeal process that fol-
lows the law — enacted in the
final days of last year’s lame duck
The Post reported the GAO
report found that 39 percent
of those discharged in the
only deprives the military of the
qualified Americans it needs,
but has also been a huge waste

14 NIGHTS serving in Iraq; after his discharge

䉴 FEB 14, from p.26
even though neither of these couples
has ever dated. Or had sex. Actually,
they’re all gay. That said, “La MaMa-
loped” is not a piece about gay marriage
in particular — but a look at gay people
getting legally hetero married in a perfor-
mance art investigation of an institution
defined by a relationship with the law,
not between two people. The evening
includes wedding snacks from Josie
Smith Malave of “Top Chef,” libations,
and a wedding gift. La MaMa, 74 E.
Fourth St., btwn. Bowery & Second
Ave. Feb. 14, 8 p.m. Tickets are $15; $10
for students & seniors at lamama.org or
212-475-7710.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, he
was denied compensation for that
time and was billed for $33,000 in
education and training costs. Sara
Isaakson, discharged from the
ROTC program at the University of
North Carolina after she stopped
lying about her sexual orientation,
was dunned for $78,000.
Servicemembers United noted
that federal law gives the services
the option to demand repayment,
but does not require them to do so.
$200 MM Five-
Year Price Tag
on Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell
The US military spent more
than $193 million between
✯
policy, according to a report from
the Government Accountabil-
ity Office (GAO) reported in the
Washington Post on January 20.
That amounts to almost
$53,000 per discharge.
The GAO, which is the fiscal
and performance watchdog arm
of the US Congress, completed
the study at the request of Rep-
resentative Susan Davis, a Cali-
fornia Democrat who formerly
headed up a House Armed Ser-
vices subcommittee on person-
nel and was a leading advocate
for DADT repeal.
According to the Post, the
report emerged “just days
before” military leaders are
expected to announce plans for
training command and rank and
session — spelling out a road map
to ending DADT.
Repeal will not be complete
until after the president, the
defense secretary, and the chair of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that
procedures and policies for doing
so will not compromise military
readiness, morale, effectiveness,
and retention.
House Republicans, now in
the majority, this week introduced
a measure that would require
certification as well from all
the service chiefs, some of
whom — particularly Marine
Commandant James Amos —
voiced qualms about moving
forward on repeal during two
major ongoing military opera-
tions overseas.
five-year period under study
performed infantry or security
duties or possessed critical lan-
guage skills.
The annual military budget
is roughly $600 billion.
According to a release from
the Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network, which advo-
cates for gay and lesbian mem-
bers of the military, two thirds
of those discharged were men.
Forty-eight percent came from
the Army, 25 percent from the
Navy, and 15 percent each from
the Air Force and Marines.
Aubrey Sarvis, an Army vet-
eran who is SLDN’s executive
director, said, “Today’s GAO
report underscores that the
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law not
of taxpayer dollars on replac-
ing patriots lost under this dis-
criminatory law. These numbers
remind us why it’s time to move
forward on certification so we
can begin implementing repeal.”
New Mischief
on Florida Gay
Adoption
Despite a state appellate
panel’s ruling last year striking
down the Florida ban on adop-
tion by “homosexual” people
and the decision by the then-
governor and attorney general
— Republican-turned-Indepen-
dent Charlie Crist and Republi-
can Bill McCullom, respectively
䉴 BRIEFS, continued on p.30

䉴 FEDERAL JUDGE, from p.28 lesbian.” Achtenberg, who is 60, She currently is a corporate law.

THEATER
WED.FEB 16
Tennessee’s
California Dreamin’
“Small Craft Warnings” is Tennessee
Williams’ intimate look at a lonely and dispa-
rate group of working class people. Among
them are two gay men — a washed-up
screenwriter and the young man he picked
up on the road —a compassionate middle-
aged heart patient, a desirable beautician,
her trouble-making lover, an alcoholic who
lost his license to practice medicine but still
does, a woman who risks becoming the tar-
get of wrath when she flirts, and the short
order cook who follows her around. The cast
includes Tammy Faye Starlight and Austin
Pendleton, who also directs. Studio The-
atre, 410 W. 42nd St. Previews begin
Feb. 16, with a Feb. 19 opening. Tue.; 7
p.m., Wed.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun.,
3 p.m., through Feb. 27. Tickets are $18 at
telecharge.com or 212-239-6200.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ the policy statements underly-
WORKPLACE
Bringing Your Whole
Self to the Job
Navigating the straight corporate
world can be challenging. Identity House
begins an eight-week support group
exploring what, when, if, and how to share
your sexual orientation with co-workers,
and how to handle image expectations
as well as the expectations from your
straight peers to fit in with the corporate
culture. Don Schmoll and Mary AlRoy are
the co-facilitators for this Wed. evening,
7-9 p.m. series, beginning Feb. 16. A
$25 donation per session is suggested, but
nobody will be turned away. For complete
information on the support group, email
idhouse@aol.org or call 917-595-0326.
gress, for six-year terms —
which has broad investigatory
powers, but no enforcement
authority over specific cases.
When she was appointed
assistant secretary for fair
housing within the Department
of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment by Clinton in 1993, she
became the first out lesbian
or gay presidential appointee
to win Senate confirmation,
despite the opposition of the
late North Carolina Republi-
can Jesse Helms, who said he
would not vote for “that damned
䉴 DOMA, from p.13
The Justice Department,
in defending DOMA in several
cases, has essentially disavowed
ing DOMA articulated in con-
gressional reports and the floor
debate when the measure was
enacted in 1996, instead relying
on the argument that Congress
could rationally have decided
that given the possibility some
state might enact marriage
equality –– Hawai’i looked pos-
sible at that point –– the federal
government should “preserve
the status quo” and maintain
national uniformity for federal
programs benefitting or other-
wise involving spouses.
Wilken demolished the key
premise in the US government’s
argument.
“According to Federal Defen-
later served the Clinton admin-
istration as a senior advisor to
the HUD secretary.
Achtenberg was a civil rights
attor ney when she helped
found the San Francisco-based
National Center for Lesbian
Rights in 1977. She later served
on that city’s Board of Supervi-
sors. In 1995, Achtenberg made
an unsuccessful run for mayor
of San Francisco, and between
1997 and 2004 held senior poli-
cy positions at the San Francis-
co Chamber of Commerce and
its Center for Economic Devel-
opment.
dants, preserving the status quo
allows states to resolve the issue
of same-sex marriage for them-
selves, and provides uniformity
in the federal allocation of mar-
riage-related rights and bene-
fits,” she wrote. “Section three of
the DOMA, however, alters the
status quo because it impairs
the states’ authority to define
marriage, by robbing states of
the power to allow same-sex
civil marriages that will be rec-
ognized under federal law.”
Wilken’s critique dug in deep-
er.
“Federal Defendants,” she
noted, “concede that section
three of the DOMA effected
a departure from the federal
government’s prior practice of
generally accepting marriages
recognized by state law.” The
committee report in the House
of Representatives, she pointed
advisor and a trustee of the Uni-
versity of California.
Achtenberg is a graduate of
the University of California at
Berkeley and has a law degree
from the University of Utah.
Levi, 57, currently heads up
the Trust for America’s Health,
a non-profit focused on making
disease prevention a national
priority, and teaches at the
George Washington University
School of Public Health and
Health Services. The advisory
group he will join was created
under the Obama administra-
tion’s 2010 health care reform
out, acknowledged that deciding
who can marry had tradition-
ally been “uniquely a function of
state law.”
Adopting a federal definition
of marriage was a departure
from the status quo, not its
preservation, Wilken conclud-
ed. The inability of California
to extend eligibility for the long-
term care insurance program is
a prime example of this disrup-
tion to customary practice, she
noted, deterring the state from
providing full-scale marriage
rights by placing the preferred
tax status for other participants
in the insurance plan in jeop-
ardy.
Wilken found that there was
such an obvious lack of ratio-
nal justification for DOMA’s
application in this case the law
need not be evaluated accord-
ing any tougher standard, such
After working to secur e
AIDS funding on behalf of
NGLTF beginning in 1983, he
went on to lead the group as
executive director. He served
for two years as deputy direc-
tor of the White House Office
of National AIDS Policy during
the Clinton administration and
before that was the associate
editor of the American Journal
of Public Health.
He is a graduate of Oberlin
College, and holds a master’s
degree from Cornell University
and a Ph.D. from George Wash-
ington University.
as heightened or strict scrutiny.
The law could not be justified,
in her view, even by the most
lenient legal standard.
Since she did not apply
heightened or strict scrutiny in
her review of DOMA, Wilken did
not have to consider whether
sexual orientation is a “suspect
classification,” like race or gen-
der, eligible for protection under
more demanding scrutiny, or
whether DOMA burdened a
fundamental right of gay and
lesbian couples, which would
also trigger a tougher standard
of review.
The next step is the potential
broadening of this case’s impact
by certifying a class of all simi-
larly situated California public
employee plaintiffs. That is on
the February 24 agenda, when
the court hears a class certifica-
tion motion.
30 2 – 15 FEB 2011 WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM

䉴 UGANDA, from p.4
Castro, a Portuguese journalist who was
allegedly beaten to death and castrated
by a male model in New York City earlier
this month.”
But SMUG’s Mugisha told Gay City
News, “David was killed by homophobia
spread around the country by people
like Lively. I knew David well, and there
is no possibility that he was romanti-
cally involved with the person who killed
him, no way.”
The Museveni regime, however,
denies that Kato’s killing was the result
of homophobia. “I would like to make it
very clear, it is not linked to him being
an activist of the sexual minorities,”
claimed Ugandan deputy police spokes-
man Vincent Sekate. “It was based in
unrelated crime.” Sekates statement
came only 36 hours after Kato’s mur-
der, without a thorough investigation.
To Sekate’s pretense Mugisha replied,
“This is just an attempt to cover up what
really happened, that’s very clear.”
The nefarious role of the US religious
right in fostering the virulent homopho-
bia in Uganda that claimed the life of
Kato was carefully documented last
year in a study, “Globalizing the Cul-
ture Wars: US Conservatives, African
Churches, and Homophobia,” prepared
for Political Research Associates, or
PRA, an authoritative research insti-
tute that studies the ultra-right and is
supported by the US labor movement
and major funders, including the Ford
Foundation.
The report’s author, Reverend Kapya
Kaoma, a Kenyan who is the director of
PRA’s Project on Religion and Sexuality,
said of Kato’s murder, “Those US con-
The targeting of Kato follows an intense
demonization campaign fostered by right-wing
Christian activists from the United States.
servatives who have lit the brushfire of
homophobia in Africa have to bear some
responsibility for this tragic death and
for the conflagration that now threatens
to consume all gay Ugandans.”
Mugisha told Gay City News he
thinks a renewed push for passage
of the death-for-gays Anti-Homosex-
ual Bill — which had been delayed by
President Museveni after worldwide pro-
tests that threatened international aid
to Uganda — could come after national
elections scheduled for later this month.
The principal opposition to Museveni
and his party, the National Resistance
Movement, is a coalition called the
Interparty Alliance, of which the larg-
est player is the Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC). Mugisha underscored
that he and SMUG are nonpartisan —
“I don’t follow politics because there are
no politicians who stand up and speak
for us and for gay rights” — but added,
“Kizza Besigye, the president of FDC
[and a former Museveni ally], has said
that he thought homosexuality should
be decriminalized, but this was only his
personal opinion — it does not say this
in his party’s platform and program.”
At Kato’s funeral in his home vil-
lage on January 28, the scene turned
to chaos when, as the British daily the
Guardian reported: “Anglican pas-
tor Thomas Musoke launched into a
homophobic tirade…[and] called on
homosexuals to repent or ‘be punished
by God.’”
Among the 300 attending the funer-
al, according to Reuters, “Gay activ-
ists, wearing T -shirts featuring Kato’s
face with sleeves colored with the gay
pride flag, then stormed the pulpit and
grabbed the microphone. ‘It is ungod-
ly,’ the pastor shouted, before being
blocked from sight. Locals intervened
on the side of the pastor, and scuffles
broke out before he was taken away to
Kato’s father’s house to calm the situa-
tion. Villagers then refused to bury the
body at which point a group of Kato’s
friends, most of whom were gay, car-
ried his coffin to the grave and buried it
themselves.”
Mugisha has been in constant touch
by telephone with his fellow Ugandan
activists while on his speaking tour,
which concludes in Minneapolis on Feb-
ruary 3. In Uganda today, he told Gay
City News, “The climate is one of fear
and confusion. People are worried.”
There is the distinct possibility of
copycat anti-gay violence in the wake of
Kato’s murder and the gay-baiting tab-
loids’ labeling of gays as child molesters.
On February 3 at 4 p.m., the Inter-
national Gay and Lesbian Human
Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and
other groups plan a vigil near the
Ugandan Mission to the United
Nations in New York City to honor
David Kato’s life. Visit tinyurl.
com/4kskbtw for details on where
the vigil will gather for the proces-
sion to Uganda House at 336 East
45th Street. The website of Sexual
Minorities Uganda (SMUG) is at sex-
ualminoritiesuganda.org. The full text
of Reverend Kapya Kaoma’s report for
Political Research Associates, “Globaliz-
ing the Culture Wars: U.S. Conservatives,
African Churches, and Homophobia,” is
available at tinyurl.com/4mvp24g. Doug
Ireland can be reached through his blog,
DIRELAND, at direland.typepad.com.

䉴 BRIEFS, from p.29
— that they would not pursue
State Supreme Court review
of the decision, the new governor,
Republican Rick Scott, is stoking the
fire that most had considered extin-
guished for good.
According to the Associated
Press, when Scott appeared before
reporters in Tallahassee on January
19 to discussed his newly appointed
director of Children and Families,
The path to your first home. David Wilkins, he said, “Adoption
should be by a married couple.”
In response to Scott’s statement,
The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) Florida Together, an LGBT equal-
offers first-time homebuyers: ity group, said, “Obviously, this is
‡¬RU\HDUIL[HGLQWHUHVWUDWHVWKDWDUHW\SLFDOO\ an end-run around the courts on gay
and lesbian-inclusive adoption. It
EHORZPDUNHW
could remove millions of Floridians
‡¬)LQDQFLQJXSWR from the adoption process and leave
‡¬)OH[LEOHXQGHUZULWLQJJXLGHOLQHV tens of thousands of children in state
‡¬'RZQSD\PHQWDVVLVWDQFHKLJKHURIRURIWKHORDQ foster care who could otherwise be
Children’s Homes, which Florida
Together notes, is an “organization
dedicated to providing Christ-cen-
tered services to children and fami-
lies.”
The American Civil Liberties
Union of Florida, which won last
year’s court victory that struck down
the adoption ban, has called a meet-
ing for February 5 in Orlando to dis-
cuss a united response to the gover-
nor’s posture.
Florida Drug
Treatment
Crisis Reflects
National Trend
Florida’s AIDS Drug Assistance
Program (ADAP) will soon throw
6,500 residents off its rolls, accord-
ing to an alert from the National
Minority AIDS Council.
The problem in Florida is symp-
tomatic of an emerging crisis across
already on ADAP waiting lists in ten
states across the nation. Another 19
states and Puerto Rico have rolled out
“cost-containment strategies” that
involve reducing the list of treatments
available, placing a cap on enroll-
ments, and lowering the maximum
income for program participants.
Several states are expected to
join that list of troubled programs in
the next several months.
“In its more than two decades,
ADAP has never faced a more severe
crisis,” said National Minority AIDS
Council deputy executive director
Daniel C. Montoya. “For many low-
income Americans living with HIV/
AIDS, including people of color, ADAP
provides the only avenue for receiv-
ing life-saving medications. Without
sustained and increased funding,
these programs will continue to be
stretched too thin, and thousands
more lives will be put at risk.”
DPRXQWRUXSWR adopted by loving families.”
‡1RSRLQWV The new governor’s position
‡1RILQDQFLQJDGGRQV presumably aims to avoid any legal
objections to barring gay and lesbian
parents specifically by preventing any
unmarried person — and by defini-
For more information, call tion, every gay and lesbian person
under Florida law — from adopting.
1-800-382-HOME (4663) Scott’s appointee for the Children
or visit www.nyshcr.org and Families post, Wilkins, is the
finance chair of the Florida Baptist
the nation in the treatment purchase
programs jointly run by the states and
the federal government and autho-
rized under the Ryan White AIDS
Care Act. ADAPs were developed to
fill the gap for uninsured or underin-
sured people living with AIDS who
don’t qualify for Medicaid.
According to the National Alli-
ance of State and Territorial AIDS
Directors, nearly 6,000 Americans are
The federal government acknowl-
edged the immediate danger to
ADAP programs as early as last sum-
mer, when the Health and Human
Services Department stepped in
with relocated dollars totaling $25
million in stop-gap funding, even as
the administration pressed for a $20
million increase in funding for the
coming fiscal year on top of the same
increase that year.
WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM 2 – 15 FEB 2011 31

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