Stars shine at GLAAD Gala
ARTS
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Andrea Chenier
Shirley Manson
The
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Clinton health scare upends campaign
Vol. 46 • No. 37 • September 15-21, 2016
Oakland Pride features the whimsical and political
analysis by Lisa Keen
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emocratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had to back off some remarks she made before an LGBT fundraiser last Friday, but her poor choice of words there Rudy K. Lawidjaja is now being overshadDemocratic owed by reaction to concerns that she appeared presidential to collapse while getting candidate into her Secret Service Hillary Clinton van on Sunday morning at a 9/11 memorial in Lower Manhattan. Meanwhile, there has been little scrutiny of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s promises to religious conservatives Friday. “[In] a Trump administration, our Christian heritage will be cherished, protected, defended, like you have never seen before. ... And that includes religious liberty,” said Trump to the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. “Religious liberty” has become a frequent code phrase for many politicos to promote the idea of allowing people to discriminate against LGBT people by claiming they are exercising their religious beliefs. Trump said the Johnson Amendment has prevented clergy from speaking from the pulpit about politics. The tax law states that nonprofit groups can receive a 501(3)c (nonprofit group) tax break if they do not “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements) any political campaign on behalf (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” The purpose of the law was to ensure that taxpayer money is not used to subsidize partisan political activity. “I will repeal the Johnson Amendment, if I am elected your president. I promise,” he told the audience. The line elicited loud applause even though a president cannot repeal an existing federal law. Trump appeared to use a teleprompter during most of the speech, but he looked away from it to add that he had learned about the Johnson Amendment from a group of pastors he had invited to one of his Manhattan buildings to solicit their support. He said the pastors clearly wanted to support him but told him the Johnson Amendment prevented them from doing so. He said he learned that President Lyndon Johnson had unilaterally created the law to punish a church in Houston with which he was having “problems.” “Can you imagine that this man singleSee page 11 >>
by Cynthia Laird Dancers from Tierra Del Sol performed on the Latin Stage at the Oakland Pride festival.
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he rainbow flags were flying as kids, first responders, churches, and businesses took part in the Oakland Pride parade Sunday, September 11.
The parade, which featured more contingents than last year, according to organizers, stepped off at 14th and Broadway, making its way up to 20th Street and the site of the festival. At times, there seemed like there were more See page 11 >>
Two state props address death penalty Rick Gerharter
by Seth Hemmelgarn
than Prop 62, the latter measure would be voided. alifornia voters will get two The LAO found that Prop 66 chances in November to would have an “unknown ongotake a serious look at the ing impact on state court costs state’s death penalty. One measure for processing legal challenges to that will be on the ballot, Propodeath sentences.” There would sition 62, would abolish it, while be “potential prison savings in another, Proposition 66, would the tens of millions of dollars reform it. annually.” Prop 62 would replace the death However, the agency also said, penalty as the maximum punish“The measure would accelerate ment for people found guilty of the amount the state spends on murder with a maximum sentence legal challenges to death senof life imprisonment without the tences,” because “the state would possibility of parole. incur annual cost increases in the The measure would apply retro- The death chamber at San Quentin State Prison hasn’t been near term to process hundreds of actively to people who’ve already used in a decade; California voters have the chance to weigh in on pending legal challenges within received death sentences. the time limits specified in the dueling death penalty measures. People sentenced to life with no measure.” possibility of parole would have The LAO report continued, Prop 66 would change government proceto work while in prison. Prop 62 “The state would save similar would raise the portion of their wages that may dures around state court appeals and petitions amounts in future years,” since at least some of challenging death penalty convictions and the costs “would have otherwise occurred over be applied to victim restitution fines or orders sentences. Among other provisions of the meaagainst them to 60 percent. a much longer term absent this measure. Given sure, it would designate the superior court for the significant number of pending cases that The state Legislative Analyst’s Office said in its report on Prop 62, “we estimate that this initial petitions and limit successive petitions. would need to be addressed, the actual amount It would also impose time limits on state court and duration of these accelerated costs in the measure would reduce net state and county costs related to murder trials, legal challenges to death penalty reviews, appointed attorneys near term is unknown. It is possible, however, who take noncapital appeals would be required that such costs could be in the tens of millions death sentences, and prisons,” likely by “around $150 million annually within a few years. This to accept death penalty appeals, and death row of dollars annually for many years.” reduction in costs could be higher or lower by inmates would be required to work and pay vicIn an email to the Bay Area Reporter, Allison tim restitution. tens of millions of dollars, depending on variSee page 11 >> Additionally, if Prop 66 receives more votes ous factors.”
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