Las Vegas Gay Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants

Las Vegas Gay Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants

Badlands Las Vegas
Easygoing, country-themed, gay watering hole with pool tables & darts in funky, neon-lit space.
badlandsbarlv.com

The Phoenix Bar & Lounge
Easygoing gay bar with a loungey feel offering karaoke, pool & a dance floor in a low-key setting.
facebook.com/thephoenixlv

Don’t Tell Mama
Cozy lounge featuring singing servers & live piano accompaniment for open-mike opportunities.
www.donttellmama.com

The Las Vegas Eagle
Lively, kink-friendly gay-friendly bar in a strip-mall locale with themed events, drink specials & karaoke nights.
facebook.com/thelasvegaseagle

Piranha Nightclub
Compact-but-lush gay nightclub offering theme nights, drag shows, VIP skyboxes & cozy outdoor patio.
piranhavegas.com

Charlie’s Las Vegas
Country-style watering hole featuring line dancing, live bingo, drag revues, DJs & drink specials.
charlieslasvegas.com

Chicago Gay Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants

Gay Bars Chicago

Side Track
Behomoth gay club drawing a diverse crowd, serving up slushy drinks & known for showtune nights.
www.sidetrackchicago.com

Second Story Bar
Small, old-school, cash-only local gay bar tucked away in low-lit digs above Sayat Nova restaurant.
www.facebook.com/secondstorybar

Progress Bar
Hip nightclub offering craft brews, DJs & dancing in flashy digs with a huge lightbulb sculpture.
progressbarchicago.com

Roscoe’s Tavern
Neighborhood gay & lesbian bar dating back to 1987 with a dance floor, pool table & outdoor spaces.
www.roscoes.com

Lark Chicago
Lark’s dining experience is hip, friendly and fun, perfect for date night, groups, weekday dinner or weekend brunch with the family in Boystown.
www.larkchicago.com

The Closet
Opened in 1978, this tiny, unpretentious LGBT bar features dancing, games & karaoke.
theclosetchicago.com



Photo of Lark Patio by Kurman Communications

Rehoboth Beach Gay Bars, Clubs, and Restaurants

Gay Rehoboth Beach

Aqua Bar and Grill
Popular LGBTQ restaurant features full bar, outdoor patio, Sunday brunch, tea dances, video bar & regular themed events.
www.aquarehoboth.com
57 Baltimore Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

Diego’s Bar and Nightclub
Diego’s Bar and Nighclub boasts Rehoboth Beach’s largest dance floor, plus a patio and plenty of outdoor seating. Regular happy hour specials.
www.diegosbarnightclub.com
57 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

Purple Parrot
Gay bar & restaurant with burgers & beer, bright cartoon murals & regular live entertainment. The bier garten in back is a beautiful outdoor space with a key west feel, and a frequent gathering spot
www.ppgrill.com
134 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

Port 251
This gay friendly spot has great food and unique drinks, not to mention an amazing Drag Brunch!
www.fb.com/Port251
251 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

The Blue Moon
A wonderful place to go for dinner and a show. Bright, remodeled Craftsman cottage serving upscale American fare with regular live entertainment including local legend Magnolia Applebottom.
www.bluemoonrehoboth.com
35 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

The Pines
This gay gathering spot is a classic tavern with a modern interpretation and unique menus. The Top of the pines is a dining, live entertainment, and event/catering venue space; a place where people can gather to eat, drink, and enjoy some of the best entertainment in the area including local legend Pamela Stanley.
www.thepinesrb.com
56 Baltimore Ave, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | Directions

Victory Fund Endorses Alex Wan in Race for Georgia House District 57

Alex Wan Atlanta

Former Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan, a long-time Morningside homeowner and civic leader, has been endorsed by Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund in the race for Georgia State House District 57. Victory Fund (www.VictoryFund.org) is the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ people to public office.

“LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed Alex in his previous races and is pleased to endorse his bid to continue serving Georgians, this time under the Gold Dome,” says Mayor Annise Parker, Victory Fund President & CEO. “During his 8 years on Atlanta City Council and since, Alex has worked with friends and neighbors across the district, tackling the community’s shared challenges. He is well-positioned at this critical juncture in our history to continue fighting for those issues in the State Legislature.”

Wan announced his bid to represent Georgia State House District 57, following the December announcement by State Rep. Pat Gardner that she will retire after the 2020 General Assembly. This endorsement signals Victory Fund’s confidence that Wan is ideally suited to represent District 57 and will be a strong voice for equity and equality in the Legislature.

“I am honored by the support of Victory Fund,” says Wan, who has called District 57 home for more than 25 years. “As I have said before, Victory Fund’s candidate training and support played an important part in my public service journey. As I continue fighting for the progressive, inclusive values we share as Atlantans, I am proud to do so with the support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.”

Wan served as an Atlanta City Council member for Council District 6, which overlays much of House District 57, for 8 years. Wan was the first Asian American and first openly gay man elected to the Atlanta City Council. Since that time, he continues his community service as the Fulton/Atlanta citizen representative on the Atlanta Regional Commission Board and as a member of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board.

“I hope that my service to our district since I moved here over 25 years ago has demonstrated the kind of representative I will be,” Wan says. “Voters know my values. They know my commitment to service. They know that I’m accessible. And voters know that my experience on the Atlanta City Council and relationships I have developed with state and national elected officials will be invaluable.”

His professional experience includes the private, public, non-profit and higher-education sectors. He is Executive Director of Horizons Atlanta, a nonprofit that provides tuition-free summer enrichment programs for children from traditionally underserved communities. Wan holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Finance MBA from Wharton Business School and has completed educational programs at Dartmouth and Harvard.

Members of the Georgia House are elected for two-year terms, with the election to be held in November 2020, taking office in January 2021. Wan notes that redistricting that results from the 2020 Census will take place in the Fall of 2021, and that we need legislators in place who will approach that process fairly.

For more information about Wan and his campaign: www.AlexWanForAtlanta.com.

Saying Goodbye to the DC Center for the LGBT Community

Dear Friends

In 1999, the Cherry Fund and Whitman Walker Clinic formed an Ad Hoc Committee to create an LGBT Community Center in the District. That vision became a reality when the DC Center for the LGBT Community was incorporated in 2004 with signatories Patrick Menasco, Jeff Englar, Larry Stansbury, and Ed Craft.  

As we celebrate our 15th Anniversary this year, I hope we all take time to celebrate the many visionary board members, staff, volunteers, and community partners who have brought us to this point, including our past board chairs Michael Sessa and Michael Fowler, and our current board co-chairs Rehana Mohammed and Jonathan Gilad.

2019 also marks my 11th and final year at the DC Center.   September 30th will be my last day serving as Executive Director of this remarkable organization.  While I look forward to the opportunities in my future, the DC Center will always hold a very special place in my heart.

I will spend my remaining time here assuring a smooth and strategic transition.   2020 will be a year of growth for the DC Center with a significant increase in grant funding. This includes a groundbreaking grant from DC Department of Aging and Community Living (DACL).   This grant, which will help us better serve older LGBTQ adults, is the first grant ever given by DACL to an LGBT organization.

I am grateful to be able to leave the DC Center in the hands of very capable board members and staff,   It is the right time to make way for new leadership, ideas, and vision.   I look forward to seeing where we go from here.

Please make plans to join me at the DC Center Fall Reception on Friday September 13th at the Warner Building celebrate our 15th Anniversary.   Purchase your tickets now at: thedccenter.org/events/fifteen

Best Regards,

David Mariner

HIV & Aging in San Francisco

HIV & Aging

Older adults living with HIV in San Francisco face staggeringly high rates of mental health issues and levels of loneliness, as well as experience a dire need for regular social connections and health care coordination, according to a landmark new report by the ACRIA Center on HIV and Aging at GMHC released Sunday.

The report, issued as the first part of the multi-site Research on Older Adults with HIV (ROAH) 2.0 project, demonstrates in stark terms that living with HIV as an older adult presents a unique set of challenges—and requires a complex set of coordinated solutions. More than 50% of all people living with HIV in the United States are age 50 and older, and by 2020, 65-70% of people living with HIV will be age 50 and older.

“While there is increased awareness that there is a critical need for both more services for, and more research about, older adults living with and affected by HIV, our nation is not fully prepared for the medical and social implications of the growth of this population,” said Stephen Karpiak, PhD, Senior Director for Research for the ACRIA Centers at GMHC and a Co-Principal Investigator of ROAH 2.0. “We hope that the fresh insights from this timely study—which come just as adults age 50 and over are becoming the majority of all people with HIV in the United States—will inspire action to address the many challenges older adults with HIV face.”

In San Francisco, where 65% of people living with HIV are age 50 or over and the cost of living is among the highest in the country, the need to know more about older adults with HIV is particularly pressing.  Though most participants reported that their HIV is well managed and that their health is “excellent” or “good,” 41% reported that their health is “fair,” “poor,” or “very poor.” They also reported a high burden of physical symptoms and diseases other than HIV.

Furthermore, survey participants said that they contend with hunger, low income, and burdensome housing costs. Many also said they lack ways to get help with the activities of daily living or care should they fall sick or be injured.

The findings of the report underline the importance of providing older adults with HIV with medical services guided by the principles of geriatric medicine (an approach tailored to the complex needs of older adults with multiple chronic conditions, e.g., multimorbidity and associated risks of polypharmacy), enhanced access to mental health treatment and social support, trauma-informed care that acknowledges the repercussions of a history of trauma and avoids re-traumatization, and programs to help ease the financial burden of living in a high-cost city on a low fixed income.

Other notable findings in the San Francisco ROAH 2.0 study include:

  • Rates of depression and PTSD were extremely high: 38% of participants scored as having moderate to severe depression and 35% scored as having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using conservative criteria. About half (51%) of the participants reported childhood sexual abuse.
  • Participants show a high prevalence of multimorbidity (having two or more chronic illnesses). They report a heavy burden of illness and physical symptoms: On average, they reported experiencing seven symptoms or diseases besides HIV in the past year. Data shows that the older adult with HIV is evidencing higher rates of illnesses typically associated with aging (cancers, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes). Multimorbidity is associated with elevated risk for polypharmacy.
  • Three-quarters of participants said their needs for emotional support were not fully met, and just over one-fifth said they needed “a lot more social support.”
  • The most frequent need among participants (and the need that was most often unmet) was having opportunities to socialize or meet others.
  • Nearly 60% of the participants reported that their housing costs account for about half, or more than half, of their income.
  • A brief assessment showed that 19% of participants were food insecure (meaning they have uncertain or insufficient access to food) and 25% experienced both food insecurity and hunger.

The full study, a successor to a pivotal ACRIA study of 1,000 older adults with HIV in New York City in 2006, will ultimately include almost 3,000 older adults living with HIV in sites across the United States, including New York City, Upstate New York, Chicago, and Alameda County (the East Bay), as well as San Francisco. Results will help social researchers and care providers across the country develop more services geared specifically toward people living with HIV who are over the age of 50.

“GMHC is committed to being a national leader in the study of older adults living with HIV as we all start to fully grasp the enormity of the challenges faced by the 50-and-over population living with HIV,” said GMHC CEO Kelsey Louie. “We hope that service organizations across the country will start to use these findings as they develop services and interventions designed to help this population. Since entering into a strategic partnership with ACRIA in 2017, GMHC has redoubled its efforts to work collaboratively with our older adult communities, launching the Terry Brenneis Hub for Long-Term Survivors earlier this year, relaunching GMHC’s pivotal Buddy Program, and using new data to better tailor our services. We look forward to shepherding more vital research that will help us provide the best possible holistic care for our older clients.

MTPC Announces Interim Director, Gender X ID Bill Moves Forward

Ev Evnen

The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition Steering Committee announced that Ev Evnen (pronouns: they/them/theirs) has been hired as interim director. Ev brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in trans advocacy, and has been working in collaboration with MTPC for many years on a variety of initiatives.

Ev appeared at a press conference following a 39-1 Massachusetts Senate Vote on a bill which would allow Massachusetts residents to select a nonbinary gender marker on drivers licenses and birth certificates.

They stated at the press conference: “For me, right now, my driver’s license says female. As a nonbinary person, male did not feel more accurate, and because of that, I kept the marker given to me at birth. Although my whiteness and my masculinity offer me a lot of protection, I still worry that when I hand my license to a TSA agent, a clerk at the grocery store or a law enforcement official, that the difference between the person they see in front of them and the gender marked on my license will result in unjust treatment.”

Ev comes from MaeBright Group, an LGBTQ+ policy and training consulting firm. In that capacity, they have worked with numerous state agencies and service providers to increase their cultural competence when working with queer and trans populations. Ev holds a MPP and MBA from the Heller School. They identify as white, genderqueer, non-binary, transgender, queer, Jewish, and as a person with a mental illness.

“I’m incredibly excited and honored for the opportunity to take the helm of MTPC for a short while.” Ev said. “I hope to continue advocating for all of the trans community in the Bay State.”

“I am thrilled to have Ev involved as MTPC enters a new chapter of leadership and direction” said Mason Dunn, outgoing Executive Director. “Their familiarity with the work and the organization makes them a perfect match to carry us forward.”

Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition is dedicated to ending discrimination and oppression on the basis of gender identity and gender expression.

Two in Three Texans Support Laws Protecting LGBT People from Discrimination

LGBTQ Texas

 A survey released by PRRI, a non-profit, non-partisan public opinion research organization, finds approximately two-thirds (66 percent) of Texans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people. Similar majorities support same-sex marriage (56 percent) and oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people (54 percent).

The survey of nearly 3,000 Texans is derived from PRRI’s American Values Atlas, which surveys over 40,000 Americans each year to provide a 50-state portrait of American attitudes on critical issues facing the country.

Widespread support among Texans for LGBT nondiscrimination laws 
The approximately two-thirds (66 percent) of Texans who support laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, and housing is similar to the 69 percent of Americans who favor them. Support transcends geography, religion, and race across the Lone Star State.

“The broad support for laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination represents a rarity in our polarized politics today—an issue that actually brings people together,” notes PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones. “Support for LGBT nondiscrimination protections spans Texas’ cities and rural areas, and transcends party, race, and religion in the Lone Star State.”

Each of Texas’ five major metropolitan areas shows significant support for nondiscrimination laws: Austin (77 percent), Dallas/Fort Worth (70 percent), El Paso (72 percent), Houston (66 percent), and San Antonio (65 percent). The level of support for nondiscrimination laws is consistent in urban (69 percent) and suburban (69 percent) areas of the state. Support in rural areas is significantly lower but remains in majority territory (53 percent).

Majority support for LGBT nondiscrimination laws crosses racial, ethnic, and religious lines. Around two-thirds of white (66 percent), Hispanic (67 percent), mixed or other race (67 percent), and black (71 percent) Texans support such laws. Likewise, majorities of white (71 percent) and Hispanic (71 percent) Catholics, and black Protestants (71 percent) and even white evangelical Protestants (53 percent), favor nondiscrimination protections, as do 75 percent of religiously unaffiliated Texans.

Notably, support for LGBT nondiscrimination protections also bridges party lines. Majorities of Texas Democrats (80 percent), independents (70 percent), and Republicans (52 percent) favor laws that protect LGBT people from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.

Three in four (75 percent) Texans ages 18-29 favor LGBT nondiscrimination protections, together with 55 percent of seniors ages 65 and older. This level of support roughly follows national levels: 76 percent of young Americans and 59 percent of seniors across the U.S. support these protections. 

Majorities of most Texas groups oppose religion-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people 
A majority of Texans (54 percent) oppose allowing small business owners in their state to refuse products or services to gay or lesbian people even if they say providing them would violate their religious beliefs. They join a majority of Americans (57 percent) in opposing such policies. Notably, black (63 percent) and Hispanic (58 percent) Texans are more likely than white Texans (50 percent) to oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people.

White evangelical Protestants are the only Texan religious group in which a majority (60 percent) favors allowing business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian people on religious grounds. All other major religious subgroups in Texas oppose such refusals. Religiously unaffiliated (68 percent), black Protestants (63 percent), and Hispanic Catholics (58 percent) are the groups most likely to oppose such policies.

Texans are also divided on this issue along political lines. While 73 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of independents oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people, 62 percent of Texas Republicans support this policy. One in three (33 percent) Texas Republicans oppose service refusals.

Majorities of Texans in each of the state’s major metropolitan areas oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people: Austin (63 percent), Dallas/Fort Worth (54 percent), El Paso (55 percent), Houston (53 percent), and San Antonio (59 percent). The 56 percent of Texans in urban metropolitan areas who oppose these refusals are joined by 53 percent of suburban and 48 percent of rural Texans.

Widespread Lone Star Support for Same-Sex Marriage 
Support for same-sex marriage has continued growing since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling that established a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples. More than six in 10 (62 percent) Americans now say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry legally, along with 56 percent of Texans. The increased support for same-sex marriage in Texas over the last four years has been notable: In 2015, 46 percent of Texans supported same-sex marriage, while 45 percent were opposed.

METHODOLOGY

The American Values Atlas (AVA) is a project of PRRI. The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI and was made possible by generous grants from The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, The Gill Foundation, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the United Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Results for the nondiscrimination laws and religiously-based service refusal questions are based on a subset of 40,292 telephone interviews (including 2,780 interviews in Texas) conducted between March 14, 2018 and December 16, 2018. The margin of error for these questions is +/- 0.5 percentage points at the national level (+/- 1.9 percentage points at the Texas level) at the 95 percent level of confidence. Results for the same-sex marriage question are based on a subset of 4,028 telephone interviews (including 267 interviews in Texas) conducted between March 14, 2018 and March 25, 2018and between June 27, 2018 and July 8, 2018. The margin of error for the same-sex marriage question subsample is +/-1.5 percentage points at the national level (+/- 6.0 points at the Texas level) at the 95 percent level of confidence.

About PRRI: 
PRRI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture, and public policy.

Morehouse College Will Admit Transgender Men Starting in 2020

Morehouse College Will Admit Transgender Men Starting in 2020

Morehouse College, the nation’s only all-male historically black college, has announced that it will update its admissions policy to include transgender men. This comes on the heels of neighboring women’s institution and historically black college, Spelman College, adopting an admission policy inclusive of transgender women in 2017.

The policy, which is set to go into effect in 2020, marks a major shift in the school’s 152-year history, and comes at a time when colleges across the country are evaluating more inclusive policies for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming students.

“This is a great first step for Morehouse that should be celebrated, especially as trans rights are federally under attack,” said Georgia Equality Deputy Director and Morehouse Alumnus, Eric Paulk. “However, it’s important to be mindful of the work that has to happen between now and the implementation of the new policy to ensure an atmosphere of equity and safety for trans students and LGBTQ+ students on campus. This means ensuring that these voices lead and are centered in every step of the process.”

Other historically black colleges and universities including, Tuskegee University, Howard University, Florida A&M University, Southern University, North Carolina Central University and Morgan State University have adopted inclusive transgender policies. “Ultimately, if there’s not a focus on faculty and staff training, a shift in student culture that supports LGBTQ+ students, and culturally competent student services, the new Morehouse policy will be nothing more than empty symbolism. Georgia Equality is committed to being a resource for Morehouse and other Georgia institutions as they navigate this space.”