Issue 18 Volume 45
Celebrating 43 Years!
FRIDAY May 5, 2017 FREE!
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Seattle Transgender Film Festival
Gay City presents Rising Up
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May 11-14 & 18-21 / 7pm General Admission $15 - $20 / Students & Seniors $12
FESTIVAL OF RESISTANCE: House passes Trumpcare bill Thousands march on May Day It could be deadly for LGBT Americans
May Day protesters march through Downtown Seattle – Photo by Parker Miles Blohm
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Thousands of people marched from Judkins Park to Seattle Center on May 1, while church leaders met at St. Mark’s Ca-
thedral to relaunch the Sanctuary Movement. And at City Hall, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to pass a city income tax by July 10.
see MAY DAY page 5
Bizarre developments in Ed Murray case
Donald Trump and Paul Ryan applaud after House passes Trumpcare – Photo by Evan Vucci
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer By a narrow 217-213 vote, the House passed the so-called American Health Care Act (AHCA, or Trumpcare) on May 4.
In a bizarre new development in the allegations against Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, the lawyer for the man suing Murray brought forward a new accuser.
Attorney Lincoln Beauregard filed a court document on May 3, alleging that Maurice Levon Jones also had sex with Murray when Jones was a teenager. Along with the handwritten statement
see NEW ACCUSER page 4
see TRUMPCARE page 14
Lawyer for man accusing Ed Murray fined for “flagrant disregard” of legal norms
Lincoln Beauregard – Photo courtesy Seattle P-I
Mayor Ed Murray – Photo courtesy of Robin Stein
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
House Speaker Paul Ryan teamed up with Donald Trump to coerce Republicans to vote for the measure, even though most had not yet read the bill and it had not yet
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Lincoln Beauregard, attorney for the man accusing Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of paying him for sex when he was underage, is guilty of “flagrant disregard for established
legal norms” and must pay a $5,000 fine. The judgment was handed down May 4 by King County Superior Court Judge Veronica Alicea-Galván. Murray’s lawyers had requested the ruling after accusing
see LAWYER page 4
2 Seattle Gay News
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Celebrating 41 Years!
Coming to terms with Marsha P. Johnson by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News A couple of years ago, the author and director of the Academy Award-nominated “How To Survive a Plague,” David France, contacted me for his next project. We chatted a few times and then he arrived at my door with a complete film crew and research staff. He was going to spend the day filming me talking about my sister from Gay Liberation Front in New York, Marsha P. Johnson. Last week, France was kind enough to ask me to the Tribeca Film Festival for a showing of that film, now titled “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.” [This film was show at Seattle’s TWIST (LGBTQ) Film Festival last year and previously.] It’s sort of a “documentary who done it,” since Johnson was found dead in the Hudson River, off of Christopher Street, in 1992. Officials claimed it was a suicide but the LGBT community felt that something else was at play – and, just like in other cities, Johnson’s death was marked as just another trans death by officials. Her death now takes on a life of its own with her spirit and memory leading a new struggle – to end violence against trans people and to bring those responsible for such violence to justice. When France first called me, I was already impressed by his knowledge about Johnson, but the scope of it was way beyond any expectation. For me, Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were personal sisters in our wellspent youth as part of New York’s famed Gay Liberation Front. But that was 1969-71,
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Marsha P. Johnson – Photo courtesy of Alchetron.com
a long time ago, and much history has taken place for all of us since. The way France used the camera and old video to explain the story was amazing, and for any of us who called them sisters, it was emotional. To me, it always was Johnson’s laugh, which was infectious, but there was something else the film showcased – the class struggle within the community, and how that changed both Johnson and Rivera. The two are often referred to as the mothers of the trans movement, a title that can change you because of others’ expectations of who you really are. And they both also had their own demons to deal with. Rivera wanted to be a leader, but in the end couldn’t live up to the image others wished to create for her. Johnson was a symbol who asked for nothing more than to please people, and she had a generosity bigger
then anyone else I’ve witnessed since; she had little to offer and literally would give you the shirt off her back – a spirit that is in short supply these days. For those of us who see Johnson and Rivera as our sisters in the early days of “gay liberation” – and to this point had never looked at the entirety of their lives but saw them frozen at that pivotal time – the film showed the toll that time period took on them. It’s something that many of us who loved and worked with them will have to comprehend.
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Seattle Gay News 3
Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. His recently published memoir, And Then I Danced, is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or at your favorite bookseller.
NEW ACCUSER continued from cover
Lawyer posts King County Jail selfie with new accuser from Jones, Beauregard also filed a selfie showing himself clutching the document, with Jones, in an orange jumpsuit, on the other side of a plexiglass barrier. Beauregard later clarified that Jones is being held in King County Jail for failure to appear on a drug warrant. “I was introduced to Ed Murray by Delvon Heckard as a teenager,” Jones’s statement says. “Mr. Murray was known for patronizing child prostitutes at the time. I have been to Mr. Murray’s apartment in Capitol Hill too. Mr. Murray gave me money for sex. I am not part of any right-wing conspiracy. I am also gay. Signed May 2, 2017. Maurice Jones.” Delvonn Heckard – whoever wrote the May 3 court filing misspelled his first name – filed suit against Murray April 6, charging that Murray paid him for sex in the mid1980s, when Heckard was only 15 years old. Heckard’s lawyers publicized other allegations of child sexual abuse against Murray in an attempt to validate their client’s
LAWYER
continued from cover
Lincoln Beauregard must pay $5K, judge says
Maurice Levon Jones (r) smiles alongside his lawyer Lincoln Beauregard – Photo courtesy MyNorthwest.com
claims. Jones is now the fourth person to accuse Murray. Beauregard did not explain why he thought it added to Jones’s credibility to file a photo of him in jail. Murray’s spokesperson, Jeff Reading, immediately responded with a statement denouncing Jones and Beauregard. “Mayor Murray does not know this person,” Reading said. “This is an ambush, copycat, false accusation that is being made without any details, evidence, timeline, or anything at all to substantiate vits veracity. Mayor Murray has never had inappropriate relations with any minor, and Mayor Murray has never
paid for sex. This allegation is false.” Reading added that the “read-‘em-[and]weep selfie of Beauregard and the beaming accuser is extremely odd and unsettling.” Longtime friends of Murray also came forward to counter charges against the mayor. “I remember just dragging him out to the bars every weekend and just saying ‘Hey, let’s go out, let’s go dancing, let’s hit some of the clubs in Seattle,’” Manny Apostol told KING5 news. Apostol said he spent so much time with Murray in the 1980s that it would have been hard for the mayor to hide a secret sex life. “Spending so much time with him, I
Beauregard of headline-grabbing antics. Murray’s lawyers pointed out, for example, that Beauregard filed a subpoena and other court documents suggesting that an unrelated incident at Murray’s house last June was a “cover-up” of illicit sexual activity involving Murray’s staff and Seattle police. Murray called those claims “outlandish” and released a statement from five friends who had been at the house that night, rebutting the claims. Beauregard also released a strange selfie showing him with another of Murray’s alleged accusers in a King County jail.
Supporting Murray’s legal team, Seattle University ethics professor John Strait wrote in a court filing that he had never seen a lawyer behave this way “in over 45 years of practice.” Murray spokesperson Jeff Reading said that Alicea-Galván’s ruling would help preserve the mayor’s right to due process. “We’ve said all along that opposing counsel seems more intent on trying his case in the court of public opinion than in a court of law, and today the judge agreed with us,” Reading said in a statement. “Clearly, the judge was disturbed by op-
cannot even imagine him doing what supposedly happened. I believe him 100 percent, absolutely,” Apostol said. “Which is why I’m doing this interview.” Another friend defending Murray was Mark Kramer, who worked with Murray in Portland in the mid-1980s and was his neighbor and friend. “Ed was comfortable in his sexuality, he was out, he was social, he had friends,” Kramer said. Kramer said he also knew Jeff Simpson, one of the men who say they had sex with Murray as teenagers. Simpson was Murray’s foster child for a short time next door to Kramer. According to Murray, he sent Simpson back to a group home when Simpson was unable or unwilling to stop using drugs. Kramer says he saw nothing suspicious in Murray’s relationship with the young man. “We didn’t see [Murray] cavorting, socializing with any other teenagers, underage folks. He had a social life, he had friends, as I recall he had a boyfriend for that period of time. So there was nothing unusual that we saw in that relationship [with Simpson],” Kramer explained. Murray continues to assert his innocence and says the accusations against him when he is running for re-election are politically motivated. The senior partner in the law firm representing Heckard donated money to I-1515, the 2016 anti-Transgender initiative, which would have repealed part of Murray’s signature legislative achievement, the 2006 LGBT civil rights bill. A similar measure, I-1552, is now being circulated for signatures and may be on the November ballot.
posing counsel’s antics, and is taking the rare but serious step of sanctioning him. Mayor Murray deserves a right to due process, and it is our hope that the court’s actions today will prevent opposing counsel from further undermining this basic right.” Beauregard told reporters he will appeal the sanctions on “constitutional” grounds, and will push forward with the lawsuit charging Murray with abusing his client. “I’ll write a check, then we’ll go fight the case on its merits,” Beauregard said.
Victory for workers: State minimum wage law is constitutional, judge rules by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Kittitas County Superior Court judge ruled on April 28 that I-1433, raising the state minimum wage to $13.50 an hour by 2020, is constitutional. The cities of Seattle and SeaTac have established their own $15 per hour minimum wage laws by ordinance. I-1433 sets the minimum wage for workers in other parts of the state. Judge Scott Sparks rejected all the claims in a lawsuit brought by the business groups that originally opposed the initiative: the Washington Retail Federation, Washington Farm Bureau, National Federation of Independent Business, Northwest Food Processors Association, and Washington Food Industry Association. The business organizations were also joined as plaintiffs by three businesses in Kittitas and Chelan Counties. I-1433 was passed by Washington voters in November by a convincing 57%-to-43% margin.
4 Seattle Gay News
Sparks said in a letter accompanying his ruling that he adheres to the “bedrock principle” that judges should not interfere with laws enacted by the people without a clear legal necessity. That means plaintiffs have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the law they are challenging is unconstitutional, he wrote. In this case, “plaintiffs have failed to establish that I-1433 has violated the Washington State constitution in any manner,” Sparks said. The plaintiffs in the suit claimed that I-1433 violates the state constitution because it includes more than one subject matter, both minimum wage and paid sick leave. Several Tim Eyman initiatives have been struck down by courts on precisely this score. Sparks sided with the state, however, saying that I-1433 was about labor standards generally, which includes both the minimum wage and paid sick leave. Plaintiffs also said the title of the initiative inadequately described the contents of the measure, and that the initiative added to sick-leave laws without properly identify-
May 5, 2017
ing the existing laws it was amending. Sparks ruled to the contrary. The title of a bill “need not be an index to the contents,” he wrote, but rather it should give a general idea of the scope and purpose of the measure. Sparks also said mandatory paid sick leave was a new category of employee-
leave law, and therefore it was exempt from the requirement that the law being amended had to be set forth in full. Tony Malandra, a spokesperson for the National Federation of Independent Business, said his organization was “discussing the next steps with the [anti-initiative] coalition.”
Celebrating 41 Years!
MAY DAY
continued from cover
Thousands march on May Day while churches promise sanctuary for immigrants & City Council Trump-proofs Seattle Union workers and immigrants joined in a long march – larger than in recent years – through central Seattle. Along the way, marchers paused at some sites to support ongoing struggles. At 12th and Alder, for example, the march stopped to offer solidarity to a “popup block party” protesting plans for a new youth detention center. The column then proceeded to Seattle University, where the school administration is stalling a union contract for adjunct professors. Downtown, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and UNITE HERE (hotel and restaurant employees) lined the march route next to the new Amazon Doppler building to defend Muslim workers’ right to pray. Unlike previous years, the Seattle march saw few arrests and no violence, in spite of pro-Trump counterprotestors gathered at Westlake Park. In the end, pro- and anti-Trump forces shared a “peace joint” and sipped Pepsi together in an ironic reference to a Kendell Jenner soda commercial. Earlier in the day, church leaders gathered at St. Mark’s Cathedral on 10th Avenue to promise unconditional support and sanctuary to refugees. St. Mark’s is the headquarters of the local Episcopal diocese. The Roman Catholic center, St. James Cathedral, also participated. Seattle was one of the pioneer cities in the original sanctuary movement during the civil war in El Salvador, from 1979 to 1992, and church leaders said they would
Pro and anti-Trump protesters share a “peace joint” – Photo courtesy The Seattle Times
relaunch the movement. “On this day we commit ourselves to protect refugees, documented and undocumented. ... Our religious duty is to welcome the stranger as neighbor,” said Rev. Joanne Engquist of Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Engquist quoted an evangelical church martyr, the Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis, in a famous sermon on II Corinthians: “Christianity stands or falls by its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power, and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear, rather than too much.” Church leaders pledged to take four actions: – Offer “long-term, publicly communi-
cated hospitality” for individuals and families at risk of separation from loved ones, “especially children” – Organize a “rapid-response hub and support congregations, who will serve as places of respite and refuge on a short-term basis in the case of local raids, sweeps, or communal fear of harassment or hate violence” – Provide escorts for immigrants going to community services, schools, hospitals, and “sensitive locations,” as well as appointments with ICE, court hearings, and other places that might put immigrants in fear of arrest – Counter hate “rhetoric and action that prevents immigrants or refugees from full participation” in community life. As marchers made their way through
Seattle’s streets, the City Council met and passed a resolution calling for a city income tax on high earners. In their resolution, councilmembers committed to produce a tax ordinance by July 10. Part of the Trump-Proof Seattle campaign led by the Transit Riders Union, the idea of the city income tax is that it will likely be challenged in court, setting the stage for a state Supreme Court ruling on whether cities have the right to impose income taxes on their residents. Campaign organizers said they think it likely the current court will overturn a Depression-era precedent that considered income taxes as unconstitutional taking of personal property.
OBITUARY IN MEMORIAM: Local queer rights pioneer Tamara Turner
Tamara A. Turner March 27, 1940 ~ March 22, 2017
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Tamara A. Turner passed away on March 22, 2017 in Seattle, after a long battle with leukemia. Growing up in Seattle, she graduated from Roosevelt High School. She earned a BA in history and a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Washington. Tamara worked for various organizations as a librarian, including Rainier School in Buckley, Northwest Biotherapeutics in Bothell, and Pacific N.W. Cancer Foundation. From 1977 to 1994 she served as the Director of Medical Library Services at Children’s Regional Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle. During that time, she was heavily involved in SAHLC (Seattle Area Hospital Libraries Consortium), an organization that initiated mutual projects and collaboration among these medical libraries. Compassion and work on behalf of others were Tamara’s hallmark. She made a lifetime commitment to revolutionary feminism when she joined the Freedom Socialist Party and Radical Women in the early 1970s. She led in developing the groups’
understanding of LGBTQ liberation and co-authored the book Gay Resistance: The Hidden History. She was on the initial staff of the Freedom Socialist newspaper, and masterminded its humor spin-off, “The Scrocialist.” Her social activism motivated her to play a major role in negotiating the first Pierce County Library Contract, and to perform in the Alice B. Theater play Hidden History: True Stories from Seattle’s Gay and Lesbian Elders, documenting the performers’ lives before the presence of the gay liberation movement. Besides Tamara’s many hobbies, she had a passion for music, books, cinema, and of course her cats. She will be remembered for her witty sense of humor, optimism, enthusiasm and strength of character. Tamara is survived by brothers Michael, (Cindy Johnson), Ralph, (Caryl), niece Lisa Turner, and her longtime friend and companion Raya Fidel. Memorial gifts may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A memorial celebration will be held Sunday, June 18 at New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave S. in Seattle. Write or call for information: (206) 985-4621, fspnatl@igc.org.
May 5, 2017
Seattle Gay News 5
University Lutheran Church culminates their year-long 100th Anniversary Celebration with a special worship service on Sunday, May 7 ating a video series highlighting the great things about our community and compiling a commemorative booklet highlighting our first 100 years. We’re excited to see where the Spirit leads us in our next century. About University Lutheran Church
Pride Parade with Bishop Unti – Photo courtesy of University Lutheran Church
University Lutheran Church in Seattle culminates their year-long 100th Anniversary Celebration with a special worship service on Sunday, May 7th beginning at 9:30am. We are pleased to welcome Bishop Kirby Unti to our pulpit that day, and we anticipate raising the rafters with special music as well. All are welcome to join us for this festive service as well as the joyful reception to follow. We are located at 1604
NE 50th St. This has been a busy year of celebration for ULC, beginning with our June 5, 2016 kick-off and the raising of our commissioned 100th Anniversary Banners. Anniversary activities have included guest preaching by former pastors, honoring those in the congregation who have been members for more than 50 years, breaking bread and sharing stories at potlucks, cre-
ULC is a progressive Christian community, committed to welcoming everyone by embracing God’s love and sharing that love with those around us. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to honor the dignity of every person and the intrinsic value of every creature, to celebrate the full humanity of every child, woman, and man, and to be faithful stewards of planet Earth. As a primary expression of this vocation, ULC is committed to be an Advocating Congregation, speaking to elected officials and corporations on behalf of people who are marginalized or oppressed. Using letters, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations, we strive for justice and peace for all people in our community, state, nation and the world, and for the well being of God’s creation. ULC participates as a Greening Congregation with the ELCA’s Earth Ministry. Our commitment to the care of God’s creation motivates us to be good stewards of the resources that we have been given both individually and as a faith community. To express our commitment to the full equality and acceptance of all persons, ULC is a Reconciling In Christ (RIC) Con-
gregation. We publicly welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. We affirm this welcome in our ULC hospitality statements by specifically declaring that people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome. Our commitment to diversity also includes our worship services. Within the framework of a traditional worship service, we offer music and prayers from many cultures and styles during the course of the church year, including African, Latino, African-American spiritual, global, Taize, and others. We are here to embrace a spirit of renewal as together we continually strive to understand what it means to follow God, to build upon what others have done before us and move boldly into the future. We are called to be Christ in the world. We Choose Love. University Lutheran Church 1604 NE 50th Street Seattle, WA 98105 206-525-7074 www.UniversityLutheranSeattle.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/ulcseattle/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/ UC1_0pgjiBZt59IxKNJpIOIQ Courtesy of University Lutheran Church
POZSeattle celebrates 18th anniversary in Seattle Come celebrate with us!! Please join POZSeattle in celebrating our 18th anniversary in Seattle, at a “faceto-face” social networking group for HIV positive men and their friends. The festivities will take place Wednesday, May 10th from 6-8:15pm at the Cuff Complex (13th & Pine). Meet us in the downstairs bar & patio for socializing to catch-up with old friends, to make new
ones, and a whole lot of fun. A special BBQ fare (Chicken & Ribs) will be provided…with all the extras. We will be asking for a suggested donation of $5.00 to offset the cost of providing this for YOU our loyal supporters for the past 18 years. No one is ever turned away due to lack of funds. Beverages will be provided as always by the Cuff at regular prices, and again is for all HIV-Positive men and their friends, family, support group, regardless
of age, shape, size, color, or gender identity. Special activities for the event include Raffle drawings for some fabulous prizes & our ever-popular 50/50 Raffle! All of this to say “Thank you, Seattle” for 18 wonderful years of social activities for us, by us!! Your friends at POZSeattle
ROOTS to host community forum on LGBTQ homeless youth on May 10 Greetings, My name is Jordan Beaudry, and I am the Volunteer Services Manager at ROOTS Young Adult Shelter. ROOTS is the state’s largest young adult homeless shelter; we serve 45 guests, ages 18-25, each night. Many of our guests are members of the LGBTQ community, and we’re planning an event on May 10th to highlight the intersections between youth homelessness, queerness and race. Below is a blurb describing the event. Are you interested in learning more about the barriers faced by homeless youth in the U-District? Join [43rd District State]
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May 5, 2017
Representative Nicole Macri, Monisha Harrell of Equal Rights Washington, community activist Nancy Amidei, ROOTS Anti-Oppression Team Co-Chair Karisa Morikawa, and ROOTS guests from 6:30pm-8pm on Wednesday, May 10th at University Christian Church [4731 15th Ave NE, Seattle] for ROOTS’ Youth Homelessness Community Forum. At this event, we will learn from the direct experiences of homeless youth and hear from advocates and experts about the intersections between youth homelessness, queerness, and race. Bring your questions and participate in our audience Q&A. RSVP to volunteer@rootsinfo.org. We hope to see you there!
Warmly, Jordan Beaudry Volunteer Services Manager He/Him/His Pronouns ROOTS Young Adult Shelter 1415 NE 43rd St. Seattle, WA 98105 tel: 206-632-1635 fax: 206-632.5165 www.rootsinfo.org ROOTS builds community and fosters dignity through access to essential services and a safe place to sleep for young adults experiencing homelessness. Courtesy of ROOTS
Celebrating 41 Years!
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Seattle Gay News 7
8 Seattle Gay News
May 5, 2017
Celebrating 41 Years!
Visit us online www.sgn.org
May 5, 2017
Seattle Gay News 9
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Seattle Gay News 11
Lambda Legal sues Mississippi funeral home for refusing to transport and cremate body of gay man After learning Robert Huskey was married to a man, the funeral home refused to accept his body, devastating Huskey’s husband and family Picayune, MS – On Tuesday, May 2, Lambda Legal announced it has joined a lawsuit against a Picayune, MS funeral home for refusing to provide any service for Robert Huskey after his death, leaving his 82-year-old husband, Jack Zawadski, desperate to make other arrangements in the hours after his beloved spouse’s passing. The suit seeks damages for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, and the intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. “What happened to this family is shocking,” Lambda Legal Counsel Beth Littrell said. “Almost immediately after losing his husband and partner of more than 50 years, Jack Zawadski’s grief was compounded by injustice and callous treatment from the very place that should have helped ease his suffering. Following Bob’s death, the funeral home, the only one in the area with a crematorium, refused to honor agreed-upon funeral arrangements after learning that Bob and Jack were married.” “I felt as if all the air had been knocked out of me,” Zawadski said. “Bob was my life, and we had always felt so welcome in this community. And then, at a moment of such personal pain and loss, to have someone do what they did to me, to us, to Bob,
I just couldn’t believe it. No one should be put through what we were put through.” Jack and Bob were a loving couple for 52 years who moved to Picayune, Mississippi 20 years ago to retire. They loved Picayune and felt welcome in the community. After state marriage bans were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, they married in Mississippi. Bob was in failing health, and soon after the wedding, he entered a nursing home. In late April, 2016, knowing Bob’s time was short, their nephew, John Gaspari, made arrangements with Picayune Funeral Home to cremate Bob after his death at Picayune Funeral Home’s on-site crematorium – the only crematorium in Pearl River County. After Bob died on May 11, 2016, the nursing home provided Picayune Funeral Home with necessary information confirming Bob’s death and identifying Jack as his husband. Shortly thereafter, the nursing home called their nephew John and informed him that Picayune Funeral Home was now refusing to pick up the body and perform the cremation. Since the nursing home could not keep Bob’s body on site, Jack and John had to scramble to locate another funeral home with an on-site crematorium. They located one in Hattiesburg, some 90 miles away. By that time, because Bob’s body could not be housed at the nursing home for the hours it would take for the Hattiesburg hearse to arrive, they had to find yet another funeral home in Picayune willing to
measurable anguish to Jack and John’s loss. This should not have happened to them, and should not be allowed to happen again.” The lawsuit, Zawadski v. Brewer Funeral Services, was filed by Lambda Legal and co-counsel Rob McDuff of Jackson, in Mississippi’s Circuit Court of Pearl River County. The suit names Picayune Funeral Home’s parent company, Brewer Funeral Services, and its owners as defendants. You can read a copy of the complaint here: http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/ legal-docs/zawadski_ms_20170502_complaint Watch a video featuring Jack Zawadski and his nephew, John Gaspari, speaking of their experience here: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=llHLuCQNY3Y&feature=y outu.be
Jack Zawadski looks at old photographs of his deceased husband, Robert Huskey. – Photo Courtesy of Slate.com
transport Bob’s body to Hattiesburg. “John made all necessary arrangements before Bob’s passing in order to shield his 82-year-old uncle from additional suffering and to allow friends to gather to support Jack in his grief,” Littrell explained. “Instead, Bob’s peaceful passing was marred by turmoil, distress and indignity, adding im-
Handling the case for Lambda Legal are Beth Littrell and Susan Sommer. They are joined by co-counsel Rob McDuff, a longtime civil rights lawyer based in Jackson, MS. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Courtesy of Lambda Legal
You can sue Kim Davis Scientists use gene editing to snip out HIV DNA Possible cure for HIV?
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Kim Davis at State of the Union address, 2016 – Photo courtesy Politico
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Remember Kim Davis? Well, now you can sue her if she denied you a marriage license. Davis was the county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, who refused to issue marriage licenses for same-sex couples even after the US Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Davis that legalized Lesbian and Gay marriages. In fact, Davis refused to do her duty as a public official and issue the licenses even after she was explicitly ordered to do so by federal courts. She was then sued by samesex couples whose marriages were held up by her obstinant refusal to do her job. Eventually the state of Kentucky let her off the hook by removing from marriage license forms the space that required her signature. Nevertheless, the couples who sued her incurred court costs, and they went back to court to force her to pay $233,058 in legal fees and costs. Davis’s lawyers – the anti-Gay Liberty Counsel – argued that since the state of Kentucky intervened to remove county
12 Seattle Gay News
clerks’ names from state marriage licenses, the issue was moot. A lower court ruled in Davis’s favor, but the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said on May 2 that Davis can, indeed, be sued for her initial refusal to issue same-sex licenses. The three-judge panel of the appeals court found that Gay plaintiffs David Ermold and David Moore, a couple who asked Davis for a marriage license, could recover costs from Davis. Their case now goes back to the original Kentucky state court, where it will be tried on its merits. Michael Gartland, one of Ermold and Moore’s lawyers, is hopeful that the ruling will stand, now that the case has been sent back to Kentucky. “The next step will be to go to discovery and go to trial, where I am confident we will obtain a judgment against Davis,” he said. The 6th Circuit’s reasoning would apply to any same-sex couple who had been wronged by Davis. Her attorneys can appeal for an en banc hearing at the 6th Circuit, meaning a trial before all the court’s judges, or they could try to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
May 5, 2017
Researchers at Temple University announced on May 1 that they had successfully used a gene-editing technique to snip out HIV DNA from the genetic code of lab mice. Their finding, published in the journal Molecular Therapy, may indicate a path toward a cure for HIV infections. The study, done in cooperation with University of Pittsburgh scientists, builds on previous experiments at Temple that involved genetic alterations to HIV viruses grown in lab dishes. The new study is the first to demonstrate that HIV replication can be shut down and the virus eliminated from animal cells by using the gene-editing technology called CRISPR/Cas 9. The method combines a synthetic “guide RNA” – which researchers describe as a genetic analog of the search function on a computer – with an enzyme that acts like a molecular scissors. The study, co-led by Kamel Khalili, director of Temple’s center for neurovirology, successfully used the gene-editing strategy in two mouse models. One represented a newly acquired HIV infection, when the virus is actively replicating. The other represented a chronic, or latent, infection. A cure for HIV has eluded researchers because the virus can maintain a latent reservoir of infection in human cells. Modern antiviral drugs suppress replication of the virus so that only a tiny number of immune cells still carry the virus – so few, in fact, that the virus is undetectable – but if medication is stopped, the latent virus can begin
to reproduce again. After the success in removing HIV DNA from mice, the next step would be to repeat the study in primates such as monkeys, because they more closely mimic human HIV infection, Khalili said in a news release. CRISPR technology is only six years old and has not yet been used in humans. Last year, a federal advisory panel approved a University of Pennsylvania proposal to use CRISPR to engineer immune cells to fight certain types of cancer, but the trial must still be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The ability to precisely edit genes is seen as a potentially revolutionary medical tool, and progress in the field is accelerating, scientists say. For example, the University of Pittsburgh also announced on May 1 that it had used CRISPR in mouse models to cut out cancer “fusion” genes – separate genes that fuse and promote malignancy – allowing scientists to combat liver and prostate cancers.
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Congressional Democrats reintroduce LGBT Equality Act by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Congressional Democrats reintroduced the Equality Act with a May 2 press conference in the US Capitol. The bill, first introduced in 2015, would add protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to US civil rights laws, and bar discrimination against LGBT people in employment, public accommodations, federal funding, and other areas where discrimination is already prohibited for other protected classes. The measure is sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and has some 240 co-sponsors, including Washington Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Referring to Donald Trump as the “bully-in-chief,” Murray, speaking at the Democrats’ press conference, recited a litany of Trump administration moves rolling back legal protections for LGBT Americans. “In one of his first actions, President Trump – working alongside Attorney General Sessions and Secretary of Education DeVos – withdrew guidance for schools on the equal treatment of transgender students,” she said. “The Civil Rights Department at HHS is now run by Roger Severino, a frankly appalling choice, who once hailed North Carolina’s transgender bathroom bill as ‘commonsense’ policy. President Trump’s
Gavin Grimm – Photo Courtesy of NBC News
nominee for Secretary of the Army, Mark Green, has a long record of making bigoted, hateful comments about LGBTQ people, including those in uniform. On President Trump’s watch, federal agencies are rolling back efforts to collect data on the needs of LGBTQ Americans from critical surveys, including LGBTQ people with disabilities and older Americans.” Because Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, the bill is not likely to go anywhere in the foreseeable future, but its reintroduction was greeted as a hopeful sign by LGBT activists.
Gavin Grimm, a Transgender high school student whose lawsuit asking for the right to use gender-appropriate restrooms is still pending in federal court, said the measure could help LGBT people live with dignity. “I have had to fight for years to be treated by my school as the young man that I am,” he said in a statement. “Discrimination remains a daily part of life for far too many LGBT people across our country. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with dignity. That is all I have ever wanted for myself, and is something
the Equality Act could help make real. “I am only one person, but I know that I am not alone. I am proud to fight alongside the ACLU, members of Congress, and so many others who are working to ensure a better future for LGBT people.” “Despite the significant progress we’ve made toward equality in the last decade, the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people show just how swiftly many of these hard-fought changes can be rolled back,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. “That is why we need strong federal nondiscrimination legislation for LGBTQ people in employment, housing, education, public accommodations, publicly funded programs, access to credit, and jury service.” “No person’s fundamental rights should be determined by which side of a state line they live on,” said HRC president Chad Griffin. “The Equality Act will once and for all end the unacceptable patchwork of nondiscrimination laws across this country that leaves LGBTQ people at risk. Every American should have a fair chance to earn a living, provide for their families, and live their lives without fear of discrimination. And at its core, that’s what the Equality Act is all about.” HRC also released a list of 92 US corporations – from Abercrombie & Fitch to Xerox – that support the legislation.
Equality Act reintroduced in Congress with unprecedented corporate support 240 members of Congress and more than 90 corporations back bipartisan legislation adding protections for LGBTQ people to federal civil rights laws Equality Act introduced as nearly twothirds of LGBTQ Americans report experiencing discrimination WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, joined with bipartisan lawmakers and an unprecedented number of businesses to announce the re-introduction of the Equality Act – federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws. The bipartisan legislation would provide clear and equal protections under federal law for all Americans in vital areas of life, like employment, access to public spaces, housing, credit, education, jury service, and federally-funded programs. Today, in a majority of U.S. states (31), LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who they are. “No person’s fundamental rights should be determined by which side of a state line they live on,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Equality Act will once and for all end the unacceptable patchwork of non-discrimination laws across this country that leaves LGBTQ people at risk. Every American should have a fair chance to earn a living, provide for their families, and live their lives without fear of discrimination. And at its core, that’s what the Equality Act is all about.” Discrimination is a real and persis-
tent problem for far too many LGBTQ Americans. HRC polling has found that nearly two-thirds of self-identified LGBTQ Americans report experiencing discrimination – including people like Carter Brown, a transgender man from Texas who lost his job after he was outed by his colleagues. Currently, 50 percent of LGBTQ Americans like Mr. Brown live in states where they are at risk of being fired, denied housing, or refused service because of who they are. There is no federal law explicitly protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, and 31 states still lack fully-inclusive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. Today’s announcement included unprecedented support from the business community: 92 major corporations have now joined HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. While the overwhelming majority of America’s leading businesses have already started addressing workplace fairness for LGBTQ employees, these major employers know how important the need is for a federal standard that treats all employees the same no matter which state they live in. The slate of companies endorsing the Equality Act have combined operations in all 50 states, headquarters spanning 23 states, and collectively generate $2.6 trillion in revenue. In total, these companies employ more than 5.8 million people across the United States. The overwhelming majority of Americans support full federal equality for LGBTQ people. Polling released last year by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that support for a bill like the Equality Act topped 70 percent nationally, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
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PRRI’s groundbreaking survey included 42,000 interviews in 50 states and found majority support for the Equality Act in all 50 states. The Equality Act is co-sponsored by 240 members of Congress. It was first introduced in 2015 by Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) and by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ). Major corporations in the HRC Business Coalition for the Equality Act include Abercrombie & Fitch Co.; Accenture; Adobe Systems Inc.; Advanced Micro Devices Inc.; Airbnb Inc.; Alcoa Inc.; Amazon.com Inc.; American Airlines; American Eagle Outfitters; American Express Global Business Travel; Apple Inc.; Arconic; Automatic Data Processing Inc.; Bank of America; Best Buy Co., Inc.; Biogen; Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corp.; Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.; Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.; Brown-Forman Corp.; CA Technologies Inc.; Caesars Entertainment Corp.; Capital One Financial Corp.; Cardinal Health Inc.; Cargill Inc.; Chevron Corp.; Choice Hotels International Inc.; Cisco Systems Inc.; The Coca-Cola Co.; Corning Inc.; Cox Enterprises; CVS Health Corp.; Darden Restaurants Inc.; Delhaize America Inc.; Diageo North America; The Dow Chemical Co.; Dropbox Inc.; E. I. du Pont de Nemours and
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Co. (DuPont); eBay; EMC Corp.; Facebook Inc.; Gap Inc.; General Electric Co.; General Mills Inc.; Google Inc.; The Hershey Company; Hewlett Packard Enterprises; Hilton Worldwide Inc.; HP Inc.; HSN Inc.; Hyatt Hotels Corp.; IBM Corp.; Intel Corp.; InterContinental Hotels Group Americas; Johnson & Johnson; JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Kaiser Permanente; Kellogg Co.; Kenneth Cole Productions; Levi Strauss & Co.; Marriott International Inc.; MasterCard Inc.; McGraw Hill Financial; Microsoft Corp.; Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; Monsanto Co.; Moody’s Corp.; Nike Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corp.; Office Depot Inc.; Oracle Corp.; Orbitz Worldwide Inc.; PepsiCo Inc.; Procter & Gamble Co.; Pure Storage Inc.; Qualcomm Inc.; Replacements Ltd.; Salesforce; SAP America Inc.; Sodexo Inc.; Symantec Corp.; T-Mobile USA Inc.; Target Corp.; Tech Data Corp.; TIAA; Twitter Inc.; Uber Technologies Inc.; Unilever; Warby Parker; Wedding Wire Inc.; Williams-Sonoma Inc.; and Xerox Corp. The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. Courtesy of HRC
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been scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Ryan and other Republican leaders cobbled legislation together at the last minute to appease both right-wing Freedom Caucus members and more moderate Republicans. In the end, only 20 GOP members defected, including Washington’s Dave Reichert and Jaime Herrera Beutler. Not a single Democrat voted for the bill. To unite the two wings of their party – whose split over health care doomed the previous incarnation of the AHCA – GOP leaders crafted two amendments: One would allow states to waive “essential health benefits” requirements for insurers under Obamacare, including requirements that they cover mental health, prescription drug services, maternity care,
and more. A second would allocate $8 billion over five years to help states cover medical care for people with pre-existing conditions. Medical experts say that won’t be nearly enough to protect people who will see their insurance disappear. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the money was a pittance compared with the likely need. “It’s a joke,” she said. “It’s a very sad, deadly joke.” For LGBT Americans, the AHCA could quite literally be deadly. According to a report issued by the prestigious Williams Institute on May 2, many LGBT people with pre-existing conditions – HIV, for example – could be charged so much more under Trumpcare that health insurance would literally be unaffordable. Men who have sex with men are about 6% of the US adult male population but represent over 60% of the people living with HIV in the United States. An estimated one
in six of this group will be diagnosed with HIV over the course of their lives, as compared to one in 51 men in the general population. Transgender people, especially Transgender women of color, are more likely than cisgender people to be living with HIV. In the 2015 US Transgender Survey (USTS), 1.4% of respondents reported they were living with HIV, which is nearly five times the prevalence in the general population (0.3%). Besides HIV infections, research shows that mood and anxiety disorders, attempted suicide, and self-harm are more common among LGB adults than non-LGB people. Studies also indicate that rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and attempted suicide are also elevated among Transgender people. According to the 2015 USTS, 39% of Transgender respondents experienced serious psychological distress in the month be-
fore completing the survey, compared with only 5% of the general population. In addition, LGB people were more likely to report tobacco use, drug use, and alcohol disorders than their non-LGB counterparts. Treatment for all these conditions is now at risk if the Senate adopts Trumpcare as it was passed in the House. According to the Williams Institute, nearly one million LGBT people could lose coverage under Trumpcare by 2026. While LGBT adults gained insurance coverage under the ACA at a higher rate than straight adults, they are now likely to lose coverage at a greater rate, the institute estimates.
Trump executive order targets reproductive choice, separation of church and state No OK for anti-LGBT discrimination by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer An executive order signed by Donald Trump on May 4 will make it easier for churches to get involved in politics and for employers to deny reproductive health coverage to their employees, but it does not include language explicitly endorsing discrimination against LGBT Americans. Trump’s so-called “Executive Order on Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty” was issued on May 4, designated as the National Day of Prayer, as a nod to Christian conservatives who promoted his candidacy. “We’re a nation of believers,” Trump told supporters during a signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden. “Faith is deeply embedded in the history of our country... No American should be forced to choose between the dictates of the American government and the tenets of their faith.” Trump’s order instructs the IRS to ease up on enforcement of the “Johnson Amend-
ment,” which prohibits churches from getting directly involved in political campaigns. Passed in 1954 – and named for thenSen. Lyndon Johnson of Texas – the Johnson Amendment says that churches and other nonprofit institutions that are exempt from taxation “are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of [or in opposition to] any candidate for elective public office.” While only Congress can repeal the law, Trump’s order paves the way for churches and other religious leaders to speak about politics and endorse candidates without worrying about losing their tax-exempt status. The new executive order also allows employers to cite religious objections as a reason to deny their employees contraception coverage in employer-paid health care plans, even though such coverage is required for most employers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). What apparently is not in the executive
order is any of the language found in a draft leaked in February, which would have allowed individuals and businesses to refuse to serve LGBT people – again based on religious objections. Civil rights groups had threatened to sue the Trump administration if the expected order included such provisions, and they may still decide to do so, based on the provisions Trump endorsed. “The ACLU fights every day to defend religious freedom, but religious freedom does not mean the right to discriminate against or harm others,” ACLU Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling said before the order was issued. “If President Trump signs an executive order that attempts to provide a license to discriminate against women or LGBT people, we will see him in court.” Lambda Legal also threatened action against Trump over the order. “We will fight this with everything we have,” the group said in a statement. “We are prepared to sue in a very short time frame if the executive order closely resem-
bles the leaked drafts.” In expectation of the executive order, a coalition of 99 religious groups sent a letter to Congress supporting continued enforcement of the Johnson Amendment. The “current law simply limits groups from being both a tax-exempt ministry and a partisan political entity,” they said. In addition, a group of some 4,500 charitable, philanthropic, and religious organizations sent a letter to Congress opposing any change in federal restrictions on political activity by nonprofits. The groups said that would “would damage the integrity and effectiveness of all charitable organizations and spawn litigation.” Meanwhile, some religious conservatives are already expressing disappointment that Trump’s order does not go far enough. The anti-Gay Alliance Defending Freedom, for example, said the order did not adequately protect people who fear government sanction if they refuse to provide services or benefits on religious or moral grounds.
Alabama’s anti-LGBTQ adoption law H.B. 24 signed into law On Wednesday, May 3, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, expressed deep concern over Gov. Kay Ivey signing into law Alabama’s patently antiLGBTQ bill H.B. 24. The bill, deceptively titled the “Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act,” enshrines discrimination into Alabama law by allowing some state-licensed adoption and foster care agencies to reject qualified prospective LGBTQ adoptive or foster parents based on the agency’s religious beliefs. An amendment was added in the Senate and agreed to by the House that limits that discriminatory exemption to agencies that do not receive state or federal funding. “We are deeply disappointed that the legislature and the governor took on this
unnecessary, discriminatory bill instead of focusing on how to improve the lives of all Alabamians, no matter who they are or whom they love,” said Eva Kendrick, HRC Alabama state director. “The intent of this law is clear: to discriminate, causing the most harm to children in Alabama’s child welfare system. It’s time our lawmakers – from the legislature to the Governor’s Mansion – stop using LGBTQ people as pawns to win cheap political points.” H.B. 24 allows state-licensed childplacing agencies to disregard the best interest of children, and turn away qualified Alabamians seeking to care for a child in need – including LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other parents to whom the agency has a religious objec-
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tion. While the Senate-led amendment limits this discriminatory exemption to child welfare agencies that do not receive state or federal funds, there is still no question that LGBTQ people and others will continue to be subjected to discrimination under this harmful law. 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. H.B. 24 will only exacerbate the challenges faced by LGBTQ young people. In 2014, HRC launched Project One America, an initiative geared towards advancing social, institutional and legal equality in Alabama, Arkansas and Mis-
sissippi. HRC Alabama continues to work to advance equality for LGBTQ Alabamians who have no statewide protections in housing, workplace, or public accommodations; or legal state recognition for their relationships and families. Through HRC Alabama, we are working toward a future of fairness every day – changing hearts, minds and laws toward achieving full equality. The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. Courtesy of HRC
Celebrating 41 Years!
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