SGN January 16, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Federal judge orders Michigan to recognize 300 same-sex marriages

were performed after the state’s marriage ban was struck down and before the ruling was stayed by the A federal judge has ordered the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. state of Michigan to recognize In a January 15 ruling, U.S. District some 300 same-sex marriages that Judge Mark Goldsmith said that the

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Paul Janczewski

AP

Protestors demonstrating outside of Federal Courthouse in 2014

marriages were legally performed and the couples have a “fundamental right” to state recognition.

“In these circumstances, what the state has joined together, it may not put asunder,” Goldsmith wrote, paraphrasing a biblical verse that condemns those who breakup marriages.

The case involved a lawsuit filed by eight same-sex couples who got married last March after a federal judge struck down Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage. The next day, the Sixth Circuit put the judge’s decision on hold.

About 300 couples were married before the appellate court stepped in to stay the district judge’s ruling. The Sixth Circuit subsequently reversed the district judge’s ruling, and the state of Michigan has refused to recognize the marriages.

Goldsmith said the state has no legal right to refuse recognition to legally married same-sex couples.

“This Court concludes that the continued legal validity of an individual’s marital status in such cir-

U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith

cumstances is a fundamental right … under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.,” Goldsmith wrote.

“Even though the court decision that required Michigan to allow same-sex couples to marry has now been reversed on appeal, the same-sex couples who married in Michigan during the brief period

when such marriages were authorized acquired a status that state officials may not ignore absent some compelling interest.”

It is “irrelevant” whether the couples had a constitutional right to marry in the first place, Goldsmith added, since the marriage see Michigan page 16

Mayor previews new Egypt frees bathhouse defendants, but homeless plans prosecutors will appeal Acquitted!

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer All 26 men arrested in a Cairo bathhouse in December have been freed by an Egyptian court.

The trial literally lasted a minute, just enough time for the judge to read a list of the defendants’ names before uttering the word “innocent.”

The court immediately erupted into raucous celebration as the defendants shouted and waved their shackled hands and their relatives cheered and sobbed in relief.

“They destroyed our lives. God rescued us,” one of the defendants

told The Associated Press. He declined to give his name to reporters. Other defendants wore scarves or hats to conceal their identities.

“The verdict is an accurate reflection of the law and we expected this outcome,” defense attorney Tarik Al-Awadi told BBC News after the January 12 trial.

“However, the rights of the defendants will only be realized when [the authorities] put on trial the people who were involved in this, and who offended the honor of these people.” see EGYPT page 13

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray previewed new plans to cope with the growing number of homeless people in Seattle in a January 14 announcement.

Among the mayor’s proposals is a new ordinance permitting up to three homeless camps, each serving up to 100 people. Murray said he would transmit a draft of the legislation to the City Council within days of the announcement.

“Permitted encampments are not, in my view, a long-term strategy to end homelessness, but organized encampments have less impact on our neighborhoods and provide a safer environment than what we see on our streets today,” said Murray.

Under the mayor’s proposal, the new camps must be located within a half-mile of a transit stop and more than one mile from each other.

Each site would be required to move every 12 months. Unlike the existing encampment ordinance, sponsorship by a religious organization would not be required.

New camps would be required to

seattletimes.com

MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP / Getty Images

26 men arrested and detained in Cairo

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

provide residents access to city social services to help people manage what the mayor’s statement calls “their challenges,” and to transition from the camp to more permanent housing.

The mayor’s proposal would require community outreach prior to applying for a camp permit, and the formation of a Community Advisory Committee in the neighborhood of the encampment.

The Seattle Department of Human Services will craft a toolkit that social service organizations

can use to develop a new shelter or encampment site.

The social service agencies that operate the new camps would also participate in the same data collection tools as the City’s current homeless shelters. Client information would remain private, but would be monitored by City officials to improve service delivery.

“I’m pleased that the Mayor will be reintroducing a new version see Mayor page 13

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Bush 45?

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer

4 Seattle Gay News

January 16, 2015

increasingly clear that he will run for President in 2016. He has the support of major Republican donors, which puts him ahead of the pack as far as money is concerned, and he also has the backing of the powerful Bush political machine.

He delighted right-wing Cuban-Americans, a powerful bloc in the swing state of Florida, with his strong support of the Cuban embargo and his opposition to President Obama’s new relations with Cuba’s revolutionary government.

Bush is married to a Mexican-American woman and speaks fluent Spanish, which is a plus to a GOP that desperately needs to win over Latinos. (The fact that GOP Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are both Cuban-Americans does not seem to help their own presidential aspirations.) On January 6, Bush filed the paperwork to start a political action committee, Right to Rise, which will raise money for conservative candidates, Jeb Bush being one.

Make no mistake, Jeb Bush is a conservative.

In many ways, the former Florida Governor is more conservative than his father and his older brother, and even more conservative than failed GOP presidential candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney. Bush is only a “moderate” when you compare him to the right-wing extremists, the tea baggers and the religious zealots who have hijacked the Republican Party. LGBT Americans and our friends, of any party, should be careful about supporting such a man for the highest office in the land.

AP

On the day that the State of Florida celebrated its first same-sex marriages, former Governor John Ellis “Jeb” Bush realized that marriage equality was now the law of the land: “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law,” Bush admitted in a statement he sent to the New York Times. “I hope that we can show respect for the good people on all sides of the gay and lesbian marriage issue – including couples making lifetime commitments to each other who are seeking greater legal protections and those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.”

Bush’s statement was interpreted by many to mean that the former Governor is a “moderate” on social issues, at least in comparison to other Republican presidential hopefuls. In fact, Bush’s views have not changed at all. The day before he released his “moderate” statement to the Times, Bush told the Miami Herald that marriage equality “ought be a local decision. I mean, a state decision. The state decided,” he added, referring to the 2008 election that placed a ban on same-sex marriage in the Florida State Constitution. “The people of the state decided. But it’s been overturned by the courts, I guess.” Delighted Log Cabin Republicans will point out that Bush has “evolved” on the issue of marriage equality, the way that Democratic politicians Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton “evolved.”

But if you read Bush’s Times statement carefully, you will see that nothing has changed. (We don’t want “greater legal protections.” We want equal rights.) As in other issues, Bush tries to appear “moderate” to the voting majority while at the same time assuring the tea baggers and religious extremists who control the GOP primaries that he is really on their side.

It is an interesting fact that every President of the United States (POTUS) since 1993 (all three of them) has daughters but no sons. This is probably a good idea. Presidential families with sons – like the Adamses, the Harrisons, or the Roosevelts – are likely to form political dynasties, while presidential families with

daughters do not. (The Clintons might break that mold, with former First Lady Hillary Clinton and, later, her daughter Chelsea.)

George H.W. Bush (Bush 41) started a political dynasty that led to George W. Bush (Bush 43).

Do we want a Bush 45 (Jeb)? The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had elected emperors (chosen by electors) that eventually became hereditary in the Hapsburg family. Do we want the American empire to become virtually hereditary in the Bush family? I do not.

The idea that the Republican Party can only elect a POTUS if there is a Bush on the ticket, while superstitious, seems to be confirmed by the facts: Bush 41 was Ronald Reagan’s Vice President before he himself became President.

Then Bush lost his bid for re-election, leading to eight years of Bill Clinton before Bush 43 won (some say he stole) the election of 2000.

Except for Bush 41’s failed re-election bid, the only times the GOP lost presidential elections since 1980 was when there was no Bush on the ticket: in 1996, 2008 and 2012. (These were also the only times since 1976 that a Democrat carried Florida, but I digress.) Having won the Senate, the House of Representatives and most state governments, all that the Republicans need for total control is the Presidency, and Jeb Bush promises to deliver it to them.

Like Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush has been hemming and hawing about his presidential intentions. Lately, however, Bush has made it

Jeb Bush

Celebrating 41 Years!

Letter to Obama

From LGBT leaders of Brunei, the Gambia, Kyrgyzstan, and Nigeria programs, and ensure that no area of your country’s bilateral relationship was immune to a suitable response – have had a positive impact on Uganda’s actions.

But no such actions have been taken toward Nigeria, where a similar law was also recently adopted and is now in effect. No action has been taken toward Brunei, or The Gambia, or Kyrgyzstan, or India, which have all recently increased or re-introduced harsh criminal penalties against LGBT citizens. Not that the response to those counties needs to be identical to the steps taken in Uganda, but surely some clear response is needed. How can we trust otherwise that the United States will, indeed, stand with us as we fight for our rights?

Mr. President, we ask that the United States make clear, even now, that steps will be taken to respond, without fail, in any country where governments attack us and deny our rights. We believe that such a policy, clearly enunciated and triggered when dangerous new laws or discrimina-

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Dear Mr. President: We are not citizens of your country. We write to you, with respect, because we appreciate your unprecedented public support for the fundamental human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals globally, and because we know that your country’s actions carry great consequence in today’s world.

You have promised that the United States will stand with LGBT people in seeking fairness and equality in all of our countries.

Many of us can speak to the positive efforts of U.S. embassies in our countries that have given local impact to that promise.

But if the promise of equal and fair treatment is to be realized, United States policy must be consistent and clear. We ask that it be made so. When Uganda passed a new law threatening the safety, rights and well-being of its LGBT citizens, the U.S. responded clearly. We believe the steps that you took – to deny visas to those responsible for that law, examine how the law might impact U.S.

President Barack Obama

tory national programs are enacted and purposefully deployed against us, would deter the leaders of our countries from pursuing shameful national agendas that seek to deny the rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters.

We ask that you stand with us in this struggle, not only for our sake, but also for yours.

The better world we seek, and that we believe in, will benefit all of us through increased democracy, security and prosperity, and that vision cannot be achieved without a consistent partnership with the United States. Your leadership now will be viewed by history as an enduring legacy of your Administration.

Register for GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week is scheduled for January 19-23. This year, according to GLSEN, schools in our community are increasing their efforts to prevent bullying and name-calling by including resources and tools designed to promote kindness in the classroom.

A hashtag has been set up for social media: #NNCW15.

“We believe in celebrating kindness while working to create safe schools free of namecalling, bullying and bias,” GLSEN officials say on the advocacy group’s website www. glsen.org. “Motivated by this simple, yet powerful, idea – and supported by over 60 national partner organizations – No NameCalling Week is celebrated each year in schools across the nation.”

In short, GLSEN wants to help you put a spotlight on name-calling and bullying in your school if you are a student, educator, or GSA chapter.

According to GLSEN, because most bullying happens outside of classrooms, No Name Calling Week is most effective as a school wide project.

Though classroom activities are at the heart of the program, making your entire school instead of an individual classroom a name calling free zone will strengthen the program message and dramatically increase the safety and well-being of students,” say officials. “A school wide No Name-Calling Week means school wide involvement from students, administrators, teachers, family members and staff. The next few pages will take you step by step through the process of engaging and involving your entire school community in planning a fun and effective No Name-Calling Week at your school.”

If you are a teacher or guidance counselor, you will probably need support from your school’s administration and/or another leadership body in order to move forward with a school wide No Name-Calling Week.

“School leaders will likely want to support a program aimed at improving school health and safety for all students,” says GLSEN. “Still, they might have some concerns about whether the program will detract from required curriculum, how much work it will require from

bullying among students in your school, or may have heard about incidents of name-calling from teachers, parents, staff, or students.

Record these stories (keeping individual identities anonymous) and share them when you seek support, as they demonstrate a need for anti-bullying education in your particular school,” advises GLSEN. It is important, say officials, to anticipate Below is a brief list of ideas for your school’s week, all of which are elaborated on within concerns because there are a few key reservathe pages of a free online guide GLSEN offers tions that may come up during your conversations with administrators and colleagues. to people that sign up for NNCW 15.

GLSEN says that being prepared with statistical and anecdotal information will go a long Class lessons and activities about way towards assuaging doubts about the neName-calling and bullying cessity of education on this issue.

Essay and poster contest School newspaper article Consider these common concerns and School assembly possible responses to them: Library display School is for academics.

Peer education program (students educate School is undoubtedly the place for acaand support younger children) Discussion/support group (guidance staff demics, but those who experience bullying lead small groups of students in an exploration or live in fear of being the next target are frequently distracted from their academic work. of feelings and ideas about verbal bullying) Support staff training (cafeteria, secu- There is a strong correlation between bullying rity, transportation, and recreation staff is and poor academic achievement for both the targets of bullying and the bullies themselves. trained in bullying intervention) Family event (a speaker or panelists in- Share the statistics that demonstrate this with form family members about the effects of your colleagues, and emphasize that a program that discourages bullying may result in bullying and ways to cope with and end it) improved achievement among students. In GLSEN advises that when you approach addition, encourage colleagues to peruse the your school administration and colleagues No Name-Calling Week curriculum, which for support, your request should demonstrate is heavily grounded in reading, writing, and a need for No Name-Calling Week, while critical thinking experiences that can be inteshowing that it will promote school goals grated into a variety of subject areas. rather than detract from them. Follow these There’s no time for a No Name-Calling Week. steps in order to encourage a productive disAgain, refer to your statistics. Bullying cussion and garner enthusiastic support for a results in high absenteeism among those No Name-Calling Week in your school.

GLSEN says you should gather data. “Use who experience it and reducing incidents of the statistics listed in the introduction, or name-calling in school means more instrucconsult some of the complete studies to tional hours for those students. In addition, get additional facts about the epidemic of time spent in the short term increasing emname-calling and other forms of bullying, pathy and effective ally behavior among stuand their effects on young people. School dents will save every one time in the long run guidance staff may have additional litera- as disciplinary problems, fights, guidance inture to share. Presenting data from reliable terventions, classroom management issues, sources demonstrates how verbal bullying is and other problems diminish. No Namea concern for students, educators, and par- Calling Week is a great first step in opening a dialogue that can eventually change a school’s ents everywhere,” say officials.

GLSEN also says to gather anecdotal evi- climate, and taking that first step now can dence. “You have probably witnessed verbal save valuable time later. faculty and staff, and whether an anti-bullying program is even necessary at your school.”

GLSEN recommends that before meeting with your school principal or other leaders, you should give some thought to your vision of No Name-Calling Week at your school.

What exactly will take place?

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We don’t have a name-calling problem in our school.

Collect and share specific anecdotal information with administrators and colleagues to demonstrate the reality at your school (see Student Survey: Name-Calling and Verbal Bullying). Remind them that most bullying occurs outside the classroom and away from the watchful eyes of adults. It happens in the hallways, the cafeteria, the schoolyard, the locker room, and on the bus. Often, this bullying goes unreported because of fear, embarrassment, or pressure not to “tattle.” Though many teachers and staff members are able to effectively stop bullying in the classroom, they have little control over what happens when the bell rings. Meanwhile, students suffer the effects of being bullied, including lowered academic performance, heightened absenteeism, and emotional problems.

Know the bottom line.

Be prepared to brief your administration and colleagues on the anticipated costs of the program, both in dollars and labor. If there will be significant costs, suggest fundraising or donor possibilities.

GLSEN is asking everyone to celebrate kindness through lessons and activities.

They have plans for elementary, middle, or high schools.

GLSEN has even gone so far as to advise students on how to be kind throughout the year and have a lasting impact.

“If you only have a minute, catch someone being kind. See a friend being kind? Take a pic and tag it with hashtag #CaughtBeingKind.

Your pic might end up on GLSEN’s Instagram, @GLSEN_official,” say officials. “Do a random act of kindness. If you have your phone on you, take a pic, and share it using the hashtag #CelebrateKindness and/or #NNCW15.”

Anyone interested in signing up for NNCW 15 can do so here: http://ac t ion. glsen.org/page/s/no-name-calling-weekregistration. Registering for No NameCalling Week ensures that you receive all the newest information and allows GLSEN to keep an accurate count of how many participants there are each year. Questions about registering for No Name-Calling Week?

Contact educators@glsen.org.

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Federal judge strikes South Dakota marriage ban A federal judge ruled on January 12 that South Dakota’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier ruled that the state laws preventing Gay and Lesbian couples from marrying violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. She stayed her ruling, however, pending appeal.

In her decision, Schreier cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, and explicitly compared laws against samesex marriage to previous laws prohibiting inter-racial marriages.

“In Loving, the Supreme Court addressed a traditionally accepted definition of marriage that prohibited Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving from marrying,” she wrote.

“Because Virginia’s laws deprived that couple of their fundamental right to marriage, the Court struck down those laws.

Little distinguishes this case from Loving.

Plaintiffs have a fundamental right to marry. South Dakota law deprives them of that right solely because they are same-sex couples and without sufficient justification.”

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said he would appeal Schreier’s ruling.

“It remains the State’s position that the institution of marriage should be defined by the voters of South Dakota and not the federal courts,” he said in a statement on the state website.

“Because this case presents substantial legal questions and substantial public interest the Federal Court has stayed its judgment allowing South Dakota law to remain in effect pending the appeal.”

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over South Dakota, already has marriage cases from Arkansas and Missouri pending.

Schreier was appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton on 1999. Jackley, a Republican, has been Attorney General of South Dakota since 2009.

www.lionhorseproductions.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier

Kentucky judge grants same-sex divorce

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

does not recognize common-law marriages.

“I am just thrilled with Judge O’Reilly’s courage. I think he had a lot of chutzpah to do what he did,” attorney Louis Waterman told reporters.

Both women said they were grateful they did not have to travel back to Massachusetts to divorce.

No one intervened in the case to try to prevent the divorce – and therefore the im-

plicit recognition of same-sex marriage. The office of Governor Steve Beshear, who is defending the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, had no comment on the case.

In its January 16 conference, the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss whether to hear cases from Kentucky and three other states in which a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court bucked the national trend by ruling that same-sex couples have no constitutional right to marriage. www.democratandchronicle.com

A Kentucky state judge has granted a divorce to a Lesbian couple, in spite of a state law prohibiting recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.

Alysha Romero and Rebecca Sue Romero were married in Boston in 2009, but now live in Louisville. They filed for divorce in 2013 and entered a property settlement last spring.

Judge Joseph O’Reilly ruled in their case on December 29, but lawyers for the couple agreed to keep the ruling secret until it became final, to prevent outside parties from challenging it.

In an eight-page opinion, O’Reilly ruled that barring a same-sex couple from divorcing in Kentucky violates the state constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law and the right of citizens to “enjoy and defend their lives and liberties.”

“The Constitution of Kentucky prohibits the exercise of absolute and arbitrary power over lives” of its residents, O’Reilly wrote,

“even if that exercise is approved of by the largest majority.”

In any case, O’Reilly added, Kentucky divorce law requires that it be “liberally construed” to promote “amicable settlements” of disputes between ex-spouses.

Kentucky law says that same-sex marriages performed in another jurisdiction “shall be void” in Kentucky, even when they are legal where they are performed, and that any rights granted “by virtue of the marriage, or its termination, shall be unenforceable in Kentucky courts.”

Lawyers for the women argued that denying a divorce to a same-sex couple would illogically thwart the state’s ban on same-sex marriage by actually requiring one to continue.

They also argued that Kentucky courts have held that marriages performed in other countries and states must be recognized for purposes of granting a divorce, even if marriage laws are different there than in Kentucky. For example, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that common law spouses from other states must be allowed to divorce in Kentucky, even though Kentucky law

Alysha Romero and Rebecca Sue Romero with their children

SCOTUS passes on Louisiana marriage case

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to take up a Louisiana marriage case in which the trial judge bucked the national trend and ruled against equality.

The justices gave no reason for their decision in their January 12 announcement.

They have shown no inclination to get involved in ongoing marriage litigation since their ground-breaking 2012 ruling in USA v.

Windsor striking down DOMA. Meanwhile, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the Louisiana case

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cases from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee are on the list to be considered at the high court’s January 16 conference.

The Supreme Court is under no obligation to hear any of these appeals, and they may wish to wait until all the circuit courts have weighed in on the matter before they agree to take a marriage case.

The justices might also decide to send the Sixth Circuit case back to the circuit court for an en banc hearing – a decision by the full appellate court rather than a three-judge panel. The same-sex couples who are plaintiffs before the Sixth Circuit opted not to ask for an en banc hearing, hoping that the Supreme Court would decide their cases. www.nydailynews.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

on January 9, and is expected to rule soon.

Observers said two of the three judges on the Fifth Circuit panel seemed to be skeptical of the state’s arguments in favor of the marriage ban, and they are expected to overturn the trial judge’s decision.

Louisiana state officials have said they will continue to defend their state’s law in court, so the case may return to the Supreme Court before long.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman ruled on September 3 that “Louisiana has a legitimate interest ... whether obsolete in the opinion of some, or not, in the opinion of others ... in linking children to an intact family formed by their two biological parents…”

Therefore, the Louisiana law passed “rational basis review,” the judge concluded, meaning that it was not based only on bias or animus against Gay and Lesbian couples.

“There is simply no fundamental right, historically or traditionally, to same-sex marriage,” Feldman added.

The plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit, and also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, in order to expedite a decision.

The Supreme Court will also consider taking an appeal of the Sixth Circuit Court’s ruling against marriage equality. Marriage

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman

January 16, 2015

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Trans people cleared to drive in Russia Andrei Makhonin / Vedomosti

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Transgender Russians will not be deprived of their motor vehicle licenses, officials now say. It had been reported that Trans people would be included among those considered to be disqualified from driving in Russia because of supposed “mental disorders.”

Reports began appearing in Western news media in early January saying that Trans Russians were included in a long list of

people who would no longer get drivers’ licenses. The list also included exhibitionists, voyeurs, fetishists, pathological gamblers, and compulsive thieves.

However, Russian Health Minister Oleg Salagai later explained that people would only be banned if they posed a danger to others on the road, and just having a “sexual disorder” would not mean an individual would be banned from driving.

“The varying severity of mental disorders among patients – as well as their need for psy-

chotropic drugs that significantly alter their reactions – make it impossible for [certain people] to drive,” Salagai told the Moscow Times.

The list of disqualifying “personality and behavioral disorders” was adapted from

would avoid seeking psychiatric help, for fearing they would lose their driving rights.

The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights called the new law “discriminatory,” and said it would demand clarifica-

The list of disqualifying “personality and behavioral disorders” was adapted from the World Health Organization’s list of disorders. The WHO still lists Trans people as having “disorders of sexual preference,” but the organization’s officials said they are now reviewing their list of sexual disorders. the World Health Organization’s list of disorders. The WHO still lists Trans people as having “disorders of sexual preference,” but the organization’s officials said they are now reviewing their list of sexual disorders.

Since sexual orientation is not listed as a mental disorder, it would not be a disqualifying factor. Russia has outlawed “promoting” Gay sexuality, however.

The new driving regulations have been criticized even by officially recognized Russian organizations.

Valery Evtushenko from the Russian Psychiatric Association told the BBC Russian Service he was worried that some people

tions from the Russian Constitutional Court.

The group also vowed to seek support from international human rights organizations.

Mikhail Strakhov, a Russian psychiatric expert, told BBC News that the definition of “personality disorders” was too vague and some disorders would not affect a person’s ability to drive a car safely.

But Russia’s Professional Drivers Union supported the regulations.

“We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified,” said the union’s head Alexander Kotov.

However, he said the requirements should not be so strict for non-professional drivers.

Snowmen are forbidden, Saudi cleric says

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January 16, 2015

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Twitter

Muslims may not build snowmen, a prominent Saudi religious scholar ruled this month.

“It is forbidden to make sculptures out of snow, even if it is for fun and entertainment,” Muslim cleric Mohamed Saleh Al Minijed said in a fatwa. “God has given people a choice to build whatever they want, provided it is without a soul, like trees, ships, fruit, buildings and the like.”

A fatwa is a ruling by a Muslim religious authority based on the Quran, traditions about the Prophet Mohamed’s teachings, and prior legal precedents. Because the Saudi government has never gotten around to codifying sharia law, fatwas issued by important religious scholars carry the weight of law.

Al Minijed’s ruling was prompted by a freak snowfall in the northern part of the kingdom. Locals rushed to make snow sculptures and posted pictures of them to their social media accounts, earning the wrath of Saudi religious authorities.

Al Minijed’s fatwa drew mocking Twitter comments, translated into English on Global Voices website. In a series of Tweets, Palestinian blogger Iyad El-Baghdadi noted sarcastically that “According to ‘Islamic’ buzzkill Al-

Munjid, making snowmen is ‘an imitation of the West’ and is close to idolatory…Coz you know, our faith is so weak that if we build a snowman we may mistake it for a god and start worshipping it or something. #facepalm…

“I also love the part about how we should imitate the West in good things like science & technology, not bad things like... um, snowmen,” El-Baghdadi concluded.

Saudi women are allowed to use Twitter – even though they may not drive, use public transportation, or go to public places unaccompanied – and predictably they were exasperated by Al Minijed’s fatwa.

“Everything in this country is banned,” a woman going by the name “Ms Abeer” Tweeted. “It will eventually melt. You just don’t want us to have fun. Now we should make headless snowmen so that they become happy.”

“What? Who issued the fatwa that building snowmen is forbidden?” another woman added. “Have mercy on us please. You have forbidden everything. Religion is not like this. And what’s the harm in it for you to forbid it. It is just entertainment.”

Another Twitter user, Fashion Slave, accused Al Minijed of trying to steal headlines.

“While some people are busy with what’s happened in France and others with the Golden Globe, suddenly a clergyman comes up with a fatwa which says that building snowmen is forbidden,” Fashion Slave Tweeted. “Get back into your hole. You just want to steal the limelight.”

Al Minijed, whose name is sometimes rendered Al Munajjid in English, is said by Al Jazeera to be one of the most respected Saudi religious scholars, but that has not stopped him from making absurd statements in the past.

In December 2004, Al Minijed blamed the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami on

A Saudi having coffee with snowman

Christmas, which occurred the day before.

“The problem is that the [Christian] holidays are accompanied by forbidden things, by immorality, abomination, adultery, alcohol, drunken dancing, and … and revelry,” he wrote in horror.

“Why do we want to be like them, with their holidays, their forbidden things, and their heresy?”

In 2008 he issued a fatwa condemning Western cartoons, in which he called on Muslims to kill Mickey Mouse.

“According to Islamic law, the mouse is a re-

pulsive, corrupting creature,” Al Minijed wrote.

“How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry? Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice.

Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”

Al Minijed has also ruled that hacking websites is forbidden “because God has forbidden spying,” but hacking Jewish sites is permitted as long as Muslims are at war with Israel.

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continued from cover of the bill I proposed last year to allow for longer term temporary encampments,” said Councilmember Nick Licata.

“This is not the solution to homelessness, but we simply can’t wait to solve homelessness. The City has a responsibility today to the 2,300 people sleeping outside on any given night in Seattle, so that they can at least stay together and stay safe.”

Murray’s proposal also got early buy-in from City Council members Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw. O’Brien called it “a smart approach that provides the stability of a place to be, while also offering services to support people trying to get back into housing.”

“This legislation is an important first step to help people transition to stable housing, the

compassionate solution,” Bagshaw added.

Murray also announced that the City would double the size of the emergency shelter at the King County Administration Building from 50 beds to 100, and would add another 15 beds at a Capitol Hill facility for homeless youths.

“These folks are our neighbors, each with his or her own unfortunate path to homelessness,” Murray said in a statement.

“The dramatic erosion of state and federal investments to respond to their challenges have created a full-blown crisis. With current shelters at capacity, we must fund additional beds immediately.”

The city currently funds 1,700 shelter beds – each serving an average of 6 people a year.

The Seattle City Council has already set aside the additional $182,000 needed for the additional shelter capacity announced January 14.

www.lgbtqnation.com

Mayor

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray

Palm Center calls on President Obama to address Transgender military ban On the eve of next week’s State of the Union speech, Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center, has called on President Barack Obama to address the military’s ban on Transgender service: “I urge President Obama to address the military’s ban on Transgender service during his upcoming State of the Union address, and to clarify whether he supports this discriminatory policy,” said Belkin.

“While I applaud the President and his administration for the historic openness to reviewing the ban, now is the time for the President to lead by outlining his plans and goals for the policies that govern the estimated 15,500 transgender personnel serving currently in the armed forces,” he said.

Next week, the Palm Center says it will release a policy memo on the importance of presidential leadership in setting military policy.

continued from cover Five of the men – the owner of the bathhouse and four employees – were tried for facilitating “parties of debauchery, orgies among male homosexuals” in exchange for money.

The 21 others were charged with committing

The Palm Center is an independent research institute committed to sponsoring state-of-the-art scholarship to enhance the quality of public dialogue about critical and controversial issues of the day.

For the past decade, the Palm Center’s research on sexual minorities in the military has been published in leading social scientific journals. The Palm Center seeks to be a resource for universityaffiliated as well as independent scholars, students, journalists, opinion leaders, and members of the public.

For more information, see www.palmcenter.org.

Aaron Belkin

later, she broadcast footage of the arrest with a sensationalized story about “a den of mass perversion spreading AIDS in Egypt.”

Within hours of the innocent verdict, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights reported that the prosecution has formally appealed the not-guilty verdict against the 26 men.

Under Egyptian law, the prosecution has

Amr Nabil

EGYPT

Last year, the Palm Center released a groundbreaking study, “Report of the Planning Commission on Transgender Military Service,” which found that allowing Transgender personnel to serve in the military “is administratively feasible and will not be burdensome or complicated.”

www.aaronbelkin.org

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

“They destroyed our lives. God rescued us,” one of the defendants told The Associated Press. “debauchery” and “indecent public acts.”

Had they been convicted, the defendants would have faced between one and nine years in prison.

Defense lawyers charged that at least one of the defendants was raped while in police custody, according to the Daily Telegraph’s Louisa Loveluck, reporting from Cairo.

Several defendants said they plan to sue Egyptian TV anchor Mona al-Iraqi, who claimed she triggered the raid on the bathhouse on December 7 by tipping off the police about what was happening there. Days

the right to appeal twice – once to an appeals court, and after that to the Court of Cassation – but neither court is under any obligation to accept the appeal.

Gay sex is legal in Egypt, but Gay people are often arrested or harassed by police using the cover of laws against debauchery, indecency, or blasphemy, according to the ILGA (International LGBT Association).

Activists say the Egyptian authorities have launched a crackdown on the country’s LGBT community over the past 18 months.

During that time, at least 150 men have

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Relatives celebrating acquittal

been arrested or put on trial on debauchery charges, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

Egyptian courts seem to be willing to treat defendants in such cases leniently, however.

Less than a month ago, an Egyptian appeals court reduced the prison sentences given to eight men convicted of “inciting debauchery” for appearing in a video, which purported to show a Gay wedding.

January 16, 2015

Seattle Gay News 13

ACLU legislative update on anti-Gay religious exemption bills same-sex marriage. No government employee officially shall recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license. If employee does, they must not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense of taxpayers of the State. No taxes/ public funds may be utilized to enforce a court order requiring the issuance or recognition of a same-sex marriage license.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

With the 2015 legislative session in swing, Crystal Cooper, media strategist for ACLU, reached out to Seattle Gay News to help keep our readers abreast of discriminatory bills that the ACLU Out4Freedom Campaign is tracking.

These anti-Gay bills would allow religion to be used to discriminate and are either intentionally aimed at LGBT people or are spurred in backlash to marriage equality becoming a nationwide reality. In addition, South Carolina Marriage License Ban [Legislative session these bills include state versions of the ReUtah ligious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), began Jan. 13] Marriage License Refusal [PRE-FILED, Bill language: No state/local taxpayer funds marriage license ban bills, broad religious introduced on Dec. 19] or government salaries may be paid for an exemption bills and more.

Bill language: A person authorized to solactivity that includes licensing or support of

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Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act [Senate meetings on bill began Jan. 14] Would allow someone to challenge any governmental policy or law that substantially burdens their religious beliefs.

ACLU attorneys Rose Saxe and Eunice Rho, and experts from ACLU state affiliates, provided the information about these bills and have promised regular updates as these measures continue to undermine equality for everyone under the law. linkedin.com

Texas Marriage License Ban [Legislative session began Jan. 13] Bill language: A state or local government employee may not officially recognize, grant, or enforce same-sex marriage. If an employee does so, they may no longer receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense of State taxpayers.

Taxes or public funds may not use to enforce a court order requiring issuance or recognition of same-sex marriage licenses.

Virginia Broad Licensing [PRE-FILED, introduced Dec. 19; legislative session began Jan. 14] Bill language: A person seeking to obtain or renew a license, registration, or certificate from the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, or any agency, authority, board, department, or other entity thereof, shall not be required to perform, assist, consent to, or participate in any action or refrain from performing, assisting, consenting to, or participating in any action as a condition of obtaining or renewing the license, registration, or certificate where such condition would violate the religious or moral convictions of such person with respect to samesex “marriage” or homosexual behavior.

emnize a marriage is not required to do so if it would violate the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs, tenets, doctrine, practices, or the person’s fundamental right to religious liberty.

Crystal Cooper, ACLU media strategist

Celebrating 41 Years!

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January 16, 2015

Seattle Gay News 15

Michigan

continued from cover licenses had been legally issued and the state “cannot withdraw the status that it has awarded, even if the couples had no right to demand to be married in the first place.”

To rule otherwise, Goldsmith wrote, “could catastrophically undermine the stability that marriage seeks to create.”

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, who fought recognition of the marriages, said the U.S. Supreme Court would ultimately have to settle the issue.

“We are reviewing Judge Goldsmith’s decision, but as I have said repeatedly, the sooner the United States Supreme Court makes a decision on this issue the better it will be for Michigan and America,” he said.

Schuette did not say whether he would appeal Goldsmith’s decision on the existing marriages.

The Sixth Circuit’s decision, which went against the run of court cases upholding samesex couples’ right to marry, is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, but the justices have shown no eagerness to return to the issue after their landmark Windsor decision in 2012.

The ACLU hailed Goldsmith’s decision.

“These marriages are cherished and valid – same as any other – and it’s only right that the courts and our country recognize as much,” explained Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan LGBT Project.

“All these couples have ever asked is that they be able to love and protect their families without being discriminated against. With this decision, they can finally begin to move away from uncertainty and unfairness and toward the fulfillment of their shared dreams.”

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Celebrating 41 Years!

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