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The
www.ebar.com
Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
Vol. 47 • No. 17 • April 27-May 3, 2017
Bill would reform CA sex offender registry by Seth Hemmelgarn
BART stations eyed for syringe boxes
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A safe needle disposal box was stationed in the Mission last December as part of the Pit Stop program.
by Seth Hemmelgarn
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an Francisco officials are looking at some BART train stations as sites for syringe disposal boxes. Making clean syringes available to intravenous drug users has long been credited with helping decrease the number of HIV transmissions in San Francisco, but the city
has struggled with syringes being scattered on sidewalks and in the streets. There are already boxes in other locations where people can deposit their used syringes. Eileen Loughran, a health program coordinator with the city’s public health department, said that three BART stations initially identified as hot spots were Powell, Civic Center, and 16th and Mission.
Loughran, who isn’t aware of any opposition to the proposal, hopes the syringe boxes will be installed at the Mission and Powell stations “within a few months.” The Powell station, which mostly serves commuters and tourists, would likely be first. Two sites near the outdoor steps at the station are being considered. See page 14 >> Rick Gerharter
Lesbian/gay chorus director stepping down by Michael Nugent
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illy Sauerland, the artistic director of the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco, is stepping down after the group’s spring concert next weekend. Founded in 1980, LGCSF is the oldest LGBT mixed choir in the country. Sauerland, 35, is a gay man who has been conducting the choir since January 2011. His departure marks a major transition for one of San Francisco’s key LGBT music ensembles. “Billy Sauerland brought passion for musical excellence, a frightening work ethic, and a wicked sense of humor to LGCSF,” said Rachel Pokorny, the LGCSF board president. “His six years with the chorus were marked by many successful collaborations with artists and organizations throughout the Bay Area and innovative concerts honoring and celebrating the LGBTQ community. Billy will be missed by the singers, his co-workers, and the board of LGCSF.” Sauerland broke new ground as artistic director of the choir, which has 30 members and a budget of nearly $60,000. “We worked really hard to make partnerships and created a lot of collaborative projects that we feel good about, with schools, other LGBT choirs, and performances in new venues,” he said in an interview. “It’s gotten us around the Bay Area. It’s a good thing to be nimble and be mobile where you can be – and it’s artistically fulfilling.”
Michael Nugent
Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco artistic director Billy Sauerland is stepping down next month.
While retaining its historic name, the chorus has worked to expand its inclusivity. “LGCSF is an organization with social justice and community at its heart,” Sauerland said. “We have ensured the group is fully inclusive with bi, trans, and straight voices too. It is something to be proud of that we attract a wide variety of members – it’s a hallmark of the ensemble.” Sauerland is leaving to focus on his education doctorate program in music at Columbia University, which he attends remotely, and to
write his dissertation on the voices and experiences of trans singers. He lives in Hayward with his husband, Tom Nelson, and is also the artistic director of the Chabot College Choir and the Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus. Sauerland said the couple would continue to live there and that he would continue to direct those groups. LGCSF is known for its untraditional concert formats; the choir’s May concert “Here I Am: Living Authentically” will incorporate stories of LGBT people into the program. “In a choir we give up our individual voice to create a bigger than life voice: we are the sum of the parts. In preparing for this concert, I was reading trans theory; one of the critiques of feminist and trans theory is that they are more holistic, rather than individually focused. So we decided to highlight individual experiences and voices,” he said. Sauerland asked for stories about LGBT identity on the chorus’ email list, selecting nine submissions, which were each paired with a song. One poignant song in the concert is “Would You Harbor Me?” by Ysaye Barnwell. Made famous by Sweet Honey in the Rock, it asks the listener to harbor diverse people including Muslims and someone living with HIV, then asks “would you harbor me, would I harbor you?” The question also echoes the current creation See page 12 >>
ay state Senator Scott Wiener has introduced a bill that would create a tiered registry for California sex offenders, meaning some could leave the state’s lifetime registry earlier than State Senator planned. Under state law, Scott Wiener all sex offenders currently have to register for life, regardless of how serious their offense was. That means the database includes gay men who were arrested decades ago for having sex in public parks, alongside other people who are on the list for serious offenses such as violent crimes against children. The registry already includes more than 100,000 people, so law enforcement officials have had to waste time handling paperwork related to low-risk offenders, and it hasn’t effectively kept people from committing future crimes, according to Wiener’s office. Wiener’s legislation – Senate Bill 421 – would create a tiered system based on the severity of the crime, the risk of sexual reoffending, and the person’s criminal history. The Senate Public Safety Committee, on which Wiener sits, passed SB 421 by a vote of 6-1 Tuesday. Senator Jeff Stone (R-Riverside) was the opponent. Under the bill, people convicted of misdemeanors or non-violent felonies could be eligible for 10 years on the registry, and people convicted of serious or violent sex offenses could be eligible for 20 years. High-risk offenders, including sexually violent predators, repeat violent offenders, and people convicted of sex offenses that require a life term would still have lifetime registration. Wiener (D-San Francisco) said at Tuesday’s committee hearing that the registry’s had a “damaging impact on the LGBT community.” The list includes gay men in their 60s, 70s, and 80s who had “sex in a park 40 or 50 years ago,” he said. “To this day, they are still on the registry.” He added that “after decades of research, we now have a much better sense of who is high risk and who isn’t,” but the current registration system doesn’t even attempt “to account for this distinction.” Most of the people on the registry are at “low risk” of reoffending, Wiener said, and being listed currently presents “lifetime barriers to stable housing” and other problems. See page 15 >>
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