SGN July 11, 2014 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 28 Volume 42

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Jim Gaylord, once fired by Tacoma schools for being Gay, now gets apology and honors muckrack.com / King 5

Jim Gaylord at his home in Tacoma

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Forty-two years after being fired from a teaching job for being Gay, Jim Gaylord will finally get an apology and honors from the school board that sacked him.

On July 13, Gaylord, now 76, will get a formal public apology and appreciation from Tacoma School Board President Kurt Miller at Oasis Youth Center’s Proud Outloud event.

Proud Outloud is an annual fundraiser for Oasis, and will be held

Gaylord never returned to teaching, but continues to live in the same Tacoma house he bought as a young teacher. He got a job as a Pierce County librarian, a position he found less stressful than teaching.

Over the years, memory of his ordeal, not uncommon for those days, faded in the community, if not for Gaylord himself. Then he was interviewed as part of an Oasis project to connect LGBT seniors and youth.

Oasis Executive Director Seth Kirby took Gaylord’s story to the Tacoma School District, and asked if they would consider making a formal apology for Gaylord’s firing. They not only agreed, but also took steps to beef up their nondiscrimination policies.

“Most of us know what it feels like to get a real apology – meaningful words that tell us someone really means they are sorry,” Oasis said in a press release announcing Proud Outloud. “And regardless of how much time has gone by, it’s never too late to take ownership and apologize.”

New SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole to develop community policing plans for each neighborhood

Ted S. Warren / AP Photo

Changing the ban, blood drive on Capitol Hill

at the Stadium High School Performing Arts Center, 111 North “E” Street, in Tacoma. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Oasis is Tacoma’s drop-in, support, and resource center for LGBTQ youth.

Gaylord began teaching in 1960, and by 1972 was a popular instruc-

tor teaching senior social studies.

He was never out on the job, until a random event brought his sexual orientation to the attention of school administrators.

That year, a Gay friend of his introduced Gaylord to a high school student who was having problems with his sexual identity. The boy and Gaylord talked without Gaylord revealing that he was Gay. Sometime later, the boy tried to kill himself. Police investigating the suicide attempt interviewed the boy, who told them he’d spoken with Gaylord and believed the teacher was also Gay. The police then informed Gaylord’s superiors, and they fired him. Gaylord appealed to the Tacoma School Board, but they upheld the firing.

Gaylord sued the school district, but the trial judge also upheld his firing. In 1977 Gaylord’s appeal went to the Washington Supreme Court, but the high court also agreed that the school district was entitled to fire Gaylord. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal.

way) from 1 to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 11. Make a statement. Stand up and SPD Chief Kathleen O’Toole and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray say that modern science no longer Seattle Gay Blood Drive – suggests that Gay blood is bad blood. by Shaun Knittel “I plan to spend a lot of time in each neighborhood of the city.”

Friday, July 11 www.gayblooddrive.com. the field, interacting with police With all of the trouble that SPD SGN Associate Editor The Seattle Gay Blood Drive will officers on the front lines, and has gotten itself into over the last be held on Capitol Hill on Friday, The fear dates back to 1983. Some Newly appointed Seattle Po- members of the community we decade or so – particularly the last July 11. Seattle joins The National patients being treated for hemo- lice Chief Kathleen O’Toole, serve,” O’Toole said. “I’ve always four years – Chief O’Toole’s mesGay Blood Drive, which is taking philia started displaying AIDS- who has been in charge of the felt that people living and working sage is a welcome one. place in more than 60 cities on Fri- related symptoms after receiving Seattle Police Department for a in our neighborhoods have the The new chief says she has heard day, July 11. Seattle Gay News, along routine blood transfusions. It was little over two weeks, told Seattle most valuable perspectives on the that people want more officers on with Social Outreach Seattle, are ask- a nightmare. HIV-positive donors Gay News at the 2014 Pride Pa- challenges we face. With the input bike and foot patrols, more officer ing Gay and Bisexual men to bring were unwittingly infecting the na- rade that she is seeking citizen of cops on the beat, and members hires that reflect the ethnicity of their eligible donors to the drive location at input to create a policing plan of the community, we’ll develop Seattle Central College (1701 Broadcommunity policing plans for see Blood page 5 for each community. see SPD CHIEF page 6

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

2 Seattle Gay News

July 11, 2014

Celebrating 41 Years!

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July 11, 2014

Seattle Gay News 3

A big move and a gala dinner celebrate the 30th anniversary of

The Chicken Soup Brigade Dear Friends of the Gay Community: The Chicken Soup Brigade supporters enjoyed the 30th anniversary and a successful first annual gala fundraiser with a Summer Supper at SODO Park on Saturday. June 7th.

The huge warehouse type building was filled with more than 100 generous partygoers/supporters enjoying wine, cocktails and a chicken dinner.

Silent auctions and drawings were held for various items including a huge table of desserts. Fundraising has always been a successful undertaking, from our early “Care to Dance” to ongoing Gay Bingo and others.

Proceeds will be put to good use with the new plan already in progress to move part of the Chicken Soup kitchen and food preparation to Georgetown while maintaining food distribution and other client services at the present location.

It is hoped that the successful thrift store will also maintain its present location, although presently I haven’t heard of a concrete plan for the store. The major reason for the Georgetown move is getting “more bang for the buck” in rents or leases, thereby providing more monies for client services.

The Chicken Soup Brigade/Lifelong AIDS

Alliance is one of the largest support venues for people with AIDS and also for some low income patients with health difficulties, whose services are maintained with the help of fundraisers and many volunteers including my 17 years of fundraising with “Jars in Bars” and businesses providing a half million dollars during the early days.

Best wishes, Leonard (Lenny) Larson Long-time volunteer and supporter of The Chicken Soup Brigade – Founder of the “Jars in Bars” Project

The Coming Pushback Editor: The movie line “writers write” from Throw Momma from the Train (Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, 1987) has always cracked me up. The bare truth in two words.

Listen up queers, bigots hate.

Yes, Ed Murray was elected mayor of Seattle. Yes, Obama pens federal rules that include LGBT people in healthcare, immigration and more. Yes, corporations advertise for civil equality and recruit liberal customers with messages of diversity and inclusion. Yes, pride celebrations across Washington state and the nation rocked our June with significant, anniversary pride events. Yes, equal marriage laws are on a huge national and international roll.

Yet bigots hate. Not all of the death-tohomosexual whackos with government authority are in Uganda and Russia. Your future civic peace is not assured. Your kid’s future and the future of all LGBT youngins to come are not guaranteed to be rosy.

Despite living during an era of warm fuzzies for the majority of LGBT folks, bigotry is not vanquished from our nation, nor from your own neighborhood. It simmers.

You’ve perhaps heard of the analogy of politics as a swinging pendulum, alternat-

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July 11, 2014

ing from side to side, right-wing to leftwing to right-wing again, with a goodly amount of time somewhere in the middle; America’s comfort zone.

The losers amidst today’s liberal pendulum swing are angry, my friends. Some of the oldest enemies of queer rights and legal justice are fading or gone; oftentimes literally dead. But angry people not yet formally associated with each other are feeling kicked in the stomach, as if their country has been hijacked by liberals (again), who they thought they had slain when the Democratic Party became centrist and business-focused.

U.S. politics all of a sudden doesn’t look like a rightist fantasyland, and enemies of civil equality will find each other for comfort and strength. You’ll see them appear in local elections for school boards or community councils; then for legislatures.

They’ll ramp up legal challenges to promote a governing philosophy through the courts that conservative officeholders can affirm through legislation. They’ll coalesce into a voting block bigger than their current angst and apathy. They’ll be meaner and more effective than their current train wreck of a national party.

For some of us battle-hardened veterans of GLBT activism, I say go ahead and rest, if it’s your time. You’ve earned it. Life is not about a never-ending struggle at the expense of your own happiness.

The pendulum of U.S. politics is on your side. Enjoy it. And vote.

For perhaps the majority of younger folks, get off your butts now. You may not personally know the people who are angry at you for being you, and who are frantic that you are currently winning most legal, civic and mega-business battles, but after they’ve worked for a decade to push the pendulum to the right, you’ll see them in new organizations, a new social movement, a new political party, and on your election ballots.

What will you have done during that same decade?

(Care to disagree? I’m all ears.)

Curt Pavola Curt Pavola is a former city councilmember for the City of Olympia, WA, (...where democracy is a way of life...) and a long-time advocate for positive social change, equal justice under the law and forging fulfilling lives for queer folk like him.

Celebrating 41 Years!

BLOOD

continued from cover tional blood supply. Out of those tragic days a poster child was born when 14-year-old hemophiliac Ryan White put a public face to the scourge after receiving infected blood.

And that was all she wrote. It was decided that men who have sex with men, or MSM as we are now called, were banned for life from donating blood.

How much has changed since the dark days of the epidemic that killed so many and made every day men and women into heroes or angels as they held the frail hand of a friend, loved one – hell – even a stranger in the last moments of their life as AIDS ravaged the body, the mind, the soul.

A lot (obviously); for one thing the FDA had no way of testing blood or plasma for HIV prior to March 1985, but they do now.

In 1985, pressured to take action, much of the world followed America’s example and banned their Gay men from donating blood.

Currently, in addition to the United States, several other countries still have lifetime bans against Gay blood donors, including France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, and Denmark.

But all of that is set to change. Modern science is marvelous and while there will always be the doomsday AIDS Inc. groups and hypochondriac patients who fear the very letters H, I, V, and A, I, D, S, recently other parts of the world have started to reconsider the policy’s relevance.

For example, Italy and Spain no longer specifically exclude Gay men, while Australia, Brazil, and Japan defer one year from sexual contact. In 2011, the United Kingdom replaced its lifetime ban with a one-year deferral. And last May, Canada reversed its lifetime ban by cutting it to a five-year deferral.

The fact is there hasn’t been an HIV transmission from a plasma-derived product since 1987.

Current blood testing effectiveness According to Men’s Health magazine, blood tests are among the many marvels of

modern medicine. They are the crux of every argument for overturning the ban on Gay donors worldwide.

When the first HIV tests arrived in 1985, they were relatively rudimentary, designed to detect high levels of antibodies in the blood – which was only effective if HIV had evolved beyond its “window period.” If the infection was new, it could go undetected.

“There was a 45-day window, approximately, between when we believed a donor was infected and how long it took them to produce antibodies,” says Susan Stramer, Ph.D., executive scientific officer of the American Red Cross and president of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).

That changed in 1999 thanks to a faster and far more accurate process called Nucleic Acid Testing – NAT, for short. Unlike the EIA test, the NAT can detect the amount of actual virus in the bloodstream, not just the antibodies produced to fight it. “People often say it’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” says Attila Lorincz, Ph.D., professor of molecular epidemiology at Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London and author of Nucleic Acid Testing for Human Disease. “Now just imagine if you could send millions of tiny robots into the haystack to find that needle for you. When one of them finds the virus, we instruct it to make roughly 100 million copies. It’s like a miniature nuclear explosion inside the test tube. All of a sudden, a positive result becomes very easy for us to see.”

Literally, every sample of blood collected at blood banks in the United States is now screened this way for at least eight diseases – including HIV, HTLV, hepatitis B and C, West Nile virus, Chagas disease, and syphilis, and in some cases cytomegalovirus (CMV) – using a combination of NAT and antibody tests. And as those tests have improved, so has the amount of time it takes to tell if a particular sample of blood is clean.

Within seven to 10 days we can say with 99.9 percent accuracy whether or not a blood sample is HIV-positive. The chance of an HIV-

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positive blood sample testing negative after the seven to 10-day window is about one in 2 million. And within that one in 2 million chance, it takes a week or two to diagnose HIV, not a lifetime. So, you see, there is no doubt that this ban doesn’t stand on good footing any longer.

FDA operates, last considered changing the ban in June 2010. After reviewing the data, the FDA’s Blood Safety and Availability Advisory Committee said, once again, that they found the proposed changes “suboptimal” and voted to keep the current policy in place.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human The FDA’s perspective and Services for Blood Safety and Availability Adrecommendation visory Committee voted in 2010 not to recThe FDA still considers a level of risk – ommend a change to the FDA policy. They however miniscule it may seem to the aver- met again on the issue in 2012 but once again age person – to be too high. failed to make any new recommendations.

“During the ‘window period’ a person infected with HIV may not have enough virus or Gay Blood Drive antibodies to be detected by tests. They could Gay Blood Drive is a new national activtest negative even when they’re HIV-positive ist group website (www.gayblooddrive.com) and infectious,” said Curtis Allen, an FDA calling for a National Gay Blood Drive. The spokesman, to Men’s Health. “Also, the blood slogan is simple: “On July 11 donate in place that has already been collected and stored in a of the Gay & Bisexual men who can’t.” Gay blood bank may be given accidentally to a pa- Blood Drive officials believe that on July 11, tient in error before testing is completed.” a nationwide blood drive will take place to The AABB, America’s Blood Centers bring attention to the ban and help save lives.

(ABC), and the Red Cross support a one-year “Gay and Bisexual men will show their deferral – the “window period” never lasts as willingness to contribute by bringing allies long as one year. The blood banks argue the to donate in their place,” writes the comtests and safeguards can easily detect HIV pany online. “This grassroots effort to create and controls are in place in blood banks to change cannot happen without you.” prevent the release of inappropriate units.

In other words a good showing is needed.

The FDA counters that errors could occur.

According to reports, the stalemate bePublic Health – Seattle & King County tween the FDA and the blood banks dates issues statement back to 1997 – three years before one of the In response to a request from the Seattle worst blood shortages in American history. Gay News, Public Health – Seattle & King In 2000, those shortages led to postpone- County issued the following statement on ments of elective surgeries in Philadelphia, Thursday, July 10, regarding the FDA’s blood Atlanta, and Los Angeles. donation policy: “At the time, all hospitals combined need“Public Health – Seattle & King County ed about 80,000 units of blood daily,” reports urges the Food and Drug Administration Men’s Health, “but the Red Cross could de- (FDA) to review its current policy banning liver only 36,000.” all men who have sex with men from donatStudents and even administrators on high ing blood. Public Health is committed to school and college campuses across the supporting the safety of our nation’s blood country (where blood banks collect almost supply and endorses the FDA’s perspective 20 percent of their donations) have begun that the overarching priority in setting blood to protest the ban. And the momentum has donation policy should be the health of only continued to build. transfusion recipients. At the same time, we According to reports, the Department of see Blood page 21 Health and Human Services, under which the

July 11, 2014

Seattle Gay News 5

The Grill on Broadway credit card thieves caught after years-long investigation dailymail.co.uk

The Grill on Broadway

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor “Thanks for the memories …” that is the sentiment that former owner of one of the Gayborhood’s most recognizable eateries, The Grill on Broadway, Matthew Walsh left as a goodbye note when the grill cooked its last meal and served its last drink on April 28, 2012.

And there were many memories created

at The Grill on Broadway (and formerly The Broadway Grill) since it opened in 1991.

When the Pride Parade was still on the Hill, floats passed by its doors. Birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated within its walls.

The Grill on Broadway was a part of the very fabric that made up Capitol Hill in those days. So yes, memories were made.

But not all memories are good. And, unfortunately for The Grill’s customers and (as it

turned out) management and owners, a bad memory was forged in 2010 when someone hacked into the credit card banking system and stole from hundreds of The Grill’s customers.

What’s more? They cleaned out the restaurant’s operational bank accounts as well.

Years went by and federal investigations all seemed to go nowhere. It was surely an imperfect crime – hacking is nothing new. But it was, as it seemed, pulled off perfectly.

Or was it?

Early this week, federal agents reported they have brought down the leader of an international computer hacking ring that targeted several businesses in Seattle and across the country.

“We lost 40 percent of return customers overnight,” CJ Saretto, one of the former business partners of The Grill on Broadway, told KIRO 7. “We spent two and a half years trying to win those customers back.”

Saretto and Walsh had only owned The Grill for three months when the massive blow was dealt to the company’s reputation – and capital – as scores of customers turned up complaining their credit card numbers had been stolen.

“And we lost the trust of our customers.

That was huge, and for us, it was an unrecoverable blow to the business,” Saretto said.

Now, the major breakthrough in the case explains what happened. Federal agents

have arrested a suspected Russian cyberthief who they accuse of illegally accessing computer systems across the United States.

“There is no refuge,” said U.S Attorney Jenny Durkan. “If you are going to commit crimes against people in the United States, being in a foreign country is not going to protect you.”

Durkan said between 2009 and 2011, Roman Seleznev hacked into retailers’ computer systems and inserted malware to collect customer credit card data.

“You’ll see these hackers will look for the most vulnerable parts of a system, and often that will be the point of sale, places where they swipe the credit cards,” Durkan said.

Seleznev is accused of then selling those card numbers to other identity thieves to earn millions of dollars. Prosecutors said Seleznev stole data from several Mad Pizza locations, from the Grand Central Baking Company in Pioneer Square and from other businesses across the country.

To The Grill on Broadway’s credit, once the problem was discovered, they took steps to correct it.

“And it never did happen again at The Grill, but once the damage was done it was pretty tough,” Saretto said.

Currently, Seleznev is in federal custody on the island of Guam and will eventually be brought to Seattle to face charges.

Short locally-produced documentary about the discriminatory policies of the Boy Scouts of America premiered online July 1

The film was made by award-winning Ballard High School film students Leo Pfeifer, Duncan Gowdy and Coleman Andersen. Between them, their films have been honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and various regional, national and international festivals including the Seattle International Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival.

seattlepi.com

(l to r) SPD Chief Kathleen O’ Toole, Mayor Ed Murray, and Interim Chief Harry Bailey

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Youtube

Clipped Wings, a short documentary about the discriminatory policies of the BSA, tells the story of Liam Easton-Calabria, a candidate for the rank of Eagle who came out before the BSA allowed Gay scouts. The film also follows Geoff McGrath, a scoutmaster who was ejected from scouting because of his sexuality.

To see the film, visit http://www.youtube. com/clippedwingsfilm

Geoff McGrath in Clipped Wings

SPD CHIEF

continued from cover neighborhoods, and more open lines of communication with the precincts.

O’Toole also stated her four main priorities: restoring public trust, restoring department pride and professionalism, addressing crime and disorder in our neighborhoods, and managing effectively and efficiently.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and O’Toole seem to echo each other. Recently, Murray told the media, “Public safety is more than just about police reform. Public safety, he said, is also about dealing with homelessness, building trust between police and communities, having appropriate social services in place, and having parks and recreation centers offer programs, particularly to the youth.”

“We suggested a number of plans we’re going to develop by neighborhood…[for] public safety,” Murray said. Chief O’Toole will be leading the effort in setting up these plans.

Murray has also mentioned doing “safety walks” with police and council members throughout neighborhoods to identify where problems are.

Plans for “community policing” is one of the top priorities for Murray. Getting the police officers out of cars and getting to know people in the neighborhoods is one step toward public safety, he said. Other plans include expanding the community center hours and teen youth programs.

Murray, who is usually praised for working with the feds, has said that Seattle would not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Our police are not going to be involved in helping the federal government…[and] will not be used to arrest anybody simply because of their legal status,” Murray said.

As for O’Toole and her ability to lead the police department, Murray has full confidence in her.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Supreme Court should STFU, federal judge says breitbart.com

Judge Richard Kopf

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal district judge has thrown in his two cents in the Hobby Lobby controversy, and he is not kind to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On his personal blog, Judge Richard Kopf says “the Court is now causing more harm (division) to our democracy than good by deciding hot button cases that the Court has the power to avoid. As the kids say, it is time for the Court to stfu.”

Kopf helpfully included a link to Urban Dictionary, which defines STFU as an “acronym used for the phrase ‘shut the fuck up’ for efficiency reasons.”

On June 30, a 5-4 majority of the high court ruled that some for-profit corporations may claim a First Amendment religious freedom exemption from the Affordable Care Act. “To the average person, the result looks stupid and smells worse,” Kopf wrote on his blog.

“To most people, the decision looks stupid ’cause corporations are not persons, all the legal mumbo jumbo notwithstanding. The decision looks misogynist because the majority were all men. It looks partisan because all were appointed by a Republican. The decision looks religiously motivated because each member of the majority belongs to the Catholic church, and that religious organization is opposed to contraception. While ‘looks’ don’t mat-

ter to the logic of the law (and I am not saying the Justices are actually motivated by such things), all of us know from experience that appearances matter to the public’s acceptance of the law.”

The court, Kopf says, should simply have declined to hear the Hobby Lobby case, which they are empowered to do.

“Had the Court sat on the sidelines, I don’t think any significant harm would have occurred,” Kopf wrote. “The most likely result is that one or more of the political branches of government would have worked something out.”

Kopf was appointed to the federal bench

by President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

He is best known for a massive 474-page opinion in Carhart et al v. Ashcroft, striking down a ban on late-term abortion. His ruling was upheld on appeal by the Eight Circuit Court, but reversed by a 5-4 decision of the Supreme Court.

Kopf also dismissed a 2007 suit over the use of the word “rape” in a Nebraska state rape prosecution. Tory Bowen, the victim of the alleged rape, was barred by the trial judge from describing the action as “rape” or “sexual assault,” and told to use the word “intercourse” instead.

She then sued Nebraska Judge Jeffre Cheuvront in federal court for violating her First Amendment right of free speech. Kopf dismissed the case, saying Bowen had failed to demonstrate that her suit was not “frivolous.”

More Hobby Lobby fallout

Senator Patty Murray leads drive to overrule SCOTUS on contraceptives

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

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tol Hill news conference just off the Senate floor. “People are going to have to walk down here and vote, and if they vote with the five men on the Supreme Court, I think they are going to be treated unfavorably come November with the elections.”

Representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY),

Diana Degette (D-CO), and Jerry Nadler (DNY) will introduce the companion bill in the House, but the legislation faces long odds in there, since it is controlled by anti-choice Republicans. House Speaker John Boehner described the Hobby Lobby decision last week as “a victory for religious freedom.”

AP

Washington’s Senator Patty Murray is leading an effort by Congressional Democrats to override the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case.

In its June 30 ruling, the Supreme Court said that some for-profit corporations may claim a First Amendment religious exemption from the Affordable Car Act. The federal rule requiring employers to provide contraceptive coverage for female employees was unlawful, the court found, because it violates the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That law says that the government “shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” unless the burden is “the least restrictive means” to advance “a compelling governmental interest.”

The court also ruled that a familyowned for-profit corporation has the same rights to “the exercise of religion” as an individual would have.

Murray and her Democratic colleagues in the Senate want to ensure that women have access to coverage for birth control even if they work for businesses that have religious objections to contraception.

“Your health care decisions are not your boss’s business,” Murray said in a statement. “Since the Supreme Court decided it will not protect women’s access to health care, I will.”

Her bill, co-authored by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO), would require for-profit corporations like Hobby Lobby Stores to

provide and pay for contraceptive coverage, along with other preventive services, under the Affordable Care Act. Murray and Udall were joined by 35 cosponsors, including Washington’s junior Senator Maria Cantwell.

Murray’s bill criticizes the Supreme Court’s majority opinion and overrides it by declaring that “employers may not discriminate against their female employees” in coverage of preventive health services.

To this end, it provides that an employer “shall not deny coverage of a specific health care item or service” where coverage is required under any provision of federal law.

It also says this requirement shall apply to employers notwithstanding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bill would not amend that law. It explicitly preserves federal rules that provide an exemption for churches and other houses of worship that have religious objections to providing coverage for some or all contraceptives.

In addition, the bill preserves an “accommodation” devised by President Obama for nonprofit religious organizations, like colleges, hospitals, and charities that have religious objections.

The measure could be on the Senate floor as early as next week, Senate Democrats said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (DNV) vowed to bring the measure up “sooner rather than later,” and force opponents to vote on it before the current Senate work period ends in early August.

“This Hobby Lobby decision is outrageous,” Reid said Wednesday in a Capi-

Senator Patty Murray

July 11, 2014

Seattle Gay News 7

Kentucky marriage ban falls lgbtqnation.com

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II

Gay and Lesbian couples to marry.

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II said that Kentucky’s voter-approved 2004 A federal court judge ruled on July 1 that constitutional amendment and a 1998 statKentucky’s ban on same-sex marriages is ute violate the equal protection clause of the unconstitutional, and the state must allow Fourteenth Amendment because they deny

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

same-sex couples estate taxes, leave from work under the Family and Medical Leave Act, family insurance coverage, and the ability to adopt children as a couple.

“Perhaps most importantly,” he added, the Kentucky law denies same-sex couples the “intangible and emotional benefits of civil marriage.”

“In America, even sincere and long-held religious beliefs do not trump the constitutional rights of those who happen to have been out-voted,” Heyburn II added.

There is “no conceivable legitimate purpose” for Kentucky’s ban on same-sex marriage, Heyburn said, and he dismissed the argument advanced by Kentucky Governor Steve Bashear that opposite-sex marriages lead to procreation and therefore a stable birthrate and economic stability for the state.

“These arguments are not those of serious people,” Heyburn wrote in his decision.

Heyburn said that Gays and Lesbians are a “disadvantaged class” and laws treating them differently require heightened scrutiny, just as those relating to women as a class would. That in turn required the state to show that the Kentucky’s Gay marriage ban is “substantially related to an important governmental object.”

Beshear’s attorneys had shown “no rational relation between the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the commonwealth’s asserted interest in promoting natural-

ly procreative marriages,” the judge concluded.

Heyburn stayed the ruling until the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decides marriage cases from Kentucky and three other states.

Oral arguments are scheduled for August 6.

The present case before Heyburn was brought by two couples, Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysunza, who have lived together for 34 years, and Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James, who have been together for ten years.

Heyburn said that Love and Ysunza had suffered harm because Love’s heart surgery had to be delayed last summer in order to prepare power of attorney documents allowing Ysunza the right to make emergency medical decisions for him.

Blanchard and James were harmed, the judge said, because they were unable to adopt children as a couple, which they would have been able to do had they been an opposite-sex couple.

When Blanchard and James applied for a marriage license on January 23, 2013 and were denied by the county clerk, they refused to leave the clerk’s office and were eventually cited for trespassing. A jury later convicted them but only fined them a penny.

In a separate case, Heyburn ruled in February that Kentucky must recognize lawful same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.

Since that decision, eight federal judges and one federal appeals court have struck down state laws banning same-sex marriage.

NY Governor announces plan to end HIV/AIDS

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July 11, 2014

against social injustice,” Gay Men’s Health Crisis CEO Kelsey Louie said. “The plan to end AIDS can hopefully result in a dramatic decrease in new infections among MSMs and transgender women, especially within the low income communities of color, some of our hardest hit populations.”

Housing Works CEO Charles King said,

“This step by Governor Cuomo, setting a clear goal to end the AIDS crisis in New York State, is absolutely courageous. In doing so, the Governor is reshaping the way we think about the AIDS epidemic and is setting a new standard for leaders of other jurisdictions in the United States and, indeed, around the world.”

Getty

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious plan to eradicate HIV/AIDS in his state in a June 30 press release.

“Thirty years ago, New York was the epicenter of the AIDS crisis – today I am proud to announce that we are in a position to be the first state in the nation committed to ending this epidemic,” Cuomo said. “New York State has reached an important milestone in controlling the AIDS epidemic.”

Cuomo’s “Bending the Curve” initiative aims to eliminate HIV/AIDS in New York State by 2020 by doing three things: • Identifying undiagnosed HIV-positive persons, • Ensuring access to antiretroviral medications, and • Providing access to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for high-risk populations.

Cuomo’s plan would also streamline the process for ordering HIV tests during regular medical checkups and allow data gathered by the health department to be shared with healthcare providers, thus minimizing the number of patients that go without care.

In addition to providing the necessary medical support to curtail the epidemic, “Bending The Curve” also seeks to provide critical quality of life support, an aspect of HIV treatment that is often overlooked, the governor noted.

With “[a] 30 percent cap of the proportion of an HIV patient’s income that can be spent on rent,” the plan aims at eliminating situations in which people are forced to choose between healthcare and having a place to live.

According to the Governor’s press release, “the end of the HIV epidemic” means that

point when “the total number of new HIV infections has fallen below the number of HIV-related deaths.”

“The goal is ambitious, but grounded in reality,” said Mark Harrington, executive director of the Treatment Action Group, an AIDS research and policy think tank. “[New York State has seen] an almost 40 percent decrease in new HIV diagnoses in the last decade, with fewer new infections each year, while nationally there has been no decline in the annual number of new HIV infections. With continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the State’s successful Medicaid reform, we’ve gained the momentum necessary to put more people living with, and at risk for, HIV into primary care and the support services necessary to achieve success.”

Although the number of new HIV infections has been declining for a number of years, the total number of New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS has continued to increase. This is because people with HIV now live a normal life span and the number of HIV/AIDS deaths is also decreasing.

While the plan represents a major financial investment for New York State, if successful it will also allow for significant savings in healthcare costs. Each averted HIV infection saves almost $400,000 in lifetime medical costs, and by 2020, “Bending the Curve” will save the State an additional $317 million and prevent more than 3,400 new cases of HIV. HIV activists and social service providers applauded the Governor’s announcement.

“We applaud the Governor for his decisive leadership and commitment to end AIDS as an epidemic on this 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a rallying cry to fight back

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Celebrating 41 Years!

The end of ENDA? National LGBT groups pull the plug

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Still others took up the “add the four words” strategy, calling for an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that would add protections for “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

In any case, the possibility that any legal protection for LGBT rights would get past the resolutely anti-Gay Republican House leadership seems remote at this point. The real issue may be what language goes into the still-awaited executive order from President Obama barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.

HRC all alone Of the major LGBT national organizations, only HRC did not reject ENDA. On July 9, HRC President Chad Griffin issued a statement calling on Congress to both “improve” the legislation and pass a more comprehensive bill.

“We call on our allies in Congress to improve [ENDA’s] overly broad religious exemption,” Griffin wrote. “[R]egardless of whether or not ENDA passes in this session of Congress, it is time for the LGBT movement to throw its weight behind a fully comprehensive LGBT civil rights bill. A bill that, at long last, would bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in all core civil rights categories – including housing, public accommodations, credit, education and, if ENDA fails to pass, in employment.

“This is a visionary idea that Congresswoman Bella Abzug brought to Congress in 1974. Its time has come. ... [W]e also can’t ignore that somewhere in between the introduction of this version of ENDA and today, a revolution has happened in the fight for LGBT equality...We cannot and will not ignore the imperative of this moment.” bilerico.com

ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act), the legislation that was once at the core of the LGBT political agenda, is becoming a relic of a bygone era.

Since it was first introduced by Congress members Bella Abzug (D-NY) and Ed Koch (D-NY) in 1974, successive versions of the bill sought to ban discrimination against LGBT workers.

A version that excluded Transgender workers passed the House in 2007, but was never taken up by the Senate. A Trans-inclusive version passed the Senate in 2013, but was blocked by the Republican House leadership.

In the end, it was not legislative wrangling that made LGBT groups turn their backs on ENDA, but the bill’s broad religious exemptions, once thought to be a compromise that would make the measure acceptable to Republicans. But the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case demonstrated the destructive effect of broad religious exemptions and made activists rethink their previous commitment to the measure.

Seven national LGBT groups pulled their support from the bill on July 8, citing concerns over its religious exemption language.

“The morning the sun rose after the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, we all woke up in a changed and intensified landscape of religious exemptions being used as an excuse to discriminate,” National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey wrote in a statement.

“The reality is that while politics is about compromise, some compromises are too great. After much soul searching, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund has decided to withdraw its support for the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. As one of the lead advocates on this bill for 20 years, we do not take this move lightly, but we do take it unequivocally – we now oppose this version of ENDA because of its too-broad religious exemption.”

Within hours of the NGLTF statement, the ACLU, Legal, GLAD (Gay and Lesbian

Advocates and Defenders), the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Transgender Law Center issued a joint statement also pulling support from ENDA. “The provision in the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that allows religious organizations to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity has long been a source of significant concern to us,” the groups said.

“Given the types of workplace discrimination we see increasingly against LGBT people, together with the calls for greater permission to discriminate on religious grounds that followed immediately upon the Supreme Court’s decision last week in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, it has become clear that the inclusion of this provision is no longer tenable. It would prevent ENDA from providing protections that LGBT people desperately need and would make very bad law with potential further negative effects. Therefore, we are announcing our withdrawal of support for the current version of ENDA.” By the end of the day, the groups were also joined by Pride At Work, the LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO. “While we fully support strong protections for LGBT workers in the workplace, something that for many workers is currently only afforded by a union contract, after the recent Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case, it is clear that these broad religious exemptions would gut the intent and purpose of ENDA,” Pride at Work interim Executive Director Jerame Davis said.

“LGBT workers deserve strong, enforceable workplace protections and we look forward to supporting a bill to that end.”

If not ENDA, then what?

LGBT organizations did not have a ready answer for that question.

Some called for a new workplace non-discrimination bill without religious exemptions, or with exemptions limited only to places of worship. Others called for a comprehensive LGBT civil rights bill – similar to the state of Washington’s LGBT protections – that would include housing, public accommodations, insurance, and credit as well as employment.

NGLTF Executive Director Rea Carey

Bad Bishop: Minneapolis Archbishop investigated on sex charges

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Minneapolis has confirmed that Archbishop John Nienstedt is being investigated on charges that he had “inappropriate sexual

relations” with priests, seminarians, and other men. The Vatican has been informed of the inquiry, the Archdiocese added.

News of the internal church investigation was first reported by the independent Catholic magazine Commonweal.

In a statement released by the ArchdioAP

Archbishop John Nienstedt

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cese, Nienstedt said that he had personally authorized the investigation to clear himself of “absolutely and entirely false” charges.

“The allegations do not involve minors or lay members of the faithful, and they do not implicate any kind of illegal or criminal behavior,” Nienstedt said. “The allegations involve events alleged to have occurred at least a decade ago, before I began serving in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.”

Nienstedt was appointed to the Minneapolis Archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

This is not Nienstedt’s first investigation. In 2013, the Archdiocese announced that he had “stepped aside from all public ministry” while police investigated an allegation that he touched a boy on the buttocks. By March 2014 he was back on the job, however, after police decided they could not press charges.

Also in 2013, the Archdiocese’s canon lawyer, Jennifer Haselberger, revealed that the Archdiocese had covered up multiple complaints of sexual misconduct by priests.

One of those priests was Curtis Wehmeyer, who reportedly had a history of inappropriate sexual behavior, but who was nevertheless promoted by Nienstedt to become pastor of two parishes. Wehmeyer went on

to molest children at one of those parishes.

One of the questions investigators are asking is whether the archbishop had an “unprofessional” relationship with Wehmeyer.

According to Commonweal, Haselberger only learned of the current investigation when she was questioned by an outside law firm hired to conduct the inquiry.

Nienstedt told Commonweal that the “only accusation” is one of “improper touching (of the person’s neck),” made by a former priest.

During his tenure in Minneapolis, Nienstedt has earned a reputation as an outspoken enemy of the LGBT community.

In 2012, he was one of the main supporters of an anti-equality ballot initiative, raising $650,000 for NOM to run that campaign.

Nienstedt also ordered priests who opposed the measure to keep silent about their views.

As election day neared, Nienstedt issued a hateful open letter saying that Satan backed same-sex marriage. It was that letter that spurred Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe to go public with his support for LGBT rights.

Even before the 2012 election, Nienstedt took a very public anti-Gay stand. In 2010, for example, he ordered priests serving local Catholic schools to deny communion to Gay students.

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Colorado judge strikes marriage ban Second judge OKs marriage licenses to issue licenses to same-sex couples even though same-sex marriage is still technically illegal in Colorado. Her actions do not harm anyone, the judge said, but all who receive a license should be warned that they could still be invalidated if a judge finds that Hall lacked the authority to issue them.

After Hartman’s ruling, Denver County Clerk Debra Johnson said she, too, would begin issuing licenses for same-sex couples.

“FINALLY!” she exclaimed on her Twitter account. “We can issue marriage licenses to ALL loving couples here in CO. Our Office will be issuing licenses till 4:30pm today.”

District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Colorado state judge struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriages in a July 9 ruling.

“The Court holds that the Marriage Bans violate plaintiffs’ due process and equal protection guarantees under the Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree said in his ruling.

While Crabtree stayed his ruling pending appeal, a second state judge said county clerks may issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Boulder County District Court Judge Andrew Hartman said on July 10 that County Clerk Hillary Hall can continue

Civil unions not good enough In his 49-page decision, Crabtree dismissed the state’s claims that existing civil unions satisfied the claims of Gay and Lesbian couples who want the state to recognize their relationships.

“The existence of civil unions is further evidence of discrimination against same-sex couples and does not ameliorate the discriminatory effect of the Marriage Bans,” Crabtree wrote.

“If civil unions were truly the same as marriages, they would be called marriages and not civil unions. If they were the same, there would be no need for both of them.”

Finally, Crabtree concluded that laws barring same-sex couples from marriage cannot be justified under any legal standard.

“No state since U.S. v. Windsor has been able to justify its ban under even the rational basis test, much less under the strict scrutiny test,” he pointed out.

The case involved nine couples from Denver and Adams Counties who sued the state in February.

“We are ecstatic. There is much cheering in our house,” said Sandra Abbott.

She and her partner, Amy Smart, were plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “We waited a long time for this ruling.”

While plaintiffs celebrated, Crabtree stayed his ruling pending appeal, he said, to “avoid the instability and uncertainty which would result” if couples began to marry and then his ruling was reversed by a higher court.

Appeals likely Colorado’s Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper opposes the marriage ban, but Republican Attorney General John Suthers supports it and wishes to defend the law in court. Since Crabtree is a Colorado state judge, the appeals track would ultimately go to the Colorado Supreme Court.

At the same time, however, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal court decision striking down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriages. The Tenth Circuit also has jurisdiction over Colorado, and Boulder county clerk Hall has been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since the circuit court ruled.

In his decision, Crabtree acknowledged that higher courts would have the final decision on the marriage issue.

“The final chapter of this debate will undoubtedly have to be written either in Denver, Colorado or Washington, D.C.,” the judge wrote. “While the striking down of laws banning same-sex marriages has been progressing at a rapid rate, it will take time

District Court Judge Andrew Hartman

for this issue to be finally resolved.”

Why Marriage Matters Colorado applauded Crabtree’s decision, and called on the state’s Attorney General to drop his defense of the marriage ban.

“Today’s ruling, combined with the earlier decision of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, leaves no room for doubt that Colorado’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional and indefensible,” the group said in a statement.

“With court after court recognizing the freedom to marry, their decision should be a simple and immediate one. We call on Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and the other defendants to let today’s historic ruling stand and to drop, once and for all, their defense of Colorado’s unconstitutional marriage ban.”

Landmark study on same-sex parenting released

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

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and Florida have avowed that the supposed superiority of heterosexual parents excuses their states’ ban on Gay marriage.

When the Reagan-appointed U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman smacked down anti-samesex parenting arguments as “entirely unbelievable”

and “not worthy of serious consideration” while striking down Michigan’s marriage equality ban, the LGBTQ community celebrated. But … at the end of the day, we’ve had little proof of what we know to be true: LGBTQ people make great parents. This study seems to shore up the argument.

SoleilC / Shutterstock

A landmark new study finds that children of same-sex couples are happier and healthier than children raised by heterosexual parents – a finding that major media has largely ignored.

On July 4, researchers at the University of Melbourne unveiled the results of a study that looked at how children of same-sex and heterosexual couples fare on a variety of health and wellness measures. The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families (ACHESS) is the largest study of its kind to date. Controlling for factors like socioeconomic status and parental education, researchers examined 500 children of 315 same-sex parents.

An estimated 80 percent of the children were raised by female parents, with 18 percent raised by male parents.

The Guardian reports, “The children raised by same-sex partners scored an average of 6% higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion. They were equivalent to those from the general population on measures of temperament and mood, behavior, mental health and self-esteem.”

However, researchers identified one hurdle often met by children of same-sex parents: anti-LGBT stigma, which about two-thirds of the children reported experiencing.

Highlights include: • Fifteen percent of children were born overseas and 11% speak a language other

than English at home.

• The ACHES collected data on 500 children aged 0-17 years from 315 index parents.

• On measures of general health and family cohesion children ages 5-17 years with same-sex parents showed a significantly better score when compared to Australian children from all backgrounds and family contexts. For all other health measures there were no statistically significant differences.

• From the children of same-sex parents, a range of sexual orientations were described including homosexual, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer.

• Ninety-three percent of parents are currently in a relationship.

The children in the study came from all states and territories in Australia, with the exception of the Northern territory.

Not surprisingly, the study has gained little attention from mainstream media. According to an Equality Matters analysis of print, broadcast, and cable news coverage, the study has received one mention on MSNBC and been the subject of one blog posts each from The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Previous, smaller studies have found that children of same-sex parents fare just as well as those raised by opposite-sex parents, but the claim that same-sex parenting is damaging for children has nonetheless figured prominently in recent litigation over marriage equality. Bigots in Utah, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas,

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One million celebrate Madrid Pride Eurovision star Conchita Wurst kicks off events wepartyfestival.com

Madrid Pride

participants. Madrid police said nearly 500 officers were detailed for security, but unlike some other countries’ Pride celebrations, Madrid hosted Europe’s largest Pride Spain’s events were entirely peaceful. celebration with five days of events culmiAccording to Agence France Press nating in a July 6 parade with one million (AFP), “vast crowds of revelers in high heels,

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

wigs and figure-hugging dresses cavorted in the streets of Madrid…. Hundreds of thousands crammed the Spanish capital’s broad central avenues to the din of drums and whistles as rainbow-colored flags fluttered in the sunshine.”

Eurovision star Conchita Wurst kicked off the celebrations with an open-air concert on July 2. She performed again on July 4 at the Vicente Calderon soccer stadium.

July 3 was devoted to the most popular event of the annual Pride festivities – men in drag raced in high heels through Madrid’s Gay neighborhood, Chueca, cheered on by crowds.

Pride organizers dedicated this year’s march to victims of discrimination in countries where LGBT people are punished, sometimes with death.

“We are organizing one of the best Pride events in the world,” Pride organizer Boti G. Rodrigo said in a statement.

“It is time to speak up for all those who cannot, so they can see that they are not alone in suffering, that we are fighting for their free-

doms and for our own and that LGBT human rights are inalienable,” she added.

In their manifesto for this year’s Pride celebration, organizers warned against the threat posed by far-right groups which have gained strength in some European countries. They added that spending cuts imposed by the right-wing Popular Party during Spain’s ongoing economic crisis had increased discrimination in healthcare and other public services.

The recently abdicated King Juan Carlos took the Spanish throne after the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, and reigned over an era of liberal reforms that would have horrified his predecessor.

In 2005 Spain became the third country in the European Union to legalize same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands and Belgium.

A large majority of Spaniards (69%) still identify as Roman Catholics, but the church’s popularity suffered because of its close association with the Franco regime, and today 26% of the country’s people say they have no religion.

Pride in Cuba:

Kiss-In celebrates new anti-discrimination law, protests exclusion of gender identity and HIV status

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Cuba’s second Besada (Kiss-In) for Diversity and Equality celebrated the country’s new Labor Code that protects sexual orientation, but also protested the lack of legal protections for gender identity and HIV status.

The June 28 event was organized by Proyecto Arcoiris (Rainbow Project), which describes itself as “anti-capitalist and independent.” In other words, the group is not sponsored by the Cuban government, as Mariella Castro’s National Center for Sex Education is, but is also not an opposition group.

In their statement calling for the event, the group applauded protections enacted in the newly passed Labor Code, but criticized the government for not going far enough.

“Because a revolution means changing everything that needs change, and we defend the idea of an anti-capitalist, revolutionary and democratic society,” they wrote.

“Join us and celebrate the Labor Code, Law No. 116, and, for the first time, the

protection of homosexuals. Come and demand a public explanation addressing the elimination of gender identity issues and status regarding HIV, in the same legislation, although the National Assembly did not approve it.

“On this date, the color of your skin, gender, gender identity, religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation, national origin, disabilities nor any other distinction do not matter, but what does is the faith in equality of all forms of love, forming a family, reproducing, being committed… all forms of BEING PATRIOTIC. “On June 28th, put the Revolution in a Kiss.”

LGBT rights advocate Mariella Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and niece of former President Fidel Castro, recommended inclusion of Transgender Cubans in the new law, but her suggestions were ignored by the National Assembly.

In addition to organizing the Kiss-In, Proyecto Arcoiris also wrote a formal protest to National Assembly Chairman Lazo Her-

nandez noting that “transgender individuals are the ones who deal with the most social and labor discrimination in our country, nor has the stigma and prejudice towards individuals with HIV/aids been completely resolved…”

Proyecto Arcoiris organized its first Besada, involving about 50 people, in 2012.

Immediately after the Cuban revolution of 1959, LGBT Cubans were sent to “re-education”

camps where they were subjected to what we would now call “conversion therapy.” In 1979, however, same-sex relations were legalized.

Fidel Castro subsequently apologized for the camps in a 2010 interview with the Mexican newspaper La Jornada.

In 2008, the government began to include sex-reassignment procedures in the country’s free healthcare program.

Sofia Pride march blocked by neo-Nazis BGNES

Members of nationalist party Ataka, blocking 2014 Sofia Pride parade

march, in defiance of neo-Nazi thugs.

Marchers planned to march past the monument to Bulgarian national hero Vasil Police outnumbered Pride marchers in Levski in the center of the capital city, but Sofia, Bulgaria, on July 5, as 100 LGBT ac- were blocked by members of the Ataka (Attivists attempted the city’s seventh Pride tack) Party. While Attack members deny beby Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

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July 11, 2014

ing neo-Nazis, their ideology is anti-Semitic, anti-Roma, anti-Muslim, and anti-Gay. Right-wing thugs also attacked previous Sofia Pride marches. Last year’s Pride had to be postponed till September because police refused to guarantee the safety of marchers.

The high point for Pride events in Bulgaria came in 2012, when more than 2,000 people turned out for a largely peaceful march.

As in past years, foreign embassies issued a joint statement supporting Bulgaria’s LGBT community.

“We would like to convey our support to all people who either actively participate in or back this year’s Sofia Pride on 5 July 2014,” the statement reads.

“Promoting the principle of equal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people is an important aspect of a tolerant and respectful civil society. No one should ever be discriminated against on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. By signing this statement, we would like to stress that any democratic society should stand up

for open-mindedness towards LGBTI people.”

The document was signed by the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the United States, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, and South Africa.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, on the other hand, condemned the event, calling it a “march of proud sin.”

“They are a danger to the good upbringing of our children, destroy the foundations of the traditional family and threaten the good health of our society,” the church said in a statement in June.

Pride organizers had originally called the march for June 21, but postponed it till July 5 out of respect for victims of severe floods on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast.

Same-sex relations were legalized in Bulgaria by the Communist government in 1968, and anti-discrimination laws protecting sexual orientation were passed in 2003, but there are no legal protections for Transgender Bulgarians and no hate crimes laws.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Ukraine’s cancellation of Kyiv March for Equality is a major setback for human rights is a huge disappointment. He should have a better understanding of what a demand for equality is. You can’t have a hierarchy of human rights,” said Olena Shevchenko, co-chair of the organizing committee of Kyiv 2014 Pride. “It seems like it’s never really the right time for LGBT rights.”

Earlier this year, the Maidan revolu-

tion in Ukraine removed the government of President Yanukovych and in May President Poroshenko was elected to replace him. Activists had hoped that the new administration would be more open to protecting equality, dignity, and basic rights of civil society for all.

“For all of its talk about sharing Europe-

an values the new Ukrainian government has failed a major human rights test today,” said Dooley. “The U.S. Government should make clear publicly to the Ukrainian authorities that peaceful freedom of assembly should be respected for all.”

Courtesy of Human Rights First rupaper.com

KYIV, UKRAINE – Human Rights First today said that the cancellation of the 2014 Kyiv March for Equality is a disappointing failure in the struggle for the protection of human rights in Ukraine.

The march, which was set to be held July 5th, was cancelled following a statement

by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko urging the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community to cancel the LGBT rights parade in the Ukrainian capital.

“The country is confronted with many challenges – fighting a war in the east, organizing a new government and responding to Russian aggression – but peaceful freedom of assembly cannot be denied, even in times of crisis,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley who is currently in Kyiv on a research trip.

Despite months of negotiation with LGBT activists the Kyiv authorities said on July 4th they could not protect the March for Equality scheduled for July 5th.

Organizers told Human Rights First that the march was designed as an opportunity for Ukrainians to demonstrate unity and shared values. Kyiv’s first equality march took place in 2013 with police protection and local activists hoped that once the precedent had been set this year’s march would be able to take place safely.

“Kyiv Mayor Klitschko’s statement that ‘this is not the right time for a celebration’

Demonstrators and police clash in Kyiv

U.S. cities to hold Gay blood drive urging FDA to change blood ban and helping save lives Activist/filmmaker organizing nation- otherwise eligible Gay and Bisexual men are wide blood drive on July 11 to show impact of unable to contribute to the nation’s blood changing donor ban for millions of Americans supply and help save lives,” said Yezak. “In addition, the ban perpetuates inaccurate Since 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Ad- stereotypes and a negative stigma about the ministration (FDA) has banned Gay and Bi- Gay male population. The current lifetime sexual men from donating blood. Men who deferral focuses on sexual orientation, and have had sexual contact with men (MSM we are calling on the FDA to change its polidonors) are deferred by the FDA for life, and cy so that it instead focuses on sexual behavevery blood bank in the U.S. is mandated to ior and individual risk.”

While hundreds of Gay and Bisexual men comply with this policy. across the country took part in last year’s Every two seconds someone in the U.S. drive, Yezak was most surprised by particineeds blood; however, millions of healthy pation from a nearly equivalent amount of Americans are not allowed to donate due to allies, including Lesbian and heterosexual the FDA policy. In response, the National individuals.

Inspired by their support and inGay Blood Drive will take place in more volvement, Yezak decided to once again orgathan 60 U.S. cities on July 11 to bring attennize the National Gay Blood Drive, expandtion to the ban and help save lives. The drive ing it to show broad demographic support.

– which is open to everyone – is organized “This year, the drive’s goal is to get everyby filmmaker and activist Ryan James Yezak one involved – including our ally donors – to with the help of local leaders and volunteers speak with a collective voice,” said Yezak. “Elfrom participating cities.

Yezak organized the drive for the first time igible allies can donate in place of the Gay and last year when he was unable to speak to the Bisexual men who cannot so that we not only FDA about the ban for his documentary raise awareness about the ban but also help contribute to the more than 41,000 blood doSecond Class Citizens.

“The policy is outdated, and as a result, nations needed every day. We want the FDA

continued from page 5 want to be certain that FDA policy reflects an accurate and contemporary understanding of the tests used to screen donated blood for infectious agents, like HIV, and that FDA policy is not unnecessarily restrictive in a way that could be discriminatory.

“There have been tremendous advances in the tests used to screen the blood supply since the FDA adopted its current rules.

pressure on the FDA to change their policy.

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Recognizing this, a number of countries have no ban in place, while the European Union and Canada allow men to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man for one to five years. The American Medical Association advocates for eliminating regulations that prohibit men who have sex with men from donating blood, and the American Red Cross and the America’s Blood Centers have called on the FDA to review its policy. We support these widespread calls for a review of current FDA rules.”

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Seattle Participates in National Gay Blood Drive The Seattle Gay Blood Drive will be taking place on Friday, July 11, at Seattle Central College (1701 Broadway) from 1-7 p.m.

Help us shed a nationwide light on this ban and get blood to those who need it. Watch the National Gay Blood Drive announcement video for more information, and visit http:// www.gayblooddrive.com to get involved.

About The National Gay Blood Drive There is a constant need for blood and donors are essential in maintaining an adequate supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bans Gay and Bisexual men from donating blood. On July 11, a nationwide blood drive will take place to bring attention to the ban and help save lives. Gay and Bisexual men will show their willingness to contribute by bringing allies to donate in their place. This grassroots effort to create change cannot happen without you. www.gayblooddrive.com.

Courtesy of The National Gay Blood Drive edgeseattle.com

Blood

to see how our community can benefit the nation’s blood supply, but also see how much we can contribute even when we are banned.”

On the day of the drive, Gay and Bisexual men will come out to blood donation locations across 60 U.S. cities to show their willingness to contribute by bringing eligible allies to donate in their place. The Gay and Bisexual men will be able to write a message to the FDA, while the eligible allies can fill out a donor nametag with the name of the individual whose place they took. All participants will receive National Gay Blood Drive shirts and will be photographed together. Volunteers will then collect the messages and donor name tags and count them so that they can be sent to the FDA – visually conveying the contribution that the Gay community can make to the nation’s blood supply if the ban is changed.

In conjunction with the National Gay Blood Drive, a White House Petition was launched on July 1 that calls on the FDA to change its policy. If the petition receives 100,000 signatures by July 30, President Obama’s administration will issue a response. Yezak believes that it is the most effective action possible right now to increase

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