SGN April 17, 2015 - Section 1

Celebrating 41 Years!

Issue 16 Volume 43

FRIDAY April 17, 2015 FREE!

25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

scheduled to open show for

FAT JOE

SEC 2 pg 1

Seattle Gay News

Hillary Clinton announces candidacy, courts LGBT voters

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Sally Clark’s farewell e-mail to supporters [EDITOR’S NOTE: Following is the text of Sally Clark’s final email blast to her enewsletter subscribers. SGN wishes Sally well in her future endeavors.]

SEATTLE VIEW - SIGNING OFF Eight-ish years ago an outstanding advocate for the power of good government (I’m looking at you, Gerry Johnson) said he suspected my role at Seattle City Council would be as the Australian Shepherd, nipping at the heels of other councilmembers to turn Hillary Clinton – AP Photo the work in particular directions. I like to tured a Gay couple planning to be married,

by Mike Andrew think he meant due to the Australian ShepNathan Johnson and Jared Milrad.

SGN Staff Writer Johnson and Milrad said they did not herd’s keen intelligence and focus. It could Hillary Clinton’s long-expected an- know when they made the video that it also be because I’m kind of a mid-size pernouncement that she is running for presi- would be used in Clinton’s announcement. son and need a lot of exercise.

“We were really excited to see that our dent was accompanied by clear efforts to interview was featured in the campaign anEither way, on Sunday this dog will clock reach out to LGBT voters.

In the April 12 video in which she finally nouncement,” Milrad told the Washington out, something Councilmembers do only at announced “I’m running for president,” the Blade. the end of their service. (Otherwise, we’re former Senator and Secretary of State feasee hillary page 14 on 24/7.) I’ve served a little over nine years

and it’s been a terrific ride. You receive my e-newsletter because you’ve been involved in some way either directly or simply – and powerfully – by sending an email with your opinion.

This last e-news is a mass thank you card for letting me do this work for you.

We’ve done a lot of good together and, like in any long collaboration, we’ve had a few less great moments.

THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS I came into this job looking for ways to boost people’s ability to make it in Seattle.

A job can mean confidence, choices, stability and a future. I dove into strengthening the City’s investments in job training. That meant using Seattle Channel to spread the word about Seattle Jobs Initiative and ussee clark page 5

Homeless youth lead Teen actor becomes unlikely spokesperson Take Back the Hill march for gender variance

Protestors march on Capitol Hill – ©Alex Garland Photography

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

the heart of Seattle’s LGBT community. That space is now threatened by development and gentrification, march organizers said.

Jaden Smith – www.rap-up.com Seventy-five people braved a hard rain to As the march made its way through the Pike/Pine corridor – now the epicenter of after he defended his choice to wear clothes “take back the hill” in a march on April 10.

by Shaun Knittel The march, led by homeless Queer new commercial development – marchers that are traditionally referred to as skirts or SGN Associate Editor youth, was intended to highlight the need stopped to commemorate recent acts of viodresses on social media.

Gender variance, or gender nonconfor- to protect safe space for young people in Jaden Smith, the 16-year-old son of Will the neighborhood that has historically been and Jada Pinkett Smith, became an unlikely see Teen actor page 13 see youth march page 7 spokesperson for gender variance last week

2 Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 3

Religious Freedom Restoration Act blatant legislation to discriminate cause Christian beliefs don’t support the lifestyle. In the Old Testament it states that sex with the same gender is an abomination. It also applies this same judgment to any sexual acts other than those between When I began documenting the samehusband and wife. The New Testament sex marriage quest in Maryland which ulcondemns all forms of sexual immorality. timately became the award-winning film There is no reference in the Bible admonTHE NEW BLACK, I was intrigued by the ishing Gay marriage. So, I’ll argue that unmany nuances explored and positions justiless this establishment inquired about the fied when people were taking a stance either Lesbian couple’s sexual behavior and based for or against. Of particular note were those its service refusal on the answer, it is unconagainst same-sex marriage in the name of stitutional to stand on religion. And for that their religious platforms (e.g. “I can’t supmatter, a heterosexual couple would also port this because the Bible says it’s wrong.”). have to be polled to glean whether they’ve Even now, that viewpoint resonates with me had premarital sex. Or, what if a heterobecause it is laced with such innuendo, assexual couple samples cake sumption and in some instancand the husband exclaims, “Oh es downright fiction. my God, that is delicious!”?

Today, there are 37 states Will they be escorted from the with legal same-sex marriage building since one of the Ten laws, which demonstrate Commandments reads, “Thou a quantum leap since THE shall not take the name of the NEW BLACK premiered. To Lord thy God in vain.”? give you an idea of how far In order to base service we’ve come, in February 2014 decisions on religious freethere were only 17 states with dom, one would have to insuch laws. And, to hopefully vestigate each customer and further progress, the U.S. Sudetermine if they’ve violated preme Court is set to render doctrine in any way. Anything a decision on whether states short of this is cherry-picking, can institute a Gay marriage exercising selective rights-ofban. If victorious in favor of States that have enacted RFRA and some pending – refusal. In other words, it is the LGBT community, it will National Conference of State Legislatures, New York Times DISCRIMINATION, and enoverthrow existing bans in the remaining 13 states, declaring them uncon- sacred reasons continues to create a conve- acting legislation which makes such behavstitutional. That would be a civil rights coup nient, thorny cross for us all to bear – pun ior legal is the real abomination.

As we continue the quest for the LGBT in the name of love and justice. intended.

It brings to mind when less than 50 years Let’s take the resurgence of The Reli- population’s right to legally marry in every ago a similar civil rights battle was present- gious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), state, we must also be vigilant about opposed before the U.S. Supreme Court – Loving which has recently passed in Indiana and ing legislation that allows someone to disv. Virginia (1967). This landmark ruling Arkansas with a potentially blaring version criminate in the name of the Lord. overturned Virginia’s ban on interracial being contemplated in Louisiana. Even with Courtesy of Yoruba Richen, Promised marriage and was subsequently applied to revisions to the language in Indiana, RFRA’s the remaining 15 states that outlawed mat- blatant legislation affords people legal legs Land Film.

THE NEW BLACK is scheduled for Vidrimony between people of different ethnici- to discriminate – and they can do so by apties. The similarities between today’s quest plying sketchy and selective interpretation eo-On-Demand and DVD release in June and the Loving story are astounding: of religious doctrine.

1. Today, 13 states still have bans on Gay For instance, a small business refuses marriage; during the Loving battle there to cater a wedding for a Lesbian couple beby Yoruba Richen Special to the SGN

4 Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

were 16 declaring interracial unions illegal.

2. Today, the LGBT community simply wants the right to a legal marriage in the states where they reside; Richard and Mildred Loving wanted to live in wedlock in their home state of Virginia.

3. Both battles call into question whether bans violate human and civil rights.

While similarities are stark, today’s challenge facing the LGBT population has an additional layer, which is cloaked in the Bible. Some who oppose legalizing same-sex marriage cite their belief that it is forbidden according to the “Good Book.” Though we are making great strides, choosing to discriminate against the LGBT community for

Celebrating 41 Years!

clark

continued from cover ing the budget to boost City apprenticeship slots.

That was a rewarding start, but the biggest wins in this area, in addition to the team effort for raising the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave, have been the establishment of Bank on Seattle & King County (moving thousands from pay day lenders into no and low cost checking accounts), Career Bridge (intensive job hunt training for formerly incarcerated Black men), and Priority Hire (opening up a pathway to City construction jobs for low income people). By the way, if you’re the guy who sent me the email back in 2006 or 2007 suggesting we adopt the Bank On San Francisco program, thank you. I’ve never been able to find your name. A lot of people have you to thank for getting out of the clutches of payday lenders.

Other accomplishments? Incentive zoning for affordable housing; a reboot of neighborhood-driven neighborhood plan updates; the tunnel (yes, the tunnel); the new South Park Bridge; investing in sidewalk construction nickel by nickel, yardby-yard, year by year; the update of the multi-family code for better townhouse design; expanded building of mother-in-law units for more housing variety and more income for homeowners; a rental registration and inspection program so apartments are safe and decent for habitation; expanded shelter for homeless adults and youth; modernized rules for houseboats and overwater residences; grasping the opportunity for use-of-force reform, the hiring of new police officers and a new police chief; focused investments to drive down youth violence; a parks levy and a metropolitan parks district; a structurally stronger Pike Place Market; the 2007 affordable housing levy (hello, 2016); the start of universal high quality pre-school; innovative preservation rules for Pike/Pine; a multi-city web portal for business and occupation tax filing (sexier than it sounds); rational rules for food trucks and sidewalk café seating; the first ever City Economic Development Commission (thank you, Richard Conlin, for getting the ball rolling); area-wide rezones for South Lake Union, Roosevelt, South Downtown and Dravus/Interbay; the Seattle Children’s development master plan; banning trans fats, labeling menus with nutrition information and establishing a take-back system for leftover prescription drugs (thank you, nine years on the King County Board of Health); strategic plans for both City Light and Seattle Public Utilities; a plastic bag ban; and Zero Waste (again a tip of the hat to Conlin) to trim down the train of garbage Seattle sends to the landfill every week.

work-in-progress for a long time to come.

We have the opportunity to make something uniquely Seattle for the whole city to enjoy. That means great democratic spaces, smart design, knowing when too much is too much, and investing in long-term care.

Our commitment to updating neighborhood plans hasn’t been as strong as I would like. The Great Recession got in the way of

units in 10 years.

With my departure and then Councilmember Tom Rasmussen’s departure at the end of this year we may not have an openly LGBT member of the Council. I think representing still matters. It matters when we talk about health care, homelessness, family support, bias crimes and much more.

It’s been an honor to follow in the footsteps

If you’re a really big Council affairs geek, you know we’re supported by an amazing group of people who make parliamentary procedure happen, ensure the computers hum happily and operate the logistics of the 80-person Legislative Department.

Within the Legislative Department you have a brain trust. That’s right, it’s not the Councilmembers themselves. There’s a team that does the hard work of research, number crunching, and policy option development. These creatures are The People of Central Staff. They are smart lawyers, economists, urban planners, human services experts and more. They do incredible work and I’ve been lucky to have their unfailingly excellent suggestions, critiques and looks of bafflement when I’ve failed to make sense in asking for assistance on an idea.

Official Council Portrait

a lot of things, including an institutional commitment to regular, citizen-driven updates to the urban village and urban center growth plans hatched 1996-2000. We do the outreach better now (thanks to the Planning Outreach & Engagement Liaisons), but the planning is more staff driven than before. Don’t misunderstand me – the staff doing this work are great, but nothing takes the place of neighbors working together to hash out how we grow as a city.

And then there’s the constant striving to create anchors for lower income people to maintain their grip in Seattle. Housing prices continue to rise, threatening our selfimage as a place where you can land and

of previous out councilmembers and I’m looking forward to meeting the LGBT candidates of the future.

THE PARTNERS To the people running for Council seats this fall, particularly for the district seats – remember to look beyond Seattle’s boundaries for context and help. Seattle can’t succeed all by ourselves, no matter how awesome we think we are. Councilmembers don’t always get props for regional work when we’re speaking to groups in Ballard or Lake City or Montlake, but we need our friends in Bellevue, Auburn, Spokane, Vancouver, Gaitsburg and Snohomish if we’re going to get transportation, education and

Seattle’s redesigned waterfront will be a

A dozen or so high school interns have passed through the office, working as little as a week or up to a full school quarter. For many, this has been their first experience in an office setting. For others, it’s been a step on a path taking them to college (Dan Lamkin, stop cruising the web and get back to studying) and beyond (hello, future congressman Andrew Lewis).

I have been lucky to win the time of extremely talented people and so have you.

Cities are where the important work of addressing the inter-related issues of poverty, climate adaptation and smart growth is happening. This makes your choices in August and November all the more important.

Cast your ballots carefully. This is an awesome job and we deserve awesome, caring, curious, thinking councilmembers.

Again, thank you. I’ll be around, now as a Husky instead of an Australian Shepherd. I hope we work together again.

Our first attempt at ridding the City of plastic bags fell flat after we adopted an overly complicated bag charge scheme.

Voters shot the charge down with buckshot paid for by the bag makers.

We’ve saved the P-I Globe, but it still needs a new home.

LaTonya Brown, Edna Shim, David Yeaworth, Sally Hulsman, Dan Nolte, Molly Moon Neitzel (for a split second before she hit the big time), Janice Bultmann, Jesse Gilliam, Kelsey Beck. These are the people who every day demonstrated smarts and compassion to the people who call, curiosity about concerns and ideas, and excellence in building and executing a plan.

FINALLY Serving as a Seattle City Councilmember has been an incredible life experience. I’m part of a pretty cool club (if you’re a local government geek). Serving with an open mind, commitment to the cause of great neighborhoods, sometimes humor, and always integrity has been important to me.

PITCHES IN THE DIRT AND ISSUES WHERE THE PITCH HASN’T CROSSED THE PLATE YET If I had it to do over again, I would approach the 2007 nightlife safety and regulation debate differently. It turns out focusing our staff and existing rules proved effective.

I’m a fan of giving public financing a chance in Seattle. We lost that round with voters in 2013, but a new approach is on the horizon.

Deep thanks to the City staff who do the work every day. To the Parks staff I saw at Seward Park this morning picking up litter in the parking lot to the Department of Planning & Development planners to the Department of Neighborhoods District Coordinators to the City Light lineworkers, the firefighters, police officers and the Office of Economic Development small business tactical team – you are the best and do this city proud. Thank you for choosing public service.

Sally Clark Jesse, Kelsey, LaTonya, Sally

start your career, whether as an artist, an engineer, a coder, a teacher or a home care worker. I’m proud of working with Mayor Murray to set the Housing Affordability & Livability Agenda in motion. We’re going to need a range of changes in how we do things to get to a net of 20,000 affordable

Visit us online www.sgn.org

tax policy decisions that help people in our neighborhoods. I’ve had the pleasure of working with great mayors and councilmembers from all over Puget Sound and the State. Some of them are even Republicans.

April 17, 2015

Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark 600 4th Ave, Floor 2 Seattle, Washington 98124

Seattle Gay News 5

6 Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

youth march continued from cover

lence targeting the LGBT community.

The march also stopped at local bars Pony, the Wildrose, and the Eagle, where organizers delivered letters asking the establishments to open gender-neutral restrooms that would be safer and more welcoming to Trans and other gender nonconforming people.

According to Allyship’s Debbie Carlsen, Pony has already agreed to a gender-neutral restroom.

Speaking with SGN the day before the march at the PSKS offices, young organizers said that anti-Queer violence has gotten worse in recent months.

“I’ve lived on Capitol Hill for four years,” Bas told SGN, “and I’ve only experienced violence in the past year.”

Bas was badly beaten in an assault in March, ironically just before the March 3 hate crimes forum hosted by Gender Justice League and Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant.

“I’ve been punched once before,” they explained, “and it was related to my gender identity, but that’s not the same as three people ganging up on me and leaving me unconscious.

“The worst part – it was on Pike Street where I like to hang out. I felt like it was my space, and now I don’t feel safe there anymore.”

Ryn, another organizer, said she had been assaulted in the U District only two weeks before the hate crimes forum. Vanessa added that she too had been assaulted in the U District. Other young people nodded in agreement.

In spite of the fact that many of the homeless Queer youth involved in PSKS have been targets of hate crimes, none said they reported the assaults to the police.

“No, I didn’t report it,” Bas said. “As a homeless person, I have a lot of negative interaction with the police. They tell me I can’t hang out on the street corner. I have to move. If I can’t get access to a restroom, I can’t use the alley.

“I’ve had bad experiences with SPD,” Ryn agreed. “They actively dehumanized

me by using slurs against me. It wasn’t just that they slipped up and used the incorrect pronoun, they actively misgendered me.”

Bas and Ryn were skeptical of SPD’s plan to recruit neighborhood businesses to act as “safe space” for community members who might be harassed or assaulted on the street, and to mark those businesses with distinctive shield-shaped window stickers.

“The stickers are meaningless unless they come with training on what to do if there is a hate crime,” Bas said.

Bas was also wary that some businesses might not welcome Queer youth.

“If the customers are the same ‘bros’ who continue to harass me, why would that make me feel safer?” they asked.

“I talked with [SPD’s LGBT liaison officer] Jim Ritter,” Ryn added. “He was adamant that SPD doesn’t have the money to enact training [on LGBT issues], so they’re unwilling to meet us halfway.

“Right now there’s no accountability, no training, and no gender-neutral restrooms,” she added.

Speaking with SGN after the march, Carlsen said she believed it was a success.

“We wanted to engage youth in how to build a direct action, and we wanted to empower youth to shape their own message,” she said. “There is tension with the police.

Youth don’t feel safe. I hope this will begin a broader dialog around this issue.”

SPD liaison officer Jim Ritter, who marched with the group, was also happy with the outcome.

“There was no violence and there was no property damage,” he told SGN. “I’m happy and the captain [the East Precinct’s Capt.

Paul McDonaugh] was happy.”

Police maintained a hands-off approach to the march, only intervening to stop traffic and allow marchers to take the street, and to cordon off what they described as “three intoxicated individuals” who heckled the marchers as they passed.

Fire our Archbishop, San Francisco Catholics ask Pope

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer More than 100 leaders of San Francisco’s Roman Catholic community have signed an open letter to Pope Francis, asking the pontiff to replace the city’s ultra-conservative Archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone.

The letter, which ran as a full-page ad in the April 16 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, charges that Cordileone created “an atmosphere of division and intolerance” within the Catholic community by his emphasis on strict traditional morality.

According to the Chronicle, the letter to the Pope caps “months of dissent within the archdiocese” provoked by Cordileone’s insistence that Catholic school teachers and staff sign a “morality clause” agreeing that sex outside of marriage and same-sex sexual relations are “gravely evil.”

The morality clause is mean-spirited and “sets a pastoral tone that is closer to persecution than evangelization,” the letter charges.

Cordileone is known in California as “the father of Prop 8” – the 2008 ballot initiative that attempted to ban same-sex marriage in the state – and is a longtime ally of NOM.

Nibbi Brothers construction executive Larry Nibbi, one of the signers of the letter to the Pope, said the archbishop “is just causing a lot of discord, especially with the young people in the diocese.”

“The crux of our worry is that the faithful are going to become very disenchanted and stop going to church because they don’t like the message, and the message is not the way they lead their lives,” Nibbi said.

Among the other charges against Cordileone are: • That he appointed a priest to Star of the Sea parish “who marginalizes women’s participation in the church by banning girls from altar service.”

• That the same priest provided elementary-school children at Star of the Sea parochial school with a pamphlet about sexuality that asked whether they had masturbated, engaged in sodomy, or had an abortion.

• That the archbishop ignores advice from his own priests in favor of “a tiny group of advisers recruited from outside the diocese and estranged from their own religious orders.”

• That he endangers the long-term stability of the archdiocese by adopting a “single-issue agenda” against same-sex marriage.

According to someone the Chronicle identified as “a source familiar with the drafting of the open letter to Francis,” the signers first considered running the ad weeks ago.

They held off while they appealed to church officials, including the papal representative in Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone – AP Photo/ Patrick Semansky Washington, to address their concerns. When nothing came of that, commissioner and Boudin Bakery executhey went ahead with the ad. tive Lou Giraudo; retired Swinerton BuildAn advance statement by the archdio- ers Chairman David Grubb; businessman cese called the ad “a misrepresentation of and former political consultant Clint Reilly Catholic teaching, a misrepresentation of and his wife, Janet; San Francisco attorney the nature of the teacher contract, and a Michael Kelly; Charles Geschke, chairmisrepresentation of the spirit of the arch- man of Adobe Systems and former head of bishop. The greatest misrepresentation of the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco all is that the signers presume to speak for Board of Trustees; and Tom Brady Sr., fa“the Catholic Community of San Francis- ther of New England Patriots quarterback co.”

Tom Brady.

“They do not.”

Cordileone was appointed to his post in Nevertheless, the letter is signed by a 2012 by conservative Pope Benedict XVI, Who’s Who of prominent San Francisco after serving as Bishop of Oakland, CaliforCatholics and church donors, including nia. He has a Doctorate in Canon Law from Nibbi, Brian Cahill, the retired executive Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University. director of Catholic Charities; former city

Georgia OKs hormone therapy for Trans prisoners mone therapy while incarcerated.

Their decision settles a lawsuit brought by Ashley Diamond, who was convicted of burglary and other charges in 2012.

Diamond had been receiving hormone treatments for 17 years before she was incarcerated. She was represented by Georgia inmate Ashley Diamond – courtesy Ashley Diamond the Southern Poverty Law Center.

by Mike Andrew Georgia prison officials initially refused SGN Staff Writer her request for the medically necessary treatments, and also held her in a men’s Georgia prison officials have reversed prison with violent offenders. Diamond attheir longstanding policy and will now al- tempted suicide and self-castration while low Transgender prisoners to receive hor- imprisoned without medical treatment.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

The U.S. Department of Justice agreed with her lawsuit, calling the state’s denial of hormone treatments “cruel and unusual punishment.” DOJ said Diamond had been subjected to physical pain, muscle spasms, and loss of breast mass as a result.

Vanita Gupta, Acting Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said that “Prisoners with gender dysphoria should not be forced to suffer needlessly during their incarceration simply because they were not receiving care, or could not prove they were receiving care, in the community.”

Under the new policy prisoners diagnosed with gender dysphoria will receive medical evaluations and mental health counseling.

“If a diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria is reached, a treatment plan will be developed that promotes the physical and mental health of the patient,” the policy states.

“The development of the treatment plan is not solely dependent on services provided or the offender’s life experiences prior to incarceration.”

The decision by Georgia officials to offer hormone therapy rather than defend their prior refusal in court highlights a developing area of law in which Trans prisoners sue for rights to medically necessary treatment, including surgery.

On April 1 a U.S. district judge ruled that California must provide sex reassignment surgery for an inmate held in that state’s San Quentin prison. California prison officials were already offering hormone therapy to Trans prisoners.

On the other hand, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in December 2014 that a Massachusetts Trans woman was not entitled to surgery. She had also been receiving hormone therapy while incarcerated.

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 7

Louisiana “freedom to discriminate” bill stalls

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal – thehayride.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The so-called “Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act,” or the “freedom to discriminate” bill has stalled in both houses of the Louisiana legislature.

Like the Indiana and Arkansas Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs), the legislation would ban the state from denying business licenses, benefits, or tax deductions to private businesses because of actions they might take “in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction” about marriage.

Under the proposed law, wedding planners, photographers, bakers, hotels, and others who refuse to serve Gay and Lesbian couples would be exempt from legal consequences.

Although Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal reiterated his support for the bill in his April 13 State of the State Address, the bill is opposed by Louisiana Senate President John Alario and also faces opposition

in the House.

“Let me be crystal clear,” Jindal said in his April 13 speech, “I absolutely intend to fight for the passage of this legislation – and any other that seeks to preserve our most fundamental freedoms. The truth is, this should not be a conservative vs. liberal debate. Last I checked, we were all in favor of the Bill of Rights. And here in Louisiana, as long as I’m your governor, we will protect religious liberty and not apologize for it.”

On the other hand, Alario – a former Democrat who now heads the Republican majority in the Louisiana Senate – said “it puts Louisiana in a light of hatred and bigotry and discrimination.”

On the House side, the bill was the only one of hundreds submitted for the current session that was not assigned to a committee for review, which would be standard operating procedure for the legislature. The measure cannot advance until it has been considered by a committee.

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau condemned the bill after seeing

Indiana threatened with boycotts after the passage of a similar measure. The Indiana law was subsequently revised to indicate it could not be used to deny public accommodations to LGBT people.

“The adoption of certain types of overreaching, problematic and divisive legislation in Louisiana has the possibility of threatening our state’s third largest industry and creating economic losses pushing past a billion dollars a year and costing us tens of thousands of jobs,” said Convention and Visitors Bureau President Stephen Perry in a written statement.

“We urge that further debate and new legislation be tabled for now because of the huge and needless damage this could inflict on our brand and to an industry and destination city that each have a world-wide reputation as being welcoming, diverse, inclusive and exceptionally tolerant.”

Leaders of Louisiana’s growing film industry also spoke out against the bill.

“For those of us in the creative industries … this bill creates a significant challenge,” said Lampton Enochs, CEO of Moonbot

Studios, a film animation company based in Shreveport, one of Louisiana’s three movie industry hubs.

“We’re competing with companies in L.A., San Francisco and New York. I think a bill like this would make it difficult to recruit out-of-state talent.”

Louisiana’s film industry is currently a $1 billion business, and has created thousands of jobs in production and also in peripheral areas like costume design and equipment delivery services.

Some observers said the opposition was unlikely to sway Jindal, however.

“I really don’t expect that kind of backlash to bother Bobby Jindal at all,” said Pearson Cross, an associate professor of political science at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “Our governor is going to be strongly in support of this bill, given his aspirations to appeal to the right and the conservative Christian wing.”

“Louisiana needs to get its house in order, and alienating large groups is not the way to do that,” Cross added.

Louisiana Senate President John Alario – © 2014 NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Trans man sues employer for violating his civil rights He was ordered to dress as a woman, he charges

A Transgender man is suing his former employer for violating his rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Tristan Broussard says he was ordered

by Tower Loan company to dress as a woman, and then fired when he refused to sign a statement promising to do so. Broussard is represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Center for Lesbian Rights in the suit filed April 13.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act forbids employers to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The U.S. Department of Justice has ruled

that the word “sex” in Title VII also protects gender identity and expression.

According to court documents, Broussard was hired by Tower Loan in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2013. He was promised a wage of $15 per hour, and when he went home he told his girlfriend she could quit her job because he would be making enough to support both of them.

When his immediate supervisor noticed that the gender marker on his ID identified him as “female” he informed her that he is Transgender. She assured him that his gender identity was not an issue and that he could expect to work at Tower Loan free from hostile judgments.

Nevertheless, after only one week on the job, Broussard was called into company Vice President David Morgan’s office and informed that his gender expression was not “in compliance with Tower Loan’s personnel policies.”

The company executive then asked Broussard to sign the following statement: “I understand that my preference to act and dress as a male, despite having been born a female, is not something that will be in compliance with Tower Loan’s personnel policies.

“I have been advised as to the proper dress for females and have been provided a copy of the female dress code. I also understand that when meetings occur that

8 Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Tristan Broussard – nola.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

require out of town travel and an overnight room is required, I will in assigned to a room with a female.”

When he refused to sign, he was fired.

According to the lawsuit Morgan told him that if “he ‘had some surgeries and we can see some results,’ then Tower Loan may consider hiring him again.”

In an interview with BuzzFeed, Broussard said he got “emotional” when Morgan showed him the company dress code.

It made him recall his senior year of high school, he said, when he was ordered to wear a white dress for his Catholic confirmation.

Although by that time Broussard identified as a man, he could not begin his transition until he was 18, when he would no longer need parental consent for hormone therapy.

He had never faced discrimination in the workplace, Brossard added, until he was hired and then fired by Tower Loan. Broussard was subsequently unemployed for a month, before finding a job as a pizza delivery driver at a substantially reduced salary.

In August 2013 Brossard filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission).

More than a year later, the EEOC determined that Broussard had indeed been “subjected to discrimination.”

The commission then invited both

Broussard and Tower Loan to find a resolution but in January 2015 informed Broussard’s attorneys that it had failed to reach a settlement. The EEOC declined to sue, however, prompting Broussard to file his own lawsuit.

Broussard is seeking a declaratory judgment from a federal court that Tower Loan violated his civil rights, as well as back pay and compensation for legal fees.

“It takes one person at a time to step up and say this isn’t right,” Brossard told BuzzFeed. “It doesn’t matter how you’re dressed and presenting yourself – that has nothing to do with your work.

“Hopefully, we can figure out the law and stop things like this from happening.”

Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorney Sam Wolfe said the kind of discrimination Brossard experienced was actually widespread.

“We have a young man who is finally able to get a job – a job that held so much promise for him to have financial security – and the employer turns around and fires him, and we know this type of discrimination is terribly widespread,” Wolfe said.

“Transgender people are due a fair chance at employment like anyone else. But the transgender community faces unacceptably high rates of unemployment and poverty due to widespread workplace discrimination.”

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 9

MoSS Alley MotorS, Inc. SpecialiStS in VolVo, Honda, toyota and Subaru

932 12th ave.

Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!

10

Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 11

12

Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

teen actor continued from cover

mity, is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine and feminine gender norms. People who exhibit gender variance may be called gender variant, gender non-conforming, gender diverse or gender atypical.

Showing that society still does not understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity, the actor and rapper received some anti-Gay remarks.

However, on a more positive note the response to his gender-neutral fashion sense was overwhelmingly positive with thousands of people liking and sharing his posts.

On April 8 Smith uploaded a photo of himself trying on a black-and-white striped dress on Instagram.

“Went to TopShop to Buy Some Girl Clothes, I Mean ‘Clothes,’” he wrote to caption the picture.

The next day, he tweeted, “That Moment When Your (sic) Wearing a Dress With No Pants and You Swerve Way Too Hard.”

PopSugar, a celebrity website featuring breaking news, photos, videos and event recaps on the day’s most popular stars, noted that while the teen actor had been spotted in tunics and dress-like styles before, his commentary was a “refreshing new twist.”

“It’s inspiring to see the young style setting challenging gender norms and wearing exactly what makes him comfortable.”

Chris Crocker, American Internet celebrity, blogger, songwriter, recording artist and former pornographic film actor residing in Los Angeles, who first shot to Internet fame with the now famous September 10, 2007 Youtube video featuring a hysterically crying Crocker called “Leave Britney Alone,” thanked Smith “for being an inspiration to youth by not abiding by society’s expectations “PS love the dress!” Crocker tweeted.

“Isn’t it crazy that women wear pants every day, but when a guy wears a dress it’s breaking news!” tweeted another fan.

Although arguably one of the most popular or current artists to appear gender variant in public, it is important to note that Smith is not the first. Other stars who do not associate their gender identity with sexual orientation and mix binary male/female or masculine/feminine fashion include Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith; David Bowie throughout most of his early career; lead singer of the electropop duo La Roux, Elly Jackson; Australian model, actress, musician, and television presenter Ruby Rose; musician, former lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, and more.

According to gender studies, it is important to note that although sometimes confused, gender variant folks are not nec-

essarily androgynous. Androgyny is a term that many people around the world are said to understand better than gender variance, which may be due, in part, to MTV, but is not necessarily the correct way to describe a gender variant person.

The world got its first look at Annie Lennox when the video for the early ‘80s new-wave band Eurhythmics song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” became one of MTV’s most popular videos of all time and proved to be the breakthrough for the group into commercial success. Lennox, the band’s leader singer, was considered androgynous because she had short cropped, almost buzz cut hair, and wore men’s suits.

The difference, however, between gender variant people and androgynous people is real. The term gender-variant is deliberately broad, encompassing such specific terms as transsexual, butch, femme, queen, sissy, travesti, hijra, or tomboy. Androgynous people identify as neither male nor female or present a gender either mixed or neutral.

Smith is considered gender variant because he does present a gender (male) but sometimes dresses himself in clothing that are associated with the female gender (skirts, dresses, etc.) while still maintaining that he is, in fact, male.

According to local Drag legend Aleksa Manila, “the issue often is how society’s perspective becomes stereotypical.”

“Sexuality (straight, Gay, Lesbian, asexual, i.e. sexual/physical attraction) is distinct from gender (femininity to masculinity and everything in between, i.e. the outward expression one portrays to the outside world),” Aleksa Manila told Seattle Gay News. “That said, being Transgender isn’t about sexuality.

It is about gender. Although hard to believe for some, straight men can be feminine, i.e. “metrosexuality” which has been used to describe a man’s fashion style that is outside of the norm of masculinity (not about heterosexuality).”

“Jayden Smith said it so eloquently – ‘it’s just clothes,’” said Manila. “The way others perceive his choice of clothes that are feminine is a lazy way of looking at gender.”

“We are finally starting to see people who challenge stereotypes especially people in the spotlight,” Aleksa Manila concludes.

“Whereas the ones that have done it all these years have been discriminated [against] or ridiculed.”

While it’s anybody’s guess when most people will have an understanding of gender variance and become accepting of gender variant people, the notable fact here is that a popular, young, cisgender man of color and entertainer with direct ties to young people is presenting himself as gender variant without shame or apology. This will inevitably, however small or large, have a positive effect on the negative stigma that is sometimes associated with gender variant people.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 13

hillary

continued from cover “It was particularly moving to see Secretary Clinton feature a gay couple engaged to be legally married, the first of any major presidential candidate. To us, this decision demonstrates Secretary Clinton’s commitment to LGBT equality and the type of inclusive leader she would be as president.”

The couple, who split their votes between Clinton and Barack Obama back in 2008, have invited Clinton to their July 19 wedding.

Clinton’s announcement also features an African American couple expecting a child and an Asian American woman, along with white working class voters who made up the core of her support when she ran for – but lost – the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

Only at the end of the two-minute video did Clinton herself appear.

“Everyday Americans need a champion.

And I want to be that champion,” she said.

“So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote – because it’s your time. And I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”

Calls for Supreme Court to rule in favor of marriage equality On April 15, Clinton updated her position on same-sex marriage, letting her campaign announce for the first time that she wants the U.S. Supreme Court to establish a nationwide rule in favor of marriage equality.

“Hillary Clinton supports marriage equality and hopes the Supreme Court will come down on the side of same-sex couples being guaranteed that constitutional right,” said campaign spokesperson Adrienne Elrod in a BuzzFeed interview.

Clinton came out in favor of same-sex marriage in 2013, but said then that she thought individual states had the right to make laws governing marriage.

Gay campaign manager Clinton has also hired an out Gay man as her campaign manager.

Robby Mook comes to the Clinton campaign after running the successful 2013 gubernatorial campaign of Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe in Virginia.

Although he is only 35, Mook’s political experience goes back almost two decades.

At 16, he organized Clinton-Gore phone

banks in his native New Hampshire. At 23, he ran Howard Dean’s presidential camRecord as Secretary of State paign in New Hampshire. At 27, he was Although she was by no means the first responsible for three key victories in Hill- national figure to endorse same-sex marary Clinton’s unsuccessful campaign for the riage or speak up for LGBT rights, Clinton Democratic presidential nomination. is no stranger to the issues. As Secretary of State, Clinton made an international name “I’d Bottom for Hillary” for herself as a critic of countries that perseClinton’s announcement was greeted cute their LGBT residents. with enthusiasm – and also humor – by In 2011, she made a landmark speech many LGBT potential voters. to the U.N. human rights summit in GeImmediately after Clinton’s April 12 an- neva, warning member states not to dismiss nouncement, a Gay man in San Francisco, LGBT rights as a cultural idiosyncrasy of the who identified himself only as “Ryan,” West. launched the “Bottom for Hillary” cam“Some seem to believe it is a western paign on Instagram. phenomenon and therefore people outside The idea was to offer “a fun way for LGBT the west have grounds to reject it,” she said. citizens to show their support for Hillary “Well, in reality gay people are born into Clinton,” Ryan told the Huffington Post. and belong to every society in the world.

“Politics is a serious topic, but that doesn’t They are all ages, all races, all faiths, they are mean you have to be serious in showing doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, your support!” soldiers and athletes.

“I am supporting Hillary because she is a “Whether we know it, whether we acboss that gets shit done,” Ryan added. knowledge it, they are our family, our “Bottoming demands trust, admiration, friends and our neighbors. Being gay is not a confidence, loyalty, respect, enthusiasm and western invention, it is a human reality.” hope. Those feelings we have toward Hillary, and anyone that feels similar can be a part of our effort.”

Same-sex civil unions now legal in Chile First unions expected in October

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet – en.mercopress.com

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

form civil unions. It will take effect in six months and the first civil unions are expected by mid-October.

“The civil union law is a vindication Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has signed a law that will allow Gay and Lesbian in the struggle for sexual diversity rights,” couples in the South American country to Bachelet said during the April 13 signing

ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Santiago, the Chilean capital.

Both houses of the Chilean congress passed a mutually acceptable compromise bill on January 28. The Chilean Constitutional Court upheld the bill at the end of March.

Members of MOVILH (the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation), a Chilean LGBT rights group that lobbied for a civil unions law for more than a decade, joined politicians at the signing ceremony. Transgender activist Andrés Ignacio Rivera Duarte also attended the signing.

“Today is a historic day for sexual diversity,” MOVILH director Rolando Jiménez said in a press release. “The state for the first time recognizes that there is not just one way to make a family. From today the state protects family diversity and takes responsibility for historic injustices based upon prejudices and taboos that never should have existed.”

Bachelet campaigned for president supporting marriage equality and said in advance that she would sign the bill if the

country’s legislature passed it. In February her government announced it would no longer defend Chile’s law against same-sex marriage in an international law suit.

Three same-sex couples filed suit with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2012, seeking to have the anti-equality law declared a violation of human rights.

Lawyers for the government and those representing MOVILH are negotiating a settlement in the case and are expected to sign it later this month.

In January the Chilean Senate passed a bill that would allow Trans people to change their legal names and gender designations without sex reassignment surgery. Bachelet supports this bill and says it is a legislative priority for her Socialist government.

Bachelet was President of Chile in 20062010 and was reelected in 2013 to a term that will end in 2018. Chile’s presidents may not serve consecutive terms.

New HIV treatment relies on cloned antibodies

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

The first human clinical trial of a new HIV treatment has been successful, according to the international team of scientists that created it.

Their study, published in the journal Nature, says that what are called “broadly neutralizing antibodies” can suppress viral load in HIV-positive patients. The researchers say the finding may lead to the development of an anti-HIV vaccine.

In the journal, the authors write that “Our data establish that passive infusion of single broadly neutralizing antibodies can have profound effects on HIV viraemia in humans.”

Research was led by University of Cambridge in London (UCL), the University of Oxford, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Their approach uses clones of antibody proteins taken from one of the rare individuals who has a natural immunity to HIV infection. The research team harvested copies of these antibodies, which were theoretically capable of neutralizing many different strains of HIV. Patients given the highest concentrations of the antibodies were able to fight off the virus for some time, restricting replication of HIV in their blood.

The strength of this protection varied.

In some patients it lasted more than four weeks. But because of the HIV’s ability to mutate rapidly, in some patients it was able to outwit the therapy by changing structure over time.

To overcome this problem, the scientists suggested using their new treatment alongside current drugs or together with other antibodies.

“This is different to treatment out there

14

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News

already on two counts,” Prof. Michel Nussenzweig of the Rockefeller University in New York, told BBC News.

“First because it comes from a human so it is natural in that respect. And secondly it opens up the possibility of giving the patient’s own weakened immune system a jolt.

“One part of the antibody could act as a red flag – pointing out to the body where the virus is hiding and sending signals to kill it.”

The team is now exploring whether the infusion could shield people from HIV infection in the first place, but they cautioned that the study was based only on a single individual.

“By measuring the strength of the immune system required to keep this virus under control in this rare individual, we have a better idea of the requirements for successful future treatment,” Prof. Deenan Pillay, of UCL, told the British newspaper The Mail.

“We also managed to identify the specific

immune cells that fought the infection. This is a single patient study, but nevertheless it is often the unusual patients who help us to understand the HIV disease process.”

Ravi Gupta of UCL, who co-authored an article in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, said the results were promising – but that a vaccine would likely be more than a decade away.

“Our study shows that the immune system can be as powerful as the most potent combination drug cocktails,” he told The Mail.

“We’re still a long way from being able to cure HIV patients, as we still need to develop and test effective vaccines, but this study takes us one step closer by showing us what type of immune responses an effective vaccine should induce.

“If vaccines could mimic what we observed in this patient, we might be able to purge all traces of HIV in the body.”

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 15

Legal Services MARTIN SJOLIE Over 20 Years Experience

Last Will, Power of Attorney & Health Care Directive (Living Will)

$500.00/Person or $750.00/Couple for complete, personalized services.

(206) 841–1373 www.sjolielaw.com

Auto accidents, DUI, Small business needs.

16

Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

religion & spirituality

HOME & SPECIALIZED SERVICES

Gary D. TorGerson Co. Expert Painting and Repairs Rot Repair: siding, doors, windows, porches and decks.

Lead-Safe Certified

See photographs of our work at www.TorgersonCompany.com Email: info@torgersoncompany.com Contractor Registration #: GARYDTC134CJ Phone: 206-781-0999

Health and Personal Services

www.sgn.org

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 17

18

Seattle Gay News

April 17, 2015

Celebrating 41 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 17, 2015

Seattle Gay News 19