Watermark Issue 24.01: Eli Sellers

watermark Your LGBTQ Life.

issUe 24.01 • Jan. 12-25, 2017 WaterMarkOnLine.cOM

Stripes Zebra Coalition graduate and trans champion Eli sellers makes us all proud

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

deparTmenTs 6 // mail/carTOOn 7 // ediTOrs desk 11 // OrlandO news 13 // Tampa Bay news 17 // sTaTe news 19 // naTiOn & wOrld news 25 // primer 43 // cOmmuniTy calendar 45 // Tampa Bay OuT+aBOuT 47 // OrlandO OuT+aBOuT 48 // Tampa Bay markeTplace 49 // wedding Bells 50// OrlandO markeTplace

PAGE

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Donald and I have been very good friends for years … Oh, by the way, there’s one more reason: I always listen to my mom, and my mom is with Donald Trump, and so am I. —pam BondI

On THe cOver

PAGE

35

PAGE TRUE COLORS:

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Zebra Coalition success story Eli Sellers hopes to stand on the shoulders of giants and continue to make a difference in the community.

Photo by Jake Stevens

scan Qr cOde fOr

waTermarkOnline.cOm

leave a lampanelli On: The queen of mean returns to Florida, but does so with a wink of kindness … and a dog on her lap.

waTermark i ssue 24 .01 //J anuary 12 - J anuary 25, 2017

a sHOT in THe dark

diamOnds and pearls yOu’re Hired

candle wicked

PAGE Progressive legislators and activists attempt a ban on assault weapons just as Republicans ask for more guns … and more people get shot.

PAGE The Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce returns with the annual Diamond Awards Jan. 21, however branded under the new name.

PAGE

Read It Online!

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

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PAGE

Speculation surrounds Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s role in the coming Trump administration.

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As the Wizard of Oz prequel comes to town, the cast makes it out for an evening.

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WOnDERInG WhaT TO DO ThIs WEEkEnD? vIEW OuR COMMunITy CalEnDaR aT WaTERMaRkOnlInE.COM watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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TOp weB cOmmenTs “I will be avoiding buying books published by simon & schuster as a result of their decision to give this cretin a platform.”

—gIna-renÉe clarK

smile

If you while no one else is around, you really mean it.

WHITENING

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waTermark’s faceBOOk:

On ORlanDO CITy sOCCER unvEIlInG ThE nEW sTaDIuM’s RaInBOW sECTIOn DEDICaTED TO ThE PulsE vICTIMs:

—LINDSEY MILLSAP

“WOW!!! Impressive!

This would be the only place I would sit.”

Elena C. Puig, DMD

2009 Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Gold Medal Award & Members Choice Award Winner

—MICHELLE EGAN ONDICK

Clermont 352.483.9700

Mount Dora 352.483.9100

Orlando 407.434.8800

Ormond Beach 386.898.0303

On ufC’s ROnDa ROusEy lOsInG TO OPEnly Gay aManDa nunEs In unDER a MInuTE:

—ELIZABETH NICOLE

6

On GOsPEl sInGER kIM BuRREll MakInG anTIGay COMMEnTs Days BEfORE a sChEDulED aPPEaRanCE On EllEn:

“She’s a minority who wants equality and acceptance, but she won’t

www.firstGREENbank.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

On COnOR kEnnEDy GETTInG aRREsTED In BaR fIGhT DEfEnDInG hIs Gay fRIEnD:

“Probably won’t be his last bar fight in a ritzy resort town.”

“She may have been physically ready but not emotionally ready for this fight. Both are great fighters. Rousey needs to center herself. She was best when she was single and now she’s in a complicated situation. I’d like to see a rematch of these two again but only when Rousey is 100 percent. She was more like 75 percent.”

Winter Park 321.203.2900

—RYAN HUNTINGTON

—LUCAS BARSZCZ

“Maybe this is the beginning of change in NC.”

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extend that acceptance to others? This isn’t Christian, this is pure hate and sadly within the African American community gays are despised. Of course that hatred is based on biblical beliefs yet their Jesus never shared a single anti-gay message biblically.”

“Good for him. His grandfather would be proud his grandson took a stand for his friend. [Robert] Kennedy was a great man.”

On nORTh CaROlIna’s nEW GOvERnOR TakInG OffICE:

LEADING THE CHANGE

“Congratulations Brandon!”

—JOY WINHEIM

“Love this organization so much. Their support for the community is remarkable.”

1600 E. Hillcrest St. Orlando, FL 32803 407-502-4883 www.dsdorlando.com

On EPIC’s JOy WInhEIM anD ThE DRu PROJECT’s BRanDOn WOlf aPPEaRInG On WaTERMaRk’s MOsT REMaRkaBlE PEOPlE COvERs:

—PAIGE OATIS

—PATRICK HOWELL

ON LESLIE JORDAN CONFIRMING A NEW SEASON OF WILL & GRACE FOR FALL 2017:

“Yasssss!”

—PAM HARDIN

On MIlO yIannOPOulOs’ BOOk MOvInG fORWaRD DEsPITE BaCklash:

“I’ve personally read his vile hate speech on Twitter, tweets that he personally wrote designed to inflict maximum harm. I’ve never seen anything so vicious.

I will be avoiding buying books published by Simon & Schuster as a result of their decision to give this cretin a platform.”

—GINA-RENÉE CLARK

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

“Joy, to you as well!”

—BRANDON WOLF

waTermark’s TwiTTer:

On sT. PETE PRIDE MOvInG TO DOWnTOWn sT. PETERsBuRG:

“Sorry, we won’t be going any longer. You need to listen to the people and stop doing what YOU want to do.

St. Pete Pride has always been in the Grand Central District from the beginning and supported Pride. I hope you remember what happened to Tampa Pride.

You are on the same track to killing St. Pete Pride.”

—@MEEGGERT

“Thanks for the Tweet.

We encourage you to visit StPetePride.com to learn more. Reduced costs being a major factor.”

—@STPETEPRIDE

On BRanDOn WOlf MakInG ThE COvER Of ThE ORlanDO EDITIOn Of MOsT REMaRkaBlE PEOPlE:

“Proud to see Brandon Wolf land on the cover of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People edition taking my spot from last year!”

—@CARLOSGSMITH

On MIGuEl & hOlly BEInG CallED TaMPa Bay’s WIll & GRaCE:

“It’s more like Will and Karen! Miguel is supportive and lovely and Holly is full of sass!”

—@SOSHOREQT

editor’s

Billy Manes EDITOR

BIlly@WatermarkOnline.com

I

Desk

t’s so easy to get down in times

like these. You may not see it coming, but then, there you are rolling off a cliff into the abyss of misspent memories and into that gurgling pool of anxiety.

You don’t know what’s next, but you do know that it probably won’t be good, just because. Just because.

This isn’t an attempt to stifle anyone’s New Year’s affectations for 2016’s knock-em-down, kick-em-hard disappointments going away, but more of a knowing glance.

We’re seeing things we’ve never seen before – well, we always have been seeing new things (it’s nature), but these things seem to hurt more.

For me, it was the Ft. Lauderdale airport shootings and the illogical reaction that more guns in airports could have solved them. A couple of years ago, it was the massacre at Sandy Hook of innocent children.

But just in the last year, there seems to have been a crescendo – whether media-driven or not – wherein

watermark staff

the bass line just kicks you in the gut. Shots fired in Turkey, in Fort Lauderdale, in Orlando; police officers dying while trying to address other slain police officers while a gunman remains on the loose. It doesn’t seem fair, but nobody has the strength to lift the lid off this hole in the ground; nobody seems to care, really. Well, they Facebook “care,” but that will get you a few made-up people psycho-friending you from the nethers of cyberspace and maybe a little more disappointment on the side.

However, this isn’t the end of the world, at least not yet. When Meryl Streep took her classic turn at this

week’s Golden Globes, speaking down the President-elect of this nation without even speaking his name, she brought some truth to the table. Some much needed truth in this golden age of hubris.

“This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing,” she said. “Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence.

And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”

Well, we’re not all losing yet. It’s a new year, maybe a time to stop reflecting and start regrouping. The pieces are there for some kind of revival of spirit. Just look into the eyes of our cover-story star this week, Eli Sellers, who has faced every challenge in coming out as transgender in the military. Do you see tears?

“Being a little bit older, having learned a lot more, I would like to be a voice for the community,” he says in the story. “Not only for myself but for people who need the inspiration, who didn’t get it as easy as I have. I think that would be something really cool to be able to stand with those other greats.”

Standing with the greats it shall be, then. Sellers is incredibly inspirational, and perhaps a much needed one for us being trumped down by this winter of hate.

Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find more tales of shifting tides and adaptation to new lives. Our own publisher Rick Claggett reveals far more of his heart than print generally requires in his column on making his own huge personal decision to move forward. Several of our greatest representatives are pushing back on the gun issue even if said pushback will likely fall under the Hammer of the National Rifle Association (it already has, actually; equal and opposite legislation may turn the southeast into the wild west via open-carry legislation).

It’s not the time to get smug

Well, we’re not all losing yet. It’s a new year, maybe a time to stop reflecting and start regrouping. The pieces are there for some kind of revival of spirit.

great effect for centuries, with great effect. Just don’t give up. Please, don’t give up.

But if you need to, just for a few minutes, check out our stories on Lisa Lampanelli and Wicked, and distract yourself from those strange feelings of overused, heavy gravity.

Oh, Attorney General Pam Bondi is in here, too, but don’t let her get you down. She’s likely going up to that White House in the northeast and never looking back.

In short, we hate to sound like a self-help book, but we’ve all been through a lot over the past year. Let’s try to make it easier for someone else in 2017. Look to Watermark for ideas. We’ll be stewing on them, developing them and serving them up. So here we go.

No looking down.

Orlando Office

Founder and Guiding Light: Tom Dyer • Tom@WatermarkOnline.com

Sales Director: Danny Garcia

Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 • Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

Ext. 108 • Danny@WatermarkOnline.com

Office Manager: Kathleen Harper • Ext. 100 • Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

Senior Account Manager: Sam Callahan

Editor-in-Chief: Billy Manes • Ext. 101 • Billy@WatermarkOnline.com

Ext. 103 • Sam@WatermarkOnline.com

Staff Writer: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 • Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

Account Manager: Suzanne Sidler

Art Director: Jake Stevens • Ext. 109 • Jake@WatermarkOnline.com Creative Assistant: Andrea Bosiger • Ext. 102 • AdProduction@WatermarkOnline.com Proofreading: Ed Blaisdell

about it, though. “They’re all the same,” you say. “Politicians are made of the dirt that lines the road to the apocalypse,” you say. Well, come March, you can take your own dirt road on the scenic view to Tallahassee and let them know how you feel. You can march here in Florida or up in Washington, D.C., for women’s rights that are also meeting the chisel. And let us not forget that we are still not an equal population in terms of rights; none of us in the minority (or as minorities) are. It may sound like a broken record if you read Watermark with any frequency – this whole “resist” mantra – but that tune has been going on to

Ext. 301 • Suzanne@WatermarkOnline.com Nat’l Ad Representative: Rivendell Media Inc. • 212-242-6863

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

414 N. Ferncreek Ave. Orlando, FL 32803 TEL: 407-481-2243 FAX: 407-481-2246

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

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

contributors Krista DiTucci

is a freelance writer and family advocate for Manatee Children’s Services. She lives in Sarasota with her husband and children. Page 10

Aaron Alper is a

photographer and writer in St. Petersburg.

He holds a Masters in English Education from the University of South Florida. Page 27

Samantha Rosenthal

attended University of Central Florida and is a former Watermark editorial assistant. She is currently a freelance writer and regularly covers Wedding Bells. Page 41

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 LVNLIF2 Distributing, Lisa Jordan, Jill Bates, Ken Carraway 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.

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7

What is TRUVADA for PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)?

TRUVADA is a prescription medicine that can be used for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection when used together with safer sex practices. This use is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This includes HIV-negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and male-female sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV-1. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP?

Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must be HIV-negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. uMany HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. uYou must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uTo further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: • Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior.

• Have fewer sex partners.

• Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. uIf you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: uToo much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats. uSerious liver problems. Your liver may become large and tender, and you may develop fat in your liver. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain.

uYou may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you

are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time.

In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions. uWorsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider tells you to stop taking TRUVADA, they will need to watch you closely for several months to monitor your health. TRUVADA is not approved for the treatment of HBV.

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP? Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you also take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: uKidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do

blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uBone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. uChanges in body fat, which can happen in people taking TRUVADA or medicines like TRUVADA. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? uAll your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or

have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

uIf you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can

harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Pregnancy Registry: A pregnancy registry collects information about your health and the health of your baby. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take medicines to prevent HIV-1 during pregnancy. For more information about the registry and how it works, talk to your healthcare provider. uIf you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. The medicines in TRUVADA can pass to your baby in breast milk. If you become HIV-1 positive, HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. uAll the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. uIf you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA for PrEP, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include ledipasvir with sofosbuvir (HARVONI).

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

Have you heard about

TRUVADA for PrEP ?

TM

The once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when used with safer sex practices.

• TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex.

• You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA. Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

visit start.truvada.com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

9

IMPORTANT FACTS (tru-VAH-dah)

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP

Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP" section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Bone problems.

• Changes in body fat.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-1 negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • Tell your healthcare provider if you have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away.

• If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How to Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats.

• Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you become HIV-1 positive because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• You must practice safer sex by using condoms and you must stay HIV-1 negative.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP (PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS) TRUVADA is a prescription medicine used with safer sex practices for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk: • HIV-1 negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex.

• Male-female sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not.

To help determine your risk, talk openly with your doctor about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).

TRUVADA, the TRUVADA Logo, TRUVADA FOR PREP, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and HEPSERA are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Version date: April 2016

• Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior.

• Have fewer sex partners.

• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

central florida news

acc likely TO mOve cHampiOnsHip frOm nc again if law remains Staff Report lIvIng wIth the law: Carlos

Smith, Linda Stewart and others speak out

standing our ground State legislators take action to prevent gun violence Billy Manes

I

n a time in which gun violence has reached critical mass – including but not limited to the Pulse massacre on the night of June 12 – two recently elected legislators are looking to do something about the scourge of assault weapons. On Jan. 5, State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and State Sen. Linda Stewart took to the steps of the Orange County Courthouse to introduce their companion bills, HB 167 and SB 254, each designed to limit the availability of assault weapons in Florida.

“I am proud to stand with everyone that I see here today to act. I look forward to seeing you in Tallahassee. If you think it’s going to be easy, it’s not. But we will need all of you there behind us, helping us.” Florida Senator-elect Linda Stewart said.

It will be difficult, especially considering the Democratic Party minority in the legislature is being faced down by an increasingly gun-supporting Republican Party

that has long been backed by the National Rifle Association. That side of the aisle is seeking a huge expansion of gun rights, including open carry, campus carry, and allowing guns in airport terminals.

“We have a responsibility to act,” Stewart said, flanked by Smith, the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, the League of Women Voters, among other organizing groups. “If not now, when?”

Both companion bills specify (at length) the assault weapons the pair hopes to take on in the March legislative session, including the ammunition (or magazines) that lead to quick-fire opportunities.

“Any person who, within this state, distributes, transports, or imports into the state, sells, keeps for sale or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives any assault weapon or large capacity ammunition … commits a felony of the third degree,” the text reads.

Smith’s bill mirrors the extensive attempt.

“Why can the gun manufacturers do this? Because we let them. No more,” he said, defiantly. “After 20

children were murdered in their first-grade classroom at Sandy Hook by a deranged, non-Muslim domestic terrorist using the Bush Master XM 15, leaders in Connecticut, they came together.

They came together to help the Newtown community rebuild, their legislature also took bold action and sent the governor a sweeping ban on assault weapons and magazines which he signed into law. It was the right thing to do. They did it to protect their citizens from another mass shooting. And it’s time for Florida to do the same.”

In an effort to understand the appeal of assault weapons for civilians, Smith put the word out on Facebook that he was looking for a range at which to fire one. It apparently worked.

“Recently, I had the opportunity to fire an assault weapon for myself, the same weapon of mass destruction that was used to murder our 49 friends at Pulse,” he said on Jan. 5.

He then apologized for being graphic, but explained that he really wanted the point to be made: Nobody in civilian life needs an assault weapon.

“This bill is about fighting for the safety of our friends and our communities,” he said. “We are fighting for our 49 friends who didn’t deserve to die. We are Orlando United. We are unapologetic in our demands for bold action from our elected leaders. We will not be intimidated or discouraged by the lack of logic or reason from our opponents. This is our fight. We are not going anywhere.”

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a

tlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford says the conference is likely to move its football championship game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, again if a state law that limits anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people is not repealed or adjusted.

Swofford gave no timetable Sunday for a decision on whether to relocate the 2017 game but he did say the conference will not wait as long as it did last year to move the game.

The ACC followed the NCAA’s lead and decided in September to pull its championship from Charlotte in response to North Carolina’s so-called ``bathroom bill.’’

“If something changes in the state of North Carolina that would be welcome,” Swofford said.

“Our presidents made what they believe is a principled decision in that regard as to where our championships should be held and shouldn’t. I don’t see that principle changing.”

The law limits protections for LGBT people and was best known for a provision that requires transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates. It was passed last year after Charlotte officials approved a sweeping anti-discrimination ordinance. A deal to repeal the law fell apart in late December.

“We don’t have an exact deadline but it needs to be sooner than it was last year,” Swofford said.

“When that decision was made in September it was tough on fans, it was tough on the league.”

The ACC ended up playing its title game in Orlando. Swofford called bringing it back to Orlando a ``viable option.’’

“The people in Orlando did a marvelous job of putting together that game and managing it and working with us to make it as good as it could possibly be,” Swofford said. ``They were just outstanding. But you really need time to develop, market and promote for longer than a couple of months a game of that magnitude.

“I would not see us waiting until that late in the game to make a determination on where we are next year.”

The next meeting with the ACC presidents is scheduled for March, Swofford said.

“If it’s repealed I think I know what the answer would be with our presidents,” he said. “If it’s an adjustment and a partial repeal ... I don’t know.”

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

tampa bay news

The Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce starts 2017 off with the third annual Diamonds in Diversity Jeremy Williams

CHEERS, THEN: Rockell

Blu, Joshua Beadle, Tyler Butler, and Joel Pozo at the launch party for Sarasota OUT

Better together Sarasota’s LGBTQ community unites for Sarasota OUT Krista DiTucci

S

ARASOTA | People in the Sarasota area looking for LGBT-friendly resources now have a one-stop shop for their needs thanks to Sarasota OUT, Sarasota’s new LGBT directory of events and businesses.

“I think Sarasota OUT could be the driving force to help make the LGBT community come together,” Sarasota OUT manager Josh Beadle says.

Beadle says he and Al Ferguson, owner of Al and Chuck Travel, have discussed the issue of unification within the Sarasota LGBTQ community. Beadle says he and Ferguson noticed that several LGBT organizations were going in separate directions and no one was coming together to support each other.

“I wanted to give us the one place to go to see what’s going on in Sarasota,” Beadle says. “And Al (Ferguson) lit the candle under my ass to do that.”

The website launched on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, 2016,

and is already getting up to 2,000 hits per week. The site is self-sustaining – people can log on and post their own events, businesses, and blogs. Beadle says user-controlled content will ultimately lead to the website’s success. John Secor, Sarasota Film Festival director, is writing cinema-related content for the site.

“Before I moved to Sarasota, I kept my eye on LGBT events going on and the options were slim,” Secor says. “There was one gay bar in town and no true gatherings.

It wasn’t until I moved down here and found out about Gay Guy Happy Hour that I really felt connected. The website will be a great resource for all of us.”

Tyler Butler, leader of Sarasota’s “Out and About” community segments, is helping Beadle with media interviews.

Butler says by contributing to the site, he saw a great opportunity to network his services with Beadle’s and support the community.

“It’s going to be the first and only of its kind,” Butler says. “It’s the only entertainment blog and

directory for the gay community.

And it would be great to see Sarasota OUT branch out and become a directory all over.”

Beadle says the website took two years from start to finish; his biggest challenge was that he had difficulty maintaining it on his own. Now that the website is active, he says the biggest challenge will be getting people to participate since it’s new and people aren’t used to using it.

Butler says Sarasota OUT will be collaborating with the Sarasota Film Festival to show films, discuss and review them, and make the films publications of Beadle Media.

He says a gossip column is also in the works in which writers will be discussing gay events around town.

Sarasota OUT’s tagline is “The Pulse of Sarasota’s LGBT Community,” which Beadle says stems from a conversation in which Ferguson said, “If we as a community let the tragedy in Pulse act as a coming together, raising money and going back to our everyday lives, what good came out of it?”

“Ever since Orlando, I think we should keep in mind that we have a really big tent, and everyone should feel welcome and safe in that tent,” Secor says. “It bothered me to hear there was divisiveness in that tent. Let’s work to heal that division and remind people about the safe tent that is there for all of us.”

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T

AMPA BAY | The Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce returns with the annual Diamond Awards Jan. 21, however branded under the new name.

“The awards have a new name this year, the Diamonds in Diversity,” says Ashley Brundage, the Diversity Chamber’s president. “But we are still honoring and celebrating the best in business and community.”

The Diamond in Diversity Awards will be held at the Hilton Bayfront in St. Petersburg, and Brundage says it will carry the same style and elegance of the previous year’s ceremonies.

“The event will be attended by many of the most respected people of Tampa Bay; politicians, dignitaries and local celebrities,” she says.

The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will have representatives in attendance for the first time; NGLCC Senior Vice President Sam McClure will also be a presenter. Board members from the Metropolitan Business Association from Orlando will be in attendance.

Also in attendance will be the nominees, all hoping to take home a Diamond Award, although we all know it is just an honor to even be nominated.

The Business of the Year award is sure to drum up a little friendly competition as two of the Bay area’s favorite restaurants compete against each other.

Hamburger Mary’s and Punky’s Bar and Grill will go up against Tech Data and PNC Financial Service Groups.

Business Person of the Year nominees are Craig Beckinger from ABC Event Planning, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Anthony Quaglieri, Ph.D., Joey Romanik from The Hotchkiss Group and Julian Sanchez, MD of the Moffitt Cancer Center.

Nominees for the Non-Profit of the Year are Equality Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center, St. Pete Pride and the TampaBay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

The Community Champion of the Year Award, which will be presented by St. Petersburg mayor Rick Kriseman, will be awarded to either Advanced Recovery Systems’ Associate Chief Medical Officer Jason Fields, Sonny Hotchkiss of The Hotchkiss Group, Cathy James of the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative or the City of St. Petersburg’s Deputy Mayor Kineka Tomalin.

“I think this year’s nominees really showcase the diversity of our community and I think it’s important that we recognize their work,” Brundage says. “The Diamonds were built on recognition of those who sometimes do not get the recognized.”

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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PHOTO BY CHRIS STEPHENSON

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

state news

flOrida aTTOrney general said TO Be in line fOr pOsiTiOn in Trump Team Billy Manes

a

s expected, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is edging closer to a position on president-elect Donald Trump’s transition team. Though details are sparse, Bondi’s relationship with Trump is not. In 2013, Bondi received $25,000 in campaign contributions from Trump just as a state fraud case against Trump University was being weighed by her office. Ultimately, the case was dropped, an act which caused heavy scrutiny and forced Trump to pay a $2,500 fine to the Internal Revenue Service in 2016. In a separate case, Trump settled and paid $25 million to the plaintiffs.

“Look how many people Donald Trump is bringing out in America,” Bondi said in endorsing Trump earlier this year at a Tampa rally.

“Donald and I have been very good friends for years …Oh, by the way, there’s one more reason: I always listen to my mom, and my mom is with Donald Trump, and so am I.” “I look around this country and this world, and it frightens me now, and it should frighten all of us,” she said.

Bondi is just the latest of publicly anti-LGBTQ rights officials to make Trump’s shortlist. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has also been vocal on the issue.

Representative Tom Price, Betsy DeVos and Senator Jeff Sessions, picked by Trump, have also publicly come out against LGBTQ liberties.

Bondi’s history on gay marriage and a protracted lawsuit to ban it before it became legal in Florida in January 2015 is estimated to have cost taxpayers $500,000.

“We call on Attorney General Pam Bondi to reconsider this stand in this defining moment,” Equality Florida said in a 2014 statement.

“A defense of the indefensible only squanders our state’s resources and delays justice for hundreds of thousands of Florida families.

The majority of Floridians stand with us in support of marriage equality. We look forward to our day in court and are confident that

Florida attorney general Pam Bondi

equality under the law will prevail.”

Throughout the battle, which was appealed on the federal level, she stood by her position that gay marriage would cause “significant public harm,” ultimately because the structure of family in America would be challenged. Trump told FOX News earlier this year that he would strongly consider appointing Supreme Court judges to overturn the federal gay marriage from June 2015.

“Let me tell you. When I was sworn in as attorney general, I put my hand on the Bible and sworn to uphold the constitution of the state of Florida. That’s not a law. That was voted into our state constitution by the voters of Florida. That’s what I was defending. Had nothing to do – I’ve never said I don’t like gay people,” Bondi said in an interview with Anderson Cooper this summer.

“That’s ridiculous.”

Bondi’s broad political interference goes beyond LGBT rights, however. The attorney general was one of many Republican officials to join in a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act in 2015, particularly its clause to have states engage in Medicaid

expansion. That meant that nearly one million people were left in what is commonly referred to as “the gap.” But for her, it was a principled decision. And she bit back when the federal government threatened Florida’s low-income pool funding, accusing the feds of playing dirty.

“The federal government is trying to do precisely what the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution prohibits it from doing – forcing states to expand Medicaid by threatening to cut off funding for unrelated programs.

The President, once again, is overstepping his authority, this time by trying to force Florida to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act.” “We will not tolerate this blatant abuse of power by the federal government. Florida has been receiving LIP funding for nearly a decade, and for the President to use LIP funding as a bargaining chip to force the taxpayers of Florida to accept the Medicaid expansion, is not only wrong, but it is also unconstitutional.,” she said at the time. “Whether to expand Medicaid is a policy decision for Florida, and the decision should ultimately be made by Floridians, through their elected state officials, not by the federal government through force and coercion.”

Bondi “has been a very trusted confidante and supporter of the president-elect,” Trump spokesman Sean Spicer said on a conference call with reporters on Jan. 5, according to Bloomberg News. “I don’t want to get ahead of any decisions or any announcements that may or may not come but she has been a very important person both in terms of the campaign and the transition and is a very valued opinion in the president elect’s world right now.”

At a Tampa appearance on Jan. 5, Bondi would only say that “I’m very happy being attorney general. I’d never discuss anything confidential,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Bondi is to be termed out of the attorney general’s office in 2019.

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case againsT alleged faceBOOk “eXTerminaTOr” dismissed Wire Report

a

federal judge agreed with prosecutors on Wednesday to drop charges against a man accused of threatening on Facebook to “exterminate” gay people.

District Judge William Zloch dismissed the case against Craig Jungwirth, who had been indicted by a grand jury with interstate transmission of a threatening communication. He had faced a potential sentence of 10 to 16 months in prison.

Prosecutors had requested on Tuesday that the charges be dropped, six weeks after announcing in court that the evidence against Jungwirth was “weak,” according to a report in The Sun-Sentinel.

An FBI affidavit said Jungwirth, 50, of Orlando, posted several threats on Facebook against LGBT people in Wilton Manors, Florida, which has a large gay population. In August 2016, the affidavit said, Jungwirth threatened to launch a Labor Day attack bigger than the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando that killed 49 people and wounded dozens last June.

The case was based in part on a tipster’s screenshot of the Facebook post. But at a Nov. 15 Craig Jungwirth federal court hearing, prosecutor PHOTO COuRTESy Marc Anton told a judge that BROWARD SHERIff’S OffICE the evidence against Jungwirth was “weak” and circumstantial because investigators had been unable to definitively link the threat to him, even though the affidavit said the FBI was able to show that multiple threats were posted from his mother’s computer.

U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Sarah Schall declined comment.

rOse parade HOnOrs pulse vicTims Wire Report

a

float in the Rose Parade honored the victims and survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Los Angeles commissioned the float for Monday’s [Jan. 2] parade in Pasadena, California.

Foundation spokesman Ged Kenslea said the float honors the 49 people killed in the June 12 shootings. He said it also signals the ongoing fight against “homophobia that could have contributed to this massacre.”

Three survivors of the shooting, Pulse co-owner Barbara Poma and Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan [rode] on the float.

Everything on the float is made or covered with flowers.

Messages of condolence will hang on the float along with the words, ``To Honor and Remember Orlando.’’

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

nation+world news

LGBTQ activists view Obama as staunch champion of their cause Wire Report

I

t was a new look for the White House: illuminated in rainbow colors to celebrate the Supreme Court decision allowing same-sex marriage nationwide.

President Barack Obama, who was inside, felt the glow on that June night in 2015.

“To see people gathered in the evening outside on a beautiful summer night, and to feel whole and to feel accepted, and to feel that they had a right to love – that was pretty cool,” he said a few days later.

“Pretty cool.” That might be a fair description of how Obama himself is viewed by legions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans who consider him – among all of the nation’s presidents – the greatest champion of their rights and well-being.

The relationship was slow in developing.

Obama took office in 2009 as a self-described “fierce advocate” for gay rights, yet for much of his first term drew flak from impatient, skeptical activists who viewed him as too cautious, too politically expedient.

They were frustrated he wouldn’t endorse same-sex marriage – Obama cagily said he was “evolving” – and wanted him to move faster on several other issues. But the pace of Obama’s actions steadily accelerated.

In December 2010, he signed legislation enabling gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

In 2011, he directed government agencies to combat LGBTQ rights abuses internationally. By May 2012 – soon after Vice President Joe Biden set the example – Obama endorsed gay marriage.

His administration also stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal recognition to same-sex couples. That move helped clear the way for the Supreme Court’s historic same-sex marriage ruling in 2015.

In the nationwide marriage debate, Obama was not a pace-setter – a Gallup poll showed a majority of Americans supporting same-sex marriage a year before he did. But the

president didn’t pause at the stage; he continued throughout his two terms to find ways to support the LGBTQ community even when Congress was in partisan deadlock.

According to a tally by the Human Rights Campaign, Obama’s administration has made more than 125 changes to regulations and policies to expand LGBTQ rights, and Obama appointed more than 250 openly LGBTQ people to federal positions, including 15 judicial appointments and nine high-level diplomatic posts.

Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the policy achievements tell only part of the story.

“More than all of this, he honestly and without reservation embraced and celebrated our community as part of the human family,” she said. “He was not perfect, but he leaves a legacy that will be hard to beat.”

In the past year alone, there were several telling moments.

On June 16, Obama traveled to Orlando, Florida, to meet with the families of the 49 people killed four days earlier by a rampaging gunman at Pulse nightclub.

“This was an attack on the LGBTQ community,” Obama said. “Americans were targeted because we’re a country that has learned to welcome everyone, no matter who you are or who you love.”

Eight days later, Obama designated the first national monument honoring LGBTQ rights – the site of the Stonewall Inn in New York City where a 1969 community uprising in response to a police raid helped energize LGBTQ activism nationwide.

And in November, Obama gave a warm embrace to Ellen DeGeneres – who boldly came out as a lesbian in 1997 – while awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “Her courage and candor helped change the hearts and minds of millions of Americans,” said the White House citation.

While supporters of LGBTQ-rights are extolling Obama’s record, some religious conservatives say the president went too far in some cases, infringing on the religious liberties of Americans whose faiths disapprove of

same-sex marriage.

“The Obama administration has waged an aggressive and unnecessary culture war,” wrote Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, in a recent column.

He urged President-elect Donald Trump to make clear that his incoming administration “will never penalize any individual or institution because they believe and act on the belief that marriage is the union of husband and wife.”

Professor and author Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College, recalled how Obama had reached out to evangelicals during his first presidential campaign in 2008 – an outreach that troubled LGBTQ activists. But Stetzer said many evangelicals became disenchanted

by Obama’s later advocacy of same-sex marriage.

“He has tried to wade through some of the issues, but many evangelicals feel he didn’t strike the right balance,” Stetzer said. “They genuinely feel that their religious liberty is in jeopardy because of a shift on LGBTQ rights.”

Since Trump’s election victory, LGBTQ-rights activists have expressed fears that the new Republican administration will reverse some of Obama’s supportive executive orders and back legislation allowing some forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people if it’s based on religious beliefs.

Among those unsettled by the presidential transition is Cari Searcy of Mobile, Alabama, who along with her wife waged years of litigation seeking joint parental rights to their son. Their lawsuit overturned Alabama’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“After fighting such a long, hard battle for equal protections for our family, it is a very real concern that those rights could now be taken away,” said Searcy.

As for Obama, Searcy said he “revolutionized the way America sees us.”

“The policies and protections that our community gained under his administration changed our daily lives and included us in the national conversation,” she said. “We have come so far under his leadership, and for that, I will forever be grateful.”

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in other news Arkansas court to hear arguments over LGBTQ protections The Arkansas Supreme Court said Jan. 4 it will hold oral arguments Feb. 2 in the state’s appeal of a Washington County judge’s decision upholding Fayetteville’s anti-discrimination ordinance. The judge last year ruled the ordinance doesn’t run afoul of a state law barring cities and counties from prohibiting discrimination on a basis not contained in state law. Arkansas’ civil rights law doesn’t include sexual orientation or gender identity.

Kentucky Democrat files transgender “bathroom bill” Kentucky House Democratic Rick Nelson has filed a bill to ban transgender bathroom use in public buildings.

The bill would require bathrooms in public buildings “only be used by persons based on their biological sex.” He also filed a bill aimed at protecting “a person’s right of conscience.” LGBTQ advocates feared such bills would be filed now that Republicans control the state legislature. But Republicans have downplayed those issues in recent weeks, saying they want to focus on economic concerns.

Philadelphia football players settle assault case over ‘No Gay Thursday’ Three suburban Philadelphia high school football players have pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of summary harassment to settle allegations they sexually assaulted a freshman player with a broom handle on what the team called “No Gay Thursday.” The statement

by Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan and attorneys for the three Conestoga High School seniors say the freshman wasn’t physically harmed, though he was briefly poked in the leg with the broomstick. The statement doesn’t say how they were punished.

Pope accepts resignation from Canadian bishop who opposed LGBTQ school rules Pope Francis has accepted the early resignation of Canadian Bishop Frederick Henry who came under fire in Calgary for opposing LGBTQ guidelines for public schools. The Vatican’s one-sentence announcement Jan. 4 made no mention of the controversy in Canada.

At 73, Henry is two years younger than the age at which bishops must offer the pope their resignation.

Last year, Henry was widely criticized for labeling as “anti-Catholic” and “totalitarian” Alberta province’s guidelines that include allowing transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice and to dress or play on sports teams according to their perception of gender. On several occasions, Francis has lashed out at “gender theory,” including calling it a threat to marriage.

He has also criticized schools he says indoctrinate children with the idea that gender can be chosen.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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viewpoint

Rick Claggett, Publisher

word s

to live by D

Decisions ecisions rarely come

easy. Sit in the car with my roommate and I while we try to figure out lunch on the weekend, or hang out on our couch while we sift through every movie, unable to decide which one to watch.

The bigger the decision, the more agonizing it is for me. When I was 15 years old, I struggled with being gay. I used to look in the mirror every night before bed lecturing myself on how being gay was a sin, telling myself I would wake up in the morning and be normal. Every morning I would wake with disappointment. Nothing had changed. This went on for at least a year until I decided to accept who I am.

As I decided to gradually let others in, life started to get better for me.

It was just over a year ago that I made another life changing decision: the decision to admit I am an alcoholic.

It wasn’t easy. In fact, 18 months ago I was sure that I was not an alcoholic. Like most people, I had my biases of what an alcoholic looked like and I did not fit the bill. Alcoholics couldn’t hold a job, and I had been with the same company for over a decade. Alcoholics were homeless. I had a home with my roommate of over fifteen years. Alcoholics hid bottles of liquor and woke up in the morning

drinking. That wasn’t me either.

I knew I drank a lot, but that seemed normal to me. Alcohol was around everywhere, whether at a work event or hanging out with friends. Even if I wanted to stop I wouldn’t know how. I was too concerned about losing my friends and reputation.

On Memorial Day 2015 I had a little help reevaluating my life. I was sitting at my usual late night bar when I got a text from my roommate warning me not to drive home. The cops were out in force for the holiday. She knew I had been drinking and had a headlight out and that would make me an easy target for getting pulled over. She was always the rational one.

I stupidly decided to drive home anyway and, as luck would have it, my second headlight went out. Thirty minutes later I was heading to DUI booking. I spent over five painful hours in handcuffs, full of humiliation and disappointment. Why didn’t I just take Uber? How long would it be before someone found out and spread it all over Facebook? How was this going to get paid for?

What would this do to my reputation? These were the questions that plagued my head throughout the night.

I was in a pretty low place at that time, but not low enough. I went right back out drinking, this time taking Uber because I had no choice. The DMV had restricted my driving privileges and sent me on a program of classes and counseling sessions.

Still not thinking I had any issues, I would go to DUI class then Uber to the bar. I would schedule my counseling sessions 24 hours after my favorite nights to be out drinking so I wouldn’t have to skip a beat. I found myself not being honest with others about the amount of alcohol I would drink since

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it wasn’t unusual for me to go out for happy hour and not get home until the next morning, several times a week.

After seeing a college friend of mine post about her alcohol battle, I made a decision that I would honor the program set

shame or worry about being humiliated. I am an alcoholic.

My decision to share this story wasn’t easy either. My purpose is to put this out in the universe in case it proves useful to someone reading it, as my college friend did for me. If you feel

outside my comfort zone while navigating the stigma of alcoholism. It’s almost like relearning how to live, but it’s worth it.

I’ve been sober over 15 months now and I am a different person. My head is clear and I am focused to make my company the

forth and not drink until all requirements related to my arrest were completed.

With this decision I began to see that there were many types of alcoholics and that the way I had been living my life was not normal. I didn’t have to drink all the time, but when I started I couldn’t stop. It took a long time for me to be able to say that without feeling

you may have a drinking problem, there are many avenues to seek help. If you are afraid, there are many people willing to help. Save yourself the $7,500 lesson I needed and just reach out.

It’s hard. For years my social skills and self-confidence came in a twelve ounce glass. Now that I don’t have drinking I have to learn new ways to gain confidence and step

best it can be and offer my community the best I can be. I’ve made many mistakes in my days, but deciding to own up to them and make a better life is proving to be the most rewarding decision I’ve ever made. With this publication I will be 42, single and sober. I feel like my life is just beginning.

Still not thinking I had any issues, I would go to DUI class then Uber to the bar.

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

talking points Conor has always reacted against bullying.

ThERE aRE an

1.5 esTIMaTeD

MILLION

LGBTQ senIOrs

I’m happy he stood up for his friend.

I’m very sorry it turned into a police incident.

—roBert Kennedy Jr., speaKIng to the press, after hIs son conor Kennedy was arrested for defendIng a gay frIend BeIng taunted wIth homophoBIc slurs In an aspen nIghtcluB.

EllEn DEGEnEREs BOOTs kIM BuRREll fROM

hER shOW afTER hOMOPhOBIC sERMOn

E

llen degeneres pulled gospel sInger Kim Burrell from a scheduled appearance on the LGBTQ icon’s top-rated talk show after Burrell gave a sermon at a Houston church where she referred to gays and lesbians as “perverted.” DeGeneres’ statement came via Twitter Jan. 3, several days after Burrell refused to apologize for the sermon. DeGeneres’ Tweet read: “For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show.”

There was no further comment from the show or DeGeneres. A tape of Burrell preaching at Houston’s Love & Liberty Fellowship Church has been circulating online. The gospel singer and Pharrell were to perform a song from the movie Hidden Figures Jan. 5 on the show. Pharrell posted on Instagram that “I condemn hate speech of any kind,” making no specific reference to Burrell.

ufC’s ROnDa ROusEy lOsEs TO OPEnly Gay aManDa nunEs In unDER a MInuTE

IN AMERICA. R BY 2030, ThIs nuMBER Is EXPECTED TO

DOUBLE. —HRC.org

onda rousey’s ufc comeBacK didn’t even last a minute. Rousey was stopped 48 seconds into her first fight in 13 months on Dec. 30, losing to bantamweight champion and openly gay Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Rousey never managed to get her footing against Nunes, who rocked Rousey with her very first punches. Rousey showed little defensive acumen as she staggered and stumbled backward with Nunes relentlessly pursuing her and landing 27 punches in the brief bout. “Forget about Ronda Rousey!”

Nunes shouted to the sellout crowd.

“She’s going to go do movies. She has a lot of money already. I knew I was going to beat her. I’m the best on the planet.”

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nEW yORk suBWay sTaTIOn GETs nEW MuRal fEaTuRInG Gay COuPlE

C

ommuters usIng the new suBway statIon at 72nd Street in New York City will get to view something rarely seen in public art, a mural of two men in love holding hands.

“It was like winning the lottery,” Thor Stockman, 60, said of finding out that he and his husband of three-and-a-half years, Patrick Kellogg, were going to be part of artist Vik Muniz’s “Perfect Strangers,” a series of life-size mosaic portraits of everyday New Yorkers gracing the walls of the new subway station. “Part of me wishes that it wasn’t a rarity, that it wasn’t remarkable.” The station on the city’s long-awaited Second Avenue subway line opened Jan. 1.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

MIlO yIannOPOulOs BOOk MOvInG fORWaRD DEsPITE BaCklash

B

reItBart news’ conservatIve provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos will still be getting his book published this spring, even after criticism that he is just a voice for the white-supremacist movement known as the “alt-right.” Many in and outside of the publishing industry are also criticizing the book’s publisher Simon & Schuster, but the publisher says that while they do not condone discrimination or hate speech, the book, which is titled Dangerous, is about free speech. Even with the criticism, the book, which is available for preorder, was at the top of Amazon.com’s bestseller list Dec. 30.

It will be published in March by an imprint of Simon & Schuster geared to conservatives.

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

In-DEPTh: TRans In ThE MIlITaRy

Stripes Zebra Coalition graduate and trans champion Eli sellers makes us all proud

T

Alma Hill

emperatures are well Below

freezing as Eli Sellers braves tempest-like winds on his walk to class near his home in Chicago, Illinois. As a newly enlisted member of the United States Navy, he’s taking his first round military training classes at his assigned base, Naval Station Great Lakes.

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Eli is a third generation military serviceman. His father and his grandfather both served in the U.S Army. His father is still actively serving in the Army. With a legacy such as this, you could safely assume that Eli is familiar with the ins and outs of life in the military: The constant relocation, the strain on family, all these are challenges he has had to navigate within his 20 years. Yet, the obstacles that Eli faces on his journey to becoming

an officer of the Navy are unique; challenges that neither his father, nor his grandfather can help him navigate. They are both cisgender, straight men. Eli, however, was born a woman.

Eli is the first openly transgender male to reside on his base. At 20 years old, he is an unwitting, yet passionate pioneer. Since U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter

COnTInuED On PG. 31 | uu |

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

| uu | Eli Sellers from pg.29 announced the removal of the ban on transgender servicemen and women in July, Eli has been more open about his identity as a trans male in the service but, he treads this new territory with caution.

Unsure of how to navigate the changing landscape, he attends classes where, he answer to male pronouns, but is required to return to female decks when dismissed.

“Most people didn’t know I was trans.” Eli admits. “At school, nobody knows that I’m trans. When I go to school, they don’t have our actual genders. They asked for our preferred genders but, I don’t know if that’s because I started school after October, after the policy had been implemented. Most people that I know didn’t get asked that question. I’ve been on hormones, so everyone just assumes that I am who I say I am, which, I am. I’m not necessarily hiding it, it’s just nice sometimes to not have to answer questions. Most of these people have never met someone who is transgender before, so it’s an issue of ignorance” A study released by the RAND Institute earlier this year, commissioned by the Department of Defense, estimates that there are approximately 2,450 active duty members of the United States military that identify as transgender.

The study also reveals the depths of how detrimental the treatment of this small population was, before the ban.

Previous to 2015, transgender servicemen and women were not permitted to serve openly in the U.S. Military. The medical term for being transgender is Gender Dysphoria, a condition which was was labeled sexual deviancy within the military based on the outdated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Orders Vers 5 or DSM-5.

Consequently, active duty members of the U.S. Military who identified as transgender or, received official diagnosis of this condition, would be automatically considered ineligible for service. As the definition, and consideration, of what exactly it meant to be a transgender individual became more progressive in the changing landscape of America (Thanks, Obama) the military has stayed stagnant in its interpretation of gender identity.

In 2011, our society was met with a collective, albeit mildly surprised, sense of relief, when the disastrous Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy was repealed. For the first

time in the history of the armed forces, the existence of servicemen and women who did not conform to heteronormative standards of sexuality, were being acknowledged.

It was one small step for LGBT-kind, to so to speak. Such a simple yet, profound action: to acknowledge one’s existence. However, the battle was far from won. Most LGBTQ members of the military assumed that it would be years, maybe even decades, before policies recognizing the rights of transgender individuals could work their way into any official protocols.

this past June, Eli Sellers had been enlisted in the Navy for five months.

Leading up to the new policy changes, his life had been in flux.

He had been off of his hormones for quite some time, as his military protocols required that all initial enrollment paperwork be filed under his birth gender.

“When I shipped out to boot camp it was about a month before the ban was lifted so I wasn’t allowed to have any of that. I wasn’t supposed to be taking it after I got in,” he says. “After I got out of boot camp, I hadn’t been on hormones

to the Zebra Coalition, a local LGBTQ advocacy group that offers essential services to youth in need of assistance, with a dedicated focus on LGBTQ youth. There, Eli found something that had been lacking in most of his teenage years: stability, and support.

“When I started, they provided the housing but, I have to add that I didn’t realize how much they did. Every morning I’d get here for Power Hour (Zebra Coalition’s Group Therapy Program) and there was this blank piece of computer paper where you’d write your

Eli not only understands the gravity of his role, as a transgender man in the service, he

wholeheartedly embraces it.

Then, in 2015, Mr. Ashton Carter became an unexpected, essential ally in the fight for trans rights.

Following the appointment of the first openly gay Army Secretary, Eric Fanning, Carter wasted no time in calling out military policies on trans servicemen, labeling the existing policies “outdated”. Next, he ordered officials across all branches of the military to revisit the policy and begin looking into what steps would need to be taken in order lift the ban.

The result of these combined studies were the RAND findings which definitively concluded that, not only were trans service men and women mentally fit to serve in the military but, it also reported that lifting the ban, and allowing them to serve openly, would incur minimal cost, and would have “no significant impact on unit readiness.”

When the ban was officially lifted

for a while. I was looking and sounding a little more feminine than I had before joining” Eli has been going by male pronouns since he was 18 years old, but, it was a troubling turn of events, and a tumultuous life path, that led him to fully embrace his gender identity. Family strife (unrelated to Eli or his gender) left the teen traversing the southeastern United States at 16 years old with little more than his car, and cash from whatever odd job he could find at the time. In three years, he lived in four different homes, in just as many states. By the time he was 19, his on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend was temporarily off-again which left him homeless.

Automatic payments from his new therapy left him unexpectedly penniless and stranded just outside of Orlando. With no place to go, and barely any money, Eli turned

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

name and what you need. If you need toilet paper, you need clothes … I think at some point someone needed shoes. Shampoo. Food.

Something as simple as food.

They gave me everyday services.

They gave me a roof over my head. A roof with air conditioning, and a shower. You can’t get that everywhere you go.

“They were counseling me,” he says. “They had us make budgets every month. They provided a lot more education than I think most people think they do. Then, the sense of family that you get too.

You come in here and, they all treat you like family. You click with them because they care that much, and that makes it so easy. I think at one point they provided almost my entire life aside from my car but that was all I had. They gave me the tools to take that and, move on, and do better things with my life even

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

before the military.”

For nine months Eli received aid, counseling, and health care services, all provided by Zebra Coalition, that would not only help him mature as an adult but that would ultimately, help Eli determine his life path.

“I moved into housing April 24, 2015,” he says. “After that, Zebra really helped me make smarter decisions. I had a mental health counselor and a case manager who I really liked. Everybody said, ‘The case manager is too hard on people.’ but I liked it. I need that. I’m the kind of person where, if you make me do it, I’ll do it perfectly. That’s why the military’s good for me. I really needed somebody to push me and she definitely did that.”

“At some point, they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve been doing this counseling for three months now. What do you want to do about hormones?’ I wanted hormones, so we went from counseling that was putting me in the right mindset to, counseling that was helping me be more comfortable with me” he says. “After six weeks, I got an acceptance letter and within a week or two, I actually got to start hormones.”

Today he is living in Illinois while he completes his Naval training.

When he came to visit Orlando in December, his confidence was practically radiant, as he stood in the lobby of the Coalition with his wife Taylor. He is happy. He concedes that the only thing that has affected his life, and given him as much promise, as much as the Zebra Coalition, is his passion for his military service.

Eli not only understands the gravity of his role, as a transgender man in the service, he wholeheartedly embraces it.

The ban was lifted less than six months ago so, understandably, there are still some kinks in the policies that need to be ironed out. Eli hopes that he can utilize his position to help the Navy make the transition for future trans servicemen and women as smooth as possible.

“The best comparison I have is, when a new game system is released, there’s always problems with it, it’s always got bugs,” he says. “The same goes for any new policies that are released. There’s alway going to be something wrong with in the beginning and it will have to be reworked several times before it is perfected. My goal is to be the one to deal with that and to guide the military and the people over me in the right direction. I’m Continued on pg. 33 | uu |

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Ever since I came out two-and-a-half years ago, it was always something I really wanted to do.

I wanted to be a voice for the people.

— Eli Sellers

| uu | Eli Sellers from pg.31

dealing with the brand new military and it’s just got to be reworked a couple times, some policies more than others. Eventually I want to get it to the point that once people start enlisting they don’t have such a difficult time and don’t encounter so many bugs.”

In his own experience, his commanding officers have been nothing but compassionate and understanding. In the armed forces, every action taken must be approved up or down a chain of command, from the clothes recruits wear to the medications and procedures that servicemen are offered.

Since the new policies took effect in October, Eli has had positive feedback from his commanding officers who have taken the time to communicate any information available at the time. In November he was pulled into a private session with one of his training instructors to inform him that they had finally received military guidance on how to proceed with certain protocols, specifically uniforms. Eli had

been assigned female formal attire up to that point.

Eli notes that what struck him about the meeting was the fact that he had never approached the instructor about guidance policies.

The instructor put forth the effort to make sure that they both were fully aware of the situation as it progressed. It was an act of camaraderie, an unspoken olive branch letting Eli know, he had an ally on the inside.

As he heads back to base after the winter break, Eli shoulders the burden of progress. He knows the road to change is a long and arduous one, but he hopes that his story can inspire others like him to enlist, and serve openly, as their true selves. He had always dreamed of becoming an advocate, and his military service has unexpectedly opened that door for him to give back to the community that once offered him so much.

“Ever since I came out two-and-a-half years ago, it was always something I really wanted to do. I wanted to be a voice for the people. It’s a big dream.

You have people like Logan and Laila Ireland who are so inspirational and who do so much good work.

It just seems like such a far-fetched thing to speak for the community that’s had your back. I didn’t ever realize that I could do something like this but, the Zebra Coalition gave me that voice. Being a little bit older, having learned a lot more, I would like to be a voice for the community. Not only for myself but for people who need the inspiration, who didn’t get it as easy as I have. I think that would be something really cool to be able to stand with those other greats.”

The Zebra Coalition, which Eli still considers one of the places he calls home, is unwavering in their support of Eli, even from hundreds of miles away, as he pursues his dreams and his purpose. Director Heather Wilkie is proud of their former resident, and she invited him to speak to a new group of LGBTQ youth as they attended PowerHour, sitting in the same spot Eli did, years ago.

“I think that Eli has it in him. He’s going to be an advocate.” she says. “He’s already an advocate. When you have that spirit in you I think it just carries on. I don’t think it ever goes away.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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aRTs anD EnTERTaInMEnT

I

Aaron Alper

nsult comIc lIsa lampanellI,

will be performing in Orlando at the Hard Rock on January 20 and Clearwater at the Capitol Theatre on January 21 and spoke with the Watermark to discuss her new play Stuffed, how weight loss has made her a better both as a person and a comic, and shows that “Comedy’s Loveable Queen of Mean” is actually, deep down, really very nice.

WATERMARK: hEllO, lIsa, IT’s suCh an hOnOR. lIsa laMPanEllI: Oh my God, for me it is! I get to talk to another gay! I got on a phone with a straightie this morning and all I did was think about you going, “Where are the gays? I can’t stand these straight people.”

I Was lIsTEnInG TO yOu On hOWaRD sTERn ThE OThER Day, anD yOu WERE sayInG ThE sTRaIGhTIEs havE BEEn aTTaCkInG yOu.

Well, yes they have. It’s never a gay guy who says, “Don’t make a gay a joke.” It’s always some straight women who lost her best friend to AIDS, and I am like, “You’re probably fat so it doesn’t matter.” sO I JusT REaD yOuR nEW Play STUFFED GOT EXTEnDED fOR anOThER WEEk. yOu MusT BE sO EXCITED.

LIGHTS ON Comedian lisa lampanelli on losing weight and winning herself

I am! Please ignore my badly behaved dog in the background.

ThaT Is sO funny yOu say ThaT. I JusT aDOPTED OnE yEsTERDay anD ThaT Is hIM In ThE BaCkGROunD.

Aw! My little bitch is an adoptee, so he needs attention every second even though he’s six year old. He’s gay too, by the way.

I got him all the clothes and I make him pee like a girl. It’s the cutest thing ever. Anyway, it got extended and yes, I am so excited.

I have been through so many years with the food crap and I just needed to say something about it. There’s so much built towards hate with being fat; if you’re fat that means you’re lazy, or you could be doing better-there’s a lot of complex issues that go into food whether it be anorexia or compulsive overeating. I thought, “OK. We’re doing a play about it. It’s going to be funny but also touching and we’re going to straddle that fine line between giving people a laugh and helping them understand the pain in the ass it really is.”

IT TRuly Is. I aM OnE Of ThOsE PEOPlE. I aCTually lOsT 150 POunDs MysElf. I WEnT fROM BEInG 400lBs TO BEInG a PERsOnal TRaInER sO I unDERsTanD ThE JOuRnEy anD I fInD IT fasCInaTInG ThaT yOu say yOu’RE suRPRIsED TO fInD ThaT a lOT Of yOuR auDIEnCEs nOW aRE MEn.

COnTInuED On PG. 37 | uu |

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

| uu | Lisa Lampanelli fROM PG.35

I know! I thought it was a show for women and gay men. Then the last few performances, and maybe it’s because I have kind of a straight guy following, but they’re coming out and listening and thinking, “I have to tell this to my mother, my daughter, my sister, my wife.” You know when it’s like you try to reach one audience and another just happens?

It’s kinda cool. I know the readers of your magazine understand the struggle. yEs. ThEy say IT’s a Play fOR WOMEn BuT EvEn sTIll ThERE Is a sTIGMa WITh sTRaIGhT MEn WhERE yOu Can’T Talk aBOuT WEIGhT BECausE fEMInInE IssuE.

Oh, yeah. I agree. I think a lot of these straight guys will say they’re trying to

What happened was I was told by a really great writer Alan Zweibel, who helped Billy Crystal write 700 Sundays to not be funny, that the funny will come.

You have to put the truth in first. If it was just some frivolous show about what we like to eat or all the crazy diets, that’s fine, but I don’t you will leave the theater feeling less alone than when you came in.

His advice was to write the struggle in a serious way.

You know what I think happened? I think I got more confident and thought “I can let it loose more.”

EsPECIally WhEn ThERE aRE nO CaMERas On yOu.

There is nothing that comes into my mind I won’t say.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but the audience seems to like it.

I Can sEE yOu BECOMInG ThE InsulT COMIC/ WEIGhT lOss GuRu.

not good enough … I don’t remember losing all the weight and thinking, “Look at me, I am gorgeous.” It still haunts you, and you have to say, “I’m enough,” which is hard every day when you’re out in the world. Oh my God, I will literally look at myself day to day and think “Did I gain 20 pounds overnight or am I just seeing something?”

Body dysmorphia, even when you’re not anorexic, is a real struggle. sO WhaT Is ThE Plan fOR ThE Play?

—lIsa lampanellI

ThIs Is GOInG TO sOunD kIss-ass, BuT yOuR auTOBIOGRaPhy CHOCOLATE, PLEASE! REally hElPED ME, EsPECIally ThE ChaPTERs WITh ThE EXPEnsIvE RETREaTs anD Oa MEETInGs anD WhaT ThE PRIvIlEGED PEOPlE GET WITh ThaT. ThIs sEEMs lIkE an ORGanIC GROWTh. DID yOu anTICIPaTE yOu WERE GOInG TO BECOME MORE, fOR laCk Of a BETTER WORD, sERIOus?

Thank you for saying that.

I think the weight got a wall out of the way. Then I started adopting dogs. Then I let more friends in, more family, even just letting someone hug you. It’s the things you don’t think will be huge that end up being that. I feel like I can be myself more than I had been before. And it’s a bitch to keep off.

Oh yEah.

Every single day, ugh, I got to write down what I eat, I gotta run, I have ask why I am eating emotionally.

It’s just constant. But I am trying to fight those demons and hopefully winning.

IT’s lIkE an aDDICTIOn BuT IT’s a DRuG ThaT yOu nEED TO lIvE.

It’s a really complex relationship, and there is one story in the play about the girl who is anorexic who has the voice that tells you look horrible, that you’re

CHARLES GOUNOD’S

ROMEO AND

JULIET

Well, that it got extended is a really good sign. I intend to open it next year in a permanent place off-Broadway and having it run like the Vagina Monologues with a rotating cast of celebrities doing it.

And now the stand-up is even more fun because it feels like an escape from the play. I can do the play, and then dip into comedy and do whatever I want!

I have been through so many years with the food crap and I just needed to say something about it.

understand women more but it will end up having them go, “Wow. I’ve been feeling bad about myself all these years too.” I always said whoever responds to it responds to it, but I am just glad it’s resonating with people.

I’m going to be honest with you: I haven’t done one performance where people said they were disappointed or bored.

OPERATAMPA

yOu suCCEssful COMEDIans aRE ROaD DOGs. I COulDn’T DO IT.

You know what’s funny? I love being home more than anything because, I think it was Dave Grohl who said this, once your house starts getting nicer than the hotels you want to stay home. I wish people could come to my house and I could do a show there. But I have nothing to complain about when it comes to travel.

There are touring comics who have to play clubs and be in towns they don’t like for a week-we kinda fly in nice, stay in a nice place, do a show in a big place, and then leave, say, “Lisa, never complain.” If I ever am complaining, somebody needs to smack me.

Tickets for Lisa’s shows are available at InsultComic. com/schedule.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

37

41st Annual

January 27, 28, & 29 Friday: 1PM – 5PM Saturday: 9AM – 5PM Sunday: 10AM – 4PM Juried fine art festival showcasing 225 artists in 13 categories.

FREE and Open to the Public Riverside Park New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

theater

A wicked good cause

Justin Wirick and the national touring company of Wicked look to sing, dance and help a worthy cause after dark

(above)

making a splash:

Justin Wirik gets wet and Wicked.

Photo courtesy James Douglas Studio

B

Jeremy Williams

roadway musicals are sometimes

easily identified by a certain song or simple phrase, but no other can bring on the rush and excitement that one can do with just a single color, green.

Wicked comes back to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on select nights Jan. 11- 29.

Wicked, for those who have been hit with a house and developed amnesia, is the story of the witches

from Oz before Dorothy and her little dog Toto dropped in to muck things up.

“In Dorothy’s story, we start with the house falling on the Wicked Witch of the East in Munchkinland, and that’s when she first meets

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Glinda, and first meets the Wicked Witch of the West,” says Wicked actor Justin Wirick. “So Wicked back peddles, and years before that happens we look at how the Elphaba, the Witch of the West, came to be wicked.”

Wirick joined the U.S. tour of Wicked in 2009 as a member of the ensemble.

“I play a bunch of different characters; I’m probably most easily identified as one of the flying monkeys,” Wirick says. “I’m also an Ozian guard, an Ozian official, a student, a citizen of the Emerald

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

City; the ensemble is in the show so much in the production, filling the background.”

Wirick is also a member of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. As one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations, Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS helps those living with HIV/AIDS across the country receive lifesaving medications, health care, nutritious meals, counseling and emergency financial assistance.

“The entire theater community is heavily involved in the organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS,” Wirick says. “Every Broadway company and national tour participates at least twice a year in a season of post show collections where we give a speech at the end of the show and we stand in the lobby in our costumes and raise money for this incredible cause.”

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS began as two separate organizations; Equity Fights AIDS was founded in October 1987 by the Council of Actors’ Equity Association and Broadway Cares was founded in February 1988 by members of The Producers’ Group. The organizations merged in May 1992 and have raised more than $250 million.

“Something that the tours do while we are out visiting cities is we pair up with a local organization in whichever city we are in (for ‘Wicked After Dark’ they are teaming up with the GLBT Center of Central Florida) and do a cabaret concert, either on our off day or when we aren’t doing a show,” Wirick says. “We don’t do these too often, they take a lot of work to put together and that is in addition to doing eight shows a week. So it’s a really special thing we do only a couple of times a year, and everyone in the company of Wicked all wanted to do ‘Wicked After Dark’ for Orlando.”

Wirick and the company of Wicked performed a similar cabaret-style show when they were in Central Florida in 2013, and they felt they needed to do something again after the events at Pulse last June.

Continued on pg. 41 | uu |

39

BLOOMING SOON IN PRINT & ONLINE

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2017

Spring Arts & Entertainment Guide

PUBLISH DATE FEB 9, 2017

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

407.403.0880

jake@jacobdickson.com

| uu | Wicked

from pg.39

“The tour was in New Orleans when it happened and we all knew we would be going to Orlando in January,” Wirick says.

“That gave us almost half a year to get the idea of this show going, and now we are just a couple of weeks away and we are wanting this to be huge and successful and bring some fun and entertainment to as many people in Orlando as possible.”

Wirick, who is also one of the producers for “Wicked After Dark,” has been helping and organizing with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS since his first year as a member of the traveling company of Wicked.

“I got really involved with Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS just a few months after getting on with the tour of Wicked. I realize how very lucky I am to be able to do what I do, but I’ve been doing eight shows a week for 52 weeks a year for seven years, so doing things like this helps keep me mentally healthy and creatively stimulated,” Wirick says. “I’m a part of something that is helping raise money for a worthy cause and I’m meeting new people in different communities and cities across the U.S., then the next year when we come back through those towns I get to come back and see old friends.”

“Wicked After Dark” will be a one-night only event at The Abbey Jan. 26.

“We do have a Wicked performance that same night, so Wicked After Dark will actually kick off with a performance from Rachel Potter,” Wirick says.

“Rachel is amazing; she is a Wicked alum, a Broadway veteran, a finalist on the hit show X-Factor, a national recording artist and Florida native.”

Potter appeared on Broadway in 2011’s The Addams Family musical and the 2012 revival of Evita, and was also Glinda’s

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For All Your Air Condition Needs Hanging High: Wicked in motion. Photo courtesy of The Abbey understudy in Wicked National Tour in 2010.

Potter, and her band Steel Union, will open the show at 10:00 p.m., the cast of “Wicked After Dark” will take the stage at 11:00 p.m.

“It’s going to be all our own, non-Ozian material, which we love to do,” Wirick says. “We love Wicked but when we are out on tour we rarely get a chance to perform other stuff. It’s going to be a variety of songs and dance numbers, material that plays a little bit more cabaret and risqué. ‘Wicked After Dark’ is not your traditional ‘family-friendly’ show so we are going to let loose and have some wicked fun [laughs].”

The show will also feature a VIP reception starting at 8:30 p.m.,

general admission, which is standing room only and carries a cover of $35, enter at 9: 30 p.m.

There will be a number of auction items available at “Wicked After Dark” to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; including a chance to go backstage and watch Elphaba be painted green, show memorabilia autographed by the cast, a chance to actually be in the show and more.

more information

What: Wicked After Dark When: Thursday, Jan. 26, 10 p.m.-1:00 a.m.

Where: The Abbey, Orlando Tickets: $35 for general admission, $75 for VIP

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

community calendar

EvEnT PlannER

arTs+enTerTainmenT

ORlanDO

ORlanDO

Pro equality Peace rally

Wicked, Jan. 11- 29, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org Drag Queen Bingo, Jan. 13, Eau Gallie Arts District Main Street, Melbourne. 321-574-2737; EAUGallieArts.com Epcot International festival of the Arts, Jan. 13-16, Epcot, Orlando. 407-939-5277; DisneyWorld.Disney.Go.com/ Destinations/Epcot 2017 Downtown Orlando MlK Holiday Parade, Jan. 14, Lake Eola, Orlando. 407-246-4484; SWOJaycees.org Science Night live featuring Otronicon, Jan. 14, Orlando Science Center, Orlando.

407-514-2000; OSC.org Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Presents Circus XTREME, Jan. 14, Amway Center, Orlando. 407-440-7000; AmwayCenter.com Theatre uCf Picnic, Jan. 16, UCF School of Performing Arts, Orlando. 407-823-1500; Theatre.UCF.edu Watermark’s Third Thursday, Jan. 19, The Capen House, Winter Park. 407-481-2243; CapenHouse.com Orlando Indie Comedy fest with The liberal Redneck, Jan. 20, Will’s Pub, Orlando.

407-748-8256; WillsPub.org lisa lampanelli, Jan. 20, Hard Rock Live, Orlando.

407-351-5483; HardRock.com/ Live/Locations/Orlando Three Nights with Nina flowers, Jan. 20- 22, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Well-Strung, Jan. 21, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; AbbeyOrlando.com

sunday, Jan. 15, 6:30- 9:30 p.m. ocala downtown sQuare, ocala

tOtaL

PACKAGE The hunky and talented all-male string quartet Well-Strung look to pluck at some heart strings when they perform at The Abbey in Orlando Jan. 21. PHOTO COuRTESy Of WEll-STRuNG.COM

Pride & Allies Meeting, Jan. 25, Orange County Administration Office, Orlando. 407-836-3111; OCFL.net

Tampa Bay leather Social, Jan. 14, The Body Shop, Tampa. 813-971-3578; TheBodyShopTampa.com

lisa lampanelli, Jan. 21, Capitol Theatre, Clearwater. 727-791-7400; RuthEckerdHall.com

TaMPa Bay

Heritage youth Night, Jan. 18, HCC Ybor Campus, Tampa. 888-224-1733; TampaBlackHeritage.org

WellRED Comedy Tour, Jan. 22, Tampa Improv, Tampa. 813-864-4000; ImprovTampa.com

Personal Defense Course, Jan. 19, Metro Ybor, Tampa. 813-232-3808; MetroTampaBay.org

Cabaret, Jan. 24- 29, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.

813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org

Forbidden Broadway, Jan. 10- 23, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa.

813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org freeflight 2017, Jan. 13, freeFall Theatre, St. Petersburg. 727-498-5205; freeFallTheatre.com fuego friday, Jan. 13, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-599-8625; SouthernNightsTPA.com State Of The City, Jan. 14, The Palladium, St. Petersburg.

727-893-7111; StPete.org Earth2Trump Roadshow of Resistance Rally, Jan. 14, The Ale and the Witch, St. Petersburg. 727-821-2533; TheAleAndTheWitch.com

Romeo and Juliet, Jan. 20- 22, Opera Tampa, Tampa.

813-222-1000; OperaTampa.org Grand Central Market, Jan. 21, Punky’s Bar and Grill, St. Petersburg. 727-201-4712; PunkysBar.com

Balance Tampa Bay’s January Social, Jan. 25, Sea Salt, St. Petersburg. 727-512-1304; BalanceTampaBay.org

saRasOTa

Balance Tampa Bay’s January Service, Jan. 21, Empath Resale Shoppe, Clearwater.

727-467-7423; EmpathHealth.org Pinkalicious, Jan. 21, Flamingo Resort, St. Petersburg.

727-321-5000; FlamingoFla.com

Little Shop of Horrors, Jan. 5- 19, Manatee Performing Arts Center, Bradenton. 941-748-5875; ManateePerforming ArtsCenter.com Sweet Charity, Jan. 11-13, The Players Centre for Performing Arts, Sarasota. 941-365-2494; ThePlayers.org

Join artist and host BB RudeOff at the downtown square in Ocala for an evening of peace, harmony and equality.

The event is an open call for anyone who wants to inspire, whether it be through song, spoken word or just to give a speech. The evening will conclude with a moment of silence, a candlelight vigil and balloon release.

For more information visit Facebook.com/BBRudeOff.

sPeaK OuT: Orange County Legislative Delegation Meeting tuesday, Jan. 17, 3:00- 6:00 p.m. orange county admInIstratIon center, orlando Before lawmakers head to Tallahassee for the 2017 legislative session, citizens will have the opportunity to have their voices heard on the issues that matter to them.

Come tell Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith and his fellow lawmakers what you’d like to see them fighting for in Tallahassee. Visit OrangeCountyFL.gov for more information.

TaMPa Bay

Diamonds in Diversity saturday, Jan. 21, 7:30- 10:30 p.m. hIlton st. petersBurg Bayfront hotel, st. petersBurg The Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber and Balance Tampa Bay look to celebrate the best in LGBTA business and community with the Diamonds in Diversity (formerly known as the Diamond Award Gala). Join in on the party a see who goes home with a Diamond. The event will also announce the winner of the Mentorship Program scholarship. VIP reception starts at 6:30 P.M. and the after party kicks off at 11:00 P.M. at Enigma St. Pete.

Tickets are available at DiversityTampaBay.org.

Miss Tampa Pride Pageant sunday, Jan. 22, 7:00 p.m. the honey pot, tampa Join Miss Tampa Pride 2016, Alexis Mateo, as she crowns the next queen to lead Pride through the streets of Ybor. Come watch the contestants battle it out at Honey Pot as they entertain the crowd to be your next Miss Tampa Pride. Advance tickets are $10 and $15 at the door. For more information visit TampaPride.org.

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

evenT planner and cOmmuniTy calendar is BrOugHT TO yOu By curTis prOTecTive services • 1-800-551-8368 • curTissecuriTy.cOm watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

43

AAA TRAVEL PRESENTS

TAMPA PRIDE CARIBBEAN CRUISE 5 NIGHTS MAR 27, 2017

AAA Travel invites you to keep the Tampa Bay Pride Celebration going a little bit longer with a five-night Tampa Pride Caribbean Cruise. Join guest hosts Mark & Carrie, as well as plenty of other enthusiastic Tampa Pride participants, aboard Carnival Paradise for a party that promises lots of fun, sun, music, food and, of course, pride it’s going to be a blast! Take part in exclusive onboard disco and dance parties, performances, special activities and much more, plus visit ports of call including Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Top it off with a party on Passion Island that just might be the ultimate beach day in paradise. This cruise will fill up fast, so reserve your spot today.

AAA TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS Five nights’ accommodations aboard Carnival Paradise .org

Welcome Aboard Reception Bloody Mary Party Exclusive onboard private dance parties Onboard Pride Performances with special guests Customized & private Pride Beach Party in Cozumel Hosted by Tampa Pride Board of Directors

CRUISE ITINERARY Mo Mar 27: Tampa, Florida Tu Mar 28: At Sea

Th Mar 30: Cozumel, Mexico Fr Mar 31: At Sea

We Mar 29: Grand Cayman, Cayman Island

Sa Apr 1: Tampa, Florida

469 per person double occupancy

From $

For details or reservations, contact:

Kim Brown, AAA Travel, Westshore 813-289-5800 x 2463 ksbrown@aaasouth.com

Rates are per person, cruise only, based on double occupancy, includes port charges and are subject to change at any time. Government fees, airfare, transfers and gratuities are not included. A deposit of $150 per person is due at time of booking. Cruise package exclusive amenities are capacity-controlled and based on a minimum number of passengers traveling together and may be modified, withdrawn or cancelled without prior notice. Proper proof of citizenship is required. Cruise must be booked through AAA – The Auto Club Group to obtain pricing and exclusive amenities. All acts and performers are subject to change. Not combinable with any other offer or promotion. Cancellation and change fees apply. Other restrictions may apply. Ask your AAA Travel Consultant for complete details. The Auto Club Group is not responsible for errors or omissions in the publication of this document. Ship’s Registry: The Bahamas. 16-TR-0773

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

overheard

E

PROTEsTInG MaRCO

veryBody already Knows about Sen. Marco Rubio’s absence of affinity for the LGBTQ community, his general towing of the party line, his teeter-totter take on immigration and his (alleged) past of defrauding taxpayers via his party when he was in the Florida Legislature. Everybody also already knows that he ran for president this one time and he lost. He also was noticeably absent from many votes in his previous senatorial stint. It’s easy to get bored when your laundry list gets long, but Rubio remains a bit of a bore, regardless of any of those terms. Somebody shake him and wake him up!

On Jan. 9, dozens of protesters showed up to Rubio’s Tampa office for a bit of what-for and protesting, specifically protesting his potential vote for President-Elect Donald Trump’s bizarre appointment of Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson (It’s Rex Manning Day!) as Secretary of State. Tillerson, it turns out, is a big Russian ally, which we don’t really need to go into anymore because Russia is running the United States.

But because Rubio does sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he’ll be important to the weighing of the vote eggs in the oil-splattered tundra of what we’ve become.

“I [sic] tell you this: Rex Tillerson should not be appearing before a Senate committee to decide his confirmation as Secretary of State,” said activist Kent Bailey to Creative Loa�ing. “He should be before the Hague, defending himself against charges of crimes against humanity and crimes against the planet...He should not be going to the White House. He should be going to the big house.”

I

TaMPa Bay OuT+aBOuT

WalkInG sMall

n what can only Be consIdered a small victory, the Tampa Bay area has dropped on the charts of most dangerous places for street safety. Two years ago, the metro region was all the way up at number two; this year, it slides to number seven.

But they’re working on it, people. Hold on to your heels!

According to the Tampa Bay Times, both Tampa and St. Petersburg have plans in the works to increase safety in your walk down the runway. One of them includes the term “bulbouts,” but we don’t want to talk about it.

“We don’t like getting on these bad lists, but we know what we’re doing here and we think we’re making progress and going in the right direction,” said Jean Duncan, director of Tampa’s Transportation and Stormwater Services Department to the Times.

1

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1

new year’s KIss: Southern Nights Tampa, New Year’s Glitter Ball, (left to right) Anthony Vinti Jr. and Cameron MacDonald. PHOTO COuRTESy SOuTHERN NIGHTS

2

It’s magIc: Susan Wagner wins front row tickets for her and her father at Mahaffey Theatre at a showing of Carbonaro Live on December 29. PHOTO COuRTESy fACEBOOK

3

more sparKles: Michael Edwards and linda faye Carson get ready to appear on Suncoast View’s New Year’s Eve show on ABC7 Sarasota on 12/31.

4

5

PHOTO COuRTESy fACEBOOK

4

Bears out on the prowl: Chago Diaz, Byron Schaerr, Joel Rhodes, Jake Miller. PHOTO

COuRTESy JAKE MIllER

5

what’s hIs name-o?: Tampa Pride Bingo at Hamburger Mary’s, (left to right) Mark West Bias, Chris Hannay and John Chambrone, Jan. 5. PHOTO COuRTESy HAMBuRGER MARy’S

6

meetIng wIth the maIn man: Meeting with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn about Tampa Pride. Mike Hydorn, Paul Sparks, Nancy Spickenagle Desmond, Mark Eary, Bob Buckhorn, Carrie West, John Chambrone, among others.

6

PHOTO COuRTESy fACEBOOK

7

feed me, see more: Brian Craft and Matt yauslin at Manatee Performing Arts Center in Sarasota, Jan. 6.

PHOTO COuRTESy MANATEE PERfORMING ARTS CENTER

8

proud: Nate Jacobs (founder and artistic director of WBTT) and Howard Harris of the band R.A.P. which stands for Retired and Proud on Dec. 27. PHOTO COuRTESy WBTT

8 7

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

overheard

a

ORlanDO OuT+aBOuT

OuTlOuD nOT OuT

fter the passIng of davId JeremIah ZedoneK, also known as Justice to many of his friends/fans, the future of the WPRK radio and podcast show he created Outloud Orlando: The Homo Happy Hour was uncertain.

A pet project for many years, David brought an attempt to be a shock-jock frat-boy to the local radio show. It was recently announced on the Facebook page there would be “The NEW Outloud Orlando.” The show will continue on WPRK 91.5 FM starting in late January on Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m., streaming live on gayradioshow.com.

The show will return with Rob Ward as host alongside a rotating list of co-hosts from the original show: Mr. Miss Adrien, Bobby DeSormier, Ladyberri Matthews and many more. Rob said he hopes to keep the show light and fun the way the show has always been, but he hopes to be adding more of a community and social component to the show.

E

1

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5

6

kICk sOME Balls!

ver want to taKe out your aggressIon on some balls? Here’s your chance, Gays on the Move is a new organization. According to their facebook page their purpose is to bring together a socially progressive community by communicating through sports, leisure and lifestyle channels.

They just announced the dates for the registration for the LGBTQA Kickball Orlando group, the spring season which runs from March 4 – April 29 will have games every Saturday from 12-2 p.m. at Lake Fairview Park. The league is limited to eight teams with 15 players per team, they encourage you to register early! For more information and upcoming events, check out Gays on The Move’s Facebook page. It’s time to kick some balls!

a

2

PulsE CaREs

fter the new year’s eve attacK in the nightclub in Turkey, a banner was set up outside of the makeshift memorial at Pulse nightclub. The idea behind the banner was for visitors at Pulse to sign and send messages of love and support to the victims and family members of the terrorist attack.

Continuing in the tradition of love for the city, Pulse Nightclub announced on Jan. 10 that the now iconic Pulse sign will be lit in blue to honor the two fallen law enforcement officers that were tragically killed on Monday, January 9.

Sergeant Debra Clayton with the Orlando Police Department was shot and killed by Markeith Lloyd, and Deputy Norm Lewis with the Orange County Sheriff’s office died in a motorcycle accident as a result to him responding to the shooting of Sergeant Clayton.

As of the time the issue went to press, Markeith Lloyd was still at large. Please contact Crimeline with any tips (800-423-TIPS).

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COuRTESy fACEBOOK

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such a tease: (L to R) Michelina Wingerter, Nicki Jay, Blue Star, Gadiel Vazquez, Jose Navarro, and Jessica Helen at The Venue, in Orlando, Jan. 3. PHOTO

happy new year!: (L to R): Breanna Causey, Giovanna Galhardoni and Patricia Galhardoni ringing in the New Year at hard rock live on Dec. 31. PHOTO COuRTESy

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COuRTESy BluE MARTINI

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flesh for fantasy: Adult film star Brad Mason gets ready to take it off at the P. PHOTO COuRTESy

PHOTO COuRTESy SOuTHERN NIGHTS ORlANDO

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PARlIAMENT HOuSE

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strIKe a pose: (L to R): Joey lee, Manuel lopez, Manuel Rodriguez, Jonathan ford, Austin Wilmott-Conrad on 1.6.17 @ #FlexFridays.

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surprIse!: Chris McCullion, Sheila Capewell, Kay Rawlins, Carlos Carbonell celebrate Kevin Bonnewitz’ surprise party at the Abbey in Orlando on 1/7. PHOTO COuRTESy THE ABBEy

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

announcements

WEDDInG BElls

eduardo Di Castro and Terence Jay Fines

cOngraTulaTiOns

from Orlando, FL

Pom Pom’s Teahouse & Sandwicheria celebrated 11 years this past December.

years TOgeTHer:

lOcal BirTHdays

3 years

engagemenT daTe:

march 7, 2015

wedding daTe:

November 11, 2016

wedding venue:

Fazenda Boa esperança (Good Hope Farm)

wedding planner:

ellen Diniz

wedding caTerer:

Fabio Buffet

wedding THeme/ cOlOrs:

Brazilian colors — baby blue and green with sunflowers

firsT sOng:

“el Corazon”

by Arno elias

inTeresTing facT:

Their first dance was a choreographed tango to the song “el Corazon”.

“I

thInK It’s rare to fInd

gentlemen, and he’s a gentleman for me,” Eduardo says about Terence. “That’s what I most love about him, and he’s super cute too.”

Eduardo Di Castro, who is a photographer and videographer, and Terence Jay Fines, who works in the IT field, met through a dating app. Eduardo says that the two spoke for more than a month before they met up. They finally agreed to meet for sushi at a Japanese restaurant.

“I was actually really intimidated to meet him as well,” Terence says. “I think that had to contribute to the delay because I just felt that maybe I was way out of his league or something, because just from his profile he was very handsome. I didn’t feel like that he would be interested when we met.”

Eduardo says the progression of their relationship was smooth, taking it one step at a time and enjoying each other’s company without big expectations.

Eventually, their relationship grew and so did their love for one another.

For the proposal, Terence did a flash mob proposal at Disney Boardwalk. Three months prior to the engagement, he created

a practice video so that people who wanted to join could. When the day came, he said he was really nervous and giddy at the same time. He said it was an amazing feeling, especially when he said yes.

Eduardo’s family lives in Brazil, and they planned on having the wedding over there.

A year prior to the wedding date, they went to Brazil to visit possible venues for the wedding, and they fell in love with the first place they visited. It was a farm that had more than 35 acres of land.

They ran into some hiccups the month leading up to the big day. Two weeks prior to the wedding, a guy from the orchestra who was supposed to play at their ceremony posted something homophobic online after meeting with Eduardo to finalize the ceremony details. The couple did not want to use that company’s services and were refunded everything. One week before the wedding, the catering company that was supposed to

cater their wedding was found to have stolen money from more than 30 clients and were fired. Luckily, the venue found a replacement catering company before their wedding, and the food ended up being amazing.

For Terence, he was moved by his mom’s actions to attend the wedding because she previously wasn’t planning to go and didn’t approve.

“Up until two or three months before the ceremony, my mom told me that she was not going to come to my wedding because she didn’t support it,” Terence says.

“Somewhere three months before the wedding, she asked her priest – she’s Catholic – for permission to go my wedding. Her sisters wanted to come. Her family was very supportive, but I come from a very strong Roman Catholic household so she just didn’t understand it. For her, Catholics say no, so we can’t support or be there. She asked her priest, so I at least knew she was conflicted and actually considering [it]. A couple months later, she surprised me by telling me she is coming to my wedding, but she said she doesn’t necessarily support it but she’ll be there. Which is fine – I’m OK with that.”

Sarasota real-life cowboy Bill flynn and Sarasota actress and improv genius Christine Alexander, Orlando promoter Jason Nuez (Jan. 12); Watermark owner and publisher Rick Claggett, former St. Pete Pride board member and marketing guru Nick Capezza, Sarasota MCC pastor Gina Durbin (Jan. 13); Tampa’s former Chelsea Nightclub owner Nikki Turnon, Orlando mom and Se7en Bites owner Trina Gregory-Propst (Jan 14); real estate vixen Carla Stanton (Jan. 15); Bradley’s on Seventh bartender levi Garrett; Orlando dog-walker Don Williams, Ex-Watermark intern and cover model Gina Avile, Central Florida LGBTQ veterans advocate Keri Griffin Edenfield; Tampa realtor Patricc Petti, Central Florida musician Justin David (Jan. 16); Watermark art director and stunningly handsome man Jake Stevens, Watermark contributor Scottie Campbell, Softball stud Richard Harem (Jan. 17); Lake Fairview Marina owner Cynthia Johnson, Orlando Gay Chorus vocalist Edd “Peaches” Sinnett, Sarasota native and A League of Our Own member Jerry Rivera, JP Morgan Chase honcho Kris R. Johnson (Jan. 18); St. Petersburg’s beefy Flamingo bartender Doug lyons, Former Space Coast Pride President lexi Wright (Jan. 20); Watermark senior sales representative Sam Callahan, Watermark office manager’s BFF Michelle Carter (Jan. 21); GSH Radio host and Orlando resident Greg Henchar; Orlando service industry pro Jeremy Indomenico (Jan. 22); Metropolitan Business Association secretary Michael Deeying, Orlando actor Mike Van Dyke (Jan. 23); Orlando home inspector and art lover Paul Kusic, Ex-Watermark intern Kim Slichter (Jan. 24); Singer and Tampa Bay performer Ashley Smith, St. Petersburg realtor and Punky’s proprietor Jim longstreth (Jan. 25).

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 LGBTQ life.

Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

49

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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Ja nua ry 12 - J a nua ry 25 , 2017 // Issue 24 .01

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