By Ramy Eletreby

Kuehl's History Bill Draws National Attention

State Sen. Sheila Kuehl's Senate Bill 1437 would change school textbooks to reflect the contributions of the LGBT community in the same way the achievements of minorities and women are taught. The bill passed the Senate by a 22-15 vote and now faces debate in the Assembly.

Meanwhile SB 1437 has drawn the ire of many conservatives. “This bill threatens to rewrite history as gay advocates want it to have been, not what really happened,” wrote syndicated columnist Debra Saunders. “Kuehl may think she is pushing tolerance, when in fact she is forcing her ideology on other people's children -- whether they like it or not.”

“There is no real national backlash, except by the organized right wing,” Kuehl told IN. “Having failed with the usual garbage about the gay agenda, they have changed their tactic and are now trying to use what used to be called the 'colorblind' argument. That is, why do we need to know these things about people? Isn't it enough to know their accomplishments? Of course, our kids and others need role models and some information that Walt Whitman, Bayard Rustin, James Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, and others were gay helps kids to understand the diversity of talent and the talent of our community.”

Summer Health Program Offers Free Vaccinations During Prides

On May 16, the L.A. County Department of Health Services, the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center (LAGLC), and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation announced the launch of Hep Team LA, a new summer health vaccination program aimed at educating and targeting gay and bisexual men at risk men for hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Hepatitis A and B are two serious liver diseases that are completely vaccine-preventable, but according to Hep Team LA's recent survey, the majority of respondents (66 percent) in Southern California have not seen or received information about these illnesses and have no plans to get vaccinated.

According to Hep Team LA, men who have sex with other men (MSM), in particular African American men and Latinos, are at the highest risk for infection. Hepatitis B is 100 times more contagious than HIV, and condoms may not protect against hepatitis A because it can be transmitted through fecal-oral contact.

Hep Team LA will offer free vaccinations and education materials through the summer Pride season, including Long Beach Pride, Gay Pride in West Hollywood, Sunset Junction, Black Pride, and Latino LGBT Pride. Clinics throughout southern California will also offer free vaccinations. For more information, visit www.HepTeamLA.com. --Eddie Gutierrez

Save Me Reading To Benefit the Point Foundation

On June 12 Chad Allen, Robert Gant, and Judith Light will premier a live stage reading of the new independent film, Save Me, about a young gay man who finds true love instead of a “cure” at a Christian ex-gay ministry.

The reading will be held at the Director's Guild of America as a benefit for The Point Foundation, which provides college scholarships and mentoring programs for LGBT students of distinction across the country. The Point Foundation is expected to receive over 5,000 applications for the scholarships this year. The goal of the event is to raise $250,000 to help as many students as possible. There is a pre-reading reception at 6:30 p.m., program at 7:30, with a cocktail party afterwards. For more information, contact gingern@thepointfoundation.org or call (866) 337-6468.

Trans Unity Pride Festival June 2-4

The 7th annual Trans Unity Pride festival will be held at The Village (1125 N. McCadden Pl.) June 2-4. Sponsored by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, The Unique Woman's Coalition, and FTM Alliance, the clean and sober festival will feature entertainment, including pageants and awards; workshops, including one by the Center's legal department; and keynote speakers Stephen Pennington (ACLU/LGBT Project) and Kelly Trombaco (Drew University). For more information, call Farina Dary at (323) 860-7394 or Chanel Tresvant (323) 860-7335.

Meanwhile, community members report that the LAPD has stepped up arrests outside the Blacklight and the Tempo, bars near Western Avenue popular with transgenders, transvestites and gay Latinos. Police have reportedly also arrested transgender women having late night coffee inside a local donut shop. Rhonda Hogg, an alternate public defender in the Hollywood court, confirmed the police “sweeps” to IN, and is looking for any additional information that might help her cases. Call her at (323) 856-5787.

On June 7, the L.A. County HIV Drug & Alcohol Task Force will hold a five-hour certificate training session called “Transolutions II,” which will feature discussions on stigma and stereotypes, HIV and medical issues, addiction, recovery and well-known transgender activist Shirley Bushnell will talk about Amnesty International's “Stonewalled” report. For more information, email Susan Forrest at hivdatfla@yahoo.com.

Schwarzenegger to Keynote Benefit for Log Cabin Republicans

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will deliver a keynote speech at a dinner benefiting Log Cabin Republicans on Thursday, June 29, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel.

“This is a historic opportunity for the governor to share his insights and opinions regarding his support of equality for LGBT people,” Jeff Bissiri, director of Log Cabin Republicans of California, told IN. “It is also an opportunity for Log Cabin to continue a dialogue with the governor on issues that are important to us, including marriage equality.“ For tickets, go to http://online.logcabin.org.

The dinner comes at a time when Schwarzenegger appears to be bouncing back in the polls during this election season. He may even be reclaiming support (after he vetoed the marriage equality bill last year) among gays after appointing lesbian Democrat Susan Kennedy as his chief of staff and including $258.8 million in his May revised budget to fully fund the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

“California's ADAP program must continue providing life-saving HIV medications to more than 30,000 low-income individuals. The governor's budget recognizes the importance of this program,” said Craig E. Thompson, executive director of APLA. “We commend the governor and the state Office of AIDS for identifying cost-savings measures that increase the program's efficiency while maintaining services for those who need it most.”

Court Avoids California Gay Parental Rights Issue

On May 22, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take a case involving a custody dispute between two San Diego lesbians. Since their 2000 break up, Sharon S. has been fighting Annette F.'s attempt to adopt one of the two children they raised together.

Sharon, the birth mother, consented to the second-parent adoption in August 1999, but after Annette allegedly struck Sharon in the face the following July, Sharon sought to have the adoption petition dismissed. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where, in March 2004, the case was declined the first time without comment.

Trev Broudy Defrauded

After actor and voiceover artist Trev Broudy was brutally attacked in what many thought was a hate crime outside his West Hollywood apartment in September 2002, the gay and voiceover communities raised $40,000 to help sustain him.

Since he suffered a brain injury and lost his vision in one eye, Broudy asked for advice about how to manage his money. Three men at a gym he frequented told him about John Lee and Legacy International.

“[Lee] had an excellent reputation, according to the individuals who recommended him,” Broudy told IN. “He knew what had happened to me, and I explained to him that I could not do my own due diligence as it related to his money management, because of my cognitive and visual impairments.” Broudy subsequently invested the $40,000 in contributions and $40,000 of his own with Lee.

But after he started regaining some cognition, Broudy reviewed Lee's quarterly reports and “things began to look suspicious to me. When I asked John if he had a year-end audit of his company, he said he never used an auditor, and that is when I decided I wanted to get my money out as soon as possible. Immediately, John began to give me excuses for why he was not able to redeem my investment. In March of 2005, I began to fear that John was a fraud.”

Broudy filed a police report and followed up with reports to federal agencies. Detective Simeon Plyler is now handling the case in the L.A. Sheriff's fraud division. “It is an on-going investigation,” Plyler told IN, adding that up to 50 others made “bad” investments with Lee, including a 67-year-old woman who invested all her retirement savings.

Though a number of investors have been cooperating in the investigation of Lee's apparent Ponzi scheme, as a result of embarrassment or denial, “a lot of people don't want to believe they have been the victim of an investment fraud theft,” Plyler said. “But anybody who has an investment with Legacy International should be concerned about their money and I would like to talk with them.” Plyler can be reached at (661) 287-4099.

“Unfortunately, because no one came forward in almost a year except for me, Lee had ample opportunity to get the money out of the country and disappear,” Broudy said.