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| Montrose STAR
| Wednesday May 6, 2015
Jenner Affirms Being Transgender, SCOTUS Hears Marriage Equality Arguments, and a ‘Role Model’ Lands in Jail
CONTACT US: 713-942-0084 EMAIL: TheMontroseStar@gmail.com Publisher Executive Editor | Laura M. Villagrán Business Dev. Manager
Randall Jobe Production
Rafa Espinosa Copy Editor
Nancy Ford News & Features
Johnny Trlica Lifestyles
Nancy Ford
HRH Report
John Buchanan Scene Writers
Jim Ayers Bob Houghton
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Music
By Johnny Trlica
I
DJ JD Arnold DJ Mark DeLange Distribution
Miriam Orihuela Elizabeth Membrillo
T H E S TA R C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S DJ J D Arnold hails from England, but has been
spinning in the Lone Star State since the 80’s. He has spun records all over Houston, from the Venture N to Rich’s, as well as writing for Billboard Magazine. His dynamic sounds can now be enjoyed at Eagle Houston.
Jim Ayres y day is an employee benefits and human
resources writer. By night he turns his creativity toward the local food and restaurant scene. Do you know of a restaurant that needs a review? Info@montrose-star.com. John Buchanan is originally from Florida but now
calls Houston home for 20+ years. “Proud to be Gay and part of the Community – Your Gay Realtor of Choice!” johnwb214@aol.com
DJ Mark D dubbed the eternal club kid,has been a nightclub DJ over 20 years; a Billboard Dance DJ/Reporter for 9 years; spun on KRBE Houston radio for 10 years and on XM Satellite Radio/Sirius worldwide for 7 years. He’s owned and operated nightclubs with a special affinity for classic Disco. Credited with breaking new dance music through the use of the mass media.
Nancy Ford has enjoyed a front row seat to the most
remarkable and sparkly Cultural Revolution in the history of mankind. “What a world!” She reflects appropriately. After moving to Houston from Ohio in 1981, Ford became a highly visible player in Texas’ LGBT publishing circles as an editor and contributor to myriad other local and statewide LGBT magazines and newspapers.
Daddy Bob (Bob Houghton) is owner of Black Hawk
Leather, a leather retail store and custom tailor, located at 711 Fairview and inside the Ripcord, Houston. Bob@BlackHawkLeather.com.
n what may be the year of the transgender, 2015 has been momentous for the T segment of the LGBT community. In January, Barack Obama became the first President to say the word transgender in the State of the Union address and now, an Olympic gold medal winner has announced he is transitioning into a woman. Here’s what we’ve been reading at HRH.
Jenner: ‘I am a woman’ I n an almost anti-climactic interview, an Olympic gold medal winner confirmed what the tabloids had been speculating for months. Bruce Jenner came out as a transgender woman in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s 20/20. The former Wheaties cereal cover boy who married into the Kardashian clan and became a reality TV celebrity told Sawyer that his transition began 30 years ago. The interview started with Jenner explaining having “always been confused with my gender identity, since I was this big.” Jenner imagines God creating “a smart kid” with “all these qualities.” But, “Wait a second—got to give him something to deal with. Let’s give him the soul of a female.” Sawyer asked, “Are you a woman?” “For all intents and purposes,” said Jenner, “I’m a woman.” Our Day in Court B attle lines were drawn as the Supreme Court finally heard what could be the definitive conclusion on same sex marriage. In two and a half hours of arguments over whether the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry, most observers feel the Court is divided, reports the New York Times. Justice Kennedy, whose vote may be the decider, sent conflicting signals. “At some points, he seemed wary of moving too fast and torn about what to do. But his demeanor was more emotional and emphatic when he made the case that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry. He is also the author of three landmark opinions expanding the rights of gay Americans,” wrote the Times. Liberal champion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in questioning anti-marriage equality lawyers’ argument that the sole purpose of marriage was to ensure a stable relationship for procreation, posed this scenario: “Suppose a couple, 70-year-old couple, comes in and they want to get married?” The Notorious RBG also stated: “Marriage today is not what it was under the common law tradition, under the civil law tradition. Marriage was a relationship of a dominant male to a subordinate female,” she explained. “That ended
as a result of this court’s decision in 1982 when Louisiana’s Head and Master Rule was struck down.… Would that be a choice that state should [still] be allowed to have? To cling to marriage the way it once was?” A decision from SCOTUS is not expected until late June. WNBA star lands in jail D omestic violence is not reserved for male/female relationships. Houston native Brittney Griner of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury was arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct, according to ESPN. Griner and her fiancée, WNBA player Glory Johnson, were arrested after the two got in a fight at their home in the Phoenix area. Less than two weeks before her arrest, Griner was in Houston at the HRC Houston 18th Annual Gala where she received HRC’s Visibility Award. During her acceptance speech, Griner discussed being a role model for young LGBT people, writes Project Q Houston. Insulted on the island A gay couple got caught in a tidal wave of bigotry on a recent visit to Galveston. Jonathan Wang and his partner Brent were tossed from a bed and breakfast onto the streets of the island city because they are gay, reports KTRK-TV, ABC Channel 13. Wang, a commercial airline pilot by trade, booked the B&B via an AirBNB listing that included a tiny mention from the hosts on the home description that reads “straight friendly.” In town for a wedding party, the couple unpacked their bags and headed to the wedding reception. Upon returning to retire for the night they spoke to the B&B’s owner. “Heather asked me, where my wife was. ‘Who is this person?’ I said it was my significant other Brent. She said ‘I thought you were bringing a wife.’ I said I didn’t say that specifically. I said, ‘Is that going to be OK? She said, ‘It’s not,’” said Wang. Wang said the hosts told them to get out. “She also commented while we were going upstairs that was their bedroom upstairs so they were even more uncomfortable with it,” said Wang. “I’m completely of my legal realms and morals,” said host Heather to ABC 13 reporter Foti Kallergis, who also asked her if she rents to gay couples. “That’s none of your business. That’s my private home,” Heather replied. AirBNB settled the controversy and issued the following statement: “We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination on AirBNB. The host in question has been removed from the site. AirBNB has clear guidelines that a host or a guest may not promote hate or bigotry.”
Forest Riggs. No stranger to the adventures of life,
Welcome to the family The LGBT family just got a little bigger, and a tad weirder. Mama June Shannon, better known as Honey Boo Boo’s mother, came out as bisexual in an interview on Inside Edition. In the same interview, Lauryn Thompson, AKA Pumpkin, says: “I’m attracted to females, and I’m attracted to males. You cannot hide who you truly are.”
Forest bills himself as a “raconteur with a gypsy spirit.” A former educator, public speaker, hospital administrator, counselor and gay B&B owner, he was instrumental in the formation of OutSmart Magazine in the early 1990s. He has written for several newspapers, magazines and other publications. Recently he completed a collection of short stories about his beloved Galveston and is working on a novel. He currently resides on the island where he can be found wasting bait and searching for the meaning of life.
Johnny Trlica hails from Rosenberg, Texas and has
called Houston home for more than 20 years. He has been a Human Resources professional for 6 years and is the editor of The Houston Rainbow Herald. His passion is keeping the battle for equal rights at the forefront of today's headlines and heralding the achievements of the LGBT community. TheMontroseSTAR.com
The Houston Rainbow Herald is the Bayou City’s only daily LGBT online news source. For more information, visit www.houstorainbowherald.com.
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