Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 45 Volume 42
FRIDAY November 7, 2014 FREE!
25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Sixth Circuit upholds marriage bans Flickr
Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld marriage bans in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The decision applies to six lawsuits from all four states. The November 6 ruling was a split 2-1 decision, with Judges Deborah Cook and Jeffrey Sutton voting to uphold the bans, and Senior Circuit Judge Martha Craig Daughtry dissenting. “When the courts do not let the people resolve new social issues like this one, they perpetuate the idea that the heroes in these change events are judges and lawyers,” Sutton wrote in the main opinion. “Better, in this instance, we think, to allow change through the customary political processes, in which the people, gay and straight alike, become the heroes of their own stories by meeting each other not as adversaries in a court system but as fellow The Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse citizens seeking to resolve a new soSeat of the Sixth Circuit cial issue in a fair-minded way.” In her dissent, Daughtry called by Mike Andrew the Sutton opinion “an introductoSGN Staff Writer ry lecture in political philosophy,” Breaking with all the other appellate but added that it failed “to grapple courts that have ruled on same-sex mar- with the relevant constitutional isriage, a three-judge panel of the Sixth sue in this appeal.”
(l to r) Judges Jeffrey Sutton, Deborah Cook, & Martha Craig Daughtry
Cook was appointed to the Sixth Circuit by George W. Bush, and was mentioned as a possible replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner when she retired. Sutton is also a Bush nominee. Daughtry was appointed by Bill Clinton. “We’re extremely disappointed for the families in these four states, but this decision highlights the need for the U. S. Supreme Court to right this injustice. While a tidal wave of courts around the nation have struck down marriage bans, this decision leaves Sixth Circuit states in a backwater and, worst of all, injures same-sex couples and their children,” said Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation for Lambda Legal, which joined one of the Ohio cases, Henry v. Himes. “Depriving same-sex couples and their families of the protections and dignity that come with marriage is flat out unconstitutional, and Lambda Legal vows to continue working until justice is won.” “Our clients and their children need the full protections of marriage, and they need them now,” said Al see Sixth page 8
Election 2014:
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new study suggests that at least one injectable PrEP drug may provide protection against HIV infection if administered once every 16 weeks. A second drug being tested is far less promising, however. Injectable PrEP meds that can be administered once a quarter would help address issues that make some HIV prevention activists reluctant to fully endorse PrEP. Many fear that patients will fail to adhere to the once-a-day regimen that oral PrEP meds require. The results were discussed at the
Research for Prevention (R4P) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, at the end of October. According to Bill Spreen of GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceuticals, researchers found that the drug cabotegravir almost completely eliminated HIV infections in a test group of monkeys. Testing on human volunteers found that a dose of 500mg produces levels of the drug that can prevent HIV infection for as long as 16 weeks. The drug’s “half-life,” or rate of elimination in the body, is 25 times longer with the inject-
joanmcbride.com / christinekilduff.com
Dario Lo Presti
Once-a-quarter injectable PrEP drug promising, early tests show Joan McBride elected, Christine Kilduff has 44 vote lead
Joan McBride (l) and Christine Kilduff
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The one important thing that happened in the 2014 election was that minimum wage initiatives passed overwhelmingly in four states. Here in Washington state, Republicans remain in control of the state see Prep page 8 Senate, with the aid of one Demo-
cratic turncoat, and Democrats remain in control of the state House. Washington voters passed a modest gun control measure, I-594, and Seattle passed Ed Murray’s early education package, Prop 1B. All incumbent LGBT legislators were reelected, and they were joined by Joan McBride, who won a state House seat on the Eastside.
They may also be joined by Christine Kilduff, who, as SGN goes to press, leads in her state House race by a mere 44 votes. Nationally, there was mediadriven drama because Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate, but their electoral success does nothsee Election page 6
2 Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Loss of a true leader by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News If you’re like me, you hate to go to funerals. In fact, many of us in the LGBT community have gone to far too many due to our friends and family who passed from AIDS. But this is not a column about AIDS. Gloria Casarez, the mayor’s LGBT liaison, passed away this week, and I’ll be at her funeral to celebrate her life. About a year ago, Gloria, Rue Landau and Franny Price were scheduled to take a tour of the John C. Anderson LGBT-friendly senior apartments. Construction on the building was almost complete and residents would be moving in in a few weeks, but I wanted them to see what they had a hand in building. It was a cold, rainy, windy day as I stood there waiting for them to arrive to give them a tour of the almost-finished building.
The first one to show up was Gloria. I looked at her and she noted that I saw what was evident. Her face was not quite right. Without me saying a word, she said, “It’s Bells Palsy, and I also have the flu and a cough so don’t hug me.” I suggested that she didn’t have to be there and that I’d take her on a personal tour any other time that she was feeling better. She put her hands on her hips and said, “When am I ever going to feel better?” We both smiled and she looked at her watch and uttered, “Where is the mayor?” That line shows what an incredible person she was. She knew life would be short for her and, no matter what, she was going to go about doing the work she believed in. And she’d do it with joy. If she was able to get out of the bed in the morning or afternoon, she’d work on projects close to her heart. Those are the two aspects about Gloria that I’ll remember, her sense of work and
her sense of humor. Both brought a joy to a job that can be difficult at times, as it requires maneuvering the political minefields of both City Hall and the LGBT community. She did that well, and we are a better community for her efforts. By the way, the mayor finally made it and, as he was coming out of the car, she walked over to him, soaked from the rain, more rain dripping down her face, and said, “You’re late.” She said it with a smile. I’ll always remember that and think of her and smile myself. Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https:// twitter.com/PhilaGayNews. www.epgn.com Courtesy of Philadelphia Gay News
Relationship Inventory – Control by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer Controlling relationships contribute to unhappiness, anger, deceit and ongoing negative interactions. Sometimes they start from the beginning and sometimes they evolve over time. They can exist between parents and children, friends, dating, or between spouses. Fear is often the glue that keeps controlling relationships going. Sometimes both people are controlling in their own ways and in other scenarios one controls another. Generally, the person being controlled is afraid of making the other mad or disappointing the other. The person who is controlling is usually doing so because of their own fears of being hurt. In the latter example, it may not appear as though the one doing the controlling is afraid. They can present in very confident ways. They are often controlling because they have anticipated something awful happening and that is
Visit us online www.sgn.org
usually related to the loss of the other. Here are three indicators that you are in a relationship that is controlling: 1) “It is always your way.” – If you hear that phrase a lot in the relationship, you should start to look to see if there are dynamics that are controlling. This phrase comes up when there are real or perceived issues of fairness and the dynamics are such that decisions, more times than not, go in favor of one of the individuals. This is indicative of the people being unable to negotiate. Usually the person doing the controlling wants it his/her way so they don’t feel bad. They push and push and push until the other collapses and gives in. 2) Sneaking Around. – Individuals who are sneaking around in a relationship are usually doing so because they feel controlled. If you are sneaking to see or communicate with friends or family then there are control issues in a relationship. The need to sneak around usually comes from the third indicator, below. 3. “No!” – If another adult is telling you that you are forbidden from doing something, you are in a controlling relationship. This dynamic comes up around issues of spending money, seeing and communicating with friends/family, where and when you can go somewhere, how you are dressed, and/or issues of sex. In
most cases, this control exists in several areas of life such as social, financial, or sexual. No adult should be telling another adult “No!” From a very early age we resist feeling controlled. We certainly push back on it with our parents when we are teens. As children and younger teens, having some control exerted over us by our parents is normal because it is their job to take care of us. As adults, it is not normal for one to be controlling another. Controlling relationships are very unhappy relationships. For sure, one, if not both, people are going to feel hurt, angry, and resentful. These dynamics often lead to retribution of one kind or another. These relationships can become physically violent as well. If you want to fix a controlling relationship, both individuals have to make a commitment to understand themselves and to change. If you want to get out of a controlling relationship, seek help from professionals.
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 3
Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a Therapist and a Contributing Writer to the SGN. He writes a bi-monthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at Michael.Raitt@comcast.net.
THE AMAZON TRAIL
Cheeseburgers in Paradise in hell that keeps smashing into the testicles of Republicans. You’re going to have to hop around on one leg up there, but your first exknee is living the life we all have dreamed of.” In response to a photo we sent of the Cate Memorial on our coffee table: “This is so cool!! I need to put you two in charge of the many theme parks and cathedrals sure to arise in my honor in coming years. You make me look good! SMOOCH.” On the nomination of her eighth and final book, Windigo Thrall, for a Lambda Literary Award. “I think if Windigo wins a Lammy it will be a sign of end-times, globally, or the miraculous beginning of a new age.” She then instructed Bold Strokes Books author and editor Shelley Thrasher, Bold Strokes Books Consulting Publicist Connie Ward, my sweetheart and myself to accept another award, from The Golden Crown Literary Society, if her book should win a Goldie. Cate provided us with the following script:
Cate Culpepper (1957-2014)
Author Cate Culpepper was friends with just about everyone in her life. Our friendship began in 2006, when we met in Olympia, Washington for a signing. In 2007 my sweetheart-to-be and I visited Cate’s hotel room at the Golden Crown Literary Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Cate was wearing over-sized, faux-furred brown bear slippers, a vision I will never forget – and never allowed her to forget. I have a plethora of words to describe this loving, lovable, talented, empathetic, funny, irreverent, raunchy, generous Lesbian storyteller and counselor. Those who read her Facebook page or her books will see evidence of all of this. She earned a living working with street kids, got a master’s degree so she could earn bottom dollar wages doing it. The good karma she accrued in this life will surely propel her to a long, happy and fruitful next-time-around. Cate’s friend Cheryl Craig said this: “She was one of the most courageous people I have met. Onward she goes to bring her wisdom heart and joy to many.” Friend and author Gill McKnight said of the day Cate died, “It was a long, hard Saturday and I had to do some little thing to mark her bravery and honesty. I went down to the little church by the harbour, the one the fishermen use, and lit a candle for her. It’s Greek Orthodox and Cate would have loved the cool, dark interior with its gilt iconogra-
phy and the smell of stale incense. I always thought one day I could lure her over here for a look-see at my island. To my mind she’s just arrived. I’m talking to her all the time.” Rather than repeat the many tributes to Cate, like Victoria Brownworth’s at Lambda Literary < http://goo.gl/TbzdIQ >, let me share a bit of Cate and her extraordinary imagination to demonstrate what the world has lost: Cate the film critic days before she died: “I ate a pizza with green peppers and black olives and then a big dish of Ben & Jerry’s and I watched Hunger Games. It was good! Jennifer Laurence makes a lot of faces in it.” Cate the political pundit/landscape designer on the water feature that came with our new home: “Top o’ the evening. Please ask Elaine to take a picture of the now-clean ugly cement carp vomiting water. This feature alone should endear your home in your heart – how many of us get ugly vomiting cement carps? Name it Sarah Palin.” Cate the literary critic upon news that I plan to memorialize her and her dog in my next book: “Don’t forget that Cullie Culpepper and Kirby move in with you at the beginning of Rainbow Gap. I want that very top room so I can pelt you with water balloons.” Cate the gourmet, a day after we dropped off cheeseburgers and fries on our way out of Seattle: “I’m still sitting here with my no more fries, and I’ve been holding the empty styrofoam container for 23 hours now. Where are you!?” Cate on her beloved mother who was a
4 Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
by Lee Lynch Special to the SGN
Rolfing practitioner: “I wish my mom could have worked on you. I never had the full ten sessions, but Mom happily dug her ELBOW or her FIST into any sore muscles I had to hone her skills. I always assumed she was good, but I was amazed at the small crowd at her memorial service – folks I’d never met, Mom’s clients. They said wonderful things.” Cate the generous, knowing she didn’t have long to live, emptied her life savings, took her sister and their childhood friend on a cruise to Alaska to cushion the blow of her bad news. Always deflecting her troubles, this was Cate the hard up regarding a reading at which we were expected to bring our books to sell: “Honey, I’m saving up now for the gas and hotel – can’t afford to pre-purchase my books, but I’ll bring whatever spares I have. Can I pretend I wrote your books? I do all the time anyway.” Cate the Amazon Dyke: “Tell me when, just one time, I have been thought about with clean thoughts? You know I inspire ravening sexual fantasies. Well, in butches I inspire terrible feelings of inadequacy, by comparison.” Cate the animal lover when I asked how she’d like people to honor her in lieu of flowers: “Ooh, yeah, I like the ‘in loo of flowers option!’ I’d love it if folks wanted to donate to any agency or program dedicated to protecting and healing abused animals. Like DAWGS! But okay, cats too.” Cate, on our surgeries: “I’m afraid I heard from my ex-uterus. She has not been able to locate your left knee. She’s mumbling something about some renegade kneecap down
Evening, ladies and also Lee – I love that I’m planning an acceptance speech for a book that hasn’t even been shortlisted yet. But Nurse Connie asked if I could expand last year’s speech, the one I foisted on poor Lainie, to include all four of you. Should my epic masterpiece win, and if you’re in a hammy mood that night in New Orleans, this might be fun. Lainie, Lee, Shelley, and Connie walk to podium. Lee and Shelley, as authors, are obviously very unhappy about doing this. They slouch along like sulking children, and Lainie and Connie have to urge them along with subtle pushes. Once assembled on stage, Lainie pulls a folded piece of paper from her pocket (or cleavage) and begins to read. LAINIE: Cate Culpepper is, hands-down, the greatest Lesbian writer who ever lived. Lainie hands paper to Lee, who just glares at her. LAINIE: Well, it’s not my fault! (Shakes paper at Lee.) I didn’t write this dreck! Lee takes the paper and reads, begrudgingly. LEE: I am a writer today only because of Cate Culpepper’s genius. Cate Culpepper taught me everything I know about storytelling. Were it not for Cate Culpepper . . . oh for fuck’s sake. Lee slaps the paper against Shelley’s chest in disgust. At Connie’s insistence, Shelley sighs deeply and reads. SHELLEY: What’s more, Cate Culpepper is easily the sexiest woman who ever lived. I’ve never known such a sexually desirable woman as Cate Culpepper. (Connie folds her arms, jealous.) Those hypnotic eyes, those ruby lips, those two taut, perky little breasts – Connie snatches paper away from Shelley and reads, (sincerely). CONNIE: Cate thanks Cindy Cresap and Bold Strokes Books, and she sends her love to her GCLS family. All exit. Shelley responded: “Absolutely nuts, and I love it all. I’ll do my hammy best to pay homage to the most revered writer in the history of Lesbian literature.” My sweetheart responded: I will rock my cleavage in homage to Cate and in rhythm to the Amazon drums that Cate will endeavor to thrum over the auditorium to the bewilderment of those thousands attending. Connie and I maintained a butch stoicism. Cate, in response to our willingness to do this: “Woo-hoo!!! Thank you so much for everything, Lainie, especially the image of you whipping that piece of paper out of your cleavage! You know I’ll be watching you guys and giggling, were I not too butch to giggle. I love you. Hee hee hee hee! My work here is done.” C. Copyright Lee Lynch 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Fun night on the town dampened by too loud music Dear Editor: Although it was raining here in Seattle (what a surprise) I didn’t feel like staying home alone on Halloween since this is the day that Gays can go all out and demonstrate their creativity. So I called Changes Tavern in Wallingford in the afternoon, which is a nice neighborhood Gay bar and spoke to Floyd, who happened to answer the phone, and who is the long-time owner of the establishment. I asked him what activities he had planned for this evening. He told me that they would be judging the Best Costumes between 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. and that the First Prize winner would receive $300. The Second Prize winner would receive $200. And the Third Prize winner would receive $100. So I drove down from Lake Forest Park where I now live and found a parking space on NE 45th St. about a half block from the bar around 9:45 p.m. However, when I was crossing Meridian Ave. N. on foot I could hear the
loud base beat of music, and when I opened the door to the bar, I was simply blasted with very loud music! Frankly, at this point I was undecided whether I would stay and have my hearing accosted or to turn around and go home. But having driven all the way down from Lake Forest Park, I decided to stay for awhile and enjoy the sights, which were many. So I stood around awhile until three gentlemen asked me to join them at their little round table. They were very friendly and congenial, and each man introduced himself, as I also did. The man on my right was very flattering and complementary and was really coming on to me. And the man on my left asked me what I was drinking, and before I knew what was happening, he got up and disappeared in the crowd, and then returned with a drink for me, for which he refused any payment. The music was so loud that conversation was extremely difficult, which I frankly resented. However, I eventually spotted Floyd, the owner of Changes, whom I had spoken to on the phone in the afternoon, and who had asked me to introduce myself when I came in. So I
went over and told him that I was the gentleman who had called him in the afternoon. He was very friendly and shook my hand. I complimented him on the beautiful job that he had done refinishing the surface of the bar and complained about the offensively loud music. He said that they had just turned it down, having received a complaint from the manager of the theatre, which is right next door. However, I didn’t really notice much difference, as apparently they simply turned off the speaker near the front door, but the large speakers at the rear were still blasting away. Although there was the usual array of drag queens, there were several outstanding men in costume, including a realistic looking Jesus Christ replete with long hair, facial hair and a crown of thorns. Another young man was dressed as a doctor who had a cardboard sign hanging around his neck, which read, “Free Prostate Exams,” which was hilarious. Another excellent costume was on a bald-headed rotund gentleman, who had a beautiful smile, and who was attired as Julius Caesar. He came over to our table and spoke with us and told us all the
selections he went through before deciding on coming as Julius Caesar. I congratulated him on his excellent costume and told him that I hoped that he would win a prize, which he really appreciated and thanked me for my good wishes. However, after about an hour I couldn’t take the loud music any more so I left around 10:45 p.m., because as a health-conscious individual, and former New Jersey health officer, I refused to expose my hearing to any more assault, plus it made carrying on a conversation virtually impossible and I resent having to shout in order to be heard, nor could I easily hear others when they spoke to me. The volume level of the music was unnecessary, unnatural and unhealthy! We got rid of indoor air pollution years ago with a ban on smoking which damages the lungs. When are we going to get rid of indoor noise pollution with a ban on excessively loud music, which damages the ear drums? Sincerely, John Mark
Puddletown Squares to perform at the 125th Anniversary of Washington Statehood Celebration in Olympia Nov. 11
Seattle’s LGBT Square Dancing Club to offer FREE Square Dancing Evening in Seattle Puddletown is proud to have been selected to dance at the upcoming 125th Anniversary of Washington’s Statehood Celebration on Tuesday, November 11, from 1-4 p.m., at the Washington State Capitol/Legislative Building (416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW, Olympia). It is one of only two square dancing clubs in Washington to be asked to participate in the event. (Square dancing is the state dance of Washington.) Puddletown Squares will perform sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. during the program. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit http://www.washingtonhistory.org/events.aspx?eid=210 On Thursday, November 20, Puddletown Squares will be offering a FREE evening of square dancing at St. Andrew’s Church (111 NE 80th St.) near Green Lake from 7-9 p.m. No prior square dancing experience is required. Singles and couples are all welcome. Puddletown offers classes, workshops and public dances.
It is open to ALL members of the community. Puddletown’s beginner classes will start on January 8, 2015 – a 20-week series of square dance lessons every Thursday at St. Andrews Church. The club is also proud to have been selected to host the 35th annual IAGSDC Convention, which will take place in Seattle in 2018. Puddletown Squares is a not-for-profit corporation established to support the growth of LGBT Modern Western Square Dancing in Seattle. Founded in 1983, Puddletown has approximately 100 members in the Seattle area and is one of the largest LGBT square dancing clubs in the United States. Each year, it sends a large contingent of dancers to the annual convention of the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs (IAGSDC). For more information, visit: http://puddletownsquares.wordpress.com/ Courtesy of Puddletown Squares
The Seattle Public Library presents
Richard Blanco’s new memoir The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood on Nov. 10 at Broadway Performance Hall orlandoweekly.com
Richard Blanco
The 2014 Seattle Reads author Richard Blanco will read from his new, full-length memoir about growing up in Miami as the Gay son of Cuban immigrants from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday, November 10, at the Broadway Performance Hall of Seattle Central College, 1625 Broadway, at Broadway and E. Pine St. In Blanco’s memoir, The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, he explores his coming-of-age in a Cuban immigrant family and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his
Visit us online www.sgn.org
burgeoning artistic and sexual identities. Blanco was born in Madrid in 1968 and immigrated as an infant with his Cubanexile family to the United States. He was raised and educated in Miami, earning a B.S. in civil engineering and a M.F.A. in creative writing from Florida International University. Blanco is a practicing civil engineer, writer and poet, and teacher. His book For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey was the featured work for the Library’s 2014 Seattle Reads series.
This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, author series sponsor Gary Kunis, media sponsor The Seattle Times and presented in partnership with Seattle Central College and The Elliott Bay Book Company. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Library events and programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Parking is available in nearby commercial lots and on the street. For more information, call the Library at 206-386-4636 or visit www.spl.org.
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 5
frankchopp.com
Frank Chopp
Election
continued from cover ing to change the basic dynamics of Congressional gridlock. All six incumbent LGBT Congress members won reelection, but three Gay challengers lost their races – American Idol finalist Clay Aiken, Massachusetts Republican Richard Tisei, and Sean Eldridge, husband of Facebook exec Chris Hughes. In a San Diego
Congressional district, Gay Republican Carl DeMaio leads a Democratic incumbent by less than 1,000 votes. More money! Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota passed statewide minimum wage increases by overwhelming margins. In Alaska, in fact, the minimum wage hike won by 38 points. In two of those four states – Arkansas
and South Dakota – Democratic Senate incumbents went down to defeat, and it appears that Alaska Democrat Mark Begich will also lose his seat. And yet, none of the Democrats really campaigned on the minimum wage issue, in spite of the measures on their states’ ballots and the fact that President Obama issued an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their employees at least $10.10 per hour. It seemed that Democrats preferred to lose talking about nothing, than to take a chance on winning by stumping for economic reforms. San Francisco voters also passed an initiative raising their city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. The measure passed with a whopping 77% Yes vote. Massachusetts voters passed a statewide paid sick leave initiative, as did Oakland, California, and Trenton, New Jersey. “People are disillusioned by endless political bickering and eyed these elections with great dispirit,” AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka said in a post-election statement. “In way too many elections, they got a false choice. In these very difficult times, they did not get a genuine economic alternative to their unhappiness and very real fear of the future. But when voters did have a chance to choose their future directly – through ballot measures – their decisions are unmistakable.” Not much new in Olympia The Washington state Senate will have a 26-23 Republican majority, despite record spending by Democrats and their progressive allies. Nominal Democrat Rodney Tom, who turned control of the Senate over to Republicans in a deal that made him majority leader, dropped out of the race when he was challenged by former Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride. McBride then shifted to run for and win a House seat, and House member Cyrus Habib won Tom’s senate seat. In other districts, results were not so good for Democrats. Senator Tim Sheldon, who joined Tom in defecting to the Republi-
cans, beat a Democratic challenger. Mark Miloscia – once a conservative Democrat, but now reincarnated as a Republican – beat Democrat Shari Song for the Senate vacated by retiring Senator Tracey Eide. In this year’s most expensive legislative campaign, incumbent Senator Andy Hill is leading Democratic challenger Matt Isenhower by six points. Hill, a former Microsoft manager, raised almost $1 million to Isenhower’s $500,000. More than $1.4 million was spent by outside groups on the race. One new face in the state Senate will be human rights activist Pramila Jayapal, who won her race to succeed retiring Senator Adam Kline. On the House side, Democrats will retain a slightly reduced majority. House Speaker Frank Chopp crushed his Trotskyist challenger Jess Spear in his Capitol Hill district by a convincing 84-16% margin. Gridlock Although Republicans are celebrating their victories, which gave them control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2007, the basic dynamics of power have not changed. Republicans will probably end up with 53 Senate seats, against 45 for the Democrats. Independents Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont also caucus with the Democrats, giving them an effective 47-vote total. While Republicans will be able to elect Mitch McConnell majority leader, and appoint committee chairs, they are still short of the 60 votes needed to bring legislation to the floor of the Senate for debate and a vote. That means the same dynamic will be at play as when Democrats controlled the Senate. Neither side will be able to satisfy the demands of its base, because their colleagues on the other side of the aisle will not allow their pet projects to come up for a vote. In 2016, 23 Republican seats will be at stake as opposed to only 10 Democratic seats, and 2016 will also be a presidential election year, meaning Democratic turnout will likely be much higher than it was this year.
National election wrap-up
All five openly Gay members of U.S. House of Representatives win re-election
6 Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
“It’s incomprehensible that you can get married at 10 a.m. and be legally fired, thrown out of your apartment or denied a hotel room at 2 p.m., simply because you got married,” Sainz said. “It’s not something that Republicans will be able to ignore.” Rea Carey, executive director the National LGBTQ Task Force, said that Congress, even it took a more conservative turn, would be unable to stop the advances of same-sex marriage. “As much as the results in Congress are challenging, our work continues at the state and local level,” she said. Perhaps Carey is right. Several Republicans who won election as governor either support the same-sex marriage laws in their state or accept the laws as reality. Among them are governors-elect Bruce Rauner in Illinois, Charlie Baker in Massachusetts and Larry Hogan in Maryland. “Things that would have been hot button issues before have become less hot button,” said Kevin Cathcart, executive director of the LGBT-rights group Lambda Legal. “We’re still going to make progress this year and make progress next year, even if not on Capitol Hill.” However, Republican Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter won a third term in Idaho, and
vowed to continue fighting the legalization of same-sex marriage even though the state’s ban has been overturned in federal court. “I believe we are the last chance to stand up and fight for traditional marriage,” Otter said in his victory speech. “If they want to change the rest of the 49 states, go ahead. Why should we change? That’s not what our voters want, that’s not what our creator wants, and that’s not what Idaho wants.” www.scalingwhatworks.org
All five of the openly Gay members of the U.S. House of Representatives have won reelection, as did Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who is Bisexual. That’s the good news. The bad news is several Gay candidates seeking to join their ranks were defeated – including Democrat Sean Eldridge, husband of Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes, in eastern New York, and Republican Richard Tisei in a hardfought race against Democrat Seth Moulton, an Iraq War veteran, in Massachusetts. Another Gay Republican, Carl DeMaio, was in a virtual dead heat with Democratic U.S. Representative Scott Peters of San Diego. DeMaio confronted allegations from a former staffer of sexual harassment in the campaign’s final weeks. It is important to note that while there have been Gay GOP congressmen previously, none were out of the closet at the time they first won their seat. Gay-rights leaders have acknowledged that the new Congress, with an infusion of conservative Republicans, will be unlikely to sup-
port a federal bill outlawing a broad range of discrimination against LGBT people, which has become a top priority for activists now that same-sex marriage seems well on its way to being over, with victory on our side. “The road will be hard and rocky,” said Heather Cronk of the LGBT-rights group GetEQUAL. “We must offer up forwardthinking legislation to secure much-needed legal protections, rather than wallowing in self-loathing pity.” Fred Sainz, a vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, said the short-term goal would be “to change the hearts and minds of those not yet there with us.” “We’ll be putting on our walking shoes and walking the Halls of Congress – a lot – over the next few years to make sure that the new members become allies,” Sainz said, noting that the Republican caucus in the Senate (which will become the majority party in January) includes several supporters of same-sex marriage. It should also be noted that nearly twothirds of Americans now live in states where Gay marriage is allowed, including several states which still do not ban discrimination by employers or in public accommodations based on sexual orientation.
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Rea Carey
Celebrating 41 Years!
Seattle getting whiter, Portland is whitest But Seattle is Gayer Newly released U.S. Census figures show that Seattle is getting whiter, but is nowhere as white as some other U.S. cities. Among the 50 largest U.S. cities, Seattle is the fifth whitest. In 2013, 67% of our population was classified as non-Hispanic white, according to the Census data, up from 65.2% in 2012. For Seattle, that is the highest percentage of white residents since 2010, and marks a reversal of the recent trend toward more non-white residents. The whitest of the top 50 cities is Portland, with 71.4% white residents. Colorado Springs (69.6% white) is second, followed by Omaha (68.3%), and Louisville (67.3%), with Seattle rounding out the five whitest cities. While Seattle has been the fifth whitest U.S. city for several years, we experienced a spike in our white population last year, adding more than 23,000 white people. That bumped up the total number of whites to 437,000 – a 6% increase from 2012. Meanwhile, other groups – Asians, blacks, Latinos and Native Americans – were either stable in number, or showed a slight decline. The only group other than whites to increase was multiracial people, who now account for a substantial 5.4% of the city’s population. Asians and Pacific Islanders accounted for
13.8% of Seattle’s population in 2013, African Americans 6.9%, Hispanics 6.4%, Native Americans 0.2%, and “others” 0.3%. Diana Canzoneri, demographer and senior policy analyst at the Seattle Planning Commission, found the new data surprising, but warned against jumping to conclusions. “It will be important to keep an eye on these numbers to see if they signal a real trend” and not just a one-year aberration, she said. King County, excluding Seattle, is also pretty white, but less so than the central city. The county also has a larger proportion of Hispanic residents. Whites accounted for 61.1% of the non-Seattle county population, Asian/Pacific Islanders 17.1%, Hispanics 10.7%, African Americans 5.5%, multiracial 4.7%, Native American 0.8%, and “others” 0.2%. King County’s white population actually decreased by 13,500 in 2013, a drop of nearly two percentage points in one year. Detroit was the least white city among the top 50, with only 8.9% white residents. Miami followed with 9.9% white, and then El Paso (14.4%), Houston (25.8%), and San Antonio (26.1%). While Seattle is very white, it is also very Gay. In fact, Seattle’s LGBT population is estimated to be one of the largest in the country. According to 2006 estimates by the American Community Survey and the Williams
www.gentside.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Institute, Seattle ranks eighth in total LGBT population, but second in the percentage of LGBT residents, with 12.9% of the population estimated to be LGBT. San Francisco has the highest concentration of LGBT residents, with 15.4%. Atlanta comes third with 12.8%, followed by Minneapolis (12.5%), and Boston (12.3%) round-
ing out the top five. Portland comes in at number seven, with 8.8% LGBT. In sheer numbers, New York has the most LGBT residents, but they account for only 4.5% of the population. Los Angeles is second in the number of LGBT folks, but not even in the top ten when it comes to concentration, with only 5.6% LGBT.
Kansas and Missouri marriage bans struck down by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal judge struck down Kansas’s ban on same-sex marriage on October 4, and a Missouri state judge followed suit on October 5, also striking his state’s marriage ban. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree said he was bound by prior rulings from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Kansas. “Because Kansas’ constitution and statutes indeed do what Kitchen [the 10th Circuit ruling in the Utah case] forbids, the Court concludes that Kansas’ same-sex marriage ban
violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,” Crabtree wrote in his decision. In Kitchen v. Herbert, the Tenth Circuit held that the Fourteenth Amendment “protects the fundamental right to marry, establish a family, raise children, and enjoy the full protections of a state’s marital laws,” and that state laws that abridge that right for Gay and Lesbian couples are unconstitutional. That decision, and other similar ones by other appellate courts, was left standing when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear marriage case appeals. Crabtree said that Kansas’s request for a stay pending appeal was “a relatively close call,” but was justified by the complexity of the case.
“[D]efendants’ arguments have required the Court to make several jurisdictional and justiciability determinations, and human fallibility is what it is; the Circuit may come to a different conclusion about one of these threshold determinations,” he wrote. “On balance, the Court concludes that a shortterm stay is the safer and wiser course.” Kansas state attorneys have until November 11 to file an appeal. If they do not do so, marriages can begin immediately. Crabtree’s ruling came in a case filed by the ACLU in Kansas on behalf of couples whose requests for marriage licenses were denied in at least two Kansas counties. Jeff Roberson / ap
April Dawn Breeden (l) and partner Crystal Peairs are married at St. Louis City Hall on Wednesday, November 5
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
In Missouri, St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison ruled that a 2004 state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “The Court finds and declares that any same sex couple that satisfies all the requirements for marriage under Missouri law, other than being of different sexes, is legally entitled to a marriage license,” Burlison wrote in his decision. The judge ordered that marriage licenses can be issued to Gay and Lesbian couples immediately, even though the Missouri Attorney general’s office said they would appeal his ruling. In St. Louis city, four licenses were issued within two hours after the ruling. Burlison’s ruling comes more than four months after four couples were married at St. Louis City Hall, an act of civil disobedience orchestrated by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and then-Recorder of Deeds Sharon Carpenter. In response, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed an injunction preventing more marriage licenses from being issued to same-sex couples. Burlison’s ruling is the second major victory in the state for same-sex marriage. In October, a Kansas City judge ruled that out-ofstate marriages of same-sex couples residing in Missouri must be recognized by the state. The decision by Circuit Judge J. Dale Youngs was the first by any judge affirming same-sex marriage in Missouri. That ruling affected more than 5,400 Missouri couples. The Missouri ruling marks 49 successful challenges to same-sex marriage laws across the country. There have been only three losses. Appeals in the Kansas case will go to the Tenth Circuit, but in the Missouri case they will go to the state’s Court of Appeals.
Seattle Gay News 7
Sixth
continued from cover
Gerhardstein, a private attorney also working relegates them to a second-class status for no on Henry v. Himes. “The Sixth Circuit’s refusal legitimate reason. We will continue to fight for to recognize marriages of same-sex couples love and commitment, and won’t stop until the law recognizes the importance of our families’ marriages and their need for the security that comes from accurate birth certificates.” Plaintiffs in the six cases may ask the Sixth Circuit for en banc review, meaning a new hearing with the entire court participating, or they may appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court declined to hear previous appeals because all the Circuit Courts had ruled same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. With the Sixth Circuit breaking ranks, it seems possible that the Supreme Court will accept an appeal if asked. Marriage equality advocates reacted with predictable dismay as their string of legal victories came to an end. “The legacies of Judges Deborah Cook and Jeffrey Sutton will forever be cemented on the wrong side of history,” HRC president Chad Griffin said in a statement. “Today the Sixth Circuit stood in the way of a path constructed by two dozen federal court rulings over the last year – a path that inevitably leads to nationwide marriage equality. Gay and lesbian couples in Kentucky, Michigan,
Ohio and Tennessee are just as deserving of marriage equality as the rest of America. Now, more than ever before, the Supreme Court of the United States must take up the issue and decide once and for all whether the Constitution allows for such blatant discrimination. We believe that justice and equality will prevail.” Freedom To Marry also called on the Supreme Court to settle the issue of marriage equality. “Today’s ruling is completely out of step with the Supreme Court’s clear signal last month, out of step with the constitutional command as recognized by nearly every state and federal court in the past year, and out of step with the majority of the American people,” the group said. “This anomalous ruling won’t stand the test of time or appeal. But with discrimination still burdening too many families, and now with this split in the circuits, Freedom to Marry calls on the Supreme Court to swiftly take these cases, affirm the freedom to marry, and bring national resolution once and for all. American couples and their families should no longer be forced to fight court by court, state by state, day by day for the freedom and dignity that our Constitution promises.”
Health insurer Aetna ends Transgender discrimination by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Aetna, an American managed health care company, which sells traditional and consumer-directed health care insurance plans and related services (medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care and disability plans) announced this week it will start covering gender reassignment surgery next year for federal workers on the insurer’s plans. And the company said it will begin rolling out this coverage to many of its commercial plans over the next couple of years. Health insurance plans have denied coverage for gender reassignment benefits for years. But now regulators in eight states and the District of Columbia ban discrimination against treatments for gender reassignment. In the past four years, the number of large employers covering sex reassignment surgery in their health plans grew from 49 to 340, including at 28 percent of Fortune 500 firms. The reason? The medical community began recognizing “gender identity disorder” as a “diagnosable condition.” In short, there has been a growing ac-
knowledgement recently among employers and policymakers that insurers need to be covering these treatments. This year, the U.S. government weighed in considerably. In May, Medicare reversed a decades-old ban on covering gender reassignment surgery in response to a 2013 lawsuit, putting pressure on more insurers to ensure Transgender Americans equal benefits. The State Department announced earlier this month it would drop the coverage exclusion from its largest health insurance plan, which covers about 31 percent of its workforce. In June, the federal government announced it would no longer prohibit its health plans from offering gender reassignment benefits. The agency operating the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, which covers more than 8 million people (Transgender Americans make up 0.3 percent of the adult population) cited the “evolving professional consensus” that treatment is medically necessary for people with gender identity disorder. Advocates for Transgender rights criticized the Office of Personnel Management policy, saying it was a half-measure, pointing out that the OPM could have mandated that fed-
eral employee health plans provide this coverage. Instead, advocates chided, it offered only the invitation for insurers to step up. “In a way, what OPM did was really modest,” said Harper Jean Tobin, director of policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality. “For years, they told plans that you have to discriminate against employees in the benefit package you offer. Now OPM said, ‘At the very least, we’re going to say you don’t have to do that anymore.’” Insurers were required to notify OPM by June 30, and details of 2015 health plans are starting to trickle out now and it does look like change is coming. Enrollees should
check the OPM website for plan details when they’re available, the agency advised. Without insurance, Transgender Americans face tremendous out-of-pocket costs for gender reassignment treatment/surgery. While some people may only choose hormone therapy (which costs hundreds of dollars a year), the cost of surgery, for those needing it, could be tens of thousands of dollars. It should be noted that employers that added transition-related coverage report very low costs tied to the benefits, according to a 2013 study from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Interestingly, very few have actually used the benefit, the researchers found.
Prep
able formulation than with an oral cabote- dose every twelve weeks should result in gravir pill. drug levels that are over eight times the Researchers calculated that an 800mg amount needed to reduce viral replication by 90% – what HIV scientists call “90% inhibitory concentration (IC90).” In the study, male subjects turned out to eliminate the drug considerably faster than women – from 2.8 times faster to 3.1 times faster. This is probably because women have higher levels of fatty tissue, which releases the drug more slowly. Spreen said different doses for men and women might be needed if Phase II studies suggested this made a clinical difference. Those studies are scheduled to start next year. Researchers also tested the concentration of cabotegravir in the subjects’ genital tissues as well as in their blood, because that is where HIV enters the body in most cases. Using a dose of 400mg, or half the dose to be taken into efficacy studies, they found that the concentration in tissues was considerably lower than it was in the blood. The concentration in vaginal tissue was 28%, in the cervix 16%, and in the rectum only 8% of blood plasma concentrations. This is not surprising, however, because the same results are found when PrEP drugs are taken orally. The other drug tested, rilpivirine, was not
so promising, and it will probably not be tested as an injectable PrEP drug. This drug was tested on laboratory mice that were genetically adapted to be vulnerable to HIV infection. In one test, the mice were challenged with a single HIV strain a week after receiving the rilpivirine, and no mice were infected. In contrast, every mouse in the control group that received a placebo injection got HIV. In the second test, the mice were challenged with three separate strains of HIV a week after receiving the PrEP injection, and were then challenged with a fourth strain a total of three weeks after getting the PrEP injection. Only one out of eight mice became infected with one of the three viral strains, but another five mice became infected with the fourth strain of virus they received at week three, leading researchers to conclude that rilpivirine did not provide the lasting protection desired in an injectable PrEP drug. Research presenter Olivia Snyder noted that mice metabolized drugs faster than either monkeys or humans, so that rilpivirine’s effect could last longer in humans. Further experiments are going ahead to quantify the dosing interval needed, and the drug could have limited use as a treatment for some HIV patients.
8 Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
continued from cover
nuimagemedical.com
Celebrating 41 Years!
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 9
10
Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 11
MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru
932 12th ave. Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!
12
Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Lambda Legal sues Social Security Administration on behalf of Gay Chicago widower
“The SSA is denying this grieving widower benefits as a spouse, only because this samesex couple lived in Arkansas, a state that discriminated against their marriage when one of them tragically died.” CHICAGO – On Thursday, November 6, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) on behalf of Dave Williams, a widower, formerly of Arkansas, now a Chicagoan, who was denied spousal benefits after the death of his husband, Carl Allen. In October, Lambda Legal filed a similar lawsuit in Washington D.C. fed-
eral district court on behalf of Texas widow Kathy Murphy and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. “Dave and Carl were a loving married couple living in Arkansas. After Carl became disabled in 2009, Dave cared for him at home until Carl’s untimely death in 2010. Now the SSA is denying this grieving widower benefits as a spouse, only because this same-sex couple lived in Arkansas, a state that discriminated against their marriage when one of them tragically died,” said Susan Sommer, Director of Constitutional Litigation at Lambda Legal. “Dave is just one of thousands of same-sex spouses who married the love of their life. Widows, widowers and retirees, wherever they live, need Social Security spousal benefits, earned through years of hard work, to support them as they age. No one should have to fight to be treated with respect by their federal government while they grieve the passing of their spouse.” Dave and Carl met and fell in love in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1997. They thrived together as a couple, eventually settling in Arkansas in 2007. In 2008, before passage of Proposition 8, they traveled to California and got married. Carl was living with HIV when they met, and in 2009 became disabled from AIDS and subsequently stopped working and applied for SSA disability benefits. Dave devoted himself to his husband’s care until
Carl’s death in the couple’s Arkansas home in April 2010. Dave moved to Chicago this year to study at the Art Institute. Following Carl’s death, Dave applied to SSA for back disability benefits due Carl and a lump-sum death benefit, but SSA, at that time citing Section 3 of the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Arkansas’s discriminatory marriage laws barring recognition of marriages between persons of the same sex, turned down his request. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor removed DOMA as an obstacle to SSA’s recognition of the couple’s marriage, SSA continued to deny Dave his spousal benefits based on Arkansas’s discriminatory marriage laws. Notwithstanding the May 2014 ruling by the Arkansas Circuit Court declaring Arkansas’s marriage ban unconstitutional, in September SSA notified Dave of the final denial of his claim. “Carl and I shared a life of great respect, trust, and deep love,” said Dave Williams. “There’s not a day that goes by that I do not think of him. Knowing the state of Arkansas and the federal government have not recognized and respected our marriage – this is something that seems so unfair to me and to his memory. I know Carl would be pleased that we will have our day in court.” The Supreme Court struck down federal discrimination against same-sex spouses last year in United States v. Windsor; Lambda
Legal argues that SSA cannot perpetuate the same kind of discrimination now and leave Lesbian and Gay spouses without the financial protections of Social Security as they age. The suit argues that denying Social Security benefits to same-sex spouses because they live in states that discriminate against their marriages violates the U.S. Constitution. Read the complaint in the case, Williams v. Colvin, here: http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/williams_ il_20141106_complaint Read about Lambda Legal’s case on behalf of Texas widow Kathy Murphy and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare here: http://www.lambdalegal.org/blog/20141022_suing-ssa-onbehalf-of-texas-lesbian-widow Susan Sommer and Karen Loewy are handling the case for Lambda Legal. They are joined by Dennis Hranitzky, Joni Jacobsen and Jason Billy of Dechert LLP. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexuals, Transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. www.lambdalegal.org Courtesy of Lambda Legal
Houston will defy Texas state judge on same-sex benefits
A Texas state judge ordered the city of Houston to stop providing spousal benefits to the partners of Gay and Lesbian city employees in a November 5 ruling, but the city said it would continue to provide the benefits. Texas District Judge Lisa Millard issued a temporary restraining order halting the spousal benefits after Harris County Republican boss Jared Woodfill filed a lawsuit against Houston Mayor Annise Parker. Parker issued an executive order in July extending spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of city employees if they were legally married in another jurisdiction. Her action was challenged by local Republicans, but in August U.S. District Judge Sim Lake ordered the city to continue providing the benefits pending a final ruling on Texas’
Visit us online www.sgn.org
www.lonestarq.com
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
same-sex marriage ban. Lake ruled in a lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal on behalf of Houston city employees who wanted to preserve benefits for their spouses. City officials said they would continue to provide benefits in compliance with the federal court order. Janice Evans, a spokeswoman for Mayor Parker, told the Houston Chronicle that, “As a result [of Lake’s ruling] today’s action will have no impact on the status quo.” Ken Upton, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, said that the federal judge’s decision would override any decision from a state court. “The U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause clearly provides that a decision based on federal law trumps a conflicting decision based on only state law,” Upton told Lone Star Q newspaper. “This is a foundational principle that every first-year law student learns and is beyond question or doubt.” Texas is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which currently has a suit challenging the Texas marriage ban before it. Hearings in that case, DeLeon v. Perry, are scheduled for the week of January 5, 2015. The district court ruling in this case agreed with the plaintiffs that “Texas’ current marriage laws deny homosexual couples the right to marry, and in doing so, demean their dignity for no legitimate reason.” The Fifth Circuit also has a Louisiana case, Robicheaux v. Caldwell, scheduled for the same week. Judge Millard is reported to have close per-
Texas District Judge Lisa Millard
sonal ties to Woodfill, and has intervened to court, which declined to support her ruling. challenge same-sex spousal benefits once beThe case was subsequently moved back to fore. Last year she issued a similar restraining state court and then dismissed, the move which order, but the city moved the case to federal prompted Woodfill’s most recent lawsuit.
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 13
BC denies accreditation to anti-Gay Christian law school eclecticlip.com
Trinity Western University
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Christian law school set to open in Vancouver, British Columbia, has lost its accreditation because it discriminates against LGBT students. In a binding referendum, members of the Law Society of British Columbia voted overwhelmingly to revoke accreditation for Trin-
ity Western University’s law program. In all, 74% of the lawyers voting decided to reject the school. The results were then ratified by the group’s Board, by a vote of 25-1, with four abstentions. The society says the decision means that “the proposed law school at Trinity Western University is not an approved faculty of law for the purpose of the Law Society’s admission program.”
Trinity Western is an independent university founded by the Evangelical Free Church of America, a fundamentalist denomination with roots in Scandinavian immigrant churches. Its students are required to sign a covenant that forbids sexual relations outside of a church sanctioned (and therefore opposite-sex) marriage. Students who violate the covenant may be expelled.
Victoria, BC, lawyer Michael Mulligan, who launched the referendum on the issue, says the school’s policy discriminates against people in Gay and Lesbian relationships. “The policies of this university are inconsistent with core values of legal profession insofar that this university continues to discipline or expel students for their private sexual activities,” Mulligan said. The BC Law Society has been joined by other Canadian lawyers’ groups. The Law Society of Upper Canada in Ontario has voted against approving Trinity Western’s law school and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society voted to grant accreditation only if the school changes the covenant for law students or allows them to opt out. Trinity Western is legally challenging those decisions in court, arguing they have a right to religious freedom. TWU president Bob Kuhn expressed his frustration with the recent vote as he left a ratification meeting at the law society on Friday morning. “They had to choose between the principles upon which they made the initial decision and the popularity of that decision among lawyers in the province,” Kuhn said. “We’re disappointed of course they chose the latter. But that’s the reality of people in an elected position.” Kuhn added that it is now unclear whether the law school will move ahead with its 2016 opening date.
Ghosts of the past haunt Chile: Dictator’s grandson forms right wing anti-Gay party by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
14
Seattle Gay News
Pinochet’s henchmen. Michelle, then a student, and her mother were also arrested and tortured. Ironically, when Bachelet ran for a second term as president in 2013, her opponent was UDI’s Evelyn Matthei, the daughter of an Air Force general who supported Pinochet’s coup. The two had been childhood friends, but their families became estranged during Chile’s years of dictatorship. Bachelet said during the 2013 presidential campaign that marriage equality would be a priority for her administration, and a bill to register same-sex civil unions is now mak-
ing its way through Chile’s legislature. An anti-discrimination law covering LGBT Chileans was enacted in July 2013. The Chilean LGBT rights organization MOVILH said that in the ten years from 2002 to 2012, there have been 837 cases of anti-LGBT attacks, some of them – like the 2012 murder of Daniel Zamudio – carried out by neo-Nazi gangs. Seventeen of the incidents were murders. In 2013 alone, three Transgender Chileans were murdered, including one particularly brutal case in which the victim’s face was burned with a blowtorch. EFE / Archivo
The grandson of Chile’s former military dictator Augusto Pinochet announced he will form a new political party to be called Orden Republicano Mi Patria (Republican Order My Country). Augusto Pinochet Molina described his new party as “center-right,” but the Guardian newspaper said its platform “opposes same-sex marriage, educational reform, and abortion, but hopes to legalize marijuana.” “It is a party destined to be minority and most of all fascist,” socialist Senator Alejandro Navarro told CNN. The younger Pinochet also sent out invitations to a party marking his dead grandfather’s 99th birthday on November 25. One of the invited guests is Colonel Cristian Labbe, the dictator’s former bodyguard and hitman. Labbe was arrested by Chilean authorities on October 20, and charged with “criminal association” in connection with more than 3,000 murders committed by the Pinochet regime. Although General Pinochet resigned the presidency in 1990 and died under house arrest in 2006, his bloody 16-year reign as dictator left lasting scars on modern Chile’s political life. Until recently, the right-wing UDI (Union Democrata Independiente – Independent Democratic Union) party was the largest political party in the country, with about 20% of the vote. They were thought to have a lock on the so-called “military family” – the Pinochet diehards. That changed after UDI’s leader Sebastian Pinera, then President of Chile, moved to shut down the luxurious “prison” that houses former military officers convicted of crimes during the Pinochet dictatorship. Hardcore Pinochet supporters then split off and started their own political movement,
called “For My Country.” Young Pinochet got into the act at his grandfather’s 2006 funeral, when he gave an impromptu speech celebrating the dictator’s campaign to “defeat Marxism.” At the time he was an army captain, but the speech got him kicked out of the military. Chile’s president at the time, Michelle Bachelet, was the daughter of a Chilean Air Force general who remained loyal to the democratically elected socialist President Salvador Allende. When Allende was overthrown by Pinochet in 1973, General Bachelet was arrested and tortured to death by
Augusto Pinochet Molina
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
What the Seattle Preschool Program means for Gay parents On November 4, Seattle voters selected the Seattle Preschool Program (Proposition 1B) crafted by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, the City Council, early learning experts, and a wide variety of local stakeholders. Tuesday’s vote means Seattle will take its first step toward universal, voluntary, high-quality and affordable preschool for Seattle’s children. The levy will cost the owner of a Seattle home valued at $400,000 about $43 a year, according to the city. “It is one of the best investments we can make,” Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess said. Mayor Murray called the results a “huge win for Seattle’s kids and Seattle’s future” and said the margin of victory surprised him. Seattle Proposition No. 1B received a whopping 67 percent approval in the firstday vote count, while Seattle Proposition No. 1A, supported by a pair of labor unions and some childcare workers, fell far behind. 1B will authorize a $58 million propertytax levy to fund a four-year pilot program of preschool subsidized on a sliding scale, while setting academic standards and raising preschool teacher pay. If selected, 1A would have established a $15 minimum wage for child-care workers, required training and certification via a publicprivate institute, and made it city policy that families should not spend more than 10 percent of their income on child care. “It makes us a more equitable city,” said Murray. “It’s an opportunity to actually do something about the dramatic differences in education outcomes between children of color and Caucasian children, poor children and children who come from wealthier families.” According to Council President Tim Burgess, the Seattle Preschool Program is based on extensive research on how to best prepare children for kindergarten and a life of learning. “We reviewed the evidence of what works, we visited preschools throughout Seattle, we talked with teachers and parents, and we visited other cities to see how they provide universal preschool. At every step in development of the program, we were keen-
Kyle Stokes / KPLU
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess, former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice and current mayor Ed Murray attend a press conference in July to promote the city-endorsed preschool pilot program.
ly committed to a critical principle: Quality.” This commitment to quality, based on the research and modeled after other successful cities, is embedded throughout the various elements of the Seattle Preschool Program:
Washington’s “Early Achievers” quality rating and improvement system developed by the University of Washington; • Program evaluations and feedback from kindergarten teachers to maintain high quality; and • A menu of play-based, research-based • A sliding scale of tuition for parents to encurricula proven to support age-appropri- courage economically mixed and culturally diate learning; verse classrooms which are best for all children. • Compensation that honors preschool teachers by being in line with the pay of Burgess says, “Committing ourselves to qualK-12 teachers; ity not only promotes social justice for early • Tuition support for teachers to acquire learning, it delivers it. Only by doing what acearly learning credentials that improve not tually works can we close the achievement and only the quality of learning for the children opportunity gaps that have persistently and unbut also career pathways for the teachers; fairly impacted our children of color.” • Support for teachers including ongoing It is important to note that, as a voluntary in-classroom coaching; program for both parents and providers, the • Full day preschool (6 hours per day, 5 Seattle Preschool Program does not divert days a week) and wrap-around care; funding away from existing programs for • Classrooms with a teacher-to-child ra- childcare or preschool. Nor does it require tio of 1:10; any space from the Seattle School District. The • Providers earning a good score from Seattle Preschool Program is an added invest-
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
ment that will benefit more children – up to 2,000 per year by the fourth year. In order to maintain quality, Burgess said, “We carefully ramp up the enrollment over time. Boston and other jurisdictions that have succeeded in providing quality, universal preschool advised us strongly to go slow to get it right.” By Year 4, according to Burgess, the program will be providing quality preschool to about 25% of the three- and four–yearolds likely to enroll. “This is a bold step for Seattle and I hope other local cities and counties will soon follow,” said Burgess. “Put simply, the Seattle Preschool Program will provide our children with a strong and fair start.” Burgess said he was “stunned” by the vote count. “We had no idea we were going to win by this much,” he said. “It was a hard campaign and you never know. But I think the voters of Seattle are really smart.”
Seattle Gay News 15
Legal Services MARTIN SJOLIE Over 20 Years Experience
Last Will, Power of Attorney & Health Care Directive (Living Will)
$500.00/Person or $750.00/Couple for complete, personalized services.
(206) 841–1373 www.sjolielaw.com
Auto accidents, DUI, Small business needs.
16
Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Religion & Spirituality www.sgn.org
HOME & SPECIALIZED SERVICES
Gary D. TorGerson Co. Expert Painting and Repairs Rot Repair: siding, doors, windows, porches and decks. Lead-Safe Certified
See photographs of our work at www.TorgersonCompany.com Email: info@torgersoncompany.com Contractor Registration #: GARYDTC134CJ Phone: 206-781-0999
Health and Personal Services
www.sgn.org
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 17
18
Seattle Gay News
November 7, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 7, 2014
Seattle Gay News 19