SGN July 29, 2016 - Section 1

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Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Conversion therapy ban Navy to name ship goes to City Council August 1 after Gay rights activist Unanimous support in committee Harvey Milk

SexInfo Online – http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/conversion-therapy

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Seattle City Council committee unanimously passed a measure that would ban conversion therapy for minors and sent it on to the full council in a July 26 hearing.

Labeled Resolution 118746, the measure

was written by Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez. Once passed by the full council, the resolution would create civil penalties for practicing conversion therapy on minors within Seattle city limits.

It would be enforced by the City’s Office see CONVERSION page 20

Harvey Milk – www.queerty.com

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Navy is set to name a ship after the Gay rights icon and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, according to a congressional notification sent out July 14.

Harvey Milk – Options Magazine

The notification, signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, says he will name a planned Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206).

The ship would be the second of the John Lewis–class oilers being built by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, Calif. see HARVEY MILK page 20

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Primary ballot full of LGBT candidates Remember to send your ballot in by August 2

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer This year the primary ballot – which must be mailed in or dropped off by August 2 – includes an unprecedented number of LGBT candidates.

In the 7th Congressional District alone there are three: current King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, State Rep. Brady Walkinshaw, and small business owner Leslie Regier.

Six others are also in the 7th District race, where the retirement of veteran Rep. Jim McDermott (no relation to Joe), creates a rare open seat. Openly Gay candidates McDermott and Walkinshaw are considered front-runners, along with current State Sen. Pramila Jayapal.

Jayapal is straight but has actively campaigned for LGBT rights since the Andersen v. King County marriage equality case

in 2006.

Current State Rep. Jim Moeller is also running for Congress, but in the 3rd District in the southwest corner of the state.

His opponent, incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler, is notably right-wing, with a 0% rating from NARAL, 100% from the National Right to Life Association, 10% from Washington Conservation Voters, and an A from the NRA. Three more LGBT candidates are running for statewide offices: former Seattle City Councilmember Tina Podlodowski for Secretary of State, state Sen. Marko Liias for State Treasurer, and King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove for Commissioner of Public Lands.

Podlodowski is considered a good bet to beat incumbent Republican Kim Wyman.

Liias is in a race with four others for an open seat, and Upthegrove has six oppo-

nents, again for an open seat.

The race for Brady Walkinshaw’s 43rd Legislative District House seat, a seat opened up by Walkinshaw’s decision to run for Congress, also features three LGBT candidates: housing advocate Nicole Macri, political consultant Thomas Pitchford, and attorney Daniel Shih. There are also five other candidates.

Shih has a huge lead in fundraising, with more than $150,000, and Macri is second, with more than $88,000. Observers say they are the two most likely to make it through to the general election in November.

State Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-27) is unopposed for re-election, and State Rep. Joan McBride (D-48) is a popular incumbent running against a complete unknown who reports no campaign money raised.

Race-baiting charges surface in 9th Congressional District race

Jesse Wineberry – Mike Siegel / Seattle Times

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Ninth Congressional District candidate Jesse Wineberry says a Seattle Times editorial misquoted him as questioning “the ability of a white man to represent the first congressional district in our state with a majority of residents who are racial or ethnic minorities.”

“In a time when there is so much racial divisiveness in our country, we don’t need a newspaper to pour kerosene on the fire,” Wineberry said at a July 28 press conference at First AME Chruch on Capitol Hill.

One of Wineberry’s rivals, Republican candidate Doug Basler, also attended the presser to back him up.

In the editorial, the Times endorsed incumbent Rep. Adam Smith.

After the editorial appeared, Wineberry says, he received an intimidating racist phone call at his campaign office, many of

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his campaign signs were vandalized, and he was unjustifiably arrested by Seattle police.

Wineberry’s story begins in June, when he, Smith, and Basler attended a joint endorsement interview at the Times office.

Two weeks later, Wineberry says, the newspaper announced its endorsement of Smith and falsely attributed the racially charged remark to Wineberry. The Times ignored Basler completely.

Basler said he was angry when he read the Times editorial.

“I was angry I was not mentioned,” he said at the press conference, “but I was even more angry that [Wineberry] was misquoted. I know he’s an honorable guy.”

Basler then called Wineberry and offered to help him refute the Times account of their interview.

“I never made that statement,” Wineberry insisted at the press conference, “and they know I never made that statement.

“I am an early supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is both white and male. I was elected not once but twice to represent [the 43rd Legislative District], which is predominantly white. I was elected to represent [the 37th Legislative District], which is predominantly white.

“I represented everybody, and I will represent everybody [in the 9th Congressional District], just like our first African-American president represents everybody.”

Wineberry represented the 43rd District from 1984 to 1992, when redistricting moved him into the 37th District. He ran for and won a seat from his new district, which he represented from 1992 to 1994.

Wineberry has called on the Times to admit its error in misquoting him and publish a transcript of the interview, “or allow us – Doug Basler and myself – to do a joint editorial refuting their statement.”

He also called on Rep. Adam Smith to see JESSE page 16

Celebrating 41 Years!

Dems kiss, make up, Clinton nominated, blessed by Obama and Sanders

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention – Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer In contrast to a chaotic and undisciplined Republican convention, the national Democrats rebounded from a rocky start to bless their nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Speaking on July 27, the night before the nominee herself was due to deliver her acceptance speech, President Obama delivered a rousing address. It was interrupted no less than 70 times by applause.

It was, in a sense, Obama’s farewell speech. But it was also a way of passing the leadership of the Democratic Party to Hillary Clinton, and Obama was effusive in his praise for her.

“[T]here is only one candidate in this race who believes in that future, has devoted her life to it,” Obama proclaimed, “a mother and grandmother who would do anything to help our children thrive, a leader with real plans to break down barriers and blast through glass ceilings and widen the circle of opportunity to every single American, the next president of the United States, Hillary Clinton…

“Let me tell you, eight years ago, you may remember Hillary and I were rivals for the Democratic nomination. We battled for a year and a half. Let me tell you, it was tough, because Hillary was tough. I was worn out...

“I can say with confidence there has

never been a man or a woman – not me, not Bill, nobody – is more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America…

“I hope you don’t mind, Bill, but I was just telling the truth, man.”

After Obama concluded, Clinton made a brief appearance onstage with him. The two embraced. The convention crowd went wild.

Even Clinton’s rival for the nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, boosted her as the party’s nominee.

“Any objective observer will conclude that – based on her ideas and her leadership – Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders

said on the opening day of the convention, July 25.

The next day he personally took the floor to move that Clinton be nominated by unanimous consent.

Sanders also began a tour of state delegations to talk personally with his delegates and convince then to unite behind Clinton.

At a meeting with the California delegation – which booed his unity statement – Sanders scolded his delegates.

“Our job is to do two things: to defeat Donald Trump and to elect Hillary Clinton,” Sanders said. “It is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face if we are living under a Trump presidency.”

Sanders sounded the same theme in a meeting with the Washington state delegation.

“It’s not new for us to campaign against Republicans, but understand that Donald trump is different,” he told them.

“It’s not just that he wants to give tax breaks to billionaires. It’s not just that he thinks climate change is a hoax. It’s not just that he wants to throw 20 million people off of health care, ending the Affordable Care Act – he’s not the only Republican who wants to do those things.

“But what makes Donald Trump different is that he is a demagogue who does not believe in the constitution of the United States of America. What he is trying to do right now is to divide us,” said Sanders.

“The immediate task we have in the next 100 or so days is to defeat the worst and most dangerous presidential candidate in the modern history of this county, Donald Trump.”

When Ms. Clinton offered her acceptance speech, only about 100 Sanders delegates (out of 1,846) walked out of the convention.

President Barack Obama and Democratic Party Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention – NBC News

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DNC features first out Trans speaker

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Sarah McBride will be the first out Trans speaker at a major party convention when she appears July 28 at the Democratic National Convention.

McBride is currently national press secretary of the HRC Foundation. Prior to joining HRC, McBride worked on the campaign of the late Delaware attorney general, Beau Biden, and was elected student body president at American University in 2011.

In the last week of her term, she came out as a Trans woman in the student newspaper, The Eagle.

In 2013, she joined the board of Equality Delaware and became an advocate for adding protection for Trans people to the state’s hate crimes laws. McBride is now on the steering committee of Trans United for Hillary.

HRC, which endorsed the eventual Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in January, announced July 24 that McBride would speak on the last day of the convention.

“Hillary Clinton won’t be the only woman to make history this Thursday.

When Sarah McBride takes the stage, she will become the first transgender person to speak at a national Democratic or Republican convention,” HRC president Chad Griffin said in a statement.

“Sarah’s inclusion in Thursday’s program is a significant milestone for our community, and it sends a strong message that transgender people and their voices matter.”

“People must understand that even as we face daily harassment, tragic violence,

and an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ political attacks across the country, we are real people merely seeking to be treated with the dignity and respect every person deserves,” McBride said in a statement.

“I’m so proud to stand with the LGBT Caucus and speak out in support of Hillary Clinton, because we know she stands with us.”

In contrast to the Republican convention, the Democrats would be “providing a message of hope and optimism and inclusion for this country,” she added.

Sarah McBride speaking at the Democratic National Convention – Mediaite.com

LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride’s speech to Democratic National Convention, July 28 My name is Sarah McBride, and I am a proud transgender American. Four years ago, I came out as transgender while serving as student body president in college. At the time, I was scared. I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive.

Since then though, I have seen that change is possible. I witnessed history while interning in the White House and helping my home state of Delaware pass protections for transgender people. Today, I see this change in the work of the LGBT Caucus and in my own job at the Human Rights Campaign.

But despite our progress, so much work remains. Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, one way to look, one way to live? Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally? A nation that’s stronger together? That is the question in this election.

For me, this struggle for equality became all the more urgent when I learned that my future husband, Andrew, was battling cancer. I met Andy, who was a trans-

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gender man, fighting for equality and we fell in love. And yet even in the face of his terminal illness … this 28 year old … he never wavered in his commitment to our cause and his belief that this country can change. We married in 2014 and just four days after our wedding, he passed away.

Knowing Andy left me profoundly changed. More than anything, his passing taught me that every day matters when it comes to building a world where every person can live their life to the fullest.

Hillary Clinton understands the urgency of our fight. She will work with us to pass the Equality Act, to combat violence against transgender women of color, and to end the HIV and AIDS epidemic once and for all.

Today in America, LGBTQ people are targeted by hate that lives in both laws and hearts. Many still struggle just to get by.

But I believe tomorrow can be different.

Tomorrow, we can be respected and protected. Especially if Hillary Clinton is our president. And that’s why I’m proud to say that I’m with her.

July 29, 2016

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Meet Tim Kaine He doesn’t hate you, but he doesn’t like you that much either

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer There are many reasons to like Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s pick to run for vice president on the Democratic Party ticket.

For example, in 1984 he took his Harvard law degree and became a civil rights attorney, not a high-priced corporate lawyer, representing death-row inmates and victims of housing discrimination.

Representing African-American families, he won a landmark $100 million decision against redlining, which excluded people of color from upscale neighborhoods in Richmond, Va. When the decision was overturned on appeal, he stuck with his clients and negotiated a $17.5 million settlement.

Kaine gets an F rating from the National Rifle Association, but 100% from Planned Parenthood. That’s all the more remarkable because Kaine is Roman Catholic and says he’s personally opposed to abortion.

On the other hand, Kaine has been something less than a champion when it comes to LGBT rights.

He was late to the party on marriage equality – even later than Hillary Clinton – not coming out for marriage rights until 2013, two weeks after Clinton did.

In 2012, Kaine, then-governor and a candidate for the Senate, said he was in favor of “relationship equality.”

When asked if that meant marriage equality, Kaine refused to endorse marriage equality.

“The labels get in the way of the issue,” he said.

As governor in 2006, Kaine opposed an amendment to the Virginia state constitution forbidding same-sex marriages on the grounds that it also forbade civil unions.

But when the legislature passed a bill to put the amendment on the ballot, he signed it anyway.

His primary contribution to LGBT rights as governor was an executive order banning discrimination against Lesbian and Gay – but not Transgender – state employees.

As lieutenant governor in 2003, Kaine issued a statement distancing himself from a Massachusetts court ruling that Lesbian and Gay couples had a right to marriage.

JESSE

continued from page 8 “denounce” the Times for inaccuracy. Smith has not yet commented on the charges.

“I’m an attorney,” Wineberry said in response to a question. “I won’t make charges I can’t prove. I’m not charging that Adam Smith influenced the editorial, but it does shock me that he hasn’t spoken up about it.

He has to take a stand.”

Asked if he wanted his supporters to call the Times and protest, Wineberry held up a ballot and said that “the most important thing you can do is right here. The ultimate weapon is this ballot, and this will send the strongest message to the Times editorial writer.”

Democratic Party Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Kaine – Photo by Tom Williams

“Marriage between a man and a woman is the building block of the family and a keystone of our civil society,” Kaine said at the time.

In 2001, when he was mayor of Richmond, Kaine expressed his support for “civil benefits” for same-sex couples, but he made clear he was not for civil unions or marriage.

LGBT organizations by and large welcomed Clinton’s VP choice, some enthusiastically, but in their statements they tended to cite accomplishments not directly related to LGBT issues.

“With her selection of Sen. Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton has highlighted the stark differences between her ticket and her op-

ponent’s,” Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur said.

“In contrast to the extremes of racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and homo- and transphobia on display this week at the Republican National Convention, Kaine presents an alternative: a pragmatist who works across ideologies and across the aisle to get things done.

“As governor of Virginia, Kaine partnered with the state’s Republican legislators and attorney general to strengthen background checks on gun purchases. Vice President Joe Biden hailed the legislation as a potential model for a federal bill.”

“While Donald Trump doubled down on discrimination by picking Mike Pence,

Hillary Clinton has bolstered her campaign’s historic commitment to LGBTQ equality by choosing Tim Kaine,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said.

“Having proven time and time again that they have the experience, determination, and leadership needed to move equality forward for all Americans, we are confident Clinton and Kaine will tear down the walls of discrimination that hold all of us back.

“The stakes for LGBTQ people in this election couldn’t be higher, and the choice for pro-equality voters couldn’t be clearer.”

Unjustified arrest Wineberry also showed a video of his arrest on July 20, near Safeco Field. Shot by a campaign worker who was on the scene, the video shows Wineberry surrounded by five or six police officers, some of whom are restraining his arms behind his back.

At one point, an officer standing in front of Wineberry can be heard saying “Get your hand off my gunbelt!”

Wineberry then shouted, “That’s code!

That’s code! I can’t touch your gunbelt!”

“I got a chill, I felt my life was in danger,” Wineberry recalled. “I saw Trayvon [Martin] flash. I saw Michael [Brown] flash.

I saw Che Taylor flash,” all African-Americans whose killers were exonerated after

claiming they felt they were in danger.

“If you say ‘He reached for my gun,’ then you can justify using deadly force.”

Wineberry was handcuffed, put in a patrol car, and taken to a South Precinct holding cell. There it transpired that a van Wineberry had rented to carry campaign volunteers was overdue, the campaign aide who was charged with extending the rental agreement had not followed through, and the rental company had reported the vehicle as stolen.

“I don’t blame the police for stopping the vehicle once it was reported as stolen,” Wineberry explained, “but I do blame them for the unnecessary arrest – I told them the rental agreement was right in the glove

compartment – and I do blame them for the threat of violence.

“I was one step away from what would have been ruled a justifiable homicide.”

Basler, the Republican, agreed. “When I saw the video, I got a chill too,” he said.

“Because I thought, ‘His life is in danger right now.’”

Although South Precinct officers told him he was free to go without being booked, Wineberry insisted on remaining in custody until he could file a racial-profiling complaint. He was told that a copy of the complaint would be sent to him, and is still waiting more than a week later, he said.

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Title VII does not protect sexual orientation, 7th Circuit says – Reverses EEOC ruling

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 28 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect sexual orientation.

In doing so, the court reversed a 2015 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruling supporting Kimberly Hively against her then-employer.

The EEOC had ruled that Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination on account of sex also extended to sexual orientation, but the 7th Circuit found that “Kimberly Hively has failed to state a claim under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] for sex discrimination…her claim is solely for sexual orientation discrimination, which is beyond the scope of the statute.”

Judge Ilana Rovner wrote in the majority opinion that “the idea that the line between gender-nonconformity and sexual orientation claims is arbitrary and unhelpful has been smoldering for some time, but the EEOC’s decision ... threw fuel on the flames.”

According to Rovner, the EEOC’s position is logical but not supported by existing legal precedent.

“It seems illogical to entertain gendernonconformity claims under Title VII where the nonconformity involves style of dress or manner of speaking, but not when the gender-nonconformity involves the sine qua non of gender stereotypes – with whom a person engages in sexual relationships,” she wrote.

“And we can see no rational reason to entertain sex discrimination claims for

those who defy gender norms by looking or acting stereotypically gay or lesbian (even if they are not), but not for those who are openly gay but otherwise comply with gender norms.”

Nevertheless, Rovner concluded that the court must comply with its prior decisions, unanimously concluding that sexual orientation discrimination is not barred under Title VII. Congress has repeatedly rejected legislation to expand protections to include sexual orientation discrimination explicitly, she noted, and the Supreme Court has declined to address the issue.

“Perhaps the writing is on the wall,” Rovner wrote of that change, but she concluded that “until the writing comes in the form of a Supreme Court opinion or new legislation, we must adhere to the writing of

our prior precedent.”

The 7th Circuit has jurisdiction over the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.

A number of federal district court cases – including Hall v. BNSF Railway (2014) in Washington state – have charged Title VII violations based differential treatment of same-sex and opposite-sex spouses, for example in the provision of health care benefits by employers.

In some federal court cases, notably Boutillier v. Hartford Public Schools (2014) and Koren v. Ohio Bell Telephone Co. (2012), federal district courts have ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is identical with – or derived from – discrimination on the basis of sex.

HARVEY MILK continued from cover

during the Korean War on the submarine rescue ship Kittiwake until 1955. Milk was honorably discharged from the service as a lieutenant junior grade.

Following his service, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was the first openly Gay California politician to be elected to office. He was assassinated in office in 1978. When Milk was shot, he was wearing his US Navy diver’s belt buckle.

Over the last several years, since the 2011 repeal of the Department of Defense’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, there have been pushes from California politicians to have a ship named for Milk.

Naming a ship after Milk “will further send a green light to all the brave men and women who serve our nation that honesty, acceptance, and authenticity are held up among the highest ideals of our military,” said Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk in a statement to San Diego LGBT Weekly in 2012.

For now, the Secretary of the Navy’s office is deferring releasing additional information until the naming announcement.

Mabus has said the John Lewis class – named after civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) – would be named after civil rights leaders. Other names in the class include Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose court ruled to desegregate US schools; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; women’s right activist Lucy Stone; and abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth.

Mabus has also named ships in the past for other civil rights icons, including the Lewis and Clark–class dry cargo ships USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13) and USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE-14).

Milk came from a Navy family and was commissioned in the service in 1951.

He served as a diving officer in San Diego

CONVERSION continued from cover

of Civil Rights, either on the complaint of someone subjected to conversion therapy or through an investigation directed by the Office of Civil Rights.

According to Gonzalez, the measure would apply to any licensed therapist, even if they claim to be faith based.

The City Council is expected to pass the legislation at its August 1 meeting. After that, it would go into effect in 60 days.

City Councilmember Lisa Herbold’s Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development & Arts Committee passed the resolution with strong support from members Herbold, Mike O’Brien, and Kshama Sawant.

“A ban on conversion therapy for minors is important to protect Seattle’s LGBTQ youth and ensure they have the opportunity to grow up in a healthy and affirming environment,” Equal Rights Washington Executive Director Monisha Harrell said in an email to supporters after the committee action.

20 Seattle Gay News

“LGBTQ youth whose identities are rejected by their families are three times more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, six times more likely to suffer from severe depression, and eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their accepted peers.”

Harrell worked with Gonzalez to craft the language of the resolution.

At a press conference before the committee hearing, Gonzalez said she hoped Seattle’s action would encourage other cities to pass similar legislation.

She wrote the resolution “in response to calls from the LGBTQ community,” Gonzalez said, stressing her support “for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.”

“I want to thank the LGBTQ advocates who reached out to my office,” she added.

“I’m proud to be the prime sponsor of this resolution.”

At the press conference, therapist Ann Lazaroff said she often treats patients who have experienced conversion therapy, which she labeled “a highly unethical practice.”

“These patients exhibit the same symptoms as survivors of sexual abuse, or

July 29, 2016

PTSD,” she noted.

Transgender activists Marsha Botzer of the Ingersoll Center and Danni Askini of Gender Justice League also spoke at the press conference.

Askini revealed that she herself was a survivor of attempts to change her gender identity and expression at the age of 13.

“I was told that I must be more masculine,” she recalled. “I should have been given affirmation and support, but instead I was told not to be who I am.”

Asked if she knew of any conversion therapists who actually practice in Seattle, Gonzalez acknowledged there was not much Seattle-specific data, but she noted that “nationally one on three LGBTQ people may experience some form of conversion therapy, and there’s no reason to think Seattle is an exception.”

As if to prove Gonzalez’s point, two conversion therapists testified against Gonzalez’s resolution during the committee’s public comment period. They were met with icy silence from committee members and supporters of the measure in the council chambers.

They were refuted by testimony from local activists, including SGN publisher George Bakan, who labeled conversion therapy “torture.”

Martin Luther King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Nicole Grant, who was at the committee meeting to testify on another measure favored by local unions, also took part of her time to condemn conversion therapy and urge passage of the resolution.

Supporting her legislation, Gonzalez told the committee, “Not only has [conversion therapy] been discredited as ineffective but it has also proven to be dangerous and damaging to those who undergo treatment with the intent of changing their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Both the Washington State Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association have condemned conversion therapy as unscientific and potentially dangerous.

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