Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 45 Volume 43
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Prop 8 redux: Houston rejects civil rights ordinance
SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
SPD Safe Place program rolls out to Starbucks stores in the Seattle area
Proponents of Prop #1 in Houston – huffingtonpost.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Houston voters have decisively rejected the city’s civil rights ordinance passed in May 2014. The vote was not even close, with 61% of voters in the No column. The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) would have established legal protections for 14 protected classes: sexual orientation and gender identity, race, religion,
sex, color, age, ethnicity, disability, national origin, marital status, military status, genetic information, pregnancy, and family status. The Pride Flag flying high over Starbucks Corporation – Courtesy of Starbucks Co. In a nakedly political July ruling, the Texas Supreme Court ordered the City of Special to SGN the Seattle Police Department earlier this Houston either to put the ordinance up for a from Starbucks Corporation year was to page through reports of hate vote or repeal it outright. crimes. The numbers indicated a possible Opponents of the measure successfully modest uptick in attacks and menacing bedemonized the city’s Transgender commuOne of the first things Jim Ritter did havior aimed at the gay community. Anecsee prop 8 page 13 when he became LGBTQ liaison officer for see spd safe place page 3
Seattle HIV/AIDS Election wrap-up: Seattle City Council will be majority women memorial planners seek Incumbents heading for re-election support by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen may be leaving City Hall early next year, but he’s made it very clear that that does not mean he is leaving Seattle – or the LGBTQ community for that matter – one bit. In fact, as a part of his recommendations for the last city of Seattle budget he will work on in his current capacity as a councilmember, Rasmussen is asking for the council to include, and for city of Seattle residents to support, the building of an HIV/AIDS memorial project, which, according to Rasmussen, could include a garden, monument, or online interactive website or maybe even all three. Seattle Gay News met with Rasmussen on Wednesday to discuss the need for such a project, how much is being budgeted for the project and from whom the money and ideas will come from. “This is a community investment in planning for an AIDS Legacy Memorial Project in Seattle – and diverse stakeholder groups will be closely involved,” he said.
As it stands, this proposed planning project would identify the scale, scope and content of an AIDS Legacy/Memorial Project – identifying possible options including physical space or location, and/or creating an online presence or an exhibition. In the first two decades of the AIDS epidemic, Seattle experienced a tragic loss of nearly 4,000 persons. “The epidemic was met by a cross-section of our community who worked creatively and tirelessly in the face of fear and discrimination to help those diagnosed with the HIV virus,” Rasmussen told SGN. “The history of the early days of the AIDS epidemic and how Seattle responded has not been comprehensively collected or recorded or presented,” he added, saying that this important work needs to be done because many from that generation are aging or have moved away as examples of why the time has come to get started. “It is important that the experience of those who were first on the front lines of the battle against AIDS and the stories of the lives that were lost be chronicled,” he said. see hiv/aids memorial page 5
Kshama Sawant, candidate for Seattle City Council, District 3, celebrates an early majority at her election party at the Melrose Market Studios on Election Day, Tuesday November 3, 2015 – Photo by Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Seattle City Council will be the same, but different, as a result of the November 3 election. For the first time in more than 20 years, the majority of City Council members will be women. On the other hand, all the City Council incumbents who made it to through the primary appear to be heading
for re-election. The retirement of veteran City Council members Sally Clark, Nick Licata, and Tom Rasmussen, as well as the defeat of incumbent Jean Godden in the primary, opened the way for Shannon Braddock, Debora Juarez, and Lorena Gonzalez to join the Council. Juarez will be the first Native American to be elected to the Council, and Gonzalez see election wrap page 4
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Celebrating 41 Years!
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dotally, however, Ritter was encountering something very different. “I’m getting calls from people saying it had happened to them or their friends,” Ritter recalled. “I’m getting calls from people and they’re not matching up with the reports I have. I’d say, “Well, did you report these?” and they’d say no. It was clear to me that this was a huge problem for us, because if we don’t know about it we can’t devote resources to it.” That realization that hate crimes were more frequent than the numbers indicated prompted Ritter to create the Seattle Police Department Safe Place program. In addition, local social justice nonprofit Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) helped SPD implement the program and continues to be the most active partner of the endeavor. Designed to identify plentiful safe and secure places for victims of anti-LGBTQrelated crimes and harassment, SPD Safe Place’s mission is intentionally uncomplicated. Window clings with the program’s rainbow logo are circulated to Seattle area businesses and public facilities identifying them as places where staff who’ve received SPD Safe Place training will call 911 and allow victims to remain on the premises until police arrive. “We’re not wanting employees to tackle the suspect who is doing this,” he emphasized. “We want to make sure the employees stay safe and people in the businesses stay safe. I think the way this was designed, that’s certainly happening. Remember, these suspects don’t want to be seen. They don’t want to be following victims into a room full of people who can identify them.” Starbucks has embraced the SPD Safe Place concept and expects to complete the process of circulating signage to each of the 97 company-owned stores in the greater Seattle area. About 2,000 partners (employees) will complete training by November 9. “This definitely aligns with our values as an organization – to create a safe and inclusive environment in our stores,” said Heath-
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SPD Officer Jim Ritter stands in front of a Starbucks Coffee – Courtesy of Shaun Knittel
er Jennings, director of Starbucks Regional Operations. “It’s been really well-received by our store partners. I think what Jim is doing is about bringing the community together to say harming people, whether they be LGBTQ or not, isn’t acceptable.” Drawing inspiration from the past The welcomingly simple nature of SPD Safe Place – to get targets of crime to safety and keep them there until help arrives – was inspired by Ritter’s memory of posters with a silhouette of a hand he’d see in windows when he was growing up in Bellevue, Washington, in the early 1970s. The veteran police officer, who is gay, recalled the comfort he felt when he observed the silhouette signs, which identified homes where kids who were being menaced could seek protection. Four decades later, he’s now updating the concept for a problem he’s charged with addressing in Seattle. While he’s seeing more reports of crimes directed at Seattle’s LGBTQ community, Ritter feels the higher numbers may indicate that an underreported problem is finally being effectively addressed. He pointed out that eight hate crimes reported during last summer’s Seattle Pride
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celebration prompted seven arrests. “The victims of these crimes are feeling more comfortable reporting them,” Ritter said. “The officers are doing a great job making arrests. The community, law enforcement and prosecutors are working in unison to hold perpetrators accountable. I think the message is getting out there to people who commit these crimes as much or more than the victims.” Ritter’s efforts have earned him fans in the Starbucks community, where training he’s provided has cascaded down to the store level. “He’s really pushing this with shoe leather and passion,” said Shannon Boldizsar, senior manager of Starbucks Government Affairs. “He’s doing it for all the right reasons.” Though only months old, SPD Safe Place is gaining momentum in Seattle. Ritter estimates that 600 businesses are currently participating in the effort to create safe places, and the Seattle School District recently came onboard. The program has also gained international attention. A Tokyo TV news crew trailed Ritter one day and press coverage has surfaced as far away as Dubai.
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Peter Tatchell’s article Editor: Your reproducing the (somewhat confused) article by Britain’s Peter Tatchell headlined that “Environment influences sexuality” continues to blur the basis for laws against gay discrimination. [“Gay gene” debunked? Environment influences sexuality: Biology alone doesn’t cause homosexuality, suggests new epigenetic research. – Seattle Gay News, 10/23/15.] Civil rights protections are based on
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will be the first Latina. Incumbents Sally Bagshaw and Kshama Sawant are also heading for re-election, giving the Council five women out of nine seats. In addition to Bagshaw and Sawant, incumbents Tim Burgess, Bruce Harrell, and Mike O’Brien are heading for re-election, meaning that the majority-women City Council will also be majority incumbents. The new Council looks like it will retain the same ideological balance between progressives and business-oriented liberals as the old Council did. Veteran progressive Nick Licata will leave the Council in January, and his longtime aide Lisa Herbold looks like she will not win election in District 1. Methodist minister and activist Sandy Brown is also trailing far behind Debora Juarez in District 5. On the other hand, Herbold’s opponent Lisa Braddock, an aide to County Council member Joe McDermott, also identifies as a progressive, as does Juarez. Incumbent Tim Burgess is far ahead of affordable housing activist Jon Grant for one of two at-large Council seats. In the other at-large position, Lorena Gonzalez swamped no-growth activist Bill Bradburd.
there having been a history of discrimination, NOT ON BIOLOGY or any other supposed causative factor. Our laws protect against discriminating in public accommodations on the basis of religion, for example. I don’t understand Catholicism to be hereditary, even though it does tend to run in families. The Seattle anti-discrimination ordinance includes many non-biological factors – marital status, national origin (borders are not biological either), disability
(many conditions are due to accidents, for example), breastfeeding in a public place, political ideology, military status or veteran status. In the UK, his article appeared with the headline “the latest ‘gay gene’ study gives no comfort to homophobes.” Whether bigots like the conclusion or not is irrelevant to our political struggle for civil rights. Even though many of the court cases for gay rights have argued that gayness is an “immutable” condition, the reality is that such
a position has never rested on solid science, even though so many people swear to it anecdotally. (And what does this mean about bisexuals? That their genes are in constant flux?) Attempts to prove that “it isn’t my fault” are evidence of internalized homophobia, not a rational basis for public policy.
In District 2, incumbent Bruce Harrell is leading Tammy Morales. In the District 4 seat lost by Godden, transportation advocate Rob Johnson is running ahead of Stonewall Democrats activist Michael Maddux. And in District 7, incumbent Sally Bagshaw took a four-to-one lead over challenger Deborah Zech-Artis.
ganized by business interests who resented Sawant’s advocacy of a $15 an hour minimum wage and rent control. Sawant’s money went into a street campaign, with hundreds of red-shirted volunteers doorbelling, handing out flyers, and putting up posters. Banks spent her money on consultant Christian Sinderman and a series of TV and radio ads.
In other races In another notable race, Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci trounced incumbent King County Council member Jane Hague in County Council District 6, winning 60% of the vote to Hague’s 40%. While the County Council is nominally nonpartisan, Balducci is a Democrat and Hague a Republican. Balducci’s election shifts the County Council even more decisively in a progressive direction. Former state legislator Jeanne KohlWelles easily won election to fill the County Council seat vacated by retired Council member Larry Phillips, and County Council incumbents Larry Gossett and Joe McDermott were re-elected without opposition. In a special race to fill the vacant State House seat in the 30th District, Republican Teri Hickel is leading Democrat Carol Gregory with 54% of the vote to Gregory’s 46%. If Hickel’s numbers hold, the Democrats’ majority in the State House will go down to two seats. John Wilson, once chief of staff to former king County executive Ron Sims, ousted County Assessor Lloyd Hara, and deputy Director of King County Elections Julie Wise won the top spot at the elections office, beating 11th District Representative Zack Hudgins.
Money can’t buy you love, or District 3 In District 3, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, Montlake, Eastlake, Madison Park, and Madrona, Kshama Sawant fended off a challenge by Urban League CEO Pamela Banks. Although votes are still being counted, Sawant’s lead is growing as new ballots are counted, and she now leads with 53% of the vote to Banks’s 47%. The race was the most hotly contested and most expensive in town, with Banks raising $384,345 compared to Sawant’s $441,123. Both candidates spent more than they took in. The difference in how they raised their campaign war chests and what they did with the money illustrates the differences between the two candidates. Sawant had more than twice as many individual donors as Banks did, but they tended to give smaller amounts than the Banks donors. Banks also benefited from independent expenditure campaigns or-
Money apparently can buy you Position 8 In Position 8, however, the power of money was clearly evident. Incumbent City Council member Tim Burgess raised a whopping $391,097, against challenger Jon Grant’s $74,911. Burgess is leading in the vote count, with almost 58% of the vote to Grant’s 42%. Grant, former executive director of the Washington Tenants Union, charged that agents of real estate developer Triad Capital tried to blackmail him into getting the Tenants Union to drop a lawsuit blocking Triad’s signature Civic Square development at Third and Cherry, in return for Triad pulling out of a pro-Burgess independent expenditure PAC. Grant rejected the shakedown and publicly shamed Triad, but he later charged that they and other developers were financing Burgess anyway.
Phil Bereano Seattle
Homeward Pet sings the “Oldies But Goodies” for Adopt-A-Senior-Pet-Month November is Adopt-A-Senior-PetMonth, and Homeward Pet Adoption Center in Woodinville will be celebrating the “Oldies But Goodies” in their care with reduced adoption fees on all cats and dogs over the age of 8, all month long! Senior pets are more mature, more experienced and often more easy-going. Frequently, these gems are overlooked for the young puppy or kitten – when an older dog or cat can make the perfect companion. By raising awareness this month with the “Oldies But Goodies” promotion, presented by VCA Sno-Wood Animal Hospital, Woodinville, the hope is to find these otherwise forgotten pets a warm home for the holidays. Visit www.homewardpet.org to see if there is an “Oldie But Goodie” you’d like to meet. Even if you’re not looking to adopt an “Oldie But Goodie,” you can still make a difference in the life of a homeless cat or dog. With the Pay It Forward program, you can donate the adoption fee of a senior animal, helping Homeward Pet care for them during their stay and giving them a head start on finding a forever home. Once a lifelong match is made, Homeward will be able to send that dog or cat home with their adoption fee already paid; allowing the family to devote their resources to the care of their new senior pet. www.homewardpet.org/
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donate/pay-it-forward-program/ Homeward Pet Adoption Center is one of the leading non-profit, no-kill shelters serving the Greater Seattle area for 25 years. We give homeless animals a second chance and have matched over 25,000 companion animals with safe, loving, forever families. While the animals in our shelter wait to be adopted, over 350 volunteers make sure their basic needs are met and give them plenty of love and attention. For some of our animals, that is more than they have ever known. www.homewardpet.org Caring for pets... and their people, too, VCA Sno-Wood Animal Hospital loves all kinds of animals and strives to give the best medical service and customer service. Offering surgery, dentistry, x-rays, comprehensive exams and labwork. Are you going out of town? VCA Sno-Wood offers boarding for dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and small mammals. Expanded doggie daycare and boarding service now include off-leash outdoor play time! Do you have a dog or cat in need of a haircut? VCA Sno-Wood also has grooming services available. www.vcahospitals.com/sno-wood Courtesy of Homeward Pet Adoption Center
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Celebrating 41 Years!
JAKE Talks presents: HOME by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Inspired by the online series of “TED Talks,” JAKE Talks was conceived to spotlight the voices of speakers and thoughtleaders who are LGBT who can intimately speak to the unique social and cultural experiences celebrated as a community alongside community allies in an entertaining yet inspiring and accessible format. On November 14, JAKE Talks will produce HOME, their latest installment of intimate talks from 3-7 p.m. at Distillery Lofts (1735 Westlake Ave. N.). “More than the place where we live, home can be thought of as the relationships which bring us comfort, centeredness and even purpose,” say JAKE officials. “All of us have not one home, but many – physical, emotional, spiritual ones which bind us to ourselves, our families, our communities and beyond.” It is these ties that officials say they wish to explore at “JAKE Talks: HOME.” Addressing what do we do; who we are; what becomes of us when we find home; when our home is under siege or are forced away from home; and when we must (re)create home. “This very special edition of JAKE Talks focuses a lens on how we as individuals of our own created path generate a sense of community + connection as well as how we might learn to allow others to participate alongside that journey, contributing to the richness of our ever-evolving queer experience,” said JAKE officials. “Speakers will gather their talents, research, and life experiences in a “TED”inspired format to inform, impact and in-
spire the queer community; the result of which are profound conversations shaping the very idea of HOME,” JAKE officials told SGN. Speakers include: • Professional Entertainer, Gregory Conn: Emcee; • Emerging talent across multiple disciplines and industries, Kimber London: Emcee • David Haack, Living Care Lifestyles Vice President of Sales and Marketing: Featured speaker on LGBT Aging Issues; • Sister Glo Euro N’Wei, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of Saint Joan: “Rhinestones & Revelations;” • Paris Mullen, founder of “HOPE For US” whose mission as an organization is to build the hope and self-worth of those experiencing life’s challenges with a specific emphasis on survivors of boyhood sexual violence and those living with HIV: “Home is in the Heart;” • Rebecca Heineman, computer programmer, game designer, writer, engineer, pilot, nurse, pastry chef, markswoman, and loving mother: “At Home in the World of Video Games;” • Zachary Pullin, communications for SEIU 775 Benefits Group and president of the Capitol Hill Community Council: “My Home in a Story of Stories.” In addition to the lineup of speakers, “JAKE Talk: HOME” will feature Far From Home, a short film by JAKE Talks founding member and Seattle filmmaker David Albright and Peruvian-born, Seattle-based photographer and curator Rafael Soldi. Thousands of miles from his childhood
The Seattle Leather Daddy and Daddy’s boy Contest was held Saturday, Oct. 10
Seattle Leather Daddy 2016 – Kelley Wilt (right) and Seattle Daddy’s boy – Jason Farmer (left). Previous title holders Pup Trix (Daddy’s boy) on the left, and Daddy Griff on the right are visible behind them – Photo by Malixe Photo
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home in Lima Peru, Soldi has a built a new life for himself in Seattle. In this short film directed by Albright, Soldi explores the divide he’s created between himself and his one-time home, as well as that between his physical home and his work. Tickets are $19 pre-sale until Monday and then become $25 thereafter and at the door November 14. Beyond a series of provocative talks with an LGBT narrative, JAKE is an innovative and interactive experience including live DJ and/ or performances with an eyecatching stage design reminiscent of TED connecting the speaker to the audience while captivating our attention. Drawing from the vast talent of our community, JAKE always includes in some form an aspect of art + music + design + film rel-
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evant to our culture. For more information, visit JAKE Talks’ official website http://www.jake-talks.com or email officials at info@jake-talks.com.
$75,000 to The Office of Arts and Culture in 2016 for the project. That budget would be supplemented by a required $75,000 community support match (provided by The Museum of History & Industry). Additionally, MOHAI has proposed to take a leadership role in the planning and proposing an appropriate Seattle AIDS Legacy/Memorial project. The City will contract for the work with MOHAI or another qualified entity (contractor) for the work.
According to Rasmussen, the goal of the legacy/memorial project is to tell the history of Seattle’s AIDS Crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s, to capture the lessons of the crisis and the diverse community response from those who were there, and to provide a continuing call to civic action against fear and discrimination and for HIV prevention. Rasmussen points out that “sharing this history is consistent with the recommendation of Mayor Murray’s LGBTQ Task Force that highlighted the need for the City to improve the public’s understanding of the history, current place, and values of the LGBTQ community.” Rasmussen is an openly Gay elected official and was, in fact, the first openly Gay man elected to the Seattle City Council nearly thirteen years ago. He decided to not run for reelection this year and will step down from his seat on the council early next year. Rasmussen lost a partner to the epidemic and many friends – like many Gay men from an era when the epidemic was at its peak – to HIV/AIDS so he has a vested interest beyond the need or want to see this thing come to fruition. Speaking with him about the project you can tell that this is something he deeply believes in; it is something that many believe we should all want to see become a reality. Organizations like Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) have asked for community support to build or erect an HIV/AIDS memorial previously; but this marks the first time that a city official will be asking that the project get funding through a city budget. Rasmussen is asking that the city grant
Funding would support the following activities: • Convene and staff an advisory committee of diverse community members familiar with or involved in the response to the AIDS crisis. • Conduct a series of public focus groups to gather input about the character of a legacy/memorial project. • Engage artists, design and engineering professionals and historians and curators to develop concepts. • Prepare collateral materials to share options of a legacy/memorial project. • Produce a final report that outlines scale, location, timeline, financial information, and other components of the project. • Complete preliminary research and present legacy/memorial options to the advisory committee which would reach consensus on a recommended legacy/memorial project and course action.
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In the mean time, Rasmussen is asking for anyone who wishes to support this project to email Councilmembers at council@ seattle.gov and tell them that you want this project funded. Seattle Gay News fully supports this project and joins the chorus of voices calling for this project to see the light of day.
Amicus briefs support Transgender student Boy was excluded from men’s restroom
Gavin Grimm and legal team – ACLUVA.org
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Transgender high school student Gavin Grimm got a boost in his lawsuit against the Gloucester, Va., school district, when leading legal experts and two national LGBT rights organizations filed supporting briefs. Grimm had been using the men’s restroom in his high school until the Glouces-
ter school board passed new rules restricting use of school restrooms and locker rooms and requiring Transgender students to use “an alternative private space.” The ACLU then sued the school district on Grimm’s behalf. On October 29, law professors Erin Buzuvis of Western New England University and Suzanne Goldberg of Columbia Law School filed an amicus brief on behalf of 10
women’s rights organizations. Buzuvis and Goldberg argue that Grimm is protected under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in school facilities and athletic programs. “A transgender boy is a boy and should be treated the same as any other boy. Singling him out for exclusion from educational opportunities is gender discrimination under Title IX, and a violation of his civil rights,” Buzuvis said in a statement. “This type of restriction, which is both discriminatory and inhumane, makes equal educational opportunity impossible for transgender students,” Goldberg added. Professor Jennifer Levi, also of Western New England University, filed a second amicus brief on behalf of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society. Levi argued that being able to use the same restroom as other students at school is critical for the healthy development of Transgender adolescents, and that Grimm could be harmed by the Gloucester school district’s policy. “When a school separates a transgender boy from his peer group it does terrible damage,” Levi said in a statement. “The school’s actions stigmatize and iso-
late the boy, telling him and his peers that he is different from all other boys, thereby disrupting social relationships. All of this compromises his educational opportunities, in violation of Title IX of the [Education Amendments] and constitutional guarantees of equal protection.” Levi cited a number of studies to support her contention that segregating Transgender students causes them psychological harm. “The research is clear and demonstrates the need for a transgender boy to be treated just like every other boy at the school,” she said. “Schools must take a proactive role in supporting transgender students,” said NCLR Transgender Youth Project Attorney Asaf Orr. “Unfortunately, in this case, the school board allowed their own misconceptions and fears about transgender youth, as well as those of the community, to drive policy. As a result, the school board’s policy perpetuates negative stereotypes, isolates, and harms transgender students instead of creating welcoming school environment for all students. This is not only contrary to the professional obligation of educators and administrators but ignores the medical and mental health research on child development and the standards of care for transgender youth. Stigmatizing transgender students is not only wrong, but illegal.”
No protection for you! Missouri court tells Gay man by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Missouri law does not protect Gay people from harassment in the workplace, the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals ruled on October 28. In a 2-1 decision, the court said that the state law against discrimination based on sex does not apply to people who are harassed because of their sexual orientation. Plaintiff James Pittman said he suffered seven years of discrimination and harassment at Cook Paper Recycling Corporation, until he was fired in December 2011. Pittman began to work for the company in 2004, but company president Joe Jurden harassed him for being Gay and made discriminatory comments, including asking him if he had AIDS. Pittman sued after he was fired, but a lower court dismissed his suit in February 2013. He then appealed. According to his attorney, Lynne Bratcher, this is the first time a Missouri appeals court has decided whether laws against sexual harassment protect Gay or Lesbian plaintiffs. The appeals court majority said the legal prohibition against “sex discrimination” should have a narrow interpretation. “If the Missouri legislature had desired to include sexual orientation in the Missouri Human Rights Act’s protections, it could have done so,” Chief Judge James Welch wrote in the majority opinion. “No matter how compelling Pittman’s argument may be and no matter how sympathetic this court or the trial court may be to Pittman’s situation, we are bound by the state of the law as it currently exists.” In his dissent, Judge Anthony Gabbert
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said that the word “sex” should be interpreted to include more than merely gender. “There is no requirement, therefore, that a specific definition be given preference over another in absence of a legislative definition,” Gabbert wrote. “Even a cursory look in a dictionary by the majority would have led them to determine that, in fact, sex does not include only gender.” In her argument before the appellate court, Bratcher pointed out that the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has expanded its view of sex discrimination to include protection for sexual orientation and sexual stereotyping as a form of sexual discrimination. “Some states have passed this by statute,” she said. “I personally think it is encompassed in the statute we already have.” The ACLU of Missouri filed a brief in the case supporting Pittman. “We think [Gabbert’s] dissent provides a very good explanation for why the Missouri Human Rights Act should be interpreted more broadly,” ACLU of Missouri Legal Director Tony Rothert said. However, ACLU Director of Advocacy and Policy Sarah Rossi said in a statement that legislative action may be needed to clarify protections for LGBT people. “Today the Missouri Court of Appeals made two things very clear: Missourians are being harassed, bullied, and fired from their jobs for being gay, lesbian, or bisexual and they will have no recourse in the courts unless the state legislature changes the Missouri Human Rights Act to protect them,” Rossi said in a statement. Legislation to do so has been introduced in the Missouri legislature, but it has been blocked by Republicans.
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Whittaker Federal Courthouse where the Western District Missouri Court of Appeals ruled against Plaintiff James Pittman in a discrimination suit – wikipedia.en.org
Celebrating 41 Years!
Salt Lake City elects Lesbian mayor Jackie Biskupski ousts two-term incumbent by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Salt Lake City voters elected their first Lesbian mayor on November 3. Jackie Biskupski ousted two-term incumbent Ralph Becker, winning 52% of the votes to Becker’s 48%. She would be the second openly LGBT mayor in Utah history. In 2001 Willy Marshall was elected mayor of the small town of Big Water, with 90 of the 157 votes cast. Ballots are still being counted, and the election will not be certified until November 17, but Biskupski is maintaining her lead as new votes are counted. She led in the August primary election, by 46% to Becker’s 31%. Biskupski, a former Utah state legislator and current advisor to the Salt Lake County Sheriff ’s office, ran a grass-roots campaign focused on change at City Hall and promised to be a people’s candidate who would listen to constituents. “I feel great,” Biskupski told an election night gathering. “We maintained that lead we had, and we’re going to finish strong, I know it.” “It’s about all these people in this room. Look at the people in this room,” Biskupski said of the crowd of about 200 supporters. “This is a diverse group of people from all
over the city. This is about having a voice again.” Openly Gay Utah Sen. Jim Dabakis, who represents Salt Lake City, said the election was history in the making. “Generations of LGBT people could’ve only dreamed of this,” he said. “Jackie is now an iconic gay leader. This is a great moment for Salt Lake City – we’re not the stereotype people across the country think we are.” Incumbent Mayor Becker spent more than Newly elected Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski – Chris Detrick / The Salt Lake Tribune $863,000 and garnered endorsements from political insiders, his position as mayor to call news confer- that put up more than a dozen billboards supporting her campaign. She also had the including both Democrats and Republi- ences celebrating community events. Biskupski spent more than $536,000 and backing of organized labor, including the cans, such as former Gov. Mike Leavitt and former Sen. Bob Bennett, as well as five Salt had help from a political action committee Salt Lake Police Association. Lake City Council members. He also used affiliated with Reagan Outdoor Advertising
Ben Carson shockingly ignorant
Pyramids were built by Biblical character to store grain, he claims
Ben Carson – www.wnd.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Proving that expertise in one field doesn’t necessarily translate into broad scientific knowledge, neurosurgeon and Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson displayed shocking ignorance on November 4, when he claimed that Egypt’s pyramids were built by the Biblical character
Joseph to store grain. Archeologists have documented that the pyramids were intended to be tombs of the pharaohs who built them. They are, in any case, not hollow as they’d have to be if they were meant to store grain. Carson’s odd belief came to light November 4, when BuzzFeed published a 1998 video of Carson speaking at the SeventhDay Adventist Andrews University. Later
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the same day, Carson confirmed to CBS News that he still holds the same unscientific views. “Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves,” Carson says in the video. “But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big – when you stop and think about it, and I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time – to store that much grain.”
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According to the Biblical story, Joseph had been sold as a slave to Egyptians and eventually became an advisor to the pharaoh. Foreseeing bad harvests coming on and the danger of a famine, Joseph began to hoard grain. He “stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure,” the Bible says. And he must have put it in the pyramids, Carson concluded. “And when you look at the way that the pyramids are made, with many chambers that are hermetically sealed, they’d have to be that way for various reasons,” Carson said. “And various of [sic] scientists have said, ‘Well, you know there were alien beings that came down, and they have special knowledge and that’s how,’ you know, it doesn’t require an alien being when God is with you.” Egyptian pyramids are almost solid stone structures, with very small chambers for the pharoah’s sarcophagus and the goods he was expected to need in the afterlife. These chambers would not be able to hold a “great abundance” of grain. Carson’s Republican rival, Donald Trump, lost no time in mocking his beliefs. “He’s informed me about the pyramids,” Trump said on the November 5 edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “I think I’ll have to put that in my repertoire about Ben. That was a strange deal.”
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Feds support Trans student’s access to locker room by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has given an Illinois school district 30 days to grant one of their Transgender students access to the girls’ locker room or lose millions of dollars in federal funding. Palatine High School District 211 is in violation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, DOE ruled, and must comply with the law if it wishes to qualify for federal funding assistance. Title IX prohibits discrimination in the use of school facilities and programs on the basis of sex and is perhaps best known as the legal basis for girls’ athletic programs. “All students deserve the opportunity to participate equally in school programs and activities – this is a basic civil right,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon in a statement. “Unfortunately, [the school district] is not following the law because the district continues to deny a female student the right to use the girls’ locker room.” The DOE ruling comes after almost two years of investigation. According to the ACLU, which is representing the student, this was DOE’s first-ever decision using federal funding to enforce the rights of a Transgender student.
The ACLU said their client, who preferred to remain unnamed in the media, has identified as a girl for many years. After her complaint was filed by the ACLU, the
school district offered to allow her to use the girls’ locker room, but only if she actually changed her clothes and showered in another location.
“What our client wants is not hard to understand. She wants to be accepted for who she is and to be treated with dignity and respect – like any other student,” said John Knight, Director of the LGBT & HIV Project at the ACLU of Illinois. “The district’s insistence on separating my client from other students is blatant discrimination. Rather than approaching this issue with sensitivity and dignity, the district has attempted to justify its conduct by challenging my client’s identity as a girl.” The student said DOE’s ruling made her “extremely happy – because of what it means for me, personally, and for countless others.” “The district’s policy stigmatized me, often making me feel like I was not a ‘normal person,’ ” she added. “The Department of Education’s decision makes clear that what my school did was wrong. I hope no other student, anywhere, is forced to confront this indignity. It is a good day for all students, but especially those who are transgender all across the nation.” The Obama administration recently filed a legal brief supporting a similar claim by a Transgender student in Virginia. The administration’s 40-page filing is also based on Title IX.
Lambda Legal Victory!
Gay widower wins Florida property tax battle “Homestead exemptions protect surviving spouses against a dramatic spike in property taxes after the loss of their loved ones, and are particularly important for seniors on fixed incomes who might otherwise lose their homes.” MIAMI – At a hearing on October 21, the Miami-Dade County Office of Property Appraisal agreed to reinstate the spousal homestead protections of Lambda Legal client Hal Birchfield, a Gay widower previously denied protections against certain tax increases for the home he had shared with his husband, because his marriage was not recognized at the time of his husband’s death. In addition, the County will reimburse Birchfield the taxes he paid while he contested the denial of the homestead tax protections. “We are so pleased that Mr. Birchfield’s homestead protections were restored and that the excess property taxes will be refunded, in accordance with Florida law. It is unfortunate that Mr. Birchfield was subjected to this financially and emotionally draining experience, and had to retain lawyers to assert rights that should have been protected in the first place,” said Karen Loewy, Senior Attorney for Lambda Legal. “Homestead exemptions protect surviving spouses against a dramatic spike in property taxes after the loss of their loved ones, and are particularly important for seniors on fixed incomes who might otherwise lose their homes.” After more than 40 years together, Hal Birchfield and James Merrick Smith traveled to New York in October 2012 and got
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married. Tragically, less than a year later, in September 2013, James died. Upon James’ death, his share of the home they owned together was transferred to Hal, but because at that time Florida did not recognize their marriage, that transfer was treated as a “change of ownership” instead of as a transfer to a surviving spouse. As a result, the taxable value of Hal’s property jumped significantly – a financial burden from
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which surviving different-sex spouses are protected. Although Florida’s discriminatory marriage ban was not struck down until January 2015, in August 2014, Hal filed an application with the Miami-Dade County Office of Property Appraisal to reinstate the spousal homestead protections he should have received at the time of James’ death. “We are grateful to our colleagues at White & Case. They’ve done yeoman’s work
on this case to help Mr. Birchfield and this resolution would not have happened without them,” Loewy added. This past August, Lambda Legal and cooperating counsel White & Case sent a demand letter to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser on behalf of Birchfield asserting that Florida’s homestead laws provide critical protections to married couples and, as this past summer’s historic U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made clear, those protections apply to all married couples, regardless of their sexual orientation or sex. The Miami-Dade Office of Property Appraisal resolved this matter with Birchfield by reinstating his homestead exemption tax protections and promising to refund the excess taxes that he has paid. “After months of disregard and discrimination, I am happy that this issue is finally resolved. Mourning the love of my life is hard enough. It adds insult to injury to have our relationship not treated like that of any other couple when it came to the home we shared together,” Birchfield said. “I’m grateful I had Lambda Legal to help protect my rights, but I hope no other same-sex spouse in Florida or anywhere has to go through this just to make sure they have housing security as they get older.” Senior Attorneys Karen L. Loewy and Tara L. Borelli are handling the matter. They are joined by co-counsel David P. Draigh and Stephanie S. Silk of White & Case LLP. Courtesy of Lambda Legal
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HRC hosts leadership summit for students, faculty and administrators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities Collaboration with National Black Justice Coalition aims to foster LGBT-inclusive campuses WASHINGTON DC – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, in collaboration with the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), will convene on Friday, October 30, a delegation of students, faculty and administrators from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for a leadership summit designed to help foster campuses that are welcoming and affirming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. For more than a decade, HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, has held an annual summit for LGBTQ student leaders from the nation’s historically Black institutions. But this year’s three-day event at HRC headquarters will, for the first time, also include HBCU faculty and administrators. Participants will be coming from schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia. “We are excited to continue building on our work with HBCU student leaders, and deepening our impact on campuses by also engaging with faculty and administrators
prop 8
continued from cover nity, claiming that the measure would have allowed “perverts” to invade women’s restrooms. “This was a campaign of fearmongering and deliberate lies,” Houston’s Lesbian Mayor Annise Parker, an original sponsor of the law, told a disappointed election night crowd. “This isn’t misinformation; this is a calculated campaign of lies designed to demonize a little-understood minority and to use that to take down an ordinance that 200 other cities across America and 17 states have successfully passed and operated under. They just kept spewing an ugly wad of lies from our TV screens and from pulpits. This was a calculated campaign by a very small but determined group of right-wing ideologues and the religionist right, and they know only how to destroy. Not how to build up… “This is about a small group of people who want to preserve their ability to discriminate, and they’re willing to hurt all of those groups that would have been protected by this ordinance to do that.” Parker added that although the law might have passed had it not contained pro-
ship Summit will include workshops on building inclusive campus climates and improving the quality of life for the LGBTQ people, as well as engaging in resistance to create change, and breaking the cycle of internalized oppression. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. who are key to creating inclusive environments for LGBTQ people,” said Leslie Hall, who heads HRC Foundation’s HBCU Project. “Our collaboration this year with NBJC will help us provide these committed advocates tools and strategies they can take back to their schools to work for inclusion and social justice.” “With more than 300,000 students, HBCUs play an integral role in developing many future leaders of Black America,” said
Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director and CEO of NBJC, a national civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black LGBT people. “As a proud alum of Florida A&M University, it is my honor to give back to my HBCU community by partnering with HRC to convene this group of leaders. The summit will help us build a future where diversity is both celebrated, and reflected in positive campus policies.” The National HBCU Inclusion Leader-
tections for gender identity, she could not sacrifice the city’s Transgender community for the sake of Gays and Lesbians. “It was clear when we passed the ordinance in council that if we had agreed and said ‘Oh yeah, we’ll take the words “gender identity” out of the ordinance’ that they would have gone away,” Parker said. “That would have been wrong then and it would be wrong now and it will be wrong in the future.”
“Monica Roberts, a longtime AfricanAmerican transgender activist, warned of little outreach in the black community, which makes up 24% of the city.” Signorile said Houston’s LGBT activists relied on big-name celebrities – Sally Field, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and Pres. Obama – instead of going out into the city’s neighborhoods with a door-to-door campaign. “It had the feel to many of a top-down, elite campaign – outsiders swooping in to tell Houston what is good for it – instead of Prop 8 redux being deeply embedded on the ground, in Gay journalist and activist Michelangelo the communities that were voting, including Signorile criticized the Yes campaign, call- in their media, where the opposition surely ing their unsuccessful effort “Prop 8 redux,” was doing their dirty work,” he wrote. in a reference to the 2008 California ballot measure that temporarily repealed same-sex Work must continue marriage. Activists who had worked on the camThe same political mistakes were made paign praised the effort, however. in Houston, Signorile said. He blasted the “Working on the ground in Houston, esYes campaign for ignoring Houston’s com- pecially in the days leading up to Tuesday’s munities of color. vote, I witnessed firsthand the passion and “Political strategists warned LGBT activ- dedication of everyone at Houston Unites ists in the days ahead of the vote: There was [the citywide Yes campaign],” Lambda Legal little Spanish-language outreach, no big ad community educator Omar Narvaez said. buy in Spanish-language media – in a city “This loss is tough to take, and the hatred that is 44% Hispanic – countering the lies and misinformation that was spread about of the opposition, who’d certainly been do- people who are transgender, in particular, ing their own outreach,” Signorile wrote in a was unconscionable. I am proud to have Huffington Post column. been part of this grassroots effort and truly
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The National Black Justice Coalition is a national civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. As America’s leading national Black LGBT civil rights organization focused on federal public policy, NBJC has accepted the charge to lead Black families in strengthening the bonds and bridging the gaps between the movements for racial justice and LGBT equality. Courtesy of the Human Right Campaign believe that we will be back and that full and equal protections for all Houstonians will be achieved in the near future.” LGBT activists said they will continue to work for civil rights protections. “It’s a tragedy that Houston remains the only major city in Texas – indeed, the last big city in the United States – that does not extend equal rights protections to all of its residents and visitors,” Texas ACLU Executive Director Terri Burke said. “Those of us who have worked to bring equality to Houston will continue the fight to ensure that everyone can live fairly and equally under the law. The next mayor and newly elected members of Houston’s city council must prioritize the passage of a new equal rights ordinance as quickly as possible.” “While the road to justice is long, we will redouble our efforts to secure full freedom, justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people,” said Rev. Rodney McKenzie, Jr., director of the Academy for Leadership and Action of the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Seattle Gay News 13
The LGBT Divide: Communities and rights in the South, Midwest, and Mountain States
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Last year The Williams Institute released a report, The LGBT Divide, which included data on the LGBT community nationwide and where it stands in areas of education, public opinion on the issues that face the LGBT population and much more. Chiefly, the report found that while things are improving with public sentiment towards the community their still exists deep disparity between LGBT people and our straight counterparts. When looking at economics in particular The Williams Institute report by Amira Hasenbush, Andrew R. Flores, Angeliki Kastanis, Brad Sears, and Gary J. Gates showed a deep divide that officials say continues today. In response to this The Williams Institute and the City of West Hollywood’s Human Rights Speakers Series held an important discussion on Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. inside the West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room on San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, California to talk about the differences between LGBT communities in states without protective non-discrimination laws and those who live in states that do have such laws. In a nutshell, The Williams Institute reports that employment protections and regional differences are impacting the educational, economic and health realities of LGBT people. “Research shows that these communities are more racially and ethnically diverse, face a more hostile social climate, and experience greater socio-economic disparities than those who live on the coasts,” said Williams Institute officials in an email invitation to the event sent to Seattle Gay News. “As the LGBT movement increasingly turns its attention to the South, Midwest, and
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Mountain states, our expert panelists will describe the challenges faced by the LGBT communities living there, the legal protections that they need, and what people living in California and on the coasts can do to help.” Speakers at the event included Brad Sears, Executive Director of the Williams Institute; Matt McTighe, Director, Freedom for All Americans; Christy Mallory, Anna M. Curren Fellow and Senior Counsel, The Williams Institute; Terrance Moore, Deputy Executive Director of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors; Bamby Salcedo, Founder and President of the Trans-Latin@ Coalition; Rick Zbur, Executive Director of Equality California. Key findings from the report that were discussed are as follows: Race, Ethnicity & Parenting 63% of the LGBT population lives in the Midwest, Mountain and Southern regions of the country. Within each region, the LGBT population is more likely to be African-American and Latino/a than the non-LGBT population. When looking at the race/ethnic breakdown in the states with protections compared to the states without, African-American LGBT individuals are more likely to live in the states that do not offer employment protections. (About 900,000 LGBT people living in states without employment protections are African-American.) When looking at childrearing, there are much higher concentrations of same-sex couples raising children in the Midwest, Mountain and Southern regions of the country.
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Education Researchers have hypothesized that LGBT people may intentionally pursue higher education as a way to buffer themselves against discrimination in the workplace. However, more LGBT individuals maintain higher levels of college completion in the states with protections than in the states where they might need education to prevent discrimination the most. The Midwest region reports the lowest rates of college completion among LGBT people. The Mountain and Southern states are not too far behind. The Midwest and Mountain states are the only regions where non-LGBT individuals are more likely to have a college degree than their LGBT counterpart. Economic Insecurity Employment protections are closely tied to economic security and well-being. LGBT people in the states without protections are more likely to report household incomes below $24,000 than those living in the states where workers are protected. Poverty gaps are at their highest in the Midwest and Mountain states, where LGBT individuals are almost 1.5 times more likely to have incomes below $24,000 than nonLGBT people. LGBT people also consistently report not having enough money for food at higher rates than non-LGBT people. Particularly in the Mountain and Midwestern states. Health Across the U.S., LGBT people report significant financial constraints on healthcare. This is particularly true for Midwest, Mountain and Southern states. Given higher rates of poverty and food insecurity and lack of money for health-
care, it is not surprising that LGBT people in these regions are also less likely to have health insurance. More new HIV infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) have come from the South than any other region in the country. Southern LGBT individuals also have the lowest insurance rates in the country, with nearly one in four individuals lacking insurance. MSM in the Mountain states currently have the highest incidence of HIV in the country, at 61.6 new infections per 100,000 MSM. The new HIV infection rate among MSM is nearly six times the regional population rate. Conclusion LGBT Americans in the states without state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation consistently see greater disparities than in the states with such laws. LGBT Americans face greater social and economic disparities in the South, Midwest, and Mountain states. While there has been a lot of focus on the South, the inequities for those living in the Midwest and Mountain states are sometimes overlooked. It’s not just that LGBT people in the Midwest and South are poorer because people in those regions tend to be poorer overall. In some cases the economic disadvantages that LGBT people have relative to non-LGBT people markedly increase in these regions. Legal and social differences across the states and regions are likely both the cause and effect of the disparities in economics, education and health.
Celebrating 41 Years!
As Veterans Day approaches Senator Schatz & Reps. Pocan and Rangel urge Congress to pass Restore Honor to Service Members Act Legislation would correct record of service members discharged due to sexual orientation
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WASHINGTON DC – On November 5th, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Members of the LGBT Equality Caucus urged the passage of the Restore Honor to Service Members Act at a press conference on Capitol Hill. The legislation would help service members discharged solely due to their sexual orientation correct their military records to reflect their honorable service and
reinstate the benefits they earned. “We have a sacred commitment to every American who serves in our military. But for the 100,000 brave Americans who were forced out for being gay, we have failed to honor that commitment,” said Senator Schatz. “The Restore Honor to Service Members Act would give these veterans a chance to correct their military records – to remove an unwarranted discharge that was given to them for no other reason than be-
ing gay. It would remove the mark of shame they carry, give them access to benefits, and finally give them the respect and honor they rightly deserve.” “As we approach Veterans Day, it’s important to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made for our country,” said Rep. Pocan, co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. “This includes the selfless service of more than 100,000 veterans who were discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. Our legislation ensures that gay veterans who served our country no longer live with tarnished records that prohibit them from receiving the recognition, benefits and honors they deserve.” “As a veteran, I know that our men and women in uniform give all to serve our country with great honor,” said Rep. Rangel. “We can no longer delay honoring these veterans who deserve long overdue recognition. We struck down ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and legalized same sex marriage. Love is not dishonorable.” Since World War II, more than 100,000 Americans are estimated to have been discharged from the military because of their
sexual orientation. Those forced out of the military may have left with discharge statuses of “other than honorable,” “general discharge” or “dishonorable,” depending on the circumstances. As a consequence, many of these service members may be disqualified from accessing certain benefits that they earned and are entitled to, and may not be able to claim veteran status. The consequences of a negative discharge also include preventing some veterans from voting or making it more difficult for them to acquire civilian employment. The legislation is supported by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, VoteVets.org, OutServe-SLDN, the Human Rights Campaign, American Veterans for Equal Rights, Lambda Legal, Swords to Plowshares, the American Bar Association, Universal Unitarian Association, and the American Humanist Association. In addition to Representatives Pocan and Rangel, The Restore Honor to Service Members Act has 109 cosponsors, including 4 Republicans, in the House and 37 cosponsors in the Senate.
Pew religion survey:
Evangelicals largest group among GOP, unaffiliated among Dems Majority of Christians now say they accept LGBT Americans by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new Pew Research study reveals stark differences in religious affiliation between the two leading political parties, with more than a third of Republicans identifying as evangelicals, but the “none” category leading among Democrats. Republican religious preferences have remained more or less static since the original Pew Religious Landscape Study was done in 2007, while Democrats have shifted significantly toward the unaffiliated column. At the same time, respondents of all religious preferences indicate greater acceptance of their LGBT neighbors than they did in 2007. Among Republicans, 38% now identify as evangelicals (compared with 37% in 2007), 17% say they are “mainline Protestants” (21% in 2007), and only 2% identify with “historically black Protestant churches” (the same as in 2007), illustrating the GOP’s limited appeal to the African-American community. Twenty-one percent of Republicans say they are Catholics (22% in 2007), and 4% identify with other Christian denominations (the same as in 2007). Non-Christians make up 3% of Republicans surveyed (2% in 2007). The unaffiliated category – those who answered “none” to the question on religious identification – accounted for 14% of Republicans (only 10% in 2007). Among Democrats, on the other hand,
there were twice as many “nones” – 28% – and their share of the Democratic total has grown significantly from the 19% who reported no religious affiliation in 2007. The share of every religious category except for historically black churches shrank among Democrats since 2007. Only 16% of Democrats identified as evangelicals (compared with 19% in 2007), 13% said they were mainline Protestants (17% in 2007), and 21% said they were Catholics (24% in 2007). Two percent of Democrats in the survey said they identified with some other Christian group, the same as in 2007. The number of people identifying with black Christian churches slightly increased, however, with 12% of Democrats saying they belonged to such a church, compared with 11% in 2007. Non-Christian Democrats also increased slightly, from 7% in 2007 to 8% in the new survey. Pew cautions that not all the “nones” are nonbelievers. In fact, the majority of respondents in the unaffiliated category say they believe in God. But the “nones” are far less observant than Americans who identify with a specific faith, and they also have become even less observant over time, the Pew study found. More acceptance towards LGBT Americans Respondents in all Christian groups showed much more openness towards LGBT Americans than in 2007, with large
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Church pews – dallasweekly.com
majorities of most mainstream churches now saying that “homosexuality should be accepted by society.” Among all Christians, 54% now say that LGBT Americans should be accepted (compared with only 44% in 2007). Among Roman Catholics, the percentage soared to 70% from 58% in 2007, perhaps explaining Pope Francis’s conciliatory comments about Gay people. Sixty-six percent of mainline Protestants say LGBT people should be accepted (56% in 2007), and even 62% of the Eastern Orthodox – a notoriously traditionalist church – agree (up from only 48% in 2007). A majority of people identifying with
historically black churches now agree. Fifty-one percent now say LGBT folks should be accepted, up from only 39% in 2007. Support for LGBT Americans has even increased among evangelicals and Mormons, although it has not yet become the majority view in those denominations. Thirty-sex percent of both groups now say the LGBT community should be accepted (compared with 26% of evangelicals and 24% of Mormons in 2007). Jehovah’s Witnesses lagged far behind, with only 16% saying LGBT people should be accepted, although that number was up from 12% in 2007.
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Seattle Gay News 15
FDA approves new HIV drug designed to reduce side effects
FDA approves new HIV drug – istock photo / Thinkstock
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved a new HIV drug on November 5. The drug, to be marketed under the trade name Genvoya, is manufactured by
Gilead Sciences, the maker of Truvada. The drug is a novel form of tenofovir, one of the ingredients of Truvada. Genvoya is designed to be taken as a single tablet per day aimed at HIV-1, for use by adults who previously have not been treated or those whose HIV-1 infection is currently suppressed by other antiretroviral drugs. This new form of tenofovir provides lower levels of the drug in the bloodstream but higher levels within the cells where HIV-1 replicates. It was developed to help reduce some side effects of already-existing antiretrovirals. Genvoya appears to be associated with less kidney toxicity and loss of bone density than previously approved tenofovir-based drugs. Genoyva is not without its own dangers, however. The treatment will carry a warning label citing possible buildup of lactic acid in the blood and severe liver problems. Genoyva is also not recommended for pa-
tients with chronic hepatitis B. Nevertheless, the drug is being hailed as an improvement in treatment for some HIV patients. “As the HIV patient population ages, there is an increased risk for development of age- and treatment-related comorbidities, including low bone mineral density and renal impairment,” Dr. David Wohl told Business Wire. “This is due to the combination of HIV infection, antiretroviral treatments and the natural aging process. “Given its demonstrated efficacy and safety profile, Genvoya represents an important new treatment option for a range of patients who are either new to therapy or who choose to switch treatments.” Wohl is an associate professor of medicine, in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is the lead author of the Genvoya study.
Six injections per year may replace daily HIV meds by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Daily HIV meds may be phased out in favor of injections administered every two months, a healthcare research company said on November 3. Clinical trials by ViiV Healthcare, backed by pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson, demonstrate that bimonthly injections of rilpivirine and cabotegravir developed by ViiV can be just as effective in controlling HIV as daily doses of the same drugs. In the ViiV study, patients who received a bimonthly injection had a 95% viral suppression rate, while those who remained on daily pills had a 91% viral suppression rate. Harvard Medical School researcher Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes said the results “provide an extremely important proof of concept that this approach is feasible.” The advantage of injections administered every two months is that this method
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would eliminate concerns about adherence to a daily dosage regime. “Having longer-acting drugs…goes a long way in relieving a burden on patients,” Kuritzkes said. Johnson & Johnson’s head of pharmaceuticals, Paul Stoffels, said the injection could potentially be a “transformational” way to fight HIV. He added that the new HIV treatment regime could be on the market by 2020, if the initial result is confirmed by a larger trial. “ViiV Healthcare is committed to identifying new therapeutic options for physicians and people living with HIV,” the company’s Dr. John Pottage said. “These initial phase IIb data investigating long-acting cabotegravir and rilpivirine are promising and build on the results we have seen to date. We look forward to seeing further results as we move into phase III.” In 2014 researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
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published an animal study suggesting that an injection of antiretroviral drugs can give 100% PrEP protection from HIV. In two separate trials, monkeys injected with Truvada showed resistance to HIV in-
fection lasting one month. Further research suggested that protection against HIV could last up to three months.
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