SGN July 18, 2014 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 29 Volume 42

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Transgender employee gets apology from Pagliacci Pizza Fired after complaining about customer

kirotv.com

Pagliacci Pizza on Broadway

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Dylan Paul says she is “happy” with an apology from her former boss, Matt Galvin of Pagliacci Pizza, after she was fired July 11 in a dispute over how to deal with a disrespectful customer.

“After speaking with Matt,” she told SGN, “he seems like he’s genuinely invested in making this right, and committed to finding out how to work with the Trans community.”

Paul had worked at Pagliacci’s Broadway location for more than a year. On July 7, she said goodbye to a regular customer, but when the customer replied, he called her “man.”

“It’s ma’am, actually,” Paul responded. The customer laughed at her and left.

On July 11, the customer returned, and Paul approached him.

“The last time you were in here I corrected you on my gender

sltrib.com / The Salt Lake Tribune

in Seattle for LGBT candidates

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Federal District Judge Robert Kimball

A three-judge panel of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 11 that marriages performed in Utah before a stay was issued in that state’s marriage case are valid and must be recognized by the state.

The two-judge majority said simply that state officials “have not made showings sufficient to warrant a stay pending appeal.” They noted that one of the things state officials would have had to show was that they were likely to win their appeal, implying that the panel’s majority doubts the state will win.

see Pagliacci page 8

Victory Fund raises over $11,000

Utah marriages are valid, Tenth Circuit says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

and you laughed at me,” she says she told the man. “That was really rude, and I’d like you to apologize.”

“I don’t really care what’s happening in your life, man, I just need my pizza,” he answered.

“I just need to be respected in my place of work,” Paul said, “and I reserve the right to refuse service to you.”

Paul told her managers about the incident, and they instructed her to go to the back of the store and let other employees wait on the man in the future. Paul was disappointed with the managers’ response. She wanted them to bar the customer from the store, she says. She then decided to give her two weeks notice, but instead she was handed her pink slip.

Paul was outraged, and thought about filing a complaint with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, the city agency where employees

The judges gave Utah officials until July 21 to file an appeal of their latest decision.

Federal District Judge Robert Shelby ruled on December 20 that Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. That decisee UTAH page 13

The Victory Fund, an organization that raises money to support and elect LGBT people to office, held a champagne brunch in Seattle on Sunday, July 13, that brought in over $11,000 in donations in support of LGBT political candidates across the country.

The event, held at the Seattle Marriot Waterfront, was called Out to Win and, aside from the traditional writing checks to do-

nate to the fund, included some of Washington state’s most dynamic politicians – and they are all LGBT. After enjoying champagne, orange juice and mimosas, and open-air conversation in the Seattle Marriott Waterfront’s courtyard, attendees filed into the ballroom where Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, who is openly Gay, kicked off the event by saying that when he was a child he once dreamt that he see Victory page 18

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July 18, 2014

Celebrating 41 Years!

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July 18, 2014

Seattle Gay News 3

INSIGHTS “Fuck-It” Factor

by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer How many times in your life have you heard yourself say, “fuck it”? Perhaps it was related to a relationship dynamic or trying to get something done. Most of us have had this experience and we react to it, yet few of us pay much attention to it or understand it. It is worth understanding because it is a normal experience that can backfire if we are not careful.

“Fuck it” is usually the reaction to a high level of frustration. Frustration is simply a lesser degree of anger and it often escalates to anger or rage. With the anger, some people also feel depressed and hopeless when they have reached this point.

It is also a phrase that expresses that one is on the verge of giving up. Sometimes an individual has already given up when they are finally aware of how they feel.

“Fuck it” is a very unpleasant feeling and with that unpleasantness comes some form of reactivity. When the “fuck-it factor” kicks in, people react impulsively by either lashing out in anger, relapsing, quitting, or getting depressed and withdrawing or surrendering. It is rare that these reactions are helpful to the individual.

Here are some things you can do.

First, you have to become more aware of that voice that says “fuck it” and how you react to that. Which situations get you to a “fuck it” place? What kinds of impulsive behaviors do you engage in when you are that frustrated? Then begin to assess the

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July 18, 2014

PERSPECTIVES

negative impact those reactions have on your life. If any of your r e a c t i o n s lead you to an outcome where you have more drama or stress in your life, the “fuck-it factor” is working against you!

The next step operates on the fact that we always have a choice!! There is never one option for anything.

Once you have started to understand the triggers to your frustration and the ways in which you react, you move on to the second step. The second step has two basic parts to it.

The first part is exercising your ability to see things in a different way. For example, if you reach the “fuck-it factor” because this is the third time in a week the dog has pooped on floor and you are saying something like, “stupid dog….”, you could stop and look at the dog with compassionate eyes and realize that he’s a good dog and pooped because he was in the house too long. In being able to do this, you are changing your reaction – a reaction that you were about to act on. If your reaction is different, you won’t impulsively act on it the way you have in the past.

The second part of the second step is exercising your ability to control your impulses. All of us who have stayed out of jail have the ability to exercise impulse control! Under most circumstances, no matter how frustrated one is, one can always say, “even though I might want to, I’m not going to yell at my wife” or, “I don’t have to make a scene right now and storm out of here in a tantrum” and, “this is not worth me jeopardizing my sobriety over.”

Human nature is that we are pain

avoidant creatures. We try to get away from physical pain just as much as we do emotional pain. It is true that some feelings are very unpleasant to experience.

What is equally true is that given a few minutes, a few hours, or a few days, those feelings will pass and we will feel better.

Tolerance is our ability to experience that which is painful/unpleasant. It is also the skill that is correlated to our behaviors.

When we have a high level of tolerance, our impulsive reactions are lower. Likewise, when our ability to tolerate is low, our impulsive behaviors are high.

When we react impulsively, we set ourselves back. We say things that are hurtful which puts strain on relationships, we relapse which leads to a host of other complications, and/or we run away – quit jobs, end relationships – only to have to deal with those consequences later.

Don’t let the “fuck-it factor” add more complications to your life. Begin to practice your ability to make choices and choose that which is going to benefit you.

You’ll have less collateral damage to fix later and you will likely be happier overall when things turn out better for you.

Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a Therapist and a Contributing Writer to the SGN. He writes a bi-monthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at Michael.Raitt@comcast.net.

Celebrating 41 Years!

James Gaylord vindicated

James Gaylord is a hero

SCOTUS may never take up an appeal

Dear Editor:

Editor:

To the Editor:

It has been decades since a benighted Washington Supreme Court, in a decision out of sync with even those times, inflicted a “badge of infamy” on James Gaylord, upholding the dismissal of this respected Tacoma high school teacher for his status as homosexual, in an orgy of institutional bigotry.

In 1978 I published a Washington Law review article about the Gaylord case, “Civil Rights - Homosexual Teacher Dismissal - A Deviant Decision,” 53 WLR 499 (1978).

I hope it remains useful to students of this area of civil rights and liberties.

Vindication often never comes, sometimes it comes late.

While it may be true, as writer Mike Andrew said in his article on ex-teacher Jim Gaylord’s firing 42 years ago, that “Over the years, memory of his ordeal, not uncommon for those days, faded in the community . . .” I did not forget him. I became a high school staff member many years later and advised gay support groups and then gay-straight alliances for over 20 years. Whenever the subject of the ease in which it is to be openly GLBTQ in the Seattle area today, comparatively speaking, arose, I reminded the students it was not always so and cited Jim Gaylord, his courage, his role in Northwest GLBTQ History, and the debt we all owe him. The students always were stunned this could happen in our backyard.

Gaylord was and is a hero in our community.

Jim Lowe

Tom Nussbaum

With the Federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision, declaring Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, it’s time to consider the possibility the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will never take-up an appeal. It takes four out of the nine Justices to hear an appeal, in the first place. Traditionally, SCOTUS won’t hear an appeal from a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals when it doesn’t contradict other Appeals Courts’ rulings on the same subject.

There are 12 Circuit Courts of Appeal.

It’s possible, if all 12 of them declare bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, there won’t be four Justices willing to hear a final appeal.

Justice Scalia has prophesized, in previous dissents, including last year’s deci-

sion declaring DOMA unconstitutional, it will lead to declaring a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. He’s right, and why would Scalia want to be one of four Justices granting a hearing on an appeal that would likely fulfill his previous warnings? Justice Anthony Kennedy, on the other hand, has wanted to be cautious, in how far he goes on the issue, without looking like he’s ahead of both public and political opinion. If no Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage, there may not be four Justices interested in hearing a final appeal. The members of SCOTUS may feel the lower courts have done their work for them, and leave it alone.

Sincerely, Steven L. Kendall

Evangelism as therapy

Faith-based advocacy should not be disguised as licensed healthcare

by Richard J. Rosendall SGN Contributing Writer

ity. Time and again, problems were blamed on homosexuality in a way that is never done with heterosexuality. We were told that the proposed bill would bar counselors from helping troubled youth; but approved counseling protocols are unaffected by the proposed law. This is not about tying healers’ hands, but protecting vulnerable minors and parents from being harmed and deceived by charlatans.

One of our opponents’ recurring themes was how much they love LGBT folk. This is like the Inquisitor Cardinal Bellarmine expressing love for the immortal soul of Giordano Bruno as he burned him at the stake in the Campo de’ Fiori in 1600. Such love we can do without.

California and New Jersey laws similar to the one being considered in D.C. have been upheld in federal courts. Civil institutions are not subject to religious dictates. Church ministries are constitutionally protected, but no one is entitled to use a professional license to peddle poison brewed from ignorance and contempt.

It is not enough to say that being Gay is not a disorder. As Frank Kameny asserted before Stonewall, it is an affirmative good. When our opponents accuse us of corrupting science with political pressure, they are really objecting to the erosion of their supremacy.

The right’s insistence on male-female complementarity as an exclusive, eternal standard ignores not only modern science but Plato’s Symposium, in which people’s “other halves” were recognized as sometimes opposite-sex and sometimes samesex. Gay love was present at the dawn of Western civilization.

Our struggle to protect LGBT youth is not over, as illustrated by the Texas Republican Party’s recent endorsement of reparative therapy. Efforts like the #BornPerfect campaign by the National Center for Lesbian Rights are vital. But science, justice, and soulmates yet unjoined are on our side.

Encountering the Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg in the D.C. Council Chambers on June 27 took me back five years to our battles over the District’s marriage equality bill. This time it was a hearing on a bill to prohibit conversion therapy for minors. Sprigg was furious at the attempt to deny choice to troubled teens seeking to overcome their Gay desires.

One should always be skeptical toward right-wing busybodies who use “choice” as a rallying cry, and so it is in this case.

Gay and Lesbian teens whose ears are filled with cries of abomination know the sound of rejection. If choice is a concern, shouldn’t they be given the choice of a supportive environment? And if professional therapy is the way to help, shouldn’t we mention that homosexuality was declassified as a mental disorder in 1973?

The anti-Gay groups represented at the hearing, including FRC, PFOX, and the International Healing Foundation, are frozen in amber on homosexuality, which they deem forever sick, sinful, and illicit.

With the pathologizing and criminalizing of Gayness having ended in America, and with many faiths affirming LGBT lives, the dwindling band of demonizers resorts increasingly to shrillness and deception at home and proselytizing overseas.

The homophobes conceal their faithbased motivation behind a veil of pseudoscience. The trouble is, they dictate nature rather than observing it.

Testifying in support of the bill were the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Association of Social Workers, American Counseling Association, and an array of local and national LGBT groups. Several pointed out that the American Medical Association and American Psychological Association have rejected conversion efforts.

Affirming clergy included Rev. Graylan HaRichard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. gler and Bishop Rainey Cheeks. Rev. Hagler He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net. criticized the use of counseling to advocate one’s own religious views. Jud Brown gave Copyright © 2014 by Richard J. Rosendall. eloquent testimony to his own survival of All rights reserved. the discredited therapy.

The most frequent source cited by the antiReferences: Gay side was the crackpot National Associa“Testimony in Support of a Referendum tion for Research & Therapy of Homosexual- on the ‘Religious Freedom and Civil Mar-

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riage Equality Amendment Act of 2009,’” Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council, before the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, January 27, 2010, http://dcboee.org/ nws/upload_Files/Sprigg_Comments.pdf “Testimony on Bill 18-0482, Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009,” Richard J. Rosendall, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, October 26, 2009, http://glaa.org/archive/2009/ rosendallmarriagebilltestimony1026.shtml “Conversion Therapy for Minors Prohibition Amendment Act of 2013,” D.C. Council Bill 20-501, http://tinyurl.com/ktx48lx “Testimony in opposition to Bill 20-501,” Peter Sprigg, Family Research Council, June 27, 2014, http://downloads.frc.org/EF/ EF14F67.pdf “Family Rejection as a Predictor of Negative Health Outcomes in White and Latino Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Young Adults,” Caitlin Ryan, et al., Pediatrics 346 (2009), http://tinyurl.com/nkkparl “LGBT-Sexual Orientation,” American Psychiatric Association, http://www.psychiatry.org/lgbt-sexual-orientation Family Research Council, http://www.frc.org Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), http://pfox.org/default.html International Healing Foundation, Staff listing, http://tinyurl.com/kt28uk5 Lawrence v. Texas (02-102) 539 U.S. 558 (2003), Supreme Court of the United States, June 26, 2003, http://www.law.cornell.edu/ supct/html/02-102.ZS.html “NARTH removes references to Scott Lively from website,” Warren Throckmorton, patheos.com, March 17, 2009, http:// tinyurl.com/n9cuuse “Homosexuality Is a Normal Expression of Human Sexuality, Is Generally Not Chosen, and Is Highly Resistant to Change,” American Academy of Pediatrics et al., Amicus Brief in United States v. Windsor, March 1, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/otnharg “’Reparative’ and ‘Conversion’ Therapies for Lesbians and Gay Men,” National Association of Social Workers, January 21, 2000, http://www.socialworkers.org/diversity/ lgb/reparative.asp Testimony of David M. Kaplan, Ph.D., Chief Professional Officer and Past President of the American Counseling Association to the D.C. Council Committee on Health, June 27, 2014, http://glaa.org/archive/2014/acaka-

planconvotherapy0627.pdf Testimony on Bill 20-501, Saul Cruz, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, June 27, 2014, http://glaa.org/archive/2014/convotherapy0627.pdf Testimony before the D.C. Council Committee on Health, Alison Gill, Human Rights Campaign, June 27, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/mn5ahlg “AMA Policies on LGBT Issues,” American Medical Association, http://tinyurl. com/825kqbw “Insufficient Evidence that Sexual Orientation Change Efforts Work, Says APA,” American Psychological Association, August 5, 2009, http://www.apa.org/news/ press/releases/2009/08/therapeutic.aspx Graylan Hagler, Wikipedia, http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graylan_Hagler “Guiding Light: Gay activist and man of God, Bishop Rainey Cheeks preaches inclusiveness at Inner Light Ministries,” Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly, February 20, 2008, http://www.metroweekly.com/2008/02/ guiding-light/ Testimony by Andrew “Jud” Brown, Hearing on Bill 20-501, June 27, 2014, http://glaa. org/archive/2014/judbrownconvotherapy0627.pdf “NARTH,” profile, Truth Wins Out, http:// www.truthwinsout.org/narth/ “Giordano Bruno,” Wikipedia, http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno “Federal court upholds California ban on ‘ex-gay’ therapy,” Justin Snow, Metro Weekly, August 29, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/nt3zmur Sunnivie Brydum, “Federal Court Upholds New Jersey’s Ban on ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy,” Advocate.com, November 9, 2013, http://tinyurl.com/nghlf7y “Gay Is Good: The Life and Letters of Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny,” edited by Michael G. Long, Syracuse University Press, 2014, http://syracuseuniversitypress.syr. edu/fall-2014/gay-is-good.html “Soulmate,” Wikipedia, http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulmate#Plato “Texas Republican Party Adopts Discredited ‘Reparative Therapy’ for Gays,” Elijah Wolfson, Newsweek, June 10, 2014, http:// tinyurl.com/lkrn8sj “#BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy,” National Center for Lesbian Rights, http://www.nclrights.org/ bornperfect/

July 18, 2014

Seattle Gay News 5

Sisters celebrate anniversary – give $16K away

ual IndulgenceTM, The Abbey of St. Joan, baptized themselves in Lake Washington, dedicating themselves to the promulgaOn July 14, 1996 (Bastille Day), the tion of universal joy and the expiation of founding members of the Sisters of Perpet- stigmatic guilt. On July 12, 2014, the Sisby Sister Ophelia Onassis Special to the SGN

ters of Perpetual IndulgenceTM, The Abbey of St. Joan, gathered at The Cuff Complex with community members to celebrate our 18th anniversary!

It is our custom to give away money raised throughout the year to community service organizations that are in need of funding through our granting process. To qualify for a grant, organizations must be a registered 501(c)(3) charity, and have organizational values that align with the Sisters’ mission. This year, we were able to put $16,000 back out into the community – funding (in whole or in part) programs for Seattle Area Support Groups and Community Center (SASGCC) ($500), Camp Ten Trees ($1,000), Peoples Harm Reduction Alliance ($1,500), Lifelong POZ Youth Speakers Bureau ($1,500), QCard ($1,500), BABES Network ($1,500), Jake Talks ($500), POZ Seattle ($500), Hepatitis Education Project ($1,500), Gay City ($1,500), Navos/POW ($1,500), Nova Action Faction ($1,500), and Rainbow Center of Tacoma ($1,500).

These organizations, and many others, are dedicated to helping to make the world a better place by working to provide services and assistance to those members of the community who are marginalized. We work an entire year (coat checks, events, and donation can rattling) to collect donations to our granting fund, and would not be able to provide this much needed assistance without the support of the community. We are deeply grateful for every contribution to this very important project.

We have a long-standing tradition of recognizing and celebrating community mem-

bers whose work very closely aligns with our mission. These often selfless people are Saints. We take great joy in identifying these very special people and surprising them with our Sainthood ritual. This year, we recognized the hard work and dedication of Shiloh Murphy. Shiloh is the Director of Peoples Harm Reduction Alliance. Shiloh was created Saint Shiloh, Of and For The People, Reducer of Harm. We are very happy to usher Shiloh into the company of our Saints.

One of our more moving traditions is taking our vows in public. In this ritual, Sisters who have gone through our process (see www.theabbey.org for details) and have become Fully Professed during the previous year are asked to kneel before their community and take their vows in public.

Other Fully Professed Sisters often take the opportunity to reaffirm their vows at this time. While we “work hard to not take ourselves too seriously that we forget to have fun,” we take our vows very seriously. As a group, we are composed of people from all walks of life, of all sexualities, of many representations of spirituality. Our vow and a deep sense of commitment to our communities bind us together in ways not generally anticipated when someone first joins our Order. Welcome, new Sisters! I’m so very happy to be walking alongside you!

Our anniversary weekend ended on Sunday, July 13 with Saints Brunch at R Place. Saints Brunch is an opportunity for Sisters to continue to celebrate our amazing Saints – many of whom personally inspire the work of some Sisters.

Happy Anniversary, Sisters!

Medical marijuana workers unionize

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July 18, 2014

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

include grocery store workers, Macy’s sales clerks, pharmacy and drug store workers, barbers, bakery workers, office supply store workers, jewelry store workers, and other working families in Pierce, Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.

UFCW has a growing membership in the medical cannabis industry across the country. The union’s Cannabis Workers Rising Campaign aims at legitimizing the medical marijuana industry through col-

lective bargaining, along with regulatory expertise and advocacy.

“Any time you have an industry where jobs, people’s livelihoods, and families are dependent on the law and regulations, the union is the place where workers find their strength to bargain and have a voice in the process,” said UFCW Local 367 President Denise Jagielo.

“The union’s goal is to bring stability to this blossoming industry in Washington for all cannabis workers.” thestand.org

A medical marijuana collective in Puyallup and UFCW (United Food and Commercial Workers) Local 367 announced on July 14 that they had reached agreement on union representation for “patient consultants” working at the collective.

Dutch Master’s Organic Gardens collective has been in business since 2011, and is the first medical marijuana business in Washington to unionize.

“Workers at the collective see the need for further regulatory protections for the estimated 5,000 workers in medical cannabis collectives across the state,” a UFCW 367 media release said. “Most

notably is their genuine concern for patient access under the newly implemented I-502 regulations.”

Collective founder Dutch Master said the union was helping with advice on expansion to other locations, as well as benefits for workers.

“The UFCW works with employers to help them move into different counties and states when they need advice and workers in those areas – pensions, medical, plus all the other standard things that come along with being part of a union,” Master said.

“Above all, having the Cannabis and Hemp Workers Union behind us gives the industry a much greater level of legitimacy.”

“From my experience in nursing and working with patients suffering in nursing homes to now being able to serve medical cannabis patients, we see they are happy and their diseases are getting better instead of getting worse.

Joining the union is our way of bringing stability to medical dispensaries in Washington,” said Lorissa Meyer, who is a patient consultant and patient at the collective.

The 7,500 members of UFCW 367, representing retail and commercial workers,

Patient Consultants for Dutch Master’s Organic Gardens

Celebrating 41 Years!

Be sure to register your GSAs

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Gay & Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Washington state is reminding students and faculty to not forget to register their Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs; forgoing registration could potentially mean losing out on the great tips, tricks, and activities in store for GSAs next school year.

“As we wrap up another school year, we can’t help but beam with pride as we reflect on all the great things GSAs did this year to make schools safer for LGBT youth,” said GLSEN Washington officials. “Share this image on Facebook or Twitter if you love GSAs as much as we do!”

“In case you have not heard, GLSEN has a bunch of resources in store for the next school year to take GSAs to the next level,” continued officials. “Why wait till Fall to register your GSA?” To register your GSA go to http://action. glsen.org/page/s/GSAregistration.

The registration process is fairly easy and takes all of about five minutes to complete. Registering gives an opportunity for a school-based GSA to be counted as one of the thousands of student clubs across the country working to make schools safer and more affirming for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

“Everyday GLSEN, its programs, its chapters and its people, touch the lives of a stu-

dent some place in this country,” GLSEN national says on its website www.glsen.org.

“The teenager in the cafeteria having the courage to walk past an army of tormentors,” say officials. “The Transgender student agonizing about using the restroom. The ally that stands up and says enough. They all rely on GLSEN to provide the support, knowledge or resource to get through the day. They look for the Safe Space sticker and know there is an adult they can count on. Without GLSEN

their lives would be very different.”

Don’t have a GSA but want to start one in the Fall? GLSEN Washington state can help! Go to http://glsen.org/gsa to learn more about the benefits of having a GSA in school, tips on starting a GSA, and finding new members.

“Enjoy your summer,” say GLSEN Washington officials. “We’re looking forward to continue working with you to make your school a place where all students can thrive.”

Inspire Youth Project (formerly Rise n’ Shine) provides life-sustaining support and inspiration for children living in difficult circumstances; Linda Dahlstrom and Nicole Geissler share their experiences

Linda Dahlstrom and Nicole Geissler

Facing the death of a parent at age 9 is difficult for any child. When the reason for the death is AIDS, the child has very few, if any, friends she can talk to. Nicole Geissler, now 28, recalls why she got involved with Rise n’ Shine: “As my stepfather’s health deteriorated, my mom wanted me to have someone outside of the family who understood what was going on with me. She had heard about Rise n’ Shine and how it provided mentors and a community for children affected by HIV/AIDS.” Volunteer mentors at Inspire Youth Project commit to one year of weekly, one-on-

one time with their mentees and often become one of the most important role models in that child’s life. After losing several friends to AIDS in the mid-1990s, Linda Dahlstrom felt compelled to do something.

“I had volunteered as a writer for various AIDS organizations, but when I heard about the great work at Rise n’ Shine and the number of children waiting for mentors, I knew that’s where I should put my heart. There were children just waiting to have an adult in their lives who would spend time with them, listen to them and support them. I was 26 at the time and didn’t have any chil-

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dren yet. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew I could be there and listen.”

With guidance and training from Rise n’ Shine, Dahlstrom became a mentor and was matched with Geissler just a couple of weeks before Geissler’s stepfather passed away. When asked what it was like to have Dahlstrom as her mentor, Geissler recalls, “Children growing up in homes affected by HIV are often unable to have friends over or even talk to friends about what is going on. So having someone you can trust and count on is huge. Linda was the one I always ran to for advice or just to talk. Some of the best memories I have as a child are those I made with Linda.”

Unfortunately, the death of her stepfather was not the last of Geissler’s hardships growing up.

Through the years, she also lost her best friend to suicide, suffered abuse and serious depression. “Linda was a lifesaver – without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Geissler states.

“She was my protector and my greatest motivator. She saw me through some of the toughest times of my life and was also there for the best moments.” Some of those best moments include Geissler graduating from high school and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Marketing and Management. “It was always a dream for me to be one of the first members of my family to graduate from college. By having Linda in my life, I was able to see what a person can do to create the life they want to live.”

Dahlstrom, however, is quick to add, “Being a mentor has been one of the richest experiences of my life. I’ve always felt odd referring to myself as a mentor because the real mentor has been Nicole. She taught me a lot about myself, what’s important in life, and the supreme gift of having another person trust you, laugh with you, and then walk through the darkest times with you – sometimes knowing you can’t make it better, but you can be there.”

Over the years, Dahlstrom became a mother, then suffered the tragic loss of her first son to bacterial meningitis. “Although at the time I was rocked by grief and could barely function, Nicole courageously showed up for me – knowing that all she could offer was her simply being there. At my son’s funeral, she whispered in my ear, ‘You still have me.’ The emotions at the time have overtaken my memory of the day, but I still vividly recall her words and how

powerful and comforting they were.”

Geissler, now working on her career and optimistic about the future, believes having Dahlstrom in her life changed everything.

“Our lives were forever changed by the bond that was created between us. This is the type of friendship that is needed for children who have so much adversity in their lives and struggle to find their way.”

It is with that in mind that in her last year of life, Janet Trinkaus, founder of Rise n’ Shine, changed the organization’s name to Inspire Youth Project and opened its doors to serve more at-risk youth in the community. In addition to serving children affected by HIV/ AIDS, Inspire Youth Project now continues the great work that Childhaven and First Place do by providing services to children who have suffered abuse, neglect, homelessness and other forms of childhood trauma.

Twenty years after they first met, Geissler and Dahlstrom still regularly meet for dinner. “She’s gone from being the child whose height I measured in my kitchen doorway to the beautiful, strong and resilient woman she is today,” Dahlstrom recalls. “I’m so grateful to have Nicole, and for the rest of my life, come what may, Nicole will also always have me.”

With this knowledge, Geissler’s heart fills with joy as she continues to plan for the future. “Looking back on how much Linda did for me, I can’t think of a better way to honor her and Janet than to become a mentor myself. I know there are plenty of children out there in similar situations to when I was growing up, desperately needing a listening ear or a helping hand.”

Founded in 1988, Rise n’ Shine was the first organization in the nation to provide services for children affected by HIV/AIDS. Through summer camps, support groups, mentoring, year-round advocacy and a new college scholarship program for its graduates, Inspire Youth Project (formerly Rise n’ Shine) provides the consistency and longterm nurturing that every child needs in order to grow and contribute to society.

For more information on how to get involved, volunteer or donate to Inspire Youth Project, please visit: inspireyouthproject.org.

July 18, 2014

Seattle Gay News 7

Courtesy of Inspire Youth Project

Pagliacci

Pagliacci apologizes “I feel like the managers tried to do continued from cover right by removing Dylan from the situamay file complaints for discrimination tion,” Galvin told SGN, “but they didn’t and harassment on the job. She recon- deal with the larger context. I’m just sidered only after hearing from Pagliacci happy we came to a conclusion where owner Matt Galvin.

Dylan feels OK.” seattlemet.com

Dylan Paul

Galvin called Paul and apologized to her, offering her job back, or two weeks pay in acknowledgement of her intent to give two weeks notice.

“I respect him for giving me those options,” Paul told SGN. “I still feel really betrayed by the managers. Right now I’m happy with his response and the fact he reached out to me and the Gender Justice League.”

One of Galvin’s efforts to help correct the situation was to ask Elaine Wylie of the Transgender rights group Gender Justice League to do a “Trans 101” training for his employees and managers.

“If you had told me six months ago that I would be in the middle of something like this, I would have been shocked,” Galvin told SGN. “We’re a Trans-friendly place, we have a very diverse and eclectic workforce; it’s who we are, its part of Pagliacci’s culture.

“I guess I kind of became passive. Training and communication needs to be ongoing. It’s a nonstop process.”

Office of Civil Rights advice Elliott Bronstein of the Seattle Office of Civil Rights agrees.

“It’s important to do a little proactive work,” Bronstein told SGN. “Have policies in place. Have training. You don’t want the first time you think of these issues to be when you already have a situation on your hands.”

Bronstein said employees who have complaints about gender or sexual orientation bias can call his office at 206-684-4500.

They will then be scheduled for an interview with an Intake Investigator who will determine if the employee’s complaints could lead to formal charges being filed.

“We’re not the person’s attorney,” Bronstein cautioned. “We can’t advise them, but we can tell them whether a

charge could be filed. It’s ultimately up to the individual what to do.”

Bronstein says his agency doesn’t have a manual, or formal protocols to guide employers, but he did offer some suggestions for dealing with similar situations: “First, listen to the employee,” he said.

“Ask the employee what she or he would like to see happen to resolve the problem.

That doesn’t mean you’re committing to do that very thing, it just helps establish where the employee is at.

“For managers, talk to your own supervisor or the owner. It always helps to know what your higher-up is thinking. There may be policies that you’re not aware of. In Dylan’s case, there wouldn’t have been a gap if the managers had checked in with the owner.”

Speak up!

As for Paul, she is considering jobs with other food service companies, but ultimately she wants to be a welder. She is enrolled in an apprenticeship program at South Seattle Community College.

“I decided to enroll last summer,” she told SGN. “It’s an awesome trade to learn.

You’ll always work, and you can work just about anywhere.”

Asked if the work environment in the building trades was more or less open to Trans people than Pagliacci’s Paul replied that “it’s been kind of a battle. It’s a very different culture in skilled labor.

“But I’ve met a lot of other Lesbians who have been very supportive. They’ve really advocated for me and my girlfriend.”

As for advice to other employees who might encounter similar workplace problems, Paul says “Speak up! Talk with others. Let people know. It’s better to speak up than to let people disrespect you.”

Catholics cut off funds to immigrant rights group over marriage A Portland immigrant rights group lost a longstanding grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development because it also accepts money from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a Latino civil rights organization that endorses marriage equality.

Voz Workers’ Rights Education lost a $75,000 grant in June after refusing to cut ties with NCLR. The Portland group has been affiliated with NCLR as a grant recipient since 2009.

Catholic Campaign director Ralph McCloud said the group asked Voz to cut ties with NCLR, and when it refused, his organization concluded that Voz was “selfdisqualified” from the funding process.

Catholic Campaign, a program of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, had supported Voz since 1994, via 10 grants, McCloud said. In June, the bishops approved more than $14 million in grants to 205 organizations.

“It’s certainly difficult and painful, because Voz has done some tremendous

work,” McCloud said.

“But it became obvious that they were assisting in something that was contrary to the teachings of our traditions. And we have to honor our donors’ intent that this money be spent on issues that are not contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

The Catholic Campaign grant represented a large part of Voz’s annual budget of $310,000, said Voz director Romeo Sosa.

“Marriage equality is not the focus of our work; we focus on immigrant rights. But we work with everyone, we don’t discriminate,” Sosa said. “There may be gays and lesbians among our staff or workers, and we can’t turn our backs on them.”

Local labor, immigrant rights, and LGBT rights groups have vowed to fundraise for Voz to fill the financial hole left by the loss of the Catholic Campaign grant.

Voz is not the only group to lose church funding because of ties to organizations that endorse same-sex marriage.

A coalition of conservative Catholic

8 Seattle Gay News

July 18, 2014

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

groups led by the American Life League has accused the Catholic Campaign of lax administration, and has been working since 2009 to call attention to grantees that fail to comply with Church teachings on abortion, contraception, and LGBT rights.

The bishops then reviewed Catholic Campaign’s grant program and adopted

several changes in 2010 that were designed to clarify the eligibility rules and strengthen the application review process.

As a result of the review, nine nonprofits that were part of coalitions supporting reproductive rights or same-sex marriage were disqualified from the grant process.

Others chose not to apply, or re-apply.

Celebrating 41 Years!

DOJ will back marriage equality, Holder says Nicholas Kamm/AFP / Getty

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in an ABC TV interview that his Department of Justice will argue for marriage equality if the Supreme Court accepts an appeal from Utah officials seeking to save their ban on same-sex marriage.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear Utah’s appeal, the Justice Department will file a brief with the court that “will be in support of same-sex marriage,” Holder said in a rare interview, with ABC News reporter Pierre Thomas.

Holder said the brief would be “consistent with the actions that we have taken over the past couple of years.”

In February 2011, Holder announced that DOJ would no longer defend DOMA in court challenges, because he and President Obama had concluded that the law was unconstitutional. Holder also announced earlier this year that DOJ would recognize marriages performed in Utah and other states after state bans had been struck down, and would extend all federal rights to same-sex spouses.

Holder said that analysis was “vindicated by the Supreme Court,” in its ruling in USA v. Windsor, in which it said that married same-sex couples must re-

ceive the same federal benefits as opposite-sex spouses.

The Windsor ruling did not specifically say that Gay and Lesbian couples have an affirmative right to marry, however, and in the wake of Windsor, the legal battle shifted to lawsuits challenging state bans.

Since Windsor, state or federal courts have overturned bans on same-sex marriage in 17 states. In 13 of those states, officials appealed the lower court decisions.

Utah’s appeal has already been rejected by a panel of the Tenth Circuit Court, and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.

Holder’s latest announcement is significant because it means that if the Supreme Court agrees to hear Utah’s appeal – or any future appeals – DOJ will weigh in on the side of marriage equality.

Holder told ABC that he is confident the Supreme Court will agree with his analysis.

“I think a lot of these measures that ultimately will come before the court will not survive a heightened scrutiny examination,” he said.

Holder recently called the struggle for LGBT rights “a defining civil rights challenge of our time,” adding that the LGBT community is waiting for an “unequivocal declaration that separate is inherently unequal.”

ENDA controversy: Log Cabin Republicans like it just fine as it is

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Log Cabin Republicans say they like ENDA just fine as it is, religious exemption and all.

“Nothing has changed at Log Cabin Republicans regarding our calculus. We continue to support ENDA as it is now, as we always have,” the group’s leader, Gregory T. Angelo told Metro Weekly July 14.

ENDA was intended to prohibit employers from discriminating against LGBT workers. Most national LGBT and human rights organizations have now dropped their support of ENDA because of the broad religious exemption included in the measure.

ACLU, GLAD, NGLTF, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Pride At Work AFL-CIO, and the Transgender Law Center said on July 8 that in light of the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision, ENDA as written would allow employers to discriminate against LGBT employees under the cover of religion, and therefore should not be supported.

HRC said it hopes for an “improved” ENDA with tighter exemptions, and a new, comprehensive LGBT rights bill.

Log Cabin is the oldest, and the only surviving LGBT Republican organization. Its principal competitor, GOProud, dissolved itself earlier this year. Log Cabin accused the other LGBT groups of “moving the goal posts” after the U.S. Senate passed ENDA last year, on a bipartisan 64-32 vote.

“A lot of these organizations on the left withdrawing their support are ignorant of the political reality in Washington that led

to bi-partisan support of ENDA in the Senate in the first place,” Angelo said.

“It’s puzzling, really – it’s like we scored the touchdown with the Senate passage of ENDA, and right as we’re about to kick the field goal in the House the left decides to move the goal posts. Histrionics about the Hobby Lobby decision didn’t help, and a misinformation campaign about the religious exemption in ENDA hasn’t either.

ENDA isn’t perfect, but no one ever said it was the end-game, and in politics you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

According to an analysis by The Leadership Conference, a coalition of more than 200 human rights organizations, “The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) includes a broad exemption for religious organizations…It also acknowledges that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees of religious organizations should be aware that they could lose their jobs, even jobs that do not serve a clearly religious function, because of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The ENDA religious exemption includes: • A complete exemption for houses of worship, parochial and similar religious schools, and missions; • A codification of the so-called “ministerial exemption” recognized by many federal courts, exempting positions at religious organizations that involve the teaching or spreading religion, religious governance, or the supervision of individuals engaged in these activities; • A provision allowing religious organizations, for classes of jobs, to require employees and applicants to conform to a

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declared set of significant religious tenets, including ones which would bar LGBT people from holding the position.

“In the third section of the exemption, the declaration of an employer’s significant tenets is not subject to judicial review and is only applicable in proceedings under ENDA,” The Leadership Conference notes.

Critics of ENDA as currently written say that the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby de-

cision allows even for-profit corporations to opt out of federal laws based on religious beliefs, and therefore the same exemptions that ENDA envisions for religious employers could be extended to any employer, gutting protections for LGBT workers.

Ten Republican Senators joined with Democrats to pass ENDA in 2013, but Republican House Speaker John Boehner said the bill would never come to the floor in the House, even with the religious exemption.

July 18, 2014

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Celebrating 41 Years!

HIV/AIDS epidemic: Done by 2030?

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new UNAIDS report says the global HIV/AIDS epidemic can be brought under control by 2030, but WHO (the World Health Organization) warns that HIV infection rates may “explode” among Gay men and other high risk groups.

The report from UNAIDS, the agency charged with monitoring HIV/AIDS cases and treatment worldwide, notes that new HIV infections have fallen 38% since 2001, and AIDS-related deaths have fallen 20% in the past three years.

According to the report, there were 2.1 million new HIV infections in 2013, compared to 3.4 million in 2001. AIDS-related deaths stood at 1.5 million for 2013, and declined significantly in countries like South Africa and Ethiopia, formerly thought of as hot-spots of the epidemic.

“There have been more achievements in the past five years than in the preceding 23 years,” the UNAIDS report said.

“There is evidence about what works and where the obstacles remain; more than ever before, there is hope that ending AIDS is possible. However, a business-as-usual approach or simply sustaining the AIDS response at its current pace cannot end the epidemic.”

The down side to the global HIV/ AIDS picture is that many HIV-positive people still lack access to life-saving antiretroviral drugs. In fact, UNAIDS estimates that as many as 54% of people living with HIV do not know they are infected and 63% are not getting antiretroviral therapy.

“Providing life-saving HIV treatment to nearly 12 million people in the developing

world is a significant achievement, but more than half of people in need still do not have access,” Dr. Jennifer Cohn, the medical director for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), warned.

HIV/AIDS cases are also becoming more concentrated geographically, with only 15 countries accounting for threequarters of all new HIV infections.

Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, concluded that “If we accelerate all HIV scale-up by 2020, we will be on track to end the epidemic by 2030; if not, we risk significantly increasing the time it would take – adding a decade, if not more.”

Because of these concerns, WHO issued new guidelines for countries to reduce new HIV infections and increase access to HIV testing, treatment and care for these five “key populations.”

They include a comprehensive range of clinical recommendations, but for these to be effective, WHO said, countries need to remove the legal and social barriers that prevent many people from accessing services.

For the first time, WHO strongly recommended that men who have sex with

men consider taking PrEP meds in addition to using condoms.

Computer modelling shows that, globally, 20-25% reductions in HIV incidence among men who have sex with men could be achieved through use of PrEP, averting up to 1 million new infections among the five most at-risk groups over 10 years.

When taken consistently by people at high risk, studies show PrEP meds can reduce the chances of getting HIV by up to 92%.

WHO warning Meanwhile, in a report issued July 11, WHO (the U.N.’s World Health Organization) warned that HIV rates may shoot up among some populations. The report was issued as a lead-in to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, scheduled to start on July 20.

Gottfried Hirnschall, the head of WHO’s HIV department, says that infection rates among Gay men are increasing again, partially because HIV infection no longer represents the same fears to a younger generation with access to drugs that enable patients to live with HIV/AIDS. Although HIV infection rates did drop by a third between 2001 and 2012, Hirnschall characterized progress as “uneven.”

Failure to provide adequate HIV services for key groups – men who have sex with men, people in prison, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and Transgender people – threatens global progress on the HIV response, the WHO report said.

“We are seeing exploding epidemics,” Hirnschall warned.

gaystarnews.com

Federal District Judge Robert Shelby

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UTAH

continued from cover sion was stayed by order of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 6, but in the meantime some 1,300 same-sex couples were married.

Although Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Attorney General Sean Reyes said the state would not recognize the marriages, Federal District Judge Robert Kimball ruled on May 19 that Utah had to recognize them.

On June 25 the Tenth Circuit upheld Shelby’s decision in the original case, and this latest ruling on July 11 upholds Kimball’s decision.

It also refutes Reyes’ legal theory in the case, namely that Utah’s marriage ban is still valid unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in the case.

Reyes has already asked the Supreme Court to review Shelby’s ruling and the Tenth Circuit decision upholding it, and he is expected to ask the high court to consider this Tenth Circuit ruling as well.

The Supreme Court is under no obligation whatsoever to hear Reyes’ appeal, and if they decline to hear it, the Tenth Circuit’s ruling will stand.

Freedom To Marry said they hoped the Supreme Court would agree to hear the case.

“The Supreme Court should take this case and swiftly move to end marriage discrimination across the country,” the group said. “Every day of delay is a day of hardship for couples and their loved ones wrongly denied the freedom to marry and respect for their families. The American people support the freedom to marry, but the law still discriminates for too many American couples in too many states.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which joined the plaintiffs’ legal team in January, did not say whether they wanted a Supreme Court hearing, but they hoped the case would be resolved quickly.

“We want this case to move forward to a final resolution as quickly as possible,” NCLR said.

“Every day, loving and committed same-sex couples and their families in Utah are being harmed by the continued enforcement of measures that deny them equal dignity, security and protection – even though both the federal district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals have held they violate fundamental constitutional guarantees.”

July 18, 2014

Seattle Gay News 13

Transgender activist responsible for changing Northeastern University’s health care program needs help

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Kyle Rapinan, human rights activist and law student, recently reached out to the public to ask for help for Rapinan’s friend, Transgender activist DJ Jones.

Rapinan and another friend, Hannah Adams, created a fundraising page on YouCaring.com called Gender-Affirming Healthcare for Trans Activist DJ Jones (http://www. youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/genderaffirming-healthcare-for-trans-activist-djjones/195776). So far, the team has raised nearly $1,500 of their $5,000 goal. There are just 22 days left in the campaign.

“Everyone deserves health care, self-determination, freedom of choice, and bodily autonomy,” Rapinan and Adams say in the information provided on the fundraising page.

“Whether it is reproductive services, genderaffirming medical care, or any other service, health care should not be denied to anyone

due to their gender identity, race, income level, immigration status, current or former incarceration, or for any other reason. When people are denied these essentials, we, as a community, need to support them.”

According to their friends, DJ is a mixed race Trans and gender queer law student, activist, and organizer seeking public support.

According to Rapinan, DJ was recently denied medical care due to an “outrageous act of insurance discrimination by Northeastern University and its student health plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.”

“Their (DJ’s preferred pronoun is They/ Their) friends are seeking money from the community and any assistance due to the fact that without insurance coverage, DJ has no way to pay for these essential medical services.”

Rapinan says that after years of carefully preparing, a few months ago, DJ scheduled the gender-affirming procedure. Sixteen hours before the procedure, after traveling across the country, DJ was forwarded a fax that denied

pre-authorization for the procedure.

“The fax made it clear that the last-minute denial was due to a Transphobic and discriminatory clause in their student insurance policy that excludes coverage for all transitionrelated healthcare,” said Rapinan. “The doctor, following the insurance determination, cancelled the procedure, and DJ was left with no way to obtain this care. Ironically, Northeastern is amending the policy to remove the Trans health exclusion due in large part to organizing led by DJ. But this change will be effective September 1, and DJ graduates and loses their coverage in August.”

“For DJ’s well-being, gender affirming medical care is extremely important,” say Rapinan and Adams. “We aim to raise $5,000 so that DJ can pay for the procedure despite the discriminatory insurance denial. Please consider making a donation to support this amazing friend and activist who has pursued a lifetime of social justice work and movement building.”

“Please know that DJ believes everyone de-

serves health care, and they are also committed to the movement for trans liberation and health care for all,” said the fundraisers. “This act of health insurance discrimination is part of a much larger system of oppression against Trans people and all marginalized communities. DJ is committed to supporting, organizing, and advocating for racial, economic, and social justice. Over the past several years they have worked for prisoners’ rights, LGBT rights, and trans rights organizations, and have volunteered regularly with an organization supporting and building community with LGBTQ prisoners. They strongly believe in the work of prison abolition, migrant justice, dis/ability justice, Trans/Queer liberation, and reproductive justice movements.”

“Getting this procedure will allow them to bring their full energy and passion to this work,” they conclude.

Demystifying Transgender

by Mac S. McGregor Special to the SGN Most people think breaking the gender constructs or molds in our society shakes the very foundations of all that they know and understand to be solid. Although quantum physics teaches us that nothing is really solid, we still like to think it is. It makes people think they have a better understanding which makes them feel safer. Gender is supposed to be black and white, pick a side. You know, women are from Venus, men are from Mars.

This makes life more understandable, and then we can put each person in a category that helps us know how to react to them and what to expect from them or not, right? Well, it, like the rest of the world, is not that simple.

The word Transgender literally means denoting or relating to a person whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender.

Transgender is an umbrella term that like sexuality or orientation has a large spectrum to it.

On one end there is the fetish of a male-born person who dresses in women’s clothing. On the other end there is the person who does not feel like they were born with a body that matches who they are on the inside and goes through medical procedures to make the body and mind more congruent. And then there is all the fun in between.

Even drag queens and kings fall under a part of the Transgender umbrella because what they do with part of their lives is not a part of the conventional gender norms. Maybe we call them “Trans light.” In the middle now we have gender queer and gender fluid people who don’t want to be stuck to one side or the other of this spectrum. They want the freedom to move about according to how they may feel at the time, or they refuse to buy into any form of the binary gender system.

Sexual Orientation It is also important to point out that a person’s gender expression or gender identity has nothing to do with who they may or may not be attracted to. This is only about who they feel they are inside. There are many who get confused about this and ask things like “did you transition from female to male because you like women?” No, that has nothing to do with why a person transitions. Sexual orientation is just about who a person is attracted to, which is also a spectrum. All the way straight or Gay on either end and a buffet of fun in between.

Gender Expression Then there is gender expression, which means a person may want to dress a certain way, wear their hair style a certain way and so on, that can be anywhere on a spectrum from extreme masculine at one end, very fem feminine at the other and androgenic in the middle. How they present and walk in the world can also have a queer and fluid factor, which many are enjoying today. We all know that every man is not the most masculine man and every woman who is happy being woman is not the most feminine woman, so there is much depth to this scale or spectrum.

Fascination with Genitalia The Transgender community is the only group of people that are constantly asked about their genitalia. The fascination and focus on genitalia is a bit mind-boggling.

Many Trans people get angry at this and I understand that; however, look at how shallow most of our society is and how little freedom there is in the western culture to talk about genitalia or sexuality. This is why, even though I am sometimes shocked at the how, when or where I am asked about my genitals, I have learned to have a sense of humor about it and to understand that most people are awkward to talk about anything to do with sex. This extreme fascination at times makes us feel like the side show at an old fair – “step this way and come see the man born with a vagina”. Maybe I should buy a big top. Please understand that we in the Transgender community want you to know there is much more to us then our genitalia and being Transgender has more to do with our minds and spirits then our crotch. Speaking of mind boggling, isn’t our largest sex organ our brain?

Could you imagine if we judged everyone by their genitalia? This thought makes me belly laugh. What would constitute a real penis? Does it have to be a certain size? Work a certain amount of the time to be counted? Is a woman not a woman if she cannot have children? I could go on and on here. So everyone stand up drop trousers and let’s see how you land on the real man, real woman scale. Wait, let me get my glasses.

This may be shocking to you but not all Transgender people want to have their bodies altered, some just want the freedom to express the way they want to on the spectrum.

The ones who do want to have procedures to alter the body to match more of how they feel have to have the access to do it. It is very expensive and many forms of insurance do not cover these procedures – although we have come a long way. There are companies now that include Transgender care in their cover-

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July 18, 2014

Seattle Gay News

age. And the medical profession is beginning to understand this is not a choice like being Gay is not a choice, and how this affects the overall health and wellbeing of the person.

According to recent polls, only eight percent of American’s say they know someone who is Transgender, while 90 percent claim to know someone who is Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual. This helps to explain why there is still so much education needed around the topic of gender. I believe that more people may know someone who is Transgender, but don’t know they know them. Many Transgender people live a stealth life for reasons of safety, careers, and family relationships. And because being Transgender is still looked at as freakish. Many Transgender people still have to deal with fear of doing simple things like going to a public restroom, which in some places can literally be life threatening.

The suicide rate among Transgender people is the highest of any group; the poverty and unemployment rates are also the highest.

Language Many are easily offended by the slightest misuse of a word in the LGBTQI community, and yet language is fluid and constantly changing. Who can keep up? I am a professional educator in gender, sexuality and kink and I have to constantly check in about the new ways of saying things. I believe the important thing for all of us to think about and evaluate is a person’s intent. We all attach different meanings to words. Those meanings we attach are influenced by our families, our religions, our schools, our communities, what we read and are exposed to. Therefore, a word I might find offensive being from the South, you may not find offensive at all if you are from California.

When we carry big chips on our shoulders and attack one another over the use of a word when the intent is not bad, we are alienating ourselves and understanding for our community.

I truly believe that most people are not trying to offend anyone, but many are uneducated or the meaning they attach to the word is not the same as the meaning some of us attach. So check that chip on your shoulder at the door and in a warm, kind way educate.

Cisgender – An obscure term for nonTrans people, meaning that someone’s body and gender identity match.

Queer – An overarching term for anyone outside gender norms, including Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, as well as Trans people.

Gender Queer – Any individual that doesn’t – or won’t – adhere to the expectation of the only two gender presentations that which our culture allows, as based upon one’s ministerial and external ‘birth sex’. (as in, “When Patrick was a kid, he didn’t realize the extent of how genderqueer he was, despite his inherent tomboyishness on the playground.”)

Gender Fluid – Gender Fluid is a gender identity best described as a dynamic mix of boy and girl. A person who is Gender Fluid may always feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, but may feel more boy some days, and more girl other days. Being Gender Fluid has nothing to do with which set of genitalia one has, nor their sexual orientation.

Transsexual – Someone who wishes to take all the steps necessary to be accepted as completely as possible in their chosen gender.

FTM – female-to-male.

MTF – male-to-female.

Cross-dresser - Someone who enjoys wearing clothing and accessories intended for a different gender role. This can be done for both sexual and non-sexual reasons.

HRT – hormone replacement therapy.

Gender Expression – Gender expression refers to all of the external characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine, such as dress, grooming, mannerisms, speech patterns and social interactions. Social or cultural norms can vary widely and some characteristics that may be accepted as masculine, feminine or neutral in one culture may not be assessed similarly in another.

Drag – A type of expression that typically involves exaggerated performance of gender characteristics. A performer is called a drag queen if they are performing as a woman or a drag king if they perform as a man.

Sexual Orientation – Sexual Orientation is the preferred term used when referring to an individual’s physical and/or emotional attraction to the same and/or opposite gender.

“Gay,” “Lesbian,” “Bisexual” and “Straight” are all examples of sexual orientations. A person’s sexual orientation is distinct from a person’s gender identity and expression.

Terms to know (right now) Transgender – An umbrella term used to describe anyone whose gender identity or expression situates them differently than the traditional gender role they were assigned at birth. Some of the countless categories lumped together under this term include crossdressing, drag, transMac MacGregor is Social Outreach Seattle’s genderism, transsexualism, androgyny, and Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Outmany shadings between these larger groupings. reach Director

Celebrating 41 Years!

An LGBT pioneer marries

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News Something happened last week that I thought would never happen in my lifetime: I got married. And now, a few days later, it still is an amazement to me.

I never thought that little piece of paper and ceremony would mean this much. If I had any questions about that, it was answered when all of our wedding guests had gone home Saturday night, and Jason and I had time alone. The look of joy on his face was the most beautiful expression I’ve seen in our 10 years together. It was pure joy and empowerment.

His look was so reassuring and loving that, in all honesty, even after 10 years, it melted my heart. You can talk all about those 1,100 rights that that piece of paper gives you, but to me the most valuable it thing it gave was that one look – that look of joy on Jason’s face.

For Jason and me, it all started May 20, when our city was about to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The man in charge, Register of Wills Ron Donatucci, had honored me by having me deputized to assist in handing out the forms. It was reported on the news and Jason called to ask if I’d like him to join me. I think we both knew at that moment that we were helping other couples, so why not us?

Unfortunately, in the rush to get to City Hall, I had forgotten my wallet. City Councilman Jim Kenney (who wanted to be a witness on this historic day for the LGBT community) and Ron heard Jason

and me talking and since, according to law, the $80 license fee must be paid in cash, Ron and Jim each paid $40 so Jason and I could get a license. Then, we noticed that the license was only good for 60 days.

Since we live a very public life, we decided at that moment that we wanted a very private and small wedding with no hoopla – no public officials, celebrities or press – and all our invitees were sworn to secrecy. Family came in from six states and our friend Judge Dan Anders was the only choice to perform the ceremony. That led to the question of who cried more during the ceremony – the grooms or the judge.

We each spoke our vows, and when Judge Anders uttered that line, “By the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” and then he added “and Judge Jones,” a chill of joy and emotions hit me hard.

We had planned to take all the relatives from out of town to brunch on Sunday but, during the reception, Jason explained that the family wanted to keep this private so we were hosting the brunch at home. This meant that, after the reception, Jason and I had to go shopping.

In our suits, and freshly married, off we went to the only store we knew that would be open at midnight: Walmart. We were the happiest people you would ever see at a Walmart.

Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/PhilaGayNews. www.epgn.com

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Victory

continued from cover might someday be elected Mayor of Seattle. It is organizations like Victory Fund that helped to make his dream, and the dreams of other LGBT people who wish to serve in public office, possible. In addition, he pointed out that since Cal Anderson first won a seat in the state House of Representatives, we have elected three other Gay men (Ed Murray, Jamie Pedersen and Brady Walkinshaw, respectively) to fill that seat whenever it was vacated – keeping a member of our community in that same House seat since 1987.

U.S. Representative (WA-1) Suzan Delbene was up next. Currently Delbene is campaigning to keep her seat in the nation’s capital – something attendees were reminded of throughout the eve-

ning. She has been a friend to the LGBT community and the LGBT civil rights movement since she got elected to office. Delbene’s main job, however, was to introduce former Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride, an open Lesbian candidate for the Washington state House of Representatives from the Eastside.

McBride was excited to be at the brunch and her energy was really great as she spoke with authenticity and drive.

She also talked about the importance of the Victory Fund.

Representative Brady Walkinshaw – who was appointed to fill Jamie Pedersen’s seat in the state House of Representatives when Ed Murray was elected mayor last year and Jamie Pedersen was

appointed to fill Ed Murray’s state Senate seat – gave a speech about what it means to keep the seat that Cal Anderson, Ed Murray, and Jamie Pedersen held for so many years. Walkinshaw is a rising star in the community and in Olympia. The Victory Fund had endorsed his candidacy for Washington state 43rd District House seat last year. Walkinshaw is not facing reelection this year.

The highlight of the brunch was not only U.S. Representative Mark Pocan, the openly Gay Democrat from Wisconsin, who was billed as the top speaker, but also and especially Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu by acclamation. When Justice Yu was introduced the crowd sustained a minutes-long

standing ovation and a happy – but tearful – Yu spoke with thankfulness in her heart and truth and justice on her side.

It really was quite a great moment to witness. Make no mistake, the Victory Fund does not have something they are trying to spin – they are quite upfront with their intentions. But whenever you are at these kinds of events it is all message, message, message, all the time. But with Justice Yu, her message was one of being grateful and doing what is right and being proud of who you are while you do it. That is a message I think we can all get behind.

And the rest of the attendees did, too, as she enjoyed, once again, a minutes-long applause when she concluded her remarks from the stage.

Neo-Nazis fail to disrupt Budapest Pride Budapest Pride Festival / Facebook

Budapest Pride 2014

more than 10,000 people took part in a march through the Hungarian capital.

The embassies of Australia, Austria, BelBudapest Pride went off without a hitch gium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, July 12, despite efforts by a neo-Nazi par- Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, Nethty to disrupt the event. Organizers said erlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweby Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

den, Switzerland, the UK and the US signed a group statement of support for the event.

However, the Jobbik Party – an anti-Semitic, anti-Roma, anti-Gay neo-Nazi group – condemned the march as a “provocation to the majority,” and “perverted.” Jobbik spokesperson Ádám Mirkóczki said it was “appalling” that some foreign embassies helped sponsor the event.

One Jobbik Party official, Mihály Zoltán Orosz, tried to join the Pride march with a contingent of 30-some “family values” demonstrators holding signs covered with biblical verses. He was prevented from entering the march by police.

Another Jobbik official, member of the Hungarian parliament Előd Novák, hung a banner from a window in the parliament building reading “This house does not want your deviant propaganda.”

As the Pride march entered Heroes’ Square in the center of Budapest, some counter-protesters broke through a cor-

don to attack the marchers, but they were quickly beaten back by police and the march concluded successfully.

Jobbik was founded as a right-wing youth group in 2002 and became a political party in 2003. In 2007, Jobbik members founded the paramilitary Hungarian Guard as a so-called “self-defense” association, but the Guard was dissolved by Court order two years later because of its attacks on minority communities.

In April 2012, Jobbik introduced a bill in the Hungarian parliament that would have amended the national constitution to “protect public morals and the mental health of the young generations” by banning the popularization of “sexual deviancy” very much like similar legislation in Russia. The measure did not pass.

In the April 2014 parliamentary elections, Jobbik won more than 20% of the vote, becoming Hungary’s third-largest political party.

Top researchers traveling to International AIDS Conference killed in Malaysian crash

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Several passengers aboard Malaysian flight MH17, which was shot down near the Ukraine-Russia border by a Russian surface-to-air missile, reportedly were AIDS researchers and staff traveling to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne.

According to reports, several, possibly dozens, of the nearly 300 passengers aboard Malaysian flight MH17 to Australia that was blown out of the sky without warning by a Russian surface-to-air missile, were headed to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne.

The International AIDS Conference released this short statement, “The International AIDS Society (IAS) today expresses its sincere sadness at receiving news that a number of colleagues and friends en route to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference taking place in Melbourne, Australia, were on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that has crashed over Ukraine earlier today.

At this incredibly sad and sensitive time

the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to this tragedy.”

About 14,000 people from more than 200 countries are convening in Melbourne to assess how far the world has come in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and to seek consensus on what more needs to be done.

The pro-Russian separatists who control the area where the flight crashed have agreed to allow investigators safe access to the crash site to recover bodies and gather evidence, according to a statement from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

It remains unclear if Americans were on board the flight. Officials said that 154 passengers were Dutch. In addition, according to the latest numbers released by the airline, 43 were Malaysian, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, 9 British, 4 Belgians, 4 Germans, 3 Filipinos and 1 Canadian. Nationalities of 41 other passengers remain unknown at this time.

On Twitter, the hashtag #AIDS2014 has become filled with updates and messages of condolence.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17

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