Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 6 Volume 43
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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“Walking While Black – Obama budget gives Always Dangerous Until Social Security benefits to all married couples Proven Otherwise” courtesy of
black boy, raised by white parents “ages out” of honorary white and suburban privilege and into a world where folklore, statistics and conjecture deem him dangerous until proven otherwise, and author of Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy – has organized a protest and walk this weekend, in conjunction with #BLACKLIVESMATTER, demanding an end to what he says is law enforcements racism towards black men, called “Walking While Black – Always Dangerous Until Proven Otherwise.” Chad is a Gay man of color so he has a stake in this claim. He is going to protest and William Wingate, a 70-year-old veteran walk and he’s asking you – with a golf club in and retired bus driver arrested by SPD hand – to join him. “As black men, in the eyes of many, we are by Shaun Knittel viewed as dangerous until proven otherSGN Associate Editor wise,” he said. “Therefore, by extension, anyChad Goller-Sojourner – author of Rid- thing carried by us or attached to our person ing in Cars with Black People & Other Newly is often viewed as a weapon. For example Dangerous Acts: A Memoir in Vanishing see Walking page 6 Whiteness, the story of what happens when a
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Protest and walk to end bias policing scheduled for Saturday, February 7
President Obama
cies – will only pay benefits if the couple actually lives in a state that recognizes their marriage. Same-sex marriages are currently President Obama’s new 2016 budget pro- recognized in 36 states. posal funds Social Security benefits for all Under the present system, for example, a same-sex married couples, regardless of the couple married in California but living in state they live in. Kentucky could not claim Social Security Currently, the Social Security Adminissee OBama page 16 tration – almost alone among federal agenby Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Alabama Public Health officials said they are sending updated marriage forms to probate judges in all of the state’s 67 counties in anticipation of the first samesex marriages due on February 9. Instead of listing “bride” and “groom,” the new forms include “first listed spouse” and “second listed spouse.” Catherine Donald, the state registrar and director of the Center for Health Statistics, said there are a few other minor changes that have made the marriage certificate slightly longer. For instance, it now asks for the gender of each spouse, which will allow the state to track how many marriage licenses are issued to Gay couples. U.S. District Judge Callie Granade struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages, but stayed her ruling till February 9. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals refused to extend the stay, and on February 4 suspended its action on the issue until the U.S. Supreme Court rules. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has asked the Supreme Court to extend the stay, but so far nothing has been forthcoming from the high court. That means – barring any last-minute complications – same-sex marriages should begin in Alabama on February 9. Meanwhile, the state’s chief judge, Roy
Moore, is telling probate judges they do not need to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Moore sent a letter to the judges on February 3, saying the Granade’s decision is not binding on them. Moore has also urged judges not to comply with any U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. “I can’t tell them how to think. I can’t tell them how to interpret the Constitution. I can say that they are obliged to follow the Alabama Constitution and nothing prevents that,” Moore said. “To disobey the Alabama Constitution would be to ignore the 81 percent of the people in this state that adopted the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.” In response, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has filed two judicial ethics complaints against Moore. “Justice Moore is, I think, a dangerous person. He’s created a crisis in the state before. He just seems hell-bent determined to do it again,” said Richard Cohen, president of the SPLC. Cohen said judges who refuse to issue licenses risk being sued and were being led into “very, very hot water by suggesting they ignore Judge Granade’s order.” SPLC and Moore have tangled before. In 2003, an ethics complaint filed by the group got Moore kicked off the state bench. He later won a new election to the post of chief judge.
Tassaneewan Laksanasopin, Columbia Engineering
Alabama set for Gay and Test for HIV on your smartphone Lesbian marriages February 9 Results in 15 minutes
HIV testing device
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Researchers at Columbia Engineering have unveiled a new smartphone accessory that can test for HIV and return an accurate result in only 15 minutes. The device, called a dongle, replicates all the mechanical, optical, and electronic functions of a laboratory blood test, but costs only $34 to produce. In contrast, the equipment for an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) costs upwards of $18,000. The smartphone accessory also requires no stored energy, since all necessary power is drawn from the smartphone. In addition to HIV, the dongle also con-
ducts two separate tests for syphilis. “Our work shows that a full laboratoryquality immunoassay can be run on a smartphone accessory,” lead researcher Samuel K. Sia told Science Daily. “Coupling microfluidics with recent advances in consumer electronics can make certain lab-based diagnostics accessible to almost any population with access to smartphones. This kind of capability can transform how health care services are delivered around the world.” The research team’s pilot device was field-tested by healthcare workers in Rwanda on 96 patients who were enrolling see HIV Test page 9
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Lesbian mayor rated one of world’s top ten Nick de la Torre
Annise Parker
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Houston Mayor Annise Parker, an out Lesbian, was rated one of the world’s top ten mayors by the City Mayors Foundation. The group is an international think-tank studying urban issues. Parker was rated seventh in the poll, and was the only U.S. mayor to be selected for special mention. According to the City Mayors Foundation, “An outstanding mayor must possess qualities such as: honesty, leadership and
vision, good management abilities, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment, as well as having the skill to cultivate good relations between communities different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.” The group narrowed down the field of 26 nominees by looking at testimonials – both positive and negative – submitted by their citizens. Some 256,000 testimonials were received in total. The World Mayor Jury, which rated the nominees, summarized Parker’s accomplishments in this way:
“Annise Parker should be 2014 World Mayor because of her adept balancing of social and economic issues while making significant progress on both during her three terms as mayor of my hometown, Houston, Texas, USA. Her policies, which enabled the city to remain fiscally healthy during the worst of the recent recession, set the stage for the tremendous economic growth Houston enjoys today. Meanwhile, she champions human rights issues such as by being a pioneer – first openlyGay mayor of a major city – and a role model.” “It’s a great honor to be recognized for doing what I love for a city that I dearly love,” Parker told CultureMap Houston in an email. “Being mayor of Houston is the best political job in the world. It provides the opportunity to shape the future of one of the great American cities. I am humbled that others view this work as worthy of being right up there with the accomplishments of my mayoral colleagues around the world.” Along with Parker, the top ten mayors were: 1. Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, Canada. 2. Daniel Termont of Ghent, Belgium. 3. Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya, Indonesia. 4. Carlos Ocariz of Sucre, Venezuela. 5. Jed Patrick Mabilog of Iloilo City, Philippines. 6. Albrecht Schroter of Jena, Germany. 7. Parker. 8. Yannis Boutaris of Thessaloniki, Greece. 9. Giusy Nicolini of Lampedusa, Italy. 10. Aziz Kocaoglu of Izmir, Turkey.
CORRECTION: In last week’s SGN, a line of text was inadvertently omitted from a Letter to the Editor (“Dame Edna was a laughing good time”) submitted by John Mark in which he celebrated Dame Edna’s performance. The line of text was inadvertently omitted in the fourth paragraph of that letter, which described Dame Edna’s tradition of throwing out gladiolas to the audience at the end of her show, thus confusing the meaning in that paragraph. Paragraph four in its entirety should have
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read: “Apparently Dame Edna loves gladiolas, and grows them at her home in Australia. My mother also loved gladiolas and grew them at our home in Somerville, New Jersey. I only mention this because at the end of the show Dame Edna and her assistants must have thrown out at least four-dozen long-stem gladiolas out into the audience. And Dame Edna had such a strong right arm that one gladiola reached one of the boxes on the second level stage left, for
which she received a great applause. After which a song was played wherein those who received a gladiola were to stand and sway back and forth following Dame Edna’s direction. However, a few didn’t keep up and were summarily reprimanded, with much laughter and hijinks.” Thank you to John Mark for submitting your impressions of Dame Edna’s much celebrated recent appearance in Seattle. We apologize for the typographical error in your letter published last week.
Celebrating 41 Years!
Seattle recognizes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Saturday, February 7
with screening of deepsouth and free anonymous testing for HIV and hepatitis C In celebration of National Black HIV/ AIDS Awareness Day, the Multicultural HIV/Hepatitis Action Network (MHHAN) and The Seattle Public Library present a free screening and discussion of the film deepsouth on Saturday, February 7, from 3-5 p.m., at the Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium, 1000 4th Ave. deepsouth is a documentary about the neglected crisis of HIV/AIDS in rural American South. Beneath layers of history, poverty, and now soaring HIV infections, three Americans redefine traditional Southern values to create their own solutions to survive. Josh, a college student, seeks the support of an underground Gay family miles away from his suffocating Mississippi Delta hometown. With no funds and few resources, Monica tries tirelessly to unite reluctant participants at her annual HIV
retreat in rural Louisiana. Kathie, an Alabama activist, spends 120 days a year on the road fighting a bureaucracy that continues to ignore the South. During the event, free testing for HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) will be available in the Syrsidynix Gallery behind the Microsoft Auditorium. Trained staff from the Lifelong AIDS Alliance will provide rapid-result HIV testing, administered with a quick finger prick. Test results will be anonymous and available within five to 10 minutes. For the HCV tests, trained staff from the Hepatitis Education Project will take a mouth swab sample. Results for HCV tests will be available within 20 minutes. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) is an HIV testing and treatment community mobilization ini-
tiative for Blacks in the United States and Library events and programs are free and evacross the diaspora. There are four specific eryone is welcome. Registration is not required. focal points: Get Educated, Get Tested, Get Involved, and Get Treated. Courtesy of Seattle Public Library
Space Needle violated workers’ rights, NLRB says Wikipedia.org
Embattled Space Needle workers won a significant victory when a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled on January 30 that the Needle’s management was guilty of several unfair labor practices. Workers first charged the Space Needle with violating their rights to form a union and bargain with their employer in 2013. In 2014 an administrative law judge ruled in their favor, but Space Needle management appealed. The NLRB is the federal agency that monitors compliance with U.S. labor law, and acts as the appellate body for decisions of administrative law judges. Space Needle workers have been working without a contract – and fighting their employer to negotiate a fair agreement – since 2011. NLRB chairman Mark Gaston Pearce
joined members Kent Y. Hirozawa and Harry I. Johnson III in finding that the Needle’s owners violated federal labor law through a number of measures aimed at discouraging workers from supporting or participating in union activities. The NLRB found, for example, that Space Needle management distributed letters to employees encouraging them to resign from the union; that it polled employees about their attitudes toward the union; and that management made coercive statements to workers. Space Needle management also failed to recall two pro-union employees, the NLRB said, and reneged on a prior written agreement with the union to resume payroll-based deduction of Needle employees’ union dues. Payroll deduction of union dues – also known as “check-off ” – is a common agreement between employers and unions. Unions typically prefer this method of pay-
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ers, and especially those at the Space Needle.” UNITE HERE Local 8 represents nearly 5,000 workers in hospitality and food service throughout Washington and Oregon, including SkyCity restaurant employees, banquet servers, elevator operators, greeters, and other workers at the Space Needle. The NLRB’s decision may be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals but the Space Needle has not yet said whether it will do so. Space Needle owner Howard S. Wright III recently served as co-chair of the Economic Inequality Advisory Committee which drafted the city’s new minimum wage ordinance, but Needle employees say they have received just one raise in the last four and a half years – an increase of $0.35 an hour two years ago. During the George W. Bush administration, the NLRB languished with only two members because the president refused to appoint new members to fill vacancies. Senate Republicans blocked Obama appointments until 2013, when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid forced confirmation votes on the pending nominees. Paula Wissel
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
ment because it is automatic, and allows them to avoid sending staff around to collect dues from each member every month. The NLRB then ordered the Space Needle to desist from anti-union interference in the future, return the two employees to work with back pay, and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back dues owed to the union representing Space Needle workers, UNITE HERE Local 8. “What is most important is that the workers who lost their jobs two years ago get back to work and that the coercion and the unfair treatment of workers stops,” said Erik Van Rossum, president of UNITE HERE Local 8. “Seattle is a place of deeply-held values and intense pride, and the symbol of our city shouldn’t be associated with this kind of illegal behavior.” Van Rossum himself is a former Space Needle employee. “Together, we have fought back against this trampling of workers’ rights, “said SkyCity restaurant server Julia Dube, one of two workers who will return to the Space Needle if the ruling stands. “Today is a tremendous day for Seattle work-
Space Needle Union Workers at a 2013 rally
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1st Annual Northwest Sweetheart Pageant by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor On Sunday, February 8, at 7 p.m., at Neighbours Seattle (1509 Broadway) Las Vegas show queen Jazmena Jameson brings the 1st Annual Northwest Sweetheart Pageant, to Seattle. The pageant tickets cost just $7 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit local social justice nonprofit Social Outreach Seattle. Neighbours Nightclub has a history of hosting Imperial Court System pageants and is said to be happy for this opportunity as well. Jazmena Jameson, the promoter of Northwest Sweetheart Pageantry System visited Seattle last year from Las Vegas and was so impressed with what she saw in our local drag community, she decided to give the Northwest
WALKING
continued from cover
“Walking While Black – Always Dangerous Until Proven Otherwise” is in direct response to the Seattle Police Department admitting to the fact that one of its officers wrongfully arrested a 69-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran and retired Metro bus driver last July, for what his lawyers say was “Walking while black” in Seattle. The arresting officer was Cynthia Whitlatch, who is Lesbian, and the senior citizen is William Wingate, now 70. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, following public outcry over the incident captured on police dashboard video showing the officer aggressively approaching the man, ordered SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole to take Whitlatch off patrol duty. When word of the video and Wingate’s arrest reached the public, an ex-cop (and exgirlfriend of Whitlatch) accused the embattled officer of stealing marijuana from the SPD evidence vault and smoking it; a bus driver has said that because of a run-in with an irate Whitlatch a few years ago, she will no longer drive a route on Capitol Hill, and more. O’Toole, who was hired by the Mayor and approved by City Council members last summer to help the embattled department get back on track, also announced the review of conduct and supervision for Officer Cynthia Whitlatch on the Seattle Police Blotter. “Today [January 28] I heard many concerns from community members about the conduct of an SPD officer assigned to the East Precinct,” she wrote on the SPD Blotter. Mayor Ed Murray issued a statement saying, “there appear to be lapses” in police protocol after the public learned of an incident in which Whitlatch, after she was talked to by a supervisor for the arresting Wingate, posted a racially charged rant on Facebook calling a man a “Black Racist.” “I’ve directed the Chief to look not just
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The series of events that led to all of this is stupefying. In the July 9, 2014 video, Whitlatch can be seen and heard pulling up to the intersection at 12th Avenue and East Pike Street and repeatedly ordering Wingate to set the golf club he was using as a cane down, accusing him of swinging the club at her. He refuses, shouting “I’ve been walking with this golf club for 20 years.” Wingate demands the officer call for someone else to come to the scene and oversee the encounter, obviously confused as to why she is reacting this way. After multiple requests for him to put the club down, Whitlatch approaches and detains him without incident, with the assistance of another officer who responded to the scene after she called for backup. Wingate was ultimately booked into the King County Jail for obstruction and harassment, according to the Seattle Police Department. Former State Rep. Dawn Mason, who questioned why the man was arrested, contacted police officials, which resulted in the City Attorney’s Office and SPD reviewing the case and recommending that the charges be dropped. Last week, Deputy Chief Carmen Best met with Wingate, apologized, and returned his golf club. “Information sources typically highlight the things that go wrong between the community and police,” Mason said in a statement. “I believe that it’s in everyone’s best interest to also highlight the things that go right. That’s what happened here – this one is a win.” Chad and other organizers, however, don’t share Mason’s sentiments on the matter. And so, as he posted in the Facebook invite for the event, “On Saturday, February 7th at 2:00 p.m., you are invited to bring your
February 6, 2015
west Sweetheart Pageant will compete at the Sweetheart Pageantry Systems national pageant on March 7 and 8 in Las Vegas.” She said the Sweetheart Pageant System was founded 8 years ago by Desarae Pendavis, First Lady Las Vegas. According to Jameson, the 1st Annual Northwest Sweetheart Pageant Crowning Ceremony and Celebration will feature out of town Sweetheart Pageant System titleholders, its national promoter, as well as local Seattle and Portland entertainers, and a special performance by Jameson herself. “This annual event is very important because Northwest Sweetheart Pageantry Systems stands up for and supports community service, thus, part of proceeds will be donated to Social Outreach Seattle,” she said.
Woods, Irons, Wedges and Putters and join us at Cal Anderson Park Shelterhouse, 1635 11th Avenue, for “Walking While Black – Always Dangerous Until Proven Otherwise.” “WE WALK to finish the interrupted walk of a 69 year-old Black Veteran/Civil Servant who on July 9, 2014, grabbed his putter and set out on a brilliant summer day. A day that would forever change both he and this city we call home,” he continued. “WE WALK because when it comes to police misconduct and black men, there are no local issues, just one long and painful history of bad cops who think it’s okay to dole out harsh and sometimes even deadly punishments to black men they deem to have stepped out of line,” said Chad. “WE WALK because we are tired of our keys, wallets, cell phones and candy bars being seen as guns.” “WE WALK because the youthful indis-
“This is one of those times.” “While the walk is open to all – people of color as well as allies – we request that all participants keep their focus on this specific issue: law enforcement’s racism against black males,” said Chad. “In this case, we feel that highlighting other issues of injustice, even those involving law enforcement, will serve only to dilute our message. Thank you for your support and respect.” When asked about what he has done to ensure that the same people that have coopted similar protests don’t, he told SGN, “As for the anarchists, I’m not worried.” “I would suspect that even black anarchists have enough respect to not fuck with a walk honoring a 69-year-old black guy,” said Chad. “As for the white ones, the police will be their last worry. Black folks don’t take too kind to white folks disrespecting elderly black folks.” However, some of the people calling into KUOW Photo / Joshua McNichols
white officers routinely kill unarmed black men and their defense is they mistook the victim’s keys, wallets, cell phones and candy bars for guns. In this case we have an officer so blinded by her racism she actually was able to turn a 69 year-old man out for a stroll with his putter into a dangerous person trying to do her harm.”
at the officer’s conduct, but all the circumstances and decisions related to these incidences,” said Murray. “We must do more to reform our system to restore the public’s trust in our police department so that everyone feels safe in our communities.” O’Toole agreed with the mayor and announced she would conduct a comprehensive management investigation and transfer the officer to non-patrol duties for the time being. Whitlatch remains in non-patrol duties at this time.
Sweetheart title a home in the Emerald City. “I see drag as an art form,” Jazmena Jameson told Seattle Gay News. “I have been doing drag shows since the early 1990s in Atlanta, Georgia.” She is quite well known in Sin City and has performed at venues including Share Nightclub in Las Vegas and throughout the Southwest USA. “My former titles include Miss Transgender Las Vegas Gay Pride, Miss Heart of Arizona, Miss Queen of Hearts of the Desert Empire, Miss Black National Capital Cities, and others,” she said. “Starting this regional pageant in Seattle will create a bridge between entertainers of the Northwest and Las Vegas, the World’s Greatest City of Entertainment,” said Jameson. “Winners and representatives of North-
Chad Goller-Sojourner
cretion period for young black males, continues to plummet, now hovering somewhere around age twelve,” he continued. “WE WALK because we are tired of government restricting and monitoring the movement of Black Folks: Be it the Middle Passage, Slavery, Jim Crow, Segregation, Intimidation, Montgomery, Selma or Seattle.” Concluding the post, Chad says, “WE WALK because blackness and criminal behavior are so merged in the American mind, that regardless of who you are, where you came from, or what you’ve accomplished, in the eyes of many, being black and male is sufficient probable cause.” Addressing the fact that people sometimes show up to protests like “Walking While Black” with their own agenda, Chad has asked that people do not lose focus of why this walk, not a march, has been called to action in the first place. “While we understand and appreciate the intersection of various social justice movements, we also believe there are times to direct our focus on a specific issue,” he said.
question Chad’s call for people to support black males, are also black. They are black women; both biological and Transgender women have expressed their concerns. Chad maintains that “I think we’ve been pretty clear in what we’re doing and why,” Chad said. For the people that have chosen to contact him and remind him that other demographics lives matter too, or that other than male black lives also matter, Chad said, “I guess my question would be, if you think there is such a pressing problem why haven’t you done something?” “Basically we [black men] are tired of always been seen as dangerous,” said Chad. “We don’t believe the police when they say they don’t see color. We don’t believe they have any intention of changing their ways of police on their own. And we think it’s important every once in a while that they hear it from us.” Chad has made it clear that this is a nonviolent protest and asks anyone wishing to participate to honor that.
Celebrating 41 Years!
Legal victory for Transgender veterans
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Army Board for the Correction of Military Records (BCMR) and Navy Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR) will issue new military discharge paperwork (known as Form DD-214) to three Transgender veterans, reflecting their correct names and identities. The veterans – Retired Army First Sergeant (Promotable) Dayna Walker; Retired Army Major Evan Young; and former Lieutenant Paula M. Neira, a Naval Academy Graduate –
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ABC News
Former Lieutenant Paula M. Neira
Retired Army Major Evan Young
Retired Army First Sergeant Dayna Walker
were represented by The LGBT Bar and Edwin G. Oswald and Stephen C. Lessard, both attorneys with the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Mr. Lessard is also a member of The Bar’s Military Working Group. “Today’s win is, in many ways, life-changing for transgender veterans,” said D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of The LGBT Bar. “Discharge paperwork follows veterans from the time they leave the service until, quite literally, when they die. It is used in nearly every aspect of post-military life, from medical care to employment, banking and even the name engraved on a veteran’s tombstone. Today’s
decisions finally ensure that Dayna, Evan, Paula and other veterans receive the respect they deserve. The LGBT Bar is proud to have won this important victory.” The veterans have distinguished military careers. Walker has over 25 years of military service experience, serving in various capacities as a Military Police Officer, Special Reaction Team Commander and within the United States Army Recruiting Command. Young served as media officer for NORAD and USNORTHCOM. He was also a signal NCO at Fort Polk, Louisiana and at an attack helicopter brigade in Germany. Neira
graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy, qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and served in mine warfare combat during Operation Desert Storm. According to The LGBT Bar, Neira’s win marks the first time the Navy has issued new paperwork for a Transgender veteran, and the Army decisions follow a similar victory, earlier this year, for Army veterans in New Jersey. The Air Force also issued corrected paperwork in the past, as noted in a Military Law Working Group report issued by The LGBT Bar in 2013. That report also outlines the legal arguments used successfully in The Bar’s three cases, as well as the earlier victories in New Jersey. Kemnitz called on the Department of Defense to follow the recent victories with a policy directive making such decisions routine. Despite the recent wins, there is no known written policy outlining that such requests by other veterans also be granted. “It is imperative that DoD ensure all veterans will have the ability to obtain new DD-214 paperwork,” she said. “The best way to make today’s victory permanent and meaningful is to issue a directive making it official DoD policy.” A copy of today’s decisions, along with The LGBT Bar’s Military Law Working Group report on DD-214 guidelines for Transgender veterans, is available online at www.LGBTBar.org.
Anti-Gay worker files EEOC complaint against employers Alleges discrimination against his religion A former employee of Rapid Global Business Solutions has filed an EEOC complaint against his ex-employer and the Ford Motor Company, charging them with wrongfully terminating him because of his anti-Gay religious beliefs. Thomas Banks of Ypsilanti, Michigan, alleges that he was fired by his employer – which contracted out his services to Ford – because he sent an email protesting Ford’s anti-discrimination policy protecting sexual orientation. According to the Liberty Institute, an anti-Gay group which is representing Banks, he received a Ford email newsletter “which shared its policy to promote pro-homosexual ideas. In the feedback section, Mr. Banks submitted a single comment, addressed to Ford, disagreeing with Ford’s policy based on his biblical views.” Liberty Institute says Banks posted the following response: “For this Ford Motor should be thoroughly ashamed. Endorsing and promoting sodomy is of benefit to no one. This topic is disruptive to the workplace and is an assault on Christians and morality, as well as antithetical to our design and our survival. Immoral sexual conduct should not be a topic for an automotive manufacturer to endorse or promote. And yes – this is historic – but not in a good way. Never in the history of mankind has a culture survived that promotes sodomy. Heterosexual behavior creates life – homosexual behavior leads to death.”
Carlos Osorio, AP
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Some time after that incident, Ford’s HR department told Banks he may have violated the company’s anti-harassment policy, and later the same day Ford fired him. “We are shocked that Ford Motor Company would terminate one of their employees simply because he expressed his faith,” Hiram Sasser, Liberty Institute Director of Litigation, said in a press release. “If Ford is allowed to get away with firing Mr. Banks over this comment, we fear that every person of faith will be punished for talking about his or her faith in the workplace. At Ford, if you speak about your faith as it relates to the company, even to the company, you may be terminated.” Ford said it was standing by its anti-ha-
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rassment policy. “We have not yet seen the complaint, however, we believe this matter ultimately is between the individual and their agency employer,” the company said in a statement. “Ford’s anti-harassment policy was created to foster a respectful, inclusive work environment for all, and we expect employees and agency personnel to act in accordance with this policy.” Rapid Global Business Solutions, the agency that contracted Banks to Ford, declined to comment on the pending complaint. “RGBSI is an equal opportunity employer that supports an inclusive work environment and respects the rights of all individu-
als,” the agency said. “We have no comment as to the particular facts of this case since this is a pending legal matter.” Religion is one the protected categories included in the EEOC’s jurisdiction. Once a discrimination complaint is filed, the EEOC may recommend mediation or it may send the complaint directly to an investigator. If the EEOC investigation finds no legal violation, the plaintiff is given a “Notice of Right to Sue,” meaning he/she can pursue a private lawsuit against his/her employer. If the investigation does find a violation, the EEOC will try to reach a settlement with the employer, but if that effort fails, the commission will refer the case to its legal staff or to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Seattle Gay News 7
Just weeks into 2015, GetEQUAL launches effort to push for full federal LGBTQ equality
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor GetEQUAL leaders convened in Washington, DC, January 23-26 to strategize about how to win full LGBTQ equality under the law, officials with the organization announced this week. Over the course of three days, leaders from 12 states and Washington, DC, talked together about the state of the LGBTQ movement and the work necessary in order to ensure that full legal and social equality is extended to LGBTQ individuals. The organization announced the hiring of five new staff who, according to officials, will build GetEQUAL’s grassroots capacity, including: Jerssay Arredondo (Western Region Field Coordinator), Elle Hearns (Central Region Field Coordinator), Wooten Gough (Eastern Region Organizer), H Kapp-Klote (Communications Coordinator) and Felicia Perez (Digital Coordinator). Wooten was born in Winston-Salem, NC and grew up in very rural Yadkin County. In high school, Wooten made new friends that he later found out were undocumented. From there he went to UNC and created Students United for Immigrant Equality and ended up joining the Trail of Dreams, walking with them from Richmond, VA to
Washington, DC. Wooten was hired by the Latin American Coalition in 2010 and it was then that El Cambio was formed at the annual Fourth of July Festival in downtown Yadkinville. He now focuses building power in rural communities at the intersection of LGBTQ equality and immigrant justice. Elle Hearns is a black Trans woman who is living unapologetically in her truth. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Elle is a part of the leadership team for Trans Women of Color Collective TWOCC). TWOCC is an organizing movement that works to uplift the narratives, lived experiences, and leadership of Trans people of color. Elle’s focus is to make sure these narratives are centered in national conversations of anti-blackness, anti-oppression, and decriminalization. When she is not slaying dragons she enjoys engaging in circles surrounded by love, healing, and restoration. Jerssay is a self-proclaimed undocumented, unafraid, and unashamed queer Latino immigrant. He was born in Mexico City and raised in Phoenix, AZ. At a very young age Jerssay witnessed the injustices faced by his immigrant, trans, and queer community. Such injustices influenced him to want to do something and change the hearts and minds of people. Jerssay began organizing with the Arizona Dream Act Coalition and pushed for in-state tuition and the federal DREAM
ACT, and helped create visibility for the UndocuQueer community throughout Arizona. In 2013 he joined the United We Dream Network and led the network’s Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP) as the project’s national coordinator, helping the network grow capacity by building and organizing queer trans youth, parents, families and allies around immigrant and LGBTQ issues. In 2014 Jerssay co-founded The Queer Network, a local organization, and Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, a national LGBTQ Latin@ organization. Also, Jerssay is passionate about food, culture, dance, music and fashion. Felicia is currently Digital Coordinator with GetEQUAL, an associate/trainer with The Center for Story-Based Strategy, and operator of Reno Space Creators- developers of museum exhibits and web-based graphic design solutions. She most recently served as the United Workers Congress Membership Support & Social Media Coordinator. Her previous organizing & member support experience includes work for The ACLU of Southern California, the California-No on Prop 21 campaign, Californians For Justice, UC Santa Barbara External Vice President of Statewide Affairs, and Chair of the National Queer Students of Color Caucus/board member of the U.S. Student Association (USSA). Felicia is also a published author of History’s Mysteries: Solve the Crime of the Time under Interact (publishers of simulations, role plays, cooperative group units and other kinesthetic learning programs). Felicia holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction. “Black Trans women are disproportionately impacted by structural oppression. It
is critical that we increase visibility of black Trans leadership if we are to shift this narrative. I am excited to bring my wealth of knowledge and experience to the team at GetEQUAL,” said new staff member Elle Hearns, Central Region Organizer. H Kapp-Klote is a writer, organizer, and general media nerd from Kansas. They got into exploring the intersections between media and change-making in high school by running a queer youth radio show. They’ve written for RH Reality Check, The Toast, In These Times, Feministing, Youngist, and The Chicago Reader, and worked and studied communications strategy for everything from the School of the Americas protest to after-school child nutrition programs. They spend their time thinking about power and pizza in Chicago. On Monday, GetEQUAL organizers visited Senator Merkeley’s office to talk with the Senator’s staff about what a comprehensive and inclusive federal LGBTQ equality bill must include. These organizers brought the voices of those who will be most impacted by the bill’s language – both positively and negatively – into the room. GetEQUAL leaders spoke about the need for a bill that is fully inclusive of Transgender individuals, does not include religious exemptions, and is based on the needs of those most marginalized in the LGBTQ community, including undocumented immigrants, transgender individuals, and people of color. GetEQUAL is a national grassroots social justice organization whose mission is to empower the LGBTQ community and allies to take bold action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information, head to: www.getequal.org.
Stop jerking off! SF Archbishop tells high school staffers The Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, has ordered parochial high school staff not to masturbate. According to SF Gate newspaper, the Archbishop has circulated a document stating that masturbation is “gravely evil” and Catholic school employees must not do it. A statement saying that the Church’s employees “affirm and believe” this analysis will be included in the employee handbook. Cordileone’s statement applies to lay employees as well as priests and nuns in four Catholic high schools: Riordan and Sacred Heart in San Francisco, Marin Catholic in Kentfield, and Sierra High School in San Mateo. Saint Ignatius High School in San Francisco is run by the Jesuits and therefore not under the Archbishop’s jurisdiction. Employees there are presumably free to continue masturbating. Other issues covered by the document include: • Marriage is defined to include “one man and one woman,” despite California law recognizing same-sex marriages. • Sperm donation, the use of a surrogate, and other forms of “artificial reproductive technology” are also “gravely evil.”
Bay Area high school students have launched a petition protesting Cordileone’s edict. “We call on the Archbishop to cease his efforts to institute outdated and discriminatory ‘morality clauses,’ to retain workplace protections and to allow Catholic school teachers to focus on the work they are doing to educate thousands of Bay Area children,” the petition says. “The proposed changes directly contradict the Pope’s teachings, the Catholic values of inclusion and diversity, and the free and open exchange of ideas, which is the hallmark of a good education. They create a culture of fear that denies staff the right to follow their own individual consciences and harms students. As people of faith who value education, equality and freedom of conscience, we ask the Archbishop to remove this language immediately.” Unfortunately for Catholic school employees, unless they are protected by a union contract, the Archbishop may be legally entitled to discipline them even for masturbating at home. Absent a union contract or a specific California state law protecting masturbation, “employment at will” means that the employer – in this case the Archdiocese – can legally terminate an employee for any reason, even for one as individual and private as masturbating.
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Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone
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Rand Paul: HIV/AIDS denier? Other Republicans just as whacky
The safety and effectiveness of common medical vaccines is not the only area where Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul disagrees with modern medicine. In the course of discussing his eccentric views on vaccinations, Paul referred to an organization called the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). Paul and his father, former Congressman Ron Paul, have been members of the group for many years, and frequently cite its opinions. Among other things, AAPS claims that HIV does not cause AIDS. Instead, AAPS members have written in its Journal, AIDS is caused by unsanitary living conditions, recreational drug use, or even by antiretroviral medications themselves. The Journal has also claimed that the “Gay male lifestyle” shortens life expectancy by as much as 20 years, and that abortions cause breast cancer. Other potential Republican presidential candidates have equally bizarre ideas about HIV/AIDS and public health. Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee – who recently claimed he has Gay friends – once advocated compulsory quarantine of HIV/AIDS patients. In an unsuccessful race for the U.S. Senate in 1992, Huckabee said in an Associated Press questionnaire that steps should be taken to “isolate the carriers of this plague.” He also suggested that instead of being funded by the federal government, AIDS research should be paid for by the Hollywood celebrities who were making such a fuss about it. In 2008 when he was running for the Republican presidential nomination, Huckabee stood by his prior remarks. “I had simply made the point – and I still believe this today – that in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when we didn’t know as much as we do now about AIDS, we were acting more out of political correctness than we were about the normal public health protocols that we would have acted,” he told Fox News.
continued from cover in prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission clinics or voluntary counseling and testing centers. The study was published February 4 in Science Translational Medicine. During the field testing in Rwanda, healthcare workers were given only 30 minutes of training, which included a user-friendly interface to aid the user through each test, stepby-step pictorial directions, built-in timers to alert the user to next steps, and records of test results for later review. Ninety-seven percent of the patients said they would recommend the dongle because of its fast turn-around time, ability to offer results for multiple diseases, and simplicity of procedure. “Our dongle presents new capabilities for a broad range of users, from health care providers to consumers,” Sia said. “By increasing detection of syphilis infections, we might be able to reduce deaths by 10-fold. And for large-scale screening where the dongle’s high sensitivity with few false negatives is critical, we might be able to scale up HIV testing at the community level with immediate antiretroviral therapy that could nearly stop HIV transmissions and approach
elimination of this devastating disease.” Sia’s team wanted to build on their previous work in miniaturizing diagnostics hardware for rapid point-of-care diagnosis of HIV, syphilis, and other sexually transmitted diseases. They designed the dongle to be small and light enough to fit into one hand, and to run assays on disposable plastic cassettes with pre-loaded reagents, where disease-specific zones provided an objective read-out, much like an ELISA assay. “We are really excited about the next steps in bringing this product to the market in developing countries,” he continues. “And we are equally excited about exploring how this technology can benefit patients and consumers back home.” Sia collaborated with researchers from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health; the Institute of HIV Disease Prevention and Control, Rwanda Biomedical Center; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Laboratory Reference and Research Branch, Atlanta; and OPKO Diagnostics. The study was funded by Saving Lives at Birth transition grant (USAID, Gates Foundation, Government of Norway, Grand Challenges Canada, and the World Bank) and Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.
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Ben Carson Dr. Ben Carson, although he is a noted neurosurgeon, has built a side-career promoting Mannatech dietary supplements. In 2007, three years after Carson’s first dealings with Mannatech, then-Texas Attorney General, now Governor, Greg Abbott sued the company and Carson, charging them with orchestrating an unlawful marketing scheme that exaggerated their products’ health benefits. Carson helped the company portray its products as cures for AIDS, cancer, autism, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and life-threatening heart conditions. His association with Mannatech lasted until last year. “The wonderful thing about a company like Mannatech is that they recognize that when God made us, He gave us the right fuel,” Carson explains in a video pitching the company’s supplements. Rand Paul “And that fuel was the right kind of $19.5 million in state funding for 54 comScott Walker healthy food…Many of the natural things While Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker munity organizations, hospitals and health are not included in our diet. Basically what the company is doing is trying to find a way has not taken the same extremist positions agencies for prevention and treatment of to restore natural diet as a medicine or as a as some of his competitors, he is no friend of HIV/AIDS. “This funding announcement is a signifipeople living with HIV. mechanism for maintaining health.” After being sworn into office in 2011, cant investment in our community orgaWalker introduced a controversial budget nizations that are on the frontlines in the Ted Cruz When Ted Cruz was running for the U.S. that slashed $500 million from the state’s battle against HIV,” Christie said at the time. “These grants will provide $11.2 million Senate in 2012, he was introduced at the Val- Medicaid funds, some of which go to treatfor HIV counseling, testing and education ues Voters Summit by Rick Scarborough, ing low-income HIV/AIDS patients. The next year he also rejected a $37.6 mil- and $8.3 million for medical care and social leader of the anti-Gay Vision for America. Cruz is “a man grounded by faith and prin- lion federal grant to set up a health exchange services including housing aid and legal serciple” and “a true champion of freedom,” in Wisconsin under the Affordable Care Act vices. It’s community organizations…that are Scarborough said. Scarborough is a “tremen- (ACA, or Obamacare). He also turned down providing a vital safety net and vision that dous patriot and voice for Christian values,” an $11 million grant to improve Medicaid is worthy of our continued support. We are joined by a common vision and belief that enrollment. Cruz replied. “Stopping the encroachment of Obam- we have a moral imperative to help people in In fact, Scarborough is an anti-Gay crusader who claims that America is facing “sexual acare in our state, which has the potential need of treatment.” Nevertheless, Christie was picketed by anarchy led by sodomites” and that AIDS is to have a devastating impact on Wisconsin’s HIV/AIDS activists last October because economy, is a top priority,” he explained. God’s “judgment for an immoral act.” of his insistence on quarantining an Ebola After winning election, Cruz told the HerChris Christie nurse even though she had no signs of the itage Foundation “We need 100 more like While New Jersey Governor Chris Chris- disease. It harked back to the push to quarJesse Helms in the U.S. Senate.” Now dead, Helms opposed while alive tie also voiced doubts about the safety and antine AIDS patients in the early stages of any “federal financing of AIDS research and efficacy of vaccines, he is still the most ra- the epidemic, many said. Nurse Kaci Hickox returned from treattreatment,” arguing that “There is not one tional of the Republican hopefuls when it ing Ebola patients in West Africa and never single case of AIDS in this country that can- comes to HIV/AIDS issues. In 2012, Christie announced more than contracted the disease. not be traced in origin to sodomy.” WASHINGTONPOST.COM
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What we’re up against: Majority says businesses should be free to turn down LGBT customers Even though most Americans believe that Gay and Lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, an even larger majority also believes that businesses should be free to turn down LGBT customers. A new poll by Associated Press/GfK shows that Americans support marriage equality by a 44% to 39% margin, but nearly 25% of those who support same-sex marriage also think that wedding-related businesses should be free to deny services to Gay and Lesbian couples. In all, 57% of the poll’s respondents said the religious views of business owners should trump the right of same-sex couples to services. About half said that public officials like judges and county clerks should be free to decline issuing marriage licenses to couples their religions find objectionable. One of the most controversial pieces of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – and one that is still challenged by Rand Paul and other socalled libertarians – was Title II, which pro-
hibited discrimination by privately-owned businesses if they provided public accommodations. “Public accommodations” obviously includes hotels, motels, bars, and restaurants, but it has been extended to include retail businesses that are open to the general public. Unfortunately, LGBT Americans are not protected by the Civil Rights Act, but many state laws do prohibit discrimination against LGBT residents. In Washington, Attorney General Bob Ferguson believes that the state Consumer Protection Act does require businesses to provide goods and services to LGBT customers, and on that basis his office is prosecuting Baronelle Stutzman, a Kennewick florist who refused to provide flowers for a Gay wedding. On January 27 officials of the LDS (Mormon) Church said they were prepared to support anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT Americans if they were paired with broad religious exemptions that allowed officials and business owners to opt out. Baronelle Stutzman, the Kennewick florist who refused to provide flowers for a Gay wedding James Esseks, who directs the LGBT project of the American Civil Liberties Union, tion of religious freedom “does not give any what it sounds like the proposal from the replied that the First Amendment’s protec- of us the right to harm others, and that’s Mormon church would do.” Alliance Defending Freedom
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Nancy Reagan to Rock Hudson: Drop dead! by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Then-First Lady Nancy Reagan turned down a personal request from friend and political supporter Rock Hudson to help him get experimental AIDS treatments in Paris, according to a story by reporter Chris Geidner on BuzzFeed blog. Only nine weeks after she turned him down, Hudson was dead of the disease. Soon after a May 1984 state dinner at which Hudson was invited to sit at Nancy Reagan’s table, a biopsy showed the actor had Kaposi’s
sarcoma, a skin cancer that was one of the early marks of the AIDS epidemic. A second biopsy in June 1984, confirmed the diagnosis. In those early days of the epidemic, the prognosis was always bad. Although more than 5,500 people had died from the disease by the start of 1985, the Reagan administration did little or nothing to combat the disease. In fact, the president asked for a $10 million cut in AIDS spending in his budget proposal released in February 1985. Hudson knew, however, that a French army doctor, Dominique Dormant, had made some progress in treating AIDS paRonald Reagan Presidential Library
President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with Rock Hudson at White House State Dinner
survivor benefits if one of them died. If they moved across the border to Virginia, however, the surviving spouse would be eligible. Obama’s budget, released February 2, “proposes to amend the Social Security Act to ensure all lawfully married same-sex couples will be eligible to receive Social Security spousal benefits, regardless of where they live.” The proposed $4 trillion budget would mean that even couples who live outside of the 36 states which allow same-sex marriage would receive Social Security survivor benefits just as opposite-sex married couples do.
Freedom To Marry praised the President in a press release. “Once again, President Obama has demonstrated his commitment to fairness and freedom for all Americans, including same-sex couples and their families,” the group said. “His proposal to ensure equal Social Security benefits would fix a crucial gap in federal protections for same-sex couples. President Obama’s leadership in helping bring the freedom to marry to all Americans will be a shining part of this president’s legacy. Of course, the only way to ensure same-sex couples nationwide have all the protections of marriage is for the Supreme Court to put the country on the right side of history by ending mar-
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riage discrimination throughout the United States, leaving no family and no state behind.” The proposed change to the Social Security Act would have to pass a Republican-led Congress, however. It is clear that the budget will undergo substantial revision before it is finally passed, and it is too early to tell if the Social Security proposal will make it into the final bill. In any case, the issue may be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court when it reviews marriage appeals from the Sixth Circuit Court. If the high court finds that Gay and Lesbian couples have a constitutionally-mandated right to marriage, that would remove state bans on recognition and also the rationale for unequal treatment of same-sex couples.
ered by Geidner in the Reagan archives. Hudson died on October 2, 1985, the first high-profile celebrity death from AIDS that was openly acknowledged as such. In a conversation with Geidner, Weinberg denied that First Lady had any ulterior motives in refusing to help Hudson. “That refers to special treatment for a friend or celebrity. And that’s all it refers to. It had nothing to do with AIDS or AIDS policy or – that’s a whole different issue,” Weinberg said. “We weren’t talking about that.” “I know, I know that conversation,” he added, referring to well-known criticism of the Reagan administration’s dilatory response to the AIDS crisis. In fact, Charles Francis, once President of the Washington, D.C. Mattachine Society – an early Gay rights group – revived exactly that criticism in his comments to Geidner. “Drenched in animus, stigmatization, and an inexplicable nonchalance, the notes and memoranda provide a window into federal discrimination against a despised group, even in the midst of a raging epidemic,” Francis said. Reagan eventually took action to fight HIV/AIDS, but only after the intervention of Surgeon General C. Everett Koop – who issued his groundbreaking Surgeon General’s Report on Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome without giving advance notice to the White House – and another of Reagan’s Hollywood friends, Elizabeth Taylor, who was emerging as a leading AIDS activist in her own right.
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tients with HPA-23, one of the first experimental treatments, so he headed for Paris. In June 1985, just after checking in at the Ritz Hotel there, Hudson collapsed. Dormant, however, was unable to get Hudson admitted to a military hospital for treatment. At that point, Hudson’s publicist, Dale Olson, sent a frantic telegram to the actor’s friend, Nancy Reagan. Geidner discovered the document in the Reagan Library. “Commanding General of Percy Hospital has turned down Rock Hudson as a patient because he is not French,” the telegram read in part. “Doctor Dormant in Paris believes a request from the White House or a high American official would change his mind. Can you help by having someone call the Commanding General’s office at the Percy Hospital at the above number. “Please advise what can be done.” The telegram was sent at 12:22 p.m. ET on July 24, 1985, and logged into the White House at 2:07 p.m. The message went to Special Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary Mark Weinberg. Weinberg then summarized the problem in a memorandum to Bill Martin, a National Security Council staffer. “I spoke with Mrs. Reagan about the attached telegram. She did not feel this was something the White House should get into and agreed to my suggestion that we refer the writer to the U.S. Embassy, Paris,” Weinberg wrote in the memorandum also discov-
President Obama
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British Labor Party promises compulsory Sex Ed, including LGBT issues www.birminghampost.co.uk
“Shadow Education Secretary” Tristram Hunt
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for May 7, the British Labor Party has promised to introduce compulsory Sex Education, including LGBT issues. Tristram Hunt, Labor’s “Shadow Education Secretary” – the one who would take over the
country’s education department if Labor wins the election and forms a new government – announced the party’s plans February 4. In addition to teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, British schools would also try to put a stop to “homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying.” The new policy would make “every classroom, dinner hall, and playground a homo-
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phobic free zone,” Hunt said. Hunt said the legacy of the Thatcher-era Section 28, which banned teachers from “promoting homosexuality” in the classroom, still lingers today. Calling the measure “a most pernicious piece of legislation,” Hunt said it still “casts a shadow over our education system, both for those that are new to the school workforce and for those who worked in schools whilst it was in operation. “That is why repealing Section 28 alone, is not enough,” he added. “We need new training for new and long-standing teachers, and others in the school workforce. “Strategies for education, dealing with both prevention and resolution. And we need to act urgently to prevent the plight of homophobic bullying that is damaging the lives and life chances of thousands of pupils.” Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government passed Section 28 in 1988. It was repealed by Tony Blair’s Labor government in 2003, over stiff resistance by Conservatives in the House of Lords. Hunt appeared with popular actor and LGBT rights activist Charlie Condou. “As a gay man, and as a parent, the tackling of homophobic bullying is obviously something that’s extremely important to me,” Condou said. “School is where I want my kids to feel
safe, to be nurtured and cared for when I’m not there. We’ve made so many advances for LGBT people over the last few years, but I truly believe that prejudice is learned behavior and therefore we need to address LGBT issues at an early age. The word gay is still used as an insult in playgrounds across the country and the amount of young people still taking their own lives for being seen as different is quite distressing.” Current Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who represents the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that has governed Britain since 2010, said her government is already working on the bullying issue. “Homophobic bullying can blight young people’s lives,” she told Pink News. “It not only affects young people’s happiness and achievement at school, but can have severe consequences for their mental health. “That’s why we made tackling homophobic bullying a priority in the Coalition Agreement and since then we’ve invested in projects to train more teachers on tackling homophobia in the classroom and set out clear guidance on the importance of tackling all types of bullying, including homophobic bullying.” She added that British teachers are now reporting fewer incidents of bullying than five years ago when the Conservative-led government took office.
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