August, 1 2013 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

Pope changes tone

Wedding announcements return

ARTS

21 see page 13

'Oscar' as opera

The

www.ebar.com

Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 43 • No. 31 • August 1-7, 2013

Campos runs for Assembly

Gay man leads DA’s homicide unit in SF

by Matthew S. Bajko

by Seth Hemmelgarn

an Francisco District Attorney George Gascón has selected an out gay man to head his office’s homicide unit. Assistant District Attorney Scot Clark, 50, who started in the position last month, said he’s “addicted to the feeling you get when you bring people some justice.” That’s what Clark Jane Philomen Cleland is aiming to do as he prosecutes Bernard ADA Scot Clark White Jr., 23, who’s charged with murder and numerous other counts in what’s currently one of the city’s most high profile cases. His arraignment was set for July 31. White’s accused of killing Lina Lim, 51, and Kinh Min, 35, July 12 in a shop at the GiftCenter and JewelryMart, 888 Brannan Street, where they worked. Both women had been shot and stabbed. White, of Antioch, also allegedly shot and stabbed the store’s owner, who was critically injured, and opened fire on responding police during the incident, which shut down traffic for several blocks in the South of Market neighborhood. According to the DA’s office, evidence includes digital images from surveillance systems at the shop and a neighboring taqueria. Asked about the biggest challenge in prosecuting the case, which Clark called “an exceptionally brutal crime,” he said, “Certainly, like all cases, it will have its challenges,” but “I don’t want to try the case in the media.” “It’s not a whodunit,” though, and prosecutors have video of “exceptional quality,” he said. Deputy Public Defender Steven Gayle, who’s representing White, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Gascón indicated Clark, who’s prosecuted 119 jury trials in his career, is up to the task. “Scot is a gifted trial lawyer who has locked up some of the city’s most dangerous killers,” Gascón said in a statement. “His commitment to holding violent offenders accountable has made San Francisco a safer place.” Clark oversees a unit with five other prosecutors, with the possibility of another being assigned soon. The section is handling about 50 cases. Among the homicides, there are at least four cases involving gay victims. See page 12 >>

Rick Gerharter

Bound from a light pole

dward and Priscilla (who declined to give their full names) took advantage of an available light pole to hold an an impromptu bondage demonstration at the annual Up Your Alley street fair, held Sunday, July 28 in the city’s South of Market

neighborhood. The fair attracted a mostly local crowd, and is the warm-up for the larger and more extravagant Folsom Street Fair that will hit SOMA Sunday, September 29. For more information, visit http://www.folsomstreetevents.org.

ay District 9 Supervisor David Campos this week became the first person to officially declare his candidacy for San Francisco’s state Assembly District 17 seat. Joined by his partner of 17 years, Phil Hwang, whom he plans to marry this fall, Campos filed his paperwork with the secretary of state’s office in Sacramento Wednesday, July 31. Rick Gerharter He will join with supporters in the Mission David Campos district Thursday, August 1, including youth for whom he helped secure free Muni passes, and ride a bus to City Hall to file with the city’s elections department. Campos’s decision to seek the Assembly See page 16 >>

Russian vodka boycott gains traction by David-Elijah Nahmod

oncerned about the new draconian law in Russia that bars “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” gay bars in San Francisco have joined their counterparts in other American cities and are dumping Russian vodka in protest. The move comes amid recent reports that some foreign visitors were detained in Russia in apparent violation of the law, and the awareness that next year’s Winter Olympics will take place in Sochi, Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the anti-gay propaganda law last month. The law includes stiff fines and jail time for Russian citizens who “propagate” homosexuality to minors. This could include hand-holding and other public displays of affection, and broadcasting positive news stories about LGBT people. Putin claims that he’s not homophobic, and that he considered it his duty to protect the rights of sexual minorities. Soon after, news reports began to surface of violent gay bashings across Russia, which included incidents in which teen boys were raped with beer bottles.h Some reports claimed that these attacks were taking place in public as police and onlookers nodded approvingly. On July 29, award-winning gay blogger Joe Jervis (Joe. My. God.) linked a story from BBC’s Russian language news service in which it was stated that the government could not

Danny Buskirk

Robbie Sweeny pours Russian vodka down the drain in a nod to a boycott he’s called in protest of the country’s harsh anti-gay law.

selectively enforce the new law. This was in response to a request by the International Olympic Committee that the Russian government guarantee the safety of all athletes and journalists who plan to attend the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. It was reported last week that the IOC had received verbal assurances from the Russian

{ FIRST OF TWO SECTIONS }

government that foreigners would be exempt from the law. But this week, a Russian lawmaker said that Olympic athletes and tourists could indeed be arrested, according to a report from Gay Star News. While many across the globe expressed outrage at this turn of events, San Francisco See page 15 >>