Celebrating 41 Years! Issue 36 Volume 42
Seattle Gay News
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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
We win two:
Seventh Circuit strikes Indiana and Wisconsin marriage bans John Gress / Courtesy Reuters
Federal Judge Richard Posner
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed the LGBT community two victories with a September 4 ruling striking down same-sex marriage bans in Indiana and Wisconsin. As expected, the three-judge panel ruled unanimously that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage violate the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Their deliberations took only nine days – unusually quick for an appeals court. Writing for the court, Judge Richard Posner reprised the scathing critique of marriage bans he debuted during oral arguments. “The only rationale that the states put forth with any conviction – that same-sex couples and their children don’t need marriage because samesex couples can’t produce children, intended or unintended – is so full of holes that it cannot be taken seriously,” he wrote.
“Because homosexuality is not a voluntary condition and homosexuals are among the most stigmatized, misunderstood, and discriminated-against minorities in the history of the world, the disparagement of their sexual orientation, implicit in the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, is a source of continuing pain to the homosexual community,” Posner said. “Not that allowing same-sex marriage will change in the short run the negative views that many Americans hold of same-sex marriage,” he continued. “But it will enhance the status of these marriages in the eyes of other Americans, and in the long run it may convert some of the opponents of such marriage by demonstrating that homosexual married couples are in essential respects, notably in the care of their adopted children, like other married couples.” During oral arguments last month, he compared same-sex see We Win two page 8
We lose one:
AP
The Advocate / MATTHEW HINTON
U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan to Judge upholds Louisiana marriage ban leave office after 5 years of service
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal district judge upheld Louisiana’s ban on same-sex marriages in a September 3 ruling, breaking the string of more than 20 federal court decisions striking similar laws in other states. In his decision, Judge Martin Feldman ruled that the Louisiana law was valid because it met rational basis review – in other words, it was not motivated solely by bias against Gay and Lesbian couples. In contrast, other federal judges have held that a higher standard of scrutiny should apply, and the state should have to demonstrate some
compelling interest in preventing Gay and Lesbian couples from marrying. Some judges have found that laws banning same-sex marriages do not even pass rational basis review, saying they are discriminatory on their face. The case, Robicheaux v. Caldwell, involves several samesex couples who want to marry in Louisiana or have legal marriages performed in other jurisdictions recognized by the state. Forum for Equality Louisiana, a statewide LGBT rights organization, is also a plaintiff in the case. Forum for Equality pledged to appeal the decision.
Jenny Durkan
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny Durkan announced Wednesday that she would leave at the end of September after serving five years in office. Durkan was in the first group of six U.S. attorneys nominated by President Barack Obama in May 2009 and see We Lose One page 8 was confirmed unanimously by the
U.S. Senate in September 2009. In a statement released Wednesday, Durkan said, “I have been honored to serve the communities in Western Washington, to lead an office of extraordinary people and public servants, and to work with dedicated federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement. Together we have taken on a range of challenges, threats and bad actors. We have made our nation and communities safer, while
also making our civil rights stronger.” Additionally, Attorney General Eric Holder praised Durkan for serving as a “tireless advocate for the American people, for the citizens of Washington state, and for the cause of justice.” Durkan served for two years on Holder’s Attorney General Advisory Committee, and has chaired see Durkan page 8
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A Conversation with Johnny Diaz Two Cubans Talking Essdras M. Suarez
Johnny Diaz
by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer I met Johnny Diaz at the Barnes & Noble in Coral Gables where, not surprisingly, I found him working on his next novel. Though we only met once before, we soon got into a lively conversation about writing, living in South Florida, and being a Gay Cubano. Soon our talk got louder and livelier, to the extent that a man sitting next to us had to come over and ask us to lower our voices. The main topic of discussion was Looking for Providence, Diaz’s fifth novel. Diaz was born in Miami and studied at Florida International University (also my alma mater). He first became famous as the then-boyfriend of “Real World: Miami” cast member Dan Renzi. Diaz later moved to Boston, where he worked as a feature writer for The Boston Globe. While in Boston Diaz wrote his first four novels: Boston Boys Club (2007), Miami Manhunt (2008), Beantown Cuban (2009) and Take the Lead (2011). All of Diaz’s novels are connected and feature many of the same characters. Take the Lead was translated into Spanish (as Tomar la Iniciativa) where it became a bestseller on Amazon.com. Diaz is now back in South Florida, where he works as a features reporter for the Sun-Sentinel, as well as as a novelist.
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“I moved back two years ago. I wanted to be close to my parents who were getting older and flying back and forth was getting expensive. And every time I came down here I felt bad because you know, they were getting old (viejitos). And it turned out I got a job at the Sun-Sentinel as features reporter so I got everything lined up.” Though Diaz is no longer a “Beantown Cuban,” his blog (www. beantowncubanito.blogspot.com) retains that now-famous name. “I don’t know what else to call it,” he admits. Though Providence, Rhode Island is the setting for Looking for Providence, Diaz never lived there. “But I always wanted to live there. When I was in Boston I went there over the weekend. It’s like a miniBoston. There is plenty of parking, beautiful red brick buildings. It’s like 45 minutes from Boston and I would take my bike and go biking along the river there and I go out to the clubs. In the other books I always put a chapter in Providence. And I always wanted to put a book there.” In fact, Looking for Providence is the first novel set in Providence, as Diaz soon found out. “I asked people. I looked it up at the Library there. No one has done a whole book about it.” Unlike his previous novels, Looking for Providence was published by Diaz himself, through Amazon CreateSpace. “I wanted to see what the process was like, from beginning to end, because some of my favorite authors did it. And I was curious. I have seen my publishers design my book covers. I have seen them copy editing it. I really didn’t know anything about formatting. And it was like, let me do it. So I explored Create Space in Amazon and I started doing it. It was a good education. I would come here on Saturdays and Sundays, and I would sit here and I would just edit or design the cover. They actually walk you through it so I just wanted to see what it was like.” “The other reason I did it was because I needed a distraction when my Mom, who passed away in November, got sick and I had to be with her at Mt. Sinai and Mercy (hospitals). So I kept her company while she was watching television and I always had my lap-
top with me. And I worked as a therapeutic distraction.” Some of the characters in Looking for Providence previously appeared in other Diaz novels. And, as in his previous novels, some of the events in this new book are based on Diaz’s own life experiences. In Looking for Providence, Diaz has two main characters, Ronnie and Elias. “I am more like Ronnie,” Diaz admits. “The main theme that I explore in this book is the economy and losing a job and having a job reassignment where you had the job you wanted and then they give you another job and how you deal with that. So the two characters have their own job issues. Ronnie is a features reporter in Providence. He loves it but because of the economy they made him a business writer and he is like, what is this, I am not a business reporter?” “Now Elias worked for a Latino cable network, Latino TV. And he got laid off from his job. He was a producer, a videographer, and he has to move back to his mother’s house. And he is trying to figure out how to start over. So both characters are trying to find their way professionally and at the same time they each have a romance, because I like writing about love. Ronnie lives in Providence. Elias lives here [Miami] and then goes to Germany. He ends up volunteering for a project and decides it might be a good thing for him.” And what was Johnny Diaz writing when I met him? “Since gay marriage is so topical I am thinking of taking all of my characters and marrying them: A lot them are already paired up. But then there is this guy, the Tommy Perez character, who goes to all their weddings.” Will Tommy find a love of his own? This new Diaz book is still a work-in-progress. “The first wedding is in Provincetown, but I don’t know where Tommy is going to live. All my characters live in Boston, here, and now Providence. I need another city. Maybe New York. Or Atlanta.” We will see. Looking for Providence is available at Amazon.com. This article first appeared in South Florida Gay News (SFGN).
Celebrating 41 Years!
ACLU attorney, Sher Kung, who worked to overturn Major Margaret Witt’s DADT case, killed in bike accident by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
much-demanded safety changes for bicyclists on Second Avenue, which will include the new signaling. “It’s really distressing that in two weeks this bike lane is supposed to be installed, and I think if it had been in place it could’ve prevented this from happening,” a local cyclist said the morning that Kung was killed. Construction will begin Friday on the protected bike lane and according to SDOT, the work will be finished by the end of the weekend. After this weekend, the protected throughway will include two lanes on the east side of the street set apart from traffic by a designated stretch for vehicle parking or reflective posts.
The new protected lanes on Second Avenue will stretch from Pike Street to Yesler Way. Crews will install the lanes between 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will be open for use on Monday. Parking and loading will be prohibited on the east side of the street during those work hours. Before work begins Friday night, a memorial ride and service will occur honoring Sher Kung, according to the Seattle Bike Blog. More information can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ events/592724947503527/ Sher Kung is survived by her fiancé Christine Sanders and a baby boy, Bryn. www.watermarkonline.com
Sher Kung and I got along the minute we met two years ago at a restaurant in the Southcenter Mall. We met quite by accident really. My husband and I had arranged to meet two friends of ours, a straight couple visiting from San Francisco, California, for drinks. It was a short visit and, in the interest of time, Kung was invited as well. When small-talk began (“What do you do for a living” and “How long have you two been together?”) we quickly realized that our paths had crossed before – in the pages of the Seattle Gay News. As it turned out, Sher Kung had been featured by me for the work she had done as a lawyer with the ACLU to overturn Margaret Witt’s DADT case. Major Witt had been dismissed by the U.S. Air Force because of her sexual orientation and Kung provided excellent work on the case which is credited for helping to pave the way for the overall removal of DADT from the U.S. Military. I explained to her that I was the one at SGN to write the bulk of the DADT copy because I am a 10-year Navy veteran. From that moment on I don’t think anybody got much of a word in otherwise. The two of us chatted about everything LGBT equality movement and beyond. As the evening came to a close I remember thinking, and later exclaiming to my husband, how much I was impressed by her drive and determination to bring equality to our community. I felt like I had met a kindred soul.
Life happens and for whatever reason, the two of us never again met in person. I didn’t think much about having let two years pass without at least meeting for drinks until August 29, when tragedy struck. Sher Kung was riding her bike at Second Avenue and University Street when she was struck by a large box truck. She died at the scene. By that evening, friends, colleagues and strangers had set up a memorial near the crash site to pay tribute to Kung. I wasn’t surprised – she was and still very much is – loved. In a statement, the Washington ACLU said, “The staff of the ACLU is deeply saddened by the news of her death. She was very committed to civil rights and social justice, and was a lively person and was fun to work with.” The tragic accident calls for changes to the bike lanes in the area. “This has been a bad corner for bicyclists for a long time. Probably like once a month we’ve seen someone get hit and knocked off their bikes, injured. This is the first time I’ve seen someone fatally hurt,” said one man who works across the street from where the accident happened. About 60 bicycle-involved collisions have occurred on Second Avenue in the past four years, according to SDOT. Half of those included vehicles turning left at the crosswalk, the agency says. Consequently, SDOT will add designated left turn signals for vehicles and restrict right turns on red to reduce turning collisions. At the time of the accident, the city was a few weeks away from implementing the
Sher Kung
HRC calls for government official to spearhead LGBT rights around the globe Matt Amaro
Chad Griffin, president at the Human Rights Campaign
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Chad Griffin, president at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) told supporters in an email this week, “When you see discrimination against LGBT people where you live, you don’t sit back and let it happen. You do something about it.” Griffin then went on to ask for the public’s help to make sure “our shared belief in equality doesn’t stop at our borders.” “No one should be discriminated against for
who they are, no matter where they are,” he said. Griffin and the HRC is asking supporters to let Secretary of State John Kerry know that the LGBT community wants the U.S. government to appoint a senior official to spearhead and be a public face for the federal government’s efforts to protect and advance human rights for LGBT people around the world. The U.S. has already done a great deal to protect LGBT people globally, but much more work still needs to be done, say HRC officials. According to the email Griffin sent to support-
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ers on Thursday, “78 countries around the world still criminalize same-sex relationships. And believe it or not, some of the most vocal advocates for these deplorable laws are from the United States.” “Take for example infamous anti-LGBT extremist Scott Lively, who recently qualified to be on the ballot as an independent candidate for the Massachusetts gubernatorial election this fall,” said Griffin. “Lively dangerously promotes anti-LGBT hatred abroad and is now trying to build his official credentials as the governor of Massachusetts.” “Lively has a long record of exporting vicious hate to other countries, and now he is trying to spread his platform of bigotry at home,” he continued. “In Russia and Uganda, Lively has claimed that LGBT people are responsible for the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Some Ugandan officials even credit Lively with the idea of introducing new legislation to further criminalize homosexuality in the country.” Scott Lively is not alone. The infamous World Congress of Families has decided to meet in Salt Lake City next year to plot out their strategy for exporting hate around the world. “This American-led organization has praised Vladimir Putin as the standardbearer for traditional “family values” and honored a Nigerian activist, who claims LGBT advocates conspire with the terrorist
group Boko Haram, with a “Woman of the Year” award,” said Griffin. “We need to show the world that hate is not an American value by appointing a senior official dedicated to LGBT equality,” he said. “An LGBT envoy would provide a public face for our efforts and help to ensure proper coordination of international LGBT issues across the federal government. It would show the world that America believes in compassion and tolerance – and that we do not stand with deplorable anti-LGBT advocates like Scott Lively.” “We must build upon the work we are doing to achieve equality – and the great strides we’ve already made at home – to put the spotlight on LGBT human rights internationally,” he concluded. “The State Department already has a number of senior level positions on issue areas that require special focus and coordination, but none address the unique and critical issues facing LGBT people around the world. If we act now, the Secretary of State could even announce the new position at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly meetings this month.” You can sign the petition at: https://secure3.convio.net/hrc/site/Advocacy;jsessi onid=61F2DBEC62130E7DCB495976074 50C1D.app338a?cmd=display&page=Use rAction&id=1943&autologin=true&utm_ term=body-link3
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Marriage equality cost me reelection, Hawaii governor claims… Or was he just a bad governor? In a Labor Day press conference, outgoing Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie claimed that he had lost his bid for re-election because of his outspoken support for same-sex marriage. Abercrombie, a 40-year veteran of Hawaii politics went down to crushing defeat in the August 8 Democratic primary, losing to State Senator David Ige by 35 points. Abercrombie’s loss was even more stunning because he outspent Ige by a ten-to-one margin. According to Abercrombie, Hawaii’s “open primary” law allowed Republicans to cross over and vote in the Democratic primary, and they – Abercrombie said – were intent on revenge for the state’s new marriage law. “Republicans crossed over en masse to vote in the Democratic primary, and then the religious factor came in,” Abercrombie said. “Doctrinally, I was outside the circle and paid for it… “I had more money than my opponent ... raised more money, spent more money ... but it didn’t do me any good,” Abercrombie added. He had no regrets, he said, but he knew it was the marriage issue that cost him his job. “There’s no way I could live with myself if I thought I was diminishing another human being’s ability to reach their full capacity,” Abercrombie said. There may be something to Abercrombie’s claims. By all accounts, opponents of equality testifying at the Hawaii legislative hearings were particularly ugly and abusive. But Ige also voted for marriage equality as a state senator, and many political observers say the governor’s wounds were actually self-inflicted. “This is a very small place and people
have very long memories,” said Floyd Takeuchi, a writer and former political journalist. Abercrombie’s campaign “seriously misjudged the depth of the old guard’s ability to organize” against him, Takeuchi added. The “old guard,” in this case, are friends of the late Senator Daniel Inouye, an icon in Hawaii politics since before it became a state, and his protégé Colleen Hanabusa. It was Inouye’s dying wish that Hanabusa be appointed to fill out his term in the U.S. Senate, but Abercrombie appointed his own ally, then-Lieutenant Governor Brain Schatz. Because Inouye, Hanabusa, and Ige are all Hawaiians of Japanese descent, and Abercrombie and Schatz are white, the governor’s appointment of Schatz seemed to put too much power in the hands of white politicians in a state where less than one quarter of the people are white. Abercrombie then poured salt on the wound by suggesting in a New York Times interview that Inouye’s inner circle had forged his deathbed plea to appoint Hanabusa. The governor subsequently was forced to offer a public apology to Inouye’s widow. That was not Abercrombie’s only gaffe. Democratic pollster Ben Tulchin, who worked in Hawaii for independent groups, said Abercrombie ran, “quite frankly, one of the worst campaigns imaginable for an incumbent in trouble.” Abercrombie antagonized the tourism industry – the state’s biggest source of income – by saying that it was “stupid” to pay for the privilege of hosting the NFL Pro Bowl, a game that generated more than $30 million in visitor spending and state tax revenue. He also alienated the state teachers’ union by imposing a contract on the teachers during labor negotiations. As a result, the union became an early backer of Ige, and led other unions into the Ige camp. Hawaii, by the way, has the third-
Wikipedia.org
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Outgoing Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie
highest union density in the country, with more than 22% or workers unionized. Exit interviews by The Associated Press showed that voters did not cite marriage as their reason for voting Abercrombie out. Instead they complained about the way Abercrombie handled contract negotiations with
teachers and his proposal to tax pensioners. Ige’s campaign spokesperson Lynn Kenton told AP that “every candidate has the freedom to comment on their campaign, regardless of the outcome, and if that’s what Gov. Abercrombie feels was his weaknesses, that would be for him to determine.”
Little Caesars sued for anti-Gay discrimination by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Little Caesars pizza chain has been sued by a former management trainee for denying health insurance coverage to same-sex spouses. In a suit filed in Orange County, Califor-
nia, on August 28 Frank Bernard accuses the pizza company of discriminating against him on the basis of sexual orientation, in violation of California law. Bernard said he quit his job at the country’s third-largest pizza chain after they refused to extend coverage to his husband of six years. The lawsuit names Little Caesars EnterKevork Djansezian/Getty
Frank Bernard and his attorney Gloria Allred
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prises and its parent company, Ilitch Holdings, as defendants. “I didn’t want anything special, I just wanted the same benefits package as heterosexual couples,” Bernard said at a news conference in Los Angeles. The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court order requiring the company to afford equal spousal benefits to Gay and straight married workers. “With this lawsuit we look forward to expanding the employment rights and benefits for legally married same sex couples,” Bernard’s attorney, Gloria Allred, told reporters. In his filing, Bernard said Little Caesars sent him a letter explaining their benefits policy and defining “spouse” as “the one person to whom you are legally married under the laws of the state in which you reside, including common law spouse, and who is the opposite gender from you.” Bernard and his partner were among some 18,000 Gay and Lesbian couples who married in California in 2008, during a five-month window between a state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and the
passage of Proposition 8 banning it again. Those marriages were later upheld as valid by federal and state courts, and last June the U.S. Supreme Court allowed same-sex marriages to resume in California, by dismissing a challenge to a lower court ruling striking down Prop 8. Little Caesars has it corporate headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, where same-sex marriage was not legal at the time Bernard asked for spousal benefits for his husband. Since that time, however, a federal judge has ruled that Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in USA v. Windsor, which struck down DOMA, means that same-sex couples are entitled to federal recognition and any spousal benefits that may come to them under federal law, but it does not apply to state law or to private employers. California, like Washington, not only recognizes same-sex marriage, but forbids employers to discriminate against their employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Little Caesars ranks behind Pizza Hut and Domino’s in sales volume, with 2012 sales of $2.9 billion, according to Nation’s Restaurant News, an industry magazine.
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Gates Foundation awards $25 million to vaccine research Wikipedia.org
Bill and Melinda Gates
Among the largest philanthropic grants ever received by Oregon Health and Science University, it was awarded to a team of scienThe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tists at OHSU’s Vaccine and Gene Therapy awarded a $25 million grant to Oregon research- Institute led by Louis Picker. ers developing a vaccine that has shown promise The grant follows research published by uniin preventing HIV infection in primates. versity scientists seeking to show their vaccine by Viktor Bogatko SGN Contributing Writer
We win two
candidate halting the transmission of, or eliminating altogether, a form of the virus in about half of more than 100 monkeys tested. “In effect, we helped better arm the hunters in the body to chase down and kill an elusive viral enemy,” lead researcher Picker wrote in the magazine Nature, which published lab results last year. “And we’re quite confident that this vaccine approach can work exactly the same way against HIV in humans. “The focus of the grant will not be basic research but translational,” Picker said. “It allows us to take the vaccine concept and do a clinical trial with the human equivalent of the vector we’ve been studying in nonhuman primates.” Scientists at the university said they hope to develop a vaccine that not only prevents the HIV virus from infecting people exposed to it, but also eliminates the virus from those already infected. The National Institutes of Health cited Picker’s research among its “promising medical advances” of 2013, the researchers said. The grant will be used over the next five years to establish whether the vaccine can be
Federal Judge Ann Claire Williams
marriage we are seeing in courts across the country; it is a joyous day for freedom and justice in the Midwest.” “Today’s sharp and scathing ruling demolishes the arguments and unsubstantiated claims made by opponents of the freedom to marry, repeated in the outlier decision out of Louisiana [September 3], and affirms what nearly 40 other federal and state courts have found: the denial of the freedom to marry inflicts real harms and is constitutionally indefensible,” Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson said in a statement. “Judge Posner’s authoritative opinion points the way, and the Supreme Court should move swiftly now to end marriage discrimination nationwide, without prolonging the harms and indignity that too many couples continue to endure in too much of the country.” Like U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who reached on opposite conclusion in the September 3 Louisiana marriage ruling, Posner was appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan. The other judges on the Seventh Circuit panel were Barack Obama appointee David Hamilton, and Ann Claire Williams, a Bill Clinton appointee.
“The ruling today upheld the unconstitutional ban on recognizing loving and committed same-sex couples,” the group said in a statement. “Forum for Equality and the courageous couples who have lead this battle will not stop! We will take this fight all the way to the Supreme Court! We will not let one decision turn back the tide of victories because we stand on the right side of history.” The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the next stop for the case, is also hearing an appeal of a February ruling striking down Texas’s marriage ban. Calling Feldman’s ruling a “roadblock” on the path to “nationwide marriage equality,” HRC predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court will have the final say on the issue. “Ultimately the nine justices of the Su-
preme Court of the United States will be asked to decide whether committed and loving gay and lesbian couples should be denied an institution that they, themselves, have deemed a constitutional right more than a dozen times,” HRC said in a statement. “We firmly believe that justice will ultimately be done.” In a ruling which quoted both from Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in USA v. Windsor and from Chief Justice John Roberts’ dissent, as well as Fourth Circuit Judge Paul Niedemeyer’s dissent in Bostic v. Schaefer, Feldman asserted that Gay and Lesbian couples do not have a constitutionally-protected right to marry. “Windsor repeatedly and emphatically reaffirmed the longstanding principle that the authority to regulate the subject of domestic relations belongs to the states,” Feldman wrote, “subject to indistinct future constitutional guarantees that in
Windsor were, by its expressed limits, left open and rather inexact.” Consequently, the plaintiff same-sex couples were asking him to create a “new right,” the judge said, and “it is not for this Court to resolve the wisdom of same-sex marriage…” “[F]undamental social change, in this instance, is better cultivated through democratic consensus,” he added, noting that Louisiana citizens had already voted to ban same-sex marriage. According to Feldman, the rational basis on which the constitutionality of the law hinges is “directly related to achieving marriage’s historically preeminent purpose of linking children to their biological parents,” even though Louisiana law already allows Gays and Lesbians to adopt children, and allows their partners to adopt as “second parents.” Feldman, now 80, was appointed to the federal bench by Ronald Reagan in 1983.
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marriage bans to laws that once outlawed interracial marriage. They derived from “hate” and “savage discrimination” against Gays and Lesbians, he said. While attorneys for Indiana and Wisconsin argued that the bans helped foster a centuries-old tradition of marriage between men and women, Posner replied that “tradition” is not a “lawful ground for discrimination.” Wisconsin Attorney General J.B Van Hollen said he would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but marriage rights advocates were delighted with the Seventh Circuit’s decision. “The court has affirmed the love and commitment our plaintiffs and thousands of same-sex couples in Indiana and Wisconsin have for each other,” Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Paul Castillo said. “The unanimous decision also reinforces the importance of marriage for the children of same-sex couples, who shouldn’t have to grow up thinking their families are inferior to other families. Today’s ruling adds to the incredible legal momentum for
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Federal Judge David Hamilton
used safely on humans in a clinical trial and to help researchers develop a version of the vaccine suitable for large-scale testing, which is required to bring it to market and will require at least a decade. The annual number of new HIV infections has declined in recent years. However, according to the World Health Organization, more than 35 million people globally were living with HIV and an estimated 2.1 million people were newly infected with the virus that causes AIDS last year. Although AIDS-related deaths have dropped in recent years due to antiretroviral drug therapy, some 1.5 million people still died from the disease last year, the organization said. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the annual rate of diagnosis with HIV in the United State fell by a third between 2002 and 2011. The Foundation previously awarded Picker’s team with an $8 million grant in January 2012. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to eradicate the world’s most deadly diseases and poverty.
Durkan
continued from cover his advisory Subcommittee on Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Enforcement since 2009. “Jenny has been an exceptional leader in the Justice Department’s fight against cyber-crime … Jenny Durkan exemplifies the highest standards of personal integrity and professional excellence,” he said. “For the past five years, I have been grateful for Jenny’s dedicated service and her wise counsel. I am certain that the people of Western Washington will continue to benefit from her service for years to come. It is important to note that Durkan’s office joined with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to investigate the Seattle Police Department’s use of force and concerns of biased policing. That led to broad reforms in the SPD and ongoing monitoring of a consent decree by the federal court.
Until this decision, his most infamous ruling was in Hornbeck Offshore Services v. Salazar (2010), in which he lifted an injunction against offshore oil drilling. It was later discovered that the judge owned stock in Transocean, the company that owned the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and several other oil companies.
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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!
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First ever summit on LGBTQ sustainability
OUT for Sustainability hosts the first conference on the intersection of LGBTQ identity and sustainability values
OUT for Sustainability, the world’s leading organization dedicated to sustainability values within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, hosts the first ever LGBTQ sustainability conference, the Fab Planet Summit, on September 13th, from 1-7 p.m. The conference will be held at a convenient location in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Fab Planet Summit is a collection of panels and workshops on topics ranging from “Coming Out Green,” to discussing the present and future experiences of our community in the sustainability movement, to “Queer and Present Danger,” which delves into the uncertain future of the LGBTQ community in increasingly devastating climate change scenarios. Fab Planet Summit hosts more than a dozen notable speakers and moderators from
around the country, all of whom are openly LGBTQ and active leaders in sustainability. Panelists include Laura Clise, Director of External Communications & Corporate Citizenship at AREVA, Inc., Dr. Seth M. Holmes, Director of the Berkeley Center for Social Medicine, and Darby Hoover, Senior Resource Specialist with the Urban Solutions program of the Natural Resources Defense Council. For a complete list of panel and workshop topics along with speakers and facilitators, visit www.out4s.org. Fab Planet Summit’s small size, interactivity between and during panels, and closing reception is designed to be highly social, encouraging deeper connections and community. Registration is $65 or $95 and is available through the OUT for Sustainability website. Scholarships are also available along with volunteer opportunities to ensure all who wish to come are welcome. For more information, visit www.out4s.org. Courtesy of OUT for Sustainability
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Landmark gender recognition law in Denmark Preben Madsen
Margrethe Vestager
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Denmark’s landmark gender recognition law came into effect on September 1, allowing the country’s Transgender residents historic new freedoms. Said to be the first such law in Europe, and probably in the entire world, the measure allows Danes complete self-determination in gender identity. All someone needs to do is fill out forms for a new social security number, birth certificate, passport, and driver’s license to match their chosen gender. There are no longer any requirements for medical interventions, including psychiatric diagnosis, hormone therapy, or surgery. Margrethe Vestager, Denmark’s Minister for Economics, promised the new law “will make life easier and more dignified for the individual, for example when you are asked for ID in shops.” There are still some restrictions and waiting periods, however, and Trans activists said the law was far from perfect. The group Transgender Europe (TGEU) said they were “concerned” about the waiting period of six months, as well as the minimum age requirement of 18 years. “[T]his imposed delay in the procedure prevents trans people from changing their documents quickly when necessary, for example when applying for a job, travelling
internationally or enrolling in education,” a spokesperson for TGEU said. Danish lawmakers said the waiting period was introduced to prevent people from making hasty decisions they might later regret. TGEU said this concern may perpetuate the stereotype that Trans people are “confused” about their gender, instead of encouraging them to change their documents quickly so that they can “participate fully and freely in all aspects of life.” According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), there are no medical or legal reasons to insist on limiting gender transition to people 18 and older. “As trans people come out at an increasingly young age, it is crucial for the social recognition and acceptance of their identities, as well as for their self-esteem and personal development, that they are not excluded from legal recognition and, as a consequence, from education and employment opportunities,” TGEU said, referring to WPATH’s finding. “TGEU encourages the Danish government to closely monitor the implementation of the law and to remove all provisions that delay quick access to legal gender recognition.” Some non-gender conforming and gender fluid Danes also criticized the lack of a “third gender” option, forcing Danes to choose whether they are male or female.
Mexican state of Coahuila legalizes same-sex marriage
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September 5, 2014
Coahuila
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Seattle Gay News
www.elsampetrino.com
The Mexican state of Coahuila approved same-sex marriage on September 1, by a 19-3 vote in the state Congress. The northern Mexican state joins Mexico City and the southern state of Quintana Roo in allowing Gay and Lesbian couples to marry. The new marriage law takes effect on September 8, and changes more than 40 parts of the state civil law code. The bill’s sponsor, Coahuila Congressman Samuel Acevedo said the changes represented “a great step forward.” “The way the law worked before,” Acevedo explained, “it infringed on the rights of homosexual people and now they will get their rights ... everything which comes with marriage.” “Marriage is the free union with full consent of two people,” the new law says, “which has as its objective to realize community life where both [people] seek respect, equality and mutual aid, and make in a free, responsible, voluntary and informed way reproductive decisions that fit
their life project, including the possibility of procreation or adoption.” State law had previously defined marriage as a “union between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation.” As in the United States, marriage laws fall under the jurisdiction of the states. Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage in 2009, and in reaction the state of Yucatan explicitly banned it. In 2010, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages performed in Mexico City had to be recognized in all states, even if the states did not allow their own Gay and Lesbian residents to marry. In Quintana Roo, the progress to marriage equality was more complicated. In 2011, officials there performed two samesex marriages after finding that the state civil code did not explicitly state the gender of people who may be married. The state governor annulled the marriages, but the secretary of state, who has the official duty of registering marriages, annulled the annulments, and ruled that Gay and Lesbian couples could be married in the future. In 2012, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that laws barring same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, and issued orders allowing marriages in Oaxaca. In 2014, they issued similar orders for the state of Puebla. In Mexican law, the ruling that a statute is unconstitutional does not automatically invalidate it, as it would in the United States. However, if a court issues injunctions overriding the law on five occasions, then the law is invalid.
Coahuila Congressman Samuel Acevedo
To date, injunctions ordering same-sex marriages have been issued in 14 states, and requested in nine others. A poll conducted in July 2013 found a significant increase in support for same-sex marriage, with 52% of Mexicans in favor of
legalizing Gay and Lesbian marriages. When broken down by religion, support was 52% among Roman Catholics and 62% among non-religious people. However, in the same poll, only 24% of respondents supported same-sex adoption.
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