O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 1 7 V O LU M E 0 1 I S S U E 1 6 A M E R I C A S LG B TQ N E W S S O U R C E LO S A N G E L E S B L A D E .

C O M

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Trumps trans ban De Leon takes on Feinstein LGBT homeless youth

PAGE 06 PAGE 10 PAGE 12

Starry Skies
With Scattered
Sequins.
Follow @WeHoCity
for alerts on all spectacles
from Russian songs to
Carnaval thongs.

Halloween Carnaval
& Russian Cultural City of West Hollywood
California 1984
Festival
0 4 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM LO CA L N E W S

amfAR raises $2 million+ at LA gala

Money goes for grants
to fund research into
HIV-killing treatments

By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com

Since the joining together of two

women powerhousesactress Elizabeth
Taylor and scientic researcher Dr.
Mathilde Krimto create the American
Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) in
1985, Hollywood celebrities and the rich
and famous from fashion, music and the
arts have enjoyed grand events that raise
money to ght HIV/AIDS.
Sometimes it seems the partys the
thing, with dinner chatter drowning out
the events raison detre. No matter, the
moneys still good. Since 1985, amfAR
The stars turned out to honor Julia Roberts and raise big bucks for AIDS research
has invested $480 million in research PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMFAR

programs and awarded more than 3,300

grantsand the Oct. 13 gala honoring
actress Julia Roberts at the Green Acres
Estate of activist philanthropist Ron Burkle
pulled in more than $2 million. That brings
to $13 million amfAR has raised in the
eight years of its annual LA gala.
Some of that $2 million will no doubt go
to the $100 million amfAR has committed
to its three-year old initiative, Countdown
to a Cure for AIDS. Unfortunately, Dr. Krim
was too frail to travel to the LA gala or she
would have certainly expounded on how a
cure may actually be in sight. amfAR notes
on its website that last July, the Food and
Drug Administration nally approved a
gene therapy-based treatment in the US.
The treatment, rst developed by Dr.
Carl June of the University of Pennsylvania,
a member of amfARs Cure Council, is
based on the use of so-called CAR cells to
kill cancer cells, amfar reports. On July
13, amfAR announced two new grants to ability to kill HIV-infected cells. The grants dream, and the case of the Berlin patient HIV. However, several complex scientic
(Los Angeles area-based) research teams are part of a new round of seven awards provides proof-of-principle that a cure challenges remain, and these new grants
pursuing similar strategies involving CAR totaling $2.3 million in support of gene is possible, said amfAR Chief Executive reect amfARs determination to pursue a
(chimeric antigen receptor) cells, which therapy-based approaches to curing HIV. Ocer Kevin Robert Frost, referring to the
have shown signicant potential for their Curing HIV is no longer a pipe only person known to have been cured of CONTINUES ON PAGE 05
LO C A L N E W S W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 0 5

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 04

range of strategies to overcome them.

The event was emceed by popular TV
host James Corden, with performances by
Chris Martin and Fergie. Longtime amfAR
supporter and proud gay dad Cheyenne
Jackson introduced amfAR Board Chair
Kenneth Cole, who talked about the
recent devastation caused by the series
of hurricanes, the Nevada mass shooting,
and Californias wildres.
So much loss and so much suering
most of it out of our control, Cole said. But
tonight we can at least feel encouraged by
knowing we are working together to address
a crisis that we are doing something about.
With your support, we are getting closer
every day to a cure for a chronic condition
that has already taken 35 million lives.
Cole introduced Tom Hanks, who won an
Oscar for his deeply moving and impactful
performance 25 years ago of a lawyer with
AIDS ghting against the rm that red
him in the movie Philadelphia. Hanks
gushed over Roberts, presenting her with
amfAR Award of Courage. Roberts played
Dr. Emma Brookner in Ryan Murphys
acclaimed 2014 television adaptation of
Larry Kramers award-winning AIDS play,
The Normal Heart, about the early days of
the epidemic. In addition to supporting
amfAR, Roberts is a longtime supporter of
the (PRODUCT) RED campaign, a unique
coalition of activists, celebrities and business
that produce branded RED products, with
proceeds going to the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Roberts called the stemming of AIDS-
related deaths a tipping point, giving her
courage. If we dont take our foot o the
gas by 2020 we could ensure that no
children will be born with HIV anymore,
becoming the rst HIV-free generation!
In addition to funding scientic research,
amfAR continues to work towards AIDS
prevention with programs such as EPIC HIV positive. Since then, Ongina has used trusted the guy. The biggest mistake generation, with millennials for whom this
VOICES, featuring, among others, Ryan her fame to be an advocate for equality, we make is we get involved with people is no longer a serious issue.
Palao, better known as Ongina, a star drag people with HIV/AIDS and trans rights. sexually and we forget to use protection Check out the LosAngelesBlade.com
performer from season 1 of RuPauls Drag Palao tells the Los Angeles Blade he and be smart, he says. Working with (later this week) to read about Ryan Palao/
Race. After winning an award on the show, was infected during a random hook up amfAR, he hopes to use his own story Onginas experiences at the amfAR LA gala,
Ongina emotionally came out as being in New York City in 2006 at age 24. He to raise awareness with the younger including being invited onstage by Fergi!
0 6 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Bipartisan legislation introduced to protect transgender servicemembers
House bill companion
to Senate bill introduced
last month
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
More opposition is emerging to
President Trumps directive to reinstitute
a ban on transgender individuals from
serving in the US Armed Forces. Several
lawsuits have been led, bipartisan bills
have been introduced in both chambers
of Congress, and a slew of legislators have
formally requested evidence from the
Pentagon that Trump, in fact, conferred
with top military generals before tweeting
the stunning personnel reversal last July.
Trans people have been serving openly in
the military without incident since the ban
was lifted by then-Defense Sec. Ash Carter
in June 2016, with training completed
and only the accessions policy left to be
tweaked. In response to agitated confusion
from within the ranks, Sec. of Defense Jim
Mattis has repeatedly said the current policy
of trans open service remains in eect until
he develops a replacement. He has six
months to convene a panel of experts to
come up with recommendationswhile
simultaneously preparing for the possibility
of nuclear war.
Meanwhile, legislative opposition grows.
California Reps. Jackie Speier and Susan
Davis, with four other members of Congress,
introduced a bipartisan bill on Oct. 13
to protect currently serving transgender
military servicemembers. H.R. 4041
prohibits the Department of Defense from
discharging trans members based solely
on their gender identity. The legislation
is a companion bill to one introduced in
September in the Senate by Sens. Kirsten
Gillbrand, John McCain and others.
Kicking out members of the United
States Armed Services solely based
on their gender identity is hateful,
discriminatory, and on the wrong side
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
California Rep. JACKIE SPEIER spearheading bipartisan legislation to protect trans servicemembers
of history, Speier said in a statement.
News ash, Mr. President thousands
of transgender troops already serve
our country with pride and dignity. Our
military should be focused on recruiting
and retaining the best troops, not on
rejecting qualied service members on the
basis of discrimination.
Im proud to work with this bipartisan,
bicameral group of lawmakers, including
Arizonas Senator John McCain, in standing
with our military, said bisexual Rep.
Kyrsten Sinema. A Pentagon source told
the Los Angeles Blade that Mattis called
McCain directly to ask him to sign onto
Gllibrands legislation.
The decision by the Administration to
not allow transgender individuals to serve
in the military is a sad reminder of the dark
chapters in our nations history that should
never be repeated, said Florida Republican
Rep.Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who has a trans
son. These individuals are willing to sacrice
their lives for our freedom, a freedom that
they should also be able to enjoy.
In addition to the legislation, Democratic
Virginia Rep. A. Donald McEachin initiated a
PHOTO COURTESY OF SPEIER
formal congressional letter to the Pentagon
requesting all correspondence and
documentation to show who advised Trump.
We seek information to discover the
proof of where and when the Pentagon
advised the President that this was the
best idea for our country, McEachin wrote
in the Oct. 10 letter to Mattis signed by 114
members of Congress.
Decades ago senior military leadership
and Members of Congress tried to say that
a group of people, African-Americans, were
not t to serve and would run at the sight of
a battle. I cannot believe that we are here
today facing similar discrimination against
transgender individuals, McEachin said in
his press release.
President Trump clearly has no
appreciation for the courage it takes not just
serve the country, but to own your identity
knowing there are people who will not
accept you. He is using terms like military
readiness and unit cohesion to hide the
abject cruelty and naked bigotry of his action
against transgendered servicemembers,
out Rep. Mark Takano, the Vice Ranking
Member on the House Veterans Aairs
LO CA L N E W S
Committee, tells the LA Blade.
When the President tweeted out his
discriminatory transgender military ban, he
claimed he had consulted with the Pentagon.
As his announcement so plainly took the
military by surprise, it is dicult to give the
Presidents statement any weight, Rep. Adam
Schi (D-CA) told the LA Blade. Congress
both Democrats and Republicans must
hold the President accountable.
In fact, Joint Chiefs Chair Marine Gen.
Joseph Dunford told the Senate Armed
Services Committee last September that
he opposes the ban.
I believe that any individual who meets
the physical and mental standards,
Dunford said, should be aorded the
opportunity to continue to serve. He
also noted that he had given that advice
privately to administration ocials.
There are currently four lawsuits against
Trump, Mattis and the proposed ban. On
Oct. 16, a group of 15 Democratic attorney
generals added their weight, as well, ling
a brief inU.S. District Court for the District
of Columbia arguing that a ban on trans
military service violated the Constitution,
harms the trans community and is against
the interest of national defense. The
brief argues that nothing about being
transgender inhibits a persons ability
to serve in the military or otherwise
contribute to society.
The brief was led by attorney
generals from California, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois,
Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Washington, D.C., and Vermont. It is in
support of a lawsuit led in August by
the National Center for Lesbian Rights
and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
and argues both animus and that the
administrations purported justications
for reinstating the ban are contradicted by
research, reason, and experience.
One possible hitch to the push back is if
the courts decide not to take a case while
legislation and the new policy are pending.
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Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus,
or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you
do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine
and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred
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This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at
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of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.
What Is Mytesi?
Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of
noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or
parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART.
Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before
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Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection)
Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs)
Cough
Flatulence (gas)
Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down)
For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if
you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.
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Should I Take Mytesi If I Am:
Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?
Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or
affect the ability to become pregnant
There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi
This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed
A Nursing Mother?
It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk
If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi
Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop
taking Mytesi
Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age?
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Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is
not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to
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What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi
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Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested
in South America.
0 8 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Bannon declares war on Establishment Republicans
But hes speaking
at the California
Republican Convention
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
The Republican Party is very, very
unied, President Trump told reporters
during a Rose Garden news conference
on Monday, Oct. 16, with Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell at his side. With
Congress facing tax reform, a budget deal,
and the 2018 elections, Trump declared
that his relationship with this gentleman
is outstanding. Trump said he feels
closer than ever before to McConnell,
despite repeatedly heaping criticism on
the Majority Leader for not successfully
pushing Trumps agenda.
In fact, just hours before the news
conference, Trump said he understands
why his former chief strategist and White
Nationalist advisor Steve Bannon called
for war on the GOP establishment and
specically name-checked McConnell
during the Family Research Councils
Values Voter Summit.
Yeah, Mitch, the donors are not happy.
Theyve all left you. Weve cut your oxygen
o, Bannon said on Saturday. Theres a
time and season for everything, and right
now its a season of war against a GOP
establishment.
I can understand where Steve Bannon
is coming from, Trump told reporters
before lunch with McConnell and Vice
President Mike Pence. Im not going to
blame myself. Ill be honest, they are not
getting the job done.
Asked about Bannons jibe at him
and Bannons promise to primary GOP
incumbentsjust as he boosted extremist
Judge Roy Moore over Trumps incumbent
pick Sen. Luther Strange in the Alabama
primaryMcConnell ducked and covered.
The goal, McConnell said, is to win
elections and that happens by appealing
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
Former Trump chief strategist STEVE BANNON at CPAC
to a broad electorate. After naming a
number of Tea Party losers, McConnell
said he is supporting GOP incumbents to
keep a governing majority.
Trump also seemed to backtrack from
his before-lunch comments. He said
he is going to try talking Bannon out of
primarying some incumbents, noting that
he has a fantastic relationship with some
members of Congress.
It is unclear if Bannon is using his
speaking gig at the California Republican
Party Convention on Oct. 20in Anaheim
as a recruitment opportunity or warning.
As a ame-thrower, he is an attraction.
However, with California Republican
registration down to 26 percent and no
GOP-held statewide oces, recruitment
of primary challengers at a convention
trying to gin up support for vulnerable
incumbents could backre.
The most important thing is an authentic
candidate, Bannon told the values voters.
Whether its Donald Trump or Judge Moore
-- this is who you ought to vote for.
But that admonishment
authenticity came after the Washington
Post revealed that, contrary to Moores
public pronouncements that he did not
take a regular salary from the small
PHOTO BY MICHAEL VADON; COURTESY OF FLICKR
Christian charity he founded, the justice
who was twice expelled from the bench for
violating the law, actually received a salary
of $180,000 a year for part-time work at his
Foundation for Moral Law. Additionally, his
$1 million-plus compensation as president
for ve years far exceeded what the
foundation disclosed in its public tax lings.
California Republicans have a similar
candidate in Rep. Duncan D. Hunter,
who represents the 50th District in San
Diego County. Hunterwho helped
spearhead the eort to evict trans service
members from the military is under FBI
investigation into whether improperly he
used campaign funds for personal and
family expenses.
Hunter, who succeeded his father
in 2008, is at risk of a stunning fall of
losing the safest of Republican seats
because of silly self-inicted mistakes. It
would be possible to feel sorry for him if
hed ever shown genuine contrition. Now
its too late for that, the San Diego Union
Tribune editorialized last July.
for Establishment Republicans have quietly
indicated they will cut Hunter loose if he
is indicted. Election prognosticators at
the Cook Report moved his competitive
reelection bid from Solid Republican to
LO CA L N E W S
Likely Republican. Hunters Democratic
opponent is a highly regarded former
Navy Seal, Josh Butner.
And then theres Rep. Dana Rohrabacher
who represents the 48th District of Coastal
Orange County. The Cook Report moved
Rohrabacher into the Toss Up column
in reaction to the surng conservatives
excited encounter with Julian Assange, and
support for internet conspiracy theorist
Chuck Johnson and the whole Trump-
loving pro-Russian gang. His strongest
likely Democratic opponent so far is Hans
Keirstead, a stem cell and cancer researcher
who founded a biotech company that was
sold for $126 million, per the Cook Report.
This is one of Democrats best takeover
opportunities in California.
The Cook Report rates other vulnerable
Republicans in competitive races as:
Toss Up: Steve Knight in the 25th District
(Palmdale), Darrell Issa in the 49th District
(Vista); Lean Republican: Je Denham,10th
District (Turlock), Ed Royce, 39th District
(Fullerton), and Mimi Walters, 45th District
(Irvine);Likely Republican: David Valadao,
21st District (Hanford).
Steve Bannon is not shy about taking
on the establishment on behalf of hard
working Americans, California Republican
Party Chairman Jim Brulte said in a press
release, adding that he was looking forward
to Bannon and other speakers providing a
vision for Republicans moving forward.
But before Trumps stunning upset last
November, that GOP vision was starting to
be one of sincere inclusion: the state party
welcomed gay moderate/conservative Log
Cabin Republicans as charter members;
then-Speaker John Boehner ew in for a
fundraiser for openly gay congressional
candidate Carl DeMaio; and Grover
Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax
Reform without whose endorsement once
no candidate could win, was a strong ally.
That vision has blurred. And now,
according to a lengthy story in the New
Yorker, Trump comfortable jokes that
Pence wants to hang all gay people.
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Come out and see the stars and support
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1 0 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM LO CA L N E W S

California reckoning: challenging Dianne Feinstein

With whom will the
LGBT community side?
By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com
Kevin de Len, the progressive
president pro-tem of the California State
Senate, made it ocial on Sunday, Oct.
15hes challenging 25-year incumbent
Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the June 5, 2018
Democratic primary. LGBT loyalties are
about to be tested.
California Democrats are just starting
to settle after the bruising battle by
Berniecrats over the election of out gay
Eric Bauman as Chair of the California
Democratic Party to succeed longtime
Chair John Burton. For 17 years, Bauman
worked as a powerful statewide strategist
and organizer, electing Democrats to
federal, state and local seats as chair of
the Los Angeles County Democratic Party,
representing over 2.4 million registered
Democrats. Last week, on Oct 12, the
LACDC elected Baumans pick young gay
politico Mark Gonzalesto lead them into
the critical 2018 elections.
The CDP election denotes a longed-for
political power shift from Northern to
Southern California, which may give de
Len a good ghting chance against the
rich, well-connected Feinstein. Though
California has a population of 39.25
million, the states two US Senators
have come from the San Francisco area
since Republicans Pete Wilson and John
Seymour, from the San Diego and Inland
Empire areas, respectively, were elected
in the early 1990s. And while, Los Angeles
is essentially the ATM for the national
Democratic Party, the last LA-based US
Senator was actor George Murphy, a
Republican elected in 1964.
De Len, 50, announced his candidacy in
an email to supporters and an online video
six days after Feinstein, 84, announced
she was running for a fth full term. The
California State Sen. KEVIN DE LEN
contest is a dramatic playing out of the
annoyed cry by younger congressional
Democrats that its time for the torch to be
passed to a new generation.
De Len presents himself as a leader of
that new activist generation. Having cut
his political teeth ghting Wilsons anti-
immigrant Prop 187, he is the author of
the once-unimaginable sanctuary state
bill, recently signed into law by Gov. Jerry
Brown. The legislation is seen by many as
a powerful middle nger of resistance to
the anti-immigrant policies of President
Donald J. Trump.
We now stand at the front lines of
a historic struggle for the very soul of
America, against a president without one,
de Len wrote in an email to supporters.
Every day, his administration wages
war on our people and our progress. He
disregards our voices. Demonizes our
diversity. Attacks our civil rights, our clean
air, our health access and our public
safety. We can lead the ght against his
administration, but only if we jump into
PHOTO COURTESY OF EQUALITY CALIFORNIA
the arena together.
Though he didnt mention Feinstein
in his announcement video that focuses
on his biography and the need for jobs
to escape poverty, De Len is calling out
the more conservative Democrat for
suggesting that Americans should exhibit
patience with Trump, that he might still
become good president.
He cannot be a good president, at all,
whatsoever de Len told the Sacramento
Bee. His values are antithetical to the
values of the state of California.
Bill Carrick, Feinsteins longtime
campaign strategist, told The Bee that
de Lens progressive positions are
counterfeit.
Hes making himself sound like hes
been a leader of the progressive movement
in California and that hes out front in a
direct appeal to Bernie Sanders voters,
Carrick said. But the truth of the matter is
he never supported Bernie Sanders. I dont
see a record of somebody being out on the
cutting edge on a lot of issues.
Democracy for America disagrees.
The progressive group with nearly
300,000 California members issued an
immediate endorsement of de Len,
citing in particular his work on behalf of
undocumented immigrants and single-
payer healthcare.
De Len didnt ask people to sit back
and wait, hoping maybe Trump would
someday turn out OK, DFA Executive
Director Charles Chamberlain said. He
immediately began working to pass
policies that would help the people most
immediately aected by Trumps bigoted,
greedy policies.
The contest may prove to be a trial
for LGBT voters. Feinstein was the San
Francisco Supervisor who found the
body of her colleague Harvey Milk and
announced the assassination to the world.
But as mayor, she also vetoed a domestic
partnership bill that many LGBT voters
remembered when she ran for governor
against Pete Wilson in 1990. However, as
a highly regarded conservative senator,
Feinsteins very strong voice opposing the
anti-gay Prop 8 in 2008 was critical and
deeply appreciated. She said she changed
her mind about marriage equality because
of her out deputy, Trevor Daley, who used
to represent Feinstein at LGBT functions.
She has also fought on behalf of binational
couples and to repeal the Defense of
Marriage Act.
On the other hand, de Len is close with
many LGBT activists and politicos, having
fought for intersectional issues for a long
time. He is an accessible and ubiquitous
presence at LGBT events. He is of the new
generation where the LGBT community
is automatically included in his strategic
thinking, not one on a list of constituencies.
Age, race, region, progressive-vs-
conservativeall will play a part in the
thinking of LGBT voters. But LGBT people
also tend to be very loyal and that loyalty,
earned for an emotional reason, may play
an important role in who gets their vote
next year.
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1 2 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM LO CA L N E W S

LGBT Homeless Gets State Hearing

Nearly one-third of
Americas homeless
youth live in California

By KAREN OCAMB
kocamb@losangelesblade.com

California State Sen. Scott Wiener

(D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember
Blanca E. Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) held
a joint informational hearing on the
extraordinarily high level of youth
homelessness, with statistics indicating
that an estimated 80% are Californians,
not from outside the state or country.
While the State Legislature has made
some progress addressing housing
aordabilitythe youth component of
the larger homelessness issue has fallen
through the legislative cracks, even though
more than 12,000 youth are homeless in
the Golden State on any one night.
Representative service providers,
researchers, homeless advocates
and youth testied on Oct. 10, World
Homeless Day, at The Village at Ed Gould
Plaza in Hollywood on the dire but often
overlooked situation and what state
government could do, including education
and job training programs.
Simon Costello, the Los Angeles LGBT
Centers Director of Children, Youth & Family
Services cited statistics from an extensive
survey conducted by the Hollywood
Homeless Youth Partnership (www.hhyp.
org), with which the Center partners. The
2013 HHYP report indicated that: 40% had
been removed from their home by child
protective services; 69% had at some point
been involved with the juvenile or criminal SIMON COSTELLO, the Los Angeles LGBT Centers Director of Children, Youth & Family Services testies at hearing of the California Senate and Assembly
Human Services Committees on Oct. 10.
justice system; less than 50% of youth over
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LA LGBT CENTER
18 had a high school diploma or GED.
Simon also cited a Jan. 2017 study under
the auspices of the LA Homeless Services counted in 2016; over 90% were between In 2016, the Center provided services 7 days a week, it means 2 to 3 new young
Authority: 5,847 youthnearly half of all 18 and 24 and roughly 80% were young to over 1,200 young people experiencing people are seeking services every dayat
estimated homeless youth in California people of color; 70% were from LA County. homelessness, 880 were rst time clients, just one agency.
are homelessness on any one night in These surveys do not count youth who says Center Communications manager (See Sen. Wieners op-ed on the hearing
LA County alonethats up from 3,540 couch surf or nd other temporary shelter. Gil Diaz. Since the Youth Center is open in this issue.)
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1 4 OCO TB E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM QUOTES

Notable quotes
A ROUNDUP OF WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT LGBTQ ISSUES

PHOTO BY SGT. 1ST CLASS BENJAMIN COSSEL

FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD; COURTESY OF FLICKR

At least 40 people are known dead, with an unknown number still missing after wind-fueled wildres devastated 5,700 homes, businesses, vineyards and entire neighborhoods in
Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties in Northern California. Fountaingrove Lodge, an LGBT retirement community in Santa Rosa, suered some smoke damage, with residents
evacuated to nearby senior facilities. The Bay Area Reporter noted that some LGBT-owned vineyards were impacted and LGBT evacuees stayed with friends. BAR says the San Francisco-
based Rainbow World Fund is raising funds and supplies. Additionally, Facebook groups have been started, including Napa/Santa Rosa Animal Evacuations Info and Solano County
Horse/Livestock Fire Evacuation Help Page to serve as hubs for donation and volunteer information and pet/owner reunication.

If youve been sexually harassed or assaulted write

me too as a reply to this tweet
actress @Alyssa Milano tweeted Oct. 15, launching #MeToo hashtag in response to Harvey Weinstein scandal.

The American government has failed.

celebrity chef Jos Andrs told TIME as he fed people in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

So Sec. Tillerson did not call the president a moron.

They were sharing a sunday and the President asked if
he wanted more sprinkles and the secretary said, more on.
SNLs Kate McKinnon playing a horror parody of Kellyanne Conway from a rainy sewer to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.
 TAKE THE LEAD

Take an active role in your health.

Ask your doctor if an HIV medicine made by Gilead is right for you.

onepillchoices.com
GILEAD and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc.
2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC4605 05/17

UNBC4619_B_LEAD_10x10_Red_LABlade_p1.indd 1 10/3/17 11:27 AM

NATIONAL NEWS
Trump at anti-LGBT summit: The times are changing back again
Conservative Value Voters
respond with chants of
USA! USA! USA!
By CHRIS JOHNSON
President Trump took the opportunity
Friday of speaking at an anti-LGBT summit
to express pleasure in his administrations
actions reversing the legacy of the Obama
years, citing among other things recent
religious freedom guidance seen to
enable anti-LGBT discrimination.
Entering the stage at the 2017 Values
Voter Summit to chants of USA! USA!
USA! Trump sought to connect with an
audience of social conservatives, who
were largely responsible for his win in the
2016 presidential election.
The American Founders invoked our
Creator four times in the Declaration of
Independence four times, Trump said.
How times have changed. But you know
what, now theyre changing back again.
Just remember that.
Those words werent in direct
reference to LGBT issues, but could
apply to any number of actions in the
Trump administration reversing LGBT
achievements under Obama. Among
them are his ban on transgender people
in the military, undoing action in Obama
years allowing them to serve, or his Justice
Department advocating against LGBT
non-discrimination protections after the
previous administration enforced civil
rights laws to protect LGBT people.
Trumps speech covered a range of
actions made in his administration,
including the appointment of U.S. Associate
Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court,
ending the birth control mandate under
Obamacare and military advances against
the Islamic State of Iraq & Syria.
But Trump also maintained his
commitment to religious freedom, citing
his executive order on the issue in May
that resulted subsequent guidance from
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
President DONALD TRUMP speaks at the 2017 Values Voter Summit.
U.S. Attorney General Je Sessions.
Just last week, based on this executive
action, the Department of Justice issued
a new guidance to all federal agencies
to ensure that no religious group is ever
targeted under my administration, Trump
said. It wont happen.
The guidance is seen to green light
discrimination against LGBT people in the
name of religious freedom. For example,
a Social Security administrator charged
with processing benets applications
could see an application for same-sex
spousal benets and refuse to process
that application for religious reasons.
Religious freedom was major point in
Trumps address, which was delivered to
many evangelical Christians. As evidence
of Americas commitment to faith, Trump
cited the inclusion of the words one nation
under God in the pledge of allegiance.
I pledged that, in a Trump
administration, our nations religious
heritage would be cherished, protected,
and defended like you have never seen
before, Trump said. Thats whats
happening. Thats whats happening. You
see it every day. Youre reading it. joke asking Tony Perkins, president of the
Trump also issued a call for unity at the
event, recalling recent tragedies aecting
the nation, such as the mass shooting
at Las Vegas, the wildre claiming lives
in California and devastation caused
by hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, in
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
(Trump has faced criticism for inadequate
response to Puerto Rico, which is still 84
percent without electrical power.)
When America is unied, no force on
Earth can break us apart, Trump said. We
love our families. We love our neighbors.
We love our country. Everyone here today
is brought together by the same shared
and timeless values. We cherish the sacred
dignity of every human life.
Trumps speech marked the rst time a
sitting U.S. president spoke at the Values
Voter Summit, which is hosted by the anti-
LGBT Family Research Council. But Trump
has delivered remarks before at the
annual event. Last year, Trump addressed
the anti-LGBT confab when he was the
Republican presidential nominee.
At one point, Trump made a strange
O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 1 7
BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Family Research Council, for permission to
skip next years event. Looking to Perkins
on stage, Trump later said, Hes saying
theyre saying no.
The exchange intended as amusing
aside, but demonstrates the coziness
between anti-LGBT groups like the Family
Research Council and the White House
since the start of the Trump administration.
In the end, Trump oered a triumphant
view of America overcoming the many
challenges it faces, but emphasized the
centralized of faith in achieving that
goal before an audience that known to
use religious freedom as an excuse to
discriminate against LGBT people.
We will defeat every evil, overcome
every threat, and meet every single
challenge, Trump said. We will defend
our faith and protect our traditions. We
will nd the best in each other and in
ourselves. We will pass on the blessings
of liberty, and the glories of God, to our
children. Our values will endure, our
nation will thrive, our citizens will ourish,
and our freedom will triumph.
1 8 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
LGBT, HIV groups pan Trumps executive order
By CHRIS JOHNSON
LGBT and HIV/AIDS groups are criticizing
President Trumps executive order on
health care, asserting the measure
endangers people with pre-existing
conditions who could be left out in the cold.
Trump signed the executive order
Thursday in the Oval Oce in front of Vice
President Pence, senior administration
ocials and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who
opposes Obamacare, but has threatened to
vote no on legislative replacement plans.
With these actions, we are moving
toward lower costs and more options in
the healthcare market and taking crucial
steps towards saving the American people
from the nightmare of Obamacare,
Trump said.
LGBT groups, which predominantly
were vocal opponents of Trumpcare in
its legislative form, panned the executive
order shortly after Trump signed it.
Carl Schmid, deputy director of the
AIDS Institute, said the executive order
sets up health care plans that dont
provide essential health benets like
prescription drugs or preventative care
which he said is really important for
people at risk of HIV or with HIV.
I dont know what these plans have to
cover, Schmid said. Theyre not regulated
by the insurance commissioners. Were
been working so hard to get the insurance
commissioners to look at problems in the
insurance market; these plans dont even
get regulated by the insurance regulators,
so it seems like its really substandard.
Schmid added the executive order will
also hurt the overall insurance market,
which includes people with pre-existing
conditions who may forced to pay higher
premiums and deductibles.
The people who are sick will stay in
those, and other people will go in these
plans and people dont know when theyre
going to have HIV, or going to have cancer
down the road, and thats what insurance
does, it spreads it out, Schmid said.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
The executive order contains three key If you get healthy people, or people
portions, each of which the White House who think theyre healthy, to leave the
says is designed to curtail the escalating regulated plans that are in ACAs health
costs of health insurance and assist the exchanges to sign up for this cheaper
estimated 1,500 counties that will be left health insurance with less coverage then
with one provider in 2018: when you do is drive up the costs for
The order directs the Labor the folks who need full health insurance
Department to consider expanding because the risk pool gets skewed more
access to association health plans to and more towards people with high
allow employers to form groups across medical casts, Bruner said.
state lines to oer healthcare coverage to Bruner added that could really harm
their employees. Employers participating people with HIV or other high-cost medical
in these associations cannot exclude conditions as well as LGBT people.
any employee from joining the plan and Although lots of folks dont realize this,
cannot develop premiums based on there are an awful of folks in the LGBT
health conditions. community who are low-income who
The order instructs the administration to potentially would be harmed by this as
consider expanding coverage through low well, Bruner said.
cost short-term limited duration insurance According to a March report from the
typically cheaper plans that under Center for American Progress, the rate of
Obamacare were slated to last a maximum low- and middle-income LGBT people who
of three months, but not subject to the same are uninsured has dropped by 35 percent
requirements for pre-existing conditions. since before the Aordable Care Acts
The order directs the administration coverage reforms took eect in 2013.
to consider changes to Health Asked whether the Trump executive
Reimbursement Arrangements, employer- order would hamper Whitman-Walkers
funded accounts that reimburse ability to administer care, Bruner replied,
employees for healthcare expenses, such We certainly hope not and, of course,
as deductibles and copayments. were committed to serving everyone
David Stacy, government aairs director regardless of their ability to pay.
for the Human Rights Campaign, said The concern is that if folks have less
the executive order amounts to assault insurance coverage that is less generous,
on health coverage provided under the or covers fewer conditions, or has much
Aordable Care Act. deductibles, then when they come to get
Trumps executive order is nothing the health care they need, either from us
more than a cynical attempt to sabotage or from someone else, theyre going to be
the Aordable Care Act, Stacy said. hit with much higher out-of-pocket costs
Beyond undermining the ACA, President that insurance wont cover, Bruner said.
Trumps order will put LGBTQ Americans One real concern is folks in that situation
at risk through substandard health plans will just not get the care they need.
that exclude essential health benets and Also speaking out against the executive
protections for those with pre-existing order was Stephen Boswell, CEO of the
conditions and increase premiums for Massachusetts-based LGBT organization
those remaining in other plans. Fenway Health.
Dan Bruner, senior director of policy Todays executive order is a signicant
for the D.C.-based Whitman-Walker step backwards for the nations health.
Health, said the executive order has no Weakening the mandate to ensure that
immediate impact until U.S. agencies act, all health insurance plans oer essential
but nonetheless expressed concern. health benets means that core health
NATIONAL NEWS
services such as HIV/STI screening and
prescription medications will become
more costly and less accessible, Boswell
said. Health insurance costs for people
living with HIV will likely increase
signicantly, and insurance markets will
become destabilized.
Trump signed the executive order after
repeated attempts in Congress to make
good on Republican campaign pledges to
repeal and replace the Aordable Care Act.
Although the U.S. House passed a version of
Trumpcare, the U.S. Senate has been unable
to reach an agreement on legislation.
Gregory Angelo, executive director of
Log Cabin Republicans, in contrast to other
LGBT groups said the executive order is a
step in the right direction.
The goal of President Trumps
executive order on healthcare is to provide
Americans particularly middle-income
Americans with more aordable
healthcare choices and to allow Americans
to exercise greater control over their
healthcare decisions, Angelo said. These
are principles that all Americans should
get behind, especially those who have
been impacted directly by Obamacares
ongoing collapse.
Unlike other LGBT groups, Log Cabin
has joined with other Republican groups in
calling for repeal of the Aordable Care Act.
Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, also
condemned Trumps executive order in
a statement as an attempt to sabotage
coverage for the more than 20 million people
who receive coverage under Obamacare.
President Trump is working to sabotage
the Aordable Care Act in any way possible;
showing complete disregard for the health
and well-being of millions of Americans,
including many in the LGBTQ community,
who rely on the ACA for coverage, Ellis
said. Health care is a human right and now
more than ever we must keep ghting to
protect our care and demand the inclusive
and aordable healthcare that the LGBTQ
community, and all Americans, deserve to
live and thrive.
W WW .L OS A NG EL ESB LADE .CO M O CO T BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 1 9

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2 0 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Lawsuit against Mississippi anti-LGBT law reaches Supreme Court
By CHRIS JOHNSON
On the same day a Mississippi religious
freedom law enabling anti-LGBT
discrimination went into eect, an LGBT
legal team litigating against the statute
petitioned the Supreme Court to review
the decision throwing out their challenge
to the law.
In a 43-page ling, the legal team in case
of Barber v. Bryant urges the Supreme Court
to reverse the U.S. U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals decision that determined plaintis
lacked standing to challenge the anti-LGBT
on the basis of either the Establishment or
the Equal Protections Clauses.
The courts decision is wrong on the
merits; it conicts with the decision
of other courts of appeals; and it has
staggering implications, the petition says.
Under the courts reasoning, a state could
enact a statute establishing Christianity
or any other religion as the ocial
religion of the state, and no plainti would
have standing to challenge that statute.
Representing plaintis in the case
LGBT people, Mississippi ministers and
the Joshua Generation Metropolitan
Community Church are Lambda Legal,
Mississippi civil rights attorney Rob McDu
and the Mississippi Center for Justice.
McDu said in a statement the legal
team is seeking Supreme Court review of
the Mississippi anti-LGBT law because it is
unfair and unconstitutional.
These laws are wolves in sheeps
clothing it is LGBT discrimination
disguised as religious freedom, McDu
said. By promoting discrimination in the
name of religion, HB 1523 violates both the
First and the Fourteenth Amendments.
Beth Orlansky, advocacy director for the
Mississippi Center for Justice, said in a statement
the Fifth Circuits decision is imposing harm on
LGBT people in Mississippi.
Standing is not about who wins
and who loses, but who has access to
justice, Orlansky said. HB 1523 goes
into eect today, but our clients have
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
A lawsuit challenging the Mississippi anti-LGBT
law has reached the Supreme Court.
BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
been experiencing the ill eects of the law
since it passed. The Fifth Circuits decision
is out of step with decisions in many
other circuits and we are hopeful that
the Supreme Court will grant review and
provide clarity on this issue.
The law, House Bill 1523, prohibits the
state from taking action against religious
organizations that decline employment,
housing or services to same-sex couples;
families whove adopted a foster child
and wish to act in opposition to same-
sex marriage and individuals who oer
wedding services and decline to facilitate
a same-sex wedding.
Additionally, the bill allows individuals
working in medical services to decline a
transgender persons request for gender
reassignment surgery. The bill also allows
state government employees who facilitate
marriages the option to opt out of issuing
licenses to same-sex couples, but the
person must issue prior written notice to the
state government and a clerks oce must
not delay the issuance of licenses.
Last month, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals refused to reconsider en banc
before the full court an earlier decision
by a three-judge panel to throw out the
lawsuit. That decision overturned a ruling
from a district court that found HB 1523
violated the Establishment Clause.
The petition presents two questions for
the Supreme Court: 1) If plaintis in the
case have standing to challenge the law on
the basis that it violates the Establishment
Clause; and 2) If plaintis have standing to
challenge on the basis that it challenges
the Equal Protection Clause.
Making the case the anti-LGBT law
violates the Establishment Clause, the
petition argues the statute amount state-
sanctioned discrimination in support of
one particular religious views.
If anything, HB 1523 inicts a much
more concrete injury than any religious
display, the petition says. Enshrining litigation and associate legal director at
particular religious beliefs in a state
statute is the most emphatic endorsement
the state can make it represents the
States ocial and considered policy, and
it is intended to govern all state citizens.
On the issue of whether the law violates
the Equal Protection Clause, the petition
says the anti-LGBT law leaves a disfavored
group of people with no recourse if
theyre denied services under the statute.
That is the denition of unequal
treatment under the law, the petition
says. HB 1523 establishes an unequal
legal regime, both creating a favored class
of people and allowing them to deny with
impunity a range of services to another,
disfavored, class of people.
Although the Supreme Court has
already agreed to hear a case on
religious freedom and LGBT rights the
Masterpiece Cakeshop case involving a
Colorado baker seeking to deny wedding
cakes to same-sex couples the petition
insists consideration of the Mississippi is
still necessary.
[W]hichever way the court rules in
NATIONAL NEWS
Masterpiece Cakeshop, its decision is
likely to make the questions presented
here even more important, by spurring
more state enactments like Mississippis,
the petition says. If the court rejects
the bakers claim and concludes that
the challenged application of Colorados
public accommodations law does not
violate the First Amendment, states will be
more likely to pass laws like HB 1523.
The names of the attorneys on the
petition include heavy-hitters joining as co-
counsel in the case. Among them is Paul
Smith, the D.C.-based attorney who in 2003
successfully argued before the Supreme
Court against state bans on same-sex
relations in Lawrence v. Texas. Also on the
list is Donald Verrilli, a former U.S. solicitor
general under the Obama administration
assisted in litigation before the Supreme
Court seeking marriage equality.
Susan Sommer, director of constitutional
Lambda Legal, compared the Mississippi
anti-LGBT law to state bans on sodomy
struck down in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas.
The Supreme Court again needs to
safeguard equality for LGBT Mississippians
and LGBT people across the country who
are experiencing another dangerous
attack on their rights, Sommer said. We
are hopeful that the Supreme Court will
grant review and that its ruling will shut
down other anti-LGBT state lawmakers
emboldened not only by the wave of
discriminatory laws like HB 1523, but also
by an administration in Washington rolling
back LGBT civil rights and providing a
roadmap to discriminate.
The Barber case is but one of two legal
challenges to the anti-LGBT Mississippi law
rejected by the Fifth Circuit. The other was
led by New York attorney Roberta Kaplan on
behalf of the Campaign of Southern Equality.
A spokesperson for the Campaign for
Southern Equality said the LGBT group
intends to follow up with its own petition
seeking Supreme Court of the Mississippi
anti-LGBT law.
W WW .L OS A NG EL ESB LADE .CO M O CO T BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 2 1

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2 2 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Trump draws sharp criticism from Latin America activists
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
VALPARASO, Chile Activists in Latin
America with whom the Washington Blade
spoke in recent weeks sharply criticized
President Trump over his administrations
stance on LGBT and intersex rights and
other issues.
Diego Encalada, regional coordinator
of Fundacin Iguales, a Chilean LGBTI
advocacy group, sat down with the Blade
on Oct. 3 at a coee shop in the Chilean
port city of Valparaso.
He described Trumps decision to ban
transgender people from the U.S. military
as a setback. Encalada, a medical student
who visited California and Las Vegas in
2015, also criticized Trump over a host
of other issues that include his stance
towards North Korea and climate change.
He makes us laugh, Encalada told
the Blade as he drank a glass fruit juice.
[Trump] would clearly not make me laugh
if I were . . . standing in the shoes of a trans
person in the U.S.
Fundacin Iguales President Juan
Enrique Pi also noted Trumps decision
to ban trans people from the U.S. military
when he spoke with the Blade on Oct. 4
at his oce in the Bellavista neighborhood
of the Chilean capital of Santiago, which is
roughly 70 miles southeast of Valparaso
at the base of the Andes mountains.
What Donald Trump did with trans
people in the U.S. Army is a tremendous
blow to trans identity, not only in the
United States, said Pi.
The world that Donald Trump proposes
is a world that is dierent than what
any human rights defender wants, he
added. It is therefore a world with more
discrimination, with more exclusion, with
more prejudice.
Rolando Jimnez, president of the
Movement for Homosexual Integration
and Liberation, largely echoed Pi when
he spoke with the Blade on Oct. 2 at his
organizations oces that are located near
Santiagos OHiggins Park.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
Trumps election is a tragedy, said
Jimnez.
Jimnez spoke with the Blade less than
24 hours after a gunman who was in a
32nd oor suite at the Mandalay Bay
casino hotel in Las Vegas killed 58 people
and injured nearly 500 others during a
country music festival.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and
Argentine President Mauricio Macri are
among the Latin American leaders who
condemned the massacre. Chileans with
whom the Blade spoke in the days after the
mass shooting asked about the prevalence
of guns in the U.S. and what American
politicians have done to reduce it.
Trump immigration
policy sparks concern
in Central America
Activists with whom the Blade spoke also
criticized Trump over his administrations
immigration policy.
Andrea Ayala, executive director of
Espacio de Mujeres Lesbianas por la
Diversidad, an LGBTI advocacy group in
El Salvador that is known by the acronym
ESMULES, sat down with the Blade on
Sept. 25 at a coee shop in the upscale San
Benito neighborhood of the Salvadoran
capital of San Salvador. The interview took
place less than a month after the Trump
administration announced it will end the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) program, which has allowed
roughly 800,000 young undocumented
immigrants to remain in the U.S. and
obtain work permits.
Ayala pointed out to the Blade that
young undocumented immigrants from
El Salvador account for the third highest
percentage of DACA beneciaries. She also
highlighted the case of a legally married
gay Salvadoran couple who were raising
a young child in Bedford, Va., before the
U.S. deported them, even though they are
both DACA recipients.
They came to a country that is not
prepared to handle two dads with kids,
Ayala told the Blade, noting one of the
men left El Salvador when he was a baby
and neither of them speaks Spanish.
Pedro Santos, the gay nephew of
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos
who lives part-time in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
also discussed DACA when he spoke with
the Blade on Sept. 28 at a coee shop
in the Chapinero neighborhood of the
Colombian capital of Bogot.
He said he has undocumented friends
who have lived in the U.S. for their
whole lives and some of their relatives
have been deported. Pedro Santos also
criticized Trump over his response to the
white supremacist rally in Charlottesville,
Va., in August that left Heather Heyer, a
32-year-old paralegal, dead.
The precedent that hes setting is Im
white so I have the power to mock you and
I have the power, like I own you basically,
said Pedro Santos. All of this is just letting
white people know its okay to be racist,
which is not and this is setting a horrible
precedent for the U.S.
Karla Avelar, director of Comunicando y
Capacitando a Mujeres Trans, a Salvadoran
trans advocacy group known by the
acronym COMCAVIS, told the Blade on
Sept. 22 during an interview at her oce in
San Salvadors Flor Blanca neighborhood
that her organization does not work with
any known DACA recipients.
El Salvador and neighboring Honduras
are among the countries that are included
in the Temporary Protected Status program,
which allows people from countries that
have suered war and/or national disaster
over the last two decades to receive
temporary residency permits in the U.S.
Avelar said COMCAVIS has worked with
LGBT Salvadorans who have received TPS.
She told the Blade that many of them are
concerned the Trump administration will
end the program.
We are aware of people who have
expressed concern, said Avelar.
El Salvador and Honduras are among
NATIONAL NEWS
the most violent countries in the world.
Rampant violence and discrimination from
street gangs, the police and even family
members based on sexual orientation
and gender identity has prompted many
LGBTI people from El Salvador, Honduras
and neighboring Guatemala to ee their
respective countries and migrate to
Mexico and the U.S.
An executive order that Trump signed
on Jan. 25 spurred construction of a wall
along the U.S.-Mexico border in order
to curtail the number of undocumented
immigrants who enter the U.S. sparked
widespread outrage among advocates
in Central America. The White Houses
decision to reinstate trade and travel
restrictions with Cuba and the Trump
administrations response to Hurricane
Maria in Puerto Rico have also been
sources of criticism throughout the region.
Since Donald Trump took oce he has
slowly started to dismantle the system of
protections and access to human rights
of LGBT people, among other targeted
minorities, Mariano Ruiz, a member of the
International Day Against Homophobia,
Transphobia and Biphobia board of directors,
told the Blade on Tuesday from Buenos Aires.
The U.S. has become
irrelevant to people
U.S. Attorney General Je Sessions in
July met with his Salvadoran counterpart,
Douglas Menndez, in San Salvador.
The meeting coincided with the arrest
of more than 700 gang members who
are aliated with MS-13 and other gangs.
The Justice Department announced while
Sessions was in El Salvador that a member
of MS-13s Peajes Locos Salvatruchas
Clique who allegedly killed three LGBT
people in the country earlier this year was
in U.S. custody.
Vice President Pence in August traveled
to Panama, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 2 3

Sen. Kamala Harris to headline HRCs national dinner

By CHRIS JOHNSON

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is set to

headline the upcoming Human Rights
Campaign dinner in D.C. amid speculation
she may pursue a presidential bid to
unseat President Trump in 2020.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, announced in a
statement Harris would speak at the
21st annual HRC National Dinner, which
will take place Oct. 28 at the Washington
Convention Center.
Sen. Kamala Harris is a champion of
equality who is committed to helping
us ght back against the Trump-Pence
administrations all-out war against
the LGBTQ community, Grin said.
Throughout her career in public life, Sen.
Harris has fought for the equal dignity
of the LGBTQ community, and she is a
national leader in the resistance against
the politics of hate and fear.
Harris, considered a potential 2020
presidential candidate, is already a favorite
of many in the LGBT community who are
looking to defeat President Trump and
reverse his anti-LGBT policy when he seeks
re-election at the end of his rst term.
A co-sponsor of the Equality Act in the
U.S. Senate, Harris as California attorney
general gained a reputation as an LGBT
advocate for refusing to defend Proposition
8 in court and declining to certify a state
ballot initiative aimed instituting the death
penalty for homosexual acts.
But Harris also faced criticism in the
transgender community for challenging
on behalf of the state a court order
granting gender reassignment surgery
for transgender inmate, Michelle-Lael
Norsworthy. The inmate ultimately
U.S. Sen. KAMALA HARRIS (D-Calif.) is set to speak at the Human Rights Campaign national dinner.
obtained the surgery under Medi-Cal after
she was granted parole. BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY

Also set for recognition at the Human

Rights Campaign dinner is two-time Emmy Eyes Warren on the Netix show Orange change countless hearts and minds, commitment to helping advance equality
Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba, wholl is the New Black, which she said has Uzo Aduba is a powerful and compelling for LGBTQ people around the globe. We
be given the HRC Ally for Equality Award. educated her on LGBT issues. voice for justice, fairness, and equality, are proud to honor her with the HRC Ally
Aduba plays the role of Suzanne Crazy Using her incredible talent to help Grin said. Aduba is unwavering in her for Equality Award.
2 4 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Trump should defend
free press, not threaten it
President threatened
to revoke NBC
broadcast license
MICHAEL K. LAVERS is a reporter for the
Washington Blade. Reach him at mlavers@
washblade.com.
President Trump on Oct. 11 once again
attacked the media.
Trump in a tweet that he wrote at 9 55
a.m. asked, at what point is it appropriate
to challenge the broadcast licenses of
NBC and other television networks.
Trump a few hours latertold reportersduring
a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister at the
White House that it is frankly disgusting the way
the press is able to write whatever they want to
write. Trump at 8:09 p.m. tweeted network
news has become so partisan, distorted and
fake that licenses must be challenged and, if
appropriate, revoked.
Not fair to public, he proclaimed.
Trumps outbursts came against the
backdrop of an NBC report that detailed
his request to dramatically increase the
U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Presidential criticism of the press and
specically Trump lashing out at the media
is certainly not out of the ordinary.
Trump threatening to interfere with the
ability of the press to operate freely and
independently as the First Amendment
outlines is certainly out of the ordinary and
should spark concern among all Americans.
Some facts are in order.
The names of 2,305 journalists from
around the world who have died while
on assignment are part of Newseums
Journalists Memorialin downtown D.C.
WWW .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
President TRUMPon Oct. 11, 2017, threatened to revoke NBCs broadcasting license in response to
a story on his request to increase the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Maykel Gonzlez, a gay Cuban journalist,
has been detained twice over the last year
because he triedto report on the aftermath
of Hurricane Matthewin the city of Baracoa
and the governments preparations ahead
of Hurricane Irma in a portion of his
hometown that was heavily damaged.
Death threats forced Elena Milashina,
a reporter with the independent Russian
newspaper Novaya Gazeta who broke the
story of an anti-gay crackdown in Chechnya
earlier this year, to go into hiding. A Russian
court in August stopped the deportation of
a gay Novaya Gazeta reporter who writes
under the pen name Ali Feruz and claims he
would face torture if authorities deported
him to his native Uzbekistan.
The Washington Blade since January
has reported from Honduras, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Colombia andCuba.
The State Departments 2016 human rights
report indicates journalists in Honduras,
VIEWPOINT
BLADE FILE PHOTO BY LEE WHITMAN
El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia
have been threatened, harassed, attacked,
kidnapped and even killed. It also notes the
Cuban government directly owned all print
and broadcast media outlets and all widely
available sources of information.
Journalists earlier this month covered the
horrors of the mass shooting in Las Vegas
that left 58 people dead and more than
500 others injured. They are also covering
the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto
Rico and the federal governments grossly
inadequate response that has cost lives.
Journalists are covering the litany of
scandals around the Trump administration
that continue to put its very future into
question.
This is not fake news, Mr. President.
A free press is an essential part of
American democracy. Journalists in
this country expect their president to
vigorously and unequivocally defend it.
VOLUME 01 ISSUE 16
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V I E W PO I NT W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 2 5

The Trump Administration is attacking transgender people

But the law still protects us
people from being red or harassed
because they are transgender.
While many transgender people
understandably feel anxious and uncertain
in the wake of these attacks on our
community, its important to understand
that we are not powerless. The law
The courts have also ruled over and over
again that Title IX, the federal law barring
sex discrimination in education, requires
schools to protect transgender students
from discrimination and harassment by
school sta and other students. In one
recent case we at the National Center for
transgender service members. Many
service members came out as transgender
to their commanders in reliance on the
militarys policy allowing open service. That
policy was adopted last year after careful
study and with the full support of the
professional uniformed and civilian military

SHANNON MINTER is Legal Director for the

National Center for Lesbian Rights

Although transgender people are under assault like never before,

During the Obama administration,
transgender people made unprecedented
progress toward equality. President Obama
signed an executive order protecting
transgender federal employees from
discrimination. The Department of Justice,
Department of Education, and Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
all recognized that discrimination against
transgender people violates federal
laws prohibiting sex discrimination in
employment, education, and housing. And
Attorney General Loretta Lynch pledged
the full weight of the federal government
in support of transgender people when
she declared: We see you; we stand with
you; and we will do everything we can to
protect you going forward.
Since taking oce, the Trump
administration has been doing everything
in its power to turn back the clock on the
advances transgender people have made.
A month into the new administration, the
Departments of Justice and Education
withdrew the Obama administrations
guidance to schools, which claried that
federal law requires schools to treat
transgender students equally in all respects,
including equal access to restrooms and
other facilities. This summer, President
Trump took to Twitter to abruptly announce
that he was reversing the policy allowing
transgender people to serve openly.
Trumps announcement was immediately
opposed by military leaders, including the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta. And
just recently, Attorney General Je Sessions
announced that the Department of Justice
would no longer argue in court cases that
federal sex discrimination laws protect
we need to remain strong and
remind ourselves how far we have come and
how many tools we still have to ght for equality.
protects us in many ways that the Trump
administration cannot easily undo, and we
have options when faced with hostility and
discrimination at work or at school.
For more than a decade, a near-
unanimous consensus has emerged
among federal courts that the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 and other federal laws outlaw
discrimination against transgender people
because it is a form of sex discrimination.
This law is so well established at this point
that few courts would disagree. And it is
the courts, not the President or the Justice
Department, that are responsible for
deciding discrimination cases.
The EEOC also has made clear that it does
not agree with the Attorney Generals new
position on transgender discrimination
and will continue to treat discrimination
against transgender people as sex
discrimination. The EEOC is still urging any
transgender person facing discrimination
on the job to le a complaint, and it
continues to investigate and take action
against employers who discriminate. Just
last month, the EEOC argued an important
case in which it sued a Michigan funeral
home for ring one of its funeral directors
after she told her employer of her plans to
transition at work.
Lesbian Rights led, a federal district court
ruled that Title IX prohibits an Ohio School
District from treating a 12-year old girl as if
she were a boy because she is transgender.
As a result of this ruling, the student is now
able use the girls restroom and otherwise
feel safe and protected at school. In
addition to these federal protections,
21 states have laws providing specic
protections against discrimination based
on gender identity in at least some areas,
such as employment, housing, education,
and public accommodations. The Trump
administration can do nothing to undercut
these important state-level protections.
And while the Presidents military ban dealt
a blow to transgender service members who
continue to serve with honor and distinction,
the LGBT community has quickly swung
into action to challenge the ban. In August,
we at NCLR, along with our colleagues at
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, led
the rst legal challenge to the ban on behalf
of a brave group of current and prospective
service members. We have since joined a
second challenge, and two other challenges
have been led as well.
In these cases, we are asking the
courts to immediately halt the Presidents
cruel and discriminatory betrayal of
leadership. The Presidents reckless action
now threatens these service members
with dismissal and undermines the military
itself by depriving it of highly trained and
capable sta, many of whom have served
for a decade or more.
Another recentand ominoussign
of the administrations attitude toward
transgender people is the Attorney
Generals issuance on October 6 of a
memo urging federal agencies to broadly
interpret existing federal laws that protect
the religious freedom of government
workers, religious organizations, and
others. While the exact impact of this
new guidance remains to be seen, there
is good reason to be concerned that in
the coming months we will see federal
regulations that allow discrimination
against transgender people under the
guise of religious freedom.
Although transgender people are under
assault like never before, we need to
remain strong and remind ourselves how
far we have come and how many tools
we still have to ght for equality. Despite
the Trump administrations unrelenting
animosity, we still have the law on our side
in many areas, and we can trust the courts
to take our claims for equality seriously.
2 6 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM VIEWPOINT

Youth Homelessness is a Crisis for the LGBT Community

Sen. Wiener opines about
Legislatures moral failure
on youth homelessness

By SCOTT WEINER

California faces a moral failure when it

comes to youth homelessness. We have
one third of the nations homeless youth
in our state, and of those minimum 12,000
youth, as many as 40% identify as LGBT.
We must, as a community and as a state,
step up for our young people. We can and
must end youth homelessness.
We know why our LGBT youth are
particularly vulnerable to being homeless.
It starts with family rejection, which 40%
of LGBT youth cite as the reason they
are homeless. In San Francisco, I see this
every day in the Castro neighborhood,
where I have lived for twenty years. For
decades, young people have been coming
to the Castro to escape intolerance in their
communities and their homes.
In recent years, the number of homeless
young people in California, ages 16 to
24, has risen, partially driven by the cost
of housing. As that rise has occurred,
we havent devoted enough resources
to addressing the unique causes of and
solutions to youth homelessness.
As Chair of the California Senate Human State Sen. SCOTT WEINER (second from right) at EQCA Palm Springs dinner, Oct. 2017
Services Committee, I recently joined my LOS ANGELES BLADE PHOTO BY KAREN OCAMB
counterpart from the Assembly Human
Services Committee, Assemblymember
Blanca Rubio, to hold a hearing on youth funding for homeless youth, and along but she ended up sleeping on the streets it was a welcoming place for someone
homelessness in California and what we with my colleague Assemblymember and was jumped for all of her possessions. like me. But I was fortunate -- I had a
can do to help end this crisis on our streets. Rubio, I will be pushing for a funding Depression and isolation followed. supportive family and a law degree. I had
We held the hearing at the Los Angeles package to signicantly increase funding. LGBT youth, in particularly transgender opportunities. So many who come looking
LGBT Center, which sees two to three new These young people deserve more than youth, face discrimination and intolerance for communities like the Castro dont have
homeless youth come through their doors budget dust. in our shelter systems, and there is just those resources. They come looking for
every day. These are young LGBT people The most challenging part of the not enough support in the few centers community and instead nd the streets.
who have nowhere else to go -- and hearing for me was hearing directly from we have. Luckily, Alexix found the LGBT We know what it takes to end youth
they are the ones lucky enough to nd a the young people about what Californias Center, and she has worked hard to homelessness: sustained support for
resource like the LA LGBT Center. failures mean for their lives. We had young improve her life. But as Alexix said, while housing and other critical services. The
At the hearing, we heard from service panelists, formerly homeless youth, who its her life, we need to get her -- and question is whether we have the political
providers and researchers working with talked about not being able to access the people like her -- connected to resources will to invest the resources to get the job
our young people day in and day out. few services that actually exist for them. to understand how they can build a better done. Lets have have that political will.
We heard about the various ways we are A young transgender woman named life. As a community, we need to be better Our kids are depending on us.
failing to prioritize resources for homeless Alexix talked about her experiences being at recognizing the epidemic of youth
youth. For example, one advocate referred rejected by her family, how there was no homelessness, and the responsibility that
to state funding for homeless youth as one there for her, and how her family we have to our homeless youth.
budget dust. And its true. The state wanted to medicate her. She left her home Like many, I moved to San Francisco and SCOTT WIENER is a Democrat representing San
Francisco and Northern San Mateo County in
needs to do better at providing dedicated for Los Angeles looking for a better place, to the Castro as a young gay man because the California State Senate.
V I E W PO I NT
Hollywoods Harassment of the Soul
Gay men know
harassment, too
MICHAEL KEARNS is a longtime theatre artist/
activist, author and teacher. He is performing at
Akbar in Silverlake on Oct. 22.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein
travesty, many in the media want to know
what the comparable gay story is. What
homomogul has been unconscionably
accosting male stars on the ascent,
promising them an Oscar nomination in
exchange for a massage?
There isnt one.
I arrived in Hollywood in 1971, during that
period when Weinstein came of age. Nearly
ve decades, and god-only-knows how many
of those plus-size white bathrobes later, the
King of Hollywood is without a throne.
That was the culture then, the
disgraced Hollywood powerhouse
explained to justify a list of immoralities
and illegalities, like jerking o in front of
his prey in random public places. Silly me,
I thought the 70s culture was dened by
Nixon in China and Bette at the baths;
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
it never occurred to me that I could be
wanking in line at the grocery store.
Performing in Tom Eyens The Dirtiest
Show in Town (72) was of the culture
then, attracting a slew of entertainment
heavyweights who came to oogle a bevy of
mostly twentysomethings, strutting the stage
au naturel, performing topical sketch material
and elegantly choreographed orgies.
Allan Carr, the aming manager-
producer, attended opening night,
outshining the likes of Merv Grin (with
a Gabor as an appendage), Cass Eliot,
Christine Jorgenson, and Christopher
Isherwood with Don Bachardy. Fully-
clothed cast members segued their skilled
seduction with audience members at a
post-show party, setting our sights on
which celebs might further our nascent
careers. I chose Alan.
When I heard about the 2014 incident
involving gay director Bryan Singer,
accused of predatory behavior with boys
in their late teens (aka minors) at house
parties, I conjured the bygone days of
Allan Carrs notorious parties in which he
deliberately mixed dozens of gay boys
with the likes of Ann-Margret, Rod Stewart
and Salvador Dali. While Carr and Singer
hosted parties with an array of ambitious
young men, the comparisons end there.
Or do they?
I was one of those boys, hungry to
triumph in an overwhelmingly competitive
and homophobic business. After three years
at a prestigious acting school, I did not see
myself as a boy-toy, in spite of the inevitable
typecasting that resulted from how I looked.
After the Singer allegations (subsequently
unsubstantiated and dropped), Time
Magazine posited that the scandal has
also thrown a spotlight on the places where
the line between Hollywood networking
and the casting couch is sometimes blurry,
if not obscured altogether.
And when the players are gay men on the
casting couch, the blurriness gets blurrier.
Lets say that a closeted actor with heat and
viable credits is threatened by homomogul
in a robe (slate gray or barley beige). Because
this scenario is played out in the closet, the
victim wouldnt say a peep, determinedly
maintaining his straight persona.
Not identifying sexual predators
because an actor cant pry himself out
of the closet is cowardly. Let the throngs
of cowardly straight and gay Hollywood
predatorsfrom above-the-title stars
to producers and directors with clout
squirm in silence while they await the
ineluctable sound of sirens.
For hundreds of years, women in
Hollywood have been bullied, derided,
belittled, objectied, intimidated, brow-
beaten, oppressed, persecuted and
harassed; they are mad as hell and they
arent going to take this anymore. These
sheroes include the brave women who
have taken on Cosby as well as everyday
women everywherefrom all businesses
and walks of lifewho refuse to have their
souls obliterated by narcissistic pigs.
Carr threw a lavish all-male party for his
pal, Elton John, and invited the purportedly
O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 2 7
most gorgeous young men (not teenagers)
in Hollywood who stood in an endless
snaky line in order to meet and make an
instantaneous impression on The Rockstar.
I had never felt so humiliated, knowing
I would not be Eltons trick for the night;
not muscular enough, not blond enough, I
was too tall, too soft, my voice was wrong,
my face imperfect. I nally admitted the
truth about myself: I was a piece of shit.
Forget the acting credentials; forget my
cherished friendships, forget my career
accomplishments. I was of no value.
To suggest that perceiving oneself with
such severe self-hatred leads to a rash
of debilitating behaviors doesnt begin to
describe what I, and too many of those
other soulful party boys, would endure
when the party ended.
Janice Min, former Editor of the
Hollywood Reporter, told Time Magazine
that the predatory nature of Hollywood is
young attractive peoplelargely female
putting themselves in front of men to be
judged and appraised and chosen.
Gay men also put themselves in front
of men to be judged and appraised and
chosen. Have you been to the Abbey?
I didnt perceive that the Hunk Auction
for Sir Elton could be deemed as sexual
harassment. Yet I learned that a moment
of extreme humiliation takes yearsno,
decadesto overcome.
Today, there are no excuses, in
Hollywood or anywhere else for anyone
female, male, gay, straight, black, white
to have their soul harassed.
 Photo Credit: Paula Allen

Eve Ensler
& Anne Lamott
In Conversation

Photo Credit: Paula Allen

Sun, Oct 29 @ 7pm

Royce Hall, UCLA
cap.ucla.edu
310-825-2101
#CAPUCLA

Photo Credit: Mark Richards

 Halloweenie is LAs ultimate must do
gay Halloween party
Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles ready to haunt again

By JOHN PAUL KING

O C T O B E R 2 0 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 0 1 I S S U E 1 6 A merica s L G B T Q N e w s S ource L O S A N G E L E S B L A D E . C O M 2 9

Halloweenie is all about hair and makeup. And spooky good looks.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GAY MENS CHORUS OF LOS ANGELES

Fred and Jasons Halloweenie, Sponsored
by Kevin Huvane, has been fittingly referred
to as the Party with a Purpose. For eleven
years, it has been a must-do event for
Los Angeles LGBTQ scene-sters who want
to celebrate the Halloween season while
also lending their support to one of their
communitys longest-standing and most
beloved institutions.
On October 27, the historic Belasco
Theater in DTLA will be the setting for
the events twelfth incarnation, Fred and
Jasons Halloweenie: Rebirth, as it returns
to once more benefit the Gay Mens
Chorus of Los Angeles.
GMCLA, the largest LGBTQ arts
organization in the country, is known for its
spectacular concert extravaganzas full of
fabulous costumes, glittering guest stars,
and magnificent musical performances
which are a staple of the communitys
cultural life every year.
As Executive Director Jonathan
Weedman wants you to know, however,
its much more than just a singing group.
Every Monday night, he points out, we
gather together 300 volunteers. Thats
more than any other volunteer-based
organization in the city.
These men are coming together to
rehearse their music, of course, but they
are also doing much more than that.
GMCLA channels all those resources
into advocacy and outreach, promoting
visibility, acceptance, and equality for
the LGBTQ community through its vitally
important youth outreach programming,
including its Alive Music Project and its
national It Gets Better Tour, among other
community outreach projects.
The Alive Music Project (AMP) brings a
message of anti-bullying and acceptance
by placing students together with
GMCLA members through an interactive
presentation, sharing their stories, music,
and experiences while fostering a safe
space. For many gay or questioning young
people, this is a valuable and life-changing
first opportunity to connect with others
like themselves.
AMP also offers an opportunity to
enrich each schools music education
program. Artistic Director Dr. Joe Nadeau,
visits the school prior to the presentation
and conducts choral master classes with
students, who are then invited to perform
with GMCLA at the presentations.
The It Gets Better Tour travels to
communities around the country,
producing a week of educational workshops
which culminate in a theater performance.
The stage show is derived from the true
ContinueS ON page 46
3 0 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
queery MIGUEL MARQUEZ
By TROY MASTERS
tmasters@losangelesblade.com
When Miguel Marquez was fresh out of
a masters program in international aairs
at Columbia University, we arranged to
meet at my tiny little East Village studio
apartment in Manhattan to talk about the
real world of a working journalist.
I gave him perhaps the worst career
advice anyone could have given.
At that moment, I was totally spent,
barely eeking out an existence while
launching an unfunded newspaper
venture that eventually succeeded.
Its the most dicult and competitive,
nastiest business you could get into.
Finance would be easier, I remember
telling him, nicely. Dont bother.
I want to be a TV journalist, he said in
his made for TV voice.
Theres always New York 1, I said
dismissively.
I hope he will forgive me if I rolled my
eyes I was wrong. I may have even
known it at the time. I saw that he was
determined, whip-smart and startlingly
handsome. Miguel stood a chance.
Since then Miguel, who has never spent
a professional moment in the closet, has
soared.
He began as a desk assistant at CBS News
in New York and quickly found himself
reporting from the streets of the city for
WNBC in New York. He was recruited by
KSAZ in Phoenix as a general assignment
reporter before being spotted by CNN.
For a time he anchored Headline News
from Atlanta before being transferred to
Los Angeles to cover the second Michael
Jackson trial. ABC News came knocking and
it wasnt long before Miguel started to nd
his footing as an international reporter,
covering ashpoints around the world.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
26 years. My best friends family.
Whos your LGBT hero?
Equally enamored with James Baldwin
and Oscar Wilde.
Whats Los Angeles best nightspot,
past or present?
Akbar.
Describe your dream wedding.
Loads of friends, champagne, cake and
music.
What non-LGBT issue are you most
passionate about?
Equality.
What historical outcome would you
change?
Slavery.
Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
Michael Jacksons second trial.
2 0 G A Y Q U E ST I O N S F O R: M I G UE L M A R Q UE Z
PHOTO COURTESY OF CNN
On what do you insist? What LGBT stereotype annoys you
Punctuality most?
That being gay means one comes with a
What was your last Facebook post or specic set of beliefs.
Tweet?
FB, about the NorCal res. Twitter, Brexit. Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of
If your life were a book, what would Francis Bacon.
the title be?
Chaos Wrangler Whats the most overrated social
custom?
If science discovered a way to change Small talk.
sexual orientation, what would you
do? What trophy or prize do you most
Encourage others not to use it. covet?
Pulitzer.
What do you believe in beyond the
physical world? What do you wish youd known at 18?
Hope. How easy, and simultaneously
complicated, life is.
Whats your advice for LGBT movement
leaders? Why Los Angeles?
Develop and implement a rural strategy. Gravity. It just keeps pulling me back. I
LOVE Cali.
What would you walk across hot coals
for?
Family and friends.
3 2 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Melissa Carbone wants to scare you to death
Los Angeles lesbian goddess of horror
says shes impervious to the wiles of
Halloween.
My fascination with horror is that I love
to be scared, says Melissa Carbone, CEO
of Ten Thirty One Productions, a large-scale
horror-event business known for realistic
attractions designed for optimal fear. I grew
up loving Halloween and horror movies and
as an adult Im pretty unscareable. Everyone
keeps trying and no one has done it. I think
Ive de-sensitized myself to it.
While hundreds of thousands of
wickedly tricked out, mostly straight
monsters descend on the gay city during
West Hollywoods sprawling Halloween
Carnival, treating the town to an enormous
haul of cash, over in Grith Park, the
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride oers
something a bit more horrifying.
Carbone cashed in on the holiday by
terrorizing hordes of horror fans with
Hollywood-style spectacular eects at
her vast, darkened movie lot concept full
of zombies, booby traps, bloody clowns,
demons and orphan ghosts.
And just as the wild festivities in WeHo
ll the coers of that city, Carbone too has
literally made millions.
She just may have saved Halloween by
cashing in, terrorizing hordes of horror fans
with Hollywood-style spectacular eects at
her vast, darkened movie lot concept full
of zombies, booby traps, bloody clowns,
demons and orphan ghosts.
In 2009, the now 40-year-old Carbone,
created the popular annual horror
attraction, the Los Angeles Haunted
Hayride, located on over 30 acres in
Grith Park.
An interactive and totally lifelike world,
the Hayride employs hundreds of actors,
makeup artists, set and production
designers to create a world not for the
faint of heart.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
MEET L.A.S CERTIFIED LESBIAN GODDESS OF HORROR
By REBEKAH SAGER
Taking back Halloween and making a killing; MELISSA CARBONE.
Carbone describes the Hayride as a
totally immersive experience.
From the second your car gets to the
parking lot, to the second you get in your
car to leave you should never be plucked
out of this experience in a cerebral way.
We want to keep you submerged into the
horror attraction from the fog coming
out of the trees to the orange glow that
were known for that you can see from
the street. The narrative goes through all
the zones. With life size churches burnt
down, ghosts of war, smoldering embers
of orphans that have been killed in re
and are still on re. Its not a spectator
sport. All that should be in your head is
what is coming around the next corner to
annihilate you, she says.
The Halloween industry has historically
been male dominated. In any other
industry, you easily think of a leader.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEN THIRTY ONE PRODUCTIONS
Beverage or car you can think of industry
leaders, but when you think of Halloween
events, nothing comes to mind. Carbone
says that meant a land grab for her.
This is a dark horse industry thats long
been ignored because its thought of as a
lifestyle. I think of it as a business. From a
woman in a guys world I was looked at by
men as a threat. Ive had to be really tough,
not get my feelings hurt too easily and be
ten times better than other attractions out
there just to be equal, she says.
Carbone along with her wife at the
time, Alyson Richards, raised half a million
dollars from friends and family initially,
along with their rst sponsor,Mini Cooper
to create the Hayride.
Prior to creating the Hayride, Carbonne
worked at Clear Channel Entertainment,
honing her craft by working on such
giant events as the Rose Bowl and Wango
O U T & A BO U T
Tango. She was the companys youngest
General Sales Manager.
She is one of the few female business
owners in the horror entertainment
industry, with a team that is almost entirely
female, and after several successful years
running the Hayride, Carbone says ABCs
Shark Tank producers approached her
to compete on the show. She waited until
2013, and Season 5, to take her event to
the next level and expand, and she realized
that being on the show was a means to an
end with a potential huge payday.
I thought it was a great marketing tool
to be in front of millions of people if we
didnt get a deal it was still a huge win. If
we did get a deal, it would have to be for
an amount we could live with. I honestly
didnt think Id get it. It was the largest
anyone had asked for by far [$2 million
dollars], I expected to walk out empty
handed. But they took the deal and I was
sincerely shocked, she says.
Carbone used the seed money to
expand her Great Horror Campout to six
new markets, and was able to replicate
the L.A. Haunted Hayride in New York City.
To date, more than 500,000 guests have
attended Carbones attractions.
But leaving Clear Channel and taking the
leap of faith to launch her own events took a
toll on Carbones personal and professional
life, and what led her to write her recently
released book, Ready Fire Aim: How I
turned a Hobby into an Empire.
The fear of failing with this probably cost
me my marriage. My wife and I at the time,
wed been together ten years, got divorced
and Im sure it was because I left Clear Channel
and jumped into the abyss of uncertainty
with the Hayride. Stress was crippling and it
took its toll on lots of relationships. Ive had a
lot of uppercuts to the chin, she says.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
3 4 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Even the palm trees are gay
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAS MOST POPULAR PRIDE CELEBRATIONS TAKES PALM SPRINGS
This years Greater Palm Springs Pride
theme Viva La Vida (Live Life!) may seem
a bit ip given the tremendous hurdles
that have been placed before the LGBT
community since the horric killing of 43
LGBTQ family members at Pulse Nightclub
in Orlando coupled with the devastating
rise of Donald Trump.
But the phrase really denes Palm
Springs at its core: enjoying your life is the
ultimate act of resistance.
With the actions of the administration
slowly stripping away the progress that
the LGBT community has made, it is as
important as ever for the LGBT community
and for all individuals who believe in
equality for all, to stand up and be heard,
Greater Palm Springs Pride President Ron
deHarte told the Los Angeles Blade.
This is no time to remain quiet. This
is not the time to be complacent. LGBT
rights are under attack and Pride events
provide an opportunity to be seen and be
heard. We must be visible and our voice
cannot be silenced. We will not become
the invisible.
Greater Palm Springs Pride, highlighting
the transgender community, has selected
as this years Grand Marshal United States
Navy SEAL Kristin Beck.
Beck, who is an outspoken critic of
Donald Trumps executive order that
expels transgender service members, will
lead the November 5 parade.
Beck was a member of the United States
Naval Special Warfare Development Group,
a special counter-terrorism unit SEAL Team
Six, and received multiple military awards
and decorations, including a Bronze Star
with a V for valor, a Purple Heart and the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
We are proud to work with the
Transgender Community Coalition to
honor Kristin Beck who is a nationally
recognized advocate for equality for
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
BY MARY JO DE SILVA and TROY MASTERS
Greater Palm Springs Pride is one of the most popular Pride events in Southern California.
all people. Becks participation allows
us to honor her service and help raise
the visibility of transgender and gender
nonconforming people, and address the
issues the community faces, said deHarte.
This years Community Grand Marshal is
Palm Springs very own singer-entertainer
and restaurateur Michael Holmes. Known
as owner of Michael Holmes Purple Room,
the leader of The Michael Holmes Trio,
and the creator and star of The Judy Show!
Fitness expert Craig Ramsay and
celebrity hairstylist Brandon Liberati who
shared their rst year of marriage with
the world on the Bravo show Newlyweds:
The First Year, will be honored as Celebrity
Grand Marshals of the 2017 Palm Springs
Pride Parade.
But Pride season in the desert is already
underway.
The Pride Honors Awards, held on
September 28th, honored Marshall
Pearcy and Douglas Woodmansee, aka
PHOTO COURTESY OF PALM SPRINGS PRIDE
Dottie & Maude, who have raised over
$2 million for AIDS and community
charities since discovering their drag
personas in 1980. The Transgender
Community Coalition was recognized
as the Organization of the Year and will
dedicate a memorial to those who have
lost their lives on Transgender Day of
Remembrance November 20th.
Pride weekend begins Friday, Nov. 3
with the Viva la Vida Street Party on
Arenas Road (ground zero for gay in Palm
Springs) starting at 6 PM. One block will be
closed to trac, and the US Bank Stage,
hosted by Alexander Rodriguez, host of
On the Rocks Radio, will oer music from
Iconique with sounds ranging from Le
Chic to David Bowie. Jen DM, resident DJ
for the queer gathering, Cruise at The Eagle
in Silver Lake will then spin the crowd into
a rollicking frenzy. (21+ only; ID required).
Featured entertainers on Saturday,
Nov. 4 include Missing Persons featuring
O U T & A BO U T
Dale Bozzio at 2:30 PM, Mama Tits from
Seattle (and a YouTube sensation) at 9 PM.
Sunday brings GayC/DC, the only all-gay
tribute band to AC/DC, as they don their
gay apparel for a 1:15 PM performance.
On Saturday and Sunday, the heart
of the city on Palm Canyon Drive (from
Amado Drive on the north to Baristo Road)
will be transformed into a pedestrian
street festival. Along the route are music
stages at the Hyatt Palm Springs and the
main Pride Stage presented by Desert
AIDS Project on Arenas Road just west
of Palm Canyon. The main stage is open
to everyone and features a Childrens
Headquarters (CHQ), a safe space for for
games and crafts. There you will also
nd the Safe Schools Desert Cities Youth
Zone and HIV/AIDS testing by Get Tested
Coachella Valley.
DeHarte likes to say with 80+
performances, a diverse lineup of artists
will oer something for everyone including
special appearances by the Palm Springs
Gay Mens Chorus, and Modern Men.
Dozens of community organizations,
LGBT-friendly businesses and vendors
will line the streets, along with local
merchants.
Tradition at Palm Spring Pride is to shop
only at stores that support Palm Springs
Pride. The can easily be identied by a
decal in their store window. Theres also
a list of Ocial Pride Restaurants and
Pride Watering Holes in the events Pride
Guide, which is widely available before
and during Pride. Many restaurants oer
special Parade day viewing parties.
The Dyke March and Rally kicks o
at 4 PM Saturday at Frances Stevens
Park, followed by performances by local
entertainers Keisha D and Jesse Jones on
the Arena Road stage at 6 PM .
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
3 6 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
New addiction treatment center focuses on LGBTQ niche
PRIDE RECOVERY LOS ANGELES SAYS COMMUNITY IS THE KEY TO LONG TERM SOBRIETY
In my many times being in treatment,
especially in the past year, ML, a young male
addict using only his initials, said via email, I
have felt as if I couldnt express my full self,
whichhas prevented me from advancing
in my recovery. Not only am I able to fully be
myself [now], I am able to openly discuss my
history and dissect all the dierent layers
that contribute to my addiction.
ML felt he couldnt be himself when he
attended a traditional treatment program
because he is gay.
Its a common refrain for people in
recovery, but ML recently completed rehab
and now resides in a sober living home,
coupled with an outpatient program, a
standard recommendation of modern
addiction treatment.
He says he is sober today because he
found the right program, one that ensures a
judgement-free environment of like-minded
people who also happen to be LGBTQ.
Larry Hymes, a well-known marriage
and family therapist, believes in the power
of LGBTQ family and has taken the idea
to the next level. As Clinical Director of
Pride Recovery Los Angeles (PRLA), a new
addiction treatment facility located at
8300 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood,
he says PRLA oers a unique outpatient
model. Its for LGBTQ people, by LGBTQ
people, he says.
PRLA is focused exclusively on the needs
of LGBTQ patients who have completed a 30-
to-90-day inpatient rehab program, or who
wish to combine their sober living experience
with an outpatient program. Our resources
are large, says Hymes. Were the largest
facility that I know of in California.
Able to treat 30 to 60 clients at a time,
PRLA provides three distinct tracks,
Monday through Friday full- and half-day
options, as well as a twice a week program
for those with some recovery time under
their belts.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
BY MICHAEL JORTNER
MATTHEW BIANCHI, Admissions and Outreach Coordinator of Pride Recovery Los Angeles.
While several addiction treatment
centers in Los Angeles oer an LGBTQ
focus, very few oer intensive programs
centered on the identity issues LGBTQ
people face.
With so much progress in terms of
civil rights and marriage equality, it may
sound surprising to hear that so many
LGBTQ people still struggle. Theres a lot
of self-hatred for being gay, lesbian, bi or
transgender, Hymes said. Even with, say,
a 40-year-old adult? [Its] probably worse
because they have been hidden for a good
chunk of their life. Perhaps they have
families. Its actually more dicult to come
out later in your life.
If they are focusing on LGBT and
[addiction] issues, said Trevor Scott,
regional director of marketing for KLEAN
Treatment Centers, also in WeHo, that
would be unique. While KLEAN is LGBT-
friendly, they do not target LGBTQs
LOS ANGELES BLADE PHOTO BY TROY MASTERS
specically or have a strictly LGBTQ sta.
KLEANs focus is also on drug and alcohol
abuse, while PRLA describes its programs
as holistic, treating a variety of behaviors,
including sex addiction.
But how big is the need for LGBT-specic
treatment?
A 2015 report from the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration
states, People who identify as lesbian,
gay, or bisexual are at greater risk
for substance use and mental health
issues compared with heterosexuals.
And The Advocate reported, the use of
methamphetamine is ve to 10 times
more common in urban gay and bisexual
men than in the general U.S. population.
These percentages can be even greater for
communities of color. In addition, PRLA
cites that LGBTs in traditional treatment
programs can experience a success rate
roughly 60% lower than non-gay patients
BU SI N E SS
in those same programs.
PRLA is in West Hollywood for two main
reasons. One: WeHo has a large LGBTQ
community, said Matthew Bianchi,
Admissions and Outreach Coordinator.
And substance abuse has played a pretty
big role, with meth having a profoundly
negative impact.
The second reason? Becoming a
treatment destination. PRLA is seeking
clients from outside the area, even out of
state. LA is a very safe bubble for some,
but we are looking at other cities where
its not safe to be gay, says Hymes. The
opportunity to recover in WeHo with
other gay people can sometimes remove
barriers for those seeking treatment. LAs
famous weather may also be a draw.
For those outside LA, various sober living
options can be coupled with treatment,
even including transportation. I suggest
the word cocoon. It is cocooning,
Hymes admitted. We get you here. We
feed you. Theres coeesnacks. If youre
[in] full-day, theres a catered lunch.
Hymes added, We have numerous clients
from various sober living communities in
the area, like Chateau, Corona House, and
others. We are making signicant outreach
eorts to the community of recovery
programs in Los Angeles.
One of Los Angeles largest sober-
living management companies, Westwind
Recovery Residences, owned by Zach Ament
and Justin Wells, is aliated with PRLA.
Bianchi discussed the various types
of outreach PRLA is engaged in. WeHo
City Council member John Duran will
be the keynote speaker at their open
house on October 26th from 4-6 PM, and
partnerships with AIDS LifeCycle, the LGBT
Center and social networking recovery
app MOBER are also in place.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
 Californias exclusively LGBTQ treatment center
LGBTQ people are nearly 30% more likely
than members of the general population to suffer from addiction.

The LGBTQ population are 60% more likely to relapse

following addiction treatment in traditional recovery programs.

The same trauma that the LGBTQ community faces in everyday life - the trauma that lurks beneath
the addiction - is replicated in traditional treatment because traditional treatment is
a microcosm of the world at large.

LGBTQ-specific treatment transforms the dangerous environment clients face every day and gives them
the safety to work through their shame and create connections and community.

Thats why we need LGBTQ-specific treatment, not only for drug/alcohol addiction,
but for all substance and behavior addictions.

At Pride Recovery Los Angeles, were here to address shame and build pride.

Addiction Treatment for our LGBTQ Community. Covered by most insurance programs
844.303.1551 | West Hollywood

PRIDE IN SELF. PRIDE IN SOBRIETY. PRIDE IN COMMUNITY.

3 8 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
Sarah Paulson thinks you should know...
THE BUSY LESBIAN ACTRESS LOVES HORROR GENRE, BUT SHES SO MUCH MORE
SARAH PAULSON is the lesbian soul of American Horror Story and one of Hollywoods favorite actresses.
Sarah Paulson has that rare, charismatic
presence that makes you want to watch any
television or movie project she is in. Winner
of an Emmy, SAG Award and Golden Globe
for her riveting performance in the FX
miniseries, The People v. O.J. Simpson:
American Crime Story, she was recently
given the lead role in the upcoming Netix
series, Ratched. Both series are executive
produced by her gay long time collaborator,
screenwriter Ryan Murphy.
Next year, Paulson will start work on
American Crime Story: Katrina, the third
series in Murphys anthology for FX, as well
as star in the series that catapulted her
to being a household name, American
Horror Story, which is currently in its
seventh season.
At the Television Critics Press Tour, the
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
By SUSAN HORNIK
veteran lesbian actress, talked about the
mega success of shows. I dont t know
what the magic bullet is about why people
love watching this show. I think its great,
and Im so happy to be a part of it. I dont
know what that ineable thing is that
makes it still here seven years later and
other things laying by the wayside.
In this season, American Horror Story:
Cult, Paulson and actress Alison Pill are
playing a married couple.
Weve known each other for a long time
and have never had the chance to work
together, said Pill. So it was really most
exciting to have all of these scenes with a
person that I couldnt respect more and
who is so good at acting.
This is the second LGBT relationship
that the veteran lesbian actress (who
PHOTO COURTESY OF FX
oscreen, is in a relationship with actress
Holland Taylor) has played on American
Horror Story. In the second season,
Paulson played reporter Lana Winters,
who was committed to Briarcli for being
in a secret lesbian relationship.
For all of AHSs intensity, Paulson still
nds time to have laughs. When Jessica
(Lange) was on the show, we would have
to stop shooting, we would be laughing
so hard, in the most insane, fully charged
moments. And I think thats just what
happens when you are asked to bring
that part of your internal being forward.
Sometimes you have to have a moment.
While Paulson doesnt get scared on
set, she does get frightened watching the
show. Part of the thing this year for me, is
that I have to be ratcheted into a place of
T E LE V I SI O N
terror. You have to manufacture that in a
way thats believable.
She continued: I had a couple of
moments this season; my character
is pitched very, very, far emotionally. I
actually had to stop for a moment and
collect myself. Because I got very upset...
when you are asking your body to be in a
state of panic or terror, your mind knows
that you are pretending but your body
doesnt know. If you have gotten yourself
into a hyperventilated state, you are
running out of oxygen.
O set, she is terried by bees, snakes
and sharks. All the normal things! Who
likes any of those things! she quipped.
Paulson prefers playing real human
beings. I love playing real people more
than anything. For me as an actor, I like
having a very steadfast blueprint of what
the boundaries are with the character,
because then I feel like you can do so much
with it. If you know exactly the core of the
person, it gives you a kind of condence
to make really bold choices within that
framework.
Paulson also has a slew of movies she
has starred in, like M. Night Shymalans
Glass, and Steven Spielbergs drama,
The Post.
And recently worked on Oceans Eight,
the all female spino to the Oceans
Trilogy.
It was extraordinary to look around
the room and see Cate Blanchett, who i
worked with twice now, Sandra Bullock,
Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling,
Helena Bonham Carter, Awkwana. It felt
like a very empowering place to be. Really
fun; we have a text chain going thats one
of the most epic things!
With all her seemingly overnight success,
Paulson remains modest. Its a bit of an
out of body experience. I dont think I have
really taken in what happened.
T E L E V I SI O N W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 3 9

Edgar Allen Poe lives again on PBS

GAY ACTOR DENIS OHARE BRINGS THE MASTER OF HORROR BACK FROM THE DEAD

By SUSAN HORNIK

Fans of Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) are

excited about Denis OHare, portraying
the notorious late author in a new PBS
American Masters documentary, Edgar
Allen Poe: Buried Alive.
A literary icon, Poe wrote over 100 short
stories and poems, like The Tell Tale
Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum and
The Raven.
At the Television Critics Press Tour,
OHare talked about his experiences with
reading Poe. I knew a fair amount because
I was a strange child, and so I think I had
read, by the time I was 12 or 13, almost all
of the most horric storiesI also was in
love with Vincent Price at the time.
The Tony Award winning and Emmy
nominated actor didnt know Poe by his literary
criticism, which Poe was also known for.
I didnt know about how well embedded
he was in the actual world of literature
Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated actor DENIS OHARE stars as Edgar Allan Poe in American Masters -- Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive.
and magazines at the time, said OHare.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PBS
I did know about a lot of his poetry, and
oddly enough, I didnt know The Raven. I
knew Annabel Lee, because it was such a Agatha Christie, owes a debt to Edgar Allan soul, and theyre obviously not completely worried, anxious look that was sort of his
beautiful poem and so rhythmicI was a Poe, acknowledged OHare. accurate. Theyre aspirational what he wants hallmark. Hes an extraordinary-looking
tortured poet at 12, and so I was writing A veteran actor, OHare was recently to be, but his yearnings are pure, naive, person. The way he photographed was,
my own poetry. seen on NBCs This is Us in a relationship positive in many ways, but his idea of what I thought, revelatory. You can see the
OHare continued: Poe is one of our with William (Ron Cephas Jones). He played love should be, and just beautiful. Theyre haunted aspect in his eyes. I think thats
great American treasures as much as a gay vampire in HBOs True Blood, and childlike in the best possible way. just crazy. So I hoped to emulate rather
Whitman or Thoreau or Emerson or has appeared in lms like Milk and Wearing the hair, makeup and growing than impersonate.
someone like Katherine Manseld. He is Dallas Buyers Club. a mustache made OHare feel more like Written and directed by lmmaker
a great literary gure, and I would hope OHare was slightly challenged by Poes the literary icon. Eric Stange, the documentary combines
that this production would help people to enigmatic nature. Its funny. As an actor, I You could say Im a hair and shoe actor. dramatized reenactments of Poes life with
understand the large scope of his literary tend to over-research, but you cant really If you get those things right, then you readings of his imaginative, Gothic horror tales.
output, that it wasnt simply these Gothic over-research with him (Poe) because know youre home, he quipped. In this Much has been talked about Poes
tales, that he had a much broader impact. you dont get a consistent character. But case, it was a mustache and hair actor. mysterious death, which to this day,
People like Charles Baudelaire, who as a friend of mine always said, human OHare grew a mustache knowing he remains uncertain.
modeled his poetry after him. Dickens beings arent consistent. Only characters didnt want a fake one. Those drive me The mystery around Poes death is
knew him. He was famous in France. He are consistent. Hes a wonderfully crazy. And my eyes are sunken enough the least of it, said Stange. The real
was famous in England. complicated, contradictory person. that that worked. Then we had a brilliant question at the heart of this lm is why
Poe created the detective ction genre, He added: Hes hard to categorize wigmaker, Joe, who was just truly brilliant, Edgar Allan Poe continues to be one of
with The Murders in the Rue Morgue. because he was so inconsistent. When I look and he made me this fantastic wig. And the most popular writers in the history of
Every single procedural cop show to at his poems and really, really drill down to then, you just tweaked the eyebrows Western literature and one of the most
this day, including Sherlock Holmes and the poems, those are sort of his heart and a little bit, and you get that constantly misunderstood.
4 0 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM F I LM

Straight to the heart of Tom of Finland

AND THE OSCAR FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM GOES TO...

By MICHAEL JORTNER

Director Dome Karukoskis Tom of quiet, still and heartfelt.

Finland is Finlands entry into the 2018
Academy Awards and all of the lms
participants know what they are doing.
But what is perhaps most surprising
about this story of Touko Laaksonen, the
decorated World War Two ocer-turned-
infamous queer illustrator, is how tame
it feels, almost genteel. The lm allows
everyone, in the way PBS Masterpiece
Theatre does, to settle in for a good ride,
allowing the story to transport them to
another place and time in that familiar
costume drama way.
Quite an achievement considering the
main character is a gay man having illicit
public sex living in a repressive, ice-cold
country. Not to mention that his way of
coping is to draw provocative, overtly sexual
man-on-man imagery that, should it be
discovered, would get him tossed into prison.
Still, even within its traditional three-act
structure cocoon, there is much that is not
your grandparents common foray into
international cinema. When was the last
time you heard dialogue like this:
My cock is the boss.
Yellow curtains are for sissies.
It seems Finland has bigger cocks.
Yet the script also makes the most
of subtext, in a way many lms set
in contemporary times do not, with
characters confessing their feelings as
easily as posting to Facebook. In Tom,
conversations take place in Europe of the
1940s and 50s when even two women
kissing, a character declares, is illegal.
Therefore, choice morsels of sexual
metaphor such as these greet our ears:
Im here for the pheasant hunting.
I shined my boots.
Youll have to come over for poker.
Karukoski, 40, who is straight, has
made six feature lms prior to Tom of
Finland and is currently shooting the new
PEKKA STRANG portrays Touko Laaksonen in his journey from a Finnish youth ghting for his
country to internationally celebrated artist and liberator of gay male sexuality.
lm about Lord of the Rings author J.R.R.
Tolkien includes much poetry in telling
Touko/Toms story.
Numerous visual metaphors raise the
picture above the level of a standard biopic.
There is a moment when a relationship
ends. Rather than giving us a soap opera
bedside confession, we are shown two
pieces of ice breaking apart on the surface
of a pond. Beautiful. And earlier in the lm
those sissy yellow curtains gure into the
tale in such a tender way, Im not sure Ill
ever look at curtains the same way again.
Pekka Strang, who is not gay, plays Touko
with a quiet, graceful power that is completely
believable. He nds the soul of the main
character, communicating his struggles without
melodrama. His Touko, though conicted, hurt
and brutalized, is without shame.
Theres a scene where a visit to the mens
room, promising a sexual encounter, goes
south unexpectedly. A security guard says
hell ban him from the club for a month,
yet Touko replies, Why dont you make
PHOTO COURTESY TOM OF FINLAND MOVIE
it for life? While the next scene shows
Touko in bed, clearly depressed by his
status in Finnish society, he doesnt allow
prejudice and discrimination to keep him
down. In phone interviews with Karukoski
and Strang, both said they see Touko as a
hero for this reason. He fought back, not
just as a war hero, but also as an artist.
Supporting performances are also
terric. Jessica Grabowsky, as Toukos
sister Kaija, and Lauri Tilkanen, as Nipa,
one of Toukos sexual conquests and
eventually his lover, stand out. Poor Kaija,
a looker of a gal behind her glasses, she
just doesnt believe it; a talented artist, she
doesnt allow praise. Always struggling to
live life to the fullest, Grabowsky allows
us to feel pity for Kaija without hating her.
In her most poignant moment, Kaija rolls
down a grassy knoll hoping her lover will
follow. Allowing herself a moment of joy,
she giggles, feeling the midsummer sun
on her skin before realizing the truth.
Grabowskys choices are, like Strangs,
Tilkanens Nipa is Touko and Kaijas object
of desire. Its easy to see why. Not just
handsome and well dressed in now bygone
European fashion, hes gentle and curious,
kissable and naughty, a love interest born.
Tilkanen invites us to consider how we
would approach seducing him. How would
we ask him to dance, take a walk in the
forest, or make love in a stable this latter
a setting Tom of Finland used in one of his
more famous drawings.
The romantic chemistry Strang and
Tilkanen create is one of the most
enjoyable aspects of the lm. Both actors
are straight. In a phone call Strang told
me how they approached the love scenes.
We decided, just before shooting, lets just
relax and look at each other deep into the
eyes and feel love for each other, he said.
Its always nervous doing sex scenes. The
biggest dierence between kissing a man
and [kissing] a woman is that men tend to
have a bit more hair on the upper lip.
The cinematography and production
design are worth mentioning. When the
lm shows Finland, we are bogged down in
oppressive, Nordic white light. We almost
cannot breathe. Its beautiful, but ominous.
When the story moves to California, no
surprise, the cinematography explodes
into yellow, gold and green. The LA
sunshine saturates our senses and we
understand: America means freedom,
sexual and otherwise.
CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM
Tom of Finland opens Friday, October 20 at the
Nuart (11272 Santa Monica Blvd just west of the
405). Lead actor Pekka Strang will be in atten-
dance for a Q&A after the 7pm screening, as
will members of the Tom of Finland Foundation,
who were instrumental in the lms production.
Running Time:114 Minutes/ Language: Finnish
With English Subtitles
Advance tickets can be purchased online at
landmarktheatres.com
 RISE!
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL
GARDEN PARTY
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2017 PALM SPRINGS, CA
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3.10.2018 HRC LOS ANGELES DINNER
4 2 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM AUTOS

Small and sporty

KIA, LEXUS GREAT FOR ZIPPING THROUGH TIGHT SPOTS

By JOE PHILLIPS

Compact and spunky. No, were not

talking Ellen Page or Tom Daley (though
we could be). Instead, theres a host of
zippy, smallish vehicles perfect for rush-
hour maneuvers or scampering around
tight parking garages.

KIA SOUL TURBO

$17,000
MPG: 26 CITY/31 HIGHWAY
0-TO-60 MPH: 6.5 SECONDS

Hip hamster commercials aside, the Kia

Soul is one of the quirkiest yet likeable
rides on the road. This year the Soul gets,
well, a lot more soul, including a fresh
redesign with wraparound headlights and
sportier wheels.
Along with the tepid base model and
the electric Soul EV (pricey at $32,500),
theres an aordable turbo version with
a new, more powerful engine. The turbo
comes with red accent lines, shiny dual-
exhaust tips and funky orange stitching
on the seats, dash and elsewhere around
the cabin. There are plenty of high-quality
materials and soft-touch surfaces, along
with a at-bottomed steering wheel and
easy-to-use infotainment system with
smartphone integration.
For some reason, certain features
available on other Soul models are missing
here: ventilated seats, forward collision
warning and lane-departure warning. The
Soul also lacks paddle shifters, emergency
braking and all-wheel drive, which can be
found on some competitors models.
Still, there are quite a few pleasing
options, including heated steering wheel,
heated front/rear seats and an impressive
panoramic moonroof. Theres also gobs of
room for hauling passengers and cargo.
Perhaps best of all, Kia oers one of the
longest warranties: up to 10 years or
100,000 miles.
LEXUS IS 300 AWD
LEXUS IS 300 AWD
$41,000
MPG : 19 CITY/29 HIGHWAY
0-TO-60 MPH: 6 SECONDS
Its easy to nd comfort in full-size
sedans and huge, honking SUVs. Not so
much in compact cars, though the Lexus
IS 300 AWD proves otherwise. The wicked
styling still shapely after all these years
certainly helps. So does the form-tting
interior, with bolstered bucket seats,
ample backseat legroom and a high-tech
dash/center-console combination that
looks like it belongs on a ghter jet.
The brushed-aluminum trim, especially on
the steering wheel, foot pedals and shifter,
adds more than a dash of class. Things are
almost too quiet in the cabin, though that
makes it easier to focus completely on the
composed handling and braking. Must-
have options include rearview camera,
voice-command activation, 15-speaker
mark Levinson stereo and large, 10.3-inch
infotainment screen.
Theres even more safety gear, including
blind-spot monitor, rear cross-trac alert,
adjustable pedals and more. Overall, the
IS 300 is an easy ride, and strikes a nice
balance between poise and performance.
NISSAN SENTRA NISMO
$25,000
MPG: 25CITY/31 HIGHWAY
0-TO-60 MPH: 7.1 SECONDS
With a Lexus or Mercedes, its easy to sit
back and relax, especially on long drives.
But with the Nissan Sentra NISMO, you hit
the ground running and dont ever stop.
This is the high-performance version
of Nissans popular compact sedan,
though the engine is less than blistering.
Where the sportiness shines is in the
tight suspension, taut steering and
large, 18-inch wheels. Racy red accents
are everywhere, from the outside body
cladding and side mirrors to the seats,
steering wheel and center console.
The ride and handling are denitely
sti but comfortable. And the primo
brakes would be right at home on any
motorsports racecourse. Alas, the quiet
cabin is full of cheapo hard plastic and the
controls and infotainment system should
have been updated eons ago.
But what this Sentra lacks in va-va-
voom, it makes up in room: the oodles of
passenger and cargo space are comparable
to a midsize sedan. Another plus: certain
must-have options include backup camera,
push-button start and Bose audio.
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4 4 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017
E-mail calendar items to
tmasters@losangelesblade.com
two weeks prior to your event. Space is
limited so priority is given to LGBT-specic
events or those with LGBT participants.
Recurring events must be
re-submitted each time.
OCT 23
Planet Queer: Haunted Tarot, Mon. Oct
23 @ 8 PM at AKBAR (4356 W Sunset Blvd).
A terrifying evening of LGBTQ experimental
Performance Art, Music, Community, and
more. Hosted by performance Zac Monday
and Angel Dust. Door Whore Steven
Reigns with music by DJ Billy.
OCT 24
Film: The Invisible Man, Tue. Oct 24 @
1 PM at Los Angeles County Museum of
Art Bing Theater (5905 Wilshire Blvd). The
ongoing Tuesday Matinee series features
classic directed by James Whale based on
the novel by H.G. Wells and starring Claude
Rains, Gloria Stuart and more. A scientist
nds a way of becoming invisible, but in
doing so, he becomes murderously insane.
Admission is $2 members, seniors (65+),
and children (17 & under); $4 general public.
OCT 25
OUT PSP: A Kick O to Greater Palm
Springs Weekend, Wed. Oct 25 @ 5
PM at Grand Central Palm Springs (160
La Plaza, Palm Springs). Greater Palm
Springs Pride and the Gay Desert Guide
kick o Pride weekend with tastings from
Coachella Valleys premier restaurants,
bars, and beverage purveyors. Celebrity
Grand Marshals Craig Ramsay and
Brandon Liberati and Palm Springs very
own singer-entertainer Michael Holmes
who is honored as the Community Grand
Marshal. Tickets at door $75.
OCT 26
East Los Queer Flea Market, Thu. Oct
26, 7 PM @ Greens Center for Plant Based
Nutrition and Gluten Free Education (4906 E
Olympic Blvd). This Queer Flea market space
is safe, inclusive and diverse. Sellers will be
vending hand made crafts, art, clothing, and
zines, etc. Greens Center is a vegan space.
Childrens play area. Outdoor and indoor
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
LifeWorks Mentoring Program and the Los Angeles LGBT Center presents Models of Pride at University of Southern California, the worlds largest LGBT
youth conference.
event. Open Mic available. Sober space. Free.
OCT 27
Roostersh: Back From The Dead,
Fri. Oct 27 @ 5 PM at Roostersh (1302
Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice). Calling all
beachy ghouls and goblins... dont miss the
Westsides Biggest Gay Halloween Party!
Following the huge success of Roostersh
Revived last month did you think theyd
let Halloween pass without an encore
celebration? Festivities continue till 2 a.m.
Party open to all adults 21 years of age or
older who would like to attend. General
Admission, $10 (a few things have changed).
Halloweenie 12: Rebirth v1.0, Fri. Oct 27
@ 8 PM at The Belasco Theater (1050 South
Hill Street). The legend rises from the ashes
for this years hottest Halloween celebration
with a revamped event at a new location, with
a new format, longer hours, better prices but
all in support of The Educational Programs of
Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles. One other
thing that will never change? Halloweenie
will always be Costume Mandatory. Make
sure and buy your ticket to the After Party
Next Door (Masterbeats 4th Mayheim). Be
safe, yall and get prepped :).
OCT 28
WeHo Dodgeball Annual Charity
Halloween Tourney, Sat. Oct 28 @ 11 AM
at WeHo Dodgeball (647 N. San Vicente).
100 percent of all proceeds will be donated
to the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic
Cancer Research, so dont balk about the
price.ok? You better have a great costume
to play because its mandatory and you
could win a prize. $140 per team. Call (323)
638-4225 for more details.
OCT 29
Models of Pride 25, Sun. Oct 29 @ 8 AM
at University of Southern California (3551
Trousdale Pkwy). The 25th anniversary
of Models of Pride is the worlds largest
conference for LGBTQ youth and allies. The
day-long conference is free and is one of
the most important events of the season.
We strongly recommend it. Learn more
and register at www.modelsofpride.org
OCT 31
Halloween Palm Springs 2017, Tue. Oct
31 @ 5 PM at Arenas Road, (Palm Springs,
CA). Halloween in Palm Springs is an
unusual assortment of international visitors
who travel from Berlin, Cape Town, Sydney,
Shanghai, London, Tel Aviv. Be ready to
show yourself and your little costume too.
Its a truly unique event without all the
drama of West Hollywoods crowds.
West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval,
Tue. Oct 31 @ 6 PM at Santa Monica
Blvd between Doheny Dr and La Cienega
Blvd. Halloween Carnaval takes over the
entire city of West Hollywood, making it
the largest celebration of its kind in the
whole world. While the street party is
free (no tickets required) and open to the
public, its best to leave the kids and pets
at home! Before you go, remember to
pack lightlyno backpacks, camera bags
or totes allowed. Attendees are asked to
carry items in clear plastic bags this year.
NOV 1
George Zander Candlelight Vigil and
CA LE N D A R
PHOTO COURTESY OF LIFEWORKS
March, Wed. Nov 01 @ 6 PM at Grand
Central (160 La Plaza, Palm Springs).
Remember George Zander on the 2nd
anniversary of the day he and Chris Zander
were attacked in downtown Palm Springs.
George died on December 10, 2015. The
vigil will begin on La Plaza, in front of
Grand Central, and features a rally and
march through the heart of Palm Springs.
NOV 3
Viva la Vida Greater Palm Springs
Pride Street Party, Fri. Nov 03 @ at US Bank
Stage on Arenas Rd. (302 E. Arenas Road,
Palm Springs). Diva performs and Emcees
for the night. San Franciscos Sheena Rose
brings her act to the desert and the night
continues with Miss Rusty Waters and
the ladies of Risqu. The amboyant Los
Angeles based synth disco trio, Iconique
takes the stage with their upbeat, and
theatrical 1980s inuenced performance.
Dancing in the street kicks into full gear with
Jen DM (Hi Fashion DJ set) and a soulful, ball,
vogue house beat. Free.
NOV 5
Palm Springs Pride Parade, Sun Nov
05 @ Downtown Palm Springs (268 N.
Palm Canyon Drive). Palm Springs comes
alive during the annual Pride celebration.
60,000 spectators are expected to gather
along palm tree-lined streets to cheer and
support local organizations, activists and
themed oats along historic Palm Canyon
Dr. Steps o in the Uptown Design District at
Tachevah and Palm Canyon Dr. and travels
south through downtown ending at the
entrance to the Pride Festival at Amado Rd.
GO S S I P
Who is Harvey Weinsteins mystery man?
Girl, listen, this is getting juicy. Andy Cohen,
Im waiting for The Real Housewives of Eastern
Europe. Go get em! Get on this, Andy Cohen.
Those bitches are gonna be ghting with
swords and everything! - Sheryl Underwood
on The Talk discusses Andy Cohens oer
to mediate between Ivana and Melania
Trump. Id denitely watch that show.
When last we saw Kathy Grin, she
had announced a world tour, shaved her
head in solidarity with her sister who had
cancer, and was feuding with a neighbor
over a pool party. Since then, her hair has
started to grow back in, her sister died, and
the neighbor thinks shes spying on him.
On top of all that, she made a surprise
appearance the Best in Drag fundraiser,
which she has appeared at almost 20
times in the past. If that wasnt a complete
surprise, her walking onstage wearing
a non-bloody Trump mask and taking a
knee was perhaps somewhat surprising.
What she did was less of a routine and
more of a proclamation that she was back.
And just to prove it, she read some letters
she got from fans and foes alike. The
most amusing was an e-mail addressed
to Anderson Cooper but CCd to Kathy.
Dear Anderson. From one homo to
another, youre a ckle faggot. Really? Not
supporting and backing Kathy Grin after
she had your back for years? Even to talk
about your cock-sucking in her comedy
back when you were still a closeted queen.
And another thing, Anderson. Homo rule
101 - you always back your fag hag. You
can see the rest of her appearance on
BillyMasters.com.
Then theres all this Weinstein drama,
and one must give credit where credits
due. Im not the biggest fan of Satchel
Ronan OSullivan Farrow Allen Sinatra -
aka Ronan Farrow. But he did do the leg
work on this piece and did the digging
even without the support of a news outlet.
W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM
YET ANOTHER TURN OF THE HOLLYWOOD SCREW
By BILLY MASTERS
Harvey Weinstein scandal has opened a never ending can of worms.
He went rogue (if not commando), and got
people to talk. That NBC passed on the
story is yet another mystery, but Ronans
tenacity got it to The New Yorker.
The rest is history. That said, I have to
admit something that wont be popular
- I really dont care about any of this. I
mean, Cosby was drugging and raping
people - that was interesting. And I have
enormous sympathy for anyone who is
physically assaulted. That is horric. But
what about the story that Harvey put his
hands on Gwyneth Paltrows shoulders
and suggested they get a massage. Do I
believe it happened? Sure. Does it get me
excited? Nah. What about reports that he
made advances on Angelina Jolie? What
interests me is the common thread - Brad
Pitt! Im waiting for Jennifer Aniston to
come forward with a teary testimony.
Lest there be any question, in no way
hurt me? Perhaps - Im sure I lost out on
am I condoning Weinsteins behavior or
excusing it on any level. But, getting to
the heart of the matter (and heres the
unpopular part) - I think there is a world
of dierence between rape/sexual assault
and someone propositioning you in a
sexual way. Its curious that this very week,
when Pink entered the stage for her rst
song on Saturday Night Live, she smacked
her guitarist on the ass. Sexual assault or
playful? Intent is everything. Scores of
women are coming out saying, Oh, I was
once in an uncomfortable situation like
that. Even a few guys are coming forward.
I think I was actually there when Terry Crews
was groped! But to all the people out there
who wonder what to do when someone
in a position of power propositions you,
heres what I have to say - sometimes it
costs more to say yes than it does to say
no. And, I know from whence I speak.
O CT O BE R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 4 5
Because I, Billy Masters, have been in more
than one compromising position over
the years. Did it feel icky? Yes. Did I feel
violated? No - I felt empowered because I
shot these people down. Did taking a stand
some opportunities. But it would have
hurt me much more to have given in. And
either way, I made a decision and I stand
by it. Period.
Could it be theres another victim
whose keeping quiet? Well, of course,
theres the wife who got where she is the
same way all those other starlets did.
But when she saw what was happening
around her, she threatened to leave.
And then Quasimodo had an idea - what
if she had someone to satisfy her sexual
needs? She made a wish list. Cut to that
limber lad so attractive to women and
men alike. A golden boy whos willing to
bend over backwards (and forwards) to
get ahead. Suddenly hes on the hubbys
payroll and banging the wife. You see,
he thought shed leave Cyclops for him.
But, in actuality, it was all yet another
deal. When the mover and shaker gured
it out, he threatened to go public. And
suddenly, poof, he was oered his dream
role on Broadway! And like so many
whores before him, he kept his big mouth
shut - even when the Broadway show was
mysteriously postponed.
When you can hu and pu and blow
a blind item down, its denitely time to
end yet another column. Of course, were
far less circumspect onwww.BillyMasters.
com, the site that cannot be bought - but
can be rented. And like so many rent boys
before me, you can send your requests
into BillyMasters.com and I promise to get
back to you before I get called as a witness
(Ive got a great hat Ive been DYING to
wear). So, until next time, remember, one
mans lth is another mans bible.
4 6 OCTO B E R 2 0 , 2 017 W W W .LOS ANG E LE S B LADE .C OM A RT S & E N T E RT A I N ME N T

Halloweenie just keeps getting bigger

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
experience of stories of lesbian, gay,
transgender, genderqueer and straight
allies from across America across America,
bringing them to life and infusing them
with dynamic musical numbers.
Programs like these are even more
important in the current political climate.
As GMCLA Board Chairman John Jude
Durant points out, The world changed
on November 8, 2016. The horrible,
regressive agenda of the nations current
administration means that our work has
become much, much harder, and will be
that way for at least the next four years.
The Chorus is committed to advocacy for
the rights of not just LGBTQ citizens, but
WoomerBlade_Layout 1 10/9/17 5:33 AM Page 1
also those of all populations who are now
at risk of being marginalized even further
and the ongoing battle against a backwards
tide requires resources more than ever.
Thats where Halloweenie and you
can help.
Due to the generous support of the
events creators Fred Arens and Jason
Duguay, hundreds of thousands of dollars
have been raised for GMCLA, and this
years 12th Annual Halloweenie hopes to
continue that grand tradition.
Every year, partygoers are invited
to enter into a completely immersive
and original Halloween experience with
astonishingly real dcor, ghoulish celebrity
guests, killer photo ops, an array of fully
stocked bars, and sexy and ghoulish
costumed eye candy.
Costumes are required, so bring your
best Halloween game and be prepared
to dance all night.
To help with the latter, Halloweenie will
provide imaginatively crafted sounds by
some of the worlds most sought after DJs.
DJ Hector Fonseca is an international DJ
superstar and coveted celebrity remixer.
He has charted over 15 Ocial Billboard
#1 dance remixes for artists like Sia, Lady
Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Blondie, Kerli
and Beyonce.
DJ Jeremy Blacklow is the director of
entertainment media for GLAAD. His
recent production work includes the
highly-acclaimed update (with two full
remix packages) of the 2001 dance music
anthem To Be Able To Love on Swishcraft
Music, and an explosive high-energy take
on Carly Rae Jepsens Cut To The Feeling.
DJ Max Bruce got his start spinning in
the after hours and gay clubs of Toronto
over 25 years ago, and brings a great
historical perspective to his sets. House
is the word with disco, tech and deep
being the prexes.
Additional sponsors for the event
include Anawalt Lumber, Ketel One Vodka,
LASC, Don Julio Tequila, and Rockwell
Table & Stage.
Only those 21-and-over are allowed to
enter. Ticket prices have been adjusted
to reect this years change to a cash bar.
There will also be private cabanas and VIP
areas available throughout the venue.
For more information or to purchase
tickets ($75-130) in advance, visit www.
halloweenie.com or call (424) 239-6514.

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notice or obligation. Square footages shown are approximate. Please see your Sales Manager for details. 2016 City Ventures. All rights reserved. BRE LIC #01877626.