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Celebrating 44 Years! Issue 47 Volume 46

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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

THANK YOU FROM GSBA! Betsy DeVos issues new Title IX 2018 EQUALUX: TASTE OF GSBA guidelines It will be harder to punish sexual harassment a huge success

Photo courtesy of GSBA

by Louise Chernin President & CEO Greater Seattle Business Association The courage to tell your story of hardship, with grace and inspiration, is not easy, but multi-year past scholar, Alejandra Silva Hernandez did just that at this year’s 2018 EQUALUX: TASTE of GSBA. If ever we question the power of what it means to an

Betsy Devos – Photo by Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

LGBTQ student to receive a GSBA scholarship, it was clear from listening to Alejandra’s story of how the support of one’s community can have a ripple effect; Not only providing hope to one student but a cascading effect of change that will touch generations. You, our generous donors, did that and more as you raised your paddle again and again at EQUALUX [Saturday evening, November 17].

see EQUALUX page 4

Trans* Day of Remembrance commemorated at Seattle Central College

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Trump administration’s Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, issued new Title IX rules and guidelines on November 16 that will make it more difficult for schools to punish sexual harassment. Title IX bars sex discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. Under previous administrations, the law was held

to require schools to intervene against sexual harassers. The Obama administration also held that Title IX protected the rights of Transgender students. That has all changed under the Trump administration. According to the Department of Education, the newly issued guidelines seek to “produce more reliable outcomes, thereby

see TITLE IX page 6

GOP lawmakers try to strip LGBT protections from new NAFTA treaty Canadian PM insists they stay

Astro Pittman – Photo courtesy of The Seattle Collegian

November 20th is Trans* Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a day which members and allies of the LGBTQ community use to honor the lives of trans* people killed simply because they were trans*. This year, Seattle Central College student Astro Pittman organized and hosted an event on site at SCC. Pittman, who is also

editor-in-chief of the SCC student newspaper The Seattle Collegian, spoke at length about the history of TDOR and the disproportionate rates of violence experienced by trans* people, and especially trans* women of color, and the other societal obstacles trans* people can face, including but by

see SEATTLE CENTRAL page 5

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto – Photos courtesy of Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Forty Republican members of Congress have written to Donald Trump, insisting that language protecting LGBT people be stripped from the draft of a new NAFTA agreement with Canada and Mexico.

On the other hand, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government will be one of the parties to the deal, is equally determined that human rights protections stay in the agreement. NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement, was first negotiated from

see NAFTA page 13

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Celebrating 44 Years!

Seattle Gay News F O U N D ED 1974 MEMBER

2018

1707 23rd Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 324-4297 sgn2@sgn.org sgn.org

Editor in Chief George Bakan Copy Editor Rick McKinnon (since Dec 2013) Advertising George Bakan • Maggie Bloodstone MK Scott National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Miryam Gordon • Albert Rodriguez Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen • Ron Anders Madelyn Arnold • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Beau Burriola Sharon Cumberland • Jessica Davis Tina Gianoulis • Anthony Greer Milton W. Hamlin • Nevin Jefferson Richard Kennedy • Shaun Knittel Liz Meyer • Jason A. Miller Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Rod Parke • Don Paulson Jerry Peerson • Tim Peter • Jessica Price Scott Rice • Leslie Robinson MK Scott • Mark Segal • Gaysha Starr Sarah Toce • Paul Torres • Janice Van Cleve Ed Walsh • James Whitely Scott Wittet • Rex Wockner

Frye Art Museum to host film screening at World AIDS Day event Nov. 29

Cartoonist Ken Campbell Calendar Editor Rick McKinnon Classifieds Rick McKinnon Photographers Nate Gowdy • Joseph P. Herron MK Scott • James Whitely Production Mike Pham Website Designer Barry Thorsness / Digital Team Works

In honor of World AIDS Day and the 29th iteration of Visual AIDS’ Day With(out) Art, the Frye Art Museum has partnered with Visual AIDS to present the film ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS, a collaborative video project featuring short videos by six community organizations and collectives ACT UP NY, Positive Women’s Network, Sero Project, The SPOT, Tacoma Action Collective, and

Seattle Gay News is published by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2018. Frogs and Ink, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission. Publication of names, photographs, or likeness of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business. Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper. Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication. We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write. And please play safe.

VOCAL NY. These works highlight the impact of art in HIV/AIDS activism and advocacy. ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS reflects the persisting urgencies of today’s HIV/AIDS epidemic by pointing to pressing and intersecting political concerns, including HIV criminalization, Big Pharma, access to healthcare, and the disproportionate effects of HIV/AIDS on marginalized communities. At a moment of growing interest in the histories of AIDS activism, ALTERNATE ENDINGS, ACTIVIST RISINGS foregrounds contemporary engagements between activists, artists, and cultural workers on the front lines. The free screening will be held in the Frye Art Museum Auditorium, 704 Terry Ave., from 7-8pm. A Q&A and panel discussion moderated by Negarra A. Kudumu, Manager of Public Programs, will follow the screening. htt ps://f r yemuseum.org/calenda r/ event/7068

Design a logo for GenPRIDE

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your ad. Credit will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.

In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles • Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Leland Moore Randy Peters • Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton • Jim Tully James Arnold

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Generations Aging with Pride (GenPRIDE) is looking inward to our community to find a talented graphic designer that will help us on a very special project: the re-branding of our agency with a new logo! GenPRIDE would like to contract with a graphic designer and is looking to review portfolios that best represent your creative style. If you would like to be considered, please email a cover letter about yourself, a link to your portfolio, and any relevant social media links. Email us at info@gapseattle.org with the subject “DESIGNER PORTFOLIO”;

submissions will be accepted no later than 5pm on Monday, November 26th. We will get back to you by December 3rd to let you know if you’ve been chosen and move forward from there. Feel free to circulate this to anyone in our community who might be interested. GenPRIDE is a nonprofit proudly situated on Capitol Hill Seattle. We focus on empowering LGBTQ older adults to live with pride and dignity. Minority-owned businesses are encouraged to apply.

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Courtesy of GenPRIDE

Seattle Arts & Lectures Poetry Series presents an evening with Danez Smith Nov. 26 SEATTLE ARTS & LECTURES DANEZ SMITH BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL November 26 at 7:30pm

Danez Smith – Photo courtesy of Seattle Arts & Lectures

Seattle Arts & Lectures is proud to present an evening with Danez Smith. Danez Smith is a Black, queer, poz writer and performer. Their most recent collection, Don’t Call Us Dead, was a finalist for the 2017 National Book Award. Smith is also the author of [insert] boy (2014), winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry; and two chapbooks, “hands on your knees” (2013) and “black movie” (2015), winner of the Button Poetry Prize. They are the recipient of fellowships from the Poetry Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, Cave Canem, Voices of Our Nation (VONA), and a 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Their writing has been featured widely,

including features on PBS NewsHour and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Their work has been published in Poetry, Ploughshares, Beloit Poetry Journal, and Kinfolks. In poetry slam, Smith is a 2011 Individual World Poetry Slam finalist and the reigning two-time Rustbelt Individual Champion, and was on the 2014 championship team Sad Boy Supper Club. In 2014 they were the festival director for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam. They are a founding member of the multigenre, multicultural Dark Noise Collective. Smith earned a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they were a First Wave Urban Arts Scholar. Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Broadway Performance Hall is located at 1625 Broadway off the South Plaza of Seattle Central College. Tickets: $20 general; $80 patron; $10 student. www. lectures.org. Courtesy of Seattle Arts & Lectures

EQUALUX

continued from cover Starting us off, we were brought to our feet, when Sandy Peterson, a dear friend and donor who only a couple of years ago, created our first ally endowment, raised her paddle for $100,000 to support the unique GSBA Leadership Academy, a program, which invests in our scholars beyond the tuition dollar. Her belief in the power of standing with LGBTQ students, inspired others to join Sandy. We were awestruck by the generosity of Steve Pline and Tony Paul, who couldn’t be there, but were represented by Patrick Evans of Sound who raised Steve and Tony’s paddle for $50,000, and it kept going up from there. In quick succession, Tom Yetman & Alan Chung, and Kevin Gaspari & Kent Thoelke joined as $25,000 paddle raisers! Once again, Diamond Sponsor Microsoft raised the paddle for $20,000, followed by Roby Schapira & Rico Rigo, John Wong & Greg Combs, Meade Thayer & Ray Fernandez, all at $10,000. In another beautiful gesture, longtime friends of GSBA Glenn Johnson & Michael Melancon who unfortunately couldn’t attend, had their friend Michael Copeland raise their paddle for $10,000 as well. Precision Door Service owners Kurt Sarchet and Kevin Spratt stepped up at $7,500. For the third year in a row, the GSBA Board joined by several other leaders, announced a $100,000 Leadership Match, which immediately became $200,000 as donor after donor raised their paddle. The room was already bursting with emotion, when Kendra and Jeff Petkau raised their paddle for $100,000 for a brand new endowment they are creating in honor of their beloved friend, Sandy Peterson. Never have we seen that kind of generosity in one night. Given the division we have witnessed nationally in our country and the rise in attacks against the LGBTQ community, we were overwhelmed by the sheer strength of this demonstration of love and support. Especially by represented diversity in the room throughout the night, and the staggering displays of allyship from our largest donors of the evening. It is a night that will be seared in our memory forever. Your generosity during Fund-A-Scholar, combined with ticket sales, sponsorship and the auction, before expenses, raised $1,250,000 for LGBTQ and allied scholars! This is truly an historic feat! Your dollars will allow us to invest $500,000 in our 2019 scholars, increasing both the total number of scholars, and our financial investment in each. Never was there a clearer message as to the positive power of a community that came

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together to form a business organization thirty-eight years ago. GSBA was founded to break down barriers, promote equality, and take care of our youth – many of whom were thrown out of their homes because of who they are. GSBA is one of the only values driven business organizations that, with your help, will continue to transform our community through business, friendship, and partnerships. Together, we invest in the education of the next generation because that is the hope for a better future for us all. With your investment, the GSBA Guarantee provides up to four years of education for our scholars, whether they chose an apprenticeship, a technical degree, an AA degree, or a fouryear academic degree. Together, we will support our Scholars beyond their tuition by staying in touch throughout their school year at our annual Leadership Academy. Because of you, our scholars are more likely to succeed because they are not alone; they have the power of their community cheering them on. Because of all of you, our Scholars have the encouragement and support to launch their futures as capable LGBTQ members of their community working to make the world a better place for all of us. There are so many thank-you’s to be given for making EQUALUX such a great success. To begin, huge thanks to Stephanie Dallas and Krista Mann, our dream Co-Chairs who provided leadership and vision for EQUALUX; our incredible Board of Directors, led by Drew Ness;

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Scholarship Fund Chair, Carrie Carson; the GSBA Staff – most especially the visionary Mark Rosén our VP of Development & External Relationships; and Carlos Chavez, our Program and Events Manager (aka Mr. Magic); and over 120 event volunteers! EQUALUX: TASTE of GSBA would not be possible without you, our guests, and our wonderful sponsors. A heartfelt thanks to our Title Sponsor: Comcast Universal; our Presenting Sponsor: UW Medicine, and 2018 Voice of Scholarship: Interchange Media, and of course each one of our Annual and Event Sponsors. And, what would EQUALUX be without our wonderful restaurant, catering, and wine sponsors (all listed below) who came together providing small plate tastes and incredible wine. During dinner, one lucky table was treated to a culinary extravaganza created by celebrity chefs Tamara Murphy (Terra Plata), Jerry Traunfeld (Poppy and Lion Head) Sheena Eliz (Mbar), Leslie Mackie (Macrina Bakery & Cafe). Once again, our amazing auctioneer Laura Michalek, and delightful emcee, John Fisher, kept us both laughing and bidding, while they were helped by voice from above, Eric Jenson. Because this is EQUALUX and not simply just an auction, there was a stellar line up of entertainment throughout the evening. With the help of A Sensible Theatre Company’s Jared Michael Brown and Paul Flanagan, who gathered talent and produced an amazing show. Past Scholar Christina Brewer, homegrown talent and rising star Andi Alhadeff, Seattle Women’s

Chorus, and many more took the stage and sang their hearts out. Arnaldo! Drag Chanteuse once again held sway in our VIP Speakeasy, and DJ Leslie Wheatley of Seattle Parties spun the tracks to keep the silent auction crowd moving and grooving. We’d also like to send a special thanks to the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline for helping move our 1000 guests into the ballroom in show-stopping fashion! From the bottom of all of our hearts we want to thank all of our sponsors for the evening, our caterers, and our participating wineries for all you did to help make this night a success. A full list can be found at Equalux.org. If you weren’t at EQUALUX, there is still time to be part of the magic of giving. We invite you to make a year-end gift to your GSBA Scholarship Fund at www. thegsba.org/scholarship-home/supportour-scholars. And, if you were a guest at EQUALUX, but not yet a member, consider joining GSBA. Together is better. For the future,

Louise Chernin GSBA President & CEO Courtesy of the GSBA

Celebrating 44 Years!

Transgender Day of Resistance and Remembrance at Langston Hughes was all about the Resistance by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer Over in the Central District Tuesday evening at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, a different type of event took place. It was an evening filled with passion and a call to take action besides remembering the fallen. Mac Mcgregor opened and closed the over-two-and-a-halfhour event that featured a panel discussion with Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant; Queer organizer, Keaton Slansky; Financial Secretary for UAW Local 4121, Sam Sumpter; Gender Justice League’s Elayne Wylie. Several audience members also came up and introduced themselves and brought up other issues. The talk of the night was the lack of Trans People of color in attendance. The journey of Trans activist, Ryannah Quigley, was the most heart wrenching. She spoke of being adopted by a large Mormon family and then being sent away when she was suspected of being gay. Years of abuse followed while she created her own path forward. Toward the end of the evening Trans Indie singer Claire Michelle sang, followed by Mcgregor reading the names of the Transgender individuals in the U.S. who were murdered in 2018. Photos by MK Scott

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no means limited to high rates of houselessness, mental disorders and suicide, and limited employment opportunities. Pittman invited Officer James Ritter of the SPD to speak as well; Ritter works in the Community Outreach Section and is the SPD liaison to LGBTQ community; he travels the country educating other police departments on policies and procedures for interacting with trans* identified individuals. He’s also an out gay man who has served 38 years on the force. Officer Ritter spoke about his personal growth learning more about the trans* individuals as well as his hopes to make further progress within the bureau and to create stronger ties with the community-at-large. The end of the evening was marked with the entire audience writing the names of trans* people from around the world who had been killed this year on white paper wish lamps, which were then taken outside and lit. Members from the two Seattle chapters of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were in attendance to provide an appropriate air of pomp and ceremony.

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TITLE XI

continued from cover encouraging more students to turn to their schools for support in the wake of sexual harassment and reducing the risk of improperly punishing students.” [emphasis added] Among the proposed changes in how Title IX is to be implemented: • A narrower definition of harassment. The definition set by DeVos is “unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that

it denies a person access to the school’s education program or activity.” • Further, schools must have “actual knowledge” of an incident to respond to it. • The incident must have also occurred within a school’s own programs or activities. • Students and teachers accused of sexual harassment will be entitled to enhanced due process procedures, including presumption of innocence, opportunity to present witnesses, and use of an attorney. This element includes a new proposal allowing the accused to cross-examine the accuser. • The Education Department will only

punish the accused if the incident was “clearly unreasonable in light of the known circumstances.” The new rules also waive the previous requirement for religious institutions to submit a written request for Title IX exemption. Now, religious schools can simply receive the exemption without having to justify it to Department of Education officials. Human rights organizations have already issued criticisms of the proposed rules. “This rule turns back the clock to a time when our schools swept rape, sexual assault, and harassment under the rug,” said

HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “This is a blatant disregard for the justice of survivors of sexual violence by letting schools off the hook for Title IX obligations and denying survivors, including LGBTQ survivors, their civil right to equal access to education.” The ACLU also condemned the report in a tweet, as did the National Women’s Law Center. The Trump administration previously indicated it does not consider Trans students to be protected under Title IX.

HRC: Proposed rule change to Title IX would harm survivors of sexual assault WASHINGTON, DC (November 16, 2018) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, responded to a new proposal from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to change Title IX in a way that would suppress the voices of survivors of rape and sexual assault and make it easier for their perpetrators to get away with their actions. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination, as a matter of law, requires schools to address sexual harassment, including sexual violence, as forms of sex discrimination. In addition, Title IX protects students from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, as evidenced by continuing case law, guidance previously issued by the Department of Education, and school district settlements to this effect. Among the dangerous changes to this regulation is a proposal to permit religiously affiliated schools the ability to decline to submit a request or notice for a Title IX exemption to the Department of Education on their institutional policies, keeping students and their parents in the dark on whether the school intends to discriminate. “This rule turns back the clock to a time when our schools swept rape, sexual assault, and harassment under the rug,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “This is a blatant disregard for the justice of survivors of sexual violence by letting schools off the hook for Title IX obligations and denying survivors, including LGBTQ survivors, their civil right to equal access to education. The only safe place created for schools with this proposed rule is one for perpetrators. These changes are unacceptable and must be rejected.” LGBTQ people are disproportionately affected by sexual assault and harassment,

Photo by Cory Morse / AP

and the stigma that many LGBTQ people face can make it more difficult for survivors to report. Studies suggest that nearly half of bisexual women have been raped and half of transgender people will experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetimes. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of high school students, lesbian and bisexual women and gay and bisexual men experienced higher rates of sexual assault than their straight counterparts. In addition, a 2015 study by the Association of American Universities found that 60% of gay and lesbian students and nearly 70% of bisexual students report being sexually harassed on campus.

In July, representatives from the HRC met with other survivors of sexual assault in a meeting with Betsy DeVos to emphasize that it is critical that she and the Department of Education enforce Title IX and maintain the 2011 guidance that details specifically schools’ obligations under Title IX to ensure “prompt and equitable resolution[s]” to complaints of sexual violence. The HRC’s Jordan Dashow wrote a powerful op-ed for The Advocate [https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/6/22/queer-sexual-assault-survivors-need-betsy-devos-enforce-title-ix] on how changes to Title IX would affect LGBTQ survivors of sexual violence, and

[these changes are] the subject [of] a powerful video released by the HRC [https://twitter.com/hrc/status/911424894688124929]. 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

Department of Education aims to silence survivors of sexual violence and harassment

Vanita Gupta – Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice

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WASHINGTON, DC (November 16, 2018) – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the Department of Education’s proposed Title IX regulation: “This draft rule is a cruel attempt to silence sexual assault survivors and limit their educational opportunity and could lead schools to do even less to prevent and respond to sexual violence and harassment. The Secretary of Education’s continued failure to protect students’ civil rights and ensure they are able learn in safe environments is unacceptable and must be stopped. We call on all who support equal opportunity to participate in this comment process and make clear

that fundamental American values of fairness and equality will not be abandoned and that schools must provide all students an educational environment free from sex discrimination and violence.” The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on the Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org. Courtesy of the Leadership Conference

Celebrating 44 Years!

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Celebrating 44 Years!

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Celebrating 44 Years!

Louisville honored by Kentucky travel industry for LGBTQ efforts LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 20, 2018) – Louisville Tourism was recognized at the Kentucky Travel Industry Association’s (KTIA) annual conference for creating one of the top PR campaigns in the state. The first-place award honored Louisville’s LGBTQ Pride initiatives. It was presented during the conference’s annual Traverse Awards Gala, which honors travel professionals in Kentucky for their talents, creativity, and effectiveness in marketing and public relations. The event was held Nov. 13-15 in Owensboro, Ky., and attended by hundreds of tourism leaders from across Kentucky. Louisville Tourism’s campaign was launched in conjunction with National Pride Month this past June by the organization’s LGBTQ Task Force in an effort to spread awareness that the city is a welcoming and inclusive destination. The initiative included the debut of the organization’s first Pride logo, promotional items (including a T-shirt), and a regional Pride Festival blitz. In addition to the Gold Award, the campaign raised funds for the Kentuckiana Pride Festival and earned Louisville the distinction of being named one of “Six Surprising Cities Great for LGBTQ Families” by Family Traveller. The Pride campaign was also spotlighted by several national LGBTQ media outlets, including Passport Magazine, Edge Media Network, and NewNowNext. Louisville was acknowledged with an additional 12 awards, including its marketing efforts in social media, the Bourbon & Biscuits web series, Neighborhood Walking

Photo courtesy of Louisville Tourism

Tours, convention market mailers, and more. “We are honored that the state recognized Louisville for a diverse array of its marketing and tourism initiatives, including receiving Gold for our Pride PR campaign,” says Karen Williams, president and CEO of Louisville Tourism. “This award further amplifies our message that we are a welcoming and inclusive destination.” To see a complete list of Louisville Tourism’s KTIA Traverse Awards, visit

https://www.gotolouisville.com/media/ news-stor ies/ louisville-honored-bykentucky-travel-industry-for-lgbtq-efforts/. Since 1968, Louisville Tourism’s primary goal has been to enhance the area’s economy through tourism development [and] to promote and sell Louisville as a worldclass destination. Tourism is the third largest industry in Louisville, generating an estimated economic impact of $3.5 billion,

which supports over 27,000 local tourismrelated jobs. Guests are coming from around the globe to attend a meeting, convention, [or] special event; as a leisure guest; or a combination. More than 16.4 million visitors are experiencing Louisville’s authenticity, bourbon and culinary scenes, and unique brand of Southerness. Courtesy of Louisville Tourism

Southern Poverty Law Center & Lambda Legal sue DOJ and BOP for records on rollback of protections for Transgender people in prison NEW YORK (November 20, 2018) – Today, Lambda Legal and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sued the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to compel the federal agencies to produce all documents and communications connected to the Trump administration’s decision six months ago to alter its Transgender Offender Manual, including communications with outside advocacy groups. Today’s lawsuit comes after the DOJ and BOP refused to honor a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the relevant records Lambda Legal and the SPLC filed in June of this year. “It is not surprising that the TrumpPence administration ignored our original request, as there is no rational justification for the changes the BOP made to the Transgender Offender Manual,” said Richard Saenz, Lambda Legal Senior Attorney and Criminal Justice and Police Misconduct Strategist. “Federal correctional facilities across the country have successfully housed transgender people consistent with their gender identity, as recommended by the manual before the administration’s rewrite. That is why we need transparency to see just who the administration consulted, and what misinformation and discriminatory intent possibly informed these changes.” The changes, announced by the administration in May, weaken protections for incarcerated transgender people – who are already 10 times more likely than the general prison population to be targeted for violence – and undercut compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and constitutional protections.

Photo courtesy of Lambda Legal

The records were requested in June 2018 when the two civil rights organizations filed a FOIA request with the DOJ and BOP concerning the safe housing of transgender people incarcerated in the federal system. “There is no penological reason that could justify the BOP’s decision to roll back protections for transgender people in the federal prison system,” said David Dinielli, deputy legal director for the SPLC. “Instead, it appears that the BOP may have acted at the behest of the Alliance Defending Freedom, an SPLC-designated anti-LGBT hate group that has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of transgender people abroad and has recommended use of the terms ‘cross-dressing’ and ‘sexually confused’ in place of the term ‘transgender.’ Through this lawsuit, we hope to uncover what the BOP considered when amending its housing policy, including

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whether the changes reflect merely its own biases and/or those of an outside, antiLGBT group.” Background on the Transgender Offender Manual The Transgender Offender Manual was issued in January 2017 after the US Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2014 that more than one in three transgender people in prison reported experiencing sexual abuse by either staff or other inmates in the previous year. The manual specifically sought to facilitate implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, passed by Congress in 2003, to address startling statistics showing crisis levels of sexual abuse and assault of people in prison, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people. However, in May 2018, the Trump

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administration released changes to the manual, specifically instructing that incarcerated transgender people be housed according to their “biological sex” and should be placed according to their gender identity “only in rare cases.” Lambda Legal and the SPLC initially sought review of the documents that should have been provided by the DOJ and BOP through a FOIA request. Find the FOIA request [at https://www.lambdalegal. org/in-court/legal-docs/foia_20180622_ change-notice-to-transgender-offendermanual]. The case is Southern Poverty Law Center and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Prisons. You can read the complaint at https:// www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/ southern-poverty-law-center-and-lambdalegal_ny_20181120. The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Alabama, with offices in Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. For more information, see www.splcenter.org. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people, and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work. For more information, see www.lambdalegal.org. Courtesy of Lambda Legal

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Sens. Murray and Cantwell join bicameral amicus brief to protect national monuments against President Trump’s unconstitutional attacks

Sunrise over Bears Ears National Monument – Photo courtesy of Bureau of Land Management

WASHINGTON, DC (November 19, 2018) – Today, US Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with over 100 of their colleagues in the House and Senate, submitted an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs in five cases before the US District Court for the District of Columbia that challenge the Trump administration’s decision to significantly diminish the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southern Utah. In the brief, the lawmakers primarily argue that under the Constitution, no president has the power to shrink or reduce national monuments, since that power resides with Congress alone, a case that members of Congress are uniquely positioned to make. In addition to signing the amicus brief, both Sen. Murray and Cantwell have previously been vocal opponents of President Trump’s agenda to shrink national monuments and other public lands in Washington state and across the country. The full text of the amicus brief is available [at https://bit.ly/2PI9hzp]. The full text of the motion to file is available [at https:// bit.ly/2FvF8hZ]. A summary is available [at https://bit.ly/2DPl1d5]. At issue in these cases is whether any president, including President Donald Trump, has the legal authority to reduce or abolish national monuments. According to the plaintiffs, which include Native American tribes, scientific groups, businesses, and conservation organizations, the Trump administration’s actions violate both the Constitution and the Antiquities Act of 1906. If upheld, President Trump’s order would slash more than two million acres of protected land, reducing the size of Bears Ears from 1.35

million acres to approximately 200,000 acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.9 million acres to approximately one million acres, the largest-ever elimination of public land protection in the country’s history.

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First, under the Constitution, Congress has absolute control over federal lands. The Constitution grants broad authority to Congress alone over any public lands owned by the federal government. In the

President Donald Trump holds up the signed executive order on the Antiquities Act during a ceremony at the Interior Department on April 26, 2017. – Photo by Carolyn Kaster / AP

In addition to Sen. Murray, Cantwell, and their colleagues, the amicus brief is also supported by a wide coalition of Native American Tribes, environmental groups, conservation organizations, businesses, scientific organizations, and outdoor recreation interests. The amicus brief makes the following core arguments:

Antiquities Act, Congress delegates to the president the limited power to establish national monuments – but not to abolish or diminish existing monuments. The Trump administration’s actions are a clear overreach of the executive branch’s powers that cut against the intent of the law as well as the text of the Constitution. Second, interpreting the Antiquities Act

to prohibit presidents from reducing the size of national monuments serves the Act’s purpose, which is to safeguard vulnerable national treasures. With the Antiquities Act, Congress gives the president a limited delegation of its power to protect places at risk. Giving presidents a discretionary power to prevent these national treasures from being damaged, without waiting for the passage of legislation, helps ensure that important landmarks and objects will not be destroyed before Congress has an opportunity to act. By contrast, the decision to reduce or eliminate an existing monument does not involve the same urgency, so it was equally sensible for Congress to reserve that power to the slower and more deliberative legislative process. This interpretation is supported by the circumstances that led to the Act’s passage: a concern that newly discovered American archeological sites and artifacts were being looted. Third, Congress has not implicitly granted presidents the power to diminish national monuments simply because it did not object to previous reductions to monuments made by presidents in the twentieth century. Congress’s lack of objection in these instances does not mean that it has relinquished its Constitutional duties to the executive branch. The brief makes a clear distinction between where there is legislative granting of authority versus where the court must interpret Constitutional authority. In the Antiquities Act, Congress has spoken precisely to the president’s power regarding national monuments – and limited that power to the designation of new monuments. Courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump – Photo by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

NAFTA

continued from cover 1990 to 1992. It is currently being renegotiated on the initiative of the Trump administration. Language in the draft text of the deal includes a pledge to enact “policies that protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, including with regard to pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual orientation, and gender identity.” In their letter, the Republican members of Congress explicitly criticized the wording naming sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We are deeply concerned,” they write, “by the unprecedented inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity language for the first time in a Free Trade Agreement… A trade agreement is no place for the adoption of social policy. “It is especially inappropriate and insulting to our sovereignty to needlessly submit to social policies which the United States Congress has so far explicitly refused to accept.” However, Trudeau, a strong advocate of LGBT rights, defended the wording of the current deal, which he said reflects “shared values.” According to the Toronto Star, he told reporters at a summit on November 18, “We

got to a good agreement that I think represents Canadian values, Canadian approach, but also values that are broadly shared amongst citizens of our three countries. “In any trade deal, there are going to be people who would like this or like that or not want this or not want that.” Trudeau added, “We’re going to let the American officials and administration focus on their ratification process while we focus on ours.” The deal is subject to approval from Congress in the US, and it could fail to pass if the Republicans oppose it. Discrimination based on sexual orientation was outlawed in Canada in 1996, while laws banning discrimination based on gender

identity or expression were adopted in 2017. Mexico federally outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in 2003, though it is yet to outlaw discrimination based on gender identity or expression. There is no federal law in the United States barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as efforts to pass an LGBT Equality Act have been consistently blocked by Republicans. Due to an inconsistent patchwork of statelevel laws, it is currently legal to discriminate against gay employees in 29 US states and transgender workers in 34 US states.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waves to the crowd as he, his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and their children Xavier and Ella-Grace march in the Pride Parade in Toronto, June 25, 2017 – Photo by Geoff Robins / Getty Images

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