Films to decrease at Castro
Middleton in it to win it
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Kehinde Wiley
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ARTS
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ARTS
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'Clue'
The
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Vol. 53 • No. 12 • March 23 - 29, 2023
Agency opens first trans services center in SF by Matthew S. Bajko
C
Courtesy Oakland LGBTQ Community Center
Curtis Marsh was found stabbed to death March 4.
Suspect appears in court in Marsh killing
by John Ferrannini
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UC employee charged in the stabbing death of an Oakland Black gay man now has an attorney, though his plea date was pushed back to next month as he appeared in an Alameda County courtroom Tuesday. Sweven Waterman, 38, of Oakland is now set to enter a plea Wednesday, April 5, in Department 112 at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse, near Jack London Square. See page 12 >>
No arrest made in Davis killing by John Ferrannini
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akland police continue to invest igate the shooting death of gay Black man Devonte Davis and no arrest has been made, a department spokesperson said. Davis, 27, also Courtesy Oakland known as “Tay,” was LGBTQ Community Center identified March 16 Devonte “Tay” as the victim of a hoDavis was shot and micide near the Oak- killed in Oakland land Coliseum that March 12. occurred March 12. “Unfortunately, there has been no arrest made in this case,” Oakland Police Department Officer Rosalia Lopez stated to the Bay Area Reporter March 20. Davis’ killing came less than a week after police made an arrest in the stabbing death of another gay Black man, Curtis Marsh, a former member of the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus. (See related story.) See page 12 >>
Gooch
‘Saints’ step in to help Sisters
I
t was a fun afternoon all around Sunday, March 19, at the Edge bar in the LGBTQ Castro neighborhood as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were the beneficiaries of a party organized by “Saints,” or people they’ve honored for their community work, at “When the Saints Go Marching In.” And, while the party was to raise funds for the Sisters, they got to perform their own good work by “sainting” Joe Prince Wolf, center, as “Saint Prince Ahhhhrrrroooooo, Pre-
cocious Paddler to the Nightlife Stars & Maker of Merry for our Community.” Sister TildaNexTime, second from left, sported an elaborate mask of three faces, and postulant Mya Neurosis, right, joined in the festivities. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, last summer the Sisters were the victims of embezzlement, and the party was to help raise funds for the Sisters’ upcoming Easter party at Mission Dolores Park, set for Sunday, April 9.
aught in Tuesday’s early morning rainstorm without an umbrella on route to attend the official opening of the first stand-alone facility dedicated exclusively to serving San Francisco’s transgender and gendernonconforming communities, Gizelle Mattingly slipped into the room holding the wardrobe offerings of the SheBoutique. Filled with free clothing that trans women and others can use for job interviews or other needs, Mattingly picked out a soft-pink blazer to borrow. A client and volunteer with the San Francisco Community Health Center’s Trans Thrive program, Mattingly wanted to be presentable for the grand opening ceremony for the program’s new dedicated space since she expected to be interviewed by the invited media. The experience was “inspirational,” she told the Bay Area Reporter. The 8,000 square foot facility, which includes 2,000 square feet of usable outdoor space, signals a true commitment to the trans and nonbinary people who will walk through its doors, said Mattingly, 38, a trans woman who moved See page 2 >>
CA bill would protect LGBTQ foster youth from non-affirming homes by John Ferrannini
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California lawmaker announced a bill March 17 would limit the ability of prospective foster parents who aren’t affirming of LGBTQ youth identity to become resource families. Senate Bill 407, introduced by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is seeking to clarify section 16519.61 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which governs how counties or departments can deny or refuse someone’s ability to become a foster parent. Wiener told the Bay Area Reporter that while some people may have objections to LGBTQ rights – 29% of Americans were not in favor of same-sex marriage according to a 2022 Gallup poll, for example – that doesn’t give them license to hurt queer young people developing a sense of their identities. “Being a resource family is a privilege, not a right,” Wiener stated, referring to foster parents. “If a family feels that their religious beliefs prevent them from supporting a foster kid’s full identity, they are unfit to take on this responsibility. A person’s religious views don’t override a kid’s right to be safe.” Wiener also stated, “every child deserves to be 100% supported at home.”
Courtesy Sen. Wiener’s office
State Senator Scott Wiener
“SB 407 ensures that foster youth receive this essential support by specifically requiring LGBTQ acceptance be considered in the resource family approval process, creating standard documentation for the assessment of LGBTQ youth needs, and ensuring more frequent follow-up,” he continued. “These youth are at high risk for homelessness, criminal justice involvement, and
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mental health issues, and we must do everything in our power to ensure they have a safe home in the state of California.” The law currently states that the California Department of Social Services “may deny a resource family application or rescind the approval of a resource family, and the department may exclude an individual from any resource family home, for ... conduct that poses a risk or threat to the health and safety, protection, or well-being of a child, another individual, or the people of the State of California.” Erik Mebust, Wiener’s communications director, told the B.A.R. that “the part we’re trying to clarify with our legislation” is whether that conduct includes not affirming a child’s LGBTQ identity by, for example, holding that homosexuality is wrong, or that gender is fixed at birth. “Right now it’s unclear if that conduct qualifies as a threat to the child and our legislation would clarify that it is, and that it’s valid grounds to deny a potential resource family,” Mebust stated. “Our bill expressly clarifies that conduct of these kinds posing risk/threat to protection or well-being of a child specifically includes LGBTQ youth,” he added. See page 100 >>