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Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community
SFPD leaves FBI terror task force
Time to amend CA HIV penal codes, say lawmakers
by Seth Hemmelgarn
A
mid concerns about President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict Muslims from entering the country, the San Francisco Police Department Rick Gerharter has suspended its Police Chief participation in the Bill Scott FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Community and legal groups in the city have been concerned that local police working with the JTTF may be violating the sanctuary city policy and other local laws meant to protect immigrants and others from unlawful investigations. The police department announced the decision by newly sworn-in Chief Bill Scott February 1, just before a report on the department’s work with the FBI in 2016 was to be presented to the Police Commission. In a news release, the SFPD said the JTTF Memoranda of Understanding, which was signed in 2007, was coming up for review by the Board of Supervisors, as required by city rules, which also call for any new MOU for the task force to come before a public Police Commission meeting for approval. “The department plans on updating General Order, 8.10, Guideline for First Amendment Activities, in the near future and will seek clarification from the Police Commission as to the application of General Order 8.10 to JTTF investigations,” the police news release said. General Order 8.10 sets forth requirements for when an SFPD officer conducts a criminal investigation that involves the First Amendment activities of a person, group, or organization. “The department is committed to community policing and will work collaboratively with the stakeholders when work on the General Order begins,” the police said, adding, “once the new General Order is adopted, the department may consider renegotiating the JTTF MOU with the FBI, only after seeking guidance from the Police Commission. “The SFPD is committed to public safety and will continue to work diligently to keep San Francisco safe for everyone,” the release said. A statement from the FBI said that the agency’s San Francisco office “is aware of the pending expiration of the memorandum between the San Francisco Police Department and the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the See page 8 >>
Vol. 47 • No. 6 • February 9-15, 2017
by Matthew S. Bajko
D
ue to advances in how HIV is treated and its transmission is prevented, state lawmakers and AIDS advocates say it is time to amend California’s anachronistic criminal codes that target people living with the virus. Adopted during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the laws are a hindrance to efforts by local and state health officials to end HIV transmission by 2020, contend policy makers and public health professionals. “The treatment of HIV has entered the 21st century and it is time California’s laws reflect that as well,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur.
San Diego Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D) speaks Monday, February 6 at Strut during the announcement of legislation to amend HIV criminalization laws. Behind him is state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who will co-author of Senate Bill 239
See page 14 >> Rick Gerharter
SF bans travel, contracts in 4 states by Matthew S. Bajko
S
tarting Saturday, February 11, San Francisco will no longer allow city employees to travel to four states, or allow city agencies to contract with businesses headquartered in those states, due to their enacting anti-LGBT laws since June 26, 2015. The quartet of states – Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kansas – mirrors the ones that California officials are banned from traveling to using taxpayer money. The state implemented its ban, which also covers the University of California and California State systems, on January 1. While a number of other states and local jurisdictions have banned using tax dollars to cover the cost of their employees’ travel to states with laws that allow for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, San Francisco is believed to be the first to ban doing business with companies in those states. “I am thrilled that we are finally taking this step and putting states on the list. It is a big step forward,” said gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who prior to his resigning as a supervisor in early December was the main sponsor of the city’s travel and contract ban ordinance. According to the city administrator’s office, during Fiscal Year 2014-2015 the city made purchases from 232 companies from states on the banned list. The breakdown by state was 48
Courtesy Bil Browning
San Francisco will ban taxpayer-funded travel to four states, including Kansas.
in Kansas, 124 in Mississippi, 26 in North Carolina, and 34 in Tennessee. “Contracts already signed or put out to bid will not be affected, as that would mean we have to do a new bidding process,” said Jack Gallagher, a policy aide for City Administrator Naomi Kelly. While the city administrator’s office is tasked with keeping and updating the list of banned states, two departments will oversee its implementation. They will also approve or deny waivers of it, as exemptions were built into the ordinance. The Office of the Controller, which oversees the travel and reimbursement of travel for the city and county, will handle waivers for the travel ban. In regards to purchasing, the Office of Contract Administration will have purview and post on its website a waiver of the policy that
departments can use. There are exemptions for contracts that involve bulk purchasing or grant funding. One exemption covers contracts necessary to respond to an emergency that endangers public health or safety when there is no entity that complies with the contracting ban capable of immediately responding. Another covers a situation where none of the qualified responsive bidders or prospective vendors for contracts the city deems essential is in compliance with the contracting ban. A waiver can also be granted if adhering to the contract ban would result in “an adverse impact on services or a substantial adverse financial impact on the city.” North Carolina made the banned list due to is House Bill 2, which was adopted last year and restricts cities in the state from enacting local non-discrimination laws and requires transgender people to use public restrooms based on the gender they were assigned at birth. Mississippi falls under the ban for allowing its residents and businesses to discriminate based on their religious beliefs, while Tennessee made the list because last year it granted therapists and other mental health professionals the right to deny seeing LGBT patients and others for religious reasons. Kansas was included for adopting a law in 2016 that allows campus-based religious groups to discriminate against LGBT students.▼
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