PA Leather Pride Donates $9,300 to Leather Archives!

PRESS RELEASE
December 4, 2009

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Rick Storer
Leather Archives & Museum



Philadelphia Leather Pride Night donates $9,300 to Leather Archives



Chicago, IL - December 4, 2009 - The first annual Philadelphia Leather Pride Night, held November 7th, 2009, donated $9,300 to the Leather Archives & Museum. The funds were raised through individual and corporate sponsorships, donations, a silent auction featuring auctioneer Jo Arnone, raffles, and the generosity of the event attendees. The evening's festivities, emceed by International Ms. Leather 1996 Jill Carter, also raised funds for the Leather Heart Foundation and By the Grace of George Fund. Philadelphia Leather Pride Night was produced by Mid Atlantic Leather Woman 2009 Cowboi Jen.

Philadelphia Leather Pride Night 2010 has been scheduled for November 6th. Visit www.plpn.org for more information about the event. Visit www.leatherarchives.org for more information about the Leather Archives & Museum.

HOUSE OF HATE AND BIGOTRY

Over 150 protestors showed up this past Sunday at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica after learning that the archdiocese donated $10,000 to defeat same-sex marriage in Maine. The protesters included a 90-year old woman with two grown lesbian daughters and a 10-year old girl there to defend her lesbian mother.

Also attending the rally was Jacob Piwowarczyk, 21, of St. Louis, who showed up with a badly injured eye and an arm in a sling. He and two friends were attacked by four men in the parking lot of a gay bar early Saturday morning in what he called a hate crime.

"Are the Catholic dollars placed in the offering basket behind us not private? Do you tell the donors what you are doing with them?" organizer Ed Reggi of Show Me No Hate told the crowd. "Why not fund love, archbishop?"

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson released a statement in response to Sunday's protest, saying the donation came from a "special needs fund" supported with "private gifts" that is not used for formal operations. The fund is used at the archbishop's discretion, so responsibility for this act bigotry lies directly at Carlson's feet.

Show Me No Hate, the group responsible for organizing the protest, wants same-sex marriage legalized in Missouri. They plan to rally outside the New Cathedral every Sunday throughout Advent, a twenty-five day period straddling the Christmas holiday.

The Roman Catholic Church led the successful charge to overturn a law that would have made Maine the sixth state to allow same-sex marriage. Leading up to the Nov. 3 vote, 45 dioceses around the country contributed a total of $180,550 to the effort, according to campaign finance records.

Tax-exempt religious organizations are not allowed to participate in political campaigns for candidates, but they can "engage in advocating for or against issues and, to a limited extend, ballot initiatives," according to Internal Revenue Service regulations.

It's very much past time work to toward stripping churches, especially the Catholic Church, of their tax exemptions. The Catholic Church has become nothing more than a right-wing political action committee and a hate group. They recently attempted flat-out blackmail in an effort to stop a Washington, D.C. city council vote on same-sex marriage.

JOIN THE "GAY DOLLARS" CAMPAIGN

Last month, the citizens of Maine voted away the marriage rights of Gay people. Today, we were handed another heart-breaking defeat in New York. Maybe it's time to remind people of the real lives these votes are affting. Especially, let's remind merchants in your area of the Gay Community's spending power.

Do you want to protest the discriminatory laws and policies that make us second-class citizens? Maybe you can't take to the streets but would like to make some kind of quieter statement?

Take out a pen or magic marker and write "Gay Dollars" visibly on every dollar bill in your wallet or purse. Encourage your friends to do the same. And keep doing it. Put these bills into circulation and let the message pass from one hand to the other. They say that money talks in this culture. So let your money speak for you.

Not quite comfortable with handing your grocer a bill marked "Gay Dollars?" Then take up that pen or magic marker and write "Equality Now!"

Just Do It.

"Mister Marcus" - R.I.P.

I'm horribly behind with this blog for all sorts of important reasons, but I must post on this. I'm grieved to learn of the passing of a true leather community legend. On October 8, 2009, Gilbert Hernandez, known better as "Mister Marcus," died from complications resulting from diabetes and arteriosclerosis.

Mister Marcus had a long and distinguished list of accomplishments, too many to recount here. H wrote a weekly column on leather happenings for the Bay Area Reporter for decades. He was a judge at the International Mr. Leather competition every year until recently when they stopped allowing repeat judges, and then he was named "judge-emeritus," after which he was given the honor of announcing the top-twenty finalists, always in his own inimitable style, and often in special costumes designed just for the ocassion. He judged leather contests all across the country year after year, and he mentored literally hundreds of title-holders and contestants. He was immensely generous with his time and contributed inestimable energy to community service. He served six years in the air force, is survived by four sons, had a special day named for him by the mayor of San Francisco ... so many more facts.

But a man's life is more than just facts. I met Mister Marcus on several ocassions and quickly pegged him as a witty, cantankerous, and delightful old gentleman. He was one of the judges at the first leather competion I ever entered - the Mr. Dixie Belle Contest in Kansas City. Yes, the name of that bar always got a laugh, and Mister Marcus made no end of fun. "So why would anybody want to be Mr. Dixie Belle!" Ultimately, I lost the contest by a couple of points, taking first runner-up, instead. I wasn't upset at all; indeed, I was honored. However, Mister Marcus took me aside, said many kind things, and made me promise to compete again someday.

I also discovered that Mister Marcus knew my "San Francisco grandfather" well, and held him in utter disdain. It didn't matter, I told him, I could honor and respect two gentlemen at the same time.

I saw him at other contests a few times and for the last time at the 30th anniversary of the International Mr. Leather contest in Chicago last year. I thought he didn't look well then. Two months later, during San Francisco's gay pride weekend at the end of June, he collapsed and entered the hospital. He got out for only a short time, and then re-entered the hospital just before the Dore Alley Festival. And he remained there until his passing. He was 77 years old.

WE LOSE MAINE, WASHINGTON UNDETERMINED

The forces of hatred and oppression scored another victory last night as 53% of Maine voters voted in favor of Proposition 1 and to repeal the recently passed law allowing same-sex marriage in that state. The news came on the one-year anniversary of a similar decision in California.

In Washington State where voters responded to Propositin 71, which was dubbed the "Everything but Marriage" law, results are still to be determined, however, things are looking a little better. The law would grant same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, just not the word "marriage. However, because of Washington's mail-in ballot system, final results may not be known for days. So far, voters are approving Referendum 71 by a margin of 52.4 percent to 47.6 percent. Early results had the referendum being rejected but the tide turned with the infusion of votes from King and Snohomish Counties.

There were a few other bright spots in elections around the country. Kalamazoo voters decided by almost a 2-to-1 margin to retain Gay Rights non-descrimination protections, stunning opponents who had twice previously forced the city council to reconsider those protections and ultimately forced the ballot measure.

In Detroit, openly gay former news reporter Charles Pugh will lead that city's city council.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina elected Mark Kleinschmidt, the city's first openly gay mayor.

And in Houston, Texas, openly gay Houston city controller Annise Parker will face attorney Gene Locke in a run-off election for mayor. In a broad field of candidates, Parker and Locke were the two top vote-getters, with Parker receiving 30%to Locke's 25%.

Still, the loss in Maine stings. It's time to change our political stratgies and divest ourselves of the illusion that Barack Obama is our friend. Friends don't stand silently on the sidelines with their hands in their pockets while civil rights are stripped away. The words, "fierce advocate" are rotten meat in his mouth. Nor should the Democratic Party, as a whole, be let off the hook.

It's time to consider the lessons of history. Without H. Rapp Brown and Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X and Angela Davis, nobody would have given Martin Luthor King teh time of day. Where would the fight against AIDS be without ACT-UP?

It's time to consider open civil disobedience.

LEATHER AT DIVERSITY WEEKEND - EUREKA SPRINGS

On October 30th, my parter and I jumped into his plane and made an impromptu overnight trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to take part in the Friday night festivities of that town's Fall Diversity Weekend. For those who don't know, this tiny bright oasis of tolerance in the middle of Arkansas hosts two events each year - the Spring and Fall Diversity weekends -- to which gay men and lesbians from all over the country flock. It's truly a welcoming environment.

For the first time, one of the bars in Eureka hosted a Leather Night. The bar is called Henri's and is nestled right in the middle of downtown Eureka Springs. On our previous trips to Diversity Weekend events, neither my partner nor I had ever encountered much going on in the way of leather, so naturally we packed none for this simple overnight trip. When we walked into Henri's in the middle of the afternoon and learned what they had planned for the evening, we rolled our eyes and slapped our heads like extras in a Charlie Chaplin movie.



However, the afternoon visit proved fortuitous. Business was just casual enough to give me a chance to talk with Henri's manager, Lynn Whitley. Lynn explained that she came from a strong leather background, mostly in the Tulsa community. This Friday Leather Night represented the bar's first-time effort, however they plan to continue to offer leather events at all future Diversity Weekends. Lynn was very conversational, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the leather scene, and she urged us to return later that evening.

Of course, we did. With a bare minimum of leather, specifically a motorcycle jacket and my favorite polished combat boots, I returned that evening with Ron to find the bar packed. Because it's called "Diversity Weekend" everyone is welcome, whether in leather or not, but a number of hot leather men and women were present, including the current Mr. Central Plains Leather and Mr. Oklahoma Leather 1997.



In leather or not, the crowd was lively and friendly. It seemed that everyone wanted to chat. "Where are you from?" was a common question. The bar is not huge, but with a spill-over dining area, I never felt crushed. The bar staff, including Lynn on duty that night, was quick and efficient, and the drinks very reasonably priced. Along with the dance music, a little ocassional karaoke (scary-oke) gets mixed in, but not so much as to intrude on the good time.

There is no leather contest associated with Henri's event, nor do they plan to introduce one, according to Lynn. This is for the best, in my opinion, as focusing on contestants and judges would detract from a celebration in which all the guests are the town's focus. A good leather party can thrive on its own, and Henri's hosted a fine leather party.



Good luck, Lynn, and good luck, Henri's. Your Leather Night is a fine addition to Diversity Weekend. Thank you for making our visit so terrific. I'll certainly spread the word.

FOLLOW-UP: MR. LOUISIANA LEATHER RESULTS

Thanks to the wonderful Toni Pizanie, columnist for AMBUSH Magazine and one of the judges for the Mr. Louisiana Leather contest, I now have the results. She actually reported them much sooner, but I neglected to check all my email. Anyway, on with the winners!




Five hot men competed for the title in mid-October. Contestant #1 Gray Gibson, 31, 6', 185#, active in the Radical Faeries movement. New to the Leather lifestyle. Won Mr. Phoenix contest and sponsored by Phoenix Bar. Did not place.

#2 Brad Williams, 49, 5'10", 170#, teaches high school, active in church, soup kitchen and S&M. Sponsored by Rawhide. Did not place.

#3 Doug Duke, 44, 6'1", 175#, interested in Leather history and light bondage. Supports and enjoys Lords of Leather activities. Sponsored by Panda Bear. Placed second runner up (3rd).

#4 Toby Lefort, 37, 5'4", 150#, has raised $150,000 over 13 years for the NO/AIDS Task Force, member of the Lords of Leather, and title holder of Mr. Southern Renegades in Mobile, AL. Sponsored by Southern Renegades and B-Bob's Bar in Mobile. Placed 1st and well deserved.

#5 Jose Gonzalez, 34, 6', 205#, volunteers for NO/AIDS Task Force, helps friends rebuild their homes, a worthy cause after several hurricanes. New to the Leather lifestyle and eager to learn and share his experiences with the mainstream Gay community. No sponsor. Placed 2nd (first runner up) and loved by judges for his honesty and openness.

The judges and officials for Mr. Louisiana Leather 2010 included:

Michael Albracht, Mr. Louisiana Leather 2008

Bobby Connell, Owner of the Phoenix Bar

Larry Everett, International Mr. Leather 1995

Tony Pizanie, Political Activist and Contributing Journalist to AMBUSH Magazine.

and Joe Trotta, Manager of Rawhide 2010

John and Paul, owners of John Pauls served as tally masters.


So, congratulations to TOBY LEFORT, the reigning Mr. Louisiana Leather. Toby, I wish you the best of luck and hope you do very well at the International Mr. Leather competition next May.

And to all the competitors, the judges and the LORDS OF LEATHER, who sponsored the contest, thank you for an exciting event. New Orleans is a great city and lucky to have such a vibrant and thriving leather community.







Toby LeFort, Mr. Louisiana Leather 2010

(Note: the photographs used in this article are not mine, but the work of other photographers.)