D.C. police have used DNA testing technology that could help solve the 1987 murder of a lesbian woman.
On May 13, a 35-year-old woman named Greta Denise Rainey was found raped and strangled in her Capitol Hill apartment. Eighteen months before her death, a 22-year-old named Florence Eyssalenne was also found raped and murdered in her apartment, which was next to Johnson’s.
At the time, investigators took DNA samples as part of a police rape kit. Now, using contemporary DNA-testing technology that wasn’t available at the time, police have tested the samples and formed a DNA profile of an unidentified male suspect.
“Essentially, the identity of this person is still unknown to us, however, we can say the individual is a male. We believe him to be of African American descent,” D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Captain Kevin Kentish told WRC-TV.
Kentish added that investigators may even look into whether the DNA samples match those donated by users of genealogy websites. However, he added, “That may take a little longer, so we don’t want to put all our eggs in that one basket.”
In the days following Rainey’s murder, D.C. police arrested her then-girlfriend Roxanne Johnson as a suspect, though it’s unclear what evidence compelled them to do so. Four months later, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. dropped the charges against her for unknown reasons. Johnson, who has always claimed innocence, said her landlord later evicted her because her arrest made other tenants nervous, The Washington Blade reported.
Johnson said she had left the apartment to go to work when the murder took place. She didn’t know how someone entered the apartment. Police said there were no signs of forced entry in either Rainey or Eyssalenne’s apartments.
Eyssalenne’s brother, Bernard Eyssalenne, has said he’d never given up on the hope of finding his sister’s killer. “I’ve always stayed in touch with all the investigators,” he said.
Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in the two cases. People with information can call 202-727-9099.
A free legal clinic hosted by Crocker Law, North Bay LGBTQI Families, and Positive Images LGBTQIA+ Center will take place on the Empire College of Law Campus (3035 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa) on Saturday, November 12 from 11am-3pm to help our community. Specifically, attorneys and paralegals will be available to assist with forms and procedure for securing legal parentage between parents and children, as well as legal name and/or gender marker changes. This event will be held in combination with the November Social Saturday Intergenerational Gathering hosted each month by Positive Images LGBTQIA+ Center and North Bay LGBTQI Families.
In light of the recent US Supreme Court rulings, it is more important than ever to secure the rights of LGBTQIA+ families and people. In California, if you are married or in a state registered domestic partnership, you are automatically legal parents to children born during the marriage or partnership. However, marriage or domestic partnership certificates and birth certificates are not court orders and thus not required to be recognized by other states as proof of legal parentage. Only a court order (a document signed by a Judge) will be recognized across state lines. For people who are married or registered domestic partners, the second parent adoption process results in the necessary court order. For those who are not married or registered domestic partners or who conceived via reciprocal IVF (one spouse/partner provides genetic material and the other carries the child in the pregnancy), the legal parentage process results in the necessary court order.
Art activities and/or childcare will be available for those who are interested during or while they are waiting for their appointment time(s) with an attorney or paralegal. Spanish translation and ASL interpretation are also available.
Please sign up if you need these services with regard to legal parentage and/or legal name and/or gender marker changes. Submit the interest form below to assist us with planning, and we will reach out soon with further details such as individual appointment times and information regarding what you should bring. Contact us at [email protected] with any questions!
[Image Description: An image graphic with a rainbow stripe frame in the upper left corner and black text on a white background with the clinic details listed in the caption above, and the logos of the sponsoring organizations along the bottom. Image 1 is in English, Image 2 is in Spanish.]
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Una clínica legal gratuita organizada por Crocker Law, North Bay LGBTQI Families y Positive Images LGBTQIA+ Center se llevará a cabo en el Empire College of Law Campus (3035 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa) el sábado 12 de noviembre de 11 a. m. a 3 p. m. Específicamente, lxs abogadxs y asistentes legales estarán disponibles para ayudar con los formularios y procedimientos para asegurar la paternidad legal entre lxs adultxs responsables e hijxs, así como los cambios de nombre legal y/o marcador de género. Este evento se llevará a cabo en combinación con la reunión intergeneracional del sábado social de noviembre organizada cada mes por Positive Images LGBTQIA+ Center y North Bay LGBTQI Families.
A la luz de los recientes fallos de la Corte Suprema de los EE. UU., es más importante que nunca garantizar los derechos de las familias y personas LGBTQIA +. En California, si está casadx o forma parte de una pareja de hecho registrada en el estado, automáticamente es adultx responsable legal de lxs niñxs nacidxs durante el matrimonio o la pareja de hecho. Sin embargo, los certificados de matrimonio o de pareja de hecho y los certificados de nacimiento no son órdenes judiciales y, por lo tanto, no es necesario que otros estados los reconozcan como prueba de paternidad legal. Solo una orden judicial (un documento firmado por un juez) se reconocerá a través de las fronteras estatales. Para las personas casadxs o parejas de hecho registradas, el proceso de adopción del segundx adultx responsable resulta en la orden judicial necesaria. Para aquellas que no están casadxs ni tienen parejas de hecho registradas o que concibieron por FIV recíproca (un cónyuge/pareja proporciona material genético y el otro lleva al niñx en el embarazo), el proceso de paternidad legal resulta en la orden judicial necesaria.
Las actividades artísticas y/o el cuidado de niñxs estarán disponibles para aquellxs que estén interesadxs durante o mientras esperan su(s) cita(s) con un abogadx o asistente legal. La traducción al español y la interpretación de ASL también están disponibles.
Regístrese si necesita estos servicios con respecto a la paternidad legal y/o el nombre legal y/o los cambios de marcador de género. Envíe el formulario de interés a continuación para ayudarnos con la planificación, y pronto nos pondremos en contacto con más detalles, como horarios de citas individuales e información sobre lo que debe traer. ¡Contáctenos en [email protected] si tiene alguna pregunta!
[Descripción de la imagen: un gráfico de imagen con un marco de rayas de arcoíris en la esquina superior izquierda y texto negro sobre un fondo blanco con los detalles de la clínica enumerados en la leyenda anterior y los logotipos de las organizaciones patrocinadoras en la parte inferior. La imagen 1 está en inglés, la imagen 2 está en español.]
A Chicago couple whose home has been repeatedly vandalized by a Trump supporter is combatting hate with love.
Erica Hungerford and Peter Charnley rallied their community last weekend to create a massive display of LGBTQ Pride on their garage.
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The couple has refused to be intimidated by a man who has repeatedly destroyed their Pride flags and left them threatening MAGA messages at their home in the city’s Jefferson Park neighborhood, where they have only lived since February.
The couple was joined by about a dozen members of their community on Sunday to paint a rainbow mural on their garage door that would cover up the perpetrator’s vandalism and send him a message that they refuse to let his hatred win the day.
Hungerford told the Chicago Tribune that she was “astonished at the number of people who wanted to help.”
Photos of the project depict a massive “Love Wins” message on the garage door, as well as rainbow-painted panels on the side of the structure.
In addition to their friends and neighbors, members of the Chicago Police Department also showed up to help. The department’s Facebook page posted photos of the officers painting and declared, “Hate has no place in Chicago.”
The couple has endured five separate anti-LGBTQ incidents since May, all of which they believe were perpetrated by the same man.
In the first incident, he cut up their Progress Pride flag that was on display. The couple knew it was an anti-LGBTQ act because the perpetrator left their Michigan flag and only destroyed the Pride one.
After that, they set up a Ring doorbell camera, which recorded the perpetrator returning to destroy the new Pride flag they had put up.
Over the next several months, they found a banana on the porch that had “Republic” on the peel, a “Let’s Go Brandon” sticker on their garage, and messages proclaiming: “Bidens Clintons for jail”; “Obama for prison”; “Impeach Biden”; and “Hack Harris.”
“I heart MAGA” was also painted onto their garage and their Pride flag was spray painted – even though they had hung it on a higher pole to try to keep it out of reach.
The man even waved to them on their security camera before cutting up their Pride flag over the Fourth of July weekend. Photos obtained by Block Club Chicago show the masked man in a zip-up waving.
The harassment got the attention of out Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D), who tweeted in support of the couple and said she was “outraged that this family has endured this hateful and bigoted attack.”
“It’s stressful, it’s anxiety-inducing, it’s infuriating,” Hungerford told the Tribune. “I’m glad that we are able to not back down. At this point, I have extra Pride flags at the house, so the same day that he vandalizes a flag, I go out and put another one out there because I’m not going to let him intimidate me.”
While the couple has only lived in the neighborhood since February, they say their neighbors have told them this situation is not typical of the area at all.
“This vandalism seems very out of character for the neighborhood,” said community resident Megan Dunning, who brought her two children to help paint the garage on Sunday. “This community supports their LGBTQ neighbors. Everyone should be welcomed. We’re not going to tolerate hate.”
Chicago victim advocate Dawn Valenti called the home “the most Prideful house in the city.”
“Everywhere you look, from the tree to the flag to the canopy, to the garage to the side of the garage. Everything says Pride. This hopefully shows this person, especially the mural, that love wins. That’s what it’s about. It’s about love and just loving each other.”
Since his death more than 500 years ago, multihyphenate genius Leonardo da Vinci and his spectacular works have inspired respect and wonder in generation after generation the world over. An icon of the Renaissance, an inventor so ahead of his time that it’s taken centuries for many of his ideas to come to fruition, and the painter of some of the most stirring and famous works of art on the planet, Leonardo has also become a hero for LGBTQ people, who’ve long seen in his works and biography a host of beguiling clues to his queerness.
Yet non-Italians are often surprised to learn that it was Milan, not Florence, where Leonardo spent the bulk of his profusely productive professional life, and where one of his most recognizable works, “The Last Supper,” still graces the wall of the convent dining room where he painted it at the end of the 15th century. Milan is also where he met Gian Giacomo Caprotti, more commonly known as Salaì, the young male assistant and pupil who many historians believe also became his longest-term lover.
This week, as Milan plays host to the annual global convention for IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, Italian tour operator Quiiky will be offering queer-themed Leonardo tours of the city, as it first began doing in 2017. The Milan IGLTA convention is a full-circle moment for the northern Italian city — originally slated for May 2020, the conference was rescheduled after Milan tragically became one of the world’s first major Covid hot spots early that year, just months after it had triumphantly completed in 2019 celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the master’s passing.
“Leonardo spent an important part of his life, more than 20 years, in Milan,” Quiiky CEO Alessio Virgili explained. “Here, he met Salaì in his artisan shop just close to the Duomo. Here, people can see one of his main masterpieces, ‘The Last Supper.’ In Milan, he also demonstrated himself to be an important engineer.”
Indeed, it was Leonardo’s engineering prowess that first brought him to Milan in 1482, when he was 30. Though his motivations for leaving Florence are unclear — some historians say he may have been at least partially prompted by a desire to escape the cloud of sodomy allegations lodged against him in Florence a few years earlier — he sent the ambitious duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, a meticulous list of the advanced engineering projects and war machinery he could help him construct. Almost as an afterthought, he mentioned at the end of his pitch to Sforza that he was also an artist. “Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible as well as any other, whosoever he may be,” da Vinci offered, not incorrectly.
Today, his engineering genius and the advancements it inspired are showcased at Milan’s Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, the largest science museum in Italy. The museum’s Leonardo da Vinci Galleries, reimagined for the 2019 celebrations, use more than 170 historical models, artworks, codexes and installations to bring the artist’s story to life.
Much of his time in Milan was spent working in the duke’s castle, Castello Sforzesco, still one of the top attractions in the city. The artist’s most lasting legacy at the castle itself is the Sala delle Asse, where he painted the walls and the ceiling to resemble a pergola of mulberry trees, bringing the outside in for the duke who loved beauty and hosting elaborate parties. Unfortunately, the Sala delle Asse has been off- limits to visitors for most of the last decade while it undergoes painstaking restoration, but its completion is promised soon.
A few blocks from the castle is Milan’s most popular Leonardo attraction by far, his mural “The Last Supper,” painted about 1495 to 1498 on the refectory wall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. While paintings depicting Jesus’ final meal as surrounded by his 12 apostles were commonplace, if not obligatory, for important churches of his day, it was the artist’s wholly unique approach to the subject matter that stunned contemporary viewers as it still does today. Surrounding a world-weary Jesus, each apostle distinctly reacts with palpable animation to the shocking news that Jesus has just delivered to them: that one of them will soon betray him.
For centuries, conjecture has been rampant regarding a particularly curious element of “The Last Supper”: the androgyny of John the Apostle, seated just to the right of Jesus. So delicate are John’s features that they even spawned one of the main plotlines in the blockbuster book and film “The Da VinciCode,” which claimed that the figure is not John at all, but Mary Magdalene.
Just across the street from Santa Maria delle Grazie is La Vigna di Leonardo (Leonardo’s Vineyard), a favorite site for modern LGBTQ visitors, thanks both to its queer history and its tranquil beauty.
“I imagine the master and his boyfriend lying in this vineyard he owned next to the place where he painted ‘The Last Supper,’” shared Italian journalist and documentarian Stefano Paolo Giussani, author of the 2020 book “Leonardo andrebbe al Pride?” (“Would Leonardo Go to Pride?”). “We know that Leonardo spent most of his life with Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salaì, a nickname meaning ‘little devil.’ Salaì joined his household in 1490 as an assistant and went on to train as a painter. From then on, they lived, worked and traveled together, even sharing the same wardrobe.”
Leonardo’s Vineyard lies at the bottom of the garden at the 15th century mansion Casa degli Atellani, exactly as it did when Sforza gave the land to the artist more than 520 years ago.
“In his will, Leonardo left the property to Salaì, which means a lot,” Giussani said. “After five centuries, the courtyard is nearly untouched, and it is a small silent corner right in the city center.”
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Virgili concurred, saying, “This is an enchanting place in the center of Milan where sometimes it’s possible to do some Italian wine tasting surrounded by greenery.”
Another top Milan site for diving into Leonardo is the Biblioteca Ambrosiana (Ambrosian Library), which houses the Codex Atlanticus, the largest collection of his bound original writings and drawings. In all, the codex consists of 12 volumes of 1,119 pages dating from 1478 to 1519, covering a vast litany of his interests including astronomy, music, mathematics, recipes, fables, weaponry, botany and flight.
The Ambrosiana also houses the 1511 painting “Head of Christ the Redeemer,” inscribed with the name Salaì and thus attributed to the artist’s pupil/partner, though some scholars believe Salaì may have been the model for the painting rather than the painter.
While speculation has also swirled around Leonardo’s romantic links to other men, it is Salaì who remains the most enduring candidate as his probable partner. Some historians even believe that the “Mona Lisa,” hiss most famous painting — if not the most celebrated work in the history of art — is a portrait of Salaì, and they see further evidence in the fact that the piece’s very name is an anagram of Mon Salaì, French for “My Salaì.”
So, was Leonardo what we would now consider gay? And does it matter for modern LGBTQ society?
“Gay is a modern expression that has several meanings and connotations that cannot easily be applied to a man who lived in the 15th century,” said Roberto Muzzetta, secretary of international relations for Arcigay, Italy’s first and largest LGBTQ rights organization. “However, there are many facts about Leonardo’s life that make us think that he might have been homosexual. He was charged of sodomy when he was young, and there were many substantial rumors about the nature of his relationship with some of his pupils such as Salaì or Francesco Melzi, who became his principal heir at Leonardo’s death.”
Giussani noted that there is “no evidence at all that Leonardo ever slept with a woman.”
“Regarding his work, during his whole life Leonardo was much more interested in drawing men and in dealing with studies related to men’s bodies,” Giussani added. “He also drew the anus giving it the guise of a gentle flower. That’s why I like to think of him as a very fascinating man [who was] probably gay.”
As for Virgili, he said he believes Leonardo “was gay and maybe something more.”
“I personally believe that he was a real genius, and for this reason his mind was very open,” he explained. “A person’s sexuality did not matter to him, as he was attracted by souls.”
Giussani agreed that as a queer icon, Leonardo’s legacy is just as vital to us in terms of gender expression as sexuality.
“He was the first very popular artist of his kind who painted and drew figures that we could define as gender fluid,” Giussani said. “Some of his work can be defined as genderless. The lesson he is giving us is much more related to the soul rather than the sex.”
Cheryl King is producer of the Wednesday Weirdness performance series at The California, the latest new nightspot in Santa Rosa.
She recently interviewed Hector Zavala about his new solo show, Buscando al Último Hombre Gay (Seeking the Last Gay Man) prior to his upcoming performance at The California on November 30. Hector’s answers provide not only a great preview for the show, but also a thoughtful examination of many hot-button issues in current culture.
CK: First a question about the title – What does it mean? Who is doing the seeking? And who is the last gay man?
HZ: When I first wrote the show I wrote it based on the experiences of five of my closest friends and myself. We began talking about our recent break-ups and questioned what it meant to be in a relationship, what we gave up during our relationships and what we wanted from a relationship. After all, we all wanted the same thing, to be gay–happy. After several workshops and rewrites I came to the conclusion that I wanted to talk about the search for happiness. All of us humans want to be happy, gay. In this story, I take humanity as a whole as seeking that last moment of happiness.
CK: In your show you share some of your first experiences as a gay man – actually as a gay 16-year- old. At what point in your life were you aware that you were different, that you liked boys more than girls? How did that manifest itself?
HZ: I always knew I was different, I know it may sound/read cliche, but it’s the honest truth. I still feel different. But my complete awareness came after my coming out, which is a story I talk about in my show. I was “pushed out” of the closet after a night of romantic exploration with another young man my age. That night I knew I was different, I wasn’t gay, I didn’t know what that was, but I was pointed out as different.
As for my attraction to boys, I can say that I’ve always been attracted to both boys and girls. I wanted to be around girls all the time, play with them, dance with them… with boys, I felt my sexuality was more intrigued by them. Since I was very young. My first exploration was at the age of six with a boy my age.
CK: Your show compares the desire for sweetness and intimacy with the desire for sex. How do those two drives work together? How do they conflict?
HZ: Yes, my show also touches on the search for validation. Sex is a big motivation for acceptance and validation in the gay community and culture. In the story, this character is conflicted by his yearning for a love that is sweet and intimate, yearning for a successful romantic relationship, but as we all know, we do not have many positive examples of successful gay couples in media. So in his search, this character is trying very hard to fit to the standards of a community that has been outcast, ridiculed, and marginalized.
CK: Like many people in our culture, you seem to have reached out for the rebound relationship. Do you think there is a value to taking more time after the ending of a relationship to get on solid emotional ground before seeking out a new partner?
HZ: I truly believe that we all have our own journey and we each do the best we can in our search for happiness. A rebound relationship, for me, was the best thing that could happen after my separation.
Imagine believing in a fairy-tale idea of marriage, add the Catholic belief that “marriage is forever” imposed by a matriarchal family and words like “You wanted to get married; now suffer the consequences”. I felt like the worst human after deciding to leave my husband; I needed that human interaction I got from a rebound relationship.
CK: How can self-love heal the wounds of too-casual sex?
HZ: Self love allows for space to make decisions based on what the self truly wants. Sometimes he/she wants casual sex, sometimes he/she wants a burger. Casual sex with out self love can be fogged by the external search for validation and that’s where the troubles begin.
CK: You recently performed this show in Mexicali. What was your audience response there? Did you make any changes to the show based on that Mexican tour?
HZ: Well.. my first run was back in 2019. It was in English and I had a very limited budget. It was produced in the Bay Area and performed at the Marsh, SOMArts and the Queer Arts Fest in SF. For the Mexicali performance, which was part of my tour throughout Mexico, I was able to increase the production value with sets, costumes, props and original music, with the same budget I had in the Bay Area performances. I also translated into Spanish with the aid of a dramaturg and added a whole new concept to the piece by hiring an up-and-coming director in Mexico City.
Many people in the audience waited for me at the end of the show to hug me and talk to me about how the show spoke to and about them, both female and male. I had to go back and schedule three more shows.
CK: What do you see as the differences between how the Mexican culture treats homosexuals versus how they are treated in the US?
HZ: I’ve been a resident of the US since I was very young. I grew up in San Jose, CA with my mother, which is where I accepted my queerness. I saw Heklina in drag on TV on the Ricky Lake show at the age of 12. Queer folk were begining to take a space in media and the community. MTV released “My So-Called life”, a reality show, with a young gay Latinx man who had HIV. Space was being carved out in the US for folks like me. When I moved to Mexico to continue with my higher education, I was faced with a brick wall. I “had to hide” my gayness. Two of my dearest friends were un-a-lived for being gay. Three others were beaten and taken to the hospital. I can not compare, it would be unfair, because I can also say that Mexico has legalized same sex marriage in every state in the last two years.
CK: How can parents support their homosexual children’s life dreams and hopes in a world that still has difficulty accepting homosexuality?
HZ: How? I’m not a parent. Nor do I want to be. Lol. But maybe I can speak for what I wish I had. My father was such an understanding, trusting and playful Dad, he sadly was un-a-lived in a tragic accident. I think back on the Christmas before he passed. He asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted a boombox. He then said, “Are you sure, I know you get up late at night and use your mother’s sewing machine to make dresses for your sister’s dolls. Do you want your own? If you keep using your mother’s you may break it and she won’t be happy”.
Allow space for children to dream, imagine and play. Don’t judge. Life it’s just a game. We are all here to have fun and be happy.
CK: What message, if any, do you want your audiences to take with them after seeing Seeking The Last Gay Man?
HZ: Enjoy life. Life is but a series of stories we create in our mind. It’s much more fun when we play with others, live in the present with awareness and we share our experience and desires with our “cast members”.
Showtime is 7:30 pm. Tickets are $19-$22 at https://www.caltheatre.com/wednesdayweirdness
SECOND TUESDAY!In-person at Mgt Todd Senior Center 1560 Hill Road, NovatoHill Community Roombehind the main buildingsee site map below new people warmly welcomed! 12:30 to 1 pm brown bag & social1 to 2:30 pm discussion We’ll have the windows open for safety so dress warmly and wear a mask if you wish. And let’s be sensitive to others needs for safety, approaching with a hug only if the other is open to hugging. Topic: Laughter!Laughter is Good Medicine, if I remember the Readers’ Digest of old correctly. What makes you laugh? Let’s share our good medicine and remember that we can still step beyond our concerns and share laughs. Whether they are belly or bray, cackle or chuckle, giggle or guffaw, it’s a joy to share a laugh with friends.
A big thanks to The Social Committeefor hostingTRICKS, TREATS & TOKENSon Saturday, October 29,at Miwok Park in Novato Thirty-two of us joined together for a fun time meeting old and new friends, playing a fun game, and eating great food! Though a Tyrannosaurus Rex showed up, no one was injured.
Please note: The monthly Fourth Tuesday event at San Geronimo Valley Community Center will be postponed one week while the Center upgrades their wifi system. See you on the Fifth Tuesday, November 29!
Check out the Community Notices section below for new entries about prescriptionless hearing aids and the new bivalent covid booster.
UPCOMING EVENTSall events are free unless otherwise noted(more info below) November 8Second TuesdayIn-person at Mgt. Todd Senior Center, Novato12:30 t0 1 pm brown bag, 1 t0 2:30 discussionwatch for more detailsTopic:Laughter November 9Monthly Mixer at San Rafael Joe’splease RSVP to Will: [email protected]4:30 to 6 pm -from 4th Street entrance November 15Games Day *at Sam’s Place, Novato meal at 2 pm, games at 3 pm November 17Senior Breakfast Club *at Sam’s Place, Novato 9:30 am November 22Fourth TuesdayWest Marin LGBT Senior Town Hall postponed! while SGVCC revamps their wifisee November 29 below November 25Men’s Brown Bag Lunchat Spahr Center’s Conference Roomsemi- (ramp and elevator but no automatic door)noon to 1:30 November 29Women’s Coffee *at Sam’s Place, Novato 10 am November 29Fifth Tuesday on the Fifth Tuesday!West Marin LGBT Senior Town Hall at San Geronimo Valley Community Center 12:30 to 1 brown bag/1-2:30 discussion
*Social Committee event, RSVP required;to RSVP or get on their email list, write to them at[email protected];find a link to their calendar and flyers below ** See flyer below
To join the Spahr Senior Groupon ZoomMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 to 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
New participants are warmly welcomed!If you’re zoom-challenged, let me know and I’ll work with you!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm November 3Topic to be chosen by participants…
Living Room Mondays7 to 8 pm We share with each other about how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
The Northbay LGBT+ Senior Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. Everyone born in any month will be celebrated in that month’s email – including your birthday if you’ll let them know when it rolls around! To see their calendar & flyers for November,click here. To sign up for their emails or register for events, clickhere.
Coronavirus Updates A new Bivalent Covid Vaccine is availableand it is recommended that most seniors get that shot. Contact your health provider for more information. The Spahr Center has coronavirus rapid home test kits& masks and they are available for free in the office – 150 Nellen Avenue, Suite 100, Corte Madera 94925; 415/457-2487. The office is open 10 am – 3 pm weekdays. Only vaccinated people may come to the office and masks must be worn inside the building. Any staff person can direct you to the kits. This is a great resource we are pleased to offer, please don’t hesitate to get these kits! In order to keep track of new infections, the County asks that we report self-test resultshere. To see Marin County’s latest pandemic information, click here. The mask recommendations of the Mask Nerd– an aerosol scientist who studies mask effectiveness – are featured in this article and highly informative video. May we all be safe and well!
Community Notices
A recent “bivalent” covid booster is available and is especially advised for older people and those with immune-compromised conditions, etc. Contact your health provider for more information. Hearing Aids will now be available without prescription at places like Costco, Walmart and Walgreens at a saving of upwards of $3000. You can learn more by clicking here. Social Security Opens to Survivors of Same-Sex Couples Who Could Not MarryThe Social Security Administration now allows lesbians and gay men to receive survivor’s benefits if we can show that we were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. More information here.
The Spahr Center’s Food Pantryis open to seniors who need support in meeting their nutrition needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up.
Contact The Spahr Center for more information: [email protected] or 415/457-2487Space for your Community Notice here. Email Bill with information at[email protected].
Vivalon Resources for Seniors Whistlestop, now renamed Vivalon, offers many resources for us seniors, now listed in this easy-to-print one-page guide. Access to rides, food, classes, activities, resources, referrals, and more. Membership not required for most classes and services during the pandemic. Some in-person events are being planned. To get Vivalon’s listings, click here. They also provide access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. Click here for their website. The Jackson Cafe has great specials, a roomy dining room, small tables and big round tables for groups. Open 11:30 to 1:45; $8 for members, $10 for guests, with takeout readily available. You can find their daily changing menu and more information here.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm on zoom
To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:Join GroupAlways the same link! Try it, it’s easy!
To Join Group by Phone CallIf you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time,6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296#If you want to be called into the group by phone, notify Bill Blackburn at 415/450-5339
California Department of Aging ResourcesThe CDA has a website that is packed with information and resources relevant to the lives of seniors in our state. From Covid-19 updates to more general care for age-related health issues, access to legal assistance to getting home-delivered meals to help with housing, you may well find answers to your questions by clicking: here.
Adult and Aging Service’s Information and Assistance Line, providing information and referrals to the full range of services available to older adults, adults with disabilities and their family caregivers, has a new phone number and email address: 415/473-INFO (4636) 8:30 am to 4:30 pm weekdays[email protected]
Questions? Assistance? Suggestions? We have resources and volunteers for:grocery deliveryfood assistanceproviding weekly comfort calls to check in on youplus more!
Bill BlackburnLGBTQ+ Senior Program Manager[email protected]415/450-5339
Funding for this program, at least in part, is made available by the Older Americans Act, administered locally by the Marin Department of Health & Human Services, Aging & Adult Services.
Irish lawmakers are set to make transgender people a protected class in the country, making it easier for anyone who targets them to be charged with a hate crime.
The Irish Cabinet has approved a bill that says anyone who is convicted of purposefully inciting hatred or violence against a person due to their gender identity or expression could face up to five years in prison, reported The Irish Times.
The updates to Irish hate crimes law – which also included making disabled people a protected class – were reportedly made based on international best practices.
To protect freedom of speech, the bill also says that “communication” solely involving the criticism or discussion of a protected class will not be considered enough to incite violence or hate.
The law will also reportedly include a “demonstration test” that assesses whether a crime is considered a hate crime based on whether a perpetrator expressed hatred about someone’s identity while committing a crime against them.
Other “protected characteristics” already established in the nation include nationality, religion, race, ethnicity, color, sexual orientation, and national origin.
For the first time in the nation’s history, Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will have a chance to elect an LGBTQ person to public office.
A new report by the political action committee LGBTQ Victory Fund found that of the 1,065 LGBTQ candidates who ran primary campaigns, a historic 678 of them — the vast majority of which are Democrats — will appear on the ballot in November, an 18.1% increase from the 2020 general election
The record-breaking election year comes as a historic number of anti-LGBTQ laws have been introduced in state legislatures throughout the country and as homophobic tropes have resurfacedin the nation’s mainstream political discourse.
“Voters are sick and tired of the relentless attacks lobbed against the LGBTQ community this year,” Annise Parker, the president and chief executive of the Victory Fund and the former mayor of Houston, said in a statement. “Bigots want us to stay home and stay quiet, but their attacks are backfiring and instead have motivated a new wave of LGBTQ leaders to run for office.”
More than 340 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group. The proposed legislation largely consists of measures that would limit transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams that correspond with their gender identity, access to gender-affirming care for trans people and the instruction of topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity at school.
This year, conservative lawmakers, television pundits and other public figures have accused opponents of a Florida education law — which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — of trying to “groom” or “indoctrinate” children. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers.
Gabriele Magni, an assistant professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and director of the school’s LGBTQ Politics Research Initiative, said that having queer politicians in public office can serve as a powerful tool to counter the anti-LGBTQ sentiment in the nation’s politics and policy.
He cited Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., as an example. Baldwin, the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, led efforts to codify same-sex marriage into federal law earlier this year. The Senate will vote on the bill after the midterm elections, and Baldwin has been largely tasked with working across the aisle to earn Republican support.
“By being present in office, they make issues more personal for other legislators,” Magni said. “So, if you’re voting against some LGBTQ rights, you’re not voting against LGBTQ rights in abstract anymore, but you’re voting to deny rights to someone who sits next to you every day at work.”
Beyond getting laws passed, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer legislators often use their political megaphones to advocate on behalf of the community, Magni added. He pointed to the pressure campaign LGBTQ lawmakers — including Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y. — placed on the Biden administration this year to speed up the distribution of vaccines amid the monkeypox outbreak, which disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men.
Within the record-breaking election year for LGBTQ candidates, dozens of them will also have the chance to make history on their own.
Notably, Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey, a Democrat, and Oregon gubernatorial candidate, Tina Kotek, also a Democrat, are vying to become the nation’s first lesbian governors. Polls predict Healey to have a smooth path to victory, but a third party candidate in Oregon’s race may complicate Kotek’s chances.
If Vermont voters elect Becca Balint, a lesbian, to the U.S. House of Representatives, she’ll be the first woman and first LGBTQ person the state sends to Congress.
As gender identity and gender-affirming care have taken center stage in the nation’s policy debates on LGBTQ issues, the Victory Fund report also found that transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming candidates ran for office in record-breaking numbers this year. The group represents 13.9% of this year’s LGBTQ primary and general election candidates, up from 7.9% in 2020 and 9.1% in 2018.
“Sitting on the sidelines isn’t an option when our rights are on the chopping block,” Parker said.
A young gay couple in Armenia tragically took their own lives because of “intolerance towards them”, according to an LGBTQ+ group.
The couple, reportedly named Tigran and Arsen, posted a series of Instagramphotos of themselves on Thursday (20 October) before their tragic deaths.
The photos showed the two kissing and appearing to show off engagement rings.
“Happy ending. The decisions about sharing the photos and our next steps were made by both of us,” the harrowing caption read.
The two then ended their lives in the country’s capital, Yerevan, reports Armenian LGBTQ+ group Pink Armenia.
The post has since been flooded with tributes and kind words to the pair.
Pink Armenia said in a statement: “The young men still had many years of life ahead of them, but because of intolerance towards them, they took such a tragic step.
“LGBT people are very familiar with the feeling of isolation and misunderstanding of family and society. This tragic incident proves once again that LGBT people in Armenia are not safe and not protected by society or the state.”
The organisation added that it provides professional support for LGBTQ+ people in crisis.
“Remember, you are not alone,” it said.
No protection from discrimination in Armenia
Homosexuality has been legal in Armenia since 2003, however as of 2022 the country is still sitting close to the bottom of the annual Rainbow Map ranking the best nations for LGBTQ+ rights in Europe.
At the bottom along with Azerbaijan and Turkey, Armenia was considered to have scored just an eight per cent safety score for LGBTQ+ people, with the scale considering equality, hate crime, legal gender recognition, and more.
As of 2022, there is no legislation protecting LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in Armenia.
ILGA Europe, which conducts the Rainbow Map, said: “There remain significant gaps in terms of fundamental protection against discrimination and violence in nearly half of the countries.
“Currently, 20 countries out of 49 still have no protection against hate crime based on sexual orientation, while 28 countries have no protection against violence based on gender identity.”
Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk).
Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255, or The Trevor Project which provides 24/7 crisis support, 365 days a year. Text START to 678-678, or call: (866) 488-7386.