Watermark Issue 23.02: Weed The People

watermark Your LGBT Life.

ISSUE 23.02 • JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 10, 2016 WATERMARKONLINE.COM

Weed

the People Melissa Etheridge on medical marijuana, music and politics!

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Tampa Gala You’re Invited!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 • 7:30PM - 11:00PM at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre | 4121 N. 50th Street, Tampa, FL

Please join us for one of the biggest events in Tampa celebrating the LGBT community. The 2016 Tampa Gala will feature live and silent art auctions, music by Jureka, open bars, catering by Puff ‘n Stuff, and DjCK spinning dance tracks! Our program will include an update from our CEO Nadine Smith on the status of LGBT equality in Florida, and we will recognize Ed Lally, our Voice for Equality Honoree.

Tickets are $125 • Cocktail Attire • R.S.V.P. and purchase tickets at www.eqfl.org/tampagala or call 813-870-3735.

Bidding for our 2016 silent art auction will be done completely online this year, and items are currently available for bidding!

Please follow these steps to view and place your bids today:

1. Scan the QR Code to the right, or visit http://bit.ly/tampagala 2. Click on “Register to Bid” on the far right of the screen to create your account.

3. Create your account. Receive confirmation email and click on link to verify account.

Our live and silent auctions will showcase work by local artists. This piece by Duncan McClellan will be featured in the live auction!

(Be sure to check your junk mail folder for the confirmation email if you do not see it in your inbox.)

4. View auction items and place your bids!

Please note: All silent art auction items will be on display at the Tampa Gala and able to be viewed online.

PO BOX 20786, TAMPA, FL 33622-0786

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

All net proceeds directly benefit Equality Florida Institute, a tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization.

A CO P Y O F T H E O F F I C I A L R E G I S T R AT I O N A N D F I N A N C I A L I N F O R M AT I O N F O R T H E E Q UA L I T Y F LO R I D A I N S T I T U T E M AY B E O B TA I N E D F R O M T H E D I V I S I O N O F CO N S U M E R S E R V I C E S B Y C A L L I N G TO L L- F R E E W I T H I N F LO R I D A ( 1 . 8 0 0 . 4 3 5 . 7 3 5 2 ) . R E G I S T R AT I O N D O E S N OT I M P LY E N D O R S E M E N T, A P P R O VA L , O R R E CO M M E N D AT I O N B Y T H E S TAT E . R E G I S T R AT I O N # C H 7 9 9 2 .

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

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W E WA N T TO B E YO U R B A N K

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watermark Your LGBT life.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

feb. 5-7

The medical marijuana movement really started out of the gay rights movement.

deparTmenTs 6 // mail 7 // ediTOr’s desk 8 // OrlandO news 10 // Tampa Bay news 12 // sTaTe news 15 // naTiOn & wOrld news 23 // in-depTH 27 // arTs & enTerTainmenT 33 // cOmmuniTy calendar 35 // Tampa Bay OuT+aBOuT 37 // OrlandO OuT+aBOuT 39 // TransiTiOns/wedding Bells 40 // Tampa Bay markeTplace 42 // OrlandO markeTplace 46 // uprisings

PAGE

23

One of the first campaigns to really run on this issue in California in 1996 was started, at least in part, by a guy who lost his partner to AIDS and used marijuana in his last days to try to give him a better quality of life.

—united for care campaign manager ben pollara

On THe cOver

PAGE

46 PAGE WEED THE

27

PEOPLE: Musician

Melissa etheridge talks up medical marijuana dispensaries in advance of her Florida performances. Keep it precious, indeed.

scan qr cOde fOr

waTermarkOnline.cOm

sTand in THe place THaT yOu live: Supporters of Planned Parenthood call foul on the Florida Legislature for pushing anti-abortion bills that could have extremely punitive effects on women. Legislators, meanwhile, smile and say nothing.

waTermark i ssue 23 .02 // J anuary 28 - feBruary 10, 2016

sweeTesT cOnfecTiOn Trans-acTiOn

ladyfingers

HigH Times

PAGE Local entrepreneurs Kelly

PAGE

PAGE

Read It Online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBT updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

08

Smith and Kim Adams are ready to play games with your taste-buds at their new sweet shop, Smith & Adams in Orlando.

PAGE Pine View, a grades 2-12

10

magnet school in Osprey, Fla., is now the first school in Sarasota County to pass a transgender student inclusive bathroom policy thanks to 17-year-old transgender student Nate Quinn.

Real Radio News Junkie Sabrina Ambra debuts her opinion column. She has a thing or two to say about unwanted advances from straight guys. Beware!

17

The constitutional amendment proposal for medical marijuana has been revised and rebooted. Aim high!

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IT’s TIME TO WaRM uP yOuR VOTING fINGERs! WaVE aWaRD NOMINEEs GO lIVE ThIs WEEk aT WaTERMaRkONlINE.cOM

watermark Your LGBT life.

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orange

County

regional

TOp weB cOmmenTs

Hi st o ry C en t e r

“I wish I had a gay plate. Instead, I have one with six letters and numbers I still can’t recall three years after getting the thing.”

—keVin m sulliVan

frOm faceBOOk ON a MaN cONfEssING TO chIlD MOlEsTaTION WhIlE fIGhT aGaINsT lGBT EqualITy IN jacksONVIllE:

“He was not a homosexual.

He IS a child molester. Get a clue, dude. Seriously?”

—JOAN E HEPSWORTH ON hIllaRy clINTON REcEIVING aN ENDORsEMENT fROM ThE hRc:

Weddings that make history Located in the beautifully restored 1927 courthouse, the orange County regional history Center offers a variety of unique spaces for your wedding or special event. Whether you envision an intimate event or a grand celebration, the history Center is the perfect location to celebrate some of life’s most joyous occasions.

“Bernie was supporting gay rights as early as 1985 when, as mayor of Burlington, he issued a declaration supporting the city’s pride parade. For decades after that Hillary insisted marriage is a sacred bond between one man and one woman, only changing her mind when it was to her political benefit.

Bernie should have gotten that endorsement.”

—CHRIS MURPHY

“I feel like everything that comes out of her mouth is just for votes. I don’t really trust her. Bernie is my candidate.”

—MATT STEVENS

“I like Bernie Sanders a lot!

And I think he would be a great Vice President for Mrs. Clinton. But he simply does not have the breadth and depth of experience on the global stage that Hillary Clinton brings to the table on day one.”

—BRIAN BOWEN

“They can endorse whomever they want. It won’t affect my vote.”

Call Taylor Bianco at 407-836-7035 or email Taylor.Bianco@ocfl.net 65 E. Central Blvd., Orlando, FL 32801

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—JEREMY SEGHERS

watermark Your LGBT life.

“Best chance for Dems to retain [the White House] is with Hillary by far! As far as I’m concerned, the Clintons have always been fully supportive of the GLBT community, despite being politically pressured into DOMA. I look beyond gay issues anyway, and Hillary is and always has been a strong voice for women, the poor, the environment, labor, etc.”

—MICHAEL HODGES

“I’m sticking with #BernieSanders. I still remember how angry I was when Clinton stood on the Senate floor proclaiming marriage was ‘a sacred bond between a man and a woman’ and then voting for DOMA. I appreciate her recent evolution on our behalf, but I question her sincerity. It seems too much like political expediency to me. My husband and I will be voting for Bernie.”

—JIM LANGFORD

ON MaRRIED, saME-sEx cOuPlEs fIlING jOINT TaxEs ThIs yEaR:

“My husband and I filed jointly last year. We calculated that we saved 7 dollars! (We are both in the same tax bracket)” —DOUG PACKER

ON a DRIVER cOMPlaINING ThaT hIs lIcENsE PlaTE sTaRTED WITh ThE lETTERs G-a-y:

“He didn’t want a ‘gay’ plate because he and his partner wanted to stay ‘quiet’ about their being gay, so he goes on WFTV to complain.”

—DANNY HUMPHRESS

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“But maybe he is MASC? lol” —TOP ORLANDO LIVING

waTermarkOnline.cOm ON aDaM laMBERT BEING aDDED TO ThE casT Of the roCkY horror PICtUre shoW REMakE ON fOx:

“Adam needs to do more TV (and how about movies). He has excellent comedic timing as proven by his stint on Glee and we all know he is an incredible vocalist!”

—MALLORY2696

“Match made in entertainment heaven!

Meat Loaf must be smiling right about now; he digs Adam.”

—SJ

“Yay, and Tim Curry now signed on as the Criminologist. It’s shaping up to be an interesting cast.

I’m still a little skeptical on Laverne Cox; love her, but not sure about her in that role. We’ll see!”

—SCOTTIE CAMPBELL ON aN lGBT IcON “fORGOTTEN By cOMMuNITy” NEEDING hElP:

“Bruce has certainly not been forgotten by the GLBT History Museum of Central Florida, although his placard was not displayed as part of the 2013 display at City Hall.

Bruce served on our board of directors for many years, donated a large amount of documents as part of the Bruce Ground Collection.

He is a valued pioneer and certainly a respected part of our community and its history. His omission from that particular display was inadvertent.”

—DAVID BAIN

Photo by Robert Bartlett

editor’s

Billy Manes EDITOR

BIlly@WatermarkOnline.com

W

Desk

here were you while we

were getting high? By virtue of political plate tectonics and the mahogany-andstarched-shirt drudgery of a state legislative cycle in full swing during a presidential election year, you wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that the earth is actually moving under your feet right now. Nope, not vertigo.

Nah, you aren’t drunk (maybe?). High? Hopefully!

Seriously, though, there’s something more going on beneath the surface – often on the surface – that is cause for concern. We like to furrow our brows a bit around here, as it is our job to make those wrinkles into words and images and has been for more than two decades, but its not all bad news at the moment, to be sure.

Just this week, the “Florida Competitive Workforce Act,” which would include sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s

wide swath of protections in the workplace, earned its first hearing after seven years of attempts to gain any traction. Is it a sea change?

Maybe. Here at Watermark, we celebrate any social movement that seeks to make LGBT lives – and the lives of everyone – teeter a little closer to actual fairness.

But also this week, two antiabortion bills passed through their respective committees, the most onerous of them being an omnibus bill HB 865 (one that has also never

watermark staff

really received a hearing until this year) that would outlaw abortion and punish providers (and, likewise, women) as felons. We watched in horror on Jan. 25 as the state’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee entertained the notion of punitive damages, U.S. Constitution be damned. Those who voted against the measure did so with calculated politeness – they “respectfully” and somewhat apologetically said that they just couldn’t sign on, but thanks anyway, champ. Let’s pray together sometime. Supporters grinned from ear to ear and just said “yes.”

It was a telling glimpse into our increasingly reactive divide, that which exists between what we can have and what we cannot.

And it’s in that spirit that we present to you our second issue of 2016, one that has a coincidental overlap on another controversial issue. In 2014, medical marijuana gained the approval of 58 percent of the voting public in Florida. The legislature countered the proposed constitutional amendment, as it is wont to do, with watered down language about watered down cannabis, “Charlotte’s Web.” The argument, as it played out between activists and the bad actors of local television media, was that legalizing actual cannabis on any level was just a slippery slope into harder drugs and prison, which you would think the powers that be would love, seeing as we are so keen on privatizing our prisons.

Reefer Madness is alive and well in the flyover counties and their requisite churches.

The trouble is, not everyone is alive and well, or at least well (because you’re reading this, you must be alive, right?). In this issue, we speak to rock star and LGBT hero Melissa Etheridge about her activism on the issue of medical marijuana. As a cancer survivor,

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watermark Your LGBT life.

we’re more inclined to take her word on the benefits of weed in treatment than we are those of a gaggle of gerrymandered emperors fighting for campaign dollars. She’s putting her money where her heart is and using her celebrity to remove the stigma attached to marijuana use. It helped her survive; it might have helped you, too – only you’re not allowed to talk about it.

To that point, we also caught up with attorney John Morgan (who is largely funding Florida’s campaign), United for Care and, not surprisingly, longtime activist Norm Kent, who publishes South Florida Gay News. Kent reminds us that it

Do we just say, “I got mine,” grab a marriage certificate and then walk away?

wasn’t that long ago that the gay community could have really used legal marijuana, if only to overcome the side effects of HIV drugs in order to eat. We’re in this fight, too.

I was speaking to a friend the other day about what we do when the pendulum shifts. Do we just say, “I got mine,” grab a marriage certificate and then walk away? Or do we fight for and with our brothers and sisters who have supported us through our challenges and their inevitable backlashes?

Anyone who has ever cared for a dying relative with cancer, anyone who has ever driven a friend to Planned Parenthood after a rape, anyone who has ever felt the pains of discrimination at work or in public owes it to the world to join the coalitions working to affect social change for the better.

It’s better to be high than low.

Orlando Office P. O. Box 533655 Orlando, FL 32853-3655 TEL: 407-481-2243 FAX: 407-481-2246

Tampa Bay Office TEL: 813-655-9890 FAX: 813-849-2986

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

#GayGoals2016

The fight for LGBT equality doesn’t end with marriage equality, and Watermark is committed to keeping the ball rolling in 2016. #GayGoals 2016, is Watermark’s campaign to keep the LGBT community moving forward through individual goals that are measurable, accountable and FUN.

Join us!

Visit WatermarkOnline.com to learn more about #GayGoals2016

contributors Sabrina Ambra

is a cohost of Real Radio 104.1’s “News Junkie” program and will kick your ass if she needs to. Page 17

Jason Leclerc

is a near lifelong resident of the I-4 corridor, currently in South Tampa. He publishes poetry online at PoetEconomist.blogspot.com.

His first book, Momentitiousness, was published in 2014. His new book, Black Kettle, will be published in 2016. Page 19 Aaron Alper, Scottie Campbell, Susan Clary, Krista DiTucci, Kirk Hartlage, Joseph Kissel, Jason Leclerc, Mary Meeks, Stephen Miller, David Moran, Gregg Shipiro, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, , Michael wanzie

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Angie Folks, Bruce Hardin, Julie Milford, Travis Moore, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift, Tinkerfluff

distribution RJ Publishing, Lisa Jordan, Ken Caraway, David Krauss CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday.

Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail).

The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

7

central florida news

Driver complains about “GAY” license plate Jamie Hyman

O

range County Tax Collector Scott Randolph is fielding complaints from local auto dealerships because a driver protested after being issued a license plate that starts with the letters “GAY.” “These plates have been vetted by the state and we see no issue with them either,” Randolph said in a statement to the media. “Nonetheless, we’ve made it clear that if a customer is unhappy they can exchange their plate at our offices.”

Randolph told Watermark that he doesn’t know how many of the “GAY” license plates have been issued, because they’re delivered directly to an agent who processes dealer plates. He said the complaint stemmed from a customer who purchased his car from a Volvo dealership, and now, other dealers have complained to the tax collector’s office.

According to WFTV News-9, the person who filed the original complaint is Craig Lukas, who happens to be gay and told Channel 9 he and his partner, “just prefer to remain quiet.”

WFTV reports the Volvo dealership that issued the plate to Lukas is located in Winter Park, which tried to give Lukas a different plate, but then found out they all started with “GAY.” The dealership has returned the license plates to the county.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in a statement to the media, says the plates issued in the Orlando area range from “GAYA01” to “GAYW35.”

“It’s unfortunate that people here in Orange County would still have such a negative reaction to the word ‘gay,’” Randolph says. “But, good grief, I couldn’t tell you what my license plate number is, so the fact that it bothers some people so much is sad.”

Randolph says the situation is unusual; people don’t often complain to his office about the copy on their license plates.

Push for LGBT-inclusive Human Rights Ordinance in Palm Bay Staff report

The march to make sure all LGBTs in Space Coast are covered by Human Rights Ordinances continues.

Up next? Palm Bay, wh ere supporters in red will converge upon a City Council meeting Feb. 4 to ask c ouncil members to consider an HRO with protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

The ordinance offers protection from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations and was proposed by council member Michele Paccione.

The Palm Bay meeting was originally set for Jan. 19 but has been moved to Feb. 4 to give the council members more time to review the ordinance. It starts 7 p.m. at 120 Malabar Rd. SE. Supporters are asked to wear red, and do not have to live in Palm Bay to participate.

8

sugar on top:

Kim Adams (left) and Kelly Smith are the owners of Smith & Adams, a Colonial Plaza confectionary that offers handmade, artisanal chocolates and gelato.

Photo by Deanndra Meno

Sweet success The couple behind Smith & Adams is chasing their chocolate-covered dreams Jamie Hyman

O

rlando | Behind the glass-encased counters of Smith & Adams, a newlyopened confectionary in Colonial Plaza, the shiny, colorful gems of artisanal chocolate look more like art than candy.

The visual appeal makes sense as Kelly Smith, who handles the product side of Smith & Adams, went to art school before culinary school.

Following that, she was a chef at Disney for 25 years before she and her partner, Kim Adams, decided to quit their jobs and take a risk on their own shop. Adams was previously an attorney and handles the business end of Smith & Adams.

“When I tell people that I’m in the chocolate business, it puts smiles on their faces, compared to when I told them I was a lawyer,” she says.

The couple met through friends, lives in Orlando and has been together for five and a half years.

watermark Your LGBT life.

Smith & Adams originated with farmers’ market stands and evolved into a retail location with three employees.

“The shop is set up where people can see what we make, people can watch us work,” Smith says.

“Everyone who works here makes chocolates, so they know what’s in it and can explain it to you.”

She adds that opening their own business is “by far the most difficult and scariest thing I’ve ever done,” but the feedback has been good so far.

Smith says things are also going smoothly in regards to living and working with Adams.

“We have totally different roles, so it’s good,” Smith says. “I have my kitchen and she has her business thing. They’re totally separate, but we still bounce ideas off of each other. It all works out fine.”

“It was always [Smith’s] dream to open up a chocolate shop, and I love running the business side of things, so it was a perfect fit,” Adams says.

Now, they are focused

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

on spreading the word and attracting customers.

“The biggest issue right now for any business starting out is to create enough buzz to get people into the door,” adds Adams, who says they’re trying to do just that via social media, where they “post almost every day what new and different exciting flavors we have.”

In addition to the chocolates, the shop offers gelato handmade on site with natural ingredients. Adams says a must-try is the affogato, a scoop of gelato topped with espresso.

According to Smith, their most popular chocolate flavors are peanut butter and jelly, salted caramel, lemongrass, Matcha and they had a run of absinthe that sold well.

Smith & Adams uses local ingredients when possible, Adams says. Right now they partner with a local coffee roaster and they’d like to form more partnerships with local suppliers.

The shop is still technically in the soft opening phase, and has been since they opened their doors in December of 2015. They’re open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

Adams says a grand opening is in the works for February, as are other events such as chocolate making classes and wine and chocolate pairing tastings. They’re also still running their online shop at SmithAndAdams.com.

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse.

You can quit.

CALL 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

#CDCTips

HIV alone didn’t cause the clogged artery in my neck.

Smoking with HIV did.

Brian, age 45, California

watermark Your LGBT life.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

9

tampa bay news

Tampa Bay shined bright at the Diamonds Awards Jeremy Williams

T

he Tampa Bay Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce sure can throw a party and they showed that at the second annual Diamond Awards at the Tampa Garden Club on Jan. 16.

Hosted by WFLA News Channel 8’s Paul Michael Mueller and TBGLCC president Ashley Brundage, the event was fun and fancy as guests were entertained by musician Jennifer Real.

County Commissioner Kevin Beckner won Community Champion of the Year and Non-Profit of the Year was won

by Metro Wellness & Community Centers.

The Business of the Year went to The Hotchkiss Group and Business Person of the Year went to Sharon Herman.

TBGLCC and Balance Tampa Bay also used the evening to grant the first Diamond Scholarship to a member of TBGLCC and BTB’s Mentorship Program. USF’s Anthony Ruiz-Wilson was the big winner of the scholarship.

St. Pete mayor gives State of the City speech at The Palladium Jeremy Williams

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman spoke of change and progress at the State of the City address at The Palladium Jan. 23.

“The state of St. Petersburg is strong and sunny,” Kriseman said reading a list of words posted to the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts by people describing the city, even managing to get another dig at presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

“It’s creative, sparkling, limitless, progressive, dynamic… and Trump-free,” the mayor said with a smile.

The joke comes after last month’s tweet where Krisman barred Trump from St. Petersburg. Kriseman’s tweet was a response to Trump calling for a ban on Muslim travel into the United States.

Kriseman told the packed theater that 2015 was “a year marked by tangible progress; a year moving forward on issues that were stalled too long.”

Kriseman made reference to the legalizing of same-sex marriage in Florida as part of the progress of 2015. He also spoke of the advancements in the construction of the new St. Pete Pier, calling it “the people’s pier.”

While he highlighted the accomplishments of the past year, Kriseman spent most of his prepared speech speaking about the safety of the children of St. Petersburg, more specifically to the seven young men killed by gunfire in south St. Pete during the final months of 2015.

“It’s unacceptable in a place we’ve named the Sunshine City. We can write a new story for these young men,” Kriseman said.

Kriseman will be joined by St. Pete Chamber CEO Chris Steinocher at Shorecrest Preparatory School Feb. 4 speaking with parents and alumni for The State of St. Pete.

10

This is Pine View:

(L-R) Jocelyn Kuh, Nate Quinn and Julie Shoults rallied the troops for the Jan. 25 call-in.

Trans action Sarasota County school adopts trans-inclusive bathroom policy after transgender student organizes call-in Jeremy Williams

P

ine View, a grades 2-12 magnet school in Osprey, Fla., is now the first school in Sarasota County to pass a transgender student inclusive bathroom policy.

The policy, adopted Jan. 14, allows transgender students in grades 6-12 to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with regardless of what gender they were assigned at birth.

The bathrooms for elementary grade students will remain the same.

Pine View’s policy change comes after Nate Quinn, a 17-year-old transgender student, made multiple requests to both the school’s guidance counselor and principal to be able to use the men’s restroom.

Quinn’s first request was in January 2015 to guidance counselor Lynn Halcomb.

“I felt like she kind of understood but not enough to be helpful,” Quinn says.

Halcomb advised Quinn at the time that it would not be possible to change the policy and that he should prepare for bullying if he was going to move forward becoming Nate.

Quinn says he was still dealing

watermark Your LGBT life.

with coming out to his parents and did not want to cause trouble at school so he did not press the issue further.

This school year, Quinn tried requesting again, this time taking it to the principal of the school, Dr. Stephen Covert. When Covert said no, Quinn and his classmates decided to organize a call-in to the school.

“The original plan was to call Pine View and oppose their non-inclusive bathroom policy and encourage them to come up with a policy that would allow trans students to use the bathroom of their gender identity,” Quinn says.

A Facebook event was created and students, parents and anyone supportive in the community was encouraged to call Pine View on Jan. 25 to voice Quinn’s, and the other trans students’, request to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.

Once the event started to gain attention, Pine View contacted Quinn’s father and requested a meeting.

“They brought me and my dad in and they told us about the new policy and they asked us about the callin,” Quinn says.

Quinn’s victory at Pine View has come with some backlash.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

“All the bullying has been online and it has been from students that I have never met and they come at me with my birth name and the wrong pronouns,” Quinn says. “No one has actually come up to me in school or said anything in person. Most students are very supportive as are the teachers. They use the right name and the right pronouns. So overall it has been pretty good.”

Quinn says that the call-in will continue but instead of calling Pine View everyone is encouraged to call the Sarasota County School Board.

“Now that we have the new bathroom policy we are asking the Sarasota County School Board to write a county wide policy that would prevent other schools from getting away with what Pine View has been getting away with,” Quinn says.

ANSWER Suncoast, a coalition of anti-war and civil rights organizations, have gotten behind Quinn and posted a list of demands for the Sarasota County School Board on their Facebook page. The demands, called Nate’s List, ask the school board to immediately adopt a trans-inclusive dress code policy, harassment policy and a bathroom/locker room policy.

Along with a change to the bathroom policy and ANSWER Suncoast’s demands, Quinn hopes the school board will encourage transgender education for the teachers and students of Pine View and all Sarasota County schools.

Quinn started the education himself with a Facebook post Jan. 19 saying, “By the way Dr. Covert (and many others) it’s trans/transgender people/girls/boys, not transgendered.

No ED, no.”

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

11

state news

waTcHdOg grOup deBunks BaTHrOOm myTH

man cOnfesses TO cHild mOlesTaTiOn wHile figHTing againsT lgBT equaliTy in JacksOnville

Jamie Hyman

Jamie Hyman

T

J

he bathroom myth is an argument hate groups consistently trot out whenever LGBT equality measures are up for discussion, claiming that if we allow transgender people to use preferred bathrooms, predatory men will exploit this access to assault women and children.

A bathroom bill, requiring people to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender at birth, even made it through a few committees in the Florida House before the 2015 legislative session came to a close.

Right now, all eyes are on Jacksonville, where a proposal to include sexual orientation and gender identity into nondiscrimination protections is being hotly debated. As is the routine, opponents to the measure have taken the podium to claim that the protections will pave the way for predators.

Media Matters, a conservative watchdog group, questioned leaders from ten Florida cities and counties that have in place the exact protections being debated in Jacksonville right now.

They were unable to find one instance of predators exploiting equality protections to commit assault in bathrooms.

Media Matters checked in with Atlantic Beach, Broward County, Dunedin, Gulfport, Gainesville, MiamiDade County, Monroe County, Orange County, Orlando and Palm Beach County. They asked officials in each area two questions: Has the LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance resulted in increased sexual assault or rape in women’s restrooms? Have you seen any incident of a man pretending to be transgender to sneak into a women’s restroom?

The municipalities have had some time to test the theory. Several of the areas have had the LGBT-inclusive protections in place for nearly a decade, and Monroe County’s have been in place since 2003.

This isn’t the first time Media Matters has taken on the bathroom myth. In 2014, they checked in with twelve states that have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination protections, and in 2015, they repeated the exercise with three Texas cities that have LGBT protections. The found the same result both times: no instances of increased assault in restrooms or predatory men claiming to be transgender to sneak into women’s restrooms.

“Opponents of local ordinances and state nondiscrimination legislation continue to perpetuate the bathroom predator myth despite studies such as this that again prove this argument has no basis in truth,” says Gina Duncan, Equality Florida’s Transgender Inclusion Director. “It is time we move past this hateful, hurtful rhetoric and focus on treating all Floridians fairly and with dignity.”

Unfortunately, the bathroom myth tactic seems to work. According to Media Matters, “No Men in Women’s Bathrooms” was a key rallying cry used to ultimately defeat LGBT nondiscrimination protections in Houston.

12

acksonville The debate over an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Jacksonville swerved down a dark and disturbing road when a speaker attempting to fight the proposal confessed to molesting children.

Roy Bay, 56, approached the podium during public comment at a Jacksonville City Council meeting Jan. 12. The topic was adding gender identity and sexual orientation to an existing antidiscrimination ordinance, a measure that has been hotly debated for months. Bay told the council that he had been molested in the past, and in turn, he molested children.

“I entered into the life of homosexuality and did the same thing, because that’s what I thought life was all about,” Bay said. “Going to the bathroom, in places and businesses, and sexually assaulting kids.”

Bay said he never went to jail for his crimes and further claimed that in 1985, he had an epiphany that molesting children is “unacceptable and so I became a born again child of God and God set me free from that lifestyle.”

At this, several people in the audience began to applaud and cheer until they were quickly

silenced by a council member. Bay concluded his remarks by stating that if the LGBT-inclusive ordinance passes, his former, unacceptable lifestyle “will become more acceptable than what it is now.”

Visit WatermarkOnline.com to see full video of Bay’s testimony.

Jimmy Midyette, with Jacksonville Coalition for Equality, says Bay’s remarks were “shocking and upsetting” for many in attendance.

“We were especially disappointed that he arrived with a church group, a group that is leading the opposition to our civil rights,” Midyette says. “When his fellow church members applauded his statements it was like we were in the twilight zone.”

That church is Evangel Temple Assembly of God, and after his speech, Bay left the meeting in a church van, according to First Coast News out of Jacksonville. First Coast contacted Garry Wiggins, the church’s pastor, who said he was “shocked” to hear Bay’s testimony and that they’re taking actions to keep Bay separate from children at the church.

According to Action News Jax, Bay went to church the evening of Jan. 13, where he sat in the back and left, protected by security, shortly before the service ended. According to First Coast News, the Jacksonville

Sheriff’s Office is looking into Bay’s statement.

“Ultimately, I don’t believe [Bay’s] comments were helpful to the City Council,” says Midyette.

Further, conservative watchdog group Media Matters debunked the myth by asking Florida cities and counties whether expanding protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity has led to increased sexual assault in women’s bathrooms, or men pretending to be transgender to gain access to women’s restrooms. Not a single incident of either was found.

The LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance has been a contentious issue for Jacksonville. In late 2015, Mayor Lenny Curry hosted three “Community Conversations” on the topic. After the first meeting, a man was arrested for a bomb threat and the KKK distributed anti-gay fliers in Jacksonville neighborhoods. In December, following the meetings, Councilman Tommy Hazouri filed the bill that would expand the protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity. The Jan. 12 city council meeting was their first discussion of the proposal.

The council is holding special “committee of the whole” meetings Feb. 4, Feb. 18 and March 3, with a vote expected March 3.

further, reporting that of the 2014 new diagnoses, 15 were among children younger than 13 years old and 80% were males.

County-wise, Miami Dade was tops in new HIV cases, followed

by Broward, Orange, Hillsborough and Palm Beach.

The soar in new HIV cases is startling when considered alongside the news that Florida Governor Rick Scott and the state’s top health officer, Dr. John Armstrong, have cut Department of Health personnel over the next four years, which has in turn shrunk the size of county health departments. That’s according to the Miami Herald, which contacted

Armstrong about the startling HIV rates. Armstrong responded with a statement that staff reductions do not impact “the surveillance, education, prevention, counseling, testing, care and treatment of HIV/ AIDS patients,” and that Florida is spending a record $34 million on HIV and AIDS prevention this year thanks to a federal grant.

In June of 2015, the same week it was announced that Orange County’s new HIV cases are up 47 percent from last year, the Centers for Disease Control announced no Central Florida HIV organizations will receive CDC grants this year.

flOrida leads sTaTes in new Hiv infecTiOns Staff report

Florida is the top state for newly-diagnosed HIV infections.

That’s according to new numbers released by Centers for Disease Control, which states Florida had 5,377 new HIV cases in 2013 and 6,147 new HIV cases in 2014.

Florida is in the top three states with the highest number of new HIV infections diagnosed among children, and is the #4 state with the highest HIV infection case rates.

The Florida Department of Health breaks down the numbers

watermark Your LGBT life.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

nation+world news

Hillary Clinton endorsed by America’s largest LGBT organization Wire Report

W

ASHINGTON | Hillary Clinton received an endorsement Jan. 19 for her White House bid from America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.

The Human Rights Campaign announced its endorsement for the Democratic front-runner, which she is expected to officially accept at an event in Iowa ahead of the state’s leadoff Feb. 1 caucus.

The organization’s board of

directors, comprised of 32 community leaders nationwide, voted to endorse Clinton, the group said in a statement.

“Too many LGBT Americans still face discrimination in employment, in housing, in education, in health care because of who they are or who they love,” Clinton said in a statement. “The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher.”

The Human Rights Campaign said it will work to mobilize its 1.5 million members and supporters ahead of the general elections in November.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court historically ruled to allow all

Americans, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, to marry. Many in the LGBT community fear the decision could be reversed if a conservative president is elected to office.

“All the progress we have made as a nation on LGBT equality — and all the progress we have yet to make — is at stake in November,” Chad Griffin, president of Human Rights Campaign, said.

“Despite the fact that a majority of Republican and independent voters today support federal protections for LGBT Americans, the leading Republican candidates for president have threatened to halt progress as well as revoke, repeal, and overturn the gains made during President Obama’s two terms,” the statement said.

Anti-gay Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act voted down Wire Report NASHVILLE | A bill seeking to block the U.S. Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling in Tennessee is defeated in the state House over concerns about nullifying federal rulings.

The Civil Justice Subcommittee voted 4-1 against the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Pody of Lebanon, who argued that the ruling should not supersede an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

More than 80 percent of Tennessee voters approved that amendment in 2006 that included a provision to declare that any judicial interpretation to the contrary “shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee.”

Last year’s Supreme Court decision

was based on cases in four states including Tennessee, where three couples had sued to have their out-ofstate marriages recognized.

Republican Rep. Mike Carter of Chattanooga said that although he disagrees with the high court’s ruling, he considered the proposal to be a step too far.

Carter was among two Republicans and two Democrats who voted against the bill. Republican Rep Jim Coley, the panel’s chairman from the Memphis suburb of Bartlett, was the lone vote in favor of the bill.

Legislative analysts estimated that if the state were to refuse services to same-sex couples, Tennessee could stand to lose $6.5 billion in federal Medicaid money and another $2 billion in food stamp and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.

But supporters of the measure urged lawmakers to act now against the gay marriage ruling regardless

of the cost.

“We have to do something quickly, because there’s a cliff ahead of us, a civilization, and it’s within sight,” said Lydon Allen, a pastor at the Woodmont Bible Church in Nashville.

An animated overflow crowd watched proceedings on hallway monitors, cheering and laughing at the spirited debate between lawmakers and gay marriage opponents.

After the bill’s defeat, they gathered in the committee room to commiserate and pray.

Carter told the group that it would be more prudent to seek legal challenges before trying to declare the Supreme Court ruling void in Tennessee.

“Why throw out two or three methods by jumping to what I think is the final step, not the first step,” Carter said.

children, not just our rights.” Pierro and his partner were married in Los Angeles but their union is not recognized in Italy and only one of them has parental rights.

“They are here. They exist, they are part of our families, and it is unfair that they do not have the same rights as other Italian children,” he said.

The gay rights group Arcigay estimated that 1 million people participated in the demonstrations, calling it “a historic day for

our country.”

The Italian government has pledged to pass legislation on civil unions for homosexual couples, along with measures allowing both parents, not just the biological parent, custody in a homosexual union. Campaigners say the lack of parental recognition causes problems on a daily basis for gay parents, from simple school permission forms to health care decisions.

Italian protesters urge government to grant same-sex civil unions Wire Report ROME | Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Jan. 23 in nearly 100 cities across Italy to urge the government to permit gay and lesbian couples to have civil unions and legally recognized families.

Mirco Pierro, 39, rallied in front of the Pantheon in Rome with his partner and twin infants, saying he wanted “to defend the rights of our

watermark Your LGBT life.

in other news Minnesota governor appoints first openly-gay judge to State Supreme Court Gov. Mark Dayton named Appeals Court Judge Margaret Chutich to fill an open spot on the Minnesota Supreme Court Jan. 22, installing the first openly gay justice on the state’s highest court. Dayton said the diversity of the bench is a priority. Chutich is the third woman the Democratic governor has appointed to the court since he took office in 2011.

New York adds transgender protections to anti-discrimination rules A new regulation protecting transgender New Yorkers from discrimination is taking effect. The change expands the state’s existing anti-discrimination rules to prohibit discrimination against a transgender person when it comes to jobs, loans, schools and public accommodations. The state already prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, disability and gender. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already prohibit discrimination against transgender individuals.

Virginia man charged with hate crime A Virginia man was indicted in federal court on a hate crimes charge stemming from an alleged attack on a person over their sexual orientation. Federal prosecutors announced the charge Jan. 19 against 34-year-old James William Hill III of Chester. Hill is accused of punching the victim last May and causing bodily injury. Hill was charged under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine upon conviction.

UK needs to step it up on transgender policies, report says The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee say British authorities are failing transgender people, who suffer routine discrimination and are disproportionately likely to attempt suicide, and health-care workers, police, prison staff and teachers all need training on transgender issues. In a report published Jan. 14, the committee said gender identity should no longer be treated as a mental health issue, and official recognition of gender should be based on individual self-declaration.

Romanian Orthodox Church wants marriage defined as only between man, woman The Romanian Orthodox Church says it supports an initiative to change Romania’s constitution to specify that marriage is between a man and a woman. The statement comes amid concerns from some that the conservative East European nation will align with other EU nations and permit gay marriage. Romania currently does not recognize marriages between people of the same sex. The constitution, last revised in 2003, says marriage is between “partners” without specifying gender. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 2001.

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

viewpoint

Sabrina Ambra

ladyfingers

F

You’re a creep lattery: We’ve all

experienced it in some form or another, either with the receipt or delivery of it. Initially, I wanted to say that a wise person once said flattery is the biggest compliment, but a quick Google search showed that I might have mixed that up with some other saying by a person who was cool enough to have someone put their thoughts between quotation marks. I digress. You see, the thing about flattery is that it can be used as a disguise. This is when an individual may say they are trying to flatter you, but really the words they use do nothing of the sort. And they know it.

Now, first let me start by saying I am not referring to the occasional compliment by a stranger; those are lovely, and I think everyone deserves to hear nice things about themselves once in awhile. I’m talking about lines that could be found on page 27 of The Creepy Man’s Guide to Scaring the Shit Out of Women (working title). There is no charm, there is no grace; there is only the reassurance of my sexuality by the shutting of the steel trap that is my vagina. I wish there was room for commendation on creativity, but there is none of that either. These moments I’ve experienced have left me baffled. I am almost always left with my

jaw dropped, followed by a borderline-hysterical laugh that distracts Sir Creeps-A-Lot, while my eyes feverishly look for my closest savior. This response is not working; this cannot be my only solution. Let me take you on this small journey, and maybe we can all figure one out together. If not that, then at least we can laugh and cringe in unison, like synchronized swimmers in a pool of unsolicited sexual brickbats. Heads underwater, legs in the air.

The following three scenarios I have found to be the most memorable, and the least I can do is share them with you. Please enjoy.

I once had an older fella ask me if I wanted to find out the difference between his dick and a chicken bone while simultaneously rubbing his index finger inside my palm. This wasn’t as uncomfortable as it was confusing, which in turn made it more uncomfortable in the end. Another man asked me if it was weird that he wanted to shoot bodily fluid into my eye and nostril. (That one was on the internet, which is fortunate for him, because I probably would have shot my own bodily fluid on him in the form of projectile vomit).

Most recently, I had a decent looking man ask me on a date, and upon informing him that I was a lesbian, he told me that he just wanted to put an “honest dick” inside of me. I told him that I wanted to put my honest dick in his mouth so he would stop talking. Actually, I did not say that, and I’m sorry for lying. I didn’t say anything, and I thought of all the things I should have said afterwards (such as the aforementioned “penis of my own” comeback; that would have been gold and thus, my problem).

I have a lot of straight men in my life, two of whom I’ve spent nearly everyday of the last two-and-a half years with on the show that has given me many opportunities

watermark Your LGBT life.

such as the one to write to you. These are good men.

These are honest men. These are men that I am certain would never offer an honest dick to a lesbian they met for the first time. For that, I am thankful. It should just be a thing, being decent that

over again in my head, getting angry as every word echoed in repeat; getting angrier that I was letting those assholes make an impression on me. It wasn’t fair. The respect I deserved was replaced by a man’s outspoken and nonsensical

more of a burden than a blessing, really). Alas, I survived and will continue to survive. I can find my flattery elsewhere, the kind not being used as a disguise.

Shit, I might just go ahead and write The Creepy Man’s Guide to Scaring the Shit Out

is. Yet, when I am told that someone’s bodily fluids have the desired destination of my eyes and nose, I am quickly reminded that decency may not be as common of “a thing” that I had hoped it was. And that’s just fine.

If I’m being totally honest with you, I did find myself thinking about those moments over and

solution to my sexuality.

There is no solution, my naive straight non-friend.

There is no cure for my lady-lovin’. However, even with that, I realized that there may be no stopping The Creep. He will live on and be encountered again, in all different shapes, sizes, and smells (I have a very powerful sense of smell,

of Women myself. I’ll make sure the preface starts with, “DO NOT FUCKING USE THESE LINES EVER!!!” So, bring it on, Creep-o’s! Mama is ready to put you between quotation marks.

I am almost always left with my jaw dropped, followed by a borderline-hysterical laugh that distracts Sir Creeps-A-Lot, while my eyes feverishly look for my closest savior.

Sabrina Ambra is a cohost of Real Radio 104.1’s “News Junkie” program and will kick your ass if she needs to.

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watermark Your LGBT life.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

and Vegeterian Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean,

viewpoint

Jason Leclerc

The other side

of life

I

Hold, Fold, Walk Away

t was only recently,

quite honestly, that I restored my membership in the Grand Old Party.

I had defected in the late ‘90s in favor of Libertarianism which I, in my wiser thirties, decided was too radical and un-nuanced an answer to our nation’s ills. I’ve always considered myself a Jeffersonian and agree that his brand of liberal democracy is best suited for a small insular, wealthy, homogeneous, market-directed nation. His theories and writings, quite aside from his biting politics, form the basis for an ideal, academic thought experiment.

Alas, that is not our America; while I think this was potentially Jefferson’s America—an America made, in many ways, rich on the backs of slaves—it is an America that can’t—without a severe and painful social, economic and cultural restructuring—be recaptured. Besides the dark past of Libertarianism’s (then called DemocraticRepublicans) first true experiment in America, pure modern Libertarianism, informed most famously by the objectivist theories of Ayn Rand, devolves into selfishness, arrogance and self-absorption (and awful prose).

Ultimately, I decided that my vote would be worth more within the big tent of the Republican Party, where the broad, watered-down, relatively sustainable institutions of limited government, expanding opportunity, personal responsibility, free enterprise, free speech, strong national defense and fraternity through patriotism could temper

the potential pitfalls of pure ideology.

Little did I predict that the 2015 Republican Party could be hijacked by a personality that stood for all of the worst byproducts of Libertarianism without, at least, the welldeveloped personal ideology.

And yet a part of the (formerly) Grand OP has been blinded into a view of America that is thoroughly un-American: built on anger and gambles instead of optimism and rationality.

Even if you argue that there might be some missing context around the following quotes, the fact that these could be mined at all proves, at best, a complete lack of diplomatic skills and, at worst, a robust, simplistic disdain for decency.

“I’m the worst thing that’s ever happened to ISIS,” bragging without a real plan to Barbara Walters in December.

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,”in the thirdperson to a rally in Charleston just last December.

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her… wherever,” gushing incomprehensibly about GOP debate moderator Megyn Kelly.

“He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured,” of patriot and Republican demigod John McCain in July.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime.

They’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they’re telling us what we’re getting,” announcing his presidential candidacy in June and setting the stage for the greatest disappointment to befall the Republican Party since David Duke.

And speaking of borders: “We have to have a wall. We have to have a border. And in that wall we’re going to have a big fat door where people can come into the country, but they have to come in legally,”

watermark Your LGBT life.

obtusely arguing for the most poorly articulated public works program since the Berlin Wall.

Orientalist bordering on racist, sexist bordering on misogynistic, bombastic bordering on insulting, illinformed bordering on asinine, and divisive bordering on, well, every single possible border, he’s wrapped in an

evidence of his failure.

I will not even grant that he is a flipper of flops because that implies that he once held a set of beliefs and now holds another on guns, abortion, and healthcare, for example. By his own admission, he supported causes and candidates in the past in order to rig the odds in his business gambles. By

caucuses, and as I consider my vote in the primary and then in November, I know that I could vote (warts and all) for Wonky Jeb!, Throwback Kasich, Combative Christie, Rosycheeked Rubio, Feisty Fiorina, or even grudgingly Libertarianish Paul. Short of these choices, I could vote, Benghazi and all, for Teflon Hillz who would—

abrasive, un-elegant, simplespoken, intellectually vacuous, string of self-aggrandizing ideological bankruptcies.

Based on celebrity and the ability to work a news-cycle for soundbites, he has been nothing but lucky in business and now politics. He’s a gambler who has a penchant for letting it ride until the luck runs out and then, rather than simply leaving the table, razing the entire casino to remove

our own observation today, we can see that positions, often inconsistent with his constituencies’ or a coherent ideology, are meant to fuhrer… er, further, damn autocorrect… his own personal brand.

Even Bernie Sanders has ideas. I may not agree with them, but he can clearly and unequivocally articulate a set of thoughts. For that, I respect Senator Sanders.

So, in light of this week’s

despite liberal primary posturing—lead like Bill, Bush and Barry, from a pragmatic center. Short of that, I’m at a complete loss.

Who I will not ever vote for is clear.

As I wander through the northeast this week, I pick up grumblings about a Bloomberg third party candidacy; I’m all in.

He’s a gambler who has a penchant for letting it ride until the luck runs out and then, rather than simply leaving the table, razing the entire casino.

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

talking points

NEARLY

HalF

OF U.S. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE HAD

SEX, O F T e n

WITHOUT USING

CONDOMS.

I did not want to be defined by my sexuality.

Sure, I am a proud gay man, but I don’t identify as a Gay man, or a GAY man, or just gay. I identify as a lot of things, these various identifications and identities taking up equal space and making up an ever-fluid sense of Self.

—charlie carVer, TEEN WOLF actor who came out as gay in a series of instagram posts.

lGBT fIlMs REPREsENTED IN OscaR NOMINaTIONs,

shuT OuT IN BEsT PIcTuRE

T

he nominations for the 88th oscars were announced Jan. 14, and LGBT films Carol and The Danish Girl picked up multiple nominations. Carol picked up six nominations including Best Actress for Cate Blanchett. The Danish Girl grabbed four nominations including a Best Actor nomination for last year’s winner Eddie Redmayne. The Academy was criticized for not having diversity in their nominations including, for the second year in a row, no people of color in any of the acting categories. Several acting snubs that caught the attention of people were Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation, Lily Tomlin in Grandma and Mya Taylor for Tangerine, as well as no Best Picture nominations for Carol, Straight Outta Compton and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Oscars air Feb. 28 at 8:00 P.M. EST on ABC.

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HAVE EVER BEEN

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fOx has ITs casT fOR ThE ROcky hORROR PIcTuRE shOW REMakE

f

ox announced last fall that they would be moving forward with a televised version of the 1975 cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show that starred Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meat Loaf. Lou Adler, who produced the original, is on board as executive producer, and Kenny Ortega of High School Musical fame will produce, direct and choreograph the show. The cast will star Orange is the New Black’s Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Victoria Justice and Ryan McCartan have been cast as the protagonists Janet and Brad, Adam Lambert joins as Eddie and the original “Sweet Transvestite from Transylvania” Tim Curry will play the narrator. FOX’s Rocky Horror Picture Show will air in the fall of 2016.

watermark Your LGBT life.

MOThER TakEs OuT NEWsPaPER aD TO aNNOuNcE hER sON cOMING OuT

J

oan wilson, a washington mother whose son came out to her and the world via YouTube after seeing HBO’s The Normal Heart, took out a newspaper ad in the Houston Chronicle to celebrate him.

“The parents of Drake are pleased to announce that their son has come out,” the ad started. The ad continues with a list of Drake’s accomplishments in school, as well as mentioning his love for film making and baking, and finishes with, “And yes, he adores Barbra Streisand.” Wilson took the ad out in Houston in response to the repeal of the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance last November. “I couldn’t think of a better place where they needed to hear my message of pride,” she said.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

PETITION calls fOR GINGER MINj as ThE NExT EDNa IN NBc’s haIrsPraY

n

bc has announced that the next musical to get the peacock network’s live televised treatment will be John Water’s Hairspray. While casting has not been decided for the live NBC version, that has not stopped the internet from vocalizing who they think should be brought on board as Tracy’s larger than life mother, Edna Turnblad (played in the 1988 film by Divine and by John Travolta in the 2007 musical version of the film). A petition has popped up on the website Change.org asking NBC to cast Rupaul’s Drag Race runner-up Ginger Minj in the maternal part. The petition has more than 200 signatures.

Hairspray Live is expected to air on NBC sometime in December 2016.

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IN-DEPTh: MEDIcal MaRIjuaNa

i

Billy Manes

t wouldn’t be a white

Christmas in Florida in 2015; it never is. But you could argue that a green Christmas came in the form of a unanimous ruling in mid-December by the Florida Supreme Court that refined language to the state’s medical marijuana constitutional amendment.

Backed by mega-attorney John Morgan and his millions of dollars, along with political organization United for Care (formerly People United for Medical Marijuana), the bill received a solid 58 percent approval from a low-turnout midterm electorate, meaning 3.4 million Floridians voted in favor of the amendment, even in a state that is hostile to progressive causes. The state requires a 60 percent vote to pass a constitutional amendment.

“I’mmmmmmmmmm baaaaaaaaaack,” Morgan told the Miami Herald earlier this month. He’s back, only with $4 million less in his back account.

“Last time I was just kind of a guy with a trombone marching down the street waiting for the band to follow behind me, and I turned around about two blocks down, and no one was there,” he tells Watermark. But this time, every lobbyist, every law firm throughout Florida now has a medical marijuana group.”

He admits there were some missteps in the 2014 campaign that extended beyond voter turnout. Mostly, he says, Florida’s senior population didn’t fall in lockstep as much as he hoped they would.

“I think I have to do a better job educating seniors about why this is really for them and their loved ones,” he says.

“The problem with seniors is they’re so scared of drugs. They don’t know the difference between marijuana and heroin.

It’s like M&Ms: there’s a red and blue and green, and they’re all M&Ms. I didn’t do a good job talking to them last time.

I thought I would motivate kids to get up and rise up and vote, and they didn’t. Last time Dade and Broward didn’t vote at all.”

Morgan and United for Care faced significant political headwinds from law enforcement groups and noted Las Vegas casino entrepreneur, Sheldon Adelson, as well.

“I believe when the time comes to perhaps fight Sheldon Adeleson again,” Morgan says, “We will. He’s in Las Vegas, he’s very concerned about the morals of Florida. Go to the Venetian, go to the nightclub, go to the pool. If you want any vice, any alcohol, any drug, go to the Venetian. All of the sudden he’s going to tell us what to do here in Florida.”

However, the battle for the legalization of medical

High Times The fight for medical marijuana started with the gay community, and it may end in Florida this year

cONTINuED ON PG. 24 | uu |

watermark Your LGBT life.

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| uu | Marijuana from pg.23

marijuana goes further than politics and the morality games for Morgan.

“Without marijuana, [my brother Tim] would just be drugged up on Percocet all the time,” he says. “For a lot of people, unfortunately, this is an end-of-life solution. These are your last days. When you’re in your last days, who the hell cares? You should have the right to use a plant that was put into nature for us by God, and works.”

The Gay Effect

Though the medical marijuana issue may present a confusing web of legislation and enforcement – actually, the “Charlotte’s Web” legislation that was intended to provide a weak strain of cannabis for children with epilepsy that was passed by the legislature in 2014 (a “deflection,” Morgan says) took more than a year to implement, and is still mired in controversy – it’s also long been a cause in the LGBT community. HIV/AIDS, at its untreatable peak, inspired many in the gay community to fight for legal, physical care, United for Care’s campaign manager Ben Pollara says.

“The medical marijuana movement really started out of the gay rights movement,” he says.

“One of the first campaigns to really run on this issue in California in 1996 was started, at least in part, by a guy who lost his partner to AIDS and used marijuana in his last days to try to give him a better quality of life.”

But that fight, Pollara says, doesn’t have quite the same punch anymore, given the evolution of HIV treatments that have come to the prescription market since then.

“Fortunately for gay rights, unfortunately for marijuana reform, the LGBT community has kind of moved away from this issue, because they’ve advanced broader gay rights in a much quicker way, and also because the HIV/AIDS drugs that were available in the ‘90s that really caused things that necessitated the use of marijuana have gotten a lot better,” Pollara says. “So you can be on that HIV cocktail and not necessarily need marijuana to eat a decent meal like the folks who were on those drugs in the ‘90s did.”

Equality Florida executive director Nadine Smith says her organization has yet to make a decision on backing the cause in 2016; Pollara said he “thought” that

24

We had to bypass the legislature, because they’re inept and incompetent and unwilling to proceed.

If they were more progressive and not comprised of just fools, they would widely pass medical marijuana legislation that would preempt the constitutional amendment.

But they were incapable of doing it in 2014, and they’re going to be incapable of doing it in 2016, because they’re too stubborn in their beliefs.

— Norm Kent

EQFL had endorsed the previous measure in 2014. Calls to the Human Rights Campaign were not returned.

Regardless, there are those in the Florida LGBT community who continue to carry the cannabis flag. South Florida attorney Norm Kent, who also publishes South Florida Gay News, supports taking legalization a step further.

“Demographic studies that we’ve done show that gay populations smoke pot. The highest votes in 2014, 72 percent, were in places like Wilton Manors and Key West, counties that are gaycentered,” he says. “So the gay community routinely supports decriminalization, legalization and medicalization of marijuana.

It should be an issue that we’re writing about in our papers.”

Kent legally represented the Cannabis Buyers’ Club in Key West when the group was raided by police, he says. Additionally, he joined the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1972 and later became the organization’s president.

He sued the state of Florida for poisoning marijuana plants in Gainesville in Orange County, “so it’s been a lifelong mission for me to be involved in this, and it’s very rewarding to see how far we’ve come,” he says. Kent also refers to 2014’s “Charlotte’s Web” bill as a “scandal” meant to redirect conservative sympathies into something that wouldn’t be confused with marijuana as a social drug. Previous attempts at full medical marijuana legislation have been killed in the legislature with each passing session.

“We had to bypass the legislature, because they’re inept and incompetent and unwilling to proceed,” Kent says. “If they were more progressive and not comprised of just fools, they would widely pass medical marijuana legislation that would preempt the constitutional amendment. But they were incapable of doing it in 2014, and they’re going to be incapable of doing it in 2016, because they’re too stubborn in their beliefs.”

“They don’t understand that politics is the art of progressive

watermark Your LGBT life.

compromise, talking with your opponents and not shouting at them,” he adds. “They don’t work for a common good, they work for a personal goal.”

A New High

The objection to Morgan’s language – though only by a two percent margin – prompted him and United for Care to redress the language for purposes of clarification. State Attorney General Pam Bondi fought hard against the 2014 amendment, but this year she has yet to file an injunction.

Though the adjustments may seem minimal, they carry some significance in the face of opposing arguments that medical marijuana is a slippery slope, that the rules are full of loopholes. Even the title of the proposed amendment, “Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Conditions,” has evolved from “Use of Marijuana for Certain Medical Conditions.”

Other, perhaps more important changes come in the body of the proposal. If anything, the language becomes more far-reaching, naming

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

more treatable illnesses, providing extensive protections to physicians prescribing cannabis included. But the terms have been honed for legal reasons, with more specific rules applied to physicians, caregivers and even patients. In essence, the holes were spackled.

“I wish John [Morgan] hadn’t even pulled back on some of the language that was in the amendment last year,” Kent says.

“He made it tighter to withstand objections from opponents, but there’s nothing to object to. I think we will win, and I would’ve preferred to win with a better bill, but in politics, you learn that the perfect is the enemy of the good, and we’ll take what we can get.

And if we can get a constitutional amendment that allows for people to access medical marijuana without being criminally prosecuted, I’ll support that.”

In a January 15 email, United for Care announced that it had already shipped 1.1 million petitions to the Florida Supervisor of elections, well north of the 683,149 needed to get the measure on the ballot.

Validation is still pending (the email reports that over 570,000 of those had already been validated).

Not everyone is for legalization, naturally. Diane Ramseyer, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation is still up in arms.

“Instead of spending enormous amounts of money on an initiative that alters our state’s constitution and creating a law that could not easily be fixed when it backfires, I would call upon Morgan and his team to spend their money and efforts helping us to advance research and clinical trials on compounds in marijuana that could be developed into real medicine,” Ramseyer says, according to chamber-backed Sunshine State News.

Morgan’s not backing down though, even recently suggesting that he might produce another amendment to legalize completely.

For now it’s for the people and their health, something Morgan takes very personally.

“If you’re facing death, anxiety is a real medical condition,” he says. “To me, it’s so ass-backwards.

Everywhere I go people were thanking me and asking me are you going to try it again? About 400,000 ALS, multiple sclerosis, cancer patients need this. Out of 18 million people that’s one in 36.

This is as important to me as the other charities I’ve been involved in.

This may benefit more people than other efforts.”

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elissa etheridge has been a

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She exclaimed, “I am more than a disease!” (she was so inspiring that India.Arie penned her hit song “I Am Not My Hair” about Etheridge after seeing her perform at the 2005 Grammy Awards bald from chemotherapy) after a cancer diagnosis, and her following

cONTINuED ON PG. 29 uu |

Rock legend Melissa Etheridge talks about the importance of legalizing marijuana, starting her own label and who she thinks should be in the White House this time next year. watermark Your LGBT life.

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| uu | Melissa Etheridge from pg.27

treatment that brought her back stronger and healthier than ever.

Now, after nearly 30 years in the public eye, Etheridge has taken up another cause: legalizing cannabis.

Etheridge became a public supporter of legalizing cannabis after using marijuana to help with the effects of cancer and chemotherapy. She appeared as the keynote speaker at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo in Los Angeles in September. Etheridge is also part owner of the Greenway Collective, a cannabis dispensary in Santa Cruz, and has helped to create a cannabis-infused wine.

Etheridge spoke with Watermark before making her way to Ruth Eckerd Hall Feb. 18 and just hours after learning rock legend David Bowie passed away.

Watermark: I hate to start this conversation off on such a somber note but of course you know we lost a music legend last night.

Melissa Etheridge: I know, I just saw his new single. I watched the video for his first single [“Lazarus”] and it was a little disturbing, and when I looked at him, I thought, he’s not well, and then boom.

It was such a shock. I had no idea he was sick.

No one did. I have one David Bowie story. We were at a benefit, and I was sat at the same table as him and Iman. This was 15 or 20 years ago, and he was laughing because he had just been to his son’s graduation at some big ivy league school, and he was meeting people there, and he got a kick out of it when someone began chatting with him, and they said, “well what do you do for a living?” He said, “Well, I’m a rockstar.” He just thought that was so funny that they had no idea who he was. That was David; he was just always smiling and very lighthearted and took himself lightly. It is just really sad; he really made such a unique mark on music.

His mark on gender and what it was to be sexually fluid were revolutionary at the time; he and Freddie Mercury opened a lot of doors in that aspect. Was

People need to come out of the closet as cannabis users.

There is such a stigma that if you use it that you’re a lazy bum and a hippie and then they will move on to other drugs and it is just such lies.

— Melissa Etheridge

he an influence on how you presented yourself when you first got into music?

I was in junior high and high school and really young - like 13, 14, 15 - when he got started doing “Life On Mars” and “Space Oddity” and I was interested. I was really drawn to his Station to Station album. That was the one I was like, “oh wow, wait a minute.”

That’s when I started really liking him. Before that, I would see him on the late-night shows. It wasn’t until after that that I started to really love his voice and his writing. As I got older, I really started to see the gender fluidity that he placed in front of us and then made us question what is gender, and he brought all of that to the surface and it was amazing.

My experience with your music is similar to that of yours with Bowie’s. I first heard of you with your smash hit album Yes I Am but I didn’t fully get it until I heard your album Breakdown and listened to the song “Mama I’m Strange.” It felt like such

a personal album, more so then any other.

Oh yeah, Breakdown was such a personal album. After making two really big public albums, I came to making Breakdown because everything personally was just breaking down in my life.

I wanted to address more of the LGBT person; I wanted to not just kind of beat around it or just hint at it. I mean, things like Matthew Shepard had just happened, so I wrote “Scarecrow.” I was having children and starting to see all of the inequality, marriage inequality, and at the same time my marriage was falling apart, so I was just in a crazy place. “Mama I’m Strange,” that song really meant so much to me, and you’re really one of the first people to bring it up to me and talk to me about that song. I wanted young people to know that this is a feeling that many, many people have had: That I’m strange, that the thoughts and the wants are making me different and I need your help, Mama. It just spoke to that crazy place that we all are in at some point.

watermark Your LGBT life.

Fame gives you a lot of opportunities, and you have used yours to speak up on several issues and help raise money and awareness for things like LGBT rights, the environment, women’s health. With so many concerns out there, how do you decide which causes you want to put your time and energy into?

I’ll tell you what; I didn’t start out doing this thinking “I’m going to stand up for causes.” I was never that type of person.

I was from the Midwest, where we don’t cause any problems, we just do what we’re supposed to do, and it really wasn’t until life really brought it to me. I mean, coming out was my own personal decision of “I have to do this. I don’t want to lie and live a double life.” That’s not who I am, so LGBT causes were brought to me, and the more I stood up, the more young people would come up to me and say, “Thank you; you helped me to come out” and “That album meant so much to me.” That was what made it worth everything, that connection right

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

there with so many people. So I just started to walk that path, and people would ask my thoughts on this and that, and those words would go out into the world.

Then, of course, cancer came knocking on my door. I wasn’t a cancer advocate before I had cancer. I just make my choices and then I walk that walk.

You mention your battle with cancer, and you dealt with it very publicly when you found out. How are you feeling these days?

I am 11 years cancer free, and I am happier and healthier then I have ever been. It’s really been an amazing journey. I’m one of those people who feel like my trip with cancer was a gift. It certainly made me realize what a gift health is, and how important it is.

Is that the time you started to become supportive of marijuana legalization?

Going through cancer and then realizing the incredible medicinal benefits of cannabis during

Continued on pg. 30 | uu |

29

bad news is everybody wants their music for free. It’s not so bad because, as an artist, you still have to pay for a ticket to come see me, so I’m fine with that. The music industry though, the middle guy who makes the money off of making a record, that has totally changed the game for them. The money they have to promote an album has plummeted, so when I changed my management, they helped me see that I could do it myself and own my album and actually make money off of my album and probably sell more than if I was still with a major label. So I said yeah let’s try that and they were right, I am on my way to selling more than I ever have.

Did you have to approach making that album differently or was it the same process as all the other ones?

Yes, because now I was in the situation where I didn’t have all the big money up front that a record company gives you; they give you the budget up front, so you can go get the producers and write the songs and make the album.

Now you give different producers back end, so you work with them in creating the song, and you give them a piece of the song and those collaborations were amazing. The songs that were created, I just love this album. Just the other day my daughter wanted to listen to some tracks, and I was like, “This is a good album, I like this.”

come to my concert: Melissa Etheridge takes the Capitol Theatre stage Thursday, Feb. 18 for the This is M.E. tour.

| uu | Melissa Etheridge from pg.29

treatments, I thought, “This is crazy, this medicine is so old, and we’ve been using it for thousands of years up to about 70 years ago, then it was completely eradicated.” People were told this is an evil weed, and I thought, “What happened, and why isn’t this available to us?” People need to come out of the closet as cannabis users. There is such a stigma that if you use it, you’re a lazy bum and a hippie and then they will move on to other drugs, and it is just such lies. This is such an incredible medicine that can help so many people with so many things, and I just see so much misinformation, and it makes me so sad. So I decided 10 years ago, when I went through cancer and it helped me so much, that I would also walk my truth

30

about that, and I have been.

The support behind the medicinal marijuana movement has been growing quite a bit over the last few years.

Yes, I have watched it state-bystate start to change. It’s a bit like watching the fight for same-sex marriage, but we need more education to take the stigma out.

It’s ridiculous, the fear around cannabis. People are like, “Oh my god, the children,” but you think about all the things that are children are legally allowed to consume that can kill them, and every year you can check to see how many people are dying from cannabis: zero. And to think of the things that are legal, so we have to start to change this fear and the only way to do that is through education and coming out. The understanding, outside

of medicine, is that grown adults in America can and should have a choice of what they want to use to wind down on the weekend.

There is a lot of misinformation that we have got to educate people about.

In the ‘90s, you were very vocal about your support for Bill Clinton as president.

Will you be supporting another Clinton for the White House this go around?

Yeah, Hillary’s gonna get my support. I just think that is the best thing. Politics in general have just given me a headache. It’s hard to, in this crazy day, not to hear about it with social media, and it has just become a circus. It has always been a circus, but oh God, is it a horrible circus now. I just think Hillary can get the job done, and running this country is a job. I think our country needs

watermark Your LGBT life.

more of a thoughtful person than a reactionary, punishing person.

To help our country lead with all the changes we’re going through in the world, we need a leader who is flexible and intuitive, and I think a woman who has been around this business for a long time is the best bet. I think she is going to be a good president.

After all your success and fame, you did something interesting a few years ago. You left your label to make your last album, This is M.E., independently. What inspired you to do that?

One thing was the crazy state of the music industry right now. It’s funny beause the good news is everybody loves music, everybody wants music and everybody wants music as a part of their life in the car, walking down the street; music really defines all of us. The

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

And you’re touring with the album now, and will be here in Tampa Bay and then down to Miami. Are you looking forward to the Sunshine State?

It is my favorite, especially at this time of year. I’m going to New Zealand and then Florida, so I am living it up. The last two years I was following winter everywhere, so now it is time to get warm.

I have been touring a lot, but I am also making new music in the process.

What can you tell us about the new album?

They won’t let me say exactly yet what I am doing, but it is a really special project, and we are going to make a big announcement about it soon. It is just one of the most interesting music projects I have ever done, and I’m really looking forward to getting some new music out. Look for it late summer/early fall, probably around August or September.

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DRIP’s Local Art Night, Jan. 28, DRIP, Orlando. 347-855-3747; ILoveDRIP.com

Hump Day Happy Hour & Art Stroll

Chess Moves: The Future Legends Concert, Jan. 28, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com Gaelic Storm, Jan. 29, The Plaza LIVE, Orlando. 407-228-1220; PlazaLiveOrlando.com Back to the 80’s!, Jan. 30, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com A Celebration of Harry Potter (Year III), Jan. 29- 31, Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando. 407-363-8000; UniversalOrlando.com Lucas Brooks in “I Am My Own Cast Party,” Jan. 29- 31, Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Insane Inflatable 5K, Jan. 30, Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee. 321-697-3333; OHPark.com 80s Night at Ember, Jan. 30, Ember, Orlando. 407-849-5200; EmberOrlando.com Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Jan. 30, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Friends Talking Faith: Making Sense of Turbulent Times, Feb. 2, Valencia College - East Campus, Orlando.

407-299-5000; ValenciaCollege. edu/East Penn & Teller, Feb. 5, Hard Rock Live, Orlando. 407-351-5483; HardRock.com Naked Boys Singing!, Feb. 5, Footlight Theatre at the Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit 2016, Feb. 6, Orlando City Hall, Orlando. 407-246-2000; CityOfOrlando.net Super Bowl Watch Party, Feb. 7, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com

wednesday, Jan. 27, 6:00- 9:00 p.m. mills 50 district, orlando What better way to celebrate hump day. Stroll through the Mills 50 District and admire artwork from local artist while sampling drinks at some of the best establishments in the area. The stroll starts at New Horizon Pharmacy where you receive a glass, map and your wristband – all for $10. Then begin a lovely evening walk visiting Wally’s Mills Avenue Liquor, Lil Indies, BART, St. Matthews Tavern at the Orlando Beer Gardens, The Guesthouse, Ten10 Brewing Company and Gotkarma.

CELLO

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit 2016 saturday, feb. 6, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. orlando city hall, orlando

Croatian cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, known as 2Cellos, will blend classic and modern sounds when they perform at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater Feb. 4 and at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando Feb. 8. Photo courtesy of 2Cellos.com.

2Cellos, Feb. 8, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org

BIG Gasparilla Day After-Party, Jan. 30, Honey Pot, Tampa. 813-247-4663; Facebook.com/Honey-Pot

The House that Art Built: an art show of gratitude, Feb. 8, SAVOY, Orlando. 407-270-4685; SavoyOrlando.com

freeFall’s Lecture Series: Our Town, Jan. 31, freeFall Theatre Company, St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205; freeFallTheatre.com

TaMPa Bay Pride Skate, Jan. 28, United Skates Tampa, Tampa. 813-876-5826; UnitedSkates.com/Tampa The Social- St. Pete, Jan. 29, Metro Wellness & Community Centers, St. Petersburg. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org Gasparilla Pirate Party, Jan. 29, Honey Pot, Tampa.

813-247-4663; Facebook.com/ Honey-Pot Men’s Speed Dating, Jan. 30, Metro Wellness & Community Centers, St. Petersburg. 727-321-3854; MetroTampaBay.org Footnotes StandUp Comedy Contest, Jan. 30, Kymatic Studios, St. Petersburg. 727-914-7657; KymaticStudios.com

2Cellos, Feb. 4, Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com SAVED BY THE BALL: A ‘90s Party, Beotch!, Feb. 6, The RITZ Ybor, Tampa. 813-247-3729; TheRitzYbor.com The LEGO Movie 4D Weekends, Feb. 6, LEGOLAND Florida, Winter Haven. 877-350-5346; Florida.Legoland.com Tailgate Super Bowl Party, Feb. 7, Club Main Street, Lakeland. 863-940-9756; Facebook.com/ClubMainStreet 3rd Annual Live Crawfish Boil, Feb. 9, 3 Daughters Brewing, St. Petersburg. 727-495-6002; 3DBrewing.com Disney’s The Lion King, Jan. 20- Feb. 14, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.

813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org

G2H2 Saint Pete/ Red Hot Dance February Event, Feb. 5, Flamingo Resort, St. Petersburg. 727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com Balance Tampa Bay’s Open Arms Homeless Ministry, Feb. Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Tampa. 813-253-5388; BalanceTampaBay.org

saRasOTa All the Way, Jan. 14- April 9, Asolo Rep Theatre, Sarasota.

941-351-8000; AsoloRep.org Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Jan. 14- Feb. 20, West Coast Black Theatre, Sarasota. 941-366-1505; WestCoastBlackTheatre.org The Diary of Anne Frank, Jan. 14- 31, Manatee Performing Arts Center, Bradenton. 941-748-5875; ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com Mardi Gras Music and Food Festival, Feb. 5, Payne Park, Sarasota.941-320-9491; Facebook.com/ MardiGrasMusicandFoodFestival

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

watermark Your LGBT life.

A free community-focused event at Orlando City Hall and hosted by The Orlando Youth Alliance to bring together LGBTQ+ youth, parents, educators, community leaders and local officials to share resources and education. The event is sponsored by the city of Orlando, District 4 City Commissioner Patty Sheehan and Darden Restaurants and will feature workshops on jumpstarting a GSA at schools, Internet safety, HIV and STD awareness and much more. More information at cfyes.org.

TaMPa Bay

Gasparilla Pirate Fest 2016 saturday, Jan. 30, 11:00 a.m. tampa, florida Prepare to get yourself some booty, matey. It is time for one of Tampa’s biggest parties all year, Gasparilla.

The event kicks off at the south end of Hillsborough Bay when hundreds of boats make their way up Seddon Channel and dock at the Tampa Convention Center.

There Mayor Bob Buckhorn will surrender the key to the city to the Captain. The parade begins shortly thereafter on Bayshore Blvd. where dozens of floats, pirates and beads can be seen. Parade grand marshal is retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Romulo Camargo.

Punky’s Bar & Grill Grand Opening/ Ribbon Cutting wednesday, feb. 3, 4:00- 11:00 p.m. punky’s bar and grill, st. petersburg

Punky’s is getting an “official” grand opening in the Grand Central District. Gather all your friends together and head out for great drinks, amazing food and live entertainment. Local musicians and bands will be performing and a few familiar faces will be in attendance including St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman and City Council Chair Amy Foster. For more information call 727-201-4712 or visit PunkysBar.com.

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

overheard

TaMPa Bay OuT+aBOuT

TaMPa TO hOsT ThE NaGaaa sOfTBall WORlD sERIEs

T

he north american gay amateur athletic alliance has named tampa as the spot for the Softball World Series, well in 2018, so you have a few years to get ready for it. The NAGAAA is an international sports organization (that’s right, they play with Canadians!) that got its start back in 1977 as a way to provide opportunity and access for the LGBT community to participate in organized softball competition in a safe environment.

The league is currently working with over 13,000 players from 43 cities, including Tampa.

So let’s get out there and throw them balls and swing them bats and make sure that in 2018 Tampa gtes to say they won the whole damn thing in their own backyard.

Is sT. PETE PRIDE MOVING?

f

acebook was all asunder after several members of the community started to voice concerns about where and when St. Pete Pride would be holding the annual Pride celebration this coming summer. In the past, the parade route has started in the empty lot across from Georgie’s Alibi and would move through Kenwood and down Central Avenue through the Grand Central District where the festival would be, but with the closing of Georgie’s it has been speculated that the parade and festival may make a move to downtown.

Officially nothing has been announced, and no final decisions have been made (St. Pete Pride’s website still shows last year’s route), but that didn’t stop the battle from waging as the fact that the lot across from where Georgie’s once was is not (and never was) owned by Georgie’s came to light. Many came to the defense of St. Pete Pride calling the other side “keyboard warriors” and stressing that everyone should wait and see before getting upset. An announcement should hopefully be coming soon from the St. Pete Pride camp and once we know, you will know.

TaMPa PRIDE cROWNs ThEIR quEEN

L

ong liVe the Queen … at least through 2016. Tampa Pride held its first Pride Pageant (last year Miss Tampa Pride was selected by the board based on merit) to crown the official Miss Tampa Pride 2016 in front of a packed house at Honey Pot Jan. 17. The reigning queen, Miss Esme Russell, crowned Alexis Mateo as Miss Tampa Pride.

First runner-up went to Amy DeMilo and second runner-up was Kyla Santi. The seven community selected judges assessed the contestants on talent, evening gown and Q&A (don’t worry, no contestants pulled a Miss South Carolina and such as, as in you know) and with queens as beautiful as those that performed the real winner of the night was anyone with eyes.

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the good plan: Television and film star Alan Cumming attends a reception/ fundraiser for Planned Parenthood before his performance at The Straz Center in Tampa Jan. 24. Photo COURTESY OF SUSAN SMITH

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history channeled: Steve Hammond speaks to the audience at a special presentation from TIGLFF of the documentary Upstairs Inferno at MCC Tampa Jan. 22. PHOTO COURTESY OF

THE TAMPA BAY INTERNATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL

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icon see you: Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner (L) and iconic civil rights leader Dick Gregory at the Tampa Black Heritage Festival at the Marti-Maceo Club in Tampa Jan. 19.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN BECKNER

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mrs. smith goes to tallahassee: Equality Florida’s Nadine Smith takes the stage for a press conference at the Florida Capitol hours before the State Senate took to the floor to discuss SB 110 (Religious Organizations Protection) and SB 120 (Competitive Workforce) in Tallahassee Jan. 26. Photo COURTESY OF MICHAEL FARMER

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sparkling diamonds: (L-R) Michael Smith, Austin Dyess and Steve Blanchard celebrate the winners of the 2016 Diamonds at the Tampa Garden Club Jan. 16. PHOTO BY JAKE STEVENS

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Queen of the pride: 2016 Miss Tampa Pride Alexis Mateo (center) looks over her subjects with first runner-up amy DeMilo (L) and second runner-up Kyla Santi at the Miss Tampa Pageant at Honey Pot Jan. 17. Photo

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COURTESY OF MARK TAYLOR MELNICK

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fashionistas: (L-R) Valarie White, Carla Vaughan and Denise Milligan take in fashion and art at Cocktails & Couture Tampa Bay at The Ritz Ybor Jan. 16. PHOTO COURTESY OF

VALARIE WHITE

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star power: ashley Brundage (L) and Gina Duncan draw big crowds (they needed to move to a bigger room!) as they speak to students at USF Jan. 22. PHOTO COURTESY OF

ASHLEY BRUNDAGE

watermark Your LGBT life.

8 7 Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

overheard

ORlaNDO OuT+aBOuT

uNBREakaBlE fIlMING

T

he netflix mega-hit UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT has renewed for a second season, and there seems to be a surprise in the new season. Possible spoiler: a casting call was out for looking for extras for filming to take place at Universal Orlando Resort. The casting call specifically asked for coaster enthusiasts. The filming started and wrapped mid-January. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a fast paced comedy co-created

by SNL and 30 Rock’s Tina Fey, produced as a Netflix original sitcom. It focuses on Kimmy, one of the survivors of a group known as the “mole women,” who were lured to an underground bunker by a leader of a doomsday cult. Led to believe the world above was pretty much destroyed, Kimmy and the rest of the mole women remained in that bunker for 15 years until they were rescued. The show hysterically deals with the inexperienced 29 year old trying to survive in New York City without disclosing her past. The show was originally pitched to NBC, but it was passed on as it was rumored NBC was worried regarding the extreme tonguein-cheek content regarding homosexuality and race. Orlando Attractions Magazine posted a photo to their Instagram showing Ellie Kemper (Kimmy) and another actress filming in front of Shrek 4D; no word if Titus Burgess who play Titus Andromedon will make an appearance in the Orlando portion of the show.

We would truly love to hear Titus’ Peeno Noir (Pinot Noir) performed live at the Universal Music Plaza where they host the Mardi Gras concert series.

sPEcTaculaRly cEasED aND DEsIsTED

m

ichael wanZie recently posted a letter he received from a New York law firm representing Radio City Music hall. The letter indicated their concerns with the Footlight Theatre hit, the Orange Blossom Trail “Living Nativity” Christmas Spectacular. According to the letter, “Christmas Spectacular” (as in Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular) is protected by the U.S. Trademark Registration, and that protection is incontestable. The letter went on to say, “We are concerned that any further use of CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR by you may adversely affect Radio City’s rights in its valuable mark by causing confusion with or diluting the Radio City mark.

Consumers who see advertisements for other CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR shows may no longer associate CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR exclusively with Radio City.” We’re glad these lawyers brought this to Michael Wanzie’s attention, as many have often wondered where the line of high-kicking girls were going to appear during this holiday show taking place at the Parliament’s Footlight Theatre.

The letter concluded asking Michael Wanzie that he confirm that he will be using another name for his show. May we recommend The Orange Blossom Tail Living Nativity Christmas Spectacle?

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bike bucks: (L to R) Glen Weinzimer, Founder of TSR Adventures presents Miracle of Love’s Angus Bradshaw, Ray Riversa, Nicola Norton and Greg Mason with a check for $123,000 raised through The Smart Ride, to fight HIV. They’re pictured with John Rogatzki, President and CEO of TSR Adventures.

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sealed with a QuiZ: Brendan O’Conner and Christina Sockol stop by The Hammered Lamb to wish trivia host Scottie Campbell (center) a happy birthday Jan. 19. PHOTO BY JAMIE HYMAN

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funding the future: Zebra Coalition receives a $100,000 grant from the Orlando Magic Youth & McCormick Foundation that will help support case management and housing services. Photo COURTESY ZEBRA COALITION

4

skate for a cause: Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls league members (L to R) Lauren Hartley, Lauren Richards and Victoria Bush present a $150 donation to Blue Star for The Barber Fund, OPCDG’s game charity for the season closer in November 2015. Photo by anDRea URRea

watermark Your LGBT life.

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support women’s health: County Comptroller Martha Haynie speaks outside the office of State Rep. Mike Miller, R-Orlando, to urge him to vote against ridiculous abortion restrictions up for debate in committee. PHOTO BY BILLY MANEs

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number one: Lightning Strikes out of Ft. Lauderdale are the Women’s Competitive Division winners in the 2016 Orlando Meltdown Tournament which was held Jan. 15-17 and hosted by Central Florida Softball League. Photo by toM DyeR

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arts award: Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer (center) is awarded a National Award for Local Arts Leadership at The United States Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting Jan. 22 in Washington D.C. Photo COURTESY THE CITY OF ORLANDO

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famous faces: While performing in Aspen, Ginger Minj (left) along with Ivy Winters, get their Greek on with Nia Vardalos, whose sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding hits theaters in March. Photo

VIA MINJ’S FACEBOOK PAGE

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Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

announcements

WEDDING BElls

Rob Johnson, 54, and Stephen Gibson, 45 From St. Petersburg, FL

years TOgeTHer:

8 years

Photo COURTESY OF JOHNSON AND GIBSON

engagemenT daTe:

Jorge-ous: Handsome WFTV News 9 anchor Jorge Estevez celebrates his birthday January 31.

October 18, 2015

PHOTO BY LEE VANDERGRIFT

wedding daTe:

lOcal BirTHdays

december 24, 2015

wedding venue:

At a friend’s gazebo in Treasure Island

s

tephen gibson, who oVersees

vacation rentals and entertains as “Stephane

wedding Blair,” and Rob Johnson, who is a graphic caTerer: designer by trade, met online toward the end of Their cake was done by Cake

by Carolynn A Special Touch

wedding cOlOrs:

Beach theme with their colors being aqua and magenta

inTeresTing facT:

They met online in 2007 and were living in two different states at the time.

Rob ended up moving to St. Petersburg to be with Stephen.

2007. Stephen noticed they had a lot in common, so he decided to message Rob. “I got this message and email, and it said it was this guy from Florida,” Rob says. “And I was like ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to meet anybody from out of town.’ He and I started talking, and it got to the point where we would send messages back and forth online all the time, then we started talking on the phone and then we started talking on the phone every day.”

Stephen was able to take some time off around his birthday, so he told Rob, who was living in Texas at the time, because he couldn’t come to Florida for his birthday, that he would go there. He arrived there on January 4, 2008 – Stephen’s birthday—and that’s where it all started.

After visiting each other back and forth for months, Rob put his house up for sale to move to St. Pete to live with Stephen in August 2008.

Years passed, and they only grew fonder of each other, but

in March 2013, things started to change for Rob and his health.

“I would mow the grass, and I would be sick for a few days afterward,” Rob recalls.

In August 2014, Rob was diagnosed with plasma blastic lymphoma.

Eventually, Rob received a stem cell transplant in March 2015, and Stephen became Rob’s fulltime caregiver. Stephen would go back and forth to from the Moffitt Cancer Center to their home to take care of their animals and take care of anything else.

Before Rob got sick, he put a lot of time and money into trying to get their new place fixed up, but when he got sick, he didn’t see how their house was coming along for a year.

“His words were: ‘Well, this could be my last Christmas, so I really want to enjoy it,’” Stephen recalls.

Stephen wanted to have

renovations done by the time he finally came back to their house December 28, 2015. It was his Christmas surprise — Stephen finished most of the house project.

Stephen proposed to Rob on a Saturday after his ROTC practice at a Vietnamese restaurant. He got flowers and a cake, and on the cake, he had them write, “Rob, will you marry me?” At the end of the dinner, he tried to play it off and ask for the check. The waiters were in on it and brought the cake out.

Rob said “yes”.

They had a very small and exclusive wedding ceremony because of Rob’s health issue. They got married at a friend’s gazebo on Treasure Island. They had a sunset behind them on their wedding day.

A ROTC friend of theirs performed the ceremony.

They went in to apply for their marriage license on December 21, 2015, their anniversary date, and got married on December 24, 2015.

“It makes you think differently when you have a conversation with someone, and instead of saying ‘my partner,’ like I’ve said for eight years, now say ‘my husband’—and there’s no question of who that would be,” Stephen says.

Orlando performer, beauty expert and straight ally Ellen Jewell and St. Matthew’s Tavern co-owner Matthew Fassl; Faith Arts Village Executive Director Will Benton (Jan. 28); Lightning fast jammer haley Perry; FSU grad, adorable cub and Ocala muse bill Bondank (Jan. 30); marketing pro Ken Kundis; WFTV News 9 anchor Jorge Estevez (Jan. 31); Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, St. Petersburg massage therapist Emily Stone, Tampa Softball player and Verizon rep thomas hale, Orlando softball hunk Jason Hamm and barber, Southern Nights owner Rick Kowalczyk and former Tampa resident James Bowman Harris (Feb. 1); Pinellas Park graduate and new south Florida resident Miguel Rivera and Orlando AIDS advocate and The Center board member Lee Kirkpatrick (Feb. 2); Tampa entertainer Daphne Ferraro, Gulfport theater addict Rob McCabe (Feb. 3); former TIGLFF executive director Margaret Murray and Tampa Sister of Perpetual Indulgence Monica MuffDiver, AKA Scott Ryan (Feb. 4);Tampa art enthusiast and Orlando Fringe board member Daniel Blumberg (Feb. 5); Super photographer James “Canonball” Bennett (Feb. 6); Orlando fitness guru Tony Edge and Mango’s Tropical Café’s sexiest dancer Jan Echevarria; real estate agent Eric Puzone (Feb. 7); 1st Dance Studio owner and St. Petersburg dance instructor Julia Meyerovich-Neighbors (Feb. 8); Co-owner of Orlando’s Hamburger Mary’s Mike Rogier (Feb. 9); Southern Nights bartender Melody Monet, Creative Tile Design of St. Petersburg owner Tom O’Keefe and St. Petersburg hair stylist and cyclist Ric Castro (Feb. 10)

dO yOu Have an annOuncemenT? Having a BirTHday Or anniversary? did yOu geT a new JOB Or prOmOTiOn? See your news in Watermark! Send your announcement to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition.

iT’s THaT easy!

—Samantha Rosenthal

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

watermark Your LGBT life.

Ja nua ry 28 - F eb rua ry 10, 2016 // Issue 2 3.02

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uPRIsINGs Guess what America, I don’t think this guy [Donald Trump] should really be president! I’m just here ‘cause he promised me a spot in his Cabinet. I belong in a cabinet because I’m full of spice, and I’ve got a great rack.

—tina fey as sarah palin on saturday night liVe, Jan. 23

BuckhORN TO ThE REscuE!

n

eVer one to shy away from tough topics, liberal Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn climbed on the glimmering op-ed soapbox (provided by the Tampa Bay Times) to speak against attempts by the Florida Legislature to squeeze through more open-carry freedoms, because everyone LOVES NRA legend Marion Hammer. Buckhorn, who actively fought for Tampa Pride and has been a proud supporter of samesex marriage, came out swinging in his essay. “It threatens public safety, tourism, economic development job creation and our quality of life,” he wrote. “Moreover, I believe it is a foolish and ineffective solution to the gun violence epidemic sweeping our nation. More guns do not equate to safer streets.” Buckhorn pledged to join the Florida Sheriffs Association, and others opposing what appears to be dying legislation, even though he’s a self-professed gun owner himself.

“Think about what’s at stake, and how dramatically this legislation could transform the Sunshine State’s magic into something much darker.”

46

GaETz sTRONG-aRMs aRMsTRONG

T

here’s been a lot of noise lately about the frightening increase in HIV/ AIDS infections in Florida, and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, isn’t going to let that noise die down. Dr. John Armstrong, who was previously appointed by Gov. Rick Scott as Florida’s surgeon general, is facing senate scrutiny for an actual confirmation the last week of January.

The state Department of Health has decreased its staffing from 17,107 to 14,358, the Tampa Bay Times reports; Gov. Scott intends to decrease it by more than 700 positions in the coming year. Armstrong contends that the agency is spending more than it ever has on HIV prevention – an estimated $34 million – but his critics point to his own inability to lead on the issue. Still, when Florida becomes the highest-ranking state for HIV infections (6,240 new cases in 2015) under your watch, especially while the rest of the nation is seeing improvement, there’s likely a leadership issue here. And it might be Scott’s issue, not Armstrong’s.

aNOThER GREaT schIsM

T

he israeli-palestinian conflict has found a new home within the LGBTQ community, Slate.com reports. At the Jan. 22 Creating Change Conference, an event put on by the National LGBTQ Task Force, push came to shove when the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity came to protest blows with A Wider Bridge, a Jewish LGBT organization. A planned reception by the Jewish contingent was cancelled and then reinstated, Slate reports, an act which drew hundreds of protesters against Zionism and “pinkwashing.”

Slate writer Mark Joseph Stern points out that A Wider Bridge doesn’t hold any stake in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and says that accusations of “pinkwashing” – meaning Israel’s olive branches toward LGBTQ civil rights are only built to distract from other human rights issues within the country – are unfounded. The author then goes on to call the LGBTQ-left anti-Semitic.

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ThE OPPOsITE Of PROGREss

W

Billy Manes

hat if somebody came up to your party (which, for now, we’ll call “your life”) and told you through his or her whitened teeth that all of the victories you’ve fought for, all of the freedoms promised to you by your own constitution in your own country, didn’t matter anymore? We know, we know: This is the same sweaty-pitted badminton argument that comes along with every legislative back-and-forth session, either state or national. Red! Blue! Green!

Translucent! But what if those values were so fundamental that their rolling back might result in you rolling into a ball and effectively giving up?

There’s a certain hollowness that comes with these realizations, an identity crisis that sets you apart from what your therapist might call the “river” to which sides you are supposed to cling when you need to catch a breath in a pause in life. Has your chest ever ached with the breadth of absolute futility? Well, given the current climate of state legislators (and presidential candidates) parading a nihilistic Mardi Gras against the rights of women and LGBT people (sometimes both!), that ache should inspire you to do more.

On Jan. 25, we attended a press conference for Planned Parenthood, an agency that has been so maligned by the far right that it might has well be hanging from a tree in the suburbs, and our chest caved a bit. It’s not just because of the same old triggers of legislation – this year’s hot new cover of state Rep. Chuck Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, “Florida for Life” bill (HB 865) is a real treat if you don’t want women to have any reproductive rights; that “Pastor Protection Bill” from a grinning state Rep. Scott Plakon, which is an anti-gay Footloose dance with cruelty, is a cute follow-up – because now it’s getting far more personal.

Planned Parenthood director of public policy Anna V. Eskamani took to the mic at the Jan. 25 presser outside the office of state Rep. Mike Miller, R-Orlando, to speak of a cascade of “rapidly moving” bills full of “unnecessary regulations” for abortion providers.

With polling in District 47 – represented by Miller, a Republican who once stood up for equality at an Equality Florida mixer – showing majority support for reproductive freedom, Miller’s vote should likely reflect both the law and his constituency.

“We want to talk about prevention,” Eskamani said. “Rep. Miller, don’t stand on the wrong side of history,” another speaker reiterated.

But these are crazy times, and we have a crazy history. An Associated Press report on Jan. 22 highlighted the fight for a similar legislative maneuvering on rolling back same-sex marriage (along with Roe v. Wade, which just turned 43 this month). It was defeated. Then a cadre of legislators fell to the ground in prayer. Seriously.

We need to stand together. This fight is far from over. Nor is your party.

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