OPEN CALL for Photo Shoot for Seattle Counseling Service (SCS)
Dear Seattle Gay News:
We have been reaching out to our community partners and other nonprofits to ask for their assistance in promoting a photo for SCS. GSBA recommended that we send this information to SGN as one of our target populations is the aging LGBTQ community in Seattle. Here are the details: SCS is holding an open call photo shoot on Saturday, November 3rd from 10am to 8pm. SCS is the in process of updating its current look as we enter our 50th year of service on our website and marketing/outreach materials, and maybe you can relate, it is very difficult to find stock images that portray our LGBTQ
community. We are seeking your help in promoting this photo shoot so that we can capture audiences and individuals that best reflect the people we serve here at SCS.
I have attached a graphic to this email; we are able to resize as needed. Please print, share on social media, etc. The graphic details the time, place, and contact information for people to reserve their spot.
All people attending will be emailed a digital copy of their headshot within 2 to 4 weeks after the shoot. Images captured will be used to help promote the work of SCS on our website, electronic correspondence, social media, and marketing/outreach materials.
If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. I do hope that we can count on you for some promotional help. Thank you for your partnership and support!
Donovan Willeto Development Manager He/Him Pronouns
Seattle Counseling Service 1216 Pine Street, Suite 300 Seattle WA 98101 (206) 323-1768
donovanw@seattlecounseling.org www.seattlecounseling.org
SANCTUARY
Trump’s executive order that directed the Department of Justice to withheld congressionally appropriated funds from Seattle is unconstitutional.
Following a ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the executive order unconstitutional in a San Francisco case, Seattle joined with Portland to seek an order that would put an end to the ongoing lawsuit.
“Take a moment to celebrate a win against a president doing all he can to marginalize people and foster a climate of fear,” said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. “The ‘separation of powers’ still exists in this country, and I’m thankful to our judiciary for recognizing that. With our public safety grant dollars now
in hand, we can move forward in supporting our neighbors and furthering community safety in Seattle.”
“We have the law – and justice – on our side. This ruling is a victory for welcoming cities everywhere; it confirms that the administration’s actions violate our Constitution,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “If it wasn’t clear already, this administration should know that Seattle won’t [be] bullied. We will refuse to back down in the face of unjust attacks on our rights and the safety of our communities – and we will always stand up for our immigrant and refugee neighbors.”
“The City of Seattle saw the president’s threats to withhold federal funding from Seattle for what they were: politically motivated bullying. Threatening to pull public safety funding to satisfy his anti-immigrant policies is not only wrong but illegal,” said
Councilmember M. Lorena González.
“Our victory in this lawsuit affirms that Seattle is on the right side of history and the law. Seattle will always be a welcoming city to our undocumented immigrant and refugee neighbors, and standing with our undocumented community is imperative now more than ever. Cities must continue to use every tool at their disposal to meet the public safety needs of all our residents regardless of immigration status.”
The executive order directed the US Department of Justice to withhold grant money from cities that were not in compliance with 8 USC 1373 (“sanctuary jurisdictions”), but courts have consistently ruled that the executive branch did not have the authority to add new conditions to grants already appropriated by Congress. Seattle has held it is and has been in compliance with 8 USC 1373.
“My sincere thanks to Charles Rothfeld and Andrew Pincus from the Mayer Brown LLP law firm, who provided pro-bono legal counsel for the City in this case,” said Holmes.
As announced last week, Seattle received $252,157 in Byrne JAG Grant dollars, which will be used to fund three crime prevention coordinators in the Seattle Police Department.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has served the City of Seattle as its chief legal officer and prosecutor since 2010. Resources for crime victims, information on forthcoming trials, and recent City Attorney’s Office news and reports can be found on the City Attorney’s website. Follow the City Attorney on Twitter and on Facebook.
Courtesy of the City of Seattle
tion in the workplace do not cover transgender employees, just days after the New York Times revealed that the Trump-Pence White House is attempting to redefine “sex” across the federal government in order to justify its decision to refuse to protect transgender people under federal civil rights law.
“Time and time again, federal circuit courts have ruled that discriminating against an individual based on their gender identity is form of sex discrimination –which is prohibited under a wide range of federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “The TrumpPence administration is continuing down
a destructive path that will put transgender people at further risk of discrimination and violence. For the Department of Justice to conveniently ignore significant legal precedent is deeply disturbing.”
The case before the court involves a transgender woman who was fired by a funeral home when she informed her supervisor that she is transgender. Francisco’s filing with the Supreme Court is at odds with numerous circuit court decisions and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s interpretation of federal law.
On [October 21], the New York Times reported that the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is planning to release regulations narrowly defining “sex” in an anti-transgender way that guts enforcement of existing civil rights protections for LGBTQ people. The adminis-
tration’s plans are in direct conflict with a growing trend in federal court decisions affirming that sexual orientation and gender identity are covered under our nation’s civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination based on “sex.” This is the latest effort in a consistent, multipronged campaign by the Trump-Pence White House over the past two years to undermine the rights and welfare of LGBTQ people.
The Human Rights Campaign is calling on the American people to send a clear message to the Trump-Pence White House in November by voting for candidates that fully support LGBTQ rights and will work to pass the Equality Act.
The Equality Act would finally add clear, comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people to our nation’s civil rights laws. In addition to
having bipartisan support in Congress with 246 cosponsors, 117 major corporations have also joined the HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Discrimination is a real and persistent problem for far too many LGBTQ Americans. HRC polling has found that nearly two-thirds of selfidentified LGBTQ Americans report experiencing discrimination.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.
Courtesy of the HRC
The DOJ brief reverses the finding of President Obama’s DOJ – and several federal courts – that the prohibition against discrimination based on sex in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also protects Trans people.
Trump’s DOJ filed the document in the case of Aimee Stephens, a Michigan funeral home employee who was fired when her employer found that she is Transgender. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued on Stephens’ behalf, basing its case on the Obama-era reading of Title VII.
Stephens’ suit was upheld by the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals but is now pending with the Supreme Court.
However, the DOJ – now under the control of Trump appointees – has the authority to represent federal law before the high court, and the Trump DOJ informed the court that the 6th Circuit was wrong. The high court should make a determination whether the word “sex” in federal law covers gender identity, the DOJ filing said.
The HRC lost no time in condemning the Trump administration’s position.
“Time and time again, federal circuit courts have ruled that discriminating against an individual based on their gender identity is form of sex discrimination –which is prohibited under a wide range of federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow.
“The Trump-Pence administration is
continuing down a destructive path that will put transgender people at further risk of discrimination and violence. For the Department of Justice to conveniently ignore significant legal precedent is deeply disturbing.”
Defining Trans people out of existence
While the Supreme Court considers the DOJ brief, the Trump administration is working on new administrative rules that would legally define Trans people out of existence.
On October 21 the New York Times published a leaked DOJ memo that could put an end to legal protections for Trans people, and would put an end to lawsuits like that of Aimee Stephens.
The memo seeks to define the word “sex” in federal law in such a way that gender identity is explicitly excluded.
“Sex means a person’s status as male or female based on immutable biological traits identifiable by or before birth,” the memo says.
“The sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person’s sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence.”
The standard set by the Trump administration memo – basing gender on genetic evidence and/or genitalia identified at birth – represents the most extreme standard put forward by anti-LGBT forces. It would effectively define even post-op Trans people by the gender assigned them at brith.
“This is an attack on the very lives and existence of Transgender people,” James Esseks, director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, said in a statement.
“It is painful, it is hateful, and it will not go unchallenged,” he added. “Transgender people have the right to not only exist but to fully participate in public life. Transgender people are real and transgender lives have meaning.
“If the Trump administration moves forward with these hateful and hurtful policies, they will once again be met with opposition in courts and in communities. More and more courts are seeing that policies targeting transgender people have no place in our country. The ACLU will fight back against any efforts to use transgender people as political pawns and continue to seek full equality for transgender and nonbinary people.”
Anti-Trans head of DOJ Civil Rights Division
On the same day that the Times published the anti-Trans memo, the US Senate – on a largely party-line 50-to-47 vote – confirmed Trump nominee Eric Dreiband to head the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Dreiband represented the University of North Carolina in a lawsuit over the school’s decision to enforce HB2, which restricted restroom access for Trans people and banned local governments from passing LGBTQ anti-discrimination ordinances.
He also defended RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company and Bloomberg in discrimination cases, and represented clients looking for religious exemptions to the law.
“Whoever leads the ‘crown jewel’ of the Justice Department must have deep relationships with stakeholders and marginalized communities, and have a deep, abiding
faith in our nation’s civil rights laws,” said Vanita Gupta, who headed the Civil Rights Division under Barack Obama.
“They must respect the laws that touch everyone, rights that people have literally died for. They must respect the role of what has been called the conscience of the federal government. In all those regards, Eric Dreiband is woefully unqualified to lead the Civil Rights Division.”
Lambda Legal pointed to the division’s role in defending civil rights as a reason to be concerned about Dreiband.
“Throughout its 60-year history, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has been a stalwart defender of civil rights in employment, education, housing, voting, and many other aspects of life,” said Lambda Legal’s Sharon McGowan, who added that Dreiband was not “a strong leader with a proven track record of defending civil rights.”
The NAACP said that Dreiband was “exactly the wrong choice” to lead the office.
“The evidence is clear,” NAACP board chair Leon W. Russell said in a statement. “For the past 20 years, Dreiband has been on the wrong side of issues pertaining to housing, hate crimes, and the many other critical areas that the Civil Rights Division oversees as part of its core mission.”
Under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department has made protecting religious liberty a priority at the expense of LGBTQ equality.
Earlier this year, Sessions announced the creation of a Religious Liberty Task Force to help fight against anti-discrimination efforts.
Photo by Carolyn Kaster / AP
community
WASHINGTON, DC – On [October 21], the New York Times reported on a memo drafted by the Trump administration that could lead to regulatory attempts to define gender as “a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth.” The Times outlined how the memo, written by [the Department of Health and Human Services] (HHS), will pave the way for a violent attack on the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming communities in accessing comprehensive health care or receiving an equal education. In response, Transgender Law Center Executive Director Kris Hayashi issued the following statement:
“Because of brave people like Ash Whitaker and Gavin Grimm and so many others, transgender and gender-nonconforming communities have achieved wins in the courts. Through key victories like Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District and Macy v. Holder, courts and government agencies have made clear that transgender and gender-nonconforming people are protected from discrimination under federal civil rights laws and the US Constitution.
“The draft memo the NYT reported on this weekend, a document written by officials at HHS, is transparently a hatemotivated response to these victories. It attempts to rewrite years of progress achieved by advocates under the Obama administration. Here, written out plain, is their attempt to erase our very existence as transgender people. This memo reveals that this administration intends nothing short of our destruction.
“To be clear: nothing this administra-
tion can do will undermine the scores of federal courts that have recognized our humanity and hundreds of state and local legal protections we’ve already won.
“We know now that the administration intends to ignore the preponderance of law, science, and evidence on gender identity to empower hate and roll back access to health care and to make schools less safe for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.
The Transgender Law Center will fight this as we’ve fought all of the attacks by this administration, and the many attacks that came before the current administration. In community, we will organize and protect each other through our joint campaign with the National Center for Transgender Equality, #ProtectTransHealth, as well as by working with local leaders in states that have faced or are facing anti-trans ballot measures and successfully defeated these attempts. Whether the fight takes us to the courts, to the ballot box, or to the streets, we will continue to fight for a country in which all of us enjoy dignity and respect.
“This summer, we marched in honor of Roxsana Hernandez, a transgender woman and asylum seeker from Honduras who died in ICE detention. In the past few weeks, we have mourned the deaths of Black trans women. We are a community under attack, but we are not silent and we won’t be erased.”
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, the TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gendernonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation. http://transgenderlawcenter.org
Courtesy of the TLC
OutRight comments on rumored anti-Trans memo
NEW YORK – The New York Times published an article on October 21st indicating that the Department of Health and Human Services intends to release a memo that would define sex according to biology, based on genitalia or genetic testing at birth.
Jessica Stern, executive director of OutRight Action International, commented, “OutRight Action International vehemently condemns all efforts by the Trump administration to define gender in biological or immutable terms. Such efforts amount to an attack on transgender and intersex Americans and would contradict everything we have learned from decades of progress for women’s rights and gender justice.
“Much like climate change, the Trump administration and [its] supporters are on the wrong side of history when it comes to gender. Over the last few years, countries as diverse as Pakistan, Uruguay, and Botswana have advanced the recognition of trans rights. Although much remains to be
done globally for the full recognition and enjoyment of human rights for trans people, there is no doubt that the trajectory is going in the right direction.
“Thankfully, the memo is only a confidential draft and has not impacted any laws or policies. However, even if it is eventually published, the Trump administration cannot undo all federal laws and court decisions that have repeatedly recognized the rights of transgender Americans to be free from discrimination. They may try, but they will not win.”
Every day around the world, LGBTIQ people’s human rights and dignity are abused in ways that shock the conscience. The stories of their struggles and their resilience are astounding, yet remain unknown – or willfully ignored – by those with the power to make change. OutRight Action International, founded in 1990 as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, works alongside LGBTIQ people in the Global South, with offices in six countries, to help identify communityfocused solutions to promote policy for lasting change. It vigilantly monitors and documents human rights abuses to spur action when they occur. It trains partners to expose abuses and advocate for themselves. Headquartered in New York City, OutRight is the only global LGBTIQ-specific organization with a permanent presence at the United Nations in New York that advocates for human rights progress for LGBTIQ people.
Courtesy of OutRight Action International
Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
NCLR responds to new Trump administration attack on Transgender people
WASHINGTON, DC – [On October 21,] The New York Times published an article reporting that the Trump administration plans to revise federal regulations to ensure that federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination will not be enforced by federal agencies to protect transgender people.
National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter issued the following statement in response:
“This proposed policy is a heavyhanded attempt to strip federal legal protections from transgender people. It is part and parcel of this administration’s ongoing attempts to scapegoat vulnerable groups and to promote extremist policies rooted in stigma and stereotypes.
“The federal courts have interpreted sex discrimination laws broadly for decades in order to ensure that all forms of sex-based discrimination are prohibited, including discrimination against transgender people. This proposal is out of step with long-standing legal precedent and would create havoc in federal agencies, which are charged with enforcing the law and cannot simply disregard binding legal decisions. And no matter what this administration orders federal agencies to do, the courts
still have the authority to interpret these laws and will continue to protect transgender people.
“We know that many in our community today heard this news and are afraid. We want to assure our transgender family members that the NCLR and many other civil and human rights organizations will fight this policy and, just as important, will continue to advocate for transgender students, employees, health care patients, and other transgender people. We have fought similar battles and won. We can and will defeat this together.”
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was the first national LGBTQ legal organization founded by women and brings a fierce, long-standing commitment to racial and economic justice and our community’s most vulnerable. Since 1977, we have been at the forefront of advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through impact litigation, public policy, and public education. Decades ago, the NCLR launched the first LGBTQ Immigration Project, Transgender Rights Project, Youth Project, and Elder Law Project, and began working to end conversion therapy through what is now our Born Perfect campaign. www. nclrights.org
Courtesy of the NCLR
Below is the statement of GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi:
“The New York Times report that the Trump administration is considering a proposal to define the word ‘sex’ for legal purposes in a way that deliberately excludes transgender people is one more example of this administration’s disregard of human rights and its heartless political strategy of attacking the most vulnerable among us.
“This reported move is in conflict with the approach of both federal and state courts and government agencies in interpreting laws prohibiting sex discrimination. Even though the administration is working hard to delegitimize the federal judiciary upon which so many civil rights advancements have depended, we know that justice means justice for all. GLAD will never back down from pursuing protections and challenging unconstitutional laws and policies in the courts.
“But just as importantly, the ideology being pushed by this administration is contrary to the beliefs and vision of countless leaders in education, business, medical, and scientific communities, and among political leaders who have been willing to work across the aisle when rights and safety have been at stake. It also stands in stark contrast with the lives and experience of transgender people, our families, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, all across this great nation.
“The bottom line is that this administration has a transparent, callous, political agenda – and it is willing to undermine our most fundamental institutions to pursue it. We have seen this at work everywhere, from the military – where Trump continues to pursue his ban on transgender troops despite its proven negative impact on military readiness and vocal opposition from military leaders – to the arenas of education, employment, and health care. It is a
“This administration continues to act rashly and in mean-spirited ways. But we have the power to counter it. We are strong and resilient. We will not back down and cannot be erased. We will continue telling the truth about our lives, treating one another with compassion, and fighting for justice. It is imperative that we act now, with our collective power, to stand up for what is right. We have an opportunity on November 6 to voice our values, to support candidates who believe in fairness, and reject those who use human beings as political pawns.
“In Massachusetts, we face a critical vote – one that offers the chance to affirm the dignity and humanity of transgender people and to uphold the value of treating one another with respect. How Massachusetts votes on Question 3 will impact the direction of our nation. I am hopeful that the people in my home state will vote Yes on 3 to preserve the transgender civil rights law that we fought so long and so hard to pass. I am optimistic that we will demonstrate, once again, that the cruel agenda of a few does not reflect the will of We, the People.
“The reactionary policies of this administration have caused and will cause too many to suffer. But staying focused on the changes that our community, friends, and allies have so bravely brought about through our advocacy, our words, and our deeds, sustains me. It informs my firm belief that the callousness of this administration is an aberration. We will persist, justice will win out, and this challenging moment will not define our country’s future.”
Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation.
Courtesy of GLAD
Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Catholics rip off Pokémon Go
“Follow JC Go” now available online
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
A Roman Catholic missionary group has launched a new online mobile game –called Follow JC Go – in preparation for World Youth Day 2019.
The event for Catholic young people is scheduled to take place in Panama in January.
Like the original Pokémon Go, the Catholic game lets players catch animated figures, only in the knockoff version, players catch Catholic saints, not cute little monsters.
Pokémon Go has been downloaded around 800 million times and has brought in over $2 billion in revenue since 2016.
Follow JC Go is the brainchild of Fundación Ramón Pané, a group named for the Catalan monk who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage and became the first European who is known to have studied the native Taino language.
As with Pokémon Go, the game uses the player’s smartphone camera to take in their surroundings, then superimposes digital characters.
Players progress through the game by answering religious quiz questions when they “meet” a saint, like attributing a quote from the Bible.
For example, a player might “meet” Moses, who asks, “Was it me who said: ‘My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?’?”
If the player gets it right, the character will join their e-team (or Evangelization Team).
Players can also collect virtual water, food, and “spirituality” to contribute to their in-game health.
The game also prompts players to stop and pray if they pass a church. Or, in a hospital, they might be urged to say a prayer for the sick. Players can also donate to Catholic charities through the app.
Follow JC Go launched in Spanish on October 19, with Italian, English, and Portuguese versions expected in the coming weeks. Its creators say the goal is to teach players of
all ages about the Catholic faith.
Though the app does not have the Vatican’s seal of approval, the Pope is said to be a fan.
“You know, Francis is not a very technological person, but he was in awe, he understood the idea, what we were trying to do: combine technology with evangelization,” Ricardo Grzona, executive director of Fundación Ramón Pané, told Catholic news site Crux Now.
The site reports that 43 designers, theo -
logians, Bible experts, and church historians have poured 32,000 work hours into the app since August 2016. It was reportedly financed with $500,000 of sponsorship and private donations.
On the Google store, however, users have given the app only 3.2 stars out of five.
“I wanted to burn heretics,” one user complained, perhaps sarcastically, “but it wasn’t possible.”
Image courtesy of Follow JC Go