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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’S L GB T Q
N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY
Biden pledges support to LGBTQ community Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and President-elect Joe Biden – Images by Andrew Harnik / AP, Composite by SGN
by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News This Q & A with former Vice President and now President-elect Joe Biden begins with [a conversation about] a meeting in 2012 in the Vice President’s office in the White House. A group of us met to find a way to fund an LGBT senior affordable living facility. That building is the John C. Anderson LGBT-Friendly Apartments, now a hallmark of Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community. We start there.
Mark Segal: Many in the LGBTQ community don’t know of your work for LGBTQ issues as Vice President, particularly the guidance you gave to create affordable housing for LGBTQ Seniors. Your personal involvement in the funding of the John C. Anderson LGBT-friendly affordable senior living building in Philadelphia helped make it a White House Challenge Project and got HUD to use that model to create similar projects around the country. LGBTQ seniors are often ignored even by the LGBTQ community. Why was
Mazel tov, America by Evan Wolfson Freedom to Marry My friends – With hope that you are well and staying safe despite these surreal and difficult times, I write once again to share with you my thoughts after another important US election. The American people have spoken. Congratulations, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris! Mazel tov, America.
Defeating Trump was our necessary first step away from a descent into authoritarianism. The damage done is real, and threats remain, but we, the People, took action and pulled the United States back from the brink. Now, with a new president, we all must work to lift our country up toward its ideals; beat back the pandemic, oligarchy, and injustice; reinvigorate and strengthen our democracy and institutions; address our divisions; and move forward to a more perfect union and better future for all.
see EVAN WOLFSON page 5
that issue of LGBTQ seniors important to you, and how will you expand it under your administration? Joe Biden: It’s about dignity, plain and simple. Housing should be a right, not a privilege. There are approximately 3 million LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States older than age 50, and this number is expected to more than double by 2030. LGBTQ+ seniors face far too many instances of discrimination in their lives, from employment to health care to housing. This results in unstable living arrange-
ments and makes them vulnerable. To make matters worse, Donald Trump previously rolled back data collection on LGBTQ+ seniors, which is essential to ensuring older LGBTQ+ people have access to the programs and services they need. During my time as Vice President, the Obama-Biden Administration helped provide support and resources for older LGBTQ+ individuals through the Services and Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE)
see JOE BIDEN page 5
Lawyers busy, Trump MIA Trump lawyers file lawsuits while president hides out by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Donald Trump’s lawyers have filed more than a dozen lawsuits challenging his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Meanwhile, Trump himself has gone into hiding at his Florida estate. The latest suit was filed November 10,
challenging results in Michigan, where Trump is trailing Joe Biden by almost 146,000 votes. The Trump lawsuit asks a Michigan judge to prevent the state from certifying the election results, alleging that the final count includes fraudulent ballots, ballots received after election day, and ballots
see LAWSUITS page 9
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Welcome, Tom Orr! Seattle Gay News is delighted to welcome Tom Orr to the SGN staff. Tom will be sharing his creative talents with us and our readers in the coming weeks and months ahead.
(Moment of Silence.)
“DONALD TRUMP!” to the tune of “Be Our Guest!” from Disney’s Beauty and The Beast music by Alan Menken original lyrics by Howard Ashman
And here’s to the women who brought Male family and pals … Many men are allies Who had moms who taught Them to respect all gals!
Orriginal lyrics by Tom Orr Donald Trump! Donald Trump! He’s a pimple on life’s rump! When I see his head, As Bette Davis once said, “What a dump!” He’s a joke! He’s a fool! Has he ever been to school? Him? Control the military? Could there be a thought more scary? What a switch! White and rich! With a xenophobic itch! He’s a greasy skeezy sleazy wheezy grump! He wants to be our prez? Don’t trust a word he says! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Could we be a bigger chump? While he’s trolling, He’s still polling And we sit there like a lump! What a crime! What a shame! What a mighty frightening game! And what’s more, so terrifying, His lies go sans verifying! If he wins, it begins: World War Three! God Save Our Skins! Just the thought of it’s enough to make me jump Off of the highest tower! Is this our finest hour? Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Lumiere’s Solo: Life is disconcerting! With so many people hurting! Cops are dangerous And everyone’s a liar! Seems today our problems are farreaching. Sadly, I’m just preaching to the choir. Once we were united ... Nowadays we’re all divided And old what’s his name Adds more flame to the fire ... Could the guy be any more misguided? Donald? Please, no thank you! Unless it’s a vote to spank you! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Someone grab a stomach pump! For, each time he speaks, Barf fills my cheeks; My shoulders start to slump. Is this true? Is this real? Is this schlemiel at the Bastille? Please! He has no sense of humor! He’s a big malignant tumor! Rude and crass! What an ass! Watch him screw the middle class, But the legs of true Republicans he’ll hump! Tell that flabby wussy: “Don’t you grab my pussy!” Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Every time he starts to stump, You can hear him state His bald-faced hate For peons in a clump! He attacks / gays and blacks! Feminists are maniacs!
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No fires or bombs! No big to-do! No ugly, senseless violence! Just aunts and moms and grannies too! And moments of sweet silence!
Tom Orr – Photo courtesy of Tom Orr
There’s no difference that he knows Between Muslims and Latinos! Build a wall! Ten miles tall! Round ‘em up and kill ‘em all! While he offers to make Fox News’ coffers plump! He’ll make the world as shitty As Atlantic City! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Fuck you! Donald Trump! “THE LADIES WHO MARCH! 2.0” to the tune of “The Ladies Who Lunch” from the Broadway musical Company music & original lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Orriginal lyrics by Tom Orr Here’s to you Ladies who March For All Human Rights! From the lights of Broadway To St. Louie’s arch To Pacific Heights! Around the World, In major cities, Speeches were read! Women and girls With pretty kitties Perched on their head! Can anyone … make me … a pussy hat? I’ll drink to that! Here’s to the girls who got mad At his gross remarks … So they had a protest That made their hearts glad In squares and malls and parks! Out on the streets, / Folks everywhere, From Boston to Botswana ... A billion tweets! / A word from Cher! Three F-bombs from Madonna! I’ll drink to that! And one for Madonna! Here’s to the women who walked, Gathering en masse! Those who masterminded These protests that rocked? To you, we raise a glass! The ones with slogans and signs ... The ones decked out to the nines ... The ones who’re tomorrow’s headlines ... Aren’t they a gas? Grace and style and class?? Yaaaaasss, honey! Yaaaaasss! Here’s to the legions in pink, Wearing pussy hats! Having chats and taking a moment to think? Brava and congrats!
A toast to all my sisters with soul! Who took the high road and met your goal! Let’s hear it for this historic stroll! Now we’re on a roll! Time will take its toll! Let’s impeach that troll! Everybody, Skoal! https://www.facebook.com/dewatters/ posts/10156066963544328 “EVERYTHING’S CLOSED!” to the tune of “Anything Goes” Music by Cole Porter Orriginal lyrics by Tom Orr Performed by Meg Mackay & Billy Philadelphia. Times have changed Once upon a time life was grand Ladies greeted you with big hugs Every gentleman shook your hand! But today People fear they’ll be catching bugs Groups of ten or more have been banned And we pray for cure-all drugs! In olden days, we’d all go shopping With nightclub and table hopping But now God knows … Everything’s Closed! To help reduce chance of exposures, They’ve mandated ballpark closures! No Broadway shows ... Everything’s Closed! If going to pubs you like Or health clubs you like Or hot tubs you like Or back rubs you like Or U Dub you like ... Now GrubHub be like “Our market share grows!” A hero once led daring capers, But now hoarding toilet paper’s All that he knows ... Everything’s Closed! No art museums or bowling alleys. No Trumpsters can go to rallies Nor Bernie Bros … Everything’s Closed! No Dollywood to worship Parton. No college or kindergarten. No lap dance hos! Everything’s Closed! If going to bars you like Or bazaars you like Or day trips you like Or cruise ships you like Or theme parks you like Or Sunday larks you like, Just call Domino’s! So thanks to our ignoble POTUS, The world’s closed till further notice Yep, Hell just froze! Everything’s Closed! Everything’s ... Everything’s ... Everything’s Closed! Copyright 2016-2020. Tom Orr. All Rights Reserved. For more Tom Orr, please visit https://www.facebook.com/the.tom.orr/ posts/10155583052082715
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ELECTION
JOE BIDEN
continued from cover resource program. And we supported the development of the John C. Anderson Apartments in Philadelphia to serve an immediate need for high quality senior living that is fitting of the iconic LGBTQ+ aging activists that now make their home there. I see this as a national model, and would support the creation of similar projects as president. I will also champion passage of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act, which will end discriminatory passages and ensure LGBTQ+ seniors have equal access to services outlined by the Older Americans Act. And I will protect and strengthen Medicare, preserve and strengthen Social Security, and provide help for older LGBTQ+ workers who want to keep working. Mark Segal: While you have stated that you support an inclusive Equality Act and said it’s a priority, if the Democratic party is successful in winning the Senate and retains control of the House, will you pledge that your administration will pass and sign the equality act in your first year as President? Joe Biden: Donald Trump and Mike Pence have given hate against LGBTQ+ individuals safe harbor and rolled back critical protections for the LGBTQ+ community. By blocking the ability of transgender individuals to openly serve their country, denying LGBTQ+ people access to critical health care, proposing policies allowing federally funded homeless shelters to turn away transgender people and federally funded adoption agencies to reject samesex couples, and failing to address the epidemic of violence against transgender people – particularly transgender women of color – the Trump-Pence Administration has led a systematic effort to undo the progress President Obama and I made. Hate and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people started long before Trump and Pence took office. Defeating them will not solve the problem, but it is an essential first step in order to resume our march toward equality. To help achieve our vision of equality, I will make enactment of the Equality Act a top legislative priority during my first 100 days – a priority that Donald Trump opposes. This is essential to ensuring that no
EVAN WOLFSON continued from cover
We have a lot to do and this is a time to go big and bold, with urgency, knowing that it will take time. More on that below, but first, let’s celebrate this election. I. The American people have never supported Trump. Despite a majority against him in 2016, he eked out a win in the Electoral College only due to Russian interference and clumsy news reporting of an overhyped and ultimately illusory purported scandal about email. Trump is the only US president never to have hit 50% in the polls throughout his entire time in public life, and the first to lose the popular vote twice. Americans turned out in record numbers during a pandemic, overcoming voter suppression, to repudiate him now. Democrats have now won the most votes in seven of the past eight presidential elections, something no party has been able to do since the formation of the modern party system in 1828. The vote against Trump in 2016 is even higher than the vote for Clinton over Trump in 2016. Across our country, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district all flipped to vote for Biden/Harris.
Joe Biden (l) speaks as CNN moderator, Anderson Cooper, listens during the Power of our Pride Town Hall on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. – Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez AP
future president can ever again roll back civil rights and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, including when it comes to housing. I will also direct my Cabinet to ensure immediate and full enforcement of the Equality Act across all federal departments and agencies. The Equality Act is essential to reducing economic barriers and ensuring consistent protection from discrimination for LGBTQ+ individuals. Too many states do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination. It’s wrong to deny people access to services or housing because of who they are or who they love. Mark Segal: What can you do as president about nations that still put LGBT people in jail, publicly whip them, execute them, or allow honor killings because of sexual orientation or gender identity? Joe Biden: It is our responsibility to advance human rights and development in our country and beyond our borders.
As Vice President, I traveled the world on behalf of the Obama-Biden Administration and repeatedly spoke out to recognize LGBTQ+ rights as human rights and to advance opportunities for LGBTQ+ individuals. As President, I’ll restore America’s global leadership on LGBTQ+ issues and actively combat violence and discrimination that is far too rampant. I will build on the Obama-Biden successes and repair the damage wrought by the Trump-Pence Administration’s treatment of LGBTQ+ Americans, which signals a tolerance for abuses by other countries, and its utter failure to defend American diplomats who speak out for LGBTQ+ rights abroad. I will lead a coalition of like-minded governments and international organizations to advance protections for LGBTQ+ people. This includes the decriminalization of identities and relationships and responding swiftly to threats against LGBTQ+ rights. If governments restrict the rights of
LGBTQ+ individuals, or allow violence or discrimination, my Administration, working with partners, will use America’s full range of diplomatic tools to influence that government’s behavior, including private diplomacy, public statements, and multilateral initiatives at United Nations agencies. We will also use direct pressure tactics as appropriate, including sanctions, to respond to violations of human rights, including LGBTQ+ rights. I’ll stand up to bullies and once more put human rights at the center of America’s engagement with the world. Mark Segal: Over 30 trans people, most of them people of color, have been killed in the U.S. this year. What can a Biden Administration Justice Department and HHS do to address the wave of violence and murder of trans people? Joe Biden: Violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people,
Trump is the first one-term loser in a generation, and Biden has become the first challenger to defeat an incumbent in 28 years. The affirmation that in a true democracy, the people can vote out an incumbent, is a message again heard around the world.
archaic Electoral College, gerrymandering, and the increasingly non-representative Senate), which skews against the Democrats and distorts our politics. These and other structural problems will require our creative and sustained attention in the years ahead.
living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” This is not only an appeal to history and hope, to patriotism, it is also a reminder that we have to pierce – as we’d say today – silos and bubbles, passions, to re-center facts, sustain conversation, increase understanding, and reconnect with each other as Americans. For liberal democracy to survive, and for us to thrive, we must strive, where possible, to restore our bonds in common purpose, transcending disagreement, too, in shared and expanded civic space. And, at the same time, one of my rules of activism is: you don’t need every, you just need enough. As you all know, we didn’t win the freedom to marry easily, or over night. But we did win. People can rise to fairness. Change can happen. We are now called to work to heal where we can, overcome what we must, lift up the truth, establish justice and accountability, protect democracy, and, yes, build back better. And we can. We are Americans. Please be well, and stay safe, and keep going in hope –
II. Joe Biden selected, and the American people elected as our next Vice President, the first woman, the first African-American, the first Asian-American. Another message to young people everywhere: See yourself. Believe. Engage. Win. III. And as of today [November 7, 2020], even the Senate is still within reach, with the races in Alaska and North Carolina still undetermined, and – call to action! – two run-offs in newly purple Georgia. This means that on January 5 we all have a chance to decide which party will lead the Senate, helping the voters of Georgia choose for good governance rather than obstruction. A top priority now.
V. We hoped for even more – that’s what patriots do – and we face real difficulties. To quote Ijeoma Olua, “This election doesn’t change the work we need to do, it just determines how much harder that work may be.” Before us now is the work of governing, of tackling big problems with boldness, of continued organizing, and, yes, of persuasion. Heavy lifting ahead, but, as Robert Reich put it, “I am nauseously optimistic.” Despite our country’s challenges and our divisions at this time of pandemic, polarization, inequality, and disinformation, the 2020 election has delivered a repudiation of Trump and a mandate for leadership and for effective government. A new chapter – in a long story – begins.
IV. The fact that all of this didn’t come through immediately and clearly is because of our cumbersome elections processes (and some partisan sabotage), and because of the flawed, non-majoritarian, and antiquated American electoral system (the
VI. Abraham Lincoln told us, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every
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Gay City celebrates Transgender Awareness Week (Nov. 13-19) and observes Trans Day of Remembrance (Nov. 20) with art This year in celebration of Transgender Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19, and in observation of Trans Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, Gay City: Seattle’s LGBTQ Center wants to amplify artwork by trans & gender diverse community members. What is Transgender Awareness Week? Transgender Awareness Week is a week (November 13-19) dedicated to raising awareness of trans people and the issues they face in our society. Learn more at www.glaad.org/transweek What is Trans Day of Remembrance? Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 honoring the memories of victims of antitransgender violence. Learn more at www. glaad.org/tdor
sion, or you may use this as an opportunity to share existing work, so long as it relates to trans visibility and awareness or TDOR.
ted digitally and will be shared on social media, so keep that in mind while you’re creating your work.
How can I get involved? We invite community members to send us artwork or tag us in original content on social media, relating to various issues facing trans people. Gay City will share out the artwork and tag the artist if they wish. This is an opportunity to memorialize victims, draw attention to specific issues, and also spread joy, creativity, and resilience. Artwork can be made specifically for the occa-
What should I create? That’s up to you, as long as it relates to trans awareness or trans day of remembrance in some way. You could memorialize trans victims of violence, bring awareness to a specific issue, teach us something, etc. The format could be a video, poem, graphic, article, painting, drawing, etc. In order to keep everyone safe due to COVID-19, all artwork must be submit-
How do I submit my artwork? 1. Please upload it to cloud storage in a high quality format if possible, and email a link to info@gaycity.org by November 11 along with the following suggested pieces of information:
Image courtesy of Gay City
Your name/artist alias (or anonymous); Caption/description of work; Social media handle (if you would like
to be tagged); Link to where we can access the work. 2. Alternatively, upload work to social media, use the hashtags #TransDayOfRemembrance, #GayCity, #TransgenderAwarenessWeek, tag or message us @gaycity and we will repost it from there. If you have any questions or for assistance addressing access needs, feel free to email us at info@gaycity.org or message us @gaycity on Instagram and Facebook. Courtesy of Gay City
Ingersoll Gender Center celebrates Trans Awareness Week (Nov. 14-Nov. 19) Thursday, November 19 | 1-3pm PST FREE Employer Training: Trans Cultural Competency Co-presented with GSBA RSVP at https://ingersoll.typeform. com/to/ZvUVAXyW
Did you know Saturday (November 14) is the first day of Trans Awareness Week? We’re excited to announce a week of events focused on advocacy, connection and celebration! Check out the below events for details and info on how to RSVP! Kickoff Brunch Saturday, November 14 | 11am -1pm PST Join us this Saturday for our Kickoff Brunch! [NOTE: Registration deadline for brunch from Café Flora has passed. SGN did not receive information about this event from Ingersoll in time to promote the brunch portion of this program.] This event is a fundraiser featuring performances from TGNC artists, with all proceeds supporting Ingersoll. This event will be held virtually via Zoom. Prior to the event we ask that you download Zoom – upon registering further communications after will have walkthrough tutorials on how to download and join the event space! Tickets: $25 program only – https:// secure.ingersollgendercenter.org/np/clients/ingersollgendercenter/event.jsp?forwa rdedFromSecureDomain=1&event=11 Sunday, November 15 | 7-9pm PST FREE Movie Night Co-presented with Three Dollar Bill Cinema RSVP at https://bit.ly/transmovienight Monday, November 16 | 6-7:30pm PST FREE Healthcare and Employment Discrimination
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Thursday, November 19 | 7-9pm PST FREE Intergenerational Voices Panel Co-presented with Gay City RSVP at https://ingersoll.typeform. com/to/w7TOSDNS Want to support our Trans Week of Awareness programming? Make a personally meaningful donation at https://bit.ly/ twoadonate If you are in need of assistance, our website is constantly being updated with new and updated programs! Check out our updated Community Financial Assistance programs, the King County Rental Assistance Lottery for past due rent, and more by visiting www.bit.ly/transaid2020
Images courtesy of GenPride
Info Session and Knowledge Sharing Co-presented with QLaw LGBT Legal Clinic RSVP at https://ingersoll.typeform. com/to/GYLmpkm3
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Tuesday, November 17 | 5:30-7pm PST FREE Gender Affirming Healthcare Panel RSVP at https://ingersoll.typeform. com/to/ibR9YkkE
More info on COVID-19 programming Want more information on what we are up to and upcoming events? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or check our web calendar for updates! Looking for ways to support our work? We are in the process of launching a Peer-toPeer Fundraising program! To learn more, email coco@ingersollgendercenter.org Courtesy of Ingersoll Gender Center
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“Transection!” premiering Nov. 15 features collaboration between LGBTQ+ and allied musicians and visual artists Little Grey Cat presents “Transection!” on November 15th at 7pm. “Transection!” is a live-streamed event where musicians and visual artists of LGBTQ+ and allied identities come together to promote collaboration among the Seattle art and music scenes. This year, “Transection!” features music by Claire Michelle and Jack Mozie, paintings by Tristen Oakenthorn and photos by Daniel Chang. Tune in to hear music, and view the art while the artists themselves delve into the sharing of their craft. The event is the brainchild of Claire Michelle, who will be featured in this year’s “Transection!”. As well as playing a key role as the creative director of “Transection!”, Claire will be playing her original music alongside Jack Mozie, a bilingual singer/songwriter who provides an upbeat
musical backdrop for the evening’s event. The artists featured in the third annual “Transection!” includes Tristen Oakenthorn, a prolific watercolor artist whose inspiration ranges from Hayao Miyazaki to Gustav Klimt and beyond. Also featured is Daniel Chang who masterfully uses light and ambience in his photos to showcase his subjects in striking ways. “Transection!” is a night to celebrate LGBTQ+ and allied creatives. A reminder that we exist outside of Pride. Cozy up at home and enjoy the “Transection!” premier on Nov. 15 at 7pm at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=urrTG8PjUGM. Suggested donation is $8 payable at https:// bit.ly/2GmOgqH. RSVP on the Facebook event page [https://www.facebook.com/ events/522834728685386/].
Generations Celebration to be held virtually Wednesday, Nov. 18, 4-5pm
Images courtesy of GenPride
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In last week’s edition of the SGN we inadvertently published the wrong day for this event. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 18, NOT Monday.] This year’s Generations Celebration event, presented by the University of Washington’s AgePride HealthyGen Center and the National LGBTQ+ Health and Longevity Center, will be held virtually on Wednesday, November 18, from 4-5pm (PST) to solidify our common ground in the context of a global pandemic. The free event celebrates advances in health and longevity while illuminating the steadfast work needed to advance racial equity and intersectional justice and seeks to combat social isolation. Website: genevents.org/2020-conference-gala Registration: events.uw.edu/d/67q4g0 Facebook event: facebook.com/ events/3582755091744901 Sponsorship opportunities still available: genevents.org/sponsor Multiple speakers of different generations will share their expertise and experience, unifying in solidarity. The event will be emceed by performer Aleksa Manila who will be joined by a lineup of amazing talent, including the “hardest workin’ woman in blues, soul, funk & gospel,” Lady A, local drag chanteuse Arnaldo! and longtime acclaimed activist Dr. Grethe Cammermeyer, who bravely challenged the military’s anti-gay policy. Engaging presentations will cover a wide range of pressing topics, such as
addressing access and disparities in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color) communities; promoting equity in the face of historical trauma; HIV, resilience and long-term survivors; exploring intersections of race, ethnicity, sexuality and gender in health inequities; and bias and resistance in the lives of trans people. The event will celebrate the release of the 2020 Washington State LGBTQ+ Equity and Health Report, which will be announced by University of Washington Professor Karen Fredriksen Goldsen. Generations Celebration is inviting LGBTQ+ people of all ages and their allies to tune in for an hour of entertainment and engaging presentations and to help raise funds for gen2gen, a mentorship program designed to reduce social isolation by connecting diverse generations through meaningful connections. This event is fundraising for the gen2gen mentorship program. For an up-to-date list of performers and presentations, visit the event’s website at genevents.org/2020-conference-gala.
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About AgePride HealthyGen Center The University of Washington’s HealthyGen Center is distinct by its focus on innovation and being responsive to the needs of elders, families and care partners in diverse at-risk and underserved communities. Responding to the changing nature of aging in our society, the Center develops interdisciplinary, professional and community collaborations to create new models and services to advance health promotion, wellness and prevention for elders and multigenerational care. The Center is delivering some of the first evidence-based interventions designed to address the growing and distinct needs of at-risk and underserved communities, including health and support programs across generational programming as well as evidence-based training for providers to ensure culturally relevant care. Through its community based collaborative work, the Center promotes multi-generational health and longevity in an increasingly diverse society. More information at age-pride.org/healthy-gen-center.
November 13, 2020
About the gen2gen Mentorship Program For decades there have been too few opportunities to build connections between older and younger generations. Today, COVID-19 and physical distancing cause further division, disconnection, ageism, and loneliness. The pandemic has separated everyone while creating an appreciation for our essential interdependence. The gen2gen mentorship program will bring generations together to fight social isolation and strengthen multigenerational connections. Through gen2gen, diverse generations will share their life stories and lessons learned to make meaningful connections and better understand each other’s diverse experiences, histories, and perspectives. The gen2gen program is being developed by the AgePride HealthyGen Center at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work. The Center’s successful programs are based on strong community partnerships. Together we utilize cutting-edge information regarding vulnerable populations, such as LGBTQ older adults, to develop innovative solutions improving health, wellbeing, and longevity. YouthCare is a collaborating partner on gen2gen. More information at genevents.org/gen2gen Website: genevents.org/2020-conference-gala Registration: events.uw.edu/d/67q4g0 Facebook event: facebook.com/ events/3582755091744901 Sponsorship opportunities still available: genevents.org/sponsor Courtesy of AgePride HealthyGen Center
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ELECTION
GLAAD on the projected election of Joe Biden as President
NEW YORK (November 7, 2020) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, [has responded] to the election of Joe Biden for President, defeating Donald Trump in both the Electoral College and popular vote. President-elect Biden won the most votes of any president in history, with more than 75 million cast. Sen. Kamala Harris will be the first female vice president of the United States and first vice president who is of Black and Indian descent. Pennsylvania put Biden over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, as recordbreaking numbers of Americans voted early or mailed in ballots in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. “The results of this presidential election affirm that every vote and every voter counts. LGBTQ people and all marginalized Americans came together to make this victory possible, and now the journey to safety, equality and acceptance can continue forward,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have promised to fight for America as a place where we all can belong and succeed, where truth and kindness matter. In the early days of their administration, they must prioritize protecting LGBTQ people equally under the law in a country where we can live without fear. We must all also confront the racism and bias that fueled the division of the last four years, and resolve to come together for justice and equality for all. We are eager to act on this historic vote for progress and get our country back on track.” GLAAD’s annual survey recently found that up to 91% of Americans support protections for LGBTQ people, but 89% were not aware that current laws do not protect us. In the 1,386 days of the Trump administration, GLAAD has tracked more than 181 attacks in policy and rhetoric against LGBTQ Americans, including fighting to the Supreme Court three times for the right to discriminate, and deploying multiple federal departments to roll back policies
Photo by Carolyn Kaster AP
protecting LGBTQ people seeking a job, health care, housing, [or] an education, [or] to adopt a child or buy a cake. GLAAD calls on President-elect Biden to immediately restore those protections via the power of the presidency, and to lead
MMAA on the election victory of Joe Biden WASHINGTON, DC (November 7, 2020) – Today, the Modern Military Association of America (MMAA) released the following statement following Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election: “As the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization for the LGBTQ military and veteran community, we look forward to working with President-elect Biden and his administration to ensure every service member – including those who happen to be transgender – are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” said MMAA interim executive director and Air Force veteran Jennifer Dane. “It’s critical for our national security that Donald Trump’s unconscionable decision recklessly singling out transgender military members for discrimination be overturned. Thankfully, President-elect Biden has pledged to quickly take action and reverse Trump’s unconstitutional transgender military ban. Every qualified American patriot – regardless of their gender identity – should be able to serve.” In the case of Karnoski v. Trump,
MMAA and Lambda Legal are currently challenging the constitutionality of the Trump-Pence administration’s transgender military ban. The lawsuit represents six currently serving members of the armed services; three who seek to enlist; the American Military Partner Association (now part of MMAA); the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization; and Gender Justice League, a gender and sexuality civil and human rights organization, headquartered in Seattle.
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The Modern Military Association of America (MMAA) is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization for LGBTQ service members, military spouses, veterans, and allies. Created through the merger of OutServe-SLDN and the American Military Partner Association, the MMAA is a united voice for the LGBTQ military and veteran community. More at www.ModernMilitary.org. Courtesy of the MMAA
Americans to align their belief that discrimination is wrong with laws to reinforce them. President-elect Biden is the first presidential candidate to address the need to protect transgender Americans in a nationally televised forum. He has also promised to urge the passage of the Equality Act and sign it into law in his first hundred days in office, guaranteeing comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Americans across the country.
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. More at www.glaad.org or connect on Facebook and Twitter. Courtesy of GLAAD
NMAC on the election results WASHINGTON, DC (November 7, 2020) – NMAC has released the following statement from Executive Director Paul Kawata on the 2020 election results: “NMAC congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. We are pleased that that the new administration is committed to not only an aggressive approach to end the HIV epidemic but to address issues of systemic racism and inequities that cripple minority communities’ access to health care. We look forward to working with the new administration to more aggressively pursue the plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 and to work to end the related epidemics of STDs and hepatitis. We ask this new administration to look through the lens of racial justice and health equity as they develop their priorities for the next four years. And we will continue to remind them of those commitments as we go forward.”
NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced its mission through a variety of programs and services, including a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials, and a website (www.nmac.org). NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic. Courtesy of NMAC
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GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders on the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Photo by Carolyn Kaster AP
BOSTON (November 7, 2020) – With the results of the presidential election announced today, we now know that millions of Americans across the country have come together to say no more to carelessness, cruelty, and dishonesty. The election of Joe Biden and the historic election of Kamala Harris, the first woman, first Black woman, and first South Asian
woman to be elected vice president, are the result of hard, tireless work that organizers, volunteers, ballot counters, and everyday Americans have put in to make our democracy work. These contributions offer profound hope for the direction of our country. But today is only the next step in putting our nation on a path toward true equity, liberation, and justice for all. The damage
Lambda Legal congratulates Biden and Harris, warns of continued legal battles
NEW YORK (November 7, 2020) – Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings today issued the following statement about the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as president and vice-president of the United States: “The results of the election are clear, with clear majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral College for the Biden-Harris ticket. The people of this country came out in record numbers for this election, and the results are unequivocal. We urge President Trump and his supporters to follow the example set more than 200 years ago, when President Washington set the standard of a peaceful transition, as has every president since, all of whom have accepted and honored the will of the people, even those who sought but were denied a second term. “We celebrate the election of Vice President Biden and Sen. Harris, both of whom have been key supporters of civil rights for LGBTQ people and everybody living with HIV. But we are also mindful of the hard work ahead. Now that our opponents have lost their control of the executive branch,
we know we will face renewed efforts to litigate away our rights through the judicial branch over the next four years using the Trump-appointed judges that Mitch McConnell has rammed through over the past four years. We stand ready for the fight and are happy to have an ally in the White House to fight alongside us. “We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to roll-back some of the most egregious efforts of the previous administration to deny and dilute the hard-won rights we have secured since our founding almost 50 years ago.” Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and policy work. More at www.lambdalegal.org.
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Courtesy of Lambda Legal
done during the years of the Trump administration – the racist rhetoric and policies that have hurt immigrants, Muslims, Black Americans, and so many people of color; the complete failure to address the COVID19 pandemic that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and livelihoods; the relentless attacks on the LGBTQ community that have not let up from day one – this damage won’t be reversed overnight. This fight was never just about one election. Our work continues. President-elect Biden and Vice Presidentelect Harris have stated their commitment to equality and justice, and to governing with reason, fairness, and compassion. We look forward to working with the new administration to undo the harms done to the LGBTQ community under the Trump administration, and to joining with all who care about equity to hold the incoming administration accountable to their commitment.
From creating a world with real lived equality for LGBTQ people, to charting a path to true racial equity and justice, today more than ever we have not just the opportunity but the responsibility to move our country closer to the nation of equals we aspire to be. Our nation has voted, volunteered, and worked hard for this moment. Now, we must make sure we seize that opportunity and rise to that responsibility. Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. More at www.glad.org. Courtesy of GLAD
counted on defective tabulating machines. The number of ballots at issue remains unclear, however. At least two prior suits contesting the state’s election results have already been rejected by Michigan judges. In Pennsylvania, where Trump attorneys filed suit on November 9, an 85-page complaint identified only 14,000 disputed ballots. Biden currently leads Trump by some 85,000 votes in that state. In Georgia, Trump lawyers challenged 53 ballots on the grounds that a Republican poll watcher alleged they arrived after polls closed on election night. The poll watcher presented no evidence to support his contention, and election officials testified that the ballots had arrived in time to be counted. A Georgia state judge denied Trump’s petition to throw out the questionable ballots. Biden leads in Georgia by more than 14,000 votes. In Arizona, the Trump campaign joined in a lawsuit filed by two Republicans in Maricopa County claiming that a substan-
tial number of Republican ballots failed to be counted because voters used Sharpies to fill in their choices. They subsequently dropped the suit after Maricopa County officials challenged the factual basis for the lawsuit. The Trump campaign later filed a separate lawsuit alleging that Maricopa County was improperly rejecting ballots cast by some voters. That challenge is still pending. In Nevada, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit to stop ballot counting across the state, alleging that the state’s signature-matching technology was faulty, and that Republican poll watchers weren’t being allowed to observe ballot processing closely enough. The Nevada Supreme Court tossed out the suit. Meanwhile, Donald Trump made no public appearances between Election Day and November 11, when he emerged from hiding to attend a Veterans’ Day event at Arlington National Cemetery. Vice President Mike Pence, Melania Trump, and Karen Pence accompanied him. The ceremony lasted only minutes, after which Trump departed without making a statement.
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LAWSUITS
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ELECTION
HRC charts bold path for equality under Biden administration
Photo by Adam Schultz / Biden for President
WASHINGTON DC (November 11, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization – released the Blueprint for Positive Change 2020, an important brief that includes 85 individual policy recommendations, reaching across the federal government, aimed at bettering the daily lives of LGBTQ people at home and abroad. “The momentous election of proequality champions Joe Biden and Kamala Harris puts us on a path to move equality forward by advancing policies to improve the lives of millions of LGBTQ people,”
said Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David. “Over the last four years, the Trump-Pence administration has systemically attacked LGBTQ people and our nation’s most sacred institutions – our courts, our Constitution, and our fundamental civil rights. The Biden-Harris administration has the opportunity to not only put our democracy back on track but deliver real positive change for LGBTQ people’s daily lives. The Blueprint for Positive Change 2020 charts the next administration’s path forward to improve the lives of LGBTQ people and move the needle closer toward full equality.”
OutRight Action International on the US election outcome
Building on our expertise in administrative policy-making, the Human Rights Campaign’s Legal and Government Affairs team evaluated existing and potential rules and regulations for possible improvement, reversal, or implementation by a proequality president. Developed over the course of months, the Blueprint for Positive Change 2020 provides a critical roadmap of 85 individual policy recommendations that should be the priority of the incoming administration. These recommendations do not require any action by Congress. The Blueprint has been shared with the Biden transition team as they evaluate the policy steps of the incoming administration. The recommendations include: • Ensure consistent administrative implementation of Bostock v. Clayton County across all agencies enforcing civil rights statutes and provisions; • Revise restrictions on transgender individuals to return to an inclusive policy of military service; • Establish an interagency working group to address anti-transgender violence; • Appoint openly-LGBTQ justices, judges,
NEW YORK (November 7, 2020) – OutRight welcomes the announcement of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the president- and vice president-elect. The outcome of this election has far-reaching implications for LGBTIQ people globally. For 30 years, OutRight has fought to promote the human rights of LGBTIQ people internationally. Sixty-seven countries continue to criminalize same-sex relations, while only five ban so-called “conversion therapy.” In too many places, international standards, which the Trump administration actively undermined, are the only avenue for the recognition of the human rights of LGBTIQ people. Even in 2020, there is not one country in the world where LGBTIQ people live with full safety, rights, and dignity. OutRight looks forward to working with
the Biden-Harris administration to reestablish respect for LGBTIQ rights throughout US foreign policy. We will also hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for an intersectional human rights agenda that values LGBTIQ people, people of color, immigrants, women, and other vulnerable groups. Specifically OutRight will look to the new administration to: Restore support for and participation in UN agencies and mechanisms, including seeking to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, and to ratify major human rights treaties from the United Nations and Organization of American States; Renounce the harmful definition of human rights based on “natural law” and “natural rights” used by the Trump admin-
istration’s “Commission on Unalienable Rights” and reaffirm a commitment to international human rights standards; • Appoint and resource a special envoy on LGBTI rights established under the Obama administration; • Remove religious exemptions to US policies; • Return to an inclusive definition of gender encompassing of all gender identities; • Revoke the Mexico City Policy and reinstate support for sexual and reproductive health and rights; and • Increase funding from USAID and the US State Department for LGBTIQ civil society organizations working to promote LGBTIQ rights worldwide. • The fight for LGBTIQ equality is far from over, but this is a new day of hope.
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executive officials, and ambassadors; • Establish uniform data collection standards incorporation sexual orientation and gender identity into federal surveys; • Establish an interagency working group to protect and support LGBTQ rights globally; • End discrimination against gay and bisexual blood donors; • Prohibit the practice of conversion therapy as a fraudulent business practice; • Rescind and replace regulations restricting coverage of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act; and • Eliminate discrimination against beneficiaries in charitable choice and faithbased initiatives. The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community. Courtesy of the HRC OutRight Action International works at a global, regional, and national level to eradicate the persecution, inequality, and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) people face around the world. From its offices in seven countries and headquarters in New York, OutRight builds capacity of LGBTIQ movements, documents human rights violations, advocates for inclusion and equality, and holds leaders accountable for protecting the rights of LGBTIQ people everywhere. OutRight has recognized consultative status at the United Nations. Courtesy of OutRight Action International
Celebrating 46 Years!
Celebrations of Biden’s victory on Capitol Hill – Photos by Renee Raketty / CapitolHillSeattle.com
JOE BIDEN
continued from page 5 particularly Black and Brown transgender women, is an epidemic that needs national leadership. So far this year, the Human Rights Campaign has tracked 33 transgender or gender non-conforming people who have been violently killed. This is the highest number on record with more than two months left in the year, and the vast majority are Black and Brown transgender women. It’s intolerable and has happened right here, in Philadelphia. Mia Green and Rem’mie Fells suffered an unimaginable fate. These deaths don’t exist within a vacuum. Dehumanizing government actions and rhetoric as well as a failure to address risk factors like domestic and intimate partner violence, underemployment and unemployment and poverty, housing insecurity and health disparities, put this community at risk. From banning transgender patriots from serving their country, to attempting to limit transgender people’s access to health care in the midst of a pandemic, to literally erasing the word transgender from some government websites, Trump and Pence have fueled the flames of transphobia in our nation while refusing to acknowledge the epidemic of violence. Solving this epidemic of violence doesn’t just require a President who actually recognizes it as fact, but one who believes in the humanity and dignity of transgender people. During my first 100 days in office I will direct federal resources to help prevent violence against transgender women and transgender women of color. Recognizing that employment and housing discrimination lead to increased risk of homelessness and violence, I will also work to pass the Equality Act to reduce economic barriers and social stigma, and the LGBTQ Essential Data Act, which will help collect critical data about anti-transgender violence and the factors that drive it. I will also direct my Administration to update the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports Supplementary Homicide Reports (UCR-SHR) to include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, which will improve our ability to fully diagnose and measure the extent of violent
crimes against LGBTQ+ victims. Over the years, I have championed more than a dozen bills around hate crime prevention efforts, including legislation in 1989 requiring the government to begin collecting data around hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and landmark legis-
Obama-Biden State Department led the way by updating its gender change policies for passports. As president, I will build on this action to ensure all transgender individuals have access to identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity, a key step to reducing anti-transgender discrimina-
I will immediately reverse discriminatory practices that Trump put in place and work to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people widely. lation in 1994 allowing harsher penalties for crimes based on sexual orientation. In 2009, President Obama and I championed and signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, which expanded the nation’s hate crimes law to include crimes based on one’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. But today there is still so much more work to do. I will strengthen enforcement of the Matthew Shepard Act by increasing funding for anti-bias and hate crimes investigation training. I will work with Congress to pass both the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer No Hate Act, which would require national hate crime reporting and data collection, as well as victim assistance and support, and the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act, which as HRC describes “would prohibit law enforcement from targeting a person based on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” In addition, I will ensure that my Administration’s Department of Justice makes hate crimes a prosecutorial priority. Additionally, transgender and non-binary people without identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity are often exposed to harassment and violence and denied employment, housing, critical public benefits, and even the right to vote. The
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tion, harassment, and violence. I believe every transgender or non-binary person should have the option of selecting “X” as their gender marker on government identifications, passports, and other documentation. I will support state and federal efforts to allow for this accurate representation. I will also work to increase the safety of transgender individuals who are incarcerated. The Obama-Biden Administration issued guidance on implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards, requiring gender identity be considered when making housing assignments. The Trump-Pence Administration’s Federal Bureau of Prisons rolled back this guidance, requiring biological sex to be used in housing determinations, putting transgender inmates in serious danger of assault and rape. As president, I will reinstate the Obama-Biden guidance and direct my Justice Department to ensure that federal and state correctional facilities comply with the PREA standards. In addition, I ensure all transgender inmates have access to appropriate doctors and medical care – including OBGYNs and hormone therapy. And, I will require the Bureau of Prisons to revise the Transgender Offender Manual to once again include protections for transgender individuals who are incarcerated. I will also support reforms that allow transgender Americans incarcerated in federal prisons to petition to change their legal
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names and gender identity on official documents, and will support a prohibition on gay and transgender “panic” defense and increase LGBTQ+ cultural competency trainings and bias trainings for law enforcement offices. I believe that Trans Lives Matter and, as president, I will fight on behalf of every vulnerable person in this country. Mark Segal: Will you commit to appointing out LGBTQ people to high-level positions in your administration, including the cabinet? Joe Biden: The Obama-Biden Administration was the most demographically diverse in history and had a number of successful and effective liaisons to the LGBTQ+ community. I will ensure that liaisons in a Biden-Harris Administration represent their community, are able to provide good counsel to administration officials on LGBTQ+-related matters, and create new partnerships across the country. The Biden-Harris Administration will look like our country – all working together to serve the American people. Our federal agencies will be champions of equality and I’ll nominate and appoint federal officials and judges that represent the diversity of America, including LGBTQ+ individuals. Mark Segal: The idea of “religious freedom” as a reason to allow discrimination has stoked divisiveness in this country. What can we do as a country to ensure that discrimination against LGBTQ people, no matter how it’s justified, does not happen? Joe Biden: Trump has deliberately tried to gut protections for the LGBTQ+ community by creating broad religious exemptions to existing nondiscrimination laws and policies that allow businesses, medical providers, and adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. We need to root out discrimination in our laws, institutions, and public spaces. Religion should not be used as a license to discriminate, and as president I will oppose legislation to deny LGBTQ+ equal treatment in public places. I will immediately reverse discriminatory practices that Trump put in place and work to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people widely. Courtesy of Mark Segal and Philadelphia Gay News
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Celebrating 46 Years!
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National AIDS Memorial to launch 50-state AIDS Memorial Quilt virtual exhibition in conjunction with World AIDS Day SAN FRANCISCO (October 9, 2020) – The National AIDS Memorial is announcing a virtual exhibition of the AIDS Memorial Quilt (the Quilt) that will feature more than 10,000 quilt panels representing all 50 state and US territories. The memorial is inviting interested panel makers, individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations to be part of this historic effort to use the power of the Quilt to help a nation heal and remember during these difficult times. Each year on World AIDS Day, the National AIDS Memorial Quilt team works with hundreds of partners to arrange more than 1,000 in-person Quilt displays across the country at universities, places of worship, museums, businesses, and community centers to honor and remember loved ones lost to AIDS. This year, for health and safety reasons, that isn’t possible due to COVID-19. “World AIDS Day is taking on new meaning this year, as COVID-19 has brought an enormous loss of life and grief to millions of people,” said John Cunningham, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial. “During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis, the Quilt was a source of immense comfort, inspiration and used as a tool for social activism to open the eyes of the nation to injustice and to help survivors grieve and heal. Through this exhibition, we hope the power and beauty of the Quilt can serve that same purpose for those who are experiencing loss and grief due to COVID-19.” The virtual exhibition provides a unique way for individuals and organizations to host a display of the Quilt and be a part of this first-ever 50-state exhibition. Each display host will be able to feature a selection of beautiful Quilt blocks of their choice and curate a personalized display narrative that will accompany each display. The exhibition will be free to the public, launching on November 16, 2020, in advance of World AIDS Day at www.aidsmemorial.org/virtual2020. Displays will be categorized by state under the individual or organization host name and presented virtually as the first-ever 50-state exhibition of
Photo courtesy of National AIDS Memorial
the Quilt. The exhibition will run through March 31, 2021. The fee to participate as a virtual display host is $500.00. Proceeds from the exhibition will be used to ensure the continued care and conservation of more than 48,000 individual panels of this national treasure. Each year, in-person Quilt displays account for more than half of the Quilt’s annual operating budget. Additional support for the Quilt and its programs are funded through the generous support from Gilead Sciences, Vivent Health, and other partners. “Even though nothing can replace seeing our beautiful Quilt in person, this virtual exhibition allows us to still share the Quilt and its stories just as we have done for past three decades around World AIDS Day,” said Gert McMullan, a co-founder of the Quilt and quilt conservator at the National AIDS Memorial. 2020 marks 40 years since the first cases of AIDS were reported in the United States, a pandemic that has led to nearly 700,000
lives lost, and still no cure four decades later. As our nation struggles through the COVID-19 pandemic, the horrific loss of life has surpassed 200,000 in a matter of months. On World AIDS Day on December 1, the National AIDS Memorial will bring together powerful voices from both pandemics for an important conversation about health justice, social activism, remembrance, hope, and resilience. “World AIDS Day 2020: A National Conversation” will spotlight the interconnectedness of both pandemics – the lives lost, the survivors, the activism, the heroes. Through a distinguished list of guest speakers, panelists, video storytelling, and musical tributes, we will share important insights and help answer the questions about how a nation responds, how it heals, and what lessons must be learned to prepare for the future. More details about the National AIDS Memorial World AIDS Day program will be announced in the coming weeks.
To learn more about the National AIDS Memorial World AIDS Day commemoration and sponsorship opportunities, please send an email to ssagaser@aidsmemorial. org. To become a virtual Quilt display host visit www.aidsmemorial.org/virtual2020. The National AIDS Memorial, through t he AIDS Memorial Grove, AIDS Memorial Quilt, and inspiring programs, helps ensure that the story of AIDS and the AIDS movement is known in perpetuity so that never again will our national conscience allow a community to be devastated by an epidemic because of fear, silence, discrimination, or stigma. The memorial relies solely on funding from personal donors, foundations, and corporate partners to support its mission and programs. Learn more at www.AIDSMemorial.org. Courtesy of the National AIDS Memorial
World AIDS Day service planned by United Methodist Global AIDS Committee NASHVILLE, TN (November 9, 2020) – The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee (UMGAC) has announced plans for a special service to commemorate World AIDS Day on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at 1:00 PM CT. The worship service – held virtually – will be free and available to all online at facebook.com/UMCglobalaidsfund and umc.org/en/content/worldaids-day-2020-worship. The theme of the service will revolve around the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day – global solidarity, shared responsibility – and will feature a message from Bishop Julius Trimbleof the Indiana Episcopal Area, chair of the Global AIDS Committee; music by Jorge Lockward of the United Methodist Church of the Village (New York, NY); and a testimony William Brawner, founder and executive director of the Haven Youth Center, who is living with HIV. The worship service was conceived and designed by the Rev. Dr. Youngsook Charlene Kang (vice chair of the UMGAC) with video production by United Methodist
Communications. World AIDS Day takes place on December 1 each year. The day serves as opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS, to show support for people living with HIV or AIDS, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first-ever global health day. Rev. Dr. Kang states, “We as the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee are very pleased to host a World AIDS Day worship service for The United Methodist Church and ecumenical and interfaith communities. I think it is very significant that every year on World AIDS Day we come together to build and raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and demonstrate global solidarity in response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic. In accordance with UNAIDS, the theme of this year’s World AIDS Day worship service is ‘global solidarity, shared responsibility.’ Indeed, we have the continued need for prevention and treatment
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of HIV and AIDS, as well as mitigation against any stigma and discrimination. I hope that we will be inspired and encouraged by this worship service so that we continue to work together to engage local churches and communities in HIV and AIDS education, advocacy and compassionate outreach.” World AIDS Day on December 1 brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care around the world. In 2020, the world’s attention has been focused by the COVID-19 pandemic on health and how pandemics affect lives and livelihoods. COVID-19 is showing once again how health is interlinked with other critical issues, such as reducing inequality, human rights, gender equality, social protection, and economic growth.
For more information on the United Methodist Global AIDS Committee, please visit umgaf2014.wordpress.com and www. Facebook.com/UMCglobalaidsfund.
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The United Methodist Global AIDS Committee (UMGAC) provides resources and training to annual conferences and local churches, engaging them in HIV and AIDS education and advocacy. This work reduces stigma and provides greater opportunity for welcoming all people into the church. The committee, chaired by Bishop Julius Trimble, is comprised of members from the Council of Bishops, eh Division on Ministries with Young People, the General Board of Church and Society, the General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Communications, and United Methodist Women. Courtesy of United Methodist Communications
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Man killed during Capitol Hill election celebrations identified Police call for public’s help in investigation by Justin Carder Capitol Hill Seattle blog [EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was first published on the Capitol Hill Seattle blog on November 9, 2020.] The man shot and killed in the street on Capitol Hill in the midst of weekend BidenHarris celebrations has been identified as Marquies Patterson. Groups held a vigil Sunday night at 10th and Pike at the scene where the 31-year-old was gunned down and marked the death of a Black man only a block from the neighborhood’s large Black Lives Matter street mural and the area where the summer’s Capitol Hill occupied protest formed. Hours earlier as music and dancing continued late into the night after a long day of celebrating the election results, Patterson was shot at close range by a male suspect on foot, According to Seattle Fire, Patterson died as an ambulance was taking him to Harborview. CHS reported details of the 1 AM
shooting as police detained multiple people and searched the area for a Black male reported by witnesses to have been the shooter. A gun was reported to have been picked up by a witness and taken from the scene but Seattle Police Monday could not confirm if the murder weapon had been recovered. SPD has called for the public’s help in identifying Patterson’s assailant. A SPD spokesperson said the department is not currently preparing any security video from the area for public release. The department says the shooting does not appear to be politically motivated. Family tells the Seattle Times the father of two had been in the area to join the celebrations. According to his Facebook profile, Patterson was a resident of Tacoma. Patterson’s murder is part of a spike in homicides reported in the city so far in 2020. Reprinted with permission – www.capitolhillseattle.com
Image from Marquies Patterson’s Facebook page
ROOTS Young Adult Shelter moving to new home in U-District; hosts forum for community to learn more on Nov. 19 ROOTS Young Adult Shelter, an emergency shelter for young adults facing homelessness, and long-time resident of the University District, gets a new home! Join us on Thursday, November 19, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom RSVPing on EventBrite [https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/roots-new-homecommunity-forum-tickets-126888592195] as we host a Community Forum to get to know our new neighbors. During the Community Forum hear about the vision for the future of ROOTS, ask questions, share thoughts, and learn how you can get involved in the life-changing work that we do with unsheltered young adults. ROOTS Young Adult Shelter became homeowners early this year when it purchased a former fraternity house in Seattle’s University District on 19th Ave NE, seven blocks from its long-time rented location. The organization began searching for a new location to host its nightly emergency shelter after its current location was slated for redevelopment. The new building with 18,000 square feet and four floors, allows ROOTS to expand its offerings to the population of over 1,000 young adults on a given night that don’t have a safe place to sleep. The new home means that ROOTS can offer more than crisis support on a nightly basis, but also offer stabilization programming to create a pathway to health, belonging and a place to call home. SOCIAL: https://rootsinfo.org Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ ROOTS.Shelter/ Instagram - https://www.instagram. com/rootsyas/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/rootsshelter #ROOTSshelter #supportROOTSseattle
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Photo courtesy of ROOTS Young Adult Shelter
About ROOTS Young Adult Shelter Founded in 1999 with the vision that everyone deserves a safe place to call home, ROOTS (Rising Out of the Shadows) was Seattle’s first overnight shelter designed to meet the unique needs of homeless young adults ages 18 - 25 years old. The organization’s mission is to build community and foster dignity through access to essential services and a safe place to sleep for young
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adults experiencing life on the streets. Since its inception, ROOTS has served over 8,500 unique guests and provided them with hot dinner, breakfast, laundry, showers, clean clothing, hygiene items, and referral services. In 2019, ROOTS provided 13,281 nights of shelter to 411 unique guests, provided nearly 32,000 meals between shelter guests and Friday Feast, and community members volunteered over
31,000 hours. In 2020, facing a global pandemic while building a new permanent home, its shelter continued to operate and serves up to 45 guests per night. For more information, visit www.ROOTSinfo.org. ter
Courtesy of ROOTS Young Adult Shel-
Celebrating 46 Years!
www.gofundme.com/f/seattle-gay-news-needs-your-support-now • VISIT SGN.ORG
Victory in the 28th LD: T’wina Nobles unseats anti-choice incumbent Steve O’Ban (November 10, 2020) – After a tight race, Tacoma Urban League CEO T’wina Nobles is now the 28th Legislative District’s senator-elect. Nobles’ victory over anti-choice incumbent Sen. Steve O’Ban marks a huge win for reproductive freedom and flips a critical seat in the Washington State Senate. Nobles’ vision to improve healthcare access and to fix Washington’s regressive tax code will help ensure that families in the 28th Legislative District can access the critical healthcare they need to be safe and healthy. O’Ban, who served in the State Senate since 2013, is an anti-choice extremist who relentlessly attacked reproductive healthcare access during his time in office. O’Ban voted against many of the bills that NARAL Pro-Choice Washington prioritized in recent years, including Mandatory Comprehensive Sex Education (SB 5395), which passed through the legislature in March. In a demonstration of Washington’s pro-choice values, voters showed up to support Senator-elect Nobles and to overwhelmingly approve Referendum 90 to ensure that SB 5395 is enacted into law. In response to T’wina Nobles’ victory, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Political Director Lillian Lanier released the following statement:
the 28th Legislative District, and his steadfast anti-choice extremism has cost him his seat. We are thrilled to have T’wina Nobles in the State Senate and know she will be an outspoken champion who will fight to expand reproductive healthcare access for all patients that she represents.” NARAL Pro-Choice Washington’s PAC endorsed T’wina Nobles as one of the 103 candidates endorsed in the 2020 election cycle to champion reproductive healthcare access for all Washingtonians.
T'wina Nobles – Photo courtesy of Campaign
“T’wina Nobles is exactly the kind of leader we need in the Washington State Senate, and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and our members are proud to have helped turn out the vote to flip this critical
seat. Time and time again, Sen. O’Ban has voted against reproductive freedom legislation, and thus against the values of his constituents. His actions have proved that he is out of touch with the community in
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington is the leading grassroots pro-choice advocacy organization in Washington state, and we believe that every woman should be able to make personal decisions about the full range of reproductive health options. NARAL Pro-Choice Washington works to protect every woman’s right to access the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. NARAL ProChoice Washington is the state affiliate of NARAL Pro-Choice America. Courtesy of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
CALL FOR ARTISTS SUBMISSIONS
“Take Heart, You Are Not Alone” Summary: Women of the World seeks art for Gender Based Violence in support of the “Global 16 days of Activism” in support of ending gender-based violence. The artwork will be featured as a preview representing 16 days from November 25-December 10, 2020 as a virtual experience and a pre-cursor for an interactive exhibit set to occur in the spring of 2021. The campaign seeks to raise awareness and inspire action at the community level to end GBV against people of all genders. The COVID-19 outbreak has intensified domestic and gender-based violence (GBV) globally. Globally 243 million women and girls aged 15-49 have been subjected to emotional, verbal and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months. Deadline: 11/19/2020 Opportunity Type: Calls & Submissions Organization Name: Women of the World in partnership with Global WA Organization Location: Seattle, WA Link to Opportunity: Contact: Zoe Alderfer Ryan zoeryan1@ icloud.com for details. Submission Fee: None Event Title: “Take Heart, You Are Not Alone” Virtual Preview Description: Framed through the lens of art, the “Take Heart, You Are Not Alone,” genderbased violence (GBV) regional campaign, which is also part of a global campaign, will run for 16 days from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, 2020 and is a preview for a spring arts
Image courtesy of WOW
exhibition. The goal is to raise awareness with actions that you can take each day to move the world closer to eliminate and generate action to end violence against women and girls in communities around the world. The first four days will provide educational information to help inform the public. The following eight days will be represented by artists from multiple disciplines demonstrating their art forms. The remaining four days will encompass advocacy with the goal to stimulate public conversations and provide education for individuals and organizations to raise awareness and encourage engagement. This virtual preview will move individuals to social action, to influence, educate, and to help survivors receive the resources and tools they need. Emerging artists to professional artists working in two or three-dimensional media are invited to apply to the GBV virtual exhibitions that will located on the “Take Heart, You Are Not Alone” website and also featured on social media and other media outlets. The exhibits are scheduled for 16 days from November 25-December 10, 2020. Artistic mediums accepted include visual arts, music, dance, vocal and spoken word. Through collaboration the world is a better place and working together we can come up with a solution to end GBV. Let’s reframe and break down the silos.
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Goal: Our goal is to provide a platform for diverse artists who create work about GBV and its impact on individuals, families, and communities. The purpose of this exhibit is to explore the community responses to gender-based violence and showcase how people help prevent or address GBV in their families, neighborhoods, and other networks and/or provide support to survivors navigating their healing journeys. Community responses might include caring for others who have experienced GBV, mobilizing to raise awareness on and prevent GBV, or building capacity for communities to intervene and promote accountability when harm is done. Theme: Gender Based Violence (GBV) is the theme of the art exhibit which will provide an effective healing tool and resources for survivors of violence against women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other disorders due to the impact of the violence to their emotional and mental health. The creation of art acts as a catalyst to transform pain and negative experiences to healing and growth. Background information: This is the first time this exhibit has been represented by Women of the World and is the represented theme for the year. What makes your event different? This event highlights how GBV nonprofits typically operate as silos and this event is different in how we will collaborate and work together with others while reframing how to address this problem. This exhibit will provide healing, education, and understanding one another while re-framing through the arts. Artwork for the show should do one or more of the following: a) Honor and highlight the power of survivorship and what it means to be a survivor;
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b) Acknowledge the ways communities can prevent GBV and offer support to survivors as they heal; c) Recognize the resilience of marginalized communities and/or criminalized survivors; d) Commemorate those harmed or lost due to acts of GBV; and/or e) Educate others about some aspect of GBV and/or building healthy communities. Artists may submit new work or work from previous exhibitions or collections for consideration. Representation will be focused on the breadth of disciplines, including pieces of any medium. Categories: Ceramic, Dance, Digital & Print Media, Documentary Films, Drawing, Glass, Graphics, Illustration, Metal, 2D Mixed Media, 3D Mixed Media, Painting, Paper Arts, Photography, Poetry & Spoken Word, Printmaking, Sculpture, Textiles, Theater, Videography, Web-based Media, Wood How to Apply: Artists and artist groups of all ages who are living and working in Washington state and globally are welcome to apply. Artists who are survivors of GBV and/ or from underserved communities (e.g. Black women and femmes, LGBTQIA+ folks, people with disabilities) are strongly encouraged to apply. Submit up to 8 images of your work, along with its accompanying description, and a brief artist statement, and biography/resume (one-page maximum) to zoeryan1@mac.com. The selection panel, led by exhibit curator Zoe Ryan, will include staff from Women of the World. All work will be considered. Submission Fee: There will be no submission fee. Courtesy of Women of the World
Seattle Gay News 17
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November 13, 2020
Celebrating 46 Years!
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Fate of ACA in the balance: SCOTUS hears arguments by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Supreme Court heard arguments November 10 in California v. Texas, yet another case seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare). The ACA has already survived two challenges at the Supreme Court. Should the law finally be struck down by the high court, millions of Americans would lose insurance coverage they obtained through ACA-mandated exchanges, people with pre-existing conditions might find the cost of insurance out of reach, and LGBTQ Americans would lose nondiscrimination protections built into the ACA. A Republican-controlled Congress repealed the penalty for individuals who fail to buy insurance under the act in 2017, setting the stage for the current court case. The lawsuit was originally filed by the Texas attorney general’s office with 20 Republican attorneys general and gover-
nors as plaintiffs. Subsequently 17 states, led by California and including Washington state, joined the lawsuit to defend the ACA. The filing by Texas argues that a previous Supreme Court case found the ACA constitutional as an exercise of Congress’s taxing power. Therefore, once Congress abolished the tax penalty for failing to buy insurance, the ACA no longer generates revenue and can’t be considered a tax. “Once the heart of the ACA – the individual mandate – is declared unconstitutional, the remainder of the ACA must also fail,” the lawsuit claims. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra argues that lowering the penalty to zero does not invalidate the penalty. They also argue that millions of Americans will lose their health coverage if the ACA is ruled unconstitutional. Becerra’s coalition appealed to the Supreme Court to hear the case before the 2020 election. The Supreme Court agreed
to hear the case in its fall 2020 session. A US District Court in Texas agreed that the individual mandate is now unconstitutional, as did the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. ACA likely to survive According to CNBC, the ACA “seems likely to withstand its third challenge at the Supreme Court” because “Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh both suggested ACA the court may cast aside a challenged provision of the law, known as the individual mandate, while leaving the rest of it standing.” A Forbes magazine analysis agrees that Kavanaugh and Roberts implied in their comments that they were “likely to uphold the Affordable Care Act as the fate of the landmark health care act was argued before the court, suggesting it is unlikely that a majority of justices will ultimately vote to strike down the ACA even if its individual mandate provision is declared unconstitutional.”
Kyle Hawkins, the Texas solicitor general, and acting Justice Department Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall argued in the November 10 hearing that the individual mandate became unconstitutional when it was stripped of an accompanying penalty. At one point, Justice Roberts said to Hawkins, “I think it’s hard for you to argue that Congress intended the entire act to fall if the mandate was struck down.” Kavanaugh told Donald Verrilli, the solicitor general under former President Barack Obama arguing for the defendants: “I tend to agree with you that this is a very straightforward case.” Under the court’s precedents, “we would excise the mandate and leave the rest of the act in place,” Kavanaugh said. Assuming Roberts and Kavanaugh vote to uphold the ACA, and the three remaining “liberal” justices also vote to sustain the law, that would presumably give the ACA the five votes necessary to survive its third test before the high court.
LGBTQ Victory Institute calls for LGBTQ presidential cabinet appointee, to provide transition team with list of qualified LGBTQ leaders
WASHINGTON, DC (November 9, 2020) – Today the LGBTQ Victory Institute called on President-elect Joe Biden to appoint at least one out LGBTQ person to a Senate-confirmed cabinet position and said it will provide the transition team with a list of qualified LGBTQ leaders ready to serve. Never in American history has an out LGBTQ person been confirmed by the US Senate to serve in a cabinet-level position. The Victory Institute’s Presidential Appointments Initiative – a coalition of 32 LGBTQ and allied organizations – will put forward hundreds of exemplary LGBTQ candidates for positions throughout the next administration and advocate for their consideration. It aims to help the Biden transition team in creating the most LGBTQinclusive administration in US history. In addition to an LGBTQ Cabinet appointment, the LGBTQ Victory Institute previously called on the next administration to: • Nominate an openly LGBTQ US Supreme Court justice for the first time; • Appoint openly LGBTQ woman ambassadors, LGBTQ ambassadors of color, and transgender ambassadors for the first time;
and • Ensure that openly LGBTQ people receive equitable representation among presidential appointees and that they reflect the full diversity of the LGBTQ community. “Members of Joe Biden’s cabinet will have tremendous influence over the policies and direction of the next administration, so it is essential an LGBTQ voice is at the table,” said Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute. “Allies are invaluable, but the impact of policies on LGBTQ lives is not always fully understood by someone outside our community. An LGBTQ cabinet appointment will ensure that our community is part of decision-making at the highest levels and will also be a lasting piece of Joe Biden’s legacy on LGBTQ equality. At no time in American history has an LGBTQ person been confirmed by the Senate for a cabinet-level position. It would be a powerful moment and a testament to our community’s place in the nation.” “Joe Biden is committed to building an administration that reflects the diversity of America and we stand ready to help him,” said Dr. Claire Lucas, chair of the LGBTQ
Victory Institute Board of Directors. “The challenges facing the new administration are enormous – from tackling the pandemic to reviving the economy to ensuring our relationships around the globe are restored. Fortunately, there are LGBTQ people qualified and ready to lead in confronting all those challenges both at home and abroad. Biden can build the most LGBTQ-inclusive administration in history while assembling a team that can move America forward.” Richard Grenell, who served as acting director of national intelligence for three months during the Trump administration, was the first out LGBTQ person to hold a cabinet position. However, his appointment was temporary and was never confirmed by the Senate. The Presidential Appointments Initiative – first launched by the Victory Institute during President Bill Clinton’s administration – achieved unprecedented success under President Barack Obama, who appointed approximately 330 LGBTQ people, the most in history. Of those, 158 were assisted by the Presidential Appointments Initiative. With more than 4,100 appointees, at least 185 LGBTQ people must be serving at any
given time to maintain a representation level equal to that of LGBTQ people in the US population (4.5%). The coalition also aims to make the LGBTQ appointees the most diverse ever – ensuring that LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ women, and transgender and nonbinary people are well represented. View a complete list of coalition partners led by LGBTQ Victory Institute [at victoryinstitute.org/coalition-partners/]. LGBTQ people interested in a presidential appointment in the next administration can learn more about the Presidential Appointments Initiative and share their resumes at victoryinstitute.org/PAI. The LGBTQ Victory Institute works to achieve and sustain global equality through leadership development, training, and convening to increase the number, expand the diversity, and ensure the success of openly LGBTQ elected and appointed officials at all levels of government. More at victoryinstitute.org. Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Institute
Sen. Murray says partisan GOP Senate Labor, Health, Education and Human Services bill is “written as though the virus surging through our communities doesn’t exist” WASHINGTON, DC (November 10, 2020) – Today US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) issued the following statement rejecting a partisan Republican Senate Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill that dramatically underfunds public health infrastructure, child care, education, and more as our country faces a surging COVID-19 pandemic. Murray previously spoke out against Chairman Shelby’s refusal to address COVID-19 and
racial injustice in the Senate appropriations process this year. “Investments in our nation’s health, schools, and workers are more needed than ever as we fight COVID-19, but this bill is written as though the virus surging through our communities simply doesn’t exist. “We need to be using every resource at our disposal to help families, including steps like strengthening our public health infrastructure, ensuring more families don’t lose child care, putting more
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resources toward schools and students, helping women get the reproductive health care they need, including through Planned Parenthood, and critically, making sure the painful disparities in COVID-19 outcomes for communities of color, and racial injustice more broadly, are addressed across our policymaking. Finally, we cannot accept dramatic cuts that will hurt seniors, workers, and refugees. “For months Republicans haven’t taken the health and economic consequences of
this pandemic seriously, and this one-sided, inadequate legislation is the latest example. I oppose this bill and will continue working for a final bill that actually helps families and communities deal with the deep challenges they’re facing.”
November 13, 2020
Seattle Gay News 19
Courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray
Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, (206) 279-8169. American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org. Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook. Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994. Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio Network News and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911. Report domestic violence and sexual assault. Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country. Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979. Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge. LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers. Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.com; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www. seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.) MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org. Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com
20 Seattle Gay News
community resources Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org. Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences. (206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2 Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235. Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org Rainbow Center - Resource Center for Tacoma/Pierce County LGBTIQA community. Through education, advocacy and celebration, the Rainbow Center expands resources, and safe space for the LGBTQIA community.
November 13, 2020
Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle. Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook. Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768. Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays. (425) 339-5298. South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934. Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www. SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born
Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.) YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way, with additional support groups organized in smaller towns throughout King County, (206) 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; New Horizons: social services and shelter for homeless youth, 2708 3rd Ave (in Belltown), (206) 374-0866, http://namin.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter. org; OKAY! LGBTQ+ Outreach for Kent Area Youth: (253) 859-0699 ext 3034. OKAY! is an open support group for youth ages 13-19 who identify as LGBTQ+. A program of Kent Youth & Family Services; OUT There Adventures: www.outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/ Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch. org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook. com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; The Vera Project: fuels personal & community transformation through collaborative youthdriven engagement in music and art. (206) 956-8372; theveraproject.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org
Celebrating 46 Years!
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Gory Freaky a heartfelt body-swap tale of teenage terror
Celeste O'Connor, Vince Vaughn, and Misha Osherovich in Freaky – Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN A&E Writer FREAKY Now playing (in theaters) Body-swap horror-comedy Freaky is a lot of fun. It also isn’t anywhere near as consistently delightful as either of co-writer and director Christopher Landon’s Happy
and she is him. After convincing best friends Nyla (Celeste O’Connor) and Joshua (Misha Osherovich) she is who she claims to be and not a gigantic middle-aged man who also happens to be a bloodthirsty serial killer, Millie has less than 24 hours to stab her old body with the Aztec dagger before this switch becomes tragically permanent. Newton and Vaughn are superb. Each plays the other’s character perfectly. The
Director Christopher Landon and actor Kathryn Newton on the set of Freaky – Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Death Day films were. There is a moderate level of inconsistency in regards to tone and delivery that at times left me wanting more. Still, thanks to terrific performances from stars Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn, this is a lively and inventive slice of genre goofiness I found very easy to enjoy. The plot is fairly simple. After high school senior Millie (Newton) is stabbed by the notorious Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn) with an ancient Aztec sacrificial dagger, the two magically switch bodies. Now he is her
latter gets to cut loose comedically in a way he hasn’t in ages, the Wedding Crashers and Dodgeball star clearly having a blast channeling his mystified inner high school girl. But it is Newton who steals every scene. The young Blockers actress exudes that same chilling Vaughn menace that drove his performances in films like Clay Pigeons and Brawl in Cell Block 99. She’s mesmerizing, and whether brandishing a sinister grin while wielding a chainsaw or pluckily fighting for her life on a deserted football field,
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Newton delivers a triumphant star-making turn that’s nothing short of glorious. Even though a strong case could be made that all these characters exist inside one shared universe, I still cannot say Freaky deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as either Happy Death Day or Happy Death Day 2U. Landon and Michael Kennedy’s screenplay isn’t nearly as sharp, and there are elements sprinkled throughout that made me slightly queasy for all the wrong reasons. There’s a hunt versus hunted sequence in a women’s locker room that unintentionally utilizes some fairly disagreeable stereotypes. Making things worse is that Landon, who is typically very good about cleverly commenting on issues of race and gender in the confines of his horror yarns, doesn’t seem to know entirely how to do so here. As such, the requisite kill that happens at the end of this scene falls uncomfortably flat, Millie’s terrified reaction (while now in the Butcher’s body) not nearly as powerful as it should have been because of this. Where Landon excels, however, continues to be in character interactions. The core trio of Millie (no matter which body she’s in), Nyla and Joshua are crafted with care and attention to every detail. Their friendship is lived-in, utterly genuine, all of which makes their willingness to do whatever it takes for one another all the more believable. Additionally, even utilizing noticeable expository shorthand Landon gives equal care to Millie’s mother Coral (Katie Finneran) and her older sister Charlene (Dana Drori), the family’s backstory handled with a beguiling observational empathy that makes rooting for their collective survival easy to do. On a technical front this is another triumph for the filmmaker. Frequent collaborator Bear McCreary (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) delivers a bouncily vibrant
score, while editor Ben Baudhuin (Black Christmas) and cinematographer Laurie Rose (Kill List) are both at the top of their respective games. The gore and makeup effects are outstanding, while a couple of the kills (including one with a table saw) had me giggling in glee even as they fittingly grossed me out. I think Landon and Kennedy could have crafted a sharper script. They don’t have a handle on all of the various themes they present about gender and identity, and while most of the steps that are taken throughout are undeniably progressive, that doesn’t make the backward ones any less frustrating. Still, thanks in large part to the talents of Newton and Vaughn Freaky almost can’t help but entertain. It’s an imaginative bodyswap horror-comedy where thrills and chills relax comfortably alongside giggles and guffaws with intoxicating grace. Even better, it also has heart. I cared about what would happen to Millie, her friends and her family, and no matter which body she was in, her ferociously feminine determination to persevere kept my eyes glued to the screen.
November 13, 2020
Seattle Gay News 21
22 Seattle Gay News
November 13, 2020
Celebrating 46 Years!
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November 13, 2020
Seattle Gay News 23