Pride board gets an earful
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Film looks at Prop 8 campaign
ARTS
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Busch league
The
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Mayor backfills some HIV money
Pride is catching on
by Seth Hemmelgarn
SF ready to litigate Prop 8 if needed by Matthew S. Bajko
M
ayor Ed Lee announced that he’s proposing $4 million to cover HIV health and prevention service cuts from the federal government in the coming fiscal year, bringing praise from advocates for people living with HIV and AIDS. More federal reductions are expected, though, and a funding gap remains. The budget “reflects a lot of work between the city government and the people we serve,” Lee said Friday, May 31 as he presented his proposed two-year budget for 2013-15 Rick Gerharter at City Hall. The total spending plan is Mayor Ed Lee nearly $16 billion. The mayor has worked for years to try to protect services. The backfilled $4 million is for the 201314 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The mayor had also filled in almost $8 million for 2012-13, and he’s budgeted a full $8 million for 2014-15, according to District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, who represents the Castro and other neighborhoods. “The mayor deserves all the credit in the world for stepping up for our community,” Wiener said. The gay supervisor believes that since Lee has budgeted the full $8 million for 201415, the mayor has moved federal money and Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act funding into the baseline Department of Public Health budget. Wiener called that move “terrific.” However, Wiener said, “Now, the board has work to do.” In 2013-14, there will be another $3 million in federal cuts due to reductions in Ryan White and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding, and cuts related to the federal sequestration. Wiener noted the city’s budget offers a “limited pie” for funds. “There’s a lot of competition for that money for very, very worthy areas, and we just need to make sure that HIV services stay front and center, and that we’re able to backfill that $3 million,” Wiener said. “It’s in our hands now,” Wiener said. “As a member of the budget committee, my top budget priority is going to be backfilling See page 12 >>
Vol. 43 • No. 23 • June 6-12, 2013
T Jane Philomen Cleland
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t’s not only big cities like San Francisco that are raising the rainbow flag for Pride Month. On Monday, June 3, leaders in the East Bay city of El Cerrito held their own flag-raising ceremony. Gathered at City Hall were, from left, Damian Alarcon, field representative for constituent services for Representative George Miller (D-Richmond), Commissioner Gabriel Quinto of the city’s Human Relations Committee, Mayor Pro Tem Janet Abelson, and Joan L. Carpenter, district coordinator for Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia. San Jose officials raised the rainbow flag Tuesday; City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio hosted that event.
he easiest solution would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a sweeping decision making same-sex marriage legal throughout the country, similar to its 1967 ruling outlawing bans against interracial marriage. But hardly anyone predicts that the nation’s highest court will take such a bold step in either of its rulings in two marriage cases now before Rick Gerharter it. The justices are expected to announce Therese Stewart their decisions sometime this month. Most legal observers expect that the court See page 11 >>
Town hall addresses suicide, solutions by Seth Hemmelgarn
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bout 50 people recently gathered in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood to discuss suicide and what can be done to help those in need. The town hall, “When the Rainbow Isn’t Enough,” which was held in a room near Mr. S Leather, 385 8th Street, originated after the recent suicides of several gay men, including Castro travel agent Jonathan Klein, 61, who is believed to have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge in April. The Community Initiative hosted the town hall. Panelists included porn star Michael Brandon and transgender activist Veronika Fimbres, among others. Those in attendance were mostly men in their 40s and over, and struggles with growing older and isolation were recurring themes. Moderator Tim Vollmer said the goal was to “get the word out and start talking about this issue in a sensitive, safe way.” He said he didn’t “want this to be a bitchfest ... about how bitchy gay men are.” Brandon spoke of some of the struggles he’s had, including depression and drugs. He encouraged people to check in with each other and “create community.” “Look around you,” he said. “All the people here are of the same vein.” Panelist Race Bannon, 58, talked about “Race’s Bar,” his Facebook group that brings
Rick Gerharter
The Community Initiative sponsored a town hall meeting about suicide among gay men. Offering their experiences and views on the panel, “When the Rainbow Isn’t Enough,” were from left, Veronika Fimbres, Jorge Vieto Jr., Michael Brandon, Race Bannon, and Blue Buddha.
people together both online and off. Social media “has tremendous power to bring us together,” Bannon said. At one point, Fimbres, 60, asked how many in the room had ever thought about suicide. Almost everyone raised their hand. Lewis Nightingale, 63, talked about the challenges of aging with HIV, including financial concerns, with a lack of support. “This is not my beautiful life,” he said. Like others at the forum, another man
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talked about how difficult it can be to reach out. “You try to talk to somebody in a bar, and they’re all looking at their phones,” he said. Attendee Billie Cooper, a transgender woman, asked about what could be done to get people to be open. “We can assume what they’re going through, but we don’t know,” Cooper said. Video of the May 29 forum is available at http://tinyurl.com/klpcpn2.t