Leather, love and longevity
Defenders LLC celebrates 10 years as spiritual leather club

The Defenders Leather/Levi Club, a group that encompasses spirituality and leather, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this weekend.

By KARA FOX

Ten years ago, a group of local gays interested in combining their spirituality with their interest in leather came together to form a local chapter of the Defenders Leather/Levi Club, the fourth in the national organization. Now, the national group boasts nine chapters and the local organization has proved itself a formidable force in the leather community, donating thousands of dollars to local charities and becoming visible in the larger gay community.

"What makes us different from the other leather groups is that part of our mission is to address our spiritual side and our sexual side together," said E. Martinez, president of the Defenders LLC Washington, D.C. "We start our meetings with prayer, we celebrate with masses; the induction of our members is a religious ceremony. Spiritual beliefs are part of the group."

"[The term] leather is very diverse," Martinez said. "There are some who are bikers, some wear leather, some wear jeans, some are kinky."

The Defenders LLC was created 20 years ago in New York by Michael Olivieri, a gay activist who died from AIDS complications in the 1980s and who was also a member of Dignity, a gay Catholic group. Olivieri set out to form an organization that would combine social activities, spirituality and community service into one setting. Dignity/USA agreed to act as an umbrella organization for the group, and the Defenders is considered part of the religious organization, although members of the Defenders do not have to be members of Dignity or affiliated with any religious organization.

"There are many, many [gay] people who feel rejected by religion," said Patrick Bittinger, national chair of the Defenders and an original member of the local group. "We wanted to sponsor an outreach in the leather/Levi community. Since then, we have used that more or less as our model. It creates an opportunity for a person to integrate all aspects of [their] personality and do something worth while."

E. Martinez, president of the Defenders Leather/Levi Club of Washington, D.C., says everyone is welcome into the club.

The Defenders currently maintains chapters in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Tampa, Columbus, Denver and San Francisco. The Washington group began holding meetings in 1991 and was officially given its charter in January 1992, holding its first induction ceremony April 4, 1992, with 20 members.

Six of the club's original members are still active in the group today, while four charter members have died and others have moved, according to Bittinger. The club currently has 23 members, two associate members and two pledges. All of the members are men, although Martinez and Bittinger stress that the club is open to everyone and note that one of the first charter members was a woman and other Defenders' clubs have women members.

The Defenders prides itself as a service organization and organizes a plethora of fund-raisers for local gay and AIDS organizations, as well as doing "hands on" work. Bittinger and Martinez can both rattle off a list of organizations they have helped in the past and continue to help, including the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, Whitman-Walker Clinic, Food & Friends, Joseph's House, Damien Ministries, Northern Virginia AIDS Ministry, Maryland's Kitchen, Among Friends, as well as other groups. They also sponsor an annual toy drive during the holidays and hold various bar nights and fund-raisers with other local leather clubs.

The Defenders is also a member organization of Brother, Help Thyself, a local organization comprised of leather/Levi groups dedicated to giving money to local groups. The current president of BHT, Tom Yates, is also a member of the Defenders, and two local members have chaired the national group during the past 10 years.

"What we try not to be is a checkbook charity," Bittinger said. "It is much more difficult to make dinner at Joseph's House than to just drop a box of macaroni on their door step. … That is the kind of thing we are all about."

The men also contend that the group is about bonding and being there for one another.

"One of the original charter members was quite ill and a few of [the Defenders] went to see him at the hospital. The chaplain came in to give him his last rite and we stood around his bed and took care of him," Bittinger said.

"The chaplain asked, 'Who are the Defenders?' And he said, 'I have never seen such love and affection and devotion among a group of men.' At that moment, all of the fund-raisers, all of the bar nights -- all of that was worthwhile. We're putting our good deeds into action."

To commemorate the group's 10th anniversary, the Defenders are holding a series of events over the weekend, culminating with a banquet on Saturday, May 18, 2002,  6 p.m., at Titan Bar.

The celebration will begin Friday, May 17, 2002, with a Blessing of the Bikes ceremony at 8:30 p.m., in front of the Tool Shed, co-sponsored by the Spartan Motorcycle Club.

Immediately following the event, the Defenders will hold a bar night at the Tool Shed from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. After the banquet on Saturday, the Centaurs Motorcycle Club is hosting a bar night at Titan.

On Sunday, the Defenders will hold its annual picnic at Mr. P's from 2-5 p.m. The cost of tickets is $10 and all proceeds will go to the Defenders' charities.

Said Bittinger: "In 10 years of activity, I can't see a single negative. It has been a positive force in the larger gay community, the Dignity community and the leather community. We have paid our dues and earned the respect of other [leather] clubs. We have something unique to offer to the Leather/Levi clubs."

News reporter Kara Fox can be reached at kfox@washblade.com.