SGN April 10, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Obama opposes “conversion therapy” White House says

Helping people “live forward” A conversation with Ed Wilhoite – new CEO at Lifelong

by Rachael DeCruz Communications Manager Pride Foundation

President Barack Obama – Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer President Obama has announced his support for a “We the People” online pe-

tition urging the government to “Enact Leelah’s Law to Ban All LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy.”

The petition currently has more than see obama page 6

Pro-Gay Colorado bakery off the hook

They did not discriminate against Christians, agency says

The year was 1987. 16,908 people had already died from AIDS in the United States and the disease was spreading rapidly.

Across the country in Chicago, a young lawyer named Ed Wilhoite – now the Chief Executive Officer at Lifelong – was just beginning his engagement with the fight against AIDS. To celebrate Pride Foundation’s 30th anniversary and the work of our early grantees, I recently had the opportunity to hear Ed’s

story.

Ed remembers being on a bus one day in the ‘80s when ACT-UP/Chicago held a street action that blocked the bus from moving forward. The group was protesting Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) refusal to place safe sex posters on buses, and Ed thought it was a violation of the First Amendment: “Sometimes that’s all it takes. I got off the bus and handed my card to one of the protestors, offering my help.”

Daniel Sotomayor from ACT-UP called him the next day, and Ed was soon deeply engaged in their work. see lifelong page 4

Tech Industry says protect LGBT rights

Marjorie Silva, owner of Azucar Bakery – Ivan Moreno/Associated Press

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Denver bakery did not discriminate against a Christian customer when its owners refused to make him two anti-Gay cakes, a state agency ruled.

The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies found that Azucar Bakery and its owner Marjorie Silva did not violate state

anti-discrimination laws by turning down a customer’s cake order in March 2014.

The customer, identified only as “Jack,” ordered two Bible-shaped cakes. One was to have an image of two men holding hands with an X over them. The second would have the words “God hates sin. Psalm 45:7″ and “Homosexuality is a detestable sin. Lesee azucar page 6

HRC President Chad Griffin – Melanie Boyd

“The unified message from these business leaders is clear: Pass LGBT non-discrimination protections and pass them now,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.

“Until legislators finally step up to the plate and take action, this issue is not going to go away. It’s time for elected officials to listen to the overwhelming voice of fair-minded Americans demanding equality for their LGBT loved ones, friends, and neighbors.

No American should risk losing their job, be denied housing, or refused service simply because of who they are or whom they love.”

Joint Statement from Tech Industry Leaders The values of diversity, fairness and equality are central to our industry. These see Tech page 3

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Celebrating 41 Years!

Tech

continued from cover values fuel creativity and inspiration, and those in turn make the U.S. technology sector the most admired in the world today.

We believe it is critically important to speak out about proposed bills and existing laws that would put the rights of minorities at risk. The transparent and open economy of the future depends on it, and the values of this great nation are at stake.

Religious freedom, inclusion, and diversity can co-exist and everyone including LGBT people and people of faith should be protected under their states’ civil rights laws. No person should have to fear losing their job or be denied service or housing because of who they are or whom they love.

However, right now those values are being called into question in states across the country. In more than twenty states, legislatures are considering legislation that could empower individuals or businesses to discriminate against LGBT people by denying them service if they felt it violated their religious beliefs.

To ensure no one faces discrimination and ensure everyone preserves their right to live out their faith, we call on all legislatures to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes to their civil rights laws and to explicitly forbid discrimination or denial of services to anyone.

Anything less will only serve to place barriers between people, create hurdles to creativity and inclusion, and smother the kind of open and transparent society that is necessary to create the jobs of the future.

Discrimination is bad for business and that’s why we’ve taken the time to join this joint statement.

Sincerely, Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce Max Levchin, CEO, Affirm Mark Pincus, Chairman, Zynga Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO, Yelp Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter Logan Green, CEO, Lyft Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb Joe Gebbia, CPO, Airbnb Nathan Blecharczyk, CTO, Airbnb Ron Conway, Founder, SV Angel John Donahoe, CEO, Ebay Paul Graham, CoFounder, YCombinator Rich Barton, Chairman, Zillow Group Chad Hurley, CEO, Mixbit Adora Cheung, CEO, Homejoy Phil Libin, CEO, Evernote Trevor Traina, CEO, IfOnly Nirav Tolia, CEO, Nextdoor

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Dion Lim, CEO, NextLesson Bret Taylor, CEO, Quip Joe Lonsdale, Managing Partner, Formation 8 Thomas Layton, Chairman, Elance-odesk Fabio Rosati, CEO, Elance-odesk Dave Morin, CEO, Path Mark Goldstein, Chairman, BackOps Kevin Rose, CEO, North Technologies Yves Behar, CCO, Jawbone Padmasree Warrior, CTSO, Cisco Systems Tony Conrad, CEO, about.me Sunil Paul, CEO, Sidecar Michael Moritz, Chairman, Sequoia Capital Dan Schulman, President, PayPal Devin Wenig, President, eBay Marketplaces Robert Hohman, CEO, Glassdoor Laurene Powell Jobs, Founder & Chair, Emerson Collective Mohan Warrior, CEO, Alphalight David Spector, CEO, ThirdLove Shervin Pishevar, CoFounder, Sherpa Ventures David Karp, CEO, Tumblr Reid Hoffman, Chairman, Linkedin Kevin Ryan, Chairman, Gilt Michael Birch, CoFounder, Bebo Hosain Rahman, CEO, Jawbone John Zimmer, President, Lyft Bill Ready, CEO, Braintree Jon Oringer, CEO, Shutterstock Images Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox Bijan Sabet, General Partner, Spark Capital Douglas Merrill, CEO, ZestFinance Tom Sheahan, CEO, RedOxygen Brian Samelson, CEO, eMaint.com Daniel Lurie, CEO, Tipping Point Community Aaron Levie, CEO, Box Jeff Weiner, CEO, Linkedin Gary Moore, President & COO, Cisco Travis Katz, CEO, Gogobot Joe Davis, CEO, Webtrends Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft Brad Smith, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Microsoft Josh Kopelman, Partner, First Round Capital Rob Glaser, CEO, Realnetworks Jason Goldberg, CEO, hem Evan Reece, CEO, Liftopia Dave Gilboa, CoFounder, Warby Parker Neil Blumenthal, CoFounder, Warby Parker Sean Parker, Chairman, Airtime Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix Charles Phillips, CEO, Infor Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO, Joyus.com Michael Brown, President & CEO, Symantec

Sarah Leary, CoFounder, Nextdoor Katie Stanton, VP, Twitter Karen Appleton, Founder, Box.org Brit Morin, CEO, Brit + Co Susan Wojcicki, CEO, Youtube Melody McCloskey, Founder, StyleSeat Brandee Barker, Co-Founder & Partner, The Pramana Collective Greg Tseng, CEO, if(we) David Tisch, Chairman, Boxgroup Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, BackOps Jessica Herrin, CEO, Stella & Dot Brian O’Kelley, CEO, AppNexus Jeff Lawson, CEO, Twilio Steven R. Boal, CEO, Coupons.com Gary Shapiro, CEO, Consumer Electronics Association Kim Jabal, CFO, Path Ryan Holmes, CEO, Hootsuite Alison Pincus. Co-Founder, One Kings Lane Jeremy Liew, Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners Larry Page, President, Google Eric Schmidt, Chairman, Google Travis Kalanick, CEO, Uber Technologies Brad Smith, CEO, Intuit Mike Huang, CEO, Glow Aileen Lee, Founder, Cowboy Ventures Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, Scalus Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook Chris Nicholas, President, Asymmetrica Labs Ken Brownfield, CTO, Asymmetrica Labs Stacy Brown-Philpot, COO, TaskRabbit Nick Woodman, CEO of GoPro Tony Bates, President of GoPro Jack Lazar, CFO of GoPro Tracy DiNunzio, CEO, Tradesy John Chambers, Chairman & CEO, Cisco Lorna Borenstein, CEO, Grokker.com Michelle Peluso, CEO, Gilt Ben Silbermann, CEO Pinterest Lloyd Carney, CEO, Brocade Irakly George Arison, CEO, Shift Technologies Inc. Evan Goldberg, CTO, Netsuite Zach Nelson, CEO, Netsuite David Hassell, CEO, 15Five Brian McAndrews, CEO, Pandora Media Jared Fliesler, General Partner, Matrix Partners Joshua Kushner, Founder, Thrive Capital Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo!

Bracken P. Darrell, CEO, Logitech

April 10, 2015

Seattle Gay News 3

Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign

UW student workers demand more inclusive workplace, charge school with stalling labor negotiations demic and professional achievement every day they work as Academic Student Employe es (ASEs)….”

T h e emails underline one of the key demands in negotiations for a new laUniversity of Washington campus – www.natcom.org bor agreement between ASEs

by Mike Andrew and the university – formal rules to prevent SGN Staff Writer “micro-aggressions” based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Student workers at the University of David Parsons, president of UAW 4121, Washington have adopted a novel tactic to the union that represents ASEs at UW, says dramatize their demands for a more open he is surprised that this demand has beand inclusive workplace. Beginning April 6, come so contentious. they bombarded UW administrators with “I thought the non-cash stuff would be “micro-disruption” emails. easy,” Parsons told SGN. “I thought we’d “Consider this email disruptive?” the present our demands on inclusivity, and email asks. “How about hundreds of “mithe university would say ‘OK,’ and then we’d cro” disruptions like it? Does it make it move on to the economic issues. hard to accomplish your agenda? To stay on “Instead, they’ve showed incredible retrack with your professional and academic sistance. The university has just been unacgoals? ceptably slow. They haven’t said ‘Get out,’ “Women, people of color, LGBTQ, unbut they’re just sitting on their hands.” documented immigrants, international Micro-aggressions can include everystudents, and others experience subtle, evthing from misgendering Transgender eryday words and actions that degrade and employees, to assigning some employees to exclude them based on who they are. These demeaning tasks far below their skill level, micro-aggressions create barriers to acaParsons explained.

“For example there are women in the sciences who are assigned tasks that men would never be assigned,” Parsons noted, “like note-taking or getting coffee for the workgroup. Some people are subjected to hostile or demeaning remarks. We also have a proposal for restroom equity – genderneutral restrooms on campus.”

“These things might not come up to the level of sexual harassment,” added UAW 4121 member Liz Mills, “but they’re serious. They’re micro-aggressions but they can have a macro effect on your self-esteem and your ability to contribute to the group.”

The union says formal rules are needed for workers to be able to hold the UW accountable for such micro-aggressions.

“Some people experience micro-aggressions all the time, but with no clear way of getting support and making change, they just suffer through or drop out,” Elizabeth Scarbrough, member of UAW 4121’s bargaining committee, said in a statement.

“This could easily be changed if UW takes some concrete steps to end this.”

“We’re asking the UW to be a leader on this issue,” Mills added. “What we’re proposing is proactive measures, so the university can get out in front of this issue. It’s like preventative care.”

UAW 4121 represents some 4500 workers, most of them graduate students on salary, but also some undergrads on hourly wages. One of the union’s economic demands was to get the university to comply with Seattle’s new $15 per hour minimum wage law, something UW officials say they are not required to do.

“They told us they would increase the

minimum wage for the lowest-paid workers in our bargaining unit,” Parsons told SGN, “but for no one else. That response made us change our proposal. We demanded an increase for everyone, in the bargaining unit or not.”

High tuitions and student fees are also areas of concern, Parsons said.

“For us, tuitions and fees are part of our conditions of employment,” he explained.

“We have to be students to keep our jobs, so when tuition and fees go up, that’s a cut in our income.”

The university has also been slow to respond to the union’s economic proposals.

The workers’ current contract expires April 17.

In hopes of motivating the university to take contract negotiations seriously, the union has called for a week of action, with major protests on April 15 and 17.

April 15 is a national day of action for the $15 minimum wage, with demonstrations at the UW and other locations around the city. On April 17, the UW’s tuition deadline, union members plan to pack the UW Registrar’s office in Schmitz Hall, to protest low wages and increased tuition and fees.

Community members – especially UW alums – can help, Parsons and Mills said, by contacting the university and expressing support for a fair contract.

“The UW has a reputation for being an inclusive and progressive institution,” Parsons concluded, “but that image is contradicted by their bargaining position. I hope people will contact the university and tell them that’s not acceptable.”

lifelong

that HIV has on certain populations is an area that Lifelong continues to prioritize. In Washington, Gay and Bisexual men (GBM) make up approximately 4% of the population, yet comprise nearly 75% of all new or prevalent HIV cases, with those numbers even higher in King County. Within that community, Latino and black GBM are also disproportionately affected by HIV – with rates significantly higher than white GBM. “Gay and Bisexual men adversely affected by stigma, poverty, lack of access to healthy food, unstable housing, mental illness, and substance abuse are at risk of HIV and often do not test early enough, often enough, or at all (and so are diagnosed late),” Ed commented. “When this happens, connecting to medical care and attaining viral suppression is crucial and requires a robust, creative, and resource-intensive approach to HIV prevention, care and treatment.”

Thanks to Lifelong’s well-rounded services, the organization is able to serve as a significant support and educational resource for Gay and Bisexual men throughout Washington. Yet this is not without challenge. While the Affordable Care Act has had a drastic impact on expanding health care access for people living with chronic conditions, securing continued funding for this work has become increasingly difficult.

“HIV no longer commands the same level of public attention nor compels public interest as it did even ten years ago,” Ed stated. “And, for sure, public funding for HIVrelated care and support services continues to decline.”

As Lifelong adapts and shifts to meet the changing needs of clients and stay on top of medical advances in the field, the organization hopes to find new ways to integrate their core services and clients into a larger health care delivery system with non-HIV clients.

Providing essential support for vulnerable individuals, with a particular emphasis on access to food, housing, and health, is a critical part of Lifelong’s work moving for-

ward.

And while many living with HIV – and particularly LGBTQ people living with HIV – continue to struggle with isolation, stigma, and barriers to access, overall we have made significant gains in changing public perception and improving people’s quality of life since the mid-1980s.

“The shift has been dramatic,” commented Ed. “Increased public awareness, greater visibility and openness of people living with HIV really have had (and continue to have) positive effects across society. And the recent understanding of treatment as prevention (TasP) has changed our thinking, our behavior, and our work.”

Lifelong is poised to capitalize on this and will continue expanding upon their decades of experience to find new ways of caring for people, providing services, and collaborating more broadly to fight against illness and poverty.

When Pride Foundation made one of our first grants to Northwest AIDS Foundation in 1987, we never could have imagined the different cycles and adaptations the organization would go through to be where it is today.

Returning back to what personally connected him to this work so many years ago, Ed reflected: “Daniel, of course, is my 25 year-old story. These men, and many others, who lived in the face of this disease, are an essential part of the man I became.

Today, perhaps, the moments of hope and joy are easier, because they are so ordinary.

And I don’t think Daniel would have had it any other way.” “[Lifelong’s] work is not done,” Ed mused. “But it is not without hope.”

Ed recalled that they were able to win the fight with CTA, resulting in ACT-UP posters going up on the buses, “no doubt saving people’s lives.”

“For the next couple of years, I worked closely with Daniel on First Amendment issues,” Ed said. “I was his suit, and he changed my life. He was my age, and soon he would pass away from AIDS-related complications. To me, his life (and death) epitomizes both the madness and the measure of AIDS. I also began to work with a group of volunteer attorneys who organized the AIDS Legal Council to meet the unique legal needs of persons with AIDS (loss of job, loss of home, loss of insurance, loss of family, among so much other loss). All of this work intellectualized AIDS for me as an issue of social justice, of health care, and of civic rights.”

In 2001, Northwest AIDS Foundation merged with Chicken Soup Brigade to become Lifelong AIDS Alliance, today known as Lifelong. The organization’s mission is to empower people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS and/or other chronic conditions to lead healthier lives.

Over the years Lifelong has continued to grow and is currently serving nearly 6,500 clients in Washington annually, with a staff of 125 people. Their current services are robust, serving the full spectrum of needs related to HIV/AIDS, including HIV medical and housing case management, a food and grocery program, nutritional counseling, recovery support services, insurance access, care coordination, and prevention services.

Chicken Soup Brigade, a program of Lifelong, is the only food program in the Pacific Northwest that delivers free, wellbalanced meals that are tailored to the specific needs of people with chronic illnesses.

Ed shared that Lifelong is also “a community-based leader in shaping state and federal policy that supports funding for the HIV/AIDS community and advocating for

social change.”

In order to understand Lifelong’s current work, it is important to reflect back on how HIV/AIDS has changed over time, and how Lifelong has adapted to this shifting landscape.

In the first ten years of Northwest AIDS Foundation’s existence, its primary focus was on meeting the basic needs of people who were dying from AIDS. This meant supporting clients in their final days at home – ensuring that food, heat, and electricity were available and that people were surrounded by loved ones.

As Ed noted, “AIDS, and the rampant discrimination that followed, struck quickly and fiercely. ‘Get out of our house.’ ‘You’re fired.’ ‘I lost my insurance.’ ‘I have no money for food.’ ‘I am too weak to take care of myself.’ ‘We never want to see you again.’ ‘Don’t touch me.’ These were sometimes dark, difficult days. But as we understood the disease better, we feared less.”

The next phase of Lifelong’s work was focused around access to treatment and keeping those living with HIV/AIDS healthy and alive.

“As the disease changed, so did Lifelong, which increasingly professionalized its staff to manage the growing complexity of living with HIV and AIDS and the additional ailments that came along with the disease,” Ed reflected. “While the majority of Lifelong’s clients were (and remain) Gay men, the proportion changed as women, people of color, and youth were disproportionately affected. AIDS was no longer the Gay disease it never really was.”

In recent years, Lifelong’s work has shifted yet again, as Ed so eloquently stated, “to help clients build a future, to expect more, to be ambitious. To live forward.”

To Lifelong, that means continuing to take care of people’s basic needs, enhancing peer support services and empowerment, engaging in advocacy and leadership, and working towards developing supportive employment opportunities for those living with HIV/AIDS. Reducing the disproportionate impact

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continued from cover

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Mormon Apostle’s criticism of LGBT families underscores work still ahead to ensure full equality

Comments by oldest member of a Mormon governing board harms LGBT youth in the Church WASHINGTON DC – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, joined Equality Utah in expressing deep disappointment in recent comments by Mormon Apostle L. Tom Perry disparaging LGBT families and children as “counterfeit.”

Assertions made by Perry, 92, the oldest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Quorum of 12 Apostles, only serve to undermine common-ground progress the Church made just last month when it backed Utah’s new non-discrimination bill that extends employment and housing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The comments made by Mr. Perry and others at the church’s annual general conference last weekend are disheartening and wrong, and remind us yet again that the journey to full inclusion for LGBT people – including our families and children – is

not done,” said Jeff Krehely, Vice President and Chief Foundation Officer at HRC. “Mr. Perry needs to understand how damaging his words are to LGBT youth struggling for acceptance in the Church, and in their own Mormon families.”

“As Equality Utah executive director Troy Williams said this week, our families are not counterfeit – they are real and beautiful,” Krehely said. “We encourage Mr. Perry and his fellow Apostles to embrace the diversity that already exists within their own church, and reject the language and practice of intolerance.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. www.hrc.org

azucar

guage, including the words “God Bless” and “Mi Bautizo,” Spanish for “my baptism.”

“It’s just horrible,” Silva told The Associated Press. “It doesn’t matter if, you know, if you’re Catholic, or Jewish, or Christian, if viticus 18:2.”

I’m gay or not gay or whatever. We should Silva agreed to make two Bible-shaped all be loving each other. I mean there’s no cakes, but refused to put anti-Gay imag- reason to discriminate… ery on them. Jack then filed a complaint “If he wants to hate people, he can hate with the state agency alleging the business them not here in my bakery.” “discriminated” against him “based on my In a recent Oregon case, a bakery called creed.”

Sweet Cakes by Melissa refused to provide a The Departcake for a Lesbian ment’s Civil Rights wedding. division disWhile the ownagreed, however. ers of the Oregon In its ruling, the bakery claimed state agency found their Christian that Silva rebeliefs prevented fused to bake the them from makcakes as ordered ing the cake, they because the cushad previously tomer’s requests made divorce celincluded “derogaebration cakes tory language and and catered an imagery.” “ex-Gay” event.

The baker told In Washingthe state that “in ton, a court fined the same mana Richland florist ner [she] would $1,000 for refusnot accept [an oring to provide floMarjorie Silva – www.glaad.org der from] anyone ral arrangements wanting to make for a Gay wedding, a discriminatory cake against Christians, in violation of the state’s consumer protec[she] will not make one that discriminates tion laws. against gays,” the ruling stated.

“The evidence demonstrates that [Silva] [EDITOR’S NOTE: If you would like would deny such requests to any customer, to help Marjorie Silva, the owner of Azucar regardless of creed.”

Bakery, with her legal expenses in this case, The decision noted that Silva is Roman she is selling T-shirts with messages that Catholic and employs multiple Christian read: Because God Loves Everyone … let’s and non-Christian employees. eat cake – #Azucar Bakery; and Don’t Hate The decision also noted that the bakery’s … let’s eat cake – #Azucar Bakery. www. website includes multiple examples of cakes azucarbakery.com] decorated with Christian symbols and lancontinued from cover

6 Seattle Gay News

April 10, 2015

Madison City Council makes “nonreligion” a protected class

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Madison, Wisconsin, City Council has voted to add “nonreligion” as a protected class to the city’s equal opportunities ordinance.

The amendment was sponsored by 14 of the 20 City Council members and passed on March 31. Mayor Paul Soglin signed it into law on April 1.

The new law turns the tables on socalled “religious freedom” laws like Indiana’s controversial RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act) by asserting the freedom to be an atheist.

“This is important because I believe it is only fair that if we protect religion, in all its varieties, we should also protect nonreligion from discrimination. It’s only fair,” said Alderwoman Anita Weier, the bill’s chief sponsor.

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, praised Weir for coming up with the idea.

“We’re kicking ourselves that we never thought of it,” Gaylor said. “Nonbelievers are near the bottom of the totem poll.”

Gaylor said she hopes Madison’s move spurs a national movement that will inspire others, including the State of Wisconsin, to pass similar measures.

Gaylor confirmed that Madison is believed to be the first city in the United States to officially add atheists as a protected class.

obama

continued from cover 120,000 signatures.

Leelah’s Law commemorates Transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, who threw herself into oncoming traffic after her parents forced her to undergo so-called “conversion therapy.” The “therapy” often includes intense interrogation-like techniques, isolation, sleep-deprivation, and sometimes physical assault.

Obama was moved by the story of Alcorn’s suicide, his personal friend and senior advisor Valerie Jarrett told reporters.

“It was tragic, but I will tell you, unfortunately she has a lot of company,” Jarrett said.

“It’s not the story of one young person. It is the story of countless young people who have been subjected to this.”

President Obama will not introduce federal legislation against the practice, White House officials said on April 8, but he does support state laws to ban it. The White praised state laws against “conversion therapy” in its official statement.

“As part of their duty to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens, several states have taken their own steps to protect minors from the potentially dangerous effects of conversion therapy,” the White House said.

“California, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have all banned licensed professionals from using conversion therapy on minors. Since last year, lawmakers in 18 other states have introduced similar legislation.

“In a 2013 signing statement for his state’s legislative ban, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie expressed that ‘exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of the benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate…’

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin – Mike DeVries

According to the American Humanist Association, seven states have laws banning atheists from holding public office, though they have been ruled unenforceable by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Todd Stiefel, chairman of the Ohiobased nonprofit Openly Secular, called the Madison vote “magnificent.”

On the other hand, Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, said the Madison ordinance wasn’t necessary.

“I figured it was an April Fool’s joke. Unfortunately it’s not an April Fool’s joke,” Appling said. “It’s very Madisonian.”

Surveys by the Pew Research Center and Public Religion Research Institute of Americans suggest that 20% or more of Americans and more than a third of those under 30 describe themselves as unaffiliated with any particular religion. Only about 3% of adults identify as atheists, however.

“In February 2015, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that advertising a service that could change a person’s sexuality is fraudulent and violates the state’s consumer protection laws.”

LGBT organizations reacted with praise for the president.

“We are thrilled that President Obama will call for an end to the use of conversion therapy on minors,” GLSEN said.

“It is a harmful and discredited practice that uses rejection, shame and psychological abuse aimed at changing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Fifteen years ago, major medical, psychiatric and counseling associations rallied to GLSEN’s side to beat back attempts to force this insidious practice into our schools. We salute them for their pioneering stance and thank the President for his leadership in protecting youth from these damaging and misguided practices.”

“We are ecstatic that President Barack Obama spoke out against this harmful practice that psychologically terrorizes too many perfectly healthy LGBT youth and stigmatizes them as mentally ill,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen.

“The President’s wise words gave momentum to efforts to prohibit fringe practitioners from traumatizing vulnerable LGBT adolescents and calling it therapy.”

“Tonight the President lent the full weight of his leadership to the work our community has been doing for years to protect young people and their families,” Lambda Legal added.

“He joins not only Lambda Legal and our sister organizations, but every leading medical and therapeutic organization, as they have unanimously and unequivocally recognized that LGBT people’s identities should not be targeted for change.”

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California prisons must provide surgery for Trans prisoner, federal judge says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal judge has ordered the California state prison system to provide sex reassignment surgery for a Transgender inmate.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar ruled on April 1 that California violated the constitutional rights of inmate Micelle-Lael Norsworthy when it denied her access to surgery in 2012.

Norsworthy’s prison doctor and her psychiatrist agreed that surgery was medically necessary in her case. She is already receiving counseling and hormone therapy.

The California Department of Corrections argued that since she had already been waiting for surgery for several years, it could not be considered medically necessary.

The judge disagreed, however, and ordered them to provide surgery as soon as possible.

The prison “chose to ignore the clear recommendations of her mental health provider” and “instead of following his recommendations, they removed her from his care,” Tigar said in his ruling.

Norsworthy was represented by the Transgender Law Center.

“No one should be denied the medical care they need. There is a clear medical consensus that health care related to gender transition is necessary – and life-saving – for many people,” Kris Hayashi, Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center,

said in a statement: “This decision confirms that it’s unlawful to deny essential treatment to transgender people. With this historic decision, Michelle will now be able to get the medical care she desperately needs.”

“The court absolutely got it right. Michelle has been suffering for years because of the prison system’s unconstitutional policy against providing transgender inmates the medical care they need,” the group’s Legal Director Ilona Turner added.

“This is a tremendous victory for her and for all transgender people incarcerated in California.”

Tigar’s ruling runs counter to a December 2014 appellate ruling in a similar case.

In that decision, the First U.S. Circuit Court reversed a lower court decision, and held

Micelle-Lael Norsworthy – www.inquisitr.com

that a Trans prisoner in Massachusetts, Michelle Kosilek, did not have a right to reassignment surgery.

Kosilek has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Tigar’s district is in California, which is in the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, and so he is not bound by the First Circuit’s ruling in Kosilek’s case.

If California does not appeal Tigar’s decision, or if the Ninth Circuit upholds it on appeal, it will mark the first time that federal courts have ordered surgery for a Trans inmate.

Transgender employee sues Forever 21 for harassment wore my mom’s high heels and clothes…I wrestled with it,” Daskalakis told the NY Daily News, but “I work hard. I figured my work ethic could trump any discrimination.”

That January she told her supervisors about the transition, and “began dressing in a more traditionally feminine manner, such as wearing more form-fitting clothing and applying more traditionally feminine makeup.”

Co-workers and customers were supportive, Das-

kalakis said.

“They’d say, ‘You look great!’ and were very nice,” but her immediate supervisor, Patrick Walmsley, began treating her with “increasing contempt,” the lawsuit charges.

“You’re still a male, so you need to abide by the male dress code,” Walmsley told her.

He also yelled at her in front of coworkers and called her “useless” and “disgusting,”

the suit says.

He also passed on complaints from another supervisor, who called Daskalakis a “hot mess,” and accused her of slacking off, a charge she denied.

“I said, ‘I haven’t changed anything. Your perspective has changed,’” she recalled.

Daskalakis then complained to the company’s HR department, but said her calls were never returned.

She says she was fired in January 2015, and when she demanded an explanation she was told to call HR, which has yet to call her back.

“I was devastated,” she told the Daily News. “You put all your hard work into working for one company, and they respond by being ruthless. It hurt.”

Her suit, which was filed April 1 in Brooklyn federal court, seeks unspecified money damages.

Daskalakis’ lawyer, David Gottlieb, said his client was targeted for abuse because of her gender identity.

“The transgender community faces a variety of challenges, and it is disgraceful for employers to create additional hardship by discriminating against employees simply because of how they express and identify their gender,” he said.

“I just hope I get justice for how I was treated,” Daskalakis added. “People in my position need to find their voice, and customers should know who they’re shopping from.”

April 10, 2015

Seattle Gay News 11

Alexia Daskalakis is suing Forever 21 for harassment – Susan Watts/New York Daily News

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Transgender woman has filed suit against her former employer, Forever 21, saying managers at the trendy retailer harassed her after she began transitioning and then fired her without explanation.

Alexia Daskalakis had worked at a For-

ever 21 store in Brooklyn, New York, for four years before she began transitioning in January 2014. Her career was on an upward track, and she received a promotion from sales associate to visual merchandiser.

She’d always felt that she was a woman, however, and decided she needed to transition.

“I always played with Barbie dolls, and

Visit us online www.sgn.org

France names Gay ambassador to Vatican City Curia calls move a “provocation”

Laurent Stefanini is the new Gay ambassador to Vatican City – brightsblog.wordpress.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

ni, was approved by the French Council of Ministers – the equivalent of the U.S. cabinet – on January 5, and the post has been vaFrance has decided that it will send an cant since the departure of the old ambassaopenly Gay ambassador to Vatican City, dor on March 1, but so far Stefanini has not home base of the Roman Catholic Church. taken up his new duties.

The new ambassador, Laurent StefaniAccording to the Swiss website Blasting-

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April 10, 2015

News.com, some members of the Roman Curia have labeled the appointment a “provocation,” and the new French ambassador may be unwelcome at the Vatican.

Stefanini certainly comes with impeccable Ludovine LaRochere opposes Stefaninis’ new appointment diplomatic credentials.

– Loic Venance/AFP He has been serving as cial diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Chief of Protocol for the With only 842 residents and an area of French Republic since 2010. He also comes 110 acres, Vatican City is the smallest counwith a letter of recommendation from the try in the world.

Its status as an independent Catholic Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Ancountry dates to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 dré Vingt-Trois. in which Italy recognized papal sovereignty On the other hand, Ludovine LaRoover the walled complex of buildings. chere, the head of the French organization Prior to the unification of Italy in 1870, Manif pour Tout – which has organized the Pope controlled a swath of territory in mass demonstrations against same-sex central Italy.

In the 1929 treaty, Pope Pius XI marriage – wrote to the Papal Nuncio in Paris objecting to Stefanini’s appointment. finally recognized Italy as a unified country The nuncio is the Pope’s diplomatic rep- in return for recognition of the Vatican as resentative in Paris. Like many Catholic- an independent entity. majority countries, France maintains offi-

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