MAY 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 4 8 I SSU E 19 AM E RI C A S LGB T NE W S S OURCE WASHINGTONBLADE.

COM

Protest group plans alternative

June events, assails corporate
sponsors, police presence
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com

It was a rough week for organizers of D.C.s

annual Capital Pride celebration, as a protest
group lled seats at the organizations board
meeting Monday to voice concerns over an
array of issues.
Nearly all of more than 40 audience
members who spoke at the Capital Pride
Board of Directors meeting Monday night
expressed support for a dissident groups
demands that corporations and D.C. police be
banned from participating in the Capital Pride
parade and festival set for June 10-11.
The meeting, which took place in a basement
meeting hall at National City Christian Church
on Thomas Circle, drew close to 200 people.
It also took place a little over a week
after members of No Justice No Pride, who
describe themselves as a coalition of local
LGBT activists dissatised over the way Capital
Pride has been run, called on their supporters
A Capital Pride board of directors meeting Monday night drew nearly 200 people, many of whom were critical of the organization.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 12 WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Bombshell move fuels upcoming
LGBT protests of administration
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
President Trumps ring of FBI Director James
Comey as he was conducting an investigation of
the Trump campaigns ties to Russia has stunned
America and ignited a restorm of controversy and
LGBT advocates are among those railing against the
termination as evidence Trump has something to hide.
Comey was dismissed months after he
acknowledged in testimony to Congress the FBIwas
conducting a probe into Russian interferencein the
2016 election and potential coordination with the
Trump campaign on those eorts. Trumps ring of
Comey raises serious questions about whether the
president sought to thwart the investigation and
potential charges against him.
Shannon Minter, legal director for the National
CONTINUES ON PAGE 13 President Trump red FBI Director JAMES COMEYon Tuesday.
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04 MAY 12, 2017 LO CA L N E W S

Cho to perform at benet for

GWUs LGBT health program
Comedian Margaret Cho, known for her biting humor and social commentary on
gender, sexuality, and race-related issues, will perform a benet show at D.C.s Lisner
Auditorium at George Washington University on Thursday, July 13.
Proceeds for the benet will be for the universitys graduate program in LGBT Health
Policy & Practice, according to a statement released by the program, which says tickets
were scheduled to go on sale Wednesday, May 10 at the Lisner box oce.
The statement says that George Washington University in 2013 established the LGBT
Health & Policy Practice Certicate Program, which oers in-depth training leading to
competencies for those who seek to better serve and advocate for the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender community.
It says proceeds from the performance will support program activities, curriculum
development and student scholarships.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.

This image is one of 25 that will be on display in Rehoboth later this month.

Blade plans photo exhibit in Rehoboth

The Washington Blade announced plans this week to stage an exhibit of iconic
photographs from its archive in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The exhibit debuts on Friday, May 19 and runs through the weekend at Gallery
50 (50 Wilmington Ave.). A complimentary wine and cheese reception will be
held on Saturday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. Its open to the public and Washington
Blade editor Kevin Na will be on hand to answer questions about the exhibit.
We are thrilled to host this incredible exhibit lled with iconic images of the
LGBT communitys struggle for equality, said Eric Davison of Gallery 50.
The Blade is the nations oldest and most acclaimed LGBT newspaper. The
exhibit features 25 images from the Blades archives, including photos from
D.C.s very rst Pride celebration and the White House lit up in rainbow colors
following the Supreme Courts marriage ruling.
Were excited to bring this unique exhibit to Rehoboth Beach, said Na. GAVIN GRIMM will be a special guest speaker at D.C.s Capital Trans Pride events on May 20.
These images tell our communitys story and its more important now than ever
that we know and understand our own history.
Hand-numbered, special edition prints of the images will be available for
sale. For more information, visit washingtonblade.com/photogallery/gallery1/. Gavin Grimm to speak at Capital Trans Pride

STAFF REPORTS Gavin Grimm, the transgender male student at a Virginia high school who petitioned the U.S.
Supreme Court to gain the right to use the school bathroom that matches his gender identity, will
be a special guest speaker at D.C.s Capital Trans Pride events on May 20.
The 2017 Capital Trans Pride takes place at D.C.s Studio Theater at 1501 14th St., N.W.
Organizers say the event consists of a full day of nine workshops that address a wide range of
Miley Cyrus to headline Capital Pride concert transgender issues; the showing of the award-winning lm Major!: A Documentary Film, which
showcases the life of a black transgender elder who has been advocating for the rights of trans
women of color for over 40 years; and a Resource Fair that includes participation by more than 25
Miley Cyrus, Tinashe, the Pointer Sisters and VASSY will headline the 2017 Capital organizations providing services to the trans community.
Pride Concert, the organization announced on Tuesday. Grimm graduates this year from Gloucester High School in Gloucester County, which is
The Capital Pride concert will take place on three stages on Pennsylvania Avenue at considered part of the Norfolk-Virginia metropolitan area. He brought suit against his local school
Third Street on Sunday, June 11. Performances kick o at 1 p.m. board after his school refused to allow him to use the mens bathroom. His case became the
Cyrus, who identies as pansexual, is known for her hitsingles We Cant Stop and subject of national media reports, making him a spokesperson for transgender rights.
Wrecking Ball. The 24-year-old is the founder of Happy Hippie Foundation, a non- Capital Trans Pride brings together the community for both a celebration and to share
prot organization that aids homeless youth and ghts for the welfare of LGBT youth important information that has the potential to change the lives of those who attend, said Bianca
and women, among other social justice issues. Rey, executive director of Capital Trans Pride. Weve made signicant progress regarding visibility,
Tinashe, 21, released her debut album, Aquarius in 2014. Her singles 2 On, empowerment, and rights, but now more than ever, we must all continue to work to secure full
Pretend and All Hands on Deck charted on the Billboard Hot 100. equality, Rey said in a statement.
Legendary R&B group the Pointer Sisters began their long career in the 1970s. Known Among the workshops scheduled to be held are Identity Documents and Name Changes,
for their hit singlesHes So Shy, Jump (for My Love), among others, the group has Safer Sex for Trans Bodies, Genderqueer 101, Understanding the Trans Attracted Man, and
won three Grammy Awards and three American Music Awards. Resume building in English and Spanish.
VASSY is an electronic music artist whose single We Are Young reached No. 1 on the Since its inception in 2008, the Capital Pride Alliance has been involved in the production of
U.S. Billboard Dance Chart. She is also an ambassador for the NOH8 campaign. Capital Trans Pride, a statement released by organizers says.D.C.s Capital Pride Parade and
The Capital Pride Festival kicks o Sunday at noon. More than 300 exhibitors are Festival are scheduled this year for June 10-11.
expected to participate. Further information about Capital Trans Pride can be obtained at capitalpride.org.
MARIAH COOPER LOU CHIBBARO JR.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 0 5

0 6 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Eyes on Chechnya protest targets Russian ambassador
Demonstration comes
as Tillerson meets with
Russian ocial
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Protesters gathered before the D.C.
residence of the Russian ambassador
to the United States on Tuesday to call
on Russia to investigate reports of anti-
gay abuses and concentration camps in
Chechnya and bring them to an end.
An estimated 75 people gathered before
the residence of Russian ambassador
Sergey Kislyak in a demonstration
organized by the Human Rights Campaign
intended to highlight the arrests and
detentions of gay and bisexual men in the
semi-autonomous Republic.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, spoke at the Eyes on
Chechnya demonstration and called on
the Russian government to take the lead
to end the reported abuses.
Instead of rounding up gay men,
Russia must pressure Chechnya to arrest
the real criminals, the torturers, the jailers
and the executioners, Grin said.
Grin said he also carried a message
for the U.S. government: Let the victims
of the reported abuses seek asylum in
the United States. On the day before
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was set
to meet with Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov, Grin said the Trump
ocial must raise the issue with his
Russian counterpart.
He must show the same leadership
that German Chancellor Merkel did when
she met with Putin just last week, Grin
said, referencing a meeting in which
Seattle gay mayor ends re-election bid
Decision follows
sex-with-minor
allegations
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Seattles gay mayor, Edward Murray,
announced on Tuesday that he was
withdrawing from his bid for re-election to a
second term, ending his decades-long career
in state and local politics in which he became
known as a champion for LGBT rights.
His announcement came one month
after he characterized as baseless
allegations in a lawsuit led against him
that he paid a 15-year-old male for sex in
the 1980s and vowed to ght the charges
Demonstrators at the Eyes on Chechnya protest.
Merkel publicly raised the issue of anti-
gay abuses with the Russian leader.
The demonstration was the result
of ongoing concern over reports from
Chechnya that local authorities have
arrested more than 100 gay menandsent
them to secret prisons for torture. At least
four menhave reportedly died as a result.
Chechnya is led by Ramzan Kadyrov,
who has denied the atrocities are
happnening by asserting gay people dont
exist there. British Minister of state for
the Foreign Oce Sir Alan Duncan said
on the oor of parliament he was told of
alleged plans in Chechnya to eliminate
the countrys gay community by the start
of Ramadan,which begins May 26.
Rob Berschinski, senior vice president
and continue his race for re-election.
In an emotional news conference on
Tuesday, with his husband and longtime
supporters standing beside him, Murray
reiterated his earlier assertions that the
allegations were politically motivated and
completely unfounded but had become a
distraction to his campaign.
The mayoral race must be focused on
the urgent, important issues facing our
city, but those are being overshadowed
by the false allegations against me,
which have hurt the city, my family
and Michael, he said in referring to his
husband Michael Shiosaki.
It tears me to pieces to step away, the
Seattle Times quoted him as saying. But I
believe it is in the best interest of this city that
I love, the newspaper quoted him as saying.
In a statement released by his oce
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
for policy at Human Rights First, said the
reported attacks on gay men are part
and parcel of the Russian governments
program of repression.
From a propaganda law that targets
members of the LGBT community and
their allies, to an NGO law that says
anyone critical of the Putin regime is
an enemy of the state to invasions of
Russian neighbors to support for the
brutal Assad regime in Syria, to action at
the United Nations hoping to tear down
an international system based around
human rights and international law, our
eyes are on Russia, Berschinski said.
At the protest, participants chanted, Stop
the ViolenceStop the HateRussia Must
Investigate. One sign read, Say Something
Murray said he would remain in oce until
his current term ends in January 2018.
The lawsuit was led April 4 by Kent
County, Wash., resident Dalvonn Heckard,
46, who alleges that when he was 15 in
1986 Murray persuaded him to accept
money for sex on multiple occasions.
Heckard initially led his lawsuit
using only his initials. His attorney said
Heckard decided to disclose his name
after learning that two other men who
have also accused Murray of having sex
with them in the 1980s when they were
teenagers chose to reveal their names.
Murray, 61, and his attorney released
statements shortly after the lawsuit was
led calling the accusations by all three
men false and politically motivated at a time
when Murray was running for re-election.
Let me be clear: These allegations
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
Don! Pooty Got Your Tongue! a reference to
Trumps suspected ties to Russian President
Vladimir Putin, whom intelligence agencies
said assisted the presidents election eorts
with illegal hacking.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley
has spoken out against the atrocities, but
President Trump himself and Tillerson
have said nothing. (For that matter,
mainstream media reporters havent
asked Trump about the matter even
though he has participated in several
interviews with the press.) The Washington
Blade has repeatedly sought comment
from the White House on the atrocities.
The protest concluded just minutes
before news broke that President Trump
had terminated FBI Director James
Comey, who was investigating potential
Trump collusion with Russia during the
2016 presidential election.
Jeremy Kadden, HRC Senior
International Policy Advocate, said the
process by which gay people in Chechnya
could seek asylum in the United States
starts with the U.S. government signaling
theyre welcome to come here, but that
hasnt happened yet.
What we understand is happening now is
that folks who are trying to get out need the
U.S. government to say they are welcome to
come here, Pittman said. Thats a step that
speeds things along a lot faster.
Pittman said Russian authorities may
seek to reclaim the persecuted gay men
if they escape to nearby countries, which
is why U.S. asylum for them is important.
The Blade has placed a request with the
State Department seeking comment on
the status of allowing persecuted gay men
in Chechnya to come to the United States.
The Blade has also sought comment
from the Russian embassy on the protest.
dating back to more than a period of 30
years are simply not true, Murray said in
a statement. I will not back down now. I
will continue to be mayor of this city. I will
continue to run for re-election, he said.
But the Seattle Times reports that
the allegations swirling around Murray
intensied last week when a fourth man,
Maurice Lavon Jones, signed a sworn
adavit in support of Heckards case
saying that he, too, had been paid for sex
by Murray as a teenager in the 1980s.
The statement released by Murrays
oce on Tuesday highlighted his
accomplishments as mayor, including
aggressive eorts to address Seattles
longstanding problem of homelessness,
his successful push for the nations rst
$15 minimum wage in a major city, and
a program to increase aording housing.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
Ala., Tenn. governors sign anti-LGBT bills
Measures target families,
trans residents
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Governors in Alabama and Tennessee
have signed into law a pair of measures
that could allow discrimination against LGBT
families seeking to adopt a child or jeopardize
their ability to obtain state benets.
In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law
last week House Bill 24, which is titled the
Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act, but
instead of encouraging child placement it
would permit agencies to deny placement
of children into LGBT households.
The new law allows child placement
agencies, which often are religious-
aliated groups, such as Catholic
adoption agencies, to deny placement in
LGBT-headed homes.
According to AL.com, Ivey said she
signed HB24 into law to ensure faith-
adoption agencies can continue to work
in the state.
I ultimately signed House Bill 24 because
it ensures hundreds of children can
continue to nd forever homes through
religiously aliated adoption agencies,
Ivey reportedly said. This bill is not about
discrimination, but instead protects
the ability of religious agencies to place
vulnerable children in a permanent home.
The bill was approved by the Senate by
a 23-9 vote and by the House in March
Green withdraws nomination for Army Secretary
Tennessee ocial
blames false and
misleading attacks
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Mark E. Green, who President Trump
nominated last month to be Secretary of
the Army, withdrew from contention for
the position last week following a month-
long campaign by LGBT advocacy groups
to publicize his anti-LGBT record as a
Tennessee state senator.
His withdrawal came less than a week
after the Human Rights Campaign, the
nations largest LGBT civil rights group,
said it generated 6,800 calls to Congress
from constituents strongly opposing
Greens nomination.
Since Trumps announcement of
Greens nomination, HRC worked
diligently to expose Mark Greens
shameful anti-LGBTQ record and rhetoric
Gov. KAY IVEY (R-Ala.) signed an anti-LGBT
adoption bill.
PHOTO BY FORT RUCKER; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
by a 60-14 vote. After Senate passage
of HB24, the House gave nal approval
of the measure by a vote of 87-0, with
six abstentions, to concur with a change
made by the upper chamber of the
legislature.
Iveys signature was expected. Eileen
Jones, an Ivey spokesperson, told the
Washington Blade last month her boss
plans to sign it pending a legal review.
Kasey Suredini, chief programs
ocer for Freedom for All Americans,
was among those who criticized Ivey for
signing the bill in a statement.
The rst priority of lawmakers should
and the danger his nomination posed
to LGBTQ service members and their
families, HRC said in a statement.
We thank the many senators, from
both parties, who expressed concerns
about the nomination, said HRC
President Chad Grin. His nomination
was a clear indication of Donald Trumps
lack of judgment and failure to be a
president of all Americans, Grin said.
Within the past two weeks at least ve
Democratic senators announced they
would vote against the Green nomination,
including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)
and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)
Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs
the Senate Armed Services Committee
which would have had to approve the
nomination, expressed concern about
Greens statements that were considered
hostile to LGBT people and Muslims.
And in a development that startled
political observers, a Pentagon
spokesperson on Friday declined to say
whether Secretary of Defense James
be the safety and wellbeing of children,
especially those who are in need of safe
and loving homes, Suredini said. It is
shameful that Gov. Ivey and lawmakers in
Alabama would jeopardize those chances
in order to advance discrimination against
LGBT people.
Also criticizing Ivey was Alex Smith,
board chair of Equality Alabama, who
said in a statement the governor was
breaking her promise to usher in a new
style of government after succeeding
former Gov. Robert Bentley following his
resignation amid scandal.
When she was sworn in as governor,
Kay Ivey promised her administration
would be a breath of a fresh air from the
scandals of the Bentley era, and we hoped
she wouldnt start her administration
by approving shameful discriminatory
legislation that ultimately does the most
harm to children looking for loving
homes, Smith said. Unfortunately, Gov.
Ivey put special interests ahead of the
welfare of Alabama children.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam signed
into law last Friday House Bill 1111, which
requires undened words in Tennessee
state law, such as gender pronouns, be
enforced under their natural meaning.
That could set up the state for conict
with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in
favor of same-sex marriage nationwide if
Tennessee implements anew law to deny
benets to same-sex couples.
In a statement defending his decision
to sign the law, Haslam was consistent
Mattis still supported Greens nomination.
Green, a physician, is a West Point
graduate and decorated Iraq War
veteran. His controversial views on LGBT
issues emerged during his tenure as a
State Senator in Tennessee. Among other
things, he has described transgender
people as being mentally disordered.
He has spearheaded anti-transgender
bathroom legislation and backed a religious
freedom bill, approved by the Tennessee
Legislature that would allow mental health
professionals to refuse treatment for LGBT
patients based on religious objections.
Tragically, my life of public service
and my Christian beliefs have been
mischaracterized and attacked by a few
on the other side of the aisle for political
gain, Green said in a statement on
Friday. While these false attacks have no
bearing on the needs of the Army or my
qualications to serve, I believe it is critical
to give the president the ability to move
forward with his vision to restore our
military to its rightful place in the world.
MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 0 7
with principles on which the judiciary rely,
denying the measure would conict with
the Obergefell decision.
The language of this bill is for a general
denitions section of the Tennessee code,
which denes road and sheri, among
other common terms, Haslam said. For
at least 150 years, courts including the
Tennessee Supreme Court and United
States Supreme Court have looked to
a words natural and ordinary meaning
when deciding cases. In reviewing this bill, I
do not believe the legislation accomplishes
anything that isnt already relied upon by
the courts, even after the U.S. Supreme
Courts Obergefell decision in 2015.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. John
Stevens (R-Huntingdon) and Rep. Andrew
Farmer (R-Sevierville), was passed in the
House by a vote of 70-23 and the Senate
by a vote of 23-6.
Sarah Warbelow, legal director for the
Human Rights Campaign, said despite
Haslams assurance the new law would
have a negative impact on LGBT families
in Tennessee.
Gov. Haslam has chosen to put pure
politics ahead of Tennessees women
and LGBTQ people, Warbelow said. This
draconian measure will open the state up
to many expensive legal challenges and
divert state resources to defending an
unnecessary, unconstitutional measure.
The Governor should be ready to answer
for the fallout signing this bill will cause.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A White House ocial said Greens
decision made his own decision to
withdraw his nomination in response to
a Washington Blade on whether Trump
asked him to withdraw.
The Army secretary needs strong
bipartisan support and when Dr. Green
recognized he would no longer have this, he
made the decision based on what he thought
was best for the Army, the ocial said.
Matt Thorn, executive director of
OutServe-SLDN, the nations largest
organization representing LGBT people in
the military, also claimed victory, saying,
Serving as Secretary of the Army is an
incredible and vital role to the success of
our modern military.
Mark Green did not live up to the
duty and honor that is expected of an
individual serving in such a role, Thorn
said in a statement. Mr. Green has better
served the Army with his withdrawal than
he would have as Secretary.
Chris Johnson contributed
to this report

08 MAY 12, 2017
EMMANUEL MACRON scored a landslide victory on Sunday.
PHOTO BY OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS; COURTESY OF FLICKR
Macron defeats Le Pen in landslide
Emmanuel Macron will become the next president of France after he defeated
Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Front party in the second round of the
countrys presidential election that took place on Sunday.
Macron defeated Le Pen by a 65.1-34.9 margin. Macron - a centrist who,
among other things, supports Frances same-sex marriage law that took eect
in 2015 - will succeed President Franois Hollande who opted not to seek re-
election amid record low poll numbers.
I called Emmanuel Macron to congratulate him on his election, said Hollande
on Twitter after the election results became known. I oered him my best
wishes for the success of our country.
The Associated Press reported Le Pen called Macron to congratulate him. President
Trump is among those who have also applauded the French president-elect.
I very much looking forward to working with him, said Trump on Twitter.
Le Pen campaigned on an anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-European
Union platform. She also said she would repeal Frances same-sex marriage law
if elected.
Le Pen and Macron won the rst round of Frances presidential election on
April 23, which took place three days after a gunman killed a gay police ocer
on Paris Champs-lyses. The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for
the attack that left two other police ocers injured.
Macron and others accused Le Pen of exploiting the shooting in the immediate
lead up to the rst round of the election. Trump said he thought the incident
would probably help Le Pen in the election.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday in a tweet described Macrons
win as a victory for France, the EU and the world. She also referenced Macrons
claim that his campaign suered a massive hack ahead of Sundays vote.
The Russian government continues to deny that it interfered in the U.S.
presidential election in order to ensure Trump defeated Clinton.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Gay American tourist attacked in Bahamas
A gay tourist from Atlanta was attacked early Saturday morning during a Bahamian festival.
Alexus DMarco, president of Bahamas Transgender Intersex United, told the
Washington Blade in an email that Adrian Brown, who is in the U.S. Navy, was attacked
and beaten with bottles and rocks during the Bahamas Junkanoo Festival in Nassau,
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S
ADRIAN BROWN says two men attacked him at a carnival party in Nassau, Bahamas, on May 5.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BROWN
the Bahamian capital.
DMarco said the altercation began when Brown confronted the two men after they
threw water at him.
They replied because youre a sissy batty man dancing up, DMarco told the Blade.
They began to hit the tourist with bottles and rocks.
Brown conrmed this account in an email to the Blade.
I was dancing by myself to the music, when I felt a splash of water on my back,
he said. I turned around to see what had happened. When asked why the water was
thrown on me, they responded, Youre a sissy battyman.
Instantaneously I was attacked by the two ladies and two men with rocks and beer
bottles, added Brown. I was helpless, because I was unable to defend myself.
Brown was taken to the hospital.
DMarco told the Blade police were nowhere to be found during the incident. She
said local residents chased one of the men who allegedly attacked Brown and he is now
in police custody.
Thank God good Bahamians were around to run after the boys, she told the Blade.
Brown told the Blade he decided to visit the Bahamas because that country is
marketed as a safe haven for gays - gay cruises, one of the well traveled gay destinations.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations are legal in the Bahamas, unlike in other
English-speaking Caribbean countries. Anti-LGBT attitudes especially among religious
leaders and conservative politicians remain commonplace.
I never thought I would walk away with what seem to be a horrible nightmare that I
cant get away from, Brown told the Blade.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Salvadoran trans activist nominated for award
A transgender activist in El Salvador has been nominated for an international human
rights award.
Karla Avelar in 2008 co-founded Comunicado y Capacitando a Mujeres Trans, a group
known by the Spanish acronym COMCAVIS that advocates on behalf of trans, intersex and
LGB Salvadorans. Five detained members of FreeThe5KH, a Cambodian human rights
group, and Mohamed Zaree of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies in Egypt, have
also been nominated to receive the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, the International
Federation for Human Rights, the World Organization Against Torture, Front Line
Defenders, the International Commission of Jurists, EWDE Germany, International
Service for Human Rights and Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems
are the organizations that comprise the jury for the award. The ceremony at which it will
be presented is scheduled to take place in Geneva on Oct. 10.
I want to thank Martin Ennals, the jury and those who nominated me for this
important award, said Avelar in a press release that Human Rights Watch released on
Wednesday.
El Salvador is a small Central American country that borders Guatemala and Honduras.
The country has one of the worlds highest murder rates. Homophobic and
transphobic rhetoric from politicians and religious gures, discrimination, poverty,
ineective policing and a lack of educational and employment opportunities are among
the myriad factors that have made LGB and especially trans Salvadorans particularly
vulnerable to violence.
A group of four unknown men with guns carjacked Avelar last October and
demanded her cell phone and identication. Three trans women were killed in San
Luis Talpa, a municipality in La Paz Department that is roughly an hour south of the
Salvadoran capital of San Salvador, in February.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 0 9

1 0 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Dateline: Post-Fidel Cuba
Life for gays remains very
hard on Communist island
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
HAVANA It was around 7:20 a.m.
on Thursday when I started hanging
some clothes that I hand washed in
the bathroom sink of my apartment
in Havanas Vedado neighborhood on
the clothes line outside. A young man
from the city of Santiago de Cuba who is
renting the room next door saw me and
introduced himself.
He is a cook who makes less than
50 CUC ($50) a month at the state-run
restaurants at which he works. He and
four of his friends were eating fried
chicken they had just cooked and drinking
Cristal, a Cuban beer, as dawn broke over
Havana. He asked me whether I am gay
and then told me that a lot of Cubans
regardless of their gender or sexual
orientation engage in sex work in order
to support themselves.
Life for gays in Cuba is very hard, he
said.
Life is certainly hard for the vast
majority of Cubans, regardless of their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
My neighbors matter of fact assessment
of the situation in which he and his
countrymen and women continue to
live resonated as I was thinking about
whether things have changed (or not) in
the nearly six months since former Cuban
President Fidel Castros death.
The Cuban government in the years
after the 1959 revolution that brought
An evening with
Blankita in Havana
HAVANA It was shortly after
1 a.m. on Friday when Blankita, a
drag queen (una transformista in
Cuban Spanish) took to the stage at
XY, a gay club in Havanas Vedado
neighborhood that is near the citys
oceanfront promenade.
She was wearing a white tutu
and cropped top that was vaguely
reminiscent of what Madonna wore
when she performed Like A Virgin
at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.
Blankitas false eyelashes, which
were green, glowed in the dark as
she danced and lip-synced to Thalias
A Quin Le Importa. Her lips were
Signs and posters glorifying former Cuban President Fidel Castro remain in Havana nearly six
months after his death.
Castro to power sent gay men, among
others, to work in camps known as
Military Units to Aid Production or by the
Spanish acronym UMAPs. People with
HIV/AIDS were forcibly placed into state-
run sanitaria until 1993.
A gay Cuban man on Wednesday said
he never learned about the camps in
school, even though Castro apologized
for them in 2010 during an interview with
a Mexican newspaper. Castros niece,
Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of
his brother, Cuban President Ral Castro,
in recent years has spearheaded LGBT-
specic issues in the country as the
director of the National Center of Sexual
Education, which is known by the Spanish
acronym CENESEX.
Her eorts are paradoxical and a direct
painted white and she puckered them
at varying speeds throughout her
show that ended around 2 a.m.
There were fewer than two-dozen
people in the bar. A thunderstorm
with torrential downpours, gusty
winds and frequent lightning passed
over Havana a few hours earlier.
One source said Cubans scatter like
flies when it rains, so the weather
almost certainly deterred people
from going out. Blankita nevertheless
did her utmost to taunt her audience
with crude jokes that completely
disregarded any sense of social
decorum and manners.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
contradiction of the way that her uncle
treated gay Cubans in the years after
the revolution. This juxtaposition was on
full display in 2015 when Mariela Castro
gave a speech in the city of Las Tunas that
commemorated the International Day
Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
She spoke to hundreds of people
activists, CENESEX staers and supporters
and a handful of journalists from Cuba
and abroad against the backdrop of
a large banner with Fidel Castros image
that was hanging from a nearby building.
Mariela Castro also led the crowd in a
variety of chants that included, Socialism
yes. Homophobia no.
Mariela Castro last week told Hatzel
Vela, the Havana-based reporter for
WPLG, a South Florida television station,
BLANKITA, a Cuban drag queen, performs at
XY, a gay bar in Havana, on May 5.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Her second number was even
cruder than the first.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N T E RN A T I O N A L N E W S
that her father understands her work.
She said that he also supports it.
One can make the case that Mariela
Castro, who is also a member of the
Cuban National Assembly, is the public
face of the next generation of Castros
who seek to continue to promote Fidel
Castros ideals and keep his legacy
alive. You can also make the case that
Mariela Castro is the public face of a
family that continues to spark scorn and
outrage among independent LGBT rights
advocates in Cuba and Cuban exiles in
the U.S. nearly 60 years after her uncle
came to power.
Fidel Castros image remains literally
and guratively on billboards, posters,
murals and caricatures throughout
Havana. The country continues to change
poco a poco (bit by bit), but a lot remains
the same.
Cubans and foreigners alike still need
to stand in long lines in order to buy food,
telephones and other things that most
Americans take for granted. You still need
to purchase 2 CUC ($2) coupons from the
state-run telecommunications company
in order to access the countrys Internet
network that remains slow and unreliable.
The coupons allow users to go online
for an hour.
A grocery store I visited in Vedado on
Wednesday to buy some eggs and bread
was closed for lunch, but I was able to
purchase a bag of small breakfast rolls
at a bakery that was near my apartment.
I bought some fresh tomatoes, guava
and bananas at a small fruit store down
the street from my building that I have
enjoyed during my stay.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
She wore a mesh black T-shirt with
fake breasts that were exposed and a
plastic vagina. Blankita scooted across
the floor with her legs and 8-inch heels
in front of her. She nearly collided
into me as I was standing near the
door and filming her with my iPhone.
Blankita also took immense joy in
taunting the bartenders and other XY
staff, including a man with whom she
left very little to the imagination after
she jumped over the bar and began
dancing with him.
Blankita ended her show by drinking
two large glasses of Heineken each
in one gulp as she lip-synced to a
Spanish ballad. She also took off her
green eyelashes and threw her waist-
long blonde wig onto the floor.
Her audience gave her an
enthusiastic round of applause before
she hurried up the stairs to the bars
second floor.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
 W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 1 1

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1 2 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Capital Pride critics dominate tense meeting
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
to pack the May 8 board meeting to
push for radical changes in this years
Pride events.
The audience appeared evenly divided
in its support or opposition to Capital
Prides current plans for Pride in the
way it cheered and applauded speakers
voicing diering opinions.
But the large majority of those who spoke,
other than Capital Pride board members,
voiced strong criticism of what they said
was Capital Prides reluctance to change its
events from a celebration to a protest to
reect the political changes brought about
by last years presidential election.
Why are you having weapons
manufacturers as sponsors? said one
audience member, who was among those
demanding that Capital Pride immediately
eliminate corporate sponsors, especially
those that are part of what he said was
the military-industrial complex.
The audience member may have been
referring to U.S. defense contractors
Northrop Grumman and Lockheed
Martin that are among the Capital Pride
corporate sponsors this year.
A woman who said she was a Native
American said another of Capital Prides
corporate sponsors, Wells Fargo Bank,
was nancing the Dakota Access Pipeline,
which she said threatened to destroy
sacred lands where Native Americans
were victims of genocide.
Capital Pride President Bernie Delia; the
groups executive director, Ryan Bos; and
board members Rachel Gleischman and
Vernon Wall, who served as moderators for
the discussion, each said Capital Pride had yet
to develop criteria and a policy for determining
who the corporate sponsors should be.
Delia said the board would conduct a
reassessment of how corporate sponsors are
approved but said there wouldnt be enough
time to do this for the 2017 Pride events.
Capital Pride board member and
Treasurer Ashley Smith said he would
do more research on Wells Fargo to
determine if Capital Pride should continue
to retain the bank as a corporate sponsor.
We will let you know what we decide,
he said. At this point it is too close to
2017 Pride so the reassessment will have
to apply to next year.
Angela Peoples, executive director
of the LGBT direct action group
GetEQUALand a member of the No Justice
No Pride coalition, said she and others
concerned about the direction of Capital
Pride have been raising objections to
corporate sponsors and police presence
at Pride events for the past several years.
Who is making these decisions? she
asked. If Capital Pride is committed to
listening to the people, who is making
these decisions?
ANGELA PEOPLES was among critics at Monday nights Capital Pride board meeting.
Peoples was among several speakers at
the meeting who called on some of Capital
Prides board members to step down to
allow others who they said reected the we were visible as openly gay and openly
true sentiment of the LGBT community,
to take their place immediately.
Organizers of No Justice No Pride
have argued that D.C. police have
targeted LGBT people of color, especially
transgender women forced to engage
in sex work, for arrest and harassment.
They have called on Capital Pride to ban
uniformed police from participating in
the Pride parade and festival, including
members of the police LGBT Liaison Unit.
Delia and other Capital Pride ocials
have said they understand the concerns
about past police-related problems but
they believe D.C. police overall have
changed and anti-LGBT harassment is far
less common.
It is unacceptable that trans women or
men are treated badly by the police, said
Wall. But we must work together rather
than push the police away.
Delia said last week that Capital Pride
would not change its longstanding policy
of allowing police and corporate sponsors
to be a part of the Pride events.Although
he didnt repeat those comments at
Monday nights meeting he said nothing
to indicate Capital Pride had changed its
position on those two issues.
During its regularly scheduled meeting
on Monday night, the Gertrude Stein
Democratic Club, meanwhile, passed
a resolution opposing No Justice No
Prides call for banning D.C. police and
corporations from participating in Capital
Pride events.
Acting D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson, who
oversees the police liaison units, and Sgt.
Jessica Hawkins, supervisor of the LGBT
Liaison Unit, attended Mondays Capital
Pride meeting in civilian clothes but wore
their badges and police name tags.
While we werent in our formal
uniforms we clearly identied as police
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
ocers because we wanted to make sure
the people didnt think we were hiding
or trying to inltrate the group but that
transgender police ocers, Parson told
the Blade.
But we didnt say anything because
we were here to listen to what this
community has to say, he said. And
the message I hear is they still want to
be heard and I stand ready and Jessica
stands ready and this police department
stands ready to listen and make changes
where we can so that people feel safe
because thats what were about.
Parson, who is gay, and Hawkins, a
transgender woman, routinely attend
LGBT events.
Ruby Corado, founder and executive
director of the LGBT community services
center Casa Ruby, told the gathering
she has good relations with many of the
Capital Pride board members and said the
board should pay attention to the issues
raised by those expressing concern.
The issues that are on the table are
real, she said. If you are not a person
of color or trans you dont feel these
issues, she said, adding, you should
acknowledge that you dont have equality
on this board.
Among other things, Corado proposed
that marginalized members of the LGBT
community, including trans women of
color, be the ones selected to lead the
Capital Pride parade on June 10.
Transgender activist Savanna Wanzer,
a member of the Capital Pride board and
the lead organizer of D.C.s annual Capital
Trans Pride, and Jose Gutierez, founder
and organizer of D.C.s Latino Pride, praised
Capital Pride for playing an important role
in supporting those two events.
Gutierez said he was asking Capital
Pride to provide additional nancial
support for Latino Pride.
Wanzer said that as a transgender
woman of color she was troubled
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
LO CA L N E W S
that some of the speakers criticizing
Capital Pride were not recognizing that
transgender people and people of color
were working hard to build a more
equitable and inclusive Pride.
Sue Doster, co-president of Inter Pride,
a New York-based group that represents
LGBT Pride organizations in the U.S.
and abroad, appeared to capture the
sentiment of Capital Pride ocials in her
remarks at the meeting.
There is a realization that not all
people feel the Prides are representing all
LGBT people, she said. I see real, honest
self-reection on the part of Capital
Pride, New York Pride and L.A. Pride,
she continued. We hear you having this
debate, and you have started the process
of change.
Members of No Justice No Pride,
however, said the change by Capital Pride
wasnt coming soon enough.
We are planning a series of events
as an alternative to Pride for those who
are not interested in participating in the
ocial Capital Pride festivities, No Justice
No Pride spokesperson Drew Ambrogi
told the Blade after the meeting.
We appreciated the opportunity to
hear about and discuss many issues
related to Pride 2017 activities with a large
and diverse group of LGBTQ community
members, Delia told the Blade in a
statement Tuesday morning. This is a year
when our visibility and actions are more
important than ever.With that in mind, we
have decided to take several actions:
The rst contingent in the Capital
Pride Parade will represent a diverse
cross section of our community who are
most marginalized and under threat,
including queer and trans youth, trans
people, especially trans women of color
and undocumented LGBTQ people.
Capital Pride will assist in hosting two
Russian LGBT activists to spotlight the
urgent and deplorable anti-gay actions
by the government of Chechnya.
Increased support and resources
will be allocated for Latino Pride.
It will explore working with trans youth
groups and leaders to help in organizing
more youth events with partners.
Working groups will be formed to
explore and create policies to increase
transparency, access and community
involvement in the Board by the broader
LGBTQ community, including sponsorship
and diverse representation throughout
the organization.
Capital Pride commits to making
public a thorough response to the many
questions and issues raised at the forum
as soon as possible but not before this
years Pride activities, which begin this
weekend and continue through June.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
N A T IO NA L NEW S
LGBT groups among those criticizing Comey ring
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
Center for Lesbian Rights, said
Comeys ring as he was conducting an
investigation into Trumps ties with Russia
raises concerns over the rule of law.
The fact that Comey was investigating
possible wrongdoing in connection
with Trumps relationship with Russia
makes this deeply troubling and creates
an appearance that Trump is seeking
to impede that investigation, Minter
said. The lack of process and respect
for the traditional independence of the
FBI is breathtaking. This administration
is inicting serious damage on our
institutions and shared values, including
respect for the rule of law.
The White House announced late
Tuesday Trump had red Comey at the
recommendation of U.S. Attorney General
Je Sessions and Deputy Attorney Rod
Rosenstein. Provided by the White House was
thetermination letter in which the president
says Comey informed him on three separate
occasions hes not under investigation.
Also made public were letters
recommending the termination by
Sessions and Rosen, who cited Comeys
handling of the investigation into Hillary
Clintons use of a private email server and
the decision to hold a news conference
announcing charges wouldnt be pursued
as grounds for dismissal.
The nations largest LGBT group, the
Human Rights Campaign, was out of
the gate early after news broke of the
Comey ring calling for the appointment
of a special prosecutor to continue
toinvestigate Trump ties to Russia.
Donald Trump just red the man
leading the investigation into his ties to
Russia. He did so on the recommendation
of Attorney General Je Sessions, who
had promised to recuse himself from
that probe after lying under oath before
the Senate Judiciary Committee, HRC
President Chad Grin said. There is no
time for delay in appointing a special
prosecutor. Our democracy depends on
it. Weve been down a similar path before.
Congress must put patriotism before
party and do whats right for the country.
Comeys dismissal adds fuel to the re
of those regularly protesting the Trump
administration. HRC co-sponsored a
protest at the White House on Wednesday
and at the Russian ambassadors
residence on Tuesday. The Equality
March for Unity and Pride is slated for
June 11 in Washington with dozens of
other solidarity marches around the
country and world set for the same day.
Renewing the call for a bipartisan,
independent commission to investigate
Russian involvement in the election was
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), one of six
openly LGB members of Congress and a
co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus.
The American people deserve the truth,
Cicilline said. The truth about Donald Trumps
business interests in Russia. The truth about
collusion between the Trump campaign and
the Kremlin. And, most importantly, the truth
about what the president knew and when he
knew it. Its now more important than ever
that Congress establish an independent,
bipartisan commission outside Donald
Trumps Justice Department to uncover the
whole truth.
The ring of Comey puts Democrats
in a strange position of objecting to his
termination after they expressed outrage
with Comeys handling of Clintons email
scandal and blamed her loss on a letter
he sent to Congress days before the
election informing lawmakers of a new
email investigation. Comey announced
the investigation concluded and no
charges would be pursued on the day
before the election.
The stated reasons for ring Comey also
marks a turnabout for Trump because as
a candidate he drew on the ongoing email
investigation as a major reason why voters
should reject her at one time pledging
as president to appoint as a special
prosecutor to continue the investigation
after Comey recommended no charges.
(At a White House event at the beginning of
the Trump administration, Trump jokingly
blew kisses at Comeyand said hes become
more famous than me.)
At the White House on Wednesday
following a meeting with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov, Trump made brief
comments to the press that Comey was
red because he was not doing a good job.
During an interview with CNNs Anderson
Cooper Tuesday evening, White House
counselor Kellyanne Conway saidthe ring
has nothing to do with Russia.
Somebody must be getting $50 every
time (Russia) is said on TV, Conway
said. (This) has everything to do with
whether the current FBI director has the
presidents condence and can faithfully
execute his duties.
Its unknown who Trump will
nominate to replace Comey, although
the successor likely wont pursue the
Russian investigation with the same vigor
as his predecessor because that person
will be screened by Trump before the
appointment. New York Magazine, after
stopping Trump supporter and former
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at
D.C.s Trump International Hotel, reported
hes under consideration for the role.
The Center for American Progress, a
progressive think-tank that advocates
for LGBT rights, issued a statement
Wednesday calling on the U.S Senate to
refuse to conrm a new FBI director until
a special prosecutor is in place.
We need a special prosecutor, and we
MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 1 3
need one right now. Every step of the way, During testimony before Congress
President Trump has tried to stie or kill the on Monday, former Director of National
Russia investigation, Center for American Intelligence James Clapper said hes not
Progress Senior Fellow Ken Gude said. Any aware of any evidence suggesting Trump
notion that Trump would re FBI Director colluded with Russia to undermine the
Comey over his handling of the Clinton U.S. election, but that might have changed
email investigation is a red herring. No new after he departed his role because he
FBI Director should be conrmed until a was not aware of an ongoing FBI counter-
special prosecutor is appointed to lead a intelligence investigation.
truly independent investigation into the
Trump campaigns ties to Russia.
Log Cabin meets with Education
Department over trans issues
In the aftermath of the Trump administration revoking Obama-era guidance
assuring transgender kids have access to school restrooms consistent with their
gender identity, the Log Cabin Republicans met with Education Department
ocials Tuesday to propose a new plan that would support transgender kids
and local authority in schools.
At the meeting, the Log Cabin Republicans presented a white paper by Log
Cabin and Liberty Education Forum to make the case for its proposals along
with its Transgender Leadership Caucus.
In a statement that called the Obama-era regulations onerous, Gregory
Angelo, president of Log Cabin, said the white paper marks the culmination of
weeks of work on behalf of transgender students, but it does not mark the end
of our eorts.
Log Cabin Republicans remains committed to the safety of transgender
students and the equality of all students, and we look forward to continued
conversations with the Trump administration to achieve that end, Angelo said.
In February, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Je
Sessions revoked the guidance, which was jointly issued by the Education
and Justice Departments in the nal year of the Obama administration. The
guidance informed schools they could be at risk of losing funds under Title IX
if they discriminate against trans students or refuse to allow them bathroom
access consistent with their gender identity.
The white paper makes the case for federal guidance that protects transgender
students and respects local control as courts across the country are nding Title
IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires states to allow transgender
students to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity.
There exists an important need to provide basic liberties to all students while
still respecting the diverse municipal landscapes which comprise the thousands
of school districts in our nation, the paper says. A transgender students
freedom needs to be handled in the same responsible manner that applies to
their non-transgender peers. If consistent accommodations are being made
for non-transgender students, those same accommodations must be made for
their transgender peers.
The white paper recommends the renaming of single stall, single-sex
restrooms as single stall, gender-inclusive restrooms; inspecting multiple stall
restrooms to ensure they possess adequate locks for security; and providing
curtains and partitions for locker room changing areas. Each of these changes,
the white paper says, would come at innitesimal costs, citing seven schools
throughout the country that made similar changes at minimal expense.
Members of Log Cabins Transgender Leadership Caucus whowere present
at the meeting were Jordan Evans, Regina Roberts, Jennifer Williams and Susan
Maddison, according to the organization.
Angelo declined to comment on which principals attended the meeting, citing
the o-the-record nature of the discussion. DeVos public schedule had no
meeting with Log Cabin scheduled for Tuesday and instead indicated she was in
Salt Lake City for a conference.
The Education Department didnt respond to multiple requests from the
Blade Tuesday to comment on the meeting.
CHRIS JOHNSON
 Keep your promise to protect each other. WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

14 M A Y 12, 2017 BA LT I MO RE N E W S

Suspects in Dundalk date robberies.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BALTIMORE COUNTY POLICE

Additional victims sought in date robberies

Wills & Trusts Baltimore County Police are asking that additional robbery victims who have

Powers of Attorney Living Wills been lured through the dating apps Grindr and/or Jackd come forward after two
suspects were charged on May 5. Other suspects are outstanding in what police
Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements are calling date robberies.
According to police, Matthew Austin Bauer, 21, and Paul William James Keve,
(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220 18 both residents of the Dundalk community of Baltimore County face

www.PartnerPlanning.com charges that include armed robbery and misdemeanor theft after they robbed
a 24-year-old man on March 31in which they scheduled a meeting using the
dating app Jackd.
Serving the LGBT Community When the victim responded to a designated location in the 7500 block
of Westeld Road in Dundalk, he was surrounded by Bauer and Keve, who
in DC/MD/VA since 1983 threatened him with a knife and stole his cash and cell phone.
In an earlier case on March 2, police say a 22-year-old man was robbed and
beaten when he set up a meeting with someone called Josh on Grindr. When

Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC the victim responded to the designated meeting place in the 1600 block of Four
Georges Court in Dundalk, he was approached by a male suspect wearing dark
clothing and a ski mask who demanded his money and cell phone.
When the victim attempted to ee he was surrounded by two other male
suspects who began beating him. The three suspects ed with the victims
Serving Our Community for 35 years cash and phone. Keve has been identied as one of these suspects and is also
charged in that case.
a d v i C e m e d iat i o N L i t i G at i o N a P P e a L S C o L L a B o r at i o N In November, several robberies occurred in Northeast Baltimore in which
victims were lured to a destination using Grindr. In those cases, two suspects
have been charged.
Police request that anyone with information on either of these Dundalk
incidents, a similar type of incident, or anyone who may have been victimized
under similar circumstances by either Bauer or Keve is asked to contact police
at 410-307-2020.
Anyone with information on this case can also submit a tip to Metro Crime
FamiLY | eState PLaNNiNG | emPLoYmeNt | immiGratioN Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
ComPLeX LitiGatioN | CiviL riGHtS | LGBt | adoPtioN | BuSiNeSS

Silber, Perlman, Sigman & Tilev, P.A. AIDS Walk Baltimore raises $100,000
at tor N e YS at L aw d C | m d | va

3 0 1 . 8 9 1 . 2 2 0 0 S P - L aw. C o m Some 600 attendees including volunteers participated in the annual AIDS Walk
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nearly $100,000 to support Chase Brexton Health Cares HIV/AIDS outreach and
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ISSUE DATE: 10.26.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com) AIDS care and prevention in Baltimore.
Special guests included Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen;
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and warranties. education, and connect people to treatment. We must continue this ght
together and prevent and treat our family, friends, and community members.
At the nish line there was a health fair that included 30 vendors, and food
was provided by The Greene Turtle, Giant, and Wegmans.
The Baltimore AIDS Walk was such a wonderful event, said Brian Dolbow,
a team captain for the 11-member Vernonites, a team representing the Mount
Vernon neighborhood. It was awesome getting together with my family, friends,
neighbors, and colleagues to raise money for such a worthy cause. Together we
are making a dierence.
STEVE CHARING
202.319.8541 www.lgbtc.com Se habla espanol
~
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 1 5

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16 M A Y 12, 2017
N ATIONAL H ONOR O UR
LGBT ELDERS DAY
A night of laughter, inspiration, and
recognition, featuring storytelling vignettes
from community leaders.
at the Baltimore Eagle Night Club & Bar
2022 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
Tickets are $25 or pay what you can.
You may also Pay It Forward by sponsoring
someone in the community.
Ticket includes heavy hors doeurves, soda,
and a commemorative gift.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
H E A LT H N E W S
Gay men, straight women
hit by stealthing
Slipping off condoms during sex has become
relatively common, health officials say
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
WASHINGTON A recently released study about a phenomenon in which men
intentionally remove a condom during anal or vaginal sex without permission
from their partner which has become known as stealthing has raised
legal questions about whether the practice is a form of sexual assault.
HIV prevention experts aliated with D.C.s Whitman-Walker Health and the
health clinic at the Los Angeles LGBT Center have also expressed alarm that
nonconsensual condom removal poses a risk for the transmission of HIV and
other sexually transmitted infections for gay men.
Interviews with people who have experienced condom removal and
online accounts from victims indicate that nonconsensual condom removal
is a common practice among young, sexually active people, wrote Alexandra
Brodsky in a study on stealthing published April 20 in the Columbia Journal of
Gender and Law.
Both men and women describe having sex with male partners with penises
who, during sex, removed the condom without their knowledge, Brodsky states
in a 26-page paper outlining the ndings of her study.
Apart from the fear of specic bad outcomes like pregnancy and sexually
transmitted infections, all of the survivors experienced the condom removal as
a disempowering, demeaning violation of a sexual agreement and a violation
of the trust they had mistakenly placed in their sexual partner, Brodsky states
in the paper.
The paper states that all of those who experienced stealthing who were
interviewed for the paper were women. But the paper says Brodsky obtained
information about men whose male partners removed condoms without their
consent through online sites catering to men who have sex with men.
One of the online sites, reddit.com/askgaybros, includes postings by gay men
who describe how a male sex partner attempted and sometimes succeeded in
removing his condom against their wishes.
Always check that your partner has it on, one man posted on the site last
year. Dont ask if he still has it on, because if hes intent on stealthing you he will
answer yes. Look for yourself to see its still on and not broken.
Dr. David Hardy, Senior Director of Evidence Based Practices at Whitman-
Walker Health, said between ve to eight mostly gay men and sometimes
as many as 15 come to Whitman-Walkers medical center each month for
medical advice and treatment after learning their partner did not use a condom
or may have removed the condom against their wishes.
Its hard to know whether anyone comes in and says that their partner who
they are having an intimate act with purposefully removed the condom, Hardy
said. I dont know how often we actually hear that, he said. But we certainly do
hear that a condom was there to begin with, I thought I was having protective
sex in an anal sex act and I realized I wasnt.
Added Hardy: And if a stealthing episode occurred somewhere in the middle
of that then it did when the insertive partner purposefully removed it. So this is
something that may be occurring much more often than we think but it just isnt
actually called stealthing or the stealthing partner isnt being called out on it.
Hardy said another factor might be linked to stealthing among men. He said
some men who are HIV positive and whose viral load is measured as being
undetectable due to successful drug therapy may incorrectly believe that they
can no longer infect another person.
Although studies have shown that such an assumption is likely correct if an
HIV-positive person strictly adheres to his medication, the virus could reactivate
and the person could become infective if he misses doses of his medication for
as little as a week or two.
So that is something I think is potentially starting to erode the use of condoms
and why post-exposure prophylaxis is becoming more common, Hardy said.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

F I T NES S M A Y 12, 2017 17

Core focus
Abs, back and glutes all need Educated at Brown, Harvard,
TLC in a robust workout and Johns Hopkins

There seems to be a common

Washingtonian Magazine Top Doc
misconception about what core US News & World Report
strength really is. People throw the
term around and regularly schedule Top 1% of Doctors in USA
ab day into their routine. They act
Dual Board Certified:
as if doing a bunch of situps will give
them the abs theyve been chasing Facial Plastic Surgery
and the physical balance needed Body Plastic Surgery
DAVID MAGIDA is founder of Elevate Interval Fit- to be healthy. The reality is, core
ness, a member of the Reebok Spartan Race Pro
Team and author of The Essentials of Obstacle strength entails so much more.
Racing: A Beginners Guide. You can catch a class As a society, we love the idea of
with him at Elevate on 14th Street or at its new
location in the Mosaic District in Fairfax, Va.
six-pack abs. But most people dont
realize your lower back and glutes
are as much a part of your core as
your abs are. And you need balance. You cant have incredibly strong abs with a
weak lower back and glutes or your abs will overpower them daily, pulling your
hips out of alignment and leaving you with lower back pain.
If you want truly balanced core strength, here are a few exercises you should
add to your routine. Demo videos are readily available of each online.
Kettlebell Swing The Kettlebell Swing is a move I bring up time and time
again because of its unmatched ability to isolate the glutes and hamstrings in
a manner than generates raw power. It strengthens both of those muscles as
well as your lower back and abs. When swinging a kettlebell, focus on explosively
driving your hips to propel the weight up, not swinging with your arms. Maintain
a at back throughout the swing, standing tall and squeezing your butt at the top.
Superman Hold The Superman Hold engages glutes, hamstrings, lower
back and even calves as rest on your hips and support your body weight via
your posterior chain. Point your toes and pull your feet and chest away from the
ground for maximum compression. Add a row of the elbows toward your ribs
and a squeeze of the shoulder blades to make the move even more dynamic. Laser Liposuction
Romanian Deadlift Created by a Roman general as a technique to literally
lift the dead and remove them from the battleeld, deadlifts are a fantastic
Pec and Ab Etching
way to develop strength in the glutes and lower back. Romanian deadlifts in Facial Rejuvenation
particular, target the lower back more than a traditional deadlift because your Gynecomastia
legs are straighter through the entire move. Keep your eyes up, your back at
and squeeze your shoulder blades together to keep your shoulders from rolling Laser Hair Removal
forward. Keep your weight in your heels to maximize the integrity of your lower Botox & Skin Care
back. Squeeze your butt throughout the lift.
Swimmers Like the superman, swimmers are designed to strengthen the
Transgender Surgeries
majority of the muscles in your lower back by forcing them to re to keep your Ultherapy
hands and feet o the oor when lying in a prone position. But the swimmer is a
bit more dynamic because your arms and legs are in constant motion. Opposite
arms and legs should be moving at the same time. Point your toes and focus on
CALL TO ASK
ABOUT OUR
the extension of your arms and legs, keeping them as straight as possible and
making sure you kick from your glutes and hips rather than your knees.

LASER LIPO SPECIALS

Speed Skaters The speed skater is unique because it engages not just
your glutes, hips and back, but also your abs. Not to mention your quads and
calves. Speed skaters build strength around your knees, ankles and hips while
also developing stability and balance. The move essentially requires you to re
numerous muscles in your core as you bound side to side, changing direction.
For a more explosive speed skater, try to cover at least four feet of distance with
each bound and only plant one foot on the ground at a time. Use your abs and
an arm swing to maximize your power on each skater.
Fitness is about balance, and core strength is no exception. We cant just be
strong on the front side of our bodies. We need balanced strength through our
posterior as well. When we develop that true core strength, well nd our bodies
feel better, well be healthier and we become better athletes.

1 8 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Trump to LGBT elders:
DROP DEAD
Standing with our pioneers,
#WeRefuseToBeInvisible
By MICHAEL ADAMS
Four months into the Trump adminis-
tration and its become clear that LGBT
elders and their advocates are in for a big
ght, with the new regime in Washington
seemingly determined to erase the prog-
ress toward LGBT inclusion in federal
aging policies and programs. Given the
erasure of LGBT issues from White House
and federal agency websites within hours
of Donald Trumps inauguration, we at
SAGE were alarmed but not surprised
when we learned of plans to eliminate
LGBT elders from the annual survey that
determines how $2 billion in publicly
funded elder services gets distributed.
This outrageous move sends a clear
message to LGBT elders, many of whose
very lives depend upon federally funded
services, that the Trump administration
doesnt care whether they receive those
services or not.
As the leading voice for LGBT elders
nationally, SAGE responded quickly with
the #WeRefuseToBeInvisible campaign
a grassroots eort to mobilize a strong
response to the public comment period
that the Trump administration is legally re-
quired to undertake before erasing an en-
tire population from an important federal
program. To date, SAGEs campaign has
resulted in more than 8,000 letters of op-
position making their way to Washington.
Many organizations, LGBT and allies
alike, have joined the cause. As Dr. Yanira
Cruz, president and CEO of the National
Hispanic Council on Aging, put it: We
know that Donald Trump and [Health &
Human Services Cabinet Secretary] Tom
Price wont change their minds on their
own, which is why were joining forces with
SAGE to raise our voices in demanding
that HHS add LGBT questions back into its
survey of older adults Because every-
one, at every stage of life, deserves to be
counted, heard, and treated with respect.
A broad array of organizations from
national and local LGBT leaders like the
Human Rights Campaign, the National LG-
BTQ Task Force and Fenway Community
Health to aging sector leaders like Justice
in Aging and the Leadership Council of
Aging Organizations have mobilized their
constituents to express opposition to the
erasure of LGBT elders. A recent analysis
published on Storify demonstrates the
degree to which #WeWillNotBeInvisible
has caught on via social media, touching
a powerful nerve across LGBT communi-
ties and with allies.
There are emerging indications that at
least some in Washington are listening.
On April 27, a bi-partisan group of 19 U.S.
senators led by Susan Collins, Republican
chair of the Senates Special Committee
on Aging, publicly demanded a reversal of
the Trump administrations plans to erase
LGBT elders.
E DIT OR IA L C A R T OON
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
VIEWPOINT
The deadline for the public comment
period for the survey exclusion is May 12.
SAGE and our many campaign partners
will be generating opposition until the last
possible moment. Unfortunately, there is
every indication that, as the public com-
ment period winds down and we await a
nal decision from the Trump administra-
tion on LGBT inclusion in the elder services
survey, more battles are on the horizon.
The so-called religious freedom ex-
ecutive order signed by Donald Trump
last week lays the groundwork for At-
torney General Je Sessions, a long-time
opponent of LGBT equality, to authorize
religious-based discrimination across
federally supported programs. Given the
history of religion-based anti-LGBT teach-
ings, and the fact that faith-based organi-
zations make up more than 70 percent of
the long-term care providers upon which
older Americans are forced to rely, LGBT
elders have every reason to be deeply
concerned that they will pay a high price
for the Trump administrations determi-
nation to favor religious voices over all
others. Tragically, discrimination far too
often forces LGBT elders who need care
and services back into the closet in or-
der to protect themselves from mistreat-
ment. Weve made progress on that front
in recent years, as SAGE has led eorts
across the country to use training to im-
prove treatment of LGBT elders by care
providers. It will require extraordinary
vigilance to ensure the administrations
drive to elevate religious voices fueled
by right-wing evangelical Trump support-
ers does not erase that progress.
And the threats dont stop there. On
the very same day the religious freedom
executive order was signed, the House of
Representatives in a party-line vote
succeeded in passing a slapped-together
bill that would replace Obamacare with a
disastrous approach to health care that
favors the wealthy and dumps on ev-
erybody else. Among the many groups
that would be hurt by Trumpcare, older
people face the threat of health insur-
ance premiums that are ve times higher
than premiums for younger people. Here
again, we must ght as hard as possible
to ensure that this terrible rollback in
progress is stopped in its tracks.
Through all of these battles, and those
to come, SAGE will continue to stand with
and for our LGBT elder pioneers. We will
not back down. We refuse to be invisible.
MICHAEL ADAMS is CEO of SAGE.
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 19
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V I E W PO I N T
A Va. Democrat who will ght to change gun laws
Pride Fund endorses Lindsey
Davis Stover for Congress
By JASON LINDSAY
When I helped to form the Pride Fund
to End Gun Violence, our goals were clear
and, we thought, attainable. Forty-nine
innocent people had just been murdered
at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. We
thought who could be against making
sure that devastating weapons like the
Sig Sauer MCX are kept out of such hate-
lled hands? was a rhetorical question.
It wasnt.
The NRA and its minions are organized
and implacable. There is no tragedy or ar-
gument that can make them change their
opinions one iota. Standing up to them
takes an iron will.
That is why endorsing Lindsey Davis
Stover was an easy choice. She is running
for Congress against Barbara Comstock
(R-Va.) in Virginias 10th District, one of the
most winnable districts for the Democrats
V I E W PO I NT
A cautionary Handmaids Tale
In Trump era, dystopian
novel and TV show feels
all too real
KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular
contributor to the Blade.
I dont want to see red in apples,
leaves, especially, robes for a long time.
Why am I dissing a fab color? Because
Ive been watching The Handmaids Tale,
the horrifying, yet, spellbinding adapta-
tion of Margaret Atwoods 1985 dystopian
novel with the same title streaming now
on Hulu. Four episodes of Tale are up,
with six more episodes going up in the
next few weeks. Season 2 of the series
will premiere in 2018.
Its ction. But, in the Trump era, it
seems quite real.
The Handmaids Tale is set in the near
future in the Republic of Gilead (previous-
ly, the United States), where a Christian
in the 2018 election. Lindsey has exactly
the attributes we need in a Congresswom-
an to help nally bring needed changes
to our gun laws. Shes courageous. Shes
a hard worker. She can talk to everyone
and discriminates against no one. And she
knows how important it is to keep guns
out of the hands of violent oenders, do-
mestic abusers, suspected terrorists, and
the dangerously mentally ill.
I consider her a friend, not just to me,
but to the entire LGBTQ community.
She doesnt just say the right things,
though. She feels them in her guts. Shes a
mother of two little girls the horror of the
Newtown school shooting shook her deep-
ly. She stood with Pride Funds beliefs years
before Pride Fund even existed. Thats why
I believed her when she said, publicly, that
courage is required to stand up for the
rights of all Americans, regardless of their
race, sex, gender identity or sexual orien-
tation. We need leaders in Congress who
are willing to pass commons sense reforms
that protect our communities ... doing
nothing is not an option.
It almost goes without saying, but if
For ourselves and future generations, lets work to
keep our country from morphing into Gilead.
theocracy rules. Due to environmental
toxins, the birthrate has plummeted, and
infants often have birth defects. Women,
whose hands are cut o if theyre caught
reading or writing, are valued only for
their child-bearing ability. The wives of the
ruling commanders (of course, theyre all
men!) are infertile. The handmaids, forced
to bear children for them, must wear red,
habit-like robes along with Amish-like
bonnets to hide their faces. Wearing red,
the color of menstrual blood, shows that
theyre Christian breeders.
In Gilead, women cant work, have
bank accounts or own property and other than pray, endure the ceremonies
LGBT people are gender traitors. Quak-
ers are persecuted and Jewish people
are killed unless they emigrate to Israel
or convert to Christianity. All sex except
that involved in procreation is forbidden,
and fertile women who are queer or have
been divorced must become handmaids.
During ceremonies, the handmaids hold A group of the women, the Aunts, piously
the hands of the wives as the command-
ers (fully clothed) rape them. This is for
the Christian purpose of being fruitful
and multiplying. If women arent wives,
people like Barbara Comstock stay in
Congress, we can forget about common
sense gun laws. We can forget about
background checks, restricting access
to assault weapons, or even preventing
people convicted of hate crimes from
purchasing guns. Comstock aunts her
A rating from the NRA. She agrees with
the NRA that guns belong in bars, the
workplace, concealed on peoples belts,
and who knows where else. She agrees
with the NRA that people shouldnt need
to pass a background check before they
buy a gun.
I served America in Iraq, and Im proud
of my service. Unlike so many gun rights
advocates, I actually know how to use
these automatic weapons. And I actu-
ally know how much destruction they can
cause, how many lives they can end. I know
better than the NRA that these weapons
have no place on Americas streets.
My time in Iraq also taught me what
a friend looks like. It taught me to recog-
nize the people who will ght alongside
you and believe in you, regardless of your
sexual orientation or gender identity.
or Marthas (who cook and clean), they
must be handmaids. If handmaids arent
able to bear children, theyre sent to the
colonies. There, women die after clean-
ing up toxic waste.
The Handmaids Tale is narrated by
a handmaid named Ored (Elizabeth
Moss). As is the case with all the hand-
maids, Ored is not her original name.
After theyve been forced to become
handmaids, the women are taken for re-
education to the Red Center. Their real
names are taken away from them. Theyre
not allowed to walk alone or do anything
nancy, rape, domestic abuse and fertility
or go shopping. Spies, known as Eyes,
are all over Gilead.
Before Gilead, Ored had a job and
money of her own. She and her husband
Luke had a little girl named Hannah. Her
best friend was Moira, a lesbian, who also
was conscripted to become a handmaid.
intoning Scripture while wielding cattle
prods, keep the handmaids in line.
The Handmaids Tale was written dur- lets work to keep our country from mor-
ing the time when Ronald Reagan never
MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 1 9
Lindsey Davis Stover is that kind of per-
son. She is that kind of friend.
June 12 will mark the one-year anni-
versary of the Pulse massacre. Since that
time, more than 31,000 people have died
in America from the epidemic of gun vio-
lence. We must act together to save lives.
This anniversary stirs up dicult memo-
ries within the LGBTQ community, all while
reminding us of the important ght ahead.
Pride Fund is solely in existence to en-
sure that the best elected ocials are at
the table protecting all Americans. On the
issues, we operate at the intersection of
commonsense gun reform and LGBTQ
equality. Both issues are important to cre-
ating a safe and just society. To advance
these issues and eect lasting change, we
must only elect candidates who demon-
strate leadership on both fronts and we
must change the balance of power at the
state and federal levels. That is why we
support Lindsey Davis Stover.
JASON LINDSAY is executive director of
the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, www.
pridefund.org.
mentioned the word AIDS and Phyllis
Schlay was on her anti-Equal Rights
Amendment crusade. This touching, mor-
dant novel, has always been a chilling,
cautionary story. Having been born in
1939 and come to consciousness during
World War II, Atwood wrote in a New York
Times essay on the HandmaidsTale, I
knew that established orders could van-
ish overnight It cant happen here could
not be depended on. Anything could hap-
pen anywhere, given the circumstances.
Today, in the Trump era, it feels not
only as if The Handmaids Tale could
morph from ction into reality, but as if
the United States could become Gilead at
any moment. If the American Health Care
Act passed last week by the House of Rep-
resentatives were to become law, preg-
issues would become pre-existing condi-
tions. The Supreme Court could overturn
Roe v. Wade.
Yet, The Handmaids Tale, though
scary, oers the possibility of hope. In
Gilead, there are women (and some men)
who resist the oppressive government.
Ored tells her story so that generations
to come will be inspired to ght tyranny.
For ourselves and future generations,
phing into Gilead.

2 0 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7
Stay mad as hell, resist and then vote
Sitting on the sidelines
is not an option for
stopping Trump
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights
and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.
The time is now for Democrats and inde-
pendents and everyone who is getting
more than nauseous about what Trump
and the Republican Congress are doing
to unite and take back our country.
Only a Democrat or an independent
fully committed to voting for a Demo-
cratic majority leader in the Senate and
a Democratic speaker in the House, will
help us take back the Congress. We must
recognize voting for a third party candi-
Small gang of LGBT Pride critics stink of privilege
No Justice No Pride radicals
seek to hijack local Pride
planning group
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur
and community business advocate. Follow
on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
I had the privilege of serving as producer
of the inaugural D.C. Pride festivities when
rst expanded and relocated to Americas
Main Street of Pennsylvania Avenue in
1995. I was disheartened and dismayed this
week by the embarrassing demeanor and
preposterous demands of a small gaggle of
objectors at a Capital Pride Alliance meeting.
The hundreds of volunteers, 18-member
board, two paid sta and six independent
contractors laboring to produce the 43rd
annual Capital Pride celebration have had to
suer a last-minute nuisance this year.
Worse, they were wholly disrespected
date or staying home have been disas-
trous decisions that we cant aord to
repeat again in 2017 and 2018.
Republicans in Congress, state legis-
latures and governors mansions have
shown they care mostly for rich white men.
Republicans in Congress are willing to go
so far as to revoke health insurance from
more than 24 million Americans, making it
unaordable for those between 50 and 64
and anyone with a pre-existing condition,
all to give the rich a bigger tax break. They
voted to defund Planned Parenthood and
take basic healthcare away from millions
of women who get their care there.
Standing on the sidelines or voting
against a Democratic candidate who
doesnt meet your criteria of perfection
can no longer be an option for anyone
caring about peoples lives. Continuing to
make a decision like that after we have
seen what is happening to our country
can only be seen as elitism. Anyone not
white and rich making such a decision is
the equivalent of cutting o your nose to
spite your face and none of us can aord
to follow that route into the future.
The humorist Will Rogers once said, I
and personally disparaged by a group of
far-left zealots during a churlish attempt
at hegemony.
Despite hurling accusatory admonitions
toward anyone not in agreement while
claiming they felt unsafe at the civil and
well-moderated meeting, the group com-
manded that those not among them check
their privilege in a manner intended to dis-
tort and diminish discussion. In fact, it was
these diehard militants who were guilty of
exercising an arrogant privilege that only
those who had not participated in the dili-
gent work to produce the events while en-
gaging the full diversity of the community
would deem virtuously owed them.
The room stank of it.
Most are unaware of the manufactured
conict propagandized by this small group
with an extremist political agenda. Their
grousing is so unjustied and demands so
over-the-top ridiculous that providing them
the attention they so desperately and trans-
parently seek is done with hesitation.
What sadly seems most lost upon these
complainers is that there is negligible ex-
isting or potential sympathy among the
rank-and-le for their outrageous ultima-
tums. They seem blissfully oblivious to the
fact that their assemblage was no more
fully representative of the broader LGBT
am not a member of any organized politi-
cal party, I am a Democrat. In many ways
that has never been truer as the Demo-
cratic National Committee seems to be in
complete disarray. But despite that, and
maybe because of it, we as individuals
can and must move forward working lo-
cally district-by-district and state-by-state
to elect Democrats.
The long-term strength of the Demo-
cratic Party is our diversity. We are a collec-
tion of individuals with diverse needs and
diverse opinions. But the time has come
to accept after we have our primary ghts
and our debates we must come together
to make progress on the goals we all care
about. The Democratic Party stands for
an economy resulting in income equality
and opportunity for every person willing
to work hard to earn a living wage allow-
ing them to be part of the middle-class.
We stand for civil and human rights for all,
the right of every American to have good
and aordable healthcare, a decent place
to live, a great public education and for all
families to live in safety.
We recognize we havent yet achieved
all those goals. But if we are to continue
community than those gathered down the
street at a neighborhood gay bar. They
purport to speak for all of us when in real-
ity they are reective of few outside their
miniscule number.
These protesters are part of an orches-
trated No Justice No Pride eort plaguing
LGBT Pride committees in several U.S. cit-
ies, as well as Canada and the U.K. Pride
events are merely the proxy victim in a
rhetorical whining war against capitalism,
banks, the military, police, prisons, the Da-
kota Access Pipeline and the rest of their
publicized list.
Similar to this tiny group in D.C., small
self-alienated gangs of anti-business and
anti-police political fanatics have targeted
local Pride committees hoping to dictate
rejection of corporate nancial contribu-
tions and business support. They also seek
prohibiting local police from participating in
parades and festivals to even include LGBT
ocer contingents and eliminating all police
department management of public safety,
street closure, trac and pedestrian man-
agement and other resident-respecting civil
operational tasks lest uniformed police trig-
ger anyone.
They also have as their goal ad hoc take-
over coups of local Pride groups, proclaim-
ing in D.C. that the coordinating board must
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N SI D E LG BT W A SH I N G T O N
to make progress toward them we must
come together and vote for the Demo-
cratic candidate who can beat the Re-
publican in every jurisdiction and every
District. If seeing what Donald Trump and
the Republican Congress are doing to
deconstruct the safety net, remove pro-
tections for women and the LGBT com-
munity, refuse to support voting rights
for all people and threaten hard-working
immigrants and their families wont ac-
complish that nothing will.
This is not a re-litigation of past elec-
tions but a blueprint for the future and
a prayer we learn from the past as we
move into the future. If we dont we are
destined to make the same mistakes over
and over and end up with the same re-
sult; another Donald Trump or another
Republican majority in Congress. Is that
really what any progressive wants?
If we move forward together we will
be successful. If we remember we have
common goals even if we dier on how
to reach them we will be successful.
Resisting today and then voting to-
morrow will lead us all to a brighter and
fairer future.
O U R BU SI N E SS MA T T E RS
be immediately replaced with marginalized
and oppressed people by casting out any
white, cis, gender-binary and privileged
especially males among them.
Really. Im not making this stu up.
There is a startling irony in demanding
that allied corporate support underwriting
fully half the cost of a yearlong undertaking
with a seven-gure budget be outlawed. Not
only is the LGBT community characterized
by a disproportionately high percentage of
business owners, corporate executive lead-
ership and enterprise management, the
business community is recognized for its
leading role in advocating and achieving ad-
vancement of equality.
The LGBT community celebrates and em-
braces the cultural armation and public
policy support of business allies, ignoring
the chronic grievance-collectors hoping to
push non-LGBT issues on which we may
reasonably, and often do, disagree.
The D.C. Pride committee has had to bear
the burden of a self-indulgent public hissy-
t by a small and unrepresentative group
when nal event logistics are the priority.
Appreciation is due the Capital Pride Alli-
ance for a tireless commitment to produc-
ing one of the most diverse, successful and
respected Pride celebrations anywhere.
Its a pity they didnt hear that this week.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 2 1

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We were looking for something beautiful
GAY IRAQI COUPLE RECALLS HARROWING CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER
Nayyef Hrebid was a translator for the
U.S. Marines in the Iraqi city of Ramadi in
2004 when he rst saw Btoo Allami, who
was a sergeant in the Iraqi army.
The two men spoke for the rst time
a few months later when they were on a
joint mission to clear Ramadi of terrorists.
Hrebid and Allami spent the next week
together and had their rst kiss late one
night in a garden that was surrounded by
a makeshift fence made with sandbags.
We were looking for something
beautiful during a time that was
very dicult for us, Hrebid told the
Washington Blade on April 28 during an
interview at the Human Rights Campaigns
Time to THRIVE conference. We didnt
know if we were going to die or not so we
were looking for something beautiful.
Hes something beautiful that
happened to me, he adds.
Allami agreed, noting that he saw
Hrebid rst.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NAYYEF HREBID, left, and BTOO ALLAMI overcame extraordinary odds to be together in the
United States.
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
It was just a really beautiful time,
Allami says.
Out of Iraq, which premiered last
June at the L.A. Film Festival, documents
Hrebid and Allamis relationship.
Out of Iraq is on Logo and has been
nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.
The documentary won a Daytime Emmy
Award a few hours after Hrebid and
Allami spoke with the Blade.
The two men spent two years in Ramadi
until they were both transferred to
Diwaniyah, a city in southern Iraq, in 2007.
People in the military started knowing
about our relationship, Hrebid says. A
lot of people started talking.
Hrebid says a fellow Iraqi translator
who was his best friend broke his arm
after he beat him because he is gay. He
said the U.S. major to whom he reported
the incident threatened him.
If you say anything, Ill throw you
outside the camp, which is between the
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 19
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
terrorists so theyd kill me, said the
major, according to Hrebid. So I kept it
inside me and I was crying because I knew
theres no justice, he says.
Gay Iraqis targeted
by militias, ISIS
Gay men could not serve openly in
the U.S. military until Dont Ask, Dont
Tell was repealed in 2010. Members
of the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia that
prominent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr runs,
in 2007 killed gay men who recorded
themselves belly dancing at a birthday
party. Hrebid says militia members killed
more than 200 people in Baghdad in a
single week just because they are gay.
Thats by smashing their head with a
big block in the middle of the street, he
says. Allami was born into a poor Shiite
family in Baghdad. Al-Sadr last summer
banned his followers from committing
MAY 12, 2017 PAGE 23
violence against LGBT people. Violence
based on sexual orientation and
gender identity nevertheless remains
commonplace in Iraq. Hrebid had a friend
whose parents killed him in front of their
home when they found out he was gay.
Everyone can judge you on the street,
he says. Its not easy to be gay in the
Middle East, especially in Iraq.
A lot, a lot, Allami says.
The so-called Islamic State has publicly
executed dozens of men in portions of
Iraq and Syria that it controls or once
controlled.
Hrebid moved to Seattle in 2009 after
he received asylum because he worked
as a translator with the U.S. military.
I came in 2009 and I saw the life here
and how its dierent, but I was feeling so
bad because he was left behind, Hrebid
says. I promised to bring him here.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 41

24 MAY 12, 2017 Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R A MY LO U D E RMI LK
AMY LOUDERMILK
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
Ive been out since my junior year of
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY college when I was living with my then-
girlfriend. The hardest person to tell was
my mother whom I told rst. I think its
By JOEY DiGULIELMO often the hardest to tell the very rst
joeyd@washblade.com person.
Sadly it was a tragedy that inspired Amy Loudermilk to get involved in LGBT Whos your LGBT hero?
advocacy. A friends suicide at age 16, she says, was a wake-up call. Ellen. Shes done so much amazing
I carry her memory with me and every day I hope Im contributing to a LGBT charitable work and has changed
body of work that will help prevent young people from knowing what that the hearts and minds of many people.
grief is like and helping youth in crisis get the appropriate care they deserve, Bayard Rustin is a close second though.
she says.
Loudermilk is a government aairs director for the Trevor Project, an Whats Washingtons best nightspot,
intervention and suicide prevention service for LGBT youth ages 13-24. past or present?
Loudermilk started her activist work in college 15 years ago and joined the Phase 1. We really need more lesbian
Trevor Project team two-and-a-half years ago. For her work, shes been named spaces in D.C.
a 2017 Capital Pride Hero and will be honored at a ceremony Saturday night
at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library (801 K St., N.W.) along with Dee Curry, Juan Describe your dream wedding.
Carlos Loubriel, Rick Rosendall, Melvin Thomas, Stacey Karpen, Hayden Mora, If I describe it then it might not happen.
Jerry Houston, Braden Holtby and Brother Help Thyself, which will receive the Stop trying to jinx me.
Larry Stansbury Award. Tickets are $65 and $85. Details at capitalpride.org.
Loudermilk says the recognition is a great honor. What non-LGBT issue are you most
It means that the work Ive done all my life has had some signicance and passionate about?
its a welcome pat on the back to keep going, she says. Almost every issue is an LGBT issue,
Loudermilk grew up in Gaithersburg, Md., and considers the D.C. area her from D.C. statehood to human rights,
hometown. She and partner, Tonya Turner, live in Ward 7 with their two dogs, there are just too many to choose from.
Jinxie and Miles. Loudermilk enjoys reading, gardening and relaxing at the
beach in her free time. What historical outcome would you
change?
The election of Trump. I dont think
anyone is prepared for or can predict
the massive amount of harm he is going
to do and has already done.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
The death of Princess Diana and Elton
John singing new lyrics to Candle in the
Wind at her funeral. All the tears!
On what do you insist?
Respect and kindness.
What was your last Facebook post or
Tweet?
Thanking the people of France for
electing Macron as president and
restoring my faith in humanity.
202.747.2077
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
If your life were a book, what would
the title be?
The Little Engine That Could
If science discovered a way to change
sexual orientation, what would you
do?
Not a thing.
What do you believe in beyond the
physical world?
Energy
Whats your advice for LGBT
movement leaders?
Work together, not against each other
and diversify your sta and board in
every sense of the word.
What would you walk across hot coals
for?
Chocolate. Its a necessity.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you
most?
Which one of you is the man in the
relationship? Ugh! Expand your horizons
people.
Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Cloudburst. If you watch it and dont
laugh theres something very wrong with
you.
Whats the most overrated social
custom?
I dont think social customs are
overrated. I think things like shaking
hands or opening the door for other
people are really just small acts of
kindness that are important.
What trophy or prize do you most
covet?
Success
What do you wish youd known at 18?
It gets better. Trite but true.
Why Washington?
Its home and I cant imagine living
anywhere else. Plus I love the little
bubble of its liberalism.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 2 5

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26 MAY 12, 2017
Stoking the Fire
Logo reality star is drama
magnet on new show
By MARIAH COOPER
In the age of reality TV, the formula
for a reality show has been ne tuned to
a science. Logos Fire Island, executive
produced by Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa,
has the messy drama, alcohol and drunken
hookups wrapped up into a cast of six gay
men sharing a rental house for the summer
on Fire Island Pines.
Khasan is a dancer living in New York City
who is in a long-distance relationship with his
Los Angeles-based boyfriend, Jason. Khasan
isnt too upset about the situation since he
has his Venezuelan best friend, Jorge, to keep
his mind occupied. He and Jorge sleep in the
same bed, cuddle and do other PDA-couple
activities together, but insist they dont have
sex.
Brandon, described as the crazy little one,
is a 21-year-old who indulges in taking naked
photographs for a hobby and is excited to
meet guys on Fire Island. Cheyenne is a model
with thousands of Instagram followers who
starts his Fire Island journey ready to party but
nds himself in an unexpected relationship.
Justin is a bear with a passion for art. He
admits to having body image issues and
insists on group activities like family dinners in
a motherly display of aection for the rest of
the guys.
Enter Patrick, a bartender and Fire Island
resident originally from Georgia, with a
penchant for walking around with no shirt
carrying his little dog, Bodhi. Fueled by alcohol
and cameras, ghts abound with Patrick
frequently in the center. For every gathering,
Patrick seems to appear with a new gaggle of
gay buddies to introduce to his housemates.
While some housemates enjoy meeting new
friends, like Brandon who nds himself in a
ing with one of Patricks guests, Jorge and
Cheyenne feel the need for some house rules.
Patrick spoke with the Blade about criticism
the show has faced for being a negative
portrayal of the gay community, why he always
found himself in the middle of drama and
what the house was like when the cameras
turned o. Fire Island airs Thursdays at 8
p.m. on Logo.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What was your
motivation for joining the show?
PATRICK McDONALD: A beautiful
mansion on the ocean surrounded by a bunch
of beautiful boys wasnt that hard of a sell.
Just meeting new people and having a new
experience was really the main motivation.
Then to know that Kelly (Ripa) and Mark
(Consuelos) were behind it, I knew that it
would be a quality production.
BLADE: You were the only cast member
that lived on Fire Island during all of
lming. Everyone else would go back to
the city during the week. Did that aect
your dynamic with the others?
McDONALD: Yeah, I would say it denitely
did to some extent. During the weekends
there were times when I would go and have to
work sometimes. I dont think that it aected
it in a good or bad way. Just some events I
had to miss because I was working out here.
The really cool thing about working here is I
was working on a lot of the really big parties
and events that we went to out here. Its kind
of cool to prep for those things because you
know somebody is going to be coming out to
the island for the rst time and this is going
to be their rst party out here. You get to be
involved with giving them that experience. Its
a really neat perspective to have of the island.
BLADE: Youve already had your fair
share of conict, especially when it comes
to inviting people over to the house. Why
were you so adamant about having an
open-door policy?
McDONALD: I dont know what youre
talking about, what conict? No, I mean,
I dont think it was necessarily that I was
adamant about the open-door policy. I was
more adamant about not judging anybody
before they came into the house. One of my
favorite things about Fire Island is that people
come out here and let their walls down. You
can meet lots of dierent people that are
in dierent social circles, that you wouldnt
necessarily hang out with in the city. So, I was
just really wanting the other guys to get that
authentic Fire Island experience and clearly
some of them had dierent opinions on
that coming in. I think youll see it evolve it
throughout the season.
BLADE: During those confrontation
scenes was there ever a time you
felt people were playing it up for the
cameras?
McDONALD: Absolutely not. There were
some passionate personalities in there. It took
me by surprise, honestly. That rst barbecue
when Jorge got upset with me, I mean, my
rst impression of this guy was the same as
yalls, like this guy has a masters in partying. I
thought he would be right there with me. And
Cheyenne really too. Thats the funny thing. I
thought that Cheyenne and Jorge would be
the people that I connected with the most
and had a good, fun, wild time with and they
ended up being the rst two to want to shut
the party down.
BLADE: At the time of lming you didnt
realize that your crush Brandon was
going away to visit another guy instead
of his family. How do you feel about that
situation playing out for so many people
to see?
PATRICK McDONALD, third from left, with his housemates on Fire Island.
McDONALD: That was denitely a
surprising moment watching the show. I
knew that had happened but I didnt know
that would be included. I dont think he
realized he was being lmed at the time.
Honestly, its not the most fun thing to
have that broadcast out. But it was also a
good experience for me to go through that.
Everybody gets broken up with or something
happens when theyre seeing somebody that
doesnt feel really good. It was a vulnerable
moment for me and I feel good about it now.
BLADE: Was there anyone in the cast
who had a dierent personality when the
cameras were o?
McDONALD: Everybody is pretty authentic
on the show. One of the main reasons me and
Cheyenne butt heads is because were both
really opinionated. I sort of felt like I had seen
Cheyenne have these fun parties and we had
been having a good time together o camera,
and it was confusing to me to see him be so
reserved. But at that time, I didnt know that
he had a boyfriend that he was dating so that
made a little more sense then. But, at rst, I
had that feeling a little bit about Cheyenne.
BLADE: Whats your take on Jorge
and Khasans close relationship?
McDONALD: Girl, it wears me out and Im
not even involved with it. Jorge and Khasan
are very, very, very close. Theyre like family.
Its an interesting situation. I think that Jason
(Khasans boyfriend) is a really good sport. I
think Jason is the perfect guy for Khasan too
because hes really understanding. They have
a great relationship on their own. It would
probably be a lot for me if I was trying to date
somebody and their best friend was around
all the time, hanging all over them. But maybe
thats why Im single.
BLADE: The show has received
some criticism that it portrays the gay
community as shallow and vapid with all
the partying and hookups. How do you feel
about that?
McDONALD: I would say a lot of people
like to say, Oh these guys dont represent our
community. Well, six gay men are never going
to represent the entire gay community. I think
were all really dierent and we all bring to
the table something diverse. I would say that
the people who call it shallow havent been
watching the show. Theres a lot of really in-
depth moments that these guys reveal. A lot of
personal, private, painful moments that I think
would be really good for the gay community to
see. Young, gay kids that are out in the middle
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
O U T & A BO U T
PHOTO COURTESY LOGO
of nowhere in some town hearing somebody
talk about being suicidal and going through
depression and talking that out to another gay
friend. I think it will be really important and
positive for the community. And you know
what? Gay people do party a lot. They do
that kind of stu. I think the depiction of the
community is extremely accurate.
BLADE: In a recent episode you
introduce your housemates to an older
couple who talk about how gay culture
has changed. That was a poignant
moment.
McDONALD: Absolutely. We have both
sides of it. Yes, we go to these events and have
a good time. But at the end of the day, cameras
or not, we were six, gay men living in a house
together all summer. Issues come up. The
adversaries that are facing our community are
the thread that ties the six of us together. That
was such a fun day and a reminder of how this
island is a pivotal place in the gay communitys
history. It was really neat to spend time with
them and hear rsthand how in the 70s they
were coming here and feeling free to hold
their hands. It reminds you not to take that
stu for granted when youre out here. The
show has a lot of that and even more coming
up. Im excited for people to see that.
BLADE: The show was lmed last
summer. Are you still in touch with
your housemates?
McDONALD: Absolutely, were all in a
group chat. We talk constantly throughout
the day. Thats been the coolest part of this
experience. I have ve new brothers, really.
Weve become so close and gone through
so much together during the show and after
the show. Theres denitely some conicts in
those relationships, none of them are perfect.
But Im so glad I met those guys and I know
that well be friends for the rest of our lives.
BLADE: Hows Bodhi doing?
McDONALD: Bodhi is fantastic. Hes
currently on a press tour of his own. I
think hes doing The View next week.
BLADE: Whats next for you?
McDONALD: Recently, Ive been writing
and working on a country album. Youll see
later in the season I perform some of my
original country music. Its something that
was a goal of mine. It just got me really
amped up and excited about it. And just
gearing up for the summer again, getting
back out to the island and seeing what
adventures we can go on this summer.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 2 7

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A Free, Family-friendly Day of Networking, Education, and Celebration

GAVIN GRIMM MAJOR!

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER ABOUT MISS MAJOR GRIFFIN-GRACY.
Presented by: REEL AFFIRMATIONS
A REEL Trans Film Festival Screening
Workshop and Panel Discussions Include:
- Identity Documents and Name Changes | Safer Sex for Trans Bodies
- Genderqueer 101 | Understanding the Trans Attracted Man
- Resume Building in English and Spanish led by Booz Allen Hamilton
LUNCH WILL BE AVAILABLE | JOIN US FOR SOCIAL HOUR 5-7PM
THANKS TO CAPITAL TRANS PRIDE DAY PRESENTING SPONSORS AND EVENT HOST

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS
AIDS Healthcare Foundation | AARP | Casa Ruby | Churches United in Pride | Columbia Fertility Associates
Dignity Washington | Nandos Peri Peri | SMYAL Starbucks | The DC Center | US Helping Us
BRONZE SPONSORS
Ask Rayceen | DCAT | Cooley LLP | HIPS | HRC | Metro DC PLFLAG | SPART*A | The Trevor Project

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CAPITALPRIDE.ORG

OR TRANSPRIDE@CAPITALPRIDE.ORG
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

LIVE 28 MA Y 12, 2017 O U T & A BO U T

the
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

BUMPER
JACKSONS
W/ BE STEADWELL
AND LETITIA VANSANT
FRIDAY MAY 12
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO

ALMOST
By MARIAH COOPER

Blade hosts Rehoboth Beach events

QUEEN
SATURDAY MAY 13
Washington Blade hosts its 11th annual Rehoboth Summer Kicko Party at
Jewish Film Fest
oers more gay content
Blue Moon (35 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Del.) on Friday, May 19 from
5-8 p.m. The 27th annual Washington Jewish
SUN, MAY 14 10AM, 12:30PM, 3PM Special guest U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) will give remarks. There Film Festival runs at various venues from
MOTHERS DAY is a suggested $10 donation to support the Washington Blade Foundation. Wednesday, May 17 through Sunday, May
GOSPEL BRUNCH Guests will receive a drink wristband and entry into a prize drawing. For more
information, visit facebook.com/washingtonblade.
28. The festival features an LGBT cinema
series in partnership with GLOE.
FEATURING WILBUR JOHNSON
& THE GOSPEL PERSUADERS The Blade will also hold a photo exhibit of historic images from the rise of Cabaret, the classic musical starring
the LGBT movement, hosted at Gallery 50 (50 Wilmington Ave., Rehoboth Liza Minnelli and Michael York, is WJFFs
WED, MAY 17 Beach, Del.) on Friday, May 19 through Sunday, May 21. Limited edition prints 45th anniversary presentation. It will be
ALL GOOD PRESENTS will be for sale. Proceeds benet the Washington Blade Foundation. There will screened at Edlavitch D.C.-JCC (1529 16th
DUMPSTAPHUNK be a reception on Saturday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. with complimentary wine and St., N.W.) on Sunday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m.
W/ THE MAIN SQUEEZE cheese. For details, visit washingtonblade.com/photos. and at AFI Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville
Rd., Silver Spring, Md.) on Saturday, May
THURS, MAY 18 27 at 12:30 p.m. Family Commitments
MORGAN JAMES (pictured here) tells the story of an
THE RECKLESS ABANDON TOUR intercultural couple who get engaged and
W/ ANDY ALLO must deal with a homophobic Arab father,
overbearing Jewish mother and a pregnant
FRI, MAY 19 19-year-old while they prepare to tie the
THE BLACK LILLIES knot. It screens at E Street Cinema (555
W/ THE RAGBIRDS 11th St., N.W.) on Saturday, May 20 at 8:45
p.m. and at Edlavitch D.C.-JCC on Saturday,
SAT, MAY 20
May 27 at 6:30 p.m. The Guys Next Door
GIANT PANDA is a documentary about Rachel, a woman
GUERILLA DUB SQUAD who chooses to become a surrogate
W/ THUNDER BODY twice for Erik and his husband Sandro.
The lm screens at Bethesda Row Cinema
SUN, MAY 21
(7235 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, Md.) on
DAVID BROMBERG BIG BAND WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO
Sunday, May 21 at 6 p.m. and at E Street
W/ HONEY CHILD Cinema on Monday, May 21 at 6:15 p.m.
Tickets are $14.95. For a complete list
WED, MAY 24
Trans Pride events slated for next weekend
BEN SIDRAN of lms and showtimes, visit wj.org/
series/rated-lgbt.
FRI, MAY 26 Capital Trans Pride kicks o its three-day celebration with a meet and greet
JOHN MAYALL W/ BILL CARTER with previous Engendered Spirit Awardees, local community activists and
supporters at Whitman-Walker Health (1525 14th St., N.W.) on Friday, May 19
SAT, MAY 27 7PM & 10:30PM from 6-8 p.m.
A Night Out for
TDC SHOWS PRESENTS On Saturday, May 20 Capital Trans Pride Day will be at Studio Theatre (1501 Trevor is May 19
AMEL LARRIEUX 14th St., N.W.), with special guest Gavin Grimm, on Saturday, May 20 from 9
a.m.-7p.m. The Trevor Project hosts A Night Out
WED, MAY 31
The days festivities will include educational workshops and panel discussions for Trevor at Kimpton Hotel Monaco (700
JOHN NEMETH covering topics such as resume building and employment discrimination, health F St., N.W.) on Friday, May 19 from 7:30-
AND DANIELLE NICOLE BAND insurance coverage, HIV prevention, legal name and gender change and more. 10:30 p.m.
The Resource Fair will host more than 25 vendors, agencies and organizations Ra Freedman-Gurspan, the rst openly
THURS, JUNE 1
with resources for the community. Reel Trans Film Festival will present a transgender staer to work at the White
THE NEW STEW screening of MAJOR!, a documentary about transgender activist Miss Major House, will be honored with the Outstanding
PERFORMING THE ALBUM Grin-Gracy, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. The lm chronicles Grin-Gracys ght for the Public Service Award. News4s Chuck Bell will
BILL WITHERS rights of transgender women of color. Grimm, a TIME 100 honoree, will also emcee the event. DJ Je Prior and DJ Khelan
LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL make an appearance. There will be coee, drinks and snacks for attendees. Bhatia from BreakfastClub will spin tracks.
W/ PARIS MONSTER Admission is free. There will be a hosted bar, food and a silent
New Hope Baptist United Church of Christ (309 E St., N.W.) hosts a special auction. General admission tickets are $125.
transgender-focused service on Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m. Rev. Kenneth King will Trevor Star admission is $175 and includes
lead the service. early admission for an Impact Circle program
For more information on these events, visit capitalpride.org/events/capital- at 6:45 p.m.
trans-pride. For more details, visit cities.
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
thetrevorproject.org/washington-dc.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
T HE ATE R
LISA HODSOLL as Laura Bush delivers a complex, touching performance.
First Lady recalled warts and
all in new Klunch production
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Its true. Laura Bush killed a young
man. In 1963, the former rst lady, then
just 17, drove her fathers Chevy Impala
through a stop sign on a dark road in
Midland Texas crashing into another
car and killing its driver, friend and high
school classmate Michael Douglass.
While certainly an immense tragedy to
all concerned, the misfortune somehow
adds dimension to a woman who over
the years has come across to many as a
neatly coied automaton.
Local theater collective the Klunch is
currently premiering Laura Bush killed a
Guy at Caos on F, an intimate downtown
gallery space. Penned by the companys out
artistic director Ian Allen, the remarkable
one-woman show features Lisa Hodsoll
in the title role and is thoughtfully staged
by out director John Vreeke. Allen uses
truth and comedic license to give a
sense of what makes the preternaturally
pleasant, though Sphinx-like, lady tick. Its
an insightful, hilarious and the poignant
glimpse into Laura Bushs life.
As Laura, Hodsoll is all good manners,
smiles and West Texas twang. Wearing
a white suit and pearls she strides into
the audience and enthusiastically greets
her guests. She talks about her famous
Cowboy Cookie, mentioning that when
you Google her name youll nd the
recipe along with info on her foundation
for Americas libraries and, she bluntly
adds, the fact that she killed a guy.
What follows are 90 minutes of
storytelling. Either seated demurely,
ankles crossed and hands folded below
a framed photograph of George W.
Bush, or standing always with perfect
posture, she dishes the dirt. During
the show, she presents three dierent
possible scenarios surrounding the fatal
car accident ranging from diabolical hit
to innocent accident, the most likely
account. David C. Ghatans lighting takes
her from the present back her teen self at
the scene of the crash.
Allen amusingly imagines thoughts
behind those twinkly, smizing eyes.
M A Y 12, 2017 29
PHOTO BY RYAN SMITH
For instance, Laura recalls when she
and her twin daughters rst arrived at
the White House, she was eager to get
through niceties with predecessor Mrs.
Clinton and replace the tacky drapes in
the living quarters. She expresses hurt
when Caroline Kennedy snubs her at
a Metropolitan Museum of Art event
honoring the fashions of Jackie O. (Lauras
idol). She learns early to stand up to her
husbands unpleasant, baby-voiced sister
Dorothy, and brags about being a real
lady and not mannish like Hillary Clinton
and Tipper Gore, or her mother-in-law
Barbara nicknamed Bar after a family
horse, she claims.
Her constants chain smoking (a public
secret over the years) and reading (a
tattered copy of The Secret Garden in
her teens, Little Women as single gal
while her swinging neighbors partied, and
Truman Capotes In Cold Blood while on
the campaign trail) are referred to without
apology or too much explanation. She
sees her husbands legendary drinking
and drugging as part of a bad boy past.
A musical history
Some scenes are entirely snark free,
particularly those about her love for her
husband, and the 9-11 passage which is
neither written nor played for laughs.
Hodsoll is superb. In a sometimes
mordantly witty and also touchingly
of gay broadway
nuanced performance, her Laura veers from
milquetoast to almost maniacal. Mercifully,
shes more animated than the plays JUNE 3 at 8:00pm
outwardly ultra-placid subject. A too exact
imitation could make for a slow evening. JUNE 4 at 3:00pm
Though very popular during her
husbands two-term presidency, Laura
hasnt score well in a recent First Ladies LINCOLN THEATRE 1215 U Street NW
poll. That she rated below Melania
Trump surprises and irks her. But in her
TICKETS 1-877-435-9849
mind shes more forgotten than disliked or visit gmcw.org
and thats probably true. And while she
concedes her husband wasnt without
fault, she insists she and George were Tickets and groups of 10 or more
always good people. And suggests that
they dont fare too badly compared to the call 202-293-1548
White Houses current occupants.
LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY
Through June 4 Brought to you by , Presenting Sponsor
The Klunch
Caos on F
923 F St., N.W.
$25 Thea Kano Artistic Director Justin Fyala Executive Director
866-811-4111
Theklunch.com

30 MAY 12, 2017
D.C. event honors slain Texas ocer
LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund
spotlights those who made
ultimate sacrice
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Youd never know from his obituary
that San Antonio Police Department
Detective Benjamin Marconi, who was
shot and killed in the line of duty on Nov.
20, 2016, was gay.
Thats an injustice the LGBT Fallen
Heroes Fund plans to correct this
weekend. Marconis surviving partner,
Nate Nguyen, will be honored along with
others in similar situations this weekend in
Washington with a bevy of events, both fun
and serious, culminating with a Saturday
afternoon ceremony and memorial service
at Arlington National Cemetery.
This years honorees include Antonio
Brown, an Army captain killed in the Pulse
nightclub attack; Charlie Morgan, a chief
warrant ocer who was instrumental
in getting the Defense of Marriage Act
repealed; Stephen White, a former Army
specialist, border patrol ocer and U.S.
Air Marshal who was killed after meeting
someone at a bar; and Marconi.
Begun in 2012, the Fund works to
identify and honor LGBT law enforcement
ocers, reghters, EMS and members
of the military who have dedicated their
lives to their communities and to give
recognition to their survivors.
The men and women who have been
called to these careers put their lives on
the line daily, the Funds website says.
In addition to their dangerous vocations,
they often have to hide their orientation
for fear of being discriminated against,
bullied or even red. All too often the
surviving partner and family are left out
of any recognition or memorial services,
denied nancial support and possibly
PHOTO COURTESY OF NGUYEN
NATE NGUYEN, right, with his late partner,
BENJAMIN MARCONI.
shunned by the agency and their local
community.
Director/co-founder Scott Gunn scours
the Internet to nd details on those
whove died leading to the Fund honoring
22 individuals since its inception. In
Marconis case, the gay community in
San Antonio posted some comments to
social media that indicated hed been a
local LGBT advocate. Dennis Rudder, a
friend to Nguyen, contacted Gunn and
told him Nguyen had been excluded from
Marconis funeral, obit and more. Gunn,
whos been organizing LGBT events during
National Police Week for nearly 15 years,
by now has contacts who alert him when
they know of an instance such as this.
Nguyen, who met Marconi at a bar in
2012, says hes full of conicted feelings
as he plans to travel with Rudder to
Washington this weekend. Despite a
20-year age dierence (Nguyen is 29;
Marconi was 50) he says they had a
serious, nearly three-year relationship.
I have ups and downs, Nguyen says
Im pretty grateful I have a great support
system.
He says hes very appreciative of the
Funds plans for the weekend.
I didnt even know about this
organization at all, he says. Im just
really grateful theyre there and Im going
to give back to the community, especially
to them rst.
San Antonio police arrested Otis
Tyrone McKane, 31, in November and
booked him on a capital murder charge
in connection with Marconis death.
According to local media accounts, he
was upset about a child custody battle
that prevented him from seeing his son.
I lashed out at someone who didnt
deserve it, the San Antonio Express News
quoted McKane as having said.
Marconi was shot and killed about 11:45
a.m. on Nov. 20, 2016 during a trac stop
near SAPD headquarters in downtown
San Antonio. After a 30-hour manhunt, a
SWAT team located and arrested McKane,
according to local media accounts.
Nguyen says Marconi was out widely
in his social life but out only to certain
individuals at the department.
Nguyen, who had a habit of checking in
with Marconi about every hour he was on
duty, says it was a case of Marconi being
in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ben had pulled somebody over and
this guy, they have video of him circling
headquarters for quite some time,
Nguyen says. It was pretty random.
Marconis son Dane, whos in his early
20s and was close to Nguyen (He loved
my cooking, Nguyen says), got in touch
with him the day Marconi died after a
period of hours in which Nguyen had been
unable to reach Marconi. The family had
gathered at the hospital where Marconis
body was taken and waited until Nguyen
arrived to tell him Marconi had died.
I went into the other room to see him
and they had him covered, Nguyen says.
I said, I need to see him, and so when I
saw him, I was just so glad I got to see his
face one last time. Thats how I found out.
Nguyen says his relationship with
Marconis family is mixed. Marconi had
been married to a woman previously and
has a grown son and stepdaughter.
We were very close and were still
close, Nguyen says. I was at every single
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F E A T U RE S
family event, close to his sisters, his
brother, you name it. Im basically part of
the family. His son and I are pretty close.
Nguyen attended the funeral at
Community Bible Church but says the
ociant didnt know Marconi had been gay.
He just found out that day, Nguyen
says. They asked who I was and I said,
Im his partner. It wasnt awkward, but I
can see how they were shocked.
Rudder, an avid Fund supporter
whos gotten close to Nguyen in recent
months, says the situation was handled
insensitively.
One thing that bothers all of us, the
family assistance program at the San
Antonio Police Department didnt make
any contact with Nate until maybe two
months ago, Rudder says. Nate went to
them for help and they didnt even know
about him. He doesnt want any of Bens
money, he just wants to be recognized as
Bens partner and were gonna show him
when we get to D.C. this week, everyones
going to know you were Bens partner.
Nguyen, whos returned to school and
is studying for a degree in geology, says
Marconi would want to be remembered
as someone who made a dierence.
He basically wanted to change the world
and make his kids proud, Nguyen says.
Copcakes for a Cause 6
Sunday, May 14
Town
(2009 8th St., N.W.)
5-8 p.m.
$25
lgbtfallenheroesfund.org
Jail & Bail at Bear Happy Hour and
Dining for Dollars
Friday, May 12
6-11 p.m.
Town, second oor
2009 8th St., N.W.
LGBT Fallen Heroes Memorial Service
Saturday, May 13
2-5 p.m.
Arlington National Cemetery
Service held in theater
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 3 1

Photo by Krystal Harfert

Photo by Teresa Wood

All the
Way Live! BANDALOOP

Kennedy Center


Open House
Celebrating JFK at 100

Dance
BANDALOOP Company E FLEXN The Washington Ballet
Dance & Bmore with CJay Philip

Music
National Memorial Day Choral Festival Alec Mackaye
Mista Cookie Jar & The Chocolate Chips Javier Starks

Drain the Fat this Summer Donvonte McCoy Quintet Ron Allen D.C. Bluegrass Union
NSO Chamber Musicians Chuck Berry Tribute with Daryl Davis
Archie Edwards Blues Foundation Voices Veracruzanas

Young Audiences
All the Way Live! Mouth Open, Story Jump Out
NSO Instrument Petting Zoo WNO Costume Trunk
Mosby the Kennedy Center Cat Maestro Mouse

Participatory Activities
Skateboarding Community Yoga Tai Chi Fan Dance
Native American Movement Boogie Woogie Dance Lessons from GottaSwing

and more!

FREE! Saturday, May 27, Noon10 p.m.

Part of JFK Centennial WeekExplore more at jfkc.org/openhouse

The 35 Days of Giving Centennial Challenge is your opportunity to play

an active role in promoting President Kennedys legacy! During the 35 days
leading up to President Kennedys 100th birthday on May 29, your contributions
will be matched two-to-one by Shelley and Allan Holt of the Hillside Foundation,
helping to raise vital funds to support the Centers ongoing and future artistic

Join our Personal Training Program and educational activities. Learn more and get involved at jfkc.org/35days

Where Functionality & Strength Meet Technology

1150 18th Street, NW
Washington, D.C.
benchgym@gmail.com Support for JFKC: A Centennial Celebration of John F. Kennedy is provided by Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley,
Chevron, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Target.
www.benchgym.com

32 MAY 12, 2017
This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com
MUSIC
Garry Tallent. May 14. The
Mersey Beatles. May 18. AMP.
ampbystrathmore.com.
NSO: Tchaikovskys The Nutcracker
Suite/Rimsky-Korsakovs
Scheherazade. Thru May 13. Mason
Batess KC Jukebox: Thievery
Corporation. May 15. Fortas
Chamber Music Concerts: Maurizio
Pollini in Recital. May 16. WNO:
Madame Buttery. Thru May 21.
NSO: Bachs Brandenburg Concerto
Messiaen: From the Canyons to the Stars No. 1/Handels Music for the Royal
May 12. Washington Performing Arts at DAR Constitution Hall. Fireworks. May 18-20. Kennedy
washingtonperformingarts.org. Center. kennedy-center.org.
Inspired by the beauty of Utahs Bryce Canyon National Park, 20th-century Rhodessa Jones & Idris Ackamoor
French composer Olivier Messiaens monumental work now receives a stunning of Cultural Odyssey. May 12-13. Art
new multimedia interpretation with images by photographer Deborah OGrady on 8th: Rob Curtos Forr For All.
in commemoration of the National Park Services centenary. May 18. Dance Place at Monroe Street
Market. danceplace.org.
Outside Mullingar Emerson String Quartet. May
Thru May 28. Keegan Theatre. 14. TSA at Baird Auditorium.
keegantheatre.com. smithsonianassociates.org.
Heartbreaking, funny as hell, and ultimately deeply moving. A compassionate Le Vent du Nord. May 13. National
and delightful work by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Danny and the Deep Blue String Symphonia: Three Suites. May
Sea) that asks the question: is it ever too late to take a chance on love? 13. BlackRock. blackrockcenter.org.
FMMC: Dumbarton Concert Series.
Washington Jewish Film Festival May 16. FMMC. Dumbarton House.
May 17-28. Washington Jewish Film Festival at Edlavitch DCJCC fmmc.org.
and other locations. Winners of the 2016 Misbin
wj.org. Family Memorial Chamber Music
One of the largest and most respected Jewish lm festivals in North America, Competition. May 13. Winners of
the Washington Jewish Film Festival (WJFF) is an international exhibition of the 2016 Joseph and Goldie Feder
cinema that celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture and experience Memorial String Competition. May
through the moving image. 13. Boreal Trio. May 14. Tomas Kaco,
piano. May 17. National Gallery of Art.
Frdric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism nga.gov.
Thru Jul 9. National Gallery of Art. Piano Men Cabaret. Thru May 13.
nga.gov. Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org.
A thematic presentation of 75 worksincluding paintings by contemporaries Simone Baron. Thru May 24.
such as Claude Monet and Auguste Renoirwill bring to light Bazilles place as a Strathmore. strathmore.org.
central gure in the Impressionist movement. Several examples from the Gallerys Murray Perahia, piano.
collection, which houses the largest group of Bazilles works outside of France, will May 14. Washington
be featured in the rst major American exhibition on the artist in almost 25 years. Performing Arts at Strathmore.
washingtonperformingarts.org.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS
MUSEUMS
Folger Shakespeare Library. Painting
THEATRE 14-May 27. Mayower Hotel.
catchmeshow.com.
Shakespeare. May 13-Feb 11.
folger.edu.
Timon of Athens. Thru Jun 11. Folger The Father. Thru Jun 18. Studio Library of Congress. Baseballs
Theatre. folger.edu. Theatre. studiotheatre.org. Greatest Hits: The Music of Our
Jesus Christ Superstar. Thru Jul 2. Brighton Beach Memoirs. Thru May National Game. Thru Jul 22. loc.gov.
Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org. 14. Theater J. theaterj.org. National Archives. Amending
In the Heights... En espaol! Thru The Crucible. May 18-May 20. Theatre America. Thru Sep 4.
May 28. GALA Hispanic Theatre. Lab. theatrelab.org. archivesfoundation.org.
galatheatre.org. National Gallery of Art. Della Robbia:
Private Lives. May 12-May 20. Reston
Community Players. CenterStage at
DANCE Sculpting with Color in Renaissance
Florence. Thru Jun 4. The Urban Scene:
RCC. restonplayers.org. Soles of Steel Showcase. May 13 -14. 19201950. Thru Aug 6. nga.gov.
Ragtime. Thru May 20. Fords Theatre. Joy of Motion. Jack Guidone Theater. National Geographic. Earth Explorers.
fords.org. Music Of Our Time. May 13. National Thru Sep 10. nglive.org.
Shear Madness. Thru Jun 11. Kennedy Chamber Ensemble. Rosslyn Spectrum. National Museum of Women in the
Center. kennedy-center.org. nationalchamberensemble.org. Arts. Border Crossing: Jami Porter
Catch Me! The Magic Duel. May Lara. Thru May 14. New Ground: The
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A RT S & CU LT U RE
Southwest of Maria Martinez and
Laura Gilpin. Thru May 14. From the
Desk of Simone de Beauvoir. Thru Jun
2. nmwa.org.
National Portrait Gallery. The Face of
Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now.
Thru Jan 28. npg.si.edu.
Kreeger Museum. RE-VISION: Looking
anew at the art of Philip Johnson and
the design of The Kreeger. Thru Jul 29.
kreegermuseum.org.
GALLERIES
The Art League Gallery. Lesa Cook:
Gods, Heroes, and Fools. Thru Jun 4.
theartleague.org.
Waverly Street Gallery. Glasswork
by Jill Tanenbaum. Thru Jun 3.
waverlystreetgallery.com.
BlackRock. Alexandra Chiou: Mirage.
Thru Jun 3. blackrockcenter.org.
District Architecture Center. Bees
in the City. Thru Jun 3. The Pollinator-
friendly Garden. Thru Jun 3. aiadac.com.
gallery Neptune & Brown. Jowita
Wyszomirska: Vanishing Point. Thru
May 13. galleryneptunebrown.com.
Glen Echo Park. The Homecoming: Six
Artists Return to Glen Echo Park. Thru
May 29. Vessels Great and Small 2017.
Thru May 29. glenechopark.org.
Goethe-Institut. Exhibition: FORTY out
of ONE MILLION by Kai Wiedenhfer.
Thru Jun 16. goethe.de.
Hill Center. Hill Center Galleries. Thru
Jun 25. hillcenterdc.org.
ISAAG. BLAST! - Marta Perez
Garcia (Puerto Rico). Thru May 22.
idbstaassociationartgallery.org.
Korean Cultural Center DC.
Integrated: Korean Clay and Paper
Heritage in Contemporary American
Art. Thru May 31. koreaculturedc.org.
AND MORE...
Hill Center. Talk of the Hill with Bill Press:
Christine Brennan, Sports Columnist for
USA Today. May 15. hillcenterdc.org.
Strathmore. AIR Workshop: Simone
Baron. May 17. strathmore.org.
EDCJCC. Independent Living
Community Cooking Class. Thru Aug 8.
washingtondcjcc.org.
Workhouse Arts Center. The
Hand-Crafted Mixologist. May 13.
workhousearts.org.
The Writers Center. Poetry and Prose
Open Mic. May 14. writer.org.
District Architecture Center. Housing
Matters: Aordable Housing in the
Context of For-Prot Developments.
May 16. aiadac.com.
Goethe-Institut. Career Day
Washington. May 12. Deutsch am
Mittag: In Conversation with Jrgen
Konrad. May 16. goethe.de.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 3 3

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 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

34 MAY 12, 2017 F I LM

Films with Passion

Emily Dickinson recalled Union Market, is nally getting a general
release. After its premiere at the 2015
in inventive trifecta; Toronto Film Festival (under the title
Generations gets About Ray), the producers cancelled the
scheduled release of the lm in the wake
redux treatment of weak reviews.
The revamped lm is nally being
By BRIAN T. CARNEY released and is well worth-seeing. Ray
(Elle Fanning) lives with his mother Maggie
Two lms opening today (Friday, (Naomi Watts), his lesbian grandmother
May 12) in D.C. theaters are worthy but Dolly (Susan Sarandon) and Dollys long- PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
achieve dierent levels of eectiveness term girlfriend Frances (Linda Emond).
for varying reasons. He is in the process of transitioning and The cast of 3 Generations.
A Quiet Passion, playing at the wants to start hormone therapy. To do
Avalon Theatre, is a beautiful, moving and
thought-provoking new lm that captures
the historic meeting of three geniuses:
the great American poet Emily Dickinson,
the award-winning openly lesbian actor
Cynthia Nixon (Broadways Angels in
America and HBOs Sex and the City)
and the acclaimed English writer and
director Terence Davies, who has been
openly gay since the 1970s.
Written and directed by Davies, A
Quiet Passion is the school-to-grave
story of the reclusive poet whose work
was largely unknown until after her
death. It opens when young Emily (well
played by Emma Bell) is asked to leave
the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary
for her unorthodox religious thinking
and closes as her casket is driven to
the cemetery while an o-screen Nixon
beautifully intones Because I could not
stop for Death.
Davies is an auteur at the top of his
cinematic game. Working closely with
cinematographer Florian Homeister,
costumer Catherine Marchand, and a
superb cast, he reminds us that the past
in indeed a dierent country, and that
Dickinson was a product of that time,
even as she rebelled against it.
The overall arc of Davies remarkable
movie is Dickinsons gradual withdrawal
from society. She starts out as a young,
vivacious woman strolling through sunlit
streets, wearing beautiful clothes, trading
witty banter with family and friends and
wielding a ferocious fan. But, gradually,
PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSIC BOX FILMS
as friends move away, family members
die and her own body betrays her, she CYNTHIA NIXON and JENNIFER EHLE in A Quiet Passion.
becomes the iconic spinster dressed in
white and speaking to visitors only from
the shadows from the rst-oor landing so, since he is 16, he needs the legal turbulent past. Ray is a sympathetic Rays decision to pursue his true identity
on the stairs. Nixons passionate nuanced permission of his parents. And thats character, but hes basically on hold until in the face of both beatings by bullies and
prickly performance is simply amazing. where the drama starts. he can start his treatments. Maggie is the uneven support from his family (Dolly
While A Quiet Passion will, Craig (Tate Donovan) has been out of character in motion, and the character who asks why she cant just be a lesbian). The
unfortunately, probably not become the picture for 10 years and Maggie is links the three fascinating generations. Its acting is strong and the camera work by
required viewing in high school English reluctant to reestablish contact (and has a shame writer and director Gaby Dellal David Johnson is striking.
classes, it is denitely required viewing her own doubts about signing the papers). and co-writer Nikole Beckwith didnt get But most importantly, the moving
for all fans of great literature and great The quest for Craigs signature reveals a chance to do a rewrite at the beginning conclusion of 3 Generations is a great
cinema. It is a meeting of great minds and some long-hidden family secrets as well as of shooting instead of a reedit after the testimony to the courage shown by Ray
great hearts. the central problem with the movie. lms premiere. and his extended family. Thats what
Its a good thing that 3 Generations, The movie isnt really about Ray; its Nonetheless, whats there is quite makes this movie important and timely.
screening at the Angelika Pop-Up at about Maggie and the revelation of her good. The lm is a powerful armation of
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 3 5

3 6 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 6
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.
com two weeks prior to your event. Space is lim-
ited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.
TODAY
The third annual NOVA Pride Prom is at
the Bellevue Event and Conference Center
(43350 John Mosby Hwy., Chantilly, Va.)
tonight from 7-11 p.m. All LGBT students
and allies currently attending high school
in the greater Northern Virginia region
are invited to attend. Guests must bring
a valid school ID, drivers license or
permit that matches ticket registration
information. Tickets are $30. For more
information, visit novapride.org/tickets/
nova-pride-prom-2017-ticket.
D.C. Leather Pride and the Cherry
Fund host Rebel Heart, a dance party
for leather men and women and allies, at
D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight
from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. DJ Seth Breezy and DJ
Kudjo spin tracks. There will also be go-go
dancers. Tickets are $30. For more details,
visit facebook.com/dcleatherpride.
LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund hosts Dining
for Dollars, a social dinner fundraiser,
during Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009
8th St., N.W.) today from 6-9 p.m. Food
will be provided by Mission BBQ. Entry
includes one free specialty cocktail.
There will also be pizza at 7 p.m. Drink
specials are until 11 p.m. Tickets are $20.
For more information, facebook.com/
lgbtfallenheroesfund.
Author David Garrow appears at
Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut
Ave., N.W.) to discuss his Barack Obama
biography, Rising Star, tonight from 7-8
p.m. In Rising Star, Garrow explores
Obamas pre-presidential life personally
and politically. The book also mentions
that Obama considered gayness in his
youth. Event is free. Seating is available
on a rst come, rst served basis. For
more details, visit politics-prose.com.
GAMMA, a peer-supported, self help
group for gay or bisexual men who have
been involved with women, meets at
Luther Place Memorial Church (1226
Vermont Ave., N.W.) tonight from 7:30-
9:30 p.m. For more details, visit meetup.
com/gammaindc.
Out local singer Justin Ritchie will
perform Common Ground: a Cabaret
tonight at Maggies Cabaret at St.
Margarets Church (1830 Connecticut
Ave., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.
Ritchie will perform covers of classics by
Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell and others.
No advanced registrations; tickets only
available at the door.
SATURDAY, MAY 13
The Capital Prides Heroes Gala is at
Carnegie Library (801 K St., N.W.) tonight
from 7-11 p.m. The event will honor
Dee Curry, Juan Carlos Loubriel, Amy
The Washington Chorus performs with several other outts including the Gay Mens Chorus of
Washington on Sunday, May 14 at the Kennedy Center.
Loudermilk, Richard Rosendall and Melvin
Thomas. Washington Capital goaltender
Braden Holtby will receive the Ally Award.
American Idol season 12 winner Candice
Glover will perform. There will be an open
bar and food-tasting stations. Tickets are
$65. For more details, visit capitalpride.
org/events/heroes-gala-2017.
Distrkt C hosts Rebel Yell, the ocial
D.C. Leather Pride weekend party, at the
D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight
from 10 p.m.-8 a.m. DJ Mike Reimer and
DJ Tracy Young will play music. Suggested
dress code is leather gear, uniforms, jocks
and harnesses. Tickets are $25. For more
information, visit distrktc.com.
D.C. Leather Pride, the Imperial Court
of Washington D.C. and the D.C. Sisters
host Rebel Without a Gown, an annual
drag fundraiser, at Cobalt (1639 R St.,
N.W.) today from 4-8 p.m. Funds will
be raised for Mr. D.C. Eagle 2017 Grey
Onyx and Leatherman of Color 2017 Kai
Anderson to compete in the International
Mr. Leather competition. Kristina Kelly
hosts. There will be performances from
local LGBT artists. Show begins at 5 p.m.
Tickets are $10. For more details, visit
facebook.com/dcleatherpride.
21st Amendments host a charity
workout at Sweatbox D.C. (1612 U St.,
N.W.) to benet the National Center for
Transgender Equality today from 1-3 p.m.
PHOTO BY SCOTT SUCHMAN; COURTESY WPA
Admission is a $30 donation. Mimosas will
be served after. For more information,
search Sweatbox Charity Fundraiser with
the 21st Amendments on Facebook.
The D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.)
hosts R Sqaured, a Rebel Gear social,
tonight from 8-10 p.m. This will be a
meet and greet for the men of the Mid-
Atlantic Rubber Collective. There will be
drink specials for guests in rubber gear.
No cover. For more details, visit facebook.
com/midatlanticrubbercollective.
Mixtape, a gay dance party, is at DC9
(1940 9th St., N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-
3 a.m. DJ Matt Bailer and DJ the Barber
Streisand spin tracks. Cover is $10. For
more information, visit mixtapedc.com.
SUNDAY, MAY 14
D.C. Leather Pride hosts Bad
Reputation: Tea Dance and Beer Bust at
the D.C. eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.)
today from 2-9 p.m. DJ Say What1?!
plays music and go-go boys will perform.
Bottomless beer is $15. General entry is
$10. For more information, visit faceboo.
com/dcleatherpride.
The Washington Chorus presents
Carmina Burana, a performance of
satirical poems set to music, and an
interpretation of the Greek classic
Oedipus Rex today from 5-7:30 p.m.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
CA LE N D A R
at the Kennedy Center. The Gay Mens
Chorus of Washington, the Childrens
Chorus of Washington and the
Washington National Cathedral Boy and
Girl Choristers will also perform. Tickets
range from $18-64. For more details, visit
facebook.com/thewashingtonchorus.
MONDAY, MAY 15
The 33rd annual Helen Hayes Awards
are at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St.,
N.W.) today from 6-9 p.m. The awards
honor theater professional in the D.C.
area. Actors E. Faye Butler and Lawrence
Redmond host. After the ceremony there
will be a dance party at 9:30 Club (815 V
St., N.W.). Premium seating tickets are
$275 and balcony tickets are $150. Ticket
prices include the dance party. For more
information and to purchase tickets, visit
theatrewashington.org.
TUESDAY, MAY 16
Republic (6939 Laurel Ave., Takoma
Park, Md.) hosts Alegre Happy Hour, an
LGBT happy hour, today from 5-7 p.m.
For details, visit republictakoma.com.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17
Bookmen D.C., an informal gay mens
literature group, discusses A History of
Gay Male Literature, by Gregory Woods,
at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St.., N.W.)
tonight at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome.
For more information, visit bookmendc.
blogspot.com.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge
Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the
Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for
social bridge. No partner needed. For
more information, call 301-345-1571.
THURSDAY, MAY 18
Friends of the National Zoo
hosts ZooFari: Dine for Wildlife at
Smithsonians National Zoo (3001
Connecticut Ave., N.W.) this evening
from 6:30-9:30 p.m. There will be
complimentary food tastings, cocktail
tastings and after hours access to
the Small Mammal House, the Great
Ape House and the Reptile Discovery
Center. Celebrity chefs Jerome Grant
and Todd Gray will make appearances.
A live and silent auction will include
prizes such as a ticket package to
Hamilton on Broadway. Tickets are
$160 for Friends of the Zoo members
and $200 for non-members. For more
details, visit fonz.org/zoofari.
National City Christian Church
hosts an LGBT happy hour at Uproar
Restaurant and Lounge (639 Florida
Ave., N.W.) today from 6-8 p.m.
There is a suggested donation of $10
to benefit SAGE Metro D.C, which
supports LGBT seniors. For more
information, visit facebook.com/
nationalcitycc.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
T HE ATE R
Mystery cliches used to
great eect in Overboard
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.
The weekend was all set. Detective
Heath Barrington had everything planned
down to the last detail.
Protagonists in Death Goes
Overboard, by David S. Pederson,
Barrington and police ocer Alan Keyes
were heading to a cabin in Northern
Wisconsin, just the two of them, under the
guise of a shing trip. It was 1947, after all,
and discretion was absolutely necessary
for two professional gay men, but the
getaway would be a great chance to see
where their new relationship was going.
Still, despite his and Alans carefulness,
rumors could come from anywhere,
which was why Barrington was worried
when his boss called him in early one day.
Fortunately, the chief didnt want to quiz
Barrington on his love life; he wanted to
send the detective on a special assignment.
Milwaukee law enforcement had been
following Gregor Slavinsky ever since
the small-time hood got out of prison,
assuming that hed screw up eventually.
And thats exactly what happened:
word on the street was that Slavinsky
recently borrowed $25,000 from Benny
Ballentine, a bigger crook and the guy
the department really wanted to nab.
Both were booked on a Lake Michigan
excursion and something was afoot. The
M A Y 12, 2017 37
IMAGE COURTESY OF BOLD STROKES BOOKS
chief needed Barrington to nd out more.
The shing trip cancelled, Barrington
boarded a small luxury boat for a
weekend tour. With few fellow travelers
two known hoodlums, a henchman, plus
a man and his elderly aunt he thought
hed have no trouble keeping an eye on
everyone, especially since the boats
steward was an undercover cop, too. But
when a scue, a splash and a missing
crook proved otherwise, Barrington knew
his assignment had suddenly changed.
Slavinsky was nobodys favorite guy,
but who among the handful of possible ARM
suspects had the most reason to kill him? TRANSLATION:
Every clich ever packed in a noir First part of body
novel seems to be inside Death Goes that twisted
Overboard. Youve got mobsters, a during contract
fedora-wearing detective in a pinstriped negotiations.
suit, seemingly prim matrons and man-
hungry blondes eager for marriage. Its To be used at the top of collateral:
like an old black-and-white movie in book
form. But rather than feeling tired, here it
just feels like part of the fun. VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI, Director of Education & Mentorship
You wont mind because author David Dupont Circle Ofce 202-518-8781 (o) 202.246.8602 (c) To be used at the bottom of collateral:
S. Pederson has packed a lot in this Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com
novel. You dont normally nd a soft-
sided, poetry-writing mobster in a noir
THINKING OF BUYING IN REHOBOTH?
mystery, for instance, but hes here.
Now is the time.
And then theres the sweetly chaste,
budding romance between two men;
not so unusual, again, except that one of
them is considering something drastic in
order to hide his secret, a side plot thats
historically accurate and that ts. Call Joe, Your Working Broker.
So this novel is both predictable and
not, making it a nice diversion for a
weekend or vacation. If thats the kind
of book you enjoy, then Death Goes
Overboard will make you buoyant.
DEATH GOES OVERBOARD
By David S. Pederson
Bold Strokes Books
$18.95
237 pages LICENSED IN DELAWARE & MARYLAND
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 8 A PRI L 0 7 , 2 0 17 DINING

Moms hungry, feed her

Tasty options abound
for Mothers Day at
D.C. restaurants

By KRISTEN HARTKE

Our mothers work tirelessly for us in

little ways every day sewing buttons
onto shirts at the last minute, praising
our smallest achievements and bringing
home the bacon not to mention frying
it up in a pan. So, the least we can do is
give her a nice meal once a year and that
time has come. Here are just a handful of
options for a happy Mothers Day.
For Christianne Ricchi, the chef/
owner of i Ricchi (1220 19th St., N.W.),
celebrating Mamma is a joyful event.
Eating in Italy is basically a family act,
she says, noting that a mothers cooking
provides a link between generations.
While we usually take Mom out for
Sunday brunch, this Tuscan family-style
Mothers Day dinner will be oered May
12-13 (Friday and Saturday), featuring
tortelloni stued with ricotta and chard,
Tuscan fried spider web chicken and
stued veal shoulder.
Keep to the Italian theme, but in a
dierent region, at Via Umbria (1525
Wisconsin Ave., N.W.), where a special
brunch on Mothers Day (Sunday, May
14) will include local Ivy City Smoked
Salmon with Pequea Valley yogurt dill
spread, and pasta with eggplant, capers, PHOTO BY REY LOPEZ
olives, tomatoes and ricotta along with
bottomless Aperol spritz, mimosas or Jalapeno-studded biscuits with poached egg are just one of the tasty options available at Espita Mezcaleria.
Bloody Marys.
Mom wont go hungry at Teddy & The Huancaina sauce. Be sure to nish the Mom is sure to appreciate. An intriguing array of brunch-ready
Bully Bar (1200 19th St., N.W.), where a meal with alfajores, traditional cookies Should rum be your mothers preferred bento boxes are on oer at the Latin-
hybrid brunch menu includes three plated lled with dulce de leche. libation, check out Cuba Libre (801 9th Asian restaurant Sakerum (2204 14th
dishes, family style sides and several The ros mimosa is just one way to St., N.W.), where she can indulge in the St., N.W.), from grilled short rib with sushi
buet stations. Try the cereal-crusted make Mom happy at Espita Mezcaleria Havana Hottie, a Bloody Mary made with rice, chimichurri salsa and a fried egg to
brioche topped with bourbon syrup and (1250 9th St., N.W.), but the smoky mezcal dark rum and habanero peppers and a double-fried chicken thigh with Yukon
vanilla mascarpone or the short ribs with Bloody Maria might also do the trick. be sure to encourage her to reminisce Gold mashed potatoes and fried egg. Box
fried eggs, refried white beans and spicy Highlights from their special brunch menu about her misspent youth. Try the accompaniments include bacon-jalapeno
aioli. Check out the Lady Outlaw cocktail include a savory maitake mushroom Panqueques, cornmeal pancakes topped home fries, mixed green seaweed salad,
on tap, a perfect spring sipper made with omelette, jalapeno-studded biscuits with with dark rum and molasses syrup and fried plaintains and tamago futomaki and
vodka, elderower liqueur, lemon sour poached eggs and arbol hollandaise, and mango butter, or the Huevo Roto, a pile Gina Chersevanis creative cocktails round
and lavender bitters. French toast topped with smoked agave of double-blanced French fries with crispy out the meal, from the Greek Frapp, with
Treat Mom to a Michelin-starred meal nectar and mezcal-infused bananas. chorizo, poached eggs and a tomato- rum, cinnamon, instant coee and cream,
at Blue Duck Tavern (1201 24th St., Try one of the best brunches in town hollandaise sauce. to the Lychee Mimosa.
N.W.), where she can dig into waes at Ambar (523 8th St., S.E.), where the Go old school with a classic brunch at The Hamiltons (600 14th St., N.W.)
topped with cream cheese mousse and Bottomless Brunch includes Balkan-style the Top of the Hay at the Hay-Adams popular Gospel Brunch is always a winner.
macerated berries (yes, please), lamb bread pudding made with chili akes and Hotel (800 16th St., N.W.), where Mom will Live entertainment by Wilbur Johnson
hash with potato, English peas and country-style bacon, poached pear waes, receive a chilled glass of Taittinger bubbly and the Gospel Persuaders makes for a
rainbow carrots, and fried chicken and steak and eggs and roasted mushroom upon arrival, which she can sip while fun backdrop to Southern-style catsh,
biscuits with honey hot sauce and a crepes. The owing cocktails include the enjoying one of the best views in D.C. spring vegetable strata, collard greens,
sunny-side-up egg. restaurants signature Ambar mimosa, a Buet oerings will include mushroom fried chicken and French toast.
Classic Peruvian dishes are on the heady blend of champagne with peach agnolotti, seared sea bass, and, of
three-course menu at Nazca Mochica and lavender pure, as well as cherry and course, prime rib, along with a full omelet
(1633 P St., N.W.), including steamed mango mimosas. Should you decide to stop station. Dont skip the dessert selection,
mussels in a lime and cilantro dressing, by for dinner on Mothers Day, Ambars also from chocolate-dipped strawberries to
KRISTEN HARTKE is a D.C.-based food
braised lamb leg in a dark beer reduction oering a 50 percent discount on rakia (a coconut cake to Virginia rhubarb upside and beverage writer. Follow her kitchen
served with fried yucca, and potatoes in kind of Balkan fruit brandy) shots, which down cake. adventures on Twiiter, @khartke.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 3 9

Kimpton Mason & Rook Hotel

STAY WITH PRIDE

Make your experience with Kimpton in DC, Alexandria and Baltimore memorable and meaningful.
Stay with Kimpton and stay with pride, knowing you get 15% off our best available rate per night
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1 (800) KIMPTON KimptonHotels.com/CapitolRegion

4 0 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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.

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

Show your support! Spread word of the #TransRespect

campaign by photographing this ad and sharing on Twitter.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A R T S & EN TE RTA I NMENT
Families cut ties to couple after Ellen appearance
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23
Hrebid says Allamis family found out
about their relationship when they heard
them talking on the phone or on Skype.
His life was getting more in danger,
Hrebid says. He had to run away.
Michael Failla, a Seattle-based
immigration advocate whom Hrebid
befriended at a party, gave Allami money
to travel to Lebanon on a 30-day tourist
visa. Allami deserted the Iraqi army and
ew to Beirut on Dec. 6, 2010.
Allami in early 2011 applied for refugee
status with the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Lebanese authorities would have sent him
back to Iraq if they found him living in the
country without documentation, but he
said the UNHCR employee who interviewed
him said the agency cared more about
families than those who are gay.
The rst time the guy told me, We dont
care about gay refugees, Allami says.
Hrebid in January 2013 saw Allami for
the rst time in more than three years
when he and Failla traveled to Beirut.
Allami soon had a second UNHCR
interview that lasted 11 hours. The agency
deemed him ineligible for resettlement
Grab a coffee,
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take a survey,
change the world.
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because a UNHCR employee with whom
he previously met incorrectly reported
that he witnessed U.S. soldiers torture
Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison
outside of Baghdad.
We had never been there, Hrebid
says, noting Allami learned about the
torture through a newscast.
It took six years for
us to be together
Allami had begun the process of applying
for asylum in Canada as he waited for
UNHCRs decision. A group of Canadians
sponsored him and the government
approved his application in 2013.
Allami arrived in Vancouver on Sept. 9,
2013.
That was the happiest day ever in my
life, Hrebid says. I nally felt he was safe
and he had papers and he could stand up
and walk without anyone bothering him.
Hrebid became a U.S. citizen in 2014,
which is the same year in which same-
sex couples received marriage rights in
Washington State.
He and Allami married in Canada on
Proudly LGBT-owned and -operated
A pioneer in LGBT research, founded in 1992
NGLCC-Certified LGBT Owned Business Enterprise
Valentines Day in 2014. Allami applied
for a visa that would allow him to live in
the U.S.
It was granted in March 2015 after
Allami had an interview in Montreal. He
and Hrebid married for a second time at
Caillas Seattle home in August of that year.
It took us basically six years for us to
be together, Hrebid says.
Families freaked out
after Ellen show
Hrebid and Allami in January appeared
on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after
DeGeneres read an interview the couple
had done with the BBC.
Hrebid says their families in Iraq
freaked out after show aired and
news about their appearance spread
throughout social media. says. We are here to let people know
Hrebid said his uncle told him to return
to Iraq so members of his tribe could kill
him and cut the shame. Allamis family
has disowned him.
No one can mention his name in the
family anymore, Hrebid says.
President Trump on Jan. 27 signed an
MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 4 1
executive order that banned citizens of
Iraq and six other predominantly Muslim
countries from entering the U.S. for 90
days. A revised travel ban that Trump
signed in March did not include Iraq.
The second executive order has yet to
take eect because it has been challenged
in court.
Its going to put a lot of lives in danger,
Hrebid says. [Trump] thinks people just
come through, walk into the United
States. Btoo is one example. It took four
years just for vetting and a background
check.
Hrebid and Allami have begun to help
other refugees resettle at rst in the U.S.,
but now Canada because of the Trump
administrations immigration policies.
We could just shut our door and just
live our lives without anyone knowing,
but this is not why we are here, Hrebid
about what is happening in the Middle
East and what is happening to those who
are LGBTQ.
Allami agrees, noting Seattle is my
home now and it is amazing.
We made our dreams come true, he
says.
4 2 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M
 Attorneys that are OUTthinking |OUTspoken |OUTdoing
ackermanbrown.com

W A SH I NGTO N B LA DE.C OM MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 4 3

REALESTATE

A tale of two capitals

By TED SMITH

Im in the process of opening another

real estate office down in Austin, Texas,
so in this column I thought it might be
interesting to compare the financial land-
scapes of these two capital cities, Wash-
ington, DC and Austin, TX, especially in
terms of real estate.
There are many similarities between
these two cities, the most immediately
obvious one being that the Texas State
Capitol building resembles a pink granite
copy of the US Capitol (hardly detectable
when floodlit at nightsee the backdrop
pictures in the above graph), but the Tex-
as Capitol is in fact 13 ft. taller than the US
one. Turns out everything really is bigger
in Texas.
Politically and economically, both
Washington and Austin are at the mercy
of their resident legislatures, and there
is a good deal of antipathy between the
city governments and the national/state
legislative bodies. But the US Congress is
not in session year round, and the Texas
Legislature (known as the Lege) is only
in session every two years for 140 days. 2017 MarketStats. Data Provided by MRIS as of Apr 5, 2017; @2017 Austin Board of Realtors Based on a Total of 409,615 Closed Sales in DC; 263,061 Closed Sales in Austin
However, the executive branches of these
governments provide a great deal of em- not necessarily conducive to saving for a an earlier time when prices were cheaper esand more periods of risethan DCs,
ployment in each city. In DC, the Federal down payment). Indeed, for years Austin and wages were relatively higher. These which has seen a slower recovery of the
government is the largest employer, fol- has billed itself as the Live Music Capital people have tended to hold onto their rate of increase since it peaked in 2012.
lowed by the public school systems in of the World. homes while market prices have risen, Ill end with some stats to substanti-
the various counties of the metropolitan So, both Washington and Austin have a and to be able to trade up by using the ate these trends: Metro DCs median sold
area. In Austin, it is the various ISDs (inde- highly educated workforce competing for increased equity of their existing homes. price in April 2009 was $332,000; in April
pendent school districts) that provide the jobs in a number of fields with good (but Both DC and Austin have seen an in- of 2017 it was $436,500an increase of
most employment, followed by the City of not stellar) salary scales. Both cities have crease in median sold prices over the 31.48% over 9 years. In the same period,
Austin. The US Federal government is ac- a large cluster of 20-to-30-somethings last 9 years since the crash and reces- metro Austins median sold price went
tually the 4th largest employer in the Aus- competing for these jobs, with a bottle- sion starting in 2008. But both cities from $189,900 to $303,600an increase
tin area, while the State of Texas ranks neck of opportunity caused by almost as were fortunate that their markets never of 59.87%, almost double that of metro
only number 8. Interspersed between large a cluster of baby-boomers main- really took the nose dive that California DCs. Put another way, metro DCs annual
these various governmental bodies and taining their employment longer than tra- and Florida markets did; sure, prices flat- yearly rate of increase for median sold
school districts in both capital cities are ditional retirement age, partly because of tened slightly, but didnt really dip much. prices from April 2008 to April 2017 was
many health care employers, as well as inadequate retirement savings. The bars in the chart above show a rise 3.50%. In the same period, the annual
research organizations and, especially in And what does all this mean for real es- in median sold prices for all home types rate of metro Austin was 6.65%--1.9 times
Austin, high tech companies. tate? It means that home prices are rela- in the metro DC and metro Austin mar- greater!
Demographically, both cities have a tively high in comparison to salaries, that kets, while the lines show the rate of in- Happy Hunting!
large number of highly educated resi- home ownership is difficult for first-time crease in median price from April to April
dents and both cities have become ma- buyersespecially amassing a down pay- (typically one of the highest months of TED SMITH is a licensed REALTOR with Real
Living | at Home specializing in mid-city DC.
jor destinations for new college gradu- ment if you dont have a wealthy family. increase in the year). You while note that You can reach him at TedSmithSellsDC@rla-
ates not already enrolled in one of the Consequently, a large portion of younger while median sold prices in DC have start- thome.com and follow him on www.Facebook.
ed and ended higher than Austins, yet com/MidCityDCLife , www.Youtube.com/Ted-
many local universities (who also tend residents are renting apartments or living SmithSellsDC or @TedSmithSellsDC. Or you
to stay after graduation). This makes for in group homes. Many people who al- there has been more of a rise in the rate can reach him at tedsmithsellswalkableaus-
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4 4 MA Y 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M
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