Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 47 Volume 42
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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Montana marriage ban falls, couples marry Judge rejects Baker v. Nelson precedent Karen Langebeck, who have been together for 22 years. “Being able to get married and introduce Karen as my wife – that’s a big deal. Now I have a way to describe this relationship that everybody understands,” Wagner said. In Yellowstone County, Montana’s most populous, the clerk of the district court said her office is ready to issue licenses. “For my office, nothing will be different than any other day,” Kristie Lee Boelter told reporters.
“The Court PERMANENTLY ENJOINS the State of Montana and its officers, employees, agents, U.S. District Judge Brian Mor- and political subdivisions from enris struck down Montana’s ban on forcing [the ban],” Morris wrote in same-sex marriage in a ruling de- his opinion. “This injunction shall livered November 19. take effect immediately.” by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
And it did. Within hours after Morris published his ruling, Gay and Lesbian couples began marrying in Montana. Among the first Montana couples to get their licenses on November 19 were Amy Wagner and
Baker v. Nelson In his ruling, Morris explicitly rejected the reasoning of Baker v. Nelson, the case which the Sixth Circuit Court used as its justification for upholding marriage bans in four states. Baker was a 1971 ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court said that marriage laws were not a proper issue for federal courts. Morris disagreed, saying that legal developments since 1971 make the Baker precedent outdated. “Defendants contend that Plaintiffs’ complaint presents the same
issue rejected in Baker: whether a constitutional right to same-sex marriage exists. The Court agrees,” he wrote. But “Defendants further argue that no sufficient doctrinal developments have occurred to render this issue a substantial federal question. The Court disagrees… ”Baker no longer precludes consideration of challenges to the constitutionality of laws that prohibit same-sex marriage,” Morris added. Noting prior Ninth Circuit Court rulings on LGBT rights – including marriage – Morris ruled that marriage laws must meet the standard of “heightened scrutiny” which banning same-sex marriage does not. “Defendants [representing the state of Montana] fail to put forth any persuasive argument that the discriminatory means employed by these laws relate substantially to the achievement of any important governmental objectives,” he concluded. see Montana page 13
Gay and Lesbian couples began to marry in South Carolina on November 19 after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals turned down the state’s request for a stay. The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to issue a stay on November 20. Meanwhile Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt tried desperately to prevent county clerks in his state from issuing licenses to same-sex couples, in spite of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling denying a stay of the lower court decision striking down the Kansas marriage ban. In Michigan some 300 couples found the validity of their marriages in doubt after a Sixth Circuit Court ruling upheld marriage bans in four states. Kayla Bennett and Kristin Anderson were the first to marry in South Carolina, holding their marriage ceremony right outside the Charleston County Probate Court. Probate Judge Irvin Condon
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
thenewgay.net
Marriages begin in South National Transgender Day of Remembrance Carolina, controversy in Seattle U hosts commemoration event Kansas, mess in Michigan
announced he will be issuing licenses to those Gay and Lesbian couples who applied before Condon was ordered to stop issuing the licenses on October 9. Charleston County councilwoman Colleen Condon and her fiancée, Nichols Bleckley, were the first in line to receive a marriage license, although not the first ones to actually wed. Condon and Bleckley were the
plaintiffs in the case that overturned South Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriages, and they celebrated the victory on behalf of all Gay and Lesbian couples. “I do hope that every parent, teacher takes a moment today to explain to kids what’s going on and how historic this moment is,” said Bleckley.
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Each year, national Transgender Day of Remembrance provides an opportunity for communities to come together and remember Transgender people, gender-variant individuals, and those perceived to be Transgender who have been murdered because of hate. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held in November to honor Rita see Marriages page 7 Hester, whose murder on November
28, 1998, launched the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco vigil the following year. The event provides a forum for Transgender communities and allies to raise awareness of the threat of violence faced by gender variant people and the persistence of prejudice felt by the Transgender community. Communities organize events and activities including town hall style “teachins,” photography and poetry exhibits see Remembrance page 8
2 Seattle Gay News
November 21, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
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November 21, 2014
Seattle Gay News 3
Catholic Church synod a slap in the LGBT face? by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News Special to the SGN For the LGBT community to simply ignore what happened at the Vatican a couple of weeks ago when Pope Francis convened a synod on issues facing the Catholic Church would be a major mistake. Even those of us who are not Catholic are affected by a church that has an estimated 1.2 billion members worldwide. Here in the U.S. its influence affects the way some elected officials vote and some judges rule. And then there are the issues that affect our brother and sister believers and their families. We cannot turn our backs on them. A little history is in order. Pope Francis becomes Pope in a time of scandal in the
Church. He tries to bring about a new openness in the Church. The 2014 synod of Bishops on the family called by Pope Francis was an attempt to find ways in which the Church might change its past messages on family, same sex marriage, Catholic’s living together without marriage, and other related issues. Early reports had language that looked as though the Church would take a giant leap towards healing the many rifts inside the Church. One such phrase, which gave hope to LGBT Catholics, was that Gays and Lesbians have special gifts to offer the Church. Another suggested that the Church while still against same sex marriage was ready to move towards acceptance of civil unions. This brought about excitement within the LGBT community only to be dashed by all that positive language being watered downed by the final report.
The LGBT community saw the loss of the synod as a defeat, but the surprise is it wasn’t. Here’s how David Gibson of Religious News Service wrote in the National Catholic Reporter. The Hard Liners won the battle, the reformers may win the war. He goes on to state that the Church is slow to change, and all the pro-LGBT statements when voted on received a strong majority, but not the two thirds necessary to be accepted. This is good news since Pope Francis made it clear in his closing remarks that he wants the Church to be open to new ideas, and that will happen as he appoints new like-minded cardinals. New Ways Ministry which has led the battle within the Catholic Church for reform on LGBT issues responded to the synod categorizing the final draft as a disappoint.
Transgender Day of Remembrance: At least 226 Trans people murdered this year by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new report released in advance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, November 20, indicates that violence against Trans people continues worldwide. According to Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring project, at least 226 Trans people have been murdered within the past 12 months. Transgender Europe was founded in 2005 in Vienna during the first European Transgender Council. Since 2009 the group has been publishing its Trans Murder Monitoring study, documenting violent Transphobia. Once again, Brazil and Mexico proved to be the most dangerous countries in the world for Trans people. In Brazil at least 113 were murdered in the past 12 months, and in Mexico 31 were killed. But Trans people are not totally safe even in well-policed countries, the report shows. Ten Trans people were murdered in the United States, two were killed in Canada, and one was killed in the United Kingdom. Eleven of those murdered were 18 years old or younger. The youngest was only eight years old. A Brazilian child identified only as Alex
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told her father she was a girl, and he responded by beating her so severely she later died. Other stories documented by the report are equally horrible. A 21-year-old Mexican woman known as Glenda, was beaten and stoned to death. Her half naked body was found weeks after her death in an isolated dumping ground. Suman Singh, a 20-year-old Indian, was set on fire by four people in January, later dying from the injuries in a hospital. A Brazilian Trans woman, known only as NN, was reported dead in August. Local newspapers reported she was found “without eyes.” Among the U.S. casualties was C. Lipscomb of Detroit, 53 years old at the time of her death. “The victim was a person of color,” the report notes. “The undignified way her burned body was dumped in a trash bin indicates transgender hostility.” Another was Yasmine Shansez, 31, of Fort Myers. She was also identified as a person of color and “was found burned behind a garbage bin.” While the murders documented in Transgender Europe’s report are chilling, they may represent only a small portion of the actual death toll. The group’s research only includes murders that can be documented
through publicly available information, or are reported by local advocacy groups. “That means the number of deaths is certainly underestimated,” the report says. “Media organizations – including normally reputable Western names – are often guilty of misgendering the victims when they are Trans, making it even more difficult to get a real sense of the problem.” “Transgender Day of Remembrance is there to honor the people that have lost their lives to brutal transphobia,” Transgender Europe cochair Alecs Recher told Gay Star News, summing up his group’s report. “Our Trans Murder Monitoring data show that more murders are reported where there is a strong trans movement . This means that we learn only about the tip of the iceberg and that organizing ourselves does make a difference. “The police, the judicial system, the media and the wider public must never misgender, misname or misreport a trans person’s death. At least in death the victim’s dignity must not be violated again. “It is so important for us all to come together on Transgender Day of Remembrance to commemorate the victims and see it as a task to work together to prevent further murders and to improve trans peoples’ general living conditions.”
Celebrating 41 Years!
Seattle Men in Leather’s Boots & Buzzcuts event raises over $400 courtesy of Men in Leather
by Tim Moffett SGN Staff Writer For me, nothing says “Leather Event” quite like a boot blacking and hair buzzing event. Such was the case on November 8, when Seattle Men in Leather (SML) hosted “Boots & Buzzcuts” at the Cuff Complex. Event participants and spectators were treated to the unequaled aroma of assorted leather soaps, conditioners and polish as well as the distinctive whir of hair clippers in the Cuff ’s main front bar area. Buzzcuts were done by Jason Farmer. Bootblack services were provided by Bootblack Paul and Washington State Bootblack Becca Bee. Chris Kauffman, SML President, said, “The event went very well. We had a good turnout despite the cold weather. The bootblacks and barber were kept busy, and we were having to turn people away by the end of the evening.” This Boots and Buzzcuts event was organized by SML Director Chris Cooney with assistance from various SML members, and benefitted SMLs 2014 charity, Chicken Soup Brigade. The event raised over $400. SML extends their thanks to the generous support from the community, and to the owners, management, and staff of the Cuff Complex for again hosting this popular event.
Barber Jason Farmer
Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, to appear at Town Hall, December 1
On Monday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall Seattle (1119 8th Ave. at Seneca St.) Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, will appear at a reading and book-signing event in support of his new book, Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits – and Won. Ten years ago, no state allowed same-sex couples to marry. Today, over fifty percent of the U.S. population lives in a state where Gay marriage has been legalized. In his new book, Marc Solomon, veteran leader
Washington Blade / Michael Key
in the movement for marriage equity, takes readers behind the scenes in an in-depth account of the groundbreaking campaign to win and protect the freedom to marry. Joining us for a reading and signing, Solomon will take us into the center of one of the greatest civil and human rights movements of our time and reveal the struggles, strategies, battles, and decisions that turned it into an important example of historical change for decades to come. Tickets are $5 and available at townhallseattle.org. Presented by Town Hall and University Book Store, as part of the Civics series. Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, and the TrueBrown Foundation. MARC SOLOMON is the national campaign director for Freedom to Marry where he directs programs to win marriage nationwide. In 13 years of work on marriage equality, he has led the campaign to protect marriage in Massachusetts and played key roles in New York, Illinois, California, New Hampshire, Maine, and elsewhere. He has innovated programs to make advances with both the Democratic and Republican Parties, and has led efforts to enlist elected officials and business leaders to the cause. He is a regular media spokesperson – on television and radio and in print.
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Marc Solomon
November 21, 2014
Seattle Gay News 5
Puddletown Squares perform at the 125th Anniversary of Washington Statehood Celebration in Olympia on November 11. Photos courtesy of Puddletown Squares Puddletown’s beginner classes will start on January 8, 2015 – a 20week series of square dance lessons every Thursday at St. Andrews Church. No prior square dancing experience is required. Singles and couples are all welcome. Puddletown offers classes, workshops and public dances. It is open to ALL members of the community. For more information, visit: puddletownsquares.wordpress.com
DJ Bret Law newest addition to Cuff lineup; dance club resurges in popularity by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor If you’ve been here in Seattle longer than a week or so, and you are a Gay man, chances are you are familiar with Seattle’s legendary dance club/bar: The Cuff Complex (1533 13th Ave). Cuff, as it is more commonly known, is a Gay Seattle staple. Over the decades Cuff has hosted some of the Gay men’s community’s raunchiest, most fun, and flat out unapologetically G – A – Y events while managing to raise money for organizations like Lambert House, POZ Seattle, and LGBTQ political initiatives R-71 and R-74, respectively. When the times are good at the Cuff, they are the best and when times are bad … well, let’s just say that the sense of ownership that this community has for one of its most beloved dance joints gets them through. These days Cuff is alive and well and by the looks of some of the crowds they pull lately – better than ever. DJ Bret Law, one of Gay Seattle’s pride and joy (he’s hot, spins great mixes, and represents us at out of town gigs! What’s not to love?) recently was asked by Cuff to join the lineup. Seattle Gay News spoke with DJ Bret Law this week to find out why he says he jumped at the chance to spin at Cuff. “What DJ Almond Brown and the whole team at Cuff are doing is absolutely needed in Seattle,” said Bret Law. “It’s refreshing to see bars go back to putting
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effort into giving people a reason to go out. I’m incredibly honored to be added into the mix of hard-working local talent as well as the growing list of superstar DJs being booked there!” Bret Law’s night is called JAMS! – the same as his monthly podcast available for download on Soundcloud – and is set to begin December 19 at The Cuff Complex from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. The DJ says he will focus on House, Dance, and EDM throughout the night. Adding DJ Bret Law to the mix is a good move by Cuff; he’s been a DJ for 15 years, starting in college with a radio mixshow before moving to Seattle and integrating into the local scene where he currently plays Sinfinite Production’s “HollaBack Thursdays”, hosted by Isaac Scott, at Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway E.) every week. “In town, I’ve had the pleasure of playing most of the major venues on the Hill, as well as tons of great events, like PrideFest, Red Dress Party, and Re:Mix at SAM,” he said. “Since leaving full time employment to be a DJ a year ago, I’ve traveled to play as part of Gay Days Orlando and Las Vegas, Pride parties in Vancouver and West Hollywood and have set up residencies in LA and San Francisco.” Bret Law told SGN he’s always been obsessively passionate about music, “literally since I was a toddler.” see Bret page 14
November 21, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Trans Activist and author Leslie Feinberg dies at 65 Transgender activist and author Leslie Feinberg died November 15. She was 65. According to her spouse, Minnie Bruce Pratt, she had suffered for decades from multiple tick-borne infections including Lyme disease, babeisiosis, and protomyxzoa rheumatica. Feinberg was best known through her groundbreaking 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues, in which she dealt with the complexities of gender and identity. She wrote a second novel, Drag King Dreams, and three non-fiction books, Transgender Warriors: Making History; Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue; and her most recent work Rainbow Solidarity in Defense of Cuba. She was also a journalist and editor, writing regular features for Workers World newspaper. Her monumental essay on the links between socialism and LGBT liberation, Lavender and Red, ran as a 120-part series in the paper. In her later years, she blogged about her health issues in “Casualty of an Undeclared War.” Feinberg was a member of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981), and of Pride at Work, the AFL-CIO’s LGBT constituency group. She received an honorary doctorate from the Starr King School for the Ministry for her Transgender and social justice work, and was the recipient of numerous other awards, including the Lambda Literary Award and the American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award. Feinberg was one of the first activists to
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“We knew this was never about just the two of us,” said Condon. “We wanted it for us, but we knew that we were a part of hundreds, thousands in South Carolina who were ready to get married right away.” The Fourth Circuit set the stage for mar-
advance a Marxist analysis of “Transgender liberation,” and her work impacted popular culture, academic research, and political organizing. According to her spouse, Feinberg’s last words were “Remember me as a revolutionary communist.” Feinberg was born into a working class Jewish family on September 1, 1949, in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised in Buffalo, New York. She left her biological family because they would not accept her gender identity. Anti-Trans discrimination made it impossible for her to get steady work, and she earned her living for most of her life through a series of low-wage temp jobs, including working in a PVC pipe factory and a book bindery, cleaning out ship cargo holds and washing dishes, serving as an ASL interpreter, and doing medical data inputting. Feinberg encountered the Workers World Party at a demonstration supporting Palestinian rights, joined, and eventually served on the party’s National Committee. She participated in many mass-organizing campaigns, including anti-war and pro-labor rallies. Feinberg was a key organizer of the December 1974 March Against Racism in Boston, a campaign against white supremacist attacks on African American schoolchildren during that city’s school busing crisis. Feinberg led a group of ten Lesbian-identified people, including several from South Boston, on an all-night “paste up” of Southie, covering racist graffiti with anti-racist posters. In 1983-1984 Feinberg embarked on a national tour about the AIDS epidemic in the midst of the Reagan years. She was also one of the organizers of the 1988 mobilization riages to begin in South Carolina on November 18, when it rejected the state Attorney General’s request to stay a federal district court decision striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. The district judge ruled on the basis of the Fourth Circuit’s decision striking a similar law in Virginia. The plaintiffs’ attorneys greeted the Fourth Circuit ruling with relief. WCSC
Charleston County councilwoman Colleen Condon and her fiance, Nichols Bleckley, were the first to receive their marriage license.
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Leslie Feinberg
in Atlanta that prevented the Ku Klux Klan from marching down Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., on MLK Day. When anti-abortion groups invaded Buffalo in 1992 and again in 1998-1999, Feinberg worked with Buffalo United for Choice and its Rainbow Peacekeepers, organizing community self-defense for local LGBTQ bars, clubs, and the local women’s health clinic. Feinberg’s spouse, Minnie Bruce Pratt, is also an activist and writer. She is the author of Crime Against Nature, about losing custody of her sons as a Lesbian mother. Feinberg and Pratt met in 1992 when Fein-
berg presented a slideshow on her Transgender research in Washington, D.C. After a longdistance courtship, they made their home for many years in Jersey City, New Jersey. Although the couple registered as domestic partners in 2004, joined in a civil union in 2006, and married in 2011, Feinberg resisted the idea that government authorities should decide who was or was not her family. “Feinberg stressed that state authorities had no right to assign who were or were not her loved ones,” Pratt wrote, “but rather that she would define her chosen family, citing Marx who said that the exchange value of love is – love.”
“This is a great victory for same-sex couples and their families because it removes one more hurdle to finally walking down the aisle,” said Beth Littrell, Senior Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office based in Atlanta. “We urge the Attorney General to stop trying to delay the inevitable – their actions are damaging to families they were elected to protect,” said South Carolina Equality lawyer Malissa Burnette.
County Courthouse in Wichita. A judge also ordered that couples be allowed to get married in Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette counties.
KANSAS In Kansas, six of the state’s 105 counties are issuing same-sex marriage licenses, two are taking applications for the licenses but not issuing them, others are outright refusing requests by Gay and Lesbian couples, but most of them seem to be awaiting further instructions. A federal district court struck down the state’s ban on same sex marriage on November 4. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotormayor granted the state a temporary stay, but the full Supreme Court later withdrew the stay, allowing marriages to go forward. However, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt told county clerks that they could not issue licenses until the state Supreme Court also ruled on the issue. His office told reporters that he asked the state court “to provide further guidance to the district courts in light of the federal preliminary injunction.” “We are awaiting a decision on this case,” the Attorney General’s spokesperson said. In spite of the attorney general’s efforts, Gay and Lesbian couples began marrying November 17 in Topeka, and 15 couples married in a mass ceremony on the steps of Sedgwick
MICHIGAN In Michigan, the Sixth Circuit decision upholding marriage bans in the four states under its jurisdiction (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee) cast doubt on some 300 same-sex marriages. The marriages were performed by county clerks on March 22, a day after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman struck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban. The Sixth Circuit Court issued a stay on marriages later the same day, but not until some 300 couples had completed the steps to be married. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said the couples will not have state recognition of their marriages or the benefits that go with it. The subsequent Sixth Circuit decision in the case reversed Judge Friedman’s decision striking Michigan’s marriage ban, thus upholding Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, and now lawyers for the state say that those 300 couples were never legally married. “Consequently, from a legal standpoint, because the marriages rested solely on the district court’s erroneous decision, which has now been reversed, it is as if the marriages never existed, and Plaintiffs’ requests for benefits attendant to a legal marriage must be denied,” lawyers for the state wrote in court documents. The Sixth Circuit decision has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high court has not yet said it would hear the case. In the meantime, the Michigan marriages are being recognized by the federal government but not by the state.
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and candlelit vigils. These activities make antiTransgender violence visible to stakeholders like police, the media and elected officials. In Seattle, annually, a number of events take place. Seattle Gay News was in attendance at an event that was open to the public at Seattle University, produced by Seattle University Campus Ministries, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Gender Galaxy and Triangle Club. The 6:00-7:00 p.m. event, held outside on the walkway next to the Chapel of St. Ignatius reflection pool, was well attended with over 50 people that came to show solidarity with the Trans* community, hear the names of Transgender and people perceived to be Transgender that we killed or died by suicide this year, and reflect on their thoughts about this day while lighting a candle and floating it in the pool. Some people cried, others embraced; while few spoke the presence of the importance of this event and Transgender Day of Remembrance hung in the air. Reporter Lexie Cannes, a Transgender woman, began to list the deaths that occur each year back in 2012 for the Huffington Post. This year, Cannes reported:
• Çağla Joker: Gunned down by assailants in Istanbul, Turkey. Two suspects were arrested. • Sevda Başar: Found buried in the vineyard of her boyfriend’s place of employ near Antep, Turkey, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Ethem Orhan has admitted to the police that he killed Başar. • Prince Joe: Stabbed to death in Belize after being held up at knife point and giving the attackers everything they wanted. Video of the robbery has not led to identifying suspects. • Rosa (aka Rose; Dido): Found dead from blunt head trauma in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The victim was Indonesian and in Canada on a work visa. Marcel Cristian Niculae was arrested and charged with murder. • Curtis Lipscomb: Found shot and burned beyond recognition in a trash can in Detroit, Michigan. • Brittany Stergis: Found in her car, shot in the head, in Cleveland, Ohio. • Betty Skinner: Disabled and a resident of a senior apartment center in Cleveland, Ohio, she was found dead in her bed with head injuries. • Jacqui Cowdrey: Found dead in her home in Worthing, a town along the south coast of England. • Mahadevi: Pushed off a moving train in Bangalore, India. “This is by no means a complete list,” said Cannes. “Most Transgender deaths are unreported or lost due to misgendering.” Cannes says it is important to note not everyone agrees on which types of deaths ought to be included in such lists. Cannes included domestic violence and suspicious deaths but excluded suicide and started with the most recent death and worked back to November 2013, from the last Transgender Day of Remembrance.
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While there is still a ton of work to do in Seattle for Trans* citizens, there is even more to do at a national level. A few years ago, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality teamed up to do a comprehensive study of discrimination against Trans* people that resulted in dramatic findings on the impact of anti-Transgender bias presented throughout the report. In many cases, a series of bias-related events lead to insurmountable challenges and devastating outcomes for study participants. Several findings worth noting include that discrimination was pervasive throughout the entire sample, yet the combination of antiTransgender bias and persistent, structural racism was especially devastating. People of color in general fare worse than white participants across the board, with African American Transgender respondents faring far worse than all others in most areas examined. Respondents lived in extreme poverty. The report sample was nearly four times more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000/ year compared to the general population. A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%).
And in an even newer study conducted in July 2014, by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) and The Fenway Institute with over 450 Trans residents evaluated about the needs of public accommodations and health during the past year reports: • Overall, 65% of respondents reported discrimination in one or more public accommodation settings in the past 12 months. • The five most prevalent public accommodations discrimination settings were: transportation, retail, dining, public gathering location, and health care. • Those who reported public accommodations discrimination in the past 12 months had an 84% increased risk of adverse physical symptoms in the past 30 days and 99% increased risk of emotional symptoms. • One in five respondents postponed or did not try to get health care in the past year because of prior experiences of mistreatment in health care settings. • Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they had not seen a doctor in the past year, while 29% reported having to teach their health care provider about Transgender health issues. In Seattle, several organizations exist to fight for Trans* equality, help people with their transition or answer questions they might have about an array of topics, and more. If you are Trans* or think that you might be, need someone to talk to, or even just want to learn more about Trans* people, you can contact the following organizations and they will do their best to help you with your query: Gender Alliance of South Sound (http:// www.southsoundgender.com/) (253) 3832318 – Provides support, referral to resources, peer counseling and fellowship for individuals who are Transgender, crossgender, intersex, androgyne, gender variant, crossdressers, or are involved in activities or expressions of gender identity or presentation divergent from their gender assigned at birth. Gender Diversity (http://www.genderdiversity.org/) – Our organization offers year
round support for families as well as trainings for organizations and providers – with a Transgender youth focus. Gender Odyssey (http://www.genderodyssey.org/) – Gender Odyssey is a national conference for those interested in the thoughtful exploration of gender. All genders and all ages are welcome. Since 2001, this conference has helped Transgender people, their families, friends and allies to empower themselves and create community. Gender Odyssey is also a fiscal project of Gay City Health Project. Gender Odyssey Family (http://www.genderodysseyfamily.org/) – Gender Odyssey Family is an annual conference for families who are working to navigate the day-to-day realities of raising a gender-nonconforming or Transgender child. As one of the only opportunities in the country to find valuable resources, information and networking opportunities, Gender Odyssey Family provides real tools to support and encourage your child’s gender self-discovery. Gender Justice League (www.genderjusticeleague.org) – Gender Justice League’s Mission is to empower Trans* activists and our allies to fight oppression based on gender & sexuality in Washington state and to create a community where Trans* people can live their lives safely, true to themselves, and free from discrimination. We meet every Tuesday night at Agnes Underground located at 1433 12th Avenue in the basement from 7:00-9:00 p.m. We host regular membership meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the months and New Member Orientations on the 1st Tuesday of the month. 3rd and 5th Tuesdays are special events, social events, or community gatherings. Please check out our website at www. genderjusticeleague.org for more information. Emerald City Social Club (http://theemeraldcity.org/) – A social, educational, and support group for crossdressers, Transexuals, and other individuals who identify themselves as Transgender. Ingersoll Gender Center (http://www.ingersollcenter.org/) (Located at Gay City, 517 E. Pike St. on Capitol Hill) – Ingersoll Gender Center supports Transgender people towards growth and well-being. Ingersoll provides support, education, and advocacy and information resources for people interested in gender identity issues, and for service providers, employers, families and friends in order to promote understanding, awareness and acceptance of gender diversity. Social Outreach Seattle (www.SocialOutreachSeattle) – Contact SOSea’s Transgender/ Gender Non-Conforming Outreach Director Mac S. McGregor at SocialOutreachSeattle@ gmail.com for assistance. nsrap.ca
• Gypsie Gül: Found dead in her home by relatives in Istanbul, Turkey. • Mary Joy Añonuevo: Stabbed to death in her place of business in Lucena, Philippines. • Michelle Sherman (aka TajShon, Ashley): Found by police near an Indianapolis, Indiana, condo complex with brutal head wounds. • Keeta Bakhsh: Died after being released from a hospital following a beating while in police custody in the Bahawalpur District of Pakistan. The police suspended one officer and promised an investigation. • Jennifer Laude: Found with her head in a toilet bowl in Olongapo, Philippines. A U.S. Marine, Scott Pemberton, is being held on suspicion of involvement in the victim’s death. • Gull dos Santos: Was shot in the face three times while walking down a busy street in Brazil. Two men rode off on a motorcycle. • Mayang Prasetyo: Found dismembered in her apartment in Brisbane, Australia. Her husband, Marcus Volke, fled the scene and was later found dead after committing suicide. • Aniya Parker: Shot in the head on a Los Angeles-area street after running away from a group of men and died later at a hospital. There is surveillance video footage of the shooting, but no suspects have been identified. • Marcella Duque: Stoned to death by attackers in Colombia. • Alejandra Leos: Shot to death near her home in Memphis, Tennessee. A suspect, Marshall Pegues, was quickly arrested and charged with murder. • Lele: Found dead, wrapped in a sheet, lying next to a roadside on the island of Roatán just off the Honduran coast. The victim was deaf. Two suspects were initially arrested but later released. • Mia Henderson: Found by police brutally killed in a Baltimore, Maryland alley. The victim was the sister of NBA player Reggie Bullock. • Yaz’min Shancez: Found burned to death in Fort Meyers, Florida. Police later arrested Terry Lynn Brady and charged him with the crime. • Tiffany Edwards: Gunned down in the middle of the street in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was found by a sanitation worker. Quamar Edwards (no relation) turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued. • Zoraida Reyes: Found in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California. A few months later Randy Lee Parkerson was charged with felony murder. • Kandy Hall: Found brutally murdered in a field in Baltimore, Maryland.
ment or bullying in schools. • 57 percent of those reported that their family chose not to speak/spend time with them. • 69 percent of those had ever experienced homelessness. • 60 percent of those who reported a doctor or healthcare provider refused to treat them. • 51 percent of those who are HIV-positive. • 55-65 percent of those with disabilities. • 57-61 percent of those disrespected or harassed by law enforcement officers.
In January of this year, a new study by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute, found: • 78 percent of survey respondents suffered physical or sexual violence at school (attempted suicide). • 65 percent of respondents experienced violence at work. • Over half of those experienced harass-
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Freedom to Marry launches Texas marriage campaign NEW YORK – Freedom to Marry, in partnership with Equality Texas, today launched a public education campaign to amplify the bipartisan momentum for the freedom to marry in the Lone Star State. The campaign, called Texas for Marriage, will highlight that support as well as the continued harms that committed Gay couples face everyday until the state’s marriage case, DeLeon v. Perry, is decided by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals early next year. “Nearly every state and federal court from last year on, more than 50 – with judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents and governors – has ruled in favor of the freedom to marry and moving the country forward,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “Texas families should not be left behind. Government has no business interfering in important freedoms like who Texans marry, and has no business putting obstacles in the path of families and employers trying to do the right thing. Our new campaign will show that Texans are ready for the freedom to marry, and so is America.” Texas political veteran Ward Curtin will serve as campaign manager of Texas for Marriage. He served as deputy campaign manager for all three of Mayor Annise Parker’s campaigns. The campaign plans to run statewide TV ads, host town hall meetings, identify new voices from the business, faith and law enforcement communities, and roll out a Re-
publican-led effort by young conservatives. “Gay marriage was barely a blip on the radar this past election cycle in Texas, as it was in the rest of the country,” said Mark McKinnon, Texas chair for Freedom to Marry and former media advisor to George W. Bush. “That’s because discrimination doesn’t sell like it used to and because Texans from all walks of life, from big cities to small towns, believe strongly in freedom and family. Supporting gay couples marrying is squarely in line with these Texas values.” A new web site, texasformarriage.org, accompanies today’s launch. The site showcases the depth and diversity of support of marriage equality, and profiles Texas families like Gabriela Polanco and Amanda Davila who experience tangible harm from the state’s discriminatory ban. In September, major companies, including Cisco, Alcoa, Pfizer, Target, Intel, and Google, submitted a court brief supporting same-sex marriage in Texas. According to a new report, the last remaining bans on same-sex marriage – in just 15 states including Texas – cost American businesses $1.3 billion annually. Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. We are pursuing our Roadmap to Victory by working to win the freedom to marry in more states, grow the national majority for marriage, and end fed-
eral marriage discrimination. We partner responsibilities, and commitment that marwith individuals and organizations across riage brings. www.freedomtomarry.org the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, Courtesy of Freedom to Marry
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Montana
continued from cover
Attorney General appeals While Montana’s Democratic governor greeted Morris’s ruling enthusiastically, the state’s Republican Attorney General appealed the decision. “Today’s decision ensures we are closer to fulfilling our promise of freedom, dignity, and equality for all Montanans,” Governor Steve Bullock said in a press statement. “It is a day to celebrate our progress, while recognizing the qualities that bind us as Montanans: a desire to make a good life for ourselves and our families, while providing greater opportunities to the next generation. I have instructed my administration to quickly take all appropriate steps to ensure that we are recognizing and affording the same rights and responsibilities to legally married same-sex couples that all married Montanans have long enjoyed.” Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, on the other hand, said he had a “sworn duty to uphold and defend Montana’s U.S. District Judge Brian Morris constitution until such time as there is no further review or no appeal can be made light of the fact that there are conflicting The Ninth Circuit Court, which has ever, so there seems to be no path forward in a court of law.” federal court decisions and no final word jurisdiction over Montana, has already for Fox’s appeal, short of going directly to Fox promised to “appeal this ruling in from the U.S. Supreme Court.” ruled in favor of marriage equality, how- the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Mexico City OKs gender changes without court order www.diariodemexico.com
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Mexico City has approved legislation to allow Transgender residents to change the gender markers on their legal documents at will, without a special court order. The Legislative Assembly of the Federal District (ALDF) – the equivalent of Mexico City’s city council – passed the measure November 13, with 42 votes in favor and 6 abstentions. The bill was proposed by Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera on the recommendation of the assembly’s Commission for Attention to Vulnerable Groups. “The ALDF complies with constitutional reform to ensure the observance of the fundamental rights of the people, by not allowing discriminatory acts or conduct,” Mancera said. Jorge Zepeda Cruz, president of the commission, called the legal changes “inevitable.” Like the United States, Mexico is organized on a federal system, with laws governing gender assignment regulated by the states. In other areas of Mexico, Trans people can get their legal documents changed only after a court order. Mexico passed the “Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination” in
2003, but the law prohibits only discrimination on the basis “sexual preferences” and not gender identity or expression. Trans Mexicans are protected indirectly by the prohibition against “promoting or indulging in physical or psychological abuse based on physical appearance or dress, talk, mannerisms or for openly acknowledging one’s sexual preferences.” Mexico City’s ALDF is dominated by the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which also pushed for marriage equality legislation in 2009. Under PRD leadership, the capital city is also the most LGBT-friendly city in the country. In July 12,000 people turned out for the annual Pride march, which has taken place every year since 1979. There were reportedly half a million spectators. On the other hand, Mexico has been described as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Transgender people. In fact, the majority of the country’s hate crime victims are reportedly Trans women. Activists report Trans people being stripped, tortured, mutilated, and beheaded. Often these crimes are not investigated by police, who say their hands are tied because the victim’s physical appearance does not match their ID photos and the legal names that appear on their documents.
Bret
continued from page 6 he spends a lot of time re-editing, mashing up, and creating tracks to add into his sets. “I love taking an amazing instrumental that few people have heard, and putting a familiar pop vocal over it to create a fresh sound of a song you may have heard a thousand times,” said Bret Law. “There are also dozens of amazing remixes of every big track these days, and it’s fun to take a few of the best and re-edit them together to keep things exciting.” “Anyone can listen and download my mash ups and re-edits from my Soundcloud profile,” he adds. “Lastly, I love too many eras and too many genres of dance music to stick to just one, so you’ll get house, dance, circuit, EDM, classic tracks, brand news tracks and everything in between in my sets. I take pride in that.” At the end of the day, DJ Bret Law says he hopes that people continue to support “everything that is the arts and nightlife scene in Seattle.” “It’s so tough to see people work tirelessly to put on events, plays, drag shows, club nights and the like, only to have a few people show up,” he concluded. “We are blessed with incredible talents here in Seattle and there’s something for everybody, you just have to be willing to get yourself together and go out.”
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courtesy of Bret Law
“At a very early age, I fell in love with dance music,” he said. “In fact, my very first cassette I ever purchased, with my hard-earned allowance from my parents, was Technotronic’s ‘Pump Up The Jam.’” “I’ve always tried to find ways to share music with people, and when I discovered what it was to be a DJ, I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he continued. “I like to play tracks that make people feel good. It means everything to me to see people dancing, smiling, singing along and really getting down on the dance floor because they love the song I’m playing as much as I do. Being a DJ is very much a dream come true for me.” Of course, things have changed over the last 15 years in the industry. “It is a totally different world from the one I started in, that’s for sure. If I were to ever to go the “press play” or “auto-sync” route, I’d just get bored,” he said, referring to the DJs that can be found in some nightclubs playing prerecorded mixes that they don’t even have to be in the DJ booth to mix. “I am also of the mindset that a crowd can handle more than 2 minutes of a song. By just playing a chorus and a drop and then slamming into something else, you’re leaving behind the chance for people to get into a song and enjoy where it’s going.” As for what sets him apart, he says it is that
DJ Bret Law
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