Washingtonblade.com, Volume 51, Issue 29, July 17, 2020

THE TAXMAN COMETH Mendelson’s ad tax a blow to queer, Black media Pages 6 & 16

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VOLUME 51 ISSUE 29 ADDRESS PO Box 53352 Washington DC 20009 PHONE 202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 FEATURES EDITOR JOEY DIGUGLIELMO joeyd@washblade.com ext. 8081 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 NEWS REPORTER CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com ext. 8083 REPORTER & INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com POP CULTURE REPORTER JOHN PAUL KING PHOTO EDITOR MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, RICHARD J. ROSENDALL, ERNESTO VALLE, NICOLÁS LEVY, FELIPE ALFACE, YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ, LYNARE ROBBINS, RACHAEL ESPINET, PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN, ESTEBAN GUZMÁN, ALEX COOPER, KATLEGO K. KOL-KES, VICTOR MAUNG CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZERCREATIVE.COM SALES & ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077 SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089 ACCT. EXECUTIVE JOE HICKLING jhickling@washblade.com ext. 8094 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092 NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com For distribution, contact Lynne Brown ext. 8075. Distributed by MediaPoint, LLC

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Friend says murder of gay man in Sterling, Va. was hate crime A woman who says she was a friend of a gay man whose body was found on July 8 on a roadway in Sterling, Va,. and whose death has been listed as a homicide told a local newspaper she believes her friend was the victim of a hate crime based on his sexual orientation.

The Loudoun JOSE I. ESCOBAR MENENDEZ was County Sheriff’s killed but police have not released a Office, which is cause of death. investigating the case, released a statement saying 24-year-old Jose I. Escobar Menendez, a resident of Winchester, Va., was found dead in a roadway along Emerald Point Terrace near Winding Road in the Sterling area around 3:30 a.m.

The Sheriff’s Office has declined to disclose the cause of death other than saying it was a homicide and has not disclosed that Menendez was gay or that the incident may be a hate crime. The Sheriff’s Office statement says the case remains under active investigation and anyone with information is asked to call Det. M. Grimsley at 703777-1021.

“We know it was a homicide, but no one has any idea what his whereabouts were that night or with whom,” the Loudoun Times-Mirror quoted the friend as saying in a Twitter posting. “He was murdered & we believe it was due to his sexuality…We think he met up with someone off of a dating app…,” the newspaper quoted her Tweet as saying.

The Times-Mirror, which did not identify the female friend by name, said she told the paper Menendez “was an amazing friend” of hers. “He was always that person to hype you up. He just wanted everyone to have a good time,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.

According to the Times-Mirror, the friend also declined to disclose how Menendez died but said his body was in “very bad shape.”

Ricky Alvarenga, who identified himself as Menendez’s cousin in a GoFundMe page he created to help raise money for Menendez’s funeral expenses, said in a message that an outpouring of support by contributors exceeded the fundraising goal.

“We still need answers and we will find JUSTICE FOR JOSE,” he wrote in his GoFundMe message.

Winchester, Va., where the Sheriff’s Office says Menendez lived, is located a little over 48 miles west of Sterling, where Menendez’s body was found. The Sheriff’s Office has not said how Menendez traveled that distance and whether investigators know why he went to Sterling, which is located about 28 miles west of D.C. LOU CHIBBARO JR.

SMYAL, HRC to host virtual events to boost leadership skills, voting

D.C. Council approves $2.7 million for LGBTQ programs The D.C. Council on July 7 approved in a preliminary vote $2.7 million in funds for LGBTQ-related programs as part of the city’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget. The July 7 vote was the first of two votes required by the Council to approve the voluminous budget bill.

Japer Bowles, an official with the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL and a spokesperson for a coalition of local LGBTQ organizations that advocated for the LGBTQ funding proposals, said the coalition was hopeful that additional funds it has proposed would be approved in a final version of the budget bill set for a vote on July 21.

The $2.7 million in funds approved by the Council on June 7 represents a significant reduction from the $10.6 million in LGBTQ-related funds the coalition called on the Council to approve in June. And that figure was a reduction from an initial request by the coalition for $22.6 million for LGBTQ programs that the coalition sought in January before the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic became known.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chair Phil Mendelson pointed out in the spring that the epidemic would have a devastating impact on the city’s finances and few if any new funding initiatives would be possible for Fiscal Year 2021.

Among the initiatives included under the $2.7 million approved by the Council are $150,000 for a D.C. government study of the employment of transgender and non-binary individuals in D.C. agencies and the agencies’ employment practices toward them; $500,000 for a workforce development program for transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming D.C. residents who are homeless; and a one-time $70,000 funding allocation for the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community to help with moving expenses when its current home — the city’s Reeves Center municipal building — closes for renovation.

Other programs to be funded under the $2.7 million allocation include $945,000 in recurring funds for the Office of Human Rights to boost its ability to curtail hate crimes; and $170,000 for a community dining support program for LGBTQ seniors.

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID said, ‘Together, united, we will defeat Trump’s attempts to divide us and keep us from voting.’

The local LGBTQ youth advocacy organization SMYAL and the national LGBTQ civil rights organization Human Rights Campaign, both based in D.C., are hosting separate events this week to boost the skills and awareness of LGBTQ youth in leadership and voting related endeavors.

SMYAL was scheduled to hold its annual “Rise Up! A National Conference for Queer and Trans Youth Organizers” on Monday, July 13-Sunday, July 19 in a virtual online platform for which SMYAL Executive Director Sultan Shakir says more than 270 youth from across the country have registered.

With the conference moving online this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions, “SMYAL is able to host youth from across the country as well as expand the types of workshops that will be presented,” the group said in a statement. “Whether youth organizers are just beginning their journey into activism or they have been leading movements in their own communities, participants will be able to attend workshops focused on transformative justice, structures of power and privilege, maintaining self-care, and intersectional allyship, among others,” the statement says.

In its own statement, HRC says it would hold a one-day live-streamed “Vote Equal, Vote Safe” Town Hall meeting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 14.

The statement says the event will be hosted by activist and Pod Save the People host DeRay McKesson “to help reach and engage young people, primarily of color, and educate them about mail-in voting and inspire them to make their voices heard in November.”

HRC President Alphonso David said in the statement he was honored to team up with McKesson and others to provide important information for LGBTQ young people.

“Together, we will help demystify the vote-by-mail process and give young people – many voting for the first time – the tools and resources they need to make sure their voices are heard this November,” he said.

“With extremists like Donald Trump continuing to spread disinformation about the vote by mail process, it has become more important than ever to ensure that Equality Voters have accurate information to know how to cast their ballot,” David said. “Together, united, we will defeat Trump’s attempts to divide us and keep us from voting.”

LOU CHIBBARO JR.

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Media outlets assail D.C.’s proposed ad tax

Blade, Tagg, Informer warn move could force small publications out of business

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com wrong direction. D.C. should not be the first The Washington Blade and Tagg municipality to tax advertising.” magazine, the local publication that covers In their joint statement, which they issues of interest to lesbians of color, have sent to all 13 Council members, including joined the Washington Informer, one of Mendelson, the Blade and Tagg magazine D.C.’s two African-American newspapers, said the advertising tax would have a in calling on the D.C. Council to drop a detrimental impact on local newspapers.

3 percent sales tax on advertising that it “In addition, this tax will hit outlets approved in a preliminary vote on July 7. that serve underrepresented communities The Council included the advertising much harder, including outlets that serve tax provision, introduced by Council Chair the LGBTQ community and communities of Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), as part of the color,” it says. city’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget. The Council “Our businesses are already stressed is scheduled to hold a final vote on the to the limit,” the statement continues. budget that includes the advertising tax “All of our arts and entertainment related provision on July 28. advertising disappeared overnight in Mendelson said the tax is projected to the aftermath of coronavirus restrictions. raise $18 million in revenue annually for the Forcing us to pass along a three percent city at a time when the city is struggling to rate increase at this vulnerable time will maintain services for those in need during Council Chair PHIL MENDELSON’S proposed 3 percent tax on advertising is drawing lead to further advertising cancellations,” a pandemic. widespread criticism. the statement says.

“As local business owners, we “We know that everyone’s goal is for understand as well as anyone the grave D.C. to flourish, however, taxing businesses that Monday that he and fellow Council members do not impact coronavirus is having on commerce and have already seen a huge decrease in revenue is believe a 3 percent sales tax on advertising, which will tax revenues and the need for the city to find new not the answer,” the statement says. “We urge you to be paid by the advertisers, not the publications that sources of revenue,” the Blade and Tagg said in a joint reconsider this measure and remove it from the city’s display the ads, will have a significant negative impact statement. budget.” on revenue for the publications.

“But this misguided measure will only further D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has also expressed “I recognize that businesses fear that a sales tax damage the local economy by taxing businesses concern over the proposed advertising tax, saying will depress revenues,” Mendelson said. “I think that that are already strained,” the statement says. “An it could create an additional burden on struggling effect is overstated. And I recall that a couple of years additional three percent tax on our primary source of community newspapers. But Bowser did not say she ago health clubs were furious when we expanded revenue will force some outlets to lay off additional would veto the massive, multi-billion dollar budget the sales tax to include health club memberships,” he staff and others to shutter entirely,” it says, adding, bill that the ad tax is a part of. said, noting that tax was placed at 6 percent.

“We are not aware of a tax like this on media outlets Also expressing strong opposition to the ad tax is “They made it clear in no uncertain terms that they anywhere else.” the Association of National Advertisers, which issued were going to lose customers and close outlets in the In an editorial published on July 8, one day after a statement urging the D.C. Council not to pass such District,” Mendelson said. “And the exact opposite the Council gave preliminary approval for the ad tax, a tax. happened.” the Washington Informer called on the Council to “Advertising taxes suppress consumer demand, He told the Blade that the 3 percent sales tax “reconsider this measure and remove it from the city’s slow job growth, and ultimately cause products proposed for advertising is half the amount of the budget.” and services to become more expensive for city’s standard 6 percent sales tax rate.

The Informer’s editorial says the newspaper was consumers,” ANA Executive Vice President Dan Jaffe Mendelson said he understands that newspapers, “disheartened by Chairman Mendelson’s proposal to said in a statement. “A tax on advertising is always which have not had a sales tax on ads before, may create a 3 percent tax on advertising – the life-blood counterproductive but would be even more damaging be concerned about administrative costs for having of media – and the Council’s unanimous approval. during the COVID pandemic and the accompanying to collect the tax and dispense it to the city. He said While other jurisdictions across the country have severe economic downturn,” he said. businesses have been doing that for decades and the proposed similar measures, nowhere does a tax on “Clearly, this tax could be backbreaking for administrative costs should not be significant. advertising exist. And to do so without public input is small businesses and community publications,” he He said he did not consult with media outlets such questionable.” concluded. as small local publications before introducing the ad The editorial by the Informer says it appreciates The Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association tax proposal. expressions of concern raised by some Council also weighed in, assailing the new tax.

Blade Publisher Lynne Brown criticized the members that an ad tax could have a detrimental “This revenue provision — proposed at the proposal. impact on media organizations “holding on by a 11th hour, without even a public hearing — would “A tax stifles free trade of ideas and goods,” Brown thread,” including minority publications. essentially kick the newspaper industry when it’s said. “While I understand the City Council’s need for “The term ‘Black Lives Matter’ applies to the Black down, subjecting it to new taxes that will be difficult cash, taxing the media industry into silence, as this is a Press that has never received its fair share of ad to calculate and economically devastating to pay, at a speech issue too, is simply a bad idea.” revenue comparable to what Black consumers spend,” time when the District’s newspaper industry is working Brown continued, “Covid challenges exist. My the editorial states. “The last thing we need now is a round the clock to keep our citizens informed about business partners and I approached the challenge tax that will diminish what few dollars we rely on to an ongoing public health crisis,” the association said not with increased fees, but with reduced spending. stay alive.” in a statement.

We are taxed enough in this city. This is a bad idea, a Mendelson told the Blade in a phone interview on 0 6 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J ULY 17, 2020 • LOCA L N E W S

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Trump ‘has great record’ on LGBT community: McEnany

WH press secretary dodges questions about trans military ban

By CHRIS JOHNSON cjohnson@washblade.com a medical-based policy applying to all service members, As the three-year anniversary approaches of President pointing out they’re free to identify as transgender and Trump tweeting he’d ban transgender people from remain in the armed forces. the armed forces “in any capacity,” his administration is But the policy, which went into effect in April showing no signs of reconsidering the policy.

2019, requires the discharge of any service member White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany who’s diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a defining dodged on Monday when asked by the Washington characteristic of being transgender, or seeks transitionBlade whether Trump would reconsider the ban in the related care. Individuals with a history of gender dysphoria wake of a letter from 116 lawmakers led by Rep. Suzan can only enlist if they’re willing to serve in accordance with DelBene (D-Wash.) calling on the administration to lift the their sex designated at birth. anti-transgender policy.

The ban has an exemption to allow transgender Instead, McEnany enumerated other initiatives she service members to continue serving if they came out said demonstrates the administration is supportive of the when open service was instituted in 2016 under the LGBTQ community.

Obama administration. Additionally, the policy allows “I haven’t talked to him about that specific policy, but senior defense officials to grant waivers to transgender this president is proud that in 2019 we launched a global individuals facing discharge wishing to enlist in the armed initiative to end the criminalization of homosexuality White House Press Secretary KAYLEIGH MCENANY dodges forces. throughout the world,” McEnany said. “He has a great questions on the transgender military ban.

DelBene responded to McEnany’s dodge on the record when it comes to the LGBT community. The Trump (White House photo by Joyce Boghosian) transgender military ban in a statement to the Washington administration eased a ban on blood donations from gay Blade by reasserting the policy is unlawful after the Supreme Court ruling. and bisexual men and he launched a plan to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, so we’re very “Why doesn’t the White House have a justifiable reason to continue the ban on proud of our achievements.” transgender service members? Because it’s an indefensible policy,” DelBene said. “The It should be noted for one of those initiatives, easing the ban on gay blood donations Supreme Court recently affirmed that workplace discrimination based on gender identity to require a 3-month period of abstinence as opposed to a 12- month period, Trump and sexual orientation is unconstitutional. This should apply to military service as well. distanced himself from the change when asked about it by the Blade, saying he “didn’t Thousands of transgender service members have already served their country with pride know anything” about it. and distinction. This ban should be eliminated immediately.”

As the Blade pointed out, the ban on transgender service — which Trump directed In related news, several advocacy groups last week filed a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon to implement via tweet on July 26, 2017 — flies in the face of polls showing the Trump administration over its decision to remove transgender protections from the upwards of 70 percent of Americans support transgender service, major medical Affordable Care Act. and psychological groups saying there’s no problem with it and an estimated 14,700 Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth; Callen-Lorde transgender service members grandfathered in under open service in the final year of the Community Health Center; Campaign for Southern Equality; Equality California; Fenway Obama administration.

Health and the Transgender Emergency Fund are plaintiffs in the lawsuit the Transgender Moreover, the transgender ban is increasingly unlikely to survive judicial scrutiny after Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Transgender Law Center, the National Women’s the recent Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which determined antiLaw Center, the Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and the transgender discrimination is a form of sex discrimination under the law. private law firm Hogan Lovells filed on their behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Although no law bars sex discrimination in the U.S. armed forces, laws enabling sex Massachusetts on behalf of the LGBTQ organizations. Darren Lazor, a trans man who lives discrimination are subject to heightened scrutiny under U.S. legal jurisprudence. Now that near Cleveland, is also named as a plaintiff. the Supreme Court has determined anti-trans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination The Obama administration under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act determined in the workforce, that logic should apply to all anti-transgender policies across the board, discrimination based on sex applied to trans people. The U.S. Department of Health and including the transgender military ban.

Human Services on June 12 announced the Trump administration’s plan to reverse the rule McEnany, a Harvard law graduate, downplayed the Bostock’s ruling implications on the had been made final. transgender ban by citing the dissent from U.S. Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, even The U.S. Supreme Court three days later ruled Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 though dissents have no bearing on U.S. legal jurisprudence. bans employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

“I have no updates for you, but several of the events that you cited, like the Supreme A press release that announced the lawsuit notes the reversal of the Affordable Care Act Court ruling, I would refer you back to Justice Kavanaugh, who said, ‘We are judges, we’re policy “violates the Administrative Procedures Act by being contrary to law and arbitrary not members of Congress. Instead of a hard earned victory won through the Democratic and capricious.” process, today’s victory is brought about by judicial dictates,’” McEnany said. “So we’ll “I have experienced feeling like a doctor doesn’t care if I live or die — which is just always stand on the side of correct statutory interpretation.” shameful,” said Lazor in the press release. “No one should be denied life-saving health care Lucas Acosta, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement or be discriminated against the way I have simply because of who they are. I hope that McEnany “is living in a delusion” if she thinks the Trump administration is pro-LGBTQ. sharing my story can help others understand that transgender people are who we are, and “They have issued rules sanctioning discrimination against LGBTQ people, particularly we deserve to be treated fairly under the law.” transgender people, in healthcare programs and activities,” Acosta said. “They have ignored Equality California Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur added “ripping healthcare anti-LGBTQ atrocities in Chechnya and anti-trans violence here at home. They have banned away from millions of Americans is wrong; to do so in the middle of a global health crisis is trans people from serving in the military and turned away trans children with civil rights just plain evil.” complaints from the Department of Education. They have endorsed allowing businesses “As long as President Trump keeps attacking transgender people like Darren and other to discriminate against LGBTQ people solely because of who they are or who they love.

LGBTQ+ Equality California members simply because of who they are, we’ll keep fighting They are denying trans people equal access to emergency shelters, needlessly and cruelly the Administration in court,” he said. putting one of the most vulnerable groups in the country in greater danger.”

Michael K. Lavers contributed to this report.

The Defense Department has insisted the transgender military ban is not a ban, but 0 8 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J ULY 17, 2020 • NATI ON A L N E W S

The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. (MCCDC) is excited to announce the launch of a Microloan Program for Young Adults in the DMV. Who Qualifies for a Loan?

Young adults, ages 20 to 30, who reside in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and who meet one or more of the following criterion:

 can create art in any medium,  are community activists,  make other contributions that benefit their communities.

Applicants may request a maximum of $1500.

Initial Application Period: July 13 – July 31, 2020.

For 49 years, MCCDC has served the greater Washington, D.C. area with special ministry to LBGTQIA people in our region. Now, as recipients of an Innovation Grant from Wesley Theological Seminary and the Lily Endowment, we are excited to offer this opportunity to young adults in our communities who may experience difficulty accessing more traditional forms of financial assistance.

Contact: Rev. Cathy Alexander, Associate Pastor

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(202) 638-7373 innovation@mccdc.com

JULY 1 7 , 2 0 2 0 • WAS H IN GTO N B LAD E.CO M • 0 9

Prop 8 trial tapes expose systemic homophobia 10-year fight for transparency slated to end with Aug. 12 release

By KAREN OCAMB

After 10 years of arguments, a federal judge has finally ordered the release of videotapes from the historic 2010 Federal District Court trial against Proposition 8 in San Francisco that put marriage equality on the line. At stake: can the state deny the right to marry to some Americans based solely on who those individuals choose to marry?

LGBTQ people privately celebrated their relationships until the AIDS crisis when longtime lovers, considered “legal strangers” were kept from the hospital bedsides of their dying partners and were evicted when estranged families showed up.

But anti-gay Republicans made gay marriage an ugly political issue, brandishing anti-gay marriage initiatives in red and swing states and a federal constitutional amendment through President George W. Bush.

The barrage of countering lawsuits illustrated just how many benefits, automatically granted heterosexual couples, were explicitly denied same-sex couples. Eventually, the California Supreme Court ruled in May 2008 that marriage was a fundamental right for same-sex couples.

Anti-gay religious forces fought back with bias-based Proposition 8, which passed on Nov. 4, 2008, making California the 29th state to pass a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

Trying to overturn Prop 8 in federal court was risky since the case would invariably go to the Supreme Court. But Los Angeles-based political strategist Chad Griffin argued that too many lives were being deeply and unnecessarily harmed to wait any longer. He and several friends founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and hired famed Republican attorney Ted Olson and his 2000 opponent in Bush v Gore, David Boies, to serve as lead counsel.

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker originally ordered Hollingsworth v.

Perry to be broadcast live in five public courthouses and on YouTube. But Prop 8 proponents, claiming fear of gay retribution, secured an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to temporarily stay live streaming of the proceedings.

Despite an appeal from a coalition of media groups, the Court eventually ruled 5-4 to disallow live streaming but let Walker record the proceedings for his own use, a nod to the Prop 8 defendant-intervenors who hyped their “victim” claims.

AFER, journalists and bloggers reported the historic events as they unfolded and in important books and films later, but the court didn’t budge on the tapes until now, setting Aug. 12, 2020 for their release.

On June 28, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld Walker’s ruling. So why are the District Court tapes so important?

AFER calls the trial “America’s truth commission on marriage equality. For the first time, a federal court heard testimony on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

It’s easy to appeal to people’s fears and prejudices in campaign literature and 30-second television ads. But when you come into court and swear under oath, the lies melt away and the truth comes out.”

It was love versus institutional homophobia: plaintiffs Jeff Zarrillo & Paul Katami and Kris Perry & Sandy Stier — standing in for America’s same sex couples — courageously told their love stories, their struggles and withstood badgering from the Prop 8 attorneys.

“I just want to get married,” said Katami on the witness stand. “It’s as simple as that. I love someone. I want to get married. My state is supposed to protect me. It’s not supposed to discriminate against me.”

“I’m just trying to get the rights that the Constitution already says I have,” said Stier who calmly handled rude questions from a Prop 8 attorney incredulous that she could have once loved, married and had children with a man and now loves a woman.

Some moments were incredibly painful. “I remember my mother looking at me and telling me that I was going to burn in hell,” testified so-called “conversion therapy” survivor Ryan Kendall. “[M]y mother would tell me that she hated me, or that I was disgusting, or that I was repulsive. Once she told me that she wished she had had an abortion instead of a gay son.”

1 0 • WAS H I NGTO NBLA DE.COM • J ULY 17, 2020 • N ATI ONA L NE W S

AFER’s JEFF ZARRILLO and PAUL KATAMI, CHAD GRIFFIN, sons ELLIOTT and SPENCER, SANDY STIER and KRIS PERRY, in LA in February 2012.

(Photo by Karen Ocamb)

There were also moments of unintended humor, as when AFER attorney Theodore Boutrous asked Harvard University historian Nancy Cott if the state has a “compelling interest” in limiting marriage to heterosexual couples for the purpose of procreation. President George Washington, “the father of our country,” Cott replied, was married and sterile. “Procreative ability has never been a qualification for marriage.”

The courtroom quietly gasped after Walker asked famed Republican Prop 8 attorney Charles Cooper how the state promotion of heterosexual marriage would be harmed if gays were allowed to wed. Cooper took a long beat and then replied: “Your honor, my answer is, I don’t know. I don’t know.”

In her book “Forcing the Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality,” Jo Becker later reported that Cooper’s daughter had come out to him during the trial.

He subsequently helped plan her wedding.

One of the most startling moments was courtesy pro-Prop 8 David Blankenhorn, founder and president, Institute for American Values. AFER attorney David Boies challenged his qualifications as an “expert” and Walker agreed, ruling Blankenhorn’s opinion testimony to be “unreliable and entitled to essentially no weight.”

Nonetheless, Blankenhorn caused a flutter when he switched sides on the witness stand. Under oath, Blankenhorn said: “I believe that today the principle of equal human dignity must apply to gay and lesbian persons. In that sense, insofar as we are a nation founded on this principle, we would be more American on the day we permitted same-sex marriage than we were on the day before.”

The Prop 8 trial tapes are a record of how LGBTQ people and allies fought systemic and institutionalized homophobia and won. Not unsurprisingly, on July 14 Cooper filed an appeal to the 9th Circuit to stop the tapes’ release.

Lawmakers call on Trump to implement Bostock ruling More than 100 members of Congress last week called on President Trump to implement last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that says Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans anti-LGBTQ employment discrimination.

“In light of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, we request that your administration direct all relevant agencies to undertake a review of all regulations, executive orders, and agency policies that implicate legal protections for LGBTQ individuals under federal civil rights laws,” reads the letter.

The letter notes the Trump administration “has repeatedly issued dozens of regulatory and agency actions premised almost entirely on the claim that federal bans on sex discrimination do not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity” and (Photo public domain) points out the White House “argued against the employees in Bostock.” The letter also calls upon the Trump administration to identify “the steps it is taking to implement the Bostock decision and fully enforce our nation’s civil rights laws that prohibit sex discrimination.

“All people should have confidence that their federal government is working to protect — not undermine — their rights,” reads the letter. “We therefore ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that LGBTQ people enjoy the full protections of the nation’s federal civil rights laws.”

U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) are among the lawmakers to who signed the letter.

A separate letter that 116 members of Congress signed last week urges Defense Secretary Mark Esper and U.S. Attorney General William Barr to rescind the ban on openly transgender service members. The letter of which Norton, Raskin and Wexton are among the signatories also notes the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Bostock case.

“This policy is an attack on transgender service members who are risking their lives to serve our country and it should be reversed immediately,” reads the letter.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Trump sued again over trans health rule

Fauci: No clear evidence HIV heightens COVID risk

Several advocacy groups last week filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to remove transgender protections from the Affordable Care Act. Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth; Callen-Lorde Community Health Center; Campaign for Southern Equality; Equality California; Fenway Health and the Transgender Emergency Fund are plaintiffs in the lawsuit the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Transgender Law Center, the National Women’s Law Center, the Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation and the private law firm Hogan Lovells filed on their behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of the LGBTQ organizations.

Darren Lazor, a trans man who lives near Cleveland, is also named as a plaintiff.

The Obama administration under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act determined discrimination based on sex applied to trans people. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on June 12 announced the Trump administration’s plan to reverse the rule had been made final.

The U.S. Supreme Court three days later ruled Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

A press release that announced the lawsuit notes the reversal of the Affordable Care Act policy “violates the Administrative Procedures Act by being contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious.”

“I have experienced feeling like a doctor doesn’t care if I live or die — which is just shameful,” said Lazor in the press release. “No one should be denied life-saving health care or be discriminated against the way I have simply because of who they are. I hope that sharing my story can help others understand that transgender people are who we are, and we deserve to be treated fairly under the law.”

Equality California Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur added “ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans is wrong; to do so in the middle of a global health crisis is just plain evil.”

“As long as President Trump keeps attacking transgender people like Darren and other LGBTQ+ Equality California members simply because of who they are, we’ll keep fighting the Administration in court,” he said.

The Human Rights Campaign and the D.C.-based law firm Baker Hostetler have filed a separate lawsuit against the policy’s rescission in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on behalf of two trans women of color. Lambda Legal has also challenged the Trump administration’s decision in federal court.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

Dr. Anthony Fauci last week said it remains unclear whether people with HIV are more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

“The story is not yet completely out in individuals with HIV,” he said during a panel that took place on the final day of the 2020 International AIDS Conference. “Those with HIV that’s not controlled in the sense of controlled viremia as opposed to those with good control. That knowledge store is still evolving.”

Fauci in his presentation also DR. ANTHONY FAUCI said there is a “significant issue” in (Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro Jr.) the U.S. “with a disproportionate disparity or serious illness among our minority population” with Black people, Latinos and Native Americans most impacted. Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House’s coronavirus task force, echoed Fauci in her own remarks during the panel.

“This is like HIV and that there are specific vulnerable groups, either by race, ethnicity or their relationship in poverty,” she said.

Both Birx and Fauci said hypertension, diabetes and obesity are among the underlying health issues that make people more vulnerable to coronavirus.

Dr. Sarah Henn, chief medical officer at Whitman-Walker Health in D.C., told the Blade in March that older people with underlying medical conditions and those who have chronic illnesses are most vulnerable to the pandemic. Immigration Equality and other advocacy groups have also said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees with HIV are also at risk.

“When I think of people who are at increased risk or high risk for coronavirus I think of people who are significantly immunosuppressed,” Henn told the Blade.

“I think of people who are going through cancer chemotherapy, people who are immunosuppressed with medications with a history of organ transplants, and people with a very low CD4 count and uncontrolled HIV and AIDS.” The International AIDS Conference was to have taken place this week in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., but it happened virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center notes there are more than 3.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. Their statistics also indicate the pandemic has killed 134,729 people in this country.

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Poland’s anti-LGBTQ president wins re-election Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, told the The anti-LGBTQ president of Poland won re-election Blade. “We will keep on fighting, as the community on Sunday. needs us. All the incitement to hate by president Duda The Associated Press reported Andrzej Duda resulted in many instances of LGBT people being defeated Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski by a 51.2physically attacked or their homes being marked with 48.8 percent margin. The two men ran against each homophobic vandalism, so our main goal is to press other in a runoff because they didn’t receive a majority for protection of sexual orientation and gender identity of the vote in the first round of Poland’s presidential to be included in the hate crime and hate speech election that took place on June 28. legislation.”

Activists have sharply criticized Duda — head of Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David Poland’s conservative Law and Justice party — over his echoed Świder in his own statement. anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

“President Andrezj Duda’s reelection after running on Duda last month said LGBTQ “ideology” is more a virulently anti-LGBTQ election platform is confirmation harmful than communism. Justyna Nakielska of that the fight for LGBTQ rights and freedoms is far from Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy over,” said David. “However, Duda’s narrow victory group, told the Washington Blade last month noted Polish President ANDRZEJ DUDA said LGBTQ ‘ideology’ is more demonstrates that there are a great number of Polish the Law and Justice party ahead of last October’s harmful than communism. people who do not support his views, including his parliamentary elections described LGBTQ Poles as “a cruel campaign pledge to ban same-sex couples from adopting children that need loving threat to the family” and said they “want to sexualize children.” homes, and his extreme anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.”

Duda on June 24 met with President Trump at the White House.

“Despite Duda’s victory, LGBTQ advocates will continue to fight in Poland and elsewhere “As there is a feeling of huge disappointment we need to remember that almost half of for the basic respect and dignity that our community deserves,” he added.

Polish voters said firmly no to the hatred campaign waged by Duda, and showed they are in MICHAEL K. LAVERS favor of a democratic, modern and open Poland,” Magdalena Świder of Kampania Przeciw

Activists hold first global Black Pride

Actor Billy Porter is among those who participated in the first-ever global Black Pride event that took place on July 10.

Global Black Gay Men Connect organized the 12-hour virtual event — the First Global Black Gay Pride is a Riot — with the support of upwards of a dozen LGBTQ advocacy groups. They include OutRight Action International, Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI) in New York City, GLAAD, the Caribbean Equality Forum, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance, BlackOutUK, the Love Tank, Living Free UK, Pan Africa ILGA and the House of Rainbow.

Grindr provided technical support for the event.

Canadian Minister of Diversity and Inclusion Bardish Chagger also participated.

“We created the event to provide a space for Black queer people across the globe to connect and celebrate each other,” Micheal Ighodaro, a member of Global Black Gay Men Connect’s board of directors, told the Washington Blade on Tuesday in an email. “Its hard to believe this was the first global Black Pride. we wanted to create this space for dialogue and also getting Black LGBTQI people across the globe to engage each other in art and activism.”

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of hundreds of in-person Pride celebrations around the world.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, actress Laverne Cox and singer Adam Lambert are among the hundreds of people who participated in last month’s virtual Global Pride 2020 that sought to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ighodaro told the Blade the Canadian government is the only government that responded to First Global Black Gay Pride is a Riot organizers’ request to participate in the event.

“This says a lot about how we see Black LGBTQI people and Black LGBTQI-led initiatives,” he said.

Ighodaro told the Blade organizers hope next year’s global Black Pride event will be in person.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

U.N. calls for global conversion therapy ban The U.N. last week formally called for a ban on socalled conversion therapy.

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ issues, compiled 130 submissions on practices and testimonies of victims who have experienced conversion therapy from civil society organizations, faith-based organizations, medical practitioners and individuals.

These practices, which have been widely denounced by scientists, often result in long-term negative health effects that include suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and unemployment.

Tyler Adamson, a researcher who authored “The Global State of Conversion Therapy” report, said a global ban is important to the advancement of the recognition of LGBTQ people globally. He says the ban will eliminate the practice itself, while exposing the increased amount of conversion therapies that occur in the U.S. and other Western countries, as well as improve the broader reflection of how societies view LGBTQ people.

The report by Adamson, in collaboration with the LGBT Foundation, Johns Hopkins University and Hornet, found about five percent of respondents indicated that government representatives employed conversion therapy techniques. The report also found four percent of reports involved school personnel, which Adamson said may put LGBTQ youth at further risk.

The Trevor Project this month published a report titled “Self-Reported Conversion Efforts and Suicidality Among U.S. LGBTQ Youths and Young Adults.”

It also found that LGBTQ youths who experience conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide and having multiple suicide attempts.

Sahar Moazami, a U.N. program officer with OutRight Action International, also said many survivors of the practice do not realize what they experienced was conversion therapy. They added a global ban would

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not only will contribute to ending the practice, but bring visibility to the issue.

Adamson has high hopes a global ban will formerly pass, but said the process will most likely be slow. Many countries still allow conversion therapy, so getting a majority to vote to pass this prohibition may be difficult, he said.

Moazami also said a global ban is a complex issue and “is going to take some time.” For this ban to be successful, the legal propositions need to match the cultural attitudes towards conversion therapy, they said.

“These efforts, for them to be effective and helpful, legal change has to be done in parallel with societal change,” said Moazami. “The demand for so-called conversion therapy will only decrease if acceptance of LGBTQI people grows.”

Moazami also said when looking at how a global ban will be structured, it is important to bring in conversations with all actors — survivors, grassroots organizers and health professionals — to develop effective policy.

While scientists and LGBTQ activists have denounced conversion therapy is ineffective, it is still commonly practiced around the world.

“We have this archaic view that LGBT people are somehow changeable or different, viewed as less than or we completely devalue the existence,” Adamson said. “It’s the idea that something outside of the norm is somehow a bad thing and not to be celebrated and needs to be eliminated or hidden.”

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LYNNE BROWN, KEVIN NAFF and BRIAN PITTS are co-owners of the Washington Blade. EBONE BELL is owner and publisher of Tagg magazine.

is a longtime resident and business owner in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

Rehoboth mayoral candidate Mills lacks integrity Mendelson’s ad tax a blow

to queer, Black media

Our businesses are already stressed to the limit To D.C. Council members: We write to object to Chairman Mendelson’s proposal to enact a 3 percent tax on advertising.

As local business owners, we understand as well as anyone the grave impact coronavirus is having on commerce and tax revenues and the need for the city to find new sources of revenue. But this misguided measure will only further damage the local economy by taxing businesses that are already strained. We are not aware of a tax like this on media D.C. Council Chair PHIL MENDELSON’S proposed 3 percent tax on local advertising represents another outlets anywhere else. blow to a stressed industry.

An additional three percent tax on our primary source of revenue will force some outlets to lay off additional staff and others to shutter entirely. In addition, this tax will hit outlets that serve underrepresented communities much harder, including outlets that serve the LGBTQ community and communities of color. As the Informer noted in a recent editorial, “The term ‘Black Lives Matter’ applies to the Black Press that has never received its fair share of ad revenue comparable to what Black consumers spend.”

Our businesses are already stressed to the limit. All of our arts and entertainment related advertising disappeared overnight in the aftermath of coronavirus restrictions.

Forcing us to pass along a 3 percent rate increase at this vulnerable time will lead to further advertising cancellations.

We know that everyone’s goal is for D.C. to flourish, however, taxing businesses that have already seen a huge decrease in revenue is not the answer.

We urge you to reconsider this measure and remove it from the city’s budget. Thank you.

(Editor’s note: This letter was sent this week to Council Chair Phil Mendelson, all members of the City Council and to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in response to the new city budget’s inclusion of a 3 percent tax on advertising.)

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Former commissioner’s ‘patio patrol’ led to arrests of gay business owners

Former Commissioner Stan Mills is running for mayor of Rehoboth Beach based on his track record. Mills and his supporters are writing lots of letters to the press, posting on social media, and placing newspaper ads, all touting his “track record of integrity and transparency.” Integrity and transparency are hardly character traits I would attribute to Mills.

It is time for the voters to know the whole truth about Stan Mills, how he operates and uses his official role to enhance his personal interests and impose his personal prejudices. Some of us who have been around this town for some time know about his past but many new residents and property owners might just buy into the fake and misleading portrayal of Mills’ character.

Let’s talk about “integrity!” As far as I know, Mills is the only commissioner of Rehoboth Beach to be reprimanded and censured by the Delaware Public Integrity Commission (the PIC) for violating the Code of Ethics. As if Commissioner Mills’ “patio patrol” activities in 2010 described below largely targeting gay-owned and gay-operated restaurants was not bad enough, Mills then refused to recuse himself from participation in and voting on matters that “directly arose from his personal conduct” even after being asked to do so by his fellow commissioners.

In a 10+ page Advisory Opinion, dated Jan. 25, 2011, the PIC detailed Mills’ decision to engage in a “patio patrol” enforcement effort targeting restaurants with patios for alleged violations of the city’s restaurant patio ordinance. The PIC stated “beyond his on-going personal interest in his next door neighbor’s [the Blue Moon’s] activities,” during Labor Day Weekend 2010, “he expanded his personal interest from just..[the Blue Moon] to those like it –‘every restaurant that had a patio.’”

Noting that Mills was elected to perform duties of a City Commissioner, such as legislating, the PIC concluded that he nevertheless “allowed his personal or private interests to drive his decision to become an officer patrolling the ‘patio front,’ gathering ‘evidence’ and judging

for himself” who was in violation of the city’s restaurant patio ordinance that required patrons to leave by 11 p.m.

Based on his patio patrol “observations” and using his official position as an elected commissioner, he was able to meet immediately with Mayor Cooper and the city manager the day after completing his patio patrol and, then, get another meeting with city officials convened the following day at which time the city decided that “more comprehensive enforcement was needed.” A letter was immediately delivered to those restaurants identified by Mills notifying them that the patio ordinance would be enforced within a matter of days.

The following weekend, as a direct result of Mills’ self-anointed enforcer activities, the restaurants identified by Mills were targeted and police arrested and charged owners of the Aqua Grill and Mills’ neighbor, the Blue Moon – both of which were gay-owned and gay-operated restaurants that were “grandfathered.”

In his zeal, however, Mills failed to differentiate between restaurants with patios that were “grandfathered” and not subject to the 11 p.m. patio closing time and those that were subject to it.

Mills told the PIC he did not know which ones were grandfathered. The PIC noted, however, that Mills had served as a City Commissioner for three years during which time he claimed he got complaints about non-compliance with the ordinance from restaurants that were complying.

The PIC continued: “[i]t is difficult to believe [Mills] had no inkling that some restaurants, including the one next door [the Blue Moon], were grandfathered. Yet he never weighed that factor.”

The PIC found that Mills “should have recused as suggested by his colleagues” and directed him “to recuse on those matters as they continue before the City Commissioners” and concluded “that Mr. Mills acted in a manner contrary to the Code [of Ethics] in pursuing a personal or private interest, which resulted in the use of public office for unwarranted privileges, or, at a minimum, appeared to do so.”

I highly recommend reading the tantalizing details in the PIC opinion, which you can find here: https://depic. delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/ sites/48/2017/02/2011AnnualReport.pdf at Appendix B - Advisory Op. No. 10-34.

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PETER ROSENSTEIN is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Kuhns, Fuller, and Macha for Rehoboth Keep thriving resort town moving forward

There will be a crucial election in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Aug. 8.

Voters will decide if they want to move backwards to the days of the Sam Cooper commission or continue to move forward into a better future for all.

The mayor and the commission have a difficult task as they ensure Rehoboth Beach meets the needs of its homeowners, businesses and visitors. All must be working together in harmony if the city is to thrive and that is not always an easy task to accomplish.

This election is being held in difficult times for the nation, for Delaware and for Rehoboth Beach. There are two crises impacting the city: one is the coronavirus pandemic and the other is the fight for equality for all. It has been clear Rehoboth is not immune to their impact.

There have been intimations by some about who the candidates are supporting on a national level. While Rehoboth elections are non-partisan, each of the candidates I am supporting have proudly told me they endorse Joe Biden, a Rehoboth home-town-boy, for president.

Two candidates for office represent the past. Their votes on the commission brought the city close to bankruptcy with support for building what many call Rehoboth’s City Hall Palace. Their policies brought demonstrators to city hall because they didn’t understand the need to keep all the important sectors of the city working together. There was a lack of real planning and budgeting for the future.

I urge Rehoboth voters to make their votes count, keep moving forward and to re-elect Mayor Paul Kuhns and elect Hugh Fuller and Rachel Macha as commissioners. Some have asked, “Is it better to elect experience or someone new?” Rehoboth can have both by electing new members to the commission with the right experience needed to move the city forward.

Both Hugh Fuller and Rachel Macha have a wealth of experience. Fuller is a successful businessman owning the

Purple Parrot and Iguana Grill. He has lived and worked in Rehoboth Beach for 30 years. His family is from the shore.

He understands budgets and knows his businesses can’t be successful without a strong cadre of happy full-time residents. He has walked the streets of Rehoboth nearly every day for 30 years and understands the city and its issues in depth. His ability to work with people was first honed in the military as a member of a Presidential Honor Guard. He is committed to keeping Rehoboth Beach a welcoming community for all with the small town feel everyone loves.

Macha is a born and bred Delawarean.

She and her husband Rich bought their first home in Rehoboth 20 years ago and have lived there full time for the past three years. Macha is a mom of five and a businesswoman with a leading software/ technology company. She is on the Rehoboth Beach Planning Commission and her goal is to keep Rehoboth Beach the place she has loved all her life.

Mayor Kuhns was first elected in 2017.

He has worked to move the city forward walking a fine line to meet the demands of the various constituencies important to the success of Rehoboth. He understands that both homeowners’ and business owners’ needs must be met if Rehoboth is to succeed. I have watched him in action, at meetings of the commission, and am confident he deserves another term. He has navigated the economic shut-down and worked to ensure businesses could recover. He understands without its wonderful restaurants, tourist businesses and hotels, both on and off the boardwalk, Rehoboth won’t continue to exist as the place we all love. He is doing this and managing a budget without proposing new taxes on homeowners.

Reelecting Kuhns as mayor and adding Fuller and Macha to the commission will enable Rehoboth to not only survive these difficult times, but to thrive as the city moves successfully into the future. What the voters shouldn’t do is revert to a commission and mayor who thought it was fine to waste taxpayer money on unneeded palaces as a paean to someone’s vanity.

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TARA CHESTON is LGBTQ and Sexual Health Program Specialist for DC Public Schools.

DCPS LGBTQ+ programming: Finding ways to connect in a pandemic Planning for a safe and successful start to the next school year Despite technology integrations in our classrooms and the more wide-scale availability of educational tech platforms, few school districts were logistically prepared for the pandemic fallout. DC Public Schools—despite being more prepared than many other districts and intentionally working to close educational gaps—certainly felt the impacts of digital inequity and the challenges that distance learning exposed.

Still, we feel confident that we were able to quickly and efficiently adapt to the new educational world into which the pandemic forced us and we are currently in the midst of robust planning for a safe and successful start to the next school year.

The shift to distance learning and operating in a wholly virtual world laid bare some program delivery weaknesses for the DCPS LGBTQ and Sexual Health Program. Specifically, pre-COVID-19, we had relied very strongly on an engagement model that required us to travel to schools to provide paper-based resources, we hosted in-person parent/caregiver engagement sessions, and our suite of training opportunities were all facilitated inperson. While we did source and offer many electronic resources, we found the need to quickly digitize and market our materials to the wider DCPS communities. LGBTQ+ visibility and raising awareness remained our top priorities.

Despite the abrupt and total dismantling of our daily routines, personal connections, and business operations, the crisis provided many opportunities to reassess community engagement and to provide programming in more innovative, cutting-edge ways. We do not operate in a vacuum in our LGBTQ+ visibility and advocacy work; rather, we invite the larger DC LGBTQ+ community to participate in our programming and opportunities in order to build a larger and more cohesive community of support.

DCPS & StoryCorps Project. We have unveiled a project aimed at collecting coming out stories that we can make available to our DCPS community. We feel

that through the collection of these stories, we will be able to create a living history of our DC LGBTQ+ community that our students can look to for inspiration. We would love for Washington Blade readers to consider taking part in this project.

Parent/Caregiver Coffee Chats. We host a monthly parent-caregiver coffee chat via Zoom. This is an opportunity for caregivers of LGBTQ+ young people across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to come together to build community and share resources. We don’t have a set agenda for these meetings. Instead, we create the space for conversation to form organically.

From these conversations, the DCPS LGBTQ and Sexual Health Program staff is able to determine ways to better support our school communities.

DCPS History Project. We have unveiled a new online project that captures both D.C. and national LGBTQ+ history.

It is our hope that our young people can develop a deeper connection to and appreciation of their place in the LGBTQ+ historical timeline. This resource, and many others, can be found on our program website: dcleadingwithpride.com.

Pride in DCPS Podcast. We realize that for some folks, going online to access LGBTQ+ resources in a home that is not affirming can be dangerous or nearly impossible.Additionally,we strive to develop partnerships with community-based and national LGBTQ-serving organizations, but we can’t necessarily send our students or other stakeholders to the door of these organizations to request information. To that end, we have developed our podcast series, which explores the life, advocacy, and contributions of local LGBTQ+ folks.

The podcast is hosted on Buzzsprout, and we post new episodes on our DCPS LGBTQ Facebook and Instagram pages.

While we are physically distanced, and we know that our schools will look and feel very different in the coming school year, the DCPS LGBTQ and Sexual Health Program remains committed to developing creative and effective ways of improving LGBTQ+ advocacy, awareness, and visibility in the virtual spaces that we inhabit. We hope that you’ll join us.

For access to any of the resources listed above, please contact Tara Cheston at Tara.

Cheston@k12.dc.gov.

SERRA SIPPEL is president the Center for Health and Gender Equity.

Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath undermines HIV fight

Misguided U.S. policy blocks sex worker access to health care

In times like these, there is no denying that white supremacy, racism, and criminalization put Black, Brown and transgender people at severe risk of violence. The COVID-19 outbreak has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people. Counties with higher populations of Black residents accounting for 52 percent of coronavirus diagnoses and 58 percent of coronavirus deaths nationally, according to a recent amfAR study.

And, following the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement has once again demanded an end to the systemic inequalities and senseless violence against Black people by law enforcement.

The life-or-death impact of hate and discrimination doesn’t stop there. When it comes to sex workers in the U.S. and around the globe, many of whom are Black, Brown and transgender, discrimination and criminalization of sex work have put them at a high risk of violence, contracting preventable diseases like COVID-19 and HIV, and have exposed them to police brutality. Yet the U.S. continues to weaponize life-saving global AIDS assistance programs against sex workers by demanding recipients of PEPFAR funding to officially adopt a position opposing prostitution and acquiesce to the U.S. conflation of sex work and trafficking.

The Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Anti-Prostitution Loyalty Oath (APLO), a provision in the 2003 United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act, that required all recipients of funding through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to “have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution.” The policy goes on to conflate consensual sex work with human trafficking, and refuses funds to nonU.S.-based organizations that do not have a policy explicitly opposing “prostitution and sex trafficking.” While a prior 2013 decision ruled that the APLO is unconstitutional as applied to U.S.-based organizations, Monday’s ruling declined to extend those protections to their foreign affiliates, a ruling that will further divide and hamper the global AIDS response.

The APLO is and always has been a bad policy. There is no evidence that the policy improves health outcomes. In fact, there is evidence that it hurts them.

Since the policy’s inception 17 years ago, the provision has done nothing to advance its stated goals of defeating HIV and AIDS and the trafficking of persons.

This is despite the consistent and vocal leadership of members like Rep. Barbara Lee, who have consistently fought the dangerous, counterproductive, and inefficient aid conditionality of the APLO. Whereas there is no evidence that proclaiming opposition to sex work is an effective public health intervention, there is evidence that decriminalization of sex work would have an astounding impact on reducing the HIV epidemic, averting between 33-46 percent of new infections over a decade. Yet the APLO directly blocks organizations from halting the spread of HIV. Sex workers are disproportionately impacted by HIV and AIDS globally. Halting the spread of HIV simply cannot happen without trusted engagement and leadership from sex workers. Over the past 17 years, the policy has promoted stigma and discrimination of sex workers. It oftentimes blocks sex workers from engaging in the design, development, implementation, and assessment of HIV and AIDS programs and services. HIV prevention and treatment programs are more successful when they include sex workers involvement and leadership. For some organizations around the world, working with sex workers while declaring opposition to sex work feels hypocritical. It was for these reasons that Brazil rejected $40 million in U.S. global AIDS money in 2005, noting that such restrictions undermined the very programs responsible for Brazil’s success in reducing the spread of HIV. International health and development agencies including UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNDP, the WHO, and the World Bank have recognized the role that decriminalization of sex work plays in advancing public health outcomes while also advancing the human rights of sex workers.

In conclusion, APLO is a punitive rule that makes it difficult for sex workers to access comprehensive, accessible and affordable health care. But everyone deserves access to quality care. Social stigmas that disproportionately impact and undermine the sexual and reproductive health rights of people across the globe do not belong in our nation’s foreign aid programs, and nothing should change that.

KATHI WOLFE is a regular contributor to the Blade and winner of the 2014 Stonewall Chapbook competition.

Comparing McCarthy and Trump New book finds similarities in demagoguery In 2005, I saw the movie “Good Night and Good Luck.” Directed by George Clooney, shot in gorgeous black and white, featuring jazz singer Dianne Reeves, it’s catnip to Mid-Century style aficionados. But, the movie is about the ugliness behind the era’s glam. It tells the story of how legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow investigated and reported on demagogue Sen. Joe McCarthy on the CBS show “See It Now.” In the midst of the Cold War, McCarthy waged a witch hunt against Communists and gay people.

Watching Murrow (played by David Strathairn) unmask McCarthy’s demagoguery, I thought: This is horrible!

But that was another time. Nixon had his enemies list. But McCarthy likely wouldn’t happen again.

Wow, was I wrong! “Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy” by Larry Tye is an account of McCarthy’s rise to power to his fall (he was censured by the Senate in 1954). Chillingly, Tye, author of “Bobby Kennedy,” shows the similarities between the demagoguery of McCarthy and Donald J. Trump.

McCarthy, Tye writes, is “one of the most reviled figures in U.S. history.”

He’s so reviled that an ism — “McCarthyism” — is named after him.

McCarthyism, Tye says, is a synonym for “reckless accusation, guilt by association, fear-mongering, and political doubledealing.”

Today, some folks haven’t heard of McCarthyism. McCarthy died in 1957, more than 60 years ago. I wasn’t surprised the other day when a 20-something friend looked at me blankly when I mentioned McCarthy. Many of us either weren’t alive or were kids during McCarthy’s heyday.

Still, some memories of McCarthy and his bullying tactics haven’t died.

When I was a teenager, my father (who voted for Republicans as often as he did for Democrats) told me to “watch out for hucksters selling fake conspiracies.”

My Dad told me about a friend of his who’d had job problems because he’d been (falsely) suspected of being a communist.

McCarthy stoked paranoia and wallowed in (bogus) conspiracies. He promised to wage “a holy war against a communist ‘conspiracy so immense and an infamy so black as to dwarf any previous venture in the history of man,’” Tye writes.

As Trump would decades later, McCarthy understood how to manipulate the press. Brandishing a piece of paper, he’d tell reporters that he had a list of 205 communist spies working in the U.S. State Department. During his four-year anti-communist, anti-gay crusade (from 1950 until the Senate condemned him in 1954), he waved his “list” of “traitors” about. There was one striking detail: McCarthy never let reporters see his list.

Why? Because the list was fraudulent.

McCarthy played the press brilliantly, Tye told Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” He understood that if you lobbed one bombshell and that [proved] to be a fraud,” Tye said, “rather than waiting for the press the next day to expose it as a fraud, he had a fresh bombshell ready to go.”

McCarthy’s false allegations devastated many lives. U.S. Sen. Lester Hunt killed himself because McCarthy tried to blackmail him because his son was gay. Many could no longer work or were imprisoned because McCarthy (and his supporters) said they were communists or queer. There were “the hundreds of thousands he browbeat into a tongue-tied silence,” Tye writes.

“His targets all learned the futility of taking on a tyrant who recognized no restraints and would do anything – anything – to win,” he adds.

Unfortunately, as Tye says, McCarthy with his bullying and conspiracy-mongering isn’t an isolated phenomenon. “A uniquely American strain of demagoguery has pushed through the nation’s veins from its founding days,” he writes.

It’s telling that McCarthy’s chief legal counsel (a closeted gay man who died of AIDS) was Trump’s lawyer and mentor in the 1970s. Trump learned his lessons in bullying and anti-gay, anti-immigration, racist fear-mongering all too well from Roy Cohn. Let’s hope that in November Trump (like McCarthy) falls from power!

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Nats Getty unmasked An artist for a new generation

By KAREN OCAMB

Nats Getty was an artist long before she knew it. Her soul was forged in the fight between the fire of freedom and the cold dictates of a society she tried mightily to understand and follow, only to fail and fall into rebellion, a fury of authenticity that still feeds her art and serves her independent, progressive, philanthropic spirit today.

Of course, it took the model, design and social justice activist much of her young lifetime to realize that real freedom and the path to true self-esteem results from a healthy dose of “fuck them” thinking.

Born Natalia Williams on Nov. 30, 1992, the month Bill Clinton was elected president, ushering into power the Boomer Generation and the promise to end AIDS, Nats was a skateboarding, surfing tomboy in Santa Monica before being sent to a boarding school in Oxford, England. Her creative brother August, who used to design dresses for his Barbie dolls, was sent to England, as well.

Nats was 9. She tried to be a good kid and got straight As but with the low drinking age in England and the freedom of no personal adult supervision except an aunt, she also got into trouble. Nats was also bullied as an outsider from the U.S. and had no one to talk to about her growing attraction to other girls.

Nats dropped out and moved back to LA at 16. Her mother, Ariadne Getty, with whom she is extremely close, tells the story of how Nats came to her one day, extremely nervous, itching to reveal a secret. Ariadne prayed that it wasn’t asking permission to get a tattoo. Soon Nats came out with it, disclosing that she was gay.

Ariadne was relieved. “Of course, I know you’re gay,” she said. Nats wished she had said that sooner.

But that was that. Nats was gay. August was gay. And Ariadne became the loving, protective momma bear. It remains that way still.

Nats turned tomboy into a punk androgynous look and flexed her authentic artistic ability to relax and kick back with the family or strike a photographic pose.

She took her mother’s last name, learned the family history and embarked on the life of a socially conscious philanthropist with her own art studio and street wear clothing line ironically called Strike Oil, inspired by mentor Mr. Brainwash, an LA contemporary pop art icon.

“Nats has an unmistakable energy, kind of a magnetic force, that makes her seem exciting and a bit dangerous: Come too close and you might get zapped, for better or worse. Tattoos on her arms read, ‘Forgive me father, for I have sinned’ and ‘Things turned out so evil,’” reads an excerpt from a June 23, 2018 New York ‘Being gay is a political statement, it should have nothing to do with politics, but sadly it does,’ says NATS GETTY. Times Style article intended to counter-balance the film and TV shows capitalizing (Photo courtesy Getty) on the famous Getty name, fortune and mythology. country for too long and this presidency has done nothing but further that. Trans people, The Times also took note of Nats’ engagement to Gigi Gorgeous, “who became a YouTube especially trans people of color, have been vilified and faced terrible discrimination that has led star by documenting her gender transition.” to horrific violence within this community.”

Nats started modeling in 2013 as something she would try. She was signed up right away and Nats Getty is also horrified by the systemic racism exposed by the murders of Black men by requested for numerous events. But she actually wound up in her brother August Getty Atelier’s police and the inequities in healthcare exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. She has created high-end fashion show with David LaChapelle by accident. art work, street war and most recently, COVID-19 masks to benefit Black Lives Matter and the “David didn’t know I was related to August, and he didn’t see a professional head shot picture Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. of me. He just saw a selfie of me by mistake when they were showing him the models to pick “Trump’s actions have made it easier for this discrimination and violence to exist. It’s time from. He said I want to base the show around this girl, around her hair and her look. August said, for change, and it’s time for every human to be treated as equal,” Nats says about her United ‘Wait, that is my sister, that picture wasn’t supposed to be in there.’ I didn’t even know I was in the Against Racial Injustice initiative. show at that point. He ended up picking me and having me be the core of it,” Nats told Black “I wanted to give back and support my community,” she noted. “Philanthropy — and advocacy Chalk Magazine in 2015.

— is something that is very important to me. I made 600 masks that were donated to hospitals Nats married trans activist and social media influencer Gigi Gorgeous in 2019, with a lavish and and nursing homes on the frontlines, and 400 masks for the Strike Oil website, where 100 adoring engagement party in Paris, documented and posted on YouTube. An unhighlighted percent of proceeds have gone to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank,” she says. Nats also subtext is Ariadne Getty’s unconditional love and acceptance for her daughter’s new spouse. participates in “Wellness Wednesdays” events with LA CAN, creating/distributing 1,000 masks This family of four – Ariadne, August, Nats and Gigi — now think how best, wisely and along with hygiene kits. “Our plan is to continue making masks for 100 percent non-profit, so responsibly to contribute the family fortune to good, worthy causes. They have been major we’re able to raise funds and support the organizations that matter to us,” Nats says. donors to GLAAD, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the Trevor Project – and they have contributed “Everything I create from a jacket to an art piece has a story and serves a purpose in my to the Blade Foundation. personal journey,” Nats tells the Blade. “I’m currently designing new pieces for my collection, “During the last few months, Gigi and I have been unified in our views and passion for the producing a photoshoot, and planning a trip to England. I will be shooting content while I’m issues that we’ve all been trying to navigate. We’ve been each other’s rock,” Nats told the there for an exciting new venture I can’t disclose just yet,” she says.

Blade. “There are so many important issues that have been pushed to the forefront, and Gigi “I’m working on some new designs that are more pointed and focused on the current social and I have looked at ways to use our platform for good, to offer comfort and influence positive issues we are all living through,” Nats says. “My pieces represent a social commentary, inspired change.” by the injustices we fight every day. I’m also mindful of utilizing left-over fabrics from previous They are particularly disgusted by the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back LGBTQ rights, garments to create something new, so we minimize waste. I love to breathe new life into especially targeting trans rights. something old.”

“It’s appalling,” says Nats. “Systemic intolerance of the trans community has plagued this

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August Getty wears his colors out, loud, and proud Bold, independent, and wise beyond his 26 years

By MICHAEL MUSTO

medium to tell stories, so I guess you could say I’m I have a natural distaste for high society and I never more of a storyteller than a fashion designer. I like to got fashion (just look at me), but August Getty has me live my life somewhere between fantasy and reality at rethinking both things. all times.

The great grandson of late oil magnate J. Paul Getty and the son of famed Italian-born activist, LGBTQ Ally MUSTO: Does a Getty worry about money in a and business executive/philanthropist Ariadne Getty recession? and her former husband actor Justin Williams, 26-yearGETTY: Un uomo Italian non discute mai dei suoi old August is far from a spoiled rich kid coasting on his affair finanziari. bloodline.

For one thing, he’s an out, proud gay man who’s vocal MUSTO: Bene! Your birthday is in Pride month. How about rising against oppression and aligning with does that feel every year? various groups to build up a rainbow of communities, GETTY: I’ve been going to Pride since I was 14, and not just LGBTQ. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to go at a He’s also honest about having felt like an outcast and young age. I look forward to June every year but not a loner as a child, though elevated by the support of his just because of my birthday. This month of celebration mom and eventually the community itself. is a beautiful time, and it unlocks a lot of creativity and As for fashion, he doesn’t just throw his work onto a positivity in me. runway and expect it to explode. Having founded his I see all aspects of life together, not just the pride womenswear brand August Getty Atelier at 18, he’s of the LGBTQ+ community—the intersectionality of proceeded to show his clothes in highly untraditional gender, race, sexual orientation, class, and other social ways rather than play by the old guidebooks. and political identities is important to keep in mind, so Being confident enough to proceed as a self-taught we need to have Pride for all communities, including designer paid off.

Black Trans Pride, because Black Lives Matter. Instead At age 18, August became one of the youngest of the usual Pride Parade in Los Angeles this year, designers to ever debut at Mercedes Benz New York ‘As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been fortunate to find a community and friends who our community marched in solidarity with Black Lives Fashion Week. love and accept me for who I am,’ said AUGUST GETTY. Matter and in support of Black Trans Pride, and it was In 2014, Getty premiered his Spring/Summer ’15 line (Photo courtesy Getty) one of the most inspiring experiences of my life.

— inspired by his fantasies of European heiresses — at NYC’s Fashion Week. The next year, he collaborated MUSTO: Is being gay part of your creative DNA? with photographer David LaChapelle for Thread of Man, an art installation at Universal GETTY: Being gay my whole life, I’ve felt ostracized and outcasted by society, especially as a Studios, which included scenes like an altar, a car accident, and a commentary about Donald young child, so I spent a lot of time on my own. This alone time in my formative years helped Trump. (Yes, he gets political.) my creativity flourish by pushing me to explore and see the world on my own, which helped August also presented his couture collections at the last three seasons at Paris Haute Couture feed my imagination. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been fortunate to find a community and friends Week. These collections include “Confetti” in January 2019, “ΣNIGMA” in July 2019, and most who love and accept me for who I am, so I’m more social now than when I was a kid, but I still recently his Spring/Summer 2020 collection “The White Hart” in January 2020. cherish my alone time, as it’s special and sacred to me.

Stars who have worn Getty’s creations range from Lady Gaga and Cher to Jennifer Lopez and Shangela. What’s more, he dressed Bebe Rexha, thereby furthering her conversation MUSTO: When did you first know you were gay? about size inclusivity.

GETTY: Inception. [Laughs] And by the way, he’s also done clothes for Gigi Gorgeous, who happens to be his sister-inlaw. (Gigi married August’s sister Nats in July 2019).

MUSTO: Not in the womb?

I talked to Getty about his heady achievements and his place in a wildly changed world GETTY: Yes, in the womb. I had a notepad in there, and I was sketching away! where both fashion and society have been radically redefined.

MICHAEL MUSTO: Hello, August. You always seem to favor artistic presentations rather than just straightforward shows. Do you like making your fashion into an event?

AUGUST GETTY: I want to use every aspect of creativity in my brain when expressing myself and my art, so I like turning everything into an experience. Whether it’s a runway show or an artistic presentation incorporating outside elements like scents or creating visual effects, I always want to immerse the audience into my world—the world of the GettyGirl.

MUSTO: Your inspirations have come from designers like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. What do you appreciate—their boldness and originality?

GETTY: Their craftsmanship takes no prisoners. They are authentic to who they are. [The late] Gianni and Donatella Versace are also huge inspirations in my life, being raised with Italian culture and working with your family. They’ve taught me to be bold, original, and to never steer away from my artistic vision.

MUSTO: What do you think fashion accomplishes other than making people look good?

Can it be life changing—and is it still as relevant in the crises we’re living through?

GETTY: Fashion is cyclical, but finding your own personal style can be life changing because fashion is a form of self-expression, as well as a reflection of our current times. During hard times, people tend to dress less extravagantly so they wear more basics, a lot of times in darker colors, because they are not as creatively inspired when there are so many other things going on in the world. I use my love for fashion as a vehicle for my imagination. It’s an artistic

MUSTO: How did your family react to a 14-year-old at Pride?

GETTY: I was a very colorful 14 year old, and my family was extremely welcoming. My mom is a fierce ally. Our family members are all allies. It was meant to be our path to teach others how to give and receive the same love that my mother showed my sister and I at an early age.

MUSTO: What do you think of how we LGBTQs are doing considering the actions of the Trump administration?

GETTY: It’s truly heart wrenching to witness their actions and to see the new policies they are constantly trying to set in place, attacking the rights and safety of our community. It is disheartening, but something positive that has come from this is that we are showing each other how strong we all are together and that our voice matters. We are survivors, and when we support each other and project love, we are unstoppable.

MUSTO: Your family is involved in the Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade. Why are they behind these papers?

GETTY: My family is very active in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the advancement of our community, so we are proud to support these prominent papers. Los Angeles is one of the most populated cities in our country, yet LA Blade is our city’s only LGBT weekly. The Washington Blade, the nation’s oldest LGBT newspaper, is the only LGBT media member of the White House Press Corps. We need more representation like this in the media landscape to actively drive conversations and create positive change.

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Sport coupe superstars BMW M850i, Mercedes AMG E53 offer speed at a steep price

By JOE PHILLIPS My first car was a 1972 Pontiac LeMans sport coupe, shimmering in Adriatic Blue paint with large white racing stripes on each side. This wasn’t a GTO muscle car, though it sure looked like one. And while my car definitely wasn’t new, it was new enough for a scrawny 16-year-old kid from small-town Indiana looking to explore the world.

My mother surprised me with this hepped-up hardtop, roaring into our driveway as I finished a weekend of tedious yard work. What I remember most—aside from my annoyed older sister grousing about how her first car was an ugly, unreliable family sedan—was the look of pure joy on my mother’s face. I realized then that this sexy coupe allowed her the chance to recapture a bit of her youth.

In the end we all ended up loving this car, which today is considered a classic. That’s the power of sporty two-door coupes: They tap into our lust for carefree escape versus the more practical, four-door concerns of having enough passenger room and cargo space.

During these challenging times of a pandemic, I experienced this same footloose and fancy-free feeling when test driving two cutting-edge coupes. Expect them to become revered classics someday.

and 10.25-inch infotainment screen. And a dazzling head-up display included vehicle speed, speed-limit info, nav instructions, collision warning and more. While you can forget about ferrying rear-seat passengers—there’s room for a few shopping bags and little else—the backseats fold down, offering cargo room into the trunk. After pushing the start button, a deep, cackling exhaust rumble sounded like a Mustang GT possessed by the Joker. While an eight-speed transmission was silky smooth and the all-wheel drive felt nice and controlled, it was the 523-hp V8 that literally shook my soul. This car rocketed from 0 to 60 mph in a withering 3.5 seconds. That’s twice as fast as a Mazda 3 hatchback. Because the Mazda econobox costs about $23,000, I reasoned you could buy five of them for the price of one BMW super-coupe. But then the devil on my shoulder reminded me this would be far too practical.

MERCEDES-BENZ AMG E53 COUPE $75,000 Mpg: 21 city/28 highway 0 to 60 mph: 4.1 seconds

BMW M850i xDRIVE COUPE $112,000 Mpg:18 city/25 highway 0 to 60 mph: 3.5 seconds

MERCEDES-BENZ AMG E53 COUPE

BMW M850i xDRIVE COUPE

You know you’re in big trouble when your partner of 25 years is jealous of 4,500 pounds of sheet metal. Yet that’s what happened with the BMW M850i xDrive coupe. I went on unexplained “errands.” Took the long way home from the grocery store. And finally got caught red-handed in the garage—lights out, car windows fogged up—with Eli Lieb. To be fair, Eli was blasting on the 1,400-watt, 16-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround-sound stereo. But still, I had a problem. I was drawn to the seductive design: low-slung hood, protruding grille and muscular air intakes. Sinewy side panels stretched languidly along this firm fastback, ending with a cheeky rear spoiler. Those come-hither, wraparound headlights beckoned me to open the door, which seemed as long as the car is wide. And then I slid into temptation: massaging seats, glass-crystal gear selector, anthracite headliner and stunning ambient lighting. The meaty steering wheel was full of multifunction buttons and sporty shift paddles. Heated armrests—unnecessary in the summer—were still a pleasant surprise, as were the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster

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Compared with the BMW M850i, the Mercedes AMG E53 is a bargain. This highperformance AMG coupe, priced 50 percent less than the slightly faster Bimmer, has a punchy six-cylinder engine that boasts better mileage. Still, the overall design of the Benz is more refined than radical, which may not turn as many heads but still places this roadster toward the front of any valet line—at least when it becomes safe to do so. For now, I enjoyed zipping around town, savoring the sharp steering and superbly tuned suspension. It was easy to bask in the quiet and opulent cabin, with its illuminated door sills, 64-color ambient lighting, backlit HVAC vents and other niceties. And there were plenty of pricey upgrades, including a premium 13-speaker Burmester stereo, active parking system with surround-view camera, and quilted stitching on the seats. During the seemingly brief week I test drove this Mercedes, it quickly became a comforting part of my daily routine. Yet I still couldn’t help thinking about the sultry BMW M850i, my affair to remember. Yes, both coupes were exquisite and virtually flawless. Both offered me a taste of fun and freedom. Just please don’t ask me to choose.

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CALENDAR

BY KAELA ROEDER

TODAY

Living Large in The DMV My Living Large logo comes from my combined passions of real estate and spacial design. Helping my clients envision how space can be used helps them right size their next home. Regardless if you are downsizing or buying a home your family can grow into rightsizing is key and possible the most important consideration when searching for a home in your dream location.

ARTECHOUSE has reopened for “Hamani: Beyond the Blooms,” a seasonal cherry blossom installation. The exhibit is open today from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., as well as on Saturday and Sunday. It is also open Monday to Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.

Sessions are 30 minutes long, and guests are advised to make their reservations online. Prices range from $17-$24. Details at dc.artechouse.com.

Saturday, July 18

Farmers markets are reopening across the Washington area, and many are open on Saturdays. Visit www.freshfarm. org/markets to find open locations in Maryland, Washington and Virginia.

Sunday, July 19

Community College, tonight at 7 p.m.

The discussion will be live-streamed on Crowdcast, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Periscope for free. Details at pgcmls. info/virtual-events.

Tuesday, July 21

The DC Center is hosting a Bi Roundtable Discussion via Zoom tonight at 7 p.m., a monthly discussion for people to gather to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as Bi individuals in a private setting. Details at thedccenter. org/events.

Wednesday, July 22

The DC Center is hosting a Job Club tonight at 6 p.m., as well as every Wednesday. LGBTQ job entrants and seekers are welcome to join to improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking. Details at thedccenter. org/events.

The Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, home to lotuses, lily flowers and other wildlife, is now open at limited capacity from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Visit nps.gov/ keaq to learn more.

Thursday, July 23

National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi will discuss his book, “How to be an Antiracist” with Dr. Charlene M. Dukes, the president of Prince George’s

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is hosting economist M. V. Lee Badget to discuss her new book, “The Economics Case for LGBT Equality: Why Fair and Equal Treatment Benefit Us All” at 3 p.m. today. Admission is free. Learn more by visiting their Facebook page.

Monday, July 20

A bounty of fresh, locally grown produce is available at D.C.’s farmers markets.

(Photos by Molly Scalise, courtesy Fresh Farm)

Rob Johnston | Realtor® 202.680.4904 rob@livinglargedc.com livinglargedc.com Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 1313 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 | 202.386.6330

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this is what saving energy looks like Save money and help the environment this summer by powering down your devices on Pepco’s Peak Savings Days.

For Maryland customers.

Learn more at pepco.com/Peak © Potomac Electric Power Company, 2020

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Arena Stage turns to film during COVID

Two compelling time capsules about life in quarantine

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

After live performances ceased to be an option in mid-March, Arena Stage turned to film. In doing so, they’ve created two compelling time capsules from the age of COVID-19 – the first, a docudrama of personal snapshots drawn from a single day; and the second, a revealing piece exploring young people’s thoughts, reactions, and experiences over the first three months of the pandemic.

The decision to film came to Arena’s artistic director Molly Smith in a flash.

She explains, “I’m a voracious newspaper reader. I love the way papers do thumbnail sketches of people and thought we could do that in theater. But since we’re closed, I thought maybe we could shoot something outside?”

Smith hastily reached out to Arena’s deputy artistic director Seema Sueko, and together they discussed logistics while assembling a list of exceedingly diverse, real-life DMV-area subjects along with local playwrights and actors to inspire, create and perform 10 compelling monologues for film. The quietly impactful, fast-paced effort would be titled “May 22, 2020.”

Shot outdoors over one long day in various spots close to Arena Stage in Southwest, D.C., the 55-minute film features beautifully realized portrayals including, among others, two essential workers (Rachel Zampelli and Dawn Ursula); a D.C. detective (KenYatta Rogers), a children’s book author (Nancy Robinette); a beekeeper (Edward Gero); and a federal contractor, played by out actor Holly Twyford, whose COVID-19 symptoms won’t go away. Their insights are varied and unexpected and simultaneously relatable to what we’ve all experienced in the past months. There’s a worrying familiarity to their stories, and a glimmer of hope.

“The film is local in every way – place, actors and experience. When something is hyper local it becomes universal. It would have been an entirely different film had it included other cities. Every place has its own COVID-19 story and this is ours,” says Smith who has spent most of the pandemic social distancing with partner Suzanne Blue Star Boy. She adds, “It’s important to go on living even during this time of sickness and death,” and her film is a glowing manifestation of that intention.

Arena’s other world premiere film, “Inside Voices: a film by Arena Stage’s Voices of Now ensembles,” is a 45-minute

docudrama based on the real-life pandemic experiences of students from middle school through university. Directed by Arena’s Amy Forman and Mauricio Pita, the film employs words, music, dance, and animation to explore themes of isolation, alienation, friendship and courage.

A longtime Arena program, Voices of Now provides a theatrical platform for youth and young artists. Ordinarily, the longtime program culminates with students coming together to perform and discuss their work in May, but this year the student artists required a new medium to express themselves.

While Forman came up with the idea to make a film, Pita was quick to agree: “We were in the middle of the development process in March,” he says, “And we didn’t want to stop. Clearly the pandemic changed the stories; we saw the opportunity to capture a moment in time in a different way.”

“We went from meeting on Zoom to having the artists send video clips from their phones – all the material had to go through their teachers: That’s 130 students with 20 clips each. Do the math. It’s a ton of transcription and writing. Our job was to make it cohesive and thought provoking.”

But for Pita, 35, theater has never been about sitting at a computer eight hours a day.

“Here’s the plot twist: Now I’m almost always in front of my computer,” he says with a laugh. “But that I’m able to make art and have an income during the pandemic is a huge gift.” Working exclusively from home, he goes out to walk his dog and to make grocery runs. COVID-19 has touched him personally. (Pita lost an uncle and close friend to the virus in March); he doesn’t question its potential lethality.

Originally an actor, he made a conscious decision to move away from the footlights: “I never felt in control as an actor. Because I am gay and Latino, I was cast in a lot of stereotypical gay Latino roles, and I played into that because I needed to survive. As director and educator, I can help to change the narrative.”

Film was unknown terrain to him. And although Arena hired an editor to work on “Inside Voices,” Pita remained heavily involved in all aspects of production. He felt he owed it to the artists. But despite the long hours and steep learning curve, he says “I’d do it again. And, I think, we might have to.”

You can watch “May 22, 2020” and “Inside Voices” for free at arenastage.org

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‘Gatecrasher’ a deliciously dishy read

Widdicombe recounts years as NYC gossip columnist

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

Have you heard about....?

It’s true. You learned it from your best friend’s husband’s boss’s wife at a neighborhood get-together last month and it was confirmed last weekend. You don’t like to spread stories but, well, actually you do because who doesn’t love a little gossip in their life? Who doesn’t crave knowing the skinny about the fat cats? You, nah, you love it, and in “Gatecrasher” by Ben Widdicombe, you’ll get an eyeful.

The very idea of living in New York City was exciting.

When Ben Widdicombe and his “handsome and naughty boyfriend Horacio” told friends they were moving from Australia to the Big Apple, most were supportive. One, a conman who insinuated that he was of aristocratic descent, even offered them a flat in The Dakota which, of course, never materialized.

This perhaps should’ve been a good indication of what was to come for Widdicombe.

A few minor pays-the-bills jobs and several different apartments later, after exploring their new hometown, getting their bearings, and enjoying the thrill of celeb-spotting, Widdicombe and his boyfriend accidentally moved into a building across the street from the founder of Hintmag.com, one of the internet’s first online-only fashion mags.

«By watching and listening,” Widdicombe says, “I picked up a few things,” which led him and Horatio to suggest a fashion-industry gossip column for the e-zine. They called it “Chic Happens.”

That was fun while it lasted, and it pointed Widdicombe in the direction of what became a career in societywatching, storytelling, and dirt-dishing.

It also gave him a front row seat in an ultimate cultural shift.

Back in the mid-to-late ‘90s, many of this country’s celebrities were “’high-net-worth individuals’” in the process of “becoming embraced as a sub-culture,” he says. When the new millennium arrived, wealth began to be perceived not as something one was born into or worked hard to get, but as a “bold lifestyle choice” which could be enhanced by outrageous behavior and plenty of publicity. And ultimately, says Widdicombe, this shift in celebrity

“Gatecrasher: How I helped the Rich Become Famous and Ruin the World”

By Ben Widdicombe c.2020, Simon & Schuster $27.00/305 pages

attitude got us where we are, politically.

Between deliciously dishy tales and cleverly analogous turns of word, “Gatecrasher” is 100 percent delightful to read. Separate from the fun, it’s also informative.

From its first page, there’s very little holding back in this book, which is gleefully wonderful; even when author and New York Times columnist Ben Widdicombe can’t name names, he offers precise-enough hints that most readers will know to whom he’s referring.

In that, we’re whispered-to here, but not pandered-to; pleasantly scandalized but not insulted.

Even better, unlike so many memoirs of this ilk, the life of a gossip columnist isn’t presented as all diamonds-andChampagne: Widdicombe also writes of the frustrations of the industry, the everything-faux realities, and the letdown of clearly seeing both.

You shake your head at the latest in tabloid TV. You sigh at Washington politics. You scan the tabs at the supermarket check-out line, and so this is a book for you. Indeed, “Gatecrasher” may be the summer’s most fun book you’ve heard about.

Radical Monarchs create fierce sisterhood

Keep your promise to protect each other.

New doc reveals progressive alternative to irl couts

By BRIAN T. CARNEY

The Radical Monarchs in action.

(Photo courtesy Ladylike Films)

In the middle of a turbulent summer, the season opener for POV, the acclaimed documentary series on PBS, gives us something to celebrate and offers a badly needed moment of inspiration and hope.

The 33rd season of POV kicks off with “We Are The Radical Monarchs,” an excellent film b inda oldstein nowlton about an innovative program to create and inspire a new generation of activists he stirrin film starts b showin the “Radical Monarchs” in action. A small group of Black and Brown girls with matching uniform pieces are silk-screening protest posters that read ducation is iberation s the wor they talk about what it means to be radical: “Radical means just being yourself, what makes you unique, what makes you pretty, what makes you cool.”

“Fierce, strong, powerful, community.”

“You make a difference in the world. You’re not just sitting in the background.” oud and proud “Respecting others while you stand up for yourself.” nowlton then loo s at the histor and future of the pro ram that helped shape these remarkable girls with their pride, confidence and carin The Radical Monarchs were founded in December 2014 in Oakland, Calif., by two queer women of color, Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest, to be a more inclusive and diverse alternative to traditional scouting organizations. They wanted to center the experience on girls of color and to develop opportunities to create fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities and contribute radically to their communities. The participants range from ages 8 to 13.

As Hollinquest realized, “we need to teach social justice like we teach STEM subjects.” Instead of selling cookies, the girls earn badges for “Radical Pride, “Radical odies lac ives atter adical oots and adical eaut he film shows the irls learnin about all ship environmental racism and disability justice; meeting with an original member of the Black Panthers and joining in rallies and protest marches.

The girls also work on a “Radical Advocacy” badge by presenting testimony to the Oakland City Council and meeting

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with elected officials in the state capital of Sacramento. eanwhile while nowlton follows the first roup of adical onarchs throu h their graduation from the program (and the 2016 election), she also looks at the time and money it takes for Martinez and Hollinquest to administer the troop. Both women are veteran activists and educators with full-time obs and families of their own nowlton clearly shows the hard work that goes into lining up interesting guest speakers and developing age-appropriate curricula. nowlton also shows how interest in the program begins to spread. Commentators on Fox News are quick to denounce the program while parents across the country are interested in setting up their own troops.

Martinez and Hollinquest are interested in expanding the program, but fundraising is a challenge. nowlton clearl has a fun time wor in with the Radical Monarchs and she quickly creates compelling capsule portraits of each of the girls. Their dynamic energy and inquisitiveness is infectious. It’s great to watch them dive into a group art project or to engage in a spirited discussion with one of the guest speakers. It’s sobering that young girls need to learn about police brutality; it’s APPLY FOR DISCOUNTED RATES ON : inspirin to see them develop the confidence and tools to fi ht social in ustice Electric Natural Gas In the D.C. area, “We Are The Radical Residential Aid Discount (RAD) Program Residential Essential Service (RES) Program Monarchs” will air on WETA at 9 p.m. on RES eligible customers will Potential savings of Monday, July 20. The documentary will also receive an approximate $300-475 annually. stream on the website for the PBS POV series 25% discount on total bill. at pbs.org/pov/watch/.

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Call us to see if “working from home” could be “working from the beach.”

We are here to help you explore coastal real estate options!

16698 Kings Highway Ste. A, Lewes, DE 19958 • (302) 645-6664 • LeeAnnGroup.com

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AWARD-WINNING HISTORIC STYLE Welcome to the heart of Historic Lewes, nestled in unique Shipcarpenter Square.

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403 W. 4th Street, Historic Lewes MLS: DESU163334 Offered at $1,795,000

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COUNSELING

EMPLOYMENT

COUNSELING FOR LGBTQ People. Individual/couple counseling with a volunteer peer counselor. GMCC, servicing since 1973. 202-5808661. gaymenscounseling. org. No fees, donation requested.

WHOLISTIC SERVICES, INC. Seeking Full Time Direct Support Professionals to assist intellectually disabled adults with behavioral health complexities in group homes & day services throughout D.C. Requirements: Valid Driver’s License, able to lift 50-75 lbs., complete training program, become Med Certified within 6 months of hire, pass security background check. (Associates degree preferred) For more information please contact Human Resources @ 301392-2500.

RCM of Washington, Inc. Direct Support Professional.

Online applications only. To apply, please visit: https://bit. ly/2N9gWmA.

ANXIETY, DEPRESSION & RELATIONSHIP ISSUES Free 15 min. introductory meeting. Donald Willis, LICSW, LCSW-C. DC & MD. Go to www.justcalld.com or call (202) 232-2834 to schedule.

EMPLOYMENT

The Potomac School is seeking a full-time lower/ middle school math coordinator. For details visit our careers webpage or contact us at employment@ potomacschool.org.

DEADLINES

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KasperLivery.com. Phone 202-554-2471.

CLEANING

FERNANDO’S CLEANING: Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out. (202) 234-7050, 202-4866183.

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LEGAL SERVICES

ADOPTION, DONOR, SURROGACY legal services.

Jennifer represents LGBTQ clients in DC, MD & VA interested in adoption or ART matters. 240-863- 2441, JFairfax@jenniferfairfax. com.

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use of back yard. St. parking

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