By Cynthia Laird | LONDON – Stefan Grygelko, better known as his drag persona Heklina, has died, his longtime friend Joshua Grannell (Peaches Christ) wrote on Facebook April 3.

The two were in London where they were appearing in the “Mommie Queerest” show there, Grannell wrote, adding that he had gone to pick up Heklina that day.

“I do not know the cause of death yet,” Grannell wrote. “I know this is shocking news and I am beyond stunned, but I wanted to let folks know what has happened. Heklina is not just my best friend, but a beloved icon of our community.”

The news shocked and saddened his friends back in San Francisco, with fellow drag queen Sister Roma writing on their Twitter account that she was “absolutely devastated” to learn of the passing of his friend and collaborator for two-plus decades.

“She is one of the funniest people I’ve ever known. This is a nightmare,” wrote Roma, a member of the drag philanthropy group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, in a tweet.

Oasis, the LGBTQ nightclub in which Heklina was once a part-owner, expressed its sadness and said it would open at 4 p.m. Monday.

“We are shocked and devastated to learn of the passing of Heklina today,” the club wrote. “Oasis will be open at 4 p.m. for drinks, stories, and community, if you’d like to come by. Sending love to all.”

Gay former state assemblymember Tom Ammiano told the B.A.R. he will miss the drag artist.

“A true professional [and] with drag under attack her passing is especially wounding,” wrote Ammiano, who also served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and school board. “As an aside, she bartended at events for folks with special needs at the Oasis [and] as a former special education teacher, I loved her for that.”

As Heklina, Grygelko was known for founding the old Trannyshack drag show in 1996 at the old Stud bar. (The name of the show was later changed to “Mother.”)

At the start of each Trannyshack, San Francisco’s outlandish, no-holds-barred Tuesday night drag show, a snippet of the old “Muppet Show” theme music warned “it’s a kind of torture, to have to watch the show,” as the Bay Area Reporter reported in 2008.

The joke belied the fact that the performances were more than just boys in dresses lip-synching to pop ballads or camp classics. The weekly shenanigans often masked what in reality was a uniquely queer riff on the political, social, racial, and gender controversies of the day.

Heklina invited not just drag queens — many of whom went on to become stars in their own right — but also female performers, known as faux queens, and drag kings to share her stage. By doing so, Heklina threw out the rulebook on what it meant to be a drag performer.

Adriana Roberts, a trans woman and an early Trannyshack performer, penned a tribute on Facebook.

“She was a Master Class in successful Nightlife Production: wrangling order from chaos, managing a stage, managing a crowd, putting down hecklers, assembling trusted crews, booking budding queens, promoting events, following one’s heart — but also always being aware of what actually sells,” Roberts wrote. “And she did it all with snark, wit, and balance for over 25 years.”

Roberts, a former production designer at the B.A.R., wrote, “Coming from a punk rock ethos, she created a space that welcomed performers from across the gender spectrum, at a time when drag was VERY codified into TIRED (her words) tropes of men in sequined gowns doing diva lip-syncs. None of us realized it at the time, but she helped revolutionize the concept of what drag could be, breaking its mold years before the rest of the world caught on.”

As the B.A.R. noted in a March 2022 article, since the early 1990s, Heklina had been a mainstay in Bay Area queer nightlife. From the first irreverent drag nights at The Stud, to Trannyshack’s expansion at DNA Lounge that included annual contests, Heklina has often hosted the most prominent drag and nightlife events which included her own numbers.

In 2015, along with D’Arcy Drollinger and other investors, Heklina opened Oasis in South of Market; the same building that once housed the original Oasis. The new nightclub has become popular for not only drag shows and DJed dance nights, but comic plays and musicals, cabaret concerts and community fundraisers. Heklina later sold her share of Oasis ownership and moved to Palm Springs, while still keeping a foothold in the Bay Area’s nightlife scene.

And, of course, Heklina was known for her deadpan line delivery as Dorothy (Bea Arthur’s character) in stage productions of episodes of the classic sitcom “The Golden Girls.” The long-running show became an annual holiday tradition in San Francisco.

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) issued the following statement Monday afternoon:

“I am absolutely devastated. Heklina was an icon in the truest sense — funny, caring, outrageous, and brave. I first saw Heklina perform when I was a young gay man in the 1990s, new to San Francisco. Over the years, I got to know her and helped her find a space for Oasis. I’ve rarely worked with someone as fierce, creative, and dedicated.

“Heklina created events and community spaces that spun glitter and giant wigs and raucous jokes into a feeling of home. She was fiercely outspoken and always stood up for her friends and community. She was the soul of San Francisco, and it’s hard to imagine the city without her.

“Heklina was also a staunch defender of drag — which is under extreme attack right now — and created opportunities for young drag queens to find their space. While we grieve, we must honor her memory by remembering the joy she brought us and the importance of the art form to which she dedicated her life.”

Nguyen Pham, Board President of San Francisco Pride said in an emailed statement:

“Personally, I’ve been honored and grateful to have engaged with Heklina directly, as well as attended her spectacularly memorable productions, numerous times over the years.  I know that her unique brand of radically inclusive drag art has evoked so much pure joy from countless community members and allies for many generations.  She was unstoppable and a master without parallel.”

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Cynthia Laird is the Editor-In-Chief and News Editor of the Bay Area Reporter. Laird is a long time journalist in the SF Bay Area having studied Government-Journalism at California State University, Sacramento. She and her wife live in Oakland.

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The preceding article was previously published by The Bay Area Reporter and is republished by permission.

SAN FRANCISCO –  The San Francisco Pride (SF Pride) board of directors have selected Suzanne Ford as executive director. Serving as interim executive director since February of 2022, Ford will continue to spearhead the funding and operations for one of the country’s premier Pride celebrations.

“I am excited for the first trans person to hold the position of Executive Director at San Francisco Pride,” said Nguyen Pham, President of San Francisco Pride. “We are privileged to have Suzanne at the helm of many key projects as she continues to advocate for trans visibility while championing diversity in the LGBTQ+ community.”

“In joining SF Pride, I found a great way to give back to the LGBTQ+ community and I found my family,” said Ford. “I want to preserve the legacy of the parade, while making sure there will be a thriving SF Pride event for future generations. As a tight-knit team, we are excited and humbled to host the second in-person SF Pride Parade and Celebration post pandemic.”

Following a rewarding sales career in the private sector, Ford served as a board member for approximately five years, acting as treasurer for the last three of those years. She co-founded SF Pride’s Pro-Am Golf Tournament Fundraiser, the world’s first and currently only PGA-endorsed LGBTQ+ golf event, which has raised more than $200,000 over the past four years.

Ford was honored with the Legacy Award, Celebrating Trans Joy, TDOV (Trans Day of Visibility) in March of 2022. In addition to numerous accolades for raising awareness of the work that is needed to save and honor trans lives, she has also been recognized for her professional career — when she was profiled as one of the “Women Breaking The Mold” in the packaging industry by Plastic News.

Ford continues to build upon her professional and community sustaining success. Just a few short months after assuming the role of interim executive director in 2022, she was instrumental in coordinating the first in-person SF Pride Parade and Celebration since 2019 — largely touted as a success.

The San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded to produce the SF Pride Celebration and Parade. The mission of the organization is to educate the world on LGBTQ+ issues, as well as commemorate the heritage, celebrate the culture and liberate the people of all LGBTQ+ communities.

A world leader in the Pride movement, SF Pride is also a grant-giving organization through its Community Partners Program. Since 1997, SF Pride has granted over $3 million dollars in proceeds to local non-profit LGBTQ+ organizations and organizations working on issues related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, homelessness, housing rights and animal welfare.

SAN FRANCISCO – California State Senator Scott Wiener (D), an openly gay lawmaker who represents San Francisco, in an emailed statement to the Blade responded to the bomb threat which had been emailed to the San Francisco Standard, a local news outlet, early Tuesday morning.

“Early this morning, I was informed by the San Francisco Standard and the police that someone had issued a bomb threat against me, listing my specific home address and also threatening to shoot up my Capitol office. The email said ‘we will fucking kill you’ and called me a pedophile and groomer.

“This latest wave of death threats against me relates to my work to end discrimination against LGBTQ people in the criminal justice system and my work to ensure the safety of transgender children and their families. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and MAGA activist Charlie Kirk recently tweeted homophobic lies about me, falsely accusing me of supporting pedophiles and child ‘mutilation.’

“The extreme homophobic and transphobic rhetoric that has escalated on social media and right wing media outlets has real world impacts. It leads to harassment, stalking, threats, and violence against our community. People are dying as a result. Responsible political leaders on the right must call it out and stop tolerating it.

“I will always fight for the LGBTQ community — and for the community as a whole — and will never let these threats stop that work.”

A source with the SFPD confirmed the incident.

According to the Standard’s reporting on the incident:

The email was sent by a person using the name Zamina Tataro, the email said that they placed bombs at Wiener’s San Francisco home and threatened to shoot up his Sacramento office “in 20 minutes, I am willing to die.”

The subject line read “Scott Wiener will die today,” and the author called him a pedophile and accused him of grooming children.

A week ago on the heels of a Twitter attack by Georgia far-right extremist MAGA  Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA), far-right extremist radio chat show host Charles J. Kirk, while loosely channeling an InfoWars host Alex Jones style-attack, went after Wiener implying that the veteran lawmaker endorses and supports child molestation.

Kirk, 29, is a co-founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative right-wing political group aimed at influencing college and university students and young people. Ironically, Kirk himself dropped out of Harper College, a junior community college near Chicago, without having completed any degree or certificate.

Kirk hosts a daily three-hour radio talk show, called The Charlie Kirk Show, on Salem Media which is known for owning conservative websites Townhall.com, RedState, Hot Air, and PJ Media, as well as Twitter aggregator Twitchy, calling itself a ” for-profit Christian broadcast corporation.”

He is also an avid supporter of impeached former president Donald Trump, consistently refers to himself as a MAGA Republican and has asserted that the concept of white privilege is a myth and a “racist lie.” He also has spread false information and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 on social media platforms, such as Twitter, in 2020.

Recently Kirk has been attacking the LGBTQ+ community on the subjects of trans youth and also following the lead of far-right Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R-GA) in attacking Senator Wiener:

Kirk’s attack on the senator commenced with: “Thousands of pedophiles in California are going free after just a few months in jail, thanks to the state’s radically reduced penalties for child molestation. One reason so many of these predators are going free so early is California lawmaker Scott Wiener.”

Wiener responded on Twitter saying: “Not even 24 hours after MAGA grifter Charlie Kirk tweeted homophobic lies about me, I received this threat repeating one of his lies. But that was the point: Riling people up against me & other LGBTQ people. Words have consequences & Twitter is becoming a cesspool for this crap”

Not even 24 hours after MAGA grifter Charlie Kirk tweeted homophobic lies about me, I received this threat repeating one of his lies.

But that was the point: Riling people up against me & other LGBTQ people.

Words have consequences & Twitter is becoming a cesspool for this crap pic.twitter.com/gTn4tHkfg0

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) November 30, 2022

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang upon learning of yet another threat against Wiener:

“The bomb threat against Senator Wiener is another clear indication that the hateful rhetoric and lies from far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians and pundits have dangerous consequences. They aren’t playing political games. This is not an issue with two sides. They’re inciting violence against Senator Wiener and the LGBTQ+ community, and their actions and words should be treated as such.

“Silence is not an option. Responsible leaders, regardless of political affiliation or ideology, must reject and condemn these hateful lies about Senator Wiener and LGBTQ+ people. To do any less is to be complicit in the violence they incite.”

Three months ago a Contra Costa County Superior Court jury convicted a 51-year-old San Ramon, Calif. man for threatening the life of Wiener and on state weapons charges.

Erik Triana was convicted guilty of threatening the life of Wiener, two counts of possessing assault weapons (an AR-15 rifle and a privately made 9mm pistol), two counts of manufacturing or assembling unregistered firearms (commonly known as ghost guns), and two counts of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

Both the San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol investigated the threat, the SFPD’s public information officer Officer Kathryn Winters told the Blade.

Senator Wiener released a statement after the conviction:

“I’m deeply grateful to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol, and the court system for taking this death threat — and my personal safety — seriously, and for seeking accountability.”

“Death threats against public officials undermine democracy. A public official should make decisions based on what benefits the community, not based on whether a decision will get the official killed. Modern politics can be polarized and toxic, but we must never normalize or tolerate death threats,” the senator added.

Local Contra County journalist Tony Hicks, writing for Bay City News, reported:

Triana was arrested after he sent Wiener the threat through the senator’s “contact me” portal on his website that read: “Vax my kids without my permission and expect a visit from me and my rifle.”

According to the district attorney’s office, the San Ramon father of three signed his message “Amendment, Second” and listed his address as the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Triana was charged in April.

When Wiener testified on Sept. 6 he noted the threat was unlike others his office receives because of the reference to the late San Francisco Mayor George Moscone (who, along with Supervisor Harvey Milk, was shot and killed at San Francisco City Hall in 1978), the specific threat to use a gun, and that Triana lived in the Bay Area.

The threat was traced back to a work computer Triana used at his job in Pleasanton. When investigators executed the search warrant they found an unregistered AR-15 assault weapon with nine loaded magazines and an unserialized privately made 9-mm pistol referred to as ghost guns.

Police also seized another unserialized pistol in a backpack, along with two loaded 9mm magazines and two loaded AR-15 style magazines.

SAN FRANCISCO —  U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) on Friday hosted a press conference with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, State Senator Scott Wiener, Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang, and local leaders following the Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

Senator Padilla also officiated a vows renewal ceremony of Cyn Wang and Tessa Chavez, a local lesbian couple, at San Francisco City Hall to mark the historic occasion.

The Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government to recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed and guarantee that valid marriages between two individuals are given full faith and credit, regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 61-36.

“There is no better place than San Francisco to celebrate the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act and unequivocally affirm the lives of millions of LGBTQ people and interracial couples across our country,” said Senator Padilla. “We celebrate the progress that we have made today, but recognize the work still left undone to fully protect the rights of LGBTQ Americans. I’ll continue working to build on our efforts until we ensure that every American is treated equally under the law, free from discrimination.”

“I was proud to introduce the Respect for Marriage Act over the summer, and I’m even more pleased that the bill passed the Senate this week with strong bipartisan support,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein. “The Respect for Marriage Act will guarantee legal protections for millions of marriages in the United States. Simply put, Americans should be free to marry the person they love, regardless of sexual orientation or race, without fear of discrimination or fear that their marriages will be invalidated. This was a historic vote and one that every proponent of equality can be proud of.”

“The Respect for Marriage Act is an important step forward in the continued fight for LGBTQ and racial equality in America,” said State Senator Scott Wiener. “Today, we celebrate this victory for our civil rights, and tomorrow we recommit to fight even harder against the right-wing Supreme Court’s efforts to legalize discrimination in this country.”

“San Francisco’s history is inseparable from the history of the LGBTQ community and the movement for marriage equality locally, at the state level, and nationally,” said Mayor Breed. “As we celebrate the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, we honor those who have endured discrimination and hate, and the many who lost their lives in the quest for equality. We recommit ourselves to protect the fundamental rights of all people regardless of who they are or whom they love. Thank you to Congressional leaders, especially Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership to pass this historical legislation.”

“Equality California applauds this historic vote and the critical leadership of Senators Baldwin, Feinstein and Padilla, in getting this bill across the finish line,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang. “While this is an important step in affirming the dignity of the LGBTQ+ community, it will not end all discrimination against LGBTQ+ people or erase the hateful rhetoric of anti-LGBTQ+ politicians and extremists. Equality California will continue to fight for full, lived equality for all LGBTQ+ people until the work is done.”

“The Respect for Marriage Act removes an ugly, discriminatory stain on our federal law books – the 1996 so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” – and replaces DOMA with a rule requiring government at all levels to treat all married couples equally nationwide,” said Jenny Pizer, Chief Legal Officer, Lambda Legal. “We hope we never need it.  But if the U.S. Supreme Court were, outrageously, to erase the constitutional protection for the freedom to marry, this law will substantially reduce the harms. Yet, even if the Respect for Marriage Act were to become necessary, it would not be sufficient. We still urgently need the Equality Act to become law, to protect LGBTQ people from the widespread discrimination that persists in the commercial marketplace and in public services with harsh, unacceptable consequences.”

“It is a historic moment for the advancement and preservation of basic civil rights for all Americans, but by no means is our work done,” said Kris Perry, Prop 8 Plaintiff & Nonprofit Director. “Our family and thousands of families like ours can breathe easier tonight knowing our fundamental rights are protected.”

“After the Supreme Court overturned a woman’s right to choice, we feared same-sex marriages were next,” said Cyn Wang and Tessa Chavez. “The Respect for Marriage Act gives our family clarity and a sense of relief that our marriage, and those of all married couples regardless of sexual orientation or race, will be protected in this country.”

The Respect for Marriage Act now goes to the House of Representatives for passage and then to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Senator Padilla is committed to pursuing equality for the LGBTQ community, including in employment, housing, and credit lending.

Earlier this year, Padilla introduced the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act, legislation that would protect the 1.4 million LGBTQ-owned businesses in the nation from lending discrimination to ensure equal access to economic opportunities. Padilla also joined Senate Democrats in introducing a resolution recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month to highlight the work of the LGBTQ community in fighting to achieve full equality, including for marriage.

SAN FRANCISCO – The 82-year-old husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in hospital after being seriously injured in an home invasion early Friday morning. Paul Pelosi is expected to make a full recovery the Speaker’s office said in a statement.

He was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital for his injuries, the hospital confirmed. Pelosi underwent what officials described as successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his right arm and hands after he was seriously wounded in the attack.

San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) spokesperson Sergeant Adam Lobsinger said that at around 2:27 am, uniform SFPD officers responded to the 2600 block of Broadway for a home break-in. During the incident an 82 y/o male was attacked and that a suspect was taken into custody.

UPDATED 1130AM Pacific: SFPD Police Chief William Scott told reporters at a press briefing [that] “The motive for this attack is still being determined,” said Scott. The suspect the chief said is 42-year-old David Depape who has been charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse and other charges.

“Our officers observed Mr. Pelosi and the suspect both holding a hammer,” Scott said. “The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it. Our officers immediately tackled the suspect, disarmed him, took him into custody, requested emergency backup and rendered medical aid.”

CBS NEWS BAY AREA:

Speaker Pelosi was in Washington D.C. along with her Capitol Police protective detail which the Capitol Police, responsible for protecting Congress, said it was working with the FBI and the SFPD on the investigation.

Speaker Pelosi, who is third in the line of succession to the president, had just returned this week from a security conference in Europe and is due to keynote the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner Saturday evening in Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Her spokesperson Drew Hammill told the Blade that she has cancelled her appearance.

“The speaker is no longer able to attend and has sent her regrets,” said Hammill.

CNN reporting that the suspect who attacked Paul Pelosi while breaking into the home was shouting “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 28, 2022

President Joe Biden called Pelosi on Friday morning to express his support, according to White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. The White House also released a statement from President Biden:

“The President is praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family. This morning he called Speaker Pelosi to express his support after this horrible attack. He is also very glad that a full recovery is expected. The President continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected.”

California State Senator Scott Wiener who represents San Francisco and California Governor Gavin Newsom released statements regarding the attack:

“This attack is terrifying, and the direct result of toxic right wing rhetoric and incitement against Speaker Pelosi and so many other progressive leaders. Paul Pelosi was brutally attacked for being married to one of the strongest Democratic leaders in our nation’s history. Paul is a fantastic person and I’m rooting for his recovery, said Senator Wiener.

“I’ve experienced firsthand how right wing political violence is on the rise in our country. The violence and threats that we as elected officials – and our families – face every single day badly damage democracy and must end. Words have consequences, and without question, the GOP’s hate and extremism has bred political violence. We must hold accountable leaders and public figures who incite this violence,” Wiener added.

“This heinous assault is yet another example of the dangerous consequences of the divisive and hateful rhetoric that is putting lives at risk and undermining our very democracy and Democratic institutions. Those who are using their platforms to incite violence must be held to account, Governor Newsom said.

“Our leaders should never fear for their safety and the safety of their families in serving the people they were elected to represent – not in their homes, not at the U.S. Capitol, not anywhere. Jennifer and I wish Paul a speedy recovery and send our thoughts to Speaker Pelosi and their family during this time,” the governor added.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin hours after the attack criticized Nancy Pelosi while campaigning for Congressional candidate Yesli Vega.

“Listen, I want to stop for a minute and — listen, Speaker Pelosi’s husband — they had a break in last night in their house and he was assaulted,” said Youngkin. “There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re gonna send her back to be with him in California. That’s what we’re gonna go do. That’s what we’re gonna go do.”

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) seems to joke about the assassination attempt on Speaker Nancy Pelosi while campaigning for GOP congressional candidate Yesli Vega:

“There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to be with him in California.” pic.twitter.com/K3D7X8NEcM

— The Recount (@therecount) October 28, 2022

The assault comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, in which control of the House and the Senate is at stake, Reuters reported. Republicans have been campaigning on concerns about violent crime, as well as inflation and other quality-of-life issues.

The House Speaker has been a lightening rod for political attacks from the far-right as well as  a frequent target for Republican criticism, which in this midterm elections cycle has prominently factored into GOP opposition adverts.

Paul Pelosi owns a San Francisco-based real estate and venture capital firm, was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after becoming involved in an auto accident in May, Reuters noted, adding that he was sentenced to five days in jail in Napa County, Calif.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that SFPD officers are currently stationed outside the Pelosi residence in Pacific Heights, an upscale neighborhood of the city.

Breaking from CNN:

SAN FRANCISCO – The venerable Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco’s LGBTQ publication of record for fifty-one years, announced that it is slated to receive this year’s Legacy Award from NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. The award will be bestowed on the paper at the NLGJA’s annual convention in Chicago later this month.

The award was created to recognize an outlet, publication, or news organization that has exhibited innovative, high-quality, and sustained news coverage of the LGBTQ community over an extended period of time. The Bay Area Reporter, known as B.A.R. has been serving the San Francisco bay area LGBTQ+ community since its founding in 1971.

“The outlets, publications, or news organizations that are recognized by the award have exemplified NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists’ mission to promote and foster fair and accurate LGBTQ news coverage,” the organization stated in an email announcement. “The Legacy Award is the association’s only award that is presented to an outlet, publication, or news organization to recognize the work of its entire staff, rather than an individual.”

In an online announcement, B.A. R. Editor Cynthia Laird noted that the news outlet is independent and has been owned since 2017 by Michael Yamashita, who became publisher in 2013. He is the first gay Asian American publisher and owner of an LGBTQ newspaper. Yamashita has long ties to the B.A.R. as he was hired as its general manager in 1989.

“I’m grateful for NLGJA’s recognition of the B.A.R.’s advocacy journalism covering five decades,” Yamashita stated in an email. “It means even more that fellow journalists bestowed this distinction. LGBTQ media is as important as ever for our community, now that we must contend with misinformation and an emboldened backlash on LGBTQ rights and people.”

Laird also reported other LGBTQ journalists will be recognized at the conference.

Chuck Culpepper will receive the Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage. Culpepper is a reporter at the Washington Post covering national college sports, golf, international sports, and tennis. The award is named for the pseudonym Edythe Eyde used for her pioneering publication, Vice Versa.

New York Times journalist Jane Coaston is the recipient of the 2022 Jeanne Córdova Award. Coaston is host of the Times’ podcast “The Argument.” Córdova was a journalist and the editor and publisher of Lesbian Tide, which chronicled the 1970s lesbian feminist movement.

Errin Haines, editor at large and co-founding member of the 19th, a nonprofit independent news site focused on the intersection of gender, politics, and policy, will receive NLGJA’s Leadership Award.

Award-winning journalist Tamron Hall will receive the Randy Shilts Award for LGBTQ Coverage. Hall hosts the nationally syndicated “Tamron Hall” show. The Shilts award honors journalists who consistently bring stories about LGBTQ issues to life in mainstream media outlets

By Karen Ocamb | WEST HOLLYWOOD – For almost half a century, Richard Zitrin has been steeped in the tumultuous fight against injustice as a trial lawyer, professor and legal ethics expert.

He’s a walking vault of California progressive history, some of which he talks about in his new memoir Trial Lawyer: A Life Representing People Against Power. But there are many gems in that vault that are not in the book — stories about gay icon Harvey Milk and Larry Long and Gerald Martin III, for instance, two gay men with AIDS apparently lost to history. 

Zitrin is a storyteller. His vivid chapter about representing Johnny Spain, the only one of the infamous 1970s San Quentin Six convicted of murder – convictions that were eventually overturned – should be made into a movie.

The chapter on the luridly false tabloid McMartin preschool cases where he represented a doctor accused of child molestation by a 15-year-old girl includes the parallel story of how Zitrin learned to talk to juries by revealing an emotional truth about himself. The story about his poor Latina client who lost steering control over her Dodge van on Mission Street in San Francisco and crashed into a building in the late 1980s included an epiphany.

Through discovery during litigation, Zitrin found that Chrysler Corporation knew about the defect in their 2 million Dodge vans and had hidden that knowledge through secret agreements. 

“What you don’t know will hurt you,” Zitrin told Public Justice. “It just seems like it’s extraordinarily unethical for anybody to keep that information secret from the public.” He’s now dedicated to exposing overly broad court protective orders and secrecy agreements that hide information important to the public’s health and safety. 

Zitrin’s latest fight against court secrecy has been his tireless advocacy for the Public Right to Know Act (SB 1149), a bill he wrote with California State Senator Connie M. Leyva, co-sponsored by Public Justice and Consumer Reports. SB 1149 passed in the Senate and recently passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee. It is expected to hit the Assembly floor in August.  

With five decades of frontline experience combating injustice, civil rights icons are longtime friends. After George Floyd’s murder, Eva Paterson of the Equal Justice Society asked him to write an essay for her newsletter that turned into “Why being anti-racist is not enough” that the ABA Journal published as an open letter to Zitrin’s white progressive friends. 

But a straight ally casually referencing a gay icon is still strange. “I knew Harvey Milk when he first came to San Francisco — in the same neighborhood at the same time that I went to San Francisco,” Zitrin said unexpectedly while talking about how much he hates injustice. 

Wait, what? Harvey Milk in the Castro in 1973?

“Well, Harvey was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn, as I am — though he was a bit older.  My wife and I were living between Noe Valley and the Castro, which was then called Eureka Valley. The Castro was just beginning to become the center of gay life when Harvey moved in and opened his camera shop. He was local so we just brought our slides to him. That’s how we met him. 

“It was before he ran for supervisor,” Zitrin recalled. “I remember going to a very, very early meeting about people going door to door and handing out pamphlets and doing precinct walks for Harvey Milk. We were at his shop with a fairly small bunch of people — maybe 15 or 20 — gay people, straight people, couples like my former wife and myself. He was just a super nice guy. I didn’t know him well. But I sure like going to his shop and talking to him. I liked his politics a lot.

“Later on, between 1980 and 1986, which was during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, our office was on 18th Street, one block from the Castro Theater,” Zitrin said. “We were right in the center of the gay community, right next to Hot and Hunky Hamburgers, if you can believe that!”

Would the response to AIDS have been different if Milk had not been assassinated in 1978?

“I think that’s very possible,” Zitrin said. “The AIDS crisis came on suddenly for all of us and it was going to have a huge consequence, regardless. San Francisco was in the forefront medically but while Cleve Jones, for example, was around and was Harvey’s disciple and was a great leader, he wasn’t Harvey. Harvey was so powerful and charismatic that had he been around, I’m sure it would have helped focus attention on the issue. He would have helped bring it to quicker national attention.”

Zitrin also shared about two gay men who almost lost their jobs when they became ill with AIDS.  

“In about 1982, I joined the San Francisco Bar’s Lawyer Referral Service Committee and soon became Vice Chair. The service’s director, Larry Long, became ill with AIDS. He was hospitalized and I remember in those early days, there was nothing we could do other than wish him well or go visit,” said Zitrin.   

“Shortly thereafter, Long’s second in command, office manager Gerald Martin III, a gay African-American man, also became sick with AIDS and was also unable to work. And at that time, the hierarchy of the Bar — even in liberal San Francisco — was being run by a bunch of old white men….and their view was that since Larry wasn’t at the Bar anymore, he should be fired. The folks on the Lawyer Referral committee didn’t like that much. And we were concerned about Gerald, too. I kind of led a palace rebellion.”

The old executive director of the Bar Association was on his way out and was looking for a successor who would “cut Larry and Gerald loose,” recalled Zitrin, who was enraged by the immoral and unethical effort. “I was able to organize the committee, with help from the woman who took over as the supervisor — Carol Woods — and the committee just stood up and said, ‘we’re not going to allow this. If you’re going to do it, we’re going to be yelling and screaming about it.’ Almost every member of the 15-person committee was on our side. We got them to back down until the executive director retired. The Bar’s new director was Drucilla Ramey, whose expertise was in equal pay for women and who understood full well what the right thing to do was. Dru led the Bar for 18 years and she and I became good friends”. 

Long died in 1985, followed by Martin in 1986. “They were missed,” said Zitrin. The California State Bar Association subsequently gave out annual Larry Long Awards to notable leaders in the Lawyer Referral field. “I’m actually one of the early recipients of that Award, which I’m very proud of.”

While stories about gay men being fired for or while ill with AIDS have appeared in popular and LGBTQ culture — such as the movie “Philadelphia” — there does not appear to be a digital record of the battle that befell Larry Long and Gerald Martin III, until now. How many more stories of those lost to AIDS have yet to be told?

*********************

Karen Ocamb is the Director of Media Relations for Public Justice.

See her conversation with Richard Zitrin on YouTube where they discuss the book, racism, implicit bias, legal ethics and court secrecy. Professor Zitrin also gives good advice to young law students.

SAN FRANCISCO – A shooting on a Muni Train between the Forest Hill and Castro stations killed one person and seriously injured another Wednesday morning at around 10:00AM NBC Bay Area reported.

The gun violence, which occurred as Pride Week festivities are cranking up in the city rattled the LGBTQ+ community, however s spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department indicated that investigators do not believe that that the gunman was targeting the community.

“I also want to assure the community that this incident does not appear to have any connection to Pride events or does not appear to target the LGBTQ community,” San Francisco police Officer Kathryn Winters said. “We really want to make sure that our community members and visitors who are in town for Pride week understand that.”

According to Winters one victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect fled from the train at the Castro station and remains at large. Winters told NBC Bay Area the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident.

Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released the following statement regarding the shooting:

“The shooting that occurred on the Muni subway near Castro Station — a subway ride I’ve taken thousands of times over the past 25 years — is a horrific tragedy. It’s another reminder that as long as our country is awash in guns, shootings can happen anywhere, anytime. My heart goes out to the victims, and I know SFPD is working hard to apprehend the shooter. We must recommit as a nation to end the easy availability of guns. California has the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, and we’re continuing to strengthen them. But we need strong action from Congress to truly improve the safety of our community.”

It wasn’t immediately known if the suspect and victims knew each other. SFPD are investigating any potential connections and are also looking into what led up to the shooting.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting is asked to contact San Francisco police.

Muni subway service between the West Portal and Castro stations has been stopped, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said.

UPDATE: #SubwaySvc between West Portal & Castro stations is currently stopped in both directions due to ongoing police activity at Castro. Will update. https://t.co/GqIxiXTyZc

— SFMTA (@SFMTA_Muni) June 22, 2022

SAN FRANCISCO – Police executed a search of California State Senator Scott Wiener’s San Francisco home Sunday and his legislative offices in Sacramento with bomb dogs after a senior staffer received a credible death threat targeting the openly gay Democratic lawmaker.

The threat against Wiener came during LGBTQ+ Pride month and on a weekend of threats of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. The threat was sent in an email to one of the senator’s principal aides who in turn notified Wiener at which point the authorities were engaged.

WARNING: The following image’s language is graphic:

Both the San Francisco Police Department and California Highway Patrol are investigating the threat, the SFPD’s public information officer Officer Kathryn Winters told the Blade.

“This is an ongoing investigation which is being handled by the California Highway Patrol and the San Francisco Police Department Special Investigations Division, and we work with agencies such as the CHP in response to incidents such as this,” Winters said.

 “I’ve been getting death threats for years as a result of our work to advance the civil rights of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV. I’m not going to stop doing that work no matter what threats people make. This is just another example of the growing attacks we’re seeing on LGBTQ people around the country — including this past weekend in Idaho and San Lorenzo. These attacks are a direct result of the hateful, anti-LGBTQ political rhetoric coming from right-wing politicians and activists. Words have consequences,”  Wiener said in a statement.

The Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group whose membership espouse hate-filled anti-gay/anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric disrupted a Drag Queen Story Hour event at the San Lorenzo Library located on Paseo Grande in Alameda County, California Saturday afternoon.

Lt. Ray Kelly, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer said a that group of men described as members of the Proud Boys organization, entered the during library its “Drag Queen Story Time” event and made “homophobic and transphobic remarks against a member of the LGTBQ+ community who was hosting the event.”

Witnesses reported that the men began to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs at the event organizer, drag queen Panda Dulce. The men were described as extremely aggressive with a threatening violent demeanor causing people to fear for their safety. Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the library and were able to de-escalate the situation.

Kelly indicated that there was an active hate crime investigation as a result of the actions of the five Proud Boys. According to Kelly, in addition to drag queen organiser Panda Dulce there were parents and minor children also present.

Senator Wiener tweeted Sunday:

Yesterday:

Proud Boys stormed Drag Queen Story Hour at San Lorenzo Public Library, wearing AK-47 shirts & calling the drag queen “pedophile” & “it.”

A right-wing militia was arrested for planning to attack Pride in Idaho.

Direct results of political attacks on LGBTQ people.

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 12, 2022

In the second incident mentioned by Wiener in his Sunday tweet, at the end of last week heavily armed Coeur d’Alene police officers and Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies in riot gear arrested armed anti-LGBTQ+ protestors, and a few self-labeled ‘street preachers’ who were attempting to disrupt the “Pride in the Park” in Coeur d’Alene City Park which returned after a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Associated Press reported that Coeur d’Alene police officers and Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 31 people who had face coverings, white-supremacist insignia, shields and an “operations plan” to riot near an LGBTQ Pride event on Saturday afternoon. Lee White, the police chief of the Coeur d’Alene police department said those arrested were affiliated with Patriot Front, a white-supremacist group whose founder was among those arrested.

Patriot Front was once known as Vanguard America (VA), one of the main organizers of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

Authorities received a tip about a “little army” loading into a U-Haul truck at a hotel Saturday afternoon, said Lee. Local and state law enforcement pulled over the truck about 10 minutes later, White said at a news conference.

Many of those arrested were wearing logos representing Patriot Front, which rebranded after one of its members plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting the white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens.

SAN FRANCISCO – On the morning of Nov. 27, 1978 the typically frenetic pace of the Moscone household was even more pronounced as Christopher, his brother Jonathan and sisters Jenifer and Rebecca were getting ready for school while father George was running late to get to his office.

Overseeing the bustle was George’s devoted wife Gina quietly fixing breakfast and prodding the mayhem associated with teenagers and family members along.

Little did anyone in the Moscone home realize that in just a few short hours life was going to take an abrupt and terrible turn as George, who happened to be the Mayor of the City of San Francisco, would be assassinated in his office by former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White.

George Moscone with Supervisor Harvey Milk died in a hail of bullets, dying separately in their offices on the second floor of City Hall. Milk, an openly gay man and Moscone an ally of the LGBTQ+ community had forged political bonds that proved to be beneficial to the City’s LGBTQ population.

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle’s web portal SFGate published Nov. 23, 1998, twenty years after the murders, Christopher Moscone spoke about the effect of the events had on his mother and family.

For Christopher, his brother and his sisters, it was the end of one life, and the beginning of another.

Like his siblings, Christopher divides his life into two parts. The first part is until he was 16. When his dad — a St. Ignatius all-city basketball star in his day — played basketball with him, made him drink a raw egg, milk and coffee before games, flattened his hair in the morning with the water-and- comb technique, left him notes on the breakfast table with pointers about his game.

“He had a passionate love for us. He was always kissing us on the cheek, wanting us to kiss him, always embracing us — even when we had friends over and it could be embarrassing. . . . It seems like a lifetime ago.”

Then there is the second part of his life — after the killing. His mother, Gina, and the mayor’s mother, Lena, learned about the assassination on the car radio as they returned from a funeral. To this day, he said, his mother keeps her grief mostly to herself, rarely talking about it.

Gina Moscone’s passage was announced by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a former Mayor of the City of San Francisco. No details were released but in a statement the Governor paid tribute to Mrs. Moscone:

“Jennifer and I are saddened to hear of the passing of Gina Moscone. San Francisco will long remember her as a charming, gracious First Lady and a Trustee on the War Memorial Board, a person who gave so much to the City she grew up in and loved so much. Those who knew her will also remember her as a loving mother who doted on her children, all while remaining a fixture in civic life in San Francisco even after the passing of her beloved husband, George. Our hearts are with the Moscone family today as they grieve their mother.”

The Bay Area Reporter’s Editor,  Cynthia Laird wrote:

Gina Moscone died of cancer at age 91.

Ms. Moscone served for many years on the War Memorial Board, which oversees the management of the War Memorial Opera House, the War Memorial Veterans Building, Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall, and other nearby landmarks. Thomas E. Horn, a gay man and former publisher of the Bay Area Reporter who serves on the board, said he would miss his good friend.

“Gina was a dear friend for more than 40 years,” Horn wrote in an email. “We would go to the opera or ballet and then go to the gay bars on Polk Street. She was full of life. Always happy. Ever vivacious. I will miss her dearly, both as a War Memorial colleague and a best friend.”

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) paid tribute to Ms. Moscone on Twitter.

“Gina Moscone was a great San Franciscan & fantastic human being,” Wiener wrote. “Her passing is a major loss for our community. Rest In Peace, Mrs. Moscone.”

Gina Moscone was a great San Franciscan & fantastic human being. Her passing is a major loss for our community. Rest In Peace, Mrs. Moscone.

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 8, 2022

The Moscones had four children. One of their sons, Jonathan, is a gay man whom Newsom recently appointed director of the California Arts Council, as the B.A.R. previously reported.