SGN Sep 13, 2019 - Part 1

Brad Zimmerman on My Son, the Waiter, a Jewish Tragedy

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An interview with author Carley Moore on The Not Wives

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Seattle Gay News

ANOTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITY:

LGBTQ issues excluded in 2020 Primary debate ahead of upcoming forum on LGBTQ issues

Bloomberg News: Advocates say LGBTQ issues need more time in next Democratic Debate

GLAAD CEO: “Next week’s LGBTQ Forum in Iowa will correct the pattern we have seen in the first round of debates see DEBATES page 7

She’s baaaack… Richland florist petitions SCOTUS for right to discriminate, Round II

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Baronelle Stutzman, the anti-LGBT Richland florist, is at it again. For the second time, she has petitioned the US Supreme Court for the right to discriminate against potential LGBT customers because of her “religious beliefs.” In 2015 Stutzman was convicted of violating Washington state law by refusing to sell a wedding arrangement to a Gay couple, Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed. She appealed to the Washington State Supreme

GSBA’s Face-to-Face Candidate Forum got down

How is Seattle thriving during these boom times? Who is benefiting in our city, and who is being left behind? What voices are at the table, and which are left behind? What will Seattle’s City Council look like

in 2020? Who will be making decisions that will affect your business, the LGBTQ community, and your neighborhood?

U.S. District Court denies Ohio’s Motion to Dismiss lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal and the ACLU on behalf of transgender Ohioans denied accurate birth certificates by the state.

(Columbus, OH, September 12, 2019) – A U.S. District Court judge today ruled that the lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, the American see OHIO page 7

see GSBA page 4 see FLORIST page 6

Seattle Gay News

Celebrate the independence of Latin American countries

Embrace the cultures of the Pacific Northwest and cultivate love, peace and understanding of the communities that make up our region. Join us for Seattle Center Festál’s “Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias,” Saturday, Sept. 14, noon to 9pm, and Sunday Sept. 15, noon to 6pm at the Seattle Center Armory. “Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias” observes Latin American independence in ways that remind us all of the indomitable spirit of freedom.

“Fiestas Patrias,” meaning “Patriotic Holidays” or “National Holidays” in Spanish, commemorates the independence of Latin American countries, many of which celebrate their national independence days in the month of September. The festival highlights the history of these communities while taking pride in the new generations of Latinos that now call the United States home, with live performances of dance and music, art, activities for the family and authentic dishes. Enjoy tastes of Mexico City foods such as tortas, tamales, gorditas, pambazos and huaraches at food vendors. See cooking demonstrations of dishes like pozole, tamales and chile rellenos presented by Baja Taco, a local family-owned restaurant located in West Seattle.

In the Armory Lofts, guests can explore two art exhibits. “¡VIVA! Latino/a Visions” is a display by local Latinx artists and “Murales, No Muros” an exhibition sponsored by CNDH Mexico, UNAM SeattlePAME and Sea Mar that features photos of actual murals on buildings in Mexico and Guatemala that capture the life of migrants who were detained on the border of Mexico and the United States.

Explore the annual health fair with informational booths for vital health screenings, cholesterol and glucose checks, health education, oral health, WIC/MSS services, behavorial health, insurance enrollment, Sea Mar assisted living and nursing services, cancer prevention and hearing exams. Edu-

cational activities for children include Nolan the Inflatable Colon.

For full schedule and more information, visit the Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias website: http://seattlefiestaspatrias.org/, or Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/ seamarchc

Newly added this year is the “Alaska Airlines Fly Away Giveaway.” Guests who obtain a passport inside Seattle Center Armory or by downloading one online can collect stamps by attending Seattle Center Festál festivals to be entered to win roundtrip air travel for two to the Alaska Airlines destination of their choice. Each stamp is an entry to win; the more Festál events attended and stamps collected, the higher the odds of winning! More information at seattlecenter.com/festal.

Seattle Center Festál highlights the culturally rich communities who shape the character of our region. Although the series began in 1997, the festivals took place earlier in their own ethnic communities. Now, Seattle Center serves as a central place, where festivals invite the public to join in their unique cultural expression. This year’s theme, “Love, Peace and Understanding,” is woven throughout 24 free,

ethnic cultural festivals. In a time of divisive national rhetoric, Festál celebrates our shared humanity to build connections, tear down stereotypes and create trust.

Seattle Center Festál’s “Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias” is a public program presented by Seattle Center in partnership with Sea Mar Community Health Centers. Admission is free of charge. For more information on this festival, visit seattlefiestaspatrias.org , and to learn more about this collection of ethnic cultural events and other Seattle Center public programming, visit www. seattlecenter.com or call 206-684-7200.

About Seattle Center Festál

This illuminating series of 24 ethnic cultural festivals on weekends throughout the year seeks to connect people in ways that build understanding, dispel stereotypes and generate pride among the generations who participate in these shared experiences. Seattle Center Festál is produced with the generous support of KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, Coca-Cola, Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile, Lyft, 4Culture, the City of Seattle and Seattle Center Foundation.

Courtesy of Seattle Center Festál

GSBA

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This past Tuesday, September 10 at Seattle Central College’s Broadway Performance Hall, audience members heard where several Seattle City Council candidates stood at GSBA’s annual Face-to-Face forum.

The forum was moderated by Brady Piñero Walkinshaw (CEO, Grist.org and former 43rd District Representative) and Liz Dunn (Principal, Dunn & Hobbes).

Featured candidates were:

District 1: Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Phil Tavel; District 2: Tammy Morales, Mark Solomon; District 3: Egan Orion, Councilmember Kshama Sawant; District 7: Andrew Lewis, Jim Pugel.

If you need to register to vote, or if you’ve changed your address since the last election, contact the King County Office of Elections by phone at 206-296-0100, 800-325-6165, TTY Relay 711 or online at https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/elections.aspx for more information. Then cast your vote in the General Election by November 5.

FLORIST

Court, which unanimously ruled in 2017 that she was indeed guilty and liable to a fine of $2,000.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson personally argued the case before the state Supreme Court, explaining that state law forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for all businesses, regardless of the religious beliefs of the owners.

Stutzman appealed to the US Supreme Court, which was also hearing the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. In that lawsuit, Colorado baker Jack Phillips was seeking a First Amendment right to refuse to make custommade wedding cakes for same-sex couples.

In the Masterpiece case (2018), the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phillips, but only on the narrow grounds that one member of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission made remarks that gave evidence

of an anti-religious bias.

Shortly afterward, the high court vacated the Washington Supreme Court decision against Stutzman and ordered the court to review its decision in light of the Masterpiece ruling. In other words, the Washington state court was to decide whether there was anti-religious bias in its previous ruling against Stutzman.

The Washington state Supreme Court reviewed the case again and reached the same conclusion: Stutzman was in violation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination, and there was no anti-religious bias, because the law barred discrimination against LGBT customers regardless of the ideological basis for it.

Representing Stutzman is the anti-LGBT legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The ADF filed the petition Wednesday shortly before the Supreme Court will determine what cases it will hear for its upcoming term at its

annual “long conference.”

Now Stutzman has petitioned the US Supreme Court for a second time, arguing that the state Supreme Court wants to destroy her business because she is a Christian.

Kristen Waggoner, senior vice president of the legal division at the ADF, said in a statement that her client serves all people but cannot “take part in, or create custom floral arrangements celebrating, sacred events that violate her religious beliefs.”

“Because of this, the Washington Supreme Court upheld a ruling that threatens Barronelle with personal and professional ruin,” Waggoner said. “Regardless of what one believes about marriage, no creative professional should be forced to create art or participate in a ceremony that violates their core convictions. That’s why we have taken Barronelle’s case back to the US Supreme Court.”

Jennifer Pizer, law and policy director for Lambda Legal, said the new petition constitutes an “unsurprising recycling of argu-

ments” the Alliance Defending Freedom made in earlier petitions to the high court.

For example, Pizer said, Stutzman argues “that arranging flowers for a wedding is actually ‘participating’ in the wedding…

“But the difference between vendors and the wedding party and guests is obvious to most people,” Pizer continued. “The threat to civil rights laws should be, too. Because if flowers, why not the food, the custom clothing, a limo to the venue? These cakes and flowers cases are attempting to pry open a door to marketplace discrimination that the Supreme Court has kept firmly closed so far.”

The US Supreme Court is under no obligation to hear Stutzman’s second petition. If four of the nine justices wish to hear the case, the court will “grant certiorari,” or take on the case. If they do so, they will then schedule oral arguments. In that case, he final disposition of the petition may take one or more years.

Start-up nonprofit welcomes LGBT students back to school with “Hope in a Box”

NEW YORK (September 9, 2019) –Hope in a Box, a start-up nonprofit based in New York that developed the definitive primer [on] LGBTQ-inclusive literature for young adults, is working with dozens of university professors and middle and high school teachers across the country to make hundreds of rural public school more LGBTQ inclusive. The founding team of recent college graduates designed a bibliography of 50 books – with supporting movies, magazines, and albums – that is already helping dozens of teachers diversify their classrooms nationwide, to rave reviews. Their effort is part of a growing national movement to diversify public school curricula, notably in NJ, IL, CO, MD, and OR.

Founded in 2018, Hope in a Box collaborates with public schools to make rural classrooms more LGBT inclusive. Through literature donations, curriculum building, and educator coaching, Hope in a Box is a free resource that aims to cultivate accepting environments for students from young ages, paving the way for mental and emotional well-being throughout life.

This spring, Hope in a Box partnered with 25 rural public schools to pilot “Starter Boxes”: packages of 20-30 books from their bibliography along with supporting multimedia and curriculum guides for key texts. Teachers celebrated the materials as “a treasure” and “potentially life-saving.” Based on feedback from users, 100% of educators feel better equipped to reach and support LGBT students because of Hope in a Box, and 90% believe Hope in a Box noticeably improves LGBT students’ emotional well-being within one semester of receiving materials; 80% of educators plan to formally incorporate the materials into their curricula this academic year. The pilot schools are diverse, including a traditional Mormon school in Washington State, low-income schools in rural Vermont and New Jersey, and conservative Southern schools in Tennessee and Alabama, among others.

The team’s early success has already attracted attention and funding from the Wal-Mart Foundation and Command Education. Kevin Jennings, the founder of GLSEN and President Obama’s former Head of Safe Schools said: “Hope in a Box’s work is literally saving lives. When young LGBTQ people see themselves reflected in school curricula, their sense of self and well-being goes up dramatically, and rates of bullying and harassment drop just as dramatically. By providing these resources to schools with little access to them, Hope

in a Box is making a life-saving difference for many young people.”

By end of the 2019 school year, Hope in a Box aims to support hundreds of rural schools in all 50 states; nearly 200 schools across 35 states already joined a waitlist.

The nonprofit’s goal is to help at least half of these schools incorporate the materials into curricula.

Many children rarely see positive representation of LGBT identities in school. In 2018, the Human Rights Campaign found that only 13% of students heard positive messaging around LGBT identity in schools; just one in four LGBT students always feel safe in school, and 73% receive threats because of their sexuality. These issues are especially severe in rural areas, according to GLSEN, the LGBTQ nonprofit.

Joe English, founder of Hope in a Box and a 2017 graduate of Yale University, said, “I know that feeling of isolation and invisibility personally, having grown up in a small, rural town. After college, I returned to my high school to share my experience with my teachers and see how we could make the next generation of students feel more supported.” Not only did English’s teachers acknowledge a need for diversity, they expressed a great desire to build a library of books and materials to support their LGBTQ students. But without

deep familiarity with the subject matter or resources to acquire diverse materials, their hands were tied. English founded Hope in a Box to help rural teachers, like his own, overcome these barriers.

For more information and a full list of the materials and curriculum, go to: www. hopeinabox.org

Compendium of quotes from educators

“Our small rural district isn’t very diverse; it’s been incredibly important for us to find creative ways to help students be open-minded and empathetic. I’m so grateful for the guidance and generosity of the Hope In A Box program because it sends our students such an important message: we recognize LGBTQ students and we appreciate them.” – Kristen, grade 9-11 English

“Having a character in literature to connect to can make all the difference for some kids who feel alone.” – Sheryl, middle school English

“This is an incredibly small Mormon community. This town has many old beliefs; students could definitely use these novels to broaden their understanding of other races, genders, [and] perspectives of other people. It was like Christmas morning when your package came.” – Amanda, HS ELA

“As a queer Latino educator, I am deeply committed to fostering a loving and inclusive classroom environment for every student. The books you all so graciously gifted my classroom has helped me create such a classroom that is affirming and accepting of all identities. During independent reading time, my students have been reading the books and actively voicing how much they are enjoying reading them. I am confident that these books have already beautifully impacted the lives and world views of my children.” – Israel, middle school English

“I told my students that I have LGBT books available for them, and three took me up on it on the first day! They thanked me profusely and have told me that they are very much enjoying the books. It is so important for these young people to know that they have support no matter what, and that I love them for who they are!” – Ashely, middle school ELA

“My own students have been as excited as I am to open each package, and I am thrilled! There is such a huge need for inclusive and accepting literature. Books heal. Books offer hope. Books can speak to the soul the way no living human can. This collection is a treasure. I wish we had a dozen sets! This is such a gift.” – Elizabeth, high school English literature

“From the second I saw The Miseducation of Cameron Post on the shelf, I knew I wanted to read it. I was expecting the typical story of the atrocities committed in conversion schools (where they ‘heal’ LGBT people into being straight ‘like God intended’), but what I got was something different. I related to Cameron. I know how it feels to have been confused and feel like I need to hide who I truly am from everyone. When I got to the end of this book, I felt so happy that there was a book like this in the world for people like me to read.” – Student, grade 10

“I see these books constantly checked in and out sort of silently by my students… By the nature of where a lot of students are in their journey, there hasn’t been a lot of open discussion yet, but these books signal to my students that they are safe with me.” – Dawn, grade 7-12 librarian

“This library is what lets my students feel comfortable writing about LGBTQ issues and characters in their creative and personal writing.” – HS creative writing

Courtesy of Target Cue

The HRC applauds House Judiciary advancing gun violence prevention measures

WASHINGTON, DC – Today [September 11, 2019] the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, applauded the House Judiciary Committee for advancing three commonsense gun reform bills aimed at preventing the epidemic of mass gun violence in the United States.

“It is imperative that Congress and the White House finally take action to prevent this senseless, ongoing epidemic of gun violence,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “The vast majority of the American people support meaningful steps to stop these preventable tragedies, including an assurance that no person in this country can purchase a firearm without clearing a background check. The House and Senate must work together to pass these commonsense bills, and Donald Trump must sign them into law. If they fail to do so, we must elect leaders who will get the job done and protect our communities from violence.”

The bills advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee for consideration by the full House are:

• H.R.1186 – The Keep Americans Safe Act would ban high capacity ammunition magazines, which enable assault weapons to be particularly lethal.

• H.R.1236 – The Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 would provide incentives for states to adopt laws in order to prevent those deemed a risk to them-

OHIO

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Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU Ohio on behalf of four transgender plaintiffs seeking accurate birth certificates from the state of Ohio can proceed. The court denied the state’s motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, thereby ensuring the four transgender plaintiffs in the case will have their day in court and the state of Ohio will be required to defend its discriminatory policy, which forces transgender people to live with incorrect, mismatched documentation that exposes them to harassment and abuse.

“Today we took a huge leap forward toward the goal of ensuring that transgender people born in Ohio will have access to an accurate birth certificate that matches their identity, which is essential to their safety, privacy, and well-being. What we are arguing is simple: the identities and dignity of transgender Ohioans must be recognized by the state,” said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Kara Ingelhart. “Ohio is out of step with the rest of the United States in clinging to this archaic and dangerous refusal to provide transgender Ohioans with accurate documentation which serves no other reason than discrimination.”

“I am looking forward to my day in court,” plaintiff Stacie Ray said. “It is frustrating that it will take a lawsuit to have my state recognize me for who I really am. But I’m confident that, in the end, our fundamental right to live as our true and authentic selves will prevail and that no one else in Ohio will have to endure the horrific experiences I and my fellow plaintiffs have endured moving forward.”

The lawsuit was filed in March 2018 challenging Ohio’s refusal to correct the gender marker on birth certificates for transgender individuals, for any reason, at any time. Back then, Ohio was one of just three states, along with Tennessee and Kansas, that did not allow these corrections to be made. However, just this past June 2019, Kansas reached a consent agreement with Lambda Legal and the court ordered the state to start issuing corrected birth certificates, leaving just Ohio and Tennessee continuing with this harmful anti-transgender policy on the books. Lambda Legal is challenging Tennessee’s policy in court as well. As the court said in its opinion today, “Forty-eight other

selves or others from accessing firearms.

• H.R. 2708 – The Disarm Hate Act would prohibit those convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from obtaining firearms.

HRC has also given strong public support for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, which passed the U.S. House with a bipartisan majority in February but remains languishing in the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refuses to bring it to the floor for a vote. A poll released this week found that 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks, including on private and gun show sales.

In 2016, after a gunman killed 49 people – most of them LGBTQ and Latinx – in Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, HRC’s Board of Directors adopted a resolution that addresses both the epidemic of hate that has fueled anti-LGBTQ-motivated murder, assault and discrimination as well as commonsense gun violence prevention policies that would help keep the LGBTQ community safe. Gun violence has led to the murder of at least 18 trans people in 2019, the majority of them Black women.

HRC backs commonsense gun violence prevention policy measures and policies aimed at addressing the epidemic of hate that has fueled anti-LGBTQ-motivated murder, assault, and discrimination. For decades, LGBTQ people have been a target for bias-motivated violence, and easy access to deadly weapons has compounded this threat. Commonsense gun violence

prevention measures endorsed by HRC include banning access to assault-style rifles, expanding background checks and limiting the ability for suspected terrorists and those with a history of domestic abuse to access guns.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, more than 36,000 gun deaths happen every year.

DEBATES

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that have left LGBTQ people largely out of the conversation.”

The LGBTQ Forum will be livestreamed on September 20 to a national audience across the country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0k 1rGd5oZA&feature=youtu.be

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, tonight released the following statement at the conclusion of the third presidential primary debate, in which there was no mention of the LGBTQ community or issues important to LGBTQ Americans from the media.

“The Trump Administration has spent the last three years rolling back rights for LGBTQ and other marginalized communities, and it’s imperative that LGBTQ people and the issues affecting our lives and our

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. 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 Human Rights Campaign

families not be overlooked in this Presidential election,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Next week’s LGBTQ Forum in Iowa will correct the pattern we have seen in the first round of debates that have left LGBTQ people largely out of the conversation.”

Next week, GLAAD will partner with One Iowa, The Gazette, and The Advocate for the LGBTQ Candidate Forum at Coe College’s Sinclair Auditorium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The September 20th LGBTQ Forum will be the first event solely focused on LGBTQ issues for the 2020 presidential cycle and will feature the top-tier Democratic presidential candidates, including former Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Joseph Sestak, Elizabeth Warren, and Marianne Williamson. The Forum will be livestreamed to a national audience across the country.

Courtesy of GLAAD

states have figured it out.”

“We are thrilled today! Despite the state’s attempt to block our case, the court has unequivocally upheld our claims,” said Freda Levenson, Legal Director at ACLU of Ohio. “Noting that Ohio is an extreme outlier - one of only two states that does not permit trans individuals to correct their birth certificates – the Court found that Ohio’s continued refusal violates our clients’ right to live lives without fear of exposure to discrimination, harassment or violence. This ruling paves the way to complete victory. Now we will continue to fight until we completely remove this barrier. In the end, transgender people will have access to the basic documents they need to live as their true and authentic selves.”

“There is no excuse for a state government to put trans people’s lives on the line in this way. The current policy outs and misgenders transgender people born in Ohio any time they have to use their birth certificate,” said Gabriel Arkles, Senior Staff Attorney at ACLU. “I’m pleased that

today the court acknowledged the seriousness of that type of harm. Whether, when, and how to share this sort of private information with others should be our own choice, not the government’s.”

The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on behalf of four plaintiffs Stacie Ray, Basil Argento, Ashley Breda and Jane Doe, identified anonymously. The lawsuit argued that denying transgender Ohioans the ability to obtain accurate birth certificates discriminates against them and violates their privacy, liberty, and freedom from compelled speech under the U.S. Constitution.

According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, almost one-third of transgender individuals who showed an identity document with a name or gender marker that conflicted with their perceived gender were harassed, denied benefits or services, discriminated against, or assaulted. Transgender individuals also are disproportionately targeted for hate crimes.

The lawsuit is Ray v. Himes. You can read more about the case here: https://www. lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/ray-vhimes

You can read the ruling here: https:// www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/ ray_oh_20190912_opinion

Read about birth certificate policies across the United States here: https://www. lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/article/ trans-changing-birth-certificate-sex-designations

The case was represented by Gabriel Arkles and John Knight of the ACLU; Freda Levenson, Susan Becker, Elizabeth Bonham, and David Carey from ACLU of Ohio; Kara Ingelhart and Peter Renn from Lambda Legal; as well as pro-bono cocounsel Jennifer Roach and Marilyn Eble from Thompson Hine LLP

Courtesy of Lambda Legal and ACLU Ohio

KarmaScentsCandles

National Black Justice Coalition on murdered Trans teens:

WASHINGTON, DC (September 6, 2019) – Bailey Reeves, at 17 years young, and Bee Love, at only 18, became the 17th and 18th trans people murdered in the United States this year. Bailey, a trans woman of color, was found dead in Baltimore, Maryland, over Labor Day weekend. Bee, a Black trans woman, was found with her hands tied, shot, and burned to death in her car in Clewiston, Florida. Too many trans women, and especially too many Black trans women, are being murdered, and it is beyond time that as a community we stand together and call for an end to these heinous acts.

David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), released this statement:

“We know that Black women, both trans and cis, face extreme and disproportionate levels of violence. Black trans women being murdered is becoming too common. We must do more than stand silently in solidarity. We must say their names and be called to act. We are not doing enough to ensure that all members of our community are able to live happy, healthy, and whole lives.

“Supporting trans and cisgender women alike is more than quoting from popular

We have to do something, now!

television shows or reposting on social media. We must supplement those actions with sustained and meaningful civic, political, and community action that ensures that Black women [and] girls, both trans and cis,

are protected in principle and in practice. A critical first step toward meaningful action is having asset-based, stigma-free conversations about these issues and opportunities.

“NBJC developed the Words Matter Gender Justice Toolkit to facilitate uncomfortable and at times difficult conversations that can save lives. This specific toolkit has been designed with the goal of ending the violence that Black women and girls –both cisgender and transgender – as well as gender-nonconforming people experience simply as a result of who they are and how they exist in the world. We hope that this resource will be helpful to those who desire to honor the lives and legacies of our sisters by doing more to ensure that Black trans women and girls can thrive.”

Learn more about violence against transgender people in the US in 2019 [at http://nbjc.org/blog/mourning-those-wehave-lost].

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is America’s leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same-gender-loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS.

Courtesy of the NBJC

Same-sex Maryland couple sues U.S. State Department for treating their six-month-old daughter as born out of wedlock

BALTIMORE, MD – Today [September 12, 2019], Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland against the U.S. Department of State for refusing to recognize the citizenship of Kessem Kiviti, the daughter of married U.S. citizens Roee and Adiel Kiviti. The State Department’s policy treats the children of U.S. citizens in same-sex marriages as “born out of wedlock,” unconstitutionally stripping their children of citizenship.

“This is a fight for marriage equality. It is a fight for the fundamental right of citizenship,” said Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director of Immigration Equality. “By refusing to recognize their rights as a married couple, the State Department is treating Roee and Adiel as second-class citizens and treating Kessem as if she is not a citizen at all. The administration has made abundantly clear it will ignore the law and Constitution. We will not stand for it.”

Roee and Adiel Kiviti are a same-sex couple who married in California in 2013. They had their daughter Kessem via surrogacy in Canada in February 2019. Because only Adiel has a biological connection to Kessem, the State Department is disregarding Roee and Adiel’s marriage and treating Kessem as “born out of wedlock,” meaning she must have a biological relationship to a U.S. citizen parent who has resided in the U.S. for five years. This requirement is not meant to be applied to the children of married U.S. citizens. Even though both of Kessem’s fathers are U.S. citizens, Adiel falls one year short of the residency requirement, and the State Department completely disregards Roee as her father. [Read more about the Kiviti family at https://www.immigrationequality.org/meet-the-kiviti-family/#. XXtOwoVw69Y]

“Kessem was born to two dads. By refusing to recognize Kessem as a U.S. citizen at birth, the Department of State seeks to erase her family ties and to disrespect Roee’s and Adiel’s marriage. This is not only unlawful, it is also cruel and un-American,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that same-sex couples are entitled to the same constellation of

benefits linked to marriage as different-sex couples. The government cannot refuse to recognize Roee’s and Adiel’s marriage, nor Kessem’s citizenship at birth. We will fight for the dignity of all LGBT families.”

The Immigration and Nationality Act states that children of married U.S. citizens born abroad are U.S. citizens from birth so long as one of their parents has resided in the U.S. at some point, but the State Department routinely denies that right to same-sex couples and their children. While differentsex couples are automatically presumed to both be parents of their children, same-sex couples are subjected to invasive questioning about how they brought their child into their family. Because one parent is not a biological parent, they are treated as if they are not married, and their children are not recognized as citizens unless the biological parent can meet additional criteria.

“The focus here is our little girl whose rights are being infringed upon by our gov-

ernment,” said plaintiffs Roee and Adiel Kiviti. “Every parent wants to protect their child, to give them assurances of tomorrow, and this policy isn’t letting us do that. Our daughter will know her story. She will know how she came into this world, she will know about all of the loving people who helped us become a family, and she will know how her parents fought for her rights and for the rights of other families.”

In July, Immigration Equality, Lambda Legal, and pro bono counsel filed a case in the Northern District of Georgia against the U.S. State Department on behalf of another samesex couple, Derek and Jonathan Mize-Gregg, whose daughter Simone was not recognized as a U.S. citizen under the discriminatory policy. [Read more about the Mize-Gregg family at https://www.immigrationequality.org/meet-the-mize-gregg-family/#.XXtP2oVw69Z]

[Read the complaint at https://www. lambdalegal.org/in-court/legal-docs/md_ kiviti_20190912_complaint]

Immigration Equality is the nation’s leading LGBTQ immigrant rights organization. We represent and advocate for people from around the world fleeing violence, abuse, and persecution because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status.

Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

Courtesy of Immigration Equality and Lambda Legal

Major volunteering day at national parks on National Public Lands Day, Sept. 28

Good afternoon:

I’m trying to get the word out about the approximately 1000 volunteering events around the country that will take place on Saturday, September 28th for National Public Lands Day. An interactive map to find nearby events is here: https://www.neefusa. org/npld-event-search, with more events being added. It is also a no fee day for all national parks, as well as a lot of other parks. Below is a national press release announcing National Public Lands Day.

Thanks very much,

Valerie Holford for the National Environmental Education Foundation

More than 100,000 volunteers will pitch in and improve parks on Saturday Sept. 28 for National Public Lands Day

A thousand events throughout the country Include projects at Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Everglades, Grand Teton, Zion, Rock Creek, Rocky Mountain, and Mt. Rainier National Parks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – From the Chesapeake Bay to the Great Lakes to the Texas prairies to the Pacific Coast – and at a thousand places in between – volunteers will gather rakes, shovels and trash bags to help improve public lands around the country for the 26th annual National Public Lands Day (NPLD) on Saturday, September 28. More than 100,000 volunteers are expected to join in trail maintenance projects, park and river clean ups, tree planting activities, invasive species removal projects, as well as hikes and other fun activities throughout the country.

Events will take place in 49 states and will be held in local parks, state parks, battlefield parks and many of the country’s iconic national parks, including Grand Canyon, Everglades, Mt. Rainier, Grand Teton, Zion, Joshua Tree, Shenandoah, Rocky Mountain and Yosemite. The Yosemite event even involves rappelling to remove trash from the edges of El Capitan and Mount Watkins. The day is a fee-free day for all national parks as well as many state and local parks.

Led by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), with support from NPLD national corporate sponsor Toyota, seven federal agency partners, hundreds of state and local partners, and

dozens of nonprofit organizations, National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for America’s public lands. Organizers estimate NPLD volunteers contributed an estimated $11 million worth of services to public lands during last year’s NPLD celebration.

“Volunteers are absolutely vital to parks across the country,” said National Environmental Education Foundation President and CEO, Meri-Margaret Deoudes. “National Public Lands Day connects people to nature through service. It is the perfect opportunity to care for our public lands while spending time with family and friends and taking advantage of all the benefits that come from spending time outdoors.”

Grant to restore biodiversity and protect habitat in the National Capital Region

Among NPLD events, NEEF is partnering with the National Park Service, Rock Creek Conservancy and Toyota to host an event at Rock Creek National Park – one of the country’s oldest national parks and largest urban parks. At the event, Toyota will announce a $225,000 grant to restore biodiversity and protect critical habitats by managing invasive species across the National Capital Region, encompassing parts of Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The project is being implemented by the Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM).

“This grant helps parks to effectively reduce invasive plant impacts and increase habitat for threatened native wildlife,” said Kevin Butt, general manager, Toyota Environmental Sustainability. “It ties in with our biodiversity goals and aim to conserve habitat for future generations.”

National Public Lands Day Events

A sample of events across the country include:

• Yosemite National Park – One of the largest NPLD events, the annual Facelift at Yosemite National Park is expected to draw 2,000 volunteers out for a park-wide cleanup. Organized by the Yosemite National Park Volunteer Office and the Yosemite Climbing Association, Facelift attracts climbers from all over the world who spend up to a week giving back to this premier

climbing spot. Athletes from The North Face and Black Diamond will be teaming up with the Yosemite Climbing Stewards and Climbing Management Team to rappel and remove trash left on ledges on El Capitan and Mount Watkins.

• Dog Beach in San Diego – At the San Diego River Mouth near Dog Beach in Ocean Beach, NPLD volunteers will help restore one of the last remaining coastal dunes and wetland habitats in California. Volunteers will spend the morning removing invasive plants, watering and caring for recent plantings, refurbishing trails, and working on a garden art project.

• Mount Rainier – With more than 1.5 million visitors passing through Mount Rainier National Park between Memorial Day and Labor Day, park staff rely on NPLD volunteers to spruce up the mountain after a summer of wear and tear and help get the site ready for winter. NPLD volunteers will help refurbish the park’s 260-miles of trails and restore meadowlands.

• Grand Canyon – At the Grand CanyonParashant National Monument, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service staff will work with NPLD Volunteers to use hand tools to construct a ½-mile trail around Pakoon Springs.

• Everglades National Park – is looking for volunteers willing to get their hands dirty to come spend the day tending to the native plant gardens and grounds of the Gulf Coast Visitor Center.

• Cape Cod: An All-Cape Beach Cleanup – will be conducted at at least one beach in each of the 15 towns comprising Cape Cod. Approximately 1000 volunteers are expected.

• El Yunque National Forest (EYNF) in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico – At nearly 29,000 acres, the El Yunque National Forest (EYNF) in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico is the only tropical rain forest in the national forest system, and also one of the most biologically diverse. NPLD volunteers will spend the day refurbishing the El Toro Trail, which was badly damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Dozens of elementary and intermediate school students are expected to be among the volunteers.

“The National Park Service is proud to partner with NEEF for another successful National Public Lands Day, which brings people and communities together. The work completed by volunteers at NPS sites

across the country help ensure that Americans of all ages and abilities can connect with our public lands for recreation, education, and community-building – now and into the future,” said Lenny Teh, Program Manager, Service-wide Volunteers-InParks, National Park Service.

Participating federal sites reward volunteers with a coupon good for another free entry to any public land managed by one of the NPLD federal partners any time before National Public Lands Day 2020.

With a thousand activities planned for the day, there are ample opportunities for people throughout the country to join the celebration and make plans to spend the day volunteering on public lands. NEEF’s interactive map allows users to enter their zip code to find events close to home – or wherever they happen to be on National Public Lands Day. More events will be added to the map throughout the month.

Learn more about National Public Lands Day and check out events happening throughout the country at NEEFUSA.org/NPLD.

About the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF)

Congressionally chartered in 1990, NEEF’s mission is to make the environment more accessible, relatable, relevant, and connected to the daily lives of all Americans. We build effective public-private partnerships and develop programs and initiatives that advance environmental education and engagement in the United States. Learn more at NEEFusa.org – or follow NEEF on Facebook (Facebook.com/ NEEFusa) and on Twitter at @NEEFusa.

About Toyota

Toyota operates under a Global Earth Charter set forth to promote environmental responsibility for every aspect of the company and significantly reduce the impact that Toyota’s vehicles have on the planet. Sponsorship of national and regional environmental preservation projects is just one of many areas in which Toyota has proven its environmental stewardship. The company created the world’s first mass-produced, clean-running gas/electric hybrid car, the Prius, which has received numerous environmental awards, most notably from the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation.

Courtesy of the National Environmental Education Foundation

“GNTRIFIED” license plate billboards hit inaction on housing crisis

LOS ANGELES (September 7, 2019) –Housing justice advocates from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) this week launched “GNTRIFIED,” the group’s latest LA-area billboard campaign and message in its ongoing public awareness campaign intended to spotlight inaction on the housing crisis in the region and the role gentrification plays in the spiraling homeless epidemic in Los Angeles and across the nation.

The new billboard, an image of a California license plate inscribed with a shortened version of the word “gentrified,” delivers a stark message as part of the AHF’s ongoing homeless/gentrification/housing affordability public awareness campaigns. The billboard image also includes the URL for the website (www.gentrificationsucks. org) for more information.

While raising general awareness in LA about inaction on the housing affordability crisis, the “GNTRIFIED” billboards are also intended to embarrass and shame Los Angeles city and county officials and property developers who disproportionately plan, greenlight, and build luxury housing developments, upending housing afford-

ability for vast segments of the population of Southern California.

“The approval and construction of so many luxury developments fuel the rapid gentrification of neighborhoods throughout LA, often at great human expense. Many developers raze existing rent-stabilized or rent-controlled housing units – and in the process, displace hundreds of low- and moderate-income tenants each year,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. Our elected officials, planning commission-

ers and even developers must put a stop to greenlighting so much luxury development.”

Previous AHF billboards on homelessness and gentrification

The “GNTRIFIED” billboard campaign, undertaken in conjunction with two AHF affiliate organizations, Housing Is a Human Right (HHR) and the Healthy Housing Foundation (HHF), will appear on 15-20 billboards and 100 bus bench ads throughout greater Los Angeles beginning this week.

The “GNTRIFIED” billboard campaign follows earlier, similar homeless and gentrification billboard and awareness campaigns posted by the AHF over the last two years throughout Los Angeles, including: “Homelessness Kills” and “Gentrification Sucks” (June2019); “Do We Care?” (English & Spanish May 2018); and “Homeless” (February 2018, modeled on the “Hollywood” sign).

The Los Angeles Times, which has been aggressively covering the homeless and housing affordability crises in both its news and editorial content, reported Thurs-

day (9/5/19) that “On average, nearly three homeless people are dying daily in the county.”

In late 2017, the AHF launched the Healthy Housing Foundation as part of a community-based effort to address the exploding housing and homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. Since then, the AHF has purchased and repurposed several older unor underoccupied SRO (single-room-occupancy) hotels and a motel in Hollywood and now has nearly 600 rooms or housing units for extremely low-income and formerly homeless individuals.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/ or services to over 1.2 million individuals in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about the AHF, please visit www.aidshealth.org or www.facebook. com/aidshealth and follow @aidshealthcare.

Courtesy of the AHF

Jerry Falwell Jr.: Financially corrupt sex fiend

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Insiders at Liberty University have spilled the beans about their boss, Jerry Falwell Jr. He’s knee-deep in financial corruption, university employees told Politico, and he’s obsessed with the size of his penis.

Falwell Jr., son of the late, unlamented Jerry Falwell Sr., founder of Liberty University and the so-called Moral Majority, has headed the school and its associated business enterprises since daddy’s death in 2007.

According to the inside sources, Falwell Jr. has presided over an empire of financial corruption that has made him, his family, and his closest friends rich.

Among the charges: that Falwell hired his son Trey to manage a shopping center owned by the university, that he arranged for loans by the university to his friends, and that he awarded university contracts to businesses owned by his friends.

Perhaps the most interesting charge against Falwell Jr. is that he used university assets to help his handsome young pool boy and personal trainer to acquire his own fitness center.

The pool boy also figured in allegations that Falwell and his wife enjoy threesomes with handsome young men – pool boy being only one example.

According to Liberty University sources, Falwell is “very, very vocal” about his sex life.

For example, in a car ride about a decade ago with a senior university official who has since left Liberty, “all he wanted to talk about was how he would nail his wife, how she couldn’t handle [his penis size], and stuff of that sort,” this former official recalled.

On at least one occasion, Falwell reportedly shared a photo of his wife wearing what appeared to be a French maid costume, according to a longtime Liberty employee with firsthand knowledge of the image and the fallout that followed. There are also said to be photos of the pool boy in bed with the Falwells.

Photos have been published showing Falwell and his son partying at Wall Lounge, a Miami Beach dance club. Politico noted that if a Liberty University student were caught doing so, they’d face discipline and possible expulsion.

Falwell maintains that the photos were “photoshopped,” but the source of the photos, Seth Browarnik, writer for a Miami Beach nightlife blog, insisted they were genuine.

“For 21 years, I have maintained an impeccable reputation for documenting Miami Beach’s storied social scene,” Bro-

warnik said in a statement. “We wholly reject Jerry Falwell Jr.’s baseless allegation in yesterday’s Politico report by Brandon Ambrosino that one of our pictures was ‘photoshopped’ or manipulated in any fashion.”

In fact, the statement continued, “we reviewed all the images we have from the event and discovered an additional four photos that include Mr. Falwell and two more of his son.”

In an exclusive interview with The Hill TV, Falwell said he’d alerted the FBI to what he claims to be a “coup” in the making among Liberty University officials who want to push him out. He accused former colleagues of stealing school property in the form of emails, and then sharing them with reporters in an effort to damage his reputation.

“Our attorneys have determined that this small group of former board members and employees, they’re involved in a criminal conspiracy, are working together to steal Liberty property in the form of emails and provided them to reporters,” Falwell Jr. said.

The FBI has not commented on the case.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Bishop Neophytos of Morphou, Cyprus – the Greek Orthodox cleric who asserted that people become Gay because their mothers enjoy anal sex – did not commit a crime, the attorney general of Cyprus has ruled.

According to the Associated Press, Cypriot Attorney General Costas Clerides has issued a report saying that the bishop’s remarks merited criticism but did not incite violence or hatred and did not constitute hate speech.

Because Cyprus is a member of the European Union (EU), its laws include bans on hate speech and incitement targeting minority groups, including LGBT persons. After Neophytos’s statement was spread in the press and social media, Clerides’s office launched an investigation to determine whether to prosecute him.

The Cypriot government and human rights groups condemned the bishop’s remarks. The Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus has not made a formal comment, although individual bishops voiced disapproval of their colleague’s views.

In an official statement, Attorney

General Clerides said spiritual leaders should avoid “incautious and ill-prepared” remarks.

Neophytos justified his beliefs about the origin of Gay people by referring to the writings of Saint Porphyrios, a Cypriot monk who died in 1991. Porphyrios was an ardent advocate of the “pray the Gay away” school of thought.

Cyprus decriminalized homosexuality in 1998, passed LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination laws in 2004, and legalized same-sex civil unions in 2015.