SGN April 8, 2016 - Section 1

Celebrating 42 Years!

Issue 15 Volume 44

A Night With Janis Joplin

A conversation with RuPaul

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Discrimination doesn’t pay PayPal to cancel NC operations center

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Mississippi governor signs “religious freedom” anti-LGBT bill

Mississippi protest April 5, 2016 – Photo by Nicholas Richard Rees

PayPal San Jose Head quarters – wikimedia.org

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The state of North Carolina learned that discrimination doesn’t pay on April 5, when PayPal announced it was canceling plans for a new global operations center in

Charlotte, North Carolina’s largest city.

The center would have provided more than 400 new jobs for Charlotte residents, but like many other corporations, PayPal decided it could not invest in a state that legalized anti-LGBT discrimination.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant announced April 5 that he has signed HB 1523, a bill to justify anti-LGBT discrimination on religious grounds.

The law will allow officials to refuse see PAYPAL page 4 marriage licenses to same-sex couples, businesses to refuse them services, and

Anti-feminist homophobe elected to Wisconsin Supreme Court

landlords to refuse to rent to them.

Minutes after signing the bill, Bryant appeared on a right-wing talk radio show, saying the new law only prevented “government from interfering with people of faith who are exercising their religious beliefs ... in matters of marriage.”

Bryant brushed off threats of a boycott like the one that hit North Carolina after

see MISSISSIPPI page 15

L.A. man accused of shooting his Gay son to death, after murdering his own wife

Bradley’s anti-Gay commentaries as a student at Marquette University in 1992.

– Associated Press

by Victor Hawthorne SGN Staff Writer While Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are making headlines for their respective come-from-behind blowout wins in Wisconsin, a more shocking politician actually won an intense and very controversial race in the Badger State on Tuesday, April 5.

Homophobe, anti-feminist, and right wing bigot Rebecca Bradley was just elected to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Bradley narrowly beat her more qualified opponent, JoAnne Kloppenberg, a state appellate judge, to win her a 10-year term to the state’s highest court.

Shehada Khalil Issa: Los Angeles father charged with killing his son – ibtime.co.uk

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

On Tuesday, March 29, Shehada Issa, 69, told Los Angeles police arriving at a gruesee ANTI-FEMINIST page 8 some scene where the body of his 38-yearold Gay son was lying outside the family

bungalow. He had been blasted with a shotgun. Inside, the man’s mother lay in a bathroom, stabbed to death.

Police say that Issa confessed that he had shot his son, but explained it was in see L.A. MAN page 15

april

POST TIMES: FRIDAYS 6:30 PM

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june

may

WEEKENDS/HOLIDAYS: 2 PM

SPECIAL POST TIMES: MAY 7- KENTUCKY DERBY 1 PM

April 8, 2016

july

JULY 3 4:30 PM

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JUNE 20, JULY 9,16, 23, 30 - 6:30 PM

Celebrating 41 Years!

Olympic Gold Medalist Greg Louganis to appear on Wheaties box

by Victor Hawthorne SGN Staff Writer

Brianna Pizaña

Better late than never, General Mills announced that four time Olympic diving Gold medalist and five time world champion, Greg Louganis will be featured on their Wheaties cereal boxes as a part of their revamped “legends” series starting in May. Louganis, who is openly Gay and HIV positive, is the only man to sweep the Olympic diving events in back-to-back games when he won gold medals in both springboard and platform diving in 1984 and 1988.

In a 2015 HBO documentary called “Back on Board: Greg Louganis,” the athlete said he understood that he wasn’t featured on the Wheaties box during the prime of his career in the 1980s because he didn’t fit the company’s “wholesome demographic” as he was rumored to be Gay. “They didn’t come out and say it, but the message was loud and clear. They knew I was rumored to be gay, and homosexuality wasn’t going to fly on a wholesome Wheaties box.”

In a recent NPR interview, Louganis told host Ari Shapiro that he was glad to finally be getting the recognition. “It’s so incredible to be honored with the likes of Edwin Moses – we were in our first Olympic games in 1976 together.”

When asked why being on a box matters, Louganis said that he “didn’t really follow it at the time” and that it all started in 1995 with the release of his best-selling autobiography Breaking the Surface.

“People were coming to me with these Wheaties boxes with my picture [pasted] on it and asking me to sign it. And it’s like, well, what’s this all about?”

He continued, “Back in ‘95, you know, I wasn’t expected to live very long because we thought of HIV-AIDS as a death sentence. So you know, to be here today, you know, now 56, the box means so much more to me than it would’ve then because I feel

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like I’m being embraced as a whole person, not just for my athletic achievements.”

General Mills’ announcement comes after a documentary detailing Louganis’ athletic career and experience as a Gay man sparked a petition on Change.org to get the diver on the iconic Wheaties cereal box.

Julie Sondgerath, an IT consultant in Chicago, started the petition last summer, saying she was inspired to start the campaign after seeing the documentary on Louganis’ life.

“I was so distraught I started the petition that first night,” Sondgerath recalled.

After the petition gained attention last fall, garnering nearly 45,000 signatures, Louganis said that he holds no ill will toward General Mills but said that he still wanted the honor for his supporters.

“Do I need the Wheaties box to feel fulfilled? Absolutely not,” he wrote on Who-

Greg Louganis on his Wheaties box – pop.com

April 8, 2016

Say. “To simply be here, living my life as my true self is rewarding enough. However, I feel like I owe this box to my friends, family, and fans that have been cheering me on for decades.”

General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas told NPR he could not say why Louganis was not on the box previously because no one who was involved in those decisions still worked at the company.

However, Siemienas denied that the petition factored into the decision to put Louganis on the box, saying, “We were aware of the petition, but appearing on a Wheaties box is not a popularity contest. Wheaties chooses athletes based on their achievements on and off their field of play.”

Openly Gay British Olympic diver Tom Daley was delighted to hear the announcement saying, “I would have always wanted someone like him as a role model on the front of a cereal box. He’s a great model and forever will be the greatest diver to walk this earth.”

At the end of the NPR interview Shapiro made a comment about Louganis now being introduced to a new generation that might not be as familiar with him through the Wheaties box and asked Louganis what message he would like to send this generation.

Louganis responded with one word, “hope.”

“Hope because when I was diagnosed back in 1988, I was 28. Six months prior to the Olympic games, I didn’t expect to see the age of 30. And here I am today at 56 and really living and thriving – that HIV isn’t a death sentence.”

In the years since his diagnosis was made public, Louganis has been an outspoken HIV awareness advocate. He has worked frequently with the Human Rights Campaign to defend the civil liberties of the LGBT community and people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. On October 12, 2013, Louganis married his partner Johnny Chaillot.

Seattle Gay News 3

JESSE’S JOURNAL: North Carolina broke my heart

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer

North Carolina was one of my favorite states. Though I never lived there, my partner Michael Greenspan is a proud Tar Heel who was born in Asheville, grew up in Charlotte, and graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (then as now a center of progressive politics). Before Michael got sick we used to visit North Carolina almost every year; to visit his relatives but also to enjoy all that state had to offer. And there was a lot. Vacations in North Carolina might include the Outer Banks, the Triangle – Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill – the Triad – Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point – and our favorites, the city of Asheville, the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains. Michael and I loved to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, stopping along the way to enjoy all of its great sights: Grandfather Mountain, Linville Falls, Mount Mitchell, the Folk Art Center, Mount Pisgah and the Devil’s Courthouse.

North Carolina’s political climate, though hardly progressive, was never

PAYPAL

continued from cover On March 23, the North Carolina legislature rammed through a law repealing Charlotte’s new nondiscrimination ordinance and forbidding the state’s municipalities from enacting protections for their LGBT residents or raising the minimum wage above $7.25 per hour. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law the same day.

“The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal’s mission and culture,” PayPal CEO Dan Schulman wrote in a statement posted on the company’s website. “As a result, PayPal will not move forward with our planned expansion into

horrible enough to keep us away. In spite of Senator Jesse Helms, North Carolina was considered moderate by Southern standards, at least in comparison to nearby South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia.

This blissful state ended with the tea party wave of the last decade, which elected a Republican majority to the General Assembly in 2010 and GOP Governor Pat McCrory in 2012. Now with total control of the state government, the right wing majority began to pass a series of tea partyinspired laws that pushed the Tar Heel state back a few decades. High on the wish list was a Voting Law that changed how, when, and where voters could cast ballots and also changed the limits and disclosure requirements for political donors. Needless to say, this law has kept from the polls minority members, students and other groups most likely to vote for Democrats.

North Carolina’s recent outrage against humanity occurred in reaction to an LGBT rights law passed by the City of Charlotte.

Outraged by the Queen City’s protection of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and especially transgender citizens, the General Assembly met in special session and rushed through

HB2, a bill that McCrory signed on March 23. The new law overturns Charlotte’s ordinance and bans all North Carolina municipalities from enacting sexual orientation and gender identity protections.

HB2 also requires trans* people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match their gender identity. HB2 was rightly called “the most egregious, sweeping, hate-filled anti-LGBT legislation in this country’s history” though the State of Mississippi, not to be outdone, is now rushing through a “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act” that is even worse.

McCrory and his GOP legislators claim that they rushed HB2 through to prevent men from claiming transgender status in order to enter women’s bathrooms or locker rooms for predatory purposes. This ploy worked well in the City of Houston, where opponents used the specter of men in dresses to convince voters to repeal that city’s human rights law. McCrory called HB2 “common sense” legislation passed “to stop the breach of basic privacy and etiquette, ensure privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.” The fact that trans* women are more likely to be the victims and not the

perpetrators of bathroom or locker room crime was ignored by the governor.

North Carolina’s HB2 is related to the anti-LGBT “freedom of religion” laws that have recently passed or being considered by the red states. These laws are part of a backlash against LGBT progress in America, especially the United States Supreme Court’s legalization of marriage equality in last year’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

Previous “freedom of religion” bills were vetoed by the governors of Georgia, South Dakota, and Virginia. North Carolina was not so lucky. However, its new law did cause a reaction on the part of LGBT advocates, political progressives, and major corporations who threaten to move out of the Tar Heel State if HB2 is not repealed..

I hope it is repealed. Meanwhile, though I am only one person, I intend to boycott the State of North Carolina until and unless it discards this horrendous law. This is personal. By passing HB2, North Carolina broke my heart, and for this I will not soon forgive or forget.

Charlotte.

“Our decision is a clear and unambiguous one. But we do regret that we will not have the opportunity to be a part of the Charlotte community and to count as colleagues the skilled and talented people of the region. As a company that is committed to the principle that everyone deserves to live without fear of discrimination simply for being who they are, becoming an employer in North Carolina, where members of our teams will not have equal rights under the law, is simply untenable.”

Schulman also promised that PayPal would work to repeal the North Carolina law.

“While we will seek an alternative location for our operations center, we remain

committed to working with the LGBT community in North Carolina to overturn this discriminatory legislation, alongside all those who are committed to equality,” he wrote.

Freedom for All Americans executive director Matt McTighe said, “PayPal’s withdrawal from North Carolina is indisputable evidence that discriminatory laws like HB 2 have significant and immediate consequences on a state’s economy and brand.

“Gov. Pat McCrory and other legislative leaders in the state have implied that, despite the immense backlash that began immediately after they rushed this discriminatory bill through the legislature, there would be no economic fallout. That

claim is clearly false, and now we know that North Carolina will lose at least $4 million in economic investment and miss out on more than 400 new jobs because of this law.”

PayPal is only the latest of many major corporations that condemned North Carolina because of the new law. Others include American Airlines, Apple, Bank of America, Bayer, Citrix, Dow Chemical, Google, IBM, Marriott Hotels, the NBA, and Wells Fargo.

Duke University, based in Durham, N.C., also condemned the law.

Fears of a similar corporate backlash reportedly influenced Georgia’s Republican Gov. Nathan Deal to veto his state’s “religious freedom” bill on March 28.

A message from Bob Page, Founder & CEO of Replacements Ltd.

The following email was sent to Replacements Ltds. email subscribers on Monday, April 4:

Today, I take the unusual step of sending you a personal message. Perhaps you, like millions of others, have heard that North Carolina’s recent passage of House Bill 2 – which has been called the worst anti-LGBT bill in the United States – has provoked an outpouring of public concern. Among other things, HB2 bars cities, towns, and counties from prohibiting discrimination of any kind and makes clear that LGBT people may legally be singled out for unfair treatment in the workplace, housing, and public accommodations.

What does this have to do with you?

The reaction to North Carolina’s passage of HB2 on March 23rd has been swift and strongly in opposition. Calls for boycotts of our state have been answered by individuals and businesses who will not attend the $5.38 billion, 600,000 visitor High Point furniture market this April and, more generally, by the State of New York, the City of Seattle, and others. Amidst this deep concern, which I share, I want to make one thing clear: Replacements, Ltd. affirms the dignity and beauty of each and every person. You will always be warmly welcomed at Replacements, Ltd. You may know that I’m gay. One year

4 Seattle Gay News

ago, I married Dale Frederiksen, with whom I’ve shared my life for 27 years.

Together, we have raised twin sons we adopted as infants in Vietnam. In July, our boys will be 17. Last summer, we added another teenager, a Nigerian scholar-athlete, to our household. Growing up on a small tobacco farm in rural North Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s and during my 3 years of active duty service in the United States Army, I never dreamt I could be openly gay and successful, much less that I could have a family of my own. My experience of feeling like an outcast opened my eyes and my heart to all who have been judged for being different. While acceptance of people like me and families like mine has grown – and I am grateful – transgender people today

April 8, 2016

face obstacles similar to those I saw firsthand generations ago. At Replacements, Ltd., we are very fortunate to employ a number of extraordinarily talented people who are transgender. These people are like family to me. And having known and worked with many transgender friends over the years, I see in each a reflection of myself. The thought of being afraid to share space with any one of those good people is hard for me to understand, based on my

personal experiences. If you had the opportunity to meet any one of them, I bet you’d feel the same way.

Again, as long-standing advocates for fair treatment, diversity, and inclusion, North Carolina-based Replacements, Ltd. will welcome you with open arms.

Bob Page Founder & CEO REPLACEMENTS, LTD.

Map of North Carolina – ezilon.com

Celebrating 41 Years!

Some Capitol Hill business owners report increased sales after light rail station opens on Broadway

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor It’s been less than 30 days since the Capitol Hill light rail station opened on the corner of E. John and Broadway and already some businesses on Capitol Hill are reporting a 15 to 20 percent increase in customers.

Last month, Sound Transit began service on the nearly 3.2 mile U Link subway, which whisks people from downtown Seattle to Husky Stadium in eight minutes.

That same trip can take up to 50 minutes by car on a good day. A Kirkland traffic study company Inrix released its annual report recently and found that the average Seattle commuter wastes 66 hours a year behind the wheel stuck in traffic, up from 63 hours in 2014.

Not surprisingly, the businesses reporting an increase in sales – in particular, new customers – have a Broadway storefront.

Jennafuh Singer runs The New York Xchange, a clothing store on Broadway. She told KUOW that her niche store, described as, “Kind of like punk meets goth meets modern overall fashion,” seems to be drawing people from all over the city now that light rail is open.

Singer says The New York Xchange will move in with Panache to be even closer to the station a few doors down. She told KUOW that light rail gave them an excuse to do a big remodel. Singer, who has lived in Seattle for a decade, said, “It’s been interesting to me as a New Yorker to get to see these changes and how the city has changed.

Just a little bit more of that flow and influx of people from the light rail being open.”

Singer isn’t the only one saying business is improving. Dick’s Drive-In and Charlie’s Bar and Grill both report better numbers.

A manager at Dick’s Drive-In reported to KUOW a 20 percent increase in business.

New customers are being reported at Charlie’s Bar and Grill, which is located very close to the station. Charlie’s manager, Alexander Kane, said, “People that are coming in to the airport on their way out want to eat something, both directions.

They’re coming in with luggage. So I know that it’s helped us.”

Kane told KUOW that his customers used to be young people. But now families are coming in with strollers. He’s also seen more students and people doing pub crawls using light rail. Collectively, he estimates these customers have expanded his busy

New libraodway light rail– oldtrails.com

hours and increased sales by 15 percent.

Still, some businesses say it is too early to tell. What the shops and restaurants on and around the Seattle neighborhood’s main thoroughfare are waiting to see is if the recent uptick in business will halt when the novelty of the new 4-minute ride from either downtown or the University District wears off.

Sound Transit’s board presented a draft proposal late last month for Sound Transit

3, a 25-year plan for mass transit in the region, including plans to connect light rail to Everett, DuPont, Issaquah, West Seattle and Ballard at a cost of $50 billion.

If completed, the plan would leave the region with 108 miles of light rail, along with significant expansion of bus rapid transit and other bus service, as well as the addition of Sounder rail service from Lakewood to DuPont.

Share your ideas on “Re-Imaging” Library Spaces April 21 with City Libration Marcellus Turner What would your dream library look like? How do you envision the library of the future?

Seattle City Librarian Marcellus Turner wants to hear your ideas at a Community Conversation: Re-Imagining Library Spaces scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636.

Turner will be joined by panelists Dri Ralph, facilities design coordinator for The King County Library System, Walter Schacht, fellow of the American Institute of Architects and Tom Fay, director of library programs and services for The Seattle Public Library.

This Community Conversation is sponsored in conjunction with AIA Seattle, Design in Public and Space.City.

“Throughout its 125 year history, The Seattle Public Library has successfully adapted its buildings and services to meet the needs of our patrons,” Turner said. The Seattle Public Library, which maintains a five-star rating, had nearly 13 million visits and circulated over 11 million items last year.

“Particularly in a rapidly changing world, it’s important we engage with our patrons on how we should be planning for the future, including looking at innovative ways to improve Library spaces,” Turner said.

While a 1998 capital bond measure helped renew Library buildings across the city, many of those improvements happened over a decade ago, and demographic and technology changes have affected the

way Library patrons currently use Library services. Use of digital materials continues to rise, as well as patron participation in educational classes and events.

“I’m looking forward to hearing ideas from patrons on ways we can re-imagine Library spaces to enhance services to our diverse community,” Turner said.

He noted that the Central Library was recently re-imagined in order to host Shakespeare’s First Folio, currently on exhibit on Level 8. Part of the re-imagined project included creating an interactive space called “The Meadow,” on Level 3.

The First Folio exhibit, which includes an array of related programs with partner organizations, has drawn an average of 500 new patrons to the Central Library each day.

Last summer, the Central Library extended its programming space to the building’s plaza, where it hosted several outdoor community events, which was also new.

Turner will talk about some of the other innovative ways The Seattle Public Library and other libraries and educational institutions are currently re-imagining spaces, along with three panelists.

“Libraries of the future need to be flexible to respond to the dynamic needs of patrons and staff,” Ralph said.

“Our work is focused on creating places for community, culture and education,” Schacht said. “We see the public library as the central and most accessible civic institution in our communities. I’m looking forward to discussing how we can create appropriate library spaces, now and in the

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future, which support that critical role.

Fay agreed, noting that the Library is used by many people for many purposes.

“The Library supports a wide variety of needs,” Fay said. “Whether it’s the millennial worker who needs stable Wi-Fi and a quiet place to work, the entrepreneur who needs resources to start their first business or the newcomer to the U.S. who needs help learning English, the Library is here to support everyone in our community with the spaces, resources and information expertise that they need to succeed in life.”

Turner said a Library advisory group came together in 2013 to hear from a variety of other industries about their approach to creating spaces that more effectively serve their customers. Based on those conversations, the group identified some guiding principles for The Seattle’s Public Library’s work around Re-Imaging Library Spaces.

The Re-Imagined Spaces service priority is funded by leveraging scheduled capital improvements of Library buildings – currently made possible by the Library levy passed by voters in 2012. When possible, the Library also utilizes private funding to adapt existing spaces to respond to changes in patron usage.

Just recently, the Rainier Beach Branch was renovated with a partial re-roofing, interior and exterior painting and new carpet thanks to Library levy money. At the same time, the branch was re-imagined to open up the floor plan, brighten the interior and add new features such as: a laptop bar in the building’s lobby; a single staff service desk to clarify where patrons should go for help;

collaborative work spaces; a quiet zone for adults; improved spaces for families, children and teens; and a digital media room.

The Re-Imagined Spaces Community Conversation is part of a series of community discussions Turner is having on five service priorities that are guiding the future of the Library. The series has included a conversation about youth and early learning, as well as Seattle culture and history.

Future conversations will be devoted to his other two priorities – technology and access and community engagement.

Everyone is welcome to attend and discuss the changing nature and future of Library spaces.

For more information, call the Library at 206-386-4636 or visit https://www. spl.org/ or Ask a Librarian at https:// www.spl.org/using-the-library/get-help/ ask-a-librarian

April 8, 2016

Seattle Gay News 5

Courtesy of Seattle Public Library

9th Circuit sends public nudity case back to lower court Case comes from 2011 San Diego Pride bust

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on April 5 that a man arrested for public nudity is entitled to a new trial.

Will X. Walters attended the 2011 San Diego Pride Festival dressed in a gladiator costume, with his buttocks covered only by a loincloth flap.

Police officers ordered him to cover his buttocks, and when Walters refused, police issued him a citation for public nudity.

Rather than pay the ticket, Walters asked for a trial.

According to evidence presented to the trial court, Lt. David Nieslet of the San Diego Police had told Pride organizers in advance that police would be enforcing stricter rules that year, requiring buttocks to be fully covered.

In previous years, trial documents said, the rule was that the center of the buttocks had to be covered by a one-inch strip.

Walters’ lawyer, Christopher Morris, argued that the new full-coverage rule was only being enforced for Pride and not at other special events around the city, such as the Over The Line batting tournament, or at any city beach where women can be seen wearing G-string swimsuits.

The police were therefore discriminating against Walters because of his sexual orientation, Morris argued. In addition, Walters also sued the San Diego Police

2011 Gay Pride Parade – sdpride.org

Department (SDPD) for false arrest and battery.

Deputy City Attorney Bonny Hsu argued that police do enforce the rule at all city events “when able to,” but they rarely write tickets because – unlike Walters – most people comply with police orders to cover up.

A San Diego federal judge sided with the police in 2014, ruling that “there is nothing on the record that reasonably suggests sexual orientation had anything to do with the decision to insist upon compliance” with the law.

The judge granted summary judgment in favor of the city and Nieslet, and Walters then appealed.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit ordered the case back to a lower court,

saying that there are still issues of fact that a jury must decide.

Among the issues the 9th Circuit wanted a new trial to decide were whether police actually did enforce the ordinance elsewhere, and whether targeting Pride attendees “is tantamount to targeting gay individuals and individuals who support gay rights.”

“That an officer referred to Walters as a ‘drama queen’ during his arrest is additional evidence of discriminatory purpose,” the 9th Circuit noted.

“Although Defendants (police and the city) may ultimately establish that another purpose motivated their nudity policy at the Pride event, that question is seriously disputed.”

The appeals court did dismiss Walters’

claims of false arrest and battery, however.

“Since the appellate court threw out the false arrest and battery claims, the only remaining issue for trial is whether SDPD engaged in selective enforcement,” said the San Diego City Attorney’s office.

“Mr. Walters, however, was never prosecuted for anything because our office declined to issue a criminal complaint at the time.”

Morris, however, said he looked forward to arguing Walters’ case in front of a jury.

“We are confident they’ll see this case the way we have, which is that Will Walters was discriminated against by the San Diego Police Department,” he told reporters after the 9th Circuit ruling.

GOP headed for Splitsville: Lyin’ Ted Cruz is stealing my nomination, Trump says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In the wake of a stunning defeat in the Wisconsin primary on April 5, Donald Trump lashed out at his main rival, Ted Cruz, accusing the Texas senator of trying to “steal” the Republican presidential nomination.

“Donald J. Trump withstood the onslaught of the establishment yet again,” a statement from the Trump campaign said.

“Lyin’ Ted Cruz had the governor of Wisconsin, many conservative talk radio show hosts, and the entire party apparatus behind him. Not only was he propelled by the anti-Trump Super PAC’s spending countless millions of dollars on false advertising against Mr. Trump but he was coordinating with his own Super PACs (which is illegal) who totally control him.

Ted Cruz is worse than a puppet – he is a Trojan horse, being used by the party bosses attempting to steal the nomination from Mr. Trump. We have total confidence that Mr. Trump will go on to win in New York, where he holds a substantial lead in all the polls, and beyond. Mr. Trump is the only candidate who can secure the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination and ultimately defeat Hillary Clinton, or whomever [sic] is the Democratic nominee, in order to Make America Great Again.”

“Lyin’ Ted” is becoming the standard Trump reference to his rival for the nomination. The expression “Trojan horse” is one Trump has used previously, but only to describe Syrian refugees who – in Trump

6 Seattle Gay News

Ted Cruz at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa 11/2015.

Photo: courtesy of Gage Skidmore Flickr

world – are all ISIS infiltrators.

The accusation that Cruz is conspiring with “party bosses” to “steal the nomination from Mr. Trump” refers to attempts by Republican party insiders to craft rules for the GOP’s July convention in such a way that if Trump fails to win a first-ballot victory, he can be blocked from getting the nomination.

Cruz operatives have reportedly been manipulating state party conventions in Louisiana and other states where Trump has already won primaries to get Cruz supporters appointed as nominal “Trump delegates” who will then desert to Cruz on the second or third ballots.

April 8, 2016

Donald Trump speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Gage Skidmore

In response, Trump has backed away from his previous commitment to support the eventual GOP nominee.

In a March 29 town hall with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Trump charged he had been “treated very unfairly” by the Republican National Committee and the party “establishment” and said he no longer felt bound by the agreement he signed in September.

Cruz also has been moving away from his prior commitment to back Trump if he is the nominee.

“I don’t make a habit out of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my family,” Cruz said during a news conference in Wisconsin, referring to Trump

attacks on Heidi Cruz.

While Cruz has not endeared himself to Republican Party insiders, the New York Times reports that he is approaching big donors in Trump’s home state, trying to line up support. The situation is “delicate,” the Times says, because Trump has a huge lead for the upcoming New York primary, but GOP donors now believe that a Trump nomination would be disastrous for the party.

On the other hand, a Trump thirdparty bid would be equally harmful to Republican chances, in the event Trump believes he was unfairly deprived of the nomination.

Celebrating 41 Years!

Gloves come off in Dem primary battle: Sanders and Clinton trade punches

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In the wake of Bernie Sanders’ 14point primary win in Wisconsin on April 5, Sanders and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton got into a slugfest over their respective qualifications for high office.

Clinton struck first, exploiting a lessthan-stellar Sanders interview with the pro-Clinton New York Daily News, in which the Vermont senator seemed to fumble a question about how exactly he would break up the big banks.

Sanders “hadn’t done his homework,” Clinton told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough on the morning after the Wisconsin primary, and had “been talking for more than a year about doing things that he obviously hadn’t really studied or understood.”

“Like a lot of people, I am concerned that some of his ideas just won’t work because the numbers don’t add up,” she repeated to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. “Others won’t even pass Congress. In a number of important areas, he doesn’t have a plan at all.”

Clinton also tried to cast doubt on Sanders’ embrace of the Democratic Party.

“He’s a relatively new Democrat, and, in fact, I’m not even sure he is one,” Clinton said in an April 6 interview in Politico.

“He’s running as one. So I don’t know quite how to characterize him. I’ll leave that to him.”

“I am also a Democrat and have been a proud Democrat all my adult life,” Clinton repeated at a campaign rally later that day.

“And I think that is kind of important if we are selecting someone to be the Democratic nominee of the Democratic Party.”

Sanders describes himself as a “democratic socialist” and has previously run for office as an independent.

While Clinton had already tried to pivot to general election mode after a string of primary election victories in March – concentrating her fire against Republican frontrunner Donald Trump – Sanders’ better-than-expected performance in Wisconsin apparently rattled her campaign.

“The Clinton campaign has been watching these Wisconsin results come in,” CNN reported, “and the delegate race of course is tight there, but the reality is they’re running out of patience. So they’re going to begin deploying a new strategy; it’s going to be called ‘disqualify him, defeat him,’ and then they can unify the party later.”

Sanders struck back in a speech later on April 6.

“Secretary Clinton appears to be getting a little bit nervous,” he told a crowd in Philadelphia. “And she has been saying lately that she thinks that I am ‘not qualified’ to be president.

“Well, let me, let me just say in response to Secretary Clinton: I don’t believe that she is qualified, if she is, through her super PAC, taking tens of millions of dollars in

In Democratic Party debate, Bernie Sanders pushes Hillary Clinton – nytimes.com

special interest funds. I don’t think that you are qualified if you get $15 million from Wall Street through your super PAC. “I don’t think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in Iraq.

I don’t think you are qualified if you have supported virtually every disastrous trade agreement which has cost us millions of decent paying jobs,” he said to applause.

“I don’t think you are qualified if you’ve supported the Panama free trade agreement, something I very strongly opposed and, which as all of you know, has allowed corporations and wealthy [people] all over the world ... to avoid paying their taxes to their countries.”

An April 3 story in the New York Times cited unnamed Sanders campaign officials who wanted him to get tougher with

Clinton, blaming his loss in the Nevada primary on his initial reluctance to go negative on her.

Perhaps motivated by the Times story, Sanders struck an aggressive note in an April 7 press conference at an AFL-CIO gathering in Philadelphia, warning Clinton that “this campaign will fight back,” against attacks on his credibility.

“When you have headlines in the Washington Post, ‘Clinton questions whether Sanders is qualified to be president,’ my response is, ‘Well, if you want to question my qualifications, let me suggest this. Maybe the American people might wonder about your qualifications, Madame Secretary,’” Sanders said.

Trans man files workplace discrimination suit against Whole Foods

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Transgender man in New York has filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer, Whole Foods, for violations of his rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the U.S. Constitution.

Victor Alexander King worked at a Whole Foods store in Chelsea, in New York City, where, he charges, co-workers referred to him as “she, her, or it.”

Supervisors refused to help him, King says in his suit, and also discriminated against him.

One supervisor, identified in court documents as Quadry Scott, told King, “I know

you are not a guy; I am not going to refer to you as a guy.”

King says he then complained to the Whole Foods human resources department, but company officials ignored him.

Finally, he contacted the Ali Forney Center, a Manhattan-based center for homeless LGBTQ youth, which agreed to advocate on his behalf.

Only then did Whole Foods agree to send its employees to take antiharassment courses, King says. But the hostile work environment continued, and he was forced to quit his job at Whole Foods in March of this year.

Whole Foods spokesperson Michael Sinatra told the New York Daily News that the company had not yet reviewed King’s lawsuit.

However, Sinatra said, “As a company, we have long celebrated diversity and acceptance and have zero tolerance for discrimination. Our diverse and inclusive culture is reflected in our team member base, including our leadership, as well as in community partnerships here in New York City.”

Whole Foods is owned by controversial businessman John Mackey. A vegan and a pioneer of the natural foods movement, Mackey is also a libertarian who opposes labor unions – none of his Whole Foods employees are represented by unions – and government regulation of the food industry.

Mackey earned headlines in 2013 when he told NPR that the Affordable Care Act was not socialism but “more like fascism.”

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April 8, 2016

Seattle Gay News 7

Rights of nonbiological parents at issue in Massachusetts case

Mommy Karen and Mama Julie – WCVB.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Oral arguments began April 5 in a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case involving the rights of nonbiological parents when a couple with children separates.

The case of Partanen v. Gallagher

ANTI-FEMINIST continued from cover

With all of the right-wing financing her campaign received and her close ties to Republican Governor Scott Walker, it’s difficult to imagine Wisconsin’s newest Supreme Court justice will be impartial in her decisions over the next decade. Even more troubling however, are some of her comments about women, survivors of sexual assault, members of the LGBT community, and people living with HIV and AIDS. Her attacks on the LGBT community are especially disturbing. In 1992 Bradley wrote that “homosexuals and drug addicts who do essentially kill themselves and others through their own behavior deservedly receive none of my sympathy.” Adding that “heterosexual sex is very healthy in a loving marital relationship. Homosexual sex, however, kills.” Bradley also expressed anger over AIDS getting more research money and awareness than other diseases.

“How sad that the lives of degenerate drug addicts and queers are valued more than the innocent victims of more prevalent ailments,” she wrote.

Bradley also holds deep anti-feminist convictions. Her column at Marquette University, “Awaiting feminism’s demise” was a counterpoint to one by Jeffrey Howe arguing that “Feminism benefits all.”

“I intend to expose the feminist movement as largely composed of angry, militant, man-hating lesbians who abhor the traditional family,” Bradley wrote, arguing that the feminist movement was not at all concerned with defending women’s rights

8 Seattle Gay News

involves an unmarried Lesbian couple with two children who have now separated. Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) is representing one member of the former couple in this appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Julie Gallagher and Karen Partanen were a couple for nearly 13 years before they separated. They met in Massachusetts

and that it had been hijacked by the political left.

Adding insult to injury, Bradley suggested that author Camille Paglia “legitimately suggested that women play a role in date rape” and wrote that “the only solution to date rape is female self-awareness and self-control. A woman’s No. 1 line of defense against rape is herself.”

Her comments on abortion are equally insensitive as she equated abortion to “a time in history when Jews were treated as non-humans and tortured and murdered,” and “a time in history when blacks were treated as something less than human.”

Writing in her column at Marquette she claimed that women who chose to have an abortion have no moral or ethical basis.

“Women even declare some right to control their bodies, neglecting the fact that in choosing abortion they are asserting a right to control another body, and a right to murder their own flesh and blood. … Do not be persuaded by any pleas for a woman’s right to control her body or ‘choose’ to be pregnant or not; they have no moral or ethical basis.”

In 2006 Bradley demonstrated that her beliefs have not evolved as she wrote in a column that pharmacists distributing birth control are “a party to murder.”

It comes as no surprise then, that like many of her passionate conservative family values comrades, Bradley is also a hypocrite. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that in 2004 Bradley was in an extramarital affair with a coworker who she then represented in his child custody

April 8, 2016

and later moved to Florida. While living there, they bought a home and decided to have children together. Partanen was unable to become pregnant, and the couple decided that Gallagher would be the one to give birth.

With Partanen’s consent and full involvement, Gallagher conceived two children through assisted reproduction, and they parented them together. The couple later moved back to Massachusetts and separated. Their two children are now 4 and 7 years old.

Upon their separation, Partanen filed two petitions: the first to be declared a “de facto” parent, which currently provides for rights of visitation but does not confer the full legal and familial advantages of parenthood; and the second to be declared a full, legal parent under existing Massachusetts laws, which would acknowledge her role and her responsibilities to the children.

Gallagher has opposed both petitions.

The petition to establish full legal parentage was dismissed by a trial court in March 2015 and is the focus of the appeal.

“These children have had a Mommy, Karen, and a Mama, Julie, for their whole lives and have deep bonds with each,” said GLAD attorney Mary L. Bonauto, who argued on behalf of Partanen before the Massachusetts high court.

“Fortunately, the parentage laws provide a backstop so that children born to unmarried adults can obtain a determination of parentage and secure appropriate support, custody, and visitation ... These child-centered laws should protect children

born from assisted reproduction, whether their parents are a same-sex or differentsex couple.”

“I grew up in a large family, and that sense of family and permanency is what I want for my children,” Partanen echoed.

According to GLAD, Massachusetts law says that when unmarried parents have and raise a child together in their home and hold out the child as their child to the community, then the nonbiological parent is presumed to be a legal parent.

Partanen and Gallagher held themselves out as the children’s parents to the children, each other, the community, and third parties, and on official forms, GLAD says, and that makes Partanen the children’s legal parent even though she is not their birth mother.

Gallagher claims that the presumption of legal parentage evaporates without proof of a biological connection, however.

In addition, Massachusetts policies favor immediate legal parentage for children born to married couples who use assisted reproduction. GLAD says that policy must apply here to ensure equal treatment of all children without regard to their parents’ marital status, as state law and constitutional commands require.

In Washington state, the state Supreme Court established in 2005 that the nonbiological parent in a separating same-sex couple could be ruled a “de facto” parent with visitation and other rights, if that was consistent with the “best interests” of the children.

case – more damning evidence suggesting the jurist is not fit for the state’s highest court.

Bradley is so controversial that even Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders weighed in on the state Supreme Court race just days before the primary. Clinton went out of her way to denounce Bradley while campaigning in Milwaukee saying, “There is no place on any Supreme Court or any court in this country, no place at all for Rebecca Bradley’s decades-long track record of dangerous rhetoric against women, survivors of sexual assault and the LGBT community.”

Adding, “No to discrimination, no to hate speech and no to Bradley.”

The following night at a rally in Madison, Sanders announced, “I hope that a large voter turnout on Tuesday will help elect JoAnne Kloppenburg to the Supreme Court!”

Court) Bradley was put on the fast track to run in Tuesday’s election.

In addition to three appointments, Walker also helped Bradley get elected by signing a strict voter ID law in 2011 targeting minorities, young people, and the elderly.

Rebecca Bradley will now serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the next 10 years, likely affecting many important state-wide decisions for decades to come.

While it may seem difficult to understand how the same state that elected the first openly Gay U.S. Senator to congress, Tammy Baldwin, could possibly elect someone as homophobic, anti-feminist, and regressive as Rebecca Bradley, it’s actually rather simple. It’s called voting.

If there is anything we can learn from Bradley’s election to the State Supreme Court, it’s the importance of voting. Let us not forget all of the events that had to have taken place for this to happen.

Scott Walker was elected governor in the 2010 mid-term elections, as were Republican majorities in both the state Assembly and Senate, giving Republicans complete control of the state. The following year, Republicans passed strict voting laws to help them win in the future, which was then upheld by a conservative state Supreme Court – the very same court Rebecca Bradley was appointed to by Governor Walker last fall and elected to on Tuesday.

Bradley’s journey to the state Supreme Court makes her Tuesday win even more infuriating as her ties to right-wing Governor Walker propelled her not once or twice, but three times.

Over the past five years, Walker has made several appointments to positions in state government. Unfortunately his main criteria for appointments are based on ideology and party loyalty rather than professional qualifications.

Bradley is just the latest example of the governor’s shenanigans. Receiving three appointments in three years, (including last fall’s appointment to the State Supreme

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Businesses warn Tennessee: Don’t pass anti-Trans bills

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Five of the country’s top businesses warned Tennessee lawmakers not to pass HB 2414, a law that would force Transgender students in public schools to use restrooms that do not correspond to their gender identity.

On April 6, the Tennessee House Education Administration and Planning Committee voted 8-4 to advance the bill.

A Senate companion bill, SB 2387, is also pending.

According to the Williams Institute, there are over 10,000 Transgender young people between 13 and 19 years of age in Tennessee who would be impacted by the legislation.

CEOs of Alcoa, Choice Hotels, Dow Chemical, and Hewlett Packard wrote to Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, the president of the state Senate, warning that they were opposed to the bills being considered.

“We are disappointed to see the [Tennessee] legislature consider discriminatory legislation,” the letter says.

“The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business. This is not a direction in which states move when they are seeking to provide successful, thriving hubs for business and economic development. We believe that SB 2387 will make it far more challenging for businesses

Tennessee Capital – gay.com

across the state to recruit and retain the nation’s best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the country. It will also diminish the state’s draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses, and economic activity.”

Viacom, the parent company of Country Music Television, issued a separate statement also urging lawmakers to reject the legislation.

“Viacom and CMT have a deep commitment to tolerance, diversity, and inclusion, and discriminatory laws like HB 2414 and SB 2387 are inconsistent with our values,” the company said. “As proud members of Tennessee’s welcoming and vibrant

business community, we implore state lawmakers to reject these proposals.”

HRC President Chad Griffin warned that passing the bills might lead to a nationwide boycott of Tennessee, similar to one developing against North Carolina in the wake of a sweeping anti-LGBT law in that state.

“Tennessee lawmakers must not be paying attention to North Carolina and the national backlash caused by a similar legislative attack on transgender people,” Griffin said.

“In addition to undermining Tennessee’s economy, this vicious and appalling measure would needlessly jeopardize millions in federal funding for Tennessee’s

schools and universities in an attempt to force local administrators and teachers to discriminate against transgender students – young people who already face high rates of harassment, bullying, and discrimination.

The Tennessee Senate must resoundingly reject this outrageous proposal.”

In addition to the possibility of a boycott, the measures would also put Tennessee school districts at risk of losing federal funds under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. That law stipulates that schools receiving federal funding cannot discriminate on the basis of sex – a provision the Obama administration has interpreted to protect Transgender students.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam expressed concerns that the bills would threaten $3 billion in federal funding for his state’s public schools and universities. His spokesperson also said the governor “trusts our teachers and local school boards to make necessary accommodations” for transgender students.

According to HRC, seven major national child welfare, medical, and education groups have condemned legislation excluding Trans students from gender-appropriate facilities: the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American School Counselor Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Social Workers, and the National Education Association.

Obergefell a pplies to Puerto Rico, 1st Circuit rules

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell – which legalized Lesbian and Gay marriages – applies to the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on April 7.

In doing so, the appeals court reversed a ruling from a Puerto Rican district court that the island’s ban on same-sex marriage remained in effect despite the Supreme Court ruling.

“The district court’s ruling errs in so many respects that it is hard to know where to begin,” the 1st Circuit’s unsigned opinion stated.

U.S. District Court Judge Juan PérezGiménez had ruled in October 2014 that Puerto Rico’s ban on same-sex marriage was valid, and he upheld the law again in March this year, after the 1st Circuit sent the case back to him with an order to “further consider” the matter “in light of Obergefell.”

The appeals court judges told PérezGiménez at that time that they “agree with the parties … that the ban is unconstitutional.” Consequently, when the judge upheld the law for a second time, the appeals court was annoyed.

“In ruling that the ban is not unconstitutional because the applicable constitutional

1st Circuit Court of Appeals upholds same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico – nbcnews.com

right does not apply in Puerto Rico, the district court both misconstrued that right and directly contradicted our mandate,” the 1st Circuit wrote.

The 1st Circuit granted the request from the parties challenging the ban – including both the original plaintiffs and the

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government of Puerto Rico – asking that the justices issue an order “requiring the district court to enter judgment in their favor striking down the ban as unconstitutional.”

The appeals court also took the extraordinary step of kicking Pérez-Giménez off the case, ordering that the case “be assigned

randomly by the clerk to a different judge to enter judgment in favor of the Petitioners promptly.”

Pérez-Giménez was appointed to the federal bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

April 8, 2016

Seattle Gay News 13

George Mason University renames Law School ASSoL after the dead Antonin Scalia

by Victor Hawthorne SGN Staff Writer

What many thought was an early April Fool’s Day joke is actually a real gift from the Comedy Gods.

After having received a generous $10 million from the Charles Koch Foundation and $20 million more from an anonymous donor, George Mason University eagerly changed its law school’s name to The Antonin Scalia School of Law. Such haste resulted in an unfortunate (or fortunate depending on what side of the political spectrum you fall on) result as the law school became the butt of numerous jokes all over the Internet. Twitter users who are less than fond of the late Supreme Court jurist immediately seized upon the new acronym and began tweeting comments containing the hash tags #ASSLaw and #ASSoL: “Seriously. They’re calling their school ‘ASSoL’?”

“Pro-Tip: Practice safe #branding.

Watch your acronyms. ‘Mom! Dad! I got into the ASSoL!’” “Hearty congratulations to David Bernstein, who is now, officially, an ASSoL professor.”

This week, administrators at the university announced they are re-re-naming the school to something a little less comedic: The Antonin Scalia Law School.

ASSLaw Dean Henry N. Butler sort of apologized to students and alumni in an awkward letter announcing the new name change: “Under the terms of the anonymous gift, we are authorized to use a variety of different names. The name initially announced – The Antonin Scalia School of Law – has

Dead Antonin Scalia – justjared.com

caused some acronym controversy on social media. The Antonin Scalia Law School is a logical substitute. We anticipate the naming will be effective on July 1, 2016 pending final approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.”

While most of us are giggling over the delightful coincidence that an acronym could be so perfectly fitting, the reaction all over the Internet highlights how deeply controversial and unfortunately influential the late justice was.

The most common response to NPR’s Nina Totenberg’s congratulatory tweet, “George Mason renaming its law school The Antonin Scalia School of Law. The late Justice, genuinely beloved teacher, must be on cloud 9!” was “I flat out would not attend any school named after Scalia.”

In another sign of how unpopular and controversial Scalia is, the university is

now looking into how to accommodate law school students who don’t want Scalia’s name on their diplomas.

It is difficult to imagine a scenario making headlines across the nation had it been another Supreme Court Justice and not Scalia. Had it been Justice Steven Bryer, nobody would have even noticed. Not even Alito or Thomas could have mustered up this sort of reaction.

But that is why the acronym is so perfect – because it was Scalia, one of the most unashamedly and vocally hateful and repressive Supreme Court Justices in history. The man who for decades denied Gay Americans their basic human rights. The man who entrenched oligarchy into our political fabric through Citizens United.

The man who fatally voted to expand the Second Amendment.

While most of us who have a soul and

a sense of humor would like to believe that this is no coincidence, that maybe the Universe was warning the folks at George Mason University to not name their law school after someone so evil, or that maybe George Mason University is fooling us all in naming their school ASSoL after, well . . . the biggest one of them all, or that because it happened the day before April Fool’s Day, the Universe has one hell of a sense of humor.

It’s probably just one of the most the most perfectly timed, superbly fitting, and hilarious coincidences to have ever occurred. But just in case there is some sort of hidden meaning (and for the record), George Mason University – you’ve just sold your soul to the devil.

George Mason University – twimg.com

14 Seattle Gay News

April 8, 2016

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continued from cover

self-defense, saying he had heard noises inside the home and, suspecting a burglar, grabbed a shotgun, only to find himself confronted by his son, Amier, who he said threatened him with a knife.

Detectives say that the story Issa told them just didn’t add up. Particularly, there was no knife found next to his son’s body.

Instead, police say they suspect Issa fatally shot his son after killing his wife sometime during the previous 24 hours.

The case spawned national headlines over the weekend after the L.A. County district attorney’s office announced that Issa had been charged with murder in his son’s March 29 killing and that it was committed “because of the victim’s sexual orientation.” The office said Issa “threatened to kill his son on prior occasions because he was Gay.” The allegation that sexuality was a motive in the killing horrified many and highlights a wider pattern of violence against

MISSISSIPPI

continued from cover its governor, Pat McCrory, signed a similar bill March 23.

“What I’ve seen in my business, when people in the secular community want to attack a bill, they give the worst possible examples of what will happen,” Bryant said.

A spokesperson for Nissan, which runs a large plant in Canton, Miss., said the company’s statement opposing HB 1523 “still stands” in spite of Bryant’s signature.

“It is Nissan’s policy to prohibit discrimination of any type, and we oppose any

LGB people. Sexual orientation was the primary motivating factor in one out of every four hate crimes.

The number of hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation rose by 14% to 108 between 2013 and 2014, the report said.

Hate crimes targeting Gay men rose 31%.

Each day, the Los Angeles LGBT center has about 100 LGBT youngsters who have been abused or abandoned by their families or who are forced to flee because they don’t feel safe at home, Jim Key, a spokesperson for the center, told the Los Angeles Times.

“Whatever the truth of this case is,” Key said, “the sad reality is that our LGBT youth, and people of all ages, remain targets for abuse and violence, even by family members.”

Police say that Issa’s anger over his son’s sexuality was a contributing factor, but not the underlying motivation for the killing.

Generally, they didn’t get along with each other, said officials.

The home, where Amier’s body was found outside in the front yard, had been

a source of turmoil since Amier moved back in with his parents, two years ago. The LAPD said officers had been called to the home to help evict Amier, whose parents were attempting to sell the house against their son’s wishes. The son had even vandalized the house, according to police.

A rambling tirade posted on Amier’s Facebook page 10 days before his death said he worried that his parents, brother and sister were “literally controlling me in my sleep” and that “they tell people to rape and molest me and make it seem like I enjoy that.”

According to court records, Amier was convicted in San Diego of assault with a deadly weapon in 2010. He had slashed his ex-boyfriend across the face with a knife, leaving him hospitalized. Amier, who fled to Las Vegas during jury deliberations, was sentenced first to treatment at a state mental hospital and then to three years’ probation with further mental health treatment.

Deputy District Attorney Emily Cole, who is handling Issa’s prosecution, told

the Los Angeles Times her office decided there was sufficient evidence to support a hate crime allegation against Issa. She said authorities had information from Amier’s siblings about previous threats their father made about Amier’s sexuality.

“We have enough, obviously, to prove he killed the son, but the motive and the reasoning and everything is very much an ongoing investigation,” she said.

To prove the hate crime allegation, she said, prosecutors must show that Amier’s sexuality was a motivating factor in the killing, not that it was the only factor.

No charges have been filed in the killing of Rabihah Issa, 68, Cole said. Detectives are still trying to piece together what happened to the woman and the prosecution is looking for evidence to build a case against Issa.

Currently, Issa is being held without bail at Men’s Central Jail. His arraignment is scheduled for April 11.

legislation that would allow discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals,” the statement read.

The Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) also came out against the law.

“As the State Chamber of Commerce for a state that has proven its hospitable and business-friendly approach, MEC opposes efforts that would intentionally or unintentionally prevent Mississippi businesses from implementing and enforcing nondiscrimination policies or that would limit diversity and inclusion impacting their customers and employees,” the organization said in a statement. “HB 1523 conflicts with this policy.”

The ACLU of Mississippi released a statement calling April 5 “a sad day for the state of Mississippi and for the thousands of Mississippians who can now be turned away from businesses, refused marriage licenses, or denied housing, essential services, and needed care based on who they are.”

“This bill flies in the face of the basic American principles of fairness, justice, and equality and will not protect anyone’s religious liberty,” said Jennifer RileyCollins, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi. “Far from protecting anyone from ‘government discrimination’ as the bill claims, it is an attack on the citizens of

our state, and it will serve as the Magnolia State’s badge of shame.”

Mississippi Democratic Party spokesperson Ouida Meruvia called Bryant’s signature of HB 1523 “incredibly disappointing.”

“Instead of tearing down walls that divide, the Republican Party has spent this session building new barriers of bigotry,” she said. “We must do better.”

Ten other states have passed or are considering similar bills. Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia and Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia vetoed “religious freedom” legislation passed in their states.

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