SGN May 25, 2018 - Part 1

Seattle Gay News

Federal court affirms rights of Transgender students, Orders school district to settle with plaintiff Gavin Grimm

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

A US District Court has tossed out a motion by the Gloucester County School

Board to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a Transgender former student and ruled that Trans students are, indeed, protected by

see GAVIN GRIMM page 5

New Gallup poll: Two-thirds of Americans OK with same-sex marriage, Half say same-sex attraction is innate

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Two-thirds of Americans are OK with same-sex marriage, according to a new poll by Gallup. Half of those surveyed also said they believe that same-sex attraction is

something Lesbian, Gay, and Bi people are born with.

Gallup surveyed 1,024 US adults between May 1 and May 10 for its annual “values and morals” poll.

see GALLOP POLL page 13

Trans

brains match their gender, not their sex assigned at birth, study shows

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Brain activity in Transgender children and teens matches their gender, not the sex they

were assigned at birth, according to a new study by Belgian neuroscientist Julie Bakker. In other words, the brains of Transgender

see TRANS BRAINS page 5

CDC will roll back data collection on the health and well-being of LGBT people

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) official disclosed that the agency will roll back support for the collection of data on the health and well-being of LGBT people through the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

“The BRFSS is one of the few federally supported data collection activities that make the needs of LGBT people known to governmental agencies responsible for the safety, health, and welfare of the public,” said Kerith J. Conron, the research director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. “By removing LGBT measures from the BRFSS, the federal government is shirk-

see CDC ROLL BACK page 12

Low Income Housing Institute partners with Vulcan Inc. to build 30 tiny houses for Seattle’s homeless

More than 400 employees volunteer in the region’s largest ever single-day tiny

home build

The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) has partnered with Vulcan, Inc. to build and donate 30 tiny houses for homeless families and individuals. The tiny houses will be placed at a new tiny house village site in Seattle’s Central Area. Vulcan Inc., the company that powers Paul G. Allen’s philanthropic and impact work, is hosting Vulcan Converge, an employee day of service on Friday, May 25. More than 400 employee volunteers will participate in the largest single-day effort to build 30 tiny houses.

“It is impossible to miss the homeless crisis all around us, so I am personally gratified to see so many of our employees volunteering to tackle this project,” said Bill Hilf, Vulcan CEO. “Hundreds of employees from Vulcan, the Seahawks, the Allen Institute, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and MoPOP will step up to contribute their time and energies to make a contribution toward addressing this problem.”

Vulcan Converge will take place at CenturyLink Field Event Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., where Vulcan employees, along with LIHI and contractors from the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Washington, will build 30 tiny houses that are 8’ x 12’, the size of a small bedroom. The tiny homes are more than just four walls – they will be insulated [and] heated, with windows, porches, and locking doors. Construction industry experts, led by nine AGC contractors, will be leading and instructing volunteers onsite.

“Tiny houses save lives. We are grateful to Vulcan, AGC of Washington and our

community partners for taking action to address King County’s homelessness crisis.

Last year, 169 men and women died from living on the streets. These tiny houses will protect homeless families and individuals who are faced with sleeping in unsheltered and unsafe conditions. Once in a tiny house, our social workers are able to transition people into long-term housing and employment,” said Sharon Lee, LIHI’s executive director.

When completed, the 30 tiny homes will be moved to a new tiny house village site at 1714 E. Yesler Way, Seattle. The Yesler Tiny House Village is LIHI’s ninth tiny house village and will shelter approximately 60 residents, including families with children, seniors, veterans, singles, and people with pets. The village will feature 36 tiny houses with heat and electricity and include showers, laundry, a counseling office, and central kitchen facilities.

Vulcan’s partnership with the Low Income Housing Institute to build and donate 30 tiny homes is an example of [a] private nonprofit and government working together to address the homelessness crisis in our region. The Seattle Human Services Department is providing operating funds for the new village. The AGC contractors include: Lydig Construction, Walsh Construction, Sellen Construction, GLY Construction, Howard S. Wright Construction, Exxel Pacific, Osborne Construction Company, Charter Construction, and Lease Crutcher Lewis. Students and faculty from the Seattle Vocational Institute, the Wood Technology Center, the Urban League,

and the UW Construction Management program are also lending their expertise.

In operation since 1991, LIHI has a comprehensive and effective approach for reducing homelessness and helping the most vulnerable people in our region achieve stability and self-sufficiency through affordable housing, free hygiene centers (Urban Rest Stops), case management, homeless services, and advocacy. LIHI owns 2,039 affordable apartments in 62 properties across the Puget Sound region. LIHI is managing innovative tiny house villages for homeless people that serve over 1,000 people each year. For more information, visit www.LIHI.org .

Seattle-based Vulcan Inc. is the engine behind philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen’s network of organizations and initiatives. Empowered by Paul’s vision to make a positive difference in the world, it works to be catalysts for change. It shares a commitment to improving our planet through catalytic philanthropy, inspirational experiences, and scientific and technological breakthroughs. It is a unique group of professionals – from technologists, biodiversity experts, and filmmakers to investors, research scientists, and art curators – who thrive in the face of the challenge and opportunity to help solve big problems in unconventional ways.

Courtesy of LIHI

Pride Foundation awards more than half a million dollars to 2018 scholars

Hosting reception for Seattle scholars May 30

[On Wednesday, May 23,] Pride Foundation announced scholarships to 130 students from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington totaling $535,000 – the largest total award in the organization’s history.

Pride Foundation is one of the largest sources of scholarships to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) and ally students in the country.

These scholarships seed the next generation of leaders and support remarkable students who are engaged in a range of studies that will benefit the LGBTQ movement and the world.

Students supported include:

• Ethan Lauesen, a returning scholar from Klawock, AK, attends the University

of Alaska Fairbanks and wants to inspire LGBTQ youth to embrace the arts as a way to create visibility for topics related to gender identity.

• Anna McClain-Sims of Boise, ID currently attends Yale University in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology. She hopes to inspire young women and members of the LGBTQ community to pursue careers in STEM.

• Sherman Red Tomahawk is a returning scholar from Browning, Montana and the Blackfeet Reservation. Sherman is studying elementary education at Blackfeet Community College where he is a part of the 2 + 2 Program through University of Montana Western. Sherman hopes that becoming an LGBTQ educator will open doors for others.

• Kai Velazco of Gresham, OR is enrolled at Mount Hood Community College to become a Family Nurse Practitioner. They will focus their efforts on preventative care and education that is often not accessible to marginalized people.

• Amber Letchworth from Clarkston, WA is studying at Eastern Washington University to become a social worker who will help her clients navigate the systemic barriers of everyday life.

“Investing in the educational dreams of our community is both an act of hope and love,” said Pride Foundation CEO, Kris Hermanns. “These leaders are critical to the progress of our community and will continue to inspire the change that is transforming movements and our lives. We are thrilled to be able to support them on this journey.”

Since its inception in 1993, Pride Foundation’s scholarship program has awarded more than $5 million to over 1,300 individual scholars, all of whom identify as LGBTQ or allies. All Pride Foundation scholars either currently live or grew up in the Northwest, and come from diverse backgrounds and identities – this year, 67% are students of color, and 38% identify as transgender or gender diverse.

These scholarships have proven to be critical for students like Kai Velazco, “Education isn’t available to everyone. I recognize the privilege it has been to receive one and I am grateful for my communities’ support in mine. I aspire to pay it forward not only through the volunteer work and activism I am doing during my academic career, but through my work as a future health care provider.”

Please join the Pride Foundation to meet and celebrate the 2018 Pride Foundation Scholars in Seattle! The FREE event will be held on Wednesday, May 30 at 5:30pm at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., at the Seattle Center. To RSVP, please visit https://2018pridefoundationsc holarshipcelebration.bpt.me/ or call (206) 323-3318.

Courtesy of Pride Foundation

ACLU of Oregon reaches sweeping settlement with North Bend School District over LGBTQ discrimination and Bible reading

NORTH BEND, Ore. – The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon announced [on May 22] that settlements had been reached on behalf of current and former North Bend High School students Liv Funk and Hailey Smith, who suffered anti-LGBTQ harassment and discrimination from both students and staff. The settlements remove Principal Bill Lucero from his job and require that the school district work with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon (ACLU of Oregon) to develop policies and training to prevent future discrimination. The district will remain under Oregon Department of Education supervision for five years.

“This is a tremendous achievement for our clients and all the current and future students of North Bend,” said Mat dos Santos, legal director at the ACLU of Oregon. “It sends a clear message to everyone at the district: If you break the law by discriminating against LGBTQ students or engaging in religious proselytization at school, there are serious consequences.”

Smith and Funk said the school was extremely hostile to LGBTQ students. Principal Lucero repeatedly failed to respond to LGBTQ students’ complaints, including when his son, who also attends the school, nearly hit the couple with his car while yelling a homophobic slur. According to an investigatory determination letter from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), when some staff tried to support the students’ attempts to raise their concerns, district and high school leadership retaliated. Lucero also made students recite Bible verses as punishment, a fact that ODE confirmed was known by Superintendent Bill Yester.

“With Mr. Lucero gone, LGBTQ students can finally come out of the shadows.” dos Santos said. “It’s past time that North Bend High School make way for a

more open and accepting administration.”

“I think there are a lot of teachers, staff, and community members in North Bend who do support LGBTQ students,” Smith said. “Under a more supportive school administration, I hope they will no longer be afraid to show their support.”

The school district is also required to ask North Bend Police Department to remove or provide a new police officer to function as the school police officer. The current school police officer, Jason Griggs, told Funk that she was going to hell for being gay after she reported an anti-LGBT assault across the street from the school.

“I am glad that I was finally able to start positive change in this school district,” said Funk, who is graduating next month. “All I want is a safe learning environment for current and incoming students from any

and all walks of life.”

The students filed their original complaint with the district in 2016. When the school district failed to respond to the students’ formal complaints, the students appealed to the ODE. Earlier this year, the agency conducted a months-long investigation and found evidence of severe bullying at the school that was ignored by administrators, and other violations of state and federal laws. In letters to the district earlier this month, the ODE mentioned instances where a teacher equated same-sex marriage with bestiality and a transgender student was harassed in school common areas, including having food thrown on them.

“To us this all seemed normal,” Smith said. “Like, this is just my life. I didn’t even really want to go to school anymore because I knew something would happen every day.”

After the story drew national attention, dos Santos said numerous former and current students, parents, and staff contacted the ACLU of Oregon with disturbing allegations against the school. A transgender boy was refused permission to play on the boys’ basketball team. One black student was forced to line up with his swim teammates from lightest to darkest skin color. Another black student was regularly subjected to racist slurs and namecalling by his teammates, including the principal’s son, over his repeated requests that they stop using a modification to the n-word as his nickname. An exchange student from Spain was awarded the “Best Mexican” award by the swim team.

The district will be required to hire an expert to review its policies for handling discrimination and harassment reports. Additionally, the high school will create a “Diversity and Inclusion Committee,” which will hold celebrations at the high school for Coming Out Day and Ally Week, and issue an annual diversity award.

Smith and Funk did not request monetary damages but did include that the school would make a $1,000 gift to a local queer support group, Q & A of Coos County.

“I hope this can also bring awareness to these types of issues and can show students that they are not powerless,” Funk said.

Mat dos Santos and Kelly Simon represented the students on behalf of the ACLU of Oregon. Professor Warren Binford runs the student legal clinic at Willamette University College of Law and supervised Corrine Allain and Patricia Stoneroad, certified law students, on the case.

Courtesy of the ACLU

HRC responds to victory for Transgender students in Gavin Grimm federal court case

WASHINGTON, D.C. – [On May 22], the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, responded to a federal court decision reaffirming that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protect[s] transgender students from discrimination, including being forced to use separate bathroom facilities.

“No student should feel unsafe at school, regardless of gender identity. Transgender students are covered by Title IX and are entitled to the same rights and protections as every other student,” said Sarah Warbelow, HRC Legal Director. “With the Trump-Pence administration’s barrage of attacks on LGBTQ people in this country, including children, we are pleased that yet another federal court has reaffirmed legal

to protect privacy and only serve to harm and humiliate transgender students.”

“I feel an incredible sense of relief,” Grimm said.

rights and dignity of transgender people.”

In 2014, the Gloucester County School Board in Virginia voted 6-1 in favor of a discriminatory bathroom policy that segregates transgender students from their peers after Gavin Grimm, a transgender student, began using the boys’ restroom, with permission of school officials, [which corresponds] with his gender identity.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

The ruling may bring closure to the legal saga of Gavin Grimm, now 19, who sued his school district in 2015 to be allowed to use the boys’ restroom in his high school. The school district is now under a court order to schedule a settlement conference with Grimm’s attorneys.

In her May 22 decision, US District Judge Arenda Wright Allen found that Grimm is covered by Title IX, a federal law that bars discrimination in education based on sex. Title IX and the US Constitution protect Transgender students from being excluded from restrooms that align with their gender identity, the judge said.

The court also directed the parties to schedule settlement talks within 30 days. The case was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia on Grimm’s behalf.

Joshua Block, senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT and HIV Project, said the ruling “vindicates what Gavin has been saying from the beginning.”

“Federal law protects Gavin and other students who are transgender from being stigmatized and excluded from using the same common restrooms that other boys and girls use,” Block continued. “These sorts of discriminatory policies do nothing

“After fighting this policy since I was 15 years old, I finally have a court decision saying that what the Gloucester County School Board did to me was wrong and it was against the law. I was determined not to give up, because I didn’t want any other student to have to suffer the same experience that I had to go through.”

Grimm originally sued the school district after it passed new rules prohibiting him, and other Trans students, from using gender-appropriate facilities.

A trial court dismissed his lawsuit, but the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Grimm, ruling that he was allowed to sue the school district, and ordering the district to give him access to boys’ restrooms pending litigation of the case.

The school district then appealed to the US Supreme Court, which stayed the 4th Circuit ruling until litigation was completed, effectively barring Grimm from the boys’ restrooms once again.

Although he has now graduated from high school, the District Court decision allows Grimm to seek damages from the school district and offers federal protection to other Trans students seeking to use gender-appropriate facilities.

In 2017, the Supreme Court sent the Grimm case back to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals following the Trump administration’s decision to rescind protective school guidance for transgender students. Because the 4th Circuit’s original ruling was heavily based on the Obama administration’s guidance, the Supreme Court asked the lower court to revisit the case and rule on the underlying statutory question regarding the scope of Title IX. Many federal courts, including the court today, have affirmed that Title IX and other federal nondiscrimi-

TRANS BRAINS

continued from cover

boys match those of cisgender boys, and the brains of Trans girls match those of cis girls.

Bakker’s study, based at the University of Liege, involved MRI scans of 160 Transgender children and teens. The scans measure brain activity and microstructures using a technique called diffusion tensor imaging.

Bakker’s team then compared the brain scans of the Trans people to those of people of comparable age who were cisgender.

Analysis revealed that distinct neurological markers of gender are detectable during childhood. The researchers said that their technique could be used to help Transgender children at an earlier age.

“Although more research is needed, we now have evidence that sexual differentiation of the brain differs in young people with [gender dysphoria], as they show functional brain characteristics that are typical

nation laws prohibit discrimination against transgender people, including with respect to restroom access.

This decision reaffirms a 2016 ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District that held “a policy that requires an individual to use a bathroom that does not conform with his or her gender identity punishes that individual for his or her gender nonconformance, which in turn violates Title IX.”

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 the HRC

of their desired gender,” Bakker said.

“We will then be better equipped to support these young people, instead of just sending them to a psychiatrist and hoping that their distress will disappear spontaneously.”

Currently, children who say their gender differs from the one assigned them at birth typically undergo psychotherapy. They can also be given hormones that delay puberty so that decisions on further therapy can be made at an older age.

The study’s results, which were presented at the European Society of Endocrinology’s meeting in Barcelona, fall in line with previous neurological studies that showed that Transgender adults have similar brain structures to cisgender people of their gender.

About one per cent of the population are estimated to be Transgender, according to the Gender Identity Development Service, although the group says that rates of diagnosis are increasing due to growing public awareness of the issue.

Burien Pride expands with Friday night bingo on June 1, Saturday festival includes live music, games, kids’ area and more

BURIEN, Wash. – The second annual Burien Pride festival, sponsored by Blissful Knead and Kaiser Permanente, will take place in Burien Town Square Park on Saturday June 2, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with free admission to the public. Live musical performances will grace the stage throughout the day on Saturday. In addition, the super popular kids’ area will return, as will the 21+ beer garden (sponsored by local brewpub Elliott Bay Brewhouse).

New this year: Guests are invited to join their neighbors and friends for an all-ages Drag Queen Bingo event in the park on

Friday, June 1, 2018. The theme is “Grooving to the ’70s” and will be hosted by Donnatella Howe and Rob Johnson from 5 to 10 p.m. Tickets are currently available in person via Discover Burien and the night of the event, starting at 4 p.m.

A portion of all proceeds from Burien Pride 2018 will benefit the local community by way of the organization’s newly formed Burien Pride Scholarship Fund.

Entertainment will perform throughout [Saturday] and into the early evening on two stages in Burien Town Square Park. One stage will boast fan favorites “The Newlywed Game” and “The Dating

Game.” Musical acts, dance routines, and Zumba will occur on the main stage. A drag show will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

After-parties at The Point Liquor and Eats and Black Zia will occur as the festival closes. Additional establishments will show their support of the LGBTQ+ community throughout the evening as well.

Don’t miss out on the fun this year as Burien Pride returns on Friday, June 1 for Drag Queen Bingo and Saturday, June 2 for the festival!

For sponsorship information or to request interviews or photos, please contact

Sarah Toce at (206) 714-2277 or burienpride@gmail.com. Like Burien Pride on Facebook!

Burien Pride is an annual celebration produced by Discover Burien, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Discover Burien exists for economic development, education, and promotion of the Burien Business Community. To learn more about Burien Pride or Discover Burien, please visit BurienPride.com or discoverburien.org.

Courtesy

of Burien Pride

Official Pride ASIA kicks off June Pride Month on May 27

Official Pride ASIA is proud to announce that Seattle Pride will be our Official 2018 Co-Presenter at the 7th Annual Pride ASIA Celebration this Sunday, May 27th! Festivities will begin at 12 noon and continue until 5pm at Hing Hay Park, 423 Maynard Ave. S. at S. King St.

Pride ASIA 2018 will by hosted by Pride Asia Founder, Aleksa Manila, with Keynote Speaker Jill Mangaliman of Got Green. Music will be provided by DJ

Phenohype (Allison Masangkay) and there will also be an incredible lineup of entertainers and speakers from the Northwest.

This event is FREE & ALL AGES!

May is National Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month and is a great opportunity for us to celebrate, empower and nurture the multicultural diversity of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities through the Asian Pacific Islander lens.

Pride ASIA is also excited to kick-off Pride Month into June! Be sure to mark your calendars for Seattle Pride & Pridefest Weekend, June 22-24. More at www.seattlepride.org.

Pride ASIA is a proud member of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance.

Special thanks to our sponsors: Gaysha Starr and Mitchell Koonce; Joe Torres, LEO Foundation; Taffy Mae, U.T.O.P.I.A

Generations Aging With Pride host Wine & Cheese Volunteer

Social on June 2

Come one, come all for a celebration of our current and future volunteers! We will be recruiting new volunteers and raising a glass to the hard work of our long-standing volunteers.

We are now seeking Trainers, Public Speakers, Board Members, Outreach

Volunteers, and more! We cordially invite you to an evening of coming together as a community to build a better future for LGBTQ elders!

Please join us on Saturday, June 2, from 4-6pm, at The Bridge at Village Cove, 6850 Woodlawn Ave. NE, Suite A, in the Green-

lake neighborhood to celebrate the work of our volunteers and to learn more about Generations Aging With Pride and how you can help.

RSVP to Program Manager Christine Wheeler-Sinclair at (206) 637-0400 or Christine@gapseattle.org.

Discrimination in Kansas: Kansas governor signs anti-LGBTQ bill

TOPEKA, Kan. — [On May 18], the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, blasted Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer for signing a patently discriminatory bill, SB 284, which is a license to discriminate with taxpayer funds against prospective LGBTQ foster or adoptive parents, single parents, or other qualified families. Kansas and Oklahoma are the only two states this year to allow antiLGBTQ legislation to become law.

SB 284 will have a sweeping, harmful impact on child welfare services by enabling discrimination against LGBTQ people, same-sex couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other qualified parents to whom an agency has an objection. The biggest barrier to placing children with families is a lack of qualified prospective parents; having the state give contractors and subcontractors a license to discriminate, thereby limiting the pool of prospective parents for no legitimate reason, is unconscionable and an unacceptable use of taxpayer dollars.

“Kansas now joins Oklahoma as the only states to allow anti-LGBTQ state bills to become law this year,” said JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president of policy and political affairs. “Kansas lawmakers, from the legislature to the governor, are clearly stating that it is more important to them to discriminate against their own constituents than it is to find loving homes for children in need. Make no mistake: this law will harm the kids, families and reputation of this state.”

Many top child welfare organizations, from Kansas and across the country, have spoken out in opposition to the bill, including the Child Welfare League of America,

the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the National Center for Adoption and Permanency, the Foster Club, Voice for Adoption, Foster Adopt Connect, Kansas Appleseed, and the Children’s Alliance of Kansas. This bill most harms children in the system who are awaiting placement in qualified, loving homes and are instead denied placement with a family due to a lack of prospective parents. Experts agree that child welfare services should be guided by the overarching principle that guides all family law: all determinations should be in the best interest of the child. SB 284 clearly violates this principle.

Additionally, an interfaith group of Kansas-based faith leaders and state and national faith organizations sent a letter to the legislature opposing SB 284. The letter is signed by more than 50 Kansas-based

faith leaders and statewide organizations and 39 national and statewide faith organizations. These individuals and organizations represent people of faith from more than a dozen religious denominations and are based in nearly 20 different communities in Kansas.

The HRC recently released a report, titled “Disregarding the Best Interest of the Child: License to Discriminate In Child Welfare Services,” detailing the harms of efforts to write anti-LGBTQ discrimination by child welfare agencies into law. Statistics suggest that an estimated two million LGBTQ adults in the US are interested in adoption, but the LGBTQ community often remains an untapped resource when it comes to finding families for children and youth in foster care.

Research consistently shows that

LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, as many have been rejected by their families of origin because of their LGBTQ status, and are especially vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment while in foster care. SB 284 will only exacerbate these challenges faced by LGBTQ young people.

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

Courtesy of the HRC

Lambda Legal: Kansas adds name to roll of states denying children loving families

NEW YORK – [On May 18], Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed into law Kansas SB 284, a license-to-discriminate bill that allows taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to reject foster or adoptive parents based upon the agency’s religious beliefs. Colyer’s action comes one week after Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed SB 1140, a similar bill, making Kansas the second state to enact an antiLGBT bill this year.

Currey Cook, counsel and director, Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project, Lambda Legal, issued the following statement:

“It is incredible and unconscionable that states across the country would rather hurt foster kids – children at their most vulnerable – by denying them loving homes just because prospective foster parents might be a same-

CDC ROLL BACK

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ing its responsibility to LGBT Americans.”

[On May 17], at the conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research in Denver, Colorado, a CDC official disclosed that the BRFSS module on sexual orientation and gender identity that the CDC provides to states will no longer be included among BRFSS optional modules starting in 2019. The sexual orientation and gender identity module has been an optional module since 2014 and has been used by over 30 states and territories.

sex couple, or Jewish, or any number of other irrelevant and discriminatory rationales. And make no mistake: this is not simply about the sexual orientation or gender identity of prospective foster or adoptive parents. In South Carolina, a government-funded funded foster care agency cited a Jewish family’s faith in rejecting their involvement in the agency’s programming, and a Catholic agency is suing the City of Philadelphia to block enforcement of that city’s nondiscrimination ordinance.

“There are children in the Kansas child welfare system in desperate need of loving families. And there are loving and qualified LGBT individuals and couples in Kansas who want nothing more than to give those children the warm, caring, and safe environment they deserve. SB 284 works to withhold

According to the CDC, “[the BRFSS] is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about US residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.” The BRFSS is a federal-state partnership, and it “collects data in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and three US territories. [The] BRFSS completes more than 400,000 adult interviews each year, making it the largest continuously conducted health survey system in the world.”

“The CDC’s announcement appears to be part of an alarming trend within the federal

those families from those children. It gives special permission to religiously affiliated, government-funded child welfare agencies to place the agencies’ beliefs above the needs and best interests of children in care and discriminate against parents who are trying to provide a loving home.

“This afternoon Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed this hateful bill into law, thereby withholding loving homes from Kansas children. To deny qualified parents eager to foster or adopt children in need of loving homes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or particular religious belief is not only wrong but impacts the most vulnerable the most.”

Lambda Legal asks any youth or adults who have experienced discrimination in

government aimed at limiting our knowledge about LGBT people, despite the fact that these data are vital to policy making and designing evidence-based interventions to improve health and well-being,” said Adam P. Romero, the Williams Institute’s Director of Federal Policy.

“Importantly, the BRFSS provided the first representative snapshot of transgender adult health and socioeconomic status. These data showed us that transgender people are indeed at higher risk of poverty – confirming what smaller studies conducted in HIV epicenters had observed,” said Conron.

Among other important studies, the

Oklahoma’s or Kansas’s child welfare systems to call its Help Desk at 212-809-8585 or complete this online form: http://www. lambdalegal.org/help/form.

Read more about Lambda Legal’s work with children in out-of-home care at http:// www.lambdalegal.org/issues/youth-in-outof-home-care.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.

Courtesy of Lambda Legal

BRFSS served as the basis for Williams Institute estimates on the number of youth and adults in the US who identify as transgender.

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

AHF highlights condoms as “Lifesaver” as STDs

skyrocket in California

World’s largest AIDS organization to celebrate LGBTQ equality and promote condom use for HIV and STD prevention at more than two dozen Pride celebrations across the country

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is proud to join the LGBTQ community in celebrating the 2018 Gay Pride season through its participation in over two dozen Pride events across the country – in many locations, with its new “Lifesaver” buses wrapped with a lighthearted and colorful condom and Pride-themed graphic.

This year AHF is hailing condoms as a “Lifesaver” in the Pride artwork for our messaging, placards, posters and buses –all the more timely given the unfortunate explosion of STD rates in California and nationwide.

The “Lifesaver” artwork for AHF’s 2018 Pride season features a simple rendering of an unfurled condom (horizontal, with no human or body visible) placed on a colorful red background. The condom itself has six multi-colored bands of color echoing the iconic rainbow flag, a symbol used by LGBTQ communities for decades and an ever-present feature at Pride celebrations and parades around the globe. At the same time, the six bands of color on the condom also evoke or suggest a roll of equally iconic Lifesaver® candies. Text on the image, placed directly over the side of the condom simply reads, “Lifesaver.”

GALLOP POLL

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The 67% who support same-sex marriage is the highest number achieved since Gallup began polling the issue in 1977.

Typical responses were highly correlated to political party affiliation. Eightythree percent of self-identified Democrats said they support legally recognized samesex marriage, compared to only 44% of Republican respondents.

Seventy-one percent of independents said they were in favor of legally recognized same-sex marriage.

Gallup said that the increased support for gay marriage could be the result of greater numbers of Lesbian, Gay, and Bi adults getting married in the US.

AHF’s choice of “Lifesaver” art and messaging for its Pride participations nationwide underscores the urgent need for a return to promotion and use of condoms as an effective tool for HIV and STD prevention.

2017 STD Rates in California (from the recent CA Department of Health Provisional Data Report)

• Chlamydia, up 9% in 2017 in California from 2016 (218,710 cases, and the highest number since reporting began in 1990);

• Gonorrhea, up 16% in 2017 to 75,450 California cases, with 33% found among those under age 25; and

In 2017, Gallup revealed that around one in 10 Lesbian, Gay, or Bi adults were married to a same-sex partner.

“This means that Americans are more likely to know someone who has married a same-sex partner, and the visibility of these marriages may be playing a role in overturning some folks’ previously held opposition to their legal status,” Gallup said.

The poll also showed that 50% of respondents think Gay, Lesbian, and Bi people are born with their sexuality. This is also the highest number seen in Gallup polling.

A further 10% of respondents said that they believed same-sex attraction is a trait that stems both from biological and environmental factors. Only 30% said samesex attraction is due to environment or upbringing.

Some 4% of people attributed being Gay

There will be no evolution

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

The Arizona Department of Education wants to remove the word “evolution” from K-12 science standards, or at least qualify the word as a “theory” that remains unproven.

In a recently released new draft of science standards, “evolution” is crossed out wherever it appears and replaced with various other words or phrases – “biological diversity” being the most common substitute.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas is said to be behind the proposed changes. At a political event last year Douglas confirmed she believes in the theory of “intelligent design,” which asserts that biological diversity is the result of a divine plan rather than evolution of species from common ancestors.

Douglas has been Superintendent of Instruction since January 2015. Shortly after she took office, she was the target of an unsuccessful recall attempt, and her approval rating among Arizona voters stands at only 16%.

In a May 23 editorial, the Arizona Daily Star newspaper denounced Douglas’s draft standards.

“The effort by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas to

• Syphilis, up 20% to 13,605 cases—the highest number in California since 1987.

AHF has been promoting sexual health and STD screening through its innovative public awareness and billboard campaigns for the past several years in response to the overall skyrocketing rates of STDs nationwide, particularly among young people and men-who-have-sex-with-men. Last week in Los Angeles, it launched its “Gonorrhea Alert” billboard campaign, a nationwide effort to educate about a drug-resistant strain of the STD.

The “Gonorrhea Alert” billboard campaign is a follow-up and parallels

to “something else,” and another 6% said they were “unsure” what caused people to be Gay, Lesbian, or Bi.

According to Gallup, the results should be viewed in a positive light by the LGBT rights movement.

“The nature vs. nurture argument about the origins of sexual orientation has been an integral part of the gay rights debate over the years, and it is clear why,” Gallup said.

“Americans who believe gays and lesbians are born with their sexual orientation are much more supportive of gay rights than are those who say orientation is due to upbringing and environment.”

Like the marriage issue, responses to this question are highly correlated with political views. The research showed that left-leaning and nonreligious people – like college graduates, Democrats, and those

AHF’s syphilis prevention and treatment billboard campaigns that have included “Syphilis is Serious” billboards which launched earlier this year and the “Syphilis Explosion” outdoor advertising campaign which first starting running in 2014. That campaign was followed by AHF’s “Syphilis Tsunami” campaign, which ran in Los Angeles in 2016.

To find locations for free STD/HIV screening, visit www.freestdcheck.org. In Seattle, the AHF clinic is located at 1016 E. Pike St., Suite 200, above AHF’s Out of the Closet Thrift Store. To schedule a free appointment, call (206) 320-2020.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 900,000 individuals in 39 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/ Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and 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: @aidshealthcare

Courtesy of AIDS Healthcare Foundation

who don’t go to church – were more likely to support the view that being Gay is innate.

In contrast, those least likely to support this theory were those who classed themselves as Republicans (36%), conservatives (34%), and weekly churchgoers (36%).

“Americans have gradually moved toward the belief that being gay or lesbian is not ‘caused’ by upbringing and environmental factors but rather is a trait a person is born with,” said Gallup.

“This could have important implications for public support for gay rights, as those who believe nature has a hand in sexual orientation are much more likely to be sympathetic to affording gays equal rights in marriage.”

in Arizona, please

Arizona

remove evolution, both the word and its explanations, from parts of the state K-12 science standards must be called out for what it is: a move to replace scientific fact with religious belief in Arizona public schools,” the paper said.

The National Center for Science Education also opposes the proposed changes.

“Arizona public school students deserve to understand a science as the science community does,” said the center’s deputy director, Glenn Branch.

The Secular Coalition for Arizona is concerned because it supports the separation of church and state.

“As taxpayer-funded institutions, public

schools are constitutionally obligated to teach a religiously neutral curriculum based on the best available evidence and science,” said Tory Roberg, the Coalition’s Director of Government Affairs.

Roberg added that she is worried that the proposed changes will set back education in the state.

“Parents like me should be concerned because our kids need to be prepared to compete in a scientifically sound world,” Roberg said. “Colleges and universities use evolutionary basics and build on this in advanced science classes. We can’t give our kids a second-rate education. We must demand the best.”

The Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape survey indicated that 62% of adults in the United States believe humans evolved over time. About 25% of adults participating in the study said they believe evolution was due to a supreme being.

The Pew survey also found that 67% of Arizona adults consider themselves to be Christian. While 6% of adults consider themselves part of non-Christian faiths, 27% are “unaffiliated,” and 2% listed other faiths, such as Unitarians, New Age, and Native American religions.