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Celebrating 42 Years! Issue 19 Volume 44
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Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival
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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Washington Won’t Do not enforce anti-Trans law, DOJ warns North Discriminate asks supporters to go public Carolina
Washington Won’t Discriminate launch – facebook.com/WAWontDiscriminate
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor It’s been exactly one week since the launch of Washington Won’t Discriminate,
the No On I-1515 campaign to stop discrimination from coming to Washington, and the campaign reports that the effort already “has tens of thousands of support-
Department of Justice – Photo by Diego M. Radzinschi
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned North Carolina Gov.
Pat McCrory that his state’s infamous HB 2 violates federal civil rights laws. In an official letter to the governor, DOJ gave state authorities until May 9 to
see WASHINGTON page 4
Obama to name Stonewall Inn First National Monument to Gay Rights
see DOJ page 15
Pride of Ellensburg to host LGBTQ Parade and Festival
Courtesy of Pride of Ellensburg
Stonewall Inn – imjustwalkin.org
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Last week, Seattle Gay News announced the City of Seattle’s full support of naming the historic Stonewall Inn, in New see STONEWALL page 7
A newly formed, LGBTQ non-profit group, Pride of Ellensburg (POE) will host the Ellensburg Pride Parade and Festival, in downtown Ellensburg, WA, on June 4th, 2016. Pride of Ellensburg was formed in conjunction with, and is a partner project of its financial sponsor, CascadiaNow! Working together, CascadiaNow! is a grassroots, umbrella 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides resources and direct ser-
vices to groups, projects, and community partners to raise awareness of Cascadia; celebrate our distinct regional identity and culture, and increase the autonomy of the Cascadia bioregion – socially, economically and environmentally. Pride of Ellensburg’s primary function will be planning, funding and hosting the annual Ellensburg Pride Parade and Festisee ELLENSBURG page 6
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Celebrating 41 Years!
Stop the insanity, Tina Podlodowski says Calls on Secretary of State to halt meaningless primary by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Democratic Secretary of State candidate Tina Podlodowski is calling on her Republican rival, incumbent Secretary of State Kim Wyman, to cancel the upcoming presidential primary election. The election, scheduled for May 24, is now meaningless, since Donald Trump is the only GOP presidential candidate left in the race and state Democrats choose their nominee through a caucus system. “It’s time to put a halt to meaningless presidential primaries in Washington state,” Podlodowski said in a May 4 statement. “It makes no sense to waste further taxpayer dollars on this effort just to build voter lists for the Republican Party. I’m calling on my opponent in the Secretary of State race to cancel this taxpayer-funded empty exercise immediately.” According to Podlodowski, the nowuseless primary election will cost the state $11.5 million, “dollars that could have been used to make voting easier and more convenient for all voters in Washington state through postage-paid ballots, additional voting drop boxes, and voting innovations like same-day registration and pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds.” In August last year, Wyman was
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast
quoted in the Everett Herald saying that the money was worth spending only if the results of the primary would be “meaningful.” “Secretary Wyman is the highestranking Republican elected official in Washington state,” Podlodowski said. “She has repeatedly refused to reveal her choice in the Republican primary,
but it’s clear that holding this election on May 24 would only benefit one candidate, Donald Trump.” A former Seattle City Councilmember, Podlodowski announced her run against Wyman in January. If elected, she would be the first open Lesbian elected to a statewide office and the first Democrat elected Secretary of State since 1961.
May 6, 2016
Seattle Gay News 3
SCOTUS will not block Seattle minimum wage law
Safe for now – Photo by David Ryder
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal challenging Seattle’s $15 per hour minimum wage ordinance. The high court did not issue an explanation of its May 2 decision to deny a hearing to the International Franchise Association (IFA), a business group that sued the City of Seattle to prevent the $15 minimum wage from going into effect. The decision means that regular pay raises will continue for Seattle workers as provided by the law, which took effect in April 2015. “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court reaffirms that Seattle workers’ hard-fought raises in hourly pay will remain in effect,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “This is a great day for workers in Seattle as we look to continue to fully implement our $15 minimum wage for
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ers.” In a message to Washington Won’t Discriminate supporters this week, campaign Chair Seth Kirby said, “As I write this, signatures are being gathered for a petition that would put I-1515 on Washington’s No-
our largest employers by 2017, and 2021 for our smallest businesses. Our phasedin approach to raising wages, developed by labor and business working together, minimizes disruptions – especially to our small businesses, which are the backbone of Seattle’s vibrant economy. I am proud that Seattle’s groundbreaking approach to addressing income inequality will continue to move forward.” “I am pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court let the 9th Circuit’s ruling stand and that we have prevailed at every stage of this lawsuit,” City Attorney Pete Holmes added. The minimum wage ordinance requires that employers give their lowestpaid workers regular raises until they reach the $15 per hour minimum wage threshold. Small businesses have until 2021 to reach the goal, but larger companies must reach $15 per hour by next year. The IFA challenged one of the key provisions of Seattle’s ordinance – the
part treating local franchises as subsidiaries of their parent companies. Under that rule, local McDonalds or Subways would have to pay their employees at least $15 per hour by 2017. Seattle officials and unions that backed the wage hike said franchises are not small businesses even if an individual franchisee only operates one or two locations, because franchising offers financial advantages, such as access to loans, national advertising, and bulk purchasing. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones ruled in March 2015 that the Seattle law was constitutional and should be implemented. His decision was later upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Seattle was the first major U.S. city to adopt a $15 per hour minimum wage. The move has since been followed San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as by state lawmakers in California and New York.
vember ballot to repeal parts of our state’s non-discrimination law that for 10 years has guaranteed fair and equal treatment for our Transgender family members, neighbors, and co-workers.” In order for I-1515 to qualify for public vote, the bigots will have to get 246,372 qualified signatures before July 8. Earlier this week, backers of I-1515 announced
they’ve already collected 50,000 of the 250,000 petition signatures needed and there are rumors that they’ve hired paid signature gatherers to help them hit the qualifying goal before the July deadline. Washingtonians who oppose the discriminatory initiative are encouraged to sign a pledge to show support for the No On I-1515 campaign at http://action.wawont. org/page/s/pledge. In short, Kirby reiterated to supporters that I-1515 aims to legalize Transgender discrimination across the state. “You and I know that discrimination isn’t who we are in Washington,” said Kirby. “So it’s on us to make it perfectly clear that Washingtonians will not stand for unfair treatment of some of our most vulnerable community members. And we can’t do that without your help.” Kirby asked that people go public with their support for the No On I-1515 campaign by sharing several graphics on social media. Following the announcement by the opposition that they have 50,000 signatures, the ACLU of Washington stepped up and pledged to match every dollar, up to $5,000, to fuel the Washington Won’t Discriminate campaign to stop I-1515, which said, “Meeting this one-time $5,000 challenge from the ACLU of Washington will ensure
Washington Won’t Discriminate launch – facebook.com/WAWontDiscriminate
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Prices stable after wage hike Meanwhile a study by the Evans School of Public Policy at the University of Washington shows that in spite of claims by business groups that a higher minimum wage would trigger huge price hikes, prices have remained stable in the first year of the ordinance. “Overall, we found that prices in Seattle are fairly stable and they haven’t gone up very much, if at all, since the minimum wage went up starting in April of last year,” UW Professor Jacob Vigdor reported. “The exception would be in the restaurant sector, where we found price increases on the order of seven or eight percent.” Researchers found that restaurant prices also rose outside of Seattle, however, meaning that the price increases might not be associated with higher minimum wages. “So we don’t have quite as much confidence in saying that seven or eight percent is purely a Seattle thing or whether it’s a broader economic phenomenon that could be reflecting rising rents or bigger ingredient prices that could be affecting the entire metro area,” Vigdor said. Around the time the minimum wage increase took effect last spring, the UW researchers started surveying 567 Seattle businesses where some workers made less than $15 an hour. They also tracked 55 workers making less than $15 an hour. Over the last year, they also examined price data by looking online and visiting grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail locations. “By and large, across most retail sectors, we have found little or no evidence of price increases in Seattle relative to the surrounding area,” the researchers said in their report.
we have the resources to fight back.” (The statement, however, begs the question of – if the goal is met – what exactly would the campaign do with $10,000 to fight back.) Economic impact of I-1515 In addition, the campaign announced that a new study released by UCLA’s Williams Institute on May 5, finds that I-1515 “would have a disastrous economic impact on the state, with a loss in federal funding totaling upwards of $4.5 billion dollars.” “By rolling back protections on the basis of gender identity that have been in state law for 10 years, the study concludes that I-1515 would be a clear violation of at least seven federal laws: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Executive Order 13672, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act, the Violence Against Women Act, the Affordable Care Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Housing Act of 1949,” reports Washington Won’t Discriminate officials. According to the Williams Institute and Washington Won’t Discriminate these violations threaten a host of federal funding sources, including: • $1 billion lost in K-12 school funding • Up to $3.3 billion in student loan and
Celebrating 41 Years!
college funding • Up to $130 million lost in federallyfunded contracts • $65 million lost in federal funding for Workforce Training • $2.5 million lost in federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act • Federal funding lost for Washington’s housing, health and human services programs. • Costly litigation for public schools and local governments.
“These threats to funding are not just possibilities should this initiative be put on the ballot and passed this November – they would very much become a catastrophic reality,” says the No On I-1515 campaign, reminding us that “Just yesterday, the Department of Justice issued an order finding that North Carolina’s HB2 – a law specifically targeting Transgender people – was a violation of the Federal Civil Rights Act. The DOJ has now given the state of North
Carolina until this coming Monday to halt implementation of the law. If not, the state would forfeit $861 million in federal education funding.” “And as states like North Carolina can attest, the economic fallout doesn’t end there,” said Washington Won’t Discriminate officials. “If proponents of I-1515 succeed in rolling back fair and equal treatment of Transgender people under Washington law, it would undoubtedly drive away billions in economic development
from businesses, tourism and conventions. And I-1515 would also embroil our schools, local governments and businesses in costly and unnecessary litigation for years to come.” According to Washington Won’t Discriminate, “The evidence is clear: I-1515 isn’t just wrong – it would be downright damaging for our state’s economy and for every person who calls Washington home.”
Anti-Trans I-1515 could cost state $4.5 billion by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Initiative 1515, a measure to bar Transgender people from using gender-appropriate restrooms, could cost Washington state a whopping $4.5 billion in federal funding, according to a new report from the prestigious Williams Institute. The Williams Institute researches the economic effects of anti-LGBT discrimination, and in its latest report it analyzes the fiscal impact of I-1515. “The non-discrimination requirements in [Title VII and Title IX] protect transgender people from discrimination, including by allowing them to use restrooms and other facilities that correspond to their gender identity,” said Amira Hasenbush, a research fellow at the Williams Institute. “Federal agencies that enforce these laws are authorized to suspend or terminate funds if recipients violate the non-discrimination requirements.” Title IX requires that to receive federal funds public schools must not discriminate on the basis of sex. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal agencies interpret that provision as barring discrimination on the basis of gender identity, so if I-1515 passes, the state could lose federal funding for education. According to the Williams Institute, some $1 billion in K-12 funding and up to $3.3 billion in student loan funding would be in jeopardy. Another federal law, Title VII, bars discrimination in the workplace and, again, federal funds could be withheld if DOJ finds that I-1515 infringes on the rights of Trans employees to use gender-appropriate restroom facilities. That puts $130 million in federally funded contracts with Washington businesses at risk, as well as $65 million for the Workforce Training program and $2.5 million in federal grants under the Violence Against Women Act. The Williams Institute has not yet come up with a figure for federal funds lost to Washington state’s housing, health, and human services programs, or for the potential cost of litigation when public authorities are sued by Trans people for discrimination under federal law. Even worse for the state, the Williams Institute report only takes into account federal funds that could be withheld if I-1515 passes. It does not try to estimate financial losses due to boycotts or businesses withdrawing
Credit: UCLA Williams Institute
investments from Washington state. According to an analysis by the Christian Science Monitor, a similar law in North Carolina could have a devastating financial effect on that state. “We’re talking billions and billions of
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dollars at stake here,” says Andrew Brod, an economist at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. “They’re playing with fire.” DOJ recently sent North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory a warning that his state must stop enforcing its anti-Trans law because it
violates Title VII and Title IX. The Williams Institute estimates some $4.8 billion of federal funds are at risk if North Carolina sticks by its law.
May 6, 2016
Seattle Gay News 5
Donald Trump may not hate you, but he’s not in love with you either
Donald Trump – Julio Cortez
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not as viciously anti-LGBT as former rivals Ted Cruz and Ben Carson were, but he’s no friend of the community either. Like his stand on a number of other issues, Trump’s position on LGBT rights is marked by deep inconsistencies.
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val, as well as other LGBTQ events through its newly formed partnership with the Out in Ellensburg events series as well as seminars and workshops put on year-round for the community. Pride of Ellensburg is a non-profit, community organization dedicated to inspiring and celebrating love, equality and diversity through local events, outreach and fostering opportunity. Pride of Ellensburg is responsible for the signature Ellensburg Pride Festival and Parade. Pride of Ellensburg elected their executive board that include: President – Neil Lequia: began his activism work 10 years ago when he was on GLSEN’s (The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) National Student Organizing Leadership Team. Currently, Neil is GLSEN Washington State’s Regional Director of Central Washington, organizing safe space events for students, and setting up and maintaining Gay/Straight Alliances and other diversity and inclusion clubs on school campuses. In San Diego, Neil developed and taught the curriculum for Gender Performance Art at the Hillcrest Youth Center. Neil also sang with the Seattle Men’s Chorus for 3 years, and the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus for 6. Since moving to Ellensburg, Neil’s revived Out in Ellensburg, a local LGBT social group, and created similar groups in Yakima, Wenatchee, and Spokane.
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On one hand, Trump said recently that Transgender people should “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate.” And in 2000, when he flirted with the idea of running for president, he told The Advocate magazine that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should be amended to “include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation” – but not gender identity. “It would be simple. It would be straightforward,” Trump said in the interview, adding, “It’s only fair.”
Vice President – Nikki Marra: A Broadcast Media Professional by trade, a Queer Rights activist at heart, Nikki is a New Jersey native who found her way to Ellensburg via Hawaii, London and Philadelphia. She is the professional Program Director for KCWU-FM, holds a master’s degree in Radio Broadcasting, served on the board of directors for National College Radio Day and speaks at several conferences around the country about the medium. Nikki has been active in Queer Rights groups in NJ, NY and PA, before moving to Washington, where she currently is the faculty advisor for Equality through Queers and Allies (EQuAl), Central Washington University’s student LGBTQIA+ organization, and Chair of CWU Pride. Treasurer – Nate Snelson: A 20-year veteran in Queer Advocacy starting in grassroots LGBTQ organizations in the ’90s where he worked for basic LGBTQ human rights in the U.S. Over his career as an accountant and senior financial specialist he has worked on Global Diversity & Inclusion programs at the corporate level bringing Equality programs and visibility to countries where it is either illegal or dangerous to be an LGBTQ individual. Recently, Nate left the corporate environment to do more hands on advocacy work for the Gender & Sexual Minority community as Managing Partner at Mind the Village Advocacy Group. Secretary – Tiffany Metzger: The proud mother of children who identify as members of the LGBTQ community.
May 6, 2016
On the other hand, “Trump has been a consistent opponent of marriage equality,” the HRC says. Early in the campaign, Trump told the Des Moines Register that same-sex couples “should not be able to marry.” Asked whether same-sex couples should be able access the same benefits as married couples, he said his “attitude on it has not been fully formed.” After a pause Trump said on marriage and domestic partnership benefits, “As of this moment, I would say no and no.” According to the HRC, Trump has flipflopped on the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage. “After the Supreme Court ruling, Trump said the court had made its decision and, although he disagreed with the ruling, he did not support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to re-ban marriage equality,” HRC reports. “He later said he would appoint Supreme Court judges who would be committed to overturning the ruling.” Even more disturbing is Trump’s embrace of radical Christian-right pastor Robert Jeffress. Jeffress heads the First Baptist Church in Dallas and hosts the TV show Pathway to Victory. On his show, Jeffress regularly attacks the LGBT community, as well as other religions, including Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, and Mormonism.
In a 2008 sermon titled “Gay is Not OK,” Jeffress said, “What [Gay people] do is filthy. It is so degrading that it is beyond description. And it is their filthy behavior that explains why they are so much more prone to disease.” In spite of his record of hate speech, Trump has invited Jeffress to introduce him to a number of Christian audiences. “It’s becoming something of a regular gig,” Dallas Morning News reporter Robert Wilsonsky wrote of one such event in January. “Jeffress, you may recall, also intro’d Trump at his American Airlines Center rally in September. And when he’s not introducing Trump, Jeffress is laying hands on the man,” indicating his blessing. Jeffress insists that his appearances with Trump are not an official endorsement, but he maintains that Trump has the best chance of defeating a Democratic opponent and “could be a very effective president of the United States.” Log Cabin Republicans – the GOP’s LGBT apologists – are enthusiastic about Trump as well. “He will be the most Gay-friendly Republican nominee for president ever,” said LCR president Gregory T. Angelo. The problem is, it’s not a high bar.
She is a student of Anthropology at Central Washington University with a focus in learning about family groups. Tiffany was a Sergeant in the U.S. Army where she served a tour in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tiffany’s experience as a mother and her travels around the world have shown her that love is the most important force in the world. Public Relations – Alexander Wollaston: A current undergraduate at Central Washington University studying for his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Event and Tourism Management. This is Alex’s second year as the Assistant Manager of the Kittitas County Farmers Market located in Ellensburg, WA. He also participates with CWU’s EQuAL (Equality Through Queers and Allies) by helping build campus LGBTQ events.
CWU Pride as well as local businesses and other non-profit organizations to host the this annual LGBTQ celebration. A morning Pride parade through town is scheduled and all day Pride festival will take place at the Rotary Pavilion, downtown. Organizations, vendors, food, art and live entertainment will highlight a family-friendly day dedicated to celebrating Ellensburg’s LGBTQ community and allies. Ellensburg Pride is a shared experience meant to inspire and celebrate the Pride we carry in ourselves, in each other, and our community. Pride of Ellensburg is currently seeking Parade submissions, vendors and organizations for the festival, financial support and volunteers for a variety of functions and duties between now and June 4th. For more information with sponsorship opportunities, parade and vendor registration, and any further assistance please visit our website at www.prideofellensburg.com or email prideofellensburg@gmail.com.
Pride of Ellensburg will partner with the Ellensburg Downtown Association, Central Washington Arts Confab, and
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DOJ looks at federal civil rights protections for LGBT Americans by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) believes that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects Transgender Americans, and it is “looking at” whether the law also protects Lesbian, Gay, and Bi residents, Attorney General Loretta Lynch told BuzzFeed News in a recent interview. Title VII prohibits discrimination based on a number of immutable characteristics, sex being one. In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said that that provision protects gender identity, and then-Attorney General Eric Holder agreed, bringing at least one of the letters of LGBT under federal civil rights protection. Under Lynch, DOJ filed a brief with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals supporting a Transgender high school student’s claim regarding use of genderappropriate restrooms. Lynch said the department is “very gratified” that the court recently affirmed DOJ’s position. “To me, this is really an issue of
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equality and fundamental fairness and what kind of a society do we want to be,” Lynch told BuzzFeed. “We decided over 200 years ago that we wanted to be an inclusive society, and we wanted to guarantee equal rights for all. For that to mean something, we have to be careful, we have to be vigilant, so that when people, for whatever reason, are either [made to] feel like they’re on the outside – a particular group – or are placed on the outside, that that doesn’t happen. And transgender issues are no different, to me, in that regard.” Lynch said that DOJ’s mission is to protect the vulnerable, like seniors, children, and human-trafficking victims. “Our transgender family members and friends are also incredibly vulnerable to discrimination, in terms of the laws that we see, but also to abuse,” she added. Lynch said DOJ had “a tool to deal with that” in the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act that passed in 2009. “But then,” she added, “this to me is all a part of the whole: If we’re going to have the view that we’re going to protect everyone in this society equally, we have
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discuss the plans publicly and requested anonymity.
York’s Greenwich Village, the nation’s first LGBTQ national park. On April 25, the Seattle City Council passed with unanimous consent a resolution expressing the City of Seattle’s fervent support for the designation, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed Resolution 31660 on April 29 during a ceremony in the Norman B. Rice room at City Hall. This week SGN is proud to announce that, according to the Associated Press, New York’s iconic Stonewall Inn, where the modern LGBTQ rights movement took root, will become the first national monument honoring LGBTQ history in the U.S. under a proposal President Barack Obama is preparing to approve. Since the 1969 uprising, so much has changed: The U.S. has enacted some antidiscrimination protections (where none used to exist at all), allowed LGB (and soon to be T) people to serve openly in the U.S. military and legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. President Obama will perform a major act of recognition for the LGBTQ community and our struggles over the last half-century by designating the historic site a national park. At this point, the land must still be transferred to the federal government and other details worked out. However, the AP reports that the president is expected to move quickly to greenlight the monument following a public meeting Monday in Manhattan, according to two individuals familiar with the administration’s plans. The individuals weren’t authorized to
The timing of any such announcement to designate Stonewall a national park makes sense as next month marks LGBTQ Pride Month in the U.S. – which will also be Obama’s last as president. The 44th President of the United States, and the nation’s first African American to serve as president, has done more for LGBTQ rights than any of the other presidents combined. The Obama Administration’s record for the LGBTQ community includes: repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), ending the legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) before the Supreme Court struck down the law last June, signing historic hate crimes legislation (Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act), ensuring hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients and their loved ones, expanding access to health coverage (through the Affordable Healthcare Act), developing and implementing a national HIV/AIDS strategy, working to prevent bullying against LGBTQ students by hosting the first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention in March 2011, and much more. The White House has declined to comment at the moment. However, the Obama Administration announced this week that on May 9, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis will join U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler (NY-10th) and other federal, New York state and local officials to participate in a public meeting
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Attorney General Loretta Lynch – mashable.com
to mean it.” The EEOC has also taken the position that discrimination against sexual orientation is likewise sex-based discrimination, and therefore illegal under Title VII. Lynch said DOJ is developing a formal stand on that question as well.
“We’re looking at that issue, also, and we’ll definitely come to a conclusion soon as to what position to take,” she said. “But I think that overall, the position – on a whole host of issues – should always be toward inclusion and equality.”
Stonewall Inn – travelandleisure.com
with community members to hear their vision for the long-term protection and management of Christopher Park. The park is proposed as a new unit of the National Park System dedicated to telling the story of the Stonewall Uprising. The public meeting is being hosted by Representative Jerrold Nadler and co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, New York City Council Member Corey Johnson, and Manhattan Community Board Two. Currently, Representative Nadler and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand are co-
sponsors of legislation pending in Congress to designate Christopher Park as a new unit of the National Park System. Christopher Park is located across from the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. Christopher Park, the Stonewall Inn, and adjacent streets and sidewalks were designated as the Stonewall National Historic Landmark in 2000. It is important to note that Obama has paid tribute to the site before. In what would become known as the first reference to LGBTQ rights in an inaugural address, Obama said in his second inaugural address in 2013, that the principle of equality still guides the U.S. “just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.”
May 6, 2016
Seattle Gay News 7
Building Community Benefit at Swedish by Sherry Williams Community Engagement Director Swedish Medical Center
Sherry Williams – Courtesy of Swedish Medical Center
Our promise is to provide public and community benefit to the communities in Seattle, King and areas in Snohomish County. Hi everyone, I’m Sherry Williams, Community Engagement Director for Swedish. My role at Swedish is to promote community outreach and engagement opportunities and activities, partner with community-based organizations who serve many of our patients and families and develop health, wellness and prevention programs to support the underserved members of our community. I am passionate about my work and committed to listening to and working with our community partners. As a community partner and good neighbor Swedish is committed to improve the health and well-being of each person we serve. Community Benefit can be defined as the social responsibility of nonprofit hospitals to the community health needs of the residents. We measure community benefit based initiatives that include community education programs, community building activities, medical research, and health education, free and reduced care and charity care and report it annually. Each year, we invest in community programs, projects and initiatives which help us make the most in fostering a healthier community together. These programs might be our own, such as the Swedish Community Specialty Clinic, or in partnership with community organizations like Community Lunch on Capitol Hill, a hot meal program for our homeless and hungry residents, supplying Lifelong Chicken Soup Brigade clients with three-day emergency preparedness kits or providing health screening at Gay City. As the needs of our community change, so might our areas of focus, which is why nonprofit hospitals like Swedish invest in a Community Health Needs Assessment. This com-
munity health survey is a requirement by the Affordable Care Act to ensure our resources are aligned appropriately to the health issues and the social determinates of health in our community. Many of our employees give back to the community by volunteering at community food banks and meal programs, providing health screenings, staffing “ASK the DR or RN” tables at community events and even talking to parents at PTSA meeting at schools. In 2015, Swedish spent more than $175 million on these important Community Benefit programs. This was an increase of 30 percent from 2014. Providing free and discounted medical care for patients in need is very important to us. Although our spending on free and discounted care did decrease from 2014, which is a good thing, Swedish financial counselors helped 1,200 community members enroll in health insurance coverage in 2015. We also have new information to report that Swedish’s charity care policy was updated in January of 2016, to provide 100 percent financial assistance write off to individuals and families between 0-300 percent of the federal poverty level (formerly 0-200 percent). We are committed to the support of our community members, listening to their needs and providing the right kind of care and support that truly benefits our community. Please visit our Financial Assistance page at http://www.swedish.org/patient-visitor-info/billing/financialassistance, our Community Outreach page at http://www.swedish.org/about/overview/ mission-outreach/community-engagement/ community-needs-assessment and our Community Benefit page at http://www.swedish. org/about/overview/mission-outreach/community-engagement/community-benefits for more information about the work Swedish provides our community. www.swedish.org or 1-800-Swedish (1-800-793-3474). If you have any questions regarding our community partners and community building activities, please call me at 206-386-3407. Thanks!
Elton John AIDS Foundation and HRC announce inaugural HIV 360° Fellowship Program states says EJAF officials. The inaugural HIV 360° fellows are: by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor As part of the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s (EJAF) strategy to strengthen the resilience of the HIV/AIDS movement and to support initiatives that empower communitybased leaders from diverse backgrounds, the foundation announced May 5, that they will join the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in proclaiming the inaugural HIV 360° Fellowship Program. Each year, according to EJAF, “Ten outstanding young leaders will receive nine months of intensive leadership training to elevate their advocacy work in communities that continue to be deeply impacted by the epidemic.” “At EJAF, we believe collaborative, unified efforts like the HIV 360° Fellowship Program are critical to stopping the spread of HIV within communities that continue to be hit the hardest by the epidemic,” said Scott
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Campbell, executive director of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. “We are very proud to be the primary funder for this groundbreaking program that is specifically focused on cultivating young leaders from diverse backgrounds with different ideas about how to stop the spread and stigma of HIV.” EJAF provided two grants totaling $600,000 to HRC in 2014 and 2015 to support their work addressing HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ community. The 2015 grant helped to launch the HIV 360° Fellowship Program (www.hrc.org/hrcstory/hiv-360-fellowship-program) and continued to support HRC’s efforts to increase awareness of HIV prevention, treatment, and care among LGBTQ people, specifically focusing on young Gay and Bisexual men and Transgender women. The 10 fellows selected for the HIV 360° Fellowship Program’s inaugural class are all under age 35 and are currently undertaking leadership roles in community-focused organizations and initiatives across two dozen
May 6, 2016
• Andrés Cano, National Latino HIV Awareness Day-Tucson, Tucson, AZ • Thomas Davis, Health Education Specialist, LA LGBT Center, Los Angeles, CA • Nicole Elinoff, Director of Clinical Services, The GLBT Center of Central Florida, Orlando, FL • Mardrequs Harris, Public Health Program Director, Tennessee Department of Health, Memphis, TN • Sasanka Jianadasa, Capacity Building and Community Resource Manager, HIPS, Washington, DC • Tyrell Manning, Regional Integration Specialist, Williams and Associates, Inc., St. Louis, MO • Pierre Jamar (PJ) Moton, Interim Clinical Program Manager, Abounding Prosperity, Inc., Dallas, TX • Steven Romeo, Executive Director, The Change Project, Birmingham, AL • Milan Sherry, Advisory Board Member, Positively Trans, New Orleans, LA • Lee Storrow, Executive Director, North Carolina AIDS Action Network, Raleigh, NC
“Despite all our progress, HIV continues to ravage the LGBTQ community, with homophobia and transphobia fueling the stigma that keeps far too many away from testing, prevention, and treatment programs,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “These diverse leaders already have tremendous experience in their respective fields and communities, and we look forward to working with them to halt the spread and stigma of HIV once and for all.” The HIV 360° Fellowship Program recently held its first retreat at HRC’s Washington, DC, headquarters. According to officials, the fellows met with experts from amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, AIDS United, Casa Ruby, NAESM Inc., WhitmanWalker Health, and the Kaiser Family Foundation. “By learning from each other and from mentors and experts participating in the program, these fellows will deepen their skills in nonprofit management, leadership, finance, and strategy, discover new marketing techniques, develop contacts and collaborative relationships with other organizations, and learn new ways to enhance the resilience and sustainability of their community organizations,” said EJAF officials.
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Black AIDS Institute releases 12th Annual State of AIDS in Black America Report: “Black Lives Matter – What’s PrEP Got to Do With It?” MPH. “When you teased out the study results, it became crystal clear. Among people who took Truvada every day, no one got HIV.”
• PrEP can help end the AIDS epidemic in Black America. On its own, PrEP can prevent 1 in 5 new HIV infections through 2020. Combined with scaled-up HIV treatment, PrEP could avert 70 percent of all new infections over the next five years. • Black America needs PrEP the most. America’s HIV epidemic is a Black epidemic. Black Americans make up 49 percent of all new HIV diagnoses. Black gay and bisexual men stand a 50 percent chance of acquiring HIV in their lifetimes, Black women are 18 times more likely than White women to be HIV positive, and Black transgender women are three times more likely to acquire HIV than their White or Latina counterparts.
Black Lives Matter: What’s PrEP got to do with it? The State of AIDS in Black America 2016
LOS ANGELES – On April 19 the Black AIDS Institute, in partnership with Gilead Sciences, released its 2016 report on the State of AIDS in Black America: “Black Lives Matter: What’s PrEP Got to Do With It?” The report focuses on what Black communities need to know about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and other new biomedical HIV prevention tools. Many scientists, doctors and advocates believe that the scientific tools needed to end the AIDS epidemic already exist. Unfortunately, as the persistently unacceptable high rates of new HIV infections underscore, these tools are not being applied effectively in Black communities. While new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. as a whole fell 19 percent between 2005 and 2014, new cases among Black gay and bisexual men, for example, increased by 87 percent. When used correctly, PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV by over 90% for HIV-negative individuals with an HIV-positive partner; however, it is still being underutilized in Black communities. “The new bio-medical prevention tools will either reduce HIV health disparities or exacerbate them,” says Black AIDS Institute President and CEO Phill Wilson. “Some communities are rapidly adapting to a new world where biomedical tools to fight
HIV are used to dramatic positive effect, but Black communities are not. This report investigates why.” “The report examines where Black communities are in familiarity, understanding, knowledge, beliefs, access and utilization of PrEP. It also makes recommendations on how the community can maximize the potential benefits of PrEP and other biomedical interventions,” Wilson adds. “But most importantly, this report provides resources to help educate communities about PrEP and help communities access and finance PrEP. Finally, this report makes recommendations on how Black communities can maximize the potential benefits of PrEP and other biomedical interventions.” The report’s key findings include the following: • PrEP works. Research studies and demonstration projects have shown that PrEP is extraordinarily effective when used as directed. Protection against HIV infection approaches 100 percent for people who take PrEP as prescribed. “In 2014 I saw a big increase in demand for PrEP,” says HIV specialist and researcher David Malebranche, M.D.,
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• When it comes to PrEP, Black America is being left behind. Every available measure indicates that while Black communities need PrEP the most, they are far less likely to receive PrEP than other racial or ethnic groups. “Because PrEP is new, there is a lot of work to do to get it implemented, particularly in communities at highest risk,” says Dawn Smith, M.D., MPH, an epidemiologist in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. • New scientific evidence suggests that robust PrEP uptake is achievable in Black America. New clinical trial findings indicate that programs that are tailored to the needs of Black gay and bisexual men and that proactively address barriers to uptake and adherence can promote strong PrEP utilization in Black communities. “There needs to be a shift in the ways in which we are advertising PrEP,” says Leo Moore, M.D., an HIV doctor who has prescribed PrEP to about 50 patients. “Some of the advertisements I’ve seen don’t speak to men of color. But we know the epidemic is largely in men of color. We need a brain shift to develop ad campaigns and messages that focus on the people who present the greatest need.” • An urgent national initiative is needed to expedite the uptake of PrEP in
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Black America. The ongoing AIDS crisis in Black America necessitates an urgent national initiative – one combining the efforts of policy-makers, funders, public health agencies, health-care providers, community organizations and Black communities. “People were being made aware of PrEP but had no place to access those services,” says Leisha McKinley-Beach, HIV prevention program administrator for the Fulton County Health Department in Georgia. “Prior to the health department providing PrEP, there were perhaps two for-profit clinics where you could get PrEP. But to access PrEP at the private clinics, you had to have insurance or the ability to pay out of pocket.” The Report concludes with seven key recommendations: 1. Invest in community education and awareness campaigns. 2. Educate health-care providers about PrEP. 3. Adapt delivery systems to facilitate PrEP uptake. 4. Remove financial barriers to PrEP use. 5. Undertake specific efforts to address the PrEP needs of cisgender and trans gender women. 6. Strengthen the ability of PrEP pro grams to maximize STI control. 7. Continue to pursue a robust research agenda on PrEP.
The report is available online at blackprep.org. The Black AIDS Institute Founded in 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank in the United States focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute’s mission is to end the AIDS epidemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions, leaders and individuals in efforts to confront HIV/AIDS. The institute disseminates information, offers training and capacity building, provides testing and linkage to care, influences both private and public HIV/AIDS policy, and conducts mobilization and advocacy from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view. For more information about the Black AIDS Institute, go to www.BlackAIDS.org Courtesy of the Black AIDS Institute
Seattle Gay News 13
Trump triumphant, Cruz crushed in Indiana
Donald Trump – Photo by Seth Perlman
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump emerged as the all-butcertain Republican presidential nominee after he crushed the aspirations of rival Ted Cruz in the Indiana primary. With Trump winning more than 53% of the Indiana Republican vote to his own 37%, Cruz announced on May 3 that he was done with the race for the White House. “We left it all on the field,” Cruz told
supporters after the results came in. “But the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign.” Shortly after Cruz’s announcement, Republican National Committee boss Reince Priebus tweeted that Trump is now the “presumptive GOP nominee.” The remaining Republican hopeful, John Kasich, who won a meager 8% of the vote in Indiana, dropped out the next day. Republican insiders are divided on how to relate to Trump’s victory. Priebus
has already accommodated himself to a Trump-led national ticket, but others were not so comfortable with The Donald. “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted. “We will deserve it.” Meanwhile John McCain’s speechwriter, Mark Salter, said he would vote for Hillary Clinton before he’d vote for Trump. “Basically, I think she’s the more conservative choice and the least reckless one,” Salter told MSNBC. “[Trump’s] policy views are like some drunk’s rant. If he tried to do anything like he says he will, we’d have no allies, a lot more enemies, and more of them with nukes. Finally, he’s unfit for the office, too, temperamentally and morally, a narcissistic bigot.” While Trump’s May 3 victory speech was conciliatory toward Cruz – the Texas senator was “one hell of a competitor,” he said – the run-up to the Indiana vote was far less civil, with Trump making bizarre charges against Cruz’s father Rafael. In an election day interview with Fox News, Trump alleged that Rafael Cruz once associated with Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being – you know, shot,” Trump said. “I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up. They don’t even talk about that. That was reported, and nobody talks about it. “I mean, what was he doing – what was
he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? It’s horrible.” Trump was referring to a National Enquirer photo showing a group of men, including one it identified as Rafael Cruz, standing with someone who looked like Oswald. The photo was said to date from 1963 and to have been taken in New Orleans. “Now let’s be clear: This is nuts,” Ted Cruz shot back. “This is not a reasonable position. This is just kooky. And while I’m at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit, yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard.” A Cruz campaign spokesperson told the Miami Herald, which pointed out numerous flaws in the Enquirer story, that it was “another garbage story in a tabloid full of garbage.” Trump then issued a statement saying Cruz’s “outburst” shows he is a “desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign.” “Over the last week, I have watched Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections – in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them,” he said. “Today’s ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States.”
Don’t punish Gays, Saudi Muslim cleric says, let God do it by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A leading Saudi Muslim cleric has come out against punishment for Gay people. Salman al-Ouda, a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars and director of the Islam Today website, says that God will deal with Gays in the afterlife but human governments should not. “Even though homosexuality is considered a sin in all the Semitic holy books, it does not require any punishment in this world,” al-Ouda said, as quoted in the English-language Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post. “It is a sin that will accompany [the Gay person] in the life after death.” Saudi Arabia punishes Gay people severely, with prison terms, flogging, and even execution, but al-Ouda is known as a critic of the Saudi royal family, even spending time in prison for anti-government activities. He is not a liberal, however. In fact, he belongs to Al–Sahwa Al-Islamiyya, or the Islamic Awakening Movement, associated with the fundamentalist Salafi Muslim ideology. Salafis are Islamic strict constructionists, who claim to follow the traditions handed down from the first generation of
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Muslims who were personally acquainted with Muhammad. One of those traditions says that unless sinners reject God they remain Muslims, and therefore may not be killed by other Muslims. “Homosexuals are not deviating from Islam,” al-Ouda explained. “Homosexuality is a grave sin, but those who say that homosexuals deviate from Islam are the real deviators. “By condemning homosexuals to death they are committing a graver sin than homosexuality itself.” Nevertheless, Gays shouldn’t be out, alOuda warned. “Even though homosexuality does not distance one from Islam, Islam does not encourage individuals who have same-sex attraction to show their feelings in public,” he said. In March, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that prosecutors in the kingdom are pressing the government to execute more Gay prisoners. They also want to proceed against “cross-dressers,” the paper said. According to Okaz, Saudi officials are worried about a surge in “abnormal behavior” linked to social media, saying that people are becoming “increasingly bold” about their so-called “abnormalities.”
Salman al-Ouda – themuslim500.com
May 6, 2016
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LAST IN THE COUNTRY : Mississippi ban on Gay adoption ends
Dads adopt – homorazzi.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Mississippi’s ban on adoptions by same-sex couples ended at midnight May 3. The state had until that time to file an appeal of a federal court ruling finding the ban unconstitutional, but the deadline passed without action by state attorneys. “Mississippi was the last state in the nation that prohibited adoption by gay couples, so in all 50 states, gay couples are allowed to adopt kids, as it should be,” Roberta Kaplan, lead attorney in the case, told BuzzFeed News. “As far as the state is concerned, gay couples and their kids can’t be treated dif-
DOJ
continued from cover address the problem “by confirming that the State will not comply with or implement HB 2.” The controversial measure repealed local protections for Charlotte’s LGBT community, prohibited municipalities from passing new civil rights protections, and also barred them from raising the minimum wage. In the DOJ letter, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta notified Gov. McCrory that “The Department of Justice has determined that, as a result of compliance with and implementation of NC House Bill 2, both you and the state of NC are in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964… “Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual on
Moms adopt – webcatholicleader.org
ferently than anyone else.” In March, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan III issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Mississippi Department of Human Services from enforcing the adoption ban. In his decision, Jordan cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriages. “The majority of the United States Supreme Court dictates the law of the land, and lower courts are bound to follow it,” the judge wrote. “In this case, that means that [the adoption ban] violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.” Mississippi attorneys could have appealed Jordan’s decision to the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, but their time expired without action on their part. Susan Hrostowski, one of the plaintiffs in the case, along with her wife, Kathryn Garner, told BuzzFeed News, “I’ve been waiting 16 years to be able to adopt my son, so I’m overjoyed about that.” Hrostowski, who is an Episcopal priest, said she was offended by the use of religious arguments to defend the discriminatory ban. “A goodly number of Christians are tired of being painted with that brush, so we’re standing up,” she said. “There are a lot of children in the foster care system, and children in shelters, who need good, loving homes,” Hrostowski added. “There are many gays and lesbians
who could be their parents. Research has shown time and time again we make fine parents.” The lawsuit was brought by the Campaign for Southern Equality, the Family Equality Council, and same-sex couples whose attempts to adopt through the foster care system or private agencies had been blocked by Mississippi officials. Kaplan also litigated USA v. Windsor, the case that resulted in the end of DOMA. She said that she would submit a formal request asking Judge Jordan to make March’s preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction against enforcing the state’s adoption ban.
the basis of sex and from otherwise resisting the full enjoyment of Title VII rights… “Federal courts and administrative agencies have applied Title VII to discrimination against transgender individuals based on sex, including gender identity… “Access to sex-segregated restrooms and other workplace facilities consistent with gender identity is a term, condition, or privilege of employment. Denying such access to transgender individuals, whose gender identity is different from the gender assigned at birth, while affording it to similarly situated non-transgender employees, violates Title VII… “HB 2…is facially discriminatory against transgender employees on the basis of sex because it treats transgender employees, whose gender identity does not match their biological sex, as defined
by HB 2, differently from similarly situated non transgender employees… “Based upon the above, we have concluded that in violation of Title VII, the state is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of Title VII rights by employees of public agencies… “Please advise the department, therefore, no later than the close of business on May 9, 2016, whether you will remedy these violations of Title VII, including by confirming that the state will not comply with or implement HB2… “We further inform you that that today the department sent letters addressed to the NC Department of Public Safety and the University of NC similarly notifying them of our conclusion that they have engaged in violations of Title VII as well as violations of Title IX.” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
deals with workplace discrimination and would prevent employers from making Trans workers use inappropriate restrooms. Title IX of the Education Amendments says that schools receiving federal money – which includes most public schools in the United States – may not discriminate against Transgender students. If North Carolina does not comply with DOJ’s demand to stop enforcing HB 2, federal attorneys may seek an injunction ordering the state to halt enforcement. State officials would then be liable to contempt of court proceedings if they continued to implement the law. DOJ could also file a brief siding with private plaintiffs seeking to block the law from being enforced. Before working at DOJ, Vanita Gupta was a civil rights attorney and Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU.
May 6, 2016
Seattle Gay News 15
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Washington state Presidential Primary on May 24
Vote for Hillary– freesignprinter.com
by Janice Van Cleve Special to the SGN Editor:
Ballots will be mailed out later this month for the Washington State Presidential Primary. To vote, you must sign a declaration – which is included with
the ballot – stating that you are a Democrat or a Republican. Independents may declare one or the other if they want to vote on this ballot. Yes, we already had caucuses. The Democrats are going to use only the results of the caucuses and ignore these primary results. The Republicans will ignore their caucuses and use only these primary results. Silly? Maybe, but that’s what we’ve got. Republicans (and Independents who want to influence the results) vote for Donald Trump. Yes, he is an ignorant, racist, misogynistic. egomaniacal loose cannon, but he does want to tax hedge fund managers, stop big international trade deals,
and he is independent of the Republican establishment. He is also not evil on the LGBT community. Cruz has been correctly labeled by none other that former Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, as a “Lucifer” (real Satanists objected to being identified with Cruz!). Cruz is more intelligent, smoother talking, and not as confrontational as Trump (which admittedly is a pretty low bar), but he is genuinely evil and is hated by everyone in his own party in Congress. He would establish a radical Christian Taliban state if he could. Democrats vote for Hillary. True, it will not change the actual delegate allocation, but it will 1) give voice to Hillary supporters, and 2) keep you on the rolls as an “every time voter.” Bernie has already admitted he will not get the nomination but he will exert a huge influence on the party platform which hopefully will bring the Democratic Party back to its leftist roots. Whichever you choose, please do vote. Thank you. “Hillary for President” Janice Van Cleve PCO 37/1875 www.jvox.doodlekit.com
WASHINGTON STATE INITIATIVES 2016 and I-1515 by Janice Van Cleve Special to the SGN Washington state is one of the loosest states when it comes to filing initiatives. We are so loose that people like Tim Eyman can make a business out of filing these things. In fact, this year no less than 150 initiatives were filed with the Secretary of State. Of those, 77 were from Tim Eyman. He has withdrawn 46 but that still leaves him with an incredible number of 31 initiatives in play. Each initiative has to get at least 246,372 valid signatures to be put on the November ballot. The Secretary of State recommends 325,000 to allow for invalid signatures. Signature gathers are out in force. Most of these folks are paid by the number of signatures they collect, so they are usually not advocates for or against any one of them. I encountered one at Trader Joe’s yesterday who had 4 different initiatives. He was very clever. He wore a sandwich board with his own summaries on it and had the actual signature sheets banded together. If you are inclined to any of these issues – Be Careful! Always unband the sheets and read what you are signing! Sneaky people might slip a bad initiative in the mix and get your signature without your knowing. The worst initiative of the bunch is I-1515, the so-called “Bathroom Initiative.” Six of these measures were introduced by Republicans in Olympia in the last session and they were roundly defeated. Even some sensible Republicans didn’t want anything to do with them. North Carolina and Mississippi both passed their own versions of “bathroom laws” and are already suffering a huge economic and moral backlash because of it. The court approved ballot title is: “Initiative Measure No. 1515 concerns gender-
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segregated facilities and civil liability. This measure would override state/local prohibitions against gender-identity discrimination in certain public-accommodation facilities, require that public schools restrict access to specific facilities based on sex at birth, and allow related lawsuits against schools.” Usually reasonable sounding initiatives have devils in the details, but this one is blatantly discriminatory, overturns local jurisdictions, and is unconstitutional under Title IX of federal law even on its face. It would overturn 10 years of state law protecting sexual orientation and gender identity. It would overturn Seattle’s measures that mandate gender neutral bathrooms. It would overturn business and corporate policies that accommodate gender diversity. It would even invalidate the gender neutral signs on the Washington State ferries. Specifically I-1515 requires everyone – not just transgendered persons – to use facilities that match the gender on their birth certificates. Can you just imagine a mother sending her child off to school? “Got your homework? Got your lunch money? Got your birth certificate?” Do you carry your birth certificate around with you? How many women – our daughters, mothers, sisters, or wives have used the men’s room when the line in front of the women’s room is too long? Of course, and we did it without documentation. I-1515 goes even further. It allows anybody to challenge anybody else’s gender in order to use a restroom. Store clerks can challenge customers. Police can challenge citizens. City councilmembers can challenge each other. Maybe Bigot Busters should stand outside the restrooms in the state capitol and challenge every senator and representative to see their birth certificates.
May 6, 2016
In schools, it allows kids to sue the school district if they suspect – even suspect! – that another kid is using the restroom on the basis of gender identity instead of birth certificate. Kids aren’t stupid: “I’ll challenge you this week if you challenge me next week. We could clear $2,500 apiece plus damages for our psychological, emotional, and physical harm suffered.” (text from section 3.3.e) Who dreams up initiatives like this? The sponsor of record is one Joseph Backholm of Mill Creek. He is executive director of the right-wing Family Policy Institute of Washington (www.justwantprivacy.org). Their talking points are plainly listed at www.transadvocate.com. They use photos of kids and babies to play the “it’s for the kids” card. Turn it over and see that it is really the “playing on imaginary fears” card. The fact is that these people need to generate imaginary fears to stay in business. They never promote positive, inclusive ideas that benefit all. They lost their wars
on same sex marriage, on immigration, on drugs, on Planned Parenthood, and many others, so they looked for the smallest, most vulnerable minority to target – transgendered people. Then they pile on all kinds of innuendos and slanders to make the minority appear “dangerous” when in fact, transgendered people are often the victims of hate and violence. So sign on to Washington Won’t Discriminate at www.wawont.org and get your friends to do the same. Chip in to support organizations that are actively working against I-1515. Don’t be fooled into signing I-1515 petitions and tell your friends not to sign. But be nice to the poor schlep who is trying to make a buck gathering signatures. He or she is just in it for the money. Janice Van Cleve is a PCO in the 37th District and political activist. This article appears on her website at www.jvox.doodlekit.com.
Bathroom Police– motherjones.com
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