[2001] Tulsa Family News, February 2001; Volume 8, Issue 2

[2001] Tulsa Family News, February 2001; Volume 8, Issue 2

Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.

Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9).

The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.

This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.

Tulsa Family News

https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24

Tom Neal

February 2001

James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw

Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News

Tulsa Family News, January 2001; Volume 8, Issue 1

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PDF
Online text

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https://history.okeq.org/items/show/609

Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United Stated Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America

trkansas’Sodomy’
atute Challenged
LITI’LE ROCK (AP) - A judge heard motions for a
judgment in a lawsuit filed by a group challenging the
state’s anti-sodomy law in late January.
Last February, Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge
David Bogard rejected arguments that the state had
sovereign immunity from lawsuits. He cited an exception
allowing officials to be sued in their official capacity
when the remedy sought is injunctive rdief. Bogard
dropped Attorney General Mark Pryor as a defendant
but said the group challenging the 1977 law could
proceed with its suit-against local prosecutors.
Both sideshavefiledmotions for snmmaryjudgment,
asking Bogard to decide the case on the basis of briefs
and affidavits without the need for a trial.
Seven Arkansans sued Pryor and local,prosecutors,
including Larry Jegley, in an attempt to vold the 1aw that
prohibits certain sexual conduct see Law, p. 3
COMC and Tulsa Oratorio
to Host Russian Choir
TULSA - The Kamchatka Vocal Ensemble will perform
contemporary works, ancient liturgical music and
Russian folk songs at Holy Family Cathedral on Sunday,
March 11, at 7:30 pm. The Council Oak Men’ s
Chorale and Tulsa Oratorio Chorus havejoined to bring
this exceptional world-class ensemble for one performance
only.
Kamchatka Vocal Ensemble was founded in 1967 in
Petropavlovsk, Kanchatski, and is famous in Russia for
their high quality performances of challenging work.
Fromthe masterpieces of Rachmaninoff, sacred liturgical
pieces to native songs of the far east masterfully
arranged by its artistic director, Evgeny Morozov,
Kamchatka’s repertoire exemplifies the Russian experience.
The ensemble is a featured choir performing for
the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
national convention in San Antonio, Texas.
A. PozdnyakoV, Professor at Gnessin Russian Academy
of Music, aptly described the group in a recent
review, "listening to Kamchatka Vocal Ensemble,it is
difficult to believe it is a community choir. Its harmony
and pureness of sound, the tonal balance ofparts, all are
impeccable. A subtle musician and a master of his art,
Evgeny Morozov, has managed to put a superb performing
group inKamchatka, thoughit is appreciated as
one of the best choirs within Russia."
Ill DIRECTORY P. 2
~ EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
~.~ HEALTH NEWS P. 6
Z ENTERTAINMENT P, 8
GAY STUDIES P. 10
Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
Gay Folk + Friends March
In M. L. King, Jr. Parade
Soulforce in Oklahoma at theparade
TU’s BLGTAlliance marched as well as Tulsa PFLAG.
Ambassador Hormel Opposes
! TOHR n. February:
Black +iGay in Tulsa
TULSA - On Tuesday, February 13, Tulsa Oklahomarts
forHumanRights (TOHR) will hold its monthly
meeting at the Gay Community Center at 7pro. The
speaker will be Derrick Davis, longtime HIV/AIDS
educator, speaking about being African-American
and Gay in Tulsa.
TOHR will also hold the Wild Hearts Ball on
Saturday, Feb. 17, 8-miduight at Tulsa’s historical
Brady Mansion at 620 N. Denver. Tickets are $15 in
advance, $20 at the door and are available at the
Community Center, 2114 S. Memorial, 743-4297,
Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15th, on Cherry Street and at
Tulsa Floral Design in Brookside at 3404 S. Peoria.
Proceeds from the event will benefit The Pyramid
Project, the effort to build or buy a permanent home
for Tulsa’s Gay commtmity center.
Speaking of which,TOHR’ s board of directors has
voted to amend the name of the commtmity center to
The Tulsa Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
Community Center. (editor’ s note: TFN will respectfully
abbreviate this when possible to LGBT Community
Center or just Community Center).
see TOHR, p. 3
Ashcroft as Attorney General
WASHINGTON (AP) - James Hormel, who became the first
openly Gay U.S. ambassador over the objections of then-Sen.
John Ashcroft and others, is retttming fire in urging the Senate to
reject Ashcroft’ s nomination as attorney general.
"I get no satisfaction from this," Hormel told The Associated
Press. "I am extremely disturbed that he was nominated for this
very sensitive post, and it concerns me greatly that he might be
serving as attorney general, given his stated positions on a variety
of issues."
The controversy over the nominee’s stand on Gay civil rights
issues widened at the end of January, when a health care expert
said Ashcroft asked him about his sexual orientation during a
1985 job interview. Ashcroft at the time was governor of Missouri
and the applicant, Paul Offner, was applying for a statejob.
"His first question was, ’Do you have the same sexual preference
as most men,’" Offner, of Georgetown University, told
.~ WTOP radio in Washington Thursday. "I was stunned. He
¯¯ launched fight into it." Offner’s story was first reported in The
Washington Post.
¯ Asheroft told his confirmation hearings that he has not dis-
" criminated against Gays while serving as governor and senator,
¯ andwouldnot consider sexual orientation in hirings at the Justice ¯
Department.
¯ Offner said Ashcroft’ s statement "certainly didn’ t seem to be
¯ true in my case." He said he contacted the Senate Judiciary
.. Committee about the 1985 interview. A friend of Offner, Kathy
¯ Sykes, said Offner told her about the interview right after it
¯ happened. "I remember he said, ’You won’t believe this,’"
¯ Sykes; a federal employee, said in an interview.
¯ Mindy Tucker, the Bush administration’s spokeswoman on
the Asheroft nomination, has said Ashcroft does not recall the
: meeting, nor would he begin an interview with a question about
¯ sexual orientation. ¯
Ashcroft and other conservative senators opposed the 1997
¯ nomination of Hormel to be ambassador to Luxembourg.
Tulsa Oklahomansfor Human Rights, photos: TFN
¯ Long-Term Battle. Seen
Over Gay Marriages ¯
By David Crary, AP National Writer
¯ NEW YORK - Like rival armies locked in trench
: warfare, activists supporting andopposing legal rights
¯ for same-sex couples are regrouping after bitter elec-
¯ tion campaigns and girding for future struggles that
¯ willlikely divideAmerica formany years to come. In
¯ state capitols, courthouses andcorporate boardrooms,
"_ Gay marriage and its variants - civil unions and
¯ domestic partnerships - will be an inescapable topic ¯
¯ for policy-makers, executives and religious leaders.
. In Texas, conservative legislators will try this year
¯ to make their state the 35th to adopt a law or consti-
¯ tutional amendment banning Gay marriage. In New
: York and Rhode Island, Gay lawmakers will intro~
: duce bills to legalize it.
¯ "It isn’ t going to happen overnight - there will be
¯ setbacksandright-wingbacklash,"saidEvanWoffson,
: a leading Gay civil rights lawyer with the Lambda
: Legal Defense and Education Fund. "That’s exactly
." how every civilrights movement in Americanhistory
¯ has proceeded." ¯
Last spring, Gay civil rights activists were elated
¯ when Vermont enacted its landmark civil-tmions
: law, becoming the first state to extend the rights and
¯ responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples.
In November, Democratic Gov. Howard Dean -
¯ who signed the bill - survived an election challenge
¯ by a foe of civil unions, but more than 20 legislators
¯ who had supported the law were defeated. In Ne- ¯
braskaandNevada, ballotinitiatives proposing to ban
¯ same-sex marriage were approved with 70 percent
¯ support. ¯
"This will be along-term battle, like abortion," said
¯ Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth, a
¯ Washington, D.C., seeBattle, p. 2
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mor, 424 S. Memorial
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica.Square
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Schatzi’ s, 2619 S. Memorial
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box II, 1338 E. 3rd
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th
832-1269 ~
610-5323 :
838-9792 ~
744-4280 ¯
585-3405 :
745-9998 ".
280-1316
834-4234 ¯
660-G856 ~
584-1308 :
835-2376 ¯
749-1563 ¯
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med: & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231. E. 41
Body Piercing by Nicoie, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21
*Borders Books.& Music, 8015 S. Yale
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
743-1000
250-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494-2665
743-5272
746-0313
295-5868
581-0902, 743-4117
622-0700
749-3620 ".
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
584-0337, 712-9379
592-0460
744-9595
610-0880
628-3709
808-8026
742-1460
459-9349
744-7440
745-1111
341-6866
712-2750
582-3018
747-0236
582-8460
599-8070
747-5466
585-1234
584-3112
663-5934
664-2951
838-7626
743-4297
747-5932
834-0617
834-7921, 747-4746
260-7.829
481-0558
835-5563
743-1733
665-2222
592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays &Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, SchOols & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
Ross Edward Salon
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main
Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. P~oria
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E. 55th P1.
Cathy Furlong,-Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr.
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare
*Gloria Jean’ s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21 st
tzarme M. Gross, Insurance & financial plamaing
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly
*International Tours
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening
*Ken’ s Flowers, 1635 E.- 15
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo
*The Pride Store
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101
Richard’ s Carpet Cleaning
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors
Paul Tay, Car Salesman
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counsding
*grherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6
B/L/GiT Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr.
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1.
Church of the RestorationUU, 1314 N.Greenwood
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation
Council Oak Men’s Chorale
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware
743-2363
587-7314
583-7815
583-9780
585-1201
& Florence
587-1314
747-6300
749-0595
748-3888
712-1511
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140 Tulsa, OK 74159, e-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche. Lament Lindstrom. Esther .
Rothblum. Mary Schepers. Hughston Walkinshaw
Member o! The Associated Press
Issued around the 1st of each month, the entire contents of this
publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
Family News and may not be reproduced either in whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. Publica-
¯
tion of a name or photo does not indicate a person’ s sexual
orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for publication
unldsk otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes the sole
9roperty of Tulsa Family News. Each reader is entitled to 4
copies of each edition at distribution points.
Additional copies are available by calling583-1248.
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa - Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
Free SpratWomen s Center, call for location&info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
:riends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
*Tulsa c.A.R.E.S., 3507 E0 Admiral 834-4194
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
*House oftheHoly SpiritMinstries,1517 S. Memorial 224-4754
*MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365~5658
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tulsa
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
*Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
St. Aidan’ s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882
St Dunstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492-7140
*~t. Jerome’s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
Soulforce-OK, Rt.4,# 3534, Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
*Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacy Coalition,POB2687,Tulsa 74101
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
*Tulsa Community College Campuses
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 21st&Memorial 743-4297
Unity Church of Christianity,3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
BARTLESVILLE
Bartles~cille Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH
Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ Tahlequah Unltarian-Unlversalist,_~CCCh~ur,c~h,,,,
918-456-7900
Green Country AIDS Coalition, r~D ~om 918-453-9360
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
¯ Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807
¯ Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
¯ MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
: Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429 501-253-2776
¯ Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332
¯
Positive Idea Marketing Plans 501-624-6646
~ White Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
¯ JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 417-623-4696
* is where you can find TFN. Not all are Gay-owned but allare Gay.friendly.
group th~,~ opposes legal recog~.".tion of Gay
couples. The people on our siae are every
bit as committed as the people ontheir side,"
he said.
While Nevadans must vote again in 2002
~efore that state" s constitutional amendment
takes force, the Nebraska constitutional
amendment has gone :into effect - and already
is a prime target for the Gay civil
fights movement.
The American Civil Liberties Union,
backed by other groups, is preparing a law.-
uit challenging the amendment,whichgoes
urther than other states’ laws. The amendment
bans legal recognition not only of Gay
marriage, but also domestic partnerships,
civil unions "and other similar .same-sex
relationships." - ?,.
"It’ s bee~ sold as a Defense of Marriage
amendment, but it’ s really an anti-family
maendment," said Tim Butz, executive director
of the Nebraska ACLU. "It makes it
difficult, if not impossible, for a Gay or
Lesbian family to plan for the future, for the
adoption of children, division of property."
Butz expects the legal challenge to take
several years and likely reach the U.S. Supreme
Court. "This is a national battleground
here," Butz said. "If this amendment
withstands the legal challenges we’ re going
to mount, the other side can go forward with
more confidence elsewhere."
Indeed, backers of the Nebraska amendment
are urging other states to broaden their
existing Defense of Marriage laws to address
civil unions. The aim wouldbe to deter
couples from going to Vermont for a civil
umon ceremony, then returmng home to
claim legal recognition. "Homosexual activists
have been very crafty in calling homosexual
marriage by another name," said
Guyla Mills, a leader of the campaign on
behalf of the Nebraska amendment. ’T ve
had many states contact me, interested in
doing the same .thing we did."
Mills movedafter the election to Virginia,
taking ajob with Kerusso Ministries, aChristian
group that encourages Gays to change
their sexual orientation. In a telephone interview,
she spoke repeatedly of animosity
,g,e.,n~ated during the Nebraska campaig9.
It s becoming harder and harder for people
to express any kind of opposition to the
homosexual agenda for fear of being called
hate mongers," she said. ’Tm not one to
throw in the towel... We’re going to hold
ground. We’re going to take back ground.’"
Amy Desai, a policy analyst for the conservadve
group Focus on the Family, said
proponents of Gay marriage underestimate
the grassroots opposition to their cause. "It
has been debated in ivory tower settings, by
the Holl~wood crowd, the political pundits,"
she said. "Your average morelanddad
voter, up until this point, hadn’t viewed
this as a real threat. Now they’re waking up
and saying, ’You can’ t force such a radical
i change on us without us becoming very
¯ In Texas, where state law explicidy de-
". fines marriage as between a man and a
¯ woman, some conservatives still want to
join the majority of other states in enacting
a Defense of Marriage law. State Rep. War-
; ren Chisum, who unsuccessfully sponsored
¯ similar bills see Battle, p. 11
Sound + Spirit: A Lost Opportunity
by Tom Neal, editor and publisher
¯
as well as Rebecca Ungerman who is openly Lesbian, it is "
Last weekend, Congregation B’nai Emunah, Tulsa’ s ¯ baffling not to be included. ."
Conservative branch Jewish congregation, held an un- Ungerman did perform with a wonderful group from ¯
usualconcert,"SacredLove, SoundandSpirit",hosted, as
¯ B’ nai Emunah, Kolot, whoseperformance was ahi ghlight "
is the radio show of the same name (Sound & Spirit) by : of the concert. But that group hardly becomes a Lesbian ¯
Ellen Kustmer. ¯ group because of her presence. Some argued that COMC
It was a remarkable event in many ways. The sanctuary :
was full almost to capacity despite the sleety, threatening ¯
weather. The performers were many and although a few ¯
were off key, and others couldhardly be heard due to poor
soundmixing,itwas amostly sweet, almost’-’alleMensChen ,
~verden bruder" kind of event - that is unless you were ¯
Gay or Lesbian. "
As one PFLAG mom said afterwards, "it would have ¯
been perfect if they’d just had the Council Oak Mens
Chorale too..." And why not have the Chorale (COMC)? "
After all, the program was a textbook example of pro- "
forma Tulsa-style "diversity" reflecting both this town’s
strengths and its serious prejudices.
Boston Avenue Methodist represented uptight,
homophobic large white Protestant Christian churches, a
guitarist from Saint Francis Xavier/Our Lady of
Guadaloupe did double duty for Catholic Christi~ins and
Latino Tulsans, All Souls’ Youth Choir pulled in the
Unitarian-Universalists,andtwo Black choirs represented
old-line Black Christian congregations and new big-boxbuilding
evangelical/pentecostal/fundamentalists. Just to
round out our "diversity," Archie Mason, Osage flutist;
performed and the City of Tulsa Pipes and Drums (minus
the drums - just the bagpipes were present).
So where were the Gay people?
We were present in the audience. Dennis Neill, TOHR
co-founder and business associate and’family friend of
B’ nai Emunahcongregationpresident Stacy Schusterman,
attended as did Jack Wallace, a Tulsa boardmember of the
Cimarron Alliance.
It Wash’ t that Gaypeople weren’ t interestedin the event.
COMC artistic director, Rick Fortner, approached the
organizers about participating but was blown off. Now
that probably wasn’t from any malice or anti-Gay values
but rather that the organizers had already filled up their
program and there just wasn’t any time left. In fact, two
key organizers, Laura Well and Sarai Brachman Shoup
both stated that they are sympathetic to Lesbian and Gay
people.
But the problem is, fundamentally, we, Gay and Lesbian
Tulsans just weren’t on their radar. When the effort
was being made to represent Tulsa "diversity", it should
have been just as high a priority that along with Blacks,
along with Native Americans, along with Hispanics, that
Gay and Lesbian people be remembered.
Given that the special events con~nittee includes a
number of people who work with or are friendly to
Lesbians and Gay men (Terry Silver-Alford of the TU
Theater dept., Jason Brimer, and B’nai Emunah’ s rabbi),
might not properly be included because it’ s not a religious .
group though certainly muchof-its music is religious and ¯
could have fit the program. ¯
"... Gays llke Jews are not "on-sight" :
mlnor~tles - we are not known by the color "
of our skin or by an epleanthle fold but
rather by our behavior - the manifestation .
of our bellefs~ And llke Jews who have "
hlstorleally been forced to convert in order "
to avoid perseeutlon, Gays frequently are .
asked to convert, or at least to hide any .
evidence of who we are..."
However, with the inclusion of Archie Mason whose
participation was rationalized by saying" Native American
music is’ spiritual’," the organizers moved onto shaky
ground. But with the invitation to the City of Tulsa Pipes
and Drums~ a clearly non-religious group included because
allegedly the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery of the
Presbyterian Church, USA claimed that this was "Presbyterian
music", the orgamzers hope for a consistent application
of standards for inclusion flew away.
As one Gay man who attended ~ked, why not have
invited Saint Jerome’ s choir, or Community of Hope, or
one of the other local churches who are known for their
inclusion of Lesbians and Gay men.
Organizer Sarai Brachman Shoup, on staff with the
Schusterman Family Foundation, quipped that she should
not be expected to know that there are six Christian
congregations with significant Gay membership, since
she’s Jewish.
Indeed.
Shoup’s neither a Black Christian, Native American,
nor a bagpipe player nor a Latino Catholic guitarist, and
she found those folks. It’s a much better excuse that
Shoup’s relativdy new to Tulsa as is Weil. Others on the
conmaittee should have known better.
So what now? The event is over and most everyone,
indeed, many ofTulsa’ s mostprogressive, probably thought
it was just great - wasn’t it so "diverse"? Some will
complain that this critique just spoils a lovely event.
But Gay and Lesbian Tulsans do have the right to call to
account those who wave the ~’diversity" banner when they
between people of the same gender. The seven say their
constitutional rights are being violated because similar
contact between heterosexuals is not illegal.
The state argued that because the officials named in the
lawsuit ignore the sodomy statute, they should not be
sued. A lawyer for the seven had argued that the prosecutors
were sued because they would be the key people in
deciding whether the law should be enforced.
Susan Sommer, supervising attorney for the Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that she will
argue that Arkansas’ law "violates the right to equal
protection because it singles out Gay men and women for
cnminal puuishment and stigma for engaging in the identical
conduct that is free tO their heterosexual neighbors."
She said the state’s only justification for the law "is
perceived public moral disapproval of homosexuality."
"This is just another way of saying that because th~ public
disapproves of Gay people, it can subject them to a special
rule that applies criminal sanction to their conduct but not
to others," she said. She also said the government "should
not be peering into Arkansas bedrooms to investigate
adult consensual intimacy." She said Arkansas, Oklahoma~
Kansas and Texas are the only states that have
same-sex sodomy prohibitions in force.
Bogard said Jegley could be sued because of his authority
to determine if legal actions would be brought in his
jurisdiction.
fall short of the standards which they themselves set. And
because Gaypeople share withTulsa’ s Jewishcommunity
similarities in the condition of being minorities, it is
reasonable to expect to be treated fairlyby thatcommunity
in particular.
Gays like Jews are not "on-sight" minorities - we are
no.t known by the color of our skin orbyan epicanthic fold
but rather by our actions, our behavior - the manifestation
of our bdiefs. (Obviously, racial or ethnic minority
Lesbians’ and Gays’ identity as Gay persons is not "onsight"
even if their racial identity is.) And like Jews who
have historically been forced to convert in order to avoid
persecution, Gays frequently are asked to convert, or at
least to hide any evidence of who we are. Also like Jews,
the prejudice and discrimination we face is often minimized
by some whopoint to those in ourcornmunities who
are successful despite the obstacles.
Tulsa’ s Jewish community, although small in number,
has been particularly successful and is wall placed to do
for others who are fighting for fair treatment and equal
opportunity that which was done for them not so many
years ago. The struggle for social acceptance, an end to
restrictive property covenants, the condenmation of open
prejudice, etc. came through the efforts ofmany non-Jews
as well as the efforts of Jewish Tulsans. These are the
origins of NCCJ, now the National Conference for Community
and Justice, formerly "for Christians and Jews" in
Tulsa.
Tulsa’ s deep rooted anti-Gay prejudices are not going to
go away by themselves. And it’ s more than evident that it
takes more than the members of a particular oppressed
group to end that oppression. It tookmen to get women the
right to vote. It took whites to hdp end segregation,
Christians to help Jews, Jews to help Muslims, and it will
take all of the above to create a world in which Gay people
can live in Tulsa with the same options as all others.
But to get there, neither Tulsa Jews, nor any others who
seek to do what is right, can sit passively aside, saving
political and moral capital. Jewish voices have influence
beyond their numbers - wejust need to begin to hear them
-just as we hear the voices of non-Jews coming to the
defense of the Jewish community when it is attacked (or
even when it is offended - like with Christian symbols
inappropriately placed on a fire-station).
And imagine if at the next such concert or event, the
voices of Council Oak Mens Chorale might be heard,
perhaps even ending the event with"We Shall Overcome"
- that old spiritual which speaks to the struggle of all,
whether Jewish, or Black, or Gay to survive oppression,
whether slavery, imprisonment, bodily and psychic assault,
or Nazi horrors. Maybe even Ms. Kushner will come
back for that.
(Editor’s note: Despite misgivings about the inclusiveness
ofthis event, Tulsa Family News donated an advertisement
to the Sound & Spirit event.)
2001 board members are Kerry Lewis, president, Vance
Reed, 1st v.p., Don Glass, 2nd v.p., Curtis Evans, secretary,
Beth Persac, treasurer, Wil Bruner, men’s outreach
coordinator, Greg Gatewood,marketing coordinator, Scottie
Hale, events coordinator, David Hoot, volunteer
coordinator, Lisa Pottorf, meeting program coordinator,
and Lindsey Vandeventer and Raven Ezeel, youth outreach
coordinators.
Planned for March but yet without a set date, the Center
will host a meeting of GLEAM, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
& Transgendered Employees of American Airlines.
Call the Center to cheek the date.
On Feb. 17 from 10-1pm, the Center will host a Gill
Foundation training program, Fundraising Fundamentals.
¯ TheDenverbased Gill Foundation selectedTOHRas one
of 10 US sites for this training For more information, call
the Center at 743-4297 between 6-9 pro, Mon. - Fri.
Civil Unions Bill Filed in
Hawaii Legislature
HONOLULU (AP) - A bill introduced in the state
House wonld grant Gay and Lesbian couples all the
legal rights ofmarried couples. House Judiciary Chairman
Eric Hamakawa and Rep. Ed Case introduced the
"civil unions" bill.
Hamakawa said he would have to discuss the issue
withfellow Democrats andcolleagues on the Judiciary
Committee before he could say if. the bill would be
given a hearing.
Case believes-the Legislature in 1997 committed
itself to provide same-sex couples with some of the
benefits that married couples enjoy. Although legislators
passed areciprocal beneficiaries law that extended
dozens oflegal benefits to registered same-sex couples,
Case said la~vmakers should do more. The bill introduced
by Case and Hamakawa would repeal and
replace the 1997 reciprocal beneficiaries law with a
new legal relationship, "civil unions."
Senate President Robert Bnnda said civil unions
aren’t a priority for the Senate. He said the same-sex
mamage debate split Democrats, and he does.n’ t want
to see that kind of division in the Senate agmn.
Mike Gabbard, chairman of the Alliance for Traditional
Marriage and Values, said civil unions would be
same-sex marriageby a different name, and calledit .an
insult to ~,oters who rejected same-sex mamage m
1998.
Anti-Gay Adoption Law
Rejected in Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Opponent~pf a bill that would
prohibit Gays from adopting didnr t get much time to
make their case, but they emerged victorious anyway.
AHousepanel voted 10-9 to reject abill by Rep. Randy
Minton, R-Ward, thatwouldprohibit Gays fromadopting
or being foster parents.
More than a dozen people in the crowded committee
room wore stickers saying ’Vote No on HB 1026, - For
Kids’ Sake,’ while others had buttons that read .Good ¯
Parents Come in Many Packages.’
But only one person on each side of the bill got to
have their say, as the committee bogged down in
questions for Minton and a strongly worded speech by
chairwoman Jo Carson, D-Fort Smith, trying to discredit
research Minton offered in support of his bill.
Minton cited several studies, including those by Family
Research Council psychologist Paul Cameron, that
he said showed children raised in homosexual homes
face greater risks. He said suchhomes are unstable and
that many homosexuals are more promiscuous..
"Homosexual households are not a suitable enwronment
for children because of their instability and
hostility toward a natural family," Minton said. "We
do not need to experiment with the lives of children."
Carson questioned his studies, and brought out a
report from the American Psychological Association,
whose research she said found that Gays’ parenting
styles are no different than those of heterosexuals.
"Cameron’s research methodology has been firmly
rejected by his peers in the research community,"
Carson said.
The Arkansas Child Welfare Agency Review Board
recently approved aban onhomo~s,e~xual fo~ste_r_..p.~en~t,s~
Since October, the Department oI tauman aervl~
asked prospective foster parents d, tttey are tJay. ,,,
you say yes, we will politely say, Th~aks, but no,
’spokesman Joe Quinn said, adding thatno one has said
they are homosexual yet. "We take them at their
word." Quinn said there has never been such a law or
regulationregarding adoptiom and that the department
is not.taking a position on the bill. ,
Minton said with such a dose vote, ana one memoer
absent from the meeting, "I’m going t,o work on some
people and try to bring it back again.’
Dr. Daniel Rifkin~ a lung doctor at Arkansas
Children’ s Hospital, said the bill "will hurt Arkansas’
kids." Rifkin said he sees many children with serious
medical problems or disabililies, and that few parents
will adopt them. He said because homosexuals know
what it’ s like to live with a"stigma" in society, they are
more likely to adopt these children.
Jerry Cox, with the local Family Council, supported
the bill. "We already discriminate when ~t comes to
adoption and foster care," he said.
Montana Senate Looks
at Job Protections
HELENA (AP) - A Senate committee considering a
bill on job protection for Gays and Lesbians took the
unusual step last month of accepting anonymous testimony,
and declaring it off the record.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Loreuts
Grosfield, R-Big Timber, ordered the committee’s
tape recorder shut off while the testimony was read. It
was presented as that of amanwholost his Montanajob
last month, after co-workers reviledhimforhis bisexuality.
A representative of the Montana Human Righ~
Network, Greg Haegele, read the statement and said
the man’s telephone number would be available to
committee members.
Several questioned the anonymity, saying it goes
against a law requiring openness in government and
casts doubt about the veracity of the testimony, but
Grosfield’s decision stood.
The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Senate
Bill 266, which would prohibit firing an employee
because of sexual orientation. "Doesn’ t that seem to be
an element of simple, fundamental fairness?" asked
Sen. Jon Ellingson, D-Missoula, the bill’ s sponsor¯
Opponents said that existing laws provide adequate
protection against dismissal, and that SB266 is part of
an effort to advance specialrights for Gays and Lesbians.
Ellingson s~d the bill would advance equal protection
under the law, not special rights. Avote against the
bill would be an endorsement of discrimination, he
~aid.
Supporters of the bill included Kris Marsh, who
works for a mental-health center in the Butte area and
said that two years ago she was "driven out of ajob that
I loved," after her employer learned she had a female
partner. Marsh said her job performance ratings had
been high. "I know you can’t change the minds and
hearts of individuals," Marsh told the committee. But
she saidlegislators can set a standard of employment
fairness.
George Bennett of the Montana Bankers Association
was among the bill’s opponents, arguing that
existing laws provide enough protection. "You can’t
discharge anyone because they’ re Irish or Lutheran or
Gay, or because they have big feet, Bennett said. Julie
Millam of the Christian Coalition of Montana called
the bill a "further attempt by the homosexual lobby to
advance their agenda- one that will settle for nothing
less than having codified into law the words ’sexual
orientation’ as a constitutionally prot..e.c.ted class."
The committee did not act on the bill, but may vote
: on it later¯
Police Park Sting
Defendent to Get Hearing
¯ ST. PAUL (AP) - A man ~onvicted of indecent con-
: duct is entitled to a court hearing on his belief that
¯ police authorities have unfairly targeted Gays for arrest,
the state Court of Appeals ruled. S teven A. Pinkal
was arrested in July 1999 at a secluded St. Paul beach
¯ frequentedby Gay men, according to court documents.
The court reversed the conviction of Pinkal and
¯ ordered a trial court judge to hold ahearing on Piakal
evidenee alleging discriminatory enforeement of indecent
conduct laws in St. Paul.
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Call for meeting times and place:
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9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
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The evidence includes statistics indicating that twothirds
of St. Paul’s indecent conduct citations in the
past three years went to Gay men arrested on the
Mississippi River beach where Pinkal was arrested,
said his attorney, Kyle White.
Pinkal also offered as evidence statements by a
former St. Paul police officer thatheterosexuals are not
charged with indecent conduct in similar cases, and by
people who heard a St. Paul prosecutor say that Gay
men convicted of indecent conduct should be compelled
to register as sex offenders.
A three-judge Appeals Court panel said that Pinkal
presented evidence sufficient to raise a reasonable
doubt about discriminatory enforcement of the indecent
conduct law, and that he is entitled to a separate
hearing on the issue.
The court also said that a trialjudge erred in allowing
a prosecutor to question Pinkal about his religious
beliefs, sexual orientation and HIV status. The cumulative
effect of those errors alone, however, was not so
great to warrant a new trial, the court said.
University Needs Better
Services forGay Students
SEATTLE (AP) - The University of Washington is
generally accepting of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgendered students, faculty and staff, but needs to
go beyond mere tolerance, a task force report says.
The report by the President’s Task Force on Gay,
Bisexual, Lesbian andTransgender Issues recommends
creating an office to assist such students mad offering
more courses in sexual studies. It also calls for providing
the same benefits to school employees with samesex
partners that are available to heterosexual couples,
and says school leaders could do more to include
sexual minorities in diversity discussions, which usually
focus on race and ethnicity.
"The overall thrust of the task force report is that we
have to move beyond issues of tolerance, and even
beyondjust mere acceptance, to a condition of affirming,
to actually affirm and celebrate the diversity that
GBLT people bring to theuniversity," said the task
force chairman, Philip Bereano, a teclmical-communication
professor at the College of Engineering.
The campus is free of overt hate crimes, but remains
a place where Gay and Lesbian couples probably don’ t
feel comfortable holding hands, the report says. Some
people responded to a student survey with such comments
as "The amount of tame, manpower and money
being spent (on the task force) is appalling - disband
and stop wasting taxpayer money," and "Stop being
queer."
The universities of California, Oregon and Minnesota
already have Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian and
Transgender resource centers, the report notes. Other
colleges, such as UC-Berkeley and the University of
Wisconsin, have academic programs in sexual minorlty
studies. The report was released last month by the
task-force, which was created in 1999 to examine
issues facedby Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual andTransgender
students, faculty and staff at the UW and recommend
ways to address them.
Aspen Police Investigate
Vandalism of Gay Flag
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - A gesture of good will toward
the Gay community was transformed into what police
are calling a hate crime. A rainbow flag, a symbol of
Gay pride recognized worldwide, was hung from the
gazebo in Paepcke Park last week.
Police believe someone burned the flag less than 24
hours later. Pieces and black soot were all that was left
of the flag. "It will be classified as a hate-crime," said
police Sgt. Sandy Brownlee. Hate-crimes are rare in
Aspen, Brownlee said, saying that this is the first hatecrime
she has investigated in the eight years she has
been a police officer. Police have no suspects or leads
in the ease.
The flag was secured to the top of the gazebo with a
metal chain before the start of Gay Ski Week.. More
than 4,000 people attended the annual event that ran
through Saturday and raised money for charity. "It’s
terrible," Aspen Mayor Rachel Richards said of the
vandalism. "Aspen is imperfect like the rest of the
world. There are small-minded and intolerant people
here just as everywhere else."
Aspen was among the handful of Colorado communities
whose ordinances protecting Gays and Lesbians
from discrimination were criticized by proponents of
Amendment 2, which would have prohibited such
ordinances. The 1992 voter-approvedamendmentnever
took effect and was eventually ruled unconstitutional
by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jim Tomberlin, acting director for the Aspen Gay &
Lesbian Community Foundation, called the incident a
"bombshell." "We are very sorry to see this very
serious issue here in our town," he said. "Traditionally,
we’ve never had any major incidents against our
guests here. We’ ve never had anything like this."
Initially, Gay leaders proposed hanging the rainbow
flags on lampposts along Main Street. Their proposal
was rejected by Aspen City Council, which said only
the government and institutions celebrating special
anniversaries could use the posts. Instead, a compromise
was reached allowing onerainbow flag in Paepcke
Park.
Next year, however, city officials promised the
group can fly rainbow flags along Main Street to
commemorate the 25th mufiversary of Gay Ski Week.
Wisconsin Scouts Prefer
Discrimination to Dollars
MENASHA, Wis. (AP)- Area Boy Scout officials say
they won’t adopt a policy banning discrimination
against Gays even though they could lose funding
from the United Way Fox Cities as a result.
TheUnitedWayFoxCities board ofdirectors adopted
a diversity statement in January that requires agencies
it funds to provide services to people regardless of
race, religion, Color, gender, nationality, sexual orientation,
disability or age. The Boy Scouts have a national
policy against Gays becoming scouts or scout
leaders.
’‘The Boy Scouts have served thousands of young
people in our area throughout the years and they have
wonderful programs," said the board’ s chairman, Tim
Higgins. "However, the fact remains, they have a
policy of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The directors have decided that such a policy is not
consistent with the missmn or vision of our organization."
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruhng upheld the
Scouts’ right to dismiss a New Jersey assistant scout-
~naster after learning he is Gay.
Rick Williamson, the executive for the scouts’ Bay-
Lakes Council, which represents Boy Scouts in 22
counties from Port Washington to the Michigan border,
said his organization was shocked by the move.
"We had hoped that the Fox Cities United Way board
would value pluralism and diversity, as well as community
service, and would continue to support the
Bay-Lakes Council on the merits of our contributions
to the Fox Cities area," he said.
Williamson said the council would form a task force
to look into the matter further, but would not deviate
from the national policy.
"The ’homosexual lifestyle’ does not provide the
appropriate role models for our members," he said.
"Homosexual conduct isn’ t consistent with our oath."
Williamson said the United Way Fox Cities provides
about $184,000 ofhis council’ s $580,000 budget
in the Appleton-Neenah-Menasha area. The council
has a total budget of $3 million. It receives $595,000
from 31 United Ways.
33% Young Gay NY "
Black Men Positive
NEW YORK (AP) - The AIDS virus is
striking hardest in New York City today
among youngblack men, anew survey has
found, with 33 percent of Gay or Bisexual
black men ages 23 to 29 testing_positive
for HIV. The study conductedby the city’ s
Health Departmentfound thatyoungblack
New Yorkers "are experiencing a larger
burden of the HIV infection," Sandra
Mullin, the department’s associate commissioner
of public affairs, noted.
Only 2% of the city’ s white Gay men in
the same age group were HI¥-positive,
while 14% of Hispamcs were infected, the
survey found. "We don’t have a solid
explanation for that because we don’ t see
the kinds of differentials in behavior between
black and white men to explain
this," said Lucia Torian, who directed the
study.
The Health Department surveyed 542
men who identified themselves as either
Gay or Bisexual. A new test was used in
the survey that allowed researchers to determineif
the’.mfectionhad occurred within
six months. The subjects in the New York
study were tested between March 1999 to
July 2000. Researchers said the men who
tested positive in all racial groups tended
to have had sex without condoms.
real version? The fake drug bears lot
¯ MNK612A, which is a real lot number
also found on an authentic batch. But the
¯
fake version bears the expiration date 08/
¯ 02. Genuine Serostim with that lot number
¯ bears the expiration date 08/01.
¯ On the Net: Food and Drug Administra-
¯ lion: http://www.fda.gov
i All-Time High in HIV
: Diagnoses in Britain
: LONDON (AP) - The number of people
¯ diagnosed with HIV in Britain last year is
¯ expected to be the highest ever, public
¯ health officials said. The Public Health ¯
Laboratory Service said 2,868 new cases
¯ of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, were
¯ reported last year, a 7% increase on com-
. parable figures for 1999. With some fig-
¯ ures still to be collected, the total is ex-
"- pected to exceed the previous high of
¯ 3,222 cases in 1985, the first year testing
¯ was widely available.
For the second year, the number of new
¯ cases was greater among heterosexuals
¯ than among homosexuals, with 1,315 her- ¯
erosexually acquired diagnoses compared
: to 1,096 among Gay and Bisexual men.
¯ The majority of the heterosexual cases
were acquired in areas with high rates of
¯
the virus, such as sub-Saharan Africa, the
¯ service said.
Dr. Barry Evans, head of the service’s
HIV division, said the increase in diagnoses
was not entirely due to a surge of
: recent infections. "Many of those being
o diagnosed are people who were infected
¯ some years ago but who are only now
: coming forward for testing," he said.
¯ More than 20,000 peoplein Britainhave
been diagnosed-as HIV positive, andh.~th
experts say about 10,000 others may be
infected without knowing it. ’Where have
also been large increases in sexually transmitted
infections such as gonorrheawhich
shows that unsafe sex is occurring and
people are putting themselves at risk of
acquiring HIV," Evans said.
FDA Investigates
Fake AIDS Drug
WASHINGTON (AP) - AIDS patients
ghouldimmediately checkthatthey weren’ t
sold a counterfeit version of the prescription
drug Serostim, because the fake could
be dangerous, Serostim’s maker has
warned. The Food and Drug Administration
has launched a criminal investigation
to track down whoever sold the fake drag,
which so far has been found in seven states
but could have been sold nationwide.
The composition of the fake substance
is not known. So far, its only reported side
effects are skinirritation and redness where
patients injected the substance. But offi-
Cials noted that AIDS patients risk at least
getting worse if they go without their real
Serostim. The drug maker’ s warning came
at the end of January.
Serostim is an injected medicine used
by about 6,000 AIDS patients to fight the
dangerous wasting that the virus can cause.
Manufacturer Serono Inc. says about 10
people initially received the counterfeit
version from pharmacies in California. So
far, the FDA has discovered the fake drug
in six other states-Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan,
New Jersey, Florida and Missouri.
Serono first learned of fake Serostim
when it receivedphone calls fromCaliforuia
consumers, longtime Serostim users
wondering why their newest batch looked
different or reporting unexpected skin irritations.
Laboratory tests showed the substance
wasn’t Serostim but an elaborate
fake, sold in boxes that closdy resemble
real. Serostim packages. Serono alerted
pharmacists and AIDS organizations to
the problem in late December; the FDA
told Serono to issue a broader warning
Monday to ~.ensure all. AIDS pafi.ents~get
the word.
How to tell the fake Serostim from. the
HIV Doubles In SF
Gay Men Since ’97 ¯
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)- Paul Torello is
upfront about his life. He sells sex on the
¯ streets for drug money, and he’ s HIV posi-
¯ five. It’s a story he tells all of his male
¯ clients before he lets them chose whether
¯ to proceed with or without a condom.
¯ But more.often than not, his words have
¯ little effect. "It’ s sex that they really want
: to have," Torello said. "That’s primarily
¯ the attitude in the city. It’ s a fun thing for
", them." That attitude is party responsible
¯ for an alarming new report released that
: finds the HIV infection rate has more than
¯ doubled among San Francisco’s Gay men
: in four years.
¯ The report estimates that 2.2% of-the
37,000 Gay menin San Francisco who are
not infected with HIV will contract the
¯ virus - up from 1.04%in 1997. If nothing
¯ changes, 748 Gay men in San Francisco
," will fall prey to HIV this year, the report
¯ projects.Thatdraftanalysiscombinesmore
than 25 studies by the University of Cali-
¯ - fornia, San Francisco, that surveyed some
." 10,000 Gay men.
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"’We’ve been at this for 20 or 21 years,
and people are tired of it," said Dr. Tom
Coates, director of the UCSF Aids Research
Institute and one of two dozen
researchers and experts on the panel that
released the report. "People would rather
not have to talk about difficult issues and
not take precautions if they think there’ s a
form of chemical s available to help them."
Indeed, the new antiviral drugs responsible
for extending the lives of many HIV
patients may big the biggest catalyst drivingup
the incidence rate ofnew infections.
Long life spans make it possible for victims
to spread the virus to more people,
said Mike Slmver, Mayor Willie Brown’s
adviser on AIDS and HIV policy and an
organizer of the research panel. In addition,
he said, the drugs - first released in
the mid- 1990s - have eased the horror of
watching loved ones die a slow, agonizing
death.
"Why is it going up among men having
sex among men?" said Coates, who’ s been
HIV-positive since 1985. "The whole idea
of Gay liberation is having sex with whom
you want to have sex. It’s breaking down
old moralistic barriers. But it carries with
it something lethal, and it’s hard for the
Gay community to come to grips with."
Coates said he’ s seen a 50% decrease in
HIV rates among intravenous drug users.
He also hasn’t seen any increases in the
heterosexual population. Yet a quarter of
the city’s estimated 46,800 Gay men are
HIV-positive. And 80°70 of HIV infections
in the city are among Gay men, the study
found.
That means stories like Torello’s aren’ t
uncommon. A native of Hamden, Conn.,
Torello, 36, came to San Francisco three
years ago and contracted HIV in the past
18 months. He was sharing dirty needles to
sh0ot-up speed and having unprotected
sex with whomever would pay. He’ s not
sure how he contracted the virus. Still, he
continues to prostitute himself. "Every
person who I ever hook up with, I tell
them. Always," said Torello. "But I’ve
only been turned down once or twice."
The increase isn’t unique to San Francisco.
Coates said numbers are on the rise
in Sydney and Vancouver. In addition, the
Centers for Disease Control and PreventioninAdantareports
anincrease in syphilis
and gonorrheaamong Gay males in Los
Angeles, Miami and Seattle.
"We’ re definitely concerned about Gay
men across the county," said R6bert
Janssen, the CDC’s director of the division
of HIV/AIDS prevention. "We’re
pulling together and have begun to look at
a variety of ways to improve intervention
and prevention programs for Gay men and
to be~n to look at specific things we need
to do.’ Oti the Net: http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu
800 Thai Men Over
60 Turn Positive
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - More than
800 Thai menin their 60’ s have contracted
the virus that leads to AIDS in the past two
years, often after unprotected casual sex
with teen-age gifts, the health ministry
said. The men seek sex withminors because
of the misconception there is less
risk of contracting the disease from them
than from intercourse with older women,
said ministry spokeswoman Nittaya
Mahaphol, citing a recent ministry report.
"We’re not sure if it’s because of the
sex-booster Viagra that drives more elderly
men back to sexual activity. But these
men are apparently turning to casual partners
or schoolgirl prostitutes to avoid getting
infected," Nittaya said.
Thailand has won international acclaim
for its success in promoting condom use to
quell an HIV epidemic that swept the
nation in the early 1990s, infecting about
one million people. The "100% condom
program" is credited with saving an estimated
200,000 lives.
Infection rates have consequently
dropped, but the age-old belief still lingers
that sexual intercourse with teen-age girls
- the younger, the better - is safe and can
rejuvenate aging men.
Theministry report, based oninterviews
with men who had contracted HIV, was
released in a week when a 64-year old
representatave of Thailand’ s upper house
of Parliament was charged with statutory
rape for having sex with five teen-agers.
The incident has scandalized the public
and dominated the front pages of national
newspapers. Senator Chalerm Phromlert
allegedly entertained the gifts at a hotel on
the outskirts of Bangkok and paid each of
them 4,000 baht ($93) to have sex. He has
since resigned.
South Africa Starts
New Drug Study
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) -
The health department has launched a pilot
project to provide free anti-retroviral
medication to HIV-positive mothers and
evaluate its effectiveness in reducing the
virus’ transmission to their nnborn children,
officials said recently. The move
comes amid angry debate over the
government’ s often confusing response to
HIV and AIDS, which infect an estimated
4.2 million South Africans.
To date, anti-retroviral drugs have not
been made available through the public
health system. Authorities have argued
that they are too expensive and that their
safety has yet to be proven.
Over the next six weeks, the drug
Nevirapine is to be supplied to 18 hospitals
and clinics, which will issue it to
pregnant women who are HIV-positive,
said Dr. Noro Sinalela, head of the health
department’s HIV/AIDS program. The
results of the pilot study are to be evaluated
over the next year and, if effective, the
program is to be extended. Sinalela said
the country’s Medicine Control Council
approved the use of Nevirapine "about a
month ago" - a move that most AIDS
activists said they were unaware of.
"This is a huge step forward," said
Sharon Ekambaram of the AIDS consortium,
an alliance of 300 AIDS service
organizations: "It is a sign of political will
to deal with the problem. Very few of the
guidelines to date have talked about treatment."
Along with anti-retrovirals, the governmentalso
intends to provide HIV-positive
women with milkpowder, tominimize:the
chances of them passing thevirus to their
children through b~east=feeding. - ~i
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Well, here we are at the time of year when
hearts and flowers appear magically everywhere.
St. Valentine’ s Day approacheth,
and I have a few thoughts to share.
First off, it was, like many other holidays
appropriated from the Roman feast of
Lupercalia, a celebration ~’n honor of a
goddess oflove. St. Valentine
was later grafted
upon the date to
christianize the festival
in hopes of converting
more common folk. As
for the love aspect of
the whole thing, here’s
anote Ijotteddown with
both a friend and myself
in mind. It seemed
worth sharing:
v,rhat a shame that so
many confuse love with
¯ well, you get the idea. "Trick" is another
¯ good film for that same effect, and has a
~ hilarious parody of aspiring actresses fea-
¯ turing Toil Spelling. Matthew Boume’s
~ homocentricversionofSwanLakeisavail-
" able on video, for those with more high-
. brow standards (it’s about the shirtless,
: flawless swans). If you don’t mind your
Stomp, photo: Lois Greenfield
sentiment dished
straight up, there’s
"Somewhere In Time,"
possibly the most romantic
movie anyone
could watch with someone.
It’ II leaveyou snailing
and crying by the
end. Finally, if you’re
into chicken, "Chicken
Run" is a wonderful
film, with enough romance
to keep tongues
clucking. OK, the puns
control and game playing. And how sad it
is that when love - acceptance and physicalattraction-
is offered on a silver platter,
gift wrapped with no strings attached,
that people run in terror from it, believing
no one could ever truly love them and all
their flaws and accept them simply for
who and what they are and the gifts they
bring to life.
Instead, they choose to ignore that gift,
preferring instead to run to those ~ho will
reinforce feelings ofinadequacy, who will
rip them apart with abuse and harsh words
and cruelty, instead Of lifting them up. Is
there something so comfortable in accepting
that, in perhaps remmning true to our
backgrounds, that we deny ourselves anything
better? We are all good enough,
smart enough, and worthy of acceptance.
Don’t settle for anything less.
And speaking of love, the one love of
my life that has outlasted any man and a
few women, songstress Stevie Nicks is
finally releasing her new album "Trouble
in Shandri La" on April 10th. She also has
a song on the SweetNovember soundtrack,
a tribute to a friend of hers who died of
complications from AIDS. I had the privilege
ofreading the lyrics and it is beautiful,
a song of love and of hope that one day,
there will be no such disease.
The song is "Touched By An Angel",
and here is a sample of the poetry she has
written: "NO ONE SAW US GO... NO
ONE SAID GOODBYE, BUT IN MY
HEART, I LEAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS
THAT YOU WILL FIND THE
ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS,
AND TIL~T LIFE WILL ONCE MORE.
.. BEA CELEBRATION... ANDTHAT
YOU WILL BE TOUCHED BY AN
ANGEL."
Best Valentine gift this year: Music:
"Love Decides’!, Jane Olivor. Winner
hands down, sure to guarantee an evening
of gazing into another’ s eyes, warm gooey
feelings, and a cuddle. And ff not, then
you’re dating an ice queen whose heart
simply cannot be reached. Video/DVD:
"Broadway Damage", a wonderful romantic
comedy that has a predictable but swat
ending, is well-acted, and will leave the
two of you smiling.., and kissing.., and,
had to go somewhere!
And since this is about love, let me take
a moment to give the loves in my life a
valentine (appearing in no particular order):
Tom, for giving me a forum for
sharing some info about some wonderful
artists; Bonnie and Mariafor their laughter
and gifts of sdf they have brought into my
life, best of which is "The Bonnie and
Maria Show" - and the crock pot, a true
symbol of love if ever there was one;
Valerie, who makes sure we stay in touch;
J0ni, for being a kindred spirit and fellow
mischief maker and survivor of dysfunctional
families; Kate, for all the tides shared,
frustrations held, and tongues tied at work; -
Stefani, for all her love and support and
hugs for 17 years, and for growing into the
wonderful woman she has become - well
worth the diaper duties, the vom squad; to
Tari, for the drives to the hospital (on the
bumpiest roads possible) due to back
spasms at 3am, for being there, and for
taking on Morn; to Richard for taking on
would be bullies and exes who didn’ t want
to pay their share. To Mom,for being there
for 37 years, like it or not. To Peter, for the
same toys growing up (Chitty), the laughter,
and the asnides shared during parties
and dinners; Cody, for being a friend in
spite of me, and g~ving me the joy of
knowing that when i get to CA, I will know
someone there who. is relatively sane and
sweet; Chadforbeing such agreat ex-boss
and friend (I mis.s our chats!); Marti, for all
her wonderful smiles and stories and for
the big hugs; especially to Karin for the
last 14 years of putting up with my tears,
my jokes, and for .editing my poison pen
letters - and for sharing with me all the
joys and traumas since the day we met, as
well as knowing me better than anyone on
this planet - and still loving me, as well as
eventually growing fond of the music of
Stevie Nicks and sharing MelissaEtheridge
with me; Vic and Mary Neal, for the wonderful
dinners and poetry and laughs and
deep conversation and political rants over
the years; Terry and Paul for taking care of
puppies and finding me those CDs no one
else can get and for being there when I
lock myself out of my house;
see Amuse, p. 9
THE SMASH HIT RETURNSi.
Welcomed by
Wireless
Feb. 20-25-Brady Theate
All Carson Attractions locations,
584-2000
carsonattractions.com
20+ Groups, 477-7469
Presented by Celebrity Attractions. ¯ celebrityattractions.com ¯ ~.stompon|;ne.com
Drummers of Japan
March 4
7:30 p.m.
Chapman Music Hall
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
3rd & Cincinnati
Tickets
$17.50, $27.50, $35
Call 596,7111
Outside Tulsa:
1 800 364-7111
www.tulsapac.com
presented by the
Tulsa PAC Trust
"Perfection in music"
Boston Globe
"Total brain massage"
Independent on Sunday
"... waves of percussive
sound that seemed to turn
Carnegie Hall itself into a
resonant cavity ..."
New York Times
....... ,,
Don’ t let winter keep you inside hibernating-
there’ s plenty going on in Tulsain
February !
Holland Hall School will present-the
41st Annual Book Fair & Market (an annual
event since 1961). Organized by the
Holland Hall Parents’
Association., it
is the state’s largest
used book sale and
typically draws as
many as 10,000 patrons.
It’ s open Saturday,
February 24, 9 - 5,
Sunday, February 25,
noon - 5pro at the
Holland Hall Middle
School,5666 E. 81st
Street. Parking is
available on campus.
Admission is only $1
for adults 18 and ~ver
and is good for both
days. Besides books
and art, the Fair offers a"flea market" with
householditems, clothes, electronic goods,
records and CDs, kids wear and more.
Not to be missed are two very big bang
events: in February, Celebrity Attractions,
knownfor their Broadway shows, is bringing
back "stomp" at the Brady on Feb. 20
- 25. Part dance, mostly drumming, the 8
member group has played from London to
the Acropolis, all over television and their
work has won Obie, Olivier and Drama
Desk awards. Call 584-2000 for more information
and don’t miss them!
Early in March, one performance only
on Sunday, March 4th at 7:30pro, at the
Performing Arts Center (so get those tickets
now - March will be too late), the Kodo
Drummers of Japan return to Tulsa for the
first time in 10 years. Their performance
Frieda, Chewie and Luke for the licks and
grins; to the staff at Metro, who have
become friends and family away from
home; to Terry and Barry for making me
feel welcome when I first arrived and who
accepted me into their circle - special
thanks for the invite to the anniversary
bash, guys, it was fabulous; and finally:to
Brian, for refusing to let walls stand in his
way, for rocking my world, and for being
the one other gay man in OK who loves
Stevie Nicks almost as much as I do, who
knows who Linda Eder is, and for loving
me in spite of myself. And to my new
friend Lindsay, who bonded almost instantly
with me and shares my love of
Stevie’s music as wall. To all the people
who have gifted me with their presence in
my life, whose paths crossed with mine
and left a smile on both our faces. I am
incredibly lucky to have been gifted with
.these people’ s presence inmy life, and this
~s my .valentine to them all, and to all the
people reading this column, Happy
Valentine’s Day to you, too!
Heller Theatre presents "Trust," Steven
Dietz’ dramedy set in the rock music scene
running Feb 8-17; 746-5065 for info/tix.
The Lipizzaner Stallions will be trotting
The Junior Chamber Mission
Foundation held Chilifor Children. a
fundraiserforfamilies affected byHtV/
AIDS at St. Louis Bread Co. SLBC coowner"
Sue Stees is joined by JCMF and
SLBC staff, photo: Tracey E. Norvell
takes traditional Japanese drumnnng,
"taiko," and like Stomp, combines musical
performance with athletic grace
Call the PAC box office at 596-7111,
800-364-.7111, or www.tulsapac.com
Community women might want to head
south to San Antonio
for the 14th Texas
Lesbian Conference.
Comedian Karen
Williams will perform
atthe Marcia 23-
25 event to be held at
the Riverwalk’ s
Amerisuites near San
Antonio’s historic
King William District.
Other speakers
and workshops will
be presented covering
many of Lesbian
life. Call 210-532-
9821 or email to:
TLCSanAntonio
@aol.com for more
information.
Saturday, Feb. 10, Tulsa~s Largest Garage
Sale will be held at Expo Square on
the Fairgrounds from 8-4pm. Only $3, it
helps local charities raise funds. It’ s organized
by the Mental Health Association in
Tulsa. Community of Hope usually has a
booth in this event. Find cool things and do
good all at the same time.
Thatsame day, Dillon International, Inc.
will hold an international adoption workshop
from 9:30-4:30 atAsbury Methodist’ s
"Outback" in the back side of the Park
Plaza Center. Thefee is $60/family or $401.
single. Unverified rumor is that Dillon’s
director does not allow Gays or Lesbians
to adopt because of religious beliefs.
You might want to ask before you write
that check! see About. p. 11
up the town at Maxwell Convention Center
on the 1 lth; 584-2000
"Rashomon" a story of a bandit on trial
for the death of a samurai and rape of his
wife will be performed at the University of
Tulsa; 631-2567.
"She drives me crazy, ooh, ooh...’"
tops, no, that’s "Driving Miss Daisy,"
runs Feb 23-March 3 with American Theatre
Company, 747-9494.
TulsaBalletpresents "Romeo andJuliet"
again, Feb 23-25, 749-6006. When are
they going to do the all male version,
"Romeo and Julio?" Sounds like ajob for.
¯ . Matthew Bourne! I’m still waiting for
them to do his take on "Swan Lake."
Tulsa Opera presents "Tannhauser,"
Wagner’ s epic of love, death, magic, religion,
mayhem and revelryrtmning Feb 10,
16, and 18. Goddess bless.. Hey, Venus
makes a special appearance, so if you’re
looking for lo*e, the PAC’ s the place to be
on those nights.
And the big show of the month is
"STOMP" a raucous and spirited evening
of rhythm, music and percussion, all created
by ordinary and extraordinary household
objects! Feb 20-25 at the Brady Theatre,
presented by Celebrity Attractions. It
is a show that will have you tapping feet,
fingers, and the chairs of other patrons.
But try not to be too annoying...
by Lamont Lindstrom
I was reading up on secrecy and modesty
recently and I noticed that some anthropologists
claim that modesty is a human
universal. People - unlike dogs,
horses, or even chimpanzees
- retire into the shadows
to make love.
Whoa, I thought! How~
about all those orgies I hear
about (but never seem to
get invited to)?
Orthoseexhibitionists on
webcamnow.com? And
what about the infamous
toilets in Tulsa’s River
Parks?
Last year Tulsa’ s Mental
Health Association hosted
a working group on what to
do about public sex in the
parks. Various participants
from the city and county
park administrations, the
District Attorney’s office,
- the police, probation offic-
¯.. some
anthropologists elalm
that modesty is a
human universal...
Whoa, I thought! How
about all those orgies I
hear about . ?. Or
those exhibitionists on
webeamnow.eom? And
what about the
infamous toilets
in Tulsa’s
River Parks.. ? "
ers, and mental health professionals convened
throughout the year to discuss solutions
to public sex. In particular, they
sought ways to discourage recidivism.
Local wisdom has it (although hard statistics
seem peculiarly difficulty to produce)
that the officers who police the toilets are
arresting the same individuals time and
again.
Most of the folks around the table were
havdved, professionally, wlthneurosis and
deviance. It is no surprise, therefore, that
the group favored a response that combines
repression with therapy. First, arrest
anyone with his pants down, and then
make some sort of sex therapy ajudicially
imposed component ofhis probation. Like
myanthropological colleagues, weTulsans
presume that public sex is abnormal, even
unnatural. It’ s a problem to solve. Those
who do it in the streets frighten the horses
or even worse, in this century, the children.
My inclination instead would be to gain
an understanding of the culture of public
sexuality..Although not exactly a community,
the men involved are a population
which shares enoughcultural expectations
and understandings through which to fulfill
their equally shared desires. My anthropological
imperative would be, first,
to figure out the native point of view.
However, there is a cautionary precedent
that makes one worry about hanging
about public sex venues. Sociologist Laud
Humphreys got into hot water when he
published his 1970 book, Tearoom Trade:
Impersonal Sex in Public Places. Back in
those days, he hadn’ t thought to inform the
"trade" who he observed in St. Louis’
public toilets that he was, in fact, studying
them. And their wives also were rather
shocked when Humphreys turned up on
their doorsteps for an interview, having
traced the toilet trade’ s home addresses by
means of_their car tags. Humphreys’ controvers~
al research was one of the factors
that encouraged sociologists to write up
code of research ethics.
According to police participants in the
Mental HealthAssn’ s working group, most
of those arrested in Tulsa park restrooms,
similarly, are married men. But this can
only be part of the story: True, the toilets
serve as convenient meeting places for
otherwise respectablemen
in searchofanonymous sex
on their way home to wife
and kids. But toilets are
also complex sites where
self-identified Gays, selfidentified
Straights, and
everyonein-betweencome
together.
Don, one ofmy earliest
Gay friends, used to astonish
me with his boldness.
Don prefers anonymous
and public sexual encounters.
Don has had sex in
tiny Korean Airline washrooms,
underneath scraggly
bushes near the University
of Hawai’i’ s baseball
stadium, on sandy,
public beaches, in cars
parked at Wal-Mart, and at trnckstops and
highway rest areas stretching from Tulsa
to Los Angeles.
Don also used to hang out at the one rrated
video arcade in Tulsa. I learned from
him about the lively community of regulars
there who know, or at least recognize,
one another. These guys kill time chatting
and kikiing until some fresh meat- one of
those passing married guys, perhaps -
drops in. Then polite chatter turns into
sometimes vicious competitton over who.
elbows his way first into the video booth.
Gay activists, understandably, are concemed
that the public at large is way too
happy to tar us all with the scarlet brush of
promiscuity and uncouth sexuality. They
hasten to underline that the majority of
park toilet denizens are married and therefore
at least presumptively strS. But park
toilets feature men having sex with men,
however they define themselves, and the
Gay community inescapably is implicated
and involved.
Equality Colorado, a Gay activist group
in Denver, has worked with local police to
create an outreach program. Men hanging
about park toilets are contacted and provided
information about STDs, and about
better places to cruise. This, of course,just
removes the ]problem3 elsewhere. And
such removal is perhaps more difficult to
aclfieve in Tulsa where authorities have
closed down alternate sex sites such as the
notorious Overlook on the way to Key~
stone Lake, and downtown movie houses
and restrooms. Still, one might hope that
those homymarried guys might at least be
canny enough to check out the scores of
chatrooms and other internet opportunities
to meet up, and thus remove their
business from the public eye.
Butthings are not so simple. Culture and
desire both are at work here. There is an
international subculture of public sexual-
¯, ity that stretches from Tulsa to Japan to
Britain to beyond. You could take a Tulsa
¯ River Parks denizen and drop himin Hyde
: Park in Sydney, Australia and within 10
¯ minuteshe’dbebusy, seePrivates,p. 11
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College Hill
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In response to God’ s Love,
College Hill Presbyteri-~,an~ Church
is a community of GodN people
called to tell others the
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through worship,
service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
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Trusting in a living, loving God,
we seek to become a cq,mpassionate
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Our congregation, welcomes all
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Membership is open to all people
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(One block west of Delaware and the
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If one offered an alternative space - a
motel, perhaps, with backdoors - for married
guys to have happy-hour sex with one
another, those park toilets would still be
hopping. Clearly, the forbidden can be
exciting. Public and anonymous sex is a
pervasive feature Ofhumannature, despite
what my anthropological and psychological
colleagues might suppose.
in 1997 and 1999, says he will try again
this year. ’‘The chances do look better,"
Chisum saidl "After Vermont’s fiasdo,
there is a growing support to step up to the
table and do the right thing."
To Texas Gay civil rights activists,
Chisum’s bill is vindictive. "We already
we know we can’t get married here," said
Diane Hardy-Garcia, executive director of
the Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby of
Texas. "The only thing that can happen
with this is division and hurt.’"
Hardy-Garcia said her legislative priority
this year is ahate-erimes bill. "Those of
us from conservative Southern states have
to be very realistic about what we do," she
said. "Legislators would think I’mcrazy if
I went up and asked them to pass a marriage
bill fight now."
In New York and Rhode Island, however,
openly Gay legislators plan to introduce
Gay-marriage bills this year.
Rhode Island Rep. Michael Pisaturo is
unsure whether his bill will get through the
House Judiciary Committee, but said he is
intent on persevering year after year until
he prevails or loses his seat. "Most of my
colleagues realize it’s the right and fair
thing to do," he said. "But politically, it’s
a different story. Most politicians really
worry about getting re-elected." Pisaturo
has rejected suggestions that he propose
civil unions, rather than marriage. "I can’ t
accept anything the codifies in statute my
second-c!ass citizenship," he said.
In New York, state Sen. Tom Duane
plans to introduce two bills, one proposing
civil tmions and the other full-fledged
marriage for same-sex couples, according
to his chief of staff, Andrew Berman. "We
see these two as long-term projects," said
Berman, explaining that Duane’s proposals
would lack teeth until other anti-discrimination
measures are enacted.
Despite the efforts ofPisaturo andDuane,
the director of the ACLU’s Lesbian and
Gay Rights Project doesn’t expect any
state to swiftly endorse Gay marriage.
"Thereisn’ t anotherVermonton the shortterm
horizon," said Matt Coles. "It will
look like there’ s a pause in the movement.
But I say to people, ’Look more closely.’"
He said polls now suggest a majority, of
Americans favor some legal rights forGay
couples, albeit not official marital status.
He also noted the increasing number of
corporations extending domestic-partnersh~
p benefits to Gay employees. "Tenyears
ago there werejust ahandful of companies
doing that," Coles said. "Now, it’ s becoming
the standard of operation."
Activists in both camps also detect growing
empathy forGays and Lesbians among
young Americans, as evidenced by the
spread of Gay-Straight alliances at high
schools and colleges. ’’The young people
get it," said Deanna Kaffke, a Gay civil
rights leader who teaches at the University
of Nebraska. "Even with a conservative
student body, a majority of students on
campus see that this is a civil rights issue."
If Vermont’ s civil union law has helped
galvanize opposition to Gay marriage, it
also has inspired many same-sex couples.
Among them are Marcie Elias and Hillary
Smith, partners for more than two years in
New York City who are planning a civilunion
ceremony later this year in Vermont.
Elias, 28, described herself as "very
traditional." ’T ve always envisioned myself
getting married and having a ho~e.
When I came out, that never changed.
Many Gay couples see no need foi: a
formal ceremony, she said, "but in my
mind it’ s important to get up in front ofmy
closest friends and family and say, ’This is
the person I want to spend the rest of my
life with.’"
Elias, a management consultant, predicted
that a steady stream of same-sex
couples would go to Vermont to enter civil
unions, then return home and seek legal
benefits reserved for heterosexual married
couples. "They’ 11 get their requests denied
and eventually it’ s going toworkits way to
the courts," she said. "As more and more
Gay couples startdamoring forlegal rights
and protections, it will become more and
more of an administrative nightmare for
the states."
Wolfson, the Lambda Defense Fund
attorney, agreed that civil unions made in
Vermont would spawn lawsuits.’’This is
not some chess game," he said. "These are
real people who have entered a serious
legal relationship. As they encounter discrimination
or even uncertainties, there
will be litigation. It will arise out of genuine
crisis."
MiltonRegan, aprofessoratGeorgetown
University Law Center who specializes in
family law, predicted that state courts
would be the pivotal battleground over the
next several years as Gay couples seek
broader rights."The growing recognition
from the corporate sector begins to confer
some legitimacy," Regan said. "But it’s
not going to be inexorable, and there will
be backlashes in many areas. It’s one of
thosebattlegrounds in which there is lurching
in one direction and the other- another
front in the cultural war."
Over at Philbrook, if you hurry, there’ s
a sweet exhibit, Tulsa Collects, Treasures
from Private Collections, up till Feb. 11.
The show features historical and contemporary
European and American paintings,
sculpture and Native American art and
artifacts. There is a Thomas Moran painting
as well as works by French Impressionists,
Edouard Vuillard, Camille
Pissarro, 20th century American ardsts
Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Andrew
Wyeth, and glass sculptor Dale Chihuly.
Philbrook is located at 2727 S Rockford
Rd. Call 749-7941 for information.
Saturday, February ~7th, 8pm-Midnight
The Brady Mansion 620 North Denver
DJ, Hors d’oeuvres, Party Pics, Cash Bar,
Live Entertainment, Dress Mild to Wild
Door prizes for Best Dressed
Tickets: $15 advance or $20 at the door
Available at:
The Tulsa GLBT Community Center
2114 South Memorial Drive, 918-743-4297
and select vendors listed on the website.
Proceeds benefit The Pyramid Project
"Building a Home - Funding the Future,
for the Tulsa GLBT Community Center."
Made Possible by Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights (TOHR), www.PyramidProject.org

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