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NEWSV OLUME 27 ISSUE 9 - JUNE 2013 THE COASTAL EMPIRE LGBT COMMUNITY NEWS A FIRST CITY NETWORK PUBLICATION

Stonewall Riots New York City ~June 29, 1969~

CHUCKS BAR for your kind HIV Testing is Key to Prevention - p.4 donation Selma and Stonewall - p.8 France Marriage Equality - p.10 Freedom to Marry - p11 HIV/AIDS Surveillance - p.14-15 10 Handsome men that were born female - p.16

If the Church is Serious about Welcoming Gays - p.18 T: fcnsavannah F: firstcitynetwork First City Network invites and welcomes everyone without regard to ability, age, ancestry, beliefs, class, gender, race, sexual orientation or identity. NETWORK NEWS THE FINE PRINT

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122 Pipemakers Circle Ste 200 SATURDAY LESBIAN FCN Network News Pooler,GA 31322 SOCIAL EVENING P.O. Box 2442 Direct-912-657-8319 Hosted By: Hosted By: Savannah, Georgia 31402-2442 Billy and Melvin TBA [email protected] June 1st Are you interested GAL #AU-C002952 All submissions become the property of FCN and your name will NOT be 7:00 - 10:00 E in hosting a Lesbian printed unless we are given written permission. The editor reserves the right X E 12 Arabica Lane Evening or Event. to decide what is suitable for publishing. Please note that the deadline for C G www.SavannahAuctionExchange.com Coffee Pointe H A N submission is the 20th of each month, Thank you. 912.927.9947 for info Please let us know. [email protected] Bring a covered dish/friend. Raffles will be held bring your dollars NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 3 HIV Testing is Key to HIV Prevention Courtesy of CDC.GOV

National HIV Testing Day Reminds Us Take Charge. Take the Test. encourages African-American women Create programs and adopt policies to get people at high risk tested That HIV Testing Saves Lives. to get tested for HIV. early and often. Make sure that those who have a positive test get care quickly. Too many people don’t know they have HIV (human HIV Screening. Standard Care. gives primary care providers new immunodeficiency virus). More than 1 million people are living with tools to help ensure all patients are tested for HIV at least once in Provide services such as medical care, social services, and programs HIV in the United States, but 1 in 5 don’t know they are infected. their life. shown to change behavior and lower risk to people at risk for HIV CDC recommends that everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 and those living with HIV. get tested for HIV at least once as part of routine health care. An Prevention IS Care encourages providers who treat patients with HIV test is recommended once a year for people at increased risk— HIV to screen them for risky transmission behaviors, and remind Take action on social issues that increase the risk of HIV, such as such as gay and bisexual men, injection drug users, or people with them about the importance of protecting themselves and others by poverty, homelessness, racism, sexism, and discrimination against multiple sex partners. Sexually active gay and bisexual men may reducing risky behaviors. people who are gay or bisexual. benefit from more frequent testing (e.g., every 3 to 6 months). CDC also recommends that pregnant women get tested early in their One Test. Two Lives. offers health care providers information Support people living with HIV with needed services­ such as pregnancy so they can take steps to prevent passing HIV to their and resources to encourage them to test pregnant women for HIV housing, job training, family plan­ning, and mental health and babies. infection and help reduce the number of infants born with this substance abuse services, and fight stigma and discrimination. Here are some testing events leading up to disease. Promote and use national referral systems for places to get tested, National HIV Testing Day: This year marks the 19th National HIV Testing Day, which is such as www.hivtest.org. organized every year by the National Association of People with What Can We Do On This National HIV Testing Day And June 26, 2013 - Savannah State University AIDS with support from CDC and AIDS.gov. Throughout The Year? Use CDC’s Act Against AIDS materials to promote HIV testing in (located in the new student center next to Tiger Arena) target populations. Knowing your HIV status is empowering. When you know your Everyone can June 27, 2013 - "National HIV Testing Day" status, you can take care of yourself. Get tested for HIV. Ask your doctor for a test or find a place to get Wells Park (38th and Montgomery Street.) tested in your community. Go to www.hivtest.org, call 1-800-CDC- If you find out that you are infected with HIV (or are “HIV positive”), INFO or text your zip code to “KNOW IT” (566948). you can seek medical care and get treatment, which helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives and also lowers the chances of Get tested once a year, or more often if you have more than one sex passing HIV to others. Testing is the first step. Take the test and take partner, inject drugs, or are a man who has sex with other men. charge of your health if you are diagnosed with HIV. Lower your risk for getting HIV by having sex with only one partner whom you know is uninfected, or using a condom every time you If you don’t have HIV (if you test negative), take steps to stay have anal, vaginal, or oral sex. negative. Remember that if you have unprotected sex or share needles for drug use after your test, you need to get tested again to Get medical care as soon as possible if you have HIV to stay healthier ensure you are still HIV-negative. Your HIV test result “expires” longer and to keep from passing the virus to others. every time you have risky sex or share needles. Health care providers can CDC Is Committed to Increasing HIV Testing Offer patients HIV tests as a routine part of their health care. CDC continues to work with federal, state, and local partners to Test women for HIV each time they are pregnant. expand routine HIV testing—not just on NHTD–but all year long. In 2007, CDC started the Expanded Testing Initiative (ETI) to greatly Connect people at high risk for HIV to services that help them lower increase the number of people tested in areas with high rates of their risk and prevent them from getting infected. HIV and to support of the use of CDC’s Revised Recommendations for HIV Testing of Adults, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women in Make sure people who have HIV get treatment and the services Health-Care Settings. they need to stay healthy and lower their risk of passing the virus to others. In 2009, CDC and the White House launched a national campaign, Act Against AIDS, to further expand HIV testing, raise awareness Download materials for health care providers from CDC’s Act about HIV and AIDS among all Americans, and reduce the risk of Against AIDS website. infection among the hardest-hit populations. Learn more about the testing and awareness sub-campaigns of Act Against AIDS through State and local health departments can the links below. Coordinate National HIV Testing Day awareness and testing events to help prevent the spread of HIV and build a local network that Testing Makes Us Stronger encourages African-American gay and responds year-round to the epidemic. bisexual men to get tested for HIV.

4 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 5 Bangers and Mash Theatre Works: BE KIND AND HEALTHY “Come to the theatre; it’s our lives on stage!” REWIND By DJ Queenan By Ron Blake

Remember the days when going to the theatre was like single’s night Put the dumbbells and running shoes away and join me for a healthy at the local gay bar? When intermission meant popcorn and at least vacation. I’ve got two tickets to paradise. Won’t you pack bags we’ll three descent chances to meet Mr. Right? Ah, back in the day it leave tonight. Drinks are on the house. seemed gay men could not get enough of the theatre! I wonder why that was. Were we just starving for escape? Did a night watching Bars are for people who enjoy frothy libations, nicotine, and the Dolly Levi descend the staircase at the Harmonia Gardens appeal occasional fistfight. Moreover, they are forums for nostalgic to us so much that we would line up year after year to watch the recollections of those days when you wore a size 32 waist, had the reenactment? Was Eliza Doolittle’s journey from gutter to gorgeous libido of a jackrabbit, and had not a scintilla of a receding hairline. the fantasy we, as gay men, needed the theatre to see? Well, over the past month my partner Warren and I spent at least three or four Yep, I speak of 3650 days (sans leap days) which began on January (ok, it was really five or six) nights at local Savannah theatres and 1, 1980. while there it occurred to me that perhaps gay men have lost the love. The Theatre, one of the iconic images we had come to be What was Argentina thinking when they laid claim to the Falkland defined with, had been jilted… by us! Standing alone beside this Islands in 1982? It isn’t as though England has been involved in any abandoned image (always the bridesmaid…) I decided I needed to wars over the years. Furthermore, what was England thinking? Were do something about it. Grasping Warren by the hand (and dragging 50,000 sheep and some craggy hills worth all the effort to get it back? him reluctantly along), the idea for Bangers and Mash Theatre Works; Adult Food for the Stage (BMT), was born! Chernobyl: It’s the poster child for everything that’s great about alternative fuel sources. There’s a vacation spot for Ed Begley Jr! I have always contended, much to my student’s regret, that the Theatre was the greatest of all mirrors. People came to the theatre Mikhail Gorbachev introduces Glasnost and Perestroika to the U.S.S.R. specifically to see themselves. Perhaps gay people began to find while introducing that mottled mess on his forehead to the world. their reflection in other ways? In this day of gay and lesbian characters being projected all over the media, it may seem easier The country of Miami was founded in 1980 as 120,000 refugees fled to sit at home and Netflix your inner self. Notice I said easier, not Cuba. Buenos noches! better. “Bangers and Mash Theatre Works is a gathering of artists presenting theatrical performances that speak to us both as artists That was one brave Chinese man that stood in front of that tank in and as human beings” (Mission Statement). As a diverse group of Tiananmen Square in 1989. He couldn’t just smoke some pot and people we come together to play out the ideas of our minds and wave some flags. Instead he just smoked some pot and stood in front the dreams of our hearts. We are more than digital images on the of a ten ton war machine. flattened screen; we are multi-dimensional men and women coming to the theatre to see, to show, to tell; we bear witness in a living, The Exxon Valdez hits shore in Alaska and Captain Hangover breathing, sometimes sweating, way. claims it was an accident. Six months of giving baths to penguins and polar bears. Starting our Summer Season this June at Muse Arts Warehouse, BMT opens with William Finn’s dynamic musical tour de force, The Stock Market takes a wicked plunge on that eventful October Falsettos (Weekends June 14-23). Groundbreaking in so many day in 1987. Not as earth shattering as ’29 and not nearly as many ways, Falsettos tells the unique story of Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, rooftop runners either. his adorable boyfriend Whizzer, their son Jason and Jason’s pending Bar Mitzvah! Add to the mix their level headed and warmly loving The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake in San Francisco. Who could have lesbian neighbors Cordelia and Charlotte (A Caterer and a Doctor, ever imagined an earthquake happening in a place like San Francisco! no less), and a modern age family is born! This funny and touching 785 King George Blvd – Suite 102 firstcitynetwork.net | 912.236.2489 musical was the first of its kind to dip a toe into the waters of gay Mount St. Helens blows her top in 1980. Yup! That was one angry bitch! love, parenthood, religion and the earliest beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. Falsettos asks us what it means to be a man, gay or The Iran/Iraq war waged from 1980-1989 and caused an estimated straight, at a time when the rules are changing. one million deaths. The U.S. decided to support a guy named Saddam Hussein in the whole melee. Politics makes strange bedfellows! The second production of our Summer Season is John Cariani’s Almost Maine (Weekends July 28-August 3). Based in the small Feel free to continue your discussion of other notable nooks and town of Almost, Maine, these hilarious tales of love and life, crannies from auld lang syne. We’ll get back to our exercising soon illustrate the great uniqueness of every love, gay or straight, and the enough. Barkeep…another round for the boys! validation they all equally deserve. This article of have we met already is brought to you by that guy of illustrious illusions. That déjà vu guy is Ron Blake and he has seen it all before at myblakefitness.com.

NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 7 ‘Selma & Stonewall’: What ties bind 60s civil Gay kiss in upcoming Archie Comics rights movement, today’s gay rights movement? a poke at real controversy By Jeremy Grey By Matt Moore Courtesy of LGBTQ NATION

President John F. Todd has introduced “It made people nervous, just like the notion of talking about race It’s a just quick kiss, but it’s a Kennedy 50 years ago bills, all of which makes people nervous,” recalled Ahmad Ward, BCRI’s head of huge step forward for Archie today announced that failed to pass, that education and exhibitions. However, the response to the exhibit was Comics’ only openly gay civil rights leaders would have expanded overwhelmingly positive, he said. character Kevin Keller. and Birmingham hate crimes laws businessmen had and anti-bullying “We probably couldn’t have done this 10 years ago. Maybe not five The Riverdale teen finds reached an accord school policies to years ago,” Ward said. his life turned upside down ending 35 days of include provisions after locking lips with his demonstrations and for people victimized “It’s a testy topic because you have some in the civil rights boyfriend, Devon, in Pop Tate’s diner, drawing the ire of at least one boycotts. because of sexual community who are wary of linking the two,” Ward said. disapproving Riverdale mom. orientation or gender Many civil rights identity, protected The gay rights movement, like so many other social movements in This comic book image released by Archie Comics shows issue 10 battles would follow in gay and lesbian state the last half century, gained momentum after the 1960s civil rights of “Kevin Keller” features openly-gay character Kevin Keller, right, Congress, courtrooms, employees from movement, Ward said. kissing his boyfriend Devon.. and even the streets, discrimination, and but 100 years after emancipation the dominoes were starting to fall struck down requirements that teachers emphasize “homosexuality “You can’t say what’s happening in the gay rights movement is The woman “gets very offended and kind of pitches a bit of a fit,” and, 14 months after Kennedy’s announcement, President Johnson is not a lifestyle acceptable.” happening in a vacuum. All these movements for human rights in said Dan Parent, who writes and draws the issue, “Kevin Keller” signed the Civil Rights Act followed by the Voting Rights Act in the last 50 years have benefited from the civil rights movement,” No. 10 that is released Aug. 7. August 1965. “Your objective is not always to pass legislation, but to change the Ward said. conversation or continue the conversation,” Todd said. “I’ve seen “Kevin is kind of used to that, but Veronica records the whole thing Half a century later, it seems dominoes are falling in rapid succession that happen in the legislature.” Part of the hesitation to draw a comparison, Ward said, is that so and of course uploads it to the Riverdale equivalent of YouTube and for the nation’s gay rights movement. much of the civil rights movement was driven by Christian ministers that starts a bit of a debate,” said Parent. Todd said she has also seen that happen around Alabama’s dinner and church congregations. Last May, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president tables and in its workplaces as the same sex marriage cases went Simon said she worries people “use religion as a weapon of For Archie Comics it’s a bit of art imitating life. to endorse gay marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to before the Supreme Court and when the president’s inaugural oppression” when gay rights are discussed in much the same way soon rule on challenges to California’s ban on same-sex marriage speech drew a line linking the women’s suffrage movement to civil segregationists and slave-owners quoted Scripture to defend their Parent said he wrote the story after efforts to remove a comic and the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. rights to LGBT rights. stance. magazine showing Keller getting married drew at complaints. One Million Moms, a project of The American Family Association, In the last six days, Rhodes Island and Delaware became the 10th “We live everywhere, we work everywhere, we’re part of Alabama,” “The same points people emphasize or not emphasize were used to asked Toys R Us not to display “Life With Archie” No. 16 near its and 11th states to allow same sex marriage. Last week, Washington Todd said. “We are having incremental change and it’s going to be justify slavery and the oppression of women,” Simon said. “People checkout aisles. Toys R Us did not, and the issue went on to sell out Wizards center Jason Collins became the first openly gay active slow but when people tell their stories it furthers our agenda.” need to stop and think what they’re basing their beliefs on with this its print run. male professional athlete in a major North American team sport. particular issue.” Todd, however, is hesitant to compare what’s happening with the Parent called the new story a “playful poke” at the protest. But gay rights activists say change is coming slowly in staunchly push for same sex marriage to the 1960s civil rights movement. Despite differences in political opinions and religious beliefs, conservative Alabama. activists say they have seen a change in attitudes when gay rights Keller debuted in “Veronica” No. 202 in September 2010. It resulted “There’s a significant difference and I don’t want to diminish the are discussed in Alabama. in Archie Comics’ first-ever second printing. It was quickly followed An analysis of public opinion polls by The New York Times in struggles black people faced in Alabama,” Todd said. “We can hide “Things are getting better in Alabama,” said Ralph Young, president by a four-issue miniseries and the current monthly title. March found an average of 51 percent of Americans would support that part of our lives, but if you are black or Latino you can’t.” of the Stonewall Democrats. “It does seem stagnant because it’s so same sex marriage if the issue appeared on a ballot while 43 percent incremental, but things are getting better.” Publisher and co-CEO Jon Goldwater said the fact that any kiss is would oppose it. That report lists Alabama as second only to Cassandra Simon, an associate professor of social work at The being shown in the pages of an Archie Comics book is a step in and Mississippi in a lack of support for same sex marriage. University of Alabama, whose family’s Houston home was bombed of itself. when they became the first black residents of an all-white community In 2008, an estimated 24.4 percent of Alabamians -- and 42.2 percent in the 1960s, believes the two movements are inextricably linked. “There aren’t that many on-panel kisses in the pages of Archie, but nationwide -- would have supported such a measure, the report you often see the lipstick on Archie’s face afterward,” he said. stated. The report also stated that by 2020 an estimated 42.5 percent “People say the difference is that you don’t have to let people know of Alabamians would support same-sex marriage if presented as a you are gay,” Simon said. “That’s a social injustice, having to hide Goldwater said Keller’s character has let the company weave in ballot initiative. Nationally, that support is estimated to grow to 60.5 their real selves to make it in this world.” Tweet or Facebook Us contemporary issues to its imaginary world. percent by 2020. Tell FCN what YOU think The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute last year hosted “Living in about this and other articles “We certainly pride ourselves on being contemporary, but that’s “Alabama is always slow to change,” said State Rep. Patricia Todd, Limbo: Lesbian Families in the Deep South,” marking the first time Will you buy Girlscout Cookies? not the reason why we’re showing ‘The Kiss.’ Just like when D-Birmingham, the state’s first openly gay legislator. “You would a gay-themed show had been hosted there. A 24 foot banner with a Kevin first told Jughead he was gay, it was in the natural course of think having gone through the civil rights movement, where we picture of two women hugging was hung outside the BCRI during conversation,” said Goldwater. “We are creating this in the same were the heart of change, we’d be more sympathetic to minorities the event. way. It’s just part of the story.” but we are not.”

8 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 9 French president signs marriage Freedom equality bill into law to Marry By Angela Charlton - Courtesy of AP Courtesy of Freedomtomarry.com

France will see its first gay weddings within days, after French Despite the protests, the law passed easily in both houses of President Francois Hollande signed a law Saturday authorizing parliament, which are dominated by Hollande’s Socialists. And the Twelve states - CT, DE (takes effect July 1), IA, ME, marriage and adoption by same-sex couples and ending months of Constitutional Council said, “Marriage as a union between a man MD, MA, MD, MN (takes effect August 1), NH, NY, RI nationwide protests and wrenching debate. and a woman cannot be considered a fundamental principle.” (takes effect August 1), VT, and WA - plus Washington, D.C. have the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. In Hollande’s office said he signed the bill Saturday morning, a day France is the most populous country to have legal gay marriages, 2012, the legislature in NJ passed a freedom to marry bill, after the Constitutional Council struck down a challenge to the law and the 14th country worldwide. In the United States, Minnesota and work is now underway to override the governor’s veto. and ruled it in line with France’s constitution. became the 12th state in the country to legalize same-sex unions on Tuesday. NM explicitly respects out-of-state marriages of Hollande, a Socialist, had made legalizing gay marriage one of same-sex couples, while seven states now offer broad his campaign pledges last year. While polls for years have shown In neighboring Belgium, thousands of peopl e took to the confetti- protections short of marriage. CO, HI, and IL, NJ allow majority support for gay marriage in France, adoption by same-sex covered streets of Brussels to take part in an annual gay pride march civil union, while CA, OR, and NV offer broad domestic couples is more controversial. on Saturday. Trucks blasting music and carrying dance floors made partnership. WI has more limited domestic partnership. their way through cheering crowds. Belgium legalized gay marriage The parliamentary debate exposed a deep conservatism and 10 years ago and permitted adoption for same-sex couples seven With these advances, a record number of Americans live attachment to traditional families in France’s rural core that is often years ago. in states that recognize relationships between same-sex eclipsed by and at odds with libertine Paris. couples:

But mostly, it tapped into deep discontent with the Socialist Nearly 17% of the U.S. population lives in a state that government, largely over Hollande’s handling of the economy. either has the freedom to marry or honors out-of-state Months of anti-gay marriage protests became a flashpoint for marriages of same-sex couples. frustrations with Hollande, and occasionally degenerated into Over 40% of the U.S. population lives in a state violence. with either marriage or a broad legal status such as civil union or domestic In addition, gay rights groups reported a rise in attacks on partnership. homosexuals as the parliamentary debate was under way. Protest Over 42% of the U.S. population lives organizers distanced themselves from the trouble-makers. in a state that provides some form of protections for gay couples. The opposition isn’t ready to give up. It plans a protest May 26 that aims to parlay the success of the anti-gay marriage movement into a broader anti-Hollande one. Among those expected to attend is Jean-Francois Cope, the leader of the opposition UMP party, riven GEORGIA GROUPS ACTIVELY WORKING ON MARRIAGE: by divisions and struggling for direction since Nicolas Sarkozy lost the presidency last year. STATUS: Anti-relationship recognition constitutional amendment Georgia Equality is the political advocacy voice of Georgia's Hollande warned that he wouldn’t accept any disruption of France’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender citizens and their allies. first gay marriages. TAKE ACTION: State advocacy groups are working toward MEGA Family Project is a nonpartisan, statewide organization fairness for all of Georgia's families by overturning a constitutional dedicated to providing support, education, and advocacy work on One couple signed up Saturday to tie the knot on May 29 in the gay- amendment that prohibits relationship recognition for same-sex behalf of LGBT families. friendly southern French city of Montpellier. couples in the state. Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage for same-sex “We’re very happy that today we can finally talk of love after HISTORY: In 2004, anti-gay forces in Georgia pushed through couples nationwide. all the talk of leg islation and political battles,” one of the future Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that excludes same- newlyweds, Vincent Autin, said on France-Info radio. sex couples from marriage and prohibits same-sex couples from Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest civil rights attaining any other form of legal family status. organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and According to French law, couples must register to marry in city hall transgender (LGBT) equality. and wait at least 10 days before holding a ceremony so that anyone Although a state court ruled that the amendment violated Georgia's objecting to the union – such as an existing spouse – has time to single-subject rule for ballot measures, the state Supreme Court, POLLING DATA: A majority of Georgia residents (57%) say intervene. in July 2006, upheld the anti-gay amendment. that same-sex couples should be able to either marry or join in civil union. (Public Policy Polling, December 2012) Marketing whizzes are already preparing lesbian and gay cake toppers, his-and-his wedding bands, and other services for France’s NUMBER OF SAME-SEX COUPLES: According to The gay weddings. Williams Institute's analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census, 21,318 same-sex couples are living in Georgia, representing 5.9 same- sex couples per 1,000 households.

10 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 11 What Is the Fiscal Impact How Grindr of Gay Marriage? Is Changing the Way We Connect By Josh Barro - Courtesy of The Huffington Post By Jenna Worthman - Courtesy of New York Times

As the U.S. Supreme Court hears It is easy to write off Grindr — a location-based dating application The one question that Mr. Woo could not answer is how to develop arguments in today’s Proposition for gay men — as a hookup application because, well, that is what it is. a version of Grindr that works for straight people and women. The 8 case, a lot of people have the company tried to release an app called Blendr, but it has been far same question for the gay fiscal- But the company, which is approaching its fourth anniversary, less successful that its predecessor. policy writer: How would same-sex has amassed more than five million users who spend on average marriage affect government budgets? 90 minutes each day using the application. Billions of messages It could simply be that “gay men are early adopters,” he said. “I There’s been a surprisingly large fly across the service every year, and 76 percent of the company’s joke that the wheel was invented by a gay man so he could get to his amount of research into this question, revenue comes from money generated by Grindr users who fork hookup faster.” and the answer is that same-sex over cash for the service’s premium features. marriage would probably improve governments’ fiscal situations a little. Jaime Woo, author of the book, Meet Grindr, How One App Changed the Way We Connect, says the cultural and technological The Congressional Budget Office impact of Grindr is much broader than most people realize. Mr. looked into the question in 2004 Woo, in a presentation on the design principles of the application, at the request of Republican delivered Saturday afternoon at the South by Southwest conference, Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio. The CBO’s findings suggest But there would be savings in means-tested entitlement programs, said the application had completely — and very likely permanently that federally recognized gay marriage would reduce the budget as fewer gay men and lesbians would qualify. The CBO estimated — altered the way app developers and users think about location- deficit by about $450 million a year, or roughly 0.01 percent of total annual savings in 2014 of $100 million in Supplemental Security based services. federal spending. So, I’m sorry, straight America: We’re not going Income, $300 million in Medicaid and $50 million in Medicare. to balance your budget by getting married, but we’ll help a little bit. That makes for a wash on the expense side: $430 million in added Grindr’s main purpose is to facilitate hookups that are “spontaneous costs and $450 million in reduced costs. and intimate,” he said. Both of those results are immensely appealing The more interesting part is how same-sex marriage affects the The CBO letter is an incomplete look at the federal budget. It — a kind of serendipity — and contribute to the reasons that people budget. Most people will think of it as changing income taxes doesn’t examine the cost of benefits to the same-sex spouses of are loyal and dedicated to an application, regardless of its intention. and benefits for gay public employees. But some of the biggest military service members, which would probably be at least as large Scores of mobile apps and social networks have failed to inspire effects come in welfare programs: Marriage makes people more as the cost of benefits for civilian employees. On the other hand, such enthusiasm, he said. robust against financial shocks and less likely to qualify for welfare the letter predates the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, programs. Same-sex marriage would save hundreds of millions of which creates another means-tested entitlement whose costs would Mr. Woo said there were a lot of lessons to be learned from Grindr’s dollars a year by getting some gay men and lesbians off the Medicaid be reduced by same-sex marriage. A more thorough analysis would financial success, which has inspired a wave of competitors — and Supplemental Security Income rolls. probably lead to the same finding: Gay marriage has a small but Mister, Scruff, Jack’d, Tinder, OkCupid Locals — to follow in its positive fiscal effect. wake. On the revenue side, the CBO estimated that gay marriage in all 50 states would increase tax receipts by about $400 million a year States would also face fiscal effects from gay marriage, and their He said the primary appeal of Grindr was its simplicity. Users if the George W. Bush tax cuts were extended and by about $700 concerns are somewhat different from the federal government’s. browse thumbnails, mark the ones they like as favorites or send million a year if they were not. Because those tax cuts ended up States spend a much larger percentage of their budgets on employee them messages. That is different from Facebook and Twitter, where being mostly extended, the answer is probably somewhere in the compensation than the federal government does, so the cost of likes, pokes, retweets and favorites are often murky signals at best. middle, but closer to $400 million. benefits for employees’ same-sex spouses is relatively important. Grindr’s message is immediately clear from the moment that users On the other hand, states bear no part of the cost of Social Security sign up. The inherent value in that kind of intuitive design cannot be The added revenue comes from the “marriage penalty”: Two-earner and do spend a lot on means-tested entitlements. underestimated, he said. married couples where each spouse has a similar income tend to be taxed more heavily than they would be if both partners were single. Even though the cost components are different, the net effect would The application focuses on proximity rather than location — Other couples get a “marriage bonus,” generally when the spouses’ probably be similar at the state and federal levels: positive, but very showing people’s distance. This preserves privacy while sustaining incomes are very unequal, but the marriage penalty effect is more small. The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has reached a sense of mystery. The application also removes barriers for men important. this conclusion in fiscal analyses across various states; for example, who want to meet other men who are looking to connect. they estimated in 2009 that legal same-sex marriage in Maine On the expense side, gay men and lesbians would get access to would generate $8 million in annual fiscal benefits for the state, But as much as Grindr is about casual interactions, it is also, at its Social Security benefits based on spousal income. This would raise mostly through reductions in Medicaid and other public assistance core, a social networking application based on one’s whereabouts. benefits for some couples, particularly those in which one spouse payments. Mr. Woo said a Grindr survey of its users found that two-thirds of had much higher career earnings than the other. The CBO estimated them were using the application to find new friends, to network or these added benefits would cost $350 million a year by 2014. The fiscal benefits aren’t a crucial reason to support same-sex to kill time, as well as to hook up. marriage, but they do lend support to one of the “conservative” The other main area of added expense would be benefits for the cases for it. Marriage is a structure through which people depend on He said apps that have tried to do the same thing, including nondating same-sex spouses of federal employees and retirees. The CBO each other, so they don’t have to depend on the government. For gay applications like Highlight, have struggled to recreate that dynamic. estimated that covering same-sex spouses in the Federal Employee men and lesbians to take advantage of that fiscally friendly option, “You’re putting two people with not a lot in common on a crash Health Benefits Program would cost about $80 million a year. the government has to make it legal for us to marry.hookup faster.” course to meet, and that’s special,” he said.

12 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 13 Department of Public Health | Fact Sheet HIV/AIDS SURVEILLANCE FACT SHEET

Newly Diagnosed HIV/AIDS in Georgia Figure 6: Newly Diagnosed HIV (Not AIDS) Cases by HIV/AIDS Surveillance Transmission Category, Georgia 2010 • In 1994, there were 2154 newly diagnosed AIDS cases in HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) damages a person’s immune system by destroying specific blood Georgia, decreasing to 958 cases in 2006. There were 743 cells, which help fight against diseases. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS is the late stage of newly diagnosed AIDS cases in 2010 (Figure 3). HIV infection where the person’s immune system is severely damaged, and leaves the individual susceptible to • During 2006, the number of newly diagnosed HIV (not infections and tumors. HIV is spread by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids, AIDS) cases in Georgia was 1622. Since then, the numbers and breast milk. Georgia law (O.C.G.A § 31-22-9.2) requires that all diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases be reported to the have decreased on average of 4.1% per year to 1294 Department of Public Health within seven days of diagnosis. cases in 2010 (Figure 3) Figure 1: Atlanta MSA vs. Non-Atlanta MSA, 2010 • In 2010, the total number of newly diagnosed HIV (not Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Georgia1 AIDS) and AIDS cases in Georgia was 2037, 63.5%(1294) • Georgia is ranked sixth highest in the nation for its were HIV (not AIDS) and 36.5%(743) were AIDS (Figures cumulative reported number of AIDS cases through 2, 3) Figure 7: Newly Diagnosed AIDS Cases by December 20092 • 77% of HIV/AIDS cases diagnosed in 2010 were among Transmission Category, Georgia 2010 • In 2010, the number of persons living with HIV/AIDS in African Americans, who make up only 31% of Georgia’s Georgia was 40,328. Forty-four percent of these persons population (Figure 4) had HIV (not AIDS), 56% had AIDS • In 2010, the highest number of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS • In 2010, 66% of Georgians living with HIV/AIDS resided in MSA: 27,560 cases cases were among persons between the ages of 30 and the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (Figure 1) Non-MSA: 14,426 cases 49 years (Figure 5) • Outside the MSA, during 2010, the Fulton and DeKalb Atlanta MSA Counties: Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, • In 2010, 38.8% of HIV (not AIDS) and 44.1% of AIDS Health Districts had the highest HIV (not AIDS) prevalence Cobb, Coweta, Dawson, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, cases were diagnosed among men who have sex with men rates and the Augusta and Coastal Health Districts had Gwinnett, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Newton, (MSM) (Figures 6,7) Paulding, Pickens, Pike, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton high AIDS prevalence rates (Table 1) • In 2010, 85.8 % of newly diagnosed HIV(Not AIDS) and KEY 9.2% of AIDS cases among females reported no identified MSM: Men who have sex with men, HRH: High-risk heterosexual, IDU: Injection drug use, NIR/NRR: No identified/reported risk factor Figure 2: Newly Diagnosed AIDS Cases, risk(NIR) factor and/or had no risk reported (NRR) (Figures Table 1: Numbers and Rates of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Note: There were no new perinatal cases among females and only two HIV/ Georgia, 1994-2010 6,7) By Public Health District, Georgia, 2010 AIDS cases among males. Because of the small number of perinatal cases, it was not shown in this graph. There were also no new cases of HIV/AIDS diagnosed among blood recipients for either males or females. HIV (Not AIDS) AIDS Public Health Districts Number Crude Rate3 Number Crude Rate3 Figure 4: Newly Diagnosed HIV/AIDS Cases by Race, Surveillance and Reporting Georgia 2010 1.1 Northwest (Rome) 317 49.6 382 59.7 • Georgia’s HIV Epidemiology Section is responsible for 1-2 North Georgia (Dalton) 254 58.0 303 69.2 collecting HIV/AIDS surveillance data and for monitoring 2-0 North (Gainesville) 235 38.0 289 46.8 the epidemic in Georgia 3-1 Cobb-Douglas 1087 132.5 1312 160.0 • Georgia began collecting AIDS case reports in the early 3-2 Fulton 4387 476.5 7353 798.7 1980s. HIV (not AIDS) reporting was mandated in Georgia 3-3 Clayton County (Morrow) 949 365.8 1003 386.6 on December 31, 2003 • By law, health care providers are required to submit a 3-4 East Metro (Lawrenceville) 939 94.8 1082 109.2 confidential HIV/AIDS case report for patients for whom 3-5 DeKalb 3530 510.2 4104 593.2 they are diagnosing and/or providing HIV/ AIDS care, and 4-0 LaGrange 659 82.3 738 92.2 laboratories are required to report all positive HIV-related 5-1 South Central (Dublin) 360 233.1 268 173.5 Figure 3: Newly Diagnosed HIV (Not AIDS) Cases, laboratory tests Georgia, 2006-2010 5-2 North Central (Macon) 953 183.0 872 167.4 • Complete and timely reporting of HIV/AIDS cases by health 6-0 East Central (Augusta) 918 198.9 1124 243.6 care providers and laboratories is critical for monitoring the epidemic in Georgia. It is also essential for ensuring 7-0 West Central (Columbus) 693 186.8 695 187.4 that Georgia receives federal funding for public sector HIV (Valdosta) Figure 5: Newly Diagnosed HIV/AIDS Cases by 8-1 South 481 190.6 469 185.7 prevention, care and treatment services since funding Age-Group & Sex, Georgia 2010 8-2 Southwest (Albany) 678 190.2 764 214.3 allocation is directly linked to the number of cases. 9-1 Coastal (Savannah/ 970 170.2 1271 223.0 Brunswick) DATA SOURCE 9-2 Southeast (Waycross) 418 115.3 546 150.6 Numbers are based on cases diagnosed and/or living with HIV/AIDS 10-0 Northeast (Athens) 301 65.4 417 90.6 as of December 31, 2010 and entered as of June 30, 2011. Numbers have not been adjusted for reporting delays. Numbers are taken from Cases with unknown district 406 459 Georgia’s enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (EHARS), 2011 Total 18,535 191.3 23,451 242.1 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT 1. Persons living with HIV/AIDS are based on current residence in Georgia regardless of state of diagnosis. Georgia Department of Public Health 2. CDC, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2009 (Table 20), http://cdc.gov/hiv/surveillance/resources/ reports/2009report/ HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section, http://health/state.ga.us/epi/hivaids 3. Crude rates measure the overall frequency which has not been adjusted for significant factors (i.e., sex, age, etc) Tel: 1 800-827-9769, Email: [email protected] which might have influenced the rate. Rates are per 100,000 population & population data is obtained from 2010 US Deepali Rane, MBBS, MPH Census, Georgia Department of Public Health, Office of Health Indicators for Planning. Y. Omar Whiteside, MSPH, PhD Cherie Drenzek, DVM, MPH 2 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga 30303 | health.state.ga.us July 2012

14 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 15 10 Handsome Men Caught in Methodism’s (Who Were Born Female) Split Over Same-Sex Marriage By Beverly Jenkins By Sharon Otterman Courtesy of the New York Times

Balian Buschbaum Katastrophe It started out as a deeply personal act, that of a father officiating at the Balian Buschbaum was born in 1980 as Rocco Kayiatos is known as Katastrophe, wedding of his son. Yvonne Buschbaum, and he is a former an American hip-hop rapper and producer. German pole vaulter. Though he was Kayiatos is widely credited as the first But it was soon condemned as a public display of ecclesiastical the second best female pole vaulter in openly transgender singer in the hip-hop disobedience, because the father, the Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Ogletree, is Germany, in 2007 Buschbaum announced genre. a minister in the United Methodist Church, which does not allow its his retirement due to a persistent injury. He clergy to perform same-sex weddings. also expressed his desire to begin gender Thomas Beatie reassignment therapy. In 2008 he officially Thomas Beatie gained international Dr. Ogletree, 79, is now facing a possible canonical trial for his action, changed his name and underwent gender attention for being the one of the world’s accused by several New York United Methodist ministers of violating reassignment surgery to become a man. most visible “pregnant” men. Born female, church rules. While he would not be the first United Methodist minister Beatie lived his life as a woman until his to face discipline for performing a same-sex wedding, he could well be Buck Angel mid-twenties. He then began taking male the one with the highest profile. He is a retired dean of Yale Divinity Adult film maker and transsexual Buck hormone therapy but decided to retain his School, a veteran of the nation’s civil rights struggles and a scholar of Angel is an icon in the LGBT (Lesbian, female sex organs so that he and his wife, the very type of ethical issues he is now confronting. Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) who could not conceive herself, could “I actually wasn’t thinking of this as an act of civil disobedience or church disobedience. community. Buck was the 2007 winner of have children together using donor sperm. “Sometimes, when what is officially the law is wrong, you try to get I was thinking of it as a response to my son,” said the Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Ogletree of the Adult Video News Award “Transsexual Beatie has since had three children and is the law changed,” Dr. Ogletree, a native of Birmingham, Ala., said in a officiating his son’s marriage to another man. Performer of the Year”. He currently back on his male hormones. courtly Southern drawl over a recent lunch at Yale, where he remains an works as an advocate, educator, lecturer emeritus professor of theological ethics. “But if you can’t, you break it.” and writer, and runs his own production Ryan Sallans “Reverend Ogletree is acting in a way that is injurious to the church, company. Ryan Sallans was born as Kimberly Sallans, For Dr. Ogletree, the issues are not just academic. He has fully accepted, because it fosters confusion in the church about what we stand for,” he and he is now a LGBT rights advocate and he said, that two of his five children are gay. His daughter married her said. “And it undermines the whole covenant of accountability that we Loren Cameron public speaker who travels the U.S. to partner in Massachusetts, in a non-Methodist ceremony. So when his share with each other as pastors.” Loren Rex Cameron is an American educate people about transgender issues son asked him last year to officiate at the wedding, he said yes. photographer, author and transsexual and changes to the health care system. The United Methodist Church is the third-largest Christian denomination activist. His work includes portraiture and He underwent his transformation from “I was inspired,” Dr. Ogletree said. “I actually wasn’t thinking of this as in the country. Its clergy members pledge to follow the church’s laws as self-portraiture which consist of lesbian female to male over the course of several an act of civil disobedience or church disobedience. I was thinking of it contained in its rule book, the Book of Discipline. The rules can only be and transsexual bodies; he documented his years and completed his transition in 2005. as a response to my son.” amended via votes by clergy and laity that take place every four years. own physiological transition from female Sallans has been featured on “Larry King to male. Cameron’s photography captures Live!” and the LOGO channel. The wedding of Thomas Rimbey Ogletree and Nicholas W. Haddad, Like many Christian denominations, the United Methodist Church images of the transsexual body that held on Oct. 20, 2012, at the Yale Club in New York, incorporated has struggled over issues of gay rights. In 1972, the denomination “provide an affirming visual resource for Andreas Krieger readings from Scripture and the Massachusetts court decision legalizing added a line to its rule book declaring the practice of homosexuality transgendered people and to demystify the Andreas Krieger was a German shot same-sex marriages. A wedding announcement in The New York Times “incompatible with Christian teaching.” It bars the ordination of “self- transsexual body for the non-transgendered putter who competed as a woman on the prompted several conservative Methodist ministers to file a complaint avowed practicing homosexuals” as clergy, and prohibits clergy from viewer.” East German athletics team. From his against Dr. Ogletree with the local bishop. officiating at same-sex unions. But it also calls homosexuals “persons of early teens he was given anabolic steroids sacred worth,” and welcomes them as members. “We try to be nuanced Ian Harvie without his knowledge, which lead him “This ceremony is a chargeable offense” under the rules of the church, about it,” Mr. Lambrecht said. “Although we disapprove of the practice American Ian Harvie is a stand-up to become more and more masculine in wrote the ministers, led by the Rev. Randall C. Paige, pastor of Christ of homosexuality, we believe that people who are gay or lesbian are comedian who often uses his transsexuality appearance and attitude. Krieger retired Church in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. loved and valued by God and worthy of the church’s ministry and as material in his act. He has performed from the sport in 1990 and underwent sex welcome to participate in churches.” with Margaret Cho and many other notable reassignment surgery in 1997, and he has In late January, Mr. Paige and Dr. Ogletree, accuser and accused, met celebrities and is a well-known fixture in publicly said that he wishes he hadn’t been face-to-face in an effort to resolve the dispute without a church trial. The result is contradictory, Dr. Ogletree said. “The church’s official the LGBT pop culture community. drugged so that he could have discovered for Mr. Paige, who declined to be interviewed for this article, citing the motto is open minds, open hearts, open doors, even though our rules on himself what his gender preference was. confidentiality of the proceedings, asked that Dr. Ogletree apologize same-sex marriage contradict that claim,” he said. Lucas Silveira and promise never to perform such a ceremony again. He refused. Born in Canada in 1979, Lucas Silveira Chaz Bono Professor Ogletree is now working with Methodists in New Directions, made history being the first openly-trans Chaz Bono was born Chastity Bono, the “I said, this is an unjust law,” he recalled telling Mr. Paige. “Dr. King a New York group that is part of a growing movement to change the man to be in a rock band which was daughter of famous American performers broke the law. Jesus of Nazareth broke the law; he drove the money church’s rules. More than 1,100 United Methodist clergy members signed by a major record label. Silveira Sonny and Cher. Raised in the public changers out of the temple. So you mean you should never break any — of about 45,000 in the nation — have expressed a willingness is a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for eye, Chastity came out as a lesbian when law, no matter how unjust it is?” to perform same-sex ceremonies, even if it means they may face The Cliks, he has also released a new solo she was 25 before realizing that she was suspension or censure. But the issue is creating a deep rift with the album which is available now. actually a transgender. Chaz underwent a But ministers like Mr. Paige believe breaking church law is not the church’s evangelical, conservative wing, which is being bolstered by sex change operation over the course of right way to bring about change, said the Rev. Thomas A. Lambrecht, the spread of the 12-million-member denomination internationally into two years and is now happily living his life the vice-president of Good News, a traditionalist Methodist group. Africa and Asia. as a man.

16 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 17 If the Church Is Serious brouillette & cowan About Welcoming Gays... Wealth Managers Tax Professionals By Marianne Duddy-Burke Courtesy of the New York times

IN an Easter morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Cardinal in September 2012 Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, spoke words that said that parishioners who supported candidates who favored gay At Brouillette & Cowan, we help provide some gay and lesbian Catholics thought they might never hear. rights risked eternal damnation. Those statements conveyed the very clarity, confidence and personalized financial solutions opposite of the love and mercy that Cardinal Dolan expressed. Asked by the host, George Stephanopoulos, what he would say to to the clients we serve, with the goal of creating and people who felt excluded from the Roman Catholic Church because The church hierarchy should also publicly dissociate itself from the of their sexual orientation, the cardinal said: “Well, the first thing National Organization for Marriage. The American bishops and their preserving wealth while maximizing tax savings. I’d say to them is, ‘I love you, too. And God loves you. And you are allies, especially the Knights of Columbus, have poured millions made in God’s image and likeness.’ ” of dollars into the organization, which has sought to turn African- Americans and Hispanics against the gay community in fights over Just words? Perhaps. But many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ballot initiatives regarding gay rights. The bishops would not tolerate Marianne K. Brouillette, EA Catholics have been waiting for decades to hear words of solace such divisive behavior in other political allies, and they should not C. Jason Cowan, CPA® and comfort from a church hierarchy that has too often repaid their make an exception for National Organization for Marriage. Financial Advisors fidelity with marginalization and condemnation. To hear Cardinal Dolan, arguably the most prominent Catholic prelate in the United The bishops should abandon their opposition to placing adopted States, say that “Jesus died on the cross for them as much as he did children with same-sex couples. The church believes that children Telephone 912.354.2262 for me,” was an unexpected gift to gay Catholics and their families flourish best when raised by their biological parents, but — leaving and allies. aside whether that teaching is always correct — the reality is that Fax 912.354.3165

that is not an option for every child. The bishops would improve the Securities But the cardinal continued his message to those who felt excluded lives of many children, and many potential parents, if they would by saying, “We want your happiness. But ... you’re entitled to acknowledge the basic fairness of evaluating all couples seeking to friendship.” He also hesitated when Mr. Stephanopoulos asked him adopt children according to the same standards. www.BCSavannah.com how the church might show its love to people that it often seemed intent on demonizing. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’re still trying. Perhaps most important, the bishops should stop hiding from us. ... We’ve got to listen to people... We’ve got to do better to see that There is no reason the bishops, priests and deacons of every diocese our defense of marriage is not reduced to an attack on gay people.” in the United States cannot hold regular meetings with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics and their families to allow them In the spirit of compromise, then — and realizing that we and to speak honestly about their experiences within the church. The the cardinal are not soon going to agree on how the church and result might not always be agreement, but at least it could be a spirit state should treat same-sex couples who want to make a lifetime of respect and openness. commitment to each other — we offer a few suggestions that do not require the hierarchy to adjust its teachings on the nature of marriage, We suspect that some of these recommendations will be received but would send a clear message against distaste and mistrust. more warmly than others. But having them received at all would be progress for which we might one day have Cardinal Dolan to thank. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops should drop its opposition to including the gay and lesbian partners of American Marianne Duddy-Burke is executive director of DignityUSA, an 1102 Bull Street • Savannah, GA • 31401 citizens in the immigration-reform proposals now being developed organization of gay and lesbian Catholics. Mary Ellen Lopata is a in Congress. Allowing gay and lesbian citizens to obtain permanent founder of Fortunate Families, which represents Catholic parents of (912) 236-4703 • Fax (912) 236-9026 legal status for their partners, some of whom face deportation, gay and lesbian children. confers no legal status on same-sex relationships. It simply keeps two people who love each other from being separated. SATURDAY LESBIAN The bishops should support anti-bullying programs in Catholic SOCIAL EVENING schools. Despite repeated urgings from the faithful, the bishops’ Hosted By: Hosted By: conference has refused to state clearly and forcefully that bullying Billy and Melvin TBA young people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity is wrong. Surely the bishops share our conviction that children June 1st Are you interested 7:00 - 10:00 shouldn’t be beaten or bullied for any reason. in hosting a Lesbian 12 Arabica Lane Evening or Event. The hierarchy should also change its tone. Cardinal Dolan spoke Coffee Pointe

beautifully at moments in his interview with ABC. Others have 912.927.9947 for info Please let us know. not. In December 2012, Cardinal Francis E. George, the archbishop editor@firstcitynetwork. of Chicago, compared a gay pride parade to a Ku Klux Klan Bring a covered dish/friend. net demonstration (in remarks for which he has since apologized) and Raffles will be held bring your dollars

18 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 19 Revenu Benefits Business in Savannah, Freedom Both Gay and Straight Loses One By Jacquie Stein By David Brooks Courtesy of the New York times

What do all businesses I don’t think we’ve paused sufficiently to celebrate the wonderful Whether they understood it or not, the gays and lesbians represented want? More business? recent defeat for the cause of personal freedom. After all, these sorts at the court committed themselves to a certain agenda. They Better cash flow? of defeats don’t happen every day. committed themselves to an institution that involves surrendering Maximized profit? autonomy. They committed themselves to the idea that these self- A competitive edge? Over the past 40 years, personal freedom has been on a nearly restrictions should be reinforced by the state. They committed Revenu ™ of Greater uninterrupted winning streak. In the 1960s, we saw a great expansion themselves to the idea that lifestyle choices are not just private Savannah (formerly of social and lifestyle freedom. In the 1980s, we saw a great affairs but work better when they are embedded in law. NuBarter) wants to expansion of economic freedom. Since then, we’ve had everything share with the Greater Savannah business community how our from jeans commercials to rock anthems to political conventions And far from being baffled by this attempt to use state power to member businesses are accomplishing that. celebrating freedom as the highest ideal. restrict individual choice, most Americans seem to be applauding it. Once, gay culture was erroneously associated with bathhouses Generally, the survival rate for a new small business after five People are much more at liberty these days to follow their desires, and nightclubs. Now, the gay and lesbian rights movement is years is less than 50 percent. Obstacles to success include new unhampered by social convention, religious and ethnic traditions associated with marriage and military service. Once the movement competition, a tough economy, limited cash flow, and rising costs. and legal restraints. was associated with self-sacrifice, it was bound to become popular. Becoming a member of Revenu ™ produces new business and allows you to expand your market beyond your cash-paying The big thinkers down through the ages warned us this was going to Americans may no longer have a vocabulary to explain why freedom customers. Members also enjoy better cash flow by using their have downsides. Alexis de Tocqueville and Emile Durkheim thought should sometimes be constricted, but they like it when they see people new Revenu to pay for goods and services they used to pay for that if people are left perfectly free to pursue their individual desires, trying to do it. Once Americans acknowledged gay people exist, then, in cash. Members enjoy a competitive edge because Revenu they will discover their desires are unlimited and unquenchable. of course, they wanted them enmeshed in webs of obligation. members are motivated to purchase from them because their new They’ll turn inward and become self-absorbed. Society will become form of currency is accepted. atomized. You’ll end up with more loneliness and less community. I suspect that this shift in public acceptance will be permanent, unless it turns out that marriages are more unstable when two people Carol Kirchner, co-owner of Smart Feet, a specialty shoe store in Other big thinkers believed that if people are left perfectly free to of the same gender are involved. midtown Savannah, states it this way: “NuBarter gets people into follow their desires, their baser ones will end up dominating their our store. Once they are in the store, our shoes sell themselves.” nobler ones. For these writers, the goal in life is not primarily to And, who knows, maybe we’ll see other spheres in life where Don Holland, co-owner of Joe’s Homemade Café, and winner of be free but to be good. Being virtuous often means thwarting your restraints are placed on maximum personal choice. Maybe there the Small Business Chamber of Savannah’s 2013 “Small Business inclinations, obeying a power outside yourself. It means maintaining will be sumptuary codes that will make lavish spending and C.E.O. of the Year” award states it as follows: “When our business a balance between liberty and restraint, restricting freedom for the salaries unseemly. Maybe there will be social codes so that people opened 14 months ago, we were advised to join NuBarter. Of all sake of an ordered existence. As Edmund Burke put it: understand that the act of creating a child includes a lifetime the organizations we joined, NuBarter delivered more results than commitment to give him or her an organized home. Maybe voters any other membership organization. “Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their will restrain their appetite for their grandchildren’s money. Maybe disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites. ... Society more straight people will marry. “Travis Sawyer, co-owner of Creative Approach, have used their cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be new Revenu ™ for advertising in Well Fed magazine, chiropractic placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there The proponents of same-sex marriage used the language of equality care, hotel accommodations and auto repair. must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things and rights in promoting their cause, because that is the language TWO SUNDAY SERVICES that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge we have floating around. But, if it wins, same-sex marriage will be 9:30 and 11:00 am To introduce this concept to the Savannah business community, their fetters.” a victory for the good life, which is about living in a society that Revenu of Greater Savannah and Creative Approach are hosting induces you to narrow your choices and embrace your obligations. an event, “Refer” Madness, on Thursday, June 13, from 5:30- Recently, the balance between freedom and restraint has been Children’s Church & Nursery 11:00am 7:30 pm at Creative Approach, located at 408 Martin Luther King thrown out of whack. People no longer even have a language to Blvd. in Savannah. The business community is invited to enjoy explain why freedom should sometimes be limited. The results are Guided Meditation Service hors d’oeuvres and wine while hearing members share via a video as predicted. A decaying social fabric, especially among the less SATURDAY LESBIAN Thursdays 12:00noon - 12:30pm how they have benefited from fortunate. Decline in marriage. More children raised in unsteady SOCIAL EVENING their membership. Admission is homes. Higher debt levels as people spend to satisfy their cravings. Hosted By: Hosted By: Courtyard Books & Gifts free. Revenu ™ is offering half Billy and Melvin TBA Open Sundays 10:00am - 1:00pm price membership to businesses But last week saw a setback for the forces of maximum freedom. A Thursdays 11:00am - 1:00pm June 1st Are you interested needed by the Revenu ™ representative of millions of gays and lesbians went to the Supreme 7:00 - 10:00 membership. Cash and prize Court and asked the court to help put limits on their own freedom of in hosting a Lesbian rewards are being offered choice. They asked for marriage. 12 Arabica Lane Evening or Event. Coffee Pointe 2320 Sunset Blvd, Savannah GA 31404 to individuals who refer the [email protected] businesses. Marriage is one of those institutions — along with religion and 912.927.9947 for info Please let us know. unityofsavannah.com military service — that restricts freedom. Marriage is about making [email protected] (912) 355-4704 For more information, contact a commitment that binds you for decades to come. It narrows your Bring a covered dish/friend. Jacquie Stein, Owner options on how you will spend your time, money and attention. Raffles will be held bring Revenu ™ of Greater Savannah your dollars

20 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 21 A UNIQUE WAY TO I am FEEL MORE Terrie Johnson ENERGIZED... By Terrie Johnson AND BE AS HEALTHY AS YOU CAN BE. Karen Voss, DC Clark Voss, DC Reiki certified (912) 356-5886

Chiropractic works with the subtle energies of the body flowing through the nervous system to stimulate the body’s own innate capacity to heal itself. My name is Terrie Johnson, and I am employed as the senior editor CHUCKS BAR at a nationally recognized advertising agency in Kansas City. I'm Reiki works with the flow of Universal Life also the author of two published books, an awarded public speaker, for your kind Force Energy channeled into the body to bal- and I write a daily blog with a large readership base. Those things describe what I do, but they do not tell you who I am. I'm a daughter, donation ance the energy centers a sister, a mother, a grandmother and a friend. I am all of those. And and to facilitate the healing process. I am gay.

Skidaway Family Chiropractic I was raised in a very conservative Southern Baptist Church in Center Tennessee, and I had spent a lifetime living in hiding and hating 5704 Skidaway Road myself because of my sexual orientation. Last year, I was on the verge of committing suicide because I felt as though I could no Savannah, GA 31406 longer live with the lie. Through a series of events that took place, however, I eventually came out to a friend and then told my adult children and other family. I've lost many friends and a few family members since my admission, and the independent Christian church where I had been a member for over 20 years completely shunned ADOLESCENT AND ADULT me. But for the first time in my life, I am being honest with God, with myself and with those who matter most to me. PSYCHOTHERAPY INDIVIDUALS, COUPLES, GROUPS Earlier this year, I teamed up with a young award-winning filmmaker (whose most recent full-length documentary is premiering in film Specialties include: Addiction, Anxiety, festivals across the country during 2013) to create the short 3-minute Depression, GLBT/Gender Issues, video "Ears Wide Open?" as a Public Service Announcement for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The exclusively nonprofit Relationship Issues, Trauma film, produced by Evincery Films, delivers a poignant message of love and acceptance. It has been featured by several publications Braswell Gamble, LPC and online venues, is being shown in community youth centers 912-231-8429 and churches around the nation, and is currently part of a special presentation for several Midwestern universities. We've received Sarah W. Holmes, Ph.D. hundreds of messages from people who have been touched by the 912-233-7204 video and the hope that it offers. Christopher’s Salon - Christopher Morrison and J.B. Hill - Duke Miles, LCSW The purpose of my note is to request your help in spreading the 912-233-1312 message by sharing the video. That's all, just share the video ... Two talented professionals providing complete Nancy Wallace, LCSW our sole motivation in creating it is to reach out to others who are personal hair care in a comfortable intimate salon. 912-447-0230 struggling. Together, we can spread the word that life is worth living and that it's okay to be who you are. At the end of the day, if the Located in Historic Downtown Savannah. Martha B. Womack, Ph.D. video reaches just one person and causes them to choose to live and 529 East Gordon Street 912-447-5660 to understand that it really does get better ... well ... that's what I Downtown Savannah would call an awesome day indeed. For an appointment, call: 23 E. 38TH STREET Computer Repair 912.234.7070 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BjpS2YdR0s SAVANNAH, GA 31401 Find us online at: 912.228.5968 christopherssalon.net 22 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net the CLASSIFIEDS and EVENTS SAVANNAH GAY GUIDE GAY GUIDE CONTINUED... SUPPORT GAY-FRIENDLY BUSINESS - TELL THEM YOU FOUND THEM IN THE FCN NETWORK NEWS FREE - EMAIL [email protected] FOR PLACEMENT BEFORE THE 20TH OF EACH MONTH

ARTS AND ANTIQUES FUNERAL SERVICES INSURANCE AGENCY PRIDE ORGANIZATIONS GAY MEN’S HEART CIRCLE FIRST CITY NETWORK Motique Antiques Adams Funeral Services Bush Insurance Agency. Savannah Pride Inc. 7 PM, Second Tuesday of every month, Board Meetings 204 North Laurel Street 510 Stephenson Ave. 340 Eisenhower Dr. Bldg 300 Ste A savannahgapride.org Los Robles, 101 East 34th Street SATURDAY UPCOMING Open to the Public Springfield Georgia 31329 (912) 354-6260 (912) 356-0266. (Contact: Richard Gourley, First Monday of Every Month 912.433.2266 PRINTING/DESIGN/PHOTO Phone - 912-713-5546) SOCIAL EVENTS 6:30pm 785 King George Blvd, GOURMET FOOD & MORE INTERIOR DESIGN Creative Approach Hosted By: Lesbian Potluck Suite 102. Wayne Chambers Gallery Brighter Day Natural Foods Timothy Burkett Interiors 408 MLK JR Blvd TRANSENDANTS (FORMERLY TNET) Billy and Melvin TBA 912.234.6899 Organic foods, books and more. (912) 236-6500 mycreativeapproach.com Monthly Get-Together PFLAG SAVANNAH 305 W. Bryan St. - Suite 104 1102 Bull St., (912)233-8300 for Transgendered People June 1st FCN is looking to revive Second Sunday of Every Month (912) 236-4703 LEGAL SERVICES and Their Loved Ones 7:00 - 10:00 this monthly event. 2-5pm, 785 King George Blvd, BOOKS & VIDEOS Robert W. Bush. One Horse Photography Third Sunday of Every Month Suite 102. Home Run Video & News Thrive Carryout Cafe P.O. Box 8432. Onehorsephotography.com 311 East Harris Street If you are interested in 4 East Liberty St 4700 Highway 80 E (912) 651-2180 ~ (912) 231-9906. Free, Convivial, and Confidential 12 Arabica Lane hosting a potluck or (912) 236-5192 Whitemarsh (912) 898-2131 REAL ESTATE & MORTGAGE Coffee Pointe Georgia Legal Services Austin Hill / CBT Realty HELP WANTED gathering please let COLLEGE ORGANIZATIONS HAIR SALONS Bill Broker 7505 Waters Avenue, Suite B-7 Savannah Clipper Hairstyles 912.927.9947 for info us know. AASU Gay Straight Alliance Designs 804 Salon. 6602 Abercorn Street 912-354-2100 located in mid Savannah Nip Miller PH 912-373-5424 210 East Park Ave. (912) 651-2180. Has an opening for a Professional [email protected] (912) 201-0070 Coastal Real Estate Group Hair Designer . We are a well Bring a covered dish/friend. Please email: LODGING 315 E Liberty St. establish salon. You must have a Ga Raffles will be held bring [email protected] Georgia Southern University Christopher’s Hair Salon Brunswick Manor (912) 233-5900 licence and positive attuide. Please Gay Straight Alliance 529 E Gordon St. 825 Egmont Street bring resume to Salon located @ your dollars Contact Person: Laura Cahill (912) 234-7070 Brunswick, GA 31520 Donald Callahan 70th Waters. 912-531-8326 [email protected] (912) 265-6889 Keller Williams Realty The Living Room Salon & Barbering (912) 441-4416 SCAD Queer & Allies (Q&A) 1912 Barnard St. NIGHTLIFE (912) 525-6729 912.344.4377 The Bay Cafe Ron Melander Chris St. Clair (President) 301 W. Bay Street Keller Williams Realty [email protected] HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES (912) 234-6953 (912) 441-7124 Assisted Recovery Center of Ga. CLOTHING 7722 Waters Ave Chuck’s Bar RESTAURANTS The Mens Wearhouse (912) 352-2425 or (888) 570-6391 301 West River St. Joe’s Homemade Savannah GAY Guide is opening up! 7929 Abercorn St #205 (912) 232-1005. 5515 B Waters Avenue 70th St (912) 925-5499 My Brothaz Home Inc. (912) 349-0251 HIV/AIDS support Club One Jefferson FCN is looking to open up the classifieds section to gay COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY services for Everyone (Home of The Lady Chablis) Southside Pizza Hut FIRST CITY NETWORK Ellen Farrell LPC, EEMCP 127 Abercorn Street 1 Jefferson St. 11510 Abercorn Street owned and gay friendly businesses in the savannah area. Holistic Psychotherapy Suite 302 (912) 232-0200 (912)925-2380 If you know of a business please have them contact 6203 Abercorn St. #108 (912) 349-2935 (912) 247-4263, OUTDOORS LOCAL WEBSITES us regarding placement into the Gay Services Guides. MEMBERSHIP & SUBSCRIPTION www.ellenfarrell.com Stand Out Youth Roys Hideaway Gaysavannah.com 421 E Broughton St. (912)225-3900 [email protected] Karen Abato ATR-BC, LCAT Wed. Movie Night 6:30-9pm royshideaway.com The Board wants to have a better reach with the community Art Pyschotherapist - 912-220-0071 Friday Disucssion Group 7-9pm WORSHIP SERVICES at large and open up this section to encompass more than just (912) 657-1966 PET SERVICES Agape Empowerment Ministries Mail your completed form with payment to: Braswell Gamble, LPC Save-A-Life 703D Louisville Road advertisers. We want to service the community as a whole. 23 East 38th St. HIV Services. Julie - (912) 354-7357 agapeempowerment.org First City Network (912) 231-8429 Chatham CARE Center 107 B Fahm St. TailsSpin Asbury Memorial UMC So please email [email protected] with questions or PO Box 2442 Sarah Holmes, Ph.D. (912) 651-2253 4501 Habersham St. 1008 East Henry St. concerns if you wish to have your business or friends business Savannah, GA 31402-2442 23 East 38th St. (912) 691-8788 (912) 233-4351 (912) 233-7304 Hospice Savannah Inc. TailsSpin.com listed with FCN. Also is there something FCN can do for your $100 Corporate - $40 Family/Couple Homecare and Hospice House; St. Luke’s Lutheran Church business. We want to encourage the members to visit your Duke Miles, LCSW Psychotherapy grief support services. PHYSICAL THERAPY 2716 Mechanics Ave. $25 Individual - $10 Student w/ ID 23 E 38th St.. 1352 Eisenhower Dr. Phoenix Holistic Center (912) 354-6815 business and services. Is there a discount or special that you wish (912) 233-1312 (912) 355-2289 1138 B East 72nd St. to extend the FCN Membership. Let us know and FCN will get (912) 660-3031 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church You can also become a member online at: Nancy Wallace, LCSW Union Mission Phoenix Project. 34th and Abercorn - Savannah the word out to the hundreds of members. firstcitynetwork.net 23 East 38th St. HIV housing and support. Skidaway Family Chiropractic Center. (912) 232-0274 (912) 447-0230 120 Fahm St. 5704 Skidaway Rd. Join today and Find a Whole “Family” Waiting to meet you... (912) 231-0123 (912) 356-5886. Unitarian Universalist Church Monthly Socials, Newsletter Delivered to your door and a way to Martha Womack, PhD. Psychologist. 313 E Harris St meet people to form lasting bonds with. What are you waiting for? 23 East 38th St. HIV/AIDS LEGAL PROJECT Small World Therapeutic Massage (912) 234-0980 Not a Member? Then - JOIN TODAY - (912) 447-5660 / fax (912) 447-5661 Free legal services to HIV+ Brantley Moate NCTM, NMT, CMT, LMT who meet income guides. Whitemarsh Island - next to Jalapenos Unity Church of Savannah to be part of the Community Name FINANCIAL SERVICES 10 Whitaker St. (912) 897-7979 2320 Sunset Blvd. Brouillette & Cowan (912)651-2180 (912) 355-4704 Address 1 Oglethorpe Pro Bldg, Ste 102 POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS Can do via Credit Card or Paypal (912) 354-2262 HOME REPAIR/CLEANING Georgia Equality Savannah Chapter Unitarian Universalist of Statesboro City, St, Zip Summit Pest Control 106 W. 38th St. 609 East Grady Street via our website at firstcitynetwork.net Glenn Gaylord CPA Once a year Pest Control (912) 944-0996 (912) 489-8338 E-mail (912) 658-1346 (912)351-0979 Phone Mitchell Bush HOME REPAIR/CLEANING CONT. add us on facebook too to learn more about 340 Eisenhower Dr. 300 Ste A Sparkling House Cleaning (912) 356-0266 ext. 106 Asian Style up and coming events... (912) 257 6587

24 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net - 25 JUNE 2013 Horoscopes & Sudoku

ARIES (March 21-April 19). The person pressuring you believes SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). In the heat of the moment, your that his or her personal agenda is more important than your comfort. conversational partner will try to prove a wrongheaded point. Let it When none of the options please you, you can always decide not to go. To argue would be proof that you care to be considered superior, decide. which is wrongheaded in and of itself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Remember what you wanted so SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your golden productivity hours badly? Now you have it, and you want entirely different things. You will be in the morning. Do a job at 9 a.m. when your mind is fresh. can appreciate the cycle, wherever you are in it. Your wishes keep At 9 p.m., the same job will take you twice as long to complete. you rolling forward. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Things that look good “on paper” THE DON CALLAHAN GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The wonderful parts of life are often look even better when carefully arranged within the electrified offset by something dismal. This is the way of the world, and you framework of a popular social media sight. The reality of such R e a l E s t a t e G r o u p deal with each scenario as it comes, interpreting it in your own things may be nonexistent. Stay alert. poetic way. 912-441-4416 | [email protected] AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The egos involved at work may slow CANCER (June 22-July 22). Instead of trying to cope with the everyone’s progress. There are politics to be played here. People circumstance, you want to change it. You’ll take on what you can. who think a lot of their own contributions want full credit before You may have a hard time accepting the fact that not everything is they move forward. within your control. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You don’t like to be tricked by anyone, LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You have great feelings for beauty now, but especially not by a business, because that shows ill intent on and you’ll appreciate the seemingly disordered aspects of it. You’ll many levels. People who do not stop a wrong from happening are direct people’s attention to things they wouldn’t have noticed, and culpable, and you’ll do what it takes to deliver justice. this is a kind of mitzvah.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Power can be a phantom. Its sources are not always apparent. Keep this in mind as you assess your opposition and strategize your own rise to power.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). As valid as your concerns may be, it’s not important that each one gets addressed now. Helping others who are in need will give you the benefit of perspective.

26 - NETWORK NEWS - First City Network - 912.236.CITY - firstcitynetwork.net In the Nation, what matters to us is what matters to you.

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