Key West Bartenders Get Ready

Miami may have stolen a tiny bit of their thunder (not that anybody, least of all these guys would complain) but we'll all be watching the live stream from Key West at midnight tonight when Monroe County's winning plaintiffs make it legal after eleven years of serving drinks in sin. Via press release:

Two Key West men, whose lawsuit helped pave the way for same-sex marriage equality in Florida, had their tuxedos fitted Monday afternoon in preparation for their wedding very early Tuesday. Aaron Huntsman and William Lee Jones, who completed their marriage license application paperwork at Key West's Monroe County Courthouse Friday, plan to exchange vows just after receiving their license at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday in the Keys' first same-sex wedding. "I'm a big ball of nerves right now -- my stomach is in knots -- but I'm so happy that I finally get to marry him," said Jones as he stood beside Huntsman.

In July 2014, in response to the couple's lawsuit protesting Florida's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, Florida Keys Judge Luis Garcia ruled that the ban was discriminatory and unconstitutional. But the state appealed, putting wedding plans on hold for Huntsman and Jones until New Year's Day, when U.S. Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that Florida's county court clerks can issue licenses to same-sex couples beginning at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

At Timmy Tuxedo's, Huntsman and Jones were fitted with white shirts, electric blue vests and traditional black bowties and tuxedos. For Jones, the wedding will mean removing an unwanted article of apparel -- a large silver-toned bracelet that completely encircles his left wrist. "A friend of ours gave it to me the day after we filed our lawsuit, and it's been shackled on here ever since," Jones said. "I call it my shackle of inequality. Tonight at midnight, I get to take it off." According to a spokesperson for the county clerk's office in Key West, the office will open at 11:30 p.m. Monday night and prepare to issue up to 100 marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While other weddings may take place in the wee hours Tuesday morning, Huntsman and Jones' ceremony is to be the first in the county and in the Florida Keys.

I'll post the live stream at 11:30PM. Bring your tissues.

FLORIDA: Key West Bartender Couple Files Marriage Equality Lawsuit

Two bartenders at Key West's popular 801 Bourbon Bar have filed a marriage equality lawsuit against the office of the Monroe County Clerk after being refused a marriage license. Via Steve Rothaus at the Miami Herald:

“We want the right,” said Aaron Huntsman, 43, who has been partnered for more than a decade with William Lee Jones, 42. Huntsman and Jones, both bartenders at 801 Bourbon Bar on Duval Street, want to wed on June 10. “It’s going to be our 11-year anniversary being together and the 10-year anniversary of our commitment ceremony on the Las Vegas strip.” Ron Saunders, general counsel for the clerk’s office told the Florida Keys Reporter that Heavilin’s staff had no choice but to deny the men a license. "Until it changes or is found unconstitutional, it is the law. No clerk in the state can do anything until a judge rules otherwise or the law changes." The men’s 17-page lawsuit mirrors a case filed in January by six same-sex couples and Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBT-rights group. They sued Miami-Dade County Clerk Harvey Ruvin after his office declined to issue the men and women marriage licenses. That case, assigned to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Sarah Zabel, is pending.

Jones says, "I really feel Monroe County - Key West - if it's going to be done anywhere, it’s going to be done here. We have a history. It's a little more open. Miami’s beautiful, Miami’s Miami. But people come down here and expect something like this to happen in Key West. We’re going to change it here." The couple is being represented by a small Key West law firm.

RELATED: In January, Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a marriage equality suit on behalf of six local couples. Last month the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel, who authored Florida's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, filed a motion to intervene in the case. Also last month, the ACLU filed a lawsuit which demands that Florida recognize legal out-of-state marriages.

Oil Spill Reaches Key West, Feds Double Banned Fishing Area

Federal officials have doubled the area of the Gulf that is banned to fishing fleets as the oil spill appears to have reached Key West. Yesterday the Florida Park Service reported that about 20 "tar balls" of crude oil have washed ashore.

The new restrictions extend from the coastal area off south-central Louisiana to about 200 miles off the tip of Florida's Gulf Coast, said Kim Amendola, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in St. Petersburg, Fla. That puts 45,728 square miles of federal gulf fishing grounds, or 19 percent, off limits, up from 24,241 square miles, she said. As of Monday, "the main bulk of oil is dozens of miles away from the current," said NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco. But her agency is concerned that light oil sheen could get caught in the loop that flows eastward through the gulf, then up Florida's Atlantic coast. "NOAA is acting with an abundance of caution," she said, because some of the spill could enter the main loop current.

UPDATE: Several Key West residents have written to point out that the dark line on the beach in the photo above is just sea grass left by the tide. The photo that accompanied the above-linked news story was meant to show workers looking for tar balls that have washed ashore, not to depict actual oil deposits on the sand. I'm told that the waters around Key West remain, for the time being, as pristine as ever. Please don't let this post dissuade you from your Key West vacation. Hit this link for a recounting of my fantastic trip there last October.

(Via - Gothamist)

Key West Gets Rainbow Crosswalks

Via the Miami Herald:

Key West on Thursday installed permanent rainbow crosswalks in the heart of the city’s LGBT entertainment district, at the intersection of Duval and Petronia streets. “Spanning all four corners of the intersection, the crosswalks feature bands of all six colors of the rainbow flag, an internationally recognized symbol of gay and lesbian unity,” according to a tourism news release. “Key West is very happy to be putting in the first thermoplastic permanent rainbow crosswalks in the state of Florida,” said Mayor Craig Cates. “It means so much to Key West to show our diversity, and also it goes perfectly with our ‘One Human Family’ motto.”

Rainbow crosswalks have been installed in other popular LGBT destinations such as the Castro and West Hollywood. (Photo via Aaron Huntsman)

LIVE VIDEO: Winning Monroe County (Key West) Plaintiffs Aaron & Lee Get Married

Key West bartenders Aaron Huntsman and William "Lee" Jones, the winning plaintiffs in Monroe County's marriage suit, will be getting married at midnight when the stay issued by federal Judge Robert Hinkle expires statewide. Earlier today Circuit Judge Luis Garcia lifted the stay on his Monroe County ruling, also effective at midnight. Watch the festivities live below. Other Key West couples may be getting married on camera shortly after Aaron and Lee.

UPDATE: And Aaron & Lee are legally married after twelve years of love in Key West. Congratulations, guys! The live stream has concluded and I'll post a clip of the ceremony here when it becomes available.

UPDATE II: Here's a clip of the wedding.

Key West's Island House Is For Sale, Owner Jon Allen Hopes For Gay Buyer

As many of you learned several weeks ago, Key West's famed Island House resort is for sale following the December death of Martin Kay, who owned the business with Jon Allen (above), his partner of 23 years. Knowing that I have made annual pilgrimages to the Island House for the last several years, I've been getting messages from JMG readers who are fearful that yet another of Key West's dwindling number of gay guest houses will fall into straight hands. I held off on writing about about the sale until our own Father Tony could interview Jon Allen himself. Tony's story appeared this week in South Florida Gay News.

What will become of Island House? The asking price of $13.5 million has proven to be reasonable given the excellent condition of the property, the constantly low vacancy rate, the well-trained and harmonious staff, and a clientele so fiercely loyal that upon announcement of the offering, bookings for March went up 67 percent over last year. Often, such an announcement will cause customers to hesitate. Allen wonders if the increase is because his customers could not bear the thought of never again visiting Island House. Serious offers have been received in the first week of the listing. Almost all interested buyers are former Island House guests who know the property well. Allen says that his strongest wish for Island House is that it should remain a guesthouse for gay men. For him, Island House contains wonderful memories, and he often describes his work by saying, “In my workday, I am surrounded by happy naked men and a wonderful staff that know how to solve problems.”

Allen, 70, says that he can't bear to remain in Key West, where reminders of his late partner appear at every turn. After the sale is concluded, he will move to a gay retirement community near the Russian River area north of San Francisco.

Even if the Island House is acquired by longtime patrons who change nothing and run the business  with the same high standards that have earned countless glowing reviews, the new owners will be challenged to maintain the genial "every kind of gay man is welcome here" atmosphere created by Martin Kay and Jon Allen, who greeted and treated new guests like old friends.

KEY WEST: Rainbow Flags Fly As Diana Nyad Completes Swim From Cuba

Openly lesbian marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, 64, has just finished her swim from Cuba to Key West. Hundreds of people cheered Nyad's arrival as some in the crowd waved rainbow flags.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim the treacherous waters from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage on Monday, arriving in Key West two days after starting her 110-mile trek. Nyad, 64, unsuccessfully tried to swim the Florida Strait four times, mostly recently in 2012. The New York City native’s latest journey began Saturday morning when she jumped from the seawall of the Hemingway Marina into the warm waters off Havana. As she closed in on the Key West shores, a couple of hundred people gathered on the beach to watch her make the final leg of the swim.

Nyad's first notable swim came in 1975 when she swam the 28 miles around Manhattan in under eight hours.

UPDATE: The Tea Things are very upset that Hillary Clinton has congratulated Nyad and has "remained silent on Syria." 

RECAP: Key West Pride, Day One

Yesterday Father Tony and I arrived in the mid-afternoon and were whisked to our Cypress House accommodations with instructions to quickly prepare for the Key West Pride kickoff party at Island House. After a few hours of poolside menz and frozen drinkies, we were hustled off to dinner at The Flaming Buoy (heh) where the co-owner related how a recent positive mention from the New York Times nearly sank the joint with business it wasn't yet ready to handle. Fantastic char-grilled scallops, by the way. After dinner, the irrepressible Father Tony continued onward to some of the bars on Duval Street, but I was zonked on the bed by 10:30pm. I am the party animal.

DISCLOSURE: As I mentioned when I first posted about this trip, our entire Key West shebang is being funded by the Key West Business Guild - airfare, hotel, meals, nightclubbing, hookers...everything. (OK, maybe not hookers.) As always for these things, press junketeers are not "required" to review or even mention any of the places we visit. If we do, hey, that's nice of us. If we don't, oh well. I usually only mention the joints that I liked. Just so you know.

Key West Cops Rock

On Key West's bustling Duval Street, drag queens and go-go boys can be found standing in front of gay bars handing out fliers and posing for photos, more often that not with highly amused straight tourists. It's a hectic, high-energy scene on those sidewalks, where gays and straights move comfortably among each other. Gay boys cat-call straight boys, straight couples cat-call drag queens - it's all rather other-worldly.

It's therefore rather worth mentioning one small incident we witnessed in which two very intoxicated men yelled something derogatory at a couple of drag performers we were chatting with outside of one of the clubs. I didn't hear the actual words, just their tone, so I've got no idea if the insult was anti-gay, anti-drag, or even anti-fat, as the two queens were of the larger variety. The above-pictured cop, who was just a few feet away undergoing a photo op of his own, immediately barked a command to his horse, who took several sideways steps and trapped the two jerks against the wall of the building next door. It was the coolest trick ever, prompting a passing woman to exclaim, "Wow! Is that horse from the circus?" The crowd loved it. And what would have been the only bit of ugliness we saw during the entire trip was instead turned into something of a highlight.

RELATED: One-third of Key West's police force is openly gay, including the above cop and their chief of police.

UNRELATED: Special shout-out to JMG reader and Key West cop Joe, whom we met at the airport as we departed.

Key West Day Three

Yesterday our merry band of revelers returned to the all-gay Blu Q catamaran, this time for a daytime snorkling trip out to Man Key Reef, a shallow coral reef where the crystal-clear water provided great views. Then came lunch and kayaking off a unpopulated island, where Captain Steve pointed out the wreckage of a shabby craft recently abandoned by Cuban refugees who were captured and repatriated as the wet foot, dry foot policy of the U.S. government doesn't apply to that island, somehow. Back at the dock, we watched a local hand-feed feed raw chicken to a puppy-like nurse shark and some rather massive tarpon.

And then the drinking commenced yet again, starting with tea dance at La Ti Da, followed shortly by a visit to Jazz At The Gardens Hotel, which has some of the lovliest grounds on the island. Key West Business Guild guru Steve Smith then ushered our tottering group into a gay-owned limo for the ride to a fancy dinner at Square One. And then Father Tony and I took a quick spin through some of the gay bars on Duval Street, hitting the Bourbon Street Pub, 801 Bourbon Bar and a couple of others places whose names elude me at the moment. Somehow we still had the stamina for a couple of nightcaps back at the pool bar at Island House. My day three slideshow is below, but the photos are somewhat out of order, something I can't attend to at the moment bcause we're late for our cocktail reception tour of several guesthouses. Life is hard in Key West. NOTE: Some photos may be NSFW, thanks to some rather confident Italians.

FLORIDA: Community Leader Dies In Traffic Accident During Annual AIDS Ride

South Florida nightlife guru Mark Haines, who founded the popular LGBT entertainment portal Mark's List, was killed in a traffic accident Friday night while participating the annual Miami to Key West AIDS ride. His nephew writes on Mark's List:

I am heartbroken to report that Mark Haines, my uncle, the founder and CEO of Mark's List, and a long-time leader in the Florida GLBT community, was killed last night. And yet, I tenuously reach for some ray of happiness in knowing that he died while doing what he loved most. He was participating in the Smart Ride with his brother (my father), Stephen Lang (long-time Mark's List photographer), and hundreds of others. He died instantly, hit by a car while walking home from dinner after the best day and the best ride of his life.

CBS Miami reports on the accident:

A prominent LGBT leader from Fort Lauderdale died Friday night after he was hit by a car in the Florida Keys. The Florida Highway Patrol reported Mark Haines, 54, was in the Keys taking part in a bicycle race called SmartRide from Miami to Key West. “It’s a very sad loss,” said Tim Barton. “I know our community will miss Mark a lot,” added Joe Billingsley who knew Haines. According to a FHP press release, Haines was crossing from the Gulf side of U.S. 1 near mile marker 59 to the ocean side when he walked in front of a truck around 7 p.m. Another vehicle, an SUV swerved to avoid hitting the truck and also struck Haines. After that impact, a third car that swerved to prevent hitting the SUV hit Haines too, FHP said. Haines died at the scene. All three drivers waited for police to arrive.

South Florida Gay News notes that Haines had lost 70 pounds while training for the event. Other participants, which included our own Father Tony, were notified of the accident in an announcement made at the ride's end point in Key West yesterday morning.

Father Tony Is Doing The AIDS Ride

Father Tony is doing the Miami - Key West AIDS ride this weekend.  From Tony's rider page where you can sponsor him:

In high school, my idea of exercise was lip-synching Diana Ross. Now, as a 62 year-old gay adventure tour guide and travel writer, I want you to "stop, in the name of love" for a moment and consider supporting the crazy thing I have decided to do. On Friday November 15th, and Saturday November 16th I will join hundreds who will ride their bicycles from Miami to Key West 165-miles. Our journey will be one filled with hope, pride, and the dream of a future free of HIV/AIDS. This year will mark the 10th year of The SMART Ride journey.

So far Tony has corporate sponsorship from South Florida Gay News, where he is their travel writer, and from Key West's Island House. (And from this here website thingy, of course.)  Hit the first link for a worthy cause.

FLORIDA: Gay Man Kills Himself Over The Reelection Of President Obama

The locally well-known gay owner of a Key West tanning salon has killed himself, apparently (in part) as a result of President Obama's reelection. Keys News reports:

A Key West businessman who for years gave to AIDS Help and other charities may have taken his own life after a bout of depression over a struggling business and the recent election results, his partner said Tuesday. A police detective found 64-year-old Henry Smith Hamilton Jr., owner of Duval Square Tropical Tan, dead at 11:55 a.m. Thursday in his La Brisa condominium on South Roosevelt Boulevard.

Officers found him on his back in the middle of his bed, his left arm flung across his face. Found on his bathroom sink was a copy of his living will on which was handwritten, "Do not revive! Fuck Obama!" according to police reports. Hamilton had been distressed about his business and "very upset" with the outcome of the Nov. 6 presidential election, his partner told police. "If Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around," Hamilton had said, according to his partner of 11 years, Michael Cossey, who spoke to police.

A detective found three prescription bottles in the dining room: one empty bottle for 1 milligram Alprazolams, one empty bottle for 150 milligram Seroquels and another bottle for 50-milligram Seroquels that still had pills inside, reports say.

The Key West LGBT Chamber of Commerce confirmed to me by phone today that Hamilton had been a member.

Key West Pride

The Key West Business Guild has invited me down on a press junket to cover this year's Pride events, which run June 8th thru June 13th. And of course I'll be hosting a JMG readers meet-up at the fabulous Island House, date and time TBD. My third trip to Key West in 18 months! Hope to see some of you there!

Key West Day Five

Yesterday Father Tony and I overslept and missed the 7:15am boarding call for the high-speed ferry to the Dry Tortugas. Dammit all to hell. Those who went are calling it one of the highlights of the week. Dammit all to hell. So instead of a 70-mile voyage into the Gulf of Mexico, we made up for it with a trip to the Hemingway Home where I photographed the six-toed cats and Tony lusted after the gardener.

After that we climbed the Key West Lighthouse, which didn't seem that high until you were halfway up the ancient metal spiral staircase suspended from the middle. Oy. Then we visited the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservancy, where you enter what feels like a giant terrarium and walk around the lush grounds as thousands of brilliantly colored butterflies swirl around and occassionally land on you. Father Tony loved it, I found it a little unnerving - it felt like the beginning of a horror movie before everybody realizes too late that the pretty bugs are eating people. I calmed myself with a couple of hours of poolside blogging and frozen drinks back at the Island House. Lots of photos of the guesthouse and our room are included in the slideshow below. (BTW, too many cats in these slideshows? Suck it.)

Key West Day One

Not quite 24 hours on the island and as Divine said in Lust In The Dust, my ass is on its last legs. Steve Smith, our host from the Key West Business Guild picked up our group (myself, Father Tony, EDGE's Michael K. Lavers, freelance journalist Rod McCullom, LOGO's Mike Diamond, SiriusXM's Frank DeCaro, and filmmakers Josh Koll and Josh Helmin) at the airport. Less than an hour after arrival we were whisked off to an absolutely riotous street party and Coronation Ball for the King and Queen of Fantasy Fest. The winners earned their crowns by raising the most money for AIDS Help.

Then came a fancy dinner, then Steve gave Father Tony and me a private tour of some packed and shenanigans-laden bars on Duval Street (more about that later.) At 2am, we finally crawled back to our guesthouse, Island House. (More about that later.) Up with the rooster's call (literally), we breakfasted this morning at Big Ruby's Guesthouse, then took the LGBT Historic Trolley Tour, then had lunch poolside at Casa Marina Resort. I've got just enough downtime to get this post up, then we're off to a sunset dinner cruise. I'm wiped! I'll get a slideshow of the first day up as soon as I get photo approvals from our fussy colleagues. And watch out Key West, we are now on mopeds.

UPDATE: Here's the slidehow for Day One. Some photos possibly NSFW, mostly due to one young entrepreneur who was working the sidewalk outside a Duval Street gay bar.

UPDATE II: Father Tony's first post is up, where he titled the below photo "Curmudgeon By The Sea."

Key West Bound

Blogging will be relatively light for the next six days as the Key West Business Guild is bringing me down on a press junket to cover Fantasy Fest. I'll get some posts up tomorrow morning before I leave and probably a couple more during my layover at MIA. After that, it'll be intermittent poolside vacation blogging as the Guild has laid out an eye-popping schedule of events for myself and Father Tony, including snorkeling, parties, contests, pub crawls, historic tours, and even a day trip to the Dry Tortugas. I haven't been to Key West since 1994 and I'm eager to see how gay life there has changed. Full disclosure: The Guild is paying for our airfare, lodging, meals, excursions - the whole shebang. Fuller disclosure: I'm completely open to similar offers from the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Mykonos, Sitges.......

Cain: Romney Should Pick Allen West

Herman Cain says Mitt Romney should select Tea Party darling Rep. Allen West to be his running mate. West is perhaps best known for this comment: "When I see anyone with an Obama 2012 bumper sticker, I recognize them as a threat to the gene pool."

"Colonel Allen West out of Florida," Cain said. "Here's why. He is well-spoken, he is direct, people in Florida love him, he has a huge following. He is from Florida. Florida is going to be one of those key states. But more importantly, Colonel Allen West is a dedicated patriot. He served in the military, and he is willing to serve his country some more." Cain said he would advise West not to wait before seeking higher office. "Now I know that there might be some push back on his part, because he's just in his first term as a United States congressman," he said. "But my advice to him, if he were to ask me, is, you've served your country well and now you have a higher calling. And I would strongly recommend that he consider it, depending on any personal considerations he might have."

Known for being loudly anti-gay, last week West tried to dismiss same-sex marriage as unimportant to the 2012 election, leading some to speculate that he was tempering his usual hate in order to improve his VP chances. Last August a Florida gay business group rescinded its speaking invitation to West after complaints about his anti-gay positions.

FLORIDA: White House Sends Wedding Congratulations To Key West Bartenders

Key West bartenders Aaron Huntsman and Lee Jones were the first winning plaintiffs in several marriage equality lawsuits that ultimately resulted in their being the first gay couple to marry in Monroe County. That ceremony was carried live by Florida television stations and was live-streamed here on JMG.

Key West Winners

William Jones (left) and Aaron Huntsman are the Key West bartenders whose marriage equality lawsuit against Monroe County was the first of five wins in Florida, earning them grand marshal titles in this year's Fantasy Fest Parade, the first "political" selection in the event's history. Jones and Huntsman dropped in at the Island House this afternoon for an interview with me and South Florida Gay News writer Tony Adams. Look for Tony's interview online and in print on Wednesday. My piece will appear in the 2015 issue of Pride Magazine, by which time we'll hopefully have a final resolution on Florida marriage - if not the entire national shebang.