SGN April 1, 2016 - Section 1

Issue 14 Volume 44

Celebrating 42 Years!

Erika Girardi

Queen of White Party PS!

Midnight Special Review & Interview

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Same-sex couples can Bernie Sanders now adopt children in overwhelms Washington with his all 50 states big caucus win

Same-sex adoptions now ok in all of U.S. – courtingthelaw.comt

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan ruled Thursday that Mississippi’s ban on samesex couples adopting children is unconstitutional, making LGBTQ adoption legal in all 50 states.

The judge issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, citing the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex mar-

riage nationwide last summer. The injunction blocks Mississippi from enforcing its 16-year-old anti-Gay adoption law.

The Supreme Court ruling “foreclosed litigation over laws interfering with the right to marry and rights and responsibilities inBernie Sanders – Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News tertwined with marriage,” Jordan wrote. “It state caucus on Saturday by a huge margin. also seems highly unlikely that the same by Victor Hawthorne Winning every county in the state, Sanders court that held a state cannot ban gay mar- SGN Staff Writer took 73 percent of caucus-goers compared riage because it would deny benefits – exBernie Sanders won the Washington see ADOPTION page 3 see BERNIE SANDERS page 5

Trump: “Women who 12th Annual ICON get abortions should be at Seattle Marriott punished” Waterfront April 10

Donald Trump – Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

Aleksa Manila – aleksamanila.com

by Shaun Knittel he surprises us all and takes it to a whole SGN Associate Editor different level.

On Wednesday, perhaps to end Women’s ICON, now in its 12th year, is scheduled Just when we thought Donald Trump History Month with a bang, he managed to for April 10, VIP 5 p.m., general admission could not possibly offend women any more, 6 p.m., at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront see DONALD TRUMP page 7 Hotel (2100 Alaskan Way). Each year Seby Victor Hawthorne SGN Staff Writer

attle Drag legend Aleksa Manila produces “ICON: A Celebration of Drag, Art and Life” to raise money for Seattle Counseling Service (SCS). A general admission seat costs $125, which includes a catered dinner, see ICON page 6

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April 1, 2016

Celebrating 41 Years!

Moving forward, looking back

by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News Jason and I went to a heterosexual wedding last weekend. (I wonder if heterosexuals say, “I went to a gay wedding last weekend”?) Anyway, it was the first one we’ve been to since our own wedding. We were honored to be asked to be a part of the ceremony itself; we got the opportunity to watch the faces of our friends, Jesse and Mark, as they went through a monumental change in their lives.

Watching them in all their happiness, and seeing them share that moment with family and friends, in a tradition that has continued for thousands of years, was very

ADOPTION

continued from cover pressly including the right to adopt – would then conclude that married gay couples can be denied that very same benefit.”

Last year, four couples challenged Mississippi’s law. They were joined by the Campaign for Southern Equality and the Family Equality Council.

“Two sets of our clients have waited many (almost 9 and 16) years to become legal parents to the children they have loved and cared for since birth,” Roberta Kaplan, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “We hope that it should finally

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reassuring. To think that we in the LGBT community can now enjoy that same privilege amazes me, reinforced by the happiness I saw on Jesse and Mark’s faces, which is similar to the joy shared by LGBT people in many places in this world. Yet, the activist in me thinks about the places where marriage equality is not legal, and where LGBT people are imprisoned or killed.

I find myself dwelling on this issue more and more, especially when we in this country have some great success in our struggle for equality. It seems we forget what it took to get to this point in our very own history, and at times we think of ourselves and our rights as an island – and leave the rest of the world far from our minds.

How far we have come in such a short time. My mind recalls that Thomas Jefferson, upon discovering that an officer was caught committing “buggery” with a common soldier at Valley Forge, wrote George Washington to suggest the man should be

hanged. But then I smiled: How would Jefferson or even Washington react if they suddenly came back to life at the marriage of two men or women? Jefferson, who suggested that a revolution should take place from time to time, most likely would attempt to understand the changes in society.

And I somehow think Washington might just try to be diplomatic and not hurt anyone’s feelings with his own opinions.

The point is, we sometimes see marriage equality in current terms, and not as just one point in a struggle that still moves forward. The struggle is not over.

be clear that discrimination against gay people simply because they are gay violates the Constitution in all 50 states, including Mississippi.”

The one-sentence Mississippi law – which reads, simply, “Adoption by couples of the same gender is prohibited” – was adopted in 2000. While several other states, including Alabama, Florida, Nebraska and Michigan, had similar bans, all have since been overturned. Mississippi, however, remained the only holdout until Thursday’s ruling. It is important to note that some states still have restrictions on fostering children, however, and other roadblocks for

same-sex couples remain.

In a 2013 blog post for The Huffington Post, former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove, who signed the adoption bill into law, said he supported overturning it.

“This decision that all of us made together has made it harder for an untold number of children to grow up in happy, healthy homes in Mississippi – and that breaks my heart,” Musgrove wrote.

The ruling seems almost unreal to many because it came soon after Mississippi’s Senate passed a “religious freedom bill,” which would give businesses the right to deny service to LGBT people.

April 1, 2016

Seattle Gay News 3

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.

#CONSENT information campaign launched on Capitol Hill by Our Hill, Our Home Facebook group

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Capitol Hill resident Aten Pharaoh first moved to the neighborhood in 1987.

For more than two decades of going to local nightclubs on Capitol Hill he says he’s seen a few things. Some of those things he did not like, such as the predators who prey on somebody’s weaknesses. The obvious things that many of us have seen but aside from complaining about, haven’t bothered to really address the problem or do anything about.

Representing the organization Our Hill, Our Home, which Pharaoh says he created to help educate his community about what’s been happening to Capitol Hill as far as crime is concerned. “I got tired of seeing reports of violence and knew I had to do something to help,” he told Seattle Gay News. “I created #CONSENT because somebody needed to do something to help the most vulnerable among us.”

Our Hill, Our Home seeks to express a positive message of ownership. “I refuse to believe we have lost anything and therefore do not need to take anything back,” says Pharaoh.

“Capitol Hill is already ours.”

Through this group the community members who join stay connected, exchange ideas, discover events, and learn what each of them can do to help end intolerance on the Hill. Our Hill, Our Home, cooperates and works with the Seattle Police Department on their efforts to reform as well as anticrime initiatives they have such as the SPD SAFE PLACE program.

“Our Hill, Our Home continues to extend our hand out to all our many allies who want a safer and diverse community,” said Pharaoh, who thinks that the most vulnerable people in our community could be considered, but is not limited to, people who are out at night without any friends, anyone who is in a nightclub and unknowingly has been drugged, and other similar folks and situations. By his estimation, if we, as a community, look after each other, then the people who prey on the vulnerable won’t get the chance to ultimately commit the crimes they resign to commit. #CONSENT, as in giving consent for sexual activity, is not an anti-drug or alcohol campaign. “If two consenting adults want to get high and or drunk and have sex nobody should have a problem,” he says with emphasis on the words “consenting

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adults.”

But when predators use mind-altering substances to take advantage of others, that’s when Pharoah says that he, and he would hope, others take issue. The intentional predator is the worst he says. But Pharaoh says that it is important to educate the public that sometimes this can be done out of ignorance, such as buying someone too many drinks and then thinking that because the liquor may have loosened them up means it is a good idea to take them home.

“How many twenty somethings really know that an intoxicated person cannot actually give consent,” he asks.

Ultimately Pharoah says, “I want this

tional Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656HOPE (4673).

For years, Aten Pharaoh has been a fixture amongst Seattle’s Goth elite. He is widely known in the scene and enjoys a good reputation. Pharaoh works at Spooked in Seattle (www.SpookedinSeattle.com) which helps educate the public about hauntings, and offers its participants the real stories based on research and personal encounters. They provide customers with the chance to join them on ghost tours at various places throughout Seattle, including the Seattle Underground, as well as, give private tours, classes, and more.

Before #CONSENT was launched Pharaoh says he spent hours on end talking

conversation to protect vulnerable individuals from predators. Predators want the silence, it makes their efforts easier. And I also want to educate those who might otherwise be good people but are simply unaware of what exactly is and is not proper consent.”

The program consists of informative posters that venue owners can post for people to read with factual information such as “Sexual contact without consent is sexual assault or rape” or “Consent is voluntary, sober, desired, honest, and mutually agreed on.” #CONESENT also prints palm cards with the same information printed on them, including the phone number for the Na-

with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), The King County Sexual Assault Research Center, sexual assault victims, nightclub managers and security personnel.

“It was important to me not to create a panic,” he says, meaning that although there are incidents of rape and sexual assault on Capitol Hill, #CONSENT in no way means that there is some kind of immediate danger to anyone going out to have a good time more so today than yesterday.

He also told Seattle Gay News that language such as “most incidents of feeling drugged are actually the result of over consumption” and “If you feel you’ve been drugged, please contact a hospital immedi-

April 1, 2016

ately, as your life could be in danger” to get people to think about drinking too much and then not being able to say what, if anything, has happened to you and contradictory to that, that anyone who feels they may have been drugged should not be made to think they should stay silent and not report anything out of fear of being shamed.

“Seeing people go on social media the next day talking about how they were drugged the night before, with no proof, no toxicology report, doesn’t actually help anyone,” he said. “In fact it creates a panic and I would argue it also helps future predators when people claim to have been drugged without presenting any proof because now a predator doesn’t have to worry too much about people going to the hospital or others believing their victim(s).”

Pharaoh says he hopes that #CONSENT helps create an environment in every community where predators are the ones who are scared (to act) instead of those they would seek to prey on.

Our Hill, Our Home, which refers to all communities that call Capitol Hill home, felt it was necessary to conduct outreach specifically to the LGBTQ community because through his experience, Pharaoh says that most of the LGBTQ people he knows look at #CONSENT and sexual assault and rape as a straight issues.

“Sexual predators affect both the straight and LGBTQ communities,” he reminds. “My efforts are meant to open up that conversation and end the silence,” he told SGN. “So victims don’t feel alone and can speak of their experiences.”

Pharaoh says that he has noticed how violence on the Hill is reported by the mainstream media and that although there are many different types of violence, which includes sexual assault and rape, it is not something that is widely addressed. “I feel that sexual assaults are another example of violence that needs to be addressed though has taken a back seat to other legitimately terrible concerns,” he said.

According to www.areavibes.com, a website that tracks crime statistics in major cities across the country, the overall crime rate on Capitol Hill is 8% higher than the national average and there is an average of 8 crimes that occur a day. The site also says that you have a 1 in 32 chance of becoming a victim of any crime on Capitol Hill. Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct re-

Celebrating 41 Years!

ports that so far, in 2016, there has been one reported rape (which occurred in January) of the 16 total citywide. But it is important to keep in mind that sexual assault is one of the most under reported crimes in America, with 68% left unreported. According to the RAINN, out of every 100 rapes 32 get reported to police, 7 lead to an arrest, 3 are referred to a prosecutor, 2 lead to a felony conviction, and just 2 rapists will spend a single day in jail. The other 98 walk free.

Pharaoh has seen the impact that these types of crimes can have on the victim.

He told SGN that his mother was a victim of sexual abuse from the time she was in second grade until she moved away from home at 18. That coupled with the friends that have come forward over the years to explain their history of trauma due to similar situations, Pharaoh said he began to see that these crimes can negatively impact all communities, everywhere, and therefore warrants at minimum, a discussion about what we can all do to possibly stop these terrible things from happening.

Overall, he says, response to #CONSENT has been great. “Ever since I began sounding the horn over a year ago this has been a topic of discussion so much greater than it had ever been before,” he says, at least in the circles of people he knows anyway. And that is something and many applaud his efforts to continue. “I am so thankful that this has been taking place.

BERNIE SANDERS continued from cover

to Hillary Clinton’s 27 percent.

“We knew things were going to improve when we headed west,” Sanders told an ecstatic crowd at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin as the results were announced.

Sanders also overwhelmingly took home the day’s two smaller prizes, Alaska and Hawaii. Taking 13 of 16 delegates from Alaska and 17 of 25 delegates from Hawaii, Sanders demonstrated that he was a force to be reckoned with out West.

While analysts have projected that his odds of being the Democratic nominee remain long, Sanders said “we have a path towards victory,” adding that it was “hard for anyone to deny that our campaign has the momentum.”

Heavy turnout throughout Washington state overwhelmed some caucus locations, including all four Capitol Hill locations.

The line spilling out of the Miller Community Center looped around the parking lot and out onto 19th Ave. E. in what turned out to be a cheerful, spirited, and friendly Saturday afternoon.

The Monkey Loft in downtown Seattle and Castle Megastore on Capitol Hill are both early and enthusiastic supporters.”

“The LGBTQ Community has been amazing,” he says. “I’ve never had to ask twice of any establishment to put up a poster or allow us to leave information palm cards at their door for people to take with them on their way home.“ So far Pharaoh reports that Neighbours Nightclub, The Wild Rose and recently The Cuff have pledged their support for #CONSENT. “I am eternally grateful for the support of Social Outreach Seattle,” he said.

Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea) is a social justice nonprofit that is working on an information booklet for LGBTQ people that will include things like, what to do if you are the victim of a hate crime, selfdefense tips and will also include information about #CONSENT. The booklet will be available in June, which is when crimes against people on Capitol Hill historically begin to rise.

“But I’ve also had some disappointments,” he said. “I get the feeling that some people might think that #CONSENT might be bad for business if it is displayed at some nightclubs. Though I might have been turned down by an establishment in the past it is not in me to walk away and I will try again and remain confident that I will win them over.”

The challenge has been, with some venues, is that they think that by having this type of literature around their might be an issue of liability. In other words if they have a poster that explains they don’t want people to overdrink because that can lead to putting yourself in a bad situation, because if they do overserve and then something happens to that person later, they feel they might be held responsible. Nightlife can be a strange and bizarre world sometimes.

Most people might look at that statement and scoff but whether you agree or not, some venues refuse to have anything to do with the program.

“I continue to meet new supporters all the time and it is my goal to have every establishment on Capitol Hill and throughout our city supporting this,” said Pharaoh.

“We are one big community, we are all one family and we can and must all strengthen our commitment to creating a safe environment for everyone.”

If you want to learn more about the project, you can join the discussion on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/ OURHILLOURHOME. And if you’d like to see how you can help, Pharaoh says you can do so by asking your favorite establishment if they support #CONSENT. If they do, he says you should thank them. If they don’t, then contact Pharaoh at gruenab@ yahoo.com and ask for #CONSENT postcards or posters and he will provide them to

you free of charge. #CONSENT has been privately funded by its creator but Pharaoh maintains that he has been approached regarding corporate sponsorship. If that does not work out, he says, if it becomes necessary he will create a gofundme.com campaign in the future to help pay for the cost of printing as the program takes on more establishments.

“Sexual Assault. Rape. These crimes poison our communities,” he concludes.

“There’s no reason for this to continue.

There’s no reason for the silence. There’s no reason for predators to feel they can get away with it.”

“And while there are times when an innocent person is accused, perhaps by a jealous former lover or somebody seeking attention for personal gain (which I believe are terrible crimes as well) we must support those who say they have been the victim of violence of any type,” said Pharaoh. “Anyone willing to lie about being the victim of a sex crime is no better than an actual rapist.”

Pharaoh says that supporting the victim could mean any number of things such as helping them get the evidence to prove their case, getting them to the hospital, helping them seek legal counsel, recommending they talk to the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE (4673); https:// ohl.rainn.org/online/) and hopefully finding a road map for them to move forward.

Participants did not seem bothered by the longer than anticipated process, with many people chatting in line, drinking coffee, and enjoying the warmth of what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.

A similar scene unfolded outside of Century Ballroom – multiplied by a factor of ten. Voters spilled out of the building and stretched out onto 10th Avenue before curving down E. Pike St. and beyond. The event also swelled out into Cal Anderson Park, and Central Lutheran Church. Organizers seemed overwhelmed at times, as they struggled to direct people to last minute caucus locations while a few participants left due to confusion and time constraints.

Impassioned neighbors engaged in lively debates over the merits of Clinton versus Sanders, with many Clinton supporters referencing her experience, the need for a first woman president, and her ability to beat Trump in the general election. Sanders voters on the other hand stressed Sander’s progressive vision, his unapologetic authenticity and his dedication to the truth.

One woman explained why she was voting for Sanders, saying,”The most impor-

tant thing for me in my life is to be myself no matter what. That is who Bernie Sanders is. He is the same Bernie that he was 20 and 30 years ago, you cannot say the same about Clinton.”

Sander’s populist appeal here isn’t just confined to Democrats. The once unheard of Senator from Vermont has even managed to win over a handful of Washington state Republicans.

At Edmonds-Woodway High School in Snohomish County, Marian Squibb caucused as a Democrat for the first time. “My husband and I always voted Republican,” she said. “This is my first time ever caucusing as a Democrat.”

Leaning towards Sanders, Squibb said that her adult children were Democrats and expressed concern over the candidates on the Republican side.

“And I don’t care for the Republican candidates this time around. Trump, he’s the worst. His language, he shouldn’t be using it,” she said.

While the vast majority of Washington state’s 101 pledged delegates will go to Sanders, most of the state’s 16 unpledged delegates have already expressed their sup-

port for Clinton, including Governor Inslee, both U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and all six Democrats in the state’s U.S. House delegation.

Sanders’ wins on Saturday no doubt refueled his campaign, with over 4 million dollars raised since his trio of wins and a new Public Policy Poll in Wisconsin showing him ahead of Clinton by 6 points, up 7 points from being down by one point just last week.

The math in the remaining states seems to overwhelmingly favor Hillary Clinton, but there’s no denying Bernie Sanders is giving the former Secretary of State a run for her money as he continues to surprise her, his supporters, and possibly even himself.

While some Democrats see Bernie Sanders as a distraction to the real contest heading into the summer, most admit that Bernie Sanders is having a major impact on this election by forcing Clinton to take more progressive policy positions.

Win or lose the nomination in June, Bernie Sanders will come out a winner no matter what.

LGB Trans people more likely to face discrimination, study says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Transgender people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bi are more likely to face discrimination than ones who identify as straight, a new study shows.

The study, by Jody L. Herman, scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, is titled “LGB within the T: Sexual Orientation in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey and Implications for Public Policy” and has

been published in Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities.

According to Herman’s study, LGB Trans people are more likely than straight ones to have experienced harassment on the job (51% vs. 46%), at school (80% vs.

71%), and in a place of public accommodation like a restroom or locker room (55% vs.

44%).

LGB Trans people were also somewhat more likely to lack health insurance (20% vs. 15% for straight Trans people) and to have postponed getting medical care due to

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discrimination from doctors or other health care providers (29% vs. 25%).

LGBT Trans respondents reported family rejection at a higher rate than straight respondents (59% vs. 53%).

Not surprisingly, LGB Trans people reported a higher rate of suicide attempts than straight ones (42% vs. 36%).

In some areas, straight Trans respondents fared worse, however. For example, the rate of HIV infections among straight Trans people was nearly double that among LGB respondents (4.03% vs. 2.16%).

Also, the study found that a significantly higher percentage of straight respondents reported leaving school because the harassment they experienced was so bad (17% vs.

12%).

The Williams Institute has been studying economic, social, and legal disparities affecting the LGBT community since 2001.

Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities is an interdisciplinary essay collection on Transgender scholarship and public policy published by Rutgers University Press.

April 1, 2016

Seattle Gay News 5

Miami Beach Gay Pride celebrating its eighth year with Iggy Azalea April 8-10

by Albert Rodriguez SGN A&E Writer Ready for Pride? While our event is still in the planning stages, organizers at the opposite corner of the country, Miami Beach, are just about set for their big show.

In its eighth year, Miami Beach Gay Pride is prepared to welcome 130,000 people from throughout South Florida, nearby states of Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, plus many other parts of North America and the world, as the tropical city has become a scorching hot tourist destination that draws visitors from nearly everywhere, especially Europe and Latin America.

Rap/pop star Iggy Azalea will appear at the event as the guest of honor, joining host Elvis Duran on his float during the parade and both will serve as emcees for a VIP fundraiser prior to the parade.

“It’s such an important day to celebrate with my LGBTQ fans,” Azalea said in a statement to People magazine, “and I can’t wait to see my Azaleans there!”

The main festivities will be staged between April 8 and 10, but a weeklong series of events begins on April 4 with the Rainbow Flag being raised at City Hall (1700 Convention Drive), where the public is invited to watch with local officials. Later that evening, just blocks away, the Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2016 and Silent Auction will take place at Score Nightclub (1437 Washington Avenue). The pageant and auction is a FUNdraiser for Miami Beach Gay Pride honoring Athena Dion, Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride 2015. Besides the crown and title, the pageant winner will take home $1,000 in cash + $1,000 in prizes.

There are many other events leading up to the weekend, such as Spotlight: Mega

ICON

continued from cover a glitzy show, and an inspiring testimonial speech.

VIP tickets get you priority seating, a VIP reception with a complimentary beverage, exclusive performances by Nikolai Pirak and Brian Buck, as well as a chance to win four 1-day park hopper passes to Disneyland. You must be present at the VIP reception to win. VIP is currently SOLD OUT according to SCS officials.

“It feels humbling to witness how far and how successful ICON has become; especially, seeing the growing number of attendees year after year,” Aleksa Manila told Seattle Gay News. “Of course, it is also exciting to organize it and put on a fantastic and entertaining show for folks who love and support Seattle Counseling Service.”

Looking back, Aleksa admits she did not initially intend to do it regularly. “But with its first successful show, SCS Executive Director Ann McGettigan encouraged me to do it again.”

Aleksa says that, despite all the experience she has putting the event together, she often gets anxious and nervous before the show. McGettigan lifts her spirits she says.

“The event has grown so much that we now have a team to organize it and I’m very grateful,” said Aleksa. “It makes me smile when I remember SCS Board Members and I walked up and down Broadway putting up

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Mario Lopez at 2015 Miami Beach Gay Pride – MBGP

Mixer on April 5 at the Shore Club South Beach (1901 Collins Avenue), hosted by the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MGDLCC) that joins over 200 Chamber members, guests, visitors and the community at large. This is followed on April 6 by The City of Miami Beach Opening Pride Ceremony highlighted by the installation by a city-sponsored rainbow sign topper that marks the celebration of Gay pride and diversity. On April 8, a Pride Kick-Off Reception at the W South Beach’s Outdoor Wet Deck Gardens (2201 Collins Avenue), the host hotel for this year’s Pride festivities, offers an additional opportunity to schmooze with party-minded folks after posing for pics on the red carpet.

Last year, the parade featured more than 65 contingencies, including 35 floats

and 2,700 participants. According to Dave Cook, Executive Director of Miami Beach Gay Pride, the allotted slots to march in this year’s parade has reached its maximum and all vendor booths for the festival are sold out.

Coca Cola, University of Miami, South Florida Pride Marching Band, Miami Beach Fire Rescue, Florida International University, Equality Florida, Miami Beach Community Church and the National LGBTQ Task Force were just some of 2015’s participants. Also taking part in the parade a year ago was Saved By the Bell” actor and Grand Marshal Mario Lopez, who gladly waved to fans lining both sides of Ocean Drive while sitting atop a convertible.

This year’s parade, slated for Sunday, April 10, will begin at 12 noon and will

posters for the very first ICON. This show is truly a fruit of our labors... it does take a village.”

“While I was reigning as Miss Gay Seattle in 2004, part of my responsibility was to organize fundraisers for the Imperial Court of Seattle and any non-profit of my choice,” recalls Aleksa. “It wasn’t only natural to pick Seattle Counseling Service, of course. I had only been at SCS for about a year then. My desk was at a make-shift spot in a multi-purpose room at our old location on Broadway, which is now the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station.”

Aleksa says she was inspired to produce a variety show reminiscent of the good ol’ drag days of Seattle. “My desk was flocked with old fundraiser posters for SCS in its early days. I thought to pay homage to supporters of SCS and pioneers of the LGBTQ community.”

“I don’t quite remember how many people attended the first ICON at the old Timberline, now Youthcare on Denny,” she continued. “But I do remember we had to turn people away and it was standing room capacity. I think the tickets were $10 at the door, and now it’s more than that with almost 400 guests.”

Because of the growing number of supporters, Aleksa then moved ICON to Neumo’s, then Town Hall and various downtown hotels to fit the needs of the fundraiser and show.

“This year, we are very happy to be hosted by the Marriott Waterfront Hotel,”

said Aleksa. “The staff there is very gracious to us.”

After 12 years, Aleksa says the list of entertainers that have donated their time and talent to the event “is a long list!”

“Some special names come to mind, especially the crowd-favorites that are veteran ICONs like Arnaldo! Drag Chanteuse, Brian Buck, Miss Indigo Blue, and The Shanghai Pearl,” said Aleksa. “And we’ve been very lucky to have Jinkx Monsoon, winner of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race – Season 5’ with Major Scales; Robbie Turner, featured in the current season of ‘RPDR’; International Boylesque Stars Waxie Moon and The Luminous Pariah, and local drag favorites from Julia’s Le Faux and the Imperial Court of Seattle.”

Seattle Gay News asked Aleksa what some of the most memorable moments from the past 12 years are and she said, “There’s a few. Like when I did ‘suicide drag’ at the first show and we raised over $1,000 in donations from it!”

“My favorites are when we feature staff from SCS who do various acts as surprise numbers,” Aleksa continued. “It’s refreshing to showcase how talented our staff is in addition to the professional standards that we uphold at our agency. The client testimonials are always a highlight of our event – it’s really a feat to incorporate the serious work SCS does and equally celebrate the diversity of our wonderful community.”

This year, in addition to continuing the tradition of being one of the most antici-

April 1, 2016

travel the same route as in previous years, the length of Ocean Drive along the famed Art Deco district, used as a background in everything from major advertising campaigns to Hollywood movies – The Birdcage, anyone?

On Saturday and Sunday, the 9th and 10th, everyone is invited to Lummus Park, sandwiched between Ocean Drive and the beach, for a coinciding festival that boasts a Beach Party on Saturday with international DJs, entertainers, exhibitors and cash bars with refreshments, and then continues Sunday with booths, food and drinks, familyfriendly “Fun Zone,” celebrity performers and local artists that will appear on multiple stages.

If you didn’t already know, Miami Beach is its own city that runs 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, detached from the mainland, but accessible by several bridges. It is the former home of cultural visionaries Leonard Horowitz, who played an integral part in introducing the art deco style to the local architecture, and fashion icon Gianni Versace. It is the current home to 90,000 residents.

Should you happen to be in the Miami area next weekend, or want to go on a mileage run, or perhaps redeem miles, definitely plan on attending Miami Beach Gay Pride (miamibeachgaypride.com). Whether you go now or at a later time, I personally recommend Hotel Gaythering (gaythering. com), a Gay hotel geared more for young solo travelers and those on a modest budget, or The Betsy – South Beach (thebetsyhotel. com), an upscale property with a fabulous rooftop terrace, amazing restaurant (BLT Steak Miami) and prime location, situated conveniently on Ocean Drive.

pated and entertaining events in Seattle’s LGBTQ community, Aleksa says this year features “a lot of burlesque and boylesque, more drag kings and our friends at Kelcema Productions have added a multi-visual feature to the stage presentations.”

“And, of course,” she continued, “a surprise number!”

In closing, Aleksa told SGN, “ICON isn’t just a drag show, it’s a very special variety show that celebrates the colorful diversity of the LGBTQ and Ally community while de-stigmatizing mental illness and addiction. And instead, promotes mental wellness and lifelong recovery through the magic of entertainment and a stellar dining experience. Come prepared to laugh, cry and celebrate with SCS!” This year’s sponsors include, Catalyst sponsor: Group Health; Visionary sponsor: Living Care Lifestyles; Advocate sponsor: Swedish Medical Center; Listeners: 1st Security Bank; Amerigroup; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Foster Pepper PLLC. Media sponsors are Seattle Gay News, Seattle Gay Scene, The Seattle Lesbian and Kelcema Audio.

If you have problems with registration or checkout contact René Coig at crenec@ seattlecounseling.org or (206) 323-1768 x 173. For more details go to www.seattlecounseling.org/icon.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Investigate Freedom Foundation, lawmakers ask Attorney General Right-wing group may be violating tax codes

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Thirty Washington state legislators have asked Secretary of State Kim Wyman, the state Public Disclosure Commission, and Attorney General Bob Ferguson to investigate the right-wing group Freedom Foundation.

In their letter, dated March 24, the lawmakers charge that Freedom Foundation is violating tax codes governing nonprofits by intervening in political campaigns on behalf of Republican candidates.

“It appears the Freedom Foundation has grown increasingly partisan and has directly intervened in political campaigns in violation of state rules,” the legislators’ letter says.

They go on to ask state officials to investigate whether Freedom Foundation should be disqualified from its tax-exempt status, whether its political activities constitute inkind contributions to political candidates, and whether the organization is violating state rules governing nonprofits.

Among the signers are openly Gay legislators Sen. Marko Liias and Rep. Jim Moeller – now a candidate for lieutenant governor – and Lesbian Reps. Laurie Jinkins and Joan McBride.

Sen. Pramila Jayapal (a 7th District Congressional candidate) also signed the letter. Conspicuously absent are one of her

DONALD TRUMP continued from cover

spew out one of his most outrageous comments about women to date. Appearing at a town-hall style forum with Chris Matthews on MSNBC, Trump proclaimed that “There has to be some form of punishment” for women who get abortions, after reaffirming his belief that the practice needs to be banned.

In case you have not been paying attention, Donald Trump has been childishly feuding with Ted Cruz over Cruz’s wife’s appearance and fanning the flames over the man’s alleged affairs with multiple women.

Last Wednesday Trump bizarrely tweeted that the Texas senator should “be careful” or he would “spill the beans” about Cruz’s wife and then later the same day tweeted a split-screen meme that juxtaposed a photo of Mrs. Cruz beside a glamour shot of his own wife, adding the quote “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Hours after claiming women should be punished for having an abortion, Trump uncharacteristically recanted his earlier remarks, saying if abortion were made illegal, “the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman.”

“The woman is a victim in this case, as is the life in her womb,” he continued.

Trump’s Republican rivals wasted no

opponents, Rep. Brady Walkinshaw, and Walkinshaw’s 43rd District colleagues Sen. Jamie Pedersen and Speaker Frank Chopp.

In their letter, the lawmakers refer to “a recent consumer complaint filed with the Attorney General’s office (dated 2/16/16) by firefighters, teachers, LGBT and women’s health advocates” that charged the Freedom Foundation with violating state rules governing nonprofits.

Pride At Work, an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO, was one of the groups making that complaint.

Other organizations were the Northwest Accountability Project, NARAL ProChoice Washington, Progressive Majority Washington, the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, Teamsters Local 117, the American Federation of Teachers Washington, and the Washington State Labor Council.

According to the Northwest Accountability Project, they have evidence that Freedom Foundation’s leadership and staff define their mission as defunding labor unions in order to advance Republicans and conservative candidates, a clear violation of IRS and state rules for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organizations.

“The Freedom Foundation is blatantly ignoring the state and federal rules that prohibit tax-exempt organizations from engaging in partisan political activity – and as a result, they’re getting tax breaks while taxpayers are footing the bill for their con-

servative attacks,” said Andrew Biviano, founding board member of the Northwest Accountability Project.

“It’s outrageous that the Freedom Foundation is engaging in partisan attacks on the middle class, the environment, and the values that we hold here in the Pacific Northwest, while hiding behind a bogus 501(c)(3) tax exemption.”

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson responded to the February complaint, saying, “I cannot discuss particular investigations this office might be pursuing or even whether we are considering an investigation on any given issue.”

He also encouraged the groups to send a complaint to the State Department of Revenue asking that agency to examine the Freedom Foundation’s records and determine the group’s tax liability.

Similar complaints against the Freedom Foundation have been filed by groups in Oregon.

The Freedom Foundation – formerly known as the Evergreen Freedom Foundation – has filed at least two suits challenging the right of unions to collect fees from nonmembers who are covered by the union’s collective bargaining agreements.

time in distancing themselves from Trump and his insulting comments. Gov. John Kasich of Ohio said, “Of course women shouldn’t be punished,” while Cruz’s campaign stressed that attention should be focused on abortion providers, not women who receive them.

On the civil and mature side of the political spectrum, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders issued statements condemning Trump’s remarks. Clinton personally responded on Twitter, “Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse. Horrific and telling,” while Sanders called it “shameful” and “beyond comprehension.”

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, sought to tie Mr. Trump to the rest of his party, saying “All three Republicans would drag the country back to the days when women were forced to seek illegal procedures from unlicensed providers out of sheer desperation.”

A recent New York Times analysis of more than 700,000 Google searches across the country confirms Wasserman Schultz’s fears, clearly showing a direct correlation between states with harsh abortion restrictions and online searches on how to perform abortions at home.

The Food and Drug Administration, also this Wednesday, relaxed the guidelines for taking a pill that induces abortion, allowing women to use the drug further into

pregnancy and with fewer visits to the doctor.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists praised the move, saying in a statement that it was “pleased that the updated FDA approved regimen for Mifepristone reflects the current available scientific evidence and best practices.”

It is not clear how Trump’s latest assault on women will play out in the upcoming Republican primary contests. After all, the lunatic has made similarly offensive and outrageous remarks about Mexicans and Muslims and still managed to win several more state contests. In the same MSNBC town hall where he made the abortion comments, Trump refused to rule out the potential use of nuclear weapons in Europe or the Middle East to combat Islamic State militants and declared NATO obsolete in a recent interview.

Recent polls, however, may be signaling Trumps decline. A poll in Wisconsin now shows Cruz ahead of Trump by 10 percentage points, up from a one percent advantage Cruz had over Trump just a week ago.

Even more damning, Trump’s image among women has been dramatically deteriorating over the course of the last few months. Overall, 73% of female voters in a mid-March CNN/ORC poll said they had a negative view of Trump, up from 67 percent in late February and 59 percent in December.

While his recent abortion remarks may appear politically motivated, they stem entirely from Trump’s personal view of women being second-class citizens. Trump has made it abundantly clear that he sees women as objects, as was demonstrated by last week’s objectification of his own wife and Heidi Cruz. To Trump, telling women what to do with their bodies and punishing them for having an abortion is only a natural extension of his superiority as a man.

There is a disconnect between how society views women and how The Donald views women, and Trump does not seem to get it. Why else would he attempt to alienate half of the voting population over and over again?

While it is remarkable that even some women support Donald Trump, his most recent remarks are sure to continue to erode and perhaps even decimate any support that he enjoys. Across the country and across the political spectrum, more women are realizing that a Trump presidency intends to send women back into the 20th century.

Women across the country are sending him the opposite message.

April 1, 2016

Seattle Gay News 7

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Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson – abcsofdumbdown.blogspot.com

Health Education – The more you know…

by Erin Torrone Heath Education Specialist Swedish Medical Center

Many of us would not choose to go back to school. We’re finished with the exams, the studying and the lectures. But does that mean we don’t have anything more to learn? Unlikely. In fact, most of us could afford to get schooled…on health! Do you know the latest recommendations for lung cancer screening? Do you know how to cook heart healthy meals? What about the right way to do CPR? Even as a health educator, I find myself at a loss with many of these questions.

Of course, if you’ve been out of school for a while, it may seem hard to jump back in or even know where to jump back in.

When it comes to health you’d probably be surprised to learn, the hospital is more than just a place to go when you get sick.

Hospitals are also the place to go to avoid getting sick. Learning about health is one of the best ways to do this and many hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities have health education classes that can exercise your brain (and even your body, too!)

Instead of paying a copay to spend 15 minutes with a doctor, why not try a health education class? Many are free or low-cost and can offer opportunities to ask questions and get much needed answers to health questions.

Ask your doctor, your neighbors or your friends to get recommendations on classes and class locations. Visit local clinics or

their websites to see what kind of classes they have available. Check out swedish.org/ classes, for a list of community classes that Swedish hosts at all five campuses. For instance, coming up April through May, we have interactive healthy cooking classes, pre-diabetes education, joint replacement seminars and free nutrition classes with dieticians. For anyone who is looking to get or renew their BLS, CPR or First Aid certification, Swedish holds classes every month. These are just some of the many classes available every month at Swedish locations and we’re always looking for suggestions on topics you want to learn about – especially within the LGBT community.

If you have a suggestion, then I want to hear from you! Shoot me an email at healthedu-

cation@swedish.org – with ATTN: LGBT COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATION in the subject line.

My point is that learning is a lifelong journey! And health and wellness are issues that we should be studying inside and outside of the classroom and what better place to learn than your neighborhood hospital?

As students everywhere start cramming for their exams, why not test yourself on your healthcare knowledge! We would love to see you in some of our classes.

Please visit swedish.org/classes or call 1-800-SWEDISH (800-793-3474) to learn more about Swedish’s Community Health Education program and monthly classes.

I can’t defend anti-LGBT law, North Carolina Attorney General says Republicans demand his resignation

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper – newsobserver.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said on March 29 that he will not defend the state’s sweeping anti-LGBT law against a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Equality North Carolina.

“We should not even be here today, but we are,” Cooper said at a press conference. “We’re here because the governor has signed statewide legislation that puts discrimination into the law.

“House Bill 2 is unconstitutional.

Therefore, our office will not represent

8 Seattle Gay News

the defendants in this lawsuit, nor future lawsuits involving the constitutionality of House Bill 2.”

The bill, rushed through in a special legislative session on March 23, does three things: • it excludes Transgender people from gender-appropriate restrooms, • it forbids North Carolina municipalities from passing ordinances protecting sexual orientation and gender identity, and • it forbids municipalities from raising the minimum wage.

According to Cooper, the newly passed law is in direct conflict with nondiscrimi-

April 1, 2016

nation policies at North Carolina’s justice department and treasurer’s office, as well as many of the state’s businesses. Though the LGBT community is targeted, he said, it could ultimately result in discrimination against other groups as well.

The ACLU suit agrees that the new law damages a wide section of North Carolina residents, not merely the Trans community.

“While the discriminatory, stated focus of the legislature in passing HB 2 – the use of restrooms by transgender people – is on its own illegal and unconstitutional, HB 2 in facts wreaks far greater damage by also prohibiting local governments in North Carolina from enacting express antidiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” the lawsuit says.

Republican Senate leader Phil Berger responded to Cooper’s announcement with a demand that he resign.

“Roy Cooper’s refusal to defend the law makes clear he wants the ACLU to win by default in federal court what they can’t win at the ballot box and allow men to walk into locker rooms at YMCAs across our country and undress in front of young girls,” said Berger.

“His zeal for pandering for the extreme left’s money and agenda in his race for governor is making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties as attorney general – and he should resign immediately.”

Cooper is a Democrat and is running for governor of the state in this year’s election.

Meanwhile, outrage at the North Caro-

lina law swept the country.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray signed an executive order March 28 banning official city travel to the state.

“It is my hope for our nation that we do not allow issues of discrimination to divide us,” Murray said at a press conference.

“Our union is only made stronger when all Americans are treated equitably.”

Murray also committed to signing additional executive orders to ban official city travel to any state that follows in North Carolina’s footsteps.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee followed suit on March 30, banning official state travel to North Carolina.

Inslee noted that Washington law requires buildings open to the public to allow Transgender people to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

Banning travel to North Carolina is “consistent with our state’s approach to tolerance, fairness, and a lack of discrimination,” Inslee said to reporters. “And I do think these things – they’re mostly symbolic – but symbolism is important when it comes to ending discrimination in our country.”

Seattle and Washington state join Vermont, New York State, New York City, Portland, and San Francisco is banning all official travel to North Carolina.

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Georgia and Virginia governors veto RFRAs

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The governors of Georgia and Virginia have vetoed so-called “religious freedom” bills that would have legalized discrimination against their states’ LGBT communities.

Georgia’s Republican Gov. Nathan Deal acted first, on March 28.

“I do not think we have to discriminate against anyone to protect the faith-based community in Georgia, of which I and my family have been a part of for all of our lives,” he told reporters.

Deal denied he was caving to pressure from business groups, although many threatened to boycott Georgia if he signed

the measure and warned Georgia could lose investments and jobs as a result.

His decision, Deal said, was “about the character of our state and the character of our people. Georgia is a welcoming state. It is full of loving, kind, and generous people.

“I intend to do my part to keep it that way. For that reason I will veto House Bill 757.”

Georgia Sen. Mike Crane, who sponsored the bill, called for a special session to override Deal’s veto, but he appears to lack the votes to do so.

According to the Atlanta JournalConstitution, a three-fifths majority in the House and Senate is needed to call a special session, and an override requires a twothirds majority in both chambers.

The bill fell short of that threshold by one vote in the Senate and 16 in the House, the newspaper reported.

Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoed his state’s “religious freedom” bill, passed by a Republican-controlled state legislature, on March 30.

McAuliffe said in a statement that Virginia’s SB 41 is “nothing more than an attempt to stigmatize.”

“This legislation is also bad for business and creates roadblocks as we try to build the new Virginia economy,” he said.

“Businesses and job creators do not want to locate or do business in states that appear more concerned with demonizing people than with creating a strong business climate.

“Legislation that immunizes the discriminatory actions of certain people and institutions at the expense of same-sex couples would damage Virginia’s reputation for commonsense, pro-business government.

“We need only look at the damage these types of laws are doing in other states to understand the harm this bill could bring to our Commonwealth and its economy.”

James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, applauded McAuliffe for “fulfilling his promise to veto this discriminatory and destructive bill. “[SB 41] sought to blatantly and directly discriminate against gay and lesbian couples and families under the guise of religious freedom,” Parrish said.

Anti-union, anti-Gay appeal thwarted as SCOTUS splits 4-4 Friedrichs case would have defunded public sector unions

Supreme Court House – hormonesmatter.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In a 4-4 split, on March 29 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge that could have crippled labor unions.

The case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (CTA), was argued before the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia and labor activists feared the high court would decide against unions, but Scalia died before the justices voted on the case.

The even split on the Supreme Court means that a prior ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – an outcome that favors unions – stands, but it does not create a

binding precedent.

“The judgment [of the 9th Circuit] is affirmed by an equally divided Court,” the justices wrote in a brief, unsigned ruling.

Friedrichs v. CTA involves a complaint from 10 California teachers who claimed that having to pay a so-called “agency fee” to a union forced them to help finance the union’s political activities, which they did not support. This constituted a violation of their First Amendment rights, they charged.

Among the political activities the 10 plaintiffs did not support was the CTA’s campaign against Prop 8, the 2008 ballot measure that temporarily abolished samesex marriage in California.

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“A lot of us were very offended by these [anti-Prop 8] advertisements,” lead plaintiff Rebecca Friedrichs said in a 2013 interview.

“We are on the opposite side of this debate and do not support efforts to make gay marriage legal. But the unions used our forced union dues to pay for all sorts of advertising to paint us with a broad brush to say we supported gay marriage when we did not. We didn’t feel that it was right for our personal money to be taken and sent to support political campaigns set up to defeat something we were voting for.”

Under California labor law, public employees – including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and so on – can vote to designate a union as their exclusive representative for collective bargaining with their employer.

No public employee can be forced to join a union, but many of them do and pay dues to support union organizing.

Those who do not wish to join are still required to pay a smaller “agency fee,” also known as a “fair-share fee,” to the union to help fund union collective-bargaining functions.

The agency fee is meant to eliminate “free rides,” where nonunion employees benefit from the union’s representation, i.e., get higher wages and better benefits – without paying to support it. Twenty-two other states and the District of Columbia have similar labor laws on the books.

Unlike member dues, money from agen-

cy fees may not be used for the union’s political purposes, and when the 9th Circuit Court heard Friedrichs’ appeal, it rejected it in a brief two-page opinion.

The plaintiffs’ case was “so insubstantial as to not require further argument,” the 9th Circuit said.

The U.S. Supreme Court also upheld agency fees in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education in 1977. Nevertheless, the high court struck down similar fees for Illinois home health care workers in Harris v.

Quinn in 2014.

During oral arguments in Friedrichs, five justices seemed inclined to overturn Abood altogether, with Scalia taking the lead in arguing against the union’s position. His death left the conservative justices without their expected majority.

A decision that struck down agency fees would not, perhaps, have been fatal to organized labor, but it would have been a crippling blow. States that ended the agency fee system through legislative action have seen declines in union membership, especially states like Michigan and Wisconsin, which were once union strongholds.

More than one-third of U.S. publicsector employees belong to a union. CTA is one of the country’s largest and most politically active teachers unions. It is affiliated with the NEA, the largest labor union in the United States.

April 1, 2016

Seattle Gay News 13

NYC college makes all restrooms gender neutral

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, in New York City’s East Village, says it will remove all gender markers from all of its restrooms.

Instead of the usual “men” and “women” signs, Cooper Union restrooms will be labeled “restroom with urinal and stalls” or “restroom with only stalls.”

The privately funded school has about 1,000 students, all of them on full-tuition scholarships.

“When people see someone who they think doesn’t belong there, it can create stress for everyone,” Cooper Union President Bill Mea said. “So we thought, let’s just take that away. Visitors are figuring it out pretty quickly, too.

“From a practical standpoint, very little will actually change in our day-to-day use of restrooms.”

“I cannot change the outside world and how it treats transgender and gender-nonconforming people,” Mea added, “but I can change the Cooper Union environment to help everyone feel safe when they are inside our buildings.

Cooper Union – Photo by David Shankbone via en.wikipedia.org

“Cooper Union has always been on the forward edge of social justice issues. From the start, in 1859, we admitted women, African-Americans. It has always been an institution that promoted equality amongst people.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also took steps to protect Transgender access to restrooms with an executive order stating that Trans residents may use whatever public facilities they prefer.

In several other states, however, Republican legislators have moved to block Transgender people from using gender-appropriate facilities.

In Washington state, five statewide initiatives have been filed – all seeking to deprive Transgender Washingtonians of their rights to use public restrooms that correspond to their gender identities. It is too early to tell whether any will qualify for the November ballot.

North Carolina enacted the most repressive law in the country on March 23, forbidding restroom access for Trans people, all civil rights protections for the LGBT community, and any increase in the minimum wage all in one package.

New Cooper Union – Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Mississippi challenges North Carolina for worstin-the-country status New law legalizes discrimination against LGBT residents

Mississippi seems to be competing with NC for worst state in the U.S. – Nathan Young via onlyinyourstate.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Mississippi Senate has passed its version of a “religious freedom” law allowing discrimination against the state’s LGBT residents. The March 30 vote was a lopsided 31-17 in favor of discrimination.

14 Seattle Gay News

HB 1523, euphemistically titled the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,” was rushed through the Mississippi Senate with only two hours of debate.

According to Project One America head Ben Needham, the bill is “probably the worst religious freedom bill to date” to be

April 1, 2016

passed by state lawmakers.

The state House already passed its own version of the bill in February but must now concur with the amendments made in the Senate. The measure then goes to Gov. Phil Bryant, who is expected to sign it into law.

In a statement, HRC President Chad Griffin condemned the bill.

“This legislation moves Mississippi backward, undermining equality for its residents and jeopardizing its ability to attract and retain fair-minded businesses,” he said.

“Gov. Bryant should be paying close attention to the backlash against discrimination in Georgia, where Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a terrible anti-LGBT bill, and in North Carolina, where fair-minded people and the broader business community are calling on state leaders to repudiate and repeal the discriminatory law passed last week.”

Unlike the similar law passed in North Carolina on March 23, the Mississippi bill does not forbid municipalities from passing nondiscrimination ordinances or raising the minimum wage, but it does provide very broad legal protections for people who want to deny services to LGBT residents of the state.

The bill states that marriage should be

recognized only as the union of one man and one woman, that sexual relations are properly reserved to such an opposite-sex marriage, and that “male (man)” or “female (woman)” refers to an individual’s sex at time of birth.

In addition, HB 1523 would: • protect individuals, religious organizations, and businesses that take actions due to their religious objections to same-sex marriage; • protect those who deny services to transgender people, • exempt those who discriminate from “government retribution” if they were acting on “sincerely held” religious beliefs, • allow people to refuse to provide counseling services, foster care, and adoption services to LGBT residents, including service providers who receive government funding, and • allow county clerks who issue marriage licenses to recuse themselves from serving same-sex couples.

The measure is considered particularly heinous because it combines “religious freedom” language with First Amendment justifications for anti-LGBT actions.

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Oops! Saudi man flies “pretty” rainbow flag, ends up in jail

Saudi man mistakenly flies a Gay Pride flag outside his home – Benson Kua via wikimedia

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Saudi man was arrested by the country’s religious police after he hoisted a

rainbow flag over his house in the city of Jeddah. He was released after convincing authorities he had no idea the flag symbolized LGBT pride.

According to local news reports trans-

lated by the newspaper The Guardian, the man, a doctor, ordered the flag online because one of his children thought it was “pretty.”

When he got the flag and raised it on a three meter pole over his house, he was visited by police from the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the government agency charged with enforcing sharia law restrictions on public conduct, including dress codes, separation of men and women, observance of prayer times, and sexual misconduct.

Same-sex sexual contact is illegal in Saudi Arabia and may be punished by death – even for the first offense – although public flogging and prison time are more common penalties.

Fortunately for the doctor, he was able to convince authorities that he was only trying to make his child happy and was totally unaware what the rainbow flag meant in the wider world outside Saudi Arabia.

The flag was confiscated by the police,

but the doctor was released without charges. He could have been charged with the crime of “promoting the vice and practice of homosexuality.” In 2014, a man convicted of that offense was sentenced to 450 lashes and three years in prison.

The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice was created by King Fahd in the 1980s after a shoot-out with militant Islamists in Mecca’s Grand Mosque – the holiest place in Islam – convinced the Saudi royal family they needed to make concessions to conservative religious forces in their country.

The Committee controls some 4,000 police officers.

According to The Guardian, similar confusion occurred in Afghanistan in 2011.

Secondhand cars with rainbow stickers had been imported from Canada, sparking a fad for them among Afghan drivers until they finally learned what the stickers symbolized and promptly scraped them off their cars.

Brit study: 60% of Trans people face discrimination at work Bad, but not as bad as the US

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Sixty percent of British Transgender people say they have experienced workplace discrimination because of their gender identity, but more than half say conditions are improving for Trans people in the UK because of media coverage of Trans issues.

Those are key findings of a new study conducted in February and released in conjunction with the Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31.

The study was conducted by Totaljobs, a British employment website, and is based on a sample of 435 people who identify as Trans.

Among the study’s results are: • 60% of respondents have experienced anti-Trans discrimination at work – 38% from colleagues, 25% from management, and 29% during a job interview.

• 53% have felt the need to hide their Trans status from colleagues.

• 51% believe acceptance and understanding of Trans employees has improved in the workplace due to increased media focus on Trans issues.

• 50% received positive reactions from colleagues when they transitioned.

• 29% reported not experiencing discrimination at work.

• 43% actively look for companies with Trans-friendly policies when applying for jobs.

• 36% said they had left a job because of a hostile work environment.

• 43% said they received support and/or guidance from their HR department when transitioning, while 21% said they received no support.

The British results show a similar pattern to findings in the groundbreaking US study by the National LGBT Task Force, Injustice at Every Turn, but the British numbers suggest somewhat better prospects for Trans people in the UK. The American survey found an astonishing 90% reporting discrimination or harassment at work, with 71% hiding their gender or gender transition from coworkers and 16% being forced to work in the underground economy.

Trans people of color in the US reported especially challenging conditions, with much higher rates of job loss and unemployment than even white Trans people.

The British survey did not sort respondents by race, however.

The Totaljobs survey also found that

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Flag of the United Kingdom – en.wikipedia.org

many British employers do not provide adequate support for their Trans employees: • 21% had no provisions for Transgender employees.

• 23% had information on gender identity.

• 25% had gender-neutral toilet facilities.

• 63% included gender identity in antidiscrimination policies.

Commenting on the results, actress Rebecca Root of the BBC TV show Boy Meets Girl said, “Even with the advances made in recent years in changing societal perceptions of the trans community, these figures clearly indicate there is still a way to go in diminishing transphobia in the workplace.

The quest for making such spaces safe for trans people must continue.”

Root is herself Trans and plays a Trans character on her TV show.

Trans activist and filmmaker Fox Fisher wrote in a blog on the Totaljobs website that employers are still unaware of Trans rights.

“Staying in or seeking employment can be a potential nightmare when you’re trans,” she said. “Many employers are unaware of our rights, and we are often at a vulnerable stage of our transition. The irony is that so many trans people I know are extremely clever and willing to work.

“I was lucky that my employer was very supportive, although there was an adjustment phase which was difficult for everyone, including my new name, pronouns, and getting used to my changes.”

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