Volume 43, Number 14, April 6, 2012

Church denies direct role, but
leaked email details efforts

By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Members of the Mormon Church in Maryland
are working to overturn the states recently
passed marriage equality law, according to an
email obtained by the Washington Blade.
In the message dated March 29 sent to
D.C. and Southern Maryland-area church
members, the writer states that a coalition of
inter-denominational Maryland churches has
joined to place a referendum before voters in
November on the marriage law before it goes
into effect.
We need to collect approximately 200,000
signatures by the end of May, the email
states. We are looking for people to gather
signatures within the LDS community.
LDS refers to the churchs formal name, the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Those involved with the effort have told the
Blade the message isnt an ofcial message
from church leadership either at the local level
or from its headquarters in Salt Lake City, but is
rather part of a local ad hoc effort to challenge
Marylands marriage law.
The email says the important effort is
being led by Martha Schaerr, an LDS member
whos organizing signature collection within
Montgomery County and within the church.
Another named organizer in the email
is Teressa Wallace.
An informed source said the email was sent
to the entire congregation in D.C. and Southern
AF F L 0 o 2 0 1 2 v L ME 4 3 S S E 1 4 OUR COMMUNI T Y, OUR S T ORI E S S I NCE 1 9 6 9 WAS H NGT NB L ADE . CM
But challenger trails Orange in close
race, awaits absentee vote count

By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Challenger Sekou Biddle beat incumbent D.C. Council
member Vincent Orange in 12 of 14 voter precincts considered
ro have hih concenrrarions ol LGBT resicenrs Lur was rrailin
Orange by 523 votes in a hotly contested at-large Council race
considered too close to call on Wednesday.
Orange was leading with 39.8 percent of the vote
compared to Biddles 38.8 percent in a Democratic primary
election in which only 15.5 percent of registered Democrats
turned out to vote.
Democraric conrencers Ferer Shapiro anc E. Gail
Ancerson Holness receivec 10.5 percenr anc 7.3 percenr
respecrively. Some ol Biccle's supporrers in rhe LGBT
community called the two spoilers for taking away votes
that likely would have gone to Biddle and enabled him to
win the race.
Ofcials with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics said
the nal outcome of the race was not expected to be known
until more than 3,000 absentee and provisional ballots are
counted on April 13.
Holness, while expressin eneral supporr on LGBT
relarec issues, alienarec many ol rhe ciry's LGBT acrivisrs
by calling for the citys same-sex marriage law to go before
voters in a referendum.
Biccle hac rhe supporr ol rhe laresr numLer ol LGBT
activists, with Orange and Shapiro also lining up support in
rhe LGBT communiry.
The Gerrruce Srein Democraric CluL, rhe ciry's laresr
LGBT polirical roup, cic nor encorse a cancicare in rhe
at-large race because club members were divided in their
support between Biddle, Orange and Shapiro and none of
the candidates could obtain a required 60 percent of the
vote from the clubs membership to secure an endorsement.
Another four Council members running in the primary,
including two who voted against the same-sex marriage law
in 2009, easily won their races, enabling them to advance to
CNT NES N FAGE 14
CNT NES N FAGE 1o
MITT ROMNEY has all Lur clinchec rhe GF presicenrial nominarion (see pae
1o). He has plecec supporr lor a leceral consrirurional amencmenr celnin
marriage as between a man and woman, a position backed by the Mormon
Church, of which he is a member.
PHOTO BY GAGE SKIDMORE; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA.ORG
Mormons working to overturn
Maryland marriage law
Leading
the Way
Foundry advocates for
marriage equality, plus
Easter services and MCC news
in our Spirituality special section.
PAGES 27-30
Sykes is
Psyched
Lesbian comedian Wanda
Sykes to perform as
Howarc Thearre rerurns
after $29 million renovation.
PAGE 33
Biddle wins gay precincts
02 AFRl L 0, 2012 WASHl NGTONBLADE. COM
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April 19, 2012
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cocktail reception and awards presentation to benent Whitman-Walker Health.
Thursday, April 19, 2012 | 6:30 p.m. | Business Attire
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Managing editor of
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senior correspondent for
the PBS NewsHour
Kathleen Sebelius
United States Secretary of
Health and Human
Services
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Choi dismisses attorneys,
may represent himself
Gay former Army Lt. Dan Choi earlier
this year informed a federal judge in
D.C. that he has dismissed the attorneys
representing him in a trial for his November
2010 arrest for chaining himself to the
White House fence to protest Dont Ask,
Dont Tell.
Choi told the Blade this week hes
leaning toward representing himself in a
practice referred to in the court system as
pro se representation.
Frank Kameny has been a major
inspiration in that way, said Choi,
referring to the late gay rights leader from
D.C. Kameny represented himself before
the U.S. Supreme Court in the late 1960s
in an unsuccessful challenge to his ring
from a federal government job because
he was gay.
The petition that Kameny wrote asking
the high court to take his case has been
hailed as a precedent-setting manifesto
for the gay rights movement.
I think for activists, especially for
people who protest at the public square,
theres no more powerful thing and theres
no greater empowering moment than to
stand before the judge and let them hear
your own voice, Choi said.
He said hes weighing whether to appeal
his own case to the Supreme Court to
challenge a procedural ruling preventing
him from arguing at trial that he was
targeted for vindictive or selective
prosecution.
If the Supreme Court were to refuse to
take his case or if he foregoes that appeal,
his trial, which began in August 2011,
would resume in the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia.
Prosecutors used a harsher than
usual federal law to charge Choi with
a misdemeanor count of disobeying a
lawful order by police to move away from
the White House fence after he and nearly
a dozen others handcuffed themselves
to the fence. All of the other protesters
agreed to a government offer to plead
guilty to forego a trial and to have the
charge dropped if they refrained from
getting arrested again at the White House
for four months.
Choi refused that offer, saying his aim
is to win an acquittal at trial on grounds
that his action handcufng himself to the
White House fence is protected by his
First Amendment right to free speech and
should not be considered an illegal act.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Council prepares to
vote on bullying bill

An anti-bullying bill stalled in a D.C.
City Council committee since January
2011 could come up for a committee vote
later this month, according to the ofce of
Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6).
Charles Allen, Wells chief of staff, said an
ad hoc group of supporters of the bill has
completed drafting several amendments
to resolve the main impediment causing
the delay an initial inability to identify
ways to pay for implementing the bill or to
lower the costs of its provisions.
The latest draft of the anti-bullying
bill has nished a review by the Councils
General Counsel for legal sufciency with
the new language and were now looking
to move forward, Allen said.
The Bullying and Intimidation
Prevention Act, as introduced last year,
would require D.C. public and charter
schools, the Department of Parks and
Recreation, the D.C. public library system,
and the University of the District of
Columbia to adopt policies prohibiting
harassment, intimidation or bullying at
their respective facilities.
Allen said the Committee on Libraries,
Parks, Recreation, and Planning, which
Wells chairs, was expected to hold a
markup session later this month to vote to
approve the proposed changes.
At that time, we expect that well have
the nal scal impact analysis complete
by the CFO so that everything can move
forward he said, referring to the citys chief
nancial ofcer. Were hopeful that this
means things will move quickly from here
on out and well have the revised bill
incorporating many of the recommendations
from the advocacy community before the
full Council shortly.
LGBT activists have said the bill is
needed to protect LGBT youth from
bullying and harassment in schools,
parks and other public places at a time of
widespread reports of anti-LGBT bulling
and high rates of LGBT teen suicide.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
obituary
THOMAS R. VINCENT, 62

Thomas R. Vincent, a longtime D.C. resident who worked as a procurement
ofcer for the federal government and most recently for the United Nations, died
March 21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He was 62.
His sister, Caroline Fitzgerald, said he died suddenly after contracting a
respiratory illness less than three months after he retired from his position as chief
procurement ofcer for a United Nations program based in Cambodia.
The program provides assistance to a special Cambodian tribunal in charge of
prosecuting individuals implicated in atrocities against the Cambodian people
that were committed during the Khmer Rouge government from 1975 to 1979.
The tribunal is ofcially known as the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts
of Cambodia for the Prosecution of Crimes Committed during the Period of
Democratic Kampuchea.
Lars Olsen, a spokesperson for the U.N., said Vincent was responsible for
overseeing the procurement of all goods and contractual services provided by
the United Nations to assist the operations of the tribunal court.
Tom loved the people and culture of Cambodia, Fitzgerald said. He had
recently expressed his wishes to make Cambodia his home and the place he
could spend his retirement years.
Vincent, who was gay and had many friends in D.C.s gay community, was born
in Quincy, Mass., according to Fitzgerald. He received his bachelors degree at
Boston University and a masters degree in public administration from Bostons
Suffolk University.
His career in the eld of public administration and procurement included a
stint between 1998 and 2003 as deputy director and director of the Procurement
Management Division at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
in Washington, D.C.
He served from January 2005 to December 2006 as acting director of
procurement and procurement manager for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
both in Washington and in Prague.
From 2006 to 2008 he served as a consultant for the suburban Maryland-based
company Procurement Solutions. In that position he provided consulting services
to companies doing business with international agencies, including the U.Ns
World Health Organization and UNICEF program, the World Bank, the Gates
Foundation and the U.S. National Academies of Science.
Thomas was a voracious reader and loved to learn all he could about countries,
their people and their cultures, Fitzgerald said. He spent many wonderful years
traveling all over the world visiting places like the Egyptian pyramids, climbing
Machu Picchu, exploring the countryside and castles in Scotland, shopping in
London, and the list goes on, she said.
He not only traveled the world, but always made sure he brought a little
piece of where he had been back to his family, said Fitzgerald. He was always
thoughtful and considerate of others.
Fitzgerald said her brother was a strong ally to those who struggled with alcohol
addiction, adding, He was diligent in his commitment to his own rehabilitation
and to those friends he met along the way, always being there to lend a helping
hand and show his support.
Survivors include his sisters Caroline, Kathleen, and Beth; his brother David; his
niece and many nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He was predeceased by his
parents, Barbara and Thomas Vincent.
At his request, his ashes will remain in Cambodia, Fitzgerald said. She said a
private memorial will be held by his family at a future date.
Condolences may be sent c/o Kathleen Rafanan, 1400 Celebration Ave., Apt.
301, Celebration, FL 34747.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
washingtonblade.com
04 AFRl L 0, 2012 LOCAL NEWS
DAN CHOI, who was arrested in 2010 at a White
House protest, may represent himself at trial.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Lawyer says defendant
has medical problems
related to pregnancy
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
A video recording shows that the woman
charged in the March 11 shooting of a
gay man at the International House of
Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights
red a handgun at the victim after an off-
duty police ofcer broke up a scufe and
separated two groups that were ghting,
according to a police afdavit led in court.
An attorney representing Lashawn
Yvonne Carson, 27, who was charged
last week with aggravated assault while
armed in connection with the shooting,
told a D.C. Superior Court judge that
Carson is pregnant and was experiencing
a pregnancy-related medical problem.
The attorney, Patrick J. Christmas, said
during a court hearing that Carsons medical
issues could require medical attention while
shes being held in jail without bond pending
a preliminary hearing now scheduled for
April 11. The hearing had been scheduled
for Thursday, March 29, but Judge Frederick
Sullivan agreed to Christmass request to
postpone the hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Lauren
Bickie agreed to Christmass request for
the postponement.
The police afdavit was led in court at
the time of Carsons arrest on March 26.
It says a surveillance camera at the IHOP
restaurant captured an altercation between
Carson and a male friend and the victim
and his friends that began inside the IHOP
shortly before 6:30 a.m. on March 11.
The afdavit says the video surveillance
recording was obtained and viewed
by police investigators shortly before
the arrest. It says the video shows what
appears to be a verbal altercation
between the victim and a male subject
who was with Carson.
Carson appears to be separating the
complainant and the male subject, it
says. The complainant then appears
to throw a glass at the male subject and
then appears to throw a punch at the male
subject, which struck Carson in the face,
the afdavit says.
At this a physical altercation ensued
between the complainant, the male
subject and Carson, says the afdavit.
Other members of both parties began
to engage in the ght. An off duty police
ofcer intervened and separated the two
parties from ghting, it says.
After the parties were separated, at
the time stamped 06:27:17 to 06:27:20 on
camera #6, Carson is seen standing near the
window of the restaurant by what appears
to be a hostess stand and ring a single shot
that struck the complainant, the afdavit
says. The complainant appears to grab his
right abdomen and stumble back and fall to
the ground. Carson and the male subject
then ed out of the restaurant. Carson
as seen on the footage is a black female
wearing a black jacket and blue jeans.
The afdavit reports that police
interviewed Carson about the incident on
March 24 and she admitted to shooting
the victim. It says she stated she red a
single shot at the complainant after the
physical altercation broke out between
the two groups. But it doesnt say whether
she disputes the police observation that
the video shows her ring the shot after
the off duty police ofcer broke up the
ght and separated the two parties.
Christmas did not respond to a call
seeking comment.
Matt Jones, a spokesperson for the U.S.
Attorneys ofce, said he couldnt comment
further on the details about the allegations
in the case. However, he said the case is still
under investigation and the U.S. Attorneys
ofce has the option of ling additional
charges, including a possible illegal gun
possession charge and charge designating
the shooting as a hate crime.
D.C. police listed the incident as a hate
crime related to the victims perceived or actual
sexual orientation at the time of the incident
was reported. Jones said the U.S. Attorneys
ofce routinely waits for the conclusion of its
own investigation before making a decision
on whether to add a bias related designation
to a case. Such a designation could result
in a greater sentence, including a longer
prison term, upon conviction of a defendant
in such cases.
Police Log
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Departments Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit participated in the following investigations:
n March 30, in rhe 2100 Llock ol New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., a man reporrec
he was involved in an argument with a suspect over keys to an apartment. The
argument escalated and the suspect punched the victim in the face. The man
refused medical treatment. The suspect ed the scene prior to MPD arrival. The
two are involved in a domestic relationship.
n March 30, memLers ol rhe GLL arrencec an LGBT communiry roup awarc
ceremony.
n March 30, in rhe 1700 Llock ol Gales Srreer, N.E., a Lias incicenr reporr was
taken after racial threats and slurs were found written inside of a port-a-potty.
n March 2, memLers ol rhe GLL arrencec a communiry salery lorum ar
Georgetown University.
n March 27, in rhe 3000 Llock ol rh Srreer, S.E., a complainanr anc a suspecr
were involved in a verbal altercation over the victims watching a television program.
The suspect began to verbally abuse the victim by calling him homophobic slurs
and pushed the victim into a glass window. The suspect was arrested.
n March 23, in rhe 2000 Llock ol Marylanc Avenue, N.W., rwo complainanrs,
were enaec in a verLal alrercarion over alleec inlceliry. No ollense rook
place. The two are involved in a domestic relationship.
n March 22 in rhe 2100 Llock ol Twinnin Courr N.W., a man reporrec rhar
while he was at a local nightclub, he was assaulted by a suspect, who hit him in
the face with an unknown object causing a laceration. The man went to a local
hospital for treatment. A report was taken.

n March 22, in rhe 2700 Llock ol Lansron Flace, S.E., a complainanr reporrec
that a suspect threatened to kill the complainant and used homophobic slurs. A
report was taken.

n March 22, GLL memLers assisrec on a search warranr rhar was concucrec
in rhe 3800 Llock ol 2nc Srreer, S.E.
n March 8 in rhe 1000 Llock ol ncepencence Avenue, S.W., a man reporrec
that he walked into a tness center and asked the suspect a question about a
client. The suspect used homophobic slurs toward him and then threatened to
harm him.
washingtonblade.com
0 AFRl L 0, 2012 LOCAL NEWS
A video shows that a woman shot a gay man at a D.C. IHOP restaurant after an off-duty cop broke up
a ght between two groups.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
Video shows woman
shot victim after scufe ended
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Majority of N.C. voters oppose marriage ban
ELON, N.C. A new poll out this week shows that 60 percent of North
Carolina voters oppose the language that will be used on the May 8 ballot to
pass a proposed constitutional amendment banning state recognition of same-
sex relationships.
The same poll by Elon University indicated that when the exact impact of the
ballot measure known as Amendment One was explained to voters, the
number opposed rose to 66 percent.
Poll ndings have uctuated in recent weeks in the state, with several showing
majority support for the ban, but all have shown that the electorate seems
confused about the impact of the law, especially in terms of whether or not it bans
all state recognition, including domestic partnerships and civil unions.
Activist uses sunshine laws to change minds
SEATTLE A gay Washington man has found a novel way to advocate for LGBT
rights after the state made available the names of the signatories of a petition that
put same-sex couples rights up for vote in 2009.
After the state released the names of the signers of the petition that put Referendum
71 on the ballot, Paul Thomasson began to send letters to people on the list.
You dont know me, the letter always begins, according to the Seattle Times,
but you may soon be in a position to have an effect on my life.
Thomassons letters tell his personal story, and entreat the recipients to vote
against an upcoming referendum Referendum 74 that would undo the
states recently passed same-sex marriage law.
People are basically good and tolerant, Thomasson says. My intent was to
let them know theres an actual human being affected by their decision.
Chicago clinic repays $715,000 to feds
CHICAGO The Chicago Dept. of Public Health will proactively address
disparities faced by the citys LGBT population, according to the Windy City Times.
The 22-point plan will ramp up tobacco cessation efforts, as well as the collection
of hate crime statistics for this higher risk population. The department will also
do more to collect sexual orientation and gender identity statistics, and develop
cultural competency training for health care providers.
However, the announcement comes on the heels of a report by the Chicago
Tribune that Chicago-based LGBT clinic Howard Brown Health Center will pay back
$715,000 to federal agencies to settle claims former executives misspent grant money.
This is all behind us now, Howard Brown CEO Jamal Edwards told the
Tribune. Edwards took over in 2010 after the organization was put in the spotlight
for violating federal law.
Acclaimed lesbian poet Rich dies at 82
LOS ANGELES One of the nations most celebrated poets died last week.
Lesbian poet and Baltimore native Adrienne Rich died in her Santa Cruz, Calif.,
home from complications of long-term rheumatoid arthritis, according to the L.A.
Times. (See page 22 for tribute.)
Rich was a highly acclaimed poet, known for writing about womens rights, the
poor and especially for her anti-war poetry. She made headlines in 1997 for refusing
to accept the National Medal for the Arts from then-President Clinton a plotline
later explored on the iconic White House drama The West Wing, with Laura Dern
playing a poet turning down the position of U.S. Poet Lauriat during wartime.
Rich is survived by her long-time partner Michelle Cliff, and three sons from her
rst marriage.
First time appeals court
hears case to overturn
anti-gay law
Editors note: This story was breaking as the Blade went
to press Wednesday. Visit washingtonblade.com for
much more on this important story.
By CHRIS JOHNSON
BOSTON Oral arguments in a
landmark legal proceeding challenging
the Defense of Marriage Act unfolded
Wednesday, marking the rst time an
appeals court has heard a challenge to the
anti-gay federal law.
Lawyers squared off over the
constitutionality of DOMA, amid
discussion about whether the law fails
a rational basis standard of scrutiny or
interferes with a states rights under the
Tenth Amendment.
Stuart Delery, whos gay and the Justice
Departments acting assistant attorney
general for the civil division, surprised many
when he said the Obama administration
wouldnt defend DOMA on any basis,
including under rational basis review.
Last year, the Obama administration
said it would no longer defend DOMA
in court, on the basis that President
Obama had determined that the anti-gay
law fails heightened scrutiny because it
discriminates against gay couples.
Asked by Judge Juan Torruella whether
the administration has a position on
the rational basis test for the law, Delery
replied, We dont.
Two cases challenging the
constitutionality of DOMA are before
the First Circuit: Gill v. Ofce of
Personnel Management, led by Gay
& Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, and
Commonwealth of Massachusetts v.
Department of Health & Human Services,
led by Massachusetts Attorney General
Martha Coakley.
Delerys position is signicant because
U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro in 2010
ruled in favor of plaintiffs on the basis
that DOMA didnt pass the rational basis
standard review, or a rational means to
a legitimate governmental end. Judges
on the First Circuit will have to decide
whether to afrm or overrule this decision.
Still, Delery said heightened scrutiny,
or examining the law on the assumption
that its discriminatory toward a group of
people, is the appropriate way to handle
DOMA because Congress passed DOMA
in 1996 out of animus toward gay people.
Delery maintained that the name
DOMA itself indicates that the anti-gay
law was intended to discriminate against
LGBT families.
It was a defense against something,
and that something was same-sex
couples, Delery said.
However, Delery said the administration
doesnt share the view that DOMA is
unconstitutional on the basis that it
interferes with a states Tenth Amendment
right to regulate marriage, saying thats
where we disagree with the lawsuit.
Delery said Congress has the authority
to dene federal programs even
those related to marriage, where states
traditionally have had jurisdiction on who
can and cannot be marry.
washingtonblade.com
08 AFRl L 0, 2012 NATlONAL NEWS
Attorney General ERIC HOLDER announced last year that the Justice Department would no longer
defend DOMA in court because the administration had determined the 1996 anti-gay law to be
unconstitutional.
WASHlNGTON BLADE FlLE FHOTO BY MlCHAEL KEY
HISTORIC: Oral arguments
in DOMA challenge
Recent polls have shown North Carolina may have a shot at
turning back a ballot measure barring state recognition of
same-sex couples in the constitution.
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Case follows
administrations refusal
to hold green cards
in abeyance
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A new lawsuit was led Monday
challenging the constitutionality of the
Defense of Marriage Act this time on the
grounds that it discriminates against married
bi-national same-sex couples seeking to
remain together in the United States.
Immigration Equality, an LGBT advocacy
group, led the case in the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of New York
on behalf of ve gay couples. The law rm
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
joined the organization in ling the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, known as Blesch v.
Holder, targets the inability of these
spouses to secure residency in the United
States through the marriage-based green
card application process.
Americans in opposite-sex marriages can
sponsor their foreign spouses for residency
in the United States, but that option isnt
available to same-sex couples because of
DOMA. These couples are at risk of separation
if the foreign national is undocumented or if
a temporary visa obtained for work or some
other purposes expires.
Because of DOMA, the federal
government does not recognize the
marriages of same-sex couples and,
therefore, denies them the immigration
rights afforded to other married couples, the
complaint states. As a result, these couples
live their lives at constant risk of separation.
The ve couples represented in the
lawsuit are Edwin Blesch and his South
African spouse, Tim Smulian, who reside
in Orient, N.Y.; Frances Herbert and her
Japanese-born spouse, Takako Ueda,
who reside in Dummerston, Vt.; Heather
Morgan and her Spanish-born spouse,
Maria del Mar Verdugo, who live in
New York City; Santiago Ortiz and his
Venezuelan-born spouse, Pablo Garcia,
who live in Elmhurst, N.Y.; and Kelli Ryan
and her British-born spouse, Lucy Truman,
who reside in Sandy Hook, Conn.
The complaint details the stories of each
of the couples involved in the lawsuit. For
Blesch and Smulian, the complaint notes
that Blesch has been living with HIV since
1987. For 11 years, the couple spent six
months in the United States and six month
abroad to stay together.
However, according to the complaint,
complications from HIV therapy as well as
other health problems have begun taking
a toll on Bleschs health. As a result, hes
no longer able to spend six months in
South Africa because it would be too far
from his doctors. The couple has been
spending much of their time in Canada,
but Bleschs Medicare doesnt cover him
in that country and hes forced to return
twice to the United States for care.
Tim, heartbroken, could not
accompany Edwin to his doctors (as he
always does), fearful he would be denied
entry to the United States during those
six-month periods, the lawsuit states.
Immigration Equalitys lawsuit is one
of about a dozen pending lawsuits
challenging DOMA. This week, the First
Circuit Court of Appeals was set to hear
oral arguments for two cases, marking the
rst time an appellate court has held a
hearing on DOMA.
Rachel Tiven, executive director of
Immigration Equality, said her lawsuit was
a necessary addition to existing cases
because no pending lawsuit focuses on
bi-national couples.
We worked closely in partnership with
GLAD, Lambda, ACLU to determine what
would make sense to protect the rights of
people for whom their DOMA problem is
immigration benets, and really came to the
conclusion that the time is now, Tiven said.
Lavi Soloway, co-founder of Stop the
Deportations and an immigration attorney
at Masliah & Soloway, said the lawsuit will
help draw attention to the plight of gay bi-
national couples. He has no involvement
with the lawsuit.
Still, Soloway expressed skepticism that
the case would have any impact on the law
because he thinks other DOMA lawsuits
will reach the Supreme Court sooner.
Certainly, bi-national couples
experience Section 3 of DOMA in a way
that is hard to compare to any other
situation, but the reality is that this lawsuit
will move through the federal judicial
system for years and is unlikely to produce
any immediate change, Soloway said.
But the Immigration Equality case
isnt the rst lawsuit to challenge DOMA
on the basis that its unfair to bi-national
same-sex couples. In September, a federal
judge threw out a case led by Handi Lui,
an Indonesian native who was denied a
marriage-based green card application.
Tiven said her organizations lawsuit
will be more successful than other
immigration-related DOMA cases
because it was led in a different circuit
that is governed by different case law.
We led in the Second Circuit because
we believe that a DOMA challenge based
on immigration need will succeed here and
because all of the states in the second circuit
are marriage equality states, Tiven said.
The Obama administration announced
last year it would no longer defend DOMA
in court, and since then following a vote
of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group
the House general counsel has taken up
defense of the law.
In the Immigration Equality case, the
Justice Department is similarly expected
to decline to defend DOMA, and the
attorneys of House Speaker John Boehner
are expected to come to the defense of
the anti-gay law.
Immigration Equality has called on the
Obama administration to hold the marriage-
based green cards of bi-national same-sex
couples in abeyance so they cannot be
denied until Congress or the courts act to
repeal DOMA. Each time the organization
has made the call, the administration has
said it would continue to enforce DOMA as
long as it remains on the books.
One of the couples involved in the
lawsuit, Ryan and Truman, have asked
the administration to make this change.
In November, Sen. Richard Blumenthal
(D-Conn.) wrote the Department of
Homeland Security to ask ofcials to place
on hold the couples green card application.
According to The Advocate, LGBT
groups met with White House ofcials
to January to discuss the possibility of
putting the green cards in abeyance.
But administration ofcials reportedly
told LGBT rights supporters such action
wouldnt be taken.Case
Tiven said Immigration Equality led the
lawsuit because the administrations decision
left the organization no other option.
Weve been really working ... for a year
now to ask them to hold the green card
applications for couples who are affected
by DOMA and, after a lot of back and forth,
they ultimately said no, Tiven said. So we
really were left with no choice but to sue.
Soloway said the administration has
no reason not to take action to place the
green cards in abeyance to protect bi-
national same-sex couples.
It is not a legally required position, it is a
political choice, Soloway said. If they want
to protect all LGBT families, then they could
craft policy that would secure married bi-
national couples in the interim period.
While the administration hasnt taken
action to hold the marriage-based green
card applications in abeyance, it has said it
would include bi-national same-sex couples
as part of an effort to take low priority cases
out of the deportation pipeline by granting
them prosecutorial discretion.
The criteria for being taken out of
the deportation pipeline include a
persons ties and contributions to the
community and family relationships, and
administration ofcials have said these
criteria are inclusive of LGBT families and
same-sex couples.
But Soloway said these protections for bi-
national same-sex couples are insufcient
because, beyond speaking to media, the
administration has never explicitly said this
change covers LGBT families.
We should not be fooled, Soloway said.
Theres no expressed protection being
provided under the prosecutorial discretion
policy to lesbian and gay bi-national
couples. It has worked in certain cases, but
its far from consistent and it depends on
individual ICE prosecutors understanding
how to apply the guidelines.
Moreover, Tiven said none of the couples
in the lawsuit have received notication
they would be taken out of the deportation
pipeline as a result of this initiative.
According to Immigration Equality,
Blesch and Smulian have one year of
deferred action for a deportation hearing,
while Herbert and Takako are applying for
such action. Ryan and Truman as well as
Morgan and del Mar Verdugo are able to
stay together in the United States because
of work visas.
It doesnt let them make any advance
plans, Tiven said. In the [Morgan
and del Mar Verdugos] case, they
talked about having children, but have
postponed that because they just dont
know what could happen.
washingtonblade.com
10 AFRl L 0, 2012 NATl ONAL NEWS
Bi-national gay couples le lawsuit targeting DOMA
RACHEL TIVEN, executive director of Immigration Equality, said her lawsuit was a necessary addition
to existing cases because no pending lawsuit focuses on bi-national couples.
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Measure would bar
anti-LGBT bias among
federal contractors
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A group of 72 U.S. House members
is calling on President Obama to take
administrative action to institute federal
non-discrimination protections for LGBT
people in the workplace.
In a letter dated April 2, the lawmakers
ask Obama to issue an executive order
requiring companies doing business
with the U.S. government to have non-
discrimination policies inclusive of sexual
orientation and gender identity.
This order would extend important
workplace protections to millions
of Americans, while at the same time
laying the groundwork for Congressional
passage of the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act (ENDA), a goal that we
share with you, the lawmakers write.
The executive order is similar in its goal
to the Employment Non-Discrimination
Act, legislation that would bar job bias. The
directive has sometimes been referred to
as the ENDA executive order, although
the order would be more limited in scope
because it only affects federal contractors.
The letter recalls that President Johnson
in 1965 issued Executive Order 11246,
which similarly banned discrimination
among federal contractors for workers
based on color, religion, sex and national
origin, and says this order continues to
stand as an important protection.
The opportunity to expand protections
against workplace discrimination to
members of the LGBT community is
a critical step that you can take today,
especially when data and research tell
us that 43 percent of LGB people and
90 percent of transgender people have
experienced workplace discrimination,
the lawmakers write.
Lawmakers also make the case for
the executive order by citing data
that the majority of the 25 largest
federal contractors have already adopted
these policies and polling shows a majority
of American people support such action.
The majority of the 50 largest
corporations in America, for example,
say that adopting inclusive workplace
practices such as adding sexual
orientation and gender identity to
corporate non-discrimination statements
helps attract the best talent, reduce
employee turnover, and overall is a plus to
their bottom lines, the letter states.
The letter also notes that the military
contractor DynCorp agreed to adopt
an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination
policy after media reports were published
about a straight employee who allegedly
endured anti-gay harassment working
there and an online petition demanding
the company make the change received
50,000 signatures.
Multiple sources, speaking on condition
of anonymity, have told the Blade the Labor
and Justice Departments have cleared such
a measure. The White House hasnt
said whether it will issue the executive
order and didnt immediately respond to a
request to comment on the letter.
The letter was circulated among House
members by retiring gay Rep. Barney
Frank (D-Mass.) as well as Reps. Frank
Pallone (D-N.J.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.).
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to
Work and chief advocate of the executive
order, commended Pallone and other
House members for who signed their
names in support of the executive order.
Now that more than 110,000 people
have signed the Freedom to Work online
petition, more than 70 members of
Congress have signed Mr. Pallones
letter, and 73% of the American people
have expressed support for this policy in
recent polling, it is clear that We Cant
Wait any longer for the president to
sign the executive order adding LGBT
workplace protections to millions of
American jobs, Almeida said.
Among the signers are the four openly
gay members of Congress: Frank, Tammy
Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.)
and David Cicilline (D-R.I.). The letter
marks the rst time that Frank, Baldwin
and Cicilline have publicly articulated
support for the directive.
In an interview with the Washington
Blade shortly after he announced his
retirement in November, Frank said the
executive order is a reasonable thing
to keep pushing for. Still, he said at the
time the presidents authority has limits
and racial discrimination is embodied
in the Constitution unlike discrimination
against LGBT people, so the president
has more power to take action on issues
related to race.
Polis said in an interview in March 2011
with the Washington Blade that he backs the
idea of Obama issuing an executive order
making him the rst public ofcial to go
on the record in support of the directive.
Other notable signers are Rep. George
Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on
the House Education & the Workforce
Committee, the House panel that has
jurisdiction over ENDA. Another signer is
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.), the ranking
Democrat on the Subcommittee on Health,
Employment, Labor & Pensions, the House
subcommittee with jurisdiction over ENDA.
Other House who signed are Rep. Judy
Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the Congressional
Asian Pacic Caucus; as well as Reps. Ral
Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.),
co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive
Caucus. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (R-Md.) is
also a signer.
But prominent members of House
Democratic leadership arent among
the signers. The names of both House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-
Md.) arent on the letter.
Pelosi endorsed the executive order
when asked about it by the Blade during a
news conference in July. Drew Hammill, a
Pelosi spokesperson, said the Democratic
leader doesnt typically sign group letters
because of longstanding custom since
she has been in leadership.
Still, Pelosi has penned her name to
LGBT-relevant petitions before. She was
among 69 lawmakers who signed a letter
calling on the Obama administration to
issue explicit guidance saying bi-national
same-sex couples will be included in
policies that aim to take low-priority cases
out of the deportation pipeline. Pelosi
was also among 133 House members
who signed an amicus brief supporting
litigation contesting the constitutionality
of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Daniel Reilly, a Hoyer spokesperson,
said Friday his boss is reviewing the
letter and noted that Hoyer is an ENDA
co-sponsor. Hoyer also signed the amicus
brief against DOMA.
Another notable absence is Rep. Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the
Democratic National Committee. Her
ofce didnt immediately respond to the
Blades request for comment on the letter.
No Republicans signed the letter. It
begins with a paragraph praising Obama
thanking him for his leadership on
LGBT issues and saying his administration
will be long-remembered for its efforts
to build an America that is fully inclusive
of all people, regardless of their sexual
orientation or gender identity which
Republicans would likely nd unpalatable.
washingtonblade.com
12 AFRl L 0, 2012 NATl ONAL NEWS
72 lawmakers ask Obama to sign ENDA order
Rep. BARNEY FRANK was among those who circulated a letter asking President Obama to sign an
executive order barring workplace bias among federal contractors.
PRESIDENT OBAMA hasnt said whether hes open to issuing the ENDA-like executive order, but
sources have said the measure has already cleared the Labor and Justice departments.
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Maryland, which consists of between 500
and 1,500 church members and former
members. According to the source, the
author is Wallace, one of the named
organizers in the email and wife of one of
the junior pastors of the congregation.
Only 55,736 valid signatures are
needed to force a ballot measure in
Maryland. The stated goal of obtaining
200,000 signatures is likely an attempt to
over deliver in case the validity of some
signatures is challenged.
According to the email, church members
interested in organizing training sessions
are required to attend a 30-minute training
session, due to the stringent Maryland
laws concerning referendums.
There will be several training sessions
offered, but if transportation to them is a
problem for you, a trainer would be happy
to meet with you at a more convenient
time and location, the email states.
The email says the Mormon Church is
neutral on matters of party politics, but
asks that members take an active role in
civic duties.
The Church does encourage its
members to play a role as responsible
citizens, including becoming informed
about issues and voting in elections, and
becoming engaged in the political process
in an informed and civil manner, the email
states. Please consider helping with this
very important effort. Every signature is
important and every little bit helps!
In an email to the Blade, Schaerr said shes
organizing against the Maryland marriage
law not out of any guidance or pressure
from the church, but on her own accord.
My understanding of the religious
principles taught by the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in The
Proclamation on the Family, the scriptures
and numerous statements by church
leaders has informed my conscience, and I
am seeking to follow my conscience, the
email states.
Schaerr also expressed concern that the
same-sex marriage law in Maryland would
stie those who want to speak out against
homosexuality.
I believe the Maryland law extends
beyond providing rights to gay couples and
actually seeks to silence religious objections
to same sex relationships by changing the
denition of marriage, she said.
A history of anti-gay politics
The LDS member named in the email
as leading the effort, Schaerr, who failed
in her bid to win a seat in 2010 on the
Montgomery County School Board, isnt a
stranger to anti-gay activism.
In 2007, Schaerr was reportedly a board
member of the Fairfax, Va.-based Family
Leader Network, an organization that
along with Citizens for a Responsible
Curriculum and Parents & Friends of Ex-
Gays and Gays led the effort against
a Montgomery County law instituting
lessons for 8th through 10th grade
students on safe-sex practices that
included gays.
According to the Gazette, Schaerr
downplayed her involvement in the lawsuit
against the curriculum while pursuing a seat
on the school board two years ago, reportedly
saying other board members wouldnt
support efforts to change the curriculum.
In an op-ed submitted to
the Washington Post at the time she was
running for the seat, Schaerr disputed
the notion shes anti-gay. However, she
said she disagreed that schools should
teach homosexuality is inevitably innate
because she said there are other views
to the contrary even though those
views are disputed by major medical and
psychiatric professional associations.
If were going to talk about anal sex
in a health class or a condom video, its
irresponsible not to warn students
especially gay students about the medical
evidence showing the heightened health
risks of anal sex compared with vaginal sex,
even with a condom, Schaerr said.
Wallace, the other named person
in the email, was also involved in the
ght against the curriculum. According
to an LDS publication called Meridian
Magazine, Wallace objected to the gay-
inclusive Montgomery County sex ed
curriculum, and attended a school board
meeting while holding a sign expressing
her opinion. The article is no longer on
the magazines website, but has been
reposted on a Mormon online forum.
Carrie Evans, executive director of
Equality Maryland, said she isnt surprised
that Mormons are playing a role in the
effort to rescind the Maryland marriage
law, but doesnt think the LDS Church is
the lead organization in the effort.
We were not aware of this email,
however the Mormon Church has been
very vocal in its opposition to marriage
equality so it is not surprising, Evans said.
We have no reason to believe they are
taking a lead role in efforts to overturn the
Civil Marriage Protection Act in Maryland.
Church disavows involvement
The Mormon Church is disavowing any
involvement in the organizational effort
proposed in the email.
Dale Jones, an LDS spokesperson, said the
church has no direct involvement in the effort
to overturn the marriage law in Maryland.
While the Churchs position in
support of traditional marriage is well
established, the effort in Maryland is not
being organized through the Churchs
headquarters in Salt Lake City, Jones
said. Members, of course, will make their
own decisions regarding their involvement
in local issues.
But the message recalls the Mormon
Churchs lead role in passage of
Proposition 8 in California in 2008. The First
Presidency of the Church, or its governing
body, publicly backed the initiative and
reportedly encouraged members during
church services to take an active role in
contributing money and get-out-the-vote
efforts to support the bans passage.
According to the New York Times,
Protect Marriage, the organization
responsible for Prop 8, estimates that
nearly half of the $40 million in donations
to the initiative came from LDS members
and made up 80 to 90 percent of the
volunteers who walked door-to-door in
election precincts.
The Mormon Church has maintained
that its direct involvement with the initiative
was minimal its total contributions
amounted to nearly $190,000 and
church members were supporting Prop 8
on their own accord.
The Mormon involvement in Prop 8 was
largely seen as public relations setback for
the church in terms of public perception.
An LGBT rights supporter, who spoke
on condition of anonymity, said hes
spoken to senior church leaders and was
told they want no involvement in future
initiatives on marriage.
In January, a statement afrming marriage
should remain between one man, one
woman was reportedly read to Mormons
in Minnesota as the state prepares to vote
on a marriage amendment this fall. But
according to Afrmation, a gay Mormon
group, the statement was also read on an
ad hoc basis and not under direction from
church leadership.
Moreover, with former Massachusetts
Gov. Mitt Romney a Mormon looking
like hell be the GOP presidential nominee,
many suspect the church doesnt want to
take an active role in politics to avoid the
perception that Mormon ofcials will tell
Romney how to govern if hes elected.
Randall Thacker, senior vice president
for Afrmation, said his group intends to
oppose efforts within the church against
same-sex marriage whether theyre part
of a church effort or an ad hoc initiative.
Our main stance is that were very, of
course, pro-marriage [equality], Thacker
said. We will take a stand wherever we have
to, including even ad hoc groups, but we
typically are more focused on directing and
confronting the church when it acts ofcially.
The email comes just weeks before the
Open Stories Foundation conference is
set for LGBT Mormons in Washington,
D.C., called Building Bridges of
Understanding, from April 20 to 22. Guest
speakers will include Carol Lynn Pearson,
an author who writes about gays in the
Mormon Church, and Mitch Mayne, a
gay Mormon who serves as the executive
secretary in his congregation.
The full text of the email message follows:
Attention Registered Voters who
are Residents of Maryland:
As you have probably heard, the
Maryland legislature passed a same sex
marriage bill last February. A coalition of
inter-denominational churches throughout
Maryland has joined together to try to get
a referendum on the November ballot
that would allow the residents of Maryland
to vote on this bill before it becomes
law. Martha Schaerr, who is a member of
the LDS Church, is organizing signature
collection within Montgomery County and
within the LDS Church.
We need to collect approximately
200,000 signatures by the end of May. We
are looking for people to gather signatures
within the LDS community. If you are
willing to help with this important effort
please contact Martha Schaerr as soon as
possible at martha.schaerr@gmail.com or
Teressa Wallace at wallacemail@juno.com.
If you would like to volunteer, you must
attend a 30 minute training session due to
the stringent Maryland laws concerning
referendums. To register for a session
please contact us as soon as possible.
There will be several training sessions
offered, but if transportation to them is a
problem for you, a trainer would be happy
to meet with you at a more convenient
time and location.
The LDS Church is neutral of matters
of party politics. The Church does
encourage its members to play a role as
responsible citizens, including becoming
informed about issues and voting in
elections, and becoming engaged in the
political process in an informed and civil
manner. Please consider helping with this
very important effort. Every signature is
important and every little bit helps!
Activists not surprised by Mormon effort in Md.
CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 1
washingtonblade.com
14 AFRl L 0, 2012 COVER STORY: LOCAL NEWS
Carrie Evans, executive director of Equality
Maryland, said she isnt surprised that Mormons
are playing a role in the effort to rescind the
Maryland marriage law.
the general election in November.
On the Republican side of the primary,
gay Republican activist Robert Kabel, the
current chair of the D.C. Republican Party,
beat challenger Jordan Gehrke for the post
of National Republican Committeeman.
Kabel, who couldnt seek another term
as party chair due to a term limit rule,
will continue his tenure as a member of
the Republican National Committee in
his new role as committeeman. As chair
of the D.C. Republican Party, Kabel also
served on the RNC.
Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2),
one of the Councils strongest supporters
of LGBT rights, ran unopposed in Tuesdays
Democratic primary. Council member
Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), another strong
supporter on LGBT issues, captured 65.4
percent of the vote in her primary contest
against ve challengers.
Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward
8), who voted against the same-sex
marriage law, captured 72.6 percent of
the vote, trouncing four opponents who
received a combined vote of 27 percent
In the Ward 7 Council race, incumbent
Democrat Yvette Alexander, who also
voted against the same-sex marriage law,
won the primary with 42 percent of the
vote. She ran against ve challengers who
split the remaining 58 percent of the Ward
7 Democratic vote.
The Stein Club endorsed challenger
Tom Brown in the Ward 7 race, who
received 22.5 percent of the vote. Club
President Lateefah Williams was among
the LGBT activists expressing concern
that Alexander would clearly benet from
a divided opposition vote.
In other races, D.C. Congressional
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a
Democrat, ran unopposed in the primary.
Incumbent D.C. shadow senator Michael
D. Brown beat challenger Pete Ross by a
margin of 58.5 percent to 25.1 percent.
Nate Bennett-Fleming, who received
the Stein Club endorsement, ran
unopposed for the shadow House seat.
The so-called shadow posts were created
by the city as unpaid advocates for D.C.
statehood and voting rights in Congress.
On the Republican side of the primary,
LGBT supportive candidate Ron Moten
beat challenger Don Folden Sr. by a
margin of 57.5 percent to 24.5 percent,
capturing the GOP nomination in Ward 7.
Moten received the endorsement of the
D.C. Log Cabin Republicans, as did Kabel.
Moten has said he plans to wage a
vigorous campaign against Alexander in
the November general election.
But Alexander, along with all other
Democrats running for Council seats, is
considered the odds-on favorite to win
in the general election in a city where
registered Democrats far outnumber
Republicans.
In the Statehood-Green Party primary,
Ann Wilcox, an attorney who has
represented the LGBT direct action group
Get Equal, beat challenger G. Lee Aikin in
the at-large Council race. Wilcox will run
against either Orange or Biddle in the
general election.
Statehood-Green candidate Natale
Lino Stracuzzi ran unopposed for her
partys nomination for the congressional
delegate seat, emerging as the only
challenger to Norton in the November
general election.
In the voter precincts considered to
have large numbers of LGBT voters,
Biddle beat Orange by lopsided margins
in Precincts 14 and 15 (Dupont Circle); 16
and 17 (Logan Circle); 23 and 36 (Columbia
Heights); 22 (U Street, N.W. corridor); 89
and 90 (Capitol Hill); 24 and 25 (Adams
Morgan); and 127 (Southwest Waterfront).
Orange beat Biddle in Precinct 18
(Shaw) by a 190 to 130 vote margin. He
also beat Biddle in Precinct 112 (Anacostia)
by a margin of 236 votes to 57 votes. The
two precincts, which are in majority black
neighborhoods, are believed to have a
large concentration of black LGBT voters.
Asked if the outcome of the election
would have an impact on the Councils
overall support on LGBT-related issues,
gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell said,
None whatsoever.
Pannell and Williams of the Stein Club
noted that with the possible exception
of the at-large seat currently held by
Orange, the Councils composition will
most likely remain the same assuming that
all Democrats will win in the November
general election, as expected.
The lesbian and gay vote did play a role
in the Ward 7 race in that it contributed to
Yvette not getting a majority of the vote,
said Pannell. She won with something like
42 percent. That means that 58 percent of the
Democrats voting didnt vote for her, he said.
And I heard from a number of gay
people that they didnt vote for her
because of her vote against marriage
equality. So that was a contributing factor,
Pannell said.
According to Pannell and other
activists familiar with Ward 7 politics, the
Stein Club endorsement of Brown and
the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliances
higher candidate ratings for Brown over
Alexander also contributed to Browns
second place nish in a ve-candidate
race.
He did not have a well-known name or
well-known father, and he didnt have a lot
of money, Pannell said of Brown. He was
still relatively new in Ward 7 and he came
in second place ahead of Kevin Chavous
Jr. So the gays helped him quite a bit.
Chavous Jr. is the son of former Ward 7
Council member Kevin Chavous Sr.
Candidates vie for LGBT vote in primary
washingtonblade.com
1 AFRl L 0, 2012 COVER STORY: LOCAL NEWS
Romney wins D.C. primary

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts,
captured 68.2 percent of the vote in the D.C. Republican presidential primary on
Tuesday, winning all 16 delegates from the city.
Texas Congressman Ron Paul came in second, with 11.7 percent of the vote,
with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia coming in third with 10.5
percent.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who dropped out of the GOP presidential
race several months ago but whose name remained on the D.C. ballot, received
6.8 percent of the vote.
GOP presidential contender Rick Santorum, the former senator from
Pennsylvania, did not le papers to run in the D.C. primary.
Romney also won primaries on Tuesday in Maryland and Wisconsin, prompting
most political observers to suggest he has all but wrapped up the Republican
presidential nomination.
Romneys victory in D.C. means lesbian Republican activist Rachel Hoff, who
was named a candidate for delegate on Romneys slate, will be going to the GOP
convention in Tampa as a conrmed Romney delegate. D.C. gay Republicans
Jose Cunningham and David Trebing were named as alternate delegates for
Romney.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Challenger SEKOU BIDDLE won in precincts with concentrations of LGBT voters but trailed incumbent Vincent Orange. The contest will likely not be
decided until absentee votes are counted later this month.
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Shop, Dine & Celebrate
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PFLAG honors woman who defended Polis
Vicky Thoms, who attempted to stop the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis, a transgender
woman, in a Rosedale McDonalds a year ago, was honored by the Baltimore County
Council, PFLAG-Baltimore County and the Caroline Grace Foundation for bravery
and heroism. The attack was captured on video and quickly went viral.
The presentation by Baltimore County Councilman Tom Quirk took place
during the March 27 monthly meeting of PFLAG-Baltimore County. Quirk was
credited with leading the effort on the Council in ensuring passage of Bill 3-12
that bars discrimination against LGBT individuals in Baltimore County in the areas
of employment, education, housing, nance and public accommodations.
AIDS Action at risk of losing funding
While more than 200 supporters celebrated AIDS Action Baltimores 25th
anniversary on March 25, an ominous cloud hovered over the festivities at the Four
Seasons Hotel near the Inner Harbor. The Centers for Disease Control has taken
prevention funds away from the State of Marylands Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene. Instead of providing resources to the state health department,
the CDC has decided to fund hard-hit cities.
While that may sound good, the Baltimore City Health Department is
inexperienced at competing for funding, establishing programs and very bad at
accountability, Lynda Dee, the founder and president of AAB, told the Blade.
The BCHD is constantly late at paying HIV service providers with Ryan White
funds and now with the CDC prevention funds that have been transferred to the
city, Dee said. She also questioned whether the CDC was devoting enough
resources to the target population. Many avenues have to be targeted if we are
to prevent continual HIV transmission.
A loss of CDC funding could threaten AIDS Action Baltimores viability.
Voters split on marriage support: poll
A new poll released March 28 indicates that Marylanders are evenly split
when it comes to the legalization of same-sex marriage. An independent survey
conducted by OpinionWorks of 601 registered Maryland voters from March 16-19
shows that 40 percent support same-sex marriage and 43 percent do not. The
margin of error is 4 percent, making it a statistical dead heat.
Although this result is within the polls margin of error, it is the intensity of feeling
among same-sex marriage opponents that causes the overall result to lean slightly
toward repeal, Steve Raabe, president of OpinionWorks, said in a statement.
He pointed out that 37 percent of those polled strongly wanted to repeal the
law that was signed by Gov. Martin OMalley on March 1. On the other hand, 31
percent strongly support the law.
In Baltimore City, voters oppose marriage equality 49 to 35 percent. African
Americans statewide oppose marriage equality by 48 to 29 percent, according
to the poll.
Weekly churchgoers are in opposition by 58 to 28 percent. Voters on the Eastern
Shore are heavily against the law by 72 to 14 percent. And those over age 65 oppose
marriage equality by 54 to 32 percent. But women favor the law over men by a solid 47-
33 margin. Democrats and independents out-support Republicans 46 to 26 percent.
Raabe told the Blade that because the data reveal a close contest, any major
action to change the current dynamic could result in the defeat of the referendum
effort. For example, if President Obama were to publicly embrace marriage
equality, it could inuence those African Americans who are soft on the issue.
He believes that voters with the strongest feelings have already declared their
positions. The referendum battle will be waged over the small number in the
middle who may be coming out to vote in the presidential race, but for whom this
issue is not do or die.
STEVE CHARING
washingtonblade.com
18 AFRl L 0, 2012 NEWS DlGEST
Vicky Thoms, the woman who
tried to stop the attack on
CHRISSY LEE POLIS last year in
a Baltimore-area McDonalds, was
honored for her efforts.
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ARTS & ENTERTAI NMENT MARCH 30, 2012 1
Iron Crow presents gay-themed Dreams
Iron Crow Theatre presents the Baltimore premiere of The Soldier Dreams by
Daniel Macivor starting Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Baltimore Theatre Project (45 West
Preston St.) and running through April 21.
Directed by Steven J. Satta-Fleming, The Soldier Dreams tells the story of David,
whose illness inspires his family to come to the home he shares with his partner,
Richard. David falls into a coma and dreams of his secret life while things change
around him.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors, military and students.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit theatreproject.org or
ironcrowtheatre.com.
Roller Girls gear up for battle
The Charm City Roller Girls, a local roller derby league, are ending their home team
season on April 14 at DuBurns Arena (1301 S. Ellwood Ave.) from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
The Speed Regime will be going up against the undefeated Night Terrors for the
title of 2012 Donaghy Cup Champions. Following that bout, the nationally ranked
CCRG All Stars, third in the WFTDA East, will kick off their season against the Chicago
Outt Syndicate, fth in the WFTDAN Central.
Tickets to the bout are $12 for adult general admission, $5 for children under 12
general admission and $25 for VIP.
For more information on the Charm City Roller Girls and to purchase tickets, visit
charmcityrollergirls.com.
Sedaris brings humor to Meyerhoff show
David Sedaris, a gay, Grammy-nominated comedian, author and radio contributor, David
Sedaris, will be at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St.) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Sedaris rst became known when NPR broadcasted his essay SantaLand Diaries.
He has had ve collections of essays become New York Times best sellers. His humor
is autobiographical and covers everything from his upbringing in North Carolina,
various jobs, his life in France and more.
Tickets range from $43 to $48 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
Gender blurred at punk performance event
Red Emmas Bookstore Coffeehouse (800 St. Paul St.) presents Gender EDGE:
gender variant/trans/queer punk activism tonight at 7 p.m.
This quarterly event will include performances by Corey Reidy, leah b. and Rahne Alexander.
Gender Edge is an event where trans, queer and gender-varied people are
celebrated and accepted. Its open to the public.
A scene from The Soldier Dreams.
PHOTO COURTESY IRON COW THEATRE
D.C. church takes push
for marriage equality
to full denomination
Over the years I have come to admire and
respect the work and ministry of Foundry,
UMC. Under various leaders, it is a congre-
gation that has practiced what the Bible says
and helped their fellow man. Today, under
the leadership of Senior Pastor Dean Snyder,
it is moving one step further and working to
inuence the United Methodist Church (UMC)
General Conference, which will begin work
on April 24 in Tampa, Fla., to pass a resolution
allowing other churches to do what Foundry
already does celebrate the marriages and
unions of gay and lesbian couples.
The members of Foundry have asked the
UMC General Conference to add language
to the Church Book of Discipline that would
allow congregations to celebrate same-
gender marriages or civil unions, and delete
existing, anti-gay language that states:
The practice of homosexuality is incompat-
ible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-
avowed practicing homosexuals are not to
be certied as candidates, ordained as min-
isters, or appointed to serve in The United
Methodist Church.
Under the resolution conceived and pro-
mulgated by Foundry, the new marriage lan-
guage would apply to congregations located
in areas where these marriages and unions are
already legally recognized. It would not force
congregations that are not ready to take this
step to do so but would allow those who are
to move forward.
Recently, the courageous Foundry mem-
bers received support for their work from a
large number of retired United Methodist
Episcopal leaders who have spoken out in
favor of the resolution. They have done so
with knowledge of their church through gen-
erations of service. They said, With increas-
ing frequency we observe and experience the
following disturbing realities and know them
to be detrimental to the mission of a Church
of Jesus Christ. These realities include the La-
ity and clergy, gay and straight, withdrawing
membership or absenting themselves from
the support of congregational and denomina-
tional Church life in order to maintain personal
integrity. Young adults, especially, embar-
rassed to invite friends and expressing dismay
at the unwillingness of our United Method-
ist Church to alter its 39-year exclusionary
stance. Closeted pastors currently called and
ordained in our church, living divided lives
while offering effective appreciated ministry.
Bishops being drained of energy by uphold-
ing Church Discipline while regarding it as
contrary to their convictions. Bishops caught
between care for the Church by reappointing
an effective gay or lesbian pastor and care for
the Discipline by charging them under current
legislation. Seminary leaders desiring greater
exibility and openness from the church in
order to advance their mission of identifying,
recruiting, enrolling, educating and spiritually
forming Christian leaders. Christian gay men
and women understanding themselves called
of God to seek ministry opportunities within
their United Methodist family Church home,
but having to decide between: leaving to go
to accepting denominations, or staying and
praying for change, or challenging Church law
and accepting punitive actions. Our United
Methodist Church, ashamed and repentant in
the past, ended ofcial and unofcial restric-
tions on candidacy, ordination and appoint-
ment for reason of race, gender and ethnicity.
We believe the God we know in Jesus is lead-
ing us to issue this counsel and call a call
to transform our church life and our world. In
February, at its 44th annual meeting, the Black
Methodists for Church Renewal also endorsed
this statement.
Although not a Methodist, I am immense-
ly proud that a church in my city is leading
this ght. Proud to know Pastor Snyder and
so many others who are part of Foundry are
working to make not only their church fully
welcoming but in doing so making everyone
in the LGBT community feel more welcomed
in our city. Foundrys staff now includes a
coordinator for LGBT advocacy, Matthew
Mustard, and my good friend Paul Hazen,
who has worked hard to make Foundry the
welcoming place it is today, is the chair of its
Financial Development Committee.
The ght for full civil and human rights for
the LGBT community continues in our city, the
nation and around the world. It is gratifying
that some churches are working to not only
recognize the LGBT community but to em-
brace us fully.
The support of church leaders for our
rights is important as our ght for civil mar-
riage equality continues. In the District of
Columbias ght we were helped by the
unstinting support and outreach of clergy
such as Drs. Christine and Dennis Wiley of
the Covenant Baptist Church of Christ in
Southeast. Support from leaders such as
the Wileys and Dean Snyder may be even
more crucial as we come together to win
the expected referendum on marriage
equality in Maryland.
The time to thank and support the work of
those who stand with us is now.
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Foundrys ght is our ght
20 AFRl L 0, 2012 l NSl DE LGBT WASHl NGTON
washingtonblade.com
vLME 43 SSE 14
Peter Rosenstein is a D.C.-based LGBT rights and
Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.
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Lesbian, feminist poet
opposed all forms of
oppression
Poets, women (queer and straight),
people of color, anti-war activists and
others who have struggled for justice, will
remember where they were when they
heard the news that renowned lesbian
poet and intellectual Adrienne Rich died
on March 27 at age 82 from complica-
tions of rheumatoid arthritis at her home
in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Lesbian poet and scholar Julie R. En-
szers post on Wom-po, a womens poetry
listserv, mirrors the shock so many of us
felt on learning of Richs passing. Her
absence is so palpable to me on this gor-
geous afternoon in Maryland, Enszer
wrote, It feels wrong that the sun should
shine on a day we must endure this loss.
Rich, a feminist opposed to all forms
of oppression, became in the 1970s, one
of the rst poets to write openly from the
perspective of being a woman and being
a lesbian. She came out at a time when
being queer wasnt spoken of in polite
society when being gay had only re-
cently (in 1973) ceased to be considered
a mental illness. (Rich also wrote about
what it meant to her to be Jewish.)
The suppressed lesbian I had been car-
rying in me since adolescence began to
stretch her limbs, Rich wrote in her volume
of essays Of Woman Born: Motherhood
as Experience and Institution.
Richs intense, vibrant, incredibly crafted
poetry speaks to many more readers than
those who are queer or female. Most ev-
eryone has felt, at times, like the narrator of
these lines from the title poem of her col-
lection Diving Into the Wreck: We are,
I am, you are/by cowardice or courage/the
one who nd our way/back to the scene/
carrying a knife, a camera/a book of myths/
in which/our names do not appear.
Yet, Rich disdained false universalism. I
write as woman, lesbian and feminist, she
told The Washington Post, I make no claim
to be universal, neuter or androgynous.
Richs career spanned six decades,
beginning with the publication of A
Change of World, which was selected
by W.H. Auden for the Yale Series of
Younger Poets prize in 1951. Her many
volumes of poetry include: Snapshots
of a Daughter-in Law, Diving into the
Wreck, The Dream of a Common Lan-
guage, Dark Fields of the Republic: Po-
ems 1991-1995, The School Among the
Ruins: Poems 2000-2004 and Tonight
No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010.
She wrote several provocative essay col-
lections, including, most notably, Of
Women Born.
The list of prizes that Rich received is
mind-boggling. Her honors included: a
MacArthur Foundation genius grant,
the Book Critics Circle Award, the Bollin-
gen Prize, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and
the Academy of American Poets Wallace
Stevens Award for outstanding and prov-
en mastery in the art of poetry.
Yet whats most striking about Rich is
the way in which she transcended the
prize-envy of the po biz. In 1974, Rich
and Allen Ginsberg were awarded the
National Book Award for poetry. Rich then
insisted on, along with Audre Lorde and
Alice Walker, that years nalists, accept-
ing the award for all women. In 1997, she
turned down the National Medal of Arts,
the governments highest award given to
artists. Rich deplored the increasingly
brutal impact of racial and economic in-
justice and honoring a few token artists
while the people at large are so dishon-
ored in a letter to then-National Endow-
ment for the Arts chair Jane Alexander.
Adrienne Rich was the mother of us all,
Sarah Browning, director of the biennial Split
This Rock poetry festival emailed the Blade.
She spoke for ... the victims of greed and
unbridled capitalism and of war.
Though her health prevented her from
traveling to the poetry and social justice
festival in D.C., she sent moral and nan-
cial support for the gathering, Browning
said. Thank you for your belief in the
freeing power of language and action,
Rich told the gathered poets.
We thank you for your life and work,
Adrienne, R.I.P.
Activist-supported push for
gender-neutral restroom
signage is irrelevant
Fair warning: Im taking on some sa-
cred cows this week.
In the words of a long-time waiter, bar-
tender and local gady with a wry sense
of humor please place your tray in the
upright and locked position, people . . .
this is not a drill!
It is, however, an example of a nonsen-
sical public policy demand by local LGBT
political activists, D.C. Council members
all too eager to acquiesce without thor-
oughly vetting common-sense implications
or evaluating city agency ability to effect
implementation, and a small business com-
munity burdened once again with a man-
date offering no real benet to anyone.
Last week the Gay & Lesbian Activists
Alliance (GLAA) posted a blog item on its
website demanding that DCRA enforce
the law and additionally referencing the
D.C. Center for the LGBT Communitys
Bathroom Access Project.
The GLAA online commentary elabo-
rates: Everybody poops. But transgen-
der people frequently have to live in fear
whenever they enter a public restroom,
indicating that they are put at risk on a
daily basis and commending the D.C.
Council on recognizing the problem and
requiring all single use bathrooms in the
city be marked gender neutral.
GLAA complains that the D.C. Depart-
ment of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
(DCRA) is not enforcing the law.
Likewise, the D.C. Center blog includes
breathless updates on the organizations
efforts to help make D.C. safe for every-
one to pee! Sympathizers are directed to
snap smartphone photos of local restau-
rants and other businesses without proper
signage on single-stall bathroom doors in
order that the group can le complaints
with the city. The Center does acknowl-
edge that most businesses are unaware of
this nascent legal requirement.
OK, play along for a moment. Fair
enough, lets say. LGBT activists are con-
cerned about transgender protection
during public bathroom usage.
The problem? The law is irrelevant to
the stated goal. Upon closer examination,
it is not difcult to discover that this is much
ado about not very much and does noth-
ing to actually address the issue. Worse, it
merely represents a lets-do-something-
for-the-sake-of-doing-something politi-
cal posturing, with no regard for either the
laws efcacy or the burden it places on city
government, public institutions and small
businesses, and other community facilities.
The applicable DCRA regulation, is-
sued a little over a year ago in response
to D.C. Council action at the behest of
community advocates, only applies to
single-occupancy bathrooms the type
common at smaller public institutions
and small businesses, such as cafes and
restaurants. Weve all seen those, weve
all used them. There are literally tens of
thousands of them throughout the city.
There are three types of public rest-
rooms solitary single-user bathrooms,
dual single-occupancy bathrooms often-
times, but not always, individually marked
for use by men or women, respectively,
and multi-unit bathrooms simultaneously
accommodating numbers of users and, as
a result, marked for gender-specic use.
The latter is the most common type
of conguration at most public venues of
any size. The law does not apply to these
types of bathroom facilities, and the pur-
pose of the law is, as a practical matter, ir-
relevant to the other single-use facilities.
What danger do bathrooms pose
when only one person is in it and the
door is closed? Dont transgender users
select a single-user bathroom like every-
one else by gender identity, personal
preference or based solely on availability
at the moment?
Call me crazy, but I dont see the point.
The only thing the law actually does is
mandate a market for new commercial
bathroom signage. It might as well be titled
the Universal Stick-Figure Gender Repre-
sentations Standing Side-by-Side Plastic
Signage Purchase and Installation Act.
Is this what LGBT activism has been
reduced to in Washington? Pushing gov-
ernment into requiring small businesses
to post unisex signs on single-occupancy
bathrooms, whether the bathrooms are
not gender specic by virtue of being
stand-alone, or utilize some other cre-
ative symbol or signage simply stating
Restroom? How does this address the
real problems that the transgender com-
munity actually confronts? Doesnt it in-
stead trivialize those issues?
How much effort is directed toward
berating overwhelmed city agencies into
enforcing yet another meaningless busi-
ness rule so that politicos can feel all
warm-and-fuzzy about what great goals
theyve achieved?
I dont know about you, but it pisses
me off.
washingtonblade.com
22 AFRl L 0, 2012 Vl EWFOl NT
OUR BUSl NESS MATTERS
Kathi Wolfe is a writer, poet and regular contributor
to the Blade. She can be reached through this
publication.
Flushing common sense down the toilet
Appreciation: Adrienne Rich, mother of us all
Mark Lee is a local small business manager and long-
time community business advocate. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
No litmus test for
Republicans or
gay advocates
By ROBERT TURNER &
MIKE HUBBARD
In a recent op-ed penned for the
Washington Post titled A Republican
litmus test harms our party, four former
prominent Republican senators Wil-
liam Brock (Tenn.), Jack Danforth (Mo.),
Trent Lott (Miss.) and Don Nickles (Okla.)
correctly address a major problem
within the Republican Party today. Inter-
estingly enough, their advice to Repub-
licans is something that the queer rights
movement would also be wise to heed.
The senators wrote, Many of these
more recent assaults constitute an at-
tempt at a political purge, an effort to re-
move from the party all but the doctrin-
ally pure, however critics dene purity.
Such efforts would deny all that our party
is. We do not have the right to determine
who can be a Republican on the basis of
some litmus test, ever.
These senators speak about a trend
that could marginalize the Republican
Party and relegate it to minority, regional
or third-party status. As we have stated
before, Ronald Reagans 80 percent phi-
losophy is vital: the person who agrees
with you 80 percent of the time is a friend
rather than a 20 percent enemy. But the
litmus test trend is prominent in the gay
rights movement, and it can have equally
bad effects.
Dont Ask, Dont Tell wasnt repealed
solely through the efforts of Democrats.
Republican senators like Olympia Snowe,
Susan Collins, Mark Kirk and Scott Brown,
among others, were vital in getting that
loathsome law repealed. Yet few gay
rights groups other than Log Cabin rec-
ognized those senators for their support.
Just as too much stock has been put
into being a real Republican, there has
been too much bickering in the gay rights
crowd about selling out. There is no one
arbiter of who can and cannot call oneself
a Republican or gay. There is no agency
with which to check as if you were verify-
ing a credit score.
The senators closed their Post piece
with this: Republicans have learned from
150 years of practical experience in elec-
tive politics that inclusion, not exclusion,
is the winning formula.
This is the mantra of the Log Cabin
Republicans. Inclusion Wins! Log Cabin
works to build a stronger, more inclusive
Republican Party by promoting the core
values of limited government, individual
liberty, personal responsibility, free mar-
kets and a strong national defense while
advocating for the freedom and equality
of all LGBT Americans. We emphasize
that these principles and the moral values
on which they stand are consistent with
the pursuit of equal treatment under the
law for gay and lesbian Americans.
Just as we (obviously) do not want to see
the Grand Old Party marginalized, neither
do we want to see the gay rights move-
ment hamstrung. But when gay groups put
liberalism rst and gay rights second, they
start making 20 percent enemies.
We realize, of course, that there is ten-
sion between LGBT rights advocates and
some Republican politicians. We at Log
Cabin try our best to support conserva-
tive policies that help gay people. And
were relatively unconcerned about the
Republicans: a party that has weathered
Watergate and Civil War will endure. But if
the gay rights movement gets too closely
tied with liberalism, it can get marginal-
ized. And that would be a shame.
Robert Turner is president of the D.C. chapter of Log
Cabin Republicans. Reach him at robert.turner@
dclogcabin.org or @DCBigPappa on Twitter. Mike
Hubbard is a board member of the D.C. chapter
of Log Cabin. Reach him at mike.hubbard@
dclogcabin.org or @mikeahub.
Parallels between GOP and LGBT rights movement Parallels between GOP and LGBT rights movement
washingtonblade.com
VI EWPOI NT AFRl L 0, 2012 23
Log Cabin works to build a stronger, more inclusive
Republican Party by promoting the core values of limited
government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free
markets and a strong national defense while advocating for
the freedom and equality of all LGBT Americans.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 04.06.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: LYNNE BROWN (lbrown@washblade.com)
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washingtonblade.com
SPECI AL AFRl L 0, 2012 27
Local Methodist
church hopes to
change denominational
law on marriage
By DIONNE WALKER
A Washington church hopes a campaign
using video testimonials from gay and
lesbian Methodists will help push through
a resolution sanctioning marriage equality
in the church later this month, reversing
more than 30 years of anti-gay sentiment
in the nations third largest denomination.
DoorsToEquality.org, described as a
national, laity-led campaign for marriage
equality, uses personalized stories and
grassroots advocacy to encourage church
leadership to revise what some are calling
discriminatory language included in the
Book of Discipline, according to organizers
at Foundry United Methodist Church.
The book, which lays out the tenets of the
faith, prohibits United Methodist ministers
from performing same-sex marriages and
churches from hosting them. Foundry
leaders and campaign supporters say
they dont want a sweeping change to the
tenets, rather, a compromise.
Our resolution was what we thought
was the most modest resolution that
we could present, which is simply where
marriage is legal, our clergy can conduct
them and they can be held in their church
buildings, says Rev. Dean Snyder, senior
pastor of Foundry.
The campaign, introduced in February,
comes as delegates from across the globe
prepare to attend the churchs General
Conference, a denomination-wide
planning meeting, later this month.
Snyder, whos straight, believes the
simple resolution could be a rst step for
the church, likely to bend further as more
states legalize marriage.
If that happens, four years from now we
believe a resolution would pass allowing all
churches to conduct the ceremonies, he says.
For now, organizers are focusing on
inuencing some of the 1,000 delegates set
to gather in Tampa from April 24 through
May 4 to discuss church policy and vote on
any revisions. That push includes building
awareness through Twitter, Facebook and
traditional press, as well as calling delegates
and holding coffee-shop discussions.
But perhaps the campaigns most
impactful arm is its most visible one: a
series of YouTube videos featuring gay
and lesbian Methodists sharing their
experiences with building families,
coming out and the importance of their
church and faith in their lives.
In one video, soft music plays as a
transgender man describes a warm
childhood relationship with the church
and its painful end.
As I got older, into middle and high
school, I started to feel somewhat alienated
because of my sexual orientation also just
my gender expression and so I kind of
walked away from church, Ty Trapps tells the
camera. From there, I just sort of searched
knowing that I wanted to go back to a church
but not really nding the right t.
In another video, a lesbian couple
embraces as they describe feeling
invisible without the churchs recognition
of their year-old marriage.
The women close the video shouting in
unison As Methodists, we believe that unity
of love will open the doors to equality.
One of the things we strongly believe is
that personal stories are very powerful here,
says Ann Brown Birkel, convener of Foundrys
LGBT inclusion advocacy group. We need
to connect with these people in parts of the
country who dont think they know any gay
people. The more you personalize an issue,
the easier it is to understand.
If the campaign is successful, it will
bring to an end an anti-gay doctrine thats
persisted since the early 70s.
At the time, there was a group of
bishops who knew that they had gay
pastors serving in their areas, who suffered
from the homophobia that much of
society suffered from and they began to
become worried that their service would
be a problem, Snyder says, adding
the result was the 1972 statement that
homosexuality was not compatible with
Christian teaching.
The topic has since become the perennial
subject of debate at the conference, with
delegates voting related resolutions down
every time, according to Wayne Rhodes,
director of communications at the General
Board of Church and Society for the United
Methodist Church. The language persists,
but Rhodes says theres evidence Snyder
and his supporters cause could have a shot.
It has been getting closer and closer in
the votes, Rhodes says.
Surprisingly, a major hurdle has come
as the faith spreads. A large percentage
of the churchs expansion is in Africa,
where conservative attitudes about
homosexuality persist, Rhodes says.
They get more delegates and if they
are not in favor of homosexuality-positive
language, they have more votes with
which to defeat it, says Rhodes. But
this all started long before Africa had as
many delegates.
Indeed, Snyder estimated much of the
ground-level opposition is longstanding
and is linked to baby boomers raised in a
more conservative era.
Among younger people, however,
Snyder said attitudes are more liberal.
That combined with pressure as smaller
denominations like the Episcopalians
and Lutherans become more gay friendly
could help trigger change.
Larger organizations often change
much slower, Snyder says. But when it
changes, the larger the institution is, the
more impact it has on the society.
Foundry has always had a higher-than-
average number of LGBT members, which
church staff attributes to its location near
Dupont Circle and 14th Street. The church
has been open and afrming for years.
Palm Sunday at Foundry United Methodist Church.
MCC music program
adjusting to new
leadership, styles
By MALI KRANTZ
The two Sunday morning services held
each week at Metropolitan Community
Church of Washington have always had
slightly different styles, but the distinction
has become more pronounced as each
has its own choir director now.
In December, Shirli Hughes resigned from
her position as minister of music there. After
a decade of service at the Districts largest
predominantly LGBT church, the lesbian
music minister left big shoes to be lled in
the churchs music department.
She had a big job, says Jeff Herrell
who sang in her choir for about 10 years.
Hughes led both Sunday services
at 9 and 11 a.m. as well as occasional
performances for holidays and special
events. She was also a full-time employee.
Her succession came in the form of two
interim music ministers, Justin Ritchie, who
leads the 9 a.m. Sunday service, and Darius
Smith, who leads a more contemporary
service at 11. Theyll both be on board for
this Sundays Easter services, the highest holy
day in Christendom. A Good Friday service is
tonight at 7. Visit mccdc.com for details.
It has worked out well to have two of
us, Ritchie says. Because each service is
very different and they play to each of our
strengths the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. service
have always had their own personality.
Ritchie, whose service is more
traditional, came from the MCC choir. In
addition to his musical success at MCC,
hes also a featured vocalist with the
Gay Mens Chorus of Washington and a
member its 14-person a cappella group,
Potomac Fever.
Smith, a graduate of Howard Universitys
Music Department and New York Universitys
Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program
is an assistant professor of musical theater
at Howard. He has also written original
music for a number of plays in the D.C. area
including U.G.L.Y., a new musical.
Smiths service leans toward pop and
contemporary styles.
Its interesting. Its fun, says Herrell of
the new musical content.
Both Herrell and Ritchie estimate that
the choruses have grown over the past
few months.
I think people are really receptive to
Justins style of music and new people
want to be a part of Darius ministry,
Herrell says. Yeah its cool. Its different.
While Rev. Dwayne Johnson, the
churchs senior pastor, recognizes that
Hughes brought an extraordinary talent
to MCCs music ministry, hes enthusiastic
about the churchs new direction.
We have a long tradition of excellent
music, Johnson says. And Justin and
Darius are continuing that tradition. Its an
exciting time to see what gifts they have to
bring to the table.
While much of the music is changing, a
few traditions remain such as having drums
and bass accompany services. Each choir
director does his own accompanying.
During the transition period after
Hughes left, Acoustic Praise, a subgroup
of MCCs music ministry, stepped up
to ll in while they looked for new staff
members. Though the church has an
organ, its rarely used.
Theyve really worked hard during
this transition lling in on Sundays, says
Tommie Adams, Herrells partner and
an Acoustic Praise member. Its still a
transitional period. Both people have
great musical backgrounds and Darius
brings kind of a youthful mood to music
too, so its a nice variety.
washingtonblade.com
28 AFRl L 0, 2012 SFEClAL
Differing
directions
DARIUS SMITH, one oI the new choir directors at Metropolitan Community Church oI Washington.
WASHlNGTON BLADE FHOTO BY MlCHAEL KEY
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All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church
2300 Cathedral Avenue NW
www.allsoulsdc.org woodley Park Metro
CELEBRATE EASTER WITH US!
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All members of More Light
Presbyterians/Open Doors Chapter
opendoorsmlp.org
He is Risen and
He is Fabulous!
Celebrate Easter with e United Church!
GOOD FRIDAY, April 6
German Worship - 12:00pm
English Worship - 12:43pm
EASTER, April 8
German Worship - 9:30am
English Worship - 11:00am
Followed by childrens Easter egg hunt
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16th and P Streets NW | (202) 332-4010 | www.foundryumc.org
A Reconciling Congregation | We welcome everyone!
Help us Open Doors to
Marriage Equality
Join us April 22 during our
9:30 AM, 11:00 AM & 5:30 PM
Worship Services to send off our
advocates to the United Methodist
General Conference to help bring
marriage equality to the denomination.
Like us on Facebook
(www.Facebook.com/DoorsToEquality)
or check us out on our website
(www.DoorsToEquality.org)
for more information!
TODAY
Washington National Cathedral (3101
Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) is having a three-
hour service and meditation today. The
service begins at noon with meditation at
6:30 p.m.
The 6th and I Historic Synagogue
(600 I St., N.W.) is having its community
Seder tonight at 7 p.m. This event is sold
out but to be added to the waitlist, email
Beth Semel at bsemel@sixthandi.org with
name and contact information.
(1500 16th St., N.W.) has two Good Friday
services today at noon and 7 p.m.
National City Christian Church (5
Thomas Circle, N.W.) will have Communion
on the street at 8 a.m. and Good Friday
Service at 7:30 p.m.
St. Margarets Episcopal Church (1830
Connecticut Ave., N.W.) will have Stations
of the Cross, Good Friday Liturgy and
Veneration of the Cross at noon.
Metropolitan Community Church of
D.C. (474 Ridge St., N.W.) will have its
Good Friday Service at 7 p.m.
The United Church (1920 G St., N.W.)
will have its Good Friday worships at noon
in German and 12:30 p.m. in English.
AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural
Center (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring)
is screening the lm Easter Parade
starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in
their only screen pairing today at 4:45 p.m.
Tickets are $8.50 for general admission
and $7 for children. The lm will also be
screened on Saturday at noon and 7:30
p.m., Sunday at 12:45 p.m. and Monday at
4:45 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit a.com.

SATURDAY, APRIL 7
Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) is having its Great
Vigil of Easter tonight at 8 p.m.
(1500 16th St., N.W.) is having a childrens
Easter egg hunt today at 10:30 a.m.
St. Margarets Episcopal Church (1830
Connecticut Ave., N.W.) will have Easter
vigil at 6:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 8
Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) will have its Easter
Sunday Festival Holy Eucharist today at 8
and 11 a.m. Passes are required to attend
both services and are available through
nationalcathedral.org.
(1500 16th St., N.W.) has its Sunday
worship services today at 9:30 and 11 a.m.
and its Easter community meal tonight at
6:30 p.m.
Covenant Baptist United Church of
Christ (3845 South Capitol St., S.W.) has its
sunrise service at 6 a.m. followed by Easter
breakfast. The Sunday School Easter
program is at 9:30 a.m. and Easter service
starts at 10:45 a.m.
National City Christian Church (5
Thomas Circle, N.W.) will have Easter
Sunrise prayer service on the steps at
6:15 a.m., gospel service at 8:30 a.m. and
traditional worship at 11 a.m.
Margarets Episcopal Church (1830
Connecticut Ave., N.W.) will have the Holy
Eucharist at 9 and 11:15 a.m.
Metropolitan Community Church of
D.C. (474 Ridge St., N.W.) will have its
Easter Sunday services at 9 and 11 a.m.
The United Church (1920 G St., N.W.)
will have its Good Friday worships at 9:30
a.m. in German and 11 a.m. in English
followed by a childrens Easter egg hunt.
MONDAY, APRIL 9
The Obamas will host the 134th annual
White House Easter Egg Roll today. This
years theme is Lets Go, Lets Play, Lets
Move and a there is special keepsake
egg featuring the First Dog Bo.
TUESDAY, APRIL 10
(1500 16th St., N.W.) has an LGBT Bible
study group meeting today at 7:30 p.m.
washingtonblade.com
30 AFRl L 0, 2012 SFEClAL
FHOTO COURTESY OF lSTOCKFHOTO.COM
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HOLY WEEK EVENTS
OUR DOORS ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO ALL
926 11
th
5treet, NW Washington DC 20001
Rev. Dr. Louis Shockley, Senior Pastor
www.asburyumcdc.org
Good Friday, April 6, 2012
The Seven Last Words of Christ
Presented by: Asbury UMC Clergy & the Combined Choirs of Asbury
With Special Guest: Larry Hylton, Tenor; Francese Brooks, Soprano;
Aaron V. Leathers, Sr., Baritone
12 NOON to 2:00 PM
Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sunrise Service
Guest Speaker, Josepha Hammond
6:30 AM
Worship Service
Combined Choirs of Asbury
8:30 AM
Worship Service
Combined Choirs, Hand Bell Ringers, & The Childrens Choir
Special Presentation of the Scriptures In Motion
By: Brandye Lee, Formerly with Broadways Lion King
10:30 AM
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Welcome to an
inter-generational,
open and afrming family of faith.
276 Carroll Street NW
(Across the street from the Takoma METRO)
(202) 829-9882
Find us on the Internet at
www.seekerschurch.org
Seekers Church
A Christian Community
in the Tradition of the
Church of the Saviour
Easter SundayApril 8
9 a.m. & 11:15 a.m.
Worship at
Metropolitan Memorial*
Rev. Dr. Charles Parker preaching
Festival choirs, brass, timpani, and handbells
Childrens Sermon + Ample Parking
Brunch after each service
11 a.m.
Worship at Wesley UMC
5312 Connecticut Ave NW
5 p.m
Crossroads at
St. Lukes Mission Center.*
3655 Calvert St. NW
Reconciling SundayJune 10
Guest Minister Tom Starnes
A Reconciling Congregation + ALL Are Welcome
* Free Childcare Available
in Our Nursery
nationalchurch.org
34O1 Nebraska Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016 + 202.363.4900
Come
Celebrate
with Us!
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rough the DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration
Sponsored by
The Ryan White Dental Care Funds
ARE YOU OR A LOVED ONE
HIV POSITIVE AND NEED
DENTAL SERVICES?
Marys Center oers FREE
dental services for:
HIV+
Residents of the District of Columbia
Uninsured (Alliance patients are welcome)
SERVICES INCLUDE
ROUTINE CLEANINGS, DENTURES, PARTIALS, EXTRACTIONS,
PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE, ENDODONTICS, RESTORATIVE CARE
(Referrals made to specialty care for complex treatments free on a case by case basis)
Services are provided at
3912 Georgia Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20011
To make an appointment, call our condential line
202-545-8071 or email drwhite@maryscenter.org
St. Marks Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill
Conversation, Not Conversion
Wherever you are on your faith journeyWhatever you believe or
dont believeBaptized or notWe welcome you to join us.
SUNDAY SERVICES
Holy Eucharist9 am, Sermon Seminar10 am
11:15Holy Eucharist and Sermon; 5 pmContemplative Eucharist
EASTER SERVICES
Good FridayApril 6, Holy Eucharist 12:00 pm
EasterApril 8, Holy Eucharist 8:45 and 11:15 am
The Rev. Paul Roberts Abernathy, Rector
The Rev. Rebecca Justice Schunior, Assistant Rector
St. Marks Episcopal Church: worship Educaliou 0ulreach ^rls
3rd & ^ Sls. SE, washiuglou, 0C 20003 202.543.0053 www.sluarks.uel
D
Join Us for a Mark Klempner Lecture Commemorating
Yom HaShoah
"The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and
Their Stories of Courage"

Friday April 20th Washington DC JCC
8:00 pm - Shabbat Services Lead by Rabbi Toby Manewith
9:00 pm Lecture with Oneg Following

&WZ^sW
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H
URLEY
S A U T O A U D I O
CAR AUDIO, VIDEO, SECURITY, GPS, REPAIRS
1524dd Springhill Road, McLean, Virginia 22102
e-mail: hurleyautoaudio@aol.com
PH: (703) 790-8744 FAX: (703) 893-0997
Center for the Arts
GREAT PERFORMANCES AT MASON 20112012 SEASON
Located on the Fairfax campus, six miles west of Beltway
exit 54 at the intersection of Braddock Road and Rt. 123. Tickets
888-945-2468
or cfa.gmu.edu
Visit us at cfa.gmu.edu
Moscow Festival Ballet
The Sleeping Beauty
Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m.
Cinderella
Saturday, April 14 at 4 p.m.
Young love and tragedy, princes, princesses, witches and fairy godmothers; opulent sets,
beautiful costumes, magnicent music, elegant dancers: get swept up in an ages-old tale (or
two!) performed by this esteemed company of leading Russian dancers. Founded in 1989 by
Sergei Radchenko, legendary principal dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow Festival Ballet
garners admiring praise: The dancers ... spoke to the soul through the body. (Post and
Courier) $27, $46, $54
ff
= Family Friendly: Youth through grade 12 half price
ff
Ih88A, AF8IL 12 8 FM - 11 FM
hosted by the ay Meo's 6horus oI Washiogtoo at the Iack Fox Louoge
1123 6oooecticut Aveoue NW
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Some venues, especially large
arenas and sheds named after nancial
institutions or phone companies, are just
venues big sterile caves with concrete
slab oors and tacky concession stands
selling hot dogs and nachos in the lobby.
They usually have less personality than
your average shopping mall.
Then there are spots whose walls
practically hum with historic signicance
the Apollo, Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks
and so on. One of the countrys lost gems has
been rediscovered and after a $29 million
restoration, is almost ready to be unveiled
D.C.s Howard Theatre, the Shaw-based
concert hall that hosted singers such as
Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin
Gaye and the Supremes. The refreshingly
cool catch? One of the anchor performers
for opening weekend is an out-and-proud
lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes.
And Sykes is psyched.
Im really honored they asked me to
come help open it, she says during a
phone interview last week from Australia
where shes touring. I was like, Of course,
yeah, Im very excited, very honored. Its
pretty spectacular. They wanted to send
me some pictures, but I said, No, let
me wait and see it when its fully done. I
wanna get the full impact in person.
The 12,000-square-foot space, which,
depending on the show, can accommodate
either 650 seated or 1,100 standing, opened
in 1910 as a spot for vaudeville, theater, talent
shows and two performance companies,
the Lafayette Players and the Howard
University Players (its never been afliated
with nearby Howard University). After the
stock market crashed in 1929, it was briey a
church until 1931 when it was changed back
into a performance space and launched
with Washingtonian Duke Ellington playing
the rst night. Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstine
won early talent contests there. After black
performers as diverse as Lena Horne,
Pearl Bailey, Aretha Franklin, James Brown,
Smokey Robinson and more played there
over the years, it suffered a blow after the
1968 D.C. riots and eventually closed in 1980.
The rapper Wales, a D.C. native,
is ofcially the rst performer for the
refurbished theater. He plays a soft
opening on Monday. A grand opening gala
and tribute concert for Motown founder
Berry Gordy is Thursday with performers
Robinson, Al Jarreau, Keb Mo and others.
Then Sykes plays next weekend with shows
on April 13, 14 and 15.
But shes not just an of-the-moment
contemporary black performer who
happened to be available. Reps from the
theater say shes a logical successor to
Moms Mabley, the late great comedian
who did lesbian stand-up routines as far
back as the 20s.
Wanda is perfect to re-launch the
Howard Theatre because she really
represents a continuum between herself
and Moms Mabley, says Marc Powers,
director of marketing for the Howard.
ART S AND E NT E RTAI NME NT WAS H NGT NB L ADE . CM v L ME 4 3 S S E 1 4 AF F L 0 o 2 0 1 2 FAGE 3 3
CONTI NUES ON PAGE 43
H I S T OR I C D . C . T H E AT E R R E OP E N S WI T H L E S B I A N S Y K E S H E A D L I N I N G
Lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes returns to D.C. next week.
PHOTOCOURTESY HOWARDTHEATRE
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Spoken word performance and musical theater may seem like distant cousins
at best to some, but not to Don Michael Mendoza. Sensing a gulf between the
two performance worlds, he and friend Regie Cabico created a space for the
two worlds to come together.
They co-host La-To-Do, a cabaret series that runs every Monday night at
Black Fox Lounge from 8:30 to 10 p.m. It launched in January and, according to
Mendoza, has been a hit.
Wed done a show together last summer at the Fringe Festival and just
started a conversation about how theres really no cabaret culture in D.C.,
Mendoza says. We wanted something more than just an open mic, where
anyone can just go up there and its not always the best quality. We just found
there is a lot of misunderstanding between the two worlds. Musical theater
types think the spoken word people are just strange people who studied
English and sit at home all day like Sylvia Plath and the spoken word people
think the theater folks are just doing mass-produced stuff like Wicked. Weve
found theres a lot more to both worlds.
Mendoza and Cabico, both gay, co-host the series and take turns performing.
The show spotlights two guest entertainers each week as well, mostly volunteers
whom the two co-hosts have vetted. Theyre also hoping to make the event a
hot networking spot for local artistic types.
Were still kind of guring it out, Mendoza says. Were not trying to change
the world or anything. Just trying to provide some fun and entertainment on
a Monday night where people can go there, be themselves, see good art and
also perform.
Theres a $10 cover to attend, which includes a drink. Visit the group on
Facebook for more information.
Mendoza, a 23-year-old Pittsburgh native, came to Washington in 2006 to
study at George Washington University. He graduated with double majors
broadcast journalism and musical theater. He worked for the college in media
relations after graduating but went to Vida Metropole on 15th and P about six
weeks ago for a change of pace. Hed eventually like to do something full time
in performance but is still guring that out.
Mendoza is single and lives in Logan Circle. He enjoys working out, travel and
theater in his free time.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN OUT
AND WHO WAS THE HARDEST
PERSON TO TELL?
Ive been out since I was 20, so three
years, and the hardest person to tell
was my mother. Even though she always
told me it would be OK if I ever were, I
knew that it would still ip her world and
image of me upside down.
WHOS YOUR LGBT HERO?
MSNBCs Thomas Roberts because hes
the rst news anchor to publicly come
out in a world that usually masks LGBT
people behind a straight news persona.
His coming out was due to a tragic
personal event but he didnt let it ruin his
determination.
WHATS WASHINGTONS BEST
NIGHTSPOT, PAST OR PRESENT?
Not to be biased, but I really love
Black Fox Lounge because of the calm,
jazzy atmosphere, good food and drinks
and the friendly owners and staff.
DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM WEDDING.
It will be a big wedding. I want my
partner and I to be surrounded by
everyone who matters most in our
lives. I want it to be at a location in the
countryside and it will be the denition
of class. Everything would be tasteful
and well thought out.
WHAT NON-LGBT ISSUE ARE YOU
MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT?
Representation for D.C. residents in
Congress. I maintain my Pennsylvania
license because I like voting in a state
where my voice matters and until D.C.
residents have full voting rights, I refuse
to become a full resident of the District.
WHAT HISTORICAL OUTCOME
WOULD YOU CHANGE?
The results of the 2000 presidential
election.
WHATS BEEN THE MOST
MEMORABLE POP CULTURE
MOMENT OF YOUR LIFETIME?
The tragedy of 9-11 because, like the
JFK assassination was for my parents,
I will always remember exactly where I
was and what I was doing the moment I
heard the news.
ON WHAT DO YOU INSIST?
That the dishes are washed and the
apartment is clean for the many friends I
always have over for dinner parties.
WHAT WAS YOUR LAST FACEBOOK
POST OR TWEET?
Smiling is an understatement for me
these days. Ah, me. :)
IF YOUR LIFE WERE A BOOK, WHAT
WOULD THE TITLE BE?
Ill be your fortune, cookie!
IF SCIENCE DISCOVERED A WAY TO
CHANGE SEXUAL ORIENTATION,
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I wouldnt do it. It took me 20 years to
gure it out what makes me happy! Why
would I ever want to change it?
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IN BEYOND
THE PHYSICAL WORLD?
I believe that there is a God, but that
all the religious tension and conict
stem out of peoples imposed beliefs
on something that none of us really
understand.
WHATS YOUR ADVICE FOR LGBT
MOVEMENT LEADERS?
Keep on doing what youre doing. Any
and all progress is good.
WHAT WOULD YOU WALK ACROSS
HOT COALS FOR?
I like the soles of my feet, so I dont
think I would do it for anything.
WHAT LGBT STEREOTYPE ANNOYS
YOU MOST?
That if youre lesbian you have to be
butch and if youre a gay man you have
to be feminine. Your sexual preference
has nothing to do with the way you carry
yourself.
WHATS YOUR FAVORITE LGBT
MOVIE?
The Weekend because I think all
gay men, single or in a relationship,
need to watch it for the lessons it has to
offer, especially in a city where nding a
stable relationship is difcult to pursue.
WHATS THE MOST OVERRATED
SOCIAL CUSTOM?
Playing hard to get when you start
seeing someone. Just be honest about
what youre doing. It makes everything
less complicated.
WHAT TROPHY OR PRIZE DO YOU
MOST COVET?
Its not really a trophy or a prize, but
I would like to be on the cover of GQ
one day. Ive enjoyed the magazine since
I knew how to dress well, and to be
featured in a fashion spread in that
publication would be amazing!
WHAT DO YOU WISH YOUD KNOWN
AT 18?
That life after college brings so much
unexpected crap and that nothing can
ever prepare you for the joys and pains
of adulthood no matter how much
advice you receive ahead of time.
WHY WASHINGTON?
It was always a second home to me
since we moved to Pittsburgh when I was
a toddler because we visited so often. I
chose to come to college here and when
it came to deciding on where to start my
adult life, I couldnt see any other option.
washingtonblade.com
34 AFRl L 0, 2012 QUEERY: 20 QUESTI ONS FOR DON MI CHAEL MENDOZA
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COSMETIC, FAMILY, IV SEDATION, IMPLANTS
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CLINICAL INSTRUCTORUNIV. MARYLANDDENTAL SCHOOL ACADEMY OF GEN. DENT. AMERICANDENTAL ASSOC. HISPANICDENTAL ASSOC. AMERICANDENTAL SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGY
Decades-spanning
ONeill saga gets fresh
but uneven production
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
This year marks Michael Kahns 25th
season at the helm of the Shakespeare
Theatre Company. As an anniversary present
to both himself and the city, Kahn is staging a
rarely seen piece of American theatre history:
Eugene ONeills Strange Interlude.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning play broke all
of the theatrical rules at its 1928 premiere.
Running more than six hours long (the
original production included a dinner
break), the play features characters who
speak their inner thoughts aloud and
explores such previously forbidden topics
as homosexuality and female sexuality
from the perspective of new sciences such
as psychology and eugenics.
This production, however, raises the
question of whether a historical artifact
such as Interlude can come to vivid
theatrical life so many years after its
shocking debut. The answer is both yes
and no. With the permission of ONeills
estate, Kahn has cut the play from six
hours to just under four hours, but he
could easily have cut another hour from
the script.
He turns the nine acts of ONeills play
into nine scenes presented with two badly
needed intermissions. The show spans two
decades and focuses on Nina Leeds, the
daughter of a New England professor. As
the play opens, Nina (Francesca Faridany)
is in mourning for her anc, golden-boy
Gordon Shaw, a pilot who died in World
War I. The shattered Nina rebuilds her life
through her relationships with the men who
are drawn to her likes moths to a ame:
novelist and family friend Charles Marsden
(Robert Stanton); her husband, businessman
Sam Evans (Ted Koch); her lover, doctor
Ned Darrell (Baylen Thomas); and, her son
Gordon (played by Jake Land as a boy and
by Joe Short as a young man) who becomes
a golden boy like his namesake.
Over the somewhat melodramatic
course of the play, Nina becomes a nurse
(who sleeps with the wounded soldiers
in her care), learns a terrible family secret
from her mother-in-law, has a son by her
lover, plays the role of Park Avenue matron
when her husband nally becomes a
successful businessman, loses control
of her son to his ance Madeline, and
nally, after the death of her husband and
the onset of menopause, nds peace in
the company of the devoted Marsden.
The actors dive into this material with
great commitment, but encounter a few
problems along the way. Some are in the
script. Interlude is famous for ONeills use
of spoken inner monologues, ranging from
a word or two to short paragraphs. Film and
stage directors have tackled these in a variety
of ways voice-overs, masks, freezes.
Kahn skillfully guides his cast through these
asides in a more naturalistic manner, using
shifts in tempo, physical position and visual
focus to clearly mark outer dialogue and
inner monologue. But while Kahns pacing
and staging are always masterly, he cant
ultimately hide the problem with ONeills
great theatrical experiment it takes
longer to speak subtext than to act it. The
spoken asides get repetitive and are often
rather obvious.
Another challenge is the design. Kahn
cleverly uses projections to cover the
set changes (the excellent projection
design is by Aaron Rhyne), but when the
lights come up, we are left with huge
gray walls that dominate the action and
dwarf the actors. A nal challenge is the
character of Nina herself men cant
seem to tear themselves away from her
but were never told why. Some of its in
the writing but though actress Faridany
admirably commits to the taxing role, her
performance never truly catches re.
There is, however, one spark of re in
Kahns production of this American classic
Robert Stantons portrayal of novelist Charles
Marsden, one of the rst coded gay characters
on the American stage. Remarkably, he
preserves the essential dignity of the character
while not hiding the artistic and personal price
of his sexual repression.
Dated drama
STRANGE INTERLUDE
Sidney Harmon Hall
Eugene ONeill Festival
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Through April 29
Shakespearetheatre.org
ROBERT STANTON as Charles Marsden and FRANCESCA FARIDANY as Nina Leeds in the Michael
Kahn-helmed Shakespeare Theatre Company production of Strange Interlude, by Eugene ONeill.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY
washingtonblade.com
THEATER AFRl L 0, 2012 35
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LGBT content among Filmfest D.C. offerings
Filmfest D.C., the Washington International Film Festival, opens Thursday and runs
through April 22. The festival will include two lms with LGBT themes, Leave It On the
Dance Floor and Facing Mirrors.
Leave It On the Dance Floor takes place in Los Angeles and tells the story of Brad,
kicked out by his homophobic mother, as he enters of the world of houses like those
from Paris is Burning. It will be shown on April 13 at 6:30 p.m. and April 14 at 9 p.m.
Facing Mirrors takes place in contemporary Tehran and tells the story of Rana, a
woman driving her jailed husbands taxi. She picks up a rich, pre-op transgender man on
the run from an arranged marriage. It will be shown on April 14 at 6:30 p.m. and April 15
at 2:15 p.m.
Both lms will be screened at the Naval Heritage Center (701 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.).
Individual tickets are $11 for general admission. The Directors Package, which includes
10 tickets, is $80 and the Weekday Package, which includes four tickets, is $33.
For more information, including a complete list of lms and ticket information, visit
lmfestdc.org.
Team D.C. to hold sports mingling event
Team D.C. is having its annual Sportsfest at Room and Board Furniture (1840 14th St.,
NW.) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
This open house event will give attendees the opportunity to meet and talk to players
representing nearly every LGBT sports group in the D.C. area, including D.C. Gay
Flag Football League, Capital Area Rainbowlers Association, Washington Renegades,
Washington Wetskins and more.
Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but $10 gets three drink tickets for the beer
and vodka bar sponsored by Nellies.
Rehoboth Womens FEST next weekend
CAMP Rehoboths Womens FEST kicks off Thursday and runs through April 15.
The festival started as a one-day event for lesbians. Organizer and Rehoboth Beach
lesbian Fay Jacobs says its the largest mid-Atlantic lesbian event drawing about 2,000
women each year. This years focus is entertainment.
Events will be held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center and other nearby sites.
There will be a golf tournament, photo exhibit, workshops on sexuality and womens
health and receptions for several of the resort towns restaurants and bars.
Among those featured this year are Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, whose coming out
story in the military inspired a book and movie, comedians Suzanne Westenhoefer and
Poppy Champlin, as well as singer Tret Fure.
Several authors, among them Sally Bellerose, one of this years Lambda Literary Award
nominees, will be signing books at Proud Books on April 13 and doing additional readings
from their books at the Convention Center on April 14.
Ticket prices vary, depending on level of participation but a Womens FEST pass is
available from CAMP Rehoboth for $60. This pass will allow access to most of the events.
To purchase tickets or to obtain more information, visit camprehoboth.com.
PETER SCHOTT
Alice ballet debuts at Kennedy Center
The Washington Ballet presents the world premiere of openly gay director
Septime Webres Alice (in Wonderland) at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St.,
N.W.) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with a preview on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Alice starts with the real Alice (Alice Liddell) at home with her family and
friend, Lewis Carroll. Webre brings in real people from Liddells life, masked as
the characters in Carrolls story. Her mother becomes the Queen of Hearts and her
sisters become Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
The show runs through April 15.
Tickets range from $50 to $155 and can be purchased online at washingtonballet.
org or kennedy-center.org.
washingtonblade.com
3 AFRl L 0, 2012 OUT & ABOUT
The Washington Ballet's world premiere oI Septime Webre's 'Alice (in Wonderland)' starring
JONATHAN JORDAN as the White Rabbit and MAKI ONUKI as Alice opens Thursday, with
a preview on Wednesday.
By JULIETTE EBNER
FHOTO COURTESY OF FERESHTEH TAERFOR
FHOTO BY STEVE VACCARlELLO, COURTESY OF THE WASHlNGTON BALLET
80s icon-turned-country
singer plays free Cobalt
show Tuesday
By DAVID PLACHER
Cobalt is on a roll after snagging big-
name DJs like Junior Vasquez and Ralphi
Rosario last month, pop singer Tiffany
appears Tuesday night. Doors open at 9
p.m. Theres no cover.
Born Tiffany Renee Darwish, the pop singer
has been busy promoting her latest album,
Rose Tattoo, her eighth studio album.
For me, this album represents returning
to my country roots, Tiffany says from her
new home in Tennessee. What makes this
album different is Tiffany managed and
produced it under her own record label.
I stepped out on my own. It took three
months to write the music and 10 days to
record, all while dealing with the stresses
of managing my business. Tiffany is
considering re-releasing Rose Tattoo
outside the U.S. later this year
In 1981, Tiffany debuted with country
music singer Jack Reeves at a country and
western spot called Narods in Chino, Calif.
In 1987, Tiffany released I Think Were
Alone Now, a pop song that became a
No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 list.
My music talents cannot be dened by
one type of music. I love the 60s and 70s
disco music, I love country music, and that
love helped me write my music in the 80s,
90s, and today. Most recently, Tiffany has
been at the top of the charts with her feel-
good dance hit Higher, which features a
mix by famed remixer Josh Harris.
Tiffanys diversied music is a reection
of her fans. Shes been a supporter of the
LGBT community by performing at various
gay-friendly venues.
I feel like there is a connection
between the gay community and myself,
Tiffany says. You cant really place people
into categories, but others sometimes
treat people different if they dont t into
a particular category Its a struggle
for acceptance and some of my music is
about struggle.
She briey dated Jonathan Knight, a
member of New Kids on the Block, who
later came out as gay.
Obviously I didnt know he was gay
when I was dating him. We were just two
young kids that were not born wealthy and
suddenly seemed to have the world at our
feet. Our friendship continued even after
we broke up, she says.
Tiffany revealed Knight was gay in
a January 2011 interview. She says it
wasnt a big deal because Knights sexual
orientation had been widely discussed
publicly before.
Tiffanys talents go beyond just singing
and writing music. Her rst acting job was
providing the voice of Judy Jetson for
Jetsons: The Movie, from 1990. She also
contributed three songs to the soundtrack.
In her most recent movie, Tiffany teamed
up with Deborah Gibson and lmed their
campy SyFy original movie called Mega
Python v. Gatoroid. The movie featured
a protracted catght waged between
Tiffany and Gibson.
The pop star is married with one son
and takes care of her stepfather, whos
suffering from cancer.
I am a family person rst, she says. I
am very grateful to have a wonderful family.
Her next challenge? She plans to open
a vintage boutique shop this fall.
Ive learned to live in the moment and
never be scared to try something new.
Tiffanys treasures
TIFFANY
Cobalt
1639 R Street, NW
9 p.m.-1 a.m.
No cover
Cobaltdc.com
Divasanddjs.com
Pop singer TIFFANY says she likes a wide array of musical styles, not just the pop style for which
shes best known.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DIVAS AND DJS
washingtonblade.com
OUT & ABOUT AFRl L 0, 2012 37
NY STRIP STEAK
$19.95
April 1-30
clydes.com
$19.95
April 1-30
clydes.com
CLYDE'S RESTAURANT GROUP: Clyde's of
Georgetown, Columbia, Tysons Corner, Reston,
Chevy Chase, Mark Center, and Gallery Place; Old
Ebbitt Grill; Tower Oaks Lodge; The Tomato Palace;
Willow Creek Farm. 202.333.9180
OPENINGS
FRI, APR 6
The Seafarer, SCENA Theatre, H Street
Playhouse. 703-683-2824. ScenaTheater.org.
Coup dEspace: Teddy Baker, Washington
Project for the Arts (WPA). 2022347103x1.
wpadc.org.
The Gift, Contradiction Dance at
Round House Theatre Silver Spring.
240-644-1100. roundhousetheatre.org.
WED, APR 11
ALICE (in wonderland), The Washington
Ballet, Kennedy Center. 202-467-4600.
washingtonballet.org.
Crown of Shadows: the wake of odysseus,
Round House Theatre Bethesda.
240-644-1100. roundhousetheatre.org.
Paintings by Kathy Beynette, Gallery plan
b. 202-234-2711. galleryplanb.com.
THU, APR 12
Experimental Media 2012, Washington
Project for the Arts (WPA), Artisphere.
202-2347103. wpadc.org.
LAST CHANCE
SAT, APR 7
FIST, WIT, Source Theatre. 202-204-7770.
washingtonimprovtheater.com.
SUN, APR 8
New York City Ballet, Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Sucker Punch, Studio Theatre.
202-332-3300. studiotheatre.org.
Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance
Bronzes, National Gallery of Art.
202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Precious Metals, Gallery plan b.
202-234-2711. galleryplanb.com.
ONE NIGHT ONLY
SAT, APR 7
Video Games Live, Strathmore.
301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
American Shakespeare Center on Tour:
A Midsummer Nights Dream & The
Winters Tale, The Alden. 703-790-9223.
aldentheatre.org.
National Chamber Ensemble, Artisphere.
888-841-2787.
nationalchamberensemble.org.
MON, APR 9
Guy Regis, Jr., Embassy of Haiti.
202-633-3030. residentassociates.org.
TUE, APR 10
Titanic: 100 Years After, National
Geographic. 202-857-7700. nglive.org/dc.
WED, APR 11
Cheikh Lo in Concert, Lisner Auditorium.
202-994-6800. residentassociates.org.
Classics of the Silent Screen: Rudolph
Valentino in The Eagle, The Alden.
703-790-9223. aldentheatre.org.
Jack String Quartet, National Gallery of
Art. 202-737-4215. nga.gov.
Caroline Goulding, Museum of Women in
the Arts. 202-783-5000. nmwa.org.
THU, APR 12
Viver Brasil: Feet on the Ground,
Strathmore. 301-581-5100. strathmore.org.
Robbie Shaefer & Ellis Paul, The Barns.
1-877-WOLFTRAP. wolftrap.org.
LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
APR 6 - APR 7
Helmuth Rilling, conductor, NSO, Kennedy
Center. 202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
Wally Cardona & Jennifer Lacey, Dance
Place. 202-269-1600. danceplace.org.
ONGOING STAGE
1776, Fords Theatre. 202-347-4833.
fords.org.
Princess of Kaguya, Kennedy Center.
202-467-4600. kennedy-center.org.
The Taming of the Shrew, Synetic Theater,
Lansburgh Theatre. 877-487-8849.
synetictheater.org.
Arias With A Twist, Woolly Mammoth.
202-393-3939. woollymammoth.net.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling
Bee, Workhouse Arts Center.
703-584-2900. workhousearts.org.
On The Waterfront, American Century
Theater, Gunston Arts Center.
703-998-4555. americancentury.org.
ONGOING EXHIBITIONS
National Gallery of Art. In the Tower:
Mel Bochner, Picassos Drawings,
18901921: Reinventing Tradition, A
New Look: Samuel F.B. Morses Gallery
of the Louvre, The Baroque Genius of
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Special
Installation: Mark Rothko: Seagram Murals.
202-737-4215. nga.gov.
National Geographic. Titanic: 100
Year Obsession, Samurai: The Warrior
Transformed. 202-857-7000. nglive.org/dc.
Corcoran Gallery of Art. Wear. Strut.
Occupy, Tim Hetherington: Sleeping
Soldiers. 202-639-1700. corcoran.edu.
Museum of Women in the Arts. Artists
Books from the NMWA Collection, R(ad)
ical Love: Sister Mary Corita, Royalists
to Romantics, Women Silversmiths from
the NMWA Collection, New York Avenue
Sculpture Project: Chakaia Booker.
202-783-5000. the5x5project.com.
ONGOING GALLERIES
Spring, Washington Printmakers Gallery.
301-273-3660. washingtonprintmakers.com.
Luis Sierra: Somewhere Over The Digital
Prism & Jenny Sidhu Mullins - The Art On
The Art Bus Project, Artisphere.
703-875-1100. artisphere.com.
Ripography: Works with Paper, DCAC.
202-462-7822. dcartscenter.org.
Sailing To Byzantium, Zenith Gallery, 1111
Sculpture Space. zenithgallery.com.
21st Annual Strathmore Artists Juried
Exhibition, Strathmore. 301-581-5100.
strathmore.org.
April All-Media Exhibit & Earth, The Art
League. 703-683-1780. theartleague.org.
HOT HITS & HIDDEN JEWELS
FROM CULTURECAPITAL.COM
JOAN MI R, FROM THE COLLECTI ON.
TUE, APRI L 10 THROUGH TUE, JULY 31
KREEGER MUSEUM. 202- 338- 3552. KREEGERMUSEUM. ORG.
The exhibition marks the rst time the Kreegers complete collection of works
by Mir will be on view, including The Mallorca Suite, Makimono, and El Vol de
lAlosa (The Flight of the Lark).
SOUTHWEST WATERFRONT FI REWORKS FESTI VAL
SAT, APRI L 7
NATI ONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTI VAL, SOUTHWEST
WATERFRONT. NATI ONALCHERRYBLOSSOMFESTI VAL. ORG.
DOGUGAESHI WI TH AT TWI ST
WED, APRI L 11 THROUGH SUN, APRI L 22
NATI ONAL CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTI VAL AT STUDI O THEATRE.
202- 332- 3300. STUDI OTHEATRE. ORG.
Twist unfolds an intimate, abstract, contemporary journey of images and emotions
inuenced by the rareed tradition of Japanese dogugaeshi stage mechanism
technique and his own encounters with the remaining rural caretakers of this once
popular art form. This hour-long performance features original shamisen compositions
created and performed live by authorized master musician Yumiko Tanaka.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART FILM PROGRAMS: JAPANESE DIVAS
APRI L 6 - MAY 5, 2012
NATI ONAL GALLERY OF ART. 202- 737- 4215. NGA. GOV.
Multi-talented actresses Setsuko Hara, Machiko Kyo, Hideko Takamine, Kinuyo
Tanaka, Ayako Wakao, and Isuzu Yamada--icons from the golden age of 20th-
century Japanese cinema--rose to international prominence by enchanting
audiences with their beauty, elegance, and commanding range of expression.
The 13 lms in the program (both jidai-geki, or period dramas, and gendai-geki,
or contemporary stories) include works by many of Japans legendary lmmakers.
Image supplied by The Kreeger Museum.
washingtonblade.com
38 AFRl L 0, 2012 THE GUl DE TO ARTS & CULTURE
Your link to the arts in
Metro DC is one click away!
Blade ad_4.75x2.6875.indd 2 8/26/11 10:06 AM
TICKETPLACE.ORG
HALF-PRICE TICKETS TO THE PERFORMING ARTS
Studies show the
right music can help
get you moving
In 2007 music among the competitors
was banned from the New York City
Marathon and also by the USA Track and
Field. This made global headlines where
musics impact on exercise became more
closely scrutinized.
In August 2010, the New York Times wrote
an enlightening piece Phys Ed: Does
exercise make you work harder. The article
cites a great deal of evidence and research
to support musics impact on exercise.
Who does not like some kind of music
and who doesnt use music to stimulate
an activity? Why not use music while we
exercise? Is there a benet? I used to
view music as a distraction from the body.
I would often tell my personal training
clients to forego the headset, the TV,
e-mail, etc., in lieu of focusing on the body;
the heart, lungs and muscles so they were
completely attuned to what was happening
in the body. I was trained to recognize how
important the mind/body connection is
and that the experience of exercise was
enhanced by focusing on what you are
doing. By focusing, the thinking was, you
would garner greater results.
But Ive discovered that music can
provoke an uplifting and motivational
addition to exercise and theres evidence
to conrm this. While not everyone
may love exercise, there is clearly a
widespread love for music so why not
combine the two so they play off one
another. And while some will indeed
use music solely as a distraction from
exercise, others may encounter several
added benets.
To gain better understanding of just
how much music inuences exercise I
went to gay local music entrepreneurs,
Michael Pipitone and Mike Babbitt, co-
owners of Yes! Fitness Music. They had
a lot to say about musics impact on
exercise. After all its what they sell with
more than 40 years of experience in the
exercise music industry between them
and boasting about 20,000 songs in their
archives. Half their market is focused
on serving high-energy exercise music
both for group exercise instructors and
personal workout enthusiasts.
If you dont know who Pipitone and
Babbitt are yet, you will. With several
number one tness albums on iTunes
including In the Key of Glee Workout
Mix inspired by the hit TV series and as
the U.S. sub-publisher of the Pitbull hit
Krazy featuring Lil Jon, these guys are
making a name for themselves in D.C.
and beyond.
Pipitones and Babbitts enthusiasm for
what they do is matched by the enthusiasm
in the music they sell. Yes! Fitness Music
specializes in creating dance and up-
tempo remixes of current and classic songs
by updating and re-engineering them for
a new audience. Tempo is only one part
of the re-engineering equation, but if
you want to create your own up-tempo
music playlist from virtually any song in
your iTunes library, you can download an
app on your iPhone or iPod Touch called
Tempo Magic Pro and it will increase the
beats per minute of any song by as much
as 24 percent.
Clinical psychologist Charles Emery of
Ohio State University has studied the effects
of exercise on various types of patients over
the years and discovered that listening to
music while engaging and performing in
other activities enhances the experience.
Emery took his research further to ascertain
what would happen when these two
passions were combined and discovered
musics positive effects on exercise.
Emery discovered that music stimulates
the frontal lobe of the brain, the area
responsible for and associated with higher
mental function. Its no wonder exercise
helps us think through and process other
areas of our lives, giving it a great duel
purpose. People often do their best
thinking while they exercise it can
stimulate us to think more clearly.
The United States Sports Academy has
published in-depth articles focusing on
the applied aspects of music in sports
and exercise. The articles include work
from prominent researchers in the eld
and support the multitude of positive
inuences music has on exercise.
IDEA, which bills itself as the worlds
largest association for tness and wellness
professionals, has done extensive
research as well and has collected
supporting data on the effects music has
on exercise.
The overwhelming majority of their
ndings agree that music stimulates
and we use music to stimulate just
about every conceivable activity from
Yoga to housework. Ive used music to
help me sleep since I was 12. Its been
demonstrated among the research that
music improves compliance, reduces
feeling of fatigue, boosts spirit, increases
the relaxation response and improves
motor coordination.
The ndings are not universally
accepted there are some researchers
who rebut the ndings, but theres enough
solid research from credible sources to
use music when you work out.
Feel the beat
Kevin M. Norris is a health and tness columnist for the
Blade and owner of Mind our Own Body, LLC. Personal
Training. Reach him at kevinmnorris@aol.com.
washingtonblade.com
FI TNESS AFRl L 0, 2012 3
Scan the QR Code to See Our Featured Specials
Or Visit Our Website: www.bbgwdc.com
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Wednesdays: Half Price Bottles of Wine
Daily Prix Fixe Chefs Menu From $19.95
Saturday Nights: Surf And Turf $24.95 & 50% O Wine Bottles
Dining Out For Life
Thursday, April 26th Because we believe and hope!
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1711 Florida Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.986.7907 (store)
202.986.6301 (daycare)
www.loveplanetpet.com
Join Planet Pet as we sponsor the Washington Animal Rescue Leagues most popular family aair.
The annual PASTA FOR PETS spaghetti dinner
and bingo night will take place
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Wine will be available for sale by the glass.
For tickets www.warl.org
and warranties.
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TODAY
Busboys & Poets presents First
Fridays: A Local Arts Exploration today
at 5:30 p.m. in the Zinn room at its
Hyattsville location (5331 Baltimore
Ave., Suite 104). This event combines a
reception, artist talk and the opportunity
to meet local artists and see their work.
This month presenters are Aaron Sinift,
MIchael Singletary, Song Byeok and
Human Landscape Dance. Light hors
doeuvres and wine will be served. This
is a free event.
Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance,
Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Community
Association, GoGayDC, GayDigerati,
NoVA GL Professionals and D.C. Ice
Breakers are some of the groups that will
be at a meet-up event at Kora Restaurant
(2250 Crystal Drive, #B, Arlington) tonight
from 6 to 8 p.m.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) presents
Madonnarama featuring DJ Ed Bailey
with performances by the Dance Camp
and the Ladies of Town tonight at 10 p.m.
Attendees must be 21 or older. There is an
$8 cover before 11 p.m. and $12 after.
DJs Joey O and Chord Bezerra will
be spinning at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.)
tonight at 10 p.m. Free vodka drinks from
11 p.m. to midnight. Theres a $10 cover
until midnight, then its $8.
SATURDAY, APRIL 7
Blowoff, a dance party featuring gay
DJs Bob Mould and Richard Morel, will
be at 9:30 club (815 V St., N.W.) tonight.
Doors open at 11:30 p.m. Attendees must
be 21 or older. Tickets are $12 and can be
purchased at 930.com.
Code has its monthly installment
tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green
Court, N.W.). Gear, rubber, skin, uniform
or leather dress code will be strictly
enforced. Music provided by DJ Frank
Wild. Admission is $10. All attendees must
be 18 or older. There will be an open bar
from 9 to 10 p.m.
Strathmore presents Video Games
Live: Bonus Round at the Music Center
(5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda)
with two concerts today at 2 and 8 p.m.
Tickets range from $25 to $76 and can be
purchased online at strathmore.org.
Riot Act Comedy Theater (801 E St.,
N.W.) presents the graduates of Brad
Trackman Comedy School at Riot Act
in a show today at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are
$15 and can be purchased online at
riotactcomedy.com.
Burgundy Crescent Volunteers will
be working with the Lost Dog & Cat
Foundation at Petsmart (6100 Arlington
Blvd., Falls Church) from 11:45 a.m. to
3 p.m. as dog handlers for adoption
events. All volunteers get paired with a
dog to walk around inside and outside
the store and be given basic information
if someone shows interest in adopting
the dog. To volunteer, email jonathan@
burgundycrescent.org.
SUNDAY, APRIL 8
Focus-In! Films presents Howl as its
April Film of the Month and in celebration
of National Poetry Month with a screening
at Busboys & Poetss 14th and V streets
location (2021 14th St., N.W.) tonight at 7
p.m. The lm stars James Franco as a young
Allen Ginsberg. This is a free screening.
LGBT science ction, fantasy and horror
group Lambda Sci-Fi is having its monthly
meeting today, including election of
ofcers and social with annual blind book
exchange at 1425 S St., N.W., at 1:30 p.m.
Attendees are asked to bring a snack or
a non-alcoholic drink to share. For more
information contact James at 202-232-
3141 or Peter and Rob at 202-483-6369,
email to info@lambdasci.org, or visit the
groups website at lambdasci.org.
The D.C. Kings are performing their
New King show tonight at Phase 1 (525 8th
St. S.E.) at 10 p.m. hosted by Rocky and
Vintage Swag. Performers for the night
include Avery Austin, Jamie Son, Sabastian
Katz and more. Doors open at 7 p.m. and
theres a $10 cover. In honor of Sexual
Assault Awareness Month, this show will be
a fundraiser for the D.C. Rape Crisis Center.
ASL interpretation will be available.
MONDAY, APRIL 9
Rude Boi Entertainment and Tomboyz
Quarterly present a LGBT Reggae and
Latin dance party tonight at Patty Boom
Boom (1359 U St., N.W.) starting at 7
p.m. There is a $10 donation at the door.
Proceeds will support Youth Pride Alliance.
D.C.s Different Drummers Marching
Band is kicking off its new season tonight
with an open house at L2 Lounge (3315
Cadys Alley, N.W.) at 7 p.m. For more
information, email band director at
marching@dcdd.org.
TUESDAY, APRIL 10
D.C. Bi Women will have its monthly
dinner at Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637
17th St., N.W.) tonight from 7 to 9 p.m.
Cobalts (1639 R St., N.W.) weekly
Flashback: 70s/80s/90s Retro Dance
Party is tonight with special guest, 80s pop
star Tiffany performing live. There is no cover
for this event and doors open at 9 p.m.
Kaiser Chiefs play Rams Head Live
(20 Market Place, Baltimore) tonight with
Spacecamp. Tickets are $25 and can be
purchased online at tickets.ramsheadlive.
com. Doors open at 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11
Rainbow Response is holding its
monthly meeting tonight at the D.C.
Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 7 to 8 p.m.
Busboys & Poets presents Wednesday
night Open Mic Poetry hosted by
2Deep the Poetess in the Cullen room
of its 5th and K location (1025 5th St.,
N.W.) at 9 p.m. Wristbands are $4 and
will be sold in the Global Exchange store
beginning at 11 a.m.
The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight
at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th
St., SE across from Marine Barracks) for
duplicate bridge. No reservations needed;
newcomers welcome. Visit lambdabridge.
com if you need a partner.
The Big Gay Book Group will meet
tonight at 7 p.m. at 1155 F Street, N.W., Suite
200. The book discussed will be The Boys
in the Band by Mart Crowley. For more
information, visit biggaybookgroup.com or
e-mail biggaybookgroup@hotmail.com.
THURSDAY, APRIL 12
D.C. Lambda Squares, a local gay
square dancing group, is having its annual
meeting tonight as well as its weekly club
night with advanced and challenge at
National City Christian Church (5 Thomas
Circle, N.W.) from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Stonewall Bocce meets tonight at
Nellies (900 U St., N.W.) at 6:30 p.m. For
more information, visit stonewallsports.
org/bocce.html.
Touchstone Gallery (901 New York
Ave., N.W.) presents two new exhibits
Spirit and Enigma featuring ceramic
sculptures by Bill Mould and String
theory featuring works by Elena
Tchernomazova. The gallery is open from
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information,
visit touchstonegallery.com.
washingtonblade.com
40 AFRl L 0, 2012 CALENDAR
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.com
two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so
priority is given to LGBT-specic events or those
with LGBT participants. Recurring events must be
re-submitted each time.
Video Games Live returns to the Music Center at Strathmore with 'Bonus Round' on Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.
FHOTO COURTESY OF STRATHMORE
New book explores
why some things
drive us crazy
Stop it.
Just cut it out. Quit snufing, chomping
your gum and snapping your ngers in
peoples faces. Dont be rude and dont
do that thing with your foot, OK? Stop
with those annoyingly intrusive questions,
and by the way, no one appreciates your
disgusting bodily noises.
Why is it that manners are something
we possess but no one else does? Why
do some things bother us, while others
dont? And, as author Henry Alford asks
with his new book, Would It Kill You to
Stop Doing That?
Why do we bother with manners? Henry
Alford wondered that while he was in
Tokyo. Japan, he says, is the Fort Knox of
the World Manners Reserve, but we here
in North America know a few things about
that subject, too.
Scientists know, for instance, that were
nicer to people we know. We dene
manners, not as protocol (a subset of
mannerly behavior), but as sensitivity to
others. Experts have hypothesized from
where Southern Charm sprang. And when
it comes to manners, we unequivocally say
that we present good manners, while bad
manners are what others have.
Of course, though, in our zeal to be
polite, we do boneheaded things. We
dont think. We dont listen. We say no
problem instead of thank you, or we
apologize insincerely or not at all. We
bum-pat, hug (or are horried by huggers),
and we often eschew email etiquette.
So why are we this way? One of the
reasons might be what doctors call
inattentional blindness, which means
that were too focused on other things, to
the detriment of being nice. We might not
be adept at small talk. We hide behind a
group, an email alias or a Facebook page
because we can.
There are things we can do about
widespread rudeness, however. Summon
your inner chat-ability at parties, but know
that there are limits. Teach manners to
your children. Pay attention to cultural
differences. Cultivate the art of the smart
(but ohhh-so-genteel) comeback.
Would It Kill You to Stop Doing
That? is a quirky book. Its not exactly an
etiquette book, although theres advice in
here. Its not a how-to, either, unless you
do a lot of reading between the lines.
This book is more of a look at how
we behave (or dont) and why it bothers
author Henry Alford and that last part
is what makes this book worth a read:
Alford is pretty good at being Everyman.
Like him, arent we all grossed-out by
unushed public toilets? Dont we all hate
drivers with perpetually turned-on turn
signals? Havent we all committed a faux
pas that made us want to slink away?
This book holds a mirror up to our
foibles and though it, too, has its impolite
moments, its also got some laughs. I think
if youre rubbed wrong by rudeness, youll
like it but beware start reading Would
It Kill You to Stop Doing That? and you
may not be able to stop.
Breach of manners
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3
years old. She lives in Wisconsin with two dogs and 12,000
books. Reach her at bookwormsez@yahoo.com.
WOULD IT KILL YOU TO STOP DOING THAT?
A MODERN GUIDE TO MANNERS
By Henry Alford
Twelve
$24.99
243 pages
washingtonblade.com
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42 AFRl L 0, 2012 FHOTOS BY FETE EXl S
Scenes from last weekends Cherry parties including Boys on Fire at Warehouse Loft and the Cherry main event at Town Danceboutique.
Moms Mabley was one of the leading
women comedians in America in the 20s
and 30s and she really got her start here at
the Howard. Wanda Sykes is also kind of that
charming, girl-next-door type. She helps
people get close to her as she criticizes
America about sexuality, about class warfare
Moms Mabley was much the same thing
and even though people say she wasnt
a lesbian, she was Moms Mabley was
cutting edge and theres a very strong gay
and lesbian history at the Howard.
Other performers slated for the coming
months include the Roots (April 15), Chaka
Khan (May 5), Esperanza Spalding (May 12)
and Bettye LaVette (Oct. 27). Bi bassist/
singer Meshell Ndegeocello plays April 25.
The venue will be managed by Blue Note
Entertainment Group. After being added
to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1974 and tagged on President Clintons
Save Americas Treasures list in 2000, a
non-prot Howard Theatre Restoration
was formed in 2006 to raise funds for the
restoration. The Restoration raised nearly
$2 million city government gave $12
million in grants and tax credits while Eagle
Bank stepped in with the remainder. Work
began in September 2010.
Powers says theres a lot of buzz and
excitement at the theater as staff gear
up for next weekends opening festivities.
Some nishing touches are still being
added seat padding, sound system and
lighting tweaks, paneling.
He says the Howard wont be a relic
its designed to be a versatile, thriving
space where music of many genres and
performers of all races can thrive.
Were going to have such an array
of talent, its really going to be what the
Howard has always been the theater of
the people, Powers, whos straight, says.
The people of D.C. are diverse, so well
represent that and there will be shows that
appeal to people from all walks of life.
washingtonblade.com
ARTS & ENTERTAI NMENT AFRl L 0, 2012 43
Howard Theatre back after
$29 million renovation
WANDA SYKES
8 p.m. (doors open 6)
April 13
Howard Theatre
630 T Street, NW
$95 general admission tables, $125 booths
howardtheatre.org
Sykes busy with
touring, lm
Wanda Sykes says life is good. During a
chat last week from Australia where shes
performing a two-week mini-standup tour,
she says shes having fun.
Theyre very nice here, but its kind of
a phony nice, she says from her hotel in
Melbourne. Its that passive-aggressive-
type nice. Like the other day at breakfast, I
asked for a mimosa and she looked at me
kinda funny. I said, You know, Champagne
and orange juice, and she smiled but it
was that fake smile like she was saying,
Thats the shit you drink for breakfast.
Sykes and her wife, Alex, have twins
who will be 3 at the end of the month. She
says theyre doing great and though
both parents travel extensively for work,
theyre in a solid routine that works.
When Im there, we get the real quality
time together and theyre used to both of
us traveling so it just works, she says.
Sykes is mainly touring these days
though she just nished an independent
lm called Hot Flashes. Listen for her in
Ice Age 4 this summer.
When we talked, Sykes hadnt heard of
her former co-star Jane Fondas latest turn
as Nancy Reagan but says shell be curious
to see the lm when its nished.
I love Jane and we keep in touch,
Sykes says. Shes great. Shes just totally
Hollywood royalty and she was so gracious
when we worked together. I was nervous
[about Monster-in-Law]. Im thinking,
Oh my God, Im gonna be in this movie
with Jane Fonda, but after you meet her,
you just calm down and you realize shes
just a good broad, she really is.
Sykes says other than getting invited to
every LGBT event imaginable, the biggest
difference in her work since coming out is
her ability to be freer on stage.
It was so liberating, she says. Theres
nothing hanging over my head, so its
been great career wise. There hasnt been
anything that would make me go, Oh no, I
regret it. Its all been very positive. Im very
happy and grateful.
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
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Jewelry . Art Glass . Ceramics . Glass Beads . Turned Wood . Kaleidoscopes . Ornaments . Paperweights

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By RUSS GLICKMAN
Youve decided to remodel your home, but
youre likely not thinking about the remodel-
ing story that youll eventually share with
friends over coffee.
But, at this early stage, step back and pon-
der: will your remodeling story have a happy
ending worth sharing?
Many factors affect how your story will
conclude: choosing a contractor whom you
trust, your product and material selections,
time factors and a host of other elements. No
doubt, price is an important consideration in
your remodeling purchase and the amount you
invest will affect your selections and choices.
About Us
Russ Glickman, the owner of Glickman
Design Build has designed and built count-
less projects during the last 36 years. The
Glickman teams efforts garnered 33 national
and local awards for exceptional creativity,
superior quality, excellent craftsmanship and
unsurpassed customer satisfaction. Weve been
recognized with 65 endorsements and articles
from national and local media. The personal
experience that Russ garnered years ago as a
skilled craftsman in the eld benets clients
immensely. He ensures that creativity merges
seamlessly with a focused responsibility toward
meeting your goals and he personally ensures
your project is designed right, built right and
priced right.
Through the purposeful collaboration and
meetings between our clients and project-
appropriate specialists including architects,
designers, craftsmen and project managers,
we transform our clients homes into beauti-
ful, comfortable living spaces that meet their
practical needs and express their individuality.
Glickman Design Build brings talent, vision
and common sense to all its projects.
Glickman provides each and every client
with the personal attention they deserve, which
is so often overlooked by larger renovation
companies. Each client meets personally with,
and has an ongoing relationship with Russ
Glickman, CR, CAPS, CEAC, GACP, EPA
CR through the design, building and war-
ranty phases of their project and for years to
come. Glickman Design Build understands that
clients have many options when choosing a re-
modeler and we take your trust very seriously.
We offer exceptional service and cater to
the needs of our clients, while ensuring that
our projects are reasonably priced. Our rm
has committed to maintaining a boutique-
style company. To do so, Glickman Design
Build keeps overhead costs lower and focuses
on a handful of projects at a time, giving you
our full, undivided attention and a better value
for your investment!
Glickman Design Build specializes in
designing and building residential renova-
tions and is dedicated to helping articulate the
dreams of area homeowners and translating
them into a reality. Simply put, we create beau-
tiful living spaces that our clients enjoy every
day and provide a range of renovation services
and warranties.
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ROOFING CONTRACTOR
P.J. McTavish & Co., Inc.
Licensed -Bonded - Insured
301-476-8551
EMERGENCY REPAIRS 24 HOUR SERVICE
Serving the community for over 20 years!
BBB - Washingtonian Checkbook - Angie's List - NBCA - NSA - Energy Star Rated System
5(3$,561(:522)*877(5&/($1,1*
Sheet Metal
Roong
Slate, Tile
Gutters
Skylights
Cedar Shake
Shingles
Chimney Restoration
Certied Applications
of General Tire &
Firestone Products
EPDM
Tin
Copper
Built In Gutter
Roof Inspections RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
DESIGN/ BUILD
allenbuiltinc.com
301.229.7628
and warranties.
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 02.17.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: DAN HAZARD (dhazard@washblade.com)
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CERTIFIED
ARBORISTS
|kN|N |N8|0I ! |8|k8| |kN08|8 Ik|kI|NI k|0\k|
8 k k N 0 k | 8 I k | | | X | | k I 8 . 0 0
301.589.6181
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D. Braun Contracting
Call us at 202-744-4684 or visit us at dbrauncontracting.com
Exceeding Expectations!
From simple home repairs to
full-service remodeling, we build
ongoing professional relationships
based on trust and integrity.
Kitchens & Baths
Additions
Decking
Home Repairs
Your happy(?) ending
S THINGS IN A NW
ight
www. domi ni onel ect r i c. com
*On in-stock decorative lighting and accessories only. Not valid with other offers or prior sales. Items shown may not be currently
in-stock or on display. Offer expires August 31, 2012. Sales please input PRINT for tracking, take discount manually and return
the ad copy with the invoice number to marketing. We suggest making an appointment for consultation with blueprints or plans.
PRINTWB22012
S H O WR O O M L O C AT I O N S :
ARLINGTON 703-536-4400
CHANTILLY 703-631-8300
LAUREL 301-470-2121
10% OFF
our lowest tag price on in-stock
decorative lighting and accessories.
Fans excluded.
to t your needs, which include:
Great rooms
Custom kitchen renovations and kitchen
additions
Single and multi-level additions
Master suite and bathroom renovations
Whole house renovations
Decks and screened porches; arbors new
or replacement
Porch/garage/basement/attic conversions
Patios, landscaping and outdoor environ-
ments
Stone work, patios, concrete and outdoor
replaces
Sunrooms, conservatories and solariums
Accessible design and remodeling
Aging in place/universal design/build
Barrier free additions, elevators, ramps,
kitchens and baths
Other projects available on request
Dont Just Take Our Word for It
Here are a few notable things the media has
said about Glickman Design Build:
Glickman Design Build is the wizard of
inner space. (Luxury Homes Magazine)
Glickman/Design Build offers one-stop
shopping for home remodeling.
Glickman Design Build won top honors in
the creative solutions category of the National
Association of the Remodeling Industry annual
awards.
Designer wins NARI creativity award.
Back to You
So, here you are: looking for the company
thats best suited for you and your project.
Its time to be candid with yourself about
what you really want, what will make your
project successful and consider important ques-
tions to your prospective remodelers. To see a
list of questions you should ask any remodeler
you may hire, visit glickmandesignbuild.com.
We invite you call to us today at 301-444-
4663 to nd out the ways we can assist with
your project. Our training, credentials and
knowledge support our enduring efforts to
provide successful projects (happy endings) to
clients and have built our solid reputation in
the D.C. area.
Glickman Design Build
Russ Glickman russ@glickmandesignbuild.
com | 301-444-4663 | www.glickmandesign-
build.com
Named National Remodeler of the Year
CR (Certied Remodeler - by NARI, National
Assn of the Remodeling Industry)
CAPS (Certied Aging-in-Place Specialist - by
NAHB, National Assn of Home Builders)
CEAC (Certied Environmental Access Con-
sultant - by U.S. Rehab/AARP)
GACP (Green Advantage Certied Practi-
tioner)
EPA CR (Certied Renovator - by the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency - approved to
remodel in homes with Lead Paint)
and warranties.
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Kraftwerks Sheet Metal & Slate, Inc. specializes in
copper, slate & tin roong. We have a full service
sheet metal shop to fabricate cornice and
custom skylights. All repairs are guaranteed
and if you are adding an addition to an
existing structure Kraftwerks can tie
the two together seamlessly.
Preserving history,
one roof at a time.
301-779-5100 www.kraftwerks-inc.com
Your happy(?) ending
FINANCIAL
By MICHAEL GLASSMAN
As a small business owner, what hap-
pens to the business or your partner if
one of you is no longer around?
Life insurance can provide a solution.
Lets say that two men who are equal
partners run an IT company thats valued
at $10 million. One is heterosexual and
married; the other is gay with a domes-
tic partner. Lets say that the gay man
dies. Who owns the business now? The
male married partner and the domestic
partner (if he was legally married or had
executed a will and trust) would now co-
own the business, but the latter knows
nothing about the IT business.
Then, lets say the domestic partner
calls the business partner daily to ask for his
money. The deceased partner used to bring
home $5,000 a week. His business partner
is now running the business without the
benet of the deceased, possibly creating
a shortfall in available income. Additionally,
there could be tax implications on his share
of the business, valued at $10 million.
If each partner had $5 million worth of
life insurance and named their respective
spouse or domestic partner as benecia-
ries, they would have been able to pay off
the other partner and buy him out with
the $5 million policy.
Life insurance can, for example:
Frorecr a Lusiness or Lusiness owner
from nancial loss including the loss
of control of a part of the business as
a result of the death of a partner or co-
owner. As part of a buy-sell agreement,
the policys death benet can be used
to help purchase the deceased partners
shares from his or her estate.
Frorecr a Lusiness lrom loss as a re-
sult of the death of a key employee. The
policys death benet can provide a cush-
ion that enables the company to continue
operating while seeking a replacement.
Be usec as a hihly valuec employee Len-
et for key personnel whose loved ones can
benet in the event of the employees death.
Flan aheac lor your personal esrare:
Most states do not recognize lesbian
and gay relationships, so you need to be
aware of the laws of your state.
A signicant percentage of your estate
may o rowarc rax liaLiliries. Froperry
taxes, income taxes, gift taxes, and es-
tate taxes are all areas of concern. Les-
bian and gay couples who cannot legally
marry or partner in their state do not have
the same tax benets as heterosexual
couples. Additionally, even those legally
married or partnered do not have the
same federal tax benets that married
heterosexual couples do.
Did you realize that your assets owned
at death are generally subject to federal
and state taxes? A signicant percentage
of your estate may go toward tax liabili-
ties. Unless you plan ahead, your legacy
becomes open to public scrutiny through
the probate process. There are steps
you can take to help make sure that your
loved ones, possessions and passions are
taken care of in the manner you wish, and
that your affairs remain condential.
When thinking about the future, con-
sider how your family will be cared for,
who will inherit property, and how assets
will be distributed.
Whar happens ro your properry alrer
you pass away?
How will lovec ones mainrain rheir
standard of living?
How will your esrare pay lnal ex-
penses and taxes?
Can your raxaLle esrare Le recucec
with lifetime gifting strategies?
How may rhe rransler ol your assers
be impacted by federal gift and estate
tax guidelines?
A well-designed strategy can provide
you a way to accumulate, conserve and
protect your assets during your lifetime. At
the heart of many estate and tax plans, is
a versatile tool called a Trust. A Trust
Agreement is a legal document that es-
tablishes a Trust and enables it to hold
property for the benet of a third party.
A common technique to minimize es-
tate taxes involves an Irrevocable Life In-
surance Trust (ILIT). A properly structured
and administered ILIT may keep your life
insurance policys death benet out of
your estate, so proceeds will benet the
people and places you care about most.
At the very least, you should have a will,
a curaLle eneral Fower ol Arrorney lor
nances or healthcare to allow an agent
to act on your behalf if you become in-
capacitated. Have an advanced directive,
such as a living will and a healthcare proxy,
anc a HFAA aurhorizarion ro permir your
partner to have access to your medical
information so your provider or insurance
company has no reservations about shar-
ing your protected medical information
wirh rhem. You shoulc also have a Farenr-
ing Agreement if you have children and a
Domesric Farrnership Areemenr il you've
been together for some time.
Gay business owners
need life insurance
Michael Glassman is with The Washington Group in
Berhesca. Feach him ar 301-581-7277 or mglassman@
nancialguide.com. For more information, visit nancial-
uice.com/michaellassman. CFN 201403158857
CFFECTN: Lasr week's Blace Business column was au-
rhorec Ly Nancy rrmeyer Kuhn. The name ol her lrm was
incorrectly listed. The correct name of the rm is Jackson &
CampLell. The Blace rerers rhe error.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM
Same-sex couples need to take special steps to ensure a sound nancial strategy. From insurance
to retirement e Washington Group, a general agency of MassMutual can help you protect what
maers most - your loved ones future. MassMutual is a proud member of the Human Rights
Campaigns Business Coalition for Tax Equity and a strong supporter of the Tax Equity for Health
Plan Beneciaries Act. And were ready to help all couples reach their nancial goals.
Experience the strength of a good decision. Visit MassMutual.com or talk
to a local MassMutual representative today.
MassMutual Financial Group refers to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), its afliated companies and sales representatives. Insurance products
issued by MassMutual, Springeld, MA 01111 and its subsidiaries, C.M. Life Insurance Company and MML Bay State Life Insurance Company, Eneld, CT 06082.
1
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org. Human Rights Campaign rating is for calendar years 2007-2010. CRN201301-143173
LIFE INSURANCE + RETIREMENT/401(K) PLAN SERVICES + DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE + LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE + ANNUITIES
Its working with a nancial company
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WHAT I S THE SI GN OF A GOOD DECI SI ON?

Michael J. Glassman, CFBS, CLTC, ChFEBC
Financial Services Professional
e Washington Group
6500 Rock Spring Drive, Suite 400
Bethesda, MD 20817
301-581-7277
mglassman@nancialguide.com
www.nancialguide.com/michael-glassman
Sometimes homes
that dont show well
can be the best bargain
By DONNA EVERS
Why buy the pretty house with the high
price tag when you can buy the ugly
duckling and turn it into a swan thats
worth a lot more than you paid for it?
Buyers naturally gravitate toward
pretty houses. Their brain automatically
says Yes when a house shows well, and
No when it doesnt. But, if you can take
the time to think it through, you can come
out ahead in Washingtons expensive real
estate marketplace.
This spring many houses between
$500,000-$900,000 that show well and are
priced right will get multiple offers, which
means you will end up paying a lot. On
the other hand, if you can look beyond
things like outdated or bad decorating,
dirt or clutter, poor paint colors, plastic
shutters, a weed-ridden lawn and a lot of
other negatives, you may get a very good
buy whose shortcomings can be correct-
ed with just a little extra time and money
on your part.
Also known as ranch-style housing,
the rambler type of home has one
main above-grade level with extra rooms
which may be totally underground or
have a walk-out aspect. Most of these
houses were built in the 1950s, and al-
though designers have renamed this
period mid-century modern, ramblers
are not the most popular style of house.
They generally have low ceilings, out-
dated bathrooms and kitchens, homely
windows and plain exteriors. But they can
be drastically improved upon.
Adding front garden structures with
lattice work or front porch additions such
as pergolas with appropriately sized col-
umns provide a big change in the archi-
tecture and give the house an updated,
welcoming appearance.
A curved driveway of paving stones
and landscaping that includes reduction
or removal of vines or other ground cov-
ers that were planted 50 years ago and
now threaten to engulf the whole house
can go a long way.
If the windows are outdated or un-
sightly, you can get thermopane replace-
ment windows in all designs which can
be installed in the existing frames for rea-
sonable prices.
Paint the at-looking builders brick
a neutral color and do the woodwork
in a frosty white to match the new front
pergola or latticework. Add some white
picket fencing to give the whole exterior
an Arts & Crafts interpretation.
Ramblers usually have open, sunny
interior spaces and are easily adaptable
to todays contemporary look and casual
lifestyles. They are also usually cheaper
than colonials with the same bedroom
and bath count. You will have to update
the kitchen and bathrooms, but you
would have to do that with the colonial
down the street and you would be paying
more for the same square footage.
Well explore x-up tips for other styles
of housing in future columns.
Myth of the ugly
duckling house
REAL ESTATE
Some housing styles havent aged well but they can be a bargain to buyers willing to put a little work into them.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA.ORG
Donna Evers is broker and owner of Evers & Co. Real Estate.
She can be reached at devers@eversco.com.
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F C M M N T Y F S T F E S S N C E 1 c
americas gay
news source.
Just being reported in the Washington Blade
a very good gay newspaper out of DC :
Senator John Ensign (R) Nevada indicates he is
considering a vote to repeal...

Rachel Maddow Show
MSNBC
November 18, 2010
A rally against transgender violence at the
Rosedale McDonalds on Monday night featured
Poliss mother, grandmother and a crowd of 300,
singing We Shall Overcome. Chrissy, no doubt
afraid, stayed home. Her mother, Renee Carr, told
the Washington Blade, a gay newspaper, that
she supported her daughter 100 percent and
added: I even carried her pocketbook on the
way to the bus stop as a kid.
Maureen Dowd
New York Times Opinion Page
April 26, 2011
1-800-ROOF-495
MAGGIOROOFING.COM
s 4IME !NGIES ,IST 3UPER 3ERVICE !WARD 7INNER
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Call Ron Gallant @ 240.398.7006 or
ron@argent-llc.com or visit argenthvac.com
Therapy for Adults,
Adolescents & Couples
Coming Out
Concerns About Intimacy, Partner Choice,
Family, Relationship Stress,
Anxiety, Depression
Chronic Illness
Douglas L. Romberg, Ph.D.
(202) 296-0033
Dupont Circle
(703) 790-0038
Northern VA
Becky Carroll, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Interactive Counseling,
Psychotherapy and
Somatic Experiencing
www.LGBTC.com
202.332.8477
B.Carrol@mac.com
Sid Binks, PhD, ABPP-CN
Board Certied in Clinical Neuropsychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Individual & Couples Therapy
for the LGBTQ Community
19 years experience!
3000 Connecticut Avenue NW
ZZ.Zbb.b/ 3|dB|nks@ao|.com
LGBTC.com/staff/sidney_binks.html
professionaldirectory
DAVE LLOYD & ASSOCIATES DAVE LLOYD & ASSOCIATES
Top 1% Nationwide
NVAR Life Member Top Producder
703-593-3204
WWW.DAVELLOYD.NET
ENTHUSIASTICALLY
SERVING DC & VIRGINIA
Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapy
Results-Oriented T Affordable
Larry Cohen, LICSW
24 years serving the lgbt community
202-244-0903
socialanxietyhelp.com
See website for NPR story on my work
Results-Oriented
24 years serving the lgbt community
See website for NPR story on my work
IndividualsCouplesSex
Helping People
Grow Stronger
in Rough Times
Michael Radkowsky, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist 20 years experience
Near Woodley & Cleveland Park metro
(202) 234-3278
www.personalgrowthzone.com
Over 20 years of experience
Ofce located on Capitol Hill
Individual and Couples
Psychotherapy
202-494-6675
robertbenedettiphd@gmail.com
ROBERT BENEDETTI, PHD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Are you tired of repeating
the same old patterns?
YOU CAN MAKE A CHANGE!
David Hoover, LCSW MDiv
Servingthegay community for over twenty years.
301.580.2953 s davidwhoover@aol.com
Individual and couples therapy. Sex addiction.
Joel C. Ang, M.D.
Family Medicine, HIV Diagnosis & Treatment
www.qstreetmds.com
202-667-5041
1759 Q Street NW, Washington, DC
Pod Lino Motro Oupont Cirolo
Parking Availablo Froo Wi-Fi
Samo Oay Appointmonts
Adult Primary Care
Copios o rooords at oaon visit
nsuranoo Aoooptod
nstant Hv/Sypnilis/Horpos Tosting
CLA Cortihod n-Houso Laboratory
THOMAS JENKINS
& COMPANY
Certied Public Accountants
Corporation, Partnership, Trust, Individual
Income Tax & Financial Planning
202-547-9004
Washington, DC
licensed bonded insured
residential remodeling specialist
202-297-1204
rrdpauley@mac.com
MASSAGE / CERTIFIED
YOURE WORKING THAT BODY HARD.
Come to a professional massage
therapist offering the best deep tissue
massage available. Stretching, Swedish
& Sports massage. $70-1 hr./$100-90
mins. Dupont. Marcio (202) 271-9440.
www.MarciosMassage.com.
INDULGE YOURSELF WITH RELAXING,
DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE! Feel the
stress leave your body. CMT w/ 17 yrs
exp. Located in Logan/Dupont Circle.
www.DCMassageTherapist.com David
(202) 213-9646. Lic #MT410.
GOT ACHES? SCHEDULE your massage
today. Sports, Swedish, Deep Tissue, or
something in-between. Convenient N.
Arlington location, 12-9 Sun-Wed. $85/
hr, $130/90 mins. Gary 301-704-1158
mymassagebygary.com.
ITALIAN JOCK GIVES full body massage.
Masculine, muscular, VGL masseur,
offers, full-body, Swedish, sports, deep
tissue massage on a table, including
stretching, shower available. See my
photos on www.massagem4m.com/
jockguy. Located downtown, parking
available. Credit Cards Accepted. Brian
312-961-7724.
YOU NEED ME. I need you.
Experienced healing male hands
release pain, stress, tension & fatigue.
DC/VA appointments. 703-402-6698.
Energy work available.
PROFESSIONAL RESULTS. SKILLED,
high-quality, effective Massage
Therapy. Emphasis on Neuromuscular
and Deep-Tissue. Specialize in chronic
issues. Combine deep work with
calming elements. Collin 954-249-
6284. http://sites.google.com/site/
sourcetherapeutics/,
PAMPER YOURSELF with a 60 or
90 min. massage. With 11 years
experience let me tailor a session
right for you. Ben 202.277.7097.
www.benmassagedc.com.
WAT MASSAGE Imagine being
transported to an oasis of serenity
where your own nature is rested,
renewed & refreshed. A luxurious
studio near 18th & Florida Ave.
SPRING SPECIAL- $90/ 90 min.
session (with this ad). (202)588-
9393. http://watmassage.com.
TRACEMASSAGE. THE RELAXING
solution for hard-working, professional,
stressed-out people. Call Trace Berg,
LMT NCTMB. (202) 695-9663 or check
out my website www.tracemassage.
com for more information.
THERAPEUTIC, DEEP TISSUE,
Sports, Swedish. Sugaring/Waxing:
Bikini/Brazillian, Chest, Back, Full
Body. Sunrise Wellness Center. 5101G
Backlick Road Annandale VA (703) 942-
7147
AUTOS WANTED
FAST CASH!!! WANTED Cars & Trucks.
Don t throw your money away, call me!
I will buy your vehicle. Call Marty Salins,
at Auto Plaza, in Rockville, (301) 340-
1390.
NEED A VEHICLE? Over 1,000 Cars,
Trucks & SUVs! All you need is 2 current
pay stubs & 1 month bill. Gross income
must be above $2,000 monthly. Jason
202.704.8213 DC/MD/VA.
CATERING
TASTE BUDS VOTED US DCs Best
Caterer. We specialize in southern &
American cuisine, gourmet desserts
& gourmet cheesecakes. Home of
Wandas Famous grilled meats, mac-n-
cheese & seafood salad. Our delights
will have your guests talking about your
event long after its over. Ms. Wanda
301-653-1190. wharris94@comcast.net.
CLEANING
TOO NEAT GUYS INC. Residential &
Commercial cleaning in DC & Northern
VA. Over 17 years experience, gay
owned, licensed, bonded & insured
(703) 622-5983.
FERNANDOS CLEANING: Residential
& Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable
Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time,
Move-In/Move-Out. (202) 234-7050,
202-486-6183.
MAID TO CLEAN. Rated #1 in Metro
DC. Gay owned. Serving DC/VA/MD.
DC & VA (703) 299-0101. MD (301) 656-
7171. Visit www.maidtoclean.com
RENT-A-HAND home cleaning. Gay
owned with Blade references. Extremely
exible scheduling. Organizing and
De-cluttering too. Fully licensed and
insured. Free estimates. (202) 251-1044.
http://www.MyRentAHand.com.
A CLEANING SERVICE invites you to
relax while our team of experts cleans
your home. Established in 1985, we are
licensed, bonded & insured. Please
email acleaningsvce@aol.com or call
for an online estimate and be sure to
include the size of your home or ofce
& the frequency with which you would
like the services. A Cleaning Service,
winner of the 2011 Angies List Super
Service award. 703.892.8648.
YOUR PAMPERED HOME. Your Personal
Maid & Laundry Delivery Service. Allow
us to assist with your domestic chores.
Its Our Pleasure! Call: 202-370-6704 or
Visit: www.yourpamperedhome.com.
COUNSELING
A MINDFULNESS-BASED MENTAL
HEALTH PRACTICE specializing
in a holistic approach to anxiety,
depression, careers, && relationships.
20 years experience helping people
identify & overcome impediments
to a fullling life, satisfying careers,
& healthy relationships. Jonathan
Kirkendall MA LPC, 202.550.3589, www.
dclpc.com.
LGBTQ AFFIRMING THERAPY at
Dupont Circle Individuals, couples,
families, adolescents. Over 15
years serving the community. Mike
Giordano, LICSW. 202/460-6384 mike.
giordano.msw@gmail.com. www.
WhatIHearYouSaying.com.
COUNSELING FOR GAY MEN.
Individual/couple counseling with
volunteer peer counselor. Gay Mens
Counseling Community since 1973.
202-265-6495. gaymenscounseling.
org. No fees, donation requested.
CHANGES ARE EASIER WITH
HELP. Small, private practice
group of experienced, caring
therapists. Safe, condential
setting. Ofces in Woodley Park &
Takoma Park near Metro. Licensed
professionals. Insurance
reimbursable. Washington Therapy
Guild. Call 202-483-2660. www.
therapyguild.net.
DATING
DCS NEWEST WEBSITE for gay guys!
Featuring chat, webcam chat, hot
or not, blogs, classieds, personals,
forums, groups. All this & more! Visit us
at http://www.dcguys.net.
EMPLOYMENT
LOCKER ROOM ATTENDANTS
NEEDED! The Crew Club, a gay mens
naturist gym & sauna, is now hiring
Locker Room Attendants. We all scrub
toilets & do heavy cleaning. You must
be physically able to handle the work
& have a great attitude doing it. No
drunks/druggies need apply. Please call
Richard at (202) 319-1333. from 9-5pm,
to schedule an interview.
PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED ONLINE
washingtonblade.com
REVISIONS
REDESIGN
TEXT REVISIONS
NO REVISIONS
Wat Massage
Because your body is a temple
Swedish - Deep Tissue - Thai Massage
Hawaiian Lomi Lomi - Reflexology - 4hands Massage
(202) 588-9393
www.watmassage.com
1804 Vernon St. NW, Suite 300
Open 7 Days a Week Near 18th & U Sts, NW
Spring Special 90min. for $90 with this ad. New clients only.
A D V E R T I S E
bladeclassieds
BEST RATES
BEST RESULTS
CALLING BARISTAS, CREPE Makers
& kitchen help. Seeking experienced
baristas & crepe makers with exible
availability including evenings &
weekends. Small gay owned shop. Start
ASAP. nathan.m.eming@gmail.com
FINANCIAL SERVICES
BOOKKEEPING, ACCOUNTING &
TAX preparation for individuals &
businesses offered by full-service rm.
25 years experience. Reasonable rates.
Call 202-390-4018 or email PJSumm@
aol.com.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
BRAZILIAN BIKINI SUGARING/Waxing:
Eye Brow, Hair Cut & Styling, Color
& Highlights. www.sueskincare.com.
sueskincare@hotmail.com. Sunrise
Hair Studio. 119 South Fairfax Street
Alexandria VA 22314 703 548-1202.
HOME IMPROVEMENT
BRITISH REMODELING HANDYMAN.
Local licensed company with over
25 years of experience specializing
in bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/
exterior repairs. Drywall, paint &
wallpaper. Trevor 703-303-8699.
BATHROOMS, KITCHENS,
ROOFING, Masonry. Handyman
Masters. Excellent References.
A+ BBB Rating 202.528.0621.
DECORATIVE COATINGS REFINISHING
LLC. Bathtubs. Shower tile. Wall tile.
Vanities. Shower Pans. Countertops
(16 colors). Tile & Grout Repair. Chip
Repair. For Free Estimates Call Now
202-718-7494 Keith.
SHARE/DC
RHODE ISLAND AVE. - Northeast.
Fully furnished room in 2 bedroom
apartment. Cable & utilities included.
Walking distance to Rhode Island
Metro Station (red line). Free parking
on site. $700 per month. 202-306-0288.
ROOMMATE NEEDED TO share
furnished row-house. (Female
preferred). $750.00 per month, all
utilities included. Share bath. Rhode
Island Ave Metro - Red Line. brookland_
roommate@hotmail.com.
SHARE / REHOBOTH
SUMMER ROOMMATE, PRIVATE room,
shared bath. House in quiet setting,
approx. equal distance btwn. Rehoboth
& Lewes w/ easy access to beach &
outlet shopping. rbamingo@comcast.
net.
SHARE / VA
2 GAY, PROFESSIONAL MALES looking
for another roommate to share a 3
bed/2bath TH with W/D. Walk to Metro
bus stop. Available 5/1/2012. Email
dido_372@yahoo.com.
INSURANCE
NATIONWIDE INSURANCE GAY
Owned Insurance Agency, we are
on your side for Auto, Home, & Life
insurance. David Cropper Agency. Call
today 877-822-9495 or email cropped@
nationwide.com.
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION
RONALD JAMES MACE AKA RONALD
J. MACE
NAME OF DECEDENT
Ronald E. Lyons
1901 Research Boulevard, Suite 500
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Name and Address of Attorney
Notice of Appointment, Notice to
Creditors and Notice to Unknown
Heirs
Steven Sean Timothy Vojtasko, whose
address is 1367 North Carolina Avenue
N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002 was
appointed Personal Representative of
the estate of Ronald James Mace aka
Ronald J. Mace who died on October
2, 2011 with a Will and will serve
without Court supervision. All unknown
heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are
unknown shall enter their appearance
in this proceeding. Objections to
such appointment (or to the probate
of decedents Will) shall be led with
the Register if Wills, D.C., 515 5th
Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington,
D.C. 20001, on or before 06 Oct 2012.
Claims against the decedent shall be
presented to the undersigned with a
copy to the Register of Wills or led
with the Register of Wills with a copy to
the undersigned, on or before 06 Oct
2012, or be forever barred. Persons
believed to be heirs of legatees of the
decedent who do not receive a copy
of this notice by mail within 25 days
of its rst publication shall so inform
the Register of Wills, including name,
address and relationship.
LEGAL SERVICES
FULL SERVICE LAW FIRM Representing
the GLBT community for over 30 years.
Family adoptions, estate planning,
immigration, employment. (301) 891-
2200. Silber, Perlman, Sigman & Tilev,
P.A. www.SP-Law. com.
ADOPTION & ASSISTED
REPRODUCTIVE Law Attorney Jennifer
Fairfax represents clients in Maryland
and D.C. interested in adoption or
ART matters. 301-221-9651, JFairfax@
jenniferfairfax.com.
IMMIGRATION LAWYER. SPECIALTY in
LGBT asylum law. Call Todd Pilcher at
(202) 328-1352.
LIMOUSINES
KASPERS LIVERY SERVICE Town Car
Service since 1987 Gay & Veteran
Owned! 24 Hour Reservations &
Information (202)-554-2471. (800)-455-
2471. http://www.KasperLivery.com.
click the rates tab!
MOVERS
GEORGETOWN MOVING
STORAGE CO. - Excellent Local
Movers - Licensed, Insured, BBB A+
Get Free Estimates -
(202)536-3868.
www.GeorgetownMoving.com
JOHN HENRY MOVERS Since 1990,
Our only goal is to build lifelong
relationships with our customers, by
providing full time experienced crews,
on time, who are proud of our unique
position in the industry. Pianos, Packing.
Please visit us at www.johnhenrymovers.
com. Call 703-597-5561.
GULLIVERS MOVERS SWIFT & gentle
relocations. Packing, pianos, antiques.
Local & long distance 202-483-9579.
www.gulliversmovers.com. We Recycle
& Donate. Call Anthony 202 635-7860.
GREAT SCOTT MOVING INC. Local &
Long Distance, Pianos! Call us For a
Great Move at a Great Price (301) 699-
2066. Highly rated in Consumer Check
Book, Better Business Bureau, Yelp &
Angies List.
LET OUR GUYS Do The Heavy
Lifting On Your Next Move. Call
Two Guys and a Truck Today.
202.734.3080.
PAINTERS
GIL PAINTING COMPANY INC.
18 Years Of Experience! Bonded,
Licensed & Insured. Interior/Exterior
Painting. Plaster & Dry Wall. Power
Washing. Carpentry. Roong &
Remodeling. www.Gilpainting.
Com. Walter (301) 370-9940
Gilpainting@Comcast.Net.
ECO-FRIENDLY. ZERO or Low VOC.
Interior/Exterior. Chalkboard & Dry
Erase. Wood Staining. Plaster Repairs.
Pressure Cleaning. Tile Re-Grouting.
Free Estimates. Paint Disposal. Elmer
240-462-3760.
PETS & SUPPLIES
ADOPT AN ADORABLE PUPPY OR
DOG All-breed, non-prot rescue. 100%
volunteer run. Donations welcome &
needed. www.aforeverhome.org.
LOOKING FOR THAT special
someone? Loving vet-checked
cats & kittens waiting to meet
you. Feline Foundation 703-920-
8665. Application & adoption fair
schedule online at www.ffgw.org.
PHOTOGRAPHY
STEVE OTOOLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Fine Art Photographer for portraits,
weddings & dating photos for the
internet. Call (703) 532-3031. www.
steveotoolephotography.com.
RENT/MD
BEAUTIFUL LOWER LEVEL 2 bdrm,
living room, bath, w/d, equipped
kitchen. $1,218/mon. inc. util. exc cable
& internet. Call Joel N. Martin 202-274-
1882 or jn1martin@aol.com.
SALE/DE
BEACH RETREAT IN Rehoboth. Fully
furnished. Must sell. $18K. Contact
Linda or Bridgett for more information
1-877-SEA.BOVA (1-877-732-2682) or
info@SEABOVA.com).
SALE / MD
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE
Gaithersburg Sensational
Contemporary Condominium!
3 Large Bedrooms, 2 Full Baths!
3-Sided Fireplace! Terric Gourmet
granite Kitchen Secure, Modern
Building. Walk to shops and eateries!
$205,000 LARRY PERRIN,Realtor (R)
LJPerrin@aol.com. (301) 983-0601.
SALE / NC
FOR SALE BY owner in Rocky Mount,
NC ($459,000). Nearly 4000 sq. ft., two-
story, 4BR, 3 & 2 baths, 2 car garage
on .69 acres. Call Joyce at 202.236.9404.
ROOFING
PJ MCTAVISH & CO. Roong Repairs,
New Roof, Gutter Cleaning. Licensed -
Bonded Insured. See our display ad in
this issue. 301-476-8551.
TRAVEL
REHOBOTH COTTAGE. CHARMING
cottage, in-town (the Pines)! 1 BR, 1BA,
with separate sleeping loft. A/C, W/D,
cable TV, parking space & quiet garden.
$600-$1100 per week, depending on
dates. Contact: pmantoci@yahoo.com
for information.
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NOW FREE
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BODYWORK
DAVID EROTIC MASSAGE by certied
therapist. Deep tissue also available.
On table. Handsome man with class.
Thank you for your repeat business.
Days & evenings. Easy parking or
metro. Call 202-421-8900.
BEAR HUNTING.
Need a shot of pleasure? Strong
sensual paws for your willing body.
Tom 202-289-7367.
HOT LATINO with a special touch.
32 yo, 5 9, 165 lbs, Offering full
body release in a private atmosphere.
In/out. Parking Available, hotels
welcome, Silver Spring/DC area,
24/7. 240-462-8669
brazilusa50@yahoo.com.
$79.00 SPECIAL REG. $110 - LIBERATE
YOUR LIBIDO Custom bodywork!
A quality massage by a nationally
certied, Irish/Italian US Navy
Swimmer/Gymnast. Exceptional deep
tissue & sensual bodywork for total
stress relief in private studio. (Shower &
parking available, Metro 2.5 blocks) Call
Erik 202-544-7905. for one of the best.
In calls only.
BLONDE GI 6 0 , 165 lbs, Good
looking, athletic, well-endowed.
Sensual Massage & More.
Eli (703) 599-2668.
AFTERNOON PLEASURE.
For a sensual toe curling
experience! Chad 202-329-7097.
MASSAGE SILVER SPRING Spanish/
Irish, 168 lbs, 510 great shape,
beach tan, strong soothing hands.
Full-body erotic experience,
masculine energy. Stress release.
Comfortable studio, private home.
$70/hr. Days/evenings, metro.
BRUNO (301) 580-2716.
EROTIC SWEDISH MASSAGE - healthy
clean cut guy, 61, 160 lbs, Dupont
Circle, massage table, noon to 1:00
a.m., indulge your body. $70 for 1 hour.
Bill 202-728-0238.
AFFORDABLE MASSAGE BY friendly
& intuitive Latin male, in relaxing, priv.
studio just 15 min from DC in Arlington.
Plenty of Parking same day appts,
(703)401-9093. or a2006mx@yahoo.
com.
THE MAGIC TOUCH: Swedish, Massage
or Deep Tissue. Appts 202-486-6183,
Low Rates, 24/7.
DAMIAN IN DC For A Few Nights
Only! Like what you see? Give me
a ring. Available for bodywork &
companionship 24/7. In/out. Note: I do
NOT smoke. Damian 917-771-2216.
ESCORTS
NEVER HIRED BEFORE? Get tips
for a good experience here: http://
beforeyoucome.blogspot.com.
ALL-AMERICAN BOY 59, 138 lbs,
29w. Very cute & clean-cut, w/a
smooth lean build. Affectionate
& versatile, loves older guys.
HotDCkid@gmail.com.
703-568-1560.
ENASARIS 5 11, 155LBS, 30yo, 9X6,
Versatile Top 202.271.0440.
M2M SENSUAL MASSAGE BY LATINO,
42, in-shape, shaved head. OUT CALLS
ONLY! 202-276-9272.
THE BLACKLIST SITE a tool for escorts.
http://blacklistednow.blogspot.com.
SEBASTIAN 25 YEARS OLD, 58,
175lbs. Totally versatile. 8 uncut.
Visiting for a few nights. Partner
available. Sebastian (646) 470-5530.
JAMES HOT LATIN-Always On Top. I
enjoy being with gentleman types. Im
27 years old, 57, 155lbs., 8cut, Top
only. In DC for a few nights only. James
(256) 262-7682.
PHONE SERVICES
GET HIM ON the line!
Try FREE! Call 202-448-0112.
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PROOF#1 ISSUE DATE: 02.03.12 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: PHIL ROCKSTROH (prockstroh@washblade.com)
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