More bloodletting at the New England Blade

Just when one may think things at the New England Blade (formerly InNewsweekly) couldn't get any worse, sources familiar with the troubled LGBT weekly in Boston have indicated to Boy in Bushwick that they very well may have. The paper's long-time office manager left a few weeks ago, and rumor has it additional terminations and resignations have once again left the newspaper scrambling. This writer anecdotally saw HX Media CEO Matthew Bank's away message on his Facebook profile as 'is going to Boston' over the weekend. Something must be going on in the Hub!

This speculation is the latest in a series of salvos directed at the troubled weekly. Former editor-at-large Fred Kuhr, Rhode Island correspondent Joe Siegel and columnist Chuck Colbert ceased their contributions to the newspaper late last year over back pay and concerns over editorial content and direction. HX Media also fired former associate publisher Bill Berggren in January after he allegedly used InNewsweekly resources to sell ads for a new publication, N'Touch, he unveiled in February.

A Suffolk County judge issued a temporary injunction against Berggren in February after HX Media filed suit against him and two former InNewsweekly sales representatives to block the publication of N'Touch. In addition to this litigation, Colbert told Boy in Bushwick this morning HX Media still owes him roughly$3,500.

These latest Boston revelations clearly indicate HX Media's empire remains in dire straights. HX Philadelphia abruptly folded late last month. And the New York Blade publishes every other week. Gay newspapers and other pink outlets are a very small niche within a much larger enterprises. The industry remains subject to the same trials and tribulations currently rocking the vast majority of traditional media, but HX Media's arguable antics don't serve their interests or those of their dwindling readership. They continue to tarnish the already questionable reputation of gay media. And this trend harms everyone involved.

Queens judge acquits three NYPD detectives who shot groom-to-be

A judge this morning acquitted three New York Police Department detectives who killed a groom-to-be outside a Queens strip club. Judge Arthur Cooperman found officers Michael Cooper, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper not-guilty in the death of unarmed Sean Bell outside Kalua Cabaret on Nov. 25, 2006. Bell, who was to marry his fiancee later that day, died after the officers shot him 50 times. His friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, were severely wounded in the barrage of bullets.

Bell's death has obviously galvanized many New Yorkers who arguably remain weary of the NYPD. The death of unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo in a hail of 41 bullets in 1999 remains a stark testimony of this reality. I confess my own distrust of the NYPD in response to several incidences of questionable conduct in my own neighborhood. Last spring, for example, I saw nearly half a dozen plain-clothed officers shoving the face of a bloody man onto the hood of a van as they shouted profanities at him. It was around 3 p.m., and a number of children on their way home from school saw this scene unfold on the block. I concede I don't know the specifics behind this man's arrest, but the conduct of the officers who detained him certainly left a lasting impression.

It must be said the vast majority of NYPD officers protect the public with honor. All New Yorkers -- gay, lesbian, black, white, etc., -- should acknowledge that. But the Bell shooting, and other incidents, certainly cast doubt among many people of color and others who remain concerned about the state of the department and the conduct of a handful of officers. And this debate will continue to rage.

Hillary's Pennsylvania victory sparks even more partisan brinkmanship

Journalists, activists and even objective observers have almost grown accustomed to the seemingly constant back and forth between operatives and supporters of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama during this lengthy primary and caucus season. The days leading up to the former First Lady's double digit victory in Pennsylvania last night featured a steady barrage of insults, criticisms and other observations from operatives on both sides.

One source here in New York featured a caricature of Obama with his nose up in the air after his comments about Pennsylvania voters during a San Francisco fundraiser became public. Another source routinely sends me a barrage of e-mails that try to spin coverage in Clinton's favor. It's important to note that Obama's campaign is not immune to these incidences, but the fact remains these operatives are not helping their cause -- and especially their candidates. The campaign obviously continues to unfold, but these folks arguably need to chill out, simmer down and quite frankly bite their tongues.

New York media gushes over Pope Benedict

As a self-confessed media junkie, National Public Radio, 1010 WINS and other news outlets are a prominent background feature in my home throughout the day and night. This weekend was no exception, but the proverbial orgy of media coverage surrounding Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the city this weekend was almost too much to stomach.

Reporters, anchors and others unapologetically gushed over the historical nature of the German-born pontiff's three-day visit to Gotham. Many could barely contain their excitement (and in some cases emotion) over the visage of Pope Benedict on Fifth Avenue, outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, holding Mass at Yankee Stadium, his youth rally in Yonkers, his solemn visit to Ground Zero or his historic visit to Park East Synagogue on the East Side on Friday.

The Holy See is certainly an influential entity within the world, and Pope Benedict is obviously worthy of coverage. But the question I kept asking myself during this media orgy was whether it came at the expense of the sex-abuse crisis, the exclusion of women, gays, lesbians and others from the Church. The majority of the city's media romanticized the pontiff. It focused its coverage on his appearance, and those who welcomed him into the city with open arms. There was precious little coverage of discriminatory dogma from within the church that continues to subjugate women, LGBTs and other faithful who fail to adhere to its strict and arguably largely outdated teachings. This is a true shame!

Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States

As a former Roman Catholic, I often recall the sadness and even anger I felt during my confirmation ceremony at St. Piux X Church in Manchester, New Hampshire. I was 18, but I had concluded this institution was not at all compatible with the progressive values I had already begun to embrace. My mother insisted this sacrament fulfilled one of my grandmother's dying wishes. I repeatedly argued she would not want me to go through with something with which I was not comfortable -- a position I maintain to this day.

But fast forward more than eight years to Pope Benedict XVI's whirlwind visits to Washington and New York that began on Tuesday afternoon. A friend and I watched CNN's live coverage of the pontiff's motorcade driving through Washington yesterday as we sat in a coffee shop in Hell's Kitchen. A number of media professionals have correctly raised questions about the sex abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church. The pope himself addressed these comments en route to the United States, and again during a meeting with American cardinals in Washington. This attention is arguably too little, too late, but the debate within the media and around the country remains needed.

That said, remaining questions over dogmatic positions against homosexuality, contraception, women in the priesthood and other issues will arguably remain secondary or even tertiary issues as many anchors, reporters and others continue to gush over the fact this trip marks the first time Benedict has visited the United States during his pontificate. This gross romanticization simply fails to accurately capture the deep problems that continue to face a Church that has arguably lost its moral authority in this country. The American Roman Catholic Church remains in a crisis, and many faithful almost certainly find themselves at a crossroads as they try to reconcile their faith with the actions (or inaction) of a religious institution in which they had once put so much faith. These struggles will not end with one six-day whirlwind visit.

WNYC highlights homophobia in Dancehall

The debate over homophobic lyrics in Jamaican Dancehall music has raged for years with British activist Peter Tatchell, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other organizations holding protests and other actions to draw attention to this issue. And WNYC, the city's National Public Radio affiliate, highlighted these efforts and the advocacy surrounding the Reggae Compassionate Act this morning.

A fair argument can be made that indigenous music is a result of the society from which it comes. LGBT Jamaicans face widespread homophobia, violence and even death in their country as Amnesty International and other international human rights organizations have repeatedly documented. Dancehall artists who see no problem including homophobic lyrics in their music arguably perpetuate this mistreatment against their LGBT brothers and sisters on the island.

The issue of free speech is always a concern, and one that must be taken very seriously in any debate over music and other forms of artistic expression. But the question remains, however, over whether one person's free speech infringes upon the rights of another to live their live without fear, the threat of violence or even death. Free speech is not a license to perpetuate hate. And Dancehall artists, like others from around the world, have a responsibility to their fans, themselves and the countries they claim to represent to examine the impact their lyrics have, and the unfortunate consequences they arguably have against their LGBT countrymen. The alternative is simply unacceptable.

EDGE highlights Boy in Bushwick

My editorial colleagues at EDGE are currently using the month of April to explore how the Internet continues to impact gay life, and contributor Scott Kearnan profiled Boy in Bushwick in an article posted today. A full text of the story is below.


Bloggers on the EDGE

Once upon a time, blogging had a bad name.

In the early days of the Internet, blogs (you know, online, regularly updated repositories of first-person musings) were not considered venerable written work. No, back in the gay old ’90s--when I used to walk 20 minutes uphill in the snow, just to get to an FTP server--blogs were not widely written, widely read or widely esteemed.

Online blogs were perceived as the domain of angst-ridden teens and self-absorbed computer nerds. You know, the kind of people who posted pictures of their half-eaten bagels and a riveting play-by-play of their latest exercise in watching paint dry; somewhere along the way, a personal epiphany worked its way into the confessional equation.

But thanks to the incisive politicking of people like Arianna Huffington, the incessant star stalking of pod people like Perez Hilton, and the--ahem, interesting--haikus of "celebrity authors" like Rosie O’Donnell, blogging is big business.

Once cottage cheese, it’s now a cottage industry; legitimate news sources implement them, millions upon millions of people read them (Blogger.com, an automated publishing tool, regularly ranks in the top dozen US-based Web sites) and the lucky few are able to make substantial livings off writing them.

For EDGE staffers, keeping a steady writing gig at your favorite online source of gay news and entertainment isn’t a Plan B, it’s a favorite exercise in flexing the journalistic muscle many have been training for years. But there are some stories, some anecdotes and some editorialized rants that, for one reason or another, just don’t fit for inclusion in mainstream media.

But you know writers; we never know when to shut up.

Rather than stifle the voice within, some of your favorite EDGE editors and reporters--the very writers whose work you enjoy every day (and you are enjoying it every day, aren’t you?!) maintain their own blogs. Some are simple side projects, some are outlets for a burning editorial passion; some are personal, some are political; but all provide a behind-the-scenes perspective on the writers and editors that make EDGE a reality.

Interested in what EDGE journalists have to say off the record? Here’s a guide to their unique sites and styles:

Who: Sam Baltrusis, Northeast Regional Editor
Where: www.loadedgunboston.blogspot.com
What: Before he was covering the ins and Outs of New England for Edge, Baltrusis worked for MTV and VH1. The history left him with "a lot of pent-up venom against the pop culture mainstream," says Baltrusis. He shot back with "Loaded Gun," a regularly updated blog that culls, dissects and comments on controversial topics; particularly those of the, you guessed it, pop culture variety. "I use Loaded Gun to test the waters, especially if it’s a controversial topic I plan to use for EDGE or other mainstream publications," says Baltrusis, who launched the blog in 2006. "I definitely have a lot more interactivity with the readers."
Sample Snippet: "I spent a few minutes looking at the mirror trying to strike my best Zoolander ’gay face,’’ writes Baltrusis, discussing the humor and harm in the new pop culture phrase. "On the surface, ’gay face’ is harmless fun. However, the term borders a dehumanizing caricature in my book."

Who: Clay Crane, contributing writer
Where: www.claycane.net
What: This New York City based EDGE writer also takes on the music, movies, books and more, with a focus on issues of race and sexuality. Like a lot of pro bloggers, Crane used the modern medium as a way to cross-market his other writings. "I wanted to spread the word about my [upcoming] novel," says Crane, who is in the process of publishing Ball-Shaped World, a novel surrounding the black and Latino ballroom scene. "When writing for other publications... I am being objective and wearing more of a journalist hat," says Crane, who also contributes regularly to Essence Magazine, AOL Black Voices, and Vibe.com. But with his blog, he’s free take bit more liberty: "It’s about giving my opinion and posing a question to my readers," he adds.
Sample Snippet: "I will never be able to understand racialized preferences within black people," says Crane, discussing a dinner date with a preference for lighter skin blacks. "It’s one of the saddest and blatant examples of internalized hate."

Who: Michael K. Lavers, Mid-Atlantic Regional Editor
Where: www.boyinbushwick.blogspot.com
What: Echoing Baltrusis’ sentiment about corporate work steering a writer from his unique voice, Lavers launched his blog in 2007 after leaving a job with GLAAD. "My role was to provide strategic media support to local and statewide organizations throughout the Northeast," explains Lavers. "This task included crafting effective messages, writing press releases, and other media correspondences that didn’t necessarily reflect my own beliefs. Boy in Bushwick allowed me to regain my voice and to discuss the issues I want to discuss." Like many of his fellow EDGE bloggers, Lavers is particularly interested in discussing the intersection of social delineations like sex, sexuality and race; that the blog will follow Lavers’ summering on Fire Island in the coming months should make for plenty of additional rumination. But most of all, he’s grateful to have a venue that reflects his unique voice. "[Journalism] schools often teach, or even preach, journalists should not express their opinions about the subjects about which they write," says Lavers. "This certainly holds true in my reporting and editing for EDGE, but I feel Boy in Bushwick is the appropriate venue where I can showcase my editorial voice."
Sample Snippet: "Are LGBTs more oppressed than other minorities? ... It is arguably unproductive to compare the oppression one group, such as people of color, to that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or other people may face in this country or others around the world. These comparisons amount to comparing apples and oranges."

Who: John Steele, contributing writer
Where: www.the-sound-and-the-fury.blogspot.com
What: "Pop cultural ramblings" are the order of the day for Steele, whose recent posts cover everything from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Ashley Dupre. "I don’t do confusing stories with a lot of nuance on my blog," says Steele of differentiating that work from others. "I stick to the simple human comedy of the everyday and the relics of pop culture that we might all like to forget. It’s a voice without an agenda but also with a lot of thought." Indeed, Steele says it’s important to maintain journalistic standards, no matter how light the subject may seem. "Either you respect your craft or you don’t. And that should stay the same no matter who you write for. Because at the end of the day, its your name on the byline. You have to be accountable for that."
Sample Snippet: "Hi, my name is Ashley Alexandra Dupre. I am 22 years old. I love to travel and play in the outdoors. Other hobbies include showing my snatch in public and dethroning the Governor of New York."

QUICK ENTRIES:

Not satiated yet? Here are some other blogs on the EDGE of cyberspace.

Adeli Brito, an EDGE NYC music reviewer, keeps a daily blog of music reviews, lists, retrospectives and reflections. Many entries take an "on this day in music history" approach to educating music trivia.
Where: www.adeli.wordpress.com

EDGE writer Alan Bennett Ilagan’s blog is also a useful guide to his previously published work for other publications like Instinct, xy, Q Northeast and the rest of his body of work. "Body" being an operative phrase; Ilagan is kind enough to include galleries of pics that show the writer in travel, in drag and in the shower. We’re particularly grateful for the latter.
Where: www.alanilagan.com

Writer Christopher de la Torre does double duty: Leaves of the Tree is his personal blog on national news, politics and pop culture, while Urban Molecule is an opportunity to indulge his appreciation of edgy contemporary art. Learn how to right click; you’ll find some sweet desktop wallpaper. Thanks, Chris!
Where: www.leavesofthetree.wordpress.com and www.urbanmolecule.com

Eliot Glazer spreads the love of random, witty observations on everything from celebrity culture to the minutiae of daily life. Entries tend to be short and clipped, making his a great dose of daily diversion.
Where: www.fasthugs.typepad.com

Erik Roldan, a Chicago-based EDGE contributor, maintains a blog that is an extension of his radio show, focusing on art and music for the queer community. The blog includes news, reflections... and mp3s. Score!
Where: www.thinkpinkradio.com

Spring has finally sprung

Forgive me for this potentially overly giddy posting, but Spring has finally sprung here in New York. It was 73 degrees here in the city today, and I soaked up a few rays this afternoon in Union Square with hundreds of my fellow New Yorkers and others who had the same mission in mind. The trees had buds on them, the daffodills were in full bloom, and sunglasses were the fashion accessory du jour. I leave for Fire Island in less than a month, but today in the city was simply wonderful.

Are LGBTs more oppressed than other minorities?

My roommate posed this question earlier this morning during a broader conversation about oppression and which group suffers more in this country. It is arguably unproductive to compare the oppression one group, such as people of color, to that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or other people may face in this country or others around the world. These comparisons amount to comparing apples and oranges. They lose sight of the myriad of underlying complexities involved around oppression, how it is imposed upon a particular group and its broader impact.

Some of the most overly racist people I have met are unfortunately white gay men who all too often forget they too are subject to discrimination and even oppression. They remain unable to marry their partner in 49 states. These same men cannot serve openly in the United States military, and they cannot even donate blood to the American Red Cross because of their sexual orientation. The list of things these men are unable to do goes on and on, but they apparently forget the oppression to which they are arguably subject in their own oppression of others with a different skin color or background.

The purpose behind the previous example is to highlight the hierarchy of oppression that inherently exists within a particular group. This reality is a small piece of a much broader reality within American society and others around the world. One can quickly argue it remains a sad irony for gay men, such as those mentioned in the previous example, to perpetuate oppression against others while they face their own discrimination. And it also arguably concludes power dynamics and struggle remains alive and well within LGBT America as it does throughout society.

Dr. King's legacy lives on

Today marks four decades since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Arizona Sen. John McCain are among the thousands of people expected to take part in a variety of commemorations across the city that will mark the grim anniversary. Pundits, commentators and other observers will certainly continue to analyze Dr. King's legacy today -- as they have done since his untimely death on April 4, 1968.

My home state of New Hampshire did not officially recognize Martin Luther King, Jr., Day until the late 1990s, and some may question how a 26-year-old gay white man from the Granite State could possibly find this figure inspirational. Dr. King was certainly controversial during his all too brief life, but the movement he spearheaded (and arguably continues to lead in memorium), arguably laid the foundation upon which the modern movement for LGBT rights is built.

Racial prejudice and intolerance remains alive and well in the United States. My grandmother's initial rejection of her multiracial great-grandchild is one of a myriad of examples of this reality. This country must continue to confront this legacy. Dr. King inspired millions of people to stand up and demand their rights in a country whose founding document proclaims all men are created equal. This legacy lives on four decades after his death.

Question: Are we too politically correct?

As a journalist, commentator and overall observer of the world around me, I sometimes ask whether I am too politically correct. My roommate and some members of my family periodically provide me with an affirmative answer to this question during conversations about politics, current events and other things that happen to dominate headlines on a given day. But the question about whether a person (or an organization) is too politically correct, however, is one that extends beyond an individual or entity.

The movement for LGBT rights arguably tackles with this question on a daily basis as it seeks to expand its collective agenda. Jay Leno's insensitive joke towards actor Ryan Phillippe during a taping of the "Tonight Show" last month, efforts to curb 'homosexual,' 'transvestite' or even 'faggot' in the media or even calls to boycott pundit Ann Coulter, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and other (arguably) anti-LGBT figures from the airwaves are endemic examples of this debate that so often takes place within organizations around the country. Activists behind these efforts often have the best of intentions: They want to ensure fair, accurate and inclusive images and representations of LGBT people in the media, they feel "faggot" and other anti-LGBT slurs defame, prejudice and even encourage anti-LGBT violence or they feel Coulter and company have had their moments in the sun. But are these efforts actually effective?

This question is not an attempt to distract attention away from the need for people to be held to account for their anti-LGBT statements and actions, but it begs us to examine the broader issues associated with it. An observer outside the movement for LGBT rights can arguably conclude it has become obsessed with political correctness. The examples cited in the previous paragraph, and a plethora of others, could certainly prove this subjunctive hypothesis correct. But yet another question remains as to whether this obsession has produced tangible results beyond the admittedly small sphere that is the movement for LGBT rights. Time will certainly tell.

My Fire Island Summer Share

With today's cool and gloomy weather seemingly locked in the place, the fact summer is less than three months away may escape more than one skeptical reader as he or she grabs that sweater and even overcoat -- count myself among those ready for spring to officially spring in the five boroughs! My thoughts, however, have already begun to turn towards Fire Island for another summer at the Fire Island News.

I will be managing the bi-weekly newspaper in Ocean Beach, but the fascinating juxtaposition between the beach and Bushwick will remain one of the more fascinating parts of what promises to be an exciting summer. Manhattanites and others with money to spare descend upon the narrow barrier island each weekend, while people in Bushwick and other economically disadvantaged areas struggle to pay their rents each month. Lobster bakes, gay circuit parties and exclusive (and sometimes politically charged) community meetings are among the items routinely found on the social and political agenda throughout the more than a dozen communities that dot Fire Island, while the impact of gentrification, gang violence and even police brutality dominate the concerns of many of my Bushwick neighbors. And an absence of cars on Fire Island in comparison to the almost constant ConEd jack-hammering and industrial vehicle traffic remains another stark reminder of the sheer difference of the two places.

Fire Island remains a natural paradise to which I clearly look forward. The newspaper is a wonderfully positive place to work, and my expected deep tan by the end of the summer will certainly become an added plus, but this juxtaposition will allow me to maintain a sense of perspective as I traverse both the beach and Bushwick in the coming months. Stay tuned...

Late Night Thoughts on the Downtown 1 Train

The trip from 207th Street to 14th Street on the downtown 1 train at 3 a.m. is often mercilessly long. I fortunately caught it within two minutes of arriving at the station after leaving the Escandalo Nights party in Inwood very early this morning, but I inevitably had nearly 45 minutes to think as I struggled to stay awake on the nearly empty train.

The reality that I have yet to come out to my grandmother consumed my mind as the train slowly traveled downtown. She is a conservative, bigoted and overtly homophobic Roman Catholic widow who lives in Southwest Florida. This reality obviously poses a number of potentially critical questions and concerns for me: What would happen if I formally came out to her? How would she react? Would she speak with me again? Millions of LGBT people around the world inherently face these questions as they consider coming out to various loved ones. And they face the consequences for better or for worse.

I've had conversations about this possibility with my mother, and the response has been less than enthusiastic. It seems rather ridiculous to say to her son that she doesn't want your grandmother to love you less than she does already. Indeed. The temporary solace comes in the fact I see her once a year at most, but the obvious issue remains that I am not 100 percent honest about who I am as an openly gay man who feels proud of this gift. Nothing in live is ever black or white. There are always shades of gray that tend to complicate our not so perfect world... and unfortunately this fact is one that muddied my thoughts during the long trek back to Bushwick at 3 a.m.

An open door: Gay Dominicans seek more visibility

With temperatures here in New York below 40 degrees this morning, I certainly yearn for the balmy breezes and warm beaches that I visited last month in the Dominican Republic... a girl can dream... but one of the most memorable parts of the trip was how my friend and I were able to gain some valuable insight into the everyday experiences of gay Dominicans in Santo Domingo and other places around the country.

My EDGE Publications article sought to examine these experiences first hand. The intent was to get beyond the gay tourists who may visit the country to have sex or to remain sequestered from Dominicans inside those horrible resort complexes that dot the coastline. And those with whom I spoke allowed us a glimpse into their world -- Parque Duarte, Cha and even the one-day mass migrations of gay Capitalenses to La Vega for the city's annual carnival. Gay Dominicans are certainly becoming more visible, at least in Santo Domingo, despite the homophobia and machismo that remain embedded in Dominican society. They remain hopeful, and perhaps all of us can take a page out of that optimism.




It was a balmy Friday night late last month as hundreds of gay men, lesbians and transgender people gathered in Parque Duarte in the heart of Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone to meet friends, drink and even cruise. A handful of "bugarrones" or male prostitutes discreetly worked the crowd, but Ariel, a 25-year-old from the northern city of Santiago, described the park as a haven of sorts for the capital’s LGBT residents.

"I come here for peace," he said. "There are many women who are lesbians and many men who are gay who can meet each other."

Parque Duarte has become the de facto hub for the capital’s LGBT residents as they slowly become more visible. Homophobia remains pervasive throughout much of the Dominican Republic, but cosmopolitan Santo Domingo attracts LGBT Dominicans from across the country because its residents tend to be more tolerant of homosexuality than others who live in the countryside.

"Gay people from across the country come to live in the capital," journalist Glaen Parls Rosario said as he drank a beer with friends in Parque Duarte. "They are less abused and there is less resistance to the movement."

Santo Domingo activists have organized a variety of low key LGBT conferences and even pride marches in recent years, but the city’s gay bars and clubs draw locals and tourists alike on any given weekend. Television personality Chachita Rubio, who also performed at La Escuelita in New York, opened Cha along Santo Domingo’s dramatic oceanfront in February 2007. And hundreds of LGBT Dominicans pack the crowded dance floor each weekend as DJs spin merengue, salsa, American and Latino pop, hip hop, reggaeton and local drag queens, often wearing elaborate costumes, take to the stage.

Santo Domingo resident David Baez, his boyfriend Miguel and their friends are regular patrons. He acknowledged many older gay Dominicans remain in the closet because of homophobia or conservative attitudes towards homosexuality from within their families, but Diaz, 25, added he feels these attitudes continue to change.

"At the beginning, a lot of people judged us, but society is more accepting now," he said while having coffee inside a coffee shop along Santo Domingo’s pedestrian-only shopping district near the Colonial Zone. "If people see you walking and holding hands, there is no problem. People may see you, but they won’t judge you. You can do what you want."

Dominicans in New York moderate societal homophobia

Puerto Plata native Alberto Fermin, who is a club promoter in traditionally Dominican-dominated Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, agreed. He suggested the large Dominican diaspora that began to settle in New York in the 1960s have helped to temper homophobic attitudes in his homeland.

"People are being more open than before," he said. "People feel free to go down there and to be themselves."

Blogger Anthony Montgomery moved to Santo Domingo from New York in January 2004. He manages a gay-friendly hotel in the Colonial Zone. Montgomery echoed Fermin’s assessment while adding many LGBT Dominicans he meets either deny their sexuality or simply remain in the closet.

"I actually feel much more comfortable being gay here than in the States, but it’s still very homophobic and hard to be out," Montgomery said. "There are no [prominent] gay Dominicans. There are rumors about prominent gay people in the government, but there is no one who’s going to come out and say I’m gay."

Church remains hostile towards LGBT Dominicans

Activists have attempted to pressure the Dominican government to enact pro-LGBT legislation, but the Roman Catholic Church and Cardinal Jesús López Rodríguez in particular remain outspoken opponents of any attempts to expand right to LGBT Dominicans or to even give them a more prominent role in society.

He described gay men as "maricones" or faggots in an editorial published in a leading Dominican newspaper last October. And Rodríguez criticized gay American and European tourists in the Colonial Zone in an April 2006 interview with the Associated Press.

"Take all of them away," he told the news agency. "We cannot allow that this place, the historical center of Santo Domingo, to be converted into the patrimony of foreign and Dominican degenerates."

Rodríguez and other church officials and religious organizations have pressured local police to impose curfews that curtail the hours the capital’s bars and clubs can remain open. The Spanish-owned Arena closed in March 2007 after police ordered it shut down following a raid that reportedly found two 17-year-old boys in the club.

HIV emerges as a new threat

Increasing HIV and AIDS rates in the Dominican Republic is another problem facing the country. The Presidential Council on AIDS (COPRESIDA), a commission former President Hipólito Mejia created in 2001 to combat the epidemic, estimates nearly 80,000 people in the Dominican Republic live with HIV and AIDS and heterosexual sex accounts for 81 percent of all infections.

COPRESIDA has launched a variety of initiatives in recent years aimed at reducing these rates of infection and extending anti retroviral drugs and other treatments to Dominicans living with the virus, but Amigos Siempre Amigos in Santo Domingo seeks to reduce the number of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses among men who have sex with men through education, condom distribution and other outreach initiatives. ASA founder Leonardo Sánchez could not be reached for comment, but Gay & Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization (GALDE) executive director Francisco Lazala told EDGE in an interview from his Manhattan office his organization regularly sends condoms and other resources to the capital.

COPRESIDA’s Web site contains links to ASA, other Dominican and international LGBT and AIDS organizations, but Lazala maintains President Leonel Fernández and his administration needs to extend more resources to combat the epidemic among LGBT Dominicans and MSM.

"It’s really, really bad," he said. "They don’t have adequate services for anybody."

Baez conceded HIV and AIDS remains a threat, but he quickly quipped LGBT Dominican themselves often cause their own problems.

"There are a lot of people who don’t accept themselves and go against each other," Baez said.

He remains proud, however, of the progress he contends his country has made as it becomes more tolerant of LGBT people.

"This country is like any other country," Baez said. "You can find good people and bad people."

World marks fifth anniversary of Iraq war

With the myriad of deadlines that loomed this past Wednesday, I did not have adequate time to reflect upon the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq. President George W. Bush announced the invasion had begun during a televised address on March 19, 2003 as networks around the world broadcast dramatic images of American air strikes across Baghdad.

I was studying in Granada, Spain, at the time and I vividly recall a handful of men huddled around a radio inside a newspaper kiosk around 3:30 a.m. as I was walking home after spending the night out with my visiting friend Becky. She had flown into Madrid the day before, and the added security at the airport was a clear signal to me that something was going to happen in Iraq. And the blaring newspaper headlines the following day confirmed the beginning of the war to which I had concluded the men were listening on the radio.

Former Prime Minister José María Aznar supported the war, but nearly 90 percent of the Spanish public vehemently opposed it. And this opposition certainly shaped my perception of the initial air strikes, Bush's decision to attack Iraq and the subsequent campaign that continues into its sixth year.

War, by its very nature, is a sustained, large scale and violent proposition. The highly politicized debate about whether Bush should have authorized the invasion of Iraq, increased the number of troops on the ground or even exert more pressure on Baghdad to expedite desperately needed political reforms will certainly continue in this election year. But war also, by its very nature, produces a number of unintended consequences.

The United States' reputation around the world remains the most conclusive example of the war's global impact. Hundreds of thousands of people took part in anti-war marches across Spain before the conflict began and in the days after the first missiles fell onto Baghdad because they strongly opposed the Bush administration's plan. These manifestations took place countries around the world, and sent a very powerful and profound message that more or less remains today on this fifth anniversary: war is the worst case scenario whose perpetrators must carry out with the utmost foresight and moral integrity. It arguably remains unlikely those who authorized the war in Iraq used this judgment.

Polish president uses gay activist's wedding pictures to express oppositon to same-sex marriage

A Queens gay activist has filed a formal complaint against the Polish president after he used images of his wedding in a speech that expressed opposition to marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

President Lech Kaczynski used images from Brendan Fay and Tom Moulton’s 2003 wedding in Toronto during a nationally televised address to explain his opposition to the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty based, in part, because he vehemently opposes same-sex nuptials. Kaczynski and other Polish government officials have a long history of anti-LGBT rhetoric and supporting anti-LGBT legislation.

Human Rights Watch wrote former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski in March 2007 to warn against passage of a bill that would have banned the discussion of homosexuality in Polish schools, while the EU and activists across the world widely panned assertions a leading Polish official made last May that suggested the popular cartoon Teletubbies promote the so-called homosexual lifestyle.

Homophobia and even violence against LGBT Poles remain concerns, but some activists expressed optimism newly elected Prime Minister Donald Tusk would begin to address these issues upon his inauguration last November.

Fay said he plans to meet with the Polish Counsel General in New York next week. He added he will also request to meet with Kaczynski.

Paterson takes office

Hope seemed to run eternal as Gov. David Paterson took office in Albany yesterday after one of the most turbulent and surreal weeks in the history of New York politics. The scandal and hypocrisy that brought down former Gov. Eliot Spitzer seemed light years away as Paterson assumed the helm of a state facing a $5 billion budget shortfall, growing woes on Wall Street and a citizenry that almost certainly needs reassurance of the state's political system.

Paterson was hopeful and optimistic in his brief speech, but he is, perhaps most importantly, a stark contrast to the combative style his predecessor during his all too brief 14-month tenure. New Yorkers across the state are almost certainly looking for a fresh start in Albany, and are looking to Paterson to deliver. Let's hope he can.

Penn. official seeks to become state's first openly gay lawmaker

The upcoming April 22 primary in Pennsylvania has begun to galvanize local LGBT activists and politicos across the Commonwealth. The race between Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton continues to garner a bulk of national (and even local) news coverage, but Lansdowne Borough Councilmember Kevin Lee hopes to become the first openly gay lawmaker in Harrisburg this fall.

He launched his campaign against long-time incumbent state Rep. Nicholas Micozzie [R-Upper Darby] last July as indicated in this article posted on EDGE Philadelphia last week. A lot remains at stake in the capital with this crucial local, statewide and national election, and Lee may very well make history himself if elected.



With the Pennsylvania primary less than six weeks away, one Delaware County legislator hopes to become first openly gay lawmaker in the state Legislature.

Lansdowne Borough Councilmember Kevin Lee announced his candidacy last July to challenge 15-term incumbent Rep. Nicholas Micozzie [R-Upper Darby] in House District 163. Lee, a registered nurse who is the first openly gay elected official in Delaware County, criticized his opponent for voting against a bill that would have expanded health care to women based on what he described was his opposition to abortion. And he further blasted Micozzie for supporting a proposed Constitutional amendment to ban marriage for same-sex couples in the Commonwealth.

"He has been detrimental to the community - and the LGBT community in particular," Lee said in a recent interview. "He has no clue about the real issues for the people in Pennsylvania."

Lee said he feels it is important LGBT people have an ally in Harrisburg, but he added expanding LGBT rights is one piece of a broader platform he hopes to advance if elected.

"The kind of things people - including LGBT people - want to see are health care and [lower] taxes," Lee said.

First appointed to the Lansdowne Borough Council in 2004, voters elected Lee the following year. He was instrumental in the implementation of domestic partner benefits to borough employees and the addition of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to Lansdowne’s non-discrimination statute, but Lee has faced criticism during his political career.

He told EDGE Philadelphia he faced a small amount of criticism after he was the grand marshal of the Philadelphia Pride Parade in 2005. Lee faced sustained verbal harassment and even death threats after Repent America director Michael Marcavage published his phone number on his Web site. Lee said his home was broken into twice and someone took his trash away after he placed it outside.

"It was just very nasty stuff," he said. "It all came after he put us on their Web site."

The Victory Fund, the Delaware County Democratic Party, Congressman Joe Sestak, state Rep. Bryan Lentz [D-Swarthmore], Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) are among the groups and elected officials that have endorsed Lee. He described himself as a political outsider while expressing optimism going into the April 22 primary.

Lee further concluded voters are ready for a change.

"We’re going to pull out all the stops," Lee said. "The time has come we make changes in Harrisburg."

LGBT organizations weigh in on Spitzer

With New York appearing to take a collective sigh of relief over Gov. Eliot Spitzer's resignation earlier today, LGBT organizations have echoed many in the state in expressing their optimism to work with incoming Gov. David Paterson.

Empire State Pride Agenda executive director Alan Van Capelle praised the former state Senator's record on LGBT rights as he pointed out Paterson's support of hate crimes legislation and the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act of 2002.

"David Paterson’s leadership is a story of commitment to civil liberties and human rights," Van Capelle said in a statement posted on the Pride Agenda's Web site. "He believes in equality and justice for all New Yorkers and has demonstrated this time and time again—in both words and actions."

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, agreed.

"We know we can count on him to continue his decades-long commitment to winning full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender New Yorkers," he said.

Paterson supports marriage for same-sex couples at a time when activists across the state have looked to a Democratic take-over of the Republican controlled state Senate in November in hopes of securing passage of a marriage bill next year. It remains to be seen whether this effort will succeed, but it appears as though LGBT activists have followed the apparent lead of state Democrats in their efforts to quickly move forward from this tumultuous period. In many ways, it appears as though they want Spitzer to become an after thought with upcoming local, statewide and national elections. He became a significant distraction in the coming days (and arguably since he took office in January 2007), and partisans (and arguably some LGBT activists in New York and around the country) are quietly happy to see him go.

The saga will continue to evolve, but the collective consensus is arguably to begin to move forward. Stay tuned...

Spitzer resigns

A stunning and utterly sad fall from grace has come to pass.