Celebrating 44 Years! Issue 10 Volume 46
Artswest’s Hir a darkly comic shocker that’s magnificently captivating
Seattle Choruses welcome special guest Randy Rainbow for “Not In Our Town”
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FRIDAY March 9, 2018 FREE!
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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY
Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan: Washington State Legislature ‘We will do what we have to do bans conversion therapy to protect the people in Seattle’
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan with Sarah Toce – Photo courtesy of MK Scott
by Sarah Toce Special to the SGN Former U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan has made history as Seattle’s first lesbian mayor and only the second woman in history to hold the office. Running on a platform of free college tuition for Seattle public
high school graduates, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, and protection of small business communities, Durkan secured endorsements from the nation’s top civil rights advocates, labor union groups, progressive political allies, and tech leaders.
see DURKAN page 4
Photo courtesy of Getty
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Washington State Legislature voted to ban conversion therapy on March 4. Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign the bill into law. The State Senate agreed to amendments made by the House and passed SB 5722 by
a lopsided 33-to-16 margin. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias, would make it “unprofessional conduct” for a licensed health care provider to perform conversion therapy on a patient under the age of 18.
see BAN VICTORY page 4
HRC responds to HUD Mississippi town backs down, Secretary Ben Carson’s move OKs Pride parade to erase nondiscrimination from mission statement
Photo courtesy of HRC
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary – Photo courtesy of HRC
WASHINGTON, DC – [On March 7], the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, responded to Secretary Ben Carson’s release of a new mission statement for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) that removed several key phrases from the existing mission statement that prioritized fighting discrimination in housing and supporting access and inclusivity in all communities:
see CARSON page 11
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The town of Starkville, Mississippi, backed down from its previous decision and granted a permit for a Pride parade
scheduled for March 24. The city aldermen voted 4-to-3 to deny the permit last month, and they were promptly slapped with a federal lawsuit by the parade organizers. At their March 6
see STARKVILLE PRIDE page 11