Wisconsin Gaze

“What should I wear?”

That’s a question that Clai Green, owner of Milwaukee’s Luci’s Boutique, hears a lot from his customers as they browse the racks of his trendy women’s store, 532 N. Water St.

The Fair Wisconsin PAC has endorsed Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee in his gubernatorial race.

FW and U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin formally presented the endorsement during an April 17 reception at Cardinal Bar, 418 E. Wilson St., in Madison.

Four Wisconsin high-school students will be honored at GSA for Safe Schools’ annual Leadership Award Celebration in Madison on May 8. The awards come with a $1,000 scholarship for each recipient as well as a chance to be recognized by the LGBT community for youth activism.

“Celebrating sexual minority youth and their allies at our annual banquet really gets at the values of our organization and work,” says G-Safe executive director Cindy Crane. “We assist students to find their own power to not only survive but thrive.”

A Wisconsin Tea Party rally boiled over March 13 when a congressional candidate showed video of his Republican rival at a gay wedding.

Candidate Dan Mielke called police after Rachel Duffy, the wife of his opponent, attacked his display table at the rally in an effort to stop him from playing the video on his laptop computer.

Republican lawmakers are calling on Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to appeal a ruling that transgender Wisconsin inmates are entitled to taxpayer-funded hormone therapy.

Reps. Scott Suder, Joel Kleefisch and 32 colleagues signed a letter urging Van Hollen “to use the full power and all available legal resources of the Department of Justice” to fight the decision.

A VIP ticket package for Lady Gaga’s Sept. 2 concert in Milwaukee brought in $4,500 during a live auction at AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin’s Make a Promise dinner on April 17. The tickets, donated by the Bradley Center, include four lower-level seats, VIP valet service and dinner for four at the center’s Court Side Club preceding the performance.

About 750 people attended Make a Promise, held at the Midwest Airlines Center. Among those honored at the annual event were Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and philanthropist Joe Pabst.

It’s the seat of the most politically conservative county in the state, but a burgeoning art scene is transforming Waukesha into a hip destination that seems to be attracting a growing number of gay and lesbian residents.

With 25 galleries and art-related businesses, along with trendy eateries, an active music scene and a growing calendar of public events, the city is undergoing what locals call a “renaissance.” The transformation has attracted national attention: Money Magazine named Waukesha one of the top 100 places to live in 2006.

AIDS service providers in Wisconsin plan to ask for increased HIV-prevention funding in the wake of new data showing the epidemic continues to disproportionately impact gay and bisexual men.

An analysis released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in mid-March found the rate of new HIV diagnoses nationally among gay and bisexual men is more than 44 times that of other men and more than 40 times that of women.

A Wisconsin prosecutor is warning sex education teachers they could face charges if they follow a new state law allowing them to instruct students about proper contraceptive use.

A letter sent to five school districts by Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth said the instruction could amount to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He said the districts should drop sex education until the law is repealed.

A federal court struck down a Wisconsin law barring transgender inmates from receiving hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery.

While the court’s ruling does not mandate specific treatments, it empowers doctors – not lawmakers – to make medical decisions for transgender patients behind bars, said John Knight, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is providing free chlamydia and rapid HIV testing throughout Wisconsin every Monday in April. For a list of locations, go to www.ppwi.org.

In addition, Planned Parenthood invites the LGBT community to join its monthly “Sextival” and happy hour, held the fourth Friday of each month at a rotating location in Milwaukee. The March 26, event is at the Horny Goat Hideaway, 2011 S. First St., and includes sex trivia and prizes, condom races, an hourly raffle for sex toys from the Tool Shed, free appetizers and beer specials. For more information, go to www.ppawi.org/events.