The Campaign Within to be released in June
The first time I met Neil Giuliano was on a Tempe based airline America West flight from Phoenix to Washington DC in January 2001. I had just turned 19, was about to leave on a Mormon mission to Russia and my mind was finally waking up to the reality of the world around me. Neil had been embattled with the Boy Scouts of America over the use of public buildings and discrimination against gay men. Neil, one of the first out gay mayors in the nation, was going up and down the aisle speaking to people on the plane and I recognized him from his picture in the newspapers. I admit I was a little star struck and made sure to say hello and shake his hand and let him know I was an Eagle Scout. He chucked a little bit and smiled and said, “alright” as he nodded his head. What he didn’t know and what I couldn’t say was that I was deeply in the closet and meeting someone in person who I knew was gay and out was a big deal for me. At that time I was a registered Republican (as was Neil) and I was flying to DC to go to the inauguration of George W. Bush, whom I had voted for in my first ever presidential election. Neil asked me about my trip to DC and suggested things I should do while I was there.
Fast forward to 2008 when his and my paths crossed again. I had long since come out of the closet and was actively involved in Tempe and Phoenix community building and so it was only a matter of time before we ran into each other. He didn’t remember meeting me on the plane (and why would he?) but I did. Since then I’ve gotten to know Neil a lot better and consider him a good friend.
I’m feeling really excited for him because after years of working on his memoir, it’s about to be published. Read more 
Marching against SB1070 in Downtown Phoenix
The controversial Arizona immigration law commonly referred to as SB1070 made its way to the United States Supreme Court yesterday and there is a lot at stake. I had my eye on the news and Twitter all day to keep abreast of the proceedings and by the time I left my house to walk over to the march, the oral arguments had wrapped up and it sounded like the Justices were siding with the State of Arizona. The official ruling will not be made until June, so we’ll see.
For a more in depth discussion of the oral arguments, check out this post from the Supreme Court Blog.
To the west of Central Avenue down Washington Street, the Tea Party was having their own rally at the Capitol Building. (I read there were 25 people there and some state reps spoke about the court upholding the law.) At the march I was in, an estimated 500 people showed up. There were families, children, signs, masks, and flags. I thought the timing of the march was perfect: we hit the street at about 5 p.m., in other words, during the middle of downtown rush hour traffic. I thought that was effective. We were not allowed to march on the streets, but the sidewalks were just fine.
For the record I’m opposed to SB1070 and have been since the day the (then unelected Jan Brewer) signed it into law and I marched in the first Alto Arizona protest in May 2010.
SB1070 fails to secure the border (as Brewer always say we have to do), it separates families, it’s racist, it’s ineffective. We all agree that there must be immigration reform but SB1070 is not the way to do it. We’ll see what the Supreme Court thinks.
These are the pics I took while marching through the streets of downtown Phoenix. Read more
Phoenix Pride 2012 in Pictures
The average high temperature in Phoenix in April is 85 degrees. In theory this would be a perfect month to host Phoenix Pride, however, for some reason Pride weekend is always way hotter than the average. This year was no different. And since I like numbers, I did some research about the weather the past few years on the weekend of Phoenix Pride.
April 19, 2009- high 95 (day two of Pride hit 97)
April 20, 2010- high 96 (day two of Pride hit 89)
April 16, 2011- hight 95 (day two of Pride hit 97)
And this year:
April 21, 2012- high 103 (day two of pride 105!)
Don’g get me wrong, I love the heat, but this year I said, “It is too damn hot!!” I was in the sun from 9:30 a.m. until about 4 p.m. Luckily I had managed to slather on a thin layer of SPF 4, so I was only a little bit crispy by the end of the day with just a touch of sun poisoning. (I slept like a baby.)
This was the second year I’ve been in the parade, but the first time I got to be a car. Read more
What’s it like to be gay and Mormon?
Emmy-winning filmmaker Kendall Wilcox has kept busy working on his new film “Far Between” since being terminated from BYU last fall. Wilcox was an executive producer in BYU’s broadcast department and was let go, according to BYU, for not coming to work or communicating with his supervisors. While I can’t say for certain, I find those reasons questionable. It seems more likely that he was let go for being openly gay and for working on “Far Between”, a documentary that explores what it is like to be gay and Mormon.
The film is neither meant to be anti-Mormon nor pro-Mormon, it seeks to further the conversation of understanding homosexuality and Mormonism by approaching the issue with empathy first.
For this forthcoming film Wilcox interviewed current Mormons, former Mormons, parents, children, people in mixed-orientation marriage, activists, scholars, students… the list goes on. Read more
Gov. Brewer to County and State Corrections Officials: No More Shackling Pregnant Inmates
This is the text of an email I got from Anjali Abraham, the Public Policy Director of the ACLU of Arizona.
As you’ve probably realized, I don’t usually get to report good news about the state of our civil liberties these days. But this time, I have wonderful news to report. All you spring training fans—get ready to enjoy the thrill of crossing home plate (legislatively, that is).
Governor Brewer has signed our SB 1184, a bill that limits the ability of county and state corrections officials to shackle pregnant inmates. Under this bill, corrections officials cannot shackle pregnant inmates during transportation to a facility for delivery, during labor and delivery, and during postpartum recovery. This unconstitutional practice is extremely dangerous to both mother and child. The ACLU of Arizona has pursued this legislation for years, and 2012 turned out to be our year. And with the signing of SB 1184, Arizona becomes just the 15th state in the nation to effectively ban this practice by law. Read more
Metro Arts Institute Nurtures Young Artists
From my new posts on DPJ about a Downtown Phoenix arts school:
In public high schools, art and music programs always seem to be on the chopping block, while a heavy emphasis is placed on athletic programs. For students serious about sports, traditional high schools provide fields, weight rooms, pools, and dedicated coaches.
Talented athletes have more opportunities to be seen by scouts or receive scholarships than do talented artists who may not even have a chance to take an art elective until their junior year of high school. By then, too much time has passed to create a well-rounded portfolio.
Read the rest here.
The Artwork of Carol Roque on DPJ
I was at Third Friday in January selling my book with Jim McPherson in front of MADE Gallery on Roosevelt Row when I first saw Carol Roque. She was off to the side of me in front of MADE doing portraits and I was impressed by how good they were. I went over to see her display where on her table she had digital picture frames that scrolled through her work and I really liked what I saw, there was that element of lonely, Tim Burton-esque playful darkness juxtaposed to really bright, abstract, dream-like kind of stuff. I asked the owner of MADE, Cindy Dash, more about the artist out front and Cindy told me that Carol had been a regular part of First Friday since 2006 (which was even before I started going.) So I figured she had an interesting story, and she did. Plus I have a special place in my heart for people who live downtown and create things.
I interviewed her and wrote a story that is now posted on the DPJ website. You can read it here.
2012 Mutant Pinata Show at Bragg’s Pie Factory in Photos
The 4th Annual Mutant Pinata Show is now on display in Bragg’s Pie Factory at 1301 W Grand Avenue.
Jim McPherson and I submitted a pinata for this years show because it sounded like a ton of fun to make a pinata. And it was. We made a mini Westward Ho complete with the antenna, palm trees, the Stacey Champion downtown chalkboard, and of course a mini-cover of our book “Downtown Phoenix.” Jim and I felt that this historic building is sort of a “mutant” in the sense that it is still standing and not taking up space in a landfill. Historic buildings in Phoenix are treated like mutants and demolished so we thought our pinata fit the criteria perfectly. To my surprise and delight, the pinata sold for 5 bucks!! That totally makes me a full time working artist! (In my mind.)
Below are some photos I took while perusing the other entries this year. Make sure to check this exhibit out. There were a lot of great entries. Read more
My Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Stop HB 2625
Before I was any other kind of activist, I was a Feminist. I was reared by educated, articulate, powerful women who taught me about love, justice, and equality. So issues pertaining to women’s rights, women’s health, women’s choice hit close to home for me which is why I’m fired up about HB 2625, a law that would allow employers to fire women who use birth control. Republicans always advocate for “smaller government” and now we all know what that means: government so small it can pass laws that fit in your uterus.
I wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee today to voice my opposition to HB 2625. I’m proud of this letter because I got to use the words “vagina” and “menstrual cramps” to Arizona Senators. (This afternoon I received a reply from Steve Gallardo of District 13 who said he was opposing this bill. I’ve sent him a thank you.)
Senate Judiciary Committee members,
I grew up with a single mother and two sisters and I take issues relating to women very seriously.
Contraception isn’t just about sex, it is also an issue of health, but since the Arizona legislature seems intent on discussing private health issues of Arizonans, let’s talk about some now.
There are women in my life who use birth control as a way to deal with menstrual cramps. Taking birth control allows them to be at work every day of the month. Another female friend also has a heavy monthly flow and taking birth control helps reduce it.
You were elected to deal with issues pertaining to the economy, jobs, taxes, and schools, not vaginas and menstrual cramps. Read more
The Battle to Save Solar in Arizona
The fight isn’t over yet to stop a bill that would set up a huge roadblock to progress on renewable energy and energy efficiency in Arizona. Despite opposition from a wide range of clean energy supporters, including many hundreds of emails from Vote Solar members, the legislation was narrowly approved in the AZ House of Representatives early this week in a 31-27 vote. Now it will be taken up in the State Senate, where we stand a strong chance of stopping one of the worst threats to Arizona’s clean energy future seen in years: contact your State Senator to stop this solar setback in its tracks! Read more
Phoenix Challenge Nation 2012 in Photos
Some of my favorite spring time activities in Phoenix are all the outdoor races, runs, and marathons. At the top of my favorite list is Challenge Nation- an urban scavenger hunt that tests your physical fitness and downtown Phoenix knowledge.
I ran last year and made good time but knew I could do better. This year I ran with my teammate Ivonne and we got (drum roll please) second place! There were over 874 registered runners on 220+ teams and Ivonne and I got 2nd place and we only lost first place by one damn minute! Still, I’m pleased with our performance.
At the start of the race, each team is given a list of 12 clues that you have to solve then run to the location described in the clue then take a photograph with each member of your team in the photo. I’d share some of the clues here but I didn’t keep my sheet of paper and I don’t remember the clues except that they were not easy, and this coming from a guy who prides himself on knowing Downtown Phoenix better than anyone. Some of those clues threw me for a loop! Well done clue writers for Challenge Nation!
Here is a recap in photos. Read more
Gladiator Rock’n Run Phoenix 2012
As a kid, I used to watch American Gladiators with my dad and my little sister. After the show my sister and I would stand on chairs and do the joust competition with pillows but it was only fun for a second because she was smaller than me and I always won. Point being I never got to be on American Gladiators but now is my chance!
Dan Clark, aka Nitro, from the original American Gladiators, is putting on the Gladiator Rock’n Run a one-day challenge at Estrella Mountain Park on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day; It will be a muddy, gritty, ultimate obstacle/adventure-test-of-wills event! Read more
An LDS Chapel, a freeway and puppets
The first LDS Chapel in Phoenix was completed in 1918 near the corner of 7th and Monroe Streets in Downtown Phoenix. For 30 years it served as a meeting house, a community center, a place for luncheons for businessmen, and the venue for youth dances. As the LDS population in Phoenix grew, more chapels were built and by 1948 this first chapel was sold to another church then eventually demolished in 1969. I can’t think of any reason why the church would have sold it except maybe because the LDS population downtown had begun the flight to the suburbs where they have remained ever since.
All that’s left of the building is this plaque which can be seen at Heritage Square: Read more
Librotraficante Coming to Tucson March 17
For the past 13 years in Houston, Tony Diaz, founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say as well as Bryan Parras and Liana López have been promoting Latino literature and culture on radio programs, workshops and book fairs.
On March 17 they will be crossing the Arizona border with the Librotraficante Caravan to smuggle into Arizona something that was recently banned by the legislature- books. Read more
Good News! Bad Bills Failed in the Arizona Senate
But let’s not get too happy. There are still plenty of bad bills that could possibly pass. Stay on your toes and keep sending those emails and making those calls. Make your voice heard.
Today 4 bad bills failed! People like to pick on Arizona because it’s easy to do and for good reason- the Arizona legislature gives us plenty of bills to be angry about. So when the legislature does something RIGHT, like vote down bad bills, we need to celebrate and point out the fact that Arizona is not always a divisive, extremist state.
These bad bills failed today during the Senate floor vote. The Arizona Education Association strongly opposed all four of these bills that had a direct impact on Arizona schools. An explanation of each bill and the vote detail can be found below.
SB 1155 taxes and tax rates (sponsor: Biggs) FAILED 15-15
SB 1202 schools; partisan instruction prohibited (sponsor: Klein) FAILED 14-16
SB 1203 schools; course of study; approval (sponsor: Klein) FAILED 13-17
SB 1205 classroom instruction; FCC standards (sponsor: Klein) FAILED 14-16 Read more
