[2009] Metro Star Magazine, February 1, 2009; Volume 6, Issue 2

[2009] Metro Star Magazine, February 1, 2009; Volume 6, Issue 2

Politics, education, and social conversation over LGBTQ+ topics

The Metro Star’s first issue began in August of 2008. Before this issue was Ozarks Pride (2004), The Ozark’s Star (2004), and The Star (2005).

This magazine discusses topics of AIDs, education, politics, local and national civil rights of the LGBT community, and advice for relationships and places to visit.

This collection is PDF searchable. Physical copies are also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.

Star Media, Ltd

https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/19

Star Media, Ltd

Feb. 1, 2009

Chaz Ward
Victor Gorin
Greg Steele
James Nimmo
Jeanne Flanigan
Rex Wockne
Susan A. Muscari
Gerald Libonati
Michael W. Sasser
Romeo San Vicente
Andrew Collins
Donald Pile
Ray Williams
Jack Fertig
Devre Jackson
Judy G.

The Metro Star Magazine, January 1, 2008; Volume 6, Issue 1
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/132

The Metro Star Magazine, April 1, 2009; Volume 6, Issue 4
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/128

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Online text
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English

magazine

https://history.okeq.org/items/show/131

Southwest Missouri
West Arkansas
Southeast Kansas
Eastern Oklahoma
The United States of America (50 states)

E FOR
President Obama’s Gay Rights Agenda
The new whitehouse.gov .... .Page 10
WWW.METROSTARNEWS.COM
Gay community upbeat
TULSA, OK__ Despite the
involvement of controversial Pastor
Rick Warren, the gay and lesbian
community responded generally
favorable to the inauguration of
President Barack Obama on January
20.
"This is a big moment for all of the
people who feel we were shut out
by the Bush Administration," said
Oklahoma resident Brian DunleaW,
36. Dunleavy traveled from Green
Country to Washington D.C. to
witness the inaugural parade and
events. "That includes gays and
lesbians. Obama is clearly a friend to
US, even if many of us don’t always
agree xvith him on everything. This
could be the beginning of a new era
for us."
for the inauguration ceremonies.
"WE DELIVER DIVERSITY" FEBRUARY 1, 2009
about
By Michael W. Sasser
new president
he was not happy about Warren’s
involvement but that he "didn’t go to
D.C. for the prayer."
Oklahomans for Equality
Celebrates Anniversary at the
Dennis R. Neill Equality Center
Photo by Chaz
"Hopefully it’s just a bump in the
road," he added.
Warren, the controversial evangelical
pastor at Orange County, CA’s
Saddleback Church, delivered the
inaugural invocation at Tuesday’s
ceremony. Warren was an outspoken
supporter of California’s Proposition
8, the California measure that banned
same-sex marriage in the state. 365gay.
com reported that the website for
Warren’s church specifically stated
until recently that unrepentant gay
people were not welcome to attend
services. In perhaps the most virulent P~oto: Dennis R. Nei!I Equalil.y Center Downtown Tulsa
’.;Warren has compared
gay marriage to sanctioning TULSA, OK (PR) __In February 1999, the Pyramid Project
hosted their first major fundraising event by holding a Wild
H~S ~! ~ ~he Ta~ Brady Mansionl TII~ evening the
~°nnnued ~ee OBAMA Page’10 ~i~i6fi 6£~ ~fi~h0~ f~r the EG~Smmunity in
north~k~ OH~6~[~s prelented~ Th~ dream seemed very
far away.
0KC Pride Parade Stays on 39th Street
Festival Will Move, No Longer At Memorial Park
By Victor Gorin
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK __ Amid an abundance of
controversy and hearsay, OKC Pride hosted an open meeting
January 5 at the Days Inn West, anticipating a much larger
crowd than usually attends these meetings. True enough,
around 60 GLBT & allied people attended to voice Concerns
about rumours that OKC Pride Inc, which administers the
annual June OKC Pride Parade & Festival, was not only
planning to move the festival to Remington Park, but that the
parade would be moved to Remington Park as well.
The OKC Pride Parade route had always been, since its
beginning in 1987, from Memorial Park at N.W. 36th &
Classen Boulevard concluding on N.W. 39th Street & ¥oungs
Street, taking it over the now famous hill leading to the
crowds on the Strip, an area where many of the gay
community have felt at home for decades.
OKC Pride pointed out that moving from Memorial Park was
unavoidable for many reasons, including that the Festival itself
had outgrown the park and less space was available due to the
new Boys and Girls Club building as well as other projects
under construction. Another problem was that the City of
Oklahoma City required vendors on city parks to pay a sales
permit fee of $150 per day ($100 for nonprofits) which made
the cost of doing business prohibitive for many of the vendors.
Although some members of the board were not happy with
the Remington Park location for many reasons, so far it was
the only option they had found, and Paul Thompson stated
that if anyone could present another viable option it would
definitely be considered.
Passions ran much higher concerning the Parade route, as this
route had been a long held tradition since the beginning
........... Continued See OKC PRIDE Page-6
This February 13th, 14th, and 15th we will celebrate the 10th
anniversary of the Wild Hearts Ball and the 3rd anniversary of
living in our permanent home, The Dennis R Neill Equality
Center. As a mission and vision moving toward fulfillment,
this year’s Anniversary Weekend expands with even more
events and greater visibility for EQUALITY.
Friday, February 13th at 4:00 pm kiclcs offwith a fabulous
wedding reception! We will celebrate the unions of local
couples who have traveled out of Oklahoma to get married,
registered as domestic partners, or conducted civil unions
in those places where it is recognized by the municipality,
state, or country. The media has been invited to cover this
special event of our community, honoring our community
heroes. Oldahomans for Equality will present a certificate of
recognition to our couples and a photographer will be present
to memorialize the moment. As a family, we will toast our
happy couples and cut the wedding cake.
.........Continued See OKEQ Page-9
Oklahoma Weather Forecast for February 2009
’-~,~÷~ Feb. 1-5: Sunny, turning warmer
~ Feb. 6-12: Rainy periods, chilly
@ Feb. 13-19: Snow north and central, rain
¯ ~ south, then sunny, cold
~ Feb. 20-22: Showers, chilly
Feb. 23-25: Rain, mild
Feb. 26-28: Snow north, rain south; colder
Avg. Temperature: 44° (4° brow avg.) Precipitation: 1.5~ (0.5" below avgl)
Kansas City’s
’ Chorus
Mirreni Jim Roth
says goodbye
to politics.
"God bless
you citizens of
Oklahoma for
you have blessed
me so. Thank
you for the
honor to serve
you." Thank
You Jim!
Page 4
2 February 2009
~tine’s Day started in the time of
the Roman Empire. tn ancient Rome, Februa~
T t4th was a holiday to honour Juno.
Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods
and Goddesses. ~ae Romans also knew her
as the Goddess of women and marriage.
~e following day, February
’The good Saint Valentine (photo above) was
a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II.
He and Saint Marius aided the Christian
martyrs and secretly married couples, and
for this kind deed Saint V~flentine was apprehended
and dragged before the Prefect of
Rome, who condemned him
15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
The lives ofyoung
boys and girls were strictly
separate. However, one of
the customs of the young
people was name drawing.
On the eve of the festiva!
of Lupercalia the names of
Roman girls were written
on slips of paper and placed
into jars. Each young man
would draw a girl’s name
from the jar and would then
be parmers for the duration
of the f’estival with the gir!
whom he chose.
Sometimes the pairing of
the children lasted an entire
year, and often, they would
to be beaten to death with
clubs and to have his head cut
off. He suffered martyrdora
on the 14th day of February,
around the year 270. At
that time it was the custom
in Rome, a very ancient
custom indeed, to celebrate
in the month of February the
Lupercalia, feasts in honour
of a heathen god. On these
occasions, amidst a variety of
pagan ceremonies, the names
ofyoung women were placed
in a box, from which they
xvere drawn by the men as
chance directed.~The pastors
of the early Christian Church
in Rome endeavoured to do
away with the pagan element
in these feasts by substituting
{:all in love and would later marry. Under
the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was
involved in many bloody and unpopular
campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having
a difficult time getting soldiers to join his
military leagues. ~e believed that. the reason
was t}~at Roman men did not want to leave
A~eir loves or {hmilies. As a result, Claudius
cancelled all marriages and engagements in
MARDI GRAS
FAT TUESDAY
Celebrations include lots of ~asting, partying
and parading on the big da~; also known as
Shrove Tuesday - just before Ash Wednesday
- when the Church rules offasting and sacrifice
take erect. It’s been that way in Christian
countries around the ~vofld since the Middle
Ages. Today most ofthe world’s celebrations
occur duirng the ~veek of Fat Tuesday; which
falls on February 24th this yeal:
Fat Tuesday in New Orleans
It’s been four long years since the devastation of
the names of saints for those of maidens. As
the Lupercalia began about the middle of
February, the pastors appear to have chosen
Saint Valentine’s Day for the celebration of
this new feast.
So it seems that the custom ofyoung men
choosing maidens ~br valentines, or saints
as patrons fbr the coming year, arose in this
way.
Hurricane Katrina, and the biggest part), town
in America will pick itself up for the 2009 Fat
Tuesday- celebration with even bigger crowds
- and more parades - expected this year. The
New Orleans Mardi Gras parade schedule kicks
offonJanuary 6 and continues through to Fat
Tuesday, February 24, 2009.
Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Carnival
Celebrations around the world
The biggest and loudest of them, as always,
are in Rio and Ne~v Orleans...although the
Karneval, or Fasching, festivities in Cologne
and Berlin get pretty wild, Carnaval in Nice
shows off the wackier side ofthe trendy
Riviera scene, and the Italians in Venice are the
worldwide experts on the art of street theater.
For anyone who’s ever been dumped, jaded, didn’t get the box of
chocolates they wanted~ had bad sex or just wants to get lucky
because VALENTINE’S DAY SUCKS!
$8 VALUE WITH PURCHASE
OF 2 DIHH£R EHTREE$
AT REGULAR PRICE
Bring this ad with you to
receive this special offer
Not vatid with any other
coupon, discount or offers.
w,~t,,.metrostarnews.com M®t~"oSTAR 3
A P VILEGE TO
HAVE SERVED
By Jim Roth
OYd2kHOMA CITT, OK __ It is with
immense gratitude that I say thank you to my
fellow citizens for the opportunity to serve
you these past years. I am forever grateful for
the chance to toil in the field of public service
and I am forever blessed because of you.
In an inspiring speech titled "~e Man in
the Arena," President Theodore Roosevelt
said "the credit belongs to the man who is
actually in the arena, who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotion, and who
spends himself in a worthy cause." While I
appreciate these words, the true credit belongs
to the citizens who gave me the chance to
serve.
As your Corporation C.ommissioner and
as an Oklahoma County Commissioner, I
accomplished every task I had hoped. My
guiding principle was simple: Always put the
people first. I thrust myself into the arena and
fought the good fight defending the rights of
all people. I took an oath to honor all people
and in turn you have given me the highest
honor of my life -- the chance to give back.
As a Corporation Commissioner, i worked
to expand the horizon of Oklahoma through
native blessings like natural gas and wind,
through new energies and energy ei~iencies.
I encouraged our utility providers to think
bigger and am glad fl~ey are making progress
today. These willing partners are developing
programs that will benefit generations of
Oldahomans to come.
At Otdahoma County, we implemented
programs that eliminated public waste and
saved the taxpayers millions of dollars. Xg4e
built better roads and bridges and brought
relief to our aging senior citizens. It xvasn’t
always easy battling entrenched attitudes that
resisted change, but working with you I never
worked alone. In the end, I feel that I left
Otdahoma County much better than I found
it because you trusted me to serve you.
So as I move into the next chapter of my life
I will take with me all tl~e good friends and
memories made along the way. My time in
public service has come to an end, but my
desire to make this state the best it can be has
not. I am excited for new opportunities and
new arenas to create the change I wish to see
in the world.
I have devoted my career to public service
these past 14 years and your help along this
journey has made me a better person. I hope I
have made you better as well. As this chapter
closes, I am reminded of another passage
from President Roosevelt’s speech, where he
says: "If he fails, at least he fails while daring
greatly, so tl~at he may never be one of those
cold and timid souls, who know neither
victory nor defeat." God bless you citizens of
Oklahoma for you have blessed me so. Thank
you for the honor to serve you.
Former State Senator
Running to Chair OKC
Schoolboard.
By Victor Gorin
P/~oto: Fom~er State &nator Angela Monson
Seldom has our communit); and those
interested in true quality educaOon for the
Oklahoma City School District had such
an opportunity as xve have now to elect a
true progressive with a vision that could
effect meaningful change. First elected to the
Oklahoma State Legislature as a representative
in 1990, she moved up to the State Senate
in 1993, re-elected until she was forced out
by term limits in 2005. During that time
she never failed to take proud stands for any
progressive cause, and was proud to be a
keynote speaker at the OKC MDSWalk as
well as our Pride Festival.
Most importantly, she attended the
Oldahoma City Public School System, a 1973
graduate of Douglass High School, following
both her parents. Earning a Master’s degree
in Public Health Administration from OU,
she is currently employed at the OU Health
Sciences Center as Director of Health Policy
Development and Analysis. She currently
is raising her niece and nephew ( Donovan
18, Danielle 10), also attendees of the
OKC school system, so not only does she
understand the problems firsthand, she has
the passion to make it better. She shares ~vith
the Metro Star:
Victor: Angela, you must know what you are
taldng on. What made you decide to xvant to
run for tiffs office?
Angela: I did it for our children. That really
is what prompted me. These last 3 years
I have been working really intensely witl~
students from the OKC public schools. What
I have seen has really concerned me greatly.
We should be embarrassed at the quality of
education our children are receiving. I want
to change the priorities, to make a difference
as to the quality of education all of our
children receive.
Victor: What are the worst problems ~ve are
facing there?
Continued See MONSON Page-9
RAIN Oklahoma Begins
New HIV Testing
Outreach on OKC’s 39th
Street Strip
By Victor Gorin
Tulsa-Area LGBTS
Church Celebrates New
Pastor
TULSA, OK (PR) __ MCC United(MCCU)
is a thirty yea>old, Tulsa-area church that is
part of the worldwide Universal Fellowship of
Metropolirtan CommunitT Churches which
invite Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
& Straight people to full inclusion and total
participation in all aspects of church and
ministry life.
On Sunday, February 1st, 2009, the Reverend
Ed Paul*will preach his first sermon as
Pastor ofMCC United. Pastor Ed is well
known among the LGBTS community in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has preached often at
MCCU.
Photo: [@ndell Powers, counselor, I~i Dameron,
CTR Outreach Coordinator
OKLAHOMA CITy, OK __ Regional
AIDS Interfaith Network ( better known as
R.A.I.N.) has begun an HIV testing outreach
on OKC’s 39th Street Strip. Beginning on
Saturday Jannary 24, and followed on the
1st Saturday of each month, free anonymous
HIV testing will be provided fi’om 5 p.m.
until 8 p.m. at the Brief Connection, a
popular undergear/novelty shop located at
2!35 N.XgZ 39th Street.
This Will help fulfill a need for those who had
been getting testing and other assistance at
the Red Rock Clinic located on the Strip that
had closed at the end of 2008. As Kendall
Powers points out, "Many people in tl~at
area are transient, people may not know
where help is available, and may not have
transportation."
Testing is also done at the R.A.I.N. Clinic
located at 600 N.W. 23rd Street, hours
Monday thru Thursday 9:30 a.m. until 3:30
p.m., when rapid testing is offered, which can
show results in around 20 minutes. Testing
like,vise here is free and anonymons. The
clinic also is open on Friday with the same
hours, but the rapid test is not available.
Pastoral Search Team Leader Nathan Black
said, "I believe this is exactly ~vhat God
has for this church. Pastor Ed’S heart for
people and his powerfu! leadership will be
a tremendous gift to our church and our
community. I believe God is calling MCCU
to grow and expand its vision and mission,
reaching all of northeastern Oldahoma with a
message of God’s inclusive and transformative
love, and I believe Pastor Ed is the man to
lead us on that journey."
The church is inviting community members
and friends to attend worship at MCCU on
Sunday morning, February 1st at 11:00 AM
and to share a Celebration Potluck Dinner
that ,;viii follow the service. For those who
may be unable to attend worship, but want to
come to the Dinnm; it should begin around
12:30pm.
The church is located at 1623 N. Maplewood,
just offofN. Pine and Reading. You can
learn more about MCCU by visiting their
website at www.mcctulsa.org, sending an
email to iworship@mcctulsa.org or calling
9!8-838-1715.
...........More Oklalaoma News Page 6
With tlais outreach and other plans for testing
and education, R.A.I.N. wants the GLBT
community as well as
Oldahomans in general
to knmv that they are
still around working to
prevent the spread of
HIV and helping those
living witla it. Speakers
are available upon
request for groups
interested in learning
about HIV. For more
information, please
call (405) 232 2437.
email: kdanersib@
rainoklahoma,org
"uptc¥ * ~i~iI Rights -Criminal
4 ~(~t~°oSTAR February 2009
w:~.metrostarnews.com t~et~ oSTAR 5
of the parade over 20 years ago. OKC Pride’s
Male co-chair Paul Thompson dispelled
turnouts that city government was behind the
proposed change, stating that the City had
been totally cooperative for raany years.
Communication was stressed as ~vell, with
many people at the Ineeting stating tbat
they had never been asked for their input
or support, and had not been informed of
OKC Pride activities. Feraale co-chair Latricia
Ohnstead stated that" It’s great that you
guys have come out saying xvhat you want us
to do differently, but you need to come up
with some solutions and possibilities to help
us make it better."
Monty Milburn, President of the Diversity-
Business Association, suggested that the
Parade be held on Saturday, so that those
fi’om out of town could arrive on Friday
night, enjoy the festival and parade, and
return to their homes Sunday without being
rushed, and while he commended the current
board members and volumeers, he did stress
the need for" new blood" and new ideas.
Following this public discussion, the OKC
Pride Board voted unanimously to keep the
parade on the same route it has always been,
and announced that the next meeting would
be January 26, where it would be decided,
after considering all options, where and when
the festival would be and when the parade
would take place. At press time the outcome
was not available so to find out more
inforraation after that date call (405 410-
8102 to reach Paul Thompson or check OKC
Pride’s website at www.okcpride.org.
Obviously- more community involvement is
needed, along with better communication.
But as Paul 2Pnompson puts it, ’We hope that
the parade and festival wil! continue to grow,
and that those who feel there needs to be new
blood, ideas and people will come out to be
part of that and make it happen"
EQUAL RIGHTS IN
EVERY STATE TEACH
IN
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (PR) On
February 14, 2009, on the South Steps of
the Oklahoma State Capitol at noon, there
will be a "Teach Iff’ supporting equal rights
in every state. While this is largely a gay
event, members of the faith community are
attending and wilt be speaking to the issues
of"Family Values", which has become a code
word for homophobia. We intend to expose,
through the use of faith based communities,
that "Family Values" are toxic to gay people
and to society as a whole. Our Teach In is
not a protest, it is not a rally, it is a positive
message that we as gay people already have
equality spelled out in the Constitution, and
we are going to call upon our elected officials
to enforce the la~v of the land with a positive
message post card campaign to our elected
representatives in Oldahoma and Congress.
Unless and until we ask for enforcement of
our rights in every state we will not have them
simply granted to us. Until we can TEACH
the greater community that gay people are
just regular people, doctors, laxwers, teachers,
postal workers, business owners and laborers,
the pervasive view of "Family Values" will
persist. Now is the time, change happens.
Please participate in some ~vay. You can
attend the Teach In starting at noon on the
South Capitol Plaza on February 14, or you
can request a pack of 8 post cards for a $10
donation (we’ll pay the postage) to send
to your elected representatives along with
hundreds of other people, gay and straight.
You can contact the coordinator. Peter Myers
at hpkanyersmd@yahoo.com, you may mail
your request to Peter Myers, 2512 NW41st
Street, OKC, OK 73112, or call at 405-
815-4059. We look forward to everyone
participating. Please get involved to end all
discrimination against gay people.
Eq~ality- It’s Already t’ot¢r C’onstit~¢tional R{ght.
adopdom
so
Chance also xvet- Coweta 918-486 2137
are fully tax deductible, Siloam Springs 479 524 6535
Claremore 918 341 1260
Following a screening process, the $70 adop- Sand Springs 918 246 2543
tion fee includes spa~ing/neuteringpius all Jenks 918 299 63111
vaccinations appropriate fbr the adi~aal~ age. Owasso 9t8-272-4965
Sapulpa 918 227 2722
To get involved or to adopt a cat or dog call Norman 405 321 6725
(405) 321q915 or e-mail " Collinsville 918 371 I000
secondchancenorm@aol.com
Courtesy ofwv~-w.labrescue.net
6 5Zt~,troSTAR February 2009
Wockner News Service
Gay bishop Robinson
a so selected for
inaugura
@Je RI; Rev. H Gene Robinsom the open,gay
and?artnered bishop (fd~e Episcopal Church~
~wHamuhire diocese, a~livered @e invocation
at ganzck Obama~ inaugmnd concert at the
Lincoln Memorkd on.~¢n. ~ 8. GL~Dphoto
Amid the controversy over Barack Obama’s
selection of anti-gay preacher Rick g~rren
to ddiver the invocation at his inaugural,
Obama announced Jan. 12 that the Rt.
Re~: V[ Gene Robinson, the openly gay and
partnered bishop of the Episcopal Church’s
New- Hampshire diocese, would deliver the
invocatmn at the inaugur~d concert at @e
Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18.
Obama attended the concert.
Because Robinson is gay and partnered, his
selection as bishop in 2003 has led to an
evolving schism in the Episcopal Church
and a near-schism in the worldwide Anglican
Communion, of which the Episcopal Church
is the U.S. branch.
"President-elect Obama has made a stellar
choice in selecting Bishop Gene Robinson
to offer the prayer at the Lincoln Memorial
to kick offthe inaugural festivities," Rea
Care); executive director of the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said after
the announcement. "For the first time in
history, an out gay man will lead the nation
in opening the transfer of power from one
administration to another."
Log Cabin Republicans
are broke
~ne gay group Log Cabin Republicans is
broke and $100,000 in debt, according to the
Washington Blade.
LCR President Patrick Sammon said the
troubled U.S. economy has impacted
donations to the organization.
The ~roup currently has vwo flail,time
employees and one part-time employee, three
fewer than a year ago.
in at least 77 nations and punishable by death
in at least seven.
The statement was signed by Albania,
Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic,
Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador,
Estonia, Finlaaad, France, Gabon, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel~ Ital); Japan, Latvia,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro,
Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Norwa}( Paraguay, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, San Marino, S~o Tom4
and Prfncipe, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-
Leste, United Kingdom, Uruguay and
Venezuela.
Fifty-seven nations signed an alternative
statement, promoted by the Organization of
the Islamic Conference, daat said universal
human rights do not include "the attempt to
focus on the rights of certain persons" because
"the notion of orientation spans a xvide range
of personal choices that expand way beyond
the individual’s sexual interest in copulatory
behavior with normal consenting adult
human beings, thereby ushering in the social
normalization, and possibly legitimization of
many deplorable acts."
The U.S. did not sign either statement.
ACLU sues over new
Arkansas adoption ban
¯ne American Civil Liberties Union filed a
lawsuit Dec. 30 seeking to strike down a new
voter-passed laxv that bans any unmarried
person ~vho lives with a partner from serving
as an adoptive or foster parent in At’kansas.
~-he suit, filed in Pulaski County Circuit
Court, argues that the ban violates federal and
state constitutional rights to equal protection
and due process.
Twenty-nine people from a dozen families
are participating in the case as plaintiffs,
including a grandmother who lives with
her same-sex partner and is the only relative
willing to adopt her grandchild, who is
in At’kansas state care. Several married
heterosexual couples also are plaintiffs. They
previously had chosen friends or relatives who
are coupled but not married to adopt their
children in the event 0fthe parents’ deaths.
"We’ve been hearing from all corners of
the state from dozens of families who are
panicking about how Act 1 impacts them,"
said Rita Sldar, executive director of the
ACLU of Arkansas. "~ais kiw ... takes away
parents’ right to decide fbr themselves xvho
will adopt their children if they die, it denies
the many children in Arkansas state care a
chance at the largest possible pool of potential
foster and adoptive homes, and
(it) denies couples who are living together
but unmarried the chance to provide loving
homes to children who desperately need
them."
Four arrested in
California lesbian rape
case
After receiving tips from residents, police in
the San Francisco Bay Area city of Richmond
arrested two men and two teens Jan. 1 for
allegedly raping a lesbian while making antigay
slurs.
Humberto Hernandez Salvador, 31, Josue
Gonzalez, 21, and Darrell Hodges, 16, were
arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior
Court Jan. 5 and 6 on charges that included
carjacking, kidnapping, gang rape and hate
crime. The fourth suspect, a 15-year-old, will
be tried as a minor.
Bail was set at $2.2 million for Hernandez
and $1.85 million for Gonzalez. They could
face up to life in prison if found guilty.
Barney Frank details
congressional gay agenda
Gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said Jan. 12
that three long-delayed pieces of gay-related
legislation likely will pass and become law
now that Congress has a Democratic majority
and the incoming president is gay-friendly.
"We’re going to do three things in Congress,"
Frank, D-Mass., told The New Yorker. "First,
a hate-crimes bill -- that shouldn’t be too
hard. Next, employment discrimination.
We almost got that through before, but
nmv we can ~vin even ifwe add transgender
protections, which we are going to do. And
finally, after the troops get home from Iraq,
gays in the military. 7he time has come."
San Francisco Catholic
church vandalized with
swastika
The Dec. 13 attack began after the woman
got out of her car, which had a rainbow
sticker on it. One of the men hit her with an
object, ordered her to strip and raped her on
the spot, with assistance from the other men,
police said.
Nxe woman ~vas then forced into her car and
driven to a more remote location, where she
was raped inside and outside the car. After
about 45 minutes, the assailants left in the
victim’s vehicle with her wallet, leaving her
naked at the scene.
Police had offered an $11,000 reward
for information leading to the arrest and
conviction of the alleged attackers.
Gay mayor takes once in
Portland, Ore.
Sam Adams took the oath of office as mayor
of Portland, Ore., Jan. 1 at 12:01 a.m.,
making the city the largest in the country
with aft openly gay mayor.
Adams, 45, captured more than 50 percent
of the vote in a May 20 primary election
that had 13 candidates, thereby avoiding a
general-election runoff.
He has promised
to make Pordand
"cleaner, greener, more
sustainable, smarter,
more equal, better
educated."
San Diego is the largest
city in ATmerica ever to
haace had an openly gay
mayor.
Toni Atkins held the jok
for five months in 2005.
She was appointed by
the Civ Cguncil after
both the mayor and the
deputy, maygr quit in
the wake of a pensionfunding
debacle.
SMq FRANCISCO, CA __ Someone
spray-painted a Roman Catholic church in
San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood with
a swastika Jan. 4 in apparent protest of San
Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer’s
support for Proposition 8, the Nov. 4 ballot
initiative ~vith which voters amended the state
constitution to re-ban same-sex marriage.
Accompanying red-and-black text sprayed on
Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church said:
"Prop H8 - Niederauer Ratzinger - Where is
the love?"
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict
XVI.
Most Holy Redeemer is considered to be
liberal and gay-friendly, as Catholic churches
go.
MORTUARY SERVICE,~
Traditional Funeral Services at Affordable Prices
(405) 23(}- 131~) or !-800-913-1310
Pre-Need Plan
CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
2415-C North Walnut Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
www.rnetrostarnews.com 5,~®@’oSTAR 7
OMING ELECTS
FIRST OPENLY GAY
PERSON TO THEIR
STATE LEGISLATUIBy
Victor Gorin
Photo: State Representative Cathy Connol&
When Cathy Connolly got elected to the
Wyoming Legislature as a Democratic
representative for House District 13, she
made history as the Cowboy State’s first
openly gay legislator.
All things being relative, it is one of the more
progressive districts ofWyoming, inside one
of only two counties in the state that went
blue this last election.
Born in Troy, New York, she came to
Wyoming in 1992. Holding both a PhD
in Sociology, and a law degree earned at the
State University ofNew York in Buffalo, she
is now a professor of women’s studies at the
UniversitT ofWyoming in Laramie.
Public policy has been an area of keen
interest for her. Urged by her peers to run
for this office, Ms. Connolly is active in
the communit): She is a strong advocate
for ~vorking people and one of her major
objectives as a legislator will be to try to lessen
the wage gap between men and women,
which in ~’yoming is the highest in the
nation.
Connolly also wants to work to improve
healthcare and education, and to create
a better environment for all minorities,
including Wyoming’s GLBT community.
Obama spokesman: Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tel~ is history
By \Vocl~ler Wire Sen*ice
New White House Press Secretary Robert
Gibbs says the "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" ban on
open gays in the military will be repealed.
In a video posted in mid-January at change.gov,
in which Gibbs answered some ofthe 72,000
questions Americans have submitted to the
site, he said: "Thaddeus from Lansing, Mich.,
asks, ’Is the new administration going to get rid
ofthe "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy ?’"
Gibbs answered: "Thaddeus, you don’t hear a
politician give a one-word answer much, but
It S, Yes.
"We should be embarrassed at the quality of education our
children are receiving. I want to change the priorities, to make a
difference in the quality o~ education all o~ our children receive."
"The two candidates are Angela Monson and Kirk Humphreys.
We know from Angela’s track record that Angela cares about
minorities and the GLBT community, and will understand problems
like school bullying, and we know that Kirk Humphreys
clearly doesn’t get it."
Paul Thompson, C0-Chair of the Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus
Angela is far and away the best candidate for this
position. It is imperative that we get out and vote for her.
Margaret Cox, Activist
To volunteer or For more information call
www.Monson4ourchildren.org
®
monsonforourchildren@yahoo.com
8 ~÷troSTAR February 2009
At 5:00 pm MY BIG EAT GAY \X;%DDING FAIR opens
with vendors and merchants throughout the center. These
local companies cater to same gender couples looking to plan
their speciai da> Several honeymoon destinations will be
participating iu a raffle fbr free prizes.
Saturday, February 14th at 7:00 pm the dancing and partying
begins with the 10th annual \Vild Hearts Ball. DJ Zeke
Richardson will be playing the tunes to light up the dance
floor. Raffles and prizes will be given away all evening. A cash
bar and party foods will satisfy your palate.
A photographer will be present for those special part), pics.
Admission is free for members of OkEq, $10 admission f~e
for non OkEq members. Your admission fee can be applied to
your first installment of a $50.00 OkEq membership. Child
care will be provided in the Wellness Room on the second
level for children under 12 years of age. ~e will have games,
crafts and special Valentine snacks for our young guests.
Sunday, February 15th we celebrate FAITH with music and
a wonderful brunch buffet. The second annual Brunch and
Blessing will be in the Events Center. We will have a 9:00
am, 11:00 am and 1:00 pm seatings. Admission is $10.00 for
the buffet and $2.00 for mimosas. John Sawyer will be our
host extraordinaire and will be joined by Tulsa’s finest choirs,
choruses, orchestras, bands and local musical artists like
Rebecca Ungerman, Mindy Bardett, and Jarod Tyler.
Ten years ago our community dreamed of a permanent home
for the LGBT citizens of Oklahoma. Anniversary Weekend
,vill celebrate the progress towards full equality in the state we
call home. You can join Oklahomans for Equality and become
a full member t’or $50.00. Membership gives you discounts
on special promotions in our Pride Store, discounts on special
events, and supports the important work of the Dennis R.
Neill Equality Center. Please embrace our mission of serving
our community and progressing towards equality.
Angela: Dropout rates, which is indicative of the problems
we are having. Some schools in our district have dropout
rates over 60%. That~ terrible, they wind up in the street and
too often in our prison system. On test scores, our students
overall still are performing poorly. Too many students say ’I
hate school!’ I want our students to be excited about the value
of learning.
Across America our students are not performing well enough
in math and science, lagging behind other countries.
don’t ~vant to become dependent on other countries for our
technology, we need to educate our own to bring back our
high skill/high tech .jobs.
Victor: What abou.t teachers?
Angela: Teacher pay is an issue, Oklahoma is 48th in the
nation and I’ve heard complaints about it, but more often I’ve
heard teachers express concerns about their facilities, about
having to pay for school supplies with their own money. That
~hould never happen. Instead of raises for administrators, I’d
like to see the money better spent on the classroom.
There is a huge mistrust between the public and the
administration of the school system. People don’t feel they
have a voice, and as the board chair I can involve parents
and the public, including groups such as the Parent-Teacher
Association, faith based organizations and those groups and
individuals who want to be involved. I’m a PTA president
myself, I’ve worked after school programs, so I understand the
problems and what needs to be done.
Victor: A major issue for the GLBT community is school
bullying. Currently in the Oklahoma City Public School
Handbook, real or perceived sexual orientation is not listed
as a category among groups not to be bullied, unlike other
protected groups such as race and religion. We have tried for
years to get that changed with no success.
Remember what made a dream a reality for Dorothy? Click
your heels and say "Tulsa.......... there is no place like home."
Bathroom Bingo A Big Success
TULSA, OK (PR) __ Free Bingo has caught on at Tulsa’s End
Up Club. The Thursday 6:30pm event now in it’s 2nd month
has attracted a large following of locals out for a fun time and
the chance to ,vin great prizes. They play five games, 4 straight
bingo for beer tabs, Walmart gift cards, and gas cards. The
last game is blackout, and the winner gets a chance to choose
one of five gift boxes. One holds the grand prize. The first
grand prize was a very nice Swiss Army watch won by a Tulsa
celebrity.
The End up is Tulsa’s newest bar located at 5336 E. Admiral
P1. Phone 918-836-0915
Angela: There is never any reason to bully anyone. We knmv
that there is a problem, that people are bullied, discriminated
against & treated differently,due to their real or perceived
sexual orientation. \Vhy do we put our heads in the sand
and pretend it’s not an issue? This gives tacit approval for this
behavior, implying that it’s OK to be mean to people who are
different.
Not only should it be listed as a category, we should go further
to show people how to trust and respect people who are
different. As with human nature, sometimes there is friction.
But like when you rub two sticks together, it creates heat
and light, and used properly it can be beneficial. Addressing
prejudice and dealing with it correctly can sometimes mal<e
things better. ~is can be an opportunity to teach, empower
and make a positive difference. Not only that, but kids would
perform better academically when there are less of these kinds
of conflicts and social pressures,
Sunday Services @ 11:00 AM
CC United 918-838-1715
A Metropolitan Community Church www.rncctulsa.org
Victor: As~ything else special
you’d like to add?
A_ngela: An educated worl~orce
and general population makes
our whole society better for a
lot of reasons, and I want to
help make that happen here in
Oklahoma City.
Victor: Thank you Angela, and
I hope you get your chance to
go do that.
To reach Angela; call
405 314 961"3, Email:
Monsonforourchildren@ ~g,~rel°°,cOnl
bsite: Monson4ourchildren.
Org
www.metrostarnews.com P~®t~’oSTAR 9
vi÷w oints
road to Barack
presidency paved by
entertainment machine
By Jerry Libonati
FT LAUDEPd)ALE, FL __ ’11~e movie and television industry
may have had a hand in shaping public opinion about electing
a black president by depicting African-Americans in the role
of Americas number one
Seeing situations on screen allows viewers to get used to a new
idea. As early as 1972 a movie about the first black president
hit the silver screen. Based on a novel by Irving \Vgallace, The
Man starred James Earl Jones. Ironically, the screenplay was
written by Rod Sefling as if to suggest that such a scenario
could only be seen on ~l~ne ~i\vilight Zone.
More than two and a half decades lateI; Morgan Freeman
played the lofty role in the 1998 comet-snaashing film, Deep
h’npact. It appeared in theaters at a time, not that long ago,
when no one in the real world seriously entertained the idea
of a black president.
Dennis Haysbert took the role on the Fox television series, 24
that premiered in 2001. In ~lct, Haysbert was voted "Favorite
On-screen President" by a Blockbuster poll.
"If auything, my portrayal of David Palmer; I think, may have
helped open the eyes of the American people.., to prove the
possibility* there could be an M~rican-American president, a
female president, any type of president that puts the people
first," Haysbert told reporters in a July 2008 teleconference.
If Hollywood could change the way Americans thiuk about
having a black president, could it also influence the way
Americans took at gay and lesbian people? It already has.
~Ihe younger you are the less you will be aware that movies
and "~ shows have dramaticall) changed. %efve evoNed
over the years to include gay and lesbian characters. It wasn’t
always like that. For most of the twentieth century, there were
virtually no gay/Iesbian personalities on the big or the small
scree~.
Gay people were sometimes interviewed on edN, television
documentaries hidden behind screens like seedy criminals.
The first dine t personally saw a gay man interviewed out in
the open was on the Virginia Graham talk show in the 1960s.
~his brave soul sat right their on her studio couch in front of
a live audience. No screen, no mask, no garbled voice. It was
revolutionary.
Ellen DeGeneres’ sitcora premiered in 1994 as a lukewarm
comedy show. It had a supporting cast member who was
gay. But her character, Ellen Morgan, didfft turn up the heat
with her coming-out episode until 1997. It was a historymaking
event but not vdthout its pitfalls as some sponsors,
like Wendy’s, dropped their support. The show was cancelled
the next year. Since The Ellen Show, other entertainment
venues made their stand. Will and Grace debuted in 1998 and
became a romance-free staple. Rosie O’Donnell got off to a
closeted start with her Daytime-Emmy-winning talk show in
I996 but made her impact after coming out and later spoke
proudly as a lesbian woman on The View. The popular Queer
Eye for the Straight Guy; that brought stereotypes to a new
levet, popped up in 2003.
A smattering of gay characters now populate mainstream
sl~ows, not as devious villains, but as ordinary people.
horns are still being removed from gay and lesbian heads but,
who knows, when the process is done, maybe we’ll even see
a gay or lesbian president.
Times o£Harvey
Responsibility £or Our Ft ture
By James Nimmo
Photo: Harvey Milk
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK __ I’m hoping you had a safe (in
more ways than one) New Year’s celebration and are ready to
commit to a political and social New Year of acquiring the
legal recognition of our GLBT equality which is ours as a
right of citizenship.
This morning I watched the "The Times of Harvey Milk", a
documentary of Harw2y Milk composed of interviews with
people who knew and worked with him, combined with
news clips illustrating the important events in Milk’s public
life as a San Francisco City Commissioner. This is not to be
confused with the new biopic starring Sean Penn titled simpl>
"Milk".
I was reminded that the defeat of’the Briggs Amendment that
would have outlawed the employment of GLBT teachers in
California was fiollowed by the rise of Anita Bryant, who got
her inspirational juice from this setback to the fundie nuts
and homo-haters agenda. She was the rolling crest of the
wave of anti GLBT taws and reversals that followed across the
country in the late 70s and early 80s. Think Wichita, Kansas;
Dade County, Florida; and Oregon. Oklahoma had its own
version of a Briggs Amendment argued before the United
States Supreme Court in 1985. You can read the transcript
and listen to the audio here: http:/Iwwvw:oyez.org/casesl1980-
1989/1984/!984_83_20301argument/or http://tinyurl.
com/Sznzkp. ~e Supreme Court let stand a 10th Circuit
Court ruling that invalidated an Oklahoma ban on pro-gay
advocaW by teachers. ( http://v,~x,:lambdalegal.orglaboutus/
35th anniversary/) ( http:/itinyurI.com/9qqvc8 ) ( http://
en.wikipedia.org/wild/Anita_Bryant
It would seem this knee-jerk reaction to GLBT progress is
genetic to the Bible-bumping believers of America as that’s
what’s going on now with our marriage-equality movement:
for every Massachusetts there’s an Arizona and an Arkansas.
Listening to the confession clips of Dan White, the convicted
killer of Milk and Mayor George Moscone, as well as the
ravings of Sally> Kern of Otdahoma and her other Kern Krew
members in Oklahoma where I live, they have a single uniting
fear: fear of change, be it social, legal, enviromnental, or
scientific.
Michelle Goldberg, author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise
of Christian Nationalism, has written, "Modernity is the
enemy of fundamentalist religion, and gende>bending is the
hallmark of modernity." ( ,a~v.religiondispatches.org )
We’re probably too familiar with the Santayana quote, "Those
who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." So,
let’s get acquainted with a new one that’s explicitly forward
looldng, by George Bernard Shaw: "We are made wise not by
the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our
tq~tture."
Times of Hawey Mill~’ available free online at http://
tinyurl.com/7qyaco.
"No doubt ~hrren is on the ,vrong side on gay marriage and
openly hostile to the gay community, but he isn’t the new"
president," said Arkansas native Pippa Roc~’ord, 42, another
inauguration spectator. ’%)~’re going to be much better off:
then ever before with President Obama."
Obama’s positions on GLBT issues are more liberal than
either Bush’s or even former President Bill Clinton. Mthough
not a supporter of gay marriage, he opposes legislation to ban
it and h~s asserted flail support for civil unions with rights
equal to marriage. According to the ~Thite House website,
President Obama supports the repeal of the "Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell" pollW for service members and of the Defense of
Marriage Act. The White House also cites Obama’s support
for stronger hate crimes laws, for housing anti-discrimination
laws inclusive of orientation language, for adoption equality
and for a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strateD:
ABC
News online reported just prior to the inauguration that
Obama intends to nominate openly ga,v John Berry, director
of the Smithsonian~ National Zoo, as Director of the O~ce
of Personnel Management. Berry was Assistant SecretaW of
the Interior during Bill Clinton’s administration. Obama has
also nominated a lesbian, Nancy Sutley, as chairwoman of the
Council on Environmental Qsiality.
Pinning down president’s roles in GLBT issues has not been
easy in recent administrations. Although considered generally
amenable to the GLBT community, President Clinton,s record
on gay rights includes his signature on both the Defense of
Marriage Act in 1996 and the 1993 Colin Powetl- led strateD,
of"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." Bush was openly supportive of a
federal ban on gay marriage and retained "Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell" under fire; but also was the first Republican president
to appoint an openly gay man to serve in his administration,
Scott Evertz as Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy:
Bush’s nominee as ambassador to Romania, Michael E. Guest,
became the first openly gay man to be confirmed by the
Senate as a U.S. ambassador. ~e first openly gay ambassador,
James Hormel, received a recess appointment from Clinton
aAer the Senate failed to confirm the nomination.
Obama’s Gay ghts Agenda
By Greg Steele
Within ~ninutes after President Obama took the oath of office
on Jan 20, the official x~q~ite House webpage ( http:/Aw,-w.
whitehouse.govlagenda/civil_rightsl ) was updated under
the heading of"~]~e Agenda, Civil Rights" to detail Obamgs
support fbr tbe LGBT community. His stated agenda include
the following:
÷ Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against
LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest categoU of
hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of
such crimes.
Why else do they suck like leeches so tenaciously to a way
Ger~dd kibana~ ~s d*e autkor (ft~,e new novd ]’etcr ~" a.fi~mousg~3’ rock, tar of living now 5,000 thousand years old with its treatment
who go~s ~nco~a~m to.find £we. (W~Tn&wrmctvaaw’.~)m) L~bonati is an awan’£ of people as property~ a destructive dominance over the
winningjournalist in Soud* E/orie& worki*ag/ar d~e &n-&**tind environment, the elevation of a small, "pure" minoriW to rule
news~,~pe~: He kas also written~r 7~)eMiamiHe~z,~{ ~e A&ocam and over all that~ considered different, and like leeches, drain the
jlvea~ncesJ~r~qesbi,~n new~&ers around the count*7. vigor of human imagination from our society?
........Continued See GkSK AGENDA Page 15
10 Met~~oSTAR Februaw 2009
@ Fight Wbrkplace Discrimination: President Obama
supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and
Oldahomans for Equality art
gallery opens Maegan Kauffman
’Zetting Go" @ Maegan KauflCman
The exhibit will remain up through the month of February,
and can be viewed Monday thru Saturday from 3-9pm. ~Ilne
Dennis R. Neill Equality Center is located at 621 E. 4th St.,
in downtown Tulsa. More info can be found on the web at
okeq.org.
This monthly event is hosted by Oklahoman’s for Equality-
(OkEq). OkEq seel~s equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
& Transgender (LGBT) individuals and families through
advocac){, education, programs, alliances, and the operation of
the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.
TULSA, OK (PR) __ Nae Dennis R. Neill Equality Center
art gallery will host its monthly First Thursday meet-the-artist
reception from 6-gpm, Nmrsday, February 5th, 2009, for the
opening of its new exhibit, featuring the charcoal drawings of
artist Maegan Kauffman.
Maegan Kauffman is an artist from Tulsa, OK. She graduated
from Skiatook High School in May of 2005. Currently,
Maegan is attending the Fred Jones Jr. School ofArt at the
University of Oldahoma where she works as a Teacher’s
Assistant for Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies,
Professor Robert Dohrmann. She is a member of The Red
Clay Faction Ceramics Club and will graduate with her
Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in May of 2010.
"As an artist, I draw my inspiration fiom life and the human
body as it differs from individual to individual," states Ms.
Kauff)nan. "I am inspired by the human condition and
the way that we not only deal with the challenges we face
out in the world, but also with the inner battles we have
within ourselves. The way that a person feels on the inside is
expressed through that person~ demeanor, the way they hold
their body, and the way they force a smile. By capturing
people’s expressions and their body language, I capture
their inner emotional state. I consider my artwork realistic
expressionism, in which I portray my subjects in a photo
realistic manner. Although I put much emphasis on realistic
rendering, I use techniques like contrast and composition to
express sentiments of the individual portrayed."
Maegan continues, "I enjoy all of the different aspects of
figurative drawing, including the challenge of proportions
and morphing mere shapes and shadows into recognizable
form. When I approach a new piece, I don’t necessarily look
at my subject as a whole, but as a million different forms.
I concentrate on rendering each individual form accurately
and in the end the forms melt together into one cohesive
image. Charcoal is nay medium of choice for rendering these
images. I have learned to manipulate the charcoal, by shading,
blending, and crisping edges, to achieve the image desired.
The high distinction between tones of dark, medium, and
light give the subject matter a tangible quality."
Qffe-Broadway’spopular musical corn@ Alter Boyz is set to rock
the masses at Tulsa’s PAC.
TULSA, OK (PR) __ ALTAR BOYZ is the hilarious account
of a struggling Christian boy band from Greenville, Ohio.
The Boyz - intent on saving souls and raising spirits - are
on the last night of their "Raise the Praise" U.S. tour and
determined to make the big time. There’s Matthew, the
hunky leadm; who holds the group together; Mark, the sweet
and sensitive one, who choreographs all the band’s signature
moves; Luke, the bad boy with an interest in communion
wine and driver of the Altar Boyz van; Juan, the Latin lover
who’s popular with the ladies; and Abraham, a nice Je,vish boy
who’s not sure how he ended up in the group.
Spectacular music...sinfully sensational dancing...faith that’s
stronger than their hair gel .... The ALTAR BOYZ get ready
to rock the masses of all denominations by spreading the
good news and soothing the troubled souls ofTulsa through
the glory of sweet pop music. Produced by Grace Man
Productions, ALTAR BOYZ makes its Tulsa debut March 6-
15, 2009 at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.
Tickets for ALTAR BOYZ, priced $25 to $35 with special
2-top cabaret table seating at $90 are on sale nox~; at the Tulsa
Performing Arts Center Box Office, by phone call (918) 596-
7111 or purchase on-line at www.myticketoffice.com.
Kansas City’s Gay Chorus Makes
Oklahoma Debut
ICANSAS CITY, MO (PR) __ Heartland Men’s Chorus,
Kansas Ci@ gay men’s chorus, will present a flee concert
performance of And Justice for All at the Village Christian
Church (9401 Ridgeview Drive) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
March 3, 2009. Singing out in Kansas City for more than 23
years, the concert will mark the Oklahoma City debut of this
renowned group of singers. A fi’ee-will offering will benefit the
BritVil Food Pantry.
Among the largest gay meffs choruses in the nation,
Heartland Men’s Chorus has won acclaim for its daring
programming and unique choral sound. More than 100
singers are expected to travel to Oldahoma City for this special
benefit performance ofAnd Justice for Al!.
"llae concert combines lnusic, narration and multi-media in
a unique "musicaI documentary" format, that has become a
halhnark of HMC. The performance will trace the struggles
of Afiican Americans, women, gays and lesbians in their quest
for civil rights. Audience members can expect to hear inusic
spawned fiom the various civil rights movements ("We Shall
Overcome"), music inspired by iconic historical events ("Elegy
for Matthew") and songs that resonate on the theme of social
justice ("You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught").
This concert marks the first regional tour for HMC. In
addition to the performance at Village Christian Church,
the men will perform at the American Choral Directors
Association annual conference (to be held in Oklahoma City)
and present a special weekday matinee for middle and highschool
students in Kansas City.
"Reaching out to diverse audiences is an integral part of our
mission," says artistic director Dr. Joe Nadeau. "This particular
concert, combining our music with an important social
justice message, was the perfect vehicle to bring ’the HMC
experience’ to those who may not have had a chance to hear
us perform before."
www.metrostarnews.com ~!~ ~"<~STAR 11
OKC Community Center
Planning Committee Meets
By Jeanne Flanigan
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK __ The steering committee for the
OKC LGBT Community Center met January 21 at Church
of the Open Arms, 3131 N. Pennsylvania. The meeting was
attended by 10 people, some representing organizations and
some attending as individuals. The goal is to have a building
to house a communitT center.
Several have volunteered to take responsibilities for aspects
of planning for the center, and some want to be identified
by first name only, for privacy concerns. Facilitator/Chair of
the steering committee is Henry, Building committee chair
is Ginger, Finance committee chair is Margaret, Program
committee is Larry Schockley, PR/Outreach committee is
Eric, and Governance committee is Saul Olivarez.
"I]~e cormnittee will begin the process of forming a non-profit
501 C3 organization by reviewing the mission statements of
other organizations, selecting a temporary name for the center,
forming a board, and writing bylaws. The committee invites
anyone interested to make suggestions for a name, attend
raeetings, and help advance the process.
~ne PR/Outreach committee will establish a website
eventually, but for no,v people can communicate to the
committee at okcglbtcenter@ gmail.com. The next meeting
will be on February 19, at 6 pro, at Church of the Open
Arms.
K~ns~s City’s w~rld renowned g~I/men s chorus comes ~ Okl~h~rn~ City
~nd mm,ing ~ne-night-~nly performance.
Mickey Coalwell, The Kansas City Star
12 %~A oSTAR February 2009
Health Departments
React with A arm to
New CDC Surveillance
Data
STD Rates Higher Than Ever While Funding
For Prevention Declines
(PRWEB) January 15, 2009 -- Today, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
released national sexually transmitted disease
(STD) surveillance data for 2007. The report
shows persistent and staggeringly high rates of
STDs as welt as a disproportionate burden of
infections on youth, minorities, and women.
Upon the release of this information, the
National Coalition ofSTD Directors called
for a renewed commitment ftom Congress
and President Obama to fight the STD
epidemic in the U.S.
In 2007, more than
1.1 million Chlamydia
cases were reported,
which is the largest
number of cases ever
reported to CDC for
any condition. Rates of
primary and secondary
(P & S) syphilis
increased by 15% from
2006, and 65% of all
P & S syphilis cases
were among men who
since Fiscal Year 2003. This has significandy
hampered the ability ofSTD programs in
state and local health departments to deliver
critical prevention and treatment services,
as well as conduct surveillance. "State and
local health departments are responsible
for controlling this epidemic and often
are the medical providers of last resort for
persons with STDs. There needs to be a
systematic reinvestment in the public health
infrastructure to provide the necessaiT clinical
services to diagnose and treat STDs and
contact exposed partners to insure that they
are treated and further spread is prevented,"
stated Dr. Peter Kerndt, NCSD Board Chair
and STD Program Director from Los Angeles
County.
"In addition to the need for a greater
investment of resources for CDC’s Division
of STD Prevention, NCSD strongly urges
Congress and President Obama to support
:evidence-based
"This report should serve as a
wake up call to policymakers
and the public that STDs remain
a significant public health threat
in the U.S., and a scaled up
investment of funds are desperately
needed for prevention and
treatment."
prevention programs
to prevent STDs,
particularly for young
people," stated Don
Clark. More than
$1.6 billion in federal
funds have been
spent on abstinenceonly-
until-marriage
programs, which
have been unable
effectiveness at
have sex with men (MSM). In addition, the delaying sexual activity, or reducing rates of
report shows persistent and growing racial STDs, including HIV/AIDS, or unintended
d!sparities in Chlamydia, Syphilis, and pregnancy. Clark continued, "It is time to end
Gonorrhea infections. In 2007, Blacks were these ineffective and harmful programs, and
19 times more likely to become infected with invest ifi sciefice based ~ipproaches to STD
Gonorrhea than whites, prevention, including comprehensive sex
education."
CDC estimates that approximately I~ million
STD infections occur each year, and nearly
half are among those aged 15:24. African
American women between 15 and 19 are
particularly hard hit, accounting for the
highest rates of Chlan~ydia and Gonorrhea
of any group. The consequences of untreated
STDs include infertility, pregnancy
complications, cervical cancer, pelvic
inflammatory disease, birth defects and an
increased risk of HIV transmission.
While rates of STDs have continued to
increase, federal funding for CDC’s Division
of STD Prevention has steadily declined
The National Coalition of STD Directors
is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association of
public health sexually transmitted disease
(STD) program directors in the 65 CDC
directly funded project areas, which includes
all 50 states, 7 cities, and 8 U.S. territories.
As the only national organization with a
constituency that provides frontline STD
services, NCSD is the leading national
voice for strengthening STD prevention,
research and treatment. These efforts include
advocating for effective policies, strategies,
and sufficient resources, as xvell as increasing
awareness of the medical and social impact of
STDs.
’~ place wherey’~t c~ be who God c-mated
you to be ips becomefamit~v"
5:30 p,m.
761-[878
www.metrostarnews.com ~&~t~°oSTAR 13
Wockner News Service
een to Might British
AIDS activist
Queen Elizabeth II ~mnounced on New i%r’s
Eve */ant she will ~ni£ht leadin£AIDS activist
Ni~ Partdd£e, chi~executiw" ofthe AIDS
o,gmdzation ~n’ence Hi,,ins ~’ust. THT
Queen Elizabefl~ II announced on New Year’s
Eve that she will knight leading MDS activist
Nick Partridge, chief executive of the MDS
organization Terrence Higgins Trust.
Partridge told the BBC he was "absolutely
delighted" by the honor.
He will be "invested" later this year when
Elizabeth lays a sword on his shoulders.
Aussie gay partners
gain access to military
pensions
Australian gays and lesbians will have access
to their deceased partners’ military pensions
starting in July.
The move follows a 2003 ruling by the ofiqce
of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, which found Australia’s
refusal to grant the pensions in violation of
the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
Sweden will not
recognize Canadian
Two S~vedish Lutheran ministers, Lars
Gfirdfeldt and Lars Arnell, have lost their fin!l
appeal in a case seeking recognition of their
Canadian same-sex marriage.
The Supreine Administrative Court agreed
with lower courts Dec. 16 that foreign samesex
marriages can be recognized in Sweden
only as registered partnerships.
~e case targeted Sweden’s taxation authority
for allegedly mislabeling the couple’s union.
"Ihe ruling, however, may have a limited
lifespan. Sweden’s government favors granting
same-sex couples full access to marriage, and
a new law is expected to be in place by the
middle of 2009.
Senegal }ails nine men
for having gay sex
Nine gay men in Dakar, Senegal, were
jailed for eight years Jan. 6 for the crimes of
having gay sex and belonging to a "criminal
association," an HIV-services group.
On Dec. 19, police raided the apartment of
gay leader Diadji Diouf, arrested him and
the other men, and confiscated Condoms arid
lubricants.....
The men were taken to a police station and
held until Dec. 24, then transferred to a
detention center, where they were held until
trial. Human Rights \Vc’atch said the men were
beaten while in custody.
According to the International Gay and
Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the
men’s lawyers had only limited access to case
files and little time to prepare for the hearing.
At the trial, prosecutors reportedly used the
confiscated condoms and lube as evidence
tha~ the men had engaged in gay sex.
The men received the maximum five-year
sentence for engaging in what the Penal Code
calls "an improper or unnatural act with a
person of the same sex" and three additional
years for being members of the HIV-services
organization AIDES Sdndgal, the "cril~ninal
associatiom"
HRgZ said the sentences have "produced
widespread panic among organizations
addressing HIV and MDS, particularly those
working with men who have sex with men."
Tl~e arrests occurred several days after Senegal
hosted the 15th International Conference
on AIDS and STIs (sexually transmitted
infections) in Africa. Presentations at the
conference highlighted the contradictions
in countries such as Senegal that aim HIVprevention
efforts at men who have sex with
men but continue to criminalize same-sex
relations.
Last February, 10 men and a woman were
arrested in Dakar, the capital city, after a
popular magazine published photographs of
a purported marriage ceremony between two
Senegalese men.
Although the individuals were later released,
"the publicity and arrests created tremendous
public animosity toward LGBT people in
Senegal," IGLHRC said.
"MaW gay men and lesbians were attacked
by mobs or driven fi’om their homes," the
organization said.
Ugandan gay activists
win awsuit
In a landmark victory, the High Court of
Uganda ruled Dec. 22 that constitutional
rights apply to GLBT people.......... ....
Activists Victor Mukasa and Yvonne Oyoo
had sued the attorney general following
a 2005 raid at Mukasa’s home in which
documents were seized and Oyoo was
arrested, assaulted and sexually
harassed. Mukasa was not present
at the time of the raid.
Justice Stella Arach Amoko found
that the raid violated the activists’
rights to, among other things,
liberty; privacy, dignity, and
protection from unlawful entry,
unlawful search, unauthorized
seizure and inhuman treatment.
"The actions of the officials that
molested Victor Mukasa and
Oyoo were unconstitutional,
inhuman, and should be
condemned," Arach Amoko said.
AIDS societies call for
release ofimprisoned
Senegalese gays
"ihe International AIDS Society and the
Society for AIDS in Afi’ica have demanded
that Senegal release nine men who were sent
to prison for eight years on Jan. 6 for the
crimes of engaging in gay sex and belonging
to a "criminal association," the HIV-services
group AIDES Sdndgal.
"The arrest of these men based purely on their
sexual orientation represents a major setback
for the Senegalese response to HIV, which
is widely viewed as a model in Africa," SAA
President Joanna Mangueira said Jan. 12.
The nine men were sentenced in Dakar, the
capital, after being arrested and jailed Dec.
19 following a raid on the apartment of gay
leader Diadji Diouf.
At the trial, prosecutors used condoms and
lube confiscated during the raid to prove that
the men had engaged in gay sex.
The men received the maximum five-year
sentence for doing what the Penal Code calls
"an improper or unnatural act with a person
of the same sex" and three additional years
for being members of the "criminal" HIV
organization.
...............More XXrorld News Page 18
~Ihe case was brought by Edward Young of
Sydney, whose partner of 38 years died 10
years ago.
"What I wanted was to take on the little
man, (former Prime Minister John) Howard,
and fight," Young told Nae Sydney Morning
Herald. "What I wanted was something that
would apply right across the board."
After the 2003 ruling, the former Howard
government procrastinated in reviewing its
policy, Howard was replaced by Kevin Rudd
in December.
"IGLHRC is deeply concerned by what
appears to be a violation of the right to a flee
and fair trial, the right to privacy and the
right to freedom from discrimination," the
group said.
"These charges will have a chilling effect on
AIDS programs," added Scott Long, director
of Human Rights \Vatch’s LGBT Rights
Division. "Outreach workers and people
seeking HIV prevention or treatment should
not have to worry about police persecution.
Senegal should drop these charges and repeal
its sodomy law (which) invades privacy,
criminalizes health work, justifies brutality
and feeds fear."
"It was my dream that justice
would come and it has come,"
Mukasa said after the ruling.
"And it is my bigger dream
that justice will come to every
human being in Uganda who is
oppressed. This does not mark
the end. ~Ihe struggle continues
until every human being is free."
14 ~i?et ’oSTAR February 2009
@ Bamboo Lounge, Tulsa
@Club 209, Tulsa
@ The Copa, Oklahoma City
@ Finishline, Oklahoma City-
@Club Majestic, Tulsa
@ Tulsa Eagle, Tulsa
@ The End Up, Tulsa @Angles, Oklahoma City
believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws
should be expanded to include sexual orientation and
gender identitT.
@ Support Ftfll Civil Unions and Federa! Rights
fbr LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full
civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and
privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also
believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act
and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+
federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the
basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in
civil unions and other legally-recognized unions.
@ Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage:
President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage
Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage
as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial
extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other
umnarried couples.
@ Repeal Don’t Ask-Dofft Tell: President Obama
agrees w’ith former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need
to repeal the "don’t ask, don’t tell" polic?:
@ Expaald Adoption Rights: President Obama believes
that we must enstire adoption rights for all couples and
individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He
thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving
home, whether the parents are gay or not.
@ Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his
presidency.
@ Empower’Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the
United States, the percentage ofwomen diagnosed with
AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today,
women account for more than one quarter of all new
HtV/AIDS diagnoses, President Obama introduced the
Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the
development Of products that empower women in the
battle against AIDS.
National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force responds to President
Obama inauguration speec
xWASHINGTON, DC (PR) __ ~Ihe National Gay and
l~sbian Task Force responded today to President Barack
Obama’s inauguration speech.
"America made history today ~vith the swearing-in of
Barack Obama as its 44th president. It is our hope this
truly marl~ the dawn of a new political era ofengagement
in the life of this country. In his gpeech, the president
spoke of our nation’s need to reat~rm its enduring spirit
and ’carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea ...
[the] promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve
a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.’
"Our country has made significant strides in advancing
this ’noble ideg toward ful!-fledged realitT, but we’re
not there yet. Too many people continue to face
discrimination and hardship. As President Obama
assumes the role ofAmeric~s ~’oremost leader, we call
upon him to fulfill the promise of a nation where lesbian,
ga~, bisexual and transgender people are recognized
and valued as part of this country’s strength, spirit
and solution. ~e fact tl~at the ot~cial White House
Web site was updated just this afternoon with a list
of commitments to LGBT rights is already enormous
positive change."
www.metrostarnews.com ~®troSTAR 15
Loo ng for some new exciting wines ?
You may wanna check these’ out.
"We Just got back fi’om a California road trip. Vie were lieading
south on ~iuT 101/a road trip fi’om Napa to Paso R0bles2
My partner & I did one of our famous annual
~vhifl wind holiday road tours through
northern California There are a lot ofwineries
between Napa & Paso Robles. Grape growing
regions are expanding every year and we
never have time to see as much as ~ve want to.
California has so many wineries to experience
and they’re all zip and dmvn the coast. We
visited quite a few tasting rooms in 3 days and
tried out some really good ~vines. If the wines
are listed here, it’s because we fonnd them and
the service to be quite exceptional. Not all we
sampled will be listed here and although many
are not available here in Oklahoma, you may be
surprised to find out which ones are.
Here are some highlights from our trip:
Napa
Silver Oak/Alexander Valley Cabernet "04
Miner Oracle Red ’05 and the ~qld Yeast
Chardonnay ’07
Saddleback Scouts Honor named after wine
maker Niels Venge’s late dog. This wine is
naostly Zin with Petite Sirah and Charbono.
Cult Wine Central is a good place to go and
check out some ofNapa’s more serious wines all
under one rooflike Ghost Block Cabernet and
many, many more.
Monterey
Ventana Chardonnay Arroyo Seco ’06
Paso Robles
Rotta Cabernet ’05 & the Heritage Zin ’06,
Opolo Summit Creek Zin ’06
Cambria Viognier 07. Bench Break Pinot
Noir ’06, Julia’s Pinot Noir ’06 anSthc Tepu--
quet Vineyard Syrah ’05
Dierberg Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir &
Chardonnay both are ’06 and estate grmvn.
Fess ~Parker Santa Barbara County Viognier
’07 & Melange Blanc ’06 (Marsanne, Ro)~fi
& Granache Blanc).
Zaca Mesa Estate Rousanne ’06
Firestone Cabernet Franc Rose ’07
These wines are
than describe the
invite you to go
questions and purchase a bottle
some food & wine with
out for yourself.
Photo: M~ D in California wine country
This writer is one ofthe managers at the Grand Vin
~vine shop. He also bar tends and hosts ,vine & food
events known in town as the
Wine Enthusiasts ofTulsa.
~References include:
ww. ~neSpectator.com
w.lffqneCount~7-his~ek.com
~w.CultI~neCentral.com
This months recipe courtesy of: 1 cup Green onion
2 ts Oregano
2 drops Red hot sauce (optional)
Cajun spices (blackened or Cajun king
herbed spice excellent) to taste
Salt to taste
2 cups Raw white rice
~AlligatorJambalaya
Ingredients:
lb Marinated alligator fillet cut into small
pieces
1 lb Hot sausage (Italian) cur into chunks
3 tbs Oil
213 cup Bell peppers chopped
2 cloves Garlic crushed
3/4 cup Parsley
1 cup Chopped fi-esh parsley
1 cup Ch@i3ed celery
2 can Tomatoes ~16 oz each)
2 cups Chicken stock (2 pkg chicken cube
mix + water also works)
To prepare:
In deep frying pan (cast iron preferably) sautd
the bell pepper, garlic, parsley and celery.
While this is c~oking, adT:l tomatoes & their
liquid, the chicken stock &, green onion to
a pot that can cook on the stove and in the
oven (Corningware) Stir in spices, sautded
vegetables raw rice, sausage and alligator fillet
pieces. Cook on medium-high heat until
liquid is absorbed (stir occasionally to make
sure rice doesn’t burn on bottom) and then
bake covered in the oven for 25 minutes.
NOTE: Alligator meat may not be available
in your area, try chicken breast fillet as a
substitute:
16 ~’>~ roSTAR February 2009
At ~e BOK Center Tulsa
L~"W ~e Cable Guy
Feb 13, 2009 at BOK Center
’Eat, Drink, and Be Larry"
Tickets On Sate Nov 21 @ 10am
Prices: $I0, $25.75, $43.75
The man who added the catchphrase "Git-R-Done" to the
Banerican lexicon is coming to Tulsa! Dan Whitney, known
better as Larry The Cable Gu> has proven to be one of the
most successful comics. Larry has received a Billboard Top
Comedy Tour Award.
For a limited time, we are offering an ’Economic Recovery
Package’ where select tickets are buy one get one free. N~is
off)r on select seats is valid Friday, November 2tst at 10am
until Monday, November 24tb at 6pm gq-tlLE SUPPLIES
~ST!
Smucker~ Stars on Ice
Feb 15, 2009 at BOK Center
"On The Edge" "Tour
Sunday, Feb 15th @ 3pm
Tickets: $25, $40, $70, $115
Group Discounts: Receive $5 off groups of 10+, Additional
incentives for groups of 25+!!! Please call 918-894-4252
to purchase yonr group tickets today and find out more
information!
In the year leading up to the 2010 Winter Games, skating
fans will not find a better preview of America’s favorite
Olympic sport. This year Tulsa skating fans are in for a real
treat; Smucker’s Stars on Ice is proud to welcome Evan
~vsacek, Two-time U.S. Champion as a very specia! guest for
this performance.
Trace Adkdns
NEW DATE: FEBRUARY 19, 2009
with special guest: Craig Morgan. Ticket Prices: $52 and $42
Due to illness, the Trace Adkins concert for Frida?,; December
5th was postponed until Timrsday, February 19, 2009.
A series of dates on the tour have been rescheduled after
management reported that he had the intestinal flu and
needed rime off to recover. M1 tickets previously purchased
will be honored. Refunds will be available at point of
The V¢-or|d-Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
Mar 1, 2009 at BOK Center
Tt~e World-Famous Lipizzaner Stallions
Sunday; March 1, 2009 Showtimes: 2pm & 6pm
Ticket Prices: $34.50, $29.50, & $24.50
Group Discount:
15 or more people get $5 discount on $24.50 tickets and
$29.50 tickets. Call 918-894-4252 for more information
Photo: Helen Mirren
Mirren, Gershon, Jordan
Saddle Up for Love Rmach
Do you want to see Helen Mirren
as the madam of Nevada’s first legal
brothel? Ofcourse you do, and
now you can. She and Joe Pesci will
play reaMife married entrepreneurs
Grace and Charlie Botempo in Love
Ranch, directed by Taylor Ha&ford
(who~ also Mirren’s husband). The
cast of gay-adjacent favorites also
includes Gina Gershon and Bai Ling
- playing, one would assume, "rancla
hands" - as well as the hilarious Leslie
Jordan (Sordid Lives, Wil! & Grace).
Between Mirren and Gershon alone,
there~ enough caree>spanning
cinematic Sapphic scenarios to Photo: LeslieJordan
melt your Caligula and Bound DVDs into liquid plastic, and that’s not even
counting the cast members who are actually homosexual. Add Ling and Jordan
- one brazen bisexual and one screaming queen, respectively - and it sounds
like Love Ranch will offer lots of queer pleasure when it hits theaters later this
year.
Tomlin Swaddles Sweet Baby Jesus
pro Steve Bendelack (M~: Bean’s Holiday), the film offers
an interestingly, eclectic cast, including lesbian goddess Lily
Tomlin, Christopher Guest regular Michael McKean, Freddy
Got Fingered creator Torn Green, the eve>unpredictable
Melanie Griflith, and bear pin-up Hagrid himself, Robbie
Coltrane. With any luck, Sweet Baby Jesus will be a blessed
theatrical event this December.
Romeo loves a good Christmas movie - and if it’s got a whiff
of sacrilege, so much the better. Sweet Baby Jesus certainly
sounds promising; its about pregnant teenager Mary (Alison
Pill of Milk), who returns to her hometown of Bethlehem,
Md., at Christmastime. Mary’s got an older boyfriend named
Joe - but he’s not the baby’s father, leading rumors to s~virl
among the locals that Mary is about to give birth to Jesus in
his second coming. Directed by British comedy
Can Shankanan Make Bil:die Fly? Kathy Griffin Mouths Off for 50 Years
What do you get when you cross Finding Nemo ~vith An
Inconvenient Truth? Presumably Around the World in 50
Years 3D, an upcoming animated feature about a sea turtle
who hatches in !959 and spends the next five decades
traveling all over the Earth and observing what global
warming and climate change are doing to the planet. You can’t
make a cartoon without an all-star voice cast these days, and
Around the World_features gay icon ICathy Gril~n. (Can you
really stil! be on the "D List" after you’ve won two Emmys
and been nominated for a Grammy? Discuss.) Also piping
up for the film are Tim Curry, Jenny McCarthy, Anthony
Anderson, and the exceedingly ecology-minded Ed Begley Jr.
This 3D animated feature is set to turn your kids’ consciences
green later this year or in early 2010.
For years, Columbia Pictures has tried to launch a remake of
its 1960s hit musical Bye Bye Birdie, about teenage hysteria
over an Elvis-like rock icon going into the army: Tina Fey
took a crack at a new script, and John Chu (Step Up 2 the
Streets) was hired fresh out of film school to make a youthoriented
hip-hop version of the property. After those efforts
failed to soar, the studio is now turning to one of the few
people responsible for making screen musicals viable again
- gay Hairspray director Adam Shankrnan. He’ll develop
and produce a new version of Birdie, but he probably won’t
direct; he’s already got _Bob: The Musical_ and a new Sinbad
adventure on his plate. Will Shankman be the wind beneath
Birdies wings? Watch this space for flight information.
Romeo San Vicente has triedforyears to recycle ex-boyj%iends. It doesn’t really work. He can be reached care ofthispublication or at
DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.
www.metrostarnews.com NetroSTAR 17
by Donald Pile and Ray Williams
ATLANTA, GA
"He& Bed and BreakfastAdanm, GA
We finally have got to visit the beautiful
city of Atlanta. We usually just drive thru
Atlanta on our way down m Ft. Lauderdale.
However this year we decided to stop and
"smell the Atlanta roses" for a few days and
are we glad that we did! X)ge first checked
into the Hello Bed and Breakfast. Mike, the
owner is extremely friendly and hospitable.
He lmows the city well and can direct you to
anyplace you want to go. Atlanta of course
is a very huge city and there are enough
"Peachtree" streets, avenues, circles, etc. to
get even the best driver lost. His B and B is
tucked away in a nice, quiet neighborhood
in the heart ofAtlanta and is located in the
lush Morningside neighborhood just north
of Midtown and very close to Bucld~ead,
Virginia Highlands, EmorT¢; downtown,
Lennox Mall and Chinatown. You can walk
to many restaurants & nearby shops. They are
just a mile from the Lindbergh Marta Station.
~e railway goes directly to the Airport,
Downtown, and Chinatown. Visit the CNN
Center, Underground Atlanta, Coca-Cola
Museum, MLK & President Carter Centers,
Centennial Olympic & Piedmont Park.
Enjoy their courtyard & small stream through
the property plus a wonderful hot tub. They
are a pet & smoke free home. They have
free Wifi access. You can check out their
website at ~.~v.hellobnb.com. Call him at:
404.892.8111. Email at hellobnb@aol.com
and it is located at 1865 Windermere Drive.
Atlanta is full of gay bars an.d we do mean
FULL of gay bars! ~ere is indeed something
here for everybody! Lots of disco/dancing
bars, leather, cowboy, piano, stripper as well
as wonderful neighborhood bars to enjo): The
bars are packed neatly all the time in Atlanta.
~is is a Major pa~ty town! And everyone
loves to party! The very first bar you need to
visit is BURKHART’S PUB which is located
at 1492 -F in a strip mall and is the friendliest
bar in the entire South! The owners, Mary
and Palmer have set the standard attitude
level for everyone and the rest of the bar
patrons follows. In all of our travels from
coast to coast we have never been
to a friendlier bar. It is a rather
large club with an outdoor patio,
several different bars and offers food
services everyday including salads,
appetizers, sandwiches, entrees and
desserts. The), have a live DJ every
night as well. They have two stories
and you can look down onto the
large crowd belmv. Very simply
put, if you can’t have fun at this
bar, you won’t be able to have fun
anyplace! Check out their ~vebsite:
http://www.burkharts.com/ It
is NOT one of Atlanta’s favorite
bars, it IS Atlanta’s favorite bar!
Tt~e number one person to meet
in Atlanta is a gendeman by the
name of Marko. He can found at Burkhart’s
on most days. He was from New York and
moved to Atlanta a fev¢ years ago and knows
more about hospitality than anyone we
have met. He introduced us to dozens of
people. ~lhe only major drawback to partying
in Atlanta is that it is NOT smoke-free!
Hopefully sometime soon, they will catch up
with the rest of the cities in the country and
have no smoldng!
We dined at Einstein’s Restaurant which is
near midtown at 1077 Juniper Street (12th
& Juniper Streets), website: einsteinsadanta.
com. They have a great atmosphere,
tremendous service and ~bod to die
for! Everything we had was prepared to
perfection. ThiS is THE place to "see and be
seeff’ in gay Atlanta! They serve lunch and
dinner and are open until 11 PM during
the week and Midnight on weekends. On
Saturday and Sundays they open at 10:00
AM offering their famous brunches. Be sure
and stop by for a meal there.
Among the dozens of dozens of attractions
to see in Atlanta are the APEX Museum,
Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta Cyclorama
& Civil War Museum, CNN Center, Carter
Presidential Library and Museum, Georgia
Aquarium, Margaret Mitchell House, World
of Coca- Cola, and the WoodruffArt Center
to name a few.
Since Proposition 8, just ALWAYS remember
to check out businesses before you give them
any of your gay dollars. ~ere are numerous
lists on the internet saying which major
companies financially supported Proposition
8. Never, ever give them a dime of your
money. There are a lot of major companies
who have worked extremely hard with the gay
5ommunity and they are the ones we need to
give our business to.
Before going to aW major city, always check
out: funmaps.com which is the leading gay
site for traveling in the entire country. The
local gay publication is v,~*av.southernvoice.
com and from their xvebsite you can find
listings for gay churches, organizations, gay
community center and most anything else
you need to know about "Ga,v Atlanta: http:/!
www.atlantaga.gov/Visitors/Attractions.
aspxt anything you need to know about
"Gay Atlanta. Also check out: wwvc.atlanta.
net and http:llwww.atlantaga.govlVisitorsl
Attractions.aspx.
Photo: Ray ~lliams, Marko &Donald Pile
Ofcourse we just clm’t stress enough to
remember to have fun when traveling, meet
new people and talk to everyone! In Atlanta,
we want to give a big thanlcs to Marko and
Jasen who are two wonderfu! guys! Thanks
to the owners of Burk~art’s Pub for having
such a wonderful bar! Bar owners around the
country should fly down to Atlanta and see
for themselves what a great bar.
internationa
Euro Parliament pushes
for gay equality
The European Parliament is pushing the 27
member states of the European Union to do
better in treating gay people equally.
The parliament adopted a report Jan. 14 that
urged member nations to recognize each
other’s same-sex partnerships and marriages,
and condemned homophobic hate speech by
political and religious leaders.
The report also calls on the European
Commission to propose legislation to
criminalize anti-gay hate crimes, guarantee
the right of free movement ~vithin the EU for
same-sex couples, and assure that gay people
seeking asylum from anti-gay nations receive
it.
The parliament further requested that a study
be done to gauge the level of harassment and
violence experienced by transsexuals in the 27
nations.
~lhe European Union is composed of Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovalda, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the
United Kingdom.
At least 14 of the nations allow same-sex
marriage or have civil-union or registeredpartnership
laws that grant some, most or all
of the rights and obligations of marriage to
same-sex couples.
In related nevcs, Thomas Hammarberg, the
human rights commissioner for the 47-nation
Council of Europe, recently denounced
the mistreatment of transgender people in
member nations.
"Some people seem to have a problem with
the mere existence of human beings whose
outer expression of their inner gender identity
is not the same as their gender determined at
birth," Hammarberg said. "Aggression against
transgender persons cannot however be
excused as resulting from ignorance or lack of
education. These attitudes cause serious harm
to innocent and vulnerable people and must
therefore be countered.... There is no excuse
for not immediately granting this community
their full and unconditional human rights."
The Council of Europe is composed of
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria,
Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Lt~xembourg, Malta, Moldova,
Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands,
Norway; Poland, Portugal, Romania,
the Russian Federation, San Marino,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, "The former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia," Turkey, Ukraine and the
United Kingdom.
18 February 2009
resort hotels,
; Arts and
www.metrostarnews.com {~{®t~’oSTAR 19
OKC Civic Center
d & by Greg Fox
sic Hall Febmmry Events
Feb Ray’s 83rd Birthday Show
Feb. 3 - Feb. 5 Tyler I errys The Marrmge
Counselor
Feb. 6 .- Mar. 1 LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Feb. 7
Feb. 8
Feb. 13
Feb. I3
Feb. t3
Feb. 18
Feb. 20
P~INVENTtNG THE PAST:
PAPJF II presented by the
Okiahoma Cio~ Philharmonic
Brian Rcgan
- Mar. 1 H~{Y FE~,nER by Noel
Coward
- Mar. 7 ~MOST, MAINE a
romantic comedy by John Cariani
- Feb. 14 P~S ROUGE - OKC
Ballet Company
Menopause the Musical
- Feb. 21 POP GOES ~GAS!
presented by the ONahoma Ci~,
Philharmonic
Rose State College
Performing Arts Center
Feb 18, 2009 Menopause the Musical
Mar 26, 2009 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
February At ~e P.A.C.
Feb 4 David Finckel and Wu Han @ John
H. Williams Theatre
Feb 6-31 FP,]~E Highway 412 PAC
Gallery
Feb 17 ,~ infinite Ache @ Liddy Doenges
~eatre
Feb 20-25 Oprah ~gZinfrey Presents: 7he
Color Purple @ Chapman Music Hall
Feb 23 The Tannahill Weavers @ John H.
~’Xqlliams Theatre
Feb 24 P~atph’s World @ John H. Williams
~aeatre
Feb 27 Ethel Cabaret @ Lid@ Doenges
~aeatre
Feb 28 Ethel Concert @ John H. Williams
"Theatre
Metro Star Classfieds
2" square for as litde as
$39 per issue.
Emaih starnews@sbcglobaLnet
SAVE & FILL YOUR PIGGY
20 ~%troSTAR
E-Mail- KylesBnR@aol.com
ema I b tterg rl@q>]ndicate corn www,joanhiity,net _.~-~,0~
February 2009
by Jack Fertig February 2009
"Accept flattery, Capricorn!"
With Venus going into Aries and Mars
going into Aquarius, latch on to bold,
creative impulses. Take the flirtatious
chances that you normally wouldn’t
dare to. Think of new approaches to
artistic projects you’ve been considering,
and get started!
ARIES (March 20 -April 19): Trust
those inspirational sparks that seem to
come out of nowhere, even though they
do need the guidance of a practiced
expert - and some improvements you
won’t think of - to help you bring them to
successful fruition.
TAURUS (ArR 20 - May 20): Wellmeaning
friends offering "helpful suggestions"
can unwittingly hit a nerve. Try
to take it all in good humor, or just thank
them for sharing. Political or philosophical
arguments can be less personal and
more enlightening. Speak up and state
your opinions!
GEM~N~ (May 21 - June 20): Someone
in charge is taking an interest in you.
It could be professional or sexual. This
could be great for your career or just a
lot of drama at work. Keep your eyes
open and think ahead, and you’ll be
fine.
CANCER (June 21 o Ju~y 22): The
stars offer a new romantic adventure!
~f you’re partnered, that could alleviate
boredom, but include your mate in
the fuu! Anything sporty and sweaty’ is
good, perhaps ro!!#r skating in the park
or exploring some kink.
LEO (July 23 -August 22): "(’our eagerness
to try new sexual techniques
could leave you open to catching
something very nasty. Think ahead on
prophylaxis whenever you try anything
(or anyone) new! And when was your
last check-up? You’re probably fine, but
make sure to get yourself tested.
WRGO (August 23 - September 22):
Even if you’re long-partnered, this is a
great time for innovative romantic fun
and games. With the love of your life or
an _amour du jour_, treat love as an art
and explore new techniques.
HERA (September 23 - October 22):
You’ll get a better or more frequent
workout if you figure out how to make
it more fun. Exercising at home or with
a group of friends you regard as family
can help. At least shake it up with some
variety.
SCORHO (October 23 - November
21): Playful banter can lead you into
revealing more of yourself than you
intended. This can be good, prompting
more intimacy and openness in your
friendships. Spats along the way should
be easily reconciled. Just don’t take
yourself so seriously!
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December
20): Rather than acting on
shopaholic impulses, use them as clues
to think about what you want, what you
really need, and how to practice more
efficient economy. A household inventory
can also spur a smarter approach
to finances.
CAPRICORN (December 21 - January
19): Accept flattery and flirtations with
good grace, enjoying them as passing
pleasantries. Try practicing the art of
compliments and flirtation yourself. It
can be done without compromising your
integrity!
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February
t8): "Retail therapy" is not therapy at
all, but a symptom of deeper needs.
When you get that expensive impulse,
stop and ask what you really want.
Deal with the deeper disappointments
provoking a yen for compensation, and
you’ll be stronger and richer!
PISCES (February t9 - March 19):
Wear more of the clothing or jewelry
you’ve received as gifts. The m~rror of
your friends’ eyes can show not only
sides of yourself that you rarely consider,
but also more of your potential.
METROPOLITAN
COMMUNITY CHURCHES
Rev Steve T. Uric
SpidtofChdst MCC
2902 E 20th Slreet
Joplin, MO 64804
417-529-8480
Worship Saturdays at 10:00 AM
Community Meal Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
MCC of the Living Spdng
17 Elk S eet
Eureka Springs, AR 72632
479-253-9337
Worship Sundays at 6:00 PM
67 68
Across
1 The number of people who like it hot
5 New York Liberty game offiCials
9 Pink, fbr one
14 Retreat f~r D.H. Lawrence
15 Colorado, to Co~teau
16 Garment with a flared bottom
! 7 Sui~x with leather
dance dub anthem
23 Grid coach Amos ~Alonzo
24 One who looks into c®stal balls
25 Sam6-~eX vow in Conn~:eticut
28 Prepare i6 +h00{ ....
30 Toni c6U~iengm0vie,~,vith The
32 Coi+ por+er Song +ha Wak ahit fo}+Eartha
Kitt ~
37 Cashdrawers
38 "~ake a crack
39 Conquers, sexually
42 Composer EdoUard
43 Smallbush
45 Eartha Kitt~ role on Barman
3 Choral work at Metropolitan Community
Chur&
4 Gay fbrmer NFL player Tuaolo
5 Field ofGene RoBinson
6 Sappho’s H~
7 Sows one’s seed. e~c.
8 Didn’t leave the next morning
9 Minnelli movie
10 Brothers & Sisters producer Ken
11 Labium
12 A Chorus Line song
13 Color ofa Columbus circuit party
2 t "How queer !"
33 It puts people out
34 Rubbers on rims
35 Macho man
36 Facial follower
40 Article ofFrida
47 Began a hole, to Patty Sheehan 41 Have between your legs
50 Lanka head ~Animal painter Rosa
46 TuI~ Ofl~ubic hair, e.g;
51 MTF operation
52 Scott Oi~Beautiftd Thing 48 Some escorts w~t i~ up f~ont
54 Boobs Or bt~tts
49 Brown-nosed, ~wth over
58 Eartha Kitt~ 2000 Broadway show 53 Ofcourse I people ... (Quentin
61 Corydon author Gide Crisp)
64 HaW an opening for 55 Debussy contemporary Erik
65 Family diagram 56 Bill), B~an boo-boo
66 Open~mo~}hed fives0me 57 Po61 party?
67 A~dothersi for caesari
58 perry; ofi~letropolitan Community Church
68 Isl~ hleyJ~n~dn ~ land 59 Ball~t move
69 Eech 6fGreek:ld~e 60 Votes for, for ~Frank 70 411; ’ 61 some sex-toy bateries 71 Gr{ek love 62 R.Mapplethorpe supporter
63 Sh0~t
Down
1 One w,ay to cook fruit
2 Scout ~ ~ecitation, and others
Have a God filled and Blessed Day!
www.metrostarnews.com ~I ~t~oSTAR 21
c assifi
i
Keller Williams Realty
$
BUY GI Joe Action Figures
(!2" size Only)
mygijoe@cox.net or
ca11(405) 249-4515
I Buy OLD or
NEW In Box or
Out ofBox
Chuck greckenridge
1o800o535oAIDS (2437)
Oklahoma’s HIV!aTD H0tline
PRONOT YOURSELF Community For
Whether buying or selling
I’ll work hard for you.
CHECK OUT UNIQUE
PROTECT YOUR PARTNER(S) People ~iving
H~V/A~DS
a 50~ c (3) Non Profit Organixadon
Our House, Too offers a variety of"
activities for people who are HIV+ and
or living with AIDS to help combat the
social isolation that maRy of our
people live through each and everyday.
We provide a Toiletry and Household
Pantry for those who are HtV+
and or living with AIDS who cannot
afford to purchase these items for
themselves. We invite anyone who
would like to volunteer or provide financial
assistance to please contact
us by phone 918-585-9552 or e-mail
ourhousetoo9865@sbcglobal.net
(send pic with asldng price)
Rooms For Rent
$380 per month plus tax ALL Bills Paid
N~e Habana Inn 2200 NW 39th
www.habanainn.com
ALL Major Credit Cards Accepted
KING OF
MASSAGE
Great Touch
Man to Man
f:idI Body Massag~
2 hands or 4 hands
available
31
Now Hiring Male & Female
"~W’~.METROSTARNEWS.COM
22 February 2009
Support those who support us. Their ads allow us to distribute your community news FREE to you.
ACCOMODAEIONS: HOPE TESTING CLINIC CHUCK BRECI~NRIDGE
3540 E. 3 t st Keller Williams Realty,
F[ABANA INN
2200 NW 39TH EXPRESSWAY
Oldahoma City, OK
405-528-222t
www.babanainn.com
ICELLY I~RBY, CPA
4815 S. HARVARD, SUITE 424
Tulsa, OK * 918-747-5466
Certified Public Accountant
V~i.ERIE WILLIFORD
625 N3~Z 13th Street
Oidahoma City, OK
405-226-8585
OKC MOP,TUARY
2415-C N. \VTALNUT AVE.
Oldahoma City, OK
800-913-1310
ANGLES
21 t7 NW 39th St.
Oklahoma City~ OK
wv~v.anglesclub.com
BAMBOO LOUNGE
7204 E. PINE
Tulsa, OK
918-836~8700
wv~v.bambooloungetulsa.com
CLUB 209
209 N. BOULDER
Tulsa, OK
91~-584-9944
CLUB MAJESTIC
124 N. BOSTON
Ti.dsa, OK
918-584-9494
www.clubmajestictulsa.com
FINISHLINE
2200 NW 39TH EXPRESSWAY
Oldahoma City; OK
405-525-2900
~a~v.habanainn.com
"Balsa, OK
800-535-2437
Oklahoma’s HIV/STD Hotline
SPIRIT OF CHRIST MCC
2902 E. 20TH STREET,
Joplin, MO * 479-529-8480
Service Saturday 9:30 AM
MCC of the LIVING SPRING
17 Elk Street
Eureka Springs, AR 72632
479-253-9337
Worship Sundays 6pm
MCC UNITED
1623 N. Maplewood, Tulsa, OK
918-838-1715
v~wv.mcctulsa.org
OK£AHOMANS for EQUALITY
621 E. 4th Street
Tulsa, OK 74120
918-743-4297
www.okeq.org
OUR HOUSE, TOO
203 N. Nogales Ave
Tulsa, OK 74127
918-585-9552
KING OF MASSAGE
In or Out Calls
Oklahoma City, OK
405-314-3898
JUDY G. PHOTO’S
Tulsa, OK .
judygphotos@sbcglobal.net
918-743-8636
CENTURY 21 GOLD CASTLE
3627 NW EXPRESSXYZAY
Oklahoma City; OK 73112
405-840-2106
~vw.c21 goldcastle.com
Tulsa, OK
918-706-1887
GAY BRADY HEIGHTS-Tulsa
New and Historic Homes for Sale
and Rent For Info:
~wvw.gaybradyheightstulsa.com
GUSHER’S RESTAURANT
2200 NW 39TH EXPRESSWAY
Oklahoma City, OK
405-525-0730
Located inside Habana Inn
TOM & JERRYS
1501 N.\~ 23RD
Oklahoma City; OK
405-524-9100
0
0
THE COPA
2200 NW 39TH EXPRESSWAY
Oldahoma City; OK
405-525-0730
w~s~v.habanainn.com
TULSA EAGLE
1338 E. 3RD
Tulsa, OK
9!8-592-! 188
www.tulsaeagle.com
THE END UP
5336 E. ADMIRAL PLACE
Tulsa, OK
9t8-836-0915
THE LEDO
2200 NW 39TH EXPRESSWAY
Oldahoma City, OK
405-525-0730
~wa,~:habanainn .corn
EXPRESSIONS Comm Fellowship
6009 NW Expressway
Oldahoma City, OK
405-761-! 878
www.expressionsOKC.com
D
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CO
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PA
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~IDIOI
$I I I
LILISI
AILIOI
MIAINI
RITIYI
www.metrostarnews.com ~et~°oSTAR 23

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