SGN Apr 5, 2019 - Part 1

Seattle Men’s Chorus’ exceptional tribute to Cher concert

Seattle Gay News

CHICAGO ELECTION:

Landslide victory for city’s first out Lesbian mayor

Lori Lightfoot challenged old school machine politics

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Chicago elected its first African American woman and first out Lesbian mayor on April 2.

Lori Lightfoot campaigned against the old school machine politics that have dominated Chicago since the bad old days of Richard Daley, and won a resounding victory, trouncing her rival, Cook County see CHICAGO page 6

Chateau Apartment residents win concessions from developer

City orders immediate repairs

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Residents of the Chateau Apartments at 19th Ave. & E. Fir St. announced on April 3 that they had won significant concessions from their landlord, Cadence Real Estate.

The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections also sided with the tenants, finding the landlord guilty of 63 code violations.

Cadence plans to demolish the ’60s-era apartment building – home to 21 households, many of them low-income people see CHATEAU APTS page 4

HRC: Brunei must immediately rescind barbaric anti-LGBTQ law –

and

the U.S. must act

The Sultanate is one of few countries in the world to impose death penalty for consensual same-sex relations; to date, the Trump-Pence Administration’s response has been woefully inadequate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – [On April 3,] the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released the following see BRUNEI page 11

Rep. Pramila Jayapal gives personal and emotional speech in support of the Equality Act

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

As a co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus, Seattle-area Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was expected to support the Equality Act, but in an emotional April 2

speech, she revealed she had deeply personal interests in LGBTQ civil rights protections.

“My beautiful, now-22-year-old child told me last year that they were gender nonconforming,” she said.

“And over the last year, I have come to see JAYAPAL page 4

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Brunei

Editor:

As of today [April 3] Brunei, citing Shariah Laws in its penal code, has made gay sex punishable by death. It is just one extreme example about why so many around the World are so frightened about Islam and are very concerned about it imposing its religious views on the World.

This should be a warning to politicians here and abroad about the danger of allow-

ing religious beliefs to be in control of making governmental decisions and policies. It is why the writers of the American Constitution made it clear that there should be a “Separation of Church and State.” Religious values are based on beliefs that have been passed down for centuries at a time when humans had little knowledge of the World and it creation. To continue to impose those beliefs on those who have been enlightened and accept science does far

more harm than good.

This is not to say we should not respect those with those views, but we can’t allow their beliefs and views to harm others, hence the importance of “Separation of Church and State.”

George Whitaker Bellevue

STONEWALL, this June 50 years!

by Mark Segal SGN Contributing Writer

This historic year: 2019.

This year is a major historic notch for our community. It marks the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. If you weren’t already aware, within 60 days, not only you but everyone will begin to notice that leading up to that last Sunday in June, since most of the TV networks and scores of museums and cultural institutions will unveil their ways of commemorating Stonewall 50.

People often ask me how many days the Stonewall riots endured, since most people know it wasn’t just one night. My answer is that it was 365 days.

The spirit lasted throughout that year in the magic of Gay Liberation Front and culminated with the very first Gay Pride, then labeled “Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day.”

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been asked about Stonewall or GLF, but, as I think about these last 50 years I do have a message to our community.

There are many people in our community who have no appreciation of what we

have accomplished these 50 years. Maybe that last Sunday in June can be one day when we can unify and celebrate how far we have come.

Now there are major problems in our community: ageism, racism, anti-Semitism and many more. We have work to do on all of those fronts. In fact, we’ve been doing that since GLF. But look at the road we’ve taken

Fifty years ago, there weren’t any nondiscrimination laws anywhere in this nation. Today, almost every major city and many states have them.

Fifty years ago, same-sex marriage in some states could land you in jail, even walking down the streets holding hands.

Fifty years ago, there was not one OUT elected official. Today, there are governors, senators, mayors and even judges.

Fifty years ago, not one company would admit to having gay employees: more likely they’d fire them and do that legally, simply because they were LGBT. Not one company would sponsor that very first Pride, which is why, as a parade marshal then, I carried a donation can. That can has since been donated to the Smithsonian Institute.

Fifty years ago, it was unimaginable that there would be LGBT police, lawyers, doctors and journalist organizations.

Fifty years ago, we never dreamed that an executive director of an LGBT organization would have an annual salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars. There were no paid activists among us.

Fifty years ago, before Stonewall/GLF, no more than 100 people would be out at a public demonstration. Today, we’re in some places where a million people come out.

That’s only a partial list of what we have accomplished. But I do have a favorite not on that list. We’ve made it possible for many people to be out and proud, and that is an accomplishment we can all be proud of.

Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. His best selling memoir, And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality, was named, National Lesbian Gay Journalist Association Book of the Year, and can be purchased on Amazon. com or through your favorite book seller.

LIBRARIES

STRENGTHEN THEIR COMMUNITIES:

CELEBRATE NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK APRIL 7-13

This upcoming week, The Seattle Public Library joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide to celebrate the many ways libraries build strong communities by providing critical resources, programs and expertise.

April 7-April 13 is National Library Week, an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming lives and communities. Libraries are at the heart of their cities, towns, schools and campuses. They have public spaces where people of all backgrounds can come together and connect.

Library programs encourage community members to meet to discuss civic issues, work together using new technologies like 3D printing or learn alongside one another in English language classes. Library staff also partner with other civic and service organizations to actively engage with the people they serve, always striving to make sure their community’s core needs are being met.

The Seattle Public Library, one of the top-rated libraries in the nation, helps strengthen Seattle’s access to information. Residents have shown enthusiastic support for the Library’s efforts with the 2012 passing of a $123 million Library levy. The seven-year levy has funded more open

hours, more materials, improved access to technology and improved building maintenance through 2019.

“Libraries are cornerstones of democracy, promoting the free exchange of information and ideas for all,” said Marcellus Turner, Executive Director and Chief Librarian. “They also foster civic engagement by keeping people informed and aware of community events and issues.”

The Library’s collection of almost 2 million items for children, teens and adults includes books, audiobooks, large print books, music on CDs, movies on DVDs, magazines and newspapers. The Library also has free digital resources available

24/7, including e-books, movies and music, audiobooks, online classes, news publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Seattle Times and more – all ready to access with or download to your computer, tablet, smartphone or other portable device. This collection is well-loved by patrons; the circulation of physical and digital materials at the Library reached over 10 million in 2018.

In addition to offering free Wi-Fi access at all 27 Library locations, the Library lends SPL HotSpots – Wi-Fi hotspots that can be checked out for 21 days and can connect up to 15 devices.

The Library also offers a number of resources available outside of its buildings. The wildly-popular Museum Pass program enables cardholders to check out free passes to local museums and cultural spots. You can go to the zoo, attend the theater, pet a starfish and even rent a boat for free!

Throughout the spring and summer, the Library does outreach at community events and festivals to bring books and information about Library services. The Library also uses pedal power and customized bicycle trailers with the Books on Bikes program to bring services to popular community events around Seattle.

All of these services are available when you pick up your free Library card.

You’ll find more to do at the Library, too – including author readings, hands-on skills classes, film screenings, story times for children and adults, opera previews, language groups and more. There’s something happening at your Library every day.

Libraries also offer something unique to their communities: the expertise of librarians. Librarians are information experts who help patrons sort through overwhelming volumes of information and guide patrons through the use of unfamiliar technologies, both of which are critical in the digital age. Librarians at The Seattle Public Library are ready to help you with reference questions, book recommendations, technology assistance and more at any of our 27 locations. If you can’t make it to a branch for assistance, call (206) 386-4636 or Ask Us online at www.spl.org to get help from a librarian.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

For more information, call (206) 386-4636 or Ask Us online at www.spl.org. For ADA accommodations, please contact: leap@spl.org

Courtesy of Seattle Public Library

Snohomish County Pride Festival 2019 to be held

Saturday, June 1st

CHATEAU APTS

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using Section 8 vouchers to pay for their housing – and replace it with smaller, market-rate units. The current residents say they don’t want to move out of their neighborhood but can’t afford to buy into the new development at the site.

With help from Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant, Chateau residents successfully pressured the developer to give them an extra $5,000 per household above and beyond the relocation assistance required by City ordinance.

Cadence also promised to honor Section

JAYAPAL

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understand from a deeply personal mother’s perspective – I’ve always been a civil rights activist, I’ve always fought for my constituents and my communities to have equal rights – but from a mother’s perspective, I came to understand what their newfound freedom – it is the only way I can describe what has happened to my beautiful child, what their newfound freedom to wear a

Hello,

With a new name and new organizational goals, Snohomish County Pride is happy to present the first of this year’s events, the Snohomish County Pride Festival. We will be holding this event at the Willis Tucker Park (6705 Puget Park Dr., Snohomish, WA) on Saturday June 1st from 11am to 5pm. We would like to invite you to join the 2019 celebration of the Snohomish county LGBTQ+ community. Vendor and Sponsorship registration begins April 1st and will be open until May 25th.

The Snohomish County Pride Festival will continue to be a family-friendly event. All tables should maintain a family-friendly

8 vouchers until construction actually begins in about five years, thus allowing residents extra time to find new accommodations in the neighborhood some of them have called home for decades.

The City also ordered Cascade to repair a number of defects in the property. According to a March 27 letter sent by the Department of Construction and Inspections, Cadence must fix no less than 63 code violations.

“Sixty-three! That’s the most violations I’ve ever seen,” said Devin Silvernail, of Be:Seattle, a tenants’ rights organization.

The most serious violations – missing smoke detectors and heaters – must be fixed by April 15, the City said. Other violations

dress, to rid themselves of some conformist stereotype of what they are, to be able to express who they are at their real core.”

As her speech continued, she explained how her child has become more expressive and creative since coming out.

“Since this deeply impactful moment last year, my child – who has always done well in school but has carried what a mother can only describe as a heavy burden of conflict in their own being that I could not fully identify or help to express,” she said.

“Since this deeply impactful moment

content, providing information that promotes education, support, and empowerment to all members of the LGBTQ+ community.

In addition to the festival, we look to expand our community events to include meet and greets, Coming Out Day, Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Day of Visibility events.

We hope to gain the needed financial support to be able to offer these events at no charge to the LGBTQ+ community. With your support this will be possible.

Snohomish County Pride’s goal is “To bring a sense of joy and empowerment to the Snohomish County LGBTQ+ community through inclusion, celebration and collaboration.”

include “open ground electrical receptacle outlets throughout the premises,” several counts of “unapproved plumbing assembly,” and multiple broken doors, frames, cabinets, and countertops. These must be repaired by April 29.

“This is a very important moment in the renters’ rights struggle,” Sawant said at the residents’ April 3 press conference. “It’s a testament to what can be achieved when renters organize and fight. And it shows the importance of having elected representatives who are willing to make enemies in high places.”

Renee Gordon, who lives at the Chateau and also provides care for her aunt, a 30-year Chateau resident, thanked Sawant

last year, my child’s embracing of their nonconforming gender identity and all that it has allowed, all that it allows in terms of their creativity, their brilliance, their selfexpression, the only thought I wake up with every day is my child is free.

“My child is free to be who they are. And in that freedom comes a responsibility for us as legislators to protect their freedom to be who they are and to legislate… our behavior towards all people in our society.”

For the Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, several members of Congress,

For more information, to obtain a vendor/sponsorship application, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Snohomish County Pride via email at vendors.snohomishpride@gmail.com. or at 10121 Evergreen Way Ste 25-184, Everett, WA 98204.

Thank you.

Yolanda Cain Event Organizer Snohomish County Pride

for her intervention in the issue.

“Cadence didn’t even think we were important enough to invite to a meeting on the future of our building,” she noted. In fact, Chateau residents only discovered Cadence’s plans when they were informed of them by Sawant’s office.

Ninety-three-year-old Hong Duan Yang, speaking through a translation device, said he’d lived at the Chateau for 20 years.

“I hope that our living standards can be maintained at the same level [when we relocate],” he said. “I hope the owner considers our requests. I hope people will support us in our struggle.”

including Jayapal, put up Trans flags outside their offices on Capitol Hill.

The Equality Act, recently re-introduced by Democrats in Congress, extends federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ Americans.

It would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of classes protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If passed, it would prohibit discrimination in various areas, including employment, housing, public accommodation, credit, and other areas.

OBITUARY

IN MEMORIAM

Greg Tim

Oct. 25, 1947 - Feb. 25, 2019

A formal military honor guard service for Greg Tim (nee Thim), founder and owner of The Brass Connection, will be held on Thursday, April 11, at 12:30pm sharp, at the Tahoma National Cemetery (18600 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98042) in recognition of his military service as a gunship helicopter captain in the Vietnam War.

Greg Tim was the founder and owner of the Brass Door, an LGBTQ tavern and dance club that opened in the mid to late 1970s at the northwest corner of Harvard Ave. & E. Pike St. It later expanded to become the Brass Connection disco bar and restaurant in the 1980s serving up cocktails, food and disco music through the mid-’90s. The bar included a dance floor at the back and often featured drag entertainers including the much beloved Crystal Lane. It was a warm and welcoming community space.

Greg Tim was a lifelong resident of Enumclaw, WA. He was born Oct. 25, 1947, in San Luis Obispo, CA. He died Feb. 25, 2019 in Mount Vernon, WA. He was 71.

He is survived by R.H. Brugh.

Brass Door and Brass Connection family are invited to attend the honor guard service.

If you are Crystal Lane offspring you are invited to wear green. All Brass family are invited to wear white.

If you aren’t able to attend the service, please drop a flower on the northwest corner of Harvard Ave. & E. Pike St. on April 11 to celebrate all the connections we made at the legendary Brass Door and Brass Connection.

Drinks on me! – Bru

P.S. Honey, I still love disco!

Photos courtesy of R.H. Brugh

HRC responds to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reversal of controversial anti-LGBTQ policy

WASHINGTON, DC – [On Thursday, April 4] the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, released the following statement in response to the news from the First Presidency, the governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that the Church will reverse its controversial 2015 policy that deemed same-sex couples and marriage equality “apostasy” and effectively blocked children of LGBTQ parents from joining the Church.

“In this reversal, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken an important step forward,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “There’s still work to do, but this policy reversal is a very welcome change that moves the church closer to a day where LGBTQ Mormons can see themselves affirmed and included within their faith community.”

The new policies, effective immediately, state that marriage equality will no longer be treated as apostasy, children of LGBTQ Mormon parents may be baptized and children of LGBTQ parents who are not members of the church may be blessed. The church still considers marriage between people of the same sex a “serious transgression.”

CHICAGO

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Board President Toni Preckwinkle, by almost three to one.

“Today, you did more than make history,” Lightfoot told hundreds of supporters at her victory party. “You created a movement for change.”

Lightfoot is a former federal prosecutor and first-time political candidate. The daughter of poor parents who worked multiple low-wage jobs in the segregated steel town of Massillon, Ohio, she graduated from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago Law School.

“My parents didn’t have much money, but they had their dignity and their dreams, dreams for their children, dreams for me,” Lightfoot said. “They taught me the value

HRC commends the work of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families & Friends, other LGBTQ Mormons and allies as they lead the charge and continue to advocate for full inclusion.

To learn more about how the HRC Foundation’s Religion & Faith Program is helping to build a world in which nobody is forced to choose between who they are, who they love and what they believe, go to hrc.org/religion.

of honesty, decency, hard work and education, and they gave me faith, the faith that put me where I am today.”

Lightfoot will become the third African-American and the second woman to serve as mayor. Harold Washington was elected in 1983 as the city’s first black mayor and won re-election in 1987 but died in office later that year. Eugene Sawyer, the city’s second black mayor, was appointed to serve out Washington’s term until a 1989 special election.

Jane Byrne was elected to one term as mayor, from 1979 to 1983. Chicago is now the largest US city ever to elect an openly LGBT mayor.

“A lot of little girls and boys are out there watching us tonight, and they’re seeing the beginning of something, well, a little bit different,” Lightfoot said.

“They’re seeing a city reborn, a city where

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

it doesn’t matter what color you are, where it surely doesn’t matter how tall you are and where it doesn’t matter who you love, just as long as you love with all your heart…

“Together we can and will finally put the interests of our people, all of our people, ahead of the interests of a powerful few. Together we can and we will remake Chicago – thriving, prosperous, better, stronger, fairer for everyone.”

Lightfoot replaces Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, former Obama and Clinton staffer, who dropped out of the race for a third term as mayor last September. Emmanuel faced heavy criticism from Lightfoot and her community allies for not moving fast enough to reform Chicago’s notoriously violent police department.

Her campaign caught fire, however, after FBI agents raided the City Hall and ward offices of the longest-serving alder-

Courtesy of HRC Foundation

man in Chicago’s history, Edward Burke, on November 29. About a month later, federal authorities charged the 50-year incumbent with attempted extortion. Four of Lightfoot’s rivals were tied to the alderman, giving new impetus to her calls for change.

Lightfoot’s new administration will certainly face opposition from many of the old guard aldermen still left in office. She referred to them in a statement as she was leaving her polling place April 2.

“The machine was built to last,” she said. “There are a lot of people who are very, very happy with the status quo, who have profited in every conceivable way, so they’re not going to give up power easily.

“I’ve heard lots of rumblings of, ‘We’re going to teach her if she gets elected.’ We’ll see.”

VICTORY! Massachusetts Legislature to send anti-conversion therapy bill to Gov. Baker’s desk

BOSTON, Mass. – [On Thursday, March 28] the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, reacted to a vote by the Massachusetts Senate to pass bipartisan legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy” and called on Governor Charlie Baker to sign the bill. If enacted, Massachusetts would become the 16th state in the U.S. to protect youth from this egregious practice. Governor Baker has already stated his inclined support for this crucial legislation. This bill will go to a conference committee before being sent to the governor for his signature.

“Children everywhere deserve to live their lives authentically and should never be subjected to the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy. We laud and thank those who voted in the Massachusetts legislature to pass – in bipartisan fashion – these vital and potentially life-saving protections in the Bay State,” said HRC National Field Director Marty Rouse. “Now, we look forward to

Governor Baker’s signing this bill into law, ending this egregious practice in Massachusetts.”

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased selfesteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major

medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

When signed into law, Massachusetts will become the 16th state to enact statutory protections for youth from so-called “conversion therapy,” following Connecticut, California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia. Just yesterday, Puerto Rico’s Governor issued an executive order protecting minors in the commonwealth from the harmful practice.

A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including at least fifty cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state officials fail to act.

Last year, national organizations representing millions of licensed medical and mental health care professionals, educators, and child welfare advocates declared their support for legislative protections against conversion therapy.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the Trevor Project, MassEquality and local advocates in support of these vital protections. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found at https://www.hrc.org/resources/the-liesand-dangers-of-reparative-therapy

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of HRC

Google pulls “ex-gay therapy” app after 140,000 sign online petition

by Michael Jones Managing Director of Campaigns Change.org

[On Thursday, March 28] tech giant Google pulled a controversial app from its store that championed the widely-condemned practice of “ex-gay therapy.”

The move comes after 140,000 people signed a Change.org petition pressuring Google to pull the app, as well as a move by HRC (Human Rights Campaign) to suspend Google from its Corporate Equality Index over the app. The app was created by Living Hope Ministries and touted the practice of “ex-gay therapy” to “cure” LGBTQ people, telling users that it could “help homosexuals leave their destructive lifestyle” and

suggested that homosexuality was a “stomach-ulcer-of-a-life.”

“This is what people power looks like, when 140,000 people can convince one of the largest companies in the world to take a bold stand against the dangers of ex-gay therapy,”

said Michael Jones, Managing Director of Campaigns at Change.org. “This was the perfect storm of online pressure and institutional activism from the LGBTQ movement, and tonight supporters can claim a big win in convincing tech companies to stand up for equality.”

Amazon, Microsoft and Apple had all previously removed the Living Hope Ministries app from their platform.

[On March 28] both Google and HRC made statements to Axios about the removal of the app.

Google: “After consulting with outside advocacy groups, reviewing our policies, and making sure we had a thorough understanding of the app and its relation to conversion therapy, we’ve decided to remove it from the

Play Store, consistent with other app stores.”

HRC: “We applaud Google for making the right decision to pull this app from their online store. So-called conversion therapy is a debunked practice that’s tantamount to child abuse and is proven to have dangerous consequences for its victims. Google and other platforms that have pulled this app are taking an important step to protect LGBTQ youth.”

The petition on Change.org, started by the LGBTQ rights group Truth Wins Out, is the largest LGBTQ rights petition on Change.org thus far in 2019. To view comments left by supporters on the petition, visit: www.change. org/ExGayApp.

Courtesy of Change.org

AFJ: Republicans may “live to regret” confirmation rules change

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following [this week’s April 3] rules change in the GOPled Senate, slashing the amount of postcloture debate time on district court nominees to just two hours, AFJ President Nan Aron released the following statement:

“This rules change is a power grab with just one purpose: to get more unqualified, unfit judicial nominees through the confirmation process as fast as possible before

the public realizes just how bad they are. Republicans want to curtail the scrutiny of these nominees even though we know that more than once, disqualifying information has come to light late in the confirmation process. They now hope that this rules change means some of the worst nominees waiting for confirmation, like Wendy Vitter, Matthew Kacsmaryk and Howard Nielson, can be rushed through without debate and without transparency. But they’re going to be

disappointed, because we are confident that in the end they cannot hide from the American people their support for judges who will turn back the clock on our rights. And this rules change may well outlast Republicans’ control of the Senate – so it’s very possible they’ll live to regret it.”

Alliance for Justice believes that all Americans have the right to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard

when government makes decisions that affect their lives. We are a national association of 130 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. www.afj.org

Courtesy of Alliance for Justice

LGB people more likely than straight people

to report experiences of work and housing discrimination

The House Judiciary Committee holds the first-ever hearing on the Equality Act today [April 2].

A new report from the Williams Institute finds that compared to their heterosexual cisgender peers, lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people are significantly more likely to report experiences of employment and housing discrimination. They were also more likely to say they had been bullied often during their youth.

Analyzing data collected by Gallup Inc. in February and November 2018, researchers found:

• 48 percent of LGB people said they had been denied a promotion or received a negative evaluation, compared to 32 percent of heterosexual people.

• 15 percent of LGB people reported being prevented from moving to or buying a house or apartment, compared to 6 percent of heterosexual people.

• 41 percent of LGB people said they were often bullied before age 18, compared to 14 percent of heterosexual people.

Other analysis from the Williams Institute estimates that 3,688,000 LGBT state, local, and private sector workers ages

• 60 percent of LGB people reported being fired from a job or denied a job, compared to 40 percent of heterosexual people.

16 and older in the US lack state statutory protections from discrimination in employment. This includes 148,000 state and 185,000 local government workers and 3,355,000 private sector workers. The federal government employs an additional 160,000 LGBT people.

Over 5.6 million LGBT adults ages 18 and older live in states without statutory protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in housing.

Today [April 2-, the House Judiciary Committee is holding the first-ever hearing on the Equality Act, federal legislation that would expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, education, public

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

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statement as Brunei implemented a new law imposing barbaric punishments on LGBTQ people, including death by stoning, torture and whipping:

“The eyes of the world are on Brunei today, and we must all speak with one voice against this barbaric law that threatens LGBTQ people with death by stoning and torture,” said HRC Director of Global Partnerships Jean Freedberg. “Given the urgency of this situation, it is increasingly crucial that the United States show moral leadership and join the international

community in speaking out against these human rights abuses. We need to seize this moment and demand that Brunei repeal this law without delay.”

The new measures mandate penalties such as floggings and prison for those convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex relations, and the possibility of death by stoning. This makes Brunei one of only a handful of countries in the world that impose the death penalty for consensual same-sex relations. [https:// assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/ Criminalization-Map-042315.pdf?_ ga=2.151399674.2144992884.1496670628959389179.1462458272]

A small country with half a million people, Brunei is a wealthy state with riches derived from oil production. LGBTQ life in Brunei is severely restricted due to constraints imposed by anti-LGBTQ religious and social views. Working with The Brunei Project and other human rights advocates, HRC has been monitoring LGBTQ human rights issues in the country since 2014. [https://www.hrc.org/blog/ brunei-lgbtq-advocates-visit-hrc-headquarters-in-washington-d.c]

Over the last several weeks, HRC, international organizations and major celebrities have worked to bring attention to the regime responsible for this law and

accommodations, housing, credit and other settings.

Read the report at https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/ Equality-Act-March-2019.pdf

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy, is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research with real-world relevance.

Courtesy of the Williams Institute

urged supporters of LGBTQ equality to be conscientious about where they spend their dollars, influence and visibility. HRC is continuing to drive awareness through an #EyesOnBrunei digital campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organizations working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Courtesy of HRC

Beyoncé and JAY-Z speak out for LGBTQ acceptance at the star-studded 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles

“Queer Eye,” Love, Simon, “Vida,” “Steven Universe,” “Nanette,” TransMilitar y, Univision among GLAAD Media Award recipients and “The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset” wins inaugural Outstanding Video Game Award

Sean Hayes receives Stephen F. Kolzak Award from Allison Janney with celebrity presenters including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lena Waithe, Janet Mock, Adam Lambert, Adam Rippon, Meghan Trainor, Nico Santos, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Gigi Gorgeous

LOS ANGELES, CA – [On Thursday, March 28] GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced recipients for 15 of this year’s 27 categories for the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Beyoncé and JAY-Z received the Vanguard Award and Sean Hayes received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award from Academy Award-winning actress Allison Janney at the star-studded ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.

The 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues. They continue in New York City on Saturday, May 4th. The 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta Air Lines, Gilead, Hyundai, Ketel One Family-Made Vodka, and Wells Fargo. Celebrity guests including the cast of “Queer Eye,” Meghan Trainor, Hayley Kiyoko, Adam Lambert, Michelle Kwan, Nico Santos, Gigi Gorgeous, and Dan Reynolds stopped by GLAAD’s special 30th anniversary video booth. Videos available at http://events.ombooth.com/2601/ g2934?page=1

Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Awards presented on stage, and the individuals that accepted the awards:

• Black LGBTQ trailblazers presented Beyoncé and JAY-Z with the Vanguard Award and showcased how their music and allyship has impacted LGBTQ people around the world. Included in the presentation: HIV/AIDS advocate Morris Singletary, who works with GLAAD and Gilead’s COMPASS InitiativeTM; writer, producer,

and director Janet Mock; stylist Ty Hunter; and Emmy and GLAAD Media Awardwinning writer, producer and actor Lena Waithe presented them with the GLAAD Media Award.

• Oscar and Emmy Award-winning actress Allison Janney presented Sean Hayes with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for his LGBTQ advocacy and work to tell LGBTQ stories.

• Outstanding Film – Wide Release: Love, Simon (20th Century Fox) [accepted by: Greg Berlanti and cast members including Nick Robinson, Josh Duhamel, Keiynan Lonsdale, and Alexandra Schipp; presented by Gwyneth Paltrow]

• Outstanding Comedy Series: “Vida (Starz)” [accepted by: Tanya Saracho and cast members; presented by Jake Borelli and Alex Landi (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Olivia Munn]

• Outstanding Reality Program: “Queer Eye” (Netflix) [accepted by: Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown; presented by Meghan Trainor and Nico Santos]

The following is a list of other award recipients announced at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles:

• Outstanding Documentary: Believer (HBO)

• Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series w/o a regular LGBTQ character): “Someplace Other Than Here” – “The Guest Book” (TBS)

• Outstanding Kids & Family Programming: “Steven Universe” (Cartoon Network)

• Outstanding Video Game: “The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset” (Bethesda Softworks)

• Outstanding Comic Book: Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, written by Mark Russell (DC Comics)

• Outstanding Magazine Article: “Can a Transgender Woman Get Justice in Texas?” by Nate Blakeslee (Texas Monthly)

• Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Variety

• Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine (Spanish-Language): “Entrevista con Luis Sandoval para National Coming Out Day” Despierta América (Univision)

• Outstanding Digital Journalism (Spanish-Language): “Así pinta la televisión hispana a los personajes LGBTQ, una representación preocupante” por Daniel Shoer Roth (ElNuevoHerald.com)

• Special Recognition: “Nanette” (Netflix)

• Special Recognition: TransMilitary (Logo)

• Special Recognition (SpanishLanguage): “House of Mamis” (INTOmore.com)

“This year’s award recipients not only represent stories that are moving the needle today, but are a reflection of just how far LGBTQ images in the media have evolved over the last 30 years,” said GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis. “Award recipients like Queer Eye, Vida and Love Simon represent a new generation of diverse LGBTQ creators, talent, and storytellers who are raising the bar at a critical time in our community and our country.”

At the event, celebrities sported blue “&” pins for GLAAD’s Together movement – representing GLAAD’s work on intersectional issues including immigration, racial justice, women’s rights, and LGBTQ acceptance. This subtle yet powerful symbol represents the power of solidarity and great accomplishments that occur when marginalized community groups – including women, Muslims, immigrants, people of color, and LGBTQ people – resist together.

GLAAD previously announced that Madonna will receive the Advocate for Change Award and Andy Cohen will receive the Vito Russo Award from Sarah Jessica Parker in New York City on May 4.

Additional special guests for the New York City event include Don Lemon, Samantha Bee, and cast members of “Pose.” The New York City ceremony will air exclusively on Logo on Sunday, May 12.

GLAAD Media Award nominees were published, released or broadcast between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. For a full list of nominees: http://glaad. org/mediaawards/nominees On socials please follow @GLAAD and #glaadawards

The 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards are supported by Presenting Partners Delta Air Lines, Gilead, Hyundai, Ketel One Family-Made Vodka, and Wells Fargo. GLAAD is also grateful to: Official Partners Bud Light and Google; Titanium Partner AT&T and WEN; Platinum Partners Comcast NBCUniversal-Telemundo, Creative Artists Agency, Disney ABC Television Group, Facebook/Instagram, HBO, Hulu, Kaiser Permanente, MetLife, NBA & WNBA, Netflix, Omnicom Group, PRG, Sheppard Mullin, Turner; Gold Partners CBS/Showtime, Nielsen, PWC, UM, Univision, and VER; and Silver Partners Allstate, Coca-Cola, Morgan Stanley, and Warner Bros.

About GLAAD

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visit www. glaad.org or connect with GLAAD on Facebook and Twitter.

About Ketel One Family-Made Vodka Created in the Netherlands – the first progressive country to legalize marriage equality – Ketel One Family-Made

Courtesy of GLAAD

AHF: Ending AIDS starts with accurate data

Largest global AIDS organization urges UNAIDS, The Global Fund, PEPFAR and other key organizations to focus on improving data quality and accurate collection of information to safeguard precious resources

WASHINGTON, DC – [April 4, 2019] AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling for leading global organizations in the fight against HIV/AIDS to focus on data quality to ensure we know the true challenges that lie ahead and to safeguard precious resources dedicated to ending the epidemic from being squandered due to inaccurate figures.

Few aspects of the global AIDS response are more important than the availability of accurate data. Without it, estimates for funding will be incorrect, appropriate resource allocations cannot be determined and strategic targets will not be achieved. Even though key agencies in the

AIDS response are beginning to address the vast information gap, more attention and focus must be placed on data quality if we are to stand a chance at defeating HIV/ AIDS globally.

“Accurate data is the bedrock on which planning for the future of the HIV response is based,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “When we’re in the midst of a funding crisis for the epidemic, the last thing we need are erroneous numbers. We applaud PEPFAR, UNAIDS, the Global Fund and others for initiating assessments to determine accurate HIV/AIDS-related data, but precious time has been lost over recent years. We must know exactly where the need is greatest to get care and treatment to those who need it most.”

In addition to assessments conducted by agencies, individual countries must also do their part to ensure accurate data is collected. Nations that have historically been reluctant to allow independent audits

JESSE’S JOURNAL Arenas and Sex

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer

In his autobiography Before Night Falls (Antes Que Anochezca), the late Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas (1944-1990) wrote about his sexual encounters with nominally straight males in 1960s Havana: “These areas were full of recruits and students, single men who were locked up in barracks or schools and went out at night eager for sex. They were willing to settle for the first thing that came along. Those men enjoyed their roles of active males Many of these “buggers” (bugarrones), Arenas noted, “had girlfriends or wives, but when they came to us they enjoyed themselves thoroughly, sometimes more than with their wives.”

During 1980’s Mariel boat-lift, which brought Arenas to the USA, the Cuban government only gave exit permits to passive homosexuals, since it “did not look upon those who took the active male role as real homosexuals.”

The notion that men who take the “manly” role in sex with other men are not really queer is one that was commonlyheld throughout Latin America, especially among the working class. But it is not a uniquely Latino concept. In the Arab world, the practice of keeping women in purdah encouraged unmarried Arab men to have sex with other men, to the delight of European and American visitors. Even in the United States, as historian George Chauncey tells us in Gay New York, “the hetero-homosexual binarism is a stunningly recent creation. Only in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s did the now-conventional division of men into ‘homosexuals’ and ‘heterosexuals,’ based on the sex of their sexual partners, replace the division of men into ‘fairies’ and ‘normal men’ on the basis of their imaginary gender status.” The old ways endure in same-sex situations where homosex is the only sex available, such as prisons and seminaries.

Those of us who grew up in a society where butch tops and nelly bottoms are both thought of as gay view this state of affairs with skepticism, and Arenasʼs “real men” as closet cases unwilling to accept their sexual orientation. But there are some advantages in dividing the male sexual world between “fairies” and “trade.” For one thing, the opportunities are greater. Arenas – who alleged to have “had sex with about five thousand men” while in Cuba – discovered to his chagrin that in the US “sexual relations can be tedious and unrewarding. The queer gets together with the queer and everybody does everything. One sucks first, and then they reverse roles. How

should encourage a truthful accounting of the impact of HIV in their countries.

“There are data quality issues across the board with several health institutes and countries,” said Loretta Wong, Senior Director of Global Advocacy and Policy for AHF. “There are problems ranging from inaccurate data that has been reported in the past, to cases of data fraud that only serve to undermine the entire global AIDS response. Accurate information and statistics are an absolute must if we are to set realistic targets and get critical resources to the most high-risk areas around the world,” added Ms. Wong, who is also a member of the Developing Country NGO Delegation to the Global Fund Board.

AHF has been calling for increased attention to be placed on data quality for several years. Through working with partners throughout the world, internal audits of its own country programs have proven to be successful in determining the best

future courses of action. Now that the international community is finally seeking accurate information through their own audits and assessments, AHF urges them to continue unabated.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/ or services to over 1 million clients in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe/Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare

Courtesy of AHF

can that bring any satisfaction?”

“In Cuba,” Arenas wrote, “you did not have to be a homosexual to have a relationship with a man; a man could have intercourse with another man as an ordinary act.” In Arenasʼs Havana, as in the traditional Arab world or turn-of-the 20th century Bowery, a “straight” kid can have sex with a fairy and not be branded for life with a big lavender Q. In these “traditional” societies, sex between men was something that any man was capable of doing (though he shouldnʼt). On the other hand, in modern society, homosexuality is something only gays and bisexuals do. This makes it easier for the powers that be to isolate and marginalize homosexuality, which they do.

Arenasʼs gay life was far from idyllic. He was repeatedly beat up and robbed by “normal men” and was eventually imprisoned by the Castro government for creating a “public disturbance.” The idea that a passive, “feminine” homosexual man can only get sexual satisfaction from a “real man” is something that us post-Stonewall queers would consider to be sexist and self-hating. Though I am a bottom in bed, I consider myself to be as “masculine” as any of my sex partners – who I fully expect to be self-defined, masculine gay men. And

I can only love an equal. At the same time, I realize that my opinions are a product of my time and place. Had I lived anywhere else – or at any other time – I might still be queer, but I would have manifested my sexuality differently.

What we know as the gay liberation movement began in Western Europe, spread to the United States, Canada and Australia, and is only now beginning to make headway in what used to be called the third world. In all of these places the movement only began after the current model of “the homosexual” – as a people and as a community – took hold. By dividing the population into rigid categories based on sex and gender, society encouraged queer people to create institutions of our own making. From these institutions came the idea of the homosexual community, and from that the concept of a self-defined people seeking rights.

In the early 1970s, we had a category called “political lesbians;” women who discovered their affinity for other women through their involvement in the women’s movement. Likewise, it is my belief that the gay movement has “allowed” many men, “political queers,” if you please, to accept and explore their own homo-sexuality. In

other surroundings, these men might have been self-defined “real men;” married men seeking surreptitious sex in public toilets. Or they might have been effeminate “fairies” looking for “real men” who would treat them “like a woman.” Instead, we who are gay are here, they are queer, and you better get used to it.

Though male and female homosexuality have existed since the beginning of our species, the social model of homosexuality has changed repeatedly over the years. When St. Paul and the authors of Leviticus condemned men who “lie with mankind as with womankind,” they were not thinking about the men who inhabit the industrialized world at the beginning of the 21st century. Muhammad didnʼt like queers either, but some of his followers look the other way when their sons seek sexual release with other males. Sexual paradigms change over the years, and yesterdayʼs sodomite might find todayʼs brave gay world a strange place to live in. On the other hand, freeing sexuality from gender and sex roles has allowed more men to take a positive stand and to adopt a forthright gay identity. Indeed, the old gay saying, that “todayʼs trade is tomorrowʼs competition,” is true in more ways than one.

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