Photographs by Beth Greenfield

Hopefully, the facts about last night’s marriage-rights vigil—organized by Marriage Equality New York (thank you, MENY!) in Union Square—are not an indication of how this week’s possible New York State special-session vote on the issue (delayed, sadly, from this afternoon) will go. First of all, there were not many people on board (200, at most, showed up to hold candles and chant, and the only two speakers were Council Speaker Christine Quinn and MENY director Ron Zacchi). Second, the chants were kind of lame (”They will vote! Yes! They will vote! Yes!”). And finally, the whole event was upstaged by a hideous combo of commercialism and war worship: the slick, mobbed, loud release party for the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which was already in full swing at the south end of the park when the gays showed up with candles and signs and rainbow flags and messages of love. It would have been funny if it weren’t so disturbing.

Tuesday’s vote in Maine to repeal its law allowing gay couples to wed was a disheartening, disgusting blow. And now we must steel ourselves for New York’s say in the matter, as the State Legislature will vote on Tuesday, November 10, in a special session, on whether to pass the same-sex marriage bill. What can you do about it? For one, you can make calls to state legislators, imploring them to vote for the bill. And come Monday, November 9, you can join LGBT New Yorkers and their supporters—that means you, straight folks!—at the Marriage Equality New York Pre-Session Vigil in Union Square, a grassroots gathering at 6pm. Bring pro-marriage signs, a candle or flashlight, and a message: love. Vote in favor of love.

Photographs by the Drunken Photographer

All sorts of boys were streaming into Brandon Voss and Tony Fornabaio’s newish midtown adventure on Saturday night—twinkie, trendy, trannie, circuity, Sam Champion—to sample the different levels of clubby fun at Providence. DJ Mike Cruz worked it for the main floor with joyful, energetic beats from his chandelier-level perch, while DJ Lina (sexy in a royal-blue dress) got the nearby lounge moving with a soulful set. And a towering, space-age-clad Epiphany popped onstage down in the Triumph Room to break up a jammin’ DJ Xavier set that had the floor jam-packed from midnight on. Oh, and did we mention how hot the boys were? Here. See for yourself.

If you’re as sickened and outraged by last weekend’s brutal Queens antigay attack as you should be, then channel that anger into a march and rally in support of Jack Price, who remains hospitalized after he was beaten by the two piece-of-shit thugs who have since been nabbed for the hate crime.

The march steps off on Saturday at 2pm, near the scene of the attack in College Point, Queens, moving along College Point Blvd from 20th Ave to 14th Ave, where it will conclude with a rally in Popenhusen playground. To get there, take the 7 to Flushing–Main St and then the Q65 bus from Roosevelt and Main St to 20th Ave. Show antiqueer predators that we’re not going to take it anymore!

Well, I didn’t know what to expect today—and was really scared that the turnout would be shamefully low—but the passionate, chanting mass of marchers that descended upon the Capitol today was a beautiful surprise. Read more »

An AIDS rally attendee

Ever since deciding to head down to D.C. for the big  ol’ controversial Equality March several months ago, I’ve been burning with curiosity about who will actually show up and what it will actually look like. Would it be a smashing, powerful, massive success? Or would it be a sparse and flimsy embarrassment, proof to the naysayers that it was hastily planned and lacking the necessary grassroots momentum? Well, the big Sunday event is still 13 hours and 50 minutes away (according to the website’s handy countdown clock), but I’ve got a bad feeling… Read more »

Anyone still on the fence about going to the National Equality March in D.C. on October 10 (who’s behind it anyway? what’s the story with David Mixner? and are the cool kids going or not?) may want to check out a sample of what’s to come at a mobilization rally, to be held at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park tomorrow afternoon, Friday, at 2:30pm. You’ll join the cast of Hair (which has canceled its show the day of the march to attend), the Public Theater and various other theater queens, including Oskar Eustis, Hair star Gavin Creel and activist Cleve Jones, in a general get-psyched hour of rallying. Who knows? It may be all the prodding you’ll need to buy your train, plane or bus tickets for what is sure to be a wild October weekend in the capitol.

Stephan, left, and Patrick with Amsterdam's deputy mayor Caroline Gehrels

If the excitement of last month’s NYC Pride weekend has worn way off already—and the state of gay marriage in New York is getting you down—why not consider a jet-setting jaunt to the Netherlands? This weekend’s Amsterdam Pride will commemorate 400 years of shared history between Amsterdam and New York by way of a live “wedding barge.” Read more »

You’ve probably heard by now that HX—the gay little magazine that could—has been sold. “HX Magazine issue 931 dated July 10th, which will be released on July 3rd, will be the last one produced by HX Media and its staff,” read a press release sent out by founder Matthew Bank yesterday.

We reached Bank this afternoon, who stressed that the terms of the deal—who the buyers are and what they paid—are confidential. He also said he has no clue what they plan to do with the publication, so no hint as to whether we’ll ever get to enjoy “Ask Bambi Sue,” “Homo Dish” or that naughty adult section ever again. Bank confirmed that the entire staff had been let go, save for a receptionist to work the phones, and added that the new owners have been holding talks with some of those axed employees to consider whether or not to hire them for their mysterious new mag.

“I’m sort of sad, relieved and happy at the same time,” Bank said of the sale. “It was time for that chapter of my life to close.” He said he had no idea what he’d do next though, adding, “I have absolutely no plans.” Stay tuned for developments.

It amazes me, each year, how many gay boys I know say they had no idea there was a separate Dyke March. And yet there we are on Saturday, just hours before the lavender line gets painted for Sunday’s main-event Pride March, taking that same route by storm! This year seemed a bit bigger than recent years, with thousands and thousands of fierce dykes—teens and seniors and daughters and mothers, some quiet, others chanting (”ask us if we wanna fuck! don’t fuck with us!” was our favorite this year) all making our way downtown from Bryant Park. Just like last year, the skies opened up and poured buckets onto us just as we passed the Flatiron Building. But the ladies weren’t deterred, and as soon as the shower passed and the sun came back, the topless, joyous drumming and frolicking went on as usual in the beautiful new Washington Square Park. The permit-free march for civil rights—not a parade!—is a beautiful, feminist, en-masse demand for equal rights, and a definite highlight of the weekend. Check out our photos.

When I was a college freshman in Connecticut, I had a blond, preppy roommate from New Hampshire who admitted that she had thought, until very recently, that Jews had horns. I also yearned, through my stoned, Grateful Dead haze, to head to California.

Who could know then (or even a couple of weeks ago) just how backward that picture would be today with regards to progressivism and gay rights?

In other words, go New Hampshire! The Granite State became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage just a half hour ago, when Governor John Lynch approved the marriage-equality bill following its approval by the legislature.

Note to the New York State Senate: Let’s be number seven, okay?

This afternoon’s ruling in California to uphold the gay-marriage ban is upsetting—but not shocking. And it will be overturned! Just do us a favor: Don’t stay home or at the office sulking all alone, okay? Instead, make your way to the protest this evening at 6pm at Sheridan Square, followed by a fired-up march to Union Square. Be ready to unleash your fiercest battle cries.

Today in Colorado, evil homophobe Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and a hate crime after killing 18-year-old transgender woman Angie Zapata. It’s a landmark decision, as it was the first time in the country that a state hate-crime law was used to prosecute the murder of a transgender person. The jury didn’t go for the pathetic old argument that Andrade was freaked out and couldn’t control his rage upon discovering Zapata’s male genitalia.

The verdict is just more evidence that having inclusive hate-crime laws on the books does influence people’s attitudes in these cases. And it’s high time that New York joined California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Vermont—all of which have hate crimes that are inclusive of gender identity.

You should have on your radar a most worthy LGBT event that’s now less than a week away: The Young Trailblazers 8th Annual Gala, which is April 27 at the Chelsea Art Museum. It’s a benefit for the nonprofit Live Out Loud, an amazing organization that’s dedicated to hooking up LGBT youth with queer adult role models. It also honors a few gay-activist high-school seniors each year—out gay teens, think about the bravery involved there—by presenting them with scholarships at the Trailblazers gala.

We had the opportunity to chat with two of this year’s honorees, and were blown away by their coolness and confidence. Below, meet Nick Garafola, talking about the difficulty of establishing a Gay Straight Alliance in his New Jersey high school, and Emily Raimondo, telling us about how she co-organized “Ally Week” with the GSA at her Staten Island High School. Here’s to queer youth!

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Call me immature. But I think that the best thing about Gov. David Paterson’s proactive—if possibly pointless and even damaging—announcement that he’ll reintroduce his gay-marriage bill to the state legislature is how it’s like a direct flipping of the bird to god-awful Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Read more »

Next week’s Left Out ’09—a festival of LGBT solo performance —is chock-full of fun queer shows. But one in particular caught our attention: In Heat, written by Lisa Haas and starring Sally Sockwell. That’s because the comedic tale was inspired by a 2005 TONY cover story, “What’s in a Name?” Read more »

Sure, you could just hop the state line and get hitched any ol’ place in Connecticut, which legalized same-sex marriage back in October. Or you could embrace the fabulously fun and cliché, and opt for a P-town wedding this summer. But now, with Vermont and Iowa just added to the growing list of states letting queers tie the knot, why not put a little thought into your countrified wedding trip? We consulted some travel guidebooks for a little Green Mountain State/Hawkeye State comparison. Read more »

We were psyched last night to be invited to a rehearsal of You Will Experience Silence—the latest super-smart and funny creation of antifolk hero Dan Fishback, known for his bands Cheese on Bread and the Faggots, and for performance pieces No Direction Homo and Waiting for Barbara (Bush, not Streisand). You Will Experience Silence, which opens April 10 at Dixon Place, juxtaposes the story of two queeny teens living in ancient Jerusalem with that of a modern-day neurotic Jewish activist. When Fishback is not busy being an artist, he’s visiting college campuses, delivering his lecture “You Never Get to Make Out: Why I Can’t Tell the Difference Between Being Jewish and Being Queer.” We caught up with him after his rehearsal to ask him why. Here’s what he said:

Though The New York Times ran a very respectful obituary yesterday for Jack Lawrence—the songwriter who penned standards including “If I Didn’t Care,” “Linda” and “Tenderly,” and who died at the age of 96 in Connecticut—the fact that he was a gay man during a time when it was astronomically difficult was buried with this one sentence: “In 1979, Mr. Lawrence adopted his partner, Richard Debnam; he is Mr. Lawrence’s only survivor.” Worse, the fact that the elderly writer had the guts to write about his way-gay life in a 2004 autobiography, They All Sang My Songs, was not mentioned. Read more »

So this week we reported, as part of our Black Party coverage, that “every other leather daddy seems to have an intense fear of snakes.” That was according to party director Vance Garrett, in a discussion about how the reptiles will or will not play into tomorrow’s Black Party theme, Eden. Well it turns out that he was not exaggerating for dramatic effect. Read more »