NOVEMBER

13

2015

VOLUME 46

ISSUE 46

New survey nds

widespread discrimination,
incarceration and violence

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

lchibbaro@washblade.com
More than 23 years after the brutal
gay bashing murder of a U.S. Navy sailor
stationed in Japan, new information
about the Navys investigation into the
incident has emerged from a Freedom
of Information Act request led by San
Francisco gay activist Michael Petrelis.

AMERICAS GAY NEWS SOURCE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

TRANS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

EVENTS, PAGE 12

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

lchibbaro@washblade.com

More than 46 percent of transgender people

living in Washington who participated in a newly
released survey earn less than $10,000 a year, with
57 percent of trans persons of color making below
$10,000.
The survey also found that 36 percent of
the transgender respondents reported being
unemployed compared to an overall D.C.

Allen Schindler brutally

beaten to death by Navy
shipmatesin Japan

unemployment rate of 9 percent. Black trans

persons had the highest rate of unemployment
55 percent.
And for trans people who have been employed,
half reported experiencing workplace harassment
because of their gender identity and 13 percent
reported being physically assaulted at the
workplace.
The survey ndings were scheduled to be
CONTINUES ON PAGE 12

Petrelis this week released to the

public a 900-page Naval investigative
report he obtained from his FOIA
request on the death of Allen R.
Schindler, 22, a radioman stationed
aboard the Navys amphibious assault
ship Belleau Wood, which was docked
in October 1992 in Sasebo, Japan.
Naval investigators disclosed back
then that two of Schindlers shipmates
were charged with beating him to death
on Oct. 27, 1992 in a mens bathroom
at a public park in Sasebo not far from
where their ship was docked. One of
the two attackers, Airman Apprentice

RUBY CORADO served as project manager for the study. She

announced this week plans to take a leave of absence from
Casa Ruby, Page 4.

Terry M. Helvey, 21, was sentenced to

life in prison after pleading guilty to the
slaying.
Helvey agreed to the plea after
military prosecutors promised not to
seek the death penalty, which could
have been pursued until military law.
An accomplice in the attack, Airman
Charles Vins, accepted a plea bargain
deal from naval investigators. The deal
included cooperating with authorities
in the prosecution of Helvey in
exchange for accepting a lesser charge
CONTINUES ON PAGE 13

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

ALLEN R. SCHINDLER was beaten to death

in a public restroom in Japan in 1992 by
two of his Naval shipmates.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE U.S. NAVY

GAY IS GOOD

NEXT FIGHT

ROLODEX OF HATE

After four-year delay,

a memorial for gay
pioneer Frank Kameny.

White House announces

Obamas support for
the Equality Act.

RuPauls Drag Race

diva Bianca Del Rio
brings show to D.C.

PAGE 4

PAGE 6

PAGE 25

0 2 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

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0 4 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

LO CA L N E W S

Alcohol board nes Dacha Beer Garden

Ocials unveiled a newly installed memorial headstone for gay rights pioneer Frank
Kameny during an LGBT Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Kameny memorial unveiled

Five gay active duty members of the military stood at attention in full dress
uniform on Wednesday as U.S. Air Force General Counsel Gordon O. Tanner
and Congressional Cemetery President Paul Williams unveiled a newly installed
memorial headstone for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny during an LGBT
Veterans Day ceremony held at the historic cemetery.
More than 200 people turned out for the event, which took place at the
gravesite of Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich. With guidance from Kameny,
Matlovich disclosed he was gay in 1975, becoming the rst active duty U.S.
service member to challenge the militarys ban on gays.
This is a remarkable occasion to honor two remarkable men who transformed
the gay movement, said Tanner, an Air Force veteran who currently serves as
one of the highest-ranking gay civilian ocials at the Pentagon.
Their connection early in its history, as Leonard Matlovich reached out to
Frank Kameny and they together looked to the way to end the ban on gay
military service, Tanner said.
More than 50 members of the Gay Mens Chorus of Washington sang the
National Anthem at the start of the ceremony and the hymn, Make Them Hear
You, as the Kameny headstone was unveiled.
Kameny biographer and gay historian David Carter told the gathering that
many among the younger generation of LGBT activists are unaware that
Kamenys groundbreaking assertive and aggressive demands for gay rights in
the early 1960s predates the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York, which have been
credited with triggering the modern gay rights movement.
Pointing to a Gay is Good footstone also installed at the Kameny memorial
site, Carter noted that Kameny coined that phrase in 1968.
The ceremony in honor of LGBT veterans was sponsored by the D.C. LGBT
Center and coordinated by gay activists Michael Bedwell, a friend of Matlovich
and Kameny.
See washingtonblade.com for more coverage.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Nov. 4 issued a $42,500 ne and a 21day license suspension against the gay-owned Dacha Beer Garden, a popular outdoor
tavern in the citys Shaw neighborhood that has a large gay clientele.
The ne and suspension were part of an Oer-in-Compromise in which Dacha coowners Ilya Alter and Dmitri Chekaldin agreed to accept the penalties and not contest
the boards allegations that it violated at least 19 times an occupancy restriction limiting
the number of customers allowed in its outdoor space to 126.
Although several hundred Shaw residents signed a petition supporting the
establishment, some nearby residents complained that as many as 300 or more people
regularly congregated in the outdoor space, creating excessive noise that disturbed the
peace and order of the neighborhood.
The ne and suspension came one day before Dacha reached a settlement agreement
with the Shaw Advisory Neighborhood Commission in which the ANC will cease its
opposition to Dachas license and its plans to expand its premises at 1600 7th St., N.W.,
into an adjacent building at 1602 7th St. The ANC also agreed to support an increase in
Dachas outdoor capacity limit from 126 to 250.
In exchange, the eight-page settlement agreement submitted to the ABC Board calls
for Dacha to take a series of steps to curtail noise emanating from its premises that
include installing sound absorbing materials and barriers. Dacha has also agreed to
limit its outdoor hours from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m.
to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
We are excited to have won support of our ANC and to have reached an oer in
compromise with the ABC Board, co-owner Alter told the Washington Blade. This will
help Dacha build on its successes in response to an overwhelming support of the Shaw
community and operate a responsible business in harmony with the neighborhood.
The ABC Board was expected to allow Dacha to stagger its suspension period over
multiple dates between now and next spring so that it wont have to close continuously
for 21 consecutive days.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Casa Ruby leader to take sabbatical

Ruby Corado, founder and executive director of Casa Ruby, a D.C. LGBT community
services center with an outreach to the transgender and Latino communities, says she
will step down from her job for between one and two years beginning Jan. 1, 2016.
Corado cited health issues and a strong desire to engage in more aggressive political
advocacy for the transgender community as her reasons for taking what she describes
as an extended leave from Casa Ruby.
As much as I love the community, I have to take care of my health, she told the
Washington Blade in an interview on Monday. My T-cells have gone down, she said,
noting that she has been dealing with both HIV and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I told the board that Ill be gone at least a year or two, she said in describing a recent
conversation with members of the Casa Ruby board of directors. And the board wants
me to come back if I feel better. Thats what they told me. We want you to take care of
yourself but we also want you to come back if you feel better.
Corado said the board has named longtime transgender advocate Lourdes Ashley
Hunter, who is currently serving as Casa Rubys comptroller, to assume the role of
interim executive director at Casa Ruby beginning Jan. 1. Hunter holds a masters
degree in public administration from Rutgers University and was the founder and
former development and operations director of the Trans Women of Color Collective, a
national advocacy group.
Citing the D.C. governments recently released HIV report and a groundbreaking needs
survey of the D.C. area transgender community conducted by the D.C. Trans Coalition,
Corado said these and other studies have shown that the local trans community is faced
with alarmingly high rates of unemployment, HIV infection, incarceration and housing
and employment discrimination.
Our community is in crisis and the city and its political leadership is looking the other
way, she said. I cannot see my community going backwards, but it is. I want to do
something. I want to support this community and I want to do it from a dierent role.
According to Corado, her new role while on leave from Casa Ruby will include consulting
work and community and political advocacy on behalf of the trans community.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

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0 6 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

Gay man jumps from cruise ship: report

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A gay man
allegedly jumped from his room on a
Royal Caribbean cruise ship on Nov. 6
after he reportedly had a dispute with
his husband.
Gina Carter of the Broward County
Sheris Oce told WPLG, a Miami
television station, that Bernardo
Garcia Teixeira jumped from a balcony
on the seventh deck of the Oasis of
the Seas early on Nov. 6 after he and
his husband, Erik Elbaz, had what was
described as a domestic dispute.
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson in
a statement said security personnel
received a call about a loud dispute.
A gay man reportedly jumped from the
Oasis of the Seas cruise ship.
Our ocers interviewed the
guests separately about their dispute,
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN
as is standard procedure, said the
spokesperson, according to WPLG.
The ocers were not in the room when the guest chose to jump o his balcony.
Michael Winkleman, a lawyer who represents Elbaz, claims Garcia jumped
from the balcony in an attempt to get away from security personnel who were
allegedly harassing him because of his sexual orientation. Royal Caribbean has
disputed the allegations.
WPLG reported the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 7 suspended its search for Garcia.

Trans woman les complaint against hotel

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of
Iowa on Nov. 10 led a complaint with the states Civil Rights Commission on behalf
of a black transgender woman who claims a hotel discriminated against her.
Meagan Taylor and her friend, who is also a black trans woman, say they
checked into the Drury Inn in West Des Moines on July 13, 2015.
An ACLU press release indicates that Taylor and her friend, who were traveling
to a funeral, made reservations before their trip.
Taylor alleges the hotels general manager asked the front desk clerk to
make a copy of her identication, even though they had already checked it and
processed payment for her reservation. She claims hotel sta later called the
police to say that she and her friend were prostituting themselves because they
were men dressed like women.
Taylor claims ocers subsequently arrested her and charged her with possessing
hormone pills without a prescription. She further alleges that authorities placed
her in solitary connement because of her gender identity and race.
This ordeal was humiliating, scary and traumatizing, said Taylor in her
complaint. I felt powerless and degraded. I realized I was not welcome in a
public place simply because of who I am.
Local prosecutors later dropped the charges against Taylor.

LGBT businesses to access Mass. contracts

BOSTON Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker last week issued an executive
order that includes LGBT-owned businesses in a program designed to ensure
minority- and women-owned businesses have equal access to state contracts
and procurements.
Nothing says The Spirit of America like an equal seat at the table for every
business owner who wants one. Massachusetts continues its tradition as a
leader in LGBT rights by living up to its slogan and creating greater access to
the American dream, said National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
President Justin Nelson in a statement in which he applauded the Republicans
mandate. We thank Governor Bakers administration for their commitment to
the LGBT community in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is the rst state in the country to include LGBT-owned
businesses in such a program.
NGLCC in its press release said the executive order will directly impact the
21,000 LGBT-owned businesses in the Bay State.

NATIONAL NEWS

Obama strongly
supports Equality Act
Earnest says bill can
prohibit bias, protect liberty
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
White House Press Secretary Josh
Earnest announced this week the Obama
administration
strongly
supports
legislation that would prohibit anti-LGBT
discrimination known as the Equality Act
following a weeks-long review of the bill.
Earnest made the announcement under
questioning from the Washington Blade just
one week after voters in Houston rejected
by a wide margin a high-prole nondiscrimination ordinance that would have
prohibited discrimination against LGBT
people among 15 classes of individuals.
It is now clear that the administration
strongly supports the Equality Act,
Earnest said. That bill is historic
legislation that would advance the cause
of equality for millions of Americans and
we certainly are pleased with the many
legislators in Congress that have stepped
forward to try to advance a bill that would
deliver comprehensive equal rights for
LGBT Americans.
Earnest said the legislative process for
passing the Equality Act should enable
both a prohibition on LGBT discrimination
while at the same time protecting
religious liberty.
We look forward to working with
Congress to ensure that the legislative
process produces a result that balances
both the bedrock principles of civil
rights like those Ive just described with
the religious liberty that we hold dear,
Earnest said.
Introduced in July by Rep. David Cicilline
(D-R.I.) in the U.S. House and Sen. Je
Merkley (D-Ore.) in the U.S. Senate, the
Equality Act would expand the Civil Rights
Act and the Fair Housing Act to prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual
orientation and gender identity.
Until this time, the White House had
refrained from endorsing the Equality Act,
saying the legislation was under review.
Meanwhile,
Democratic
presidential
candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernard
Sanders and Martin OMalley have
endorsed the legislation. Vice President
Joseph Biden also expressed support
for the bill this year during the national
dinner of the Human Rights Campaign.
Earnest said the administration is now
able to endorse the Equality Act because
the review has concluded the broad
scope of the bill would be eective in
combatting anti-LGBT discrimination.

White House Press Secretary JOSH EARNEST said

the administration supports the Equality Act.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

The Equality Act would have an impact

on a substantial number of government
policies, so there was a review that was
conducted to evaluate exactly what impact
the law would have on a wide range of
government policies and programs,
Earnest said. After concluding that review
and determining that this kind of legislation
would achieve the desired eect, we
believe that we can support it, and we can
do so knowing that at the same time we
can protect the religious liberty thats also
enshrined in our Constitution.
Asked if Obama himself would speak
out in favor of the legislation and to what
extent it would be a legislative priority in
the remaining year of his administration,
Earnest said Obama would have a
conversation about the bill if asked.
The administration does look forward
to working with Congress to try to
advance this legislation consistent with
the values that we have articulated
about the importance of equal rights and
making sure people cant be discriminated
against because of who they love while
at the same time making sure that we
can protect the religious liberty at the
same time, Earnest said. The president
is condent that as this works its way
through the legislative process thats
something that can certainly be achieved.
In a statement, Cicilline praised Obama
for supporting the Equality Act and said
the endorsement is consistent with the
administrations support for LGBT rights.
During his time in oce, President Obama
has championed the cause of LGBT equality
by signing new hate crimes legislation, ending
Dont Ask, Dont Tell, and requiring federal
employee health insurers to cover services
for transgender employees, Cicilline said.
His support has been critical throughout
this ght, and I thank him for endorsing the
Equality Act today.

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0 8 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

Clinton on fastest civil rights

movement in history
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton said Saturday
night the struggle for LGBT rights
is really the fastest civil rights
movement that Im aware of in the
history of the world.
Clinton made the remarks in the
early primary state of South Carolina
at the Columbia Marriott before an
estimated 400 supporters of the state
LGBT group SC Equality.
This is really the fastest civil rights
movement that Im aware of in the
history of the world, Clinton said.
But do not grow weary because there
is still much left undone. And those
who have been at the beginning of
HILLARY CLINTON spoke before SC
this movement, those who started SC
Equality.
Equality, have so much to pass on.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY DAMIEN SALAS
Much of Clintons speech was lifted
from a similar speech she delivered in
October in D.C. before supporters of
the Human Rights Campaign. Pledging to make LGBT rights a component of her
administration, Clinton said shed sign into law the Equality Act, drew attention
to the recent spate of transgender murders and expressed support for openly
transgender military service.
Clinton criticized Republican presidential candidates for making ridiculous
and oensive comments on LGBT people. Additionally, she recalled her own
eorts on LGBT rights as secretary of state, such as her 2011 speech in favor of
international LGBT rights in Geneva.
Days after the defeat in Houston of a high-prole LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, Clinton said the loss demonstrates more work is needed.
The vote just a few days ago in Houston is a reminder that fear and
misconceptions exist, and there are still too many people willing to exploit them
for political gain, Clinton said. There are still too many places in our country,
and theres too many places here in South Carolina, where LGBT Americans are
targeted for harassment and even violence. And there are way too many young
people who are uncertain, even scared of what their future might hold.
Clinton noted eorts to secure LGBT rights in South Carolina are more
challenging than in New York, where she served as U.S. senator, and said
advocacy eorts will continue from one generation to the next.
The work isnt nished until every single person is treated with equal rights
and dignity, no matter where they live, Clinton said. So the obstacles that
remain are ones that I see very clearly injustices and the dangers that you and
your families still face. And I am committed to working with you to stand up for
your fundamental rights.
CHRIS JOHNSON

Clinton explains account of DOMA history

Hillary Clinton explained late Friday her controversial assertion that the Defense
of Marriage Act was passed in 1996 to avert a U.S. constitutional amendment against
same-sex marriage, saying the potential for worse anti-gay discrimination came up in
private conversations.
Clinton made the remarks during a Democratic presidential forum when host Rachel
Maddow asked the candidate whether she stood by her characterization of DOMA
as a defensive action that President Bill Clinton signed in 1996 to stave o a U.S.
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage entirely.
Certainly in thinking back on it, those were private conversations that people did
have, and I am more than willing to say again that that was something that came up
in private discussions that I had, Clinton said. The important thing is DOMA is gone.
Asked by Maddow to clarify the worry of a constitutional amendment was discussed
privately, if not publicly, Clinton replied, Yes, yes.

NATIONAL NEWS
Clinton recalled during the Bush administration, Republican strategist Karl Rove
attempted to win re-election for President George W. Bush by placing on the ballot state
constitutional amendments against same-sex marriage, which she said was one of the
reasons why I think that the Kerry campaign had some challenges in 2004.
This was a very real problem that people were concerned about, and if Im wrong
about the public debate, I obviously take responsibility for that, Clinton said. But I
think the important thing is that we are now beyond that and my husband has certainly
said, and I agree with what he said, that now thankfully we have moved to a stage where
marriage equality is the law of the land.
Clinton said instead of DOMA, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2013, the
focus should be on the persistent absence of a federal law prohibiting anti-LGBT
discrimination.
What we havent yet done is to deal with the discrimination that still exists and to try
to gure out how you help people who now can legally get married on Saturday, and
then get red on Monday, Clinton said. And thats the next big challenge.
Following the defeat at the ballot of a high-prole LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination
ordinance in Houston, Maddow asked Clinton why she thinks the measure was voted
down. The candidate had endorsed the measure prior to the vote.
Much like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the White House, Clinton
blamed the defeat onattack ads stoking fears about transgender people using public
restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Clinton said the defeat of the Houston ordinance is a reminder challenges remain in
achieving LGBT rights, but forward is the way to go.
I think this is a reminder that if you stand for equal rights, if you stand against
discrimination, you dont just do it once and youre done, Clinton said. You got to keep
ghting for it, and you got to keep standing up for it and you got to keep moving forward.
CHRIS JOHNSON

OMalley unveils gay-inclusive veterans plan

Martin OMalley unveiled on Monday
a comprehensive plan to aid Americas
veterans that includes a promise to ensure
service members separated under Dont
Ask, Dont Tell have honorable discharges.
The Democratic presidential candidates
wide-ranging plan includes commitments
to reach full veteran employment by 2020;
ensure all veterans have access to health
care and supportive services; end the
homelessness epidemic among veterans;
and protect men and women service
members from sexual assault.
Embedded in the policy is a commitment
to support legislation that would ensure
honorable discharges for the estimated
100,000 service members separated for
homosexual conduct both under Dont Ask,
MARTIN OMALLEY has pledged to
Dont Tell and earlier during the militarys
upgrade discharges for gay veterans.
administrative gay ban.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Although many gay troops were given
honorable discharges at the time of
separation, others, depending on the circumstances, received statuses of other than
honorable, general discharge or dishonorable.
The unjust Clinton-era Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy continues to harm veterans,
the plan says. As many as 100,000 Americans may have been improperly discharged
because of their sexual orientation. The consequences of a negative discharge are farreaching and life-long. Despite their many years of service and sacrice, these veterans
may be ineligible for veteran status, denied critical health care and education benets,
disadvantaged on the civilian job market, and even barred from voting.
Since the repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell, which enabled openly gay people to serve
in the U.S. military, the Pentagon has started processing paperwork to upgrade the
discharges of service members separated for homosexual conduct to honorable.
Critics say the process is cumbersome and must be streamlined.
Legislation known as the Restore Honor to Service Members Act would address the
issue. Promoting the bill in the U.S. House are Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Charlie
Rangel (D-N.Y.). In the U.S. Senate, the lead sponsor is Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).
OMalley isnt the only Democrat to draw attention to the discharge paperwork of
service members separated for being gay. Hillary Clinton has also pledged to upgrade
the paperwork upon election to the White House. Vice President Joseph Biden also
pointed out the issue during a speech at the annual Human Rights Campaign dinner.
CHRIS JOHNSON

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 0 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

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

Trade deal lacks LGBT provisions

Hong Kong bishop compares
homosexuality to drug abuse
LGBT rights advocates in Hong Kong have sharply criticized a local Catholic
bishop who compared homosexuality to drug abuse.
The South China Morning Post reported Auxiliary Bishop Michael Yeung Mingcheung of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong made the comments on Sunday.
The newspaper said that Yeung made the comparison while defending
Cardinal John Tong Hon, who heads the Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong.
Tong in a Nov. 5 letter urged Catholics to consider candidates positions on marriage
rights for same-sex couples and a proposed ordinance that would ban discrimination
based on sexual orientation when they vote in local elections on Nov. 22.
The church doesnt have any enemy and it wouldnt criticize anyone, said
Yeung, according to the South China Morning Post. It was only talking about a
wrong-doing. For example, it was wrong to [abuse] drugs and we would say so,
but we still love drug addicts.
Yeung made the comments a day after more than 9,000 people took part in
Hong Kongs largest-ever LGBT Pride march.
Tom Cooney, deputy U.S. consul general to Hong Kong and Macau, is among the
several diplomats from Germany and other countries who spoke during the event.
We nd the bishops analogy very unfortunate, disappointing and hurtful
to the LGBT community, Wally Suphap of the Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian
Attorneys Network told the Washington Blade on Tuesday in a statement. At a
time when more and more faith communities around the world are engaging in
constructive dialogues with their respective LGBT communities, including their
openly gay congregation members.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

New anti-gay crackdown in Russia

Critics say a bill that Russian lawmakers introduced last week would eectively
ban gays and lesbians from coming out.
Ivan Nikitchuk and Nikolai Arefyev, who are members of the Russian
Communist Party, on Oct. 29 introduced the measure in the Russian Duma.
Authorities would ne people who engage in public expression of
unconventional sexual relationships, which the measure denes as a public
demonstration of their distorted sexual preferences in public places, 4,000
-5,000 rubles ($62.28-77.85.) Those who commit the aforementioned actions in
institutions that provide educational, cultural or youth services would face the
same penalty and 15 days in jail.
Nikitchuk and Arefyevs bill also includes a multi-page description.
A serious danger to our society today is the promotion of homosexuality
expressed in one form or another, it reads. We should understand that the
open demonstration of non-traditional sexual relations leads to a deliberate
coup [against] domestic culture and foundation of human relationships.
The description cites then-Secretary of State Hillary Clintons landmark 2011
speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in which she proclaimed gay rights are
human rights. It also notes President Obamas presidential memorandum that
directed government agencies responsible for U.S. foreign policy to promote
LGBT rights in the countries in which they work.
The most direct [example of promoting LGBT rights] applies to a gay parade,
during which people take to the streets not only in order to protect their rights,
but to demonstrate their atypical perverse sexuality, reads the description.
The danger of this kind of propaganda of homosexuality it is for children
and young people, often very susceptible to suggestion, it says. Aggressive
promotion of homosexual views, including undercover protection of human
rights, is clearly [a] provocative character.
The description cites members of the Russian Sexological Association who
conclude homosexuality is a social illness. It also notes that homosexual
relationships are associated with mental illness, even though it has not been
classied as such in Russia since 1999.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Pride at Work blasts

White House over TPP
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
The long-awaited text of a controversial
trade agreement the U.S. and 11 Pacic
Rim countries released last week
indicates it does not include any LGBTspecic provisions.
The Trans-Pacic Partnership requires
countries that ratify it to expand
bargaining rights to workers and allow
them to organize. TPP also contains
provisions that are designed to combat
forced and child labor.
TPP countries would also need to
ensure freedom from discrimination in
employment.
Brunei agreed to amend relevant
sections of its labor code to prohibit
discrimination in respect of employment
and occupation, including on the basis of
race, sex, color, religion, political opinion
and extraction. Malaysia said it would
remove the prohibitions on employment
of women in certain occupations.
Neither provision includes sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Brunei and Malaysia would join TPP
alongside Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore,
Vietnam and the U.S. if the countries ratify it.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations
remain criminalized in Singapore,
Malaysia and Brunei.
Brunei in 2014 began to implement
a new legal code based on Sharia
law that punishes those convicted of
homosexuality by stoning them to death.
Malaysias highest court in February
upheld former Deputy Prime Minister
Anwar Ibrahims conviction under the
countrys anti-sodomy law. The same
tribunal last month overturned a landmark
ruling that declared unconstitutional
a state law banning Muslim men from
wearing womens clothes in public.
Now its ocial: the TPP fails the test
for important LGBT concerns, said Pride
at Work Executive Director Jerame Davis
in a statement. It is troubling that the
United States would bring countries
such as Brunei and Malaysia, with their
state-sponsored persecution of LGBT
individuals, into the fold of the TPP.
Pride at Work in June 2014 signed onto
a letter with the Human Rights Campaign,
the National LGBTQ Task Force and the
National Center for Transgender Equality
urging the White House to require Brunei
to address its human rights violations
ahead of any additional TPP negotiations.
U. S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mark
Takano (D-Calif.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.),
Sean Patrick Maloney and Krysten Sinema

(D-Ariz.) earlier this year raised similar

concerns to President Obama about the
inclusion of the sultanate and Malaysia in
the trade agreement.
A State Department ocial told the
Washington Blade last month that TPP
would greatly aid the eorts to advance
human rights in the Asia-Pacic region.
The six openly gay ambassadors who
represent the U.S. in Vietnam, Australia,
the Dominican Republic, Spain and
Andorra, Denmark and the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe
and Special U.S. Envoy for the Human
Rights for LGBTI Persons Randy Berry
also support the trade agreement.
Former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton is among those who oppose TPP.
It is unconscionable that our nation
would not use the leverage of the TPP
negotiations to insist that these nations
(Brunei and Malaysia) make improvements
on ending LGBT persecution and
discrimination, said Davis. Instead of living
up to its stated goal to improve the rights
and protections of LGBT people throughout
the world, the Obama administration is
instead oering an implicit okay to the
LGBT status quo in Brunei and Malaysia.
Davis and others also argue TPP would
increase the cost of antiretroviral drugs to
treat HIV because it expands intellectual
property protections for biologics. They
contend these provisions would make
the aforementioned medications less
available in countries that become part of
the trade agreement.
John Sifton of Human Rights Watch
noted to the Blade during a telephone
interview that some people living with
HIV only respond to so-called secondgeneration antiretroviral drugs that cost
more than traditional antiretroviral drugs.
He said the patent protections
contained within TPP would make it
dicult for generic drug companies to
produce them.
Somebody is going to die because
there isnt enough to pay for the health
care required, whether youre an HIV
patient or a cancer patient, said Sifton.
The State Department on Friday did
not respond to the Blades request for
comment on Davis criticisms of the
administration over TPP.
The U.S. and 11 other countries that
would join TPP on Oct. 5 announced
they had reached an agreement on the
controversial agreement. They released
the text of it a month later.
Obama has 90 days from the date
the U.S. and the 11 other TPP countries
announced they had brokered a deal on
the trade agreement to sign it.
Congress is expected to vote on
whether to ratify TPP sometime next
year. Lawmakers will only be able to vote
on the trade deal without amending it.

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

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 1 1

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 2 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

LO CA L N E W S

Report: D.C. trans community hit with devastating poverty

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

released on Friday, Nov. 13, in a 116page report called Access Denied:

2015 Washington, D.C. Trans Needs
Assessment Report.
The survey and report were put
together as part of a ve-year academic
oriented project organized by the D.C.
Trans Coalition.
Conducted between May 2012 and
May 2013, the survey is the largest citybased, trans-specic needs assessment
in U.S. history, with over 500 participants,
according to the report.
Washington, D.C. has many of the
most progressive and trans inclusive
non-discrimination laws in the nation,
yet transgender, transsexual, transspectrum (henceforth trans) and gender
non-conforming residents continue to
experience devastatingly high rates of
poverty, under- and unemployment,
employment discrimination, and health
disparities, the report says.
Among the surveys ndings is a
large percentage of transgender people
who reported being unemployed 51
percent said they work at least one
job in what the report calls the grey
or underground economy. Included in
that category is sex work, the report says.
Over a third (36 percent) of respondents
report having engaged in sex work, or
the exchange of sexual acts for money,
housing and/or drugs, either currently or
in the past, according to the report.
Signicantly, those who had a history
of sex work were also more likely to be
HIV positive (43 percent) compared to
those with no history (8 percent), the
report says.
The report says the survey found that
trans people experience disturbingly
high rates of assault and harassment. It
says 74 percent reported being verbally
assaulted, 42 percent reported being
physically assaulted and 35 percent
sexually assaulted.
Trans feminine individuals are more
likely than trans masculine individuals
to have been assaulted, the report
says. It says 57 percent of trans feminine
individuals reported being assaulted
compared to 17 percent of trans
masculine individuals.
The report says 54 percent of black
and 60 percent of Hispanic trans persons
reported being physically assaulted
compared to 21 percent of whites.
In the area of housing, the report says
the survey found roughly one out of
every four respondents reported being
denied a lease due to being perceived as
transgender. Trans feminine individuals
(28 percent) were twice as likely to have
been denied a lease as trans masculine
individuals (13 percent).
Among those taking the survey, 20

percent reported they were currently

experiencing homelessness, the report
says. Half of those currently experiencing
homelessness report relying on grey or
underground economic work for income
(such as sex work), it says.
The survey found that fewer trans
persons living in the D.C. area had a
four-year college degree or a two-year
associate degree than cisgender people.
Trans people lacking an associate degree
or higher were three times more likely to
be unemployed than trans persons with
such a degree, the survey found.
As compared to trans persons who have
obtained higher education degrees, trans
persons lacking a higher education degree
were 5 times more likely to earn less than
$10,000 a year, 4 times more likely to engage
in sex work and were 40 percent less likely
to be currently employed, the report says.
Disturbingly 100 percent of trans persons
who report having achieved no form of
higher education also report they were
currently unemployed, says the report.
The report includes these additional
ndings:
Among those who took the survey,
only half reported they have any form of
identication that reects their gender
identity.
Of those who were eligible to vote, 77
percent of white trans individuals were
registered to vote, 80 percent of Hispanic
individuals were registered to vote, and
69 percent of the trans respondents who
identied as black were registered to vote.
Twenty-one percent of trans
respondents reported being HIV positive,
a rate seven times greater than the
general D.C. population rate of being HIV
positive of 2.4 percent.
Nearly one-third of all trans feminine
respondents reported living with HIV, and
an astounding 75 percent of those reported
living with HIV were persons of color.
A majority of respondents had
procedures or treatment for the purpose
of transitioning from one gender to
another, with many receiving care from
unlicensed practitioners or sources.
Sixty-ve percent had undergone
such procedures or treatment and 23
percent planned to do so in the future.
Thirty percent had used some form of
unlicensed care or source.
Sixty percent had seriously
considered suicide, 34 percent had
attempted suicide and 10 percent had
attempted suicide in the past 12 months.
Among those who had attempted
suicide, 61 percent had been physically
assaulted and 54 percent had been
sexually assaulted.
Among the authors and contributors
to the report are Elijah Adiv Edelman,
Ph.D., Principal Investigator and Project
Manager; Ruby Corado, Co-Investigator
and
Survey
Collection
Manger;

Jason Terry, Resource Management

Coordinator; and Elena C. Lumby, DrPH
Candidate and Lead Statistician. Jody
Herman, Ph.D. of the Williams Institute,
collaborated with the survey team in
designing the survey, the report says.
The report says the survey consisted
of 80 questions and was distributed both
online and through in-person interviews.

Upon closing the survey in May 2013, 624

surveys were completed with a total of
521 deemed qualifying for inclusion in
the data analysis, according to the report.
The Blade obtained an embargoed
copy of the report for publication on
Nov. 13. This story will be updated
with reaction from local ocials at
washingtonblade.com.

Trans Day of Remembrance events

Washington, D.C. will commemorate
the annual Trans Day of
Remembrance with a weeks worth
of events. These events are meant
to show that in addition to mourning
the dead, the trans community is here
to celebrate and ght for the living,
according to a Facebook event page.

FRIDAY, NOV. 13:

Release of the 2015 DCTC Trans

Needs Assessment Report
Hosted By DC Trans Coalition and
Casa Ruby
City Hall - John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
1-2 p.m.
Transgender, Mental Health, and
Disability: An Intersectional Panel
Discussion
Hosted By Autistic Self Advocacy
Network - DC
Tenleytown Library - 4450 Wisconsin
Ave., N.W.
4 p.m.

SATURDAY, NOV. 14:

Comics Workshop: Celebrating Trans

Comics Creators
Hosted by Fantom Comics
2010 P St., N.W.
2-4 p.m.
Speak For Change: Trans Open Mic
Benet for Casa Ruby with Venus
Selenite
Hosted by The Lamont Street
Collective
1822 Lamont St., N.W.
7 p.m.

SUNDAY, NOV. 15:

Marsha P. Johnson Documentary

Screening & Discussion on Violence
Against Trans Sex Workers
Hosted By HIPS
906 H St., N.E.
2-5 p.m.

MONDAY, NOV. 16:

Trans 101: A Panel Discussion

Hosted by GWU Allied in Pride, GWU

AQWA, GWU Progressive Student

Union, and GU Queer People of Color
Marvin Center, 800 21st St., N.W.,
Room 310
7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, NOV. 17:

Trans Justice March

Hosted by DC Trans Power and
Blackout DC
Mt. Vernon Square
5:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 18:

National Trans Lives Matter Day of

Action
Hosted by El/La Para Translatinas,
TransLatin@ Coalition, and Familia:
Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Columbia Heights Metro Station
Plaza
5-6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, NOV. 19:

Trans Day of Remembrance Vigil and

Speakout
Hosted By: AU Queers and Allies Trans and Nonbinary Collective
4400 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Mary
Gradon Center 2-3
8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, NOV. 20

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Metropolitan Community Church
474 Ridge St., N.W.
6-8 p.m.
(Participating organizations include:
Casa Ruby, HIPS, Blackout DC, DC
Trans Power, DC Trans Coalition, El/
La Para Translatinas, TransLatin@
Coalition, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation
Movement, Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- DC, Fantom Comics, The Lamont Street
Collective, GWU Allied in Pride, GWU
Association of Queer Women and Allies
(AQWA), GWU Progressive Student Union,
GU Queer People of Color, AU Community
Action and Social Justice Coalition (CASJ),
AU Queers and Allies Queer and Trans
People of Color, and AU Queers and Allies
Trans and Nonbinary Collective)

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

N E WS

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 1 3

Activist unearths new details in 92 murder case

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01

that resulted in his serving only 78 days

of a one-year sentence in the brig.
Petrelis traveled twice to Japan during
the investigation into the case as an
organizer of the gay direct action group
Queer Nation. He has been credited with
drawing international attention to the case
by agitating for the Navy to conrm that the
motive of the killing was anti-gay hatred.
Allen Schindler was destined to
become yet another gay man killed and
forgotten, Petrelis said in a statement
this week. Now, 23 years after his
death, we nally share the full details
of his murder, he said. In doing so,
we honor his memory on Veterans Day
2015. People must know the role that
governmental homophobia played in his
murder and the subsequent cover-up.
Petrelis was referring to new details
that have emerged from the 900-page
investigative report showing that naval
investigators targeted some of Schindlers
fellow gay sailors on the ship for possible
investigations into their sexual orientation.
The report states that the fellow sailors
provided information to investigations
about how Schindler was being harassed
on board the ship when word got out that
he was gay, prompting investigators to look
into whether the friends were also gay.
The Schindler case occurred at a time
when homosexuality was automatic
grounds for being discharged from the
military. The murder took place during
the 1992 U.S. presidential election
campaign,
when
then-Democratic
candidate Bill Clinton promised to lift the
militarys ban on gay service members.
The following year, then-President
Clinton backed down from that campaign
promise following a groundswell of
opposition from military leaders and
many members of Congress, prompting
Clinton to introduce his Dont Ask,
Dont Tell policy as a compromise that
Congress eventually adopted.
The investigative report obtained
by Petrelis provides more details into
reports that surfaced during Helveys
court martial prosecution in 1993 that
Schindler had complained to the ships
captain that he was being harassed and
threatened for being gay and wanted to
be discharged from the Navy.
According to the investigative report,
the captain discussed Schindlers request
in front of other shipmates, further
spreading the word that Schindler was
gay, a development that intensied the
anti-gay harassment against him.
The investigative report also for the rst
time provides the full text of Schindlers
personal diary, which became part of the
evidence presented by prosecutors at
Helveys trial. Petrelis, who said he spent

more than a month reading through the

voluminous report, notes that in his diary
Schindler recounts meticulously the
anguish and abuse he experienced in
the weeks leading up to his murder.
Among other things, the investigative
report includes records of the autopsy
showing the severity of the beating by
Helvey that rendered Schindlers body
unrecognizable by his mother.

His head was bashed repeatedly

against a urinal so violently that
the porcelain broke, a statement
accompanying Petrelis release of the
investigative report says.
It took me 22 years to le a FOIA with
the Navy for their investigative le on
Schindler, but I nally did it in the past
year, he told the Washington Blade in an
email. Frankly, since I had worked on and

DALIA PALCHIK
PHOTO COURTESY OF PALCHIK

lived with this case so intensely, I was not

looking forward to getting emotionally
upset again over the tragedy.
But he said he moved ahead with the
FOIA request so that the full story of what
he considers an anti-gay atrocity made
possible by rampant homophobia in the
Navy at that time could be publicly aired
to help prevent such a heinous crime
from happening again.

LGBT-specic information to the Family Life Education

curriculum for middle and high school students.
The Republican earlier this year abstained from a vote
on a proposal that added gender identity to the Fairfax
County School Districts anti-discrimination policy. Reed last
November supported the inclusion of sexual orientation in
the regulation that ultimately passed.
The Traditional Values Coalition, a group that opposed the
inclusion of gender identity in the anti-discrimination policy,
endorsed Reed. Equality Virginia, a statewide LGBT advocacy
organization, backed Palchik.
Palchik told the Blade the anti-discrimination measure
was among the issues that voters raised with her during the
campaign.
The majority of people were like Yeah, OK, of course we
support this issue, she said.
Palchik told the Blade the inclusion of gender identity in
the non-discrimination policy was designed to end bullying
and discrimination and [protect] our most vulnerable.
There was a lot of misinformation, she said, referring
to the heated debate around the issue. It was just hateful
language all around. It became pretty clear this was about
protecting transgender students or not transgender
students.
Palchik told the Blade that one of her goals once she
takes oce is to ensure the policy is implemented. She added
students are the ones who are the most informed on it.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

D.C. Baptist church

Palchik on bid to unseat
anti-LGBT Fairfax incumbent to vote on marriage
The teacher who defeated incumbent Fairfax County
School Board member Patty Reed described her campaign
to the Washington Blade as an uphill battle.
I knew it was an uphill battle to challenge an incumbent,
said Dalia Palchik on Nov. 6. We really had a strong
grassroots campaign.
Palchik a native of Argentina who graduated from
Thomas Jeerson High School for Science and Technology
in Alexandria spoke with the Blade three days after she
defeated Reed by a 58-41 percent margin.
Palchik, who teaches at the Sheridan School in Northwest
Washington, told the Blade she considered challenging Reed
because of what she described as a lack of educators voices
on the board. She also referenced the need for more minority
voices and those of people who grew up in the system.
Palchik will represent the Providence District on the
Fairfax County School Board, which includes portions of Falls
Church, once she ocially takes oce on Jan. 1.
Reed, a Republican who has represented the district since
2009, earlier this year voted against a measure that added

Members of the congregation of D.C.s First Baptist Church

on 16th Street, N.W., near Dupont Circle, are scheduled to
vote on Feb. 7 on whether the church should perform samesex marriages, according to a recent announcement in the
churchs bulletin.
The vote on what some say could be a contentious question
will take place about one month after a forum on the issue
of same-sex marriage is expected to be held at the church.
During a Church Forum on a January Sunday after church,
to be scheduled, two leading national Christian voices on
both sides of the question will present and explain the
positions, with emphasis on their scriptural foundations, the
church bulletin says.
As part of this January forum, members are encouraged
to ask questions of the authorities and among themselves as
well as to share their views with one another, it says.
The bulletin says a decision to hold a vote on whether the
church should perform same-sex marriages was prompted
by the June 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing civil
same-sex marriage throughout the country.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Keep your promise to protect each other.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

14 N OV E M B E R 13, 201 5

BA LT I MO RE N E W S

Clergyman Skip Koritzer dies

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Rev. Father Edward Skip Koritzer,

a well-known gure in Baltimores
LGBT community for decades, died
unexpectedly at St. Agnes Hospital
in Baltimore on Nov. 5. He had been
admitted the previous evening for
treatment of undisclosed illnesses
that hed been ghting for two years.
He was 67.
Koritzer was a chaplain and the
president of the Interfaith Fairness
Coalition of Maryland where he
ociated faith services and oered
counseling to many LGBT people.
Members of the community were also
familiar with his frequent forays into
bars and events to take photographs
SKIP KORITZER at this years Baltimore
for local LGBT publications.
Pride.
As a volunteer, Koritzer wore a
PHOTO BY BOB FORD
number of hats. He was a xture at
Baltimore Pride celebrations as well
as other Pride events around the state. He was often dressed in a clergy collar
plus a security uniform to help with trac and crowd control, all while toting his
walkie-talkie and camera to chronicle the festivities.
Father Skip had a strong commitment to the most inclusive concept of
interfaith work possible, said Bill Redmond-Palmer, a close friend and associate.
He was always available at Baltimore LGBT Pride and Baltimore Black Pride, to
oer communion to anyone who asked for it, despite being criticized by other
Catholics in our community for doing so.
In addition to his volunteer work in the community, Koritzer worked as clergy
at two Independent Catholic parishes, conducted services at nursing homes,
was active with the VFW, worked with Homeland Security and was active in his
radio club.
Father Skip was one of our irreplaceable community elders, and his loss is
one that will be felt by the entire community, added Redmond-Palmer who
along with other community leaders is organizing a tribute to Koritzer in early
December. A funeral service was held Monday.

Trans March of Resilience planned

Historically, Nov. 20 has been designated as Transgender Day of Remembrance

to mourn and reect on the lives of those transgender individuals who died
during the past year. But this year, the rst nationally organized day of protest
by trans people of color and allies will take place to promote justice and equality
1314B 14th St. NW WDC 20005 202.506.6868 Logan14salonspa.com
for all trans people in the face of discrimination and violence.
Organized by the Baltimore Transgender Alliance, the Transgender March of
ADVERTISIN
G P R Owill
O Fserve to raise awareness for the Trans Day of Remembrance and
Resilience
to recognize the need to lift all voices in the community.
ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12
SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
In a time where transgender people, especially black transgender women,
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FamilY | eState PlaNNiNG | emPloYmeNt | immiGratioN
Organizers will march in solidarity with transgender activists from New York
ComPleX litiGatioN | Civil riGHtS | lGBt | adoPtioN | BuSiNeSS
City, San Francisco, New Orleans and other cities across the country.
The march will begin at 4 p.m. at the Y Not Lot on North Avenue and also from
Pennsylvania Station. Both marches will converge on the War Memorial Plaza for
a rally. The protesters will then carry candles as they march to the First Unitarian
at to r N e YS at l aW d C | m d | va
Church on West Franklin Street for the Transgender Day of Remembrance service.
STEVE CHARING
3 0 1 . 8 9 1 . 2 2 0 0 S P - L aw. C o m

Serving Our COmmunity fOr 35 yearS

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16 N OV E M B E R 13, 201 5

Speak with our preplanning adviSor,

Jamie arthurS at (202) 966-6400 or email
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H E A LT H N E W S

France plans end to gay blood ban

PARIS France will end its ban on blood donations by gay men, its health
minister said last week, calling the move the end of a taboo and discrimination,
the Associated Press reports.
Health Minister Marisol Touraine said beginning in the spring of 2016, no
blood donors can be refused based on their sexual orientation. She spoke at a
meeting in the Health Ministry on Nov. 4 after experts studied the issue, the AP
reports.
The policy shift comes after a European Court of Justice ruling in April found
that government bans must follow strict conditions. Many governments had
imposed lifetime bans on gay men because they are more likely than other
groups to have HIV.
Touraine said lifting the blood donation ban will proceed in stages, to allow the
government to study whether and how the risks change, the AP notes. Lesbians
were not covered by the French ban.
In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed ending its lifetime
ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, a 32-year-old policy that
many experts say is no longer justied. Under the proposal, the current ban on
donations from gay men would be replaced with a policy barring donations from
men who have had sex with another man in the last year.
That policy shift would put the U.S. in line with other countries that have a
one-year deferral period on donations from sexually active gay men, including
Australia, Japan and the U.K., the AP reports.

Study nds lesbians better at handling depression

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. A new study that explores how partners in same-sex
relationships handle depression nds that while both gay and lesbian partners
oer support to a partner whos depressed, only lesbians tended to oer support
back when they were depressed.
The study, conducted by researchers from various universities, is slated to be
published in the December issue of Social Science & Medicine.
Previous research showed that among straight couples, wives were more
likely than husbands to oer support to a depressed spouse and theyre also
more likely to try to shield their depression from spouses.
The ndings came from in-depth interviews with 26 gay and lesbian couples in
which one or both partners reported depression.
Support around depression is sometimes viewed as improving the relationship,
but if the support is intensive or rejected, it is often viewed as contributing to
relationship strain, researchers found. Support is also sometimes withdrawn by
the non-depressed partner because of caregiver exhaustion or the perception
that the support is unhelpful.

~
202.319.8541 www.lgbtc.com Se habla espanol

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C O A CH G

N OV E M B E R 13, 2015 17

Some think I should dress more like

a woman. Some think I should dress
more like a man.

I may not fit some

ideas about gender,
and I am a proud
part of DC.

Working out in style

Fall exercise requires smart clothing choices
The leaves are turning color, the
air is getting cold, the tank tops are
turning into long sleeves and the
booty shorts are becoming tights.
All signs are showing that the fall
season is underway. As we move
into colder weather, we must make
sure that our tness clothing game
GERARD BURLEY is a D.C.-based personal
trainer. Reach him via @CoachGFit or coachg@
is up to par. In the past, running
coachgtness.com.
or working out outside in the fall
months meant bulky sweat suits
and a rocky wool hat, but now many brands have stepped their game up to give
you comfort, cooling and style all at the same time.

Please treat me the same way any

person would want to be treated:
with courtesy and respect.
Discrimination based on gender identity and
expression is illegal in the District of Columbia.
If you think youve been the target of
discrimination, visit www.ohr.dc.gov
or call (202) 727-4559.

OFFICE OF

GLBT
AFFAIRS

Best overall product: Nike Pro Hyper Warm

This fall clothing line is my favorite when is comes to just plain-old-lookingfashion-forward-while-also-doing-the-job. It keeps you warm in the beginning of
your workout, but somehow also wicks away the sweat o your body.
Result, you dont get clammy skin while working out. I also love that all the
long sleeves come with a thumb slot which helps keep your hand warm while
still giving you access to your thumb. Many of the products also have a built-in
hoodie, which solves the problem of getting too hot or too cold in the middle of
your run (which happens to me constantly when Im running in a hat).
The only con is the price. Be prepared to shell out upwards of $150 for some
of their hoodies and eeces. If money aint a thing, then Nike is where you go.
Your best bet for a deal is checking out an outlet or online store for last years
model. You may be able to nd a discount on quality gear.
Best Mens Wear: Under Armour Launch Run Leggings
I love these tights for the gentlemen because I feel like the ladies always get
so many options while guys just get long or short tights. These come in various
color patterns so you can be stylish but not in pink with polka dots.
Under Armour always does well with their material and moisture wicking,
since theyre the masters of the compression game, but they nally stepped
their game up with style and design. My favorite part of these tight is the zip
pocket. Now I can wear tights and still squeeze in my credit card so I can possibly
stop for that latte on my way home. Priced around $80, this is great if youre
looking for a more economical version, but no less stylish version of fall workout
gear. (underarmour.com)

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Best Womens Wear: H&M Padded Vest

I love the fall cool kid vest look. It works well for the workout, keeps you dry and
warm after your workout and most importantly, acts as an amazing accessory. This
is for the girl who wants to go for her run, stop at whole foods, pick up a coee, get
some new make up and then go shopping, all before heading back home.
My favorite two parts of this vest are the detachable hoodie and the variety of
colors that it comes in. This vest is priced at $35 so it works for your fall tness
fashion and keeps your wallet happy. (hm.com)
With the change of the season its important that you dress appropriately so
that you can still get in your workout without getting hypothermia. Luckily we dont
have to sacrice comfort for style and function. Look for products that wick away
moisture, keep your warm and most importantly, make you look good. If you look
good you feel good and when you feel good youll have a better workout.

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

1 8 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

VIEWPOINT

Shame on the Mormon Church

Remove my name from your
membership records

STEPHEN RUTGERS is marketing director for

the Washington Blade. Reach him at srutgers@
washblade.com.

Dear leaders of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints:
In the next few days you will be receiving my ocial request to remove my name
from your membership records. Today is
the day I can no longer stand by and let
you preach love and tolerance, while in the
background destroying families and lives.
Today is the day I will stand up to make
sure that any LGBT youth or youth with
LGBT parents know they dont need you
or the church. You almost took my life and
my family, and this is where it stops.
Ever since I can remember, I knew
that I was gay. While I didnt grow up in
what you would call a traditional Mor-

mon family, I would attend church on the

weekends with my Dad. I avoided what I
could and made excuse after excuse for
why I couldnt go to church functions or
even go on my mission. I lied for almost
my entire life because I was taught that
being gay is a sin. I was told if I thought
this way that it was Satan trying to destroy
my life and that these sins would keep me
away from my Heavenly Father.
After coming out when I was 18, it destroyed my relationship with those closest to me. The church taught them I was a
monster and that I had destroyed my life. In
the winter of my freshman year of college I
felt so alone and ashamed of myself that I
walked out of my dorm ready to end my life.
I didnt see the point of living if my family was
ashamed of how God made me. I am lucky a
friend texted me or else I would have been a
victim of the teachings of this church.
This week you released new policies on
ordinances for children of a parent living in a
same-gender relationship. In the addition to
the ocial church handbook for your leaders,
you have told them no child can be baptized
into the church if their parents are members
of the LGBT community and in a relationship.
The only way for them to become members is:
1. The child accepts and is committed

to live the teachings and doctrine of the

Church, and specially disavows the practice
of same-gender cohabitation and marriage.
2. The child is of legal age and does not
live with a parent who has lived or currently lives in a same-gender cohabitation
relationship or marriage.
All I have to say in response is how dare
you? How dare you make a child choose
you over their parents? How dare you say
you are protecting families all the while
tearing them apart?
I am happy to say I am happily married
and now have a great relationship with
some that were destroyed by the teaching
of the church. It has taken almost 10 years,
but my bond with my family has never been
stronger. You should feel ashamed for your
teachings that destroy families and lives.
You should feel ashamed for almost destroying mine. These teachings are hateful,
hurtful and have taken lives. Today is the
day the Mormon Church has become nothing more than a hate group that teaches its
members to destroy the lives of others.
Today is the day I let everyone know:
Dont let this church ruin you or your family because you or someone you know is
gay. Dont let their hate become your hate
because it truly does get better.
E DIT OR IAL CA RT O O N

VOLUME

46

ISSUE

46

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Washington DC 20009
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V I E W PO I N T

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 1 9

Houston voters shatter illusions of LGBT victory

Supporters must not let our
guard down in equality ght

KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular

contributor to the Blade.

For a nano-sec, it seemed as if our moment had nally arrived. With celebs ofciating same-sex weddings, out LGBT
people raising families and Laverne Cox
slated to star in a Fox Rocky Horror Picture Show remake, it was easy to believe
there had been a sea change in cultural
attitudes toward our community.
On Nov. 3, voters in Houston, our nations fourth largest city, shattered our
starry-eyed delusions when they repealed, by a wide margin, an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance. The Houston
Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) prohibited discrimination in housing, employ-

ment and public accommodation against

15 classes including sexual orientation,
gender identity, age, race, disability, religion, national origin and military status.
Its rejection is a wake-up call to everyone
who cares about treating people fairly or
who lets their guard down in the struggle
for civil rights. This is especially true for
the LGBT community.
Despite the Supreme Court ruling for
marriage equality and increased queer
visibility in the media, homophobia and,
more intensely, transphobia, are all alive
and well. An ordinance that would have
made one of our countrys most diverse cities more inclusive for many was defeated
by fear-mongering No Men in Womens
Bathrooms signs. It was about protecting
our grandmoms and our mothers and our
wives and our sisters and our daughters
and our granddaughters, Dan Patrick, the
lieutenant governor of Texas, said of the
campaign to repeal the ordinance.
As the New York Times noted, Gov.
Grey Abbott of Texas, a paraplegic, opposed HERO even though it would have
helped to protect disabled people against
employment or housing discrimination.
Its sadly ironic, but, unfortunately, not

surprising, that a member of one marginalized group would oppose inclusion

for another oppressed group. The lack
of federal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and
public accommodations makes this irony
even more heartbreaking.
As someone whos queer and has a disability, I have the dignity of having and the
pain of lacking federal civil rights protection.
If Im asked to leave a restaurant because
Im legally blind, I have legal redress. But,
with no federal non-discrimination protection, I could be red from a job or asked to
leave an eatery because Im lesbian in more
than half of our countrys 50 states.
As someone whos cisgender, I wont pretend to, despite how much I try, viscerally
understand what its like to be transgender or to live with transphobia. No matter
how much I read or how many people I
interview, I dont think I can begin to truly
imagine what it would be like to endure
the violence, harassment and bias that so
many transgender people encounter daily.
But I get what it feels like to be excluded to be rejected because of a characteristic thats dierent from the white,

male, able-bodied, hetero norm. From

this perspective, its inexplicable to me
that voters would reject a civil rights ordinance over a bogus, irrational, undocumented fear that sexual predators would
enter womens restrooms.
Id be lying if I said I was instantly comfortable with transgender people. Why
was I uncomfortable? Because, Id never
met any transgender people before: I
didnt want to say or do the wrong thing.
Over time, as I got to know transgender
people, my discomfort waned. At a poetry
workshop, I bonded with several transmen over metaphors and rhyme.
Its hard work to counteract fear. Because if youre afraid, your fear is real to
you no matter how irrational or removed
from reality. I wonder if the pro-LGBT
campaign took this into account.
All you heard on the news about HERO
was bathrooms and sexual predators,
my friend George, who lives in Texas, told
me over the phone. You heard nothing
about anything else.
If we dont want the Houston debacle
to extinguish all hope of getting a federal
LGBT non-discrimination bill passed, we
must overcome this unfounded fear.

I N S I D E LGB T W A S HING TON

Defeat of Houston ordinance a wake-up call

Focus should turn to federal
non-discrimination bill

PETER ROSENSTEIN is a longtime Democratic

Party and LGBT rights activist. He is a regular
contributor to the Blade.

Thousands of miles from the United

States, while vacationing on a ship in the
Mediterranean Sea, the defeat of the Houston human rights measure became personal.
Two guys who make their home in Houston,
were shocked and furious at the egregious
result. They felt it was embarrassing how
fearful people were of the LGBT community.
Rex Marzke who moved to Houston in
1991 from D.C. and his partner Steve Roberts
who moved there in 1979, werent sure what
impact it would have on their lives. They live
in a conservative white suburb of Houston.
Steve, an interior designer, who sits on the
board of their homeowners association, said
he would ask people directly how they voted.

Rex works for IBM. Steve questions whether

the T should be taken out of LGBT, but Rex
is of the opinion that we all need to ght discrimination together. They reminded me this
measure took away rights the Houston City
Council had voted for.
The large group of gay men on the
cruise along with most of the straight
people I spoke with agreed with House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who called
the 69-31 defeat stunning.
The vote makes no sense. In 2009,
Houston elected its second woman and
rst openly lesbian mayor, Annise Parker,
who won three terms. So we must question the thought process of Houstonians
who overwhelmingly defeated this bill.
Its clear from media reports and columns like those in the Washington Post
by Jannell Ross, that voters were swayed
by nonsense such as what bathroom a
transgender person would use.
Ross reported former professional
baseball star and Houston Astro Lance
Berkman began appearing in TVcommercials opposing the so-called bathroom
bill, telling Houstonians they should vote
to repeal the measure. The 1997 rstround draft pick referred to transgender
people as troubled men who claim to be
women and said it would be dangerous

to let them enter womens bathrooms,

showers and locker rooms.
Its better to prevent this danger by
closing womens restrooms to men, rather than waiting for a crime to happen,
Berkman said.
So Houstonians have shown us one
thing: The ght isnt over and conservatives
will stop at nothing to make life dicult for
the LGBT community. We, along with our
allies, must continue to ght until we win
our rights on the national level as we did
in the court with marriage equality. Until
we get Congress to pass a comprehensive
LGBT civil rights bill, we will continue to
ght for and defend our rights city-by-city.
An Australian couple on the ship reminded
me that although they dont have marriage
rights, they have all the other rights we are
still ghting for and a debate ensued over
which was more important.
We must heed what Hillary Clinton
said, I think this is a reminder that if you
stand for equal rights, if you stand against
discrimination, you dont just do it once
and youre done. You got to keep ghting
for it, and you got to keep standing up for
it and you got to keep moving forward.
We see that today with what is happening
to the African-American community, which
won its legal rights but still faces a culture

of racism in many places. Their ght, which

must also be our ght, goes on. Women have
yet to achieve full equality. It often seems
we take one step forward then two back.
While I recognize the separation of church
and state it was disheartening to read in the
Salt Lake Tribune that, Mormons who enter into same-sex unions will be considered
apostates under new church policies, and
their children will be barred from blessing
and baptism rituals without the permission
of the faiths highest leaders. After all, the
citizens of Salt Lake City just elected a lesbian mayor and in the past year it appeared
the Mormon Church had eased its civil ght
against the LGBT community.
We need to hold the feet of our politicians to the re and work to elect those
that not only say they support us but will
make it a priority to pass a comprehensive LGBT civil and human rights act in
Congress. We need to educate people
and turn both the House and Senate
Democratic and demand the leadership
make our rights and the rights of all, including women and immigrants a priority. We need to build stronger coalitions
with the African-American community,
women, and Latinos if we are all to succeed in gaining full civil and human rights
and eventually changing the culture.

Coldwell Banker
Residential Brokerage
Dupont / Logan
1617 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.387.6180

JAMES KASTNER
202.531.9918
james@iamdcrealestate.com

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202.536.3092
evan@evanandmark.com

MARK RUTSTEIN
202.498.1198
mark@evanandmark.com

CODY MCBETH
228.324.7894
cody.mcbeth@cbmove.com

JAY HAVERTY
703.585.8691
jhaverty@cbmove.com

ENIS JEVRIC
202.422.1950
enis.jevric@cbmove.com

CHRIS COPPOLA
781.696.8130
chris@sync-ire.com

NICK DUNSTAN
240.731.5562
nicholas.dunstan@cbmove.com

Coldwell Banker Dupont has moved to

Logan Circle! Join us at our new office space
on 14th Street at the corner of 14th & Corcoran!
Operated by a
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www.CBHomes.com

BO BILLUPS
202.431.4052
bbillups@cbmove.com

JOHN PETERS
202.230.8791
john@johnpetersdc.com

MICHAEL SCHAEFFER
202.491.5910
mschaeffer@cbmove.com

ERIK LARS EVANS

202.731.3142
erik.evans@cbmove.com

ADAM ARNOLD
202.657.2577
adam.arnold@cbmove.com

J JAMES BRAEU
202.215.2240
james@jamesbraeu.com

JASON PROOD
703.283.8624
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202.236.3837
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BRETT KITCHEN
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brett.kitchen@cbmove.com

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 2 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

O U R BU SI N E SS MA T T E RS

Twin toilet traumas torment both Houston and D.C.

Council argues over shelter
bathrooms, not improving
homeless programs

MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur

and community business advocate. Follow
on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.

Bathroom brouhaha bubbled to the

surface in disparate regions of the country
last week on the same day and for very
dierent reasons.
These two toilet traumas papered over
the real issues in both Houston and D.C.
A ballot measure in Space City delivered
a resoundingly wide margin defeat of a
transgender-inclusive non-discrimination
ordinance in the nations fourth largest
city with a population greater than 15
states. Despite supporters of the law outspending opponents nearly three-to-one,
voters overturned a Houston City Council
measure largely on the strength of a campaign raising public fears about men using
womens bathrooms if personally deemed
consistent with their gender identity.
Had the law been upheld it would have
extended civil protections based on 15
separate characteristics, of which sexual
orientation and gender identity were only
two. Similar laws are already in eect in
the Texas cities of Dallas, Austin, Forth
Worth, Plano and San Antonio, as well as
most major cities and nearly 20 states covering a combined majority of the national
population.
No bastion of backwardness, Houston is

governed by a term-limited lesbian mayor

elected three times and with local legislators eager to approve one of the most
expansive anti-discrimination laws in the
country. Its a diverse city with racial and

whether to mandate that future family

shelter facilities be required to provide individual bathrooms in each unit. Mayor
Bowsers nascent plan to replace the
broke-down D.C. General behemoth with

D.C. is stuck in an outdated mode of simply

corralling the homeless in squalid conditions at
extraordinary expense or outsourcing them to
motel rooms at great cost.
ethnic minorities comprising more than 70
percent of residents.
It was the inability of those supporting
the law to both combat the potty predator
propaganda and win votes among blacks
and Hispanics included in its protections
that turned the tide. Polls had shown the
once-popular measure earlier enjoying a
sizable lead among voters. It was the controversy over transgender bathroom selection that opponents utilized to overturn it.
In the District, the Council intensely,
heatedly and emotionally argued over

smaller shelters scattered across the city

relies on both private bathrooms and facilities shared by up to ve units, depending
on structural congurations. Guaranteeing private bathrooms for all families reportedly requires a $28 million additional
expenditure for a projected six sites.
It was defeated by a 9-4 vote.
Of note, arguments for guaranteeing
individual bathrooms echoed those inuencing the Houston anti-discrimination
ballot battle. A survey of families warehoused at the citys dilapidated and badly

managed shelter indicated that sending

children unaccompanied to shared bathrooms caused signicant safety fears.
However, as in Houston, the debate obscured and substituted for what should
have been the focus and discussion.
Three decades ago D.C. became a pioneer in sheltering the homeless. In 1984,
District voters made the city the rst in the
country to guarantee provision of safe,
sanitary, and accessible shelter space, offered in an atmosphere of reasonable
dignity. The city has now fallen far behind
other jurisdictions in developing and implementing innovative and successful programs both oering shelter and moving
the homeless toward permanent housing
and sustainable lives.
D.C. is stuck in an outdated mode of
simply corralling the homeless in squalid
conditions at extraordinary expense or
outsourcing them to motel rooms at great
cost. At a price per family of nearly $55,000
per year to do so little so poorly, the District
government could place homeless families
in shiny new penthouse apartments in the
citys most desirable neighborhoods.
Pitiful program performance without
improvements in outcomes has become
the trademark of local services. Worse,
elected ocials seem content to aspire to
less than the success of other locales in
addressing the same intractable problems
in similarly daunting housing markets.
Until ocials stop wrangling over bathrooms and begin to exercise appropriate
oversight, insist on public-private sector
partnerships succeeding elsewhere, and
undertake the hard work of implementing comprehensive approaches that alter lives, the homeless and the poor will
remain relegated to the endless horror
of government agency caretaker dependency.
Houston has a problem with bathrooms, but this week D.C. did too.

A lucrative opportunity for motivated LGBTQ advertising sales.

Be part of the community in a proud and rewarding way.
The Washington Blade is accepting applications for an advertising sales associate.
You should be organized, well written, punctual, detail oriented and present in a professional manner.
Competent on MAC. Knowledge of social media/graphic arts a plus.
Salary plus incentives. Will train the right candidate. Email resumes to: srutgers@washblade.com

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

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 2 3

2 4 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

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

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT MASON

VISIT US AT CFA.GMU.EDU

Bollywood Masala
Orchestra and Dancers
of India
The Spirit of India

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 AT 8 P.M..

A feast for the senses and the spirit! With Indian and Western
instruments and featuring both traditional and contemporary
Indian music, The Spirit of India presents Indian dance and music as
never before. Add in songs from popular Bollywood films, a Snake
Charming Dance, and more and youll see why this show has been a
hit around the world! $48, $41, $29 ff

Chanticleer

Dan

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28 AT 8 P.M.

Here at CFA, we dont ring in the holiday season we sing it in
with a satisfying concert by twelve of the most masterful male
voices on the planet. Famous for its lush harmonies and impeccable
technique, Chanticleer offers a glorious performance of sacred
songs, contemporary classics, and treasured carols. Luxurious
perfection. (Los Angeles Times) Join us for this Thanksgiving
weekend start-the-holidays tradition.
$54, $46, $32

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 AT 4 P.M.

Music is an essential part of any Celtic Christmas celebration and this
performance is no exception. County Waterfords Dan offers up a
festive concert of high-spirited Celtic holiday songs along with a fair
share of storytelling, another longtime Irish tradition. We delightedly
welcome back these award-winning artists for an Irish holiday
experience! Impressive, immersive, and uniquely and unmistakably
Irish. (Strings Magazine) $54, $46, $32 ff

A Chanticleer Christmas

A Christmas Gathering:
File Na Nollag

ff = Family Friendly performances that are most suitable for families with younger children

TICKETS

Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway

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

888-945-2468 OR CFA.GMU.EDU

*Sondheim.
Sinatra.
Streisand.
Saluting three
greats in one
evening.

Holiday songs you

know and love
with a twist!

November 14
5pm (ASL) & 8pm

Atlas Performing Arts Center

1333 H Street NE

Tickets: 202-399-7993
or visit GMCW.org

December 5 & 6 (ASL)

December 12 & 13 (ASL)

Lincoln Theatre
1215 U Street NW

Tickets: 1-877-435-9849
or visit GMCW.org
ASL tickets or groups of 10
or more: call 202-293-1548

ARTS

AND

ENTERTAINMENT

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

VOLUME

46

ISSUE

46

NOVEMBER

13

2015

BIANCA DEL RIO says her Drag Race strategy was to be as prepared as possible.
PHOTO BY MAGNUS HASTINGS

Caustic Drag Race diva still thumbing her Rolodex of Hate

By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@wasbhlade.com
Though shes performed at Capital Pride, had a monthly show at Town and brought
hershow to the Fillmore in Silver Spring in February, this weekend is the rst time Bianca
Del Rio (aka Roy Haylock), the RuPauls Drag Race season six winner, will perform her
Rolodex of Hate show in Washington proper.
During a rare break in Los Angeles, we caught up with the famously insulting insult
comic. Her comments have been slightly edited for length.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What did you have on your face during the season seven
nale? That was quite a look.
BIANCA DEL RIO: Just glitter. I just covered myself in it and thought it was a brilliant
idea until that night when I tried to get it all o. It was like that scene in Silkwood.
But thats television, so its all good.
BLADE: Tapings can take forever. Did you have to sit around all day in that getup?
BIANCA: It starts out pretty early, like 5 or 6 and I did the pre-show as myself that
aired on World of Wonders YouTube channel that I hosted with a live audience. And
then we went to the actual taping so I had a couple of hours because they lm all of
them talking, all the confessionals, you know how TV is. Stop, wait, stop, wait, stop, wait.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 31

PAGE

25

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

2 6 NO VE MB ER 1 3, 2015

Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R RO B F I N N

WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICAHEL KEY

By JOEY DiGULIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
The Gay Mens Chorus of Washington is going for alliteration in its latest
outing, The S Show.
With its two weekend performances at 5 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14
the singers will tackle songs by and associated with Sondheim (whos gay),
the late Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand. Soloists will toast these three
icons at the Atlas Performing Arts Centers Sprenger Theatre (1333 H St., N.E.).
Tickets are $35. Details at gmcw.org.
Rob Finn has two solos. He joined the chorus in January. Also a member of
the Rock Creek Singers, one of the choruss smaller ensembles, he says he
dove in head rst not long after moving to Washington. He was also on the
choruss trip to Cuba this summer.
After a year of long distance, the 38-year-old Jersey City, N.J., native moved
to the region to be with his partner, Dan Shaver. Finn is a self-described outof-work lawyer, publicist and stage director searching for his next professional
venture in D.C.
Finn and Shaver live in NoMa. Finn enjoys movies, theater, cooking, eating,
performing and travel in his free time.

202.747.2077

How long have you been out and who

was the hardest person to tell?
A few of my friends in high school sorta
knew, but the process started in earnest
in college. My dad was the hardest (and
the last) to tell.

Whos your LGBT hero?

Ryan Murphy. I rmly believe that
Glee, imperfect though it may have
been, completely changed everything.
It saved lives. And it wasnt afraid to
tell gay storylines that made gay men
uncomfortable.

Whats Washingtons best

nightspot, past or present?
Im partial to Bear Happy Hour on the
roof of Rock & Roll Hotel.

Describe your dream wedding.

On the beach in Asbury Park, N.J. (one of
my favorite places on earth), surrounded
by our families and closest friends.

What non-LGBT issue are

you most passionate about?
Access to safe, aordable housing,
particularly in rapidly gentrifying urban
areas like D.C., New York and Jersey City.
I decided to go to law school after having
to defend myself in Landlord-Tenant
court and have been a passionate tenant
advocate ever since.

What historical outcome

would you change?
The 2000 presidential election.

Whats been the most memorable pop

culture moment of your lifetime?
Nov. 4, 2008, when Obama won his rst
presidential election. It just felt like the
world had completely changed for the
better.

On what do you insist?

On splitting the check by the number of
people at the table when dining out as a
group.

What was your last

Facebook post or Tweet?
A sele of me, my sister-in-law and my
Goddaughter outside Union Market after
lunch.

If your life were a book, what would

the title be?
Were Splitting the Check.

If science discovered a way

to change sexual orientation,
what would you do?
Id stay exactly as I am. Id maybe try
to nd a way to scientically alter
the sexual orientation of a healthy
percentage of right wing, anti-LGBT
politicians and activists. Just to see what
might happen.

What do you believe in

beyond the physical world?
I have so many conicting beliefs as a
result of my Catholic upbringing, my
experiences as a gay man and my opening
my mind to a world of possibilities. I cant
help but hold on to that arrogant human
instinct that were just too special to be
completely erased after our bodies stop
working. Id also really like to talk to my
mom again one day.

Whats your advice for

LGBT movement leaders?
Leave no one behind. Right now is a
pivotal moment for the transgender
community and we need to stand
behind our trans brothers and sisters
and not pull up the ladder behind us.
They deserve nothing less than the full
equality and acceptance we have begun
to achieve for the LGB community. Yet
just today I saw that a petition has been
posted to change.org seeking to drop the
T and demonize the trans community.
Its disgusting. Everyone who needs to
ght to be their authentic selves should
be fully supported, celebrated and
championed by the LGBT movement.

What would you walk

across hot coals for?
Unlimited frequent ier miles.

What LGBT stereotype

annoys you most?
That all LGBT people are bad at sports.
Im bad at sports, but I hate it when
people are shocked to see or hear about
LGBT athletes or sports leagues. And it
annoys me when gays roll their eyes at
other gays who like sports.

Whats your favorite LGBT movie?

The Color Purple I cry like a baby
every time.

Whats the most overrated social

custom?
Asking guests to take their shoes o
when they enter your home.

What trophy or prize

do you most covet?
Tony Award for best director.

What do you wish youd known at 18?

That the sooner you come out, the
better o you and everyone in your life
will be.

Why Washington?
I was in a long-distance relationship with
my partner, Dan, who lived here, for
almost a year. We saw each other every
weekend, back and forth. We knew we
wanted to live together, and me moving
to D.C. was the more unexpected choice.
Im so glad we decided to take this
adventure together.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

T HE ATE R

N OV E M B E R 13, 2015 27

PHOTO BY CAROL ROSEGG; COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL THEATRE

25th Anniversary Film with Live Orchestra

Cinderella actor enjoyed

no-drama upbringing
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
For actor Andy Huntington Jones,
growing up with two moms was no big deal.
To be honest, it felt like the most
natural thing in the world. There was
nothing awkward or weird about it.
Admittedly, says Jones, whos in his
mid-20s, it helped that they lived in an
accepting suburb of Boston and that he
went to the school with the same group
of kids from kindergarten to senior year.
Looking back, he says, Im sure some
of the kids were instructed by their parents
to consider our family as nothing unusual.
In almost all ways, Jones parents
shouldered the responsibility of child
rearing evenly. But it was the former
physical education teacher mom who
taught him to throw a ball and the other
mom (his birth mother) who passed on a
talent and love for music.
Throughout his childhood, Jones, who
studied musical theater at the University of
Michigan, liked to perform whether it was
magic, clowning or puppeteering. While
he now contends music is in his blood and
there was always music in the home, it still
took him a while to discover his calling.
When I discovered musical theater,
I was overwhelmed by the way a song
allowed me to feel thoughts. I also fell in
love with the storytelling aspect, how a
group of performers in live theater can
take the audience on a journey with them.
Jones plays Prince Topher in the
national tour of Broadways Rodgers
+ Hammersteins Cinderella, now at
National Theatre. He made his Broadway
debut understudying the part.
A Tony Award-winning updated
version of the 1957 TV classic, Rodgers
+ Hammersteins Cinderella features
songs from the original teleplay including
In My Own Little Corner, Impossible/
Its Possible, Ten Minutes Ago and Do I
Love You Because Youre Beautiful? along
with a witty, more contemporary-based
new book by gay playwright Douglas
Carter Beane (Xanadu, Lysistrata
Jones, The Little Dog Laughed). The
production retains the romance and

fairytale trappings (castles, gorgeous

gowns) of other versions, but in Beanes
adaptation, Cinderella (Kaitlyn Davidson)
rescues the prince.
Usually the lesson is to get some nice
things and marry up and youll be saved,
says Jones. But thats not the story here.
Through Cinderellas kindness she nds
happiness and is able to bring goodness
to the kingdom and eect change. Also,
Prince Topher isnt the usual cutout prince
charming. Here hes a bit lost and insecure,
more of a real person. But when he meets
Cinderella, he nds himself again.
He relates.
When the audience sees us as real
people theyre onboard with the show.
It becomes real and not just a fairy tale
glamour piece in soft focus.
Jones sees himself as an early product
of the gayby boom. Before his, there were
few if any same-sex parent families in his
town, at least none that lived so publicly
and openly. Jones moms were together
seven years before they had him. His
adoptive mother adopted him the day
same-sex parental adoption was made
legal in Massachusetts. Similarly, his
parents married in 2004, a month after it
became legal in their state. Jones walked
them down the aisle.
Several years ago, Jones parents gave
him the opportunity and tools to reach
out to his father, an anonymous donor.
I kept dropping the ball and couldnt
understand why, he says. I realize now
it just wasnt something that I wanted to
do. Ive never felt anything lacking in our
family unit. Ive always felt completely
provided for and loved.
Jones is living an ostage romance too.
In October he married cast mate Audrey
Cardwell.
As Cinderellas understudy, Audrey
has performed the part many times, so
before I proposed to her in real life, Id
proposed to her many times onstage.
This time it was his two moms turn to
walk Jones down the aisle.
RODGERS + HAMMERSTEINS CINDERELLA
November 18-29
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$48 and up
800-514-3849
thenationaldc.com

1990 Twentieth Century Fox

ANDY HUNTINGTON JONES and KAITLYN DAVIDSON in Rodgers+Hammersteins Cinderella.

rfect

The pe

SGIVIN
THANK END
WEEK ent!
v

family e

November 27 & 28 | Concert Hall

David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of the NSO.
Additional support for the 2015-2016 NSO Pops Season is provided by
The Honorable Barbara H. Franklin and Mr. Wallace Barnes.

KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600

Tickets are also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.

LIVE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

28 NOV E M B E R 13, 2015

O U T & A BO U T

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

MORGAN

JAMES
WITH SPECIAL GUEST BOH DORAN

TUESDAY NOV

17

LOVE

By MARIAH COOPER

CANON
FRIDAY NOV

20

THURS, NOV 12

JON McLAUGHLIN

SMYAL fall brunch returns

W/ TESS HENLEY

FRI, NOV 13

NEWMYER FLYER PRESENTS:

WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

SOLD OUT

THE LAST WALTZ TRIBUTE

SUN, NOV 15

DEL & DAWG

(DEL McCOURY & DAVID GRISMAN)

W/ HERB AND HANSON
SAT, NOV 21

KERMIT RUFFINS

SMYAL hosts its 18th annual fall brunch at the Mandarin Oriental (1330
Maryland Ave., S.W.) on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 11 a.m.- 2p.m.
At 11 a.m. there will be a silent auction and cocktail reception featuring Bloody
Marys and screwdrivers from Nellies Sports Bar and mimosas from Duplex
Diner. At noon there will be a seated brunch featuring keynote speaker, LGBT
activist Zach Wahls. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m.
General admission tickets are $150. Admiral level tickets, which include
preferred seating in the Admiral section, are $250. For more information, visit
smyal.org.

TRIBUTE TO LOUIS ARMSTRONG

PHOTO COURTESY OF THEATER J

seaTiNGs aT 1pM, 3:30pM, 6pM

sTarTer, eNTree, desserT,
coffee or Tea
$39

M-Th 11:30aM-10pM F-saT 11:30aM-11pM

suN. bruNch 11aM-3pM / diNNer 3-10pM

322 Mass. ave. Ne 202.543.7656

cafeberlindc.com

Krim, Rivera portraits

added to gallery
Photos of pioneering AIDS researcher
Dr. Mathilde Krim are now on display at
the National Portrait Gallery, including
one by Annie Leibovitz.
According to the gallery, Krim, a cancer
research specialist, recognized the
potential severity of the AIDS epidemic in
America when it appeared in 1981. With a
small group of concerned physicians and
researchers, she launched early eorts to
educate the public about the disease and
began the medical research necessary to
understand and treat AIDS.
While serving as a leading member of
the research team at New Yorks Sloan
Kettering Institute for Cancer Research,
Krim created the AIDS Medical Foundation
in 1983. It merged with a Californiabased AIDS research and education
initiative in 1990 to become the American
Foundation for AIDS Research which is
now known as amfAR, The Foundation for
AIDS Research.
Another recent addition to the gallery
is a 2000 photo of transgender activist
Sylvia Rivera by Luis Carle. Its part of the
Struggle for Justice exhibition.

THEHAMILTONDC.COM

Thanksgiving

PHOTO BY JOYCE TENNESON; COURTESY OF NPG

Theater J continues season with Prophet

Theater J (1529 16th St., N.W.) presents Sons of the Prophet starting
Wednesday, Nov. 18 through Sunday, Dec. 20.
Sons of the Prophet, written by Stephen Karam, is a dark comedy that
follows two gay brothers from Pennsylvania in the aftermath of their father
dying in a freak accident. The show starts Vanessa Bradchulis, Brigid Cleary, Sam
Ludwig, Cam Magee, Tony Strowd Hamilton, Michael Willis and Jaysen Wright.
Performances for Wednesday, Nov. 18 and Thursday, Nov. 19 are pay-what-youcan. Tickets for other performance dates start at $37.
For more information, visit theater.org.

D.C. Gay Flag Football

toasts season nale
The DC Gay Flag Football team hosts its
11th season end party at Nelliess Sports
Bar (900 U St., N.W.) on Sunday, Nov. 15
at 4 p.m.
The party will be after the championship
game. D.C. Gay Flag Football players,
the board and sponsors will attend the
celebration. Standout players and the
winning teams will be honored.
For more details, visit facebook.com/
dcgayagfootball.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

D I N IN G

N OV E M B E R 13, 2015 29

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22
PHOTO BY XEMENDURA; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

There are many options to celebrate Beaujolais Nouveau Day in Washington.

AT 6:00PM

LISNER AUDITORIUM
WASHINGTON, DC

Beaujolais release day

is Nov. 19
By KRISTEN HARTKE
If youre looking for an excuse to drink wine
not that most of us really need an excuse
then the third Thursday in November is
the day for you: Beaujolais Nouveau Day,
which falls this year on Nov. 19.
Since the 1950s, this young red wine has
been released to the public at 12:01 a.m.
on that third Thursday, originally marked
by a race from Frances Beaujolais region
to Paris to deliver the very rst bottles. It
is also possibly one of the best reasons
ever to have a party in November before
the holiday season hits full force.
Gary Jankowski and Michael Schaeer
have been hosting Beaujolais Nouveau
parties for the past few years, sometimes
packing in upwards of 100 revelers in
their Capitol Hill home. A self-professed
Francophile who once worked for Air
France, Jankowski, now a real estate
agent, had previously volunteered to pour
wine at the French Embassys Beaujolais
Nouveau release party, but decided to
host his own as a way to get together with
both friends and clients.
I like the idea of the Beaujolais Party,
Jankowski says, because youre not
competing with anyone else in terms of
parties.
Made from Gamay grapes, which must
be harvested by hand under French law,
the Beaujolais Nouveau is fermented for
a scant few weeks before bottling. While
some will argue that it isnt really a great
wine, calling it simple and immature

(and arent we all, sometimes?), the

youthful fruitiness of Beaujolais Nouveau
makes it an easy-drinking wine, and,
because it is low in tannins the plant
compounds found in the skin, seeds and
stems youre less likely to get a red
wine headache. With Thanksgiving on the
horizon, it also pairs well with turkey.
Usually priced at less than $10 a bottle,
youll nd this wine easily at local liquor
stores across the area; Jankowski and
Schaeer traditionally have their party
catered by one of their favorite French
restaurants,
Montmartre,
providing
guests with bite-sized nibbles of
pissaladire a French version of pizza
bite-sized quiche, and an assortment
of French cheese and pastries.
I love to have something very French
and autumnal like cassoulet, Jankowski
says, but it can be dicult to eat while
talking and drinking, so we try to focus on
French-style nger foods.
Vicky Theodorou, founder of Heirloom
Catering and Event Design in D.C.,
suggests that its easy to add a French
vibe to your Beaujolais party.
You can serve drinks from black
lacquered trays or mini bites from black
glossy cupcake stands or platters, she
says. Add accents of soft pink.
A lace table runner and plenty of
candlelight can help boost the moody
French ambiance, while petite Croque
Monsieur sandwiches served on square
mini plates and blush-colored macarons
complete the setting.
Kristen Hartke is managing editor of Edible
DC and writes about food and beverages
both regionally and nationally. See what shes
cooking on Twitter: @khartke.

STARRING

JESSICA PRATT
(photographed)

VIVICA GENAUX
TAYLOR STAYTON
ANTONY WALKER

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR

A classic moral struggle.

An iconic contemporary composer.
A uniquely American opera.

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

30 N OV E M B E R 13, 201 5

BO O KS

PHOTO COURTESY OF OPEN LENS

MARK SEGAL, a long-time LGBT activist, knew he was dierent at an early age.

Soloman Howard
as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

PHILIP GLASS / CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON

Photo by Cade Martin

Philadelphias Segal shares

coming-of-age bio

APPOMATTOX
LIMITED ENGAGEMENT!

November 1422 | Opera House

In English with Projected English Titles | Titles may not be visible from the rear of the orchestra.

Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director

Major support for WNO and Appomattox is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.
David and Alice Rubenstein are the Presenting Underwriters of WNO.
WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.
General Dynamics is the Presenting Sponsor of WNOs 2015-2016 Season.
WNOs season is presented with the support of Daniel and Gayle DAniello.
Appomattox is a production of the Clarice Smith Opera Series.
Additional support for Appomattox is provided by John and Cynthia Gunn.

KENNEDY-CENTER.ORG (202) 467-4600

Tickets are also available at the Box Office. Groups call (202) 416-8400.

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER has been reading

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

Been there, done that.

Yep, youve had experience and youre
willing to talk about it. Why not? Someone
could learn from the things you did.
Mistakes can be avoided. Or, at least, as in
the new memoir And Then I Danced by
Mark Segal, people will be entertained.
Not long after his birth in 1951, Mark Segals
parents were snatched from the middle class
and shunted o to the other side of the
tracks with the loss of their bodega. They
became the only Jewish family in a South
Philadelphia housing project, which set the
tone for Segals outspokenness.
Indeed, when he was in grade school,
he committed his rst political action by
refusing to sing a Christian song. When
he was 13, his beloved Grandmom took
him to his rst Civil Rights event. By then,
Segal knew that other boys peeped at ads
for womens underwear, but he preferred
studying the mens clothing pages. He
knew he was dierent, but he also knew
that he absolutely couldnt talk about it.
After learning that there were gay men in
New York City, Segal convinced his parents
to send him there following his high school
graduation. Having no idea where to go
as he settled in, he began exploring his
new city and, After a few days of looking

around, he came across the Stonewall

bar and a man who was creating an
organization called the Action Group.
Organized activism suited Segal and it
became a job of sorts for him. He worked
on behalf of gay Pride marches and
parades, a gay youth organization and a
gay alliance. He became politically active.
He and friends interrupted live broadcasts
with what they called zaps, which gained
the attention of news media. That got
them on camera and arrested.
It was a dierent world by the mid70s, but there was still much to do. A
friend asked why Segal didnt start a gay
newspaper in Philadelphia. And so, Meet
publisher Mark Segal.
About half. Thats what youll nd in
the rst half of And Then I Danced. Yep,
theres more a second life, in a way
and its every bit as enjoyable to read.
With gentle humor and the slightest
touch of sardonicism, Segal writes further
about people hes known, his newspaper
and a dierent kind of activism. That inthe-trenches stu is great to read, partly
because his narrative is indicative of the
times in which it all happened. Readers
also may, like me, be impressed with the
creativity used to help gain LGBT equality.
But theres more: Segal lets readers
into his personal life: his loves, losses,
and (spoiler alert!) a very happy ending.
Drama seems to follow me, he writes,
and readers will be glad for it.
It was nice to see this memoir cross my
desk. I was getting tired of big star bios
and while theres name-dropping in this
book, its not egregious.

AND THEN I DANCED

By Mark Segal
Open Lens/Akashic Books
$16.95
302 pages

A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

So I had a couple of hours, but it wasnt

bad. I was backstage schmoozing.
BLADE: Who were you rooting for on
season seven?
BIANCA: Well with my schedule and not
necessarily being in the U.S. all the time,
it was very dicult to watch the show so I
just caught up whenever I could.
BLADE: What do you think of Violet
Chachki? Is she a worthy successor?
BIANCA: Violets a lovely girl. I think
before the show, my immediate attraction
was to Ginger (Minj) because of her sense
of humor, but since then Ive gotten to
meet all three of them and Violets quite
lovely and, you know, shes got it together.
Shes 23, 24, shes gorgeous and thats
really the great thing about the show, all of
us have a dierent path so its great to see
the good things that have come her way.
BLADE: Youre a noticeable absence
on the new Christmas Queens album.
Surely you were approached.
BIANCA: I was asked but I didnt really
want to sing. Its not my forte. But I hear
its quite lovely. I bought it but I havent
listened to it yet.
BLADE: On your season, I got so tired
of hearing Adore whine about not being
able to sew and, to a lesser degree, Ginger
on this last season. Why would anybody
go on Drag Race and not learn to sew
rst? Or at least take a crash course after
you turned your tape in?
BIANCA: Well, its dicult to try to
explain other people. Its like going to the
Olympics. You know what youre going to
be doing to get to the medal and so you
need to have some level of skill when it
comes to singing, dancing, acting, sewing
and comedy. Basically, thats the format
of the show. You dont have to master
all of them, but you have to have some
prociency because you know thats
going to be asked of you. Weve had
people whove won or gotten to the
nals at least without necessarily having
those skills but for me, I tried to be as
prepared as possible. But then Im older
than everyone else so Ive kind of done
all those things at dierent points in my
life. I hated the lip syncing but others
couldnt wait to do that.
BLADE: If youre good, like you, you
might not have to lip sync but you know
youre going to have to sew.
BIANCA: Well thats true. But not everyone
who goes on that show is that smart. Youve
seen that. No names, but yeah.
BLADE: Youre returning to some
markets. The tour must be going well, no?

Entertaining
Mr Sloane

The Edge of the Universe Players 2 present

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

N OV E M B E R 13, 2015 31

BIANCA: We didnt expect the show

to be as successful as its been. Ive been
traveling with it since last November.
Because I was new, quote-unquote, the
producer would give me dates and if they
sold out, we would get more dates. So its
been over a year almost now and weve
been all over the world. Well end the
show with D.C., El Paso and Oklahoma
City, all cities I had not visited. There
are so many cities. Im like, Oh shit, have
I been there? I only know by the airports.
Im just there a day or a night and then
out the next day so it gets blurred.

by JOE ORTON

Joe Ortonthe true heir to

Oscar WildeThe Guardian

BLADE: Whats next?

BIANCA: Well leave Rolodex on a high
note and then there are other projects Im
working on as well. Ill free up some time
and re-focus on whats coming up next.
Then Im writing my new show, which will
premiere next summer in Australia.
BLADE: Tell us about Hurricane Bianca.
BIANCA: That was in the works before
I did Drag Race. A friend of mine, Matt
Kugelman, had written a feature lm that
he wanted to do with me. I didnt write
it. Its not my movie, quote unquote, but
he involved me. We were crowd funding
with Go Fund Me and in the middle of
that, I got Drag Race. So I had to go into
seclusion and do the show and I couldnt
talk about it for some time but then once
the show started airing, we continued the
crowd funding and through the generous
support of many people who watched
the show and donated, we were able to
lm this summer, which was a wonderful
experience. It was 18 days for me, o and
on, to lm. There are lots of great people
in it. The amazingly talented Rachel
Dratch, Alan Cumming, Shangela Laquifa
Wadley, RuPaul and Margaret Cho.
BLADE: Are you friends with RuPaul?
Do you have his cell number?
BIANCA: No. I dont think any of us have
that kind of relationship with Ru. Its not
like that. I speak with Michelle (Visage) and
since the show, we travel a lot and we did
Battle of the Seasons together, the show
with all of us. Weve become chummy,
so were closer. Rus schedule is pretty
intense. Hes on like 45 dierent TV shows
right now. When we see each other, its
always very cordial and nice. I got to do the
podcast and the (season seven) nale and
participate in all of that, but chummy? No.
Thats not necessarily the way it worked.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BIANCA DEL RIO
Rolodex of Hate
Saturday, Nov. 14
9 p.m.
Lincoln Theatre
1215 U St. N.W.
$20-75
tickety.com

Joe Ortons dark

comedy of people
desperately searching
for love, but weaving an
outrageous tangle of
lust, deceit and violence
in its place
directed by Stephen Jarrett

with David Bryan Jackson, Jim Jorgensen, Matthew Aldwin McGee and Claire Schoonover

November 21December 13 at The Writers Center, Bethesda

universeplayers2.org 202-355-6330
photo by Johannes Markus

Entertaining Mr Sloane is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC

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3 2 NO VE MB ER 1 3, 2015

A RT S & CU LT U RE

HOT HITS & HIDDEN JEWELS

From CultureCapital.com
YOUR LINK TO THE ARTS IN METRO DC

Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik

Nov 18-19. Wolf Trap.
877-965-3872. wolftrap.org.

Grammy Award-winning folk star of Luka and Toms Diner (Vega) and Tony
Award-winning Spring Awakeningcomposer (Sheik) join forces for a night of
their hit songs, as well as music they created for Vegas O Broadway musical
debut,Carson McCullers Talks About Love.

Winners And Losers

Thru Nov 22. Woolly Mammoth.
202-393-3939. woollymammoth.net.

Old friends Marcus and James spare nothing and no one in a seemingly
harmless drinking game that separates the champions from the chumps. But
what begins as a playful exercise slowly reveals itself as a dangerous unpacking
of privilege, status symbols, and class divisions.

Virginia Opera: La Bohme

Nov 14-15. GMU Center for the Arts.
888-945-2468. cfa.gmu.edu.

This masterpiece has touched opera lovers for generations with Puccinis gorgeous
score and the bittersweet tale of young love in bohemian Paris. Heartrending
sorrow, joyous celebrations, and the power of the creative spirit propel this
poignant work to its tragic conclusion. Sung in Italian with English supertitles.

Open Studios
Nov 15. Jackson Art Center.
202-342-9778. jacksonartcenter.com.

Visit the studios of 40+ local artists. Shop from a table of original oils,
watercolors, ceramics & photography. Live music and refreshments.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WOLF TRAP

THEATRE
Pericles. Nov 13-Dec 20. Folger Theatre.
202-544-7077. folger.edu.
Girlstar - Pride Night. Nov 13. Girlstar.
Thru Nov 15. Cake O. Thru Nov 22.
Signature Theatre. 703-820-9771.
signature-theatre.org.
Guys and Dolls. Thru Dec 27. Olney
Theatre. 301-924-3400. olneytheatre.org.
The Apple Family Cycle: Sorry. Thru
Dec 13. Regular Singing. Thru Dec
13. Studio Theatre. 202-332-3300.
studiotheatre.org.
A Simple Space. Nov 14-15. BlackRock.
240-912-1058. blackrockcenter.org.
Sons of the Prophet. Nov 18-Dec 20.
Theater J. 202-518-9400. theaterj.org.
Shear Madness. Ongoing.
Kennedy Center. 800-444-1324.
shearmadness.com.
The Magic Tree. Thru Nov 13. The
Dealer of Ballynafeigh. Thru Nov
14. Keegan Theatre. 202-265-3767.
keegantheatre.com.
A Christmas Carol. Nov 19-Dec 31.
Fords Theatre. 202-347-4833. fords.org.
Tartue. Thru Nov 14.
Clarice Smith. 301-405-2787.
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.
Avenue Q. Thru Nov 22. Constellation
Theatre at Source. 202-204-7741.
constellationtheatre.org.
Unexplored Interior. Thru Nov 29.
Mosaic Theater. Atlas. 202-399-7993.
mosaictheater.org.
The Cripple of Inishmaan. Thru Nov
22. SCENA Theatre. Atlas. 202-399-7993.
scenatheater.org.
Smartphones, A Pocket-Size Farce.
Thru Nov 15. Ambassador Theater. Mead
Theatre Lab. 703-475-4036. aticc.org.

DANCE
Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary. Thru
Nov 14. Kennedy Center. 202-467-4600.
kennedy-center.org.
Flamenco Casa Patas. Thru Nov 15.
GALA Hispanic Theatre. 202-234-7174.
galatheatre.org.
Moving Perspectives. Thru Nov
14. Clarice Smith. 301-405-2787.
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

MUSIC

Get Out More!

Chucho Valds. Nov 15. Dan Roberts.

Nov 18. Ethel. Nov 19. Strathmore.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
NGA Wind Quintet. Nov 15. National
Gallery of Art. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Storm Large. Nov 13. Joseph Leo
Bwarie. Nov 15. The Yardbirds. Nov 18.
AMP. 301-581-5100.
ampbystrathmore.com.
WNO: Appomattox. Nov 14-22. NSO:
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor: James
Ehnes, violin. Thru Nov 14. NSO: Jiri
Belohlvek, conductor: Igor Levit,
piano. Nov 19-21. Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
10th Annual Korea Art & Soul. Nov 14.

Youssou NDour. Nov 17. Paco Pena.

Nov 18. GW Lisner Auditorium.
202-994-6800. lisner.gwu.edu.
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano. Nov 14. SangEun Lee, cello, Noreen Polera, piano.
Nov 18. WPA at Kennedy Center.
202-785-9727.
washingtonperformingarts.org.
Pablo Alboran. Nov 13. Angie Stone.
Nov 14. Uprising. Nov 17. George
Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic.
Nov 19. Howard Theatre. 202-803-2899.
thehowardtheatre.com.
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem. Nov
15. Choral Arts Society. Kennedy Center.
202-244-3669. choralarts.org.
Cyro Baptista & Banquet of the Spirits.
Nov 13. Atlas. 202-399-7993.
atlasarts.org.
Kuok-Wai Lio and Zoltn Fejrvri,
pianists. Nov 13. Madeleine Peyroux.
Nov 17. Wolf Trap. 877-965-3872.
wolftrap.org.

MUSEUMS
National Gallery of Art. Vermeers
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. Thru
Dec 1. The Serial Impulse at Gemini
G.E.L. Thru Feb 7. Louise Bourgeois: No
Exit. Nov 15-May 15. 202-737-4215.
nga.gov.
National Archives. Spirited Republic:
Alcohol in American History. Thru Jan 10.
202-357-5000. archivesfoundation.org.
Museum of Women in the Arts. Esther
Bubley Up Front. Thru Jan 17.
202-783-5000. nmwa.org.
Sandy Spring Museum. Weaving
Community. Thru Dec 30. 301-774-0022.
sandyspringmuseum.org.
Smithsonian Anacostia. Hand of
Freedom. Thru Dec 27. 202-633-4820.
anacostia.si.edu.
National Geographic. Indiana Jones.
Thru Jan 3. 202-857-7000. nglive.org.

GALLERIES
WPA at Shinola: Martin Swift. Thru Jan
8. 202-470-0200. wpadc.org.
IDB Sta Association Art
Gallery (ISAAG). John D. Antone.
Thru Nov 20. 202-623-2217.
idbstaassociationartgallery.org.
JCCNV. Blue Like Me. Thru Dec 14.
703-323-0880. jccnv.org.
The Art League Gallery. Redening the
Picture Frame. Thru Nov 29.
703-683-1780. theartleague.org.
Torpedo Factory. 2015 Post-Graduate
Residency Exhibition. Thru Nov 29.
703-838-4565. torpedofactory.org.
Zenith Sculpture Space. Figuratively
Speaking. Thru Jan 9. zenithgallery.com.
DCAC. Singles Faire: Intimate Gestures.
Thru Jan 31. 202-462-7833. dcartscenter.
org.
Fisher Art Gallery. Mixed Media by
Shanthi Chandrasekar. Thru Dec 20. 703534-5726. schlesingercenter.com.
Joan Hisaoka Gallery. Implicit Bias. Thru
Dec 5. 202-483-8600. smithcenter.org.

WA SH I N GTO NB LADE.C OM

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 3 3

REALESTATE

Getting ready for the winter market

Youre likely to pay
less this time of year
By TED SMITH
As we approach the winter real estate
market, I want to look at typical patterns for
this market in terms of the number of active
listings, sold listings and median prices
with implications for buyers and sellers.
The chart above shows 8-year monthly
averages for the number of active and
sold listings for Washington, DC, along with
the average median price for each month.
These are average numbers. (The median
price in September 2015 for sold homes in
DC was actually $512,000.) What I want to
focus on here is the yearly pattern of home
listings in relation to median price.
As you can see, there are two selling seasons, with peaks corresponding
roughly to the height of spring (May-June)
and fall (October). The highest median
prices are actually about a month behind these peaks, with the highest median prices for the spring season being
recorded in July and the highest median
prices for the fall season being recorded
in November and December reecting the average 30-45 day time between

contract signing (when the property goes

out of active status) and the actual closing
settlement (when the price is recorded).
There are three important conclusions
to draw:
1. There is actually a proportional relation between the amount of housing inventory and median price. Its kind of the
reverse of the law of supply and demand,
which states that there is an inverse relationship between supply and price (a
more limited inventory drives prices up).
In contrast, for the spring season at least,
the greater the inventory of active listings
and sold listings (contracts), the higher
the median price.
2. With this rst point in mind, its interesting to note what happens in the fall
season: Even though the number of active
listings climbs to as high (and sometimes,
a higher) peak as in the spring, there are
fewer sales in the fall (and winter), so the
median price is lower. (And in the dead of
winter in January and February, with the
lowest levels of active and sold listings,
the median prices are the lowest of the
calendar year.)
3. Since these are average numbers for
all housing types, we can fairly say that
the sold price for any home will vary according to the season in which it is sold.

Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN

Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Individual & Couples Therapy

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

LGBTC.com/html/sid_binks.html

2015 RealEstate Business Intelligence, LLC. Data Provided by MRIS as of Nov. 5, 2015

Were talking about the same home: Using the numbers in the chart above, the
same home that sells for $407,000 in
January will sell for $466,000 in June, before dropping back down to $427,000 in
December.
What are the implications for buyers?
You will pay less for a home in the fall and
winter than you will in the spring and summer, but you will have less selection from
which to pick. So get ready to start looking.
And sellers? Unless you really have to
sell in the fall or winter, you will do better to sell in the spring and summer. Al-

though you will have more competition

from other active listings, it appears from
these numbers that a rising tide lifts all
ships, and you will still get a higher price
than you would in the fall or winter.
TED SMITH is a licensed Realtor with Real Living
| at Home specializing in mid-city D.C. Reach
him at TedSmithSellsDC@rlathome.com and
follow him on Facebook.com/MidCityDCLife,
Youtube.com/TedSmithSellsDC or @TedSmithSellsDC. You can also join him on monthly tours
of mid-city neighborhood open houses, as well
as monthly seminars geared toward rst-time
homebuyers. Sign up at meetup.com/DCMidCity1stTimeHomeBuyers/.

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3 4 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

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

1524 Ogden St. NW #1

Washington, DC 20010
Welcome to 1524 Ogden St NW Unit #1. This 1,900 square-foot,
3-bedroom, 3.5-bath condominium offers only the finest details and
finishes throughout. Floor-to-ceiling, south-facing windows
allow maximum light into the bedrooms. Designer bathrooms
are attached to all three master bedrooms. Three walk-in
closets complete with Elfa customizable closet systems. Red oak
hardwood floors throughout. The kitchen showcases Carrera
marble countertops, a kitchen island with custom built cabinets,
and Bosch stainless steel appliances. The great room offers
10-foot ceilings, warm cove lighting, and a marble-walled gas
fireplace. Built-in stereo system, Nest thermostat. Unit #1 includes
a private parking space, a commercial-grade garage door, and
a security system. Enter the unit from your parking space through a
custom-built iron spiral staircase. Offered at $899,900.

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 11/14-15, 1-4PM

Brought to you by

For a private showing, please contact

EDWARD SLAVIS

Licensed Realtor: DC, MD, VA

202-870-0407
edward@sagrealtygroup.com

SAG Realty Group I 1321 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005 I 202-350-1446 I SAGDC.com

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

N O V E MBE R 1 3 , 2 0 1 5 3 5

1524 Ogden St. NW #2

Washington, DC 20010
Welcome to 1524 Ogden St NW Unit #2 - a new standard of DC
luxury in Columbia Heights. This 1,500 square-foot, 3-bedroom,
3-bath condominium offers only the finest details and finishes
throughout, including a one-of-a-kind floating staircase leading
to the master bedroom and 400 square-foot roof deck. The kitchen
boasts Carrera marble countertops, custom built cabinets, and
the finest stainless steel appliances available. There are 10-foot
ceilings on both levels, and the south-facing, floor-to-ceiling
windows flood sunlight into its cavernous spaces. This unit offers Elfa
customizable closet systems, a fireplace in the master suite, designer
bathrooms, cove lighting, multiple private outdoor spaces,
and much more. Unit #2 includes a private parking space, a
commercial-grade garage door, and a security system. Enter the unit
from your parking space through a custom-built iron spiral staircase.
Offered at $999,900.
Please visit SAGDC.com/OgdenTour for a 3D virtual tour!

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 1-4PM

Brought to you by

For a private showing, please contact

EDWARD SLAVIS

Licensed Realtor: DC, MD, VA

202-870-0407
edward@sagrealtygroup.com

SAG Realty Group I 1321 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20005 I 202-350-1446 I SAGDC.com

3 6 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

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

CONTACT SIRIWAT PATHARAPANUPATH

202.747.2077, EXT. 8078 OR SPATH@WASHBLADE.COM

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SALES & SERVICE

(202) 246-9380

SERVING MD, DC NORTHERN VA

Tell em I saw you in the Blade!

Cell: 301-371-6751
Email: jampco@yahoo.com

No jobs too big,

no jobs too small!

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*25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word.

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MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
ROSSLYN. Certified
massage therapist
available 12-8 Sun-Tues
& Thurs. Call or text
Garyat 301-704-1158
or visit http://www.
mymassagebygary.
com/.DC appointments
available Wed, Fri, Sat.
Please call/text for
details.
BEST MASSAGE by male certified
therapist. Soothing Swedish; deeptissue; stress & pain release. Safe
Atmosphere in Annandale, VA, almost
right off I-395. Days/Eve/Wkend. In/
Out calls. Hotels welcome. Call Marval
(703) 568-6348.
START FRESH UPGRADE YOURSELF
before upgrading your phone! My
deep tissue massage will help you
feel like a new person! Stretching,
Swedish & Sports massage. Dupont.
Marcio (202) 271-9440. www.
MarciosMassage.com.

RISE-UP KUNDALINI YOGA &

MEDITATION in Bloomingdale Every
Mon, Wed & Fri 6:30-7:45AM at
Samsara House 2023 Suggested
Donation: $10 Info: http://bit.ly/
RISEUPKUNDALINI.

FREE SEXUALLY
TRANSMITTED
INFECTION TEST

(STI) testing and

treatment at AHF
H Street Corridor
Healthcare Center 1647
Benning Rd NE Suite 303
Washington DC 20002
on Mondays 3 - 6 p.m.
Call 202.350.5000 www.
freestdcheck.org.

BULLETIN BOARD
November Calendar of
Events at SAMSARA HOUSE 2023
in Bloomingdale, Highlighted by
HEALING HEARTS AT WOUNDED
KNEE, How to End Violence, Racism
and Genocide by Healing Humanitys
Collective Trauma at its Roots. View
Calendar, Show Up http://bit.ly/
NOV2015EVENTS.
WASHINGTON BLADE
CLASSIFIED ADS ONLINE visit www.washingtonblade.com/
classifieds for the latest Share
Housing, Personal ads, employment.

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

BODY & SOUL

Deep Relaxation Yoga Nidra
& Alchemy Crystal Bowl Meditation
w/Deb Koolbeck They say an hour
of Yoga Nidra can be like 4 hours of
sleep 6:30-8:00pm 11/15 $25/$20
http:// DeepRelaxationYoga5.
eventbrite.com.

LGBTQ AFFIRMING THERAPY at

Dupont Circle Individuals, couples,
families, adolescents. Over 15
years serving the community. Mike
Giordano, LICSW. 202/460-6384
mike.giordano.msw@gmail.com.
www.WhatIHearYouSaying.com.
COUNSELING FOR GAY MEN.
Individual/couple counseling w/
volunteer peer counselor. Gay Mens
Counseling Community since 1973.
202-580-8861. gaymenscounseling.
org. No fees, donation requested.

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JEWELRY

EMPLOYMENT
Account Executive and
Advertising Assistant Positions for
a Monthly Publication. This is a
sales, not an account management
position.See rest of ad online.
LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANTS
NEEDED! The Crew Club, a gay mens
naturist gym & sauna, is now hiring
Locker Room Attendants. We all
scrub toilets & do heavy cleaning. You
must be physically able to handle the
work & have a great attitude doing
it. No drunks/druggies need apply.
Please call Richard at (202) 319-1333.
from 9-5pm, to schedule an interview.

ESTATE SALE
Estate / Tag Sale

Nov. 13, 14 & 15, 2015

10:00am - 3:00pm
Sale of the household
contents.
3029 Q. St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.
www.
emeraldestatesales.com
703 582 1135

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

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

PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

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

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

HOME IMPROVEMENT
BRITISH REMODELING HANDYMAN
Local licensed company with over 25
years of experience. Specializing in
bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/
exterior repairs. Drywall, paint,
electric & wallpaper. Trevor 703-3038699.

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

Continental Movers Local

and Long distance Moving Services
$80 x hour x two men plus driving
time Big & small jobs also 202 438
1489 / 301 340 0602 cmora53607@
msn.com www.continentalmovers.net

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

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

SHARE / MD
GLENMONT/SS HOUSE, near Metro
and ICC, new 3,000 sf., 3 bdrm, 2.5
bath, dedicated parking; W/D, FiOS.
Seeking dog-friendly, GM, nonsmoker.Tomsommers2@gmail.com
for photos/info. $1,250+ utils.

REAL ESTATE AGENTS

WASHNGTON D.C. TOP GAY

REALTORS! Instant Free Access to
D.C. & NationsTop LGBT Realtors.
FREE Buyers Representation FREE
Sellers Competitive Market Analysis
+ FREE Relocation Kit any City, USA.
Be Represented! Choose your
Perfect Agent On-line at;WWW.
GAYREALESTATE.COM

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PICTURES
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LARGE TEXT
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AND MORE
CONTACT US AT 202-747-2077 x8092

All Classified Ads

- Including Regular & Adult Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
So They Can Be Included
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Washington Blade and
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3 8 N O VEMB ER 1 3, 2015

SALE / MD

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

SWEDISH/DEEP

SALE / VA

TISSUE/SENSUAL
Massage - relaxed environment by
CMT, 59, 165lbs. NEW TABLE. David
(202)-42one-8900. dcack@hotmail.
com. Cleveland Park metro.
Tired of DC housing costs?
Then buy this art-deco gem at 2105
Erdman Avenue, Baltimore MD
21218; $249,000
Stephen Sattler
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
410/377-2270
stephen.sattler@LNF.com.

MOUNT
RAINIER
$344,000

REQUESTONLINEPHOTOS!
4 Bedrooms,3 Baths!
Formal Dining! Upgraded
Kitchen! Family Room!
Deck! *192,995 - FixerUpper Bungalow.
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com.

MONTGOMERY
VILLAGE
TOWNHOMES

REQUEST ONLINE PHOTOS!

-$145,000 2 Bedroom +
Den ( 3rd Bedroom) Top
Floor Balcony Condo
-$229,000 3 Bedrooms! 3
Baths, Loft Bedroom with
full bath!
-$259,999 3 Level
Townhouse! 3 Bedrooms,
2 1/2 Bathrooms! Deck!
Party Room Basement!
LARRY PERRIN REALTOR
(301) 983-0601
LJPerrin@aol.com.

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OUR UPGRADES
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AND MORE
CONTACT US AT
202-747-2077

VIENNA METRO $775,000

Zen garden with waterfall! Updated
colonial w huge granite gourmet
kitchen. Addition w 6 skylights!
Owners suite w fplc,lux bath! Debbie
Larson, Long & Foster Real Estate,
703.905.7269. sales@debbiehouses.
com. http://www.realestateshows.
com/1321575.

WOMENS PERSONALS
LOOKING FOR LONG TERM
Single looking 4 mature woman
for possible LTR. Retired women
who recently moved back from
N. Carolina; Like movies, hiking &
snuggling, sharing those special
moments smile.Intrigued? Check out
my ad online.
GWF, SOFT BUTCH, attractive,
blue eyes, brown hair. I walk three
miles every day. I like movies, music,
playing cards, tv & pizza. ISO GWF

AFTERNOON DELIGHT Custom

bodywork! Exceptional deep tissue
& sensual bodywork for total stress
relief in private studio on the Hill or
in my new Dupont location. Call Erik
202-751-5045 No texts. In calls only.
Intro Special $99.00 Reg. $130.

SPECIAL LATINO
TOUCH

5 9, 170 lbs, Offering full body

relaxing, release on my professional
table, in a private atmosphere. In/out.
Parking Available, hotels welcome,
DC/MD/VA, 24/7. Call Lucas, 240-4628669, fromlucas@yahoo.com.
EROTIC SWEDISH MASSAGE
- healthy clean cut guy, 61, 160 lbs,
Dupont Circle, massage table, noon
to 1:00 a.m., indulge your body. $70
for 1 hour. Bill 202-728-0238. No text
messages.
THE MAGIC TOUCH: Swedish,
Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts 202486-6183, Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls.

attractive, feminine, for friendship &

a long term relationship. If you are
interested, call Debbie 703-368-3618.

BODYWORK

WHITE EX NAVY GUY NICK

In Town Visiting Hot guy visiting, mild
to wild, great massage, pics and video
can be seen at http://rentmen.com/
Nickintown call 202-820-3126 for an
appointment. 58, Black/Blue, 8.

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ADULT SERVICES
RENT-A-DUNGEON Explore your
fantasies! Surprise a BF or FB.
Awesome, clean, discrete. Fully
equipped private DC playroom.
Dungeon Massage Available. (Tutorial/
instruction available). 202-544-8094.

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AND REPLY TO ADS
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ENHANCE YOUR
AD WITH OUR
UPGRADES
PICTURES
BOLD TEXT
LARGE TEXT
COLOR
AND MORE
CONTACT US AT
202-747-2077

FIND REAL GAY MEN NEAR YOU

Washington:

(202) 822-1666
Arlington:

Baltimore:

(703) 373-1000 (410) 468-4000

www.megamates.com 18+

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